Last week I introduced the concept of emotional copywriting, and spelled out some of the basics of what it is and how you can use it to get a better response with your promotional materials. What I didn’t write about was exactly how to do it…which is what this post will cover:

Do Your Homework

If you read this blog or my newsletter with any regularity, you know that in just about every post, I talk about audience awareness in some form or another. That’s because it’s essential to getting your message across. You must know WHO you are trying to get your message across TO. Your audience will determine everything from the length of your document to formatting to word choice to the type of document you develop in the first place. To use emotional copywriting effectively, you need to do your homework and get to know your audience. Find out their needs and concerns, and how they FEEL about those needs and concerns. Those are the feelings you’ll want to reflect back to them.

Suggest, Don’t State

Don’t mention the emotion you are trying to evoke. Instead, develop an image in the reader’s mind that will call it up. Here are some examples:

• DO write: “It’s pouring rain, you just got home from work, the kids are hungry, and there’s nothing in the refrigerator for dinner.”
• DON’T write: “You probably feel frustrated, guilty, and panicked when you forget to prepare for dinner.”

• DO write: “Will this be the year you give her what she deserves?”
• DON’T write: “You should feel unsuccessful and unworthy as a husband if you don’t give your wife expensive jewelry.”

• DO write: “Friends, food, and fire. The only thing that can make it better is a nice, cold Duff.”
• DON’T write: “Duff will make your happy times happier.”

Stir the Pot…

Depending on the type of document you are writing, you may want to take things a step further once you have evoked emotion. Extending one of the examples above, you could write, “Will this be the year you give her what she deserves? Hasn’t she given you everything and more? Tirelessly, and without complaint? Doesn’t she deserve a little glamour in her life? And, shouldn’t you the one to give it to her?”

…But Don’t Go Overboard

Here’s where you really need to know your audience. How much emotion will they tolerate, and how much is too much? Where is the line between suggestive and helpful on one hand and cheesy and over-the-top on the other? There is no easy answer to these questions. It will depend on what you are selling, the type of document, the context, the audience, and the kind of message you want associated with your brand.

Use Power Words

You don’t have to pull your hair out trying to come up with emotion-based words that will resonate with your readers. Studies have been done, blog posts and books have been written that can help. For starters, check out David Husnian’s blog post, Some Words Are Mightier Than the Sword: Powerful Words to Trigger Emotions and the book Words that Sell, by Richard Bayan.

How do you use emotional copywriting? Let us know in the comments!

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

Need help with your emotional copywriting? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

It has been said that people buy and take other actions based on emotion, and then use logic to rationalize their decisions. Most of the time, this process occurs subconsciously, and within a few seconds. Whether or not you buy into this theory, it only takes a bit of observation to know that people ARE emotional and that emotions DO play into buying and other decisions, at least to some degree. So, if you are in a position to help people make decisions through writing, it helps to know how that process works, and what you can do to work with it. To get you started, here are some of the basics of emotional copywriting (for pointers on how to implement the basics, check out next week’s post, Emotional Copywriting 102):

Readers Are Suggestible

Why do people read anything, ever? To learn something they don’t already know. To hear a story. To be entertained. Perhaps even to be convinced of something. In other words, when people read what you’ve written, they want their lives to be altered in some small way. To a certain degree, they WANT to be told what to do and what to think. This doesn’t mean we’re all just automatons waiting to be programmed; it means we’re open to suggestions, and willing to learn and explore. So, in your promotional materials, use emotional copywriting to prompt an action. But, since people don’t like to ADMIT they’re suggestible, be sure to provide logical reasons to back it up.

Emotion Breeds Connection

When you spend time with friends, what do you remember most? Not every word they said, but how good it felt to laugh with them, share information about your life, or participate in a fun activity together. Conversely, what do you remember most about an unpleasant visit to the DMV? Again, not the details of the interaction, but how the situation as a whole made you feel (most likely annoyed). If you can create a positive emotional response in your reader, you will begin (or continue) to build a relationship with them in which that positive emotion is connected with your brand. (A negative emotional connection can also help you build your brand–for example, the fear of not appearing successful as a motivator for interest in a luxury item.)

