Article writing Archives | The Professional Writer

March 15, 2021April 3, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to Write Client Success Stories

Mention the term ‘case study’ and most people’s eyes glaze over as their attention wanes. Simply by changing the title to ‘client success stories’, we take a whole new approach.

So, what is a client success story?

A client success story is an article or blog post that provides an insight into your customer experience.

A strong client success story:

Demonstrates your client experience
Shows how you deliver solutions and
Details the results you achieve for clients

Most client success stories also include a testimonial from a happy client. Third-party endorsements are so powerful in building the know, like and trust factor with prospective clients.

Why use client success stories?

Most people like to copy other people’s success. A story about how a customer used your product/service to solve a particular problem can help others to relate and connect.

Telling the customer’s story has the power to convert a prospect or lead to a customer. This does depend on where they are currently sitting on the know-like-trust-buy scale.

A client success story can also help educate your prospective customers and to set expectations of the level of service or quality you provide. It can also provide validation and acknowledgement of your team’s efforts, particularly when customers specifically mention them or the service they provide.

How to write a client success story

Select the right customer as your subject

A good starting place is a customer who has provided a testimonial about how happy they are with your product or service. Be sure to choose someone who has good knowledge of your product or service and you’re confident will say good things about your business.

Contact them and ask them whether they’d give their written permission for you to write a success story about them. Is your subject customer in business? Add a sweetener by offering to profile their business and provide a backlink to their website (this is great for boosting their search engine ranking).

Make it easy for your subject to participate

Put together a list of simple open-ended questions about your customer experience, such as:

What was the issue/problem/challenge you needed to solve?
How did you hear about us/find us?
How was your experience as our customer?
What made our product or service stand out from competitors?
Was there something in particular that made you choose us?
What was the outcome/result/benefit from our product or service?

You can choose to ask the questions via phone interview or email the list of questions to them. Ask which is more convenient for them. In our experience, most people are happy to answer a few quick questions over the phone. It’s important to take notes during the phone interview (or you can record it with the permission of the other party).

Write your story step-by-step

Create a strong, benefit-based headline. This is vital.
- For example: How X helped Y lose 10 kilos in 10 weeks, or Profits Skyrocket 10% in 3 months due to X.
Based on your interview notes, outline the story with an introduction/summary of the outcome you produced, followed by 3-4 paragraphs about the customer, what their problem/challenge was, how you helped them, their experience as your customer and the results or outcome they received.
It’s important to keep the story relatively short and concise. Use sub-headings and bullet points if you want to break up the text and make it easier to read.
Images and graphs can also help to demonstrate your points.
Once you’re happy with the draft, email it to your subject customer for their approval.
Ask them to email any changes and their approval back to you and keep a copy of this for your records.
You’ll need permission to use any of their images.

Remember, it’s a story, not a sales script. Simply by telling the story well, you are doing a soft sell for your product or service – and it’s not appropriate to do the hard sell in a story (that’s what advertising is for!).

If you don’t already have one, ask the customer to provide a testimonial – or ask permission to use one of the answers they gave in the questionnaire as a quote/testimonial. This adds considerable power to your story.

Publish

Once you and your customer are happy with the story’s content, publish your client success story as a blog post, an article in the local media or elsewhere online.

You can also add client success stories to your website under the Testimonials tab and/or link them to your Services pages.

Be sure to share your story – or a link to it – on your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and any other appropriate social media accounts. Ask others, including the subject customer, to share the story on their social media accounts as well. This helps promote your business to prospects and keeps you front of mind with existing and past customers who follow you.

Need Help to Write Client Success Stories?

At The Professional Writer, we write Client Success Stories for you. We usually prepare these stories in a batch, increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Our service includes:

A briefing chat with you or a representative of your business
An outline of the story
A phone interview with your subject customer
Writing the client success story on your behalf
Submitting the story for your approval – and your client’s approval
Finalising any changes required and delivering the completed copy in Word

* Do you plan to use your stories as blog posts? We can work with you to incorporate a keyword phrase to assist with your Googe/search engine ranking.

We have added several client success stories to our website. Here’s a link to the Award Submission Writing Stories. These sample stories are a short version. You can choose to include greater detail if you wish.

If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share them with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

Want to know more?

