World Copywriting Blog

Two tips to make your life easier; both are about road maps on the path to success

I haven't posted for a while because I was in San Diego last week.  Three exciting meetings - one with PR geniuses Randall Blaum and David Scotland; one with a prospective client; and one with business partners Audri and Jim Lanford.  We'd promoted a very successful ebook together and I'd never met them in person.  Such the realities of the virtual lifestyle.

Anyway... Jim Lanford told me about a great new Web mapping service I had been looking for but didn't really know existed and certainly didn't know where to find: Google Maps.  It's better than Mapquest because you can zoom in and out on the map and scroll around much more easily.

Check it out:  http://maps.google.com

Good for U.S. and Canada only at this time.

Second tip:  I just read in the New York Times today that Beverly Sills, the opera soprano everyone who loves opera loves (I don't like opera but I revere success, and Beverly Sills certainly embodies that) -- well, she's retiring at age 75.

What I found fascinating is a little tidbit about the start of her career.  We often tend to assume that anyone who is successful was always that way.

But a sidebar to the main article pointed out that she auditioned seven times for the New York City Opera in 1955 before she was accepted.

Think about that.  Six "failures" before she succeeded.

Both of these tips apply importantly to copywriting, by the way.  As you become a successful copywriter, you'll end up going to strange and unfamiliar places, like Rancho Bernardo, and you'll need driving directions.  Hence, Google Maps.

And, you simply must learn to accept failure as part and parcel of success.  Looks like a few "no's" didn't slow down Beverly Sills.  Nor should it slow down you.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

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Four Copywriting Rules That Can Improve Just About Any Copywriter's Work

I am sitting in the presence of greatness -- the essence of the mind and spirit of Ernest Hemingway.

This blog's Executive Contributor, Jim Van Wyck, recently sent me Hemingway's first style sheet: rules for writing that he was given as a cub reporter at the Kansas City Star.

Here are the rules:

1. Use short sentences.

2. Use short first paragraphs.

3. Use vigorous English.

4. Be positive, not negative.

These rules could also serve as a very valuable checklist, after you've written.

Said Hemmingway about this list: "the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing."

I suspect my friend and colleague Peter Stone would emphatically recommend these rules as well.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Decision in Silicon Valley Court: Bloggers Can't Hide Behind Shield Laws In Apple New Product Case

The judge in an early stage of Apple vs. bloggers has made a decision.  Before I get to it, let me draw a simple analogy for you.

Let's say you have a very popular restaurant, and its claim to fame is special recipes that it guards like the gold in Fort Knox.  Call the restaurant Cafe di Perugia. It could be in a strip mall in any upscale suburb in America... but wait, let's put it between San Jose and Palo Alto on El Camino Real, the Main Street of Silicon Valley.

So some enterprising writer decides to tell the world about these recipes, and he cultivates a relationship with someone in the restaurant.  One day, he gets a fax with the latest recipes.  He publishes them.

Now I don't care if this writer works for The New York Times, CNN, The Palo Alto Weekly, The National Enquirer, or Hot Eats and Tasty Treats Blog -- this guy deserves no protection in the legal system as to the identity of his source.

Why?  Because he has essentially shared stolen property -- proprietary recipes -- with the world.  That's not journalism.  That's abject, mean-spirited (or clueless) stupidity.

Now... stay with me... just down the road on old El Camino is a chain restaurant, The Train Wreck Trattoria.  Mr. Cruges Flynnskint, Chief Customer Dissatisfaction Officer, has decided to rotate the hours the refrigeration is turned on for perishable foods.

This, of course, is a cost-cutting measure, to reduce electricity bills by a few dollars a month.  "Drops straight to the bottom line," Mr. F brags to his bewildered staff.

Drops straight to the Emergency Room is more like it, but anyway, 1-2 am, refrigeration on.  2-3 am, refrigeration off.  Pretty soon perishable food starts to look a little like a science experiment.  And customers start dropping like flies as food poisoning sets in.

A worried employee goes to a writer with a copy of the memo explaining the new timers that will turn the refrigeration on and off.  The writer checks around and confirms that this is really happening.  He reports it.

It doesn't matter if this writer works for Hot Eats and Tasty Treats Blog, a restaurant trade magazine, The Wall Street Journal or Gourmet Magazine.  This writer deserves protection under journalistic shield laws.  For damned sure.

Why?  Because this writer is publishing information in the public interest.  Like, you know, to keep people from getting sick or getting killed.

