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6 Website Design Mistakes to Avoid

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:10:00 -0700

What do you expect your website to do for your business? If you’re like me – and I bet you are – the ultimate goal of your website is to drive more business through your door. Whether it’s an e-commerce site, an outbound marketing site used to generate leads, or an inbound marketing site designed to establish your authority, the real reason to have a website is to promote your business. Did you ever consider you website might be losing business for you?

Poor website design will drive your customers away. While it might seem odd to hear a copywriter talk about the importance of design, I know a poorly conceived and implemented website will pretty much guarantee no one will ever read the web copy. It’s in my own best interest to share some of the more annoying attributes that could be losing you customers.

Music
When I took to Twitter complaining about websites with automatic music on them, I immediately received eight replies confirming it was a bad idea. Every person said they immediately leave a site with music. Me too.

Automatic Video
Nearly as annoying as music, websites that automatically download and play a video also raised the ire of the Twitterverse. Video is a great addition to any website but let people decide if they want to play it or not. Don’t worry, people love to do things on a website. More than that, they like to be in control of their own experience.

Flashy Stuff
Unless you’re running a special effects company, avoid Flash and flashy features on your website. People visit your website to get information. When they have to deal with flipping tabs, new windows opening with every click or icons tumbling around the screen they give up and go somewhere else. Don’t you?

Small Print
Cramming more content onto a page by reducing the font size might sound like a great idea. It’s not. If you want people to read, make the type easy on the eyes.

Poor Colour Choices
Colour can be subjective and I’m not about to start a debate about it. However, if your print is similar to the background colour, you won’t have many people reading your page. Grey on grey, yellow on silver and red on purple are all difficult to read. Don’t do it.

Busy-ness
More is not always better and that’s certainly the case for websites. Position your content so it’s the obvious feature on the page. Filling up every bit of space with images and copy detracts from what you’re trying to accomplish.

This is a relatively short list of pet peeves but every one of them is guaranteed to provoke your prospects to move to another site before they’ve even read a word. Your website needs to support the goals of your business, not the whims of your web designer. Ensuring your website “looks” attractive will give you a better chance to influence your current and potential client base.

What annoying features make you abandon a website?

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*Image courtesy of briannaorg at www.flickr.net

3 Light Bulb Moments That Helped My Business

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:46:00 -0700

Do you ever get to the bottom of your "to do" list? Like most people, I know what I should be doing. I have a long list of things I want to do, as well. While it’s much easier to “say” than to “do”, I’ve been making inroads into some important areas of content marketing. I’ve had a few “light bulb moments” along the way.

Facebook Fan Page
I’m one of those people that hasn’t quite understood all the fuss about Facebook. While I appreciate the social aspects it provides, I’ve always considered LinkedIn and Twitter much more valuable to my B2B business. Report after report, including the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report sponsored by the Social Media Examiner point to an explosion on Facebook making it an undeniable tool for business. As a result, I’ve launched the Global Copywriting Fan Page. Like Twitter, it took me awhile to hit my rhythm. Once I decided it was the perfect place to curate content and share all the good articles I’m reading, it came together. Sue Hickton, owner of The Strategic Learning Curve, left this post on the wall:

I need to spend more time on your FB page Sarah - although we already had a conversation about this, ie traffic and I am an established "Convert" I still habitually stalk your blog. I just had a trawl in here and found some of the most fantastic information. I really like how the page is coming along now - it's really fleshing out beautifully! Well done, you are rocking it!

eMail Marketing
I was confused why eMail Marketing was important. With healthy networks on Linked and Twitter and increasing blog traffic, I didn’t see the point. Even when readers asked for “posts by email,” I was reluctant to add one more thing to my own marketing list. Then it dawned on me. Social media is still being debated. “Surfing the ‘net” is an inconsistent activity fluctuating wildly with time and location constraints. Everyone, but everyone, regularly checks email even when on holiday. If you want to receive future posts from Global Copywriting by email, subscribe here. I have no idea what took me so long.

Public Speaking
Hands down, the best way for me to generate leads is through public speaking. As a writer, it pains me a little bit to say this but it’s true. Getting up in front of an audience is the absolute best way to establish your authority and expertise on a topic. Thankfully, I enjoy doing it. I’ve been speaking a lot on Content Marketing and Social Media for Business. If you have an event and need a speaker, contact me and I’ll be happy to come along. I’m working on a new marketing theory and will be happy to speak, in public, about my idea.

What marketing activities have you been planning on doing but haven’t gotten around to?

*Image courtesy of Thomas Brightbill at www.flickr.net

4 Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience with Content Marketing

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:26:00 -0700

As some of you may know, I’ve just returned from a week-long vacation at a beachside resort in Bali. The goal of the trip was to escape the Perth winter and entertain my little boy in the process. I didn’t expect to do much except sit poolside with a book in hand, soaking up the sun and rejuvenating in the process. Surprisingly, the week turned out to be a case study in how good content can improve the customer experience.

Resort hotels pretty much have a captive audience. The trip is planned before you get there. Most people don’t bother to move hotels unless something terrible happens. Essentially, the holiday spirit dictates you relax and ignore minor annoyances in service and delivery. While your expectations are high when you arrive, a poor experience simply means you won’t return the next time. The place I selected was intent on making sure they would get repeat visitors. Their content reflected that.

1. Cater to Your Influencers
My six-year-old cares about one thing when he’s on holiday. If he can swim, he’s happy. When I booked my break, I made sure the hotel had a big pool. It helped when the website showed photos of three swimming pools complete with waterfalls, slides and fountains. In our case, they didn’t need to do much more, but they did. At check-in, he was presented with the following:

Schedule of activities
Special menu
Branded, “unfinished” postcards ready for a colouring in activity
A brochure describing the Kids Club

Before we unpacked, he knew far more about what was going on in the hotel than I did. The content he was given was presented in an easy-to-read style with graphic design attractive to little kids. Nothing he was given would have influenced my decision to stay there. Everything he was given convinced him it was the only place to be.

2. Segment Your Market
While he was studying the children’s menu, I rummaged for the spa brochure. Before we hit the pool for the first time, I’d booked my services. Later in the week, I picked up another spa brochure in the lobby and leafed through it. I was surprised to discover that while the content was largely the same, this brochure was positioned differently to appeal to couples and honeymooners. All the treatments were offered in tandem. If desired, each one could be performed outside the spa – in a romantic outdoor location or the privacy of your room. It wasn’t something that appealed to me on this mother/son trip but I bet a lot of brides insisted on a dual massage.

