Copywriting is one of the most important tools you can use to boost ticket sales, donations, and revenue across various platforms. And the best part is—it costs $0 to update the words you use.
In this episode, learn five actionable tips on how creating small, emotional connections through specific language creates a big and lasting impact on your revenue. Hone your copywriting skills as a no cost tool to grab your patrons’ attention, fill those seats, and bring in more donations.
Hey, Offstagers, hopefully if you are listening to this
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:episode, you know this is a part two.
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:It's a continuation of the last
episode on the topic of leveraging and
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:up leveling the words we use in our
communications at arts organizations
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:to make those words work harder for us.
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:As I said before in the last episode.
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:This is a topic that is the singular
most important thing you can do, in
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:my opinion at least, if you want to
increase ticket sales, grow subscriptions,
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:grow donations, if you want to
grow your audience and donor base.
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:So if you haven't listened to
part one yet, I highly recommend
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:you go back and start there.
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:There is a lot of context and
just a ton of important tips
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:and high value for you there.
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:That episode is called do this one
thing to make the biggest difference
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:in your sales and fundraising.
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:And it's literally the
episode right before this one.
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:So go there now if you haven't
listened to that one yet.
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:So I don't know, maybe if you're
listening to this, you have listened
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:to part one or here you are now.
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:People think copywriting is not sexy.
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:It is.
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:It is sexy.
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:Like we need a t shirt or something.
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:Strong copywriting is sexy.
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:Maybe that t shirt
already exists somewhere.
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:It's probably next to the t
shirt that says data is sexy.
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:But.
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:I digress.
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:It says a lot about the kind
of t shirts I want, I guess.
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:But anyways, the point is, I talked
about this in the last episode, the
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:part one, and that's to say that if I
had to answer the question, what's the
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:one thing arts organizations can do?
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:So many of you ask a
version of this to me.
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:What's the one thing I can do
to increase sales and donations?
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:It would be this topic of copywriting.
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:The longer answer is that I think
there's more than one thing, but
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:for everyone who's like, if you
had to pick just one, this is it.
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:This is that topic.
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:Why?
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:Because we, arts managers, arts
organizations, arts administrators, use
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:written word so much in everything we do.
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:No matter your artistic discipline,
symphonies, operas, orchestras, chamber
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:ensembles, theaters, museums, other
visitor based cultural institutions,
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:you name it, dance companies, we
use the written word everywhere.
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:So I listed these in part one,
but to name them again, website.
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:First and foremost, more people
visit the website than we serve.
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:Via any other means.
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:So the copy plus writing copy for
the user, so, so important here.
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:Program book.
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:If you're at an exhibit based
institution or visitor based
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:institution, that's the object labels.
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:Social media, of course, for all
of us, multiple channels there.
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:Press releases.
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:So many press releases are.
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:Just really, I'm pausing, but the word
is sterile, is what was coming to mind.
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:Like, very clinical, there's
so much we can do to better up
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:level the copywriting there.
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:Email blast, no matter whether
that's for marketing or fundraising.
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:Every piece of marketing and fundraising
collateral, so that's, Postcards,
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:season brochures, all the donor
communications, solicitations, appeal
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:letters, acknowledgment letters, so that's
another one that can be pretty sterile.
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:Donor benefits, emails, brochures,
campaign case for support, website again
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:on all the fundraising side, and then
of course digital, digital ads, and then
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:I already mentioned the social media
feeds themselves, and on and on and on.
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:It's just that we use words
more than anything that we do.
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:We use words everywhere, and the
choices we make, the word choices.
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:are so important.
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:You know, the adage is just so true.
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:The pen is mightier than the sword.
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:I don't know if any of you out there are
using swords, but the pen is mightier.
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:Uh, and I guess another thing I
should say is that the pen is a
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:whole lot cheaper than the sword.
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:Okay, I gotta get off this
analogy, but I've been there.
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:The point is, when I was chief
executive at an orchestra, we had
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:zero money when I first started.
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:I've talked about this before, but zero.
