Agencies, Freelancers, Design, Copywriting & more.

[Copyblogger] The Best of Copyblogger 2009

2009-12-29T08:17:00.001-08:00

The Best of Copyblogger 2009

The Best of Copyblogger 2009

You didn't think we'd close out the year without a "Best of 2009" post, did you? Well, you're not getting off that easy.

Here's the best Copyblogger content of the year, based on your enthusiasm via comments, links, retweets, and gratuitous offerings of produce-based holiday deserts. We thank you all for your continued support (even though we threw out the fruitcake. Sorry).

Let's get started.

The First Rule of Copyblogger – It's a wonderful thing to wake up one morning, check the blog, and see that your Senior Editor has made a Fight Club reference that also establishes the underlying theme of the entire publication. Her name is Sonia Simone, her name is Sonia Simone . . . .
The Winnie the Pooh Guide to Blogging – Adding to a Copyblogger portfolio that includes drag queens, cross-dressing and what women really want, James Chartrand kicked off the year with blogging lessons from everyone's favorite Pooh bear. And you were shocked that he is really a she? Really?
5 Steps to Going Viral on Twitter – Want traffic from Twitter? Read this post. Want the most possible traffic from Twitter? Post about Twitter.
How Twitter Makes You A Better Writer – In the most counterintuitive post of the year, Jennifer Blanchard makes the case that being confined to 140 characters improves your writing skills. Coming in 2010 – How Beer Makes You a Better Driver.
The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines – Twitter reinforces the single most important component to attracting online attention — the headline. Well, that and fake celebrity deaths. Better to stick with the headline skills.
10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy – First-time guest writer Jason Cohen knocks it out of the park with these quick and witty copy tips. He also forces us to retire the magnetism metaphors indefinitely.
How to Turn Affiliate Marketing Disclosure Into a Selling Point – Everyone seemed surprised that the FTC said compensation disclosure laws apply to bloggers and social media just like other forms of media. I could say I told you so back in 2006, but I won't. Even though I did. Not that I’d mention that.
The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine – All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating, but you could do worse. Sean Platt lays down what Marshall Mathers III can teach you about taking your online game to the next level (without getting picketed).
The 7 Harsh Realities of Social Media Marketing – Did you notice all the "make money quick and easy with social media" hucksters that slithered out from under a rock (and then disappeared just as quickly) in 2009? This one's for those guys, and anyone who considered following their lame advice.
How to Write With a Knife – Check out this post if you want to improve one of the most important aspects of any type of writing — tight editing. Or if you want to see a cool picture of a blonde with a samurai sword. Whichever.
Since When Are Blogs Not Social Media? – Social networking went mainstream in 2009, prompting some who hopped on board in late 2008 to say they were giving up social media for blogging. What?
Blogging is Dead (Again) – The "blogging is dead" meme comes up at least once a year, but I only feel the need to respond every other year. I feel the same way about voice mail.
The 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging – Sonia reveals the seven sins that will cause you to fail faster online than hiring Robert Scoble.
Is Commenting on Blogs a Smart Traffic Strategy? – This was a rant in disguise after I'd had enough watching the less-than-smart strategies of some bloggers who left comments. Ironically, the post got 270 comments (and counting), but lame comments on Copyblogger subsequently decreased by 270% (or something).
Why You're Too Qualified and Respectful to Produce Great Content – This post is an absolute must read for everyone~~, unless of course you already know you should write assertively, or if you're busy doing something else, or just don't feel like it. Maybe later.~~
Seven Bad Writing Habits You Learned in School – Sonia and I would have liked to qualify this post a bit, but I'd like to see you try that with Jon Morrow when he's got a head of steam. So, a few English teachers got a bit upset, but we placated them with bouquets of gerunds.
Why Content is No Longer King (And Who's Taking His Place) – The content marketing revolution demonstrates that mere content is no longer king, and this post tells you who's taking over. No, it's not Elvis, nor is it a prime minister appointed by the Queen as Lord of Parliament and majority leader of the House of Commons.
The #1 Conversion Killer in Your Copy (And How to Beat It) – What do trolls, sea monkeys, shady carnival barkers and chronic halitosis have to do with online conversion? And what was Tiger Woods thinking? (Tiger's not in the post, I just really want to know).
9 Proven Headline Formulas That Sell Like Crazy – Dean Rieck resurrects an old Copyblogger standard with these insanely effective headline templates. But please go sell crazy someplace else . . . we're all stocked up here.
Why You Can't Make Money Blogging – Poor Fake Steve Jobs discovers he's better suited for day jobs. Read this post to learn why "I want to make money on the Internet" is not a business model.
Is Your Tribe Holding You Down? – The post that defined the Third Tribe was inspired by a challenging email from Seth Godin and our refusal to switch to decaf. What does it all mean? You'll see in early 2010.
On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas – No joke here, simply the post of the year. Thanks Jon, for sharing with and inspiring us all.

There you have it . . . the best of Copyblogger for 2009. Can we top it in 2010?

We'll try pretty hard. Hope you're along for the ride.

Happy New Year!

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Happy Holidays from Copyblogger!

2009-12-24T13:38:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays from Copyblogger!

Happy Holidays from Copyblogger!

Well, it looks like it’s time to take the rest of the decade off.

Here’s to a safe and joyous holiday season for you and yours. In case you’re actually looking for something to read, here are some Copyblogger gems for your solstice surfing pleasure.

Copywriting 101
Content Marketing 101
How to Write Magnetic Headlines
SEO Copywriting 2.0
Landing Page Tutorials and Case Studies
Keyword Research for Bloggers
Internet Marketing for Smart People (free 20-part course and newsletter)

See you next year!

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Five Smart Things You Can Still Do in 2009

2009-12-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Five Smart Things You Can Still Do in 2009

Five Smart Things You Can Still Do in 2009

Copyblogger is about to go on our annual holiday hiatus. We'll be taking a break from posting while we catch up, get rested, and get excited about what we've got in store for you in 2010.

You may be taking a little time off yourself. Or you may still be going into the office, but the last week of the year is often a time when routine tasks slow down or stop altogether.

So what's the smartest, most productive use you could make of the next seven days?

Here are five ideas that will let you take what some people think of as "dead time" and use it to jump start your year in 2010. Doing any or all of these will get you energized and excited for the year to come.

1. Create a quick product

The biggest obstacle most bloggers face when they want to make money is they don't have anything to sell.

And the biggest obstacle to creating something to sell is that it seems overwhelming. We feel like we've got to distill everything we know into a 400-page ebook or 30-hour marathon audio course.

That's why I was so impressed by a recent post from Dave Navarro about creating a product over a weekend, and his follow up post on
how to know if it's the right time to create a product.

If you've got even one or two slow days coming over the next week, take Dave's advice and create a small, low-cost product. It doesn't matter if you have four blog subscribers, three of whom are related to you.

A few people may buy it, and that's great. They'll tell others about it, and that will start attracting the targeted audience you need in the future (generating more sales).

More importantly, it will elevate you in people's eyes as a solution producer and not just a blogger. Big difference.

2. Write a series

If the idea of creating a product is still too scary, put it on your calendar for January. And instead, every day for the next seven days, write a post for a series for your blog or email newsletter.

What should your series be about? It should be about the most compelling, thorny problem your audience regularly faces that you're passionate about fixing.

Solve some problems worth solving. Don't wimp or waffle around, and don’t sell yourself short. Give your audience real answers they can start using right away.

3. Reconnect with your favorite bloggers

Sometimes the "social" in social media threatens to eat every minute we've got to give.

If you find yourself with a little down time next week, spend a few minutes and reach out to some of your favorite bloggers in your topic. You know, the ones you haven't had any time to read in the last six months.

Read through their last 4 or 5 posts. Look through their archives or popular posts. Make some intelligent comments. If something useful presents itself, link to them in your series.

4. Create some audacious goals

I know, I know, nothing is more boring than telling you to set goals around this time of year.

But here's the thing. Wildly exciting goals lead to wildly exciting results. (Not always, or even often, the precise results you visualized. Don't let that worry you.)

Some time before December 31st, take an hour and write down the most perfect imaginable day for yourself. Where you wake up (and with whom), what you see, what you have for breakfast, what you do and where you go and how you do it. How you feel about everything you're doing and seeing. How you look. What you smell and hear.

Use every ounce of writing skill you've got to make this description vivid. Sell yourself on it.

And try not to be too "realistic." Let your dreams soar a little.

Then set a reminder in your calendar to take a look at this "perfect day" once every three months in 2010. Each time you revisit it, re-copy what you’ve written, making any tweaks you want to.

I promise you, in December next year, you'll be a little spooked by some of the "unrealistic" things you wrote down this year, and how much more realistic they've become.

5. Sign up for some high-quality (free) education

If you haven't joined us yet for Copyblogger's free Internet Marketing for Smart People e-newsletter, you should sign up for it now. It starts with a 20-part course on some of the most important building blocks to marketing your product or service online.

The newsletter will give you the marketing tips and techniques that work in the real world, including the smartest strategies for marketing with social media. And we do it without the annoying sleaze and hype you see from too many other “gurus.”

If you're planning on putting one (or all) of these into action by December 31, let us know in the comments! (And then come back on January 1 and let us know how you did.)

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] 5 Lessons Learned from a List to Santa (All of Them Can Make You Money)

2009-12-23T07:22:00.001-08:00

5 Lessons Learned from a List to Santa (All of Them Can Make You Money)

5 Lessons Learned from a List to Santa (All of Them Can Make You Money)

In the eight Christmases since life changed my name to Dad, Santa's list has never been more important.

In our house, the tradition is that each child requests a single gift from the big guy. The problem is, this year both kids asked for something a little beyond Santa's typical reach.

Fortunately, my wife and I have learned enough about persuasion and selling to turn our trip to the store into an opportunity to keep the magic alive a little longer.

It's important to me that Santa deliver what they ask for. My kids are five and seven, and still believe. I'd like to preserve that bit of childhood magic as long as I am able.

What do you want? No, what do you really want?

My daughter originally wanted to ask Santa for "Biscuit," a battery-operated dog that does tricks on command and is roughly the size of a Shetland pony. I'm not positive, but I think Biscuit may require a car battery to start barking.

My son planned to ask Santa for the Lego Star Wars Imperial Cruiser. This thing has roughly the same number of pieces as a glass garbage truck driven from a rooftop, and a sticker price equivalent to my winter electricity bill.

Our mission: steer our daughter toward a Fur-Real Panda Bear which is just a fraction of Biscuit's price tag, and get our son drooling for Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, which is smaller and more within our budget.

Entering the toy department armed with our strategy, here are five basic selling principles which we used to get our children to not only alter their wish lists, but want their new gifts even more than they did the old ones:

1. Scarcity

This one was awesome because I didn't even have to try. There it sat, all the way at the top of a shelf so high not even my 6 ' 3'' frame could tickle the Fur-Real Panda Bear. The rest of the selection lay littered along the bottom shelves.

"Uh-oh," I said. "We're going to have to ask someone to help us get the panda bear down."

My daughter asked why the panda was up so high away from all the others. I told her it must be because everybody wanted him and there were only a few left.

"Oh," she whispered. My daughter rarely whispers. Other people's desires amplified her own. My daughter's not greedy, but she is human, and humans tend to want something all the more the second it seems out of reach.

2. Storytelling

My son and I struck out on our own, leaving my wife and daughter to think about the panda.

I slipped into a story about Darth Vader and his planet-blasting Death Star. My voice rose in pitch, my hands in the air. I quieted to a whisper. I was an actor reciting Shakespeare and my son's mouth was an open O.

"Hey, have you ever thought about asking Santa for Darth Vader's TIE fighter?" I asked. "I bet he would get it for you."

I pulled the box from the shelf and placed it in my son’s hands. His eyes lit up and he turned it this way and that through the air, the sounds of laser blasts spraying from his lips.

Information is important, but people connect to stories. If you want someone to both relate to your information and remember it later, deliver it in a "once upon a time."

3. Address objections

My son was fondling the box. I figured he was about a third of the way to wondering why in the Hoth he had ever wanted a starship when he could've been asking for Darth Vader's TIE fighter all along.

But we weren't quite there yet.

"The TIE fighter's a lot smaller," I explained, pointing to Darth Vader's home away from home. "The starship is like five times bigger."

He asked how many pieces are in the starship. I smiled. It was like he was doing half the work for me. "It's five times the size because it has five times as many pieces."

Now even though my son LOVES pieces, this was an easy objection to get past.

"Hmmm." At this point, I was actually stroking my chin like some cartoon character. "If you ask Santa for Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, then we'll be able to put it together and take it apart a lot more times." I smiled wide and dropped to my knees so my eyes met my son’s. "We'll get to play with it more because it will be put together more often."

My son's smile is always bright, but this one was even brighter than usual. You can't ignore objections, but you can identify and address what the other person really wants. And in this case, it was to spend more time with his daddy playing.

Once you know what your buyers are really looking for, you can rob objections of their power.

4. Clearly state the benefits

When we rejoined the girls, my daughter asked how I would decide between the two toys. She's a practical girl and, like her father, loves to linger on several sides of an argument.

"Well, at first I thought it was close," I said, nose wrinkled, "but then I started thinking about it. Now I'd have to say the panda is the clear winner."

She wanted to know why.

"Well, his size for starters," I said. "Biscuit is so big, you'd never want to take him up and down the stairs."

We live in a hundred-year-old Victorian, and there are times when going upstairs feels like it should come with the help of a Sherpa.

I also explained that because of its size, the panda could keep her company and sit next to her while she's doing her homework or is at the computer.

I let that sink in, then added, "The panda could even sleep with you, I bet. Biscuit would probably just sit in one place most of the time."

When you're writing to persuade, don't forget to articulate what's great about the experience. Give them the wind in their hair and let them clearly feel the smile on their face.

5. Know your audience

I'm lucky enough to be around my children for most of the minutes they aren't in school. Getting them to change Santa's list was made simple by first knowing them inside out and then communicating as effectively as possible.

Working out a communication plan with my partner ahead of time, using the same principles that make a sales letter work, made it a paint-by-numbers process.

While it's highly unlikely you'll get prospects that you can know as well as your children, you can get to know them. Pay attention to the details, ask the right questions, and uncover not just what they want, but why they want it. Do that, and you'll be able to meet their needs.

There is a laser-thin line between many of the principles of friendly, honest selling and highly effective parenting.

With both, you must allow the learner or buyer to stumble onto your solution as though it was their idea all along. Sure, you use the authority you've built, but you also let your audience come to their own conclusions.

Trust is the key

Of course none of these tactics would have worked if our children didn't believe in us.

And trust is an integral part of these strategies. I've never lied to my kids (you and I both know Santa doesn't count) and have never let them down. I have never done anything to damage our bond and so they trust me entirely.

I would never have sold them on the panda or the TIE Fighter if I didn't believe they would love their choices. If your actions are based on integrity and you do what is right for your audience or clients, they will do what is right for you in return.

About the Author: Sean Platt is a direct response copywriter and independent publisher. Follow him on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas

2009-12-22T08:54:00.001-08:00

On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas

On Dying, Mothers, and Fighting for Your Ideas

The doctor cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I have bad news.”

He paused, looking down at the floor. He looked back up at her. He started to say something and then stopped, looking back down at the floor.

That’s when Pat began to cry.

She’d argued with herself about even coming to the doctor’s office. Her baby was a year old, and he hadn’t started crawling yet. He tried, yes, dragging his legs behind him as he struggled to make it just a few feet on the floor, but it didn’t look right. Everyone told her that she was worrying over nothing, and maybe she was, but she told herself that she would take him to the doctor, just to be safe . . .

“Your son has a neuromuscular disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy,” the doctor said. “It’s a form of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects children.”

