Tell Your Story in Four Ways

When I tell people that I write content that helps people tell their story, they say to me, ‘I’ve been sending a newsletter out and it’s had no response,’ or “I went on the radio to talk about this event I have coming up, but I didn’t get a single phone call.”

So why didn’t it work?

They put all their eggs in one basket.

Don't rely on just one medium to get your message across

The trouble is, not everyone absorbs information in the same way. The key is to tell your story through three or four different mediums at the same time. You just adapt your story to the medium you’re using.

The key to telling your story is to use multiple mediums.

Here are four ways to tell your story.

Tell it to the Horse’s Mouth

Talk to your friends and family about what you hope to achieve. Not only will they support you, but they know other people and they’ll spread the word to them. Tell people that you know will have an interest in what you have to say – they’ll be grateful for such useful information. You can also take it to the next level by knocking on the doors of organisations who will be interested in spreading your story to their members.

Tell it Online

You can now tell your story to the world thanks to the Internet. Start blogging, posting and tweeting. Use the word of mouth factor to reach specific people who you know will be interested and who will spread the word. They won’t see it as you pestering them; they’ll think, ‘This is interesting, I must tell my followers about this.’

Tell it in the Media

Yes, the world has moved online, but people are still very attached to their local newspapers and radio stations. There’s the familiarity factor; people like listening to programmes or picking up a paper and thinking, ‘I know her.’ You’ll create a word-of-mouth buzz around yourself that money can’t buy.

Tell it on Email

What do most people do at least once a week, if not once a day? Check email. So hit them directly in their inbox with a colourful, fun newsletter telling them about your organisation’s activities or about an upcoming event.  You can hit everyone on your contact list within seconds.

Your story deserves to be heard. By telling it in a few different ways, you’ll reach more people and increase your chances of success in whatever you’re trying to achieve.

Telling the Story, Selling the Story

I’ve been to lots of networking events in the three years since I set up WriteWords, my copywriting service. And I’ve come to identify an unspoken question in the minds of the people I meet. What can a writer do for me? Don’t they sit in ivory towers, churning out masterpieces?

Here’s my answer. I can help you find the right words to achieve your goals.

Here’s how it breaks down. Whether we realise it or not, everyone has a story. And I help people tap into the power of their story. Our stories make us who we are. Because they come straight from our hearts, they have great emotional resonance. And because they’re our own stories, they help us to stand out in an increasingly noisy world.

The trouble is, you’re too close to your own story to see that power. So I help people to figure out what their story is?  Why would you want or need to do this? After all, everyone pays more attention to pictures than words? But you still need to know what to say.

If you know what to say, you can say it consistently, in all your communications. This will help the people you want to reach get the message. And because not many people take the time to do this, you’ll have the edge when you’re persuading other people to buy your book, use your services or donate to your charity.

We’re living in an increasingly noisy world, with a lot of different media clamouring for our attention. Whether we like it or not, if we want to be heard, we have to sell ourselves. And telling your story is a great way to sell yourself. Because you’re sharing your experience, your passion and your knowledge, you don’t feel like you’re selling at all. And because you’re making a real emotional connection with the person you’re talking to, they don’t feel like they’re being sold to.

There are three groups of people who would particularly benefit from defining and refining their story.

Small and medium enterprises: As a business owner, your first priority is to grow your business. And words can help you achieve that goal. Words are your secret weapon in marketing your business. If you take the time to define your message, you’ll have the edge over your competitors. This isn’t just pie-in-the-sky stuff. You can actually measure the impact of your words using Google Analytics and other analytics tools supplied by WordPress, Facebook etc.

Writers and Artists: Artistic people struggle with the concept of selling themselves. But how are people going to know about the wonderful work you’re doing unless you tell them? All you have to do is let them know about what you do, through tools like social media, blogs and traditional media. If you’re a writer looking to be published, it helps to be able to get to the heart of your story, so you can persuade publishers of its merits.