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:And so, for anybody who, you know,
feels like that right now, like, I got
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:nothing, Aubrey, like, then take notes.
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:And I've actually, the freebie for the
episode helps you with the cheat sheet,
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:so you don't have to take notes, but
I'll share more on that in a second.
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:The idea is just that.
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:It's the best free solution to really
work on the skill of copywriting.
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:And if you're part of a team, have
everybody on your team work on that
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:too, the different people who are
responsible for writing different things.
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:So I've just felt the pain where I
felt like I had no options, no money.
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:And I'm telling you, here's an option.
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:Best ROI, period, out there.
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:So if you are either in the camp
of wanting one thing to improve
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:your sales and donations this year.
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:Or, in the camp of, we have no money,
these two episodes are your ticket.
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:The last episode plus
this episode right here.
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:Before we get going, if you know someone
or are thinking of someone in your mind
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:right now and are like, this could be
helpful to them, or, you know, so and so
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:should really hear this, do me a favor,
do your organization a favor, and do the
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:field a favor, and share it with them.
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:Bye bye.
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:Because I am here to tell you that
if you get super serious about your
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:copywriting, it will make a difference at
a cost to you of literally zero dollars.
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:So copywriting is super sexy.
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:Print the t shirts, folks, because
increasing sales and donations is sexy.
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:Definitely in my book.
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:There are no excuses.
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:It's just plain old skill building.
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:And I am here to tell you that.
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:to help you do that.
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:So part two on copywriting,
let's get it going.
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:I'm Aubrey Bergauer and
welcome to my podcast.
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:I'm known in the arts world for
being customer centric, data
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:obsessed, and for growing revenue.
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:The arts are my vehicle to make the
change I want to see in this world, like
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:creating places of belonging, pursuing
gender and racial equality, developing
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:high performing teams and leaders, and
leveraging technology to elevate our work.
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:I've been called the Steve
Jobs of classical music and the
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:Sheryl Sandberg of the symphony.
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:I've held offstage roles managing
millions of dollars in revenue at
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:major institutions and as chief
executive of an orchestra where we
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:doubled the size of the audience and
nearly quadrupled the donor base.
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:And now I'm here to help you
achieve that same kind of success.
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:In this podcast, we are sorting
through the data inside and outside
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:the arts, applying those Findings to
our work, leading out with our values
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:and bringing in some expert voices
along the way, all to build the vibrant
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:future we know is possible for our
institutions and for ourselves as
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:offstage administrators and leaders.
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:This podcast is about
optimizing the business around
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:the art, not sacrificing it.
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:You're listening to The Offstage Mic.
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:Have you read CoreStorm's new
State of the Arts report yet?
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:It's a data driven resource for all
things arts education in the past year.
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:This one is for all the executive
directors of non profit arts
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:organizations, teaching artists, and other
leaders in the arts and culture community.
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:Imagine tapping into more than 10
years of exclusive class registration
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:data to uncover invaluable
insights for your organization.
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:CourseStorm has done the legwork
so you can make informed decisions.
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:Things like what day and time
is best to hold your class.
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:When do most people register?
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:And which digital marketing
channel is most effective?
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:Discover the successes and
strategies of arts education
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:programs that not only weathered the
pandemic storm, but are thriving.
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:Yes, you heard that right.
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:Thriving.
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:I love that the State of the
Arts report shares exclusive data
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:from the top class registration
software company, CourseStorm.
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:I got to see trends discovered
from CourseStorm's analysis of more
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:than 1 million class registrations.
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:And you'll want to see them too.
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:So if you're ready to elevate your
education program, don't miss out
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:on the state of the arts report.
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:Visit Core storm.com/soar.
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:That's slash SOAR, like the
acronym for State of the Arts.
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:And download the free report today.
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:We're back today on top Tunes
the music prediction, is it just
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:me or does this sound terrible?
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:co So, here we go.
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:In total, last episode plus this
episode, all together, I am sharing
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:nine copywriting tips for you.
