Whether you're marketing yourself, your writing business or your latest book, it's absolutely vital that you capture the attention of your audience, and keep them coming back for more.
But the question is, how do you do that?
Especially when your marketing materials are running up against so much competition - and not just from other writers. These days your competition comes from anywhere else that's also competing for your audience's two most important assets - their time and attention.
It's simple really.
You just need to keep three things in mind.
1. Focus on one idea, and keep it simple and easy to understand and absorb.
This is especially important if you're writing for the Web. So whether it's a blog post, an email announcement, or an ad, write in a conversational tone - as if you were talking to your best friend, (or if you're writing a B2B piece, to a colleague you really like)...
If what you're writing is long or has a lot of information that absolutely HAS to be included - such as in a sales letter, use short sentences, headlines, sub-headlines and bullet points.
Leave plenty of white space around the edges. And if it's appropriate, think about putting some of the less important - or more technical - information in sidebars or text boxes, to break it up and make it easier to read and absorb.
2. Be passionate.
We've had this discussion in the Writer's Business Academy teleseminars lately. How do you put passion into your marketing, especially if you're writing about your services... (and you're not writing a romance novel...) Passion comes when you believe in what you're writing about - sometimes it comes from just one tiny spark of one idea.
Look for the topic that makes you excited - something you could go on and on about. If you're writing about your own services, find the part of it that you would happily do for free, because it's just so much fun... Because your passion will come through, and it will captivate your reader - even if they're not passionate as passionate about it.
3. Use direct "call to action" language. If you're asking your reader to do something - whether it's signing up for your newsletter, buying your book, or contacting you about your services, make sure you tell them exactly what you want them to do, and how to do it.
If you've got a signup form on your Website or blog, find a way to make it stand out. (A big yellow or red arrow, for example, that points to the form, or a text box that says sign up here:")
If you want them to buy something, tell them... Whatever action you want them to take, spell it out. (And don't be wishy-washy or apologetic about it either.)
If you remember these 3 simple tips when writing your next marketing piece, you'll find your writing flows better, and- more importantly - gets a much better response from your readers.
Because, in the end, that's what it all boils down to - your ability to capture their attention and captivate them...
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Cheryl Antier is a professional writer and the director of the Writer's Business Academy. To find out more about how you can create the kind of content that will keep your readers, clients and customers coming back for more, visit the Writer's Business Academy and sign up for our free monthly newsletter as well as tons of free resources for writers, authors, coaches and anyone who writers their own content..
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