How to create marketing emails that get opened

By Liz Coyle-Camp 

We all enjoy and look forward to opening emails from our friends and that’s the secret of good email marketing copy – it should behave like a friend.
If you want people to open your business emails, make your message feel and look personal – a corporate looking email that reads like it’s been put together by the marketing department in a ‘one size fits all’ address will – I guarantee - go straight into the ‘deleted’ folder.

Here are E=MC2 PR’s top 10 tips for creating emails that get noticed and opened:

1. Make your subject headline compelling: Customers will be asking “what’s in it for me?” and your headline should tell them.
2. Behave and write like a real friend: Be useful and helpful and email only when you have something important or valuable to tell them.
3. Write like you speak: Don’t get caught up in corporate or marketing speak, tell your story in your own words, in your conversation style.
4. Make your ‘From’ heading personal: Use your own name, to personalise who the communication is from.
5. Reward your readers: Share useful information or some helpful tips or advice with them.
6. Be short and to the point: Edit your text on the basis that you have 4 seconds to grab their attention.
7. Create multiple links in your message: Multiple links to the same page will increase the chances of your readers clicking to where you want them to go.
8. Have a call to action: Tell your readers what action they need to take and give them a deadline.
9. Don’t forget the ‘PS’: This is a powerful way to reinforce a ‘personal’ message
10. Proof your copy: Get someone to proofread your copy and correct any mistakes before you send your email.

Hope this helps!

How to write for business – five simple secrets

By Liz Coyle-Camp

Good business writing takes practice and the best writers are short, sharp and to the point. I've seen many talented writers enter the corporate world and lose their ability to write and communicate clearly and intelligibly.  This is because they get ‘jargonised’ and sucked into a corporate vortex of company management speak – that ‘linguistic gunge’ of uncommon and pretentious vocabulary, convoluted syntax and vague, meaningless words.

Here are a few examples:

• “We need to maximize our earnings potential and ensure high ROI with best-in-class scalability levels.” Plain English: We need to grow the business and make more money.
• “With this collaborative agreement, our companies have a great opportunity to utilise partnering synergies.”  Plain English:  By working together we can make a better product.

So, the next time you’re asked to pen a memo, write a speech, scribble-off some marketing literature or submit a monthly report, here are a few tips to keep your audience engaged if not riveted!

1. Write the way you normally speak 
2. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
3. Don’t use jargon – ever! It’s pompous, alienating and irritating!
4. Don’t write more than two pages on any subject.
5. Write as if you were the reader

Toxic leadership and the trouble with power

Too often leaders, who start off with the best intentions, go bad. It’s the power trip that goes to their heads and gets them in the end. We see it happening every day. Just this month we've witnessed the corporate arrogance of the BBC in attempting to cover-up the Jimmy Savile affair and the spectacular fall from grace of Tory MP and now former chief whip Andrew Mitchell.

This is a politician who, as secretary of state for international development, got his results by being a bully. This time however, he made the fatal mistake of picking on someone a lot bigger and more powerful than him – the police (or the police federations at least) – allegedly calling them ‘plebs’ and ‘morons’. His arrogance cost him his job when an officer wouldn't let Andrew take his bike through the front gates of Number 10. No doubt the sobering experience of unemployment will be a lesson that brings him back down to earth.

Toxic Leadership

Power corrupts
We come across power maniacs in all areas of our lives. They can be politicians, councillors, school governors, company bosses, celebrities, church officials – just about anyone in a position of power that’s unchallenged for too long. Lord Acton’s words ‘Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely,’ are wise ones indeed. It’s when the powerful are allowed to rule unfettered – usually because people are afraid of them or can’t face the agony of formally challenging them - that they become ‘toxic’.

As ‘Team Cameron’ and ‘Team Obama’ set their sights on second terms of office, let’s hope that they don’t turn toxic. Richard Nixon’s spectacular fall from the American presidency happened because he was arrogant enough to think that the rules which apply to us – namely right and wrong – didn't apply to him. Why? Because he believed he was acting in his party’s best interests and he was above the law. What a mistake!

Great leaders are great listeners

Great leadership is, first and foremost, about listening and letting other people have their say. It’s about handling power and influence with responsibility, humility and due care. It’s also about treating people with respect and remembering that everyone is entitled to an opinion and free speech without fear of retribution.

There’s an interesting study by the University of Exeter which explores how leaders fall from grace. It happens when they stop listening to the people they lead and start believing in their own self-importance and hype. The study also shows how people in leadership positions so often become intoxicated by power. When they do, the bullying and harassing behaviour starts. Why? Because they know people are afraid of them, or at least can’t be bothered with the angst involved in formally challenging them, and they can get away with it. And for a time, while their followers are willing to collude, they do.

