Category Archives: Marketing Communications

Effective copy means greater profits and enhanced image.

The Greatest Sales Letter Ever

by David Tandet The greatest sales letter is “I”- from a “you” perspective. Thinking about a product’s benefits to consumers is a start. It simply doesn’t go far enough. Say the corner bakery wants to compete in the convenience breakfast market selling donuts and coffee curbside. You’ve been hired to write the first ad. What

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Grammar As It Should Be

by David Tandet Good grammar rocks. Though not a grammarian, I would like to think I know when to at least look up the proper way to write something. It’s not an exercise that has no use beyond itself, either. Is there any subject of which it can be said with greater truth: know the

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10 Reasons To Use Lists In Healthcare Writing

by David Tandet Did you see US News and World Report‘s list of Best Hospitals? How about the Wall Street Journal‘s list of the Best Health Books? Lists are always an efficient marketing tool to position your company in front of the rest. When it comes to healthcare, pharmacology and bioscience, the following reasons demand

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6 Keys to Marketing Hi-Tech Products

by David Tandet The 6 keys to marketing hi-tech products: 1. Emphasize benefits over features. So you’ve heard this before? It’s a basic marketing principle, but one that’s easy to forget with hi-tech products. The technology of the latest handheld device may be something for a manufacturer to fall in love with. But that high

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Successful Grant Writing Is A Team Sport

by David Tandet Jerry Lynch quoted former Olympic volleyball player Lori Endicott in hisĀ  sports psychology classic Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: “There are six people on the volleyball court. We all have different strengths, weaknesses, personalities. It creates a dynamic that’s more exhilarating than an individual sport.” In Right Before You Write, Jonathan O’Brien had

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Jonathan O’Brien’s Right Before You Write

by David Tandet What do well-written screenplays and successful grant proposals have in common? A lot, it turns out. Jonathan O’Brien explains all about it in his classic Right Before You Write. O’Brien’s “Almost World Famous Seven Cs” can be applied to both disciplines. If it sounds like a gimmick, well yours truly is for

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Samsung’s Wow, Simple & Inclusive

by David Tandet Samsung had to find a way to separate itself from the rest of the global electronics market. How are they doing it? By being Wow, Simple and Inclusive. The product has to be “Wow” enough to catch consumers’ imaginations. In the crowded electronics arena, that can be a tough one. But for

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Make Corporate Bio More Like Resume

by David Tandet Got a call from a colleague recently who had a big problem. As in big bio. My friend was willing to put in all the information the executive wanted, of course. But she wanted to make sure her client realized most readers were going to stop reading after the first paragraph. It’s

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Ads/PR/=??/No!

by David Tandet Nah. Ads and PR are still different. If Stephen King loves your new novel and writes an article saying so? PR. It’s an unpaid plug that’s sure to boost public perception of your baby. Then you buy space on the 10 hottest book discussion websites quoting King’s endorsement? That’s an ad. Bought

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Branding Happens

by David Tandet Branding happens. A relationship occurs between your business and consumers whether it’s the one you’re hoping for or not. Take things in the direction you want them to go. Are you a neighborhood hardware store that folks enjoy mulling around in? But you take your time on that special order? You might

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