March 2010

Arranging Text to Your Advantage

Arrange Text to Your Advantage

No matter how good your writing, most readers are, initially, only going to skim your marketing materials. The typical consumer is exposed to 3,000 advertising messages a day; so you can't expect them to spend more than 30 seconds perusing your piece.

That's why it's so important to arrange the text so your strongest sales points are emphasized above everything else.

Focusing on the most important aspects

With any direct-marketing effort, there are three things you always want to emphasize in the text:

  1. The offer (i.e. "Get a 25% discount if you come in before April 13th). That's what will get the biggest reaction from readers.
  2. Your call-to-action (i.e. "Call 555-5555 today to get started"). Any direct-marketing effort that doesn't direct the reader to do something - right away - is missing the boat.
  3. The benefits of your product or service (i.e. "costs an average of 20% less than competing programs"). You've got to let people know how your product / service will benefit them.

Winning text arrangements

How you arrange and emphasize the above selling points really depends on the design of your marketing materials. But these seven techniques (proven winners one-and-all) can be adapted to a wide variety of layouts:

  • The sub-headline - Usually, there's only space to highlight one benefit in your headline. That's why copywriters invented the sub-headline. See an example.
  • The Johnson Box - This technique allows you to hit your target audience right between the eyes with your most powerful marketing message. See an example.
  • The side-bar - Summarize your best product / service benefits in a stand-alone list. See an example.
  • Underlined and bolded text - To make specific statements within your text jump out as the reader is skimming along, underline or bold the words. See an example.
  • Headers - If there's a lot of text, consider using headers to break it into easily digestible bits. See an example.
  • The stand-alone paragraph - Your high-school English teacher may not be a fan of the technique, but a short, one-sentence paragraph is a great way to emphasize one (maybe two) of your most compelling arguments. See an example.
  • The post script (or "P.S.") - Even though it's at the very end of the letter, a good P.S. can attract a lot of attention. See an example.

Don't overdo it

Each of these techniques has its place, but you don't want to overuse them - and you certainly don't want to use them all in the same marketing effort. Think of them as fashion accessories: Adding a few looks great; but incorporating more than that may earn you a spot on someone's worst-dressed list.

 

Your Secret Marketing Weapon: Handwritten Notes

In this age of digital communications and speedy everything, why in the world would you write a handwritten note to a prospect or customer (and then send it via snail mail)? Well, short of scheduling a face-to-face meeting with the person, there's no better way to show your respect and appreciation.

The right time to write

Handwritten notes are never going to replace corporate correspondence. But at times like these, there's often nothing better:

  • When you want to say thank you (for a big sale, for a referral, for a recommendation, for being a loyal customer).
  • When you're trying to win a new account / customer (i.e. "I very much enjoyed our meeting yesterday. Should we earn your business, I can guarantee...").
  • When your company messes up (often, a handwritten note is just the thing to keep a mistake from turning into a lost customer or a messy legal issue).
  • When you want to network (i.e. "I enjoyed our conversation at the PRSA meeting last week and would welcome the opportunity to sit down and talk with you more about your company's fitness goals and how our facility might be able to help").
  • When you want to prove you're the consummate professional (i.e. "I'm sorry to hear you chose another agent to list your home, but I very much appreciate the opportunity to provide a proposal. I also want you to know that, should you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to offer advice").

The formula for success

  • Resist the urge to really hype your products or services. This is a unique opportunity to show you care (which, today, is often the most alluring sales technique of all).
  • Don't fret about your handwriting. Write slowly; or print if that looks better. People will be so thrilled to see you personally wrote, they'll be more than willing to overlook any penmanship problems.
  • Keep it short, but sweet. You don't want to be curt, but do try to limit your notes to just three to five sentences.
  • Use a conversational writing style. In other words, pretend you're writing a note to a friend, not a cover letter to a prospective employer.
  • Add a little something extra to the envelope. While it may be fine to include a business card, think about adding something even friendlier (like a special "President's Pass" discount card, or a paper bookmark with your favorite quote).
  • Try to write one per day. If you write notes in bulk, they'll come across as staid and forced. But take 10 minutes every workday to write just one or two truly heartfelt notes, and the recipients will never forget it (or you).

Handwritten notes are classy, unique and memorable. Plus, you'll find the more notes you send, the more you receive in return (together with appreciative phone calls, gifts and good wishes).

 

Ever Considered Writing Your Own Column?

Writing a regular column for a community-based newspaper or highly targeted website is a great way to develop name recognition and build credibility. What's more, it saves selling time: You get to strut your knowledge and expertise in front of a target audience of hundreds (maybe thousands) without ever having to actually set foot in front of them.

