It can be challenging to decide which one among the many science marketing blogs to read. Where are you going to get consistently great information? Who posts regularly enough that you will stay engaged? Who is engaging to read?

I ask these questions every time I start looking for new blogs to read. I’ve always wanted to have a short list in front of me. So what follows in no particular order are five science marketing blogs that I find, in some way, exceptional.

1. Marketing for Scientists

Who they are:

Marc Kuchner is the primary writer for this blog. An astrophysicist, Kuchner has created a Facebook group,  several workshops, a book, and writes for other websites as well as for the Marketing for Scientists blog.

Why they’re great:

Kuchner writes for scientists who are just venturing into the marketing world as well as for more experienced marketers. His posts on how to dress for success and similar topics are quite informative. His recent post on the best recent science marketing events was enjoyable for experienced marketers as well as educational for those new to the field. It not only reviewed innovative ideas, it also gave readers a sense of how to apply similar ideas themselves. What’s even better is that Kuchner is funny, engaging, and personal. When you read his posts, you feel like you’re part of an important world, a secret club.

2. Forma Life Science Marketing blog

Who they are:

This blog is written primarily by the executive team at Forma Life Science Marketing, a life science marketing firm that offers services ranging from market research to marketing plans.

Why they’re great:

Forma features one of the widest selections of topics in the science marketing world. I’ve read articles on trade shows one minute and social media dashboards the next. Another wonderful thing about Forma’s blog is the way they structure their articles. With helpful summaries and subheadings, you can find the information you’re looking for quickly. The articles are clear and understandable, with examples to demonstrate the major points.

3. BioBM’s blog

Who they are:

This blog is written primarily by Carlton Hoyt, the principal consultant at BioBM, another life science marketing company.

Why they’re great:

BioBM publishes articles that address the rapidly changing world of online marketing. Each post is well researched and easy to read, short enough that you don’t get bored. BioBM illustrates their points by giving examples of both good and bad practices, allowing readers to know how to apply the information they’ve provided. This is one of the most practical blogs I’ve ever read.

4. Comprendia’s blog

Who they are:

This is another blog published by a life science marketing company. Written mainly by founder Mary Canady, it combines Canady’s scientific expertise in biochemistry with her longtime interest in marketing.

Why they’re great:

While each post I’ve read on Comprendia’s blog has been helpful, I particularly like the articles on social media. Although social media is one of the more challenging topics in online marketing, Comprendia handles it in a manner that stays true the authors’ scientific backgrounds. Each article is supported with facts and independent research. However, this blog is no one-trick pony. Comprendia’s news and advice articles on other topics are just as helpful and well written.

5. Communication Breakdown

Who they are:

North Carolina State University public information officer Matt Shipman writes the articles for this blog. A former Washington, D.C. reporter, Shipman is a freelance science writer as well.

Why they’re great:

Although primarily a science communications blog, this is one of the most helpful blogs on how to market science that I’ve ever read. From interviews with experts on topics like SEO , to posts about how to structure some types of articles, there’s something for everyone here. Shipman writes with the ease and charm of a professional writer, making each post a delight to read.

How about you? What are your favorite science marketing blogs? Let us know in the comments.

Sara Jo Powell is a marketing intern at Holley Writes LLC and a writer with a strong interest in science. Connect with her on LinkedIn and on Twitter @sarajo_powell.

The post My Top 5 Science Marketing Blogs appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

You know that saying, “everything you need to know, you learned in kindergarten?” Well… everything you need to know about writing, you learned in seventh grade. I still remember how my seventh grade English teacher would stare down at some essay I’d written and painstakingly researched and ask “so what?”

This is the prime directive for writing an incredible science blog. Ask “so what?” to everything you write. Why is it important? Why should anyone read it? So what?

Your readers are going to ask the same question. If they can’t figure out the answer, they’ll stop reading and go do something else. So how do you avoid the wastepaper basket full of articles that didn’t pass the “so what?” test? Here are three rules that can save you.

1. Make it personal

Sure, your readers want to hear about the latest scientific breakthroughs. But facts alone won’t help you pass the “so what?” test. Your readers can get the facts from a dozen other places—in newspapers, trade magazines, journals, and other blogs. What make your version unique are the stories you tell, the tidbits of personal insight.

Maybe you’re blogging about a new antiviral your company is developing. Don’t just tell people about the antiviral itself. Instead, let them know how you felt after you finished pre-clinical trials. Describe your excitement and elation.

Stories like this let your readers relate to you. This is key, because people are most interested in things that are personally relevant to them. Don’t just give them the facts; help them figure out how to feel about the facts. Help them be a part of your world.