3. Translate Your Content
It’s common to see hospitality documents translated into Japanese. What surprised me in this resort was everything was also presented in Mandarin, Korean and Russian. Additionally, the television had channels dedicated to French, German, Russian, Indian, Japanese, Arabian, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Korean and Portugese. (And much to my chagrin, five dedicated children’s stations.) Having lived and travelled in countries where English is not the first language, I can attest to how attractive it is to know you have at least one outlet for your native tongue.

4. Little Touches Can Make A Big Difference
It’s easy to think of content as being either print or digital. One brilliant piece of content I discovered at the hotel was the employee nametag. Under each name was a single sentence starting with, “My passion is”. There were many tags with “sport” or “travel” listed as the passion, as you would expect in a seaside destination. But there were gems like the young man serving coffee who had designated “classical music”.

How could a nametag be considered a content marketing strategy? Think about it. The resort wanted their employees to engage with their customers. By providing personal detail, it encouraged conversation. What it said was the resort was interested in me and was providing a data point for me, pulling me into their sphere. The employees, to a person, were wonderfully adept at making you feel like whatever you had to say was the single most important thing they had to hear. Even the gardeners would drop tools, bend down and ask my little boy a question when he said hello to them.

The heat of the sun and the sound of the ocean are distant memories a week after my return. My feet are back to their normal ice cube status for the Australian winter. The content marketing strategies, however, have stayed in my mind. Midway through our trip, my son and I were walking along the path running in front of the beachside resorts. I mentioned on our next visit we should try a different place. He gave me a puzzled look and said, “Why would we do that?”

How do you use content to improve your customer experience?

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Image courtesy of Tanti Ruwani at www.flickr.net

The ProBlogger 7 Link Challenge

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:55:00 -0700

Darren Rowse from ProBlogger challenged his readers to a 7 Link Challenge. I was in the middle of writing another post but that can wait. This is a fun exercise and I don’t often take time to participate in the many blogging activities crossing my desk.

Darren asked bloggers to write a post containing links to our own posts in seven pre-defined categories. Here’s mine:

1. Your first post
I wasn’t sure I would ever have anything relevant to say and worried about it in my first blog post published on 4 May 2009, Entering the Land of Blog. Regular readers will know it didn’t take me long to get over it.

2. A post you enjoyed writing the most
After I attended the Media140 conference in Perth, I knew I wanted to write about it. I guessed (correctly) there would be a lot of blogging chatter about the social media event, which is on a worldwide road show. My post Media140: The Troggs, Westpac and Kanye West was a lot of fun for me because I had to really stretch my noodle to add an original thought. I also used lines from the song “Wild Thing” as headlines to carry the thread. Fun.

3. A post which had a great discussion
Hands down, 6 Reasons for Refusing LinkedIn Invitations garnered the most comments, positive and negative. The result was a lively discussion both on the blog and in one of the LinkedIn discussion groups where it was also posted. It hit a nerve, for sure. I’d never been called a “purveyor of negative ideas” before!

4. A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written
I smiled at this category because it was a line I used in BRIEF: FAQs Fact. I read a post by Michele Linn at the Savvy B2B Marketing blog titled, 5 Reasons to Include FAQs in Your Content Marketing Strategy and wanted to cry. FAQs are a topic I discuss often with my clients but it never occurred to me to write a post about it. Michele said it all - and probably better than I could have - so my post was in the Global Copywriting BRIEF format.

5. Your most helpful post
Judging from the comments, 9 Tips That Improved My Blog was a useful post for a lot of people. I felt like I achieved the goal of my blog with this post, sharing practical advice often learned through my own experiences.

6. A post with a title that you are proud of
Titles are often a mystery to me. It’s one of the parts of blogging I struggle with. I liked Customer Lip Service: Scripted Responses, Broken Promises and Other Bad Ideas along with Please Change My Sheets: Dirty Laundry in Marketing Communications. They’re both probably too long but they manage to escape the ubiquitous “list” format.

7. A post that you wish more people had read
7 Surefire Way to Increase Your Copywriting Fees fizzled – a disappointment because it was loaded with a lot of beneficial insider information on pricing. Shortly after I read How to Avoid Being a Difficult Client (and Get More Bang for Your Buck) at the WebCopyPlus! website. It had a better title, better images and way better writing than my effort. Go read it and see what I was trying to accomplish.

What are some of your favourite blog posts? Have you taken the ProBlogger challenge?

Image courtesy of Eurritimia at www.flickr.net

Blog Logistics: A Key Insight for Your Content Marketing Strategy

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:38:00 -0700

Where does your blog live? I’ve been speaking a lot lately about content marketing and the importance of blogging. A company blog is one of the most effective tools in your content marketing strategy. It classifies as both content and social media. It has more direct impact on your organic SEO than almost anything else.

Location, Location, Location
I’m frequently asked, Where should I put my blog? Initially I was surprised by the question. As blogging becomes a strategic tool, more and more people are entering the blogosphere. With many popular blogging solutions available, people want to know what software to use. I always answer the question the same way, On your website.

It’s about SEO
Blogging helps you establish your authority and expertise. Every blog post should contain valuable information relating to your products and services resulting in keyword-rich content. If you host your blog on an independent URL, you’re missing a huge opportunity to improve the traffic to your website. The more people visiting your blog, the higher the search engines will rank your site.

The Take-Away
Location trumps software when it comes to blogging. Make sure your blog resides on your website. Think of your blog as a table and your content as the food. You want people eating in your company dining room and not at the food court down the road. Why? Because once they’re done, they may want to graze some more and you want your content to be the next stop. If your blog is hosted somewhere else, chances are most readers won’t take the time to go find you.

Where does your blog live?

*photo courtesy of Rick Audet at www.flickr.net

Please Change My Sheets: Dirty Laundry in Marketing Communications

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:44:00 -0700

In a former career, I travelled the world as an international representative for a multi-national software company. I had a big quota and the expense account to match it. A lot was expected of me and, in return, I stayed in the best hotels, ate at the best restaurants and worked with some of the best people in the world. It was a luxurious backdrop to a gruelling job.

