My grandma, Nana, loved putting together puzzles. I remember visiting her on the weekends and spending hours putting together 500- and 1000-piece puzzles.

During this time, my grandma would share bits of wisdom. She would encourage me to “stick with it” when I became frustrated. She celebrated every victory no matter how small. I still remember our banter back and forth as we competed to find a hidden piece.

Thirty years later, Nana’s lessons still guide me.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that our puzzle adventures actually offer an incredibly precise blueprint for marketing your business online.

So grab a puzzle and your marketing plan, and let’s see what grandma would say.

Start with the corners

What are the fundamental principles underpinning any marketing? (Online or otherwise …)

We can pinpoint four:

• Unique Value Proposition (What’s different about you?)
• Existing Customers (Who do you serve today?)
• Company Resources (What assets do you have?)
• Acquiring Customers (How will you bring new customers in?)

We’ll review each to understand how they anchor the frame of your marketing plan.

Corner one: Your unique value proposition

The first corner, your unique value proposition, defines what makes your product/service different.

It’s the spark of innovation, common sense, or beauty that makes your competitors say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

It’s what you do that no one else can.

You won’t have a successful business until you have a good answer to the question, “Why should I do business with you instead of choosing one of the alternatives?”

In online marketing, your Unique Value Proposition is woven into compelling benefits-focused copy. Excellent content, social media updates, video, and landing pages all work together to turn your Unique Value Proposition into experiences that occupy a position in your customer’s mind.

For example, Toyota’s marketing establishes and reinforces its death grip on the word quality. Others have tried to topple Toyota; none has succeeded.

Corner two: Your existing customers

In-depth and continuous customer research is the hallmark of successful online marketing.

Successful business owners love their customers and rarely miss an opportunity to learn more about them. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s gregarious CEO, often brings an empty chair into important in-house meetings. The empty chair represents the customer, and everyone works to serve the person sitting in that chair.

Tell me, when was the last time you asked your existing customers why they care about you and what you offer? What you learn could be the key to the success of your business.

Corner three: Your company’s resources

Here, you take stock of your people, your processes, and your company’s personality. (You need to think about this even if your business is a one-person show right now.)

You work hard to create a culture of excellence and accountability. You clarify goals and incentivize people to give their best. Most of all, you create the nimble, open-minded culture required to deploy and leverage every marketing opportunity.

Many companies, including its competitors, respect Apple’s business acumen. None can replicate its creative culture and mandate to change the world. Apple has aligned its personality with its marketing, making it virtually unstoppable.

You have the same opportunity.

Corner four: Acquiring new customers

It’s simple. Without a steady supply of customers, you don’t have a business.

Start by attracting new faces with relevant, compelling content.

Then use smart copywriting, well-crafted landing pages, clear calls to action, and irresistible offers to translate that attention into what every business needs — satisfied paying customers.

The techniques and tools you get from Copyblogger will help you understand and implement a plan for attracting prospects and converting them to customers.

Building the frame of your online marketing plan

Other than placing that last piece, building the frame of the puzzle is one of the most satisfying moments.

Online marketers build the “frame” of their marketing puzzle by connecting the dots between the four corners: the unique value proposition, existing customers, company assets, and new customer acquisition.

Business frame-building comes down to asking and answering important questions. These questions outline your vision, principles, and strategy.

These questions include:

1. What is troubling my customers, and how can we offer the best solution?
2. What do we believe in?
3. What will we NOT do? Or better, when will we say No?
4. What are our core marketing strategies?
5. How does our day-to-day marketing reinforce and enhance our value proposition?

Beware.

The answers to these questions require leadership, vision … and mischief. It’s easy to pretend to be a market leader, but customers will always sniff out impostors.

“Find the colors, grandson”

Whenever I was stuck on a puzzle, grandma would pick up the box, point at a purple flower, a yellow shutter, or other distinctive feature, and say, “Find the colors, Grandson.”

The same applies to your online marketing.

Sometimes we get so close to our businesses that we miss the little things that make our customers and us special. Your colors start with your value proposition, but they also include case studies and testimonials.

Your colors can be the care your builders take in leaving a work site cleaner than when they arrived. Your colors could be stocking Sippy cups for restaurant patrons that have children. Your colors can just be the respectful, thoughtful way you treat people.

These colors are hidden by broad terms like customer service. Unearth them, collect them, and add them to the overall marketing of your business.

Try something until it fits

Have you ever tried to force fit a puzzle piece?

Many times, I would jam a piece into place and move on, mightily trying to ignore the ill-fitting piece. My grandma would see the piece instantly, quietly remove it, and lightly scold, “Try something until it fits.”

She would then methodically try piece after piece until one settled into the spot with a satisfying click against the tabletop.

Testing and optimization is how you and I “try something until it fits.” Using smart tools like Premise to split-test your landing pages, setting up AdWords A/B tests, even tweaking headlines creates “luck” and success.

Unfortunately, most online marketers dismiss testing or list it on a forgotten to-do list. This is a mistake.

“Always Be Testing” is the war cry of serious marketers who quickly grow their audiences, customer base, and reputation with spectacular marketing. They know that if you are not testing, you’re guessing — and guessing is a costly and stupid way to run a business.

Finishing the puzzle

Online marketing can seem confusing.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by complexity — just like when you dump out the pieces of your first 1,000-piece puzzle.

Relax. Start with the corners and follow the process. It works. And if you’re smart about it, it can work a lot faster.

I have the finished puzzles to prove it.

About the Author: Stan Smith is Founder of Pushing Social, where he's obsessed with teaching businesses how to beat the competition and boost profits with breakthrough blogging. You can jumpstart your blog with his free 7 Minute Blog Strategy Guide and get a few bonus goodies too!

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Copyblogger has been a media partner for the Search Marketing Expo conference for a few years now … because we’re always impressed by the depth of knowledge and expertise represented at SMX.

We usually run a post encouraging you to attend … but this year, SMX Advanced in Seattle sold out of their all-access passes before we had the chance to let you know about it.

Fortunately, you can still benefit from the expertise and networking — at an exceptional price.

SMX is offering their SMX Advanced Network Pass for just $99 — but you need to pick it up before June 4.

What does the Network Pass get you?

• Access to “Plus” sessions that cover emerging search engine marketing topics. Network sessions feature case studies, best practices, and search marketing solution presentations.
• Access to networking events, to connect with your fellow search marketing pros.
• Access to the market-defining vendors who can answer your questions and demonstrate solutions.
• Live viewing of the conference keynote, simulcast from high-def monitors.

Come to Seattle to spend a couple of hours, a day, or stay for both days. You’ll leave a more knowledgeable, inspired, and motivated internet marketer. The SMX Advanced Expo floor is open Tuesday, June 5 from 10:15am to 7pm and Wednesday, June 6 from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

Pick up the Advanced Network Pass here, and remember to do it now so you don’t miss the June 4 cutoff for best pricing.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is co-founder and CMO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Sonia on Twitter and Google+.

