Good News Guide: Happiness is…Your Head in a Good Book

Let’s face it…January can be a bit bleak, can’t it? Our finances may have taken a post-Christmas hit, the weather’s still a bit cold and blustery, and there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot to look forward to other than waiting for Mr Sunshine to rear its cheery head again.

So, while I had grand plans to introduce this new ‘Good News Guide’ series on my blog as far back as spring last year (yes, really), I’m only getting round to it now. Better late than never, eh?

What is Good News Guide?

The clue’s in the name, really. It’s a series reserved for sharing only good things: positive news, fun stories and useful titbits that you can all use to make your January - and the rest of your year, to be fair - better. We could all do with some positivity in our lives from time to time - particularly during the last couple of years.

I’m open to receiving submissions from anyone who wants to share something good, too; just pitch your idea via email here.

Without further ado, then, let’s kick off Good News Guide with some book recommendations from Tanya at Settle-based Limestone Books.

Throughout the pandemic specifically, Tanya has been keeping the good people of England in great books - and giving a certain online, next-day delivery books website a run for its money.

I always like to hear about independent businesses doing their bit to put a smile on people’s faces - and I guessed that, since many of you may have set yourself a reading challenge or two for 2022, this first Good News Guide post is perfectly timed.

Here, Tanya shares her top five novels to make you happy this month and beyond…

Leonard and Hungry Paul

This book focuses on two friends who have a beautiful, quiet, and contemplative relationship. The conversations they have with each other and the people they mix with are very thoughtful and considered, and turn out to be very philosophical. You’ll all wish you had a Leonard or Hungry Paul in your life.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Although the lead character has a hard life, in a very poor area of the USA, you’ll feel uplifted by her ability to raise herself up to create a really special life for herself. It will make you believe that anything is possible, and to question what is justice.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

A hugely enjoyable book - just because you’ll love the character of Owen Meany so much. You’ll be totally engrossed in his story and life, and despite the difficulties he faces, you’ll still want to read right through to the end. It’ll make you forget your life and the world around you.

Tales of the City

Take a trip to 1970s San Francisco and get caught up in these characters’ lives. You’ll meet spaced out neighbours, go to outrageous parties, and watch as 25-year-old Mary Ann carves out a brand new life for herself, a million miles away from home.

Adrian Mole – The Cappuccino Years

Laugh out loud funny, Adrian has become a semi-celebrity chef, famous for making low-grade food fashionable. His parents have separated and are now having affairs with Pandora’s parents! Meanwhile, Adrian discovers a child he never knew he had as a result of a fling. Silly and farcical in equal measure.

Will you be adding any of these books to your reading list? A huge thank-you, once again, to Tanya for sharing these recommendations - and don’t forget to check out the Limestore Books’ site.

Until next time…

Psst: enjoy this first instalment of Good News Guide? Let me know via email or on Facebook. Plus, stay tuned for the next post in the series - coming soon!

"Why is no one reading my email newsletter?"

Seriously, though…why is no one reading my email newsletter?!

I don’t mean mine. I mean yours.

The above is a question I get asked a lot as a copywriter.

If you’ve built up a healthy mailing list, but the people on it don’t seem to be engaging with the stuff you send them, you may as well not bother. You’re just wasting your time - and theirs.

I know that’s a bit blunt, but I’ve learned the hard way.

I write marketing copy day in, day out - but I struggle to write my own newsletter. Maybe it’s because I’m ‘too close’ to it; maybe it’s because my mailing list is made up of a ‘hard-to-market to in a single email’ mix of clients, would-be copywriters, and friends and family.

I don’t always have time to write multiple versions of my monthly (or often bi-monthly, if I’m really busy) email, so I don’t - and I try (and fail) to hit the mark with content that makes everyone on that list sit up and take notice. Let’s face it, my Mum and Dad LOVE my email - whatever’s in it. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

My friends tell me they like it, because that’s what friends do. My clients might find some value in it from time to time, too - because it features a handful of hints and tips (and for free) on improving your website, or heck…even improving your email newsletter.

And would-be copywriters, they may enjoy it for the fact that it sometimes features a snapshot of my day-to-day life* as a copywriter - and who wouldn’t want to know that if they were also considering entering the industry?

Hint: it often involves a slice of cake or three.