Hi, I’m Lyndall Guinery-Smith, business owner and chief word wrangler at The Professional Writer. My team and I write content dedicated to attracting and engaging your ideal clients … and improving your bottom line. This includes website content, capability statements, company profiles, team bios, business award nominations, blog post packages and more. We happily work with clients all over Australia. Email us to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project.

Stand Out from your competition with business storytelling, professional writer

March 1, 2021March 13, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to Stand Out from Your Competition

Are you happy to blend in with other similar businesses or would you prefer to stand out from your competition? You want to stand out, you say?! But how….? By tapping into the power of business storytelling.

Stories have the power to captivate, engage and connect with the reader. They can often move us to tears and may even persuade us to change our behaviour or opinion on a particular topic.

By telling the story of your business, your team and your customers, you can create and nurture relationships with your ideal clients. When written well, stories can help your prospective clients to know, like and trust you … then do business with you #winning.

Good stories can provide a significant competitive advantage because no-one else has the same story as you.

What makes a great story?

A story which details your or your customer’s journey is more likely to engage the reader and help your business stand out. In any compelling story, the main character – that’s you or your customer – needs to progress through several stages. It’s a good idea to provide some basic background information about the main character, the reasoning behind their choices and the conflict/problem resolved or the outcomes which occurred through using your product or service. It’s important to emphasise the resolution.

People like to emulate the success of others. So the story of how you helped a customer succeed will persuade other customers to come to you. That’s what business storytelling is all about.

How to Stand Out with a Great Story

Sit down with paper and pen – or a new document on your device – and jot down some information about your business and your team. Here are some suggestions to get you thinking:

How your business got started or why you bought the business
Tell the story of your brand and how it was developed
Describe your business philosophy and core values – and why they’re important to you
Tell how a customer used your product, step-by-step then how they benefited from it
The story of how you launched a new product (and why) – not just features and benefits
5 facts about each team member (so customers get to know them)
The story of how you helped a client overcome a particular problem
A client success story
How a mentor changed your life
How you helped change the life of a customer
Anything new or different happening in your business
An event you’re hosting or have recently held – or a charity you support
Tell a story about any media mentions you’ve received
Build a story around a testimonial from clients
Talk about your first customer and how they supported you
Tell the story of your biggest sale ever and how it came about

A Few More Tips to Help your Story Stand Out

Focus on one theme for each story.

Even though it’s business storytelling, be sure to always include the human element in your stories. If you’re telling a client success story, incorporate a comment from them about why they engaged your service or bought a product from you, or ask them to provide a testimonial (and get permission to use it in the article or post).

You can publish your story on your website, as a blog post or perhaps share it with the media as an article for external publication. You could also use your story as part of your About Us page or in promotional material for the business.

If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

Want to know more?

If you need further guidance on creating a compelling story based that makes your business stand out, we can assist with your storytelling requirements.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Building authority / Small Business Marketing 0 comments

January 4, 2021January 11, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Identify Your Ideal Clients – Expert Tips

When marketing our products or services, we’re often advised to target our ideal customers. It’s the most effective way to get more engagement. But firstly, you must identify your ideal clients, so you’ll know who you’re targeting.

You might be wondering … Isn’t everyone our target audience? Definitely not! Marketing experts agree that promoting your service or product to a specific audience helps save time, money and yields more sales. Rather than marketing to everyone with generic messages, you’re more likely to see results if you narrow your focus and target specific clients by addressing their pain points. Your marketing message must resonate with your ideal clients. You want the reader to say, “Yes, that’s me. I need your help!”

Client personas or avatars have long been utilised in successful marketing campaigns. They provide a clear picture of your exact target audience. Your persona or avatar is built around one person – your ideal client.

It’s important to note: Your ideal client is not your ONLY client, it is simply the type of person you prefer to do business with. You may have a different type of ideal client for each of your products or services.

Five questions to ask about your ideal clients

In an ideal world, what type of person would buy what you sell?
What keeps them awake at night? What are their pain points?
Where do they search for information to solve their issue/problem?
Which of their issues/problems do you solve?
How do you solve their problem/make their life better?

Gathering Information

Next, you’ll want to gather more information about the individuals you’re targeting.

If you’re an established business, you could start by reviewing your current client portfolio. Who are your Top 5 clients? What are their common characteristics? Why do they buy from you? What’s your point of difference in their eyes? How do they use your products or services?

