How To Maximize Your Website Marketing With Full-Bodied, Flavorful Content
I admit that I'm unabashedly addicted to coffee and coffee metaphors.
I bookmark articles about the health benefits of coffee.
And I'd rather hang out in a coffee shop than a bar.
So you will probably understand why the words "instant coffee" seem to be an oxymoron.
And coffee out of a machine? You must be kidding.
Yet thoughts of instant coffee entered my brain, uninvited, as I reviewed some copy with a client I will call "Julie," who couldn't understand why she had invested so much time on her website, yet wasn't getting results.
Julie had every reason to believe her content was first rate.
She knew she was supposed to promise benefits, so she promised things like "get along better with people at work," "save time" and "feel more confident.
" Her bio listed her credentials and added a few comments about her education.
She was on the right track.
However, Julie's content was like instant coffee from a machine.
Our job was to create a flavorful brew that said, "This is Julie!" just as LaColombe won't be mistaken for Starbucks.
Our first step was to find out why Julie's ingredients were unique.
It turns out that she came to coaching from a combination of law school and psychotherapy training, plus a handful of life adventures along the way.
We needed to communicate the flavor of Julie's experience (dare I say "tastefully?") and show why her background contributes to her ability to help her target market.
This step is critical because clients often hire you when they resonate to your personality and style.
Therefore a key component of creating an authentic online presence involves telling your story, without Too Much Information.
"Spin" doesn't mean you make up facts or distort reality.
When you orient your story to your business, you help your clients make an informed decision that leads them to choose the best resources for them at this time.
Secondly, Julie had to strengthen her benefits - like brewing the coffee to bring out the full-bodied flavor.
Like many business owners, she offered genuine benefits, but she herself didn't realize how profoundly they affected her clients' lives.
She needed to go deeper into the next level.
Some copywriters refer to finding the meaning or significance behind the benefits; I think of nested benefits because finding the significance is like opening a series of Russian dolls, one after another, till you get to the last one.
One technique involves creating a page with 3 columns: Column 1: Why the client comes to see me Column 2: What we did during our sessions Column 3: What the client's life looks like now As you analyze your benefits, you may find yourself re-naming them and choosing different outcomes to emphasize in your promotional copy.
For instance, Julie might think clients wanted more confidence, but realize clients came to her when they were frustrated with their careers; they wanted promotions and raises, not confidence or good colleagues.
Don't be surprised if these steps become synergistic: as you dig deeper into your benefits, you become aware of factors in your own background and personality that make you the most qualified person on the plane to deliver those benefits.
These steps will help you develop a website with a strong flavor that's hard to resist and even harder to imitate.
You also save time because your web content will practically write itself and your clients will feel they know you before they make that first call.
I bookmark articles about the health benefits of coffee.
And I'd rather hang out in a coffee shop than a bar.
So you will probably understand why the words "instant coffee" seem to be an oxymoron.
And coffee out of a machine? You must be kidding.
Yet thoughts of instant coffee entered my brain, uninvited, as I reviewed some copy with a client I will call "Julie," who couldn't understand why she had invested so much time on her website, yet wasn't getting results.
Julie had every reason to believe her content was first rate.
She knew she was supposed to promise benefits, so she promised things like "get along better with people at work," "save time" and "feel more confident.
" Her bio listed her credentials and added a few comments about her education.
She was on the right track.
However, Julie's content was like instant coffee from a machine.
Our job was to create a flavorful brew that said, "This is Julie!" just as LaColombe won't be mistaken for Starbucks.
Our first step was to find out why Julie's ingredients were unique.
It turns out that she came to coaching from a combination of law school and psychotherapy training, plus a handful of life adventures along the way.
We needed to communicate the flavor of Julie's experience (dare I say "tastefully?") and show why her background contributes to her ability to help her target market.
This step is critical because clients often hire you when they resonate to your personality and style.
Therefore a key component of creating an authentic online presence involves telling your story, without Too Much Information.
"Spin" doesn't mean you make up facts or distort reality.
When you orient your story to your business, you help your clients make an informed decision that leads them to choose the best resources for them at this time.
Secondly, Julie had to strengthen her benefits - like brewing the coffee to bring out the full-bodied flavor.
Like many business owners, she offered genuine benefits, but she herself didn't realize how profoundly they affected her clients' lives.
She needed to go deeper into the next level.
Some copywriters refer to finding the meaning or significance behind the benefits; I think of nested benefits because finding the significance is like opening a series of Russian dolls, one after another, till you get to the last one.
One technique involves creating a page with 3 columns: Column 1: Why the client comes to see me Column 2: What we did during our sessions Column 3: What the client's life looks like now As you analyze your benefits, you may find yourself re-naming them and choosing different outcomes to emphasize in your promotional copy.
For instance, Julie might think clients wanted more confidence, but realize clients came to her when they were frustrated with their careers; they wanted promotions and raises, not confidence or good colleagues.
Don't be surprised if these steps become synergistic: as you dig deeper into your benefits, you become aware of factors in your own background and personality that make you the most qualified person on the plane to deliver those benefits.
These steps will help you develop a website with a strong flavor that's hard to resist and even harder to imitate.
You also save time because your web content will practically write itself and your clients will feel they know you before they make that first call.
