Blogfeeder - The Copywriting and Marketing Blog from Wordfeeder.com

How to Write with Energy

by Dina Giolitto

Do you want to stir people to action with your words? The majority of web articles and blog posts come across in that sing-song drone. "I like cats because they are cute and furry. My cat is so funny he is always eating my socks."

Okay, this is gross exaggeration – but I'm trying to make a point here! Low-energy articles bore people to tears. High-energy writing inspires action. Web surfers lack patience. If they don't care for what they find on your site, all it takes is a click and they're gone, gone, gone.

If you have a business website, and you'd like to avoid publishing the "I like cats" type of article, then you must find a way to maintain high energy in your writing voice. A few quick tricks...

(Continue reading "How to Write with Energy")

Double Cheeseburger Copywriting Psychology

McDonald's is telling anyone who will listen that their double cheeseburger is soon to be off the dollar menu. I imagine this copywriting strategy has the effect one would expect. Everyone rushing to get in line for their dollar double cheeseburger.

Which maybe they didn't really want a double cheeseburger, maybe their thing is to order the two-cheeseburger meal with the fries and Coke. But hey, double cheeseburger for a dollar for a limited time only? Sign me up.

This is where copywriting and marketing strategy intersect. If you write copy for a living like I do, you always assume that the clients whom you work for have a marketing tactic already in place. But the truth is, they typically don't. More often than not, there's no "system" or "plan" in place at all. And that's where you come in with copywriting relief. Write the creative, give them a McFlurry of your best headlines... but don't stop there. Come up with simple yet brilliant marketing psychology, like McDonald's. Make customers hungry for a great offer that's here today, but soon enough gone tomorrow.

According to an article on McDonald's posted in the New York Times, "The enormous success of the Dollar Menu, where all items cost $1, has helped stimulate 36 consecutive months of sales growth at stores open at least a year. In three years, revenue has increased by 33 percent and its shares have rocketed 170 percent, a remarkable turnaround for a company that only four years ago seemed to be going nowhere."

I just want to point out the manner in which such tactics are born. They probably said to themselves, hmmm, we've got a lot of rat meat laying around. What can we do to get rid of it and bag some bucks in the process?

What can you put on the dollar menu of your business and then tell people they'd better hurry while the getting is good?

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

Contact us for copywriting to go!

Talk to the Copywriter

Are we programmed to communicate in "Markety-Speak?" I'm inclined to think so, and I'll tell you why.

Seven times out of ten, when I ask my copywriting and marketing clients to explain their services and programs, they write to me about it in Marketingese.

"We have developed a multi-pronged approach to solving complex problems in the realm of technology and online business."

Holy marketing dribble, Batman! Looks like someone is doing the copywriter's job again.

I guess if I was not a nice person, I could leave the hard work to them. Keep firing questions, and when they spit back insta-advertising, just paste it into their copy documents, proofread and pass it off as "my work."

But, let's be honest. They're hiring me to write the copy. So what I really need is for folks to "turn off the advertising switch" and speak to me on a human level. Everything is more honest this way. I get an inside peek at EXACTLY what they do. This allows me to provide them with what they're paying for - clear, succinct marketing communication that puts their business in the best possible light and gets them more sales conversions.

"Can you explain your services?"

"We go in and set up a computer network for small businesses. We make sure all the machines have the most updated programs and that they can connect to the server properly. We set them up so they'll be able to change documents 'on the fly,' save them to the public server, and then alert team members that their portion of the project is finished. The next person can then open up the document and add his own changes, save it to the public server again, and pass off to the next guy. We also go in and make routine system upgrades. We work out a schedule - pick a 'light day' so we're not interrupting the client's workload. We also give brief training and troubleshooting for those who need help getting used to the upgraded features."

(That would be the type of response that, with some additional clarification, I could work with.)

I have had the fortune of meeting, being introduced to, and working with some very intelligent individuals. So I think this must be the reason why they take it a step further and communicate with me on such an advanced level. And I also think that society has a lot to do with it. After all - how often do we come across someone who is NOT trying to pitch us an amazing product?

It's a quagmire for sure.

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

(You caught me - I just felt like saying "quagmire.")

Now that's good copywriting (swear jar)

Top 5 Signs You've Graduated to the Copywriting Big Leagues

Top 5 Signs You've Graduated to the Copywriting Big Leagues - from Dina at Wordfeeder.com

5. No more salivating over "that dream gig."

You've stopped combing the web in search of big-name copywriters who will hopefully land you a sweet gig. Instead, you're scrambling to find that rare breed of writing intern who's "fluent in Madison Avenue" but remains completely unaware of her talent. (Hint: so you can make the best use of her services at the least possible expense).

