Wrecking (B)all: Techniques to get your company noticed. (And no-one needs to take their clothes off!)

Gaining a wider audience

After this week's controversy about THAT video and what sells these days; we decide to look at the top tips for making sure your company gets noticed for the right reasons.

Get. Their. Attention.

Use an interesting title or refer to a recent event to make your post stand out. We are constantly exposed to text. To make yours appeal to potential customers, use a great headline.

What's in it for them?

Write from your customer's point of view. This means writing about how your product/service/company will benefit the customer. Don't go into lengthy detail about the features. This comes later. At first, you want to generate interest and reveal the details when they're hooked.

Jackanory. Wait... What?

Read it aloud. Does it sound natural? Does it flow well or are you waffling? Good copy needs to be carefully chosen to provide a simple and clear guide to your product or service. Which brings us to the next point.

Use subheadings

Don't make your topic seem too dense by suffocating the reader with huge blocks of text. Break it up into manageable chunks. Use headings and subheadings to organise different subjects.

Get personal

Address your audience as 'you'. This makes them believe you are talking to them personally. It makes the audience trust the writer if you write as if you are just talking to one person. It may help to imagine this is someone you actually know.

All hands on deck

Ask a colleague to read through your copy. Even better, ask a customer to read it. This is the best way to test how effective it is. Respond to feedback. If someone tells you it's too long, EDIT it. If someone says it's perfect, EDIT it. There is always room for improvement.

Be specific

The more specific you are, the better your customer will understand how they will benefit. For example saying "my clients have found my copy to be excellent." doesn't really tell the customer much. However, saying Mr. R. Bird - "Copywriterlaura provided excellent copy, which increased my web traffic by 27%" sounds more believable and much more specific.

Start using these seven tips today, and watch your copy gather more interest and get your company noticed.

What are you top tips for widening your web audience? Social media? Leaflet bombing? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.