Freedom Of The Thumbs Up

July 3, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Two thumbs up for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A couple of years ago I saw a T-Shirt at Target just before the Fourth of July. It was navy blue with red and white fireworks and the phrase (GET THIS!)

“Life

Liberty

Happiness…” Excuse me!? What’s wrong with this?

I’m sorry, but no one has the right to happiness. That one’s up to you. The right to define it and obtain it, yes, but not the creamy goodness of happiness itself. If anyone tells you you have the right to happiness, I suggest you run the other way.

Hopefully most Americans and certainly small business people know that the omission of the words “The pursuit of…” alters the meaning of this phrase in a profound way! Leaving out that all-important phrase — the one that means “you can go get it on your own; no one’s stopping you; have at it!” — virtually robs you of your freedom! The tee-shirt designer missed the whole point.

If you don’t pursue happiness, if you think you are entitled to happiness, if you believe happiness is one of your God-given rights, then, I hate to say it, but you don’t deserve the privilege of living in this fine country. What a privilege it is! For some reason God planted me here in America. Wow, did I get lucky! I didn’t have to apply to be here. I didn’t have to escape here, I didn’t have to scrimp and save to get here. I was simply lucky enough to be born here, and I’m grateful.

Independence doesn’t mean you are never dependent on another person, though. No one can do it alone. We need the services and goods that people all over the world provide. We need to share and celebrate ideas and processes that work.

One awesome way we can share ideas and news, pictures and opportunities — and of course funny videos and memes that make us smile — is through the Internet.

The thumbs up sign has become the universal way to share things we like, but it hasn’t always been that way. The gesture’s had different meanings throughout history.

Did you know the thumbs up used to mean “Slay the gladiator’ in the Roman coliseum. When Caesar looked to the crowd for consensus on what to do with a wounded gladiator, the crowd decided. The sign for “Spare him” was thumbs down. Kind of goes against you intuition, doesn’t it?
Popularized by US pilots in WWII, it meant everything’s ready for take-off. It’s a go.
Then it was the Fonz on Happy Days. “Aayyyy” was a phrase that stuck like glue — at least with every cool kid in the 3rd grade.
Siskel and Ebert rated current movies using the thumbs-up or thumbs down. Two thumbs up indicated a film you had to go see.
Hitchhikers hitch a ride with the thumbs up sign, too.
In some part of the world the thumbs up sign means “Up yours,” like giving someone the bird in America.

Now of course, the thumbs up sign is universal for “Like” and it means we approve, endorse, sympathize, enjoy, find humorous, support, or believe something has value. It’s a simple, tiny gesture, sure, but there’s also a certain happy expression of freedom to it every time we click it.

By using the thumbs up online, people of all cultures can cross international boundaries and say “yes!” to each other. I can give the thumbs up to someone in the UK, while with one click someone in Uganda can endorse the things you post. Even in parts of the world where free speech isn’t protected, the thumbs up is a quick and easy way to support things large and small.

So many thumbs up and our micro-endorsements may begin to seem meaningless. But for marketers and those of us who are fascinated with cultural trends, these clicks and likes rivet our attention. They help us know our friends, followers and casual aquaintances better in some ways than we even know our families! We can learn a lot of strange and beautiful things from a flurry of thumbs up/likes.

Freedom allows us the privilege of understanding each other, if we choose that path.

As you’ve heard so many times before, true freedom is both a right and a privilege. The thumbs up click is the most miniscule of first amendment exercises, but it counts. Heck, yeah!

This week, I celebrate America, my country and all she stands for. With my friends in other countries, I share greetings and wishes for your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. As international shares and likes spread like crazy, we know and understand each other better than ever before, due in no small part to the awesome power of the web.

Two thumbs up to that!

Lurking To Be A Better Copywriter: The Shocking Truth

January 31, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan 4 Comments

If reading makes you a better writer, then lurking makes you a better copywriter.

A lifetime ago when I moved into the dorms at the University of Nebraska, I found myself smack dab in a corner room on Smith 3 among an inordinate number of music majors and marching band members.

A piano-player myself (I’d never go so far as to call myself a pianist), I liked music, but not with the critical ear of these kids. You bloom where you’re planted, though. So I hung out and studied with them after class.

What a tribe. From my outsider’s perch, I watched. These people who were scathingly dismissive if one of their kind couldn’t detect a flat note, were also genuinely moved by the passion and chronological intensity of Beethoven’s work as he went increasingly deaf. Some marveled at the ability to identify a rare piece of music in one or two measures. All appreciated virtuosity and technique. A few possessed some sort of inner drive to convene on the football field at 5 am to march in any weather. Crazy.

