Attention lawn care & landscape business owners: We’re winding down toward the end of 2015. And it’s time to think about your 2016 content marketing plans for your lawn & landscape website. Two of your 2016 goals should be a great website and a commitment to regularly communicate with your clients.

Some Stats

Yodle, an online marketing firm, conducted a survey of customer opinions on local businesses. In their results, Yodle laid out what customers think of their local lawn & landscape companies:

  • 53% of consumers surveyed would like their local landscape companies to improve their websites.
  • 63% of local landscape clients want to hear from their landscape company through email and social media.
  • In this communication, they’d like to see appointment reminders; your lawn and landscape services; lawn and landscape advice; and helpful lawn and landscape tips.
  • Many folks would like to read online reviews about you before they hire you.
  • 36% of consumers believe online reviews give you a competitive edge.
  • 40% of consumers expect your business to have online reviews.
  • Only 7% of landscape consumers have been asked to give an online review.
  • 89% of respondents want to give an online review when they’re pleased with your work.

How a Copywriter Can Help You

Granted, I can’t help you with online reviews. But I can help you better communicate with your clients.

How?

Here are seven ways I can help you keep in touch with your clients through content marketing:

  1. As a copywriter, I can write and/or edit your website content to make it more consumer-friendly. Also, I partner with other content marketing professionals, including a website designer, who can help make your website modern and mobile.
  2. I communicate your company’s brand throughout all your content marketing channels.
  3. I tastefully add SEO into your written communications, including your blogs and website content, to make you sound authentic and an expert in your industry.
  4. As a copywriter, I can write your newsletters, sales letters, blogs, website content, press releases and any other written communication you need.
  5. I can write lawn and landscape tips and advice that you may want on an FAQ page and/or in a blog or newsletter.
  6. Since you serve a specific region, I’ll add your target cities, counties, and townships into your content communications to reach your audience.
  7. I can help you with your social media. While I don’t post updates or tweets for clients, I can give you some guidance on social media outlets and what type of content you should be posting. And I also have another contact who specializes in social media marketing.

For 2016, commit to better communications with your customers (and prospects) through an improved lawn and landscape website as well as regular posts through social media (think blogs, Facebook, and Instagram). Your customers will be glad you did—and that will show through their loyalty to your company.

Do you need a copywriter to help you communicate with your client base? Call or text me at 717-381-6719 (ET); email me at wendy@landscapewriter.com or fill out my  consultation form.

 

Source

Total Landscape Care.com. “Survey: Landscaping Customers Prefer Contact via Email,” http://www.totallandscapecare.com/email-your-customers/.

 

 

 

 

My newest LinkedIn article just went live. If you want to know how a copywriter (also known as a ghostwriter, content writer, marketing communications writer, as well as a host of other names we business writers call ourselves), check out my new article at https://goo.gl/Y30lRC.

Do you need a copywriter who works exclusively with the lawn care, landscape & outdoor living industries? Then call/text me at 717-381-6719 or fill out my free consultation form.

 

And a Special Offer by The Landscape Writer

This is the time of year when I start encouraging you to think about your content marketing plans for the New Year. Over the next few months, you’ll be hearing more and more about planning your lawn care and landscape company’s content marketing calendar. Now’s the time of year to think ahead—by looking back at 2015 and using that information for 2016.

There are two questions that you must ask yourself and your sales team:

  1. Who is your ideal client? Are they married or single? Male or female? Professional couple with children? Or without children? Retirees? Empty nesters? The more you can describe your ideal client, the better position you’ll be to meet their lawn and landscape needs.
  2. What is your company good at doing? Is it design and build patios, decks, and lighting? How about swimming pool installation and maintenance? Mowing, blowing, and fertilizing? Installing and maintaining irrigation systems?

Whatever your company’s strength are—from certifications to anticipating customers’ needs—you need to capitalize on that in 2016. Pick three to five niches that you do better than any other lawn and landscape company in your region. Then highlight them through your content marketing in 2016.

Why?

Before you can start a successful content marketing strategy, you need to know what it is that you do and where you’re going with it. You also need to know who you’re talking to and how much information they need to know about the processes you use to get the job done.

How to Develop a Winning Content Strategy for 2016

If you’ve been reading The Landscape Writer for a while, you know I preach about standing out from the crowd. Don’t be like the other lawn care and landscape companies down the street who continue to put ads out that say, “Our crews wear uniforms; our trucks are clean; and we show up on time.”

And your prospects are thinking, “So what? We expect all of the above. What are you going to do for me that saves me time and money?”

