“If Oprah uses it, it must be amazing.”

Now, you may disagree with that statement, but there’s no arguing with the sales boosts and success that Oprah’s “Favorite Things Show” routinely bestows upon her selected items. And while this falls more nearly under the principle of appeal to authority than social proof, the mental shortcut involved is largely the same — it’s what Chip and Dan Heath coined the “Sinatra Test.”

When Frank crooned, “If I can make it there, I’m gonna…

...continue to read "Sinatra and Social Proof: Rethinking the 4th Deadly Claim"

“Words schmords. What’s so important about words? Images — that’s where it’s at. It’s all about the images, right?”

I hear that often. And yes, images are important. Very important. But don’t write off the word (no pun intended). Words change entire battles (see also: “withdrawal date” and “surrender date”). Which is easier to support, “affirmative action” or “racial preference”? Politicians understand the power of words. Marketers are also taking notice.

Look at word choice in products. “Oil of Olay” dropped the…

...continue to read "Are Your Words Saying What You Want Them To?"

What’s the real cause of your online visitors’ anxiety?

Answer that and you’ll take the first step toward invigorating your Web copy instead and ignoring weak claims like “easy to use.” Because “easy to use” isn’t so much a claim as it is an assurance, you can’t strengthen it until you know which fear you’re facing.

Visitor fears generally fall into two categories:

1.) They doubt their abilities. For instance, a fear created by a product that allows them to do things…

...continue to read "The 7 Deadly Claims (Part 2) — “Easy to Use”"

On January 14th & 15th, the Future Now team will be in Orlando, Florida, hosting two of our most popular marketing optimization seminars:

Persuasive Online Copywriting seminar & workshop — Led by two of our most popular writers, Holly Buchanan and Jeff Sexton. Learn how to write persuasive that speaks to each of your market segments. Not only for copywriters, past attendees in this class include C-level execs, marketing directors, entrepreneurs, and others who just want to improve their online communication skills. Call…

...continue to read "Two Great Seminars, One Great Location"

To those who missed the first lesson, how nice of you to join us…

Isn’t this stuff easier now that the Web’s getting smarter? With a subject like copywriting, there are so many smart people out there, sharing so much information, faster than ever, that it’s important to study all the different ways writers can harness and leverage that power.

That’s what these online writing techniques can do. They’ll help you persuade; to share your ideas and promote your agenda in a…

...continue to read "Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet — Part 2"

Blues icon B.B. King was once asked how he found his heart-warming, bone-chilling sound. “It’s simple,” he said. “I only steal from the best.”

After publishing more than 2 million words — online and print — we’re convinced that King was right. To become a good writer, one must first be a studious reader. (How else will you know whom to steal, er, borrow from?) So, in that spirit, we’ve compiled a list of some of GrokDotCom’s favorite Web copy resources…

...continue to read "Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet"

Since writing on “about us” pages a few months back, I’ve received several inquiries like this one:

Thank you for a very valuable information on the “About Us” page, good examples.

How about new companies or companies that are being created? Customers are skeptical to engage with new companies. What would be your advice in terms of what is the best content to put in it, what to highlight, if you do not have history and you are staring from the “garage” location?

What…

...continue to read "How Start-Ups Can Build Effective “About Us” Pages"

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…

...continue to read "The “My Hyperlink Can Beat Your Hyperlink” Contest (Winners just announced… )"

My last piece began with jargon-filled marketing copy and ended with clear, customer-focused copy. The problem was that the “clear” copy lacked a strong core message. My promised solution was to compensate for weaker messaging through stronger emotion. This article is where that happens.

Notice I said compensate; not “overcome” or “fix”. A powerful message with mediocre copy beats a weak message with world-class copy any day. But — and this is a big one — if nobody in your market has…

...continue to read "“You Ain’t All That!” — A Marketing Copy Autopsy, Part 2"

“Unless you are a genius, it is best to aim at being intelligible” –Anthony Hope

If you don’t have much to say — or if you DO have something important to say but it’s the same thing everyone else is saying and you have no real way of differentiating yourself — the way out is to NOT obscure the message in jargon or ego/company-centric posturing. The way out is to clothe your message in emotion, and arrogance doesn’t sell.

Most companies have…

...continue to read "“You Ain’t All That!” — A Marketing Copy Autopsy"