Over time I grew fond of the music department and learned to recognize the types of characters who populated it. I went to their parties, started to get their jokes and feel their pain, though I never got out of bed before 8 am that entire first year, I’m sure of that.

What was I doing that entire time? Reading literature. Writing about reading literature. Reading about writing literature. You could say I wasted a lot of time learning how to put words together…still learning.

One stimulating byproduct of a writing career is living as a stranger in a strange land. Bookish people are great at holding down a sofa and calling it an adventure. 😉 Sometimes the adventure is physical, as in travel or live journalism. Sometimes it’s virtual; we hover quietly online and absorb information like well wrung sponges.

Because I was an active lurker, all these years later I could probably write copy that would move young music students. It’s hard to forget total immersion.

See, a related perk of a writing career is knowing a little about a lot of different subjects. And if you know where to look (lurk) you’re always entertained.

A word of warning: this job will bore you to death if you aren’t sincerely curious about why people do what they do. You can crank out words all day long and if you don’t have an interest in making a connection with people, your writing is just saltless soup. That’s why you need to find the hangouts where people are getting real…the party in the basement.

In the next few weeks I’m going to be writing some email and landing pages targeted to a group of professionals I’ve not written to before. After getting a handle on my client’s offering (essentially a way to save money), what’s the next thing I did? I started skulking around the internet watching their chat boards and listening to their conversations. Do they talk about money and what do they say about it? And then, forget money. What do they talk about, need to know, want to know? What’s funny? What’s heart wrenching? What gets under their skin?

Want to be a good copywriter? Learn how to write words that sell. Want to be a great copywriter? Watch what your audience says and thinks about. Lurking is how you find out.

I’m specifically talking about forums today, although you could apply these tips to Facebook comments, business reviews (as on Yelp or Angie’s List), blog comments, Amazon reviews…anywhere people can pile on and add their two cents.

A first rule of thumb: Don’t you jump in with questions. Forums are for insiders. Ask a discomfiting question and they will sniff you out as an outsider, and you probably won’t start the candid discussion that you’re looking for.

Discretion is key. While you might pride yourself on being curious, save the investigative reporter bit for another day. You are incognito here.

[Side note: THE #1 place to ask anything online — including those bald personal questions you’d never ask anyone in person — is Quora, another excellent resource for writers. More on that another time.]

Regardless of the audience or market your are researching/lurking on, pay close attention to a few things:

The questions they ask of each other

You will find that they ask and answer questions very differently depending on the source of the question and the person to whom they respond — or to whom they think they are responding. (Remember, “espionage.”) Experience, background, and locality all play a part in a discussion, but forums operate under the assumption that everyone’s there under one big umbrella. A topic, profession, lifestyle, hobby, sports team, demographic, etc. unites the forum.

When you turn words and information into copy, your understanding of your audience’s problems percolates from under that umbrella. Your job is to present a solution that’s fresh and new…from beyond the umbrella.

Stories and vignettes

You’ve found a golden thread on a forum if participants share stories. Why do people tell stories in the first place? To illustrate what naked explanations never can. In a story, the reader gets the main idea, but is forced to fill in the details based on their own experience and lexicon of knowledge. Sometimes the teller of the story will draw out details that they believe are important. You as a writer must watch for this because those spoken and unspoken details are where you make subtle connections.

For example, say the story is about a doctor. Now, I “know” doctors based on my own experience, you “know” doctors based on yours. When you tell me your doctor story, my understanding of doctors increases a little, but my understanding of YOU increases a lot. That’s what copywriters find so juicy about stories people tell on forums.

Social interaction and “Groupthink”

Don’t just read the content. Make a note of who’s saying what and how the conversation flows. Watch the social interaction.

Forums can be tricky to follow. People cut and paste previous sections they want to comment on, so you often end up reading the same sentences many times throughout a popular thread, especially in a heated discussion.

As you follow, pay attention to the players. If the thread twists into a new subject and more new people jump in, take note. That means the topic is a cauldron of passions.

Sometimes you’ll see a parting of camps, an expression of universal sentiment or even a group attack. Even within niches or professions you regard as thoughtful and/or wholesome, there are jerks. And while forum participants assert their individualism, they also reveal a collective disposition. Keep an eye out for generalities. Vegetable farmers, downhill skiers and teachers each have their own unique vibe. Learn what makes your audience different from everyone else.

