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How Just One Tweak Helps You stand Out In A Vanilla World

August 11, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan 2 Comments

How Just One Tweak Helps You stand Out In A Vanilla World

How Just One Tweak Helps You stand Out In A Vanilla World

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

Wait, let me guess…. um, vanilla!

How did I know that? Because most people prefer vanilla over any other flavor. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you’re boring.Vanilla’s just popular.

Let’s say you’re in the vanilla ice cream business. You’re the entrepreneur of ice creamy goodness. The brains behind the bean. Congratulations, you have a large share of the market!

Except it’s too large. And there are so many other purveyors of vanilla ice cream. How do you corner your particular niche of your vanilla-loving market? How do you market your product so you stand out in  a vanilla world?

Close your eyes and be your customer for a moment. What do they remember about you vs. your competition? Which juicy part of their senses or psyche do you nudge?

You’ve got to add something to stand out.

Or, whittle it down to bare bones and stand out.

No matter what business you’re in, chances are, there’s someone selling something similar (say that five times fast), so you have to stand out to get people to notice what you do.

You’ll also have more fun marketing if you distinguish yourself from everyone else.

For example, if it’s vanilla ice cream you’re serving…

  • Serve it quickest.
  • Serve it coldest.
  • Serve it softest.
  • Serve it hardest.
  • Pump up the fat content.
  • Make it ulta-convenient.
  • Make it low cal.
  • Serve it in an unusual container.
  • Serve it with a smile or it’s free.
  • Serve it with guarantee.
  • Serve it with a thought-for-the-day.
  • Serve it with a compliment.
  • Serve it with pie (and I’ll be there).
  • Serve it upside down.
  • Serve it some way, somehow, with something, anything, to earn a special place in your customer’s heart.

You’ll sell a lot of ice cream cones if you’re not “just” vanilla… but that special brand of vanilla.

one must be different to be irreplaceable

Now think about your business and scoop out a niche for yourself. Go ahead and serve up something really cool and different.

Do you practice your craft in a weird way?

Hold opinions that swerve from the mainstream?

Devote more ___ to your ____?

OK, let’s say it differently: Anything quirky about your methods, your experience, or your customers?

That’s what you want to tell your readers and potential customers all about! With all the choices in the market, you want your customers to know you for something unique; something jaw-droppingly, crazily unique.

Then, make sure your copywriting and content reflects that.

Avoid just sending news about your latest launch or release. Even coupons, discounts and invitations get old unless you intersperse them with valuable content no one else is sharing. Think of your copy and content like just like serving up another scoop of your best vanilla ice cream. In a world full of content, your customers are the ones who value yours and give you their business — even though they can get vanilla anywhere!

Your scoop of content melts into that visceral corner of their brain where emotions stir… people get hooked and come back for more.

Need a hand identifying how you are “YOU-nique”?

If you’re having trouble discovering what it is that makes you stand out, download this branding self-assessment that will help you figure it out. (By the way, I ask these questions of all my new clients so I can write better content and copy for them. Use them and see for yourself.)

download the brand assessment
You’ll also gain access to ebooks, videos and other free marketing resources for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses.

Filed Under: Content Marketing, Copywriting Tagged With: content, content that stands out, copywriting, copywriting for your business, marketing your business, writing content

Five Reasons Your Article Doesn’t Work, And How To Fix It

November 16, 2015 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Five Reasons Your Article Doesn’t  Work, And How To Fix It

Can you write your way out of a lost cause?

How long do you stay stuck before abandoning your work?

Your article doesn't work

Many writers or content creators ask themselves these questions sooner or later. Do you try to salvage a project gone bad? Or should you drop it and work on something “more productive?”

Picture this: you start writing something, an ebook, a blog post, or story. You believe you have a great idea. You dive in, maybe even devote a week or two to the project before it begins to dawn on you… It’s not working.

Very soon, the curtain of gloom falls over the whole thing. You start thinking, “This is never going to work.”

