ask the expert | How can I make my call to action more compelling?

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering a very important question...

How can I make my call to action more compelling?

If you are wondering why the orders aren’t coming in thick and fast, perhaps you need to take a look at your call to action.   It could be that you don’t even have one.

I think too many of us believe that a good call to action is hard to write but really, all you have to do is ask people to do something.  Think about it.  How hard is it to say “Please Share” on your Facebook post?  It’s not hard at all and yet it brings a great response.  Try it.

When you want people to take a specific action, you have to tell them what to do.  Make it easy for people. The more specific you are, the more likely it is that they will do as you ask.

Ooh I bet you are tempted to click that, aren’t you?

It’s got some good things going for it. 

It is visible.  It’s big and clear with a button coloured in that urgent fire brigade red that makes fingers itch as soon as you look at it.  Even the text is big and easy to read.

It uses clear, simple wording.  No big words, no confusion.  It has a simple message that tells the reader what to do.

It offers a reason to click. Those ‘click here’ and ‘buy now’ buttons have their place but there is more to a call to action than that.  Give your readers a reason to push the button (or take that action) by showing them the benefits.  It’s the answer to the “what’s in it for me” question.  The report is targeted at people who aren’t succeeding with their current calls to action and the thought going through their heads is ‘What am I doing wrong?’ so that is what I have tapped into.

Choose your words.  A touch of urgency is a good thing.  Strong words like ‘NOW’ or ‘Ending Soon’ add some pressure to the call.  Just don’t use them on every call because it can look very salesy.

Position it carefully.  Make it obvious and keep it towards the top of your page where it will be seen as soon as the reader lands.  Don’t crowd the area around it with text or competing images.  It needs to stand alone.  Depending on what the call to action refers to, you might consider putting it on every page of your site. Pop over to MailChimp and have a look at their pages.  They’ve placed a button on their most important pages.  At any time the reader decides they are interested there is a clear step to take right there in front of them. 

Now, there is another step involved here.  That big button up there is designed to take you to a page where I can encourage you to give me your details in exchange for my free report.  That means your call to action has to be hyperlinked.   You’d be surprised at how often I’ve clicked on a call to action only to find that it doesn’t work or that it takes me to the wrong place.   Straight away you’ve lost me.  I know this seems like an obvious thing to think about but it only takes one page to be renamed or moved and your link is broken.

So now it’s your turn to take action.  Go over and look at your website.  Do you have a call to action?  If you do and it isn’t working, start crafting a new one.  Test and test again until you create one that hits the nail on the head.

Anne Maybus has a mission to banish the dullness from business writing. She believes that your business deserves to have personality shining out of every word. She writes content that catches your reader by the eye and pulls them pupil-first into the wonderful world of your business. Visit cleverstreak.com and on facebook and twitter too.

ask the expert | How often should I post to my blog?

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering a very common question...

This is a question that I am often asked especially by new bloggers.  Often they’ve been freaked out by professional bloggers who recommend posting a couple of times a day.  Can you imagine doing that and running a business at the same time?  We’d get nothing else done.

The first thing I want to make clear is that professional bloggers do it for a living.  That’s often their only business.  They have to post frequently so they can build up their blog content and reputation to earn revenue.

Most of us aren’t professional bloggers.  We don’t rely on them solely for income.   That means that our blog plan needs to be different to theirs.  You can stop panicking now.

The answer to the question of how often you should blog comes down to the “S” word – strategy.  If your reason for blogging isn’t solely for income, what is it? 

Before you go into meltdown, take a breath and start thinking it through.  The answer is there if you just look.  Have a think about these things:

Why are you blogging?

We all use a blog for different reasons.  Some of us want to build up relationships, some to boost readership and some for SEO purposes.  Some of us want to spread information to help others.  Some of us just can’t help but spill our thoughts out all over the interwebs but that’s another story…

What do you want your blog to do for you?

When your blog is working the way you hope it will, what do you expect it will do for your business?  Is your blog there to encourage sales or send traffic to your site?  Is it there to help position you as an expert in your field?  Is it there to support the conversation on other social media sites?  Is it there as a way for your client to talk with you?

Who is your target market?

What do you know about your target market?  Are they the kind of people who read blogs?  How much time do they have?  What does their week look like?  How often are they online?  By working out who your client is and what sort of life they lead, you can begin to guess when or if they will be online.

What do you want your blog to offer to your target market?

If you look around the blogosphere (and I hope you do) you’ll see blogs that offer many different things to their readers.  Some turn their blogs into a little rest space in a busy day by sharing funny pictures and stories.  Some share personal experiences and offer a way to connect.  Others give advice or answer client questions.  The ones that bore me silly are those that do nothing but promote their products.  What will your blog give to your readers to make it worth spending their time on?

How much will they read?