Core Emotions

Here is a list of core emotions on which all other emotions are based. Evoke one or more of them in your writing, and you will be more likely to get readers’ attention:

• Acceptance
• Anger
• Anticipation
• Disgust
• Fear
• Joy
• Sadness
• Surprise

No One Can Argue With Logic

Here are some logical reasons people use to rationalize buying decisions to themselves and others (such as bosses or spouses). If someone wants to buy your product or service, he will likely come up with some reasons on his own. But, provide as many as possible to make it easy for him:

• Decrease hassles
• Improve efficiency
• Improve health
• Increase convenience
• Increase profits
• Increase safety
• Increase security
• Reduce costs

Problem…Solution

A good way to put these emotional copywriting concepts into practice is with a problem-solution format. As the name implies, the strategy is to present the problem, as seen from the perspective of the reader, and follow it up with the solution (which you can provide). Use the problem portion to gain readers’ interest by letting them know you understand their problem, and evoking the emotion. Use the solution portion to keep their interest by letting them know you have an answer to their problem, and spelling out the logical reasons it will work.

What have you learned about emotional copywriting, either as a writer or as a reader? Let us know in the comments!

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

Need help with your emotional copywriting? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

Copywriting is not done in a vacuum. As a copywriter, whether within a company or organization, or as a freelancer, you are usually working as part of a team. That team could include a marketing consultant, a graphic designer, a web developer, an SEO specialist, a public relations specialist, a programmer, a videographer, a packaging designer, a project manager, an editor, and/or other marketing professionals. To be successful at copywriting, it is important not only to be able to write good copy, but also to be able to work with these professionals to create polished promotional pieces, including websites, brochures, case studies, e-books, and so on. Here are some tips for being a great (marketing) team player:

Start with a shared vision.

When working with a marketing team, it is important to understand the goals for the project. Not doing so is like going on a road trip with several people who all have different destinations in mind. If you’re working on a website, for example, is e-commerce key, or is information more important? Should the website be simply a supplement to other promotional activities, or will it be the primary way to attract new customers? What design characteristics are desired, and how much text should be included? What’s the appropriate tone for the piece? Will the copy be used for additional purposes? As the copywriter, some of these considerations will be more important to you than others, but the more you know about the intentions of the project, the better able you will be to contribute to them.

Choose professionals with similar philosophies.

If you are in a position to choose the other professionals you work with, try to pick people with design, copy, service, and overall marketing philosophies that are similar to yours. Considerations like simple versus complex, heavy versus light copy, the importance of SEO, quick turnarounds versus extended deadlines, and providing information versus trying to make a sale are examples of differences you might want to explore up front. It’s not impossible to work with those who have different ideas about the way things should go, but it’s easier if you start with similar basic assumptions.

Respect others’ expertise.

Once you have your team in place, try to respect the expertise of those team members. For example, you may have a marketing consultant setting the direction of a particular piece. You may not agree with that direction, but your job is to go with it, and provide the best copy you can. Assume the marketing consultant knows her job. Similarly, you may not approve of the design the graphic designer comes up with to accompany your text. But, your dislike does not necessarily mean it isn’t good for the project. At the same time, if you are asked for input, certainly provide it, and if you think someone on the team REALLY doesn’t know what they’re doing, you might want to mention it to the team leader (or take steps to correct the situation if you ARE the team leader).

Meet deadlines.

Meeting deadlines is about more than just sticking to a schedule or staying on task. It’s about showing consideration for the other people on your team and showing that you are reliable, have integrity, and will follow through. NOT meeting deadlines prevents others from effectively doing their parts, and is disrespectful to your team and your client. Even on projects for which there are no hard deadlines, I tell my team when I intend to have the next draft to them, and make sure to have it to them at that time.

Be flexible.

