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Word choice can change the perception and value of your business communications. Each piece of correspondence, promotional, marketing and advertising material your company produces is an investment in your success. Are you investing wisely?

Think about the words “old” and “experienced”. They have similar meanings. However if you advertised that you are the most “experienced” business as opposed to the “oldest” you’d probably receive a better response.

Let’s look at the definitions.

Old by definition means one of specified age or from an earlier time.

Experienced by definition means made skillful or wise through experience (also practiced).

By definition the words are similar and can be interchanged, yet what do you visualize when you think of each word?

Would you rather do business with an “old” or “experienced” business? It depends on personal perception and you need to know the perceptions of your customers.

This is only one example of why what you say is just as important as how you say it. When considering word choice, think about what motivates and what will move your customers closer to the desired action.

Surprisingly, many businesses fail to recognize the importance of strong content for marketing, advertising, promotional materials and even basic business correspondence.

Often design or format of such materials is given first consideration. It’s true that a visually pleasing layout helps form image and is an important part of the branding process. However, content is king and your materials will be more effective with a balanced marriage of content and design.

Here’s why.

Copy (that’s the written part of documents) should move your customers through a process. A well designed brochure may catch the eye but if the content doesn’t pique interest, clearly describe the “what’s in it for me” factor, answer commonly asked questions or ask for action, customers won’t respond as favorably as they could. Plus, your return on investment will be not be as strong as it should be.

Your customers should do more than merely glance at your materials because they look good. You want your customers to be engaged and interested in what you have to say about your product or service. Most importantly, you want them to take action. What are your marketing and advertising materials saying? Are you getting the response you desire?

This article may be reproduced in its entirety with the following inclusion: Lisa Manyon is a writer and consultant specializing in POWERFULLY communicating business messages to get results. Her work has been featured by the National Association of Women Writers and her experience positioned her to create a series of training seminars for the Idaho Small Business Development Center to help small businesses avoid costly marketing startup mistakes. She specializes in copywriting and strategic marketing plans. To learn more visit http://www.writeoncreative.com Write On ~ Creative Writing Services, LLC. ©

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An effective and compelling way to market your business is through the use of success stories. What exactly is a success story? How does it market my business? How can I get started with my own success stories?

Consider the following:

What exactly is a success story? A success story briefly describes how your business served a client/customer and what results the client/customer achieved. Think of this as a real life example of how your product or service helps customers achieve their goals or solve a problem.

How does it market my business? A compelling success story will include the original client problem or goal, the specific product or service used with the client, and some tangible results that occurred. Prospective customers can better understand what your product or service does and most importantly, see some actual results. This will make it even easier for them to make the “buy” decision.

How can I get started with my own success stories? 3 simple steps will get you started:

1. Write a brief description of your best success story. Include a. Problem or goal b. Solution implemented c. Client testimonial. This can be a few paragraphs at the most.

2. Get permission from the customer to use the success story and testimonial in your promotional materials along with actual company names and contact information. If you don’t have permission, use generic industry categories to describe the company and position names to describe any people that may be involved.

3. Use the success story in the following ways a. Your website b. Your brochure c. Press/News release d. ezine or newsletter e. Article for publication f. Face-to-face exchanges and speeches.

Remember to ask for testimonials with all your clients/customers! Over time you will add new success stories to your portfolio as your business grows and the list of satisfied customers increases. Most satisfied clients are very willing to help in this way. Take a few minutes and add success stories to your marketing toolkit today!

Copyright 2004, Charlotte Farrior

Charlotte Farrior of Coaching Connection (http://www.corporatecoaching101.com) and Founder/Team Member of Solo-E (http://www.Solo-E.com) is a corporate and professional coach. She works with professionals, entrepreneurs, directors, and executives to define and achieve the personal and business goals they set for themselves. She coaches in the areas of goal setting, skill development, priority management and career transitions.

Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com, the lifestyle-inspired online learning and connection community. Visit now to receive a free copy of our special report, The Four Secrets of Solo Entrepreneur Success, plus a complimentary 30-day membership.

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Understand Hierarchy

Before beginning the designing process, it’s a good idea to outline your key message points. Understanding what you want your audience to hear or see first will guide content placement, size, color, etc.

Reflect your Prospects’ and Company’s Personality

It’s important to know your target market in the minutest detail their wants, problems, needs, and interests. Your communication pieces, therefore, should reflect your understanding of your prospects’ personalities.

