Copywriting in Slow Economic Times – Ramp it Up

In economic downturns, we learn to do more with less. As advertising and marketing budgets are slashed to save on costs, keep these copywriting tips in mind to make sure your business continues to get the exposure it needs. Creating a newsletter, offering a special report or issuing a press release can keep your business in the public’s eye. Creating copy that is informative, robust and engages the customer, is the key to the ongoing success of your business.

Your business is newsworthy

Now is the time to give your business plenty of exposure by issuing a press release. If you have a new product line to announce, a new key management member to introduce or an upcoming event, then a press release is a crucial element to announcing company happenings. Write your press release so that it is newsworthy – not a blatant sales pitch or business ad. You will be given the opportunity to promote a brief “call to action” at the end of the release to urge customers to visit your website or establishment. Write and then submit the release to your local paper and to an online site such as PRWeb or PRNewswire for greater national exposure.

Get customers to invite you into their “personal” space.

Write an informative weekly or monthly newsletter for customers. Potential web visitors have a tendency to visit a site, search for an item they need, purchase and click out of the site. But what happens after they leave your website? Unfortunately you are out of sight and out of mind. If you offer an opt-in newsletter subscription on your site, buyers will subscribe to receive special offer notices or valuable tips and best of all – your company stays fresh in the consumer’s mind.

Now that the customer has invited you into his domain – his email inbox – on a weekly or monthly basis, here is a short list on what you can accomplish with a customer based newsletter:

o Keep subscribers informed on specials.

o Provide company news and events.

o Offer loyal customers a coupon or discount.

o Print consumer success stories using your product or service.

o Offer tips on how to use your product.

o Link to informative articles that can benefit your subscribers.

o Give web vistitors a voice and let them offer feedback.

Giving subscribers a voice makes this an invaluable source of information for your marketing purposes. Now, more than ever, is the time to listen to what is being said about the services and products you provide.

Did someone say free?

Write and offer a “free” special report or pamphlet to customers. You can have them download it off your website or mail the report directly to them. Everyone loves something “free” and this establishes you as knowledgeable, or even an expert, in your field. If you are an electrician, your pamphlet can be as simple as listing a few tips on avoiding electrical hazards. Always make sure your free handout contains your complete company name and contact information such as address, phone, web url and email so you can be contacted when they need your services. If individuals have to search for this information, you have lost the sale.

Instead of viewing tougher economic times as a glass half empty, try to see the glass as half full and continue to fill it a drop at a time until you reach your goals. There are more opportunities out there than you think.