Reaching out to your audience and telling them who you are is a difficult task. This requires creating a core message. A core message will quickly become the sun in your online galaxy, the source of inspiration around which everything else revolves.
In just a few words your message must be vital, relevant, and useful. It has to encompass everything that you do – and be of interest to your readers.
Best of all, it must be easily repeated and rephrased. You must be able to state your message in a dozen different ways to make sure that people understand what you’re saying.
The good news is that, with the wide freedom of the internet, publishing multiple forms of your message is quick, easy and generally cost-effective.
The bad news is that, without a proper and clear marketing strategy, your message can bog you down instead of lifting you up.
Whether you have a message, want a message, or need a new message, here are some simple reasons you should put your message first, and always ask – “Is this boring?”
“I don’t have a business message…”
You’re in trouble. Or in luck. Your choice.
If you don’t have a message, and don’t want one, then you’re going to suffer for it. Having a message isn’t a burden, or an obligation, it’s a free tool.
It’s a tool that you conjure out of the facts and beliefs that you and your company already has. Your message might lie in:
- What you do…
- What you sell…
- What you provide…
- What you believe…
- It might even be what you know…
Your message is the most central part of your business, and once it is clearly defined, it will work as both a compass and a strong wind.
Having a message will tell you if you’re on track. Are you living up to your message? Have you surpassed your message? Do you want to change your message?
Having a message can also provide fuel.
If your message is something that you can easily understand and are readily passionate about, then you have a lot of content ready to go.
Is your message easily rephrased? Welcome to the next ten posts on your social media platforms.
Is it a curiosity provoker? Welcome to a half dozen articles on your website.
Is your message bold and visual? Welcome to a fresh and exciting homepage.
“I have a message, now what…?”
Now you market.
Ideally you should already be living up to the standards of your message in what you sell or provide. So now the work lies in promoting your message.
The bad news is that you are trying to explain a new idea to people, and they can be a little resistant to that.
The great news is that a message is far more long-lasting than any other sales pitch.
Whether you’re trying to drive signup rates, click-through conversions, or sales, you are pitching to your audience. Pitching with your message instead of with yourself, or your services, or even your business, is a great way to market without being obnoxious.
Instead of attacking head on, basically saying “Look at me, look at me, look at me now…” you can say “I want to share this with you…because I want to help you.”
Your message is something that already provides value. It provides value for you, and it definitely has to provide value for your visitors.
For instance, the message that Fitz’n’Jammer believes in, supports, and promotes, is “clarity engagement marketing.”
If I, as the web writer at Fitz’n’Jammer, were in an elevator with a business marketer, I might be able to say:
“I write clarity marketing content for online engagement.” Or I might say, “I help creative product companies, like publishers, clarify their passion, in order to engage their audience.” Or I could simply say, “I clarify to engage.”
At Fitz’n’Jammer we are marketers. We know that’s what we are. We write and design and conceive of improved marketing campaigns. We help websites develop their voices and expand their outreach. We also help passionate and imaginative companies to develop crystal clarity in their approach, refining that creative fire into a powerful beacon.
Fitz’n’Jammer is very passionate about this. We really believe that what we do helps companies. And we really enjoy doing it.
So we have it pretty easy. Instead of trying to get you to look at me, I’m asking you to look at our message. Do you want to engage your audience? Do you want to be clear and lucid? Would you really, really like to be able to attract attention and hold it?
If you’re a business savvy marketer, then the answer to all those questions is most likely yes. And while you may or may not need Fitz’n’Jammer at this time, it still means that we gave you at least a little bit of value. And that means that we have a positive relationship. And that’s what clarity engagement marketing is all about.
“I have a business message, it’s great, it’s working wonders, and I want to expand it…”
Congratulations!
You are in the very best place to be, marketing wise. You already have content up and running. You are in first gear, clicking along and tackling one challenge after another.
Now you just need to keep momentum.
Keeping your message fresh and up-to-date is essential. Changing by increments as the years pass is OK. In fact, it’s preferable.
Something that was fresh and relevant ten or five or even two years ago may start to feel a little old hat. And that doesn’t mean you have to rip out your building block and change everything. It probably means a little tweaking.
Have you dropped, added, or altered a service in the past year? Are there new employees or marketers on your staff with new ideas and windows just waiting to be opened?
A great message is a cornerstone, but it will also be elastic and moldable.
An “old-hat” message may still be relevant, just boring.
Controlling Interest
Engagement is all about attracting interest. And once it’s attracted, you need to keep spiking it.
Is your message boring? Try this checklist to make sure it’s not.
- Check once a year – a simple maintenance plan will go a long way in keeping your relevant. Feel free to check every six months, or more, as depends upon your business.
- Do other people understand this easily? – While trying to capture interest, the point is to be interesting, not highbrow or confusing or longwinded. Keep things short, sweet, easily understood, and easy to expand upon.
- Write new titles for your message – This is the best and simplest exercise for making sure your message isn’t boring. You can keep up with this every day or once a week. Take the time to jot down two or three new headlines that support, explain, or revitalize your message. These could be for imaginary news stories, evergreen pages, social media pages, or blog posts. As long as you can keep new headlines coming, your message is still interesting to you. (An added bonus is that you’ll have lots of inspiration for your next marketing campaign, and you’ll never be short a quick title.)
- Check the thesaurus – depending upon where your audience is coming from, terminology might have different meanings. Checking your thesaurus and dictionary, and making sure to combine multiple versions and wordings will help you keep your phraseology fresh, and will also boost your SEO returns.
We hope this article has helped! Please drop us a line and let us know what you thought, where you are with your marketing message, and how much value you feel this article has given you.
And, as always, let us know if Fitz’n’Jammer can help you with your online marketing or design.