You could also do a survey or ask your current clients questions in person. This is by far the most accurate way to find information about your clients.

If you’re a new business, think of a friend, relative or colleague who epitomises the type of clients you want to work with who would be your ideal client.

It helps to think of a name and some even use a stock photo to imagine what their ideal client looks like.

Demographics Help Identify Your Ideal Clients

Start a new document or grab a piece of paper and a pen. Under the heading, Our Ideal Client, list the demographics below:

Your ideal client’s age, gender, income, marital status and job
Where do they live, work, spend weekends?
Their typical behaviours, hobbies, interests, sports etc.
What are their goals and challenges?
Do you know what motivates them?
What do they aspire to?

Once you’ve answered all the above questions, you will have at least an outline of your ideal client persona/avatar. The avatar can be as detailed as you want. Develop a different persona for each of your products or services if the target audience is different. Do what works best for your business.

Why Having an Ideal Client Profile Matters

Let’s face it… there are some clients we covet and others we’d rather not deal with. It pays to target your marketing efforts towards your ideal clients. To maximise your marketing dollar, imagine you’re addressing your ideal client as though they’re standing in front of you. Address their problems or pain points. Lead with whatever they aspire to.

By directing your marketing message directly to your ideal clients, your message is more likely to resonate with them. This is much more effective than using a generalised message and hoping you’ll catch their attention.

Client personas can form a strong foundation for your marketing campaigns by connecting with and engaging the exact type of customers you wish to deal with. Imagine a long list of clients you love … sounds great, doesn’t it? Having a clear, targeted and effective marketing message starts with your ability to identify your ideal clients.

If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

in Article writing / General / Grow your business / Story angles 0 comments

December 30, 2020January 2, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Business Storytelling to Build Your Brand

When it comes to engaging your audience and building relationships with potential customers, stories sell! If you want your website content to get noticed, business storytelling can help.

What is business storytelling? It’s basically conveying useful information about your business within a narrative. Stories have the power to influence opinions and the attitude of the reader. A memorable story provides the opportunity to entertain, educate and sell to your prospects, while building trust and forming a connection with them.

Gone are the days of writing content or a blog post which is solely about you and your business. Readers connect with stories much more than dry, boring content full of corporate speak. Your prospective customers want to know who you are and how you do business, and storytelling provides the ideal opportunity to convey those messages.

Business Storytelling 101: Start with your Brand Story

Creating an engaging and informative brand story is the ideal first step in successful business storytelling.

A good story contains: Characters, conflict and resolution. Through effective storytelling, you can outline who you are, who you serve, your business approach to business and the outcomes you produce for your clients. Make your client the central character in your story.

What’s your brand story? Do you have one? Is it strong? If not, think about:

Why you started your business – Who came up with the idea for the business? What circumstances led to the business being launched?
What challenges and triumphs have you experienced?
Who are the people behind your business?
What does your business stand for?
What are your business values and how are you different from competitors?
Who are your ideal customers?
What is your “customer experience”?
What are the outcomes you achieve for your clients?

How’s Your ‘About Us Page’ Looking?

Take a critical look at your About Us page. Does it accurately and authentically convey your brand story? HINT: If it starts with “Our company was founded in ….”, you’re doing it wrong!

Instead of writing a boring company history, tell the story of your brand with your reader/customer as the central focus. You want them to feel as though they are your reason for being in business. Talk about how you help people and how you’re driven to continually improve your level of service or product range to help customers. Be sure to clearly articulate “what’s in it for them”.

Using Case Studies for Business Storytelling

Case studies are the perfect way to illustrate how your products or services help your clients. Case Studies can be located on a tab within your navigation pane, or they can be incorporated into your website as blog posts.

Your case studies should revolve around how you helped one of your clients, and the problem you solved for them. To make your story compelling, demonstrate decisions being made, action being taken and problems being resolved, with a happy outcome.

Start by painting a picture of what life was like BEFORE, outline the client’s issue, then detail the potential outcomes you offer. Next you can show why the client chose that particular option, then take the reader through each step towards reaching the desired outcome.

This is an opportunity to demonstrate your UVP or Unique Value Proposition – it’s what sets you apart from your competitors. Anyone can talk about the features and benefits of their product or service but demonstrating HOW you help your customers can truly make you stand out.

