REMO's daily special - XYZ blocks

Today’s featured thing is a real beauty … this beautiful and quirky set of XYZ Blocks. Have your alphabet blocks been around the block? A is for Apple, B is for Boring, Z is for ZZZ … Well the folk at Fred in Rhode Island offer a different perspective on the ABCs of modern life with these beautifully crafted wooden XYZ Blocks … all artfully illustrated by Christian Northeast.

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So here we are, together again for Valentine’s Day. Some marriages don’t last this long… and depending on this years [sic] Valentine’s Day mine could be on the endangered list as well.

You see, the big day falls on a Sunday this year. That’s s a real bummer for us florists. ‘Cos it means that flower envy in the office won’t happen. Girls won’t be sending themselves flowers to make the other girls jealous and CEO’s won’t be sending ‘anonymous’ bunches of flowers to their personal assistants. Which, they probably had to order for them anyway.

But we still have kids to feed and sadly they just refuse to eat excess flowers. Not even zucchini ones.  So, we have hatched a plan. This year we’ll send Valentine’s Day flowers out on Friday and Saturday. And Sunday too. And none of those boxes of roses that anyone can do….if you’re saying it with a box of Roses you’re saying ‘I’m Lazy’.

We’ll be doing big, small and medium bunches of flowers put together with love. Plus garden roses and premium Colombian Red Roses if it just has to be tall reds. Cookie Couture cookies and the amazing chocolate love cake (made to order by end of day today) are joining the party but you’ll need to be quick for these and can only order by phone.

Call us @ Annandale 9566 1999 or Castlecrag 9958 8666. Or order on-line at www.jodie.com.au

Lastly, our customer ratio is 3:1 women. So girls, if you don’t get flowers upgrade your partner, not your florist.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Jodie

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love it.

Why they’re both wrong

Whenever people get excited about ‘new’ ways of communicating, or even the fact that they have access to a gazillion channels via their PayTv account, I think back to the heady days of the dotcom boom and wonder, as I did then: what about CONTENT?

It’s of no interest to me if you have 40,895 followers on Twitter or access to 572 channels if you have nothing to say and there’s nothing to watch. Unless media outlets are serious about generating superb content that people want to read/watch (and I’m not talking anything too esoteric here) then all the channels (that includes actual TV channels as well as different ‘media’ channels such as print, online and mobile) in the world ain’t gonna make a difference.

The bloggers, pundits and opinion-makers who last (whether online or in print) are those with something to say, and the talent to say it in an accessible, readable way. Everything else is just so much landfill.

It’s about the message, not the medium

What I love about Twitter is that it’s a superb method to communicate in short bursts to people who care about what you have to say, and it’s proven to be a fabulous way to quickly and succintly point people to other, relevant and interesting content floating out there in cyberspace.

But Twitter itself doesn’t matter.

Twitter could be all over tomorrow, and another, way cooler site may have taken over. Some will shed a tear, but in the end what’s important is what it is we have to say to each other, and not so much how we say it. SMS, Tweet, phone call or fax – it’s about the message, not the medium.

Here are 7 rules for creating headlines that sell – or at least buy you time so your customer reads your offer.

Rule No. 1: Don’t try to be too clever
Too often the temptation with a headline is to go for clever. You know, some catchy phrase or word-play that may get someone’s attention, yet leave them none-the-wiser as to what it is you’re selling; and more importantly, what’s in it for them. Remember, you’re competing with millions of other messages bombarding people each day, so use plain English, tell them what the benefits are, and don’t try to make them guess what it is you’re selling.

Rule No. 2: Make the offer relevant
Whether you’re trying to make sales on or off-line, when you consider that 90% of readers won’t make it past the headline, the words you choose as an opener are really make-or-break. This means they need to resonate with the reader and be relevant. That’s why stating a benefit to the customer – ‘Cure tinea in just 10 days – guaranteed!’ may seem a little obvious, but if you’ve got tinea, and you’re looking for a miracle cure, you’re probably going to keep reading.

Rule No 3: Start spreading the news
Including news in your headline is an attention-grabber. This may not be a completely new product or service, it may just be an improvement or change for the better. But again, keep it relevant to the reader – think benefits, not features.

Rule No 4: Make it as long as it needs to be
Studies have shown longer headlines – 10 words or more – work better than short; these same studies have been contradicted by other studies showing that shorter headlines are best. My advice? Use the number of words you need to get the message across, bearing in mind the relevance rule.

