Let’s be reasonable here. When it comes to WordPress frameworks there are only two real competitors: Thesis from DIY Themes and Genesis from StudioPress. Headway has made some nice strides and does offer a beginner-friendly interface, but its bulky and doesn’t match up to the efficiency or extensibility of Thesis or Genesis. There are several other notable frameworks. I’d love to see them do some catching up and really drive the market to be better, but they aren’t there yet.

What This Is And What This Is Not

First, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a full-time web designer/developer who works exclusively with WordPress and almost exclusively with Thesis. I have worked a fair amount with Genesis, and have, for the most part, enjoyed the experience. I’m attempting to be as unbiased as possible, but I say this so you know where I’m coming from.

Second, I’m not going to tell you that one framework is unequivocally better than the other. I’m striving to provide an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each framework, and to give you the tools you need to make an informed decision.

Playing for Keeps

Both Thesis and Genesis, as I’m about to explain, are great pieces of software backed by solid developers that I have a great deal of respect for. With that said, its important that you make a decision and stick to it. Changing frameworks on an established site is a big no-no. Even if your site is visually and functionally similar, your HTML will be completely different and you may be penalized by Google. Its not the end of the world if you switch, but its a road I don’t recommend traveling.

The Criteria

I’m not going to give you a grade for each criteria or anything like that, but this type of thing has to have some structure, or I’ll end up writing a book. Thus, I’ve laid out a set of criteria that I think are crucial in determining which framework is best for you. This is by no means exhaustive, but it should get you started.

In no particular order:

• Efficiency
• Learning Curve
• Development Capability
• Typography
• Support
• Security
• Future Outlook

Efficiency

Both frameworks are obscenely fast! When used in combination with W3 Total Cache, and a decent server setup both frameworks can be served up in under 1 second even when heavily customized.

In a technical sense, the frameworks load almost 100% differently. Genesis more or less uses the traditional WordPress method of using different templates for the header, sidebar, footer, index, etc. Thesis almost completely ignores this structure. Regardless of how important you may think it is to use native WordPress functionality, there’s no questioning the fact that both methods are producing extraordinarily fast websites. At the end of the day. That’s what matters.

YSlow Analysis

To get an idea of just how fast each framework is, let’s take a look at YSlow. YSlow is an add-on for Mozilla Firefox that tells you exactly why your page is loading slowly, and gives you a rating from 0-100 for your website’s page load speed. I’m running a fresh WordPress installation, and fresh installations of Thesis and Genesis. Also, I’m using the latest YSlow ruleset which is version 2.0, and of course, that means I’m running the latest version of Firefox as well.

Genesis

Out of the box, Genesis achieves a score of 82 out of 100 on YSlow. Its score deductions come mostly because my setup is not using a content delivery network or gzip compression. The deductions that can be controlled by the theme come from the 3 javascripts.

The total page download for the Genesis homepage under this setup is 111.9KB. 4.4KB of this is the HTML document, 21.1KB can be attributed to the style sheet, 0.3KB can be attributed to 2 CSS background images, and 76.2KB is composed of 3 javascripts that take care of the fancy drop down menus. This means the entire page requires 7 HTTP requests. For the record, HTTP requests are usually the main culprit when it comes to high page load times.

Thesis

Thesis achieves a score of 82 out of 100 on YSlow. It has the same score deductions as Genesis accept that it receives larger deductions because it has 3 style sheets instead of one. Thesis also loads 1 random inline image that is between 10KB and 20KB by default, and, like Genesis, Thesis has a total of 7 HTTP requests.

The total page download for the Thesis homepage under this setup is 49.0-59.0KB. 4.9KB is from the HTML document, 33.2KB from 3 style sheets, 1.0KB from 2 CSS background images, and 10-20KB from 1 inline image. If you turn off the multimedia box image, the total download drops under 40KB, and you’re only looking at 6 HTTP requests. That’s still pretty darn slim, but it could be better. Thesis developer Chris Pearson has stated publicly that he plans to eventually cut down on the number of style sheets, and that would certainly help. For now, you can use W3 Total Cache to minify the stylesheets and combine them into one. That cuts out two HTTP requests right there. For the record, you can do the same for the Genesis fancy drop down JS and cut out two HTTP requests there as well.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

So, all of these ratings and statistics give us a decent barometer for efficiency, but ultimately what matters is the actual page load time. YSlow also records the amount of time a page takes to load. In as close to an unbiased test as possible, using the same setup as above, ignoring load results over 1 second, and running 100 tests for each theme under default settings here are the results:

Average Thesis page load time: 0.647 seconds
Average Genesis page load time: 0.683 seconds

If we cut out the unnecessary components of the default setups of each framework, here are the results:

Thesis without the multimedia box image or custom.css style sheet: 0.615 seconds
Genesis without the fancy drop downs: 0.676 seconds

Keep in mind, this test is a small sample, and not completely controlled, but Thesis was just slightly faster.

In any case the difference is less than 1/10th of a second, and both frameworks are still just obscenely fast!

It should also be noted that Thesis comes with a stylesheet specifically for Internet Explorer 6 and 7. Genesis does not. While I have not encountered any issues specifically because of this in my experience with Genesis, the potential is certainly there for issues with those browsers. Having an additional style sheet would be a welcomed addition.

Learning Curve

Both frameworks do the heavy development lifting using hooks, filters, and CSS style sheets. The way they go about it is slightly different (okay, almost completely different), if you can learn to use hooks in Thesis, you can definitely learn to use them in Genesis. Thus, in terms of learning curve, the differentiating factor definitely lays with options panels.

These are two of the best options panels in the industry. That’s where the similarities end. The options can be more or less summarized into two separate divisions: seo settings and design settings. Both frameworks offer options panel for site-wide changes as well as post and page specific options.

Genesis

SEO Options

Genesis certainly has some serious chops when it comes to site-wide SEO options. You have a ridiculous amount of control over what goes in the head of your HTML document, and you can control what portion of your homepage is wrapped in an h1 tag which has some serious SEO implications! You’ll also find some standard features here like robot meta control (noindex and nofollow archive pages if you please) as well as canonical URL control.

As for SEO options on individual posts, Genesis is absolutely rockin’ here as well. Of course the standard custom title tags, custom meta descriptions, and custom meta tags are included, but you also have the ability to add your own custom canonical URL for each individual post. Awesome!

Design Options

Genesis definitely brings the noise when it comes to SEO options. No complaints there. In fact, I’m thrilled! Then, I go looking for the design options and an extremely efficient framework with phenomenal SEO options leaves me wanting more. The design options in Genesis leaves me sorely disappointed. Aside from the ability to add breadcrumbs (which you have very little control over) and an about the author box (which, again, you have very little control over), there really isn’t much there. Brian Gardner and Co. over at StudioPress have stated on numerous occasions something to the effect that there focus is not on design options.

I must say that despite my disappointment with the design options site-wide, the ability to specify a 1, 2, or 3 column layout (and designate the column order) on a per-post/page basis is pretty frickin’ sweet. So is the ability to add custom tracking code on a per-post/page basis. I also love the integration of the new(ish) post thumbnails too. No complaints there.

Thesis

SEO Options

Thesis also does a great job with SEO options. While you don’t have as much control over the content of your document head, all of the WPGarbage is removed by default (as it is by default in Genesis). One thing Genesis does that I would LOVE to see Thesis emulate is the option to wrap the h1 tag on the homepage where ever I please. You don’t always want it to be on the tagline (though most of the time that’s fine).

As for SEO post options, Thesis offers you a ton of flexibility. You can, of course, set custom title tags, meta descriptions, and meta tags. You can also 301 redirect any post or page to and URL, and you have all the robot meta control a man could ever want.

Thesis has an added SEO bonus as of 1.8! Now you can control the title tag, meta description, meta tags, headline text, and item description for each and every tag and category! That is absolutely enormous for SEO on your archive pages!

Genesis also has options for archives pages. They also support seo options for custom taxonomy pages which is pretty slick.

Design Options

Thesis SEO options are great, but the design options are where it really shines. You can control the size and color of virtually every font on your site all through the “design options” in your WordPress dashboard. You can also enable most of the commonly used javascript libraries on a site-wide or per-post/page basis with the use of an options panel. On top of that, you can choose from a page framework which is similar to the Genesis layout, or you can use a full-width framework which allows for more control of the site’s background among other things.

Thesis also gives you the ability to control the layout of your homepage using any combination of featured posts and “teasers” to create a magazine style layout. Finally, you have near complete control over what shows up in your bylines, comments, teasers, and post content. It really gives you an insane amount of control over the layout of your site. Its not perfect, but its the industry standard in my opinion, and it completely blows Genesis out of the water in this department.

My one major complaint here is that Thesis is still sticking to this archaic post image system. I really like the new wp post thumbnail system, and I’d at least like to have a simple option to use that instead rather than writing the code and inserting the image myself. If there were some way to migrate images from the legacy system to the new wp system that would be extremely sick!

Development Capability

Most of my complaints above about the lack of design options are irrelevant to me personally, because it doesn’t take much time for me to write css to manage whatever font size, font color, background colors, etc. my little heart desires. At the end of the day I am – and I believe you should be – infinitely more worried about the potential power of your framework to create versatile, scalable websites than whether or not the framework comes with some easy to use design options.

Both frameworks come with more than 50 hooks, and a whole bunch of filters (Genesis has significantly more filters). They use style sheets to dictate CSS changes. Again, that’s about where the similarities end.

If you’re a developer, and this section actually applies to you, you probably know what hooks and filters are and how they work, so I’ll leave that part out. I think its sufficient to say that both frameworks offer enough hooks and filters to do just about whatever you want in terms of controlling your site’s content.

I do want to talk about the difference in the way Thesis and Genesis are customized though as its a HUGE difference and I do think its relevant.

Genesis

Genesis uses a child theme for customization. Basically, the process for getting started looks like this:

1. Create a new folder in your wp-content/themes/ directory
2. In that folder, place a png image entitled “screenshot.png”
3. Also place a file called functions.php
4. Create an images folder within this here new folder
5. Copy the Genesis theme style sheet into this same folder
6. Finally, insert Template: genesis below Theme Name: [your theme name]

Viola! You’ve just created your first child theme. Now, make all of your CSS customizations in the new child theme style sheet, and put all of your custom functions, hooks, and filters in the new functions.php file you created. When you’re done, activate the child theme. Just like that your new design is live. Need to add custom page templates? No problem! Just add your_new_page_template.php to your new child theme folder, and it should be available to use as one of the page templates in the page template drop-down. Want to modify an existing page template or loop? Genesis has 13 hooks that fall within the loop!!!

I really love working with this system. It might honestly be the only system I’ve ever seen that is simpler than the Thesis model of a custom folder containing a custom stylesheet, images folder, and custom_functions.php file where you place all of your functions, hooks, and filters. I must admit, I really like the idea of just 1 style sheet instead of 3.

Thesis

As I said, the Thesis system involves a custom folder contained within the main Thesis folder…not a separate theme. The customizable ingredients are an images folder, a custom stylesheet, and custom_functions.php. Yes, I know you silly WordPress purists don’t like it because its not native functionality. Whatever…it is exceedingly simple, and, while I’m not sure its as intuitive as the child theme concept, its very efficient and extremely extensible. With the addition of the Loop API (more on that in a minute) I would venture to say its more extensible than Genesis.

