Karri Flatla is a conversation marketing strategist for entrepreneurs seeking to attract, engage and convert their right people online. Well known across the web for her sassy, take-no-prisoners style, Karri’s tips and advice have been featured at Search Engine Guide, Fuel Net, Problogger’s TwiTip, The Wealthy Freelancer Blog, and Alberta Venture and Smart Company magazines.

Karri is also the creator of the SEO Copywriting Course and the Sales Page Relief copywriting system. Visit www.snapwebmarketing.com to learn more and subscribe to Karri’s popular business and marketing blog.

Considering her expertise and experience, we invited Karri for an interview to share some valuable tips and advice on copywriting, web marketing, and building a business. Catch her interview below:

Hi Karri! Tell us about snap! web marketing solutions. What is it all about?

I started snap! back in February 2005 (feels like a million years ago now!). SnapWebMarketing.com is the home base for everything I do online. So you can find my marketing and biz blog there where I post weekly, lots of free downloads, a menu of consulting and copy-writing services, plus links to my copy-writing e-Books and do-it-yourself products. Heads up though that there are some juicy changes coming to the site in the near future ... so keep your eyes peeled for that!

According to you, what are the most important ingredients for marketing one's small business?

Three things come to mind right away:

Getting clear on your Unique Value Promise- if you don't know the value you bring or what you stand for, it's pretty tough to convince others to invest in your solutions. The corollary to that is the ability to communicate that value -- but entrepreneurs sometimes stall here. They're afraid to stand on their platform so they dance around the "it" of what they're selling. I say to just come out with it even if the words aren't perfect. Imperfect communication is better than perfect words that say nothing interesting about who you are or the real results you can deliver.

Understanding the numbers - at the end of the day you have to make some money at this, but a lot of business owners shy away from the dollars and cents. Know your targets, know what it takes to be profitable (not just hit a revenue target), and never put blind faith in someone else to make the numbers happen.

Old fashioned moxie - being in business for yourself is as tough as it's ever been. Sure, anyone can start a business online, but the competition is increasing every minute. Plus, most entrepreneurs will tell you that their friends and family don't really "get" what they do or why they do it. So you have to be okay with being different -- actually, being different is what will ensure your survival. And you have to be okay with criticism. You have to be okay with uncertainty. You have to be willing to take action even when you're terrified of failing.

Tell us about 'Conversation Marketing'. How it can help a business owner improve his/her ability to grow the business?

As the Internet matures and multi media proliferates, people are demanding more "real." They want to feel talked WITH, not sold TO. Important distinction. Look at twitter, for example. The ones who are really succeeding with it are treating it like a conversation. And that conversation can feel as intimate as you want it to. Doesn't matter that hundreds or thousands might see what you're tweeting. You can still be very one-on-one with a person. Blogging can be this way too, yet it's not so much about comment numbers or how many followers. It's about treating people with respect and honoring their pain, questions, curiosity, and desire for connection.

Another example: when you write sales copy, you don't write to the masses. You write to that one person who needs your solution and needs it badly. I always tell people that if you wouldn't say it out loud, don't say it in your copy. If it doesn't feel like conversation, the humanity isn't there and people tune out. That's the way of the world now and I think it's a good thing.

What are the first three things a new small business owner should take care of?

Well, it's not the business plan, contrary to popular belief. It's knowing that you're about to create a real, living thing that will take up space in your life physically, emotionally and financially. Even freelancers would say it's pretty tough to do this "part time." I started my business when our first son was 10 months old. It was much, much more difficult to work at home and raise children than I had ever imagined.

So that's why it's crucial to find something you can immerse yourself in, that adds to your sense of self instead of takes away from it. Because you'll be talking about it, breathing it, worrying about it, thinking about it for so many of your waking (and maybe sleeping) hours!

So, that's the first thing.

The other two things I'd get in order, without a doubt, are time and money. Starting and building a business takes both of these things, and usually in large amounts, no matter what industry you choose. If the business doesn't make money for say a year, how will you pay your bills and put food on the table? If your kids get sick and need your attention, who will look after them when you're on a deadline? Just be realistic and the stress on you and your loved ones will be so much less when those challenges arise!

Preparing for - and being realistic about - these things increases the likelihood of your business will survive because you'll be more equipped to roll with the punches and see your biz through the tough times.

You obviously have expertise in copywriting! In your opinion, why is copywriting so important when it comes to marketing?

Copy has always been a fundamental piece of the marketing puzzle, but on the Internet, where the sales cycle tends to be shorter, you really have nothing but your words to help convey a value promise. Sure, we have video and all these amazing multimedia platforms now, but it's still based in conversation. If you're going to shoot a video, you not only have to know what to say in the video but how are you going to get folks to pay attention or click the Play button in the first place? With the copy. With your content (which by the way is still a form of copy if you're using your content to market your biz ...).

So often there is this huge disconnect between what someone's website says and what the person's business can actually do for its customers. Talk about leaving money on the table! You can spend thousands on a gorgeous website and even on SEO, but if your message is boring or just plain irrelevant, you've lost that prospect ... probably forever. So there's huge opportunity cost when you neglect your web copy.

Even if you don't hire a copywriter, spend time really thinking about what your visitors want to read about when they arrive at your site or sales page. Read up on the psychology of buying. Do your homework. Show people you care about their problems. Create some conversation that matters. It truly pays off in the end.

Recently, you launched the 'Sales Page Relief' copywriting system. Can you tell us a bit about that?

As its tag line says, this is a "plug-and-play" system for writing short, conversational copy that works. The system walks you through the same process I use when writing sales pages for clients. Except you don't have to be a "great writer" or know copywriting to make this work for you. Instead, you answer a series of questions, appraise your offer based on those answers, and then literally plug and play the information into a color coded template. From there I give you some clear editing "rules" for revving up your copy and grounding it in a conversational, compelling style.

These are the writing strategies I've been using and testing for years, distilled down into a super easy, fun methodology. Instead of spending thousands on a professional copywriter -- or just suffering through the process of trying to figure it out yourself -- you can write your own sales page, taking it one clear, easy step at a time. The feedback so far has been super positive so I'm really excited about SPR as a next-generation system for writing sales copy.

Karri, thanks for such an insightful and informative interview. I'm sure your valuable tips and advice are going to help our readers immensely in growing their businesses online. It's been enlightening to have you on E-junkie and we wish you the very best!


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