Die Erhebung von Blickdaten über moderne Eyetracking-Systeme ist je nach Fragestellung ein sehr effektives Verfahren, um die Wahrnehmung von Websites oder mobilen Applikationen zu messen. Der Reiz besteht darin, dass es sich nicht um Selbstaussagen von Probanden handelt, sondern um beobachtbares Verhalten, das der Mensch nur bedingt steuern kann. Blickdaten können also nicht „lügen“. Richtig erhoben und interpretiert sind für bestimmte Fragestellungen unerlässlich und sehr wertvoll.

Damit die Interpretation nicht zum „Kaffeesatzlesen“ wird, müssen jedoch grundlegende Kenntnisse zur Wahrnehmung und Hintergründe für das Zustandekommen der aufgezeichneten Blickbewegungen vorhanden sein. Ein konkretes Beispiel soll im folgenden Beitrag herausgegriffen werden: Jeder, der schon einmal Blickdaten betrachtet hat, wird sich an Fixationen erinnern, die ins Leere gingen. Der Proband hat scheinbar den Hintergrund betrachtet oder irgendeine Fläche ohne Inhalt. Oder wurde falsch gemessen? Derartige zweifelhafte Beobachtungen können jedoch auch einen erklärbaren Hintergrund haben. Möglichweise handelt es sich um das im wissenschaftlichen Kontext als „global effect“ bezeichnete Phänomen. Was versteht man darunter und wie kommt dieser Effekt zustande?

Randerscheinung: Blickbewegungen, die fern des Zentrums eines Elements enden

Die Untersuchung dieses Effektes begann bereits in den 1970er Jahren. Mehrfach wurde beobachtet und dokumentiert, dass so genannte Sakkaden (eine Reihe von Fixationen als schnellen Blickbewegungen zur Erfassung eines Stimuli) nicht im Zentrum eines Elements enden, sondern in die Richtung eines anderen Elements weisen (siehe dazu: Van der Stigchel & Nijber, 2011). Die Idee dahinter ist folgende: Blickbewegungen tendieren dazu, in einer Art Gravitationszentrum zu landen. Dieses Gravitationszentrum kennzeichnet dann den relativen „Mittelpunkt“ in einem Sichtfeld. Das Zentrum befindet sich also näher an Elementen mit hoher Bedeutung, muss aber nicht genau auf einem Element sein, sondern kann sich auch zwischen verschiedenen Elementen befinden.

Der „global effect“ bewirkt nun, dass Sakkaden (Blickbewegungen) in Richtung dieses Zentrums gelenkt werden. Um das Beschriebene an einem einfachen Bespiel zu verdeutlichen, kann folgende Abbildung herangezogen werden:

Ausschnitt eines Gazeplots bei der Erkundung von mirapodo.de

Das Bild zeigt die ersten 15 Fixationen bei der Erkundung der Startseite von mirapodo.de. Dabei handelt es sich um nicht mehr als die ersten 3-4 Sekunden der Betrachtung. Es wird jedoch schon deutlich, dass nicht alle Fixationen auf dem Zentrum eines Elements liegen. Warum liegt Fixation Nummer 9 beispielsweise zwischen den beiden Teasern? Höchstwahrscheinlich wurde der Fokus vom hervorstechenden gelben Kreis schon zum darüber liegenden Teaser abgelenkt. Ein weiteres Beispiel ist Fixation Nummer 13. Auch diese deutet bereits in Richtung des nächsten Elementes (der Navigation/Links), ist aber nicht direkt im Zentrum des nebenliegenden verortet.

Bottom-up: Zunächst lenkt die Website unsere Augen, dann erst wir selbst

Dieses sehr vereinfachte Beispiel zeigt jedoch noch einen weiteren wichtigen Aspekt des „global effect“. Er tritt vorwiegend in frühen Betrachtungsphasen auf, wenn die Wahrnehmung noch sehr stark von den Informationen im Stimulus beeinflusst wird (bottom-up information). Denn erst mit zunehmender Betrachtungsdauer spielen die Intention und Ziele des Nutzers eine wichtigere Rolle (top-down information). Das heißt, in oben gezeigtem Bild verschafft sich der Nutzer zunächst einen Überblick und lässt sich dabei unbewusst von der Website leiten. Daher ist es in dieser Phase auch wahrscheinlicher, dass Fixationen zwischen zwei Elementen landen. Erst wenn eines der Elemente als zielführend identifiziert ist, nimmt der Einfluss des „global effect“ ab und die Aufmerksamkeit richtet sich bewusst auf eine bestimmte Stelle.

Fazit: Ist an unplausiblen Blickdaten also immer unbewusstes Verhalten Schuld?

Der beschriebene Effekt soll natürlich nicht dazu herangezogen werden, stets und ständig Fixationen zu erklären, die ins Leere gingen. Dies kann auch weitere Gründe haben und letztendlich im Einzelfall auch auf technische Fehler zurückzuführen sein. Dennoch gibt es nachweisbar den Effekt, dass Fixationen am Rande eines Elements landen und in Richtung eines anderen weisen. Zusammenfassend lässt sich zum „global effect“ festhalten:

• Der Endpunkt von Sakkaden kann insbesondere in frühen Phasen der Betrachtung von dem gesamten Gefüge eines Stimulus beeinflusst werden.
• Sakkaden enden dann teilweise nicht im Zentrum eines Elements, sondern in Richtung eines globalen Zentrums bzw. anderen aufmerksamkeitsstarken Elements.
• Konkurrieren zwei Stimuli unter dem Einfluss des „global effect“ um die Aufmerksamkeit des Betrachters, landet die betreffende Fixation (Sakkaden-Endpunkt) tendenziell näher am größeren bzw. auffälligeren Element.

Quelle und weiterführendes zum Thema:

Van der Stigchel, S. & Nijboer, T. C.W. (2011): The global effect: what determines where the eyes land? In: Journal of Eye Movement Research, 4(2): 3, 1-13

Die “gelernte” Position des Warenkorb an der der rechten oberen Ecke eines beliebigen Shop-Fenster ist so ein Beispiel. Nutzer vermuten ihn dort und sind meist recht irritiert, wenn sie ihn dort nicht finden und die Gefahr ist groß, dass der Kauf abgebrochen wird. In dem fabelhaften Buch von “Don’t make me think!” von Steve Krug wird dieser Umstand immer wieder eindrucksvoll beschrieben.

Abbildung: Die bunte Vielfalt der Warenkorb-Buttons wie wir sie kennen


Vor einigen Woche berichtete mir ein Kollege von der GPU Conference in San Jose, USA. Dort wurden am Rande des offiziellen Programms aktuelle Entwürfe von Browserentwicklern vorgestellt, die einen integrierten und standardisierten Warenkorb- und Checkout-Prozess vorschlugen. Leider sind die Informationen noch im Vor-Beta-Stadium und nicht wirklich freigegeben*, aber für mich Anlass genug, dem Thema etwas mehr Aufmerksamkeit zu widmen.