4. Work is play... every day!

You're no longer worried about whether "someone else's copy sounds better." You would never ask the feeble-minded question, "is this the right way to say it?" Stressing over that perfect headline? Phooey! For you, work is play because you're great at what you do and that makes it effortless. Bring on the heavy artillery copywriting jobs, beeyatch.

3. You've become a walking rate calculator.

Remember when you used to sheepishly tell new copywriting prospects that you'd call them back with a price quote (because you planned to "do the math" in private)? Well, look at you now, Walking Rate Calculator. You can switch back and forth between "by the hour," "by the page," and "by the word" without batting an eye! Not to mention, contract legalese doesn't faze you. Nonbillables? A non-issue.

2. Priorities, priorities...

You've finally crossed over from "how many words is too many words?" to "how many web articles can I squeeze out of this one sentence?" You're thinking in terms of the big-picture now, baby! Instead of quibbling over quotation marks and cringing at commas, you're going with the flow, taking it in stride. You know how to please your clients and keep the checks coming in.

1. You're the boss and you know it!

You know you're in the copywriting big leagues when people begin addressing you as "Boss Lady" or "Boss Man" (and it's not meant in a sarcastic way). How do they know you're The Boss? Because your goal has shifted from "Get enough work this month to make rent" to "What solutions can I think of to keep pumping the work out even though I'm completely swamped as it is?"

When people can instantly sense that you make it happen every day, they automatically put you in charge. And for a copywriter, that means you're on top of the world!

Copyright 2007 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.

 

Share Your Grammar Pet Peeve With My Readers

Okay, I have this copywriting thing. I feel like, when I talk to my readers about marketing plans and strategies, I'm swimming with the Big Sharks. (Ask Lori Davis about Sharks). Plans and strategies are synonymous with profit.

And yet, if you're writing marketing copy, it's still important to dwell in minutiae, i.e. be mindful of all the little things. Like grammar and punctuation.

I plan to feature a Grammatical Pet Peeves article in the next issue of Word Food: the Copywriting and Marketing Ezine. If this intrigues you, sign up now!

Mind you, my intention is not to whine and complain. It's to point out that good ol' fashioned grammar is still a critical piece of your professional image. I want to deliver concrete examples that my readers can make a mental note of and save "for next time" they're writing copy.

When I was still corporate, I worked alongside a lovely young woman who seemed to think that "supposably" was a word. She was, ahem (coughing) a copywriter. She wrote this word, "supposably," in her emails all the time.

So how does this happen? Beats me, but I'd love to get your input on this upcoming grammar feature. What's your grammar gripe or punctuation peeve? Send your stories... respond right in the COMMENTS section of this post.

If they're relevant, I'll share your remarks and your website URL with my newsletter audience!

Thanks.

Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

I just saw my copywriting client on the O'Reilly Factor.

I just was called into the other room (I'm on the computer, what else) by my fella, who asked me, "Hey, didn't you do some work for that guy?" Sure enough, there was my marketing and copywriting client, chatting with Bill O' Reilly.

Now, you may read this post and think, "Wow. Dina knows people in high places."

Or, you could think... gee whiz. These days, all I really need to land a spot on prime time television is a website that "catches on."

Are you getting over a thousand hits a day? If not... maybe you'd better make some changes to the web copy. Wordfeeder.com delivers with style... and a smile. ;)

Your Online Sales Letter

Many people ask me about sales letters. Do they need one? How does one go about writing a sales letter? Or, the ever-popular, "Sales letters are tacky!" (Yes- more often than not, they really are. But yours doesn't have to be.)

If you want to sell products on the web, it takes more than good sales copy to do it. I get the feeling sometimes, that after writing their sales letters for them, my clients expect their businesses are going to take off like a rocket. Just like that - as though I'm sitting here doing a magic spell...

But it takes more than just great writing to launch a sales campaign that brings real results. Once you perfect the copy, the next step is repeatedly showing it to people. Do it in your ezine. Do it in your blog. You might have the greatest copy on the planet, but it won't mean diddly if no one's looking!

Before you can promote your sales pitch, you've got to get one written. Get help with the creative process in 10 Reasons Why Your Sales Letter Doesn't Convert (And What You WILL Do Better Next Time Around.)

Why not read it today?

