With good jobs and new business becoming more difficult to source, standing out among the crowd has never been harder. Whether it’s raising awareness of your skills via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or face to face at networking events and job interviews, knowing what to say to impress your audience can be tough.

The best bit of advice I ever received was from a marketing communications director who said, “Before anyone opens their mouth to speak, they need to listen first.”

If you want to impress, first know what you are talking about or do some research. Don’t say the first thing that comes into your head and don’t say something just for the sake of it. Remember the proverb, ‘empty vessels make the most noise’.

With that in mind, I’ll leave you to read this excellent article in BBC News magazine and you can make your own mind up regarding the blowing of trumpets!

Yesterday the fragile remains of a Copysauras were unearthed in the northern hemisphere at the Peace Gardens in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Professor Proof Read, expert in the ancient art of proofreading, told local reporters, “This Copysauras is an unbelievable find as their numbers have dwindled considerably in recent years. In fact not many people were actually aware of their existence, even when the species were far more prevalent”.

People across Sheffield and the UK were eager to find out more about this dwindling species. One local resident who had consulted the great oracle, Mr. Google, thought it might be a Capybara, which is a rodent that can be as big as a pig and is also known as a water hog ‘because’ it likes to swim. However, many were not convinced that Professor Proof Read had become excited by the remains of a giant pig rat!?

Further investigation soon unearthed that this rare find is more commonly known as a copywriter. These are the people who write the words for marketing communications, to help businesses and organisations promote their products and services. Sadly the number of skilled copywriters declined rapidly during the early age of the recession, circa 2009, as many of them turned to alternative means of survival. This was during the age when organisations and businesses slashed their marketing budgets to survive the economic crisis, writing their own words to save money.

Today as we stumble slowly out of the dark age of recession, many businesses are once again seeking the help of a copywriter. As demand looks set to outstrip supply, businesses need to be quick off the mark if they want to secure the talent of a dwindling number of authentic copywriters.

Have you missed the boat when it comes to social media?

Many organisations now blog and tweet. More companies are considering doing so. However a huge number say they can’t, won’t and don’t want to do the social media thingamajig.

Why should they tweet and link, what are the benefits to their business, who should they do it to, when and how? Can anyone just do it?

Yes anyone can do social media. But would you build your own house if you were not a professional builder, probably not. You would hire one.

When it comes to communication, there’s a lot of ‘do-it-yourself’ going on. If you tell us how great you feel because the sun is shining, or how fabulous your cappuccino was this morning will it help to promote your business? Yes if you are a meteorologist giving out a weather forecast, or barista providing information on the coffee making process, otherwise no it won’t.

A careless tweet or a poorly constructed blog can create a poor impression of your business. Blogs, tweets and linkedin updates that don’t offer useful information usually do not make for good business communication.

The social media ‘thingamajig’ should always complement your existing marketing communication strategy. It should be managed in house by your marketing department or outsourced to a freelance communication specialist.

Those who prefer to try a bit of DIY might find that the repair bill to fix the damage could cost them more than the hiring of a professional.

In Marrakech with hundreds of stalls in the Souk selling the same items, competition for business is tough.  Recently I spent a week observing their sales and marketing techniques. I soon became totally ‘Souked out’ but  realised that this is a place where soft sell results in no sell.

For many of us, being pressurised or cajoled into buying something is a definite turn off. You either want it or you don’t and naturally you’ll decide when to buy. The savvy Souk sellers know this and that’s why, from spice seller to snake charmer, they’ve practiced the art of effective communication and become masters of persuasion. I defy anyone  to leave without buying something, whether you want it or not!

Love it or hate it, hard sell using effective communication is thriving in Marrakech… negotiation skills might be something you want to brush up on before you go!

Many people think that being able to talk the most and shout the loudest makes for a good communicator. It does not.

A good communicator will be someone who has mastered the art of listening well and perfected the ability to communicate effectively, using the minimum amount of words.

As Plato, classical Greek philosopher, once said …’Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.’

The key to good, effective communication is listening

People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours communicating, whether it’s by speaking, listening, reading, writing, or via Facebook. So it makes sense that in a work context, one of the worst barriers to effective group performance is bad communication.

The key to good, effective communication is listening of course. But by listening I mean attentive listening, not half-listening or selective listening. It is so important that in a working environment you give people your full attention – it is amazing what mistakes can be made through misunderstandings or not hearing (or listening to) the full story.

In fact a number of aeroplane disasters over the years have been largely attributed to problems in communication. For example in 1997 a Garuda Airlines jetliner crashed just 20 miles from Medan Airport on the island of Sumatra after the pilot and the air traffic controller confused the words left and right as the plane was descending under poor visibility conditions. All 234 aboard were killed.

Okay, I accept that a couple of words may not always mean the difference between life and death, but bad communication can certainly have disastrous consequences for your business. When it comes to copywriting, effective listening without a doubt helps you deliver the right message as well as gain the confidence of your clients. Whatever great ideas we as copywriters may have, ultimately it is not what the copywriter thinks, but what the client wants. How could we possibly know this without listening carefully to our clients?

Don’t force your clients to repeat themselves. Communication is the key when it comes to a good working relationship – don’t get the wrong message!

spread the word

Marketing with a plan

spread the word

Whether you are looking for new business or ensuring that you keep existing clients, it is essential that you maintain communication with your audience. Keep people in the loop with your activities and developments, and impress them with your regular (but not too frequent) updates, whether it’s re-branding or simply updating your website.

But how do you know what marketing material you need, and are you convinced that this form of marketing is suitable and relevant to your business? Firstly you should ask yourself the following questions:-

- What product or service do we provide?

- Who do we provide it to?

- Why would someone use our product or service?

- What is our key message?

- How do we reach them?

