Whether or not you believe that content is king in the blogging world, the fact is that if you have no content, you have no blog. So, when starting a blog, in addition to getting WordPress set up, doing keyword research, creating a nice design, and all those other important “behind the scenes” activities, you need to develop some content!  While your intention for starting a blog (e.g. to draw attention to your website, to position yourself as an expert, to create an income stream using affiliate links) will determine posting frequency, topics, and post length, there are some content development strategies that should apply to any new blogging venture. Here are a few to get you started:

Establish a Theme

Determine a main idea that can be expressed in one sentence or phrase, and make sure every post reflects this idea, or theme. While some blogs have been successful with multiple themes (World’s Strongest Librarian, for example), it is easier for readers to determine if you blog is for them when they can quickly determine what you have to offer. Good examples of this are a couple of my favorite well-known blogs: Copyblogger, which is about writing copy for online media, and ProBlogger, which provides blogging tips. The theme of the Final Draft Communications blog is writing tips for small business, nonprofit, and marketing professionals.

Determine Your Audience

If you are starting a blog, chances are you already know something about your audience. If you don’t, now is the time to ask yourself some questions:

• Who is your audience? What are their primary characteristics? What do they have in common?
• What are their main concerns?
• What do they already know? What do they want to know?
• What problems can you help them to solve?
• How do they like to receive information?

There are many ways to determine the answers, including asking your current clients or customers, putting out an online or e-mail survey, using a service like Ask Your Target Market, or using online research tools such as Google Trends and Quantcast.

Create Categories

Think about the various subtopics within your topic. For example, let’s say you wanted to start a blog about cooking. Some subtopics that might come to mind include recipes, ingredients, techniques, equipment, and resources. But, you should adjust your subtopics based on the needs of your audience. So, let’s say you want to write for busy moms who are interested in cooking, and your research reveals they are most concerned with quick, inexpensive dinners for picky kids. Your topics now might include dinners in under half an hour, meals under $15, or foods kids will actually eat.

Write Initial Posts

Try to create at least one post for each subtopic, and shoot for at least 5-10 posts. Remember, each post should incorporate your theme, address your audience, and fall within an appropriate category. In addition to writing posts, create a list of additional post ideas, so you won’t get stuck when it’s time to develop more posts.

Develop a Format

Settle on a length and format that you will use consistently, so readers will know what to expect. This includes spacing, subheadings, typeface, “about the author” comments, links, and final touches, such as images, titles, and tags. Like your content, your format will depend on your theme, audience, and categories. If you know your audience is pressed for time, for example, make your posts brief, under 500 words. But, if they prefer more in-depth information, make them longer, over 1,000 words. As another example, if your posts are covering complex topics, you may want to use more links to direct readers to additional information.

Do you have other ideas for how to write content for a new blog? Please share in the comments.

About the Author: Karen Marcus, M.A. is a Northern Colorado copywriter and grant writer who has been helping clients in a wide range of industries to put their best word forward for 13 years.

Need assistance writing content for you new blog? Karen can help! Click here to schedule a free consultation.

Everyone loves good tag lines and, whether we want to admit it or not, they are an integral part of our culture.We repeat them and incorporate them into our vocabularies (e.g. “Just Do It”). They become jumping off points for other campaigns (e.g. “Got Milk?”). They serve as bases for humor and entertainment (e.g. “Where’s the beef?”). Of course, not every tag line makes it into the cultural lexicon, but you should still strive to make yours as memorable as possible. In addition to being memorable, a good tag line should include the following information:

• Benefits of your product or service
• What makes you unique compared to your competition
• Your company’s personality or brand

Your tag line should complement your company name and use simple language to succinctly describe what you do. Writing good tag lines isn’t as easy as you might think. The fewer words you have with which to express an idea, the more important each word becomes. Try using the following steps to get the process started:

Make a List

Jot down as many ideas you can think of that you want to convey. Include  the benefits of your products or services, keywords for which you want to rank in the search engines, and words that describe your brand. Think of this list from the perspective of the “take-away” message. That is, what is the ONE idea you want readers to take away every time they see something from your company or organization? For now you’re just brainstorming, but keep in mind that your tag line should convey that one idea.