Readers want to see your client experience in action, to understand how you operate and to see what the outcome of your product or service is. Back this up with a testimonial from your happy client – third party endorsement is GOLD – and you’re on a winner. Readers LOVE success stories – they want the same success for themselves.

Authenticity is Essential

Whether you’re writing website content, blog posts or your brand story, make sure you’re being authentic. You can’t just make s*%t up!

Particularly since COVID-19 hit, we’ve seen more businesses and business owners opening their workplaces and homes to us via Zoom. We’ve gained an unprecedented insight into how businesses operate and how their owners live. This has inspired consumer desire for more businesspeople to be real and open, rather than cold and corporate.

Try not to simply paint a picture of what you think your readers want to hear and see. It’s important to make sure your story accurately captures the true essence of your business, that it’s relatable, transparent and real.

Connections are Key

The most effective business storytelling makes your readers FEEL something and establishes an emotional connection with your brand. That feeling can evolve into brand loyalty.

Once your prospect has read your story and felt that feeling, be clear on what you want them to do next. Why not invite them to connect with you via social media or email? This is a lot less risky than pulling the hard sell on them at an early stage in your relationship. Of course, this will depend on what type of product or service you offer.

Need help with your business storytelling? We can collaborate with you on your brand story, website content/About Us page, case studies, blog posts or a business award nomination. We’d love you to email us and let us know how we can help you get started.

If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Award nomination writing / Building authority / Business Awards / Grow your business / Story angles 0 comments

Communication tips, how to connect with your ideal customer, professional writer

November 26, 2018August 14, 2020 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Top 5 attention-grabbing communication tips

Connecting with your ideal clients isn’t always as straightforward as you’d like it to be. The following communication tips will help you craft your message so it’s more likely to attract the attention of those elusive prospective customers!

Tip 1: Know your target customers

How do we get to know people? We ask questions – and REALLY listen to their answers. Find out as much as you can about exactly who your ideal customers are. Get to know their age, gender, marital status, spending habits, likes and dislikes, etc.

What keeps them awake at night? Identify their problem/s
How can you tap into their problem and offer a solution?
What motivates them to buy?

Tip 2: Know where to find your prospects

It’s important to know where your ideal customers hang out. If you send your message on the wrong channel, they’ll miss it and you’ll be disappointed that you’ve wasted valuable time and money investing in the wrong marketing. Take the time to get to know …

Where do your customers look for information?
Which social media channels are they active on?
How do they prefer to receive communication from you? Is it email, text message, newsletters, social media posts, etc.

Tip 3: Understand some people need nurturing before they buy

Not all your ideal customers will be ready to buy the first time they hear your marketing message. In fact, most people won’t buy when they first hear about your business. This is why it’s important to be persistent and consistent with our marketing messages.

One of the most important, and often overlooked, communication tips is that we need to build the “know, like and trust factor” first. This is where social media can be particularly useful.

Thanks to social media and email marketing, we can connect with prospects more effectively and frequently
Tap into these resources to form a connection with your prospects
Be aware of the Rule of 7 – where prospects need to see/hear your message at least 7 times before they commit to buying from you

Tip 4: Give them a reason to connect with you

Do you like being “sold to”? Most people don’t, so why would you do it to your customers? You need to give them a good reason to connect with you. Your message also needs to be tailored and clearly expressed to capture their attention.

Share useful content and relevant information
Invite them to join your community – everyone loves to belong
Offer loyalty discounts or special offers to your community members
Offer them a bonus if they introduce a friend or family member

Tip 5: Connect, don’t sell!

You will only build a strong connection with your customers by adding value, not through selling to them. It’s important to provide information which helps them in some way, but at the same time, it can allow them to understand more about your business and why you’re the best choice for your product or service.

Craft stories that evoke an emotional connection with your brand
Share client success stories – everyone loves good news
Use videos of you, your team and your customers
Illustrate your expertise and that of your team
Remember it’s SOCIAL media – share, don’t be pushy or hard sell
Build your profile as an industry expert

If you successfully adopt these communication tips, there’s no need to sell. Your ideal customers will be lining up to buy from you!

