Imagine you're in a darkened movie theatre watching a suspense thriller, and the scene you are engrossed in shows a beautiful woman walking alone on a dimly lit, shadowy street. The only sound is the rhythmic noise of her shoes against the pavement.
The camera moves in for a closeup of her feet, revealing black fishnet stockings that disappear into stylish, expensive, red shoes. Then, slowly, the camera zooms out, retreating along the street from where she just came. The sound of her footsteps fades as she recedes into the distance.
A scrap of paper comes into view, tumbling over itself. It continues its lazy somersault through the air encouraged by a gentle breeze, then slides along the street until it is abruptly halted, trapped between the pavement and a man's muddy boot. Immediately you realize the woman is being stalked.
Suddenly, from the back of the theatre a loud, authoritative voice shouts: "Fire! Get out!"
What would you do? Would you shrug your shoulders and wait for the movie scene to play out, or would you respond to your survival instinct and get out of there as fast as you could?
The answer is obvious. Those three little words would move you to vacate the theatre immediately because they connected with your natural impulse to avoid danger.
That's the kind of response great copywriting evokes. It uses the right words to reach the audience on an emotional level, then gets them to behave according to the wishes of the writer.
Copywriting is as much technique as it is art, and is perhaps the single most important contributor to a profitable online business.
It is what separates your Web site's promotional copy from the competition's.
It is the riveting subject line that gets your e-mail opened and read.
It is the classified and banner advertisement that people click.
It is the clever business slogan or tag line that everyone associates with you.
Words are powerful tools and can be arranged to impact the reader however you wish. They can be forceful, compelling, subtle, persuasive, instructive or hypnotic. They can lead your reader to a buying decision or turn them away.
When developing promotional copy for your Web site, it helps to include snappy action words, paint pictures, create images and tell stories. Explain how easily your product can solve a user's problem, or save time, or make the job easier. Highlight your product's benefits.
Any writing style can work. Your approach can be serious, funny, whimsical or introspective. And you don't have to be bashful about showing aspects of your personality in your writing. That could help your readers relate to you.
Also, it is always important to write with your reader in mind. Let the nature of your product and the audience you are targeting, guide you on which writing style to use.
If, for example, you were promoting a software application designed to help highly educated college professors manage the dissertations of their doctorate candidates, you could probably elevate your writing style and language to match their academic and intellectual level.
They may find it a turn-on and be more receptive to your message.
On the other hand, if you were trying to interest teenagers in your latest interactive game, your copywriting style should be much more relaxed, informal, and sprinkled with the vocabulary and expressions gamesters use.
Words form the basis of our communication and the way we use them never fails to leave an impression on the reader or listener. That places copywriting high on the list of effective marketing tools currently available.
In today's bustling Internet marketplace, amidst a world of imitators and look-alikes, all it takes for you and your business to stand out in the alphabetic soup of marketing methods, is a little imagination, courage and the right words. With them, you could literally write your way to wealth.
This article is free for republishing
Hermas Haynes is an Internet marketer and Webmaster. He offers an informative and compelling blueprint on how to create and manage your own profitable online business in six simple steps. You can download a free preview at: http://SixFigureProfits.net.
A lot of places around the world call it A Curriculum Vitae, in North
America, it's a Résumé. This is definitely one of the most important tools
that any jobseeker has at their disposal. You may be THE best candidate
for a particular job by a long way, however, if you don't make it to the
interview stages the company will never know.
Many companies (especially the larger corporations) will use computer
software to "read" all the résumé’s and reject any that don't fit a
particular template. This may seem unfair, but it's cost effective.
So, for some jobs you have to beat the computer and still read well
enough for someone who may not have any knowledge of the position you are
applying for. It is definitely worthwhile to adapt your resume for the
position that is advertised. There may well be some of the "buzz" words
the "filter" is looking for mentioned in the job description.
It is very important that you can substantiate all the claims you make,
preferably with physical examples or letters. This will be essential in
any in interview situation.
There is now a wealth of information available online, from books,
local employment offices and with professional writing agencies. You can
also access other people’s résumé’s that are posted online which will give
some great ideas for style and content.
Professional writers may seem the answer, but, all the research I have
done seems to lean away from them. I have never used one and feel that it
will give a good impression if you have written it yourself (this will
display literacy). Apparently, if they are professionally written, they
are easy to spot; however, they may be worth the expense if you are stuck.
You can always "customise" what has been written to make it your own work.
In my case, I had been in the military since I left school and had
never written a resume or had an interview. I spent a lot of time writing,
copying other people’s styles and changing things. I didn't realise how
difficult it is to catch up on 16 years - I'll never allow mine to go out
of date again! I found the hardest part was to actually start writing. The
best advice I was given was to just write anything that you can think of
and it will soon start to flow. With modern word processors it's
relatively quick and easy to cut and paste so you can keep on changing it
until you are happy. More detailed information can be found at
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/resume.html
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