Myself and a few of other leaders in the marketing/writing/social media business were featured in a new advice column on ClickDocuments:
I like my input, of course. But there’s some other good info there, as well. Please check it out and add your $0.02.
Are your marketing documents ready for an overhaul?
Do you have in-house writing staff but need a fresh, outside perspective?
Is your existing copy connecting fully with prospects, partners, employees and customers?
Here’s an offer that won’t cost you anything but a simple referral once you’ve completed the process.
This month (May ‘09), QualityWriter is giving away a few free copy tune-up and critique packages to select prospects and past clients (this is something we usually charge $300 to $400 for). This is first come first served – we can only do so many between regular deadlines.
Here’s how it works:
First, call us or email to get the ball rolling (949) 515-3510 dunn@qualitywriter.com.
Next, send us Web content, a landing page, a direct mail or email piece, a case study, a data sheet, a short brochure, or two pages of a white paper (anything up to 500 words), and we’ll give it a complete content analysis and evaluation (review notes and improvement plan included).
Make small progress today with your marketing documents, and ensure big progress in the future:
You can also get a taste for how I work and think.. and perhaps we can work on a writing project some day.
Get started right now – call (949) 515-3510 or email dunn@qualitywriter.com. There’s nothing to lose here. If the improved copy helps you sell more and improve your brand/image, you actually come out ahead.
Technology executives, marketing managers, creative directors, sales people, CMOs, VPs and CEOs all have one thing in common. You have to sell despite the current economic climate.
You can’t just turn off the bull-horn and expect to save money by being quiet, though. That’s a recipe for disaster.
I’ve detailed this elsewhere, demonstrating how the smart companies actually gain market share during recessions or depressions. So I won’t belabor that point any further.
So, how do you connect with customers when they’re so resistant to new spending initiatives? How do you generate better leads when customer budgets are shrinking?
Here a quick, high-level run-down of the pertinent answers.
First, you should show them:
I can help you do this by writing your white papers and customer case studies, which are crucial lead generation pieces.
The next question you should be asking is: How do I find people that are interested in these topics (with respect to my solutions/products/services)?
I have several different approaches to this last question. Some are social media related, some involve emailing people, some use good old-fashioned direct mail, some utilize Google Adwords and Facebook ads.
If you’d like to explore these topics in more detail and create a marketing campaign that gets immediate results, please give me a call at 949-244-9440 or email me at dunn@qualitywriter.com.
P.S. I have a really efficient system for carrying out these types of direct marketing plans. Please give me a call or email and I’ll tell you how I automate direct response campaigns with my assistant.
P.P.S If you end up hiring me to write some content for you, there’s zero risk. When the copy drives sales it’s essentially free. (All it takes is one extra sale to absorb your writing costs. You can’t lose.) Plus, I personally guarantee my work. You get a full refund by just calling up and telling me where I missed the mark and what I could have done better. I need you to tell me at least five things we could have done better. There’s one little catch: If you decide to keep the copy and continue using my services, I’d like you to give us a referral to one of your colleagues who you think can benefit from our services. Easy.
Yes, times are tight. However, as marketing managers, creative directors and sales people, you still have to sell. I’ve detailed this in other posts and showed you how the smart companies actually gain market share during recessions or depressions. So I won’t belabor that point any further.
Here are the important issues:
How do you connect with customers when they’re so resistant to new spending initiatives? How do you generate better leads when customer budgets are shrinking?
Here a quick, high-level run-down of the pertinent answers:
The next question you should be asking is: How do I find people that are interested in these topics (with respect to my solutions/products/services)?
I have about 10 different approaches to this last question. Some are social media related, some involve emailing people, some use good old-fashioned direct mail, some utilize Google Adwords and Facebook ads.
If you’d like to explore these topics in more detail and create a marketing campaign that gets immediate results, please give me a call at 949-244-9440 or email me at dunn@qualitywriter.com.
P.S. I can help you start figuring out what your prospects are looking for in just a few simple steps. And, conveniently, I’m a marketing writer that can help you develop content that drives sales.
P.P.S. I have a really efficient system for carrying out these types of direct marketing plans. Please give me a call or email and I’ll tell you how I automate direct response campaigns with my assistant. You, too, can do big things with very few people.
My clients have been asking for white paper writing quite frequently over the past few years. I don’t know if that’s a general trend, a function of my expertise and focus, or some perfect storm related to my Google page rank and key words (aside: I need to do some testing/SEO autopsy). In any event, I’m seeing a trend. In many cases white papers have become the new brochure. I think it’s a welcome development, and I’ll tell you why.
The modern white paper – technical or otherwise – has attributes of many different types of collateral pieces. On one level, it’s a education piece. On another, it’s a brochure of sorts. And, white papers often resemble case studies, with clear development from problem/challenge/issues to solution/presentation. All these attributes are welcome, IMHO.
Education is always great. People need information presented clearly in order to make good decisions. The case study angle in particular is very interesting. First, it forces the writer and the client/company to view their solution from the eyes of the user/customer. White paper format makes the writer think about the issues and hurdles close to the user first and then transition into the solution. Oftentimes, market forces and technology trends are used in white papers, as well. Same benefit – it forces the writer to view the problem on a larger scale. Only when macro, micro and user viewpoints are considered can a true solution be presented. White papers allow you to do this.
An old-fashioned brochure, on the other hand, is the antithesis of a white paper. I should clarify that… a typical, average, traditional brochure that presents the company and it’s products is the antithesis. These old-style brochures usually “led with their chin”.. meaning they presented a “hey look at us and our product” position before ever considering the needs and challenges of the customer/user. This kind of leave-behind, corporate overview brochure is a dying breed.
A friend of mine just had one of these old-style positioning brochures produced for his company, even though I advised against it. It was a waste of time, a waste of resources and a waste of a graphic designer for layout. It started with “this is who we are” (as if anyone cares).. then “this is what we do” (even though no need or urgency was developed first).. then “we’ve been in business for XX years” (another ‘who cares’ unless it can be linked to specific customer successes).. then the brochure offered no call to action, no “what to do next” and no lead-gen potential whatsoever. It was a money hole.
The friend thought he needed it to provide “legitimacy” as a leave behind, even though he admitted that it’s the kind of piece that gets glanced at and tossed. He thought it might help his image and brand. Urk. Branding without promotion, offers and call to action is for Coca Cola or Pfizer.. it’s not for small businesses with no national advertising budget. Heck even Coke and Pfizer have offers and promotions these days. It’s rare that even the big guys shout out an egotistical “hey look ut at us.”
So.. to answer my title question, yes I think the white paper is a new form of brochure. Web sites generally function as the company brochure nowadays, however the white paper acts as an extension of the web site. It gets people to act and engage, like the leave-behind brochure used to. In the old scenario, the salesman came to the office and offered the pitch then left the brochure behind as a reminder/in-depth business card.
In the new web scene, the site is the cold call, the white paper is the voluntary demo, and the email capture is the relationship builder/reminder. You can mix up the order, but I think these are the key phases. For example, you can offer a white paper after you’ve captured an email or phone number. Or, you can produce a white paper that’s so strong it gets high rankings on Google and generates its own leads via a call to action on the final page. In any event, the white paper is the key value proposition builder and demo. It’s got lots of flexibility, too. You can go deep into challenges and issues while doing a really soft sell on your presentation (or even a no sell). On the other hand, you can go really deep into solution discussions and product features on the back-end of the white paper if it’s appropriate. There are lots of ways to slice and dice it.
What are your thoughts? Is the white paper the new brochure? Is it the new pre-sales-call? Can you close business with white papers? Please comment – your views are appreciated.
