I was recently thinking about people telling their business story through their web copy when I came across an article tweeted by the lovely Mr. Ian Aspin about how many people had speculated about the Apple Logo and its origins. People started a story that it was about a brilliant mathematician Alan Turing who committed suicide with a cyanide laced apple. When pressed, apparently Steve Jobs would simply smile enigmatically, leaving people to assume that the legend they had created was true.

And didn’t it add an air of mystery?

The things we never see or know are always the ones which really capture people’s attention the most (monsters in horror movies, the contents of Marcel Wallace’s briefcase, or the fate of the bus in the Italian Job for example).

But when it comes to writing web copy for your business, is it really wise to welcome such level of mystery?

What you don't say can scare your customers more than what you do say....Image by: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/spekulator

Especially when you have no control over the message that might be inferred from your content?

Humans are wired to make sense. It drives us crazy not knowing things, which is why curiosity is such a powerful, though often misused sales copy tool.

We like to make connections, to make sense of the world. Our big lovely evolved brains just want to get busy connecting those dots.

However, this also means we can come up with utter gumpf to fill in the blanks that we do not know.

It’s been said that we can even recreate our own memories into fiction if there is a blank or inconsistency that doesn’t feel right. (Ever been adamant that an object from memory was one colour only to find out you were wrong?)

And therein lies the danger with your web copy.

I’m sure you must know of an instance where people have made negative assumptions about someone else based in the absence of “whole” information.

“She’s just upgraded to a BMW so her husband’s either got a promotion or she’s come into family money”

“She hasn’t explained on her resume why she left her last position… I bet it was on bad terms”

“He was a bit vague about where he was last night, he probably saw his ex!”

It’s basically gossip which is:

“Unconstrained conversation about other people typically involving details that are not confirmed as true.”

Similarly, people will jump to unfounded conclusions based on the details they can’t find in your web copy or sales copy. And your potential customer doesn’t have to be gossiping with anyone else to damage your business.

Sales might be slipping away through the “silent gossip” they’re having in their head.

“I really like his copywriting, but there are no prices on his site. He’s probably too expensive”

“She says in her sales copy that she left the corporate world to be an executive coach but it doesn’t say why. Maybe she was fired. I don’t want coaching from someone who couldn’t keep their own job”

“His web content says he has a 1:1 service to build my business, but it doesn’t say how he’s going to do it. He’s probably full of hype.”

When it comes to writing copy for your business, 2 main areas in particular where you really don’t want people filling in the blanks and coming up with the wrong story is on your about page and on when writing about the benefits of your products.

It may have worked well for customers to speculate about the origins of the Apple logo, but there was no ambiguity about what their products were and why people loved (or hated) them.

You have control over your unique business story. And remember, you can turn a shaky spot into a selling point in your story (For example if you’re nervous about how much you charge or how big / small your company is).

What you don’t want to do is have your customer fill in the blank.

They might just come up with something a lot worse than the truth.

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For anyone unfamiliar with the story, recently Samantha Brick, who self-titles herself as a journalist and writer, came under the wrath of the internet when she wrote a piece for the Daily Mail titled:

“Why women hate me for being beautiful.”

Since its release Samantha has faced vitriolic criticism from people who have found her self-absorbed, arrogant and generally repulsive.

But here’s the thing.

Samantha now believes the criticism of her proves that she is right. That people hate her because of her good looks.

That’s not true.

They hate her because of how she writes.

What’s more, you can learn from her mistakes to make sure when you write about your business you avoid the ridicule that now surrounds writer, award-winning producer and journalist Samantha Brick.

Zero Empathy And Understanding Of Her Audience

If you want to connect with your audience, you use the first rule of copywriting – focus on your reader.

Whether this is by outlining your reader’s fears, hopes dreams, or perhaps sharing an experience that they can empathise with.

Samantha’s audience are readers of the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail was Britain’s first daily paper, apparently written for : “lower-middle class market resulting from mass education, combining a low retail price with plenty of competitions, prizes and promotional gimmicks”

It sells almost 2 million copies a day.

It costs 55p.

My mum reads it when she travels down to see me on the National Express sipping cans of Gordon’s Gin and Tonic.

Samantha’s opening statement:

“On a recent flight to New York I was delighted when a stewardess came over and gave me a bottle of champagne. “This is from the captain – he wants to welcome you on board and hopes you have a great flight today”

From the opening line she has lost her audience.