Very few of the projects I’ve worked on have been straightforward. There always seems to be an item the team neglected to take into consideration up front…OR the client wants to change direction midway through…OR there are delays that can’t be avoided…OR the deadline gets moved up. It’s always something! I’ve learned not to get frustrated with these hiccups, and to work with them, rather than against them. Sometimes it simply means adding additional text to a brochure. Other times it means completely redoing a draft. They key is to ask yourself, “How can I make this work?” A good team will help you and should work together to create the best possible result.

What has been your experience working as part of a marketing team? Let us know in the comments!

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

Need a copywriter for your marketing team? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

In companies or agencies without a writer on staff, others may get thrown into the role of copywriter, grant writer, promotional writer, web copywriter, or proposal writer. These people don’t necessarily want to write, or feel comfortable with business writing. While they have no choice but to muddle through, they may wonder how good their skills really are. These folks may be better at writing than others in the organization, and have access to a dictionary and style manual, but they do not necessarily feel that they are doing it “right.”

Sometimes, the English Major’s Stamp of Approval from a “real” writer can provide the confidence boost these reluctant writers need, and that’s how I work with some of my clients. For another way to boost your business writing confidence, take this quiz to find out where your skills are. If you score low, don’t fear. This blog and many other resources are here to help, and the best way to improve as a writer is to keep writing!

Just answer “yes” or “no” to each question, and give yourself one point for each “yes.”

1. Do you take time for planning before you start a business writing project?
2. Do you consider the context of the piece you are writing before starting to draft?
3. Do you schedule enough time in your business writing project for research, drafting, revision, and finalization?
4. Do think in terms of benefits, rather than features?
5. Do you know who your audience is?
6. Do you know exactly what you have to offer your audience?
7. Do you put your audience’s information needs ahead of your communication needs?
8. Do you use simple language so your words don’t overshadow your ideas?
9. Do you consider best practices for the particular type of business document (brochure, case study, proposal, blog, website, e-book, etc.) you are writing?
10. Do you have a core message?
11. Do you know the top 10 errors to avoid when writing for business?
12. Do you think about technical considerations, such as word count?
13. Do you start with a good hook?
14. Do you use collaboration?
15. Do you take the time to come up with good titles?

Scoring:

0-5 points – You need some work. Educate yourself on the basics by reading the “Writing Fundamentals” section of this blog, or looking for other “business writing basics” resources online.

6-10 points – You’ve got the basics down, but you probably need some polish. Read the “Writing Tips and Tricks” and “How to Write Effective Marketing Documents” sections of this blog, or search for online resources in the specific areas you have the most trouble with.

11-15 points – No worries, you are a skilled business writer. See if you can get assigned some writing tasks that will challenge you to do more research, provide organizational input, or write about topics you don’t fully understand.

How did you do on the business writing quiz? Let us know in the comments!

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

Need assistance with your business writing skills? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

Early in my career as a copywriter and grant writer, I realized that so much of writing is not about writing. In fact, I would say that about 20% of the writing process actually involves writing, while the rest (about 80%) is planning, researching, understanding, and editing. I often feel relieved when, on a writing project, I can finally get to the drafting stage. So, it is disheartening when elements beyond those included in the standard writing process come into play and keep me from “getting to the writing part.” Here are some of the pesky “writing project derailers” I’ve discovered, how they can interfere with a writing project, and what you can do about it:

Politics

Politics play a huge role in every business operation, and writing is no exception. There are myriad ways that politics could interrupt or even halt your writing project. For example, one person of influence may think a writing project needs to get done, while another does not. Or, there could be disagreement about how to present a particular service. You get the idea. People want different things, and writers, whether inside the company, or as a contractors, sometimes get caught in the middle. There’s no easy answer to this one. As a writer, you probably have an opinion about the best way the content should be presented, so put in your two cents, and then let your clients or constituents make up their minds.

