DON'T CONFUSE ADVERTISING WITH MARKETING.
"We're investing in marketing! Look at our new brochure. Listen to our radio spot. Check out the press release on our new Web site."
Actually advertising and branding are very narrow components of marketing.
Marketing is zeroing in on what your customers need and figuring out better ways to build a promise that meets that need
and fulfills it. Your marketing strategy in a very real way is actually your business strategy.
Advertising and branding should be driven by marketing objectives. Make sure you share your marketing strategy with your
advertising agency. Better yet, involve them with its formulation - they can contribute a whole new perspective and a wealth of practical experience. Return to top
COPYWRITING SECRET #1 OF 8:
THE FOUR-LEGGED STOOL.
Great ads work like a stool with four legs:
The core idea.
Make it big, simple, and easy to explain. Hook your readers in.
The big promise.
Answer the reader's question, "What's in it for me?" Without it, there's no incentive for the reader to read on.
Credibility.
Give your readers a reason to trust you.
The close.
Tell your readers how to act on the offer.
Look for more copywriting tips in upcoming newsletters. Return to top
THE FOUR Ps VS. THE FOUR Rs.
The classic four Ps of marketing - product, positioning, place, and price - are still useful in certain contexts but suffer by
representing a product-centric view of marketing.
The four Rs - right customer, right message, right channel, and right time - acknowledges today's large-scale migration to customer centricity.
In a nutshell, customer centricity involves determining each customer's value as well as his individual wants, needs,
preferences, interests, and situations, and then designing different sales, marketing, and service models to serve each customer with a
winning value proposition. Return to top
FIVE COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.
1. Loose for lose
No: I always loose the product key.
Yes: I always lose the product key.
2. It's for its (or even, its')
No: Download the HTA and it's read me file.
Yes: Download the HTA and its read me file.
No: The laptop is overheating, and its making that funny noise again.
Yes: The laptop is overheating, and it's making that funny noise again.
3. They're for their for there
No: The managers are in they're weekly meeting.
Yes: The managers are in their weekly meeting.
No: The techs have to check there cell phones at the door, and their not happy about it.
Yes: The techs have to check their cell phones at the door, and they're not happy about it.
4. i.e. for e.g.
No: Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., AdAware).
Yes: Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., AdAware).
Note: The term i.e. means "that is"; e.g. means "for example." A comma follows both of them.
5. Effect for affect
No: The outage shouldn't effect any users.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users.
Yes: The outage shouldn't have any effect on users.
Yes: We will effect several changes during the downtime.
Note: Impact is not a verb. Purists, at least, beg you to use affect instead:
No: The outage shouldn't impact any users.
Yes: The outage shouldn't affect any users.
Yes: The outage should have no impact on users. Return to top
HOW TO WRITE INSIGHT-BASED CASE STUDIES.
Case studies should be like condensed action films - full of characters, plot, conflict, and energy - in which your customers
get what they want. It should be exciting to tell and hear.
Many of us, though, bore with the traditional problem-solution-result formula - and fumble the "solution" part.
Instead of detailing the solution, focus instead on the insight that solved your customer's problem, and your
audience will hang on every word.
Steps to writing an insightful case study.
1. Select a project with impressive results. A groovy insight cannot save a project with a bland result.
2. Think about how you came to a solution.
3. Write the study in problem-solution-result format, but make sure the solution section downplays your product's features and plays up how you
arrived at and used your insight.
You want listeners to understand that you didn't just plug in any old solution. You studied the situation closely and came up with the right
solution for that situation.
Return to top
BRANDING MYTH #1 OF 7:
THE SUPERIOR PRODUCT WILL PREVAIL.
In our global marketplace, being "better than" doesn't mean as much as it used to. He who gets to the market first
and creates the stronger brand can outsell a vastly superior product.
So what you need to do is first, create a brand, and second, ensure that the brand image connects the product
to your audience. Successful examples of this are Nike's "Just Do It" and Apple's "Think Different" campaigns.
Look for more branding myths in upcoming newsletters. Return to top
OPTIMIZING WEB SITE CONTENT FOR SEARCH ENGINES AND VISITORS.
So you've loaded your Web site with tons of content. Why aren't your search engine rankings higher?
One common reason is lack of organization. Although the search engine bots crawl your site as a whole, your pages are indexed individually.
If a page does not have a clearly defined theme, the crawlers will not find the content relevant to the terms that your potential
customers are searching. If your page is not found relevant, it will not be indexed.
Your home page should contain the key words and content relevant to your company and its business. Interior pages should each have their
own unique theme, dedicated to one component of your business. For example, if your business sells both widgets and widget accessories,
and also services widgets, you need three separate pages: one for widgets, one for widget accessories, and one for widget repairs.
Return to top
Table of Contents
Don't Confuse Advertising with Marketing.
Five Common Grammatical Errors.
How to Write Insight-Based Case Histories.
The Superior Product Will Prevail.
Optimizing Web Site Content for Search Engines and Visitors.
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