Saying the Same Thing Differently

I received an email from my colleague, Peter Donnelly at Mustang Leadership. He sends a Thought for Friday (on a Friday obviously!). I loved it, especially as a copywriter, it is all about emotional direct response. But I also loved it for the story that it is.

Take two mins and have a read:

Saying the Same Thing Differently

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?” and continued, “What did you write?’

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”

What he had written was: “Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.”

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Have you your telephone sales script ready?

I spoke with a client today. We are working on a flyer and a new brochure for his new business. I can say this as I said it to my client but I felt his words were a bit stiff.

So I called him up and suggested a role play. I was the potential client, he was the salesman.

The reason why the words on his flyer and brochure were stiff was because he was stiff on the phone. He didn’t have a script ready, didn’t immediately tell me what the benefits were and stumbled along the call with no clear goals and most certainly didn’t ask for the sale.

Yet when I speak with him about his business and its potential, he gets energised. He just needs to transfer that energy into a script and practice, practice, practice.

My question to you, this Wednesday morning, is this:

Are you ready to sell when the phone rings?

13 Reasons to Blog

Back in January, I posed the question to the blogosphere - ‘Why do you blog?’ as I wanted a client to start blogging. Everytime I talked with her, I discovered new levels to her fountain of knowledge. I thought she should share that knowledge with others.

Whenever I brought up the blogging topic, she always asked me the same question:

“But Denise, why should I blog? Why do you blog?“

I blog because I have ideas to share, to build credibility and to engage with the community around me. The very same reason that she should blog.

So to get extra help to persuade her, I asked my fellow bloggers and got some great comments. You can catch the entire comments HERE so I’m paraphrasing.

Reasons to Blog
These are the main reasons that I saw when reading the comments of fellow bloggers. They are in no particular order of importance:

1. Own my own little piece of the internet
2. It’s a good way to force me to pursue my interest in writing
3. Gain a superior understanding of the topics/subject when it’s written down
4. For the joy of writing, learning and sharing
5. Others may benefit from my articles
6. Aid SEO
7. Help establish me/my company as industry experts on a topic
8. Share observations or thoughts on the way people/companies do things
9. Recount a story from from recent travels
10. Advise companies/people on things they could do differently that I’ve seen elsewhere
11. Act as a FAQ site/repository of information
12. Provide my thoughts on a range of business/technical topics which can be accessed  reasonably accessible way.
13. Another way to help others

So in summary, people blog to:
- Help others
- Get higher rankings on search engines
- Gain clarity in their own mind on a particular topic
- Make use of the instantness of the medium

A caveat - or indeed follow up question.
Most of the people that I spoke with said that they don’t blog regularly enough.

So, how much is regular enough?

I’ve got a goal: 100 articles in 100 days

I signed up for the ‘100 articles in 100 days’ (#HAHD) last year but through one thing and another, I didn’t complete it. This year, I’ve decided that I’m going to complete it.

I want to get:

1. Downloadable #HAHD Certificate of Achievement (frame not included)
2. Original Limited-edition EzineArticles #HAHD Trophy Mug
3. Limited-Edition EzineArticles #HAHD Mouse Pad
4. Limited-Edition EzineArticles #HAHD Canvas Tote Bag
5. Limited-Edition EzineArticles Motivational Wall Clock

It’s not the goodie bag that I want but the sense of achievement and accomplishment.

So please - can I ask for encouragement from my friends and readers?

And give me your ideas as well!

First Blogpost of 2010 - Why do you blog?

It’s the 12th January 2010 and I can’t believe that I’m only getting around to writing my first blogpost for Achieve Marketing.

I’ve been writing posts for clients but not myself and have been fielding questions about the importance of having a blog.

I’m only dying to get into blogging again for 2010. I’ve had a number of customer relationship issues that I need to share, some writing tips to let you know about and generally engage with people now that Christmas is over.

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been thinking about the importance of blogging. So for my first post, I’m posing a question to all the bloggers:

Why do you blog?

I blog because I have ideas to share, to build credibility and to engage with the community around me.

Can you take a few minutes to share why you blog? I’ll combine all comments and share later in the month.

Why Lucinda Lost and How to Avoid a Similar Fate

I’m an avid fan of The Apprentice and it was with regret that I watched Lucinda being fired. She was an excellent candidate.

The radio ad had a lot to be desired to be honest but unfortunately for Lucinda, it wasn’t the radio ad that was her downfall. Her print ad fell foul for a number of reasons - and Lucinda should comfort herself that she is not alone in making those mistakes.

Lets look at the mistakes in the print ad that cost Lucinda her place in the semi-final.

Mistake No. 1: Too many words

White space is gospel when it comes to copy-writing. You need enough to make your words stand out. There wasn’t enough white space at the two-page ad.

A common mistake is to have too many messages. For a two page ad, you should have two-three main messages. That’s it, no more.

There was at least five messages through-out the ad. Too many to concentrate.

Lucinda should have stuck to two-three messages, summarised them and used them in her call to action.

Mistake No. 2: No compelling headline

“This Christmas” and “Three Wise Men” isn’t exactly compelling reading. In order to get (and keep) attention, you need a compelling headline. Three pictures of three men isn’t the compelling headline that I’m talking about either.

