Copywriters who want to hone their craft to offer a higher level of service to their customers can turn to learning more about the ins and outs of the back-side or computer side of web content. One way to learn more is to understand that mathematical equations or calculations take place when the internet meets a surfer who randomly inputs information into either a search engine box or posts information on a website for viewing. The random”ness” of the internet, is not random at all. Rather it consists of a finite set of rules that dictate what and how people find and locate information on the World Wide Web. Become a web savvy copywriter and learn about what an algorithm does, how it works and why it’s so important. We’ve done the research for you and have re- scaled this complex process down to just the basics and how it applies to the written or entered word.  

What is an Algorithm?

An algorithm is a method that’s used in mathematics and computer science to express a finite list of instructions and can also perform functions like calculations, data processing and automated reasoning. The history of algorithms dates back to 1928 when David Hilbert worked to solve the Entscheindungsproblem, also called the decision problem. Hilbert’s work is the first known partial formalization of what we call an Algorithm today.

There is no formal definition of what an algorithm is because an algorithm is not specific in itself, meaning that, algorithms can change and be developed to do more than one process. There are several generalized definitions that offer a basic understanding of what an algorithm does and two of them are below.

An Algorithm can be:

A specific set of exact rules that define a specific sequence of operations.

An Algorithm can also be:

A set of instructions on a process that generates output integers from random input integers.

In basic terms, we would consider that a generalized definition of an algorithm is this: If we input information into an algorithm correctly, we will receive an output response that has been calculated based on our input.

How Algorithms Work

Sometimes it’s easier to relate an abstract process to our day to day life. So to take a close look at what an algorithm is and what it does — Think the Internet. We know the World Wide Web uses algorithms to function. After-all the internet could be considered an enormous computer program completely based in algorithmic calculations. When we hop onto the Information Super-Highway, we jump aboard the largest algorithm we probably know. Here’s how the internet uses algorithms and how we use and benefit from an algorithm’s calculations every day.

Let’s say we want to find a local auto dealer.

• We type in the words or characters/letters “auto dealer” in our search engine box.

We have just input our integer or number/letters.

The internet’s algorithm, or process, has taken our input letters and calculated a response for us.

•  The search engine generates a list with all the websites that contain the letters/characters  “autodealer”.

If we live in New York, we won’t be interested in auto dealers in Texas. So we begin to narrow our search, or narrow our input integers/letters in order to receive a better more targeted response.

• We go back into our search engine box and type, “auto dealer New York”.

Now the internet’s algorithm re-calculates our input letters/integers and processes our input.

This new algorithm calculation responds to our new input integers/letters “auto dealer New York”.

• A new list is generated and that results with a search list that contains all the auto dealers that have the letters NewYork associated with their websites.

Moving ahead, we think to ourselves, New York includes Long Island and New York City. We think again, we are located in Buffalo, New York and what we really want are local auto dealers in our own area.

• So we again go back into our search engine box, we re-type the words, “auto dealer New York Buffalo”.

The search engine’s algorithm, takes our new input integers/letters, does another calculation, process and creates a new resonse.

• Another list is generated and the results offer us a search list with all the auto dealers that have the letters NewYorkB uffalo associated with their website.

We now have the info we wanted to begin with.

Relating Web Content To How Algorithms Function

For us we use algorithms every time we log online, most of us don’t realize it, but we are using a highly skilled mathematical function to communicate with our friends on social networking sites. We use algorithms to help us find tonight’s greatest meatloaf recipe and we also rely on an algorithm to generate calculations for us when we type in “dangers of open-heart surgery” in order to learn about a loved one’s upcoming surgical procedure.

The fascinating point is that, what we input dictates what we find. The same goes for the information that’s input into website pages for content. What a business, organization or individual posts on their website in the form of letters, numbers, pictures, videos and more, is what an algorithm will capture to calculate a response. Mathematical algorithmic functions are processes that have helped to make the World Wide Web useful for many people. Businesses, organizations and individuals that can harness the function of a calculation, have the ability to spread their message, sell products and use this technology to their benefit.

By understanding the power of an algorithm’s calculations, Copywriters can fine tune themselves to being mathematical in their own process when creating content that an algorithm will be able to calculate. Content picked up by the internet’s algorithm, is lifted off a website and transported to a search engine’s result list. That search result list is what connects that website’s content, message or product information to a web surfer, new client or prospective buyer.  Ultimately, that connection is what makes web content so important and why an internet algorithm is such a powerful tool.

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Advertising Copy That Works Through to the Final Sale

There are two kinds of methods to selling most anything—Hard-selling and Soft-selling. Typically sales people are thrust into a mode of thinking that the Hard-sell technique works and that the Soft-sell method is too flimsy to close a deal. The fact is that Hard-selling does not work because it has no finesse. When a sales person goes straight to the point to sell their product, they are simply telling their prospective buyer that they should buy their product. This type of approach will usually turn a buyer off and negate a sale.

