Marketing | Words For Hire

5 Sizzling Tips to Fire Up Your Marketing

October 13, 2008 by Karen Swim

Written by Karen D. Swim

Have you heard the expression “All sizzle and no steak?” It is an old saying that means lots of flash or style but no substance. Sales people are admonished to sell the sizzle not the steak! However, in business, sizzle may attract initial interest but you have to back it up with steak or you will not be able to keep your customers at the dinner table!

However all steak and no sizzle is just as bad! Steak without the presentation can come across as dry and boring. Many educators have learned this lesson and find ways to add a little entertainment and relevance to difficult material to engage their students. The substance does not change but adding style enhances the content and draws in the reader or listener.

Let’s face it packaging matters. You can put pretty words on a dull package and buyers are likely to pass it by for the more attractive package. A highly credentialed job seeker with a flat, boring resume is unlikely to get an interview. Sizzle matters folks. Purists may try to sell the value of substance and having the right stuff but without the packaging, your marketing is going nowhere.

So how do you dress it up without “dumbing” it down? Glad you asked!

Use images. Powerful images tell a story and evoke an emotional response. An image that aligns with your brand can leave a powerful, positive impression. Have you ever viewed a photo in a travel brochure that made you sigh aloud with desire? How often has a delectable food photo awakened a sudden craving? This is sizzle baby at its finest! An image that gets the senses firing until the reader is touching, tasting and feeling the experience.
Make it visually appealing. A visually appealing layout will enhance your marketing message. The key is to make the layout attractive but not distracting. The use of white space, clean lines and clear focal points can make your message dazzling rather than dizzying.
Seduce them with words. Your words can wrap themselves around the reader like a cashmere wrap causing them to purr with delight. Food, travel and luxury writers have a deep understanding about the art of seduction in writing. They romance you with words that melt your insides. They paint a picture with words: “A storm had come through the night I arrived, and the following morning was brilliant—hard cornflower blue sky, light that brought out the folds and pleats of the landscape, and a wind like the wake of a wide-body.” (Walther, Gary, New Tuscan Trio, May/June 2008)
Engage your audience with storytelling. Wrap your facts and benefits in a story that makes your audience experience your product or service on a deeper level. Make them laugh, cry, giggle or get angry but by golly lead them to action with a good story.
Tastefully accessorize. A pair of jeans can from ho hum to hot with a great belt and a sizzling pair of shoes. You may not have a Madison Avenue marketing budget but you can add sizzle with the right accessory. Your accessory can become your signature touch and can be as simple as a decorative font for your name, a signature sign-off or even a color. Accessories can personalize your marketing and enforce your brand even on a shoe-string budget.

So go ahead and add a little sass and flash, you can never go wrong when you serve up your steak with a little sizzle!

Have you ever been enticed to buy something because of the sizzle? How do you add sizzle to your own marketing efforts? Please feel free to share your comments, questions or tips in the comment box. If you have a marketing issue and need one-on-one help contact me by email at karenswim at gmail dot com.

Resources:

Bob Younce’s Series on Food Bloggers – Helpful tips and techniques that you can apply to any writing style

Joe Vitale – Industry expert in hypnotic marketing techniques

5 Tips to Spice Up Your Business

October 8, 2008 by Karen Swim

Image by Oberazzi via Flickr

Written by Karen D. Swim

Growing up my mom was big on seasonal meals. We ate fruits and veggies in season, often from our own garden. Summer was a season of lightness, where crisp cool fruits and vegetables took center stage. Fall was the beginning of foods that warmed your body and comforted your heart. Steaming bowls of chili, soups and stews accompanied by fresh homemade cornbread. Even now I can close my eyes and smell the rich aromas of mom’s stew, all of the tasty vegetables combining in a savory combination of love and goodness.

The pattern of business also follows seasonal shifts. In summer, we tend to lighten the load as we make time for play. We put off complex projects that are not essential and opt for a more casual pace. The arrival of September signals a change, time to get back to work. We may find that we are ready to add new textures and tastes to our own business stew. We may expand with new products or services or delve into new avenues of marketing. We mix it up and in so doing we create a richer, more flavorful dish. Below are a few ingredients that you can add to your spice shelf. Add one or two or try them all to create your own tasty selection.

Face to face marketing. We have become so spoiled by the ease and efficiency of web marketing that we often forget that we can still use some of the traditional methods. Go to a local networking meeting, visit your chamber of commerce or set up appointments with local businesses who need your services. In these trying economic times, a little face time can be just the reassurance a potential customer needs to buy.

Add new media. Enrich your business with new forms of content delivery such as video, audio, photos or animation. Record a series of podcasts with tips in your area of expertise. You can upload them to iTunes and add them to your website. Use video to share information and tips and post it on YouTube, Hulu or your own website. If you like Powerpoint, prepare a presentation and upload it to Slideshare. You can even have your own radio or TV program using sites such as BlogTalkRadio and UStream TV.

