Nielsen rating company has shifted from the traditional “number of page views” to “time spent viewing a page” to measure a web site’s commercial worth.
This is a decision that will have a serious impact on all advertising companies that determine their web advertisement rates on the basis of such "objective" metrics.
The new Ajax technology seems to be the main culprit why Nielsen felt the need to adopt this new criterion. Ajax allows refreshing the web content without refreshing the page view. You must have noticed the way a new mail appears in your email window without re-loading the page, as we all used to do in the past.
Another reason why the traditional “page view” is considered losing its relevance is the streaming video sites like YouTube where visitors spend a lot of time on a single page watching one video clip after another.
On the basis of this new measuring stick, Nielsen has announced AOL as the winner of May’s “most popular” web site, with a total viewing time of 25 billion minutes, followed by Yahoo at 20 billion minutes. But by page view alone, AOL would have ranked sixth.
Google, although ranks 3rd by page views, dropped to fifth in terms of time spent since people leave Google screen quickly after a search is completed.
But I believe this new criterion has a serious flaw in this day and age of tabbed browsers.
What if you visit a site on one tab, then open another tab and go to another site, then do it for a third or fourth time? I find myself doing precisely that all the time.
What happens to the site left open for 20 hours on a forgotten tab? Does that mean that I have spent 20 hours on that site? Of course not.
How come Nielsen missed such a simple point is beyond me. I’m sure major advertisers are already grappling with this real issue.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Ambiguous Envelope Teaser
Envelope teasers are very crucial in direct mail since the prospective customer has about 3 or 5 seconds to decide whether to open your envelope or chuck it into the trash bin.
Here is a weak and rather annoying envelope teaser that would've directly gone to the trash basket if I weren't a professional copywriter who likes to meditate on these things and tries to learn something new everyday about this fascinating business of direct mail:
"Is This Little-Known Energy Company America's Next Major Uranium Producer?"
My first reaction is:
"You are asking ME? How the heck would I know? YOU are supposed to be the expert and yet you don't know whether THIS [whatever it is] little-known company is the next big thing on the horizon or not?"
As I read the envelope teaser I'm wondering if THIS is a way for me to make money OR provide free information to someone who doesn't quite has the skinny on this "little known company" yet...
Who knows, perhaps this "little known company" is little known for a very good reason indeed!
This teaser has already lost me with its indecisiveness.
Then comes the next line:
"Time-Sensitive Report. Open Immediately."
No. Sorry. I won't. Because who ever wrote the copy is not sure of this company at all. If the publisher is not sure of his/her facts, how can I trust him/her to lead me?
Why didn't this teaser really teased the heck out of me and did its job with no holds barred by saying something like:
"Little known company... about to explode (guaranteed!) as America's next major uranium producer. Limited-time opportunity to get in on the action before the little known company is not so anymore..."
Now, THAT would have perked my attention because of the firmness of the voice and the strength of the promise.
If you want me to open that envelope DO NOT ASK ME PUZZLES and DO NOT MAKE ME THINK.
If you are trying to write a teaser don't be halfhearted or shy about it. Make sure you are really TEASING instead of posing intellectual puzzles with no answers.
Here is a weak and rather annoying envelope teaser that would've directly gone to the trash basket if I weren't a professional copywriter who likes to meditate on these things and tries to learn something new everyday about this fascinating business of direct mail:
"Is This Little-Known Energy Company America's Next Major Uranium Producer?"
My first reaction is:
"You are asking ME? How the heck would I know? YOU are supposed to be the expert and yet you don't know whether THIS [whatever it is] little-known company is the next big thing on the horizon or not?"
As I read the envelope teaser I'm wondering if THIS is a way for me to make money OR provide free information to someone who doesn't quite has the skinny on this "little known company" yet...
Who knows, perhaps this "little known company" is little known for a very good reason indeed!
This teaser has already lost me with its indecisiveness.
Then comes the next line:
"Time-Sensitive Report. Open Immediately."
No. Sorry. I won't. Because who ever wrote the copy is not sure of this company at all. If the publisher is not sure of his/her facts, how can I trust him/her to lead me?
Why didn't this teaser really teased the heck out of me and did its job with no holds barred by saying something like:
"Little known company... about to explode (guaranteed!) as America's next major uranium producer. Limited-time opportunity to get in on the action before the little known company is not so anymore..."
Now, THAT would have perked my attention because of the firmness of the voice and the strength of the promise.
If you want me to open that envelope DO NOT ASK ME PUZZLES and DO NOT MAKE ME THINK.
If you are trying to write a teaser don't be halfhearted or shy about it. Make sure you are really TEASING instead of posing intellectual puzzles with no answers.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
No Copy is Better Than Lazy Copy
I have received this auto insurance offer by mail from a very well known wholesale merchandise company that reads:
"Save up to 20%..."
"As a XXXXX Member, you are now eligible for Money-Saving Auto Insurance RATES OF UP TO 20% OFF..."
My heart sank. Because XXXXX is a good company and they usually know what they are doing.
So how come they approved this lazy piece of copy that will not work for most of their prospective customers?
20% off OF WHAT for God's sake?
What is the base line here? What is our frame of reference?
How can the XXXXX officials know they are saving me "up to" 20% if they have no idea what my CURRENT rate is?
How do they know that their rate is not actually 20% MORE than what I have now?
What they are REALLY saying is "call us now and we will talk about it."
No sir, I will not call you now or later because your copy does not make sense and it also insults my intelligence. And if I were you I would hire a new copywriter right away.
If, however, they did quote a real person with real savings, then, who knows, I might've given them a shot.
A much better copy that read something like...
Then I might very well have given them a call. But not like this.
When consumers are treated like idiots they recoil. The only ones who won't will probably be the ones in desperate credit or financial problem. But are those the kind of customers that big corporations are trying to attract? I don't think so.
Good customers deserve good copy.
That's why I think "no copy" is much better than lazy and unintelligent copy.
Why?
Because when you do not send out any tired old mail pieces like this, you at least do not create question marks about the quality of the decisions made within your company. Your profits might remain level but your reputation and brand image would be intact.
"Save up to 20%..."
"As a XXXXX Member, you are now eligible for Money-Saving Auto Insurance RATES OF UP TO 20% OFF..."
My heart sank. Because XXXXX is a good company and they usually know what they are doing.
So how come they approved this lazy piece of copy that will not work for most of their prospective customers?
20% off OF WHAT for God's sake?
What is the base line here? What is our frame of reference?
How can the XXXXX officials know they are saving me "up to" 20% if they have no idea what my CURRENT rate is?
How do they know that their rate is not actually 20% MORE than what I have now?
What they are REALLY saying is "call us now and we will talk about it."
No sir, I will not call you now or later because your copy does not make sense and it also insults my intelligence. And if I were you I would hire a new copywriter right away.
If, however, they did quote a real person with real savings, then, who knows, I might've given them a shot.
A much better copy that read something like...
"THEY SAVED...
Our Member No. 123456 John Smith has saved 19.7% from his car insurance. And so did Jane Doe -- she couldn't believe it when we proved to her that she could save 18.5% over her existing rate.
How about YOU?
Wouldn't you like to find it out with a single toll-free phone call?"
Then I might very well have given them a call. But not like this.
When consumers are treated like idiots they recoil. The only ones who won't will probably be the ones in desperate credit or financial problem. But are those the kind of customers that big corporations are trying to attract? I don't think so.
Good customers deserve good copy.
That's why I think "no copy" is much better than lazy and unintelligent copy.
Why?
Because when you do not send out any tired old mail pieces like this, you at least do not create question marks about the quality of the decisions made within your company. Your profits might remain level but your reputation and brand image would be intact.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
5 Principles of "Freakonomics"
I'm reading a book so provocative and amazing that it is challenging many of the "self evident" truths that I've held for quite some time now.For example, did you ever consider that the late-90s precipitous drop in crime rates in large American cities, including NYC, could very well be a delayed effect of Roe vs. Wade decision? WOW!
Steven Levitt (Univ of Chicago and MIT) is obviously not your typical economist since he asks questions like "what are the similarities between the way sumo wrestlers and school teachers act?"
Here are the 5 tenets on which "Freakonomics" rests:
1) Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life.
2) The conventional wisdom is often wrong.
3) Dramatic effects often have distant, even subtle, causes.
4) "Experts" -- from criminologists to real-estate agents -- use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda.
5) Knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so.
When we write and design information, isn't that what we all are trying to achieve -- to make a complicated world less so?
Even in sales, you won't sell anything unless you can reduce a list of complicated features into a few solid benefits, correct?
I recommend this book to all my readers who would like to understand not how the modern world SHOULD work, but how it really DOES.
If you like a "tuneup from the neckup" (as Zig Ziglar used to say) you'll enjoy this gem of a book.
The Official Freakonomics Blog
New York Times Magazine Freakonomics Column
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Missing Fourth Element in Basic Screenwriting Paradigm
You must have read the following "Basic Screenwriting Paradigm" a few times too many:
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Get the cat down the tree.
This is of course very true. That's your basic bare-bones Aristotelean "3-Act Structure." It has not changed for the last 2,300 years or so.
However, it is not complete.
You also need a Fourth Element: the emotional reaction of your protagonist to the Step #3.
Without that fourth element, a "dramatic" movie rapidly devolves into a video tutorial of how to rescue a cat from a tree.
Don't get me wrong: video tutorials are great. They are fantastic tools of information design. But they are not dramatic stories for which the movie audience spends hard-earned cash.
As a creator, you have to be very clear on whether your are a documentary or a dramatic writer.
So here is the corrected basic paradigm:
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Get the cat down the tree.
4) Get the hero react to the cat's rescue.
Or, for even a deeper dramatic twist:
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Show the cat either getting down or not getting down the tree.
4) Get the hero react to the previous step.
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Get the cat down the tree.
This is of course very true. That's your basic bare-bones Aristotelean "3-Act Structure." It has not changed for the last 2,300 years or so.
However, it is not complete.
You also need a Fourth Element: the emotional reaction of your protagonist to the Step #3.
Without that fourth element, a "dramatic" movie rapidly devolves into a video tutorial of how to rescue a cat from a tree.
Don't get me wrong: video tutorials are great. They are fantastic tools of information design. But they are not dramatic stories for which the movie audience spends hard-earned cash.
As a creator, you have to be very clear on whether your are a documentary or a dramatic writer.
So here is the corrected basic paradigm:
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Get the cat down the tree.
4) Get the hero react to the cat's rescue.
Or, for even a deeper dramatic twist:
1) Get the cat on a tree.
2) Get the cat in trouble.
3) Show the cat either getting down or not getting down the tree.
4) Get the hero react to the previous step.
Happy 4th and an E-Card Utility for All Occasions
Happy 4th of July to all my American readers!
Here is an article by Peggy Noonan, one of my most favorite writers, that expresses the sentiments of the day very well:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110010269
In case you're wondering where I got the image from, here is my source (thanks to my client and reader Steve G.) :
Click here for iCards
It is a great utility to send quick, tasteful, and free postcards through e-mail.
Enjoy!
Here is an article by Peggy Noonan, one of my most favorite writers, that expresses the sentiments of the day very well:
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110010269
In case you're wondering where I got the image from, here is my source (thanks to my client and reader Steve G.) :
Click here for iCards
It is a great utility to send quick, tasteful, and free postcards through e-mail.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Great Companies Respond Quickly
I always believed that speed is an essential part of many successful projects in life. Sylvester Stallone wrote his classic “Rocky” in four days. Jack Kerouac wrote his unforgettable “On the Road” in three weeks. Friedrich August Kekulé discovered the benzene ring in a dream, over a single night.
Yes, “haste” also leads to “waste” but the kind of “speed” I’m talking about is not haphazard, disoriented, Brownian motion. It is a disciplined, focused, sincere movement forward towards a target with no reservations, no inertia. It’s an arrow flying at mach 2.
Recently two companies impressed me by the speed with which they’ve responded to two postings on this very blog. Given the fact that this is still a relatively new blog with not even 100 postings on it yet, I was delighted with the response. I found myself meditating about the serious care with which these successful companies monitored their brand image.
The companies are FeedBlitz (the RSS and Blog-to-E-Mail company) and Jajah (Internet phone company). They both quickly responded to either a complaint (Jajah) or a piece of inadvertently missing information (FeedBlitz).
Their responses was an inspiration for me in my own line of work to treat my own clients with the same speed and transparency that they all so richly deserve. Jajah and FeedBlitz light the way to our corporate future in this age of instant communications and 60-second news cycle. Kudos to them both!
Yes, “haste” also leads to “waste” but the kind of “speed” I’m talking about is not haphazard, disoriented, Brownian motion. It is a disciplined, focused, sincere movement forward towards a target with no reservations, no inertia. It’s an arrow flying at mach 2.
Recently two companies impressed me by the speed with which they’ve responded to two postings on this very blog. Given the fact that this is still a relatively new blog with not even 100 postings on it yet, I was delighted with the response. I found myself meditating about the serious care with which these successful companies monitored their brand image.
The companies are FeedBlitz (the RSS and Blog-to-E-Mail company) and Jajah (Internet phone company). They both quickly responded to either a complaint (Jajah) or a piece of inadvertently missing information (FeedBlitz).
Their responses was an inspiration for me in my own line of work to treat my own clients with the same speed and transparency that they all so richly deserve. Jajah and FeedBlitz light the way to our corporate future in this age of instant communications and 60-second news cycle. Kudos to them both!
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Joel Siegel (1943-2007)
We have lost film critic Joel Siegel to colon cancer. May he rest in peace.I have never met Joel Siegel but in a sense I knew him better than a lot of people that I've met in person.
How come? Because we shared a passion for arts and the movies. Because I also loved movies for their own sake, for their own beauty and exhilaration, since I was a little kid.
