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Suggest You - 22 Questions to Ask Before You Write a Single Word
We can automate many, many things in our lives. We have automatic dishwashers to wash our dishes – but somebody has to load it. We have automatic car washes to wash our cars, but we still have to drive the car into the car wash. We can make automated payments, but we still have to make sure that we make the money to pay those bills. The point is that when you think about it, in many cases, automated isn’t really so automated. The same is true when it comes to automating your blog.In theory, you cannot aut
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have a
Think of your dream job, the job you always wished you had and the one you’d hoped for. Now think of the job you have right now and compare the two – I bet the jobs don’t have anything to do with each other at all and couldn’t be more different than apples and broccoli.Of course, if you like broccoli, that’s fantastic, but if you’re someone who likes fun fruit, living in a bland, vegetable world doesn’t do much to help you enjoy the life you live.Now ask yourself why you stay in a job that doesn’t
You need to get inside peoples’ heads.
Start with your clients. They know their business and their customers better than you do. (If they don’t, they should. You can help them learn more.)
How? Use a marketing/creative brief to get the information you need to ace the copywriting (and marketing) assignment. (A marketing/creative brief is a tool used by ad agencies and corporate marketing and creative departments.)
Following is a marketing/creative brief adapted from one I used during my stint at a Seattle ad agency. Even though I now work solo, I still use it today.
(Begin form)
Marketing/Creative Brief
(Note: Designed for B2B; much of this brief is also applicable to B2C.)
Good input is key to a successful project, campaign, or marketing program. This marketing/creative brief is designed to elicit good input. But it takes thorough and thoughtful answers on your part. Please answer the following questions carefully.
1. What is the description of the piece(s)? (Ad, Web site, brochure, radio script, direct mail, etc.)
2. What is the marketing focus? (What products or services are we telling about?)
3. What is the communications problem that the piece(s) must solve? (Awareness, positioning or repositioning, product introduction, category introduction, etc.)
4. Who is the audience? (Demographics, title, function, responsibility, etc.)
5. What is their point of view about the product, service, category?
6. Who is the secondary audience(s), if any?
7. What business problems or issues does the product(s)/service(s) solve for the audience(s)? (Efficiency issues, profitability issues, operations issues, technology issues, etc.)
8. What effect do we want the piece(s) to have on the target audience(s)? (Purchase, phone call, visit Web site, request more information, increase their awareness, etc.)
9. What can we offer to achieve the desired response? (Demos, situation evaluation, sales collateral, personal visit, white paper, etc.)
10. What is the single essential message we must tell the target audience(s) to achieve the desired effect? (Be as concise as possible.)
11. What evidence is there to support our claims? (Features and benefits, testimonials, case studies, etc.)
12. Can anyone else make a similar promise?
13. Are there any technology issues to address? (Compatibility, operating systems, hardware requirements, etc.)
14. What specific industry issues must be addressed? (Trends, etc.)
15. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?
16. What tone should the piece employ? (Hardhitting/serious, educational/informative, humorous, etc.)
17. What do you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
18. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
19. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have a
Once you realise that to be successful on the web one must have a good concept of internet marketing strategies. Having spent a few dollars on pay per click advertising and have no or low conversion on your key phrases, it is only natural to turn to less costly means of internet advertising such as organic (natural) search engine optimization.To be brief SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a set of techniques aimed at improving of a website ranking in search engine results.Before you begin please
(Note: Designed for B2B; much of this brief is also applicable to B2C.)
Good input is key to a successful project, campaign, or marketing program. This marketing/creative brief is designed to elicit good input. But it takes thorough and thoughtful answers on your part. Please answer the following questions carefully.
1. What is the description of the piece(s)? (Ad, Web site, brochure, radio script, direct mail, etc.)
2. What is the marketing focus? (What products or services are we telling about?)
3. What is the communications problem that the piece(s) must solve? (Awareness, positioning or repositioning, product introduction, category introduction, etc.)
4. Who is the audience? (Demographics, title, function, responsibility, etc.)
5. What is their point of view about the product, service, category?
6. Who is the secondary audience(s), if any?
7. What business problems or issues does the product(s)/service(s) solve for the audience(s)? (Efficiency issues, profitability issues, operations issues, technology issues, etc.)