So, why is no one reading your email newsletter? Here’s what I’ve learned…after much trial and error, because, yes, I write content for a living, but long copy - for websites, blogs and such like - is my forte. Snappy, clickbait-esque, subject line-driven content isn’t. Well, not always.

But the following will help you no end:

• Segment your audience - In Layman’s terms, this means splitting up your mailing list by ‘type’ of subscriber - in my case, friends and family might go in one; clients in another; and would-be copywriters in a third. Once you’ve segmented your audience, you can create content that’s perfectly targeted to them, thus creating a higher level of engagement. What that means to you is comments, shares, maybe people parting with their cash for your product or service. Have a look at the analytics section in your email newsletter platform of choice for some insights. If you haven’t yet started sending e-newsletters to your customers, I recommend Mailchimp - as it’s easy to use and free, too, providing your mailing list isn’t too massive.

• Add Value - Once you’ve segmented your audience, ‘give the people what they want’. No one wants to hear about you - and how you’re ‘so proud of the awards you’ve won’, etc, etc. They want to know why the fact you’ve bagged that award will benefit them. Instead of saying: ‘we’re raising a glass to our latest trophy’ - why not say: ‘You - our loyal customers - have helped us continue to do what we do. As a result, we’ve won this trophy, so we’d like to thank you by giving you 10% off your next spend with us.’ You know…that kind of thing. People don’t always want deals, though, they just want to know what’s in it for them.

• Track, Track, Track - Don’t just blindly send out your e-newsletter without giving its level of engagement a second thought. Once it’s out there, monitor its response via that analytics section - see what customers clicked on and which parts people didn’t like so much. If you include clickable links - to your site and elsewhere - in your email, you’ll have an idea which bit(s) of your content attracted the most people. If something worked, ask yourself why. If something didn’t, don’t dwell - move on from it; learn from your mistakes. e-marketing’s a marathon not a sprint. So grab your running shoes and slather your feet in talc.*

  *Nah, don’t do that. It won’t help a jot where content is concerned.

  But do try things - and if it doesn’t work, take it on the chin. Once you’ve hit on the magical email marketing formula - i.e. the content that gets people clicking on your content like it’s that proverbial hot cake - you’ll have a better understanding of your customers and your company.

  Want a freelance Yorkshire copywriter to write your email newsletter? Say hello via my site.

  Until next time…

Guest Blog Post: Famous Copywriters - and Why They're Great

When I was starting out as a writer, I was fortunate to have some great mentors who encouraged me along the way. The first was the news editor at the local newspaper I worked on; the second was the director of a former Leeds advertising agency.

I was treated to such a positive start to copywriting that I’m glad to be able to offer some help to would-be copywriters. So, when Douglas P Thorne got in touch, asking me if I’d be his mentor, I was happy to assist. Douglas was keen to write a blog post for my site and this is what he has come up with.

I’m impressed. I’m sure you’ll find it an interesting read, too. Take it away, Douglas…

“Free mentors…get your free mentors here!”

I mean…a lot of them aren’t around anymore, but let me explain. 

If copywriting were a religion, you better believe I’d be worshiping the copywriting gods. Ogilvy, Coleman, Blume…do those names ring any bells? If you’re not familiar with these legends, let me learn ya somethin’; these are the people that have created the commandments of copywriting you can use to succeed.

By studying the greats in this business, you can cut the learning curve in half and start raking in profits faster (and prove all your haters wrong).

Whether you’re just starting out or you have some experience under your belt, one thing rings true: if you wanna be the best, you better study the best. Let’s learn about the top five copywriters that people pay big bucks to study in ad school.

  David Ogilvy

“Don't bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.” 

David Ogilvy lived between 1911and1999 and is considered the father of advertising.
Everything that you need to know about connecting to the audience you’re selling to can be found in Ogilvy’s philosophies. His take on human behavior, consumer thinking, and product presentation revolutionized the way companies advertise.

Ogilvy on Advertising is a fantastic resource to utilize in your journey as a copywriter. Dove, Rolls Royce, Sears, and many other huge companies owe their success to this man.

Joseph Sugarman

“It's not whether you win or lose in life that's important but whether you play the game. Lose enough and eventually you will win. It's only a matter of time.”

Joseph was born in 1938 and is still alive today. My favorite philosophy of his is that the greatest writers are the greatest editors.