By taking a close look at how the Hard-sell doesn’t work and how well Soft-selling works, a copy writer can take this information and apply it to how they write sales copy, work on ad campaigns and involve their clients in the learning curve of effective copy verses ineffective copy.

Here are a few great points to remember when working on creative materials that involve sales copy:

1. People do not appreciate being sold to.

The Hard-sell approach usually brings the worst out in people. Human nature dictates that when aggressive behavior is displayed, it provokes the receiver to be aggressive in defense of themselves. This is what brings a negative result to both the sales person and the potential buyer.

To apply this to ad copy that works, don’t be tempted to use aggressive sales copy that pushes the hot buttons of your potential buyers. Instead offer sales copy that promotes a positive response.

2. Hard-sales techniques intimidates people.

Buyers that feel intimidated have less interest in making a purchase. Prospective buyers begin to realize that they have negative feelings about the sale, and will transfer that negativity onto the company who is trying to sell to them. If buyers do not like the sales person a company hires, they will not be able to feel good about the company.

Apply this to writing great sales copy by offering tips, advice. Explain how the product/service you’re selling will ease the stresses on their business or how it can improve their life/goals.

3. Hard-selling sounds desperate to others.

This will put off a potential buyer. Buyers begin to wonder why a company/person is desperate and this creates suspicion. This feeling of suspicion turns into mis-trust. Buyers who don’t trust a sales pitch are not likely to buy a product/service.

To write sales copy that will reach out and help buyers trust your product or service, offer key testimonials that assure your buyers that your product/company is a trusted resource, reliable and honest.

4. Hard-selling uses hype and other dishonest tactics.

Prospective buyers can see through hype. They are savvy and know that hype is not fact. Buyers don’t buy from sales tactics that push products/services without factual information.

Copywriters can add statistics and facts to their sales copy. By showing the bibliographical resource behind stats in ad copy, buyers will know that the information they are reading comes from honest trusted facts and not hype. This also builds trust between the buyer and seller.

5. Buyers need to find a reason to make a purchase.

Hard-selling does not allow any time to explain the benefits of the product or service. A sales person that is Hard-selling is using features to sell their product or service and not the benefits of the product/service. Benefits are what tells a customer that they should buy. There is only one question in the mind of any buyer — “What’s in it for me?” Hard-selling doesn’t answer this question for the buyer and as a result sales are usually lost.

Creative marketing copy should always include both features and benefits. Features will explain the product or service and by listing the benefits, buyers will know why they need the product/service.

6. Build a positive rapport with prospective buyers.

By building a relationship with a buyer a company or salesperson builds confidence in a buyer. When buyers have confidence they are likely to make a purchase on the first product or service and will also be encouraged to continue to buy more products and services. Hard-selling doesn’t build this rapport. If there is not a positive relationship initial sales and future sales are lost.

Creative staff can build rapport into their sales copy by helping potential buyers feel confident about the product or service they are promoting. Copy that builds confidence can be, proving how long a company has been in business and/or offering customer testimonials that promote the same products or services being sold. Story-telling or giving the background of how the company was founded or how a product or service was created is a great way to build a relationship with a potential buyer.

7. Soft-selling allows buyers to make their own decision.

When buyers feel empowered by the ability to make their own decision, they are more likely to make a purchase. Hard-selling strategies often dictate or tell a buyer they should make a purchase.

Advertising copy that promotes empowerment, offers ideas, creates a feeling of success for the buyer and promotes the qualities that a buyer is looking for in a product or service. Copywriters who focus on the most positive aspects of their product or service help buyers make the choice to purchase.

8. Soft-selling always outsells Hard-selling.

Persuasion works. Forcing a business or person into something they are unsure of does not. Hard-selling pushes a product or service at a buyer and doesn’t offer them the chance to decline the sale. Soft-selling offers a buyer a product or service by allowing them to choose to make the purchase.

Copywriters that apply a Soft-selling technique to their advertising copy use the power of positive persuasion in their writing. They can craft their ad copy to encourage a buyer to make a purchase instead of telling the horrors of what can happen if they decline the purchase. Encouraging copy can simply be letting a buyer know what they can look forward to after their purchase.

9. Soft-selling methods are more enjoyable to both the seller and buyer.

Soft-selling forces a salesperson to use more strategies. Building up a product can be done in a multitude of ways including talking to potential buyers. Getting to know a buyer builds relationships that equate to building sales.

Writers who want to incorporate Soft-selling methods into their marketing materials can create copy that speaks directly to their potential buyers. Asking questions and solving problems are some of the ways that words on paper speak to buyers.

