1. Pull it all together
2. Update the company brochure
3. Regularly update the company web site
4. Agree and release press releases and articles
5. Organise product, people and client photo shoots
6. Produce emails, letters, advertising

and other marketing stuff, not least of which was having the time to update any of the social media sites.

What’s more he hadn’t got the time to bring someone in occasionally and ask them to do some web site copy, or the brochure or emails or anything else.

He couldn’t afford someone full-time and yet he knew he needed to do the marketing. The problem being that if he brought someone in they were only used occasionally and never really got to know his business.

You could tell he was immensely frustrated.

The frustrations mounted, even while getting business

And as he said it wasn’t all about buying a web site, yes he might get some people buying through it.

It wasn’t about tweeting the latest offers, although he was sure he’d get some business.

What it was all about was being able to integrate the lot into a more powerful way of using all the bits and bobs he had.

That meant every piece of marketing supported every other piece of marketing.

Dealing with the right avenues of marketing at the right time was frustrating

It was so that rather than having to deal with all the different marketing related companies such as a PR company, an advertising agency, a marketing company, a printing company, a social media agency, a graphic design company and Uncle Tom Cobbley he could just tell someone his vision of where he wanted to be with marketing and leave it to that one person to pull it all together. They would deal with the PR company, advertising agency, and everyone else whilst maintaining his strategic view of the company direction and marketing thrust.

In a large company that would be the sales and marketing director, or other such person. In the smaller companies (his turnover is about £1 to £2 million) they don’t exist and they wouldn’t even be affordable.

Marketing headache relief

And the solution as he saw it was to employ someone on a part-time basis who’d had marketing experience from social media to marketing strategy and had the ability to manage outside agencies and the ability to write web copy as well as direct mail.

A tall order we both agreed. Until it slowly dawned on both of us that I was that person!

So the new marketing action man is your truly!

So what now?

Luckily I already know his business so I can be productive from day one. First task is to see about an ecommerce site, where I’ll also ensure that the marketing elements we need are included at the design stage rather than an add-on after the fact.

What next?

I thought it was such a good idea that I want to offer it to other businesses who don’t want to pay the significant sums such as person would want if working full-time.

So if you’re interested in having an ex-programme director/marketing strategist/direct mail and email copywriter/blog writer and WordPress blog builder coordinating and implementing the marketing you want email me on marketing at acornservice.com

It could be a lot of fun and very profitable for both of us!

I’m going to pick on two and debunk them. If you want you can debunk your favourite marketing myths in the comments.

"Referrals Are The Best Source Of Customers"

It’s true that referrals are a great source of customers. And there’s no doubt that they are more loyal and less price sensitive than those who haven’t been referred.

Unfortunately some businesses take this to mean that they only need to use referrals to get customers.

Even if you have a well developed referral process (you have haven’t you?) a time may come when referrals dry up. It may be for a week, or a month or a few months.

What if the referrer you rely on goes bust? What if they start referring to a rival?

What happens then? Do your sales dry up?

And if referrals dry up they’re not the best source of customers anymore.

And that risk remains when you rely on just one way of getting customers.

To reduce that risk every business needs different ways to get customers. That means if referrals dry up for a while the business is not exposed to a sudden loss of income.

"It’s Not What Your Copy Says, But How You Say It"

The myth is that people are swayed by the way a message is delivered. Certainly delivering a message in an usual way, or with a flourish will get it picked out from the crowd.

However, if you don’t follow-up with something that your victim thinks is worth reading they’re going to bin your letter or click off your site quicker than you can say boo to any passing geese.

And that includes graphics. Yes I know all about the misquoted "a picture is worth a 1,000 words." That phrase  is believed to be made up by Fred R. Barnard rather than Confucius and its literal translation is  " A Picture’s Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words." Which doesn’t mean a picture should replace 10,000 words. Although I think sometimes I’d prefer it!

Think about that old-fashioned article the newspaper. You probably see the photograph first on the front page but you’re most likely to check the headline before deciding whether it’s worth reading. Lose people’s interest with the headline and they’ll flick to the next page, or maybe not even buy the paper in the first place.

Anyway, the point is that while how you say something is obviously important, what you  say is vital.

On the popular GrokDotCom they’ve commented on a piece of research that shows e-commerce is still too complicated. Not just for the over 65′s but for everyone pretty much equally.

If it’s too complicated people will leave the site rather than confuse their brain cells further.

So in the interests of improving web sites sales here’s a few thoughts:

1. Above all do not make the customer click through page after page to make a purchase
2. Have a facility that remembers customer data in case they abandon the page so you can email them and ask if they’d like to continue
3. Make the sales page clear, straight forward and leading directly to the sale, don’t deviate
4. Put in some testimonials but don’t make them half a page long, make them short, to the point and, if possible numerical focused
5. Always get hold of customer email and name so you can add to your prospect/customer list
6. Provide a nice gift for prospects signing up to your list
7. Don’t write vast amounts of verbiage – maybe I’m guilty here
8. Educate your prospect
9. Don’t let images dominate the objective of the page you’re creating
10. Use landing pages for campaigns so when people arrive at your site they know they’ve come to the right place

They’re just a few points to bear in mind as you go through designing and adding content to your web site and blog.

