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Steve Shaw is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

– Douglas Adams

How fast do you write? And is it fast enough?

If you’re a newbie writer, it’s rare you’ll write both “fast” AND “well” at the same time. Frankly, that might be the case for your whole writing career.

Some copywriters just need more time than others.

That said, hitting deadlines and hitting a lot of them in a year can give you a big edge over the competition.

So what’s the secret to writing quality copy in record time? I should also say up front, I’m constantly working toward the answer myself.

For instance, I’m faster now but still take longer than I’d like. In the beginning, that’s because I simply had
to figure out the right steps to take. I was learning on the go.

Today, I’ve got the process down pat (I’d better, after nearly 20 years on the job). But when I take long, it’s almost always because I need the time to massage the message and make sure I get it right.

And of course, some projects just take longer than others because that’s how it is. So exactly how much time, in general, should your writing take?

These days, when I’m just writing in unrefined style, for notes or drafts or only my own review, I could probably squeeze 3 to 5 pages into two hours.

But I don’t write final copy nearly fast. Those five pages might get whittled down to a half page. Or even get cut entirely.

That said…

I could probably bank out a good sidebar or one-page lift letter in about 20-30 minutes.

The same goes for a good renewal letter or highly polished reply page, both in under 30 minutes.

To write copy for an introductory web page, I might take an afternoon.

A 5 page sales letter would take me a week at most, where a 16-page or 24-page promo would take a month.

Longer promos — I’ve written up to 50+ pages – take about the same, only because it’s easier to write long.

If any of these is a launch promo for a product that’s never been sold before, it takes about 10% longer.

Unless, of course, you’re talking about a product that’s just a mess. That’s always a quagmire.

Which is yet another good reason to only say yes to products you like and respect. Because those promos can practically write themselves… right?

And what a great way to segue into a list of tips that might help you’re writing speed along, as follows…

Tip #1 – Cherry-pick Your Projects

This is important. The better you get, the more clients will want access to your time. In the beginning, take projects that challenge you.

Later, when you’re more skilled, still keep your plate a little more than full. But be careful to avoid projects that will bog you down without offering a proportionate return.

Which are these?

As an example, be wary of the poorly baked project idea with no real benefit for the audience. If the client can’t sell you on it, you can’t sell his prospects on it either.

Be wary of projects without a champion on the client side too. Or projects that don’t yet have at least 85% of the pieces in place before you get started.

Tip #2 – Know Your Load

Four solid hours of writing, day in and day out, is a pretty solid pace. One can often go longer. But writing can be physically draining, if you’re doing it right.

And four solid hours of focus on producing new copy should get most writers to that point. The rest of the day, they might spend researching, reading, or editing draft copy from the prior day.

That said, Bob Bly is one of the most prolific writers I know. He told me once that he stays fresh by working on one project for about four hours in the morning… than switches to another for four in the afternoon.

Me, I can’t help thinking about a new project once I know the details. For that reason, I don’t like to know one iota of new info on a new project until I’ve finished or I’m close to finishing the last one. Otherwise I’ll get distracted.

Tip #3 – Gather Your Resources, Part I

One of the best ways to accelerate the pace on any writing project is to feed yourself mind-nourishing, creativity-nurturing information.

Read up, interview, discuss. Do anything you can to get loads of information piled up on your mental workbench.

Call the most central figure for the product that the client can offer and do a phone interview. Record it and start typing as you play it back.

Added bonus: Not only will you speed up your whole creative process, you’ll find this the most perfect antidote to the so-called “writer’s block,” (an affliction most research-heavy writers will tell you doesn’t really exist).

Tip #4 – Build Your Framework

Once you’ve got a grasp on the general direction you’ll need to take in the promo, you’ll want — no, need — to make an outline.

Too many early writers skip this step.

The benefit of an outline is that you know where you need to go. But you also know, as you pile up research and ideas, where you DON’T need to go.

And that’s equally important.

Tip #5 – Gather Your Resources, Part II

Once you’ve pulled together a rough outline of where you’re headed and you’ve started pouring them into the organizing template I just mentioned, you’ll immediately realize… you need more.

So you’ll go out again and start hunting to fill the holes. Pile up more web links, magazine clippings, and notes from studying the product and the customer base.

Yes, it’s possible to overdo research. You’ll know that’s happening when you find yourself proving most things for the second or third time.

But be aware, the research part of your copywriting process should almost always take AT LEAST as much time as you’ll spend on writing. Possibly double that.

Tip #6 – Try Writing in 3D

You would think that writing the beginning first, the middle second, and the end last would be the best way to go. And for many writers, that’s precisely the path the follow.

However, I’d personally recommend creating a writing system that’s a little more non-linear. What do I mean by that?