10. Soft-selling Pre-sells a product or service.

Warming a buyer up for a sale builds a rapport and relationship with a person or business. In general people like to be introduced to something before they make a purchase.

Advertising copy that pre-sells a product or service before selling is in the hands of a copywriter or designer from the start. Pre-selling to a buyer is a basic introduction of the product or service and usually found in an opening statement or opening page of advertising material.

It’s clear to see the difference between the Hard-sell and Soft-sell techniques used in business. There is a general stereotype of what a pushy sales person using Hard-sell tactics looks like. Once this negative image is in the place of a buyers mind, it will prevent them from accepting a sale. Increase your sales and close more deals by using Soft-selling strategies and incorporating those same methodologies into your marketing materials. Remember your company’s first impression is a lasting one!

Good luck to all the copywriters who are working on marketing materials for clients. Choosing to use Soft-sell copy instead of Hard-selling copy that alienates buyers is one way to promote your clients products and services and a great way to earn more business on their next marketing project!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Most struggling freelancers and freelance writers would agree that they have all tried answering job ads only to find out the competition is stiff and positions are filled fast. Others might admit that they’ve approached clients directly, either in person or by cold calling, and have been shuffled out the door or off the phone. There’s also some writers that will say online message boards are a good source but those too are overloaded with competition and sometimes jobs are out-dated.

Finding the right place to offer freelance services is just as hard as finding the perfect best friend. Various online subscription websites charge a fee to join. These sites have a countless number of jobs up for grabs. However, at times these website’s job boards post work that often pays below minimum wage. Most freelancers wonder how they will earn any money at all, when most of their time is spent searching for work, losing bids on contract jobs and then winning a job only to find out the pay is so low, they can’t even earn enough to offset their subscription fees.

The good news is that there are ways to earn money freelance writing. What’s the secret? The key to success is to join a community of writers that are all offered regular copywriting jobs through a community pipeline.

This is where the joy of community comes in. These groups are a cross-breed between a business/company and a freelance job placement service.  An example of one such online group is Oozil.com.

Here at Oozil.com, freelance writers join a community to earn the chance to work on an equal opportunity basis. These lucky freelancers look forward to not having to send a constant stream of resumes out. They don’t have to cold-call strange business managers and they also do not have to update their profile so it’s a custom match for a single day’s job queries.

How Oozil.com works:

1. Freelance writers join Oozil.com and become members of a pool of freelancers and writers.
2. Prospective freelance work and writing jobs are gained through Oozil.com’s sister companies.
3. Work is then sent out to the Oozil.com network and its members.
4. Current members are alerted that there is work available via an email, a text message or other mobile contact of their choice.
5. The Oozil.com freelance community, and pool of writers, has the chance to take work as soon as they receive their work-available alert.
6. Members make their connection with their project manager and the work is first taken, first assigned. Meaning that, it’s the freelancer/writer that chooses if they want to pick up work for that day.

Because the Oozil.com network is so large, members count on each other in case they need a day off. Freelancers know someone else will pick up any open jobs that are sent out for that day. So all in all, Oozil.com gets the work and the Oozil.com freelance community does the work.

This model has been so successful that Oozil.com continues to grow and so does its membership.  Sometimes the work trickles in and at other times, there is so much to do, everyone is bouncing jobs back and forth for days until it all gets done.

Too good to be true? Sounds like it could be, but the reality is that freelancers spend way too much time applying for jobs and not enough time working and earning money. Employers on the other hand spend a lot of time looking for the right employees and not enough time working themselves . Here at Oozil.com, it’s a group team effort. All of our clients have jobs that need to be done and all of our freelancers and writers need jobs to work on. It’s a win win situation for everyone!

Join the Oozil.com community and become a part of our network today. Learn what it’s like to be in the fast lane of freelancing!

By Sara Hassler

Social Media is a broad communication tool that describes highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques that relies on social interaction.

• It uses primarily web-based technologies that turn into interactive dialogues. Off the web, social media can include various forms of social communication – that encourages or uses social interaction to communicate.
• Web 2.0 used to be the go-to term that described social media as a type of web-based application allowed the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Some businesses use the term Consumer-Generated Media.

Social Media has been classified as a “Sign of our current times” known as the “Attention Age”.

• Social Media is often thought of, as a way for people to blend technology and social interaction in order to co-create something of value.
• This value for some individuals is friendship as found on the website Facebook.
• For many working professionals the value of Social Media has come to mean work-related career opportunity and advancement as found on the website Linked In.
• Businesses all over the world are finding value added reasons to use Social Media platforms to reach out to their consumers.
• Social Media on the World Wide Web allows people to gain information, education, news, and also provides valuable research tools when needed by the means of electronic media.
• Off the internet, Social Media is a way to physically and verbally interact with others through other offline interactions such as events, conferences and educational institutions.
• Social Media has become a mainstay for many people, businesses and organizations to communicate their message because it’s an inexpensive way to publish content or connect with others. There are not any planes to catch, cabs to call or hotels to book when you can chat with an old friend on Facebook or meet a potential employer on Linked In.