Find a Format

Some tag line formats should be familiar to you. They include the directive (e.g. “Don’t Leave Home Without It”), the promise (e.g. “Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking”), the description (e.g. “The Quicker Picker Upper”), the question (“Does She or Doesn’t She?”), the tie-in with an abstract concept (e.g. “A Diamond Is Forever”), the values statement (e.g. “Quality Is Job One”), and the benefit (e.g. “Sheer Driving Pleasure”). Consider these formats and start to think about how the words you’ve listed might fit into one of them.

Associate With an Archetype

The book The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson offers an interesting perspective on branding that can be used for creating good tag lines. The archetypes they mention include the Creator, the Caregiver, the Jester, the Regular Guy/Girl, the Sage, the Hero, and the Outlaw. The authors propose that brands associated with one of these archetypes are more likely to endure. Consider which archetype you would like to associate with your brand, and try to use words that reflect that archetype. So, if you wanted to associate with the Regular Guy/Girl archetype, you would use words that evoke a down-home, no-nonsense, egalitarian approach.

Put Together the Pieces

With your list, your formats, and your archetype, start playing with some ideas. Don’t be shy, here. There are no bad ideas at this point. Write down as many as you can think of. This process lends itself well to a group effort, so get some staff, colleagues, consultants, or friends together to help. Again, don’t be fooled into believing that good tag lines are easy to create. They’re not. Take your time, and generate as many ideas as you can think of.

Narrow It Down

Once you have a good number of possible tag lines, start eliminating those that you don’t like, that don’t evoke the image (archetype) you want to convey, and that don’t specifically describe what your company or organization does. You should be left with several to choose from. Narrow it down even further: which five do you like the best? Check each one against your take-away idea. Give each one the “roll off the tongue” test. Check for simple language. Still stuck? Give it a few days, and come back to the process with fresh eyes.

What is the best tag line you have come up with? Please share in the comments.

About the Author: Karen Marcus, M.A. is a Northern Colorado copywriter and grant writer who has been helping clients in a wide range of industries to put their best word forward for 13 years.

Need assistance writing good tag lines? Karen can help! Click here to get started.

Before we start talking about HOW to write a fantastic first draft, let’s talk about WHY you should do so. You should write a fantastic first draft because it will lead to a superb second draft, splendid subsequent drafts, and a fabulous final draft. A good first draft provides a solid foundation on which to build your textual house.

Next, let us DEFINE a fantastic first draft: A fantastic first draft is not necessarily (1) perfect, (2) complete, (3) fun to read, or (4) nice to look at. “Fantastic” here means “workable.” The first draft is your clay. In subsequent drafts, you will shape that clay into a pretty sculpture, i.e. something others may want to read. But, just as most sculpture admirers will never see the lump of clay that a sculpture once was, your readers will not see your first draft. So, keep that in mind if you tend to aim for perfection. Rather than 100% readability, try for somewhere between 60% and 80% in the first draft, remembering that you will have the opportunity to edit. Here are some tips to get you started:

Prepare.

Some things you should have with you when you write your first draft include interview notes, outlines, research information, and an idea of your main message. To determine your main message, do some thinking and planning in advance to determine the one thing you want readers to remember. You will also want to keep in mind any high-level company or organizational messages, as well as keywords if you are writing for an online medium. It also helps to have an idea of the voice and style you want to convey. Of course, you will also need your favorite drafting tool, whether that’s a computer, a notebook, or a voice recorder.

Add an intro.

Some sources on how to write a fantastic first draft will tell you not to bother with the introduction until you have written the piece. I think that’s good advice, because once you have the bulk of the piece written, the intro comes naturally. However, it’s advice that I do not follow. For me, the intro sets the tone for the piece and, without a good intro, I am unable to move forward. Of course you should do what you’re most comfortable with, but I suggest that you at least compose a “filler” intro to set the stage for the material and let readers know why they should keep reading.

Use placeholders.