Research, ideas, phrases… tend to arrive in a disorderly fashion, just like a conversation that leaps from one topic to another entirely.

So what I do is write in sections. I actually create separate, labeled parts of my file in Word. These sections match my outline or “mind-map” of the message I’d like to deliver.

Then, as I research and revise, I jump back and forth between sections, adding to one, tightening another, and copying and moving pieces of ideas.

Each area fleshes out at roughly the same time, then I reorganize them to fit the more logical, linear outline that will underlie the final piece.

Tip #7 – When in Doubt, Write Your Close First

Here’s an interesting idea — start at the end. And I can give you at least two solid reasons to do this.

First, because the offer you write will, word for word, have more impact on the prospect than any other section of the promo — save for the headline and lead. If the offer stinks, you haven’t got a chance no matter how brilliant your copywriting.

Second, because knowing specifically how you’ll close the sale gives you a target to shoot for. This, too, is a great defense against the tangents that can knock you off the trail of your sales message all too easily.

Tip #8 – Give Your Lead Time to Ripen

New writers kill themselves looking for the perfect words, right out of the gate. Don’t. Just get it on the page and know you’ll come back to rework it later.

Trust me, it’s easier.

If you have to, put the headline and lead copy in a separate document or on one side of split writing screen. You can go back to it over and over again as you write to make it stronger.

I always to this, changing the lead 10… 20… or even more times before I’m through. Sometimes I even open a blank document and pound out new “test” lead ideas, knowing I’ll throw most of them away.

The less time you spend polishing words the moment they come to you, the happier you’ll be. You’re more likely to end up with better quality, too.

Tip #9 – “Copyify” Your Notes

Not everybody can do this, but it’s a powerful tool if you can. All this means is simply getting used to taking your notes as “copy-speak,” the moment you write them down.

For instance, let’s say you’re writing for an investment product and you’re interviewing one of the experts.

When he says he has a great track record in picking resource stocks, you don’t write down “Be sure to mention last year’s booming commodity market to support resource buying op”… but instead, you go ahead and improvise a piece of copy: e.g. “Last year’s booming commodities market is the perfect example. Had you subscribed to my ‘Dirt, Rocks, and Other Investments’ advisory service then, you’d already be up XXX% on Mud Futures alone by now.”

If you can record your ideas in a way that’s at least a little closer to the copy language you’ll use, you’ll get better and better at writing copy on the fly. This really cuts back on time when you’re actually ready to sit down and write the full draft.

Tip #10 – Use Markers and Shortcuts

This last one is a small thing.

Let’s say you’re writing and you need to cite a stat or some other number or fact in your copy, DON’T stop to look it up. Rather, just use an “XX” or something similar to mark where you’ll drop it in later.

Why?

Because as much as good copy needs a lot of rewriting, each draft benefits from momentum. Somehow, it comes across in the reading later.

It’s like smiling while you talk on the phone. Listeners — or in this case, readers — can “hear” the
excitement and speed.

Are there other ways that help you write faster? I’m sure there are. If you have your own favorite tricks, just write in to let me know!

Grab $78 worth of free gifts at John Forde’s website http://copywritersroundtable.com

How to Write Faster is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

Text messaging providers allow us to send short text messages to or from our cell phones or computers. This type of permission-based service is perfect if you want to transmit a short, direct message to your customers who have agreed to accept this information from you via their mobile phone.

Text messages are big business for mobile service providers. Business Week magazine has found that more than one billion working cellular phones present marketers with the opportunity of connecting directly with customers from anywhere on earth. It is estimated that cellular phone users send out 548 billion text messages annually, and that number is simply going to climb in the future.

If you are planning on taking your online business to the next level, you must devise a plan to collect your customer’s cell phone numbers and personal info with their permission. A quality mobile marketing plan could in fact, allow you to link the mobile phone to a huge database of user profiles. The key factors to successful cell phone marketing is to secure the authorization from your customers allowing your text messages to be received on their mobile phones. A common way to do this is to offer something free in exchange for their information.

Due to the simple fact that most teenagers and young adults just cannot live without their mobile phones, and also due to the basic fact that young adults in actual fact choose to receive text messages on their mobile phones several times each day, tapping into the teen market could be quite lucrative indeed. Teenage mobile phone users view text messages as a sign of popularity and will undoubtedly welcome and read any kind of messages they get.

Cell phone marketing is based on the concept of choice that is every marketer’s dream. Your customers become a member of your program because they want to get your promotions. In light of the basic fact that more than 90% of text messages are read, you are guaranteed that your customers will see and read what you are featuring. This is much different from advertising in newspapers wherein you have to count on just the hope that the right people will discover your ad in the newspaper. With cell phone marketing, in order for your customer to redeem your offer, they must only show the text message at a checkout or provide the store with a promo code that you have integrated in your text ad.