Samantha is deliberately trying to “impress” her audience, but she fails because:

• She chooses to introduce herself to her audience as someone who places importance on being sent champagne by the captain
• She assumes the audience will be impressed by this

She reinforces the latter point by continuing:

“You’re probably thinking ‘what a lovely surprise…”

And then goes on to insult her audience by saying:

“But while it was lovely, it wasn’t a surprise. At least not for me”

Let’s deconstruct this.

Mrs Brick is equivalently saying:

“I’m awesome so people do awesome things for me. That will surprise you because you’re not awesome and these types of thing probably never happen to you… but they happen to me all the time (did I mention that?)”

Within a handful of lines, Samantha has driven a badly worded wedge between her and the audience, and wonders why she has generated little empathy.

The next piece of the article, Samantha deliberately lists several glimpses into her life which further drives her and her audience apart:

• I’ve regularly had bottles of bubbly or wine sent to my restaurant table
• A well-dressed chap bought my train ticket
• Walking through London’s Portobello Road
• A charming gentleman paid my fare as I stepped out of a cab in Paris
• Bar tenders frequently shoo my credit card away

Can you see the picture that she is building up without realising it?

It goes something like this:

“I travel to New York, Paris and London, eating in restaurants, drinking champagne and drinking in bars so expensive you have to pay on credit card.”

Her decision to include these examples at the top of her article once again shows a personal emphasis on what she finds important, which is surprisingly at odds with what her reader’s find important.

It amazes me that as a writer she seems unaware that she is encouraging objections not because of her pretty looks, but because of the personality that comes shining through.

It is one that is:

• Focused on material things
• Focused on what people think
• Focused on her

This comes from her writing.

NOT the photos included in the article.

She also consciously makes her audience feel bad:

“I work at mine [appearance] – I don’t drink or smoke, I work out, even when I don’t feel like it, and very rarely succumb to chocolate”

In that one sentence she has probably lost every reader who indulges in any of those things. (And from a continuity point of view – if she doesn’t drink alcohol, what is she drinking that makes her tab warrant a credit card?)

Remember that if you want to build the like know and trust factor, you never make your audience feel bad about themselves.

It’s a lesson Samantha missed.

What you can learn:

• Always know who your audience is, know what motivates them, upsets them, inspires them.
• Ask yourself “am I proving credibility or am I just being a Billy brag pants?”
• Know that in writing, you do not have the benefit of tone and intonation – double check with a friend to see if your writing could be misconstrued.

With that last point – Samantha could have redeemed herself by saying this was a tongue-in-cheek piece.

Unfortunately, it’s not…

Lack of proof and generalisation

One of Samantha’s biggest mistakes considering she lists herself as journalist – is the lack of proof for her claims.

This is what makes her article read like a schoolgirl’s rant to her best friend who’s going to agree with her whatever she says as long as she can borrow her sparkly top for the weekend.

Samantha fails to realise that, as Brian Clark over at Copyblogger likes to say:

“What other people say about you is more important than what you say about yourself.”

Again – a copywriting rule that could have helped Samantha, even if it just meant spending a little extra time doing research for her piece of “journalism.”

Lack of proof distances you from the reader, and damages the “like, know trust” factor experts need.

When it is easy to create content online, you need to spend extra time showing that the claims you make about yourself can be substantiated.

Here are some of Samantha’s reasons that purportedly prove beyond all doubt that she is hated because of her pretty looks:

• I’m not smug and I’m no flirt
• Women hate me for no other reason than my lovely looks
• Not one girlfriend has ever asked me to be her bridesmaid
• Women find nothing more annoying than someone else being the most attractive in the room
• A neighbour passed by in her car. I waved – she blatantly blanked me
• It’s hard when everyone resents you for your looks
• Women don’t want to hang out with someone more attractive than they are
• Older women are the most hostile to beautiful women

There is a large amount of generalised claims which reflects lazy journalism and no doubt insults the reader further.

It says to them:

“I’m a journalist, I write for the Mail, you’re my lowly reader and I don’t have to do any research for you – I can just write any old drivel I like.”

Again, I wouldn’t be surprised if Samantha was blissfully unaware that these sweeping generalisations damaged her credibility and the trust her audience had.

The one piece of research she did? She quoted the author of a book who has “models” for clients”.

I’d have been far more impressed with her interviewing Louise Mensch on the subject – an attractive Member of Parliament who recently launched her exclusive magazine column with an article titled “Let’s hear it for the girls” giving a high five to women who have smashed through the glass ceiling. (Samantha Brick was not on that list).

That is a lady who is intelligent and writes with substance and research.

In comparison, the proof for Samantha’s claim is based solely on 7 very short, examples – all relating to her.