If you’d like, you can find out more about the way that Thesis handles hooks and custom css.

Recent Game-Changing, Spoon-Bending Development

When Thesis 1.8 dropped, Thesis added the new Loop API. This enables you to create absolutely any kind of template for absolutely any page on your website. Talk about game changing. Genesis does offer similar functionality with the genesis_loop hook, but it doesn’t offer quite the same flexibility or ease of use.

Typography

No, gentle reader, this is not a matter of personal preference. There are certain, incontrovertible facts concerning the way the human eye digests information. Well thought out typography will make people spend more time on your site.

There are four basic elements to good typography: contrast, size, hierarchy, and space.

Contrast simply refers to the color of your text against the color of your background. Dark red on dark blue = bad. Both Thesis and Genesis having black on white = good. Moving on.

Size refers to the size of your font. Its Crazy. I know. The basic idea here is that you shouldn’t use small font. Both frameworks seem to use readable font sizes. Awesome!

Hierarchy refers to the differing size of your text. Important text – such as headlines – should be significantly larger than the text of your main content. Thesis has quite a contrast there by default. Success. Genesis does not by default. In fact, most of the font size on the site seems to be pretty close to the same size by default. This is horrendous and needs to be addressed. The StudioPress site design does, yet its framework does not out of the box??? Fail. I realize this is easily changed with CSS, but, again, this is where design options would be sooo clutch!

Space refers to the space between blocks of text. Thesis does this as well as any theme I’ve ever seen. Of course, there are weak spots – comment meta anyone? Genesis, on the other hand just runs together sometimes. Its really completely inexplicable for such an excellent framework to mess up something so simple. The really bad thing is that it trickles down to most of the child themes as well. Again, I know its an easy fix, but you have to understand that so many of your users aren’t going to do the CSS work.

Support

One of the most important factors in choosing a framework to work with is the support that stands behind it. In my opinion this is a three-pronged ideal.

The Development Team

First, you absolutely must have a development team behind the framework cranking out awesome sauce updates on a regular basis. Genesis has a great team behind it. With people like Brian Gardner, Nathan Rice, and company you know you’re in good hands going forward.

The same can be said for Chris Pearson. As far as the development aspect of Thesis/DIY Themes, he’s a one man show, but his development consistency over the past two years speaks for itself. Love him or hate him, you know you’re going to get quality updates on a regular basis, and its quite possible that Chris has provided more innovation in the premium theme market than any other developer in the past two years.

Staff and Community Support

Second, you need good quality staff and community support. Genesis appears to be getting there on this one. Having only been around 6 months they don’t quite have the community of 28,000+ users that Thesis does, but they’re gaining steam and the support forums are quite active.

Thesis speaks for itself on this one. They have quite possibly the most active support forum of any single WordPress theme, and they employ several staff members focused primarily on support.

You’ll also notice I’ve linked to a couple Thesis tutorials written by community members. This is not because I’m biased, but because there are an abundance of community-written tutorials for Thesis, and there are virtually none for Genesis.

Documentation

Third, you absolutely must have good documentation. From a development perspective its incredibly frustrating to not be able to find a list of filters listed anywhere on the StudioPress website or anywhere in the support forum. Maybe I’m missing it, but that’s just inexcusable. The specific how-to’s are great, but give me the basics first please! I do need to cut them a break here and say that being only 6 months old is a pretty big detriment in this regard.

Of course, the Thesis documentation is absolutely rock solid, and has gotten a big boost recently with the addition of Derek Halpern to the Thesis team as well as the talents of a certain girlie. You’ll find detailed documentation for every Thesis hook and filter along with a growing list of specific how-to’s based around commonly used design elements. Again, being around for two years longer is a big advantage when it comes to things like documentation, but you definitely have to be impressed by the docs that Thesis offers.

Security

Please note: I am not a security wizard by any stretch of the imagination. Take what I say on this subject with a grain of salt!

Security is absolutely one of the central issues you need to be concerned with at all times as a webmaster of any sort. Genesis has been the industry leader in security since its inception. It makes extensive use of the WordPress security API, and has been audited by Mark Jaquith who seems to be considered one of the foremost experts on WordPress security.

Thesis was slammed for its lack of use of the WordPress API in a recent comparison of the major WordPress frameworks. Accordingly – I have no knowledge of any direct correlation – Thesis 1.8 has introduced use of the WordPress security API and should be more or less up to par with Genesis security.

Again, I’m not a security expert, but I haven’t had any issues with security in two years of working with Thesis. To my knowledge, neither have any of my clients.

Future Outlook

The future outlook is definitely an important factor in making a purchasing decision here. Where is the theme going to be a few years down the road? As your site grows, you need a theme that will grow with you.

Genesis

The outlook for Genesis is about as positive as it can possibly be. Honestly, the majority of the few pitfalls Genesis currently has are results of only being 6 months out from release. In another year I fully expect Genesis to be leaps and bounds ahead of where it is today. The fact that it has apparently been merged with Copyblogger certainly points to a bright future.

Thesis

Despite the exodus of Brian Clark, and the recent feud between Chris Pearson and Matt Mullenweg, I have it on good authority that its full steam ahead in the quest to create the best WordPress framework on the market.

Considering the two years of established development history, and the game-changing developments in Thesis 1.8 (with the addition of Google Fonts, the loop API, etc.), I don’t think there’s any doubt that Thesis will continue to be one of the driving forces pushing WordPress theme development forward. Given the innovative nature of the recent Thesis updates, the future looks very bright for Thesis as well.

My Thoughts

At the end of the day I think Thesis remains king of the hill by a slim margin. At this point in time Thesis is still – especially with the addition of the loop API – more flexible from a developers standpoint, and offers significantly more design capabilities for a novice user who may not be familiar with CSS, HTML, etc. You also get a framework that is blazing fast and built with SEO and content consumption in mind.

With that said, I don’t think Genesis is a terrible option by any means. Its still very flexible, has great SEO options, and provides you with an efficient framework to build on. If you have the coding skills to do the design stuff yourself, its certainly a viable competitor. Improved typography and some semblance of a design options panel would turn what is already a pretty close comparison into a relative coin-flip.

Thesis has been around for a couple of years, and, it would appear, finally has some reasonably close competition. That can only be a good thing for you and I as end users. Regardless of which framework you choose, you know that development is going to be pushed forward that much faster with more competition. That’s a win for everyone involved!

Getting readers to commit to some course of action, typically a conversion, is not as difficult a process as it sounds if you are familiar with a few basic psychological principles.  The main principle is actually something that everyone is familiar with: commitment.  Copywriters need to be intimately acquainted with the techniques to induce commitments if they want to spur conversion rates

What Makes Commitments So Strong?

There is a strong psychological force that sociologists and psychologists alike agree is a fundamental requirement in any society: consistency.  This means that people are inclined to behave in a way that is consistent with their views and statements, even if the result is not necessarily something in their favor.  How strong is the need for consistency?  Consider the following:

• Jenny Craig weight loss centers discovered that they could increase the efficacy of their existing plans with nothing more than getting a written commitment from each participant.
• Chinese interrogators during the Korean conflict were able to turn a number of American captives by asking them to do nothing more than copy communist propaganda from a book to a blank piece of paper, or to read propaganda aloud to a group of fellow captives.
• Salespeople that set written goals are considered by almost every major sales organization on the planet to be more effective.
• Many 12-step programs use writing as a powerful tool of commitment.

Why are all of these amazing things true?  Because people that behave inconsistently are viewed as unstable, unreliable, or even crazy in social groups.  Thus, it behooves society to ingrain in its members a tendency to be consistent at all times.  The real trick is, how can you write copy that engages this psychological and sociological principle?

Idea One: Ask Readers to Write

When I was a boy there was a supermarket around the corner from my family’s house that would offer insanely large rewards for those short customer blurbs about why they liked the store.  I later found that this was actually a psychological assault on customers that essentially lulled them into doing something for one reason, but the net result was that they would actually ‘drink the punch’ so to speak.  Even when they themselves made it.

Why did this tactic work so well in increasing customer loyalty?  Consistency.  Customers that praised the store become more loyal patrons in order to be consistent with their previous statements.  Writing has a lot of power, doesn’t it?  You can try this tactic too, and here are a few ideas on how to make this happen under different situations:

• If you run contests, make sure that they have a public writing element to them.  Instead of just sending a private e-mail to you about why product X or service Y rules, make them post it someplace public.  You actually kill three birds with this one stone, because the writer will be inclined to be consistent, it is further free advertising, and humans tend to believe something if they see it enough.
• Forum feedback and social media.  Allowing others to add their two cents is a powerful tool, especially if they can be encouraged to do so in a positive way.  Be wary of allowing others to easily have their 2 cents if they are going to be negative as they are just as likely to defend a negative position out of consistency as they are to defend a positive position.
• Ask viewers to make a commitment at the start of an article, particularly one on paper.  For example, if you plan on selling a service that will take WordPress content and ensure that it is SEO’d then start by asking the users to put a dollar value on that.  Give them some important bullet-point pieces of advice regarding the importance of SEO then ask them to write down what they think a fair price would be.  Then go on to extol the virtues of the service before telling them the price.  By building the readers up, they will probably predict a price that is too high, be wowed by the features, and then go on to convert because they already wrote down what they determined a fair price to be.

Feedback

Did you get readers to commit?  If so, did you notice a positive change in conversion rates?  Share your story in our feedback section!

Human beings are certainly advanced animals by any measure, but there are some surprisingly psychological flaws that are exploited every single day by compliance experts.  Any good copywriter should be a compliance expert, and thus it only makes sense for copywriters to learn how to leverage a few basic psychological principles in their copy.  What followers is the fundamentals required to employ one of the most powerful psychological tools in a copywriter’s arsenal: reciprocity.

Give Something to Get Something

One of the fundamental principles of human societal organization is the concept of reciprocity, and it is deeply ingrained in just about everyone.  What is reciprocity?  Simple: the idea that I give you something and then you owe me something in return.  Think of the words we use for people that do not obey this principle, and you will realize that they are uniformly negative: moocher, free-loader, and so on.

How powerful is reciprocity?  I think that the best example is probably found in the religious group known as the Hare Krishnas.  This particular religious group gained tremendous wealth and influence in just a few short decades despite the fact that their appearance is odd, they are often labeled as beggars, and are not necessarily well liked in general.  So, how did the religion gain money?  Did they compromise on their clothing, acts, or other modes of behavior that were dictated by their religion?  No.  They just started giving people gifts before asking for donations, and voila!  Success.

There are many other tests that psychologists have conducted over the years, including one in which a series of test subjects were accompanying an experimenter through an art gallery on a mission to rate paintings.  The subjects were taken one-on-one with the same person who tried to keep his behavior consistent through hundreds of assistants, though naturally some people liked him while others did not.  At the end of the rating period, the assistants/subjects were asked to buy raffle tickets.  It would not be surprising to suggest that the number of tickets purchased was related to what the subject thought of the experimenter, but something surprising occurred.  The simple act of the experimenter offering a free soda during a break trumped the effect of positive/negative feelings towards the experimenter.  In short, subjects that claimed to dislike the experimenter and received a free soda would actually buy more raffle tickets on average than people that claimed to like the experimenter but did not receive a soda.

