Does Your Copy Look Fake To the Search Engines?
December 28, 2006
From the early days of search engine optimization, keywords and content have always been vital to achieving your goals. Starting back in the days when we used to shove every slightly relevant keyword into our Meta tags, it has been obvious that search engines love text. The more advanced the engines have gotten over the years, the more complex and sophisticated many writers have gotten with their search engine copywriting.
Supposed formulas, saturation levels, and other mysterious concoctions have been developed to help us outsmart the engines. However, what we should have been doing all along was writing for the visitor first and the engines second. Why? Because creating a site that’s loved by visitors is a prime factor in linking, ranking, and marketing as a whole. As the engines make great strides with more personalized and efficient searches (such as semantic search) natural search engine optimization writing is even more important.
Rather than just indexing the copy on your site, engines are learning to “understand” what a page is about. The ironic thing is, as the search engines get more complex the “formula” for SEO copywriting is actually getting more simple.
Write Naturally
Sense of Place
December 28, 2006
What is Sense of Place? It’s the image of a scene’s environment evoked by the writing. The author becomes an artist; the book page is the canvas, sentences and phrasing are the brushes; words give color.
This element of a story is something most readers look for. They want to feel as if they are in the scene. Sense of place is vital to fact and fiction.
Some writers overuse adjectives with the mistaken belief that this will offer sense of place. But saying “the elegant house” isn’t enough. That abstraction has little substance. “The well-landscaped house set on a knoll overseeing the valley” might say more.
Another attempt is to list things.
"Brenda looked around. The room had a brass coffee table, and a bright sofa flanked by two Queen Anne chairs. Three prints were on one wall, with the sheer curtains hanging at the wide window. Two ornate candlesticks set on the fireplace mantle."
Brenda has become a camera, with no emotion attached to the description. How about this:
Freelancing Doesnt Mean Writing For Free. Does it?
December 27, 2006
Writer’s forums are bustling with debate over whether or not a writer should send something out for free. Some people feel that writing for free weakens the market for other writers, while some people feel that writing is an art that should be shared freely.
I personally chose freelance writing as an actual calling. I aim to do something I absolutely love to do while getting paid for it. I spend a lot of money on research materials, computer software, books, ink, and other writing tools. I also spend a good deal of time simply researching my markets. I would hope to get a decent compensation, especially when what I am writing might help some other chap make money.
With that said, I do write for free at times. I’m doing it right now. This article that you are reading isn’t going to be added as a clip to any résumé of mine, but it is a simple promotional tool. It promotes me as a writer. Invariably, there are several good reasons to write for free, though there are a couple of good ones not to write for free. Below is a small list of reasons to do so.
Re-evaluating The Purpose Of An E-Zine
December 27, 2006
With all of the push these days to publish an E-Zine as an online marketer, deciding whether to accept articles and paid advertising is becoming nothing more than a quick second thought. As E-Zines are increasingly turning into mere tools to generating sales, people are turning more to pre-written content. Are E- Zines loosing their aire of freshness as an outlet for true discussion?
I personally subscribe to numerous E-Zines just to see what others are writing about. Most simply circulate the same articles written by a chosen few without writing any original content themselves. Coming up with clean fresh ideas truly takes work, but don’t you owe it to your subscribers?
Times are busy and life is rushing by. People simply do not have the time to sit and read every article, commentary, or advertisement that passes their eyes. As the commercial marketplace becomes increasingly saturated with hype after hype, people are developing a keen sense about worthwhile
I like to think of my weekly E-Zine issue as a get together with your closest friends over coffee, wine, a beer, or whatever they wish to entertain. Would you repeat the identical conversation week after week?
Got Lingo? The Terminology Of Marketing With Articles
December 27, 2006
Every field or discipline has its own specialized vocabulary and marketing with articles is no different. Understanding and using the lingo of marketing with articles will help you get the most out of this brilliant technique. Continue reading below for a set of terms and definitions for marketing with articles.
Article Announcement Newsgroups/Lists - E-mail lists that accept article submissions from subscribers. Some newsgroups only accept articles in one narrowly defined topic while others will accept any topic.
Article Directory/Archive - A web site that accepts article submissions in a large variety of topics and organizes them by category. A few of these sites require you to pay to have your article archived on site.
Autoresponder - An e-mail message that is sent automatically when an email is received to the email account address. It is also used by authors in automatically delivering properly formatted text article submissions to editors.
Bibliography - A list of web sites, books and articles referenced in an article or publication.
Byline/Resource Box - A four or five line biography and contact information for the author of an article.
