Do some marketers have tactics that make you hit the delete button - quickly?
Do some of them play the same tricks so often that you no longer read their messages, even if the subject line looks interesting?
I've developed quite a long list now of marketers whose messages I ignore.
I share some of the reasons why on my other blog. Come on over and see if you agree with me - then add your own Marketing Pet Peeves to my list.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
A Deadly Mistake Even Some Copywriters Make
Sometimes, just for fun, it's good to look and see what your competition is doing.
Maybe they have a marketing idea that will spark a new one in your own head - you just never know. It's even a good idea to just browse around and look at sites unrelated to your business, because some of the best ideas come from unusual places.
So, tonight I did a little search for copywriters. It all started with checking to see how my SEO was doing, and making sure I hadn't slipped from page one for any of my primary keywords.
No, I hadn't, but then I decided to see who else was sharing the pages and what they had to offer. One was my friend and fellow copywriter Kay Faulk - but I knew she'd be there.
The very first site I visited broke one of the first rules in copywriting: Remember that it isn't about you. It's about your prospect.
But here, on this "professional's" site, there were 17 paragraphs, two of which began with "My" and ten with "I."
One of the ways to double-check your copy is to use the "find" function in word and search out every "I word" (such as me, we, our, etc.) and count them. Then search out every "you" and "your."
The goal is to end up with either 3 or 4 times more "You" word than you have "I" words.
This rule is so firmly ingrained in most copywriter's heads that it becomes difficult to write an answer when someone asks a question that calls for an answer beginning with "I." It just feels wrong.
The lady does know something about search engine optimization or she wouldn't be on page one of a Google search, but if her client copy is similar to her personal copy, it isn't very good.
Maybe they have a marketing idea that will spark a new one in your own head - you just never know. It's even a good idea to just browse around and look at sites unrelated to your business, because some of the best ideas come from unusual places.
So, tonight I did a little search for copywriters. It all started with checking to see how my SEO was doing, and making sure I hadn't slipped from page one for any of my primary keywords.
No, I hadn't, but then I decided to see who else was sharing the pages and what they had to offer. One was my friend and fellow copywriter Kay Faulk - but I knew she'd be there.
The very first site I visited broke one of the first rules in copywriting: Remember that it isn't about you. It's about your prospect.
But here, on this "professional's" site, there were 17 paragraphs, two of which began with "My" and ten with "I."
One of the ways to double-check your copy is to use the "find" function in word and search out every "I word" (such as me, we, our, etc.) and count them. Then search out every "you" and "your."
The goal is to end up with either 3 or 4 times more "You" word than you have "I" words.
This rule is so firmly ingrained in most copywriter's heads that it becomes difficult to write an answer when someone asks a question that calls for an answer beginning with "I." It just feels wrong.
The lady does know something about search engine optimization or she wouldn't be on page one of a Google search, but if her client copy is similar to her personal copy, it isn't very good.
Who are these hype-masters? And who listens to them?
I don’t know about you, but I am completely put off by these marketers who write things like: “Great Frigging Call!”
Maybe it’s just because I have an aversion to that word (after all - we know the word he WANTED to say), but the hype that goes along with it prompts me to do just one thing: DELETE.
World events and the economy have created a great need for marketers to build something that maybe wasn't so important just a few years ago. That something is trust.
Before we part with our hard-earned money we want some kind of assurance that we're dealing with someone credible. We're tired of being scammed and flim-flammed. Shoot - we get enough of that from our elected officials, we don't need any of it from people in business!
So - in my humble opinion - the hype masters need to clean up their acts. They need to quit being offensive and become trustworthy.
Tell me what you think... because maybe it's just me.
Maybe it’s just because I have an aversion to that word (after all - we know the word he WANTED to say), but the hype that goes along with it prompts me to do just one thing: DELETE.
World events and the economy have created a great need for marketers to build something that maybe wasn't so important just a few years ago. That something is trust.
Before we part with our hard-earned money we want some kind of assurance that we're dealing with someone credible. We're tired of being scammed and flim-flammed. Shoot - we get enough of that from our elected officials, we don't need any of it from people in business!
So - in my humble opinion - the hype masters need to clean up their acts. They need to quit being offensive and become trustworthy.
Tell me what you think... because maybe it's just me.
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