Franke Santos

Powerful words for powerful small businesses

19 March 2012
by Franke Santos
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Homonym Mnemonic: Stationary and Stationery

These are two homophones that are frequently confused. Stationary means something that’s in place, rooted, like a tree. Stationery is fine writing paper, the kind used to write important letters. (I have seen sellers of stationery spell it with an A, which always surprises me.) Here’s a simple way to remember the difference between them:

stationary has an A, as does the word stay.

stationery has an E, as does the word write.

15 March 2012
by Franke Santos
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Homonym Mnemonic: Rein and Reign

There are certain homonyms that trip me up. Usually, I can tell the difference between them, but

rein and reign

is one I tend to have trouble with. So I had to come up with a mnemonic to remember the difference between them.

Rein is the leather strap attached to a horse, hence the term “rein them in.” When you pull a rein in, it’s made shorter (and it’s also the shorter one of this pair of homonyms).

Reign, the tenure of a royal leader, has a “g” in it, as does the word “king.” So that’s how I’ve begun to remember the difference.

Hope you’ve found this helpful. Look for more mnemonics in the coming weeks.

26 January 2012
by Franke Santos
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Blog Post Ideas for Powersports Dealerships

You’re the sales manager of a multi-line powersports dealership. You’ve been told you need a website and a blog. You’ve successfully set that up, but now what? You may be drawing a blank on what exactly you can write about beyond your dealership’s special events and sales. After all, you’re a salesperson, not a writer! But there are plenty of subjects to cover.

Think back to when you were a new rider. What kind of information did you want to know? You could write about:

  • Helmet fitting
  • Gear fitting
  • The need for protective pants (still astonished by how many riders think plain denim is adequate)
  • Best bikes for new riders (great way to promote your used bikes for sale, if you carry them)
  • Local safety schools in your area
  • Group riding etiquette
  • A post for new riders to ride within their limits

For more experienced riders, there are plenty of things to write about:

  • Local clubs, especially if your dealership hosts regular meetings
  • How much experience you need before taking on a passenger
  • Winterizing your bike
  • Accessorizing your bike (could be a series depending on what types of bikes your dealership sells)
  • Charity rides in your area, either giving information about the rides before the events or afterward with photos of your customers at the events
  • For touring riders: essential farkles and expensive wastes of money
  • Transitioning from one riding style, that is, from dirt to street, street to dirt, or street to dual-sporting
  • Best routes in your area, plotted with a Google map

What things have you written about on your dealership’s blog?

17 December 2011
by Franke Santos
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Business Blogging Basics: The Secret to Get Started Writing

So you’ve installed your blogging software, you know what categories you want to use to take away the guesswork, and you have a list of about 20 blog post ideas.

What now?

That cursor is blinking on your computer screen, waiting for your wisdom. It may feel difficult if your brain is screaming, “hey you! You’re not a writer!”

Don’t let that evil little voice win. Even if you don’t write for a living, you can still write successful blog posts that drive traffic to your site and aid with conversion.

Here’s the secret to get started writing: separate your drafting stage from your editing stage. This means that you write and write and write without going back and thinking, “wait, that didn’t sound right.” One of the best analogies that I have heard about good writing is to conduct the drafting stage like a torrid love affair: heated, messy, all-consuming. Then, conduct the editing like a divorce lawyer: going over all the facts and the details to see if they all add up.

You wouldn’t want a divorce lawyer refereeing your infatuation stage with your latest flame, would you?

Shameless plug: You could always hire me to write your blog posts.

