Making Choices…

Let’s get to the heart of marketing, shall we?

In this technical world, the big rage is mastering social media and 

e-marketing.  We’re now immersed in a new world of mastering placement on search engines and finding the right domain names.  We recognize the value of publicity and building our list. 

But there’s one essential that’s the foundation for EVERYTHING we do… finding the right words.  How do make your words work for you?  How do you write effectively to build your business?  There is a way to do that…

Great writing is what great marketing is all about.  Plain and simple.  (Actually, great writing is the foundation for almost anything.)

Copywriting can be simply factual – as in technical writing – or emotional.  Emotional writing is what I love to do.  Why?  Because writing with emotion creates a bond with your audience.  They feel like you understand them.  (And you do – because you’re putting yourself in their shoes.)  When you create that bond, you’re more likely to sell products or services, and ultimately attract more clients.

Let’s get down to the basics.  What are the most common buying emotions?

They are: greed, fear, flattery, guilt, exclusivity and redemption.  By reviewing the cause behind each emotion, you can learn to slant your copy towards them.  Let’s take a moment to study this list…

EMOTION  ……..  CAUSE …………   RESPONSE

Greed …………… Desire for more…..  Keeping up with neighbors

Fear…………       Lack of stability……..Need guarantee

Flattery…………. High ego…………….Desires compliments

Guilt……………..Lack of justification…..Need for reassurance

Exclusivity………Need to be the best…. Seeks new services

Anger……………Feels abused………….Wants justice

Redemption…….. Faces problems……….Needs the answer

When you decide on the emotional basis for your copy, make sure it relates to your target audience.  What do they desire?

Every person has a different communication style.  Your task is to offer your information in a way that touches the heart of your target audience.

That’s plenty of food for thought…  For now, take a look at your promotional copy.  Does it tie in with an emotion?  Does it relate to your target audience?  How does it make them feel?

To Your Success,

Lynn

Park Avenue Productions

“Multimedia That Makes A Difference”

www.parkaveproductions.com

Thoughts are so powerful.  When we realize we have so much power within us, it’s even more important to focus on how we can extend our loving influence to others.  After all, how can we make the most of our time on earth?

As Elisabeth Kubler-Ross said, “It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth — and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up — that we will begin to live each day to its fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”

I’m grateful to have learned from wonderful spirtually based teachers — both from books and from personal meetings and seminars.  Ultimately, it comes down to conscious living… where we recognize the oneness that we all share.

One such evolved person is Colin Tipping, author of Radical Forgiveness, whose goal is to achieve world peace by the year 2012.  (See:  www.radicalforgiveness.com)

Tipping says, “As you release the pain and self-destructive patterns that have kept you out of joy, stolen your life and blocked your abundance up to now, you will feel a profound feeling of inner peace and freedom.”  At his website, you can sign up for free teleseminars and learn more.

Another wonderfully aware human being is my friend, Bob Burg, bestselling author of “The Go Giver” and speaker.  (www.burg.com/blog)  In a recent blog, Burg talks about cultivating a habit of happiness.  Happiness doesn’t have to “happen” to you… it’s not external.  The emotional foundation to having happiness is by focusing on the attitude of gratitude. 

Burg says, “Your level of gratitude determines your level of happiness, as well as your potential for success.”

So… how can we get to a high level of gratitude?  I feel the answer lies in giving.  When we give, we receive. 

On Friday, July 3rd, I had the supreme privilege of getting a hug an Indian saint, Amma… known throughout the world as “Mother.”  Amma has given over 26 MILLION hugs, and her charitable work in raising millions or dollars has helped countless people across India.  To be in her presence…. to receive her hug… is to feel the utmost unconditional love.  (www.amma.org)

For this week, let us contemplate how we can turn our mind towards gratitude and love…  I find it helpful to spend some morning time in meditation and contemplation… like giving one’s mind a bath before plunging into the daily ups and downs of life.

What’s important to you?

I just finished writing this press release for Westside Health Authority, a community-based non-profit on Chicago’s west side, and the topic is so compelling that I wanted to share it with you. 

Perhaps you can pass it or help them out…

  PEOPLE’S RALLY ON JULY 14^TH

LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO DEMAND

RIGHTS FOR AUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS…“WHY NOT OUR CHILDREN?” Chicago, IL. (July 1, 2009)… Since 2004, Chicago’s largest school district — the Austin community — has faced injustice by having no public high school to accommodate all its students.  Meanwhile, the site of the former Brach candy company, the only lot in Austin with sufficient space for a state-of-the-art high school — sits empty.  Austin also has the largest gap in the city between the number of seats available in high-performing schools and the number of students who need them.  To draw attention to this travesty, the Westside Health Authority (WHA), Every Block A Village (EBV) and the Austin Community Education Network (ACEN) are leading a protest march, “The People’s Rally” on Tuesday, July 14^th, at 5:30 p.m. from 4800 W. Chicago Avenue to 401 N. Cicero Avenue (Brach site). 

Despite recognition by Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education and prior CEO of Chicago Public Schools that “Austin has a huge unmet need for a high school,” the city’s redevelopment funds from TIF (tax increment funding) were primarily been spent on South Side schools.  Each year, about 1200 Austin youth need a high school to attend.  

Currently, the makeshift solution of adapting a few middle schools into a high school has been inadequate.  The local charter and private schools can only manage a small number of students.  As a result, about six hundred students each year – for a total of about 2400 STUDENTS are faced with challenges in attending school outside their district.  The problems of gang violence, bus fares, drugs and spiraling drop-out rates might be reduced with a renewed focus on providing Austin with a proper, state-of-the-art high school.  Chicago Police Department statistics rank Austin as #1 in overall crime.

“The sign of a healthy community can be measured by the quality of its schools,” says Jacqueline Reed, Westside Health Authority’s CEO/Founder. 

Virgil Crawford, Community Organizer from WHA and ACEN adds, “Other communities provide a good education for their high school students.  Why not our children?”

Community members, parents, students, clergymen and community advocates will be given a platform on July 14^th to express their concerns to local officials.  For more information about the rally, contact Chanel Glover (WHA), 773-287-6086.

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