Both of these examples say something about the psychological power of reciprocity.  What they say, in big loud words, is that we are so ingrained to operate using this principle that we are nearly powerless against it when it is undetected.  In fact, people go out of their way to avoid Hare Krishinas rather than to be rude to them, which only goes to show that we would rather avoid conflict than violate one of our most sacred societal principles.  So, how can we employ reciprocity to our own ends?

How to Employ Reciprocity

The first thing that you need to do to employ reciprocity in your copy is to offer a valuable nugget of information or perhaps something more tangible such a demo product or subscription to a service that the customer will feel is actually beneficial to them.  The only real conditions to what you have to offer are simple: it must truly be of value, and it must not look like an overt sales effort or people will do an end run around it faster than busy people at airports dodging Hare Krishinas.

Offering something of value for free can be a challenge to some, but here are a few possible ideas:

• Are you offering an e-book?  Give away the first few chapters or even the entire last edition for free if the subject matter is constantly updated.
• Do you have a service?  Offer a free sample of the service on a trial basis.  This is done by so many companies that are wildly successful for a good reason: reciprocity.  It also helps for people to be able to test what they would be buying, but there is a sense of indebtedness that could be carefully woven in with follow-up emails that are properly worded.
• Do you have a product that you could give away?  Free products build goodwill too.  Even something as simple as a coffee mug or promotional t-shirt can prove quite effective.  Just remember that the gift MUST be valued in order for it to build a need to reciprocate.  A coffee mug with your company logo on it won’t be as effective as a coffee mug with a custom logo on it that the user gets to generate.  Of course, a site dedicated to coffee could probably get by with nearly any kind of coffee mug or a small sample of this month’s flavor mailed to customers.  That being said, some products are simply better than others.

Be Genuine

Even a valuable gift will be viewed askance if the recipient sees the sale coming.  This means that great care must be taken to disguise a gift, and never to attach strings directly to the gift.  Many websites require users to provide contact information in order to get a free e-book, and that certainly is effective in many situations.  I cannot help but wonder how much more effective the e-books would be at converting users if they came with no strings at all attached, and a polite request for the data was added on the last page of the e-book.  The overall number of people submitting e-mail addresses and other contact information may decline dramatically, but the overall percentage of recipients that would probably be open to further offers would likely increase dramatically.

Thesis Theme version 1.8 is here and it has a lot to offer!   Everything from new visual touches to SEO improvements, and a plethora of under the hood tweaks awaits upgraders and new users alike. If you checked out our other Thesis Theme review you already know all the other great features Thesis already encompass. This article will focus on the stuff that is new in 1.8.  Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting tweaks that Thesis 1.8 brings to the table.  What better place to start than at the very top: the header.

Welcome to Thesis 1.8, Your Gorgeous New Site Awaits You

New to Thesis 1.8 is the ability to add a unique header image without touching a line of code.  The new streamlined header image uploader is easy to use and best of all it is CSS-based making your header image both sexy and giving the search engines what they need. Plain and simple the Thesis header image uploader allows users to take their site customizations to the next level. That is good news to those of you who are not code-ninjas or SEO warriors.

New Google Web Fonts

Also new in Thesis 1.8 is the ability to use Google’s web-fonts.  These fonts are safe, secure, and stored on Google’s servers, which means that any device in the world that has Internet access and rich-HTML capabilities will be able to use these new web fonts. These new fonts will help you think outside the “standard web fonts” box with just a toggle of the options panel. All in all, these allow you to create a uniform look without long downloads or additional tweaking.  This is especially important in a world increasingly populated with smartphone browsers and tablet users.

Under the Hood

As impressive as the user-interface side of the feature list is in the new iteration of DIYTheme’s theme is, the inner workings might be even more impressive.  Full support for WordPress 3.x features such as the navigation menu are in place, Page Options has now grown into a complete tool that allows the easy tagging, categorizing, and taxonomy of pages, all of which are important for SEO purposes and come complete with optional per-them/per-category/per-taxonomy page headlines and SEO tags.  In short, the easily accessibly SEO technologies that have made Thesis desirable to so many have gotten so much better in 1.8 without losing their ease of use.  Then there is the entire loop API, which can be used to make amazing websites even more amazing by those with a minimum amount of programming experience and skill.

Easy to Understanding SEO with SEO Character Counts

Back on the SEO front, SEO character counts are now available for the title and meta description fields.  These figures are important to keep track of for anyone who is optimizing their site. If you are one the few who aren’t, here is a guide.  Also important is the use of the all-important favicon, which can now be uploaded simply with the new Favicon Uploader included in Thesis 1.8.  Putting your logo next to your site name has never been this easy before.

Bottom Line

All of these new features are also forward compatible, meaning that once a site is upgraded to the latest version of Thesis, it will be possible to upgrade to the next version and the next after that.  Thesis has always been about building on existing features while introducing new features that will continue to grow in power while remaining easy to use.  In this sense, Thesis 1.8 is amazing simply because it improves on so many aspects that have already made the theme so successful while adding entirely new features that are very user-friendly and powerful.

Is Thesis 1.8 worth the upgrade?  Yes!  It only take a few minutes to install, there are no compatibility issues (as with all Thesis upgrades), and it adds to many new features that it is impossible not to immediately fall in love with Thesis.

There are countless ways to monetize any site, and some methods are more effective than others depending upon the visitors themselves.  In fact, the visitors are certainly the key to the problem, but that alone is not enough to monetize a site.  Even a fan-site with tons of great content is essentially a loss for the owner if they are not set up with the various affiliate marketing programs around the web.  Furthermore, being bound to the affiliate marketing program of one particular company or even a handful of companies may result in traffic that is split between those in a buying mode, and those in more of a flaming mode.

Here's what visitors/customers see.

One solution would be to spend countless hours signing up for dozens of different affiliate programs, hoping that they have low payoff points or praying that traffic will increase around a million-fold so that those fractions of pennies will start turning into big paychecks.  Alternatively, one could look into Skimlinks.

What is Skimlinks?

Skimlinks is essentially a clearing house for affiliate programs, meaning that they sign up for literally hundreds of affiliate programs so you don’t have to.  This means both freedom from brand-dependence as well as pay-offs that are a combination of all of one’s affiliate marketing.  There is a catch, which is only to be expected, but it is not as bad as it might seem.  Skimlinks keeps 25% of all your hard earned affiliate marketing money.  This may seem like a lot considering that a standard 10% finder’s fee would seem more applicable to this situation, especially since that is more or less what is happening here: Skimlinks is simply connecting two parties.   That being the case, there still might be ample justification for such a high percentage, so keep an open mind while considering two scenarios.

Both scenarios will revolve around a blogger who just absolutely loves computers, but Scenario A will feature this particular blogger trying to make a living by handling the affiliate marketing aspect of his or her website while Scenario B will seem them using Skimlinks.

Scenario A Begins

Sales go through Skimlinks and end up....

Scenario A would have to start with our blogger looking for affiliate marketing programs for his or her favorite hardware and/or software.  This is not such a large problem in all cases, as companies such as Dell and HP have ready-made affiliate marketing programs, but that is not necessarily the case for other vendors.  Some companies, such as ASUS, have a huge following in many market segments, but they do not have an affiliate program for bloggers.  The amount of time spent searching and signing up for programs will probably not be very high, perhaps only an hour or two, but there are some severe limitations here.

To get around these limitations, our blogger could just limit posts to brands that do have quality affiliate programs, or expand to some of the top online stores such as NewEgg.  Still, there are two problems: limited content scope that might make them seem less than genuine or force our blogger to write ‘freebies’ and the second problem is that it would seem very likely that sales will simply slip through our blogger’s fingers.  In short, our blogger is at risk of being marginalized as a fanboy/fangirl simply because of the limited affiliate marketing opportunities, while he or she spins his or her wheels trying to gain traction.  In the end, the site may or may not make it long term because of this limitation, and the result might be a lack of payout.

What About Scenario B?

...going right into your pocket minus a 25% commission.

Scenario B is a lot simpler with Skimlinks.  The blogger sees what Skimlinks has to offer, and signs up.  Skimlinks can automatically convert links to affiliate links and this frees the blogger to cover a wider range of topics.  If they think that one company just came out with a really slick product that needs coverage, then they can blog about it with reasonable certainty that any sells will earn them a portion of the commission.

Is It Worth It?

It is hard to deny the appeal of being able to use Skimlinks as a one-stop shop for most of or even all of one’s affiliate marketing.  There is nothing stopping bloggers from using direct affiliate marketing when they see fit, and Skimlinks for everything else.  This approach basically makes Skimlinks the affiliate marketing equivalent of a catch-all for everything that falls through the cracks.  It also might be worth considering the fact that Skimlinks already has existing relationships with major vendors such as Amazon.com, K-Mart, and Dell onboard, as well as major affiliate networks such as Affiliate Future, Affiliate Window, Google Shopping, Trade Doubler, Commission Junction, Webgains, Link Share, and Zanox.

The bottom line is that there really is no serious downside to using Skimlinks in most situations.  The chances of a payout ($50 minimum) would seem much higher by marketing different products from different vendors, and allows for sites to generate reviews with more credibility instead of constantly praising Company A’s products.  Give Skimlinks a try, and see if it doesn’t help change your bottom line.

For those of you looking to boost your newsletter conversion rates, we have come up with five steps to follow to keep you on the straight and narrow:

Rule #1: Provide Useful Information

We’ve tried hammering this point home again and again here at Art of Blog, but the bottom line is that people do want, well, just whatever the heck it is that they want.  Your market should define the problems and scope of the interests of your readership, so give people at least a healthy taste of whatever it is that they truly want and/or need.  Here are few simple rules to live by:

• Your readers have problems, offer them solutions in the very start of the letter.  Even if there is no sales pitch to go with it, you’re building trust and interest.
• Your readers have questions.  Same as above, but answer questions.  Note that questions that come with suggestions that can turn into conversions are great!
• Research.  If you have statistics, or the statistics are out there, get them.  Making an informed decision requires information, and you ultimately benefit from providing real information that argues your case for you.  Be sure to link to the source whenever possible to demonstrate that others seem to support your particular point of view.
• Try to approach problems from an interesting perspective whenever possible.  Figures can still be figures, but they can be ‘amazing’ when you present them that way.

Rule #2: It’s Not What You Say…

Remember when people told you that it wasn’t the content of the message, but how the message was delivered that ultimately proved to be the most important.  This plays a major role in newsletter conversion rates too.  If you tell someone that product ABC does this, that, and the other thing, but fail to connect it to their immediately needs and wants, then you have certainly proved this saying correct.  Instead, here’s what you should do:

• Explain why a product is beneficial to customers, and assume that they have some problem that can be solved by it.
• Talk to customers in a way that they understand.  If you are selling Ford truck crate motors, then consider writing with a bit of a drawl.  If you are trying to convince people to look into timeshares, start talking the lingo.
• Connect the dots between what a product or service is, and how that benefits the reader.  Believe it or not, your readers may not be inclined to do that for you.

