Small Business Marketing

 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

  1. 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).

  1. 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).

  1. 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.

  1. 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?

Lyndall Guinery-Smith, owner of The Professional Writer, business 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 / Grow your business / Story angles / Web writing tips 0 comments
Win an Australian Business Award 2021, award writer
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to win an Australian Business Award in 2021

If you want to raise the profile of your business, one of the most effective strategies is to enter an Australian Business Award in 2021.

This year is the ideal time to celebrate your achievements, to acknowledge how you’ve overcome recent challenges, to reinforce your profile as an industry thought leader or to highlight your success to date. Entering a business award is also a great way to acknowledge and reward the efforts of your team members.

It should be noted that you actually need to achieve something noteworthy to win an award. This includes business success, but it also encompasses areas outside your business. These might include mentoring up-and-coming leaders in your industry, contributing to your local community or supporting a charity.

Start Preparing Now

Hastily prepared submissions rarely win. Don’t wait until the deadline is looming. To prepare your winning submission, you’re going to need a lot of information. Start collating relevant information now. It’s important to be able to answer every question and address all the judging criteria, so having the information to hand will be a great help.

As experienced business awards writers with a strong track record of finalists and winners to date, we’ve put together the following tips to guide you on the path towards winning a business award this year.

Which Australian Business Award should you enter?

Start by checking out the list of awards we’ve compiled for you. If you’ve never entered a business award before, we suggest you start with your local Chamber of Commerce awards or local community awards.

Does your industry offer awards? The real estate industry is a great example of choice, with the REB Awards, REI state and national awards, and The AREAs on offer. The engineering and insurance industries also offer a range of awards within each state and nationally.

Identify your strengths. Are you strong in sales growth, leadership, customer service, community support or innovation? Select awards where the categories match your strengths. This is very important, as there’s no point in entering a category which doesn’t highlight your strengths.

Top Tips for Winning an Australian Business Award in 2021

  • Think about how you demonstrate leadership in your business, your community and your industry
  • Find a meaningful way to make a contribution to your local community with your time, donations or both
  • Proactively increase your business’ positive reviews and testimonials by targeting happy clients – perhaps offer a discount voucher or entry into a prize draw in return for their feedback
  • Create a swipe file to store your achievements, testimonials/reviews, statistics and anything else which could support your award submission
  • Ensure your website content is up to date and free from any spelling or grammatical errors
  • Prepare, prepare, prepare!
  • By following the above tips, you’ll be ready to collate a strong submission which highlights your achievements.

Preparing a submission for winning an Australian business award is an involved process. It requires an investment of time and effort. Take the time to start putting together the above information now. It will serve you well when it comes time to collate and submit your entry.

Need some professional help?

It’s often easier to engage an expert to help guide you through the process. Our experienced team can provide input into both strategy and content to highlight your strengths.

We have a 93.75% strike rate for clients becoming either finalists or winners in their selected business award category. We’re really proud of that!

If you’d like to discuss how you can win an Australian Business Award in 2021, we’d be happy to chat. Simply click onto the Contact page to set up a time for a complimentary 15-minute discovery session – https://www.professionalwriter.com.au/get-in-touch/.

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

Lyndall Guinery-Smith, owner of The Professional Writer, business writerHi, 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 business award submissions, website content, capability statements, team bios, blog post packages and much more. We happily work with clients all over Australia. Email us to arrange an obligation-free discussion about your latest project.  

in Award nomination writing / Building authority / Grow your business 0 comments
Write an authentic About Us page, website writing tips, Professional writer
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to Write an Authentic About Us Page

Have you read your own website content lately? Can you confidently say your business has an authentic About Us page… One which truly represents your business and engages your potential clients? Does your content clearly show the outcomes you achieve for your clients?

Hold on a minute … isn’t the About Us page all about OUR business?

Well, yes .. and no.

Your About page is About US – referring to your business AND your ideal customers. If your page only outlines your company history and solely talks about your business in a “Me, me, me” way, you’re doing it wrong!

Why do you need an About Us page?

Who is reading your website? Prospective customers? The purpose of your website is to inform the reader and begin to establish a relationship with them. An authentic About Us page is the most important first step in building those relationships.

