Turning Your Pennies into Dollars
I am always reading the latest research about marketing, and during my content consumption phase, I hear this a lot, and I know you do too:
“In order to successfully engage and win the trust of your current and future customers, you have to continue to give VALUE. And the more value you give, the more trust you’ll earn.”
Okay, awesome!! But…what does it really mean? How do I know what’s valuable to my audience?
In his newest book Superfans, Pat Flynn paints a great picture of what VALUE is and how to provide it for your clients. He describes a conference where a speaker asked the audience if they saw a penny on the street, would they pick it up? Most people will keep walking…not worth their time. Then he asked, what about a quarter? About 50% of people raised their hands to say yes, they would stop. Finally, he asked, how many of you would pick up a dollar bill? At that point, most of the crowd raised their hands. In this example, all three levels of currency offered value, but the value of a dollar bill passed the threshold from “not worth my time” to “ok, I’ll stop.”
So, the next question is: how do I offer something that my audience will see as worth their time? How do we create the dollar bill level content that someone will stop for?
Here are 3 ideas to help you become a more valuable and trustworthy authority in your field.
1. Know your audience. I know, I know, you’ve heard this before….but really, KNOW WHO THEY ARE. What do they love? What do they hate? What are they good at? What are they bad at? Know their problems, know their frustrations, know their pain. And you know what you get to do? Help them out of their problems, help them out of their frustrations and help them out of their pain. How? Offer unique insights, tips, data, solutions and even inspiration.
I’ve been playing golf for a long time. I played competitively as a Junior and still keep a pretty low handicap (meaning, I am a pretty decent player…lol). However, I play with a lot of weekend golfers who are always frustrated at the game because they don’t improve. Why don’t they improve? Because they are weekend golfers – they never practice, but they all think they just need a magic cure. Knowing this inside information, I decided to start a podcast specifically for these weekend golfers and offer insights, tips, data, and solutions on improving their game by….inspiring them to practice. If you ever want to check it out, the podcast is called Better Golf Academy. I still get random fan emails saying how much I have helped their game.
2. Know your expertise. What does that mean? It means that whatever industry you are in, you are an expert whether you like it or not. You have unique insight that no one else has. You might not know it because it’s just part of your everyday life and you’ve been doing it forever so you take it for granted…but what you know and what you do is unique to a lot of people and they are dying to know what you know. Dive deep into the knowledge that seems so obvious to you, then share your journey and your findings.
Ever since I started camping, I’ve been researching a lot of camping gear. One of the essential needs when you are off the grid for 3-4 days is a reliable refrigerator, and in order to keep your refrigerator running 24/7, you need a good source of power. Well, how about a power unit that runs off of solar? Not knowing anything about this, I started my research and ran across a guy named Will Prowse. He’s a guru in his niche of off-grid solar power and I’ve learned so much from him. I trusted his expertise and ended up purchasing his recommended power unit. It’s exactly what we needed and for me and his other 472k followers, we find him and his content more than valuable.
3. Know your platform. In the golf example above, I chose a podcast as the way to get my information out to an audience. Why a podcast? It’s something I enjoy doing. Also, it’s less time consuming than a YouTube channel – video editing can be very tedious and tiring and I didn’t have a lot of energy for it. Editing audio for a podcast is more simple and something I feel like I could do consistently for a long time. Some of us think now that we have something to share, we need to use all platforms and channels to broadcast our content, but this can be overwhelming. Find one channel that fits who you are and that also provides an opportunity to reach the like-minded people that consume content on the same channel. Give it all you got and watch your audience grow.
I hope this helps get your creative juices flowing for how to strategize, create and broadcast your content. Don’t underestimate what you know – you really do have dollars in you that will stop customers in their tracks.
Copywriting To Grow Your Business
There’s a reason we’ve spent the past month focusing on words. It’s because WE CARE ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.
Here’s the executive summary: The right words will generate interest; the wrong ones will be ignored.
BOS Media can provide you with WELL-WRITTEN COPY to help convince new customers that what you offer is a valuable solution they can’t live without.
As we said last week: Better copy means more sales, increased traffic to your website, and more time for you to focus on what you do best.
One other way that words matter at BOS Media: in CONVERSATION. Everything we do starts with listening. The more we know the uniqueness of your story, the more we can translate that into words and emotion that will be compelling to your target audience, which in turn means more business for you.
Give us a call. We would love to come alongside you, customize a plan to fit your needs, and then craft the right words to let your story shine.
