Big Writing Mistake Many of You Marketers Are Making

As you would know..the most important thing is to grab attention and relate...that`s what the first example does, so I think it`s ok. Even better than yours. Cheers, and thanks for sharing!

You raise some very good points. I have to keep telling some of my clients the same thing. Everyone seems to be full of self doubt instead of glowing confidence. It's a shame as a positive spin saying the same thing can achieve much greater results.

Depends on your target market and how good a writer you are.

My resource boxes always start with...

"Are you sick and tired of"

or

"Are you fed up with"

And I think you know how profitable my article marketing is.

It's not quite as cut and dried as you'd have us believe. Of course in the
hands of a hack, the negative connotations will pretty much kill any
chances you have of closing the sale, but in the hands of a proficient
master, it can be very effective.

Bottom line: If you don't think you can pull off the "negative" angle, go
with Tiff's suggestions.

Split test to find out what works better for you.

Just my 2 cents on the subject.

You know, I haven't actually thought about it in context like that.

And...Your Right!

I stepped back to read each comment and paid attention to my own reaction to the statements.

I don't like it when you start out on a negetive tone. It feels like you are handing me unsolicited pitty. I don't like to be talked down to and I suspect that others could feel the same.

If your whole intention is to target frustrated, fed up people, then a completely negative-spin with an ending of a solution is one form of marketing, yes.

That's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about marketers who are not using the "are you fed up" angle - just trying to inform, motivate and become a mentor to people looking to learn. Two different audiences.

IE: a Newbie marketer who knows nothing about making a Squidoo lens comes to my blog and reads, "I know you don't have time to make a Squidoo lens, but you can make money blah blah blah"

versus:

"Making a Squidoo lens is quick and easy and can provide a great ROI of the time you spend perfecting your lensmaster skills!"

I've still met the "arguments" the people who've worried about the time are thinking, BUT I've also left out the introduction of that concern to people who may not have even considered it.
tiff

Hey good post Tiff thanks for that.

I mostly agree but have to shamefully admit that the negative headlines you used as examples did more for me than the positive ones!

When I read something like:

"Even if you don't have a good voice, you can join the ranks of those who do live talk radio shows on the net using this easy tutorial."

versus

"You can join the ranks of those who do live talk radio shows on the net using this easy tutorial."

I tend to pay more attention to the first one. I think it's probably because it addresses an issue MOST buyers are going to have, and because it gives the impression it's something different. Chances are they've tried a few guides and found they didn't work and their voice still wasn't good enough etc, but with that headline it appears this product has an innovative solution and a way around that issue.

Similarly, the headline about PPC was better the first time (just for me!) simple because it offers more interest and makes me believe it's something special, even though it could be a run of the mill PPC product. The headline made me feel like you were going to address the issues of losing money and ensure that it wasn't going to happen to me.

Also,

I think fear sells. I personally don't use it often at all. But when I started out I leant towards buying things that made me subconciously feel like I would fail if I didn't buy the product. Things like

"PPC is a DANGEROUS GAME, without this detailed road map, your PPC venture will see you lose thousands"

Are effective to a newbie market. I don't find this tactic particularly honourable or heart-warming but it seems to work! I also understand we're not all targeting a newbie market so maybe this point is wasted completely but I just wanted to throw that in anyway.

ANYWAY

On the whole I do a gree Tiffany. I particularly dislike headlines that insult or demean the customers in any way, and think they should be cut out. And it's usually better to give the reader a good impression of the business they're about to buy into, whatever it may be.

I'm not talking sales copy though - I'm talking regular content like inside the eBook or on a blog post or article. Not headlines for sales copy

They've bought. Now they're looking to you for the answers and you're drilling the negatives into their head. Sorry for the confusion about where it is I'm talking about

Couldn't you read my mind? LOL
tiff

Right Steve - you got what I mean now. Maybe my next writing tip should be, "How to convey your thoughts so people aren't forced to read minds."
lol

Oh!

late night + hangover + attempt at thoughtful post = looking like a complete idiot.

I see, inside the content is a whole differnet kettle of fish indeed. Once they've bought the product you're right, they shouldn't ever feel negative vibes, only inspiration and confidence, which the examples you gave definately included!

Cheers!

Hi Tiffany

I see what you are saying, but surely some of those negative thoughts are how you get people interested in the product. By playing on their emotions. People buy on emotion, not always because they actually need something.

Of course it depends on the market.

Dave

I will take anything to the bank that Tiffany says! I love you Tiffany! It's always refreshing hearing from a professional! Merry Christmas.

Yeah, you should have made it clear that you`re not referring to the sales copy. In the actual content I tend to use exciting and positive words.

How you structure your sentences all depends on your audience. I see
that you have already clarified that you are not refering to copywriting
but I want to show how this applies to copywriting.

Most people are familiar with the tried and true A.I.D.A. formula for
writing copy. What most don't realize is that how you get attention
from your target depends on your readers opinion of your product.

Are they uninformed? favorable? opposed? or apathetic towards your
product or service? Your answer to this question will determine HOW
you get their attention.

For example if the reader is opposed to your product (say using blackhat
methods to get traffic) then you'll get their attention by emphasizing
a common ground you hold with them. In other words you'll AGREE that
blackhat is the 'less than ideal way to go'. Hence, you must be negative.

You'll have to emphasize points of agreement which may mean 'starting
with a negative idea'.

Now if your product is new to your readers then to get attention you'll
have to focus on the basic elements of the problem your product
solves and clarify possible misunderstandings (educate them.)

The bottom line is that you can't always use "positive" statements for
this will only reach the "favorable" section of your potential market.

Still a great topic for discussion though.

-Ray L.,

This IS a good topic of discussion. Starting a sentence with
a negative frame and then writing "BUT" is mostly just poor
communication. It's an over-used construction which bloats
sentences and fiddle-faddles around making a real argument.

Sometimes we start a sentence with a positive frame and then
we qualify it with "if" - also over-used but "ifs" and "buts" are
actually fairly conversational. You won't find the best writers
in print using such muddy English too often. Online with marketing
content we do make some concessions to get the material
outand producing traffic or sales or test results or Google
ranking.

Writing clear, communicative prose is challenging to say the
least. There is always a lot of room for improvement in my
own so I like to read these sorts of things and be reminded.

Yeah, of course it does BUT I gotta justify my degree
in English Lit. somehow.

:p