Once you have determined what you need to say and to whom, you can start thinking about the different types of marketing material, such as:-

- Logo

- Website

- Brochure

- Leaflet

- Newsletter

Draw up a communications plan, identifying the types of marketing material you need and the exact types of messaging you need to use. Will creating a logo make your company more memorable? Do you have enough products for a brochure, or would a leaflet be more suitable? Would you be able to reach a wider audience via the web? And do you have enough news to think about producing a newsletter?

You may also want to think about using a copywriter if you have little experience in this field; you may find that you don’t have the time or the expertise to produce good copy. Remember, you want to deliver a clear message through marketing material which looks and sounds professional.

Before you do anything you should start with the communications plan. Most organisations and businesses have a financial, business and marketing plan but communications always seems to fall into a big black hole.  A communications plan will help you to define your communication objectives and state your key message, as well as identify your target audience and reach them in the most valuable way.

If you want to increase your customer base, engage with your employees, keep your stakeholders happy then a clear communications plan and well written messages are essential.

What a lovely cake

What a lovely cake

What should come first, copy or web design?

What a lovely cake

“Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration” – Jeffrey Zeldman, web designer (www.zeldman.com)

Although the aesthetics of a website are important, neglecting the written content will make the finished product suffer as much or more than poor design. The fact is that when it comes to creating a website, the design and the copywriting are two sides of the same coin: one cannot exist without the other.

Generally businesses who want a new website contact the web designer, the designer then comes up with the website, and the copywriting comes last (or in some cases not at all). In many cases, the words are not seen as important.

When you think of how other advertising methods are developed, you might think that website design should really begin with the words. Would you shoot a TV advertisement without a script, or design a newspaper advertisement without first knowing what the message was? Although a good design will get you noticed, the right words will get your message across.

Whatever your opinion is, no matter how you bake the cake the website user won’t be looking at the individual ingredients, they’ll be looking at the whole cookie.

For the perfect website try this recipe.

Take three main ingredients, a communications plan, a copywriter and web designer. Then follow the original menu (client brief) and put the three ingredients together in a large bowl (office), add a dash of creativity, a table spoon of technical ability, a pinch of plain English, a generous amount of planning and stir well. Pop them into the oven (workstation) for a couple of days. Check every now and then to ensure the cake (website) is rising properly and when the time is up place it on a server and deliver to your customers.

Plan, write, design and deliver. A recipe for a perfect website…what do you think?

How lovely to meet you!

Copywriters are prising themselves away from their keyboards to venture forth into the networking arena, but do they come prepared?

There is more to networking than simply showing up with a handful of business cards. Like a first date, first impressions really do count.

Here according to the laws of JCom are some do’s and don’ts for copywriter network dating…

Don’t …

• play hard to get – if you say you’re going to call a contact you’ve made, then call!
• stand anyone up – it’s all in the follow-up!
• be desperate! – although it’s good to be keen don’t bombard your new contact with phone calls and emails…just wait a day or two before you get in touch.
• be a networking tart! Be selective about the events you attend and think carefully about which ones will be most beneficial and relevant to your business.
• dive in head first, think carefully about the types of events you want to attend and how often you want to go. You don’t want people thinking that you have too much time on your hands!
• throw your business cards around randomly, they’ll probably end up buried under a pile of papers never to be seen again, or even in the bin.

Do …

• smile (a lot) even if you don’t feel like it! There’s nothing worse than a grumpy face especially first thing in the morning!
• play the field – if you go to events put together by different organisations you will meet a range of people, rather than seeing the same faces each time.
• pay attention and listen carefully to what people have to say.
• research the type of event beforehand, there’s no point in turning up to a builders convention and then complaining that no-one was interested in you.
• take time to listen to the person who might on the surface not appear to be relevant to your line of work, they might be the most important person in an organisation or know someone who desperately needs your services.
• follow up and thank the organisers, they are often the unsung heroes who pull events together and they know a lot of people.

Effective networking can bring excellent results as long as you understand the “networking etiquette”. And what about the morning after the first date? Follow-up of course …but just take a couple of days to think it over!

Come on, there must be something we can talk about ...

The email newsletter and blog have now become essential marketing tools of the 21st century, and businesses are urged to become e-savvy before they get left behind. However, with inboxes overflowing with mass emails, spam and irrelevant communications, from special offers on diet pills to “Click here to claim your cash prize”, people have begun to lose faith in the emails they are receiving and more importantly, the people who are sending them.

Unfortunately, as email is a relatively cheap means of marketing, more and more businesses are bombarding their customers with irrelevant messages, leading to an increased rate of unsubscribes and spam reports. By competing for your audiences’ attention in this way you can lose customers as well as your credibility as a company. People just don’t have the time or the patience to sort through their emails and identify the good stuff from the rubbish. Thanks to the delete key, we can manage our overflowing inboxes with a quick glance at the From: and Subject: lines – delete!

Quality over quantity is definitely the key – businesses should be striving for marketing material with greater relevance for their target audience. A good start is to aim for one or two blogs a week and a newsletter or e-bulletin once a month. This copy should be used to have a conversation with your clients; to communicate with them, not at them.

Copywriters and marketers understand the relationship-building value of email and are investing more and more time and money into communicating with their prospective clients electronically. They know that appealing, relevant copy which entertains, informs and educates the reader can turn prospects into clients and clients into fans who may forward your emails to their colleagues or business contacts. Wouldn’t it be nice if people were looking forward to receiving your next newsletter rather than groaning when they saw your company’s name pop up in their inbox?

Make your messages worthwhile to your subscribers by taking the “less is more” approach. Don’t email just for the sake of it, wait until you have something interesting to say. That’s how you avoid marketing overkill and that’s how you build on relationships rather than turning off your clients.