Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Pitching Your Business – Fact, Care, Do

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Improving your elevator pitch seems to be a very popular topic at networking meetings (see my previous post, A better elevator pitch? You be the judge) – I guess because it's an important of what we do while we're there.

At the December SOHO Women International meeting, Mark Bowden of Truth Plane shared this template for creating a great elevator pitch:

FACT – CARE – DO

First, share a FACT about life that affects the person you're speaking to, and has something to do with your business and what you do. For example, as a presentation trainer, Mark would share the fact that most people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death.

Next, tell them you CARE about them and how this fact affects them. For example, Mark would share that he doesn't want that panic and fear happening to them when they're in front of a crowd.

Finally, tell them what you can DO about it. Don't give them your title or job description, paint a picture of how much better their life will be once they've purchased your product or service.

Another important DO is to tell them what to DO next – whether it's call you, visit your website, sign-up for your newsletter or hire you then and there!

Writing Prompt: Craft a simple fact-care-do version of your elevator pitch and try it out the next time someone asks, "So, what do you do?"

De-Clutter Your Message

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At Thursday's SOHO meeting, I heard Mark Bowden of Truth Plane speak about how to "Stand Out and Be Heard." And while he was talking specifically about how we could improve our "elevator pitch" and other presentations, I think that one of his points was also very relevant to our writing activities.

Someone in the audience asked Mark about how to create great content for a presentation. She said she always runs out of time with lots more she had planned to share. I could certainly relate, and I leaned in close to hear what Mark would say.

Turned out that Mark's message was very similar to what I shared in "Trying Write the Article of Lifetime?"

He suggests that we choose the ONE thing we want our audience to know about (and how to do it) and focus on just that one thing.

He used the example of the importance of building trust in order to make a sale. So if "trust" is the one thing you want to get across as your most important point, spend the entire time in your elevator pitch, speech, article or other communication talking about how trust is important, and how to get it.

So, make your point, support your point, and then repeat your point. Over and over. At the PWAC Toronto seminar earlier this month, John Watkis stated that your goal when you're speaking is to deliver a message that will be heard, remembered and shared. Isn't that our goal when writing, as well?

Quick Writing Prompt: In the piece of writing you're working on right now, what is the one key idea you want people to take away from it? How can you "de-clutter" your message so it hones in on that one thing?

Real learning from a fake conference

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Last week I attended an “un-conference” about social media. There was a lot of information and opportunities packed into a few short hours (http://talkischeap.pbwiki.com/Schedule).

One speaker, Rick Spence of the Canadian Entrepreneur blog, spoke about blogs versus print. I really liked a lot of his points, and it (almost) got me excited enough to rush home and start blogging more regularly. Really, it almost did 😉

I liked what he said about how blogs enable the reader to drill down and read more once they stumble upon a blogger they like, and because most blog posts include links, the reader can also follow through immediately to do more research into the subject they’re interested in.

Another blogger, Terry Fallis, told the story of how he used a blog (and other social media tools, such as a podcast and Facebook) to drive demand for a book before it was even published. It seems to have been a very successful experiment!

A better elevator pitch? You be the judge

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At a SOHO Women International meeting this morning, Lynda Robertson of the Sandler Sales Institute gave a presentation about prospecting.

I'll be blogging more about the great tips she shared, but here's one I applied immediately when I was sharing my 30-second introduction ("elevator pitch").

Here's what I planned to say:

"I'm Linda Dessau of You Talk, I'll Write. As a ghostwriter, I take my client's great ideas and put them into writing, both online and in print. As an editor, I polish those words to a shine. I work exclusively with coaches, speakers and organizers. I've created an article writing tool and you can download it for free from my website at www.youtalk-write.com."

Here's (roughly) what I said, after hearing Lynda's presentation:

"I'm Linda Dessau of You Talk, I'll Write. My clients have great ideas, but they're intimidated by the writing process, or they're worried about not writing well. So, as a ghostwriter, I take their great ideas and put them into words, both online and in print. And as an editor, I polish those words to a shine. I've created an article writing tool and you can download it for free from my website at www.youtalk-iwrite.com."

Did you notice what was different?

Lynda asked us all to think about which EMOTIONS we include in our 30-second introduction.

She reminded us that people buy based on emotion, and so we need to help them make the link between our product and services and the EMOTIONS that they either relieve (e.g. stress, worry or  fear) or elicit (e.g. peace of mind, confidence or satisfaction).

Do you have any suggestions for how I could improve my 30-second introduction? What positive EMOTIONS do you think my clients experience when I deliver their completed writing project?

Quick Writing Prompt: Whether you're speaking or writing, how can you bring more EMOTIONS into your message? Which emotions are tied in with your product or service?

Business Week Says: Educational Marketing (Writing) SELLS

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Thanks to Dina Lynch at ADR Practice Builder for pointing to this great article on her blog.

It’s all about how educating your target market with valuable written information they is a MUCH more effective marketing strategy than talking directly about YOU and why they should hire you to help them.

Education-Based Marketing Sells, by Christine Comaford-Lynch was printed October 8 on the Business Week website.

If you’d like to put together an educational article, white paper or special report to educate YOUR target market, I’d love to help.