Lauren Jefferson - FocusCopy®

FocusCopy Turns 4 Years Old (PLUS 7 Lessons We Learned In Our Fourth Year In Business)

Entrepreneurship / By Lauren Jefferson / August 16, 2023 August 16, 2023

We’ve graduated.

Well, not really. But it kinda feels like it as we celebrate our fourth business anniversary today – August 15, 2023. You spend 4 years in high school, 4 years in college. 4 years seems to be the amount of time it takes to establish foundational knowledge and feel confident about being fully sufficient.

But as we go into year 5, we’re now stepping into mastering business so that we can better serve our clients, offer more to entrepreneurs, and lead business owners to more success.

So here is our annual letter, giving you a deeper understanding of what the lessons we learned in our fourth year in business and what we’re doing differently going forward.

Want to see the other lessons we’ve learned over the years?

Read Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3

The Year 4 Mindset

Year 4 for me as a business owner has been one of deep reflection. What am I doing that is causing more stress and unrest? Where can I find more enjoyment and space? Who do I want to be as a wife, mom, and business owner?

So this year’s mindset has been one of cultivating a CEO, authority leader, and person that I can be proud of putting my name on.

7 Lessons We Learned In Our Fourth Year In Business

Ready to skip the learning curve and take your business (and life) to the next level? Read the 7 lessons we learned in our fourth year in business.

1. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Are you like me and overcomplicate everything?

I’m constantly thinking of the best way to accomplish a goal, even if it requires 245,420 steps. My genius solution suddenly becomes overwhelming – even plaguing. And nothing happens.

You get me? That’s why my word of the year is SIMPLIFY.

In every single thing I do, I aim to simplify. Simplify processes and to-dos at home, in my relationships, in my business, and in every other aspect of my life. What I’ve seen is…

Better conversations
Less stress
Deeper relationships
More progress
Increased enjoyment

2. Optimism Is Not A Business Strategy

In addition to overcomplicating, I’m an eternal optimist. I tend to see the best in people (even if my gut tells me otherwise), set ambitious and often unrealistic goals, and lie to myself when things are going wrong by saying “it’ll be fine”. This year, I’ve learned that optimism is not a business strategy.

In fact, relying solely on optimism without having an actual strategy to back it up will put you in financial ruin, unmanageable stress, and an overall sticky situation. While being positive is generally a good thing, don’t be afraid to pull back the curtains and give your business a hard look.

3. Enforcing Contracts Is Key

My late mentor, Jim Wilkinson, would always say a contract is only good if you enforce it. The problem is that when you are a people pleaser and understand the struggles a business owner goes through, it can be difficult to impossible to enforce the terms you both have agreed to. For me, that was invoicing and collections. And we all know that cash is king in business.

To give me the confidence and wherewithal to enforce, we got new contracts drafted that made it easy for me to follow. And I had someone else other than me collect. This allowed me to keep the client relationships how I wanted without crippling my business.

4. Assign People To Call You Out

When making big changes in your behavior – such as simplifying or not being too optimistic in decision making – you need accountability. That’s why I’ve employed people in my life to call me out when I need it. That can be your bookkeeper, your spouse, or a mentor. Give them the authority to give you the real picture – no matter how harsh it may be. You won’t regret it, even if it stings in the moment. Your business will thank you!

5. Create Space In Your Schedule

The first 3 years in business, it was all hustle and grind. Back to back meetings. Tight, tight deadlines. Little to no flexibility in scheduling. And while I’m thankful I made those sacrifices to bring FocusCopy to where it is today, I didn’t start the business to become a slave to it.

And I don’t think you did either when you started your business.

So my goal was to create more space in my schedule. That included:

Taking a weeklong vacation where my team handled everything without needing my help
Doing more for me and my family in the middle of the week
Adding more buffer time in between meetings to allow me to do the tasks I needed
Blocking my daily schedule for tasks like marketing, emails, sales, etc.
Reflecting on where I need to grow, what I wanted to do, and how to achieve my dreams
Setting up my business so that I could take a maternity leave with my firstborn

Whatever this next year looks like for you, create a schedule that works for you – not what everyone else is seemingly doing.

6. You Can’t Operate A Business To Pay Everyone Else Besides You

Remember how I mentioned that you should employ people to speak into your life? This was one of the harshest lessons I personally learned this year: you can’t operate a business to pay everyone else besides yourself.

One of my friends and a fractional CFO frequently tells her audience – CEOs – it’s time to pay yourself. And there’s a reason for that! When you don’t pay yourself, you aren’t rewarding yourself for your hard work. You, instead, effectively become a slave to the business.

Even if you can’t pay yourself a market salary, pay yourself something – $100, $500, $1,000… Whatever it is, process that payment at least on a monthly basis. You’ll be in a much better position to lead your company.

7. Don’t Survive Off Of Performing

This last lesson is one that has really impacted my life in the past month or so. In July, I gave birth to my son totally unmedicated. This was something I got in my head a long time ago and with the support of my incredible husband, we were able to achieve our goal of a healthy delivery without the assistance of any medication. Call me crazy!

While in the hospital and when we came home, we received comments from our support team like:

“I’ve never seen an unmedicated labor.”

“Wow! You can actually walk. We don’t see many of those.”

“I’m so impressed with you.”

“I could never do what you did!”

And I got that in my head! So a couple of days later, I picked up a laundry basket full of clothes…And I injured myself. It didn’t matter that I had done something so difficult earlier that week. And I started getting down on myself because it didn’t matter how I performed. I couldn’t keep going at that level for a prolonged period of time. Nope, I had to rest and really rest. That meant relying on my husband, friends, and family to do tasks for me while my body slowly healed.

So if you’re like me and thrive on positive feedback, create a practice of pulling back and relying on others to help you. This will prevent the dreaded burnout that so many business owners face in their first couple of years in business.

Year 5, Here We Come!

Our very first client at FocusCopy was Go Savvy – a purpose-driven event planning and promotions company. Since then, its founder Savannah Becerril has become a friend and a strategic partner. I told her that once we hit our 5th anniversary, I want to host a party to celebrate that accomplishment. It’s a big deal to not only survive your first year of business, but to come through that first year during COVID and make it to year 5…We are celebrating that win!

If you want to come along for the ride, join our insider’s list where we send out regular copy tips, business lessons, and resources to enhance your business. Subscribe here.

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10 Client Red Flags To Watch Out For When Marketing

Entrepreneurship / By Lauren Jefferson / August 8, 2023 August 15, 2023

Are you aware of the most common client red flags to watch out for when marketing for your business?

Here’s a shared experience most professionals are familiar with…

If you work with people across multiple industries, you’re likely aware of exactly what it is that makes you tick. We’re not simply talking about clients that are difficult to work with as those clients offer challenges to help us adapt and grow as writers. Nope, we’re talking about clients with bold, unapologetic, blazing red flags you want to avoid entirely.

With over a decade of experience marketing for many clients, we’ve (nearly) seen and heard it all before. Whether we’re reflecting on corporate experiences or those as a small business, client red flags aren’t always visible right away. But, there are a few client red flags to watch out for when marketing for a company that you may be unfamiliar with.

Here’s our take on what we observe when working with new clients.