Then self doubt sets in. You begin to wonder what made you think it was a good idea in the first place…

You can’t get the thing to stick together. No matter how many angles you approach it from, it just won’t gel! You even have an outline or a mind map guiding your creative process, but when you put the words down, it falls short. Either it feels hollow, like something’s missing; or your draft is uncontrolled, as if you have a tiger by the tail.

The Problem: Three Common Reasons Writers Want to Quit

Where did the love go? Let me count the ways. These are the most common situations in which I second-guess the quality of my article, and my ability and desire to finish it. Can you relate to any of these?

You decided the project wasn’t needed anymore. You started researching, and discovered that the topic had been covered thoroughly. You can’t see the value in adding your voice to the lexicon of knowledge already out there, and you lost confidence in your ability to add newness or charisma to the subject. Maybe you realize the project is similar to another completed piece of content you already have. Why bother?

You got totally embroiled in it. At the onset, you believed it was an interesting topic you could write about, but then discovered it was a little too personally demanding. Your involvement pulled your life off course, as if you had embarked on a journey that was too long and required more commitment than you were able to give. Maybe your topic was too large; you had trouble breaking it down into do-able chunks, and couldn’t see the finished project in a completed form. No amount of editing could streamline this hot mess. It simply got away from you and you’re ready to cut the cord.

You had a fast start but you lost interest. You’re so bored, you can’t even stand to work on the project. You wonder how you can expect your readers and viewers or listeners to stay with you. Your distaste for the project rears up every time you sit down to your computer. Bleh.

ditch diggingThe terrible truth: You’ve already invested a ton of time…

If only it were easier to walk away! The thing that always gets me when I’m feeling any of the above, is the time I’ve invested. Even when you know a blog post (or a scene, or ebook, or an entire chapter of a book) is a lost cause, it’s natural to want to save at least some of your hard work. The words “Kill your darlings!” chants loudly in your mind, but dang, it’s difficult!

Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Throwing In the Towel

What you may want to ask is “Should I cut my losses now and start something new, or am I just quitting?” Neither of those extremes is usually the reality, and neither of those questions is productive! Don’t go there yet.

Before you delete the whole shebang and walk away, or file it under “Ideas” somewhere deep on your hard drive, you need to get some perspective. Here’s my thought process when I get lost in the woods with my writing. Instead of feeling like a loser, and cowering to that voice saying you were never meant to write anything more involved than a grocery list, you need to ask yourself a few specific and constructive questions about your project. (Key word is “constructive!”)

Most of all, beware self sabotage that comes from a) abandoning a perfectly good concept before it’s complete, or b) wasting any more time on a pice of content that’s doomed to fail if you’re not objective.

Putting these ideas down on paper helped me get my arms around what feels like a desperate situation when I’m in it.  I ask myself these five questions when I’m stuck in the muck. Maybe they will help you, too.

1. First, ask yourself if the “Good Idea” was legitimately good.
  • What was it at the outset that made you think so, and what changed?
  • What was the purpose of the piece in the first place?
  • Was it a problem you identified that needed solving?
  • Was it a story you wanted to share about an experience you had, or that your company or customers had?
  • Was it an enlightening or heartwarming tale, or groundbreaking expose?
  • What was it about the project that had you excited about it when you started?
  • Do you still believe in these kernels of inspiration?

Get back to that place where it all began and ask yourself if you still feel it.

2. Whom does it serve? You, or your readers?

Has this ever happened to you? You want to solve a problem, so you assume it’s a problem others need solving, too. (I’d say about half of my good ideas start from problems I’m having in business or in life.) The investigator in you wants to get to the bottom of the issue, so you dig in to find the answers. This, you think, is something you should write about. As long as you’re discovering the truth about fill-in-the-blank, you will share the wealth of information with your readers.

