I hope you find my writing and business tips and observations useful. My business and blog are dedicated to helping businesses communicate clearly and reach their potential.
Read, subscribe to my newsletter, enjoy!Tash
Generosity kills mediocrity
I was been doing some online reading and came across the following at the end of an article by Jen Harwood on turning mediocre moments into great or magnificent moments.
In my experience, I have found that mediocre people say and do nothing and expect everything. Magnificent people say and do what needs to be said and done and expect nothing. Generosity kills mediocrity.
It is great concept!
I think we have all come across those people who give very little or nothing and yet expect everything, and people who think they deserve things because they are {insert their term here!} Let’s face it, they aren’t the people we usually want to spend more time with or call magnificent!
So next time you are feeling life is a bit ordinary, spark yourself up by being generous to someone else. At the minimum, you’ll feel better and you could get unexpected rewards from it.
Payment via credit card
I was going through some emails and found the following at the end of an email from someone who considers herself knowledgeable in business.
PS. If you don’t want to go through the process of payment on the web simply send me an email with your credit card details and I will send you both books via email for the low cost of $15.00.
If anyone ever asks for your credit card details via email run away – well, at least say no and arrange payment some other way. Emails are not secure so you risk credit card theft if you provide details in an email.
Of course, the same advice applies if you are sending information about accessing a website or other password protected system. As soon as you put a URL, username and password together in an email, there is a risk someone else can get access.
If you receive a username & password via email, change your password ASAP to guard against this security issue.
If you have to send access information (e.g. giving a new web designer ftp access to your site) pick up the phone, use instant messaging or SMS, or if you use email, separate the elements into different emails to reduce the risk.
It is much safer to make credit card payments over a secure website or phone so don’t give details via email, and never ask your customers for their details over email.
Learning from SEO spam
Last week, I wrote about SEO offer spam emails. Having just received another one of these annoying emails, I thought I’d give some examples of why I don’t trust them…
We can put your site at the top of a search engines listings. If this is something you might be interested in, send me a reply with the web addresses you want to promote and the best way to contact you with some options.
Sincerely,
First Last
So what is wrong with this email?
- no greeting is rude. Even if he didn’t want to take the time to research my name, he could have said “Hello” at the minimum
- who is he? There was no other information to help me identify his business or contact him except by reply email
- if he doesn’t know what my website is (so how did you email me then?) how can he be sure he can help my rankings improve? Maybe I’m already at the top, maybe it’s a family site I don’t care about rankings for, maybe a thousand different things that mean his service is not relevant
- what does he mean by ‘top of a search engine listings’ anyway? Top of page 10 in Google is still top but not something I aspire to! Top for an irrelevant or obscure keyword won’t help me either. By not being clear, he missed an opportunity to show me he knows what he is talking about and starting some trust.
- where is he located? Yes, we could deal via email which means his location isn’t too important, but knowing he is overseas helps understand time differences. Further, I would be more likely to hire an Australian as they understand my market better and I don’t have to deal with the dollar value.
Whilst I hope you don’t send out spam to get business, the above tips will hopefully help you avoid answering spam like this and help you write better sales emails.
Use your words wisely!
We must not be defeated…
We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.
Maya Angelou
I came across the above quote in the December Design Lines and liked it – I also thought it might be inspiring if you are reviewing 2008 as part of your goal setting process. No matter what happened in 2008, you can choose to make 09 bigger and better!
New listing
I have just added this blog to a directory (the suitably named Web Link Directory!) I came across while researching things online for a client.
What directories have you added your business to? Have you noticed any significant results (positive or negative) from any directory listing?
Admittedly, I did a lot more in the way of directory listings when I first started in business and needed some exposure to get started. I’m not sure I ever got any work from those ads, but I believe they may well have helped get my site noticed by Google and friends. Of course, having relevant, human-orientated content made more difference to my eventual rankings but some initial incoming links helped.
Now, I have less time to look for directories! But more importantly, I take more care in choosing where to place links – relevant sites and sites I consider to be reputable are much more likely to get my notice. Many experts say these links will benefit me more than lots of suspect links, and I don’t disagree with them; besides, I think they are more likely to attract the types of clients I want.
Using events to promote your business
Yesterday, I described an email where past events were advertised – and suggested it was not a great idea!
Yet running or being involved in events such as seminars can be a very effective marketing tool. Assuming the event is well run and provides useful information, the event shows you as an expert, professional, helpful and possibly generous with your knowledge.
Obviously, in the lead up to an event you need to promote it to attract people to the event itself – not much of an event if no one turns up because they didn’t know about it!
However, you can also promote an event to market your business as well as the event – and this marketing can follow the event as well as lead up to it. Worst case, people know you run seminars and may be able to attend your next one; best case, people give you more respect and trust in you, and are more aware of your business.
Some ways you can use an event afterwards to promote your business and credibility are:
- talk about how much you enjoyed the event afterwards – and how much you learned. That may even include mention of things that didn’t work that you have learnt from. Talk about it in your blog and newsletter, as well as on forums, at networking sessions and with colleagues
- gather testimonials from people who were at the event. You can put these on your website (especially near the details for the next event), in a portfolio/resume, quoted in marketing materials, in your blog and newsletter, and in media releases for future events
- ask attendees at the event to review the event – written reviews can be added to your site/blog/newsletter, or even better, to theirs! If they do review or mention your event in their blog, make sure you leave a comment thanking them for their perspective and perhaps adding something useful as a thank you
- give attendees something that is branded for your event – this probably only applies to bigger events like a conference or full day event. If they wear a tee-shirt, carry a bag, mark a place in a book , drink from a water bottle, add a button to their website, use USB key or write with a pen branded for your event, people may ask them about it and they will remember it for longer themselves.
