Archive for Writing Great Copy – Page 10

Hey Asshole! Read My Book!

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006

My apologies for the title. I’m not one to use profanity or slang that is so common these days. Occassionally, I’ll use the a-hole word as a term of endearment for my husband. Funny how easy it is to get his attention when I call him that…

Thenoassholerule Robert Sutton is a great author of business books and a professor at Stanford. I’ve read most of his books, and I’m sure many of you have too: The Knowing Doing Gap, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense, and Weird Ideas That Work: 11 1/2 Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation.

The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t is his latest book. I suggest you read about it on Bob Sutton’s blog, Work Matters. He discusses why he used the strong language in the title and in the content. I think he has a good point. The a-word will sell more books and get the attention of people who need to read his ideas.

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Categories : Getting Read, Writing Great Copy

17 Sources for Content Inspiration

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, October 30th, 2006

In researching info for a chapter we’re contributing to a book on email marketing, Patsi put together a list of 17 sources to get inspiration for creating content for your ezine and blog.  Here goes…

1. Where is your readers’ pain?

2. What current event ties in with readers’ problems?

3. What client situation can you use as a case study?

4. What unusual or unique story could benefit your readers?

5. How do you differ from your competitors?

6. What Web or blog resources would your readers love to know about?

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Categories : Buying Content, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Copy

Writing Email Content: How Is It Different?

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, October 27th, 2006

How does writing content for email distribution differ from offline or real world styles?

I am not convinced that writing for an electronic newsletter, a blog, or a web-based press release is any different simply because it is designed to be read online. I think important changes in the way we communicate overall are driving the changes in our writing styles.

Online writing is different because the way we communicate with each other has changed rapidly in the last 10 years. We want our information delivered quickly, clearly, and in a way that entertains us. This goes for TV, newspapers, and also for electronic email.

Schools of “new journalism” and “creative non-fiction” advocate bringing the writer’s experience into the reporting. This is because old school journalism that promotes objective, neutral reporting is unrealistic anyway. No matter who you are, you bring yourself into the equation, you can’t totally write “the truth.” Everything is colored by your perceptions and assumptions.

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Categories : Writing Great Copy

Bullet Points: Everything You Need to Know

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, October 25th, 2006

Effective online writing often compresses information into bullet points. Doesn’t matter if you are writing an article, an ezine, or a blog post; using lists will not only make your points clear and compelling, but will ensure you get read.

But did you know there were basic rules for writing effective bullet points? Brian Clark writes another brilliant post over at Copyblogger, and gives us …

Little Known Ways to Write Fascinating Bullet Points

What would articles, blog posts, sales letters and bad PowerPoint presentations be without them?Bullet points are so common because they work, and readers like them.

But bullet points also often fail by letting the reader down in one way or another. So let’s see if we can’t start making our bullet points downright fascinating.

Before we get to the graduate level, we’ve got to nail the basics. So here are the 5 cardinal rules of Bullet Points 101:

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Categories : Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy

You Must Write

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006

Yes, as a business person, you must write.  You must write all the time. 

Writing doesn’t come easily to me and my writing tends to be straightforward and not really clever or fun.  I’m lucky to have a partner who is a writer and who does like to write.  And, as a business owner, I have to write all the time.

Blogging definitely helps with my writing.  But another thing helps as well.  Studying what other successful marketing people do.  I subscribe to A LOT of ezines and I get a ton of promotional email.  Rather than being annoyed by it, I embrace it. 

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Categories : How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Writing Great Copy

Writing by the Numbers- 3 Ways to Be Sure Your Article Gets Read

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, September 22nd, 2006

Rich Brooks of Flyteblog tells us that using numbers in your articles will guarantee your readers read your email, article, ezine, or blog post. Here’s what he shared on his blog this week:

"Whenever I’m talking to clients about creating compelling email bait I always recommend writing an article that includes three things:

  1. A number. People are way too busy and suffering from information overload to learn everything about search engine marketing, automotive maintenance or how to keep their garden green. However, a number implies that you’ve boiled it down to just a few salient points that will get them through the day and give them something they can walk away with.
  2. A negative. Evidence shows (don’t ask me to show it, just trust me on this one), that people are more driven to avoid pain than gain pleasure. Don’t believe me? Which is a more compelling headline: "The Importance of Healthy School Lunches" or "School Lunches: Are They Killing Your Children?"
  3. A point of interest. Obviously this negative list of attributes needs to be targeted to your best prospects and customers."