Not so fast! If a topic has easy answers, then you may not be adding to the common good by writing about it. Instead of writing, perhaps you should simply read about it, take stock of the solutions for your own personal use, and then get back to the business of adding value for your readers and clients. Regurgitating information from dozens of well-read articles doesn’t help anyone. There’s no harm in linking to these articles, however, as you write content that includes your personal viewpoint on the issue.

Also, save the more introspective pieces for your journal, or at least until you have enough distance to provide wisdom and perspective. To write about problems too soon just takes you swirling down to that icky place. You need to resolve certain issues before you can be any help to someone else. You’re probably not ready for publication when your feelings are too raw, or if you are currently in the heat of the battle.

Are you up for some research?

3. Do you know enough about the topic to write about it?

If you answer NO to this question, don’t worry, it’s not a deal breaker. Sometimes the best articles come about because you’re curious about a subject and decide to learn about it. (See above.) The question that matters is, are you willing to do the research?

Furthermore, how does your knowledge or interest affect the tone you want to convey? If you know a lot about a subject firsthand, you can write without doing much research. It comes from the heart, like this article did for me, in fact. Sure, you might have to find supporting articles to link to, but the original idea rolls out easily for you.

But if you need to go looking for answers from other experts, then you’re in for a double whammy. Not only must you find resources, but make sense of them, and compile facts and ideas into a cohesive piece of writing. It takes more work and time, but I’ve found so often it’s worth it. If you’re naturally curious by nature, as most writers are, it’s a good fit.

Other times, when you find you’re having trouble writing about something, you need to assess whether your curiosity is enough to keep the fire lit until the very last word. When a project isn’t working, it could be because you just don’t know or care enough about it. Sad but true.

your content goals and strategy4. Does it fit with your goals?

You get to choose what to write about! That’s the good news. Assuming that you’re not freelancing for businesses and industries you hate; or only writing on assignment for a job, then you do have some leeway on your topics. If you’re writing for your own business or pleasure, or if you’re involved in the content editorial process in any way, then you definitely need to evaluate the purpose of your content piece before you start writing. Your time and resources are an investment, so spend them wisely!

Every business owner has pet projects they want to finish, but the content you are creating for your own business really needs to achieve some end. Either it must draw new readers; teach or entertain your current readers; or it must move your business forward in some way. If your work does none of the above, and you begin to sense that it’s wasting your time, then you’ll find it difficult to stick with it when the going gets rough.

You want to see that your work meets your goals, either professionally or personally. If not, then it’s easy to become resentful of the time and effort it’s taking to finish it.

You’re far more likely to abandon work if you can’t see the point of it. Now that I’m working on a novel (my first attempt after decades of writing nonfiction), I ask myself all the time if the scene helps a character achieve his or her goals or if it has any purpose to move the story forward.

This is the question every business blogger or content creator should ask, too.

In a business, each piece of content should have a distinct purpose. Does this ebook or blog post further your business goals? Does it contribute to the “plot,” or story of your business in any way? If the answer is no, you should probably ditch it. If yes, then find the first thing about it that has meaning. You might even write that down and keep it front and center while you’re writing.

What is the end goal? Don’t lose sight of it. If you have to put a sticky note at the top of your screen to remember it, then do that. Some examples of content goals you might write:

  • This article, (Title), will attract the ideal client to my website because it solves this initial problem and helps them see that I am the obvious solution to their woes. An appended web form will invite them to learn more.
  • This ebook will convince a reader that my method of doing (whatever you do) is clearly the way to be successful. They will naturally want to attend my next class or read my next book, and these links will be included in the ebook.

A content calendar or roadmap clarifies topic ideas. If you’re stuck, your mind should be clear on one overarching thing … the health and growth of your business. Every choice you make, including how you spend your writing time, contributes or detracts from your success. If your writing time is wasted, then your business is probably not going to do very well.

When you stumble, stop and ask yourself, if I had to feed this baby (this blog, this business, my readers) one more day to keep it alive and help it thrive, what one thing would I do, write, or post? What is the goal?

