 This month’s newsletter discusses a little pet peeve of mine (so humor me, please).
This minor annoyance became rooted in my background as a technical writer. As a tech writer, I wrote a lot of software user manuals, mainly the sections instructing users how to use the software. I had to document every. single. step. Drilling down to that level of detail was crucial because otherwise, leaving out the tiniest fragment of information would frustrate the user. I mean, these days, who hasn’t been confronted with assembly instructions that aren’t even specific to the product in front of you? You make your best guess, and keep your fingers crossed! Having had this experience more than once taught me never to assume my audience had a certain level of knowledge and to fully and clearly explain EVERYTHING. As a copywriter, I find in-depth explanations essential, especially if the content is supposed to be educational and informative. So, as you endeavor to explain a concept, idea, procedure, or whatever in your writing – and here’s my gripe -- don’t forget to define any acronyms or initialisms. There, I said it. And now I feel better. What’s an acronym? It’s when the first letters from a phrase or group of words are strung together and then pronounced as a word. Two well-known examples are SIRI (Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Initialisms are similar in structure to acronyms but differ because each letter is pronounced separately. An example is PCR (polymerase chain reaction), pronounced pee-see-are. It may not seem like a big deal, but it can ruin the moment as readers stumble across these acronyms or initialisms and don’t know what they stand for. If you intend to teach with your content, don’t hold back on sharing your knowledge! Suzanne Quigley is a copywriter specializing in veterinary, equine, and animal health markets. If you need a copywriter experienced in blogging, case studies, white papers, web content, SEO, and more, contact her at 508-277-4929 or [email protected].  As I write this blog post, 2023 has dwindled to a matter of hours. And most likely, by the time you read it, 2024 will have pushed 2023 aside to assume the spotlight. Happy New Year! So, my question is: Did you keep your 2023 New Year’s resolutions? You know, the ones related to marketing your veterinary business? Like stepping up your content marketing. (Uh oh, your silence speaks volumes …) Don’t feel bad if you’ve failed to follow through with your marketing resolutions; my point isn’t to scold you. My point is to nudge you into awareness that you should make them. Just like you would personal ones. That is, assuming you’re one of the 41% of Americans who do make New Year’s resolutions. If you want your veterinary business to grow and thrive, promoting it is a must-do! Start Small with Simple Resolutions First things first, though, before you dive in, define your goals.
What are you looking to achieve with content marketing? Increase brand awareness? Attract more clients? Educate pet owners? Or promote services? Clarifying your goals will help develop your strategy. Since content marketing is long-term, your best approach is to start small. You’ll risk being overwhelmed and accomplishing nothing if you're too ambitious. For example, you could resolve to start a blog and aim to post once a month. I recently created a content-writing checklist. These ten tips guide your content creation process, especially if you’re stuck on blog post ideas. Maybe you’ve been considering an email newsletter. 2024 is your year! Email marketing is a cost-effective way to market and build lasting relationships. You can share helpful information about your products and services and promote exclusive deals. Even better, you can personalize email content to targeted segments of your clients. Here’s a post that explains how to write an email that gets results. As 2023 winds down and the new year awaits, everyone thinks about that fresh start. Why not resolve to make 2024 the year content marketing finally gets the attention it deserves? That gym membership can wait until next year! Suzanne Quigley is a copywriter specializing in veterinary, equine, and animal health markets. If you need a copywriter experienced in blogging, case studies, white papers, web content, SEO, and more, contact her at 508-277-4929 or [email protected].  Sometimes, you need help writing content, and you need it NOW. With this in mind, I composed a quick and easy checklist of simple tips to help you create the best and most helpful content ever for your animal health or veterinary business. Now, you won’t have to furrow your brow and think about what to write - you won’t even have to ask ChatGPT! Ten tips to jumpstart your animal health/veterinary content writing
Keep this checklist handy and refer to it often. You can thank me later! Suzanne Quigley is a copywriter specializing in veterinary, equine, and animal health markets. If you need a copywriter experienced in blogging, case studies, white papers, web content, SEO, and more, contact her at 508-277-4929 or [email protected].  In last month's post, I explained how inconsistent blogging can hurt your veterinary business. To avoid those pitfalls, this month, I'm discussing how an editorial calendar can help you succeed at content marketing. An editorial calendar is a planning tool - a place to store content topics, publication dates, and where to share them. Essentially, it's an aid to mapping a content creation and publication strategy. The editorial calendar doesn't need to be fancy or sophisticated, but it can be if you want it to be. If you're a small vet clinic, you could build your calendar in Excel or Google Calendar. If your animal health organization is larger, with multiple people involved in content planning and creation, you could invest in one of the many collaborative platforms available: Notion or Asana are two examples. Regardless, I want to stress that using an editorial calendar, even if that means jotting things down in a notebook to collect ideas and develop publication timeframes, is more important than selecting the right platform. An editorial calendar will organize you and get you in the habit of regular posting, which is vital to successful content marketing. Seven reasons why an editorial calendar is invaluable Still not sold on the benefits of an editorial calendar? Here are seven reasons why you should start using one today.