Social Media Marketing is often considered the building of what’s known as “Social Authority”.

• Social Authority is when an individual, business or organization works to establish themselves as an expert in their field . By being considered an expert, that person, company or establishment is thought to have the ability to have an influence in that field of expertise.

Recent Statistics reported back in December of 2009 showed that:

• 22% of all time spent on the internet is on social networking sites.
• About 234 million people between the ages of 13 and older in the United States have used a mobile device.
• Twitter was found to have processed over one billion tweets and continues to average nearly 40 million tweets per day.
• More than 25% of the United States internet page views online took place at one of the major social networking sites.
• In Australia, it was reported that they had over 9 million social media users who spent almost 9 hours per month on their social media websites.

Social Media can include popular electronic mediums like:

• Internet forums
• Weblogs
• Social Blogs
• Microblogging
• Wikis
• Podcasts
• Pictures
• Videos
• Rating/Reviewing
• Social Bookmarking

All in all what does Social Media mean for the average person? It has come to be a true benefit for everyone worldwide. Social platforms offer everyone a voice to communicate their thoughts, link with old friends and grow as a person, professionally and personally. More and more people are turning to their social networks to learn about whatever moves them for that day, week or year.

Social Media is up to date, it’s real-time and that’s what makes it exciting. It’s as simple as someone posting a comment on their Facebook page letting their friends know their coffee shop’s pumpkin syrup just arrived for the fall season or that an old friend is dying in the hospital so others know to go for a final visit.

No matter how you look at Social Media it is a fascinating tool that we have all found valuable to our lives in one way or another. Social Media works to improve our daily existence through interactive communication. That communication can be informational or even life-saving. Enjoy your time spent being social and listen, read and see — the voices, thoughts and pictures—of the masses!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Businesses in general grow and evolve, so do marketing campaigns and so do consumers. Good business plans leave the doors to new ideas wide open for future growth and development. By applying the same concepts to your marketing efforts, a company, individual or organization can create a successful plan to combine traditional media with social media efforts. Here are a few tips on how to do this:

Be Ready To Learn or Re-Learn

Like a business, individuals grow and develop over time. Being open to new ideas can lead to new thoughts on how to reach out to your target markets. It’s easy to become resistant over time. Those associated with business plan development, outreach programs and consumer relations should be focused on the ever changing and exciting world of “how can we re-fresh our image and still maintain our current identity”. Using the same marketing mix can fool a consumer into thinking your product or service is outdated. Be bold and re-fresh your plan when appropriate.

Name Your Objective

Be clear on what your marketing goals are. Revisit your business mission statement and if well-written it will lead you to a clear path of what you offer to your consumers. Use this to create your marketing goals. For example, if your mission is to offer the best and freshest baked items to your local community, then your marketing goals should include spreading the message that — your bakery offers the freshest baked goods in town.

Identify Your Target Audience

Who you are targeting will help you create your platform, in all ways. If you are selling freshly baked items then your target audience might include people in the age group that do the grocery shopping. By listing moms, dads, grandparents and retail stores you can add a face to your audience, give them an age bracket, where they are traveling from – in town or out of town and even when they are buying breads, cookies and pies. Dive deep into your demographics and you will come up with an entire picture of what your audience looks like. This will in turn, show you how your marketing campaign should look.

Create A Way To Connect With Consumers

Will you start and stop with a postcard mailing out coupons, or could you be more creative and say, one great way to connect with my bakery buyers is to offer baking classes to my general consumers and bulk savings discounts to my grocery store buyers.  Divide your consumer into categories and devise a way to connect with them professionally and socially.

Plan To Keep Your Audience’s Attention

Once you have made a connection with your consumers, find a way to keep the doors open and how to solidify an ongoing relationship that can keep you in business for the long haul. Maybe you will map out  a savings club card program. Back to that bakery, maybe for every 5 pies purchased, customers earn a free pie! For bigger consumers, your plan could be an extension arm of your initial program, just on a larger scale.

Enlist Your New Customers to Spread Your Message

Recommendations are the ultimate in marketing tools. By creating a way for consumers to talk your product or service “up” you are giving them the power to push something already great to greatness. Think about the last time you bought something that you absolutely loved. Did you want or find ways to bring that loved item or service up during conversation with friends or family?

