Commune / The Content Optimization Company (TM): Content Optimization Blog

Write More Effective Ads on Your Competitors' Budget

Simon — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:26:00 GMT

Summary: Don't always write from scratch. When results matter most, analyze your competitors' high-performing campaigns, copy their success, and innovate to exceed it. Online, you can do it easily with Google AdWords and free text analysis tools that let you determine specific words to use in optimizing content for your ads and website.

It's not plagiarism. But whether you're new to web writing or a veteran, even imitating other writers' success probably feels unnatural.

If you're new, you've likely never heard such terms as "swipe file" (a file of others' effective copy you keep for "inspiration"), and never searched back issues of magazines to research competitors' ads. If you're a veteran, you likely find it hard to restrain your creative impulses. After all, it's the innovative campaigns that win awards, not the "me too" copycats. Right?

But if you care most about results, the fastest way to success is to imitate before you innovate. In short, to let competitors do the hard work, then copy their success and experiment to exceed it.

With a looming recession, results are paramount. And in this holiday season, competition is tough. With that in mind, this post guides you step-by-step through a process you can use right now to leverage competitors' Google ads to optimize your own ads' success—a process that can work even better in highly competitive markets.

(Warning: I'm breaking one of our own content optimization rules here, as this post is far longer than we'd normally recommend. But I've done my best to make it as concise as possible—while packing it with useful information and techniques.)

Step One: Know the Theory

The theory's simple: do what works, and let competitors pay to find that out.

In direct-response marketing, advertisers constantly analyze ads to find the best-performing words and phrases. The goal is to get the best return on investment for every dollar.

In print, direct-response copywriters can determine a competitors' best-performing copy by identifying the ads they've run most frequently—thereby pinpointing which content delivers the most cost-effective results.

Google AdWords—the most popular and important search marketing system—is just another form of direct-response marketing. Ads rank higher on a page depending on factors like the amount an advertiser's willing to bid for a click, and on the ad's overall quality—judged in part by the percentage of people who click when it shows up.

Bottom line? In AdWords, a highly ranked ad is more likely to be an effective ad. This is for two main reasons. First, highly ranked ads typically cost advertisers more per click. So you can be sure they've made the necessary effort to make every click count. Second, highly ranked ads achieve high ranking in part through quality. So bad ads slowly fade into obscurity.

There are certainly some confounding factors that I won't go into here. But in general, it's safe to assume that in AdWords, higher ranked ads outperform lower ranked ads.

And typically, the more competitive the environment, the more this applies. For this reason, you can learn a lot about AdWords by simply reviewing results for highly competitive keywords like "insurance" and "weight loss."

Step Two: Google Your Keywords

So let's exploit this knowledge to help you optimize your ad content.

Next time you Google keywords you're targeting, pay attention to the ads that show up.

In particular, pay attention to the ads at the top of the page, or the top of the list on the right.

For example, here's a screenshot for a search on "life insurance"—one of the most competitive keywords:

Here, the ads at top (in beige) and the top ads at right are likely the most effective at driving clicks for the keyword you're searching.

Again, there are confounding variables (like some advertisers actually wanting a lower position), but in general you can assume that ads appearing either in beige or—for a highly competitive category like this—anywhere at right are effective.

To be more certain, repeat your search a few times and see which ads show up most often.

Step Three: Analyze High-Performing AdWords Text

Now that you're seeing some high-performing ads, you can:

Subjectively review the results based on your understanding of your market and your marketing. With this approach, you can quickly identify copy that might perform well for you. Your biases, however, might undermine your review. For example, you might not want to consider applying the word "free" to your marketing, even though it's making your competitors money.
Objectively review the results using a statistical text analyzer. With this approach, you can quickly find words and phrases that effective ads use repeatedly. While density alone doesn't guarantee success, it certainly helps guide you in the right direction.

Let's talk about the second approach, which in my opinion and experience is one of the best ways to start an ad-writing campaign. (If you're going with option one, skip ahead to step four. But you might want to read this before you do.)

For example, I fed the ads from four separate "life insurance" searches into the free (and fun) Textalyser, filtered out brand names and stop words like "and," and found these to be the most common words in top-ranked ads (note that "canadian" and "canada" are due to a search from a Canadian location—and highlight the importance of location to insurance quotes):

insurance
life
quote
affordable
canadian
term
rates (tied with term)
canada
save (tied with Canada)
get

Step Four: Create Control Ad with High-Performing Text

After performing your analysis, you'll want to write an ad to serve as your control for future testing—so you can create variations and test their effectiveness.

To do this:

Use what you learned from your analysis.
Filter it through your knowledge of web writing and persuasion. (If you're just getting started, you can use our primer on content optimization.)
Adapt it to your offering.

For example, if I were writing a life insurance ad, my analysis above might lead me to a control like this:

Free Life Insurance Quote
Affordable Canadian Term Insurance.
Save on Rates—Get a Quote Now.
www.canadainsurance.com/LifeQuote

Every word here, with the exception of "free" (which almost always drives up clicks) and stop words (like "on" and "a") comes from my statistical analysis of high-performing life insurance ads.

