I believe bad writing sucks your soul out through your eyeballs, but good writing is the million volts of liquid lightning [...]]]> I believe in writing, the word, the page, the well crafted sentence, the well formed phrase. I believe that strong design makes anything look good but it’s the writing that gets the job done.

I believe bad writing sucks your soul out through your eyeballs, but good writing is the million volts of liquid lightning that you need to inject pulsating life into the corpse of your marketing project.

I believe that too many websites read as if they were written by zombies, and too few give you a reason to live. I believe in language that roars, hammers, explodes and pierces. I also believe in words that whisper, shimmer, dance, and tingle. I believe in bold clarity, subtle nuance, transitive verbs, the active voice, the power of Anglo-Saxon words, and the fact that the best writing is wicked hard but looks easy. Writing is not for sissies.

I believe in writing to sell and not merely to describe. I believe that features have benefits, and that your customers need what you have, and that it’s my job to tell them so.

I believe in delivering more than my clients want, and making it better than they thought it could be, in less time than they thought it would take.

I believe in writing.

This was a fun project because we really turned up the juice on the original concept.

The [...]]]> Marijane Shufro over at Fletcher and Wilder Communications just posted a very nice recommendation of my recent work on a website they are creating for Pinnacle Rock Mechanical Services. You can see it on my LinkedIn profile.

This was a fun project because we really turned up the juice on the original concept.

The first thought was a simple 6 page site describing the services Pinnacle Rock offers.  Not that there is anything WRONG with that kind of approach, but…*snore*

Upon reflection, we decided to scrap the whole idea of having one page on ventilation, another on air conditioning, and so on. Instead, let’s tell visitors to the site (owners and managers in charge of facilities management) what they really want to know.

Will Pinnacle Rock reduce my expenses and make managing my business easier?

Writing to Create Buyers

So I wrote a mini-white paper on how your business could save tens of thousands of dollars through regular maintenance. It seems that equipment and repair expenses typically increase by a factor of 15 or more if regular service is delayed. That’s a huge number that most budget planners don’t account for when they look to reduce budgets by deferring maintenance.

Then we connected with some clients and wrote three absolute killer mini-case studies to DEMONSTRATE how Pinnacle Rock solves real problems for real clients.  It makes Pinnacle Rock look like rock stars of the HVAC universe. Of course, it helps that they play like rock stars, and their fans adore them.

That’s what I mean by copy that sells – creating a message that is so clear and so compelling that readers can’t wait to pick up the phone and do business with you. I can’t wait to see how this new site helps Pinnacle Rock grow the business in the coming months and years.

Marijane and the team over at F&W were great to work with. I haven’t seen the design but I expect the finished website should be up soon. I’ll post the link as soon as I get it.

It’s not necessarily because it makes sense — although that is important.

The point of decision (buying) is motivated more by emotion than logic. If not skillfully targeted at the right kind of emotion, most appeals will fail to convert into [...]]]> What causes people to shell out good money to buy something, even something expensive?

It’s not necessarily because it makes sense — although that is important.

The point of decision (buying) is motivated more by emotion than logic. If not skillfully targeted at the right kind of emotion, most appeals will fail to convert into action.

So if you rely solely on overwhelming logic to close sales, you may find that your revenue is not keeping up with your vision. If you keep waiting for people to see the light of your unassailable logic,  you will still be waiting long after the cold dead corpse of your business has been picked clean by the buzzards of the auction. What you need to do is light the fire.

Dan Heath of FastCompany explains that emotion, not logic, facts or statistics, is the key to moving people to change. He uses examples of helping people change direction and adopt new habits such as healthy eating or saving money. Imagine, on the other hand, what this means applied to selling YOUR product or service.

Simply put, you cannot merely list features or facts and expect people to make the connections. You must connect those facts to the strong emotions that motivate people to take action. The formula is simple: First people see what they want. Then they feel the need. Then they change.

Applied to writing copy, that formula can be translated as Read-Feel-Act.

That’s the signature quality of truly effective copy.

If your copy needs to create action, rather than simply inform, you must write to touch the heart as well as provide  necessary information. One of my mentors put it this way, “People buy (act) based on emotion, and then they justify their action with logic and facts.” Humans act because they want something (love) or wish to avoid something (fear). If your writing taps into either of those primal emotions, you have a much better chance of getting the result you want.

