Poor Website Strategy: Watch Out for Poop Proliferation

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Dear Copy Bitch: What’s the most challenging thing in your industry today?

–Alex, Local High School Senior

Answer: Lately, the most challenging thing has been poop proliferation via websites (I’d use a much more earthy term, but you’re still a babe, Alex <sigh>). In the last month alone, I’ve had three websites dropped on my lap that stunk to high heaven.

On the first PP (poop proliferation), the owner had spent a boatload of cash but hadn’t experienced any returns, basically because SEO (search engine optimization) practices circa 1999 were being used and the copy was oatmeal without the raisins and brown sugar. The second one involved a website that had just been “re-launched.” Sadly, I saw some pics of the old design, and it was better. Also, I think the new navigation hid Jimmy Hoffa’s whereabouts (look it up, Alex), the copy was more twisted than Tiger Woods’s love life, and there were links to sites that had nothing–and I mean NOTHING–to do with the person’s company. The third PP came to me by way of a prospect who emailed me saying her site was just about ready and that she just needed the copy to be “tweaked.” (My Redflaggalator always pings “danger” when such emails land in my inbox.) To me, “tweaked” means “spit and polish.” This site needed a bulldozer.

So what gives? Who’s to blame? Glad you asked. I have plenty o’blame to dole out:

First, web developers: Prospects often start with you (even though they shouldn’t) because they think “web developer” right after they think “I need a website” or “I need to re-launch a website.” You’re doing them a disservice in this day and age if you don’t bring up 1) SEO and 2) copywriting right away. You’re the front line, guys, so you need to battle hard for the likes of me and the SEOs out there. But get this–you do that, and if you have the right resources to refer to–YOU WILL LOOK LIKE A HERO IN THE END (which means having clients who’ll sing your praises and salaam before you).

Second, prospects: I realize your specialty is not web development, copywriting, or SEO. But neither is medicine or cars, and I bet you do a little research before shopping for both of those things, right? Do the same for your website. There’s a ton of information out there (and yes, some of it is poop), but enough of the cream rises to the top in Google searches. You’re going to be investing good money in your site. Do a little homework on what to look for, what the heck SEO means, and why you should care what your copy says.

Third, marketing folks: Make sure your stable is loaded with thoroughbreds (i.e. quality developers, designers, writers, and SEOs).

Fourth, copywriters: Professional, dry copy won’t cut it these days. Your copy needs to tell a story. It needs to engage. And trust me when I say this: you can be creative and professional at the same time.

Fifth, SEOs: Please don’t claim to know SEO unless you really do. That means having built sites  that increased conversions (not traffic per se. Anyone can increase traffic to a site. You need to deliver the right traffic that converts into leads/sales). I should probably make this #2, since there are some scam artists out there but even more well-meaning folks who think it’s not hurting anyone to add “SEO” to the list of their services. Confession: I used to do keyword phrase research for clients until I realized it–and all that goes with “it”–is a specialized skill. I refer people to the pros now so that I can focus on the copy.

Aren’t you glad you asked, Alex? (There’ll be a quiz.)

Customer “Engagement”: But What if the Conversation isn’t Satisfying?

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Dear Copy Bitch: I keep reading that I need to engage my customers in conversation, and I feel that my team and I already do that. So why am I not seeing more “benefits” from this engagement?

—Confused in Manchester, NH

Answer: Indeed, the buzzword these days is “conversation.” Engage your customers and have conversations with them. That’s all well and good, but I have a question: what if the conversation isn’t satisfying to your customers? Is it enough for your business to simply be having the conversations, or should the goal be to have satisfying conversations?

Here’s my philosophy: don’t try to engage your customers in conversation unless you’re willing to make the commitment to having satisfying conversations. Now, I realize that you won’t be able to please every customer or prospect you come in touch with. And I’m not saying all conversation has to be intellectual or life changing. Like porn, a satisfying conversation isn’t something I can necessarily describe. But I know it when I see it and experience it.

Here’s a true-life example that recently happened to me. This example is a mixture of some satisfying and unsatisfying conversation.

Here’s the story: Since I live in Massachusetts, I’m required by state law to have health insurance. Since I’m a freelancer, I pay for my own health insurance. The Health Connector is an independent state agency that helps people like me find the right health insurance plan, and it promotes Commonwealth Choice and Commonwealth Care on its website. I get mine through Commonwealth Choice. Back in February, Commonwealth Choice offered e-pay, which I immediately signed up for. I do 99% of my personal and business payments this way for two reasons:

  1. It’s ultra convenient for me
  2. It’s a green solution–no more bills in the mail.

However, after having been on e-pay for six months, I kept getting paper bills: the amount due was listed as $0, and there was a return envelope for payment. This went against my whole greener solution. I went on the website to see if there was any information about why I might be getting a paper bill in the mail.

