Copywriting

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How To Write Like James Dean’s Face

Thursday, April 8th, 2010

James Dean was a man of few words, and it showed. When he made a point (“You’re tearing me apart!”), you knew it. No questions.

If you know what your point is, here’s what you should do:

Put it at the top. First. Up front.

In practice, it’s tougher than it sounds. Most people (and too many marketers are included in this group) aren’t comfortable writing or designing this way. There has to be some pre-get-to-the-point staging for them.

This is especially true when given a canvas such as the web and a palette like web design. So many options. Businesses get tempted to throw everything up on a screen to see what sticks.

Everything is a terrible option. When you choose everything, what you neglect is focus. Instead of having a point, you have a blob. If your blob is big enough, yes, you can take over the world with it. Just like in the movies.

You’re not the blob. You’re not trying to take over the world. Your business can’t use that method, so you have to focus.

But isn’t that a brilliant paradox? The more you try to say, the less effective you are at saying it. It’s an old adage, but sometimes it just hits you over the head.

Those are the times you should listen.

James Dean said more in the back of a convertible with a cowboy hat pushed down over his face than most people will say in a lifetime.

Less is more. Choose your words carefully.

Tags: blogs, business relationships, content, content marketing, Copywriting, Digital Marketing
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How To Make One Simple Writing Change To Create Better Content

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Here it is: Write what’s most important first. Always.

It’s a concept that a lot of people are familiar with, but not very many put into practice (I’ll give you an example of what I mean in just a bit). Why? We’re taught not to.

Think about it. All of the writing you did in high school and college had an introduction. You had to create a lead in, a little structure, maybe even use the dreaded metaphor.

(J majors, you can stop reading now.)

Anyway, if you’re writing introductions, quit it. Because your web reader wants to get the facts, fast. In order to give it to them, cut the structure and get to the point.

There’s plenty of room to elaborate. You should. Just make sure you’re doing it after you’ve given the information that your title promises

Brian Clark said that each line in a post is a war of attrition. If you think about your writing that way, you really have no choice but to start with everything you’ve got. If what you’re writing is worth reading, people will still be with you at the end.

Here’s an Example

Alright, one of my favorite things to do is to write mashups. So I present to you some famous first lines from Dickens’ A Tale Of Two Cities, rewritten as a blog post…

Original:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Blog edition:

There has never been a more exciting time to be alive than right now.

Some people say the opposite. You’ll get that.

Thinkers, creators, and doers thrive right now. I know because I get to be one. You know who else thrives? A whole bunch of people you’d like to see in hell. Also: those people are very, very loud.

Just a side note- if this kind of thing makes you angry, like I’ve trampled the good name of literature forever, you might like this post better.

Anyway, I stripped all of the poetry and symbolism and rhythm (and everything that makes me love this quote) out. Then, I took the main point and simplified it. That’s how to start.

Other things that make this the beginning of a good blog post:

-The conversational style. It’s a blog, after all.

-The spacing. It makes ideas easy to read.

-It’s polarizing. Love it or hate it, at least I’m not wasting anyone’s time.

Next time you’re trying to think of a witty way to begin your blog post, don’t. Try writing just what you want to say, right from the start.

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting | No Comments »

10 Web Copy Mistakes That Everyone Makes

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

How long do you linger on a site with bad writing? Hours?

Nope. About a 1/4 of a second, actually. Design plays a big role, but your copy is just as important. mistake

So don’t make common mistakes. What mistakes, you ask? These ones…

Adding Filler Web readers don’t have the time or desire to read filler. Just give them what they want- information. Using tons of adjectives is a dead giveaway that you’re just writing stuff to write it. So are filler phrases like “a wide variety of…” and “something for everyone”.

Writing A Narrative A narrative has an introduction, offering some history or background. If I see that, I’m going to bounce over to a competitor that gives me the information I’m looking for, right up front. Start with your main points.

Making Readers Understand How You Do It Just because you always, always check the bottom of a page for more information if you see an * doesn’t mean your users will. Examine your info from every angle, so it’s easy to find.

Selling And Yelling Here’s the thing about the internet- your competitor is a click away. If you push hard for sales up front, before readers have had a chance to get at least some of the info they want, they’ll go somewhere else. Sell after your readers have found what they want; sell after the conversion.

There’s No Point You’ve written every conceivable fact about your business anyone could possibly want to know on your site. But to make it effective, you need to direct users somewhere. Once you do that, you can start measuring conversions by how many visitors go where you want them to.

Big Unbroken Pieces Of Text No one is going to read your laundry list of things to do. Or, at least, they don’t want to. Break down the information on your pages by using subheads, bullets, numbered lists, and text blocs. Stay away from paragraphs with more than 70 words.

Centered Text Not even your headers should be centered on your pages. And especially not the main body of copy. Reader’s eyes will flow much easier over justified text.

Using Big Words “Initially, filling out username and password fields by participants is mandatory” or “First, you must choose a username and password”? Which do you prefer? Don’t turn your site into legal-ese in order to appear business-like.

