“I need you to write a press release,” he said.

“Why would you need a press release,” I was curious.

That’s what you do to create tons of free media exposure, right? Well, at least that’s what he thought. “Do you have a good story to tell?” I asked. “Well you know me and my business and my outstanding customer service…” By then I knew we had a problem.

Perhaps you’ve tried to hook reporters with a well-written press release countless times. What happened? Did you get the “free exposure” you were looking for? Still waiting?

Maybe you forgot that those hard-working reporters report on stuff that’s news WORTHY. The primary purpose of a press release is to deliver a relevant and newsworthy story that your target audience cares about. But how do you do that?

Check out these 18 sneaky “free exposure” strategies  – they should give you some ideas…

Wikipedia gives the following useful ideas to help you make your press release more newsworthy…

• Frequency: Events that occur suddenly and fit well with the news organization’s schedule are more likely to be reported than those that occur gradually or at inconvenient times of day or night. Long-term trends are not likely to receive much coverage.

• Negativity: Bad news is more newsworthy than good news.

• Unexpectedness: If an event is out of the ordinary it will have a greater effect than something that is an everyday occurrence.

• Unambiguity: Events whose implications are clear make for better copy than those that are open to more than one interpretation, or where any understanding of the implications depends on first understanding the complex background in which the events take place.

• Personalization: Events that can be portrayed as the actions of individuals will be more attractive than one in which there is no such “human interest.”

• Meaningfulness: This relates to the sense of identification the audience has with the topic. “Cultural proximity” is a factor here — stories concerned with people who speak the same language, look the same, and share the preoccupations as the audience receive more coverage than those concerned with people who speak different languages, look different and have different preoccupations.

• Reference to elite nations: Stories concerned with global powers receive more attention than those concerned with less influential nations.

• Reference to elite persons: Stories concerned with the rich, powerful, famous and infamous get more coverage.

• Conflict: Opposition of people or forces resulting in a dramatic effect. Stories with conflict are often quite newsworthy.

• Consonance: Stories that fit with the media’s expectations receive more coverage than those that defy them (and for which they are thus unprepared). Note this appears to conflict with unexpectedness above. However, consonance really refers to the media’s readiness to report an item.

• Continuity: A story that is already in the news gathers a kind of inertia. This is partly because the media organizations are already in place to report the story, and partly because previous reportage may have made the story more accessible to the public (making it less ambiguous).

• Composition: Stories must compete with one another for space in the media. For instance, editors may seek to provide a balance of different types of coverage, so that if there is an excess of foreign news for instance, the least important foreign story may have to make way for an item concerned with the domestic news. In this way the prominence given to a story depends not only on its own news values but also on those of competing stories. (Galtung and Ruge, 1965)

• Competition: Commercial or professional competition between media may lead journalists to endorse the news value given to a story by a rival.

• Co-optation: A story that is only marginally newsworthy in its own right may be covered if it is related to a major running story.

• Prefabrication: A story that is marginal in news terms but written and available may be selected ahead of a much more newsworthy story that must be researched and written from the ground up.

• Predictability: An event is more likely to be covered if it has been pre-scheduled. (Bell, 1991)

• Time constraints: Traditional news media such as radio, television and daily newspapers have strict deadlines and a short production cycle, which selects for items that can be researched and covered quickly.

• Logistics: Although eased by the availability of global communications even from remote regions, the ability to deploy and control production and reporting staff, and functionality of technical resources can determine whether a story is covered. (Schlesinger, 1987)

Remember when wholesome family man Tiger Woods was caught cheating?  Now that was one hell of a story millions of people were dying to hear. People love news, gossip, current events, controversy, rumors and scandals. Keep these thoughts in mind the next time you sit down to work on your press release.

Superman could do anything… he could stop a train, stop buzzing bullets, he could fly faster than a plane, beat the bad thugs, and do good for everyone. He was a real hero who was celebrated by kids of all ages.

The dairy industry picked up on that and figured a clever way to convince kids to drink more milk with their memorable ‘got milk?’ advertisements.

If you’re trying to connect with your target audience a little more effectively this ad should give you some ideas…

The ad was showing superman in all his glory with his lean body and a red cape… and a white moustache. You know the white moustache you supposedly get when you drink milk?

Here’s what the ad read…

“Super.

That’s how milk makes

you feel. The calcium

helps bones grow strong,

so even if you’re not from

Krypton you can have

bones of steel.”

