Want to do better marketing? Want to write more persuasive copy? Want to make more sales? Then you should read Ogilvy on Advertising, by David Ogilvy, the man known as the ‘Father of Advertising’. Ogilvy on Advertising was written in 1985, so it focuses on marketing through TV and magazines, rather than online channels. However, the [...]
Have you ever read a blog from start to finish and wondered … what the hell was that blog about? That wasn’t your fault; that was the writer’s fault. It’s not that you weren’t smart enough; it’s that the writer wasn’t clear enough. But this concept also works in reverse: chances are, someone has read one [...]
When you come across five-star marketing, you can’t help but open your wallet, even when you recognise the psychological triggers being used by the seller. For example, I recently encountered a Facebook ad that had such persuasive writing, I felt compelled to click through to the landing page. And the landing page was so full of [...]
Let me share with you a rule I learnt many years ago at the start of my journalism career: O-T-P-S. O-T-P-S stands for One Topic Per Story and One Thought Per Sentence. So when you write your blogs or record videos, focus on only one topic. Focusing on multiple topics will just confuse your audience. When [...]
“I’m sorry I wrote you such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a short one.” That quote from Blaise Pascal reveals a fundamental truth about writing, communications and marketing. Being vague and verbose is easy; being precise and concise is hard. Many people and small businesses struggle to deliver a powerful message in [...]
Ever heard of the ‘pub intro’? This was a really important lesson I learned in my first journalism job, because it significantly improved the quality of my writing and communications. Sometimes, when we write a blog, an email or some other form of marketing communications, we may be unsure what information to put in the opening [...]
Want to make your marketing more effective? Here's a quick win: stop using 'smart' words and start using simple, everyday language that your target market can easily understand and relate to. So don't 'utilise' tools – 'use' tools. Don't 'iterate' ideas – 'test' ideas. Don't 'commence' programs – 'start' programs. A lot of small businesses make [...]
People lead busy lives and have overflowing inboxes. So if you want someone to read your email newsletter, it's not enough just to send it to their inbox. You also need to get them to open it. How? By using enticing subject lines. No, ‘Latest news’ or ‘Monthly newsletter’ won’t cut it. Instead, use action words [...]
Does your small business want more people to consume its content marketing? In that case, why not make your content easier to consume? For example, shorter videos are easier to consume than longer videos – which is why Hunter & Scribe keeps its marketing videos to under 60 seconds. Blogs that use simple words and avoid [...]
Do you want to know a common marketing mistake that drives me absolutely crazy? It's when small businesses have typos and grammatical errors in their marketing copy. This ‘small’ mistake is actually a big mistake that will end up costing you sales. Marketing is about building trust and credibility with your audience. Spelling mistakes and grammatical [...]