Abbildung: Aktuelle und klassische Situation. Die graue Fläche oben gehört zum Browser. Der Warenkorb sitzt rechts innerhalb der eigenen Shop-Umgebung am Beispiel Zalando.



Abbildung: Und so könnte es in Zukunft aussehen, der Warenkorb verschwindet aus dem offenen Shop-Fenster und wird im Browser (oben) fix integriert, ähnlich wie z.B. die Drucken-Funktion.


Die Idee hinter dem Browser-Warenkorb-Checkout ist, dass User, die sich dann, wenn sie sich in normierten und gesicherten Umgebungen wähnen, schneller und reibungsfreier zu einem Kaufabschluss durchringen können, als wenn diese Umgebung durch fremde, neue Elemente gestört wird. Nachzulesen u.a. in diesem Blogpost aus dem letzten Jahr. Eine andere These ist, dass User an dem Punkt, an dem sie den Kauf-Prozess abschliessen wollen, durch-Cross und Upselling-Tools gestört werden könnten, damit hätte der Checkout die Aufgabe sie keinesfalls noch daran zu hindern.

Firefox, Explorer & Co. mit einem neuen Standardelement: Dem Warenkorb

Was würde passieren, wenn alle Browser den Warenkorb-Button sowie den dazugehörigen Checkoutprozess als ein neues Standardelement auf der rechten Seite anbieten würden? Ein Besucher eines Shops könnte nun das Produkt mit Hilfe eines “in den Warenkorb” Buttons wie gewohnt in den Warenkorb legen und zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt seine Bestellung abschließen. Der Clou ist, dass er dies selbst dann noch tun könnte, wenn er den Shop schon längst verlassen hätte und – die saubere vertraglichen Abstimmung zwischen Browser-Checkout-Betreiber und Shopbetreiber mal vorausgesetzt – sogar in anderen Shopsystemen Produkte in den Warenkorb befördern und in einer einzigen “Kaufhandlung” bezahlen könnte. Beachten müsste man dann nur noch die unterschiedlichen Lieferbedingungen des jeweiligen Shops.

Abbildung: Segen oder Horror für den Kunden?. Im Laufe der Browser-Sessions werden Produkte aus verschiedenen Shops “eingesammelt” und erst dann in einem “Rutsch” geordert


Vorteil für den Shopbetreiber könnte eine standardisierte Abwicklungsumgebung sein, bei der man sich problemlos in eine bestehende API einklinken kann. Doch wie alle mehr oder weniger guten Ideen, hat auch diese Idee seine Schattenseiten. Zeit uns den Vor- und Nachteilen intensiver zu widmen.

Vorteile des integrierten Browser-Warenkorbs/Checkouts

• Durch die zunehmend steigende Bekanntheit und Convenience des integrierten Checkouts hätte der Kunde noch weniger Widerstände und Störungen vor sich um den finalen Kaufprozess abzuschließen, die Bouncerates im Checkout wären auf ein Minimum reduziert
• One-Stop-Shopping wird endlich auch ausserhalb von Amazon Realität, User müssten sich nur noch mit einem Standardpasswort den Kaufprozess freigeben, über den Browser wären die Kauf und Abwicklungsdaten hinterlegt und müsste nicht mehr bei jedem Shop neu eingegeben werden.
• Für den Kunden von Vorteil für den Shopbetreiber von Nachteil. Jedes Produkt dass “normiert” in den Warenkorb gelangt könnte über den Browser noch schneller verglichen werden.
• Unterschiedlichste Produkte aus unterschiedlichsten Shops könnten während des Surfens “eingesammelt” und dann auf einen Schlag bestellt werden.
• Vorteil für den Shopbetreiber: Verschiedenste Zahlungsmethoden (Paypal, Kreditkarten, Rechnung, etc…) könnten weltweit und angepasst an die jeweiligen Bedingungen genutzt werden ohne eigenen Code einzubringen. Die könnte je nach Geldbörse zu- oder abgeschaltet werden. Dieser Vorteil würde auch für Dritt-Dienstleister wie Inkasso- oder Lieferdienste gelten. Andere Checkout-Extras wie die Zugabe von Gutscheinen NACH dem Kauf, würden sicherlich als zusätzliche Varianten extra berechnet.
• Die Browserbetreiber könnten sich auf gemeinsame Sicherheitsstrukturen einigen, bislang sind in der zerfasterten Shop-Landschaft Angriffe und Frauds leichter möglich, allerdings auch auf kleinere Räume beschränkt.
• Die vielleicht wichtigste Veränderung. Produkte könnten mehr und mehr aus ihrem “natürlichen” Habitat, der Shopumgebung herausgelöst und in anderen Zusammenhängen platziert und mit einem “in-den-Warenkorb” Button versehen werden. Allerdings müssten Urheber, Verkäufer und Betreiber sowie das komplette rechtliche Konstrukt der AGB’s und der Verkaufs-, Liefer-, Tausch- und Rückgabebedingungen rund um das Produkt sichtbar und logisch erkennbar bleiben.

Nachteile des integrierten Browser-Warenkorbs/Checkout

• Kein Wunder, dass Apple sich angeblich für diese Idee interessiert. Für die Browserbetreiber wäre das eine spannender Schritt in neue ergiebige Quasi-Monopolstellungen. Apple muss für ein ähnliches single-sign-login-shopping Konzept nach wie vor seinen iTunes-Dienst bemühen. Der Shopbetreiber allerdings wird diese Entwicklung mit gemischten Gefühlen beobachten.
• Shopbetreiber könnten mit Preisen und Dienstleistungen noch vergleichbarer werden. Durch die drei großen Player auf dem Markt käme es wohl zu einer Art Oligarchie (Kommentatoren haben das in Twitter “Browser-Kommunismus” genannt) in diesem Business.
• Für die Datenkrake Google u.a. Player gäbe es noch mehr Möglichkeiten intimste Daten und Profilinformationen über die User zu sammeln, ob zum Vor- oder Nachteil desselben sei mal dahingestellt.
• Wäre der Browser-Checkout tatsächlich ein Conversion-Motor? Schliesslich könnte eine mögliche, deutliche höhere Vergleichbarkeit an dieser Stelle auch für eine höhere Unsicherheit und den Rausschmiss von zu teuren Produkten führen. Das klingt dann eher nach einem Conversion-Killer.
• Cross- und upselling Maßnahmen für den Shopbetreiber würden sicherlich schwieriger werden. Ebenso Gutscheinzugaben am Ende des Checkouts, Newsletteranmeldungen oder ähnliches. Insgesamt könnten Warenkorb und Checkout phantasieloser und langweiliger werden
• Hersteller von Shop-Systemen könnten bald Absatzschwierigkeiten bekommen, wenn der Checkout-Prozess als ein teurer und komplexer Prozess als Bestandteil wegfällt.