Busy people don’t have time to read long posts.   If your market is into research they will expect detailed content.  Mums who are juggling family demands might like regular short bursts of content.  Some markets won’t want text at all; they prefer video or audio.

When you work out the answers to these questions, you will begin to get a sense of what might work for you.  Draw up your plan and have a go. Your statistics will soon show what works and what doesn’t.  Remember that you aren’t pinned to a schedule.  Try posting on different days and at different times.  Try posting different types of content.  You’ll soon find the right pace.

And one more piece of advice…

When we begin blogging we often have the wrong focus.  When we ask “how often should we blog?” we are thinking of ourselves and not of our target market.  We’re seeing our blogs as something to benefit ourselves, which they will in the long run, but we should be looking at them as something that is of benefit to our market.  Look again at your answers to the questions above and make sure you are considering your target market. 

Focus on your clients.  If you are offering useful and interesting content on a regular basis, you’ll soon achieve your blogging goals.  

Need help with your blog? Anne Maybus can help you! She has a mission to banish the dullness from business writing. She believes that your business deserves to have personality shining out of every word. She writes content that catches your reader by the eye and pulls them pupil-first into the wonderful world of your business. Visit cleverstreak.com and on facebook and twitter too.

want to get started blogging? click here and have a look at the blueprints to build a blog. it is the perfect resource - step by step instructions on starting a blog for your little biz that rocks!

ask the expert | how to write product descriptions that capture the imagination

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering a very common question...

I hate writing product descriptions. I never know what to say! Should I just simply say what the product is or should I say something more? What should I write to make it easy to sell my product?

I love writing product descriptions but I know that for many of you, it is just a job that has to be done so you can sell.  To me, it’s one of the best places to let your imagination run free.  You can really use that to your advantage.

Selling online.

People love to shop online because it is so convenient but let’s face it; it’s not as much fun as wandering through a store and experiencing the whole shopping centre vibe.  You can’t really see the item, nor can you touch it or smell it.  It’s just a flat image on a screen and it looks like the images that are seen on lots of other sites, too.

You need something that will make someone stop at your page and say “OMG!! I’ve got to have that!”

You need a tool that will give people the tactile experience they get in real shops and the best tool you can use is your product description.  Plug straight into their imaginations and emotions.  That’s where the buying decisions are made.

Here are three ways that you can tackle the writing of a great product description.

Promote the benefits.

Some products don’t lend themselves to flights of imagination.  (And sometimes the people who need your product won’t be the sort who would be into the airy fairy stuff!)   

The best way to describe these products is in terms of what they achieve for the client.  Take pain relief tables as an example.  No one promotes them as ‘an exciting blend of chemical A and chemical B shaped into a delicate capsule”, do they?  Instead, they talk about how great it will be when the pain is gone. 

I always start with the benefits and leave the specifications until the end.  If people already know that they want the product they will skip to the details but it’s the benefits that will help everyone else make up their minds.

Compare these descriptions:

“Meet the next generation of outdoor cookware – and fire up the flavor – with our innovative fry pan, which makes it easy to cook crowd-pleasing stir-fries, vegetables and more on your grill. Thanks to our exclusive perforated design, your favorite foods take on savory, fire-smoked flavor.- Tiny perforations on the pan’s surface expose your foods to the fire, adding rich, smoky character.- Unique design keeps even the smallest ingredients safely inside the pan.- After searing meat, poultry or vegetables, close the grill – and let the fire work its magic.”( http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/steel-grill-round-fry-pan/?pkey=cfry-saute-pans|ckwfryfry )

“So it may be a small fry, but it certainly doesn't hold back in the colour stakes. Add a bit of punchy colour to your stovetop with the cute Scanpan Classic frypan in red.  For over twenty years, Scanpan has offered both professional and home cooks the most technologically sophisticated nonstick cookware on the market.  Scanpan’s signature Classic line is manufactured in Denmark from pressure-cast aluminium that heats evenly and will never warp. The virtually indestructible ceramic titanium nonstick coating is safe for use with metal utensils.” http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/New-Items/Scanpan-Classic-Frypan-20cm-Red

Have you nodded off yet?  Isn’t that second one dull?  The first description has me salivating!  Who cares if the pan is red and will look pretty in the kitchen.  Talk to me about how it will make my food taste and you’ve won me!

Use your imagination.

There are some things that are best described with an appeal straight to the reader’s senses.  That’s when you can let your imagination run wild. I’m not a white chocolate girl, but even I am tempted to buy some when I read a description like this:

“White Chocolate, so elegant and chic - it has a personality all its own. It hides its richness under a veil of purity while teasing your tastebuds with an ecstasy of flavour. How well it matches Pistachio or Raspberry Rocky Road - cool, clean White Chocolate covering a vibrant heart full of rippling taste. White Chocolate Rocky Road keeps its passions secret...” http://www.harrysrockyroad.com.au/index.php?p=catalog&parent=3&pg=1

Imagine what it feels like to be using your product and allow yourself to be ‘poetic’ about it.  Remember that your words have to give your clients the same experience they would get in a shopping centre.  Make them feel the texture, smell the scent, taste the delights – then conclude with the facts. 

