Company owners say to me: "We've tried, but we can't write our own copy." So, why is it so hard for companies to write their own messaging?
Business owners know how to compel and sell. But when they
sit down to write, company owners become very literal when under pressure to
explain. That usually amounts to messaging that sounds like a robot reading a ΒΌ
page ad out of the phone book. Other owners want to explain everything. So they
write dissertations the size of the Torah. And it's hard to cut down the Torah.
(I mean, which part of the Torah does one leave out?) Sometimes JARGON is used
to spackle unformed ideas, and that just euthanizes anything meaningful hoping
to find a home.
Company owners: get free of the burden of writing, free of
it so you can talk about the conflicts and triumphs about what you do. Because when
you, the company owner, speak freely about what you do, what shines through is
amazing. You KNOW AND CARE about WHAT THE CUSTOMER IS GOING THROUGH -- and your are able to match what the customer
needs with what your company does -- in a series of organized, distilled truths
that open the door to new possibilities.
But getting it down on paper is the hard part. That's why messaging is really a kind of intense collaboration, requiring impassioned speeches, a bit of cross-examination, and some conclusions -- and somebody to extrapolate it all and organize it all into the buyer's language. In the end, you do write your own copy. Just not alone, ok?
Wow! This little piece on why its so difficult for companies to write their own messaging hits to the very soul of what Thriving Artist Alliance has been facing and trying to break through. For the past 2 years I've been sharing with our target market in small groups and face to face. I know I've reached the limit of what I can do. If the company is to grow and maximize the number of creative people we can help then a deeper, broader marketing effort is imperative. In the time we've been working with Ink Stain I feel as if the scales have been lifted from my eyes. Not only have you helped TAA get clearer about our mission and how to deliver it but you've actually expanded my vision of what's possible for TAA. And that's a mega-bonus I never expected.