So when it comes to creating your marketing materials or your website, find a copy writer that understands how to really sell you, your company and your products. The best writers get inside the head of the prospect and write copy that throws gasoline on their personal emotional woodpile and tosses on the match. It’s touching that emotional flashpoint that gets things jumping when it comes to your prospects deciding to buy.

That’s why buzzards hate bonfires.

Brenda Martel is refusing to participate in the recession. She is creating her own business selling high quality tea and tea related products, targeting people who are willing to invest a little more to enjoy a far superior experience. A [...]]]> Last week, one of my clients published a new website for her small business.

Brenda Martel is refusing to participate in the recession. She is creating her own business selling high quality tea and tea related products, targeting people who are willing to invest a little more to enjoy a far superior experience. A really good cup of tea is one of those pleasures that costs little, but offers great benefits in enjoyment, relaxation and health. I think Brenda may have timed things just right.

The design of the website (by You Promote llc) is intentionally simple — easy to navigate and read. The copy focuses on the lifestyle benefits of fine tea, with a touch of education to help readers view the site as a good place to go for information on tea. We hope to add more educational material as the business develops.

Keywords include many variations on the term “tea” so that search engines read the words in a relevant context. It will take a little time for the website to start reading high on search rankings, but if it’s like other You Promote websites, it should do just fine.

Word has it that the website is already generating some good business — and that’s the whole point of the exercise.

And, are we not in business?

Therefore let us not be squeamish. Let us talk directly about selling, because the fact is that we want to sell and [...]]]> Selling is the root of all business. To paraphrase one of the first lessons of my first sales training experience – without selling there is no business.

And, are we not in business?

Therefore let us not be squeamish. Let us talk directly about selling, because the fact is that we want to sell and we want to sell lots and lots of whatever it is we have to sell. We want sales up to the eyeballs and sales coming out the wazoo.

Of course salespeople sell face to face and eyeball to eyeball. But what about all the other stuff that goes in the name of selling? Does your website sell? How about your printed material: brochures, postcards, sales letters, ad copy, product sheets and catalogs? Do you make your words work for you, or are you just spending money and wasting perfectly good paper and bandwidth?

Shouting is not Selling

Simply making loud noises does not by itself constitute selling activity. Flashy websites with clever animation do not create customers. Bright lights and dancing girls are not what lands the account. If the sounds you are making do not express benefits and value, your sounds are not selling. They are merely noise.

Advertising is not Selling

Advertising only helps if it makes selling its first priority. It’s not about hours of air time or acreage on the printed page. It’s about copy and images that communicate value and benefits. Good advertising starts your sale off right, but poor advertising, even in huge volumes, won’t move a stick of inventory off your shelves.

Promoting is not Selling

Printing your name on a pen or a coffee mug is not selling. It is good to remind your prospects that you exist. It is good to give them something useful and to make sure they have your phone number handy. But that is not selling. That is called giving stuff away and waiting quietly by the phone.

Communicating Benefits is Selling

Your prospect is only interested in what you can do for them. Can you save money? Save time? Increase profit? Reduce pain? Simplify their life? Increase enjoyment? Good selling is learning your prospects needs and then demonstrating with clarity and accuracy how your product or service will meet those needs.

Persuading is Selling

Your prospect is not convinced. When you convince them that your product is what they need and that it is worth way more than what they must pay, you have sold them.

Solving Problems is Selling

We all have problems. We will pay good money to make them go away. When you listen to your prospects and provide solutions to their problems, you have sold them.

Look at your written marketing materials. Do they communicate benefits? Are the persuasive? Do they present solutions with clarity and conviction?

If you are not getting sales results from your media they are investment you are probably missing one or more of these features. Do yourself a favor and save the company money by scrapping them and getting material that actually sells. Remember, nothing else happens in your business until you make that sale.

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This article is available for reprint only if the following bio is included intact.
This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com
David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.
To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

These samples cover a fairly wide range of projects.