Psst! If you need copywriting for your business, we’re only a discovery call away! Schedule your discovery call now.

It’s Okay To Reject Some Sales: 10 Client Red Flags To Watch Out For When Marketing

Do you wish marketing client red flags were more…obvious? You may be missing out on these telltale signs that someone is not a right fit for you and your business.

1. No Respect For Your Time

We aren’t too firm around here about micromanaging our time. We strategize and acknowledge client expectations to determine what we do in a day. We’re also human, so running a bit late or canceling in emergencies is completely understandable – and we account for incidents like these, too.

However, when a client doesn’t respect your time, it usually becomes obvious right away – especially when it comes to meetings.

If you think time might be an issue for your client, ask yourself…

If they are late or no show to a meeting, do they try to apologize and reschedule?

Are they late or do they not show up a little too often?

Do they go MIA after skipping meetings and remain unresponsive?

Sometimes, a meeting is necessary for quality work. But this isn’t the only way a client can show a lack of respect for your time…

2. Expectations Are Unreasonable & Non Negotiable

Aside from scheduled meetings, do your client’s expectations align with your expertise, skills, and education? When it comes to copywriting, we sometimes deal with:

Too tight timelines
A queue of consistently rushed projects

Let’s be clear – we will turn copy around quickly and are happy to expedite for clients that we know trust us and our skills. But rushed new projects typically take away the time we need to research, plan, and execute properly. Seeing too many of these lets us know it’s just not going to work out because we cannot feel completely confident about the quality of work we’re delivering.

We do our best work when there’s time and bandwidth for our copywriters to follow our process and get the deliverable done. And it would be wrong to knowingly deliver low-quality work to simply complete every task. In this case, negotiations and flexibility are key to working well together. Without the opportunity to meet in the middle, your chances of success and satisfaction with your copy are lower.

3. There’s Always A Fire To Put Out

Speaking of rush jobs, we get it. Clients can end up in a bind and really need your support to see them through. And, make no mistake, you are there!

But what happens when 9 times out of 10, this particular client always seems to have a fire they need to put out with your immediate attention?

Diving into daily rush jobs is no way to run a business.

This should prompt you to ask, “How is this a sustainable way to operate for my client?”

It likely isn’t.

4. They Treat Those Around Them Poorly

Whether you’re on a video call or in a shared chat, it’s healthy to notice the way your clients treat those around them. We’re not talking about the attitude that comes from having a bad day (we can forgive and forget). We’re highlighting behavior that isn’t acceptable in any type of professional or personal setting like:

Sexual harassment (no!)
Racist or discriminating remarks (double no!)
Blatantly rude comments
Yelling
Swearing
Aggressive behavior

If your former kindergarten teacher would be ashamed to see it, it’s probably not the type of behavior you want to deal with regularly.

5. Word Travels Fast

Pay attention to industry-related buzz. You can learn a thing or two from those who have worked with a potential client before. Hearing from a disgruntled employee is one thing. But be hyper aware of conversations about your client that have one or several similar things in common like…

Late or missed payments
Legal troubles
Inability to work with others
High turnover

Lookout! Problems like these have the potential to cut into your revenue stream, draining your resources.

6. They Simply Won’t Pay

You don’t need to overthink it. Clients who are routinely unresponsive to communications about missed or late payments won’t change just for you. The truth is that you’re probably not the only vendor having trouble collecting payment. But if you have completed the work required using company time and resources, you deserve to be paid. Period!

7. No Loyal Vendors

If you notice a routine pattern of your client hiring and firing vendors, don’t be surprised when your services end up on the chopping block. It’s a huge red flag for a business without a handful of reliable vendors or other professional partnerships in their corner.

Ready to build your relationship with copywriting professionals you can count on? We’re SO in!

8. Bad Customer Reviews & Responses

Similar to word-of-mouth feedback, it helps to look at Google reviews, Glassdoor, Yelp, and Angi (Angie’s List) for authentic customer and/or employee reviews. Take note of recurring complaints to weigh the pros and cons of the marketing relationship challenges you may face moving forward together.

Bonus Tip: Read their direct responses to negative customer reviews. Replies that are disrespectful and avoid addressing the customer’s problems with empathy are red flags.

9. They Favor The Blame Game

Having the ability to own up to one’s actions and mistakes is essential for business owners. If a client can’t or won’t hold themselves accountable, they may start to play the blame game. This means that they may be quick to point a finger at their own employees, co-workers, or even customers before taking accountability for themselves. And they won’t likely make an exception to give you grace when you need it.

Yes, some mistakes are costly! But it takes everyone working together to remain focused on the task at hand, address problems fast, and offer solutions even faster.

10. Your Gut Is Telling You NO

Occasionally, deciding whether or not to cut off a client relationship can come down to your gut feelings. If something feels off, it might be best to listen to your instincts before moving forward. Do you like working with them? If not, think about what it is that makes you uncomfortable.

Also, communicate with the people you surround yourself with. If your team doesn’t enjoy working with a certain client, take the time to listen and find out why. They may end up saying something you’ve been feeling all along.

Beige Flags That We Love

What’s a beige flag?

We’re glad you asked! A beige flag is a characteristic or habit someone has that is valuable and should never be taken for granted. A few examples include…

Giving a head’s up about meeting or scheduling issues
Showing passion for the work they do
Sending OOO notifications
Constructive collaboration and criticism
Words of appreciation

Having clients we love to work with AND for makes copywriting so much fun!

Big Takeaways About Marketing Client Red Flags

There is no clear-cut way to establish whether you should or shouldn’t work with someone.

Our advice for client red flags to watch out for when marketing?

Include a red flag policy before deciding to work together. You should never have to compromise for anything less than mutual respect and the basic ability to be professional with one another.

Phew! Now, get back to business because you’ve got this!Need copy that speaks to your brand’s vision? Schedule a discovery call!

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Is Copywriting Dead In A World Full Of AI Writing?

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / June 21, 2023 June 21, 2023

The big question…Is copywriting dead?

AI, while it’s been around since the 1950s, has recently taken the world by storm. It’s become more widely spread – not just among businesses but general consumers as well. And that’s resulted in consumers believing that AI is the next get-rich-quick scheme.

It isn’t that we don’t love innovative tech (we do!). But for those looking at it as a way to skip out on spending on quality marketing, we’re here to break some bad news.

After sitting on numerous panels over the last 6 months to discuss this very topic, the same conclusion is met every single time.

AI is a tool and will never replace humans in their entirety. It will only make humans more efficient (if they actually know how to optimize AI). The reasoning behind this? Well, as you’ll see, there are layers to this conclusion.

Using AI but still need quality copywriting for your business? Schedule a discovery call!

The Impact Of AI Writing Tools On Businesses

So, what is the true impact of AI writing tools on a business?

First, it starts with the intent.

Then, it goes into how you implement AI writing into your business.

Simply put, AI writing isn’t going to do the same job as a full or even part-time copywriter. But it can offer ways for your business to market more efficiently than without it.

Answering Your Top AI Copywriting Questions

The following are some of the most pressing questions we’ve been hearing from business owners like yourself…

Is Copywriting Dead?

