10 Reasons Your Marketing Messages Stink

Entrepreneur_10_Reasons_Your_Marketing_Messages_Stink_200px My latest article is live on Entrepreneur.com. It’s called 10 Reasons Your Marketing Messages Stink, and I look at the craft of writing effective copy from a different perspective than you might be used to.

You can check it out here.

What do you think is the main reason marketing copy is ineffective? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. and Founder & Editor in Chief of an award-winning blog, WomenOnBusiness.com. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored 10 books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.

Comments

Scott says

November 30, 2009 at 12:18 pm

Nice article. I like that you don’t pull any punches. I think more business owners would prefer that advisors be honest with them rather than trying to make them nice. You’ll definitely never be cast as one of the sycophants in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and that’s a compliment.
AMP says

February 28, 2010 at 8:10 am

As a small business owner…and I do mean small, I am always trying to educate myself on relevant marketing strategies. Let me state that again…”relevant” being the key word, is the most difficult aspect-from my perspective.
Several key issues mentioned hit home with me when it comes to marketing copy….arrogance, not saying what people want to hear, marketing in the wrong place, and putting the cart before the horse. To me these are direly critical to success.
Niche marketing is here…and now…which is why accurate relevant research will build a solid foundation. So work your copy strategy based on your research findings. If you can wrap your head around the big picture, then you do truely understand your clients needs which then affords you the luxury of relaxing and allowing your creative juices to flow.
And isn’t that what ultimately creates a winning marketing campaign?
I liked the article and wish the author would create a part 2…..from the small business owners perspective…perhaps then, those who write copy will begin to see the big picture and pull themselves out of thier ruts.
Susan Gunelius says

February 28, 2010 at 11:45 am

I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed my article. I absolutely agree that niche marketing is “it” right now, and I always tell my clients to focus, focus, focus!

For more info from a small business owner’s perspective, check out my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, which was written specifically to teach small business owners how to write effective copy.