The study also shows that great leaders have common success strategies. These include being good listeners and being sensitive to other people’s views and opinions. They tend to be positive, modest and inspirational people who share success.

In short, the best leaders are not driven individuals with aggressive, domineering personalities who act as control freaks. In fact, the research clearly suggests that, the more power leaders or managers get and the bigger their heads swell, the more out of touch with reality they’ll become. People in positions of authority need to keep in mind that the best and most successful politicians, businessmen and managers are good at supporting ‘all’ the people they represent.

Top 4 PR mistakes directors make when delivering bad news

it’s not difficult to see why the arrogant
former RBS boss Fred ‘The Shred’ Goodwin
became one of Britain’s most publicly
detested bankers.

What are the most common PR mistakes that company directors make when they have to deal with bad news?

Here are E=MC2 Public Relations top four executive PR blunders:

1. They delay in announcing the bad news or try to bury it by issuing a press release late on a Friday night hoping the media have gone home for the weekend. Never delay, the longer you do, the bigger and uglier you’ll become in the news when the story does break.

2. They don’t own up to their mistakes and show genuine sympathy and compassion for those affected because they’re too worried about the legal implications of saying ‘I’m sorry’.  Apologising is not necessarily an admission of guilt but an expression of empathy and concern.

When bad news breaks, showing you care can go a long way in building good brand relations with the public and your customers.

Just look what happened to the reputation of BP’s ‘Woe it’s me’ chief exec Tony Hayward when the Deepwater Horizon disaster broke. Not only did he wait weeks to apologise to the millions of people affected by the oil spill – he made it quite clear to the US public that he wished it would be over so he could get back to his holiday.

That arrogance in the face of an environmental catastrophe of massive proportions generated the wrath of America’s President Obama, cost BP billions of dollars in compensation and Hayward ultimately, his job.

3. They blame it on the lawyers because they’ve been advised to say ‘no comment’. ‘No comment speaks volumes which is why legal eagles are not media relations experts. Their job is to keep people out of prison, not out of the press. There is no such thing as no comment so don’t go there!

4. They don’t take immediate action and address the problem or situation. People want to know that you are doing everything in your power to fix the problem or at least alleviate it on day one not day five. Keep them informed about what you are doing throughout the PR crisis unlike former Royal Bank of Scotland boss, Fred ‘The Shred’ Goodwin – Britain’s most vilified banker.

While Captain Smith took responsibility for sinking the Titanic and went down with his ship, greedy Fred, sank the world’s biggest bank and the British economy while trying to save himself and keep his massive pay-off and multi-million pound pension.  No wonder he’s wanted for ‘bank robbery, looting and criminal neglect!”

Twitter for business - 10 tips on how to build a relevant following

Twitter for business - 10 tips on how to build a relevant following

Are you using Twitter for business and is it working for you? How many followers do you have and are they relevant to your business or simply white noise?

If you are looking to grow your followers, remember, it’s not how many you have but how relevant they are.

Twitter followers - quality not quantity counts

If you have 10,000 followers who don’t engage with you, your Twitter communications are wasted and pointless [see Arthur’s blog on Social media is great for business if you have a strategy].

If you want to make an impact and build your Twitter following, you need to be applying the following tactics:

1. Start with a good profile that engages and includes a photo or company logo and your location.
2. Identify and follow people who are likely to be interested in what you are saying.
3. Tweet content that’s helpful and interesting to your followers.
4. Talk about others, not just yourself.
5. Tweet when you have something interesting and useful to say and don’t bombard your followers with meaningless drivel.
6. Promote your Twitter account through other channels like Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube and Pinterest pages so that followers can connect with you.
7. Unfollow people who don’t follow you back.
8. Prefix your tweets with hashtags (#) on interesting or popular subjects you are talking about.
9. Look for people who share the same interests as you and connect with them. You can do this via a keyword search. For example, if you are interested in lemurs of Madagascar, you could do a keyword internet search or a Twitter hashtag (#lemurs Madagascar) search.
10. Retweet your most popular tweets.

Business jargon is bad writing

If you want to be understood – speak simply and clearly. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Why then is this so difficult to do in business communications? What happened to plain English and why do we put up with so much meaningless corporate twaddle in the workplace?  Nonsense like:

“Integrated management options”; “functional third-generational programming”; “joined-up organisational capability”,…what corporate claptrap will they come up with next?

We’re all familiar with it - corporate jargon - that brain-numbing, business mumbo jumbo we have to suffer on rambling corporate websites, woolly staff memos, stuffy company policies and self-important mission statements. Pure, puffy, unadulterated verbal drivel that’s rich in long-winded, complicated word nonsense and packed with ridiculous and mostly American sporting metaphors. How many times have you heard: “We need a level playing field to win this”, “As a company, we punch above our weight,” and, “Could you give me a ball-park figure for that?” and of course, “Let’s get our ducks in a row first.”  Can we stop the rot? Buzz words and phrases that serve no other purpose than to bamboozle and confuse even the person delivering them.