Today I dipped my toe back into that life with a cross-country business trip to Sydney, a city I haven’t visited since 1995. I’m an Australian resident now but flying across the country sort of feels like an international journey. I was surprised at how easily it all came back – packing business clothes, flying alone, grabbing a taxi from the airport, and checking into an upmarket hotel designed for business travellers.

Changing Times
It all felt familiar until I got to my room and was greeted by a postcard on the bed. Printed on recycled paper, it told me if I wanted my sheets changed, the onus was on me to ask for the service. Couched in reasonable language, the note explained:

Together we can save millions of litres of water.

No matter where you stand on the environment, I had to marvel at this. I’m paying several hundred dollars a night for this hotel room. One of the tacit agreements about staying in a hotel described as providing “extraordinary escapes” is the extraordinary experience of having clean linens provided to you every day. While it’s not something I expect at home, at a budget hotel or in a hostel, I do expect it from a premier establishment. Why?

Nowhere on their website, in their booking process or at check-in was I made aware of an environmental campaign.
They’re asking me, their customer, to serve them.
The rates they’re charging merit excessive benefit.
The only recycled paper in the entire room was the postcard asking me to avoid clean sheets every day.

Duplicitous Message
Here’s what really bugged me. The postcard was written to make me feel like a bad person if I didn’t support this water-saving cause. While emotional appeal is the hallmark of a good marketing campaign, the reason this chafed is because they’re asking me to expect less from them to advance their own agenda. In no other way does this establishment appear to have an ecological concern. I can’t help but feel the real savings here is on operational and staffing costs for the hotel.

The Take-Away
Before you embark on an emotional appeal to your customers and prospects, ensure your message is supported by the organisational culture. I have no qualms with saving water and protecting the environment. When I see massive amounts of fossil fuel being wasted in other parts of the hotel, the request seems out of place and self-serving.

When did you suspect a marketing ploy?

*image courtesy of Ralph Hockens at www.flickr.net

Interesting Research Supporting a Content Marketing Strategy

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:35:00 -0700

The buzz around Content Marketing is building. I’ve been writing about it for over year but I’m sensing the bandwagon is picking up speed. As with any topic in the blogosphere, a lot is being published that’s not particularly useful. Some of it is simply flirting with the truth – making fantastical claims without any real data to back them up.

What is Content Marketing?
According to Joe Pulizzi, a co-founder of the content marketing movement:

Content marketing is the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. It is non-interruption marketing. Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.

What does is look like?
There are three components to content marketing. As the name implies, it’s comprised of original content, search engine optimisation and social media. If you’re interested in pursuing a content marketing strategy, you must consider all of them together. People have to find your website (SEO), they have to be informed, educated or entertained at your website (Content), and you have tell them what you have and where you put it. (Social Media).

A favourite quote of mine concerning content marketing comes from The Tippingpoint Labs:

Social media boils down to the marriage of two main concepts — content and conversation. Without content, conversation is mere networking. Without conversation, content is dead. It goes nowhere.

Still not convinced?
As I was preparing for a recent presentation, I found some good statistics from Hubspot. In a report titled “The State of Inbound Marketing 2010“, they reveal interesting behaviour discovered from surveying over 230 marketing professionals. I want to share them with you because these two graphs, more than anything, convince me it’s a good approach. (Note: Inbound marketing is another way to describe content marketing.)

The average cost per lead for inbound marketing techniques is about one third of other methods. In other words, you spend a lot less money and get better results than if you’re using traditional techniques like print advertising, radio spots or TV commercials.

Past success with content marketing is responsible for changing the way marketing budgets are being allocated.

What now?
Content Marketing is only going to grow in popularity as business discovers it is an effective and inexpensive marketing strategy. Start to think about the how you can increase your social media activity. Consider what sort of content would be effective for your organisation. A blog is a great place to start.

Have you had success with content marketing? Share your experiences.

Customer Lip Service: Scripted Responses, Broken Promises and Other Bad Ideas

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:36:00 -0700

Make no mistake, this is a tale of woe. I’m dumping a long-term service provider for one reason. Their customer service pushed me over the edge.

About 9 months ago, I started having trouble with my anti-virus software. I missed the first clue something was wrong when prompted to buy more online storage. I spent $50 for the extra storage required to backup my files. I received a follow-up call from the provider checking to make sure everything was to my satisfaction. She seemed puzzled I would need more capacity since I was only operating a single email account and didn’t have a significant amount of data to back up. Alarm bells should have gone off but they didn’t. Within five weeks, I was being prompted to buy more online storage. Obviously, something was wrong.

Cut to the Chase
After months of fiddling around and risking my data, I wrote to the company. Their online form was onerous and required a massive amount of repetition. Still, I managed to get through it and received a computer generated reply. Within the hour, I had an email from customer service telling me I had to buy more storage to correct my problem. I carefully explained in my reply the storage was being gobbled and I wasn’t going to buy more.

The Beginning of an Ugly Relationship
A different person replied next. The email started:

I understand how frustrating it is to have to go through this and I regret the inconvenience that it has caused.

I appreciated the sentiment but was frustrated when I was told, again, I needed to buy more storage to correct the problem. I wrote back, again, explaining the problem. I received a prompt reply from another support person asking me to delete all my backup history and rerun my backup. I did. It still failed with a suggestion I buy more online storage. I replied to the email detailing my experience with their corrective action. I explained I was now totally exposed.

Day Two
The next day I received a reply from a different customer support person. The email started:

I understand the inconvenience you have experienced. Please be assured that I will do my best in assisting you with this issue.

I was told the program was causing problems, my case had been escalated and someone would call me in 24 to 48 hours.

Day Five
Still waiting, I wrote back saying it had been over 85 hours and my problem needed to be resolved. Later that day I got a reply from a new support person saying:

I see that we’ve had a great deal of correspondence on this issue already and I’d like to apologize for the time and energy you have expended in an attempt at resolution. I want to assure you that I recognize your frustration and am committed to helping you resolve this matter.

I was told, again, my case had been escalated and someone would call me in 24 to 48 hours.

Day Nine
I sent a terse reply saying I was furious and wanted some help. I also mention I’m ready to cancel my account.

Later that day I received a reply from yet another support person saying:

I can imagine how frustrated you must be. I guess I would’ve felt the same as you, if this had happened to me.

It is certainly not our intension for our customers to have anything but a pleasant experience with XXXXXX.