WOW – if you drink milk you’ll feel super … your bones will grow strong and healthy … you’ll actually have bones of steel!

You can be big, strong and powerful, all you have to do is give yourself the white moustache. And I think many kids must have started drinking their milk a little more regularly. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be like superman?

Now the ad doesn’t promise that you’ll glide through the sky or be able to dodge flying bullets. It leaves that bit to your imagination. And when it comes to imagination kids need no help. And that was the primary audience for the ad.

How does that apply to you? Think about it…

The ad made a powerful association with superman who was more than just an action figure – he was a true hero. At least for most kids, and definitely for me at the time.

Now you probably won’t be able to get superman to pose for your product. It would be great if you could. You’d certainly get my attention. But you don’t need superman or even a red carpet celebrity to increase your sales…

All you have to do is figure what qualities inspire, motivate and even impress your target audience. What qualities or goals is your target audience working towards? Then simply figure how your product/service can help people get what they want and communicate that in your ads and sales letters.

Kids want to be big, strong and healthy. Superman is everything a typical kid wants (particularly boys).

What’s important to your clients and prospects?

Here’s a thought…

What facts, data or authority figures can you quote to support the claims you make?

What’s the ultimate benefit people get from your product or service?

If milk makes you feel super… how does your product make people feel?

If milk makes your bones grow strong… what does your product help your clients grow, protect, gain or increase?

Remember, even if you’re not from Krypton you can have bones of steel. Explain to your target audience that your product or solution works for ordinary people – they don’t need to be from Krypton.

All they have to do is buy your product or service.

Having said that, make sure you can support the claims you make.

His name was John – the man who walked around the world…

If you’ve ever wondered how the Blue Label, Red Label or Black Label came about then watch this video where Scottish actor Robert Carlyle tells a captivating story behind Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey. From opening a grocer’s shop aged 14 to building a worldwide empire – Johnnie did lots of walking!

Nearly six minutes long, is this the longest tracking shot in advertising history?

Watch this video if you’re still struggling to tell a captivating story about your business or you’re looking to revamp your about page…

I don’t know about you but this story really sucked me in. I first watched it in the movies… and let me tell you people were captivated from start to finish. Perhaps those guys in the 30- and 60-second commercials business thought a six-minute long ad would certainly tick people off. Hey, what do you know? It seems that if you have a great story to tell then your audience shouldn’t mind.

They reveal what it really takes to be a good writer or copywriter. Even if you’ll never want to become a full-time copywriter, chances are that by improving your writing skills you should become more effective in your business and life…

“You must be in contact with your market. If you don’t let the ideas come to you, you’re going to relay to much on your own creativity. If you don’t spend at least two hours per week finding out where your market is today, you are finished! Talk little, listen much. You don’t have to have great ideas if you can hear great ideas. The creativity is not in you… never mistake that. The creativity is in your market and in your product, and all you’re doing is joining the two together. You’re trying to get two ideas that were separate (NEVER JOINED BEFORE) and you are trying to put them together”. – Legendary top-gun copywriter Eugene Schwartz.

You’ll find other quotes below…

“Don’t write so that you can be under stood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood.” – William H. Taft

“Rewriting is the whole secret to writing.” – Mario Puzo

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cromier

“I rewrote the ending of ‘Farewell to Arms’ 39 times before I was satisfied.”- Ernest Hemingway

“The best children’s book writers are not people who have kids, but people who write from the child within themselves.” – Andrea Brown

I think the message is clear. You must know your target audience. You must do your homework – sometimes LOTS of it. And push plenty of skull sweat to produce effective sales copy – if you have better things to do then hire a professional copywriter to do that for you. Focus on your highest and best.

Writing catchy headlines is simple yet hard to do… Especially when you work under a fast-approaching deadline that gets your heart racing, palms sweating and your adrenaline pumping.

In my early days I spent hours rewriting ads, sales letters and headlines of legendary copywriters like Gary Halbert, Ted Nicholas, Claude Hopkins, David Ogilvy and many others. Was it worth it? You bet. But chances are that you don’t have the same level of passion, commitment or time required to learn the craft. Or maybe you do but wouldn’t mind a little shortcut to save yourself some hassle.

Well, if that’s what you want then today I’ll show you a little-known copywriting technique to help you produce attention-grabbing headlines quickly. In fact, you won’t believe how simple and effective it is. It will rock your world and hopefully make your copywriting more effective.

