Wonderworking Words

How To Be "Google Approved"

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:36:00 +0000

Search Engine Optimization isn't astrophysics. People who specialize in writing SEO content often talk about staying on top of the latest rules and "gaming" the system. Don't let them fool you.

Everything you ever needed to know to achieve a top Google ranking can be found in one place -- Google's Webmaster Guidelines.

Their big tips for achieving high ranking success?

Create a well laid out site.
Create quality content.
Get other sites to link to you.

It's that simple.

Sure, meta tags matter. Keywords matter. But when everyone jumps on the latest "black hat" SEO method, Google necessarily instigates an algorithm shake down in response. They don't want useless and irrelevant content showing up at the top of your searches any more than you do. Then, anyone caught "gaming" the system has to revamp their sites all over again.

So, the trick to staying on top (according to Google) is to be relevant and useful.

If you research and use keywords, try to incorporate those words into phrases. For example if your site deals with real estate instead of using the word 'houses' as a keyword, instead try using it in a phrase such as 'houses for sale' or 'houses for sale in Austin'. These are 'long tail keywords' and you'll find not only that there's less competition for them but that the traffic you receive from folks searching these keyword phrases is more highly targeted.

To create links back to your site (essentially "votes" of confidence in the Google Mind), try writing and posting articles in high traffic article sites or important blogs that include a link back to you in the author's bio.

As always, if you need any help creating quality content for your site, newsletters, articles, or blogs, be sure to give Steve or I a call. We're here to help.

The Power of Words

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:28:00 +0000

It's our business tagline:

"Need a wonderworker? Behold the power of words."

This 2008 Cannes Film Festival Short Story winner couldn't be more demonstrative.

He began with a sign that begged for compassion, but only made people feel guilty. He ended with a sign that didn't ask for anything, but made people feel grateful and generous.

What a difference!

Shattering Branding Myths

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:11:00 +0000

Branding Myth #1: I don’t need a brand.

Yikes. Yes you do! If you’re in business, you need a brand. Think of it as a business essential, like your phone or your bank account. You can’t very well do business without those, can you? If we learned anything from the branding alphabet, we discovered how branding affects us all. If you want space in your customer’s mind, you need a brand. End of story.

Branding Myth #2: I can create my own brand.

How do you feel when you’re handed a laser-printed business card with a perforated edge? Or you’re given a brochure printed on a home ink-jet printer? People notice quality. If you want a snappy brand identity, you need professional help.

Even if your alter ego can create paintings to rival Picasso, so much more goes into branding than good art. Think about logos for a minute. A great logo doesn’t simply look good; it must be scalable, meaningful, and symbolic. It must match the rest of your brand identity and work well in both color and black & white.

Do you do your own corporate taxes? Diagnose your own diseases? Some jobs are best left to professionals. Branding is one of those jobs.

Branding Myth #3: It’s too expensive.

While hiring a marketing and design firm to create your marketing materials and help brand your company may come with a surprising price tag, consider the costs of not hiring a professional. Amateur work may come back to haunt you in the form of fewer sales and less repeat customers.

We’ll bust more branding myths in our next few posts. Stay tuned.

How much does branding really affect you?

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Earlier this week, I read an interesting lesson plan posted by Carrie McLaren at the Center for Media Literacy. Armed with PowerPoint slides, she walked into a room of high school seniors and asked them to identify several plants and trees in their Brooklyn neighborhood.

Silence.

She then put on a slide of the alphabet comprised almost entirely of brand logos. Without fail, the group of students named them all.

I’d be willing to bet you can name most of them, too.

Still think branding doesn’t affect you?

Crazy as it sounds, we are a branded culture. Not unlike the seared hides of cattle, our psyches have been indelibly marked by corporations and businesses salivating over our dollars. Even the youngest among us has no problem identifying those golden arches.

You’d think the sheer variety of brands would do us in, that the average consumer would have no way to keep this all straight. Our brains only have so much room!

But no, once branded, always branded. That’s why they call it branding.

So, what’s your brand? How are you leaving an indelible mark on your clients and prospects?

Cross-posted at the Full Moon Design Blog.