Cell Phone Marketing Links Instantly To Your Customers is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

Now you have your new website and you are keen to start making some sales! Your new website is up and you are eager to make some sales!But, how can you create sales if you don’t have towering volumes of traffic to your website? How do you get sales when you don’t have people coming to your website?

One of the problems which individuals take up a new internet business face is that of getting traffic to their internet site.The most common problem of new business persons is getting traffic to their new website.

This clause outlines four important steps you have to follow to start creating some traffic to your website. This article will show you four vital steps to take to start creating some traffic to your website.

Have unique content on your website. First and foremost offer original content on your website.Search engine robots take a look at every websites on a regular footing 54Bring searching for sites with fresh and new content.Search engines are constantly looking for sites with fresh and unique content. It is therefore significant for you to have original and premium content that will get your website speedily listed by search engines like google.

Have all your keywords and phrases on your website.Use keywords and phrases strategically within your website. It is necessary that you have all the relevant keywords and phrases that relate to your subject on your web pages and any articles you post on your website. Whatever keywords and phrases that are relevant to your subject should be on your web pages and any articles used for marketing.

This will boost your website ranking on search engines which means that your website will rank high when people type keywords and phrases referring to your subject on search engines like google. Doing this boots your website ranking on all of the search engines which means when searching keywords your site will come up in the top ranks.

You will therefore get many visitors coming to your site via the search engines like google. Google will deliver many visitors to your site thanks to key word searches.When people visit your website, the premium content you have will get people spend more time on your site and yet? buy a few of the services or products you blend in on your site.

Because your website is new, you must submit it to search engines. New websites must be submitted to the search engines.Submitting your URL to the search engines is an important step towards receiving more visitors because it means your website will be obvious from search engines like google.

Having your website URL on search engines like google means that when people search for information relating to your subject on these search engines like google, they will find your website.

Exchange some website links with websites that have a high popularity rank (PR). Exchanging links with popular and related websites is an efficient way to drive traffic to your website, and improve the raking of your site. You will get some traffic coming to your website through surplus websites that you have linked to.You can also bring traffic to your site through websites that you have linked your site to.

By following the ideas outlined inside this article, you’ll understand that escalating your website traffic and getting more people to visit your new website is very easy to do. All you need to do is to pursue these steps and you will soon see a rise in traffic to your website which will mean a lot of sales and online profits for your internet business!

For more information business consultant

About for sale by owner

See for sale by owner

By Stacy Slagle Article2008.com

Business Consulting – Getting Traffic to A New Website Using These 4 Vital Ways” is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

Other Subjects That You Might Find Interesting:Article Marketing, Backlinks, Online Marketing

Building Your List with Paid eZine Advertising is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

SENuke is simply amazing. If you are looking to propagate your advertising endeavors, the only program available is SENuke. SENuke enables your business to channel Internet traffic from search engines by commanding the first 3 pages of Google search results. Once you uncover the right keywords to generate traffic, the program does the remaining work for you. Getting keyword ideas with SENuke is easy, as it utilizes 27 unique sources, which even helps you predict your page rank. Additionally, you can begin your promotional efforts without even owning a website. With SENuke finding keywords that have almost no competition is easy and so is getting backlinks from high pagerank sites. SENuke will automate the process of account creation on the web 2.0 properties and the article directories. To ensure that you possess sufficient distinct subject matter to present to those avenues, SENuke even provides the capacity to generate and slant an article- truly one of the greatest advantages of the program. Your page rank will be dramatically improved with the number of backlinks you are provided. What’s more, you can use Youtube or other video sharing sites to post marketing videos of your particular product to help your business. Now that about half of the traffic on the Internet is video oriented, there are millions of viewers online so videos can be a real boon to your campaigns. You no longer have to submit videos manually when you have SENuke working for you. SENuke is a well equipped software tool that gives you everything you need to automate your online marketing work. You can put every step of the process on autopilot, like article submissions or creation of new accounts, minimizing the work you have to put in. It’s easy; all you have to do is insert the program, personalize it, and begin your advertising.  You can promote everything from IM products to free online dating services.

Hopefully this article has shown how you can get a flawless outcome by using the outstanding program SENuke. With the kind of powerful features SENuke has, you can very easily dominate the first three result pages on Google for your targeted keywords. If you’re tired of tedious link building and wasting your time on strategies that don’t work, then you need this software. Now, don’t get me wrong, SENuke isn’t free; subscription is going to run you just under a hundred and thirty dollars a month. so be sure you’re going to use it to its full potential or wait until you will. But it is well worth the expense because it produces outstanding results, giving you a significant advantage over any competitors, and you will be paid back many times over by the increased profits you earn.  Make sure to read a SENuke review before you buy though.