Tell a story.

I still remember the descriptions on a site that no longer exists.  (The new owner changed everything and it went out of business)  I loved this site and although I didn’t need their products, I often went back just to read it.  They hooked me with a story which tied each product in with a reason for its appearance.  You can bet that although I didn’t need their products, I certainly spread the word to those who did.

“And she turned and saw him, the magical stranger, in the distance, his profile shimmering behind a field of dancing wildflowers.  She stood and lifted her hand in a wave…” 

And later…..

“His skin was firm and supple, bronzed by the sun and scented by the grass...’

Each episode of the story linked directly to the style of the product being sold.  The first episode related to a range of stationery that was decorated with fields of wildflowers.  The second introduced diaries that had firm and supple leather look covers!  You get the idea? 

Don’t be dull.

I know that I can get a bit excited about product descriptions but they are really important if you really want to make a sale.  Think about why people would want your product and what problems it will solve for them.  Then get in there and show that you understand what they are going through and offer a solution.  Create a truly sensual experience.  Give them what they need that will help them choose to buy.

Just don’t be boring about it! 

do you have a question about copyrwriting? post it in the comments below or send an email to build a little biz.

ask the expert | why you need to expose yourself to your clients

today we have a guest post from our expert partner in coywriting: anne maybus from clever streak, answering one of our reader questions...

I am getting a website designed and I need to write an 'about me' page. I have no idea what to write! I don't just want to write who I am, what I do etc. I really want my customers to identify with me and see how I can help them, why my business is perfect for them.

 “Hello there.  I’ve just checked out your website and it looks pretty good.  You’ve got what I want at the price I want to pay:  but so did the last site…and the one before that.  Why should I shop with you?”

That’s the question your ‘about’ page needs to answer.  Why you? Why here?  Why now?

Have you checked your stats lately?   If you already have some sort of ’about’ page you might be surprised to see how many people visit it.  On my own site, the page is one of the most frequently visited of all my pages.  That’s because people want to know who is behind the business and whether they like and trust me enough to put their business into my hands.

I’ve written quite a few ‘about’ pages in my time and it’s usually an uphill battle with the business owner.  What they want is not really an ‘about us’ page – it’s an ‘about my business’ page.  The main problem with that is that unless you are an established brand, the page is not going to help convert visitors into customers.  Some people will shop with you regardless, but the thing that turns most visitors into clients is human connection.

If you want people to connect and identify with you, you’ll have to expose yourself to them.  It’s you they want, not the business.

Show your human side.

Tell your readers a story.   Stories about yourself, your background, your hobbies and even your reasons for starting the business will all reveal something that gives people a chance to identify with you.  You don’t have to go into great or very personal detail but give them enough to know that you are a real person with a real life.  Be honest and authentic.

Skip the business bits.

People don’t need to know about your business and what it does.  They have found you through searching for a specific thing so they already know what you do.  They have checked out your home page where your key message should be and they don’t need to read it again here.  This page isn’t about sales.  It’s about letting them meet you as they would if you were in a bricks and mortar store. 

Show off.

If there was ever a place that was designed for some showing off, this is it.  Show off your knowledge and your skills.  Talk about your awards or where you have appeared.  Use testimonials.  Use whatever you’ve got to show how and why you are an expert at what you do.  One of the best things you can do is to tell a story about one of your successes.  Talk about why the client came to you, what they needed, how you helped and what difference you made in their life.  That gives the reader another way to identify with you through relating to your client. 

This is the proof people are looking for; it’s the reasoning they will use to support their emotionally based decision to shop with you.  They might love you, but they can’t really go telling that to their friends without sounding weird, can they?

Match your readers.

This calls for some judgement on your part.  You know the people in your target market and what they will expect or tolerate from you.  If you are working business-to-business you probably don’t want to expose as much of yourself as you would if you were working in a creative or humanitarian field.

For example, Think Geek has a brilliant page and it works because it appeals to their quirky, gadget loving clients.  But can you imagine finding that style of page on a financial planning site?  You’d have clients running for the hills clutching their cash to their chests as they went.  Match your ‘reveal’ to your clients’ expectations.

The most important thing to remember about your ‘about’ page is that it is a tool for your business and you need to work it well.  Don’t be afraid to show people who you really are.  That’s why they came to the page in the first place.  Give them what they want and do it your way. 

Anne Maybus has a mission to banish the dullness from business writing. She believes that your business deserves to have personality shining out of every word. She writes content that catches your reader by the eye and pulls them pupil-first into the wonderful world of your business. Visit cleverstreak.com and on facebook and twitter too.

do you have a question about copyrwriting? post it in the comments below or send an email to build a little biz.