Rule #3: Relate In Different Ways

The bottom line is that different groups of people are going to respond to different tactics in different ways.  Therefore, your newsletter should use different approaches that are appropriate for the audience.  This might include:

• Testimonials – Depending on your audience, testimonials can be very powerful.  Some people have found that mixing testimonials with a request for newsletter recipient testimonials increases conversion rates.
• Anecdotes – Some people just need a basic connection between the benefits of a product or service and a real life example, so give it to them.  Keep the benefits and real life situation, even if hypothetical, on point and concise for this group of consumers.
• Direct comparisons – Be careful of the legalities with this one, but some people simply love winners.  Show them that your product and/or service is on the winning side, and they will come again and again.
• Stories (long anecdotes) – Sometimes longer stories with a recurring theme that connects again and again with a group of people will be resonate with them in a deep way.
• Straight forward copy/asking for conversions- Some people just need you to ask for a sale before they spring for their credit cards.  If only we could all be so lucky…
• Non-sales oriented informative pieces – Not everything has to be sales oriented.  Sometimes people just need information and can make decisions on their own.  Trying to force this group to listen to boring stories or ask for a sale without providing cold, hard statistics is going to shut them down.

Rule #4: Call to Action!

This one gets people again and again, but you need to include a call to action if you expect customers to react.  It’s all nice and well to tell them how ABC will solve their problems effectively and efficiently, but failing to follow that up with a link that says “Order Your ABC Now” is like passing up an opportunity.  Don’t view it as being pushy or overly sales-oriented, but rather showing people how to get what they want.  They need to strike while the iron is hot, and if they are given time to talk themselves out of a transaction, then they probably will.

Rule #5: Be On Time

If you want people to take your business seriously, then you need to take it seriously too.  Show how serious you are by setting deadlines and sticking to them.  If a newsletter needs to be out on the 15^th of each month, make sure it is in and ready for review and editing on the 10^th.  If you need to lose sleep, then lose sleep.  Do you think that Donald Trump and Bill Gates got to where they are without losing a few nights of sleep to build credibility?  Suck it up and do what it takes to edit those piece BEFORE the due date.

How About Adding a Few More?

How about adding a few more rules to live by for newsletters?  Let us know what you have found works in your newsletters and even what doesn’t.  Share and share alike people.

Ten dollar words can be copy killers, or they can make a piece work.  The trick is to know which ten dollar words are worth adding to which texts, and where to put them.  If you are not already well acquainted with ten dollar words, then let’s start with a primer.

What is a Ten Dollar Word?

A ten dollar word is essentially a long word that is used in the place of a much more common word or a shorter word that is more well-known.  Why would anyone want to use a ten dollar word you might ask?  That’s a great question, and the answer has a lot to do with appearing smarter than you actually are.  Let’s take lawyers for example.

I happen to be studying pre-law right now, and one fact that has been beaten into me so many times by so many professors and authors is the fact that big words can often win juries over.  This works even to the point where many famous lawyers actually invent new words in the courtroom just to sound impressive.  Johnnie Cochran Jr., famous for his role in the O.J. Simpson murder trial and other high-profile cases, was particularly famous for creating new and lengthy words from simple words.  These ten dollar words did not take away from the wonderful education of Mr. Cochran, but rather connected him to the jury members that were so important to his many pivotal victories.

When to Use Ten Dollar Words

Lawyers are not the only ones that get to use ten dollar words.  If you are writing copy to sell something or create conversions, then you are in a good position to use ten dollar words.  There are exceptions to this, and the main exception is when your audience is probably going to resent being talked down to.  Some people seem to have a naturally soft skin and very easily bruised ego, and thus it would not be advisable to use ten dollar words with these types of consumers unless you already have their attention.

Getting attention first can often open up the door for a few ten dollar words, but make sure that they are used in a way like Johnny Cochran’s ten dollar words: the audience must understand them in order for them to be effective.  This means you can talk about exfoliates with those looking into beauty products, but try to avoid using anathema when discussing rifle scopes with hunters.  If the reader has to scratch their head and consider looking up a word, then your tempo has been broken.

Which Ten Dollar Words You Should Use

Here are a few of my favorite ten dollar words, and a little advice on when they should be used:

• Admonish – Another word for scold, but it sure sounds like something a principal or CEO would say, doesn’t it?  Use admonish fairly often if you like, it is a well-known ten dollar word.
• Facetious – Meaning not serious or in a playful bantering way, facetious is often misinterpreted as lacking in merit or being or baseless.  It is actually neither of these things, but it can overlap them under certain circumstances.  The phrase facetious remarks can be used to indicate remarks that are said more in a bantering/not-entirely honest sort of way, and thus can be used to deflect naysayers while still acknowledging their claims.
• Incongruous – The word means something that does not fit properly or fit well.  It could also be used to suggest an incompatibility with something else, such as a ruler that makes laws incongruous with passion.  I suggest using it when trying to discretely suggest that something is out of place.  If you are discrete, then you want the widget-cell phone that can do more for you without appearing incongruous with your attire.
• Predilection – Is used to indicate a tendency to show favor for something.  For example, a man with a predilection for tall blondes is likely to find short redheads to be less than attractive.  Use predilection when trying to highlight the superior selection skills of your readers, like this: If you have a predilection for fast cars that get the best gas mileage, then you need to try our MagicFuel additive today!

Never Send a Ten Dollar Word to do a Two Cent Word’s Job!

If you know your audience, you should have a good grasp on how they will react to ten dollar words.  If your audience is the type that just likes basic words, basic sentences, and a straightforward approach to telling them what they want, then do not rock the boat.  The question is: could you attract more people with a slightly different approach?  Are there more educated and/or sophisticated consumers that might also convert, but are being held back by a lack of ten dollar words?  If so, then your two cent words could be holding them back.  My advice is to consider setting up a second site or another page dedicated to trying two cent words versus ten dollar words.  Remember the marketing axiom: know your target audience and you will be halfway to success.

Your Ten Dollar Words

Which ten dollar words do you like using, and why?  Let us know in the comments section, and be sure to let us know when and how to use them if you have already developed some guidelines.  Share and share alike people!  We’ll certainly look at ten dollar words again in the near future, so stay tuned!

We have already tackled the reason the word ‘because’ is a power word for affiliate marketers, but here’s a twist on that word: why?  Why is the question that often causes the word because to be placed into sentences, but it is deeper than that.  Why is one of the first words we learn, just like the word because.  That deep placement in the logic and language centers in the brain help explain why is such a powerful word, but let’s take a deeper look.

Why Ask Why?  Try Bud Dry

We all remember that marketing jingle from the 90s, right?  Or was it the 80s?  It really doesn’t matter, but the reason that the word why was used twice in a three word span was simple: why is a power word.  Why asks the question: for what reason is something the way that it is, or is not the way it should be?  Why immediately engages the brain in scrambling for an answer, but it can also be used to plant answers.  We’ll cover the planting of answers in a minute, but take a second to appreciate how valuable the word why is from the perspective of a marketer.

You are selling something.  You want people to buy it.  What do they need?  They need a reason, or an answer to a why question.  Why not ask the question and provide the answer for even greater effect?

Instead of:

You want to try Bud Dry because…(it’s less filling)

Try:

Why do you want Bud Dry?  Because…{it has a great taste!)

The difference here is that instead of telling the reader what they want directly, you are asking them to ask themselves and then you can even go on to make suggestions.  Suggestions are very powerful, and it is even possible to set up suggestions deeply in a text way before the why ever hits the paper.  For example:

Bob was smart.  He invested in gizmoPizzaMoney.com and got a great return on his investment.  How did Bob know about gizmoPizzaMoney.com?  He asked InvestorsRUs.  Susan was wise.  She invested in NinjaClownShoes.com and made a bundle.  How did Susan know about NinjaClownShoes.com?  She asked InvestorsRUs.  The next big thing is out there, and InvestorsRUs knows what it is.  Why wouldn’t you trust anyone else with your online investment strategy?

Why?  Because…

The link between why and because should never be overlooked.  Why could be a power word simple to set up because, but it has power on its own.  Take the following examples:

• Why does everyone have an iPhone?  Because…<insert Apple’s sales pitch here>
• Why do you have problems keeping weight off?  Because…<insert your sales pitch here>
• Why don’t you have a Honda?  Is it because…

The last is a great example of engaging the reader with a question, and even putting words in their mouths and/or minds.  Psychologists know that this technique works well, and we are often conditioned to do it from the time we are children?  Don’t believe me?  Go to your bookstore and look up a book on parenting, teaching, or interpersonal relationships.  Chances are good that there will be something in that book that suggests that asking and answering questions or suggesting answers to a question prior to asking for a reason why is a great way to put words and ideas into the minds and mouths of the other party.

Think About Using Why

Why lets you communicate with the user and turn their brain on.  Anyone can read with their mind turned off, and it is just like hearing but not listening.  If you want the mind to be jumped started, you have to do something, and asking why is a great place to start. Remember that without why, and without an active mind, there is a seriously reduced chance that the reader will take any action.  This in turn means that the word why could jumpstart registrations, signups, and even spur conversions.

All you have to do as a copywriter is ask: why?

Anyone who has ever been to a baseball game might wonder why the game uses the word ‘errors’ instead of mistakes.  The reason comes down to the definitions of the two words; anyone can make a mistake, but those who know better for whatever reason commit errors.  In this sense, a professional is not expected to make the same mistakes again and again, or to make basic mistakes that they are already aware of.  In short, if you should know better, then it is an error.

Texts riddled with errors erode trust, and that in turn reduces the likelihood of a conversion.  Therefore, it is in your best interest to figure out which mistakes you are making and how to rectify them as quickly as possible.

Copywriting Errors 101

Here are some of the most common errors I see, and how to avoid making them again:

• Than vs. Then – I see this error all the time, and it is simply fixed.  Then is used to describe events that happen in a logical sequence while than is used for comparisons.  I woke up then went to IHOP for breakfast.  I think IHOP tastes better than Denny’s.
• Could of vs. Would of vs. Should of – Many people tend to think of language in much the same way as they speak it, instead of how it is written.  Could of is correct if you are talking about possibilities that are not past, but would of and should of are incorrect.
• Its vs. It’s – It’s only means it is.  The possessive form of it is its without the apostrophe.  It’s hot today.  Microsoft lost its battle with hackers today.
• Loose vs. Lose – Sometimes one little letter can make a huge difference.  Loose is only used when something is not sufficiently tight, and lose means to misplace.  The screw is loose, so be sure not to lose it!
• Averse vs. Adverse – Here’s another case where a single letter makes a big difference.  Averse indicates a reluctance while adverse describes conditions that are difficult or unfavorable.  I am averse to investing in stocks at the moment.  The adverse weather conditions make building a house in the winter a challenge.
• Myself and Yourself – The only times you would use myself and yourself is when you are referring to an action that involved the same party.  For example: I then checked myself for injuries, did you check yourself?  It is incorrect to say things such as: Myself, I like beer!  Or, the incredibly common: what about yourself (unless some sort of self-evaluation or self-action was implied).
• Different than – Never ever use this.  Period.  Instead, use different from.
• Latin lessons for i.e. and e.g. – i.e. is only used for situations in which you are rephrasing something, and e.g. is only used when an example is being offered.  Bob has a problem getting his soldier to salute, i.e., erectile dysfunction.  Bob has found a few cures for his problem, e.g. medicine A, or magazine B…
• Compliment vs. Complement – A compliment is something nice somebody communicates about somebody else, but a complement is something that augments something else.  I gave Adam Baird a compliment about this smashing new web design.  I feel that his talent for making amazing looking websites could complement many businesses that I know.
• Criterion vs. Criteria – A criterion is a single condition, and criteria describes multiple conditions.  For example, the one criterion to making me happy is good food.  The criteria for writing effective copy are: A, B, C, this, that, the other thing, and so on…
• Farther vs. Further – Farther is a measure of distance while further is used to talk about an extension of time or a degree that is not measured in linear distance.  How much farther is it to Tempe?  How much further will we have to wait for new episodes of Family Guy?  How much further could your business go if you put all of these copywriting rules to work for you?