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Categories : Getting Read, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy

Yaro Starak on Why Do You Blog

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, September 5th, 2006

I read a post over at Yaro Starak’s Blog Traffic School blog about defining your target audience and blog purpose that is worth the read.

He suggests making a list of what you want your blog to do:

  • Earn $1000 a month from AdSense
  • Earn $500 a month from affiliate income selling products X, Y and Z
  • Get up to 1000 daily readers
  • Attract an audience in their 20-30s with middle range incomes who purchase products online
  • Use blog to build an email list of 2000 people by the end of 2006
  • Write at least 1000 articles of 1000 words each to compile into an ebook on the niche topic

I think some professionals give up on their blogs too soon, expecting instant results of high traffic and sales. Certainly being clear about what you want your blog to do will help you see the little steps along the way that are required to get results.

Originally I started this blog to write down everything I know about creating ezines for people doing coaching or consulting. Over the last two years, I have realized that it has expanded to include writing great copy for blogs, web pages, press releases and sales copy.

This helps me to keep my eye peeled for items on these topics to share with you.

How clear are you about what you want your blog to do? Or for that matter, what about clarity for your ezine or newsletter?

Categories : Writing Great Copy

Advertorials: An Easier, Softer Sales Page

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Sooner or later you will have to write good sales copy, if you intend to make money on the Internet. Some of us academic types have antibodies in our DNA that actively seek out and destroy elements of hype and fluff.

So how do you reconcile your desire to make sales, be credible, maintain trust with your dear readers, AND make big sales?

Write an advertorial. This is a cross pollination derived from a the genetic co-mingling of content- and story-rich article and a pure-bred sales page.

We turned to our charming mentor Tom Antion of Great Internet Marketing for tips on how to write an advertorial. Here are ten tips we got from Tom:

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Categories : Writing Great Copy

Blogging: Fame, Fortune or Fans? Don’t Be a Cameron Diaz

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, June 27th, 2006

Fan_club Brian Clark writes about celebs and their attitude towards their public, and how this relates to you as a blogger in his post, "Don’t be a Cameron Diaz."

"Can blogging really build you a fan club? In other words, can it make you a celebrity?

"The answer, of course, is yes. And you don’t need to be anywhere near the so-called blogging A-List for it to happen."

…But the more important message in his post, is that as a blogger, you must remain respectful of your readers and why they read your blog. Stay on target with your core message to them. Do not get distracted by ego, and desires to get high web traffic by diluting your message.

Copyblogger_email Brian concludes:

"I don’t care if you’re an actor, singer, blogger (or all three) — building a fan club is hard. You’ve got to figure out what you possess that has value to others, and then never forget the fact that unless you’re continuing to give people something that’s important to them, you’re destined for the “where are they now” category."

Categories : Getting Read, Online Marketing, Writing Great Copy

Tips Booklets: The Smart Way to Get Your Message Out to Clients

By Patsi Krakoff
Sunday, June 18th, 2006

110ideastipsbooklet Three things I love about Paulette Ensign, the Booklet Queen:

  1. She found a niche for her talents and filled it, then carved it to make it unique
  2. She gives practical, no nonsense steps for how you can easily create your own tips booklet
  3. She has a great sense of humor, coupled with wisdom – a great combination

If you missed Paulette on our Conversations with Experts last Wednesday, get the audio recording. Learn how to do a short tips booklet. This makes sense for all you consultants, speakers, and authors who are working on a book. Go ahead and get a tips booklet out to your prospects while you are working on that book. It will do the marketing job for you while you are doing other things.

Some points covered:

1. Booklets are typically 3.5" x 8.5", fit in a #10 envelope, are 16-24 interior pages, saddle stitched, have minimal graphics with a cover printed on glossy cover stock.

2. Tips booklets should run 3000 to 5000 words. There’s no magic formula for the number of tips to include. Best to go by word count.

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Categories : How to...Tips, Writing Great Copy
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