On the FAQs section of the e-pay website, it said (and still says) this:

Question: Will I continue to receive bills through the mail if I enroll in e-pay? Will it show my payment status?

Answer: We will continue to send you a regular monthly bill in the mail.

I don’t know about you, but that FAQ didn’t make any sense to me. So I called Commonwealth Choice and had a very unsatisfying conversation with the customer service rep who took my call. I explained my conundrum, and she didn’t make me feel like I had a valid question. She simply told me they were “required” to send me paper invoices. I asked if she knew whether this would change since it was a policy that was wasting paper, and she said she didn’t know but that maybe people in IT were working on it.

I decided to turn to Twitter, and sure enough @HealthConnector had an active account. So I tweeted. Here’s how it played out:

ME: @healthconnector Why do you waste paper by sending me “invoices” for $0 (with a return envelope for remittance) when I pay automatically online?
4:10 PM Oct 22nd from web

HC:  @RobynBradley Hmmm. Good question. Are you a Commonwealth Choice member? And if so, how long have you had E-Pay?
4:57 PM Oct 22nd from TweetDeck in reply to RobynBradley

ME: @HealthConnector Commonwealth Choice. Signed up for E-Pay right when you started it back in Feb/March. One reason I do epay is 2 b green!
6:09 PM Oct 22nd from web

So far, so good. I was pleased with the rapid reply. And for the record, I respect “I don’t know, but let me find out” responses–I appreciate the honesty. Satisfied so far? You betchya.

But then four days went by (including two weekend days, so we’ll forgive that). Here’s what happened next.

ME: @HealthConnecter Any word on why I’m still getting paper invoices? Signed up for auto e-pay back in February. ’tis a waste of paper.
9:50 AM Oct 26th from web

And another two days…

ME: @HealthConnector Any word?
1:47 PM Oct 28th from web

Finally a response…

HC: @RobynBradley E-pay is here, but the e-billing is not yet built out. Until it is, paper is how we confirm your payment status. We’re on it.
5:04 PM Oct 28th from TweetDeck in reply to RobynBradley

HC: @RobynBradley Sorry for the delay, btw. Needed to confirm the status of e-billing. Thanks for reaching out — and for going green!
5:07 PM Oct 28th from TweetDeck in reply to RobynBradley

How satisfying was this conversation for me? I’d label it “so-so,” and here’s my point: I had someone or something engaging me, the customer, at every step of the process (i.e. the FAQ section of the website, the customer service rep, and @HealthConnector). But not every engagement step, not every conversation, left me satisfied, and here’s why:

1. The FAQ section left me unsatisfied. An easy fix? Simply explain that e-pay and e-billing are two separate things (I’ll admit it; I didn’t know this until I went through this experience). I’d also recommend that the FAQ section not only explain the difference, but also why the Commonwealth Choice folks decided to release e-pay first as opposed to waiting and releasing e-pay and e-billing at the same time (like most other companies do; out of all the vendors that I pay electronically, this is the only one where the e-billing component isn’t working in tandem with epay).

2. Customer service reps should be prepped on these answers as well, and they should be encouraged to acknowledge a person’s query about it and express their understanding as to why someone who is trying to go green would be frustrated by getting a useless invoice for $0 AND a useless return envelope in the mail.

3. My initial interaction with @HealthConnector was totally satisfying. Then it wasn’t. But then it sorta was. I appreciate the “sorry for the delay,” but the answer didn’t make sense to me (I actually then had to research that e-pay and e-billing are two different things) and the “thanks for going green” comment felt a little hollow because my whole point is that the current situation isn’t totally green yet (it won’t be until e-billing is released, whenever that will be; saying “we’re on it” is okay, but vague).

So what are the takeaways from this?

  1. Simply engaging with customers isn’t enough. You need to make the commitment to leave them satisfied, which requires you to try to get in their head and think like them.
  2. Look deeper into their questions. My first tweet to @healthconnector mentioned the waste of paper and my second tweet mentioned that I do e-pay because I want to be green and my point is that receiving paper and an envelope in the mail every month detracts from my feeling of greenness. But neither one of these important issues was really acknowledged anywhere along the customer engagement process (not by the FAQ, not by the customer service rep, and not by the Twitter exchange)
  3. Now, I realize you won’t be able to satisfy all customers. But what can you do and say differently that would satisfy more of them? How can you change the tenor of the conversation to make it more effective and satisfying?

So what would have satisfied me?

  1. Better FAQ answers
  2. A customer service rep who didn’t make me feel like I was wasting her time
  3. Acknowledgement that the company isn’t totally green yet (since it just has e-pay), but that it hopes to be totally green within x-amount of time. Oh, and thanks for my patience during the wait b/c it must be frustrating getting the paper bills.