Just like Joel, I also always enjoyed talking about movies, thinking about movies, and meditating on the art of script writing and movie making on a daily basis. It is not a career choice. Not the result of a cost-benefit analysis. It is love, strictly.
In that sense, I knew Joel Siegel and knew him quiet well. I exactly knew where he was coming from.
I used to watch Joel occasionally on ABC News' "Good Morning America" show where he was the entertainment editor. But I also frequently came across his writings on the Internet and enjoyed his vast knowledge and true passion for the moving images.
Hollywood has lost a kind, good-hearted friend. But Joel lived well. He did what he enjoyed doing most. We should all be just as lucky.
Bad "Information Design" Leads to Medication Errors
Why are there so many medication errors in the nation's hospitals?
The American Nurses Association (ANA) researched that question and came up with interesting answers.
It turns out such "information design" related mistakes like mislabeled medication or poor hand writing contribute to such errors more than we thought.
The survey of 1,039 nurses across America revealed the following factors responsible for injection-related medication errors:
1) Too rushed or busy environment (78 percent).
2) Poor or illegible handwriting (68 percent).
3) Missed or mistaken physician's orders (62 percent).
4) Similar drug names or medication appearance (56 percent).
5) Working with too many medications (60 percent).
Items 2, 3 and 4 can certainly be avoided by a more careful and user-friendly "information design" program.
As I always say: good information design is not a luxury but a vital necessity. Not only poor information design leads to inefficient and unhappy lives, but sometimes people lose their lives altogether because of it.
For more on this study, please click here.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) researched that question and came up with interesting answers.
It turns out such "information design" related mistakes like mislabeled medication or poor hand writing contribute to such errors more than we thought.
The survey of 1,039 nurses across America revealed the following factors responsible for injection-related medication errors:
1) Too rushed or busy environment (78 percent).
2) Poor or illegible handwriting (68 percent).
3) Missed or mistaken physician's orders (62 percent).
4) Similar drug names or medication appearance (56 percent).
5) Working with too many medications (60 percent).
Items 2, 3 and 4 can certainly be avoided by a more careful and user-friendly "information design" program.
As I always say: good information design is not a luxury but a vital necessity. Not only poor information design leads to inefficient and unhappy lives, but sometimes people lose their lives altogether because of it.
For more on this study, please click here.
Plot Points - SERAPHIM FALLS (2006) , APOCALYPTO (2006), SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
SERAPHIM FALLS (2006)
Starring: Liam Neeson (Carver), Pierce Brosnan (Gideon)
Directed by: David Von Ancken
Writer: David Von Ancken & Abby Everett Jaques
PROTAGONIST GIDEON’S DILEMMA: He is trying to leave his old life behind by Carver won’t let him..
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To forget about the past and get on with a new life.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: Carver on his tail with a posse of five.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: Snowy mountain peaks. “Ruby Mountains 1868.”
INCITING INCIDENT: He is shot at the shoulder by a sniper.
PLOT POINT 1: Gideon takes out the bullet in his shoulder. We know he will survive.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: N/A
PLOT POINT 2: Through a flashback, we learn why Carver is mad at Gideon, who used to be a Union officer during the Civil War.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Final confrontation at the desert. The two exhausted men decide to bury the hatchet and go their own separate ways.
-----------------------------------------------------------
APOCALYPTO (2006)
Starring: Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw), Dalia Hernández (Seven), Jonathan Brewer(Blunted), Morris Birdyellowhead (Flint Sky), Carlos Emilio Báez (Turtles Run)
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Writer: Mel Gibson & Farhad Safinia
PROTAGONIST JAGUAR PAW’S DILEMMA: He is afraid of death but he has to face and overcome his fear to save his wife and son from enemy hands.
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To live the good life with his family.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: Slave traders capture him to sell to the Mayan temple..
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A tapir hunt by the local Indians in a South American jungle. Jaguar Paw is the chief’s son.
INCITING INCIDENT: Jaguar Paw and friends meet another tribe in the jungle who are migrating away. Something happened to them and they are scared..
PLOT POINT 1: Jaguar Paw’s village is ambushed by slave traders and all are taken captive.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: Jaguar Paw is saved from the religious execution at the temple by the solar eclipse.
PLOT POINT 2: Jaguar Paw defies the odds and runs away from his captors, launching a long chase.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Jaguar Paw and family survive the slave traders only to be introduced to a new reality down at the beach – Spanish galleons.
-----------------------------------------------------------
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks (Captain John H. Miller), Tom Sizemore (Sergeant Mike Horvath), Edward Burns (Pvt. Richard Reiben), Barry Pepper (Pvt. Daniel Jackson), Adam Goldberg (Pvt. Stanley Mellish), Vin Diesel (Private Adrian Caparzo), Giovanni Ribisi (T-4 Medic Irwin Wade), Jeremy Davies (Cpl. Timothy P. Upham), Matt Damon (Private James Francis Ryan), Ted Danson (Captain Fred Hamill), Paul Giamatti (Sergeant Hill), Dennis Farina (Lieutenant Colonel Anderson)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Robert Rodat
PROTAGONIST JOHN MILLER’S DILEMMA: He is a high school English teacher but he has to serve his country at D-Day..
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To find Private Ryan and go back home to his wife.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: They don’t know where Ryan is. They have to find him somewhere in France while fighting the Germans.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A much older James Ryan visits the military cemetery at Normandy, France to flashback to the D-Day.
INCITING INCIDENT: Army Chief Staff Gen. George C. Marshall decides that, since all his three brothers are killed in action, Private Ryan must be found and safely delivered back to his mother in Iowa.
PLOT POINT 1: After gaining a foothold at Omaha Beach, Capt. John Miller is issued his orders to find and take Private Ryan safely back home.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: Private Ryan refuses to leave his squad and go back home.
PLOT POINT 2: Germans attack the strategic bridge that Ryan’s squad, together with Miller’s squad defend.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Miller, while dying, whispers to Ryan’s ear and asks Ryan to “earn it” so that the death of all those who perished to save Ryan won’t be in vain. Back to our own day, his wife assures Ryan that he is a good man and he indeed lived a good life and “earned it.”
Starring: Liam Neeson (Carver), Pierce Brosnan (Gideon)
Directed by: David Von Ancken
Writer: David Von Ancken & Abby Everett Jaques
PROTAGONIST GIDEON’S DILEMMA: He is trying to leave his old life behind by Carver won’t let him..
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To forget about the past and get on with a new life.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: Carver on his tail with a posse of five.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: Snowy mountain peaks. “Ruby Mountains 1868.”
INCITING INCIDENT: He is shot at the shoulder by a sniper.
PLOT POINT 1: Gideon takes out the bullet in his shoulder. We know he will survive.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: N/A
PLOT POINT 2: Through a flashback, we learn why Carver is mad at Gideon, who used to be a Union officer during the Civil War.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Final confrontation at the desert. The two exhausted men decide to bury the hatchet and go their own separate ways.
-----------------------------------------------------------
APOCALYPTO (2006)
Starring: Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw), Dalia Hernández (Seven), Jonathan Brewer(Blunted), Morris Birdyellowhead (Flint Sky), Carlos Emilio Báez (Turtles Run)
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Writer: Mel Gibson & Farhad Safinia
PROTAGONIST JAGUAR PAW’S DILEMMA: He is afraid of death but he has to face and overcome his fear to save his wife and son from enemy hands.
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To live the good life with his family.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: Slave traders capture him to sell to the Mayan temple..
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A tapir hunt by the local Indians in a South American jungle. Jaguar Paw is the chief’s son.
INCITING INCIDENT: Jaguar Paw and friends meet another tribe in the jungle who are migrating away. Something happened to them and they are scared..
PLOT POINT 1: Jaguar Paw’s village is ambushed by slave traders and all are taken captive.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: Jaguar Paw is saved from the religious execution at the temple by the solar eclipse.
PLOT POINT 2: Jaguar Paw defies the odds and runs away from his captors, launching a long chase.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Jaguar Paw and family survive the slave traders only to be introduced to a new reality down at the beach – Spanish galleons.
-----------------------------------------------------------
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Starring: Tom Hanks (Captain John H. Miller), Tom Sizemore (Sergeant Mike Horvath), Edward Burns (Pvt. Richard Reiben), Barry Pepper (Pvt. Daniel Jackson), Adam Goldberg (Pvt. Stanley Mellish), Vin Diesel (Private Adrian Caparzo), Giovanni Ribisi (T-4 Medic Irwin Wade), Jeremy Davies (Cpl. Timothy P. Upham), Matt Damon (Private James Francis Ryan), Ted Danson (Captain Fred Hamill), Paul Giamatti (Sergeant Hill), Dennis Farina (Lieutenant Colonel Anderson)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Robert Rodat
PROTAGONIST JOHN MILLER’S DILEMMA: He is a high school English teacher but he has to serve his country at D-Day..
PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To find Private Ryan and go back home to his wife.
PROTAGONIST'S OBSTACLE: They don’t know where Ryan is. They have to find him somewhere in France while fighting the Germans.
ESTABLISHING SHOT: A much older James Ryan visits the military cemetery at Normandy, France to flashback to the D-Day.
INCITING INCIDENT: Army Chief Staff Gen. George C. Marshall decides that, since all his three brothers are killed in action, Private Ryan must be found and safely delivered back to his mother in Iowa.
PLOT POINT 1: After gaining a foothold at Omaha Beach, Capt. John Miller is issued his orders to find and take Private Ryan safely back home.
MID POINT (REVERSAL) EVENT: Private Ryan refuses to leave his squad and go back home.
PLOT POINT 2: Germans attack the strategic bridge that Ryan’s squad, together with Miller’s squad defend.
3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Miller, while dying, whispers to Ryan’s ear and asks Ryan to “earn it” so that the death of all those who perished to save Ryan won’t be in vain. Back to our own day, his wife assures Ryan that he is a good man and he indeed lived a good life and “earned it.”
Friday, June 29, 2007
5 Tips for Email Marketing Success
Here are the 5 tips that e-mail marketing guru David Atlas suggests for your success:
1) Use CertifiedEmail provided by Yahoo and AOL.
"ROIs in the 300 percent range and up are common because consumers trust the email."
2) Use a dedicated IP
"Having a dedicated IP lets you establish a sending reputation."
3) Use the same "From" Address
4) Tell Your Customers What to Expect.
"State your mailing policies up front. Let consumers know you are using CertifiedEmail, if you plan to. Run an education campaign telling them "here's how to confirm a legitimate email: Look for the blue ribbon envelope icon.""
5) Survey Your Customers.
And here is a sixth one from me:
6) Never ever allow a spelling error in your e-mail, especially in your SUBJECT line. That pretty much destroys all your credibility as a marketer before the user can even read the body of your message.
1) Use CertifiedEmail provided by Yahoo and AOL.
"ROIs in the 300 percent range and up are common because consumers trust the email."
2) Use a dedicated IP
"Having a dedicated IP lets you establish a sending reputation."
3) Use the same "From" Address
4) Tell Your Customers What to Expect.
"State your mailing policies up front. Let consumers know you are using CertifiedEmail, if you plan to. Run an education campaign telling them "here's how to confirm a legitimate email: Look for the blue ribbon envelope icon.""
5) Survey Your Customers.
And here is a sixth one from me:
6) Never ever allow a spelling error in your e-mail, especially in your SUBJECT line. That pretty much destroys all your credibility as a marketer before the user can even read the body of your message.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Headlines - One Hit, One Miss
Best headlines provide a link between the verb and the subject of the sentence. Try to come up with verbs that also define the subject in some important way.
In Object Oriented Programming (OOP) jargon, the "method" should be an "attribute" of the "object" itself.
For example, here is a great headline from Wall Street Journal (June 25, 2007):
"Gazprom Pipeline Plan May Fuel Worry."
"Fuel" is what flows from a pipeline and it also has a double meaning of "exacerbating."
But here is a miss from the same issue:
"Milk-Price Rise Expected to Steepen in July."
"Steepen" is not a verb intrinsically related to milk. But milk, when overheated, boils over in a froth.
So what about:
"Milk-Price Rise Expected to Froth Over in July"?
That would have been perfect in my judgment.
In Object Oriented Programming (OOP) jargon, the "method" should be an "attribute" of the "object" itself.
For example, here is a great headline from Wall Street Journal (June 25, 2007):
"Gazprom Pipeline Plan May Fuel Worry."
"Fuel" is what flows from a pipeline and it also has a double meaning of "exacerbating."
But here is a miss from the same issue:
"Milk-Price Rise Expected to Steepen in July."
"Steepen" is not a verb intrinsically related to milk. But milk, when overheated, boils over in a froth.
So what about:
"Milk-Price Rise Expected to Froth Over in July"?
That would have been perfect in my judgment.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
UBUNTU's "Virtual Desktops" End Multi-Window Clutter
Remember how you have a single desktop on a Windows machine and that everything runs there?
Do you also remember how annoying it can get when you have 2, 3 or 4 programs open at the same time, with many windows overlapping and hiding one another? Navigation can become quite a problem when you are multitasking on Windows.
Not so with UBUNTU Linux, thanks to the Workspaces you can create and individually name.
Each Workspace is a Virtual Desktop that displays only those application windows and/or documents that you place there.
You can have up to 36 such virtual desktops, arranged in up to 16 rows. You can click and switch to anyone of them without the clutter of a typical Windows desktop.
To configure your workspaces:
1) Right-click on a workspace square displayed on the bottom-right of your UBUNTU desktop.
2) Select Preferences to display the Workspace Switcher Preferences screen:
3) Select the number of workspaces you need and the number of rows to display them.
4) If you need to name them individually, double click on each desktop placeholder displayed in the list and type in a title. Click the "show workspace names" checkbox to display these titles inside the workspace button instead of a miniature representation of the desktop.
5) Click Close.
