When it Comes to Copywriting Clients, One Size of Writer Does Not Always Fit All

Remember Johnny Cochran's famous line about the glove during the O.J. Simpson murder trial? He had a point.

As a copywriter I consider myself a generalist--no particular industry/area of expertise, able to write about a broad range of topics and for a variety of industries or fields of endeavor with a few exceptions. But as general as I am, and as many clients I am able to work with, I have to say that sometimes, you just can't please 'em all. And sometimes, that one-writer-fits-all-clients simply doesn't fit.

I was contacted several months ago by a lovely person who is starting a new endeavor with a business partner. Could I write the copy for their new website? Sure, would love to, sounds great. But it wasn't.

Aside from the fact I did not adhere to my own process for writing website copy (having the client complete a questionnaire to gather necessary information/input, provide competitor websites as reference and identify competition in the marketplace), our writing relationship has teetered on disastrous. I blame myself for not managing the process and for not stepping out of it in time. It simply was not a good fit. We got stuck in a morass of confusing messages, stream-of-consciousness input, direction that shifted a few times; the client did not even have a company name when I dove into the project. After four drafts and about four hours of phone time and copy review, I gave up. I could not for the life of me capture their voice--the heart of the problem, I believe. I was lost in a sea of too many changes and could not find my way back to their USP, their brand promise, their mojo.

 

What Would Donald Trump Have Done?
What I should have done, after the second go-round, is politely fire myself from the project. I have since done so, asking a colleague to handle any further edits because at this point, I can't see straight! (The website developer has had similar issues with the client--they don't know what they want until they see it, many revisions, no clear direction ...)

Because it is so important to me to have happy clients, I did not charge her for a lot of the work. She paid me up front to write four pages of copy, which was the original scope of the project; I'd written two others and edited (heavily) an additional two pages at no charge since I could see this was not going so well (although I have to say, to their credit, they have been very gracious and kind on the phone). After a point I advised the client to rewrite what I gave them in the way they wanted and I'd tweak and edit it to make sure it reads well. I was gratified to see they did use some of my copy throughout, and I gave them back their edited pages. At this point I have no clue where the project stands and I'm afraid to ask. But I am relieved to not suffer through any more changes and I am betting they're also relieved to not have to explain, once again, what they are looking for that they aren't seeing on the page.

So word to me and to the wise: If you're not a good fit for the client or the copy, move on! Replace yourself with someone who is a better fit, and you'll all be happier. I know I am.

Writing a Press Release? AP Style Matters

Writing a professional news release that the media outlets will take seriously is serious business, but it's not difficult. I've written before about making sure your news is actual news, that it is something the press and/or the listeners/viewers/readers will want to know about, as well as reasons to write a press release. 

Here are a few tips on how to write a press release the way a public relations writer would do it, with adherence to AP Style (the Associated Press Stylebook is readily available and is an excellent resource/guide for all matters of news-related reporting).

NOTE: These days, being the era of the digital and SEO press release, you should make sure to include keywords in your headline and in your supportive subhead that are also included in the body of your release.
That being said, here are some handy helpers and this list is by no means complete.

1. Give the editor what she needs to know in the Five Ws: who, what, where, when and why. Pack this information in the top part of your press release in case the very busy editor or reporter who is reading it is skimming and needs to move on to the next 1000 in her inbox. 

2. Get to the point quickly--don't make anyone read a few paragraphs before they figure out what your news is. Your headline and supportive subhead should telegraph the main premise and key talking points and your Five Ws should follow as immediately as possible. 

3. Titles are not always capitalized! GRRR ... this one always makes me just this side of loony. Clients always think a job title is capitalized. I have no idea where this misconception comes from. In a press release, the person's title (unless it is honorific or formal) is only capitalized when it precedes the person's name (Principal Figgins, Executive Director Caryn Starr-Gates) and is lower case after the name (Figgins, principal of McKinley High School or Caryn Starr-Gates, executive director of a whole lotta nuthin'). 

Formal titles, such as Senator, President, Princess are capitalized and appear before the person's name. There is a lot to read up on in the AP Stylebook about this.  