Pat was speechless. Everyone had told her she was silly. She had hoped she was wrong, prayed she was wrong, but still . . . she knew.

“What’s going to happen to him?” she managed to say.

“Where most children grow stronger as they get older, your son is going to get weaker. He’ll lose the ability to move. He’ll lose the ability to breathe on his own. And one day, he’ll catch an infection that will spread into his respiratory system, giving him severe pneumonia . . .”

She held up her hand to stop him. “You’re saying he is going to die?”

He nodded. “There are three types of SMA. Caught this early, your son almost certainly has Type I. Most children with Type I die of pneumonia before the age of two.” He paused. “I’m sorry.”

Pat looked up into his face and saw that he really was sorry. It made her angry. Not because of his pity, but because in this man’s eyes, her baby was already dead.

“Don’t be sorry,” Pat said, wiping tears away from her face. Her voice was suddenly very calm.”He isn’t going to die.”

“It's important you understand the situation, Mrs. Morrow. The pneumonia . . . he won’t be able to fight it.”

“He won’t have to,” she said. “I’ll fight it for him.”

The miracle of mothers

Over the next 16 years, I had pneumonia 16 times. But I never died. It sounds strange to say it, but my mother wouldn’t let it happen.

She orchestrated a team of more than a dozen doctors. She slept in a chair beside me in the hospital, sometimes for as many as 30 days in a row. She pounded my chest and back every two hours to loosen the mucus, covering my chest and back with bruises.

Today, at 27 years old, I’m one of the oldest people in the world with my type of SMA, and people tell me it’s a miracle. And I agree, it is. But the miracle isn’t just me. It’s a mother who fought like only a mother can to keep me alive.

By “alive,” I don’t mean just “not dead,” either. You’d think my mother would have been satisfied for me to live at home, tucked away from the world where she could protect me, but for her, that wasn’t living. She insisted that I be great.

When my elementary school principal decided that disabled children didn’t have a place in her school, my mom appealed to the school board and turned every board member’s life into a living hell for two years.

She won.

When I wanted to play basketball, she forced an astounded coach to reinvent the rules of the game so that I could be the “ball carrier” for the team, and no one could take the ball away. Not surprisingly, everyone wanted me on their team.

When I could no longer pick up a pencil, she arranged for honors students at local colleges to help me with my homework after school. I graduated at the age of 16, not only near the top of my class, but with college credit.

If you’re a mother, none of these things surprise you. Some mothers are weak, sure, but the vast majority fight for their children, especially when those children are defenseless. It’s not because they’re trying to be heroes. It’s because that’s their job.

And I think we can learn something from them. Not to minimize what mothers do, but I’ve come to believe that our job as writers is not all that different.

Fighting for your ideas

Growing up, I always had to fight to get people to listen to me.

The worst part about being disabled isn’t the pain or the struggle but how the world tries to shove you into a corner and pretend that you don’t exist. After all, what could you possibly have to contribute? You’re going to die soon, poor thing. Here’s a nice, quiet room and some morphine to ease the pain.

They don’t proactively hold you back, no, but they don’t expect you to succeed either. I’ve spent my entire life fighting against the weight of those expectations.

Like when university professors were flabbergasted when, on the first day, I asked my attendant to raise his hand, so I could answer the question that no one else could.

Or the vaguely constipated look on the face of a venture capitalist when I asked for $500,000 of startup capital for my first software company.

Or the disbelieving stares of people at a real estate conference when I gave a talk about buying million-dollar homes without even being able to get up the stairs to see the inside of them.

Their disbelief has never stopped me, of course. It’s not a matter of persistence or strength or attitude, as some people think. It’s a matter of shame.

How could I possibly look my mother and father and all of the others who have sacrificed so much for me in the eye and tell them, “I can’t?” I couldn’t bear it. The shame of dishonoring their sacrifice by giving up would poison my soul.

And so I fight

If my mother could ignore a doctor who would condemn me to death, then I can ignore my inner demons who tell me I’ll never make it as a writer.

If my mother could demand that I achieve straight As in school, then I can demand greatness from every blog post I publish.

If my mother could lobby school administrators and government agencies to get me the help I needed, then I can lobby bloggers and social media power users to get my idea the attention it deserves.

Not to imply that I’m unique, because I’m not. Yes, I’ve had to overcome a lot of adversity, but so does every creative person who wants their ideas to see the light of day.

If you want to succeed, you can’t wait for the world to give you attention the way a cripple waits for food stamps to arrive in the mail. You have to be a warrior. You have to attack with the madness of a mother whose child is surrounded by an army of predators.

Because, let’s face it, your ideas are your children. Their future is as tender and delicate as that of any newborn.

You can’t just write them down and expect them to succeed. Writing isn’t about putting words on the page, any more than being a parent is about the act of conception. It’s about breathing life into something and then working to make sure that life becomes something beautiful.

That means spending ten hours on a post, instead of 30 minutes.

That means writing a guest post every week, instead of one every few months.

That means asking for links without any shame or reservation, not because you lack humility, but because you know down to the depths of your soul that what you’ve done is good.

You have to realize that your blog is more than just a collection of ones and zeros floating through cyberspace. It’s more than the words on the page. Your blog is a launchpad for your ideas, and you are the rocket fuel that lifts them off the ground.

So burn it up, baby.

Your ideas are counting on you.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is Associate Editor of Copyblogger and Cofounder of Partnering Profits. Get more from Jon on twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] How to Brainstorm Brilliant Ideas for Your Blog

2009-12-21T08:00:00.001-08:00

How to Brainstorm Brilliant Ideas for Your Blog

How to Brainstorm Brilliant Ideas for Your Blog

Brainstorming is one of the most powerful creative techniques ever devised. When used properly, it can produce more and better ideas than any other process. It’s based on the concept that two heads (or three, or four, or more) are better than one.

Many would argue that you can't create by committee. I agree. Writing and other creative acts are best performed by individuals. Creating by committee, well . . . sucks.

But brainstorming is not about executing ideas. It’s simply about coming up with ideas. And it is almost always more productive as a group activity. The result of a brainstorming session should be a long list of potential ideas which you can evaluate at a later time, acting only on the best.

Sure, you'll come up with a ton of dumb ideas, but so what? Once you get the ideas flowing, the great ideas will float to the top. And some of those ideas that seem dumb end up being pretty smart — once you try them.

It’s like panning for gold. You have to sift through a lot of sludge to get to the shiny nuggets.

How to brainstorm with other bloggers

If you interact with other bloggers frequently, you probably do a little informal brainstorming already. It’s not just a good way to solve problems, it's a great way to keep your blog fresh and interesting.

In fact, I’m thinking about brainstorming for bloggers specifically because more and more bloggers are beginning to work together to write blogs, create products, promote each other’s content, and feed off of each other’s energy and ideas.

If you've had bad luck with brainstorming, it’s probably because you did it in a stuffy corporate environment where no one feels free to really open up. But if you can assemble the right group of people who feel comfortable with each other, a brainstorming session can be like throwing a match into a room full of firecrackers. There's a sudden and powerful chain reaction.

What can you brainstorm?

Anything that will benefit from sharper ideas is good fodder for a brainstorming session. Try brainstorming ideas for post topics (or perhaps a series of posts), product ideas, marketing angles, positioning for your business, contests, link building strategies . . . the sky’s the limit.

Here are a few suggestions for creating some fireworks of your own. These guidelines are intended for in-person sessions, so if you plan to brainstorm by Skype, chat, or other means, you may want to adapt the rules a little.

Before your session . . .

Select a leader. When I conduct a session, I often serve as both leader and participant. It works for me, but you may want to select a leader who will remain fairly quiet while the others let their imagination go wild. The leader also needs to keep the group on track and on a time schedule, stifle negative statements, help the group develop ideas fully, and assure that each member contributes.

Define your problem. The leader should write a clear definition for the problem the group will address. All you need is a sentence or two that clearly outlines the situation.

Create an agenda. Outline what topics you want to cover. Prepare a few ideas in advance to get things started, and be prepared to suggest questions to keep the ideas flowing.

Set time limits. How much time you spend depends on the group's endurance and everyone's schedule, but it's usually best to keep it short — 15 to 45 minutes. If you go longer, take frequent breaks to keep people fresh.

Set quotas. The idea is to work fast and produce lots of ideas, which will be evaluated at another time. So decide on a quota, such as a minimum of 100 ideas. This isn't as hard as it sounds. If you come up with just two ideas a minute, you'll have 120 in an hour. You can set an overall quota or individual quotas for each topic.

Select your group and announce a session. Choose a mixed group whose blogs are at about the same level to participate. Avoid control freaks and people who need to monopolize the conversation. When you set things up, don't call it a "meeting." That conjures images of big oak tables and idiots in neckties. Call it a "session."

Circulate background information. Prime session participants with a simple statement of the problem, background information, and examples of the kind of ideas you're looking for.

During your session . . .

Review the problem and background information. Don't put people to sleep, just quickly go over the problem, background data, and what you hope to accomplish. If there are questions, answer them before you get started.

Establish the ground rules.

Each session participant must contribute ideas or add to another’s ideas.
No one may criticize or evaluate any idea. Alex F. Osborn in Applied Imagination said it best: "Think up or shut up."
No one will hold back ideas. When something comes to mind, say it.
The group will encourage wild, out-of-the box thinking.
The goal of the session is quantity, not quality. Quality will be evaluated later.
Develop ideas fully. Participants should hitchhike ideas on the ideas of others to produce more and better ideas.
Once an idea is developed, the group will move on.

Take detailed notes. Whether written or typed, someone needs to rapidly capture the flow of ideas as they occur. One option is to record the session and transcribe the recording. I've found that a combination of note taking and recording works best. The notes serve as an outline of the major topics covered and the recording fills in the details.

After your session . . .

Allow for the incubation of further ideas. If you've had a productive session, ideas will continue to occur to people for hours or days after the session. Ask everyone to write down these ideas and submit them later to record along with the main session notes.

Type up and circulate all the ideas generated. The final product of a session will be a multi-page document that lists every single idea created. Nothing should be edited. Organize or classify these ideas for later evaluation. Don't be surprised if you have literally hundreds of ideas.

Evaluate your ideas and choose the best. The same group can evaluate the ideas or another group can. It's often best for those responsible for the problem to evaluate the ideas, but you can run into "idea ownership" problems. On the other hand, another group may not be able to grasp the significance of many of the ideas generated. You'll have to experiment.

When the dust settles, you should find yourself with some surprisingly good ideas. And the whole process often energizes all the participants.

Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work perfectly the first time. It usually doesn’t. Assembling the right group, creating an open atmosphere, and producing the best results often takes time. As with so many other things in life, practice makes perfect.

For more tips on being creative, read 10 easy ways to instantly energize your creative powers at my Pro Copy Tips blog.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is one of America’s top freelance copywriters and publisher of the Direct Creative Blog and Pro Copy Tips, a blog that provides copywriting tips for smart copywriters.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Should We Be Worried About Fast Food Content?

2009-12-18T07:49:00.001-08:00

Should We Be Worried About Fast Food Content?

Should We Be Worried About Fast Food Content?

Earlier this week on TechCrunch, Michael Arrington wrote an alarmed post about “fast food content that will surely, over time, destroy the mom and pop operations that hand craft their content today.”

Mom and pop operations and hand-crafted content sounds an awful lot like you and me, doesn’t it?

So is this actually something we need to worry about? Is what Arrington calls “the rise of cheap, disposable content on a mass scale, force fed to us by the portals and search engines” going to destroy the businesses we’re building on a foundation of high-quality content?

Arrington is deeply concerned about sites like AOL and Demand Media, which scrape and mash real content into something that’s theoretically legitimate (since it was compiled by a human being rather than a piece of software), but in practice gives no value to the reader.

This “mainstream spam” can be efficiently optimized for search, or thrust onto the unsuspecting eyeballs of AOL users. (Haven’t the poor things suffered enough already?)

Arrington believes there’s no hope against this onslaught of junk content, which is going to overwhelm all of the good stuff.

Clearly, we’re all doomed

Arrington advises content creators (that’s you and me) to:

Figure out an even more disruptive way to win, or die. Or just give up on making money doing what you do. If you write for passion, not dollars, you'll still have fun. Even if everything you write is immediately ripped off without attribution, and the search engines don't give you the attention they used to. You may have to continue your hobby in the evening and get a real job, of course. But everyone has to face reality sometimes.

Apart from the whining, the exaggeration, and the hysteria, the problem with Arrington’s argument is it’s based on a number of bad assumptions.

Specifically:

Bad assumption #1: Search engines and mega portals are the only way to get traffic

AOL is feeding their content slop to their “massive” audience (which, in fact, is shrinking at rates that would make Biggest Loser proud). Arrington makes the assumption that those AOL customers won’t come find your non-crap content, because the fast food stuff is the only thing on their radar.

This then leapfrogs to another bad assumption, that the only way anyone sees content is to find it on a mega site like AOL, or via a search engine like Google.

Links from your favorite bloggers count for nothing. Tweets from a friend count for nothing. Facebook pointers count for nothing. Email from your mom counts for nothing. No one ever points a friend to genuinely valuable content and says, “Hey, you should check this out, you would like it.”

The entire direction of social media and content sharing indicates otherwise.

Bad assumption #2: Readers will keep reading crappy content

AOL’s user base is still big enough that I’m sure they’ll get some readers at least skimming their stuff.

But when it comes to content, Darwin rules. If content doesn’t meet the needs of users, it dies. We can’t even force grade-school kids to read what doesn’t engage them. What makes us think that AOL can “force feed” their users anything?

And what makes us believe that even if those users do skim AOL’s lame content, that they’ll never read anything else, or that, when they have a particular need or concern, they won’t go actively looking for something more useful?

Business tip for TechCrunch: when you find yourself afraid of a stumbling dinosaur like AOL, there’s something gravely wrong with your thinking, your business model, or both.

Bad assumption #3: Google would rather serve fast food content than your content

Now I hold no illusions that Google is a benevolent, all-knowing deity that rewards the just and punishes the wicked. But based on observation, it’s pretty clear that Google would rather serve good content than scraped and mashed junk content.

Google wants their searchers to find a good experience on the other side of their search result. If sites like Demand Media, a video producer that slaps together 4,000 videos a day in what amounts to content sweat shops, can deliver content worth watching, they’ll do well.

If they don’t deliver something worth watching, they don’t give Google’s searchers the experience Google wants to deliver. Which means Google becomes less valuable.

Google can’t be “force-fed” any more than readers can. There’s no reason to believe they’ll treat this “hand assembled” spam more kindly than the bot-created kind.

Bad assumption #4: Content means news

Arrington also says that sites like the New York Times are “outright stealing” his content and passing it off as their own. (And he warns you, little mom and pop, that your content’s going to be stolen without attribution as well.)

By “stealing,” Arrington apparently means that when TechCrunch publishes a breaking story, the New York Times often writes a story on the same topic, using their own reporters and neglecting to thank him for his tireless journalistic efforts.

If you’re not TechCrunch, this is not a problem that you need to spend even four seconds thinking about. You already know from hanging out on Twitter and reading blogs that news spreads more quickly than anyone’s ability to control it, and that nobody “owns” a breaking story.

For those of us who create “hand-crafted” content, what we say isn’t nearly as important as how we say it. We rarely break news (although occasionally we become the news.)

If readers want the latest news, they rightly go to a site like TechCrunch, the Times, or, increasingly often, Twitter.

It’s when they want useful knowledge, insight, or analysis that they come back to us. Plus, there’s a reason we get you to focus on delivering educational content versus commodity news, right?

We’re valuable precisely because we can cut through the noise and give them only what’s useful and relevant to them.

I’m sure it’s irritating to Arrington not to get a linkback from the Times, but that’s his headache, not ours. He seems to be doing ok without it.