People do business with people they know, like and trust. Writing an authentic About Us page calls for the business owner to look a little deeper. Your reader wants to read more than just a boring company history.

When prospective customers land on your website, they will click on the About page to find out who is behind the business. But they don’t just want to know about you and your team, they want to know how you solve their problem/s.

How do you write an authentic About Us page?

Firstly, think about your audience. Who is your ideal customer? Who are you targeting with your content? Once you know who you’re speaking to and what their needs are, you can write your content to connect with that particular type of customer.

An authentic About Us page will truly engage your prospective customers. To achieve this, your page must detail:

  • The PEOPLE behind the business – provides transparency (be sure to include photos of your team)
  • Your experience and background in the industry – helps establish trust
  • The core values of your business – helps you connect with readers who share those values
  • How you help your customers – WIIFM?
  • What’s your customer experience? What should people expect when dealing with you?

Being authentic is about knowing the core values of your business and targeting customers whose values align with your own.

How can an About Us page facilitate business success?

It’s a fact – relationships are the cornerstone of long-term business success. Building connections and quality, authentic relationships is key. To achieve this, you’ll need a well-written, authentic About Us page which outlines your story and clearly demonstrates the benefits in dealing with your business.

Trust is the basis of all relationships. If you’re overselling yourself and not being authentic in your About Us page content, readers will quickly identify this. If you want to establish a genuine connection and develop an enduring relationship with readers, be truthful and be human.

One of Australia’s top business coaches, Angela Henderson, talks about “Human to Human Marketing”. H2H marketing is all about the art of making a legitimate connection between the people behind your business and the people you serve. H2H suggests seeing your customers as humans first and then as customers. People come before transactions.

What type of interaction do you offer your customers? Is there an opportunity to have a conversation with you? What’s your customer journey?

Your ability to connect with your readers will help you stand out and start to build those quality relationships. And it all starts with an authentic About Us page.

Need help writing an outstanding About Us page? We collaborate with you to learn about your business and then write content which captures the true essence of your business while engaging your ideal customers.

Want to know more?

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

Lyndall Guinery-Smith, owner of The Professional Writer, business 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.  

 

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy these:

How to write an engaging About Us page

How to write an About Us page which wins more business

About Us page tips for Startups 

 

in Building authority / Grow your business / Small Business Marketing / Web writing tips 0 comments
Business awards for Australian businesses, enter business awards, award winning tips, professional awards writer
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Business Awards for Australian Business Owners

Which Business Awards will you enter this year?

Want to explore a new way to make your business stand out this year? Entering a business awards program is a great way to:

  • Be recognised for your efforts
  • Showcase your business innovation and
  • Acknowledge the success you and your team have achieved

Becoming an awards finalist or winning an award certainly raises your profile!

Will this be the year you enter and win an award?

The process of compiling your entry can be quite illuminating. It presents you with the opportunity to thoroughly review your business achievements and potentially highlight some areas which may require innovation or future development.

Now is a great time to identify which awards are the best fit for your business and industry so you don’t miss the application deadline.

Check out these awards for Australian Small Business Owners

Start local?

If you’ve never entered your business in an awards program, you might like to consider starting in your local area. There is a raft of local and state awards, many of which start with Chamber of Commerce or local Council awards for business excellence. The winners of some of these awards then go up to complete at a state level, such as the NSW Business Chamber Awards – https://www.businessannualawards.com.au/Home.

There’s also the Local Business Awards, which cover Greater Sydney and some regional areas such as the Hunter and Central Coast regions – https://thebusinessawards.com.au/

Industry awards

You could also consider entering industry awards which are specific to areas such as real estate, engineering, insurance, construction, IT and many more. Your industry’s professional body is the first port of call for industry-specific awards.