 4. You only use a person's full name the first time it appears, after which you use only the last name (usually; a few exceptions exist). So when I write about Dr. Arnold Pepper (that's Dr. Pepper's first name, right?) I would write, "Dr. Arnold Pepper, the lead scientist on the soft drink project ..." and later on I would write, "Pepper reported that Starr-Gates said she felt there was something really yucky about that soda and that she always prefers seltzer."

5. Write out some numbers, use digits on others. All ordinal and cardinal numbers first through ninth and one through nine are written out; move to numerals at 10th and 10.

6. Don't use first person. It's not "I" and "we" unless those are used in quotes in the story. It's news, written in the third person. Using first person will immediately tell the recipient, "I'm an amateur." 


7. Months that have more than five letters in them should be abbreviated. See the AP Stylebook for how to abbreviate those pesky long ones.

8. Postal abbreviations for state names (and the way they are written) are not the correct state name abbreviations for news releases. Some are the same, as it turns out but not all. Writing a letter to grandma in Tennessee? Write TN on your envelope but if you are talking about news in that state, write Tenn.

9. Spell correctly and punctuate correctly. Proofread that release before you hit "send." Remember that in American English, commas and periods go INSIDE the quotation marks. 

Although it makes me sad, serial commas are not used (I love me some serial commas). This is not to say that your feature article or book that you are writing according to another manual of style (hello, Chicago!) should not be peppered with serial commas; just not in your AP-style news release.

10.  Most book /magazine titles are in quotations. Don't italicize these. And not everything is put in quotes (reference material for example). Look it up in the "AP Stylebook."

11. Give the document some space. Many people double space their press releases, a throwback to the days of old when releases were mailed or faxed and editors needed room to edit. I usually space my documents at 1.15 to make them easier to read.

12. Make sure your facts are straight. No sense making stuff up and then get caught in a lie or in spreading misinformation. You'll get blackballed in no time! If you know who this dude is and why I stuck his photo here, feel free to share that in the comments.

Here's a final tip: hire a professional writer to help you strategize, develop a newsworthy angle or bring out your real story, and write a professional, AP-style press release that won't be deleted before it's read! 

If you'd like me to review something you're working on, send it to caryn@starrgates.com.

Cover the five Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. A press release functions as the hook to get an editor's attention. However, even if you have her attention, if you do not cover the necessary information, she will still find something else to print. The five Ws tell the editor the importance of the information presented.

2

Start with your main point. In journalistic writing, the main point, or overall topic, needs to be at the beginning. If the editor has to dig for it, he will find some other press release to print. You can also underline your main point by including a sample headline.

3

Look carefully at your use of dates and numbers. For example, ordinal numbers first through ninth have to be spelled out, while anything 10th and over uses numerals. the same applies for cardinal numbers one through nine, with 10 and higher written as numerals. Dates and years use numerals. All months with more than five letters, such as January, are expected to be abbreviated.

4

Go over your punctuation. It is important to remember to use one space after the period. Also commas and periods go inside of quotation marks, and serial commas are not used. That is, if you have a list of items, you do not need a comma before the last item: "This is a list of one, two and three items." Some writing styles do require a comma after the "and."

5

Check names and titles. The first time a person is introduced, you must use her first name and full title. Formal titles, such as President or Senator, must be capitalized and appear before the person's name. Informal titles such as deputy secretary of government agency are in lowercase and can appear either before or after a person's name. After first use, only the last name is necessary, except in cases where two people have the same last name or the name is mentioned in a direct quotation.

6

Double check and double space. When you finish writing your press release, double space the body of the release in order to give the editor space to edit the piece as necessary. Also, double check all your facts, including grammar and spelling, to ensure you are putting the best possible face on your company.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_8029607_write-release-proper-ap-style.html

Blog Posts: How Long is Long Enough?

I'm writing this today in response to a post in a LinkedIn group that brought up the issue of blog post length. There was an article cited about this and we were asked our opinion on the question of what is the right length for a blog. I suppose the issue of frequency is also at play here but as someone who barely writes on her own blog (my last entry was just over two months ago!) I am not going to go there today.

Disclaimer: I am not an SEO expert or practitioner, I'm a copywriter. All views expressed here are the opinions from a writer's point of view (albeit, someone who writes loads of online content and pays attention to trends and pesky algorithm updates, and learns a lot from the digital gurus I work with). I can recommend several trusted SEO experts if you need a referral.