Now you can, for example, save all your writings on a workspace named "Writing" and keep all your images on another workspace named "Images."
When you click one, you will see only those items that were assigned to that workspace (virtual desktop) and nothing else. This way you will avoid clutter for good.
Two Useful Tips:
1) When you press CTRL and roll the middle wheel of your mouse, you automatically scroll from one Workspace to another.
2) When you have your Internet browser open in UBUNTU, right click and select "Move to Another Workspace" option. Then select the workspace in which you want your browser to display. This way all your web pages will display only in that special workspace and leave the other workspaces uncluttered.
Do you also remember how annoying it can get when you have 2, 3 or 4 programs open at the same time, with many windows overlapping and hiding one another? Navigation can become quite a problem when you are multitasking on Windows.
Not so with UBUNTU Linux, thanks to the Workspaces you can create and individually name.
Each Workspace is a Virtual Desktop that displays only those application windows and/or documents that you place there.
You can have up to 36 such virtual desktops, arranged in up to 16 rows. You can click and switch to anyone of them without the clutter of a typical Windows desktop.
To configure your workspaces:
1) Right-click on a workspace square displayed on the bottom-right of your UBUNTU desktop.
2) Select Preferences to display the Workspace Switcher Preferences screen:
3) Select the number of workspaces you need and the number of rows to display them.
4) If you need to name them individually, double click on each desktop placeholder displayed in the list and type in a title. Click the "show workspace names" checkbox to display these titles inside the workspace button instead of a miniature representation of the desktop.
5) Click Close.
Now you can, for example, save all your writings on a workspace named "Writing" and keep all your images on another workspace named "Images."
When you click one, you will see only those items that were assigned to that workspace (virtual desktop) and nothing else. This way you will avoid clutter for good.
Two Useful Tips:
1) When you press CTRL and roll the middle wheel of your mouse, you automatically scroll from one Workspace to another.
2) When you have your Internet browser open in UBUNTU, right click and select "Move to Another Workspace" option. Then select the workspace in which you want your browser to display. This way all your web pages will display only in that special workspace and leave the other workspaces uncluttered.
Consumer Alert - JAJAH Charges Even When the Call is NOT Connected!
I love JAJAH (www.jajah.com) Internet phone service. You do not need to download anything and when you call, your physical phone rings which you pick up and start to talk.
JAJAH is very cheap, has great voice quality and also has many other useful features.
Top two I like:
1) You can have your one one-click-call phone book so that you do not need to enter the frequently-called numbers from scratch every time.
2) You can also save the shortcut of any call on your desk top, or send it to your cell phone so that you can initiate the call by just clicking the icon! Smart.
However, lately I have discovered a nasty feature:
You call someone. The phone rings and nobody picks it up. Or, your call cannot be connected for one reason or another.
Well, JAJAH still charges your account for it! The amount is not that much. Just nine cents. But still -- WHY?
I have written to JAJAH about this obvious software malfunction and haven't heard from them yet.
If you are using JAJAH, I'd also recommend you to do the same and get in touch with the company. If they hear from enough number of people perhaps they would correct it.
And if you are not yet a JAJAH member but consider becoming one, do so while being aware of this serious billing issue.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Tomboy -- UBUNTU's Great Note Pad
UBUNTU (the great-looking and totally free Linux operating system for your computer http://www.ubuntu.com/) comes with a very useful built-in notebook utility called TOMBOY. It is under Applications > Accessories.
TOMBOY is simple enough to use it over and over again for all kinds of quick notes and brainstorming. But it is also smart enough to LINK all your notes to one another, keep a good list of them, allow you to search through them, and even format them in enough ways to do the job.
For example, I have just created a series of notes about the E-books I'm planning to write within the next 6 months. So I have created a note for the general list (lower bottom in the screenshot) as well as separate notes for each e-book (see the one for Article Marketing on top-right).
Currently these notes include only a rough outline of the things I'd like to cover eventually. For example, if I need to go interview someone or read a book on a certain topic, I can create separate notes for them as well and LINK them to which ever spot I want.
UBUNTU made Tomboy links so easy. You just SELECT the text you want and then press Ctrl+L -- bingo! You have a NEW note not only titled as such but also automatically linked to your selected text in the ORIGINAL note.
What's more, when you change the TITLE of your note, the TEXT in the ORIGINAL note which is linked to this one also changes to preserve the paths. This way you do not need to worry about those pesky broken links when you change the titles of your notes. Good thinking!
UBUNTU... an amazing and very user-friendly free solution for all creatives around the world.
Friday, June 22, 2007
USPS: "Is The Correct English On Their Sign?"
I stopped by at the U.S. Post Office this morning and saw this big sign on the wall:
"Metered Mail Customers: IS THE CORRECT DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL?"
This sentence would've been grammatically correct only if someone was asking if the "correct date" actually read "ON YOUR METERED MAIL".
An analogous sentence would be "Is the apple green?", or "Is the world round?"
I guess someone was trying to say:
1) "Metered Mail Customers: DO YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL?"
or
2) "Metered Mail Customers: IS THE DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL CORRECT?"
or
3) "Metered Mail Customers: DOES YOUR METERED MAIL HAVE THE CORRECT DATE?"
How did they find the only sentence combination that was not correct and display it prominently where everyone can see it?
I guess you need a governmental committee to achieve a feat like that.
"Metered Mail Customers: IS THE CORRECT DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL?"
This sentence would've been grammatically correct only if someone was asking if the "correct date" actually read "ON YOUR METERED MAIL".
An analogous sentence would be "Is the apple green?", or "Is the world round?"
I guess someone was trying to say:
1) "Metered Mail Customers: DO YOU HAVE THE CORRECT DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL?"
or
2) "Metered Mail Customers: IS THE DATE ON YOUR METERED MAIL CORRECT?"
or
3) "Metered Mail Customers: DOES YOUR METERED MAIL HAVE THE CORRECT DATE?"
How did they find the only sentence combination that was not correct and display it prominently where everyone can see it?
I guess you need a governmental committee to achieve a feat like that.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Misplaced Modifier – Even WSJ Falls For It
“Misplaced modifier” is a frequently committed logical error that even the most prominent publications fall for occasionally. Here is an example:
“Ports are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer because they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass.” (Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2007)
The sentence is malformed because it suggests that “pesky animals… offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass” -- which of course is not true.
That unintended implication is created because the modifier clause “because they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass” is placed right after “pesky animals like rabbits and deer” instead of the “ports,” the true subject that needs the modification.
Solution?
Move the modifier clause right next to the subject of the sentence:
“Since they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass, ports are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer.”
Or
“Ports that offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer.”
Both would work. Case closed. Confusion prevented.
“Ports are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer because they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass.” (Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2007)
The sentence is malformed because it suggests that “pesky animals… offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass” -- which of course is not true.
That unintended implication is created because the modifier clause “because they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass” is placed right after “pesky animals like rabbits and deer” instead of the “ports,” the true subject that needs the modification.
Solution?
Move the modifier clause right next to the subject of the sentence:
“Since they offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass, ports are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer.”
Or
“Ports that offer large, fenced-in areas of dirt and grass are especially vulnerable to pesky animals like rabbits and deer.”
Both would work. Case closed. Confusion prevented.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Google Page Creator - “Small Design Stuff” Leads to Frustration
Google has a not-so-bad web site design and hosting service called Google Page Creator. And it's FREE!
I've been using this free service since April 2006 for my own web site www.writer111.com
That is of course not its original URL but I have directed my own domain name to point at http://writer111.googlepages.com/ which is the real URL.
For web sites that do not need frequent updating this service is just great.
But it has one small design flaw that I'm surprised Google's really smart engineers and design team still have not discovered it.
When you are in Gmail, there is no easy way to get back to your Google Page Creator.
Almost every Google service imaginable is one easy click away from Gmail EXCEPT the “Pages” and I have no idea why.
For example, when you are looking at your Gmail main page, you see both a number of links up on the top of your page and also additional links on your drop down list under “more”.
But NONE of those links include “Pages”.
So how do you get to your web site design module if you are in Gmail?
First, you navigate BACK to www.google.com (by clicking the WEB link on top) while you are still signed in to your Gmail account, which then takes you to your main standard Google page.
There, you will notice the all-important MY ACCOUNT link on upper right.
When you click on MY ACCOUNT, that's where you will see the PAGE CREATOR link listed and NOWHERE ELSE.
Click that and voila! you'll be in your web site design module.
Why Google cannot include the PAGE CREATOR link either in the Gmail page top links or inside the “more” drop-down list is a mystery. But the first time you try to go from Gmail to “Page Creator” you will discover what a navigational feat it is. And the more you take that annoying detour, the more you realize how such very simple design flaws end up creating a totally frustrating user experience.
Small things... take care of the “small stuff” and the “larger stuff” will automatically take care of itself.
I've been using this free service since April 2006 for my own web site www.writer111.com
That is of course not its original URL but I have directed my own domain name to point at http://writer111.googlepages.com/ which is the real URL.
For web sites that do not need frequent updating this service is just great.
But it has one small design flaw that I'm surprised Google's really smart engineers and design team still have not discovered it.
When you are in Gmail, there is no easy way to get back to your Google Page Creator.
Almost every Google service imaginable is one easy click away from Gmail EXCEPT the “Pages” and I have no idea why.
For example, when you are looking at your Gmail main page, you see both a number of links up on the top of your page and also additional links on your drop down list under “more”.
But NONE of those links include “Pages”.
So how do you get to your web site design module if you are in Gmail?
First, you navigate BACK to www.google.com (by clicking the WEB link on top) while you are still signed in to your Gmail account, which then takes you to your main standard Google page.
There, you will notice the all-important MY ACCOUNT link on upper right.
When you click on MY ACCOUNT, that's where you will see the PAGE CREATOR link listed and NOWHERE ELSE.
Click that and voila! you'll be in your web site design module.
Why Google cannot include the PAGE CREATOR link either in the Gmail page top links or inside the “more” drop-down list is a mystery. But the first time you try to go from Gmail to “Page Creator” you will discover what a navigational feat it is. And the more you take that annoying detour, the more you realize how such very simple design flaws end up creating a totally frustrating user experience.
Small things... take care of the “small stuff” and the “larger stuff” will automatically take care of itself.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Know Thyself, and while you are at it...
"If you know yourself and your enemy, you will not fear battle.
"If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will lose a battle for every one that you win.
"If you do not know yourself and do not know your enemy, you will never see victory."
~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
"If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will lose a battle for every one that you win.
"If you do not know yourself and do not know your enemy, you will never see victory."
~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Friday, June 15, 2007
Watch Out for That Pen Name
Pen names are a long-honored tradition in Western literature. Sydney Porter wrote under the pen name “O. Henry.” Samuel Langhorne Clemens became famous as “Mark Twain.”
But you have to watch out these days if you are writing under a pseudonym. Especially if Hollywood is interested in your work.
Exhibit A -- A writer named "JT Leroy" catapults to stardom in 2000 with his explosive autobiography “Sarah,” the story of a kid growing up as the son of a West Virginia hooker turning tricks in truck stops.
It gets better – Soon JT Leroy is writing for the New York Times and Vanity Fair and calling the likes of Winona Ryder an Madonna his “friends.”
And better – In 2003, Antidote International Films Inc. (which produced movies like “Laurel Canyon” and “Thirteen”) options “Sarah” for $15,000 with the intention of turning it into a movie. The option is renewed next year for the same amount.
Then, the sky caves in – New York Times discloses that “JT Leroy” is nothing more than a pen name for Laura Albert, a mother and a little-known young novelist from Brooklyn Heights.
Result – Antidote wants all its money back since they made a contract with “JT Leroy” but Leroy does not exist.
Big mess. The case is still in court.
UPDATE (6/23/07)
Jury: novel bought by company fraudulent
By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press WriterSat Jun 23, 4:57 AM ET
To writer Laura Albert, her alter ego was a psychological necessity, but to jurors, the fictitious male prostitute JT LeRoy was a fraud. A Manhattan jury decided Friday that Albert had defrauded a production company that bought the movie rights to an autobiographical novel marketed as being based on LeRoy's life.
The federal jury, after a short deliberation, awarded $116,500 to Antidote International Films Inc.
But you have to watch out these days if you are writing under a pseudonym. Especially if Hollywood is interested in your work.
Exhibit A -- A writer named "JT Leroy" catapults to stardom in 2000 with his explosive autobiography “Sarah,” the story of a kid growing up as the son of a West Virginia hooker turning tricks in truck stops.
It gets better – Soon JT Leroy is writing for the New York Times and Vanity Fair and calling the likes of Winona Ryder an Madonna his “friends.”
And better – In 2003, Antidote International Films Inc. (which produced movies like “Laurel Canyon” and “Thirteen”) options “Sarah” for $15,000 with the intention of turning it into a movie. The option is renewed next year for the same amount.
Then, the sky caves in – New York Times discloses that “JT Leroy” is nothing more than a pen name for Laura Albert, a mother and a little-known young novelist from Brooklyn Heights.
Result – Antidote wants all its money back since they made a contract with “JT Leroy” but Leroy does not exist.
Big mess. The case is still in court.
UPDATE (6/23/07)
Jury: novel bought by company fraudulent
By AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press WriterSat Jun 23, 4:57 AM ET
To writer Laura Albert, her alter ego was a psychological necessity, but to jurors, the fictitious male prostitute JT LeRoy was a fraud. A Manhattan jury decided Friday that Albert had defrauded a production company that bought the movie rights to an autobiographical novel marketed as being based on LeRoy's life.
The federal jury, after a short deliberation, awarded $116,500 to Antidote International Films Inc.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Art of Great Headlines
Writing great headlines is a true art. Some people I suspect are born with the knack of whipping up drop-dead perfect headlines at the drop of a hat. But then, to some extent, writing good headlines can be taught and learned as well.