Charities and Community Groups: These groups are lucky. They have a treasure trove of powerful stories at their disposal. They can tap into the life changing experiences of their members and beneficiaries to get their message across. People will be drawn by these uplifting stories and be encouraged to dip into their pockets, or to avail of the services the offer.

Next week, I’ll be outlining the services I use to help you tell your story. If you’d like to find out how I can help you, drop me a mail, derbhile@writewordseditorial.ie.

Full, Clean Driving Licence

These words, in a job advertisement, could be seen as prejudiced against people with disabilities. But I don’t think so. I don’t see well enough to drive a car and I’d rather know upfront if driving is a requirement. Then I won’t have to waste time applying for a job I won’t be able to do.

When I finished college, I applied to every radio station in the country for a job. One of them gave me a week’s trial. When I got there, they immediately told me that they couldn’t give me a job because they needed someone who could drive. I could have considered that they shot me down. But it wasn’t because of my sight. They needed an ambulance-chasing reporter who could get to the story as soon as possible.

The reality is, this is a difficult country to get around if you don’t have a car. As a self employed person, a lot of meetings I go to are held in industrial estates with no bus service, so I have to get a taxi. This isn’t the fault of the companies. Of course people want a place with plenty of free parking. It comes down to infrastructure, to an inadequate public transport system, to lack of parking.

But there are a few simple things companies could do to make it easier for people with disabilities to work with them. With improvements in broadband services, remote working is a viable option for many people. In my case, most people are fine with arranging to meet me in the city centre if I just tell them, or to give me a lift to and from outlying venues.

If a company wants to hire a person with a disability for a sales job that requires a lot of travelling, they could pay taxi expenses to the equivalent of what they would pay for mileage. People with disabilities who don’t drive get free travel, so a company could end up saving money. And above all, don’t be afraid to put the words Full, Clean Driving License on your ad. It saves us time. And it saves you time.

This blog also appears on www.kanchi.org, an organisation which works with employers to break down barriers to employment for people with disabilites.

Content Plans – Your Secret Weapon in Selling Your Business

In a case of life imitating art, the owners of baby-gift website Baby Elephant became parents. Keeping their business afloat and in the public eye was no small challenge. Yet they managed to keep growing and marketing the business, even getting an interview slot on The Sunday Business Post. How did they do it? With a content plan.

A content plan is similar to a marketing plan, but it focuses exclusively on how you can sell your business through words. Before you can market your business, you need to define your core message and what makes it different. A content plan helps you to do that.

The ingredients for your content plan include:

• Angle – the hook that draws people to your business.
• Goals – what your business hopes to achieve for your customers.
• Services – define precisely what your services offer, the common thread between them and what they achieve for your customers.
• Customer benefits – how your business solves their problems, how they will feel after they have bought from you, how it enhances their lives.
• Tagline – a catchy slogan that captures the essence of your business in one line. Don’t worry if you can’t think of one; some businesses lend themselves more to taglines than others.
• Types of content – identify the types of content that are most likely to capture your customers. If it’s your website that’s most popular, concentrate your efforts there. Or it may be a brochure or email.
• Media plan – Identify the publications and programmes that are relevant to your business and that your customers subscribe to.
• Social media plan – Similar to the media plan, identify the social media platforms where your customers are most present and plan the content that’s likely to engage them.

And most importantly of all:

• Deadlines. Commit yourself to a plan of action which will help you release your content consistently and regularly to your customers, whether it’s a press release once a month, or a newsletter every Thursday.

There’s no denying that a good content plan takes time. So why should you create one?

• It actually saves you time. It speeds up the process of creating content, because you already have a basic framework for generating ideas.
• Because you’ve already gathered your thoughts, it’s easier to produce content even when you’re busy.
• If you’re asked about your business at a networking event, you’ll be able to do your business justice because you’ll have put thought into what makes it stand out.
• You are the best person to market your business. And the content plan gives you the power to do that.

Finally.

• It gives the edge to your business. Not many businesses have tapped into the power of selling themselves through words. Your content plan will help you stand out from the crowd.

