Category Archives: Marketing Consulting

Leveraging the Value-Added Copywriter: An Underground Manifesto

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 [...]

Impress Your Clients (with “Click to Call” For Small Business)

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 [...]

Want Better Web Results? Try Print.

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 [...]

Build a blueprint. Or market into thin air.

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 [...]

Where’s the passion in your marketing plan?

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 [...]

Blog Success Primer: Marketing goals first, blog second…

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 [...]

Marketing Smarter #2: The Messaging Platform’s Building Blocks

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 [...]

Marketing Smarter #1: Market without a foundation and you’ll sink from view

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 [...]

Word Jockey? Or Marketing Guru?

So what are you really? Word jockey or success guru? If all you deliver are words, then it’s time to reconsider your role…
It’s not easy for your clients to succeed in today’s fragmented, fast-changing marketing environment, and for a copywriter used to selling success as much as words, writing simply isn’t enough.
A tricky headline won’t [...]