By the 3^rd story that once again features Samantha as the lead protagonist, the audience is tired of another badly written story, filled with holes that is supposed to evoke sympathy for her.

Take the example of the neighbour who blatantly “blanked her” in her car. This is justified by hearsay (from a friend of Samantha’s) that her neighbour is jealous of her because she is “shorter, heavier and older.”

This isn’t strong enough proof.

Instead, readers are thinking:

“Maybe the woman didn’t see her, perhaps she was thinking about something else, maybe she just received some bad news and didn’t feel like waving, maybe she didn’t want to wave…”

And of course, at this stage some people are thinking:

“Maybe she didn’t wave because she just doesn’t like the woman – I certainly don’t.”

As you know – too many unanswered questions does not make persuasive or compelling reading.

How could she have improved this?

She could have written with more substance.

Psychological studies to show that people react differently to those who are perceived as beautiful would have been useful.

Or she could have conducted a series of interviews with people on their impressions of “beautiful people.”

She could have even encouraged some of her friends to go on the record with their tales of and impressions of her apparent beauty.

Again, Samantha had the platform to reach people, and she insulted her audience with lazy writing.

Without proof, there is nothing of use or substance in this article, other than one woman’s self-portrait.

And considering that all we know about Samantha from this is that she eats out, works out, and worked in TV, there’s just not a lot there to keep the audience interested.

What can you learn?

• Back up your claims with proof (if you want to be taken seriously as an expert)
• Know that other people’s opinions of you, your business and your service will carry more weight than what you have to say about yourself.
• Handle objections by knowing what questions your audience might be asking when they read your content or sales copy

In conclusion

I don’t care how Samantha looks – but I do encourage you to read the article and see how she separated herself from her audience by the way she wrote – not necessarily by the subject matter.

What are your thoughts?

Are there particular phrases that got your back up and made you dislike her? Do you think she’s been treated unfairly?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Alright – first of all I apologise for this video.

I did some editing.

Only, the software I use has “fade” as the default setting on all transitions.

This I did not know.

As a result, some of the transitions overlap. In fact I’ll be honest and say that with some of them, it has a bizarre dreamlike feel.

Not unlike finding Patrick Duffy in the shower after a whole series of Dallas…

But let’s plough on regardless.

In this Q and A video episode, Romy wrote in to ask:

My one and only major problem is lede lines, lots of time i’m unable to get idea about  how should i start writing my content copy.

writing lede lines are really difficult task for me sometime. so can u please tell me how should i make easier and smoother.

No problem Romy!

What Are Lede Lines?

The lede (also known as “lead”) kicks off your copy. It comes after your headline and it has to work pretty hard to keep the momentum of your reader’s interest after you got them with your headline.

A lot of people struggle because when you’re faced with a blank page your mind can either go blank, or be overwhelmed by all the possibilities of how you could start.

So in the video I break it down and give you 5 examples to kickstart your writing.

Before You Write:

To make sure you don’t go off on a tangent, you want to make sure your lede:

• Works to further identify your target market
• Carries on the theme of the major selling point or pain that you highlight in your headline

After that, you could use one of these examples to get you writing quickly and pain-free:

1. Tell a story

Whether it’s a case study or a typical scenario that your customer can relate to, people like stories and done well, evokes an emotional reaction and empathy from your reader

2. Make an announcement

You could just come right out and say what it is you want them to know. If you have an audience that likes to know the facts, an urgent deadline or an event fast-approaching you might want to get the impertinent facts out early.

3. Poke the problem

Show your customer they’re in the right place, and arouse their emotions by painting a picture of the problem they’re going through.

4. Make it newsworthy

If there is a relevant and current news story that affects your product or target market, this is one approach that works well if you want a more “editorial” approach.

5. Ask a question

If you’re a really struggling, a simple question that relates to identifying your target market or identifying their pain can be a quick springboard to get you writing.

So Romy, I hope this helps and I hope the video isn’t too odd for you!

Webinar Tuesday 21st Feb

If you read the blog post on the death of the USP, you’ll know that I’m doing a free webinar next Tuesday helping people identify their “Unique Story Proposition”.

Sign up below to get details on how to register.

• Date: Tuesday 21st Feb
• Time: 12-1pm Pacific / 8-9pm GMT

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Just off the coast of Cancun, Mexico sunk deep beneath the water sits a man, perfectly still, watching television with a plate of burger and fries on his knee.

Sculpted from coral-friendly pH-neutral marine concrete, the idea of underwater sculptures that encourage habitation and growth of corals and marine life is certainly unique.