The first writer is disclosing proprietary trade secrets with no public interest motive in mind -- no viable one, anyway.  The first writer is practicing a very sophisticated form of thievery.

With that analogy in mind, I'd like to put the World Copywriting Blog stamp of approval, for what it's worth, on Judge James P. Kleinberg's decision today not to grant shield law protection to the bloggers who published Apple's new product description before Apple announced it to the world.

In other words, the bloggers don't get to hide the names of their sources, under the law.

ZDnet.com reported:

The information about Apple's unreleased products "is stolen property, just as any physical item, such as a laptop computer containing the same information on its hard drive (or not) would be," the judge wrote. "The bottom line is there is no exception or exemption in either the (Uniform Trade Secrets Act) or the Penal Code for journalists--however defined--or anyone else."

And ZDnet also reported:

"The public has had, and continues to have, a profound interest in gossip about Apple," the judge ruled. "Therefore, it is not surprising that hundreds of thousands of 'hits' on a Web site about Apple have and will happen. But an interested public is not the same as the public interest."

I added the italics to the last sentence.  Great distinction, Your Honor.  Seriously.

The judge also courageously, and wisely, refused to define whether bloggers are journalists.  You might think he chickened out, but I disagree with you and I support him on that move.  It's a big question, and it's 100% irrelevant in this aspect of this case.

Because whether or not bloggers are journalists, they were not in a position to take advantage of the California's Shield Law -- anymore than a very creative burglar who broke into someone's store and stole some merchandise would be able to claim immunity from prosecution under the First Amendment freedom of speech provision by claiming that taking the merchandise was "act of free speech."

Theft is theft.  C'mon, guys.

In the process of writing about this case, which admittedly has nothing really to do with copywriting but is very interesting to me nonetheless, I've decided that bloggers are journalists of a sort.  And are probably entitled to a lot more rights and protections than we are currently recognized for.

But with rights come responsibilities, and, even more important, the necessity for making intelligent distinctions.  If you can't figure out the difference between stealing someone's formula for a secret blend of herbs and spices, versus warning the world about a true public health hazard, then maybe you'd ought to ease up on the disclosure part of your writing.  Until you know the difference.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Thanks to Executive Contributor Jim Van Wyck for alerting me to news of the court decision today.

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Ad Spending Is Growing Twice As Fast As The Economy, and Internet Ad Spending Is Growing More Than Twice As Fast As Ad Spending As A Whole

Advertising on the Internet is a force to be reckoned with, and we have some juicy new statistics showing why it is important now more than ever to be proficient in your Internet copywriting.

Consultancy TNS Media Intelligence reports that advertising as a whole jumped up just shy of 10% -- to $141 billion -- from 2003 to 2004.

Internet advertising grew 21.4%, climbing from $6.1 billion to $7.4 billion.

For every dollar going into Internet ads, three are going into Network TV and a little more than three are going into local Newspapers.

The compelling thing about Internet advertising is that every dollar can be tracked for sales and profit effectiveness, if the advertiser is so inclined.

Tracking, anyone?

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Local Politician Creates Quite A Stir As He Bypasses Newspaper And Goes Directly To Constituents With A Blog

San Francisco, the city where so many interesting things start.  No, I'm not talking about gay marriage and psychedelic drugs (although I could be).

I'm talking about -- blue jeans (Levi's), credit cards (BankAmericard), personal computers (Silicon Valley, just a short drive to the South), and now... citizen-direct copywriting.

Politicians using blogs are nothing new, but I think there's something noteworthy going on with San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly's blog.  He's lobbying his constituents on an issue that, he claims, the local newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle, has a biased position on: city taxes, and the city budget.

The details are too boring to go into here, but I predict this will be a trend to watch.  Unlike most media critics, Daly is not to the right but rather moderately (for this town) to the left.

Check out his blog and this coverage of his blog (including the fairly laughable assertion that the "Public picks up tab for Daly blog."  Do you have any idea how many mills -- that's hundreds of a cent -- the bandwith Daly's blog eating up is coming out of the public trough?  Not many.)

The Chronicle's implication is that he's costing taxpayer dollars... but... does the pointing finger point back at the accuser?

David Garfinkel
Publisher of the as-of-yet, non-controversial
World Copywriting Newsletter

The Power Of A Good Offer

Everybody knows that a winning headline can double or triple the response of a piece of copy.  Bullet points can also add richly to your bottom line.

