Copywriting Tips to Boost ROI in Slow Economic Times
In economic downturns, marketers learn to do more with less. With advertising and marketing budgets slashed to save on costs, keep these copywriting tips in mind to make sure your business continues to get the exposure it needs. Creating a newsletter, offering a special report or issuing a press release can keep your business in the public eye. Creating copy that's informative, robust and engages customers is key to the ongoing success of your business.
* Your business is newsworthy. Now is the time to give your business plenty of exposure by issuing a press release. If you have a new product line to announce, a new management member to introduce or an upcoming event, a press release is the perfect tool. Write your press release so it's newsworthy, not a blatant sales pitch or business ad.
You can promote a brief call to action at the end of the release to urge customers to visit your website or retail stores. Submit the release to your local paper and/or to an online site such as PRWeb or PRNewswire for greater national exposure.
* Get customers to invite you into their “personal” spaces. Write an informative weekly or monthly newsletter for customers. Web visitors have a tendency to visit sites, search for the items they need, purchase and click out of the sites. What happens after they leave your website? Unfortunately, you're out of sight and mind. Offer an opt-in newsletter subscription so buyers can subscribe to receive special offer notices and valuable tips. Best of all, your company stays fresh in consumers’ minds.
Now that the customer has invited you into his domain — i.e., his email inbox — on a weekly or monthly basis, here's a short list on what you can accomplish with a customer-based newsletter:
- keep customers informed on specials;
- provide company news and events;
- offer loyal customer coupon offers;
- print customer success stories using your product or service;
- offer tips on how to use your product;
- link to informative articles that can benefit your customers; and
- give customers a voice and let them offer feedback.
Giving your customers a voice provides an invaluable source of information for marketing purposes. Now, more than ever, is the time to listen to what your customers are saying about the services and products you provide.
* Did someone say free? Write and offer a “free” special report or pamphlet to customers. Have them download it off your website, or directly mail it to them. Everyone loves something free, and this establishes you as a knowledge leader in your field. For example, if you're an electrician, your pamphlet can be as simple as listing a few tips on avoiding electrical hazards.
Always make sure your free handout contains your complete company name and contact information such as address, phone number, website and email so you can be contacted. If they have to search for this information, you've lost the sale.
Instead of viewing tougher economic times as a glass half empty, try to see the glass as half full. Continue to fill it a drop at a time until you reach your goals. There are more opportunities out there than you think.
Denise McGill is a freelance catalog, web and promotional copywriter. You can reach her at denise@mcgillcopywriting.com or visit her website at www.mcgillcopywriting.com.
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