Unsurprisingly, the sculptor Jascon deCaires Taylor has attracted a lot of attention and success from his “unique selling point”

Except that his unique selling point isn’t really unique, it’s simply a combination of less unique  things including:

• Sculpture
• Diving
• Set design
• Photography
• Conservation

And it relies on one other thing an end-user (customer) interest in environmental awareness and protection.

Goodbye Product Revolution

One of the biggest marketing instructions you’ll ever hear is:

Define Your Unique Selling Proposition

But if you’re a web design company, photographer, life coach or marketing consultant it can be difficult to figure out how  you’re “unique” compared to all those other people offering the same services as you.

Product revolution isn’t as common place as it used to be. Today we see incremental change rather than “overnight” landscape-changing inventions like television or even a one all-purpose flour (little reference for you Bluegrass fans out there).

As a result, finding a USP is incredibly diffictult.

But that’s not the only challenge.

Sometimes, having a USP can kill sales.

How The USP Killed White Whisky Sales

If you’re struggling to come up with your own “underwater” sculpture concept to blow everyone out of the water, you could find yourself in danger of forcing yourself to create some obscure USP just to “stand out”.

But just because no-one else is doing it, doesn’t mean you should.

In 1971, Brown-Forman Distillers launched the first ever “white whisky” called “Frost 8/80”

No-one else was doing this. It was unique. The company enjoyed much back-slapping over the concept and competitors were worried.

It bombed.

Why?

Because there was no desire from the customers for it.

To the consumer, it wasn’t even “unique” (they already had a number of clear spirits such as vodka or gin that happily suited their needs).

The USP alone just wasn’t enough.

So how do you create a unique position that does appeal to your customers?

Well, first you need to understand…

Customers Do Not Buy A USP

Customers don’t buy just because something is different.

They buy because of the story surrounding it.

In 1970, the U.S Postal Service launched the “Mailgram.”   The first electronic mail which allowed you to call a number, transcribe a message and have it delivered to a post-office near your recipient the next day.

It was a unique service, but again, being unique wasn’t enough.  to market the product, they decided to create content that told a unique story to customer.

Over 13 weeks, they tested 2 unique story angles positioning Mailgram as:

• The High-Speed Letter
• The Low-Cost Telegram

In short, the “Low-Cost Telegram” story outperformed the “High-Speed Letter” story in sales.

Same product.

Two different stories.

The story matters

The Unique STORY Proposition

Did you know that there are only 7 basic story structures that exist in the world?

Yet consider how many millions of films, books, plays and creative narratives have been made. Think how many vivid memories of different individual stories you hold in your head.

They all appear distinct and yet lay on top of a framework of just a handful of basic plots.

And this is the secret to standing out.

You don’t have to do things differently, you just have to communicate them differently.

Finding Your Unique Story Proposition

One mistake personality entrepreneurs make is because individually, we’re all unique, if we just “be ourselves” we’ll attract the right customers.

That’s not enough.

Your USP can’t come from you alone because you have to be telling a story people want to listen to.

To create your unique story you need to base it on:

• Something your customer is interested in
• Something you’re interested in

Let’s take spooky sea sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.

There’s nothing he loves more than creating a statue, and sinking it to help the eco-systems. And fortunately for him, the government funding the work, loves helping the ecosystem and having something unusual that attracts tourist attention.

For Jason, this is a unique story that works.

But how do you come up with yours?

Get out a pen and paper my friend because we are going to brainstorm the heck out of this…

Step One: What Matters To Your Customer?

To appeal to your customer, start by looking at:

• What bothers them, what is their problem that you solve?
• What gets them excited – what are they hot for right now?

I want you to think about not only what is a real pain in the butt to them right now, but what other products or services are they really interested in?

So for example, let’s say that you teach authentic online marketing. Your customers problems might be:

• Not enough sales
• Not enough enquiries
• Hating all the insincere, over the top marketing advice

And you might also know that at the moment they’re really interested in:

• Blogging to advertise their business

Then we move onto Step Two:

Step Two: What Matters To You?

Next, you can layer your story with the story elements from your life and what makes you unique. So it could be:

• Geographic location
• Target market
• Your background
• Your passion
• Your vision or goals for the business
• The way you work
• Why you do what you do
• Your character / personality

You don’t need all of these, but a with a couple from this list and you should start to see your unique story position emerge.

So for example, let’s say that in the above examples, you have a background in journalism, and your target market is Chiropractors. You could start putting together a unique story for your business such as:

Creating newsworthy blogs for chiropractors
Chiropractors : get free advertising with a blog your customers and journalists love
How to make the phone ring by hitting the headlines

These aren’t taglines as such, but show you how you can start to form the basis of your unique story.