Legal Issues

I once wrote a sell sheet for a large manufacturer in which the footnotes, i.e. the legal disclaimers, took up about one third of the space–and they were written in tiny print! This particular document also went through multiple revisions with numerous people, including the legal department, which corrected the way certain things were phrased. By the time the document was completed, it looked nothing like the one I had written. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with companies being careful about how they talk about their products. But, legal issues can introduce challenges to a writing project. The keys here are knowing what to expect up front, and having patience with the process.

Slow SMEs

Subject matter experts (SMEs) can be your best friends when you are doing research for a writing project. But, if they are slow to get information to you, they are really no help at all, especially if you are working under a tight deadline. Writing projects can be stalled when you wait for them to respond to your e-mails, voice mails, or other communications. Granted, everyone is busy, but you can spend considerable time waiting for the information you need from a particular person. Try to set a timeline at the beginning of the project, so SMEs will know what you expect from them, and when.

Ethics

A recent project, a grant proposal I was working on, almost got canceled due to an ethical dilemma. I had written a grant proposal previously that contained information the recent client needed to prepare their proposal. However, according to the code of ethics for grant writers, I was not allowed to use information from the previous grant proposal for the recent one. I badly wanted to share the information with the recent client, but couldn’t in good conscience do so. Fortunately, they were able to obtain the earlier proposal from a public source, freeing me to use that information in their proposal. This is just one instance of how ethics can derail a writing project. As in this example, the best thing to do is be creative in finding ways to accomplish your task that don’t violate your ethical standards.

Scheduling

There are many different schedules that can come into play on a writing project, including fiscal years, budgeting cycles, product rollouts, grant cycles, vacation schedules, production schedules, annual conferences, annual fundraisers, and so on. Your writing project could be subject to any one of these schedules, or a combination of them. For example, for budgeting purposes, a client or boss may want a project completed before (or after) the end of a fiscal year. The best way I’ve found to deal with this type of situation is simply to remain flexible, and be willing to make adjustments to YOUR schedule.

How do you handle it when your writing project gets derailed? Let us know in the comments!

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

Because grant writing is one of my services, I often talk with people about their expectations regarding grants. Through these conversations, I have come to realize that grants are somewhat misunderstood by both for-profit companies and nonprofits. However, you will have a much easier time writing a grant proposal (and will be more likely to get funded) if you clearly understand what grants can and cannot do for you. Here are some myths I’ve heard, and the truth behind them.

Myth #1: The Federal government has grant funds available to help your for-profit business.

The Federal government may offer grant funds for a business to carry out certain specific tasks, but does not provide funding to help you start or grow your business. For more on this topic, see this Grant Writing Center article, “Are You Eligible for Government Grant Funding?” If you want to investigate government grant funding, check out Grants.gov. You can look for grant opportunities outside of those offered by the Federal government at the Foundation Center website.

Myth #2: Once you have secured grant funding, you can access it year after year.

Typically, you need to reapply for funding each year, and funders can (and do) deny funding after awarding it in previous years.

Myth #3: Once you have secured funding, the hard part is over.

Throughout the grant period, you need to manage funds so that the money is spent in the way it is spelled out in the grant. You also need to prepare and submit financial and other types of reports, some of which may be fairly extensive. If you are managing several grants, reporting can take up a good portion of your time.

Myth #4: Grants provide the majority of funding for nonprofits.

Savvy nonprofits know that grants can provide a certain portion of funding, but that a strong donor base is the best and most consistent source of revenue  available. The ideal arrangement is a combination of the two.

Myth #5: You can specify what you want a grant to cover.

You cannot create a grant to suit your needs. Funders have goals, and create grants to meet them. They look for organizations that can carry out the work necessary to do so. Potential grantees should look for funders whose goals they can meet through their programs.

What other grant myths can you think of? Let me know in the comments!