Fazit

Ist der integrierte Warenkorb/Checkout eine kleine Spinnerei von gelangweilten Browserentwicklern oder die Wahnidee von größenwahnsinnigen Monopolisten? Neu ist die cross-integration von Web-Inhalten mit dem Browser jedenfalls nicht, man denke nur an die Übergabe von Lesezeichen oder die open-search Methode, die das Sucheingabefeld auf der eigenen Seite überflüssig machen sollte.
Nicht vergessen: Auch unsere allseits beliebten cookies sind Tools die eine geschäftliche Wechselbeziehung zu Websites, den Webbetreibern, Kunden und natürlich unseren diversen Browsern herstellen können.

Bevor sich das Konzept des Browswer-Warenkorbs/Checkouts durchsetzt ist noch eine Menge Entwickler- und Überzeugungsarbeit und eine Vielzahl von Normierungen in extrem heterogenen Umfeldern erforderlich. Interessant ist die Idee allemal, also wer weiß, wann Google, Apple und Co. anfangen mit diesem Thema Geld zu machen? Und wir reden hier von sehr, sehr viel Geld.

*Anmerkung: Die hier gezeigten Entwürfe sind nur Modellvorstellungen, die Originalentwürfe dürfen nicht gezeigt werden

Bei dieser Thematik bin ich der Frage nachgegangen, welche Filter werden auf Versicherungswebsites verwendet? Die Top 2 stelle ich Ihnen hier vor:

Filtermöglichkeiten bei Check24:

Abbildung 1: Filter bei Check 24

Auf der Trefferliste des Vergleichsportals Check24 kann der Nutzer die Ergebnisse nach einigen zusätzlichen Eigenschaften filtern. Hierbei sticht insbesondere der Filter nach der Tarifnote hervor. An Stelle von Checkboxen und Dropdown-Menüs steht ein 3stufiger-Schieberegler zum Einsatz bereit. Hervorgehoben wird dieser zusätzlich durch die Verwendung der drei Farben rot, gelb und grün innerhalb der Skala.

Filtermöglichkeiten bei Tarifcash:

Abbildung 2: Schieberegler für die Filterung bei Tarifcash

Auf Schiebregler setzt auch das Vergleichsportal Tarifcash. Der Unterschied zu Check24 ist, dass alle Optionen anhand von Schiebereglern gefiltert werden. Zusätzlich erhält der Nutzer per Mouseover über dem i-Icon Informationen zu den jeweiligen Angaben. Sobald der Regler verschoben wird, aktualisieren sich sofort die Ergebnisse in der darunter stehenden Trefferliste.

Schiebregler- eine Alternative

Die hier vorgestellten Beispiele zeigen, dass Schiebregler eine schöne und interaktive Alternative zu Dropdown-Menüs, Checkboxen und Radio Buttons bieten. Sie animieren meiner Meinung nach mehr zur Nutzung und zeigen dem Nutzer sofort auf den ersten Blick die Filterbereiche.

You feel your blood pressure rising.

Maybe you’re mad, maybe you’re inspired, or maybe you’re just excited to find someone who really, truly gets you. Regardless, your attention is riveted — you can’t look away.

Bang!

You’ve just been spellbound by content that persuades. It grabs us like nothing else can.

How?

The truth is, words are very powerful things.

They can make us buy things we didn’t think we needed. They can reveal ideas that we’ve been looking for for years. They can make us cry or laugh almost hysterically.

Professional writers know how to use the right words to communicate their intent, they become masters of telling stories over time.

But they don’t just write random content. They write persuasive content.

And if you want to master this craft, you need to start with the basics.

There are many more available for your your content toolbox, but here are 48 essential elements from A to Z (well, almost) to get you started …

1. Anxiety

The written word should provoke a response, but truly persuasive content contains multiple responses. Chief among these is anxiety. Readers should feel like they need to move forward now – RIGHT now. Don’t be afraid to make ‘em sweat.

2. Authenticity

Content delivered over time gives you more room to persuade than a one-shot sales page. So put those words to good use by making your writing ring true. Trustworthiness is persuasive.

3. Authority

If you’re going to convince someone with your words they need to ring true. Write with authority and be sure to use the sort of examples that resonate with readers. If you’re writing to moms, they are going to know if you can truly talk “mom,” for example.

4. Boxes

Break up your text by including boxes and side bars with extra details including graphs, charts, bulleted lists and engaging quotations.

5. Breaks

There is nothing worse than giant blocks of text. Break it up, people! Format your content to be readily scannable. Break your lines every two to three sentences. White space is your friend.

6. Bullet Points

Lists are the most commonly read thing on a page of content. Bullet points are particularly effective — they’re fast and easy to skim. Spend some time writing them well.

7. Buttons

Let me know periodically what I can do next. Have a button to help me “Buy Now” or to “Click Here to Sign Up.” Buttons get a better response than random links on a page.

8. Catch Phrases

Put those boxes to good use with quick snippets of text. Write with the intent of creating catch phrases — things others can Tweet or remember about what they are reading. Be clever, but subtle. You want to guide the reader through content — not force feed them slogans.

9. Catchy Headlines

If you read Copyblogger regularly, you know the importance of headlines. How else are you going to get readers to pay attention to you? “10 Things You’ll Never Know about Beans” is much more compelling than “Beans: Facts and Information”

10. Color

Use color to your advantage when writing killer content. You don’t have to make your words different colors necessarily, but think about the page itself and how to showcase the text you’re creating.

11. Commas

Commas are great — but use them sparingly and only when necessary. If you often find yourself putting in more than one comma in a sentence, it may be a sign that your sentences are too long. Long-winded sentences bore and confuse readers.

12. Common Language

We know you’re smart and you know all sorts of big, fancy words. But unless you’re trying to be irritating, don’t talk down to the reader. Give us something conversational with a common language that we can understand.

13. Contractions

Formal English can be tough to use if you’re trying to make things approachable and trustworthy. Rather than “cannot”, use “can’t.” Instead of “does not”, use “doesn’t.” It’s quick, fast and instantly comfortable for readers.

14. Dashes

Commas definitely have their place, but also consider the mighty dash. Dashes are great for visually breaking up text, and they tend to make content feel less formal. Because they’re such a strong visual element, they can also help with clarity — it’s easy to see the break in the sentence.

15. Depth

Just because you’re avoiding overly fancy words doesn’t mean you’re going to insult your reader’s intelligence. Your content needs depth. Leave readers as satisfied as if they’d just eaten a good meal.

16. Email Addresses

If you want to make your content authentic, especially on a landing page, don’t make the customer search for your contact information. Make your email address or a contact form easy to find. If your business has a physical address, include that as well.

17. Emotional Response

Engaging content is powerful business. If you can evoke an emotional response from the reader — make her laugh, cry, fume with anger — she’ll be more engaged and likely to read and act on what’s she’s reading.

18. Extras

If your content is leading up to a big promotion, be sure to throw in some extras. Include a valuable bonus, or perhaps link to extra resources as part of your content to build additional trust with your reader. Deliver plenty of value.