What's required

Believe it or not, you don't have to be a great writer to be a successful columnist. Good, solid writing skills will do just fine. Editors are more interested in your ideas and industry expertise than your ability to string prose into profound statements.

However, writing a column will eat up a good chunk of your time. Expect to spend at least four hours researching and writing each column. And you'll have to be timely. Editors will expect you to think of story ideas and deliver the finished column on-deadline (there are no excuses for being late in the news world).

Who's interested

Begin by selecting some potential publications. Your best bets include:

  • Arts and entertainment newspapers - These are weekly publications that include news commentary, columnists and listings of local happenings.
  • Community newspapers - Published once or twice a week, these periodicals specialize in reporting the happenings in select neighborhoods.
  • Association publications - Typically published monthly, these periodicals are targeted to the members of industry associations.
  • Online versions of the above - Don't get all dejected if you don't see many columnist opportunities in printed publications. The online versions often feature far more content and writing opportunities.
  • Community-focused websites - This category includes small websites dedicated to select communities, as well as big websites (like Yahoo) that feature community-focused sections.

Why go begging to periodicals when you could just start your own blog? When you write for an existing publication, it comes with an existing group of readers - and readers are the most difficult thing for any writer to find.

Making your pitch

In the news world, proposing a story (or column) idea is called "pitching." The letter outlining your proposal is called a "pitch letter."

Once you've targeted a publication or two, familiarize yourself with the content before making contact. Read at least eight past issues to get a feel for the kind of subjects it typically covers, the writing style it tends to use, the community it focuses on and more. There's nothing editors hate more than people pitching story and column ideas that are completely foreign to its usual fare.

All editors care about is satisfying the desires of their reader, so that's what you want to emphasize in your pitch letter. Every publication has a primary target demographic. Your job is to figure out what that demographic is (by studying past stories and ads), then make those people the focus of your column idea.

Your first contact should be with an editor (usually the managing editor), not a reporter or other columnist. It should be in writing (rather than a phone call). And it should include the following:

  • A one-page pitch letter introducing yourself and outlining your column idea.
  • A sample column or two (pretend you're writing your first columns for the publication).
  • Your resume (not necessary but very helpful).

If you don't receive a response within a week, follow-up by phone. (It's considered bad form to pitch your idea to more than one person at the same publication at the same time.)

Writing like a columnist

  • Identifying topics - In the beginning, you may wonder how you'll ever find time to write about all the column topics swirling in your head. As time goes on, however, you'll probably find yourself grasping for something - anything! - to write about. To avoid dry spells, become an avid reader of other columnists, hone your research skills, and keep tabs on new trends.
  • Adding perspective - As a columnist, you're not reporting the news, you're commenting on it. So while your column ideas may originate from news stories and other columnists, it's what you do with those ideas that matters. Be honest about your feelings and giving with your opinions.
  • Writing quickly - The first thing you want to do when writing a column is get something down on paper - either the basic facts from your research or some gut reactions to a topic. Just get something on the paper. Then start arranging those chunks of text into an order that makes sense. Finally, start flushing out the ideas, developing new ideas and creating transitions from one topic to the other.
  • Editing your work - Any professional writer who's honest will tell you that their first draft is almost always an embarrassment. It's only after editing, editing, and editing more that something presentable starts to take shape. For the best results, allow each draft to sit for a day between edits (when you return to it, you'll discover a whole new perspective).

Exemplary examples

  • "On the Home Front" - Linda Skolnick (a real estate agent in the Westport-Weston area of Connecticut) has been writing this bi-monthly column for her local paper, the Westport News, for a few years now. And some would say it's one of the reasons why she's consistently ranked the top-producing agent at Westport's highest-grossing sales office.
  • "Nickie Fitness" - Nicole Glor is a personal trainer in New York city who created a workout program specifically for military wives. To promote it, she writes a column called Nickie Fitness for the Web site military.com.
  • The National Society of Newspaper Columnists - The NSNC is home to hundreds of amateur and professional columnists. To see a sampling of the columns they write - and the kind of publications that accept them - visit the Links page at columnists.com.

Additional benefits

Most business people who write columns to promote their products and services soon discover the extra effort required is accompanied by an array of extra benefits, as well:

  • The research you do for your columns will undoubtedly make you a better manager of your business (and a better informed resource for your customers).
  • Becoming a columnist will allow you to network with other columnists - valuable relationships you can use to increase your knowledge base and gain industry-wide recognition.
  • The feedback from readers will provide you with rare insights into the true wants and needs of your target market.

People often think of columnists as ideologues providing some sort of public service. But for most of the business people who do it, writing a column is really just a savvy strategy for improving the bottom line.