The Power of Specificity: When to be specific (and when not to be)

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Which of the following headlines catches your interest more?

1. How to get 2,736 new customers in a single day.
2. How to get more than 2,000 new customers in a single day.
3. How to get tons more customers in a single day.

Clearly, the first option steals the show. Why is that? Specificity sells. Specific claims trump general ones time and again. When we read about specific results, we trust those results. We believe them. And, we want to find out how we can get them for ourselves.

Anytime you can use specifics, you should. You'll create curiosity and establish an aura of authenticity. In many cases, using generalities will harm your credibility. Just take that third headline from above. Do you believe it? Would you be willing to click through to an article with that title?

That said, sometimes specificity can hurt you more than it helps. You wouldn't want to be specific if you don't have any verifiable specifics to use. Creating exact numbers out of the thin air of your imagination is morally ambiguous at best. You also shouldn't make precise claims if they'll land you in a heap of legal trouble. We don't want people to sue you because you promised an unobtainable outcome.

A less obvious crime, though, is what I call the "detailed to distraction offense." Unnecessary technical details bog readers down, causing them to wade through a confusing swamp of irrelevancy. If you're at all passionate about what you're writing, you may not be aware that your readers don't share your enthusiasm. In cases like these, be specific, but subtle.

Happy writing!

Personal vs. Impersonal -- What Customers Want

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:54:00 +0000

I hate automated phone systems. I prefer talking to a real person.

The smiling cashier gains my business. The sour cashier fails.

Apologetic form letters fall short. Personalized care succeeds.

Engadget.com recently shared Nathaniel's tragic Xbox tale. He sent in a sentimental Xbox to Microsfot for repairs -- assured by more than one customer service agent that the prized graffiti on his Xbox would not be harmed. Of course, someone who didn't know about this arrangement thought they'd do him a favor and thoroughly clean his box, removing the artwork and leaving only a few smudges to demonstrate that it was the same machine. Nathaniel thought he had only his bitter tears for consolation. But Microsoft (and Bill Gates) had another idea of how to make it up to him.

A thousand times better than an apologetic letter, Bill Gates and all the members of Microsoft's Xbox team autographed his machine.

What do customers want? They want you to care.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:32:00 +0000

We've been amazingly busy the past few months, and the light blogging has reflected that. It is our hope to add more blogging and article writing into our daily work routines during the coming New Year.

In the meantime, Steven and I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Thanks for making this a fantastic year!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season,
Kristen

Are Democrats Bad Copywriters?

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 21:15:00 +0000

A tasty little bit of recent news reinforces my belief that everyone can use a good copywriter. From The Hill:

Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.
...He said the meeting left him cold because it focused on what polling shows voters want rather than how to present persuasive messages. Republicans have done a better job by developing poll data into focus group-tested messages like “culture of life” and “defending marriage,” along with attacks like “cut and run” and “plan for surrender” in Iraq, he argued.
In particular, Helfert points to Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who helped develop the 1994 “Contract with America” and is credited with helping Republicans come up with terms for polices like “Healthy Forests” and “Death Tax.”
“Republicans have been kicking our rhetorical butt since about 1995,” Helfert wrote.

Stuck Writing Copy For An Average Company Or Service? How Parity Saves The Day.

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:47:00 +0000

"We're the same as everybody else" hardly sells. But if your client's product or service isn't anything special or unique, what kind of a claim can you possibly make about them to outstrip the competition? Using the Rule of Parity is a godsend for copywriters left scratching their heads over an otherwise average, run of the mill product or service.

What is the Rule of Parity? Nothing more than making an honest claim at equality, but spinning it in such a way that it leaves a positive, superior impression in your reader's mind. Most parity claims begin with the word "no."

No other bank offers faster credit approval.
No other car battery is guaranteed to last longer.
No other drink satisfies thirst more quickly.

Get the idea yet? Translated into ho-hum language, the three claims above read:

Other banks offer credit approvals as quickly as we do.
Other car batteries are guaranteed to last as long as ours.
Other drinks satisfy your thirst as quickly as ours.