Step Five: Test Variations Against Your Control

While your control might perform well, it might also just be an average performer—after all, if you used a statistical analysis, it's built from an average density across all ads analyzed.

So you'll want to test it against variations. And here's where you can get creative.

For example, a variation for my insurance ad might look like this:

Fast Life Insurance Quote
Affordable Canadian Term Insurance.
Save on Rates—Get a Quote Now.
www.canadainsurance.com/LifeQuote

The switch from "free" to "fast" might have an impact on performance, and if the variation beats the control then I might want to add "fast" to my word arsenal.

So, ready to add competitors to your copywriting team? Post your results in the comments below, and let us know if you have your own strategies for writing more effective ads.

Does Direct Mail Crush SMS for Teen Marketing?

Sara — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:42:00 GMT

Summary: A new study finds that—despite all the text-addicted teenagers out there—good ol' direct marketing crushes SMS in influencing teen buying decisions, with email marketing also beating it (hands down). Takeaway? Think carefully about spending money on a text campaign.

I'll make a confession here.

I've probably sent a grand total of two text messages my entire life.

Never bumped into a lamppost while walking and texting.

Never felt the twinge of repetitive strain injury in my thumbs.

But I know I'm in a dwindling minority.

So you'd think that with all the twiddling, texting thumbs out there, targeting media-savvy market segments with a digital campaign shouldn't be all that hard.

Throw together a couple of emails, draft a Facebook page, push through a couple of texts and BAM—ROI out the wazoo.

Well, not quite.

In fact, a new whitepaper from ExactTarget (an email marketing firm—enough said) found that email and short message service (SMS) marketing weren't the most effective way to target two key text-happy demographics: teens and young homemakers.

And what was the most attention-grabbing, purchase-encouraging marketing format?

Wait for it.

Direct mail.

Mail First, Email Second, Text a Distant Third

Yup. Direct mail. Old-fashioned, "Here's a dollar bill" direct mail.

58% of teens and 72% of young homemakers surveyed said they'd been influenced to buy something through a direct mail campaign.

According to the study, email letters came second and text messages came a distant third when it came to influencing decisions to purchase.

So why does direct mail make more of an impact than something more modern, more…well, digital?

Think about it.

Texting is a pretty intimate way of communicating (insofar as anything that isn't actually face-to-face can be intimate).

So inserting marketing messages into that conversation is about as unwelcome as a toddler at a martini bar.

How to Optimize Your SMS Campaign

So what's a mobile marketer to do?

Market analyst Gerry Purdy, quoted in a 2006 Associated Press article, said that cellphones would be "the most important medium for advertising in the 21st century."

That may not have happened yet—exactly—but the potential is there.

So, if you want to make the foray into SMS marketing, how do you keep your messages from becoming the digital equivalent of Rush Limbaugh on a nude beach?

Get permission. You'll get a better response if your prospects know what they're receiving and who it's from. Sending a pile of unsolicited texts is about as effective as screaming your marketing message out your office window.
Offer an incentive. A coupon, a contest, exclusive content—anything that gives your prospect something for nothing will catch their attention and (an added bonus) make them commit to your product. And we all know that a small commitment now can translate into bigger commitments later.
Make messages specific and relevant. Target your campaign to a specific geographic location or time of year, or save your text messages for announcing new products and services. Don't waste your time on a general, blah-blah message no one will notice.
Be personable. Remember, people are used to getting texts from their friends. Make sure your message echoes that kind of friendly, intimate communication.

SMS campaigns aren't going to be the cornerstone of anyone's marketing campaign—yet.

But it may only be a matter of time.

Until then, though, keep a stash of dollar bills handy.

Have any other tips for an effective SMS campaign? Post them in the comments below!

Optimize Email Content to Strengthen Service and Trust

Simon — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:27:00 GMT

Summary:Transactional email messages, such as shipping confirmations, provide an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction and strengthen relationships. But most transactional email content is poorly optimized, leading to poor usability—and many emails incorrectly flagged as spam. Optimizing email content with a clear "from" address, a relevant "subject" line and user-focused body content can help you address many of the issues that undermine your messages.

If you send customers confirmation emails, shipping emails or other "transactional" messages, take note.

Unless you adhere to stringent guidelines (about 143, to be exact), your emails likely aren't effectively servicing customers, building trust and strengthening relationships.

Worse yet, they might just be junked in the spam folder.

Challenges for Transactional Email Content

The findings come in a transactional email study from the usability doctor, Jakob Nielsen.

It compared results with a similar study from five years ago.

And it concluded not only that email usability is still "appallingly" low, but also that users demand even more than five years ago because they're more skeptical and more rushed.

That's not entirely surprising, since transactional email must compete in clogged inboxes, and few people have time to relax and review messages in detail.

Rather, we take shortcuts to determine what's important.

To cut through the clutter, you need to use proven email content optimization tactics.