Here is one time-tested venerable principle: make sure that your verb is somehow organically related to the core character, the main characteristics of the subject of the sentence, but it should be used in a DIFFERENT context.
Take for example this great headline by the New York Times (June 13, 2007):
"Casinos Go All In To Draw Asians" ... Perfect!
"Going all in" is a poker term and represents a situation in which a player risks everything. The writer could have said "Casinos Pull All Stops To Draw Asians"... or "Casinos Risk It All To Draw Asians" but it would not be the same. It would not have the same punch and the same juice.
Here the action phrase "going all in" is perfectly related to the "casinos." It is also used not in its traditional context of poker but in a new context of marketing. That unexpected cognitive shift injects power to the expression while still closely keeping our attention riveted to the gambling framework.
Contrast this power headline with a very weak one used by the Wall Street Journal again (by sheer coincidence?) to open a gambling story in its June 13, 2007 issue:
"What Happens in Vegas, Goes to China" (hello?)
We of course know where this headline is coming from -- it's a cutesy word play on the Vegas marketing slogan "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas."
But to be aware of this "trick" is not enough to understand what the story is really about. What does it mean something "Going to China"? What is it that goes to China? It is not immediately clear.
For example, this lazy echo of a well-known slogan justifies us to wonder if "extramarital affairs" started in Vegas end up "in China" somehow? It misdirects our attention.
Then we read the accompanying subheader: "$2.2 Billion Casino Resort Is Part of New Push in Cotai To Lure Gamblers, Travelers"
O-kay... now we see what the header was talking about.
But if a header needs a subheader to be understood, then it is failing in its primary function of immediately communicating the core summary of the news story. Otherwise why open a story with a header at all?
More on this topic later on, with more practical tips for writing great headlines...
Here is one time-tested venerable principle: make sure that your verb is somehow organically related to the core character, the main characteristics of the subject of the sentence, but it should be used in a DIFFERENT context.
Take for example this great headline by the New York Times (June 13, 2007):
"Casinos Go All In To Draw Asians" ... Perfect!
"Going all in" is a poker term and represents a situation in which a player risks everything. The writer could have said "Casinos Pull All Stops To Draw Asians"... or "Casinos Risk It All To Draw Asians" but it would not be the same. It would not have the same punch and the same juice.
Here the action phrase "going all in" is perfectly related to the "casinos." It is also used not in its traditional context of poker but in a new context of marketing. That unexpected cognitive shift injects power to the expression while still closely keeping our attention riveted to the gambling framework.
Contrast this power headline with a very weak one used by the Wall Street Journal again (by sheer coincidence?) to open a gambling story in its June 13, 2007 issue:
"What Happens in Vegas, Goes to China" (hello?)
We of course know where this headline is coming from -- it's a cutesy word play on the Vegas marketing slogan "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas."
But to be aware of this "trick" is not enough to understand what the story is really about. What does it mean something "Going to China"? What is it that goes to China? It is not immediately clear.
For example, this lazy echo of a well-known slogan justifies us to wonder if "extramarital affairs" started in Vegas end up "in China" somehow? It misdirects our attention.
Then we read the accompanying subheader: "$2.2 Billion Casino Resort Is Part of New Push in Cotai To Lure Gamblers, Travelers"
O-kay... now we see what the header was talking about.
But if a header needs a subheader to be understood, then it is failing in its primary function of immediately communicating the core summary of the news story. Otherwise why open a story with a header at all?
More on this topic later on, with more practical tips for writing great headlines...
Screenwriting – Write Your Movie Backwards
Did you know that Dave Chase, the genius behind The Sopranos series, has visualized that shocking very last scene [screen going black for 10 seconds] a full three years ago? He carried that ending with him for three years. He must have realized the power of configuring his ending well in advance to settle the issue three years in advance.
Many successful movies would not add up to anything without their strong endings. Every scene is shaded and nuanced by the ending in one way or the other. As an art form with its own limitations, screenplays really are anchored by their last scenes.
Imagine, for example, the “Sixth Sense.” And think about its unexpected ending. Could any of the earlier scenes make any sense if the ending was different? Of course not.
Here is the “Ugur Akinci Method” (ahem!) of writing a screenplay without too much pain (“some pain” is unavoidable of course):
Here is the "Ugur Akinci Method" (ahem!) for writing a screenplay without too much pain ("some pain" is unavoidable of course):
1. First decide on what your ENDING will be.
2. Think your way backwards, all the way to the beginning of your script. Try to see the whole movie playing from beginning to the end in that little movie screen on the inside of your forehead.
3. Chop your story into 18 to 25 sequences.
4. Divide each sequence into 3 to 5 scenes.
5. Sit down and write the whole thing as quickly as possible from start to finish, without stopping for any reflection or self-criticism. The minute you stop and start "thinking" about it you will freeze forever and never get done.
6. Once you finish your 100 to 120 pages, you can re-write, edit and polish to your heart's content. Writing is rewriting. But "writing" -- and not the "rewriting" -- comes first.
Many successful movies would not add up to anything without their strong endings. Every scene is shaded and nuanced by the ending in one way or the other. As an art form with its own limitations, screenplays really are anchored by their last scenes.
Imagine, for example, the “Sixth Sense.” And think about its unexpected ending. Could any of the earlier scenes make any sense if the ending was different? Of course not.
Here is the “Ugur Akinci Method” (ahem!) of writing a screenplay without too much pain (“some pain” is unavoidable of course):
Here is the "Ugur Akinci Method" (ahem!) for writing a screenplay without too much pain ("some pain" is unavoidable of course):
1. First decide on what your ENDING will be.
2. Think your way backwards, all the way to the beginning of your script. Try to see the whole movie playing from beginning to the end in that little movie screen on the inside of your forehead.
3. Chop your story into 18 to 25 sequences.
4. Divide each sequence into 3 to 5 scenes.
5. Sit down and write the whole thing as quickly as possible from start to finish, without stopping for any reflection or self-criticism. The minute you stop and start "thinking" about it you will freeze forever and never get done.
6. Once you finish your 100 to 120 pages, you can re-write, edit and polish to your heart's content. Writing is rewriting. But "writing" -- and not the "rewriting" -- comes first.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Importance of Designing Simple Things Well
Good design is invisible. It works beautifully, seamlessly, does the job without a whimper.
Bad design, on the other hand, is everywhere! It sticks out like a pair of brown shoes under a black tux. It is in-your-face obvious.
The PT Cruiser that I have rented for the week made me realize once again how our daily lives get complicated for no other reason than bad design.
First, the window power buttons. Everyone who gets into a PT Cruiser searches for the window buttons in vain. Why? Because the designers of PT decided it would be a really “cute” idea to place all four window controls on the center of the dashboard!
So when you approach a gate toll and when you need to roll down your window in a hurry, don't panic. Just think about all the time and energy that went into an “innovation” that neither works nor is needed, and have some compassion.
Second, if you need to pop open your trunk lid from inside for easy loading and unloading of your grocery bags, forget about it. There is no pop-up button like you would have in 90% of all cars these days, that little and very useful button somewhere in the lower left side of the steering wheel.
You need to get down and insert your key into the trunk lock and open it manually every time you need to open your trunk. How's THAT for convenience?
And thirdly, watch out for the key itself because the PT designers placed the PANIC button right on the key, exactly where you would be grabbing it to unlock your doors and your trunk.
The result? On various occasions throughout the day you activate your car alarm without intending to. And if that is happening inside the tight space of an underground garage, the effect is all the more embarrassing and ear-splitting of course.
As American car manufacturers are wondering why Japanese and South Korean car makers are taking over the American market they should really pay attention to all these small things that either don't work or work with unpleasant results.
It's time they realize that “cute” is not always “friendly.”
Perhaps by taking such “design risks and challenges” they are trying to take a road less traveled and discover some new “aesthetic ground.”
Yet they should also remember what Jerry Seinfeld said about the matter: “Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.”
Bad design, on the other hand, is everywhere! It sticks out like a pair of brown shoes under a black tux. It is in-your-face obvious.
The PT Cruiser that I have rented for the week made me realize once again how our daily lives get complicated for no other reason than bad design.
First, the window power buttons. Everyone who gets into a PT Cruiser searches for the window buttons in vain. Why? Because the designers of PT decided it would be a really “cute” idea to place all four window controls on the center of the dashboard!
So when you approach a gate toll and when you need to roll down your window in a hurry, don't panic. Just think about all the time and energy that went into an “innovation” that neither works nor is needed, and have some compassion.
Second, if you need to pop open your trunk lid from inside for easy loading and unloading of your grocery bags, forget about it. There is no pop-up button like you would have in 90% of all cars these days, that little and very useful button somewhere in the lower left side of the steering wheel.
You need to get down and insert your key into the trunk lock and open it manually every time you need to open your trunk. How's THAT for convenience?
And thirdly, watch out for the key itself because the PT designers placed the PANIC button right on the key, exactly where you would be grabbing it to unlock your doors and your trunk.
The result? On various occasions throughout the day you activate your car alarm without intending to. And if that is happening inside the tight space of an underground garage, the effect is all the more embarrassing and ear-splitting of course.
As American car manufacturers are wondering why Japanese and South Korean car makers are taking over the American market they should really pay attention to all these small things that either don't work or work with unpleasant results.
It's time they realize that “cute” is not always “friendly.”
Perhaps by taking such “design risks and challenges” they are trying to take a road less traveled and discover some new “aesthetic ground.”
Yet they should also remember what Jerry Seinfeld said about the matter: “Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.”
Sunday, June 10, 2007
FREE Copy for Non-Profits in Need
Good morning folks! This morning I woke up with a great inspiration.
If you are a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization in need of non-commercial copy for a good charitable cause, yet you are in no position to pay the $75 to $200 hourly fees that most professional copy writers like myself regularly charge, then don't despair.
I've decided to donate each month a certain portion of my time to one such qualified organization on a first-come first-served basis. This would be my own small way of giving back to the world what I received so generously from it -- this precious gift of language and creative expression.
There is no gimmick, no fine-print, no nothing to this offer. It is exactly what it reads like.
If you are one such organization please write to me at writer111[REMOVE this first to prevent spam]@gmail.com and explain your situation and your need. If I think you qualify for my free copywriting offer, I would be happy and honored to be in your service, time permitting.
My thanks in advance for helping us make this world a better place to live, one correctly-chosen word and one well-turned phrase at a time.
If you are a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization in need of non-commercial copy for a good charitable cause, yet you are in no position to pay the $75 to $200 hourly fees that most professional copy writers like myself regularly charge, then don't despair.
I've decided to donate each month a certain portion of my time to one such qualified organization on a first-come first-served basis. This would be my own small way of giving back to the world what I received so generously from it -- this precious gift of language and creative expression.
There is no gimmick, no fine-print, no nothing to this offer. It is exactly what it reads like.
If you are one such organization please write to me at writer111[REMOVE this first to prevent spam]@gmail.com and explain your situation and your need. If I think you qualify for my free copywriting offer, I would be happy and honored to be in your service, time permitting.
My thanks in advance for helping us make this world a better place to live, one correctly-chosen word and one well-turned phrase at a time.
Friday, June 8, 2007
A Manual for $20,000
Sometimes it's not easy to price a technical writer's work. How much is a user's manual "worth", really?
It probably is not worth much if it is one of those thick door-stoppers gathering dust at the top shelf of a never-used library.
However, it might also be worth billions if it shows a technician at a nuclear plant how to stop a core meltdown in progress.
Here is a rather well-priced manual that I've read quoted in the Wall Street Journal (June 7, 2007).
Natasha Pearl runs a New York lifestyle-management service. Among her services is finding top-quality kitchen personnel for her wealthy clients.
Ms. Pearl reportedly charges $10,000 "to find a chef" "and up to $20,000 to draw up a housekeeping procedural manual for a mansion."
As Sinatra says in one of his immortal songs, "nice job if you can get it..."
It probably is not worth much if it is one of those thick door-stoppers gathering dust at the top shelf of a never-used library.
However, it might also be worth billions if it shows a technician at a nuclear plant how to stop a core meltdown in progress.
Here is a rather well-priced manual that I've read quoted in the Wall Street Journal (June 7, 2007).
Natasha Pearl runs a New York lifestyle-management service. Among her services is finding top-quality kitchen personnel for her wealthy clients.
Ms. Pearl reportedly charges $10,000 "to find a chef" "and up to $20,000 to draw up a housekeeping procedural manual for a mansion."
As Sinatra says in one of his immortal songs, "nice job if you can get it..."
Good Copy Illuminates and Delivers (the Truth)
Good copy has two important functions.
1) It brings up "the world" alive. And once our attention is engaged,
2) It also delivers the unvarnished truth.
Delivering the truth without aesthetics, without illumination, would be like that proverbial tree falling down in the forest and nobody noticing it. Does a tree really fall if there are no witnesses? We don't know.
Sheer aesthetic fireworks, on the other hand, without any truth, is disservice to the world. It is betrayal of our short existence here on this earth. It's the lowliest of the black-arts.
There should have been an Eleventh Commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Mesmerize For the Sake of Self-Aggrandizement." Eventually all good writers come to learn appreciate the "Eleventh Commandment."
Here is an author that I discovered today; a writer who has a full grasp of both of these important prose rules and boy, can she write!
She is Manohla Dargis of the New York Times and she is writing "only" movie reviews. But they are complete. Perfect. Because what she writes is both beautiful and true.
Here is the beauty part:
"Played by a tamped-down, amused and amusing Al Pacino, Willy Bank is a pint-size Trump in oversize eyeglasses and a burnt-orange tan that makes him look like an Hermès handbag..."
With a description that visual and strong, you can immediately see this character right before your very own eyes. That's power copy.
