Writing Inrochester

Why do some salespeople sell like gangbusters while others fall flat on their face? Because what they say, and how they say it, is everything.

The same with advertising copy. Your copy is your surrogate salesperson. And the way it is written has everything to do with whether or not your ad sells, your website converts, your business succeeds.

The difference between under-performing copy and brilliant copy can translate into many thousands of dollars over time. Bad copy can actually have the opposite effect of damaging your image and suppressing sales.

Yet many advertisers don′t get this. Copy is an afterthought. They spend extraordinary amounts of time, energy and money setting up a business, then doom it to failure with poorly written, cheaply bought or crudely constructed homegrown copy.

It’s not enough just to be out there. Your copy has to work hard, really hard, to grab attention, communicate clearly, convey benefits, overcome skepticism, outfox the competition, generate excitement, exude energy and charm, and close the deal…all within a short span of time! Just like a star salesperson would.

It takes ability, experience and time to craft copy like this — to research, write and rewrite it to achieve exactly the desired result. That’s why exceptional copy comes at a price. But one that will repay you many times over.

I can’t tell you how many clients come to me after throwing away their money while trying to save it, hiring cut-rate, self-proclaimed copywriters who are big on promises and short on results.

Lesson: don’t hire anyone until you’ve seen their work. Note what businesses have entrusted their brands to them. Take the time to read their copy. See if it sells you.

And don’t be afraid to invest in outstanding, professionally written copy. It’s all a part of doing business. A very critical part.

Jerry McTigue is a freelance copy pro who has worked at top Madison Avenue advertising agencies on blue chip national accounts. He writes ads, brochures, websites, sales letters, email blasts, press releases, radio, and more. To see his portfolio, go to: mitchandjerry.com/jerry mitchandjerry.com/jerry

Article marketing has been really good for me and my list and my web site and my business. That is a pretty strong (although incorrect grammatically) statement, but I am a real big believer in article marketing. It has been the difference fro me – and I think that if I had not found article marketing, I probably would not be fulltime online today, but that is really a different story for a different day.

There are two ways to article market, and although they work together synergistically, I think that when you are just starting out, you should choose one and focus on it so that you get really good at it. Then once you know what works and why, from first-hand experience, then you can try the other form.

So what are they? Here is the first one: write and submit articles for the purpose of getting rank-increasing backlinks to your web site. The theory is that when you have lots of backlinks to your web site, the search engines rank you higher, because they assume that you must be popular. To do this, you need backlinks from a lot of sites – not a lot from a few sites. So to do this best, it is better to submit 1 article to 500 sites than to submit 500 articles to one site. So if you are going to do this, write one article, then submit it to as many article directories as you can find online. Vary the text of the live link you put in the bio, so that the search engines don’t think you are spamming.

The second one is to article market for direct traffic. Now the way to do this is, instead of try to get your own high ranking in a little-known keyword, use the article directories (there are about 3) that have page ranks of 5 or more. So you will limit yourself to just submitting to 5 article directories, or a few more, and write multiple articles. So the idea here would be to write 500 articles and submit them to 5 directories, versus the opposite approach in the first way I mentioned earlier.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here:

Honeymoon over with your book sales? Did your book sell as well as you hoped? Could your sales use a shot in the arm? Perhaps you are just starting and looking for ways to sell your book.

Either way, I’ve got good news for you! Join the Information Revolution. There’s a whole new Internet audience waiting to hear about your insightful book that solves their problem in your field. Include Internet Marketing in your promotion plan. Use a couple of these guaranteed marketing techniques and explode your book sales to a whole new level.

_____1. Create a book marketing plan or revise your old one to include Internet Marketing. Your book marketing plan is what I often describe as your map. It describes your book, what you will do after the book is completed and published. It also describes who you hope to sell your book to – target audience.

_____2. Develop an easy author’s website to jumpstart your Internet Marketing plan. If you don’t have one that focuses on your book or you as an individual, create one. Your website is now one of the first places clients will look to find out more about you. The better quality it is, the more it will pre-sell you and your book itself. First impressions are important. Make your website a good one that accurately reflects your book and you as an individual.

_____3. Know the one sentence version of your “mission statement″ to attract new targeted clients through email. Remember prospects don’t buy your education or career titles, they want to know what’s in it to help them. Place that one sentence as the second line of your signature file.

_____4. Put your power-packed signature file at the bottom of each email you send. It will soft-sell your book each time you contact someone via email. Be sure to develop different signature files for different promotions. Use each one to drive targeted visitors to your book’s website.

_____5. Write a sales letter for each book you want to sell. Like a mini-salesman, your sales letter will sell your book 24/7 and make you money even while you sleep.

If you don’t start your Internet Marketing plan, you could be this time next year with the same disappointing level of sales. Don’t wait join the Information Revolution today; use any of the above marketing ideas to explode your book sales to a new level. Discover the promotion techniques it takes to have an abundance of customers every month.

© Earma Brown, 11 year author and business owner
helps small business owners and writers who want to write their best book now! Author of ‘Write Your Best Book Now’, she mentors other writers and business professionals through her monthly ezine ‘iScribe’ Subscribe now at
mailto:iscribe@writetowin.org iscribe@writetowin.org for FREE mini-course ‘Jumpstart Writing Your Best Book’ or visit

When online article marketers write articles often they talk about their successes in achieving vast amounts of targeted traffic. This seems relevant because target traffic clicks are those of potential client material and they are much more likely to buy something from them. So this makes a lot of sense, but often they wonder which articles pull the best and what size should these articles in fact be?

Well it seems the articles that are smaller make more sense for an article marketer based on time to create and the ratio of targeted traffic that they draw. But what about the Article Marketers success and the Article Size for achieving maximum Syndication Pickup Statistics; do those figures matter?

It matters to the article marketer who is targeting their articles to reach maximum syndication rather than merely article views probably, so this is why I ask. Of course a survey off all the Ezine Publishers who have been at it for so long could easily tell us their preferences too. It appears that those who pick articles up for websites might even have a different preference. Indeed, I noticed the self-help articles I have written really kick butt with the Ezine Pick-ups, but I imagine that this is because such articles lend themselves well to the email newsletters and subscribers preferences too. All this is an interesting subject so, I hope you will 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/

You have a business you are new and want to build a client list.
However, the public doesn’t know much about you.

One of the best ways to build the relations, credibility and to help get people to know more about you and your area of expertise is to write articles. People are always looking for good articles for their websites, blogs and newsletters. The
important words here are good and content.

Good articles are content rich. The help the reader understand that which you are writing about. It gives them insight, whether it is about Business, Communication, Health or any number of subjects. When you provide an article for your reader, whether you wrote it or published it, you are doing your clients a service by educating them in the areas that they wish to learn. Moreover, your credibility can be built or diminished by the article.

Articles also help to keep your website updated and helped to increase your search engine ratings. Stagnate websites that never change, get a much lower rating with Google. As well, do not encourage your audience to come back. They are thinking, ok, I saw it.

A summary of the benefits are:

For the author, they:

Increased Exposure
Give Credibility (You show your expertise)
Develop Relations (People get to know you better)
Create links to your site
Give you free Publicity

For the Publisher or Website Owner, it provides:

Content
Related Articles that you don’t have to write
Reference and information that you don’t have to write
A vast resource of free information

However, it is important to remember that there can be a downside. Of which you can avoid, once you understand what
it is.

There is nothing worse than reading an article that is nothing more than a sales letter, a news release or an inflated
glorified piece on how wonderful you are. You need to give the public something that they can use.

Then they are much more likely to follow your link in your resource box, back to your site to find out more about you.
Remember, that in each article, you are communication something about you. You want the message that be one that encourages people to want to get to know you better, to learn more about you know and to become one of your clients or subscribers.

In your resource box, make sure you are clear, stating who you are and where they can find out more about you. Most article directories and magazines have set limits on the size and amount of information you can place so it is important to ensure it is accurate and inviting.

You are not writing articles just for praise and admiration. You do have a business to run and bills to pay. Even if you are a millionaire and want to write just for the shear joy of it and love to teach for free, your resource box is still important, as you would want the readers to know that the information came from a credible source.

So go ahead and get started. Don’t stop at one article, it can easily become buried. Make it a habit and write them regularly whether it is once a week or once a month. And remember, have fun doing them.

“To Master Communication
is to Master Wealth”

Maria Boomhowerknown as The Master Communicator, has won awards for excellence in her field. Her background includes training, video productions & photo journalism. Maria has a passion for metaphysics and quantum theories, which enabled her to bring in the human aspects of communication to empower others.
Find out more at:
falconfreedom.com falconfreedom.com
Check out: communicationmasteryarticles.com Communication Mastery Articles a place for authors, publishers and website owners to be empowered and educated.
And the, communicationmasteryarticles.blogspot.com Communication Mastery Articles Newsletter

“What makes something a sound bite? What makes some of your words quotable to a reporter whereas most of you words are not?”

These are questions I toss out during speeches or training sessions to people. Normally, attendees toss out things like the following:

“It has to be short.”

“Something catchy.”

“Controversy.”

I then engage the audience further by asking more follow up questions. Then I give them a matrix for analyzing and creating sound bites.

But sometimes, I am met with blank stares. Uh-oh! This is embarrassing—or it least it could be, if you let it.

What I do is to pause for a moment, and then treat my very real question as if I had asked it as a rhetorical question. Then I answer it myself.

Sometimes audiences like to participate, sometimes they don’t. And sometimes they just don’t know what to say. The trick is to not let an audiences reactions or non-reactions get you down.

So if your audience ever leaves you hanging at the end of a question, don’t let it get you down. Act as though you fully intended to ask it rhetorically and that you are more than pleased to answer it yourself. So don’t get scared or give up just relax and recover quickly from your mistake without anyone even noticing.

About the Author:

TJ Walker is the worlds leading speaking coach, author of “Presentation Training A-Z.” and “Media Training A-Z.” He is the current host of Speakcast.com Speakcast.com and SpeakingChannel.tv SpeakingChannel.tv and can be reached at mailto:info@speakcast.com info@speakcast.com. You can read more of his presentation and media tips at tjsinsights.com tjsinsights.com.

A lot of marketing specialists would agree that article writing is one of the most potent if not the best advertising tool one can ever use in promoting his product. In fact, its utility has been widely used by so many products that have been marketed and launched. Apart from its being inexpensive, article writing has this flexibility to adapt itself in all forms of media marketing. While creating an article is relatively elementary for other people, there are still a few people who are lost in the darkness as to how article writing should be perfected.

 When given a topic to write about, equip yourself with the knowledge it requires before engaging into writing it. Your purpose on writing an article is to make people keep informed about a specific topic. Now, if you, yourself is unaware or less knowledgeable about the topic, you cannot expect to be producing a widely accepted article material. To prepare for this, do an extensive research!

 Plan your article before the actual writing. A good writer’s skill is outlining. Outline what you want to write more so when you are a bit apprehensive about the topic that you are writing. Or at times even if you have the expertise about the topic, it is still best to do an outline because it does not let you miss out any detail of the topic.

 When in actual writing, focus yourself into creating an attractive, catchy headline. This is important because the subject or the headline is the first thing that readers look into. It is where writers actually catch the attention of its readers. Therefore, it is must that you come up with a better subject line first before focusing on the body or content of the article material.

Want to learn more about it? Download the free ebook,

If you’ve ever wondered why a movie doesn’t much resemble the book it was based on—

—well, there can be lots of reasons. Many of them bad. But one of them—one that applies even to good adaptations by good writers—is painfully simple.

The rules are different.

What works on paper may not work on the screen.

What works on a screen may not work on a stage.

And none of it may sound right coming out of a radio.

If a writer wants to adapt a story, he’ll probably have to change it. If a good writer wants to adapt a story, he’ll make sure he doesn′t change anything important. The trick is knowing what’s important…

Once upon a time, a friend of mine paid me a huge compliment.

Thomas Fuller was a playwright and a poet, with a long list of productions to his credit. He was also the head writer for the Atlanta Radio Theater Company, and ARTC was looking for children’s material. One day he gave me the script for a old stage play he’d written and asked me to adapt it for audio.

Once I’d stopped blushing, I took a closer look at his script. And winced. It was a thoroughly charming piece of work, but I’d have a hard time finding something that looked less like a radio play.

Imagine.

Four kids drag a footlocker onto a bare stage, start pulling props out of it, and use them to perform skits based on Aesop’s fables. The kids and their wrangling overshadow the fables at least half the time.

It was beautiful theater. I could almost hear every laugh. But coming out of a loudspeaker?

Our audience couldn′t see the kids. They couldn′t see the footlocker. They couldn′t see the props, or what the kids did with them.

They couldn’t see anything. They could only hear. And what would they hear?

Scrapes.

Squeaking hinges.

Things bumping and rustling and—occasionally—making a recognizable sound.

Four children’s voices, arguing over things not seen.

In a word, nonsense. What worked beautifully on the stage would be meaningless noise to a listener.

Obviously I would have to rewrite the whole thing. But if it wasn’t going to be Thomas’ play any more, then why was I doing it?

—–

Well, that would depend on what Thomas’ play was about. If it was about a bare stage, and silly props, and squabbling children, and how they worked unexpected magic together, then I was out of luck. But was that the point? I didn’t think so. Not even when I was reading his script for the first time.

Thomas’ play was a comedy about a group of children claiming to be a theater troupe. Amateurs who thought they were professionals. Children who thought they were old hands. Serious actors who stopped partway through a play to argue over whether the audience would like it—forgetting that the audience was right there.

It was also about theater. About creating a whole world from next to nothing—with help from the audience’s imagination.

It wasn’t about the stage, or the footlocker, or even the audience as such. If I had to, I could do without all those things.

So I did.

Imagine.

Four children walk onto an empty sound stage, their footsteps echoing off the walls as they argue about whether they should have taken this gig. Suddenly, a Voice from nowhere asks them if they′re ready.

Before they quite get an answer out, the wind begins to whisper in the trees (Wind? Trees?) beside the softly murmuring brook (Brook?).

“How’s that?” says the Sound Effects Man. The Announcer approves, and starts reading the opening credits…

Before the play is over the kids are arguing technicalities with the Announcer, demanding extra sound effects, and pulling (noisy) props from behind trees (“The tree wasn’t there when we came in—how do you know this wasn’t behind it?”)

—–

I had cut Thomas’s play to pieces.

He loved it.

He’d known exactly what was wrong with his play as a radio script, he told me. And I’d done exactly what he’d hoped I would do. What he would′ve done if he’d had time.

And just as I was starting to blush again, he fixed me with a steely gaze and said, “One thing, though. I wrote this for four children. You rewrote it for three.”

“The—ummm, the director asked me to.”

“She did, did she?” His gaze hardened further. “Why?”

“Well—we only have three actors the right age.”

“Being practical. I see.” He shook his head. “Never worry about being practical.”

“Well, I didn’t write Patty OUT of it. I sent her on vacation to Disney World. If we get another kid we can put her back in the sequels…”

“Very practical.”

Sigh.

Terry L. Sanders provides writing, editing, and advisory services to individuals and organizations from his office in Atlanta, Georgia.

Developing a character in screenplay writing is a true talent that all screenplay writers seek to gain control of. Essentially, in a developed character in a screenplay can be defined as a combination of the innate intellectual, emotional, and nervous habits, which are identifiable to viewers.

If you have a character in your screenplay that does not change, it is likely you will leave the audience questioning why did this drama not develop the innate characteristics of the character. Typically, most dramas are centered around characters developing their innate characteristics as things unfold in a play. A good developed character will leave the audience knowing the exact innate characteristics of the character and exactly how the character would react to a series of crucial experiences.

Does this mean that all characters must change? No not exactly, but in most screenplays the foundation is that most characters have qualities and through a set of manifestations of the character change occurs.

Developing a great character is not an easy task. It takes practice and determination. To help there are certain questions you can ask to help you develop you characters when learning answeruniverse.com/screenplay/index.html how to write a screenplay.

1. Does this screenplay get to the surface of the characters nature?

2. Can we make certain aspects of the character appear clever to ourselves and our audience?

3. Is there any mystery involved with the characters innate being and can we bring this out in our writing?

4. Does the character develop positively or negatively as the drama unfolds?

5. At then end of the play does the audience know intimately about the innate characteristics of the

character?

6. Has the character been placed in a number of situations to show his or her innate personality?

7. If a hero is involved in the drama has he been emotionally challenged?

Overall, developing great characters in screenplay writing can be one of the most difficult tasks. But if you study and paint each character and place the character in a number of situations, to show how the characters principal motive force reacts, and what makes the character tick you can leave your audience enjoying a great screenplay.

Visit Jack Harmon’s website to get a free e-mail minicourse on answeruniverse.com/screenplay/minicourse.html how to write a screenplay.

Regrets, white lies and other death defying sins.