Let me assure you that what happened in your case is not typical of XXXXXX's level of customer service. We continue to be committed to providing you and all of our customers with the highest standards of service in the industry. I apologize, if we failed to meet your expectations.

The note goes on to say someone had tried to reach me but they had the wrong number. They quoted my number on file, which happened to be correct. They requested a convenient date and time to phone me along with a primary phone number and an alternate phone number.

I suggest a phone call between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 pm would be ideal. I reminded them I lived in Western Australia. I provided two phone numbers and a request to contact me as soon as possible.

Day Ten
I get a reply from ANOTHER support person saying:

I understand the inconvenience you have experienced. Please be assured that I will do my best in assisting you with this issue.

They go on to say I could expect a phone call within 24 to 48 hours. While all the platitudes have sounded like they were written by the same person, this sentence was exactly the same one used by the Day Two support person.

Day Thirteen
My phone rings at 6:45 am. It was the promised call from the supervisor. I explained it was extremely early, I was walking out the door to an all-day conference and wouldn’t be available until the next day. I requested, again, that someone phone me between the hours of 12:00 noon and 5:00 pm

Day Seventeen
I purchase a competitive product.

Day Eighteen
My phone rings at 2:23 am. It was the promised call from the supervisor.

Where Did it All Go Wrong?

No one owned the problem. Every communication from the company came from a different person. I certainly got the impression of being on the customer service treadmill.
The sympathetic beginning to every reply was rendered ineffective by the broken English used in the rest of the letter.
Every promised deadline was missed telling me there was no sense of urgency.
My details were correct but I was told they weren’t.
The obvious lack of attention to international time zones is inexcusable for a product with global brand presence.

In Summary
I really liked my anti-virus software and was willing to work through a problem. I spent 20 years in the software industry and understand bugs infiltrate even the best products. I’m currently using a different anti-virus product I don’t like as much. Due to shoddy customer service, I have been left with no alternative.

The Take Away
When you pay lip service instead of providing customer service, expect to lose business even from long-term, loyal customers.

How does poor customer service provoke you?

*photo courtesy of vlima.com at www.flickr.net

9 Essential Ways LinkedIn Improves My Business

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:47:00 -0700

Are you getting the most of LinkedIn? I’m always surprised when I hear people say they need to think about opening an account on LinkedIn. I understand the reservations professional people have about creating a social media persona. When it comes to LinkedIn, the benefits far outweigh the perceived risk associated with many online tools.

Defining Feature
For those of you that don’t know, the curriculum vitae (resume) of the account holder anchors each account. LinkedIn is a professional networking tool in the purest sense. The architecture of the site ensures your experience will be relevant to you because it’s based on professional accomplishments, not pop culture or social chatter.

Fun Facts
LinkedIn is one of the granddaddies of social media, launching in May 2003. It has grown from strength to strength in the seven years since its inception.

LinkedIn has over 70 million members.
Membership is across more than 200 countries.
LinkedIn supports multiple languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
More than half the accounts are from outside the USA.
Executives from every Fortune 500 company are LinkedIn members.
A new member joins LinkedIn every second.

Practical Application
Still not convinced? Here are some of the ways I’ve found benefit from LinkedIn:

1. Preserve Your Network
LinkedIn gives you the ability to establish an online repository for your business network. You never have to worry about keeping your address book up-to-date. You can throw your business card folio and rolodex out the window.

2. Find Former Colleagues
We all plan to stay in touch when a co-worker leaves or you change jobs. It’s not always easy and a busy schedule often gets in the way of good intentions. I’ve found or been found by dozens of people I’ve lost touch with as we’ve moved companies, countries and jobs.

3. Find Good People
One of the best things I’ve ever done is use LinkedIn to find prospective business partners. Since accounts are based on a resume, it’s easy to find the people you want to meet or work with. The search function is comprehensive allowing you to zero in on a specific location, company, school or industry. It's no wonder recruiters view LinkedIn and social media channels as essential tools for vetting candidates.

4. Free Company Listing
LinkedIn lets you enter your company details giving you a free listing connected to their powerful search feature.

5. Research
The Company Buzz feature keeps track of what’s being said about your specified keywords on Twitter. It’s a great way to keep your eye on the competition or track what’s being said about your own company.

6. Find Events
The Events feature will show you all the events being attended by people in your wider network. It’s a great way to keep track of what’s happening around town.

7. Get Recommendations
Word of Mouth referrals are the lifeblood of small business. I’ve yet to meet a person that didn’t appreciate having a colleague or client giving a recommendation on his or her work. LinkedIn makes it easy to request recommendations and makes it super easy to give one, too.

8. Integration with other Social Media Tools
LinkedIn is continually updating their product to provide a clearer picture of the professional qualifications of their members. Slideshare, Amazon.com, Wordpress and Twitter all have useful integration features with LinkedIn.

9. Special Interest Groups
Perhaps the most powerful feature of LinkedIn is the multitude of special interest groups. These groups allow you to meet other professionals with similar interests and participate in worldwide discussions. The discussion groups also have a feature allowing for sharing of news articles. It’s a great place to stay informed, get the opinion of your peers and network with a global community of like-minded people.

My Recommendation
LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for people from any profession. Participating in LinkedIn is a low risk proposition due to the career focus attached to the membership profiles. I consider it one of my key strategic tools for running a successful business. If you’re not already a member, I encourage you to join.

What benefits have you received from your LinkedIn activity? What features do you use the most often?

Excuse Me, That's Not a Word

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:34:00 -0700

It started with a little tweet about alot. Soon after, I tried to get through a post from a respected blogger and marketer who lost me with “impactful”. Not realising I was starting something, I asked the Twitterverse if “impactful” bugged anyone else and what non-words did they find annoying. It turns out I’m not the only one harbouring a few pet peeves about the English language.

Passionate Opinion
I’m a writer and a word nerd. I recently bought Peter E. Meltzer’s The Thinker’s Thesaurus: Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words to keep myself entertained and inspired. It’s full of fancy-pants words I would never use in normal communication but they are all legitimate members of the English language. The respondents to my informal poll bombarded me with examples of words, phrases, common misspellings and errors in usage driving them nuts and, in some cases, spitting mad.

Public Service Announcement
As a service to anyone interested in evading the ire attached to the usage of these words, I’m providing a list. Use them at your peril. The overriding sentiment about non-word usage is it demonstrates lack of intelligence, education or attention to detail. If these words are appearing in your normal business communications and marketing collateral, my advice is to get rid of them and do it quickly.