Truth is that we often get trapped into seeing our problem, issue or challenge in just one way. It’s called being myopic or short-sighted. It happens to all of us from time to time.

What’s interesting is that as soon as you shift your perspective you see the issue differently and your creativity starts to flow…

So, how do you shift your perspective? You need to write down your issue in 10 or 20 or more different ways.

Keep in mind that your creative genius is your subconscious mind – not your conscious one. So what you want to do is overwhelm your conscious non-creative mind – and tap into your subconscious mind – by writing out those ten or twenty reasons as fast as possible.

Use short words. Long words. Words you’d never use. Metaphors. Comparisons. There is no right or wrong. The key is to get yourself to see the issue from as many different angles as possible.

So let’s say that you want to be able to write better headlines. Well, define better? And that’s where this little exercise can work wonders. What you want to do is describe this “how to write better headlines” issue in many different ways.

Because the moment you do you will start seeing new ways to help you write better headlines – almost instantly!

Let me give this a go…

How to write better headlines?

How else can I say or describe it. Let’s see…

How to communicate my message faster?

How to write headlines my reader can’t ignore?

How to communicate my message with more impact?

How to attract those who are 10X more likely to do what I ask?

How to provoke my reader to read the first paragraph?

How to put myself in the reader’s place?

How to write interesting headlines?

How to make my message memorable?

How to interrupt my reader with my headline?

How to make my reader super confident?

How to make my reader tremble in fear?

How to be a better writer?

How to make headline writing like play?

How to stop writing boring headlines?

How to send chills down my reader’s spine?

How to make my headlines sting the eyes?

How to write specific headlines?

How to be more focused while writing headlines?

How to write more headlines in less time?

How to write headlines that would make Richard Branson pay attention?

How to dream better headlines?

How to write headlines that get my reader’s greed glands salivate?

How to write shorter headlines?

How to turn my headlines into visual images?

—

Phew! Enough. Does that give you some ideas?

The moment you understand what ‘better headlines’ look, sound and feel like you should be able to crank out catchy headlines without breaking a sweat!

Give this list a go the next time you sit down to write those headlines.

Whatever…

Cliches like “I thank you from the bottom of my heart” and “It’s only a drop in the bucket” sound old, insincere and annoying.

Some expressions have lost their freshness, descriptive power and pizzazz…

Social researcher Mark McCrindle recently surveyed 1300 Australians to determine their attitudes towards cliches and overused words… he identified tiresome cliches that top our ‘most-loathed’ list.

These are the words you should stop using if you want more people to read your ads, emails and sales letters… and if you want to be taken seriously by your clients, prospects, employees, colleagues, kids and partner!

From political cliches to work and social cliches these are the words that apparently make us go crazy…

According to respondents, the most annoying phrases uttered in Australia include “at the end of the day”, “let’s do lunch”, “it’s not rocket science” and “24/7″ among many others.

At work, “push the envelope”, “110 per cent” and “think outside the square” put us “on the same page”.

“The top three worst offenders were deemed to be those in the entertainment industry . . . then politicians and teenagers,” McCrindle said.

According to McCrindle here’s the list of the most annoying cliches:

General

1. At the end of the day

2. Lets do lunch

3. It’s not rocket science

4. 24/7

5. Calling to touch base

6. Bring it on

7. Don’t get me started

8. As you do

9. Tell me about it

10. Your call may be recorded for training purposes

Political

1. Working families

2. Not ruling anything in or out

3. No magic bullet

4. Can I just say

5. The jury is still out on that one

6. Going forward

7. No brainer

8. Having said that

9. Ballpark figure

10. At this point in time

Work

1. Push the envelope

2. 110%

3. Think outside the square

4. Hit the ground running

5. Get on the same page

6. Key learnings

7. Fast-track

8. Cutting edge

9. Steep learning curve

10. Let’s unpack this

Youth

1. My bad

2. Random

3. So hot right now

4. Fully sick

5. So over that

6. Oh my gosh

7. Whatever

8. Totally

9. Chillout

10. Whassup

Social

1. I’m hot

2. Touchdown

3. How’s the weather up/down there? (said to a tall/short person)

4. No thanks, I’m sweet enough (said at the offer of sugar with one’s tea/coffee)

5. Quote… (said while holding up fingers making quotation marks)

6. Enjoy your trip? (said to someone after a stumble)

7. Oh you shouldn’t have! (when someone walks past with flowers/gift)

8. Singing ‘why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all…’ (after Happy Birthday song)

9. Taxi! (when someone knocks something over)

10. Touch wood (reaching for wooden object or knocking on one’s head)

The other day I had this rich, delicious and sumptuous European dish that made me feel warm, cosy and a little tipsy…

It felt great… for a while! Soon my health-conscious “conscience” unleashed its fury and began tormenting me about the ‘unbalanced’ diet choice that just a moment ago seemed so satisfying.