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

Need assistance with a grant? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

At its simplest, word count is just a number: the number of words in your case study, brochure, website page, or e-book. You may wonder, then, why you need to be concerned about it. It’s the number of words; so what? When you are preparing to write a document, you should know the intended word count for several reasons:

1. The length indicates what kind of document you are “really” writing. If your boss asks you to put together a five-page white paper, for example, what she may actually have in mind is a product brief or brochure. Each type of document requires different content, and it’s helpful to know what type you’re dealing with before you begin.
2. You need to make sure your text can be accommodated by the design. Say you’re putting together a single-sided data sheet. Even if a normal page of text is 500 words, those 500 words are going to have to be pretty tiny once you take into consideration any images, graphs, tables, or other design elements that also need to be included.
3. The intended length can help you determine the right level of detail, and how much research you’ll need to do. I recently got an assignment for a 25-page document. Just based on the number of pages, I knew I’d have to conduct several interviews to develop the right level of detail.

Here are some guidelines for how long each type of document should typically be. Keep in mind that one 8.5″ x 11″ page of 11 point, single-spaced copy is about 500 words.

• Article: About 500 words, may be longer depending on the context
• Bio: About 200 words
• Blog Post: At least 300 words, no more than 700, unless you can be pretty sure your readers will stay interested (formatting can help here—be sure to include brief paragraphs, bulleted lists, and white space)
• Brochure: For 8.5″ x 11″ pages, about 300 words per page (assuming graphics will be included on each page); for a standard tri-fold, about 700  words total
• Business Proposal: There is no real standard for this. It  depends on how much you have to say. Just be sure not to say any more than you need to.
• Case Study: As few as 400 words, up to about 1,200
• Data Sheets: About 300 words per page
• E-book: There is no real standard for this. It  depends on how much you have to say. Just be sure not to say any more than you need to.
• Grant Proposal: No more than the limit stated in the RFP, no exceptions!
• Press Release: Between 300 and 450 words
• Web Page: At least 300 words
• White Paper: Somewhere around 10,000 words

Did I forget any? Let me know in the comments!

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

Need assistance with your word count? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

If there’s one thing that can help you be more successful in writing, it’s careful planning. Before you even begin researching or drafting a website, blog, article, brochure, case study, elevator speech, e-book, grant proposal, or other business document, you need to ask yourself some basic questions. Here are a few to get you started:

1. What’s your purpose?

There are many reasons to create a document, including to sell, to inform, or to educate. Be sure you know what your reason is and craft your document accordingly.

2. What’s your timeline?

Know how much time you have to develop your document, and plan your schedule accordingly. Be sure to allow enough time for research, drafting, reviews, and revision.

3. What kind of document do you need?

Some types of information are better suited to particular types of writing. For example, maybe you want to promote a new line of services. You could introduce them in your blog, but perhaps a series of press releases would be more appropriate. Consider the information you want to convey before deciding how to convey it.

4. Where will the document be placed?

Document placement will determine a lot of what you write. A data sheet for a new product placed as a PDF on your website should read differently than a similar document printed out to be distributed at trade shows. Think about who will be reading the document, what other documents they will have access to, and at what point in the sales cycle the information will be introduced.

5. Who is your audience?

Your audience’s concerns are of primary importance. Find out as much as you can about your target readers, and shape your document to address their needs.

6. Who is your hidden audience?

Did you know you have a secondary audience that you might not have considered? A secondary, or hidden audience can include your boss, your client’s client, your client’s advisers, sponsors, or competitors. It can be tricky to write with them in mind, but you can get yourself into trouble if you don’t.

7. What’s your core message?

Your company or organization should have a core message that gets reflected in every piece of communication. Know what it is, and state or imply it in your document.

8. What’s your main message?

Your main message is specific to the particular document you’re working on. What is the one thing you want readers to remember after reading your document? Identify it and make it clear in your writing.

9. Where will your information come from?

It’s hard to write a document with no information! Be sure you know where you can gather the data you need, whether it’s from your own knowledge, through interviews, or based on research.

10. What’s your hook?

Your document will be useless if no one reads it, so be sure to develop a great opening line, or “hook” to interest readers and keep them reading.

