Hiding in the corners beneath the bold headlines, under the compelling benefit statements, and around the action-packed verbs are bountiful opportunities to inject your brand with personality. A recent trend is “nooks & crannies copy” as I’m calling it, because it often pops up in unexpected places. Here are three examples:

1. Yahoo Chat

While it may be difficult to see in this picture, Yahoo has brilliantly introduced humor into their chat feature. Between the conversation above and the text box below is the status report indicating if the other person is typing a message. However, instead of a plain and boring “Apple123 is typing a message….”, yahoo has sprinkled clever anecdotes such as:

• Apple123 really should learn to type with more than two fingers…
• STAND BY FOR A MESSAGE FROM APPLE123
• Apple123 is about to drop knowledge…
• Apple123 is hammering out a wicked comeback…
• Bate your breath, Apple123 is typing…

among a plethora of others.

While not directly selling anything, introducing conversational wit in this unexpected place allows Yahoo! to showcase their brand’s personality. It gives the user the impression that Yahoo! is a fun, easy to work with company that doesn’t take itself to seriously.

2. Verizon Wireless

Located directly before a purchasing decision, this otherwise overlooked loading page has been transformed into a mini flash ad that reinforces the product’s effectiveness right before the sale. The ad shows an animated film strip loaded with a series of technological leaps. The last one, “From Dial Up…To High Speed Internet” subtly suggests “You wouldn’t live in a cave, would you? Then why on earth would you have dial up?” An effective suggestion, I would imagine.

3. You Need a Budget (YNAB)

Jesse Mecham, the developer of YNAB, tells the story of how he and is wife needed a personal budgeting system. They developed a simple excel spreadsheet that over the years has developed into a sophisticated yet user-friendly budgeting tool. While the site has been dramatically improved on the design side, Jesse still maintains the heartfelt honesty in his conversational copy, as evidenced by the “Download Update” screen for his product. He is an accountant, and occasionally a grammatical error will pop up in his copy, but it doesn’t seem to matter when it comes to the bottom line. His conversational style is obviously effective due to the growth and endorsements of YNAB.

Related Links

Three Tips to Make Your Copy Conversational - by Mila Sidman

How to Make the Online Sales Copy for Your Website More Conversational - by Evelyn Lim

The Right Way to Write Sales Copy - by Anthony Vicenza

OK, I admit it – I’m a karaoke junkie. My friends and I go every week. I have a standard set of songs I sing – because I’ve practiced them so often I could sing them in my sleep. I don’t have to worry about going out on a limb – I’ll sound good as long as I stick to what I know.

Last night after singing “Moondance” for about the 98th time the DJ kept me up on stage. “A gentleman has requested Andrea sing ‘Fever’ so we’re gonna keep her up here for one more song.”

What!? I thought, “I haven’t practiced this song. What if I fail? What if I sound terrible in front of this room full of people? No way – I just can’t do this.”

It took some persuading, but I eventually agreed to sing the song. I stood on stage praying that I wouldn’t mess up.

The comfortable feeling I had during the last song apparently decided to go outside and have a cigarette. I held the microphone in my slightly shaking hand when the seductive beat began. I swayed my hips at each pluck of the bass and started to find my grove.

Then a miracle happened (ok, maybe not a miracle – but something pretty cool). I started singing and I was good – damn good. So good I got a standing ovation.

Strutting back to my seat I reflected on what had just happened. Because I had something that worked, there was little incentive for me to go outside of my comfort zone. But because I didn’t take the risk, I missed out on an even better opportunity.

Marketing strategies can fall into the same routine. Year after year companies stick with “what works” because they fear the unknown.

Trying something new is risky. There’s a chance you’ll fail – but there’s also the chance that you’ll have overwhelming success. And if you’re missing out on a standing ovation – doesn’t that make staying comfortable the really risky choice?

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com

The blessing and curse of a great idea is it catches on. People duplicate it, put their own spin on it and improve it. If you originate a great idea you must work harder than everyone else to stay in the forefront – lest you become a commodity.

All commodities and ubiquitous products/services were once niches…until everyone else caught on.

Mrs. Mogul posts on the following stores that went out of business in what she thinks is due to their poor naming.

Candle Store – The Almost Edible Candle Gourmet Shop

Ice Cream Store – The Marble Slab

Pet Store – Doggy Style

Your business name is the most critical piece of your branding. How do you know if your clever name will be worthless or a winner?