How can one plunge from the ‘north’ (feeling totally serene and peaceful) to the ‘south’ (feeling anxious and guilty) so suddenly? The answer to this questions should make your sales letters and advertisements instantly more effective…

It reveals a powerful Hot Button you can use to help more prospects and clients take action and buy from you immediately instead of totally ignoring your sales letter, advertisement or email.

My friends tell me that with my ‘mass’ I should never worry about eating too much. However…

Even though I’m not a pokerfaced dietaholic I believe in a balanced diet that’s nourishing and energising instead of one that’s clogging your arteries and slowing your body down. I’m not a vegetarian but many years ago I made the decision to reduce red meat from my diet. I try to follow a pH friendly or alkalising diet that recommends a healthy 80/20 ratio in favour of alkalising water-rich foods.

That European binge I told you about in the beginning was more like 20/80 – the direct opposite of what I believe I should eat!

So I felt guilty … remorseful … and conscience-stricken.

You see, we all have a set of values, principles or beliefs that define who we are and what’s important to us. These internal values help keep our thoughts, feelings and behaviour in line. Transgressing against your ‘morals’ and standards can have dire consequences…

…From feelings of mild discomfort to that burning anxiety that makes your limbs go weak to the darkest thoughts and feelings that destroy your self-image and self-esteem.

With that thought in mind here’s a question:

What is your product/service helping your prospects/clients DO that they don’t do but they know they SHOULD?

You probably need to reread this question. Your prospects and clients feel guilty about all those values, principles and standards that they aren’t entirely living up to… but they know they should!

So they feel guilty … remorseful … and conscience-stricken!

Now, without playing a dooms day prophet, you need to remind them about what’s truly important to them and how by not living up to their standards and values affects their feelings, emotions and ultimately the results they produce in life.

The feeling of guilt is a good thing as long as it motivates you to self-correct, make necessary adjustments and help you live a more fulfilling life. So, don’t just make them feel guilty… you need to CHANNEL that negative guilty feeling into a positive behaviour…

You need to explain how your product or service can help them ‘tick off’ those boxes that are important to them. And what they need to do to make that happen.

Keep in mind that there are different GRADES of guilt and your prospects or clients probably don’t take each ‘poke’ of guilt the same way or seriously enough. For example…

I feel guilty when I can’t take my dog for a walk but I won’t loose sleep over it (and my dog probably won’t hold a grudge either) if it’s a sporadic offence.

Of course, your goal should not be to torment your reader with guilty feelings… you want to create a slight sense of guilt to motivate them to take the action they know they SHOULD take but left to their own devices they probably won’t.

Is there some scientific method that goes beyond the obvious AIDA formula to help you make your message really STAND OUT in today’s chaotic, fast-paced and overstimulated society?

Today, I want to answer this question and more and hopefully you give you some fresh insights on how to make your advertisements, emails and sales letters sell more… in today’s over-communicated world.

Is the AIDA formula still relevant and effective in the Digital Age?

The AIDA formula states that you need to get your reader’s ATTENTION, arouse his INTEREST, stimulate a DESIRE for your offering and drive him to ACTION by either buying from you or moving closer towards the sale.

The AIDA formula can be a good foundation to start with. Sure your advertisement or sales letter must attract attention otherwise nobody will buy from you and your efforts will dwindle to nothing. But your advertisement or sales letter needs more to be effective…

Appeal to one or many?

One of my copywriting clients argued that his advertisement should appeal to as many people as possible. His reasoning seemed logical, you want to attract as many people as possible then let the people to self-select.

Makes sense when you think about it but…

I don’t believe a customer is always right, so I suggested a different approach…

I simply asked him: “Who is 10X more likely to take advantage of this offer and buy from you?” Not, who could be interested or even who should be interested but who is 10 times… This approach proved to be a much more profitable option for my client.

When working on your headline for your next sales letter, email or advertisement don’t try to appeal to everyone all at once. Your headline should single out and interest those individuals that are the BEST fit for what you have to offer.