Remember the world and his wife have got web sites. And you can bet that if they’re in business in your industry and trying for your customers they’ll say the same as you.

So make sure you’re different. Look at their web sites and blogs. How can you be different to them?

Have you got any points you’d add to the list?

The Internet hasn’t fundamentally changed the approach copywriters take to producing web copy compared to a printed sales letter or brochure.

Obviously if someone with a talent for words writes using the formula they’ll be more successful than someone who is unable to bend words in quite the same magical way.

There are probably as many formulas as there are copywriters, but the most famous formula has to be the acronym “AIDA.” Which as any student of marketing can instantly tell you stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.

AIDA

For writing good copy AIDA is used as follows:

Write by gaining Attention with a headline. After all if your headline doesn’t make your reader pay attention they wont read what you’ve written and ultimately wont benefit from what you’re selling.

Then make sure you rouse their Interest by giving them the biggest benefit first. Don’t lead up to it, because if they’re not impressed with the first few weaker benefits they could stop reading before they get to your biggest one and you’ve lost the sale.

Increase their Desire to own what you’re selling by explaining the result they get, the way their life and the lives of their family will be immensely enriched and how it will protect them, their health, their wealth, their job, their business and their family.

Finally, Ask them to take Action and call your special number, or fax the order form back, or go to a web site to order, or take a coupon into a shop or email for a free report.

The Robert Collier Copywriting formula

Robert Collier’s formula starts with the same Attention and Interest and then asks the copywriter for the Description of the product or service.

The next step in Collier’s formula is to Persuade the prospect to experience your service or product, with a demonstration, a sample or not asking for money up front.

The next step is to provide Proof which means that you give the prospect quotes from others about the product, or glowing believable testimonials, research reports and results, measurements compared to competitors, measurements against the alternative of doing nothing.

And finally the Close where the copywriter urges the prospect to take action, to buy now by lifting the phone, or emailing the order, or faxing, or walking to the shops or filling out the coupon in a newspaper or magazine.

As I say there are many, many other formulae used by top copywriters. If I get enough interest I’ll go through those too.

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And although Gary is a king amongst copywriters it would be wrong to assume that his bullets (or posts, or articles) are simply aimed at copywriters.

That’s completely wrong, because he hits the mark for business people all over. For example his latest bullet reveals the crucial tool that every single business person would give the earth to possess in abundance: the ability to persuade.

His most recent bullet explains exactly how you can become much more persuasive and go from the ugly duckling small company entrepreneur to the majestic swan profitable and smooth running company we all aspire to.

Check out his latest Bencivenga bullet now. Then come back and tell me what you think of it.

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As Wheeler says ” the underlying philosophy of this book: that single sentences can be so constructed as to make a majority of people buy.”

When you read it you can certainly see exactly what he means. He goes from selling any and all of:

• vacuum cleaners
• clothe pegs
• restaurant desserts
• Getting a job
• Oil

You’ll have to forgive me as it’s difficult to be even handed about this when Wheeler has written such a practical, useful and profit inducing book for almost any business owner.

This book along with those by Claude Hopkins, David Ogilvy and others really set the approach to marketing and sales.

The reason? As Wheeler says human psychology never changes.

Remember the phrase “Sell the sizzle not the steak?” that comes from the title of Wheelers first chapter – “Don’t Sell The Steak – Sell the Sizzle!”

This is the first of 5 Wheelerpoints. Each one building on the first to produce near unstoppable sales approaches.

The other 5 Wheelerpoints are

1. Don’t Sell the Steak – Sell the Sizzle!
2. “Don’t Write – Telegraph.”
3. “Say It with Flowers.”
4. Don’t Ask If – Ask Which?
5. Watch Your Bark!

Wheeler also notes a number of modern phrases that have completely outlived their usefulness in selling situations. Do you think everyone knows them? Given the sales people who ring me I suspect not…

And as he says the “Tested Sentences That Sell” are not canned sales pitches. They’re planned and are made up of several components that work together to get the sale.

This book is written with the businessperson in mind. It helps you construct “Tested Sentences That Sell” by giving you lots of worked examples.

This is a book that repays getting and reading and re-reading.

I did find things I already knew in the book but they were more than compensated by the useful things I discovered, such as “say it with flowers”. I also found the reasons why certain things work and why others just completely fail miserably now. Using the principles clearly laid out you could confidently construct your own “Tested Sentences That Sell” and start converting more prospects. Although it’s an old book you can still buy it now at Tested Sentences That Sell.

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I mean the copy is beautiful because it works.

I was reading the 11 free issues of his ezine from his Marketing Rebel site and after each issue I read I kept getting the urge to sign up for his yearly subscription.

And that’s all copywriting is there to do – get sales.

Look at John’s site, his blog and the free ezine issues and you’ll get some ideas for writing your own copy.

Of course you could get John to write a sales letter for you. After all the costs only start from $20,000 plus 5% gross.

To get great copy pick up the phone and call me now on 0161 278 1919.