Archive for the ‘Copywriting Tips’ Category

Twitterific Article or More Twitter Shorthand

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

This quote has been attributed to Hemingway, Cicero, Voltaire, Mark Twain, and Blaise Pascal. But whoever wrote, “If I had more time, I’d have written you a shorter letter” understood it’s more challenging to write short copy than long copy. This has never been more true than with the phenomenon of Twitter at www.Twitter.com.
Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that works kind of like instant messaging. You choose who you Follow or allow in your inner circle. Others choose to Follow or Unfollow you based on whatever criteria they have. Then you communicate via text messages of up to 140 characters long (including punctuation and names) called Tweets.
Think of it as a giant cocktail party where you contribute to other conversations, share relevant information, and at times include mindless babble. As my good friend, Scott Stratten www.twitter.com/unmarketing Tweets, “Take 5 mins to read other tweets and comment/reply/retweet. Nothing about you. Build, interact, give.”
Sometimes keeping your Tweets under the character limit can be tough, though. So I put together a list of some of the more shorthand so you can work in as many words as possible in your Tweets.

· Instead of ‘you’ use ‘u’
· Instead of ‘and’ use ‘&’
· Instead of ‘your’ use ‘ur’
· Instead of ‘for’ use ‘4’
· Instead of ‘to’ or ‘too’ use ‘2’
· Instead of ‘before’ use ‘b4’
· Instead of ‘favorite’ use ‘fave’
· Instead of ‘great’ use ‘gr8’
· Instead of ‘later’ use ‘l8r’
· Instead of ‘people’ use ‘peeps’ or ‘ppl’
· Instead of ‘are’ use ‘r’
· Instead of ‘please’ use ‘plz’
· Instead of ‘thanks’ use ‘thx’
· Instead of ‘with’ use ‘w’
· Can it be a contraction? Instead of ‘I will do __’ use ‘I’ll do __’
· Do you really need that pronoun? Instead of ‘I hope __’ use ‘Hope __’
· Get rid of ‘that’ and ‘the’ whenever possible

Of course what you choose to Tweet about is even more important than the length of your Tweet. If you want to learn how to use Twitter to build your list sign up for my class *Social Media Strategies to Build Your Community, Expand Your Brand & Connect With Your Target Market* I’ll be giving a full disclosure presentation. It starts March 10, 2010, Wednesday, 1pm PT/4pm ET for 4 consecutive Wednesdays. There are other details to share so I invite you to visit www.RedHotSocial.com now and see if this is a fit for you.

Now go out and Rule the World, baby!

Warmly,

Lo

CAN BLOGGING BE A DAMAGING PASTTIME?

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

I was recently at an amazing event where I witnessed hundreds of attendees (mostly women) with their thrilling breakthroughs . . .both in and out of the room.
Nevertheless, this event has been getting a TON of backlash for some very different personal reasons. Reasons I don’t think are fair to publicly declare with names. But that’s just ME.
Here’s what I think is cool and totally support . . .

1) Getting your own personal growth out of an experience and sharing it with others;

2) Being respectful of other people while speaking *your truth*;

3) Sharing perceived flaws about your experience and things you think should change . . .

My perception is we never really outgrow our childish ways but build our *adultness* on top of them. In other words, we tend to justify why we feel certain ways. Hey . . . it’s biology and survival . . . I get it . . . but when it’s unnecessarily hurtful to others I feel the need to respond.

Most of us aim to be more evolved yet we often get caught up in our emotional selves (me included, by the way). I see the immediacy of the Internet and blogs and tweeting to sometimes be detrimental. What do YOU think?

Tiny Tweaks in Copy Help Your Conversion Rates

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

I love doing Copy Makeovers. Really, I do. They get me giddy when I see all the possibilities of sculpting so-so copy into powerhouse works of art!

Only MEMBERS are eligible for free Copy Makeovers like this one for Dr. Cindy Brown.

20 Random Pieces of Take Away Advice from John Carlton’s Hot Seat Seminar

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

This month I was able to once again be part of the faculty for my copywriting mentor, John Carlton. He held a Hot Seat Seminar in San Francisco with ‘civilians’ and other copywriters. As always, I came home with tons of notes for myself! (It’s kinda funny how watching other people’s hot seats can give you ideas about your own business…even MORE SO than when you’re on the actual hot seat!)

As usual, I was the only female on the faculty. Being ‘one of the guys’ while keeping my female perspective was incredibly empowering. I got the privilege of reinforcing exactly WHY *The She Factor* Marketing System exists. Yup…things are changing and guys DO THINK DIFFERENTLY.

1. Find 10 business models you like and adapt your model to that. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

2. Visit where your target market hangs out and see what language they type in to find each other. These words are priceless keywords you need to know.

3. Follow people in your industry on Twitter. Find out who is following them by visiting their profiles. Follow those people.

4. Become a merciless capitalist. (Yes, a dude thought pattern but since women still seem to be paid less in most marketplaces, something to consider.)