Is your article time sensitive?
Hands hold clock with gears. Blue background
5. Is your project time sensitive?

Time is the great equalizer; everyone is working with the same 24 hours. When you’re stressed about time constraints, your heart palpitates every time you look over the cliff of your failing project. Ask yourself these questions to help you decide whether to continue working on that difficult project. Trendy topics can be the most interesting to your readers, so add some weight to your consideration if the content is trending. (In other words, don’t miss out on a hot topic!) If you’ve already put in some good energy on a topic people are currently talking and reading about, then consider giving that last push to the finish.

Ask yourself:

  • Are you on a deadline?
  • Is someone else depending on you to finish?
  • Does completion of this project impede the progress of the next one?
  • Does your project cover a topic that is trending now, or does it have sticking power for the long term?

Shoot your sights far ahead of where you are today, this week or this month. If you can let the project simmer, even for a few sleeps, then do so!

But if you are on a deadline, or if the topic has a definite shelf life, then you have a decision to make; whether it is better to start over, or if you can work with any original kernels of greatness and restart your engine.

Sometimes you don’t have a choice but to pour it on. It’s the old college effort… just write something you can turn in.


don't lose hope!Ok, so your content idea may not seem to be working now. Step back and ask yourself these five questions I shared with you, and don’t lose hope… That great idea you were so gung ho to work on, may only need some tweaking.

The next blog post addresses how to mentally regroup and rewrite your content – if necessary. It’s all part of the content writing process. Don’t give up!

Ever notice how some people always seem to crank out interesting content that appeals to their readers and customers? If you want to write content more easily, head over to the Content Quiz and find out how you can streamline the whole content creation thing. Click the image below to get started.

take the content quiz
Take the content quiz, where bloggers and solopreneurs get insight into their content strategy.

 

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: article, article topics, article writing, blogging, coming up with content ideas, content, content calendar, content creation, content goals, entrepreneur, giving up on a project, mind map, solopreneur, stuck on an article, When your article doesn't work, writer's block, writing, writing content, writing goals

How To Pump Out Extraordinary Web Content With Ease

April 5, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

How To Pump Out Extraordinary Web Content With Ease

This is a rewritten reposts of an article published in April of 2014.

pump out content with ease I’ve been listening to the most interesting music lately — monster music! This game is the latest thing among 5th graders — and it has everything to do with coming up with web content ideas that get attention. Let me show you how easy this is…

My Singing Monsters and easy web content creation

I won’t lie to you. At first I hated the dull, repetitive, guttural sounds. Over and over this one-track little cartoon creature assaulted my ears. As my son Henry happily played with his phone, I couldn’t help thinking the end of our culture was near. “What’s the world coming to?” I thought, in the usual way the older generation dumps on the younger one.

And then something weird and wonderful happened. A second monster joined the first monster and started harmonizing. Hmmm, now this was intriguing. 

Soon after, what was once painfully tiresome became interesting, and I started listening. As I listened, over the next few days, I found myself humming the monster song and hearing the melody meander through my brain. Henry had created a fabulous song by adding monster after singing monster to his island. The tune was catchy, even more so because I was aware of all the rich undertones the melody was built on. Check it out for yourself…

What’s that have to do with cranking out web content? I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a tendency to sound like that lonely monster piping out the same note, measure after excruciating measure. (If you always have a drawerful of blog post ideas, then stop reading right now. But if you struggle with this sometimes, like I do, then please keep reading.)

Why is it so easy to gab about the same old thing in your web content? Because it’s your profession, it’s what you know, it’s your area of expertise. I could write every post about copywriting, how to build a compelling story, copywriting apps and “tricks” to write well, etc… but then I might be in a rut.

Remember the singing monsters if you want people to talk back and pay attention to your web content!

You have a rich life full of glittering, fearless, irrepressible, strange and beautiful parts. You’re different from day to day, you have fascinating edges, curves and facets. If you show some of these dimensions in a unique, even slightly quirky way, you will be remembered. But if you beat the drum of your expertise all day, every day, you become somewhat boring.