What to Write

A company's blog (web log) post is your company's online diary so to speak -- a valuable tool for communicating your expert opinion, positioning you and your key employees as leaders in your field, sharing pertinent and helpful insights that your customers or clients can use to improve their operations -- you get the idea. If you are writing blog posts for SEO purposes, to improve your search results, and to drive traffic to your website, you need to have relevant, engaging content for the search engines and your readers; topics should be of intrinsic value and of interest to humans.

In my humble opinion, short posts just for the sake of throwing something out there are a waste; they probably don't have much in the way of interesting or informative content and to me, they feel gratuitous and somewhat spammy ("Uh oh, I'm supposed to post something so here it is: something/anything/blah blah blah").

I'm not talking about using your company's blog as another avenue to stay in touch with your clients for a quick announcement or important update, especially if they know to go there for these communiques (such as: our office is closed, remember to file by Friday, event registration ends today). This is actually a great client contact channel for pertinent information on the fly, but it's not a blog post.

Blog Length
Search engines need quality content and enough of it to deem your blog worthy of search results . . . as do your readers. There is no magic word count for this but too short is not going to cut it. That in itself is a highly subjective sentence. There is a good study on blog post length and search results that I found on SlideShare; you can view it here.

Business blog posts are articles, and as a copywriter who writes a lot of these for clients, I will say this: however long I need to state my case and make my point is how long my blog posts run. Some people say 400 words is a good target; I've written blog posts that are between 400-500 words and others that are closer to 800. There were not wasted words, the articles were researched, and the posts were not over-written. I don't believe there are any rules around this issue and it depends on your subject matter and your audience.

If you plan to post frequently, perhaps articles on the shorter side make more sense for you (400-500 words). If you post infrequently, or write about technical topics that need more space (and words) to unpack, longer (1000-1500 words) is probably better for your topic and your readers. There are no rules. (Suggestion: If you plan to write something over 1000 words, you might want to look for opportunities to submit articles to publications seeking more in-depth, longer content, unless your audience is one that expects and reads long articles on a regular basis).

I lament, balk at, and fight against the adage that nobody reads anymore, no one has time, people want short snippets instead of articles with flow and substance. People will read what matters to them. That being said, there are ways to meet these accepted "truths" head on. Providing useful links to your sources help to trim down word count; you can bring up the point, make a statement, and direct the readers to the source for more details (much as you would in an email newsletter). I also suggest breaking up longer pieces with bold subheads and call-outs to draw the reader's eye and provide snippets of information. However, to me the bottom line regarding blog length is:

• Write an article that is interesting and relevant to your audience. 
• Make it as long as you have to in order to deliver helpful information to your audience.
• Don't get hung up on capricious limits like 150 words or three paragraphs.  Who made that up?

Do you agree? What are your thoughts about blog length? Please share them in comments.

Make Sure Your Website Makes the Right Impression--And Builds Sales

As the old saying goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” In the online world you have one moment, so make sure you make the best impression right away on your business’ website. Here are five ways to make sure your website works in positive ways to build your online reputation and identity.

Good website design. This is a crucial part of how site visitors will perceive your brand and it’s sad to say, I see many websites that are not updated and look unappealing and musty.

Site visitors (and future customers) will trust your brand based on what they see on the Web. You want to encourage them click through to view more pages, watch a video, or fill out the contact box for more information. Make your website design clean and uncluttered, with images that support your brand’s story and encourage interaction with the pages.

Mobile-specific website. Smartphone market penetration has skyrocketed; according to statista.com, market penetration in 2014 is projected to reach 64 percent of all new handset sales, and IBM reports that mobile commerce sales now account for over 13 percent of total online sales. It is predicted that more people will access the internet via their smartphones than their desktop computers by next year.

Mobile-specific websites are formatted to accommodate the smaller screens, touchscreens, and gestures so they are much more user-friendly for smartphones and tablets. They are thumb-friendly and don’t require lots of zooming in or panning left to right (just scrolling up and down). If you are creating a mobile version of your current site, leave out the flash graphics—they don’t load on mobile devices.

Embed video. Your website should offer various media because people take in information in different ways—through text, images, or video. Videos become your online commercials and should be just as short to keep viewers engaged. Embedded videos in your brand’s website increase visitor engagement or interaction, increases length of time on the page, and is good for SEO because videos can be optimized for search. By linking your short videos to longer forms on YouTube or Vimeo you create relevant back links to your website.

