DIY B2B Direct Marketing and SEO

Some people circulate press releases via distribution sites as bait for backlinks. Some aim their releases firmly at the national and local newspapers, trade magazines and other real-world print publications. Wise marketers do both. Either way a winning press release should inform, announce and reveal rather than sell.

Quality press release distribution sites reject releases with an overt sales focus. And newspapers and magazine editors ignore them. So give your press release campaign the best chance of success by focusing your releases properly. 

A good press release:

• uses factual language
• avoids emotional statements
• informs rather than persuades
• announces rather than sells 
• covers things like research findings, statistics, ideas, innovations, new markets, business wins and NPD
• follows a distinct press-ready format to save editors time and hassle rewriting it

If you’re in any doubt about whether to write about a subject, double check by asking yourself honestly if what you want to say is actually newsworthy. It also helps to triple check by reading the business section in any daily newspaper. Go back to your draft release immediately afterwards and it’ll be 100% clear whether or not you’ve struck the right tone. 

In contrast here’s a short list of places where you should push the sales boat out: 

• your website
• direct marketing and direct response campaigns
• advertorials
• email marketing campaigns
• advertising - online and off
• Google AdWords ads

Both involve a customer buying more stuff from you than they’d originally intended. But cross selling and up selling are very different. 

• cross selling involves selling related goods or services. If you’re in the process of selling someone a wedding outfit you could also offer them a matching hat, shoes and handbag
• up selling involves selling a more expensive or exclusive version of the same thing. If you’re in the process of selling a £99 tent you could persuade your customer to buy the next model up for £120     

Everyone gets into bad habits. I tend to over-do the exclamation marks and use the word ‘all’ too much. But because I always double check my copy and strip out the extras before sending it to clients, my bad habits aren’t a problem. 

Other people habitually spell the same word wrongly time after time, get their apostrophes in the wrong places or repeat a tired suite of favourite superlatives.  

You can only mitigate bad habits when you’re aware of them. If you’re not sure whether or not you have any, it makes sense to get someone honest and sharp eyed to check your DIY website content first.

People often ask me to take a look at the copy they’ve created and report back with my recommendations. I’m always happy to do so, no charge, and give a sensible quote for getting things into shape. No strings attached and no obligation. Just honest, straightforward advice.

Plain language and clarity are essential. But clear content needn’t be dull and unemotional. You’re a human, you’re communicating with other humans and it’s cool to show verve.

People respond well to enthusiasm whether you’re selling B2B or business to consumer. It’s catching. It’s personal. It fosters trust. And it gives your sales message a refreshing boost.  

Here’s a few tips about letting your enthusiasm shine through without taking things too far:

• keep exclamation marks to a minimum. It’s great to sound excited and inspired but you can come across hysterical when you over cook the !!!s 
• choose three key benefits or features to ‘big up’ rather than sounding excited about everything. It’ll have more impact that way
• use quotations to help you make an emotional connection with readers. For example place a quote on each page of your holiday site waxing lyrical about the sheer beauty of the destination
• use emboldening and italics so your audience experiences your copy with exactly the emphases you intended
• DIY testimonials – write a short 100 word segment of copy for each page or section in first person, describing in your own words why you feel your products and services are so good
• enthusiasm doesn’t necessarily mean a hard sell. Damp down overtly salesy messaging and focus on being transparent, genuine and straightforward instead

Are you taking full advantage of your email marketing software’s autoresponder function?

The principle is beautifully simple. It’s all about intelligent cross-selling but autoresponder messages do all the hard work for you.

If you’re selling football kits you can cross-sell footballs, footie boots, socks, training gear and so on. If you’re selling flowers and plants you can cross-sell seeds, organic pest controls and decorative vases. You get the picture.

Autoresponders are a straightforward way to maximise your average order value. Many businesses achieve more than 30% extra revenue per order. Not bad for a few lines of direct marketing-led copy!