Start off 2012 positively, with a bang, by checking out this quick tip that will help you avoid this common copywriting mistake.

First… What’s the first thing that crossed your mind when you read this blog headline?

Most likely, you’re gonna think one of these two things…

“Oh yeah – you’re full of crap buddy – just watch me!”

You see it as a challenge, and you just love a good challenge.

Or… you think…

“Yeah… you’re right… I suck at writing copy that gets customers and prospects to respond”

Negative copy is bad

It’s such a negative statement, telling you what you can’t do. I don’t know about you, but I get tired and depressed with “negative” all the time.

Sure… it may have got your attention in the headline. But what if you saw negative statements like that in a letter (doesn’t even have to be a sales letter)?

Would it turn you off? Maybe enough to stop reading? Certainly enough to not take the action the letter writer wanted you to take?

Now you might be thinking… “Ok Mr. smart guy copywriter… what’s another way to write the same headline – in a positive way that would increase the odds someone would continue to read and take action?”

Here’s the original:

You cannot write good
marketing copy for your business

Let me think for a second … Ok… how about?

You, too, can write great sales copy…
Even if you’ve never written a letter in your life!

Do you see the difference?

Original – You can’t (negative, turn-off) vs. the new and improved (positive) – You, too can…

You see, just like speaking, there are usually several different ways to say the same thing. As the saying goes (which is true)…

“It’s not necessarily what you say – but how you say it.”

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And positive words are generally more effective at getting a response from the reader than negative words.

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It all goes back to who your reader is, the point you want them to get, and the action you want them to take.

So… go back through your copy, and rewrite any sentences or statements that sound negative, and put a positive twist on it.

Have a positively GREAT 2012! 

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

5 ways to get more clients from your home page

Many businesses make this very common website copy mistake

And if not fixed, it’s virtually guaranteed to cost you sales and profits – for two very different reasons.

But the good part… is it’s easy to fix!

First reason…

If you own a New Hampshire business and have a website, I bet you’ve wondered if there was a fast and easy way to make sure your website comes up higher when someone does a local search for your service or product.

For example, someone going to Google, and searching for a plumber hooksett nh or portsmouth nh small business lawyer.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill for improving your search ranking, but there is one simple thing you can (and should) do that can help you improve your rankings over time.

And it’s so basic, you may slap yourself in the head and say…

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

Simply make sure your company name and address is displayed somewhere on every page of your website. This includes your city and state. Use text and don’t embed them in a graphic or picture. When I write any web copy for my clients, I include it at the end of every page.

Always remember … The search engines read words – just like we do.

The second reason this is as important as the first…

People are very busy, not to mention lazy… and if they found your website, but can’t quickly ans easily find how to contact you, they’ll simply go to the next website. They don’t have  the time or patience to navigate all over your website just to find your phone number or e-mail address.

Where is your contact information? (Leave your reply in the white box below)

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

5 ways to get more clients from your home page

5 ways to get more clients from your website’s home page

If you want to attract more qualified visitors to your small business website, and want to convert more of those readers to clients, then your home page needs these 5 things.

(If you don’t have a business website… shame on you, but that’s another topic)

Go ahead and look at yours… see how it measures up.

1. There must be an eyeball grabbing headline that immediately tells the reader they’re in the right place.
2. The copy needs to be compelling and conversational, so people will want to read more. Don’t be afraid to show your personality (without going overboard, of course.) Make the words fun and easy to read.
3. Make sure your copy talks about the reader, not about you. (we call it “reader focused”. What’s in it for them? How can you solve their problem?
4. Optimize your home page for your SEO (search engine optimization) using your primary keywords in the headlines, the copy, and the links to other pages. Just make sure not to stuff a bunch of them in the copy for the sake of using them.
5. Show the benefits your reader will get from your product or service — don’t just rattle off product features and specs.

If your home page doesn’t get the results you’d like, usually because it’s missing one of these 5 components, I can help, so get in touch with me for more information.