The Top Offenders
Two words were submitted repeatedly. Obliterate them from your vocabulary.

incentivise
agreeance

Other non-words peeving the pets
In no particular order:

supposably
ideation
positivity
onboarding
de-train
de-plane
onforward
verbally facilitate
unpacking (as in “unpacking the issues”)
disaggregations
misunderestimated
conversating
embiggened
learnings
irregardless
anonymize
operationalize
Westralia

Errors in Usage
Plenty of people complained about real words being used at the wrong time or in the wrong context.

enormousness vs. enormity
thankyou vs. thank you
round vs. around
penultimate vs. ultimate
hone vs. home
momentary vs. momentarily
phenomena vs. phenomenon

The evergreens in this category:

lose vs. loose
chose vs. choose
there vs. they’re vs. their
its vs. it’s

The Crux of the Matter
Arguing the validity of a word or its modern usage is pointless. When you write or say something distracting to your audience, you’ve lost your ability to inform and influence. While military jargon and business-speak easily invade our lexicon, it’s best to stick to straight talk and common words to express yourself. (Don’t get me started on SMS text.) The best way to impress is to speak and write in a way that reaches everyone and offends no one.

What words annoy you? What would you add to this list?

*Image courtesy of Topgold at www.flickr.com

6 Lessons Bloggers Can Learn from Play School

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 02:16:00 -0700

Today is a public holiday in Western Australia. As I pottered with the breakfast dishes, the sounds of ”Play School” kept me company. If you’re not familiar with the program, Play School is a half hour children’s program aimed at encouraging a child to wonder, to think, to feel and to imagine. That’s not much different from the goal of most blogs. As I listened, it occurred to me bloggers could learn a lot from the Play School presenters. They certainly know how to hold a captive audience. Here are some of their tricks that easily translate into great blogging techniques.

Ask Questions
The Play School presenters start each segment with a question. It draws the children in and gets them interested in what’s happening. I often start and end a blog post with a question. The initial query engages the audience and the final one encourages people to leave a comment.

Focus on “How” not “Why”
The Play School audience isn’t much interested in theory. They’re at the stage in life when they’re starting to exercise some independence. Play School keeps things simple and focuses on a specific task. Whether they’re scrambling eggs or building a puppet stage, the directions are instructional and concise. Your blog readers want the same.

Stay Positive
No one at Play School ever has a bad day. Nothing is ever too difficult. All obstacles are easily removed. Blogs that keep a positive tone and solve problems are much more attractive to readers than the whinging posts.

Repeat your Message
While going over the same shapes, colours, letters and number may seem dreadfully boring, the audience laps it up because it’s all new to them. Remember your readers are looking to you for expertise. Reinforcing your ideas and repeating concepts is a great way to build trust and authority. Just because you said something in a blog post last year doesn’t mean your readers wouldn’t benefit from hearing it again in a different context. Your new readers may not have heard it at all.

Know Your Audience
Play School knows their target market – pre-schoolers – and focuses their energy on making them happy. The children keep coming back because they know what to expect. Remember who your readers are and why they’re coming to your blog. Provide them with the content they want and you’ll continue to have the traffic you desire.

Keep it Moving
Children tend to have short attention spans so the Play School segments are brief to keep them interested. Modern business people are easily distracted due to the vast quantity of information they need to decipher. Make your posts short and use headings and sub-headings to keep the skimmers moving down your page.

Play School has been around since 1966 and is the second longest-running children’s television program in the English-speaking world. Their longevity can be attributed to classic marketing techniques and consistent execution. The same winning formula can be applied to your blog. I’m all for adopting techniques that result in over 44 years of success. How about you?

What lessons have you learned?

One Magic Question That Returns Big Results

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:57:00 -0700

Do you know where your customers need help? It sounds like a simple question but I’m always surprised how often we, as marketing people, don’t really know. In another life, I managed sales people. To test the quality of a forecast, I would ask the sales rep, “Why would they buy our product?” It wasn’t unusual to get a blank stare in return. I had banned the “Because they want it” answer. I wanted to know why they needed it.

In a recent post at M4BMarketing,How to Improve Your Key Communication Message Susan Oakes counsels us to find out what is important to our customers. She says it’s “one of the key factors where many businesses still fall down. They assume they know without actually finding out.” Susan is right. While it may seem like a big mandate, one simple question will take you a long way to finding out the answer.

The Obvious Question
Yes, people buy things they want. But they don’t make investments in products or services just because they want them. They spend real money for things they need - things that will help them solve a problem or improve their business. Have you ever asked a prospect or client, “What problems do you face in your job?” I used to ask that question a lot. I always got the same answer. In many different variations, it boiled down to “Nothing”. I knew that wasn’t true but people don’t like to reveal difficulties or weaknesses.

The Magic Question
But here’s the thing. People do like to speak about their work. They like to portray themselves in a positive light. How do you get people to tell you what they need? Tell you what pain they’re experiencing in their work? Tell you where they need help if they don’t want to tell you? Ask them what challenges them. A wonderfully simple question producing magic results, “What are your challenges?”, will have your clients revealing their biggest problems and their most difficult goals. Once you know about their pain, it’s much easier to provide a solution.

The Take-Away
People are willing to tell you what they need as long as you’ve given them a safe way to start the discussion. When people are challenged, it means they’re in solution mode. They’re positioned as a problem-solver. They also speak more openly about their issues. If you’re asking about problems, they likely feel vulnerable or under attack. Ask one question “What are your challenges” and start taking notes. You’ll be amazed at how much people will tell you.

Do you have a sure-fire technique to get people talking?

*Image courtesy of Horia Varian at www.flickr.com

3 Valuable Reasons Small Buiness Owners Should Join Me on 15 June

Mon, 31 May 2010 15:14:00 -0700

Let’s take a little quiz. Can you identify the pair that doesn’t belong in the group listed below?

a. Bacon and eggs
b. Hamish and Andy
c. Greg Norman and golf
d. Thought leadership and practical advice
e. Beer and pizza

If you picked letter “d” – and I can’t help you if you didn’t – you understand all too well the world is full of opinion, strategy and master planning that often doesn’t translate into anything you can put to use in your own business. If you’re like me, your desk and office are littered with books, ebooks and manuals. Your inbox and Google reader have loads of unread items just waiting for the day you have nothing to do. Unfortunately, for most small business owners, that day never comes. And, if it does, you’re probably out of business anyway.