If you get to a place at which you feel stuck or have a sense of what needs to come next, but don’t want to worry about the details just yet, use a placeholder to remind you of what to add later. For example, let’s say I have arrived at this section of this post, and am not sure what I want to write. I could insert a bracketed comment like, “[talk about coming back to a section if you get stuck].” This strategy allows you to keep moving.

Be open to discoveries.

Sometimes, as you write, you discover that the information you have to convey doesn’t fit well with the title you had in mind. Or, there’s really too much for just one blog post. Or, there is something fascinating within your material that you hadn’t noticed before. Such is the wonder of writing! Yet, if you’re just trying to get a draft out, it can be a little annoying. The material isn’t quite fitting into your plan. Rather than getting frustrated, as it is easy to do, think of it as an opportunity to make your fantastic first draft even better. Don’t resist it. Go with it, and see where it takes you. Don’t be afraid to revise your plan.

Refrain from premature editing.

Otherwise known as “silence your inner critic,” this tip is a reminder that writing (especially drafting!) and editing are two different things. Creating an initial draft is like patiently putting together a puzzle, piece by piece. You’ve got a clump here, and a section there, and they seem to fit together pretty well. Now, if someone comes along and says, “That part’s wrong! Those pieces don’t fit together!” and you listen to them, rethinking and redoing what you’ve already done, you will never get the puzzle completed! Rather than making each part perfect, aim for a rough approximation of the big picture.

What advice can you offer on how to write a fantastic first draft? Let us know in the comments!

First draft not so fantastic? I can help! Click here to get started.

No matter where you are on the writing skill scale, there is always room for improvement. While working toward better writing does take practice and time, there are things you can do that are quick and easy. Here are some simple suggestions for improving your writing right now. None of them should take more than 10 minutes, and even if you do just one, you’re well on your way to becoming a better writer.

1. Commit to better writing.

Think for a moment about what you consider to be good writing. Do you like quirky wording and entertaining text, or do you prefer that a writer just get to the point? Do you like it when a writer goes into depth, or do you prefer brief, scannable documents? Do you like strict adherence to the rules of writing, or do you like to see more casual language? Once you know what you consider to be good writing, you’ll know when you’ve achieved it.

2. Examine a recent piece.

Open the last document you wrote and reread a few paragraphs or pages. Does it flow? Do you trip over any sections? What can you do to improve them?

3. Surrender to editing.

I often catch my clients falling in love with their words. I remind them that we use words as tools to communicate meaning, so it is not the words that are important, but the messages they convey. If you have a tendency to resist the editing process, see if you can get just a little more comfortable with letting some of your beautiful words go. Remember, as beautiful as your words may be, if they are getting in the way of your message, you’re not helping your reader. [Note: I had two additional sentences here, and mercilessly chopped them, because, after rereading them, I realized they didn't really add anything to my message.]

4. Read something.

Anything. A book, a blog, a magazine, a billboard. Evaluate the writing. How does it “sound” to you? Is it interesting? Are you part of the target audience? Is it logical? Are there obvious grammatical or spelling errors? Do they get in the way of your understanding?

5. Learn a new word.

Go to the Word of the Day section of  Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster to get a new word. Try using it in a sentence.

6. Scribble an outline.

It can be for an e-mail, a white paper, or your Great American Novel. The idea is to get a feel for structure, a key to better writing.

7. Become audience aware.

One of the best things you can do for your writing is to realize it’s not all about you. Think about a document you’ve written recently, or one you want to write. Who is the audience? What do they want to know? What do they already know?  What is their greatest concern? How is what you have to tell them going to make their lives better?

8. Learn a rule.

Check out the UpWrite Press blog for today’s writing rule or tip.

9. Talk it out.

Tell someone your idea for your next piece. Ask them to repeat your idea back to you so you know whether or not they “got it.” If so, great! You’ve got a clear direction. If not, how can you refine your message to make it more understandable?

10. Write something.

The most important step you can take toward better writing is to write. Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes, and get your word on.

Got more ideas for improving writing in 10 minutes? Please share in the comments!

Need help working toward better writing? I can help! Click here to get started.