National awards

The Telstra Business Awards are seen as Australia’s most prestigious awards for business. These awards help small to medium-sized businesses to gather, explore their dreams and celebrate their achievements. Entries usually open in March, but check their website for updates – https://www.telstrabusinessawards.com/

Telstra Businesswomen’s Awards celebrate outstanding, successful and inspiring women who do business differently – https://www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com/

The Australian Business Awards recognise businesses which demonstrate the core values of innovation, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, experience management, business sustainability, product and technology innovation via a set of comprehensive award categories. https://winners.australianbusinessawards.com.au/

The Australian Small Business Champion Awards recognise the achievements and hard work of Australia’s most outstanding small businesses. Entries usually open in November and close in early February  – https://businesschampions.com.au/about

My Business Awards celebrates small to medium business owners, showcasing their talents and the level of excellence they have achieved in their industry. Entries for this award usually open in August or September each year, but please check their website for updates each year – https://www.mybusiness.com.au/my-business-awards/

Need help writing your business awards entry?

You know you’ve achieved a great deal in your business, but perhaps the awards application process seems a little daunting… Need help? Check out this post – How to Write a Winning Business Award Nomination – https://www.professionalwriter.com.au/winning-a-business-award-9-professional-tips/.

Once you’ve decided on the award you wish to enter, be sure to register and check out the awards criteria. Note the closing date (don’t leave it too late to get your entry in!).  It’s a good idea to tackle one question at a time where longer answers are required.

Email us if you need help with writing an application which truly underlines your success, celebrates your achievements and stands out to the judging panel. We offer a combination of coaching, helpful tips and writing or editing your entry. We currently have a 93.75% success rate for clients becoming either finalists or winners in their chosen award.

 

Lyndall Guinery-Smith The Professional WriterHi, 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 Business Awards / Small Business Marketing 0 comments
Winning a business award, business award tips, professional awards writer
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

Winning a business award – 9 professional tips

When you decide to enter a business award, naturally you want to win. To achieve this goal, you need to have what it takes to win – including writing a winning business award entry. Following are a few tips designed to help you through the process towards holding up that coveted trophy!

Tip 1: Register as soon as the awards open

Don’t leave it too late to enter. Writing a winning business award entry takes time and is not something which you can do in a rush.

If you register early, you’ll have the opportunity to download or copy and paste the questions into a Word document. That way, you can carefully consider the information you’ll include in your answers.

Make a note of the closing date for entries and work back from there.

Tip 2: Read all the terms and conditions carefully

Be sure to check whether you’re eligible for a particular category or categories before you go to the time and effort of writing your entry.

Tip 3: Choose your category

This is important! Take some time to think about which category or categories you’d like to enter, as some will be more competitive than others. Which category will allow you to best capture the essence of your business? To tell a story which connects with the judges? To portray your experience and the way you engage with your customers?

Tip 4: Read the questions to see whether you’ll be able to answer them

Before you commit yourself to a category, read through the questions. Are you confident you have what it takes to accurately and thoroughly answer each question?

While you can build a story around a fact, you can’t make things up! If you don’t have the qualifications or experience to enter a particular category this year, try working on that area of your business so you can enter next year. I like to describe entering business awards as similar to a business audit. The process gives you the opportunity to step back and take a good look at what’s working in your business – and what needs improvement.

Tip 5: Use a Word document for your drafts

Do not be tempted to type your answers directly into the awards portal. Depending on the software used to set up the portal, you may have to answer ALL the questions before your information is saved – or your information may be lost!

The best option is to copy and paste the questions into a Word document and use it to draft your answers. This allows you to make notes, draft your answers, review and add to the text before you’re ready to upload your final answer to the portal.

Writing your entry is often a huge task and it can be overwhelming. Try working on just one section at a time or two questions per week (depending on how long you have before the closing date).

Tip 6: Ask for input

Who can help gather information for your entry? Who knows you and your business well?

  • Team/staff members
  • Your life partner or family members
  • Strategic business partners
  • Your business coach
  • Your clients/customers

Asking for input from your team members or clients is a great way to demonstrate how much you value their opinions and their contribution to the business.

Any or all of the above people can potentially provide important input into your winning business award entry.

Tip 7: Think outside the box

Where the questions allow support documents, carefully consider what you’ll use.

Spreadsheets and graphs showing financial importance can underline you success, but be sure to highlight your most significant achievements.

Images can also be helpful in reinforcing your answers. Be sure to use clear, quality images which show your business in its best light. If the image doesn’t enhance your answer, don’t use it.

