Please Don't Tell Anyone: Free Marketing/PR Advice

Hey, you do marketing/publicity/press release stuff, right? Would you have any tips for me on publicizing my crowd funding appeal? Hey, I've got a Facebook page. I could make you a manager and you could write something for it! Can you tell me how to use the 'boost post' feature? That's advertising, right? Want to help me write a grant? ...business plan? ...employee manual? 

Funny thing is, professional marketing/advertising/copywriter types are good at what they do because they stay current on industry and audience trends, write, rewrite, and practice their craft. They even attend seminars and stuff... sure, it's all available online. So is everything you'd need to drywall your basement. So, why don't you Google it and go for it?

Sorry for the snarky 'tude - I've been asked for free advice one too many times already this week. All right; if you came here to learn all the tricks of the trade, I'll dish. 

Whether you're crafting a business plan, press release, Facebook or email campaign, customer or employee newsletter, white paper or case study, here's what you need to know: they all start with the same basic ingredients.

All you need to do to write great copy

• Look at likely prospects. What do you know about them?
• Where are they, what do they read, what do they care about?
• Why would/how could you appeal to them more than competitors would?

Once you answer those questions, you have all the raw material you need to craft your message. When you have the nut of what you need to say, you go back to the first step, which is understanding your prospects. Then, just tailor the message so that it's most likely to hit the target. To do that, all you have to do is hone the message to fit into the appropriate format (structure, length, tone, etc.) and stand out just a little.

Yep. That's it in a nutshell.

Please don't tell anyone about this post. The next thing you know, everyone will be creating great copy. And pretty soon, we'll have a glut of finished basements, too.

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Here's another secret: good copywriting only looks easy to write because it's easy to read. Effective copywriting doesn't get noticed because its job is to get your message noticed. I specialize in writing that works. Contact me so we can start getting your message out. And yes, my Website Reality Check is still available at the posted price. You'll find it here under "Looking for a Deal" 

~Diane Stresing