- mention the event, as appropriate, in future media contacts, articles, blog posts, newsletters and so on, although don’t do it all the time as that would just be boring and counter-productive!
- set up surveys asking for feedback to help you improve the next event – invite people from the last event and others to complete it. This gives you market insight whilst also drawing attention to the fact you have an event coming up!
What other ways have you used or seen used for promoting events after they have happened?
Writing useful tips
Yesterday, I wrote about the value of giving clients some tipsto develop a relationship with them as a form of marketing. Of course, the tips need to be useful for your clients and presented well to be an effective marketing tool for you.
Try the following tips to make your tips effective:
- keep each tip simple and preferably short
- only give each tip once– repetition is pointless and boring
- make sure the tip is clear – give an example if you think it will help
- brand the page – add your logo and URL as a minimum, but consider coloured paper or a professionally designed template
- make the tips genuine – giving general statements everyone knows is pointless and won’t show your customers your generosity or your knowledge/skills base
- avoid jargon so it’s easy to understand
- check for correct spelling and grammar– although full sentences aren’t necessary in a bulleted list of points
- be consistent in your presentation and writing
Taking some effort to get your tips good is worthwhile as you can use the list over and over. It can be given to clients as a printed page or emailed as a pdf.
Do you already have a tips sheet? Have you checked it recently for the above points and to make sure it is still current and accurate?
Use real advantages…
When marketing, it is important to point out how your business (or product or service) is superior or different to others – in other words, why should people come to you?
This difference is often known as a unique selling point (USP) or a point of difference, and there are many ways to make use of it.
However, it is also important to show you are different by avoiding being the same. What do I mean by that? Well, if everyone in your industry talks about their compact products, don’t use the word compact – try space saving, small, minimalist or mini for instance.
Additionally, it’s not a good idea to use over-used words such as quality, value, fast and safe (see what Drew McLellan and others say on this in Drew’s recent blog post – he gives some good alternatives and the discussion is interesting.)
In writing as in business, being original and providing interesting content is likely to make more of an impact than being the same as everyone else. And making an impact may be just what you need to get customers to you rather than your competitors.
But when you are stating those great differences and reasons to use you, remember to be honest and only state real advantages rather than making up something your customers want to read.
Disagreeing with clients – the nice way!
If you work for clients, you will not always agree with how they want things done. Sometimes, it will just be a matter of personal choice so you stay quiet and do things their way. Other times, your professional experience and knowledge leads you to believe the client would be better off following your way.
So how do you tell a valued client that you disagree with their request?
Let’s take a simplified situation – the client asks for bright red and you think pale blue is a better option.
The first response to come to mind may be “Bright red won’t work so I’m going to use pale blue for you.”
However, the client is likely to be annoyed at being told they’re wrong and you’re making the decision. Result? They will dig their heels in and insist you use bright red without further discussion – or just find another supplier.
Another response may be “Pale blue is best and applies in 90% of cases” and just going ahead with pale blue. Taking control of the project like that shows no respect for your client and may just end your relationship.
Here are some better ways to approach your client:
- Bright red would certainly attract attention! However, did you know that colour experts consider red to mean…?
- Is there a particular reason you want it bright red?
- I will do it in bright red, but first I wanted to make sure you know you have a choice. The alternative is pale blue, which has the advantages of …
- I have found an example of bright red for you, and a pale blue example as a comparison. I think the pale blue works better because… What do you think of them both?
- That’s an interesting thought – I would never have considered bright red for this project. To me, bright red doesn’t always work because…
- Based on my experience, bright red is less effective than pale blue because… Would you like me to try both colours so you can see the difference?
If you handle it politely and with respect, your client will appreciate you speaking up and sharing your expertise – after all, that’s why they are using your services! You may still have to complete the project in bright red, but at least the client has made an informed decision and you have respected your professional opinion.
Have you had a supplier respectfully disagree with you which has led to a better result? Share your story in the comments area below.
Supplier control
Sometimes suppliers and clients don’t agree on the best way to do something – that is natural and understandable. But if the client is paying for the work, I believe that the client has the deciding vote.
I have had situations where a client has insisted I do something a particular way against my better judgment as a professional writer. A few times, I have done what the client asked for and an alternative version the way I think it should be done and given both versions to the client. In all these cases, once they have seen it in context, the client has agreed with my version. Other times I have just done what the client asked.
But what happens when a supplier decides their way is correct, or at least better, and just implements it without even telling the client they are making that decision?
For instance, if a client asks for certain paragraphs to be in italics in a brochure their designer may disagree and not use italics. The client, trusting the designer to do as asked, doesn’t notice this omission until after the brochures are printed and is rightly upset because those paragraphs were quotes and need to look different.
A much more professional approach from the designer would have been to say “I don’t think italics is a good idea as they are harder to read” and then discussed it with the client.
Clients do not appreciate loosing control of their own projects, nor the suppliers who take that control. And once you do something like that, the client is likely to double check everything you do for them which is a waste of their time and goodwill – and not likely to get you more work or any referrals.
As a supplier, you can disagree with a client but you should never presume to control the project contrary to your client’s request. Remember, if the final result is not up to your standard because the client insisted on doing things a certain way, it reflects more on the client than you – their name is on it, not yours. Just don’t add the project to your portfolio!
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