|
|
|
Article Writing Errors
Having trouble writing articles? Here's my list of some common mistakes that writers make. Not being a writer - This is the number one mistake that writers make. If you are a writer, then you had better be writing. You cannot publish what you...
Copywriting Makeover: Know Where Your Customers Are In The Buying Process Part 2 of 2
by Karon Thackston 2004 http://www.copywritingcourse.com In part one of this article series, I introduced a client of mine (AEwebworks) who suffered from some copywriting traumas. The basic diagnosis was a lack of synergy within the copy,...
Writing Effective Sales Copy
Whether you run a home-based business or Microsoft, one thing is always true: products do not sell themselves. So what makes customers buy? Words.
Marketing gurus learned long ago that it's the words salespeople speak and ads present which are...
WRITING FOR THE WEB
Writing is writing, right? Well, yes and no. Certainly there are requirements common to all writing. Correct spelling, for example. But the requirements vary according to the task. In writing a story, such things as sustaining suspense and pace...
WRITING TO EXCEL
Title: WRITING TO EXCEL Author: Arthur Zulu Contact Author: mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com Copyright: Copyright Arthur Zulu 2002 Word Count: 600 Web Address: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975 Publishing Guidelines: Permission is...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Copywriting Secrets Of The Indian Mystics"
Hi everyone,
Been ruminating on this one for a little while now but its probably one of the most profound discoveries of my life. It all began with a little book about music and its had such a deep influence on my copywriting and small business, indeed my whole outlook on life, I'd like to share it with you all now.
Heres what happened
About 8 years ago I bought the book Man and Music In India by Roshmi Goswami and was introduced to a staggering thought from within its pages that every note sounded by a musician is actually a container for the spirit of the musician.
Now breaking that open further I began to see that (Im a musician myself; drummer, guitar player) as the notes of a musician could be filled by the very soul or spirit of the musician himself or even God or demons (if you believe in them) so the notes were almost like little boats that each musician filled with their persona unique to them and by plucking, singing, striking the note they in essence launched it out into the waves of the sea of sound where it eventually reaches the port of its destination - the audiences hearing ear, who gladly receive and enjoy it (or otherwise if a bad musician).
In my minds eye I saw each musical piece therefore (stick with me here - its worth it I promise) as composed of thousands of little boats (the notes) sent out to sail across the sea of sound by vibration (the waves) to the audiences listening intently on the other side of that sound sea.
For many years I thought about this and then realised (sorry Im a bit slow on the uptake sometimes!) that this didnt just apply to notes in music but more deeply and profoundly it actually applied to the very stuff of life itself - WORDS.
As such every single every single word you say or write is a container, a little boat as it were that actually contains YOU! The question is what fills your little boat before you launch it out to sea?
If the light bulb has not gone on yet it will, just keep pondering the bigger picture above - perhaps of a lone master violinist or a sitar and tabla player deeply intwined in an intricate Indian raga and before long youll understand exactly what Im driving at and its deep, very profound.
When you apply the above metaphor to words you see the little boats not as notes just being containers for the music and spirit of the musician but rather words as little ships themselves that contain YOUR very essence, spirit, soul and persona.
Every time you speak or write a single line you release a little Armada of these little boats out onto the sea of existence itself - if speaking, then out onto the splashing waves of the sea of sound - if writing, then even more deeply into the sea of heart to heart direct communication itself without a sound, directly to the target.
What s so profound about the written word is its ability (when the writing is good) to bypass all the defences humans erect against other humans intrusion and drop directly into the emotional and decision making part of the heart to evoke powerful responses. Thats also good if you want to sell something to someone.
Quick example
My wife didnt even know I really had feelings for her in the first months of us knowing each other and shed moved to another town 65 miles away - I wrote her a letter; it was pretty powerful (I was terrible at controlling my emotions then and splurged the clumsy letter full of poetry and undying declarations of love etc!) and she phoned me saying she was surprised at my feelings for her; within 8 weeks we were married and that was 17 years ago.
Prior to the letter Id just been a fleeting aquaintance and if Id tried face to face Id probably have blown it being so nervous and all but; the words carrying my spirit, passion, persona bypassed all her natural resistance and melted her heart!
So whats this all got to do with copywriting? Well a massive amount really; the point Im trying to uncover here is that you reveal your very personality through every single word you write even if there are some aspects youd rather not show to others, especially prospects or clients.
Each little copywriting word boat is saturated with an invisible (to you but not your readers), almost DNA like substance which betrays who
you really are to everyone who reads what you write.
Eek! Kinda scarey
So putting your best food forward for business doesnt mean covering up the nasty bits and hoping folks wont find them. Their sixth sense tells them to avoid you or do business with you because the substance leaks out from the little boats to alert them to who the real you is, whether you like it or not.
Rather, you fix whats wrong in your business, align who and what you are with an honest decent direction and let that saturate all your future messages as you roll out your campaigns to win the world. Then your transparency will win you friends and business you become attractive.
Never forget when your words drop through someones letter box, email box or arrive through the ether on a telephone wire folks instantly know deep in their gut whether youre the real deal or not.
You cant hide it - when you wrote your copy or launched into your sales pitch you filled your little boat with who you really are, your own unique DNA probably without even knowing it.