Try test marketing with these short questions (with strangers for best results).

1. What images does this name make you think of?

2. What feeling does this name give you?

3. If you purchased something from this store, who would it be for?

4. What product/service do you think this company offers?

5. What if I told you this company sold _________? What do you think now?

An effective brand is congruent with the company purpose. If you find the answers to these questions out of whack, revise your name until it’s right. There’s a lot at stake – so it’s worth the investment.

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com

Fellow blogger Fred Sarkari posted a true-to-life tale of a mistake that I know all of us have made at one point or another – double booking appointments. To read the full story click here.

Fred’s reaction to his mistake and the choice to be upfront, honest, and genuine is one we can all take a lesson from. We will make mistakes – there’s no question about that. The question becomes how do you handle your mistakes?

Do you hide, lie, and cheat? Because if you do – you are making a bad name for all of us who believe in selling with integrity. In addition, unethical sales is hard work – remember Quintillian’s quote, “a liar should have a good memory.” You are actually creating more work for yourself – and you’re busy already, so why would you choose to do that?

Instead, let’s dare to be honest. Let’s follow Fred’s example and reap the rewards of better clients, more referrals, and a cleaner conscience.

Kudos!

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit www.writeideasmarketing.com.

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Yesterday I came home, checked my mail and was jazzed to see my March copy of Inc. Magazine in the mailbox. On the last page was the section of The Office by Leigh Buchanan where she expressed her extreme displeasure in the use of emoticons in business correspondence.

I’m guessing that my March issue is so hot-off-the-press and that’s why I have yet to find the link to the article from Inc’s website. Once it’s up, I’ll link it here.

So what is the role of emoticons? I agree, in a business correspondence it’s an understudy at best. Yet, I find that in the absence of any other form of expression with someone who you have had a long standing relationship with, a simple smiley can be good.

I’m thinking specifically of a client that I’ve had for about 6 months. We are in completely different time zones – she’s in California, I’m on the East Coast near Washington DC. 99% of our correspondence is via e-mail. When I submit an idea, her emoticon at the end of the “looks great” makes a big difference. It actually reminds me that I am dealing with a human who has feelings and it helps me picture her on the other end of cyberspace and the emotions she’s expressing. To me, this is important, because I can gauge whether or not a project is on the right track.

Ms. Buchanan also suggests the complete eradication of emoticons – and puts the idea to her readers that they replace the simple with a long, drawn-out description such as:

“Picture if you will a colon: one tiny, perfect dot poised above its brother. Now imagine that colon transformed into a pair of eyes, bright and sparkling with mischief. From between those dots extends a hyphen. Yet screw up your eyes and…do you see it? A nose! Yes, a nose! Patrician in its straightness it dips toward the generous curve of a closing parenthesis. That parenthesis is a mouth, corners up-tilted in mirth. Viewed in a sum, these marks compose a face whose expression of gentle amusement suggests the good humor intended in the previous remark”

Are you serious!?

I’m all for literary masterpieces, yet if you don’t have time for a how the heck do you have time for THAT?

I find this as a classic symptom of the literary superiority syndrome. There are just some cases where a simple graphic can capture the feelings that are too complex for words (remember “a picture is worth a thousand words”) Finding the balance between graphics and words is the real aim of the game.

I wonder if people had the same reaction when contractions entered the picture? I think emoticons will eventually fall into the same category as don’t, won’t, etc.

You won’t use them in business correspondence, but they do have their place.

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com

Scott Lundergan left a comment on my recent blog post 101 Ways to Market Your Small Business that addresses a key point to my philosophy.

Andrea,

Great article. With alot of the successful e-commerce businesses I have partnerships and relationships with, much of their success was built around branding and trust, rather than “hard selling”, which is similar to what you mentioned when people look at sales from an outside point of view in the beginning of your article. Like so much of your article and tips mention about providing value and building trust to consumers with great content and what customers are looking for, sales shouldn’t have the mistrusted ways it had just years ago.

More and more businesses are starting to really understand that in today’s e-commerce world where customer attention span really needs to be “grabbed and maintained”!

Great post Andrea!

All the best,

Scott Lundergan

I couldn’t agree more. The way I see it, our goal as marketers is to find those people who would really benefit from the product or service that we have. With that frame of reference, we’re not manipulating people – we’re helping people.