Remember, Only You Can Prevent Errors

Now that you have seen some of the more common errors, it is up to you to do something about it.  If your copy is riddled with these mistakes and you are wondering why your conversion rate is not much higher, then you have should probably your answer: your copy contains too many errors to be credible with its audience. You are only going to catch errors by reading your work, but even then errors might still slip through.  Some writers read their work backwards, a sentence at a time in order to stay sharp.  Professional authors and journalists rely on other people to edit their content, primarily because some people are just innately predisposed to subconsciously glossing over their own errors instead of fixing them.

Do you have any other copywriting errors you would like to share with AoB and our readers?  If so, feel free to use the comments section.

Our next power word is because.  Because is a power word because it tells people why they should do something, and that is the very essence of copywriting.  People viewing a page are already partially interested, but the word because gives them a reason to be interested.  The fact that the word because is a simple word that everyone knows only goes to underscore its place in our brains’ communication centers.  Accessing these root words that are embedded so deeply has its own innate power, but because is also a logical world that operates on higher levels of the brain, and that too has a powerful effect.

Think about it this way: because is probably among the first logic-oriented words we learn as children, but we never stop using it.  We learn at a very young age not to touch dad’s coffee because it is hot, or that we cannot stick our fingers in a door jam because we will get hurt.  We later learn that we lost a job opportunity because we did not groom ourselves as well as the other applicants, or that we had a misunderstanding with our spouse because men and women view the world so differently.  Ultimately, the word because is incredibly powerful because we learned it so long ago and we keep using it; it is connected to so many parts of our brain that it is a power word unto itself.

Because to Build Connections

While some people might think that the word because is innately argumentative or tends to cast a negative light on a subject may not have given enough thought to how to use the word.  Isaac Newton once said that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and Dale Carnegie paraphrased this to mean that people tend to do what they normally do unless given a reason to do something different.  Before people will do something different, they need a reason to change their views.  This is where because comes into play.  Otherwise, viewers stay viewers and buyers/converters buy and convert and move on.

Here are some great examples of how to use because to change views and/or inform in a positive way:

• You need product ABC because…
• Will Smith uses ABC because….
• I like ABC better than XYZ because…
• If you liked XYZ, then you’ll love ABC because…
• If your nose won’t stop running, it could be because….

On the Other Side of Because

On the other side of the aforementioned examples, you have to drive home the benefit to the consumer.  In some cases, such as the Will Smith example, the comparison starts impersonal and then hopefully transits over to something more person with the used of the power word you.  This was covered in our last power word article, but the point is clear: combining because and you is a great way to double the effect of both.  The results can be nearly exponential in nature, and there are few power word combinations more effective than because and you.  If you happen to know of a better combination, please feel free to add it to the comments section.

Because to Close Sales

When it comes time to ask for the sale or conversion, be sure to consider using because.  Remember that you want to make the reasons why you are asking for the sale clear to the customer and benefit-oriented.  Here are a few examples:

• Buy ABC today because you don’t want to live a minute longer with that third arm growing out of your head!
• Visit your local ABC dealership today and get a sports car because you aren’t getting any younger and those young ladies at the bar sure seem to like guys that can flash their money!
• Every wonder why you finish last in races?  It’s because you don’t have ABC shoes!

Again, note the combination of you and because.  This is a powerful combination, and I almost feel like I do need a new ABC sports car (my wife would kill me) and even though I lack a third arm growing out of my head, an ounce of prevention…   The point is that the combination of you and because works wonders for closing the deal.

Review Sites You Like

One of the most common suggestions I received from our first power word piece was that I made an inadvertent omission that would actually be very helpful.  You guys were right, and I am sorry.  Slap my hand please.  Now that my punishment is over, take this knowledge and visit sites that you already frequent and try to determine how many of them know and use the power of because.

Your Suggestions

We are always looking for more power words and feedback from our readers, so please feel free to comment in our aptly titled comments section.  Why?  Because (see how it works?) we have the feeling that you have a lot to share, and we want to hear what you have to say.  Not only that, but other readers would like to hear your suggestions too!

You.  It is a simple pronoun comprised of three little letters, but remember Yoda’s sage advice on judging the power of people (or words) by their size.  You is the go to word for most copywriters that want to really reach their audience and win them over to your way of thinking.  Winning readers and/or viewers to your way of thinking is the goal of any copywriter, but you will first need to understand just why and how the word you is supposed to be used in this context.

Why You is a Power Word

It seems strange to suggest that a simple pronoun is a power word, but here’s the deal.  I’m not going to sugar coat it at first, so forgive me if this sounds a little harsh.  Everyone one of us, you (There’s that word!), me, and everyone around us does everything for many reasons, but the primary reason is because that we believe that the actions we take benefit us in some way.  This means even being charitable and donating a few dollars to a homeless person is really a selfish act in some tiny way, at least according to many psychologists.

Those same psychologists would suggest that people who are presented with a proposition that is beneficial without the word you and the same proposition with the word you are more likely to avail themselves of the latter.  For example:

Consumers could benefit from faster broadband connections if they download lots of video files, MP3s, play online games, and/or do online backup.  Sign up today!

Versus:

You could benefit from faster broadband connections if you download lots of video files, MP3s, play online games, and/or do online backup.  Sign up today!

If you want to sugarcoat the reasons why we do the things that we do, then you could believe that the stimuli our brains receive from any action could release guilt, address subconscious issues we are not necessarily aware of, or any number of other things.  Ultimately, we are just a touch on the selfish side as a species, and that has its ups and its downs.  You can sit and contemplate the issue for years, or you can learn how to take advantage of where this truth intersects with the English language: the word you.

When to Use You

There are times when almost no other word but you will do.  There are other times, such as the above example, when you can easily substitute the word you with other words.  There are also times when you can imply you or explicitly state it.  For example:

Be aware that watching too much television is bad for your eyes.

Versus:

You should be aware that watching too much television is bad for your eyes.

A few simple tweaks and you have gone from implying the word you to expressly stating it.  Note that implying the word you is not enough for it to have the desired effect.  On the other hand, inserting the word you into several single sentence might be overkill unless it is to build repetition and is only part of your overall piece.

At a bare minimum, the word you should appear in positive examples that highlight the virtues of whatever is being discussed and/or in comparisons, sprinkled throughout the text, in the lead, and in any call to action/request for a sale.  We are not talking about products or services that only benefited other people, right?  We are talking about things that could benefit Y-O-U!  Who needs to buy?  YOU DO!

Your is Not as Good as You

Using your tends to be something that is fairly polarized, and can be quite negative.  If you are covering the benefits of a motor oil, you can say:

ABC motor oil is good for your car and will keep it running for a long time!

Or

You need to get ABC motor oil for your car if you want your car to run for a long time!

You could even go negative if you want (I wouldn’t) and suggest that those people who are left on the road waiting for AAA or their best friend to show up (In some cases they turn out to be one and the same…) might have been that way because they did not use ABC motor oil.  An ideal negative ending to that might be:

Do you want your choice in motor oil to strand you on the road with a dead car?  If not, you need to choose ABC motor oil.

Your Suggestions

Do you (there it is again!) know any power words you want to share?  If so, let us know in the comments section.

Transparency is perhaps one of the most important aspects of sales, yet there are clear examples of entire industries with salespeople that are stereotypes of bad transparency.  Unfortunately, blogging is quickly becoming one of those industries, and it would be sad to let a few bad apples ruin the entire perception of the Internet as a learning and marketing vehicle.  Let’s back up a few steps and take a look at transparency in copywriting and a few problems associated with copywriting and transparency.

What is Transparency?

Transparency is essentially a way to describe people that are who they say there are online.  The problem is that many people, especially those growing up in the post 1980s corporate business culture of America, are taught something innately different.  We have been taught social skills for getting jobs that results in us stuffing resumes with half-truths because we think that everyone else is doing the same, and that we must be willing to over-accentuate and exaggerate our positive attributes just to be competitive.  The problem is that what employers see is not a transparent and honest image of an applicant but a carefully obfuscated version.  With this level of integrity at the very bottom level of society all the way to the top, is it really difficult to fathom the current economic crisis we find ourselves in?  After all, we can’t all kid ourselves all the time and keep drinking the same Kool-Aid.

This carries over into the online world too, where people who post do so with images they either bought or otherwise appropriated.  Take a look at my image down at the bottom of my post.  Who in the heck would WANT to look like that?!  That’s all me, and that is part of what we’re talking about here.  I could have uploaded photos from my wedding, which were professional, but ultimately I just chose something that was real.  Why?  Because I believe that transparency is important.

The Problem With Transparency and Copywriting

Copywriting is a sales process, and I cannot hammer that home enough.  The problem is that one of the best sales techniques is to listen.  Nearly every book or course on sales, negotiations, and/or interpersonal relationships covers this point, which only underscores just how important listening is.  As previously mentioned, some industries have a reputation for a lack of listening and a constant bombardment of hard sales tactics.  Take used car salespeople for example.

Why take used card salespeople?  Because they represented a form of transparency that is viewed as negative, but they can follow people around a car lot unlike a webpage that is easily navigated away from.  In short, we need to look at good and bad forms of transparency, because copywriting is not a salesperson and it cannot really listen.  All transparent copywriting can do is try to convey a sense of honesty and integrity.

Keeping it Real

If you are building a website then the most important thing you can do is try to be transparent.  Here are some steps to consider:

• Use your real image.  Come on!  You can’t possibly be uglier than me!
• Use your real name.  Mine is Chad Weirick.  Rolls off the tongue, no?
• Tell us what you really do.  Let everyone else talk about being an expert in this or that, and then wonder why they cannot generate the content that backs it up.  If you know how to write copy and know what you are talking about, it does not matter what is on your resume.  When was the last time that you went to a website and before reading any content looked at the author’s credentials?  See my point?
• Tell us what you really know.  I read lots of sites dedicated to blogging, and have done so since I started my drive to learn how to write copy.  I know a good deal, and I’m always learning more.  This is my core competency, what’s yours?  I’m always asking for feedback and trying to gather other opinions, and I feel that it makes me better at what I do and more honest at the same time.