Patterns add dimension and bring your content to life.

Ever notice how certain characteristics and mannerisms help you make a connection with people? Maybe people smile when they hear your infectious laugh, or they notice your sense of style because you dress yourself impeccably, or you ask just the right question at the moment everyone is thinking it. Those human personality traits aren’t as easy to show online. In the real world you make an impression in an instant, but online you have to do some extra “work” to be  the real “YOU.” Wouldn’t it be cool if it were easier?

Add harmony to your single note.

patterns and repeatabilityThink about it. If you are constantly telling your blog followers or Facebook fans just one thing, people will get bored and leave. But if you regularly add some flavor — a hobby, some belief that sets you apart from others, or a dream you’re striving to reach — you will stand out.

People remember patterns. Do they remember you?

Most people respond to, and are capable of holding on to patterns because they keep their attention better than an endless drip of one repetitive message. If you need convincing that it’s okay to stir in your personal interests, a sub theme, or a sideline into your expertise, look no further than this article on patterns in branding, which shows that remarkable brands send a fluid message with several distinct points and counterpoints for people to bounce to and fro. The best brands add this pleasing complexity without being confusing. According to Marc Shillum,

Consistency in human behavior is not derived from repetition alone; it is about the formation and recognition of coherent patterns. Patterns are the way our brains perceive actions, thoughts, memory, and behavior to ultimately inform belief. They allow for differences while creating a whole. Patterns are unique in the fact that they create consistency around difference and variation. Creating a believable and consistent brand begins with the creation of coherent patterns.

The good news is that you can show multiple aspects of your life — your business style, leadership philosophy, hobbies, family, values, etc — and people will remember you because you mixed things up, not in spite of it.

Think of the experience you provide your customers. Do you entertain them, give them something to think about, or shock them sometimes? Do they know exactly what they’re going to get when they see your email in their inbox? If they already know (or think they know), they may start to disengage or unsubscribe from your feed or list.

Don’t let that happen. There’s so much juicy stuff to share.

Now, I’m not advising you to display so many different sides of you that you rattle your clients. (I know I’d scare some folks!) And don’t make things up just to seem exotic or interesting, but, here are some things to think about as you add some mixture to your expertise, whether your brand is personally represented by YOU, or you are representing a larger corporate brand:

  • Consider hobbies, favorite foods, family, pets, heritage, travel, charities, clubs, locale…how have these influenced or added to your point of view?
  • Do people know you for something unique: a fashion statement, hairdo, temperament (curious, inspirational, diplomatic)? Identify that and work it into your personal brand. By the way, you are probably already doing this without being aware of it.
  • Pepper your website and social sites with posts about things you genuinely care about. Your enthusiasm will attract like minds.

So…those themes that tie your life together highlight  the rare “monster” you are…Don’t be afraid to show them, re-iterate your special patterns, and stand out from the crowd. As a copywriter and experienced interviewer, I can usually find at least a few patterns in a short 30-minute interview with new clients. If you want to use your “patterns” to create remarkable content, start by contacting me using the form below, and I’ll send you out our Content Quiz to get you started.

Filed Under: Content Marketing Tagged With: blog, blogging, boring web content, branding tips, branding yourself, content, content creation, content writing tips, copywriting, creative web content, keeping your content interesting, Marc Shillum, marketing for small business, mixing it up with web content, My Singing Monsters, patterns, repetition, self branding, Singing Monsters, web content, writing content, writing interesting content, you are your brand

How To Bring Down The #1 Competitor Sucking Away Sales

February 24, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

How To Bring Down The #1 Competitor Sucking Away Sales

Who is your competitor?Imagine toppling the king of them all!

Envision your competitors mingling in one room. Picture the face or logo to go with the title “Biggest Competitor.” Do you have one in mind? 