When you write, don’t just regurgitate the words. Along with those words bring something unforgettable…

Copy that is shaped by your audience’s outlook is easily digested by it’s members; they’ve already consumed it. Your copy mirrors it and holds out a better way. Next time you write an article, speech or PPC ad, hop on a forum and hang on. You’ll be amazed at what you find out.

Please tell me how it goes, won’t you?

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons, chatblanc1

Sandy Inspires Good, Bad, and Ugly Internet Behavior

October 31, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Nature is humbling.

I’m up at 2:30 this morning because of the chirping of a bug.

This is the second time this sound has kept me up at night. Its trill sounds a lot like our septic pump alarm, both in frequency and in pitch — only quieter. Still, there’s something about it that gets inside the house, and into my ear, and wakes me.

I’ve narrowed it down to full moons. Last month, same thing.

I crept outside and around the side yard to check the septic control box; it was silent. The chirping was gone too, probably due to my footsteps falling too near the bug’s spot. The moonlight was so bright and pure, falling on each blade of blue grass. I realized my flashlight wasn’t needed. Struck by the sudden silence and unexpected beauty, I shut off my flashlight and took in the sight. (As long as I was up…)

The bug’s solo performance was for one night only; the following night the sound was gone.

Well, tonight’s a full moon again and my insect friend has again driven me out of bed. Grateful for the comforts of heat and electricity I started the coffee, read some of the Good Book on my Kindle, and now I’m here at my desk.

The news and images from the northeast take my breath away. I’m sure you saw them too. The explosive power of Hurricane Sandy herself, followed by the outrageous destruction of the intricate and complex structures and systems humans put in place to make our lives comfortable — to shield us ultimately from nature.

No wonder we call them “Acts of God.” Whether it’s the enthusiastic call of a cricket, or “the storm of the century”, we awake in awe to our tenuous lives and routines.

We are at nature’s mercy.

When lives are at stake, the first place people people go is online — for news, help, and comfort.

Among social networkers on sites like Twitter and Facebook, “Sandy” was the most trending hashtag and topic of the last two days.

The Good:

Social media kept people connected and safe during the worst of the “Super Storm.”

Mobile devices provided communication and relief to millions up and down the coast. FEMA, the Red Cross, and other disaster relief organizations were able to spread information quickly. Far-away family and friends’ fears were eased too, because they were able to hear the voices, and track the locations of their loved ones.

The real-time reporting from all those millions of people online (everything from “my lights are flickering now” to more extreme cases of distress and urgency) changes the way we make sense of modern disasters. Even though I’m sitting here under clear skies many states away, I can’t ignore what’s going on. The immediacy of social media inspires generosity in prayer and donations.

The Bad:

But there’s another side; the bad element.

Disasters bring out mischief (that’s the nicest way to put it) in some people.

One guy posted fake news on Twitter, alarming thousands who saw his tweets. Just like yelling “Fire” in a crowded theatre falls outside your free speech rights. Freaking people out with bogus “news” is not only wrong, it probably borders on illegal.

Abuse of the Internet invites the inevitable monitoring and regulation that saddens and disturbs me. I love the freedom the Internet allows; I’m disgusted by those who use it to mislead others or distribute flat-out false information. Too bad we can’t all just monitor our own behavior and do the right thing. (There’s my inner Polyanna showing.)

The Ugly:

Finally we have the tasteless side of Internet activity during stressful times.

Now I admit, I’m a shameless capitalist. I also note that some people will celebrate any occasion by pulling out their credit cards; that’s a fact. But to see a company dish up sales specifically to people in harm’s way makes you wonder. Instead of trying to think of a way to offer help or aid, American Apparel sent an email promoting discounts for soon-to-be battered hurricane state customers. Weird.

Just a thought: try a little tenderness. The best piece of advice I think I ever got about copywriting and marketing is to picture ONE face and speak to that person.

As someone who writes for the Internet daily, I’m reminded by this early morning’s news to never forget I’m talking to one person. When I post updates, write articles, tweet to my personal followers, and email my (or my clients’) lists, I see this; one person, one soul.

Yes, your reach may be in the thousands, even millions. But that realization only ups the ante.

We each have a personal responsibility to be decent and genuine, especially during a natural disaster. Maybe it’s the darkness, the desperate chirping song of my cricket, or the loneliness of being up in the middle of the night… anyway, I realize I’m preaching. (Sorry for that; I’ll reread this in the light of day and cringe at the earnestness.)

