COPYWRITING SECRETS OF THE MASTERS - Brian Clark

Copywriting Articles by:

Brian Clark

This special report is brought to you free courtesy of
www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com


Brian Clark is the founder of the popular and highly respected blog
www.copyblogger.com

Over the years, we’ve been fortunate that people say a lot of nice things about
Copyblogger and Brian:

 Advertising Age ranks Copyblogger as a top marketing blog in its Power150
list.

 The Guardian named Copyblogger one of the world’s 50 most powerful
blogs.

 Brian Clark was ranked #3 of the 100 Most Influential Online Marketers of
2009.

 Technorati says Copyblogger is one of the most popular blogs in the world.

 The editors of Performancing named Brian Clark the most influential blogger
of 2007.

 BusinessWeek says entrepreneurs should follow Copyblogger on Twitter.

 Dunn and Bradstreet says Brian Clark is one of the most influential people
in small business on Twitter

Brian has been featured in the following books:

 Linchpin by Seth Godin

 Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin

 Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith

 Internet Marketing From the Real Experts (Contributor)

 The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott

 Free Agent Nation by Daniel Pink


 Problogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

 e-Riches 2.0 by Scott Fox

 Gravitational Marketing by Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller

 Career Renegade by Jonathan Fields

 The Referral Engine by John Jantsch



Brian will be sharing his expertise with participants at the AWAI Fast Track to
Success Bootcamp and Job Fair which will be taking place on October 26 – 29th
2011 in Delray Beach. At Bootcamp Brian will teach you proven content
marketing strategies before showing you how to use them with your clients to
further increase your value — and your fees! Click here to find out more.


Storytelling for Entrepreneurs

The key to truly connecting with anyone, online or off, is a good story. Stories are
the foundation of good business, great romances, and inspirational living.
The essence of a compelling story is an unwavering focus on the reader. Forget
what you want, what's in it for them?
It's an entrepreneur's job to tell people a story they want to hear.
Here's an interesting story, courtesy of Anecdotage.com:
During eBay's rapid rise, the company nurtured a quaint rumor about its origins,
claiming that founder Pierre Omidyar had created the site in 1995 so that his
fiancee could trade Pez candy dispensers with other collectors.
Alas, the Pez myth, it was later revealed, had been fabricated by eBay's public-
relations director in 1997 to generate buzz about the site.
It's up to you whether your story is a complete fabrication. I tend to lean
aggressively toward complete honesty, delivered in a creative fashion. Ethics
aside, these days people will call you out at the first opportunity.
And it won't be pretty.
No matter what, you must have a story that people want to hear, and then you've
got to live that story. In that regard, eBay CEO Meg Whitman was often


photographed with Pez collections and had more than 100 dispensers displayed in
the lobby at eBay headquarters, despite the fact that the company origin was a
fairy tale.
Are you ready to become a storyteller?

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Traffic Building With Blogs Takes Persistence

There's no doubt that you can build big traffic with a blog.
It just takes a wee bit more work than it used to.
Not long ago, you could post a picture of your cat on a Friday and get attention.
Bloggers still love to link, but as any environment becomes more crowded, people
become more discriminating. After all, a link is a form of personal
recommendation, and it says something about both ends of the hypertext.
You may work hard on an article or resource that you're just positive will spread
like wildfire, and yet hear nothing but lonely crickets chirping upon release. Not
even a measly comment.
Bummer . . . back to the drawing board.
As she left the theater following the Forrest Gump premiere in 1994, Sharon
Stone was dismayed to see that the paparazzi had failed to notice her. She
returned to the theater and tried again.
Again they failed to notice her...
Finally, on her third attempt, she was noticed, and pestered, as planned.
Source: Anecdotage
Just keep at it. Put your audience first with everything you write, and success will
come.
Creating blog posts that go viral is actually a process, not a single event. You're
building relationships that result from showing up, day after day, giving your
readers the best you've got. Sometimes it just takes a while to get noticed, but
the time invested is still likely a better value than advertising.
So stick with it and it will pay off.

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Link Building With Publicity Stunts

Link baiting with web content can really just come down to the good old fashioned
publicity stunt.
When properly planned, targeted, and executed, publicity sought for publicity's
sake can be an incredible force. It can turn an idea into a business and give a
fading star a fresh chance to brave the media glare.

