ad box #1
Want a money-making website without all the work? Just read the sales stats from one site last quarter...
- 24 Affiliate checks totaling $2,047.20 in commissions.
- 25 direct sales for $3,725.00 more in profit.
- 240 new sub-affiliates, and multiplying DAILY.
You can get a pre-designed site just like the one generating those stats, if you act quickly...
Click Now!
|
|
Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
Feature ArticleWhat You Can Learn About SEO Copywriting From Infomercials
One day while working in the kitchen, I was half-listening to the TV in the other room. There was a silly informercial on for a double boiler, something that's been around for centuries. However, this infomercial called it a name like "the Chocolate Dream" and was touting the item as the miracle cure for boring desserts. Although I knew this was a commercial for a simple item I already own, I found myself following along with the pitch.
What's the Problem?
The first order of business was to define the reason why I could not live without this miracle appliance. According to the Chocolate Dream infomercial, my family is falling asleep at the table over their pound cake and turning up their noses in disgust at the cookies being offered to them. Life just has no spark, and everything is dim and grey. Heck, the family isn't groomed and they are badly dressed to boot!
What problems do your customers face? Why do they need your product? Often you either have to create demand or enhance demand for what you sell. By pointing out that you understand their problems, you create trust.
What's the Solution?
Why, the Chocolate Dream, of course! With the Chocolate Dream, the lighting is suddenly warm and glowing, the kids have brushed their hair, and Bubba has put a shirt on over that stained undershirt and suddenly looks a lot like Alec Baldwin. The family looks on in delight as they are served chocolate-dipped strawberries, molded chocolate candy, and they nearly explode with happiness as a chocolate fondue appears at the table. Life is again fun and full of promise.
The benefits are what convince people that your product will solve their problem, even if they weren't really aware they had a problem before that point. Notice that we aren't talking yet about how it works, we are merely setting the stage by showing how the problem is solved by this product. It creates a happy family and prevents what's-for-dessert stress.
Is There More?
Of course, there's more! If you order NOW, not only will you get the Chocolate Dream, but you also get this nifty dipping fork set, a fondue pot, fun candy molds, and SO MUCH MORE. Sure, you can buy a double-boiler at any kitchen appliance place, but you you won't get these great extras!
A unique selling proposition strengthens your position with the client and gives them a reason to buy from you instead of anyone else. It also gives them a reason to keep coming back if your product is a frequent purchase.
ad box #2
Planet Ocean UnFair Advantage Book On Winning The Search Engine Wars
The Unfair Advantage Book gives you easy to understand information on practically everything regarding search engine and directory optimization and promotion.
Rated 'Best Publication On Search Engine Marketing' for Three Years Running! Click Here!
|
|
Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
If You Place Your Order Now...
If you want the Chocolate Dream, you need to go get your phone NOW and call, because they aren't sure how many more they can sell at this price,and the free gifts will run out soon.
This is a key point that many many pages of website copy miss.. a call to action. You want to let the customer know how to order and encourage them to place the order now, before they browse any competing websites or forget how to find you. It doesn't have to be as blatant or as cheesy as an infomercial, but make sure there are calls to action throughout your copy.
What is a Chocolate Dream? A Chocolate Dream is...
If you listen to an infomercial, you will notice that they never refer to the product as "it".
The Chocolate Dream will brighten your life, the Chocolate Dream is easy to clean, with the Chocloate Dream,you'll never have to worry about what to have to for dessert again.
Many writers today will tell you if your copy isn't natural or in a conversational style that it's poorly written. However, infomercial copywriters know that repetition is the key to branding and product recall, so they repeat the name as often as possible.
If you are writing a conversational-style piece, or informational copy, it may not make sense to repeat the product name throughout. However, if you are writing copy to sell or increase relevance with the search engines, think infomercial.
You can definitely go overboard with repetition, but keep relevance, branding, and recall in mind when writing sales copy and be sure to use the relevant phrase throughout.
Do you have an article for Web Sm@rts?
Send to Web Sm@rts
Placing your article in Web Sm@rts is a great way to
gain exposure for you and/or your business!
Each article is
published with your name and web site, plus a short 'resource box' at
the end of the article.
|
|
List the Features In the body of the infomercial, there is a list of the features of the Chocolate Dream.
- It's easy to use.
- It's dishwasher safe.
- It works with your existing range.
- It packs together for storage in small places.
- Etc...
Most websites use their features to sell, completely missing the problem/solution demand; the elements that really sell. While the features need to be in the copy, they don't come first. And the more you show the benefits associated with each feature, the more compelling the copy will be.
Who Needs the Chocolate Dream?
It's obvious that the Chocolate Dream is targeting caucasian, American moms. They show Mom slaving over the oven; later she's shown beaming with joy over being able to please her family and clean up quickly. She can also throw impressive parties!
The target audience is also clear from the channel selection- they've chosen to advertise on daytime TV, children's shows, and women's channels.
Does this mean they are alienating single men, grandmothers, or minority dads? NO. They aren't turning down any orders from anyone, however they are focusing their efforts on the demographic most likely to purchase, increasing the effectiveness of their ads and lowering their overall advertising costs.
What do Infomercials Teach Us About Web Copy?
- Define The Problem.
- Deliver Your Solution.
- Explain the Benefits, Not Just the Features.
- Have a USP, or a Reason Your Company is Different.
- Use Calls to Action Liberally Throughout the Copy.
- Repeat the Key Phrases Frequently.
- Target Your Audience for Best Results.