A great way to demonstrate your answer can be through a case study. This allows you to clearly portray how you’ve solved a problem for one of client and illustrates the outcomes you’re achieving.

Tip 8: Be sure to actually ANSWER each question fully and to the best of your ability

You’d be surprised how often I see business award entries which are incomplete or where the entrant has simply waffled through an answer with information completely unrelated to the topic.

It is not advisable to copy and paste answers from previous years’ entries or copy your answers between categories. You must take the time and effort to draft an original answer for each question in each of the categories you’re entering.

Tip 9: Review, edit and spellcheck before uploading to the awards portal

BEFORE you upload your entry to the awards portal, ask someone else to read over your answers and check for spelling, grammar, the flow of information and overall accuracy. It’s hard to see your own mistakes and a second set of eyes will often pick up something you’ve missed.

Do a final review yourself before you upload the answers. Check you’ve correctly answered ALL the questions and provided support documents where possible.

I STRONGLY advise you don’t leave it until the last minute to upload your entry to the award portal. Technology often buckles under a heavy load and awards portals are notorious for crashing on the final day for entries.

Stay ahead of the crowd and finish your entry at least a few before the closing date, then upload your winning business award entry to the portal well in advance of this date.

Need help? Feel free to email me if you’re looking for assistance with your business award submission. I can work in one of two ways:

  • I can review and edit your entry before you upload it, providing feedback and advice to tweak your entry
  • I can work with you from the beginning of the process, collaborating with you to write the drafts, which you then review before we finalise your entry

 

Lyndall Guinery-Smith 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 Award nomination writing / Business Awards / Small Business Marketing 0 comments
Write a winning capability statement, capability statement writer, professional writer
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to write a winning Capability Statement

Winning new business can be tough… but with the right tools, such as a professional Capability Statement, you can get your foot in the door, followed by that all-important handshake.

In this article, we’ve answered the most frequently asked questions surrounding Capability Statements.

What is a Capability Statement?

A Capability Statement is a document which defines the capabilities, achievements and skills of your business. It is a clear and concise representation of what you offer to potential clients, what sets you apart from your competitors and your track record of accomplishments.

Capability statements are often used by tradespeople to establish relationships with Tier 1 or Tier 2 builders. They are also regularly used to gain work in the government sector.

This document is about opening doors and building relationships with your potential clients and strategic partners. It’s important to tailor the content with your specific target audience in mind.

How long should your Capability Statement be?

What will you use the Capability Statement for? Is your intention to incorporate it into a tender document? If so, many companies who call for tenders prefer a single page statement so they can quickly and easily compare the capabilities of the different organisations who tender. A single page statement is a brief overview and does not allow you to elaborate on your ability to deliver outcomes in any way.

If you’re just after a single page document, why not use our Capability Statement Kit? We’ve designed this product to contain everything you need to produce a quality single page capability statement. This handy kit includes: A comprehensive 16-page instruction booklet, an easy-to-use, editable template in Word and a handy final checklist. At just $97 +GST, it’s an absolute bargain.

We find the majority of clients seeking a professional Capability Statement writer require a comprehensive document with more detail than what can be provided in a single page.

What specific information should your document contain?

It’s important to note that every Capability Statement is different. The document needs to be tailored to your specific business and the audience you’re targeting.

Most documents of this type have some standard and some variable inclusions. The key ingredients must cover your capabilities, what sets you apart from your competitors (your Unique Selling Proposition or USP) and your proven track record of performance. However, the specific topics you include will depend on your business, your capabilities and

Consider your target audience before deciding which information to include. Think about … Who are you targeting? What outcomes can you deliver for them? How can you demonstrate your ability to achieve those specific outcomes?