From Howard's Stern's Union Square give-away of 500 free satellite radios to
commemorate his switch to Sirius, to the Britney and Madonna kiss at the MTV
Music Awards, to the Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction," publicity stunts
create attention.

But stunts are hard to control, and sometimes the after-effects can be mixed or
downright nasty. Here's an example of an engineered maneuver that had the
exact opposite effect from what was intended.

Elvis Presley laid the groundwork for the modern celebrity publicity stunt by
joining the U.S. Army on March 24, 1958. It wasn't his stunt, though. Despite the
lack of a war, he was drafted for a two year tour of duty in Germany until he was
honorably discharged in 1960.

Presley's peacetime draft was a conservative political move to protect the country
from the corrupting influence of his music, and it had exactly the opposite effect.
Here's how Alan Levy's book Operation Elvis describes the move:
By pretending he was just like anybody else, the Army had demonstrated to the
world The Importance of Being Elvis.

Thanks to a political miscalculation, Elvis became more famous than ever, and
publicists ever since have worked this angle to amplify the importance of being
[insert celebrity client name here]. The irony is, before leaving for Germany, Elvis
had already agreed to make nearly ten years of really bad movies, which would
help send his career -- all decked out in bejeweled white jumpsuits -- on a one-
way trip to Vegas.


What can Elvis teach you about link building?

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Building Traffic With Free Resources

Seems like everyone is coming up with outrageous stuff that acts as "link bait"
these days. Building traffic depends on attracting links, but sometimes going too
far can backfire.

A slow and steady (but much less risky) way to catch people's attention online is
to provide good value at no charge, without necessarily trying to make it into a
media circus.

When Howard Stern gave away 500 free satellite radios to commemorate his
switch to Sirius, he did (naturally) create a lot of media attention. But he also
gave away something of value (a satellite radio) that was extremely relevant to
his ultimate goal (recipients could now hear Howard's new show, provided they
subscribed to Sirius).

Online, graphic designers give away templates, programmers give away plug-ins,
and writers give away compelling words. All in exchange for traffic and attention.

You'd think "free" would be an automatic lock. But online, nearly everything is
free.

We're drowning in free.

In the early days of the web, a free e-book or other gratis resource would almost
automatically garner you plenty of viral propagation via email forwards.

Now days, free still works, but it must be something very good, and very
relevant. You'll also find you need to "sell" your free giveaway almost as if you
were charging money!


Remember, links are the gold of the web, but getting someone to pay attention
carries a cost to both parties as well. Make your resource worthy of attention, but
also make your case for why it's worthy.

Copywriting techniques can help you sell your "free" resource in a crowded online
world of free stuff.

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Link Building With Blogs

It's been said time and time again that links are the currency of the web. Without
links, your odds of achieving significant online traffic (either from other websites
or search engines) without big ad bucks are slim to none.

Without links, no one knows you exist online. The Technorati search engine ranks
the popularity of blogs by the number of incoming links. And Google's search
engine algorithm thinks you're more important when you have links aimed at you
from important people.

It's not enough anymore to just get people talking... they need to be linking. It's
more important these days that they spell your URL right, rather than your name.

It can be awfully lonely on the web when no one stops by.
If you're trying to do business online, lonely equals poor. Whether you're selling
products, services or advertising, you need visitors who not only stop by, but
return again and again.

First of all, you'd better be blogging. You've got to join the conversation and have
something valuable to say before anyone will bother acknowledging you.

In the excellent business blogging book Naked Conversations, authors Robert
Scoble and Shel Israel envision a day when a business that doesn't blog will be
viewed with suspicion by the public. Blog marketing has been dismissed as fad


and reviled as fanciful, but the denial stage is over, and everyone is getting in on
the action.
Want to build links? Get yourself a blog and join the conversation.

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Building Traffic the Smart Way: Why Not All Traffic is Created
Equally

We all need traffic. And because smart blogging tends to attract links, a whole lot
more people have started blogging and creating "link bait" content.
But you've also got to think about how that traffic will perceive you when it stops
by, and whether those visitors will likely ever return.