2. Give an opinion

One of the reasons that you want to make your blog post personal is because it helps you out with rule number two: give your opinion.

If you’re writing about a new development in the genetically modified foods field, don’t just write about the development. Write about why you think it’s important to your readers. Give your readers a chance to agree or disagree.

Help them understand what you and other experts in your area are thinking. By giving an opinion, you’ll engage your readers and give them an opening to join the conversation.

3. Don’t just talk about the big hits

No one wants to read something they’ve already read three times. So here is rule number three.

Don’t just talk about the big hits. You’re a leader in your field. You have access to information that your readers may not have heard about. So make yourself the go-to person for hard-to-find news and unique stories.

Don’t write a post on something you’ve just seen in a major trade publication unless you have something valuable to add to the conversation. Instead, write about an innovation from your company that has yet to be picked up by a different news source.

Your readers will never wonder “so what?” about a piece of news they’ve never seen before. It’ll prompt them to read more, to find out more about you and your blog.

Quirky, odd, hidden, unusual. These are your watchwords.

Once more, with feeling

So now you know the secret to writing a great science blog. Ask “so what?” and make sure you have an answer.

Make sure you’re you and that you sound like yourself.

Make sure you’re giving an opinion and making your readers part of the conversation.

Make sure you’re talking about those special tidbits they can’t get anywhere else-make yourself unique.

Most of all, remember seventh grade.

Sara Jo Powell is a marketing intern at Holley Writes LLC and a writer with a strong interest in science. Connect with her on LinkedIn and on Twitter @sarajo_powell.

The post 3 Rules for an Incredible Science Blog appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Still, I wasn’t sure whether to position myself as a copywriter, a content developer, or a marketing writer. So I described each position to see where I best fit. I’m sharing my (edited) descriptions with you, so that next time you’re offering a commercial writing service or looking for someone who does, you’ll have a better idea what to call it.

Copywriter

When clients ask me for “copy,” I ask them what kind, although I assume it’s a sales letter, a piece of direct mail, a script for a TV or radio ad, text for a website landing page, or a catchy slogan. I equate copy with advertising or direct sales.

Some people still use “copywriter” to describe anyone who writes for commercial purposes. Traditionally though, copywriting refers to the use of persuasive language to compel readers to take action (e.g., call this number now!). Whether you’re broadcasting to a massive audience or taking a more intimate approach by reaching out to individual prospects, you’re obviously writing to sell.

I write copy, but it doesn’t constitute the bulk of my work, so I decided not to call myself a copywriter (even though I am).

Content Developer

I toyed with the idea of calling myself a “content developer” because that would be the most accurate term. In the field in which I specialize—science and health—I write almost anything that’s used for business purposes, copy or otherwise.

But “content developer” sounds so generic. Content can be anything, so anyone can develop content. There are folks on Craigslist offering to write 500-700 words for a dollar. Also, last I heard, there’s software in development that will soon replace the likes of me (doubt it).

“Content developer” does not recognize the heuristic nature of my work. Tasks are either algorithmic or heuristic. Daniel Pink, author of  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, explains it like this:

“An algorithmic task is one in which you follow a set of established instructions down a single pathway to one conclusion. That is, there’s an algorithm for solving it. A heuristic task is the opposite. Precisely because no algorithm exists for it, you have to experiment with possibilities and devise a novel solution. Working as a grocery checkout clerk is mostly algorithmic. You pretty much do the same thing over and over in a certain way. Creating an ad campaign is mostly heuristic. You have to come up with something new.”

Good writing is heuristic. I say good writing because you can certainly stuff an otherwise useless article with keywords to (hopefully) fool the search engines. Someone who wants to plagiarize repurpose another writer’s words can also use an article spinner to present multiple copies as original work.

But while this kind of thing can occasionally trick the engines, they’re awful to read. You sell to people, not to search engines. Sure, you want the search engines to get you to the right people, but once you’re there, now what? It’s like sending out an impressive resume that you can’t back up.

I don’t do this kind of writing, so to avoid misinterpretation, I decided not to use “content developer” either.

Marketing Writer

The last option was “marketing writer,” and that seemed to fit. Most of what I write helps fulfill the goals of content marketing, namely to build brand awareness, generate leads, and/or strengthen customers’ affiliation with a brand. Also, not a lot of writers use “marketing writer” to describe themselves, even though there’s relatively high keyword demand. So it works from both a descriptive and an SEO perspective.

My favorite pieces—newsletter articles, blog posts, white papers, case studies, and feature articles for trade and consumer publications—do not necessarily have a call to action. But they compel readers to act anyway because they’re informative and/or educational and useful.