 If you can offer a reward program for referrals or recommendations, then you have just created the incentive for your customers to go out of their way on your behalf. Maybe that bakery offers an incentive program that says, for every bride that refers another bride for her wedding cake, then that first bride will receive a reward like special discounts or complimentary pies, cakes or breads.

By taking careful steps to customizing your overall marketing plan, businesses, individuals and organizations can work towards combining their traditional media with their social media. For example, maybe that bakery’s coupons are in printed form and appear in the local newspaper (traditional marketing), but customers that log onto that bakery’s facebook page and become friends are offered a 30% discount on their next purchase (social marketing). Those 30% coupons are then emailed (traditional/social marketing) and the cost savings on those digital coupon offsets the first coupons that were in the local paper. This advantageous and smart bakery owner has also just expanded their digital mailing list and can now add new consumers to their next digital marketing campaign.

It’s a savvy business that utilizes all their efforts in such a way that each effort flows into the next and all generate a positive outcome in hopes for higher profits. One way to achieve this is by learning how to lay the perfect foundation.

Creating A Strong Foundation Is Easy!

Like a house sits on a foundation, so can your entire marketing plan and business.  Masonary style foundations provide a solid foundation for thousands of pounds of pressure to rest on over a long period of time. By using your strong core product or service and by applying the patient skills of an expert brick layer, you can build a strong foundation that will hold up your entire marketing campaign. Use truthful advertising and positive consumer feedback to get this foundation started.

When you combine traditional marketing with social network marketing the results are automatically doubled if done right. Social networking by its very nature is grown the same way we grow friendships – one person at a time. For those who are new to social media in general, this can be a painful start to a hopeful quick-start marketing campaign. To speed up the process:

Use traditional marketing efforts to spread your message.

Send your target market to your social media platforms.

One by one, your social media network will grow.

Continue to combine traditional marketing with social networking over the long-term.

Expose your audience to traditional media and drive them to become socially involved in your business or product. Consumers can attend classes, grand openings, weekend events and even log online in order to become a part of your marketing campaign. Offer a few choices to cater to different personalities and those with more or less time. People in general take stock in what they like by creating conversation. If you have a product or service your target audience enjoys and they talk about your offerings in a positive way, then those consumers have just become a valuable marketing tool for you.

Just think, if another person tells you they love a product or service – ask yourself if you would believe them. Then ask yourself, if you see an ad on the side of a bus telling you that a product or service is great would you believe that instead? It’s a well studied fact that most people believe consumer to consumer feedback before they will blindly trust an advertisement they see.

Use human nature to your advantage and count on generating some astounding results!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Digg is an excellent website that holds a wealth of information, stories, practice tips, hard to find tutorials and in general, you name it, you’ll probably find it on Digg. For the casual users, there are a ton of categories to choose from and the content on Digg is virtually real-time. For specialized users like website owners and bloggers, Dig has the potential of becoming your new best friend. When stories are submitted to Digg and if they make the front page, it can cause what’s known as the “Digg Effect”. This is when a massive influx of traffic is sent from Digg to your website or blog. Digg can transform an unknown website or blog into a well-established heavily trafficked web location. Carve out your niche marketing efforts and join Digg to expand your market reach.

Digg Is An Information & Gathering Place

• Digg is a user-friendly and user-driven website.
• All the content that’s found on Digg is submitted by Digg users
• Digg users moderated the content that is posted on Digg.
• Because Dig is a community website, it relies on its members to send submission. Many of those submissions are in the form of short articles that are centered around a specific subject. Once a Digg member submits their content, other Digg users read that submitted content.  If the information is interesting and worthy, members will, Digg the stories and content they like the most.  If a submission or story receives enough Diggs, it’s promoted to the front page of Digg where millions of Digg visitors will see it.
• The key to getting Digged, is to have interesting, informative and relevant content.

How To Submit Content To Dig:

1. Register with Digg – it’s free and fast.
2. Start Digging yourself to get a feel for what it’s like to review other people’s content.

Tip: To start Digging, click on your profile link and scroll to check out submitted content. You can also go to the general Digg index and use the Digg search box. The search box appears at the top of every page for ease in searching. There are also advance searches available too. Make sure to use good key search words to target the most specific related topic your interested in.

How To Find Stories & Content For Digg:

1. Find information you want to share with the Digg community.
2.  Navigate to the Submit A Story URL and follow the process.

Tip: If you want your content to be “Dugg” by others then make sure to write an attention grabbing title and informational description. This will encourage community members to click through.

How To Use Bookmarklets:

Another way to add content to Digg is to use a Bookmarklet.

Tip: Drag one of the Bookmarklet links to your browser toolbar. This is a handy way to add content to Digg while browsing the internet. The Bookmarklets work with both Firefox and Explorer.

