Be Different or be dead

December 21, 2018

How power words can be used to communicate better than anyone else

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How power words can be used to communicate better than anyone else.

Word are persuasive. They can cajole, convince, and compel people to act.

They are the backbone of successful marketing. Selecting the right words that resonate with your audience can be an arcane art — but it doesn’t have to be.

By choosing power words that impact your customers’ emotions, you can lift your copy to dizzy new heights. Here’s how.

Recommended reading: If you can’t reason with people attack their heart.

The psychology behind words

As humans, we are unconsciously predisposed to act on words that convey emotions: fear, uncertainty, pleasure, desire, and so on. The words you use tap into unconscious emotions, which in turn compel your audience to act.

For instance, if you ask your friend to call you, you could expect a call tomorrow, the day after, or in a week’s time. But ask your friend to call you now, and you can expect a call instantly.

These words are known as power words, words that elicit a strong emotional response. This could be a positive one, such as happiness or excitement. But it could equally be a negative response, such as fear or anger.

Emotional states can be leveraged to compel people to act, with each emotion driving your own desired outcome.

Take your blog, for example. Your headline is the most crucial element in urging readers to click through and read.

And when readers see dozens of headlines everyday as they trawl the web, power words make yours stand out. “7 Tips For Writing Better Blog Posts” is fine. But “7 Secret Tips For Writing Inspiring Blog Posts” has that little extra pizzazz that makes it shine.

Different power words will evoke different emotional states that will compel the audience not just to click on your blog post, but to dig deeper into what the blog says.

But it’s not just clicks and views that you can get with power words. Ecommerce stores too can benefit from power word-laden product description that drive sales and boost profits.

Consider chocolate stores for example. Confectionery especially lends itself to sensual, powerful words such as “gooey” or “gourmet”, which evokes the senses and makes the customer’s mouth water.

So using power words in your product descriptions don’t just help you sell products — they even help you sell your business itself, giving it deeper intrinsic value.

Exclusivity is everything

I don’t need to tell you that temptation is a powerful thing. Power words that tease with the promise of value or reward are irresistible to your audience.

Some examples include:

Banned
Secret
Elite
What They Don’t Want You to Know
Controversial
Behind the Scenes
Insider
Forbidden
Confidential

Each of the above evokes feelings of intrigue and desire in the reader.

“Controversial” in particular is used regularly by gossip magazines to compel the reader to read on. It promises scandal and shock, urging people to buy their publications for more of the same.

Look at the example from Vogue below:

Source: Vogue

The use of “controversy” and “reveal” tantalize the reader, offering a glimpse into something no-one else has seen. Of course, this isn’t the case, but by using these power words, Vogue urges the reader to click through and read each piece.

Takeaway tip: your makeup tutorial isn’t just a makeup tutorial. It’s an “elite makeup tutorial from industry insiders”. Add value to your content by giving it exclusivity and tempting your audience into reading on.

The art of anticipation

Inspiring words can be that one thing that drives someone to do something to better themselves or lend a helping hand.

There will always be difficulties in life, but those problems are not what controls us as individuals or the world. These words can make your readers feel the same way.

Some examples of words that inspire and encourage include:

Hope
Passionate
Sensational
Courage
Bravery
Caring
Sacrifice (in the proper context)
Triumph

These words speak to our desire to better ourselves, to lift ourselves out of our current situation and into something better. By articulating these words, you stir these same emotions in your reader.

Takeaway tip: rather than selecting “useful writing quotes”, provide “inspiring writing quotes that will galvanize your writing today”.

The power of “free”

Nothing compels action more than the offer of something for nothing. Whether it’s a free product or a discount code, we can’t get enough of freebies.

Everyone could use a little more money, and even those rare few who don’t feel that way still take their finances seriously.

Giving people easy ways to earn or save money is a great way to build a readership. And it’s perfect for sales too. Adding a freebie or discount to a purchase will drive sales and engagement with ease.