Lyndall Guinery-Smith, owner of The Professional Writer

Hi, I’m Lyndall Guinery-Smith, business owner and chief word wrangler at The Professional Writer. My team and I write content dedicated to attracting and engaging your ideal clients … and improving your bottom line. This includes website content, capability statements, company profiles, team bios, business award nominations, blog post packages and more. We happily work with clients all over Australia. Email us to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Building authority 0 comments

April 4, 2018January 11, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to Write to Engage your Readers

Want to know more about writing to engage your readers?

Whether you’re writing marketing materials, blog posts or a company profile to promote your business, one of the first things to consider is … Who is your audience? Who will read what you’re writing?

While your message may be the most important thing you wish to convey, unless you think about how you can engage readers, your message may not hit its intended target.

Identify your audience

Think about who you are writing the information for and then tailor the content to your intended audience. Get to know and understand the group of people you’re targeting. What are their fears, desires and aspirations in terms of your product or service? Your text needs to appeal to these aspects.

What does your audience need to know? What do they already know?

Once you’re clear on who you’re targeting with your message, you need to be more specific. Firstly, identify the knowledge levels your intended audience has on the topic you’re presenting … are they beginners, intermediate or advanced? This will determine the level of information to be conveyed in the document.

What’s your message?

Exactly what is the message you wish to convey and what is the outcome you require? If you clearly identify this upfront, your document or post will have a clear direction. It will also be much easier to outline the content you need to include.

Create useful content

Whatever your message is, the content you create MUST be interesting and useful to your target audience without sounding too “salesy”. It’s important to focus on your audience’s needs, yet craft the words in a way which also helps achieve the outcome you require.

Which communication channel should you use?

Consider where your intended audience gathers their information from. Are they more likely to read a printed publication, a blog post on your site, a guest post on a well-known industry website, a social media post, advertising or marketing materials, company profile or any other message which represents you and your business to the marketplace? You’ll get more people to read your information if it’s easy for them to find it in the first place. You’re also more likely to connect with your ideal client if you turn up in the right place.

Formatting

Most people are time-poor and many of us scan rather than reading every word. Make your document or post easy to read.

Wherever possible, use headings, paragraphs, bullet points or numbered lists to break things up. Bold text or CAPITALS are great for emphasising an important point. Colour can also be used to highlight particular sections or points of interest to your audience. Or you can use formatting to Highlight some text in a blog post.

Use visuals!

Think about it – do you look at the pictures, video or graphics when you read an article or document? Use images which the reader can relate to and which support the point you’re making, such as the picture below. Visuals are really helpful in illustrating your point and can help solidify the message in the reader’s mind.

Edit, edit, edit

This might sound like really basic advice, but we all make mistakes! Before you publish, be sure to edit your article or document. This includes spellcheck, scanning for typos and correcting any grammatical errors. These can easily be overlooked, particularly when you spend quite a bit of time on a document. Ask a colleague, friend or family member to read your document before you hit that publish button.

Does your document engage readers?

Before uploading, read back over your document or post again to check that you’ve included all the relevant information. Is it in a logical order? Is the document is easy to read? It’s easy to overlook small details, especially when you’ve been working on a document for a while and you may have rearranged the order of the information.

Does the document or post achieve the outcome you stated at the beginning?

Be sure to make the final tweaks, then PUBLISH!

I hope you’ve found these writing tips useful in helping to engage readers and connect with your intended audience.

Are you making these mistakes when writing blog posts?

Writing blog posts is something many people enjoy, while others just don’t know how to get started and would rather do anything but write a blog post. There are a few blog post mistakes you may wish to avoid.

When it’s done well, blogging is a great way to build your profile and be seen as an expert in your industry. However, you can so easily detract from the way your business is perceived if you get it wrong – and that’s not the outcome anyone wants.

If writing blog posts is challenging for you, it may be because you’re making some classic mistakes. Below, you’ll find an outline of the most common mistakes – and how to fix them.

The top 10 blog post mistakes people make are:

1. Failing to plan and outline before writing

Rather than staring at a blank screen, waiting for inspiration, it’s a good idea to plan out your topic and the main points you want to make before you start writing. Some people find this easier to do with pen and paper, rather than on a screen – just do what works for you.

Not sure where to start with your outline? Once you have a topic in mind, try writing it in the middle of the page, then draw 6 lines coming out from the central topic and write one of the following headings on each line: Who, what, where, when, why and how. Then explore each of these and write notes next to the headings. This will give you an outline.

