Smart Marketing Enhances Credibility and Creates Customers

Today's business climate is kinder to those who understand and act on the fact that there are numerous ways to communicate positive attributes.

Juergens, Tom. Boston Broadside (1992). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Socnet Specialist

A rationale for joining as many social networking sites as possible, if you are a marketing professional.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2007). Articles>Cyberculture>Marketing>Social Networking

Spread the Word

As technical writers, multimedia artists, editors, Web designers, graphic designers, translators and others who make technical information easily understandable, we are often at a loss to explain what it is we do in our job as technical communicators. We need to provide information to the Des Moines business community through fliers, news articles, and our newsletter. We want to promote recognition of our members who receive awards from their employers for projects well done

Atchison, Beth. STC Central Iowa (2001). Articles>TC>Marketing

STC Marketing Communication SIG

The Marketing Communication Special Interest Group is a resource designed to help its members network, exchange information, and receive education on marketing and public relations writing for technical products. Members are marketing and public relations writers, editors, specialists, managers, and consultants, as well as technical communicators interested in marketing communication.

STC Marketing Communication SIG. Organizations>TC>Marketing

Stories that Sell: Writing Case History Articles  

Grab readers. Make them want to read about your product. No, not by writing sparkling prose in a brochure or flier, but by showing your product or service solving a problem -- as told by a real user. A unique blend of journalism and promotion, "case history" articles offer benefits for everyone. The user gets to look like an important expert. Your company or client gets its product or service shown in a good light. And the publication where the case history is published gets an article that will appeal to its readers.

Bronakowski, Cathryn, Peter Dossing, Barbara Spaeth and Sam Sutherland. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Case Studies

A Streight Eye for the Dairy Queen Guy

"Not your father's Dairy Queen" is touted as a marketing advance, when it's simply Panic Marketing. Find out why DQ should stick with its traditional benefit, desserts, and use that leverage to lift up its other food items. A classic Mentally Correct Marketing study highlighting how strategy must be developed.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Communication>Public Relations>Marketing

A Student Recruitment Model for Undergraduate Technical Communication Programs  

Undergraduate technical communication programs are found across the spectrum of American colleges and universities, from the 2-year community college to the tier-one research university. Technical communication programs find themselves in the enviable position of being in a field where demand exceeds supply. The ratio of jobs to graduates in the workplace is greatly in favor of our students. Why then do many programs have difficulties recruiting students? Why do we not produce the graduate pool needed to meet the needs of industry? One reason for this problem is that most undergraduate technical communication programs do not employ systematic and informed recruitment strategies. In this presentation, I present a recruitment-strategy model based upon JoAnn Hackos’s process maturity model&emdash;a procedure which will give institutions a way to enculturate recruitment and to meet program and student needs. This model is informed by research I conducted in the spring of 2000.

Butler, Brad. CPTSC Proceedings (2000). Academic>Education>TC>Marketing

Review: Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Web Sites  

The group that would probably benefit most from reading Submit now is marketers, particularly entry-level marketing managers or marketing students. The book does a fine job of connecting basic concepts of persuasion to designing Web sites that will motivate the four different types of Internet shoppers discussed earlier. I could, however, foresee how experienced marketers could find the information contained in this book too basic for their needs.

Coleman, Colleen. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Reviews>Writing>Marketing

Tech Writers as Sales Reps?

Documentation teams often struggle to prove their ROI in the absence of any established metrics for measuring it. Understand the value of good documentation.

Graham, Gordon. Software CEO (2005). Careers>TC>Marketing

Technical Writers as Marketing Communicators  

Although there are important differences between technical and marketing writing, technical writers have some prerequisites that support a transition to marketing writing: in-depth product knowledge, research experience, and strong oral and written communication skills. To develop data sheets, brochures, and other materials technical writers must first understand the goals of marketing communications. By focusing on audience needs and product benefits, by using writing techniques that engage the reader, and by providing appropriate supporting visuals, technical writers can develop persuasive marketing messages.