No, copywriting is not dead. In fact, it’s even more prevalent today with the presence of AI. That’s because humans are becoming savvier at detecting inauthentic and robotic writing. They have more of a desire to connect with other humans than ever before. We believe that the pandemic only exacerbated this need.

Furthermore, while AI writing might be able to produce some content for you, it may not have the positive effect on your SEO that you might think. But we’ll talk about that a little later.

What Can You Use AI Writing Tools For?

Don’t get us wrong! AI writing tools can be useful when it comes to other aspects of writing for your business.

Brainstorming

Fresh out of ideas or tired of looking at a blank page?

You can prompt AI writing tools like ChatGPT to help you elaborate on a topic you have in mind. For example, say you want to write a nutrition blog featuring 10 healthy fats but you can only think of a few. You can use AI software to help you brainstorm and come up with ideas to fill out your blog.

Keyword Research

Anyone in marketing knows that SEO and keyword research are tricky tasks. This is because the algorithm changes constantly, keeping up with…

What people are searching for
Separating those searches by area
Narrowing down the keywords by region, etc.

But there are AI keyword research tools like Keyword Sheeter that can offer basic search terms and popular keywords depending on what you’re interested in. Keep in mind that most SEO tools are paid; however, free SEO AI tools can provide enough general keyword research to get you going.

Topic Research

Many people think that creating blog outlines is easily the most simple part of writing a blog. But coming up with a comprehensive outline isn’t always part of a quick process. AI tools like copy.ai allow you to type in a prompt of your choosing. Then, it spits out a general outline that you can follow to finish filling in your blog with original content that speaks to your business and brand.

Headline Ideation

Running out of ways to say something that will leave a big impact? More often than not, most online users read or skim over headlines without looking too much at the content (until they need to). So if your headlines aren’t punchy, your audience is more likely to forget your messaging completely. Using tools like Wordtune can give you multiple options for what you’re trying to say and encourage your brain to read it from a different angle, helping you create headlines that pack more of a punch for your audience.

Are AI Writing Tools Enough For Copywriting & Content Writing?

At its core, it’s a tool. But it’s not a replacement for copywriting and content writing – especially if you care about providing real value and making honest human connections with your target audience.

Looking for a custom copywriting experience? Schedule a discovery call with us today!

What Are The Limitations Of AI Writing Tools?

Yes, there are plenty of ways AI writing tools can help. There are also a few things to keep in mind as you use them.

Detached Voice Quality

AI writing can only do so much to make your copy sound and come across as authentic, personable, and vibrant as you are. So don’t be surprised if you end up reading copy that sounds dry, overly fluffy, or…monotonous. A robot cannot quote the look on someone’s face, but a copywriter will always be able to accurately describe it.

Privacy Check

You might want to check with your legal team about using AI writing for business-related purposes – especially if you’re using a company device to do so. Because AI writing itself is fairly new, many attorneys are not certain about how it protects data privacy for its users. Even big tech companies like Apple are restricting the use of popular AI platforms.

Confirm Citations

Writing online gives us access to so much information we didn’t have access to before. However, there is one major problem that comes with the use of consuming online information. The same goes for AI writing, especially if you’re an expert sharing advice for others to use. When using AI-written information, ask yourself:

Where is the source of the information coming from?
Is the source or are the sources reputable?
Is it easy to refer back to the source and find the same information?
Is it logical advice that makes sense to share?

If you can answer all of these questions and feel good about each source and its roots, it should be okay to publish. Don’t forget to cross reference or link the information you’re sharing with the right citation.

Intellectual Property Policies

This one is more important than you might think. Are you copying and pasting sensitive company information? Are you using information that contains original ideas or innovations you don’t own the rights to? Read the terms and conditions of every AI tool you’re using (or pass it on to your business attorney).

Oftentimes, when you’re working with free AI tools, you become the product. And so they own “your” writing, which might welcome some unwanted confusion about intellectual property and who owns what.

Seriously! Don’t ignore this point if your life’s work or someone else’s invention is on the line.

Will AI Replace Human Writers?

No, but it will make human writers more efficient. Whether you’re a professional copywriter or small business owner slash marketing director and everything in between, using AI can help streamline basic writing tasks – leaving more opportunities to be creative.

Infuse AI & Professional Copywriting Into Your Marketing Plans

AI tools that support our writing are great! Some days, we feel as though it would be hard to live without them. But we also remember that our ability to connect human to human is unmatched. When it comes to our clients, we work with AI tools to create unique, original content for your business. Ready to stop stalling and start publishing? Simply schedule a discovery call with our team to get started!

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How To Create A Quarter’s Worth Of Content In 10 Minutes

Systems / By Lauren Jefferson / June 19, 2023 February 19, 2024

Let’s talk about content! Content marketing is huge. A perfect example is knowing that 82% of shoppers want a brand’s values to align with theirs (which comes from the content they create). And it’s only getting bigger as algorithms improve, new platforms are being created, and consumers are leaning more into the online world.

But just because consumers are hanging out online and consuming more content than ever before, that doesn’t mean that you need to create content…Right?

Wrong. You need to be where your target audience is. You need to be creating content that they want to consume (whether they know it or not).

But beyond publishing content, the reason goes beyond that. “Year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders compared to followers (19.7% vs 2.5%)” (Neil Patel).

Whether you are a law firm, health and wellness coach, eCommerce shop, or financial consulting firm, your customers are searching for you online (as much as 76%).

Ready to skip the overwhelm that often follows content creation? Follow this process to create a quarter’s worth of content in 10 minutes.

Why You Need To Plan Your Content On A Quarterly Basis

Simply put, you do not have enough time to think about content creation on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. Trust me…I own a copywriting and content writing firm where we literally create content on a daily basis for clients. But when it comes to marketing FocusCopy, it would not happen if we don’t plan our content on a quarterly basis.

This process is what we use to not have to think about what we want to write and get us right into writing at the get-go.

6 Steps To Create A Quarter’s Worth Of Content In 10 Minutes

Sure, this process isn’t guaranteed to be done within 10 minutes at first. Like most things, it takes practice to perfect. But I can assure you that after creating content for over 8 years, this process simply works.

1. Remind Yourself Of The Details

First, you need to remind yourself of your business. You work hard to operate your business, but you sometimes need to come up for air to see what your brand looks like from the rooftops.

There are several things that you need to look at when reminding yourself of your brand:

Your core message
Your goals and values
What actually performs
Your content pillars

Be sure to write it all down to save time when it comes to planning the next quarter’s worth of content.

Your Brand

What is your company about? When you’re working so closely with your business, it’s good to remind yourself of your:

Mission and vision statements
Core message
Target audience
Core offer

Your Goals

Then get into what your quarterly or annual goals are. How are you currently measuring up against them as you complete this process?

Your Performance

What content has traditionally performed in the past? You may be able to extrapolate content ideas directly from this.

If you haven’t created content before, read through your sales and meeting notes. What messages do your clients typically respond to?

Your Content Pillars

Content pillars are the overarching themes that your brand can speak on. For example, FocusCopy’s pillars include: copywriting, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Everything we publish falls into one of those 3 categories.