In a recent Final Draft Communications Blog post about working with subject matter experts, a reader who is a marketing professional commented that her clients are usually her subject matter experts, and that it takes considerable skill to extract from them the information needed to create marketing documents on their behalf. I couldn’t agree more and, as someone who possesses that skill, I would like to share with you the secret to getting the right information for creating effective marketing documents. Ready? Here it is:

The secret to getting great, usable, promotion-ready information is knowing how to ask the right questions.

Whether you are marketing for your own company, or working as a contractor on another company’s behalf, asking the right questions is a must for developing the best possible copy. Here are some tips for getting started:

Find out what the target market really wants.

You’re probably familiar with the phrase, “What’s in it for me?” This is the question that must be answered in every promotional document. First, ask for a profile of the typical customer or client. Then, craft your questions to encourage responses that will reveal the answers to “WIIFM?” for that audience. Here are some examples of questions I like to use:

• What is the biggest benefit your clients get from your services?
• What do your customers tell you they like about your products?
• How do your customers use your products?
• What would be the alternative–what would your clients do if your services were not available?
• What makes your products different from your competitors’ products?

Dig deep.

Though you may not discuss the motivations of a company’s staff in a promotional piece, such information can give you valuable insight into the uniqueness of their products or services. Ask questions like:

• What are you passionate about?
• Why did you decide to start this company?
• What do you like best about your job?
• What is your biggest challenge?
• What’s the ONE thing you want people to remember about your company?

Dig deeper.

Answers to the above questions will sometimes lead in surprising directions. Ask follow-up questions. For example, say your interviewee says he likes to see high levels of revenue because he donates 10% to his favorite charity. You can follow up by asking what the charity is, why it’s important, and how long he has been involved with it. Something like this could become a whole new angle for your marketing efforts.

Do your homework.

Find out about the company’s competition ahead of time, and ask about differences. Maybe there’s a good reason your interviewee’s company doesn’t offer free shipping, and that reason could be used to attract customers.

Quench your curiosity.

If, like me, you often interview and write for companies you know little about, there are probably things you’re curious about. As an objective observer, this curiosity is a benefit you bring to the table. If you’re curious about something, chances are the company’s potential clients or customers are too. Either way, quenching your curiosity will help you understand the company and, therefore, enable to you to better write about it.

What questions do you consider essential to ask when developing promotional materials?

Need an objective third party to ask the right questions? I can help! Click here to get started.

(Want to guest post for the Final Draft Communications blog? Let’s talk!)

By Marcia Hoeck

Another way to start conversations is to present your point of view. It begins with statements like, “The way I see it . . .” or “From my perspective . . .” or “The thing I’ve learned about . . .” followed by a belief. Even if people disagree, they’ll begin to see things from your point of view and get engaged in a conversation. This conversation will help you learn more about your customers, and help your customers learn more about you and what the company is all about in a way that helps form bonds and foster involvement. You’re talking, not just stating — see the difference?

Your point of view should be easy to understand and remember, and easy to talk about in your own words, so it doesn’t have to be memorized like an elevator speech. With a company point of view, everyone in the organization can have interesting things to talk about with various audiences, including customers, the media, and employees. It can help people understand what the organization is actually all about, shape their feelings about us, and provoke thinking.

The following are “musts” for a point of view:

1. A point of view must be engaging

It must evoke a response and start conversations rather than just informing. The best response to a point of view is to have someone say, “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

2. A point of view must be true

The more evidence to support your point of view, the greater your credibility.

3. A point of view must be relevant

The more relevant to the audience, the more interested people will be.

4. A point of view must be genuine

You and your organization must truly believe in the idea — there’s no faking it.

5. A point of view must be fresh

No one wants to hear old ideas, but sometimes a non-original point of view can be framed and expressed in a new way to discover new insights.

6. A point of view must connect the dots

Your point of view should connect somehow to your business vision or strategy — otherwise, it’s just talk.

7. A point of view must be memorable

You’ll want your point of view to be easy to remember and stick in a person’s head.

8. A point of view must be “talk-able”

You’ll want your point of view to be easy for people to talk about in their own words, and tell stories around. It should jump start two-way conversations.

