Testimonials are great. Nice words from a happy customer can go a long way to help persuade a new customer to do business with you.

But some testimonials are better than others. Here are some tips when choosing which testimonials you’ll use:

Get testimonials from the type of customer you like working with

Like attracts like – and potential customers want to see if you have experience dealing with other people like them. So if you like working for big corporates, put their testimonials first. If you want to work with more business coaches, then get some of their words up front.

Use your testimonials to address doubts or concerns

It seems like a lot of work.

It’s a long way for me to travel.

I’m not sure if I can afford it.

A good sales process has momentum. You don’t want little snippets of negativity slowing it down.  You don’t want the customer to pause (with any doubts) or hold back because you don’t answer their concerns.

Use your testimonials to address the potential stumbling blocks of doing business with you.

I thought it was going to be really expensive, but I made my money back in new business in no time.

You have a to start somewhere

Not everyone feels comfortable writing testimonials. Even if the project has been a total success and everyone is happy, you may still find it hard to get something in writing. That’s fine, use what you have with the aim to replace them with better ones as they come along. In my opinion some good words are better than none at all.

Are you comfortable writing testimonials? Leave a comment below or go to my portfolio page to see some of my copywriting testimonials. I am in the process of updating them, but as I said above – some good words are better than none at all.

Working with a copywriter for the first time can be daunting. Writing is very personal, and having an external person write about your business (your baby) takes a lot of trust and communication.

And to be honest, the actual writing is only one component of a much larger relationship. Get these other components right and the words will come much easier.

Completing the brief

I’ve talked about the importance of a good client brief as a key component of a successful copywriting project. Keep in mind that you know  your business best, and it may take a lot of questions and discussion for me to get my head around what you do, what makes your business so special, and who your customers are. If you don’t know the answers to some of the questions – be truthful. We can work through it together.

Allowing enough time

A rushed job is never good. As soon as you know you have a project, make contact so I can add it to my schedule. The more time I have to prepare and write, the better the outcome for everyone. It doesn’t mean that I’ll necessarily take longer to write your content, it just means I can spread it out and have enough time to refine  it.

Providing feedback

I like happy clients. I want you to be happy with the work I do. I want you to let me know what works and what doesn’t work. I want you to tell me why. It’s all about communication. Don’t be afraid to say what you think – I want the best outcome for the project just as much as you do.

Paying the invoice

My invoices are due within 14 days of the date of issue. If you know that your accounting department doesn’t work that quickly, please let me know before I start so I can plan accordingly. It may mean that I ask for a deposit up front, or issue more frequent invoices along the way.

What are your experiences? Please share them below.

If you are ready to take the plunge and work with a copywriter for the first time, contact me to arrange a quote.

Tickets have gone on sale for the next Networx event The art of persuasion – communicate and influence featuring Marissa Tree and myself.

If you are Brisbane on 28 July 2010, consider coming along to listen to us speak about how you can develop and refine your communication tools so that people sit up and take notice.

We are going to give lots of practical examples (it won’t all be theory), so you’ll walk away with tips and strategies that you’ll be able to apply easily within your business.

See you there!

Cheers

I am speaking at a Networx event in July with the wonderful Marissa Tree on the topic of Persuasion. The idea is we are going to go through different methods that you can use to persuade people to get them to do what you want.

I was sharing this with a friend, who looked at me, rolled her eyes and said

“You mean you are going to tell them how to trick people.”

I was actually quite shocked.

Then by chance I saw an advertisement on TV for an upcoming current affairs show that was going to “expose the tricks that supermarkets use to get you to buy more groceries”.

It all sounds so negative.

Sure, there are unscrupulous people out there who deceive and lie about their products or services, and as a result consumers feel ripped off.

But I firmly believe that if you have a great product or service that is relevant and useful for your audience – then what’s wrong with ensuring you do you best to sell it? It doesn’t even have to be something for sale. You may want people to register for community consultation, download a whitepaper, sign up for a newsletter. Whatever your call to action is.

Sometimes understanding just a little about the psychology of persuasion will make a huge difference to your conversions.

What are your thoughts?

If you are in Brisbane on 28 July 2010, keep an eye out on the Networx site for ticket details.

(Short and sweet post tonight.)

Although you may associate the term ‘angle’ with media releases or news articles, it’s also an important concept to keep in mind when writing other forms of communication.

By choosing an angle and sticking to it, it’s easier to focus on what your key message is.

To see if you have stayed true to your angle check your headline, opening paragraph, any quotes you’ve used, and your call to action. Do they all follow your angle? Yes? Well done.

As some of you know, I have a strong interest in not just copywriting but web content strategy too. So much so that I’ve launched a new website and blog:  www.webcontentstrategy.com.au

This new site will be my outlet to explore topics that aren’t just about copywriting. Things like usability, information architecture, strategy, and other resources. I’ll also be writing lots of book reviews.

Drop by if you get the chance.

I’ve been reading Dean Rieck’s ProCopyTips for ages, so when he asked for guest posts I jumped at the chance.

Read my guest post: How to write engaging newsletter articles in 7 easy steps.

Persuasive writing is all about understanding your target audience, their motives, their goals, and their problems (that you’ll hopefully solve with your product or service). By knowing all of these elements, you can shape content that will make them want to buy (or call, or register etc).

But one thing to keep in mind is quite often the end user of your product or service has one (or more) ‘gatekeepers’ that stand in the way of making a purchase. This is especially true if they are part of a larger organisation that could have complex approvals processes, procurement teams, or even purchasing policies to abide by.

• Gatekeepers may want a different set of benefits from your product or service than the end user (such as value for money, locally made, or warranty)
• Gatekeepers may receive their information in different ways than the end user.
• Gatekeepers may also have gatekeepers.

The best thing that you can do is to not only understand your target audience, but also understand their gatekeepers. Make  it as easy as possible for them to persuade their gatekeepers why your product or service should be used.

Do this by:

• Using scenarios that show the benefit of your product or service not just to the end user, but also to the gatekeeper.
• Including fact sheets that can be downloaded and attached to procurement requests.
• Include a ‘how to convince your boss’ section if appropriate. I like the one that Usability Week has.

What have been some gatekeeper hurdles that you have overcome?

If you ever need help persuading gatekeepers to buy your product or service, get in contact with me and we’ll work out a plan of attack.

I’ve got a sneaky little side project on the go. Very exciting.

Without giving anything away, it has something to do with books. Real books.

My question to you is:

What’s your favourite copywriting, usability, information architecture, writing for the web, or content strategy book?

Let me know.

In two weeks I’ll be guest lecturing at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The topic will be web content writing (plus blogging and internal communications), and the audience will be (mainly) first year undergrads studying public relations. It’s a subject that I took in the very same degree 15 years ago.

I’ve been trying to compile a list of things that I’ll cover. How people read on the web, breaking content with headings and bullets, keeping sentences snappy and short etc. But I think the main thing that I’ll emphasise to the students is…

it ain’t about you, it’s always about them.

Whenever you are writing, you always need to keep your target reader in mind. You have such a short amount of time to get your message across, don’t waste it by focusing on your business instead of the customer.

What this means is that you should always focus on the benefits of your product or service, not just the features.

So instead of:

Our new iron has an automatic switch-off. (Just the feature is mentioned.)

Try:

Our new iron has an automatic switch-off, so there’s no need to worry if you can’t remember if you turned off the iron or not. (Both the feature and benefit is mentioned.)

It’s such a simple thing to remember, but it will make such an improvement to your content.

What are the benefits of your product?

If you ever need help identifying the benefits of your product or service, send me an email and I’ll give you a hand.