As You Promote Your Business...

Are Your Web Copy,
White Papers, Case Studies,
And Other Marketing Collateral
Really Connecting
With Your Prospect?

Is Your Copy Built On Principles
That Still Prove Effective
After More Than 100 Years?

As a business owner or marketing manager, you have a big obstacle facing you every day:

How to increase sales and profitability by keeping you looking good in the eyes of those who encounter your business...

Whether through advertising ... word-of-mouth ... your company web site ... or any other communication channel — and whether or not you are the one who's able to choose or control that channel.

That's a huge challenge — especially in a difficult economy where everyone seems to be looking for a "deal".

Whether you sell to consumers (B2C) or to other businesses (B2B), if you aren't using the right kind of copy, written from the correct perspective, you're leaving money on the table — maybe lots of it.

One Advertising Principle
Is Creating Booming Business
(for smart marketers)
In Economically Hard Times

Some say the economy is in the worst shape it's been since The Great Depression. But many businesses are prospering better than ever, and there's a reason.

The secret's in how they create and write their advertising and marketing copy.

They don't use "brand" and "image" advertising like big ad agencies promote (so they can collect big fees and congratulate each other about their creativity at annual awards dinners).

They don't run huge mass-media advertising campaigns that devour cash like a gigantic paper shredder (while ad agencies collect a nice commission at the client's expense).

All that's required is one simple change...

It's called Direct Response Copywriting, an approach proven effective in decade after decade of successful advertising since the 1800s, and even before that!

And today, when you go to the store you see some of those creations still in use, though they were devised a whole century ago!

Why? Because they work.

But direct-response copy techniques — the ones that produce top results — are rarely taught by colleges and universities, so maybe you've never heard about it.

And advertising agencies — while vocally claiming direct-response expertise — commonly violate many of the most fundamental principles behind effective direct-response copy, thus costing their clients lost sales and lower return on investment.

In Today's Brutal Business Climate
You Must Be Good at Crafting
An Effective Marketing Message...

That means getting your name — and your message — in front of the right people ... presented effectively ... at the right time ... in the right way.

Including ... getting the Right Words ... in the Right Place ... for the Right Reason.    It's not about grammar ... or fancy prose — it's about accurate, effective communication.

It's about connecting with your prospect or customer so that you not only make the sale, but you also develop a long-term relationship that continues to produce results year after year.

Most important: It's always about helping others get what they want and need — not tricking them into buying what you want to sell.

It's talking about what they want, what they want to know; not what you think you want to tell them about how wonderful you are.

Do that right, and your image, brand, and a long line of unshakably loyal customers will fall into place.

Doing it Right

You live and operate your business in the age of the consumer ... where the consumer — your B2B or B2C customer or prospect ... (which means not you) — gets to make the decisions about what ... when ... or whether to buy.

But it's always been that way. The merchant never gets to coerce anyone into buying — even when it's in the prospect's best interest to do so.

That means you must use the most effective means available...

To present your message to your prospective buying audience...

In a way they'll respond to...

By carefully planning and executing your message...

The right message ... delivered to each properly targeted prospect ... by the right spokesperson ... at the proper time ... in the most effective way.

I understand and know how to use the techniques that enable you to adopt that approach in your marketing. I can help you be more effective in your marketing communication — whether online ... or in print.

Using the Right Medium

Whether you need help with your company web site...

Or you're looking for an effective white paper to present your case in a non-sales-y way ... so you can navigate past the natural defenses people erect against your message...

Or you need a technical or user document...

Or copy for a sales brochure ... catalog ... or other commercial content or marketing collateral...

You've arrived at the right place ... for help with...

A Carefully Crafted ... Professional...
Yet Personable Message

I can help you create an effective message that directly addresses the problems ... concerns ... and desires of your prospect...

With no hype ... and no baloney...

From his or her point of view — not yours — so you look better than your competition in your prospect's eyes ... thus gaining you better position and marketing advantage...

By showing your prospects and customers the kind of respect many other businesses don't want to bother with.

That way, your prospect rewards you by buying from you instead of someone else...

And you both win—

The prospect gets the superior result you promise...

While you improve your bottom line.

I Bring a Lot to the Table...

As a seasoned writer with more than a third of a century of professional-level experience, I possess a lot of useful assets and capabilities I can apply to your marketing projects.