Add these words to your website, online store, or blog:

Free
Savings
Jackpot
Rewards
Dollars
Sell
Sale
Discount
Fortune
Double
Triple
Gift
Increase
Gains
More

Takeaway tip: the words above are perfect for building email lists or boosting clicks. Offer a free downloadable ebook (in return for signing up) or the promise of increasing their sales (when they read your guide) to enhance your blog.

Fear is a powerful thing

Making people afraid will get their attention. We see this in the news all the time, as stories get conflated to apocalyptic proportions on a daily basis.

Sometimes, like with severe weather, this sort of fear-mongering is necessary to get people to listen and possibly save their own lives. Other times, it’s used to trick us into buying unnecessary amounts antibacterial soap.

Still, if you’re going to do it, here are some scary words.

Abuse
Prison
Debt
Terrorist
Risky
Assault
Crime
Victim
Toxic
Infectious
Nightmare
Lawsuit

Takeaway tip: while fear power words have their place, use them sparingly. Excessive usage will ultimately repel your readers rather than compel.

Your blog’s audience are people, and while people in any given demographic can have similarities, they are individuals. Words used in one way will have a different effect on different audiences.

Pay attention to which words and phrases get the most engagement and reaction from your readers, and use them accordingly.

— Victoria Greene is a freelance writer and brand consultant. She writes over at VictoriaEcommerce. Here, she likes to share tips for wannabe thought leaders looking to make an impact online.

• Posted 12.21.18 at 03:14 am by Roy Osing
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December 19, 2018

4 silent killer marketing strategies for new age small businesses

4 silent killer marketing strategies for new age small businesses.

For any small business today, gaining the advantage over your competition can be tough work.

The sheer scale of competition which exists is quite hard to get over, in any industry. Even the smallest of towns is likely to have at least one competitor waiting for you.

For that reason, getting your marketing strategy just right is so important.

Not sure how to beat the competition as a small business with a limited scope and budget?

Here are some good ideas. Use these, and you can very quickly make a telling impact on your visibility.

Get set up on Google My Business

As the most popular search engine by far, Google is where most of your resources should be going. Google My Business is very important as it
— adds credibility to your business and
— boosts visibility on searches.

It should be a major part of your small/local business advertising strategy. You will soon find that using a tool like GMB works as it allows you to easily rank higher simply by filling in the profile. If you really want to make big gains with GMB, then hiring a social media marketing manager makes a lot of sense.

Simply showing yourself as a professional who has his/her own GMB page, though, will make you seem much more approachable and professional. For that reason, it’s worth trying out.

Optimized correctly, GMB could help you to bring in a huge amount of organic visibility.

Make use of social media

Secondly, make as much use of social media as you can.

With billions of users across platforms like Facebook, you can easily run cost-effective advertising campaigns with huge reach and immense potential.

I recommend that you work with a social media marketing advertising expert to help you get the ads right, though. While they are cost-effective, like any other kind of advertising you will burn through a lot of money if you aren’t sure what you are doing.

However, the ease of ad testing and multiple A/B testing solutions makes it easy for you to find a winning, profitable ad without breaking the bank.

As far as paid-for advertising for small businesses goes, making use of social media is a winner. Don’t try and push forward without a consultation, though, as it’s easy to waste resources without a clear marketing plan in place.

Run a webinar

How often do you find yourself answering the same old questions to customers? Do you wish that you could make it easy to point them to an easily understood, relatively short but fully detailed answer?

Then do a webinar.

These can be easily hosted on live streaming platforms like YouTube, and can make it easy to answer common questions and complaints in your industry. You could use your webinar to help answers common questions, go into detail about an upcoming industry change or simply ask for some feedback from those who are present.

Either way, running a webinar makes a lot of sense as it allows you to showcase your authority and give people information for free. People love value, especially from a small business. With a webinar, you answer questions for them, you give them valuable information (for free) and you prove your expertise.

Awesome, right?

Write an article (or articles)

Want some exposure that will only take you some time to put together? Then write an article. You could send it to local media or local/niche blogs that fits with your business. You can make it easy to get a lot of exposure in a short and simple amount of time – all simply by using your expertise and knowledge.