 

 

 

 

Doing Business as a Speccer

I’ve decided to come clean. After two years of running my copywriting service, WriteWords Editorial and delivering creative writing classes, I thought it was about time I shared with you what it is like to do business as a visually impaired person – or speccer as I like to call myself. Most of the time, my sight loss doesn’t impinge on my work. All I need to run my business is a computer with a magnifier, Internet access and change for taxis.

Still, I had an experience this week that I think neatly illustrates both the advantages and the disadvantages of doing business as a speccer. I was invited to speak to a women’s network. I needed to get a taxi to the hotel, as like many of these business meetings, it was held in a place more accessible to cars than pedestrians.

As it was my home town, I knew the taxi driver and knew his car was silver. So when I saw a silver car, I opened the door to find it wasn’t him. When I got to the hotel, the entrance had a glass door. I put my hand out to open it and groped empty air.

The talk itself went well. I always use PowerPoint, even though I can’t read the slides, since I know people like to have something to look at. And because I have to learn off my notes, I look really brainy. Since faces are a blur, I don’t feel subject to the crowd’s laser-beam stare, so that reduces the fear factor considerably.

I talked about public speaking being more feared than spiders or death and my slide had a picture of a spider. Moments later, I heard muffled laughter. And one of the women informed me that a spider was hovering in front of me. It was probably fortunate for the spider that I didn’t see him; he would have met a grisly death.

On the way home, having lurched my way down a landmine step that materialised just outside the entrance of the hotel, the taxi driver apologised for teasing me. Then he did something worse. He said he felt sorry for me.

Since I have x-ray vision in speccer terms, it’s easy for me to forget that my visual impairment does affect me at times. If I did speak up about it, the people I meet would know why I seem to blank them, or can’t immediately lay my hands on where things are. And it would help them see that people with disabilities of all kinds can make a useful contribution to the business environment.

This blog also appears on www.kanchi.org, an organisation which promoted employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Elevate Your Business with an Elevator Pitch

This week, I was at a networking event run by South-East Business Network. It represented a growing trend I’ve noticed in networking events – people sit at tables of 10 and each person is required to give a two-minute elevator pitch. In case you’re not familiar with the term, an elevator pitch is a mini-presentation of your business designed to be given in a very limited space of time – the time it takes to travel in an elevator.

The reality is that in our fast-paced world, we literally have seconds to make an impression. So it’s important to be able to capture the message of your business in a nutshell. A good elevator pitch will help you make the most of the golden opportunities life sometimes throws your way. Here are the ingredients of a good elevator pitch.

Who you are. Begin with a simple description of your business, what it’s called and what it does. Sometimes you only have 10 seconds to make an elevator pitch, so it’s a good idea to begin with the most important information.

Goals: Tell the person what you aim to do for your customers ie, them. Maybe you can solve their tax problems, or help them find that perfect gift for their friend’s wedding.

Services: Give them a flavour of the services you offer that help them achieve that goal. Tailor it to your audience – concentrate on the services you think are of most relevance to them.

Doing all that should bring you to 30 seconds, or if you include all your services, one minute. But if you have the luxury of a two-minute pitch you can also include.

Origins: Show your passion and originality of thought by telling them what made you come up with your business idea.

Future goals: Tell them how you’ll be expanding your business in future.

A good finish. It can be easy for your elevator pitch to taper off, so drive your message home with a good slogan or tagline. I came across a cleaning business whose tagline was Fighting Grime.

The good news is that an elevator pitch doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. The simpler your description of your business is, the easier it is for people to grasp what it is you do and ultimately to buy from you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Write a Press Release When There’s No News

At this time of year, a lot of businesses make a new start. A move to a new premises. A new product range. Or a new business, full stop. Plenty of fodder for media outlets. But what if nothing new is happening? You may feel nothing is happening in your business that is worthy of a press release. Finding newsworthy angles is a particular problem for service businesses, who don’t have anything tangible to show for your efforts.