A parity claim doesn't claim to be the best, or even better. It simply claims to be on par with the competition (hence: "parity"). It claims equivalence, not superiority.

Your job, though, is to create a realistic image of superiority. So, why use just one parity claim? String many of them together, and a more substantive image of supremacy starts forming.

No other bank offers faster credit approval. No other bank pays higher interest rates. No other bank gives you more free services like free checks and free ATMs. No bank has more neighborhood branches for your banking convenience. So, why don't you bank at First American?

Add in even one legitimate claim of superiority, however minor, and you've created an unassailable mountain.

So, if you're stuck cursing the cruel fate that brought you an assignment writing copy for a product or service without a single unique feature, thank God for parity. It'll bail you out of tight copywriting corners time and again.

7 Easy Ways To Get A Faster Response To Your Email

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 19:25:00 +0000

You spend a huge chunk of your day sending and receiving emails. Popular, quick, and convenient, emails have revolutionized business communications. Here are 7 easy ways to improve your email's readability and ensure a faster response from the recipient:

1. Make sure the recipient knows it's from you. Why would they open the email if they can't discern who it's from? Make sure your full name appears in the FROM field. If your email address, your first name only, or a nickname appear in that field, the recipient may not know it's from you.

2. Keep the formatting simple. Remember, even though it may look great in your email client, it may look like gobbledegook in your recipient's email client. People don't usually take the time to read a butchered email.

3. Don't have a lengthy and distracting signature. Two to four lines will suffice. Fight the temptation to include several paragraphs, quotations, or your biography. Provide your readers with a link to your website and trust that they'll click on that link if they want more information about you. Also, if you do choose to go with a longer signature, do not include it on your replies. No need to keep throwing the magnum opus in their faces throughout the entire email exchange.

4. Only one subject per email. If you want the recipient to respond now instead of later, don't give them more than one thing to do. If you clutter up your email message with multiple tasks for the recipient, you make it easier for them to procrastinate. Rather than sending out one message that covers multiple subjects, send out multiple messages, each with its own discreet subject.

5. Tell them what you need in the first sentence. Put your request at the top of the email and let the recipient decide if they need more information. If you give your recipient paragraphs, or even pages, of information that they have to wade through before they get to your request, chances are they will put off reading it until later. Worse yet, they may delete it without getting to the end because they think it's irrelevant.

6. Keep it short. If it takes longer than a couple of minutes for a recipient to read your email, they will likely delay reading it until they feel they have more time. If they set it aside, you run the risk that they may never get back to it! Some productivity experts advise you keep your email down to five sentences or less. Consider using a different form of communication (phone, meeting, formal report) if you don't think a short email can get the job done.

7. Tell them your request is urgent or time-sensitive. Most people want to be helpful, and they need help prioritizing. Be straightforward, but don't over do it. If you're constantly telling people you need things immediately, they may begin ignoring your emails. Say exactly how time-sensitive something is. For example, "It's not urgent, but I do need this by the end of the week." Then, track the request in a time management system and follow up on it.

Happy emailing!

8 One Liners That Stick

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:20:00 +0000

What makes for good communication? Results. George Bernard Shaw once said that “The problem with communication … is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

Effective communicators know how to use good one-liners to their advantage. Mike St. Pierre over at lifehack.org created a list of 8 one-liners with staying power.

Of the list, I think the most useful is this one:

"Bond. James Bond." It may be one of the most famous one-liners out there, but we can all learn a lesson from it and use it. Repeating your name twice (first or last, depending on what you want people to remember) is a guaranteed way to make your name stick.

Go check out the rest of the article for the remaining 7 one-liners.

The Biggest Tagline Mistake, And How To Avoid Making It

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 19:32:00 +0000

Taglines work. I remember several great ones from marketing generations past. I bet you do, too. Decades later, you can probably still name the brands these taglines represented:

Where's the beef?
Let your fingers do the walkin'.
Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
Don't leave home without it.
We try harder.

How did you do? Chances are, if you're at least thirty years old, you knew them all. Why? What makes these taglines great?

Well, for one thing, they're succinct. No long-winded proverbs or mission statements here. The average number of words in the taglines above is five. Five words! According to most marketing surveys, you definitely want a tagline to be less than ten words long, with five to seven words being ideal.