Bad assumption #5: You need millions of eyeballs to make a living

There’s an implicit bad assumption behind all of the explicit bad assumptions in Arrington’s post, which is that the only way you’ll be able to make a living with content is to attract huge amounts of traffic.

In other words, the only possible model is to attract enough attention (via search engines, for your breaking news) to monetize your site with advertising.

But you already know that’s not a business model for the real world.

Let’s say you have a blog that gives business advice to yoga teachers. You’ve paired that with a simple but effective marketing system to sell group coaching, individual consulting, and information products to readers who want to go further with what you’re teaching. You only need to find a few hundred customers a year to make a very nice living.

No fast food content generator on earth is going to outrank you for “how to run a yoga studio.”
If a cheap, scratch-the-surface video or post does outrank you for that #1 spot, the reader quickly finds out that the fast food content doesn’t meet her needs at all. Click goes the back button, and she’s looking for you again.
Your content collects links from like-minded people, because it’s cool and valuable.
Other yoga teachers (and herbalists and organic co-ops and past-life regression therapists) will spread the word about you faster than Google ever could.
You have no reason to run advertising for anything other than your own products. So you don’t need to pull hundreds of thousands of “eyeballs” to make a decent living. You just need to make a great connection with the right 300 people.

So what should a “whole food” content producer do?

Exactly what you were doing yesterday.

Keep your eyes on your audience, not Chicken Little pundits telling you (again) that you can’t make a living.

Keep following the First Rule of Copyblogger. Keep creating content that rewards the reader for consuming it. Keep cutting through the clutter and noise by being smarter, more relevant, and more interesting.

Fast food content is just the latest incarnation of an old affliction — spam. If it hasn’t killed us yet, this new version isn’t likely to make much of a dent.

For content-based marketing strategies that work in the real world, sign up for the free Copyblogger email newsletter, Internet Marketing for Smart People. It’s packed with the information and advice you need to create real business success, and it’s 100% hysteria-free.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] How Your DIY Attitude Is Keeping You Poor

2009-12-17T08:37:00.001-08:00

How Your DIY Attitude Is Keeping You Poor

How Your DIY Attitude Is Keeping You Poor

The way people talk, you’d think there are like four customers in the world. Maaaaybe five if you look around really hard — but that’s about it.

So whatever you do, if you’re lucky enough to have one of those customers, you’d better not do anything that minimizes the income you receive from them.

You’d certainly better not share them. You’d better cut your expenses to the bone on the back end, and hey . . . if you know that a competitor is courting one of the other three or four customers? Well, then you’d better get over there and work on stealing them away.

Right now, you’re rolling your eyes at this dumb picture I’m painting. But just for fun — just to see if I’m totally off base — ask yourself the following:

Are you willing to partner with someone if it means that you’ll make less profit per customer, but have access to more customers?
Are you willing to pay handsomely for referrals — 50% or more in some cases?
Would you be willing to share your business with a competitor who does the same basic thing as you do?

If the answer to any of the above is no, then you’re suffering from a scarcity mindset.

You don’t really believe there are a lot of fish in the sea. You believe there are only a few fish. Or, maybe there are more fish way out deep, but in order to get to them, you’ll need to charter a boat, which means trusting some skeevy boat captain. And what happens when you get into a boat with someone who you can’t trust? You get whacked while baiting your hook, like Fredo in The Godfather.

I’m going to suggest getting over that perception.

There are a LOT of fish in the sea. And the sooner you learn to work with other people to help you get them, the faster you’re going to get ahead.

Anatomy of a successful partnership

One of the things I do in my business is set up WordPress blogs for clients. Just a few months ago, I met Genuine Chris Johnson of Flat Rate Web Jobs. Now, Chris does something interesting in his business. He sets up WordPress blogs for clients.

So what did Chris and I do with this apparent conflict of interests? We teamed up, of course.

See, if you do business in the way I tell readers and consulting clients alike, you’ll soon realize that there are “your people” and there are “not your people.” And once you figure that out, you’ll see that most of your seeming competitors really aren’t competitors after all. Even if your services are the same, your people probably are not.

Yes, Chris and I both set up blogs, but our audiences are very different. Chris’s customers come mainly from the offline world and are learning the power of blogging for the first time. My customers usually already understand the internet and the blogosphere.

The way he finds and contacts clients (often including a phone call) is very different than the way I do (social networking and blogging, never using the phone). The questions and pain points that he addresses for clients (”What’s a blog, and how will it help my business?”) are different than the ones I address (”How quickly can I get my blog off of Blogger?”). His packages include a ton of training material. My customers don’t usually need much training, at least in the basics. Accordingly, our prices are fairly disparate.

Lastly, our personal strengths are different, and complementary. Chris is very good at sales and would rather that someone else handle customer service and implementation. Conversely, I don’t want to sell. I’d rather implement and do customer service.

We could pretty easily have decided that we were competitors. Chris could have kept selling his packages, and been bogged down each time with building sites, answering emails, and so on. I could have stuck solely with “my people,” and worked to sell each job I did.

But instead, the partnership has allowed each of us to make thousands of extra dollars a month.

Now, that’s a dramatic example (side note: it gets more dramatic when you realize that Chris dated my wife before I met her, a fact that caught both of us by surprise), but there are a few ways that you can increase your business through strategic partnerships that don’t necessitate seeking out apparent competitors.

Here are a few ways to start small:

1. Get a team

Or at least get an assistant. You can only do so much as one person, and insisting on holding all of the reins yourself ensures that not only will your business not grow past a certain point, but also that you’ll be stressed out and unable to take time off.

2. Start paying for referrals

A lot of people are reluctant to pay for referrals (or to start an affiliate program) because it means shrinking your profit margin.

That’s short-sighted thinking. If you offer commissions to people who send you business, those people send you more down the road.

Remember, a referral is business you would otherwise not have gotten. So be cool and kick a thank-you to the person who sent it your way. For services and tangible products, 10-20% is a good commission rate. For digital products, it should be 50% — or even more.

3. Bundle your products with other people’s products

If you sell your Widget Buster Extraordinaire for $50 and another person sells Widget Smashing Secrets for $50, consider making a deal to sell both products together for $80 and split the profits.

Yes, you’ll make $10 less each time you sell a Widget Buster. But the new Buster + Secrets offer is so much more attractive to customers that you’re almost certain to sell enough more to make up for it.

Don’t be short-sighted. Assuming your margins still support it, 50 sales at $40 is better than 25 sales at $50.

Getting beyond doing it yourself

There’s a certain romance in “going it alone,” especially for bloggers. But taking the DIY (do-it-yourself) mindset too literally just ensures that your business will never be able to grow beyond the capabilities of one person.

Trust me, other people are cool. Partnering with them is fun. And doing so is absolutely the way to accelerate your progress. So have a little faith and try it already.

About the Author: Johnny B. Truant is a website builder and consultant extraordinaire who wants everyone to know that he’s raising his rates on January 1st — so if you’d like to work with him, now’s the time. (Contact him now and he'll even build you a free blog.) You can also follow him on Twitter, where he’s moderately amusing.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] How to Make a Living as a Social Media Rock Star

2009-12-17T07:26:00.001-08:00

How to Make a Living as a Social Media Rock Star

How to Make a Living as a Social Media Rock Star

Earlier this year, Brian and I created a course called Freelance X Factor.

It was designed for the "typical" Copyblogger reader. (Smart, interested in writing, pretty savvy about social media . . . but possibly “not there yet” when it comes to packaging all of that up and turning it into income.)

The course is designed to give you a "business model in a box," to take what you’re great at and start using it to make a better living. Our focus was to take social media writers and turn them into effective businesspeople.

While we were at it, we included a lot of content to help you become a social media rock star, if you weren't there already.

And, in honor of the worst global economy since the Great Depression, we packaged all of this up at an incredibly attractive price.

Why bring all this up now? Because everything that made the course so valuable remains true. But we're just about to raise the incredibly attractive price to something that's merely "very attractive."

We’ll be taking the offer down before the end of the month. In early January, we’ll be raising the price for Freelance X Factor from $87 to $147. Which is still, frankly, a hell of a deal.

If you're a writer and you think the Copyblogger business model could help you re-position yourself for more income, fewer hassles, more respect, and more fun, well, you're right. Click here to find out how to do that for the best possible price.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Warning: Are Your Words Helping or Hurting Your Business?

2009-12-16T08:25:00.001-08:00

Warning: Are Your Words Helping or Hurting Your Business?

Warning: Are Your Words Helping or Hurting Your Business?

Earlier this week we saw a stark lesson in the power of a label when it comes to promoting your business.

Using the right vocabulary is everything when it comes to writing powerful copy. And though I adore words even more than donuts, it was only recently that I realized I had been using some of them all wrong.

In fact, for far too long, I was beating my thick head against a wall I never should have built in the first place. A wall I built by using the wrong words, or by using them in a way that didn't support my business.

Shedding a comfortable skin

When Writer Dad first started to take off late last summer, the most frequent responses were compliments on the strength of my writing.

So, like Pavlov's dog I started to salivate every time someone sent any sort of praise my way.

I began to focus on the way I was writing more than the thoughts that my writing conveyed. I was losing sight of the fact that people were reading my words because of the ideas behind them, not because of the way they were strung together.

There were times I wrote posts with sentences I thought were good enough to frame. But it was doing nothing to pay my bills or push me forward in any significant way. James Chartrand, on more than one occasion, kindly warned me, "clarity over cleverness." But of course I didn't listen.

I was a writer. Not only would I reinvent the wheel, I'd make up a new word for it too. Perhaps wheelovation.

Eventually, I swallowed Morpheus's red pill and started writing something that actually made some money: search engine optimized copy.

At first, I kept it contained to my clients' site, and a few niche sites I was developing. I didn't let any SEO copy near the hallowed grounds of my home site.

My secret SEO life

I felt like a clergyman making bucks on the side by writing pornography. This SEO writing wasn't art.

But it was starting to do something that my "art" wasn't doing. Namely, paying some bills.

It wasn't long before I found my utilitarian copy outperforming my "best work" at every level, other than the purrs pointed at my own ego.

I might have been rocking the comments on my primary blog, but the "dirty" copy I kept under my online mattress was garnering traffic, gathering links, and gaining major headway in search engine results.

All of which led me directly to what was probably the single best lesson I have learned in my first year online.

The best word isn't necessarily the most elegant, intelligent, humorous, fitting, or rhythmic.

The right word is the one that generates the opt-in, sells the product, or invites the link.

Labels matter

Last August, Brian Clark and Sonia Simone released a course for freelance writers, called the Freelance X Factor.

I came away with (among other things) some critical new insights about language. I learned the labels for my business that I should add to my vocabulary, and the ones I should abandon forever.

The course led my business partner and I to make some changes to our promotional web pages. And they've made all the difference in the results we're seeing with our clients.

We no longer use the vague (and undervalued) catch-all label "freelance writers." Instead, we've distinguished exactly what we do at each of our sites: ghostwriting, illustrations, or direct response copywriting.

Seem like a small thing? Tweaking these labels didn't just communicate our value more effectively to our clients. It also allowed us to tighten our focus and deepen our own understanding of what we need to deliver.

I am not a freelance writer. I'm a direct response copywriter with social media marketing experience. Wearing another hat, I'm a ghostwriter, which means I know how to disappear and let you keep all the credit.

Using the right labels for your business will lead to better clarity in your thinking. It sharpens your focus, and shows your clients exactly what you can do for them.

Want more of the right words to support your business? Subscribe to the free Copyblogger email newsletter, Internet Marketing for Smart People. It will keep your business moving forward with marketing advice that doesn’t insult your intelligence.

About the Author: Sean Platt is a direct response copywriter who writes about creativity at Collective Inkwell and slings ink for hire at Ghostwriter Dad. Follow him on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Landing Page Makeover Clinic #21: The-100-Best.com

2009-12-15T07:30:00.001-08:00

Landing Page Makeover Clinic #21: The-100-Best.com

Landing Page Makeover Clinic #21: The-100-Best.com

This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work.

Singapore-based Pearlin Siow is a go-getter! A writer and author of business motivational books, she knows that writing a book can add a nice fat dollop of authority gloss to individuals and businesses.

Her new venture is all about applying that proven tactic and making it pay. Along with her co-writer, Cayden Chang, Pearlin wants to attract business owners who understand the value of proximity. In this instance, having their business article/info/bio adjacent to articles written by well-known Asian entrepreneurs in her upcoming book series, 100 Best Business Ideas To Make You Rich.

Let's dig right in.

The Goal:Get 95 pay-to-play articles
The Challenge: Pearlin and Chang want to hit the ground running with their new site launch
The Current Landing Page: www.the-100-best.com
Value: $998 per article inclusion

Click image for larger view

The Maven’s 10-Point Critique

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

#1 — Make sure your landing page design works for the majority of monitors and screen displays.

I viewed the page on my 20" screen/1680 x 1050 resolution and it looked a little big to me. I then tested it on a 15" monitor with a standard resolution. The page spilled its borders and was completely unreadable. You'll definitely want to rework the overall design layout so the majority of visitors can read the page comfortably and without a lot of fiddling around.

#2 — Use one strong establishing image 'above the fold.'

Your header and book cover images are large — too large, in my estimation — and compete with each other. Your headline gets lost sandwiched in-between, and lost means not read. I'd pull back the banner size and simplify it to its essential message. Then I'd crop the cover image to show just the front of the book.

The back cover is too hard to read, even in this super-sized size. Don't show what visitors can't digest.

#3 — Be mindful of what a book cover communicates, both directly and indirectly.

You can't judge a book by its cover but, to one degree or another, all of us do. That's why smart publishers spend time and money to get their book covers just right.

Your current cover confused me. Why does it look wrinkled? Why the handwriting effect? Why the Tested and Approved badge — by whom? Your cover has to appeal to two markets — buyers of the book product when published AND the business people who will pay to be included in the book. Ask yourself — do you want to appear in a book that looks like that and do you want to pay for the privilege?

$998 is a lot of marketing dough to spend. A high quality, business-elegant book cover will make it easier for your prospects to imagine their own name and article inside.

#4 — Provide an example of what 'my page' might look like.

For $998, I want to see a sample of what my page might look like. Offer an attractive mock-up of a typical page. Show me what my investment buys me — my name here, my photo here, my business information (name, URL, etc.) here, etc.

You actually do this but it's not on the landing page. It's found buried on your click-through page, Terms and Conditions. You want it on the landing page. Show a portion of a sample page and link to a pop-up window (that keeps the reader on the page) that shows a typical article. Rather than a static PDF, it might be fun to do this as a mini-movie so you can do close-ups, etc.

From an emotional standpoint, this is a vanity project. Therefore you have to help the prospects imagine and visualize themselves in the book and make them say Wow, I want to be a part of that.

#5 — Consider a two-column format so you can run photos of all the famous folks you've interviewed for previous books adjacent to your page content.

Consistency may be the hobgoblin of a small mind, but I tend to like bio shots in one basic format and size. I'd think about redoing these images with professional head shots (like Yap uses in your sample interview) and decide on one size for display.

Click image for larger view

COPY CONSIDERATIONS

#6 — Put your core promise upfront.

In the newspaper business, failing to do this is called burying the lead. In marketing, we call it less-than-smart, especially when you have just a few seconds to capture someone's interest long enough for them to continue to engage with your message.

Right now, you have 4 (4!) screens of warm-up copy and big pictures, but on the bottom of screen 4 I found this:

Wouldn't it be great to get instant credibility with your clients and customers by being featured in a bestselling business book, called 100 Best Business Ideas To Make You Rich, alongside top entrepreneurs like …"

Not a perfect sentence but it hits the core point — Gain instant credibility by sharing your knowledge alongside other business experts in a new business book. I'd also add something about not having to write a word if you're not a writer or too busy to do so. We'll write it for you!