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:This is not an exhaustive list of all
you can do, but there is a lot of good
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:value here, so we're sticking to nine,
nine tips to get you going and to start
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:driving more emotional connections
and ultimately that desired behavior.
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:And the desired behavior is ticket
sales, subscriptions, donations.
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:Or, in the case of PR, press releases
that desired behavior is coverage,
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:is a story being told about you,
inspiring that desired behavior.
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:For social media, building emotional
connections that drive the desired
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:behavior, that's likes, shares, comments,
engagement, stopping the scroll, right?
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:For program book, the desired behavior
would be, we want our audience to
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:have a feeling of understanding.
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:We want to demystify the art, and we
want to be the guide for attendees
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:to help them on their journey.
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:We could do a whole other episode on
the idea of people reading the program
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:book should feel like it's their trusted
guide, as opposed to a distant scholarly
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:publication of some sort, right?
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:Okay, whole other episode someday.
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:The point is, our copy and the words we
used are to elicit an emotional response.
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:that drives a desired behavior.
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:That's why we're here.
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:That's why we're covering this.
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:That's why I think it's so important.
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:So, okay, quick review on part one,
just to really quickly list it down.
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:The first four tips I gave in the
last episode were, number one,
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:talk like your customers talk.
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:Number two, start with the juiciest,
most interesting line first.
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:The purpose of that first line is
to get people to just keep reading.
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:We just talked about the desired
behavior, but the first line
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:is not about that behavior.
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:The first line is about
get them to keep reading.
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:Okay, point three.
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:Write answers to what your customer
needs, wants, or has questions about.
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:Do that in your copy.
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:And four, add urgency.
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:So again, if this is all new to you,
go back, listen to the last episode.
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:It's all spelled out with tons of
examples, details, and explanations
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:of what to do and not to do.
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:So now, on to tips
number five through nine.
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:I mentioned before you don't
actually have to take notes.
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:I mean, you can if you want, of
course, but I've got it all for you
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:in a free download for this episode.
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:It's called The Do's and
Don'ts of Copywriting, 9
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:Tips to Level Up Immediately.
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:So it's the rundown of everything
we've covered in the last
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:episode as well as this episode.
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:Go to my website to get yours.
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:It's aubreybergauer.
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:com slash 27.
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:That's number 27 for episode 27.
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:And as we're hitting the
rest of these tips, I.
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:I first want to talk about the role of AI,
because we haven't talked about that yet.
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:So here's my take on AI.
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:I am a big fan of efficiency, for sure.
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:We are in a world where literally
every arts organization says they
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:don't have enough time, people, right?
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:So if we can get a boost or we
can get some help or something to
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:improve efficiency, I am all for it.
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:To dig a little deeper, my experience
with AI, I would say, is twofold.
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:I think AI is good for drafting.
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:So all these things we're talking
about, all the places we have copy,
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:every single one of those channels
I've mentioned, it can really help.
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:Again, as the draft, not the final thing.
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:I've not, I don't think I've
used Chad GPT or any of the
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:others I've played around with.
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:Like once have I seen what they generated
and then was like, yep, that's the winner.
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:So just no draft starting point.
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:That's the main thing.
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:But that's enough.
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:Like sometimes we just need our
brains to kind of get the little
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:jumpstart or have a little start.
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:Spark.
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:Or sometimes it's easier if you
have the list of tips in front of
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:you if you go get the download.
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:You can see what the AI tool
generates and then be like, uh uh,
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:but I can see how to make it better.
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:So again, just sometimes having
that draft is just a big body of
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:work that really helps, like I
said, kind of jumpstart our brains.
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:So yeah.
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:Good, good, good for
the first pass, usually.
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:My other, I said it was twofold, so my
other piece of the experience with AI
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:tools is that I, we, you, all of us, have
to learn to get better with our prompts.
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:So I've learned.
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:Chat GPT, for example, but I'm
sure the others too, can take
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:a lot of direction, actually.
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:For example, give it my prompt, draft
something, I don't know, whether it's
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:social media caption or whatever.
