Where the words come from — Kelford Labs Daily

I write a lot of marketing messages in a given month. They’re all different, for different clients, in different industries.

The strange thing is, though, that I don’t actually know by what means I’m able to write them.

Because after I’ve done my prep work, the words just... come to me.

Which is a pretty unsatisfying thing to hear if you’re asking so you can improve your own marketing. 

But, wait.

I guess I do sort of know where the ideas come from, because they only come to me if I’ve done my homework.

Which means they might also come to you if you do similar prep.

I always start with the marketing position for the company I’m creating for:

I make sure I know Who, specifically, the message is targeting. I make sure I understand What that person needs, in their own words. I uncover How my client is uniquely able to provide extraordinary value to them. And I research When and Where the end customer discovers they have a need my client can solve.

Then, I take all that information and distill it down into a simple phrase in the form of, "We do x for y so they can z, and ultimately a.”

Then, and only then, do the phrases start to form. I’ll spend some time thinking about unique plays on words, interesting connections between ideas and sounds. I’ll mentally explore hundreds of different variations before typing anything.

So the question I have for you is, if you’re struggling to write marketing messages, have you done your homework?

Do you know your marketing position? Can you distill your value proposition into a simple, single sentence?

And have you spent ample time playing with these ideas, exploring their boundaries, and making interesting mental connections?

If not, the words are unlikely to arise.

But if you do the prep, they’re almost guaranteed to.

Kelford Inc. shows experts the way to always knowing what to say.