Flying Pig Communications

Today Flying Pig’s new Business Writing Coach Susan Perloff gives us a lesson in word choice. I know this one is always a toughie, for me….normally causing me to just choose another word altogether. Enjoy!

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Three little words – assure, ensure and insure – can wreak havoc in writing. Consider:

My two-volume 1937 Webster’s Universal Dictionary of the English Language, “profusely illustrated, being the unabridged dictionary by Noah Webster, LL.D.,” defines:
assure as To make certain.
ensure as Same as insure.
insure as To underwrite.

But today Ensure means an adult nutrition shake. The word makes reasonable people snicker. I suggest you drop it from business writing. Totally.

Write insure when you’re discussing property liability and annual check-ups.
Use assure to mean “put the mind to rest.”

What do you think?
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Susan Perloff, freelance writer, editor and writing coach, has earned 4 national writing awards. Call her to help you write web content, newsletters, annual reports, training manuals, profiles, corporate histories and more. Invite her to teach a writing class to adults in your corporate workshop, institutional setting. Hire her for individual writing-coaching for key executives. Her motto is: I can write it or teach you to write it. Visit SusanPerloffWRITES.com.

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by, Kirsty LaSalle

“Social Media” seems to be a very common buzzword these days, but it is often used without any sort of real meaning. Lots of advice on using social media is around  for small businesses, but very little of it is actually good or worthwhile. Let’s take a closer look at Twitter, and whether or not it can actually be used to help a small business.

Knowing whether or not to use social media as an online business owner can be difficult. Many businesses use it, but not effectively, and so they are just wasting their time. If you don’t have many followers or your followers don’t use Twitter a lot, or even if they just ignore you, then Twittering is pointless for you. However, Twitter can be highly profitable if used well.

One of the goals of business use of social media is to get people to friend / follow you, as opposed to just subjecting them to some advertising that you paid for on TV. So if you are going to use Twitter, then you actually need to post content that isn’t purely promotional – no one wants to follow someone who posts straight ads.

Twitter can be worthwhile if you regularly post compelling content, and then occasionally mix in promotional content. Tweet funny or interesting things, or tweet about the latest news or trending topics. This way, your followers will actually appreciate following you because you add value to their twitter stream.

Within the other content that you post, mix in ads. Don’t make them obvious ads – people hate ads on the internet. However don’t attempt to disguise them, by talking about one thing and then posting a Bit.ly link to your site – do be honest about them. Otherwise people will think you’re just spam. Once again, try to make your ads actual content that people will be interested in – maybe tell them something they didn’t know about a product, or advertise a really good deal that you have.

Whether you use Twitter or not is really a personal decision, and there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong choice.

Traditional advertising can work too, but Twitter is a good way to brand yourself and to use the latest trend to drive valuable customers to your business.

Kirsty LaSalle is editor for Shopping Cart Reviews, and loves social media just a little bit too much for her own good.

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by Steven Beaman
When I ask business owners, “What is the number one way you get new business?” The consistent answer is through word-of-mouth or referral. Referral business is easier to convert and much  easier to deal with than cold calling prospects. So the big question is, “How do you get more referrals?”

There are two ways to do this, Pro-Active and Re-Active.

First let’s talk about Pro-Active Referrals. These are the ones that you actively pursue rather than waiting for word of mouth to occur.

Pro-Active referrals need to be asked for regularly and consistently. This is best done by building it into your sales scripts and customer contact processes. Things like referral incentive programs, referral discounts and even as simple a strategy as just asking will start the referrals flowing. Then make sure you acknowledge your referrers with a Thank-You of some sort.

Second, there is Word Of Mouth or Re-Active referrals. This is business that you get from your current clients mentioning your name to their friends and business contacts. There are ways to get this moving you just need to open your eyes to the possibilities.

You see, getting your customers to talk about you has a double benefit. Firstly, you have to think of ways of impressing them so your quality of service and delivery will have to improve. If you are successful, you will get more customers.

Here is a idea that a business owner has implemented called Critical Non-Essentials. According to the definition, there are several kinds of service that we need to provide to our clients and prospects. Firstly the ‘Essentials’- This is doing what we do properly. Then there is the Critical Non-Essentials (CNEs). CNEs are the little household tasks that give people reasons to believe in your business, particularly the parts they do not understand, they are in the background somewhat, are important but not exciting, stop you getting bad press and show you are competent.

Some examples would be clean bathrooms, neat dress, well groomed employees, showing up on time, thank you cards, etc.

Then there is the Super CNE. Super- CNEs are CNEs taken to a sensational degree so that everyone remembers and talks about them. They get you good press provide the WOW that gives people a good story to tell and provide the dazzle.