I’d love to know how you get on with this because it’s one of the biggest challenges I see people struggle with in a bid to “stand out.”

Free Story Webinar Next Week

If this has got your creative juices flowing, but you want a bit more help pinning down your unique story, I’m running a free webinar on Tuesday 21^st February (Pancake Day!).

To find out more about it, join the Fast Copy Friday Newsletter. You’ll receive a link to join the webinar AND:

• 30 instant headline templates
• A quick copywriting tip every Friday
• A one-time product discount just for subscribers

Sign up below:

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What’s one of the best ways to prove to new people you are a credible expert?

Endorsements from other.

Which is what we’re looking at in this Q and A video – this time with natural light and with me getting off my behind to stand up and answer it.

This week’s question was from Kate (I call her Liz  in the video – I was confused, it doesn’t take a lot) who asked:

I’d love to learn how to ask for testimonials ~ Kate (not Liz)

So this is what I cover in the video below.

Remember, to get a simple but specific testimonial which paints a compelling story for your service, ask your customer to answer the following 3 questions:

• What problem were they suffering from?
• How did the product / service help (and were there any surprise bonuses!)
• What were the specific results?

And don’t forget to get them at their “hot” moment when you ask!

Research Data On Testimonials

The next question was from Geoff who asks:

We run a therapy practice.

I wonder if you can help. I would like to know if you have come across any research data on the effectiveness or otherwise of:-

1.  Testimonials on web sites
2.  Pictures of therapists

Excellent question Geoff, and my answer is going to be of the “try and test” variety.

There’s no doubt that testimonials are powerful proof that you have served others well in the past, but the best research data you’ll find is if you run a small test yourself.

This is because what works for someone else, won’t necessarily work for you. The results would depend on a number of factors such as:

• Your goals, whether you want sales, sign ups or enquiries
• Your audience
• Your website design
• Your call to action

You could create 2 pages that are the same, but one has testimonials with photos on and the other has ones without (I’m going to bet that the picture testimonials will win ). Then you can see which page gets more of the response you’re looking for.

Testing on your own audience is far better than relying too much on other people’s studies (though they are great at getting ideas of what and how to test. )

Something which I think you will find interesting is a published test that saw an increase of 34% response by adding just 3 lines of testimonials.

See how Wikijob Increased Sales by 34% by A/B testing customer testimonials.

So, that’s another Q and A post rounded up!

Next time we’ll be looking at lede lines and how to come up with ideas for starting to write your content and sales copy.

Send in your copywriting question by writing in the comment box below.

And share the copywriting love by clicking the retweet button at the top of this article.

Every time this article gets a retweet, a copywriter somewhere beats writer’s block

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Okay, this needs to be said:

We are drowning in a sea of “experts”.

Photo by Kovik

With anyone able to call themselves an expert, it’s given rise to the hack job, the wannabe and the self-titled “gurus” who offer shoddy service.

“Not me” I hear you say (and I believe you, you’re a Harrisonamy reader )

But here’s the problem…

Even as a proper expert, this landscape is dangerous for your business.

Because the noise of the mediocre is stomping all over the whispers of talent.

Customers are confused

Since everyone these days has a website, blog, newsletter, autoresponder, free report, it’s harder to separate the wheat from the chaff.

and having those pieces of content marketing in place for your business is not enough to prove you can be trusted.

Knowledge is not enough

A study on the Psychology of Experts by James Shanteau at Kansas State University concluded that to be seen as an expert you needed to exhibit certain traits in addition to knowing your stuff

As Shanteau states:

Knowledge is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for expertise.

Which means unless you’re displaying these following traits, it’s likely you’re being ignored by the very people you can help.

1: Show extensive and up to date content knowledge

Displaying up-to-date knowledge or your niche is critical. Just a couple of ways you can do this includes:

• Sharing relevant stories in social media from industry blogs
• Using your blog to comment on the latest academic studies, articles and relevant news stories.

2. Display perceptual or attention abilities

This is a fancy way of saying you can spot how to solve your customer’s problem (when they can’t).

How can you communicate this?

• Case studies of recent clients
• Critiques or evaluations on your blog (for example as a web designers, you could offer to feature someone’s website and then analyse in your blog how you would improve the design)

3: Know what is irrelevant

Shanteau found that experts know what can be ignored when it comes to getting the job done.

For example, doctors knows what symptoms you should be wary of and which are just little “quirks” of the human body.

You can prove your worth  to your customers by telling them what’s really important when it comes to their problems.