So, what else set these taglines apart?

Of the five listed above, at least three directly reflect how the company positioned itself against its competition. A good tagline communicates to the world the value of your brand. It lets everyone know why your company is unique.

Now, lets take a look at a few embarrassing ones from my personal Tagline Hall of Shame.

An auto manufacturer once ran with "We put people in front of cars."
Playtex tampons tried out "Is that a Playtex under there?"
And Jimmy Dean sausages used "Eat Jimmy Dean" for a while.

These taglines seem obviously bad. How did the taglines make it out of the marketing departments of these companies and into the world marketplace?

They succumbed to the biggest tagline mistake you can make: they forced it. In my years as a marketer and copywriter, I've given this a lot of thought. The biggest temptation a new company or a company seeking to re-brand itself makes is to rush. Companies feel they must have a tagline before launching their new radio or magazine ad.

May I please set the record straight?

It's okay to wait for a good tagline to happen. And, yes, they do happen. Good taglines have a life of their own, and they seem to know when they'll be created. The greatest taglines happen by accident and not in a "tagline brainstorming session."

You know it's true. So, relax. Instead of hitting the PANIC button and forcing the birth of a bad tagline, take a deep breath and run that ad. Perhaps hearing some of the responses to your ad can get the creative juices flowing.

Short And Sweet? Long Copy Isn't Always Bad Copy

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 22:39:00 +0000

According to Stephen King, the secret to successful writing is to "take out the bad parts." Sounds straightforward, doesn't it? But many marketers and writers confuse brevity with concision. They think the mark of good writing is that it's "short and sweet." That's not it at all.

How many times have you heard marketing pundits praise writing that's "short and to the point?" While that's often a good standard, it can be dangerous if carried to the extreme.

Why? Because it's not about the quantity of words, it's about the quality of your word choices. Long copy, short copy. It doesn't matter. A recent Marketing Sherpa study showed how one ezine publisher signed up subscribers by the tens of thousands for their latest newsletter with a 945-word offer letter! Almost a thousand words! Long by almost every standard, their letter generated a whopping 12.5% response rate.

How did they do it? For starters, they didn't confuse brevity with concision.

Brevity means being short, or brief.

Concision means packing more power per every square inch of copy, or expressing a great deal in few words. It means using passionate, focused, purposeful words. Put plainly, concision means you eliminate unnecessary words while still communicating your point and achieving your desired results. If it takes you a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand words to make your point concisely, so be it.

And that's the tricky part. Most marketers and writers are adept at ensuring reader comprehension. But in their zeal for brevity, they cut out the part of the message most likely to convert readers into customers. They eliminate the parts which will result in the desired action or effect.

Here's the rub: In order to be concise, you've got to "take out the bad parts." You've got to say everything that needs to be said, but you've also got to train yourself to be a ruthless editor.

What does a ruthless editor do?

Uses one word instead of two wherever possible. A wanderer isn't "without aim;" he's "aimless." Handwriting isn't "difficult to read;" it's "illegible."
Eliminates most adverbs. Words like "literally," "really," "very," "actually," and "extremely" are unnecessary clutter more often than not.
Makes the reading easy without being lame. This means having good transitions, using elements like story, metaphor, and good illustrations, and creating a helpful structure using bullet points and signposts.

So, marketers and writers of the world: Stop paying attention to word count, and start paying attention to word power. Use as many words as necessary. No more, no less. It's that simple, and that complicated.

7 Steps to Make Sure Your Content's Read

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:07:00 +0000

Copyblogger's Brian Clark offered a succinct look today at how to keep readers reading to the end and ensure they're impressed when they get there:

The Seven Steps

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

1. Beneficial Topic
Is what you’re writing of interest to the reader? Does it solve a problem they have and add value to their lives? If not, nothing else you read here matters.

2. Magnetic Headline
Likewise, nothing else matters if your prospective reader never makes it past the title or headline. Your content could be amazing, but if no one is compelled to invest the time to read based on a boring or vague headline, all is lost.

