Organizations make many mistakes in marketing communications, but the biggest, most consistent one I’ve seen is the flawed belief the best way to motivate people is to make them think. Successful marketers and salespeople know better. They’ve learned a far more effective way to encourage people to buy your product, use your service, support your […]
Once upon a time, mentioning United Airlines conjured the company’s enduring slogan, “Fly the friendly skies.” A few years ago, a PR gaffe on the company’s part earned it an entirely different image. A 69-year-old passenger who didn’t agree with a gate agent’s decision to “bump” him from the flight was dragged down the aisle, […]
This week’s mail brought a pastel greeting-card envelope with no return address or stamp. Was it a surprise confession from a secret admirer? A warm thought from a dear friend? I rushed to slit it open. And there I found an internet provider’s latest pitch, ingeniously disguised as a greeting card. Was I amused? Touched? […]
There are many reasons organizations and individuals use white papers, but the most common is that white papers are one of the most effective ways to convince people that your solution or position is the best one. That’s especially true if your product or service is complicated, innovative, or significantly different from the competition, or […]
Why would you need to turn to a professional white paper writer when you consider yourself to be a good writer? There are many advantages to tapping into the expertise of a professional, but I’ve found these five reasons to be particularly beneficial. 1. A professional white paper writer makes better use of your time […]
Deciding how to structure white papers is important before you begin to write them. While blog posts these days are typically between 700 and 1000 words, white papers are generally between 1500 and 5000 words. That typically works out to 6 to 20 printed pages. However, you shouldn’t set an arbitrary length. Instead, focus on […]
You may find fault with the idea that wisdom comes with age, but there’s a tendency among many younger people in business to assume that lessons learned in the past have little value when applied to today. That’s especially true when it comes to marketing. It’s true that many social media channels have been developed […]
Marketers use maps on websites and other communications materials to indicate the locations of businesses and events. That’s good thing for the visual learners out there. Sometimes, though, those marketers shoot themselves in the foot by ignoring the conventions that have become common in mapmaking over the centuries. For example, professional mapmakers indicate bodies of […]
Bursting with pride, the nursing home’s management team bought a half-page newspaper ad proclaiming “Deficiency-Free State Survey” in giant letters. And I’m willing to wager their message was completely lost upon the people they hoped to impress. I knew why they were proud, but that’s only because I’ve done work with the senior care industry. […]
Both amateur and professional marketers make a fatal mistake far too frequently. What mistake? Forgetting the call to action in the materials and messages they develop. What is a call to action? In simple terms, it’s the instruction you give to the reader or viewer about the next step you want them to take. “Call […]