What do you think? Is simply having the conversation enough…or do we need to strive for satisfying conversations?

UPDATE: I originally published this post in November 2009. Today, as I write this update, it’s 7/31/17 and the Health Connector finally launched paperless billing a couple of months ago. It only took EIGHT (!!!) years. Think of all the wasted money on paper and postage.

My Prospecting Process: This is How I Roll

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Dear Copy Bitch: Tell me more about your process in nurturing leads and prospects. I’d be curious to hear how you go about it.

—Curious in Canton, Mass.

Answer: Dear Curious…for me, it’s not about the sale. It’s about honesty, building relationships, and, at the end of the day, creating something (i.e., copy) that helps a client’s business get more conversions and sales. Want me to put my money where my mouth is? Here’s a real-life example (and an almost “real-time” example) of a prospect who came over the wire this morning and my resulting email conversation with him.

From: Cool Prospect
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 9:05 AM
To: robyn@etrobbins.com
Subject: Radio Ad

Robyn,

I’m not sure if you do this but I am looking for a 30 sec radio ready ad to be sent to me by email. If you do this what would be the cost?

Thanks,
Cool Prospect [name changed for privacy]

 

From: Robyn Bradley
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 9:12 AM
To: Cool Prospect
Subject: RE: Radio Ad

Hi Cool Prospect,

Thanks for your email. I do write radio ad copy. Questions:

1. What is the product or service that’s being promoted? (Can you point me to a website?)
2. What’s the goal of the spot (e.g. branding, driving people to website, getting people to call, etc.)?
3. Where will the spot be running, and do you have any demographic information on the radio station or stations (the radio sales reps will be able to get you this info)
4. How long is the radio flight for?
5. Where will the spot be produced?
6. When do you need the copy?

Best,
Robyn

From: Cool Prospect
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 2:05 PM
To: Robyn Bradley
Subject: Re: Radio Ad

Robyn,

Here is my response. [Editor’s Note: I’ve highlighted his responses in red]

Thanks,
Cool Prospect

1.  What is the product or service that’s being promoted? (Can you point me to a website?)

Here is the site: [Editor’s note: redacted for his privacy; he sells a cool birthday party alternative to the classic “moonwalk rental,” but I won’t give away more than that]

2.  What’s the goal of the spot (e.g. branding, driving people to website, getting people to call, etc.)?

Introduction to the concept, A great easy party for mom, Drive people to the site

3.  Where will the spot be running, and do you have any demographic information on the radio station or stations (the radio sales reps will be able to get you this info)

I would like to be able to run it at any type of station

4.  How long is the radio flight for?

Assuming you mean how long it will run, until I feel people know us

5.  Where will the spot be produced?

Don’t have a place

6.      When do you need the copy?

No major rush

NOTE: At this point, I went to his website, Facebook page, and Twitter page, and I did a search in Google’s free keyword tool on some keyword phrases. Then I responded to his email.

From: Robyn Bradley
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2009 2:46 PM
To: Cool Prospect
Subject: RE: Radio Ad

Hi Cool Prospect,

Thanks for the info. Here are my additional questions and thoughts.

Do you serve a certain geographic area? I looked real fast on your site, but where you’re located didn’t jump out at me (though I see you’re in South Carolina based on your Twitter account). Do you haven franchisees set up across the country, or do you only serve SC right now?

Regardless, here’s my honest input: radio might not be the best place to spend your dollars, at least not yet. Radio tends to be expensive, and it’s more about the “long-term” with radio (I worked in major market radio for 13 years [in Boston]). Also, stations have different audiences. A radio spot that’s run on a 12+ station (geared towards tweens and the 18-34 set) would be entirely different than the spot you’d run on the “mom” station (mix stations or adult contemporary). I’m thinking you’re going after both of these audiences.

I think you’re smart to have a FaceBook page and Twitter presence. I’d work on really building these and creating the conversation with your core audience. Who makes the buying decisions? Is it moms? Dads? What age group is your sweet spot? 8-12? 13-17? Is it more popular with boys rather than girls, or is there an even split? What would be the best way to get in front of this younger audience? (Radio probably isn’t since radio listening among younger people has decreased thanks to iPods and iTunes.)