Changing Styles If one of your subheads is a direction, the next a question, and the third a statement, where does that leave your reader? Use the same style throughout the page. It takes more planning, and it’s worth it.

Wasting Links You never, ever have to write “click here” or “more” for your link. Be descriptive, and highlight the words that describe where the link goes. The internet has been around long enough for everyone to recognize that an underlined word is a clickable link (and if you’re using underlines in your copy that aren’t links, stop.)

And those are just the most common mistakes you’ll find. Which ones are you guilty of?

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, marketing strategy, writing
Posted in Copywriting, Digital Marketing | No Comments »

Why Tone Matters Most

Friday, July 31st, 2009

The most important quality in writing is tone. There. I said it.

It’s true, and here’s why: tone is such a significant part of writing style, it tends to rule everything around it.

Tone determines structure. Tone accentuates subject matter. Tone focuses message. It really does make everything else better (or worse).

When you’re writing, consider tone first. Before you start. In the outline stages. What will happen is this: you’ll end up creating a message with more purpose and feeling, something that speaks to your audience in a way that isn’t possible if you ignore it.

When I first started writing here on the Matterhorn blog, I swore probably once or twice each post. But that hasn’t happened in a long time. The reason? I don’t swear much. It wasn’t sustainable in the blog because it wasn’t natural for me. And while that would be fine in a piece for one of our partners, where we take information and match tone to it, it doesn’t work here.

So the tone of the writing here, to continue the example, is very informal. The point is for Pat and I to be ourselves, and write about whatever happens to make our brains itch. The tone fits us, and Matterhorn, exactly.

It wouldn’t work for an insurance company. In fact, it would do a lot of damage to an insurance company’s credibility to have a really informal tone. That seems obvious, but think about how far it goes. In our example, informal tone also means truncated sentences and short paragraphs. So it links directly to structure. It would be next to impossible to talk about insurance this way, so the subject matter is compromised. And when those fall apart, the message is lost on the audience.

It’s worth it to write in your notes the tone you’re looking for. There are tons of ways to describe it. Light, dark, wordy, brief, grave, silly, funny, serious, direct, oblique, strong, soft, and on and on. Be specific, because you can’t really overthink it. It’s that important.

Tone connects everything you want to say to your audience. Spend some time, for both your sakes, and examine not just what you want to say, but how you’re going to sound when you say it.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, Copywriting, writing
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Can You Afford To Be Different?

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

I recently got to do some writing for a client that was a huge departure for them. It was a big departure for me, too- because many people want very plain, straightforward, matter-of-fact copy. This was not that.

Here’s the thing: I loved writing it. I had such a good time creating the words, I can’t properly explain it. It was exhilarating. It was challenging. It was… awesome. My wife said it gave her chills when she read it (high praise- she’s a tough critic).

That’s really cool. Is it possible to do on every project? I don’t know. Is there a place for the best-of-standard style of writing? What do you think?

Tags: business relationships, business trust, content, content marketing, Copywriting, partnerships
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing | No Comments »

Why Should I Blog?

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Yesterday I talked with a group of people about writing. Specifically, we were talking about content marketing, and what it means to write a blog.

I got some great tips from the wordpress blog, which is definitely worth checking out if you’re trying to answer this question.

Here are my answers:

To Create Something

With a blog, you can create a good business atmosphere, a helpful presence on the web, or an idea to grow within a community. Creativity is criminally neglected at most businesses, but why? Everyone gets a box of crayons in Kindergarten.

To Be Findable

Blogs allow your business to have a renewed presence, not just on the internet, but on where people look on the internet. The content from your blog positions you (along with a lot of other stuff). It’s the difference between putting up a billboard, and sharing your ideas with a group of people -sometimes a very large group- who are interested in them.

To Communicate

Good blogging establishes you as an expert. Not necessarily in your field, (because your field might be filled with more qualified, better known experts), but on your viewpoint. Blogging is a good way to have your say, on your subject, and find out how others feel about it.

These answers are all processes that serve a common principle: to lead. Good blogs are leaders- sources of knowledge, guidance, and direction.

If you decide to start blogging, and what you make is creative, findable, and communicates your ideas, your blog will share the lead in your field.

Tags: business relationships, content, content marketing, getting started in social media, partnerships, writing
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Why Personalization Is The New Advertising

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Last night, my wife came home after taking our son to T-ball practice. Walking into the kitchen with our baby in one arm and groceries in the other, she stopped to look on the kitchen table at a piece of direct mail from inkpixi.

The postcard wasn’t unusual,, except it had our last name, Curnett, printed in Princetown LET font on all kinds of items with the word “university” underneath. Curnett University.

It didn’t matter that all the signs of junk mail were on the postcard (Limited Time Offer!). It was enough to stop my wife in the middle of what she was doing, just because someone had thought to use our name in an unexpected way.

Personalizing Your Content

Direct mail isn’t content. But it does try to leverage personalization as much as possible. Content, before it became the basis for new marketing strategies, was usually disassociated from the person creating it.

