What Can You Do With The Things You Don’t Currently Use?

It’s strange how quickly homes seem to fill up with things people don’t actually use anymore because most of the time it happens so slowly you hardly even know it’s happening at all. The problem is that even if you’re not actively thinking about all that clutter every day, it still tends to make a home feel more stressful and overcrowded than it needs to be, so it’s usually a good idea to work out what to actually do with everything - keep reading for some useful tips. 

Image from Pexels

Donate What You Don’t Need

A lot of people keep hold of things just because they feel guilty about getting rid of them, especially if the items are still in good condition. However, if something’s just sitting around unused in a wardrobe or cupboard for years, there’s a pretty good chance someone else might be able to make proper use of it instead. 

That could be clothes, books, toys, kitchen items, and even furniture, and you can usually donate it somewhere locally. And the fact is, it’s often a lot easier to let go of things when you know they’re going somewhere useful rather than just being thrown away. 

Store In A Storage Unit 

The fact is that some belongings are genuinely worth keeping hold of, even if you don’t currently have space for them in your home. That could be things like seasonal decorations, sentimental items, business equipment, spare furniture, or things you might need later on - they’re the things that can make a house feel too full if there’s nowhere sensible to keep them. 

That’s why a lot of people use storage units because they give you somewhere secure to keep things without having the entire house filled with boxes all the time. 

Sell Your Unwanted Items 

Some things are definitely worth selling, especially if they’re still valuable or hardly used. You can sell furniture, electronics, branded clothing, collectibles, and even old hobby equipment, and if it’s good, clean, and works, it can sell pretty quickly as long as you price it right. 

And although it’s true that listing everything can feel like a real effort at first, it’s sometimes nice knowing clutter is turning into a bit of extra money instead of just sitting around gathering dust. 

Upcycle Old Items 

Not everything has to be thrown away or sold because some older items can actually be turned into something completely different with a bit of creativity. Old furniture can be painted or restored, jars and containers can be reused for storage, and pieces you’re bored of sometimes just need changing slightly rather than replacing completely. 

Give Your Things Away

And of course, sometimes the easiest option is just to give things away to friends, family members, neighbours, or local community groups, for example - it’s quick, it helps someone else out, and it usually clears space a lot faster than anything else could do. At the very least, it’s better than getting frustrated because your home’s a mess and there’s no space - there’s a simple option you can do right now to sort it out. 

Here’s How the Appearance of Cleanliness Can Affect Customer Trust

It’s not even about proof, it’s about bad feelings. You wouldn't go to a coffee shop and get a drink if you see that it looks, well, gross, right? For the average customer, it doesn’t even take ten seconds to make a judgment on whether or not it’s worth going there. The space can be clean, but it’s more about how clean it is. 

Sometimes it’s just the floor by the door looking grey from years of shoes, the carpet having that one mystery stain, maybe there’s a water stain on the ceiling, or the tiles looking dull even though, technically, someone mopped them that morning. It doesn’t help if there's flies or other bugs, that also sells this gross feeling that customers don’t want to deal with.

And yeah, that’s annoying for business owners, because the place might genuinely be clean. The bathrooms might be checked. The counters might be wiped. The staff might be doing exactly what they’re meant to do. But if a customer sees stains, a not-so-perfect entrance, well, you probably just lost their service. Even if the business is clean, but the environment looks “old” or “tired”, well, they won’t be able to point their finger tot hat, for them, it’s still not as clean as it should be.

Stains Kill Reputations

Stains are so unfair, well, you can’t really get them out. They just stay there. So, a dark mark on the carpet could be old coffee from 2021, but to a customer, it could be anything. Like that could be mud, feces, food, water damage, something from someone’s shoe, something worse, who knows? Great, now everyone’s thinking too much. But that’s what happens with stains.

That’s especially rough for businesses where trust is basically the whole thing. In a clinic, a stained floor can make the place feel less clean. In a salon, it can make the whole service feel less premium. In a café, people might start wondering about the kitchen, even if the kitchen is spotless. It applies to all types of businesses here, so you need to think about that.

Daily Cleaning Can Still Leave a Place Looking Worn Out

It’s the worn-out look that more or less gives the idea that a place is unclean, even if you and your team are constantly disinfecting it. So, proper visual upkeep and cleaning aren’t the same thing, but they do go together when it comes to perceived judgment.  A mop can deal with surface mess, sure, but it’s not going to magically fix years of foot traffic, dull flooring, old carpet marks, scuffed corners, or that weird flattened patch near the till where every customer stands. 

It’s like a white t-shirt, you can wash it a bunch of times, but if it has holes and stains, and the white has faded, well, it still looks bad. You could look into commercial cleaning equipment and better cleaning routines to help bring back some life. Honestly, getting rid of any stains and even a fresh coat of paint can help a lot, too (and removing anything that looks outdated as well).

Customers Usually won’t Complain

They’re not going to complain because they’re just going to spend their money elsewhere, plain and simple. All it means is that the second they’re grossed out, or alarm bells go off, is that they’ll just browse for less time. They’ll feel less comfortable booking again. They’ll choose the other café next time. They’ll decide the salon down the road feels nicer. They’ll tell themselves it was nothing, but they still won’t rush back.

Why Building Maintenance Should Never Be An Afterthought

A lot of businesses don’t really think too much about building maintenance until something goes wrong, and that’s totally understandable in a way because when everything’s working, it’s easy to just focus on priorities instead. The problem is that buildings usually give plenty of warning signs before bigger problems come up, but those smaller issues can be easy to ignore because they don’t seem very urgent and there are lots of other things to do. With that in mind, here are some reasons why building maintenance should never be an afterthought so you can change your priorities a bit and make sure all is well. 

Image from Pexels

Small Problems Won’t Stay Small

One thing about buildings is that wear and tear builds up quickly, and a small crack, minor water damage, loose materials, blocked drainage, or ageing systems might not seem all that problematic, but if you leave them, things are going to get worse, and then you’ll have a big problem on your hands that you just can’t ignore anymore. 

After all, buildings are always having to deal with things like weather, moisture, temperature changes, heavy use, and general ageing, so it’s likely things are going to need to be fixed once in a while. And that’s why preventative maintenance normally works out a lot cheaper than waiting until something totally fails. 

Disruption Affects The Entire Business 

When part of a building suddenly stops working like it’s meant to, the effects usually spread out a lot further than people think they will or even imagine they ever could. For example, staff might not be able to work comfortably, equipment could be damaged, customers might be affected, and parts of the property might even become temporarily unusable depending on the actual issue. Once that starts happening, businesses can lose quite a lot of time and money while they’re trying to repair the damage as quickly as possible. 

That’s one reason why regular inspections are so important. Plus, you can get experts in areas like commercial roofing to check out the parts of the building you can’t see or get to easily, so there’s no reason why checks can’t be carried out regularly - it’s better to be safe than sorry. 

Safety Is Important 

Building maintenance isn’t just about appearance or preventing expensive repairs, of course - it’s also about making sure it’s a safe place to work, shop, or just be around. 

The fact is that poorly maintained buildings can create all kinds of risks involving leaks, electrical problems, unstable materials, poor ventilation, mould, slips, damaged infrastructure, and so much more. And although smaller issues might seem fine at first, they can really become big hazards quickly if they’re left to just get worse. 

Maintenance Helps Buildings Last Longer 

Commercial buildings are huge investments, so it makes a lot of sense to take care of them properly, and regular maintenance is a good idea because it can extend the lifespan of roofing, flooring, heating systems, plumbing, windows, and countless other parts of the building.

That’s because problems are dealt with before major deterioration happens, and in many cases, businesses can then avoid very expensive replacement work by just staying on top of smaller repairs all the time. 

Why Building a Sustainable Brand Doesn't Rely on Content Alone

Building a sustainable brand is one of the biggest challenges any owner can face. Content is a reliable method of attracting new clients and customers, especially when paired with powerful tactics such as search engine optimization, backlinking, and social media. However, even the best content strategy won’t build your brand, and there are many other critical factors to consider. From understanding the supply chain to performance metrics, here are some ideas.

Operations Turn Words Into Actions

It isn’t enough to just say you will do something, and you always need to turn promises into actions. This helps establish trust among clients and paves the way to a solid reputation. However, it isn’t as easy as some people think to actually do what they say. Even the best content strategy can fall flat if you don’t use services such as business accounting software, CMS, and even email to ensure that operations run as smoothly as possible for your clients.

The Supply Chain Dictates Most

Most brands today, not just brands that focus on sustainability, are very aware and active when it comes to the environment. Of course, sustainability as a brand extends far beyond eco-awareness, and the supply chain plays a core role in continued business. However, from the raw materials of a product to warehouse fulfillment, the supply chain dictates almost everything at every level of the business infrastructure, and content can’t fix ongoing issues.

