Contest
Superhero Copywriting Tips: “Holy Persuasion, Batman!”
Do you have unique, untapped talents to show the world but find your efforts frustrated, either because you’re an outsider or because your own internal resistance gets in the way?
Would it surprise you to realize that most people self-identify with that description?
At some level, all of us feel alienated — from others, from ourselves, or both. We worry about not living up to our talents, so we gravitate toward things that allow us to feel empowered.
(iPhone 3G, anyone?)
Audiences love superheroes because they dramatize these psychological conflicts in exaggerated, symbolic glory. Superheroes are not only uniquely talented but uniquely broken; their very talent is what alienates them from the same society they struggle to help with their superpowers.
The emotional resonance generated by this formula – even more than their over-the-top action sequences – is the real secret to superhero-sized success at the box office, with 7 of the top 20 biggest movie openings belong to superhero flicks. And with Ironman, we’re starting to see even the less popular comic book heroes transform into smash hits — a superhero plot in itself.
So my advice is simple: Borrow these same elements to magnetize your copy and draw popular readership. Speak to the inner superhero in them. Here’s how…
The Three Essential Traits of Superhero Web Copy:
- Superheroes are outsiders – learn to see like an outsider, to appeal to the outsider, and to give other outsiders an insider’s insight into your area of expertise. You don’t think all those “for Dummies” books succeeded by freak accident, do you? Provide readers a free pass to cross daunting knowledge barriers and they’ll feel like they’ve just been given the ability to fly.
- Superheroes want to overcome limitations, their “brokenness”, and use their “freakish” gifts productively. Learn to appeal to one or both of these needs in your audience, either by showing readers how to overcome their own personal “suck factors” or by helping them use their natural talents to thwart evil. (43 Folders does an incredible job at the former, and Creating Passionate Users remains a perfect example of the latter.)
- Superheroes’ motives are bound to the greater good. Ensure that your copy is directed toward the good of your readers. Remember, they should be the hero within the drama unfolded by your copy. In a way, self-centered copywriters and selfish bloggers behave like super-villains who try to game the system. But in the end, “we-we” copy never really wins.
Do these three things and your copy will draw enough fans to make even Spider-Man jealous.
To Be Continued…
If you liked this post, join me over the next few weeks for a technique-driven, step-by-step look at how to turn your company’s hidden superpowers into web copy that performs wonders.
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About the Author: Jeff Sexton is a Persuasion Architect at FutureNow, Inc. Yes, that’s his real title and, yes, his superpowers can be harnessed to persuade speeding visitors to take action.
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Written by:Jeff Sexton
Win Tickets to the IMC Mobile Marketing Conference
If you’ll be in New York City on June 4th — or looking for an excuse to visit — here’s your chance.
The IMC Mobile Marketing conference, in addition to offering a 20% discount to all GrokDotCom readers (click here for details), is letting us give away three free tickets to their event.
How To Enter
All you need to do is leave a question — not a comment — below that addresses a common or interesting concern about mobile marketing.
Be specific. The more detail you give, the better our chances of giving you a clear answer.
The three most interesting questions (according to Bryan and me) win. It’s that simple!
Who Should Enter
Anyone reading this who wants to learn more about mobile marketing; especially those who read GrokDotCom often but don’t comment. We’re setting one of the free tickets aside for a first-time commenter, so don’t be shy!
Why You Should Bother
Because EVERYONE’S questions will be answered. That’s right. Even if you don’t win, we will have mobile marketing experts (from the conference and others) answer your questions. Besides, your odds of winning free tickets are pretty darn good.
How You’ll Know if You’ve Won
We will email you. We’ll also announce the winners next Monday in a new post.
Good luck, and may the best questions win!
UPDATE: Thanks for the great questions, everyone! The winners have been announced. So, if you have already left a question below, we will get your question answered in upcoming posts as soon as possible.
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Editor’s Note: Happening in the same hotel, the two days prior, June 2nd and 3rd respectively, FutureNow’s Persuasive Online Copywriting and Call to Action seminars give you even more profitable excuses to visit New York.
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Hyperlink Contest: “And the Winners Are… “
In the week since we announced the “My Hyperlink Can Beat Your Hyperlink” contest, many of you have been kind — and brave — enough to share your online challenges with the rest of the class. On behalf of our friends at Copyblogger & SEOmoz, and the entire Future Now team, we thank all of you who entered. There were some great entries, and the response on each blog was fantastic. (We’ll spare you the old “We wish we could pick each and every one of you” routine, but it’s true.)
So, without further ado, let’s meet our winners! Judges Brian Clark, Rand Fishkin, and Bryan Eisenberg have hand-picked the following businesses to have a call to action link tested and optimized on their landing pages:
LogoDesignWorks
Mobal
Real Estate Genius
Think Student Loans
White Canyon Software
Alrighty, then. Time for the real work to begin! We’ll be back in a few weeks to share the results of our tests.
[We’ll be in touch with the winners via email ASAP to schedule testing, which we hope to begin early next week.]
