Cavalletti Communications

What’s your favourite blog?
Which websites do you enjoy reading?
Seen an ad lately that stayed with you for a long while?

Chances are, their writers were saying something that mattered. To you.

They appealed to you because you could find out quickly what the writer was trying to say. And they were relevant, not just waffling on. They may have been funny, entertaining, educational, silly, serious, or even pure marketing.

What they have in common is good writing – with you, the reader in mind. They “got” what you need, what you were looking for. Rather than just going on about themselves, without saying anything that matters to you, their reader/client/prospect/fan. People and companies can get very wrapped up in their own jargon, their way of talking about their services and products, because they are just too close to the topic they write about. It’s their baby, after all.

Getting a professional copywriter like myself involved, does not mean you loose control of what’s written. A copywriter or editor helps you say what you want and need to say – but in a way that actually gets your message across.

Seth Godin, marketing “guru” extraordinaire, has this example of copywriting gone haywire on his blog:

“The firm will remain competitive in the constantly changing market for defense legal services by creating and implementing innovative and effective methods of providing cost-effective, quality representation and services for our clients.”

Now, I am sure you’ll agree: there are better ways of saying whatever it was the writer intended to communicate.

Remember: Communication is what’s received.

Now… fire away & let me know your thoughts on this topic.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Until soon,
Daniela

What’s your favourite blog?
Which websites do you enjoy reading?
Seen an ad lately that stayed with you for a long while?

Chances are, their writers were saying something that mattered. To you.

They appealed to you because you could find out quickly what the writer was trying to say. And they were relevant, not just waffling on. They may have been funny, entertaining, educational, silly, serious, or even pure marketing.

What they have in common is good writing – with you, the reader in mind. They “got” what you need, what you were looking for. Rather than just going on about themselves, without saying anything that matters to you, their reader/client/prospect/fan. People and companies can get very wrapped up in their own jargon, their way of talking about their services and products, because they are just too close to the topic they write about. It’s their baby, after all.

Getting a professional copywriter like myself involved, does not mean you loose control of what’s written. A copywriter or editor helps you say what you want and need to say – but in a way that actually gets your message across.

Seth Godin, marketing “guru” extraordinaire, has this example of copywriting gone haywire on his blog:

“The firm will remain competitive in the constantly changing market for defense legal services by creating and implementing innovative and effective methods of providing cost-effective, quality representation and services for our clients.”

Now, I am sure you’ll agree: there are better ways of saying whatever it was the writer intended to communicate.

Remember: Communication is what’s received.

Now… fire away & let me know your thoughts on this topic.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.

Until soon,
Daniela

Wow! Some information I gather, read, like, digest and get (very) excited about is just too spot-on to even try to change!
So, here is the text of marketing “guru” Seth Godin’s latest blog offering – shamelessly repeated in its entirety.

He poses some very important questions that are worth considering before you start any new project, job, venture or adventure.  I hope you will find his writing and ideas as useful and thought-provoking as I do.   Enjoy!

Until next time,
Daniela

If you’re starting out as an entrepreneur or a freelancer or a project manager, the most important choice you’ll make is: what to do?
As in the answer to the question, “what do you do?”

Some questions to help you get started:

1. Who are you trying to please?
2. Are you trying to make a living, make a difference, or leave a legacy?
3. How will the world be different when you’ve succeeded?
4. Is it more important to add new customers or to increase your interactions with existing ones?
5. Do you want a team? How big? (I know, that’s two questions)
6. Would you rather have an open-ended project that’s never done, or one where you hit natural end points? (How high is high enough?)
7. Are you prepared to actively sell your stuff, or are you expecting that buyers will walk in the door and ask for it?
8. Which: to invent a category or to be just like Bob/Sue, but better?
9. If you take someone else’s investment, are you prepared to sell out to pay it back?
10. Are you done personally growing, or is this project going to force you to change and develop yourself?
11. Choose: teach and lead and challenge your customers, or do what they ask…
12. How long can you wait before it feels as though you’re succeeding?
13. Is perfect important? (Do you feel the need to fail privately, not in public?)
14. Do you want your customers to know each other (a tribe) or is it better they be anonymous and separate?
15. How close to failure, wipe out and humiliation are you willing to fly? (And while we’re on the topic, how open to criticism are you willing to be?)
16. What does busy look like?

In my experience, people skip all of these questions and ask instead: “What can I do that will be sure to work?” The problem, of course, is that there is no sure, and even worse, that you and I have no agreement at all on what it means for something to work.

As a consumer or client, we all can get riled at bad service or a product that looked oh-so-enticing but fails to deliver what it promises.  And we all appreciate getting a good result when buying a product or receiving a service.

But what about those businesses, services and items that surprise us, that deliver extraordinary experiences? Those are the ones that stick in our mind, that we recommend and which we will go back to over and over again.

I live by the belief that it is the extraordinary  – experience, service and reputation – we should aim for. As employees, service providers or manufacturers, no matter which.  Putting in that extra bit of effort, passion, care, quality and professionalism will set you apart from the crowd, distinguishes us from our competitors and makes our business or career flourish.

Marketing “guru” Seth Godin talks about the disproportionately positive effect of the last ten percent of effort here.

Until next time,
Daniela

My good friend Seth Godin (ok, so he does not actually know me, but I have read so much of his writing, it feels like he is almost part of the family) has posted a great article on his blog.  It’s close to my heart for a couple of reasons: It’s about the value a good editor can add to your business, but it’s also describing one of my core business principles.

I believe in giving my clients the best possible, professional service and advice when it comes to their brand, message and communications. Most of the time, this means writing engaging business and marketing material for them that gets their brand or product message across to their intended audience and buyers – spot-on, respectfully and easy to understand.

But sometimes that good service might mean a tough call:  advising the client to scrap that brochure or mail-out altogether. Even if that means one less job (and fewer $$) for me, because it just does not add anything to what they want their audience to know. It does not fulfill a need on both sides, just on one.

And in order for sales and happy, satisfied customers to happen simultaneously, both your company and your communications audience need to have at least one need fulfilled. Simple.

Until next time,
Daniela

Few of us are immune to getting sucked into our inbox and our social media interactions: 
What’s out there that I might be missing out on if I don’t read this email, this newsletter, this blog?

But where does the ability of these technologies to be helpful, constructive and enhancing end – and where does the time wasting and procrastinating begin?

Are you a slave to your inbox and social media interaction?
How many hours a day do you spend checking your email and facebook page?
What is this interaction adding to your day, and what does it take time away from – your core business, your family, your quiet time?

While email and social media are useful tools to communicate, learn and do business, I believe it’s all about balance.
More on this subject in this blog by marketing “guru” Seth Godin.

A good freelancer can take care of your one-off or recurring writing project, IT issues, marketing need (or almost anything else), freeing you to attend to your core business.  But how do you choose who is the best fit – and the best value-for-money?

Often, the temptation is to go for the cheapest option, the most easily defined “box-standard” offering.  
But aren’t you, your business and your clients worth more?

Read more about how to stand out from the crowd, and the value a good freelancer can add to your business, here on marketing “guru” Seth Godin’s blog.

Is there no accounting for taste?

Don’t judge too fast, that crazy idea you – or they – have might just work!

Marketing “guru” Seth Godin on how and why to separate “not for me” from “not for anyone”.
Read what he has to say here.

Know where to save – and where to spend.
Keep your competitive edge with that extra bit of unexpected service.

Read Seth Godin’s blog “Pennies and Dollars” here.

Why would they buy from you – and why now?

Seth Godin discusses what stands between you and closing a sale:

Seth’s Blog: Why you, why now?