Link your social media accounts. Social networks provide excellent ways to boost your business’ online visibility; there are hundreds but the most popular for business are LinkedIn, Facebook (fan pages, not personal pages), Google+, and Twitter; Pinterest is becoming a popular business-building tool for certain types of businesses as well. You should cross-promote your social media content with your website to drive traffic to specific web pages or promotional landing pages.

Optimize and analyze. Strong search engine optimization (SEO) enhances your website’s organic search engine results. Implement the proper keywords and keyphrases, write relevant on-page content, and use targeted meta tags, title tags, and page descriptions.

 

After you optimize (which should be ongoing) you need to see how the site is performing and meeting your goals. Website analytics provide valuable data that will inform content and actions to take to grow your business. You can see:

- Which search engines your visitors use
- The search terms they used to find you
- Specific pages they are visiting
- Time spent on each page and bounce rates
- Interactions with the website pages

Analyzing these metrics helps you determine where you are losing your customers (on the site) and the channels they use to reach you; use the data to make necessary changes to boost website traffic and convert more prospects to customers.

Taken separately, each element can only do so much; put together in a cohesive website development plan can help you transform your website into a valuable online business asset. If you need recommendations for SEO experts who can help you with this important internet marketing effort, feel free to contact me for a referral.

Damn You, Typos! Begone with You!

Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows that I am a stickler for detail, good grammar, and a typo-free piece of communication. I have been known to snarkily point out the errors on other people's website pages, in their social media posts, their articles . . . and restaurant menus are a particular favorite of mine. (Honestly, doesn't the Italian restaurant know how to spell "cappuccino?") I apologize in advance about my nasty habit but these things just jump out at me, begging for attention.

So it was interesting to have a few friends point out some errors of my own in a Facebook post and a vacation message on my email program. Allow me to explain.

Both were typed on my smartphone, and I was not wearing my glasses. I hate the stupid touchscreen keypad and the fact that I am far-sighted and can't see crap without my glasses! However, are these good excuses or just ... excuses?

In the case of the email vacation message, I let everyone know that "I sm out of the office until later." This is certainly not horrible in any way but it was pretty funny, given the source (moi). When my friend pointed it out I responded that perhaps I was creating a service mark for my message (and then explained the phone typing thing, no glasses, etc.).

In the case of the Facebook message, I was at a major regional shopping mall Monday night, just before closing, when a shooter entered and started firing randomly (not at people, thank goodness; turns out he was there to kill himself but he certainly scared the shoppers and brought out hundreds of police and FBI agents).

My husband and I ran into the back storage room of the shop we were in with the store manager and locked ourselves in there until we could safely exit. I hastily grabbed the phone and wrote out a Facebook post that was partially scrambled due to the errors but everyone understood the message.

 

Caryn Starr-Gates

November 4 via mobile

Locked in back of a store in Gardem stste Plaza. Shooter in the mal. Safe for now.

Like · · Promote · Share

I did not realize the errors (minor, given the circumstances) until a friend who read and responded to the post pointed them out. She said I must have been shaking because of so many typos and that just wasn't like me. She is right, of course--not about the shaking (I was not) but about the errors. I had no idea of them at the time. It was not terror in the moment (although I was a bit rattled and nervous) -- again, it was a case of tiny keyboard, touchscreen, no glasses. When I got home and saw it, well, the figurative egg was on my face! I explained the situation to her.

So where does this all lead? Read your stuff before you post it! It only takes a moment to go back and make corrections. What you write, publish, and share are reflections of you, whether in a personal or professional sphere. It is not difficult to make your communication more professional by looking it over first.

• If you are writing an article, news release, report, or other business-related document, have a colleague or professional editor/proofreader review and proofread it before it is published.
• If you are typing on those little phones or even the more expansive tablet keypads, don't hit "Send" until you've looked over the message or the document. The same goes for any desktop email program.
• Try copying and pasting your text into a new blank page and read it over again; sometimes the printed change of scenery helps you see things differently--and notice small mistakes.
• Multi-tasking sucks and will lead to mistakes that you'll have to go back and correct, then re-send whatever you just wrote with a note of apology. This looks bad. For instance, avoid chatting on the phone while sending emails or documents.
• Don't rely on spell check and MS Word's grammar/spelling correction tools -- these are not fail-safe.
• Now that I use a smartphone and text occasionally, I see that capitalizing and punctuation is a bit of a hassle. Do it anyway. At least before you send me that message. 