But there's one thing most people are tragically hazy on:

The difference a great OFFER can make in your response, sales and profits.

That's because most people don't really know what a good offer is, or how to put one together.

It's tricky, for sure.  There's no magic bullet that will create an offer for you, or make your offer better.

But once you see some examples of the different kinds of offers that have vastly increased sales, you're well on your way to recognizing opportunities with your own copy and putting together much more profitable offers yourself.

WHAT AN OFFER IS:

It's what your prospect sees -- the way you put together your promise.  It's what your prospect gets -- the package of benefits, tangible and intangible, that your prospect receives.

At the end of the day, your offer is what makes a positive impression on your prospect and makes them want to buy from you.

SOMETIMES YOUR OFFER IS IN YOUR PAYMENT TERMS:

Recently I received an email from an info-products entrepreneur.  He was launching a new course, over one hundred dollars in price.

His offer was that he would sell it for $1 for 30 days, and at the end of 30 days he would bill your credit card for the balance, if you decided to keep it.

He sent several more emails stating that people were going crazy buying his product.

Another example:  Copywriter Gary Halbert tells the story of a large infomercial company that hired him to increase sales on one of their products.

The only change he suggested was to let the customer have the product without paying for 30 days, and let them return it within that time for a full refund if they weren't happy.

The result?  Sales DOUBLED.  The refund rate did not increase.

Of course, profits far more than doubled, because the cost of the infomercial stayed the same, so the profit margin on all the additional sales was much higher.

SOMETIMES YOUR OFFER IS IN YOUR PRICE:

One online subscription service I know charges $30 a month.  After a lot of testing, they settled on letting people try their service for $1 for the first
seven days.

Why is this so effective?  Because it's a lot easier to pay $1 than to pay $30.

And if you like the service, then $30 a month is not a lot to pay.

SOMETIMES YOUR OFFER IS IN YOUR BONUSES:

Jim Edwards and I published an ebook a couple of years ago, and we're still selling several copies every day.  It's called "eBook Secrets Exposed" -- about
the marketing of ebooks.

http://www.ebooksecretsexposed.com

The product itself is pretty impressive, but then we added five bonuses, each of which we could have sold separately -- for a lot more than the price of the ebook.

And after people buy the ebook, we send them a series of additional, unadvertised bonuses.  All with real value.

I've had people tell me it was the bonuses that got them to buy -- even though the information in the main ebook itself was what they wanted in the first place.

A personal experience:

I recently bought a tablet computer from Toshiba. As part of the package, Toshiba offered me an Epson color printer that, after a mail-in rebate, ended up being absolutely free.

I already have two HP printers (including one color printer) that I'm perfectly happy with.

Do I need another printer?

No way.

But did the free printer as a bonus seal the deal for me?

Yes.

And have I even hooked it up yet?

Uh... no. <g>

SEE HOW OFFERS WORK?

There's no absolute rule, but there's a general rule.  You have to figure out what it is that removes all the barriers to buying from your prospect's mind.

All of the examples I gave you successfully did so. Not just in theory, but in practice.  In the marketplace. As measured by sales.

Here's a foolproof way to come up with your winning offer.

Answer the question: What's going to make the customer most comfortable buying...

... and increase their desire to a fever pitch...

... and bring that "I'll get this one of these days" feeling out of the vague, distant future and into the immediate RIGHT NOW?

Your answer to that question will show you what your best offer is.

Now stay tuned... Because early next week I am going to demonstrate everything I just told you  by making you an amazing offer that many readers will simply look at, but 19 people will act on.

The very best way to make sure you see the offer I'm going to make next week is to subscribe right now to my World Copywriting Newsletter by clicking here.

Have a great weekend,

Cheers,
David Garfinkel

Copywriters, Beware: Here is the Biggest Missed Marketing Opportunity in Business. You can do something about it

I just got "The Raphel Report" (free email newsletter) today from retailing guru Murray Raphel.  He tells about his policy when he ran a retail store and someone brought something they had bought back to the store.

He trained his staff to say,

"Thank you for your return.  Just tell us what you want... and the answer is 'yes.'"

Now admittedly this won't work verbatim in every business.  If it did, hey, I could buy a pack of AA batteries at Best Buy and trade it in for a $10,000 plasma TV.  Nice deal!

Not too likely to happen.

But Murray goes on in his newsletter to reel off a list of the most amazing, restrictive, customer-unfriendly return policies from big national chains like Target, Radio Shack and J.C. Penney.