I like the soft sell approach of content marketing. I like that it lends itself well to storytelling. I like the generosity. And I like that it forms communities along the way. It may take longer to see results, but once you do, there’s a higher return on investment. You’ve pre-sold your prospects, and they’re more likely to do what you want not because you told them to, but because they want to.

Copywriting and content marketing can overlap, of course. I do one more than the other, but I inevitably do both. You can have a call to action at the end of your blog post, or you can write it just like an advertorial (bad idea, though). And even if you’re writing something that’s purely informative or educational, basic copywriting principles such as using a compelling headline and grabbing the reader’s attention right away still apply.

On the other hand, just because you’re writing to sell doesn’t mean you get to be “salesy.” People hate being sold to. We’ve all learned to tune out marketing messages really well. So even though you’re looking to broadcast an ad or mailing out a sales letter, you still have to be authentic, you still have to build rapport, and most of all, you still have to offer something that’s truly valuable.

The post Do You Need a Copywriter, a Marketing Writer, or a Content Developer? appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

But as every full-time entrepreneur knows, you work your butt off the first few years. You don’t mind the long hours because it’s “your thing,” but working long hours also means less time for sleep, exercise, and preparing healthy meals.

That’s exactly where I am. I haven’t been to the gym in months, and I eat way too much fast food. I get an average of 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day. I also keep postponing routine doctor’s visits because I’m busy. When you’re driven toward an all-consuming goal, most things fall by the wayside, including healthy habits. Oh, you know it’s all going to catch up with you, but you bargain with the universe to give you just a few more months of uninterrupted productivity and then for sure, you’ll exercise and stop going to Krispy Kreme.

Medicine for entrepreneurs

So I’m glad I met Dr. Cory Annis on Twitter. Dr. Annis is an internist and a pediatrician with a brick-and-mortar office in Carrboro, NC, and patients all over the United States. She bills herself as “The Unorthodoc” who provides “mobile medicine for the modern entrepreneur.” That would be us busy folks who can’t afford a half-day sick “leave” without cutting into our bottom line.

Depending on what package the patient chooses and where the patient lives (residents of North Carolina, New York, and California have more options), Dr. Annis offers everything from regular online video appointments, a personal health record securely uploaded “in the cloud,” and recommended preventive/proactive steps for the coming year, to all of the above plus a full range of primary care physician services (e.g. prescription initiation, referrals, bi-yearly physicals and any follow ups, etc.)

She doesn’t accept insurance, but the fees are reasonable and can come out of an HSA. Many self-employed folks pay for their health care the way I do, so it works. What’s interesting is that not accepting insurance is actually one of the reasons why Dr. Annis is able to offer more services for the same price.

Dr. Annis says she launched Unorthodoc to wrestle back most of the dollars she earns back into patient care, because, well, the desire to keep people healthy is why she became a doctor in the first place!

She hated using up 60% of every healthcare dollar on administrative costs. Only 18 hours of Dr. Annis’ typical 60-hour workweek is spent interacting with patients. The rest is spent on overhead, managing the practice, filling out forms, hunting down information a patient has likely already filled out at another provider’s office, and meeting the reimbursement requirements of insurance companies. This is actually a good percentage; the average for primary care physicians is 70%. No wonder there aren’t that many of them left!

By charging patients outright and by eliminating the overhead associated with a physical office, Dr. Annis’ Unorthodoc practice is able to allocate 90% of her hours to patient care.

Ten minutes per patient

Seventy-five percent of what primary care doctors do falls under the category of coaching, interpreting, analyzing, explaining, reassuring, and advising—the kinds of interactions that translate well to online video conferencing. Yet sadly, with insurance reimbursement, Dr. Annis has to fight hard to get that important patient interaction time reimbursed.

I’m not surprised. I came to the U.S. on a student visa six years ago. Four months into my first year in graduate school, I saw a doctor for a physical exam. I told her I was feeling a little sad, isolated, and low on energy, which was understandable given that I was 10,000 miles away from home with no family nearby. The doctor didn’t even get to that part; she immediately asked if I wanted a prescription for Celexa. Total time she spent with me: less than 10 minutes.

I bet she’s a good doctor, except that she had to see a dozen or more patients after me. And when you don’t have time to spend with your patient, you might want them to leave you with something, anything, that makes it feel like you helped them, such as a prescription.

Not that there was anything wrong with me at the time, but if there was, how would she know?

So I’m curious to see what it’s like to have someone who can actually take the time to get to know me. Someone who can commit to an initial 90-minute online video appointment, a monthly 30-minute online visual check-in, and responses to email questions along the lines of, “I have a tiny bump on my neck. Does that mean I have cancer and will die?”

