Hope you are doing well – happy, successful and at peace.

You may have noticed that my weekly e-newsletters and regular e-mails have…..well, disappeared. Earlier this year, I made a deliberate decision to stop creating more content until I looked closer at my business, at my wonderful clients and at great people like you who are members of my e-mail list.

I have asked many of you – as well as myself – questions like:

• How can I best serve you?
• What are your most pressing challenges when it comes to writing your copy and marketing your business?
• What are the most efficient and financially sensible ways for you to tap into my expertise so you can write your own copy (or your clients’ copy) painlessly, quickly and effectively?
• What kinds of programs, training, coaching and other resources would best help you write new copy, finish the copy projects you keep putting off and revamp existing copy?

What I have found over and over is that many of you have the skills and expertise to write your own copy – you just need the right systems and guidance to get you going and keep you going. There will always be those of you with the time constraints, desire (none!) and budget to hire my team to write all your copy – and for you, I will always be here. For the rest of you, I am all about setting up programs that make sense for your schedule, your budget and your capabilities – copy that prompts people to action, makes you money and makes a difference.

So, let’s get started: Simply hit “reply” to this email and in any way you want – a list, questions, quick blurbs, anything – - let me know what you want to learn how to do better. Is it write blogs? Sales letters? Press releases? Research for new content? Repurpose existing content? Create info products? Write for social media?

Whatever it is, I can’t wait to hear from you!

And as a special thank you for the five respondants, I will be giving away my Copywrite U Combo Pack, a Do-It-Yourself Guide to an Effective Press Release and a Do-it-Yourself Guide to an Effective Press Kit.

To Your Success,

Allison Nazarian

Do you ever wonder where an idea starts and how some grow while others never take root and die a fast (or slow) death?

Even if you think you have the greatest idea (or greatest product or service for that matter), it means nothing unless its intended audience thinks the same.

That is something that’s always been hard for me (and many of you, I am sure) to swallow, even though it is a tried-and-true principle of marketing. It’s hard to believe that something we feel strongly about or love or want to offer to the world may not be welcomed or received in a similar manner.

This is why you have to remember two things:

1) It is always about your market, never about you, and

2) It’s not personal, it’s business!

Even if this project/product you are working has hit your pain point and solved a problem for you, it may not work or appeal to others.

You still have to do extensive market research so you can to pinpoint and get to know the bulk of your prospective audience. Just because something provides a benefit to you doesn’t mean the same for everyone else.

And there is much you can do for little to no cost, except for your time, which is an investment I know will pay off in spades for you once you know for certain you are offering the right product and saying the right words to the right market or markets.

You’ll find much of the information you need–no matter what your product or industry–from the comfort of your own desk, including:

• Census data
• Trade associations and industry-specific publications, as well as general business publications
• Keywords searches
• Internet (keyword searches through search engines and directories)

So while you may be thinking you’re on your way to starting a major trend or even encouraging a rush of interest or sales, you may be doing so with those “marketing blinders” I have talked about before.

As consultants, coaches, authors, or entrepreneurs, we are all in the same boat. We understand that having a clear and effective action plan for how to use social media can truly make the difference in gaining effective clients and contracts for our business.

I can tell you from my first-hand experience that Twitter can be and is a transformational tool for your business. I have made more connections and built more relationships in a very short time through Twitter than I would have through years of the “old-school” means of networking.

And I think it is very important to note that not all of these connections resulted in an immediate paying client.

In fact, some of the most valuable connections I have made are other professionals with whom I share similar target markets. And the development of these relationships has proven just as important as the direct client relationships I have developed.

Like many businesses, copywriting is part of a bigger business picture. And it is therefore near impossible to run an efficient and profitable copywriting business in a vacuum. A solid and reliable relationship with other professionals (that may never be a paying client) is critical.

What other kinds of services, service providers and vendors am I referring to?

• Web designer/developer
• Graphic designer
• Printer
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization) consultant or advisor
• P.R. (public relations) professional or firm

Of course, this list is very general, and whom you need (and don’t need) will vary by project, by budget and by preference. But having solid relationships with individuals in these areas before a new project arises takes the guess work out of it and ultimately increases your profits.

So next time you read another email, tweet or status message about the importance of social media, don’t forget that your efforts and connections should expand beyond your target market.