This helps to cut through the overwhelm and will be a welcome relief to your audience.

So you could include blog posts such as:

The only social media site you should use as an orthodontist (and why you can ignore the rest)
The number one training program for a beginner’s marathon
3 ways to beat the blank page and start any sales page

4: Simplify complex problems

Can you deconstruct relevant legislation to your customers?

Perhaps put together a “beginner’s guide” to a tricky subject?

Your audience is busy, so if you can give save them time by simplifying the complex the value of your content will increase.

5. Handle adversity better than others

We turn to experts when things go wrong so if something is troubling your customer, this is a chance for you to keep your cool.

The sites that took a stance on the recent SOPA legislation, and campaigned against it notched up expertise points for ability to simplify the complexities and show others how to proceed.

So what can you do?

Providing answers and help in your blog, email marketing or products positions you as someone who knows what to do when they have a problem.

But if a crisis appears on a larger scale you can respond by issuing more authoritative content such as a free report, or a white paper. For example:

How to recession-proof your business
How to protect your job in light of new employee legislation
Get your asking price even with house prices falling

If you can stay calm and gathered whilst your audience are stuck or anxious, you will become an indispensable source of assistance.

6. Adapt knowledge to exceptions

With increasing numbers of content mills and sites regurgitating theory-based “how-to” advice, content quality has decreased.

For example,  the blogging arena is filled with people telling you that to build a successful blog you have to create quality content, post regularly, interact with your community, etc etc.

That’s a lot of same ole same ole to stand out in.

But you can create more unusual posts such as:

• Use These Copywriting Tips When You Feel Like A Fraud
• There is No ROI in Social Media Marketing
• The “Content is King” Myth Debunked

If you apply your expertise to situations outside the norm, you’re going to illuminate your expertise over someone who’s read a couple of books.

7: Communicate your expertise

“An expert is anyone who can persuade someone else that he (she) is an expert” (Dino & Shanteau, 1984).

Now, you might think that unfair, but as Shanteau discovered, knowledge is not enough.

To be honest, I don’t care about the hacks.

What I find most tragic is the expert filled with value and waiting to be discovered.

Don’t wait.

Use these above steps to keep communicating your message, cut through the confusion and prove to your audience that there are amazing resources still around on the Internet.

And you are one of them.

Please reTweet this (using the green retweet button at the top) if you think real experts deserve to be seen and heard!

What do you think?

What kind of experts do you take notice of and which ones do you ignore? What traits can you see in yourself and which ones attract you the most to someone?

Let me know in the comments below.

Click here to read the full study on The Psychology of Experts

If you want to know more about getting your message across as an expert – sign up for the weekly Fast Copy Fridays copywriting tips, and you’ll also get details of the next  Personality Entrepreneur Sales Page Boot Camp.  

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Okay, so in last week’s Fast Copy Friday I asked you if you had any copywriting questions that you’d like me to answer, and you did, and I made a video and then answered a couple more in the blog post.

Forgive the video – I was meant to record it with natural light this morning, and in reflection I’d have chosen a waaaay better angle. The kind of angle that makes me look like Kate Moss. Which would have probably meant asking Kate Moss to do the video instead

Enough frivolous irreverence, let’s get your questions answered:

How Do You Create A Tagline?

If you have a  trick…template…process for writing taglines, that would be great! ~ Liz

Well Liz, yes I do and I like to keep it nice and simple. I’ve answered your question in the video, but in summary I like to use 2 nice steps to create the tagline which includes:

1. What you do AND
2. Who you do it for

Or

1. What you do AND
2. Why you’re different

Watch the video for more explanation and examples like Wedding photography for gothic weddings, and life-coaching in the nude…

Do Copywriters Do Design?

Next up we had Steve and Steve writes (I feel so much like I’m an agony aunt – I love it):

I am looking to become a freelance copywriter for a niche industry that I’ve worked in for quite a few years as a sales person.

I have studied the copywriting side but my question is how is the actual copy presented ot the client? Does someone else design the layout, or is it the job of the copywriter to design the layout graphics too? ~ Steve

Well Steve, great question!

Generally speaking, the copywriter isn’t expected to do the actual design, BUT it is an important role of yours to advise on the format and layout, as that is something which definitely falls within your expertise.

Now, your clients may already have designers that they work with, and you can liaise with them on putting together your sales pages, advertorials, or brochures. You do have a vested interest in creating the best final product for your client and the design is critical.

Alternatively, you may at some stage decide to team up with a designer and offer the service as a package. This completely depends on how you want to work.