Building a Sustainable Brand Requires Proof

In general, it takes around three months to secure your first paying clients when starting a new brand. You can write a great content strategy, and you absolutely should. But this alone doesn’t guarantee your brand will get off to a great start with client attraction. For that, you need proof, as clients and investors are typically skeptical. Transparency and proof of work can bridge the gap between a new brand and clients, and third-party certifications can help seal the deal.

Quality and Performance are Valuable Metrics

Sustainability can be a vital link in the chain of a business strategy, but it isn’t a replacement for quality. Just because something is branded as sustainable, it doesn’t automatically qualify as something that is necessarily the best. Any brand, whether it focuses on sustainability or not, must provide the best service possible rather than using well-known buzzwords as a proxy for perceived value. As such, high-quality content can’t compensate for underperforming products.

Company Culture is More Critical Than You Think

There are many reasons why having a strong company culture benefits your business, and this is a core part of modern services. However, any quality brand needs employees who are engaged, competent, and value the position they are in. Content can actually help with engagement for workers and clients alike, but it doesn’t guarantee that everyone is a good fit. Anyone working for and even with the company must be aligned with its policies and values.

Summary

Excellent business operations help turn words into actions in ways that content alone can’t. Of course, businesses also need to provide evidence they are capable of their promises, and this is often coupled with a strong company culture that sticks to internally outlined policies and values.

The Sweet Strategy of Corporate Gifting

Corporate gifting has long been an essential part of business culture, fostering stronger relationships with clients, partners, and employees. It's more than just a token gesture; it's a strategic tool that can significantly boost brand visibility and customer loyalty.

In the competitive corporate world, standing out is paramount. Traditional gifting options like pens, mugs, or key chains, while useful, often fail to create lasting impressions. This is where unique and thoughtful gifts come into play. One such avenue is the delightful world of customised edible treats - a sweet strategy indeed!

Why Customised Cookies and Cupcakes Go Down a Treat

Customised cookies and cupcakes are an excellent choice for corporate gifting. They're not just a tasty indulgence; they're a personalised treat that can leave a long-lasting impression. Imagine a box of gourmet, hand-decorated cupcakes, each one uniquely designed with your company's logo or message, perhaps even reflecting a special occasion or theme relevant to the recipient. These aren't just sweets; they're miniature billboards promoting your brand in an unexpected yet effective way.

The appeal of edible gifts extends beyond their novelty factor. They evoke emotions and memories associated with pleasant experiences, such as celebrations or cosy gatherings. Sharing these treats can create a sense of camaraderie and warmth, humanising the corporate image. It's not just about the gift itself; it's about the experience and sentiment that come with it.

Moreover, edible gifts are (almost) universally appreciated. Unlike products tailored to specific interests or needs, sweets appeal across a wide demographic. They're suitable for vegans and meat-eaters alike, catering to diverse dietary preferences without offence.

When it comes to corporate gifting, quality is key. Customers can tell the difference between mass-produced items and thoughtfully crafted ones. High-quality ingredients, meticulous design, and attention to detail are hallmarks of professionally baked customised treats. They demonstrate your commitment to excellence and respect for your recipients' tastes.

Beyond their aesthetic and gastronomic appeal, these personalised treats can also serve as conversation starters during business meetings or networking events. They break the ice, fostering a relaxed atmosphere conducive to meaningful interactions.

In conclusion, corporate gifting is a powerful tool when used wisely. Customised cookies and cupcakes offer an innovative, personal, and delicious approach to this age-old practice. They provide a sweet strategy that not only enhances your brand image but also warms relationships, creating memorable experiences that resonate far beyond the final bite. So why not consider adding a dash of sugar and spice to your corporate gifting repertoire? It might just be the recipe for success you're after.

How Packaging Can Influence Customer Trust and Loyalty

For a long time, packaging was often treated as a final step in the entire production process.  Once a product became ready, packaging was added in order to present it and prepare it for delivery to the customer. 

It was seen as necessary but not something that required much thought. Businesses are now beginning to recognize that packaging plays a very big role in exactly how their products are received and perceived by the customers. 

Moving beyond basic instruction

Packaging still needs to protect products but its role now goes a lot further because it has become part of the overall customer experience. When someone receives a product, packaging will become part of that interaction. 

It will influence how the product feels, how it is handled and it will even affect how it is remembered. Because of this, businesses have started to look at packaging as something that will add value instead of simply serving a basic function. 

Due to new customer expectations businesses need to rethink exactly how they approach packaging; it is no longer enough for it to just look good. It must also reflect responsibility and awareness as well. As a result, many companies are now exploring options such as environmentally friendly packaging as part of a broader effort that will align with all of these changing expectations. 

Making practical improvements 

Updating packaging does not always require that there is a complete overall. In many cases, small adjustments will make a very meaningful difference. You might look at reducing unnecessary materials, choosing alternatives and simplifying your designs. 

These changes can be introduced gradually. It will allow you to improve your approach without disrupting operations in any way at all. This makes it a lot easier for businesses of all shapes and sizes to take steps towards more profit. 

Supporting long-term business goals 

Packaging decisions will support your long-term goals, when you choose options that are aligned with your values, efficient and practical, you're creating a stronger foundation for growth. 

Better packaging will improve how your customers interact with your product. It will also reduce waste and streamline your processes as time goes on. These types of benefits contribute to a much more sustainable and efficient model for your business. Instead of seeing packaging as being an isolated task, it will become a part of a modular strategy.

A shift in perspective

The way your business thinks about packaging should be evolving. It is no longer only something that happens when production is finished. It is a decision that will influence exactly how your product is experienced from the very start to the end. 

By giving your packaging the attention it deserves, you're going to improve both your operations as well as your customer experience. This shifting perspective is going to position your business for some major long-term success in a marketplace that may always be changing.

Tactics To Get That Foot Traffic In Your Store

When you’re trying to drive more sales in your physical store, it's not enough to bring business to the site; you have to encourage people to come through the door and start looking around as well. If the quality of your products and service isn’t in question, then it’s all about the right mix of tactics, and here, we’re going to look at a few.

Pic - CC0 License

Invest In Quality Signage

Sidewalk signs might be a relatively simple solution, but they can definitely work. A well-placed sign can help you immediately communicate the identity of your brand and help catch the attention of those who might walk by without even realising that you exist. Having updatable sidewalk signs, like those with a chalkboard component, can also allow you to quickly communicate promotions, special offers, or new products that can generate further engagement.

Be Bold With Your Outdoor Decor

Don’t underestimate how effective a little exterior flair can be for your business. Opting for bold and eye-catching visual pieces can draw attention to your store from a distance. For instance, large promotional inflatables, be it product replicas, logo recreations or even just the simple but highly popular air dancers, can make your location a lot more noticeable, especially on busy streets or when you have a sales event on. What’s more, they’re a much more affordable way of advertising your business while still making a big brand impact.

Create Eye-Catching Window Displays

If your products are aesthetically engaging enough, then they can practically sell themselves if you give them the space to. Your window display is one of the first ways customers will engage with your store, so it should tell a story or make an impact. Highlight your best and most visually interesting products first and foremost, and make use of effective lighting as well as props to enhance and draw even more attention to them. Rotating your displays regularly can also keep your store feeling fresh and could give that passerby something new to notice, catching them in a way previous displays might not have.

Host Live Demonstrations Or Experiences

Some of your customers are going to be inherently curious, so it’s just about getting them on the hook. Live demonstrations of your products in action can be a great way to do that, making them more likely to stop, watch, and potentially become more interested in what your business offers. Not every product is going to be a good choice for a demonstration, but they can range from anything like cooking samples in a food store to crafting sessions, mini workshops, or even models performing on a miniature runway outside of your fashion store.

Which tactics work on your target audience depends on a mix of the visibility of your location, the brand that you’re trying to establish, and the demographic you’re aiming at. However, a mix of the strategies above is certain to bring you some attention at the very least. From there, it’s about how well you can capitalise on it.

How To Make Your Google Ads Rock In 2025

When it comes to getting customers to pay attention to you, you only have a few choices. One option is to use cold outreach. You literally pick up the phone or type out emails to prospects who don’t know you, one by one. 

Another option is warm outreach. This is where you get in touch with people who already know you and are thinking about buying from you. This could be a referral from an existing customer or people who know you because of your content on social media. 

The latter example is interesting because it means you’re reaching out to multiple people. But what if you don’t have a content presence but still need to reach a large market to flog your services. 

That’s where Google Ads come into the picture. These give you massive reach, even if your audience doesn’t know you. 

But how are you supposed to master this type of marketing? What actually works and gets results? 

Keep Auditing

The first thing you’ll want to develop is your feedback loop when using Google ads. The last thing you want is for ads to cost you a lot of money and fail to deliver any results. 

