by: Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
Like most solo professionals, you can't afford to sell yourself with hype. You want to create a friendly conversation with website visitors so you'll attract clients.
But a website that doesn't attract and hold attention tends to grow cobwebs. It looks sleepy!
And research shows, over and over, that long copy sells better than short copy.
So how you do create long messages that don't set your visitors to snoozing... or worse, clicking off to a more wide-awake website?
1. Write conversationally.
Let?s face it:
web surfers get bored like everybody else. They?re sitting all alone with their computers and they want to feel somebody cares enough to talk to them.
Reading pages and pages of copy should feel like getting a letter from a good friend.
Short copy (and short-short ezines) comes across more like a message left on an answering machine ? not a meaningful connection.
Ever had a phone conversation with a friend or even a business relationship when you just enjoyed talking? You were in no hurry to hang up.
You were entertained. You felt affirmed.
When readers feel this way, they?ll stay tuned ? all the way to the bottom of the page.
2. Maintain suspense.
Whether you're writing website copy or murder mysteries (my favorite leisure reading), maintain suspense.
Each sentence should motivate the reader to move to the next sentence...and the next paragraph...and the next page, chapter and even book.
I?m not sure who first applied the term ?bucket brigade? to copy. But here?s the idea.?
Before fire departments got organized, volunteers would fight fires by lining up and passing buckets of water from the nearest well to whatever was burning.
Another line would pass empty buckets back for refills. Buckets moved from hand to hand ? fast, no stops.
So think of each idea as a bucket you want to pass along, from one sentence to the next.
Motivate the reader: ?Keep going! Urgent! You need to reach the end before anything else happens!?
3. Ask, ?Who?s reading?? rather than ?How long??
Your target market really wants to learn what you have to say. They realize they?ll learn from you, even if you?re overtly making a sales pitch.
So they keep reading....and reading.
What?s your favorite personal interest?
Dogs? Cats? Hiking? Basketball? Soccer? Music? Art? Real estate?
When you?re passionate, you can?t learn enough. You hope the article, book or talk will go on forever. And if you?ve targeted right, your readers will feel the same way.
4. Encourage your readers to talk back to you.
Marketing researchers know: When we read any message, we tend to talk back!
Sometimes we speak aloud (and even throw a magazine across a room ? doesn?t work with a computer).
But most often we engage in what psychologists call ?counter-arguments.?
For example, you read, ?This technique will transform your cat into an obedient pet who comes when called.?
You think, ?No way!? or, ?You must be kidding.?
We also affirm what we read.
?That?s a great idea!? ?I can save money in the long run!?
And (especially if we?re contemplating a big-ticket item) we?re seeking more and more reasons to justify our buying decision. So...you?re probably ahead of me: Longer copy, more opportunities to say, ?Yes ? it?s for me!?
5. Crawl out on the edge.
What television shows become mega-hits? I should know. I?m somewhat anti-television. No cable in my home because, ?There are better ways to spend my time!?
But what do I rent at the video store?
You got it: the big HBO and Showtime series that go outside the networking programming box.
They?re more like indie films than television ? and they attract audiences of millions.
And just try to rent a DVD of past seasons: you get on a waiting list. (Desperate Housewives? A desperate imitation!
Feel free to email if you disagree.)
Writing works the same way.?
Whenever I take a risk with an edgy ezine article, a few readers unsubscribe and some even send a few grumpy emails. But I always get a few orders and queries about coaching, too.
When
I write reviews for amazon.com, I just say what?s on my mind. And I get some of my best clients and subscribers.
One reader even said, ?Do they call you Cantankerous Cathy? You never say anything nice!? But she signed up for my ezine and attended three teleclasses.
At least half a dozen clients claim they hired me because, they said, ?You tell it like it is!?
Edgy for me means strong opinions and ideas. Some famous copywriters use strong, colorful language. Adapt your edginess to your audience and your own style.
Bottom line: As long as you're maintaining suspense, your message can be as long as you want it to be.?
About The Author
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker, copywriter and marketing consultant.
Are you a solo professional who needs to sell yourself but can't afford to sound sales-y? Get the 7 best-kept secrets of cient-attracting websites. http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/subscribe.html mailto:cathy@copy-cat-copywriting.com
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Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
by: Paul Matthews
Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia.
But customers are not buying.
You wonder if it?s the writing. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras for website content - ?write for the search engines? and ?write for the medium.? You used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because you laid it out with the internet in mind using short sentences, brief paragraphs, and bullets to list your key points. Customers might be reading, but they still are not buying.
Chances are your site copy has been optimized for technology not people.
Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar...
Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
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Ten Ways to End Your Advertising Copy
Ten Ways to End Your Advertising Copy
by: Robert Short
1. End your ad copy by telling people what will happen if they buy your product. Use your most powerful benefit as the example.
2. End your ad copy by telling people what will happen if they don't buy your product. Use a problem that they won't be able to solve without it.
3. End your ad copy with a series of questions they will always say yes to. They then will be used to saying yes when you ask them to order.