Digg Is Popular – Check Out These Statistics:

We checked the Digg statistics at the time of this post and found:

The data for the United States showed estimates of:

• 3.5 million unique visitors for the country.
• 11 million unique visitors worldwide.
• 98 million page views in the country.
• 190 million page views worldwide.
• 25 million total visits recorded in the country.
• 45 million worldwide.

Digg is not gender specific and both male and females were found to be taking advantage of Digging:

• 68% were recorded as male
• 325 were found to be females

The educational background of the average Digg user was reported to be:

• 42% had some college level education
• 34% had a bachelor degree
• 9% had less than a high school diploma
• 8% had a graduate degree
• 7% had less than a high school diploma

The age of members showed to be an estimated:

• 31% were between the ages of 25-34
• 30% were 35-44 years old
• 45-54 year olds made up 16%
• 11% wer 18-24 year olds
• The senior generation of 55-64 year olds came in at 6%
• 2% accounted for 65 year old and over
• 5% of users were between the ages of 0-17

General data for the household income of Digg users were shown to be:

• 30% at $25,000-$49,000
• 23% at $50,000-$74 999
• 20% were between $75,000-$99,999
• 15% made $0-$24,999
• 7% were $100,000-149,999
• 4% earned 150,000 or more.

These impressive statistics show just how powerful Digg can be to reaching a specific target market. It’s easy to see why so many individuals, businesses and hobbyist have added Digg to their social media network. By joining an online community as large as this one, it’s easy to see the marketing benefits. Whether you’re sharing content to raise awareness of a product line or just want to introduce thoughtful ideas, Digg can unlock an incredible audience and another way for you to reach a mass market.

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Writing ad copy can be easy if you use the right tools of the trade. Here are a few quick tips on how you can strive to write better copy that sells a product and produces results for your client.

Learn your client’s business

By learning about your client’s business and how they operate, you will be able to get a handle on who is buying their product. Ad copy for a restaurant will be much different than ad copy for an accounting firm. Do your research first, and then approach your client with a few questions to learn more:

• Ask questions about what other types of businesses are related to their work or product.
• Find out who their target market is and the median age, gender and other basic demographics about their customers. What you choose to write for 25 year olds will be much different than what you would write for a consumer that is 45+.
• Examine previous advertising copy that your client has had success with and ask to be shown what ad copy has failed to provide sell-through of product. Examine both then improve on the successful ad copy and apply those improvements to your ad copy.

Observe how your client has positioned their business in the marketplace

Once you can figure out the personality of your client’s business it will become easier to develop an ad campaign that works to fit their current profile. How a company wants to brand themselves and the products they sell is key to how they present themselves in words. You can work closely with company executives to learn about their wants and desires. Some businesses want to sell their product with ad copy that doesn’t match their company’s public profile. This can lead a company to a failed ad campaign.

• Question how your client wants to be seen by the public.
• Ask about the type of reputation they want to achieve.
• Find out how their competitors are viewed, expand on the competitions weak points to make your client stronger in the marketplace.

Adhere to your clients desires

As a copywriter you might not have enough time to learn about how every business operates.  It is up to you as a professional in the field to learn enough about each of your individual clients needs and how it pertains to the specific work you do for them. By listening to your client’s needs, learning what their desires are and working towards a common goal, you can look forward to creating successful ad copy that benefits the business you are working for.

• Working off ideas that you might think are inventive or ideal, may not benefit your client’s long term goals.
• As a copywriter it’s important to remember that most businesses work on a plan over the course of months or years. Your goal is to become a building block.
• Taking one step at a time is one of the most beneficial ways to incorporate your creativity and genius into  your client’s goals.

Working as a copywriter may seem like a no-brainer job for most. But for those who do the work, it’s an intense job that requires thought, sensitivity and a professional ethic that goes beyond your own thoughts of greatness. The best copywriters are the ones that match their style, their work and their creativity to their client. Once someone is able to generate good copy that matches their client’s goals and needs, that writer can count on being called back again and again as a team member that is known for their beneficial contributions.

In the ever changing world of advertising, copywriters can easily become an invaluable piece of a company’s  marketing plan. Match your skills to your client’s needs. Once you do this, you will be able to count on a long and productive relationship with your clients for years to come!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

There are lots of ways that the top designers and firms work to meet their clients goals and being successful in the world of design means having a handle on how to create original ideas. Most designers would agree that it’s the execution of a great idea that makes it a success.

The Hartford Business Review recently published an article on their website by Warren Berger entitled Four Phases of Design Thinking . Warren Berger is the author of GLIMMER: How design can transform, business, your life, and maybe even the world (Penguin Press). He edits the online magazine GlimmerSite.com too. His article was so informative, we thought it was well worth our time to review how designers work to create successful innovative ideas.