2. Not thinking about your reader

The most important thing for you to consider is – who is my reader? This is one of the first things to think about when planning your blog post. After all, you’re writing the post for them, aren’t you? What level of understanding of the topic does the reader have? What questions do you need to answer for them?

3. Using jargon or buzz words

Readers may not be familiar with your industry terms and the jargon you use. Unless your article will only be read by those working in your industry, don’t use jargon or buzz words unless you explain them. Use language the everyday person will understand.

4. Not correcting spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes

While spelling, punctuation and grammar might seem like boring topics, they’re important if you want to make a good impression on your reader. Mistakes not only make a blog post difficult to read, they can make you look unprofessional and inefficient. It’s often difficult to see your own errors, so be sure to ask another person to read your blog post before you submit it or hit the publish button.

5. Not correcting typos

Typographical errors, or typos, as they are more commonly known, are another avoidable issue which can make you look unprofessional. Again, it can be difficult to see your own typos, so ask a colleague to check your work before sending it out.

6. Posting paragraph after paragraph of text

Keep paragraphs short, sharp and straight to the point
Use headings, bullet points or numbered lists to break up text
Insert images where appropriate
Use numbering or bullet points to break up big chunks of text

7. Using too many different fonts

Using a larger font for headings and sub-headings is fine, but try not to use more than two different fonts throughout your blog post if you want to make a good impression on your reader.

8. Rambling on

Everyone is time-poor. If you can convey your message in fewer words, do it! Your readers will thank you for it. If you think readers will have further questions at the end of the blog post, add a link or your email address. A call to action at the bottom of your post invites readers to contact you and provides a further opportunity to engage them in a conversation and potentially do business together.

9. Forgetting to use images or diagrams

Some readers are visual, so images and diagrams can enhance the reader’s understanding of your topic. Visuals also help to break up large chunks of text. It’s a good idea to use at least one image or diagram per blog post.

10. Not tying into your brand

Every blog post is an opportunity to reinforce your brand by portraying your company’s approach to business or your “brand essence”. Be sure the topic and your post are in alignment with the way you do business.

I hope these tips are helpful to those struggling with writing blog posts. If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

You may also enjoy – 5 ways to generate blog post ideas – How to set up a simple blogging schedule – 21 blog post ideas for small business owners

Hi, I’m Lyndall Guinery-Smith, The Professional Writer. I write copy dedicated to attracting and engaging your ideal clients … and improving your bottom line. I happily work with clients all over Australia. Email me to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project. Or if you’d like to learn how to connect with your audience and build your business, why not input your email address and receive my regular marketing updates in your mailbox? You can sign up for our mailing list at the base of the Home Page on www.ProfessionalWriter.com.au.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Small Business Marketing 0 comments

Top 5 ways to generate blog post ideas for business, blogging for business, attracting business with your blog, professional writer, business blog writing, blog article ideas, Lyndall Guinery-Smith

March 29, 2017January 11, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Get customers to like you – 7 top tips

So, you want to know how to get customers to like you and your business? Here’s the lowdown…

These days, every business should have an online presence, because the first thing a prospective customer does is Google you! The purpose of your company’s website is to introduce your business, your products or services and to influence prospects to know, like and trust you … then they will be more likely to buy from you. This process can be somewhat challenging – but don’t worry, this post is here to help you!

This is the second article in a three-part series which will help you boost your “Know, like and trust factor”.

Once your prospective customers or current customers have found you online, your site’s content provides the opportunity to get to know all about you. It should also influence readers or prospective customers to like you and your business. I’m not just talking Social Media “likes” here, I’m talking about your prospects having an affection for you and/or your business. People buy from those they know, like and trust.

Here are 7 tips to get customers to LIKE you and your business:

Be human, be real, be authentic
This is the most important part of building a positive relationship with prospective customers. Treat people the way you’d like to be treated. Be nice! Most people can spot a fake, and that just turns them off, causing them to click away faster than lightning, so make sure everything you post or write online is what you’d say to your customers face-to-face. Don’t try to copy what others are doing if it doesn’t portray the true essence of your own brand identity.
Tell your story
Take the time to explain how your business started, where you’ve come from, and where you’re headed. This will help you build rapport with readers and lay the foundations for a relationship of trust. The About Us page is the second most clicked page on most sites, after the Home Page. It’s important to fill your About Us page with your story, telling it in a succinct yet interesting way that demonstrates your passion. Be sure to include photos of your premises and/or team members where appropriate.
Be seen
Most people like to know the face behind the name. Use photos to show who you are and portray a friendly and approachable image. Use video to allow people to get to know you better, and to demonstrate your products, services and expertise.
Listen
Ask questions and deliver answers to your customers as a great way to build rapport with them. Always aim to add value. Social media can be a brilliant way to interact with prospects and answer their queries in a helpful and polite manner.
Contribute to the conversation
Share content and promote other people, then they will be more likely to share yours. Sharing also helps promote your profile and expertise.
Show your genuine appreciation
Monitor your online accounts. Responding to comments and thanking those who share your posts also goes a long way towards influencing people to like your business. If a prospect takes the time to comment on your post or ask a question, this offers you the opportunity to start a relationship with them. If you don’t respond to comments, the customer may feel that you are simply disinterested in them and their business.
DON’T SELL
Nobody likes to be sold to, particularly straight up. Focus on providing value to build relationships before asking for a sale online. We are less likely to commit to buying from someone we don’t know, so take your time building rapport first and earn the right to ask for the sale. Remember that social media is SOCIAL, not selling media!!
Sure, everyone likes to know if you’re offering discounts or a special promotion, but please don’t spam your prospects with constant BUY! BUY! BUY! messages.
I’ve seen a variety of ratios, which are either 80/20 or 90/10. This means 90% of your content and posts should be adding value and sharing knowledge, with only 10% of content asking prospects to buy. If you’re clever (or you have a good writer!), your posts will clearly demonstrate the value of your product or service so that people will be lining up to buy as soon as they finish reading your post.

These are just a few tips to get you to help you get customers to like you and your business. The next post in this series will explore “How to build trust online”.

Hi, I’m Lyndall Guinery-Smith, The Professional Writer. I have a strong background in small business management and helping businesses to build their “Know, like and trust” factor.

I love to write copy dedicated to attracting and engaging your clients, and improving your bottom line, and I happily work with clients all around Australia. Email me to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Building authority / Small Business Marketing 0 comments

Attract more business, Grow your business in 2017, professional writer, website content, website writer, copywriter, small business marketing, Lyndall Guinery-Smith

November 30, 2016January 11, 2021 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Attract more business in 2017

Want to attract more business in the New Year? Yes? How’s your website looking? Will your site help or hinder your business growth?

For most people, the first point of contact is Google. Have you tried a web search on your business name? What does your digital footprint say about your business? What do your potential customers find when they land on your website?

Perception is reality, until proven otherwise.

How do your prospective customers perceive you?

Did you know, that up to 75% of a new customer’s buying decision is already made by the time you speak with them or meet them? Their position is based on their perception of you which comes from the information about you online and what they know about your brand.

The content on your website has the power to either engage the reader and influence them to do business with you. Alternatively, it can make your competitors look good! The good news is, it’s your website, so you have the power to change and update the information and the way your brand is portrayed.

Following are 9 ways your website content can help attract more business:

Make information easy to find

When people land on your site, they’re usually seeking specific information, such as an answer to their problem or they simply want to know more about you. Make it easy for readers to find the information and ensure it’s clear and concise – we’re all busy and it’s so easy to click away from boring content.

Express yourself in a genuine, authentic way

For the majority of businesses, the days of stuffy, jargon-filled website content are long gone. Portraying your authentic brand and showcasing the way you do business goes a long way towards making your brand stand out. We all prefer to do business with people we know, like and trust. Ensure your website helps readers to know, like and trust YOU.

Building relationships is key

Offer the opportunity for readers to engage with you by joining your email list or interacting on social media. It’s best to offer more than one option to get more engagement.

Demonstrate you have the skills they need

If someone is looking for a particular skill, they need to feel assured that you’re great at what you do. Just some of the ways you can demonstrate your skill are: show samples of your work, photos, video, before/after shots, case studies and blog posts.

Consistency is vital for top of mind awareness

Posting regularly is important, whether that is daily, weekly or fortnightly. Make it regular so your readers know what to expect and when to expect to see it. Posting regularly also creates a perception that you’re reliable and you actually turn up when you say you will.

