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Author: Kylie Fennell

10 Insider Tips on How to Get Free Publicity

Kylie Fennell

Headline: “Publicity: The Friend of Journalists and Businesses Alike”
Mission: Dispel publicity myths and show how you can get free media coverage for your business.
Background: Some journalists may cringe at the word publicity. I know I have. This is usually after being at the receiving end of a poor publicity attempt.
As a former journalist, I can recall the days of receiving a blatant sales plug disguised in the form of a media release. This would be followed by a series of harassing phone calls (usually when you’re on deadline) from an overly enthusiastic publicist, asking eagerly ‘did you get my press release yet?’, ‘So are you going to print it?’ ‘Are you? Are you? Are you?’, ‘Ohhh, why not?’.
I have also been on the other side and been the one pitching story ideas to journalists. Fortunately for me, I have enough inside knowledge to avoid the publicity pitfalls. As a result I have been very successful at getting positive media coverage for my clients.
Major myths: journalists don’t like businesses trying to get free publicity for themselves; only publicists or marketing professionals can approach journalists and arrange publicity.
Facts: There’s a huge difference between good and bad publicity attempts. The overriding fact is that journalists are in the business of ‘news’. Journalists appreciate anyone approaching them with newsworthy materials. As long as it’s done in a professional, respectful and convenient manner.
Why you should want publicity: The true value of publicity is hard to measure but it’s widely acknowledged as being far more effective than straight out advertising.
Media coverage or editorial is third-party opinion, so the impact is considered around three times that of a paid advertisement. As an example if a half-page ad in the local newspaper costs $500, then a half-page worth of editorial in the same newspaper would be valued at $1500.
Then you also take into account where the story appears. Is it on a right hand page early on in the newspaper? Is it one of first stories on the news bulletin? These rank even higher.
So yes, publicity is well worth the effort, and can cost next to nothing other than an investment of time and a little effort.
Here are our top 10 DIY tips on how to get free publicity for your business.
1. Know your targets– investigate the best media outlet for your business and industry. Consider all mediums, such as, local newspapers, trade, industry and commercial magazines, radio, TV (local and national), online news sites and bloggers.
There will also be popular bloggers and social commentators that are specific to your type of business or your target audience. Get to know them.
Sometimes your target media outlet may be specific to a news story idea or angle, but generally speaking you will have core contacts that you should have up-to-date details for.
Populate this list by reading, listening, watching the media yourself. Ask your customers what media they use. Research what kind of stories they are interested in. Take a note of key journalists details. If you are interested in engaging a TV or radio presenter, ask for the appropriate producer’s details.
If you’re not sure who the best contact is, call the main number/reception and ask for the appropriate name, number and/or email address.
In Australia, you can subscribe to Margaret Gee’s Media Guide, which has comprehensive listings of specific media outlets and their contact details. It may be worthwhile investing in this if you are intending on sending out a lot of media releases and widely. You can also conduct a free online search using keywords, location or publication type. This will give you basic details to inform your own media list.
2. Develop relationships with key media and influencers ­– once you have identified your targets, consider reaching out to them and introducing yourself. Always have a reason though to initiate the call. You could send them a brief email, saying who you are and offering yourself as an industry expert. Use a current topic as a specific segue, for example, “I saw your story the other day on ‘calls for cats to be registered’. I’m a local vet with 15 years experience and agree this is an important issue. If you would like a local angle on this story or an interview opportunity, please call or email me on the below details.”
A better option would be to develop a tailored media release with your comments and send that through to the contact.
You can call journalists as well, but be very aware they are extremely busy and NEVER call them when they are approaching deadline. Get to know their publishing dates or on-air times, better still get to know their deadlines and avoid contacting them at those times.
When it comes to bloggers and social commentators, follow or subscribe to them. Engage in their comments and stories and make comments where you can add something of value.
You don’t want to plug your business you just want to start positioning yourself as an industry expert.
If you can successfully demonstrate you’re an expert in your field, are approachable and accessible, and can provide good content/interview talent/visual opportunities, then they will start coming to you for comment.
3. Have a story idea– all you need is a good story or ‘yarn’ to get you started.
This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Straight sales plugs are not newsworthy, but a lot of other things are. You should have an idea what kind of stories are usually covered by your target media outlet and try to come up with your own.
Journalists want stories from everyday people about everyday things as well as extraordinary happenings. Human interest type stories are always a winner – David vs Goliath, underdog makes good, everyday Joe overcomes overwhelming challenges.
Consider things that are interesting to your customers and the wider community. Brainstorm ideas with your staff, customers and other key contacts. Ideas may include: Supporting a community initiative; a free seminar; major awards won; environmental initiatives; current issues you could comment on or leverage.
4. Create a great media release – if you cant afford to pay an expert to write a good media release, write your own.
Journalists will give precedence to a well written media release, over a poorly written one. The easier you can make their job, the better your chances are of gaining coverage.
Have a goal in mind of what you want to achieve with your media release and how to best connect with your target audience (as well as the media outlet’s audience).
The most important parts of the media release are an attention grabbing headline, and the opening paragraph. Include quotes from an expert such as yourself. Make sure your contact details are included. Aim for 1-2 pages and make sure it is free of spelling mistakes.
While different news outlets and countries have slightly different preferences in terms of format and presentation, the basics are usually the same. You can find media release writing tips and a media release template here.
Email your release directly to your contact with a personalised note if possible (not a blanket email). You may like to follow up a day later with a phone call, but make sure you don’t call on deadline and have a point to your call.
Eg. ‘Did you get my media release?’, will not get as good a response as, ‘I’m following up my media release to offer you an interview/photo/vision opportunity.’ You will get an even better response if you can offer them something exclusive.
Have key messages or a spiel ready for what you want to say when you speak to the journalist, this is like a mini audition for an interview opportunity so you want to sound like great ‘talent’.
If you have key messages, use them as a guide only and be careful not to read them like a script, you want to sound natural. Be yourself, but your most professional self.
It’s okay to target particular outlets and offer them exclusive coverage first. You can give them a couple of days to consider your exclusive offer before sending the release out more widely. This can work if your story is newsworthy enough.
If you have enough lead time before an event or announcement date, you may like to send out a media alert first (a week before), which is like a date claimer.
You include basic what, where, when and a headline and an opening paragraph, similar to a short media release, which is enough of a teaser to get them to book it in their diaries. Don’t give away the whole story though, as you will save that for the follow-up media release late on.
5. Give your contact exactly what they need – Different types of media outlets have different needs or approaches. It’s a good idea to tailor your media release or approach to the specific outlet. For example, a TV program will be interested in vision and interview opportunities, a blogger may not be very interested in a corporate media release but they may be interested in doing a Q and A session with you on a specific topic or giveaways for their followers.
Newspapers and magazines will want photo opportunities and if there are logistical issues getting a photographer to you they may like you to submit your own good quality images.
6. Take your media releases online – It’s time to dispel another myth. A myth that ‘media releases’ are just for media. This is absolutely untrue. These days media releases can be targeted directly to consumers and even if they aren’t, they may be of interest to a lot of your stakeholders.
You should have a dedicated ‘newsroom’ page on your website that publishes copies of all of your media releases. You should also include videos, images and resources that may be of interest to our stakeholders. All kinds of people visit your online newsroom, not just media, and you should take advantage of this.
Regularly updating your content on your website, by adding media releases, also assists with search engine optimisation (SEO).
Offer your media releases in html and pdf format and optimise them for SEO by including relevant keywords.
Free information on hot keywords and trends can be found at Google Trends and Insights, Wordtracker and Ubersuggest.
Include backlinks to your website and social media in the media release.
Offer an RSS feed or subscription option on your website for people wishing to receive your media releases.
And don’t forget to promote your media releases on your social media platforms.
It’s also a great idea to use an online media release distribution service. Journalists subscribe to these services and it will help to create backlinks to your website. This is great from an SEO perspective and can help get you mentioned on Google News. New stories are generally speaking much higher ranked on Google results than corporate web pages.
There are hundreds of online media release distribution services. Some of them are free, while others aren’t. Do a bit of research on the most credible ones and find the best option for you – www.prweb.com is one such site and you can find a list of free services here.
You can also submit a media release directly to Google News, but you must first register as a provider by providing general information about your business and a URL to your media release. You can find more information here. Make sure you meet all of their requirements. Google News should let you know if your story has been approved or not.
7. Put yourself out there – I have already mentioned that you should try and pitch yourself as an industry expert. There are many ways to do this.
You can put yourself up as a media spokesperson by registering with websites that connect journalists with specific sources. One such site is www.sourcebottle.com, which does offer a free service.
Also get involved with industry events and speaking opportunities that keep you front of mind. This will help build personal brand awareness and build credibility for you and your business.
8. Keep up momentum– aim to send out a media release about once a month, though this may fluctuate depending on story opportunities. Don’t be too discouraged if you don’t always succeed at getting coverage. It’s okay as well to politely ask a journalist if they have any feedback on your release and/or story idea.
9. Monitor and promote media coverage – keep copies of your media coverage and promote it in your shopfront, or include links to stories on social media or your website. If you would like to reproduce a story or images in full, just check with the media outlet first. Many media outlets are fine with you putting a scanned in copy of a story on a website for instance if you credit the publication/journalist/photographer’s name.
Don’t forget to sign up for Google News Alerts so you can keep track of your online mentions.
10. Get expert help when you need it – It can be worthwhile to engage an expert to help you with media release development, distribution and selling-in. Don’t be scared to ask for a quote on different options. If you can’t afford full services, perhaps enquire about them editing a draft media release for you.
In summary don’t be scared of approaching a journalist or blogger. Just approach them armed with a great story idea and well written release. Be professional and respectful but don’t contact them on deadline. Did I mention, ‘NEVER contact a journalist on deadline’. It’s that easy.

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Book mountain – my nemesis and oasis all at once

Kylie Fennell
As a writer it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I‘m also an avid reader.
I love, LOVE, L.O.V.E. books. And when I say books, I mean the old fashioned kind.
I have nothing against e-books at all and have been known to read a few novels on the Ipad now and again, but it’s not my preference.
There is the tactile experience of flicking through the pages of a book, running your hands along the spine and across the cover, just the simple act of opening and closing a book is completely satisfying. I like to keep my favourite books on display, to admire, to remind me why I love writing so much. They are my beautiful friends.
Then there is the completely practical reason I prefer old school books – they tend to hurt less than an Ipad when they land on your head after falling asleep mid-sentence.
So yep I love books, which brings me to my dilemma – Book Mountain.
Book Mountain is my nemesis and oasis all at once. It is a pile of books that sits tantalisingly next to my bed. This is where ‘must-read’ books wait for me to get to them.
I try to only read one book at a time, but occasionally I have an urge to park what I am reading and delve into a different topic, land or time.
Then there are the books, I really, really want to read but haven’t got time for right now, but maybe soon…they are perfect candidates for book mountain.
Just when I make a dent in Book Mountain, another must-read arrives and takes its place. The books that are lucky enough to make it to the top of Book Mountain, will be read…unless another more enticing book comes along in the meantime…but I will get to it…eventually. At least that is what I tell myself.
This week I wanted to share Book Mountain with you so you could get a snapshot of what kind of books inspire me and my writing.
So here it is:
The Tournament by Matthew Reilly – I was very fortunate to win a signed copy of this book when I subscribed to the Never Ending Bookshelf blog by Jess – a big shout out there to the fabulous Jess. I’d never read any of Matthew’s books before but admired his journey as an author. He is an international best-seller who self published his first book. Legend! I’m reading The Tournament right now, and am really enjoying the story and Matthew’s no nonsense writing style. It’s a fascinating story with a young Queen Elizabeth I, as narrator.
It centres around a chess tournament in Constantinople held by Sulleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan invites all of the major nations to send their best player for the tournament. A 13 year old Elizabeth Tudor, accompanies her teacher, Roger Ascham, to the tournament but the focus quickly turns to murder.
This is a crime story, which is not my usual type of book, but I am a major fan of historical fiction and the Tudor Court, so this take on Queen Elizabeth is definitely new and exciting for me.
The White Princess – I’m a sucker for anything written by Philippa Gregory. I share her passion for history and I love the stories she builds up around real historical figures, particularly how she portrays female characters. I can’t wait to read about King Henry VIII’s mother.
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy) – I bought this on a whim. I guess I wanted to find out what all the fascination was about. When I saw how many pages it was, and how small the font was, I was reminded of what people mean when they say, ‘Don’t give me War and Peace’. That being said, I’m determined to get to this one.
Week-end Wodehouse– I’d heard somewhere that PG Wodehouse was a remarkable chronicler of a particular kind of Englishness. That his witty stories had become required reading at country house parties in the late thirties. As a fan of anything vintage and English country houses, I bought this wanting to transport myself to dark panelled drawing rooms, evening gowns and smoking jackets. I’m still looking forward to this one.
Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations (Norman Davies) – I read a review once about this historical reconstruction and it sounded fascinating. Apparently Norman Davies brings back to life the long-forgotten empire of Aragon; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, once the largest country in Europe, and the Kingdom of the Rock, founded by ancient Britons when neither England nor Scotland existed.
Geez! That does sound interesting.
Catherine the Great(Robert K. Massie) – this was featured in another review that struck a chord with me. Historical – tick! And a strong female character – double tick!!
Ulysses and The Dubliners – I was watching an interview with one of my other favourite authors one day, Ken Follett. Ken recalled an anecdote about author James Joyce explaining his day’s work when writing Ulysses. He had spent the day painstakingly writing two sentences. “I have the words already. What I am seeking is the perfect order of words in the sentence,” he is quoted as saying. I found the anecdote fascinating and wanted to read the book myself. I added The Dubliners to the shopping cart at the same time, for good measure.
A Tale of Two Cities(Charles Dickens) – I love Great Expectations, especially after watching the recent BBC adaptation. I thought it was only fitting I read this Dickens’ novel as well.
The Once and Future King (TH White) ­– A while back a childhood memory came to me of reading a book about King Arthur, while lying on a blanket in our backyard, enjoying the sunshine and eating watermelon (the ones where you had to spit out the seeds!) trying not let the juice drip all over the pages. The power of nostalgia got me thinking that I should start reading some Arthurian novels. I love historical fiction and fantasy, so this was an obvious choice.
The Crystal Cave (Mary Stewart) – I bought this one at the same time as the Once and Future King. I started reading it a while back, but it was taking too long to get to the ‘magic’ stuff so I put it down in favour of something else. I know this is supposed to be a great read, so I’m determined to revisit it.
Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke)  ­– this science fiction novel came with an irresistible recommendation. My husband read it, enjoyed it and said I should read it. For a start my husband isn’t an avid reader. Secondly he’s not the science fiction type. So if he liked it, it must be awesome. This earns its place in Book Mountain based on his recommendation alone.
So there you have it, my ‘pending’ pile of books I’m reading/will read. Hopefully next time we revisit Book Mountain, we will find some brand new candidates in their place.

I realise my ‘must-read’ mission is doomed to never-end and Book Mountain will simultaneously haunt and thrill me…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

13 tips for writing and editing your first novel

Kylie Fennell
I’ve earned a living as a professional writer for more years than I care to admit.
I can pump out 1,000 words on almost any topic and edit them to a professional standard, well before the boss screams down the phone ‘one minute till deadline’.
That might sound like a bit of a brag-fest, but it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to illustrate the stark contrast between my corporate writing experience and my creative writing.
As I’ve mentioned before I’m in the process of editing my first fantasy novel series. I’m a novice when it comes to novel writing and editing and I can tell you it is a case of: same but different.
While I can apply my corporate writing knowledge and skills to my creative projects, the practices are distantly related cousins rather than siblings.
For me the key differences are:
The length of time– it comes down to simple maths. Writing and editing 100,000 words takes significantly longer than 1,000 words, making the task all the more overwhelming and complex
Subjective criticism– creative and particularly novel writing is a completely personal and subjective experience. Corporate writing usually involves facts, figures and quantitative research. Most of the time you can be reasonably objective. When it comes to novels you tend to continually question and overly criticise your work. It’s almost impossible for me to look at my creative work objectively.
For these two reasons, I tend to go through various stages (which I suspect are common to many novelists). I swing back and forth between loving what I’m writing/editing, to hating it, to despising it, to wanting to give up on it, then back to loving it again. On a good day I’m filled with confidence and pride, on an average day I’m thinking ‘it’s not so bad’ but then there are the other days.
These are the days you discover a major plot hole 200 pages in, that means revising every other page. It becomes a case of one chapter forward and 200 pages backward.
I look back at my ‘writing my first novel’ self and laugh knowingly in her face. “You thought that was hard? Well, editing your novel will be (at times) the hardest and most demoralising thing you’ve ever done.” I tell myself. Yet we do this with no promise of financial reward at the end.
Lucky for people like me I still think the process is worth it, in spite of all the pitfalls. Frankly, I don’t have a choice. I must write and these novels must be written. But how can it be done without sending myself spare?
The ever resourceful and helpful Queensland Writers Centre, which I’m eternally grateful to, highlighted in a recent editorial that “there’s writing, and there’s finishing”.
The editorial reminds us that until we “complete a working first draft, we won’t know how to fix our story in the rigorous editing and polishing stages to follow”.
  
So in this post, I want to focus on ways to stay on track when it comes to writing your first draft and how to stay positive and motivated throughout the writing and editing stages. Let me begin first with the disclaimer that I am no means an expert when it comes to novel writing, but this is what I’ve learned so far.
  1. Just write – write anything. If you can’t bring yourself on a particular day to write your novel, write something else. Write about the ‘writing process’. Write a mock letter to your main character. Write a list of your character’s favourite places. The daily process of writing is critical. When you’re not sure, or downcast, just keep writing, just keep writing.
  2. Set goals – set yourself achievable goals for the week/month/year and regularly track how you’re going. Revise goals if you need to, but be careful not to make your targets too low or too high.
  3. Set aside time – find the time of day that best suits you to write or edit, whether it is first thing in the morning or late at night, as long as it suits you. Set the time aside and stick to it. Any stint longer than 4-6 hours though may become unproductive.
  4. Reward yourself – when you do achieve your goals, reward yourself.
  5. Identify recurring distractions and eliminate them (if possible) – if you notice that you are commonly distracted by household demands while writing from home, get out of the house and go to the library or a café or park to work. Turn off mobile and social media if you can.
  6. Make notes as ideas come to you – have a notebook and pen on hand or type notes directly into your phone when they occur to you. I’ve been known to record voice memos while driving (using the hands-free and voice activation functions on my phone).
  7. Find things that inspire you – I actively look for phrases, images, films, books or music that inspire me. I have a Pinterest board for general writing tips and inspirational quotes and another for my fantasy writing pins. Pinterest can suck up time quite easily but can be therapeutic if you monitor your time carefully. Start a blog like this one. Read books that inspire you. Create a playlist of music that could be the soundtrack for your novel. Watch your favourite movie that is from the same genre or style of your novel.
  8. Learn more about your craft – read credible books about writing. Join a writers group. Go to writing events and workshops such as the those held by the Queensland Writers Centre.
  9. Combat blocks – if you are truly stuck, ask yourself ‘What if?’ scenarios or questions about your setting, plot or characters.
  10. Take a break (just not too long!) – step away from the computer if you are finding it all too overwhelming. Take a walk. Go get a coffee.
  11. Understand when perfection is required – You may have heard the phrase that ‘first drafts don’t have to be perfect. They just need to be written’. This pin from novel-software.com describes the draft and edit stages. Your first edit is really draft two. In draft one you go like the clappers and don’t look back.  In draft two you start to refine and improve. You don’t focus on polishing and editing or cutting until draft three. Draft four is for tweaking and polishing. Only after then will you be – or preferably a second pair of eyes – proofreading. So when a loved one offers ‘to edit for you’ when you are still in draft two, politely explain the above process. This may also prevent or minimise the endless ‘how’s the editing going?’ questions. You may like to engage a trustworthy friend or fellow writer to act as a betareader for you in the later stages as well. They can help identify plot holes, continuity or flow issues.
  12. Don’t beat yourself up and believe in yourself – writing and editing a novel is a mammoth task. Congratulate yourself on how far you have come. When you are feeling despondent, seek out people who believe in you. Seek out those people who will tell you how wonderful you are and how awesome your book is going to be. Alternatively, if you need a kick up the backside, find the person you know who will give that to you.
  13. Never, ever, ever, ever give up – if you can’t stop yourself from wanting it, don’t stop trying.
As a final piece of inspiration, here is a great quote from www.KarlBimshas.com

“When you cannot think: write; When you cannot speak: write: When you cannot sleep: write; and if you cannot write: read”.
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Advertisements that sell – 10 tips on how to write a killer ad

Kylie Fennell
Writing effective copy for advertisements is a true artform.
Here’s an example of a clever ad from an outdoor
advertising company selling billboard  space.
You need to know how to stand out from the competition and sell with your words.
Whether you are selling a brand, product, service or idea you need to be persuasive.
The good news is that writing ad copy is not vastly different from writing other business materials. There are a few ways though that can help take your ad to the next level.
Here are my top 10 tips to help your ads sell.
1. Know your purpose
It’s critical that you know the purpose of your advertisement before you start writing.
What do you want to achieve? Do you want to build brand awareness? Do you want people to pick up the phone and purchase a product? Do you want them to come into your shop for a particular sale? What is your call to action?
Be very clear about this.
2. Be prepared – know your facts and audience
You need to know the context of your advertising activity.
What is the medium you are writing for? Is it TV, newspaper, social media? What are the guidelines, space, word count?
Who is your target audience or market segment? Who is the exact customer persona or personas you are speaking to? What appeals to them?
What is your organisation’s vision, brand key messages or tagline? Do you need to incorporate these or ensure your ad copy supports these?
What is your point of difference and how will you make this clear?
What design element, images, vision, charts, testimonials need to be included?
3. What’s in it for me?
If you are asking your audience to do something (which of course you should be doing) you need to make the specific benefits for that particular market clear.
Your customer has a problem and you are offering the a solution.
Make the What’s in it for me? (WIFM) clear and tailor your copy to your target market.
4. Nail your headline and hook
Advertising legend David Ogilvy says the headline is 80%.
“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”
Make it short, punchy and to the point. It has to hook the audience to read or listen further.
5. Be persuasive
There are a few techniques or approaches that will make your ad copy more persuasive, here are some examples:
Highlight your claim – what is your claim? How are you solving the customer’s problem?
Use Experts or big names or customer testimonials – can you get someone credible or respected to back your claim?
Refer to facts and figures – numbers, data, research and indisputable information can be very convincing
Harness emotion – can you appeal to their emotions?
Elicit trust – can you get them to believe and trust in what you are saying, can you empathise, put yourself in their shoes?
Create a sense of urgency – convince your audience they need to act now.
Talk directly to the person – if you are speaking one-on-one to a customer you should use their name. If you are reaching a broader audience you still want to speak directly to them. Use ‘you, your’ wherever possible. Focus on the person not the product or service.
6. Use strong active words and positive language
Positive language is always more powerful than negative phrases, just as active language is stronger than passive.
What this means is that you should use strong verbs and action words wherever possible.
Active words means ‘doing something’ instead of ‘having it done’.
For example: ‘ ‘It is my recommendation’ (passive) vs ‘I recommend’ (active), ‘You can make an application’ (passive) vs ‘You can apply’ or just ‘Apply now’ (active).
There are some golden phrases and words in advertising that continue to sell and get good responses (as long as they are not overused).
Top power words that sell include Absolutely; Accomplish; Achieve; Benefit; Best; Clear-cut; Compelling; Convenient; Critical; Dependable.
Experts agree that words and phrases like ‘money’, ‘immediate benefit’, ‘save $150’, ‘protect your child’, ‘find love now’ and ‘lose weight in two weeks’ are still very effective, as long as they aren’t overused.
You will also find a comprehensive list of 100 positive words and 70 action getting phrases at this link.
Some of these phrases include: Act now! Send your name. Free. Be first to qualify. Booklet free. Everything supplied. Free booklet explains. Get started today. Get your copy now.
Just remember though, it’s all fine to use positive language, as long as the statement are based on truth. That is, you need to be able to back up what you claim in advertisements.
Make sure you ad copy complies with relevant laws and regulations, such as Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Laws as well as Anti Discrimination Laws. You can find information on relevant Australian advertising codes at the Ad Standards website.
7. Be specific and concise and specific
Less is best when it comes to ad copy. Use short, simple words and language. Get straight to the point and be specific.
In print and online ads you want there to be as much white or clean space as possible. The less words to read the more likely you are to keep the reader engaged. The same applies for TV or radio ads, where too many words can be distracting.
Look for opportunities to simplify words.
For example:
  • Accordingly > so
  • Adjacent to > next to
  • Approximately > about
  • Utilise > use
  • Obtain > get
8. Finish off strong
Finish off your ad copy strongly with a call-to-action and relevant contact details.
For example, ‘Book your appointment now on [phone number]’, or ‘Find out more at www.website.com’.
9. Step away from the computer
After you have written your draft ad copy, you should try and step away from the desk. Take time to let the copy marinate and give yourself a breather.
Come back to it the next day if you can wait that long. Read it again with fresh eyes. Check it carefully in hard copy. Reading the copy backwards or with a ruler under each line can help focus your editing eyes.
Check for appropriate style and tone for your audience. Is the WIFM and call-to-action clear?
10. Revise and check!
Once you have made your revisions get someone else to check your copy. Better yet give to two different people.
Often it helps to give it to someone who knows nothing about the content as they can give you a new perspective, as well as a subject specialist.
Always double, no, triple-check phone numbers, contact details and names.
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My Top 10 (Kick-butt) Women of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Kylie Fennell
In previous blog posts I have mentioned how I often get inspiration from my favourite films and TV shows.
Since I focused on my top 10 male stars of fantasy and science-fiction last time, I thought it was only fair that this week I featured ‘kick-butt’ women.
So here are my Top 10 women from fantasy and science-fiction.
1. Trinity, The Matrix
Carrie-Anne Moss plays Trinity in the Matrix, and Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) love interest.
When Neo learns that humans are living in a simulated reality called ‘The Matrix’ created by machines, he joins a rebellion to free people from the dream world.
Trinity guides and protects him through this journey, with some seriously kick-butt acrobatic actions and extreme stunts.
Even if she wasn’t as awesome in the physicality of her scenes, you would still give her kudos for some seriously tight black leather outfits, that she totally pulls off.
2. Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games
Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games films based on the best selling book series.
In the dystopian nation of Panem the wealthy Capitol punishes poorer districts for a past rebellion by forcing them to nominate two ‘tributes’ to compete in the televised Hunger Games – a fight to the death.
The tributes are decided via a lottery and Katniss volunteers when her younger sister Primrose is initially drawn.
Katniss is fiercely loyal, courageous and shows amazing ingenuity to outsmart the Capitol and win the Hunger Games while saving male Tribute Peeta Mellark, a boy her age from the same village.
On top of that, she is deadly accurate with a bow and arrow and doesn’t flinch when wearing a dress on fire. Well deserving of the second spot on this list.
3. Princess Leia, Star Wars
Carrie Fisher plays Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, and a leader in the Alliance and succeeding galactic governments to defeat the evil empirical forces.
Princess Leia is as adept at using a blaster gun as she is at diplomacy. She doesn’t suffer fools lightly and doesn’t have any time for anyone unless they will help her on her quest.
She cuts down Han Solo and his sarcastic wit in an instant. She is fearless and somehow makes a side bun hairdo look sexy. And who could forget how she gets the better of Jabba the Hut while wearing one of the skimpiest, iconic outfits of all time.
4. Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I don’t have anything against vampires, but I have to give a big high five to Sarah Michelle Gellar for her lead role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The series narrative follows Buffy Summers, the latest in a line of young women known as Slayers as they battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness.
Buffy looks like the (pretty) girl next door but in reality is an unstoppable fighting machine. She manages to combine strength and agility with likeability.
 
 
 
 
 
5. Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings
Cate Blanchett magnificently portrays the elf Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings.
Galadriel, the Lady of Light, was a royal Elf and described as ‘the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth’.
She possesses mysterious magical powers and is all grace, beauty and etherealness will being a little bit scary and intimidating.
Galadriel and her powers pop up just when the Hobbits and the Fellowship of the Ring need them.
If only we could all leave everyone just as awestruck.
6. Éowyn, The Lord of the Rings
Miranda Otto plays Éowyn, a daughter of the House of Eorl and the niece of King Théoden.
As a child Éowyn dreams of going into battle and defending her uncle’s realm and getting justice for her father who was killed fighting orcs.
As a female, she is obliged to take on the role of nurse to her uncle. When her uncle recovers from his illness and goes to war, she is reminded that her duty is with her people and that she must shoulder the responsibility of ruling Rohan in Théoden’s stead.
Instead she disguises herself as a male warrior named Dernhelm to fight beside Théoden in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
During the battle, she is confronted by the Witch-king of Angmar, The Witch-king boasted that ‘(no) living man may hinder me’. Éowyn then removed her helmet and declared: ‘But no living man am I! You look upon a woman’.
Éowyn then goes on to defeat the Witch-king. Legendary!
 
 
7. Tris Prior, Divergent
Shailene Woodley plays Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior in a dystopian post-apocalyptic version of Chicago, where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues.
Tris discovers she is Divergent, which means she will never fit into any one of the factions. As she navigates her way through figuring out who she is, she participates in a gruelling training regime under the steely gaze of Four, another Divergent.
They discover a sinister plot that threatens to upturns the seemingly perfect society and together they step-up to prevent the worst from happening.
Tris earns respect for her never give up attitude.
8. Black Widow, The Avengers
It may not fit in the typical sci-fi or fantasy genre, but The Avengers boasts one of the coolest heroines in my books.
Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. She makes up for the fact she is one of only two members of the group who don’t have superpowers, by being a super charged warrior.
The Black Widow is a highly trained spy who ensnares and seduces her prey before launching kick-butt fight moves and stunts while donning a curve-defying skin tight jumpsuit.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Sarah Williams, The Labyrinth 
Jennifer Connelly plays teenage girl, Sarah Williams, in a quest to save her baby brother from the Goblin King, Jareth (David Bowie).
Somehow she manages to resist Jareth’s magical powers and seductive words, to win victory, declaring ‘You have no power over me’.
Cute and strong-minded. She has to admired for not falling under David Bowie’s spell.
 
10. Alice, Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll’s Alice from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has to be one of the original fantasy heroines.
Alice falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.
She takes on the formidable Queen of Hearts and every curve ball or flamingo thrown at her.
Curiouser and curiouser, she soliders on until finally returning to the real world.
Wouldn’t we all like to fall down the rabbit hole to have an adventure just like Alice? I know I would.

Who is on your Top 10 list?

Check out my related blog post featuring my Top 10 Men of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

***UPDATE*** This list wouldn’t be complete without my gal Wonder Woman. So let’s consider it a top 11.

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My Top 10 (Kick-butt) Men of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Kylie Fennell
When it comes to inspiration for characters in my fiction writing I often look to my favourite films and TV shows.
From loveable larrikins to bad-guys-turned-good and comical side-kicks, here are my top 10 male stars of fantasy and science-fiction. Whether they are from the 70s, 80s, 90s or even more recent, these guys kick some serious butt on the big and small screen.
1. Jareth, The Labyrinth
David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 movie Labyrinth delivers a triple whammy of enviable 80s hair, glam-rock make-up and a killer wardrobe dominated by patent leather and over-the-top ruffle shirts – picture Mr Darcy meets Liberace.
Added to that he sings a few tunes and delivers villainous (but dare I say downright sexy) lines like: Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave!
It’s not hard to fall under this antagonist’s spell.
2. Madmartigan, Willow
Val Kilmer as Madmartigan in Willow is a boasting mercenary swordsman, who helps the main character Willow on his quest to protect a child from an evil queen.
He is reckless, disgraced, dishevelled and completely self-obsessed for the most part, but glimpses of good are seen as he joins Willow’s quest. He becomes smitten by a fairy spell and declares his love for a woman who he utterly detests after she attacked him.
His devastatingly romantic declaration goes like this:
Madmartigan: You are my sun! My moon! My starlit sky. Without you I dwell in darkness. I love you! Your power has enchanted me, I stand helpless against it. Come to me, now. Tonight, let me worship you in my arms. I love you!
Sorsha: Stop saying that!
Madmartigan: How can I stop the beating of my heart? It pounds like never before.
Sorsha: Out of fear!
Madmartigan: Out of love!
Sorsha: I can stop it. I’ll kill you.
Madmartigan: Death, next to love is a trivial thing. Your touch is worth 100,000 deaths.
He has no recollection of his love declaration and when questioned cries out in complete disgust and shock: ‘I don’t love her, she kicked me in the face!’
3. The Man in Black, The Princes Bride
Cary Elwes as Westley/Dread Pirate Roberts/The Man In Black, a farmboy, a pirate in black, and (Princess) Buttercup’s love interest.
For most of the movie he wears a mask, delivering witty one-liners and overwhelming his enemies with charm, intellect and deft swordsmanship.
His only quest is to return to his beloved Buttercup and do whatever she bids. His frustratingly concise and infamous response to anything Buttercup asks of him is: ‘As you wish’.
4. Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya, is a Spaniard who has trained in fencing for 20 years to the point of fighting left-handed so as to prolong his duels. He seeks revenge upon Count Rugen for the murder of his father.
Seriously wounded early in the battle, he is able to restore his focus by repeatedly reciting his long-rehearsed greeting of vengeance: ‘Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.’ He eventually slays his nemesis.
5. Han Solo, Star Wars
Harrison Ford plays Han Solo who is described as a reckless smuggler with a sarcastic wit.
During the course of the Star Wars story, he becomes a chief figure in the Alliance and succeeding galactic governments.
Star Wars creator George Lucas described the character as ‘a loner who realises the importance of being part of a group and helping for the common good’.
No one can do cool like Han Solo. This cheeky character came back to life after being frozen in a large block of carbonite in The Empire Strikes.
His love-hate relationship with Princess Leia is the clincher for me:
‘Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money’.
6. Yoda, Star Wars
So he is a little green puppet that speaks in riddles and breaks all the rules of English grammar, but this little dude can fight and his words of wisdom are seriously deep.
Grand Jedi Master Yoda is among the oldest and most powerful known Jedi Masters in the Star Wars universe and trains Luke Skywalker to fight against the evil Galactic Empire.
His philosophical oneliners include:
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
“Powerful you have become, the dark side I sense in you.”
7. Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings is devastatingly dark and mysterious. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider.
Strider is surrounded by mystery and it is unclear initially whether he is friend or foe.
Not only does it turn out he is a friend, he is a powerful ally who protects the hobbits to the very last. It transpires he is the heir of Isildur and rightful claimant to the thrones of Arnor and Gondor and is an integral to the quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.
When he is returned to his rightful throne he instructs the four Hobbits of the Fellowship: ‘My friends… you bow to no one.’
Fiercely loyal and brave, as well as humble, what’s not to love.
8. Legolas, The Lord of the Rings
Orlando Bloom (with gorgeous long blonde hair) plays Legolas Greenleaf, an Elf and son of the Elf-king Thranduil of Mirkwood. He is a Prince of the Woodland Realm (Mirkwood), a messenger, and a master bowman.
There’s something truly magical about this elf’s skills with a bow and his unlikely friendship with the dwarf Gimli gives you warm and fuzzies.
‘Come, you shall sit beside me, friend Gimli, then all will be well, and you need neither borrow a horse nor be troubled by one.’
9. Pippin and Merry, The Lord of the Rings
Merry and Pippin are two characters from The Lord of the Rings series, played by Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.
This dynamic duo are loveable, loyal, brave, mischievous and the most unlikely heroes who set forth on a big adventure and search for second breakfasts. They promise and deliver many comic moments in this blockbuster.
Aragorn: Gentlemen, we do not stop till nightfall.
Pippin: What about breakfast?
Aragorn: You’ve already had it.
Pippin: We’ve had one, yes. What about second breakfast?
Merry: I don’t think he knows about second breakfast, Pip.
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn’t he?
Merry: I wouldn’t count on it.
10. Jean Luc Picard, Star Trek: The Next Generation
I wanted to round off my Top 10 with a star from the small screen. When it comes to uber-cool one-liners and almost inexplicable sex appeal, nothing beats Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Stewart himself is reported to have been uncertain as to why the producers would cast ‘a middle-aged bald English Shakespearean actor’ as captain of the Enterprise, but no one could question the impressive figure he made on the Bridge.
His character has been described as deeply moral, highly logical and intelligent.  
Picard is a master of diplomacy capable of remarkable tactical cunning in tricky situations.
His signature order is: ‘Make it so’. Anyone who doesn’t look for opportunities to drop this phrase in everyday conversation, needs to get themselves to Blockbuster immediately and watch this series as a matter of grave importance.
Who is on your Top 10?
Check out my related blog post featuring my Top 10 Women of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
***UPDATE*** This list wouldn’t be complete without my favourite anti-hero of all time, Loki. So let’s consider it a top 11.
Image result for Loki
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3…2…1….blast-off – how to market the launch of your new business

Kylie Fennell
When starting a business there are a few basic marketing activities you need to get underway. 
Image courtesy of koratmember/freedigitalimages.net
Ideally you would have developed a marketing strategy for your ongoing operations, but just as much focus should be given to launching your business.
You will only have one ‘grand opening’ for your business, so you should make the most of it. 
Getting your launch marketing activities right will put you in a good starting position and create a great first impression.
Here are my tips for marketing the launch of your new business. You can also use some of the same tactics for marketing a new product, service, idea or store location.
The ‘Coming Soon’ phase
In the weeks leading up to your grand opening, you want to start sharing the ‘Coming Soon’ message.
You can achieve this by:
  • Creating a ‘Coming Soon’ web page. You don’t need your full website to be up and running for this. A holding page or temporary page is fine for the ‘Coming Soon’ phase. Refer to my previous blog post for tips on setting up a website.
  • Tell everyone.Tell all of your friends, contacts/everyone you know or meet, about your upcoming business opening.
  • Create a contact list– start building an email/mailing list of people who would be interested in receiving information about your business. This will be the starting point of your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system – one of your most valuable assets. You may not be able to afford specific CRM software, at least not initially, so you can use a simple spreadsheet to capture contact details.

    You could also set up a simple subscription form on your website and Facebook page. You can even create and manage contact lists in a free web-based tool such as mailchimp, which provides tailored sign-up forms and can be used later to develop and distribute e-newsletters.

    However, you must comply with relevant privacy laws and anti-spam laws, which you will need to make yourself familiar with. These differ from state to state and country to country but generally you can’t send marketing information to anyone unless they agree to receive it.  If someone agrees to only receive certain type of information, you can’t send them different types of information. You can’t pass on any person’s contact details to a third party without their permission and their details must be kept securely. You must also include an unsubscribe option in any email/text message communication.

    Don’t ever abuse the right to send contacts information or overload them with too many emails/letters. If you do they may unsubscribe.

    You could send your current contacts advice initially that your business is ‘coming soon’ and a little information about it and ask them if they are happy to receive any further updates or information about opening specials.

Get active on social media and blogs
Set up your social media accounts and post that the grand opening is ‘coming soon’. Refer to my previous blog posts on how to tame the social media beast, and identifying the best social media platforms to use for your business. You can also find tips on developing social media content here.
You can start a blog and follow and comment on other blogs relevant to your industry. Read about the benefits of business blogging at my previous post.
On social media you can also post ‘teasers’ or sneak peeks of your store, products or services or staff. Count down the days to opening on your social media pages.
Organise your marketing collateral
You will need to have your basic marketing material prepared and ready to go.
Once you have chosen or created a logo and visual identity, including colour schemes and preferred fonts, you can start printing and creating email templates.
The basics include a business card and email signature. These should include your main phone and email contact details, website address and details/links for social media pages if you have them.
You will also want to start preparing letterhead templates and other stationery if needed. You may need flyers, catalogues, posters and/or product lists, and signage ready to go. Refer to this blog post for all the different types of marketing material you may want to consider.
Make sure all of your marketing material includes your key messages and speaks to your target audience. Your point of difference should be clear. Read these tips on how to develop a unique brand story and key messages.
Contact media
Determine the most relevant media for your audience and business, then send them a media release advising of your upcoming business.
Often your local paper and radio are happy to highlight good news stories of businesses opening, especially if you are buying advertising at the same time. Just don’t demand media coverage. Don’t ever pressure a journalist to write something ‘because’ you advertised.
Editorial (or media coverage) is not an entitlement for advertisers, but it can give you a better shot at being highlighted in your local media. That being said, if the news angle or story idea is strong enough, you shouldn’t have to advertise to generate media interest. Tips on writing a media release can be found here, as well as how to identify news story ideas or media angles.
If you are interested in advertising, contact the media outlet’s advertising representative and determine the best advertising plan for you. Ask them for details on their audience and demographics so you can ensure your advertisement reaches your target market. There may also be opportunities to buy an advertisement and ‘advertorial’ in a specific feature relevant to your business and target market.
Once you have determined your advertising plan, ask the ad rep how you may go about approaching editorial to see if they would be interested in doing a news story on your business. They will give you the best advice for their media outlet.
Other advertising and cross-promotion
You should also consider other advertising and promotional opportunities such as outdoor signage and billboards.
Look for opportunities to cross-promote with other businesses by offering discounts/deals for each other’s clients. Choose likeminded businesses, those located near to your business or complementary businesses, eg. hairdresser and a make-up artist, butcher and a fruit and vegetable shop, an accountant and a solicitor. You can put business cards or flyers in each other’s shops.
Even if you don’t have a shopfront you can develop mutually beneficial relationships with other businesses and share each others’ details, promotional material and perhaps promote links to each other’s websites or social media.
Giveaways, discounts and competitions
In the lead-up to your launch and at any launch event, offer giveaways, discounts, or competitions to win a free product/service. Send details to your contacts and post details on your social media.
If your business is focused on a specific region or location you may want to consider a letterbox drop, and offer discounts or giveaways to them. This is an especially great idea for direct neighbours, especially if your neighbours are residential and you want to get off on the right foot with them.
Get out there
Start getting out there and introducing yourself to potential customers and influencers. Try to reach your target audience in person if possible.
You can set up a stall at trade expos, festivals or community events. Consider sponsoring a popular local event.
Get listed
Make sure your business name and contact details are listed on key directories. These directories will differ depending on your business type and budget, but they may include Yellow Pages, TrueLocal,and/or Yelp. Some directories are free, but if they are charging money just make sure the directory seems credible and well-used.
Check out where your competition is listed and perhaps get listed there as well. At the same time, investigate what other promotions your competition are doing and how you can compete.
Launch event
Hold your own launch event and invite contacts, supporters, potential customers and media. If you have a shopfront try to hold the event on site. If you don’t have a physical shop, hold it at a local hotel, café, restaurant or function centre.
It doesn’t have to be a particularly lavish type of event. Make sure you have marketing material on display and product samples. You may also want to prepare a slideshow or presentation.
If you are a service based industry you may like to offer a free or discounted price seminar at a local venue. You can give away some of your ‘secret sauce’, which will help to develop brand awareness, and hopefully give you leads on potential customers or opportunities to upsell your full services.
Coincide activities
Get the most bang for your buck by trying to coincide promotional and advertising efforts with each other. For example, if you are sponsoring an event on a particular weekend, you may want advertisements in the local paper around the same time and pictures or teasers for the event on your social media pages.
Have your operational ‘ducks in a row’
It is all great to have all your marketing sorted for your launch, but there’s no point if your operational ‘ducks aren’t in a row’.
This means your product and services need to be ready for launch. Marketing materials need to be sorted. Distribution channels need to be ready as well as customer and product support infrastructure. Packaging, pricing and people (staff) also have to be locked in readiness for launch.
Marketing strategy
Try not to lose sight of your overall marketing strategy for your business. Your launch is only one promotional activity in the grand scheme of things. You want to keep your promotional momentum going well past your launch and your overarching marketing strategy should support this. Learn here how to DIY and create your own marketing strategy.

For help with your marketing needs contact us at Kylie Fennell .

Making Merry at the Medieval Festival

Kylie Fennell

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places.

Caboolture is an urban centre, on the outskirts of Brisbane, or the Sunshine Coast (depending on where you come from). A great spot. You’re a hop, skip and a jump away from the city, beach and Bribie Island, but also surrounded by paddocks, rolling hills and mountains in the distance.

It’s also home to the Urban Country Music Festival and was Keith Urban’s hometown for most of his childhood.

I have to admit I love (more than) a bit of country music but this isn’t why I’m suddenly talking about Caboolture.

The reason I’m feeling the love for Caboolture is because it hosts the Abbey Medieval Festival, which I visited last weekend.

The festival goes over a couple of weekends and features everything from jousting, banqueting, and fencing to medieval music, food and dancing.

The Abbey Festival is a delight for the medieval enthusiast, like me, as well as the hardcore re-enactors who live on-site in tents: dressing, eating and sleeping as if they were in medieval times.

Thanks to the festival I am feeling re-energised about my writing and editing.

This is the kind of place you will find a 6 ft 5″ Gandalf walking around casual-like, Game of Thrones inspired merchandise and delicious mulled wine.

The Festival boasts way too many attractions for me to list them all here. For me personally, I loved the archery and the joust. Before you ask, the horses were real, the armour was real and the jousting lances were as real as you can get without the possibility of causing a gruesome death.

It was a heck of a lot of fun and will help inform some of my medieval fantasy writing.

So after some making merry of my own at the festival, I am tackling my editing with new vigour.

Thanks to the wonderful people who run the festival each year and a shout out to Caboolture. You’ll see me again next year!

Sales tips

Sensational sales techniques

Kylie Fennell
Marketing and sales can sometimes be seen as one and the same. While related to each other they are completely different beasts and disciplines.
Sales is a critical component of the overall marketing mix but requires specific techniques and skills.
The difference between a below average salesperson and an excellent salesperson is vast. And the difference between a poor sales call and amazing pitch is just as vast.
At the end of the day, those differences can usually be measured in volume of sales.
Effective sales rely on having the right people and using the right techniques.
Here are my sensational sales techniques and tips on what makes a good salesperson. 
What makes a great salesperson
In an ideal world, it would be great to have salespeople who have extensive sales experience and a proven track record.
Sometimes though you may not have the resources to secure a very experienced salesperson or you are looking to upskill an existing employee. In that case, you might want to consider the characteristics of a good salesperson.
  • A people person – someone who genuinely likes to engage with people. The key word here being engage, that is, two way conversations
  • Problem solver – a desire to help people. Someone who obtains satisfaction from solving people’s problems
  • Proactive and innovative– able to think on their feet, take their own initiative and flexible enough to respond to emerging situations and come up with creative solutions or responses
  • Action oriented – someone who follows through with what they say they will do and instead of focusing on what ‘can’t be done’ they will say ‘what I can do is…’
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills – oral communication skills are particularly important and the ability to tailor information for specific audiences. A good salesperson is always well presented.
  • Resilient – the ability to thrive under pressure and bounce back from set-backs, while keeping an upbeat and positive attitude wherever possible.
GENERAL SALES TIPS 
Don’t use sales scripts!
If you have ever been on the receiving end of a salesperson using a script, you would have recognised the robotic tone immediately. You may have instinctively had a feeling of  ‘here we go, here comes the pitch’. This is not a great start to a sales call especially when selling relies on developing trust and rapport with prospects.
Instead of using scripts, you should develop key messages, phrases or transitional sentences that can be used a guide. Develop a list of questions and anticipated objections as well as potential responses, but these should be used as a reference only, not read word-for-word. Good salespeople sound genuine because they are speaking with their real voice, tone and style.
An exception to this rule is having a set script for when leaving a voice mail. Carefully craft a script that suits your personal style and use a friendly tone. Deliver your message at a medium pace and repeat at the end of the message, key information, such as your name and the number to call back on.
Know your prospect
Before you pick up a phone or approach a prospect in person, know whom you are speaking to.  It helps to develop customer personas or profiles on your key targets. Understand what drives them, what are the barriers, challenges or problems they face and how can you solve them.
If your selling to a business, know the business and industry they are in. Do a bit of research beforehand online and referring to other marketing collateral the business may produce. If you’re prospects are all in the same business type or industry, become an expert in that field.
You need to understand your prospects’ needs and problems, some of which they may not have even realised they have yet.
With any prospect, it’s also a good idea to obtain an understanding of when is a good time to contact them, day/night/time and how, email/phone/in person.
Find out if the person you are speaking to is the right person in terms of influence and decision-making. You can politely enquire by saying ‘I have some information about Y that will assist your organisation with X, but I just wanted to confirm who the best person was to speak to about that’.
Be upfront, honest and make a great first impression
Try and use the prospect’s name in your opening sentence if possible, and aim to be friendly but short and concise. It’s also a great idea to thank them.
Eg.  ‘Thank you first name for speaking with me today…’
For cold calling introduce yourself upfront and be open about the reason for your call.
Eg. ‘My name is full name from company name. I am calling about our X service and to arrange a time to….’
When you do get to the ‘ask’ be clear about what you are asking of them. If you want them to book an appointment, say ‘I would like to set an appointment time for one of our consultants…’. Don’t ask it with an open-ended phrase such as “if you would like a consultant to…”.
Have a conversation
It is critical , particularly when it comes to cold calling that you understand that the sales call (whether in person or over the phone) is a conversation, not one-way dialogue.
A conversation is dynamic where both participants speak, listen and respond appropriately. Something that can never be achieved via a script.
You want to have a professional, open and meaningful conversation with the prospect.
Focus on the prospects’ needs and restate your understanding of their needs eg. ‘From what you are saying I understand…’.
Ask them to elaborate where appropriate to draw out a clearer picture of the situation, simple questions such as ‘and why is that?’ can help.
Know the difference between a question and an objection. Listen and interpret.
You should be aiming to open and maintain dialogue in a genuine way. By opening the conversation and not seeking to control it, you will help to build rapport.
Sometimes you may need to bring the conversation back on track, but your primary role is to listen to the prospect’s needs, empathise with them and provide solutions where needed.
The ask should then fall naturally out of the discussion, without abruptly derailing the conversation or rapport.
A great salesperson ideally needs to believe in the product or service they are selling, or at the very least believe that the solutions they are offering will address the customer’s problems.
During the conversation, they should be enthusiastic about the idea of providing a solution and helping the prospect.
You should use an enthusiastic and friendly tone and smile (even over the phone). You should show active listening skills eg. ‘Uh huh’, ‘I see’ and display positive body language eg leaning in and nodding.
Roleplays are a great way to get a feel for what does and doesn’t work.
Backing up your claims
There are various ways you can provide evidence of your claims and benefits of your product or service. Here are a few of them:
  • Highlight benefits specific to the prospect and their situation
  • Use testimonials/case studies – provide copies or refer to them in conversation eg. “this reminds me of customer X who….”
  • Use facts, figures, charts, images, videos, expert testimonial to support the benefit claims
  • Compare to competitor’s product/service pointing out the superiority of your offering
  • Connect the offering to something they an understand, ‘it’s like X but…’
  • To encourage a wavering or unsure prospect, narrow it down to two choices for them, ‘so you can purchase package X or package Y…’
  • Reduce obvious risks where possible – if there is a cooling off period, trial period or money back guarantee, highlight these.
Offer something special
While you may not be throwing in a set of steak knives, you may be offering something else to the customer that hints at exclusivity or a special deal, such as:
  • A discount or 2 for 1 offer
  • A package or bundle ­at a discounted price
  • Cross-sell or upsell to other products or services. ‘If you like this you may also be interested in this’ or ‘customers who bought this, also bought this’.
Specify a timeframe to secure the offer, so there is a sense of urgency.
Monitor and evaluate success
You should try and keep track of what does and doesn’t work for you. How many points of contact does it take before you secure a sale? How many separate calls before a sale? What time of day best works with this type of customer?
Keep notes and keep in touch with possible prospects where possible. More importantly stay in touch with previous clients to encourage repeat business.
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Nailing your communication touchpoints for a sale ­– “Easy” as pie marketing advice

Kylie Fennell
Once you have a marketing strategy and goals in place, one of the hardest things to do is decide what marketing or communication tactic to use.
There are so many ways to connect with your target audience, and it’s a matter of deciding which way will be most effective. You also need to be aware of what’s possible within your current budget and resources.
Additionally it’s important to keep in mind, when communicating with potential customers, that it may take several different points of contacts (touchpoints) before they take the step of buying from you.
Industry experts will give you varying numbers of how many points of contact, or touchpoints, it takes to make a sale.
Experts such as Dr Jeffrey Lant in his ‘Rule of Seven’ states that you must contact your buyers a minimum of seven times in an 18-month period for them to remember you. Other experts have also cited seven as the number of times you have to contact someone and ask for a sale before you get a “yes”. You can read more on that here.
What all experts agree on is that there is no definitive figure, and that the number of touchpoints will differ and fluctuate across industries, organisations and target markets. 
They also agree that in today’s world when we are overloaded with advertising and messages, the number of touchpoints may need to be higher and more varied.
If you want to cut through to your target audience, whether you want a sale or to engage your staff, you need to pick the right communication tool and use several different tactics.
My infographic provides an ‘Easy as pie’ guide on how to choose the best marketing or communication tactic for your target audience.
For professional advice on creating effective communication touchpoints speak to an expert via www.kyliefennell.com

PS You will notice this infographic is food inspired. This won’t come as a surprise for those people who know me, and how much I love cooking and pies. Regardless, I hope all of you find your marketing ‘easy as pie’ with this guide. 


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