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By now, and unless you've been on a deserted island with no access to any media, you've heard about AI and ChatGPT. The fear and loathing by some, the acceptance and perhaps even adoration, from others is all over the news. AI is going to undermine education. Copywriters will be out of business. We're "dumbing down" content. Grumbling isn't going to do anything. AI is here, and there's no turning back. So, instead of focusing on how it is going to sabotage your business, think instead about the benefits: Save time on simple letters that do not require much personalization. Create content and documents that you can use as a foundation, but will edit to give them your "voice." Provide staff with templates for a multiplicity of needs. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Rather than be scared, shocked, or consider changing careers (!), it's best to figure out how to make it a part of your life and seize on the most positive aspects.

If you’ve made it so far without any (or any good) marketing material, then you haven’t been lucky. Sorry, but despite your success, you’ve surely lost out on additional business. There are people out there who want and need to buy from you, but they don’t, because they don’t know who, where, or what you are. You deserve better than this, right? So what’s blocking things? Most likely, if you have ineffective marketing materials, they aren’t working because they don’t, fundamentally, support your sales efforts. You may think that they do, but that’s an assumption that won’t stand up to your scrutiny. Ask yourself these questions about your marketing material: does it create awareness? Does it build credibility? Does it maintain your visibility in the marketplace? And if the knee-jerk answer to any of these questions is “yes of course!”, ask the next questions: how, and how much? (This is where the awkward stare and shrug comes in.) Don’t worry. Marketing material is only as good as its strategic direction, and you improve things from this moment forward by doing these: Determine clearly how your materials will be used. For instance, will it be used for prospecting? As a contact piece for existing clients? As a give-away at trade shows and events? How you want to use your marketing materials drives what needs to be created. Figure out your objective for each marketing piece. Is it supposed to generate leads? Close sales? Increase mind share? Or what? Decide if you need to version the materials for different market segments. Is your B2C stuff getting in the faces of your B2B prospects? Are you communicating with your target in their language, using their terms and concepts? Answering these questions can take some time, and possibly some outside help, but it can be done. It can also be surprisingly inexpensive, too. Thanks to digital printing, after your initial development costs, you can save significant dollars by printing small quantities and then re-printing as the need arises.

Content considerations: Do you have the time to write your own content or does writing compromise the time you should be spending on other "mission-critical" work? Do you like to write or dread the time you "must" spend on creating content? Are you happy about doing your own content, but know that writing isn't in your "wheelhouse?" Do you have trouble committing to a content calendar? The truth is that you have options, and perhaps this is the year you should start to consider how you will approach your social media and blog posts. We can help - you knew I'd say that - but you have other options as well. There are many outside resources to choose from, including solo writers, marketing agencies of all sizes, as well as offshore freelancers. You can also hire a staff writer who will work for you on a full or part-time basis. You don't have to get overwhelmed and stressed. You probably don't do your own car repair, taxes, construction, or many of the other things we eagerly turn to others to execute, writing can be done by someone else as well. The content writer will adopt your voice, write on the subjects you desire and you can remove this responsibility from your to-do list. 2023 is ahead of us. Perhaps this is year to shed your content creation duties and focus on other business initiatives that may have more ROT (return on time).

Where do you find inspiration?

Do you watch the clock when you’re writing your social media posts, blog, or newsletter? Do you agonize over every word and rethink your choice of topic, never quite feeling like you’ve nailed it? And when it’s all said and done, are you less than satisfied with the end result? Most of our clients have experienced one or all of these feelings until they said enough is enough; there has to be a better way. And there is. Most of us don’t do our own car repair, nor do we do our own taxes. We leave our dental work to our dentist, and haircuts to the folks trained to do that work. With that being said, having your content written for you is not so different. Here are the reasons why this is true: You’re busy with mission-critical work and taking the time to do social media or write your blog is untenable. You’re a good writer and would like to do it, but no one else can do your other work, leaving you with no other choice but to outsource the writing. You don't like to write. It's not that you're "bad" at it, it's simply that you don't like doing it and would rather do almost anything else in your business. You're not a good writer and you know it. You're great at IT or production or sales but writing, not so much. Outsourcing your content is easy: You can hire a content development or social media agency to create the writing for you. There are resources galore at such sites as www.fiverr.com and www.upwork.com. You may wish to bring on a part-time employee and freelancer to create your content. The blatant truth is that you don't have to do it unless you want to and are good at it, too. We've been helping out clients with their writing for many years and would love to speak with you about your unique needs. All of our writing is customized and we take the time to learn about you and your business. Best of all, with our sales consulting and business development perspective, we aim for engagement, and not simply, likes. Can we help you?