SENuke: Steroids For Wimpy SEO is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

Nevertheless, many thanks to recent investigation we now realize how to get the analytics program supplied by Yahoo targeting on Facebook fan pages. All features of Analytics work on the Fb page such as customer stats, traffic resources, country, key phrases and atlases). A workaround was just lately formulated that makes use of an picture and server aspect cookie management.

To do this, in your Yahoo Analytics account set up a new web page profile. Then create a custom html image tag for every single of your webpages you wish to track. Then add the html to the bottom of each Facebook web page you want to track. Yahoo Analytics will take 24 hrs prior to any stats should start to show, so you’ll possess to be patient just before you see results.

If you don’t desire to use the method above with redirection, then you can download the PHP source computer code from the above link. You can do possess a host that can run PHP. If you do decide to use the files on your own server, you get most advantages. One is that you can track potential buyers from your web page to your Facebook fan pages. Additionally you can customise the computer code further.

Utilizing Yahoo Analytics to Monitor Facebook Fan Webpages is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

It is very common for affiliate marketers to do everything they know to do, and still fail to make any sales. They were able to get their affiliate marketing website up and running and were able to get plenty of traffic to their site, but are not seeing any profits. Why does this happen? Where are they going wrong? Their lack of success may be due to falling into some common pitfalls that can easily be avoided.

Selling Instead of Pre-selling

Do you take the approach of making a sales pitch for your affiliate products? If so, quit it. As an affiliate marketer ’sales’ are not your thing. This is how sales happen or don’t happen. If a visitor comes to your site and reads you well thought out sales pitch and chooses to click on the affiliate site, they are presented with yet another sales page. Do you think your visitor will buy the product? Of course not. Nobody likes being bombarded with sales pitches, your job as an affiliate marketer is to prepare the customer, not make the sale. Remember, it is your job to interest the prospects into checking out the actual sales page, not create an advertisement. This way you will be able to manage and keep the visitor’s attention so they go through the whole buying cycle of being a prospect to a customer, rather than someone who just visited your website and left uninterested.

2. Common Promotional Material – Second in line for common affiliate mistakes is in the choice of the promotional material they will use. Many don’t even write their own ads. That’s right, a lot of affiliates just use the ads provided to them by the merchant. Instead of using their own personality and making unique ads, they just take the easy way. Now, nothing’s wrong with these ads, they’re well-crafted. But the problem is, everybody and their mother is using these same ads for promotion, which kind of makes you lost in the crowd. Your chances of making any sales dwindle down. So using ready-made but all-too-common promotional material is the second pitfall encountered by associates, and is one you will want to stay out of in your enterprise.

Taking On Too Many Affiliate Programs

Affiliate marketing demands much concentration and endurance as essential ingredients for building a foundation for your enterprise. By joining several affiliate programs and attempting to promote lots of products at the same time, it is impossible to adequately concentrate on each of them. You won’t have enough time to properly research and promote any of them. When you do this, you’ll be losing on the potential of your line of affiliate products that you’re promoting and the kind of money you make won’t be as huge as you think it would have been collectively.

Your aim should be to secure a product from an affiliate that will earn you a 50% commission, and concentrate your time into promoting this item correctly. Don’t rush, take your time and earn higher profits by maximizing your earning potential.

A good marketing technique is article marketing. If you do article marketing together with affiliate marketing, to submit your articles is a vital component of the process. It is crucial for you to publish your affiliate reviews to quality, high traffic, or high pagerank internet sites that will ensure that you get some good link juice and allow you to rank your own web site for the keywords and phrases that you are targeting. Read this article submitter software for more info.

Affiliate Marketing Mistakes That Can Kill Your Online Career is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

With all of this talk about content, don’t you think it’s time to have a frank discussion about grammar? Our Web sites are our online store fronts—our online images. If our sites are full of grammar errors, what does that say about the professionalism of our businesses?

The Internet tends to be a more relaxed atmosphere, so should we expect to see a more relaxed use of grammar on the Net?

No. Just because the Internet is a different publishing medium, and just because we’ve gotten a little lax in our editing or forgotten some of our grammar rules, that doesn’t make it correct.

It’s time to pay attention to our own Web pages and relearn some of the basic grammar rules that we may have forgotten along the way.

Let’s look at what I consider to be some of the top grammar errors that haunt Web pages:

1. it’s = it is

   Example: It’s perfectly okay to bring your dog to work at Google. (correct)
   Example: It’s goal is to increase productivity by 100 percent by the year 2007. (incorrect)

   In example #2, replace it’s with it is. It is goal is to increase productivity . . .

