Why your website is NOT about you…

It’s just like in real life – that guy you avoid at networking. People banging on endlessly about themselves is boring. It’s a sure-fire way to turn people off.

So WHY do so many businesses do it in their writing?

It’s the single biggest reason that mediocre, ineffectual and boring copy exists the world over.

The truth is that people are interested in themselves. They are looking for a solution to the problem they have. And if you want to your words to spur them into action – to call you; meet with you; buy from you or anything else – you’ve GOT to make it all about them.

Here’s a quick Facebook Live session on “Using You, not I and We” – from over in our FB group, The Copywriting Project!

It’s true for everything you write – emails; blog posts; sales and landing pages; social media content; articles; brochures; client proposals and every other word your business uses.

And it’s especially true for your website copy, because it’s toughest there.  It’s natural to talk about your business on your site – your products; your services; your team; your history and your experience. But talking about yourself is unlikely to compel your reader to do what you want.

It’s an easy, easy trap to fall into.

Luckily, there’s a quick and easy check:

1. Look at the stuff you’ve written. Especially your website copy.
2. Count how many times you say ‘you’.
3. And then count how many times you use ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘us’.

How are those numbers looking?

It’s about your reader. Your words need to speak directly to them. So make sure you’re using ‘you’ at least twice as much as ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘us’.

And then when you are talking about your business – how can you re-word those sentences, to make them all about your reader instead?

Like:

“We have been established for 25 years”

So what? Your reader couldn’t care less that you’ve been going for 25 years. They care about getting what they ordered on time, because they need it.

So flip it to make it about your reader:

“You can trust us to deliver on time, because we’ve served thousands of happy customers for over 25 years”

Now you’re using ‘we’ to PROVE to your reader that they can trust you, to give them the solution they need. Spell it out and tell them what your 25 years’ trading means for them.

Or how about this common one:

“Our team pride ourselves on our reliability”

So what? Your reader couldn’t care less what your team pride themselves on. They just want someone to solve their problem (let’s say a leaking tap).

Flip it to make it about your reader:

“You can rely on our team to turn up at the right time, on the day we agreed”

Which is all your reader really wants to know. They just want the damn leak fixed, in the easiest possible way.

So when you DO use ‘we’, ‘I’ and ‘us’, you’re talking about your business in a way that shows your reader why it matters and why it’s of benefit to them.

So yeah! A short and sweet blog from us this week.

But it’s possibly the one thing that can have the BIGGEST  impact, to drive the action you need from your words and grow your business.

And if you want to play a really fun game – count ‘You’ vs ‘I / We / Us’ on your competitior’s websites. Chances are you’ll see that if you can master this, you’re already several steps ahead of the game…

(For more like this, join us over in your free Facebook Group , The Copywriting Project. We’re sharing everything we’ve learnt about copywriting – so you get practical tools, tips, inspiration and support to use in everything YOU write!).

Until next time

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How to build your audience, attract the RIGHT clients & have more fun!

Here’s the thing…people can’t buy from you, if they don’t know you exist.

It’s impossible.

So as business owners, it’s THE most important thing we can do. Get more people knowing about us – liking us & trusting us – so that when we ask them to buy from us, they do.

Here’s the full Facebook Live session, all about HOW to build your audience:

This FB live happened because the day before, I’d had 3 brilliant meetings with 3 incredible business owners. Seriously – hugely inspiring people, taking massive action & just making stuff happen.

And although their businesses are all very different, the one thing they have in common is that they all need a bigger audience (as do we – and as do you!).

Our job a business owner HAS to be to build the biggest audience we can; to build the best relationship we possibly can with that audience; and then to ask them to buy from us.

I think so many people have this idea of a marketing strategy being really complicated. Something you just write for your business plan & leave in a drawer. Or something you never quite get round to.

But in truth, it really IS that simple:

1. Build your audience.
2. Nurture your audience.
3. Sell to your audience.

Now – there are obviously a million tactics you can then use to do this.

So it’s a case of getting super clear on WHAT you need to do, day-by-day, for the next 90 days, to build, nuture & sell to your audience (I LOVE 90 Day Goals by the way – more on that next week!).