19. Eyes

A simple trick of persuasive content — include a picture with eyes. If you have a picture of a woman looking to the left, the reader’s eyes will look to the left, too. They want to see what she’s looking at. So if you need attention on something on the page, let the eyes lead the way.

20. Facts

Good content is based on facts. Including true facts and statistics makes your material memorable and reliable as well.

21. Fluency

Persuasive content must be smooth and easy to follow. Move through subheadings with logical transitions and avoid obvious repetition. Make it flow into the eyes and mind of the reader.

22. Guarantee

If you’re housing your persuasive content on a landing page or sales letter, you’ll want to encourage your readers to make the right choice. Offer them an iron-clad guarantee. Be sure it’s something you can actually honor — “We guarantee you’ll have the time of your life with these new tips!” isn’t particularly iron-clad. (But if you’re feeling very confident, you can offer a money-back guarantee if the customer is not entranced, delighted, and positively starry-eyed.)

23. Images

Images break up the text of your persuasive content nicely. Images can guide the eyes of the reader around the page, and can also help the reader get additional meaning from the content. For persuasive content, captions are an excellent addition.

24. Instructions

Content leading up to something — a sign-up, a petition, a purchase — must include explicit instructions. Sure, you can leave your reader alone to figure it out, or you can help him out with simple instructions to simply fill in his email address below to get new coupons and specials!

25. Locality

Nothing beats going local. Make your content appeal to local markets with clever references to landmarks, events, or local slang. It builds confidence with readers, as well as authenticity.

26. Logic

Persuasive content must be logically arranged on the page. Jumping from voter registration to a particular candidate’s politics and back to polling statistics and ending with the importance of civic duty is going to give your readers visual whiplash. Plan ahead and don’t be afraid to move things around once they are written.

27. Meat

We all like something that makes us think. Give readers something to really bite into and mentally chew on.

28. Opinions

While facts are a great foundation to persuasive content, opinions are what make it fun to read. Interview experts, insert your own opinion, or dig around for previous commentary on the topic to liven things up a bit.

29. Paragraphs

You absolutely, positively must use short paragraphs when you’re writing persuasive content. If you want to get it read, break it up.

30. Periods

Please include periods in your persuasive content, and use them frequently. Shorter sentences create balance. When you use a short sentence next to a longer one, it makes the material more lyrical and enjoyable. (Remember to make it swing.)

31. Phone Numbers

Readers interested in following up on your content or looking for additional information should be able to reach you. While we’re all a big fan of instant messages and email, consider a real phone number. It builds trust with readers.

32. Phrasing

Watch your phrasing in your persuasive content. Your sentences should be personable and easy to read, and they should say something meaningful. Avoid ambiguous words like “one” and “the individual” and try to stay in the active voice as much as possible. Don’t sound like a corporate robot.

33. Polish

Typos happen to the best of us, but we should make a good faith effort to avoid them. Give your persuasive content a bit of spit and polish before you make it live and then go back and read it again periodically in an effort to continuously improve.

34. Post Scripts

Ever wonder why there are so many postscripts in sales letters? It’s because they’re one of the most-read elements of a page. You can use a P.S. in your persuasive content, too. You might use them to to work in some humor, re-state the guarantee, or drive a key benefit home.

35. Presence

There is a place for mindless drivel online, but not in the form of persuasive content. Your content should have presence online and on your site. It should stand alone.

36. Questions

What better way to make people think while reading your material than to ask questions? Rhetorical questions are a highly effective way to engage a reader and transition through text.

37. Quotes

Want truly persuasive content? Ask an expert what she thinks and quote her response in your content. You can also respond to a thought-provoking post in your topic, quoting liberally (with links and attribution, of course). Or come up with some clever elements that can work beautifully in quote boxes on the sides of your text.

38. Rationale

Copy is written to convince. Copywriting takes an “either/or” approach … you buy or you don’t. But content leaves plenty of room for debate. Rather than forcing an opinion on a reader, use content to build a case for or against something with resounding rationale. No holes in this argument!

39. Seals and Stamps

If your content is explaining or outlining a product or service, go ahead and throw around a few names. Put your stamp or seal of approval at the bottom of the content to make it credible.

40. Short Introduction

Catch the reader’s interest with a short introduction, then get into the meat of the matter.

41. Short Sentences

Long sentences can be effective. But that long sentence had better have at least three shorter friends hanging around. Short sentences are powerful. Use them.

42. Signature

If your content is part of a sales letter, be sure to add a signature. If your content is more formal, consider adding a signature or bio box, even if it’s on your own website. What a great place to learn more about the author, an expert on the subject!

43. Social Connections

What’s the point of content that can’t be Liked or Tweeted? Include all the important buttons to make sharing easier.

44. Spacing

Text isn’t just about words, it’s about positioning as well. Paragraphs, punctuation and short sentences help to position words on the page. Think about website spacing as well. White space frames words for maximum power.

45. Testimonials

If you’re selling something — even especially an idea — you’ll need testimonials. Get the opinions of others to include in your content and you’ll be presenting a balanced, honest opinion. Balanced content can work surprisingly well at reassuring readers.

46. Texture

Texture is the “feel” of your written piece. Does it look good on the page? Does it flow easily? Are the sections sized correctly and balanced? Are images placed appropriately? Layers of images, text, and balance create an outstanding texture for persuasive content.

47. Tone

Consider the tone of your piece, and stay in character as you’re writing. Are you joking with friends? Warning off potential victims? Creating a sense of emergency? Tone is created through sentence construction, phrasing, and word choice. Short, excited sentences sound urgent! Longer, more fluid sentences help the reader create a feeling of peacefulness and contentment.

48. Voice

Hand in hand with tone is the sound of your voice coming through content. Persuasive content isn’t technical writing, and your unique voice should be present as you’re writing. A strong voice is entertaining, engaging, and enjoyable to read.

Persuasive content is still on the throne …

We know how valuable copywriting is.

But highly persuasive content — dripped out over time — does 90% of the work that single-shot copywriting used to do. That’s why content marketing is this year’s hot topic — and it will be for years to come.

With content you have more chances to present your case, more opportunity to build trusted relationships. You can play with tone, approach, and bias. But the only content worth actually reading is of the fierce variety — persuasive content is most certainly still king.

About the Author: Uttoran Sen is a full time blogger and a Freelance Content Writer since 2004. Follow him on Twitter and connect with him on Facebook.

Related Stories

• The Naked Marketing Guide to Compelling Copy that Closes Sales
• The Harpoon or the Net: What’s the Right Copy Approach for Your Prospects?
• Putting the Pieces Together for Your Online Marketing Puzzle

Everyday the Internet gets more complicated. In particular, Google gets more complicated. The good news is that if you are obsessed with conversion rate and usability, like I am, Google has been moving into your strengths over the last few years.

Google is making search optimization and conversion optimization more similar.