9. A point of view must be “leggy”

Your point of view should resonate with multiple audiences, and be able to be communicated through multiple communication channels. You’ll be using it to build marketing and sales programs around, so it has to be flexible and have “legs.”

10. A point of view must be likable

People have to like talking about your point of view, or they won’t.

Examples:

• These are the words I used the first time I ditched my elevator speech: “The thing I’ve learned is that companies think they need to talk about their products and services, when what they really need to do is reveal more about ‘who’ they are as a company and how that relates to the product and services, so customers can connect with them on an emotional level. That’s what I help them do.” It needed work, but it felt so much better than saying I owned a marketing communications firm! And, I swear, the listener said, “Oh, that’s so interesting!”

• “When did beauty become limited by age (or size)? It’s time to think, talk, and learn how to make beauty real again. Join Dove and the debate at campaignforrealbeauty.com.” (Dove)

• “Our collective generation believes the desktop PC is the most important thing to give to people. I don’t buy that. The most important thing to give is access to the internet.” (Jonathan Schwartz, president of Sun Microsystems)

• “We believe software is too complex — too many features, too many buttons, too much to learn. We build the best Web-based software products with the least number of features. Our products do less than the competition — intentionally.” (37signals)

• “When we talk to other people about Southwest Airlines, I always tell them it’s got to come from the heart, not from the head. It has to be spontaneous, it has to be sincere, it has to be emotional.” (Herb Kelleher, co-founder of Southwest Airlines)

Your point of view is in addition to, not in place of, your vision, mission, values, positioning, and other marketing elements you may use. It’s another tool in your marketing toolbox, and one that you can pull out in place of your elevator speech.

Not very many companies use this approach, at least not consciously and consistently. If you do it, you’ll stand out, and people will say, “That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

Like this post? You’ll want to join Marcia’s 4-week teleclass program, “The End of the Elevator Speech,” starting on March 2, 2010.

For 25 years, as owner of a leading strategic branding and marketing communications firm in Toledo, Ohio, Marcia Hoeck lived what she now teaches. Through trial and error, study of other entrepreneurial organizations, and her own vision for seeing how people and business opportunities match, Marcia developed simple high-impact, low-cost systems that enabled her to drastically reduce the amount of time spent managing her business, while increasing her revenues. These philosophies and customizable systems allowed her to create a business with great flexibility and time to pursue other ventures.

Marcia now shares her secrets as a business coach, showing how it is possible to create a culture that works for you — both spiritually and productively — to get your business out of that stuck place, get problems off your desk, and free you to do what you started your business for in the first place.

You can reach Marcia at marcia@hoeck.net. Get business tips and check out her services at www.mybreakthroughbusiness.com.

(Want to guest post for the Final Draft Communications blog? Let’s talk!)

By Marcia Hoeck

It’s been proven that meaning can most effectively be conveyed by tapping into the five-year-old in your customer through stories and conversations. In her book, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing, Lois Kelly suggests ways to get that five-year-old to really “hear” our marketing messages:

The five-year-old likes to argue and reason, and uses words like “because”:
You need to explain “why” and “why not.”

The five-year-old uses five to eight words in a sentence:
You need to keep it brief, and use short sentences.

The five-year-old is interested in cause and effect:
You need to explain, “If we do this, then this will happen, if we don’t do this, that will happen.”

The five-year-old understands and uses comparative terms:
You need to use analogies to help him understand.

The five-year-old enjoys creating and telling stories:
You need to tell stories. Storytelling is one of the best ways to help people understand, retain, and repeat ideas.

The five-year-old likes to use swear words:
You need to use disruptive ideas and language to get attention.
(Notice the word “disruptive” — I’m not suggesting that you go out and swear at your customer. Rather, that you might need to shake him up to get his attention.)

What can you explain about your organization, product, or service in “why” and “why not” terms? What brief, short sentences could you use about your organization, product, or service? What cause and effect statements could you make about your organization, product, or service? What analogies can you use? What stories can you tell? What disruptive ideas can you use?

Answering these questions will help you make meaning for your customers in conversational ways — the first step in ditching your elevator speech. (Aren’t you excited? This means no self-important words, no mumbo-jumbo, no corporate-speak!)

