From Puffery To Praise
Posted on July 30, 2008 | Filed Under Copywriting
By Michel Fortin
Are copywriters spin doctors? Maybe.
Spin-doctoring is often attributed to people, mostly politicians, who attempt to do damage control to downplay something truly negative. But in terms of copywriting, there’s a difference between putting a positive spin on a negative idea, versus putting a positive spin on an idea that can be perceived as negative.
Left to her own devices, a reader can come to many conclusions. Both right and wrong. Both true and false. Copy, in this case, has the power to steer the reader in the right direction — and therefore avoid going in the wrong one.
One such tool that enables copywriters to do this is hyperbole. In fact, hyperbole is powerful because it helps to drive home some important points, and aids in the comprehension of critical or complex ideas. But when it is perceived as hype, that’s when the copy did a poor job.
So how can you turn “hype” into “hallelujah?”
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3 New Methods For Article Marketing Success
Posted on July 30, 2008 | Filed Under Article Marketing
It’s amazing how much information is circulating around the
Internet on how to conduct an article marketing campaign.
Unfortunately most of these methods focus purely on dumping
large amounts of recycled, re-worded and junk content on
various article directories all over cyberspace, while this
method may garner a few links it certainly falls short of
delivering quality content to readers in your target
market… readers that will be warmed up to your offer and
ready to buy!
Unlike the popular methods of the day my approach is quite
the opposite but the results speak for themselves as I
consistently have traffic coming in from articles written
months prior. Here are a few tools from my article
marketing toolbox to incorporate when ramping up your
article marketing efforts.
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Search Engine Optimisation and Copywriting Will Help Your Business Grow
Posted on July 26, 2008 | Filed Under Copywriting, Online Marketing
Have you got a beautiful website that no one knows is there?
Want more visitors and customers to your website?
Not appearing on the major search engines?
Then you need Search Engine Optimisation and Professional Copywriting.
Having the right content and text on your website is essential in today’s highly competitive world.
There are so many websites on the World Wide Web, so many subjects and so many businesses for every single subject that it is getting harder and harder to attract people to yours.
So unless your website contains a Google Whack (and if that means nothing to you can we suggest you check out Dave Gorman’s book of the same name) then sad as it may seem, your site isn’t unique.
As a test of that theory try typing in two random words. Anything you like – the sillier and more unconnected the better. Try ‘kleptomaniacal zebras’, for example. When we Googled that we returned 80 results. 80! All loosely connected to thieving, stripy members of the horse family. Since your site is unlikely to relate to zebras of any description let’s try something a little more likely to feature on a website. Try searching for any product on the Web. Let’s try, for example, ‘black shoes’. When we checked there were 6,790,000 sites listed with that phrase.
If shoes are your business and you’re expecting to be found simply on the basis of having an expensive, professional website, then forget it. So are 6,789,999 others. That’s not a needle in a haystack – that’s a grain of sand on a beach.
There is no point in having an all singing all dancing website, with all the right colours and moving bits, if no one ever finds it on the internet. And let’s say that some people do find your website – if the only text they find there is so dull that they fall asleep – just after logging off your website, then you’ve lost the potential customers who do, by some miracle, find your site.
This is where Professional Copywriting and SEO comes in. Working hand in hand these 2 industries will now produce amazing results for your website.
The SEO brings in the visitors and customers that are looking for your products and services, and then the new professionally written content on your website keeps them there and turns them from people about to leave into potential customers.
Studies have shown that customers will buy from a website that is fresh and unique, enjoyably readable and relevant to what they are after. The same studies have shown that these customers will not only return to buy again in the future (as long as you give them the right customer service now you have them there), but are more likely to recommend your website to their friends and colleagues.
Even Google is telling people to provide fresh unique text that changes on a regular basis.
Boring website + boring text = 0 customers. That has to be the easiest calculation you have ever done.
So now you know what to do, how do you go about it.
Search Engine Optimisation and Copywriting does not have to be expensive, however there are a lot of bad websites, with bad copy, out there. Make sure you use SEO and copywriting experts who know their onions. Go for the cheaper alternative and you’ll find your lovingly crafted website being optimised by a bunch of guys who’ve only ever had a passing acquaintance with English and haven’t got the first clue what you’re selling, who you are, and what your target audience is.
After all, it has to be worth investing in, to bring visitors and customers to your website instead of your competitors – doesn’t it? Either that or do nothing, and watch your website and business fold in front of your very eyes.
Search Engine Optimisation & Copywriting : Turn your website into the best member of staff you ever had.
This post was submitted by Kevin Donnelly.
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Watch Those Speed Bumps
Posted on July 24, 2008 | Filed Under Copywriting
By Michel Fortin
A forum post on my copywriters board suggested that too many italics, bolds, underlines, yellow highlighting and the like are not good. One referred to them as “speed bumps,” which reduce usability and readability.
I don’t necessarily agree with this premise.
First, understand that formatting tricks help to drive important points home, or emphasize key points in the copy you want your reader to read, focus on and remember.
When in a face-to-face encounter, a sale is not only made on what you say but how you say it. Including inflection of your voice, rhythm, tone, volume, pausing, nonverbal communication and others.
Because “how” you say it can emphasize, support or contradict your message.
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Wanted: 20,000 workers Recruitment crisis on boomer exodus
Posted on July 23, 2008 | Filed Under Business Management
The estimated shortage of 10,000 workers across the ACT could double over the next three years when large numbers of baby boomers retire.
Public service job cutbacks in Tuesday week’s Federal budget, tipped to cost Canberra up to 3000 positions, is likely to have little impact on the capital’s worsening skills drought.
Today, The Canberra Times begins a three-part series on the extent of the ACT skills drought, which is worse here than anywhere else in Australia, and what could be done to fix it.
ACT Chamber of Commerce chief executive Chris Peters said business growth in the territory had been stalled for 18 months due to insufficient workers.
“About two years ago staff shortages were No13 on businesses lists of concerns. It’s been No1 for about 18 months, so it is the major impediment to business growth.”
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This post was submitted by Nicole Mcguire.
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