I don’t know about you but seeing the words last chance often gives me FOMO, and so, yes, I respond. Last chance to……(fill in the blank). If I have even a modicum of interest, I react and look. It many cases, I move along quickly. In others, I ponder the offer and then either move along, or in some cases, take advantage of the offer. But, it’s those words, ya know….last chance. Even when I know it is most definitely NOT going to be the last chance, I get fooled for just a wee second. Maybe I need to integrate the concept in to my own offers. Stay tuned!

Not really. As a chatty New Yorker, I'm never out of words, but today I thought I'd share another passion of mine, taking photos. Can you guess where these have been taken? And in the meantime, if YOU need words, I'm right here with my laptop ready to write for you:)

If you're writing for someone else, it's important that you write in their "voice" and capture their brand. Anything less, and you might confuse the readers, and compromise what you are trying to communicate on their behalf. But, if you are doing your own writing, you must communicate like YOU, or once again, the reader will be confused. Capturing someone else's voice can be difficult, but sounding like yourself, well, that should be relatively simple. But, the sad truth is that many people write content that doesn't sound in the least bit like they sound. The words and tone they use make the content unbelievable and difficult to relate to, and that's pretty much exactly what you DON'T want to do. When people read your content, you want them to say "that's sounds exactly like you" or "I could hear your saying those words." When you sound like someone else, the reader doesn't know what to believe, and their skepticism is just about the last thing you want to generate with your writing. My tip is to take a step back and to write your content just as if you were speaking. Don't worry about grammar or sentence structure just yet; save that for when you edit. In fact, read it aloud after you're written it, and hear how it sounds. Did you use words that you don't commonly use, is your tone contradictory to your personality, and are you coming across like someone else? If so, redo the content so that you don't sabotage the YOU that you want to present. Be true to yourself, write in your voice, and enjoy the process.

It has been more than a minute since I decided that I had to change my Wordswork Copywriting website. It no longer suited my style, and I lost interest in posting and promoting my content business. It's a strange place to find yourself, especially when you also run a decades-old sales consulting business. Sales is my middle name. But I digress. With a little bit of pushing by Bennet Gold, we revamped the site to make it easier to navigate and get straight to the bottom-line of what I do at Wordswork. Make it easy and straight to the bottom-line are fundamental to my writing, training, and well, I think my life, too. I'm not one to drag things out or make things more complicated than they need to be. Why be obscure when clarity counts? So, with this post, I am starting over on my content writing journey. Wish me well, please.

I'll start by saying I don't work for Grammarly, don't get a commission from Grammarly, or anything else some cynical folks might think. I simply think that it's a stupendous tool that will help keep your content crisp, correct, and coherent. That should be enough of a reason to immediately head to their site and download either the free or paid version. And that's it. A PSA for ya'll!

People regularly ask me if I can write in someone else's "voice." The short answer is "no, not really" and here's why: The people that hire me to write for them haven't quite found their voice. They are subject matter experts, have scads of information and valuable thoughts, but are not certain how to express them; hence, they hire a writer (me!) to best present their ideas in their content. Some folks don't understand that the market for whom they are writing is not interested in the intricate details of what they do or how they do it. I help make their ideas and information more easily digested so that the "everyone" can understand the gist of their content. The idea of writing the way you speak eludes many non-writers. Their content is ponderous and pretentious, and they don't know how to fix it. I do:) Of course I will try to sound like you, but I will do so in a way that is accessible, interesting, and relatable. I'll help you to win attention and recognition, and help build your fan base. I'll capture the very best of you and present it perfectly.

Do you ever have a burst of creative energy, when the thoughts seem to fly and the words keep coming? If you do you should revel in the opportunities presented to you such as: An outpouring of titles and topics to fill your content calendar of social media posts, blogs, and newsletters. A lessening of stress and concern about what the heck you should write about. A lessening of the burden that is often associated with maintaining other people’s content needs. The decision to lean into your creative abundance is a smart one, to ignore it and not leverage what it can do for you is wasteful. And, if the creative juices don’t flow as fast and frequently as perhaps they did before, relax. Feeling tense about it isn’t going to help anyway.