Marketing

I’m not sure why I’ve taken so long to do this, but I have finally created a business page on Facebook for Written Creations.  I’ve been using Facebook for about two years now for a personal page to connect with friends and family.  I’ve enjoyed it, but I have resisted creating a business page.

Since I am in the habit of checking Facebook more than Twitter these days, I’m hoping that the Facebook page of Written Creations will be much more frequently updated.  My schedule has changed these last few months and I am paring down extras.  So, in an effort to be more collaborative and keep folks updated, I’m now switching primarily to Facebook for communicating rather than Twitter.  Ideally, I’d keep up with both, but I know my limits and what I can do while still being able to get my work accomplished for clients.

All that said, be sure to stop by and check out Written Creations on Facebook.  I can’t promise that it will make you rich or lose 20 pounds, but I can promise that your readership will be much appreciated!

Writing for the Internet is a bit different than writing for print.  That holds true whether you’re writing an article for an online publication or content for a company’s Web site.   And while print publications are shrinking, online usage is increasing, even in the down-turned economy.  A Pew Internet and American Life Project study found that 63 percent of adult Americans have broadband Internet now, which is up 15 percent from just a year ago.

With so many users out there, writing well online is vital to getting your content read.  A few tips can make your Internet writing more successful.

First, remember that readers have to concentrate harder to read text on a computer screen versus on a printed page. While a 2,500-word feature article might work well in a print publication, chances are most Internet readers won’t plow through it.  To add to this issue is the fact that reading on a computer screen often feels like work to most users.  After all, many people sit in front a computer all day long for work and they often don’t want to continue reading on a computer after hours.

Second, know that online readers are skimmers. You may be skimming through this post.  I know I skim online.  Using subheads, bullet points and other such devices can draw readers in to your main points.  If you have enough good points, then skimmers will take time to read the entire piece.

Third, utilize the inverted pyramid. The inverted pyramid style of writing is starting with the most important information at the beginning and working down in priority from there.  Inverted pyramids work well for Internet writing because you may only get your reader to read the first couple of paragraphs, so you want to give them enough information to draw them in.  Creative leads don’t work as well online.  People want to know exactly what they’re getting up front when they are reading online.

Fourth, keep it simple. Internet writing is not the place for extra long sentences and words.  Overall, simple sentence structure and vocabulary geared to an eighth or ninth grade level is preferred.  Think similarly to your local newspaper.  Concise writing is vital for effective online writing.

Fifth, emphasize key words, but don’t get too crazy with them. You definitely want to use key words that Internet search engines will pick up on, but you don’t want to go so crazy with them as to drive your readers crazy and interfere with your message.

Finally, include related links. If you refer to another online article in your piece or are quoting a study, then link to it.  Readers are definitely more wary of information they read online and want to be able to confirm it.  You don’t want to include a link for every other word or even every paragraph, but a few well placed links really do add to your credibility.

Social networking is everywhere.  These days many folks are connected through online networks like Facebook, Twitter, My Space and Linked In.  I personally use Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.  I use them for different reasons.  Facebook is my network to connect with friends and only a few close colleagues.  I use it for more personal, day-to-day sort of information.  Twitter and Linked In, though, I use solely for professional connections.  I must admit that I haven’t done much with Linked In, but Twitter and I have hit it off.

While social networking online can be a time zapper, it can also help you stay on task — at least that’s what I’ve found.  I follow a relatively small amount of folks on Twitter (just under 70 at the moment).  Many of them are fellow freelance writers.  Others are great for idea generation.  In connecting with other writers through Twitter, I’m often inspired to plug away at work after reading their brief updates of what they are doing.

And I often post on Twitter what I’m working on.  Once I have it “out there,” I feel more accountable to make sure it gets done.  In a way, my connections on Twitter serve as my co-workers and sometimes my boss by keeping me on task.

Instead of being a time zapper, it actually keeps me working some days.  And on the times I think about cutting out early, I wonder what my fellow Twitter-ers would think.  I know in reality, they don’t care too much, but it helps keep me on track.

