by Snappy Sentences on February 24, 2010
I’ve knocked back a couple of jobs this week. Not because they didn’t sound interesting (actually one would have been really interesting), or because the brief wasn’t complete.
No, it was the deadline. Both had a deadline of this Friday. Neither were small jobs, and the content had to be written from scratch.
And (without sounding too big-headed) I’m pretty busy at the moment. With clients who booked me in weeks (and months) ago.
So why do people get caught out? I think it’s because they underestimate the time it takes to create great content. They often give it (the writing) a go first, then realise at the last minute that they need help.
Why I need time to write
Content creation involves far more than just typing words into a document. I also need time for:
- Making sure I have a comprehensive brief before I start anything. This may involve a lot of back and forth over email, the phone, or for big projects I will require a face-to-face briefing session.
- Extra research. I will look at competitors’ sites, industry sites, blogs – whatever is relevant for the project. I also have a fantastic collection of books that I’ll often refer to.
- Leaving the work and coming back to it later with fresh eyes. I rarely sit down and write a complete project in one go. Often I’ll start a draft, leave it, come back to it, leave it, then finally polish it before I’m happy for the client to see it.
- Revisions. I have a one revision policy – clients receive a draft, they provide feedback, and then I send a final version. If a lot of people need to provide feedback, this process takes time.
So, if you are currently planning a new website, a newsletter or something else you would like me to work on please contact me now so I can give your project the time it deserves. Because great content takes time to write.
by Snappy Sentences on February 9, 2010
Some products (or services) are easy to sell. There are obvious benefits to talk about, clear points of difference to focus on, and a strong desire from the customer to have/buy/hire.
Unfortunately, you may not have this luxury.
Your product or service may be mundane, embarrassing to talk about, even ugly. You may be in a market that’s saturated, or even regulated – so it’s hard to stand out from the crowd. How on earth can you come up with some unique selling points when you really can’t think of anything positive to say?
Here’s a tip:
Think of all the reasons why a customer wouldn’t buy your product or service, and turn these into why they should buy.
Turn their fears into a motivation to buy. Put their concerns out there, then dismiss them. Confide that you’ve had the same thoughts too. Be open and honest.
You’ve probably heard that there has been a problem in the past with xyz product. Well luckily the issue has been identified and none of the new range of xyz have been affected. We are so confident that we have a money back guarantee.
Yes, we know that it’s embarrassing to go to the doctor to talk about having this test. That’s why we’ve developed this free information pack so you can be better informed at your next visit.
You may be tempted to choose your insurer by price alone. But make sure you check that you are comparing apples with apples. Even though we seem a little more expensive than Budget Bob, our package covers you for a lot more…
See what I mean? There isn’t much that you can’t turn into a positive.
If you are struggling to come up with some unique selling points for your product or service, contact me at info [at] snappysentences [dot] com to find out how I can help.
by Snappy Sentences on February 6, 2010
Need some quick and easy proof reading tips? I’ve just written a post on DIY proof reading for SNOBs.com.au. Check it out here.
by Snappy Sentences on January 25, 2010
As part of my initial quoting process, I ask all clients to complete my client brief. Some do this with ease, others find it more difficult as some of the questions in the brief include:
- What are your unique selling points?
- Who is your target audience?
- What do you want you call to action to be?
- What is the personality of your business?
- What is the objective of the copy?
Most of the time after a telephone call these questions can be answered. After one such phone call, a client said to me:
Hey, you should offer this as a service!
What a great idea.
So now I have added content workshops to the range of services provided by Snappy Sentences. They will be almost like an extended briefing session, but I will write a report at the end for clients to keep and use for other communication activities too.
I’ll go through (and document) things like:
- The target audience of the site.
- The language and tone to be used.
- Key messages and calls to action.
So what do you think? Would this be the type of service you would find useful?
by Snappy Sentences on January 18, 2010