Jargonitis

 Here, for example, is a classic case of public sector ‘jargonitis’:

“….will demonstrate the practicability and cost-effectiveness of integrating and provisioning service offerings beyond institutional boundaries, either as part of a Shared Service arrangement or through an externally hosted provision, including cloud-based services or applications.”

Hmmm…..that’s clear as mud and definitely one for this year’s Campaign for Plain English Golden Bull Awards!

Clearly, jargon speakers and writers suffer from one or all of the following: they’re compelled to use corporate buzzwords as a substitute for thought, they have an inferiority complex which comes out in a superior way; alternatively, they are trying to cover up the fact that they don’t know what they are talking about.

Plain English is genius

Great communicators from Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King, have always been able to express their thoughts and ideas in vivid and down-to-earth English that even a three-year-old would understand. In truth, the most effective and powerful communications are successful because they create an emotional connection with the listener which speaks a truth we can all relate to and identify with.   

So, if you want your business communications to really mean something to your audience, make them simple, meaningful and emotive.

The E=MC2 Dejargonator

Here’s a list of jargon-busters to help you on your way – our thanks to Grammar Party, Say No To Jargon and the E=MC2 Public Relations hefty jargon collection. This is an evolving list so please feel free to send us your contributions. The Plain English Campaign is also accepting nominations for their 2012 Golden Bull Awards at: http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/news/award-nominations.html

Actionable: Which projects are actionable this year?
PLAIN ENGLISH: Which projects can we do this year?

Action item: This is an action item for this week.
PLAIN ENGLISH: This is something we need to do this week.

Air out: Let’s air out that issue in today’s meeting.
PLAIN ENGLISH: Let’s discuss that issue in today’s meeting.

At this juncture: We can’t go public at this juncture.
PLAIN ENGLISH: We can’t go public at this time.

Ball-park figure: Give me a ball-park figure for the job.

PLAIN ENGLISH:  Give me an estimated cost for the job.

Blue-sky thinking: We need blue-sky thinking.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We need to think with an open mind.

Brain dump:  We’ll need a brain dump from you after the meeting.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We’d like you to brief us after your meeting.

Bring to the table: What can you bring to the table for this project?
PLAIN ENGLISH: What can you contribute to this project?

Close the loop: We’ll have to close the loop on this conversation.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We need to stop talking about this.

Core competencies: These are our company’s core competencies.
PLAIN ENGLISH: These are what our company does best.

Core values:  Our core values underpin the company.

PLAIN ENGLISH: The company has operating principles.

Close of play:  He wants it by close of play today

PLAIN ENGLISH: He wants it by the end of today.

Disconnect:  There’s a real disconnect here.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We have a problem.

Domiciled: He’s domiciled in Spain.

PLAIN ENGLISH: He lives in Spain.

Expeditiously: It needs to be done expeditiously.

PLAIN ENGLISH: Do it quickly.

Face time: We need more face time.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We need to talk to each other more.

For the purpose of: For the purpose of clarity…

PLAIN ENGLISH: For clarity…

Forthwith: It needs to be done forthwith.

PLAIN ENGLISH: Do it immediately.

Granularity: There’s not enough granularity in this.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We need more detail.

Think outside the box: We need to think outside the box.

PLAIN ENGLISH: We need creative ideas.

(http://grammarpartyblog.com/2012/01/24/business-jargon-to-avoid-so-you-dont-sound-like-a-douche/)

Tips and techniques for speeches and presentations

How to make a speech ‘sizzle’

1. Preparation – fail to prepare, prepare to fail!

• Preparation and practice: research and prepare your speech well in advance and rehearse it at least five times in front of the mirror or until you feel you know it. Great speakers know their speech inside out but look as if they are delivering their words off the cuff. Knowing and being comfortable with your ‘lines’ means you can focus on eye contact, delivery and engaging with your audience.
• PowerPoint and other support materials: never rely on these or use them as a crutch. Your slides or audio-visual materials should support and help illustrate what you are saying but never be a substitute for you. The best way to test how reliant you are on these aids is to ask yourself what would happen if your PowerPoint broke down – would you be able to continue effectively without it? If you couldn’t, you need to kick the habit and re-think your presentation.
• Tailor your material to your audience: if it’s an after dinner speech, you need lots of humour. If you are speaking on an expert subject, make it informative, interesting and engaging.
• Keep it short and entertaining: 10 minutes is enough to keep people riveted and leave them wanting more!  Use the remaining time up in your question and answer session.  Think about it, who ever complained about a speech being too short?
• Test-drive your speech: on a partner or close friend and ask them for feedback and timing.
  