That’s the nub. What do you do that saves your harried clients’ time and money? Mow lawns on Saturdays? Install outdoor kitchens near the house so they can easily entertain for nine months a year? Install top tier irrigation systems that don’t sprinkle the driveways and sidewalks?

These are the services that you need to capitalize on. Then take these specialties and create content (blogs, podcasts, and videos) that will educate your local audience. Make sure that your website and content are mobile-friendly and professional. Then you should get more calls for estimates than the guy down the road whose only claim to fame is clean trucks, uniformed crews, and punctuality.

Are thinking about 2016 and setting up your blog’s editorial calendar? Then text me at 717-381-6719 ET or fill out my contact form by Saturday, October 31st, 2015 to get 50% off your 2016 editorial calendar consultation (editorial calendar consults are normally $100).

 

 

I’m humbled & excited to announce that I’m on Matt Hudson’s (Strategic Landscaper – http://strategiclandscaper.com/)’s podcast this week. Matt interviewed me about content marketing and why it’s important to ALL lawn care & landscape companies.

Here’s the link to the podcast, http://strategiclandscaper.com/podcast/003-wendy-komancheck-content-marketing-for-landscape-professionals/.

Matt’s offering a 20% off coupon for his Internet marketing services. To receive the coupon, email me at wendy@landscapewriter.com.

Do you want to save some money on blogging services for your lawn care or landscape company’s website? Then listen to the podcast for the discount code I’m giving away.

Have a wonderful, productive, & prosperous week!

 

Believe it or not, we’re nearing the end of 2015. The growing season is almost done and it’s now time to think about how you’ll capitalize on next year’s lawn, landscape and outdoor living trends.

Garden Media Group just published their 2016 Gardening Trends Report. And it’s chock full of handy information that you can use for your 2016 content marketing plans (blogging, e-newsletters, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.).

Here are five things that I gleaned from it that could help you boost sales next year:

  1. Boomers love technology – Baby Boomers may be aging, but they love their technology. According to the Gardening Trends Report, Boomers buy a lot of technology and they’re using social media to get things done. Want to reach out to this group? Then stay on top of your social media plan. Keep pinning projects on Pinterest, upload lawn care and landscape tips to Facebook, and blog about typical lawn care and landscape problems and how you solve them. Finally, realize that you need to be consistent, consistent, consistent. No excuses.
  2. Gardening is seen as a chore – While many folks feel rejuvenated after a long hike in the woods, they hate gardening chores—from weeding, to mulching, to mowing. Take the pain out of gardening by describing through your blogs and videos why their trees need to be mulched two times a year; that a lawn/landscaping company will weed and maintain their flower beds; and why investing in core aeration is a good idea. At the end of your blog or video, tell them your lawn care and landscape company is the one to call to get these gardening chores done right. Don’t forget to add a link to your contact form and your phone number so your prospects know how to contact you.
  3. Close the generation gap – Try to engage the entire segment of the population you serve. Families with Gen Z kids at home (born between 1995 – 2009) need landscapes to include play areas and gardening plots to get kids outside and moving their bodies. Likewise, don’t discount Millennials (born between 1982 – 2004). They’re now buying homes and starting families. They may need help with mowing, edible landscaping, and organic lawn care.
  4. Outdoor living – People are still investing in adding outdoor living spaces to their backyards. Nightscapes and “backyard boldness,” according to Garden Media’s report, are two of the hottest trends. Homeowners want lights, colors, and sound added to their outdoor oasis.
  5. Living landscapes – The organic lawn care trend continues to move forward. Now, homeowners are interested in dogscaping. They want organic methods used on their lawns so they don’t have to worry about their beloved furry friends getting cancer or other diseases from synthetic pesticides. Layered landscaping and sustainable landscaping are also popular trends for homeowners.

When you plan your blogging and other content marketing plans for 2016, don’t forget to use these trends to help you strategize topics to cover.

Do you need help planning a year’s worth of blogs? Then fill out my free consultation form or text me at 717-381-6719 for an appointment.

 

 

My newest post on LinkedIn focuses on success in work: https://goo.gl/G7sLEf. Come check it out!

9 Tips for Growing Your Landscape Business with Blogging

 

About two weeks ago, I got my fall Coupon Clipper in the mail. And since I write blogs and other marketing materials for the lawn and landscape industry, I hunted down all of the lawn and landscape ads in the Clipper. There were only three, full color, half page ads in the entire magazine. So I pulled them out and analyzed them.