Rule No 5: Be crystal clear what it is you’re selling
This really relates back to Rule No. 1 – don’t get too clever. Unless your brand is well known and your logo can do the work for you, try to mention the name of the product, type of service or your company name in the headline. Then people will know what you’re selling, and can make that instant decision as to whether they’re in the market for it.

Rule No 6: Use specific details – make it ‘sticky’
People remember details better than nebulous claims – ‘Cure tinea in 10 days’ is easier to grasp in an instant than a statement like ‘Cures tinea fast’. After all, how fast is fast?

Rule No 7: Test different headlines to see what works best
Getting someone to open an unsolicited email these days is tough. But the great thing is, you can test which headlines – or subject lines – work best. Remember though, the idea is not to trick the customer into opening the email. You want to give them an offer that is relevant, sticky, shows them a benefit, and is credible. Having your product or company name in the subject line also gives them the heads-up on who is contacting them. Do a bit of research, though, into tactics on getting past spam-filters. Certain words like ‘free’ or ‘win’ tend to get flagged and sent straight to the junk mail folder.

Rule No 8: Actually, there is no Rule No. 8. I’m just checking to see if you were paying attention. If you’ve made it this far, chances are it’s because this information is relevant to you. Think back to the headline for this article: 7 Rules for Writing Headlines That Sell. Granted it’s not very sexy or clever, but if you stopped to read the article, it’s likely that you needed this information. It was relevant to you – you need to sell. It was obviously about writing headlines – very specific. And it told you what you were going to get – 7 Rules – which gave you some idea how long the article might take to read.

For ‘1001 tips on writing headlines’ you know you’re going to need to make a cup of tea and put your feet up.

Some of you may recognise the quote above as the words of Carolyn Cresswell, company founder of Carman’s Muesli. I got her words off the back of the packet. Now, the muesli/breakfast cereal/snack bar market must be one of the most crowded there is. How does a small business start-up, working from their kitchen, even begin to compete?

By telling an engaging, credible story that helps customers get a feel for the company ethos.

Telling the tale
Now, I’m not suggesting that this is foolproof. Or that story is the only element of branding – there are many – but chances are if you remember anything about a small business brand, it’s because you’ve heard a story about it. In the case of Nad’s, for example, you may recall hearing about the founder, Nadia, who couldn’t find a product that could cope with her daughters’ depilatory needs, so she created one herself. Or Nudie juice – ever read the back of their juice bottles? Pure genius. They’re using storytelling to create a brand.

Even big companies benefit. While the minutiae of Richard Branson’s personal life is neither here nor there, it’s arguably the story of who he is and how he made it big that helped established the Virgin brand – more of a cult, really – in the first place.

Building to the climax
Getting back to muesli. One of the things I love about Carman’s is how the story progresses. At first you read about how the founder took over the business she was working in. “One day I was told that I was going to lose my job as the business was to be sold. A little voice inside my head said, ‘You could buy this small business. You love the muesli and you make it already!’ That night I went home and discussed it with my parents…my offer of $1000 for the business was accepted…I made deliveries before morning lectures and balanced the books during lunchtime.”

The next ‘chapter’ tells you a little bit more: “As a mother of two young children, my passion for real food with real ingredients and nothing artificial is stronger than ever.”

Writing the sequel
As the range expands, the story continues: “I remember when I was growing grew up, my Grandpa would always make porridge for breakfast.” Thus begins the blurb on the back of Carman’s Oats.

I love it. As a small business owner myself, hearing the stories of other women, and how and why they started out in business helps builds credibility in my mind; I find it easier to trust someone who says they care about the environment and what goes into the food they eat because they have two children of their own. I just know (or at least I have a pretty strong feeling) that if I rang the company for any reason, I would get to speak to a human being who would listen to me and deal with my issue.

A surefire bestseller!
You may not have the big bucks for a logo, or to hire a PR flack, or to splash your name on the billboard in Times Square – but you can tell your story on packaging and your website, in order to generate buzz in the local press. And that may just help your business become a bestseller…

This article first appeared in herBusinessNews Spring issue

The lyric in question went something like this: ‘Your love is like a tattoo on my heart”. Now, imagine Delta belting that out, and you should no doubt hear it in a positive light – ie, you’re under my skin, you’ll always be there, i love you sooo much’ etc.

Now tune your mind’s ear to, say, Alanis Morrisette and the same line. Now it’s more of a, ‘I can’t get rid of you, you lying cheating bastard, no matter how much scotch i drink and how hard i scrub.’ See? Tone.

Which is a somewhat long-hand way of saying don’t discount the importance of tone to convey your marketing message. Sweetness and light? Dark and brooding? Or somewhere in between?