  • Maybe it’s a local (or virtual) big shot who gets all the sales (or so it seems).  
  • Maybe you are thinking of a mega store or brand that outsells, outproduces, outdelivers every time — even though their service can’t hold a candle to your white-glove attention.   
  • Maybe you are thinking of a business that sells what you sell, only with a slightly different quality (or in a different location, using a different method, with a different technique or system). You’re neck and neck. The casual customer wouldn’t even know the difference between you unless he paid attention. Truth be told, he’s not motivated to comb through the differences. To him, you’re all the same. You can’t think of a way to stand out, even though you racked your brain trying to figure out a way to put distance between you and this competitor. 
  • Maybe you don’t even know who your competitors are…you just know you lack sales. You scrape by…even though you advertise, and stretch to market yourself in the time and budget you can afford. 
  • Or maybe you don’t think you have any competitors. Your uniqueness attracts plenty of qualified clients, but you know you want more. You just don’t know where they are, or why they are not sniffing around. 

Biggest Competitor

The truth is, every business battles one powerful competitor who turns your ideal client’s head in the opposite direction. You want to shout, “Hey, don’t you realize I’m perfect for you? Can’t you see I can help you?” But this gargantuan competitor consumes your customer’s attention and resources. Your voice is barely a whisper.  

Your customer’s radar doesn’t even detect your efforts to get her attention.  

Even stranger, this competitor beats up every business, in every industry! Health and wellness tribes, foodies, fahionistas, software companies, crafters, beauty suppliers, butchers, bakers, candlestick makers… they all compete with one, universal, monstrous force. 

This gorilla-competitor is a huge problem for you, too. Only you can’t see it because it is invisible. Your customer doesn’t even know she’s doing business with your #1 competitor, the King Kong of all forces stealing your business.  

This powerhouse of a trickster, always “cheating” you out the sales that are rightfully yours, and effortlessly pulling your customer off your scent, is simply: 

Anything and everything else your customer spends money on…that’s your #1 competitor! 

Before you dismiss the category as too broad, I’m the first to agree. “Everything else” is too big to fail. People are natural consumers. Sure, some people get by on a lot less, but most people search for experiences, products, gadgets, ideas that make them feel good! Everyone wants to feel good. And there’s always a bright, shiny thing that generates excitement and sends your customer running off in that direction…instead of toward you! 

How you get your idea customer to run toward you with their wallets wide open?  

If you’re doing what you’ve always done to generate sales, don’t assume anything will ever change. Decide first to alter your marketing strategy, and remember the sequence that stirs the “feel-good” pot and results in a sale… 

A-I-D-A: the classic sales and marketing tenet.  

As you read through each letter in the acronym, keep in mind your tenacious, invisible competitor — everything ELSE your customers desire — instead of you! 

A – Attention. If they don’t know that gap exists in their lives… they will choose the competitor. Get their attention. 

I- Interest. If your customers don’t see the gap between what is and what could be if they worked with you… they will choose your invisible competitor every time. Make them interested in how they would feel if the gap were closed. 

D – Desire. If they are unaware of the pain, discomfort, hardship, inconvenience, dull and uninspired situation they are in now, then they will never know the ease, enjoyment, convenience, prestige, enlightenment, and fun associated with closing the gap…and they will choose instead the invisible competitor that holds that promise for them. Create desire for your offer. 

A – Action. If they never receive a compelling and specific invitation to do business with you… they will choose to spend their money with your invisible competitor. Make an offer that inspires action. 

Can you do this in one fell swoop? Indeed! Direct response copywriters (the good ones) can achieve all of these components in one long page of copy.  You still see this a lot. All the elements of A-I-D-A unfold in a single, smooth, structured form. This kind of writing is tight as a drum. In fact, think of it like thumping on different points of the surface of a drum. Over one tightly stretched surface of hide, you get different sounds and tones depending on where you strike it. At any point in the copy of a long form sales page, you will hear a pitch-perfect copywriting element that either gets attention, increases interest, creates desire, or causes action. Copywriters and salespeople are trained in the A-I-D-A structure. While it takes years to perfect this kind of writing, long sales pages are worth studying! 