Grab a partner. Work with someone in your area of expertise to create a joint offering, or partner with someone that offers complemntary services. Partnerships can help you to create deeper client engagements by expanding your portfolio of services. It can also help all involved to share the load of creating, testing and breaking through to a new space. For example, Writers can team up with photographers, marekting agencies, videographers, SEO consultants, graphic designers, printers and more. Think outside the box.

Teach, coach, consult. You can add another layer to your business by teaching rather than doing. Develop self directed e-courses or on demand webinars, add coaching and consulting to your service offerings. All of these services are fairly easy to add to your portfolio and have the potential to expand your client base and revenue stream.

Step into the Spotlight. Pump up your marketing and increase your visibility with interviews. Radio, tv, newspapers and magazines are all within your reach. Join HARO (Help a Reporter Out) for free and you will receive three emails per day chock full of leads of people seeking experts. I have countless friends who have been featured in stories as a result of HARO, including friend and colleague, Trish Lambert. If you need publicity tips, Jeff Crilley, Joan Stewart and Sanyika Calloway Boyce have excellent resources to get you started.

Great cooks are not afraid to experiment with textures and flavors, and neither should you. Don’t be afraid to mix it up a little, as you may be surprised with the dish you create!

We would love to hear from you. Do you have any spices to add to the list? Any sources to recommend? Let’s share our knowledge as we all grow and succeed together. Add your comments in the comment box or wherever you happen to read this message. 😉

Remember that if you need a little help with your marketing strategy you can always give me a call!

Perception and Art

August 27, 2008 by Karen Swim

Written by Karen D. Swim

The picture to the right is a Rorschach ink blot. I became quite familiar with Rorschach as a Psychobiology major in college.

Rorschach ink blots (developed by Hermann Rorschach) are a projective psychometric test. The theory is that when you show the ink blots to patients, each individual will project his or her real personality into the ink blot via the interpretation. The results were to provide a clue into the person’s psyche.

It is fascinating to see how differently each person will interpret an ink blot. What do you see in the photo to the right – the silhouette of a woman, armadillos crawling along a desert, kidneys? Each person will see something slightly different. As we view the ink blot we impose our own perspective shaped by our life experiences.

The efficacy of the ink blot has been questioned but the underlying theory that we can look at the same thing and see something different is incontrovertible. Law enforcement officers understand this theory well. If multiple people witness an incident, there will be some commonalities but each version will be slightly different.

We bring our perceptions to everything we read, see, hear and touch. For the writer, artist, photographer or marketer it is a truth that we must not only recognize but embrace. The interpretation of our words, paintings, sculptures, and photographs belong entirely to the beholder. This is the beauty and challenge of our work. In a Writer’s Digest interview, Isabel Allende offered these thoughts:

“I’m not the one who invents the stories; I’m like a radio that picks up the waves. Somehow if I move the dial very carefully, I’ll pick up the wave and get the story. But the story doesn’t belong to me; it’s somewhere out there floating. That’s very liberating.” (Writer’s Digest, Oct. 2008)

The story, photo, painting, novel, marketing message or even blog post does not belong to the creator but to those who will shape it, interpret it and experience it through the lens of their perception. As we create we bear the burden of this knowledge. No matter how clearly we seek to articulate our ideas, thoughts and concepts not everyone will see them as presented. Once created, we must find the liberation that Allende alludes to by simply letting go.

I take comfort in knowing that in this way all truth has its own element of fiction. I release the responsibility of attaining perfection and yield myself to being the receptor of the waves intended for me. I am the vessel and not the creator. I can let go and take pleasure watching the work float “out there” free to become what each reader wants and needs it to be. Liberating? Indeed.

Now over to you reader, it’s your post, share your interpretation. The comment box is open and it’s your turn at the mic.

The 5 Marketing Lessons I Learned From Don Cheadle

August 19, 2008 by Karen Swim

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

Don Cheadle is a fabulous actor. In fact he is so good you may not recognize his name. It is this incredible talent that makes Cheadle a role model for awesome, knock your socks off marketing.

Cheadle allows his role to be the star. Cheadle lets the character and dialogue speak. He yields himself as a vessel never taking center stage. In this same way, you should not upstage your marketing. If your copy is all about YOU, then you have failed at Cheadle lesson number 1 – it’s not about you.

Cheadle makes you feel it. We know the rule – engage their emotions, but Cheadle shows us how to master the technique. Cheadle’s roles get under your skin and stay there for a long time. I remain haunted by Hotel Rwanda. I was pulled into the story as though Cheadle reached out from the big screen and offered me his hand. Because I was all in, heart pounding, mind racing I did not forget. Hotel Rwanda led to a passionate activism on behalf of Darfur. Your marketing copy should make your customers feel and do. The words should wrap around your customers, caressing their senses and inviting them into the story.