You want to keep these specific enough for someone to identify your brand with it, but broad enough to capture a variety of topics. We suggest working with 3-5 pillars.

2. Brain Dump Every Idea

We like to use mind maps or even rolling lists for brain dumping. Go ahead and write every topic that you could write about for that given content pillar. Within 5 minutes, you should have a good list that covers more than a quarter’s worth of content. Keep in mind that the more you do this, the easier it will be. Great questions to ask yourself include:

What pain points are your customers facing?
Are there any questions they are asking or should be asking?
What would transform your customers’ lives?
What’s going on in your industry that customers should be aware of?

Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should get you thinking.

3. Evaluate Ideas & Schedule Them

After you brain dump, it’s time to evaluate your ideas. Not everyone is going to hit it out of the park, but you should land with a pretty good list of content topics that you want to pursue.

Then schedule them out for the quarter. In what order are you going to publish them? Can you build those ideas into a series?

The key here is not to overthink it.

4. Outline The Topics

If you’re feeling really into the content creation process, go ahead and start outlining it. We use ClickUp to schedule all our blogs, for example. In the description, we go ahead and outline what we want to talk about within that given blog. This makes it so much easier to remind myself what I was thinking about or gives the assigned writer an idea of where I want them to take the blog.

5. Outsource The Writing

Writing takes time. And although we now have access to AI tools like ChatGPT, it still requires a human to comb through the content to make it actually effective. There are several different ways you can outsource your writing:

Delegate to an employee
Outsource to a freelancer (but they may not have the processes to write with your voice or your dialect)
Partner with a copywriting firm that specializes in brand voice and content creation (i.e. FocusCopy)

Regardless of what you choose, it’s imperative that the writer understands your brand, your voice, and your goals behind the content.

6. Repurpose The Content

Finally, content written only for one purpose (i.e. blogs) is a waste of marketing dollars. Every single piece of written content can be repurposed into:

Email copy
Reels or short form videos
Long form videos
Infographics
Social posts

Take Your Content Marketing To The Next Level

We all know that when you’re more visible, you build your credibility (Forbes). And that ultimately leads to business growth – which, who doesn’t want that?!If you’re ready to take your content marketing to the next level, schedule a discovery call with our team to explore how to give you back more time while creating more opportunities for you to grow your business.

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5 Automated Email Campaigns To Streamline Your Follow-Up

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / June 14, 2023 February 19, 2024

Life is hectic with the constant noise, never-ending notifications, and distractions galore. It’s only amplified when you’re an entrepreneur, wearing multiple hats to manage your business(es). And all that busyness doesn’t leave you much time to send out emails to stay in touch with your prospects or customers.

Enter stage left…Automated email campaigns.

These are amazing tools to add to your marketing toolkit and help you to further build your know, like, and trust factors – which you should always be working on even after you’ve signed the client.

But where do you start? Which campaigns do you need to focus on first? After managing email lists of over 27,000 and testing numerous campaigns for dozens of companies, we’ve identified 6 automated email campaigns every company needs.

Implement These Automated Email Campaigns

The whole goal of implementing these automated email campaigns is to free up your time while still building brand equity with your audience.

Indoctrination Campaign

Indoctrination is where you introduce yourself to your audience and give them the lay of the land. My Co-Founder, Stuart Broderick, jokes that this type of campaign sounds like what aliens would use. But if aliens came to Earth, they’d need to tell us how they now want to run the planet.

I digress…Indoctrination campaigns are simply 3-5 email campaigns that introduce you to them, share more about how they can connect with your brand on a deeper level, and set communication expectations.

You can send subscribers into this campaign after they’ve:

Connected with you at a networking event
Downloaded a lead magnet or free resource from your website
Scheduled a discovery call with you

Networking Follow-Up Campaign

Any introverts reading this blog? As a BIG introvert, I tend to avoid networking events like the plague. Because of that, I’ve found that networking one-on-one is a lot more productive for me. But all that time invested into those conversations would be wasted if I neglected to follow back up with them and book another conversation.

That’s why it’s so important to implement a networking follow-up campaign.

After every networking meeting, I put them in a campaign to follow up on a given timeframe to schedule another call.

What’s funny is that the timing is usually perfect because they are now thinking back to their conversations and they think I’m on top of following up.

Can I tell you a secret? Follow-up is the last thing I want to do at the end of the day. So I’ve automated it. And the results have been amazing.

Long Term Nurture Campaign

Want to shorten your sales cycle? Frustrated with prospects ghosting you after what seemed hopeful? Feel like your current follow-up strategy isn’t effective?

Cue the long term nurture campaign.

This campaign is filled with regular emails that educate, inspire, and make your prospects think. When we first launched this type of campaign in March 2022, we weren’t really sure what to expect. Would prospects get annoyed? What could we even expect?

The results astounded us.

We had referrals that had gone cold for 2 years reach back out to us for services. Others needed a quarter or two to come back to the conversation. Prospects also implemented some of the tips we included in our emails and saw a lot of success.

But what did we write about? We’ve included all the prompts we used inside this free guide.

Referral Partner Nurture Campaign

Similar to the long term nurture campaign, you need to follow up with your referral partners – the people who are working with your target audience. Educate them how they can refer you, add value to their client conversations, and even improve their businesses.

Sales Meeting Follow-Up Campaign

Lastly, sales follow-up is essential. Something as simple as a “thank you for your time today” goes a long way for the relationship. After each sales call, we trigger a response based on the outcome. The emails always include a “thank you”. But we have several outcomes to set expectations:

Requested a quote
Wanted a pricing list
Ordered a proposal
Want to hold off until a future date

Of course, we probably over-customized. So feel free to implement a simple thank you email!

Use These Prompts To Improve Your Automated Campaigns

At the end of the day, it’s one thing to say you need to set up automated campaigns. And in reality, they are fairly easy to set up. But it’s an entirely different task to actually write the copy for each of those emails. That’s why we developed and tested 52 prompts that you can use to steer your writing process.

Maintaining meaningful connections with your clients is still possible when using automated technology to do so. Find out for yourself!

Prospects Slipping Through The Cracks Of Your Sales Pipeline?

You may be leaving money on the table if you aren’t following up with them regularly and relationally.

What’s A Pain Point Sandwich? (And How It Makes A Big Impact On Your Copy)

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / May 15, 2023 May 15, 2023

Does your business’s copy include a pain point sandwich?

What’s a pain point sandwich?

We’re glad you asked!

Good copywriters know that connecting with an audience means more than talking solely about a business and its offerings (yawn).

We like using pain point sandwiches in our writing because it’s fun, establishes trust, and really does make sense!

Ready to delegate your writing to the experts? Talk to our team to get going.

Why It’s Beneficial To Talk Less About Your Business & Include A Pain Point Sandwich Instead

If you take a moment to glance at your business’s website copy, does it sound like you might be heading in the me, me, me direction?

It’s time to switch it up, especially if the phone hasn’t been ringing for quite some time.

If you’re a business owner, this might be tough to grasp. But it rings true with every kind of copy we’ve come up with that has performed beyond our client’s expectations. This is because we’re using client-focused copy to…

Build trust by reaching them on a human level
Keep the attention on the target audiences and their problem
Provide a meaningful solution without being too salesy

Every single one of these items is a key to achieving your ultimate goal – turning readers into paying customers. But it all starts with understanding each element at its core to really get the big picture.