Your business may have a $10,000 cappuccino machine in the reception area. When you are asked how you justify this machine. You can say, “You know, I have this $10,000 cappuccino machine out in the front and a $200,000 x-ray machine out in the back. The main difference is that nobody talks about the x-ray machine, and everybody talks about the cappuccino machine.”

This is a classic case of using the Super-CNE as a marketing tool. The main difference between CNEs and Super CNEs is that the CNE will give people confidence in your business and improve your conversion rate. The Super CNE will get people talking about you and increase lead generation.

So, start looking inside your business for ways to generate more leads. The benefits are huge! You will have happier customers, a happier team, have lots more fun, and attract the kind of client that appreciates the extra things that you do.
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Steven J. Beaman is the founder & principal owner of BCSG, LLC, a general business consultancy and coaching organization whose primary focus is independent professionals and small businesses. Steven helps businesses to determine the constraints that are causing them to become stagnant or unproductive. He also assists start-up businesses to determine the roadblocks or obstacles that they may not have perceived. He also guides organizations through the start-up process, rapid business growth, or a turnaround situation. He does this using his wealth of management experience gathered during his over 35 year career of managing a variety of business functions in both small and medium businesses. He has expertise in numerous types of businesses (for profit and non-profit).

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Trust Me! What NOT to do and What YOU should do! Don’t be a Statistic…

By Richard Harmer Brand Strategist Brady Media Group

Face it… look in the mirror: Do you see Steve Jobs looking back?! NO?! So get over it! Apple is a religion, Starbucks is a religion, Coke is a… follow me?! They have followers, disciples and BELIEVERS! They started something great, but it wasn’t always a “religion”. They had to build it and it took time.

There are many reasons why people start businesses. Money, believe it or not is not the driving factor, it’s passion. Passion for what you do and what you sell. That’s why you started. Steve Jobs has passion! Of course he now has $money$ too. You believe in your product so much you think there is NO WAY others can’t “believe” as much as you! I mean, so help me if I tell you why your product sucks! This passion can backfire and often does!

Here’s my point…I’ll be quick, I promise. When was the last time you signed up for an email newsletter? OK…When was the last time you read one? I’m willing to bet rarely if at all. Why? You don’t care!! Nobody “reads” email “blasts” (I said blast because you and I both know what it is…it’s a blast to push something…be honest! It’s not an “informative” “newsletter”). If you don’t get me in the subject line, sorry, too busy trying to sell my own shit, can’t be worried about buying yours! Email marketing has changed. 99% of the ones I get are horrible. I can tell just by the way they look how bad the stats are. Luckily I don’t get any in my professional email, I do get them I my personal email however…funny, to date I have NEVER signed up to receive an email “blast”. Hmmmmmm….anyway, can they still work? Believe it or not, yes. Below you will be what has worked and why and what does NOT work and why.

Look below…This was an email I received in my inbox. Go ahead…I’ll wait…………………

WTF are they thinking? Really?! You think anyone with a life will actually look at that?! This looks like a freeeekin yard sale! You DO NOT have to put everything you ever learned in a single email. Nobody cares! This thing had golf clubs, tires, heavy text, the kitchen sink, a baby…throw it in!!! What is the point of this email? Look how long it is?! Wow! I thought, man these people need my help bad! But, I’m busy and they don’t even know they need me. So, I’ll just use them as an example for all of you on what NOT to do. : ) Why? Because I care, that’s why. Honestly I can tell you a million things what’s wrong with this email, but I think you can see it for yourself. Oh…this was sent on September 23, 2010. So it’s not like it was sent 5 years ago when we didn’t really know “how to” do these the right way. Unfreeekinbelievable! Right? Use common sense. I mean, would you read that?!

Too much Text
Too many graphics
Way too long
ALL Selling!!
Product push
No focus…where should I end?!

You get the point.
This person has no relationship with me! Never met him, I have no idea who he is. That is mistake number 1. You are more likely to turn people off than gain a following by doing this. I wouldn’t buy anything from this cat if he had the last putter in the world and I was putting to win the FedEx Cup!