   Doesn’t work, so you know it’s wrong. This is one of the most common errors I see, so comb through your Web pages for this one.

2. Web site (or page) vs. web site/page vs. Website/website (page)

   The Chicago Manual of Style states that Web sites and Web pages are correct. After all, we’re referring to the World Wide Web, so Web should always be capitalized. The book uses Web pages (sites) as two words.

   Webster’s New Dictionary of the English Language published in 2006 agrees with Chicago.

   However, the online version of Chicago states, “But generally, I would recommend Web site for formal writing, but website for informal writing or friendly writing. Unless, of course, you prefer Web site even when you’re being friendly.”

   Now let’s look at it from a different slant. How do people search?

   Capitalization doesn’t matter, because the major engines aren’t case sensitive at this point in time. However, if you’re in an industry where your keywords contain Web site or Web page, you may want to use both variations (one and two words) on your pages, because people certainly search in both ways, no matter which is correct.

Think about your target audience and how they’re searching. After all, you want a professional Web site, but your ultimate goal is to sell your goods and services.

TIP: The titles of books should be italicized.

3. Periods and commas: do they go inside or outside of quotation marks, or does it depend on the sentence?

   Example: She said, “Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks, just like this.” (correct)
   Example: This is “incorrect”, because the comma is outside of the quotation marks. (incorrect) It should be: This is “correct,” because the comma is . . .

4. E-mail vs. email, plus what is the plural of e-mail?

   E-mail stands for electronic mail. According to Chicago, e-mail should contain the hyphen, and it doesn’t have to be capitalized (E-mail).

   Here’s where it gets interesting. The American Heritage Dictionary considers e-mails to be the plural version of e-mail.

   Chicago says that either is correct. After all, the plural version of mail is mail. Here are some examples straight from their Web site:

   “How much e-mail do you get each month?”
   “Send me some e-mails when you get a chance.

   If e-mail is a keyword for you, you may want to include email on your pages as well. Again, remember your target audience and the words they will be using when searching for your products and services. Honestly, if I could make a prediction based on being an Internet person, it would be that e-mail evolves into email due to popular usage. And do you know anyone who uses e-mails? I sure don’t!

5. SEOs or SEO’s

   This is one of those rules where I ran into some contradictory information. In The Wordwatcher’s Guide to Good Writing & Grammar by Morgan S. Freeman, he states:

   “How to form the plural of letters and numbers is a stylistic decision. There are no rights and wrongs, merely eye appeal. Some writers would write the plural of O.K. with no apostrophe, and follow suit with the plural of letters (the three Rs) and numbers (the 1930s). Others think the apostrophe makes for clarity (the three R’s, the 1930’s). Consider “Hooray for the YMCAs.” Take your pick.”

   Chicago thinks differently. They believe that capital letters used as words that contain no interior periods can be made plural by simply adding an s. However, lowercase letters do require an apostrophe and ans.

   However, every source agrees that if interior periods are used, an apostrophe is required, like Ph.D.’s.

   My recommendation? Do whatever works for you and be consistent.

6. Spelling spot check

   receive (remember: i before e except after c)
   all right (alright is not a word)
   category
   dependent
   a lot (should always be two words)
   cannot (preferred way to spell)

   Visit yourDictionary.com (http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html) for 250 of the most commonly misspelled words.

7. Hyphens

   This is a confusing one—whether to hyphenate compound words, combine the words as one word, or use them as two words. As it states in Chicago, the best place to go for answers is the dictionary. Hyphens also depend on readability and trends, such as the trend from on line to on-line to online.

   compound adjectives + noun—hyphenate when the adjectives appear before a noun but not if used after

   Example:
   The newsletter contains the most up-to-date material in the SEO industry. (up to date is hyphenated because it is used as an adjective modifying the noun “material”)

   Example:
   The material in the newsletter is kept up to date. (There’s no noun following up to date, so it shouldn’t be hyphenated.)

8. Additional spot check

   Their vs. there vs. they’re – Their is the possessive version (their house—not they’re house); they’restands for they are; and there is a filler word.
   Example: There goal is to give they’re members the best online experience. (incorrect)
   Example: Their goal is to give their members the best . . . (correct)

   You vs. your vs. you’re – Using the search function in your word processing program, search for you and make sure you didn’t mean your.
   Example: If your looking for the latest industry news, visit his blog. (incorrect)
   Example: If you’re looking for the latest industry news . . . (correct)

9. Singular vs. plural (getting close to ad nauseam by now)

   Data vs. datum
   Data is plural; datum is the singular version. So technically, if you’re talking about multiple pieces of information, you’ll need to use a plural verb:
   Example: The research data are being collected as we speak. (correct)

   If you’re talking about one piece of data, the correct form is datum, the singular version.
   Example: The datum shows that the Yahoo! search engine visited the site during the last twenty-four hours. (correct)

   However, popular usage has come into play. Because data is considered a mass noun, it is now being treated as either singular or plural except in formal writing and in the sciences. Because we are in the data industry, this is important to know.
   Example: The research data is being collected. (correct)

10. Commas

    When you read your content out loud, do you naturally pause at certain places? The best rule of thumb is to insert a comma in those places. Grammar can actually be quite logical.