You can achieve a similar result affect another way. 

A content strategy that follows A-I-D-A rules 

Less intense, but equally disarming; content you float across targeted social sites strings together a powerful and unique value proposition. Organized, well-placed, smart content persuades buyers at every point along the sales funnel. Content marketing at its best now follows this same structure great copywriters have always knows and used.  

But you don’t have to be an A-list copywriter. All you need is a structured strategy and the determination to stay consistent in providing it. Effective content touches real people at different stages of the buying cycle. Words, and secondarily, images move them along from a state of casual oblivion to the point where they are frantically pulling out their credit card at the thought of working with you, or buying your product.  

You don’t have to be in their face with the full-out frontal assault of a hard-hitting sales pitch. Social networks, email, and blogs now function together to present a case to your customers and enfold them in your story.  Valuable content attracts and entices over time, in little bitty parts, so that by the time your customer actually calls you, clicks to order from you, or visits your bricks and mortar shop; your “Invisible Competitor” has withered away to nothing… 

Your customer has already made a decision to buy from you. 

Flickr CC photo: Wing_Clipper 

Filed Under: Content Marketing Tagged With: #1 Competitor, action, AIDA, attention, battling competition, Biggest competitor, competition, competition in business, competitor, content, content strategy, copywriting, dealing with competition, desire, interest, long form copy, long sales page, marketing, online content, sales, sales pages, small business competition, stopping your competitor, web content, who is your biggest competitor?, winning business from your competition, writing content

Seven Productivity Tools to Increase Content Creation in the Car

February 6, 2014 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

steering-wheel-content-creation-and-inspirationI’m proud to say I run a home-based business. 

But the truth is…I run much of my business from my car.  

I have a car-based business. While I write at my big-screen computer during the mornings, I spend a healthy chunk of time in my van in the afternoons.  

Not that I’m complaining. I get lots of ideas in the car. Inspiration, sometimes. Tests of patience. I download podcasts and interviews and listen to those. My kids absorb digital media news and marketing trends, but usually they’re plugged into Spotify or Injustice unless we get wrapped into conversation, laughter, or sometimes arguments.

So I’m running a business from my car, with all of life’s drama to boot. (Not to mention Texas drivers.) I cover the same 100 square miles every week, practically on autopilot.

The reason I’m sharing this isn’t to revel in my provincial existence, but to show you that you can market your business from right where you are — even if it happens to be a very small place.  

“I don’t have the time,” people say. 

“I hate the copywriting part,” small business women confide. 

“I’m too busy to market myself,” they bemoan. 

While I sympathize with all that, the truth is no one can market your business better than you.

So be prepared. Seek opportunities and take stock of what you do have. Busy people enjoy more content currency to spend simply because they’re in there, doing it. Build in an extra minute or two and create quickie micro-content, like the kind GaryVee talks about in his book #JJJHR. It’s all over the place! 

car-console-content-creation-tools

Click image to enlarge.

Do you keep all the content creation tools within easy reach? Here are some of my favorites: 

  1. Kindle (latest magazines, reports, books) to stimulate the mind.
  2. Pen and notepad, for great ideas at stoplights.
  3. Digital recorder, for great ideas when you’re moving.
  4. Phone  (not in picture because I’m using it to take a picture)
  5. Old iPod, for audiobooks and recordings that don’t get interrupted with every email or text that comes in.
  6. Inspirational Quotes. My two words of the year, “Breathe” and “Ask” are stuck to my steering wheel, reminding me how I’m going to accomplish my next best step.
  7. I left one thing out…these content creation cards that make it easy to come up with things to write about.

The game has changed. Marketing isn’t about telling your customers how things are. They already know. It’s letting them take a peek behind the curtain at how you can serve them and why they should want to connect with you, personally. What do you have that no one else has?