Also, no more postponed check-ins, because I won’t have to set aside half a day for the visit (if I factor in the commute, the waiting, and padding time in case of unforeseen events such that I don’t schedule other meetings). Granted, I’m in North Carolina where I can get prescriptions from Dr. Annis, but even for entrepreneurs who can only interact with her online, I think it’s a good deal.

Besides, writing prescriptions and ordering tests make up only a small portion of what doctors do. Medicine is as much an art as a science; an informed instinct that doctors develop for medical abnormalities, that I believe constitutes the real expertise they should get paid for. Because if it’s just a matter of checking things off a list, then what do we need doctors for? On the other hand, if doctors only get 10 minutes per patient, then how are they going to be able to reliably draw upon that expertise?

Until the system changes to a point where primary care physicians can afford to spend more time with patients, we’ll probably see more of them coming up with creative ways to offer their services. That, or walking away from their profession to our detriment.

The post Can’t Take a Sick Leave Without Hurting Your Bottom Line? Try Mobile Medicine appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Next time you’re writing an article or presentation, try opening with one of these:

1. Analogy. Analogies compare two seemingly unrelated things. They’re great for explaining anything that’s obscure or complicated because they pack in so much information. Take “the brain is like a computer,” for instance. In six words, you’ve communicated that the brain processes, stores, and retrieves information; has short- and long-term memory; and needs energy to function (plus a bunch of other things you associate with a computer). It’s the same with explaining the structure of an atom by comparing it to the solar system. Don’t overreach with your analogies though. The comparison has to to make sense, or you risk confusion.
2. Question. When you ask people a question, they automatically start thinking about how your message applies to them. But only if it matches their worldview. “Have you always wanted to start your own business?” will not resonate with folks who’ve always believed in the security of a full-time job and are counting the days until retirement. A question that can be answered by “No,” “I don’t know,” and “Who cares?” will backfire. Know your audience, then ask a question they can relate to.
3. Anecdote. I’ve written about how storytelling fosters emotional connection, a big factor in people’s buying decisions. Anecdotes are short human-interest stories. The best anecdotes are true, but inventing one is okay too. Just make sure it could be true, and don’t pass it off as something that really happened. Adopting a format like, “It’s the first day of high school. You’re walking toward the bus stop, feeling the weight of a half a dozen textbooks in your bag…” makes it clear that the story’s made up.
4. Aphorism. An aphorism is a familiar saying. The trick is to use one that relates naturally to your main theme. In his book, Presenting to Win, corporate presentations coach Jerry Weissman talks about a biotechnology firm formed by the merger of three companies. By starting their presentation with the aphorism, “the whole is better than the sum of its parts,” (a play on Euclid’s “the whole is equal to the sum of its parts), the company’s executives instantly communicated the synergies that their combined expertise and resources would produce.
5. Quotation. A positive endorsement about your company or your company’s products and services can quickly establish  credibility. Even a positive comment about the industry you serve has value. An company that scripts, shoots, and edits online videos, for instance, can say something like, “In a January 12, 2012 article in The Washington Post, YouTube’s Vice-President of Global Content Partnerships Robert Kyncl predicted that, in the next decade, 75% of all channels will be born on the Internet.’”
6. Fact. If you have a simple, striking fact, use it. But make it concrete. Raw statistics can be overwhelming. Easy-to-visualize facts stick. The Center for Science in the Public Interest got more people to stop eating movie popcorn by telling them that a medium-sized bag contains “more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings combined” than by stating that it had 37 grams of saturated fat.
7. Gallery. A gallery introduction gives three or more examples of a point you want to make (it’s called a gallery because it’s like lining up pictures on a wall). Here’s one I wrote recently: “Have you noticed how often anecdotes are used to introduce magazine articles? A story about a new antiviral drug would describe the everyday struggles of a mother with hepatitis C. An article about an anti-stroke campaign would profile a stroke survivor. An article about a high-tech prosthetic would chronicle how a young man found a lump (which turned out to be a tumor) in his foot.” Again, make sure you use examples your readers care about in your gallery.

Take the time to invest in a strong introduction. You only have one chance to make a first impression, right? By using any or a combination of analogy, question, anecdote, aphorism, quotation, fact, and gallery, you’ll capture your audience’s attention, and then keep it by making it easy to transition into your main points in a way that’s fluid and comfortable.

The post 7 Ways to Kick Off Your Article or Presentation appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Duke University’s banking on our desire to save money. Beginning on January 2013, Duke will be charging employees who smoke an additional $10 a month for health insurance.

“Tobacco use is linked to many cancers and other health conditions, so it drives up the cost of health care,” Duke said in a statement. Obviously, the university wants to recoup whatever extra it’s paying for employees who get sick from their bad habits. But if Duke’s also using the surcharge as an incentive for people  to stop smoking, it should probably use the money to expand its award-winning smoking cessation program as well. That’s because by itself, $10—about the cost of three lattes—won’t make much of a difference.

Sure, money can motivate people. I have a friend who quit smoking after he reassessed his budget and realized he’s been spending close to $150 a month on cigarettes.

But I’m a former smoker myself. In college, I smoked in between classes, while having coffee with friends, and in front of the computer as I banged out essays and term papers. It hurt my wallet, but I didn’t care. Even if it cost two or three times more, I would’ve done away with other things. Money wasn’t my trigger.

Survival, family, affinity

What about survival? I’m sure the Centers for Disease Control’s publicity campaign featuring a 51-year-old ex-smoker with a hole in her throat will scare thousands of people into quitting. But I would’ve just stared at that woman in horror—and gone right back to puffing.

The younger me isn’t much different from the millions of people who continue to smoke even though they know it’s a risk factor for virtually every type of chronic disease. Yes they’re scared, but the consequences are too far off, and they can always quit tomorrow. Survival’s not their hot button either. At least not for the short term.

What about family values? I know several people who quit smoking after having kids. Or after falling in love with a non-smoker they wanted to kiss.

But I also know people who smoked well beyond their children graduating from college.

What about our desire to belong? In graduate school, I started hanging out with a bunch of people who thought smoking was the grossest thing in the world. That’s what made me quit. I no longer had buddies to ruminate with while puffing on a stick.

Affinity was my hot button. Even now, six years later, I still find it difficult to sit beside someone smoking and not want to buy a pack of Capris for myself. But my husband doesn’t smoke, nor do any of my friends. If I start smoking again, I’d feel ostracized and out of place.

Real is emotional

I’m no expert at changing health behaviors. I know it’s complicated. I know that smoking is addictive, and that I probably don’t have the so-called addiction gene, given that I quit cold turkey and was successful at it.

But I do know that when it comes to making decisions that there’s a rational reason, and there’s a real reason. And real is emotional. Ultimately, it’s emotion that compels us to stop or start a behavior, buy or not buy a product, support or discount a cause.

Tobacco companies know this. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s efforts to put graphic warning labels on cigarette packs got hung up in the courts because five companies sued on the grounds that the new labels would provoke an emotional response, rather than simply convey information to consumers.

And that’s exactly why the labels would work.

So it’s great that Duke is finally making its employees accountable for their lifestyle choices. But saving money, by itself, is a rational decision. Why we save money matters more. We want to control the future, nurture our families, or exert influence over friends. We perceive money as something that leads to more fun, more choices, more power.

It’s different for everybody. By capitalizing on several emotional triggers, such as creating an environment where smoking makes people feel guilty or fearful or out of place, organizations will have a better chance of getting smokers to stop.

Besides, if someone’s willing to spend $150 a month on cigarettes, what’s an additional $10?

The post It’s Personal: 3 Hot Buttons that Drive Health Behavior appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Another reader, however, mocked the first. She replied, “If you think that ‘lede’ is either spelled wrong or too-technical jargon (in an article on writing for writers), you have no business being in any writing profession.”  Someone else told me I had “no need to apologize…[because I was] talking to people in [my] own industry who should know the term.”

Even though it hurts to be criticized, I agree with the reader who called me out. Journalists coined the term “lede” to refer to the first paragraph of an article or story, but all kinds of writers check out Ragan’s PR Daily, where the article appeared. I actually got an email from a communications manager that same day who thought “lede” was a typo, too. When I defined it for her, she replied, “I’m a communications professional who was not trained as a journalist, so it was lost on me! My apologies.”

Every industry has its own set of special words and phrases. As a marketing writer who specializes in health care, most of the materials I work with are full of incomprehensible terms. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don’t. How do I decide? Here are five questions I ask whenever I come across a word or phrase I suspect is gobbledygook:

1. Who’s my lowest common denominator? Jargon exists because it speeds up communication among people who “get” it. It’s also more precise.  “Eutrophication” is a big word, yet it’s perfectly appropriate when writing for ecologists. But if you’re writing for ecologists and the general public, direct your words to the general public.
2. Is it an abstract term? Innovative. Robust. Cutting-edge. Not only are these words overused, they also don’t say anything. Marketers use abstract terms when they don’t fully understand their product, or when they’re too lazy to find out what it is that makes it stand out. Don’t say you’re innovative. Give an example of what you’ve done that demonstrates that quality instead.
3. Is it a technical term?  “Atrial fibrillation” is jargon. So is “enzyme.” But both refer to something specific. The first to a medical condition, the second to a protein that catalyzes chemical reactions in the body. Sometimes you have no choice but to use a technical term. But define it in plain English (e.g. atrial fibrillation, the most common type of irregular heartbeat…”), and use examples to illustrate it.
4. Can I use a simpler term without changing the meaning? I prefer “open-heart surgery” to “coronary artery bypass graft surgery.” I almost always write “heart attack” instead of “myocardial infarction.” But what if it’s an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction? There’s more than one type of heart attack, and if you’re referring to this type, using the general term could mislead your reader. So it’s okay to use the technical term, but again, define and illustrate it for a non-specialized audience.
5. What’s my objective for using this term? Sometimes it’s okay to complicate things. Some companies purposely use or even make up jargon to differentiate a commodity product. According to direct response copywriter Bob Bly, Montblanc decided to market its pens as “writing instruments” because while you can buy pens for a dollar at the corner store, writing instruments can fetch upwards of a hundred bucks.

Expect a perfectly incomprehensible word or phrase to slip through these questions occasionally, especially if you use it all the time. I’ve translated many that scientists have insisted a person with a high school education should understand. But when it comes to a term peculiar to journalists, I fell into the same trap. Well, guess what—I have a journalism background. Still, it’s a good guide. It kept me from using the phrase, “above the fold,” for instance!

The post When Is It Okay to Use Jargon? appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

I thought it was a little extreme, but the F made me keenly aware of the consequences of mistakes in reporting. When I left journalism for public relations and marketing, I applied the same gun-to-the-head approach to press release writing.

Now about the word, “press.” I know press releases are no longer just being sent to the media. Distribution services like PR Web and Business Wire (not to mention Google Alerts, Twitter, Facebook, and other tools people can use to monitor and share content) now allow for a strategy that targets customers directly. David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, actually prefers to call them “news releases” instead of “press releases,” so it doesn’t sound like they’re exclusively for the press.

But someone else writing an article about your business does more for its credibility than you writing an article about it. Especially if that someone works for a reputable publication. So if engaging the media is still part of your strategy—and it should be—here are 10 press release boo boos that far too many pitches contain. Do your best to avoid them.

1. It didn’t go through an editor/fact-checker. I got an F for misspelling Colombia. In business, it could be worse. Several years ago, a communications manager for a skin care company in San Jose, CA, sent out a press release encouraging readers to call a 1-800 number. It had one incorrect digit. It didn’t take long before the manager was flooded with calls from editors and customers angry or amused at having dialed a number for phone sex.
2. There’s no news. The fact that your CEO got an award is not news. It’s not news that she’s going to a conference either. Not unless the award was for a revolutionary medical device that saves people’s lives or software that reduces waiting times at hospital ERs. When you’re writing a press release, always ask: Why should the publication’s readers care about this product/service/milestone? What value does it provide to readers? What problem does it solve? If you don’t have an answer, then it’s not newsworthy.
3. It’s salesy. Press releases are not sales letters. They’re not ad copy. So take out the “you,” “we,” and “us.” Don’t use overly-hyped words like “miracle,” “breakthrough,” and “cure.” Refrain from peppering it with flowery adjectives to describe your service. Just stick to the facts. You can—and should—accommodate opinions by adding quotes, but don’t let them leak into the narrative. A press release should be formatted like an article. If you’re not familiar with that format, check out the publication you’re targeting, and copy theirs.
4. It doesn’t tell a story. You might have something worth reporting, but if it’s all facts and figures, your readers won’t see it. Their eyes are already glazed over. Always tell a story. Complement facts with quotes that express insight or convey an emotional reaction to the data. Frame your release around a challenge that was or can be overcome, a problem that was or can be solved. That’s how you portray your company as a hero—by showing, through storytelling, how it has helped or can help others, and not by indulging in self-praise.
5. It lacks focus. I get it. You’re doing all these awesome things. Heck, you’re changing the world. But focus on just one thing. One project. One product. One campaign. Save the others for separate releases. You can talk about them if they’re related and build on each other, but only one can be the star. Having multiple angles will run you into all sorts of problems. Not only will your press release be too long and your headline incomprehensible—which will confuse and annoy editors—they also won’t be SEO-friendly. Search engines see content that’s about too many things as content that’s about nothing.
6. It buries the lede. If you don’t state your point in the first paragraph, editors will toss out your pitch before getting to the second. But sometimes, like me, you may want to lead with an anecdote. That’s okay, as long as it’s related to the point of the release. It should also be interesting enough to make readers want to know what happens next. It should flow smoothly to the second paragraph, where the big reveal takes place. And it should be short. If your release is about an anti-stroke campaign, you should hit the campaign after 3 or 4 sentences.
7. It doesn’t have a news-like headline. A headline could make or break a release. Advertising executive David Ogilvy once said that on average, 5 times as many people read the headline as read the body copy, so if you don’t sell something in your headline, you’ve wasted 80% of your money. It’s the same with a press release that you’re selling to reporters. A news-like headline communicates direct benefits that are relevant to your target audience. It’s not cryptic, promotional, or overly clever. An imagined example would be, “Cipher Medical Center Used Haemonatics’ Cell Saver 5 to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections by 30%.” Editors will change that to something catchier, but it tells them right away what your piece is about.
8. It’s too long. Stick to a page, no more than 400 words. Begin with an anecdote or a reference to a high-profile issue or event; immediately connect it with the product, service, or cause you wish to publicize; put in a paragraph with statistics from reputable sources for credibility and context; energize it with a quote or two; and then end with some boilerplate text about your company. That’s it. Length should not be a problem if you avoid mistake number 4.
9. It doesn’t have any quotes. Quotes make opinion, insight, and emotion possible in a press release. They take readers beyond the traditional 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, and why) to the Hows. To answers questions like, “How do employees feel about the change in overtime policy?” Or, “How can you explain that concept using a metaphor or analogy?” Emotion is at the core of storytelling. Avoid quotes that simply state facts and figures (“The Cell Saver 5 weighs no more than 25 pounds.”), because they’re a waste of space. Also, don’t use quotes that blatantly promote your product, unless they’re from impartial sources.
10. It’s riddled with jargon. Don’t write “myocardial infarction” if you can write “heart attack.” Don’t write “remunerate” when “pay” works just as well. Unless you’re writing to colleagues (and sometimes even then), jargon makes you sound pompous and difficult to relate to. It also forces reporters to look up certain terms (in which case they might just say, forget it). It’s also not SEO-friendly, because search engines favor natural language.

The press release is still the workhorse of many PR campaigns, even after social media allowed businesses to engage directly with customers. Knowing that a journalist wrote about you, that his or her article was vetted by at least one professional editor, and that someone else’s money was spent to publish it, lends credibility to the publicity that your own blogging, newsletter-writing, and Facebook and Twitter posting just can’t match. You know it, and so do your customers. So do your best to get it right.

The post 10 Reasons Why Your Press Release Sucks appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Case studies are stories of how businesses overcome obstacles, so no wonder they’re so effective. Even though we now receive enough information to make a typical laptop crash in a week, our brain still responds to data like it always did—by looking for stories to make sense of the experience.

Unfortunately, it can be challenging to convince customers to say yes to case studies. Some customers see your solution as a competitive advantage that they’d rather not share with others. Those with hundreds of vendors avoid the hassle of saying yes to many by saying no to all (common among Fortune 500 companies). Some are simply busy.

It could also be that from your customers’ point of view, they already did you a favor by giving you their business. They’re not especially inclined to do another one.

That’s why you should not ask your customers for a case study, but rather sell them the idea of one. And just like in any sales pitch, you need a strong value proposition to make their participation worthwhile. To increase the chances that they’ll say “yes,” consider adding these 7 benefit statements to your proposal:

1. It’s positive publicity. Remind your customers that by making their best practices public, they’re building or solidifying their reputation as a thought leader in their industry. Offer to allot a significant part of the case study to discussing the benefits of their products (although make sure to prioritize those that can be attributed, at least partly, to your own).
2. It attracts media coverage. Check out any business, industry, or trade publication, and you’re going to see article after article about a company facing a challenge and coming out victorious. Editors are keenly aware that if they are to grow and maintain their readership, they need to provide a constant supply of stories with characters and situations their readers can relate to. Have a media distribution plan that includes publications that target your customer’s customers, and let them know about it.
3. It can impress their boss. Case studies portray your customers as smart decision makers, which can lead to promotions and lucrative job offers. Encourage your customers to share the document with their bosses and peers to showcase how their actions helped their companies achieve important goals. If your solution resulted in cost savings and/or increased sales, your customers can also use the document to help justify their investment.
4. It can win them awards. Your customers may not realize that they can submit case studies to industry award programs. Many trade groups that offer awards solicit customer stories as entries. Criteria include things like cost savings, increased productivity, or successful implementation of technology. Include in your case study proposal several examples of awards that are relevant to your customer.
5. It can win them more awards. If your company has the means and the customer base, you can even establish a customer awards program yourself. Use it to recognize customers who have achieved unprecedented value and success with your solutions. Position a case study as one of the benefits of winning an award, along with things like plaques and special recognition sessions at your annual conference.
6. It can save them money. Consider offering financial incentives. However, make sure they’re not the personal kind, but ones that benefit your customer’s company. That way, it doesn’t come across as if you’re “buying” your customer’s testimonial. A few large companies actually give discounts, special training, and other value-added services in exchange for customer stories and other types of reference activities.
7. It gives them more access to your company. Give your best customers opportunities to interact with your executives at meetings and events, or to participate in advisory boards and technical councils. Offer to let them beta test a product in development and/or suggest improvements to future versions. Not only will increased access and involvement warm them up to your case study proposal, it will also strengthen your relationship with them.

If all else fails, see if your customers will at least agree to a case study that omits their company’s name. This piece is obviously not as powerful, but it’s still worth developing. You never know—under the cover of anonymity, your customers might be willing to divulge more metrics and details regarding their experience.

If they won’t agree even to an unnamed case study, pitch, as a last resort, the idea of an internal story. This means the case study will only be used to train your sales representatives on how your company’s products and services have helped the customer overcome challenges. It will not be distributed outside the company.

Be persistent. Some of the world’s largest companies spend years cultivating relationships with customers before selling them the idea of a case study. It’s worth the effort. Once it’s complete and approved, there are multiple places where you can use a good customer story: in your press releases, white papers, webinars, live events, media articles, website, sales collateral, and more.

The post 7 Strategies You Can Use to Convince Customers to Say Yes to Case Studies appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.

Yet every business owner and PR practitioner I know still gets a buzz every time a trade magazine publishes his or her clip. After all, someone else writing an article about your business does more for its credibility than you writing an article about it. Especially if that someone works for a reputable trade publication.

So while you should definitely interact with customers directly through your website and various social media channels, don’t forget to engage the publishers and editors of publications relevant to your industry. They may not be your prospects, but they are in a position to influence your prospects.

Here are three things you can do to increase your chances of catching their attention:

Submit a case study, not a news release

When I was a practicing journalist, I hated news releases that simply trumpeted the accomplishments and awards of company executives, or the features and specifications of products and software. I knew it was my job to find out what exactly those facts meant to my readers, but it was a company’s job to help me by putting those details into context!

You can avoid giving editors headaches by handing them a case study instead. No other marketing communications tool beats the case study in its ability to illustrate what a product or service can do for its intended user. They give vivid answers to the “so what?” question that editors need.

Case studies are essentially stories about a “hero” facing obstacles that a publication’s readers also struggle with, and then coming out victorious. Editors are keenly aware that if they are to grow and maintain their readership, they better provide a constant supply of stories with characters and situations their readers can relate to.

Check out any business, industry, or trade publication and you’re going to see article after article about a company overcoming a challenge using another company’s (yours!) product or service.

Submit a case study that’s written like a feature story

The traditional case study format includes the following sections: The Customer Background, The Challenge/s, The Solution, and The Results. Business decision makers who regularly read case studies prior to making a buying decision are familiar with this format and thus might expect it.

However, you’re writing for trade magazines, and traditional case studies are likely too formulaic for most of them. Editors will almost always reformat your clip, so why not just do it yourself? Your piece might catch their attention not just because it’s already written like a magazine article, but because there’s less work for them to do!

The feature story format employs techniques such as a news-like headline (don’t be cryptic and overly clever), a strong lead sentence or opening paragraph, and descriptive subheads. Not only is this format more interesting, it’s also easier for readers to skim. (“Greater Project Management Efficiency” gives them more information at a glance than “The Result” does.)

If you must submit a news release, include an anecdote

Your anecdote should highlight the problem/s your product is designed to solve.

Have you noticed how often anecdotes are used to introduce newspaper and magazine articles? A story about a new hepatitis C drug would start by describing the everyday struggles of a mother with hepatitis C. An article about an anti-stroke campaign would set up the push by profiling a stroke victim. An article about a high-tech prosthetic would tell the story of how a young man found a lump (which turned out to be a tumor) in his foot.

Anecdotes are short human-interest stories, and stories are your ultimate marketing weapon. They engage people’s emotions, and emotional engagement is what makes text interesting, easily understandable, and memorable. That’s why it’s easier to remember the price you paid for your first car than the statistic your colleague had just cited several times in her presentation. Out-of-context facts are not only boring, they’re difficult to keep in your head.

Obviously, you can’t always submit a case study, such as when your offering is new and customers have yet to evaluate it. In that case, you’ll have to go with a news release. Help it stand out by including a story. Publishers and editors love stories.

The post 3 Ways to Increase Your Chances of Getting Published in a Trade Magazine appeared first on Maggie Holley │ Healthcare Marketing Writer.