Don’t believe me? Think of the last time you found a product that really solved your needs. Maybe you even exclaimed it, “Wow! I’m so glad that I found this!”

I know recently I had a similar experience. I’ve always had a difficult time finding jeans that fit (like most women). A friend told me about zafu.com where you answer a few questions and they search for the brand of jeans that is most likely to fit you best. Then I went to the store and for the first time in my life tried on a pair of jeans that really fit. Lifelong problem – solved.

Now, because zafu.com happened to make a profit from the advertising on their site, does that make them manipulative? I think not. As long as your product or service offers a genuine value your mission should be to help as many people as possible.

Thanks, Scott for your comment. It’s always an adventure to hear other people’s opinions about sales and marketing.

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com

Are you a small business, consultant or entrepreneur? Looking for ways to market your services to bring in more sales?

I don’t need to tell you that a big reason 8 out of 10 US businesses fail is because they don’t have sufficient sales to sustain their business – I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times.

However, if you’re like most entrepreneurs the thought of “selling” makes your stomach churn. When we do a word association with “salesperson”, most of my clients say things like “sleazy”, “untrustworthy”, “pushy” or “unethical.”

In fact, a recent Gallup Poll indicates that sales people really do have a bad rap – with sales/marketing being 3 out of the 4 least trusted professions.

So you NEED to sell and you don’t want to be a salesperson. Easy enough.

Here are 101 ideas that you can use to market your small business without becoming “salesy”

1. What makes you better than your competition? Click here for a great post about PODs (Point of Distinctions)

2. Become the character of your customers and start writing like they’re really thinking. What do they look like, act like, sound like, even smell like? What is important to them? Try using some of their slang – a great book for that is Slang by Paul Dickson.

3. Blog. Click here for a 101 list on how

4. Send thank you letters to new people you meet. Mention a snippet from your conversation. If you really want to stand out – hand-write them.

5. Join networking groups - Chambers of Commerce, BNI, Industry Associations and attend their events

6. Show passion – there’s an old adage “people buy from people they like.” Let it show that you really love what you do.

7. Get a system to organize your clients - personally, I like using
ACT! 2005

8. Keep meticulous notes on your prospects and clients likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. and send relevant articles (“I saw this and thought of you. Hope you’re having a wonderful day!”)

8. Turn “cold calls” into “warm calls.” Find a connection between you and the other person and lead with that. “Hi Mr. Smith, I noticed you’re a member of the Chamber of Commerce too. Want to meet for coffee? I think we could refer a lot of business to each other.”

9. Read anything about your industry – blogs, books, newspapers, magazines and use current issues when you talk to clients. (“I know what you mean – I read an article about that just the other day!”)

10. Change your voicemail to illustrate your POD (point of distinction).

11. Change your voicemail to say links to your website and blog

12. Speak in public at Chamber events, associations, networking groups, etc. Nervous getting up in front of people? Hire a coach. Looking for resources? go to www.speakernetnews.com.

13. Have a message that interrupts – you have less than 2 seconds to get people to say either “I want to learn more” or “NEXT!”

14. Cut the B.S. out of your Marketing Material. Click here for one of my blogs about this.

15. Smile – even when you’re on the phone. Believe it or not, it changes the sound of your voice.

16. Change “I” language to “you” language - what is your client going to get from doing business with you?

17. When there is a problem you can expect word of mouth activity. If you handle the problem quickly and exceed your client’s expectations – you’ll get great word of mouth. On the other hand, if you don’t empathize and adhere to “policy” your customers will leave and tell 10 people. (Think about the last time you had bad service in a restaurant)

18. Have a system for feedback and respond to client’s requests

19. Don’t over-promise, over-deliver

20. Dress for the clients you want.

21. Be unexpected, yet relevant.

22. Respond quickly to voice-mails and emails - within 24 hours. Show your prospects and clients you’re not too busy.

23. Reward your current clients for their referrals. Could you send a gift card? Thank you note? Discount on next purchase?

24. Be upfront and honest. People can tell when they’re being swindled.

25. Avoid using industry jargon and acronyms

26. Be consistent. A marketing campaign is like a gym membership. It doens’t do any good unless you use it regularly.

27. Value pricing ($2000 for this, this, this and this) is easier to market than hourly. Alan Weiss wrote the book on this topic.