3. Strong Opening
The purpose of the headline is to get the first sentence read, and each subsequent sentence needs to keep the reader rolling towards to the close. The momentum you create with your opening can make your job easier the rest of the way.

4. Helpful Structure
Are your transferable lessons easily digested via bullets points and numbered lists? Are you providing compelling subheads that act as encouraging signposts for the diagonal reader to dig in deeper?

5. Smooth Transitions
Good writing uses transitional words and phrases to help the content read more smoothly. But good copy also uses psychological connectors to persuade and keep the reader engaged. We’ll talk more about that soon.

6. Instant Understanding
Orson Scott Card once said that metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space. The same is true of stories, and being highly specific facilitates understanding, holds attention, and enhances credibility in ways that general assertions cannot.

7. Actionable Close
How you close a piece is determined by what you are hoping to accomplish. If you’re not sure what you’re trying to accomplish, you might ask yourself why you’re writing it at all. That actually helps you to determine whether to revamp the content or to put it out of its misery.

A Real Buy One Get One Free Offer

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:45:00 +0000

Seth Godin pointed us to TOMS Shoes this morning, highlighting two things TOMS is doing right.

1. A simple, straightforward offer. For every pair of these relatively inexpensive shoes you buy, they give one free pair to a child in need.

2. TOMS has turned the shoe into a souvenir. "A post-modern shoe, a shoe for people who don't need shoes, but are happy to wear a statement. This isn't the first pair of shoes most Americans will buy, it might not even be the tenth. But it will be one that people talk about when they're wearing it."

How To Radically Improve Name Recognition Through Storytelling

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:55:00 +0000

Seth Godin is a marketing genius. I can say this because 1)he is, and 2)I'm in no way affiliated with him or his business. In a recent blog entry of his, he defined marketing as "figuring out how to tell a story that spreads with the resources you've got." I don't know if I could have said it any better. Believe it or not, marketing is just another form of story craft, that age old tradition of captivating audiences and committing interesting and entertaining information to memory. Find out what makes a good story, make sure your own story measures up, and then spread that story with the resources you've got.

So, let's look at a few things that make a memorable "story that spreads."

1. A good, memorable story doesn't simply consist of fascinating characters and a riveting plot. While you certainly will need those things to have a first class story, so much of the art of story craft depends on other qualities such as ingenious writing, remarkable imagery, and emotional satisfaction.

2. The first line can make or break you. I just read the New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci's Hour Game. This was his first line:

The man in the rain slicker walked slightly bent over, his breathing labored and his body sweaty.

This was his third line:

It was never an easy thing to tote a dead body through the woods in the middle of the night.

Now, I ask you, which would make the better first line? Which sentence arouses more curiosity, captures more attention, and makes you want to keep reading? How did his editors let this glaring mistake pass them by?

Considering that many readers of your marketing message won't make it past the first line, that first line better be a whopper. Whether it's in a direct mail campaign, a sales letter, a website, or a company brochure, it better make them want to keep reading.

3. A good storyteller knows his audience. You probably wouldn't read The Lord of The Rings aloud to your two year old, and your grandmother may find The Poky Little Puppy far from challenging. Pick a story and a marketing message appropriate to your target audience. The more targeted your story, the more memorable it is.

Now, how does your own story measure up? Are you telling it to the right audience, getting people's attention, and crafting it with care? Does your story serve up emotional satisfaction, striking imagery, sound writing, worthy characters, and a spellbinding plot? Think about it.

Exponentially Increase Sales Using Persona-Based Copy

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 21:35:00 +0000

I just read a revealing article by Marketing Sherpa that astounded me. The article describes how Leo Schachter Diamonds revamped their site and increased visitor conversions from .86% to 54.1%. (No, that last number is not a typo.) What was their secret? Persona-based copy. Here's how it works:

Put simply, most business websites are boring. Oh, they try to be exciting with Flash, an eye-catching design, and video or podcast offerings. But, when it gets right down to it, they confuse "professional" with "stuffy."

Persona-based copy can change all that. The public mask you present to the world, AKA your persona, is unique, engaging, and has a story of its own. When a company decides to adopt a persona -- both online and in other marketing communications and sales materials, they create a public face.