    Let’s look at some common uses for commas:

    a. To separate words in a list (apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes). Notice that I used a comma before the and. Grammar sources such as Chicago strongly recommend inserting the last comma. Here’s an example from Chicago:
    “I want no ifs, ands, or buts.”

    b. Introductory phrases and words. Use commas after introductory phrases and words, especially if a slight pause is needed.
    Example: At the end of the day, he left the office.
    Example: Therefore, the next SES Conference is in December.

    c. To separate compound sentences. Use commas to separate compound
    sentences, which are sentences that could be divided into two separate and complete sentences.
    Example: Search engine optimization is both art and science, and it requires both creativity and technology to be successful.

    NOTE: I used seven different grammar books as reference guides when writing this article. None of the information is listed here without a reference from one or more of those guides. I highly recommend that all content writers purchase a grammar book. My latest is The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition. You can even subscribe to the online version at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org.
    A free 30-day trial is available.

    In Conclusion

    The Internet represents a lot of things to a lot of people. In our informal areas like forums and newsgroups, we don’t need to worry so much about grammar and spelling. We’re simply chatting among friends.

    But on our Web sites, our online store fronts, we must give a professional image, in my opinion. Let’s do our best to make sure our sites are as free from grammar and spelling errors as possible.

Do you want an easy way to improve your Grammar?

You don’t have to understand all of the grammar rules to use this cool tool.
It is very fast and it will show you the problem area and make suggestions
explaining how to fix it.

Included are:

* Grammar Checker
* Punctuation Checker
* Syntax Checker
* Writing Strength Checker
* Style Analysis
* Selectable Analysis Methods
* Strength and Complexity Indexes
* Advanced Spelling Checker

Check out this quick little tool for doing a check of your content before submitting or publishing:
http://www.searchengineworkshops.com/grammar-check.html

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Related articles

• I Wouldn’t Use Commas In URLs (seroundtable.com)
• Understanding the Plural Form of French Compound Nouns (brighthub.com)
• Search Engine Marketing For Newcomers, Everyone Can Be Taught How Be A PRO (webmanmarketing.com)
• How to Add Singular and Plural Keywords to Your Page Titles (wolf-howl.com)
• “Internal Structures of Logic or Order” (volokh.com)

Top Ten Grammar Errors that Haunt Web Pages . . . isn’t it time to introduce a few grammar tips? is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

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- Robert Schiller

The above video sort of relates, but I just like this movie, so I put it on here for you to enjoy.

Today, we’ve got a brilliant (in my opinion) and insight-packed post from copywriting colleague and expert Michel Fortin. I’ll spare you the warm-up.

Michel doesn’t need it, and neither will you.

Pay heed.

Because this is some of the most “on” advice I’ve seen about writing copy that sells, anywhere.

Michel, the floor is yours…

FORGET BENEFITS, AND YOU WILL SELL MORE
by Michel Fortin

What’s the single, most important element in copywriting? Let me say it another way.

You’ve done your research. You found a starving market. Your product fills a need. And your sales copy shines with benefits. If everything is so perfect, then why is your product still not selling?

Is it the price? The offer? The competition?

Maybe. But not necessarily.

The fact is, these things are not always to blame for being unable to sell an in- demand product, even with great copy. Too often, it has more to do with one thing:

Focus. (Or should I say, the lack thereof.)

In fact, the greatest word in copywriting is not “free.” It’s “focus.” And what you focus on in your
copy is often the single, greatest determinant of your copy’s success.

In my experience, copy that brings me the greatest response is copy that focuses on:

One messsage

One market

One outcome

Here’s what I mean…

1. One Message

The copy doesn’t tell multiple, irrelevant stories. It doesn’t make multiple offers. It doesn’t go on
tangential topics or provide extra information that doesn’t advance the sale.

Copy should make one offer and one offer only.

Too many messages confuse the reader. And as copywriter Randy Gage once noted, “The confused mind never buys.” It confuses them because they don’t know which offer provides them with the best value for the amount of money they are ready to spend.

Prospects want to spend their money wisely. Lose focus, and it is harder to think clearheadedly as to make a wise decision in the first place. Remember this axiom:

“Give people too many choices and they won’t make one.”

