Atlanta—If you’re thinking about writing a blog to promote your company, consultant Jon Roska has some advice for you: Don’t.
Roska, founder/chief creative officer of Roska Direct, isn’t saying don’t launch a blog. Rather, he advocates having someone else–preferably one of your best customers–write it for you. In the Oct. 17 session “Effective Copy for All Media,” moderated by copy expert (and MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT columnist) Herschell Gordon Lewis, Roska pointed out that a blog is a personal journal, and when marketers write them, they lose the personal, unpolished touch.
“Real people should be writing blogs for you,” Roska said, although marketers can certainly control how the blog content is presented, from logical editing to adding headlines and subheads. He used BMW as an example of an effective blog that’s written from personal experience by an enthusiast of the luxury car brand.
Many merchants are no doubt loath to use outside resources for blogging, but Roska warned that “blogs aren’t there yet” for commercial purposes. “You have to give up control if you want to do it right–and that’s a scary thing.”
A peeve Roska had about the medium is that “most blogs look like message boards.” They shouldn’t, as responses to a blog are meant to be read first by the blog host, who can then post responses if he so chooses.
If you are considering a blog, Roska advises setting up a separate Website with its own URL rather than including it on your corporate site. You should also include links to and from your blog, and layer links in the blog copy. And update your blog often–at least weekly, Roska says, although daily is better.
The session also included plenty of tips on direct mail, e-mail, and catalog copy. On e-mail, Roska said to always send e-mail from a person, rather than from a company, and not to use “offers from” in the subject line. Keep subject lines short clear and relevant–10 words or less. In the e-mail body, he noted, get to the point quickly and stay focused on the audience. And make sure that you support all offers and discounts with a restatement of benefits.
Panelist Jill Vidal, a marketer for multichannel merchant 1-800-Flowers.com, told the audience to push product benefits rather than features when crafting catalog copy. As an example, she noted that “made of solid steel” is a feature, while “built to last” is a benefit.
Vidal also stressed the importance of answering “what’s in it for me” in copy descriptions. Copywiters need to make sure they’re not just repeating what the photo already shows. Instead of getting into flowery description about the colors, for example, emphasize benefits that you can’t see from the photo, such as “hand-rubbed finish” or “solid construction.”