The way around this is to set up a proper audit cycle. You want to ensure that you’re constantly looping back to check on what you’re doing to see if it is working. A lot of companies will just pay for Google Ads without really measuring their effect or taking their impact into consideration. Sometimes campaigns will run for years without generating any return. 

The best way to audit is to keep testing and trialling different approaches. Most businesses can be successful with ads, but they will never work for some industries, so that is always worth bearing in mind. 

Integrate Web And App Campaigns

It’s also well worth integrating web and app campaigns, a new feature that’s available for 2025. This tool allows customisation of ads across multiple platforms in ways that make sense for brands. 

The best thing about this approach is that it unifies measurement. Companies no longer need to tally results from app or web-based campaigns. Instead, the data can be pooled and specific insights can be found.

Attribution is also better under this model. You can literally see where your ad spend is working for you, and where it isn’t enabling better ad targeting by platform, changing how you allocate funds between strategies. All you need to do is wait for the data to roll in. 

Use Expiration Mode 

If you can improve your use of Smart Bidding with expiration mode, that’s also a good idea. The idea here is to target return on ad spend first and then use Exploration whenever you run a promotion. You should find that you get about 10% to 25% more volume without costs increasing significantly. 

Of course, this tactic is highly industry-dependent, but it is well worth exploring. If you can eke out a little extra performance, you can often out-do competitors who are not using the same strategies. 

Use First-Party Data

You could also look into using first-party data to improve your conversion rate. Due to the backlash, Google is looking at phasing out cookies for a more ethical approach to ads. As such, companies are now feeding customer personal information on their books into their ad campaigns, as well as data kept off the books. 

Interestingly, this approach is actually enhancing return on ad spend. A lot of customers appreciate it when brands they already have relationships with reach out to them and try to do business. 

If you can implement Google Tags across your site, that can also help. Removing bad leads is essential though so you can track based on value. 

If you're scaling up your outreach, then you might also want to include things like the customer’s lifetime value. This way, you can track the impact of your ad spend when targeting specific markets. 

Use The Google Asset Studio

You could also look into using Google’s Asset Studio to improve your ads for 2025. This tool essentially allows you to generate new video clips, images and ad variations at will so you can test which work best. All you need to do is enter the right prompts. 

For consumers, this sort of approach is quite novel still. A lot of people aren’t used to the sight of highly creative Google Ads, so it could make a significant difference to your campaigns. 

Avoid Bloated Campaigns

It’s also a good idea to avoid the temptation to run bloated campaigns. While you might want to run ads for multiple products and locations, that doesn’t always work. 

The best way to approach this problem is to do what experts, like Loudmouse Digital Marketing, do. They segment campaigns into specific funnels, depending on the product. Then, they run them in parallel with each other, ensuring they reach out to the ideal market niche. 

If you don’t adopt this level of focus, Google Ads won’t know who you are trying to target. It will also serve ads to customers who don’t click the link, or simply don’t want to buy what you have to offer. 

Optimise Voice With Longtail Keywords

If you want to really master Google Ads in 2025, then you’ll need to look into optimising your voice-based SEO with long-tail keywords. This approach is highly effective since only a minority of companies are doing it, and it is not popular throughout the industry. 

For example, let’s say you sell something specific, like LEDs for bathroom vanities. Targeting a voice-based long-tail keyword like “I need new LEDs for my bathroom vanity” could go a long way. 

Usually, ads that focus on these keywords can drive higher traffic. Voice inputs tend to have a high degree of intent, meaning that customers are keen to buy. 

Google Keyword Planner is helpful for finding voice-related keyword searches. However, it is also worth speaking to experts, just to ensure you’re on the right track.

What Is The State of Marketing in 2025?

Marketing is digital and digital changes a lot over 12 months. This time last year marketers were bracing for a collapse in ad spend. Analysis from AdWeek predicts that ad spends will increase around 3.8% to 6.5% which is a good sign for people in marketing and communication - though growth in the industry will languish around the 2-3% mark.

So what is the state of marketing in 2025? What should we be focusing on for this year instead of succumbing to shiny-object syndrome? Here’s my analysis:

FTA Television is Boomer Wasteland

Back in ‘68 when Julie was Johnny’s date and strolling down Desolation Boulevard, both of them were likely eighteen. Julie and Johnny, now retired empty nesters with three investment properties are watching old school, free-to-air television. The kids are alright with over-the-top streaming and the internet, and we’ve known this since 2017. In the U.S., 49% of the 54-65 and over demographic still have a cable subscription and most watch over 10 hours per week, constrasted with only 34% of the 18 to 29 demo. The highest rated programs are still live sports, seconded by news and … repeats of Antiques Roadshow.

This has contributed to a global decline in TV advertising by 8%. If you’re trying to get hip and down with the kids, avoid FTA TV and leave it to the oldies.

Social Media Fragmentation

Ahh, the halcyon days of the mid 2010s - where you could set your watch to a healthy return on ad spend coming from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Now, that’s all been turned on its ear. Since the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk and its rebrand to X, many left-leaning netizens have flocked to alternatives such as Mastodon and Blue Sky citing safety and misinformation concerns.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has drawn ire from the political left for doing away with fact checking units and opting for community based notes, much like on X. TikTok’s status in the United States is also under a cloud of uncertainty with a ban likely coming after the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its ruling on the 19th of January.

Couple that with a decrease in ads capturing attention - 31% of people globally claim they pay attention to ads, a 12% slump over last year - and social media seems a less of a “sure thing” for marketers than any time in its short history.

Video and User Generated Content Pushes Buying Decisions

Hands up those of you who have watched a YouTube video of a product unboxing or review to reaffirm your decision to buy? You aren’t alone. According to Hubspot research, approximately 62% of consumers watch videos to learn more about brands, discover how their products or services work, and glean insights into hidden benefits in real-world use cases. (Like how I was sold on buying the Sony Xperia 1 VI due to its superb macro function. Oh, and the headphone jack.) During 2024, 89% of consumers said they want to see more videos from brands - especially if it justifies their purchase decisions.

Newsletters: CERTAINTY IN AN UNCERTAIN TIME

When you put out a newsletter, you not only enjoy a 42:1 average ROI, but you also own the channel and the all the benefits. There aren’t any algorithms to deal with or external advertiser guidelines to adhere to. With politicisation and cybersecurity threats still rampant on social media (e.g., a brand could lose its entire social media platform access overnight) cultivating a contact list and sending newsletters on one’s own terms lends brands and companies greater control over their marketing and communication efforts. It’s also wholly opt-in - first or zero party data collection when third-party data harvesting is starting to get on the nose (see below.)

Hubspot believes there will be a race for subscribers, with larger independents perhaps being acquired by media companies much like tech startups. However, it’s incumbent on us marketers to earn ongoing loyalty by providing value in each newsletter - value that entices non-subscribers to subscribe, too.

AI Driven Campaigns - Perhaps Not Content

AI slop is everywhere and people absolutely hate it. Though the U.S.S. Enterprise-D is run using a computer several magnitudes more intelligent than what we have today, it still has a full crew complement driving them into the Final Frontier. AI will be crucial in programmatic, on-the-fly advertising placement, even when regulation phases out third-party data and new innovative privacy-preserving ad platforms such as Anonym ensure security, transparency, and privacy for end-users.

Personalisation can generate $20 for each $1 spent. Overdo it, and you’re venturing into the creepy, “is this thing stalking me” territory for many - and people are growing even more uncomfortable with the phenomenon. This was highlighted after Apple was forced to pay US$95 million in a class action after their digital assistant Siri was caught eavesdropping on users.

With all that said, I can’t say Generative AI is completely useless - I generated the image at the top of the page using Midjourney - but after a re-evaluation by the marketplace, Generative AI may settle into a place of productivity co-pilot rather than taking over operations wholesale. This may lead to marketers deploying and scaling more simultaneous, continuous campaigns and not just gaining but implementing changes based on real-time data, as Large Language Models replace the need for coding or query language skills.

Digital PR: Continuous vs Discrete Reputation Management

Having a brand mentioned in a magazine simply doesn’t cut through anymore and thus a true innovation was required to supplant it. Instead of assuming influence like before, we can now quantify it and improve upon it. Digital PR isn’t just a simple add-on of the same old SEO mixed with traditional PR methods. It's all about rethinking how we tell stories for brands or people, tapping into the natural flow of information inherent in digital channels.

Sure, it’s awesome to see your brand in a newspaper, but let’s be real—it doesn’t really do much for your attention and reach in the long run. A link on your web page can boost your trust and authority for the long haul. Back in the day, PR was all about adding one bit of good news on top of another bit and hoping for the best. In the Digital PR era, it’s non-stop and endlessly measurable – and that’s what makes this new approach so appealing to marketers and brands.

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Are you leaving behind revenue by not writing newsletters?

Everything old is new again, it would seem. The big deal in the content economy isn’t Spotify or TikTok, it’s a new twist on one of the Internet’s founding aspects: the email newsletter.