Merrill’s use of words make the “face” of my site capture reader’s attention, and focuses on them to compel them to read the whole page and more. If you want your website copy to convey your sales message in the best possible light, I strongly urge you to talk to Merrill.  He’s worth every penny and much more!
Beth Frede, Home Stager – www.BethFredeInteriors.com

What do you think? (Leave your reply in the white box below)

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

5 ways to get more clients from your home page

Do you effectively use the power of great testimonials?

It’s been said that a good customer testimonial about your service is 20 times more powerful than anything you could say about yourself.

Why? Because it changes your business claims to verified facts, and actual customer’s comments carry a heck of a lot more weight about you than what you could possible say.

Wow! What a great concept… simply let your prospective customers do all your selling for you.

Sounds like a win-win to me.

So… why don’t more businesses take advantage of them?

After all, you really can’t overuse them, and they can give you a huge competitive edge over other companies that don’t use testimonials.

Think of testimonials as a sales message…and like all messages, they must match your market.

Of course, this means some testimonials won’t even get read, and others do virtually all of the convincing/selling for you.
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Here are some tips for great testimonials:
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• Every business can and should use customer testimonials in any situation they can
• Make sure they’re detailed and relevant to your message and market
• Use testimonials from a range of customer types and situations
• Use them to overcome different objections your prospective customers may have
• Include them on every piece of marketing collateral or sales copy you can. The more, the merrier. (I even include them in proposals or quotes)
• People will believe them before they believe you, adding even more credibility to your business

So start using them today! What are you waiting for?

What do you think? (Leave your reply below)

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

Have you run a space ad or mailed a postcard that didn’t get the results you hoped for?

Well if you did, you’re not alone. But the good news is you could improve response by just making a simple tweak.

Even if your headline catches the reader’s attention, the message makes sense to them and gets them excited, and your call to action tells them exactly what to do…

If there’s no irresistible offer, or worse, no offer at all, then they ain’t gonna respond.

I’m talking about an offer that’s so good – your reader would have to be absolutely crazy to pass up.

Make a 2 for 1 offer, or add exceptional value by giving them a complimentary service or product with purchase. Another proven technique is to use scarcity, such as making a time or quantity limit to encourage response.

Example: “Only 5 available at this ridiculously low price”, or “This special offer only good till midnight August 3^rd“, or “There’s only 10 of these in stock, so call now to reserve yours”

It’s weird, because I’ll see bad and so so ads come across my desk, but I also see some good ones, too. But the good ones usually fall short, where it counts most -no offer or poor offer.

Remember, the offer is one of the most important and heavily tested component of any sales copy.

Fortunately, this fix can be simple:

(And it works on any marketing copy. Postcards, coupons, newspaper and magazine ads, online ads, web copy, email, and direct mail)

Either make your existing offer more appealing to readers, or if you don’t have an offer at all, come up with one that will make them run, not walk to their phones to order.

 What do you think? (Leave your reply below)

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

Does your website Home Page copy steal potential customers from your biggest competitors?

No? … Why not?

So… You do a Google search, click on one of the results, and when it shows up on your screen… you’re blown away by the excitement you feel when you see “WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE”.

Yeah… right…

Sorry… a little sarcasm. But I do have a point.

Your website’s home page is arguably the most important page on your site, because it’s usually the one most readers will see first.

That means it will probably be your only chance to make a great impression on a potential customer, and persuade them to contact you.

So does the word “Welcome” really tell you anything useful about the company, or compel you to keep reading? Nope… didn’t think so.

Home page’s critical to online success

That being said, the home page copy has several critical jobs to do, and it must do them quickly or your prospect simply moves on to your competitor’s site.

So here’s a short and easy test you can perform on your own home page to see if it’s up to snuff or not…

FYI*** Sometimes it’s tough to be objective, so you may want to have a friend look at your site and do the test for you.