I will save you the boring stuff and summarize which changes bode well for the Conversion Rate Optimizer (CRO) to score big in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

1. Vince Update – Branded search increases effect on general searches
2. Panda Update – Thin content devalued and aggressive ad placement suppressed
3. Plus Your World – Social context for search results
4. Penguin Update – Unnatural link profiles devalued
5. Speed as a Factor for SEO and for CRO – Fast wins the day

The major arc of Google’s recent evolution has been engagement. Brand engages competitive type people; content engages researching people; social proof engages humanistic (social) people; and speed engages spontaneous people. If you have read Call to Action, or any of the Eisenberg books, those descriptions will be familiar.

In your next review and renovation of your site I want you to follow this mantra: Simplify, Speed Up, and Share.

This will help you improve your standing with both Google and the people that visit your site.

Part 1 – Simplify

Tasks that can help SEO and CRO be more simple:

Reduce your links

Reducing the number of links per page improves SEO by passing more value to the linked pages, and helps conversion rate by reducing distractions and keeping logical choices clustered. Double win.

Refine your purpose

Refine your purpose taking away most of the peripheral content and adding calls to action for either traveling deeper into the subject, or a well titled landing page for a lead that trades topical information (or product) for the customer action. In some ways this is returning to the concept of theme siloing. Siloing has been a very popular tactic for years, but bringing conversion concepts like leading content and timely calls to action can actually leverage this SEO tactic for conversion gains.

Explain more

Explain more. Giving more specifics and details along with reviews and testimonials will help your page be more human. The variety of language around your action and page topic will give you positive factors with Google and entice visitors to spend more time, dig deeper, and avoid the dreaded bounce that hurts both CRO and SEO performance.

Noteworthy: When you start working on simplification also redesign your public sitemap (the ones visitors see) make it well structured and informative. If your Sitemap is a smartly designed launching point you will be happy with the results, so will your visitors.

Part 2 – Speed Up

Speed is, perhaps, the most important issue in conversion, 400 milliseconds could mean a 5-9% increase in visitor retention for your business. It has also become a huge factor in SEO as both a direct factor in Google assessment and as an indirect factor in bounce rate back to Google search.

Reduce redundancy

Reducing redundancy means cutting down on duplication of both content and CSS and Javascripts that cover the same issues. Consolidate closely related content to create more comprehensive pages and 301-redirect the legacy pages. Content consolidation makes stronger pages; script consolidation makes faster pages.

Minimize scripts

Minimize your scripts by removing the parts that you aren’t using. I know that may be frightening if you didn’t write the scripts, but remember every second counts and cutting half-a-second will pay off the development time in no time at all. After you have cut out all of the unused parts run a minification script to get rid of the whitespace.

Reduce elements

Reducing elements means getting rid of all of your spacer GIFs, image segments, combining as many scripts as you can get away with. It also means making your graphics smaller in size and resolution and keeping video, Flash, and audio to a minimum. If you must use rich media don’t use auto-play. Auto-play is annoying, and the longer you wait to ask for rich media to play the less likely it will slow your overall experience and cause people to hit their favorite button (the “back” one).

Leverage attention

Make use of your H tags. All of your headers should be clearly different than your body text. Semantic details, like H1–Hx, help communicate to search engines, but they also help people scan the page for the important things they are looking for. This is more about the perception of speed than actual page load. For the user experience feeling fast is far more important than being fast.

Part 3 – Share

Who likes you? Social proof helps people understand whom they are associating with when they join you. There are also citation and link signals that are communicated through Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

• Who likes you?
• Where are you available?
• Where do your show your social connections?
• Is this sharable?

Don’t create accounts that you aren’t going to use. (Image source)

In terms of conversion you should show conversation about you in many places, but only use the call to follow you on confirmation pages and follow-up content, like email and thank you pages, especially for lead gen.

If you are putting social connections on every page you will be undercutting many of the speed improvements.

Not every page is sharable. If you think that a page should be shared you should be putting time into making it really easy to share.

I’m sure that you will find that some of the advice above conflicts in the real world. So, you have to balance which decisions you go with, but if you answer those three questions: Is this fast, is this simple, and is this sharable (not everything needs to be shared) you will be doing well with both search engine optimization and conversion optimization.

– Carlos del Rio

zdf.de – hohe Auflösung erforderlich

zdf.de: nur bei hoher Auflösung auf der Startseite alles sichtbar

Die Startseite entfaltet aus meiner Sicht ihre volle Pracht nur bei einer hohen Auflösung. Denn nur dann können alle Rubriken im Contentbereich ohne Scrollen auf einen Blick erfasst werden. Bei kleineren Auflösungen überdeckt die am Seitenende fixierte Programmübersicht die letzte(n) Rubrik(en).

Sehr ärgerlich ist dies insbesondere bei der Nutzung per Tablet – siehe iPad Screenshot (Landscape-Modus). Der Einstieg ZDFsport.de ist nicht sofort sichtbar, scrollen ist erforderlich.
Im Portrait-Modus sind alle Rubriken sofort ersichtlich, jedoch wirken die Inhaltsteaser unsauber abgeschnitten. Komplett sichtbar ist immer nur der mittlere Teaser.

zdf.de (iPad; Landscape): nicht alle Rubriken sind sichtbar	zdf.de (iPad; Portrait): Inhaltsteaser werden unsauber abgeschnitten

zdf.de – horizontales Scrollen durch die Inhalte

Während man sich am Notebook/PC recht schnell an das horizontale Scrollen durch die Inhalte gewöhnen kann, fällt dies auf dem iPad deutlich schwerer. Es fehlt links und rechts ein Pfeil der die Bedienung visuell verdeutlicht. In der Desktop-Version sind diese enthalten und es ist sofort ersichtlich, wie weitere Inhalte angezeigt werden können.

Beim Tablet (iPad) muss selbst erkannt werden, dass durch Wischen gescrollt werden kann. Das Scrollen selbst wirkt unsauber. Der wild wandernde orangene Balken unterhalb der Inhalte irritiert und verwirrt. Sein Nutzen wird nicht klar.
Zudem kommt es beim Scrollen zu unangenehm Rucklern.

Aus meiner Sicht sollten zu Verdeutlichung unbedingt links und rechts entsprechende Steuerelemente angeboten werden.

zdf.de – Bedienung der Programmübersicht

Durch Überfahren einzelner Sendungen in der Programmübersicht mit dem Mauszeiger können weitere Informationen angezeigt werden.

Beim iPad ist der Aufruf weiterer Informationen zu einer Sendung per Antippen möglich. Erwartungsgemäß sollte erneutes Antippen die Einblendung wieder schließen, dies funktioniert aber nicht.

zdf.de (iPad): Einblendung der Programmübersicht lassen sich nicht schließen

Es stellt sich die Frage: Wie kann der Layer wieder ausgeblendet werden?
Einen Schließen-/Ausblenden-Link gibt es nicht, ebenso wenig wie ein einfaches X-Icon oben rechts. Ich persönlich habe keine Möglichkeit gefunden, außer eine andere Seite aufzurufen.

zdf.de – Suche zu unauffällig, Trefferliste zu unruhig

Recht unauffällig wird oben rechts die Suche angeboten, mit deren Hilfe auch nach älteren Inhalten gesucht werden kann. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass auf der Startseite nur relativ wenig Inhaltseinstiege angeboten werden, wäre es sinnvoll die Suche deutlich prominenter zu gestalten, damit diese schnell wahrgenommen werden kann.