You don’t want to do what my teenage daughter does to me. When we go shopping for a dress, after hours of flipping through hangers and racks, she finally pinpoints one she likes, goes to the changing room to try it on, looks at me and asks, “How’s this one?”

“Perfect!” I say.

“You sure, dad?” She asks.

“Yes,” I add. “I’m positive.”

So we head to the cash register when, suddenly, she stops along the way, picks up another dress off the rack, and says, “How about this one? Or maybe this one? Oooh, look at this other one!”

We came really close to walking out of that store without buying any of the dresses.

2. One Market

I don’t want to spend the little space I have for this article to extol the virtues of niche marketing.
But when it comes to writing high- converting sales messages, it goes without saying: trying to be all things to all people is next to impossible.

When it is possible, then your sales message must be generic enough to appeal to everyone, causing the majority in your market to feel you’re not focused on them.

(There’s that word “focus,” again!)

In order to appeal to everyone, your sales message will be heavily diluted. It will lose clarity. People will feel left out because you’re too vague. You will appear indifferent to their situation, and to their specific needs and goals, too.

If you cater to a large, diversified market, I highly encourage that you segment your market and target each segment separately, and write copy that caters to each one.

That is, write copy for each individual and targeted group of people within your market. If your market is made up of two or three (or more) identifiable market groups, write copy for each one — even if the product is the same for everyone.

3. One Outcome

“Click here,” “read my about page,” “here’s a link to some testimonials,” “call this number,” “fill out
this form,” “don’t buy know, just think about it,” “here are my other websites,” “here are 41 other
products to choose from,” and on and on… Ack!

When people read your sales copy, and if your copy is meant to induce sales, then you want one thing and one thing only: get the sale! In other words, there’s only one thing your readers should do, and that’s buy. Or at least your copy should lead them to buy.

In other words, the ultimate outcome should be to buy — every call to action, every piece of copy, every page, every graphic should revolve around this one outcome.

Remember K.I.S.S. (i.e., “keep it straightforwardly simple”).

You would be surprised at how many sales letters I critique where the author asks the reader to do too many things, to choose from too many things, or to jump through so many hoops to get the very thing they want in the first place.

Your copy should focus on one call to action only, or one ultimate outcome. Forget links to other websites or pages that are irrelevant to the sale. Forget irrelevant forms and distractions. Why invite procrastination with too many calls- to- action?

In fact, I believe that the goal is not to elicit action but to prevent procrastination.

Because when people hit your website, whether they found you on a search engine after searching for information, were referred to you by someone else, or read about you somewhere online, then they are, in large part, interested from the get-go.

So your job is not to get them to buy, really. They’re already interested. They’re ready to buy.
Your job (i.e., your copy’s job), therefore, is to get them not to go away.

Ultimately, focus on the reader.

One, single reader.

This is probably the thing you need to focus on the most. The most common blunders I see being committed in copy is the lack of focus in a sales message, particularly on the individual reading the copy and the value you specifically bring to them.

In my experience as a copywriter, I find that some people put too much emphasis on the product, the provider, and even the market (as a whole), and not enough on the most important element in a sales situation: the customer.

That is, the individual reading the copy at that very moment.

Don’t focus your copy on your product and the features of your product — and on how good, superior, or innovative they are. And don’t even focus on the benefits.

Instead, focus on increasing perceived value with them. Why? Because perception is personal. It’s intimate. It’s ego- centric. Let me explain.

When you talk about your product, you’re making a broad claim. Everyone makes claims, especially online. “We’re number one,” “we offer the highest quality,” “it’s our best version yet,” etc. (Often, my reaction is, “So what?”)

And describing benefits is just as bad.

Benefits are too broad, in my opinion. You were probably taught that a feature is what a product has and a benefit is what that feature does. Right? But even describing benefits is, in my estimation, making a broad claim, too.

The adage goes, “Don’t sell quarter-inch drills, sell quarter-inch holes.”

But holes alone don’t mean a thing to someone who might have different uses, reasons or needs for that hole. So you need to translate benefits into more meaningful benefits.

You see, a claim always looks self-serving. It also puts you in a precarious position, as it lessens your perceived value and makes your offer suspect — the
opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish by making claims in the first place.

Therefore, don’t focus on the benefits of a certain feature. Rather, focus on how those features
specifically benefit the individual. Directly. Personally. Intimately.

There is a difference.

A BIG difference.

The more you explain what those claims specifically mean to the prospect, the more you will sell.

It’s not the features that counts and it’s not even benefits. It’s the perceived value.

So how do you build perceived value?