Twenty Great Reasons to Write and Publish a News Release

In my last blog post (which is too long ago, I admit that), I wrote about the downfall of businesses who think all their news is fit to print.

Honestly, sweethearts, it's not.

But it is not all that difficult to find reasons to communicate with the press (which in this case is not limited to print journalism--although many people on LinkedIn have argued that a press release is something that goes to "press" in traditional print way, rather than a news release that is sent to all news outlets. Whatever).

A news/press release can be about a lot of topics or matters related to your company or practice but should resonate with prospective readers, viewers, listeners (there, I've covered all ways to consume the news -- print, video/televisions/online, radio/podcast. Anything else?). 

Aside from announcing a new product or service you offer, which is true news (especially if it has real merit to your audience), here's a far-from-exhaustive list of (twenty) reasons to put out a news release about your company:

1  Announcing your new company website or significant upgrades to your existing website--and how they help your customers.
2.  Involvement with charity work; community service earns press and positive relations with the public. 
3.  Results or findings of a new study or research in your industry or field.
4.  Useful tips related to your product or service (without being overtly self-promotional).
5.  Forecasts about your industry or upcoming changes in your field that will affect consumers.
6.  Comments on current events or trends that relate to your industry.
7. Receiving an award -- this can be an employee, manager, owner, or the company. Share the good news!
8. An offer of a free downloadable white paper or e-book that benefits your audience; people love free information.
9. Adding new employees or opening a new office/location.
10. Saying goodbye to long-term employees who are retiring -- nice reason to craft a feature release.
11. Your office is hosting a special event or educational webinar or seminar.
12. Announce a reorganization or a renaming of your business.
13. Somewhat related, announcing the rebranding of your business (could be a renaming and corresponding marketing overhaul, or a periodic rebranding to refresh and renew how customers see you).
14. Community events your company is sponsoring, from high school fundraisers to Little League teams to social action endeavors.
15. Marking a milestone anniversary for your business (great way to include a retrospective of important business accomplishments or contributions over the years).
16. Gaining a big-name client or inking a big deal (as long as it's OK that this is public knowledge).
17. Presenting at an industry conference, exhibiting at a trade show, or sponsoring a program.
18. Crisis communications -- responding to negative press about your company, product, or service; managing your reputation with your public (where the rubber meets the road in public relations).
19. Making an appearance on a talk show or participating in an expert panel, from internet radio to television interviews to business interviews in the newspaper. All good.
20. Major financial or structural changes in your company-- merger or acquisition, going public, expanding overseas.

What are some of the reasons why your business has issued a press release? Feel free to share them in the comments box.

You Get What You Pay For

Why is it that plumbers, electricians, and handymen are not questioned about their fees and consumers pay them handsomely for their services?

How is it that lawyers charge several hundred dollars an hour to share their expertise, and clients pay for that without querying the attorneys about their qualifications that support this rate? (Dear Esquires, I am not picking on you, really - this is just to make my point.)

What is it about freelance copywriters that makes everyone think they can bottom feed and get away with it (or at least try)?

Can you hear me sighing now?

This issue has popped up on several LinkedIn groups that I'm a member of so I know I'm not the only one confronting this (although I am happy to report it is not a frequent problem at StarrGates Business Communications).

When it comes to your company's communications, don't you want a professional to help craft your message, write your copy, position you with crisp, polished text that sells? In our field, you most certainly get what you pay for. The range of fees copywriters charge is pretty broad and somewhat informed by geography. But all things being equal, a seasoned pro will work with you to deliver well-written copy in your brand voice, in ways that are meaningful to your audience.

You might be able to get this for $25 an hour or even $35 when you hire a junior copywriter but please understand that experienced professional copywriters charge more than this and will deliver a lot for the money and therefore are worth more. I am shocked that placement firms that specialize in creatives (such as copywriters and art directors) are offering these low rates to independent contractors (like me) --all the more so because this is what I was getting DECADES ago. This is not good for the industry and brings down the whole earning curve. Toss in the bloggers who will accept $10 or $15 to write blog posts and now we're really sinking low. Welcome to the "new economy?" I say to hell with that!