Keeping it Real Fake

Avoid these easy pitfalls:

• Stop using fake pictures – I spend a little bit of time on Flickr Creative Commons and iStockPhoto, so sometimes I see profile pictures on websites that I have seen before.  I just laugh to myself and close the page.  If someone cannot even admit who they are, I have little faith in what they have to say on any subject.
• Embellish your position – People come up with all sorts of politically correct titles to make their jobs seem more interesting or important.  Comedian Bruce Bruce once joked that his neighbor claimed to be a computer programmer but was actually a cashier.  When confronted with the apparent dishonesty, the programmer/cashier said something along the lines of: “What do you think I’m doing?  I’m programming your sales into this computer!”  Real honest.
• Highlight your attributes beyond a reasonable point – Sometimes being good at what you do is less important than letting others know that you are good at what you do.  But letting others know that you are an all-star but you are really more of a bench-warmer is not transparent.

Transparency

Remember that transparent copy is still copy and thus needs to be magnetic.  Magnetic copy does not mean that you have to hide who you are because you feel that you might be under qualified to offer advice.  If people are reading what you write, then you already have some authority.  There is no need to add to this authority in a dishonest way.

Creativity.  It is difficult to define and measure, but we use it every day.  I’ve been wanting to write about techniques to boost creativity for a while, and it wasn’t until all the great feedback we received from the piece on conquering writer’s block that I decided to actually tackle creativity head-on.  After all, how do you tackle the prospect of teaching a subject that is as subjective as creativity?  The answer is that creativity is not something that can be taught, but it is something that can be cultivated if you know how.  There might be things that you do have control over that could influence your creativity.  To that end, I put together a guide that I hope will help you be as creative as possible.

Stop Working

Sometimes the creative juices will only flow when you sit back and relax.  Some people take relaxation to new heights, and while we certainly cannot advocate some of the more extreme (and potentially illegal) ways to relax, all we can say is that do what works for you.  The point is that many copywriters (and people in general) succumb to tunnel vision and focus too hard or something that they are not able to accomplish, and the only way around that is to change things up.  If you just work and work without relaxing, you are going to burn out.  Also remember the old axiom: doing the same thing again and again while expecting different results is unreasonable.

If what you are doing does not feel like it is developing your creative side, then you need to intentionally slow down.  Sometimes that is all that it takes.  Other times you will need to combine this step with other ideas.

Go to a Museum or Art Gallery

Go to a place that already has lots of art or something else that you find inspirational.  Museums often have examples of what geniuses of different kinds can accomplish, even if it is categorizing bones to long-extinct animals or translating some lost language.  Appreciate the work for what it is, and take time to understand that gravity of the challenge involved.  Being around inspirational examples of what people can accomplish is a great way to get the creative juices flowing.  There are some alternatives to this that are more practical for those who do not happen to live near a great museum or art gallery:

• Online museums/art galleries.  Some of the best art in the world is accessible from all over the world, 24/7.  Remember to donate.
• Directories of quotes.  “A man who view the world the same way at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.”  Muhammad Ali was a lot smarter than many gave him credit for.  See which quotes move you, and consider the source too!
• Magazines and other periodicals.  I happen to like Reader’s Digest and a few particularly low-brow websites dedicated to translation errors.
• Music.  I really love Pandora and iTunes.

Regardless of which of these options you choose, try spending time reviewing old favorites with a fresh eye as well as acquiring new favorites.  If all you do is listen to the same music while viewing the same art, then sooner or later you are going to end up feeling somewhat stale from a creative standpoint.

Get Out

Some of the greatest authors and thinkers in history draw clear inspiration from the natural splendor of the world around them.  Did you ever hear about the time the Hemingway locked himself inside of a dark room for 19 months and ordered take-out to finish his greatest masterpiece?  No?  Neither have I!  Why?  Because he knew the value of getting outside and experiencing the real world.

Do Something

Inactivity is not likely to breed creativity.  Get out and do something!  Meet new people, try things you never thought you would do (but keep it legal people!), and/or try doing things differently.  Go to work the same way every single day?  Change it up!  Anyone with a child knows that brain synapses that are not used die and those that are used develop.  A portion of your brain is just waiting to be developed, but that will only happen when you start to offer yourself new challenges.  Here are some ideas:

• Take a class.  Many community colleges offer great classes at affordable rates.  Indulge yourself and your brain will start developing new connections that could result in creativity.
• Network.  New friends equals new experiences, so be willing to reach out to new people when you want to refill your creative can.
• Do something you would never normally do…just keep it legal and safe.  Again, if you do the same things that you always do and expect different results, you might want to check your logic.  One good idea is to have a friend or family member suggest something that they never thought you would do, such as take a class in Karate, or enter a pie eating contest.  Just keep it safe and legal, but try to grow as a person and you will note that your mind will respond with new observations and points of view that will in turn boost your capacity for creative thought.
• Exercise.  Vigorous exercise gets trhe3 blood flowing to the brain, and proper breathing means that the blood rushing to the brain is carrying heightened levels of oxygen.  This can make your mind sharper than normal.  I personally do some of my best thinking and planning at the end of a grueling weight lifting session, when I hop on the elliptical and start pushing myself hard.
• Spend Time at Home.  Family is important, and too many of us spend too much time working for our families but not enough time living our lives with our families.  Rectify this and you might suddenly feel a creativity-oppressing cloud lift from your brain.  Some call this guilt, others call it responsibility, but I call it a creativity blocker.

Your Suggestions Please

What are your best suggestions for boosting creativity?  Was there anything that we left off the list, or that you view in a different way?  We’d love to hear what you have, and other readers probably would too!  Please feel free to share in our comments section, and know that doing good deeds (such as helping others cultivate creativity) is often a sign of a creative mind.

There are times that you might find yourself writing about something and then editing your work only to find that it is very impersonal…clinical even.  Many would rather take a conversational tone, but sometimes this comes off as lacking in professionalism.  An analytical tone might be great if you are discussing something very intricate and deep, but it may not be the best way to write copy.  I myself am guilty of this, perhaps in large part because of the different writing jobs I hold.  One of my jobs requires an absolute minimum of hyperbole and a maximum of political correctness, while the other often requires a wide range of sales techniques.  At times I feel a bit like a superhero who has problems reconciling his or her separate personalities, but the point is that we all fall into this trap from time to time.

How to Write Like You Talk

If anyone has ever told you that you have a silver tongue or that you are very persuasive when talking, there is a good chance that you can transfer that skill into writing.  If you are already an all-star writer, then you are doubly fortunate as you might be able to reach a new level of your game by writing like you talk.  Unfortunately, it is not exactly as simple as it sounds.

The first problem is that there is some truth to the fact that writing in the same manner as you would talk may or may not be entirely appropriate.  Still, it does give a good jumping off point for making a connection.  Connections are one of the most fundamental skills that any salesperson can utilize, yet impersonal and analytical texts are often completely free of the pronouns and anecdotes that cause people to feel as if they are making some sort of tangible connection.

A good goal would be to find a balance between the way you would converse with customers or new co-workers and the way that you would normally write.  There is one group of people that do this routinely: speech writers.

Writing a Speech Might Be a Good Idea…or Not

Speech writers, especially those working for politicians, are often considered to be top flight intellectuals because they have the unique skill required to create texts that blend the analytical with the more personal, rapport-filled conversational qualities.  Of course, they might bend truths or distort facts as well, but putting those issues aside, the truth is that this ability really is unique because it puts the analytical and quantitative elements in small doses and encapsulates them in easier to swallow sugar-coated qualitative elements that are very conversational in quality.

I have included a few examples of what I am talking about for your benefit:

• Quantitative: Such-and-such has an annual sales volume of 110,000 units, making it the number one product in its class by sales volume.  Larger sales volumes mean more robust upgrade cycles and a greater chance of future support.  Customers rate such-and-such higher than the competition in subjective tests conducted by independent parties.
• Qualitative: Yesterday I tried out such-and-such and I was blown away!  I was like!  Wow!!  This rocks man!  I like how it works, and I’m jazzed about spending time learning how to use it better.  If I love it this much, just think of how much you are going to love it.
• Putting them together: Yesterday I tried out such-and such, and I was amazed.  Not only is a great product, but it is the number one product in its field with a ridiculous sales volume that ensures that the company will be around to answer my support questions.  I also feel confident in buying such-and-such because I know that they are successful, and the time I spend learning how to use it will pay off in future versions.  I love such-and-such and I know you will too!

As you can see in the third example, by putting the quantifiable points into the middle of more conversational qualitative parts, you can get better results.  So the question many will have is: how can I find my voice?

Finding Your Voice With a Pen or Keyboard

If you find that you have a lot of trouble finding your voice in this regard, I have one final suggestion.  It goes back to the question that career therapists and high school counselors have been asking for years: what would you do with your time if you won the lottery or inherited a vast sum of money.  Note that the question is not about how you would spend your money, but rather how you would pass your remaining years.  Most people choose a subject that interests them, and that’s where I suggest you start.  Sit down and start writing about something you already know a lot about, and try to prepare a speech that would persuade a live audience.

Taking this route should ensure that you have all of your facts and ideas crystalized well before you put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.  This skill will probably be essential for anyone looking to strike a balance between the factual and the personal.  Remember that a speech may be given to many people, but listen to a few politicians speak and you will hear the word ‘you’ escape their mouths more often than almost any other.  Why?  It is because they are attempting to create a connection.  Do not shy away from the word ‘you’ but remember to keep a nearly office-friendly tone and stick in statistics and facts where appropriate, and you should have a winning combination.  Knowing the facts before their speechwriters begin just makes the entire process more streamlined and easier to switch gears when necessary.

Before I started blogging, I did a lot of technical writing that had to be fair, balanced, and concise.  In short, the polar opposite of being interesting in written form.  Unfortunately, I was about to find out that being interesting was what blogging was all about, but I’m getting ahead of myself here.  While technical and accurate writing was perfect for a curious and analytical mind like mine, it was probably far from eye catching from a copywriting perspective.  As I started moonlighting with sites that handled content outsourcing for blogs, I was forced to pick up some tricks along the way.  I was also forced to realize that while my previous employers were more than happy with my writing style, my style needed some tweaking to be widely accepted by those businesspeople looking for quality copy.  After all, quality copy is often all about being interesting.

The situation became clear when I realized that I had a choice to make.  I could either adapt to new needs and wants or I could find another line of work that did not require me to be so interesting in print.  Not being one to shirk from learning something new or taking on a new challenge, I decided that I would try to adapt and learn to excel at being interesting.  Being interesting is both an art and a science, and it is also something that can be taught and learned.  It is worth noting that being interesting is something that would probably get me fired at my old day job, which I was able to quit thanks to my new skills and income earned by learning how to write copy.  Now I am going to share the secrets of being interesting with you!

Understanding Interests is Key to Being Interesting

Being interesting requires understand that one fundamental truth about interests.  The one fundamental truth that will help every copywriter at one point or time at another is that being interesting is a matter of perspective, but never yours.  A large part of this perspective comes from each individual need and want for information.  Answers, ideas, ways to conceptualize things, and opinions are all sought after pieces of information, and they are all desires that can be played on to build interest.  Meeting these needs makes you and your content innately interesting to those with specific questions or interest.  For example, anyone interested in rebuilding a Chevrolet 350 engine would find an article on the subject very interesting and it could serve as the launching pad for a discussion about something that you are interested in, such as selling refurbished carburetors.