The last seven of my 20 years as a top-ranked senior technical writer and learning-products engineer at Hewlett-Packard were focused entirely on designing, creating, and maintaining a large online help system for HP's Unix computer operating system.

Usability tests in Germany rated it excellent to exceptional for usability, content, and design.

Why so highly?

Because it was fanatically constructed to provide what the user needed for succeeding with a given task ... not what the design engineers might like about the software's internal behavior.

That means I can write copy that is focused
On what your prospects and customers want and are looking for.

I've also owned businesses spanning most of the last 40 years. I understand the problems you face if you own a small business.

I also understand the perspectives of large corporations after three decades working for one of the largest computer companies in the world.

I've been involved in direct sales to consumers for a quarter-century, so I understand how consumers think (or too often don't think) and how they make decisions.

I also have substantial training as a B2B and B2C commercial copywriter, having been taught by such world-renowned luminaries as Bob Bly, Clayton Makepeace, Michael Masterson, Don Hauptman, John Forde, Daniel Levis, John Carlton, Michael Stelzner, Perry Marshall, Joshua Boswell, Jay White, Steve Slaunwhite, and others too numerous to mention — many of whom I consider good, and trusted friends, and whose client lists include some of the most successful businesses in the world.

My experience also includes years of typography, and training in graphic design so I can help you avoid many of the pitfalls and traps that plague business owners when they hire designers who lack the specialized training that is unique to effective marketing and advertising.

Always Remember:

• If people can't read your message...
• Or they can't clearly understand your message...
• Or they don't trust your message...
• Or you haven't given them a reason to like you...
• Or you haven't convinced them you can solve their need — or worse, you don't seem to even care...

You're left out of the picture, and nothing happens...

Because — like it or not — Advertisting is salesmanship in print and you just lost the sale.

Be Smart...

It's your business and your money, but let me offer some valuable advice:

Whenever you consider marketing your business...

Start by getting help with your message from someone who understands — not only the importance of good copy — but also how to create it ... before ... you even think about graphic design and other marketing "capabilities".

The prettiest graphic design ever invented ... and the most carefully constructed prospect contact or mailing lists...

Can never compensate for lame copy ... written by someone who doesn't understand simple principles of copywriting...

Principles that have been used, and tested ... and tested ... and tested ... over and over again ... on many hundreds of millions of advertising packages ... spanning most of the last hundred years...

And proven to be highly effective — because they are based on human nature and measured human behavior.

I've spent a lot of time ... and a lot of money ... immersed in learning these principles — so you don't have to.

They aren't taught in colleges and universities.

They aren't taught in web-development schools.

College professors don't know this stuff. ... And few of the people who do ... would ever consent to work for what colleges would be willing — or able — to pay.

You Have a Golden Opportunity...

There are many people in the market who present themselves as copywriters ... as graphic designers ... or as "web developers" — not unlike many others who claim competence in assorted other trades and professions.

But beware.

Just as some medical doctors are more skilled than others ... some mechanics are more reliable than others ... and some instructors are better teachers than others...

So it is with copywriters.

Copywriters with a broad, deep background ... in not only the basic principles of writing and composition — but who also have solid experience in a broad spectrum of business ... trades ... and professions — are scarce ... and very hard to find, much less get on your team.

By engaging my services, you can benefit greatly ... bringing into your business and marketing ... someone who can draw on that broad array of experience — and professional training — that spans the better part of a near-half-century...

It's a huge advantage to your business — an advantage that very few business owners and managers can gain access to.

Learn More About...
What I Can Do For You

My experience is extensive — whether from 30 years of corporate employment ... 40 years of concurrent business and sales experience ... several years' involvement in construction trades ... or dealing with the challenges of running a family farm in my youth.

Most important, It's solidly built on a foundation of real life—

Not some high-brow, ivory-tower, isolated academic environment totally disconnected from the realities of business ... life ... and family.

My formal education includes many hours — spent over many years — with some excellent teachers and professors who likewise were well-rooted in practical real-world experience.

My lifetime of pursuits covers a lot of different fields of expertise, with considerable depth in each — placing me in an excellent position to help you with a variety of marketing and web-based copywriting challenges — both online ... and offline ... or in print.

In the left-hand column above is a list of some of the various writing and associated services I can provide.

Whatever you're looking for, I'm easy to contact:

Email:    clarke@verinet.net

Phone: (970) 667-6736
             9:00 A.M to 5:00 P.M. Mountain Time Zone

Let me know what you need, and we can figure it out from there.