Are you a professional looking for new clients? Are you selling novelty items, or
expensive modern art? Do you cater to a sophisticated advertising demographic,
or are you after more of a Blue Collar Comedy crowd?

You should also be thinking about the type of traffic that you attract, rather than
just the quantity. Posting the latest goofy video making the rounds on You Tube
on your law firm blog might bring in some traffic, but I'm not sure it would have
translated into a spike in retainer agreements.

Here's another example: I recently posted an article that used the Spanish
introduction to an alternative rock song as an illustration of the point I wanted to
make. Making that point to my English-speaking audience required a translation.
Within days I began getting search engine traffic from people who wanted to
know what that Spanish intro means in English, thanks to the fact that the article
leads off with both versions.

Now, having one alternative rock fan find another--who also happens to blog
about copywriting--isn't a bad thing. But it's likely they'll just leave after finding
what they want, never to be seen again.


Targeted traffic is more valuable than tons of traffic. Unless of course the tons of
traffic is targeted.
Say that five times fast.

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Writing Blog Post Titles That Work

Your blog post title (or headline) is the first, and perhaps only, impression you
make on a prospective reader. Without a post title that turns a browser into a
reader, the rest of your blog may as well not even exist.
At its essence, a compelling headline must promise some kind of benefit or
reward for the reader, in trade for the valuable time it takes to read more. Your
headline is the first critical step to getting a link to your post.

Why? Because it's got to be read before it can be linked!
According to some of the best copywriters of all time, you should spend half of
the entire time it takes to write a piece of persuasive content on the headline. So
if you have a blog post that is really important to you or your business, one that
you really want people to read, you should downright obsess over your post title.

Advertising legend David Ogilvy knew the power of headlines, and how the
headline literally determined whether the advertisement would get read. He
rewrote this famous headline for an automobile advertisement 104 times:
"At 60 miles an hour, the only thing you hear in the new Rolls Royce is the ticking
of the dashboard clock ..."

Master copywriter Gene Schwartz often spent an entire week on the first 50
words of a sales piece -- the headline and the opening paragraph. Those 50
words are the most important part of any persuasive writing, and writing them
well takes time.
Even for the masters.


So, if you want to be an effective blogger, spend a little extra time on your post
title.

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5 Simple Steps to Link Building With a Blog

Adding a blog to your domain can be a great way to score inbound links. You'll
want to write things that truly connect with people, and that also result in a
direct, specific and quantifiable action -- like a link, a Delicious social bookmark,
or a vote at news aggregation site Digg.

Each link, bookmark and vote you earn has a tendency to create others,
depending on how well your copy offers something of real value to the reader.
Check later for how well you did, and keep at it.

So here's the 5 keys to writing blog posts that attract links:
1. Post Titles
A really great headline hints at a reward for the reader so they are willing to read
the rest. Your post title is the first crucial step to getting a link to your post, but
only if you follow up with content that matches your headline promise.

2. Lists
It's a blogosphere favorite for good reason -- "list" content works, in large part
due to the attention-grabbing power of the headline. Any time you make a list
that gives a number of reasons, secrets, types, or ways to do something will work
because people like quickly digestible content.

3. "How To" Articles
It's no secret that "how to" articles and blog posts are some of the most sought
after, linked to, and bookmarked content online. People want useful information,
and they'll reward you by promoting it to others when you provide it.


4. Link Out
To get link love, you gotta give link love. So link out to other bloggers as much as
possible. Don't worry about losing readers. The counter-intuitive rule of the
Internet (to quote blogger Dave Winer) is the more you send them away the
more they come back.

5. Persistence
You may work hard on an article or resource that you're just positive will spread
like wildfire, and yet hear nothing but lonely crickets chirping upon release. Just
keep at it. Put your audience first with everything you write, and success will
come.

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Viral Marketing With Blogs

Blogging is gaining huge traction with entrepreneurs and small businesses. These
folks have realized that the "blogosphere" presents a unique opportunity to reach
a global audience with little to no cost.

The key to selling with a blog is to give great value to your readers in the form of
free information. Blogs build your authority as an expert in your industry and
create a relationship with readers that creates a perfect buying environment. But
with all the noise out there, you need to be strategic about ways to gain an
audience in the first place.