Your company's persona isn't just its public image. It's a face, a name, a person with a story to tell. Whether this person lives and breathes or is simply the product of a zealous marketer's imagination doesn't matter. Adopt a persona, and watch the revenue come rolling in.

So, how do you do it?

Decide whether or not your company's persona will be a real employee (your President, VP, PR director, or rank-and-file doesn't matter) or a fictitious character.
Make sure the persona you choose reflects your company's core values and philosophy.
Give your persona a voice. A blog, a newsletter, sales letters, your website. Put the persona out there so that the public can engage it.
Unleash them. You read right. No rules, no boundaries, nothing to weigh them down. Let them be their fictitious or real selves. Let their personality shine.

Think about it. What was Wendy's before Dave? Or Jack-In-The-Box before Jack? Give your company a public persona and watch as conversion rates increase, name recognition goes off the charts, and faithful customers return time and again.

3 Simple Tips for Creating Eye-Catching Testimonials

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:28:00 +0000

We've all seen them. An excellent testimonial grabs attention, solidifies your brand, and convinces customers of the value of your service or product. But sometimes getting those quality testimonials can be like pulling teeth. Short of hiring a copywriter to write them for you, how are you supposed to get your clients and customers to write these perfect testimonials? Here are 3 simple tips for creating those eye-catching, business-winning testimonials we all want:

1. Pick the right people. Choose clients or customers who've told you how much they love and appreciate your service. Keep your eyes open. Enthusiastic customers or clients write enthusiastic testimonials. Make sure these people represent your target customer, too. If you're targeting small business owners, a testimony from a Fortune 500 executive won't have the same impact.

2. Ask the right questions. Don't simply ask for a testimonial! Ask a series of leading, specific questions which will guide your clients or customers in writing a winning testimonial. Here are some good questions you can tweak to your specific product or service:

- Did you have any doubts about this product or service? If so, what were they? Were they overcome?

- How did this product or service benefit you or your business?

- Do you think it will benefit others? If so, how?

- What tangible, measurable results did you experience from using this product or service?

- Was this product or service worth it? Is the cost justified?

3. Shape the testimonial into a convincing form. Take the answers provided and arrange the sentences in a logical order that progress from initial hesitation and doubt to unhesitating endorsement.

Following these simple steps, you'll notice a marked improvement in the quality, power, and impact of your testimonials.

5 Easy Ways to Envigorate Your Copy: How To Keep Readers Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:29:00 +0000

Boring copy kills your marketing message. Don't waste valuable time and throw away your precious marketing dollars with writing as stale as day old bread. Here are 5 simple steps to jazz up your writing so readers will read it:

1. Write like you speak. The cardinal rule of copywriting, this will help you infuse new life into otherwise dead copy. If you find this challenging, then try talking aloud and recording what you're trying to say in order to write it down later. Nine times out of ten, you'll say it better than you'd ever write it.

2. Talk directly to your reader. Use the word "you." Then use it again. Don't neglect this attention grabbing, attractive little word. Readers like to hear about themselves, and they want to feel as if you're speaking to them. Give them what they want.

3. Keep it short. Nothing loses a reader like a lazy run-on sentence. Use short sentences and paragraphs to help keep readers in the game. Break complicated ideas or paragraphs down into multiple bite-sized pieces. Of course, you don't want to carry this too far. It's good to vary sentence length in order to sound more natural and less like a stuttering machine gun spitting out words.

4. Create a picture. Use words to make an image in your reader's mind. "The hole was as big as a house." You get the idea. Vivid word pictures will stay with your readers and help them stay with you.

5. Use action words. Avoid the passive voice -- that means the verbs of being like "is," "are," "was," "were," "be," "being," "been," and "become" are off-limits. Anytime you see one of those words, ask it why it's there. If you must keep it, then keep it. But, try to eliminate at least half of the verbs of being you're tempted to use.

Following these tips will ensure your copy grabs attention and captivates audiences.

