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Marketing in the Coronavirus Age

Today, I attended a Zoom meeting for business advisors and when I was asked for advice on what marketing strategies to use during the coronavirus age, I stated the following:

First, make time to post and blog every week on LinkedIn. This is critical now as our online presence is really all we have. What should you write about?

I’m a news journalist so I’m always thinking of ideas for this. To keep it simple, brainstorm with your staff, once a week, and write down what you know about your industry or your business that could be helpful to readers. For instance, share some strategies you are utilizing to make the work you are doing for clients more efficient, more economical, or more valuable.

Second, reach out to current and former clients and take an interest in how they are doing. Find out what resources they may need and offer to connect them with others whom you know. But don’t use this time to “sell” your services. Make it about them, not you. By doing so, you may be able to deepen your relationships beyond just a “service” capacity.

Third, spend time looking at the online presence you currently have. Is your LinkedIn up to date? When was the last time you refreshed your website content? What could you add to what you already have to improve your online materials and make them more reader-friendly?

While many of the business advisors I know are working harder than ever right now, other people are experiencing lots of downtime. See if you can use that downtime efficiently and productively to take on projects that you haven’t had time to do before.

For me, Covid-19 has been a sad time – hearing about the struggles family and friends are having with the loss of their loved ones. But rather than getting anxious or angry, sad or depressed, I’m grateful that I have a business that operates primarily online, and that can readily service my clients at a moment’s notice.

All in all, I’m pretty grateful most of the time and ready to help anyone who needs help with finding a trusted advisor or someone with a certain specialty for their business or personal life. I’m always happy to help anyone who reaches out to me. I hope you and your loved ones are well and that your business survives this challenging time.

What Makes You Different or Better Than Your Competition?

This morning I attended an interesting presentation by Eloqui, which is a consultancy that helps business people improve their speaking presentations. As part of a group of 30 or so business people, I was asked to recall from my background anything that could have contributed to my success in my career as a writer for businesses.

I thought about it and recalled that, as early as 8 years old, I loved to read. Not only did I love to read, but I also loved to write. Reading expanded my vocabulary and writing helped me put into action the words I was learning from the many authors I read. Consequently, I learned to love stories about people, their lives, their experiences, and their difficulties and challenges. Mostly, I loved reading about how people had overcome their challenges and learned to use them in ways that were truly inspiring.

My interest in reading and writing led me to Emerson College where I graduated with a degree in Mass Communications. I then used my education to land a job as a radio news reporter – and later as a print news journalist – to tell people stories. That’s essentially what news journalists do: they tell stories about what they see, hear, or experience. Of course, there’s a formula that we have to use in distilling that information to the public, but broken down in its simplest terms, I learned how to tell stories about my subjects, both as a writer and a speaker.

Today, I use my love for story telling in writing about my clients: their accomplishments, their challenges, how they solve problems for their clients, and how they use their experience in unique ways to differentiate themselves (and their companies) from their competition.

Today’s exercise was a valuable one: it reminded me why, as Writer For Hire, I am unique and different from other writers in my field. I know that if you are reading this, you also can use your experience, challenges, and love for what you do in your business.

Writer For Hire Pat Kramer is a business writer, ghostwriter, and social media pro with 30 years’ experience in the news media and as a business writer and marketing/PR strategist. For more information, please visit: www.writerpatkramer.com.

My Holiday Offer – Helping You While Also Helping Your Charities

DSC_4295As I review my year, I wish I had more time to work with clients and more money to give to the non-profits I support. The Holiday season, for me, is about giving back. If you are interested in participating in my give-back efforts, please read how we can do this together.

I Want to Donate to the Charity of Your Choice!

As the year winds down, it’s a good time to review the way your communications materials are presenting you. Maybe there are changes to your services or to your staff. Perhaps you have a new offering that others don’t know about. At the very least, it’s helpful to create new messaging for the New Year to help brand your business. So during December, for every regularly – priced writing service you order (blogs, web content, ghostwriting, press releases, One Sheets, newsletters, etc.), I will gladly donate $25.00 to the charity of your choice. (If you don’t have a preference, I will likely donate to SPCLA or another animal rescue group that is fighting to survive).

End of the Year Special:

For those who have incomplete LinkedIn profiles or who aren’t sure how to use LinkedIn, I will improve your entire profile and give you a private tutorial to help you optimize how you use LinkedIn. Those who I’ve worked with say they feel more confident about using LinkedIn and as a result, post more, which ultimately results in more business. During December, I will provide this service for only $175.00 (normally $225.00).

New Website:

This year, I built a new website that is easy to read and optimized for mobile devices. I’ve added about 200 new writing samples and other useful tabs to make it more interesting: www.writerpatkramer.com. If you like my website or have used my services, I would greatly appreciate you “liking” my Writer For Hire Facebook page or writing a Yelp review.

For now, I wish you the happiest of holidays ~

Writer For Hire® Pat Kramer