The great thing about blogs is the links that you can get from other bloggers,
which bring you traffic. Plus, these links help you rank better in search engines
like Google. To get links from other bloggers, you need to say or create
something that is worthy of attention.

In other words, you're looking for publicity, just like you might offline with the
mainstream media. But online, a little bit of attention from bloggers often leads to
even more attention from even more bloggers, which creates the possibility that
something you write could spread virally all over the Internet.


Here are five strategies for creating content that gets attention:
1. Hold a Contest. Come up with a competition relevant to your industry or
business niche. Promote it to other relevant bloggers and get them involved. Or,
you could create a form of sweepstakes, but make sure to consult an attorney in
this case, as sweepstakes are highly regulated.

2. Create a Tutorial or Free Ebook. The Internet is built on information. Create
a useful guide based on your expertise and people will take notice. You'll gain
publicity, new prospects and hopefully sales from just one effort.

3. Give an Award or Hold an Event. Create an award for the best blogger or
website in your niche, or try creating an industry awareness event that you
orchestrate. The most valuable traffic you can get is from related, but perhaps
non-competitive businesses in your own industry, and any industry loves to buzz
about who's the best or what's going on.

4. Give to Charity. Combine a fundraising or paid online event with a pledge to
donate all proceeds to charity. You'll be doing a good deed and be perceived as a
good citizen, and you might also get loads of free publicity as well.

5. Be Controversial. A good controversy almost always gains attention. Do or
say something that goes against the grain of your industry or niche. Be careful
not to go too far, but it's much worse to simply play it safe and have no audience
at all.

These are just a few ways to gain attention online with your blog. The key is to
think about what has value to your desired audience (as opposed to just you),
and then find a creative way to present it.

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Viral Copywriting

Many professional copywriters don't think much of blogs as sales vehicles. Why?
Because blogs are not a "direct-response" sales environment, and some of the
very best copywriters are in the direct-response field.

Direct-response copywriting is a form of marketing designed to elicit an
immediate action that is specific and quantifiable. Meaning, you've essentially got
one shot at getting a certain percentage of readers to respond in the way you
want them too. The response rate dictates your level of success.

Now, why any copywriter wouldn't want to sell in conjunction with the relationship
environment that blogs provide, where you don't have to beat people over the
head in an all-or-nothing gambit, is beyond me. If you want to use direct-
response materials, just take your blog readers "off road" for more focused
education and persuasion. Instead of one shot at the prize, you've got many
(albeit softer-pitched) opportunities to turn a reading relationship into a customer
or client relationship.
But there is one way that a blog is a direct-response environment:
Gaining traffic.
Whether you call it viral blogging, creating link bait, or the old-fashioned getting
press, the strategies that direct-response copywriters use are directly applicable
to generating publicity in the blogosphere. Copywriting is an essential element to
all great publicity efforts, but in the information-overload blogging realm, direct-
response techniques will help you grab someone's valuable attention, and keep it.

One of the most effective direct-response techniques is storytelling, mixed in with
various psychological triggers and all polished with basic copywriting techniques.
But the real magic happens well before a word is written - in the formulation of
the story itself.


Now, apply the direct-response methodology to blogging, and your quest for
links. You want to write things that truly connect with people, and that also result
in a direct, specific and quantifiable action -- a link.

Each link, tag and vote you earn has a tendency to create others, depending on
how well your copy offers something of real value to the reader. Check
Technorati.com for how well you did. Rinse, repeat.

You're now trading words for traffic.

These days, traffic from blogs is essential for acquiring new readers and
prospects. Add to that the importance that Google and other ranking systems
place on links, and creative copywriting is the new search engine optimization.

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Building Web Traffic With Words

Viral Blogging. Link Bait. Tagged. Dugg.
If you don't know what those words mean, don't worry. They're simply new terms
for a timeless concept you likely already understand.

Publicity.

At their essence, these fancy digital terms are simply the new nomenclature for
gaining attention. Getting press, as it was labeled in days now past, when
intermediaries known collectively as "the media" decided who the public became
aware of.
Online, the public now decides who gets publicity. What a concept, huh?

