All Posts Tagged With: "writing"

(First in a series)

Imagine the power of the written word. Simply be arranging nouns and verbs, with a few adjectives and adverbs judiciously sprinkled in, you can get people you’ve never met to do things you want them to do.

Pretty awesome tool, huh?

The problem is that most people don’t – or don’t know how to — make full use of this amazing power. Their marketing communications are a mish-mash of convoluted ideas, poorly constructed sentences, vague promises, and ill-conceived offers thrown together in a sales letter, web page or email. The unfortunate result is an well-intentioned campaign that falls flat.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll examine some of the key concepts that can quickly and easily turn your boring, ineffective copy into a money-making machine.

Step 1: Gain Attention

If you can’t gain attention in your marketing communications, the battle is lost before it even starts. With so many forms of media competing for your prospects’ attention, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. If people don’t notice you, they won’t ready your copy. If they don’t ready your copy, you don’t get a chance to mold their perceptions. If you don’t get a chance to mold their perceptions, you’ll never make the sale.

Being as specific as possible is a great place to start. Copywriter extraordinare Bob Bly uses a sales pitch promoting collection services to dental practices as a example of how being specific can help:

How we collected over $20 million in unpaid bills over the past two years for thousands of dentists nationwide

Note the specific items: $20, two years, dentists. They help create a credible, memorable message.

Ypu can also gain attention by making an offer that is free, low in price or unusually attractive. I’m sure you’ve noticed how some life insurance companies frame their offer: “Now…$1 week buys Guaranteed Term Life Insurance for Pennsylvanians 50 and older.” The $1 a week offer seems reasonable and the rest of the pitch is specific (Pennsylvanians over age 50).

Asking a provocative question is another effective way of gaining attention. “Do you want to lose 20 pounds WITHOUT going on a diet?” is sure to grab someone’s attention, in part because it seems so outlandish.

Creating a sense of urgency and exclusivity works, too. Giving your offer a defined time period and limited availability can make people take notice. “This offer expires in 10 days. Act Now!” or “This offer is limited to the first 10 people who call.”

Be careful about trying to be funny or topical. People may not get the pun or the cultural reference may be quickly outdated.

Next: Make sure your copy focuses on the customer

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I became aware of “The Elements of Style” as a sophomore at West Catholic High School in Philadelphia in 1970. I didn’t pay much attention at the time; it seemed like a pretentious compendium of archaic rules whose only purpose seemed to be to suck the life out of my writing.

Today, the little book authored by William Strunk Jr., and updated E.B. White occupies a prominent spot on my desk and is consulted often to answer tricky questions of word usage, punctuation, form and composition, even moreso than my trusty AP stylebook. It feels good just to have it next to my computer, as if its contents will clear up confusing sentences and stubborn subclauses by osmosis. I should know the rules by now, but every once in a while it helps to open the book at any page and read for five minutes. Inevitably, I’ll learn something new (or at least refresh my memory).

Brian Scott has an interesting post about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the first publication of “The Elements of Style” over at Write Better, the official blog of LousyWriter.com.An event in New York City on April 16 will mark the momentous occasion.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Another interesting week of Stumbling, including a stop at a site devoted to Kurt Vonnegut’s tips on writing. There’s was something surreal about him being online. But then again, most of his writing is surreal. I haven’t read Vonnegut in 30 years…may just have to dig out my paperback copy of “Cat’s Cradle.”

1. You spend a great amount of time thinking about how your website should function and you pay programmers of thousands of dollars to make it happen. You get plenty of traffic but not enough sales or subscribers. What’s the problem? Over at Conversion Rates Experts, there are 14 free tools that might help explain why people leave your website. Warning: these seem highly technical. Use at your own risk.
2. As loyal readers know, social media remains a fascination, if not an actual marketing tool, for me. I’ve seen various arguments for and against Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and sundry other sites. But the folks at Traffika offer a compelling argument on the overall importance of using social media marketing.
   
3. One of my all-time favorite authors is Kurt Vonnegut. I used to while away the boring hours working in a medical school mailroom back in the 70’s by reading his novels. I would have no idea what the hell he was talking about, yet I couldn’t stop reading. When I finally finished a book, I still wasn’t sure of the point, but I knew it was a damn good read. I never dreamed that 35 years later, I’d be sharing his tips about writing with style with the world via a blog.
4. I’m always looking for definitive answers to my writing questions. Spelling, grammar, meanings, quotes, historical references…there’s always something that comes up in the midst of a writing session. Internet-Resources.com has compiled an exhaustive library of resources for writers. Even if you’re not looking for a specific answer, this site can be a fun place to browse when you have a few minuters. I guarantee you’ll learn something you didn’t know.
5. If you listen to most “experts” there’s a fortune to be made by writing for online sources. I’m not sure it’s all that, and separating the legitimate sites from the scam artists can be a time-consuming, frustrating and expensive process. Sydney Hazlerton runs down nine legitimate writing sites that pay at Writinghood.
6. Bonus Stumble: for anyone who has trouble waking up in the morning.

Popularity: 20% [?]

From copywriting tips to vintage ads, this week’s Stumbles offer a smorgasbord of information.

1. Having killer copy is just one aspect of running a great blog. Making it visually appealing can be just as challenging. The folks at Pro Blog Designer offer some tips on spicing up your blog post photos.
2. Even writers who have been at it for 30 years occasionally struggle when it comes to word usage. Affect or effect? The differences between an atheist and an agnostics? Capital or capitol? Stop by Confusing Words to get things straightened out.
3. How can copywriters use the right words to stir emotions? What are some of the hot-button words and phrases that motivate people? Dean Rieck at Copyblogger offers “12 Tips for Psychological Selling.”
4. I love Gmail and I’ve only scratched the surface of its potential. There is so much you can do with it to stay organized. Jim Barr explains the genius behind Gmail with Gmail Tips.
5. Heres’ a two-for-one bonus. I love old time ads. Most look silly and superficial now, but at the time they were state-of-the art. Well Medicated offers 50 Vintage Advertisements while Excitement Machine displays Ebony ads from 1972.

Popularity: 78% [?]

I normally agree with Seth Godin’s brilliant observations on marketing and what makes people do the things they do.

But I think he missed the mark with his latest musing on the importance of being precise. Seth argues against “senseless precision” and says he “wants precision where it matters…but only there.”

the most obvious question is this: who decides where precision matters?” Is it the reader or the writer?

I guess it’s my reporter upbringing but I’ve always been taught to be as precise as possible. Saying the getaway car was “dark” was never good enough for most copy editors I worked with. Was it dark green or blue or black? they wanted to know. And if you said it was dark blue, they would ask if it was royal blue or midnight blue.

Why say “about 100″ if you know it was 105 or 98? Why say it was “about 3 o’clock” if you know it was 3:05 or 2:56? Everything has a proper name – Sputnik is not the same as Sputnik I. If you know it, use it.

To me, being precise adds a layer of reality and credibility to writing. Using a generality when you have a specific at your disposal is lazy and, well, imprecise.

Seth is right one one point — as my copy editors pointed out — dark is not a color.

Popularity: 18% [?]