But that's not all. Dargis continues:
"But that’s how everything rolls in Mr. Soderbergh’s Vegas: smoothly and sleekly and low to the ground, without obvious effort and, most important, without ugliness... When Danny Ocean and his Boy Friday, Rusty Ryan (Mr. Pitt), stroll across a casino floor, you never see the cigarette burns on the carpeting or the middle-aged men quietly weeping after the night and their savings are long gone."
Wow! That's Sociology of Vegas 101 in a few sentences.
Writing well does not need to sacrifice from the truth. Or, inversely, writing the truth need not be an exercise in eating broken glass. Manohla Dargis is one of the many excellent writers out there today proving the point.
1) It brings up "the world" alive. And once our attention is engaged,
2) It also delivers the unvarnished truth.
Delivering the truth without aesthetics, without illumination, would be like that proverbial tree falling down in the forest and nobody noticing it. Does a tree really fall if there are no witnesses? We don't know.
Sheer aesthetic fireworks, on the other hand, without any truth, is disservice to the world. It is betrayal of our short existence here on this earth. It's the lowliest of the black-arts.
There should have been an Eleventh Commandment: "Thou Shalt Not Mesmerize For the Sake of Self-Aggrandizement." Eventually all good writers come to learn appreciate the "Eleventh Commandment."
Here is an author that I discovered today; a writer who has a full grasp of both of these important prose rules and boy, can she write!
She is Manohla Dargis of the New York Times and she is writing "only" movie reviews. But they are complete. Perfect. Because what she writes is both beautiful and true.
Here is the beauty part:
"Played by a tamped-down, amused and amusing Al Pacino, Willy Bank is a pint-size Trump in oversize eyeglasses and a burnt-orange tan that makes him look like an Hermès handbag..."
With a description that visual and strong, you can immediately see this character right before your very own eyes. That's power copy.
But that's not all. Dargis continues:
"But that’s how everything rolls in Mr. Soderbergh’s Vegas: smoothly and sleekly and low to the ground, without obvious effort and, most important, without ugliness... When Danny Ocean and his Boy Friday, Rusty Ryan (Mr. Pitt), stroll across a casino floor, you never see the cigarette burns on the carpeting or the middle-aged men quietly weeping after the night and their savings are long gone."
Wow! That's Sociology of Vegas 101 in a few sentences.
Writing well does not need to sacrifice from the truth. Or, inversely, writing the truth need not be an exercise in eating broken glass. Manohla Dargis is one of the many excellent writers out there today proving the point.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Two Inspiring Success Stories
Did You Know That...?
John Paul DeJoria, Co-Founder and CEO of "John Paul Mitchell Systems" which sells $800 million worth of hair products a year, was not always rich. "I was homeless twice in my life, mainly because I was too proud to ask anybody for help. In my early twenties I was divorced from my first wife. I had my son; I had no place to live. I went out and collected Coke bottles at night. I'd cash them in at the drugstore. You'd only get two or three cents in those days. We lived off a very skimpy diet in those days, rice, potatoes, cereal, macaroni and cheese or canned soup, but we lived."
Bill France, Jr., the man who single-handedly invented NASCAR stock car racing and helped build the Daytona race track, used to sweep the floors in his youth to make ends meet. When Daytona International Speedtrack was built in the late 1950s, France helped grade the earth, erect the stands, and even cleaned the port-a-johns on the construction site. When France passed away as a multi-millionaire on June 4, 2007 he left behind not only a legacy of sports but one of perseverance and success as well.
John Paul DeJoria, Co-Founder and CEO of "John Paul Mitchell Systems" which sells $800 million worth of hair products a year, was not always rich. "I was homeless twice in my life, mainly because I was too proud to ask anybody for help. In my early twenties I was divorced from my first wife. I had my son; I had no place to live. I went out and collected Coke bottles at night. I'd cash them in at the drugstore. You'd only get two or three cents in those days. We lived off a very skimpy diet in those days, rice, potatoes, cereal, macaroni and cheese or canned soup, but we lived."
Bill France, Jr., the man who single-handedly invented NASCAR stock car racing and helped build the Daytona race track, used to sweep the floors in his youth to make ends meet. When Daytona International Speedtrack was built in the late 1950s, France helped grade the earth, erect the stands, and even cleaned the port-a-johns on the construction site. When France passed away as a multi-millionaire on June 4, 2007 he left behind not only a legacy of sports but one of perseverance and success as well.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Marketing Notes: "Qode" and Onion's Sharp Take on MySpace
This morning a reader of mine made me aware that QR Code technology indeed exists in the United States, provided by Qode, a Florida company (www.qode.com). Thanks Ken D. for the heads up.
You can download the Qode software to your cell phone and then point it to the "Qode" (a version of QR Code) and it will take you to the related web site. I guess these must be proprietary QR codes because you would not want any cell phone to point and get to the same web site, or would you? I'm still not sure who and how money is made through this technology. What is the business model? Probably that's also changing and evolving as well as we speak.
You can point your cell phone at a Qode and take a virtual tour of a house on sale, compare ticket prices, get all kinds of info on all kinds of products and services, etc. And the information can be customized by times zone and other variables as well. For example, pointing the phone at a Qode "stamp" at 9 a.m. in San Francisco would take you to a web page appropriate for the "morning zone" but the same stamp will take you to an "afternoon" page in New York.
SECOND ITEM:
The Onion, the nation's premiere satire paper, has published an item on May 31 that made me laugh out loud because it expressed my own cynicism about MySpace's claim as a "social space." How can people who do not even know one another claim to be one another's friends, by the thousands at a time? That I could never comprehend. And The onion slashed at the whole idea with the following new story:
"MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless"!!! I really laughed hard at that one. "BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- An estimated 150 million people continued to be without social lives Tuesday as a massive system failure at MySpace.com entered its third day."
Fantastic humor but perhaps also a scary harbinger of things to come... could it be true? Why not?
You can download the Qode software to your cell phone and then point it to the "Qode" (a version of QR Code) and it will take you to the related web site. I guess these must be proprietary QR codes because you would not want any cell phone to point and get to the same web site, or would you? I'm still not sure who and how money is made through this technology. What is the business model? Probably that's also changing and evolving as well as we speak.
You can point your cell phone at a Qode and take a virtual tour of a house on sale, compare ticket prices, get all kinds of info on all kinds of products and services, etc. And the information can be customized by times zone and other variables as well. For example, pointing the phone at a Qode "stamp" at 9 a.m. in San Francisco would take you to a web page appropriate for the "morning zone" but the same stamp will take you to an "afternoon" page in New York.
SECOND ITEM:
The Onion, the nation's premiere satire paper, has published an item on May 31 that made me laugh out loud because it expressed my own cynicism about MySpace's claim as a "social space." How can people who do not even know one another claim to be one another's friends, by the thousands at a time? That I could never comprehend. And The onion slashed at the whole idea with the following new story:
"MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless"!!! I really laughed hard at that one. "BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- An estimated 150 million people continued to be without social lives Tuesday as a massive system failure at MySpace.com entered its third day."
Fantastic humor but perhaps also a scary harbinger of things to come... could it be true? Why not?
Friday, June 1, 2007
How to Tell Fake Phishing E-Mails from Real Ones
There is a very easy way to tell a fake phishing e-mail from a real one.
One immediate clue is to receive it from a bank where you have no account. That one is obvious (you would think) but still you'd be amazed how many people take such mails seriously despite the fact that they know they don't have an account at the said institution.
More importantly:
Such e-mails ALWAYS include a web URL link that they want you to click and visit to "update your critical security information" etc.
BEFORE clicking it, HOVER your cursor on the link and then look at the STATUS BAR at the bottom of your browser window to see the REAL ADDRESS that the link is pointing to.
If that address has nothing to do with the real-looking URL in the letter, then you can rest assured that you are the target of a phishing expedition that could drain your bank account before you know what.
Most of the time, such real addresses will have foreign country suffixes at the end since they are usually sent by scam artists from other countries. That would be a dead giveaway as well.
Remember: the e-mail address from where the e-mail seems to be originating from means NOTHING since it can easily be faked. Once I even received a scam mail from MY OWN E-MAIL ADDRESS! Wow... the scam operators really went overboard with that one without being aware of it.
The URL typed inside the body of the mail also means nothing because it is just plain text.
But the real web address to which that text is linked - that cannot be faked that easily.
Just hover your cursor over any link that you suspect and find out the real address the link is pointing at. That can save you a lot of unnecessary headache.
One immediate clue is to receive it from a bank where you have no account. That one is obvious (you would think) but still you'd be amazed how many people take such mails seriously despite the fact that they know they don't have an account at the said institution.
More importantly:
Such e-mails ALWAYS include a web URL link that they want you to click and visit to "update your critical security information" etc.
BEFORE clicking it, HOVER your cursor on the link and then look at the STATUS BAR at the bottom of your browser window to see the REAL ADDRESS that the link is pointing to.
If that address has nothing to do with the real-looking URL in the letter, then you can rest assured that you are the target of a phishing expedition that could drain your bank account before you know what.
Most of the time, such real addresses will have foreign country suffixes at the end since they are usually sent by scam artists from other countries. That would be a dead giveaway as well.
Remember: the e-mail address from where the e-mail seems to be originating from means NOTHING since it can easily be faked. Once I even received a scam mail from MY OWN E-MAIL ADDRESS! Wow... the scam operators really went overboard with that one without being aware of it.
The URL typed inside the body of the mail also means nothing because it is just plain text.
But the real web address to which that text is linked - that cannot be faked that easily.
Just hover your cursor over any link that you suspect and find out the real address the link is pointing at. That can save you a lot of unnecessary headache.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
High Cost of Bad Information Design!
Poorly designed fax sheet causes police to evacuate more than a dozen businesses in Massachusetts!
This faxed page released by the Ashland Police Dept., shows a fax as it was to appear as a promotion sent by a marketing group Wednesday, May 30, 2007, to a Bank of America branch in Ashland, Mass.
A faulty fax arrived at the Bank of America's Ashland office Tuesday night omitting portions of the fax.
A bank employee misinterpreted the message Wednesday as a bomb threat causing authorities to evacuate more than a dozen neighboring businesses. (AP Photo/Ashland Police Dept.)
This faxed page released by the Ashland Police Dept., shows a fax as it was to appear as a promotion sent by a marketing group Wednesday, May 30, 2007, to a Bank of America branch in Ashland, Mass.
A faulty fax arrived at the Bank of America's Ashland office Tuesday night omitting portions of the fax.
A bank employee misinterpreted the message Wednesday as a bomb threat causing authorities to evacuate more than a dozen neighboring businesses. (AP Photo/Ashland Police Dept.)
FrameMaker Tip – How to Set Up Your INDEX page numbers correctly
FrameMaker, like all powerful tools, can be frustrating if you do not know how to use it properly.
For example, FM has one of the most reliable and versatile book indexing functionalities under the sun. But setting it right might require paying attention to what’s going on in the Reference Pages and one particular paragraph tag within that page.
If you think your Index page numbers do not look right, do the following:
1) Go to your Reference Pages by selecting View > Reference Pages from your main menu.
2) In there, make a search for the Index tags by pressing Ctrl + G to display the GO TO PAGE dialog box.
3) From the Reference Page drop-down list, select “IX” and click the GO button.
4) Once you are in the Index reference page, find the building block(s) with the paragraph tag “IndexIX”. This step is very important. Just place your cursor on the building block(s) and read the corresponding paragraph tag in the status bar, at the bottom of your screen.
If there are no building blocks in the Index reference page with the IndexIX tag, you will not have any page numbers showing up in your Index.
If that is the case, type in <$pagenum>. Launch your Paragraph Designer and assign the IndexIX tag to that building block. That will display your Index page numbers.
If you have just <$pagenum>, your Index entries will be followed only by plain page numbers.
If you would like to have chapter numbers precede the page numbers, then you need to add another building block before the page number building block:
<$chapnum>-<$pagenum>
If you want your Index page numbers in bold and red (let's say), select all the IndexIX blocks, launch your Paragraph Designer, and make the necessary font changes. Apply the changes and you are done.
Note: For all such changes to take effect, you need to save the Reference Pages, go back to your Body Page view, and update your book index.
For example, FM has one of the most reliable and versatile book indexing functionalities under the sun. But setting it right might require paying attention to what’s going on in the Reference Pages and one particular paragraph tag within that page.
If you think your Index page numbers do not look right, do the following:
1) Go to your Reference Pages by selecting View > Reference Pages from your main menu.
2) In there, make a search for the Index tags by pressing Ctrl + G to display the GO TO PAGE dialog box.
3) From the Reference Page drop-down list, select “IX” and click the GO button.
4) Once you are in the Index reference page, find the building block(s) with the paragraph tag “IndexIX”. This step is very important. Just place your cursor on the building block(s) and read the corresponding paragraph tag in the status bar, at the bottom of your screen.
If there are no building blocks in the Index reference page with the IndexIX tag, you will not have any page numbers showing up in your Index.
If that is the case, type in <$pagenum>. Launch your Paragraph Designer and assign the IndexIX tag to that building block. That will display your Index page numbers.
If you have just <$pagenum>, your Index entries will be followed only by plain page numbers.
If you would like to have chapter numbers precede the page numbers, then you need to add another building block before the page number building block:
<$chapnum>-<$pagenum>
If you want your Index page numbers in bold and red (let's say), select all the IndexIX blocks, launch your Paragraph Designer, and make the necessary font changes. Apply the changes and you are done.
Note: For all such changes to take effect, you need to save the Reference Pages, go back to your Body Page view, and update your book index.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
You Said "Testimonials"? Here are some!
Rare is a microsite which really hits the ball out of the ballpark with testimonials so many and so good that they almost sell the product by themselves.
Here is one such microsite that should be studied by all copywriters and marketers as to how the testimonials should be handled:
http://www.losethebackpain.com/backpainreliefguide.html
1) There are so many testimonials on this web site that you cannot even count. You end up saying "I'll be darn - even if only half of them are telling the truth it still is amazing!"
