A Case Study, or ’success story’, is an excellent promotional tool for any business. It describes what you have done for a particular customer, and, by default, what you can do for the reader.

A good Case Study demonstrates the benefits offered by your product or service and offers concrete evidence of those benefits. In my opinion, one Case Study is worth more than several stand-alone testimonials. If written well, it will create a connection between your business and the reader, and will instill a sense of trust.

Want to know how to write a good Case Study? Read on for some tips.

1. Make sure you ask the customer for permission. Ask them to tell you the ’story’ in their own words. This should give you some good testimonials. If you would like to tweak a testimonial in order to make it more effective, simply ask your customer. As long as you keep them involved, they shouldn’t mind.

2. A Case Study should be like a short story - memorable and enjoyable to read. It should have a beginning, middle and end, leading the reader on from one section to the next. There are a variety of ways in which you could structure your Case Study, including:

• Challenge, Solution, Results: a straightforward method which states the problem or ‘need’ experienced by the customer, how you helped, and the benefits they enjoyed as a result. The Case Study will have a traditional, ’story’ feel with a satisfying conclusion.
• Results, Challenge, Solution: ’start at the end’, by stating the results or benefits, then explaining what the ‘problem’ or ‘challenge’ was and how you helped. By putting the benefits at the beginning, you get to the point quickly.
• Challenge, Results, Solution: By stating the problem or need, then moving straight onto the results, you will create suspense. The reader feels compelled to read on, to find out how you achieved those results.

3. A good headline will announce the quantifiable benefits that your customer enjoyed by using your product or service. For example, “Top retailer enjoys a 42% boost in sales with innovative marketing campaign from ABC Advertising.”

4. Place a very short quote from the customer immediately after the headline or introduction. This will set the tone and lend authority to the Case Study.

5. Consider beginning by summarising the key points in a couple of succinct bullet points. The aim is to ‘tease’ the reader and gain their interest.

6. Pack in as many benefits as you can throughout - and remember to quantify them where possible. Examples are cost savings, increased sales, increased productivity, or reduced waste.

7. Focus on the customer. The reader will be interested in the story from their point of view. Whenever you mention a feature of your product or service, make sure you relate it to the customer, and how that feature helped them.

8. Break down the copy by using headings, bullet points and lists. This makes the Case Study easier to read and remember.

9. Highlight key phrases within the copy by using a bold or larger font, especially where you are talking about benefits.

10. Use plain English where possible. Try to avoid industry jargon or marketing speak.

11. Use pictures to add interest. For example, add a picture of your product being used by your customer. Or, a picture of you carrying out the service, such as installing new machinery or redecorating the customer’s house.

12. Don’t write too much. An easily digestible word count is between 300 to 500 words.

Does anyone have any other tips?

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Photo by topgold

When writing copy, one of the most important things you must remember is this: keep it simple.

I’ll show you why.

Do the following song lyrics mean anything to you?

“Indicate the way to my habitual abode,
I’m fatigued and I wish to recuperate,
I consumed a little alcohol sixty minutes ago,
and it’s gone right to my cerebral hemisphere,
Wherever I may perambulate,
through the land of sea and atmospheric vapours
you will always find me syncopating this melody,
indicate the way to my habitual abode.”

When I was about 14, I went on a school trip, pony-trekking to Wales. As the ponies picked their way over the rocky paths, we would all sing the above song - over, and over. I’m sure the adults found it excruciating. Why we sang it, I just don’t know. Anyway, it came into my head this morning, and I realised that, at the time, I didn’t have a clue what I was singing about.

Did you recognise it? It’s a version of the old folk song, ‘Show me the way to go home.’ It goes like this:

“Show me the way to go home,
I’m tired and I wanna go to bed,
I had a little drink about an hour ago,
and it’s gone right to my head,
wherever I may roam,
through the land of sea and snow,
you will always find me singing this song,
show me the way to go home.”

As I sang this to my myself this morning, I realised that the ‘dressed up’ version of the song is a perfect example of bad copywriting. The original is easy to understand, easy to remember, and has greater impact.

When we write, we often find ourselves, whether consciously or subconsciously, substituting simple, straightforward words and phrases for ‘better’ ones. Instead of saying ‘we help small businesses to increase their sales’, we might say ‘we provide a strategic consultancy service incorporating planning, forecasting, and marketing for improved outcomes’. We seem to think that the more complicated and verbose, the better. The internet is littered with examples, resulting in confusion, boredom and, ultimately, a complete failure in getting the message across.

There are often times where complicated words and phrases are unavoidable, for example when writing about law. This is perfectly reasonable. Just make sure that you don’t use a complicated word where a simple alternative is available.

Remember: if you want to get your message across, keep it simple.

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Last night I was fascinated to see an advert for the ‘Barzebo‘, a delightful new product costing just under £200. The Barzebo is a new take on the Gazebo, and would look truly stunning in any garden. No doubt there will soon be hundreds, nay thousands of people, chilling out at the Barzebo, making their neighbours green with envy.

I’m not sure how successful the Barzebo will be, but if it sells well, it will demonstrate the power of advertising - the ability to sell a product that we don’t really need.

There are hundreds of techniques which enable advertisers to sell products, even those with little or no market appeal. Every good marketer or copywriter must learn these techniques and continually improve their learning.

I’ll go into more detail about these techniques in future posts, but, in the meantime, I plan to keep an eye out for similar products which make me chuckle, just like the wonderful Barzebo.

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27b/6 website: David Thorne is an Australian satirist famous for sending a drawing of a spider in lieu of an overdue utility bill. If you want a good laugh, visit the website, click on the logo, and enjoy.

How to find good keywords for your small business website - Does what it says on the tin.

Website Marketing Plan - This site is packed full of resources for beginners to marketing.

Meta tags: title, keywords, description - A good guide to meta tags: read this if you need to optimise your website.

11 ways to think outside the box - Interesting article from Stepcase Lifehack about how to look at things in new ways.

Is your website copy too excited? - Exclamation marks are bad!! Really bad!! Men With Pens explain why.

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