Let me introduce you to Samin. Samin is a small business owner. She works over 40 hours a week providing a service; she's a diet and lifestyle coach. Her time is torn between balancing her online presence to bring in new clients, and maintaining the clients she already has with weekly contacts and coaching. Samin is a one-woman show. And while she has been extremely proud of her business, which now makes over $5,000 a month, she is quickly burning out with the stress of doing it all her own. Samin contacts me wondering if I can help her manage her web content. She wants a few blog posts to keep interacting with her audience. I think I can do better than that. Here's the scaling business copywriting plan I'd offer Samin. 1. Manage Your Clients with a Weekly Newsletter and BlogSamin is right to think of adding/upgrading a blog. SEO blogging offers a variety of benefits:
What else would I add? Well, how about a newsletter? Old clients and potential clients can be added to the email list. Weekly newsletters can work in tandem with blog posts and social media topics. They serve to touch base with clients. If crafted correctly, each newsletter can prime Samin's clients to interact with her business. It draws eyes and keeps her services at the forefront of their minds each week. 2. Create a Downloadable E-BookA blog and newsletter are great, and that'll definitely take a load off, but there's more we can do to help Samin scale up. Samin is getting stuck in the typical 1:1 ratio of the service business. There is only one of her, and she can only do what one person can do in a workweek. Samin could invest in the creation of an e-book. Why would an e-book be opportune for her? The e-book will serve as a low-ticket purchase. For clients that are just investigating her services, Samin's prices are a tough commitment. These newbies will feel more comfortable buying a self-help product at a low price point. As they read, these potentials will see the value in Samin's coaching. Later down the line, they are more likely to commit to her full coaching package. Creating the e-book requires no emotional effort from Samin, besides the one-time investment. If she houses the e-book on her website, she'll increase profits without an additional tax on her time. Like evergreen content, the e-book will hold valuable information that'll last long-term and create passive income. 3. Create a CourseSamin is ambitious, so hopefully she'll be ready for this last suggestion! When she's ready, Samin could use some time to create a course. Since Samin's service is diet and lifestyle coaching, her course could go two different ways:
Next, Samin'll need to decide the setting of the course:
Both audiences and both styles of courses will be advantageous. Samin needs to decide how she wants to grow. Why would this be advantageous to her? Just like an e-book, a course is a one-time investment. After its creation, the course can be used hundreds of times, and its value will not decrease (see more on scaling service-based businesses through group products). She'll also save herself some time. Instead of working one-on-one, paid courses will allow her to take on more clients without doing more work. She can still deliver a high-quality product. She can still help people. But her reach—and her revenue—have increased.
Samin will go from an overwhelmed business owner to a manager of a self-sustaining business. In a matter of months, she'll boost her brand, draw new eyes to her content, and start seeing more clients buy her high-ticket packages. Way to go, Samin. Way to go, small business owners. Until next time.
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3 Things You Can Do to Create a Brand VoiceYou've started growing your business. You've been a part of the #smallbiz community for a while. Now your old posts are totally cringy. You want to create one, consistent voice across all of your platforms so clients will recognize you as you. Girl, I've been there. Let me share with you three easy-to-implement tips to help you create a brand voice. 1. Decide Where You Are on the Scale of 1 to FUNImagine a little line...maybe I'll insert a graphic here. Here we have a scale that starts with extremely professional and ends with FUN! How are you interacting with your customers? Businesses that rely on high qualifications in order to perform a service (think surgery or law) should probably use a formal voice in their branding, because people need to trust that they are "serious" about their service or product. The professionalism encourages the client to trust the company as an authority. Other businesses might decide to go more casual, with the goal of sounding young, trendy, or friendly with the customer. Think less about what you prefer, and more about what would make the most sense from your customer's perspective. You can decide what level of professionalism you're comfortable with. Stick with it. It can be tempting to try to go overboard with trends or silliness, because it attracts attention. Unless it's what you've been doing, be careful not to lose rapport over a fad. 2. Consider a Slogan or CatchphraseThink of prominent brands that you know. Do you remember their slogan? Probably. Just do it. I'm lovin' it. With just 15 minutes, you can save 15% or more on car insurance. Okay, maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch. I can also recite an entire Rhodes 60-second cinnamon roll commercial from 2007, so maybe I'm a bad example. What I'm saying is a good slogan will carry your brand. When you're writing messages across varying platforms, consider if you could include a unique and chippy slogan for your brand. Need more ideas? Can you come up with a name for your followers, a specific introduction, or a consistent ending for your pieces? Any of these would be a good place to start. 3. Use the Right VocabularyAlright, here's a pitfall. I worked with a client who, like many other business owners, is extremely educated about his niche. He naturally uses jargon (vocabulary specific to a particular discipline) and writes like an academic. He did not realize that his vocabulary might be excluding potential clients. Yep, sometimes the language that you use automatically restricts your content from those who are uneducated about the particularities of your business. It is hard to recognize that you're using words that other people don't understand. (Because, of course, you understand them, and if you understand it, can't everyone?) A good rule of thumb is to pretend that you are writing for a 7th grader. No, I'm not joking. The average American caps out at about 7th grade reading comprehension. Keeping the right vocabulary level for your clients is a great way to create an engaging brand voice. It will make your brand accessible to clients you wouldn't anticipate. Brand Voice for LyfeWhen you're ready to grow, don't overlook your brand voice. Sadly, it might be time to retcon your old posts in favor of consistency. You'll see a boost in direct traffic when your audience recognizes your content as your content. And remember, if writing all this content seems daunting, I'm always available to help you give your ideas a voice. Reach out on my contact form and we'll set some goals for how you can grow your business. That's all, folks. You're a small business owner. You've done the tough stuff: you've built a marketable idea, you've worked out issues through beta clients, and you're providing a unique and important product. But small businesses don't grow on their own. How can you grow your small business? Here's why hiring a copywriter is a good next step. What is a Copywriter? As we discussed on last week's blog, a copywriter is a professional writer that focuses on marketing. You're getting what you'd expect when you hire a writer. Each piece will be well-composed, grammatically correct, and follow the style you've set out. But wait! Copywriters are not only amazing writers, but they also know secrets to written organization, presentation, and voice that will keep your readers intrigued. Copywriting is designed to not only inform readers about your product, but also persuade them to buy. In 2023, a good copywriter is also going to know about Search Engine Optimization. Search Engine Optimization is the process by which we modify your content on your website to get "read" by Google's bots that "crawl" the internet. Using principles of SEO will ultimately help your site (and, subsequently, your products and services) get found on a search and up your Google rankings. A good copywriter can work with you to determine specific keywords or phrases to include in the copy, or writing, that you order. What Services Can Benefit a Small Business? This all sounds great, I'm sure you're thinking, but it's all theory. So if I go to hire a copywriter, what would I specifically ask them for? Well, most small businesses could really benefit from a copywriter's help with:
Try it! Oh man, you think, I don't even know where to start with all this! I barely know how to use my website! Fear not. Platt Literature provides a content strategy package that will help you get your website off the ground, including helping with identifying a brand voice, starting an SEO blog with three posts, and a free content calendar to help you take advantage of your online audience. Fill out the contact form and I'll be happy to help you, no matter what experience level you're starting from. |
Kate PlattI'm a writer, content strategist, and general wordsmith. I like to write personalized, spunky copy that generally follows grammar rules. I have one kid, one cat, and a lovely viking husband. I'm constantly looking forward to 8pm, which is when I get in my bubble bath and play handheld video games. Archives
February 2023
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