• Check your microphone and equipment works: there’s nothing like a technical hitch to put you off your game so make sure everything’s in working order and audio levels and fedback issues have been checked so that your audience can hear you.

2. Speech-writing and delivery tips and techniques

• Use an attention-grabbing title: apart from hooking and attracting people to hear you speak, a good headline grabs people’s attention, gets them curious and interested and can help build the event and the audience’s excitement.
• Plain English: the best speakers bring simple language to life. Don’t alienate and bamboozle your audience with jargon, management speak or pretentious and complicated technical speak. People who do this either don’t understand their subject well enough to communicate it in simple terms or have had a creative by-pass’ and are born to be boring. Here’s a great example of meaningless, alienating twaddle: "Neoclassical endogenous growth theory and a symbiotic relationship between investment in people and infrastructure." – Gordon Brown, former British prime minister
• Opening and closing lines should pack a punch: metaphors, drama and using misdirection make great speech openers and ice-breakers and are a powerful way to hook your audience, link to your message and set up the key points you want to make.
• Pause to create dramatic effect. It will keep people listening and give your speech impact and energy. Remember, to also pause before you start speaking, it’s a great way to calm you and your audience.
• Pace: don’t rush your words but also don’t be afraid to change the pace of your speech to add emphasis, drama and impact to your message. It will also help to keep your audience engaged.
• Pitch: occasionally alter the volume and tone of your delivery. Speaking quieter or louder and being more cheerful or more serious all adds dramatic effect and keeps the attention of your audience.
• Enthusiasm: if you are enthusiastic about your subject, then your audience will be too.  Enthusiasm gives a speech energy and strength so don’t leave home without it.
• Eye-contact engages your audience.  Create spots in the room at the back, sides, centre and front of your audience and run your eyes regularly across them. Find three or four individuals in different parts of the room that you can direct the occasional line and hand-gesture to. 
• Hand movements: which help you express your words and meaning are great, but make sure they look natural. We’ve seen some pretty silly-looking CEOs gesturing like manic robots because they’ve been told to do so by their PRs. It looks hilarious and turns you into a complete ‘wally’ and ‘chump’ in the eyes of your audience and the people you want to impress and influence!
• Move about if you can: if you have the room to move about and use the floorspace where you are speaking, do it. It’s a great way of keeping people’s attention, particularly if you’ve got a dry topic. It also allows you to make your presentation more upfront, close and personal for your listeners.

3. Structure and content of a speech

• Start with a structure: decide on what your main message is and then start breaking it down into three key points you want to make. These can be further broken down depending on how much detail you want.
  In short: the beginning should tell your audience what you are going to say, the middle: telling the story and the ending: telling them what you’ve said.
• Tell people something new, interesting and memorable.
• Bring the story to life with examples and real-life experiences: a great way to get people listening to you is to weave a relevant stories or examples of yours or other people’s experiences which bring the presentation to life for the listener.
  
• Incorporate memorable ‘one liners’ and colourful metaphors:  these help to grab the readers attention, keep them interested in what you are saying and make your speech memorable. Here are some example: "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail,” Speak softly and carry a big stick and you will go far.” – Theodore Roosevelt
• Use short, sharp sentences for dramatic effect. Examples of short sentences: ‘Failure is not an option’ and ‘The time is now’.
• Apply positive adjectives and adverbs. Instead of for example: "We face many challenges" say "We face many exciting challenges"; or "We will work on our problems" but "We will work together to solve our problems".
• Use alliteration to make words memorable and quotable:  for example: ‘Broadband Britain’, ‘Britian’s best business bank’, ‘the digital divide’, and ‘formidable, fashionable, functional.’
• Make comparisons: with other organisations, competitors and people’s situational experiences and highlight what can be learned from them.
• Use three-part sentences to create dramatic effect. This technique is called a ‘tricolon’, for example: ‘Government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ and ‘We came, we saw, we conquered’.
• Repeat your key words for dramatic effect.  British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill’s famous speech is a good example: ‘We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fighton the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets…’
• Use memorable one-liners. For example: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Sir Winston Churchill
• Opening witticisms: these are good for warming-up the audience at the start of your speech or presentation. Here are some good examples: "I don't mind how much my minister’s talk, as long as they do what I say." -  former British prime minster Margaret Thatcher.
• End with a high impact statement: that reinforces your opening line. If for example, you were delivering a speech on the importance of business change, you might end with a famous quote: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” – George Bernard Shaw, and "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." – James Baldwin.

4. Don’t apologise for being there! 

• Your audience has great expectations of you, don’t disappoint them at the first hurdle by telling them you aren’t very good at speaking, that you don’t know why you’ve been asked to speak, that you are nervous or any other excuse.