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:And then you can say, now write that
in a more approachable way with plain
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:English that's easy to understand.
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:Like, you can literally say that
in the prompts for chat GPT.
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:And so you're training it to
do exactly what I told you.
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:Like, wasn't that tip number one,
talk like your customers talk in plain
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:English that's easy to understand.
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:Yeah.
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:Okay.
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:I just wanted to share those
additional thoughts, tips on kind
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:of the role of AI in all of this.
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:So it's a starting place, but we
can get better with our prompts and
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:helping refine the voice of the AI too.
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:Alright.
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:If you are wanting to explore AI and how
it can help you, by all means, go for it.
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:I think is the moral of the story here.
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:And I would say if we can use.
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:Not just AI, but any tool available.
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:There are so many now of all kinds
of different tools to save you time,
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:brain space, create efficiency.
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:I am probably always going to say,
explore that, do it, go for it.
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:We need all the help we can get, right?
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:Like, we need all the help we
can get on our super lean staffs.
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:Plus, I guess probably every business
in any sector wants to be more
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:efficient, wants to get a leg up.
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:So in that sense, all of this
is not particularly unique to
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:nonprofits or arts managers or arts
organizations, for that matter.
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:Okay, and I just want to share, I
was just recently reading before
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:recording this episode, HubSpot's
:
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:And this is all about the
different marketing trends.
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:And they just recently released this,
if you're listening to this episode.
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:kind of around the time it comes out.
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:And this is what they said on efficiency.
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:They said, quote, efficiency leads
to innovative, more human marketing.
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:I think that's really,
in some ways, profound.
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:I don't mean to be too dramatic
about it, but efficiency leads to
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:innovative, more human marketing.
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:I mean, that's exactly
what we're going for here.
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:The report goes on to say, quote,
Today, marketers have a new assessment
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:Assistant to help with everyday tasks,
brainstorming, research, content creation,
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:data analysis, reporting and automation.
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:Your friendly neighborhood AI tool.
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:And so, you know, I was talking about the
prompts and getting better at the prompts.
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:You could even say, here's the
concert program, insert all the info,
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:performers, all that kind of stuff.
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:And you can say as your prompt,
brainstorm 20 different potential
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:titles for this concert.
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:I think that's so cool.
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:And then even if it doesn't nail it.
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:You are reading that list, and
you have just, I keep coming back
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:to this word jumpstarted, you've
just jumpstarted your own brain.
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:It puts you in the critical and creative,
that combination of critical and
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:creative thinking space, so that your
brain is working in the background.
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:And by the time you read that list
and get to idea number 20, you
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:will have others coming to mind.
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:If you don't believe me, try it.
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:It just is going to spur
new and more ideas for you.
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:Honestly, I am working on this myself.
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:I have to confess, the default in
me is often the old way that relies
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:a hundred percent on myself or
somebody else on my team or their
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:own creativity or my own creativity.
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:And, um, That is actually
holding me back, holding us back.
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:When I think about jumpstarting
my own creativity, that's an
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:advantage plus a time saver.
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:So I am playing around with AI myself
a little bit, trying to get better
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:at it, trying to push myself in this
area because I see the benefits.
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:And then lastly, the tech is
only going to get better, right?
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:This technology is not
going away for sure.
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:So I would say.
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:Not only am I encouraging this, but
encouraging at least dabbling, playing
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:around, getting familiar with the
technology and the tools because it is
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:only going to serve you going forward.
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:Okay, let's call all of
this free bonus tip 4.
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:5.
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:We left off with tip number four
in the last episode, and now
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:let's move on to tip number five.
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:Be specific.
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:Any time you are writing a
list of benefits or features.
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:Take away and more.
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:Like, we see this all the time.
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:Like, somebody says, I don't
know, the upcoming opera has great
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:sets, awesome costumes, and more.
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:Don't say and more.
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:Instead, you have to say
exactly what you're selling.
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:This is important to the shift
in consumer behavior today.