How To Double Your Qualified Leads Without Taxing Your Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 19:01:00 +0000

It's standard practice to generate leads by requiring web site visitors to exchange personal information for quality content and/or collateral. Walking the fine line between asking for too much information (and scaring prospects off) and asking for too little takes finesse. Here's a simple way to glean more information from prospects, qualify leads, and keep those visitors returning to your site.

1. Identify themes based on why visitors come to your site. This will usually be broken down by the kinds of information and/or product you sell or the services you provide. For example, a Network Services company might identify these themes: Disaster Recovery, IP Address Management, Network Access Control, DNS/DHCP Infrastructure, and Voice Over IP.

2. For each theme, develop five pieces of collateral or content you want site visitors to acquire. This can be whitepapers, data sheets, a webinar, you name it. Your goal is to walk each user through acquiring all five of these pieces.

3. Develop unique registration forms for each interaction. The trick is to keep the forms short with no more than five or six questions each so that users don't stop mid-form. And, instead of asking the same questions over and over, ask a different set of questions with each form. Use cookies to identify the unique visitor, and if the visitor doesn't have cookies enabled, you can also track identical users by asking them to register with their email address. The goal is to get more qualifying information with each round of registration.

4. Score the leads and give them to your sales people. Score the leads based on both the kind and quality of information provided. For example, even if you got quality information from the prospect, they wouldn't score well if they answered that they have no current projects and no budget. A typical scoring system might be:

A - high quality, inside sales follow up
B - good quality, inside sales follow up
C - moderate quality, inside sales follow up as time allows
D - marketable opt-in lead, no follow up required
E - purchased/acquired list, non-opted in
F - junk lead

Believe it or not, implementing this system will allow you to not only generate higher quality leads, but also double the number of leads you receive because you're using shorter, more user-friendly forms.

How To Analyze Your Competition's Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:03:00 +0000

In an interesting and helpful follow-up to Monday's post about finding your USP, Marketing Sherpa interviewed the principal of Messages That Matter, Lawson Abinanti and asked him about how to analyze your competition's marketing.

In a nutshell, the first four common-sense tips he outlined were:

Isolate direct competitors. “It would be the hated enemies, the companies that you go head to head with in the battles out on the sales front,” Abinanti says.
Collect competitor's marketing materials. He said to check their print advertising first because that represents their most current marketing position and the largest expenditure of their marketing budget.
Assemble your analysis team. You want to schedule a group brainstorming session with as many folks as possible so that you can really analyze and understand your competition's pitch.
Distill the marketing into competitive positions. Figure out exactly what it is your competition is saying, and to whom. What's their positioning statement?

But the real curve ball, for me at least, came in his fifth step, and this is what I think you'll find most handy.

5. Map the competitive positions you discover.

From Marketing Sherpa's interview:

After identifying competitors’ marketing positions, you need to create a map of the competitive landscape to help you visualize where competitors have staked out territory -- and where openings might exist that you can exploit.

Start by logging the results in a table, placing the names of the companies in column headings and then assigning the different marketing positions to rows. Type an “X” underneath each company next to the primary message (or messages) of their ad statement.

Next, turn that table into a graphic. Abinanti has a team member build an Excel application that turns tables into star-shaped charts that plot competitors’ names along or between different legs representing each marketing position statement (see creative samples below). You can also build a chart manually in PowerPoint.

If you find that each competitor is using a unique marketing concept and, therefore, no clear groupings are emerging, consider combining similar ideas into a single concept to see if a pattern exists. For example, in Abinanti’s analysis of the enterprise CPM market he combined concepts such as predictable performance and better business performance to group companies.

A good competitive map will show you where competitors are clustered and which marketing concepts are most commonly employed. From there, it’s back to brainstorming (preferably with the same team who performed the competitive analysis) to determine your own company’s marketing position that will stand out from the crowd.

New Study Shows 53% of All Subject Lines Are Broken!

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:52:00 +0000

Are your subject lines broken? Even if you think you don't have a problem, you need to keep reading. A new study released by Pivotal Veracity shows that 53% of all subject lines are broken, meaning they'll be improperly rendered in your recipient's email reader! Fortunately, the study also gave us tips to make sure we avoid this pitfall.