#7 — Don't underline anything in your copy that’s not a link. And the only links you should have on your page are the calls to action or links that support the calls to action, period.

You underlined your book title, making me want to click it. When nothing happens, I'm frustrated. Feel free to use bold, italics, or color to highlight your title. Just don't underline them.

Speaking of links, you have several that distract visitors from your page and force them to leave. Links to Amazon might sell a few of your other books, but you've just given someone a reason not to proceed toward a $998 pay-off. If you use a link, have it open up on the same page.

Every link has to be 100% focused on helping the visitor make a positive decision toward the desired action. Nothing more, nothing less.

#8 — Be trustworthy. Prove all claims or don't make 'em.

Hype makes prospects antsy and mistrustful. That's why marketers (like you and me), just can't say anything and have folks believe. Shouting doesn't make it so, either. So one of the areas I'm particularly honed-in on is language precision.

If you're calling yourself a best-selling author, prove it by copies sold, Amazon or Barnes & Noble ranking, etc. If you're, for example, the most successful business author in Singapore, that's cool. It's specific and believable. Say that instead.

Also, a book that isn't yet published can't be a best-seller. It's a future/prospective/potential best-seller, but not a best-seller now. So you need to focus on the claims and statements you can make that are provable and believable. Believability leads to trust and trust leads directly to a sale that the customer won't regret later.

#9 — Consider your audience when highlighting your chosen experts.

I have to be honest to say I haven't heard of any of the folks you highlight. The fact that I personally haven't heard of them isn't important. What is important is whether or not your prospects have.

If you're going for a strictly Asian market, you might be good to go. If you're thinking outside Asia, then you'll want to sprinkle some European, North and South American experts to round out the roster.

#10 — Detail the process for your visitor, step by step, once they've paid their $$$. Anticipate their questions.

Okay, so I pays my money and then either submit my article and ancillaries or you interview me and write it up.

Then what happens? Who owns it? Can I use my article on my own blog? How will you market this book? Do I get a cut of the sale price? Do you have an affiliate program? These are the questions running around your prospect's head that will most certainly need answers.

BONUS 1– Define and clarify your call to action.

Submit your story and Join now are two very different calls to action. (What am I joining?)

Submit your story for review is a better call to action. It lends a little exclusivity to the mix, since you've noted that entries will be limited.

BONUS 2 — Clarify the charitable contribution.

I'm all about the pro bono, obviously. But your copy says 100% of the book sales will go to your charity. When I read the linked document, however, it says 40%. Disconnects make me uneasy.

My thanks to Pearlin Siow for her patience and support of Heifer International. Look for my next makeover in approximately 4 weeks.

Want to get a future Copywriting Maven landing page makeover?

Got a landing page that's more poop than pop? Willing to share with Copyblogger readers? Prepared to put a little of your own "skin in the game" for a Maven Makeover? Then follow your click to Maven's Landing Page Makeover page for all the details.

I’m back-logged for gratis “Heifer” critiques until 3/15/10. If you’re interested in a private critique/makeover or other services, please email me directly.

About the Author: Roberta Rosenberg is The Copywriting Maven at MGP Direct, Inc. Find her @CopywriterMaven on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Here’s Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants

2009-12-14T07:27:00.001-08:00

Here's Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants

Here's Why James Chartrand Wears Women's Underpants

You know me as James Chartrand of Men with Pens, a regular Copyblogger contributor for just shy of two years.

And yet, I’m a woman.

This is not a joke or an angle or an analogy — I’m literally a woman.

This is my story.

Once upon a time, I found myself having to make some hard decisions.

The welfare application was on my kitchen table. It was filled out and signed, waiting for me to bring it to the people who would decide whether I'd be able to make rent next month or put food on the table.

I hated looking at it. I didn't want to be in this situation. I'd thought that when you start over, make a clean break, life was supposed to get better, right?

But here I was, out of money and out of choices.

I had two young daughters to take care of. I was single and alone, having left an unhealthy relationship, and I was living in a crappy, tiny apartment.

I'd used up my savings trying to make ends meet, supplementing as best I could with the money I earned from a dangerous part-time job that gave me all of 4 hours pay a week at minimum wage. I had been looking for a better job, but there were none to be had in the low-income/high-unemployment area where I lived.

And I couldn't get a full-time job anyway — I was still on the waiting list for a spot in daycare.

How did I get here?

It was ironic. I'd once had a respectable, safe job in a corporate office. I'd had the nice salary, the paid vacations, the opportunity for advancement. I had formal education, diplomas, brains, and skills, and life had been good.

Now it wasn't.

My older daughter told me she could look for work to help pay the bills.

She was 12.

As a last-ditch resort, I turned to the internet. There must be something I could do. There must be jobs out there . . . maybe in writing. I was a good writer.

And sure enough, there was writing work for me on the 'net, work I could do from home that paid quickly. I signed up with the company, thinking I was so lucky to have this chance to pull myself out of the mess.

I struggled to get gigs — there was tough competition from more experienced hustlers. When I did manage to grab a job before someone else could, I worked hard and wrote well. I wanted to do my best.

I earned $1.50 an article. I averaged $8 a week.

I was treated like crap, too. Bossed around, degraded, condescended to, with jibes made about my having to work from home. I quickly learned not to mention I had kids. I quickly learned not to mention I worked from my kitchen table.

I quickly learned that this sucked.

So I started looking for better gigs and clients, now that I knew there was writing work to be had.

I scoured Craigslist and job sites and gig auctions and sent applications to all sorts of people.

And it worked. I started getting real clients, for real pay. I was earning more, feeling good. I even began hiring people to work with me as a team.

But . . . it still wasn’t really working

I had high-quality skills and a good education. I was fast on turnaround and very professional. I hustled and I delivered on my promises, every single time. I worked hard and built the business, putting in long hours and reinvesting a lot of the money I made.

I really, really wanted to make this work.

But I was still having a hard time landing jobs. I was being turned down for gigs I should've gotten, for reasons I couldn't put a finger on.

My pay rate had hit a plateau, too. I knew I should be earning more. Others were, and I soaked up everything they could teach me, but still, there was something strange about it . . .

It wasn't my skills, it wasn't my work. So what were those others doing that I wasn't?

One day, I tossed out a pen name, because I didn't want to be associated with my current business, the one that was still struggling to grow. I picked a name that sounded to me like it might convey a good business image. Like it might command respect.

My life changed that day

Instantly, jobs became easier to get.

There was no haggling. There were compliments, there was respect. Clients hired me quickly, and when they received their work, they liked it just as quickly. There were fewer requests for revisions — often none at all.

Customer satisfaction shot through the roof. So did my pay rate.

And I was thankful. I finally stopped worrying about how I would feed my girls. We were warm. Well-fed. Safe. No one at school would ever tease my kids about being poor.

I was still bringing in work with the other business, the one I ran under my real name. I was still marketing it. I was still applying for jobs — sometimes for the same jobs that I applied for using my pen name.

I landed clients and got work under both names. But it was much easier to do when I used my pen name.

Understand, I hadn't advertised more effectively or used social media — I hadn't figured that part out yet. I was applying in the same places. I was using the same methods. Even the work was the same.

In fact, everything was the same.

Except for the name.

The answer was plain. Without really thinking much about it, I tried an experiment when I chose my new pseudonym:

I became a man (in name only)

Taking a man’s name opened up a new world. It helped me earn double and triple the income of my true name, with the same work and service.

No hassles. Higher acceptance. And gratifying respect for my talents and round-the-clock work ethic.

Business opportunities fell into my lap. People asked for my advice, and they thanked me for it, too.

Did I quit promoting my own name? Hell yeah.

Eventually, I had earned enough income and credibility to get a mortgage, and I bought a tiny, modest house for me and my kids in a quiet town near my mum. It was the first home of my life I could truly call my own, paid for by long hours and hard work. Paid for by my own sweat and tears, at the tender age of 37.

It’s nothing new

Using a male pseudonym when you're a woman isn't anything new. Writers have been doing it for centuries. George Eliot, George Sand, Isak Dinesen. Even the Brontë sisters, championed today, wrote as Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell back in their time.

Why did they do it? To have their work accepted, because women weren't supposed to be writers. Their work had a much better chance if their audience didn't have to get over initial skepticism that a woman could write at all, much less do it well.

Since then, we've had feminism. We have the right to vote, to own property, to be members of Parliament and Congress, to get a job, and to be the main breadwinner of the family. And yet apparently we haven't gotten past those 19th century stigmas.

The evidence was right there in front of me.

I never wanted to be an activist, or to fight the world. I'm not interested in clawing my way up a ladder to a glass ceiling. Life's too short for that.

I just want to earn a living and be respected for my skills. I want my kids to be happy and have access to what they need. I want them to go to university and have good opportunities in life.

When it started to take off

I really didn't think any of this would ever happen, to be honest.

The blog I’d started to get some clients and show off my skills? For a long time, so few people read it that weeks would go by without a single comment.

But things changed. Slowly at first, but then all of a sudden they picked up speed. There were more comments on the blog, and more again.

I didn't overthink it — I just answered them and kept on blogging to earn clients.

Then my blog hit Michael Stelzner’s list of the Top Ten Blogs for Writers. The flood of people who came to visit was overwhelming.

And they liked what I wrote.

And I thought to myself, "Oh shit. What do I do now?"

What I did next

I was in too deep to back down, too survival-minded to do anything but go forward, and, quite honestly, too scared I'd lose everything I'd worked so hard to build.

So I didn't do anything at all. I didn't really know what to do.

I thought about it a lot, though. And logic told me that the loss of my real name was a small concession for the ability to be able to support my family and ensure their financial security for years to come.

Truth be told, if just a name and perception of gender creates such different levels of respect and income for a person, it says a lot more about the world than it does about me.

Why am I telling my story now?

Well, people talk.

For three years, I've kept my true name and gender pretty tightly under wraps and only confided in a tiny handful of people I trusted. But there was always that risk that someone, someday, would end up spilling the beans. And for years I sat braced for that moment.

And sure enough, someone I trusted got mad and decided to out me. (Someone who, incidentally, was using a male pseudonym and identity too. Go figure.)

Here's the thing.

My life, my terms. No one handed me anything. I've worked damned hard for this. I took care of myself and my family, and I've given the best of my creativity and knowledge to each of my clients and my readers.

I'd like to keep doing that.

P.S.

Oh, my real name? Well, I never really wanted that revealed, totally apart from the gender issue. I know better than most how quickly and profoundly revealing just a tiny bit of personal information can affect (and even destroy) people's lives.

I have kids. I'm not interested in making myself vulnerable in that way.

So please. Just call me James.

About the Author A rose by any other name would still turn in the great writing for clients that James does at Men with Pens.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] How to Do Less and Get More

2009-12-11T07:55:00.001-08:00

How to Do Less and Get More

How to Do Less and Get More

I'm a big fan of Leo Babauta.

His book, The Power of Less, is required reading for anyone who wants a rewarding life.

But many of Leo's follower's think doing less means, well, settling for less.

I'm here to tell you it can mean achieving much more.

In the last 4 years, I've been living the power of less.

In fact, I started with that philosophy well before I knew it was one.

Do Less to Achieve More

I annoy many of my partners and friends with my approach.

But the reality is, engaging in busy work is not the secret to success.

Success comes from ignoring the busy and sticking with developing content and pursuing projects that matter to your goals.

That means you need time to think.

Enjoy the Stillness

Don't get me wrong, I work hard and push the envelope.

But I choose the things I pursue very carefully.

And that means ignoring the immediate until I know the right thing to do.

Again, this often annoys people who want my immediate attention.

But when it's right, I act . . . and everyone involved is a lot happier with the eventual outcome.

Don't Do Things That Don't Matter

The stereotype of the successful person is one who juggles multiple cats in the pursuit of maximum return.

I'm telling you to drop most of those cats, and lovingly embrace that special one.

Making clear decisions about content and projects that work requires clear vision, and you don't achieve that in a frenzied, half-hazard mode.

Right decisions require the right mindset, and a clear path to achieving the goal.

How clear is your mind right now?

P.S. No cats were harmed in the writing of this post.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Get an Evergreen for Your Blog This Holiday Season

2009-12-10T08:04:00.001-08:00

Get an Evergreen for Your Blog This Holiday Season

Get an Evergreen for Your Blog This Holiday Season

In the darkest depths of winter, an evergreen is comforting. No matter how cold it gets, how much snow covers the ground, or how badly the family dinner turned out, those green branches are always there, offering beauty and reassurance.

Evergreen blog posts are just as valuable. We bookmark and read them over and over again to inspire us, comfort us, and remind us of the basics. We all have half a dozen favorites knocking around somewhere, and the popular blogs helpfully direct you to those posts time and again. They know that on your dark days, what you really want is the friendly comfort of an evergreen.

So why doesn't your blog have any?

While some evergreen blog posts spring up out of nowhere, most of them require planning, effort, care trimming and maintenance. Your regular Tuesday post on freelance writing isn't going to cut it. Sure, it's useful, and yeah, it's probably entertaining. But what makes it one of those posts that becomes an evergreen?

The evergreens we admire for their longevity

The most obvious way is to write about a topic that never gets old. These are cornerstone reference posts, like ‘10 Ways to Build a Better Blog.’ These posts are evergreen simply because people always need that information.

The good news is that evergreen reference posts are pretty straightforward to write. Do a step-by-step summary of how to do something from start to finish, and you've got yourself an evergreen post.

They’re also good for defining something that's often mis-defined. For example, I have posts bookmarked in my ‘Evergreens’ folder on "What Marketing Really Is." And I refer back to them often, because marketing is a slippery subject.

There are downsides to these types of evergreen posts. You're up against a lot of competition, for one. There are already thousands of evergreen posts on building a better blog or providing better customer service. There’s probably an evergreen post on 10 Ways to Do Absolutely Any Topic Imaginable.

If you want your evergreen post to be the one that gets bookmarked, you’d better make it really, really good.

Which brings us to the second downside: Evergreen posts often require much more work than your standard post. You'll probably wind up putting in at least 5 hours — and probably more like 15 — making sure everything is well-written, entertaining, compelling, and that you didn't make any mistakes.

You might also be putting some extra hours into in-depth research if your evergreen post is on a topic that's difficult to understand.

The evergreens we love for their emotion

When a writer goes off on a topic and comes out with a brilliant essay or a story you can’t take your eyes off of, that's an evergreen post of emotion.

I've read great posts on topics like why writers are poor, why social media sucks, how to avoid destroying your family with your career, how to get things done if you’re a flake, and tons more. They're usually born from the writer's personal frustration or difficult experience, and they're usually magnificently heart-rending.

That's not enough, though. To write an evergreen post of emotion, you also need to have all your facts straight.

It's not enough to go off on a huge rant about how writers aren't paid enough. You need to do the research and see what they really are paid, from all angles, from every direction. You need to tell compelling stories about personal experiences and make reasoned arguments about why it isn't fair.

You want a person to read your post and feel like you know exactly what they’re going through. You want them to gain insight and new ideas. You want them to come back and read it each time they're feeling frustrated or upset. When they do, they're going to feel a little bit better. Someone gets it. Someone has expressed their frustration in compelling, carefully reasoned ways.

The reason emotional evergreen posts are so popular is that when we're upset, we don't feel all that coherent. We want to bang our heads on the desk and scream and cry and punch things. But we also want someone else to get it so we don’t feel so alone.

Since we're not feeling like we can explain ourselves very well, reading someone else's post on the problem (and possibly the solution) makes us feel a little bit better.

Go grow yourself some evergreen

Try writing one of those two kinds of posts and make it evergreen. Expect to put some serious work into it, and don't skimp on time. You want this to be the sum of your creativity and writing skills, an entertaining, well-spoken, thoroughly enjoyable piece that inspires.