Email example below:

This was for a new company in Texas. The stats on this email were very high, not just that, it was amazingly successful…for a few main reasons. The subject line had the words “Sneak Preview”. You see I knew the audience of 3500+ was anticipating the opening. The person that sent the email has great relationships in the community and with this audience. The “sneak preview” was the focus. An “organically produced video” was done. People LOVE media and video! The video was nice, well-done, shot in HD etc… but not too polished and over produced like an Avatar movie. Why? I needed video and the person in the video to be herself and real. Otherwise it would look staged and gimmicky. There is a fine balance. It’s OK not to spend thousands on a video. Other than celebrity videos, look at the top videos on youtube that went viral. The actual email was simple: VERY little text… Call to action, click to go to the new website, click to get the sneak preview video, date of opening. Colors and look were consistent with the brand message and personality. The viewer didn’t have to scroll much if at all (depends on screen size of course) to see the entire email. The actual text in the boxes they didn’t even have to read…there were clearly identifiable buttons for them to push.

Your goal is to get the viewer OUT of the email ASAP. (Or at least want to come back to it later.) You need them to engage with you on your website and take action. (Assuming your website doesn’t suck)

Again, this one email was extremely effective! It worked for a LOT of reasons. Letting your audience feel invited they are about to see something for the first time is intriguing to them. You have to know your audience! It was a carefully thought-out strategy that DIRECTLY affected the bottom line in a very positive way. Now there were other factors here, but that goes back to doing your homework.

So next time you think someone is drooling over your “gizmos” think again. Know your audience and be passionate, but know your limits on pushing too hard. Email is a time to invite and engage, not a time to sell and push anymore (unless your Apple and people are camping outside your stores to buy…in which case PUSH). In this article I used email as an example, but think about the other ways you connect with buyers and potential buyers. Are you on a platform to sell or engage? Should you be educating and building relationships? In the end you don’t have to be Steve Jobs or Starbucks to find buyers, just build good relationships with the target audience, identify the real “believers” and let them sell your stuff. Amplify their voices by including them in your outreach. Sometimes that just involves talking to them or letting them in on a sneak preview video tour of your new place.

Oh…if I get an email from you that looks like the first one, I’m calling you and telling you how much it sucked. Don’t be a statistic and end up on one of my blog posts! : )

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Richard is a Brand Strategiest for Brady Media Group. He has worked with the Wall Street Journal, State Farm Catastrophe, Werner Ladder Company, Carey Limousine, several restaurants, major law firms and doctor offices to enhance their brand and media outreach. The thing that I love about Richard is he is opinionated, non-apologetic and non-politically correct in his writing. People like Richard are the ones that will help your business succeed because they will tell you what you NEED to hear, vs what you WANT to hear.

Be prepared to see alot of Richard over here and at 365 Days of Startups, he is just the type of person we love (not to mention the type your business NEEDS)

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Hello Flying Pigs! Today is the first of a weekly Friday series from the Flying Pig’s new Business Writing Coach Susan Perloff. Susan has been a full-time freelance writer, editor, writing trainer and writing coach since 1983, and we are thrilled to have her join the Flying Pig Team.

Business writing is so important for the image you present of for your business. It is part of your voice, brand and can make or break your overall success. Susan will help provide tips, tricks and take aways to help improve your writing skills each week.

So in honor of National Punctuation Day we welcome Susan and her first topic…..duh…PUNCTUATION!

Somebody had to do it, and it wasn’t going to be me.

Somebody — a man named Jeff — created National Punctuation Day, which occurs September 24.

You could celebrate by buying Jeff’s t-shirt that shows an apostrophe and reads “It’s not possessive.” You could observe a moment of silence at noon and apologize to all the semi-colons you have abused. Or you could devote two minutes to enjoying a seriously missing comma in a “live chat” I recently had.

Paul: Hi, my name is Paul. How may I help you?
Moi:  I want to pay my current bill of $143.10 online now by credit card. How do I do that?
Paul: Did you want to prepay Susan?
Moi:  I don’t want to prepay Susan. I want to pay the bill I received today. It’s for $143.10.

Paul’s error, in case you missed it, was the failure to insert a comma before my name.
The sentence should have read: Do you want to prepay, Susan? That’s because the comma precedes a “direct address.”

Use a comma in these sentences, too.
-I apologize, Professor, for allowing my phone to ring during class.
-Was it your intention, Abe, to chop down the cherry tree?
-Please get me to the church on time, Driver.

Enjoy the day. May some ellipsis marks come your way soon.

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Susan Perloff, freelance writer, editor and writing coach, has earned 4 national writing awards. Call her to help you write web content, newsletters, annual reports, training manuals, profiles, corporate histories and more. Invite her to teach a writing class to adults in your corporate workshop, institutional setting. Hire her for individual writing-coaching for key executives. Her motto is: I can write it or teach you to write it. Visit SusanPerloffWRITES.com.

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Sometime this weekend, the Flying Pig will be made over. A new look, a new feel and lots of wonderful content to go along with it.

