The “undo” button is, admittedly, one of man’s greatest inventions. When we make critical mistakes, isn’t it wonderful to have an “undo” button to erase everything but perhaps the memory of having made an error.

But it wouldn’t hold a candle to a “do” button, if one existed. What are you determined to do in 2010? Chances are you are going to want to tell people about it, advertise it, promote it, sell it and brag about it.

Jim Hance Graphic Communications is here to provide marketing power for whatever your endeavor happens to be this year. Design and writing for great business proposals, marketing brochures, PowerPoint presentations, Websites, press kits, a direct mail piece — everything you might need to push your business to the next level.

That “undo” button I mentioned at the beginning is a great invention, but nothing compared with what you will be doing when you commit to it. What you say and how you say it is critical in determining your success in 2010, and Jim Hance can help you make your point.

Descriptive copy, whether in an advertisement, catalog, Website, blog or a book, engages and captivates its readers. I would hazard to guess that products sell better and customers stay loyal to a company which commits to producing quality marketing materials which creatively describe the benefits and the satisfaction of owning their products rather than a company which just lists features. Top companies know this, and use creatively descriptive words and text to build their brands.

Here are four writers and editors which help their clients improve their marketing communications with well written and edited copy, each with a unique style and expertise. See how their styles might match up with what you need for marketing your products or services.

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“When Performance Counts” by Stuart Rockett

How do you make an investment company attractive to investors and stay within the constraints of the law? Stuart Rockett has been doing this for twenty years, and shows his deft skill in this advertising piece for a local investment firm. He starts by bringing up the biggest concern of investors (retaining their wealth), and transitions quickly into how his client is different. He knows his copy can’t pass the legal scrutiny of the compliance officer if he promises high returns, so he describes instead how his client is different in its approach to charging the investor for its services.


Choosing the direction you take with your investments is among the most important decisions you’ll ever make. That’s because where you invest, when, and how all affect your quality of life today, and for the future. The strategies you use to grow and protect your wealth, whether it’s smooth sailing or battling through stormy markets, are just as critical to your success. So how do you measure your progress once you’re underway? Dunham Funds measures progress by performance. Yours and ours. Everything we do is built on our belief that the compensation of fund investment managers should be tied to the performance of the funds in which you invest, regardless of market conditions. It’s an approach we’ve taken for more than 20 years and today, the Dunham Funds are among only a handful that operate 100 percent on performance-based fees. It’s not what most other mutual funds do. Common industry practice is to charge management fees regardless of whether performance is up, down or flat. Dunham Funds work on performance-based fees because we believe this provides investors with an element of inherent fairness. We strive for achievement beyond the commonplace and welcome you to discover our difference.

Stuart Rockett’s email: sar@sar.cts.com

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Men in Green Faces (A Novel) by Betty Abell Jurus

Betty Jurus sets the scene foreshadowing a dramatic encounter in the first chapter of this thriller about war in Vietnam. Putting in just enough descriptive detail to make the reader feel the suspense that the characters are experiencing is the writer’s task. Betty does that well in the first chapter of Men in Green Faces: 

The deadliest men in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta were operating deep inside the triple-canopied jungle. Brian, at point, held up a clenched fist. The silent stop-look-listen signal passed from point, down the line to Gene, and back to Doc, in the rear. The seven SEALs froze, ten feet apart, seeing what wasn’t supposed to be there. What wasn’t on any map. Gene, his M-60 aimed wherever he looked, smelled death, looked at death. His chest and throat tightened, adrenaline pumping. One step forward out of the jungle, where he stood invisible in the green shadow, and he’d be in there. The 60 moved very slowly, poised like a cobra.

Men in Green Faces at Amazon.com

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“Friends with Structure” by Mary Beth Ellis

Mary Beth Ellis is a writer for a variety of clients including msnbc.com and Air & Space. She blogs at BlondeChampagne.com. Dish Pronto asked her to provide content for its television column, The Side Dish. The subjects of her writing range may from thoroughbred horse racing to NASA, but her writing is best known for its personal, observational essays marked with transitions from surprising insight to sharp humor. She even has a book out titled Drink To the Lasses. I like the way Mary Beth puts you directly in the story from the first words in her column, and never lets you go. You might even relate to suddenly being without “structure.” Check her out on her blog, and maybe leave her bartender a nice tip via PayPal. (Nice touch, Mary Beth.)

“This is about structure,” the therapist said. I’m sitting across from her because my husband found me sobbing into the carpet of my home office, again, some more. She’s sitting there because I’ve reached the point, now, where I need to pay people to listen to me.
“I thought this was about huge, huge amounts of anti-depressants.”
“No. For the first time in your life, you don’t have outside structure dictating your every move. And it is affecting your writing, and you are very angry.”
“Even though I hate structure.”
“Even though you hate structure.”
I sat for $7.28 worth of silence. Then: “Well, how do I fix it?”