2) Almost all of them are accompanied by real names, real towns, and PHOTOS of real people. Very effective. The fact that some of them are riding horses or in sports gear earns EXTRA BONUS POINTS since this is a site about getting rid of back pain.
3) There are quite a few sound files, ready for you to listen. Now you decide ALL of the testimonials must be true.
Also note how they are offset from the main body text with a light green screen. It is important to visually differentiate the testimonials from the rest of the text for easy reading.
By the time you reach the end of the page you KNOW that this product works, definitely.
Here is one such microsite that should be studied by all copywriters and marketers as to how the testimonials should be handled:
http://www.losethebackpain.com/backpainreliefguide.html
1) There are so many testimonials on this web site that you cannot even count. You end up saying "I'll be darn - even if only half of them are telling the truth it still is amazing!"
2) Almost all of them are accompanied by real names, real towns, and PHOTOS of real people. Very effective. The fact that some of them are riding horses or in sports gear earns EXTRA BONUS POINTS since this is a site about getting rid of back pain.
3) There are quite a few sound files, ready for you to listen. Now you decide ALL of the testimonials must be true.
Also note how they are offset from the main body text with a light green screen. It is important to visually differentiate the testimonials from the rest of the text for easy reading.
By the time you reach the end of the page you KNOW that this product works, definitely.
Three Masters of Copy who are not “Copywriters”
“Copy” simply means prose, and good copy is any piece of text that communicates well.
There are many master writers who turn out exquisite pieces of copy who are not “copywriters” since they do not write direct sales copy. But they still sell, albeit indirectly, the products, personalities and services that they so skillfully review.
Since they are so good with the words, you also don’t want to be around them when they don’t like your product or service. Their mighty sword uplifts and reflects light on their favorite objects. But the same instrument can also cut and dissect like a laser beam.
Here are the three non-copywriter masters of the copy that I read regularly:
1) Frank Deford is an award winning sports author with fifteen books, a Senior Contributing Writer at Sports Illustrated and a commentator on NPR.
Here are some Deford samples:
For more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4499275
-------------------------------------------------------------
2) Rex Reed is a movie critic at New York Oberver.
Here are some samples from Reed:
For more: http://www.observer.com/culture_rexreed.asp
-------------------------------------------------------------
3) Warren Brown is an automobile reviewer at The Washington Post.
Here are some Brown samples:
For more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/columns/autos/brownwarren/
There are many master writers who turn out exquisite pieces of copy who are not “copywriters” since they do not write direct sales copy. But they still sell, albeit indirectly, the products, personalities and services that they so skillfully review.
Since they are so good with the words, you also don’t want to be around them when they don’t like your product or service. Their mighty sword uplifts and reflects light on their favorite objects. But the same instrument can also cut and dissect like a laser beam.
Here are the three non-copywriter masters of the copy that I read regularly:
1) Frank Deford is an award winning sports author with fifteen books, a Senior Contributing Writer at Sports Illustrated and a commentator on NPR.
Here are some Deford samples:
“Clemens, the best pitcher of this era, engages in an annual peek-a-boo. He retires in autumn, and then, like a perennial, decides to bloom again in the spring.”
“More often, though, there is the likes of Terrell Owens, diagnosed with modesty deficiency syndrome…”
“For many athletes, New York City is an intimidating place to play. Fans have high expectations and aren't afraid to boo players who disappoint them. If you can take it there, you can take it anywhere.”
For more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4499275
-------------------------------------------------------------
2) Rex Reed is a movie critic at New York Oberver.
Here are some samples from Reed:
“…Mr. Fraser as Jamie, a frustrated, simmering wimp with a streak of mendacity waiting to surface and torch…”
“…director Rydell balances every move on the head of a pin…”
“Jane Fonda can do just about anything, but first you have to give her something to do.”
“This movie is so bad people are taking bets to see how long they can stay awake without snoring.”
“Directed by Marc Evans, Snow Cake suffers from the same faults that plague most Canadian films: It drones itself to death with the pace of a drunken ant, and the ending takes longer than to arrive than Christmas morning.”
For more: http://www.observer.com/culture_rexreed.asp
-------------------------------------------------------------
3) Warren Brown is an automobile reviewer at The Washington Post.
Here are some Brown samples:
“If pickup trucks were a religion, most of the owners of those vehicles in Asheville would be fundamentalists.”
“Witness the all-wheel-drive 2006 Infiniti M35 X sedan, a motorized treaty between excess and practicality.”
“…finished with elegant rosewood for older, more traditional customers who know that life's bits and bytes are relatively meaningless without its poetry.”
“Sitting in the car is akin to fitting one's body into a rich, comfortable glove. It is a rare instance in which status plays second fiddle to seduction.”
“Head-turning quotient: Oh, Bess! Honey, you snapped necks everywhere with your bad self…”
“I much prefer dancing -- spending an evening with salsa, samba or tango. There is just as much sweat in such movement; but the experience is more enjoyable, memorable -- like driving a DB9 along a beach road in Coronado at twilight.”
For more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/business/columns/autos/brownwarren/
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
SCAMGLISH Gives Away E-Mail Scams
If you are not sure if an e-mail offer is a scam or not, just look at the English with which it is written.
Almost all scam letters have ungrammatical, awkward, stilted and sometimes outright laughable English (or, "Scamglish") since the text is copied and pasted many times over during the life cycle of the scam, without hardly any proofreading or anybody taking the time to make sure it is a grammatically correct letter. I doubt if some of them can even write or speak standard English.
Scam artists do not have the time for such niceties, thanks goodness. Otherwise how would we immediately recognize them?
Here are some recent gems that ended up in my mail box today... Enjoy!
---------------------------------
“You would be paid $450 every two weeks to a total of $900 per month.”
“Commission: 10% of every money order/check that is cashed instantly "cash in hand"
or "cash on counter" is what you get from the total cashed amount.”
“…our company supports any fees.”
“Thank You for taking your time to read our offer.”
“…we do not have a payment receiving personnel in these Areas.”
“I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting those funds transferred…”
“Furnish him with your informations like; Your full name.............”
Almost all scam letters have ungrammatical, awkward, stilted and sometimes outright laughable English (or, "Scamglish") since the text is copied and pasted many times over during the life cycle of the scam, without hardly any proofreading or anybody taking the time to make sure it is a grammatically correct letter. I doubt if some of them can even write or speak standard English.
Scam artists do not have the time for such niceties, thanks goodness. Otherwise how would we immediately recognize them?
Here are some recent gems that ended up in my mail box today... Enjoy!
---------------------------------
“You would be paid $450 every two weeks to a total of $900 per month.”
“Commission: 10% of every money order/check that is cashed instantly "cash in hand"
or "cash on counter" is what you get from the total cashed amount.”
“…our company supports any fees.”
“Thank You for taking your time to read our offer.”
“…we do not have a payment receiving personnel in these Areas.”
“I am very happy to inform you about my success in getting those funds transferred…”
“Furnish him with your informations like; Your full name.............”
Editing is a Process
ORIGINAL: This multi-pack approach saves space in the parking lot but with a lessening of system reliability.
BETTER: This multi-pack approach saves space in the parking lot but decreases system reliability.
BEST: This multi-pack approach saves parking lot space at the cost of decreased system reliability.
------------------------------------
ORIGINAL: "Your ticket price includes both free parking as well as free pop-corn."
BETTER: "Your ticket price includes free parking as well as free pop-corn."
OR: "Your ticket price includes both free parking and free pop-corn."
BETTER: This multi-pack approach saves space in the parking lot but decreases system reliability.
BEST: This multi-pack approach saves parking lot space at the cost of decreased system reliability.
------------------------------------
ORIGINAL: "Your ticket price includes both free parking as well as free pop-corn."
BETTER: "Your ticket price includes free parking as well as free pop-corn."
OR: "Your ticket price includes both free parking and free pop-corn."
Sunday, May 27, 2007
No Testimonials? No Problem!
Testimonials are important in marketing. Nothing beats a real testimonial singing the praises of your product or services.
When I write marketing copy for a client, testimonials are among the first inputs I ask for. They really make a difference in the tone and credibility of the copy.
But sometimes the business would be so new that the client would not have any testimonials yet. So what do you do then?
My solution is to write “hypothetical testimonials” that express my client's rendering of what an imaginary prospect would have thought or said had she in fact used the product or service in question.
This way I avoid committing a misrepresentation (by inventing a real testimonial that does not exist) while planting the seeds of a realistic and positive outcome in the prospect's mind. When a real testimony does not exist, I think that's the best a copywriter can do without crossing over into the misrepresentation territory.
For example, imagine you are Linda Smith, a (fictional) Real Estate buyer's agent and you have commissioned a copywriter to draft a copy introducing your services without any real client testimonials.
Then I would recommend something like the following, written with your voice:
“...
The copy in italics clearly is a hypothetical testimonial since it expresses your thoughts (as "Linda Smith") about what a prospect MIGHT be thinking after purchasing a hypothetical home of her choice.
I think a sales or web copy with such hypothetical constructs would be more powerful than without them. And since you make it very clear that it is no more than a figment of your client's imagination (“ I can imagine you out there ... and thinking”) there is no misrepresentation either.
A “hypothetical testimonial” is a legitimate copy device that you may choose to employ when you do not have any better input from your client.
When I write marketing copy for a client, testimonials are among the first inputs I ask for. They really make a difference in the tone and credibility of the copy.
But sometimes the business would be so new that the client would not have any testimonials yet. So what do you do then?
My solution is to write “hypothetical testimonials” that express my client's rendering of what an imaginary prospect would have thought or said had she in fact used the product or service in question.
This way I avoid committing a misrepresentation (by inventing a real testimonial that does not exist) while planting the seeds of a realistic and positive outcome in the prospect's mind. When a real testimony does not exist, I think that's the best a copywriter can do without crossing over into the misrepresentation territory.
For example, imagine you are Linda Smith, a (fictional) Real Estate buyer's agent and you have commissioned a copywriter to draft a copy introducing your services without any real client testimonials.
Then I would recommend something like the following, written with your voice:
“...
And imagine yourself moving into that home of your dreams overlooking the Pacific Palisades, with three bedrooms and a media room in the basement. I can imagine you out there in the balcony enjoying the sweet ocean breeze and thinking:...”
This is exactly what I always wanted, down to the monthly payments right within my range! I have no idea how Linda Smith did this but I won't worry about that part...
The copy in italics clearly is a hypothetical testimonial since it expresses your thoughts (as "Linda Smith") about what a prospect MIGHT be thinking after purchasing a hypothetical home of her choice.
I think a sales or web copy with such hypothetical constructs would be more powerful than without them. And since you make it very clear that it is no more than a figment of your client's imagination (“ I can imagine you out there ... and thinking”) there is no misrepresentation either.
A “hypothetical testimonial” is a legitimate copy device that you may choose to employ when you do not have any better input from your client.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Avoid Unparallel Construction
“Unparallel Construction” is the bane of commercial copy.
Sentences, and sometimes whole paragraphs of copy, lose their direction and fail to communicate their core message if they are composed with unparallel components.
Here is a current example.
As I was driving this morning I heard the following radio commercial:
First sound clip -- a pizza shop, taking orders over the phone. The customer keeps adding ingredients to his order… “pepperoni, extra cheese, anchovies, onions, mushrooms, …”
A lively sound clip with good actors. Pleasant to listen to.
Second clip – we switch to the anchor, who explains to us that there are TWO types of people in the world: those who order pizzas loaded up with multiple toppings like the customer we’ve just heard, and… those who would not put a slice of pizza into their mouths no matter what.
So far so good. We clearly understand the initial set up. TWO types of people – the pizza lovers versus pizza haters.
Okay. We are already wondering if this is some sort of pizza commercial…
But then comes the Grand Disconnect, thanks to the obviously faulty and unparallel construction of the whole copy.
We are next told that, SIMILARLY (?), there are also TWO types of HEARTBURN! And such-and-such brand of over-the-counter anti-acid medication takes care even the worst of them!
Hello?! “Two types”?
WHAT two types of heartburn? Since the whole analogy is based on the conceptual parallel established with the previous dichotomy (pizza lover vs. pizza haters) the intended parallelism breaks down.
Yes, people who order their pizzas with massive toppings may and do get a heartburn. We know that.
But why should the other group have heartburn as well if they are not eating pizza at all? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Those two dichotomies are not parallel at all since the former cannot cause the latter.
That’s why this commercial confuses the listeners rather than make an easy and obvious point.
All throughout the commercial I found myself wondering why people who avoid pizza at all cost do get a heartburn JUST LIKE (?) the hard-core pizza lovers.
The first set-up intro of the commercial is totally wasted.
Instead, the commercial could again start with that great opening sound clip of a worker taking a pizza order with mega toppings, but then would immediately switch to the PROBLEM created by that order: a massive heartburn.
SOLUTION? Our wonderful anti-acid medication of course. Okay, it's a bit boring. There is no great punch line there, I admit. But at least it makes sense and does not confuse the listener.
By setting up this Rubic Cube of unparallel dichotomies, the commercial really bites more than it can chew and listeners are the ones who get a heartburn while listening to it and trying to decipher the enigma thrown at them.
It’s great for exercising your brain while driving on the road. But probably it’s not very good for selling a whole lot of anti-acid pills.
Sentences, and sometimes whole paragraphs of copy, lose their direction and fail to communicate their core message if they are composed with unparallel components.
Here is a current example.
As I was driving this morning I heard the following radio commercial:
First sound clip -- a pizza shop, taking orders over the phone. The customer keeps adding ingredients to his order… “pepperoni, extra cheese, anchovies, onions, mushrooms, …”
A lively sound clip with good actors. Pleasant to listen to.