5. Non de plume. Take yourself out of the day-to-day details and focus on your gifts. In other words…DELEGATE and OUTSOURCE. www.AssistU.com, www.Guru.com, www.ELance.com, www.ODesk.com, www.MySunday.com, www.RentACoder.com

6. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is jungle-level psychology brought to current society.

7. No more free info. You deserve to be paid for your expertise.

8. Use www.itunesu.com to upload content.

9. Google has an external keyword tool that’s free and pretty good.

10. “When all else fails, give them what they want.” Gary Halbert

11. “If you can’t give it away you can’t sell it.” Mike Morgan

12. 1000 click throughs in a pay per click ad is a good sample of how well your ad is performing.

13. Applause equals money. If you’re doing it right, you’re getting paid or ‘applauded.’

14. Don’t worry about the words when you start writing copy. Just worry about the MESSAGE. How would you explain what you do to the average Joe in a bar? Your message should be an ‘urgent whisper in a crowded room’ not a hypey sales pitch.

15. Don’t worry about being too simple or basic. Always cover EVERYTHING in your copy, even if you think they know it. Nothing is worse than leaving something out because you think they know it…and then to be wrong.

16. Good marketing has enormous amounts of theatre.

17. Need to make $2,093 every day for a year to be a millionaire.

18. Social media is all about inappropriate sharing.

19. David Garfinkel, Harlan Kilstein, Kevin Rogers, Mike Morgan, Stan Dahl, Mark Landstrom, and Ben Hart are flat out geniuses. Thanks for letting me stay in the boys club.

20. Billy Bob Thornton said, “Some folks call it a Kaiser blade. I call it a sling blade” in the movie Sling Blade regardless of John Carlton’s misguided attempt to pin it on the other mental patient. Thanks for the $20!

Me w/ my copywriting bro, David Garfinkel My copywriting bro, David Garfinkel

Harlan Kilstein, the hat critiquer… Harlan Kilstein, the hat critiquer…

Stan Dahl’s shiny head with Carlton Stan Dahl’s shiny head and Carlton watching the Oscars

Kevin Rogers on his bday Kevin Rogers on his bday

Ben Mack, The Morganizer, Lisa Manyon
Ben Mack, The Morganizer, Lisa Manyon

Ben Mack w his lovely wife, Wanda Ben Harte with his gorgeous wife, Wanda

At any rate it was an amazing ride complete with top-notch learning and hard-core fun! If you were there and have something TASTEFUL to add please comment. Or if you have other things to share and weren’t there, by all means let’s hear it!

Warmly,
Lorrie

P.S. I still can’t believe a ‘Real Doll’ is over $6,500 or that I now know more than I ever wanted to about one…

This is a test for *The She Factor*

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Just want to see how long this post takes. It’s 3:17pm.

Love,
LoMo

Technology Blues Lifted: John Carlton Copywriting Video Online!

Monday, October 20th, 2008

Remember I was giving you the sad news about my rockin’ webinar critique with John Carlton being lost in cyber space this morning?

Apparently the gods were smiling because, my Seattle-based, computer-whiz mentee, Toolie Garner, happened to be in town. After a little groveling on my end, she offered to make a HOUSE CALL to help me fix the file and show me some other computer shortcuts.

Toolie used to work for Microsoft. Yeah – she knows her stuff.

Toolie to the RESCUE!!!

So she came here to my home office and figured that mess out. She literally resurrected the video from cyberspace so it actually works. Then she showed me how to upload it to this page, www.redhotcopy.com/redhotsimple.

(She’s so good at explaining things, I think I could probably do it again without her help.)

Not only do you hear his amazing ideas for MY COPY, but you’ll be inspired to use some of his methods on your own stuff.
Now it’s on you to watch, listen, and learn John Carlton’s . . .

  • 17 copywriting system checklist (where was this 8 years ago when I was starting?);
  • His take on online video (this actually surprised me);
  • A no-fail method to break through writer’s block (there’s no writer’s block – only non-writer’s fear);
  • Insider tricks to digging deep in the beginning research (taking care of this part is probably the most important piece to great copy);
  • What he’s learned from music that applies to copy (he’s been a rock ‘n roll guitar player since he was a young lad);
  • His ever-changing moods (yeah, we got into some personal stuff too);
  • And tons more! (It’s really, really good.)

    Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. His ideas were priceless. The only way to really improve is to be open to new things.

    P.S. By the way, he’s taking down the other superstar videos from his site TOMORROW, October 21, 2008 at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern when he officially launches his *Simple Writing System* course. I promise you, it’s the best free education you’re going to get on copywriting over the next 24 hours. (Oops – a little less than 24 hours.) Visit www.RedHotSimple.com NOW and get to watchin’ and learnin’.

    What you can learn about using video for promotion!

    Friday, October 17th, 2008


    It’s arrived! The testimonial reel from *The She Factor* private party. You’ll hear some of my favorite marketing secrets revealed about 30 seconds into it. NICE!

    What would you ask?

    Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

    One of my earlier copywriting mentors was John Carlton. I learned a ton from him and credit him with much of my copywriting chops today. (He’s also funny as hell.)