Companies and individuals will make mistakes, send obtuse email and post unreal updates. We’re human. But when people are panicking and bracing for havoc, your internet presence requires the same sensitivity you’d show a real live person. Please use the Internet for good.

B2B Marketing’s Navel Gazing Problem

August 8, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

The term B2B Marketing should be wiped from “business-speak” altogether.

Who ever heard of a big fat business with buildings and products and “a brand;” actually connecting with another “important business” on a meaningful level?

Businesses don’t make connections and decisions; people do! B2B Marketing Campaigns that forget this are flushing money away.

B2B marketing doesn’t seem to work very well for a lot of companies. Traditional advertising and email marketing can seem like a waste of time and money.

According to Richard Levey of Chief Marketer, “80% of the marketing and sales executives surveyed by Corporate Visions indicate their demand generation programs are ineffective, and poorly constructed sales material is a big reason why.”

So if business people even find their own ads kind of boring, how dull must they seem to their customers?

Pretty eye-opening, don’t you think?

B2B Marketing professionals can be the worst type of navel gazers! Click to tweet!

Most sales copy is all about the benefits and the value the company offers, but it does nothing to address the customer’s pain. In fact, most sales copywriters don’t even pretend to know what the pain really is! The producers of these marketing materials take the very high road and crank out words and pictures that illustrate how they can help solve this or that problem du jour. This makes them feel smart and justifies their paychcecks.

Unfortuantely many times they’re just guessing. They know their own stuff so well they think their customer wants it, even though they don’t — at least not at the moment.

Here’s a simple way to connect and dispel of that extra whiff of stand-offishness B2B marketing materials tend to have.

When you’re are writing copy for a business to communicate with another business you need to remember that there is a person on the other end of that email, blog post, Facebook update, or tweet.

REAL PEOPLE move these businesses and make buying decisions; not abstract entities. (Of course sometimes, you need to get more than one person on board to make a sale.) A company has a culture, a product, and a space in which employees work and socialize, but the people who make decisions have a lot more than that…

They are concerned with the age-old things: “status, security, comfort, fear, convenience, money, and all the other primal preoccupations of our species throughout the centuries” [Quote from Words That Sell, Richard Bayan]

There’s no way to imagine all the possible forces acting on that influencer/ decision-maker you need to reach. Think of the unlimited possibilities, needs and concerns:

Leading a fired-up team through a new project
Thinking about a sick mother at home
Taking a lunch hour to deliver cupcakes to their kid’s school
Hitting their sales numbers this week
Pushing a deadline out to the farthest limit (no more wiggle room)
Buying a new car this week
Getting through the day unnoticed because they put on two different shoes that morning. (I actually heard this story from one of the most put-together business women I’ve met this year!)
Meeting with that department head who doesn’t see value in their recent contributions

You’ll never know unless…

You ask them. That’s it…just ask.

You can do that, you know. In spite of your slick, glossy brochures and neatly targeted promotions and packages…you can sometimes show your humanity and simply say you ‘d like to know exactly what they’re going through.

The #1 way to know what’s really on their minds?

Forget the B2B Marketing tactics for a minute. Leave an open door and a way for your customers to voice their concerns. This small gesture goes a long way toward getting a vital champion on your side. Just opening some channels of communication will transport people from “prospect” to “friend.” (And it’s always better doing business with people you like!)

Decision makers are looking for other people to verify that your business is the real deal. Inviting people to a Facebook page or your Twitter stream (with pictures of people — not just your logo!) is a step in the right direction.

The amount of time people spend on social sites during the workday is rising, and they’re not all looking at pictures of their friends’ pets, checking Olympic updates or reading inspirational memes featuring sunsets!

Interaction with businesses on social sites is dramatically changing the way people do business. B2B Marketing that leaves this out will fall way behind in the coming year or two. Don’t let that be you!

Your customers are real people with real concerns. To make real connections, think “person to person.” Not building to a building, product to a product, a brand to a brand. Click to tweet!

Touch the heart of the person behind the business by asking their opinion and showing the real people behind your own business.

Only when you really know who they are, will you be able to drop the phony B2B marketing stuff that isn’t working anyway.

Looking for connections that keep your company within fingertip’s reach of your ideal clients? Stay in their loop, instead of hoping they stay in yours. Click to tweet!

Share your biggest frustration with B2B marketing..I’ll be waiting over on Facebook.

Email’s Power Over Facebook

June 25, 2012 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Email or Facebook?

