Tag: copywriting

9
Apr

10 Points You Must Cover in Your Initial VC Pitch

You are a startup looking for a VC and a VC is looking for a startup. So how do you convince a VC to take your call or meet with you? You send them a deck — make sure it is stacked in your favor.

Start by developing and refining the reasons why the VC should meet with you. Organize your presentation with most persuasive and logical order of reasons. Make sure to punctuate with visuals — simply add headlines or bold leads to your paragraph or include illustrations. And, definitely, cover the ten critical points.

  1. THE DETAILS. Announce the name of your company, where it is located, the round, how much capital you wish to raise.
  2. THE PLAYERS. Introduce your team. Include the expertise each person brings.
  3. THE USP. Capture attention with your Unique Startup Proposition — what are you solving? Is this a necessity or a luxury? What is most impressive about where you are with it right now? It could be the team, the technology, the growth, etc. Get the VC excited about the possibilities.
  4. THE POTENTIAL. Show the VC the size of the opportunity. The projected market must be large enough to provide ample return on investment. Do your homework here and make it relevant to your specific vision or solution. Complete this picture with how you stack up to beat competition. Explain how you plan to scale.
  5. THE THING. Present your product. Whether it is a prototype or a blueprint, an app or a service, include as much detail as you have defined. Use all media that is available to portray the product with optimal clarity.
  6. THE PLAN. Outline your go-to-market strategy. How will you approach and capture your market? What will help you build your tribe? Do you have a website?
  7. THE WAY. Explain your business model. How will you generate and capture revenue? Online, salesforce, multi-tiered marketing? There are many options.
  8. THE KIPs. Show the numbers. Not just a spreadsheet, include charts or graphs that quickly communicate your Key Indicators of Performance or success.
  9. THE ASK. Yes. Ask for it. Let the VC know your needs — the money, the time, the support, the connections — and request to meet in person or via Skype to proceed with next steps.
  10. THE CATCHPHRASE. End with a battle cry. Make it unforgettable so that whatever the decision regarding your request, your startup will be remembered.

Make sure your presentation is clear, concise, and complete with compelling information and arguments. Brand the pages in a way to give repetitive attention to your startup name, logo or other identifying feature. Prepare the narrative for your presentation, ensure that it translates with or without you. May the VC be with you.

Also published via Medium and originally created for Invest Southwest, here.

8
Mar

Pearls of Wisdom

It was an honor, a privilege, and a joy to step out on stage and present “Script Your Shift” to the Pearls of Wisdom tribe. What a perfect place to cut a groove in this new chapter of my life. In case you missed it, here is the video. For a Pitch Perfect session, eMail me at Tamara@TamaraParisio.com. Let me assist you to create the script for your starring role in your success!

SCRIPT YOUR SHIFT. Write down your goals. Business Plan, Personal Manifesto, or Strategic Map, put pen to paper to improve performance. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants (it only takes 30 to be statistically significant). She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down. A modality employed to make the process entertaining rather than daunting is to approach your plan as a script for your success. And, you are cast in the starring role as the lead character. Here are three examples of clients who stepped into the celebrity of their success.

Anita Miranda the Official Lipstick Reader

CHARACTER

From psychic fairs to celebrity parties and luxury events, Anita Miranda stepped up into high heels to expand in stardom as The Official Lipstick Reader.  

CAST

After establishing her starring character, Sherry Anshara attracted the supporting cast, including influencer Vishen Lakiani of mindvalley.

SCENE

To set the scene, Donna Sparaco shows up in full character, Daily Dose A Donna, to motivate and inspire with her proprietary program, Set Your Dial to Joy.

Download a pdf of the Script Your Shift handout.

15
May

5 Point Outline for How to Write A Blog Post

— A Basic Outline With Insightful David Ogilvy Quotes

Content is an important marketing tool for all businesses. It takes your message from advertising to advertorial — making the customer the star of your story. There are so many ways to show and sell with storytelling. So, get started. Here is an outline to guide you.

Topic & Working Title or Headline

Start with intention. Build a working headline to focus your efforts, and perhaps, provide a theme. Ultimately you will revise this to make sure it grabs attention and get readers interest.

On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy; when you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. — David Ogilvy

Introduction

What’s the big idea? Summarize the net takeaway(s) to be addressed in your article. Write the key idea(s) you want readers to get out of reading it. Consider posing a question to engage your audience. Or make a compelling statement to pique curiosity. This is where you set the stage for your tale.

It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. — David Ogilvy

Key Insights

Brainstorm all the things you want to deliver in the post and list them. Organize them, then group them into main idea(s). Break up your insights into sections so that thoughts are lumped together by theme. As a benchmark, create three to four sections. Expand on these. Beef up sections with some or all of the following:

  • examples
  • quotes
  • how-to or directions
  • easy-to-implement advice
  • benefits
  • personal experience
  • what worked, what didn’t work
  • supporting or helpful information or statistics

Then read it. Revise it. Reorganize information until it makes sense and tells the whole story in the most captivating way.

The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be. — David Ogilvy

Wrap up

In the end, summarize the post with an actionable takeaway, promise, or benefit of the lesson or experience. Leave the reader with results they could expect. And include a call to action: do this … now.

What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it. — David Ogilvy

Extras

Include hyperlinks that would lead to more information expanding on ideas, people, or features mentioned in the blog. And, always include an image when you can. A picture is worth a thousand words.