But the good news for those in service businesses is that you do have a source of news – yourself. Your opinions. Your insights. And your expertise. You can’t have new things happening all the time, so media outlets frequently fill their slots with opinions from experts. And you can take advantage of that trend.

Here’s How

Be Upbeat About the Economy: That’s what Positive Economist Susan Hayes is doing. She’s been featured on the Sunday Business Post and on RTE’s The Business, because she wants to turn the tide of doom and gloom pouring out of the media. If you genuinely feel there’s a glimmer of hope for us, don’t be afraid to light the way with a press release outlining your views.

Awareness of Trends: If you know what makes people buy certain products, or developments are happening in your industry which will have a broader ripple effect, you can put yourself forward as an expert. You can show how customers can benefit from these trends and achieve real value for money.

Offer Business Advice: The world of business can be a minefield, so you could put together an article or blog post that guides people through the minefield. This is what John Jordan of Next Chapter Marketing Consultancy does. His blogs on low-cost marketing solutions for small businesses have featured on www.bizstartup.ie.

So where can you go with your ideas.

Radio Business Programmes: The bulk of business and current affairs programmes on radio are now taken up with opinion, with people sharing their expertise and predicting trends. You can avail of these trends by contacting the producers of programmes like The Business and Newstalk Breakfast with your ideas. Ringing them ensures a prompter answer, but be sure not to do it too close to programme time, as you want to ensure they’re receptive. Be chatty and enthusiastic when you’re talking to them and they’ll see you as radio-friendly.

Newspaper Articles: Slots like Business Brain in the Irish Independent offer a platform for business people to share their expertise. If you send in press releases to newspapers, they’ll see you as a good candidate for a quote in an article about business practise. If you want to write an article, don’t send in the whole article. Send a summary instead, highlighting what you think is newsworthy about your idea.

Online Outlets: If you’re not sure where your press release, you could find an online press outlet. www.irishpressreleases.ie, www.bizstartup.ie and www.irishmediastore.com are all free. Bizstartup is read by business people, while Irish Press Releases and Mediastore are used by journalists to source news.

Feel free to share your own stories of getting press coverage as a service business with me and my readers.

 

 

 

 

A Writerly Year

As this will be my last post for 2010, I thought I would share my year’s highlights, lessons learned and hopes for the future. This is a time of year when people reflect on where they are, so I think this post is timely.

So here are my writerly highlights

Creative Writing

• Finishing my novel and being in a position to send it out to agents
• Delivering creative writing classes in schools
• Delivering my first-ever creative writing workshops for adults.

WriteWords

• Fruitful collaborations with Samantha Clooney of The Virtual Office and John Jordan of Next Chapter.
• Proofreading the bestselling book Blow it Up Ref! for Brian Kennedy
• Helping Vince Doherty of Adikat, a mobile-phone marketing company, to secure media coverage twice in the Sunday Business Post, in the Irish Examiner and on 4FM.
• Securing local media coverage for Karen Frampton of Frampton Career Solutions, Peter Jones of Foot Solutions and Claudio Cavaliere of Espresso.
• Helping John O’Connor of Red Oak Tax Refunds get a 25% increase in the hit rate to his landing page.
• A successful marketing campaign targeting wedding businesses.

Journalism

• Continued articles in Irish Medical Times and Irish Skipper
• A new column with the Munster Express, in association with Home Instead Senior Care.

Lessons Learned

• There is no substitute for hard work
• My work for businesses is at its most effective when combined with the work of other professionals who have similar skills.
• Other people have different ways of learning, so it is important to be flexible to accommodate those
• To take a more methodical approach to my work and pay more attention to detail.
• Persist, persist, persist in securing media coverage.
• It’s okay sometimes to fake it until you make it.