In Part III, I’ll give you one more powerful ingredient for making meaning and uncovering talk-worthy ideas. Stay tuned!

Like this post? You’ll want to join Marcia’s 4-week teleclass program, “The End of the Elevator Speech,” starting on March 2, 2010.

For 25 years, as owner of a leading strategic branding and marketing communications firm in Toledo, Ohio, Marcia Hoeck lived what she now teaches. Through trial and error, study of other entrepreneurial organizations, and her own vision for seeing how people and business opportunities match, Marcia developed simple high-impact, low-cost systems that enabled her to drastically reduce the amount of time spent managing her business, while increasing her revenues. These philosophies and customizable systems allowed her to create a business with great flexibility and time to pursue other ventures.

Marcia now shares her secrets as a business coach, showing how it is possible to create a culture that works for you — both spiritually and productively — to get your business out of that stuck place, get problems off your desk, and free you to do what you started your business for in the first place.

You can reach Marcia at marcia@hoeck.net. Get business tips and check out her services at www.mybreakthroughbusiness.com.

I recognize that some people are more comfortable preparing and delivering elevator speeches than others, and I had this in mind when, during a teleclass, I heard Marcia Hoeck, a dynamic business coach, say she has stopped using elevator speeches. I was intrigued. “Perhaps there is another approach that might be more effective for some readers,” I thought.

So, I asked Marcia to guest post about her conversational marketing strategy. The following post is Part I in a three-part series that presents a fresh, effective way to verbally engage with customers and contacts.

(Want to guest post for the Final Draft Communications blog? Let’s talk!)

By Marcia Hoeck

I hate elevator speeches.

I know that’s a pretty strong statement, but it’s the truth. I’ve always hated them — probably because I’ve always been so awful at them. And you might as well admit it — almost everyone else is awful at them, too.

Did you ever hear an elevator speech that really sounded natural or authentic? One that didn’t sound even the teeniest bit memorized?

I thought so. You agree with me, too.

But we always thought we had to have them. We needed a way to tell people what we did, and a way to do it consistently and succinctly. And we needed something to say when we were put on the spot in those dumb 60-second introduction sessions at networking meetings. Somebody invented the elevator speech and we all just went along with it.

But I’m here to tell you there’s a better way — thanks to Karen, who invited me.

I’ve taken a page from Lois Kelly’s book, Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing, and now use a conversational marketing approach instead. You really ought to give it a try. Maybe you’ll be able to ditch your elevator speech forever, too, like I did. (Okay, like I do most of the time. Sometimes when my guard is down, I get tricked into giving a lame, quasi-elevator speech left over from days gone by, and it always makes me squirm. The vestiges are still there, deep in the hollows of my brain, and it’s a difficult to habit to kick, I’ll admit.)

Conversational Marketing

Kelly’s book describes how traditional marketing and communications don’t really help people talk. They inform, promote, direct, and describe, but they don’t help jump-start conversations that get people to say (and I love this phrase Lois uses to test if a subject is conversational),

“Gee, that’s interesting, tell me more.”

How many times has a prospective customer said that to you when you’ve given them your opening line about your company or product — your elevator speech? Not very many, huh? Do their eyes glaze over instead? In fact, do you even expect anyone to react to your elevator speech — or are you so focused on just getting it out of your mouth correctly that you can’t even think about how the other person reacts, or trying to actually establish a relationship with them? You’re just glad it’s over!

How much would it be worth to you to actually have people say, “That’s interesting. Tell me more,” regularly, not just when you’re talking to people, but also when anyone in your company is talking to people? And how great would it be to have a meaningful, effortless conversation follow this, where you’re able to keep their interest with relevant ideas that help them to better understand your value?

Having Interesting Things to Talk About is Valuable

If you’ve ever tried to get anyone else in your company to hone an elevator speech, or tried to arm them with a description they can use when asked about the company, you know what I’m talking about. It’s bad enough when you do it, but it can get really bad if you have others who have to carry the message, too — it can come off as stilted, prepared, salesy, and not at all interesting. And if the listener’s eyes go into a far-off stare, most likely you and your people just talk faster about your products and services, as if talking faster will make people suddenly wake up and listen. At least it’ll get the ordeal over with sooner. (And when you’re not around, your people won’t use the elevator speech you prepared for them, anyway. Betcha.)