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. — David Ogilvy

Enjoy the journey as you write your way to success. Share your self, your style, your vision in a way that attracts your tribe, one reader at a time. Create the spin to win.

25
Sep

3 Pillars for Boosting Memory

It is important to remember names, recall your grocery list, give your elevator pitch, or to be able to recite your speech.

Learning is remembering. —Socrates

From a seminar by Jim Kwik of Kwik Learning, here are three pillars of memory to help you boost your ability to remember.

M. Motivation.

Ask yourself: “What do I need to do to incentivize or reward myself and increase my motivation.” Why? Reasons reap results. You remember more when you are interested, enthusiastic and energetic. Put your heart into remembering.

O. Observation.

Pay attention. You build retention from attention. Memory is not something you have, it’s something you do. In this time of digital dementia—where we are outsourcing recall to a smartphone—it is critical to sharpen the saw of memory and own this superpower. Be present when taking in new information. Build your memory and your ability to remember.

M. Mechanics

Use tools for remembering. From associating a list with items in a room or with parts of your body, to creating a mnemonic clue, there are infinite  creative ways to prompt recall.

2
Nov

GRAMMAR: ME vs I

It is important to use language correctly so not to diminish credibility of your content. Here is a tool to help guide the use of I (noun) versus ME (pronoun). Keep it handy till it becomes a habit.

Guide for the proper use of I vs ME.

Guide for the proper use of I vs ME.

“I” is the noun—refers to oneself as speaker or writer.  “ME” is the pronoun—refers to self as object of a verb or preposition.

RULE: If you can’t replace the “YOU and I” with “WE,” you’ve got it wrong. If you can’t replace “YOU and ME” with “US,” you’ve got it wrong. Tweet: RULE: If you can't replace YOU & I with WE—you've got it wrong. If you can't replace YOU & ME with US—you've got it wrong. @tamaraparisio

Thanks for meeting with HIM AND ME. (Thanks for meeting with ME. Thanks for meeting with HIM. Thanks for meeting with US.) vs HE AND I appreciate your time. (I appreciate your time. HE appreciates your time. WE appreciate your time.)

It is bigger than YOU AND ME combined. (It is bigger than ME. It is bigger than YOU.) vs YOU AND I are smaller than this idea. (I am smaller than this idea. YOU are smaller than this idea. WE are smaller than this idea.)

To YOU AND ME, this idea is big. (To ME, this idea is big. To YOU, this idea is big. To US this idea is big.) vs When YOU AND I succeed (When I succeed … When YOU succeed… When WE succeed…)

They will praise YOU AND ME for this. (They will praise ME for this. They will praise YOU for this. They will praise US for this.) vs The praise YOU AND I receive will be stellar (The praise I receive will be stellar. The praise YOU receive will be stellar. The praise WE receive will be stellar.)

Between HIM AND ME there is chemistry. (Between US there is chemistry. Between HIM & ME. Between ME & YOU. Between ME & HIM.) vs HE AND I share an office. (HE shares an office with me. I share an office with him. She shares and office with HIM AND ME. WE share an office.)

He took a photo of HIMself AND ME. (He took a photo of US. He took a photo of HIMSELF. He took a photo of ME. He took a photo of US.) vs HE AND I posed for a photo. (HE posed for a photo. I posed for a photo. WE posed for a photo.)

11
Jun

Content Creation – Magazine Articles

Tamara Parisio for THE BARKTORIALIST

Tamara Parisio writes for THE BARKTORIALIST

Tamara Parisio writes for THE BARKTORIALIST

Tamara Parisio writes for THE BARKTORIALIST

The Barktorialist Magazine

Tamara Parisio writes for THE BARKTORIALIST

21
Mar

Storytelling & the Three T’s

Do you have an underlying story for your brand? Is there a consistent message threaded through everything you do Determine the core concepts that resonate with your customers—and with your fans—to create the foundation of your brand story.

Here are some key areas you can investigate to unlock compelling threads that are engaging as your story unfolds.

Topics

Discover what your audience is interested in. A quick scroll among your followers will reveal repeated terms. Identify top keywords used to engage with your brand. Consider looking at areas of influence on Klout.  And take a look at the competition, how are they talking about their brands? This can help you distinguish yourself, recognize important attributes that bring a customer to your brand rather than to a competitor.  Grab on.  Follow the topic as it relates to your product and as it extends in other areas. Have fun with it—even topics that are “unspeakable” can be addressed in a tale or two. Consider the antics of PooPourri.

Trends

Capitalize on the trends. Seasons. Holidays. Events. News. Fashion. Sports. There’s an opportunity to hook your brand story on to what’s happening—as appropriate and applicable—and continue to unfold your story as it relates to current events and timely happenings. When you hook onto a trending concept with your product or offer, you gain awareness among those interested in the trend while staying relevant with your message. For instance, take a look at the Dough Boy taking the the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Many other brands capitalized on the trending event.

Themes

Develop content themes based on trends and topics relative to the goals of your company and your customers. Find the most universal theme to carry your story to the widest relevant audience. For instance, happiness. Show how your product inspires and spreads joy. And then, tell it like it is—with pizazz. Make it memorable. Here is where creativity conquers. Get your audience involved in your story and you will have a life-long fan. A great example of this is the Dancing Guy who was sponsored by various brands, beginning with Stride Gum.

With this, you can build a compelling message that unfolds consistently while continuously telling the tale that is at the core of your brand.