Sunday, April 16, 2006
[Internet Marketing Solutions] Attract clients with breakthrough credibility
When you’re in the Internet Marketing world, every piece of writing counts as copy: letters, ezine articles – anything on your website and anything you send to your mailing list. So here’s a quick test. What is the ONE most important, rock-bottom bare minimum quality that will kill your copy faster than a speeding bullet? No, not “boring.” The most important part of your copy is (drum roll) Accuracy. Recently a newsletter I’ll call “New News” noted that the book Freakonomics – a best-seller I read and reviewed last April - includes a chapter on cheating. True. But the newsletter teased us to guess who cheats the most. Teachers and sumo wrestlers, they said. Wrong. Some sumo wrestlers and some teachers have incentives to cheat. For teachers, it’s getting rewarded for student test scores. For sumo wrestlers, it’s more complicated. But do they cheat more than anybody else? Nobody knows. The book just says they both have incentives. Period. A big deal? No. But readers remember your mistakes more than anything else in your ezine, ebook, report, or (I suspect) your wedding toast. I don’t even remember the point of the article about cheating – just the mistake. Be especially suspicious of three kinds of claims: (1) “I read this somewhere...” Check the source (even if you read the book yesterday). And type your quote from the open book, which you keep right next to your word processor. (2) “All” versus “None” For example, you read, “Women are more likely get relationship advice from friends. Men turn to the Internet.” Raise a red flag. Both men and women will differ depending on age, education, income, marital status, geography and more. (3) “Believe it or not...” A few years ago, a self-improvement ezine (citing a best-selling book) claimed that heart transplant patients could take on the donor’s personality. Determined to be open-minded, I raised the question with a cardiologist classmate at my college reunion. “No way!” she exclaimed. “Where did you get that idea? What have they been serving for reunion beverages this year?” “Let’s have another beverage,” I said, changing the subject. Small point? Yes. Unimportant? No. Small points can lead to large losses in credibility and subscribers. But don’t panic if a mistake happens. When you churn out a large volume of writing, you can expect an occasional slip. I once used a metaphor of arranged marriage – and a reader told me I should have referred to forced marriage. At least someone was reading my ezine – and took the trouble to write to me. That’s always great news. And the “New News” publishers have built relationships with readers over the years. We’ll just learn more from them than they intended. Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., helps solo-preneurs, professionals and small businesses build Internet revenues -- without turning themselves into techies or high-powered pushy sales people. 10 Copywriting Tips Inspired by My Cat. Download here. Contact info. |
# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 3:19 PM 