What’s A Pain Point Sandwich?

A pain point sandwich looks something like this…

Pain point → Don’t have the time or capacity to write your own website?

Solution → Hire professional copywriters to do it for you!

Pain point → If your website is failing to give you strong potential leads, it could be because your copy is outdated, unclear, or otherwise unconnected with your customer base. We can help!

See? You don’t need a magic formula or extensive research to simply call out your customers’ pain points, offer a solution, and remind them of other pain points that give your solution real value.

Why Pain Point Sandwiches Work

Humans are forgetful. In fact, it’s been reported that over the last decade or so, our attention spans have been reduced to less than that of a goldfish (Time). And since that report, I can only assume it’s gotten worse with content overload, the boom of short video content, and the isolation that the pandemic brought to many.

That’s why it’s imperative to use pain point sandwiches in your copy – to remind them of the pain point they just read about. The more they resonate with the pain point, the more likely they are going to be open to buying from you.

Using You Instead Of We Is Life-Changing

Almost 70% of customers feel as though they must trust a brand before they make a purchase. So when you write and speak to your audience like a real human being, you’re able to build some of that much-needed trust as soon as they reach your website.

Along with that newly established trust is the opportunity to turn a website visitor into a buying customer. And the more you speak their language, the more chance you have at transforming them into a repeat customer.

The best way to do this is by swapping I, us, and our language for you, yours, and we wording. This way, you are still able to share your business’s message while offering authentic copy your customers can relate to.

Your Customers’ Pain Point Examples Deserve A Callout

Remember, your business cannot exist solely because of your need to make money. Yes, profit is a big part of what you do. But you also need to reassure your audience that your company’s purpose is to make their lives easier.

Try to switch up copy you create to call out your customers’ pain points. This is one surefire way to remind them that you know what they’re going through and that you’re committed to solving their issue.

Here are a few examples of our own…

???? You can’t stand writing!

???? There is no room in your schedule to do it yourself – otherwise, you would!

????‍???? You don’t know how or where to start writing for your website.

???? You’re afraid that another person’s writing won’t sound like you at all.

There’s no need to dance around the issues your customers face. You also don’t need to use this opportunity to talk only about yourself. Your potential customers want to be sure that you understand where they’re coming from before they can even begin to trust you. Only then should you talk about your business while maintaining a voice of empathy and connection.

Define How Your Business Solves Their Problem

Whether you offer one spectacular service or a slew of various solutions, it’s important for your customers to know your business’s true value.

Remember those previous pain point examples?

Let’s go right back to them and address the value of our offerings to our ideal customers.

FocusCopy exists to…

✅ Take the writing off of your to-do list.

???? Give you time to focus on your priorities without neglecting your digital marketing.

???? Put your mind at ease by providing a clear strategy and delivery timeline that works for you.

???? Relieve your worries by creating copy that’s consistent with your brand’s tone, voice, and style.

There’s no catch!

This type of copy works because we really do know what business owners and entrepreneurs go through when they’re thinking about writing for their businesses.

Not everyone likes to write or thinks they’re even good at writing – and that’s okay! We understand and we’re here to solve the problem with copywriting services that we stand by 100%.

Contact FocusCopy for concise copy delivered right to your inbox.

Talk To Your Customers Using A Team Of Professional Writers

Creating value-centered copy is our house blend…our special brew…our personal choice all day, every day.

Creating copy that resonates with our clients and their clients is something that we’re proud to dive into with pure focus and dedication. There’s nothing like looking at a blank page (most people’s worst nightmare) while our mind is churning with ideas to jot down.

Interested in seeing how client-focused copy can change your marketing? Get started with FocusCopy!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

Answering Your Top Questions About Blogging For Your Business

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / March 13, 2023 February 19, 2024

What’s the big deal with blogs?

Don’t worry! You’re not the first to ask.

However, you’re the next to learn about the power behind writing blogs for your business!

Not all blogs are the same. And not all are created with sales in mind. Some people simply utilize blogging platforms to share their thoughts and practice their own writing skills.

But blogging for your business, if done right, just may be the key to growing your brand awareness and increasing revenue. I’m not a betting woman, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that right about now you’re thinking that sounds like a pretty good plan for your business.

If you’ve read this far, you’re at least a little interested in what all the blog is about. So I’m going to break down the top FAQs for writing blogs for your business.

The Top 6 FAQs For Writing Blogs For Your Business

We’ve put together the most common questions we receive about blogging for your business into a neat little package – this blog.

If you’re ready to see real results from your marketing efforts, we should chat.

Schedule a time to talk so we can take your marketing impact to new heights!

1. How Does One Start Blogging? Is There A Secret Club & Initiation?

There’s no secret society of bloggers. I mean, there might be…But I wasn’t invited to it. Did it stop me from blogging? Nope!

The truth is, the trick to writing a blog, like so many other things in life, is to simply start. Pick up the pen, sit at the computer, and get rid of that blank page before you. Seriously, open up that dirty window. Then, let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Okay…Sorry about The Hills reference.

Back to blogs…Whether or not you need a nostalgic song to kick-start your blog productivity to help grow your business, we’ve got you covered. The key is to truly get rid of the blinking white page on the screen. Simply start writing. Get your thoughts out. Go back and look at it with fresh eyes the next morning. Have a trusted confidant proofread and be receptive to their feedback.

Even the best of us suffer from writer’s block. But we’ve found that just getting started is the quickest way to make the hesitations and second-guessing disappear.

2. I’ve Read So Many Blogs With Different Formatting, Isn’t There A How-To Guide To Do It Right?

It’s great that so many people utilize blogging platforms to share their life. Does that mean all of them are doing it right?

Nope!

But we’re not judging anyone who’s doing their own thing. Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. However, if you want your blogs to make an impact on your business, it’s better to follow proven formatting methods.

For instance, Google (you know, the holy grail) uses an algorithm to rank websites on the search engine results page (SERP). The ranking is a direct result of search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. While yes, the algorithm constantly changes, professional writers like my team at FocusCopy keep up with the trends to help our clients achieve success.

However, there are some tried and true methods to the madness that will likely be sticking around. If you take a closer look at this blog you’re reading right now, you may notice our use of headers.

We usually start with a header 2 to re-emphasize the topic and keyword(s). Then the body of the blog is done in sections marked with header 3s. Any further differentiation in sections would happen in the next header down, and so on. It may seem silly, but Google cares about the difference in header sizes.

Moreover, the word count is also a biggie. So don’t go wild with a 4-thousand word blog. In fact, Google would prefer you keep it under 2-thousand words. The sweet spot is somewhere between 1200-1800 words. This excludes pillar posts.

Equally important is to keep the content between each header under 300 words. Yep, another surprising but factual point that can make a difference in your Google ranking.

Psst…We’re big fans of Yoast SEO to help keep our formatting, word count, and word usage in check.