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:And more is kind of a lazy catch
all, and we have to stop doing
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:it because it's not effective.
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:Not because I'm criticizing lazy
copywriting, just because it doesn't work.
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:And that's the part I'm trying
to help you get away from.
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:So instead, you have to
find something else to say.
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:instead of the vague and more.
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:What is it?
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:Great sets, awesome costumes,
and special choreography.
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:I don't know.
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:I'm making this up.
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:But similarly, avoid rhetorical questions.
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:So many times we waste that first line
of copy with a rhetorical question.
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:Sometimes it's okay.
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:Sometimes it's okay.
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:When you're defaulting to that, a
fair amount, flex that copywriting
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:muscle, and try to do better.
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:Occasionally, like I said, like, like
an example of when it might work is when
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:it's an actual question your customer
is asking, like we noted before.
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:But a lot of times it just weakens
the copy, kind of wastes words, so
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:find a way to reword it when you can.
354
:Just jump to the answer, usually, is the
solution to this copywriting challenge.
355
:So here's a great one when
we're talking about be specific.
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:You can also Use a number to
convey specificity and credibility
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:and Specific numbers are more
believable than round numbers.
358
:Don't just say, you know, when
we've got up to 90 people on
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:stage, say we have 72 members in
the orchestra or whatever it is.
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:Or literally the way I set up the title of
this episode, nine tips for copywriting.
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:Be specific and don't give a round number.
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:That is intentional even in
the title of this episode.
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:Tip number six, drop the superlatives.
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:Think.
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:Just the facts.
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:This is really a blast from the
past, but did anybody watch Dragnet?
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:Dragnet, when did it come on?
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:The 50s or 60s, I want to say.
369
:I could be wrong on that, but I think it
was black and white originally, so that
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:gives some semblance of a time period.
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:But the detective would
say, just the facts, ma'am.
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:That's where that came from.
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:It came from Dragnet.
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:And that's the other way to
say, drop the superlatives.
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:And this is definitely research
based and definitely applies
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:to so many arts organizations.
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:So hear me out.
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:There is a study that found, they actually
measured this, like how many superlatives,
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:these like flowery adjectives,
performed better in copywriting.
380
:And in their copywriting, they
found that zero or one superlatives
381
:performed best in all of their tests.
382
:And the more superlatives than that, two,
three, four, however many adjectives,
383
:flowery words people put in there.
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:The worse the click
throughs, opens, reads, etc.
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:So zero or one superlatives.
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:That is what you need to know.
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:Drop the superlatives.
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:I literally went to, here's more
examples for you, literally went to a
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:major orchestra's website and clicked
on the first concert on the homepage.
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:And this is what that landing page
said, clicked on the whatever they were
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:promoting on the homepage, took me to
this landing page for the concert, the
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:program overview page, and it said,
quote, two orchestral innovators tackle
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:the complexities of the human condition.
394
:Ricard Strauss passionate and provocative
symphony poems plumb the psychological
395
:depths of his literary sources.
396
:Maurice Ravel wrote Wrote his dark
and intense piano concerto for
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:the left hand because the Austrian
pianist who commissioned it lost
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:his right arm in World War I.
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:The warped and tender waltzes of La Valse
are the Frenchman's response to the dream
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:of Viennese refinement in a murderous age.
401
:Okay, first of all, that's a lot of words.
402
:Second of all, that is
a lot of superlatives.
403
:So, I will say, to give credit, the
second sentence is actually really good.
404
:Maurice Ravel wrote his dark and intense
piano concerto for the left hand because
405
:the Austrian pianist who commissioned
it lost his right arm in World War I.
406
:I would say there's probably
more in there than needs to be.
407
:You could probably quell that a bit, drop
some of these words, but Why it's good
408
:is because that's an interesting fact.
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:The work is cool.
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:It uses words that are
more understandable.
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:Oh, it's for the left hand.
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:Oh, because the person who
commissioned it had lost his right
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:arm, so he needed only his left hand.
