The Copywriting Maven

I’d let George Carlin ’splain it to you himself. Indecent but never obscene, George, you were an inspiration!

“There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad intentions. And woooords.”

photo credit: apdk

This little missive managed to evade my usually efficient gmail spam filters. The only thing I’ve changed is the name.

hello
My name is jessy.
I saw your structure today
and became intrested in you, I shall like to know also you more, and
I want, that you have sent e-mail to my e-mail address, thus I can give you my
picture for you, that the nobility, whom I. Here - my e-mail address.

I believe, that we can move from here. I wait for your mail to my e-mail
address above. (Remeber the distance or color has no value, but
business of
love alot in
emma a life),
Please my
love sends you an
e-mail address to this my
e-mail
kiss and
love

She had me at “I saw your structure today.” Flattering? Vaguely dirty? Hard to tell. Here’s hoping someone you care about sees your structure today and sends you a note about “the business of love.”

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• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)

photo credit: mmatins

In the April issue of Steve Harrison’s Book Marketing Update, there’s an article based on author John Kremer’s (1001 Ways to Market Your Book) thoughts on book titling. With so many of us involved in self-publishing POD and ebooks, I thought I’d synopsize the recommendations.

1. Make your title memorable, since 80% of books are sold by word-of-mouth.
2. Short titles are best, most successful titles are around 5 words. Add a subtitle to expand and/or illuminate the information about your book.
3. Numbers in titles can be very effective for non-fiction, just as they are when writing headline copy.
4. Include keywords for non-fiction titles. You want to put the main search terms for your subject in your title or subtitle, but don’t use terms that are too generic.
5. Try inventing or coining a word for your title, but strive for conceptual clarity rather than showing off how clever you are. (I coined ‘macromize” for a promotion I did for a book about um, Wordstar macros years ago. I still like it.
6. Try to think brandable - the Chicken Soup, Idiots and Dummies series represent genius-level book branding at its finest.
7. Don’t try to do too much with your title. Think brand, then add the specific audience you’re going after.

Lastly, try the Title Scorer at Lulu.com … it’s free! Created by stat techs based on 50 years of research on the commonalities of best-seller book titles, it’s a nifty way to get some useful feedback on titles-in-progress. (Originally developed for novelists, us less arty, more non-fiction types can still have fun.)

Of course, there are popular exceptions to just about every one of these tips, but knowing the rules before you creatively break ‘em could be a smart move, no matter how you title the result.

• Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to The Copywriting Maven by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)

photo credit: ©aius

One of the hardest jobs I have as a direct marketing copywriter/consultant is to get my clients to test variables in their promotions. Test headlines, offers, lists, color, etc. With smaller clients I urge them to test single variables where the difference to their response/bottom line will be the biggest. Larger clients can afford the luxury of sophisticated multi-variate approaches to their campaigns.

So here’s my segue to today’s interesting article from Target Marketing. Brian Kurtz, leading marketing genius at the power publishing house, Boardroom, Inc., shares his thoughts on testing here. Good stuff and I’m sharing it with you!

Brian Kurtz on DM Testing in Hard Times

Got a testing story to share? By all means, let’s hear about it.

• Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to The Copywriting Maven by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)

photo credit: Bobbie

Ahh, a fresh piece of paper … a completely blank screen … your fingers poised for action …

And nothing. You don’t have a decent shred of an idea to work with. Problem is you can’t afford to wait for the muse to strike because you’re on a deadline that can’t be moved or pushed back. Before you go into panic mode, grab whatever it is you grab as an idea folder and slide this little beauty right out.

In today’s issue of The Golden Thread newsletter from the good folks at AWAI comes this handy tip sheet of 52 ways to kick start your own brilliant headline. Read then, love them, learn from them and make ‘em your own!

1. How To (ACCOMPLISHMENT) By (DOING SOMETHING UNEXPECTED)
2. How To (ACCOMPLISHMENT) In (TIME FRAME)
3. How To Turn (PROBLEM) Into (BENEFIT)
4. How To Get (GOAL) From (SOMETHING COMMON)
5. How To Improve Your …
6. How To Start …
7. How To Have …
8. How To Make (SOMEONE/SOMETHING) Do (SOMETHING GREAT)
9. (PROBLEM) – How To Fix It
10. How To Get Free (PRODUCT/PROGRAM)
11. How You Can (ACTION) In The Next (TIME FRAME)
12. How An Uninformed (PERSON/ACTION) Made A Fortune In (BUSINESS TYPE)
13. How An Unexpected (EVENT) Changed My (SITUATION)
14. How I (ACCOMPLISHMENT) In (TIME FRAME)
15. How I (ACCOMPLISHMENT) By (SOMETHING UNEXPECTED)
16. How I Improved My (PROBLEM)
17. (#) Ways To (PROMISE)
18. (#) Ways To Avoid (PROBLEM)
19. (#) Steps To …
20. (#) Ways To …
21. (#) Ways To Beat (PROBLEM)
22. Get Rid Of Your (PROBLEM) Forever!
23. Buy No (PRODUCT TYPE) Till You’ve Seen (PRODUCT NAME OR DESCRIPTION)
24. Read This And (PROMISE/THREAT)
25. Dare To Be …(PROMISE) !
26. Read This Or (THREAT)!
27. What Makes … ?
28. Do You Make These Mistakes In … ?
29. Want To Be (BETTER CONDITION)?
30. (PROBLEMS) – Which Do You Want To Overcome?
31. (PERSONALIZED GREETING), Here Are (#) (PRODUCTS) Of Interest To You. Which (#) Do You Want Free?
32. Are You Ever (PROBLEM)?
33. Tired/Fed Up With (PROBLEM)?
34. Should You (SOMETHING YOUR PROSPECT IS THINKING ABOUT DOING)?
35. Are You … ?
36. Are You Ashamed Of (PROBLEM)?
37. Secrets Of (SOME KIND OF EXPERT)
38. What Never Ever To (COMMON CHORE/ACTION)
39. The Truth About …
40. What You Should Know About …
41. The One Sensible Way To …
42. What Every (PERSON) Should Know
43. The Secret Of …
44. Why …
45. What It Takes To …
46. What Everybody Ought To Know … About This (BUSINESS TYPE)
47. Little Known Ways To (BENEFIT)
48. The Wrong Way And The Right Way To (DO SOMETHING DIRECTLY RELATED TO YOUR BUSINESS)
49. The Secret Of (ACCOMPLISHMENT)
50. When Experts (FAILURE/PROBLEM) – This Is What They Do
51. The Secret Of … – Yours If You Qualify
52. Your (SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO YOU) Is In Imminent Danger

You find this and lots, lots more in this new AWAI resource. A Copywriting Goldmine Eight Years in the Making and tell them the Maven sent you!

And if you have one to add, add your comment below!

• Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to The Copywriting Maven by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)