Then he shows how smart mail order companies are bucking the trend and winning over customers.

One example: L.L. Bean, who promises its customers: “... 100% satisfaction in every way. Return anything purchased from us at any time if it proves otherwise. We do not want you to have anything from L.L.Bean that isn’t completely satisfactory.”

Raphel's excellent newsletter points out that other businesses are prospering wildly -- not just because of liberal return policies, but because they make it easy to do business with them.

A lot of this boils down to the words you say in your copy.  Show people how safe it is to do business with you and how easy it will be to deal with you if and when a problem arises, and watch your business grow... grow... grow!

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Some straight talk about blogging and the question "Are Bloggers Journalists?" ... And The Question Of Who Has The Right To Write What?

This one ain't about copywriting.  It's about journalism, and blogging.

And I'm writing it because I have this opportunity to.  If you're looking for copywriting nuggets, look forward or backward on the blog.  I'm pissed about something that's going on and I want to get it off my chest.

There's a court case in Silicon Valley right now that will come to a head later this week.  It has to do with three bloggers who reported some proprietary information about a new product under development at Apple Computer.

I'm writing today as a blogger and as a former traditional journalist.  I've got the creds.  I was San Francisco Bureau Chief for McGraw-Hill's World News network.  I've been published by The New York Times News Service, The Los Angeles Times, a Business Week spinoff magazine, and hundreds of other mainstream print publications.

I even studied for a year in the graduate program as a famous journalism school which by contract I may not name, because I snuck in the back door as an unofficial student.  It was located somewhere between the Upper West Side of New York and Westchester County.

I mention this because I really know the rules of the game, circa 1980.  I don't know what the rules are now, but I have an opinion -- and here it is.

If you're going to play by journalistic rules, you need to play by all of them -- not just the ones that suit your fancy.  I left journalism -- traditional, big, corporate journalism, that is -- in 1985 because I didn't like the rules.

The bloggers who spilled Apple's corporate secrets onto the World Wide Web are asking for protection under the concept of journalists not having to disclose their sources, such as the protection provided by California's Shield Law.

Apple is suing to find out who's the source of the information -- the leak -- that damaged its competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Now one of the rules -- which is already under challenge in other parts of the media world -- is that journalists can protect their sources, along the same line of thinking that attorneys and their clients have an attorney-client privilege and what is said in confidence, stays in confidence.

There are other rules and principles that come into play here.  The most important one is that this whole privilege for journalists was based on the concept of The Fifth Estate -- that, in effect, journalism was a separate branch of government, representing the interests of the people by performing a watchdog function to expose and prevent abuses of power.

Underneath that was the concept of the public interest: What would be of interest to the public in protecting them from abuses and injustices against them by those who governed them?

While ideals and reality do not often intersect, this matrix of concepts, principles and rules makes sense, in and of itself. 

If a senator is voting for a law that favors the agribusiness industry, and a disgruntled assistant leaks to the press that the senator secretly owns several million dollars worth of stock in an agribusiness company that will benefit mightily, at the expense of farmers or its agribusiness competitors -- then this concept is serving the public interest in all likelihood.

But let's look at Apple Computer.  It ranks 301 in the Fortune 500.  Fewer than 10% of the personal computers out there are Apples.  iPods are a big deal these days, but new products Apple is developing hardly threaten or otherwise affect the public interest one way or another, say, the way a major development at Wal-Mart (which is top of the Fortune list) would.

Then there are the issues of journalistic responsibility, practices and constraints.  Don't get me started. 

But I wonder, in order to take advantage of shield laws, should bloggers not also be required to fact-check the way the big boys do... observe the rules about libel and slander, and understand the working definition... give those mentioned in any possible damaging way the opportunity to respond, in the same article... and so on?

I don't want to do that kind of work myself anymore, so I don't.  But I would never have the cavalier reckless disregard of the Big Picture to try to portray tattle-taling, malicious gossip, or gratuitious disclosure of trade secrets as "journalism."

Others see it differently.  That's why they have their own blogs.

It will be very interesting to see what Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg decides this week in Apple's Lawsuit, regarding the anonymity of sources.  Not just whether or not he grants shield protection to the bloggers, but his reasons for his decision.

Who knows?  I'm so passionate about this issue that maybe I'll go off topic again.

David Garfinkel
Publisher
World Copywriting Newsletter