The other thing…

You need to realise that your sales letter or email usually arrives in your prospect’s mailbox or inbox uninvited, unasked for and often unwanted.

That’s like having your mother-in-law show up on your doorstep uninvited!

The thing is that in today’s over-communicated society your prospects and clients are swamped by such unwelcome ‘visitations’ not once, not twice or even several times but tens of times… EACH day!

Imagine your mother-in-law pestering you like that… it would probably get you a little annoyed.

Your customers are annoyed. Busy. Impatient. Distracted. Self-serving.

So your headline needs to be short, succinct and benefit laden.

Many people talk about headlines and first paragraphs without giving enough attention to the THEME of your sales message. You wouldn’t wear your pyjamas on a date. Make sure your theme and graphics fit the occasion and give people enough confidence to buy from you.

Enough talking about me let’s talk about myself!

What’s true in social settings is also true in advertising. For people to be interested in you, you need to be interesting first. How do you do that?

The best way to be interesting is to be interested.

People love talking about themselves … their goals … their dreams … and their accomplishments. I have learned this more than once… if you want to be well-liked by others you have to listen more and speak less.

But, how can you do that in advertising?

How can your advertisements and sales letters demonstrate that you’re a great listener? You need to talk more about your reader’s problems, pains and frustration as well as goals, dreams and desires. For your advertisements and sales letters to be truly effective you need to demonstrate that you accurately understand and are willing to empathise with with your reader’s lot in life.

That’s why a guy cannot explain what giving birth is all about at least not as well as the mother of three energetic kids can. The lesson?

Understand your weaknesses. If you struggle to build rapport with your target audience find a professional copywriter who has that ability. Without being able to develop genuine rapport with your reader you will struggle to make a sale.

Sometimes you do everything right and your ad still bombs and nobody knows why… That may be because you haven’t positioned yourself correctly.

Your message should sound relevant and important enough for your reader to want to ignore all the other commercial messages vying for her/his attention and listen to what you have to say.

That’s why I don’t call myself a copywriter but a Linguistic Sales Strategist. Sure, I produce attention-grabbing copy that entices, motivates and moves people to action. But, I do more than that for clients…

Instead of asking me to write just one single letter or email, more and more clients seek me out to craft a positioning strategy to increase their market share and maximise their sales and profits.

As a Linguistic Sales Strategist I help clients maximise their sales and take their business to the next level using Words That Sell.

You need to understand how to best position yourself, your product and business in your advertisements and sales letters. Ask yourself…

Why a potential buyer would purchase your product in the first place? What is your customer’s or prospect’s perceived need? Why is your product or service best able to satisfy it?

If your prospects is looking for quality above anything else… you should position yourself as the supplier of the highest-quality, best-performing longest-lasting product.

If price is his top priority then you need to communicate how you are the lowest-cost provider. If your prospect is seeking speed of delivery then you need to demonstrate how you’re able to provide the fastest turnaround in the market.

Back in the ‘70s many fast-food consumers were frustrated with all the burgers tasting the same… Burger King recognised that opportunity and filled the market gap with the slogan: “Have it your way”. That powerful line effectively set Burger King apart from the other fast-food chains.

In summary…

Your advertisment or sales letter needs to be an interesting, compelling conversation that attracts, engages and motivates those people who are the best fit for your offering.

What makes people buy?

What makes them buy your products … buy your story … buy your leadership?

I’ve been asking myself these and similar questions for nearly a decade now… What I’ve learned is that what grabs, drives and electrifies one person may have no effect on somebody else.

How is that of interest to you…?

People buy your products and service for their reasons, not yours. Your sales should increase as soon as you understand those reasons.

What are those ‘reasons’?

The answer may surprise you…

People Play Different Roles.

We are all actors. This is not to say that most people aren’t genuine at what they do. It has nothing to do with their integrity. It simply means that, in general, people have a desire to ‘act out’ certain roles in their lives…

We all have different roles to play and most people want to be good at what they do – their roles.

Your product or service may help men become a better father… or a more successful business woman … or a more healthy individual.

You should first figure exactly what roles your prospect is ready to identify with your product. Then you need to realise that your clients have OTHER roles that are equally or even more important to them.

A father doesn’t only want to be the best father that he is capable of being… perhaps he also wants to be an effective executive, a community leader, an environmental activist, a beacon of inspiration, a trustworthy friend and a great cook.