It's been said time and time again that links are the currency of the web. Without
links, your odds of achieving significant online traffic (either from other websites
or search engines) without big ad bucks are slim to none.


It's not enough anymore to just get people talking... they need to be linking. It's
more important these days that they spell your URL right, rather than your name.
It can be awfully lonely on the web when no one stops by.

If you're trying to do business online, lonely equals poor. Whether you're selling
products, services or advertising, you need visitors who not only stop by, but
return again and again. So it's not enough anymore to just get people talking...
they need to be linking.

Here's four crucial elements to gaining web traffic today:
First of all, you need to be blogging. Search engines and other bloggers love the
format, and it's the key to attracting traffic. You've got to join the conversation
and have something valuable to say before anyone will bother acknowledging
you.

Secondly, you'll need to learn some good old-fashioned publicity strategies. The
timeless things that have worked offline can also work great online.

Third, you'll need to examine how publicity strategies have been specifically
applied online. Be careful about violating the often complex rules of "netiquette"
that govern what is acceptable online.

Finally, you've got to make sure your focus is on your readers, and not yourself.
Publicity just for the sake of your own self-interest has a way of backfiring, and
online it can get really ugly.

Click here to find out just how easy it is to create your own money making
websites.

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What the Heck is RSS?

And why should I care?
Good questions. First, here's why you should care.

Unlike getting website updates or ezines by email, RSS feeds give you absolute,
100% complete control over the situation.

You don't have to reveal your email address. If you want to stop receiving
content, you don't have to request to be "taken off the list."

One click, and poof... the subscription is gone.

Plus, since there's no email address involved, there's no way a publisher can sell,
rent or give away the means to contact you.

That's right... no more spam, viruses, phishing, or identity theft. And best of all,
no reason to put yourself at the mercy of the publisher's intentions.

You won't need to suffer through the legalese in the privacy policy (if there is
one) looking for loopholes that will send you deeper into inbox hell. No more
setting up dummy Hotmail accounts "just in case."

Again, if you don't like the content, you can make it disappear as fast as you can
change a TV channel. With just one click.
Pretty cool, huh?

That is cool! Umm... What the heck is RSS?


Alright! Now we're ready to get to that part.
RSS is a simply an Internet technology standard that allows busy people to
receive updates to web-based content of interest.
You might have figured that much out by now. But basically, that's the essence of
an RSS feed - you subscribe and then receive new content automatically in your
feed reader.

What the heck is a feed reader?
You may already be using a form of feed reader, and not even realize it. If you
use personalized home page services like My Yahoo or My MSN, you've got RSS
capabilities built in. That's how syndicated content like news, weather and stock
quotes appears on your personal page. You can also add content from any blog or
other site that uses RSS to provide updates.
Other web-based tools are primarily dedicated to feed reading only. One of the
most popular web-based feed readers at this point is Bloglines, and it's also free
and easy to get started with.

If you use the Firefox browser, you can also receive RSS feeds from your tool bar
by using the Live Bookmarks function. The next version of Internet Explorer will
add this feature as well.

Finally, there are desktop-based feed readers. These function somewhat like an
email program for feeds. Examples include Newsgator and Feed Demon.

If it sounds complicated, it's really not. And things will get even easier when the
next version of Outlook integrates feed-reading capabilities. So, you'll have the
same convenience that email subscriptions offered in the old days, without any of
the terrible consequences of giving out your email address to potentially
unscrupulous characters.

Sounds good. So how do I subscribe to a Feed?

First of all, look for the subscription or feed options (some bloggers make this
difficult for some odd reason). You might see a variety of buttons (amusingly
called chicklets).


If the site you want to subscribe to uses FeedBurner to aid in the subscription
process (like many popular sites do), you'll likely see the standard RSS icon,
which takes you to a page that will give you an array of the most popular feed
readers so you can select yours, and you'll go from there. Just look around for an
orange button and click on it.

Sometimes there will be a chicklet for your particular reader right on the blog that
will take you to the appropriate subscription page. You may see buttons for My
Yahoo, Google, Feedburner and Bloglines (among others).

Finally, you may also see little orange buttons that say XML or RSS. Often these
chicklets will take you to a page that looks like code gibberish. In this case, you
simply cut and paste the page URL from your browser window and manually
paste it into your feed reader subscription box.