Cheadle has a clear brand identity. Cheadle is an actor period. His life, interests and pursuits have not sullied or overshadowed his brand. If you know his name, you’re not thinking “guy who only eats green M&Ms,” or co-mingling his name with some too skinny starlet. Nope, he’s an actor. You can articulate his brand. The dude has a clear identity. Watch and learn dear marketers.

Cheadle does not use cheap gimmicks. Cheadle is very good at his job and that is his calling card. He did not have to create a strange persona, adopt an addiiction and create a new 12 step program, date someone several cards short of a full deck or jump on a couch. Cheadle is an actor who can act. When you can do what you claim, well that really is the best kind of marketing of all.
Cheadle is consistent. In role after role, he delivers the goods. It doesn’t matter if the movie is a blockbuster, academy award winner or a little known film. You can count on Cheadle to be a good actor. Your marketing messages will of course change but your core values and your commitment to quality should remain steadfast and true. Your customers should be able to count on you today and tomorrow.

Cheadle may not be the biggest named star in Hollywood, but he definitely has sustainability. Anyone can be a flash in the pan hottie but it takes real talent to build and sustain a brand.

What are your tips for marketing success? Have you gained any insight from your favorite actors?

The Deal is in the Details

August 6, 2008 by Karen Swim

Paying people to hold signs is one of the olde...

Image via Wikipedia

Written by Karen D. Swim

As children our parents taught us to do the little things like saying please, thank you or covering our mouth when coughing. In the big scheme of things these expressions of etiquette were not going to save the world but they sure would make it a nicer place to live.

As adults we are sometimes so focused on the complex, or the bigger picture that we fail to take note of the small details. We build a whiz bang website but forget to have a call to action. We deliver a stand out proposal but forget to ask for the business. So often it is the small detail that will set us apart from the crowd. Allow me to share a few recent examples.

For two weeks, I received resumes from prospective candidates. The problem? I am not hiring any new employees! However, since I am a Career Marketing Professional, I read each submission. I was horrified by most of these attempts at securing a job. Although, I counsel my own clients on the big and small details, I still assumed that the majority of job seekers got the easy stuff right. Wrong!

Only one applicant indicated the position sought and addressed me by name.
Many applicants simply copied and pasted a resume into the body of the email. Of course, with email formatting, it came across as a sloppy, unprofessional mess.
Not one single person indicated why they were applying.

I responded to every applicant thanking them and even offered leads to a few of the better candidates. I even called one applicant (Tip: When in job seekng mode, always be prepared to speak to a potential employer).

Two people told me they were responding to “my ad.” Neither could tell me where they had seen the ad! I found out later via Google Alerts that someone had placed an ad on Craig’s List. The real employer did not include the URL of his/her company and used the Craig’s List email. Applicants attempted to learn more by searching “Words For Hire” and making direct contact.

Any one of these applicants would have stood out by doing the basics well such as:

Indicating the reason for applying and where they saw the ad. (The employer may have placed multiple ads!)
Using the supplied email address (this may have been done for tracking purposes).
Taking time to do a text friendly resume (takes two minutes, I do this for clients all the time).

Another recent example comes courtesy of marketing emails. These days when you connect with people on LinkedIn or social forums, you are automatically added to their mailing list. (I will discuss this subject in detail in upcoming posts on social media.) I receive lots of ezines, marketing messages and invites in my email box.

With many of the messages, I am not sure how I got on a list or how to get off. These emails often come from an admin address to which you cannot reply. So, when I got an email that took note of these two basic things I noticed! Right at the top it said:

“Dear Friends, Just to jog your memory, we were connected through Linkedin and have become part of one another’s network. I know you will find great value in the article below, and I appreciate your forwarding it to those that you think it might help as well.

Feel free to unsubscribe from my monthly newsletter (and unoccasional notices) by hitting the button below. (But I would definitely miss you!) Stick around for a couple of months and give it a try; I always make the message inspiring and valuable!”

I don’t mind sharing that the note was sent by Laura Fenamore. Not only did she tell me why I was receiving it, but gave me a nice way to opt out (without opting out of being linked to her) with a great soft sell marketing message to boot!

These days, “average” has become “below average.” It is not that hard to rise above the crowd of mediocrity. While fancy graphics and technological wizardry are wonderful, your efforts are diluted if you don’t do the basics well. Yes, I know the basics are not the hot new trend of the day. They are, however, the proven workhorse that the cool kids often overlook. If you want to rise above in today’s competitive marketplace, pay attention to the little things.

How do you make sure you don’t overlook the basics? Are these little things important to you and your customers? Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or beverage of your choice and let’s chat!