Rebecca's Interview with
Gail Hamilton
Author of
Marketing Phrase Book

Rebecca :
Who are you & what do you do that learning the language of promotion mattered to you & for whom did you create this Marketing Phrase Book?

Gail :
I am a novelist & copywriter. I have written 9 romance novels, mostly for Harlequin, & novelized most of the Road to Avonlea series. While copywriting for nonprofit organizations, I saw the struggle so many go through to put words together. Several were doing what I myself was doing -- keeping a private list of particularly effective phrases. To help out, I created the Fundraiser's Phrase Book which immediately became a hit among the nonprofit executives of North America. I realized that people who are marketing their products or services could also use such a book. Large numbers of these entrepreneurs may be expert at their business but not at the marketing needed to succeed. The Marketing Phrase Book is a basic desktop tool for everyone who must put together promotional material.

Rebecca :
How do you suggest we use it?

Gail :
Every area has its own pool of language that works, including marketing. I wanted to put that language, in the form of ready-to-use phrases, at the fingertips of everyone who needs it. The book is a source of strong, proven-effective raw material which can be easily assembled to suit any marketers' needs -- they do not need to reinvent the wheel.

Rebecca :
How does your book work?

Gail :
The Marketing Phrase Book is set up like a thesaurus, with marketing phrases grouped by key word. Just look up a key word,such as “cost” or “satisfaction” & find a selection of phrases containing that word -- “twice the value with no added cost” or “your satisfaction matters”. The phrases can then be used “as is” to create promotional material or can act as sparks to the imagination to help the marketer create his or her own words & phrases. There are also an number of alternate words provided as well as lots of cross referencing. The book gives instant access to the selling language usually produced by highly paid copywriters.

Rebecca :
You have an entire section on Exclamations! After I read it I was jazzed! Why must we be so specific when selling something?

Gail :
The book is designed to provide all the different forms of language found in marketing material. Exclamations are heavily used to draw attention & emphasize selling points, as a glance at any ad will show. The ready-made exclamations in the book can be popped straight into promotional material where needed.

Rebecca :
I have used my edition more & more in my web work, it's like having a thesaurus for selling, explain the differences between benefits & features.

Gail :
A feature is a characteristic of a product or service. A benefit is what that feature will do for your customer. No matter how nifty the feature, your customer is only interested in the benefit that feature can provide. A microwave oven features the capacity to heat food quickly. The benefit your customer cares about is the ability to enjoy hot soup in under two minutes with little effort & a big saving in time.

Rebecca :
Would you expand on Beginnings and Transitions.

Gail :
Beginnings and Transitions are simply all those words & phrases needed to glue sentences together. They come to the rescue when trying to think of a new way to start a sentences or find a transitions between ideas. Basically a pile of useful building bricks.

Rebecca :
What are Power Words?

Gail :
Power words are the words used most often in marketing because they are the strongest & most persuasive.

Rebecca :
Do you have a professional version & where can we find it?

Gail :
Yes, there is a Professional edition of the Marketing Phrase Book which is over 600 pages. It contains everything in the smaller version, much expanded, as well as additional sections on the Internet, Contests & Sweepstakes, & telephone marketing. It even sports a huge list of color names so that no one need ever be stuck for a color description again. This part is popular with the jewelry industry.

Rebecca :
What are your next projects?

Gail :
I am just finishing a new phrase book entitled, Saying Thanks. So many people have inquired about ways to thank, congratulate, appreciate, express friendship & sympathy & so on that I created a book devoted to this need. It should be ready any day now.

I am also putting the final touches on a huge historical novel about the emigration of the Home Children (waifs & orphans) from Britain to Canada in the 1880s.

I am delighted that you are getting actual use of it working on your web site.

Rebecca :
Well I have certainly learned something new! Do catch my review of Gail Hamilton's Marketing Phrase Book & her Editorial this week about to make Make Your Story Count!

(Published June 17, 2001)