3. Does The Number Of Blogs I Write & How Often I Post Them Matter?

Yup. But here’s the cool part…You don’t have to write more frequently than you want. It’s actually better that you remain consistent than spend your energy trying to reach unattainable goals. In the long run, setting unrealistic blog goals may even hurt your SEO efforts and, as a result, knock you down in the Google ranks.

Instead, you should focus on publishing blogs consistently. One a quarter, month, week – whatever works for you. Here’s another cool thing, you don’t have to wait until 3 days before your self-assigned publish date to start writing your blog for your business.

As professional copywriters, we prewrite many blogs for ourselves and our clients to have on hand to publish according to the schedule that works best for the respective company.

To get started, take a list of topics that:

You enjoy discussing
Facts you wish your target audience knew
Answers to the questions you receive most often

Then, schedule some time to sit down and write as much about each topic that you can. But don’t do your best and stash it away for 6 months. Schedule more time in the near future (like within the same week) to review your writing with fresh eyes. And finish it up! We recommend sending it to a friend, colleague, or family member to proofread. Trust me, you’d much rather your nearest and dearest point out your mistakes than hundreds of critics in the Reddit gallery.

Want a professional writer and editor to take a gander at your blog before you hit the big, shiny publish button? Well, you’re in luck because FocusCopy offers copyediting services for our entrepreneurs who enjoy writing for themselves. Schedule a discovery call with me today to learn how we can support your business’ marketing efforts.

4. With So Many Bloggers Out There, How Can I Make Mine Standout & Get Noticed?

SEO is the key to ranking high and getting noticed on the world wide web. With an estimated 7.5 million blogs posted every day, it may feel impossible to ever see your company at the very top of the SERP.

Don’t sell yourself short before you give it a try. We’ve proudly seen so many of our own clients rise through the ranks to the top spots with our blogging service.

The trick is to research, study, implement, and practice SEO. This means including keywords that your target audience is searching for online. And of course, sticking to the right formatting and word count. But it also goes so much further.

Google is smart enough to recognize AI-generated and poorly written content. Don’t expect to see those at the top. Instead, use power words and write like a human. Yes, the same writing style to engage your audience and convert them into paying customers also pays off in the SEO world. But with good SEO, that target market is more likely to actually see your brand messaging.

5. After Spending So Much Time Writing A Blog, Can I Make Further Use Of The Content?

Repurposing content is truly one of the tricks of the trade. We’ve also taught so many of our clients how to do this, too!

Say you have a blog. Does it focus on or mention any specific seasons or years? Are you referring to something that’s in the news right now? If so, that is a timely piece. Go ahead and publish it. Take out snippets to create social media posts to promote your blog. Then, re-work the same blog into an email newsletter to keep your best fan base in the know.

But if you’re not including time specific aspects…Congratulations – you have written an evergreen blog! This is a great asset to your marketing toolkit. You’ll be able to reshare, repurpose, and refer to this blog for years to come. Literally, evergreen content is such a blessing.

6. What If I Absolutely Despise Writing & The Thought Of Doing It Makes Me Cringe?

Then don’t ????????‍♀️ Work with a copywriter with a proven ability to enhance your business’ marketing for real growth.

At FocusCopy, we’ve created original content for over 100 businesses (let’s see where this number gets when we repurpose this blog in 7 years). This includes everything such as blogs, newsletters, grant proposals, social media posts, social media ads, LinkedIn articles, podcast scripts, promotional brochures, and so much more.

And we don’t blame you for hating writing. Because we love it. I mean, I created an entire business around it. Then, I hired copywriters who also love writing. Together we make up a team that supports our clients by taking on the task they either don’t want to do or don’t have time to do.

Leave Blogging To The Pros & Get Back To What Matters Most

If after reading this, you’re still not sold on writing your own blogs – that’s okay. But hopefully you’ve learned a few things about SERP, SEO, Google ranking, and are making plans to bolster your marketing plan.

We’re here to support you as a business partner by writing converting copy in your brand voice. Seriously, not even your sister will know someone else wrote it.

Schedule a discovery call with me and let’s get going on your blogging journey!

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

7 Reasons Why Blogging Is Important For Business

Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / March 13, 2023 February 19, 2024

Are you a business owner with a blog you haven’t updated in a while?

Perhaps you’ve thought about launching a blog but aren’t completely sure why blogging is important for businesses.

As copywriters, one of the questions we receive most often includes whether businesses really need a blog or not. But, it’s a loaded question with a (somewhat) complicated answer.

You should first know that about 77% of people read blogs online regularly. That alone might not be enough to convince you to get going on your blogging journey, but you should also know that 61% of online users make a purchase after reading a blog.

See? You have much more of an influence than you might think.

Try to think of your business’s blog this way…

You don’t need to have an extra voice within your industry to be seen, heard, and understood. But wouldn’t it help if you did?

Interested in starting a blog for your business? Let’s talk about how a blog can help your profitability, brand awareness, and so much more.

1. Build Brand Awareness

Building brand awareness through your business’s blog makes customer interactions feel more like a friendly conversation instead of an outright sales pitch. If used the right way, your blog can be seen as a tool for your audience.

In fact, more than 40,000 Google searches occur every single second. Of these searches, many people turn directly to How To, DIY, and other blogs that teach them how to do something.

Whether it’s exactly what they were looking for or not, they increase engagement and web traffic for that business with every click. It’s like being able to walk down the street and pop into stores they’re interested in without feeling the immense pressure to purchase something.

If your audience likes what they see, they’re more likely to share it with friends, family, co-workers, and beyond. The more your message is spread, the more opportunities you have to make an impact with your business at the forefront.

2. Include Long-Tail Search Keywords

Long-tail keywords are essential for blog writing. This is because when most people perform an internet search for something, they usually type in a thought, phrase, or string of keywords that will give them the results they need.

For example, let’s say you’re a local bakery looking to drum up more business. Your audience could just search “sugar cookie” and end up with a few million results. But they’re much more likely to find exactly what they’re looking for by typing in more specific, long-tail keywords like “best classic sugar cookie recipe with butter” or something similar.

As your bakery’s blog creator, using the entire long-tail keyword within your heading, subheadings, and overall unique content pushes your blog to the top of a user’s search results. This means you’re more likely to be seen by your target audience.

Meanwhile, your target audience is more likely to click on your blog to find what they need and potentially explore other offerings like your products and services. They might even feel inclined to sign up for something – which leads us right into our next big benefit.

3. Construct A Larger Following

Use your blogs to attach powerful call-to-actions (CTAs) like:

Subscribe to our newsletter
Follow us on social media
Join our course
Download your free guide

And these are just to name a few!

Your CTA options are unlimited and serve as a great way to keep your audience engaged with your brand long after they’ve hit the little x button. Use your blog and a solid CTA to gain more followers interested in your brand.

4. Increase Crosslinking Opportunities

One of the best ways to create an authentic experience through your blogs is by crosslinking within them. Crosslinks in blogging are one of the best SEO tools you can use to improve your online presence. It boosts your SEO and gives you a chance to optimize the use of your owned domains to the best of your ability.

What Is Crosslinking?

Adding crosslinks to your blogs allows you to guide readers to other pages on your website that you want them to see. They also provide an opportunity to attach shared categories or tags to them. This way, you continue showing up higher in search results.