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:So that's pretty good, but it's buried in
the middle of this big, long paragraph.
415
:So Drop the superlatives.
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:Also just to be crystal clear, words
like world class and beloved are
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:definitely superlatives and you should
definitely stop using those words.
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:It goes back to point one
on using language like how
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:your customers actually talk.
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:What do people actually say?
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:They say words like
awesome or crazy or best.
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:Like just talk like people
talk and use interesting facts.
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:That's definitely better and
easier to understand than.
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:Viennese refinement in a murderous age.
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:Like I said, this was literally
the first orchestra website I
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:went to, literally clicked on the
first thing on the first page.
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:This stuff is just pervasive, so I
really am not trying to throw shade
428
:or throw anybody under the bus.
429
:It's just not effective copywriting.
430
:So here are these examples to
try to help understand what's
431
:happening and what we can do to be
more effective, to drive results.
432
:That's what the copywriting is all
about, driving the results we need.
433
:Tip number 7 of 9.
434
:Use the active voice,
not the passive voice.
435
:So, for example, a social media post
that says something like, The orchestra
436
:shines under the baton of conductor name.
437
:That's passive.
438
:Versus, they make it look effortless.
439
:That's more active, it's also a
little juicier, it's a better hook.
440
:Or, they did this on just two rehearsals.
441
:That one line brings together
a lot of these other points.
442
:It's active.
443
:It's a specific number, two rehearsals.
444
:Plus it's a fact matching
the point on being specific.
445
:Plus there's no false enthusiasm.
446
:It's talking like your customers
talk, like that one line, they
447
:did this on just two rehearsals.
448
:That is a much more powerful.
449
:line of copy.
450
:And you know, it's so funny because
we internally in the arts, especially
451
:in the orchestra world, we're almost
never impressed by an orchestra
452
:doing a performance after just
two or three rehearsals because we
453
:know they do it all the time, like
literally week after week, right?
454
:But customers don't know that.
455
:And it just makes me think about, this is
about using the active voice, but the sub
456
:tip would be, you know, don't be afraid
to say the things that feel obvious to us,
457
:but they're not obvious to our customers.
458
:I've been thinking so much about
Caitlin Clarke lately, like for anybody
459
:who's been following the Caitlin
Clarke phenomenon, nobody is saying.
460
:Yeah, but she scores over 40 points
every game, so it's old hat now.
461
:Right?
462
:Like, nobody is saying, like, she's old
news because she excels every single
463
:time and she does it every single time.
464
:That's not, that's not the
topic of conversation with her.
465
:The topic of conversation with her
is like, holy cow, she's exceptional.
466
:So the things that Really
do make our artists so
467
:exceptional, like, talk about it.
468
:Nobody is saying Simone Biles
landed the most difficult vault
469
:ever done in women's gymnastics.
470
:Again, snooze fest, right?
471
:Like both of those examples
are of greatness because
472
:they do it again and again.
473
:And it is the same with our artists.
474
:They just did that on two rehearsals.
475
:Active voice.
476
:One more I just thought of.
477
:Somebody was telling me, this was
a few years ago, but somebody was
478
:telling me about their friend.
479
:watching Long Long Play Piano
on YouTube for the first time.
480
:They did not know him, they
didn't know who he was, and my
481
:friend had shown this video.
482
:To their friend.
483
:Okay.
484
:I don't know what the copy on that.
485
:I'm going to tell you
what the friend said.
486
:Talk about talking like your
patrons talk or your customers talk.
487
:I'm going to tell you what they said
in a moment, but instead what I did
488
:as I was, this was coming to mind in
preparation for this episode, I go
489
:back to Instagram, open it up and I
thought, okay, let's just see what
490
:posts are talking about a piano player.
491
:All right, here's what I got.
492
:First two posts I came across
talking about a piano player.
493
:Quote, experience the striking stage
presence and jaw dropping bravura
494
:of Yefim Bronfman in a solo recital.
495
:On the program, and
then list of composers.
496
:Next one.
