Healthy Marketing Ideas

Tonight is the Winter Solstice – the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere.  We know it well here.  In Northern New England, we’re perched on the part of the earth tilted away from the sun from September until March.    These days, in the midst of December, the sun is but a thin sheen of orange shining through the trees by the time the kids get home. By 4:30, darkness has closed in, making us think dinner long before dinnertime and bed well before bedtime.

I often think I should follow the lead of the wildlife and not-so-wild farm animals during this time.  They slow down and do less.  Chickens lay less eggs.  The squirrels are squirreled away with their cache.  Even the trees have slowed the sap down until spring’s warmth and light herald maple sugaring time.

And it’s a good lesson for us copywriters and marketers.  For in order to produce, to create, we also need quiet and nothingness-times.

I use it all the time when I’m working on a project.  Stuck facing a blank page or writing a headline, I take a ten-minute break and go pull weeds, letting my mind drift.  Sometimes I wash some dishes or go for a bike ride.

Legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz swore by the creative insights released by a good shave and I know plenty of copywriters who use a good night’s sleep or a nap to solve a writing problem.

Here’s why this helps:

Sometimes when you focus too hard on a problem, you get stuck in your conscious mind’s train of thoughts.  When you take a step away and release your mind from that conscious effort, the subconscious mind starts to percolate up. 

And this subconscious mind makes those wild connections that lead to both crazy dreams and creative bursts.  For the truth is, creativity is not making something out of nothing. It’s more about creating connections where they weren’t any before.  And transforming the nature of your original materials into something new and different.

Your conscious mind can’t do this so well. 

Not only does this work for taking on the ogre of the blank page, it also helps at momentous times of change like right now.

With the new year approaching and the tough economy, there’s a lot of emphasis on reconnoitering and reorganizing.  Anyone with a business to run is putting time into getting ready for January and beyond.

I’ve certainly been doing a lot of thinking about next year’s goals and plans.  I’ve been analyzing this year’s successes and failures trying to gain some perspective. 

But Solstice reminds me to take some time and just enjoy the darkness and quiet.  Don’t force the thinking process.  Let things percolate up from the depths and take up some mind space.

In other words, find some ways to step away from all the conscious planning that keeps you in the same tracks (and ruts) and let some new perspectives creep in when you’re not looking.

If there are lessons to be learned from the history of people on this planet and life in general -  we need this time of darkness, quiet and nothingness to regenerate and create.

I’m looking forward to the discoveries and ideas this Solstice time will bring to me to help me gear up for next year . . .

What are your thoughts?  Share your insights and experience with this . . .

Now as much as I have gotten great value out of every copywriting course I’ve purchased, (no duds, so far) I’ve also gotten invaluable ideas, tips, pointers and step-by-step instructions for nothing online.

And I know right now – however useful these courses are – times are tight.

So I’ve listed my favorite price-less copywriting resources on the HealthyMarketingIdeas blog.  You can find them here. 

(The order is not necessarily in terms of preference).

1. Clayton Makepeace’s Total Package.  If you don’t know about Clayton, you should.  He’s brought in more millions with his copywriting than any other copywriter.  And it’s because he knows what he’s doing when he sits down to write.  But he’s also very generous with this knowledge and he gives it away every day with his Total Package Newsletter.  Also, be sure and check out his archives for interviews with great health copywriters like Carline Anglade-Cole (she writes articles for him as well), Parris Lampropoulis and Kent Komae.

www.makepeacetotalpackage.com

1. Gary Bencivenga’s Marketing Bullets.  Gary Bencivenga is recognized throughout the business as an A++-level copywriter.  And he’s put together his best tactics distilled into bullets – or articles – for us aspiring copywriters and marketers.  I’ve printed them out and studied them carefully.  You can access his archives right here

www.marketingbullets.com/index.htm

1. Copyblogger.  Copyblogger’s Brian Clark and Sonia Simone have studied the basics of copywriting and then taken it somewhere else to fit the new criteria of social media.  But just because they bring a “new” approach doesn’t mean they haven’t built a solid foundation with the old techniques.  If you’re looking for great insights on how to write copy for the web or even just insights on basic copywriting, sign up for Copyblogger.  In particular, you might want to check out Brian Clark’s complimentary Copywriting 101.  And Sonia has an email course going right now on Internet Marketing for Smart People.  She’s pretty smart, so I suggest you check her out.