And, yes, I’ve been able to use connections made through Twitter to get a couple of writing and editing jobs.  That alone makes the few minutes I spend on Twitter nearly daily worth it.

How do you use social networking?

While some companies have clearly identified target audiences or target markets, others struggle.  For some companies identifying a target audience can be tricky for marketing material simply because the company appeals to such a wide variety of customers.

But, in order for marketing material and other communications to be effective, knowing the target audience is vital.  Often that target audience overlaps with the target market, but not necessarily.  A target audience is who the marketing material is geared toward.  The target market is who the product or service is geared toward.  A nursing home, for example, may serve an older adult population.  But, it may gear its marketing material to the younger generation making the decision of where to place a beloved parent.  Figuring out a company’s target audience may take some work.

Start by asking. If you are already working with the company, then ask them who the target audience for the project is.  You can outright ask about the target audience or you can get there in a more general way by starting with questions such as “What do you want the focus for this piece to be?”

Help them determine the target audience if they don’t know. Perhaps your contact can’t easily define his or her target audience.  Or perhaps you get general answers.  You then are tasked with the job of helping them determine the target audience.  And while you may argue that this isn’t your job, it is indeed.  Part of being a writer is understanding your audience and writing for them.  It may take some time, but in the end, your client will be happier and his or her message will be more effective.   Here are some tips for determining target audience:

• Look at their former marketing pieces.  Who would these appeal to?
• If they don’t have any previous marketing pieces, then get to know their business service and/or product.  Who do you think would need this service?  Ask if they agree with you.
• Look at the marketing pieces of their direct competitors.  Who would these appeal to?  You certainly don’t want to copy information, but another part of effective marketing is knowing what is out there so you can stand apart.
• Ask about their regular customers.  What is the age range?  Gender?  What do the customers say drew them in and keeps them coming back?

Run it by them one more time. It may sound like I’m harping here, and I may be just a bit, but once you determine the target audience, run it by the client once again.  Throughout the entire process of working together, you want to make sure you’re on the same page.  Ocassionally going back over this with a client will spark new thoughts or ideas that they’d really like to incorporate.  No matter what, you’ll know whether you’re on the right track to making your client happy.

As I discussed on Tuesday, my best tip for effective writing is knowing your target audience.  While this may be relatively easy to identify in some well-established publications, it can be difficult in newer publications.

One of the best ways to figure out a target audience of a publication is to check out the publication’s writer’s guidelines.  Many publications post these on their Web sites these days.  You can also find abbreviated versions of them in “Writer’s Market.”  Looking at a publication’s press or media kit (also usually available online) can help determine target audience as well.  Many times the writer’s guidelines, “Writer’s Market” blurb and press kit will say specifically who the publication is targeting.  Some publications are very specific giving an age range, gender, typical life experiences, etc.  Others are a little more vague, but still give you an idea of target audience.

And, sometimes, writer’s guidelines are vague and press kits are nowhere to be found.  In this instance, read through the writer’s guidelines to deduce who would read what the publication is looking for.  For example, if they are looking for time-saving articles for families, you might deduce that the target audience is maybe 20 to 45 and perhaps primarily women.

No matter what you find — specific or vague writer’s guidelines — the best way to really understand what a publication wants for its target readers is by looking over the publication.

• Read the articles.  Who would be interested in them?  What sort of tone is used?  What sort of information is presented?
• Pay attention to the layout.  What sort of demographic would most like this type of layout?  Who would like the photos that have been used?
• Especially pay attention to the ads.  Who buys the products advertised?  How are the ads designed to appeal to a specific demographic?  For example, a women’s magazine might advertise a car showing a mom with her kids happily driving along.  A men’s magazine might advertise the same car going fast with perhaps a beautiful woman somewhere in the photo.  Ads are great at giving indications for target audience.
• Read any writer biographies.  Who is writing for the publication?  Knowing which “experts” readers relate to most will help you identify them.  For example, a Christian publication might refer to Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” program in discussing finances.  A general interest, secular publication might appeal to readers with another expert like Suze Orman.
• Read the letter from the editor or publisher.  What is he or she focusing on?  Who is he or she addressing?  Take note of what the letter highlights to find out what is important to the publication’s readers and then think about who those subjects would be important to.