It's a hard thing to do, and you may need to re-write that post several times before you're satisfied.

When you finish, though, you'll be proud to post it up and send new readers to check out that evergreen post. You could even put a permanent link in your sidebar and keep it visible forever. It’s some of your best writing on a topic you're passionate about.

And if you've done it right, you'll know that many people will bookmark it and come back to it again and again, just to get that feeling of warmth and comfort that an evergreen always brings.

About the Author: For more feelings of warmth and comfort from someone who cares, head on over to James Chartrand’s blog at Men with Pens, where you’ll find plenty of evergreen posts full of insight for your freelance career. Even better, get free updates to Men with Pens via RSS or email.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You About Hooking Your Readers

2009-12-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You About Hooking Your Readers

What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You About Hooking Your Readers

Pulled away. Distracted by twitter, e-mail, FaceBook. Every reader has it happen several times a day. Will your readers be any different?

Not unless you hook them.

And the secret to hooking your readers comes from the storytellers of the world.

A storyteller can't rely on the copywriter's standby WIIFM, because, well, the only thing that's in it for the audience is the storyteller's ability to engage their interest.

That's why they've made an art of hooking the reader, and why screenwriting guru Robert McKee has crystallized that art into one key lesson.

Steven Pressfield relies on this key lesson, which has helped him sell well over a million copies of his novels and non-fiction worldwide. He's also had his novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, made into a major motion picture. His non-fiction The War of Art has become a handbook not only for writers but for entrepreneurs, artists, and "creatives" of all types — just the sort of crossroads beloved by Copyblogger readers.

So what was this one key lesson, the secret Steven learned?

The inciting incident

Steven Pressfield learned about the magic of “inciting incidents” from screenwriting legend Robert McKee. Here's how Steven put it in an interview he recently granted me:

McKee has given me (and thousands of others) so many valuable lessons, it'd be hard to pick one out, but here it is:

The 'inciting incident.' I had never heard this term or focused on this concept before taking his Story Structure class. I did it in my writing, but only on instinct; I had no idea what I was doing. Having that idea crystallized helped me tremendously.

I now ALWAYS ask myself, even in short blog posts, What is the inciting incident? What event or moment gets this story rolling? It's been a huge help.

And here's a bit more about inciting incidents as described by Robert McKee in his book, Story (emphasis mine):

Bring in the Central Plot's Inciting Incident as soon as possible . . . but not until the moment is ripe.

If we writers have a common fault in design and placement of the Inciting Incident, it's that we habitually delay the Central Plot while we pack our opening sequences with exposition. We consistently underestimate knowledge and life experience of the audience, laying out our character and world with tedious details the filmgoer has already filled in with common sense.

The "rule of the first third"

Most first drafts suck precisely because we "habitually delay the central plot with exposition."

In other words, we spend too much time on dull background, rather than jumping into an exciting opening.

Print out your post's first draft, divide it in thirds, then chop off that first third. You'll cut away all that unnecessary exposition and end up with both a stronger beginning and a tighter post.

Even better, starting in the middle of things leaves story questions to be filled in later, while also leaving details to the imagination of your readers. Both of which engage readers and keep them reading to find out how all the pieces fit.

Beginning with the end in mind

You want to hook readers into reading your entire post — not just the first few paragraphs. Here's how:

Uncover the crux of your message. In other words, the big idea that you're trying to convey, and why it matters to your audience.
Think about how to embody that big idea with a compelling mental image. What would clothe that “big idea” with imagination and emotion? What details are essential to making that image vivid? You’ll wrap up your post by painting this image in your readers’s mind, leaving them with a powerful impression of your idea.
Determine whose perspective you're using to convey this mental image. Is this a personal revelation, a story about your readers, or a case study about some third party? What angle will make that mental image the most powerful?
Ask yourself what kicks off this person's journey toward that final mental image? Note that the inciting incident that kicks off a good story is usually some kind of trouble. Inciting incidents and headlines alike benefit from trouble, because trouble hooks readers into wanting to know the rest of the story.
Experiment with how much you can leave out. What can you leave to your readers' imaginations? What can you strip out of the beginning to enhance the mystery or suspense? Pare the post down to its essence.

Follow these steps and you'll not only know where to end, but you'll know how to start and what to leave out.

Examples of inciting incidents from Steven Pressfield's blog

To cement this technique in your mind, I've pulled some examples of inciting incidents taken from Steven's blog titles and opening lines. They certainly hooked me; did they do the same for you?

The Most Important Writing Lesson I Ever Learned: My first job was in advertising. I worked as a copywriter for an agency called Benton & Bowles in New York City. An artist or entrepreneur's first job inevitably bends the twig. It shapes who you'll become. If your freshman outing is in journalism, your brain gets tattooed (in a good way) with who-what-where-when-why, fact-check-everything, never-bury-the-lead. If you start out as a photographer's assistant, you learn other stuff. If you plunge into business on your own, the education is about self-discipline, self-motivation, self-validation. Advertising teaches its own lessons . . .
Sex Scenes: I once did a rewrite on a porn flick. Before I began, the producer wanted to get together with me, to give me my marching orders and to make sure that I didn't slow the project down by making avoidable rookie mistakes. We met for breakfast at a coffee shop in Santa Monica. In that meeting, I got two of the best lessons in writing I've ever received . . .
What the Muse Wants: The issue that comes up more than any other among aspiring artists and entrepreneurs is this: "How can we chase our dream when we've got kids, a job, demands and deadlines? How do we find the time, the self-discipline and the energy when we're dealing with all this real stuff in the real world?" The Muse can be a tough taskmistress. But she does have one soft spot, if we know where to look . . .
Write What You Don't Know: Probably the most classic kernel of writing advice is "Write What You Know." On the surface, that seems to make a lot of sense, and I'm sure it has worked for thousands and thousands of writers. It didn't work for me. . .
The Writer's Voice: How do you find your writer's voice? A lot of humbug has been written on this subject. The myth is that in finding that voice, the writer achieves a kind of personal enlightenment. She discovers "who she really is." Not in my experience. . .

Notice that each of these examples hooks the reader by violating clichéd writing advice (write what you don't know) or normal expectations (he learned about good writing from a porn director?). You'll have to click through to the posts to see how these inciting incidents are wonderfully organic to the "big idea" within each post.

So there it is in three steps. Figure out 1) a stirring (possibly trouble-filled) inciting incident to kick things off, 2) the vivid mental image you want your readers to leave with as they finish your post, and 3) what to leave out.

Add these three things to your writing and you won’t just hook your readers, you’ll keep them reading all the way through.

About the Author: Jeff Sexton was the longtime instructor for Future Now’s Persuasive Online Copywriting course and a faculty member at Wizard Academy, where he co-teaches Writing for the Radio and the Internet. You can find him online at www.jeffsextonwrites.com

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] 5 Essential Blogging Tips from the Father of Chinese Philosophy

2009-12-08T06:51:00.001-08:00

5 Essential Blogging Tips from the Father of Chinese Philosophy

5 Essential Blogging Tips from the Father of Chinese Philosophy

Confucius, the father of Confucianism, died more than 2500 years ago, but his teachings are still relevant — not least when it comes to blogging.

Here are five classic Confucian quotes that are vital to remember if you want a successful blog.

1. The essence of knowledge is having it, to apply it

Information and knowledge sharing are the main driving forces behind the web. If you want people to read your blog and follow it loyally, you can't be greedy with your knowledge.

You need to give your readers something that will make their lives better — every time they visit your blog. When you feel you're giving too much away for free, you're on the right track.

2. Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it

You can't satisfy everyone with every single blog post. There's no way of knowing beforehand what the reaction will be.

Some posts you really put effort into and truly believe in might go unnoticed, while other posts you didn't spend much time on can be the ones that set off an explosion of comments, tweets and links.

3. When anger rises, think of the consequences

Negative comments are a natural part of blogging. Sooner or later some clown is going to fry you, and although your first reaction might be to let the person taste his own medicine, you'll want to think twice.

You're much better off giving a rational and careful response. That way you show that you're the "adult" and that you aren't easily provoked.

Moreover, many of your visitors will read your comments, and a crossfire of verbal abuse doesn't leave a good impression on potential followers.

4. Respect yourself and others will respect you

Your blog is a personal expression of you and your expertise. Your knowledge makes the blog relevant, and your authority "sells" the blog and gives it credibility.

You don't want to be smug or arrogant, but it's important to be confident and to show that you know what you're talking about. Nobody wants to read a half-baked blog post.

5. What you do not want done to yourself, do not to others

The web is a social medium — and we all play an important part in the big picture. Its easy to complain but much more constructive to try and make a difference.

Remember the things that tick you off on other sites, and don't repeat them. Write every single post like you're talking to your best friend.

Okay — so those were the five essential blogging tips from Confucius, but I'm just going to give you one for the road, and this might even be the most important:

6. I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand

You can get tons of tips and advice along the way, but dedication and hard work are the key components of a successful blog.

Theory only becomes really useful once you get your hands dirty and gain your own experience about what does (and doesn't) work for you personally.

About the Author: Michael Aagaard is something so rare as a serious Danish online copywriter. In fact, he has just launched the very first Danish blog dedicated to the fine art of online copywriting.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] 10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing

2009-12-07T07:29:00.000-08:00

10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing

10 Surprising Books That Will Transform Your Writing

You don’t have to look far to find a list of the best books a writer should read. A benefit for new writers, no doubt.

Unfortunately, those of us who have been around for a number of years often own every book that tends to make these lists.

Not only do we own them, we’ve absorbed them into our bloodstream.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the list changed from year to year.

But it doesn’t.

So while the usual best-books-writers-should-read lists are fine for the greenhorns in the field . . . what about the rest of us?

What about those who want to go from undergraduate to graduate work? Who want to inject a tangible and seductive element in their writing that growls “You better take notice of me”?

What are the best books they should read? And why?

As you might guess, I have an answer.

A different list

Below is a list of books on my shelf that are stained, dogeared, loose-in-the-binding, and scrawled on from front to back. Some are "writing books," most aren't.

They're unusual recommendations, to say the least. But I have my reasons for that. As you’ll see in a minute.

Until then, enjoy the list.

1. King James Bible

The authors of this Bible edition made language their slave. They relished words like derision, rage, smitten, asunder, wrath, vex, begotten, uttermost, vessel.

Make a study of the Old Testament and you’ll develop a vocabulary that smacks your readers in the chops.

2. The First Five Pages

by Noah Lukeman

What you do in the first five pages matters. And it matters a lot.

(The same is true for your first five lines.)

Literary agent Lukeman discusses the craft of writing well-plotted fiction that makes your writing as sexy as a young lady in a saucy skirt.

3. Emotional Structure

by Peter Dunne

Emmy- and Peabody-Award winning producer, writer and teacher Dunne delivers some of the best tips you’ll find on how to inject emotion into any story.

4. Barbarians at the Gate

by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar

This is business nonfiction at its best. It helps that the story — the $25 billion leveraged buyout of the RJR Nabisco Corporation — is loaded with flamboyant characters and edge-of-your-seat action.

Study it to learn how to make your stories pop off the page and your readers cling to every word.

5. Letters to a Young Poet

by Maria Ranier Rilke

Not into German poetry? Get over it. A good copywriter marries a hard-nosed attitude for results with the soft capital of poetic wisdom. He becomes the killer and poet. Besides, your business-saturated soul could use a dose of the wisdom of the artist.

6. One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Legend has it that one reader wrote out every word of this 448-page novel — to make sure it was real.

Who could blame her, when the first line reads: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” And it never lets up.

7. Gravity’s Arc

by David Darling

Bone up on the history of science in this strikingly readable explanation for the complex phenomena at the cutting edge of contemporary physics — gravity.

(Hint: Read this book and you’ll walk away with some magnificent metaphors.)

8. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

by Joseph J. Ellis

This psychological portrait of the sage of Monticello demonstrates two things: People like stories . . . and people really like stories about people.

Imitate the ebb and flow of people-centered tales to make what you write memorable.

9. Complete Odes and Epodes of Horace

Roman poet Horace is like the E. B. White of the Roman world. He has that same loathing for pompous verbosity. The ruthless cutting of crap, jargon, and extra words. In other words, he’s hellbent on mindless simplicity.

10. Outliers

by Malcolm Gladwell

In his third book, Malcolm does what Malcolm does best: expose the mysterious pattern behind a particular phenomenon.

This time he writes about genius and how culture, circumstance, timing, birth, and luck account for success. This book will push your motivation button something fierce. Read it.

OK, I need to come clean with you

Yes, I think you should read every book I listed above, for the practical, get-your-hands-dirty lessons you’ll learn.

But I have another reason I want you to read them.

Namely, to expand your mind.

What do I mean by that? The more you have in your brain — both from study and from direct experience — the more fresh, new, killer ideas you'll come up with.

Reading Why Evolution Is True might give you a complete new set of powerful metaphors to illuminate your current project. Scanning the design magazine Wallpaper could give you an incredible angle for your blog relaunch.

My point is not necessarily that you read the above particular books.

My point is that you read — and read widely.

That you get out of your rut and read things way out of your subject zone.

Wade into some strange dimensions

Get into dimensions that are totally alien to you. When you do, your writing will go from paralyzed old coot to strapping stud.

Bottom line: One of the most important keys in writing is the ability to blend totally divergent concepts into something radically new.

And the more divergent data you have to work with, the better you are going to be coming up those great ideas that put people under your spell and keep them loyal to you.

Which doesn’t sound like a bad idea, does it? So, what’s on your bookshelf?

About the Author: Demian Farnworth is Senior Web Writer for an international humanitarian aid organization and blogger for Fallen and Flawed. Follow him on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] The First Rule of Copyblogger

2009-12-04T07:53:00.001-08:00

The First Rule of Copyblogger

The First Rule of Copyblogger

Are you guilty of spamducation?

Spamducation is a white paper, special report, video, podcast or manifesto that claims to solve a pressing reader problem, but is in fact a thinly disguised ad. Jon Stribling describes them as "compelling headlines and disappointing content written by amateurs or second-rate copywriters."

The content is too often a lame version of work done by a real expert. (You know, someone who cared enough about the topic to actually learn a lot about it.)

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of content marketing. Which means I'm a huge opponent of badly done content marketing.

Sloppy, junky, selfish content just gives the legitimate folks a bad name.

The first rule of Copyblogger is you do not publish content that sucks

Why do we hammer you every week with techniques to make your writing sharper, crisper, more effective, and more magnetic?

To let you create content that’s as strong and alive as it can possibly be.

Sure there are tools that will let you hack, mash, smash, and mangle someone else's content into a word soup that Google thinks is original.

Google won't help you if no one wants to read what you’ve got to say.

The second rule of Copyblogger is you do not publish content that sucks

There are plenty of "push-button" systems out there that claim to teach you how to succeed wildly with content marketing and social media.

How to build a six-figure business on Twitter without having anything to actually say.

How to spend 45 seconds a day on Facebook and churn out killer profits.

How to turn YouTube or Digg or Squidoo into an effortless cash machine.

And some of those systems probably work, at least to some degree.

If you have content that doesn't suck.

So what makes for content that doesn't suck?

Great content comes from craft, care, and attention, not talent.

It comes from obsessively focusing on what your reader wants. What's bugging her? What problem is she having a hard time solving? What does she want more than anything? What's she dreaming about? What wakes her up at 3 in the morning? What makes her feel like a beautiful and unique snowflake?

It comes from studying proven techniques, trying them out, and watching what works best for you and your readers.

Most people are afraid to improve their writing because it looks like work.

And I'll tell you the secret the scam gurus never will. It is work.