Think about your copywriting this way; yes youve got to grab attention, give the other person what they want, see things from their perspective, give them the benefits up front etc but when it comes to your USP and what makes YOU special, make sure your entire message is drenched in your unique, niche tailored, custom fitted, perfectly targeted USP but it must be done with absolute honesty or they will know, they just will.
I remember years ago working for a photocopying company - I was the best in the whole company at getting appointments yet useless at selling them if I went on an appointment; why? Because although Id admitted it to no one including myself at the time - I hated photocopiers (they are so boring) and the people could instantly tell that when I spoke about them.
On the other hand I loved getting appointments for the company (I secretly hoped the boss would send the other good reps on the calls) and thats why I did so well at setting them, people were instantly turned on by my words down the phone to them because I was passionate about lead generation.
My boats were full to to the top with unique Dave Alston-ness! and people loved it so they set appointments with me.
You also need to be special, unique, different for someone to do business with you these days because folks
can so easily go somewhere else at the click of a mouse - align your business with who you really should be.
Ensure every word you say, or write is filled to the brim with the right spirit and true integrity and allow the sea to carry each little boat directly into every single heart you target. Youll be amazed at what happens.
Make no mistake, in these increasingly impersonal and troubled times people value enriching business partnerships they can rely on and will give them their business. But youll only get them by targeting the heart and theyll only let you in if they can instantly sense they can trust you.
People want to know you care - theyll sense it instantly; good or bad, when your word ship arrives whether you want them to or not. So why not examine all your words verbal and written from how your small business answers the phone, your voice mails, your sales letters, autoresponder messages, right through to your web site content? Replace defective words with heart to heart communication instead.
Check if your communications really are brimming with the good stuff you want others to see in your business when they get word from you. Dont send them containers full of refuse with your good companies name on it without even realising it. The worlds got too much of it already spam. Send out a little fleet of word ships filled with gold to make peoples lives better instead.
Thats just one tiny copywriting secret Ive gleaned so far from the Indian Mystics. Keep your eyes peeled for the next article its The Indian Rope Trick.
About the Author
Dave Alston is the Author of 'Revealed: The Hidden Truth About Web Design' and owner of http://www.aceofwebs.com - small business web success driven by crystal clear copywriting. Subscribe to his 'Ace Tips' marketing RSS feed by copying and pasting http://www.aceofwebs.co.uk/rss/wp-rss2.php into your RSS Reader.
|
|
|
|
|
| Writing.Com: Writers, Writing, Poetry, Creative Writing, Fiction ... |
| An online community dedicated to fostering writing skills. With a free membership anyone may read, write, rate, and review works. |
| www.writing.com |
|
| Welcome to Writing-World.com! |
| Writing articles and resources. Tips about how to become a better writer, get published and find writing markets. From Moira Allen. |
| www.writing-world.com |
|
| Guide to Grammar and Writing |
| The Guide to Grammar and Writing contains scores of digital handouts on grammar and English usage, over 170 computer-graded quizzes, recommendations on ... |
| grammar.ccc.commnet.edu |
|
| Purdue University's Online Writing Lab - The OWL Family of Sites |
| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
|
| OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts |
| This page contains important links to the writing: planning/writing/revising aspects of the OWL website. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
|
| Writing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The original Mesopotamian writing system was initially derived from a system of ... If it is deemed to be a written language, writing in China will predate ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Writing.org - Advice for Freelance Writers |
| Articles to help you launch a freelance writing career, from a former literary agent and PLAYBOY editor. |
| www.writing.org |
|
| Writing HTML |
| More than just an HTML reference, this is a structured approach for learning how to create web pages, designed by specialists in learning at the Maricopa ... |
| www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu |
|
| National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month |
| NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. |
| www.nanowrimo.org |
|
| Poynter Online |
| Apply by Dec. 11 Reporting and Writing the Untold Stories Apply by Dec. 11 ... Reporting & Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms. Apply by Jan. 10 ... |
| www.poynter.org |
|
| Pages tagged with "writing" on del.icio.us |
| This short online course provides a practical introduction to writing fiction. During the course you will be expected to write two short pieces for ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| BBC Get Writing |
| The BBC's online resource for writing drama and comedy for television, radio and film. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
|
| TOC About Writing |
| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
| www.sfwa.org |
|
| 11 Rules of Writing -- a concise guide to important grammar ... |
| A concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar. |
| www.junketstudies.com |
|
| NAEP Writing Subject Area |
| NAEP assesses student performance in writing periodically in grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation, and in grades 4 and 8 for the states. |
| nces.ed.gov |
|
| Writing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with writing on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| IPL Teenspace: A+ Research & Writing |
| Includes step-by-step instructions on researching and writing, how to find information online and offline, as well as links to useful resources. |
| www.ipl.org |
|
| Dictionary.com: Writing Resources |
| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
| dictionary.reference.com |
|
| WritingFix: Home of Interactive Writing Prompts and 6 Trait ... |
| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
| www.writingfix.com |
|
| Advice on Academic Writing |
| Includes articles on critical reading, planning, researching, style and editing, grammar and punctuation. |
| www.utoronto.ca |
|
|