BUTTON: YES! I am ready to IMPLEMENT!
You are one click away from taking your business to the next level – let’s get to work!
Hello 2021!
Hello and Welcome to 2021!
Over the past month, we’ve been talking about the importance of COPYWRITING.
But some of you may be thinking, “Hanju, I’m not an author. I don’t need to copyright anything.”
First of all, don’t sell yourself short – if you ever wrote a book, I would LOVE to read it. But we’re talking about copyWRITING, not copyrighting. And it really can make a massive difference for your business.
Copywriting is the text that drives every aspect of your marketing. It can positively affect people’s perception of you, and give them a reason to purchase what you’re offering.
The fact is, you’re actually experiencing the magic of copywriting RIGHT NOW. Every word you’re reading was crafted by a BOS Media copywriter. And just to show you what a huge impact it has, here’s what this email would sound like without the assistance of a copywriter:
Me Hanju.
Me do websites.
BOS Media good.
See what I mean? You don’t want your company’s message to the world to sound like it was written by a caveman.
Better copy means more sales, increased traffic to your website, and more time for you to focus on what you do best.
Words Matter. Maybe the new year is a perfect time to re-examine what ideas you are projecting to future customers. If there’s anything BOS Media can do to help you better tell your story, please reach out. We’d love to help.
How Copywriting Can Save Lives
Copywriting is serious business – especially around the holidays.
For example:
“Let’s eat, Grandma!” vs. “Let’s eat Grandma!”
That comma may not seem like a big deal, but just ask grandma how she feels about it.
For her, it’s the difference between a lovely family meal and BEING the family meal.*
All joking aside, the question is: are you putting the highest level of care into your copywriting?
On behalf of grandmas everywhere, BOS Media is here if you ever want to take your copywriting to the next level. If your grammar is endangering your gramma, please give us a call – we’d love to have you for lunch to discuss it further!
(I mean – we’d love to HAVE a lunch meeting together, not have YOU for lunch.)
*Editors note: under no circumstances should BOS Media be held liable for any indirect or incidental damage that commas or lack thereof may cause to grandma or other family members. No cannibals were involved or harmed in the making of this email.
How do I write an About Me page for a Website?
How I got to know a stranger very quickly…
He seemed pretty cool. Young, hip, athletic-looking dude…probably in his 30’s. His golf swing looked ok, not great, but nevertheless, he was put into our group of 3 to make the complete foursome. This means that he came to the golf course alone…on a Thursday afternoon. Instead of getting prepared for the best round of my life and figuring out my game strategy to destroy my friends on a bet of $1 per hole, I was somewhat curious about our new fourth person. Let’s call him Nick…because, that was his name. After a quick introduction and a handshake, we were off to the first tee.
After struggling through a couple of holes, we had plenty of opportunities to chat. If you play golf, you know there is a lot of downtime for conversation. So, besides the standard surface level talk (weather, current events, blood type), I went straight for the kill. “So Nick, what’s your story?” Warning: this is not always the best conversation starter. You’ll need some warm-up time and gauge the level of openness for deeper conversation. And honestly, he was ready, and I was genuinely interested.
Well, you guessed it, he shared about his work, his marriage, and his kid, and how he loves being a dad and how he’s teaching his 4-year-old how to play golf. He talked about the college he went to and the engineering degree he received, his current job and he told funny stories about the industry he’s in and all the inside jokes about it. We became buds.
Why do I need to change my traditional “about me” page on my website?
Because you are not telling a story. You list accomplishments and the history of where you have been, what you have done and who you have worked with. Sometimes, you list your hobbies…something like “I enjoy playing music on my ukulele on weekends and I love to read romance novels”…boooooring.
Why tell a story?
Thanks for asking. Humans love stories. We emotionally connect, we easily remember and we pay attention to stories. We are just built that way. Don’t take my word for it, there is actually scientific research done on this that shows the importance of not just having an “about me” page with a story but creating an entire brand on storytelling. Check it out here to see some awesome examples.
So, how do I write an engaging story about me?
Story writing is an art. There are many different forms and strategies in writing but the structure is very similar. It goes something like this:
- There’s a conflict or a situation (The Setup)
- There’s a confrontation (The New Situation)
- There’s a journey (The Progress)
- There’s a resolution (The Showdown)
- There’s a transformation (The Change)
Example of a typical, non-story and boring “About Me” page.
Cookie Monster
CEO of Cookie Crumb Inc.