Most of my clients already have designers who already know their particuler branding so it makes sense for me to work with them, and to then review the final design pieces.

Don’t feel that you are offering a lesser service by not doing hands on design though – coming up with the words that can sell products is a highly valuable skill!

Okay – that’s all for this week…

Submit your questions

If you have a question you’d like me to answer next Friday pop it in the comments box below.

Have a superfandango weekend my lovely!

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If you write a blog for your business, or have a newsletter then you probably want to be popular with your audience. It’s unlikely that you would publish content, or do your email marketing hoping to cause as much annoyance to your reader as stubbing their little toe.

Instead you want to inspire them, make them laugh perhaps, or help them out by giving away useful advice, and there’s a really good chance that you want to engage your community.

Because having any kind of community is great, but having an engaged community is the secret sauce for success if you are selling to an online audience.

Danny Iny from Firepole Marketing sent me 2 copies of his recent book:

Engagement From Scratch – How Super-Community Builders Create A Loyal Audience And how You Can Do The Same. 

Last week I finished it, and here is the review…

What is it about?

EFS is a collection of 30 essays from bloggers, most of whom are also entrepreneurs of some kind. Each essay deals with different ways to build an engaged community with the focus on how to do it right from the start.

Who’s involved?

Danny has picked some admirable people to feature who can definitely teach you a whole heap about building a community from scratch. Brian Clark, Guy Kawasaki, Anita Campbell, Mitch Joel and Evan Carmichael are just some of the people involved and the foreword is by CC Chapman. The co-authors are from a spectrum of backgrounds, but if I remember right, all are using blogs as a platform to connect with their audience (as well as email marketing and social media).

Because each essay is about 2-3 pages, this is really easy to read quickly and you can dip in and out rather than having to tackle it from start to finish in one go.

What does it cover?

Alrighty, there are 7 main sections which include:

• General Principles
• Know and Love Your Audience
• Why and How to Do Content
• Why and How to Do Social Media
• Be Your Passionate Self
• Stories and Lessons Learned
• Step-by-step

Who is it for?

As the title suggests, it’s about building engagement from nothing, so the primary audience is those just starting out.

Having said that, I made a heap of notes for myself as I’m in the process of revamping my editorial calendar and content promotion strategy for the year and there was plenty of meat in this book for me to use.

If you’re like me and thinking about your content strategy for the year ahead this book will give you a wide variety of ideas from people with all different types of blogs and business backgrounds. These little snippets of advice are a great way to spark your own ideas and think about how you can implement them in your own business.

Alternatively, if you feel your community isn’t quite working, if you’re hearing crickets when you make an offer, or are struggling to get blog comments and traffic, you might benefit from revisiting the basic principles outlined in this book.

What’s good about it?

I do like the essay style of content as I was able to read this book pretty quickly and pull out what was relevant to me. For beginners, the good thing is that many of the principles are repeated by different people throughout. The repetition of these in different ways and by different people helps you cement them more firmly in your mind.

There’s also an online area for people who have the books which include a number of goodies including:

• Engagement From Scratch summary infographic
• Summary mind map
• How to build a blog infographic
• 23 page guide to creating awesome content
• Template for a guest post approach
• 2 x step-by-step guide checklist to complement a couple chapters in the book

What’s not so good about it?

Although this is ideally for those starting to build a community, it could be overwhelming for some. Whilst many people repeat strategies and principles, there are also many contradicting statements. This makes sense and proves that there isn’t just one way to build a community, but for someone not knowing where to start out, you might not know which strategies to implement, and what to do first. However…

How can you get the best out of reading the book?

In light of the above section, I would recommend that readers of the book choose advice based on people within the book who they admire AND have similar business models and lifestyles to what you would like to achieve. For example, there’s no point in trying to spend all your time on social media if you absolutely hate it, just because someone else finds that works for them.

I would also suggest picking a couple of things to start with, rather than trying to put everything into action at the same time, you’ll just get overwhelmed.

How can you win a copy of the paperback?

Danny was kind enough to give me 2 copies and I’m giving one away (the one that doesn’t have all my notes scribbled in) to a reader on the blog.

I’ll ship anywhere and pay the postage, all you have to do is:

• Share this blog post on Twitter (use the tweet button above so I’m notified) Or
• Let me know in the comments what makes you feel engaged with a blog or business

I’ll pick a random winner this week and ship the book!

You can find out more about the book by going to the Engagement From Scratch website.

See you soon!

