May 2011

Is your marketing copy directionally-challenged?

My daughter had missed a turnpike exit. She called me frantic about what to do next. I knew. And I could picture her location from years of driving the same route.

But what I knew and what she was experiencing were two very different things. She: panic…OMG…! Me: “it’s okay…take a deep breath…I’ll get you home…!”

Frustration meets panic when you’re without clear direction. The signs are clear to one who understands them or who has experience with the territory in question.

Trust the signs and you’ll get where you’re going. If the signs are unclear or you’re clueless about where the heck you are – the destination’s an afterthought. Welcome to Lost-ville!

If you want copywriting that compels your dental industry prospects to buy you must have a clear story line.

Michael Masterson calls it “the power of one.” Pick a path. Stay with it. Know where you’re going.

I write best when I follow a thread of thought or a story theme. Imagine the proverbial path of bread crumbs leading to a house where there’s the offer of plenty!

Be clear in your marketing copy.

Just because it’s creative doesn’t guarantee it will bring a prospect home. There are creative ways to get lost and miss the destination completely! The path was fun but now it’s dark and you’re not sure where you are.

This adds clarity to your marketing message:

1) Know where you’re going before you start – you’ll miss what you don’t aim for…everytime!

Remember, it’s vital to identify WHO your prospect is. And then identify WHAT core feelings or emotions you’ll stimulate with the copywriting.

2) Be clear about how to get there – with more than one way to go…pick one path and stick to it!

Rambling content loses the prospect. Sure, creative content might be good eye-candy and win an award or two. But how clear are the benefits to the one reading…seeing it? And benefits lead to sales!

Clarify the big promise of your marketing promotion! A promised benefit that captures understands and captures a prospect’s emotions is worth more to your bottom-line.

3) Picture familiar landmarks along the way – connect with what’s relevant…meaningful…memorable.

Again, this confirms how well you know your prospect and where the copywriting will take them.

Irrelevant content – words that miss the market’s core emotions – hinders connection. It’s like talking and no one’s listening.

If you want to bring your prospect “home,” communicate clearly and compellingly. If they need a GPS to read your dental marketing promotion they’re already lost!

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3 Fundamentals for Publishing an Enewsletter as a Follow-up Tool

The problem may not be your lack of follow-up but how consistently you lack it.

Think about it! You have good intentions when it comes to following up on prospects and potential leads in your dental marketing.

But how many times can you draft an email or hand-written note and keep doing it over and over. At some point you must somewhat “automate” the marketing follow-up process.

An effective way to “automate” your follow-up is through consistently publishing an enewsletter. And it can be as simple as repurposing a blog post.

In fact, that’s a good place to begin as a I offer a few tips to get started with publishing an enewsletter.

1) Start blogging

Your blog is the blank canvas to explore, explain, and, express your expertise (how do you like that “ex” theme I have going there?). It’s a place to log insights.

Lead with a blog. Many posts will “seed” other ideas and topics. These deeper explorations form the content that can be expanded through a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly enewsletter.

2) Show up regularly

Speaking of follow-up frequency…how often should you publish an enewsletter? Preferences vary. Some say weekly is best, others bi-weekly or monthly. I previously published weekly. Now (as I’m planning the 2.0 version of my enewsletter) I’m leaning toward monthly.

The advantage of monthly is you can use your enewsletter as a way to aggregate the numerous blog posts published over the course of a month into one issue.

You can expand a thought that a blog post simply introduced. You can incorporate the wisdom gained from comments to a particular post. Even social media feedback from retweets, likes and post comments (Facebook page) can improve upon a topic blogged about weeks before.

Bottom-line: consistency. Whether you promote your enewsletter as a weekly or monthly – stay with it. Your subscribers will drift (unsubscribe) if you lack consistency.

3) Open the window

I’m talking about letting people see into your life, practice/company culture, product/service stories, etc. One thing social media has taught us is that getting personal is okay.

If you want your enewsletter read and shared be unafraid to open up the windows a bit. Don’t be a life-voyeur or a verbal flasher. TMI (Too Much Info) applies here too.

If you’ve taken a trip, been on vacation, achieved a milestone, celebrated the milestone of a child or loved one, purchased a new gadget…you get the picture! And that’s what I’m talking about – give your readers a “picture” of who you are in addition to your expertise.

Authenticity opens the door to better business connections. It’s the basis for effective marketing follow-up – what we call “engagement” these days.

An enewsletter is a perfect follow-up companion alongside a blog and any other business communication you share.

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What a toddler taught me about marketing

My almost-2-year-old grandson loves books. He walks across the room book in hand, plops down beside me and we read together.

One of the books in his stash of favorites is  – “What Do Babies Need?” He’s  now several months removed from baby-hood. But he’s still occasionally captivated by the pictures and short answers that tell the story about what little ones need. Stuff like baths, food, and most of all, love.

Experience tells me – when a baby’s in need, run the list of basics – food (check!), clean diaper (check!), pacifier (check!)… Find and meet the need and they’ll be satisfied (until the next “need” arises).

Brings to mind another question…

What do people need? Answer that question for every marketing approach with your dental industry supplies, products and services.

Copywriting must target not only the surface needs of a prospect but also those deeper emotional needs. Anyone can market to the surface stuff – and most do.

Getting to the core of what people need takes extra-mile effort. And the extra effort separates a marketing promotion from all the rest.

Lessons from my grandson for discovering the needs of your market:

1) Be naive. My grandson has innocence therefore he learns. Simple things entertain and educate him.

Approach your target prospects with a healthy niavete’. When you think you know them…truth is – you don’t.

2) Be diligent. My ‘lil guy brings the same book to my lap again and again. To him it’s a fresh read every time.

If you want to know the needs of your market – research, research, research – and then research some more. You probably missed something the first or fifth time around.

3) Be resilient. My g-son’s attention span is a nano-second. Two pages into the book and he’s off to something else. Am I offended at his back-and-forth…up-and-down-ness? Not at all! I roll with the changes.

The needs of the moment for prospects change like a child’s disposition. Remember and respond accordingly (see Lesson 2).

Childlike innocence, diligence, and resilience. It’s what babies…toddlers…and your marketing copy need.

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