The most common problem I see when people attempt to describe benefits is when what they are really describing are advantages — or glorified features, so to speak. Real benefits are far more personal and intimate.

That’s why I prefer to use this continuum:

Features > Advantages > Benefits

Of course, a feature is what a product has. And an advantage (or what most people think is a benefit) is what that feature does.

But… a benefit is what that feature MEANS.

A benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature. When you describe a feature, say this: “What this means to you, Mr. Prospect, is this (…),” followed by a more personal gain your reader gets from using the feature.

Let me give you a real example.

A client once came to me for a critique of her copy. She sold an anti-wrinkle facial cream. It’s often referred to as “microdermabrasion.”

Her copy had features and some advantages, but no benefits. In fact, here’s what she had:

Features:

* It reduces wrinkles.
* It comes in a do- it- yourself kit.
* And it’s pH balanced.

Advantages

* It reduces wrinkles, so it makes you look younger.
* It comes in a kit, so it’s easy to use at home.
* And it’s pH balanced, so it’s gentle on your skin.

This is what people will think a benefit is, such as “younger,” “easy to use” and “gentle.”

But they are general. Vague. They’re not specific and intimate enough.

So I told her to add these benefits to her copy…

Benefits:

* It makes you look younger, which means you will be more attractive, you will get that promotion or recognition you always wanted, you will make them fall in love with you all over again, they will never guess your age, etc.

* It’s easy to use at home, which means you don’t have to be embarrassed — or waste time and money — with repeated visits to the doctor’s office… It’s like a facelift in a jar done in the privacy of your own home!

It’s gentle on your skin, which means there are no risks, pain or long healing periods often associated with harsh chemical peels, surgeries and injections.

Now, those are benefits!

Remember, copywriting is “salesmanship in print.” You have the ability to put into words what you normally say in a person- to- person situation. If you were to explain what a feature means during an encounter, why not do so in copy?

The more benefit- driven you are, the more you will sell. In other words, the greater the perceived value you present, the greater the desire for your product will be. And if they really want your product, you’ll make a lot of money.

It’s that simple.

In fact, like a face-to-face, one-on-one sales situation (or as we say in sales training, being
“belly to belly” with your prospect), you need to denominate as specifically as possible the value your offer brings to your readers.

In other words, express the benefits of your offer in terms that relate directly not only to your market, but also and more importantly:

1. To each individual in that market

2. And to each individual’s situation.

3. Don’t focus on your product. Focus on your readers. Better yet, focus on how the benefits of
your offer appeal to the person that’s reading them. And express how your offer benefits your prospect in terms they can intimately relate to, too.

Look at it this way:

** Use terms the prospect is used to, appreciates and fully understands. (The mind thinks in relative terms. That’s why the use of analogies, stories, examples, metaphors, and testimonials is so important! Like “facelift in a jar,” for example.)

** Address your reader directly and forget third- person language. Don’t be afraid to use “you,”
“your,” and “yours,” as well as “I,” “me,” “my,” and “mine.” Speak to your reader as if in a personal
conversation with her.

** Use terms that trigger their hormones, stroke their egos, tug their heartstrings, and press their
hot buttons. You don’t need to use puffery with superlative- laden copy. Just speak to your reader at an intimate level. An emotional level.

Because the worst thing you can do, second to making broad claims, is to express those claims broadly. Instead, appeal to their ego.

Why? Because…

WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS

Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising (one of the best books on copywriting), once noted we are not far evolved from chimpanzees. “Just far enough to be dangerous to ourselves,” copywriter Peter Stone once noted.

He’s not alone.

My friend and copywriter Paul Myers was once asked during an interview, “Why do people buy from long, hypey copy?” His short answer was, “Human beings are only two feet away from the cave.”

People buy for personal wants and desires, and for selfish reasons above all. Whether you sell to
consumers or businesses, people are people are people. It’s been that way for millions of years.

And nothing’s changed.

Your message is just a bunch of words. But words are symbols. Different words mean different things to different people. Look at this way: while a picture is worth a thousand words, a word is worth a thousand pictures.

And the words you choose can also be worth a thousand sales.

***

Michel, thank you.

That was, hands down, like wracking up years worth of experience, packed into a single post.

I strongly, strongly encourage the rest of you to go read more of Michel Fortin’s great copy insights.

You can start by poking around right here:

http://www.michelfortin.com

And MAKE SURE while you’re there that you sign up for Michel’s free e-letter too.

You won’t regret it. Really great stuff.

Michel, thanks again!

Also,

Enjoy $78 worth of free gifts from John Ford’s blog at http://copywritersroundtable.com

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The Single Most Important Word in Sales Copy is a post from: Steve Shaw

 

Technorati Tags: Copywriting, sales copy