For him, it’s about writing your first draft, fixing it, and repeating the process until your copy is refined and
effective.  Joseph believes that in order to be a successful copywriter, you have to become an expert on what you’re trying to sell. Once you have every detail on the product, you can better connect to your audience.

His book, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, is a must-read for any aspiring or expert copywriter.

Gary Halpert

“Get yourself a collection of good ads and DM pieces and read them aloud and copy them in your own handwriting.”

Gary Halbert was born in 1938 and passed away in 2007. He’s known as an entrepreneur, direct mail tycoon, and a successful businessman.

He spent time in Boron jail in the ‘80s for tax evasion, but during his time there he wrote a series of letters to his son about how to succeed in direct mail marketing.

These letters were published and became famous for being basically the Bible for copywriters. They became
known as The Boron Letter and can be found online for free. Every copywriter should study these letters throughout their career to remind themselves of the fundamental principles of human behavior and selling.

Laurence Blume

“Everybody eventually discovers that they are an individual with the power to affect their own lives and make it better or not.”

If you want to see what a modern successful copywriter looks like, Laurence Blume is your man. Check out his
website to find his portfolio if you’re looking for what good copy looks like.

He’s completed projects for the BBC, Guardian, Maclaren and more. You’ve probably seen his work somewhere before and studying his portfolio is well worth your time.

John Carlton

“People who never risk anything suffer the worst anxiety of all.”

John's been called "the most respected and ripped-off copywriting wizard alive".

Early in his career, he actually worked for Gary Halbert – talk about finding a good mentor! He is known as being one of the first pioneers of using emails, blogs, and podcasts to advertise the products companies were selling.

His book, Kick Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel, is a must-read for anyone pursuing a career in copywriting.

These copy Titans know their stuff, so dust off the old notebook and get to schoolin’!

Studying what these greats preach can act as a shortcut for your success. Each has their own set of tools and resources that you can find in any copywriting course you’d pay top dollar for.  By no means will the road by short and easy, but it’ll be well worth it to learn about some of the greats.

Until next time…

Thank you very much to Douglas P Thorne for contributing this guest blog post

“Sue, You’re Shouting At Tea” — How Yorkshire Tea Dealt With An Extreme Twitterstorm - and How You Can Too

As you might know, I’m a tea drinker. There’s nothing better than a proper Yorkshire brew. In fact the only thing I like more than a decent cup of tea in the morning is a decent cup of tea in the afternoon, along with a slice of cake.

As far as I know, tea is a wonderful, warm beverage devoid of moral standpoints or political leanings. So colour me a biscuity-shade of surprised when I opened Twitter this week to find hundreds of thousands of
angry tweets about and directed to the Yorkshire Tea account.

It’s all based on a photograph somebody else had taken of their product in the hands of a politician. As a brand that stands firmly to their “we don’t discuss politics, we are tea” code of conduct, it’s been hard
for them to combat claims that they support the individual who took the photo, or the party they represent.

Some Twitter users have reached out to tell Yorkshire Tea that they are handling this situation incorrectly, and that they are disappointed with their support/denial of support of the individual and/or their party.

As you can see, it’s all gotten very confusing and ridiculous very quickly, and as a social media community manager, I can only imagine how stressful it has been to take care of Yorkshire Tea’s accounts this week. Although this response really made me chuckle:

Over the years there have been a number of social media storms that have caught brands out. The truth is, no matter what your content is, you can never tell what’s going to cause the next big controversy. Sometimes it can be as out of your control as a current event giving your planned hashtag a different meaning, and sometimes — as in Yorkshire Tea’s case — it might not even be something you did at all.

In light of this, here are my top tips on keeping things calm when your notifications are blowing up

Take Some Time Before Responding

Fires thrive when there’s oxygen around. Think of your crisis as a fire, and your attention is the oxygen. Every new Tweet or response you create will feed that fire, and thanks to the rapid speed at which information travels on the internet, soon it will become out of your control.

Before you react with an apology or a defence, take some time to think about why your customers or followers are unhappy. Talk to your teammates and put together a considered response that follows your corporate
guidelines. Then, once you’ve sent it, mute responses for a little while, so that the only response available is your official line.
Be Honest and Accountable

If you’ve made a mistake, hold your hands up. If you’re sorry, apologise. If you’ve done something silly, admit it. Nobody is perfect, not even a social media manager. If you’ve made a mistake, don’t try to muddle through it with a brave face. You’ll only damage your own reputation and that of the brand you’re representing.