Write Your Way To A Better Brain
December 26, 2006
Boost Brain Power Through Writing
Have you ever noticed what happens to an idea once you express it? Just talking about it or writing it down causes you to clarify it in your own mind. How can you use this to increase your brain power? Start writing.
By putting thoughts into words, you are telling yourself the logic behind what you think, feel, or only partly understand. Often, explaining a thought is the process of understanding. In other words, you boost your brain power by exercising your “explain power.”
Try this experiment. Explain how you’ll improve your brain function, even if you have no idea how right now. Just start with anything, and create an explanation. For example, start with “I’ll learn chess,” or “I’ll read an article on the mind every week.” Explain how that will help. You’ll be surprized how often this becomes a workable plan, and if you actually do this, you’ll have a better understanding of your brain twenty minutes from now.
Another benefit of writing is that it helps you remember. Many, if not most, highly productive people are always taking notes. You can try keeping it all in your head, but if you keep a journal of your ideas the next time you’re working on a big project, you’ll probably have more success.
The Number One Copywriting Technique That Makes Your Prospects Read Every Word You Write
December 26, 2006
How does this sound?
Today, I’m going to show you how to get a fifteen page sales letter read from beginning to end and keep your prospect magnetized to *every* paragraph along the way. Impossible?
The real magic behind these magnetic sales letters is not some mystical skill or secret formula but rather a simple copywriting concept that has been around longer than most of us have been alive. It’s one of the Grand Secrets behind copy that gets read?and that means your pitch has been delivered? and that’s how sales happen!
Fortunately for you and me, the concept I’m referring to is almost a long-lost art among new copywriters. (And that’s a darn shame? because it’s so easy to use, once you take the time to learn the details.) So, what am I referring to?
The good ol’ "Bucket Brigade".
Listen, every great copywriter employs this technique - either knowingly or unknowingly - to get their long sales letter copy read from start to finish.
The Self-indulgent Writier
December 26, 2006
A writer can never be self indulgent whether writing fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. If one writes only to please one’s self, the likelihood of publication becomes remote. Editors and agents will become aware of such an author quickly and dismiss such writing with a brief rejection slip. Although self-gratification is always a part of one’s writing, it should not be the most significant motive for writing. The reader, and not the writer, is and should be the most important reason for publication.
For writing to be significant it must be honest and thoughtful. If the author is frank and pensive, it is sure to connect with the reader because it has the reader in mind at all times. This is true of novels, short stories, essays, articles, as well as poetry. Poets seem to acquire this empathy with their readers more than do other writers although some poets write only for self-gratification and catharsis and not for publication, but if such is the case then that writing is an avocation and not a vocation. All forms of writing must connect with the reader if one is to seek publication.
Important Points of Fiction
December 25, 2006
Fiction manuscripts receive feedback that addresses and scores:
ˇ The theme of the book
ˇ Character development and depth
ˇ Plot and story line resolution
ˇ Pace and setting of the story
ˇ The effective use of dialog
ˇ The appropriateness of the tense and point of view
ˇ How compelling the book will be in the marketplace
ˇ Spelling, grammar, punctuation and much more!
The theme or premise of a novel is important because it sets the stage for the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the climax. Is it a story of love, jealousy, ambition, adventure, of triumph or failure? These themes, as well as many others must be considered and decided upon by the fiction writer.
Coming from the design of the tale are the characters and their development. Protagonists and antagonists live because they produce the conflict that gives tension and stress, for without these elements no story exists. Important is a fully rounded character with vices as well as virtues. Protagonists must have qualities that we relate to, but antagonists must also have traits that are decent yet not exceeding their failings.
7 Benefits Of Using Newsletter Templates
December 25, 2006
1. Time saver. To get going make a quick visit to http://www.free-newslettertemplates.com/newsletter_templates.html and grab some templates for free. You could then have a basic newsletter ready to send in no more then 10-15 minutes. The template will work as a guide, saving you up to hours of work.
2. The obvious format issue. Use the same template when sending your newsletters and they will look the same. Newsletters that change the format, look and internal order of sections and content, tend to confuse the reader.
3. Acceptance. The reader will be easier to make into a reader if the content is presented in a formatted and easy to read manner.
4. Once accepted and read, will you increase your conversion rate when selling. And the number of people reading ads in your newsletter (if you use ads).
5. Imagination and creativity. When you open a text editor and begin your work with the next issue of your newsletter will you notice that a blank page stops you dead cold in your creative work. You will have to decide how to begin, what to write and so on. This robs you of important time and momentum you could have channelled into actually writing content.
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