Which one's better to connect with your small biz clients? Good thing we don't have to choose! But if I had to bet on social media or email for marketing purposes, my money's on email…still.

Because online marketing channels integrate with each other better than ever, assessing their separate effectiveness is becoming increasingly difficult. But at the end of the day, email is the heavy lifter.

Here's an eye-opening marketing fact for you: Email is bringing in $40.56 for every dollar spent on it in 2011, compared to catalogs' ROI of $7.30, search's return of $22.24, Internet display advertising's return of $19.72 and mobile's return of $10.51. – Direct Marketing Association "Power of Direct" (2011)

The most important fact you must understand about online marketing is this:

it boils down to your list.

Think of online marketing like pioneering a new land. You know of the Homestead Act of 1862, in which the US government offered ownership of 160-acre parcels of land to any man with the balls to go claim it and farm it…"Free soil."

If you could get there and if you could produce something (you had to, to survive) then you OWNED it. Property ownership; a beautiful thing! The deal was sweet because the land was free… But it didn't come easy.

The Internet's like that. Except that online, real estate is unlimited. Your imagination isn't confined to the continent west of the Mississippi.

So we're in this vast world known as the Internet and we're all trying to do business here in one way or another. That's a fact.

In my estimation, social media leads the charge. Social media speculates and goes in search of greener pastures, and a better life. Social media arranges the tour; it says, "Follow me!" and lunges ahead, cape flying.

But Email is the one that puts up the tents at the end of a long day and builds the fire. Email is the muscle; it carries the luggage.

For all of email's benefits, social media will drive the online marketplace in the coming years. The mind-boggling growth of Facebook and the quick adoption of Pinterest and LinkedIn prove that people crave and rely on social connections for business and networking. Experts like Mari Smith, Chris Brogan, Jay Baer, Gary Vaynerchuck and Sandi Krakowski — social media mavens, all — sing the praises of social media for building huge businesses.

Yet email plays a crucial role in the social media landscape… and it's here to stay.

The #1 difference between email and social media in a nutshell, is ownership of your list.

Your list is the reason email rules. Opt-ins are your closest peeps. Closer than followers, fans and friends in social media.

Your list is "Your Castle"

Let's keep with the property rights theme. Why was the homestead act successful? Because it promised land ownership for every man who had the strength and vision enough to pack up his family and brave the unknown to go get it. If you've ever been to the midwest (where my family is from) you will meet some of the heartiest stock of people on the planet. Those people were tough — the ones that survived — because they were driven to own something they had to work for.

Reality check: you don't own your Facebook account. Every time Facebook changes its privacy settings or devises a new rule for business pages, you're at the mercy of Facebook. Which is fine because FACEBOOK IS FREE. So while you reap the benefits, and explore all the nifty ways to use apps to make your Facebook business presence more profitable and fun, you still have to play by Facebook's rules.

At the end of the day, you don't own anything on your social media accounts. You own your content but when you share it, it's up for grabs. And you certainly don't own your account in a real sense… It is public (don't kid yourself that you have any privacy there) and anyone can freely use anything they find there. Furthermore, the content you share and the thousands of friends and followers you have today could disappear tomorrow and you'd have no access to it, nor recourse to complain.

Furthermore, consider this: Only 17% of consumers say they're more likely to buy after becoming a FAN on Facebook. – ExactTarget "Facebook X-Factors" (2010)

So if you are relying on this massive public platform (that you don't even own) to build your entire business, congratulations and good luck.

To buffer this harsh reality, why not utilize social media to build your OWN list?

Ask people to join your email list through an iframe app on your Facebook business page.
On social sites likle LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to direct people to your website where an opt-in form is clearly visible, so that you have another channel to communicate with your most engaged fans.
If you are a natural person-to-person networker, use business cards to invite people to the place where your business is clearly stated and where you control your domain — literally — online.

If you don't have an authentically collected, opted-in, and engaged business email list, you may live to regret it. Your list is your #1 resource. It's the heavy lifter of your online business.

Don't make the mistake of looking at your list as a "commodity," however. As an email marketer one of the first things I ask customers is "how big is your list?" as if size realistically tells me anything at all. The real truth is that size doesn't matter as much as quality. If a list was purchased or shared, frankly it lacks the quality of smaller home grown varieties.

Interact with email subscribers just as you would your social media followers, but place a slightly different value on these folks and reward them accordingly. Remember that they've traded something personal (an email address) in exchange for your messages.

If you really want your business to work, you need to engage your list; that fire-building, rock-hauling quiet one over there. The rewards are huge.