The blog
Honesty in blogging can be healthy for your brand
18th April 2018 | Posted in Blogging, Branding
Do you struggle to be endlessly positive in your blogging because you’re trying to show you know best? I do. Perhaps we’re trying too hard. Perhaps there’s nothing wrong with being less than perfect. And not knowing all the answers all the time. It can be hard to constantly take the role of lofty adviser […]
Is the GDPR going to lose you precious subscribers?
10th April 2018 | Posted in Marketing communications
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a headache, right? It’s great for EU citizens who are going to see their personal data even more closely protected from the end of May 2018. But it’s hard work for organisations who hold and process information about people. This includes those of us who send out email […]
What is the point of a copywriter?
28th September 2016 | Posted in Content creation, Marketing communications
Many people write these days. Content is a massive thing. So why pay a professional copywriter to create the words for your marketing programmes? Here are five reasons why they can bring real value to your business. They don’t work for you. Well, not all the time anyway, if they are with an agency or […]
Storytelling helps marketing but must it be truthful?
20th July 2016 | Posted in Branding
We’re currently seeing Tesco being berated by the National Union of Farmers for using the names of imaginary farms on some of their products. Why? Because a consumer survey found that many people thought the name suggested that the produce was sourced in the UK, but actually Tesco buys in from other countries too. It […]
How long does it take to write a blog?
18th July 2016 | Posted in Blogging
Or, more importantly, how long does it take to write a good business blog? I believe a good business blog goes beyond analytics. Finding the topics and the keywords that attract potential customers is great. But that content then has to be valuable in some way to build your business credibility. So it needs to […]
Copywriting that sales people can actually use
5th July 2016 | Posted in Content creation
Marketing people can give great briefs to copywriters. They really can. They’ve got a product or service to promote. They’ve researched its advantages and benefits for customers. They know who the customers are and something around their needs and aspirations. It’s all good. So marketing build a campaign that includes maybe direct mail marketing, articles, […]
Are our calls to action too demanding?
23rd June 2016 | Posted in Content creation
Yesterday we took the day off and drove down to the coast. By the time we got there I was fighting an impulse to pull over, knock on various strangers’ doors and complain that their attitude was patronising, over-bearing and downright out of order. I totally admit that would have been a complete over-reaction. But […]
My blogs are misbehaving
17th June 2016 | Posted in Blogging
It’s not like I don’t have a content plan. It’s not like I haven’t thought through the topic. And remembered all about the audience persona that I am addressing. And yet my blogs constantly misbehave. Instead of telling a single story, they wander around a number of (very interesting) points and finish far away from […]
What is a call to action in marketing communications?
7th June 2016 | Posted in Marketing communications
Despite having been asked to write hundreds of calls to actions, I can’t get that initial vision of half a dozen marines charging around an assault course out of my head. Take a few seconds to remove that thought and let’s move on. Actually a call to action is simply telling your customer what you […]
Skills for a customer magazine
2nd June 2016 | Posted in Marketing communications
You’re putting together a high-quality customer magazine that you’ll use in print and online as a pdf download. It’s going to include informative articles – perhaps some case studies, hints and tips, and maybe some advance product details. You want it to be something your current and potential customers will find of value. You’ll need […]