8. What effect do we want the piece(s) to have on the target audience(s)? (Purchase, phone call, visit Web site, request more information, increase their awareness, etc.)
9. What can we offer to achieve the desired response? (Demos, situation evaluation, sales collateral, personal visit, white paper, etc.)
10. What is the single essential message we must tell the target audience(s) to achieve the desired effect? (Be as concise as possible.)
11. What evidence is there to support our claims? (Features and benefits, testimonials, case studies, etc.)
12. Can anyone else make a similar promise?
13. Are there any technology issues to address? (Compatibility, operating systems, hardware requirements, etc.)
14. What specific industry issues must be addressed? (Trends, etc.)
15. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?
16. What tone should the piece employ? (Hardhitting/serious, educational/informative, humorous, etc.)
17. What do you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
18. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
19. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have a
Many webmasters begin with writing their own web content. If you have the time and energy to produce your own web content, it's highly advisable that you do so. You may find that creating your own content for your web site is not only profitable, but fun. Stick to a couple general guidelines that will improve the overall quality and effectiveness of your web content.Keep an Eye on Paragraph SizeWhen writing for the web, having small-medium sized paragraphs that are easy to scan is vital. Web surfer
5. What is their point of view about the product, service, category?
6. Who is the secondary audience(s), if any?
7. What business problems or issues does the product(s)/service(s) solve for the audience(s)? (Efficiency issues, profitability issues, operations issues, technology issues, etc.)
8. What effect do we want the piece(s) to have on the target audience(s)? (Purchase, phone call, visit Web site, request more information, increase their awareness, etc.)
9. What can we offer to achieve the desired response? (Demos, situation evaluation, sales collateral, personal visit, white paper, etc.)
10. What is the single essential message we must tell the target audience(s) to achieve the desired effect? (Be as concise as possible.)
11. What evidence is there to support our claims? (Features and benefits, testimonials, case studies, etc.)
12. Can anyone else make a similar promise?
13. Are there any technology issues to address? (Compatibility, operating systems, hardware requirements, etc.)
14. What specific industry issues must be addressed? (Trends, etc.)
15. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?
16. What tone should the piece employ? (Hardhitting/serious, educational/informative, humorous, etc.)
17. What do you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
18. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
19. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have a
Affiliate Marketing is by far, one of the easiest ways to make money online. It is a revenue sharing business relationship between the affiliate who agrees to promote the products or services, and the merchant who offers them.The affiliate advertises the merchant's products and services and gets a commission for every successful referral. Every time a customer is referred to the merchant's site, through the affiliate's efforts, and makes a purchase, the affiliate gets a share of the profit. No payment is
12. Can anyone else make a similar promise?
13. Are there any technology issues to address? (Compatibility, operating systems, hardware requirements, etc.)
14. What specific industry issues must be addressed? (Trends, etc.)
15. Are there any industry, product or competitive issues to be avoided?
16. What tone should the piece employ? (Hardhitting/serious, educational/informative, humorous, etc.)
17. What do you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
18. What don’t you like about your current piece(s)? (Look and feel, tone, messaging, functionality, etc.)
19. What overall impressions (look and feel, etc.) would you like the piece(s) to make?
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have a
If you are a non-operator owner of many work trucks, you should keep your business credit card with you not leave it in one of the trucks. You should not issue them to employees without strict guidlines. Employees may tend to abuse credit cards by buying things that are not an emergency such as tires that are over priced instead of simply plugging a hole in a flat or spraying fix-a flat into the valve stem.Here is a story:A franchisee’s manager who we’ll call ‘Arnold’ had a blow-out in one of the
20. Will this piece(s) be used with any other pieces? (proposals, collateral, letters, etc.)
21. How will the piece(s) be used (online, leave behind, trade shows, mailed, etc.) and at what point in the sales cycle?
22. Any other comments?
(End form)
Admittedly, getting clients to answer these questions isn’t always easy.
That’s why it’s best to be flexible with the use of a marketing/creative brief. You can ask the client to fill it out. You can use it to interview the client. You can fill it out yourself for the client’s review. Any sort of collaborative approach works well.
In the end, stress to your clients that if they want more clicks, more leads and more sales, they need to actively participate in the input process.
One you have all the information you need, you’re ready to write a winner.
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
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