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Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller (book review)

August 23, 2019 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Donald Miller’s StoryBrand process is a proven solution to the struggle business leaders face when talking about their businesses. This revolutionary method for connecting with customers provides readers with the ultimate competitive advantage, revealing the secret for helping their customers understand the compelling benefits of using their products, ideas, or services. Building a StoryBrand does this by teaching readers the seven universal story points all humans respond to; the real reason customers make purchases; how to simplify a brand message so people understand it; and how to create the most effective messaging for websites, brochures, and social media.

Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.


I’ve studied copy writing before, so I know the benefits of using a story in your marketing copy. This book, however, dives deep into the story to show you how to tell it well and maximize your efforts. Then it goes a step forward with some suggestions on how to implement your story in your website, promotional materials, newsletter, etc.

I love the book. The explanations are clear and easy to replicate, and the examples are easy to understand. I’ve been brand-less for a while. Now I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned and to see what I can do with the information I’ve gleaned form this book.

Pick up your own copy here!

Filed Under: best practices, book reviews, copywriting Tagged With: branding, content marketing, copywriting, Donald Miller, marketing, StoryBrand

When You Can’t Afford an Editor: 5 Easy Tips for Stronger Content

July 16, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Few people go into business planning to give it their second-best effort. Instead, they prepare. They plan. They invest in the website and store front, possibly in business coaching and financial planning. They do what it takes – spend what it takes – to provide the best services and products possible.

But not many of them leave room in their budgets for content writing or editing.

It’s one of those things that most people do for themselves (regardless of whether or not they should). But I’m not here today to try to convince anyone that they should hire an editor. The truth is that most of the business owners I know realize they need help with their content, but they just can’t afford it. Until that glorious day when content writing skills are as appreciated as accounting skills, I understand that people will write their own content.

That doesn’t mean I have to sit by and let them do it badly.

There’s no substitute for a professional, trained editor, but there are things that anyone can do to help strengthen their business’s or organization’s content. Here are five easy tips for writing stronger content.

  1. Have another industry professional read it. No one knows your industry as well as the people in it, so there’s no one more qualified to spot an informational error than those people. If you’re in a professional association, see if someone there would be will to fact check your content; if you’re not, ask a local colleague. They’ll help you spot any industry-related inaccuracies that others will miss.
  2. Have someone outside the industry read it. Once the pros have had a go, head the other direction and find people completely unfamiliar with your work. These people will be able to tell you what does and doesn’t make sense to layman (which is especially helpful when you’re trying to draw in new clients).
  3. Have an English teacher read it. But not for grammar. English teachers around the world might revolt because of what I’m about to say, but it’s the truth: your content writing doesn’t have to be technically correct. Remember when you were taught not to start sentences with conjunctions? And when the teacher said not to end a sentence with a preposition? Forget it, especially if you’re writing for your website. Proper grammar isn’t the most important thing; connecting with your audience is! Instead, see if an English teacher (or other publishing professional) can give you a solid copyedit – spelling, punctuation, word usage (should you use whet or wet?).
  4. Read it backwards. Start with the last sentence of your copy and read it backwards, one sentence at a time. When you read it as written, your mind fills in spaces with what you know should be written (even if it isn’t there or if it’s written incorrectly). By reading it backwards, you force yourself to read each line individually, which will help you identify those typos.
  5. Read it out loud. It’s easy to skim over an awkward sentence when you’re reading, but it’s hard to ignore it once you’ve spoken it out loud.

Will these five tricks turn you into a master copywriter? Sorry, no, but using these tricks with help you strengthen what you’ve written, making your content more effective.

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

Filed Under: content, copywriting, editing, writing Tagged With: content, copy, editing, self-editing

10 Steps to Effective Copywriting (via Entrepreneur)

July 8, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

New and Improved!

Limited Time Only!

Best in Class!

If you’ve ever read a piece of junk mail, turned on the television, or opened a newspaper, you’re sure to have seen these sales techniques. Flashy fonts and proclamations sometimes work, but what really sets an ad campaign (or website) apart is its content: now what the words look like, but how you tell your story.

Susan Gunelius, a VIP contributor to Entrepreneur, nails it when she says:

Copywriting is about more than writing the hard sell sales letter that many short copywriting courses offer…Well-crafted copywriting doesn’t need to beat a person over the head. It doesn’t have to drown in bold typeface and capitalization. The message should stand on its own without an overabundance of heavy-handed sales language and design embellishments.