You're reading Harrisonamy Reviews: Engagement From Scratch by Danny Iny. Win A Free Copy. which was orginally posted on: HarrisonAmy Copywriting. If you liked it, you might want to sign up to Fast Copy Fridays to get free copywriting tips each week.

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One of the biggest concerns I see with business owners who want to write a sales page, is about sounding natural. You want to be persuasive without being icky and salesy. This is particularly true if you’re a personality entrepreneur.

When you look for sales page templates, you’re going to see items to include like “fast action bonuses” or “scarcity”, and “urgency” and it just seems so pushy.

I like to show personality entrepreneurs that you can have natural sounding sales copy, even by using a “sales page” structure.

So here’s an example of how a conversational sales page might look for someone running a business group for work at home mums.

The Sales Page Structure

This is a very simple 10 point outline that I encourage business owners to use when they’re first starting their sales pages. Even this can appear heavily promotional.

1. Get the right attention (identify your target market)
2. What is the problem?
3. What do you offer in a nutshell?
4. Why does the problem still exist (for some) but can NOW be solved (what’s changed?)
5. What are the details (and why will they love it)?
   
6. Who are you and why can you be trusted?
7. Overcome objections
8. Offer bonuses
9. What do they need to do to get it (Why Should They Act NOW)?
10. What is the guarantee?
11. Bonus point – the P.S.

But let’s take each of those points and draft out a sales page that sounds natural and conversational:

1. Identify Your Target Market

Every day work at home mums are faced with the problem of the “work life balance”

2. What Is The Problem?

3. What Do You Offer? (In A Nutshell)

4. Why Does The Problem Still Exist?

5. What Are The Details (And Why Will They Love It)?

6. Why Can You Be Trusted?

7. Overcome Objections

8. Offer Bonuses

9. What Should They Do To Get It? (Why Should They Act NOW?)

10. What Is The Guarantee?

11. The P.S

I really wanted to share this with you to show you that sales copy doesn’t have to be about hype. It’s about bridging that gap between what you offer and your ideal customer, and painting a vivid picture of the value that you offer.

Let me know how you get on applying this structure to your sales copy!

Oh, I should mention, if you a freelance writer, my good friend Carol Tice is doing a 4 week blast off coaching course to help you make more money starting January 17th 2012.

Doors open today and Carol’s materials are excellent so I heartily recommend you check it out!

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Happy New Year To You! This is a guest post by Carol Tice who runs Make A Living Writing . Through her website, courses and membership group, she tells you what you need to know to rock it as a freelance writer and earn what you’re worth (which is probably more than you think!)

The Godmother to freelance writers

Ever needed to write, but you just couldn’t?

There are a lot of distractions out there, both online and off. Pesky interruptions from family members who have the nerve to crave your attention. Those fun LOLcats. Bejeweled. Choose your poison.

There’s also so much to know about how to write compelling online content. Always one more newsletter to read, one more great blog post to study.

In a word, you’re overwhelmed. There’s too much information, too many distractions, and it’s hard to clear the decks and get in that creative place where you can do your best writing.

How can you overcome overwhelm and focus on writing? Here are seven strategies:

1. Find your quiet time. It might be early in the morning or late at night, or while you eat lunch. But somewhere in your schedule there’s a time when it’s naturally less frenzied. Set aside that time strictly for writing.

2. Unplug stuff. Turn off the radio, and the email chime that dings every time you get a new message. If necessary, switch off the computer. Try hand-writing on a pad of paper or using an old typewriter if that will get you away from your online time-wasters.

3. Declutter. It’s hard to clear your head if your desk is piled to the sky with papers. Remember — think files, not piles.

4. Change your scene. If you can’t get anything done in your usual spot — whether the office or your back bedroom — try somewhere else. Hit a coffee shop or a coworking space, or sit in a park.

5. Delegate. If you have some administrative tasks you could either offload or postpone to clear the decks for writing, do it. Too much time pressure can backfire and mean nothing gets written.

6. Realize you’re good enough. You’ll learn more about how to be a better copywriter another day. For now, you do your best based on what you know. Spit out a first draft and save the rewrites and critique for after you’re done.

7. Set a timer. Block out an hour or even a half-hour where you commit to do nothing but writing. Don’t get up or turn to other tasks until the time is up. You may be surprised how much writing you can crank out once you’re forbidden all other activities.

How do you focus and get the writing done when you’re overwhelmed? Leave a comment and add to my list.

Carol Tice writes the Make a Living Writing blog. Together with Linda Formichelli of The Renegade Writer, she’s created a free Webinar about the 10 biggest obstacles freelance writers face (and how to overcome them). You can check it out through Thursday. Click here to access the free recording!

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