Crosslinking allows businesses like yours to increase exposure with minimal effort. So, even if you’re a marketing business discussing blogging for businesses, you can also pique the interest of your readers who might simultaneously be searching for copywriting for businesses (see what we did there?).

5. Widen Content Splintering Opportunities

Alright – you have long-tail search keywords to help you with blog topics, a few ideas for CTAs, and an understanding of how crosslinking can help.

It sounds exhausting! But you don’t need to create everything only to use it once.

Take the information you’ve given in your blog and splinter it into other marketing avenues for your business. Doing so means that you can avoid:

Retyping your thoughts
Spending more time on content creation
Skipping out on posting to your socials

Break everything down section by section, point by point, or however else you see fit.

Want to create a wealth of content starting with a blog for your business? Let’s get going!

6. Become An Authority Leader With Each Topic

This is a good one.

Blogging establishes your voice within your industry and community. By offering valuable information that readers can truly rely on, you become much more trustworthy and memorable moving forward.

And you know what we love to say about people who do business with others?

People do business with businesses they know and trust.

Offering your voice as an authority leader within your industry allows current and potential customers to feel as though they know you, can trust you, and can look to you for future insight – which brings us to our final reason for having a blog for your business.

7. Offer Valuable Answers & Advice

You are able to offer answers to many frequently asked questions that your customers continuously have. Answering them in a blog (or several blogs) gives your audience direct access to you and your expertise without wasting time on the phone or in your inbox going back and forth about the answer.

The truth is that there are certain things you know about your business that others might not know. This makes blogging about it the perfect way to bust any popular myths while providing tangible solutions through your products or services.

We Know Why Blogging Is Important For Businesses Of All Types

Our team knows how important it is for businesses to have a blog. We also know that entrepreneurs are usually strapped for time with no idea where to start (it’s part of our why).

FocusCopy is here to help.Need help launching your business’s blog? Chat with us to get started.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

15 Ways To Improve Your Writing Skills As An Entrepreneur

Copywriting / By Lauren Jefferson / March 10, 2023 February 19, 2024

Have you ever thought about finding quick ways to improve your writing skills as an entrepreneur?

Business owners tend to feel an immense amount of pressure to be able to do it all and do it all well. Writing for your business is one skill you must nail to feel successful.

However, we also understand that even the most high-achieving entrepreneurs can feel burnt out, against a wall, and just plain ol’ uninspired when writing for their business.

For some, it’s been a while since you’ve sat in a classroom fine-tuning your creative writing brain. And for others, writing anything is your worst nightmare – even with all of the coffee in the world to keep you going (we’ve been there, too).

But we’re not here to gatekeep the best ways to improve your writing skills as an entrepreneur, which is why we’ve created the list below.

Why Every Entrepreneur Should Improve Their Writing Skills

As an entrepreneur, you have many many many hats on your head. Writing is one of those hats that will continue to serve you over and over again.

Similar to accounting, you need to know how to do it. Whether you should do it – that’s an entirely different question.

But when it comes to your words, you need to have the skill sharpened. When you know how to communicate effectively through the written word, you are able to:

Close sales on the deals you actually want
Attract the right types of clients
Secure financing through traditional loans or investment
Motivate your team, vendors, and clients
Limit the back and forth in email because you got your point across clearly

The limits are endless when you know how to write well.

How To Improve Your Writing Skills

Yes, writing is a skill. This means you need to practice every now and then to avoid making mistakes while getting your message across clearly. Here are 15 ways to improve your writing skills as an entrepreneur.

1. Create A Daily Practice To Write

Again, writing is a skill much like swimming or cooking. You can excel at it, but it takes time and practice.

To clarify, you don’t need to sign up for another college course or set aside hours of your day. You can polish your general writing skills in as little as 15 minutes a day using quick writing quizzes from free sources like the Academic English Cafe.

If you’re looking for less structure, pick a fun prompt you can use to write a short story for yourself. Set the clock and write as much as possible in 15 minutes, then stop. Plug your story into software like Grammarly to check for spelling and grammar and see how to improve your style.

No extra time on your hands? We’re here to help. Let’s talk about what you want out of copywriting for your business.

2. Diversify Writing Styles

Go back to choosing a fun prompt. This time, take only a few minutes to write using 3 different styles. You can alter anything you want to make it sound…

Extra professional
Positive and lighthearted
Extremely emotional
Sales focused
Exciting
Straight forward

When you’re done, take a look at all 3 and read them aloud to yourself to get a better idea of which styles you excel at and which could use a bit more work. Believe us when we say there’s a big difference between writing styles depending on your voice and tone.

3. Time Yourself

There are 2 solid ways you can practice timing your writing in 15 minutes or less:

Answer an industry-based FAQ you definitely know everything about
Discuss an industry-related hot topic you wish you knew more about

The first will allow you to see how much and how well you can get your point across in those 15 minutes. The second will give you a short chance to research and write what you know with the same previous goal in mind.

Reread both finished prompts and try to pinpoint places where you could improve.

4. Select Your Favorite Passage Or Page To Copy

Have you ever read something that you truly admired?

Whether you were looking at another company’s website or e-blast, you can emulate a similar style in your own writing without being a complete copycat. Here’s how to do just that using a landing page like this one:

Find a landing page you admire
Break down the page line by line into clear sections like…
1. Headlines
2. Subheadings
3. Body copy
4. Call-to-actions (CTA buttons)
5. Final statement or header
Write about your own business following a similar style

Once you feel like you’re going in a good direction, take a step back, and admire your hard work.

Thinking about adding engaging landing pages for your business but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered!

5. Record Yourself, Then Transcribe

Let’s say you’ve been chosen to give a speech on a popular topic in your industry. Keep the speech under 5 minutes and simply speak on the topic while recording yourself.

As soon as you’re done, start transcribing what you’ve said. Chances are, you’ll notice right away the number of times you say things you would NEVER write. This includes words like…um, err, uh, like, and anything else that isn’t truly a full thought (Hint: Don’t include those). From there, you can write down everything else you’ve said and edit it to make it more concise and digestible to read.

Psst! If you do this, you can create a blog or social media post for yourself.

6. Edit Someone Else’s Writing

One of the best ways to hone your writing skills is to edit other people’s writing. This allows you to get used to various styles and personalities to see what fits where best. Don’t know where to look? Start with editing friends’ or family members’ social media posts or emails they’ve sent (just don’t be so quick to point out their errors ????).

If you’re comfortable, ask someone to write something for you to edit it for them. You never know, it might spark up some pretty interesting conversations about writing choices and preferences.

7. Let Someone Else Edit Your Writing

Whether you pick a friend, colleague, spouse, or whomever, this practice will require you to be open to criticism. Choose something you’ve written before or something you haven’t yet published. Pass it on and be patient. Allow your editor time to read, edit, and offer other feedback if necessary.

It’s important to be open here because making mistakes doesn’t need to feel like the end of the world. Try to see it as a learning experience so you don’t make the same mistakes moving forward.

8. Don’t Be Afraid To Travel Back To The Basics

Let’s talk about timing yourself to gauge your typing speed. Most people consider this the number of words you type per minute (WPM). You can use a free tool online like this one from LiveChat to see where you stand on the writing race track. This is a good tool to use every now and again to get a quick measure of your WPM and the number of errors made. Continue practicing until you reach a new higher WPM with zero errors.