The Big Fat Marketing Day
When you work in the marketing space, it’s difficult to describe something you’re truly enthusiastic about. We’re all deluged with idiotic announcements holding little promise. I get “exciting” news delivered to me every single day. Frankly, the only thing exciting about it is how much the sponsors are going to make on the event. I want to tell you about something happening in Perth that is truly different, The Big Fat Marketing Day.

What’s the Big Deal About the Big Fat Marketing Day?
The Big Fat Marketing Day is not like other conferences or forums. There are three reasons why:

1) It isn’t theoretical – It’s practical.
2) The speakers are some of the best brains in Australian business.
3) The day is focused entirely on small business owners.

According to event organiser Bambi Gordon, “We want every person to leave with knowledge that they can immediately apply to their business; with realistic techniques, with achievable and sustainable plans, and with the confidence that they do know how to market their business.”

For What it’s Worth
I’ve worked with Bambi before. I’m speaking on the topic of Content Marketing. I also plan to be part of the captive audience simply because I know of no other event where I can hear the calibre of speakers Bambi has lined up. As a small business owner myself, I’m most interested in knowing “how” to do something. There aren’t many affordable opportunities to get practical advice from both local and national thought leaders.

The Nitty Gritty
The Program will address: Strategy – a template of how to create one for your business; Tactics – such as Search Engine Optimisation: What can you do straight away to improve your rank? Publicity – How do you attract media attention to your business; Branding – How do you go about creating a sustainable brand that helps market your business? Social Media – What to use...What to ignore? Content Marketing – how to share your knowledge to bring in business; Customer Service – the ultimate marketing tool.

8 hours of quality advice from professional marketing practitioners – including cuppas & lunch – for only $125 for the whole day.

A Final Thought
The Woo provides unlimited email support for 2 weeks after the event. That’s right. Where else does your investment keep working two weeks afterward? If you still need convincing, take a look at video from The Big Fat Marketing Day Melbourne held in March.

The Big Fat Marketing Day is at the Cambridge Conference Centre, Wembley, on Tuesday June 15 - only 2 weeks away. Registrations will close in the next few days – so please register at www.thewoo.com.au/marketing_day_Perth or call 1300 55 32 35

What’s the best advice you ever got?

Mandela, Beckham, Frank and . . . . You?

Thu, 27 May 2010 22:36:00 -0700

What do Nelson Mandela , David Beckham and Anne Frank have in common? The unlikely trio are famous in their own right but share one thing – an autobiography. Technically, Anne Frank kept a diary but, when published, became the best-selling autobiography of all time. What do any of them have to do with content marketing?

Not much, to be honest, and that’s exactly my point. Frank, Mandela and Beckham have fascinating life stories to share. Through circumstance and talent, all three have written a compelling book resulting in a healthy revenue stream. Unless you or your company have a similarly enticing story to tell, you’d better make sure your content is focused on your customer and not yourself.

It’s not about you
The first place to start is with your eNewsletters. It’s easy to fall into the trap of blabbing about yourself and your business. Being self-centred means you’re missing the most important thing to your prospective customers: their business. In a post titled Are you sending email or ME-mail?, Gina Lofaro, aka The Word Mistress, advises:

”Every email you send to your subscribers, HAS to be about them! It has to fix a pain, address an issue, solve a problem, make them laugh, make them angry, make them act or even make them cringe.”

Of course, your email campaigns are designed to attract paying customers and therein lies the quandary. So how do you develop a newsletter about the customer and still sell your products and services?

The reader focused eNewsletter
Paul Maietta from Fitzgerald Photo Imaging knows the answer. Provide lots of good content – useful information, industry news, and professional advice – then slip in a single promotion for your own business. To see a great example of an effective newsletter with a customer focus, check out the Fitz-e-News Issue 5 - or any issue, to be honest.

The Take-away
Take a good look at your email communications. Are you writing an autobiography? Move your ME-Mail campaign back into customer territory. You’ll begin to see a big change in your customer behaviour, I promise.

What changes have you made in your email campaigns and why?

Image courtesy of Francesco Marino at www.freedigitalphotos.net

Big News: The Content Marketing Institute Launches

Tue, 25 May 2010 04:27:00 -0700

Have you ever had the feeling you were on to something? You know, that moment when all the cogs line up and you start to gain traction with what you’re doing? I had that experience about nine months ago when I started to understand how content marketing could help my business. Since then, I’ve dedicated my blog to providing useful posts on how original content, social media and SEO can work together to create profitable marketing campaigns. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one that thought it was a good idea.

Thought leader
Joe Pulizzi, the man behind the Junta42 blog, launched the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) this week to do exactly what I’ve been trying to accomplish with my own blog – take the theory out and focus on what works. In an inspired effort to explain his new approach, he penned a blog post titled “How to Launch the Content Marketing Institute (in 6 Steps). Joe promises each blog post will be instructional or describe a specific case study where content marketing was used.

Practical Advice
I know the CMI will be wildly popular. My blog only started getting regular traffic when I began writing posts that gave practical advice. While I still read a lot of theory - and plenty of mumbo-jumbo in the process -, what most people want to know is how to advance their business without wasting a lot of time and money. I’ve tried to be as open as possible about what works for me and candid about my failures. Joe Pulizzi has always been one of the first places I look for help. He’s one of the founders of the content marketing movement.

Savvy Communicator
I encourage you to visit the CMI website and subscribe to their content. The Executive Editor of the CMI, Michele Linn, is a woman I met through social networking after years of narrow misses while crossing paths in the corporate world. You may know her from the Savvy B2B Marketing site. She’s an amazing communicator with an uncanny ability to make difficult concepts seem easy. If you’ve ever read her posts, you’ll know what I mean.

Expert Advice
Lastly, I was right about being on to something. The CMI have asked me to be a regular contributor to their blog. I’m over the moon to be involved and have been doing a little happy dance in my office all week. While I’ve been writing and speaking about content marketing here in Australia, it’s an obvious chance for me to reach a wider market. But don't let my involvement put you off. The CMI have a serious line-up of the best marketing minds in the world working for them. I'll be a regular reader too.

Have you ever had the feeling you were on to something?