Some quick hitting thoughts for developing your brand and getting traffic to your site:

  • Do cross-promotions with gamers: you advertise on their sites, they advertise on yours. Or perhaps you can do some sort of incentive with some of the games…when people buy certain games, they get a coupon discount for Cool Party Idea for Kids.
  • Optimize your website. According to Google’s keyword tool, “birthday party ideas for kids” has an average 3600 global monthly search volume. Yet, there are only 2000 competing pages that use that phrase in the title tag. Finding the phrases your audience is searching on will take your site to the next level in getting traffic. Once your site is optimized, a pay-per-click campaign will also likely be a better use of your money (rather than radio ads)
  • Take advantage of traffic for “moonwalk rentals” and create a page that targets this keyword and gives the top ten reasons why your Cool Party Idea for Kids is better
  • Have you created a 12-month marketing plan for your company? If not, that might be the best place to start. From there, you’ll know your month-to-month budget and all the marketing tasks that need to happen. Social media can be effective, but it’s a ton of work to do right (and very much a 24/7 gig in the beginning).

I’m known for my candor…it wouldn’t be fair of me to simply write you a radio spot that probably won’t deliver much (no matter how well it’s written) when there are more pressing marketing tasks at hand (e.g. optimizing your site) and other marketing programs that might be more effective (such as pay-per-click).

Feel free to ask me questions. I can also provide you with marketing and search engine optimizer recommendations.

Best,
RB

And that’s where things stand right now. Yes, I’ve put some time and thought into this prospect, and there’s no guarantee that I’ll get anything from it. That’s okay. My hope is that my free advice resonates with him and that he follows some of my suggestions. At some point, Cool Prospect may run into someone who needs a good marketing writer. My hope is that he’ll say, “Gee, I can recommend someone who gave me some solid advice.” And even if this doesn’t happen, that’s okay–hey, I got  blog post out of it!

(I earned my Copy Bitch moniker for other reasons. That will be a post for another time.)

Marketing Tips: Yes, You Have Competitors (Even if You Think You Don’t)

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Dear Copy Bitch: I have a copywriter working on my website copy, and she recently asked me who my competitors are. Here’s the thing: I know it’s a standard question, but we really don’t have competitors. No one does the work as well as we do. We really are different. How do I explain this to the copywriter? Her copy should be focusing on what makes us so great, right?

—Awesome Company, Boston

Answer: Sure, from your perspective your nearest competitor is so far behind you that there’s no way anyone would possibly opt for said competitor over you, right? That’s a fine and dandy attitude to have if you’re, say, eight and still thinking the world revolves around you. But how ’bout putting on your big boy or big girl pants and looking at it from your prospects’ perspectives?

Your prospects don’t know you’re the be-all end-all in your industry, and they certainly won’t “get” it just because you tell them so on your website. Your copywriter is smart for asking about your competitors. Why? Because it’s important to look at how your competitors are positioning themselves, their services, and their products so that you can figure out what they’re doing right (because they will be doing something right, I guarantee it), what they’re doing wrong (ditto), and how you’re really going to demonstrate your company’s unique qualities (i.e., your unique selling proposition).

Remember, your website (and any other marketing vehicles) should be about your customers and prospects first. Acknowledge their needs, worries, fears, and pain and then demonstrate how your company fulfills those needs, relieves their fears and worries, and eliminates their pain.

There’s an adage in creative writing: show, don’t tell. The same is true here. Telling me you’re the greatest and that any “so-called” competitor is a lying heap of horse manure won’t be as effective as showing me how well you take care of your current customers and what makes you different from the competition.

Pretending the competition doesn’t exist or isn’t good enough or is too far behind you to catch up is dumb-ass marketing. Don’t do it.

Email Marketing: Should You Send Weekly Messages?

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Dear Copy Bitch: We’ve been doing an every-other-month email newsletter campaign for over a year, but one of my competitors (I’m an executive coach) does a quick-hitting weekly email with a quote/source of inspiration. I’m thinking I should do something like that starting in January. Our list is around 150, and we have, on average, a 50 percent open rate. Your thoughts?

—BH, Rhode Island

Answer: Be very careful about going from an every-other-month email newsletter to a weekly email campaign. Remember, the people who are on your mailing list signed up for a bi-monthly newsletter. In fact, I’m hesitant about weekly email campaigns in general because they tend to cause list fatigue. The types of businesses that can “get away with it” are retailers, and even they have a high number of opt-outs and abuse complaints.

You have a small list, but it sounds like a loyal list (the fact that half the list regularly opens your email indicates that). I’ve seen weekly emails like the one you’re referencing. To me, most tend to be short on substance (inspirational quotes can be, well, inspiring, but is the point for me to remember the person who said the quote or the person/company–in this case, the exec coach–who sent me the quote? It’s a fine line).

If you’re concerned you’re not in front of your newsletter subscribers enough, consider going to a monthly schedule. Or better yet, ask your audience what it wants (i.e., survey the people on your mailing list). Your marketing should respond to your customers’ needs first, not in reaction to what your competitors are doing.