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For a modern lesson on a classic fundamental, let’s take it back to elementary school for the 5 W’s (and 1 H) for a moment shall we? Who, What, Where, When, Why & How…although not in that particular order.
WHO…you of course! Don’t think blogging is for you or beneficial to your company? Read on my friend…
WHAT’s the point of business blogging? To communicate clearly to a wide variety of readers (either from your business sector or to one who is interested in acquiring your company’s expertise) and reach them on a virtual yet tangible level that says 
wanna do lunch…via Skype?
HOW can a blog work for your company? Let me pass on what I’ve come to understand. Basically, if you are a small to medium-sized company, more than likely you have a limited advertising/marketing budget if any. This may in turn affect your ability to rub elbows with your industry-related business colleagues and the frequency of networking opportunities. But guess what? If you have a semi-talented employee who can write pretty well or hire a content writer like myself (hint, hint-plug, plug) you can be well on your way to leveraging social media to your advantage and profit margin.
WHY and the WHAT points are somewhat synonymous. You (or your superiors) want to have a corporate blog which elevates you/your company to a WORLDWIDE PRESENCE. This taps you into the local and global business market by creating dialogue via your company website to an UNLIMITED number of people for almost FREE. Need I say more? Ok but just because I can hear the anticipation…
WHERE is Waldo, Jane, Bob or whatever your name is? Where do you pow-wow and have your swank & usually expensive lunch meeting to seal your deals? Your couch if you’re lucky! In 2012, most freelance and small business owners work from home or out of a local Starbucks. You can save time and money with this fantastic networking tool by using a little of Father Time and a smidge of talent to take your business to the next level and into an unlimited marketplace. No expense account required.
WHEN you choose to use social media to your advantage, you win-plain & simple. Oh and today is a great day to start.
Still saying blah, blah, blah?????
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A content writer or business blogger (whether plume or keyboard, or in my case, both) takes on the identity of his/her subject as though they are vicariously living as the CEO or decision maker for that business entity. It is in this forum where jack of all trades requires that you master, at least on some level, all & not none. A good content writer or blogger assumes the identity of employee/employer and advocate for that business.
Taking on a client who is part of an industry in which you’ve never been employed can seem overwhelming or to some impossible. Do you take that client on and fluff your credentials as though you have had a million clients in that same industry…a been there done that so of course you should hire me attitude? Or do you let them know how darn good you are at research and how becoming a student rather than a “know it all” behooves them and your craft? Because any good content writer will tell you it’s about RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH …and yet more RESEARCH. That includes your company client, their area of expertise, their competition and what’s not being said/done/reflected in their own and competitors marketing identity. You have to write it like you live it, in it…their world, their conference rooms and marketing strategy meetings.
Recently I took on a client in a very interesting and technical industry. And I certainly can admit some hesitation and anxiety prior to the pitch. It was seemingly too technical for a person who spent a good deal of my career in a very white collar legal environment. But I soon realized that this is what it’s all about. What content writers do-we morph. And through many hours of research and allowing my brain to think outside its confines and experience, I soon became intrigued and began to write in such a manner that impressed me (really it did) and my client. This is what allows you to write from a position of “seeming” expertise and authority rather than obvious novice.
So stay encouraged my fellow content writers and bloggers- embrace what you don’t know, learn what you need to and then write like you live it.
Marketing
These days we have so many ways to talk about our businesses, products, and services both online and off. From talking about a new addition to your business or soliciting visitors to your brand using social media. The point is, we’re always looking for ways to grab attention to our business. Enter Testimonials. There usually isn’t too much focus on grabbing the feedback we receive from clients when finishing a new design project. Usually the great gratification is a nice email or phone call appreciating the hard work and efforts followed by a nice check or direct deposit. However I’d like to challenge you to sift back through some of your conversations with not only your recent clients but ALL of them in an attempt to modestly “brag” about your design skills.
Testimonials sometimes come in few different ways. Could be a follow-up phone call from a firms executive team thanking you for putting together such a great new website redesign. Or an email from a marketing director who never worked with a designer that actually put to life their exact thoughts for a brochure. Personally, anything you can get in writing is fantastic because you’ll always have their words exactly. A phone call is good too, but try to ask them if they wouldn’t mind being quoted and their testimonial being used on your media.
So how do you use all this to brag? Let me show you a few great ways:
On Paper: A hand written letter from a client may be harder to get than some other means. But most won’t mind typing up a few sentences (or paragraphs), in Microsoft Word and printing it on their company letterhead and mailing it to you. I’ve actually visited a few storefronts where they had a cork board in their entrance that was full of letters from clients. It immediately give you a sense of validity towards that establishment.
Via Email: A really easy and may be a more common way of receiving a testimonial is via email. This is because it’s short, direct and to the point. You can even provoke a client to send you one by pre-emptively sending them an email asking for their opinion or grace of your recent or past work.
From a Phone Call: This one could be a bit tricky. Since we’re all busy, phone conversation usually start one way then drift to another before the call is ended. So remembering what was exactly said (verbatim) may be a bit tricky if you don’t write things down immediately after the call. Also getting the “ok” at the end may sometimes be hard or awkward to ask for.
From Your Website: A great way to capture testimonials that’s almost effortless is your own website. It’s already up right? Why not make it work a little more for you. Setup a page that can be linked from your Contact Us page that will be solely for testimonials. I’ve provided some links to some nice examples below. You don’t have to get crazy elaborate. Mainly you want to have an example of the work you did next to the text of your testimonial along with the clients name. Maybe first name and last initial to keep a bit of their identity hidden.
Testimonial Examples Link 1
Testimonial Examples Link 2
So after all this, I’d love to hear your own success and stories with testimonials. Share with us in the comments below. We can all learn from each other.
About Design Theory, All Posts
So we’re pretty excited about the upcoming year. It would seem as though this year flew by pretty quickly now looking back. We’ve learned so much about the design industry yet feel there is still way more to learn. We’ve learned and met a lot of you readers both online and in person and look forward to meeting more as the next year rolls in.
There’s a couple of reasons for the excitement. Aside from it just being a new year and a sense of renewal in life and business; we are expanding the content we’re going to be writing about in this blog. It will be a bit more personal, transparent, and more diverse. We’ve brought on a new intern and look forward to her contributions to the blog as well as the Design Theory brand. I won’t get into that too much just yet until we’re ready to officially introduce her. As for the personality, you’re going to hear a bit more about the team. Who we are and more of what we do individually to contribute to this firm. The transparency I think will be interesting. Giving you an in-depth look at what we really do, what programs and apps and tactics we use, and honesty on things we feel need to be said in terms of reviews and strategies.
Video interviews are coming! We’re going to get out there among our business partners and find out what makes them tick. What makes them successful, and what makes them stand apart from their competition. We’ll also be highlighting some firms that are doing it right in the fields of
- IT and Technology
- Social Media
- Marketing
- Design
- and more
So we’d also like to hear from you. If there’s something you’ve been looking to get a real answer on that can help you and your business, feel free to ask us. You’d be surprised at the questions we get via email and phone from our clients each week that sometimes are similar between them. We’re hear to help!