We always knew that marketing was about having a conversation, a relationship with customers, right? Some of us have just had difficulty keeping the conversation interesting for our customers. Kelly contends:

“Studies have found that the more customers participate in meaningful conversations and interactions with companies, the more likely they are to purchase a product or service and recommend it to others. For marketers, this suggests that we need to find ways to involve customers in more conversations that are meaningful to them.”

This sounds like just what we need in an elevator speech, doesn’t it? Something to jump-start conversations, to get people to ask you to tell them more! Otherwise, it’s just an exercise. Just wasted words.

Make Meaning

Surveys say that people don’t trust companies, and that the only way to gain back trust is to communicate in new ways. One way to do this is with meaning making — meaning making helps make sense of an idea, an option, or concept, and shows people how it relates to what they already know. When they don’t see meaning, customers tend to become skeptical and indifferent.

In Parts II and III, I’ll present two key steps you can take toward making meaning using relevancy, context, pattern making, and emotion (the most powerful ingredient for understanding) and uncovering talk-worthy ideas. Stay tuned!

Like this post? You’ll want to join Marcia’s 4-week teleclass program, “The End of the Elevator Speech,” starting on March 2, 2010.

For 25 years, as owner of a leading strategic branding and marketing communications firm in Toledo, Ohio, Marcia Hoeck lived what she now teaches. Through trial and error, study of other entrepreneurial organizations, and her own vision for seeing how people and business opportunities match, Marcia developed simple high-impact, low-cost systems that enabled her to drastically reduce the amount of time spent managing her business, while increasing her revenues. These philosophies and customizable systems allowed her to create a business with great flexibility and time to pursue other ventures.

Marcia now shares her secrets as a business coach, showing how it is possible to create a culture that works for you — both spiritually and productively — to get your business out of that stuck place, get problems off your desk, and free you to do what you started your business for in the first place.

You can reach Marcia at marcia@hoeck.net. Get business tips and check out her services at www.mybreakthroughbusiness.com.

We all know how important audience awareness is in writing. In business writing, your audience is typically clients, customers, and colleagues. Right? Yes and no. Yes, you must consider one or more of those audiences. But, no, it’s not that simple. Often there is a hidden audience to think about, and leaving them out of the loop can get you in trouble. Here are some examples of hidden audiences you may need to take into account:

Boss

Say you’ve been working on a project, and your new boss asks you to write a report on it to distribute to the entire department. “No problem,” you think. “I know my material, and I know my audience.” So you write your report based on your knowledge, perhaps some additional research, and what you think your coworkers want to know.

You send a 10-page draft to your boss, and it comes back with so many tracked changes, you don’t even know where to start. You don’t know your new boss yet, so you’re surprised to learn that commas are her pet peeve, that she prefers all documents to be shorter than five pages, and that she plans to rework the department’s entire messaging platform, starting with your document.

Your coworkers might have loved the document, but your boss didn’t, and it has to get past her before it can get to them. You try to explain that her changes will lessen audience understanding, but she’s not interested. Time for draft #2, in which you graciously reduce your comma usage by 75%, edit down to four pages, and throw in some new lingo.

Client’s Client

Let’s say you are a freelance writer, and you have a client (a marketing agency), and this client has a client (a construction company). You are assigned to write brochure copy for the construction company, and the marketing agency will provide the design.

Who’s the audience? The construction company’s clients, right? The people who need construction work done. You might survey them and find out their interests are: (1) the construction company’s ability to meet deadlines, (2) their ability to stay on budget, and (3) their safety consciousness.

But, what if the construction company is very involved in the community, and wants to make that the focus of their brochure? Of course, a big part of your job is educating your clients about the importance of audience awareness. But, in a situation like this, you may or may not have access to the client’s client, i.e. the person who needs that education. Hate to tell you, but you’d better make community involvement a big part of that initial draft.