7 December 2011
by Franke Santos
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Business Blogging Basics: Categories to Take Away the Guesswork

Once you begin to get in a groove with your blogging, you should have certain defined categories that you will write about each week. These categories will help define your ideas so that your brainstorming can be more directed. Here are just a few ideas:

  • Industry News: Post links to the latest news of things happening in your industry, and next to it, include a reason why your customers should read the article. A post of three to five links is sufficient. Avoid linking to dense, academic articles, unless you have an audience that understands those types of articles (and some of those folks may be lying about understanding them).
  • Product or Service of the Week: This may be a product that is one of your medium sellers, meaning it’s somewhere in the middle rank of which products are the best-selling. This post is meant to give you a chance to show off the benefits and features of this particular product, and if you like, offer a discount on it for a short period.
  • Customer profiles: This short profile of a customer (anywhere from 350 to 600 words) is meant to be very relatable — potential customers should be able to see themselves in this customer’s shoes. Talk about what problems the customer had and, most importantly, how they overcame them with the help of your product or service. Then, at the end of the article, you can throw in relevant company facts such as their website, who their officers are, what their annual revenue is (if they’re willing to share) how many employees they have and how long they’ve been in business.
  • Customer galleries: This lends itself much better to consumer products. The idea is to post a gallery of “our tools/products/etc. in action.”

These are just a few ideas. Will definitely be back with more soon!

1 December 2011
by Franke Santos
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Business Blogging Basics: Generating Ideas Part 2

Yesterday I discussed how to generate ideas by imagining that a small child is sitting in your office. Today I’m going to get a little less concrete as a way to generate ideas for your business blog. Trust me, this will be fun.

Think about the core benefit of your product on an abstract level. If you manufacture rubber gaskets, your products may help people store their food longer and keep it fresher, contributing to consumers saving money and enjoying better food. If you manufacture fishing equipment, you’re really selling the enjoyment of the outdoors and people spending more time with their friends and family. If you have a fitness business (as I do) then the core of your business is to help people lead healthier lives through better movement and physical fitness.

Once you know this idea, then ask yourself, “How do my products or services allow people to enjoy this core benefit?” In the example of the fishing equipment company, you can talk about how tying flies with your sons or daughters helps strengthen family ties and helps children anticipate the fun of the next fishing trip.

Really, any business that exists has a core benefit that you sell. (Notice I said benefit, not product.) So think about it, answer the question, and let the ideas flow.

30 November 2011
by Franke Santos
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Business Blogging Basics: Intro

You have a blog, now what?

You may be staring at a blank screen, the cursor staring at you, blinking, waiting for your words of wisdom. So instead of writing a blog post, you balance your books, clean your desk, call a customer. These are all fine activities, but if your goal is to have a blog that engages your existing customers and converts potential ones, delaying writing means that your blog will die a slow death from neglect.

As a conscientious business owner, I know you don’t want this to happen. So over the next several weeks, I’m going to guide you through the process of generating ideas and also through the mechanics of good writing.

So here’s your first tip for generating ideas for your business blog: Imagine that there’s a 3-year-old child sitting in your office and following you around all day. If you’ve ever spent some time with a child this young, you know that his/her favorite question will be “why?” So as you go through your day, imagine that child asking “why?” about certain things that you do, or “what’s that” when seeing something he/she has never seen before. Jot down every time the imaginary child asks a question — it’s the beginning of a blog post. You might be surprised what ideas come up.

28 October 2011
by Franke Santos
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What to look for when hiring a copy editor

A good copy editor is more than just a good speller and grammarian. A good copy editor is a subject matter expert (or is willing to become one) and a good writer. Here are just a few things to look for when hiring a copy editor:

  1. A good speller and grammarian (yes, the obvious)
  2. Someone who reads copy out loud and has a good ear for copy that flows well
  3. Someone who can perform simple mathematical calculations. One of the most frequent errors can happen when numbers don’t add up (or percentages seem skewed).
  4. Someone who has good judgment and understands the impact of words. You don’t just want someone who is a straight proofreader, you want someone who can subject facts to a little rigor, for example, can this claim be substantiated?
  5. Someone who knows a style — by that I mean AP Style, Chicago style, New York Times style. Secondarily, someone who understands the importance of having a style.

This doesn’t just apply in the journalistic realm, it applies in the world of marketing, advertising and business.