It's work the same way that sailing is work. Or learning to play a ruthlessly good game of poker. Or mountain biking. Or cooking your way through every recipe in Julia Child. Or beating your best score in Rock Band.

Good copy and content writers don't pore over our favorite writing references just to gain an advantage in our marketing. (Although that's nice.)

We do it because it's fun. We do it because we're obsessed. We do it because it's a fantastic game. We do it because we love to watch the human mind at work. We do it because we can. We do it because it's an awesome high when it works.

Don't let learning copywriting intimidate you. And don’t create content that sucks because you think it's too hard to make something worth reading.

Instead, get intimidatingly good. You can, you know.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the creator of the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Ever Feel Overwhelmed by Marketing Advice?

2009-12-04T06:49:00.001-08:00

Ever Feel Overwhelmed by Marketing Advice?

Ever Feel Overwhelmed by Marketing Advice?

So I’ve created something brand new, and it occurred to me it would be pretty silly if I didn’t let you know about it.

I put it together in response to a lot of frustration I was hearing about overwhelm. We’ve got hundreds of great resources. All kinds of good advice about this big, complicated problem of marketing.

But it’s like trying to drink from a firehose. There’s too much, it’s coming too fast, and it can be impossible to get your bearings so you can actually take action and move forward.

I thought it would be useful to put together my own take on a marketing blueprint, a step-by-step process on how to do “our kind” of marketing. (That’s marketing that rests on delivering exceptional value, communicating total respect for our customers, and creating remarkable relationships.)

It’s not just for bloggers, but bloggers find the tools particularly easy to adopt.

If that sounds like something you might find valuable, I hope you’ll check out the details for the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint.

The blueprint is a step-by-step marketing course, and it’s available at an extremely attractive price, but only until 5 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Monday, December 7, when I’m planning on closing the course to new students. When we re-open in 2010, the price will be bumped up to something more reasonable.

Click here to check it out before the charter pricing goes away.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] 10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy

2009-12-03T06:47:00.001-08:00

10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy

10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy

Whether it’s a cover letter for your resume, a sales pitch to a client, a blog post, a Twitter tweet, or an internal business proposal, all of us need to write in a way that draws the reader closer to us.

We need writing that’s compelling, interesting, and unique. We need writing that’s magnetic.

Some think that magnetic writing is all about talent. But a few simple techniques can make any piece of writing more compelling.

Here are ten ways to help you write copy that draws the reader closer:

1. Don’t hedge

“Hedging” is when you go out of your way to cover every contingency in an argument. Example: “Nowadays many middle-school girls have at least some affinity for vampires.” The hedges are “almost all” and “at least some affinity.” These may be strictly true, but it’s soft, pudgy wording that lacks punch. Instead: “Nowadays middle-school girls love vampires.”

2. Repeat a phrase

Repetition establishes structure and rhythm. Repetition taps into the old part of our brain that loves rhyme and meter. Repetition pulls the reader into the flow of your writing. Repetition isn’t difficult to use. Repetition is your friend. Repetition is annoying if overused.

3. No passive voice

Passive voice is when you switch the positions of the subject and object of a sentence. For example: “The boy hit the ball” is in active voice; passive voice is: “The ball is hit by the boy.” Notice how passive voice uses more words without adding information — usually a warning sign of flabby writing.

The wrongness of passive voice isn’t universal, but wouldn’t it have been clearer if I had said that passive voice isn’t always wrong?

4. Brevity!

I don’t care how good your writing is, most people won’t read more than a few sentences. Any more and they’ll start scanning. You probably aren’t reading this article exactly from top to bottom are you? In fact, you’re probably not even reading this sentence. Man, for a discussion about brevity this sure is dragging on. You can fight it by being more entertaining, but the best policy is to just write less.

5. Use short sentences.

Short sentences are easy to read. They’re easy to digest. It’s easier to follow each point of an argument. Sometimes longer sentences — especially if divided up with dashes — are an appropriate tool, especially mixed in with shorter sentences to break things up. If you think short sentences are incompatible with excellent writing, read Stephen King. Or Hemingway. Or Basho.

6. Provoke, don’t solve

If you’re writing a report that is supposed to cover all the bases, this tip doesn’t apply. But if you’re trying to be persuasive (particularly if you’re creating a content net), don’t try to handle every objection in one sitting. Your goal is to get the other person to respond: To ask you about a feature of your product, to challenge your assumptions about a competitor, to double-check something before scheduling an interview. Don’t solve every problem, leaving no stone unturned; leave them wanting more!

7. Eliminate trash adjectives

Most adjectives and adverbs don’t add information; they just take up space and dull your message. Example: “I’m very interested in quickly scheduling an in-person interview.” Remove the adjectives and you get the same message, but sharper: “I’m interested in scheduling an interview.”

8. Be direct

Pardon me, dear reader, but if it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience, could I trouble you to do me the favor of applying your obvious considerable facility with the English language to just get to the damn point?

Flowery, respectful and qualified wording is appropriate when you’re asking a waiter to do you a favor without spitting in your food. But it has no place in magnetically persuasive writing.

9. Tell a story

I knew a guy named George who couldn’t figure out why people couldn’t understand the benefits of his software. He had feature and benefit bullet points but they just weren’t sinking in. One day George changed his tactics completely. He wrote up a one-paragraph story about how one of his customers saved $125k by using his software. After that, sales were a lot easier.

10. Write informally

Sure, informal writing isn’t “professional.” And yeah, using phrases like and yeah violates the brevity rule. But it’s usually smart to write like you talk. Being informal helps you come off as a real person, not a stodgy, robotic copy writer.

‘course, it can git to be too durned much, s’don’t go ’round makin’ it hard to just plain understand what in blazes yur talking ’bout.

They say first impressions are most important, and often your written word will be the first impression someone has of you! So take the time and care to make it magnetic.

What tips do you have for more magnetic writing? Share them in the comments and we’ll all improve.

About the Author: Jason Cohen is the founder of Smart Bear Software. He blogs weekly about marketing, startups, and general geekery at A Smart Bear.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] The Force is Strong With This One: 10 Ways to be a Direct Response Jedi

2009-12-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

The Force is Strong With This One: 10 Ways to be a Direct Response Jedi

The Force is Strong With This One: 10 Ways to be a Direct Response Jedi

Do you remember the doubt on Luke Skywalker’s face when he first held the cool metal of an inert light saber? Looking up at Obi-Wan, he believed it when he said, “I can’t go with you to Alderaan.”

Last summer, we felt just like young Skywalker as we waded waist-deep into the bog of online writing. There was much to learn, forces at work looking to sway us to the dark side, and at times, it was hard to believe in ourselves or our path.

What a difference one year makes. Our business is taking off, we have great clients who appreciate our personal attention to their projects, and we’re actually living the dream of doing what we want to do for a living — writing.

But the path to online success wasn’t easy. We’ve run fast and fallen flat on our faces, then got right back up to battle again.

Would you like to unleash The Force in your content? Here are 10 ways you can become a direct response marketing Jedi.

1. Be a deliberate Paduan learner

Jedis are recognized for their innate ability to harness the power of The Force.

Unearth the exceptional inside you and nurture it constantly. Find your Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, listen to the wisdom these established Jedi masters have to share. They were once where you are now, and understand the dangers and temptations lurking ahead. Be willing to listen, and they can help guide you toward the proper path.

2. Beware the dark side

Fear, anger, aggression, envy, pettiness, and insecurity — they are all natural feelings.

It’s easy to look at the empire building done by your competitors and wonder why you’re not having the same kind of success. Often, we are unable to see the work behind the successes, so it’s easy to believe that someone else got something undeservedly.

But you weren’t there on their journey. You don’t know the long hours, hard work, or embarrassing failures that have been poured into their current successes.

Nothing happens overnight. You will succeed in due time. Shortcuts might lead to a black helmet. Patience and dedication to learning are necessary elements in any good Jedi. You may be a phenomenal writer, or innately good at social media, but you must do your time like everyone else. Anakin fell to the dark side because he believed he was above his teaching.

3. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for

With a wave of his hand, Obi-Wan Kenobi was able to get a hover car full of fugitives past a trio of heavily armed storm troopers.

Writing persuasive copy can pull your reader into your point of view and create a mutually beneficial situation. It’s not enough to convince your prospect, you must also make sure they feel good about their decision if you want them to happily return for more.

4. Do or do not. There is no try

If you want to be an awesome writer, write awesome stuff.

Don’t try to be great. Be great.

That doesn’t mean fake it till you make it, but rather learn what you need to do and then do it to the best of your ability. Always seek to better yourself. Perfecting your craft will ensure that you are not simply trying to be a Jedi master, but are actually growing into one.

5. Use the force

Who needs a computer to hit the target? Trust your well-honed instincts.

As you progress on your path to Jedi master, your instincts will continually sharpen from the experiences and knowledge you accumulate. You’ll know the right things to do, the clients to avoid, and what to do when you make mistakes. A significant slice of success is due to how sharp you can keep the edge of your instinct. Make sure you know when to trust that inner voice.

6. Show empathy

Find out where your prospect is from, what he/she does, and what’s important to them. Just because you’re writing for an online audience doesn’t mean you can’t utilize the web equivalent of good eye contact.

This doesn’t mean being a phony; people can usually smell a Lando Calrissian a mile away. Find a way to relate to people that is genuine. Most well-rounded writers should have varied enough interests and experience to connect with others authentically.

7. I know there’s still good in you, I can sense it

Luke believed there was good in his father all the way until the end. Who knows if it would have been buried without the young Jedi’s belief.

Project the traits you desire for your prospects and watch how well they respond.

8. Don’t be a Sith

A Jedi is always looking out for others; the Sith only look out for themselves.

Develop content that puts others first and you will always come out a winner. We’ve all had experience with shady operators who use content scrapers, pass off others’ work as their own, and look to sell you on half-baked info products with no substance. Not only are these actions bad business, but word will get out about what kind of person you are. Whatever success you have will likely be short-lived.

9. Beware the clones

A Jedi can part a sea of storm troopers with a light saber in one hand and a wave of the other.

Do everything you can to stand apart and make your name synonymous with individual character and quality work. This means not only ensuring that your work sets the standard by which your competitors are compared, but also hiring only the most qualified freelancers when heading to battle.

Just because you can hire cheap labor doesn’t mean you should. Your good name is on the line, don’t exchange short-term benefits for long-term goals.

10. Be direct

A Jedi is never mealy mouthed. They say precisely what they mean and mean every word they say.

Be straight with your clients. Tell them what you can do for them and be honest when there’s something you can’t. Your clients deserve your honesty and will appreciate you more for looking past your immediate interests to help them.

If you want to be a direct response marketing Jedi and gather quality clients for the dollars you deserve, you need to train hard, constantly sharpen your skill set, and follow the rules just long enough to know when and where to break them.

Got a favorite tip for Jedi mastery as a freelancer? Let us know about it in the comments.

For much more advice about how to avoid the "Dark Side" of direct marketing, subscribe to the Copyblogger email newsletter, Internet Marketing for Smart People. It starts with a 20-lesson e-course on how to marketing online while staying on the light side of the force. Click here to get started.

About the Authors: David Wright has been told he looks like Chewbacca, while Sean Platt spent his formative years running around his back yard in a tattered Boba Fett Halloween costume. Together, they are independent publishers who also write direct response copy.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting with Your Audience

2009-12-01T08:23:00.001-08:00

Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting with Your Audience

Four Things 50 Cent Can Teach You About Connecting with Your Audience

I spent most of 2007 hanging out with Curtis Jackson, better known as Fifty Cent. Together we wrote a bestselling book about hustling, fearlessness, and power.

I'd like to share a couple of insights that arose from that collaboration.

After the remarkable success of his first two commercial albums, Fifty Cent stood on top of the music world. But his very success was starting to corrode his musical ability.

His sense of connection, so vital on the streets, was fading in this new environment he now inhabited.

He was surrounded by flatterers who wanted to be in his entourage, managers and industry people who saw only dollar signs in him. His main interactions were with people in the corporate world or other stars.

At the same time, he could no longer hang out on the streets or get firsthand looks at the trends that were just starting up.

All of this meant that Fifty was flying blind with his music, not really sure if it would connect anymore with his audience. Other stars didn't seem to mind this; in fact, they enjoyed living in this kind of celebrity bubble. They were afraid of coming back down to earth. Fifty felt the opposite, but there seemed to be no way out.

Know your environment from the inside out

Most people think first of what they want to express or make, then find the audience for their idea. You must work the opposite angle, thinking first of the public. You need to keep your focus on their changing needs, the trends that are washing through them. Beginning with their demand, you create the appropriate supply. Do not be afraid of people's criticisms—without such feedback your work will be too personal and delusional. You must maintain as close a relationship to your environment as possible, getting an inside "feel" for what is happening around you. Never lose touch with your base.

~ The 50th Law

An experiment in reconnection

In early 2007, Fifty decided to start up his own website. He thought of it as a way to market his music and merchandise directly to the public, without the screen of his record label, which was proving quite inept in adapting to the Internet age.

First, he decided to experiment. As he prepared to launch a G-Unit record in the summer of 2008, he leaked one of the songs on to the website on a Friday night, then the next day he refreshed the Comments page every few minutes and tracked the members' response to it.

After several hundred comments it was clear that the verdict was negative. The song was too soft. They wanted and expected something harder from a G-Unit record.

Taking their criticisms to heart, he shelved the song and soon released another, creating the hard sound they had demanded. This time the response was overwhelmingly positive.

He put up the latest single from his arch-enemy The Game, hoping to read the negative comments of his fans. To his surprise, many of them liked the song. He engaged in an online debate with them about this and had his eyes opened about changes in people's tastes and why they had perhaps grown distant from his music. It forced him to rethink his own direction.

Creating a radical connection

To draw more people to his site, Fifty decided to break down the distance in both directions. He posted blogs on personal subjects, and then responded to his fans' comments. They could feel they had complete access to him.

Using the advances in technology, he took this further, having his team film him on their cell phones wherever he went; these images were then streamed live on the website. Made dramatic by Fifty's flair for confrontation, membership grew by leaps and bounds.

As it evolved, the website came to strangely resemble the world of hustling that Fifty had created for himself on the streets of southside Queens.

He could produce testers (trial songs) for his fans, who were like drug fiends, constantly hungry for new product from Fifty; and he could get instant feedback on their quality. He could develop a feel for what they were looking for and how he could manipulate their demand.

He had moved from the outside to the inside and the hustling game came alive once more, this time on a global scale.

Four keys to the fearless approach

The public is never wrong. When people don't respond to what you do, they're telling you something loud and clear. You're just not listening.

~ Fifty Cent

Fifty's approach isn’t just for pop culture icons. His insights into rebuilding connection are universal.

Most of us live in a society of apparent abundance and ease. We lack a sense of urgency to connect to other people. In such a melting pot as the modern world, with people's tastes changing at a faster pace than ever before, our success depends on our ability to move outside of ourselves and connect to other social networks.

At all cost, you need to continually force yourself outward. You must reach a point where losing this connection to your environment makes you feel uncomfortable, even vulnerable.

The following are four strategies you can use to bring yourself closer to this ideal.

1. Crush all distance

In this day and age, to reach people you must have access to their inner lives — their frustrations, aspirations, resentments.

To do so, you must crush as much distance as possible between you and your audience.

You enter their spirit and absorb it from within. Their way of looking at things becomes yours. And when you recreate it in some form of work, it has life. What shocks and excites you will then have the same effect on them.

This requires a degree of fearlessness and open spirit. You are not afraid to have your whole personality shaped by these intense interactions. You assume a radical equality with the public, giving voice to people's ideas and desires.

What you produce will naturally connect in a deep way.

2. Open informal channels of criticism and feedback

When Eleanor Roosevelt entered the White House as First Lady in 1933, it was with much trepidation. Denied an official position within the administration, she decided to work to create informal channels to the public, on her own.