28. Don’t oversell, over-educate

29. Brainstorm first – polish later

30. There are no bad ideas when brainstorming

31. Use focus groups. Limited resources? Use your own network and get gut reactions.

32. Your first instinct is usually right – learn to listen to your gut.

33. ROI, ROI, ROI!!!! What time/money will you be spending? Is it worth it?

34. As in financial investing – a diversified campaign will be best in the long run.

35. Be prepared for your “best case scenario.” Do you have the ability to grow quickly to respond to customer demands?

36. PR is cheaper than advertising- write several articles and submit them to papers, magazines, and even websites to help get your name out there (you may want to try publicrelationssoftware.com – there is a fee for this service.)

37. You’ve heard the cliche – “Everything to everyone is nothing to no one.” Pick a niche and focus there.

38. Perception = Reality – What people perceive of you is what they will think of you.

39. Value – Price Ratio – Find the balance between your quality and price. Some people shop at Neiman Marcus, others at Wal-Mart and it’s for very different reasons.

40. People love quizzes – take a lesson from Cosmo and make a short simple quiz for your business.

41. A great plan is no match for poor execution

42. Have a “elevator pitch”

43. Could you give back to your community by offering a gift certificate, discount or product to a fundraiser or event?

44. Read SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham and use the Field Guide

45. When meeting new people – ask questions about them. Listen 80% and talk 20% of the time.

46. Branding is more than a logo – it’s everything your customer does to make a perception.

47. Looking for a logo? Try using elogodesign.com

48. Seize the opportunity for free training and continuing education (i.e. conventions and conferences)- use it as a networking event.

49. Need a good graphic artist, writer, web tech, or consultant? Check out www.elance.com

50. Write a book showcasing your expertise. www.lulu.com has great resources so you can self-publish.

51. Have an action step. Do you want people to call you? visit your website? send to a friend? Tell people what you want them to do with your marketing.

52. Learn the “hot buttons” your client has. What problems does your product/service solve?

53. Spell-check.

54. Read your material backwards to help catch any errors. A friend of mine once sent out an email to the top dogs in her firm with the subject “XYZ company goes PUBIC” – don’t let this happen to you.

55. Remove the “fluff” - learn to be concise.

56. Format for easy scanning- use bullets, lists, graphics to help keep people reading.

57. Keep sales letters to one page front only.

58. Use catchy headlines to get people intrigued and saying “tell me more.” Want to learn how to create a catchy headline? Read POP! Stand Out in any Crowd by Sam Horn

59. Know your competition - what are they doing? How are they pricing things? If they set up a successful marketing campaign how would that would impact you?

60. Think about your legal implications. Be cautious not to break trademark or copyright laws. Questions? Ask a lawyer. Need a lawyer? Try www.lawyers.com

61. Timing is everything – does your campaign need to be sent out at a particular time of year? Example – which CPA’ s “I’ll help you with your taxes” campaign is more likely to get a better response? The one sent March 1st or the one sent May 1st?

62. Start keeping a file of ads that jumped out at you. Why did they do that? How can you do the same?

63. Frequency is generally more important than a pop-shot. Yes, I know – there are always exceptions to the rule – like GoDaddy.com. For a small business – just keep it frequent.

64. Imagine your sales is fruit on a tree – you need to pick it at the right time. To early – no one will eat it. Leave it on too long and it will rot (or someone else will pick it).

65. Speak in benefits not features. A feature is what your product/service does or has (example: our cars have seat-belts). A benefit is what your features actually do for your clients (example: our seat-belts can help save your life)

66. Use “action” words (verbs) first in a bulleted list. (Some examples: Impact, Enhance, Become)

67. Do you think questions will help your marketing? You bet they will!

68. Anticipate objections - think of every single reason that someone wouldn’t want to buy your product/service and have a prepared response.

69. If you don’t know the answer to a question – it’s OK! Say, “That’s a great question – I’ll research it and get the answer by the end of the day.” Then research it and get back to them by the end of the day.

70. Could you benefit from new web-tools? I know a local restaurant that wanted to promote their new networking night for young professionals. They packed the house by using myspace.com.

71. Craigslist.com is a great place to post a special event, job opening, etc. - and its FREE!

72. Check out meetup.com to see if there are any local groups in your area that you could market to. Could you offer a special discount, place to meet or donate supplies? I’m a member of a pug meetup – a bakery came to our meetup with free homemade dog treats and left with lots of new clients.