Once you have a clear picture of your prospective clients or partners and what they’re looking for, you can start to go through the list of potential contents below:

  • Cover page, including ABN, ACN and full contact details
  • Business overview/introduction
  • About Us – Mission, vision, values
  • Differentiators or USP
  • Service you provide
  • Core competencies
  • Experience
  • Major client list
  • Organisational chart
  • Meet the team
  • Equipment
  • Area of operation
  • WHS
  • Environmental management policy
  • Quality assurance
  • Insurance
  • Professional associations
  • Awards and recognition
  • Community involvement
  • Client testimonials
  • Customer service philosophy
  • Call to action
  • Any other information your clients will need to make an informed decision to do business with you

Getting started

  1. Draft an outline
  2. Write down who your target audience is and list the outcomes you deliver for them
  3. Make a list of contents tailored to your target audience – select from the above list
  4. Consider the best way to demonstrate your business’ capability
  5. Make notes on each of your capabilities
  6. Draft each section
  7. Format the document to present professionally
  8. Re-read, spell check, grammar check, edit and polish
  9. Ask a third party to proof-read the document
  10. Publish, PDF and send the document to your prospective clients

Want to know more?

We hope the above tips provided you with some guidelines for writing a document which helps win more business. The Professional Writer partners with small business owners to create quality, business winning capability statements. We can help your company put its best foot forward with an outstanding capability statement. Let’s chat – book a complimentary 10-15 minute chat about your requirements.

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

Lyndall Guinery-Smith 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.  

 

 

Want to know more about capability statements? Check out:

How to write a capability statement for an Australian business

Capability statement tips for Australian tradies

If you’re looking to DIY a single page document in a hurry, take a look at our handy Capability Statement Kit.

 

in Capability statements / Company Profiles / Small Business Marketing 0 comments
Communication tips, how to connect with your ideal customer, professional writer
 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
How to become a thought leader, what is a thought leader, blog post writer, award nominations writer, The Professional Writer, Lyndall Guinery-Smith
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to Become a Thought Leader

Are you seen as a thought leader or a business trailblazer in your industry or niche? Or are you happy to be just one of the crowd?

Thought leaders are those we recognise as a foremost authority in their area of expertise, whose views are seen as authoritative and influential, making them the go-to person for comments, interviews and, of course, business. A thought leader has a powerful and visible personal brand, often built over time.

9 tips on how to become a Thought Leader

1. Become an authority

Select a particular topic or niche. Ideally, you will already have some experience in this area. Be well informed by reading everything you can about the topic and stay constantly up to date on it – BE THE EXPERT.

2. Love your topic and truly believe in it

Demonstrate your passion for your area of expertise by writing, speaking, doing interviews and making videos about it. Always be looking for new ideas related to your area of expertise. Your passion and belief will shine through if you’re truly authentic with your message. Most of us can spot a fake at twenty paces – don’t be that fake!

3. Engage with people

Whether you’re speaking at an event, doing face-to-face networking, interacting on social media or meeting a potential new client – be pleasant, be present and take the time to show an interest in other people, not just yourself. Once you’ve established rapport with the other person, they’re much more likely to show an interest in what you have to offer.

4. Share your expertise

Thought leaders into their experience and share it – you can do this too. Why not write social media posts, articles, fact sheets, guides, ebooks, books – or record videos if you prefer that medium?

5. Write a blog

Blog posts are the ideal platform to share your expertise, thoughts and ideas while positioning yourself as a thought leader. As the content is kept on your own website, you have total control over it, unlike what you post to social media.

Consistency is the key. If you say you’re going to post weekly, do it. If you think you can only manage one post per month, commit to it, choose a date and ensure that blog post is live on that day.

Blog posts can be repurposed as content for your client newsletter or as a guest post on another website or in on industry blog. A blog post which receives a lot of attention is the ideal topic to expand into an eBook, lead magnet or perhaps a complete book on the topic. If you’re not a writer, this task can be outsourced to a professional.

6. Leverage social media

Choose no more than 3 social media platforms and focus on being active on them. Choose your social media channels according to your audience – be where your people are.

Plan your posts and topics ahead of time. Be sure to post regularly and consistently. Be active in groups where your followers hang out and add value by answering questions. Interact with other leaders in your industry, as well as social media influencers and thought leaders.

7. Harness the media

Media and the public look to thought leaders for their input on changes, updates and fresh ideas. Offer to provide your expert commentary to media outlets – they love a great story and are constantly seeking the advice of experts in their field.