Freelancers rely on billable hours to earn their livings, just as attorneys do. Freelance copywriters must be mindful of the time they spend servicing their accounts, just as your mechanic does when he's  installing a new transmission (and bills you for time and materials). Freelance copywriters pack a lot into their hourly rates or their flat fees for your project. Our rates are not strictly for the time it takes to write or for the actual finished product (if billing a flat rate) but for all those ancillaries clients don't always think of.


As a professional freelance copywriter, I have to factor in:

1. Client meetings. Our time is valuable, people--every bit as valuable as yours. If I am not sitting in front of my computer writing but rather, am sitting in meetings going over your copy and discussing revisions, I am not creating (and therefore, billing). Although I do not charge for an initial client meeting/call to discuss copy needs, copy direction, etc., I have to be compensated for the time I spend servicing your account. I think I'm pretty generous with my time and I don't nickel-and-dime anyone (and in fact, I give away quite a bit of time). You might not see this should-be-billable time broken out on an invoice, but it's in there. If you want me to sit through four hours of meetings to go over the copy again, or you want me to travel several hours round trip to visit an account, I have to be paid for this!
2.  Research. I think I'm pretty smart . . . but not so smart that I can whip out website pages, blog posts, or brochures about industries I know nothing about until I do the research. I have been hired numerous times as a ghost writer to produce expert byline articles about fields in which I am not an expert at the outset, and am delighted to learn about during the writing process. I like researching and learning and becoming a pop-up expert about a diverse array of topics and industries. Even if I am writing about something I already know, I want to research what your competition is doing or look for something new in your field to talk about if it's relevant. This takes time.
3. Scope creep. This is the bane of all creatives, when clients go around and around with more revisions than the original contract calls for. I'm not talking about a minor tweak here and there after copy has been approved, or discovering a typo that was missed during proofreading; what I refer to here is more involved rewrites or, after approval, several requests for revisions that require more than a five-minute change. Again, I am generous with my time and will often overlook minor "violations" but if the contracted fee includes one round of revisions, after that you're on the clock for an hourly rate. So why are you complaining when you get the final invoice? You signed the contract!
4. Continuing education. Even if it's not formal such as taking classes or going for certifications, a good copywriter must always be learning, especially in today's quickly changing world. Copywriters who want to stay relevant must stay abreast of the latest trends, the new media platforms, the shifts in business, corporate, and marketing communications. We read a lot, we pay attention to the world around us, we figure out how to incorporate what makes sense for our clients into our work (and help them build their businesses which is what we are hired to do!). 
5. Experience. I've written for a lot of different types of accounts. I have worked with all sorts of people. I can handle account management as well as creative concept and execution. I can write for advertising as well as public relations which are two different disciplines. I understand how to work with art directors and graphic designers. I have developed a level of diplomacy and professional tact that most 20-somethings simply do not possess yet. This is my experience. And you get what you pay for.

When Good People (?) Say Bad Things Online

I have witnessed some serious downward spirals in interpersonal communication on social networks and it's quite disturbing.

And many of these are from so-called communications professionals, copywriters, and marketing experts.

I'm not talking about the lewd, crude comments the general public posts to YouTube videos and other shared media. Those are for another conversation. I'm talking about the way professionals snipe at each other on LinkedIn or bash each other on Facebook fan pages. Perhaps because there is room for more characters on these networks, people feel the need to show the darker side of their own character.

In short, their shit comes out all over the place and it's really ugly.

Do they really want to be known or remembered in this way? Uh, I guess so, because they can't seem to stop. As someone who writes for a living, and helps businesses and entrepreneurs spit-shine their image and their marketing message to the best of my abilities, this trend horrifies me!

I have seen this ugly devolution several times on LinkedIn when someone has posted that he/she is looking for a copywriter or art director. People respond with their contact information because they're looking for work. OK. But God forbid the seeker of professionals does not post an update publicly right away, or respond to each and every respondent--people immediately go on the attack and start saying some very ugly things about other professionals they don't even know! Then they start feeding on each other's posts until the conversation gets downright wicked. And they wonder why they are still looking for work?

How about when someone posts a question or opinion to a group and members actually mock them "in public" through their responses? Really? Did you not get the memo that social networks are for sharing ideas, resources, and opinions that will make a positive difference for others? Can't you take your nasty, petty, childish screeds offline and spare the rest of us innocent bystanders who must now delete these so-called discussions?