4. End your ad copy with a short review of your whole ad. Repeat all the major benefits and features they will receive.
5. End your ad copy with a deadline. Tell them it's a limited time offer and they need to order by a specific date.
6. End your ad copy with a powerful guarantee. Give them a lifetime or triple your money back guarantee.
7. End your ad copy with a testimonial. Use one or two of your customers' testimonials that is believable and that...
Ten Ways to End Your Advertising Copy
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Write Right
Write Right
by: Brian Grinonneau
The rich and colorful descriptors flowing from your deft digits on a seasoned keyboard will tantalize and transform your rapt audience. What?! That line may be too flowery but does show how important it is to write advertising copy that demands to be noticed.
There are two considerations in creating compelling copy. You don't have much time to get noticed and the words have to be exactly right. You get one chance. Be clear and creative. And get to the point.
List your benefit early in the copy. Don't make your prospect guess. If you're selling fuel sipping automobiles, say so--in the beginning.
Tell prospects what they need to know--The who, what, where,why and when of your offering.
Economize your words. Go through copy and eliminate that not needed. You can say a lot with few words. Think Nike and 'just do it". Too many descriptors cloud your theme and confuse the message.
Write like...
Write Right
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Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
by: John Rivers
It seems as if everyone these days is showing off their expensive flashy new home entertainment centers. They?re linked wirelessly to computers, have more speakers than a Rolling Stone?s concert, and cost more than a midsize luxury sedan. They feature DVD players, DVR or Tivo, CD players, MP3 players, and anything else you can imagine. The centerpiece, though, still remains the same: the television.
Plasma TVs have recently been introduced to the market. They are extremely flat television panels which make them very easy to mount on either a wall, in a cabinet or on other specially designed furniture. Plasma TVs are known for their wonderful quality and almost all plasma TVs come already equipped with an HDTV (high definition television) tuner which will allow you to watch all the HDTV channels that have been so widely discussed lately. The quality is amazingly realistic.
As...
Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Dvd copy > Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
by: John Rivers
It seems as if everyone these days is showing off their expensive flashy new home entertainment centers. They?re linked wirelessly to computers, have more speakers than a Rolling Stone?s concert, and cost more than a midsize luxury sedan. They feature DVD players, DVR or Tivo, CD players, MP3 players, and anything else you can imagine. The centerpiece, though, still remains the same: the television.
Plasma TVs have recently been introduced to the market. They are extremely flat television panels which make them very easy to mount on either a wall, in a cabinet or on other specially designed furniture. Plasma TVs are known for their wonderful quality and almost all plasma TVs come already equipped with an HDTV (high definition television) tuner which will allow you to watch all the HDTV channels that have been so widely discussed lately. The quality is amazingly realistic.
As...
Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Dvd copy > Plasma TVs And Your Home Entertainment Center
Write Right
Write Right
by: Brian Grinonneau
The rich and colorful descriptors flowing from your deft digits on a seasoned keyboard will tantalize and transform your rapt audience. What?! That line may be too flowery but does show how important it is to write advertising copy that demands to be noticed.
There are two considerations in creating compelling copy. You don't have much time to get noticed and the words have to be exactly right. You get one chance. Be clear and creative. And get to the point.
List your benefit early in the copy. Don't make your prospect guess. If you're selling fuel sipping automobiles, say so--in the beginning.
Tell prospects what they need to know--The who, what, where,why and when of your offering.
Economize your words. Go through copy and eliminate that not needed. You can say a lot with few words. Think Nike and 'just do it". Too many descriptors cloud your theme and confuse the message.
Write like...
Write Right
Dvd copy > Write Right
Can I Fix My Bad Credit Alone?
Can I Fix My Bad Credit Alone?
by: Magalie Noel Dresse
Certainly, you can! But let me ask you this: why fix it alone when you can have help?
While I?m not saying that it?s better to fix bad credit with the help of an expert, there are some indisputable advantages when you hire a professional credit repair company to take over your credit problems. If you don?t have the time for it, naturally it?s better to turn over everything to a professional credit repair company. If you don?t think you have enough experience dealing with the finance people ? haggling, negotiating, disputing and so on ? then once again, maybe it?s time to call for 911. There are just so many things you have to do when you?re fixing bad credit that really, when you compare what you?d have to go through with the amount the credit repair company is going to charge you, it seems like you?re paying a small price indeed.
But if you?re determined to try it out alone first then...
Can I Fix My Bad Credit Alone?
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What is on Your Credit Report?
What is on Your Credit Report?
by: Beth Pardue
Your credit report is a very important piece of the puzzle in your financial picture. It contains a historical record of your personal and financial information including a listing of your current and past debts and the timeliness of your payments. The information contained on your credit report is looked at by many people including lenders, credit card companies, landlords, telephone and cable companies just to name a few. These companies use your credit report to evaluate your reliability and creditworthiness.
With all of these people knowing what is on your credit report - shouldn?t you? Knowing what is on your credit report can save you from unexpected surprises the next time you apply for a loan. Insuring the accuracy of your credit report is also very important. All too often people have found errors on their credit report that were damaging their credit score. Many times people have even been...
What is on Your Credit Report?
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