Sometimes you know exactly what you want and you want someone to do it.
But what you need is for someone to tell you how to do it even better.
That’s exactly what Ben Collier found when he approached me for help with his content strategy and copywriting.
With his full-time marketer on maternity leave and an unexpected need for content, Ben was in a fix. He needed fresh content for his brand, but with no time himself and no-one in-house available to do the work, he needed someone who could smash the content out of the park and create something stand-out that would attract new customers.
Enter Your Copy Righter.
Founded in 2011, Ocasta Review creates sales performance and enablement tools for B2C brands such as O2, Virgin Media, and Victoria’s Secret. Ocasta’s goal is to help its customers improve both sales and service, a fantastic way to both get new customers and retain existing ones.
Previously, the various tools had all been part of one platform but, in 2022, Ben had come to the realisation that this was getting confusing for his customers.
“It had made our messaging really muddy. Our old website would start talking about sales observations but then start talking about staff recognition. Now we still have the one platform, but it’s two products that are sold separately.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
But with two separate products, Ben realised that one of them, Review, was suffering from a lack of recent content to recommend it to prospects.
So Ben went hunting for a writer to write some blogs.
In the first instance, he turned to Fiverr, trying a few writers at different price points. But he was left disappointed.
“It took me a whole morning to put together the brief. And if you aren’t quite sure about exactly what you need, then you’ll have something like a 50% success rate. They didn’t really understand our audience or the pain points.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
Ben knew his business (and his customers) needed better. So he turned to Your Copy Righter.
But I wasn’t convinced a flurry of blogs was what Ben’s business needed.
“Before taking pen to paper, James dove headfirst into understanding our company, products, and target audience. James gave us the confidence that he understood our SaaS products and who uses them.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
I suggested (with a 14-page proposal) that it would be better to start building content journeys for Ben’s high value customers to maximise conversions while he was building up content for the new site.
Ben immediately saw what I was putting down and wholeheartedly agreed.
The first step was to get a deeper understanding of the target audience. I set up a persona workshop with Ben to talk through who they were targeting, who made the decisions, and what those decisions were based on.
Armed with this information, I conducted some independent persona interviews and language analysis to gain some insights into how L&D Managers thought about sales observations.
I then used this to develop a plan for a content journey Ocasta could use to attract and convert leads. This plan outlined the type and style of each piece, where it would sit in the journey, and when and where it should be published.
And with Ben’s marketer on maternity leave, I took on the task of writing the content too.
“James didn’t do what I asked. Instead, he offered (and delivered) exactly what we needed.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
When it comes to content journeys, I always advocate for a Foundation First approach. Not because I’m an Asimov fan, but because it generates more conversions.
Each one was designed to progressively entice and educate the prospect. At the top of the funnel, I wrote a small white paper about intuition vs data. This led into a piece about internally selling the concept of sales observations. Finally, this took prospects to the case study about Ocasta’s work with Victoria’s Secret.
The case study itself was based on an interview I conducted with Steph, the wonderfully enthusiastic and interesting Store Trainer at Victoria’s Secret (because every great case study needs a customer interview!). With such great material, the real challenge in writing the case study was in choosing what to leave out!
With the copy complete and signed off, we finished the project with a little more strategy. Ben’s marketer had returned from maternity leave, so we booked a training session for future content strategy and I shared my content planning tool.
“His expertise in crafting compelling, targeted copy was pivotal in engaging our potential customers and driving conversions.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
That copy has been driving excellent results, with a long dwell time online, a solid bounce rate, and one of the best email open rates that Ocasta has enjoyed. More importantly, it’s been getting attention from major high street brands, creating exciting new opportunities for Ocasta.
But Ben hasn’t just sat back and enjoyed those results. He’s also pulled apart the copy and repurposed it as much as he can, including parts in sales decks and emails to make the most of his investment in his copy. The clever chap.
He also noticed something interesting from the case study interview: a use case the customer hadn’t thought to mention to him. Just one of the benefits of having a third party interview your customer!
“James uncovered that Victoria’s Secret were using the outputs from Review to create a skills builder, which helped me realise that it’s a useful tool for prioritising training needs.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
But the cherry on the cake was when Ben used the case study as part of his application for a Learning Award.
Which Ocasta won.
“An award like that is great for industry recognition and helps you be recognised in your community.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
More importantly, though, the Ocasta team has been left with the tools to keep evolving their content strategy and crafting more purposeful content that’s better targeted towards their ideal customers.
“We weren’t really thinking about guiding someone through that buyer journey. Those keen insights helped us rethink our content strategy. Now we do a campaign each month with three or four bits of content sitting at the different stages in the funnel for different use cases and target markets. That’s cool.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
And throughout the project, Ben received a level of service, support, and insight that he just couldn’t get from a Fiverr copywriter. With regular updates, candid discussion, and supporting assets, Ben was never left uncertain as to how the project was progressing.
“James was professional and efficient, bringing a warm and eager attitude to every discussion with us and in his interviews with our customers.”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
Ben feels much more confident in the content strategy of his business, much more confident that his content is attracting and securing new business, and much happier with the return on his investment in content. It’s fair to say that Ben won’t be turning to Fiverr next time he needs help with his content.
“If you’re looking for a copywriter with a strategic mindset, unmatched focus on narrative, and a genuine focus on driving results, look no further than Your Copy Righter!”
Ben Collier, Co-Founder of Ocasta
If you’re looking to use content to achieve a business objective but not sure how to go about it, get in touch. Whether you need the strategy devised or you need me to write the content too, I can make sure your content opens doors to opportunities that grow your business.