When you started your small business, you focused on delivering that one thing you actually love to do — the thing people pay you for. But you also knew there’d be other challenges. Things you’d have to get cozy with, maybe even some things that fell outside of your comfort zone.

Along with all those other hats, you knew you’d have to market yourself. But no one ever told you it would take so much time, money and energy right? 

The great news for small business people is that you are more than capable of reinforcing your culture with micro-content. (Stay with me here.) Imagine how rich your life is — and can be — while you are running your business. All that you are, wrapped up into all that you offer, and the great service and products your customers reap, too. 

Since I am a copywriter, here’s how it breaks down for me. I get up really early to write. 5:00am is average for me. That gives me a good four hours before I go to the gym. Then another couple of hours before I start checking email and returning phone calls. Six hours of writing is plenty. If I can do that much every day, I am happy. The rest of the day? Driving, cooking, reading, catching up with people via phone calls and recordings, etc.

I’m not saying this is the perfect way to do it, but it’s right for me. I’ve structured the day so I can get stuff done, and it’s not glamorous by any means. Most days I come up with article ideas at 55 mph, or a through a simple conversation with the guy at the pet store where I buy crickets for my son’s lizard, or a Facebook post.  

Anyone can market their business. Your life looks different from mine, of course, but as you build your business, why not share the journey with your community? The content you create right where you are is the juice that ultimately drives your business.

  • It’s what you opine as you read articles.
  • It’s what you tell your friend about after an interesting meeting with a new affiliate or vendor.
  • It’s that tangent your can’t resist exploring in conversation. 
  • It’s the funny joke you shared when your favorite client visited.
  • All of this is fodder for your content. And the people who are your ideal clients will naturally click with where you are right now.  

That’s not an excuse to be scattered and unintentional. And it’s definitely not an excuse to share all the “junk in your trunk,” so to speak. But a home-based business (or a car-based business) allows you a certain lifestyle that still serves clients with great value. The same goes for your life as a shopkeeper, a coach, a volunteer, an educator, a speaker, a realtor, or any of the various professions small business people fall into. It’s a life you can share as you reveal how you serve.

Incorporating content creation into your day-to-day takes a little extra time and intention.

Learn how to do it efficiently, making use of apps and tools so you can touch the right people. Having the right tools makes it easier on you, too. 

Here’s an example.The driving around started early today. An orthodontist appointment at 7:30 am and drop-off at the high school led to two hours at the cafe where I wrote for awhile. Then I picked up another child at the grade school to have a wart checked by the dermatologists. Trish, at the school’s front desk told me we’d need a doctor’s note when we returned, but I forgot to get one. So I turned the car around and sent my son Henry in to get it from the receptionist. As I waited in the car, I looked up to see this set of windows, a riff on classic architecture. I snapped it, intending to research the golden mean, while I waited — and if I could relate it somehow to writing.

restful-windowsI got to thinking how lovely the lines of simple geometry during a hectic day and how to share it in some way. 

Which brings me full circle. Within your day, there is something to share. Take stock, don’t discount the small stuff; try to find meaning in all the chance bits of flotsam and informational jetsam God sprinkles into your life. Don’t take them for granted. 

What does it mean for your customers and your ROI? Relish all the little things that contribute to the business you are building, and share them as your community grows.

What you invest is time and effort. What you get back is the return on dependability and familiarity. The better your ideal customer knows you and understands your vision, the clearer they see how you fit into the perfect solution once they’re ready to tackle their problem.

Do you have any thoughts on inventing and sharing content from “inconvenient” places?

 

Filed Under: Content Marketing Tagged With: @GaryVee, #JJJRH, car-based business, content creation, copywriting, creating content from your car, driving, easy content, entrepreneurs, finding time to create content, home-based business, how to create content, ideas for content, inspiration, micro content, small business, web content, writing content, writing copy

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