Hopes for 2011

• To expand the number of creative writing classes I offer, in schools and to adults.
• To find a publisher for my novel.
• To further my existing collaborations and to build new ones, particularly with Bryan Corden of Hedgehog Video Productions, who plan to launch in January.
• Conrad Howard of Market Lane Restaurant in Cork has approached me to write a blog for his restaurant. When his new website has been fully revamped, I will ensure that his blog will win many followers.
• To continue delivering service in style to my WriteWords customers, my editors and my creative writing students.

Feel free to share your own highlights for 2010 and hopes for 2011.

Despite the downturn, this has been a year of growth for me. For those of you who found 2010 tough, you have my deepest sympathy and here’s hoping 2011 is a better year for all of us. Meantime, I would like to thank all my customers and students for their custom throughout the year and to wish them a Merry Christmas.

 

Top Tips for Successful Speechcraft

Last Monday night, I emerged from my snow-clad isolation to give a presentation-skills workshop to a women’s business network in Dungarvan. The workshop gave people the opportunity to morph into crazed queue jumpers, dead celebrities and cartoon characters. But in the middle of all the mayhem, there was a serious message. Here are 10 of the tips I shared about one of the core skills of presentation – actually writing your speech.

1. The goal of communication is to figure out what you want to say and put your message across in a way that your audience will understand.

2. Once you have figured out what you want to say, preparing your presentation becomes a whole lot easier.

3. As well as deciding what to say, decide what shape your speech will take. Will it be a debate, a story, or a fund of tips and advice?

4. Create a structure that will act as your roadmap when you are writing your speech.

5. To get yourself past those nervewracking seconds before you start to speak, pick a spot, plant your feet hip width apart, look around the room and take a few deep breaths. This will anchor you and silence your audience.

6. Reel your audience in by asking them a question or sharing an anecdote.

7. Don’t be afraid to borrow from others and inspire your audience with a quote.

8. Aim for one point per paragraph/section. This avoids clutter and ensures your audience understands your message.

9. Slow down your voice as you’re coming to the end, to signal to the audience that you’re ending and to add resonance to your ending.

10. Remember that no-one really cares what you’re saying. Chances are, they’re daydreaming, thinking of their to-do list or checking their phone. This is actually quite liberating. It means they won’t notice the quake in your voice or the slide you missed.

What’s Your Networking Style

Are you frustrated by the slow return you’re getting from going to networking events? It could be a question of style. Everyone has a networking style and if you can spot the style of the person you’re talking to, it could help you to win the business you’re after.

The DISC personality profiling system identifies four different styles that people roughly fit into. We’re all a mix of the four styles, but one style usually dominates. See if you can spot which style you are.

D – Go-Getter. This person wants to get straight down to business. They want to know exactly what return you can give them. They’ll swoop in with a firm handshake and proffer a business card immediately. When you’re talking to them, get to the point, explain exactly how you can help them. Set up a meeting immediately and stick to it.

I – Promotor. Described by some as the Labrador puppies of the networking world, the promoter is chatty, informal and views networking events as social occasions. They’ll greet you with a friendly hi, pump you hand – and look over your shoulder to see what other conversations are happening. Be friendly back and arrange for a cosy lunch. While it may appear as if you’re talking about nothing, the promoter will think you’re a marvellous person and will want to do business with you.

S – Nurturer. The nurturer is anxious to ensure that everyone else attending the networking event is comfortable and isn’t left on their own. They dress in unobtrusive clothes, so they won’t be noticed. They prefer one to one conversations and hate feel they’re being sold to. If you want to do business with a nurturer, don’t talk business at the event. Set up a one-to-one and they’ll eat out of your hand.

C – Examiner. Examiners are task-oriented, thorough and focused on getting the job done. That’s why they hate networking events. When you meet them, they often stand back because they want to get a good look at you. Put them out of their misery and say you;ll send them an email. This will give them time to give you a measured response.

This theory helps explain why some people’s networking behaviour seems pushy or unfriendly. It will help you play to your own strengths as a networker. Once you have an idea of another person’s style, you can match your approach to their style. And you’ll be in a better position to forge relationships that are beneficial to you both.