1. Does your page have a headline that gets your attention by including the words you used in your search?
2. Does the headline give you any reason to read the first sentence?
3. Can you tell within 3 or 4 seconds if your products and services can solve the reader’s problem? (i.e. why they are there)
4. Does your copy show the immediate customer benefits in a way they can understand?
5. Is the copy clear and concise?
6. Does your copy include several variations of your keyword phrases, and still sound “natural” to the reader?
7. Do you show testimonials or other proof elements?
8. Does your home page establish trust while starting to build a relationship with the reader?
9. Do you have a powerful call-to-action that tells them what the next step is? (call, e-mail, stop by)
10. The list goes on, but these are some of the key elements in writing a great and persuasive home page that attracts new customers, and persuades them to start a business relationship with your company.

Phew… This portion of the test is done now. In a nutshell, the more “yes” answers you have, the better your copy is. Any “no” answers… and you need to work on it to make it better.

Home Page copy is king. It’s the glue that holds your whole website together, and it has a lot of responsibility.

And it can make the difference between a website that just sits there, and one that generates new prospects and clients for your business.

If you don’t have the time or expertise to write great copy for your home page, just e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140 and I can take care of it for you.

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

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Do you make this mistake in your sales and marketing copy?

There are several key ingredients necessary for any sales copy to succeed.

And I’m talking about sales copy in…

• Your website copy
• E-mails
• Direct Mail
• Space ads
• Postcards
• And Company brochures

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They all need…

• A powerful, attention-getting headline
• Subheads that guide the reader
• A provocative opening to get people to read
• Sales copy that’s not boring
• Proof with customer testimonials
• And a kick-butt offer

But even if sales copy does include all these… there’s still one major blunder most marketers make.

And it’s a biggie! And it’s crucial to a marketing piece’s chance for success!

Making sure to include a Call to Action!

You gotta tell your readers what to do, because if you don’t guide them, they won’t do anything.

It could be as simple as “Call 1-800-111-1111 to get your free CD”, “Sign up for your free newsletter”,

Or you can tell them to come into your store before 12-22-11 and get your 25% discount.

Literally spell it out for them… but tell ‘em what you want them to do next.

So put a call to action in your next ad or letter, and watch your results soar.

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

Will your tradeshow marketing fail to deliver new business?

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Spring in New Hampshire is almost here (after 2 more feet of snow melt, anyway).

And like baseball, many of you look forward to home and garden trade shows and expos.

If you’re a landscaper, builder, or provide any type of home related services, you might even get a booth so you can showcase your company and services to the public.

If you are, that’s great, because shows can be a cost effective way for qualified leads to find you!

Did you notice I said “can be” – not “is”?

It can be, but you gotta make it your mission to do a few simple things right.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of show exhibitors make these three fatal marketing mistakes. Will you?

Marketing Mistake Number 1:

Failure to offer your potential prospects something that interests them enough to give you their personal contact information in exchange.

Are you offering an irresistible free report or guide that has information to help them solve their problem? For example: If you’re a builder, you could offer a painter, you could offer a report titled “7 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Painter” or “Why Using Low VOC Paint Can Save Money and Your Marriage”

Marketing Mistake Number 2:

Giving plenty of good stuff away –but not collecting people’s contact information. Smart marketers (all business owners should be marketers first) always get contact information from good prospects so they can build up a database to follow up with.  Always get a name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.

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And the biggest mistake most trade show exhibitors make…

Marketing Mistake Number 3:

Offering a great give-away, getting all their contact information… but not following up with them after the show is over.

I’m amazed at how often I’ve gone to a show, expressed interest in a product, provided them with my information… and never ever heard a word from them. (This even happened to me at the Stratham Fair last year)

If you’re going to spend the time, money, and effort to exhibit at a show, an expo, a fair, or wherever…

Why wouldn’t you do whatever is necessary to maximize all of your efforts? It’s only common courtesy and smart business sense to follow up with people who gave you their names.

Look… I know you’ll be busy catching up on other things after the show, but to get the best ROI and response from a tradeshow, I recommend this process.