It starts with getting crystal clear on exactly WHO your market is. Who is your perfect customer? Who precisely do you want to attract to work with your business? And then understanding as much as you can about them – where are they? What motivates them? What problems are you solving for them? What keeps them awake at night? What gets them out of bed in the morning?

Because the more you understand that, the more you’re going to be able to add value for them.

(There’s an awesome live session on this – called ‘Who is your WHO?’ over in The Copywriting Project Facebook group, if you want to go a bit deeper!).

And more importantly – you’ll know exactly where they hang out. Wherever their attention is = where you need to be building your audience.

• Are they on Facebook? Is Facebook the best platform for you to grow your audience?
• Or is it LinkedIn? (Especially if you’re B2B – we have clients who leverage LinkedIn Groups incredibly well!)
• Is Instagram where your market is?
• What about your email list?

I know there’s a huge temptation for all of us to post everywhere – we feel like we’ve gotta be posting on Facebook/LinkedIn/Instagram/Twitter/Pinterest/YouTube etc, every day.

But for me, this actually slows us down. Because where your focus goes, is where the action will happen.

Concentrating 80% of your energy on one platform – the right platform, where you KNOW your ideal customers are – is such a powerful thing to do. And then you can focus the other 20% on your secondary platform, and building your email list.

So – WHO are your ideal customers? WHERE are they? And WHAT can you do, to start adding some value & attracting them to you?

Video is the big one. (If you’re really don’t love being on camera, you’re so not alone – lots more on this to come!). But if current trends continue, video will make up a whopping 82% of all online traffic by 2021. So as business owners, it really IS a space we need to be in.

And it’s free! Your videos don’t need to perfectly polished; edited & glossy. As long as they add value & feel authentic, people WILL engage. Facebook Live is incredibly powerful for this.

You’re just taking everything that’s in your head – that will be valuable for people in your target audience – and getting it out there on video (in the most engaging way you can!).

I love that video is such a great medium for leveraging your time. Once it’s filmed, you can get it out all over your social media; into a blog post (as we have here!); send it to your email list; use it in an email nurture sequence, to build your list; on your website. Everywhere that works!

• And can you create blog content & articles that’ll be valuable for your audience?
• Podcasts?
• Downloads?
• Free ‘How To’ guides?
• Practical toolkits & workbooks?
• What other resources would they find useful (Canva is an amazing free tool for creating these!).
• Weekly emails packed with valuable nuggets?
• Write a book (or e-book)?

What would your audience find MOST valuable? What’s most helpful to solve their problems? How can you give more; share more & truly be of service?

And the magic starts to happen!

People see your face, hear your voice & share in your thoughts. They start to feel like they know you (“we’ve never met but I feel like I know you already!” – actual words from a meeting last week!).

They start to like you – and crucially, they start to TRUST you. Because you’re proving you’re someone who really CAN help solve their problems.

So when you ask your audience to buy from you, the sales conversation is SO much easier.  They’re already sold on the value you can bring. You’re never starting from scratch.

New clients & customers start coming to you, instead of you chasing them – truly, when you build & nuture your audience, they will! – and life gets SO much better.

And I get this whole ‘build & nurture your audience’ strategy sounds like a lot of work. It is (in truth, not that much – once you get going, it gets easier & easier).

But when choose to invest your time – to build your audience & nurture those relationships – you attract more of the ‘right’ clients to you. The ones you actually want to work with. Your business gets a whole lot more fun, way more satisfying and a lot less stressful. And isn’t that (really) where we all want to be?

(For more tools, tips & support on building YOUR audience – and everything copywriting & marketing! – come join is now, over in your (free!) The Copywriting Project Facebook group!).

Until next time

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How to Get Time to Create MORE Content (and drive your business forwards…)

We ALL know how important content is, to build relationships with our audience – to help people to know, like & trust us more (and to want to buy from us!).

But finding time to do it is bloody tough.

It’s not like operational stuff. You have to open the doors in the morning; have to deal with clients & customers. Have to deliver that project or get that product out, to keep the cash coming in.

So that’s the stuff that gets done.

But in truth, we HAVE to find time to get more content out there & to make more marketing happen. Because that’s what’s going to drive us all forwards – so we can all get what we really want from our business.

Watch the full video session on this now, from over in The Copywriting Project FB group:

(Click here to download your Day Planner mentioned in the video!)

