Home | Stella Orange Wordsmith

Want a clear homepage? Step 1: think.

Published January 24, 2012

Take the cork off your truth

So, last week we talked about the great translation problem.

And the brass tacks difference between FEATURES and BENNIES.

Or benefits, for those of you in the peanut gallery.

So, you want your homepage to speak in terms of the benefits, results, and outcomes you help your client get. Become. Or achieve.

Now, say you’re clear on the top 3 results you help your clients get. Say you’ve already brainstormed a list of 30 ways you help people improve, heal, or enrich their lives.

And if you haven’t made this “top 30 list” in awhile—or ever—here’s your invitation: … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write

The great translation problem

Published January 17, 2012

You’ve got to give nice people what they want

There’s something that every business owner has.

A translation problem.

You speak, think, and dream in FEATURES.

And your clients are on the hunt for the BENNIES.

That’s benefits, for those of you in the sky box seats.

Benefits are what your work DOES for your ideal clients.

Makes ‘em richer.

Thinner.

Clearer.

Smarter about their finances.

Able to live out a dream they’ve always had.

Now, the features of your program or service are important, too.

But telling your audience about ‘em BEFORE you tell ‘em why they should care is a big, fat, common, heart-breaking mistake.

It’s like … Read the rest >

Posted in content, copywriting, how to write

One of my favorite writing tips of all time

Published January 9, 2012

Write your marketing like you are writing a letter

This ain’t your first rodeo, is it honey?

You’re no spring chicken.

You’ve bought the home study kits. You’ve been “on the line” for all those marketing training calls.

Maybe you’ve even been in a program or two.

Heck, you might even have a big kahuna business or marketing coach, right here, right now!

That doesn’t mean Stella’s Laboratory isn’t here for you, too.

I’m all for marketing and business coaches. Many of them are fantastic, and worth every penny. Others, not so much.

But they aren’t your friendly neighborhood wordsmith. They aren’t working on the front lines of things … Read the rest >

Posted in content, copywriting, how to write

What’s your sausage?

Published January 3, 2012

Pull back the curtain!

You know that scene in the Wizard of Oz?

The one where Dorothy arrives at the Emerald City… and the wizard is being all intimidating and aloof… until Toto runs behind the curtain and finds this balding goofball, hiding behind his microphones?

That’s what we as service providers are called to do. Pull back the curtain. And show how the (ahem) proverbial sausage is made.

Look, I can teach you seven tricks from Sunday about how to write snappy copy.

But what I really want to show ya is how to amuse yourself so much that your joy and know-how … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, content, copywriting

Is your website a dinosaur?

Published December 27, 2011

Has your website become an artifact?

There’s a curious phenomenon when it comes to websites.

At some point, your business outgrows your website. Maybe your target market has changed. Or the way you’ve worked with clients have shifted. Or your offers and programs have been totally redone.

But your website remains the same. An artifact of an earlier time in your business. Dinosaur bones.

When you find yourself in this boat, one of two things typically happen.

One, you bravely blaze ahead into writing new pages (but then your perfectionism flares up and you eddy out into a cycle of endless revisions, rewrites, and agony over … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, content, marketing

Why your desk needs a spittoon.

Published December 20, 2011

Why not create a spittoon for your inner critic?

Dear Stella, I want to write like you. But I just sound so stiff and boring. What do I do?

Right now, your marketing doesn’t really sound like you, does it?

And maybe, until you and I started hanging out together, you didn’t even know that your marketing COULD sound like you. And sell like hotcakes. But more than that: that it was even POSSIBLE to write marketing that was INSPIRING.

It is possible, you know.

But if that’s the path you intend to walk, be prepared.

Be prepared for the voices that tell you: “You suck at this.”

“This … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to be, how to write

What’s your jellyfish?

Published December 13, 2011

What’s your jellyfish?

It was 78 degrees in the Atlantic ocean on Sunday, and I was pretending to be tough.

My companions had decided they were gonna spring the extra 5 bucks for wetsuits.

Not me.

Never mind that I was covered in goose bumps.

It was a wet, windy ride out to the reef, after all. But I’ve been running every day for 4 weeks and—I’ll admit it—I was rocking my bikini.

Dangit! My people are from Minnesota! My uncle was a deep sea diver in Alaska! Why on earth would I need a wetsuit?!

Thankfully, the still small voice within has … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to be, how to sell

If I see more of this, I will scream.

Published December 5, 2011

Take the cork off your truth

Alright, faithful reader. We’re about to get UNCIVILIZED up in here.

Stella’s about to get UNCORKED.

Grab your bucket of popcorn and sense of schadenfreude.

I just got a Facebook message from a woman I adore. She does INCREDIBLE work in the world. She is an AMAZING person. I would drag myself over hot coals in a swimsuit to help her succeed.

But not only that. She has an AWESOME personality. This woman lights up the room. She’s running one of those businesses where her clients seek HER out.

But when I read her message, I was crestfallen.

Totally … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to be, how to sell, marketing

Why my postman is sexier than Angelina.

Published November 29, 2011

Angelina Jolie is one hot tamale. Your postman, Stella? How can your postman be sexier than THAT?!

Ah, my little liebchen.

This is what we call in the business: a trick of the eye.

To Stella, consistency and value are sexier than sporadic asskickery.

And while my postman has been bringing me junk circulars lately, he also brings me cards, notes, news, packages, and goodwill from people I love and care about.

Angelina doesn’t. She just has those incredible lips.

My point is: there’s eye candy… and then there’s what we know we can count on.

And so it is … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to be, how to sell, marketing

My #1 self care tip for introverts

Published November 22, 2011

Stella, I heard the rumor that you’re an introvert. But it sure seems like you talk and write a lot. What gives?

Lean in closer, my chickadee, as Stella spins a tale of the little introvert that could.

First off, let’s be clear: introverts love people, too. We just love them after we’ve
refilled our buckets. Alone. Solo. And by ourselves. And no, you aren’t invited.

Are you an entrepreneur who gets fired up by being with other people… or are you one who loves her some quality time where no one talks to her, asks her questions, or notices … Read the rest >

Posted in how to be