The Copywriter Underground

When you’re selling a corporate product that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, you need to reach executive buyers (Directors and VPs).
The bad news? There’s no shortage of gatekeepers and roadblocks between you and your quarry, and you’ve got to put your sales rep in the office of a qualified executive, and do it quickly.
So […]

“Google Says Blogging is Dead” one headline screams, while BusinessWeek asserts blogs are being “Twitterized” — that blogging’s apparently too-thoughtful posts are being replaced by shallower, less-thought-intensive bursts of information.

Are blogs dead? Should my clients reconsider my advice to build and populate business blogs — and offer 140 character micro-thoughts instead?
Should I be planning for […]

I recently conducted a pair of Messaging Platform interviews with clients. I was struck by how good they are at their core competencies.
And how most market like it’s still 1991.
It’s not a knock so much as a reality. Marketing has changed more the last five years than it did the prior 50.
Anyone would have trouble keeping up - especially in […]

If I convince my readers of anything, it’s that the copywriters who add value beyond the words set themselves apart from the herd.
Part of adding value means staying current, and intelligently applying new marketing developments to your clients’ situation.
For example, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing posted a note about a hosted “click-to-call” service for […]

Will your state-of-the-art Web site sink or swim under the weight of a single printed piece?
Maybe.
Signal vs. Noise posted an excellent idea; every commercial site should create a single printable sheet that sums up the site’s key selling points.
The idea is this; the person reading the Web site might not be the decision maker, and […]

Today I had lunch with a very, very smart woman. We talked about her non-profit, and how she wanted to move her organization to the next level.
Among other things, she needed a complete marketing overhaul, and she even listed the elements; new logo, new Web site, new tagline… right down the line. And right off […]

Your strongest marketing tool? It’s not your SEO strategy, your finely tuned messaging platform, or even your copywriter.
It’s the passion of your customers.
Tap into that, and you’ve created a mobile sales force that can’t wait to sell your product. They’re engaged. They’re credible. And they’re chomping at the bit to spread your message.
Passion-based marketing? It […]

Blogs are finding their way into the arsenal of corporate marketing departments, and for those willing to try this new marketing channel, the payoffs can be significant.
A marketing blog can build customer loyalty, help recruit new customers, drive revenues, unify fanatic users (who sell your product for you), and help you retain control of your […]

Welcome to Marketing Smarter #2 - the second in my series on the Messaging Platform. This describes the elements of the Messaging Platform – the document that drives your marketing efforts. My essential messaging platform includes a small, simple handful of elements:
Research Elements (the parts I dig up)
Current Situation
Includes information on the state of your […]

Build an expensive house without a foundation and you’ll watch your investment simply sink into the earth.
Yet that’s exactly what many marketing organizations do. They build their marketing plan without a foundation, so their marketing efforts slowly sink from view.
Fight Message Drift
The Messaging Foundation is the building block of your marketing efforts – the document […]