Seven,Simple,Steps,Flawless,Ma marketing Seven Simple Steps to Flawless Marketing Copy

Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie

Have youever visited a website that had poorly written text or read a brochure that hadtypos or spelling errors on the cover? I don’t know about you, but I am alwaysturned off by this kind of sloppy work. In fact, if the offending businessisn’t paying attention to these little details, I wonder what else it ismissing. Maybe the company will mail my purchase to the wrong address or forgetto gift wrap the package I need sent overnight. Of course, these scenarios areexaggerations, but that’s the risk companies take when they overlook detailslike good copywriting and editing. When we see mistakes—even minor ones—wequestion the quality of a company’s work. How can youcreate a flawless first impression? Simple. Avoid copywriting and editingerrors in your own marketing materials with these guidelines. 1.  Identify your target audience and the voiceyou’ll use when speaking to it. Are you offering your services to CEOs and toplevel managers? If so, consider using a professional tone in the third person(they, he, she). Maybe you want to appeal to parents of young children.Consider a more casual, friend-to-friend tone in the first (I, we, our) orsecond person (you). Be sure to consider the type of material you are writing,too. Brochures tend to be more formal than website copy, for example. Flyersand coupons, on the other hand, are often lighter in tone. 2.  Present your information in a well-organized,easy-to-follow manner. How? Outline your ideas ahead of time and organize themas if you were a prospective customer. Ask yourself these questions:  What problem is this business solving for me?What benefits will I get if I buy this product or service? How much does itcost? Why should I choose this business instead of another? Take your answersto these questions and logically organize them. On a website for example, yourhome page should tell prospective customers what problem you are solving forthem and what’s in it for them. Subsequent pages can discuss pricing (pricingor a rates page) and differentiation (about us, why choose us). 3.  Write, revise, repeat. After writing yourinitial draft, set the material aside for a few hours or overnight if timeallows. When you come back to revise it, you’ll have fresh eyes and errors suchas spelling, punctuation, grammar and organization are more likely to jump outat you. 4.  Proofread. If you are satisfied with whatyou’ve written and have organized it so that it is easy to follow, run aspelling and grammar check (if you haven’t already) and proofread the text lineby line. Read it out loud or from the bottom up. Do you have contactinformation (website, e-mail address, phone numbers) listed in your materials?If so, test each one as it is written. See a phone number or an e-mail address?Dial the number or send a test e-mail to be sure the information is accurate. 5.  Have someone else proofread your copy. Nomatter how skilled we are at writing and proofreading, we will always make mistakes.We’re human and we can’t avoid it, but we can improve our chances of error-freecopy by having someone else proofread our work. Almost anyone will do—a friend,co-worker, spouse, teenage son or daughter, even a customer. Ask him or her tonot only look for errors but to see if the information is concise and complete.Do you need more text? less text? Can you easily find the information you need? 6.  Correct mistakes as soon as you find them. Imaginethat you’ve published your copy to the web or had your materials printed beforeyou find a glaring error. It’s not the end of the world, but you’ll want to fixit right away. Web changes can often be made quickly. Printed materials take abit longer—and more money—to correct, so keep a file of changes to make beforeyour next reprint. 7.  Lastly, if this process is completelyunappealing to you or if you are simply too busy, consider hiring aprofessional copywriter for the job. He or she will gather information aboutyour intended audience, products and services, and company and, based on yourdirection, will write copy that is clear, concise and complete and that willdraw in readers. To find a professional copywriter, try a Google search forcopywriters in your region or look for local writing and editing organizationsfor referrals. Many have online directories that list qualified copywriters.When selecting a copywriter, I recommend that you contact two or three, readsamples of their work and interview them by phone to see if your personalitiesand work styles are a match. This step may increase your marketing budget abit, but the quality of your materials will be well worth it. If youtackle your next copywriting project with these ideas in mind, your marketingcopy will be flawless, allowing your message to shine through. HappyWriting!