You need a headline that screams ‘read me - I’m the the most interesting article/ad in this magazine’.

Mistake 3: Imagery didn’t support wording

If you’re going to use imagery as a supplement or distraction from your words, then choose wisely. The images should complement the wording.

Lucinda had a great idea of giving tips to picking jewellry this Christmas. It was a great idea - but unfortunately it didn’t work. She used bulleted images which didn’t work - it only added to the clutter on the page.

In summary, anyone can put together a print ad. However, if you want maximum returns, then you need to do it right. Hire a copy-writer!

Word of the Week: Consumer

For some reason, whatever I read this week, the word ‘Consumer’ keeps popping up, generally in the context of a customer. It makes it an ideal candidate for an Achieve Marketing Word of the Week.

Meaning of the word Consumer:

Dictionary.com defines it as

• a person or thing that consumes

• Economics: a person or organisation that uses a commodity or service

• Ecology: an organism, usually an animal that feeds on plants or other animals.

According to the Collins Dictionary, it’s a noun and is defined as

• a person who buys goods or uses services

It’s origin dates back to 1375-1425 for earlier sense ‘Squanderer’.

In Marketing terms…

In marketing terms, a consumer is often used inter-changeably with the word customer.

In this context, a consumer is an individual who buys a product or service for personal consumption or use. They make the buying decision and can be influenced by advertisements and marketing.

Once they make a decision as a consumer, they become a customer.

So I guess strictly speaking, a customer is not the same as a consumer - for example, a child would be a consumer of Haribo jellys but the parent is the customer.

But not all things in marketing are so clear cut, as the parent could be influenced by the child (Pleeaase Mum!) and make the buying decision as a consumer.

As long as consumer is consuming a service rather than another human being, (in the ecology term), I think consumer and customer can be used interchangeably.

***Ends***

Thesaurus Tuesday: Day-to-Day

I’m currently working on three marketing activity plans. Within that context, I find myself saying to myself or my clients, ‘day to day’ activities are the lifeblood of any plan. Three little words to summarise all the tasks, chores and worries that comprise a day.

If I’m saying it so much, then why not use it as a Thesaurus Tuesday? As it’s a little phrase, could it be there is no real alternative to our much loved descriptive idiom?

I decided to think a little bit more about it. Something that occurs every day is said to be day to day. It also conjures up images of boredom, the mundaneness of life. In addition, I’ve seen it applied in the circumstance where there was no thought or regard to the future.

When I thought about another phrase to use, I found it quite difficult. Could I really have found a group of words that has no real alternative?

Thesaurus Tuesday Word:

Day-to-Day

Suggested alternatives to day-to-day

• Daily

• Continuously

• Regularly

Thesaurus in action

We lived day to day during those heady college days, worries were a thing of the future.

Our daily lives consisted of fun times, who needed to worry?

or

I didn’t need to be involved day to day in the business as long as I got figures at the end of the very evening

I wasn’t involved regularly in the business so long as the figures were emailed at the end of every day.

Can you think of an alternative to the ones above for day-to-day?

Monday Makeover: Birds Eye Salmon Fish Fingers

Usually the Monday Makeover is a text based makeover, given that I’m a copy-writer. However, I’m also a marketer and I have to say that I really like the Birds Eye Salmon Fish Finger ad.

I think that the guys who created it did a really good makeover job on advertising the trusty, reliable (dare I say boring) fish finger. Firstly, one must thank the Birds Eye product team for coming up with the slightly posher version of the fish finger. But let’s face it, coming up with an ad to promote it wouldn’t necessarily have been the easiest task of all.

And okay, the guys went back to basics - ‘inneundo sell’s’ but this ad does what it’s supposed to do - get people’s attention to the product.

Watch it HERE: Birds Eye Salmon Fish Finger Ad.

Some people do not like this ad - I’ve searched on the Internet and some people really dislike it. But TV ads are supposed to entertain as well as promote a product. I’d bet if you did a brief survey, the majority of TV ad watchers (I’ll discount the Skyplus people who fast forward the ads!), will tell you that there is a new fish finger. This ad promotes a new version of an old product in a completely different way.

It’s cheeky with its M&S-esque sultry voice but it’s also a good production - that two second wait before the two other fish fingers faint is classic TV.

Say what you may - but Birds Eye Fish Fingers has definitely had a makeover!

Have your say - what do you think of this ad?

Good News Thursday: Drogheda Arts Festival

Things haven’t been so hot and busy on the good news front. In fact, very little good news has come across the desks at Achieve Marketing. We could be in a silo - but all we hear at the moment is Lisbon Treaty and Nama. Good news? oh dear!

But we have one good story to report. The Drogheda Arts Festival organised by the Drogheda Borough Council Art Office has just been short-listed for a Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Award. We were instrumental in the copy-writing of the application form and are thrilled that they have gotten this far.

The Drogheda Arts Festival started 6 years ago and goes from strength to strength. When I was Marketing Officer for the Droichead Arts Centre, I was on the periphery of the organisation. It takes time, stamina and strength to organise a five day festival over the May bank holiday.

It’s one of the first arts festivals to appear on the National calendar and they certainly kick start it off in style.

The Local Government awards take place in October and from all of us at Achieve Marketing, we wish them the very best of luck.

A good news story indeed.