Hopefully this last method will soon disappear, never to be seen again.
In summary: RSS solves BIG problems.

So there you have it... RSS is being adopted at a phenomenal rate, because it's a
good thing for everyone.

The benefit to readers is obvious. And it's good for publishers too, because we
want to make sure that people feel comfortable subscribing, and that our
message is not nuked by an overzealous spam filter.

Spend just a little bit of time getting familiar with feeds, and your online
experience will get a lot better.

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SEO Copywriting is a Waste of Time for Blogs

Good copywriting skills can help you sell with your blog. But if you think by
"copywriting" I mean "SEO copywriting," you'd be wrong.
In fact, you're probably wasting your time even worrying about traditional SEO
techniques when it comes to blogs. Here's why.

Writing for Search Engines
Search engine optimization ("SEO") copywriting means writing web page copy
that is optimized to rank well in the search engines. This includes inserting
targeted key words in certain places (like titles), and in frequencies and densities
designed to satisfy a particular search engine algorithm.
Why isn't this as important anymore? Essentially, SEO experts think traditional
SEO for blogs is a big waste of time.

Humans Matter More
The gist of the argument is that when it comes to search rankings, what'swritten
ona web page isless importantthan whatother people sayabout that web page,
and how many times.
It all comes down to links.

First of all, referral traffic (links from other bloggers) is of higher quality for the
things that matter most - subscriptions and sales.
It's like the difference between a prospect who is sent your way from a happy
former client, measured against someone who finds you in the Yellow Pages.

But this also impacts your search engine rankings. The algorithms favor sites and
pages with incoming, non-reciprocal links from body text - in other words,
express recommendations fromother people. And much more weight is placed on
the words used in those links (anchor text) than the words on the page linked to.


Just ask George W. Bush.
You won't find the words "miserable failure" anywhere on the biography page of
the current U.S. President, and yet that page ranks number one for the search
term in Google. That's because a whole bunch of other people (mostly bloggers)
decided to link to W's bio with the anchor text "miserable failure," and obtained
top ranking.
The trend of search engine's favoring what others say is intensifying. Just like
offline, word of mouth matters most.

As mentioned above, search engines like Google already incorporate user
feedback (links + anchor text) in their algorithms. When people link to and tag
the posts of other bloggers on social book marking sites, and tagging is more fully
integrated into the current version of search, rankings will rely on
recommendations even more.

The end result will be better search, and the end of traditional SEO techniques.

Content Matters Most
This is why traditional (not SEO) copywriting skills that catch and hold reader
attention are important for bloggers. I would argue that great copywriting is the
new SEO for bloggers, if it gets you positive links from others. And since blogging
is a new form of public relations, and PR depends on great copywriting...
Well, you get my point.
So, maybe you should quit worrying about SEO and start producing incredible
content and networking in your niche. Copywriting techniques will help you excel
in both.

Don't be Search Engine Ugly
Now, for that grain of salt. There's no reason to completely ignore things like
keywords in your writing. For one thing, it can influence the anchor text that is
used to link to you, which is a good thing.
For example, take this article. It's got the keyword phrase "seo copywriting" right
up front in the post title, and yet the headline still manages to be provocative.
There's no reason why you shouldn't strive for human titillation and keyword
relevancy.
But... if you have to choose between the two, go for the human factor first and
foremost.


So, optimize your post URLs and include your keywords, but beyond that, let it
go.
Search engine algorithms come and go, but human nature remains the same.

Tread the fine line between writing to please your human visitors and the search
engine spiders with AWAI’s SEO Copywriting Success Course.

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How to Make Something Happen With Your Blog

So... you're a blogger trying to gain new clients for your services, or new
customers for your products. I'm guessing you want:
 more visitors to your blog.

 more subscribers and repeat traffic.

 links from other bloggers.

 to sell something!

What if I told you that you're already on the right track? That you can accomplish
all of the above by doing something that you're already doing as a blogger?
You guessed it - writing. You only need to write, as long as you do it in a
strategic, persuasive way.
Tell Your Story
Copywriting skills are essential for effective Internet marketing, public relations,
and yes... blogging.
You need to develop and tell the big story about you, your company, and your
product or service. You should also strive to make each post, every networking
email, press release and direct marketing piece as compelling as possible along
the way to the sale.
Blogging may be new, but selling with words is not. To be a successful blogger
simply means applying time-tested copywriting techniques in a brand new
medium.


