Is your marketing content a one-sided conversation with prospective clients?

by Tom Trush

Recently, I received several projects that involved reviewing website content. Unfortunately, every site shared a similar problem.

In fact, this issue causes damage to probably 95% of the marketing materials I see. And it has nothing to do with graphics, layout, or even the type of product or service being promoted.

The problem is the way the content "speaks" to prospects.

Instead of using text written from a prospect's perspective, most professionals have content in their marketing materials that's focused exclusively on them.

A dead giveaway is excessive use of words such as "we" and "our," as well as numerous mentions of the firm name.

Search online and you'll see these words starting sentences on most corporate websites. Here's an example from a company's home page I found after Googling "business consulting":

Doug Williams and Associates is a small business consulting firm specializing in helping owners to grow their businesses and their bottom line. From Vancouver, Washington, DWA works with businesses in Portland, OR and nationwide. Our specialty is working with companies from startup to 100 employees and up to $100 million in sales.

We coach business owners and senior management staff, design business plans, develop marketing strategies and create marketing plans. By providing a full range of Internet services such as web design, hosting, search engine optimization and blog marketing. DWA is your internet marketing solution. We specialize in business consulting for both small business startups as well as mature companies.

Notice how nearly all the sentences start with "we," "our" or the company name.

Ever tried having a conversation with someone but found it impossible because that person only talked about himself? Like the company above, you make a similar impression with prospects when you don't incorporate them in your marketing message.

Luckily, there is an easy way to write content focused on your prospects.

Simply include the word "you" (or variations such as "your" and "you're") in your text as much as possible. Like magic, this three-letter powerhouse instantly directs attention away from you and puts it on your prospects.

Your marketing materials are merely a face-to-face conversation in written format. You wouldn't dare introduce your firm's services to someone using the example above, would you?

To quickly test the conversational tone of your marketing content, count the number of times you mention "we," "our" and your firm name. Then, go back and tally the times you use "you" or "your."

Although there isn't an ideal figure or percentage, your use of "you" and "your" should far outnumber your use of self-centered terms such as "we" and "our."

-----

© Trey Ryder

FREE LAWYER MARKETING ALERT:  If you'd like to receive Trey Ryder's weekly Lawyer Marketing Alert, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Write "Subscribe LMA" in the subject line and write your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.