Spurred on by creator-centric newsletter publishing app Substack, the email newsletter has become big business again. Started in 2017, it has grown to 20 million monthly active subscribers, with its top 10 creators earning $25 million collectively as of 2023.

If you are a business, you have a contact list. Every business needs one if they don’t have one already. If you aren’t monetising that contact list by sending out regular newsletters or email communications, you are leaving money on the table.

Why Email Newsletters?

Over 376 billion emails will be sent and received daily worldwide in 2025, a 23% increase over 2020. 99% of email users check their inboxes at least once per day.

According to a report by Whop about ConvertKit, newsletters garner a 45% open rate compared with 10% for social media. The report also showed that newsletters were the most popular form of content at 58%, followed by blog posts at 51% and educational courses at 30%.

Email newsletter engagement sat at 27%, followed far behind by Instagram (15%) and Facebook (12%).

According to a Beehiiv report, newsletters enjoy open rates of 38.7%, with the welcome or onboarding email showing healthy open rates of 45%. Venture capital newsletters had the highest engagement rates at 50.4%, followed by sports newsletters at 47.5% and food & drink newsletters at 45.3%. Topics of the most interest to newsletter subscribers are films, psychology, and gaming.

If that doesn’t convince you that email marketing is a good idea, think about the $42 of average return on every dollar spent via email advertising.

That’s not to mention you can also charge subscriptions for your newsletters or gain sponsorships from other brands, opening up another revenue stream for your business.

So why are newsletters so popular and gaining popularity despite the advancement in other forms of social media?

The Power of the Opt-In

Unlike every other type of advertising online, newsletters are entirely opt-in. You must agree to sign up for a mailing list; and users have the ability to tune out by unsubscribing. That way, people can curate their content to their liking. If the email newsletter is not fit for their purpose, they can get rid of it just as easily.

No matter whether the email format is news, special offers, link curation, or digests, newsletter subscribers were 16x more likely to be receptive to and engage with newsletter ads. Since people are opted in, they find ads and other calls to action far more relevant than those seen on social media or other forms of internet advertising. In fact, 86% of U.S. adults want to get promotional emails - not informational or educational emails - promotional emails at least once per month according to Marketing Sherpa. 54% of brands send emails at least 2-4 times a month, with 32% sending at least once per month.

Emails can also be personalised to individual subscribers using segmentation, driven by automation. If a user hasn’t visited your site (or logged in) in a while, you can send them a personalised discount offer. You can wish them Happy Birthday. You can send them cat videos, if you have them down as a cat owner. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Also, other forms of marketing can’t really do that.

37% of marketers say that email is the most effective channel for customer loyalty and retention, and it’s spurred on by an email reader giving your brand full attention and laser focus; at least for a minute or two. Can’t say that for the perpetual doom scroller…

Monetising Your Database

If your business already has a database of customers - even a small business of 50 or 100 contacts - it’s well worth setting up a newsletter and inviting them to opt-in (don’t assume they want to, just because you talked to them once: it’s bad etiquette and against the law.)

Using an email marketing platform like Mailchimp (which has a dominant 65% market share), Klayvio, or ConstantContact is simple to set up and may even offer a limited-time free trial, so you can evaluate whether it’s the right fit for you.

Setting your email newsletters up for transactional emails based on triggers can also drive engagement and sales - even the humble “welcome” email gets you an average of 45% open rates, which is far more enticing than PPC or even long-term SEO engagement.

Are you leaving money on the table by not sending out regular newsletters? The verdict seems to be in.

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Want your newsletters written right, with high conversions and industry leading open rates? Get I Sell Words on the case!

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What's In A Name? (ABC Radio Melbourne)

Many brand names are instantly recognisable, like Coca-Cola, Apple, Nintendo, Mercedes and more. But what's in a name? And how do companies actually go about naming things?

I talked to Lisa Leong on ABC Radio Melbourne about car names, branding, and the attachment we have to our cars - bombs and all!

Listen here.

What is the State of Marketing in 2024?

For many marketers and creatives, 2023 was a bit of a “lost year” in terms of growth and productivity.

Speaking anecdotally, many friends and colleagues lamented that the year was leaner than expected, thanks to inflation and the cost of living crisis contributing to lower advertising budgets.

Like Marshall McLuhan says, we speed into the future looking at the rearview mirror. After reviewing Hubspot and Salesforce State of Marketing 2024 reports, here is an overview of what marketing firms are doing in the face of new opportunities - and threats - from artificial intelligence and regulatory sharks circling around third-party data collection and social media such as TikTok.

What is the state of marketing in 2024?

PERSONALISATION IS KING

Sure, content is king - but personalisation is even better. According to Hubspot, “87% of marketers plan to continue or increase their investment in mobile messaging through channels like SMS, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.” That means constant engagement with customers using these channels, powered by Generative AI chatbots. 96% of marketers say personalization leads to repeat business, and 94% say it increases sales.

Their research also shows that it has an over 120x return on investment, on average. Hubspot also found that 55% of businesses predict that by 2024, most people will turn to chatbots over search engines for answers.

According to a Kibo survey, personalising the entire customer experience led to 3x ROI than forgoing personalisation. Salesforce says that 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. Of course, this will need an end-to-end strategy at the top and bottom of funnels to implement with any measure of success.

Imperator Email INVICTUS

If personalised messaging through various channels is the king, then email is the Imperator Romanum, the God-Emperor to rule over them all. Salesforce says that 84% of marketers send commercial or engagement messages over email, and Hubspot says that it’s tied for second place in terms of greatest ROI overall ($36 for each $1 spent). It accounts for 80% of all outbound marketing messaging, Salesforce says.

One in three marketers reports using email and 87% plan to maintain or increase their investment in 2024 though email marketers will need to adapt to emerging technologies and trends such as including targeted personalisation, personalised images, directions to the nearest retail outlet, social feeds, and social media links.

Scrollable Video - the seo killer?

We live in the age of the short-form video - Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok. According to Hubspot, “marketers are doubling down on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram to address younger audiences going right to social video platforms to search and engage with brands, even more so than search engines.” 50% say they will be using TikTok this year - and hopefully the US Government doesn’t set a dangerous precedent by banning it outright.

Aja Frost, Director of Global Growth at HubSpot says, “use social listening tools to understand which low, medium-, and high-intent questions prospects and customers are asking, then work with the Social Media team to create content answering those questions — or, even more powerfully, enabling brand advocates to answer it for them.”

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C is Not for Cookie - Third-Party Data

As Google seeks to phase-out third-party cookies and data collection, marketers need to walk the privacy versus personalisation tightrope ever more carefully. First-party data collected via opt-in (such as an email list) is the most powerful kind of data - as it directly captures and fuels the personalisation mentioned earlier. That’s not to say a complete view of a customer is a given either: 2021 Gartner® Cross-Functional Customer Data Survey, 14% of organisations achieve a 360-degree view of their customer, and of those 14%, 44% said it’s in a customer data platform.

75% of marketers are still investing in third-party data, 68% say they have managed to fully define their strategy to shift away from gathering this information.

AI is a co-pilot, not autopilot

AI hasn’t led to marketing being automated completely - but it has shown its usefulness in reducing administrative tasks through automation for marketers. Hubspot says marketers are saving three hours per piece of content and two and a half hours per day overall. Interestingly, only 6% say they use Generative AI to write their content for them; 45% says it helps with idea generation and inspiration, and 31% they use it to create outlines. 81% of marketers say that leveraging generative AI enhances their roles.

Salesforce says 68%% of marketers have a fully defined AI strategy, up from 60% in 2021 and 57% in 2020. The top three ways marketing organisations use AI is to automate customer interactions (90%), automate data integration (89%), and personalise the customer journey across channels (88%).

Most marketers say it’s the number one tool for research, with apps like Albus assisting with in-depth and tangential research into various topics. Of course, as AI isn’t perfect, we must always trust but verify.

What’s Next?

With AI speeding up the cycle between marketing and sales, it’s likely that further automation will further blur the distinctions between the two, especially with targeted and opt-in personalisation. Can you argue with an AI generated image of you wearing a dashing pair of sunglasses and is 40% off for your birthday? Only time will tell.

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To get the right strategy for 2024 as well as great content that’s guaranteed to sell more - click below to contact me!

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How To Use Social Media To Reach More Customers

Did you know that the 2nd most followed page on Facebook is Samsung, with 159.82 million followers? That’s six times the population of Australia tapped into all the moves the South Korean electronics giant is making - from a consumer perspective. That is, they’ve all opted in to being sold new phones, cameras, TVs, and tablets as part of their daily social media scroll.

Though enterprise businesses may employ social media managers (who may be flustered by the overwhelming demands of the job, as I’ve explored here), small to medium businesses often flounder under the constant demand for content - or mistaken belief that just because one posts it will be seen by all their audience, every time. (That’s the non-linear algorithm at work, baybay!)

