TLC Copy Critic

Some people just don’t get it. They think they know what is best for everyone, even when most everyone disagrees with them. Somehow the disagreement gets discounted as stupid reasoning. These people pretend to want compromise, yet are unwilling to unbend the slightest. They’re all about smoke and mirrors and the magic silver bullet that cures all. They put on a good show, yet most people see them for what they are… a bunch of hot air and very little substance.

They steamroller all opposition and use strong arm tactics to instill fear or coercion. Not a great way to run a marketing campaign or a summit is it? The alleged Health Care Summit touted as a meeting of the minds was anything but. Not smart marketing. So how was the Health Care Summit like a bad marketing campaign?

First you don’t keep interrupting the very people you hope to sway. Think someone will listen when you keep inserting comments every few sentences and speak more than they do? That just doesn’t cut it when you’re out to persuade and change people’s mind. You listen in earnest. You ask questions to be sure you understand what their issues are. You don’t act like they’re the bowling pins and you’re a bowling ball out to knock them down at all costs.

That isn’t smart marketing. And you fool nobody with cheap tactics. You really think you’ll make customers out of the people whose arms you twist? You think these potential customers are like a bunch of sheep and too dumb to see what you’re doing? Um, no. You don’t gain customers or clients by alienating them, not listening, or chatting under your breath with your team when the very person you hope to persuade is talking to you. That is extremely disrespectful and actually a stupid tact to take.

Who will take you seriously when you won’t even listen to what they have to say? Who will feel you have their best interests at heart when you ignore their concerns, especially when the concerns are legit? You don’t give your audience or adversaries the brushoff… unless you’re aiming for the cone head award.

You address the customer’s problems. You listen and repeat their concerns back to them. That shows you care and you feel what they have to say is important. They feel appreciated and let their guard down. Then when they start to trust you they will be open to your message. If you wait for them to say their piece without interrupting them, not only does it show good manners, it also shows your respect.

And respect is a two way street. It isn’t rude nor intrusive or barges in. Go ahead, take your marbles and go home. If you refuse to listen and  try to cram your marketing views down my throat without showing me common decency, I don’t want to play with you anyway, and I certainly don’t want your marbles. I’ll find someone else who plays nice and doesn’t try to always get their way even when there might be a better solution… if only they knew how to listen and hear it.

You want to be the marketer who listens and plays nice. Otherwise your bad rep will get around and nobody will want to play with you.

Everybody who works for themselves needs a business plan. It’s not one-size-fits-all either. The business plan also isn’t a constant static. The plan constantly changes as the biz changes.

It should be written down somewhere, even if it’s only an outline. If you need financing though, the plan better be thorough. Why have a business plan?

It helps to give you someplace to start and have focus. It becomes your goals, both short range and long range. It’s your dream and vision all rolled into one. The plan helps you to implement necessary changes from paper into reality.

Also have it written down helps keep you on track. Use it to assess where you are in the game. If changes and a new focus is needed, then change the plan. It’s something to go on.

Clients feel reassured… it’s solid. If you’re pretty much winging it, then that too will show. The plan is your base of operations, your slant and your market.

The plan clears your mind of clutter and helps you focus on what you need and where you’re headed. It’s purpose driven and is your bottom line. It gets rid of the unnecessary excess baggage.

It’s okay to start out with a few ideas of where you intend to take your business. You have to start somewhere and with something. But it’s okay to veer off course and to change it up from time to time.

As the business grows your goals often change. As you gain experience you see what works and what doesn’t. New doors open and old ones close. New ideas become apparent and come out of hiding.

You just gotta have a plan. Just be sure to adjust it from time to time.

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Critiquing or reviewing… why are they so important? Both are actually a key part of the consultation. And why are so many people too cheap to pay for a rock solid consult in critiquing?

They place no value on such skills. But yet a good consult with a thorough critique or review has saved many a client’s bacon. Critiquing and reviewing go way beyond looking at what written down on paper or on the website.

Sure you could just make the corrections and write up a good letter or article. You can even show the client what’s wrong and what’s right. Um, that’s only part of the job.

You consult with a bent to marketing and with the target audience in mind. This goes much deeper than making a bunch of corrections. You dig underneath the skin of the article or letter and dig into the meat. You suggest how to slant the piece so it markets with both barrels wide open, ready to hit the target audience,

They won’t see what’s coming, not even after the purchase or taking the desired action that gets results. Results is the bottom line… the only line. The writing can be great, but if nobody buys, the letter is toast on arrival.

So cheap people don’t want to pay. Even students want something for nothing. Where’s the value in that? How does good will get bread on the table or the kids in college? College and bread cost money. Good will isn’t going to pay for either.

Okay, maybe students or newbies to the biz can’t afford much. But they sure as heck can afford something. A few bucks or a barter… they can give something back to the kind gent or lady that critiqued, reviewed and consulted.

Critiquing consultations take time. Time is money or something else of equal value. Should the consultation be done for nothing? Are you asking the reviewer to work for free?

Are YOU, yes YOU willing to work for zip?

It would be like buying a home but telling the Realtor you can pay them their commission next year or you’ll only give your doctor half since you had to tell him what was wrong with you. Or maybe you want to “test” your auto mechanic and let him use repairing your car as an “on spec” assignment. Think it will work out?

So why insult someone whose living is words, especially when their tweaking saves thousands of dollars? There is much value in good words backed by good marketing sense.

So quit being cheap and realize just how valuable that critique in review is. Go ahead, pay for the consultation. Share some of the wealth and quit being a greedy gopher-gut who hogs all the cash. Or barter in exchange for the consultation.

Could YOU make a living off of good will and only working for free? I didn’t think so? So why expect the same of someone else?

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Swipe on, swipe off… now this isn’t Karate Kid. Any writer worth their salt collects good writing. But they don’t copy it. Copying in the writing world is better known as plagiarism. And that’s a big no-no that costs careers.

So why swipe? And what the heck do you do with them once you’ve got them?

You swipe other’s good writing to hone your own writing skills. When swiping you also need to look at the article or letter, read it, absorb it and analyze the heck out of it.

Swiping is done to learn. You take the swipe and glean all the info and writing nuances from it that you can.

You look for the idea and slant behind the words. You look for the type of audience who was targeted. You look for the emotions and the call to action in the article or letter.

You absorb the flow and word selection. Break down the structure and see how you can fit it into your own style of writing. You don’t copy it… you come to understand it and then apply that understanding to your own words.

You adapt and change it so the swipe fits your writing. You don’t change your writing to fit it. You own your words. Borrowing someone else’s stuff verbatim is the sign of a cheap hack.

Swipes are only guidelines for your possibilities and writing potential. Copying someone else is stupid. Emulating them and adapting what works to your style is a compliment to them.

Your writing should always be your own. Influences are good. Imitating isn’t.

So go ahead; swipe on swipe off. Just use wisely and with caution.