• Within 48 hours of the end of the show, sort your leads into three piles… Serious-immediate need, Medium priority-maybe 3-6 months, and low priority.
• Follow up with the serious prospects right away with a thank you card, phone call and letter, or brochure, thanking them for their interest and offering more help. They’ll also be more likely to remember you if you do this quickly.  Using Send Out Cards is perfect for this.
• Send everybody in the other 2 categories a letter, brochure, or report within 3-4 days.
• And for all of them – stay in touch on a regular monthly basis using direct mail, postcards, reports, and emails.
• And always make sure your communications are relevant, personal, and consistent. You could offer show specials, or extend show discounts.

If you need help creating compelling reports or follow-up marketing materials to stay in touch with people who raised their hands to say “I’m interested”… then call me.

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, email marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark

Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

Is your company’s web copy focused on your readers… or is it all about you?

First, let me explain why you, Mr. or Ms. Business Professional, should even give a rat’s behind.

It’s pretty simple actually, assuming you want your website to generate more leads, more paying customers, and more sales.

You should care because the more your visitors think your website copy is talking to them, and about their needs, the better chance you’ll have of engaging them enough to read it, and just maybe, turn them into a loyal customer.

The problem though, is most web copy is written by business owners or designers, and ends up having just the opposite effect you want it to. It talks more about the company and how great they are – instead of focusing on the reader.

And the reader couldn’t care less about you right then. They want to see if you help them with whatever problem they have, and that’s it.

So how can you tell if your copy is reader focused… or “we-we” focused?

In a nutshell – the words I, me, we, and our are “we-we” focused.

And words like you, yours, and you’ll are “customer” focused.

The key is to use more customer focused words than “we-we” focused words in your copy (which, by the way, is harder than you think – but I can help you with that  -:)

Remember – you want it to be all about the customer.
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This free tool can help you out

I ran across this free tool called the “Customer Focus Calculator We-We Monitor”.

Simply enter the website URL into the testing box, and it will give you a down and dirty “we-we” focus score based on the text it finds.

It’s pretty interesting, and I find it pretty accurate.

So check it out today, and see how you can improve your web copy to be more about your customer than you.

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

If you need help with website design, writing SEO optimized web copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies, I can help!

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Join my discussion by leaving a comment below…

Optimized web copy is the key that gets readers to act now – plus attract the search engines and more visitors to your website:

But writing effective SEO web copy is a process, not a single event.

• You need a primary target market
• You need to know which keywords and phrases to use
• You need to know what they want…
• And you have to have a headline that gets their attention, almost forcing them to read your web copy further

Today in Part 6 of How to Write Optimized Web Content…

You’re gonna’ see what else you need in your copy – copy that follows your headline.

The copy on each page must expand on the headline you’ve written, and be engaging and valuable enough for your visitors to spend some more of their precious time checking out your site.

It should be clear, concise, and compelling. While at the same time include your primary keywords for each specific page.

Make sure your web copy is believable, interesting, and easy to understand.

Different components you should include in the copy of every web page are:

• Emotional benefits the reader will get with your product or service
• Why they should do business with you, instead of your competition
• Statistics and specifics to back up any claims you make about yourself
• Testimonials from happy clients to show “social proof” that you’re as good as you say. (People are skeptical, and more often believe what others say about you)
• A great offer that’s so good, they’d have to be brain dead to pass it up
• A powerful guarantee that makes it risk-free for them
• And a call-to-action that tells your readers exactly what you want them to do next. (call, visit, click, etc.)

After you write your copy, sleep on it, or set it aside for a few days. You’ll find words that don’t sound right, or are confusing or unnecessary. Change ‘em, or delete them.

Repeat that step at least on more time.

Then have a spouse or a friend read it to make sure your message is clear and compelling.

Hope these tips help … and if you want to get the best results that you can, consider hiring a professional web copywriter. That would be me. : – )

In case you missed the first parts of this series, here are the links.

• Click for Part 1 of Optimized Web Copy That Sells
• Click for Part 2 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 3 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 4 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 5 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy

Till next week then…

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter