Writing Inrochester

Recently, a young woman who, in preparation for giving a 90 minute seminar at a regional conference on a rather dry and technical topic, asked a group of us to preview her seminar. She told us that we were to give her honest critiques along with any tips on ways she could improve her presentation.

The group of people gave her many suggestions and comments– some laudatory, but more on how to change her program and delivery. A few weeks later, she presented her updated presentation at another meeting I attended. I was delighted to observe that she had incorporated the suggestions, erased her distracting habits, enlivened her topic and achieved a powerful, useful and interesting presentation.

As so few tend to do, she had listened to us, taken our feedback and used it to her advantage. In this article I investigate the various ways to receive feedback and then take advantage of the parts you can use.

The first step is to ask the right person and/or people for feedback.

When we choose the person and/or people we want to give us feedback, we should look for those whom we trust and respect, those who have enough experience to give us useful suggestions and then tell them what we expect and want from them.

I feel that asking for honest feedback is one of the hardest tasks we can perform. There is always the fear of harsh criticism — which none of us welcome — and finding out that we are not as good as we think we are or want to be.

I give the young woman I described in the first paragraph a lot of credit, not only for asking for our critiques, but also for being willing to follow our suggestions.

She made us all comfortable about being honest and constructive in our feedback.

Most of the group knows her well, has heard her present before and wants her to succeed.

She told us she wanted us to be “tough” and she meant it.,

We all shared and learned from the feedback ourselves and were proud when we witnessed her follow-up presentation.

When we receive feedback, whether asked for or not, we must decide what is valid and useful. I am happy to give feedback when asked by someone like the young woman in this article, who is serious about improving and knows me well enough to trust me — she visits my presentation site often, so knows my opinions.

So, remember, ask for feedback only when you want it and plan to use it. Pick your evaluators wisely and thank them by improving. Then, they will know that they haven’t wasted their time and expertise, and they will be proud as we were of our collegue. She put the feedback to advantage and reached a whole new plateau in her presentation skills.

Chris King is a professional speaker, storyteller, writer, website creator / designer, free agent, and fitness instructor. Sign up for her eclectic E-newsletter, Portfolio Potpourri, at PowerfulPresentations.net PowerfulPresentations.net You will find her information-packed E-book How to Leave Your Audiences Begging for MORE! at OutrageouslyPowerfulPresenter.com OutrageouslyPowerfulPresenter.com and her business website at CreativeKeys.biz CreativeKeys.biz

Some say link exchanges are dead. They may not have the same weight they once did but I believe they still are useful.

Article writing is a good way to build back links or so they say. If you are going to write articles, write good quality articles that people want to read. Share useful information. This is the reason others will
publish your articles on their websites.

That is how you truly build back links. Churning out crap articles that will never see the light of day is a
waste of your time. Articles should not be one big advertisment. Good articles should be at least 400 words up to 800 words. Two paragraphs do not make an article. And you are not writing a novel.

Titles should be at least 3-5 words and no longer than 10 words. Make it catchy! A boring title will not attract attention. Use the WOW factor. When someone is done reading your article they should say WOW, I didn’t know that before, or WOW that was a great article.

The number one rule in writing is to write for the reader. If you are only thinking of yourself and how
many links you can build you shouldn’t be writing articles. And make sure your links work! Without a link that clicks to your website you will miss out on tons of traffic.

Another way to build links quickly and get your site indexed quickly is posting to your blogs. You can either host your own blog using word press or sign up for an account at blogger.com. Once you create an account at Blogger.com you can create several blogs under that account.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to Search Engine Marketing Success. Discover The *Secret Formula* We’ve Used To Stay In Google’s Top 3 Rankings For Over 3 Years For Some Of The Toughest Keywords Around (18 MILLION Competitors!)

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For many people article writing can be a truly terrifying ordeal and the reason being that many do not understand how important it is to write quality articles. But once you can get past this fear you are on the first step to building not only more website traffic but those ever important backlinks. For many webmasters they known that using articles is a great way to supply others not only with the valuable knowledge that they have but is also a great way of generating traffic and high page rankings on search engines. As many of us know the higher your website is listed in the search engine rankings for specific keywords that this will have a direct impact on just how popular your site is.

It is for this reason alone that many people turned to writing articles as not only a way of sharing their knowledge but to gain those all important natural backlinks to their site through the quality content that they had written. It is simply just not enough to place a few banners or text links on popular sites because of the situation with today’s online market. Although these are still effective to some degree most traffic that will come to your site is being provided by the high rankings you achieve on the search engines or through word of mouth (being emailing their friends a copy of your article).

Also being viewed as an expert in a particular field can also be helpful and it can be accomplished through you producing well written articles. You will soon find that you have more traffic coming to your site because of these articles. People who are looking to learn more about the information you have already provided will visit your site. Also in addition you can gain further valuable links to your site if the article becomes viral and spreads to dozens, hundreds or even thousands of sites across the internet. Just imagine how many people are likely to view your article if it becomes popular the numbers are just staggering.

So remember article writing is more than just simply writing one article it is an ongoing process that will ultimately help to keep your site fresh in the minds of others (those internet users who you are so desperately trying to attract to visit your site).

Allison Thompson is a full time writer and researcher. She runs articleandcontentsolutions.com/ Article and Content Solutions who supply original and PLR Articles. If you would like to purchase articles like this one please go to
articleandcontentsolutions.com/ articleandcontentsolutions.com/

Effective sales letter writing skills are imperative for the web business owner or entrepreneur. Fortunes are made and lost online on the strength of sales letter writing. No matter how great your product, if you cannot convey that to your potential buyers, and convince them to buy your product, you will not make it online.

Step 1) Know Your Purpose and Your Audience: This is an extremely important and oft overlooked step to sales letter writing. It is so easy to think, this is a good product, I’ll just tell them all about it and they will buy. But it does not work that way. You must know your purpose–assuming it is to sell a product, you must do what will work to sell products, not what you necessarily want to do. You must write a compelling sales letter that literally drives people to purchase from you. You must also write to your audience. They do not really care what a wonderful product you have created, they really want to know, what will this product do for me? How will it solve my problems and make my life easier? So write to their problems, their challenges–not your excitement about your new product.

Step 2) Headline: This is one of the most important parts of a sales letter, and yet many web writers simply try to throw one together in a hurry. Think this one through. If they are not compelled to read the rest of the letter after reading the headline, how much will you sell? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The headline must tell it all. Tell them what, how fast, how much, how many, whatever might be critical. For example: How to ____ 30 times in 30 days, guaranteed. Or: ____Steps to the __________ You Deserve. Or: How I ___________ Just Like __________ in ________ Days, and How You Can Too. Try filling in the blanks with your product details. Write yourself one hundred different combinations of those phrases. Tweak them. Select the 20 best. Let your spouse read them. Have him or her cut it to 10. Then let your kids decide on the best one. Just don’t settle for the first thing that comes to your mind. Work hard at it and learn to create the best headlines.

Step 3) Introduction: Introduce yourself, why you are qualified to talk about this product, what you have done for others in this area. Talk about a problem–tell a story about a problem, talk about the pitfalls of something that your product can relieve.

Step 4) Testimonials: Include several testimonials from people who have tried your product and liked it. This is critical. There should be at least three testimonials, and there can be as many as you want. The more the better!

Step 5) Benefits: Talk about what this product can do for your customer. Not what it does, how it looks—your sales letter should not be about the product, it should be about your customer. Your customer’s needs and how their life will improve with your product.

Step 6) Guarantee: Offer an unconditional, better than the best, guarantee. Your customer is an online customer, has never met you, probably never will—and does not trust you or your product. But with an unbelievable guarantee, they will feel more comfortable–and buy your product.

Step 7) Make it easy to buy, and ask for the sale: Tell them exactly how to order it, how fast they will receive it, and how easy it is to order it. Include several links and several different methods of payment. Try to streamline your order process so that they have to click the least possible number of links to make the final purchase.

There you have it. Now go write sales letters. Don’t just write one and try to make it the best. Write a new one every day for a month. From scratch, following these steps. At the end of the month, look at all the sales letters and take the very best from each one and you will have a great sales letter. You really have it in you to write sales letters, you really can learn—just do it and it will get easier with time and repetition.

Don’t fall for the idea that writing a sales letter has to be difficult, or that it has to be perfect to sell your product. If your visitors and subscribers need what you have to offer, and you make it attractive to them to buy it, they will buy it. Every word on your sales page does not have to be perfect, nor does it have to be written by an expert copywriter.

This has been an excerpt from Your First Web Business – The Complete Guide.

To purchase a copy, click here:

There’s nothing that kills a scene like hackneyed dialogue. Just stop and think about the average B-Grade Hollywood Movie. Sure, at times the plot is bad and the characterisation woeful but most of the time, what stops it from being a good movie is the dialogue. Cringe-worthy dialogue.

So, how do you write good dialogue? There are a number of factors and the most important one is: don’t try too hard. Not every thing out of a character’s mouth has to be scintilating. Sometimes, the best dialogue comes about because it’s so simple and normal. So relax.

You need to let your characters speak. If they are highly educated, they will probably speak with great grammar and have a high vocabulary. If they left school at fourteen and have worked for five years in the local abottoir, their language is likely to be more colourful. If your character is a chatterbox, let them ramble. If they are the strong and silent type, let them be silent. Don’t force words into their mouths and don’t try to make them conform to your own views of good communication.

Good dialogue flows. The characters react to what another character has said. For example:

“I went to the show the other day.”

“Really? Was it any good?”

“Not bad. The dogs were cute but the cows were too noisy.”

“I was talking to George the other day.”

Huh? How did talk about the show bring George into the conversation? To make it flow, it needs something more like:

“I went to the show the other day.”

“Really? Was it any good?”

“Not bad. The dogs were cute but the cows were too noisy.”

“Speaking of dogs, I was talking to George the other day…”

If you aren’t sure if your dialogue flows, the classic way to test it is to read it aloud. You’ll hear any problems, just like you do in the bad Hollywood movies. Better still, get your family and friends to act it out for you. It gets them involved in your writing and you can stand back and really observe and listen to what is going on.

The other thing dialogue needs is connection to the action of the story. Stop and think about the conversations you have. They are always related somehow to the action of your day, whether it’s a conversation you’re having as you catch the bus to work or a conversation with a work colleague or catching up with your partner at the end of the day.

Keep the dialogue connected to the characters, the setting and the plot by surrounding it with action. The example above is quite bland. But surround it with action and it comes alive.

Carrie sat down, opened the sugar packet and sprinkled it in her tea and then stirred it. “I went to the show the other day.”

“Really?” Sophie took a long sip of her coffee. “Was it any good?”

Carrie shrugged. “Not bad. The dogs were cute but the cows were too noisy.” She poured milk into her tea.

Sophie put her coffee cup down and leant forward, eyes sparkling. “Speaking of dogs, I was talking to George the other day…”

Now the dialogue seems real, because we can picture the characters and their setting. We also get an idea of how they’re feeling. Carrie’s shrug tells us the show didn’t really thrill her. Sophie’s sparkling eyes tell us she’s got something exciting to say.

So spend a bit of time developing your dialogue, and your stories will be much more successful.

About The Author

Nicole R Murphy is a writer and copyeditor. You can take advantage of a free trial of her copyediting by visiting yourbestwork.com” target=”_new www.yourbestwork.com.

mailto:nicole@yourbestwork.com nicole@yourbestwork.com

The Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE HERO’S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Gives you a universal structural template upon which you can superimpose your situational story. This is why stories such as Alien (1979), Gladiator (2000), Midnight Cowboy (1969), American Beauty (1999), The Graduate (1967) and many others (all deconstructed at the URL below) appear to be different but are all constructed, almost sequence by sequence, in the same way.

and more…

*****Hero’s Journey: Catharsis 2*****

The detective hero’s deceit causes the antagonist(s) to reveal the femme fatale’s part in the crime. In The Maltese Falcon (1939), the Fat Man reveals how O’Shaugnessey was involved.

*****Hero’s Journey: Illusory Treasure*****

As for all antihero’s, the treasure turns out to be illusory and causes conflict and betrayal. In The Maltese Falcon (1939), the Falcon is a fake. Cairo shouts at the Fat Man.

*****Antiheroes and Romantic Challenges*****

Where the Hero evolves, the Antihero devolves. So it is not unusual to find that the Antihero starts off with a close personal relationship that devolves (whereas the Hero most often starts off with a polarized Romantic Challenge that gradually evolves). In The Godfather (1972), Michael and Kay are initially close but their relationship devolves toward the end. In Scarface (1983) Tony and Elvira ultimately separate.

*****Middle Cave*****

It is in the Middle Cave of the First Threshold that Allies and Enemies are met. Of (usually) critical importance is the Shape Shifter, who often has a critical competency and is necessary. In Bonnie and Clyde (1967), the gas pump attendant knows all about automobiles.

*****Inner Challenge Demonstrated*****

Post the Physical Separation and before the Trials, the Inner Challenge is demonstrated. In Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Clyde tries to make love to Bonnie, but he doesn’t know how.

*****New World of the First Threshold*****

Entry. Upon entry into the First Threshold, some marked characteristics are noticeable.

Polar Opposite. The New World of the First Threshold is markedly different from the Hero’s Ordinary World it is usually the Polar Opposite of the Ordinary World. In The Matrix (1999), the world of the machines is nowhere like Neo’s normal World. In Goodfellas (1990), the World of the gangsters is the polar opposite of both Henry’s and Karen’s parent’s World. In Dances with Wolves (1990), Fort Hayes is quiet and uninhabited. John Dunbar has just come from fighting in the civil war.

Unfamiliar Creatures and Behaviours. The New World is full of unfamiliar creatures, people, behaviours, colours etc. In The Matrix (1999), Neo breaks free from his pod to find humans in pods and machines farming them. In The Last King of Scotland (2006), Uganda and Ugandans are totally new to Nicholas.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at clickok.co.uk/ clickok.co.uk/

The Managing Creativity and Innovation MBA dissertation, DIY creativity Audit, Powerpoint presentation and Good Idea generator software can be found at managing-creativity.com/ managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

So often online you will critics who will attack you on Blogs, forums or even thru email. They will harass you and annoy you and attack your personal character. So often these same people will hide behind fake names, bogus “handles” or even use various IP addresses to mask their identities.

Recently just such an individual or perhaps a mirage attacked the top online article writer of all time on the Internet. It is hard to say if this person is even real. The reply to this critic, who hides out, lurking in shadows only to try “hit and run” drive by Blog comments is this;

“I challenge the experts, I challenge the status quo and I hereby challenge my critics. If anyone wishes to debate my work, my writing, my observations, my knowledge or my personal integrity, then I challenge you and the horse you rode in on until you are no longer standing. So, bring it on or stay on the porch. Pick a topic, be specific, bring your and bring your knowledge, your mind, your best debate and let’s go! Do not talk in generalities, brevity or abstract when attacking me, cite the example of any of my topics and the exact article and I will defend my position and I challenge you to debate your position with all your knowledge, abilities and experiences.”

After reading this incredible controversy online one can only ask the question, why is the critic playing games on the Internet and how can we prevent people like this from these slanderous attacks? Consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

FORWARD

The 188 stage Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO’S JOURNEY involves a number of major phases, including:

a) The arrival from Another World into an Ordinary World.

b) The Ordinary Self, that has come about as a result of being in the Ordinary World.

c) The encouragement from the Ordinary World into a New World.

d) The gradual dissolution of the Old Self.

e) The becoming of the New Self.

f) The thrusting away from the New Self and New World.

g) The confrontation with challenges.

h) The mastering of the Old and New Worlds and Selves.

more…

(simply go to heros-journey.info/ heros-journey.info/ for full details)

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

THREE ACTS

There is a tendency for writers to divide their stories into three acts. If that is valid at all, then the division should be as follows (the 188 stage Hero’s Journey explains each process in detail):

First, the Hero is pushed out of his (or her) Ordinary World into a New World. In The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Andy is pushed straight from college into the fashion magazine world.

Second, the Hero’s Old Self gradually dissolves away until he (or she) becomes a de jure and de facto member of the New World and a New Self. In The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Andy becomes Miranda’s right-hand woman and replaces Emily to go to Paris.

Third, the Hero is pushed out of the New World and away from the New Self and towards a confrontation with challenges or antagonisms until he (or she) becomes a Master of the Two Worlds and Selves. In The Devil Wears Prada (2006), Andy witnesses Miranda’s sacrifices and decides she doesn′t want that life, motivating her to release herself.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at monomyth.info/ monomyth.info/

188 stages of the Hero’s Journey can also be reached from story-structure.org/ story-structure.org/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

**********************************

Kal Bishop, MBA

FORWARD

The 188 stage Hero’s Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188 stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO′S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to heros-journey.info/ heros-journey.info/ for full details)

*****Blood and Transmogrification*****

The progression of the Transmogrification - the physical change - is often symbolised by the appearance of blood. In Straw Dogs (1971), David shoots the bird…the bloood seeps out and onto his clothes.

*****Transmogrification*****

Every good Hero is wounded as he begins his (or her) Journey. As that wound heals, so it represents the Hero’s Transformation and Transmogrification from an Ordinary Self to a New Self.

For example, in The Godfather (1972), Michael is punched by Capt. McCluskey outside the hospital. Towards the end of the story, that wound has healed and is symbolic of his New Self.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at monomyth.info/ monomyth.info/

188 stages of the Hero’s Journey can also be reached from story-structure.org/ story-structure.org/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the link to our site URL remains active.

In the world of web copywriters, many will try, but few will succeed. What category will you be classified as? Hopeless failure, or smashing success?

Well, that’s a foolish question, right? You want to be successful, of course! You know that you can razzle-dazzle ‘em with your knock-’em-out, drag-’em-down copywriting skills. You even have a power-packed portfolio to prove it. So: what’s the problem then?

The problem is that the web is overflowing with copywriting talent. A copywriter on the web is a little like being at a Friday night concert at Madison Square Garden for some big headliner. In that vast audience, you′re just a teeny speck.

Likewise, in the elbow-to-elbow web copywriting arena, you’re not much of a standout, even if you’ve got that copywriting lighter raised high and you’re singing your heart out. Why? Because that’s what everybody else is doing!

Let’s take this analogy one step further. If you wanted to get noticed at a jam-packed concert stadium, what would you do? You could sneak through the audience, get naked and then bum-rush the stage. Think of the news headlines! “Crazed Naked Fan Mauls Bono Onstage at MSG.” That would get you some attention, yes? (Although I don′t recommend you actually do this, as you may find yourself in prison).

So then, if one thinks of the naked stage rush prank as the attention GRABBER, what might you do to HOLD people’s attention? You could start attending five concerts a week all over the country and pulling that same stunt at every one! You could build a rep for yourself as the Notorious Naked Concert Crusader.

What does this analogy have to do with being a web copywriter?

You’re going to have to do something unique, outlandish or outrageous, to get people on the web talking about you. That means thinking up a gutsy theme for your website.

Once you’ve thought up and executed your theme, much like our concert crusader, you’ll have to keep feeding new material to your following. You will do this by way of article marketing.

Start submitting articles on the web. Write them according to your signature theme, whatever that might be. Are you the Wordfarmer? The Word Wrangler? The Copy Cowboy? Create an outstanding and unusual persona and then spread the word about your services and signature style, in hundreds of articles that you submit on the web for distribution.

Don′t believe it? Try it and see for yourself what having a brand with a personality and a unique message does for your copywriting business. Or, you can always just get naked.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Liked this article? Have more of the same emailed to your inbox each month. Sign up for the wordfeeder.com/kickstart-signup-priority-1.htm” target=”_new Copywriting and Marketing Ezine from Dina at Wordfeeder.com and learn to write search engine friendly web copy and market your web based business for free.