Marketing Smarts Newsletter - August 18, 2011

Well last week, I send this newsletter out with the wrong title.  I hate that!  I try to be so careful to check and re-check when I'm writing.  So, I guess I'm human.  It just bugs me that I advertise one thing and then deliver another.  Rats!

If you do any writing - emails, newsletters, reports or notes - here are some tricks I use to help myself look semi-coherent.

1) Spell check
I have the spell check automatically check all my emails.  That way I can type faster and then check at the end.

But, spell checking will never catch words that are right but incorrectly used.  That leads to my next tip.

2) Re-read it quickly
This is great when you're writing an email or a Facebook posting.  You'll catch brain-lapses and tricky fingers...those little goofs you make when your brain and hands are trying to work together.

3) Read it out loud
When you've been working on something for a long time, your brain goes wonky and you can't catch your mistakes as easily.  So, read it out loud.  You'll be surprised at how coherent or incoherent you are. 

4) Right to Left
Read backwards, from right to left.  You are forced to slow down.  You can catch spelling goofs that way or wayward word choices. 

5) Test It Out
Print it out.  I swear I catch so many more mistakes when I look at it on paper.  It's invaluable for editing.  In the case of a newsletter or a web page or a printed piece, do a test.  I skipped the step of sending a test email.  I could have caught my bad headline there.  On a web page, when you see it in published form, you'll see things that you hadn't seen before. 

Those are just some of my editing tricks.  Hope they can help you.

Good Marketing,
Anne Kenney
Chief Wrangler

5 Stages of the New Sales Cycle

John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, shares his sales steps, reflecting sales in the age of social media.



Unlike previous generations of business owners, if you own a business in 2011, you have a prospective customer who can buy anything, anywhere at anytime.  They have a lot more control over buying than ever.   In this article, learn the steps for your sales cycle that reflect the reality of the 21st century engaged customer.

I think the 2nd step is particularly brilliant...SPARKLE.  What do you do or have to do to sparkle?