What you write on social media is forever, you can't really take it away, and your online reputation is how many of your friends, fans, group members, and followers will remember you.

A Sad Example
Last spring a marketing manager posted a simple call for freelance copywriters in one of my LinkedIn groups. People responded. A lot. I chose to respond to her post privately as I often do. It's an easy option and keeps you out of the comments fray.

Some group members checked out this person's profile (which is not related directly to her current position). These group members made an assumption about her present job and her needs, and those whose work history aligned with that background gave some more targeted responses. OK, so far, so good and on point. Until they encountered the response vacuum and did not hear back from this person about their sterling credentials.

Other group members started to get antsy when a couple of weeks went by and there was no further communication from the marketing person who needed to hire a freelance copywriter. The mob started to gather its verbal pitchforks and rakes and really went to town, bashing this person publicly--on LinkedIn, among each other--for not responding to them in what they deemed to be a fair amount of time. Yes, these copywriters publicly demeaned her and anyone who would dare to post a possible job opening. Accusations of phishing abounded!

I sat on the sidelines in horror as I watched fellow group members devolve into a mob mentality of permanent, negative, self-defeating written communication. I also followed up privately and politely to the woman to  see if she'd made any decisions yet. I also gave her a heads up on the ugly slander-fest going on in the LinkedIn group at her expense.

She posted a polite update to everyone assuring them she received everyone's contact information and was holding on to it for any future needs.

Oh - and I got the assignment.

Say It, Don't Spray It!

Why is it that so many advertisers feel the need to cram every single message they have into one ad? I'm sure someone told these businesses that with their limited advertising dollars, it's best to use the shotgun approach, put all their selling points out there, and see what people respond to.

Uh, not a great idea. Really, I would not give you a bum steer here. Keep your ad copy simple. If you cannot afford to run more than one ad for something, resist the temptation to squish every sales point into the piece. Save it for your website where you can break down your message into distinct pages.

These best approach is to really hone your message, cough up the money to run enough ad insertions or radio or TV spots to drive home what you are trying to say. You can say it in many different ways - that's the beauty of an ad campaign. But you simply cannot sell your audience on more than a point or two within one piece of (well-written) communication. No one will know what you are really trying to say if you spray them with too many messages. Especially in this age of over-communication, media barrages, too many emails, etc., now more than ever, simplicity is golden.

In a print ad, the headline and leave-behind line, coupled with a strong visual, are what will grab readers' attention. These need to be short and to the point and speak to your readers' needs or, as some marketers put it, their pain points (in other words, how are you solving their problem). If you are a financial services firm that specializes in a niche investment product, and cater to a certain segment of the investing population, you have to distill your message to the one thing these potential clients need to know; don't waste their time with lots of ancillary information that has nothing to do with "here is this great product you need to know about ... and here's why." The ad copy can provide more detail but the headline and leave-behind line really need to sum up why the audience needs to contact you for more information or to open an account.

The challenge is greater in radio, where people are not leisurely reading, stopping to rip out an ad or jot down a phone number. They are driving, or listening while working, and might not have the chance to stop everything to fully grasp your vital statistics. As "the theater of the mind," radio spots must paint a clear picture of what you are selling in a very different way. The spots must be uncluttered in order to grab attention, maintain attention, and eventually lead to the desired result. Screaming announcers, too many sound effects, boring announcer reads, too much rambling copy ... these all invite tuning out, not tuning in. Keep the message simple and clear, make it fun if that's appropriate, and give a clear call to action. As with any kind of media buy, the spots need to not only be well written but also be well placed (buy the right programs, time slots, frequency) to make an impact.

It's not always easy to key in on just one message but if you think about the ad campaigns that are not only memorable but also effective, you'll find a common element among them: one clear message conveyed in different ways, across different media perhaps or over the course of many years. You can only effectively sell one quality at a time through your advertising copy: quality, social responsibility, saves money, saves time, builds wealth, nurtures problem students, pamper yourself or others, feeds the soul/spirit/belly, adventure, fun, family (and on and on).  Working with a professional copywriter or a marketing expert can help you figure out what you need to communicate and help you avoid spraying your target audience with too much extraneous information.