It’s something I was struggling with, earlier this month.

We bought in another 3 B-I-G clients at once (adding to an already full diary). For a week or so, it all felt out of control. The fluttering panic was starting to kick in.

I couldn’t work out why.

And then I figured it out. I’d stopped planning my time.

We’d driven back from the south of France, where we’d decamped with the business for a few weeks. I’d got back to the UK & back to our offices – but NOT back to my usual routine.

I’d broken the habit.

Instead of proactively planning my day, I’d slipped into reactively dealing with the urgent stuff that came up. It was all so crazy, I felt like I didn’t have time to spare for planning (as I’ve ALWAYS done, for the last few years).

And that week just proved HOW important it is…

Because in reality, planning my time is the only way I get the important-but-not-urgent stuff done. Not just the day-to-day work – but the marketing & content production, that consistently brings new clients into our business.

So I just thought I’d share with you the tool that works for me!

> CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE DAY PLANNER NOW! << (No opt-in required – it’s all yours! At some point, I’ll brand it properly 😉 But for now, this is the exact A4 doc that we use!)

This is not a to-do list. It’s super simple. But here’s WHY it works so well…

1. Binary Thinking

There’s only 24 hours in your day – and you get to choose how you spend them. On the highest-value, highest-priority tasks. Or not.

So at the top of the Day Planner is my Binary Thinking reminder.

This is the ONLY stuff that matters in my day:

• Sales & Marketing;
• Fulfilling Client Work;
• Creating New Stuff.

This stuff is my job. This is the highest-value, highest-priority work, that I need to do to drive our business forwards.

The first two are pretty self-explanatory. Creating New Stuff is not only about content, but about creating our future plans; strategy; our mission & values; brand; team culture & implementing everything we need to move onwards.

And if a task doesn’t fall into one of the 3 categories, then I HAVE to find someone else to do it (either in our team or outsourcing it):

• Invoicing
• Anything finance-related
• Taking unscheduled calls
• Ordering stuff
• Anything to do with our office space
• Contracts & legal stuff
• Research (SO easy to outsource these days!)
• etc etc etc.

I can’t do it all. You don’t even need a team – there are millions of people out there to help you, at an incredibly low cost (from Virtual Assistants to Answer My Phone, Fiverr, People Per Hour & Upwork).

Otherwise I simply don’t have enough time. And it’s the important-but-not-urgent stuff that won’t get done.

2. What are your priorities for the day?

These then go down the left hand side of the page. What are THE most important things you need to get done today?

There’s something about listing it out that helps to keep your mind focused. And really (really!) helps you drifting away, back into the non-priority stuff.

3. Break down your time into blocks for the day.

My brain works best in 90 minute to 2 hour blocks. If it’ll take longer than that, it goes into separate time blocks (and not necessarily on the same day).

Next to each time block on my planner, I write which category it falls in to – Sales & Marketing; Fulfilling Client Work or Creating New Stuff (just to make double sure it IS a high-priority task & that nothing low-value creeps in!).

This is the tough bit – when you get to the end of the time block & you’ve not finished. It’s easy just to carry on. BUT when you have your day planned out ahead of you, you can at least make an informed decision about whether that’s a smart thing to do, at the expense of another task…

And you get that little bit of gratification as you go through your day & get to tick stuff off. It’s a really rewarding feeling, when you to 6pm & KNOW you’ve had a hugely productive day!

Now – I know this all sounds like quite a lot of hassle + work. That you’ll probably read this & not bother to try it out.

BUT.

• Would this blog have got written, if it wasn’t in my Day Planner for today?
• That video have got filmed?
• That new lead magnet gone live this week? With a new 7-touch email nurture sequence behind it, to build our email list?
• The weekly video email gone out to our clients?
• Would those 3 (big) new clients come in?
• Would I have any sense of achievement – that I KNOW I’m doing the right stuff, to push us towards our goals for the next 90 days?

Nope.

NONE of this would have happened – or a least, only a fraction of it – if I hadn’t deliberately, mindfully planned it into my day. It just wouldn’t have got done. 

It’s not perfect, by any stretch. I’m still nowhere near as productive as I could be. I still spend too much time messing about on Facebook, letting myself get distracted on LinkedIn & sucked into group chats on Whatsapp.

