Market Yourself
By Karen "Word Nerd" Marcus, Final Draft
Communications
Though most people do not work in marketing departments or consider themselves marketing experts, they do have a need to write promotional copy from time to time. For example, you may be called upon to draft a press release, develop copy for a flyer announcing an event, or write something for your company's web site. You can be successful with this kind of writing if you remember some basic guidelines:
Emphasize benefits, not features. Features are the things that are great about your company, product, or service. Benefits are how they make people's lives easier. For example, a feature of McDonald's is their fast service. The benefit is you save time and can get on with the things in life that are important to you.
Toot your own horn. Remember, the purpose of marketing materials is to tell others what's great about you, so don't be afraid to express it.
Resist the urge to capture everything you know about the topic. Think bullet points! Make your audience want to know more. Keep it short and simple.
Make it easy to contact you. Once you've assured they want to know more, make it easy for people to do so! Include a phone number, an e-mail address, or reference other materials, such as your company's web site. (Then, be ready to field those inquiries.)
Capture your audience's attention by mentioning the things that are most important to them first. See the April, 2004 edition of Word Nerd's Tip of the Month for more on this one.
Include a call to action. Do you want your audience to attend an event? Call you? Make an appointment? Check out your web site? Buy your products? Be specific by informing them of the next step.
Be consistent. Use the same design elements, phrases, and information throughout all your materials.
Occasional marketing tasks don't have to be a struggle. The hints above flow logically from your intended purpose--to capture your audience's attention, provide them with information, and suggest an action. Keep this purpose in mind, and your marketing materials will become powerful tools that help your business!
Word of the Month
See how many times this week you can use the following word in a sentence:
INDABA (in-DA-bah): (noun) A conference or discussion. "Let's meet for an indaba over breakfast."
adapted from Rare Words and Ways to Master Their Meanings by Jan Leighton and Hallie Leighton (Levenger Press, 2003)
Copyright 2005, Final Draft Communications. All
rights reserved. This material has been reprinted
with the author's permission.
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