Social media is free to use - but with all free things, it means spending time on it to gain any real benefit. Here is a primer on how to use social media to reach more customers.

Find Your Audience and Meet Them There

There’s no such thing as the Field of Dreams on the web. It’s not a case of “build it and they will come” but rather, “build it where they already are.”

That means looking at your business and figuring out where your core demographic customer base already hangs out. B2B businesses will likely want to focus on B2B social media, such as LinkedIn. (It’s where I hang out!) B2C will want to embrace Meta platforms (Instagram and Facebook), TikTok, and to a lesser extent, X (formerly Twitter.)

If you have limited time to spend, you may want to focus on one platform. Meta Business Suite helps you post across Instagram, Facebook, and even WhatsApp, which means reaching three sets of audiences at once.

Apps such as Keyhole can help you identify these audiences without waiting too long for analytics to come in - which can help you along tremendously.

Establish a Narrative and Social Proof

Stories are everything. People are drawn in by stories; brands that establish solid narratives about themselves will rise to the top of the pile compared with soulless, bland sales pages. For example, the DIY, grassroots values of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream - a small business started by two hippie college dropouts from Vermont selling fresh ice-cream from their gelatery - (almost) overrides the fact they are now a global brand owned by Unilever, a multi-national corporation with questionable holdings.

Social proof is the act of using other’s opinions of your brand to sell your products and services. This may come in the form of using content from your customers (i.e., re-blogging or re-posting their Instagram reels or TikToks) to “prove” that people like, use, and trust your product.

Using Influencers and Brand Advocates

Believe it or not, 40% of Twitter (as it was called in 2016) users said they bought something because an influencer tweeted about it. There was a 5.2x increase in the likelihood of a purchase when users saw both brand and influencer tweets about the product.

According to Mention.com, URL shortener Bitly saw 11x greater return on investment than traditional forms of digital marketing. People who have a large social media following are instant social proof - even if the audience knows that the brand is sponsoring their posts. Influencers need not just be on Instagram; they could be bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, TikTokers, and other high-follower count individuals or groups.

Reposting content from satisfied customers who become “cheerleaders” for your product is another way to reach even greater audiences. People love being seen - and according to an Olapic study, 70% of U.S.-based respondents are more likely to buy products after being exposed to a relatable or positive image created by other consumers.

Provide Value For THEIR FOLLOW

Yes, some people will follow certain brands or companies just to get the jump on sales. But the top performers provide real value to their customers in the form of informational or instructional content that they can use.

A food brand may want to showcase recipes; a fashion brand may want to emphasise which fragrances to pair with their outfit. Even if you’re an excavator company, you can still provide value by showing which kind of plant you use to tackle certain jobs, which may be useful for apprentices. The more content that you can provide that’s useful, the better.

Use a Strategic Approach

One of the most common mistakes brands make is using a scattershot approach to social media posting and content. A hospitality venue might make one post about an upcoming event…only for it to get buried under the algorithm and have it appear in people’s feeds three days after it’s finished.

Every business should have a social media strategy which should be planned out ahead of time with content (or at least ideas about content), its purpose (brand recognition, promotion, reach), and the goals it is attempting to reach.

This keeps your social media running smoothly as part of your overall sales or marketing processes. Instead of panicking about what to post, where, and when, your strategy will guide you in the right direction whether you want to make a post yourself or leave it up to the professionals.

With a bit of persistence and effort you can use social media to reach more customers - and greater sales!

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For expert guidance and quality cut-through content that’s both strategic and impossible to ignore, trust I Sell Words for all aspects of social media management. Read about my social media success stories here!

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The Power of Professional Copywriting Services for Australian Businesses

Though business comes and goes in cycles, the power of marketing can’t be understated. Digital marketing opens up new avenues for Australian businesses to reach more people and sell their brand not only here, but overseas as well. As part of any digital marketing strategy, a copywriter should be part of your arsenal of persuasion. So why should an Australian business invest in professional copywriting services? What are the advantages of having an Australian copywriter on call or on retainer?

Why Invest in Professional Copywriting Services?

What you say is how you sell. Investing in professional copywriting services is an investment in your overall marketing and communications strategy. Copywriting services can help your business craft a strategy around digital marketing – every piece of content you post will need some kind of copy to help promote your business or sell your product or service.

Greater reach inevitably leads to higher sales volumes or inquiries. These profits can be re-invested into marketing and copywriting to spur on even more growth down the line.

Crafting SEO-Optimised Copy for Better Organic Visibility

Did all those words sound like they meant something? If you aren’t a copywriter or work in digital marketing, they can feel a bit confusing. In simple terms, SEO refers to Search Engine Optimisation. This is the art and science of writing copy or text on websites so search engines (Google for the most part) will rank your page higher than other competing pages with similar or identical information. Google displays pages on their Search Engine Results Page (SERP) in order of relevance. The higher your webpage ranks on the SERP for a chosen keyword, the more likely it will be clicked on.

According to a study of 80 million keywords and billions of searches by Search Engine Journal in 2020, 28.5% of clicks go to the organic (non-paid) result in the 1st position. It’s diminishing returns after that: 2nd gets 15.7%, while 3rd gets 11%. 10th spot gets about 2.5% of the clicks on average.

SEO is an investment in increasing this organic visibility by helping your site and pages climb up SERPs for chosen keywords. This is a long-term strategy for growth, as it decreases reliance on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and builds your authority as an authoritative and trustworthy source for information on that keyword – and in sales, this is worth its weight in gold.

Leveraging Persuasive Writing Techniques to Drive Conversions

If you’ve ever read SEO copy, it often sounds like text written by robots for other robots. Sometimes keywords will be “stuffed” into places that make even the most grammatically nonchalant wince. From that perspective, it’s done its job: you clicked on the top link, after all. But here’s where it falls apart in terms of conversions. The copy just doesn’t convince anyone to put their faith in your brand. Something drives them away.

SEO leads the horse to water; but persuasive writing on the page gets it to drink.

Copywriting is about balancing on-page SEO as well as using persuasive techniques to get people to perform an action (I write about calls to action in my blog about email marketing here.) It may be to buy a product, sign up for a service, or simply hand over an email address for a mailing list. These techniques may be straight-forward calls to action (Buy Now, While Stocks Last!) or thematic (appeals to reason, appeals to the hip-pocket, etc.)

Australian businesses need copywriters to help them leverage persuasion as part of their communications in order to drive sales and inquiries. This should be the prime motivator in your marketing – the art of the sale. However, without tailoring it to local audiences, it can quickly go awry.

Tailoring Your Copy to Australian Business Needs

If you have ever taken a trip abroad – or perhaps lived abroad – you will quickly notice how culture affects a business’ sales approach. When I lived in Atlanta, Georgia it was not uncommon for salespeople, even in shoe stores, to push products on me when I hadn’t asked for them. Once, when I was at the mall having a browse at one such shoe shop, an enterprising young sales associate noticed I was wearing Converse Chuck Taylors.

A pair of my beloved red Chuck Taylors.

I’d barely crossed the threshold of the entrance and he immediately rushed toward me. He knelt down and started buffing my white toe tips with a special polishing product. Before I could tell him to stop, he was rattling off all these benefits, ending the encounter by telling me his name (presumably so he could get a commission.)

This behaviour would be unthinkable in Australian shops.

Australian business needs are different from overseas needs, which means overseas copywriters that aren’t immersed in our culture will find it difficult to replicate or cater to our approach. The “hard sell” is often seen as sketchy or “suss” (we had purchase over that word before Among Us, thank you!)

Copywriting services in Australia require a flexibility and versatility of prose to tailor certain tones of voice and style to their audiences. Corporate businesses will use highly abstract and academic style language, while small businesses may use more persuasive or colloquial language – good Aussie copywriters can deftly sprinkle in some Aussie vernacular as well.

If your copy reads as if it was written by a foreigner, it will come across as inauthentic – which can lead to high bounce rates and poor conversions, even if your SEO is on point. (I mean, ridgy-didge.)

Choosing the Right Copywriting Service Provider

Not all copywriters are created equal – some are more creative while others are more technical (read my post about the differences between them here.) You should choose a copywriter that can understand your business and effectively sell the idea and the tangible result to as many potential customers as possible. They need to connect you to your audience and help clarify your message. Your business may want to choose a copywriter with a particular niche; though hiring generalists (such as myself) may open the door for new and creative opportunities for marketing that your competitors may not have thought of before, differentiating yourself from the pack.

Ultimately, they need to be a part of your team and need to gel with your overall business methods and processes. Unfortunately, not every copywriter will be a good fit; nor will every copywriter want to work with your company for any number of reasons. Make sure to research different copywriters and get to know them as if they were a potential employee; you could build a fruitful partnership that lasts decades!