I’m speaking on the topic of Content Marketing around Australia over the next couple of months. You can find me at these places:

The Big Fat Marketing Day for Small Business – Perth, 15 June
SmallBizOnline 2010 Perth – Joondalup Resort, 25 June
Online Retailer Conference, Retailer’s Essential Guide to e-Retailing – Sydney, 6 July

8 Tips for Using Email to Improve Your Content Marketing Reach

Thu, 20 May 2010 08:15:00 -0700

Have you ever considered what your signature says about you? One of the most famous signatures revealed a courageous patriot. John Hancock intentionally signed his name to the Declaration of Independence with a flourish, indicating his support for the American Revolution from British rule. Even now, “putting your John Hancock” is a euphemism for signing your name. While it’s unlikely any of our digital signatures will pack that much punch, we can definitely make good use of the real estate under our name.

The Power of Buckshot
Think about how many emails you send out every day. How many go out in the course of a week or a month? Does every recipient know all the places you inhabit? How many times is your email forwarded to someone you don’t know? Have you ever considered your email signature might be a great way to further your marketing efforts by spreading your digital details around?

Signing Off
Start to think of your email signature the same way you would your letterhead. Make sure, where appropriate, your details include a hyperlink so the reader can get to your information in one click. Here are a few of the ways you can promote your business every time you send out an email and it won’t cost you a thing.

1) Put your company logo under your name.

2) Don’t forget your title or role in the company.

3) Add your website.

4) Include all your phone numbers.

5) Include a link to your main social media profiles.

6) Add the title of your current blog post along with a link.

7) List special events.

8) Don’t worry about including your email address. They already know that information from the headers on the mail.

This is what my signature looks like this week:

Read my latest blog post, Speaker's Corner: 7 Ways to Extend Your Influence After You Stop Talking

Sarah Mitchell
Copywriter/Consultant
office: (08)9336-2439
mobile: 0410 024 405
website: http://www.globalcopywriting.com
Twitter: twitter.com/globalcopywrite
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahcmitchell
Join the Global Copywriting Facebook Page

Repeatable Process
Your email signature can be captured in a file and automatically attached to every email you send out. Most email services have the ability to store several different versions of your signature allowing you to tailor the information as necessary.

Don’t assume all your contacts know everything about you. Consider having your email signature professionally designed and standardised across all email accounts in your organisation. Make it part of your brand. With just a little bit of effort, you’ll be in a position to promote your business even further without spending a great deal of money.

How do you sign off?

Speaker's Corner: 7 Ways to Extend Your Influence After You Stop Talking

Mon, 17 May 2010 02:04:00 -0700

What do you want when you go to a conference? What do you hope you take away with you? These two questions have cycled through my mind for the past week. I’ve been speaking a lot lately and, more than anything, want to provide relevant information the audience can put into practice as soon as they leave. If you’ve ever been in a “death by Powerpoint” presentation – and who hasn’t – you can appreciate how much I don’t want to be responsible for a mass destruction of brain cells.

The Challenge
While the last thing I want to do is bore people, I also don't want to invest a lot of time researching, developing, practicing and delivering a presentation and not get any benefit to my business. It's a labour intensive process but the time spent in front of an audience is fleeting in comparison. Speaking engagements are a great way to establish authority but how do you go about promoting that authority after the conference is over?

The Goal
As I struggled to construct a presentation on Content Marketing for the Fitzgerald Photo Imaging “Breakout at the Breakwater 2010” conference, it dawned on me what I really wanted to do was load the audience with Word of Mouth (WoM) recommendations. The theme of the conference is “Education & Inspiration”. It’s easy enough to educate but if I really want people to go back to work the next day and implement my suggestions, they need more than just theory or a bunch of snazzy slides to look at. If they are going to remember my talk, I need to do a bit more.

Hand-in-hand
Obviously, the presentation would be more powerful if I developed supplemental content to go with it. This approach packs a wallop as I can construct the additional content with my branding and contact details on it. It’s also a great opportunity to promote my business partnerships and make recommendations on where I think the best practitioners and businesses are operating. While I may spend an hour on the stage, the content I distribute lives on the desk of the audience long after the conference is over.

These are my recommendations on things to do to give your presentation legs:

1) Upload your presentation to SlideShare.
2) Produce a handout listing detailed references and recommended resources to distribute after your talk.
3) Make a quick-reference card attendees can use at their desk.
4) Develop a formal case study around the examples used in your presentation.
5) Write a white paper at the same time you’re researching your topic to add depth and expand your ideas behind the time allotted on stage.
6) If your presentation is captured on video, upload it to YouTube.
7) Post a review of your presentation along with links to the handouts on LinkedIn discussion groups or on your website.

The Pay-off
It might seem like a lot of work when you’re already dealing with the stress of public speaking. By providing additional resources and information, you’re establishing your willingness to participate in a solution. In turn, your reputation as an authority on your topic will increase. If you’ve bothered producing additional content, your company branding becomes more widely distributed. By asking the attendees to contact you directly for valuable pieces of content like white papers and case studies, you can build your marketing database with qualified leads in your targeted audience.

Developing original content is a great way to nurture and generate leads. If you can incorporate content marketing techniques to complement your speaking engagements, you can maximise your effectiveness and even reach people that didn’t make it to your talk.

What techniques have you used to extend your influence at conferences? If you’ve had a great experience as an audience member, tell us about it.

The Great Big Content Marketing Experiment: Are You In?

Thu, 13 May 2010 21:25:00 -0700

You’ve heard the old adage about advertising, right? The “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half” quote is often attributed to Henry Ford, Lord Lever and John Wannamaker, among others. They probably all said it at one time or another. I’m reminded of it when a prospective client tries to quantify how effective a content marketing strategy will be for their organisation. Last night I heard about an exciting initiative to prove just how powerful it can be. The Great Content Marketing Experiment is running on 19 May. I can’t wait.

The Project
Content Marketing is comprised of three components: original content, social media and SEO. Each piece enhances and supports the other two forming a tight cycle of marketing goodness. John Bottom, Head of Content Marketing for Base One, is running the experiment at the IDM B2B Marketing Conference in London next Wednesday. His goal is to prove content marketing actually works.

The Content
He’s running a workshop to create a piece of business content in one day, from scratch. The result will be an e-book titled "Threats & Opportunities: the Future of Social Media as viewed by the UK's most Senior Marketers." Once the ebook is complete, a text version and a video version will be posted with the hopes of getting 1,000 social media clicks – tweets, likes, follows, whatever you want to call it.