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Written by:Robert Gorell
The “My Hyperlink Can Beat Your Hyperlink” Contest (Winners just announced… )
GrokDotCom’s got a lot of nerve when it comes to testing links. We told you — ever so subtly — to stop being a “more on.” Then we questioned the value of using generic calls to action (e.g, “click here“). Sure, we’ve shared our formula for writing persuasive links, but that doesn’t excuse flaunting our clients’ landing page optimization results. So, we’d like to make it up to you. It’s your turn to put the experts to the test.
With the help of our esteemed colleagues, Copyblogger Brian Clark & SEOmoz founder Rand Fishkin, five winners will have a single link tested on the landing page of their choice. The goal is simple. We want to show how words alone can make a big impact on conversion, and to help you make more money online. The contest is free. Anyone, in any industry, can enter.
Here’s how it works…
- Just comment on this post or the ones like it at Copyblogger and SEOmoz, linking us to the landing page you want tested and telling us why you should win.
- Judges Brian Clark, Rand Fishkin & Bryan Eisenberg will choose 5 winners.
- To be eligible, contestants must have clear metrics and analytics in place, the ability to test (Google Website Optimizer is free, so no excuses), and the willingness to implement our suggestions.
- Contestants must have enough traffic to yield valid test results.
- For each of our winners, the judges will select a single link to be tested, then agree on three variations of that call to action (a.k.a., anchor link).
Don’t be shy. We usually charge for this stuff. Besides, we’re not perfect. Look at all these contest titles the Grok team already burned through:
Contest: Verbal V i @ g r a for Impotent LinksThe “My Hyperlinks Were 98 lb Weaklings” ContestContent: “Click Here” vs.”Click Where?”The “Can Your Hyperlink Do This Contest?” ContestBragging Rights for Great Hyperlink Writers
So, if you have a better suggestion for a title, or would actually like to enter the contest, let’s hear it in the comments…
UPDATE: Regarding traffic, we’re looking for landing pages with 2,000 visitors per day, but we’ll consider pages with 1,000+ visitors per day.
[Winners will be announced Thursday, October 11th. Results and analysis of the winners’ hyperlink tests will be posted a few weeks later. We’re shooting for October 31st — Halloween.]
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Written by:Robert Gorell
Boost Your Ads: A 3-Step Challenge (Not for the Meek)
1) Become “intelligent”. Measure the current number of people you persuade to take the action you derive revenue from, not merely those you attract. Do you convert 10% or better?
2) Hold yourself accountable. Stop whining about the rising costs of media, the ineffectiveness of channels, and pining for more results; it won’t get you what you seek. If you convert 5%, what happens to the other 95%?
3) Do something about it. Get up off your @ss and stop interrupting your audience with boring, average, sensational crap they didn’t ask for. They want what they want. They’re out there actively searching for, and truly craving, an experience that’s relevant, engaging and anticipates their concerns. Why can’t they get that from you?
If it were easy, more people would be doing it… like your competition.
Carpe diem. There’s an opportunity while it’s still yours to seize.
Take Roy’s advice and rethink what you leave out of your messaging.
Take Jeffrey’s advice and rewrite your calls to action.
Take Bryan’s advice and rethink what you test and how you test it.
Take my advice and reconsider your audience and their angle of approach.
Take Jeff’s advice and rewrite your online copy.
Take Holly’s advice and rethink how you approach female customers.
Those are six actionable pieces of advice among the many powerful voices here. Combine them with the powerful voices in your organization, KAPOW, dynamite.
Here’s the challenge: I’d love to hear what works (and what didn’t) in the comments below. But what I’d love even more are people posting on their own blogs, offering the approach they took to putting one of these pieces of advice into action. Be sure to trackback ping to this post, so we can all share in the learning.
What’s in it for you? How’s a free copy of Waiting For Your Cat to Bark grab you, for starters? The bounty for the best effort: a seat to a Future Now training. Persuasive Online Copywriting is coming up, but this free seat would be good for any of our trainings in the next 12 months.
We’ll give you two weeks to chronicle your efforts before picking a winner.
Best of luck…
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Written by:Howard Kaplan
Non-Profits: Win a Free Pass to “Call to Action” Seminar
Does your non-profit website stink? Are you tired of worrying that your site’s scaring away potential donors, patrons, and volunteers? We can help.
If you work at a non-profit and have some — ANY — control over its web strategy, tell us below why you should join us for next week’s Call to Action seminar.
Non-Profits contact us all the time to see about fixing their online strategy, but it’s usually tough for them to get the support of board members, web developers, or any combination of people, places and things that get in the way of making a difference online.
Your site is always up. It’s not just a brochure; it tells your story. Besides, why should business folk always have the best websites? You do good work! Tell us about it….
If you’re in New York next week and wish to learn directly from bestselling authors Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg, you should enter.
[Editor’s note: If you’d like to be discreet, leave out your homepage address and just enter your name, email, and story below. We’ll email you directly if you’ve won. There’s only one free pass available, so don’t sleep on it!]
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Written by:The Grok
