Demonstrating the superior value your business can deliver can set it apart from competitors, and persuade people to purchase your products or services. Are you missing opportunities? Fortunately, there are three key areas where you can demonstrate the value you offer outweighs the cost to the consumer: financial, strategic and personal.
As an entrepreneur, you’re brimming with ideas, but who has the time to act on them? Being unable to find the time to work on what you want to work on is a common problem. So how do we make room in our lives for this stuff? Designer extraordinaire and guest writer Arley McBlain serves up some suggestions.
When you think of myths, you might think of ancient Greece and sacred beliefs about Titans, Olympians and lesser gods. Copywriting, although less ancient or sacred, has its own set of myths about copy length and word choice. In the interests of better copy for everyone, let’s dispel some of the most pervasive copywriting myths.
Tired of pointless, regurgitated viral debris? A convenient, painless way to expand your entrepreneurial mind in 2012 is to get a daily dose of TEDTalks, comprising more than 900 thought-provoking presentations on technology, entertainment, design, sciences, humanities, arts, NGOs, business and more. You’ll gain life-altering insight and inspiration from the globe’s leading thinkers and doers to better your life, your business and your world.
Humans are hardwired for stories. Our earliest communities used storytelling to transmit beliefs and information from one generation to the next. Even today, we teach our children to respond to stories, whether it’s The Tales of Peter Rabbit or The Time Aunt Becky Got Smashed during Christmas Dinner.
Today, marketers use stories as a powerful way to connect with consumers. You can use storytelling to sell too, if you know when and where to use it.
Most marketing campaigns can be stripped down to one of two themes: build the dream or stop the pain. Marketers tend to favour stop the pain. After all, not everyone has a dream, but everyone has a problem.
As a copywriter and creative type in general, I’m a big fan of the Apple brand and its many polished products. But it hasn’t always been easy to be a member of the Apple faithful. In fact, my loyalty has been tested by two elements: fire and water.
Words carry emotion. Words like hope, freedom, desire, sale and cheap inspire emotional reactions deep in the limbic system. Given the power of these emotion associations, it’s no surprise that copywriters use them to propel people to action. Yet, there are potential pitfalls. Let’s look at how different companies are using emotional language to see what’s working and what’s not.
We all know that B2B marketing differs from B2C. B2B’s longer and more complex buying process has implications for marketing — and your web copy. Here are some tips to get your B2B web copy right.
Humour is a great way to sell. It catches people’s attention, engages them, and injects an element of humanity into otherwise static information. People love to be entertained, and if you can keep them amused while promoting your products or services, then all the better (nice job, Old Spice). What’s more, humour can be a great way to distinguish yourself from the competition (take a bow, Groupon).