9. Try Benefits > Features

Every business owner knows which cool, innovative, or unique features they offer. But knowing the difference between a feature and a benefit is even more important.

For example, if you run a dental clinic, described features usually look like:

Customer Parking Lot
Open Late On Tuesdays
Fast Service
Kids Dental

But here’s what they could look like when turned into true benefits to really entice your customers or potential customers:

No-Stress, Free Parking In Nearby Lot
No PTO Needed With Late Tuesday Appointments Available
Wait Time Is Always 10 Minutes Or Less
Quality Dental Services For Kids Ages 4+

So, what about your business? Write down your offered features and turn them into big benefits your audience can’t wait to learn more about.

10. Be Your Own Headline Hero

Take 10 minutes to jot down as many headline options you can think of for your business. Good, bad, and ugly – write them all down! Don’t overthink it or focus too hard on perfecting each one. This is a fantastic exercise to do when you feel uninspired, unfocused, or everything in between. Have fun with it! Use puns, wordplay (personal favorites), bold statements, and questions to spark your creativity.

11. Practice Punctuation.

We like to have fun here…But honestly, practice using the correct punctuation throughout your writing. You can use a simple spell-check tool to see if you got it right or to explore other options. For example, if you’ve never truly been strict about using the Oxford comma, give it a shot and see how it fits with your writing style. In addition to improving accuracy, practicing punctuation is also a good way to explore different writing styles.

12. Dear Diary Journal

You’re a working professional and entrepreneur, so we can go ahead and call it journaling now ????.

Make journaling a short practice that you do every day or even once a week using an actual notebook (just smell those fresh pages) or your laptop, phone, or tablet. You don’t need a prompt to journal. You don’t even have to think about anything in particular to start writing! Simply write what you feel for a few minutes before you start work.

Do you have night owl energy?

Journal late at night before going to bed and reread your thoughts in the morning!

13. Access A Writing Course

There are so many professional-quality writing courses for businesses available online. You just need to find the one that aligns with your goals. Courses like these don’t need to take up too much of your time and should be easy to follow. Courses like these also offer the most benefits as they allow you to chip away at their entirety on your own time. When you’re finished, you have a wealth of new knowledge you can use throughout all of your writing assets moving forward.

Join ours here: Launch Your Website Copy Academy

14. Explore Other Words

If you’ve done any of the above before, you can probably pick out words you might be overusing or repeating often. Put those words in a list and expand each one with 2 to 5 new words you can use in their place. Some commonly used words you should consider switching up include:

Great
Amazing
Different
Utilize
New
Hard
Change
Important

Do you use these words too often in your writing? Add some flair when necessary to spice it up for your readers.

15. Sleep On It

Seriously!

Once you’ve written something, taking a little break from it before hitting publish is okay. Give yourself the time to walk away from your writing and return to it with fresh eyes. You might find that you have a better way of saying what you’re trying to say when looking at it a second time.

No Time To Practice? Leave The Pen To The Pros!

Writing can feel overwhelming, and not everyone is comfortable writing for their business. But we are.

Contact FocusCopy for a hearty cup of copy for your business goals.

Focus Your Copy On Conversation & Conversion

Let’s Grab A Virtual Coffee With Us To Discover How To Boost Your Words

How To Use Networking Events To Convert Leads & Improve Your Business Writing

Entrepreneurship, Marketing / By Lauren Jefferson / March 6, 2023 January 8, 2024

Networking…We know it’s the key to a successful career. Small business owners know this more than anyone…And it’s a lot of pressure. You’re trying to grow an entire business, all while navigating crowded happy hours. The connections you make can lead to potential customers or profitable partnerships, but how do you take advantage of these opportunities?

While you might thrive in normal social situations, networking is a different sort of beast. How are you supposed to build a genuine connection with someone while you’re looking for the right opportunity to share your elevator pitch? Don’t worry! It’s not uncommon for confident speakers or even lively extroverts to struggle at networking events.

Building connections in your business life doesn’t have to feel like you’re a door-to-door salesman, endlessly reciting your memorized sales pitch. There are easy strategies you can implement that will allow you to make the most of your networking events, improve your business writing, and create potential leads.

In order to get the most out of your networking events to convert leads, you have to:

Take control of the conversation
Offer valuable advice
Get vulnerable
Identify new pain points

4 Steps To Making The Most Of Your Networking Events

Your networking events can help you grow your business – if you have the right conversations and follow up with those conversations after the fact.

Do you have strong, converting copy to send to your networking contacts? Schedule a call with the FocusCopy team to learn how we can help.

Take Control of the Conversation

Taking control of the conversation means asking questions and directing the conversation. In our experience, the more you get the person you’re chatting with talking, the better the outcome. After they talk enough, they’ll naturally flip the script and ask you questions – usually what do you do?

And you better be prepared to respond with an elevator pitch. No, we don’t want to hear a canned response. We want to hear a custom and succinct pitch that responds to everything you just heard from your networking partner.

Don’t Be Afraid To Get Vulnerable

Even as you take control of the conversation, it’s essential to dig deeper. Surface-level conversations are not going to do anyone any good. That’s why you need to express a little bit of vulnerability. Sharing some of your “scars” increases the likelihood of the other person becoming vulnerable.

And when there’s vulnerability, there’s a developing relationship.

Here are a couple of questions to dig deeper:

What is the biggest problem you’re facing in your business right now?
What are your biggest goals?
How does [insert what they are doing] drive you?

Make Yourself The Expert

As you’re listening to the other person, it’s important to find opportunities to insert lessons learned, resources, and/or contacts that would help that person find success quicker. Obviously, you don’t want to be a know-it-all, but it could look like this:

It’s amazing that you’re launching digital courses! How are you marketing those courses?
You have a great company name. If you haven’t already, I’d get that trademarked. Let me know if you need an introduction to a great trademark attorney.

When you offer help or support, you establish yourself as the expert. More often than not, you become known as the person who knows people. This is a very special place to be!

So what are the benefits of this strategy?

You have a boosted brand image as being a helper
The people you help will want to return the favor and help you
You feel good about serving without expecting anything in return

Need help positioning yourself as an authority in your industry? Contact FocusCopy to learn how to build credibility in your copy.

Identify Pain Points To Use In Your Business Writing

Of course, this wouldn’t be a FocusCopy blog if we didn’t touch on writing!

As you listen to people in your networking events, take note of the following:

Their pain points
The way they are phrasing their problems
What they actually want or need to solve that problem
The help they’ll actually accept

All of those points can be used and crafted into really effective copy!

And when you apply it to either written copy or another elevator pitch, you’ll be shocked at how people respond to it.

Transform Your Conversations Into Effective Copy

Networking events were actually how we discovered the core problems we solve. People weren’t that interested in improving conversions on their copy (shocking, I know). But what they were really interested in was how we could take the one marketing task they despised or took way too much time off their plate. If you’re ready to take what you’ve learned from your networking events, let’s have a conversation about how we can apply it to your messaging. Schedule a call with the FocusCopy team today.