Category: Technology Copywriting

Podcast 45: Is BOFU content sexier than TOFU? Ooft, absolutely.

Posted on by The Radix Team

After a hefty winter break (and far too many of Matt’s yuletide treats), the Radix team are back in action (albeit slightly bloated) for another year of B2B content adventures.

And we’ve been thinking hard this past week about BOFU content –why all the ambivalence towards it? The bottom of the funnel is where all that hard work pays off and the money comes rolling in; what’s not to love?

Case studies, product sheets, implementation guides – for us, these are the poster boys of content marketing. Shexshy.

You probably think we’ve lost our marbles; how can a case study be sexy? But bear with us: check out the latest episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy with Emily, Fiona and David.

Tune in now to discover:

  • Our favourite examples of great BOFU content
  • Why BOFU content is just as glamorous as TOFU
  • At least three actionable BOFU tips
  • The right content to use with a ‘freemium’ signup model
  • Why David is so worryingly attached to Maxon’s latest motor catalogue?

Alongside insightful chatter on Xero’s frankly excellent case studies, Emily and David finally acknowledge Bee Movie and its (totally justified) influence on our writers’ relationship with Slack.

(If you happened to have missed the recent buzz around Bee Movie, born from the internet’s most asinine depths, click here – but be warned, a tolerance for memes is essential.)

Finally, if you’d like to guess how many pages are in the Maxon 2016/17 Motor Program as asked by David (it will make his day if you do), please tweet us @radixcom.

Download the episode here (right-click and “save-as” to download). Or stream the episode in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Podcast 37: The battle to stop B2B content from going to waste

Posted on by The Radix Team

A staggering amount of B2B content goes unused after it’s been produced:

In this episode I’m joined by Fiona Campbell-Howes, Radix’s founder, and David McGuire, Radix’s Creative Director, to examine what leads to content waste and if there’s anything you can do to stop it.

Listen now to find out:

  • How a lack of review time can lead to B2B content getting benched
  • Why it always seems to be the work you like most that disappears
  • The effect strategy changes can have on publishing content
  • Why delays gaining permission from third parties can stop publication altogether
  • What editorial can do to reduce waste
  • … and more

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Podcast 36: Pay, gender, location & skills – the state of UK copywriting

Posted on by The Radix Team

Everybody’s talking ‘bout the Pro Copywriters’ Survey – and no wonder: it revealed a 28% gender pay gap in UK copywriting.

But the understandable outcry over the gender pay issue may have drawn attention away from a few other juicy findings in the survey. Stories of a huge London price premium, an all-round lack of training, and a university education apparently harming your earning potential. A hint (if you squint at the stats a certain, determined way) of workaholic Yorkshire writers and lazy Scots.

The survey provoked some (ahem) lively debate around gender, pricing, training and sector specialisms at our recent #b2bcopychat on Twitter (see the Storify below) – so in this, the 36th episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, we thought we’d sprinkle a bit more fuel on the fire.

Radix’s MD, Fiona Campbell-Howes, Content Marketing Manager Emily King and I pick out our personal highlights of the discussion so far, and ask:

  • Which qualifications impress copywriting recruiters – or is it all about experience?
  • Why on earth don’t more copywriters specialise?
  • Does anybody – male or female – really negotiate over pay?
  • Do Yorkshire copywriters really work 40% harder than Scottish counterparts? *
  • Is there any discernible advantage to hiring a copywriter based in London? **

(Fiona may or may not also imply that the best writers all naturally gravitate West. You might think that, Fiona; we couldn’t possibly comment.)

You can listen in the player at the top of the page – or to download the episode, right click here.

If you like, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here and we’ll pop up in your fruit-based device on a regular basis. Or alternatively, add our RSS to your podcast player of choice.

Our music is by Industrial and Marine. Bangin’.

* Hint: no.

** Another hint: HELL NO.

Podcast 35: Three kinds of B2B marketing content you’re probably missing

Posted on by The Radix Team

As long ago as 2011, Joe Pulizzi pointed out that inbound marketing alone isn’t enough for content marketing to deliver its full value.