Following these tips can lead to more effective writing for publications — meaning writing that will be published, read and enjoyed.  Knowing your target audience is important.  Check back next Tuesday for tips on how to identify a target market for a company.

My number one writing tip is “know your audience.”  In fact, this is so often my sermon that I can’t believe I haven’t written about it sooner!  I preach it from the beginning of any class I teach.  I go over it with clients.  It is the key to successful writing.  Here’s why.

Before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as is most likely these days), before beginning to research, before even developing a solid focus for a piece, you must know who will be reading it.  For example, I may have a general topic idea I find interesting.  Let’s use dog training for this scenario.  Before I get too far and figure out how I want to cover dog training, I must determine who will be reading it.  I pull out the old Writer’s Market (a listing of nearly every magazine in print) and come up with a target magazine.  For this, I’ll pick a women’s magazine geared to working mothers ages 25 to 45.   With that in mind, I can now pick a focus for the article.  This audience wouldn’t be as interested in the history of dog training.  They don’t have time for that.  They want helpful tips for how to manage their dogs behavior alongside their children.  They need quick tips that can be done over the course of a couple of nights a week for a month rather than more involved tips that take hours a day to perfect.

It’s all about knowing the audience.  If I take that same dog training idea and apply it to a magazine geared to people raising service animals, I’ll use totally different tips, different sources and a different angle completely.  It’s all about who is reading the article.

The same is true for any other written word.  If I’m putting together a press release for a client, I need to know what sort of publications the client wants to reach.  If the client is looking at traditional, daily newspapers, I will write the release in a traditional journalism style in strict Associated Press style.  If the client wants to target alternative weekly magazines, I’ll change the tone to be a bit more laidback.  You’ve got to give the people what they want.

And, because I could really go on about this for days, let me summarize a few key reasons why knowing your audience is so important:

• Today’s readers are busier than ever.  They don’t waste time reading something that doesn’t pertain to or interest them.
• Editors will only publish material that relates to their readers.  A men’s magazine doesn’t run general press releases about a new lipstick color being released.
• Advertising material or business letters are only effective if they are read.  They are only read if they are appealing and of interest to the target audience.  Otherwise, you’ve wasted time and money.
• Today’s readers are bombarded with things vying for their attention.  Knowing what they’re looking for gives your message a better chance of getting through the clutter.

Whether you’re launching a new business, planning a community event or organizing a church play, a successful press release can make your endeavor even more successful.

Press releases don’t take long to write.  The payoff of free publicity makes the effort worth it.  While big business launches can call for an entire press packet, most items don’t.  Generally speaking you’re looking for about 300 words — sometimes less and sometimes more.

Make sure you include the vital information in the beginning: who, what, when and where.  Be specific in giving the name of event, the time it starts, the address, etc.

Some press releases lend themselves well to being short and to the point.  Check out this one that I recently wrote for a local church and sent to the local newspaper: fpurelease.  It is short and concise.  The text lends itself well to copying and pasting into various community calendars.  I use the online community calendars for newspapers, radio stations and sometimes television stations in the area.

Other press releases work better as a longer format as a kind of article that a publication can pick up and run.  These can have a bit more creative lead, but still need to get to the main point right away in order to draw in the reader and the publication’s editor.  Check out this release I wrote a couple of months ago: danrelease.  This one went out nationally and got picked up by numerous media outlets.  It ran verbatim in a couple.

Whether you’re going with a short, factual release or a longer article-type release, make sure it is as print ready as possible.  The less work editors have to do, the more likely they’ll run the text.  Remember the following:

• Edit for grammar and spelling mistakes (remember that spellcheck doesn’t catch all misspellings)
• Read it out loud to make sure it flows well
• Read it from an outsider’s perspective to make sure you’ve included enough information for others to know what’s going on
• Make sure you’ve included contact information

Once it’s written, you’re ready to starts sending it out!  Check back tomorrow for tips on how to effectively submit press releases.