A copywriter who knows their SEO stuff, is persuasive to a fault, and works well with your company can unleash a wave of powerful marketing on your potential customers!

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Leverage the power of an award-winning Australian SEO copywriter at I Sell Words! Contact me below and let’s get started!

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Should You Cut Back On Marketing During a Recession?

Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and General Motors. Huge companies that have been around for a long time - in the case of GM, over 120 years - but what do they have in common?

They all sprung into life during a recession or depression. They were so successful, the chances of you using at least one of the products those companies make while reading this is almost even money.

With inflation still rampant, interest rates rising, and electricity bills set to soar by at least 25% after the 1st of July, Australia is staring down the barrel of a recession - the standard definition being two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. So what does that mean for us as business owners?

Our first impulse is to cut costs across the board. Where the axe lands, that’s for the almighty to know.

However, planning to cut back needs to be a surgical strike on certain wasteful expenses, not an all out war on your profit and loss statement. Many businesses think that cutting their marketing - usually an outsourced “expense” - is a good idea during a recession. Is it, though?

With SEO copywriting being a vital plank of digital marketing, can we copywriters not only survive, but thrive in unfavourable business cycles thanks to keeping our marketing up too?

Cutting Back on Expenses During a Recession

40% of American businesses surveyed here said they would cut back on their expenses during a recession.

This makes sense from a household budget perspective - but a household is not a business. If you cut a Netflix subscription, it means no more binge watching Stranger Things. If a business excises its Zapier subscription, it means previously automated tasks need someone to complete them manually.

Value in a business isn’t always measured in profit and loss statements to begin with - but it will come back to haunt you eventually in terms of slower cash flow, which can often lead to a death spiral where more cash goes out than comes in. According to ASIC, about 20% of businesses that went insolvent during 2018-2019 was down to poor cash flow management or high cash use.

Though many companies see marketing and communication as a third prosthetic limb they can take on and off at will, it’s essential to maintain that “third arm” for keeping your current customers on side and potentially reaching new clients. According to WordStream, repeat customers are a 65% chance of conversion, while new customers are a 13% chance.

Besides, how cool would it be to have a third arm?

Case Studies in Recession Marketing

Almost every study conducted into marketing during a recession shows one outcome - businesses that maintained or increased their marketing usually did way better than their counterparts who cut back.

Buchen Advertising discovered that companies that cut advertising during the 1949, 1954, 1958 and 1961 recessions fared poorly compared to businesses that did the opposite.

The International Journal of Research in Marketing paper ‘Turning adversity into advantage: Does proactive marketing during a recession pay off?’ noted that “firms that have a proactive marketing response in a recession achieve superior business performance even during the recession.” Companies can shore up their position with some strategic, entrepreneurial marketing.

For example, during the 1990–1991 recession to improve their position, microprocessor giant Intel launched its “Intel Inside” brand-building program, aggressively promoting the brand when there was little advertising competition.

During the 2008 financial crisis, analysis by Kantar Millward Brown found that 60% of the brands that stopped all TV ad spend for six months saw their brand use decrease 24%, and brand image decrease 28%.

McGraw-Hill’s oft-cited study into the marketing habits of 600 B2B companies during the early 1980s recession showed that brands who invested in better marketing and advertising grew 275% more than those that didn’t.

The most recent example is home short-stay rental’s darling AirBnB and how they fared during the pandemic. They cut almost all their ad spend during the COVID-19 pandemic, where many jurisdictions were locked down by their governments in response. Competitor VRBO outspent AirBnB ten to one during that initial 2020 global lockdown period and saw their bookings recover by 61%, while AirBnB’s slumped by 15%.

Though we may want to tighten the belt during a recession, we really ought to be grabbing a megaphone.

Why keeping professional marketing and copywriting is important

If you use an amateur you’ll get an amateur result. Keeping on your professional digital marketing or copywriting specialists means a consistent tone of voice, branding, and audience engagement.

As information analysts and resources, they can help you identify strategies that will return on your investment more than simply “pouring more money” into PPC or social media ads. They’ll be at the forefront of new channels, techniques, and messages that cut through to people during a recession. They can explore new keywords to target or niches to penetrate. Their creativity is a value-add that you can leverage at almost every level of your business.

Outsourcing your marketing - or bookkeeping, or administration - means concentrating more on your core business and delivering more value to your customers, whether you’re a B2B or B2C business. Everyone needs their dollar to stretch further. Figuring out how to do that with what you have is a big boon for business once the recession passes.

Further, copywriters and marketers are natural networkers. They have their ear to the ground when it comes to new trends, grants, and other opportunities that could come your way.

working with your marketing or copywriting team

Though you may be fretting that dreaded phone call to tell your faithful marketing or copywriting firm “your services are no longer required” it’s better you work with us rather than cutting us off altogether.

Though you may have ordered a blog post every week, it’s unwise to just “stop.” Tapering that back to once a fortnight or month means your SEO won’t stand still compared with the competition who is still investing in their digital marketing - if you stop, they can and will overtake you.

You may want to invest in content at scale using AI while your copywriter edits it using their skills in Artificial Intelligence Optimisation. Even if copywriters become “obsolete”, there are still some opportunities left out there for us!

If you stop advertising or content marketing until you “ride out the storm,” playing catch up may end up costing far more.

Oh, and you know we’re a GST deduction, right?

So, should you cut back on marketing during a recession? I think the evidence speaks for itself.

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Get ahead of your competition and invest in award-winning, cut-through copywriting and marketing with I Sell Words!

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The State of Digital Marketing in 2023

AI, TikTok…what’s next? Digital marketing seems to be so evolved it barely resembles this time last year. In a new report by Hubspot has taken a snapshot of the state of digital marketing in 2023. We all know about the advent of artificial intelligence - but is it all its cracked up to be? Is short-form video still effective? Will budgets increase or decrease in 2023 and 2024?

Drawing on other trends and sources on digital marketing, let’s have a deep dive into the State of Digital Marketing in 2023.

Artificial Intelligence and Automation

According to Hubspot’s report, the average marketer works on five campaigns at a time, and a total of seven campaigns per quarter. Using AI to automate certain processes makes business sense to gain more productivity with less time spent on admin and busywork. Tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and DALL-E are proving to be useful in generating ideas, creating templates, and churning out content at scale. However, the time savings may be offset by the limitations of GPTs which are prone to repetition, “hallucination”, and limited in scope.

First Party Data

Notice how “big data” died suddenly and without warning? With Apple and Google both tackling the problem of terrible user privacy with new features that restrict the tracking of data from third-parties via cookies - and users taking matters into their own hands with AdBlockers and the like - gathering first-party data will be the boon for marketers wishing to personalise and target content to their audiences. 86% of marketers told Hubspot that that data privacy changes have impacted their overall marketing strategy over 2022. Giving users control over their data by opting in to newsletters, shopping accounts, and other data capture methods such as surveys, yields a sense of trust and an opportunity to create value in the often hidden transaction of harvesting user data.

The Rise of the Short Video

Instagram Reels is just YouTube Shorts for people who don’t like TikTok. Whatever the platform may be, short form videos are reigning supreme for marketing in 2023. (Especially the tarted up AliExpress tat hawked by people in sweatpants - but that’s a discussion for another time.) 21% of marketers are going to be investing in short form video, and ad revenue from the format is set to surpass $10 billion (USD) according to Woosuite. Research by Wyzowl shows that 91% of businesses are using video and 73% of consumers prefer to watch a short-form video to learn about a potential purchase. 90% of those businesses that are using video has helped them generate leads.

Mobile Friendly Design

According to SimilarWeb, 57.36% of Australian web traffic is consumed on mobile; the present and the future of the web will be mobile optimised. That means optimised designs, user experiences, and even instant apps will be in-demand among users - and businesses. Though desktop designs may look great, the chances are your customers are scrolling with their thumb, not their index finger.

Sliding into DMs

“Sliding into DMs” or direct messages over social media was once describing a slick romantic gesture - and businesses want the romance between customers to blossom as they use social media to directly interact with customers by answering questions, handling complaints, and general interaction. Hubspot says 30% of younger (Gen Y and Z) have bought products on social media over the past three months, thanks in part to direct message customer service. Using AI chatbots and other automation can help start the conversation with humans taking over when things get too complicated for the machine to handle.

Authentic, Organic SEO

When downturns occur, people look for authentic, organic content. Not paid advertorial but something they can connect with and feel good about reading. Hubspot says that 7% of businesses will cut their ad spend during recessions and bottom-out business cycles - but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on your organic content that improves your SEO. Though marketers may do this as a business-building exercise, B2B and B2C companies should be thinking of investing in SEO content that isn’t engineered to hard sell, but connect with customers while taking home the added benefit of improved Search Engine Results Pages. That means providing real value for their reader - not so much top of mind, but strong of heart.

