Insights

You’ll have customers. You might have them logged in a CRM system. Name, address, email, customer type, products purchased. But do you know them? In this post, I’ll explain how you can get to know your valuable customers better. And why this will help you grow your business.

I write a lot of website copy and quite frankly, there can be more work to do before you start being creative. Think about decorating a room. It’s just the same. The quality of the finish is in the preparation. Your “finish” is a website that engages; and prompts action. So, here’s a list of those essential tasks.

Your copy often comes before you. Whether on your website, in a sales letter or a brochure, people make assumptions about you (and your business), based on what they read. They assume your competences, your business style and your ability to help them. All before they have even engaged with you. There’s many simple tricks to make a piece of business copy far more powerful – delivering better results for you. Here’s ten that will make a significant difference to the performance of your business.

Love them or hate them, capital letters have their purpose. But increasingly, people are using them in the wrong places and as a copywriter, that grates. Whilst some instances are considered subjective, there are certain rules to follow. Does it matter? Well, I think so. It makes your copy far more credible and therefore, effective. Here’s some guidance.

We can all write copy, surely? Granted, that’s one argument. But can we all write copy that engages, copy that motivates, copy that sells? No. And that’s why every business - even the smallest - stands to gain from hiring a copywriter. Let me explain.

If you’ve gone through the lengthy process of launching a new website, you’ll know the elation (and relief) that comes when it goes live! But that’s just the start of it. There are many ways that your website can, and should, work harder for you. Here’s a list of points to focus on after you’ve celebrated your launch.

I’ve seen it many times. Whilst it started well, your key message can all-too-often become rather muddled as your business expands. The result? Confused employees and customers, which affects the performance of your business. Read how to recognise and address this issue, ensuring that everyone knows exactly what your business does.

You have pantone references for your corporate colours, style guides for the use of your logo. But what about some clarity around your “voice”? In this post, I consider why a consistent voice is important and what elements can help you to achieve this.

Remember the 24^th and 25^th May? We grimaced as our inboxes groaned beyond belief. Privacy policy updates and eleventh-hour requests for consent ahead of GDPR kicking in. Has the EU just killed off email marketing? Not likely – and nor should you. Here’s why.

Would you invest in a piece of equipment and never work out how to use it? I doubt it. The same can be said for your website. Simply having one is no guarantee that the phone will ring and your inbox will fill up with enquiries. The thorny subject of website optimisation can be complex, whilst the goal posts continually change. But amongst it all, there’s some sound and practical advice that you can harness to make your website more appealing to Google. Here’s my take on a few of these issues.