But how can you – an inexperienced copywriter – write that kind of content? Gunelius breaks it into ten easy-to-understand steps:

  1. Exploit your product’s benefits
  2. Exploit your competition’s weaknesses
  3. Know your audience
  4. Communicate W.I.I.F.M. (What’s In It For Me?)
  5. Focus on “you,” not “we”
  6. Understand your medium
  7. Avoid T.M.I. (Too Much Information)
  8. Include a call to action
  9. Y.A. (Cover Your Ass)
  10. Proofread

Even though she wrote this article in 2009, the same principles apply (and work!) today.

I encourage you to click on over and check it out. Even if you’re pretty sure you know what she’s referring to in each step, give it a read and refresh your memory – it’ll at least help you strengthen your copywriting foundation. At best, you’ll walk away with ten new tools to help you with your content-writing needs.

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

Filed Under: best practices, content, copywriting, writing Tagged With: copywriting, Entrepreneur, writing tips

Discovering Your Benefits

April 16, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Thanks to the advent of the internet, it’s possible to find a blog post, video, or podcast that will tell you how to do pretty much anything, from making your own fireworks to cutting your own hair (I’m not endorsing either of these links, I’m just making a point).

With so much information available to anyone, it’s important now more than ever to know and advertise your benefits, not just your services. It’s not enough to tell your clients what you do – you need to tell them how you can make their lives easier and why hiring you will be better for their business. It’s not about your services, it’s about your benefits.

For example, I write and edit, but what benefits do I provide to my clients?

  1. An outside perspective: Most business owners are so familiar with their industry that they use words and descriptions that make sense to them but might actually be confusing to others. I can help them avoid that confusion.
  2. Targeting: Every industry has a different target audience – daycares will want to target parents while retirement communities will need to reach an older crowd – and there’s a different way to talk to each of those audiences. I can help tailor the language and the message for each unique audience.
  3. Time savings: Business owners have better things to do with their time than write website pages, especially when it takes a week or two to find the time to write. Not only can I do the writing for them, but I can write it faster (because I do it every day!).

To figure out your benefits, ask yourself these questions:

  • How can I save my clients time?
  • How can I save them money?
  • How can I make their lives easier?
  • How can I help them meet deadlines?
  • How can I help them find clients?

Those are your benefits, and that’s what they want to know! Any electrician can rewire their houses – tell them why hiring you will make their lives better.

What benefits do you provide to your clients?

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

Filed Under: best practices, copywriting, writing

5 Tips for Writing Better Promos

December 14, 2017 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Good writers are readers.

When I started writing novels, every class and conference I attended offered that same encouragement. Read, read, read, they said. Don’t stick to your genre, read as much fiction as you can find. Why? Because you’ll start to recognize what works, what doesn’t, and how to apply it to your own writing.

The same goes for promotional writing.

The worst thing you can do as a promotional writer is to try to write something you’ve never read. Before you start writing your next press release, mailer, or blog post, do your research. Here are a few tips for finding good reading material.

  1. Newspaper: Check your local paper’s community events section. Do you see articles without author bylines? Those are probably press releases. Read those, because they were written well enough that they earned a spot in the newspaper.
  2. Mailbox: Have you ever wondered why you get so much junk mail? Because it works! Companies wouldn’t pay to send out so many generic mailers if they didn’t get a few customers. So walk past your recycle bin and hold on to that junk mail.
  3. Spamfolder: Like the junk mail that arrives in your mail box, your spam folder is full of promotions and announcements. Watch out for viruses (of course), but pick a few pieces of spam to see what other people are writing.

If you’re anything like me, however, you receive DOZENS of spam emails and junk mailers each week, so how do you know which ones to read? How about a few more tips…

  1. Pick promos from similar markets.If you’re in the financial industry, read credit card offers. Are you in the non-profit world? Read the letter from the Boys and Girls Club of America.
  2. Read promos that grab your attention.There are several techniques for writing attention-grabbing copy. Read a variety of styles until you find one that appeals to you. Study the format – it will be easier to replicate the style if it’s something that captures your attention.

This is, of course, a very basic approach to copy writing, but it’s a start. Don’t just write something and hope it works. Do your homework, and read, read, read.

Filed Under: best practices, copywriting

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

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Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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