Newsletter Writer

This Seattle copywriter is always on the lookout for ways to be a smarter, better marketing writer. But spare me the tomes. I, like so many marketers (people!), have little time for self-improvement, despite the desire. That's why I like email newsletters and short guides. They're easy to read, digest and put into action.

Here's a short guide that I recently downloaded and can recommend: Top 10 Ways to Energize Your Sales and Marketing. In it, Steve MacDonald of StudioHDV has all the text broken into bite-size chunks, and a take away for every "way" he describes. Handy. And re-energizing. Reminders of what we should be doing, and new ideas too. Applicable to small business marketing and big business too!

Get yours at http://www.studiohdv.com/topten_l1.asp.

As a copywriter, I had to laugh when I read the following comment in Email Insider yesterday:

 

“44% of marketers surveyed believe the biggest challenge in email is providing relevant content. - eMarketer (2006)”

 

That’s hilarious to me because any copywriter worth her salt can serve up relevant content on a daily basis. Really what these marketers are probably saying is they don’t know how to not talk about their products or services. Relevant content means simply information that’s useful to the recipient, not a sales pitch.

 

Take the email newsletter as an example: I’ve yet to sit down with anyone thinking about doing an email newsletter and been at a loss when we started talking topics and articles. Quite the opposite! My brain typically goes into overdrive.

 

Maybe it’s my magazine editor background, maybe it’s because I’m a writer, or maybe it’s because I’m not stuck in the company mindset meaning I can think like a customer: What would be interesting to me, the customer, not you, the marketer?

 

And this should be true of any copywriter.

 

So if you’re a marketer who thinks “relevant content” is a challenge, I challenge you to bring in a copywriter who doesn’t eat, drink, breathe it like you do…and relevant content will be a breeze.

 

When life hands you lemons you're supposed to whip up a pucker-worthy batch of lemonade. Right? But what if you don't get any lemons at all. Yes, there is a marketing truism here and one that applies to anyone involved in marketing, advertising, public relations or communications. It's called the add-on sale. Or, in come cases, what I and other marketing communications writers like to call a package deal. When you get your oil changed, don't they check your car's other fluids? Or when you buy an expensive gift, don't you expect some nifty gift-wrapping, gratis?

Well, I had come to expect the same kind of inclusive, forward-thinking marketing at my local supermarket fish counter. When I buy fish, I always want a lemon to go with it. Always. And that's what I got in the store where I used to shop. Didn't pick up a lemon in the produce section. No problem. They always featured a basket of lemons right on the fish counter. And sure as shooting I always bought one. This isn't a tale of selling more lemons...although the grocery store surely did. It is a tale of selling a complete customer experience, of knowing that I was getting good service, that they were thinking about me and my needs...and meeting those needs.

So when I moved from my little town in Washington state to another little town in Idaho, I didn't really think about lemons. I had too much other stuff on my mind (more fodder for another blog). But when I reached the fish counter and bought my fish I realized that they had no lemons on the counter. I had to backtrack all the way to the produce section with a toddler trying to jump out of the moving cart and a 4-year-old complaining about having to go to the bathroom. Yes, making my shopping trips easier is very important when it comes to customer service.

So am I sour on my new grocery store? Not really. But I am a bit disappointed that I'm not treated to the same level of service. Because when it comes right down to it, marketing and public relations are often about the little things, not grand e-newsletters, whiz bang Web site writing or awesome advertising copy (although all those things help!). Sometimes it's as simple, and essential, as a lemon!