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Ready to leverage the top marketing methods that will keep your business thriving during 2023? Want the best marketing copy to fuel your videos or SEO? Contact me!

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Will Artificial Intelligence Change SEO Copywriting?

If you haven’t taken the AI natural-language dialogue engine ChatGPT for a spin, you definitely should.

It’s astounding how it can take a normal query and reply in a structured, easy-to-understand, and if you didn’t know any better, thoughtful way.

Friends and colleagues have been sending me links to ChatGPT, fearing that this will kill off my livelihood. As an SEO copywriter, at least on the surface, it can produce articles in minutes for cents while it takes me hours and hundreds of dollars of investment later.

With that scary thought in mind, should I learn how to code these machines instead of competing against them?

The written word by a scribe’s hand has been around for tens of thousands of years; we aren’t extinct just yet.

The Limitations of AI-written copy

The irony of logging into ChatGPT is the reCAPTCHA asking if you aren’t a robot. AI cannot access itself, it would seem.

I asked it “How do I optimise my content for Google?” - and it returned a pretty decent list of best-practice SEO techniques. Use H1, H2, etc. headings, use internal and external links, upload sitemaps, conduct keyword research. Couldn’t fault it there.

Then I asked it something more subjective - something that required real-world experience to answer.

“Who's the better Starfleet captain, Picard or Sisko?” If you don’t speak nerd, this is the eternal debate as to whether who is the better fictional starship commander - Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D or Captain Sisko of Deep Space Nine and the Defiant in the iconic Star Trek spinoffs.

Here’s where things got interesting; or from my perspective, quite boring.

Its opening line was this:

It's difficult to say definitively who the better Starfleet captain is between Jean-Luc Picard and Benjamin Sisko, as it ultimately comes down to personal preference.

That’s not what I asked, ChatGPT. I asked who is better.

It rattled off, in natural-language, how Picard was a level-headed, intellectually curious, and stoic diplomat; Sisko by contrast was an impulsive yet decisive warrior who let his emotions guide him more often than not.

That’s all fantastic; but AI will never ever give you a “straight” answer. So who’s better, HAL? I am unable to tell you that, Dave.

If it was attempting to persuade me one way or the other - the essence of sales - it was doing a pretty poor job.

Fortunately for us mere mortal copywriters, Google has seen the inherent flaw in AI copywriting and adjusted its PageRank algorithm, the fundamental programming behind its search engine, to accommodate.

Preempting the rise of AI - Google’s E-E-A-T

Prior to 2018, Google’s quality index rated pages in terms of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T). If a page could demonstrate more of these attributes compared to others, it would rank higher in Search Engine Page Results (SERPs).

In August of 2018, Google added another metric to the ranking system: Experience. (E-E-A-T.)

Google is essentially asking if the writer behind the content has accumulated actual, real-world experience on their chosen topic. Have they actually made Gramma’s Sausage Gravy & Biscuits? Have they actually stood underneath and witnessed the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel? Have they binge watched Star Trek: The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine to truly evaluate whether Picard or Sisko is the better captain?

An AI could have high levels of Expertise (they have the entire internet at their disposal), and in turn Authoritativeness or Trustworthiness owing to prior social proof, high traffic, or user ratings on a particular site.

However, if this high E-A-T site begins churning content written by a machine lacking Experience, their ranking will be soon be diminished in comparison to a site that has a real human that has actually done all the things it’s writing about.

Expertise is also a subjective measure - just because I changed my oil on my car, does that make me a motor mechanic? Hardly. How do I stack up against Star Trek nerds who saw the first television run in 1966 and stuck with it ever since? At the end of the day, it’s for the reading public to decide.

Training and formal education can go a long way to establish credibility as a subject matter expert or influencer - but I can’t sit here and say that I learned everything there is to know about copywriting by attending university. That took independent research, trial and error, informal learning, and practice.

AI copywriting is cheap and fast, but never good

If you’re a business and you’re thinking that SEO copywriting “costs too much” we now have something that can do it for free. But should you use it?

Remember the triangle of value: good, cheap, and fast - you only ever get to pick two.

AI copywriting seems to pick “cheap and fast” each time, every time. That doesn’t bode well if you have high search engine ranking aspirations in the short-term or long-term. AI will always be one step behind human minds doing real and original research.

The Hungarian scholar and author Arthur Koestler once remarked, “true creativity often starts where language ends.” For AI, there is no end to language. It can only regurgitate or synthesise what we feed it.

For now, pioneers will always be flesh and blood; and machines will be playing second fiddle.

SPOILER (RED) ALERT

To me, Sisko is clearly the better captain.

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Get your own human-written and award-winning copywriting for your business right here at I Sell Words!

How Will Copywriting Change In 2023?

In the 1990s, the internet (or just “Internet”) was referred to as the information superhighway. Many on-ramps and off-ramps taking you where you want to go from point A to point B. After the smartphone revolution in 2007, the World Wide Web resembled less a highway and more of a vending machine - content was now on demand, curated by algorithm, stopping and starting at the whim of the user.

Copywriting was once the province of “Mad Men” who wrote pithy, predictable, and gimmicky headlines.

For the most part, they were effective.

Now, headlines are boring in comparison to other forms of content. Text is competing against short videos on TikTok, pictures on Instagram, and podcasts on Spotify. Not only that, but endless streams of them, all the time.

Your business isn’t competing against other businesses, it’s competing for attention. This is the crucial distinction between doing copywriting the old way and doing it the new way in 2023.

COPYWRITING From New Media To The Norm

Let’s assume the “snappy headline” is no longer relevant since the competition is just too fierce and compelling. What must you do right away? Your content and copywriting should convey the value of your product or service in a way that is educational, insightful, and interesting.

If you can't connect with your audience, you won't be successful since they'll go on to the next exciting thing. These constant bursts of content releases dopamine chemicals into people's brains to maintain their bio-transmitter levels and hold their attention.

Former Facebook engineers have since admitted their medium was built around “continuous partial attention,” as Justin Rosenstein. inventor of the ‘like’ button, told the The Guardian.

If you can't convince potential customers to remain, you lose them. However, you need to know how to maintain consumer interest throughout the entire transaction. You must establish a compelling value proposition, a compelling story, and a reason for people to care if you want to do it well.

The curiosity Factor in copywriting

Curiosity is always the call for attention. One of the most famous examples in narrative storytelling instills a burning curiosity that leaves even five-year olds spellbound: a flickering, repeating hologram of a woman saying, “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

Who is that? Who is Obi-Wan? What kind of help? Why is he her only hope?

We are inherently and naturally highly interested as humans.

You can hold someone’s interest for a while if you tell them something intriguing and engaging without immediately providing the solution.

In the end, we want people to understand that we have something that can benefit them, and that is what we as copywriters are trying to convey to them with this interest. People need our help. Someone's time is wasted if your product or service doesn't genuinely provide something of value. They'll be irate if they spend five seconds or five hours with you if you don’t give them anything truly valuable.

The last thing you need is a disgruntled customer since they won't do business with you again. It cannot be overstated how little time you have to capture and hold someone's attention in the present environment with all of your competitors. It follows that your headline, hook, and entrance point into that person's world has to be intriguing otherwise it’s a flick of the thumb and on to something else.

Creating The Compelling Narrative

The first part is giving someone a reason to be interested in what you have to say - which is how you sell. Motivation is what drives characters in narrative fiction, and it’s what drives humans to do pretty much everything. In business, the motivation may be the profit motive. In Law and Order: SVU, the motivation might be something more sinister.

Then, comes Information. Information that a target audience can actually use. Not just “five tips” that have been recycled ad nauseam, but information that is the entry point into a grander and more compelling narrative.

Once Luke takes R2D2 to Obi-Wan, he learns that Princess Leia is seeking the old man’s help after a failed diplomatic mission to Alderaan. We enter the world of the dastardly Galactic Empire, swashbuckling Jedi, scheming bounty hunters, and an entire galaxy of creatures. Will the Rebel Alliance prevail? Every scene in Star Wars ended on an old serial style cliffhanger by design - we all couldn’t wait to see what the next scene had in store.

By sharing a little of your experience or explaining why you might be able to relate to their suffering, you are also connecting with them. And the world's top start-ups and businesses are built on the principle of relieving someone else's suffering or making a difficult task simpler.

Heeding The Call To Action

The next step is to give the customer a Call to Action. These can range from asking customers to follow your channel or to look at the free report or case study at the bottom of an email. It could ask someone to begin a risk-free trial. It may be to purchase a product or sign up for a free consultation. Giving consumers the next step in the process of becoming and keeping a client is the ultimate destination on this journey.

The more value you can provide people, the more trust they will develop in you. The more examples you can provide of the job you can really execute, the more probable it is that they will become your clients or customers.