The long pause in exciting Flying Pig updates and content has now come to a screeching halt and I have a whole line up of exciting guest posts, valuable educational opportunities and other surprises up my sleeve.

We will also be working symbiotically with my other site 365 Days of Startups to provide even more resources and content. If you haven’t signed up for membership over there please make sure you take the opportunity to do so now. Right now the whole site is open, but soon part will only be accessible to members only. Not to mention the plethora of member discounts, freebies and more that will be in the offerings within the next couple of weeks.

On a complete unrelated side note. Please make sure you take the opportunity to download this fantastic FREE e-book on Non-Verbal Website Intelligence from my friend Derek Halpern of Social Triggers

Cheers Everyone! Look for a new post first thing tomorrow from our new business writing expert Susan Perloff

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Where has the Flying Pig gone?

I apologize for my mysterious absence. I’m sure many are going through slight withdrawal symptoms at the lack of Flying Pig wisdom However I promise that it only has been in order to spend some extra time focusing on a new exciting project. One which I hope will become a one stop resource for you as an entrepreneur/business owner.

Are you ready?

I’d like to introduce to you 365 Days of Startups!

365 Days of Startups is a niche membership community offering startup focused resources, experts, lessons, blogs, give-aways, and much more! More importantly I will be serving as the official Cruise Director for this adventure in entrepreneur land. Educational, informative and full of Flying Pig fun! What more can you ask for?

Our official launch is September 1st and I am very excited to invite all of you to join our community. I’ve worked very hard to set up the site in order to fill all of your unique needs. More importantly, in my opinion, the true beauty of the concept lies in the ability to network with your peers…..It is exciting to think about all the amazing entrepreneurial minds coming together to brainstorm ideas, trouble shoot problems and travel together on the road to business awesomeville!

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Sorry, for the lack of posting as of late, been busy with lots of fun little projects that will be unveiled within the next few months, plus some very exciting new clients.

Today’s post is actually taken from a comment left by my good friend Raymond Alvarez of Colorado based NextWave Communications.

Earlier in the week Raymond had left a great comment, in response to one of Seth Godin’s awesome posts Sabatoge (reproduced below)

Sabotage!

Just about all sabotage is self-sabotage.

We don’t get forced to eat that cookie, we choose to. And so the diet is ended.

Marketing self-sabotage is fascinating to watch and understand. Consider the college application: it’s primarily an opportunity for teenagers who aren’t sure of where they want to go to undercut their chances by exposing their uncertainty. The lizard brain, the voice in the back of the head that wants security and safety–it’s not eager to go to a college that might be ‘too hard’ or ‘too good’. The easy thing to do is to scale back the effort, not do what works, but do what feels right instead.

Or consider the way we resist opportunities to lead, to connect, to do work that matters. We don’t resist because we’re not capable of it… we resist because if our marketing fails, if we don’t get the job or earn the trust, then we’re off the hook. No promises made, which means no promises to keep.

We know more than enough about marketing now. We know how to craft a story that will spread, we know how to find and lead tribes. The thing we have trouble with is making the commitment to do it even when it’s frightening and difficult.

Raymond said: Some provocative thoughts from Seth! Try and change on the inside or outside – or both. Only the brave attempt it. After all, pioneers are the ones with arrows in their chests. And, overcoming great challenges brings the most satisfying success.

Which I found very thought provoking, especially the quote “pioneers are the ones with arrows in their chests”. When I later requoted Raymond went on to say the following, which I have now stolen to make into a forced guest post

That pioneer business is a sticky one.

Yeah, pioneers get arrows in their chests – and they hardly feel them as they climb those mountains.

Have a great weekend all! Go out, fight your battles and climb your mountain of business success despite the adversaries that try to block your way

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This applies to business and life:

Step One: Find the Opportunities

In every failure lies numerous opportunities. Lessons learned, doorways opened, doorways closed (yes, sometimes a closed door can be one of the best opportunities). Find them, understand what they mean and analyze how pursuing those opportunities could affect your business.

Step Two: Pursue the Opportunities

Does the shoe fit? Wear it. Seeing and analyzing opportunities is fabulous if you are philosopher, but really will take you nowhere if you are an entrepreneur. Go. Do. Pursue.

Step Three: Repeat

Face it, life as an entrepreneur is one failure after another. Almost every definition of ‘entrepreneur’ out there includes the world RISK, somewhere in it. Risk is always a partner with failure.

If you want to succeed in life and business, it is important to stop attaching a negative connotation to the word failure.  The definition of failure is: The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends. Fabulous! Most likely those end results weren’t what you wanted to achieve in the first place. Failure gives you the opportunity to do better. Take it!

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