If you are a good writer, then you can do this yourself and just spend some time writing. If you are not a good writer, then jot down a series of popular and important points and hire a freelancer.

I recommend that you write up a few pieces you can offer to sites right away (though only give one article per website: never send the same piece to two sites unless one rejects it) so that they can see what you are made of as a writer.

Doing this, you can easily boost exposure with people who are interested in what you have to say. You can also make it easier for your business to be seen and for your reputation to grow. You are giving people free advice and information – it’s only natural they’ll be curious to see what else you have to offer.

For any small business wishing to get ahead of the chasing pack, these conventional ideas should make that easy.

Small business marketing does not have to be complex or taxing: simply thinking a little outside the box, or using inside-the-box methods well, can make a huge difference.

So, where will you start?

— David Guetta is a entrepreneur and freelance writer. He works closely with B2B businesses providing marketing, business, technology, content that gains social media attention and increases their search engine visibility.

• Posted 12.19.18 at 04:03 am by Roy Osing
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December 17, 2018

3 easy communication strategies to move your career ahead

3 easy communication strategies to move your career ahead.

If you can’t effectively communicate, your career will face some difficult uphill challenges.

Try these 3 communications tactics to advance your career; they worked for me.

1. Establish YOU as the #1 fan of the organization’s strategy

One way to separate yourself from the inside crowd is to be seen as one who is ahead of the change curve and to establish yourself as the zealot and avid advocate and supporter for your organization’s strategy.

Use your communications skills to make that evident.

Organize events to discuss the direction of the organization and what it specifically means to everyone. Talk about what it means to sales, marketing and customer service. Be as granular as you can to help paint a picture of what the strategy means to the various functions in the organization.

Don’t intellectualize the discussion.

People will tune you out unless they feel you believe what you are saying. If you are passionate in your communication, they will believe!

Use rich visuals in your presentations. Most people have to work hard to interpret words and numbers, but they get it right away when they see colourful and clever graphics.

Tell stories that bring the elements of your strategy to life.

Stories have the power to visually communicate what the strategy looks like when it is successfully being executed.

2. Build your personal brand

Active communication is vital in building one’s personal brand.

One dimension of my personal brand was customer service; I eventually became known as “The Service Guy.”

I spent excessive time with frontline people, conducted employee service workshops – which I dubbed my Bear Pit Sessions — exploring new ideas to implement and take customer service to a new level.

I was frequently asked to speak at employee rallies and meetings to explain the new service journey we were on.

The media were extremely interested in our organization’s service strategy as well; I did many interviews and personal air time rose.

Other organizations would also invite me to speak at conferences and to their employee groups.

The company’s service image and my service brand grew harmoniously.

3. Demonstrate your leadership abilities

It’s one thing to get employees to understand what the organization is trying to do strategically; it’s quite another for them to be emotionally involved in helping to implement it.

Passion is an amazing thing. When people are intellectually convinced that change is required and are emotionally all in to make it happen, transformation occurs.

I chose every opportunity to engage with employees on what the company had to do differently if we were to survive a dramatic shift in our business from a tightly regulated business to one that had to thrive in a highly competitive market.

I had weekly meetings scheduled on my calendar to ensure employee conversations were a priority.

I painted a picture of what winning would look like in the trenches battling it out with the enemy. We discussed the opportunities this new world would present to everyone and the excitement and satisfaction we would all receive by beating a common foe.

My focus was not only on the company’s plan; but also on the “gory” details of how to execute it.

Good communications skills are a requisite for a successful career, but they are not acquired overnight; they require constant practice to refine them.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series

• Posted 12.17.18 at 04:05 am by Roy Osing
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December 10, 2018

Pick one single thing to make your day really awesome

Source: Unsplash

Pick one single thing to make your day really awesome!

“Have a great day” is an expression we here every day. It’s an expression of genuine hope that someone will more than fulfill themselves in the hours ahead of them.