497
:I keep scrolling a couple
more later, another pianist.
498
:Beatrice Rana and conductor name on
stage with insert big orchestra name
499
:performing insert piece of music name
at insert venue name this past weekend.
500
:Like, do you think the friend said
that when this person watched Long
501
:Long Play for the first time, which,
by the way, is what we want happening
502
:on our social channels, whether that's
YouTube or Instagram or wherever,
503
:do you think the friend said that?
504
:Like, wow, look at that
jaw dropping bravura.
505
:No.
506
:The friend said, wow,
his hands are blurry.
507
:Like he is playing so
fast, his hands are blurry.
508
:That's active voice.
509
:That's actually what the
customer is thinking or saying.
510
:It's such a better line of copy
that could've gone for any of these
511
:pianists I just used the examples of.
512
:Wow, their hands are blurry.
513
:So much stronger than these other words.
514
:These are actual examples in my feed
two seconds after I opened the app.
515
:Okay.
516
:Use active voice, not passive voice.
517
:Number eight.
518
:Tip number eight of nine.
519
:Use white space.
520
:Okay, this is now more
important off of social media.
521
:There's definitely, it's definitely
important on social media.
522
:You need line breaks and things
like that, but this is all kinds
523
:of other copy we write as well.
524
:So we need to help our copy look
clean, look uncluttered, and create
525
:visual balance and breathing room.
526
:This is important because We need
people to understand and take action.
527
:We're using, we're trying to
drive an emotional reaction
528
:to drive the desired behavior.
529
:Right?
530
:So we need our white space to help
us do that, to help somebody's brain
531
:process what we're writing in this As
little time as possible, you know, we're
532
:talking milliseconds or seconds, right?
533
:So the whitespace helps us do that.
534
:That means add in space between
sections of the email or website,
535
:lots of paragraph breaks.
536
:Sometimes even in my own
copy, it's treating a sentence
537
:like a paragraph, right?
538
:You write a sentence.
539
:Basically, a paragraph break after that.
540
:This is by design.
541
:It's so people can process
what they're reading.
542
:And another way to say
this is that people skim.
543
:They don't read, they skim.
544
:So help them skim.
545
:If you want to increase conversions,
you have to help them read less.
546
:Like maybe this sounds counterintuitive.
547
:But it's not.
548
:People are going to do what
they're going to do, right?
549
:So help them get what they need or want
in the shortest amount of time possible.
550
:Whitespace helps with that.
551
:I see so many postcards and
brochures that come in the mail.
552
:It's kind of season brochure time
right now as I'm recording this.
553
:and it is a C of black type.
554
:This is bad copywriting.
555
:I know you have a lot to say.
556
:We're going to talk about some of that in
the next and final tip, but you do this in
557
:your own life too as a consumer yourself.
558
:You don't read every word.
559
:You skim to see if that email
or post or letter or postcard
560
:or brochure is worth your time.
561
:So help the reader take in what they
need in that like very short millisecond,
562
:couple seconds chance we're given.
563
:And then, like I said, this segues into
our next and final point, point nine
564
:of nine, tip nine of nine, cut the copy
in half and then cut it in half again.
565
:Sometimes longer form copy is effective.
566
:Sometimes it is.
567
:That is true.
568
:But, generally speaking, for the
website, email, direct mail, and even
569
:fundraising appeals, try to say what
you need to say in half the words.
570
:I know that's hard.
571
:Even in the fundraising appeal,
oh man, I've been there.
572
:It's hard.
573
:But again, most people
aren't really reading.
574
:So it is a skill to be able to cut
it in half and cut it in half again.
575
:Anybody who's worked for me has definitely
heard me say this, cut it in half.
576
:So I'm just a longtime
broken record on this.
577
:There is so much more
to say on this topic.
578
:Just recently in one of my academy
office hours, a participant brought
579
:their appeal letter to the office hours
and said, can we look at this together?
580
:Can we talk about what to cut?
581
:And there's a lot more to say.