No need to reinvent the wheel; infomercials sell millions of dollars of products a year. The formula works! It can be easily adapted to your website copy, regardless of whether you sell products or services. So don't delay, start writing today!
**************
Scottie Claiborne is the facilitator of the Successful Sites Newsletter. She is a speaker at the Search Engine Strategies conferences and the High Rankings Seminars as well as the administrator of the High Rankings Forum.
**************
As part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality content, we
would like you to take a moment to rate this article on a five point
scale.
|
ad box #3 Make $5000 a Week for Life!
I will Teach you How and I'll do it for Free! Plus, I will give you $100 just for the opportunity to work with you.
www.tradevestor.com
|
|
Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
......................................................................
..........................................
This week's TIP
Status Bar Messages
Have you ever noticed the status bar on your browser?
You know, the strip at the bottom of the window that shows you the
status of current document transfers and connections to remote sites.
Did you know you can code a message to appear in that box in place of
the default on mousing over hyperlinks? This is very easy to do and can
entice the user to click if the right message is used. Here's how it all
works:
<a href="
home.html"
onMouseOver="self.status='Go Home!' ;
return true;">Home</a>
<a href="
page2.html"
onMouseOver="self.status='Go to Page 2' ;
return true;">Home
</a>
Notice the JavaScript I've included within the anchor
tag. This defines the message and targets the URL in question. You can
have as many of these as you have links on your page! Custimize the
fields in red to reflect your own links and
status bar message.
* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *
ad box #4 File Permissions Calculator
Do you, too, experience pain and suffering trying to remember what permission equals which read-write-execute settings? Our File Permissions Calculator makes the pain go away. It's a bargain at only $5.95.
Download Now!
|
|
Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
Second ArticleAdding USB 2.0
The process of adding USB 2.0 ports took no time and the backup system is mighty fast. If you add USB 2.0 ports with a PCI port card, then you'll still have your USB 1.1 ports, so whatever is plugged into those can stay.
Rob Foster from the UK sent me a port PCI USB card since he had a few extras. Thanks again, Rob. When installing hardware or devices, most situations require loading the software FIRST before doing anything else. This one didn't - so be sure to check this out before attempting to put the card in. Before starting the process, be sure you have an open PCI slot , a standard slot that has one big connector with a small one behind it.
Turn off the computer, if it is not already. Take off the CPU case. How this is done depends on the CPU. If you lost or misplaced the manual, I'm sure your computer manufacturer has info online. Google it, if needed. Slide the PCI card into the open PCI slot.
At this point, you can cover up the CPU, but some people leave it off until turning on the computer and checking all is OK. When turning on this little feller, it found the new card right away and worked. I didn't even have to run the software. The card came with four USB ports, one of which holds the backup system. It took under two hours to back up the computer (get size), faster and easier than the tape back up.
Well, it only took a year or so to get around to adding the USB 2.0 ports as that's about how long the back up system has been sitting here taunting me.
**************
Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. Meryl has written for The Dallas Morning News, AbsoluteWrite, O'Reilly, New Riders, and others. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.
**************
Download of the Week |
|
7-Zip is a file archiver with very high compression ratio. Includes a password option. This program is intended for Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP.
Download 7-Zip
|
Comments?
If you'd like to comment on any aspect of this publication, send
an E-mail to
comments@
paradigmwebdesign.net
If you enjoyed The Web Sm@rts Newsletter, forward it to your
friends, family and associates. They'll thank you for it!
Do you know someone who might be interested in receiving
Web Sm@rts?
Recommend us!
NOTE: You have received this message because you or one of
your friends added your name to our list of those who may wish to
receive this newsletter.
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please point your
browser to
http://paradigmwebdesign.net/unsubscribe.html
FYI: Web Sm@rts will never share your E-mail
address or personal information with any other party for any reason
what-so-ever.
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited.
To unsubscribe,
point your browser to
http://paradigmwebdesign.net/unsubscribe.html
|
 Tell them Web Sm@rts referred you! |
Recommended Reading I highly recommend the following E-zines.
ThePortalToSuccessE-Zine
Interactive Marketing Ezine
Looking for free newsletters? Just visit the
EzineXchange, Select the ones of interest and subscribe. It's free!
ezinexchange.com
Find other great e-mail newsletters and Ezines at the
Cumuli Ezine Finder: www.cumuli.com/ezines/
Web
Site and E-zine Promotion for Idiots
Get your copy from PWD and get lots of traffic to your Web Site or E-
zine instantly.
Use Link Crafter to drive more traffic to your
site. Free download from PWD.
lc.exe
Text Tally from
Harmony Hollow software
is a handy text counting utility. Download it free from PWD
Download now
E-Zine Advertising WORKS!
Place your ad in 100s of e-zines like this one. The E-Zine AdSource
Directory is the place to find discount e-zine ad space. Come see!
ezineadsource.com
Tutorials
Elated Webdesign Tips
Javagoodies JavaScript Repository
Website
Abstraction Westciv:
CSS Resources
 
|
Web Sm@rts is a publication of Paradigm Web Design. All
rights reserved. ©2005
'm sorry! You are receiving this on Thanksgiving Day while my intentions were to send it out yesterday. It completely slipped my mind.
ne reason for this slip up is that holidays don't mean as much to me as they do the average person. One day is much like the other to me, be it weekday, weekend or holiday.
he other reason is I was out cutting wood yesterday, all day long. By the time I got in I was so tired I couldn't even think straight and I went right to bed. It never occurred to me that I had an E-zine to publish.
ell I guess you can read this at your leisure whenever you get around to it. In any event I hope you have (or had) a great Thanksgiving.