73. How are you sending your direct mail? Is a plain white envelope a barrier to entry? Check out www.overnightprints.com for low-cost, glossy, card-stock postcards. Or try something completely different and use a mailtube.

73. Is your business card effective? Would changing it to bright colors, a different material or a new shape spark conversation?

74. What about promotional products? If you sell candles, would a nice lighter with your logo be a nice gift to hand out with every purchase?

75. Could you start a mastermind group? Would you benefit from having a group of people you trust to bounce ideas off of?

76. Are you using referral partners? If you have a company that cleans carpets, are you spending your time and effort meeting with real estate agents to get them to refer your services?

77. Is your website Search Engine Optimized? When people type your product or service in Google, where does your company come in?

78. What other products/services complement yours? If you had a company that sold peanut butter, and your friend had a company that sold jelly – could you create a joint marketing effort promoting both of your businesses at the same time?

79. Looking for a way to test market a slogan with real people? Go to www.vistaprint.com and get a free business card (you won’t be able to upload your graphic or anything, but hey, it’s free) and order one with the tagline you want to use. Show it to people at networking events and see what they think.

80. Start looking at customers who complain in a different way. They care enough about your company to tell you exactly what you need to do better! Over-deliver by not only fixing the problem, but rewarding their feedback (thank you note, gift card, etc.)

81. How are you using trade shows? Could this be a great way to test market new ideas with people you’ve never met? Could you get market research by offering a door prize for filling out a questionnaire?

82. PPPP – Product, Price, Place (Distribution Method) and Promotion must all be in alignment.

83. If you gave away something as a bonus (think, “but wait, there’s more!”) would this be more effective than giving a discount?

84. Would imagery help your campaign? Remember the commercial: This is your brain (shows an egg) – This is your brain on drugs (egg cracked in the frying pan)

85. Could you use Youtube.com as a way to build buzz? Keep in mind, your video needs to be funny for this to work. Think covert instead of overt.

86. If you “don’t have time to market” make time by outsourcing non-revenue generating activities (ex: bookkeeping, payroll, accounting, HR, etc.)

87. Make your website more interactive. Do you have articles, resources, etc. that you could share? How often is it updated?

88. Could you use teleseminars, podcasts and webinars to help promote your services?

89. Send out an e-zine at least once a month. Again – consistency is best. Pick a schedule and stick to it. I like mailchimp.com – it’s packed with resources on creating a great email campaign.

90. Use lots and lots and lots of testimonials – it boosts your credibility. Need to get testimonials? Ask your current clients.

91. Check out the American Marketing Association for tools, webinars, and resources.

92. Perform a SWOT analysis - What are your company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats? (strengths and weaknesses are internal while opportunities and threats are external)

92. Do a situation analysis. Discuss the 4P’s (Product, Place, Price & Promotion), your target market, your competition, environmental factors (both internal and external things that are out of your control) and do a SWOT analysis.

93. Develop a marketing plan. Looking at your situation analysis – this is where you are. Where do you want to be and how are you going to get there?

94. Take a course to help you understand marketing. Marketing 101 at your local community college? A teleseminar from AMA? or a course from www.freeinternetmarketingcourses.com

95. Understand the difference between advertising, marketing and sales. One way to think of it is – advertising is the pick-up line, marketing is dating, and the sale is the marriage.

96. Use metaphors - turn abstract thoughts into stories that help people “get it.”

97. Associate with something people already know – a book, movie, cliche. Click here for a blog post about this.

98. Say “thank you” to your clients often. Show them your appreciation.

99. Use words in a new way. A nutritionist sent a follow-up post card saying “Now that you’ve had time to marinate with your new healthy-living lifestyle.” Are there industry words you could use in a new way?

100. Write a 101 list

101. Have fun building your business. Marketing is a great way to be creative and think out of the box. Enjoy it!

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com

CNNmoney.com has put out a list of the “101 Dumbest Moments in Business” with a section devoted to “Misadventures in Marketing.”

Here’s an example of a mishap you can easily avoid – just use spell check (especially if your topic is spelling).

“Dam thatt spel-cheker, part won…

British multimedia publisher DDS Media is forced to scrap 10,000 copies of TV anchor Eamonn Holmes’s spelling game after it misspells Holmes’s name on the DVD.”

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Andrea Morris is a marketing coach who specializes in helping visionaries, entrepreneurs, consultants and small businesses use high-ROI strategies to get the right message to the right people. For more information, please visit writeideasmarketing.com