One company had the following:

  • Clean and shiny trucks. (So, how does this benefit me, a homeowner who needs lawn care? Sure, shiny trucks look great and show that you take pride in your company. But how does this help me get my lawn core aerated, fertilized and mowed until mid-November?)
  • Friendly, uniformed personnel. (I expect that of any company that I hire to work on my property. And please, keep on your shirts when you work on my landscape.)
  • Three-hour callback guarantee. (I’m glad that you’ll call back within three hours. Yet, shouldn’t you call all your prospects back within 24 hours if you want them to be your customers? This is one reason Angie’s List and the like are popular. Those contractors who belong to Angie’s List guarantee that they call back. It’s just good customer service.)
  • State-of-the-art equipment and sharpened daily. (Okay, but again, how does this help me? I expect you to use the state-of-the-art equipment and make sure that every mower, trimmer, etc. is sharpened to make my lawn and landscape look beautiful. It’s expected, so why state it?)

Why You Need to Walk a Mile in Your Prospect’s Shoes Read More

 

Summer is slowly coming to an end. And you’re probably getting calls for fall lawn and landscape services. Right?

If not, it’s time that you let your audience—both paying clients and prospects—know about the fall maintenance services you offer.

Everyday folks may not realize that it’s time to schedule their core aeration and overseeding appointments now. They’re busy and they’re relying on you to direct them to what their property needs and when it needs to be done by.

And you can educate them on their fall lawn and landscape maintenance schedule through your blogs, e-newsletters and e-blasts. Sweeten the deal by offering a 10% discount if they call by a certain date.

Don’t forget to recycle your content. You may think that you need a newsletter article and a separate blog post. But repurpose your fall blog posts as your lead article in your monthly newsletter. Your clients may not be reading your blog—and if they have, it just serves as a reminder for them to give you a call. Use parts from your blog posts in e-blasts where you tell them that now’s the time to schedule their fall lawn and landscape maintenance appointments now.

Possible Blog Topics

I know it’s easier said than done to recommend what you should be blogging and when. To make your marketing planning easier, here are 11 possible blog topics that can be repurposed as newsletter and e-blast content:

  1. Core aeration and overseeding – Explain the process and why fall’s the best time to complete this lawn maintenance job.
  2. Dethatching – Folks may not realize that their lawns need to be de-thatched. Explain what thatch is and how your crews get rid of it. Add the benefits of dethatching too.
  3. Transplanting trees, shrubs and perennials – Why is fall a good time to transplant? What’s your process when it comes to transplanting? How can transplanting benefit your client’s landscape?
  4. Fall mowing – Explain that your mowing services go until the first frost. And explain why mowing to the end of the season is important to preventing snow molds developing over the winter.
  5. Fall mulching – Remind your clients that now is the time to schedule their fall mulching appointments. Again, explain the benefits of fall mulching beyond aesthetics.
  6. Last minute hardscaping projects – If you design and build hardscapes, remind your clients and prospects that your company can still build their dreamscape until the ground freezes. Give suggestions, such as an additional patio, a new driveway or an outdoor kitchen.
  7. Fire feature addition – You can discuss how a fire feature, such as a fireplace or a fire pit, is a feature that your clients may want on their property. Remind your audience that they’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors as long as they want when they add a fire feature to their outdoor living area. Total Landscape Care has a great article on fire features.
  8. Fall tree planting – Discuss why the fall is the best time to plant trees. Discuss tree selection, the planting process and how to take care of young trees.
  9. Fall maintenance for irrigation systems – Remind your clients that you can inspect, clean and close down their irrigation systems in the fall. Do you offer a fall maintenance special? Add that to the end of your blog.
  10. Evergreen protection – Do you spray evergreens with a desiccant to protect them from harsh winter winds? Then describe what a desiccant spray is and why it’s a good investment for your client’s evergreens.
  11. Protecting landscapes from deer – Discuss the different options that clients and prospects have to protecting their landscape plants from hungry deer during the winter months. Do you install fences or know the best deer-resistant trees and shrubs available? Discuss the pros and cons of all the deer-resistant services that you provide and why your audience should consider them.

Of course this list isn’t exhaustive. And if you’ve been blogging for over a year, it may be time to discover new topics that will pique your audience’s interest.

Now your turn. Have you blogged about the above? How has it helped you attract more business in the fall? Share your comments below or email me at wendy@landscapewriter.com.

 

Do you want to learn more about Google AdWords for your lawn & landscape company’s website?

You can at TURF magazine’s blog, http://goo.gl/SpsNAU & http://goo.gl/SpsNAU.

There is one more article coming in September to conclude the three part series.

It’s noisy out there in the digital marketing world. And if you’re a solopreneur, you know it’s hard to get a place at the table, let alone hold anyone’s attention beyond a mere three minutes. Read more.

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