Throughout the world of design, there are some shared behaviors that top designers follow in order to achieve significant breakthroughs. Second nature habits that were found to be common among expert designers and to their ability to transform an original idea into a successful innovation included; asking questions, caring, connecting and committing. If you’re a designer you will recognize these shared behaviors and if you’re looking for design work to be done, these are the steps that a top notch designer will most likely follow.

Designers Ask LOTS Of Questions

• Seasoned designers ask lots of questions.
• They work to raise questions in order to begin their design project.
• Designers strive to challenge the current reality or assumption in an industry.
• The creative mind works to learn the mainstream obvious and then figures out a way twist or morph it into an original idea that will turn into a successful innovative idea.
• A creative individual will often ask basic “why” questions that might seem naive and sometimes puts people on the defense.

When a designer asks why, they are really encouraging people to step back and reconsider old problems or practices that might be out of date. This gives the designer the ability to re-frame and steer thinking in a new direction. By striving to stretch the question of why to all facets of a project, they are able to rethink the basic fundamentals of a business. In the current economy and ever so volatile marketplace, this breeds innovation that gives birth to success.

A Great Designer Cares

• Designers do their best work by stepping out of the corporate bubble.
• They immerse themselves in the lives of their target market or audience.
• By observing and paying close attention to the customer they are trying to reach, they are able to dig out the consumer’s deep unspoken needs.
• Designers work hard to be present in people’s lives.

Lots of companies can say they care about their customer’s needs. Focus groups and questionnaires don’t really scratch the surface as to what makes an individual choose to buy a product. In order to reach a consumer on an emotional level, you have to empathize with them. This is the leverage that a good designer brings to the creative table. They strive to learn how their customers feel, how they think and how they live. By doing so, a seasoned designer learns what pushes a person to buy a product, join a marketing campaign, or become a faithful follower and consumer.

Designers Are Able To Connect

• A designer works to synthesize ideas.
• The creative thought process can take existing elements or ideas and combine them together in new ways.

Hiring a designer doesn’t always mean that a business will be forced into a new set of marketing materials or professional identity. It’s the job of a designer to also consider their clients current business elements and think laterally. Sometimes new ideas are not born fresh or invented from scratch. New ideas can be found by searching for new ways to combine current or older ideas. Designers do this by connecting them in a new way. They generate a new idea that is often comprised of scattered or mismatched ideas that didn’t seem to go together. This can be a shortcut to innovation. By combining previous ideas, this can help a business retain their original identity and brand, and simply strive for a new look, new message or re-tool their branded look to be more attractive to the public.

Designers Achieve Success Through Commitment

Designers are able to commit early to an idea.

They take original ideas and move them beyond imagination by giving them Form.

This Form makes an idea Real.

Designers are comfortable with putting an idea out into the marketplace when it’s young and imperfect.

A designer knows how to accept short-term failure.

Creative professionals have the ability to “fail forward”.

Some of the greatest designers have gone back to the design board more than once to tweak an idea into success. With their focus on commitment, the creative mind is often very comfortable with risk, more so than the average person is. They know that small failures are useful tools that provide a process for learning what needs fixing. In times of fast dynamic change, many companies need a confident designer on their team that can operate in a “test and learn” environment. In this type of work situation a designer will be required to create multiple or rapid prototypes. In design, the name of the game is often—Change it—Revise it — Until it STICKS!

Businesses and designers can look forward to forging a profitable partnership when they work towards a common goal. One way to do that is for the designer to explain what they will be doing, how they work their process and why they follow certain steps to achieve success. Through the use of an open line of communication, businesses can learn how to apply their designers behavioral habits to their own creative process. Being able to generate innovative and fresh ideas that  are attractive to consumers can push a business from hum-drum to sensational and victorious!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Many businesses, organizations and independents can use social media network sites to benefit their marketing efforts. By following a few simple steps, you can create a mix of social media skills that will increase your chances of success too! The rules of social media networking on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and others are easy to set up, maintain and profit from. Once you have created your business profile or personal/fan page remember to follow these basic guidelines to attract friends and become a social media success!

One key factor that will make any social media marketing effort successful revolves around a business listening to their target audience or customers. Making a person-to-person contact is one of the most important aspects of how to engage an audience. While most of us work hard at finding our connections online in a virtual world, its equally important that after those contacts are solidified, that we harness the power of how to; listen effectively, speak with passion, energize others, offer support when it’s needed and embrace as much as possible through simple acts of common courteous personal interaction.

How can all of the above promote a media campaign on a social network a positive way?  It’s easy when you break it down. Here are a few simple steps that you can take to build a better social media strategy so that it bears all the fruits of success you hope for.

Listen:

Listening is a major milestone that most businesses have forgotten or forget to do. By listening to your target audience or customers you can; gather data about customer needs, improve product development ahead of production schedules and make customers feel like they have a stock in a company that cares about what they’re saying. By the simple act of listening businesses can  build a loyal following for their personal brand.