Die Trefferliste weißt im Punkto Gestaltung und Bedienung einige Schwachstellen auf, die die Verständlichkeit und Orientierung erschweren.

zdf.de: Trefferanzeige nach Suche

Die Einteilung der Trefferliste in vergangene Sendetermine und inhaltliche Treffer wird nicht sofort klar. Der Unterschied sollte deutlicher herausgestellt werden.

Die Darstellung der Treffer selbst wird recht unruhig. Lediglich die ersten drei Treffer werden mit einem kurzen Textauszug angezeigt. Die weiteren Treffer nur in verkürzter Form. Bei Mouseover wird der Textauszug eingeblendet, wodurch sich die darunter liegenden Treffer verschieben. Durch diese permanente Bewegung fällt die Orientierung und Erfassung der Treffer schwer.

Die auf der rechten Seite angebotenen Filter sind umfassenden und ermöglichen eine gezielte Verfeinerung der Treffer. Das Setzen gewünschter Filter ist ohne Probleme möglich. Jedoch ist das Aufheben gesetzt Filter nicht sofort verständlich. Es gibt zwar den Link alle Filter zurücksetzen, dieser löst aber keine Aktion aus. Um wieder alle Treffer zu sehen muss erneut auf den Button filtern geklickt werden. Sollen nur einzelne Filter zurückgesetzt werden, so müssen die Checkboxen deaktiviert werden und durch einen Klick auf filtern bestätigt werden.
Deutlich einfacher und intuitiver wäre eine sofortige Aktualisierung der Trefferliste. Sobald die Checkbox eines Filterkriteriums aktiviert wurde, wird die Liste neu geladen und zudem werden die zu erwartenden Treffer bei den einzelnen Filterkriterien aktualisiert.

Enorme Verwirrung verursacht zudem der Filterbereich Sendung wählen. Wird hier nach einer Ausprägung gefiltert verschwindet der Filterbereich komplett und ein zurücksetzen ist nicht möglich. Einzige Lösung: die Suche erneut starten.
Dieser Fehler sollte unbedingt zeitnah behoben werden, denn mit Sicherheit führt dies zu verärgerten Nutzern.

Mutiger Weg mit Optimierungspotential

Der mit dem Relaunch eingeschlagene Weg, weg von einer textlastigen Startseite hin zu einer minimalistischen Darstellung ist sehr mutig und wird sicherlich nicht jedem gefallen. Ich persönlich finde das Konzept jedoch sehr interessant und auch zukunftsfähig. Jetzt müssen nur noch die „Kinderkrankheiten“ behoben werden.
Einen lesenswerten Beitrag hat auch Achim Schaffrinna im Designtabebuch veröffentlicht.

Wie seht Ihr die neue ZDF-Website? Gelungen oder unpassend?
Ich bin gespannt auf eure Meinungen.

How smooth is your copy?

Is your writing powerful, seductive, and engaging? Can you move people to act, without having to give it a second thought?

Some people are like that. The naturals. They always know exactly what to say, and how to say it.

Lucky them.

The rest of us have to work at it. We have to study and figure it out, one hard-learned lesson at a time.

It’s just like dating and relationships — some people just “got it” straight out of the gate, and others needed more time to figure it out.

Here’s one for the non-naturals …

Some people are naturally smooth … and some aren’t

You know that guy (or gal) for whom it all seems to come so easily? They always know what to say and how and when.

I’m jealous of those people.

The rest of us mere mortals tend to flounder around a bit more before we find our groove. We have to work, and work hard, to figure things out. And it often takes a few tries.

That’s okay though, because we get better every time (practice makes perfect!), and every opportunity to try your “line” or your pitch is another opportunity to polish it.

But it can be a longer road, and it’s normal to feel a bit discouraged and start looking for shortcuts.

Enter the world of the pick-up artist

In the world of dating and relationships, the shortcuts are called “pick-up,” or the “art of seduction.”

There’s an entire body of literature dedicated to the subject, full of jargon like “compliance test,” “neg,” “bounce,” “DHV,” and plenty of others.

Do yourself the monumental favor of not looking them up.

These bits of jargon all refer to the ways and methods that can be used to manipulate someone into bed — for a one night stand.

The internet marketing world equivalent is promises of magical, instant, push-button profits through some loophole in Google or Facebook’s system that you should rush to exploit.

Never mind that the loopholes all close sooner or later — the real problem is that it’s the business equivalent of a one-night stand.

Do you want a bunch of one-night stands for customers?

I thought not.

True seduction isn’t about impulse buys or one-night stands

The opposite of pick-up artistry is the true seduction of Naked Marketing. This isn’t about one-night stands. Not by a long shot.

Naked Marketing is just the opposite — lining up all the right steps and factors to create a powerful attraction and desire that leads to a relationship that will last a long, long time.

We’re talking about the stuff of fairy tales and happy marriages, loyal customers and raving fans.

Something real that lasts forever, evolving over time.

And not morning-after regrets.

Start by being sexy

Just as with finding a mate, the first step in powerful Naked Marketing is to attract attention with a headline that is as sexy as you can make it.

Now, of course, there as many ways to be sexy as there are people to see you do it, so having a good idea of who you’re talking to and what they like is critical. Sexy doesn’t always mean “involving sex” — it just means whatever will be attractive to the person you’re trying to attract.

Remember that this is your first impression — the first exposure to you and your work for a brand new person, might eventually (if everything goes well) become a lifetime customer.

What that first impression should be is up to you and your customer. Maybe you’ll woo them with humor. Maybe you have something to teach them. Maybe you have a viewpoint they’ll be interested in, or an idea to share.

Example: Need more customers? Naked Marketing will find them, attract them, and lock them into profitable relationships for the long-term.

Whatever it is, it’s got to be something that will grab their attention on the very first try, and get them excited enough to listen for more. It also has to be something genuine — you can try to fake this, but you’ll fail.

Then create desire

Sexy headlines are just the beginning.

Once you’re past the initial attraction, you have to introduce real desire into the picture.

So how do you create that desire?

Not by just stripping down and asking for a sale, that’s for sure! (Unless maybe you’re Barney Stinson, that is …)

Across the board, there are a few things that make something desirable: it’s got to be interesting, it’s got to be attainable, and it’s got to be worth the trouble of getting it:

• Interesting means that that at a fundamental level, it will alleviate a pain that the person is experience, or create some kind of pleasure that they want but don’t currently have.
• Attainable means that if they like what they see enough to act on it, that action is actually within their means to take. The supermodels on the covers of magazines at the supermarket checkout might be awfully attractive, but that doesn’t mean they’re waiting for your call!
• Worth the trouble means that when all is said and done, the effort required to take that action is substantially less than the value of the outcome that they’re after.