Client’s Peeps

Imagine you are a freelance writer who has as a client a small business owner. This person has hired you to write copy for the company website. Great! You love helping small business owners get the word out. You go through the process, do some interviewing and some research, get a feel for what he wants to express, and what the company is all about, and you create a draft.

It comes back with not just your client’s comments, but comments from his business coach as well. Coach? Where did this coach come from? And why does she seem to have no understanding of what you and your client discussed?

The solution to this one is to always ask in advance who will be on the review team, and invite input from those people up front. But, if there are surprises, find out how much influence the coach (or spouse or consultant or adviser) has on your client. The more influence, the more they must be considered a part of your audience.

Sponsors

Say you work in the marketing department of a nonprofit, and you create a stunning press release to draw community members in to your next fundraising event. It presents the needs of your agency in a touching and compelling way. You run it by your executive director, as well as a couple of colleagues. Everyone says it looks great, and you send it out to several online and traditional outlets.

Next thing you know, you receive an e-mail from your development director saying several sponsors of the event have read the release online and something’s not right. It failed to mention the contributions of these sponsors. Doh! Since the release is already “out there,” create a new release, and/or increase the visibility of the sponsors’ logos on the website that the release points to.

Competitors

As the owner of a widget manufacturing company, you have a proprietary process for the fastest widget assembly line there is. None of your competitors can keep up. You want to impress your distributors, so you publish this proprietary process on your website. Your distributors are duly impressed, and you get some new business. But, suddenly your competition is looking less sluggish. In fact, they are starting to outpace you. They’ve read your website too. Time to remove the process from the website, and start thinking of how to ramp it up to get back in the lead.

Of course, these are just a few examples of hidden audiences. Feel free to share others, as well as your strategies for including them in your writing process.

Need help identifying and writing for your hidden audiences? I can help! Click here to get started.

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You know you have a great agency that truly helps your clients and the community. You know there are funders that want to support programs like yours. But, you also know there is fierce competition, and resources are limited, so you need to make your grant proposals shine. Here are seven mistakes you’ll want to avoid to create the best proposals possible:

Mistake #1 – Not Following Instructions

One key to creating an effective grant proposal is to follow each funder’s instructions as closely as possible. Often, they will provide checklists of narrative information and attachments needed. Use these lists, or create your own based on the information provided by each funder, to guide yourself through the process.

Mistake #2 – Procrastination

Grant proposals are complex documents that often require a variety of components (e.g. narrative, budget, attachments). Leave plenty of time to collect the information you need, draft and revise the proposal, make copies, and deliver your proposal to the funder. Rushing around at the last minute will only result in errors.

Mistake #3 – Ignoring a Promotional Opportunity

Make your proposal both factual and promotional. Use sections from the marketing copy on your website, or lines from your promotional video. But, don’t replace substance with fluff; be sure all the funder’s questions are answered as well.

Mistake #4 – Overdependence on Statistics

Use (but do not overuse) statistics to illustrate your agency’s accomplishments. DON’T overwhelm the reader with numbers and figures. DO sprinkle them throughout your narrative to augment your message. And, of course, use statistics when they are specifically requested.

Mistake #5 – Overdependence on One Funding Source

Funders like to see that they are not the sole source of support for your agency or project. Emphasize community support and involvement, and get testimonials or letters of intent from community partners. Include information about funding from other sources as well.

Mistake #6 – Failure to Paint a Picture

Paint a picture of how your clients benefit by using a case study. Each client’s story is a microcosm of how your agency contributes. Alternatively, paint a picture of how your clients would be affected if your agency did not exist. The value you offer will stand out more when you contrast it with the alternative.

Mistake #7 – Not Focusing on Outcomes

You can talk all day about how great your program is and all the things it does, but the real question is, “What problem do you solve for your clients, and for the community?” A concrete, quantifiable answer to that question should appear somewhere in your proposal. For example, an agency that helps with housing could say, “We assist the homeless.” A more specific (and, therefore, better) statement would be, “Last year, we helped 100 homeless families find homes, reducing the community services burden on taxpayers by 10%.”

What are some of your best grant writing strategies?