Biz Growth Express - July 9, 2007

Missed a previous edition? Access past copes of ‘Biz Growth Express’ here

IN THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH EXPRESS’     ISSN   1649-8127

Hi

I hope you are having a great start to the week. I started my day connecting to one of our Podcast Sisters listeners, Kate Coote of Floozy.co.nz who is based in New Zealand. Just as I was beginning my day she was ending hers. Kate has a wonderful online business focused on designer accessories.

Kate and her team have just implemented a business blog to support her online business and we were talking about how the business blog will support her growth strategy. You will be able to hear my interview with Kate on next weeks Podcast Sisters show.

As I mentioned last week, we are making some changes here at the “Biz Growth” headquarters. In line with this transition, from this week we will be adding an additional article in “Biz Growth Express” and each week we will include:

Do let me know if there are specific subjects and experts you would like us to connect with in the months ahead or if you have feedback on the content we provide in our weekly newsletter.

As you know, our goal is your success, providing you with strategies, inspiration and tips that you can adapt, adopt and apply to grow your business. 

I hope you enjoy this week’s edition of ‘Biz Growth Express’.

And if you have friends and colleagues who you believe would benefit from the strategies and tips we cover in the ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls and our ‘Biz Growth Express’ newsletter, I would be honoured if you forwarded this email to them or alternatively you can invite them to register at ‘Biz Growth Live’.

Your recommendation is how we grow! Here’s to bringing YOUR brand to life!

Thank you for being part of our thriving ‘Biz Growth Community’ and please do share your suggestions for areas you would like us to cover in future editions and that would support your business growth in 2007 or subjects for our weekly ‘Biz Growth Live’ calls.

Best wishes

Krishna

FEATURE ARTICLE:’THE FOUR C’S OF WEB COPY THAT SELLS’

You might have realised the last time you were searching on the internet that how you read a website is different to how you might have read books in the past.

Today we read quickly – we scan emails, websites, newspapers and websites.

In Gerry McGovern’s book “Killer Web Content” he refers to John Rhodes, a web usability expert refers to an advert that was used in the New Yourk City subway system in the 1980’s that read:

“If U Cn Rd Ths, U Cn Mk Bg Mny.”

As we look at this sentence our minds make assumptions so what we understand is:

“If you can read this, you can make big money.”

Just as we scan this information and translate it into what we understand to be true, so do visitors to our websites and business blogs.

Typically we scan a heading and if we find that to be interesting we will scan the beginning of the first sentence of the first paragraph. If that is interesting and relevant to us, we might move on to the next sentence.

As you craft your copy for the web, then answering the following questions will help ensure that you create copy that your website visitor will be encouraged to read.

  1. Is your copy compelling? Creating headlines and copy that is compelling that your ideal audience will want to read about is critical for web copy that sells. As you review your web copy put yourself in the place of your ideal client and as you read the copy ask yourself the question “so what?” If your copy answers this question in a way that demonstrates the value your product or service brings to the client and is something that they care about, you are more likely to retain their attention.
  2. Is your copy clear? The objective is to ensure that your copy is simple to understand but is not considered by your reader to be simplistic. Our goal is to communicate what is often complex information about our products and services in a way that is straightforward and able to be understood.
  3. Is your copy concise? As they say less is more. If you can get to the point in fewer, less complex words then your website reader will repay you by sticking around longer to read your copy.
  4. Is your copy correct? Taking time over the accuracy and quality of your writing will enhance the experience for your reader and will position you as being a professional organisation. Consider hiring a professional editor to review your web site copy – it is always easier to see errors in someone else’s work than your own.

THIS WEEK’S ‘BIZ GROWTH’ ACTION STEPS

  1. Print out the key pages of your website copy and take time to review the content against the 4C’s of web copy that sells.
  2. Consider what changes your could make to your website copy so that it is compelling, clear, concise and speaks directly to your target audience and ideal customer and client.
  3. If you think your copy needs a drastic overhaul, consider hiring a copy writer and editor to enhance your web copy.

EMPLOYER BRANDING INSIGHT OF THE WEEK: ‘HOW TO ENSURE THAT YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE BRAND AMBASSADORS’

I am sure you noticed in the news about the launch of the Apple iPhone – yes I know those of us in Europe will have to wait another 6 months before it hits the stores here.

But did you realise that at a town-hall meeting with employees, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that all full-time Apple employees and all part time employees who have been with the company more than a year will receive a free 8GB iPhone?

The phones are expected to be delivered to employees by the end of July, after initial consumer demand has subsided.

Many times when there is a launch of a new product, the people briefed about the product are the sales teams.

However you have many other members of your organisation who are not actively engaged in sales but in fact are great brand ambassadors for your products and services.

By actively engaging your people in the launch of a new product or service and letting them benefit too, just as Apple have done with the iPhone, you will guarantee greater word of mouth for your business.

Just remember that each of your employees connects with hundreds of their own contacts, friends, family and associates and by connecting you to their network they will extend the reach of your brand.

Imagine how you would feel if you were an Apple employee showing your cool new iPhone to your friends and family. Would you feel more connected to the company? Would you feel proud to be working for a company and value the investment that the company had made in making available some of the most leading edge consumer technology in the world?