Get your sales copy on the fly - Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

Copywriting: How to Think Like a Top Paid Creative

I'm guessing that you came to my copywriting and marketing blog for one of two reasons:

1. You want to know how to write copy that will help you sell more product

2. You're a copywriter like I am - you're looking for cameraderie and perhaps an article topic or two

I just released an article that I think you'll like. It's about Analogy Marketing and how this technique can help you write copy that's on par with what the web's best creatives would write. You just missed the newsletter mailing that I sent out explaining this in detail, but have no fear.

If you sign up for the Word Food Copywriting and Marketing Ezine right now, the very article I speak of will arrive in your email inbox.

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

- Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing

Oh, right - you wanted copywriting tips!

I have a confession to make. Writing copywriting tips bores me. (She said, glancing around furtively). It bores me not because I loathe writing copy, which could not be further from the truth. I LOVE what I do, with every breath that's in me. It's just that trying to explain something that just FLOWS out of you is... well, frankly, quite tedious.

I'm not one to buy into those goofy marketing theories that there are Ten Easy Headline Templates to memorize and shuffle among all six of the product sales pages you run continuously. I mean, there ARE some old standby's like the "Who Wants to..." headline and what-have-you. But who CARES! Are we that unimaginative and at a loss for words that we need a headline prototype to follow?

Here's how I see it. If trying to think up clever headlines that get people reading and clicking seems like a hopeless endeavor, it probably is hopeless. You need to back away from the marketing and let a pro have at it, while you go and do That Thang that you were born to do.

Really! What takes you say, three months to hemm and haww over could take a seasoned copywriting and marketing professional a mere few hours to slam out and bat some home-run sales for your business. The other day my esteemed colleague Lori Davis astutely pointed out that if you bill your clients $100.00 per hour but you spend 4 hours of your day doing mundane or non-productive tasks... that's $400 you just squelched away! Now, she's a Virtual Assistant, but the same theory applies to your marketing and copy work. When in doubt, farm it out.

Now, I said I was going to offer a copywriting tip, and I am. My tip today is this: speak to the ego of your reader - ESPECIALLY on the homepage. DO NOT SPEAK FROM YOUR OWN EGO in the marketing copy.

I can't tell you how many times I have to replace the live links on my Copywriting Samples page with "PDF"s of original copy drafts because, post-project, my client gets the sudden urge to sing Me Me Me on the homepage. Do you know how much that rattles me? 

To put this into perspective... did you ever go surfing about, in search of information, something that you intended to buy, whatever, and read THIS famous drivel?

THANK YOU FOR VISITING COMPANY X. WE ARE A FULL-SERVICE WIDGET-DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR X YEARS AND HAVE CREATED MANY SUCCESSFUL WIDGET CAMPAIGNS FOR A GLORIOUSLY BORING LIST OF WIDGET CLIENTS ACROSS THE...

Zzzz... ohh, I'm sorry! I dozed off for a minute there. Boring the crap out of myself. Do you know what bores people? Talking about YOURSELF and what YOU HAVE DONE. Sorry, I know we all get giddy when we see our names and accomplishments in print, but our customers are not enjoying the read nearly as much as we are. TRUST ME ON THAT ONE.

Know what excites your website visitors? Talking about THEM, their problems, their needs, their secret dreams and fears and WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR THEM. Telling them how you can help solve their issues.

Does this mean you should never talk about yourself in your web copy? Of course not! Credentials are important, and they have their place on the About page of your website. Your future customers will land on that page as soon as they get far enough past the initial introduction. They'll get there AFTER they think, okay, this company sounds like maybe they can really do something for me. I may just want to purchase what they have. But first - I'd better check out if this is a too-good-to-be-true promise or what. Who is behind all of this? (And THAT is when they finally meander along to find out what you're all about).

I'm not sure why so many clients chicken out of talking TO their customers, addressing their customers' wants, needs, desires and psychological issues. Is it that sales aren't rocketing skyward as quickly as they anticipated? Well, my friends, if sales are slagging, then chances are you have not followed through with the necessary marketing protocol to get yourself noticed and get that traffic  generator humming. Which is:

1. Continuously adding keyword-rich, topic-relevant articles to your website.
2. Capturing the email addresses of your visitors with a sign-up form on your homepage.
3. Mailing out periodic ezine mailings to your audience - making direct and repeated contact!
4. Blogging (now there's a great way to talk all you want about yourself - if you must!)
5. Publishing articles on other websites - in the ezines of your peers and colleagues, getting out there and networking, and finding ways to spread your link and your wealth of knowledge.

So, that's your copywriting and marketing mouthful for the day. I hope you're taking notes - I'll be there, on your website, checking up on you no doubt!

;)

- Dina at Wordfeeder.com