She traveled all over the country — to inner cities and remote rural towns — listening to people's complaints and needs. She brought many of these people back to meet the president and give him firsthand impressions of the effects of the New Deal.

She opened a column in The Woman's Home Companion, in which she let her audience know, "I want you to write me." She would use her column as a kind of discussion forum with the American public, encouraging people to share their criticisms.

Within six months she had received over 300,000 letters, and with her staff she worked to answer every last one of them.

She began to see a pattern from the bottom up — a growing disenchantment with the New Deal. Every day, she left a memo in her husband's basket, reminding him of these criticisms and the need to be more responsive. And slowly, she began to have an influence on his policy, pushing him leftward. All of this took tremendous courage for she was continually ridiculed for her activist approach, long before any First Lady had ever thought of such a role.

As Eleanor understood, any kind of group tends to close itself off from the outside world. From within this bubble, people delude themselves into thinking they have insight into how their audience or public feels — they read the papers, various reports, the poll numbers, etc.

But all of this information tends to be flat and highly filtered. It is much different when you interact directly with the public, hear in the flesh their criticisms and feedback. You create a back-and-forth dynamic in which their ideas, involvement and energy can be harnessed for your purposes.

3. Reconnect with your base

We see it again and again.

A person has success when they are younger because they have deep ties with a social group. Then slowly they lose this connection.

In his own way, the famous black activist Malcolm X struggled with this problem. He had spent his youth as a savvy street hustler, ending up in prison on drug charges. Out of prison he became a highly visible spokesperson for Nation of Islam, channeling his emotions into powerful speeches that gave voice to those who lived deep in the ghettos of America.

As he became more and more famous, he made an effort to inoculate himself from the psychic distance experienced by other successful leaders in the black community.

He increased his interactions with street hustlers and agitators, the kind of people from the lower depths that most leaders would scrupulously avoid. He made himself spend more time with those who had suffered recent injustices, soaking up their experiences and sense of outrage.

I knew that the ghetto people knew that I never left the ghetto in spirit, and I never left it physically any more than I had to. I had a ghetto instinct; for instance, I could feel if tension was beyond normal in a ghetto audience. And I could speak and understand the ghetto's language.

~ Malcolm X

The goal in connecting to the public is not to please everyone, to spread yourself out to the widest possible audience. You have a base of power — a group of people, small or large, who identify with you. Keep your associations with it alive, intense and present.

Return to your origins — the source of all inspiration and power.

4. Create the social mirror

Instead of turning inward, consider people's coolness to your idea and their criticisms as a kind of mirror that they are holding up to you.

Your ego cannot protect you — the mirror does not lie. You use it to correct your appearance and avoid ridicule.

The opinions of other people serve a similar function. You view your work inside your mind, encrusted with all kinds of desires and fears. Through their criticisms you can get closer to this objective version and gradually improve what you do.

When your work does not communicate with others, consider it your own fault. You did not make your ideas clear enough, you failed to connect with your audience emotionally. This will spare you any bitterness or anger that might come from people's critiques. You are simply perfecting your work through the social mirror.

About the Author: Robert Greene is the bestselling author of The 48 Laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War. His collaboration with Fifty Cent, The 50th Law, spent five weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold about two million copies. His blog is called Power, Seduction and War.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Here’s Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter

2009-11-30T07:38:00.001-08:00

Here's Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter

Here's Hard Data for Headlines that Spread on Twitter

Many bloggers already know that Twitter is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog.

When I talked to Guy Kawasaki about my book, he called the Tweetmeme Retweet button “the most important button on the web,” because of the enormous traffic-driving power it possesses. With one click, any of your readers can spread your post to hundreds or thousands of their followers.

As a marketer, I, of course, see this as an opportunity for optimization. When I see a powerful tool, my first impulse is to figure out how to make it even more powerful.

When you click that button, Tweetmeme grabs the title of the page it’s on, shortens the URL, and combines the two into a autofilled tweet for posting. Thus, the title of your post becomes the tweet that is shared with a potentially huge number of Twitter users.

If the importance of compelling headlines wasn’t painfully obvious before, it should be now.

Nearly 20% of all “normal” tweets contain a link, yet almost 70% of retweets do. Retweeting is the most common way links are shared on Twitter.

I’ve done research into various factors surrounding retweets and found a handful of factors that you may want to take into consideration when writing headlines for posts that you hope to share and spread on Twitter.

Use nouns and third-person verbs

When I looked at the parts of speech that occur in retweets versus those that occur in normal tweets, I found that retweets tend to be noun-heavy and use third-person verbs.

This pattern is reminiscent of newspaper headlines. Highly retweetable headlines talk about someone or something doing something.

A headline should never talk about all the things you did yesterday and how you did them, as past-tense verbs and adverbs both lead to far fewer retweets.

The most (and least) retweetable words

The words that tend to occur more in retweets than in normal tweets are topped by the word “you.”

This means, whenever possible, you should talk directly to your readers. “Top” and “10″ also rank highly, showing that lists do well on Twitter. Not surprisingly, talking about social media and Twitter itself also helps.

On the other side of the coin are the least retweetable words. Random first-person verbs and details about your life, however fascinating you may find it, don’t get a ton of retweets.

Tell me something new

I compared how common words in retweets are to how often these same common words appear in normal tweets, and found that rare and more novel words are highly retweetable.

When you’re writing your headlines, you should be striving to say something new that breaks through the clutter of everyday chatter.

Don’t be dumb

I expected to find that retweets were simple and required less intelligence to understand. But my data showed the opposite.

Using two readability metrics, I found that retweets often use longer, more complex words. So don’t try to “dumb down” your headlines for Twitter; users and power retweeters are smarter than you may think.

Stop talking about yourself

LIWC is a linguistic system designed to identify concepts in pieces of text.

The most striking thing I found when using LIWC to analyze retweets is that self reference does not get a lot of sharing.

In other words, don’t talk about yourself if you want Twitter traffic; talk about your readers.

If you’ve been in social media awhile, you probably already guessed that was the case — now you've got the data to back it up.

About the Author: Get more tips like this and learn about the full range of social media marketing platforms, tool, techniques and strategies from Dan Zarrella’s The Social Media Marketing Book, published by O’Reilly.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Does Speech Recognition Software Actually Work?

2009-11-27T12:47:00.001-08:00

Does Speech Recognition Software Actually Work?

Does Speech Recognition Software Actually Work?

One of my favorite posts from around the web last week came from our own Associate Editor Jon Morrow. He recorded a 20-minute video post for Problogger about how he works with speech recognition software to do all of his blogging.

I do an awful lot of writing every week, and I've been thinking about trying speech recognition out in order to speed up the process. But like most people, I was afraid it was going to be more trouble than it was worth to get it working.

Jon's video made me realize how simple (and inexpensive) it will be for me to make it happen.

Because it was a pretty content-rich video, a lot of folks took a quick look and bookmarked it, thinking to come back to it when they had a little more time. So what better way to spend the Friday-after-a-holiday than eating leftover turkey sandwiches and watching a great how-to post?

(If you're not in the States, you can re-create the effect by overeating wildly today or tonight, drinking just a little too much, pounding down four desserts, having three arguments with your extended family, and then watching the video tomorrow.)

The highlights of the video for me were:

The quick-to-install (and cheap) piece of hardware that lets the software actually understand what you're saying.
Jon on video! Jon and I have spent a lot of time on the phone, so I’ve gotten to know him fairly well. Getting to hang out with him for a few minutes via video was great, he's a fascinating guy with a lot to say. (The guy can say more with his eyebrows than most people can with a 100-item list post.)
The one-stop resource to find the right mic and hardware for your setup.
The live demo showing exactly how Jon uses the software to manage his business and blogs.
The comical notion that penny-pinching Jon will ever buy a Mac.

I recommend you check it out, I found it tremendously useful:

Speech Recognition for Bloggers: The Ultimate Guide

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] 10 Things to Be Grateful For

2009-11-26T09:27:00.001-08:00

10 Things to Be Grateful For

10 Things to Be Grateful For

I'll admit it. I have a soft spot for Thanksgiving.

First, because it's an excuse for me to bake for three days. (If you need a last-minute recipe for the world's best chocolate cream pie, I've got you covered.)

And second, because it reminds me to quit grumbling and start noticing all of the amazing stuff I've got in my life.

Here's my list of 10 things I would humbly recommend you add to your own "gratitude list" this year. They've done great things for my business and I think they'll do great things for yours.

1. The crummy economy

I know, this seems weird. I'm not discounting the very serious and significant problems this has created for millions of people. One of whom might well be you.

But in cracking open the existing systems and shaking them like an ant farm, the horrible economy has also created some amazing opportunities.

If you think of the big companies as dinosaurs who've just been hit between the eyes with a gigantic meteor, remember that you're the smart, agile, adaptable monkey who's going to inherit the earth.

Frankly, the economy is going to suck for awhile no matter how you feel about it. So you might as well look for the angles that can benefit you.

2. The social web

Brian's not a fan of this term, since of course everything about the web has always been social. It was built by humans, after all.

But there's no question that a revolution in communication technology lets you be social with more people, more easily, over incredible geographic and cultural distances, with less friction than ever before.

Which means you can get the word out about what you do for hardly any money, with no special technical ability, to tens of thousands or even millions of people.

And that's just cool.

3. The quality of free information

Stewart Brand didn't just say "information wants to be free." He also said, "information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable."

What this boils down to is that a lot of smart people have put together great tips, techniques, and help for you to do just about anything. Very often, they start by selling that information at a hefty price tag, to those for whom it's most valuable.

Then some time goes by, they keep developing their stuff, and they "move the free line" by giving away tremendously valuable information for free.

Yes, the free goodies take time to sift through. Yes, there's a whole lot of junk.

But if you're bootstrapping your project, you can spend a little more time and energy and find the answers you want.

Because the current ethos is "give away incredibly valuable stuff for free to build trust and rapport," you can benefit from that.

You have to choose wisely, of course. Don't spend your time watching or reading anything from people you don't respect or relate to. But if you stick with the people your gut tells you are right for you, you can learn amazing things without spending a dime.

4. The quality of paid information

Because there's so much excellent free material out there, it means that for people who are creating paid information products (membership sites, ebooks, home study courses, etc.), their stuff has to be top notch.

So when you find yourself crossing that line where you've got some spare money but not much spare time, you have increasingly excellent opportunities to educate yourself online.

It doesn't matter whether you're learning to fly fish, climb the corporate ladder, design gardens, potty train your kid, be a happier person, or even (yes) market your business online, there are terrific resources that will teach you to do that for a very reasonable fee. And you can access these courses from virtually anywhere on earth.

5. Twitter search

Companies have taken hundreds of millions of dollars in VC funding to build tools that "listen in" to the conversations buzzing around the Internet.

That's fine, but you can do an amazing job of this for free by signing up for a Twitter account.

Too many people think Twitter is mostly about telling people what kind of sandwich they're having for lunch today. But for smart business people, Twitter is mostly about listening.

Search Twitter for the kinds of phrases your customers tend to talk about. Maybe it's low-carb dessert recipes or finding a karate school for their kids.

You'll find out what they're saying, what kind of language they use to talk about it, what bugs them and what delights them.

These are staggeringly useful things to know when you're trying to market a product or service. And you can get it by spending maybe 6 or 7 minutes a day, for free.

6. Connections with incredible people

Whatever it is you like to blog or write about, there are amazingly cool people who like to blog and write about that, too.

They're posting wonderful articles and interesting perspectives and asking fascinating questions. And you can get to know them just by writing about their stuff (with a link, of course), posting reasonably intelligent comments on their blog, and following them on Twitter.

The smart, funny, snarky, interesting, kind, and entirely wonderful people I've met by blogging have blown me away. And I'm always finding new folks. (That was true before I started writing for a "big blog," by the way. In fact, it's how I started writing for a big blog.)

7. Aweber

Aweber (www.aweber.com) is my email newsletter management tool. They do a great job getting mail into in-boxes (mostly because they hate spammers even worse than you do). They have useful tools, a fantastic how-to blog, an easy-to-understand interface, and I can't recommend them highly enough.

A great email autoresponder sequence is my single favorite marketing tool (above a blog, even), and Aweber is the tool I think is best for the job.

8. Backpack

37Signals is another company I think is terrific, and I would be toast without their Backpack product.

Backpack keeps everything I do in one spot. Half-written blog posts, GTD lists, my calendar, reference notes for client projects, wild-hair ideas for new ventures, gardening plans, checklists for things I'm building, even backups of the million ebooks and audio education products I buy.

For me, they have the exact right combination of flexibility and simplicity, at an excellent price. If it doesn't fit into my Backpack, I can probably live without it.

9. My copywriting library

A lot of those "secrets of the internet money-getting zillionaires" came from books you can buy for $12 on Amazon.

You can't make money unless you can persuade someone to pay attention to what you've got, and then build a case for its value. That's copywriting. (It's even copywriting if you're doing it with video.)

Classics like Scientific Advertising and Tested Advertising Methods are joined by newer giants like Robert Cialdini's Influence and Seth Godin's Permission Marketing, and a handful of great web-based references like Gary Bencivenga's Marketing Bullets.

Learning to write great persuasive copy is mostly a matter of studying the techniques (which don't change much, because human nature doesn't change) and then trying them out. There's no "push button" service that will magically do it for you. But the truth is, it's well within your ability. You just have to get out there and start trying it.

10. The Third Tribe

This was an idea that bubbled up on Copyblogger back in February, after we were asked the question "Whose side are you on?"

Brian and I talked about this question quite a bit, and realized that we definitely weren't on the strict yellow-highlighter-squeeze-page side. But we weren't on the "blog for 20 years before you dare to ask anyone for the sale" side either.

So we made up a third side.

Actually, it had been there all along, going back four years to when Brian first created this blog. But once you have a label, you find that you start to articulate what you're doing more clearly.

That led directly to the brand-new Copyblogger email newsletter, which kicks off with a 20-part course on how to be an ethical, non-sleazy, relationship-based kumbaya blogger and still make a very nice living. If that sounds like something that would interest you, you can learn more about the newsletter here.

What's on your list?

What are you grateful for this year? What do you think other readers would be grateful for if they knew more about it? Let us know in the comments.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

Gratitude Communicating to you

2009-11-25T04:39:00.001-08:00

Your e-mail address have just won(US$750,000) only for more details.Contct our promotions Agent for Bono-La Primitiva Lottery
Mr.Paul Chendolin On Tel+ (34)-672-503-655 and Fax:+(34-625-910-193
Email:(approvaline@aim.com) OR (paulchendolin@aol.es )US.750,000,Dollars)
Mrs Marria Misallati
Public Relation Officer,
(BONO MOBILE Lottery-Programme coordinator)
Herzlichen Glьckwunsch Ihre E-Mail-Won-La Primitiva Lotterie(Claim Your-Preis)

[Copyblogger] 50 Spots Left in the Lateral Action Entrepreneur Course

2009-11-24T09:00:00.001-08:00

50 Spots Left in the Lateral Action Entrepreneur Course

50 Spots Left in the Lateral Action Entrepreneur Course

A whole bunch of you read the creative entrepreneur report I released last week.

Many of you seemed to like it. But did you know about the Lateral Action entrepreneur course that's about to start?

It looks like we're going to have a great group of charter members for the kick-off of the course – it's an intensive 18 topics designed to give you the head start I wish I had 10 years ago.

Our charter member deal is pretty sweet, so we've decided to limit the size of the group based on response so far. We're cutting off the charter membership group at just 50 more aspiring entrepreneurs.

How sweet is the deal? Charter members not only save 50% off the 2010 enrollment fee, they get access to everything we add to the course in the future – at no additional charge.