More recently, B2B agencies have been lining up to put the boot into the funnel as a metaphor for your customers’ buying process. Velocity Partners called it a poisonous metaphor, Octopus Group suggested it’s actually more of a pretzel and – possibly most fun of all – Workbrands suggested it’s really a water park.

But still, content marketers seem keen to map their marketing assets to stages of the traditional funnel: TOFU, MOFU and BOFU. What else should we be writing, how should we really see the funnel, and what does it all mean for B2B copywriting?

In this episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, Radix’s MD Fiona Campbell-Howes and I expand on my recent blog post about addressing these missing parts of the funnel, and discuss:

  • Why people are questioning the funnel
  • The importance of PREFU, REFU and POFU content
  • Account-Based Marketing, and what it means for B2B writers
  • Whether anyone would actually want to eat an octopus pretzel
  • … and more.

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

If you like, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here, or alternatively add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Our music is by Industrial and Marine …and if you’d like to try an octopus pretzel, there’s a recipe here (full disclosure: it doesn’t actually contain octopus).

Podcast 33: The changing face of B2B blogging

Posted on by The Radix Team

For B2B brands, blogs are the third most popular content marketing tactic, used by 81% of B2B organisations.

More than 50% of B2B organisations rate business blogs as an effective content marketing tactic, but are brands using blogs to their full potential?

In 2015, Radix saw a huge surge in the number of blog posts requested by clients. These pieces of content are more thought out and detailed compared to briefs from three years ago. The latest studies are showing that longer, more detailed blog posts get more shares and hits, so we expect to see clients commissioning longer blog posts this year.

In this episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I’m joined by Radix founder Fiona Campbell-Howes to discuss the anatomy of today’s top blog posts.

Listen now to find out:

  • Why the top-performing blog posts are getting (much) longer
  • How platforms like LinkedIn Pulse are affecting business blogging
  • What company blogs mean for website SEO
  • What’s involved in researching and writing B2B blog posts
  • What makes for a more shareable blog post
  • … and more

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Related reading

The Anatomy of a Shareable, Linkable & Popular Post: A Study of Our Marketing Blog

Buzzsumo: BuzzFeed’s Most Shared Content Format Is Not What You Think

Podcast 32: How to write a top-notch B2B landing page

Posted on by The Radix Team

A great landing page is one that spurs the visitor to take action: register for a report, sign up for a free trial or request a product demo.

As such, they’re cornerstones of digital marketing strategy, generating leads, taking names, and generally showing marketers who’s interested in what.

But to be really successful, a landing page has to be persuasively written from start to finish – and getting the copy right is no easy task.

In this episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, seasoned copywriters Fiona Campbell-Howes and David McGuire discuss how to write a top-notch landing page for your B2B website.

Listen now to find out:

  • What a landing page needs to do
  • How to get the copy right
  • Copy pitfalls to avoid
  • What makes a compelling call to action
  • … and more

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Podcast 30: How to fire up your writers to create brilliant copy

Posted on by The Radix Team

During his keynote at this month’s Content Marketing World, Convince and Convert’s Jay Baer discussed the importance of passion in content marketing. He went on to say that:

“Passion is the differentiator, more so than any tactic. It will set you apart.”

And Velocity Partners’ Doug Kessler explained at this year’s B2B Summit – during his talk Stop Creating Crap: 10 reasons your content isn’t very good but could be – that one of the ways to produce great content is to fill your writers with enthusiasm.

In B2B, 70% of marketers are producing more content marketing now than they did in 2013, but content alone won’t move the needle. What’s going to make brands stand out is content that is truly great. Content fuelled by passionate, convincing copy that drives people to take action.

So how can you ensure your copywriters approach a blog post about your latest product with the same fervour as they would their own novel or personal blog?

In this episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I’m joined by Fiona to discuss what B2B marketers can do to help their copywriters find the inspiration they need to write outstanding content.

