The client: Midlands Wedding DJ, Birmingham, West Midlands

John Horton owns Midlands Wedding DJ – a professional wedding disco and entertainment service covering Birmingham and the West Midlands. He got in touch when his responses to emails from potential clients weren’t working hard enough to convert leads into customers.

The need

Being well known on the wedding circuit in the West Midlands, John receives lots of emails asking for quotes and availability, which he responds to promptly – but these enquiries weren’t getting him the bookings he needs for his business to be successful.

When John asked me for help with his email responses, he was frustrated with the number of enquiries that simply weren’t converting into business.

His costs are competitive, his reputation is good, and his service is professional. I’d already written his website, and this works hard to generate leads and raise awareness of his business. Something wasn’t working.

The solution

I asked John to send me examples of enquiries he’d received from potential clients, together with his responses. I could immediately see what the problem was. First, the emails contained spelling mistakes that could lead potential clients to think the business was unprofessional. Price wasn’t the issue. For a quality service to generate bookings, there needs to be a perception of quality, and the emails weren’t communicating this.

John’s responses contained none of the personality or warmth that’s so important for service businesses, so I changed the tone to make his replies informal, friendly and approachable, while maintaining a professional tone.

The emails focused on the technical features included in the price. I flipped this to focus on the benefits to the client, and kept the language simple and concise.

I added a question to find out where the enquirer heard about John’s business, as a way of opening up a dialogue and showing he cares – with the added advantage of giving him inside information on where his leads are coming from – a line about the need to book now as dates are limited, to communicate scarcity, and added a clear, compelling and persuasive call to action.

In the client’s words…

“Sarah is a true marketing expert. She’s written two websites for me, so I knew I could ask her to look at my emails. She puts herself in the customer’s shoes, and understood where I was going wrong and how to put things right. She just gets it. 

“In just a couple of hours, she wrote four email templates that I started using straight away and I’ve already seen results. I converted one enquiry within a couple of days, and lots of customers have called me to ask for more details after Sarah told me to make it easy for people to get in touch. Her work has paid for itself already, and I’m feeling really positive about my business again.”

John Horton, Owner, Midlands Wedding DJ
www.midlandsweddingdj.co.uk

The client: RTL Group, Luxembourg

RTL Group is the leading European entertainment network. With interests in 60 television channels and 31 radio stations around the world, this global business employs almost 12,500 people around the world.

Its content production arm, FremantleMedia, is one of the largest international creators, producers and distributors of TV content outside the US – think The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and I’m a Celebrity…

With 26 billion monthly video views, RTL Group is also the leading European media company in online video.

The need

The corporate communications team at RTL Group aren’t native English speakers but it’s vital that the language they use has a natural flow, and is grammatically – and factually – correct. The team produce a huge range of publications and marketing collateral, all of which needs to be accurate and well written, and to support the professionalism of RTL Group’s global brand.

The solution

I started providing marketing support for RTL Group in 2006, when I was hired to proofread their annual report, and I’m now in my 13th year.

During this time I have written, edited, rewritten and proofread a huge range of publications, including newsletters, exhibition materials, and even CEO speeches. I work closely with their team to produce work that reflects the company’s professional image.

In 2017 I decided to pay a visit to Luxembourg, to meet RTL Group’s communications and marketing team in person, in their new corporate headquarters. I can safely say, 475 miles is the farthest I’ve travelled to meet a client!

In the client’s words…

“I have the pleasure of working with Sarah on the RTL Group Annual Report. She is very passionate about her work and the English language, and always does a fantastic job of reviewing and editing the content.

“Sarah gives us the safety that very important text and articles are reviewed in the utmost professional manner. She finds even the tiniest mistakes and typos within lengthy and complex text, and is very quick and precise in the work she delivers. She is extremely friendly and working with her is a great experience!”

Isabell Ostermann, Senior Communications & Marketing Manager, RTL Group
www.rtlgroup.com

“Accuracy, reliability, flexibility, always on time – these are the reasons why RTL Group has worked with copywriter and proofreader and Sarah Townsend since 2006, on many annual reports, brochures and projects.”

Oliver Fahlbusch, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications & Marketing, RTL Group
www.rtlgroup.com