What are some other questions you ask yourself before starting a writing project? Please share in the comments.

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

Need assistance with your business document? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

We all know that what other people say about you carries more credibility than what you say about yourself. Many businesses understand this, and display testimonials or customer quotes on their websites and other promotional documents. But, a testimonial only says so much. Yes, they contribute validity to your message, and are great to have, but consider taking the strategy of third-party commentary a step further.

A case study, also known as a success story, is a great way to show that people are saying nice things about you in a more concrete and relatable way. A case study tells the detailed story of one customer’s experience with your products or services. With a story format, readers become more invested and can imagine themselves in the place of your featured customer. In other words, they can begin to imagine doing business with you. Here are some tips for writing a case study of your own:

Present the Problem

Open your case study with an introduction to the customer: who they are, what they do, and why they needed your products or services. Remember, you are trying to create a picture that readers can make themselves a part of, so be specific in terms of industry, size, customers, and competition. Then, present the problem that they were trying to solve when they found you.

Outline the Choices

Chances are, when your case study customer was looking for your products or services, they found others who could provide them as well. Mention who those “others” were, what they had (and didn’t have) to offer and why your customer chose you.

Show the Solution

Describe how your products or services solved your customer’s problem. Here’s your chance to really show how you shine: mention product names, service packages, or special implementations. Spell out any special offers, or situations in which you went above and beyond, or helped the customer to select the right product or service for their needs.

Quote the Customer

A good case study will have plenty of direct quotes from the customer. How do you get these quotes? The best way is to conduct an interview. Let them tell the story of how you helped them in their own words, then use those words to help you relate that story to your prospects. (By the way, it’s always a good idea to let your customer review a case study before you publish it.)

Reveal the Results

Here’s a great place to use facts and figures to help you tell the story. Did your product help the customer increase profits by 50%? Mention it! Did your service allow the customer to generate 100 additional leads per month? State it! You might want to use charts or graphs here to illustrate your points.

Has your business benefited from a case study? Please share in the comments.

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

Need assistance developing a case study? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.

So, you’ve done the legwork and found a fantastic prospect. You’ve communicated your value and shown how it can contribute to the prospect’s success. You’ve discussed a specific project to partner on, and the prospect has requested a business proposal. Congratulations! This is great, right? “Right,” you might be thinking, “but how do I make sure my proposal leads to a sale?” Read on for some tips on doing just that.

It’s Not About You

Keep in mind that a business proposal is a promotional document. As with all promotional documents, it’s not about you; it’s about how you are going to make the reader’s life easier. With a proposal, you should spell out how your specific services will meet their specific needs in this specific situation. The best way to make sure your proposal does this is to have a thorough conversation with your prospect before writing it. Ask them things like what their deadlines are, how involved they are willing to be, how often they expect to meet with you, what constitutes “success” on this project for them.

Structure

Each business, and therefore each proposal, is different. But, there are some basic elements that should probably be included in your proposal:

• Background / Objectives – Describe why the project is needed, and what the outcomes are expected to be.
• Solution – Describe how your services will produce those outcomes.
• Process – Describe how you will perform your services.
• Pricing and Payment – Clearly spell out your fees and explain how they are to be paid.
• Next Steps – Explain what needs to happen to start the project.

Be Specific

Throughout your business proposal, be as specific as you can. What are the deliverables? What are the steps involved? Who will perform them? What is expected of your client? When will the project be completed? What happens if things don’t go as planned?

Follow Instructions

If you are responding to a Request for Proposal (RFP), follow instructions to the letter, for format, supporting documents, information to be included, etc. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are an “exception.” You’re not, and the last thing you want is to write a great business proposal that doesn’t get considered because you failed to meet the criteria of the RFP.

Take Your Time

While it is important to deliver a business proposal in a timely manner, it is also important to get it right. Take the appropriate amount of time to develop a sound proposal that will wow your prospect and win you the sale.

What are some of your business proposal best practices? Please share in the comments.

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

Need assistance developing a business proposal? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.