Listen now to find out:

  • Why great copy starts with a fired-up writer
  • What’s stopping your copywriters getting excited about your brief
  • 4 ways marketers can inspire writers to create outstanding copy
  • Hallmarks of a project created with passion
  • … and more

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Header image adapted from “IMG_1743” by John Martinez Pavliga, under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Podcast 28: Telling B2B stories, wrestling with emotion and writing for intelligent content

Posted on by The Radix Team

If you are new to Good Copy, Bad Copy: welcome. This month is a highlights episode and is a good place to jump on. I’ll be looking back at some of the best discussions and content creation advice we’ve had on the podcast over the past year.

Creating engaging content is the top issue for many UK businesses and B2B brands in North America. Over 50% of marketers, on both sides of the Atlantic, cite it as their top concern when creating content. This challenge is reflected in the demands placed on copywriters working in B2B marketing.

On our podcast, we do our best to discuss issues affecting B2B copywriters, especially those who specialise in writing for enterprise technology brands. Here at Radix we also often find that we’re wrestling with content formats that are not mainstream, but could be about to make it big. Writing engaging content is one of our top concerns.

Listen now to hear about:

  • How to use storytelling in B2B copy
  • Using comic strips and books in content marketing
  • What is means to bring emotion to copy
  • Keeping content fresh and how to repurpose existing content
  • Intelligent content and what it may mean for copywriters

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

The full episodes from this episode

Storytelling in B2B, the final frontier

Bringing comics to B2B marketing

Using emotion in B2B copy

Five smart strategies to freshen up your B2B content

Doug Kessler talks intelligent content and copywriting

Header image adapted from Headphone Kitty by Jaap Joris, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Podcast 27: Highlights and takeaways from the B2B Marketing Summit

Posted on by The Radix Team

Image by Simon Callaghan Photography for B2B Marketing. Pictured: Fiona Campbell-Howes

It was a stunning event by all measures: all tickets sold out, a fantastic venue in The Brewery, a packed agenda across five different streams, and a ‘superstar’ keynote speaker – Newscred’s Michael Brenner – flying in from San Francisco to address the 580-strong crowd.

But what were the highlights of the 2015 B2B Summit, and did it give us any clues about what’s in store for B2B copywriters in the months to come?

In this episode of Good Copy, Bad Copy, Fiona shares her impressions of the event, and summarises key themes that will have a bearing on B2B copywriting for the rest of this year.

Listen now to hear about:

  • Which speakers had the most interesting stuff to say, from a copywriting point of view
  • Why content is only going to get hotter – and more voluminous
  • How “P2P” is replacing B2B – and why that’s a good thing
  • The state of storytelling in B2B – and why we may be making it sound harder than it is

PLUS: Fiona gives us a flavour of her own talk in the Content track – The 7 Types of B2B Copywriter (And How the Wrong One Can Destroy Your Campaign). See the full slide deck from her talk below.

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.

Podcast 26: Writing for millennials and why it’s not all me, me, me

Posted on by The Radix Team

The face of the global workforce is changing, and if you’re writing copy for a B2B brand then you’ve got a whole new audience to deal with. Those born between 1980 and 2000 are often considered to be Millennials or Generation Y’ers. And they’re taking over the workplace in unforeseen ways.

From the hype about being self-obsessed to the more accurate picture of people concerned about ethics in and outside the boardroom: there’s a lot of information (and misinformation) flying around about millennials at work.

But what are the real differences between Generation Y and X? Do these differences matter? And just what does it all mean for copywriters working on B2B marketing content?

In a world where nearly half of all researchers of business purchases are millennials: it means a lot.

In this episode, Fiona and I explore how millennials view marketing content, and how you can write with this age group in mind.

Listen now to find out:

  • How technology has shaped millennial attitudes to advertising and marketing
  • The different ways in which Generation X and Y perceive marketing
  • Why old-school marketing tactics are unlikely to work with the new generation
  • How to engage millennials through your copy
  • … and more

Download the episode here (right-click and “save as” to download). Or listen in the player at the top of the page.

You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

Alternatively: add our RSS to your preferred podcast player.

Music by Industrial and Marine.