Always conclude with a strong call to action, and be extremely precise about what you want them to do.

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How To Write Evergreen Content For Your Business

Living in a fast paced world where news goes in one ear and out the other in a matter of minutes, having solid evergreen content for your business will feel like herding cats - cats who may or may not exist depending if you look at them or not. (Schrödinger’s content, perhaps?)

With some businesses, some truths remain self evident. Good narrative writing, no matter what language you speak, will always need a beginning, middle, and an end. In Accounting, showing people how to balance their books will always be a valuable skill to impart.

So what is evergreen content, and how do you write it for your business?

What Evergreen Content Looks Like - And What It Doesn’t Look Like

Evergreen content is content that will be relevant now, tomorrow, and (hopefully) five years from now. Evergreen topics are ones that people will always be interested in and will search for consistently.

Topics based on:

• Recent news or current events - X did Y at Z time

• Temporary trends and fads

• Pop culture

• Statistics or reports

Are not evergreen, as the map they are trying to create will not correspond to the real-world territory for very long. There’s nothing more disheartening finding out-of-date statistics when conducting a research project.

Evergreen topics may look like:

• How to come up with ideas for your blog

• How to write a mission statement

• Steps for creating and sticking to a budget

• Choosing complimentary colours for your logo

Usually, evergreen topics are highly abstract in nature - they don’t focus on a specific application that may not exist in a year or two - and conversely they don’t try to predict the next best thing. It remains as relevant now as it will five or even ten years down the track.

Researching and Writing Evergreen Content

Evergreen content needs to be thoroughly researched - even if you feel that the topic is “played out,” you can conduct research by looking up already popular articles on the topic. You know you have researched the topic to its limit when you are finding new articles or websites that contain almost the exact same information.

Now that you have your research, it’s time to write the content. Evergreen content is rarely “novel” - but there’s nothing preventing you from putting your own spin on things. Coming up with new ideas for blogs is a broad topic - though you could drill down into a niche such as Finance or Automotive to appeal to a select audience. You may want to produce smaller pieces, or create long-form ‘skyscraper’ content that touches on almost everything there is to know about the topic.

Evergreen content should be aimed at laypeople or beginners. It shouldn’t contain jargon; unless it’s vital to the topic. At any rate, you need to explain what it means and how it fits into the broader subject.

Evergreen Content and SEO

Evergreen content should form part of your comprehensive SEO and content strategy. That means choosing the right keywords, optimising the meta descriptions, having relevant headings, adding links and having good backlinks. It should be authoritative and valuable to others - not a cynical play at boosting your Search Engine Results.

Repurposing Evergreen Content

You may be thinking - once I’ve written my evergreen content, that’s it - I’ve painted myself into a corner. I can’t say the same thing on the same topic twice! That may be true, but you can refresh evergreen content by:

• Turning it into a video or podcast.

• Reminding your audience of the content via social media.

• Looking at the “state of” or “trends in” the topic as a follow-up (which unfortunately is not evergreen, but may be useful for others in their research.)

• Create case studies based on others who have followed your advice.

• Turn your information into an infographic.

• Use it as the basis for an email onboarding campaign.

• Tailor it for other websites or niches.

I’ve worked with businesses where I’ve written evergreen content on subjects so many times I’ve seen them in my dreams. The information is relevant but tailored for certain audiences. “How to get a car loan with bad credit,” with a little creativity and research can also become “Tips for single dads to get a car with impaired credit” which speaks directly to certain demographics.

What’s Next

That’s up to you - pick something you’re knowledgeable in, something other people will find useful, and start writing!

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Looking to get your own evergreen content up and running, written by a copywriter who’s worked with some of Australia’s top ASX 200 companies? Contact me to get started!

What is Digital Marketing In 2022?

Digital marketing - we’ve all likely heard the term being bandied about in boardrooms and offices - but what is it really? Marketing is the process and art of identifying and satisfying customer needs through mass communication. Marketing has been aided by digital means since the 1960s, with mainframes crunching demographic numbers for advertising agencies. However digital marketing refers to marketing purely using media driven by digital means - the World Wide Web, hand-held computing, electronic billboards, and so on. Now that our culture is digital, our marketing is also digital. This gives marketing greater speed, accuracy, and channels to promote products and services than ever before.

Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

The biggest difference between “traditional” marketing and digital marketing is that digital marketing is often bi-directional - audiences can “talk back” to brands and companies. This can be a blessing and a curse for digital marketers, who can use the data to refine their product or service; but also means managing negative feedback and how that can effect community and sales. So what is digital marketing in 2022?

Digital Marketing Channels

Digital marketing companies will often tout they are “channel agnostic” or “omni-channel” - meaning they employ as many media (that is, carriers of messages) as possible. Digital marketing channels need not be discrete: they often overlap and complement one another. For example, let’s take a look at the web and Search Engine Optimisation first.

Search Engine Optimisation

If you are a business and have a website, the aim is to have it shown to as many people as possible to gain as much traffic and sales as possible. This is achieved by Search Engine Optimisation, as I’ve discussed in detail here. This means organising or curating your content to match what people are searching for on Search Engines so it ranks higher in relevance and above your competitors in search engine results. This organic, or non-paid traffic, means a higher return on investment over time than paying for leads or sales over and over again.

Pay Per Click Advertising

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising has been around a long time (in computer terms) with the first ever PPC ad bought by a Silicon Valley law firm on the now defunct Global Network Navigator site as far back as September 1993.

As I wrote on my blog Crushtor.net,

“Advertising alongside search engine results pages (SERPs) became the standard in October of 2000, when Google launched its AdWords service. Companies and brands would pay for sponsored links that appear at the top of search results, bidding for the top spot using automated algorithms. When a browser clicked on the ad, the company paid for the privilege – what’s known as a “Pay Per Click” advertisement.”

By most accounts, a business can expect to earn $2 in revenue for each $1 they spend on PPC. This is further refined by using data to pinpoint where ad spend (i.e. higher quality keywords, remarketing, demographic shifts, etc.) should go to receive the maximum return on investment.

Social Media

Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are “no brainer” digital marketing platforms. Billions of people combined use social media every day, and deploying advertising and marketing through these channels is the reason why these channels exist in the first place. However, it also gives brands and companies opportunities to talk directly to consumers and hear their concerns - as well as the added challenge of responding to negative feedback. Social media marketing comprises Pay Per Click advertising, organic community management, and content strategy or curation.

Content Strategy

Content strategy, as I’ve outlined here, is a part of digital marketing in terms of reaching customers or audiences using text, video, moving images, audio, and other multimedia. The more strategic content a brand or company can leverage, the more it flows into SEO, social media, and other aspects of digital marketing.

Email Marketing (eDM)

Email marketing or electronic Direct Mail (eDM) is a powerful tool in a digital marketer’s arsenal, allowing marketing communications to be sent to willing customers (as almost all jurisdictions forbid unsolicited eDMs - aka spam.) These customers opt-in to mailing lists to recieve special offers, tips or tricks, or affiliate offers. Sort of like my fantastic eDM, which you should definitely sign up for!

Native Advertising

Native advertising is a story or piece that’s published to a blog or online news site that’s supposed to look like normal, unbranded content - but in fact is an advertisement for a product or service. This may be disclosed as “in partnership with” or “promotional consideration by.”

Videos and Podcasting

Producing video or podcast content is fast becoming a new avenue for digital marketing, as it too is a space where digital marketers can either buy up time in various (and hopefully popular) video/podcasts for impressions or launch a video or podcast series that directly markets to consumers on their own. This has some overlap with influencer marketing.

Affiliate or Influencer Marketing

One of the more recent developments in digital marketing is using affiliates or influencers - people with a substantial following on social media - to promote products or services. This could appear as native advertising - e.g. sending your new prototype watch to a watch review channel on YouTube (my favourites being The Urban Gentry and Just One More Watch) or paid advertising such as sponsored posts. Affiliates get a commission for each sale they make, usually through partner programs as run by Amazon.

Using Data Driven Marketing

One of the major differences between digital and traditional marketing is the data this type of marketing generates. Clicks, page views, bounce rates, interaction rates, demographic information - is all harvested through various applications such as Google Analytics, Google Search Consoles, or Customer Relationship Management software (CRM.) This helps marketers identify incoming search terms, what people are looking for and tailoring content to fit, and market to specific niche segments, e.g. 18-24 year old men who enjoy watching football and eating chocolate ice-cream (yes, it can get that granular!)

Does my business need Digital Marketing?

In short: yes. If you want to reach customers, create a community, and sell to a wider audience, your business absolutely must employ some measure of digital marketing. “Building it and the audience will come” is relying on hope and prayer to ensure business success. Holistic and sustained digital marketing campaigns help your business not only survive in the online marketplace, but thrive and grow into the long term.

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Do you need help with your digital marketing and copywriting in Melbourne? Contact me today!