Speak:

By offering good solid advice, being helpful when needed and keeping in touch with whether or not customers are happy with a product, you’re grooming your business for its next year’s future success. Let the people in your company that are the most passionate about transforming your image to be in front of your social media marketing campaign. Those individuals will be able to speak effectively and clearly about company goals and help current and future customers learn what your business is about. This builds professional trust that “speaks” volumes about where your company is in the line-up when stacked against the competition.

Energize:

Having your most energetic and passionate professionals leading the pack on your social media sites, brings your business one step closer to closing in on your competitors. Passionate employees talk up a company better than any print, web, or snail mail campaign can ever do. Let those that love their job, work it for the betterment of the rest in the crew. They are ones that will offer the most personal touch to your speaking efforts.

Be Supportive:

In regards to offering support to your customers, online social media sites are a great way to answer questions about products, address complaints, and give advice on product use and compatibility with other products. Businesses can rely on their social media sites to update their audience and followers on new product developments, recalls and other important customer service announcements. By being a supportive company that shows that you care about your customer base, you are making connections that withstand the test of time. Being supportive builds the longevity of your business.

Embrace Everything:

Most of us are fearful of what it means when someone says that you should embrace something. We think to the docile acceptance of a situation that we cannot fix or change. Quite the opposite is true when you learn what embracement means. The dictionary describes embracement as a hug, to accept willingly and to include. By taking this term literally, a business can look forward to embracing everything through a virtual hug, by being open to the opinions of others. They can willingly accept that some folks might be complimentary or critical and handle each situation with professional grace. By including their customers and target audience as followers of their company on a social media site, businesses reap the rewards of their customers feeling like they are part of your business. Their loyalty for your company will blossom into a lasting relationship.

Branding your company online in the social media world is not an easy task to accomplish. You need hard working positive individuals that your company can count on. Your time and efforts in planning a targeted strategy begins in the boardroom, but is tested on the World Wide Web where everyone can see the failings of a poorly thought out plan. Take your time, think about your company mission’s statement, revise it if it’s outdated. Then take flight and you too can navigate your social media marketing campaign to benefit your business!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Enjoy the value of Facebook and build your business by creating a Facebook business page. By having a Facebook business page you can increase your online presence and gain even more exposure by; including  your Facebook page link in your email signature, posting your link on your business website and adding it to your print and advertising materials. Facebook can be an excellent and valuable business tool if used properly. Check out the research and stats below to find out just how powerful Facebook is in the world of social media networks.

Recent studies performed by Edison Research showed:

• 48% of Americans, over the age of 12, had a profile page set up on a social network site.
• 30% of those same individuals logged on to their social network page multiple times each day.

The statistics from  Facebook are astounding:

• There are more than 400 million active users.
• The average user has an estimated 130 friends.
• People are found to be spending over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

Use Facebook to Build Your Business

In order to use Facebook so it benefits your business you can incorporate these ideas:

• Choose a keyword name that will improve your search engine ranking. Try matching your Facebook name to your business name so folks can find you online in cyberspace and on Facebook under the same name.

• Work on creating a comment posting schedule that fits into your work schedule. Posting  on a regular basis can help others get to know you and your business. It will also increase your chances of gaining followers.

• Ask you Facebook friends to interact with others on your page. You can do this by posing questions to spark conversation. The idea is to create a conversation that encourages multiple replies.

• If friends post on your page, respond to their comments as often as possible. This will let them know your available.

• Text is great for getting things started, but make a concentrated effort to share photos and videos so your Facebook business page is interesting and stimulating.

The Importance of Maintaining a Business Website & Blog

Once your business is set up on Facebook with a custom page, turn your efforts to expanding your online presence with a solid foundation like a website and blog. Many businesses wonder why they should spend the time in creating a business blog when a Facebook business page appears to be more interactive. The answer is that you don’t own your Facebook page. You are using Facebook as a place to simply interact and connect with others. They key to using Facebook is to make it beneficial to building your business and that is done by driving your Facebook friends to your own website and or blog.

Think of your website as a central hub for your business and your blog as your social outreach for your marketing and public relations. Since you own your website and your blog, it’s yours. You have complete control of the changes, the longevity and the future of your site and blog. On Facebook, you don’t own your page and any content created on your Facebook page could disappear if Facebook vanished.

Be in Control of Your Destiny

Choose to be self-reliant and maximize the time you invest on your social network pages by creating a strong central business homepage, website and up-to-date well- managed blog. Brand your business by creating an internet storefront. Your store can be filled with creative content that describes your business mission, goals , products and services. At the end of the day, your cyber shop will also be in place for as long you own your business!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler