ill communication: copywriting tips & sales strategies for small businesses

Today, I’m getting on my soapbox.  They call us the Slacker Generation. The Forgotten or Lost Generation. The Latchkey Generation. But I like to think that we are the generation that had the best and possibly the highest hair. We are Gen X.  In this episode of ill communication, I’m talking about the generation that’s largely left out of marketing and advertising campaigns. So if you want some ins...

Wouldn’t you like to have an easy button to generate new content ideas? Something that could instantly generate ideas that would appeal to your audience? And wouldn’t it be great if that button was free?  In this episode of ill communication, I’m sharing that easy button content generator with you and I’m providing a live example of how to use it!  There's a funny thing that happens when you&...

I’m coming in hot today with a super juicy writing prompt!  This prompt is perfect for writing nurture emails, blog posts, social media content, and pre-launch content, which is the content you share in the lead-up to a promotion or launch. You just write about what drives you crazy. That’s it! What makes you mad? What burns you up about your industry or competitors?  After you dig into what’s pro...

Happy New Year!  Because it’s the first episode of 2023, I thought it would be a great time to talk about the copywriting trends for the year ahead. These trends will undoubtedly have an impact on your business, how you market, how you launch, and what to expect for sales.  So in this episode of ill communication, I’m sharing the top five crucial copywriting trends for this year. It’s my intention...

Welcome to the 22nd episode of ill communication! I launched this podcast on August 23rd, and it’s one of the most exciting and scary things I did in 2022. Honestly, it’s been a pretty fun ride!  Because it’s the end of the year, I want to take some time to reflect on what it’s been like to launch a podcast, what’s working, and what’s not working. So in this episode of ill communication, I’m shari...

Today we're taking a tasty little break from regularly scheduled copywriting programming because it's my mission to make your life easier and to demystify and simplify copywriting and marketing so you can get your beautiful voice and message and impact out into the world.  I love sharing tips and hacks to make your business and your life a little easier and more joyful. And that's w...

There is a common saying in the copywriting world: only rookies write from scratch. Seasoned copywriters like me never start with a blank page. We typically have a considerable amount of customer research which gives us all of the messaging and words we need to write. And when we match that customer research with a copywriting formula or a framework, the copy is assembled into a sales message that...

Now that Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday promos are complete, you’re probably turning your mind to the end of December.  For many of us who are entrepreneurs, that means lining up as much business as we can in the remaining weeks of the year and preparing to take a few days or even a few weeks away from our businesses over the holidays. It’s so important to build in time aw...

Ready for a very powerful sales email copywriting formula?  In this episode of ill communication, I’m sharing the shortest and most effective email you could write all year. I promise, if you use this magic formula the right way, you’ll revive some of the prospects who have been languishing in your sales pipeline for a while.  This episode could bring in a couple of new clients by the end of the y...

If you’re planning a Black Friday promotion, you’ve probably written your emails, ads, and sales pages, and are busy testing your tech to make sure everything’s connected and ready to go. You’ll want to bring your A-game to your emails and ads because you’ll be fighting for attention. Make sure to check out my previous episodes linked below to help you prepare.  However, if you, like me, aren’t pl...

This episode of ill communication is going to inspire some amazing content for your email list, social media posts, and articles or blogs! It's a writing prompt you can actually use many times throughout the year with just a few simple tweaks to the formula. This formula is amazing for delivering value, showcasing your expertise, and building know, like, and trust from your readers. It’s part...

Simplicity is the secret to sales, and in this episode of ill communication, you’re going to find out why.  The last thing you want to do is overwhelm your reader or sales prospect with too many choices. You don’t want to have a metaphorically jam-packed shelf of offers that makes your readers confused and so paralyzed about the choice that they choose to leave.  That’s why today’s episode about t...

Are you looking for the perfect tools for your business?  If you’ve ever been pregnant, you know that there are some baby gear items that need to be purchased. Back when I was pregnant with my first kid, there was one essential item that I told my husband he must purchase before the baby arrived, and that is my Miss Silva Espresso Machine.  This espresso machine has brought my husband and I  so mu...