Second clip – we switch to the anchor, who explains to us that there are TWO types of people in the world: those who order pizzas loaded up with multiple toppings like the customer we’ve just heard, and… those who would not put a slice of pizza into their mouths no matter what.
So far so good. We clearly understand the initial set up. TWO types of people – the pizza lovers versus pizza haters.
Okay. We are already wondering if this is some sort of pizza commercial…
But then comes the Grand Disconnect, thanks to the obviously faulty and unparallel construction of the whole copy.
We are next told that, SIMILARLY (?), there are also TWO types of HEARTBURN! And such-and-such brand of over-the-counter anti-acid medication takes care even the worst of them!
Hello?! “Two types”?
WHAT two types of heartburn? Since the whole analogy is based on the conceptual parallel established with the previous dichotomy (pizza lover vs. pizza haters) the intended parallelism breaks down.
Yes, people who order their pizzas with massive toppings may and do get a heartburn. We know that.
But why should the other group have heartburn as well if they are not eating pizza at all? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Those two dichotomies are not parallel at all since the former cannot cause the latter.
That’s why this commercial confuses the listeners rather than make an easy and obvious point.
All throughout the commercial I found myself wondering why people who avoid pizza at all cost do get a heartburn JUST LIKE (?) the hard-core pizza lovers.
The first set-up intro of the commercial is totally wasted.
Instead, the commercial could again start with that great opening sound clip of a worker taking a pizza order with mega toppings, but then would immediately switch to the PROBLEM created by that order: a massive heartburn.
SOLUTION? Our wonderful anti-acid medication of course. Okay, it's a bit boring. There is no great punch line there, I admit. But at least it makes sense and does not confuse the listener.
By setting up this Rubic Cube of unparallel dichotomies, the commercial really bites more than it can chew and listeners are the ones who get a heartburn while listening to it and trying to decipher the enigma thrown at them.
It’s great for exercising your brain while driving on the road. But probably it’s not very good for selling a whole lot of anti-acid pills.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
A Personal Milestone: 400th EZ Article in 365 Days
Today I've published my 400th online article on www.ezinearticles.comI initially did not realize that it has taken me exactly one year to date to write these 400 articles.
However, I must note that there were many months within the last year when I did not contribute any articles to EZ at all due to other pressing (and paying) writing assignments. So had I written regularly, I probably could've been up to perhaps 700 articles by now.
I am thinking to write a brochure on how to market goods and services through article writing. It certainly did me good, so good that recently I started writing for another similar ezine article web site as well -- The American Chronicle.
Here are my EZ and Chronicle links:
Ezine Articles
American Chronicle
QR Code Revolution is on its way
A sample QR CodeBarcode, move aside! QR CODE is here.
Soon we will be pushing flash movies, coupons, MP3 files, good-old text and god knows what else to our cell phones by pointing their tiny built-in cameras to a QR Code, taking a snapshot, and then pressing the SEND button.
The revolution is already well underway in Japan and it's just a matter of time before it reaches the American shores.
Imagine, you are at the supermarket. You see an odd looking bottle of something on the shelf with a QR Code on it.
You point your cell phone camera at it, take a snapshot and push SEND and presto!
Soon you are watching a video about how to use the product, its benefits, complete with a 15% discount coupon that you can use right there at the same store!
Welcome to the 21st century and make all your marketing plans accordingly.
Click here for an excellent article on QR Codes
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
"People's Princess" and the Power of Words
As I was watching the movie QUEEN yesterday (for which the lovely Helen Mirren has won an Oscar this year), I was once again reminded the power of words and how the right phrase coined at the right moment in history can sway the masses in one direction or the other.
After Princess Diana dies unexpectedly in that car crash in Paris, PM Tony Blair's chief aide and writer comes up with the phrase "People's Princess" for him to use during his public condolence speech.
The phrase, pure invention of a gifted writer, catches on like wildfire. It captures and expresses the British public's love and adoration for the fallen Diana so well that in the end even a reluctant Queen has to come down from her high horse and pay due respect to the memory of her former and still-resented daughter in law.
After Princess Diana dies unexpectedly in that car crash in Paris, PM Tony Blair's chief aide and writer comes up with the phrase "People's Princess" for him to use during his public condolence speech.
The phrase, pure invention of a gifted writer, catches on like wildfire. It captures and expresses the British public's love and adoration for the fallen Diana so well that in the end even a reluctant Queen has to come down from her high horse and pay due respect to the memory of her former and still-resented daughter in law.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
An 11,158 Word Sales Letter
Most of the time my clients think an online marketing copy should be as short as possible in this day and age of short attention spans.
But, believe it or not, that goes against the practice of some of the most successful online marketers today.
Why?
When a targeted group of potential buyers are about to make a decision to purchase a very expensive product or service, they do not mind to read as many supporting arguments and as long a list of benefits as possible. The logic of "short is better" simply stops there.
In a previous posting I have mentioned a financial newsletter subscription letter distributed by Agora Publishing that was over 7,000 words.
Today I have received a well-crafted sales copy from American Writers and Artists Institute, promoting a 3-Day $9,000 seminar that was over 11,000 words!
There is a lesson there for all copywriters and direct marketers.
But, believe it or not, that goes against the practice of some of the most successful online marketers today.
Why?
When a targeted group of potential buyers are about to make a decision to purchase a very expensive product or service, they do not mind to read as many supporting arguments and as long a list of benefits as possible. The logic of "short is better" simply stops there.
In a previous posting I have mentioned a financial newsletter subscription letter distributed by Agora Publishing that was over 7,000 words.
Today I have received a well-crafted sales copy from American Writers and Artists Institute, promoting a 3-Day $9,000 seminar that was over 11,000 words!
There is a lesson there for all copywriters and direct marketers.
Monday, May 21, 2007
“Link Popularity” versus “Search Engine Saturation” Indexes
“Link Popularity” (LP) and “Search Engine Saturation” (SES) indexes are two different and complementary ways of measuring your web site’s ranking and relative importance on the web.
LP indicates the number of web sites with links to your domain.
SES, on the other hand, indicates the number of pages on your web site indexed by various search engine robots.
In general, the higher these numbers are the better it is.
However, there are caveats as in everything else in life.
High LP numbers, for example, can be generated by links coming in from web sites that nobody is visiting anyhow. All links are not created equal. A link from yahoo.com is perhaps worth a million links from nobodyvisitsme.com (just an example).
In the infancy of the Internet, “Directory Farms” were created to drive up the LP numbers. These were web sites with nothing in them but a bunch of web links. But these days you will be penalized by most search engines if your link is included in such “farms.” So you have to be as concerned about the quality of your links as their quantity.
SES has its own issues too. You can create thousands of pages, for example, to generate a higher SES index but…
Are those new pages related to the main topic of your web site?
And do they make it easier or more confusing to navigate around your web site? When visitors get confused by your inconsistent navigation and unrelated content, they may leave forever.
There is a point where “abundance” tips over into “confusion” and to know when to add things and when to stop is at the heart of search engine “optimization” process.
(If more was simply better under ANY conditions, the process would be called “Search Engine Maximization” and not “Optimization.”)
There are many sites out there that generate both LP and SES reports; some even provide comparative data on competing web sites. One such site that I use and like is www.marketleap.com.
Check the LP and SES numbers of your web site regularly since they change frequently. The best practice is to take regular measurements and then take their average for a reliable benchmark.
If the numbers are good, try to understand what you did right and replicate it.
If, on the other hand, the numbers are falling, analyze the reasons why and take appropriate measures to counter the trend.
LP indicates the number of web sites with links to your domain.
SES, on the other hand, indicates the number of pages on your web site indexed by various search engine robots.
In general, the higher these numbers are the better it is.
However, there are caveats as in everything else in life.
High LP numbers, for example, can be generated by links coming in from web sites that nobody is visiting anyhow. All links are not created equal. A link from yahoo.com is perhaps worth a million links from nobodyvisitsme.com (just an example).
In the infancy of the Internet, “Directory Farms” were created to drive up the LP numbers. These were web sites with nothing in them but a bunch of web links. But these days you will be penalized by most search engines if your link is included in such “farms.” So you have to be as concerned about the quality of your links as their quantity.
SES has its own issues too. You can create thousands of pages, for example, to generate a higher SES index but…
Are those new pages related to the main topic of your web site?
And do they make it easier or more confusing to navigate around your web site? When visitors get confused by your inconsistent navigation and unrelated content, they may leave forever.
There is a point where “abundance” tips over into “confusion” and to know when to add things and when to stop is at the heart of search engine “optimization” process.
(If more was simply better under ANY conditions, the process would be called “Search Engine Maximization” and not “Optimization.”)
There are many sites out there that generate both LP and SES reports; some even provide comparative data on competing web sites. One such site that I use and like is www.marketleap.com.
Check the LP and SES numbers of your web site regularly since they change frequently. The best practice is to take regular measurements and then take their average for a reliable benchmark.
If the numbers are good, try to understand what you did right and replicate it.
If, on the other hand, the numbers are falling, analyze the reasons why and take appropriate measures to counter the trend.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
About "Knowing"...
“It’s not what you know, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows what you know.”
~ Ed Sykes. Motivational Coach and Speaker
~ Ed Sykes. Motivational Coach and Speaker
Karan Bilimora - An Indian Succes Story
Karan Bilimora is a name not well known in USA but he is the owner of Cobra Beer, a company worth 100 million pounds and named as one of the 100 fastest growing companies in the UK."The initial years were full of struggle," he says. "But I have made it, despite a number of factors that went against me when I started. The worst recession since World War II was on, and I was obviously a foreigner trying my hand when I had never even sold a beer bottle earlier."
Click here for the rest of this story
6 Success Secrets of NFL Great Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice gew up in Crawford, Mississippi and he worked as a brick layer when he was a teenager to help his father build house foundations. Brick laying was tough work but it also helped him develop his legendary work discipline and hand strength.He later went on to become the most successful NFL All-Pro wide receiver of all time with the San Francisco 49ers.
The following are the six success secrets that Jerry Rice used that can easily motivate you to achieve success in any aspect of your business, career, and life...
Click here for the list
Top 10 Success Tips for Interns
From Penny Loretto,
Your Guide to Internships.
Organizations seek interns who are motivated and exhibit a "go-getter" attitude. Employers also want people within their company who have a strong work ethic and are dependable and work well independently and in a team environment. Many Human Resource Departments report that they seek many of their full-time employees from interns exhibiting these skills who have previously interned with their organizations.
Click here for rest of the article
Your Guide to Internships.
Organizations seek interns who are motivated and exhibit a "go-getter" attitude. Employers also want people within their company who have a strong work ethic and are dependable and work well independently and in a team environment. Many Human Resource Departments report that they seek many of their full-time employees from interns exhibiting these skills who have previously interned with their organizations.
Click here for rest of the article
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Aweber's "Split Test" Functionality
Autoresponder company Aweber offers a great "split test" option to its customers that I just found out.
Imagine you have a subscription box on your web site, just like I do here in the right sidebar.
Let's say 1% of those who visit your web site are actually signing up.
The question is, could that have been 2% or more if you tried a different sign-up box and/or you gave out a different download premium... Wouldn't you like to find that out?
Aweber allows you to test exactly that by running a "split test."
This is how you do it:
1) You design two different sign-up boxes, with perhaps different text, different colors, different font family and font sizes, or a combination thereof.
2) You either link those different boxes to the same free download (or what Aweber calls a "message"), or come up with a second free download for the second signup box.
3) Then, you tell Aweber the probability with which those boxes should be displayed every time their page is viewed. (There are other and multiple pop-up options of displaying the box as well.)
For example, you can have Box A displayed 50% of the time and Box B displayed the other 50%.
4) Aweber composes a Javascript code for you based on the above steps. You copy that HTML code and insert it in your web page, in the appropriate location.
And you are done!
Not only your boxes are displayed according to the probabilities you have defined, but detailed statistics are provided about the performance of the alternative sign-up boxes. That way you can easily determine if your design changes have improved or actually deteriorated your conversion rate.
A very useful functionality that should help you improve the performance of your web site through a controlled and scientific method.
Imagine you have a subscription box on your web site, just like I do here in the right sidebar.
Let's say 1% of those who visit your web site are actually signing up.
The question is, could that have been 2% or more if you tried a different sign-up box and/or you gave out a different download premium... Wouldn't you like to find that out?
Aweber allows you to test exactly that by running a "split test."
This is how you do it:
1) You design two different sign-up boxes, with perhaps different text, different colors, different font family and font sizes, or a combination thereof.
2) You either link those different boxes to the same free download (or what Aweber calls a "message"), or come up with a second free download for the second signup box.
3) Then, you tell Aweber the probability with which those boxes should be displayed every time their page is viewed. (There are other and multiple pop-up options of displaying the box as well.)
For example, you can have Box A displayed 50% of the time and Box B displayed the other 50%.
4) Aweber composes a Javascript code for you based on the above steps. You copy that HTML code and insert it in your web page, in the appropriate location.
And you are done!
Not only your boxes are displayed according to the probabilities you have defined, but detailed statistics are provided about the performance of the alternative sign-up boxes. That way you can easily determine if your design changes have improved or actually deteriorated your conversion rate.
A very useful functionality that should help you improve the performance of your web site through a controlled and scientific method.
Write Powerful Copy by Eliminating Old and Tired Expressions
You'll increase your web site traffic faster if you use clean and short sentences.
Remember: less is more.
Eliminate all hackneyed expressions from your prose for some snappy copy.
Examples:
--------------------------------------------------------
Ring the bell in order to get service.
BETTER: Ring the bell to get service.
--------------------------------------------------------
Truth of the matter is, there is something fishy with this deal.
BETTER: There is something fishy with this deal.
--------------------------------------------------------
In a manner of speaking, he was the black sheep of the family.