Or on simple terms, it’s something that they want, and they can get it at an acceptable cost (in money, time, effort, etc.).

Example: The Naked Marketing Manifesto teaches marketing that really works in plain English, on small pages, and in large print. In other words, it’s a quick, easy read that just might change your life. Oh, and it’s a free download — no opt-in required.

The upshot for you is that whether you’re offering products, services, or anything in between, it’s got to be structured and packaged in a way that will be both interesting and attainable to your target customer.

If you do all of this and do it well, then they just might be thinking about getting naked, too.

Then make your move

So you’ve created intense desire with an offer that is interesting, attainable, and more than worth the trouble. So far so good, but you aren’t done yet!

Everything that you’ve done so far can be likened to a fantastic first date. You’ve gone out, gotten along, and the chemistry is just perfect. Then you reach the end of the evening, and you either lean in for that first kiss, or you chicken out and it all fizzles.

What’s the first kiss in a business relationship?

It could be an email opt-in, or it could be a purchase. It could be as simple as a social share, or as involved as jumping on the phone for a mentorship call.

The key is the commitment.

You work up the courage to ask for a commitment, and they make it. This is the call to action that every copywriter since the beginning of time has been telling you that you need. If you want somebody to do something, you’ve got to tell them exactly what you want, and how to do it.

Example: Click here to download my Naked Marketing Manifesto right now!

If you make an offer that they will truly desire, on terms they find acceptable, and ask them to make a commitment in so many words, then odds are that they’ll do exactly what you ask.

But that isn’t the end of the story — not if you’re looking for a serious relationship, that is …

There’s always a morning after!

It’s not enough to get someone to take an action — anyone can do that, and most people do. The last step in truly effective naked marketing is the morning after.

There’s nothing worse than waking up regretful, and you can make sure that your customers don’t experience buyer’s remorse by being mindful of the process you’re taking them through, and making sure they are as comfortable and happy with it as you are.

If you’ve done everything right, the morning after should be a wonderful time of celebration because your new customer is so ecstatic about their interaction with you — so much so that they can hardly wait for the next time.

And of course, that’s bound to be the case.

After all, you knew your customer well enough to get their attention with some genuine sexiness, and then created desire with an offer that is custom-tailored to make their heart beat faster. Then you asked for a commitment which they happily made, and you repeatedly exceeded their expectations and asked for a little bit more.

Sounds like true love to me.

So that’s it: Naked Marketing in a nutshell.

Now of course, there are more details. A whole manifesto full of them, in fact. And you can get it all for free — no opt-in required. Just tweet or share, and it’s yours.

Now over to you.

In this post, I used the metaphor of Naked Marketing to show you the steps that I follow in my marketing.

Does the metaphor work for you? Would you prefer another? Please leave a comment and let us know!

About the Author: Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the "Freddy Krueger of Blogging", and the co-author (with Guy Kawasaki, Brian Clark, and many others) of Engagement from Scratch! (available on Amazon, or as a free download). The latest and greatest thing you can get from him (for free, of course) is his Naked Marketing Manifesto, about marketing that really works!

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Well, apparently Charlie Sheen had it right. Who would have thought “Winning” was the right word for him to use when he was in the midst of his nervous breakdown/publicity blitz last year?

Winning is one of those words that copywriters have designated as a “Power Word.”

And because words have the ability to connect readers with emotions, savvy advertisers have been secretly (and not so secretly) influencing you by slipping these words into their marketing to create compelling copy.

But, do they work? Maybe. –> Watch the video below and decide for yourself…

Words emote feelings when used correctly. (Image source)

Experts claim that there is a finite list of words that subconsciously grab the attention of a reader and can unleash never before seen success, but even the best psychology majors who ended up in computer programming have not been able to devise a test that isolates and analyzes the true benefit of power words within the copywriting context.

It’s easy enough to determine whether emotionally charged words are more easily recalled. That’s been proven in a number of studies.

But the best way to decipher whether or not power words make a difference for you is to change up your content to include them and then run an A/B test. Test your current dull, drab copy against a jacked-up power-words version.

Case Study Example

Let’s take a look at a case study from our friends at Visual Website Optimizer. Their client, Scandinavian Outdoor Store, decided to run a split test to see if some subtle changes to their copy would make a difference. They focused on their headline which simply read (in Finnish) “Men’s Clothing.”

How the Test Was Won

Understanding the power of words, the headline was changed to “Order Men’s Clothing easily for bargain prices” (Which I’m sure translates much more eloquently!) The new version, saw a 127% increase in conversion rates, simply by adding a few key words.

Easy and bargain are listed on nearly every power words list. By simply maximizing the power of this headline the company was able to sit back and let the profits roll in. (It doesn’t hurt either that it turned a blasé header into a call-to-action.)

Power word tip

Challenge your copywriters to find value in the words they choose. Remember that the descriptive words that illicit emotions are the ones that work. I can guarantee that words suggesting your customers are going to save money will be effective. For ecommerce: Think FREE, SALE, DISCOUNT, CLEARANCE and AFFORDABLE.

Choose Your Words Carefully – Video

So why does it matter what words we use? Because the human brain is wired to react to words that inspire action and conjure up positive images or emotions. Words like quick, improve, quality, new, unique, exciting and convenient all have an uncanny ability to draw a reader to action.

Words can hurt too. Using words that trigger feelings of dishonesty and distrust could alienate your visitors faster than a HIPPO on a power trip. The goal is to create a need based on fear or avoidance to convince prospects to buy, not to make readers uncomfortable and force them to leave. Unfortunately, there’s a fine line between the two that even the most skilled copywriters struggle with. (And that’s another reason why A/B testing is SO important.)

But, a conglomeration of the right words doesn’t mean success is imminent. It’s as simple as Marketing 101: The right message + The right people + The right time = Success aka Conversions. And the right message in the web world is different than in traditional media. It’s a mix of good copy, good design and tons of other factors (context, readers’ moods, etc.) that all must come together perfectly to compel a reader to take the next step. Otherwise, engagements are limited, conversions sink and bounces skyrocket.

Power word tip

Be conscious of the words you are choosing when writing copy. If a power word fits, use it. Steer away from words that insinuate uncertainty like try, might, maybe, perhaps, etc. People are smart (well, at least some of them) and will see right through a company that is unsure of itself and its products.

With a simple Google search you can find list upon list of power words. Most are pretty similar, sharing a majority of the words. Words are powerful. There is no doubt about it!

So, the next time you are writing copy consider adding a few in. Or, if you’re not seeing the conversions you think you should, run that A/B test to see where the breakdown occurs.

Oh, and did you notice, this post is chockfull of power words. How many can you uncover?

– Angela Stringfellow