I hate that all the brilliant ideas I have at lunch while reading a book on someone else’s ideas are gone when I come and sit at the computer. Confidentially, a pet peeve on mine, is all those really good writers who tell us to write down all those ideas so when we get to the computer we have them handy. Truth is I don’t remember seeing anyone jotting down brilliant ideas at lunch when I’m lunching and reading and wishing I had something to write on. Maybe that is because all the really good writers have been published and now famous and only go to the fancy places that I don’t frequent. Regardless, it is still a pet peeve. I know peeve should not be petted. The very act of petting a peeve is to enhance it’s hold on me. But, there is a since of ownership that is also stroked when you admit you have a pet peeve. And ownership is a good thing, so sometimes I just stoke my pet peeves to prove I’m real.

Sunny waited on me at a recent lunch in Louisiana. It was in the middle of the afternoon. The place was empty. I had to seek to find her in the first place and ask if they were serving. Sunny is tall and thin and black with perfect hair and a smile that is…well sunny, go figure. “Sure” she said. “Where shall I sit?” I said. “Anyplace.” She said.

I picked an empty booth near the front. Of course they were all empty, but I like space and isolation, (I may be a little claustrophobic?) just in case others would flood in and surround my island of retreat in the empty restaurant. Sunny disappeared behind a waiter’s blind for the longest time. I started reading my book and instantly regretted not have a notebook to jot ideas down. Here she comes. All slinky and confident walking like a model with one foot just in front of the other. I was tempted to ask if she was a model, but dismissed that thought. It would sound flirtatious no matter how hard I tried to sound sincere. She was maybe 22 and I’m 102, so if I was to ask such a question would be the guffaw of the wait staff, might even spread to the bartenders or cooks, and I would hear it and instantly know how ridiculous I would feel if it was determined I was flirting with Sunny. I would like to think that I could flirt with her and it would be charming, and for an instant I thought it would really be something if it would be taken seriously. I really only wanted to appear clever. I like clever people. Occasionally I am clever and people notice, but then I go on too long and the cleverness fades.

Sunny’s hair was perfect too. I chalked that up to a wig. A really good wig. If you are going to wear a wig, wear a really good one! She brought water with lemon and a straw before asking. I thought that was clever. I also thought it was a little presumptive because I’m not suppose to have lemon or citrus because of my sensitive stomach that I nearly blew a hole in with gin when I was a lush in the 70’s. She was captivating except I would not be captivated. I wear my Christian shirt everywhere I go, so I know I better not get caught being captivated by a slinky waitress. I guess you could say I wear my Christianity on my sleeve.

I concentrated on being nonchalant as she asked if I wanted something else to drink and she handed me the menu. I did order some sunny-flavored tea. Sunny asked if I needed more time to peruse the one page, one of those cleverly written menus, with stuff like smashed tomatoes and Atkins tri-fecta. I said no, I was ready to order, and she seemed annoyed because she was not in any hurry to do anything. I think she may have been raised in the Bahamas where the only one in a hurry is me when I get there. What she did not know, or care to know, is that I had made my decision before I even came in. They had a menu taped to the window by the door which was a clever idea since it worked. Well, just good business, not really all that clever. Lots of restaurants do that.

Immediately after I ordered I regretted ordering the Atkin’s tri-fecta. Most combos are a mistake, and this one was. Salmon, beef tenderloin, and chicken. Surf and turf and fowl. Nothing would be fresh. I hate when I order something in a hurry and regret it and then too ashamed to admit I want to change my order. That would make a terrible impression on the waitress, and I always want to make a good impression. Ordering the wrong thing is just the same as eating at a restaurant, then walking out of the restaurant and seeing another restaurant you wished you ate at.

When Sunny came slinking back with the lunch my fears were confirmed; this was a bad choice. But, of course when she asked if everything was all right I said something brilliant like, “Oh, just great.” It was not great. It was just, just. Don’t you think the waitresses all know when the meal is great? They must get together behind their little waiters blind and snicker over all the customers who say, Oh it’s great, just great! Most meals are not great. Some are. Some are really great. But most, are just, well just. I never said anything to Sunny about her model like walk or her slow confident manner, or her sunny smile. I knew a crack about a sunny smile would come out trite, so I just sign the credit card bill and wrote “may God bless you dramatically.” I really like that phrase, and hope she did too. It is really clever, and I wanted her to think I was really clever. What if I get to heaven and see Sunny because God does bless her dramatically?

Mac McConnell sold an award winning art gallery to form BibleActor.com devoting full time to scripting and performing one-man Biblical dramas. He gained a world flying speed record and received his black belt in TaeKwon-Do at age 60. His first historical novel, “Forever Changed” is now out on the life of Zacchaeus. BibleActor.com/ BibleActor.com/