Larry Konopka spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me, discussing what makes his business special. Out of this interview I mined enough good information and ideas to create about 500 words of really nice [...]]]> I recently completed some copy for the website of Konopka Floor Sanding, a small business located in Pittsfield, NH.

Larry Konopka spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me, discussing what makes his business special. Out of this interview I mined enough good information and ideas to create about 500 words of really nice web copy to sell his business.

I wanted to communicate three things to any site visitors:

• Get the visitor to look at their dingy old worn out floor and feel the pain of how awful it looks.
• Imagine how wonderful it would be to have a gorgeous new refinished floor.
• Sell them on why Konopka Floor Sanding is the absolute best choice to do the work.

Basically, it’s a sales presentation, but with the web copy doing the work instead of a live salesperson. The website won’t close the sale in this kind of situation, but it will plow the ground and plant the seed so that when Larry talks to his prospects, they are already prepared to buy.

This is a classic example of how high quality web copy can help a small local business gain more sales.

Of course, a nice looking website and strong search engine optimization is critical also. Neil Burtt over at You Promote is great at providing a nice internet marketing package for small businesses. He gets the job done without breaking the bank.

IMS is itself [...]]]> Interim Management Solutions provides consulting for businesses in transition. As a business grows, it passes through stages where their old ways of doing things no longer serve them well. IMS can step in with solid advice that comes from years of experience to help guide businesses through the choppy waters of change.

IMS is itself going through some change. They want to upgrade and improve their website so that it does more than passively profile their business. It should give a visitor valuable information, promote IMS as the best solution, and sell their business.

IMS is working with Neil Burtt over at You Promote LLC on their website upgrade. Neil specializes in creating promotional websites for small and medium sized businesses – websites that get results without breaking the bank.

The first step in the transformation of the IMS site is rebuilding the home page, starting with the copy. Neil called me to see if I would work on it.

The original copy was descriptive, but unfocused and a little bogged down with management book jargon. After a half hour interview with Ed Jaferian, one of the owners, I crafted some strong copy that is much more accessible so that the reader will quickly grasp what IMS does. These descriptions will ultimately be linked to other pages where the visitor can get more detail and see and offer for consultation.

As I told Ed, when I write copy for business sites like his, I target three major areas:

• Eliminating jargon and using plain English
  
• Using direct, strong, simple language in the active voice.
• Writing with short well-structured paragraphs that can be easily scanned and understood.
  
• Promoting and selling your business with benefits and regular calls to action.

Ed was so happy with the result that he wrote me an email, saying, “You have done a great job in capturing the essence of what I have been struggling to say.”

We are exploring improvements to the rest of the website as well, including fresher graphic design, stronger copy for the other pages, and search engine optimization. In particular, we are suggesting an email capture feature, where IMS will offer a useful report or “white paper” in exchange for the email of the visitor. This is the beginning of Relationship Marketing, a model that I think has huge potential for IMS down the road.

Be sure to click on the Link to view the current home page of IMS.

Taylor Tech services machines that process semiconductor chips after they have been imprinted with circuitry. He first attempted to create a website on the cheap using a popular hosting service. [...]]]> As a freelance copy writer I write compelling copy for business websites. Recently I wrote some powerful content for a promotional website for Taylor Tech.

Taylor Tech services machines that process semiconductor chips after they have been imprinted with circuitry. He first attempted to create a website on the cheap using a popular hosting service. After realizing that his website wasn’t doing anything for his business, he decided to get professional help, so he asked Neil Burtt at You Promote to help him create a website that will both improve his brand image and generate warm leads by creating organic search traffic. You Promote specializes in creating low cost websites for small and medium sized businesses; sites that are engineered to effectively and actively promote your business online.

As part of the You Promote freelance contract team, I was privileged to write the copy for the new website. My focus was threefold:

• Clearly explain to visitors what Taylor Tech does – make it easy for visitors to grab the main ideas.
• Optimize the content for search engines – contribute to high search ranking results.
• Sell Taylor Tech — encourage the visitor to contact Taylor Tech to engage their services.

Go to www.semiconductorsupport.com to see how professionally written copy can make your website light up.

If you want powerful professional copy for your website, blog or newsletter, go to the Request a Quote page on this website to request a consultation on your copywriting needs for your web content.