Archive for On Writing Better – Page 29

Greased Pig Marketing, the Sweeney Todd Way: If advertising is dead, why won’t it go away?

Happy_pig
Sonia Simone asks a good question as guest author over on Copyblogger: If advertising is dead, why won’t it go away? Here’s an excerpt of her excellent post including one of the best metaphors for old style, in-your-face marketing I’ve read in a long time:

"The old advertising model included two major pieces — attraction and conversion. Effective ads attracted attention, then converted that attention into action.

But that conversion doesn’t happen by sliding customers down a greased chute like a pig being rolled into the slaughterhouse. (If that’s your model, remember that Sweeney Todd’s return and referral business was pretty lousy.)

Those two still matter, but they’re overshadowed by two new pieces — referral and conversation."

I just love a good metaphor. The idea of sliding readers down a long sales letter to slaughter and the comparison to Sweeney Todd’s "return and referral business" is hysterical. Bravo.

The point is a good one. Read the post for a good overview of the way new marketing with content is evolving. Your business needs to keep this in mind.

Hypnotic Phrases: Why they work

Hypnotic
You might be curious if you read my previous post about Joe Vitale’s book Hypnotic Writing. I don’t think I did a good job of explaining why and how hypnotic phrases actually work for you when writing copy and blog posts.

You’re probably savvy enough to spot the hypnotic phrases I used towards the end of the post as examples. I used them to illustrate tongue-in-cheek how to implant the suggestion of going over to buy the book on Amazon. But I know that much is lost on the Web when it comes to subtle attempts at humor.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how and why using certain phrases really do work to persuade readers. This is important stuff for anyone who wants to develop relationships with clients through writing, especially on the Web.

Here’s why hypnotic writing works for your business:

It’s about connecting with readers (almost intimately).

In person, you would think about establishing rapport through non-verbal behaviors and using your eyes and face.

In writing, you express how your reader is responding to what you write, what they might be thinking and feeling. And sometimes you are only guessing and suggesting…

Every time you use the word ‘you,’ you are connecting with your reader.

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Seduce and Persuade Your Customers with Your Words

Hypnoticwriting
I spent the weekend devouring every word Joe Vitale wrote in his recently re-released book Hypnotic Writing. Fascinating and useful.

Fortunately I had some copy to write for a new program Denise and I are launching soon. I was able to go back and rewrite a few things, adding some "hypnotic phrases." As you read this you might be thinking I’ve gone off the deep end and drunk some California Kool-Aid…

But I assure you, Joe Vitale isn’t even from here, and he’s made seriously big money writing words. These are not only genuine copywriting insights, but proven tactics that get people to buy.

I didn’t have any trouble buying into the concept of creating a "waking trance," since I studied hypnotherapy in England 20 years ago. I even had a hypnotherapy practice here helping people to quit smoking or lose weight. This was while I was going to graduate school to get my doctorate in psychology.

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Blog Writing: How to find the time…

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We asked about your questions concerning better blog writing, and even though comments on this blog have been sparse, we got a ton of responses over on LinkedIn, a social networking site that many professionals participate on.

The number one question was, "How do I find the time to write on my blog?" Is ‘finding time’ an issue for you when it comes to writing?

For me, you can never "find" time because there’s only so much of it – and never enough. You can, however, schedule time. Since I know that this blog needs updating 2-3 times a week,  I know that every other day I must post.

If I schedule 20-30 minutes first thing in the morning, it gets done. It’s not difficult but it can be tricky. For example, if I open email first, it doesn’t get done. The trick is to post on your blog first, before you get captured by any other task.

I don’t think time is really the issue. It’s seeing results. You don’t have to "find the time" for something that’s important for business. You certainly find time to deposit checks into your bank account, so why would you wait to post "when you have time?"

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Content Marketing Goals: 3 E’s to Pay Attention To

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Keep these 3 E's in mind when reviewing your content. Your blog posts, ezine articles, and even your sales copy should meet these three goals:

  1. Does it educate?
  2. Does it entertain?
  3. Does it engage?

I'm sure I didn't originate this easy to remember formula; it just flew out of my mouth when I was on stage yesterday at Tom Antion's Butt Camp for Internet Marketing. Denise and I were giving an overview of what goes into better business blogging to 50 professionals at the LA Chapter of the National Speakers Association.