Mary Beth Ellis’ email: marybeth@morningworksmedia.com

Mary Beth Ellis’ blog: blondechampagne.com

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“When Your Future is On The Line” by Adrienne Moch

Adrienne Moch is a San Diego editor who keeps her clients up to speed with the finer points of grammar and editing with her newsletter, The Write Stuff. You can ask her to be put on her mailing list to get editing tips, or to keep up with her activities as president of the San Diego chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners. I am sure all of her correspondence is letter-perfect.

When your future is on the line, you need the finest legal representation in your corner. That’s Puckett & Faraj. Our firm has nearly 50 years of combined experience defending members of the military and those accused of federal crimes. Our record of success is unparalleled, because we focus on one goal: winning. Our knowledge of the military justice and federal court systems is second-to-none. Add to that our vast legal expertise, and you have the formula for a successful resolution…and a bright future. Please contact us to schedule a free consultation on your case.

Adrienne Moch’s email (subscribe to her newsletter): adrienne@adriennemoch.com

Have you ever done a sales presentation to someone, and left thinking “I could have said this, but I just didn’t think of it until I had left the meeting?” You had 15 minutes to make an effective presentation, but somehow you overlooked telling them one important thing?

It is always a good idea to make a list of topics you want to cover with your audience, and even practice the delivery of that message before the meeting. Don’t wait until the potential customer asks about your products or services, because the question may never be asked. Here is a list of some types of information you should at least consider putting in your presentation before you try to “wing it.” I am also assigning an amount of time for each topic so you can plan for an adequate presentation of each without rehashing the same thing over and over.

1) Introduce yourself and state your objectives for this presentation. “I design printed sales and marketing material and Websites. I want to give you an overview of some of the projects I have done for companies just like yours, and I have brought some samples which are probably similar to what you need to produce.”  (1 minute)

2) State your company’s “LCD” or least common denominator (what differentiates your company from all the rest). This could be your rate of success, your specific experience in a particular industry, a special product no one else has, your leadership in the local industry as an expert, or the one-time-only discount which is available to those who decide to buy now. You can have more than one LCD, but spend two minutes talking about just one at a time. (2 minutes)

3) Ask for some feedback about this LCD, and get “buy in” that this LCD is important to the audience. Reinforce this LCD with an example of how it helped another company or individual. Listen for clues that this is important to your audience. (1 minute)

4) Repeat steps #2 and #3 with a second and third LCD, giving each topic its three minutes for presentation and response from the others in the meeting.

5) Ask if they can see buying your product or services in the near future, or know other professionals who need the benefits of what you’re selling. Often a company is not in a position to buy what you are selling at that time, but do see the value in what you are presenting for others. A referral and introduction to someone in need of your products and services is a valuable key to more business. 

6) Closing Call-To-Action. Ask for the sale, or to go to the next step. Be very clear that you are sincerely interested in their relationship. The relationship can be more valuable than a sale because of the possible business referrals they can make.

I just happened to have reviewed these topics with someone giving a sales presentation tomorrow morning. It is extremely helpful to have a structured presentation in mind before meeting with others you wish to influence. By the way, my LCDs are: (1) ability to write and edit effective sales copy as well as produce quality design work; (2) specific industry experience if I am presenting to someone in the building industry, visitor and conventions industry, or financial services industry; and (3) cost efficient, moderately priced and affordable by small businesses and non-profits. Jim Hance produces graphic design for advertising, marketing, sales promotions, company logos, publications, menus, special events and Websites. Give me a call at 619-203-0522.

As a business owner, it is important to address your customers’ needs and desires with the products and services you offer. Communicating how you do that in all of your literature and correspondence builds your brand, and your credibility.

Creating a blog is another way of informally communicating what you do and how you do it. I believe that creating a blog can help you understand your customers better in two ways: To write your blog articles, you will be paying close attention to what your customers will want to read; and you may hear back from them when they think you’re right on…or way off base!

Here are a few blog topics you can use to start the conversation. 

1) Where our industry will go in the next year.

2) What would you like to see in next year’s product catalog?

3) How to get the most from our customer service department.

4) Drop by our booth at the next trade show.

5) Some tricks of our trade you can use.

6) What goes into the decision process.

7) Customer profile: City of San Diego Payroll Department.

Eight) Five promises we’ve kept to our customers.

9) What we believe is unique about our company or organization. Do you agree?

10) Meet our customer representative.

You tell me. Do you think these are good blog topics for your business…or way off base?

Adrienne Moch published another issue of The Write Stuff newsletter today, and her topic is “Don’t Let Run-on Sentences Trip You Up.” Each issue helps readers focus on how they write, and how they can write more effectively. A run-on sentence, she says, joins two or more complete sentences without necessary punctuation. Her remedies for a run-on sentence include breaking it into two sentences, using a semi-colon to separate the ideas, and using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, yet, for, so) between ideas.  A Chicago Cubs baseball fan, she uses this run-on sentence to make her point: “Run-on: The LA fans were brutal to us it was hard to congratulate them. Correct: The LA fans were brutal to us, so it was hard to congratulate them.”  If you would enjoy receiving her newsletter every couple of months as I do, write her at adrienne@adriennemoch.com.