Zazou Marketing

Whether you are writing a website, brochure, advertisement, newsletter, or email, it’s important to look as professional as possible. That means getting your spelling, grammar, and word usage correct. So, here’s a quick reminder on a few words that we use all the time: “everyone” and “every one.” And remember that there’s a difference between them!

• Use two words when you are referring to an individual item: “We used every one of those sales tips in our pitch meeting.”

• Use one word when you are referring to all persons: “Everyone wants a bonus this year.”

Zazou Marketing

Coming up with marketing copy seems like it should be easy. After all, you’re writing about something you know well – your own business. In reality, we often know our own business too well, so we stumble around looking for the right words to describe it. Even worse, we end up making mistakes that can cost us business.

So the next time you start writing your brochure, newsletter, sales letter or website copy, keep the following pitfalls in mind. Avoiding these can mean the difference between making a sale and sending potential clients running.

1.    Benefits, not features. You’ve heard this one before, but you probably need to hear it again. Don’t get so charmed by your “features” that you forget to talk about your benefits. Don’t just say that your widget is cool because of its bells-and-whistles. Instead, explain how those bells-and-whistles help your customer. So, when you list a feature, follow it with words like, “so now you can… ” (and spell out exactly what problems it’s going to solve).

2.    Not so impressive. The first sentence of your brochure or website should NOT be, “We’ve been in business since 1984” (or whatever year you started). Your potential clients simply don’t care. At least not yet. Hook them by telling them how you can help them. Once they’re hooked, you can impress them with your experience and how long you’ve been in business.

3.    You’re not the only one. Don’t bother including that you are passionate about what you do or that you love your job. Absolutely everyone makes this claim (like everyone claims to give superior customer service). And it simply isn’t a selling point. Stick to telling potential clients how you can help them.

4.    Avoid hype. Don’t use buzzwords like “spectacular,” “incredible,” “one-of-a-kind” and “breakthrough.” These simply alert people to the fact that you are selling something, and your reader stops paying attention. Instead, explain what makes your product or service spectacular. And don’t forget to include what your clients will get out of it.

5.    No one cares about you. I know it’s hard on your ego, but people really don’t care what you do or who you are. They do care how you can help them. Remember to keep the focus off of you and on what you can do for your customer. Instead of saying, “We offer professional guidance to small businesses,” say, “If you are a small business stuck in a rut, we can help you overcome barriers and get new clients.”

6.    You are not a professor. I’ve said this before, I know. Still, it’s important to remember to simplify your sentences! Once you’ve written a draft, go through your document sentence by sentence, and see where you can split sentences into two. Then go through and take out insiders lingo. And take out unnecessary or convoluted words (come to think of it, “convoluted” is a great example of a word to avoid!). Big words and long sentences simply won’t help you to be taken seriously. But easily-grasped words and short sentences will make your marketing materials accessible.

7.    It’s all about sales. Remember that the goal of your marketing materials is not to impress, be liked or even to present a professional package. It’s great if your materials do that too — but the goal is to make sales. So don’t lose sight of your goal. Think very carefully about what your copy is actually doing. Is it acting like your star salesperson? If not, scrap it and start over.

Zazou Marketing

When you’re writing words like shake up, shape up or set up, do you ever wonder whether to use two words or combine them into one with a hyphen? Well, you’re not alone. Here’s a little rule to follow, use “shake up” when you need to use a verb and ”shake-up” as a noun or an adjective. Others that fit in a similar camp are:

Verb            Noun or Adjective
shape up        shape-up
speed up        speedup
set up            setup
sell out          sellout
stand in         stand-in
tie in              tie-in

Of course, the English language often makes no sense at all. For example, “second hand” is a noun, while “secondhand” is an adjective or adverb.

So, remember, next time you shape up your house, set up a garage sale and get rid of all of that secondhand clothing…

Most of us turn into wanna-be college professors when we start writing, especially when we write about our business. Our words get big; our thoughts get convoluted; and we try to sound like we know what we are talking about.

While you do likely know what you are talking about, if you’re like most of us, you may well let words get in the way of demonstrating your expertise. To remove yourself from the professorial role, think a moment about how you talk. Then write like that.

For example:

• change: “After consulting extensively with the board, staff, and leadership committees, a research-based program that has nationwide acceptance was implemented this year to address ongoing issues of productivity and staff output.”

• to: “The board, staff, and leadership committees offered input about staff efficiency. Then, to address those productivity issues, we implemented a research-based program that has national respect.”

The key to writing like you talk is being able to step back and look at your writing with an objective eye. This is a skill that takes practice, but with time you can certainly do it. In the meantime, have someone else take a look at your work—it could mean the difference between grabbing your audience (and selling your service or product) or flat out losing your audience.

It almost goes without saying that marketing is most effective when it is easy to understand. But we often forget this simple concept. So, whether you want to sell more doohickeys, or you want your company to stand out in the crowd, make sure your copy is crystal clear. You’ve been told this before, I know. But here are a couple of refreshers to creating confusion-free verbiage:

Cut, cut, cut! We all have too many things vying for our attention. So, don’t clump too many thoughts and words together—or you’ll just add to the day’s distractions. Here is one simple ways to cut the clutter: Remove unnecessary words. For example,

• change: “We know that providing top-notch service is important.”
• to “We provide top-notch service.”

Don’t bore your audience. Sounds obvious, I know. But if your marketing materials start with, “We have been in business for 10 years” or with “(insert your company name) is owned and operated by ME” well then, you’ve bored your reader already. Instead, start by talking about your reader. If you start with a “you” statement there’s a better chance your reader will stay tuned in.

For example, if you are a personal concierge, you could start with: “Your desk or kitchen counter is probably stacked with papers, bills, and correspondence.” Don’t worry, you’ll get around to writing about your business and how long you’ve been in business. Just wait until your reader is already engaged and cares.