Double check your plans to rectify the situation with your brand manager or team leader, and compose a post that shows your humility and/or the reality of the situation. After all: you are just a brand on social media, being made visible by a human being. There are limits to what you can do. Sometimes people need to be reminded of that.

Take Care Of Yourself

Being the subject of thousands of replies-worth of abuse online, even with the protective mask of a brand, takes a lot out of a person. It can be extremely upsetting, and in my experience even just a couple of
disgruntled individuals who got the wrong end of the stick can rattle your confidence for a little while.

Take some time out. Get a brew (or a hot chocolate if you’re the Yorkshire Tea manager — sorry, that’s not funny!) and a fairy cake. Go for a walk. Speak to your managers about how it’s affected you and what you think you need to do next to boost your confidence again.

And always remember — this isn’t about you. You are doing your best.

Make a Crisis Plan

The best way to nip any social media crises in the bud is to have a watertight crisis plan ready to be put into action at the earliest signs of trouble.

Work with the whole team to devise strategies That’ll help diffuse any difficult situations, and put together some posts ready to amend and use should the need arise.

Make sure you build in some community manager internet safety information and self-care techniques within the plan too. Everyone who has to deal with abuse online needs to know that there are structures in place
to keep them safe.

I hope this has helped to show you how important planning
for the unpredictable bad side of social media is. If you have any more tips, please do share them in the comments! And remember:

Until next time…

How To Gain More Customer Reviews

One of the most important marketing tools in the age of social media is the positive independent customer review. A five star review can mean the difference between a lead and a sale. A one star review can mean losing an all-important reservation.

Some customers love leaving positive reviews without being asked, but they’re in the minority. On the whole, it’s more likely that a customer will leave a review if they’re dissatisfied with the service they received or the products they’ve bought. The reasons for this include:

●      They want to air their grievances

●      They aren’t receiving adequate responses from customer service and desire urgent attention

●      They feel they should warn future customers about their experience.

There’s an old saying in the retail industry that I think applies here — one bad review is louder than five great ones. Whether it’s fair or not, people are far more likely to expect high quality service and would never think twice about praising a business for performing to the standard they expect. However, you’d better believe they’ll tell everyone who’ll listen if they were upset by something a business did.

But enough with the psychology of sales. What you want is more great reviews. So how do you encourage your satisfied customers to leave you a courtesy message? Here are some ideas…

Create a Reviews “Safe Space”

Customers tend to feel much more comfortable with writing reviews if they feel they’re writing them outside of your business’ metaphorical walls. That’s why people are far more likely to leave a detailed review somewhere like TripAdvisor than they are on your own website.

Direct your customers to an external reviews site like Yelp, or to somewhere they can leave a public review like Facebook or Google and remind them that there’s no obligation but that you’d really love their feedback.

Nudge and Remind in a Friendly Way

Gaining your customers’ contact details at the point of sale is incredibly valuable because it means you can keep in touch.

Of course if you like you can ask them how their week’s going, but honestly it would be much more useful for your business (and less creepy) if you asked them nicely how they rated your services and the product they purchased. You’ll be surprised how obliging they can be.

Reward Your Reviewers

Everyone likes a freebie. While you might not feel a review is worth giving a discount for, think about it this way: according to HubSpot, 85% of consumers trust online reviews are much as personal recommendations.

Your rewards don’t have to be huge. How about trying:

●      A free soft drink

●      A side order on any meal over £10 in value

●      10% off their next order

●      Free delivery code for their next order

●      A surprise gift for them and a friend they nominate.

Publicise the Positive Reviews You Receive

On the Internet, everybody wants clout. By sharing your positive reviews online you’re doing two things:

1. Showing your followers how great a real customer thinks you are

2. Proving that you publicise customer feedback to your audience.

If your customers are regular social media users, and they’re fans of your products or business, they’ll want to be showcased as a fan. Sharing their reviews is a great (and free!) way of giving something back to them!

Have you had some great experiences with customer reviews? I’d love to hear about them! Send me a message or comment below to tell me all about it.