12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Does "Take" mean "Steal"?

by Elmer Hurlstone
9 replies
Earlier today a friend asked my opinion of a possible title for a product he's developing.

His proposed title is, "How To Take...". (I left out the content specific part of the title for obvious reasons.) My gut reaction to the title was negative. I immediately, in the context, equated "take" with "steal".

He told me others had done the same.

Now, to be perfectly clear, this guy is not a thief and does not advocate theft or dishonest practice of any type.

As reason for my opinion I reminded him of the major controversy that arose two or three years ago when a fairly well known marketer used the word "stealer" in a product title. That the product was about performing and utilizing competitive research to better position your sites seemed to be irrelevant. Eventually the fellow had to change the offending word to "swiper", which, for some reason unbeknown to me, people were more willing to accept.

Titles are majorly important. How many people would have gone to see a movie titled, "The Off and On Relationship of Harry and Sally"? We'll never know. But, we do know millions have seen "When Harry Met Sally".

Now, to you, does "Take" mean "Steal"? What would be your initial impression of a title for a marketing product beginning with, "How to Take..."?

Elmer
#“steal” #“take” #“steal” #“take”
  • Profile picture of the author GoogleWarrior
    Well sir,
    First you would need to read his WSO or his article. And then you would know whether or not he means, "STEAL."

    -"Take the First Spot on Google"
    - "Take his number one spot away!"

    You really need to give us more info... thanks.





    Learn how you can become a GOOGLE WARRIOR!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2387969].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
    Elmer, without an ending, I don't have any feelings on it at all - negative or positive. The ending could change that.

    Tina
    Signature
    Discover how to have fabulous, engaging content with
    Fast & Easy Content Creation
    ***Especially if you don't have enough time, money, or just plain HATE writing***
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2387970].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
    How To Take Great Photo's would be fine, but How To Take Your Friends Spouse might not be ok.
    Signature

    Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -Winston Churchill

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2388026].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    Elmer isn't asking about what you would think about such a title AFTER you read it, but what your feelings about the title, and title only, would be.

    I'm quite sure Elmer is talking about the type of title where 'take' would be used in a near-synonymous way with 'steal'.

    I have no idea what the title was, but here are a few examples that spring to mind:

    How to Take Your Competitor's Affiliate Earnings
    vs.
    How to Steal Your Competitor's Affiliate Earnings

    How to Take Free Cable TV
    vs.
    How to Steal Free Cable TV

    How to Take Images from Websites
    vs.
    How to Steal Images from Websites

    How to Take Content from the Best News Sites
    vs.
    How to Steal Content from the Best News Sites

    Okay, I will admit that none of those are great, but hopefully it's what Elmer was after. Assuming I'm correct, I would say that 'take' and 'steal' are synonymous enough for me to not buy any of them.

    Some people may be able to see nuances there, but I don't; at least not in the examples I came up with.

    That being said, a few words at the end of the titles would make all the difference, such as:

    How to Take Content from the Best News Sites and Have Them Thank You for It

    No problem there. Perhaps your friend could do something like that.

    All the best,
    Michael
    Signature

    "Ich bin en fuego!"
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2388397].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Elmer, would the word "capture" be a good replacement for those other words?

      Or does adding the word "control" after "take" (take control) fit any better?

      ~Bill
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2388480].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Elmer Hurlstone
        Originally Posted by Bill Farnham View Post

        Elmer, would the word "capture" be a good replacement for those other words?

        Or does adding the word "control" after "take" (take control) fit any better?

        ~Bill
        Interesting ideas, Bill. I wish I had seen your post prior to my last post.

        I sent him the link to this thread but have no idea if he's seen it yet. Perhaps something here may assist him in getting to a solution.

        Elmer
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2388503].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Elmer Hurlstone
      Thanks for all the replies.

      I wish I could provide the complete title, but it would be inappropriate.

      Suffice it to say it isn't something as innocuous as, 'How to take great pictures', or as seemingly vile as, 'How to take your friend's spouse'. Nor is it, based on my limited knowledge, a procedure that, after reading it, a reasonable person would construe as stealing.

      It is marketing related and deals with technique.

      My friend's contention is a controversial title may be helpful in rising above the background noise in the IM arena.

      Elmer
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2388492].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author warner444
    Hi

    Elmer just filled me in on the conversation. The title idea was
    "How to take your competitors backlinks" Use of words can mean everything.

    this is done through research and use of tools but the competitors still have all their backlinks so nothing is stolen. Then you have to do the work to gain the links, I have of course spell that all out in how to steps.

    Of course there is the whole issue of products about backlinks in WSO's, I read the rule # 7 there, and this would not violate any TOS and does not use automated link building tools. I asked them in a PM and am waiting reply.

    The value of this method is to gain higher quality backlinks and links from places you would otherwise never find. I see a lot of marketers building links that are of very low quality. They will kind of work but often at best get the site into the low page one unless it is very long tail. The other important part is time. One high PR link from an actual trusted authority is worth hundreds, maybe thousands, of low PR blog comment and forum links so it can save a lot of time.

    One compelling example is: A while back I was listening to Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz.org telling this story how he was at a question panel some SEO conference and this guy stood up and asked the panel "why am I not getting any search placement for my keywords when I have over 1000 backlinks", Matt Cutts from Google was one of the panelists, he took a minute to look into his laptop, then told the guy "Google sees 3 backlinks to your site"

    Personally I don't like wasting time doing work that has zero result.

    I do have a question, and will appreciate any feedback. Do you think there is a market for this information?
    Signature
    Warm Regards, - Warner Carter Twitter ~ Facebook ~
    ~ SEO Consultation Services~~~~Guest Blogging Service > Done For You
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2391066].message }}

Trending Topics