Cookie Monster spent the last 52 years in television starting from general foods commercial and eventually landing a role in Sesame Street where he served as a passionate, cookie eating monster. As a CEO of Cookie Crumb Inc., manufacturing the most “nutritious” yet “delicious” cookies in the world, he is committed to utilizing only the most advanced techniques which ensure personalized care and flavors for every cookie eating client that wants to stay healthy and eat cookies. His devotion to every detail has resulted in thousands of pounds lost all over the world.
Education: None whatsoever
Hobbies: You guessed it, eating cookies
Example of a story-style “About Me” page.
Cookie Monster
CEO of Cookie Crumb Inc.
I had no idea that my love and passion for cookies would eventually lead to a disturbance in the American culture for my contribution to a childhood obesity epidemic. After realizing my negative influence and impact, I knew I had to make a change. This deep revelation lead me to my new found purpose in making a difference in the world through healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.
After years of research and exploration with the determination to discover the solution, I’ve founded the Cookie Crumb Inc. Cookie Crumb Inc. only offers cookies that are “nutritious” yet “delicious” by using the most advanced techniques in manufacturing and natural ingredients that will help you lose the pounds you need.
This new product has been transforming lives all around the globe resulting in thousands of pounds lost.
Education: None whatsoever
Hobbies: You guessed it, eating cookies
Breaking it down:
Do you agree that second “About Me” is easier to follow, easier to remember, more engaging and says more about the Cookie Monster’s character? What does all that equal? Trust. Trust is the main factor on why a customer will choose a service or a product.
Following the simple story structure above, I rewrote the Cookie Monster’s bio.
- The conflict or a situation (The Setup): I had no idea that my love and passion for cookies would eventually lead to a disturbance in the American culture for my contribution to a childhood obesity epidemic.
- The confrontation (The New Situation): After realizing my negative influence and impact, I knew I had to make a change. This deep revelation lead me to my new found purpose in making a difference in the world through healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.
- The journey (The Progress): After years of research and exploration with the determination to discover the solution, I’ve founded the Cookie Crumb Inc.
- The resolution (The Showdown): Cookie Crumb Inc. only offers cookies that are “nutritious” yet “delicious” by using the most advanced techniques in manufacturing and natural ingredients that will help you lose the pounds you need.
- The transformation (The Change): This new product has been transforming lives all around the globe resulting in thousands of pounds lost all over the world.
Again, there are many strategies and structures in writing a story, but I truly believe if you rewrite yours to reflect your own story and genuinely share what you do and why you do it, you’ll be surprised by the impact that will make in your company and brand.
So, what’s your story?
Why Storytelling is a Marketing Strategy
Some of the most powerful hours of television are aired during the olympics. Not only do they cover the footage of the neck-to-neck competitions and the victory celebrations, but mostly, they focus on the back stories of the featured athletes and what they’ve overcome to be the best in the world. Their stories have power. They inspire, motivate and even challenge us. These background stories also help us emotionally connect, and I often find myself rooting for someone because I feel like I know them.
Marketing is about connecting with your audience. And in order to connect with your audience, stories must be told. Here’s an example of an iphone commercial that uses this story-telling strategy to engage with the audience emotionally. Rather than highlighting the features and functions of the iphone, they simply tell a holiday story from a misunderstood teen expressing his love for the family through technology that the iphone offers. Brilliant!
Google uses the same strategy and emphasizes the importance of family rather than the product itself by showing how a father connects all of google’s technology and tools for his child.
So, what does that mean for us? We don’t have an advertising budget like Apple or Google to create engaging and beautiful videos which emotionally connect the audience to a brand. But what we do have are the stories to cultivate client loyalty and to continue to attract new clients into our business. Craft your stories and share them on your company blog, post them on social media, email blast them through your newsletter or tell them during your seminars, other marketing functions, and/or sales meetings. Also, keep in mind the following 3 types of stories that you can share to effectively gain trust and loyalty.
Your customers’ stories: Just like your own story, your client also has a story. Ask permission to share the story of how your product or service helped them overcome their challenges. These stories will attract other companies facing similar challenges, and they will more likely work with you.
Educational stories: Use stories to educate and explain concepts and strategies to your clients. Use your own personal examples or analogies. It’s what people will remember and resinate with.
Your own personal story: Tell your own personal story. Share how your company was birthed and what brought you into the industry. Share your failures and your pivotal moments of success. Be authentic and even vulnerable to really get the people to know you. They will learn to trust you as you share your experiences, failures, and life lessons along the way.
