Home | Stella Orange Wordsmith

Nasty, brutish and short

Published April 11, 2011

How do I find time to write my blog?

Ah, dear pilgrim. Here’s one of the first things I wish they’d cover in the DIY MBA program (my alma mater): having a blog is one thing, but writing it regularly is entirely another.

A blog is like a pet. Maybe more cat than dog. So long as you feed and care for it regularly, everything’s fine. But if you stop giving it kibble (or scooping all the spam out the comment litter box), things get ugly fast. Spend too much time with the blog and not enough with your … Read the rest >

Posted in content, how to write

Like Drinking from a Fire Hose

Published April 4, 2011

As a business owner, you get to choose what your homework is.

I just went to a conference and now have a whole binder of ideas, strategies and things I need to do. How many lifetimes will it take me to do everything in there?

Great question!

One of the challenges of being a human these days is that there is so much information, so many strategies, and so many people talking at you, telling you what it’s possible for you and your business. There’s so much volume that trying to make sense of all is like drinking from a fire hose.

It’s enough to make you crazy. But before you … Read the rest >

Posted in how to write

What You Don't Know…

Published March 28, 2011

Consider the possibility that none of us can possibly know everything, but we can each know some things really, really well.

Lately, I’ve had more than one client beseech: “Just tell me what to do!” And to be honest, it’s been a bit unsettling, because being on the receiving end of another human being forking over that much trust is a humbling proposition.

But as I’ve been working this over in my mind—much like a six year old who tongues the space where her baby tooth used to be— I realize that the time has come to put … Read the rest >

Posted in how to be, marketing

Ode to Ikari: What living in Japan taught me…

Published March 21, 2011

Ikari and me in my Montana backyard, 2007

Just tell me, what do I do to get people to join my programs, buy my product, and become my clients?

As we sit and watch and wait and pray after the earthquake and tsunami, my mind drifts to what I personally have learned from Japan.

My first year out of college, I lived in a small Japanese village—Nishihara—on the most southern of the big four islands, about as far from Tokyo as you can get. I was hired on, along with 5,000 other foreign nationals, to teach in a Japanese public school.

In Nishihara, population 5,700, my house was … Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to write, marketing

A Tale of 2 Pitches

Published March 14, 2011

How's your business pitching these days?

How do I express what I do so that my favorite kinds of clients are receptive?

A woman approached me at the end of a two-hour Chamber luncheon last week, to let me know she now offers credit card processing services. She asked if I have a merchant account, which I do, and how much I pay per month.

When I demurred (who carries that number in their heads?), she continued to sell me. Here’s her point-by-point pitch, along with my inner monologue:

1) You know me (We’d met once before)

2) I can review your current plan for free… Read the rest >

Posted in copywriting, how to sell

Internet Marketing: the Middle Path

Published March 7, 2011

When it comes to selling your nectar on the interwebs, must you hand in your humanity and become one of those – *gasp* - Internet Marketers?

A client just sent me an email that cuts to the core of this issue, subject line: “What bugs me.”

She writes: “Every opt-in ‘funnel’ that I run into lately looks the same… a little plug… what’s your pain… what’s your fear… then request for email addy… repeat …. Repeat again and again and again…”

You know how someone says something out loud you’ve been carrying in your heart … Read the rest >

Posted in content, copywriting, marketing

Of business and butterflies

Published February 28, 2011

Is the “message” of your business clear and ready to take flight?

There’s something I see many business owners, coaches, and entrepreneurs going through, and it’s time to give it a name.

As a business owner and entrepreneur, your livelihood bubbles up from the cold water spring of your core. You’re a manifesting engine (even if you don’t *like* the word “manifesting”). You’re a factory of ideas, messages, and happenings.

You are the recipe, the cook, and the kitchen.

What all this means is that you are much more likely to stop dead in your tracks and say “HEY! … Read the rest >

Posted in how to be, marketing

The 25 Cent Marketing MBA

Published February 15, 2011

A funny thing happened that showed me the power of asking.

And not only that: HOW we ask.

I was driving home from taking myself out for sushi and a beer on Sunday night, and stopped at a red light. A man who was standing at the bus stop walked up to my car, and said to the window of my car: “Can I have 25 cents?”

Now, whatever your feelings and opinions about asking for money are, put them aside. This isn’t about asking for money. It’s about strategy.

Now, when I was in grad school, I worked … Read the rest >

Posted in content, how to write, marketing

Does your marketing need a time machine?

Published February 9, 2011

Miami, Florida

Wednesday, 12:15pm

Sure, “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is a ridiculous movie… but it got me thinking about time machines. In the movie, two high school students about to flunk history get their hands on a special phone booth that takes them through history. They pluck famous figures like Napoleon, Freud, Joan of Arc and Abe Lincoln from their own time, and transport them back to their modern-day final history presentation as guest speakers.

…and the crowd goes wild!

Of course it’s a silly idea, but we watched this at my house on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and … Read the rest >

Posted in how to sell, marketing

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Why your “Buy Now” Button is Lame. Unless…

Published January 31, 2011

This alone is not a sales message.

Do you have a “buy now” or “register now” button on your website?

Many business owners believe that adding a “buy now” button to a web page will magically cause people to buy what they are selling.

To illustrate how well this strategy works, imagine going to your favorite store. As you walk up to the thing you are thinking about buying, a salesperson approaches. She stands beside you. Here’s what she barks:

“BUY NOW!”

(I don’t know about you, but when people use all CAPS and an exclamation point, it feels like they are yelling at me.)

Here’s the … Read the rest >

Posted in how to sell, marketing | Tagged online marketing, sales pages

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