Bednarz, Martha C. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Marketing>Business Communication

Technically, It's Still Marketing: The Rewards and Rigors of Writing Marketing Copy for Technology Companies  

Writing for technology companies has its own unique set of challenges. Here's how to work around some of them.

Calhoun, Harry. Intercom (2006). Careers>Writing>Marketing

Techniques for Effective Marketing Writing  

Marketing writing is creative and fun, but it is also frustrating and challenging to do well. On the one hand, you are freed from the necessarily rigid writing style of most documentation. On the other hand, you face higher expectations from the reader for tone, content, and style. In a marketing piece you can use a broader vocabulary looser sentence structure, metaphor—even humor. But you also must present a realistic and compelling message about your product or company.

King, Janice M. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing

Ten Keys to Increasing Your Web Site's International Impact

People and organizations generally understand the concept of the Internet's global reach. However, few see their Web presence as international, and even fewer have sites appropriate for audiences beyond their borders. As global competition grows and new markets emerge, building an effective international Web presence is becoming ever more critical.

Tindal, Richard. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>International

Testimonials - Friend or Foe?

Learn how to write the perfect testimonial and enhance your website's credibility.

Aull, Diane M. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Marketing

Testing the Sizzle of the Steak: Usability Testing of Packaging  

Provides the rationale for usability testing the packaging of high-tech products, including lowered support costs, improved customer satisfaction, and increased sales.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and Janice Anne Rohn. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1997). Articles>Usability>Marketing

The Text Ads Deliver What You Pay For -- And More

Search engine text ads can outperform most banner ads, even when users aren't clicking. Five tips to make your text ads more effective.

Janisch, Troy. Icon Interactive (2004). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Trends in Online Advertising

Regular web users will almost certainly be aware of an increasing amount of ‘invasive’ advertising appearing online. A variety of methods are now being used to make online advertising almost unavoidable for the user.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

The Two-Headed Coin: Usability and Market Research  

Tracks the importance of usability and market research by following a typical project through each stage of development.

Bunker, Gary. Intercom (2006). Articles>Usability>Marketing

Usability and Online Branding

Improving ‘brand experience’ online is not normally regarded as the primary goal of a usability strategy. In some circles usability and branding would even be seen as mutually exclusive, based on the assumption that successful branding relies on ever more garish visual design and an extensive use of animation, audio streaming, or whatever the latest cutting-edge technology might happen to be.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Usability Perspective on Banner Ads

I recently have read a lot about the use of banner ads. My short answer is that they don't work. They might be useful for branding and image campaigns but they are not usable and users don't like them at all.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability

Usarchy

Usarchy is een weblog met eigen artikelen over usability (gebruikersvriendelijkheid) en online marketing. Usarchy gaat vaak over gemiste online marketing kansen. Dit is waar usability de degens kruist met online marketing projecten. En dat is waar maar al te vaak usability verliest, de gebruiker verliest, en daardoor de efficiëntie van online marketing verliest.

Timmerman, Ruben. Usarchy. (Dutch) Resources>Business Communication>Marketing>Blogs

Use Your Website to Pre-Qualify Customers

Not only should your website be clear on what your company delivers, it should also indicate what you do not deliver. Below are some tips for achieving this clarity.

Bennaco (2004). Design>Web Design>Marketing

User Payments: Predictions for 2001 Revisited

Advertising-supported websites will soon be a thing of the past. As I predicted a year ago, sites began charging for services in 2001. Although most sites are still not handling payments right, two innovative European projects hold much hope for 2002.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing

Using Ezine Articles to Promote Your Business

Writing ezine articles can be a massive benefit to your business - find out exactly why!

Beckart, Loren. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Marketing

Using Social Media and Blogs to Your Advantage

Consumers no longer have to rely only on mass media for information. More often than not, they are turning to colleagues, friends and other people they trust for advice on what products and services to buy, generally trying to avoid sales people altogether. Understandably, this is what makes social media so effective, and one of the reasons why it can have such a positive impact on your bottom line.

Buchanan, Ryan. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Online