People Have Roles within Roles.

Many marketers believe that people have just a handful of roles… one that defines our social circle, another identifies our family responsibilities, one that satisfies our spiritual and personal growth, and one that delineates our secular obligations.

I think that there is more to it… there are roles WITHIN roles. People want to grow both vertically and horizontally…

A person who wants to be known as an accomplished business person may also want to be acknowledged as being “up-to-date” … “cutting-edge” … “adventurous” … “sophisticated” … “authentic” …  “fun-filled” … “high achiever”.

Each one of those ‘sub-roles’ is a WANT that your prospect wants to satisfy, develop, define and acknowledge. Each one of those wants gives you countless new ways to hook his attention, stimulate his desire, and drive him to action.

People’s Roles Are Constantly Changing.

Because we are influenced by the people we know, the books we read, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the mentors we pick, the experiences we go through, our daily thoughts, and the society that’s around us, we change as a result. Our values may become more clear to us and, as a result, our roles may change.

Your target market is a constantly moving target. The moment you help a client achieve his goal (become better at his particular ‘role’ in life) he will want to develop, improve or move towards new roles.

Bottom line…

Your prospect or client has a desire to act out certain roles in his life to define himself to the world around him. So, first  you need to understand what those roles are then you need to communicate how your product or service can help your client define his role in life, express his character or announce his success.

It’s called Language Monitor (LM) and it documents, analyzes and tracks trends in language the world over, with a particular emphasis upon Global English. Its findings are accepted, respected and used by scholars around the world who incorporate LM’s findings into their research and publications.

I find this website interesting, edifying and fascinating. For example, did you know that a new word is created every 98 minutes or about 14.7 words per day? Or that the English Language has over 1,005,939 words? What about the Most Confusing High Tech Buzzwords of the Decade? I think this is a list you can’t afford to miss especially if you’re in the IT industry.

LM reveals other interesting ‘word facts’ and buzzwords that should help you get your sales message more in tune with the market…

As part of its annual global survey of the English language, Language Monitor has announced the Top 25 Words of the Decade (2000-2009). The survey used a mathematical formula to measure the popularity of word use both online and in offline media. The top word of the decade was “Global Warming” indicating concern and discussion about the environment was a strong and ongoing conversation throughout the decade.

Here are the Top 25 words of the decade as they are ranked by LM:

1. Global Warming (2000) Rated highly from Day One of the decade

2. 9/11 (2001) Another inauspicious start to the decade

3. Obama- (2008 )The US President’s name as a ‘root’ word or ‘word stem’

4. Bailout (2008) The Bank Bailout was but Act One of the crisis

5. Evacuee/refugee (2005) After Katrina, refugees became evacuees

6. Derivative (2007) Financial instrument or analytical tool that engendered the Meltdown

7. Google (2007) Founders misspelled actual word ‘googol’

8. Surge (2007) The strategy that effectively ended the Iraq War

9. Chinglish (2005) The Chinese-English Hybrid language growing larger as Chinese influence expands

10. Tsunami (2004) Southeast Asian Tsunami took 250,000 lives

11. H1N1 (2009) More commonly known as Swine Flu

12. Subprime ( 2007) Subprime mortgages were another bubble to burst

13. dot.com (2000) The Dot.com bubble engendered no lifelines, no bailouts

14. Y2K ( 2000) The Year 2000:  all computers would turn to pumpkins at the strike of midnight

15. Misunderestimate (2002) One of the first and most enduring of Bushisms

16. Chad ( 2000) Those Florida voter punch card fragments that the presidency would turn aupon

17. Twitter (2008 ) A quarter of a billion references on Google

18. WMD (2002) Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction

19. Blog (2003) First called ‘web logs’ which contracted into blogs

20. Texting (2004) Sending 140 character text messages over cell phones

21. Slumdog (2008) Child inhabitants of Mumba’s slums

22. Sustainable (2006) The key to ‘Green’ living where natural resources are never depleted

23. Brokeback (2004)   New term for ‘gay’ from he Hollywood film ‘Brokeback Mountain’

24. Quagmire (2004) Would Iraq War end up like Vietnam, another ‘quagmire’?

25. Truthiness (2006) Steven Colbert’s addition to the language appears to be a keeper

Interesting… how do these words affect or perhaps SHOULD affect the way you deliver your products, services and sales message to the digital consumer?

Need some help? Perhaps you should spruce your sales copy with more Words That Sell…