Tomorrow is September 1st and the “back to school” messages are everywhere. Here in Florida, many of the schools resume in mid-August, so my kids have been back in the groove for a couple of weeks now. And the homework they have been brining home looks very much like it did last Spring; similar exercises, math problems etc. Their teachers have them going back to the basics, re-doing, re-reading, so that they can refresh their skills and further develop them.

Every year it serves as a powerful reminder for me.

So staying true to that reminder, I have been doing a lot of reading this week about copywriting and marketing, a back to basics kind of thing. And in doing so, I came across my books and teachings from some of the true copywriting greats. (Still amazed at how Dan Kennedy is a true genius when it comes to using words to sell.)

Sometimes, no matter how advanced or experienced you are in your professional career (and especially if you are on the newer end), you need to take the time and just absorb. Soak it all in. Read, read and read some more.

You never know what nugget of information will lead to a whole new niche or approach – even a nugget you may have read years ago and are just re-visiting now.

As I re-read some books I read in past years, I was somewhat surprised by my own highlights, notes and underlines – entirely different parts than what I would pay attention to or what would speak to me now.

Here is a sampling of what I learned (or re-learned )from my most recent foray into the Land of Copywriting Masters:

• AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
• You must be aware of and not afraid to address or bring up any and all issues, flaws, questions and objections to your service offering or product.
• Your service may be one that “anyone” or “everyone” in business can or will use, but anyone and everyone do not a target make. Try to speak to and please anyone and everyone, and no one will be your customer.
• Do the legwork before you write, then write without editing, then edit and strategize.
• No one is sitting around waiting for your copy – they are, however, sitting around waiting for their problem to be solved.

There is no room in marketing copy for words like may, maybe, hope, wish, try, could and perhaps.

Why? Because words like that sell possibilities and people don’t buy possibilities.

It is therefore essential to ensure that your marketing copy is written affirmatively.

Whether it is a sales page, video script or on-line brochure, your potential customer needs to be informed of the benefits. They want to KNOW with CONFIDENCE and TRUST that your product or service is going to work for them. And it is your job as the copywriter to instill this confidence in them, to compel them to pull out their credit card and buy.

How do you compel them? Share the truth with them.

Lay it all out for your readers. Show them the proof, share your testimonials, anticipate and address their objections and most importantly, give them affirmative reasons to buy.

I recently wrote a guest blog for UnderstandingMarketing.com and wanted to share it here at The Copywriting Store.

So please take a look at Psst….What’s Your Tagline?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and comments.

You see it everywhere on-line, we all do.

A business has an amazing product, incredibly well written sales copy and a killer position on the search engines, but something about the website appears to be incomplete, almost shady if you will.

Why? Because often websites lack credibility!

And I bring this up because while most of the posts here at The Copywriting Store are focused on crafting good copy and a good message, it’s all for nothing if your target audience doesn’t feel you’re a credible source.

And unfortunately in the on-line marketplace your competitors are just one click away so credibility is a MUST!

The best ways to establish credibility and convince visitors, your potential customers, that your expertise is valuable:

• Let them know you are a real person, a real business and that they can contact you. Provide them with a way to reach you; a phone number, email address and possibly even a physical address.

• Provide your credentials. This will establish you as an authority in the market.

• Use testimonials. Testimonials that provide specifics of your product or service from happy customers are the invaluable. They show you as a known and well-liked industry expert.

• Add a guarantee. If appropriate add a guarantee, it will show you stand behind your product or service and you are confident in what you are selling.

• Tell a story. Explain the story behind your business, but be sure it is relevant to your potential customers. The story needs to include the benefits to your customers.

Have a listen to Gary Halbert’s advice in this video, very fitting…..

Time management and a lack of fresh ideas can make it challenging to continuously churn out new content. But if you have a blog, you could simply repurpose one blog post to serve various business needs.

Article marketing

You can repurpose blog posts for article marketing purposes. Just freshen the content by adding more detailed information so that it is 400 to 500 words. Make sure the content is properly optimized and submit it to the directories.

Use it for website copy

Many websites are set up to be online brochures that sell a product or service. Experts suggest enticing prospects with editorial website copy with an intriguing, attention getting headline and valuable copy that follows.

Use it as part of an email marketing campaign

Tweak one of your best blog posts and use it as an email marketing campaign. You will need to give it more of a direct marketing feel with strong headlines that show the benefits of your service and add a call to action.