It’s an aspirational declaration in the sense that the purveyor of the thought throws the statement at someone, spraying it out with the intent of conveying their good wishes.

There are, however, two missing elements to this laudable intention.

▪️First, with all the chaos and dynamics in today’s world, wishing someone “a great day” doesn’t go far enough.

We need to cheer them on to having “an awesome day”; an unmatched day that blows away their imagination.

If you can’t reach the awesome state, chances are you will fall short of satisfying your expectations.

▪️Second, there should be advice available to help people achieve awesomeness; a template of sorts people can follow to at least have a fighting chance of experiencing a daily high.

In my life and career, I’ve wrestled many days to try and grind out a favourable outcome; I hope one or more of my personal learnings work for you.

Get up early
The day has time limitations so you have to get moving. Awesomeness demands you extract the maximum value of the day; you can’t do that if you’re supine.

Getting up early means you can nap in the afternoon without feeling guilty. If you can’t nap because of what you do and where you are, at least take a moment and breathe.

Follow your instincts
Leave your plan for the day behind, or at least don’t have your agenda for the day consume all of your day.

Let your day flow. Focus on doing stuff without an agenda because it allows you to discover things; experiencing stuff that is completely new.

Full disclosure: I have difficulty with this and have not mastered my own words.

Write
To give your day closure, write about it — about anything you witnessed that strikes you; an event that is memorable or interesting.

You are an expert on something — your own views and thoughts — so express them. To yourself if necessary, or share them with others.

It’s amazing how people respond to the honest thoughts which are always unique in some compelling way.

I have recently started following the blog of Gabe Anderson, a musician who expresses himself daily. His posts wreak with simplicity and honesty; check him out.

Do something different
Force yourself outside your comfort zone; amazing days aren’t achieved by staying to the script you’ve always followed.

We are all creatures of habit, but habits are boring and are definitely not a source of awesomeness.

Change your routine; do lunch at a different time and with someone you don’t know much about. Make a call — NO! don’t use social media — to someone on your contact list you find potentially interesting.

Cast off the cloak of compliance and do something outrageous. It’s good for your soul and it will serve as a self injected adrenalin rush.

Stay connected
Check in with a friend or family member; all it takes is 15 minutes — you can afford this slice of time, right?

We all need grounding during each day; personal engagement gives us the confidence to march on into the potential abyss that awaits.

We need people who have our back so send a text to “your person” — yup a text to a special person in your life is ok; a personal call is not necessary.

It doesn’t have to be a complicated contact; reach out with emotion and tell them you are thinking of them and ask them how they’re doing.

Solve a problem
Being able to solve a problem and see the result is an incredible day booster; it’s genesis is our education system and what has been drilled into our heads for years — achievers solve problems.

Make sure your day has a problem to solve. It could be a personal dilemma — you annoyed one of your favourite people — or an issue at work — the sales guys aren’t following the marketing strategy.

It really doesn’t matter what the nature of the problem is, what’s important is that today you deliver a solution to something that matters to you.

At the end of the day awesomeness is achieved when we can reflect back on what we’ve delivered to make life easier for something or someone; problem solving makes us feel useful.

Sweat
A body in action is exhilarating; endorphins are released and a high is produced.

Find a way to work your body during your waking hours; force it to do what it was made to do. We were not put here to be sedentary; unfortunately we are the recipients of technologies that allow us to escape arduous activity.

Find a moment or two during your day to push your body to perspire.

Perspiration begets awesomeness.

Feed your mind
Pick an issue of the day that causes you to stir emotionally.

Dive deep to understand the various points of view surrounding it as intimately as you can. One awesome day must be a leading indicator of others to come; your intellect has a major role to play to ensure a continuum plays out.

Exercise your left brain capabilities to augment a strong feeling component of your persona. When your passion is coupled with strong reasoning on your topic of choice, awesomeness happens.

There may not be a formula for achieving total awesomeness for your day, but there are some practical and proven actions you can take to realize portions of it.

Have a go.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series

• Posted 12.10.18 at 04:37 am by Roy Osing
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