Photo by Karolina Grabowska, Pexels
Did you think that ‘S’ would be all about SEO? Nope. Not this time! As I’ve written about SEO copywriting before (which I’ve just updated for you!), I decided this post should be about other copywriting ‘S’ words – simple language being one.
Scarcity is another useful tactic to include in your copy and content writing. Create a sense of urgency by telling people that your products are selling fast, or that there are only a handful of tickets left for your event. Don’t lose out! Hurry up and buy them now before it’s too late! Remember to include time limits and you should attract a good response.
But first, Smarketing
Smarketing, as I’m sure you know, is combining Sales and Marketing activities. The result is a unified business strategy that is a far more successful way to market and sell. This approach works whether you’re a large organisation with dedicated Sales and Marketing teams (that will need encouragement to work together more closely), or an SME with one team of people — or even one person — who does it all.
Smarketing works particularly well on people who don’t like being sold to and who aren’t keen on sharing their personal data. Let’s face it, that’s a large proportion of the population! Many people tend to remain in the background of digital marketing platforms, watching what others are doing, until they’re ready to engage.
That’s why maintaining a continuous presence on your various platforms is so important, regularly posting content. I’ve written a fair bit about writing engaging evergreen content – applying that to your Smarketing activities will really help.
Meanwhile, here are two good sources of information on Smarketing:
1. According to this LinkedIn document, Moments of Trust – Why customer value is the key to sales and marketing alignment, 87% of sales and marketing leaders say collaboration between sales and marketing enables critical business growth. It discusses the three-way relationship between sales, marketing and the customer.
2. For practical advice on how to effectively carry out Smarketing, this HubSpot resource is packed with information. Guiding you as you build a mutually beneficial journey between your marketing and sales teams (or within your small business team), it should help you to balance the customer experience with your business values, ultimately improving sales.
Simplicity Sells!
One of the most important elements of content and copywriting is simplicity. Straightforward, clear and precise messages that spell out in simple terms what you’re selling and why your customers need it, how it benefits them and why they can’t afford to be without it. These simple and effective messages are all part of your Smarketing efforts.
Short and sweet is usually best, depending on your product. Even when you’ve written an attention-grabbing headline, if the rest of the copy is too complex or technical you risk losing your audience. They need to understand what you’re on about! They don’t need to know about the technical attributes of your latest product; they just need to know how it will help solve their problems, make life easier, how simple it is to use, or how it'll make them feel.
If you love using long words and even longer sentences when you write, please stop! That doesn’t work in copywriting. You may get away with that in long-form content, such as white papers and articles published in trade journals, but far less so in your general B2B and B2C marketing.
Likewise, if you enjoy scattering jargon words around as prolifically as a gardener sowing wildflower seeds, or Imelda Marcos buying shoes, don’t do it! Stop with the jargon. I’ve written more about the need to avoid jargon here. It can really put people off.
Unless, that is, you’re an academic, scientist or in a similarly technical organisation where you’re writing for a particular audience. If that’s the case, go ahead and release your inner geek! I live with a geek; he’s a civil engineer. Luckily, he knows to keep things simple for me!
Keep in mind the KISS acronym when you're writing – Keep It Simple, Stupid! By all means write your lovely long, wordy sentences. But then spend time editing and honing them down to create a clear, succinct post. That way, your reader will quickly understand what it's about and what they need to do to buy it.
There’s an apt quote attributed to both Mark Twain and Blaise Pascal: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead…” In other words, it’s far easier and quicker to write lots. But for the best reading experience, you need to spend time editing it.
Need any help with your simple Smarketing content? Then you know where to come! Email me at jen@jennyhaken.co.uk and let's arrange a time to talk. Perhaps over a coffee!
Comments