Grab your spot before they're gone.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] Are You Getting Off Track With Your Readers?

2009-11-24T07:03:00.001-08:00

Are You Getting Off Track With Your Readers?

Are You Getting Off Track With Your Readers?

I’ve been seeing something happen frequently among my fellow bloggers lately, but it’s most obvious to me when I receive offers to guest post on my blog.

Someone pitches me a great idea. Brilliant, in fact. An idea that interests me and one I feel will interest my readers as well. So I say yes. And the person writes the post and sends it to me. They’re excited, and I’m excited too.

The post begins well, and the opening is great. But as I read, something happens.

The writer makes a point that’s kind of tangentially related to the paragraph before, but not at all related to the point of the post as a whole.

The writer rides that tangent for a few paragraphs, then comes back on point.

All right, I’m back on track as a reader. Then . . . it goes off again.

You may not know you’ve gone off on a tangent

Even the very best writers go off on tangents without knowing it sometimes. But guest posts are really where you see tangents happening most often. And that's because guest posts are where bloggers try to pull out their very best writing.

I know this from experience. When I guest post, I work hard to write a great post so that the blog owner offering me his platform (thank you, Brian) feels like he did the right thing by letting me in here.

Most of the guest posts submitted for my review have good grammar, a nice writing style, and a dash of humor.

They’re good. But no matter how good they are in all other respects, they very often still go off on tangents. And the writers appear to have no idea it happened.

The most likely culprit for tangents

I’m most likely to go off on tangents when I feel strongly about the topic I’m writing on. Passion is great in writing, but sometimes I have so much to say that I try to cram everything in there — whether or not it really fits.

For example, I recently wrote a post about something that angered me in the blogging community. The original post was about five pages long. In Arial 10. Single-spaced.

I asked a friend to look it over and point out all the places where I had gone off on angles that were unrelated to my original point.

She wound up taking three pages out of the article.

I had no idea those tangents weren’t related to the point, because I was so fired up and passionate about what I wanted to say that everything I had to say seemed relevant.

This meant that half the time, what I was wrote didn’t really relate back to my original point at all. It took off in so many directions that the integrity of the argument was completely lost.

And it made the whole post very confusing to the reader, because no one could figure out the main thrust of what I wanted to say.

How to tell if you’ve gone off on a tangent

I highly recommend asking another person to read what you’ve written when you feel excited or strongly about a topic. You’re not asking them to edit your work; you’re asking them to see if you stayed on track.

Someone with fresh eyes and a fresh mind will be much better able to point out paragraphs that seem unrelated to your post. When they point them out to you, you have two options: take out the paragraph (and possibly save it as the start of another post), or re-write it so it refers back to your original point.

Then double-check with your reader to be sure you did that effectively.

If you’re editing your own work, play this little game: Look at your original topic, which is usually in the first paragraph or two of your post. For this article, my original topic is “are you going off on tangents?” The related points are “you may not know you’re doing it,” “what’s probably making you go off on tangents,” and “how to find and fix tangents.”

Check each paragraph. If every point relates back to the original topic and you can clearly see how you have linked the two, you’re golden.

If not, you’ve probably gone a little off-track. No problem — just rewrite your paragraph so it's more on-point.

Or, realize that the point wasn’t related at all. It was just a tangent, because you were upset or excited. In this case, take it out and let it go.

What about you? Have you ever caught yourself going off track? What were you writing about at the time?

About the Author: For more great tangents that go wildly off topic but always help you get ahead in your freelance career, check out James’ blog at Men with Pens. Like to stay right on track? Click here to sign up for the Men with Pens RSS feed.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine

2009-11-23T08:32:00.001-08:00

The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine

The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing Machine

Ten years back, my soon-to-be wife, Cindy, and I first noticed the bombarding beat for Marshall Mather's "My Name Is."

"What an ass," I said as the two of us sat to watch the Grammies a year later. "It's sad he can sell so many records just by being vile. Really, how much talent can that possibly take?"

"Have you heard the record?" Cindy asked.

"No," I admitted. "But I've heard enough to know he's an ass."

She pursed her lips in silence as I stuttered through a series of half-articulated examples — the criticisms of others slipping through the filter of my voice. Unlike me, she was withholding judgment of the music until she'd heard more of it.

"You know if you listen to the album you'll be a lot more entitled to an opinion, right?"

My wife has taught me, and continues to teach me, more than anyone else.

The next day I bought the Slim Shady LP along with the newly minted Marshall Mathers album. I then spent the next few months in a new sort of aural awe.

I'm not sure what my expectations were, but they certainly weren't to meet a man who would murder my preconceptions of the alphabet.

Though I've always been drawn to great lyricists and songwriters, I'd never heard anyone able to effectively indulge satire, rage, sorrow, shame, guilt, regret, power, passion, loneliness, bravado, stupidity, genius, leadership, idiocy, misogyny, sympathy and, believe it or not, tender compassion. And Eminem was doing it in a stream of pentameter that would, I'm certain, cause William Shakespeare to shudder.

Plus, the dude is a brilliant storyteller.

Marshall Mathers is a lyrical sniper with a shotgun, and vents more in a few hundred words than many are able to effectively communicate in pages of copy. When I listen to an Eminem record, I'm hearing a man who cares about every single syllable and the exact tone of its delivery.

This isn't to say all his songs are good. In fact, each album has a handful of songs I find both repugnant and unendurable. Yet they are always peppered against gems of absolute genius.

Eminem is a complicated artist, and could easily provoke pages of arguments on his positives, negatives and overall impact on our culture for better or worse. But as a writer and marketer, few can touch what he's managed to accomplish.

Meaning that if we pay attention, there’s plenty to learn.

What Eminem can teach you about writing

1) Write and read all you can

Marshall started writing while just a child, constantly sanding the rough edges of his craft, knowing without doubt that the only thing that would get him out of the trailer park and into a better life was furious effort and endless practice.

Marshall familiarized himself with the greats until storytelling was as natural as drawing breath. He may have started by imitating the pioneers who came before him, but Eminem soon blended their legacy into his own brew that was like nothing else.

2) Edit ruthlessly

Eminem's best tracks harbor some of the tightest writing I've seen in any medium. One has to wonder just how long he spends on each song, considering how securely each syllable is cemented in place.

Not only can Em craft a compelling argument in prose, he can also structure it in a way that would dazzle Dr. Suess, not only by rhyming words that shouldn't rhyme, but by packing more poetry into a verse than should be technically possible. Only fastidious editing can pull the written word so taut.

3) Write what you know

One of the things that makes Eminem so polarizing is that his message flies from mind to mic with only the thinnest filter in between. Listening to his music is like tuning into a live therapy session that would make Tony Soprano seem stable by comparison. It's easy to believe that Marshall is speaking directly from his heart and unique set of experiences.

4) Start strong and finish stronger

The best of Em's songs achieve something rare in commercially produced music — they realize a powerful climax prior to their conclusion. Many of Marshall's songs are written as arguments, and it's usually in his third verse when he drives his point home, often with a lyrical sledgehammer.

5) Be concise and use powerful sentences

Marshall pares his arguments down to the marrow. His intuitive sense of flow allows him to seamlessly drift from the measured cadence of ordinary speech to an unrivaled intensity of verse, but it is always the power of his writing which enables him to drive his point home with such precision.

What Eminem can teach you about marketing

Eminem is a terrific writer, but if he wasn't also a natural marketer, he might very well be still living on the wrong side of 8 Mile.

1) Put yourself out there

Be tireless and undaunted. Marshall paid his dues in underground clubs as the only white boy to step up and take the mic.

I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed. I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage. But I kept rhyming and stepwritin the next cypher, best believe somebody’s paying the pied piper . . .

Em knew that no one was about to hand him anything. If he wanted his voice heard, it was his job to spread it.

2) Be extreme

Try speaking to everyone and you end up speaking to no one.

As Sonia recently pointed out, Jenny Lawson and Naomi Dunford aren't for everyone, but those who love them, really, really LOVE them.

See I’m a poet to some, a regular modern day Shakespeare, Jesus Christ the King of these Latter Day Saints here. To shatter the picture in which of that as they paint me, as a monger of hate and Satan — a scatter-brained atheist. But that ain’t the case, see it’s a matter of taste. We as a people decide if Shady’s as bad as they say he is. Or is he the latter — a gateway to escape? Media scapegoat, who they can be mad at today . . .

3) Tell a story

Build a backstory that is unique to you and you'll develop a following that can belong to no one else.

Marshall's storytelling was evident in his first LP, but he cemented his place as a teller of unforgettable tales in the second album, most notably with the song Stan, which tells the story of a crazed fan who does double duty in the song as a doppleganger for Marshall. Eminem used this narrative as both a means of self reflection and as a response to the many critics questioning the cultural impact of his music.

4) Experiment

Eminem's music is crammed with experimentation. From the simple lo-fi beats of his earliest work to the wicked carnival rhythms which characterized his partnership with Dr. Dre, and all the loopy meters in between, it's easy to imagine that Marshall isn't happy unless he's trying something new.

Not every experiment works, but at least he's willing to play in the lab.

5) Address objections

A big rule of marketing is to address audience objections before the audience does.

Eminem has a history, going all the way back to his first major release, of addressing critics head on without flinching.

How many retards’ll listen to me and run up in the school shooting when they’re pissed at a teach-er, her, him, is it you is it them? 'Wasn’t me, Slim Shady said to do it again!' Damn! How much damage can you do with a pen? Man, I’m just as %#&@#! up as you woulda been if you woulda been, in my shoes, who woulda thought, Slim Shady would be something that you woulda bought?

Marshall Mathers is complicated and undeniably controversial, and though his critics would correctly point out that his music is filled with hate and vitriol, few of them seem to acknowledge that he is also manipulating his own material, taking his arguments to such ridiculous extremes that he turns them into farce.

Love him or hate him, the man known as Eminem has proven that he's an important force in both modern music and culture. You don't have to like his lyrics or his message to learn something from him. I'm grateful for the day my wife wondered out loud if I really knew what I was talking about.

About the Author: Sean Platt is a direct response copywriter and independent publisher. Follow him on Twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498

[Copyblogger] The Art of the Paragraph

2009-11-20T07:12:00.001-08:00

The Art of the Paragraph

The Art of the Paragraph

Anyone can write a paragraph, but not everyone knows how to write one that other people want to read.

You’ve seen it:

You open a book, and the whole page is one long block of text.

Each sentence in the paragraph makes exactly the same point, said in a slightly different way, and you wonder why they didn’t just say it once and be done with it.

Every paragraph is the same length (five lines, maybe?), whether it makes sense or not, and it gives the piece a monotonous rhythm.

The paragraph makes a point without telling you why that point is important, and you can’t help thinking, “So what?”

Like a little island, the paragraph doesn’t connect to any ideas that came before it or after it, and it seems vaguely out of place.

We all hate paragraphs that make these mistakes. Those of us who are in the National Society of Writing Snobs (raise your hand, if you’re a member) even get a weird sort of thrill from pointing them out.

Yet, somehow, they keep showing up.

Not just in the work of third graders, but in the writing of people who call themselves professionals, including yours truly.

It’s like Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss in the movie What about Bob? — every time you think they’re gone, you open the door, and there they are again, grinning and happy to see you.

The question is: what are you going to do about it?

It’s okay to write a bad paragraph, but publishing one will only endanger your bond with your readers. Before showing your writing to anyone, you should always go back through and check your paragraphs to make sure they are in tip-top shape.

Here are some questions to guide you:

1. Does it pass the Guy Kawasaki test?

You know how we all have blogging mentors who we look up to?

Well, Guy Kawasaki is one of mine. Three years ago, he wrote a post passing on some of his blogging wisdom, and one of his pieces of advice stuck with me:

. . . Imagine that there’s a little man sitting on your shoulder reading what you’re writing. Every time you write an entry, he says, "So what? Who gives a shiitake?" If you can’t answer the little man, then you don’t have a good blog/product.

It’s true. Every time you write a paragraph, stop for a moment and see if it passes the “Who gives a shiitake?” test. If you don’t have a good answer, then delete your paragraph and start over.

2. Is it a two-headed baby?

Babies are adorable. Two-headed babies, on the other hand, are something you would see on the cover of National Enquirer. It’s just . . . wrong.

Paragraphs work the same way.

A good paragraph has one head. In other words, it has one point, one idea, and all of its sentences work together to support that one idea. Do it right, and it’s adorable in its simplicity.

If you try to stuff more than one idea into a paragraph, however, you’ll transform it into a monster. Grown men will shy away from it. Small children will burst into tears. English teachers will clutch their chests and fall over dead.

Okay, maybe not. But you will confuse readers, and that’s serious business. Don’t do it.

3. Is there an echo in here?

Some writers have what I call an “Echo Problem.”

They start with an idea, and then every sentence in the paragraph echoes the same idea, although in a slightly different way. For example:

I hate green beans. Every time I think of them, I feel nauseous. Green beans are the absolute worst. If you put any green beans on my plate, I won’t eat them.

This paragraph only has one idea: I hate green beans. Every sentence in the paragraph just echos the same idea. They’re unnecessary.

When you write a paragraph like this, it feels like you’re expounding on your original point. But you’re not. All you’re really doing is adding fluff and boring the reader.

A good rule of thumb is to read every sentence in your paragraph and ask yourself, “Could I remove any of these sentences and retain the same meaning?” If you can, then by all means, get rid of them. It’ll make your writing tighter.

4. Are you writing in a monotone?

Ever listened to a speech, and the speaker used exactly the same vocal inflection from beginning to end?

It’s annoying, and it’s not just because humans are predisposed toward rhythmic language. When we’re listening, we also depend on the speaker to use vocal inflections to tell us what’s important. For instance, if they’re speaking quickly and then suddenly start drawing out their words, we know to pay attention. The change in inflection means something important is happening.

Makes sense, right? But did you know it’s also possible for your writing to be a monotone?

Paragraphs are the vocal inflections of the written word. Good writers vary the length of their paragraphs to show the reader what’s important. Some paragraphs will be 3-5 sentences, but every once in a while, they’ll throw in a one-sentence paragraph in order to emphasize a particular point. It stands out, and it tells the reader to pay attention.

Try it for yourself.

5. Are there on-ramps and off-ramps?

So far, we’ve talked about the paragraph (singular), but it’s time we dedicate some time to paragraphs (plural).

Lots of beginning writers treat paragraphs like little islands unto themselves, floating in the great ocean of ideas without any connection to anyone or anything. It’s jarring. Sometimes you can see how the paragraphs relate to one another, but sometimes you’re also left scratching your head.

It’s far better to look at paragraphs as if they are towns along a highway. Yes, they are separate, but they also have on-ramps and off-ramps that make it easy for people to get back on the highway and get to where they’re going. Similarly, good paragraphs use connector words and grammar to help the reader move on to the next idea.

We could do a whole post on this topic (and probably will, in the future), but the best rule of thumb is to look at each of your paragraphs and see if it’s possible to understand them without reading any of the others. If it is, think about adding some connecting on-ramps and off-ramps. It’ll make your writing more readable.

Are these rules that you must follow?

No, they’re just guidelines.

The point is to consciously think about your paragraphs and the way they affect your readers. Next to sexy topics like headlines, link building, and SEO, it’s easy to forget about them.

But don’t. Like most things, it’s the little nuances of your writing that add up to create a profound impact on the reader. Your paragraphs are one of those nuances, and if you’re serious about your writing, it’s important to learn how to use them.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is Associate Editor of Copyblogger and Cofounder of Partnering Profits. Get more from Jon on twitter.

• Email to a friend • Related • View comments • Track comments • •

Click here to safely unsubscribe now from "Copyblogger" or change your subscription or subscribe

Your requested content delivery powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA. +1.978.776.9498