    I’ve been to many of his copywriting seminars and he never fails to blow me away with content. (Often he’ll have me as a special guest representing the female point of view which honors me to no end.)

    Well, if you’ve been watching his tweets and blog posts you know he has something BIG coming up. (I actually got a sneak preview as well as an invite to…hey, wait a minute! I’m not spilling the beans yet!)

    What I WILL say is he and I are doing a call on copywriting VERY SOON…but I need your help. It’s an interview and I would love some new, interesting questions to ask him about copywriting. Got any ideas? If you do, just leave ‘em here in the comments section along with your website (extra exposure for YOU).

    I REALLY appreciate your help on this one.

    Thanks in advance!

    Lorrie

    How Non-Profits Can Thrive in Today’s Economy

    Sunday, October 12th, 2008

    I’m so honored to have been interviewed by George Williams about marketing to women in the non-profit sector. I mean, the truth is when you change your marketing to appeal to women, your business is obviously going to ramp up. I know you’ve heard the standard stats about women making 85% of the purchasing decisions and so on.
    There is not a business out there that couldn’t be improved with some of these very lessons…

    Read our interview here:
    http://snipurl.com/nonprofitwomen

    Warmly,
    Lorrie

    Lo’s TOP 50 COOLEST Marketers

    Friday, October 10th, 2008

    Hi,

    I know already I’m gonna be ruffling some feathers and getting thank you cards from others but I was asked by the attendees of my Beta *The She Factor* Private Party last week to pull together a list of my top cool people. There are definitely many other cool people. I’m not denying that. But these are the people I’ve learned from and wouldn’t mind hanging out on a desert island if I HAD to. If you didn’t make it, I’m sorry. This is a limited list obviously which I’m sure will change over time as I branch into new markets. (I never stop trying to learn and I hope you don’t either.)

    In no particular order other than their overall category, I present my TOP 50 COOLEST list:

    Copywriting
    1. John Carlton, http://www.john-carlton.com
    2. Gary Halbert, http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com
    3. Joe Vitale, http://www.mrfire.com
    4. Joseph Sugarman, http://www.psychologicaltriggers.com
    5. Yanik Silver, http://www.surefiremarketing.com
    6. Michel Fortin, http://www.michelfortin.com
    7. Ray Edwards, http://www.rayedwards.com
    8. Lisa Manyon, http://www.writeoncreative.com
    9. Melani Ward, http://www.melaniward.com
    10. Michele Pariza Wacek, http://www.copywritingusa.com

    Marketing
    1. Dan Kennedy, http://www.dankennedy.com
    2. Alexandria Brown, http://www.alexandriabrown.com
    3. Michael Port, http://www.michaelport.com
    4. James Roche. http://www.infoproductguy.com
    5. Alex Mandossian, http://www.alexmandossian.com
    6. Rich Schefren, http://www.strategicprofits.com
    7. Perry Marshall, http://www.perrymarshall.com
    8. Joe Polish, http://www.piranhamarketing.con
    9. Corey Rudl (now run by Derek Gehl), http://www.marketingtips.com
    10. Melanie Strick, http://www.successconnections.com
    11. Jim Edwards, http://www.igottatellyou.com
    12. Armand Morin, http://www.armandmorin.com
    13. Tom Antion, http://www.antion.com

    No Pressure Sales
    1. Ari Galper, http://www.unlockthegame.com
    2. Kim Duke, http://www.thesalesdivas.com
    3. Lisa Sasevich, http://www.theinvisibleclose.com
    4. Scott Stratten, http://www.un-marketing.com

    Social Networking
    1. Nancy Marmolejo, http://www.vivavisability.com
    2. Mari Smith, http://www.marismith.com
    3. Sandy Grason, http://www.sandygrason.com
    4. Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman http://www.blogsquad.biz
    5. Willie Crawford, http://www.williecrawford.com
    6. Jody Colvard, http://www.fmgnetwork.com
    7. Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, http://www.thewealthspa.com
    8. Viki Viertel, http://www.digitalbuddhastudios.com

    Geniuses
    1. John Reese, http://www.income.com
    2. Mark Joyner, http://www.simpleology.com/
    3. Eben Pagan, http://www.doubleyourdating.com
    4. Jeff Walker, http://www.sixinseven.com
    5. Mike Filsaime, http://www.mikefilsaime.com

    Spiritual Marketing
    1. Fabienne Fredrickson, http://www.clientattraction.com
    2. Baeth Davis, http://www.handanalyst.com
    3. Marie Forleo, http://www.marieforleo.com
    4. Christina Merkley, http://www.shiftitcoach.com
    5. Abraham, http://www.abraham-hicks.com
    6. Bonnie Hutchinson, http://www.soulpower.com

    Selling to Women
    1. Martha Barletta, http://www.trendsight.com
    2. Allison Armstrong, http://www.understandmen.com
    3. Mary Lou Quinlan, http://www.justaskawoman.com
    4. Tom Peters, http://www.tompeters.com