Position yourself as an industry expert

Website content and regular blog posts on specific topics can help to cement your position as an expert in your field. We like to deal with those who know what they’re talking about. Share useful information that your readers can put into practice. People love getting something for free. Remember, you’re building trust so that they will be ready and willing to buy in the future. This is an important step to attract more business.

Outline the key features and benefits of buying your products and choosing your services

A lot of websites assume the reader already has an in-depth knowledge of the products and services on offer. It’s always best to provide at least the key features and benefits – this is your sales spiel. Providing this information, expressed in a convincing tone, could easily sway the buyer in your favour. Ask yourself: What would I say to the reader if I were face-to-face with them?

Establish rapport with your prospective clients

Your website is an ideal way to introduce yourself and offer your readers an insight into your business. It takes time to build a relationship, but if you treat visitors well and provide them with quality information, you do build rapport and establish trust.

Show your customers why you’re better than your competitors

You can use your website to demonstrate your competitive advantage. What makes you different to your competitors? Of course, you don’t want to sound boastful about your own accomplishments or negative about your competitors, but it’s important to outline your strengths too.

Updating your website content or setting a regular blog posting schedule can definitely enhance the way your business is portrayed in your potential customer’s eyes.

If you’re looking to attract more business in 2017, now is the time to review and update your website. Should you need assistance with writing fresh content or regular blog posts for your site, please feel free to contact me for a chat.

If you found these tips helpful, please like and/or share with your business associates or LinkedIn connections.

Hi, I’m Lyndall Guinery-Smith, The Professional Writer. I write copy dedicated to attracting and engaging your customers – and improving your bottom line. I happily work with clients all around Australia. Email me to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project. Or if you’d like to learn how to connect with your audience and build your business, why not input your email address and receive my regular marketing updates in your mailbox? You can sign up for our mailing list at the base of the Home Page on www.ProfessionalWriter.com.au.

in Article writing / Article writing help / Grow your business / Small Business Marketing / Web writing tips 0 comments

Article writing

So, what is a client success story?

Why use client success stories?

How to write a client success story

Select the right customer as your subject

Make it easy for your subject to participate

Write your story step-by-step

Publish

Need Help to Write Client Success Stories?

Want to know more?

What makes a great story?

How to Stand Out with a Great Story

A Few More Tips to Help your Story Stand Out

Want to know more?

Five questions to ask about your ideal clients

Gathering Information

Demographics Help Identify Your Ideal Clients

Why Having an Ideal Client Profile Matters

Business Storytelling 101: Start with your Brand Story

How’s Your ‘About Us Page’ Looking?

Using Case Studies for Business Storytelling

Authenticity is Essential

Connections are Key

Tip 1: Know your target customers

Tip 2: Know where to find your prospects

Tip 3: Understand some people need nurturing before they buy

Tip 4: Give them a reason to connect with you

Tip 5: Connect, don’t sell!

Identify your audience

What does your audience need to know? What do they already know?

What’s your message?

Create useful content

Which communication channel should you use?

Formatting

Use visuals!

Edit, edit, edit

Does your document engage readers?

The top 10 blog post mistakes people make are:

1. Failing to plan and outline before writing

2. Not thinking about your reader

3. Using jargon or buzz words

4. Not correcting spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes

5. Not correcting typos

6. Posting paragraph after paragraph of text

7. Using too many different fonts

8. Rambling on

9. Forgetting to use images or diagrams

10. Not tying into your brand

Are you wondering how to generate blog post ideas for your business site?

1. What do your customers want to know?

2. Explain how your product or service works – How does it solve their problem

3. Elaborate on testimonials or feedback from clients – what you’ve done well

4. Profile a customer, detail their journey with a case study

5. Tell your story

Here are 7 tips to get customers to LIKE you and your business:

Be human, be real, be authentic

Tell your story

Be seen

Listen

Contribute to the conversation

Show your genuine appreciation

DON’T SELL

Want to attract more business in the New Year? Yes? How’s your website looking? Will your site help or hinder your business growth?

Perception is reality, until proven otherwise.

Following are 9 ways your website content can help attract more business:

Make information easy to find

Express yourself in a genuine, authentic way

Building relationships is key

Demonstrate you have the skills they need

Consistency is vital for top of mind awareness

Position yourself as an industry expert

Outline the key features and benefits of buying your products and choosing your services

Establish rapport with your prospective clients

Show your customers why you’re better than your competitors