582
:Also, we also looked at like what the
research says about storytelling and
583
:how to do that well across channels.
584
:There is so much more to say on this
topic of copywriting, but before
585
:we call it, I've got one more.
586
:Let's call it the bonus 10th tip.
587
:And that is that practice makes perfect.
588
:Doing all of this is not easy, definitely
not easy at the beginning, and that
589
:is why great copywriting is a skill.
590
:It takes work to do all these things.
591
:It takes mental work, mental
capacity, some mental gymnastics.
592
:It takes brainstorming.
593
:It definitely takes iteration.
594
:You have to write, you have to rewrite,
you have to cut, you have to try it again.
595
:Brainstorm a bunch of different
versions of the headline or the hook.
596
:Like, that's, that's work.
597
:It takes being able to cut
things that are good, not great.
598
:That's hard too.
599
:I, cutting in half is hard
because, you know, you get really
600
:attached to what you're saying.
601
:And I definitely do this myself.
602
:So for sure, constantly working on this.
603
:It means you can't always
bang it out in two seconds.
604
:And I think so often in the arts, you
We're having to bang it out in two
605
:seconds because we don't have time.
606
:It's due tomorrow.
607
:It's due yesterday, basically.
608
:So it makes it hard to just
take the time to really try to
609
:build the muscles to do this.
610
:But keep practicing.
611
:Keep building those chops.
612
:It will pay off.
613
:I can promise you.
614
:That, and that is why big brands
and ad agencies, they have people
615
:solely dedicated to copywriting.
616
:Like it's their full title,
full job, copywriter.
617
:They know the words we use are so
critically important to motivate action.
618
:We at arts organizations
use words in so many places.
619
:And being strategic about the
words you use makes the biggest
620
:difference to your bottom line.
621
:All right, folks, I hope you found
these last two episodes really packed
622
:with actionable tips to immediately
increase your sales and donations via
623
:the words you use in your copywriting.
624
:I want you to have all the tips from
this episode and the last episode,
625
:parts one and two, on this topic
of copywriting at your fingertips.
626
:That way, next time you are writing
something, whether that's for a
627
:website, collateral, brochure, social
media, fundraising appeal, a letter,
628
:email, whatever, you can refer to
these pointers and level up what
629
:you're putting out into the world to
get the results you want and need.
630
:Go to my website and
get your free download.
631
:It's called Do's and Don'ts
of Copywriting, 9 Tips
632
:to Level Up Immediately.
633
:Head to www.
634
:aubreybergauer.
635
:com slash 27.
636
:That's number 27 for episode 27.
637
:And to best use this download, I would
say next time you're writing something
638
:for your organization, My recommendation
is either to first look at the list,
639
:scan the tips, and then instantly that
puts your brain in the right brain space
640
:to write great copy, and of course you
can refer to the tips and guide as you
641
:go, or if you have something already
written, like webpages, for example,
642
:the other recommendation or option is
to use the tips and compare against
643
:what's already there so you can make
Smart, better choices about what to keep,
644
:what to cut, and what to modify so that
that copy is working harder for you.
645
:Again, it's aubreybergauer.
646
:com slash 27, number 27, for episode 27.
647
:That's all for today, folks.
648
:Thanks so much for listening, and if you
like what you heard here, Hit that button
649
:to follow or subscribe to this podcast.
650
:If you're new, welcome.
651
:I am so glad you made it.
652
:And if you've been listening for
a while, I love so much that you
653
:were getting value from this.
654
:So if that's you, please take just two
seconds to leave a quick one tap rating.
655
:Full on review isn't even
required if you're short on time.
656
:To all of you once more, thanks again.
657
:I'll see you next time right here.
658
:On the Offstage Mic.
659
:The Offstage Mic was produced by me,
Aubrey Bergauer, and edited by Novo
660
:Music, an audio production company of
all women audio engineers and musicians.
661
:Additional podcast support comes
from the Changing the Narrative
662
:team and social media brand
management by Classical Content.
663
:This is a production of
Changing the Narrative.