Most Business Owners are Not Copywriters – But We Are

A website, a blog, and social media pages – you need them all, if you are going to be competitive. Why? Because, this is a digital world, and when your potential customers search for products and services, they do it online.

What’s more, all of the content on these pages of yours has to be amazing. Why? Because consumers want to be informed about you and your products or services in cool ways. They don’t want to read a lot of boring text on their mobile phones or tablets. You have to think of every piece of content you put out there as a form of marketing, even though it may not “look” like it.

No More Selling

Gone are the days of what we call “hard selling” – aggressively presenting products or services to customers and hoping we can convince them to buy. It still occurs in some face-to-face situations, but it is on it last breath.  And it certainly doesn’t happen online anymore.

Instead, consumers want to understand the value of what you have, how it can make their lives better; they want stories; and they love to be entertained, educated, or inspired while you are presenting all of this to them.

No Walls of Text

Think about the websites you really like. There may be written explanations of products or services, but they are engaging and short. There are a lot of visuals; often, there’s a short video. There are pictures of products with snappy, creative descriptions. All of this engages you and you want to navigate through the pages to see what more is there.

If you want an example of a website that does this right, check out Dollar Shave Club or Toms Shoes – two very different products and two very different presentations, but both compelling and engaging. And if you want a more extreme version of a pretty amazing website, have a look at Red Bull. These owners know their audiences and what turns them on. And their sites focus on that.

Blogs

If you have a website, you should also have a blog. This is a place where visitors can come and learn more – places for you to feature stories of your customers, to present “how to” information, and, yes to entertain. It is a place for customers to dig a bit deeper, but also to be able to skim and scan and “snack” on the content you offer. There are very important “rules” for crafting blog posts, and if you don’t follow them, visitors will not read your posts, much less share them with others.

Social Media

You need to know where your target customers hang out online, and you need to have a strong presence on those platforms. This means that you set up accounts, in some cases write up a profile, and begin posting regularly the kind of stuff your customers want to read and view and also want to share with their friends.

Consider the insurance industry as an example. Geico has its lizard; Progressive has Flo; and Aflack has its duck. Each of these “mascots” has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Oreo and Frito-Lay have pages that visitors flock to because of the type of content and the opportunity to participate in “contests.”

Gaining a following on social media takes a lot of creativity and regular posting, so that there is always something new for visitors to see and want to share with their communities.

Email Campaigns

How many emails do you just trash because you figure they are just sales pitches? We are thinking a lot. And this is true for most recipients. But if you can make your emails fun, informative and offer real value to customers at the same time, you can get a larger open rate. Much of this has to do with your subject line, and then that intriguing line must be followed with great stuff.

A Tall Order

The problem that business owners face is that there is just not enough time to “keep all of these balls in the air” while running a business.

And we get this. That is why we have an entire department of journalists and copywriters with years of copywriting experience. They can re-furbish your website; they can set up your blog and begin to write those great posts; and they can get you out there on social media.

Contact Essay State today and let’s discuss your business, its goals and how you can have an internet presence that is built for today’s consumer. Cyberspace is noisy and competitive, but we can give you the competitive edge that will bring in customers.