Personalization is at the center of content marketing. For both the creator and the consumer, content’s got to be personal to have any real effect on your business. Here’s why:

When you’re creating worthwile content, it differes from, say, a trade magazine in that you can put yourself into it. It’s not just about facts, it’s about observations. Are those observations interesting enough, astute enough, to be worthwhile?

If they are, that’s unexpected. What people expect is to be bored by marketing. If you make it personal, you’re going beyond those expectations.

Personalizing Your Discussion

The other way content marketing gets personal is by interaction. With the tools available today that allow you to talk to your customers, it makes no difference if you keep putting up billboards. People want personal attention.

Maybe that doesn’t make a difference in your field right now. But it probably will. It used to be called corporate culture, but in most places, that was too fake. Authenticity is attractive.

With a personalizied approach, people will mostly buy from you because you’re you- they can get your widget from anywhere.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media, Social Media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Partnership, Social Media | No Comments »

How To Overcome Your Posting Stagefright

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I know about posting stagefright. I’m a guy who’s spent 15 minutes agonizing over the wording of a status update on Facebook. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Here’s my advice: work through it. It’s like writer Anne Lamott said (and I’m paraphrasing here)- When I feel bad, I think that I need therapy and self-help courses and a few drinks, when what I really should do is go mow my lawn. And so it goes with writing. Sometimes we just lock up when it’s time to update content.

Here are a few tips on helping you overcome that fear of posting…

Write To A Friend

Or a colleague. Whatever. Just choose someone you have an easy time talking to, and write as if you’re writing to them. If you can capture the same tone you use when talking to someone familiar, you’ll go a long way toward creating something that people will want to read.

Get An Editor

If you’re creating content for a lot of people to see, get someone to edit it for you. Not for everything; most small writing projects you can handle just fine on your own. But for big ones, get an editor. There are a couple of methods: If you have a co-worker or friend who writes well, ask them to edit for you. If you have a really big project, you should hire a professional editor.

Just as you wouldn’t create important images without a graphic designer, don’t publish important writing without an editor. Having an editor takes the pressure off. It’s not the green-light to turn in 500 pages of free verse, but you can breathe a little easier knowing that there’s someone watching out for you.

Isn’t It All Important?

No. That’s the short answer, anyway. But for that to make sense, it needs some context and qualification. First, content marketing is about creating useful information that people will return to. That means, yes, your content is important.

But it’s not Hemmingway. In creating regularly updated content, it’s the total cache that matters. Is your writing serving a purpose? That’s what makes it important.

In other words, if you agonize over how people are going to receive you, you’ll never work up the nerve to just put what you know out there. And just get going. There are people who want to hear from you, about you, and all the details of how you can help them.

So, go help.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

If You’re Bored Editing, You’ll End Up With Boring Writing

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

This post is part of a series about the writing process and how to create content from start to finish.

Have you ever used a pressure washer? Like, the gun you get to spray at a self-serve car wash? First edits are like that. You’re applying pressure to your sentences, your thoughts. The loose stuff gets blasted away, and the strong parts remain, nice and shiny.

Editing should be the most exciting thing about writing. Well, almost. Finding that creative streak that dumps ideas on the page like up-ending a stocking at Christmas- that’s the most exciting part.

But the almost-as-exciting part of creating content is editing. Editing is about flow. It’s about form. It’s the true expression of what you mean to say when you write.

Uncovering Treasure

What are you uncovering? I look for 3 things: tone, style, and structure. I’ve usually taken my cue on these through collaborating with a client, so I’ve started with some direction to begin with. But they can be whatever you’d like, as long as it’s clear and consistent. On the edit, you want these elements to come through with presence.

It’s Mostly Subtraction

Jam everything into your draft. That’s what it’s for- inclusion. The way to edit, then, is to go in and see what you can take out. Strip your piece all the way down. Get rid of the clutter. Here’s an example I like a lot from William Zinsser…

Clutter is the ponderous euphemism that turns a slum into a depressed socio-economic area, and garbage collectors into waste disposal personnel… I saw an ad for a boys’ camp designed to provide “individual attention for the minimally exceptional”.

A lot of business writing suffers terribly from clutter. Somehow, long phrases and big words feel like they’re a good substitute for ideas. They’re not.

Get Directions

A good way to make sure that your style, tone, and structure are well established is to pick out some prime examples in your draft. You have to be able to identify those things if you want to recreate them, to strengthen them.

See a phrase that sets the tone? Make a note of it. Then, use words that have the same mood and spirit. Same thing with style. Be consistent with the techniques you’re using to create your style of writing; it should be efficient and clear. For structure, try to stick with a form that’s well established and recognizable.

It’s also a goopd idea to get some examples of what to stay away from. This is especially important if your draft is going to be a template for more content. For example, if you’re writing an entire website, get a couple of pages through a first draft before you write the whole site.

By the end of your first draft, you should have a workable piece of content, ready for a little more polish.

Tags: content, content marketing, writing
Posted in Copywriting | No Comments »

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