So, the very first lesson is that it does not necessarily matter what you have to say on a subject if it is not what someone else wants to hear.  If there is an existing need for answers on a topic, then plug in to that need.  If the need is in a related field, then build a bridge from the interest(s) of readers to your own interest and highlight why and how the two are connected.  Remember to start with what they want to see and hear before moving on to what you want to say for the best effect.

Understand that being truly interesting almost requires saying what people want to hear, but that alone is not enough and there are a few exceptions to this rule.

Express Complex Ideas With a Twist

People have questions, and one of the most common question types is that of a desire to simplify some complex subject or decision making process.  If you can find a way to explain or relate something in an interesting way, or create a useful tool to help people reach a decision, you will be well on your way to success.  A great example of this would be how Professor Niall Ferguson has built an entire career off of explaining incredibly complex economic issues in simple terms that are easily understood by the millions of people who buy his books, videos, and/or attend his lectures.

Simplification is not the only way to go for those looking for unique ways to be interesting, here are some ideas for generating unique twists:

• How A is like Z – This works especially well when the two things being compared seem to be completely dissimilar or even fundamentally opposed, such as candidates from opposing political parties.
• Simple analogies for complex ideas – Ever hear of the Art of War?  The book contains countless references to water.  Why?  Because the largely agricultural residents of ancient China could easily understand the concepts if they were related to something that they could understand.
• A different point of view – Presenting a subject from an unusual point of view or with unique context can be interesting and even open the door to humor.  It also opens up the door to sensationalism, something that many viewers seem to find innately interesting even if the content is lacking.  What would Stalin think of the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010?  Now there’s a strange point of view bound to grab attention and be deemed interesting.

In short, being interesting can be achieved by looking at things in an unusual way.

A Killer Title Helps

Grabbing attention starts with an interesting title and then continues through with the hook.  Here are some great examples of titles that work well:

• Numbers and lists such as 10 ways to… or the top 50…
• Round numbers are good, but strange numbers are more interesting.  How to earn $2874 a week is a great alternative to 10 ways to make money at home.
• Offer solutions as part of the titles, such as the aforementioned 10 ways to…
• Ask a question.  Do you know why you can’t lose weight?
• Be impertinent or even outright rude if it suits your style.  This has worked wonders for R. Lee Ermey.  Why Are You So Fat?
• Say something absolutely ridiculous and then defend it.  While I won’t name any names, recent years have seen many vice presidents and vice presidential candidates that say the zaniest things and often overshadow their running mates.  The same is true of news commentators that have taken absurdly irrational stances that even third graders are able to see through, yet they draw massive crowds to their banners.

If you follow this advice for titles, you will be well on your way to being interesting.

Open and Candid

Not everyone can be right all of the time, so be willing to admit when something you said was inaccurate or only accurate in certain situations and/or from certain points of view.  While people like to read and/or watch people that are successful and reasonably accurate, most people have learned to be suspicious of people that are always correct.  Few people are interested in outcomes that they know from the get go.  In other words, why would anyone waste their highly valued time if they knew what was coming?  This means that being interesting might require you to try something like this:

Everyone knows that diet and exercise are required to lose weight, right?  WRONG!  There is actually a lot more to it than that, and I found that out the hard way…

Another great example that works well for sites that handle reviews of products and/or services is to make open predictions in a preview about an upcoming review.  Then see how well you did in the review.  This builds free links and a sense of honesty and openness that modern ‘net users seem to appreciate.  Here is an example:

I just got my new Apple iSomething, and I thought I’d post a few pictures of if before I get started with the review.  From the buzz I’ve heard and my first impressions opening the box, here is what I think it will do:

• This
• That
• The other thing

Now that your predictions are public knowledge, go about your review and offer a section either near the beginning (after the hook) or before the closing about the accuracy of your predictions.  Here’s an example:

When I first unboxed my new Apple iSomething, I really thought that it would do this, that, and the other thing.  While it does do this and that, it really does not seem to do the other thing that I thought it was going to do.  On the other hand, it does something else that caught me by surprise and actually turned out to be one of my favorite features.

Why is being candid innately interesting?  Well, the truth is that being candid is only part of being interesting, but it is better than being timid and afraid to make predictions.  An example of this was the fan blow back from the new Star Wars prequel trilogy.  Other complaints aside, many fans felt that it was pointless to build tension by threatening to kill characters that they knew would survive because they appeared in the original trilogy.  Readers might agree, disagree, and even get involved with the predictions if they are given the opportunity to get involved.  Having readers get involved is a sure sign that you are being interesting, though there may be reasons why readers are not getting involved even if your content is interesting.

Humor Works

People enjoy a good laugh, but try to keep it relevant and positive.  This means not taking unwarranted digs at celebrities or inserting random knock-knock jokes or off-topic humor.  There should be plenty of room for humorous on-topic anecdotes and/or observations.  Sometimes just strange or bizarre titles and headers are sufficient.  An example of that includes…

Boobs, Butts, and Other Body Parts

When all else fails, you can use the oldest trick in the book: good looking people with little in the way of clothing.  Whenever you can’t be sufficiently interesting on your own, you can always go with scantily clad hotties.  Sadly, this technique actually does seem to work more often than not, at least as far as getting people to read the first few sentences.  If hot bodies are not available, try other interesting images.  In some cases, gross or unsettling images are interesting enough to catch the attention of readers.  Get your hooks ready!

Content is King.  That is the mantra that many people have said for so long now that it virtually seems as if the web was born with this coming out of its collective mouth, but even the best content can only take you so far.  So, what is there beyond the King?  Well, power is derived from the masses, is it not?

Since power is derive from the people, you need to build a readership.  This is especially true in an era where search engines are starting to become social media savvy and using data mined from social networks to determine just how popular content really is.  Fans and community involvement are more important than ever before for aspiring content-monarchs.

You, Her, Him, Those People Over There…

The truth is that the people are what will ultimately prove to be better than content, but quality content is still a fundamental requirement.  This means that getting people to participate with and interact with great content in some way is the future, and it has already arrived in so many ways.  Getting people to actively participate requires a combination of different techniques, not all of which are obvious.  Here are some brief points to think about:

• If You Don’t Build It, They Won’t Share It – If your site has killer content but no way to easily take that content into the social networking realm, you could be missing out.  There are countless tools to enable visitors to share your content with others.  Get those tools, install them, learn them, love them, and use them well.  The result will almost certainly be a spike in readership, which in turn can be turned into trust that will lead to higher conversion rates.  Power to the people!
• Welcome Back – Many sites close with comments about what they are working on next, or have sections dedicated to reviews or quick-takes on things that will expanded upon in the future.  By letting people see what is coming down the pipe and formally inviting them back to check out the new content, they just might be more prone to do so.  The more someone visits, the more they are likely to return again and again.  Being a techie, I happen to visit a lot of tech oriented websites.  Surprisingly, a few such sites have massive readerships.  Examples include Anandtech and HardOCP, both of which offer great examples of giving their respective readerships glimpses of what is in the pipe.
• Ask For Involvement – If you don’t ask for a sale then you cannot be upset when no sale happens, right?  What about not asking for community involvement?  If you do not ask for it, do you really have any right to be confused or upset when communities do not build themselves out of your readership?  Give people an open invitation to respond, and they will probably do so.  Interact with those that deign to respond, and they will probably respond again…and again…and then tell their friends.
• Know Your Role – Some sites are well-targeted at very thin niches, and others are incredibly broad.  It may be that a niche is too small or too refined to get a sufficient number of readers to create a readership critical mass that results in a community forming.  On the other hand, a site could be all over the place and that might distract people and cause them not to visit again.  The lesson here is that the focus and niche of a site will determine its readership volume and the ability for that volume of readers to form coherent communities.  Figure out which you are an address the problem.  A site that is all over the place can be sectioned off into multiple areas that are more focused, while a site that is too narrow in scope should consider expanding into related fields.
• Go Viral – If you want to attract new people and keep them coming back, it might pay to try something different.  A viral video that is off the wall or content that is more link-bait than substance can often work, and periodic rehashing of quality content into something borderline-irreverent and off-kilt is often shared amongst friends and colleagues.  Watch your readership grow and your community come together when people respond i
• New Mediums – You may have already noticed that Art of Blog is now producing a lot more videos than it used to, and for a few very good reasons.  The biggest reason is that there is a completely different crowd of people that use YouTube and other similar services, and we want to reach those people.  Could your site stand to benefit from expansion into a new medium?  Would it be possible to build a new community and/or increase your readership by expanding into a different medium while covering the same niche?  Probably…  Does that new medium already have social tools like those mentioned above?  Chances are good that it does!  This makes building a new community out of new and existing readers a simple task.

Summary

In order to keep people coming back, you need to:

• Invite them to comment and share, and give them the tools needed to make sharing easy.
• Invite them back and let them know what is coming soon.
• Ask for feedback, and respond when you get it.
• Think about your focus as well as the medium(s) you are using.
• Go viral and see if the fans start forming a community of their own or gel with your existing readership.

Do you have anything to add to our list?  If so, please feel free to share in the comments section!  I know there are tons of great ideas just waiting out there based on past feedback!

Using date based conditional statements it is entirely possible to display different content before and after posts depending on the age of the post. This is a little-known technique that can really open up the possibilities in terms of having greater control over where your visitors go when they visit your blog.

The Code

Let’s run through the basics of setting up date based content. Once you’ve got this, we’ll go a bit more in depth.

function date_based_function() {
	$post_age = ( current_time(timestamp) - get_the_time('U') ) / (24*60*60);
	if($post_age < 30) {
		// your code here
	}
}
add_action('thesis_hook_of_your_choice', 'date_based_function');

The first thing we do is determine how old a particular post is. $post_age = ( current_time(timestamp) - get_the_time('U') ) / (24*60*60); is the line that determines how old the post is in terms of days.

current_time(timestamp) is exactly what it sounds like – it determines the current time. get_the_time('U') represents the time that the post was written. Both of these dates are measured to the second. Thus, when you subtract one from the other you come up with an amount of time that is measered down to the second.

With that in mind, we need to determine the number of seconds in a day in order to determine how old the post is in terms of days. In order to do this we use (24*60*60) to represent one day. We set up the simple division and end up with $post_age representing the number of days since the post was published.

From that point its very simple. We use a simple conditional (if($post_age < 30) {}) that determines whether or not the post is less than 30 days old and displays the contents of that conditional if the post is, in fact, less than 30 days old. You can also replace < (less than) with > (greater than), <= (less than or equal to), >= (greater than or equal to), or == (equal to).

The last thing we need to do is use a Thesis hook to place the element where we want it. You can find a list of available hooks here.

Practical Application

Fresh content is inherently more credible than older content. This is a bit dependent upon your particular niche, but generally its a good idea to display the date for the first month or so after a post is published. However, you do not want to display the date for older posts where it would hurt your credibility.

Think about it. Are you more likely to read content from 2010 or from 2004?

