​​​​Pump Up The Volume!

Are You Bored by Your Own Messaging?

One Super-Quick Trick Can Bring Your Copy Back to Life.

Last month, Unstuck, a kinda cool digital coaching site I discovered thanks to the inimitable Julie Felner, woke me with the message:

“Let’s start the new year as ourselves — magnified.” Let’s remember who we are and really play it up this year. We’re not talking complete life change — more like life amplification.”

What an awesome, positive call to action at the start of a new year! Be ourselves, only bigger and stronger.

Like so many things, this idea of amplification got me thinking about my clients and their marketing. And that left me with a question for you:

Is your voice coming through loud and clear in your marketing? When was the last time you actually looked at what you were saying about yourself?

Be honest – it’s probably been a while, right? Don’t worry. That’s totally normal.

If you’re like most people, you have your business raps pretty much memorized, and ‘Copy’ and ‘Paste’ are the names of two of your best friends.

Don’t get me wrong. Consistency is important in marketing, and ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ certainly have their benefits. But the sad truth is…

Over the course of a year, we all have a way of getting caught up in our own business jargon and losing touch with the heart of who we are and what we want to say.

We repeat and repeat and repeat what we write, and our copy gets dull and flat. Before we know it, our messages are the opposite of magnified and amplified.

We slowly dis…ap…pear.

When that happens, all the time and money we spend on our writing and marketing becomes just a giant waste.

Depressing, isn't it?

Don't worry, though!

There is actually a really easy way to get the heart back in your writing and get your copy read.

I've got a super quick, 5-step trick to help your voice come through, loud and clear again: I call it the Take Five.

The Take Five is really ridiculously simple. Depending on the size of your organization, you can even get your entire staff to do it.

Here’s how the Take Five works:

STEP 1. Sit down. (I find having an easy first step is key to getting something done.)

STEP 2. Take 5 minutes to write down as many adjectives as you can to describe your company/product /organization/brand. What attributes differentiate you from others in your market? What words reflect what you might call your “character”?

STEP 3. Take the 5 adjectives which, together, best sum up who your organization is and what you offer and stand for and set them aside. Congratulations, these are your new "Power Words."

STEP 4. Next, take your 5 Power Words and post them in at least 5 places around your office. The copy machine. The bathroom. Coffee anyone? Heck, go crazy and make them the office screen saver! The key – both literally and figuratively – is to make it really, really hard for you and your staff to lose sight of these words.

STEP 5. Now, this is the big one -- take your 5 new Power Words and use them as the touchstone for everything you write this year.

And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING.

NEVER POST, EMAIL, OR LICK AN ENVELOPE WITHOUT CHECKING TO CONFIRM THAT WHAT YOU JUST WROTE IS FULL OF POWER WORD PERSONALITY. THAT'S THE KEY TO THE TAKE FIVE.

The thing is, no two organizations are exactly alike, no matter how similar their work.

Like people, every organization brings something unique and special to its field.

But, playing fields are crowded these days and the Internet creates a lot of noise that people must tune out.

If you want your business to be heard above the din, you need to make sure your voice and your unique gift shine through unmistakably every time you speak.

When you communicate consistently at all touch points who you are and what makes you different, you will see results as magnified as your message.