Creating the Buzz
One thousand hits sounds like a lot to achieve in one day but I’m confident it will be successful. Using content marketing to promote the project, John already has some of the best people in social media participating in his experiment. I intend to be clicking away on the 19th to assist with John’s goal and be part of a global initiative.

Is it a stunt?
The first criterion for content marketing is to provide valuable content. By assembling 150 senior marketers and getting their opinion on the best and worst of social media, John is going to produce an interesting and insightful document that I, for one, want to read. So, no, this isn’t a stunt. It’s a well-orchestrated example of content marketing. It will also be a fantastic case study for business to consider when they’re trying to decide how much time and money to dedicate to content marketing. I encourage you to have a look at his website and join the party.

Do you think The Great Content Marketing Experiment will be successful?

I’m speaking on the topic of Content Marketing around Australia over the next couple of months. You can find me here:

Breakout at the Breakwater 2010 – Perth 18 May
The Big Fat Marketing Day for Small Business – Perth, 15 June
Online Retailer Conference, Retailer’s Essential Guide to e-Retailing – Sydney, 6 July

*photo courtesy of djcodrin at www.freedigitalphotos.net

3 Things Anyone Can Do to Improve Their Writing

Mon, 10 May 2010 23:21:00 -0700

I’ve had a busy week and I’m behind in almost everything. I only managed one blog post last week, I worked the weekend so my Friday deadlines didn’t slip into the next week, and my laptop has a couple dozen articles opened that I had intended to read, post and share. Ever had a week like that? Today I’m trying to get caught up. As I was trolling through the articles I had marked to read, I ran across a piece by Jason Fried in Inc. Magazine titled Why is Business Writing So Awful? You should read it.

I was surprised to discover in the author’s bio that Jason is a software guy. I assumed he was a copywriter because he succinctly details the problems with business writing. He has co-authored a book so maybe that’s how he became so informed about the problems with content. Nothing he mentions is difficult to figure out and he makes a great case for original content. It’s the most entertaining piece on writing I’ve seen in ages. I read the whole thing – word by word – right to the end of the page. In this day of skimming, writing something people actually read is a massive achievement.

Tools of the Trade

Jason endorses the use of professional writers if your company is lacking the appropriate talent. Obviously, I love his advice, but I’ve seen plenty of marketing material written by professionals that’s just as terrible as the DIY versions. It got me thinking about what businesses can do to help themselves. I employ three techniques for everything I write to improve the readability and usefulness of my copy. Here they are:

Use a spellchecker It’s an obvious bit of advice but I see an alarming number of spelling errors injected into everyday business communication. It’s terrible to read an email with spelling errors in it. When I see a website, brochure, press release or any other marketing document with a spelling error in it, I immediately assume the company is sloppy, lazy, unprofessional or a combination of the three.
Use the Gobbledygook Grader I’ve written about this before but it’s worth repeating. Hubspot provides a free online tool to detect any jargon, clichés, overused phrases or hyperbole. It takes seconds to get an analysis and improves your writing immeasurably. I still get caught using some form of gobbledygook in nearly every first draft I submit to it.
Read Aloud Do you remember when you first learned to read? Your teacher instructed you to read out loud so she could hear you and help you when you struggled. Reading your own writing aloud does the same thing. You ears will find mistakes your eyes miss. I read everything I write, in a normal speaking voice, before I submit it to a customer or post it on my blog.

What you say, and how you say it, reflects on you and your company. You don’t need to be a professional writer to improve the quality of your writing efforts. Take an extra couple minutes with all your business communication and I bet you will begin to see a difference.

Do you have any writing tips you want to share?

7 Great Reasons to work with SMEs

Mon, 03 May 2010 02:02:00 -0700

When I first started Global Copywriting, I reckoned I would target big companies and leverage my 18 years of corporate experience to build a freelance career. I had visions of working with companies like IBM, Microsoft, Telstra and iiNet. When I was selling software, I learned quickly it took the same amount of time to close a small deal as a big one, so I always went for the big ones. A bigger deal paid more commission. Since the only reason I was selling was for the paycheck, I got very good at doing big deals.

You might not be surprised to hear the same strategy didn’t translate so well into my own business, but I was. I discovered very quickly working with SMBs (or SMEs, as the Americans say) is far more satisfying and productive for a sole proprietor like me.

1) You work with the decision maker.
Fitzgerald Photo Imaging is a fabulous SMB run by the same family for over 30 years. Paul Maietta, the head of Fitzgeralds, is involved in strategic and operational decisions. I’ve worked directly with Paul on a number of different projects and have never had to deal with anyone but him.

2) They make decisions quickly.
When you’re working with large companies, it’s almost always necessary to meet with people at many different levels and in multiple departments before getting agreement to do a project. SMEs usually only need one meeting to decide whether or not they want to work with you.

3) They tend to be collaborative.
Clayko Group is a classic example of the collaborative nature of SMB. Through my work with Clayko I’ve been involved in a number of speaking engagements, networking groups and philanthropic activities.

4) They take advice.
Gillian Rossouw from Jill of All Trades revamped her website and she knew that meant new web copy, as well. I had some specific suggestions I thought would improve her business, including changing the names of some of her services. She listened to my reasoning and gladly accepted every bit of it.

5) They don’t waste time paying their suppliers.
Small and medium sized businesses are closer to their budgets and cash flow than big businesses. It’s not unusual to receive payment from an SME within 24 hours of invoicing.

6) They’re passionate.
Some of the best brains in business work in small and medium enterprises. HiLighter is a perfect example of two really successful people, Maud Eijkenboom and Astrid Fackelmann, recognising a need in the Innovation market and creating a company to fill the gap. Just one meeting with them makes you feel like you should go out and invent something.

7) They’re creative.
SignIQ is a software company specialising in shelf-edge marketing for retail stores. Their management team is exceptional in their desire to think outside the box and explore disruptive techniques to make software interesting. I walk away inspired every single time I deal with them.

If you had asked me a year ago about working with SMEs, I probably wouldn’t have had much to say about it. Interestingly, any way I evaluate my business, SMBs are at the top. Sure, I don’t have the glamour of big name gigs, but I’m far more stimulated, my invoices are paid quicker and the work comes with a lot less hassle. What else could the owner of an SMB ask?

What advantages do you experience working with small and medium businesses?