BUT it works for me. Truly – it does. And I just wanted to share because it really can do the same for you.

So! If this has been even the teensiest bit of food for thought, then do come & join us over in The Copywriting Project FB group (it’s free & you can leave at anytime!).

We’re sharing everything we’ve ever learned about copywriting – tools, tips, inspiration & support to grow your business. We’d LOVE for you to part of it!   >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCopywritingProject

I’m off to crack on with my next time block – creating a shiny new sales funnel for my most favourite of our clients! 😀

Until next time

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How to Write Powerful ‘Calls to Action’…

Your ‘Call to Action’ is kinda important.

It’s the bit at the end of your copy – your email, blog post, sales page (anything you write) – where you tell your reader what you want them to do next.

Because if you DON’T ask them, the chances are they just won’t do it.

We did a full Facebook live session on this recently, over in The Copywriting Project (watch the full video here now):

But here’s the thing…

I see so many pieces of marketing where the call to action is a bit wishy-washy.  Or worse, it’s not there at all.

I think lots of people think about calls to action in marketing campaigns & stuff that’s directly selling. Which does make sense.

BUT even in your blog posts; in your videos; on your social media – if you want people to DO something (watch another video; subscribe; like & share; follow you) then it pays to spell it out & ask them to do it.

We’re all really, really busy. We need to get people to do what WE want them to do, right now. Because the chances are if they don’t do it right now – while you have their attention – they are never, ever going to do it.

And you have to spell out E-X-A-C-T-L-Y what you want your reader (or viewer) to do next. It has to be clear, firm & direct. Don’t leave it up to your reader to have to work it out for themselves (because the chances are their conclusion won’t be the same as yours!).

The good news is that there’s a simple 3-step formula we can all use, in everything we write, to craft powerful calls to action that really work!

1. Recap the benefit & reverse the risk.

You’ve got them engaged with your copy & starting to want what you offer.

And what you’re really trying to say here is ‘try us – you’ll like us’.

Netflix do this really well with their “watch anywhere; cancel anytime” call to action.

It reminds you of the core benefit – that you can watch their content any time you like, on any device. And if you don’t like us, you can cancel at anytime (which massively reverses the risk for their buyers).

Ikea are another example who do this really well with their newsletter opt-in. “Sign up now to get exciting design ideas for your home, direct to your inbox. Unsubscribe any time!”

It doesn’t have to be long – just a sentence, to remind your reader of WHY they should take the action you want & WHY it’s not a massive leap for them (because you offer a free trial; money-back guarantee; easy opt-out etc).

2. HOW. How do they take the next step?

This is where YOU need to be crystal clear on the point of your copy. What do you want them to do next?

• Click a link?
• Fill in a webform?
• Download a freebie?
• Watch a video?
• Subcribe to your YouTube channel?
• Share your content?
• Enter your competition?
• Sign up for your newsletter?
• Reply to your email?
• Call you?
• Buy from you?

And then once you’ve figured it out, tell them exactly HOW they can take the next step. Make it stand it out. If you have a button you want them to click, make it bright red. And BIG. Tell them clearly, firmly & directly..

3. Add in some urgency…

Like I said above – if you don’t get them do it right now, while you have their attention, the chances are they never will.

Now. Don’t wait. Hurry. Don’t miss out. Limited places available…

Add in a deadline. They’re a powerful way to drive action NOW – this offer must end at 4pm on Friday.

Adding in limited-time bonuses to drive action within a tight window is another great tool here (Rob Moore is the master of this, if you want inspiration!).

It doesn’t have to be complicated. And obviously the sense of urgency you create is likely to be stronger in your copy that’s directly selling, compared to in your content (where you’re more focused on building relationships with your audience).

So!

Here’s my call to action for today.

For more copywriting tools, tips, inspiration & support to grow your business – come join us over in The Copywriting Project FB group. 100% free; leave any time.

It’s turning into a brilliant community of like-minded business owners (and we’d LOVE for you to part of it). Click here to join us NOW! >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCopywritingProject

Done 😉

But seriously – if you’ve put all that time & energy into writing your content, and getting it out there – isn’t telling people EXACTLY what YOU want them to do next the most important thing?

See you on the other side!

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