Imagine being able to write a compelling, emotional sales message that doesn’t come across as sleazy or icky. What if you could whip up that sales message quickly and have it strike the right note with your prospective client? And when you write this message, it gets your reader to take the action you want them to take, whether it’s to book a call, click a link, or push the buy button.  That’s exa...

This episode of ill communication is going to help you come up with content for any day of the year.  As you may know, about once a month on the podcast I share a writing prompt to give you a little inspiration for what to write about. Whether you’re looking for an idea for an email, blog article, or social media post, this writing prompt has saved me many times when I’m brain-dead and can’t think...

Last week, at the end of the episode, I let you know that if you tune in this week I will share some formulas for writing subject lines - including my favorite one. That is a technique called an open loop.  You’ll see this technique used frequently in movies and T.V. shows. The cliffhanger entices you to come back for more, which is why it’s one of my favorite subject line formulas.  In this episo...

Think about the mail you’ve received recently… I’m talking about snail mail. If you’re like me, you probably get a lot of bills. You can just tell by the envelope when it’s a bill. They all look official, ominous, and boring. You also probably get plenty of junk mail and fliers.  My favorite kind of mail, however, is something that I rarely receive any more. It’s a letter from a friend or family m...

What do the Beastie Boys, Rice Krispies, and the movie 9 To 5 have in common?  If you guessed that they were a few of my favorite things, you wouldn’t be wrong! However, these are all brilliant examples of a powerful writing and marketing principle that will help you write memorable, effective, and entertaining sales copy.  In this episode of ill communication, you’re going to find out why the rul...

Ready to write effective sales copy?  In this episode of ill communication, I’m providing you with a checklist to help you write effective sales copy. You’ll use this checklist to help you prepare for writing and to help you edit your writing before you hit send or publish.  You’ll learn this with the 5 Cs of copywriting. If you’re a digital marketer or copywriter, you might have heard of Bob Bly’...

Need inspiration for what to write? You’re in the right place because I’m coming in hot with your monthly writing prompt. As a refresher, a writing prompt is something that gives you inspiration for what to write in your next email, blog, or social media post.  The writing prompt I’m sharing is perfect for building the “know, like, and trust” factor with your audience and building your authority....

Want to make your copy sound a little more elegant? Earlier on in my career, I learned the simplest and easiest trick for this.  In this episode of ill communication, we are talking about the trouble with “that.” You may be surprised to find you can eliminate it (and other unnecessary filler words) from most of your copy, and it still reads the same while sounding so much better.  It’s surprising...

Want to learn about a copy formula that you can use for practically anything?  In this episode of ill communication, we are talking about the Mary Poppins of copy formulas. In the movie, Mary Poppins measures herself, and it says she is “practically perfect in every way.” I love this saying, and it’s why I named this episode after Mary Poppins.  I’m sharing a copywriting formula with you that is p...

Welcome to the ill communication podcast!  I’ll be honest, when I learned that I had to dedicate this first episode to talking about myself, I got all up in my head. I don’t want to talk about myself! I don’t know what to say or if you’ll even be interested in hearing it.  If you’re an entrepreneur or a woman in business, I have no doubt you can relate to the little gremlins that pop up in our min...

Do you love your bio? As business owners, a bio is something we all need, and it’s one of the first things we write for our business. We use it for our website, social media, speaking engagements, podcast interviews, and more, so naturally, it’s something many of us write and rewrite over and over. Even though it’s one of the first things you’ll write as a professional, it’s often the hardest. So,...

Are you looking for a super simple tip to transform your copywriting?  In this episode of ill communication, I am sharing a simple and actionable tip you can use to improve your copywriting today. Using this tip will instantly make your copy more relatable and enjoyable for your reader, and it will help you turn boring corporate copy into engaging and conversational copy. Ready for the tip?  It’s...