July, 2010

Creating Effective Literature

In these days for Twitter, Facebook, e-mail marketing and other digital outlets for your marketing messages, it’s easy to forget about printed materials. I believe there’s still a place for them, albeit not as big a slot as in days gone by.

Printed materials can cover a wide range, but, for the most part, I’ll be addressing brochures, flyers, postcards and other mailers. Those are the typical tools used by independents and small businesses.

If you’re a designer or writer, you’re ahead of the game ... sort of. You probably won’t need to lay out some dough for design, production or writing. But, creatives tend to be really good at generating ideas for printed materials, but not so hot when it comes to actually getting them produced. I believe much of that is due to second guessing ourselves. “Hmmm, maybe I should use this image instead of that,” or, “That third paragraph really needs a do over.” We (creatives), along with many independents and small businesses, tend to get caught up with “what ifs,” new ideas and various changes with little to show at the end of the day ... or week ... or months.

Breaking free of this pattern requires start off on the right path, beginning with what are you trying to say? What’s your primary message and why will it resonate with your audience?

Much of this type of literature tries to be brand-centered. By that I mean the brochure, postcard or whatever centers on the marketer’s business and why they’re so wonderful. If you’ve followed my writing, you’ll know what’s coming next. Where’s the benefit to the reader? Your message should center around one or two key benefits that are important to your audience. That might mean spinning your message to demonstrate that working with you will save your client time or money. Perhaps your proven process makes completing a project a snap and will make your client the boss’ pet.

Once you’ve got your core message nailed, be sure to include something about the next step, also known as a call to action. Although it’s obvious to you that Joe Prospect should call and hire you, it’s not always so obvious to your audience. People often need to be told what to do. So, tell them. If you’re offer is time sensitive, so much the better. Calls to action such as “Call or email by [insert date] and receive [a discount, additional service, etc.],” produce better results. People covet what they can’t get, so a limited time offer, limited supply of whatever’s being offered and similar tactics produce better results than something general.

Finally, in as much as you want the prospect to hire you as soon as they read your piece, odds are most won’t be in a position to buy. Even if you have a powerful offer and strong call to action, you can lose the prospect or have to start from the beginning with your next mailing. So, it’s a good idea to include a secondary offer for the ones that will be in buying mode down the road.

Your secondary offer can be a tip sheet, a report, relevant research, article or other information. These can be printed or electronic. The trick is that the secondary off should be meaty and they need to contact you to get it. Once that contact is made, the door is opened to begin building a relationship.

Okay ... I lied. That wasn’t the final thing. This is – whenever possible, call to follow up. Since you sent a memorable mailer, the prospect should know your name. So this follow up call isn’t cold. It’s warm. During that call, offer your secondary piece again if they didn’t request it and don’t be tempted to sell the whole ball of wax. All you’re selling is a brief meeting. When you get that, it’s time to get off the phone. The face-to-face meeting is the time to gather detailed information about the prospect, their needs, challenges, competition and such. With that knowledge you can craft sensible solutions based on facts and not guesses. That goes a long way toward closing the deal.

Until next month ...

All the best,
Neil