Suzanne Quigley is a copywriter specializing in veterinary, equine, and animal health markets. If you need a copywriter experienced in blogging, case studies, white papers, web content, SEO, and more, contact her at 508-277-4929 or [email protected].  Some people would do anything for a dozen donuts. It’s true. Back in the late seventies, I was a college sophomore working a few evenings a week at a Mister Donut coffee shop. I commuted to Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, MA, so I needed to earn gas money for my Mercury Comet with rusting-out floorboards. I remember that Saturday evening like it was yesterday. It was around 6 p.m., and the only people in the shop were me and two middle-aged ladies sitting at the bar drinking coffee. Yeah, this was pre-drive-through days, when coffee shops had bars and swivel stools, and customers came in, sat down, ordered a coffee and donut, and consumed them there, drinking coffee from real mugs. That Saturday night, I was behind the counter, mindlessly constructing donut boxes in preparation for the following day’s rush of donut sales. (Sunday mornings were always a goldmine for Mister Donut.) I’d made up about 30 boxes when this kid pushed through the front door. I stood up from behind the counter and looked at him. “Welcome to Mister Donut. Can I help you?” Barely glancing at me, he mumbled, “I’d like a dozen donuts.” He was skinny, with short, dark tousled hair, and wore jeans. He kept his hands shoved in his pockets. From under the counter, I grabbed a just-folded donut box in one hand and a piece of tissue in the other and, looking at him with raised eyebrows, signaled I was ready. He rattled off his order. I don’t remember what he asked for because I was thinking about what donuts I’d bring home that evening. Since I was closing, I could help myself to donuts that hadn’t sold. I hoped there’d be some lemon-filled in my future. After filling the box, I quickly closed the lid and taped it shut. I put it on the counter beside the register and rang up the sale. The register drawer sprang open, and I said, “That’ll be $1.49, please.” I looked at the kid, and he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking straight ahead. Both his hands were behind him like he was feeling for his wallet in his back pockets. Then, suddenly, he grabbed the donut box from the counter, spun, and bolted through the doors and out to the sidewalk. I was speechless! With jaw dropped and eyes popping, I looked at the two women still seated at the bar. Their expressions were as dumbfounded as mine. After a few eternal moments, one broke the silence. “Thank goodness he didn’t have a gun!” So why did I tell you this story? To illustrate the value of storytelling in your content. It humanizes you and makes you relatable—a key ingredient to building a relationship, which content marketing aims to do. Before you read my donut ripoff tale, you knew little about me except maybe what’s on my LinkedIn bio. Now you know… 1. My age (yep, I gave details. You do the math.) 2. I’m partial to lemon-filled donuts; yum. 3. I drove a crappy car in college. In the grand scheme of things, do these details matter? Who knows? But some of them you can likely relate to. (Everyone has to have a favorite donut!) More importantly, you’ll see that I’m a person who, like you, has had a plethora of life experiences. Distinct, unique, but relatable, and that connects us. As a practicing veterinarian or veterinary entrepreneur, the better your customers know who you are, the better the chances they’ll do business with you. Why? Because they’ll come to like and trust you. And one other thing, those distinct, unique experiences belong to you. They can only be shared by you, not by artificially derived content. So tell your stories and stand out from the rest. Suzanne Quigley is a content writer/consultant and former veterinary assistant specializing in the animal health and veterinary markets. She works with clients in both the pharmaceutical and technology arenas.
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