THIS WEEK’S EMPLOYER BRAND INSIGHTS

Consider your responses to the following four review points:

  1. Review the key products and services you offer to your clients. Are all your employees fully up to date with product knowledge and awareness?
  2. Can your employees speak in a compelling way, potentially from first hand experience, about what the product can do for your client or customer?
  3. Is there a process in place where an employee knows exactly who to talk to if they have a lead from a potential client and have you a mechanism to reward them not just your sales team?
  4. What actions can you take to translate this information into actions to build a more compelling employer brand so that your people realise that their contribution to the success of the business is both wanted and valued?

PERSONAL BRANDING TIP OF THE WEEK: ‘EXPRESS YOUR PERSONAL BRAND THROUGH YOUR WRITING’

Whether we write articles or write a business blog our voice needs to be clear and distinctive – so that as people read your blog it as if they are talking to you.

While it may take a little time to find your “voice” it is worth the time and attention to ensure that your “written voice” is clear, distinctive and reflects your personal brand and expertise.

Here are three tips to help you on your way to finding your “written voice”:

  1. Write as you speak – when you write your article or blog post, do so as if you were speaking to a friend or colleague.
  2. Read your post out loud – if you are not sure of the flow of your article or blog post, read it out loud to check if it makes sense – does it reflect how you speak?
  3. Write what you know about – in other words, showcase the best of yourself and be remarkable and are “fully self expressed” as my good friend Michael Port describes it.

If you are not the expert in the subject you are writing about, then be open and share that you are not the expert but are learning the subject yourself and want to share what you are learning.

You see in business, your clients and potential clients will come to you and refer others to you if you are an expert in your field.

THIS WEEK’S PERSONAL BRAND ACTION STEPS

  1. Review a recent article or blog post and review how your writing stands against the three tips for finding your “writing voice”.
  2. If you feel you are “stuck” then consider attending a creative writing course to help you free up your writing skills.
  3. Spend just 10 minutes each day practicing your writing. That may be writing in a journal, writing a short blog post or writing a paragraph or twp of an article.

BIZ GROWTH TELECONFERENCE – 25 JUNE 2007
SUBJECT : ‘WRITING FOR THE WEB’

Guest Expert: Krishna De, branding and new media marketing expert

With billions of web pages on the internet and many of them like your corporate website looking to offer services and products to potential clients, how do you ensure that your words on a web page encourage your website visitors to take action?

The psychology of purchasing on the internet is very different to buying off line.

In next weeks “Biz Growth Live” seminar we will be covering specific guidelines fo writing online marketing copy.

If you have questions about how to write web copy that gets website visitors to take action you can post your questions before the call here.

BRANDING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PODCASTS

As you know, here at Oneocean, we are all about building brands, from your corporate brand to attract great clients, to your employer brand to attract and retain great talent, to your personal leadership brand to build your personal reputation as an expert in your field and expand your success.

CALCULATE YOUR RETURN ON NETWORKING INVESTMENT

If you have been investing in networking online and offline have you considered how to evaluate your network, or as I describe it, have your determined your Return On networking Investment (RONI)? Discover how to find out if your networking is working for you by listening to our most recent podcast:

ALL ABOUT TWITTER

On the eighth of our “Podcast Sisters” Podcasts, we cover what the social media tool “Twitter” is and how we can use it in business (www.twitter.com).
Access the podcast here:

You can post your comments and questions against each of our podcasts, so I look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts, ideas and what works for you.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to leave comments at our media centre, you can call +1 214 615 6505 ext 6842 or if you are in Ireland, on 086 816 3096.

RESOURCES FOR EVENT ORGANISERS

If you are an event organiser and are working on developing your forthcoming programme, I would love to hear from you. I regularly help event organisers plan their events and connect them to my network of professional speakers on a wide range of business development and personal development topics.

I am also available to facilitate your meeting, speak at your event, your workshop or as an expert interviewer for your virtual book tour or promotion of your programme or event.

Worried about travel costs? In addition to live face to face workshops, at Oneocean we are one of Europe’s expert consultancies in making use of new media and leading edge technologies including webinars, podcasts, on-line video or teleconferences which means that you can expand your reach and deliver your live event to your community no matter where they live.

I would be delighted to speak with you about your requirements. Just email me at connect(at)oneoceangroup.com today for our event organisers questionnaire.

For details of our most popular live events and workshops, go here.

Wishing you continued success, so until next week.

Best wishes,

Krishna De
Bringing YOUR vision to life!
www.bizgrowthlive.com
www.bizgrowthnews.com
www.krishnade.com
www.oneoceangroup.com
www.talkingcoaching.com
www.todayswomeninbusiness.com

P.S. If you have friends and colleagues who would like to join the weekly teleconference call, they would be very welcome – please invite them to register at Biz Growth Live.

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007.  All rights reserved.

“Biz Growth Express” is a Oneocean Publication.  Oneocean Ltd is a leading business development consultancy with a difference – we focus on the unique strengths of an organisation and its people to unlock extraordinary performance and growth. You can learn more about our work here

TERMS OF REPRINT: You are welcome to publish extracts from “Biz Growth Express” in your own online ezine or news letter, providing the article is printed in its entirety and is left unedited and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted from “Biz Growth Express”, a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your brand, attract your ideal clients and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free weekly teleconferences where we interview experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.