This can be accomplished in many ways such as choosing the right paper (size, weight, color), fonts (for example formal fonts for wedding invitations; ‘childlike’ fonts for a day care center sign), size, and language (apt buzzwords). Traditionally, more upscale offers have uncluttered designs with plenty of white space while discount offers are just the opposite you can fill them up with graphics and words.

Color

While excellent marketers understand that effective use of color is elusive, they follow a few fundamental rules.

As you probably expect, there is plenty of scientific research on all aspects of color that is which ones are considered most attractive or eye-catching; what feelings certain colors inspire; or which colors are easiest to see. After sifting through the mounds of information the following tips were echoed repeatedly:

These four colors were symbols for the following:

Red: action, emphasis, recall, excitement
Yellow: happiness, sunshine, attention-getting

Green: reassurance, security, stability
Blue: order, tranquility, coolness, relaxation

Use these findings to guide your choices for instance, dentists should consider painting their walls a lovely shade of blue! Also, test your own color instincts, and those of friends and family, to find out what works best for you

A “quick printer” conducted a recent study in Cleveland, Ohio. He tested different color reply cards (identical wording and offers) for his in-house mailers. Surprisingly, the pink postcards resulted in the highest response rates!

Artwork and Graphics

Visual images are simple, yet widely effective ways to communicate a lot. Trite phrases such as “a picture is worth a thousand words” are certainly overused because they continue to “ring true”.

Your artwork will help you:

Tell a compelling and appealing story
Symbolize your company’s values and culture
Evoke important feelings
Explain your product/service
Itemize key points

Thus, visually pleasing communication is important and can increase your chances of capturing your prospects’ attention. Here are some tips for ensuring that it does:

1.Take your time while creating or choosing your artwork. If it’s rushed it shows. Great photography and graphics are affordable and easy to find on the internet. Check out these three: www.indextock.com; www.corbis.com, and www.fotosearch.com.

2.Make sure your artwork is compatible with your company’s and target market’s personality

3.Do not create an ad where your artwork overpowers your content, headline, product, etc. Yes, it should be noticeable and “tell your story” not be “the story”

4.Your artwork should increase the odds that your message will be notices, even to casual readers or viewers.

5.Don’t waste money investing in unnecessary, and often distracting, “pizzazz” - you know, graphics that flash, move around, dance, etc. They increase costs substantially and result in negligible or negative reactions.

6.Find ways to reuse photos, illustrations, testimonials, and blowups again. This will save you money and if they continue to work, why change?

Fonts and Typefaces

What exactly is a “font”? Simply put it is the specific traits (size, intensity, and typeface) for letters, numbers and symbols (that is, characters). “Typeface” is a subset of font and refers only to a character’s design (e.g. Times New Roman, Helvetica, Verdana). The right font will make your copy easier to read, create harmony with your artwork and graphics, and be reflect your company’s and target market’s personalities.

Choosing the right font can be daunting particularly given the sheer number of choices. However, let the following general tips guide you:

1.”Sans Serif” fonts are easier to read because they leave more “white space”.

Tip:

Serif: little decorative “doolollies” (adornments, flourishes) on the ends of the characters

Sans: Means “without”

Some popular “sans serif” typefaces are: Gautami, Microsoft Sans Serif, and Arial. I also like Verdana.

2.For a more traditional look you’ll want to consider using “serif” typefaces such as Times New Roman, Century Schoolbook, and Garamond.

3.While it’s okay to vary font styles within a piece, try not to use more than two. Also, if you decide to try different fonts mix choose one of each - sans serif and serif. The contrast will result in an “eye pop”.

4.When choosing size, italics, and bolds keep readability in mind. This doesn’t have to be a major pain in the neck! Look in your own magazines, newspapers, and direct mail copy styles that you find appealing, easy-to-read and in keeping with your company’s tone and feel.

AVOID:

- Reverse Type while it works well for eye-catching headlines, it’s harder to read and tough on the eyes. Use sparingly

- Overdoing italics, underlining and capitalization it looks unprofessional.

- Fonts that look typeset (making them fuzzy). They should be clean and crisp.

Mary Eule specializes in helping small and medium-sized businesses get and keep profitable customers. Formerly a Fortune 500 marketing executive; founder of two successful small businesses and award-winning speaker, Ms. Eule is President of Strategic Marketing Advisors, LLC. and co-author of a new book, “Mandatory Marketing: Small Business Edition”. She holds a master degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University. Log onto http://www.StrategicMarketingAdvisors.com for free articles, newsletter and helpful tools, tips and templates.

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