For a test conducted with 18 major ISPs, the results are alarming. Basically, the problem boils down to a simple error -- copying & pasting subject lines from a word processing program like Microsoft Word into your email program. MSWord and others like it show ASCII type characters when you're viewing your document, but they aren't ASCII encoded. Copy and pasting these non-ASCII encoded characters into your subject lines can render disastrous results of gobbledegook. And, we all know what that means. Not only might you lose a sale, you might even get reported as a SPAMMER.

Three simple solutions:

1. Don't copy & paste. Manually type your subject lines into your email program. This will help ensure your emails are deliverable and readable.

2. Use an ASCII text editor. If you're writing in English, and the copy you use only contains characters in the ASCII set, write your subject lines and emails in an ASCII editor.

3. Test, Test, Test! Be sure to test the emails you send in more than one email reader. Open an account with every major email receiver (Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, Gmail, Excite, etc.), and send a test email to your account.

Download Pivotal Veracity's full report, including even more tips for ensuring subject readability, here.

3 Simple Steps To Find Your USP

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 19:49:00 +0000

Everyone needs one. Not everyone has one. It's the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – the single thing you tout that sets you apart from your competition. Yet discovering a truly unique selling proposition is daunting and rare. Here are some straightforward tips to help you make your marketing message stand out in a crowd.

Study your competition. What are they saying? How are they saying it? You need to know your playing field before you jump into the game. Whatever their message, you want yours to be different.

Be creative. It doesn't matter if your business, product, or service really is just like your competition's and nothing at all sets you apart (although I think this is unlikely). So long as you're the only one saying what you're saying, your message will be heard. I once helped a massage parlor double its response rate on a direct mail postcard simply by highlighting how they served hot teas in their lobby. Almost all the local massage parlors served hot teas, but this was the only one to advertise the complimentary service.

Be unique. Don't succumb to the rudderless, nondescript, “me too” method of business that relies solely on the sheer momentum of the marketplace. Be unique. A local midwife I know saw her business increase by 40% when she began renting out office space to and holding monthly workshops by other like-minded professionals (a homeopathic natural doctor, a lactation consultant, and a yoga instructor). Think of ways you can dress up your product or service, pick one that sounds easy, and then do it.

You are not your competition. So, why are you trying your hardest to look like them, sound like them, and perform like them? Don't follow the throng! Find your USP and multiply your marketing dollars!

How To Stand Out From Your Competition -- Say Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Wonderworking Words) — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:32:00 +0000

Hectic schedules and busy workdays eat away at our time. They eat away at your prospect's time, too. When you land a meeting or a phone call, the most important thing you can do is say “thank you for your time.” Here are a few tried and true methods for saying “thank you” that will keep you fresh in your prospect's mind:

1. Send a quick “thank you” email. The secret is in the system. Save the text of your “thank you” email as a draft so you can quickly copy and paste it into a new email composition. This way, you can quickly send out emails to prospects after phone calls or face to face meetings. You want to sound polite and grateful, and you also want to remind your client about why you're qualified to do the job. Here's the email I send out after phone meetings:

Hi {{NAME}},

Pleasure talking with you today; thanks for your time. Keep me in mind if you need informative copy written in an engaging, accessible style. Experience working in the marketing and creative departments of a software promotions firm, as well as my years of experience as a copywriter means I understand audience and have a strong command of language. Please view some samples of my work at: www.wonderworkingwords.com.

I look forward to working with you down the line. Best of continued success.

2. Follow your email with a “thank you” card. Pick a card that's eye-catching and artistic. A lovely card is more likely to hang around your prospect's desk space or be displayed on a tack board; learn to think of a card that's not immediately thrown away as free advertising. Handwritten cards are best, as are hand addressed and stamped envelopes. Details like this tell your prospect you care.

3. Follow your “thank you” card with a phone call. Remember, anytime you send your prospects something in the mail, you have a ready made excuse to make yet one more touch and keep you and your product or services fresh in their minds. Did they receive what you sent them? Do they have any questions you can answer? You communicate your availability while creating a positive experience for them to associate with you.

Employing these few tips, you'll be leaps ahead of your competition...and that much closer to making the sale.