 www.copyblogger.com

1. John Forde’s Copywriter’s Roundtable.  A bunch of you just came over from this rich ezine.  John Forde doesn’t skimp when it comes to insights on copywriting. He’s built a solid reputation in the financial copywriting world and now is not only an in-demand copywriter but also an in-demand trainer. I always learn something from his articles – often pieces of marketing or copywriting history that yield great lessons. A few of his articles are standby references I use when checking my copy.

www.copywritersroundtable.com

1. American Writers and Artists Incorporated.  As you can see from my course selections, I’ve tapped heavily into the expertise of AWAI to build my skills and business.  But AWAI offers plenty of great information without a charge.  Sign up for The Golden Thread ezine.  And if you’re writing for the web, subscribe to the Wealthy Web Writer. You’ll be glad you did.

www.awaionline.com

 Take advantage of these terrific no-cost treasure chests. 

Pass them on to other people who may need them. 

And let me know what you think of this selection.  If you’ve got some other favorites, add them on below.

The faces of the people gathered around were rapt with attention.  Children, parents, old folks, even teenagers couldn’t tear their eyes off the man seated in front of the fire.  Behind them the darkness settled in as evening came.  Cold and snow piled up outside, the wind rattling the windows every so often.

But inside, we didn’t care.  The man seated in the center of the room used only a few simple tools – his animated face, his harp and his voice to weave a spell that captured everyone in its magic.

It must be at least 25 years since I first heard master storyteller Odds Bodkin at a friend’s house one cold December night.  But the evening is still clear in my mind.  It inspired me to tell Solstice stories for several years at my children’s school.  And each time I was amazed at how too-cool-to-listen 5^th graders and fidgety 2^nd graders would grow still as I told simple tales from around the world that haven’t changed for centuries.

I didn’t use special effects, video, a microphone or synthesizer.  It was simply the power of a story well-told imbued with the passion I felt for the story and the act of sharing it.

There’s a copywriting lesson here – especially pertinent for right now.  And I’m not going the usual route of talking about how stories help copywriting. 

Sure they help capture people’s attention and pull them in.  As described above, we’re made to love stories.  But there’s something more . . .

A good story is like a gift.  You’re giving your prospects more than just a sales message.  I often go back to copywriter Arthur Johnson’s explanation for his success.  Johnson pointed out that most people are lonely or bored.  With a story you can give your prospects the gift of some good entertainment, some human connection.  This fits right into the salesmanship principle of reciprocity.  When you give something to someone, they are more inclined to return the favor.  In other words, purchase from you.

A good story can inspire.  When you’re selling something you’re selling the possibilities it can bring to your prospect’s life – the benefits.  When you bring a good story into your copy you help people believe that they can change their lives, make them better.  Your product is nothing if they can’t see how it can help them do what they want to do.  Give them the extra tool of inspiration that works hand-in-hand with your excellent product.

A good story can build credibility.  With several of the promotions I’ve written, I’ve brought in the story of the company’s founder.  When I describe the journey they took to decide to create the product or company, I create a basis for trust.  People read this and they say, “Hey, they know what I’m going through,” or “Hey, it’s a real person behind this product – not a big corporation.”  Use the stories to convey the heart and understanding that goes into your business.

The same is true for stories built around customer testimonials.  One of the hottest sales pieces in B2B marketing is the case study.  People love to hear real life examples of how this product has worked for someone that’s a lot like them.  If it can work for this guy, it can work for me.  Keep in mind that with new FTC rules, you’ll have to be more selective about the results you talk about.

A good story can build rapport.  I’m deep into learning about Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula.  He’s had terrific success teaching people how to transform product launches into tremendously profitable events.  And the first thing he looks at is how can he create a story about the event.  His whole launch technique is built on engaging people, making them feel part of something.  Through careful orchestration of messaging, he builds a relationship with his prospects that makes the final sale almost as easy as pie.

Tell a story now

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a particularly good time for storytelling.  Why?  This goes back to that December evening I described at the beginning.  People have always turned to storytelling during the bleakest times, when winter winds are blowing.

When times are tough, people look for human connections.  They look for assurance that they are not alone.  And they look for imagery that sparks their imagination and pulls them out of the constraints of their reality. 

A good story can do all this.

So look to bring some storytelling into your marketing.  Bring warmth and human-ness; tales of dragons slayed and heroes rescued by fair maidens that help people believe. 

Let people know that while you may be a big company, you’re still just a bunch of people with heart, offering them something great that can make a difference in their lives.

Tell me what you think about storytelling and copywriting.  Share some examples of how you’ve used it or been moved to purchase by it.