In my imaginary world, clients plan ahead and have truckloads of patience the on-boarding process. They love to spend money on creative thinking, understand the hours of research that goes into a brand proposal, and praise your writing like they just may offer you a book deal.
At my actual office some clients need something quickly, wanted it yesterday and were settling for an optimistic “how about by the end of the week?” I don’t begrudge anyone that because no matter where your business is, it is always a moving target and I get how hard it is to plan ahead. It is a crazy discipline. As we handle so much in house I can accommodate so many more bizarre requests and am happy to when possible. I am, however, committed to realistic time frames and managing expectations when the RUSH button is depressed (sometimes multiple times). The only wish that content is not the first thing to go either on a tight budget or a tight deadline.
I am huge on crafting a well-honed “Call to Action” spot on any advertising piece. Too many times, however, I see the copy fall to bits right after a clever line. I believe when adequate focus is not put on the content one of two things happen as follows:
1. The copy sounds like it was written for earth’s next inhabitants, namely, robots.
2. The reader is wooed into the brand lair with a beautiful first sentence. The reader wants to settle down, but only to finds a plastic couch in a dark corner. Oh, there is also an odd smelling gold rain oil lamp there. (Do you remember these?) But I digress. What I mean to say is that here is promise of epic content, but no great content in the end. But I digress.
Here are my basics for developing epic content:
1. Remember that people buy from people. People write advertising copy. People read advertising copy. People like clarity. People like jokes.
2. Do not "work your worth job; work your work job". I say that all the time, but what I mean is please get your accolades and sense of self-worth somewhere else. It will keep you from using jargon in every sentence. Also it will eliminate the Hemingway-length sentences.
3. Creative titles (leads) are imperative, but they are not enough on their own. I find that the client is usually quite happy with spending money on the headlines. Creative people are good at making them snappy. Too often they start out well and by the time you are down a few paragraphs you have descended into a word tomb. Like Dante, you will come to and wonder to yourself, “How did I get here and why is there so much suffering around me?”
I keep hearing, “No one reads anymore.” While I get the sentiment, I think it is more true that people don’t read worthless drivel anymore. They can spot it and ultimately, don’t tolerate it. Unless you are up at 4am reading Web MD because you have an alarming rash, you are probably not going to read a B.O.R.I.N.G. text-heavy webpage in full.
Write something good. People will read it. Ergo, content is king.
Want to pay me loads of money to re-write your ad copy or website? I'll throw in one free joke. Email me at priscilla@littlebirdmarketing.com, send me snail mail or pick up that thing called a phone and let's talk. Or, you could use this handy form to contact us:
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Content MarketingPriscilla McKinney
Priscilla McKinney, CEO of Little Bird Marketing, is a popular keynote speaker, prolific blogger, podcast host, industry innovator and diversity champion. Her two podcasts are Ponderings from the Perch and Digital Transformation Success. Best known for making waves in the digital marketing industry, Priscilla has been featured on numerous podcasts, is the President of American Advertising Federation Heartland and has received numerous design, entrepreneurship and industry awards. Along with her expert team, she developed the SOAR System – a proprietary process designed to create sustainable lead generation for busy leaders so they can have confidence in the growth of their company without losing focus on their other responsibilities. Priscilla personifies creativity, entrepreneurship and authentic leadership – inspiring others to truly carve out their own path of success in her uniquely funny, no-nonsense and slightly irreverent way. Oh, and don’t give her caffeine. She doesn’t need it.
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