Let's set the date to display only for the first 30 days after a post is published. Here is the code:

function byline_date() {
	$post_age = ( current_time(timestamp) - get_the_time('U') ) / (24*60*60);
	if($post_age <= 30) {
		the_time('n - j - Y');
	}
}
add_action('thesis_hook_byline_item', 'byline_date');

This is pretty simple. We just use the basic function and specify that if the post is less than or equal to 30 days old, we display the date. The date is represented by the_time('n - j - Y'). To learn how to customize this function to display the date any way you like check out the WP codex.

There are plenty of other possibilities. Using your creativity and date based hooks, you can have a large impact on the page views, monetization, and many other aspects of your site.

Content is King, or so the saying goes.  What does that really mean on a practical level?  What it really means is that readers that know how to use a search engine are basically left in the driver’s seat.  If they read your content and rate it as a solid B, it is more or less as good as an F if what they want is an A+ article or post.  Someone, somewhere is making that A+ content, or it is already out there.  If you are packing your site with content you cannot honestly say is all-star in nature, you might be spinning wheels…

Then Again…

Then again, you have to look at the articles and posts for what they truly are, at least from the perspective of someone using a search engine.  From their point of view, the content that brought them to a site is sort of like the first impression one gets on a blind date.  The role of the mutual friend is played by the search engine in this case, and it has provided the meeting but the first impression has yet to be truly made.  The first piece of content that a visitor sees will pass as the first impression, but they may not even see the link from a search engine if the search engine has determined that the site is not authoritative in a given field that relates to the search of a given user.

How do search engines determine authority?  Often by volume of content that rates highly by SEO standards, but that alone does not make any piece of text or even a video great.  So, the bottom line is that for A+ content to be seen by users, a large volume of quality articles and posts need to be present and waiting.  Furthermore, tools that link different pages together are very useful and help viewers find more information in a quick and easy fashion.  If all of the content is not A+ content, then there is a chance that users will arrive on a site and have a bad first impression.  Before talking about a solution, let’s look at one other factor: links from other sites.

On the Other Hand…

Of course, some users will receive their links from other sites, and those links will almost certainly be to core content.  This should leave the best possible first impression, but what will fickle viewers do when they leave the core content and start stumbling upon pieces that are uninspired or just plain wishy-washy?  If you said ‘close the tab’ or something to that effect, then you are probably correct.

Lessons for Aspiring Monarchs

The lesson here is simple: all pieces and posts need to be sharp, as much of it as possible.  Therefore, a few suggestions come to mind:

• Great artists are always willing to destroy dozens or even hundreds of their creations in order to create something truly unique and amazing.  History tells us that there are countless famous speech writers and authors that are similarly picky.  Try imitating this, but take it into the digital age by not only making a pact with yourself to scrap your first effort or two at creating any content, but to actively schedule time to review and improve old content.
• Find new ways to alter old content.  Therefore, it would be wise to schedule time every week to visit sites that you like to read and learn from their writing styles as well as visit sites that have a focus on writing skills.  Determine which aspects of the writing styles and content appeal to you and then feel free to add them to your repertoire.
• Remember that sloppy content and/or fluff is not what people want to see 99.99% of the time.  Most of the time, people have a reason for visiting your site and if you fail to meet their expectations, they will simply move on.  That is the benefit of the anonymity of the web, and it does not permit salespeople to express their ideas in any way other than flashy content.  The sole exception to this is when a well-chosen theme is being used or the overall aesthetic of a website is exceptionally well executed.  Some people simply like flash.
• Never forget the search engines.  Try to use tools such as Scribe SEO to evaluate texts to ensure that they will be found by readers because search engines understand the texts as well.

There are two very easy ways to generate interest in an article: ask a question and offer a solution to common problems.  Common problems are really a kind of question if you think about it, and thus it is possible to accurately state that asking questions is a great copywriting idea.  The only question that remains is: how do you ask the right questions?

Questions as Headlines and Headers

Before answering that question, let us briefly touch on suspense.  While that sounds like a great inside joke to put in a piece such as this, it is actually critical to hooking readers.  Hooked yet?  Place big questions in places where they can be seen, preferably by both human readers and search engine robots.  Humans see questions and may have their interest piqued, but search robots might latch on to questions included in different style headers in a different fashion than they would if it was just part of a block of text.

The bottom line is that search engines and human readers both benefit from questions being asked in the title, headers, and possibly even in meta-description fields.  If a question is seen as part of a SERP, it could very well lead to a click.  And then another.  And hopefully a flood of clicks before you know it.

Choosing the Right Questions

People have problems, fears, and concerns.  Questions that expose these and allude to a solution are effective.  Perhaps I should have titled this article something along the lines of ‘Want to know the best copywriting secret?’ or ‘Do you know the one truth about copywriting that is holding you back?’  The first example exposes a concern that there might be some hidden gem of knowledge that has gone undiscovered, while the second is a little more on the head and overt.  Simply put, questions need to be relevant to an audience, something that can be answered (even if only with theories and top-level understanding), and enticing.  While it might be interesting and pertinent to know how many calories are in a pound of fat, that does not make a great question.

Instead of:

‘How many calories are in a pound of fat?’

try:

‘How hard will you have to work to lose a pound of fat?’

It is also worth noting that you should never ask simple questions that have simple answers.  Anyone that knows that a pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories will answer the question and move on without clicking.

Finally, note that secrets and/or insider knowledge are great ways to lure many readers.  These techniques will not work with everyone, but consider these alternate headlines with built-in questions:

‘Want to know the secret to losing a pound of fat?’

‘Want to know what doctors know about losing fat quickly and safely?’

Providing Answers

Answers need to be withheld until a certain point, and it might be a good idea to continually pique interest with new questions.  A good rule of thumb might be to watch mysterious television shows for clues on pacing.  Lost happens to be a personal favorite, but there are plenty of others that ask more questions than they answer.  This is a great way to lay out content: start with multiple questions for every answer, and then end with multiple answers for every question.  A lingering question as the end creates suspense and the possibility for a follow-up piece of content that will have a built-in audience.

What About Suspense?

Remember that readers need to sort their way through content before giving them all of the answers, just like a good mystery.  That does not mean that little tidbits and morsels cannot be left along the way to keep the audience rapt.  As previously mentioned, consider giving away answers along the way.  The best answers alternate between solid and those that are targeted more to the realm of understanding and theory.  For example:

Want to Lose Weight?

If you want to lose weight, you need to find a balance between diet and exercise.  Every pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories worth of physical output, so a slightly uneven balance between what goes in and what goes out is important.  Too big of a difference between caloric input and output can be dangerous, especially considering the dietary needs of those trying to find the sweet spot between different exercises.  So, what kind of exercises should you do to find your own sweet spot?  How about the most effective combination of techniques ever?  What are those techniques?  A balance between low-impact cardio, weight training, and interval training!

This example starts off with a question and immediately moves to answer it but ensures that the reader does not stop at the end of the first paragraph by suggesting three new things that they might need to read more about?  A hard statistic is included to let readers know that they are not being strung along, and the inference that there is some magical balancing point that will help them reach their goals keeps them wondering what that balance is, how it is achieved, and possibly what interval training is if they have not already heard of it.

Writer’s block hits most writers on a periodic basis, and it often feels like a form of disorientation, lethargy, apathy, or a combination of these factors.  Writers may feel like they are disconnected from the tools and/or processes that they normally used, lazy, unable to make progress, or other similar feelings that ultimately make writing difficult.  Before you can solve a problem, you have to recognize that it exists.  Here are some surefire ways to know if you are suffering from Writer’s Block:

• You stare endless at your keyboard and monitor.
• All of your content ends up riddled with errors when you force yourself to produce content.
• You cannot even edit your own work without daydreaming or opening the browser and looking at stuff that you really don’t care about.  Wow $17 off a slide and swing combo.  Don’t you wish you had kids…oh wait…weren’t you supposed to be working?!
• You are feeling anxiety about the quality and/or quantity of your work.
• Considering other lines of work over writing, or other tasks other than writing too much.

The Doctor Will See You Now

If these sound like they are similar enough to what happening you go through, then here are some ideas on how to beat it:

• Seek inspiration – If you find inspiration in art, then go to the museum.  Do you find uplifting movies helpful?  Then go rent a few!  Some people (especially men) find that beating a challenge helps them focus, such as winning a round of their favorite first person shooter.  I personally like the last option sometimes, but I find more value in trying to make my son sing happy birthday or the alphabet song.  We’ve turned it into a game that involves a lot of tickling and running around the house.
• Consider seeking some help – Help comes in many forms, but do not negate the possibility of seeking professional aide if this is a recurring problem.  Many people slowly develop disorders when they work in environments that are uncomfortable and/or perform tasks that they are not well suited to.  Friends and family may provide temporary relief, but ongoing relief might only come with a change that could be easily spotted by an expert.
• Doze off – Sometimes taking a nap helps, but not in all cases.  If you are anxious because of poor performance, then you might not want to doze off.  On the other hand, if your content looks like mush because your mind feels like mush, take a nap for a few hours if it is appropriate.  Sometimes even a 30 or 45 minute power-nap will be sufficient to restore mental clarity.  Avoid using caffeine as a crutch, as it is not reliable.  About half of the time I have tried to resolve my sleep-related issues, my writing has suffered.  This can be a real challenge with a new baby in the house, but such is life.
• Resolve outside conflicts – If there are interpersonal problems or other situations that are unresolved that might be impacting your writing ability, focus on those first whenever possible.  Take a day off or at least a morning and try to make some sort of progress on resolving the issues you have.  Some issues are easily fixed, while other issues simply require time.  If you recently experienced a loss, then consider taking a few hours off to help you resolve your feelings and maybe set a time after work for a little remembering with friends and/or family members.  This might allow you to become more productive and increase the possibility of breaking through a block based on external stress.
• Exercise – I know for a fact that if my mind is clogged and I cannot focus that a little physical exercise helps.  This typically works best when I’m rested and there are no discernible issues that I can resolve.  Sometimes I simply have pent up energy that I need to burn, and my punching bag and weights service me well.  Another writer I know loves his exercise bicycle in similar situations.  The bottom line is that human beings were not meant to be sedentary, and sometimes a little physical exertion clears the mind.  A nice warm shower after a short workout can be equally refreshing and help you focus on what you need to do.  Remember not to work out so hard that you sap your strength and clarity.
• Change your style – Ever see the work of someone else and wish that you could emulate it to a degree?  Give it a try!  If you cannot do it with a new piece, then try revising an old piece.  Sometimes a new challenge is needed, and you might take this as an object lesson in improving your writing skills.  Analytical minds tend to enjoy this particular task, but it can also be very inspirational for creative types to see just where their current skills can take them.
• A three-minute challenge – Try free-form writing for a set period of time.  For some reason, I tend to like three minutes.  Find what works for you in terms of time, but the goal is simple: when the timer starts, you start writing and do not stop until a certain period of time elapses.  What will you write about?  Whatever comes into your head!  Do not give the subject matter much thought, but rather allow your creative side to vent whatever it has pent up.  Writing too much and/or too long about any subject is prone to make your mind feel number, and the result can be pent up creative energy.  Let that energy go with timed free-form writing.  You might even end up finding a link between your creative side and whatever it is you are writing about that gives you a new perspective that can be the subject of future texts.