Sometimes less is more
The famous writer, Mark Twain, said: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Yes, it takes longer to write punchier copy.
Now master copywriters agree that long copy works best. But, long copy is not about being long and verbose… it’s about being long enough.
When asked how long a man’s legs ought to be, Abraham Lincoln said, “Long enough to reach the ground.” Good copy needs to be long enough to persuade the reader to take the action you ask them to take. However, you should…
- Never write a sentence when a phrase will do.
- Never use five words when two (or even one!) can say just as much.
Remember, if your copy starts to drag, the reader will lose interest.
Admit the truth… and improve your sales!
What do you want the world to think of your business?
Now, what does the world THINK of your business?
While the former is how you WANT to be perceived by your clients and prospects the latter is how you are really perceived. It’s not about what you think they think of you but what they TRULY think… it’s a statement of position.
A statement of position is not a positioning statement.
A statement of position is what people really think about your business. Why am I making such a big ‘fuss’ about this? Simply because if what your clients HEAR is different to what they actually SEE then such inconsistency could confuse many… and that could hurt your bottom line.
This is especially important when you want to be perceived as a reputable and credible company. You want people to trust you… without trust they probably won’t deal with you.
So, is there an inconsistency or maybe even a contradiction between what you say you are (in your copywriting, advertising and marketing material) and how a typical client actually perceives your business?
Read MoreAvoid metooistic copywriting
If all you do is make the same ‘me-too’ claims and promises on your website and in your copywriting material then your message will easily get lost, missed or simply ignored.
If you don’t stand out you’ll get lost in the marketplace.
The key is to stop trying to be everything for everybody.
It’s a good idea to review your ads, sales letters and copywriting material on a regular basis to figure WHO ELSE is offering what you do…
Read MoreIs your website congruent with your service?
Recently, I have come across several websites that made me think ‘I wouldn’t think of that …’ and let me tell you, they weren’t pretty looking.
Some looked old and outdated.
Too tricky to navigate.
The content, well … it was impersonal, vague and so withdrawn.
I was puzzled trying to figure what they were really offering.
No kidding, it wasn’t obvious. I felt like giving up!
That made me think … why would anyone foot the bill on a website that needs a resurrection?!
Well, maybe your website is different. Perhaps you have updated it recently.
But, is it congruent with your product or service?
Read More67+ opportunities to grow your business!
This is a great list for anyone in Melbourne looking for fresh new leads, check out what the competition is up to, find out what else your clients and prospects are spending money on and meet potential alliance and joint venture partners that could help you grow your business. Even if you live in another state, this list could still be of great value to you…
As a marketing copywriter I strongly believe that the quality of your life and business is the quality of your communication… or communications – the ones you have with yourself and the ones you have with others.
Meaningful and ongoing conversations are critical to your business success.
That’s why I think this list has so much potential… it should help you to have many, many meaningful conversations that could make a dramatic difference to your business and bottom line… in 2011 and beyond!
Read MoreGoogle’s Tips For SEO [Copywriting] Success
One eye tracking study revealed that those websites ranking in the ‘top 5’ get the most views, clicks and conversions. The lower-ranking websites are almost invisible to the majority of web crawlers.
So, if you’re not at the top then the majority of your potential clients don’t even know you exist. That’s because your competition gets all the traffic!
Trying to rank high in Google can be frustrating… While I don’t claim to be an SEO top-gun, I’ve learned a few lessons by closely observing how different posts affect my Google rankings.
I’ve noticed that each time I follow the ‘formula’ my page rankings go up. Of course, most of this is old, common sense… but other things are not that obvious.
Read MoreControversial rapper pitches ice tea
How do you get a celebrity rapper like Eminem to advertise your brand? Frankly, I have no idea. But somehow Lipton has figured a way. They persuaded the world’s most controversial rapper to star in their Lipton Brisk ad.
Brisk video commercial is receiving rave reviews on YouTube and nearly 400K people on Facebook like the ad. It’s interesting how they got those ‘likes’ … Here’s how. The page says…
“Tell us your Brisk story in 110 characters or less for a chance to win prizes or even have your story animated as a brisk puppet that looks like you.”
All you have to do is click the ‘like’ button to get started! Sounds like an irresistible offer, doesn’t it? Well, nearly four-hundred thousand people got hooked and clicked the like button.
But there’s is more to this commercial as it offers many interesting marketing lessons in connecting with your marketplace using clever story-telling…
Read MoreWhat women like best about online shopping
I take poll and survey results with a grain of salt. They are not always accurate or consistent. Still, they can arm you with some insight if you can read between the lines.
If you’re trying to better understand your online consumer then the following ‘finding’ could shine some light on the matter. Considering that women are behind the majority of buying decision then what BlogHer and Create With Context discovered is something to think about…
Apparently they polled women in 10 big U.S. cities, and found that the top-ranked reasons for what women want when shopping online are as follows…
Let’s consider each one individually…
Read MoreAs exciting as reading a doctoral thesis.
Your about page is the second most important page on your website and the most crucial ‘impression’ that you can make on clients and prospects.
Yet, most about pages are plain boring…
It surprises me how many people simply neglect their about pages. For those who still don’t get it: “You’ll not make a good impression with a monotonous, spiritless and impersonal story about yourself or your company.”
Period.
A recent article How to Design a Great “About Us” Page on Your Website appearing on the Inc. website points out that the about page is among the first three pages consumers go to when they visit a site.
Most people land the home page first and – if still interested – they will hop on the about page to learn more about you…
The valuable article above provides many useful tips on how to revamp your about page. Here’s a short summary of the main points and distinctions…
Read MoreShort vs long copy – the winner is…
It seems that the ‘long vs. short’ copy is more alive than ever. First, we have those who argue they’d never bother reading long copy. Then there are those advertising legends and copywriting masters who swear long copy works best.
Personally, I think your sales copy needs to be able to ‘romance’ your readers long enough for them to trust you and feel confident and excited about taking the action you ask them to take.
Legendary copywriter, Clayton Makepeace, says this: “So long as you’re speaking to the prospect’s self interest … so long as you’re deftly stroking his dominant emotions about the subject at hand … and so long as the copy is clear, concise, even fun to read, he’s going to stay with you.”
Keep in mind that when people read your sales copy they do so because the headline has hooked their interest and attention. The lead has KEPT their interest and what they want to do is find out more to make a decision. It makes sense to give them every possible reason WHY they should buy from you.
Chances are that you won’t be able to do that with a page or two… unless you make a totally irresistible offer nobody else makes for a product everybody wants. But, even then, you’d still need to prove your credibility, claims, and so on. After all, when it comes to spending money people are more careful and sceptical then ever before.
I’m going to give you several insights from some of the most knowledgeable and respected copywriters, combined with my own perspective, so you can once and for all understand the best copy to use to help you maximize sales and improve click throughs and conversions…
Read MoreDid You Know?
Click here to learn more!