BETTER: He was the black sheep of the family.
--------------------------------------------------------
To be perfectly honest with you, I don't like the way things are going.
BETTER: I don't like the way things are going.
--------------------------------------------------------
To be perfectly frank about it, I wish I had another option but I don't.
BETTER: I wish I had another option but I don't.
--------------------------------------------------------
The long and the short of it is, Frank has to pay that hundred dollars back.
BETTER: Frank has to pay that hundred dollars dollars back.
--------------------------------------------------------
Well, what do you think?
BETTER: What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------
Worrying about the past does not make any sense and you know that.
BETTER: Worrying about the past does not make any sense.
--------------------------------------------------------
Needless to say, Hawaii is a gorgeous place to live.
BETTER: Hawaii is a gorgeous place to live.
--------------------------------------------------------
You will be able to leave on Sunday.
BETTER: You can leave on Sunday.
--------------------------------------------------------
You have the ability to learn.
BETTER: You can learn.
--------------------------------------------------------
The brigade was not enabled to deploy.
BETTER: The brigade could not deploy.
--------------------------------------------------------
Make sure to click the Start button.
BETTER: Click the Start button.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ideas in themselves cannot be copyrighted.
BETTER: Ideas cannot be copyrighted.
--------------------------------------------------------
Doctors recommend taking calcium in conjunction with vitamin D.
BETTER: Doctors recommend taking calcium together with vitamin D.
--------------------------------------------------------
The information in this document is considered the property of ABC Corporation.
BETTER: The information in this document is the property of ABC Corporation.
--------------------------------------------------------
In the event that your roof leaks, call a roofer.
BETTER: If your roof leaks, call a roofer.
--------------------------------------------------------
It simply works.
BETTER: It works.
--------------------------------------------------------
We were totally amazed
BETTER: We were amazed.
--------------------------------------------------------
He was really lost.
BETTER: He was lost.
Remember: less is more.
Eliminate all hackneyed expressions from your prose for some snappy copy.
Examples:
--------------------------------------------------------
Ring the bell in order to get service.
BETTER: Ring the bell to get service.
--------------------------------------------------------
Truth of the matter is, there is something fishy with this deal.
BETTER: There is something fishy with this deal.
--------------------------------------------------------
In a manner of speaking, he was the black sheep of the family.
BETTER: He was the black sheep of the family.
--------------------------------------------------------
To be perfectly honest with you, I don't like the way things are going.
BETTER: I don't like the way things are going.
--------------------------------------------------------
To be perfectly frank about it, I wish I had another option but I don't.
BETTER: I wish I had another option but I don't.
--------------------------------------------------------
The long and the short of it is, Frank has to pay that hundred dollars back.
BETTER: Frank has to pay that hundred dollars dollars back.
--------------------------------------------------------
Well, what do you think?
BETTER: What do you think?
--------------------------------------------------------
Worrying about the past does not make any sense and you know that.
BETTER: Worrying about the past does not make any sense.
--------------------------------------------------------
Needless to say, Hawaii is a gorgeous place to live.
BETTER: Hawaii is a gorgeous place to live.
--------------------------------------------------------
You will be able to leave on Sunday.
BETTER: You can leave on Sunday.
--------------------------------------------------------
You have the ability to learn.
BETTER: You can learn.
--------------------------------------------------------
The brigade was not enabled to deploy.
BETTER: The brigade could not deploy.
--------------------------------------------------------
Make sure to click the Start button.
BETTER: Click the Start button.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ideas in themselves cannot be copyrighted.
BETTER: Ideas cannot be copyrighted.
--------------------------------------------------------
Doctors recommend taking calcium in conjunction with vitamin D.
BETTER: Doctors recommend taking calcium together with vitamin D.
--------------------------------------------------------
The information in this document is considered the property of ABC Corporation.
BETTER: The information in this document is the property of ABC Corporation.
--------------------------------------------------------
In the event that your roof leaks, call a roofer.
BETTER: If your roof leaks, call a roofer.
--------------------------------------------------------
It simply works.
BETTER: It works.
--------------------------------------------------------
We were totally amazed
BETTER: We were amazed.
--------------------------------------------------------
He was really lost.
BETTER: He was lost.
Friday, May 18, 2007
“Fewer” or “Less”?
FEWER should be used when one can count the items/subjects in question. It is usually used with a following “THAN”.
For example:
LESS is used for items/subjects that cannot be measured.
For example:
For example:
1) Today I had fewer than ten phone calls.
2) Fewer awards than advertised were distributed at the Honors Ceremony.
LESS is used for items/subjects that cannot be measured.
For example:
1) You should work less to be healthy.
2) Since we had less snowfall this year, we decided not buy that snowblower.
Power of FRAMEMAKER Markers
There is a reason why professional technical writers authoring long complex documents almost always use FRAMEMAKER. There simply is no comparison between FM and MS Word, for example, when it comes to industrial-strength heavy-duty documentation with multiple levels of numbering, indexing, TOC, multiple lists, etc.
One look at FM’s Marker functionality, and you realize right away how deep its marking capabilities are.
Here are just some of the markers you can use to tag your FM text with:
Index – the most obvious one, used for indexing terms.
Pending – used for not-quite-finished items that you would like to revisit at a later date.
Conditional text – used to generate multiple versions of the same document geared towards different audiences or markets.
Glossary – used to tag the items to appear in a Glossary.
Header/Footer – FM easily creates running headers and footers from existing paragraph tags. But if the text that you’d like to convert into running headers/footers is not styled as paragraph header, you can select that text and tag it with this marker.
Cross-ref – used to identify any text as a cross-reference to appear in the Cross-Reference dialog box.
Comparing Autoresponders Feedblitz vs. Aweber
Autoresponders is one of the must tools that should be used by all serious bloggers and online marketers. It is an excellent way to keep up with your readers and clients with minimum of effort.
Here is a brief comparison of the two autoresponders I’ve used in the past:
FEEDBLITZ
AWEBER
Here is a brief comparison of the two autoresponders I’ve used in the past:
FEEDBLITZ
Major advantage: it’s free. You can broadcast your blog content automatically to your list.
Also has: double opt-in subscription engine. It eliminates people subscribing other people without their consent.
Support: so-so. You are basically on your own.
Questionable feature: number of subscribers are displayed under Feedblitz’ subscription box. That’s great if you’ve got 10,000 subscribers but it looks bad if only 2 people have subscribed to your newsletter.
Major drawback: you cannot schedule an e-mail campaign well in advance, with certain pieces mailed out on certain days.
Visit www.feedblitz.com for more info.
AWEBER
Big advantage: You can not only broadcast your blog content automatically to your list but you can also schedule an e-mail campaign well in advance, with certain pieces mailed out on certain days.
Also has: double opt-in subscription engine. It eliminates people subscribing other people without their consent.
Major drawback: it costs $19.95 a month.
Note: Aweber allows an “infinite” number of autoresponders for multiple websites.
Support: very patient people answer your questions politely and they never give up on you.
Too many configurable features to count here.
Visit www.aweber.com for more info.
My New Logo, thanks to Wikipedia
I use the public domain images of Wikipedia frequently and publish under GNU Free Documentation License.
In this logo, the earth image was also legally borrowed from Wikipedia. The rest was rendered in Adobe Illustrator.
Top 5 Sectors that Generate Maximum Online Leads
When it comes to generating a lot of online leads, all sectors are not created equal.
According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life survey, here are the 5 top sectors that generate maximum amount of leads:
1. Pharmaceuticals
2. Retail
3. Travel
4. Education
5. Personal finance
“79 percent of respondents said they turned to the web for health research. 91 percent of consumers who responded to a 2007 Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index (CPI) survey expressed interest in visiting websites focused on treatments for their ailments; 47 percent indicated they would like to receive treatment information via email,” according to iMedia Connection.
According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life survey, here are the 5 top sectors that generate maximum amount of leads:
1. Pharmaceuticals
2. Retail
3. Travel
4. Education
5. Personal finance
“79 percent of respondents said they turned to the web for health research. 91 percent of consumers who responded to a 2007 Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index (CPI) survey expressed interest in visiting websites focused on treatments for their ailments; 47 percent indicated they would like to receive treatment information via email,” according to iMedia Connection.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
A Firefox Secret to Blogger Productivity
Darren Rose of PROBLOGGER writes:
Click here for the rest of the story
"One of the little tricks that I use every morning when I first log onto my computer that gets me off to a flying start is to open up my ‘StartUp Folder’ on Firefox.
This is a bookmark folder that contains 15 or so key sites that quickly give me an indication of what is going on across my blogging business. Within 60 seconds I know what’s hot, what’s broken, where there’s a fire that needs to be put out and where I can give things a nudge to make them go viral.
Here’s how it works.
Firefox (and other browsers) allows you to arrange your bookmarks via folders and place these folders in your bookmark toolbar across the top of your browser. These folders can be accessed in two main ways:
* by clicking the folder and selecting a bookmark from the drop down menu
* by right clicking the folder and selecting ‘Open in All Tabs’ (if you have tabbed browsing turned on).
It’s this second method that I use every morning (and 2-3 times per day)..."
Click here for the rest of the story
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Joy of Editing
“Honda recently announced that it is soon going to start its Mexican-built Civic exported to U.S.”
BETTER: “Honda recently announced that it will soon start exporting its Mexican-built Civics to the U.S.”
“upon the advertising campaign going active…”
BETTER: “when the advertising campaign is launched…”
“The signal to unlock a barrier can truncate upon the door position input going active."
BETTER: “The signal to unlock a barrier can truncate when the door position input is active.”
“They determine whether the authorized party is present prior to the start of a transaction.”
BETTER: “They determine whether the authorized party is present before a transaction begins.”
BETTER: “Honda recently announced that it will soon start exporting its Mexican-built Civics to the U.S.”
“upon the advertising campaign going active…”
BETTER: “when the advertising campaign is launched…”
“The signal to unlock a barrier can truncate upon the door position input going active."
BETTER: “The signal to unlock a barrier can truncate when the door position input is active.”
“They determine whether the authorized party is present prior to the start of a transaction.”
BETTER: “They determine whether the authorized party is present before a transaction begins.”
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Bad English (or “Scamglish”) Gives Away E-Mail Scams
I’ve yet received another “Lottery Winning Notification” – this time from Microsoft (!). Ho ho ho!
There are two items that give away these scams immediately:
1) The domain name of the return link is invariably registered in some foreign country (Hong Kong, Slovenia, Russia, UK, Netherlands, Japan, etc.) but never in the United States. Just check out the last two letters of the domain name and consult the following country list: http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/domains.html
2) Bad English is the second giveaway since these messages are copied and pasted many times over, sometimes by scam artists who do not even know any English! And the results show...
Here are some sentences written in Scamglish, quoted from the “Microsoft lottery” letter that I’ve mentioned:
We are all lucky that, even though the bad guys are smart enough to come up with these schemes, they are never smart enough to proofread and edit their English copy.
There are two items that give away these scams immediately:
1) The domain name of the return link is invariably registered in some foreign country (Hong Kong, Slovenia, Russia, UK, Netherlands, Japan, etc.) but never in the United States. Just check out the last two letters of the domain name and consult the following country list: http://www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/domains.html
2) Bad English is the second giveaway since these messages are copied and pasted many times over, sometimes by scam artists who do not even know any English! And the results show...
Here are some sentences written in Scamglish, quoted from the “Microsoft lottery” letter that I’ve mentioned:
“…the Lucky numbers 14-21-25-39-40-47(20) which subsequently won you 1,000, 000.00 (One Million Great Britain Pounds) DATE: 9/APRIL/2007 DRAW NUM: 1 It was held in London (UK) the claims agent assigned to you to, for the Release of your prize…”
“…a wide range of web hosts which we Enjoy their patronage…”
We are all lucky that, even though the bad guys are smart enough to come up with these schemes, they are never smart enough to proofread and edit their English copy.
Caution -- Flash Drive Sticks
Flash drive sticks are great. They provide a lightweight solution to memory problems. I have one myself that I carry with me wherever I go.
But are you aware that the same innocent looking flash stick can actually be a Trojan Horse, carrying someone else's malicious code or virus?
How come? In essence, once you insert it into your USB port, every flash drive becomes a mini hard-drive. If all you have on it is a bunch of files and images that yourself have saved, then there might not be a problem.
But be careful every time someone hands you a flash drive! If there is a malicious executible file on the stick, it could automatically start to execute it the minute it is connected to your computer.
MS Word files fall in the same category. Be very careful about opening the MS Word files on a flash memory stick which is handed to you by others because Word is an excellent vehicle for all kinds of destructive macros. Once you open the Word file, macros execute and do whatever what they were designed to do.
Did you know that any high school student can write a 5 to 10 line Word macro that would wipe away ALL the files on your machine when the Word document is opened?!
Use and enjoy your flash drive stick but also keep in mind that sharing it with others is probably not a bright idea in this day and age of hacking frenzy.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Published under GNU Free Documentation License. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Flash_drive_usb_memory.jpg)
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Happy Mothers Day!
To all the mothers of the world -- you are the One! And we love you so...
(PHOTO CREDIT: Image by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT. Published under Creative Commons (CC) license. Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Grand-Reng_JPG05.jpg)
Yahoo Mail Alert
Have you checked your Yahoo mail recently to make sure it is working properly?
I have received a few complaints within the last 48 hours about how SLOW Yahoo mail is these days, with mails arriving DAYS after they were sent. If you are relying on Yahoo mail for your business, that might be a costly delay indeed.
Since I'm not using Yahoo mail myself I was not aware of the problem.
I have received a few complaints within the last 48 hours about how SLOW Yahoo mail is these days, with mails arriving DAYS after they were sent. If you are relying on Yahoo mail for your business, that might be a costly delay indeed.
Since I'm not using Yahoo mail myself I was not aware of the problem.
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