Brand Story – Fredricks Communications

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New Work – True|IT Gets IT with Messaging, Website, Copywriting

February 22, 2019/in New Work /by Martin Fredricks

fredcomm boils IT down for business technology company

“Technology That Works” is the tagline for True|IT, a business technology company in West Fargo, N.D. When the company needed messaging strategy, website content and marketing material copywriting that works, it turned to Fredricks Communications. Check out the new True|IT page in the “my work” section.

Brand Story: 10 Reasons to Work with FredComm

November 1, 2018/in Brand Story /by Martin Fredricks

it’s your business. it’s your story. let’s tell it well.

Focus on Your Strengths
There’s no need to steal time and energy from your passion and core competency. Instead, benefit from a great brand story without taking your eye off the ball. Listen, you’re great at what you do. Why not hire someone who is great at strategic messaging development, copywriting and content creation for advertising, marketing, public relations and social media?
You’re Too Busy
Isn’t everyone? Let me take that copywriting or content creation project off your plate, get it done well and give it back to you, ready to go.
Copywriting Is Not Like Other Writing
Anyone can string words together, but few can effectively copywrite. Advertising, marketing and promotional materials require specialized experience and expertise, and Fredricks Communications has it.
Fresh Perspective
You’re close to your business or institution, as you should be. But maybe you’re too close to give the branding and messaging a new, more objective and more effective approach. I’ll bring a fresh eye to the project and to your business.
Experience
I’ve been in advertising, marketing and advertising for a couple of decades, and I was a newspaper reporter/editor before that. I’ve served all kinds of clients, from sole proprietors to companies with hundreds of employees, that do business in my region, across the country and globally. And they keep coming back.
Strategic Focus & Execution
You need more than just a wordsmith; you need someone who can help with strategic direction, too. I’ve been building brands and strategic messaging for a long time, so I can, and do. Plus, I can do it better, faster and cheaper than a large agency with several layers of people (bottlenecks) on your account.
Deadlines Are Sacred
FredComm has a rock-solid track record for on-time delivery.
Pout-Free Service
You want someone who is easy to work with, puts ego aside, produces crisp and effective writing, and won’t make a scene if you make copy changes. That’s me.
Best Team for Every Client
I’ve worked in agencies and as part of an in-house marketing team. That background trained me to think visually and work closely with art directors and graphic designers on creative concepts, a valuable skill essential to producing strong work. With my “virtual team,” a group of talented professionals who provide complementary services like graphic design, website design, photography and so on, I’m able to deliver exceptional work without breaking your bank.
Less Expense
Some people think hiring outside talent on a project basis is expensive. In fact, the opposite is true. You get exceptional results while saving the costs of salary, benefits, and office space for an on-staff writer. Plus, the more you work with me, the more I get to know your organization, products and services, and the faster I can do every new project.

Bonus: Fun
I like to have it. So do the pros I work with. And FredComm clients appreciate it.

Let’s get started. To build an effective brand story through strategic messaging development, copywriting, content creation and all the associated services that lead to advertising, marketing and public relations success, get in touch today.

Tip Tuesday – In Order to Achieve Greater Impact…

April 24, 2018/in Copywriting /by Martin Fredricks

To be more concise and effective, always edit out “in order” and simply leave “to” in your advertising, marketing and public relations writing.

You’ll improve the impact, the POP!, of your writing without changing meaning almost every time.

Example:

In order to achieve invigorating writing, use active voice.
To achieve invigorating writing, use active voice.

Example:

We provide technical training in order to increase your efficiency and reduce overall costs.
We provide technical training to increase your efficiency and reduce overall costs.

But what about that pesky “almost” above?

Purists will spew some grammar mumbo-jumbo about how “in order to” is a subordinating conjunction. Huh? They’ll also say that when you drop “in order” you lose the underlying meaning of the phrase, which more clearly conveys intent than “to” alone. Your intent is to achieve invigorating writing, they’d say, and “in order to” conveys that more clearly. Same goes for the desire to increase efficiency.

They’re right. After all, they’re purists; being right is their job.

But who the heck even knows what a subordinating conjunction is. Right? Plus, here’s the thing –

Randomly ask 100 people which is more correct in those situations – “to” or “in order to” – and I’ll bet 99.99 percent of them won’t know the difference. Or give a rat’s patootie.

Which brings us back to Rule #2 for marketing writing: brevity.

(Rule #1 is to answer the Golden Question of Marketing – What’s in it for me?)

Dropping “in order” keeps your copy shorter, punchier.

It might not seem like much, but over the course of a longer brochure or training video, dropping the two extra words makes a difference.

If you’re writing a novel or an in-depth assessment of foreign affairs, by all means, write “in order to.” I don’t want you starting any wars because the intent of your sentences wasn’t absolutely clear.

Otherwise, go with “to,” especially in advertising, marketing and public relations.