What I’m reading: Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck
What’s on the iPod: Moving Clocks Run Slow by We Were Promised Jetpacks
Interesting day yesterday – Mondays usually are. I had troubles getting going, but I managed most of my to-do list. Weird when that happens. I felt a little guilty for not working harder, but what can you do? Sometimes the marketing is done and the writing is done and the day is, well, over early.
Not long ago, I worked on a project my client called their “sizzle” piece. They knew they needed something more compelling, but they weren’t sure how to get it. That happens when you’re too close to the business or the topic. You just lose sight of what the next step should be.
Same happens with us writers. We’re so hell-bent on telling the world how special we are so we can get the job we forget one thing – what it all means to them. A list of features without benefits is just plain boring.
An example: which would you rather buy?
A features approach:
Jolly Pops lollipops are sugar-free and made by a company with a unique recipe. We have spent four years in development in order to bring you our product, which comes in four flavors: cherry, grape, lemon, and orange. We manufacture every Jolly Pop using wind energy and sustainable packaging. Try Jolly Pops today!
A benefits approach:
Wash your senses in the Jolly Pops experience! Our high-impact, sugar-free flavors will drive your taste buds insane! Wrap your lips around one of our four just-picked flavors, including cherry explosion, grape eruption, pucker-up lemon, and orange blast. Dive into succulence while protecting the environment – our wind energy manufacturing and sustainable packaging process lets you help save the planet. Lose yourself in the Jolly Pop explosion!
Okay, I wrote these on the fly, but which one makes you actually want to buy the product? Features are great, but they don’t make your clients care. So let’s reframe your writing business:
I am a top blogger. Yea, beyond your mother, who cares? Why does that matter to your clients? Try this instead:
I have a background in growing blogging communities and building online networks. Who wouldn’t like that?
I have over ten years of editing experience. Ho hum. So do I. But what does that mean to your client? Try this:
With over ten years of editing expertise, I can elevate the clarity of your marketing and branding messages. Just sounds better, doesn’t it?
I have won several writing awards. Really? That’s great, but how is that going to help your client? Why not tell them how?
My award-winning writing has helped clients increase visibility and drive traffic to their sites. Sign me up!
I am a fantastic writer. Get in line. There are plenty of fantastic writers and even mediocre writers claiming to be fantastic. Why not show instead of tell?
I have helped my clients increase business and retain existing clients by exceeding project expectations and working with clients to assure complete satisfaction. Now you sound like someone who thinks beyond yourself, and that appeals to your clients.
Writing is my passion and a labor of love for me. You didn’t say that to your clients, did you? Way to sound like you just started in the business! Here’s a better way to put it:
Infuse your writing projects with innovation that gets your business noticed – hire me.
How do you show your sizzle?
10 responses to “Where’s Your Sizzle?”
When I worked on B'way & interviewed for the star dressing jobs, I was always asked, "Why should I hire you?"
My response: "If you want the best, you'll hire me. If you want something second rate, you'll hire someone else."
I didn't start using that until I earned the right so to do, but it got me the job every time.
For writing jobs, I tell them I have the ability to engage and entice potential customers and keep regular clientele coming back for more.
Food for thought. At some stage i'll need to take another look at my company profile to make sure I'm actually telling companies what what I can do for them. Thanks Lori.
This blog post makes me want to go re-read my website and marketing materials to make sure I'm saying everything about my business with sizzle instead of just blowing hot air 😉
I find it much easier to write about the benefits of clients' businesses, but for my own, it's much harder. You're right; sometimes we're just to close to our own work, and it's more challenging to look at it from a client's point of view. But that's the best way – look at it as if you're looking to hire yourself. What would you want to hear about the business? Just answer that question, and you've got your marketing materials!
Lori, seems you've found yet another way to put your resume writing skills to use. Don't just say you accomplished something, explain how that accomplishment benefited the company.
But like Ashley said, it's always easier to highlight someone else's selling points than your own.
Test – is Blogger behaving yet?
Yay! It's back. For now.
Good response, Devon. You probably delivered it confidently, which would be enough to seal the deal.
Damaria, try reversing it – what would YOU want a company or individual saying to you? Then write to impress you, the client. 🙂
Ashley, try what I suggested to Damaria. Just pretend you're the client and you're about to impress yourself with what you can do for you (did you follow that? I think I lost myself midway – LOL).
Resume skills – exactly that, Paula. It's no different than convincing a customer to buy your brand of floor wax over another. You have to tell them why they should care.
I'm always worried that I will come off as having a huge ego. You're correct, who would I rather hire? You've got to sell yourself to be successful.
Wade, if you're selling benefits, you're not pointing to your own ego, but to the client's biz. I'm not saying I'm a fabulous writer – I'm saying I'm the writer to help them get to where they want to be. They don't care how fabulous I think I am – they want to see it in their own success. 🙂
Part of it was confidence; part of it was also having put in my dues and knowing when I was ready to walk away. I didn't need the job — I wanted it, I knew I was the best one for it most of the time, and if I was wrong for it, I spoke up immediately. When you're in that close contact with actors, it's about personalities meshing as much as skill.
In some areas of the writing, I'm close to that point. When I'm pitching for a job in an area with less expertise, I point out I have a very quick learning curve.
In any job interview, I found the best thing to do is walk in like an equal, without desperation. As far as I'm concerned, I'm interviewing them as much as they're interviewing me.
Devon, great advice on the interview part. I always have several questions for them to answer. They love it because it shows you're already invested in learning about the job.