The Art and Science of Persuasion
Copywriting is the process of writing words that promote a person, business,
opinion, or idea, with the ultimate intention of having the reader take some form
of action.
Or another way of saying it... copywriting is the art and science of getting people
to do what you want.

If you think that sounds a bit shady, relax. We all use persuasion techniques each
and every day, whether we are conscious of it or not. With our spouses, kids,
parents, bosses, vendors, employees and customers, we try to do and say things
that move them in the direction we desire.

When it comes to persuading in a business context, some are better at it than
others. But it's definitely more of a learned skill than a natural talent.

Blogging and Copywriting: A Perfect Match
Good blogging and good copywriting share many of the same attributes - plain
spoken words designed to focus on the needs of the reader, using complete
honesty and a demonstration of excellent value.

It's not about fancy writing and big words.
It's also not about being contrived or cheesy.
And it's absolutely not about inappropriate high pressure sales techniques that
simply don't work.

People hate being sold, but they love to buy. Present a solution to a want or need
in a context-appropriate manner, and you're well on your way.

Good copywriting delivered via blogging, RSS feeds and email is all about creating
the perfect buying environment. With a bit of knowledge and practice, you can
achieve that environment with your marketing efforts.

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Viral Marketing With Blogs

Blogging is gaining huge traction with entrepreneurs and small businesses. These
folks have realized that the "blogosphere" presents a unique opportunity to reach
a global audience with little to no cost.

The key to selling with a blog is to give great value to your readers in the form of
free information. Blogs build your authority as an expert in your industry and
create a relationship with readers that creates a perfect buying environment. But
with all the noise out there, you need to be strategic about ways to gain an
audience in the first place.

The great thing about blogs is the links that you can get from other bloggers,
which bring you traffic. Plus, these links help you rank better in search engines
like Google. To get links from other bloggers, you need to say or create
something that is worthy of attention.

In other words, you're looking for publicity, just like you might offline with the
mainstream media. But online, a little bit of attention from bloggers often leads to
even more attention from even more bloggers, which creates the possibility that
something you write could spread virally all over the Internet.

Here are five strategies for creating content that gets attention:
1. Hold a Contest. Come up with a competition relevant to your industry or
business niche. Promote it to other relevant bloggers and get them involved. Or,
you could create a form of sweepstakes, but make sure to consult an attorney in
this case, as sweepstakes are highly regulated.
2. Create a Tutorial or Free Ebook. The Internet is built on information. Create
a useful guide based on your expertise and people will take notice. You'll gain
publicity, new prospects and hopefully sales from just one effort.
3. Give an Award or Hold an Event. Create an award for the best blogger or
website in your niche, or try creating an industry awareness event that you
orchestrate. The most valuable traffic you can get is from related, but perhaps
non-competitive businesses in your own industry, and any industry loves to buzz
about who's the best or what's going on.


4. Give to Charity. Combine a fundraising or paid online event with a pledge to
donate all proceeds to charity. You'll be doing a good deed and be perceived as a
good citizen, and you might also get loads of free publicity as well.
5. Be Controversial. A good controversy almost always gains attention. Do or
say something that goes against the grain of your industry or niche. Be careful
not to go too far, but it's much worse to simply play it safe and have no audience
at all.
These are just a few ways to gain attention online with your blog. The key is to
think about what has value to your desired audience (as opposed to just you),
and then find a creative way to present it.

PS: Don’t forget that Brian will be sharing his expertise with participants at the
AWAI Fast Track to Success Bootcamp and Job Fair which will be taking place on
October 26 – 29th 2011 in Delray Beach. At Bootcamp Brian will teach you proven
content marketing strategies before showing you how to use them with your
clients to further increase your value — and your fees! Click here to find out
more.

For more great free information on how to take your copywriting career to the
next level please visit www.ProCopyWritingTactics.com

This compilation of articles comes to you courtesy of


COPYWRITING SECRETS OF THE MASTERS - Brian Clark

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