What does your development process look like?

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Susan Raab

Do you ever wonder why some publishing projects stay on track and others just seem to take forever to get everything right?

The secret is in the process. People ask me, “Susan, how do I create an e-book? How’s that different from marketing copy? Or a tele-seminar?” They seem to think that each of these requires a skill set that’s completely different from all the others.

The truth is, quality products come from quality process. If you know how to execute a quality process, you can literally produce almost anything on time and on budget. Even if you’ve never done it before. Even if no one has ever done it before!

This is important because the technology for delivering information continues to evolve at an ever-accelerating speed. If you’re going to leverage the latest technologies, you absolutely must have the confidence to publish new forms and formats you’ve never published before.

Once you master the quality process, you’ll not only be able to produce all the different kinds of publications that are popular today, you’ll easily adapt and be able to publish using any communication technology that evolves tomorrow.

If you’ve been hanging out with me in Facebook, you know that last month I spent a lot of evenings in Carmel’s Sunset Center listening Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven. In the midst of one of those glorious concerts, I had a vision of a new way to illustrate the process:

I’m calling it the Integral Development Process Wheel, at least for the moment. I’ll be blogging about the four phases over the next few weeks, but I wanted you to see it now. Take a moment to let the symbols synch with your subconscious. What do they mean to you?

Meanwhile, I'm joining Technorati. Hop over and visit if you'd like: Technorati Profile

Write Like You Speak—or Not

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Susan Raab

Many writing experts proclaim, “Write like you speak” — an unfortunate sweeping generalization if I ever saw one. Trust me, there are plenty of venues where writing like you speak is totally inappropriate. Fortunately, blogging is not one of them so I can be chatty here.

I write for prospects (copywriting) as well as for customers (information products). What I know is that when you’re writing to create a relationship with a prospect, yes for heaven’s sake reveal yourself as unique human being—engaging and funny. Use all those extra words that give your writing the rhythm of your spoken voice. Use incomplete sentences, catchy constructions, even grammatical errors to catch the readers' attention, shake them out of lethargy and get them engaged.

But after you’ve taken their money, watch out! We can read at least twice as fast as we speak, when the writing style supports speed. And customers expect to be able to read what they’ve purchased at very high speed indeed. They’ve already parted with their dough and they want the value they paid for RIGHT NOW.
 

One of the challenges of creating a corporate or brand voice is to maintain unique identifying elements at deeper levels of the funnel, even as the writing style becomes less conversational and more efficient in delivering information. Yes, humor and stories still have their place, but as teachers rather than entertainers. At this point, your reputation as an expert is on the line. Stand and deliver!

Aim with Attraction

Posted on August 13, 2008 by Susan Raab

Attraction is the mysterious force that draws prospects and customers toward the deep end your funnel, where you can provide more value and make more money.

With all the hoopla over the Law of Attraction nowadays, perhaps you think attraction is no longer a mystery. But there is still one way attraction works in the funnel that many publishers miss.

The common understanding is that marketing reaches out and attracts leads, then sales converts those leads into customers, enrolling them in increasingly more valuable learning experiences.

When you look at the funnel from the top, you can see that your funnel targets your ideal client. 

You might assume that marketing’s job is to open the top of the funnel wider by bringing in more leads: 

But in fact, one end of that arrow actually represents how marketing attracts people deeper into your funnel. 

Many publishers miss the inward-facing side of attraction, the one that draws the target customer to the bulls-eye!

To aim your efforts accurately, marketing must lead every product and service your company offers. In fact, it must lead at every point where your company touches a prospect or customer. It must define (and in many cases defend) the quality of your brand at every level.

Attraction makes the sides of your funnel slippery!

Yes, you still need sales professionals to move things along. Studies show that it’s usually cheaper to upsell an existing customer than to attract a new lead. But if the sides of your funnel are sticky—well, that easy upsell potential goes out the window and your sales people will have tough sledding with existing customers to say the least.

This is why I care so passionately for the quality of products and services. Clear communication and great customer experience make upselling easy. They make your customers’ ever-increasing involvement with your company easy, pleasurable, and yes, even more valuable.

So don’t be fooled into thinking you’re selling “just educational” products. Yes, every info product must deliver the value promised on the back cover, but it must also plant the seeds for selling the next product. Make sure your product designers and developers are marketing-savvy and know exactly how to plant those seeds for you and your company.

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