Some content you write for your business will educate clients (ebooks, mini-courses, special reports and white papers), some will entertain (blog posts, articles, interviews), and some will be specifically written to engage readers (sales copy, landing pages, email promotions).

If you can include all three elements in your writing, you're on the right track. "Okay, Patsi, that makes sense," you might well be saying, "…but HOW do you do that?" Here's my stab at giving you a few tips…

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Men with Pens Squeaks Out 1 Point Victory in Blog Match Up

Champ_boxing
In a hard and close battle, this blog lost by a measly 1 point to those big bad Men with Pens, Harry McLeod and James Chartrand. (Just because they are prolific bloggers with a huge archive of valuable posts and a community of raving fans who adore them…really!)

John Hewitt of Writers Resource Center is doing the equivalent of March Madness of writing blogs, pitting two blogs against each other, and generating valuable feedback on how to make blogs better.

I can’t disagree with anything he said about this blog, and will take his suggestions for improvement to heart. You can read his critique of Writing on the Web here.

John has been so generous in sharing his wisdom and perspective. On top of which we all had a great time leaving trash talk comments about the contest on each others’ blogs.

Here’s James’ and Harry’s report out of the contest from the victory box. Good luck to Men with Pens in the next round where their blog is matched-up against Brian Clark of Copyblogger.

Here’s what else I learned from John Hewitt of Writers Resource Center:

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Wishy-Washy Writing: Just delete these 5 words

Delete_key
This is worth reading and not just because it echoes my thoughts every time I read someone’s blog writing that’s too wishy-washy: 5 Words You Can Cut Out, from the Daily Writing Tip:

  1. just
  2. really
  3. quite
  4. perhaps
  5. that

I have to add two:

  1. maybe
  2. very

Every time you re-read your writing, be on the look-out for these wishy-washy offenders and make your writing stronger, better.

Blog Writing: What would you like to learn?

Orange_man_thinker
I’ve got my head buried in books as I am researching ideas for an advanced blog writing class.  My question is this to readers: What would you like to learn that would make your business blog writing easier, faster, and more effective? What questions do you want answered? Just hit the comment link below and submit your question. You can win a book of your choice:

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Reality-Web: Keeping it real for readers

Open_window_breeze
Why is some blog content better than others? The real question is what makes a blog post effective for your business. You want to entertain and educate at the same time, of course. Many blog authors do one but not the other, and the really good ones do both.

It’s important to open up the windows into your business and show some fresh ideas and reality to your clients and readers.

Take Brian Clark of Copyblogger, for example. He often tells stories to make a point, and often those stories come from respected books in the field. Brian then conjectures about what history and the present suggests: he predicts the future. That makes for great content that entertains while it educates and also stimulates your thinking.

Here’s an excerpt from Brian’s Teaching Sells that points to what you should be doing for your blog writing:

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Suspense: Is this the missing ingredient in your ezines?

Crutches_3d
I’ve been in an unsubscribing fury this week. If your newsletter bored me, not only did you get deleted, I took myself off your list entirely. And there you go…

I realize it’s not easy to capture my attention and get me to read all the way through to the end. I’m a tough customer. So I got to thinking, what makes the difference between a fascinating newsletter that I actually read, and one that puts me to sleep or makes me hit the delete key faster than a dog can salivate?

Stories will get me reading, for one thing, but they’ve got to have the "curiously thing" going. There has to be some suspense…

Now I know this is all subjective and in the eye of the beholder, so the best way for me to teach you what I’m talking about is to send you over to read Michael Katz’ latest ezine, "I’ve Got a Crutch on You."

He hits a home run every time with his newsletter, but this one is full of great tips you may be able to copy – er- I mean, model and learn from. This is just one great newsletter, entertaining AND educational at the same time. It just happens to be about writing great newsletters and you all can do this better, I know you can.