8. Nominate for awards

Winning an award is a fantastic way to boost your profile and become known in your local area, your industry, across the country or even worldwide. There are a multitude of industry awards, those run by your local business networking organisations or Chamber of Commerce, or high profile national awards. Using the services of an established awards nomination writer can assist in presenting the best possible submission and boost your chances of standing out from your competition.

9. Form your tribe

Surround yourself with people who complement your strengths, inspire you and support your efforts. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from others, most people are happy to assist where they can. You can do it all alone – it takes a support team behind you.

One final tip … be patient. Becoming a thought leader takes hard work, dedication and creativity – and time. All the effort will be worthwhile when it pays off with huge benefits for those who are willing to stay the course.

The Professional Writer - Lyndall

 

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 Award nomination writing / Building authority 0 comments
Winning business awards, how to write a winning awards entry, business awards writer, The Professional Writer, Lyndall Guinery Smith
 by Lyndall Guinery-Smith

How to write a winning business awards entry

Writing a winning business awards entry can be challenging, but the payoff in the form of promotion for your business can be extremely rewarding, taking your business to a new level.
As an experienced business awards nominations writer, I’m often asked what it takes to write a winning award entry. Make no mistake, it is a project and will require the investment of time and energy – it cannot be a last minute decision.

Following are some helpful tips for writing a winning business awards entry

Before you start writing…

  • Carefully read through the award terms and conditions to check your business is eligible to enter
  • Take time to consider which categories you should enter
  • Think about how you could leverage the award once you’ve won, and which category would best help you engage with your target market
  • If you find any “gaps” in your entry, consider waiting until the following year to enter. Then take appropriate action to ensure you can cover that particular topic in future
  • Note the tips in the guidelines – they are there for a reason!
  • Read and re-read each question, then make notes on your answer
  • Think carefully about each answer. Judges want to see evidence of your performance. Be specific with figures, give clear examples and use graphs or charts to complement your text
  • Don’t just mention what you’ve achieved. Include the outcomes for your clients, how you’ve contributed to your industry or the part you play in your local community

When you start writing your winning business awards entry …

  • Ensure you actually ANSWER the question. This might sound basic, but you’d be surprised how many businesses write a fluffy answer that doesn’t actually address the topic!
  •  Include the achievements of your team members where possible. This is a great way to acknowledge their input into the business and it makes you look like a great boss.
  • Where there’s been a problem that you’ve overcome, don’t be afraid to mention it. All businesses have issues from time-to-time and demonstrating how you’ve overcome those problems shows your resilience and how you’ve grown as an organisation.
  • Where possible, include social proof to add credibility to your entry.
  • Use brief case studies or stories about customers’ success with your product or service to demonstrate the outcomes you’re able to achieve. Tell a story if possible.
  • Before uploading your entry to the awards portal, ask someone independent to proofread your entry. We all make typos and grammatical errors and we rarely see them ourselves, particularly when we’ve read and re-read the same text many times over.
  • Watch the word limit on each answer. If you exceed it, the end of your answer will be cut off!

Boosting your business profile

Entering and winning business awards can be a fabulous way to boost your business. Winning helps raise your profile in your local community, with your clients and potential clients. However, if the awards you enter have state or national levels, and you’re successful in reaching those stages, your profile gets an even bigger boost!

Winning an award demonstrates that you’ve been judged as exemplary by a third party, portraying you as an industry leader. After you’ve entered, give some thought to how you can publicise your win and gain more business from it. You may utilise social media, print media or your local business networks to spread the word about your win. Have a plan of action in place and ready to go once your win is announced.

I hope this brief post has provided you with some useful tips on winning business awards. Should you require any assistance with writing your entry, please feel free to drop me a line.

Lyndall Guinery-Smith, The Professional Writer, Business Writer, Award Nominations 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 Award nomination writing / Grow your business / Small Business Marketing 0 comments
Write an engaging blog post, write to engage readers, professional business writer, professional writer, write to impress clients
 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.

Engage readers, use visuals, professional writing tips, professional writer,

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.

You may also enjoy these topics:

How website content helps generate sales

Tips on creating an Ideal Client Profile

Becoming known online

The Professional Writer - Lyndall

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.  

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