HiRoad Communications

Copywriting that speaks to your target audience

You are here: Home / Archives for admin

by

Repurposing with a purpose

If you’ve read our newsletter Changing Lanes with any regularity-or irregularity-you know how we advocate repurposing and getting optimal value out of your written pieces (e.g. using your press releases as the basis for newsletter articles, Web content). To successfully repurpose, it’s CRITICAL to take into consideration that while the material remains relatively the same, the audience IS different.

For example, you want to repurpose a newsletter article as a press release. How you would write for a warmer, friendlier audience in a newsletter article is greatly different than how you write for the media. Somebody you know will hang in there a bit longer than somebody you don’t, particularly an overworked, underpaid editor or reporter. So, that headline and first paragraph better grab them AND deliver.

Second, you need to adjust the tone. A press release is a bit more formal. So, you wouldn’t necessarily be referring to somebody by first name within the body of the story or in repeated quotes (e.g. “…said D’Eramo” rather than “…said Joe.”)

The same would hold true of taking a press release and converting it to Web content. Web copy is a one-on-one conversation with the reader. So you do want to refer to them as you and be a bit more conversational with your language. And while a press release tries to present a great story angle, if you’re repurposing it into copy on your Web site, there needs to be a call to action of some sort. As a press release, the story is supposed to speak for itself without self-promoting.

Speaking of self-promoting, one of the many arguments for hiring a freelance copywriter is that he or she will be a bit more objective when creating collateral pieces and other promotional items. Does that mean they will not advocate your product or service as strongly as you would? Not at all. But the focus will be on how your product or service can meet the reader’s needs rather than how great your product or service might be. Typically, that’s what makes the sale or gets coverage.

The bottom line is when you write a release or draft an article, you do have an opportunity to use it for a number of different media. The trick is making it work for that specific medium.

by

HiRoad a Matt Furey Affiliate

Plymouth resident Joe D’Eramo, principal of HiRoad Communications, today announced it has entered into an affiliate relationship to sell Matt Furey exercise products.

A former wrestling and martial arts champion, Matt Furey developed a line of body weight conditioning programs. In addition, he’s the best-selling author of Unbeatable Man.

As a Matt Furey affiliate, HiRoad Communications will now be reselling the following Matt Furey offerings:

“I first became a fan of Matt Furey products after my daughter was born. I didn’t have the time or money to go to a gym and needed something to try and stay in shape. Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning DVDs taught me exercises that gave me a superior workout without using a machine, without leaving my home in about 15 minutes,” said D’Eramo, a freelance copywriter.

“In fact, I’d say I’m in better overall condition now than when I was paying more than $400 a year to work out at a gym for an hour and half every other day.”

HiRoad Communications (www.hiroadcommunications.com) provides copywriting services for a wide range of business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients. And while D’Eramo is a devotee of Furey’s exercise products, he’s also an admirer of his ability as a communicator and writer.

“One of the big things I preach as a freelance copywriter is creating a voice and holding a conversation with the reader,” said D’Eramo. “Very few writers do that as well as Matt Furey. And he does it in his distinctive style that’s been extraordinarily effective.”

In addition to writing content for ads, articles, brochures, direct mail, newsletters, press releases, sites, and other collateral materials, HiRoad Communications recently published Why Nobody Reads Your Newsletter…And How To Fix It. This free troubleshooting guide stresses the importance of small businesses seeing their newsletter through the eyes of their target audience.

For more information on HiRoad Communications or to download a free copy of Why Nobody Reads Your Newsletter…And How To Fix It, go to www.hiroadcommunications.com. To discuss potential writing projects, you can e-mail info@hiroadcommunications.com or call 617-848-0848.