Unfortunately, according to Nielsen (whose group analyzed 92 transactional messages for this study), emails often consist of "copy written by the programmer late at night."

Either that or sledgehammer marketing content written by aggressive salespeople.

Neither of which do much to build long-lasting customer relationships.

Content Optimization for Automatic Email Messages

The latest study confirms the findings from five years ago, but nearly doubles the number of recommendations due to more challenging users.

Your goal with transactional email is to avoid being mistaken for spam, be a customer service ambassador and reduce calls from customers by anticipating and addressing their questions.

But you're competing against tough obstacles. Nielsen notes that processing email is stressful, users see fluff as a waste of time, and they'll ignore (or junk) anything deemed inessential. In fact, only 12% of users in this study opened spam messages—and 80% failed to open a legitimate message from Walgreens because a vague subject line made it appear to be spam.

So here are some ways to cut through the clutter:

Convey your brand name and purpose in the "from" field. For example, "JetBlue Reservations" and "BestBuy Online Store" were highly effective in this study. Because they told the user the email was from a reputable source, and explained their reason for arriving. And here's an important tip: Keep your "from" line between 20 and 25 characters because most email programs truncate the rest.
Relate to customer-initiated transactions in the "subject" line. For example, "TiVo Rewards Program Ends May 28" performed well while the spam-like "Important Information" performed poorly.
Keep the body brief and user-focused. Provide the information that matters most to users up top. (Keep any overt marketing messages, if you must have them, to the end.) Examples of user-focused information include tracking numbers, order descriptions and information about how to deal with any problems.
Send fewer emails. For an online purchase, for example, one email confirming the purchase and another confirming shipping would be ideal. The more emails you send regarding a transaction, the more confused you make your customers.

Is it worth the effort?

As a highly personal medium, email enables one of the most direct relationships you can have with customers. So poorly optimized email content is a missed opportunity to create happier customers, build stronger relationships and reduce support costs.

And for transactional emails that you send out regularly, that's an opportunity you're missing again and again.

Write "About Us" Content That Works

Simon — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:01:00 GMT

Summary: "About Us" content is generally better than five years ago. But users have higher expectations, and many sites fail to describe themselves in a paragraph. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen suggests that you can optimize your "About Us" content with a clear homepage link to "About Us" pages, a clear tagline on the homepage, a summary of one to two paragraphs on the "About Us" page, a fact sheet following the summary, and detailed information in separate pages.

Ever click an "About Us" link and find marketing jargon that leaves you more confused about the company than before?

If you're like most web readers, you're probably nodding in painful recollection.

In fact, a recent study by Jakob Nielsen and crew found that overall satisfaction with "About Us" content has declined in the past five years.

More users can now achieve goals like finding out who runs an organization (79% compared to 70%). And even more can find contact information (91% compared to 62%). But people's expectations have also increased. So satisfaction with "About Us" content has actually decreased from 5.2 to 4.6 on seven-point scale.

Worse yet, in Nielsen's latest study, fewer users (81% compared to 90%) could determine from "About Us" content what a company actually does.

"In place of a frank summary of the business," Nielsen writes, "marketese and blah-blah text ruled the day on many sites."

Optimize Your "About Us" Content

So let's talk about content optimization for this essential element of your website.

Based on Nielsen's recommendations and our own experience, here's how you can write better "About Us" web pages:

Have a clear link to your "About Us" section. It should read "About Us" or "About <Company>," for example. Avoid cryptic names like "Info Center."
Include a tagline that meaningfully describes your organization. The key is to answer important questions like what your company does. We also consider it important to clearly explain your company's benefits.
Provide a longer summary of your organization at the top of your "About Us" page. This should flow logically from your tagline content.
Elaborate on key points and essential facts after your summary content.
Move supporting information to separate pages. For example, create a page specifically for investor-related questions, as this is a subset of content for a very specific group of website visitors.
Consider using short videos to support your primary content, such as to showcase the personality of your CEO.

Follow General Content Optimization Guidelines

As for general content optimization tips, be sure to follow the inverted pyramid hierarchy of information, flowing from a tagline, to a summary, to details, to supporting information for specific user groups.

Also, be sure to keep your content scannable, personable and objective. Readers will likely skim your "About Us" information, so consider putting much of it in scannable bullets. Also, speak directly to readers, be friendly, and avoid any hyperbole ("best," "greatest" and so forth) that might undermine your credibility.

No matter the size of your company, these rules apply.

As Nielsen notes, even if your company's world famous, not everyone knows who you are and what you do.

And some of those people just might want to work for you, invest in you or buy from you.

How to Read Minds (to Write Powerful Copy)

Simon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:39:16 GMT

There's a good chance you've made this mistake.

(I have. Repeatedly. And for years.)

If you're like most people, you write what's in your head.

Maybe it's an idea. Maybe it's a description of your company or product.

Well, writing from your perspective can be great for your diary.

But it's self-destructive for your marketing.

Instead, you must write from your customers' perspective.

The world's most successful copywriters use this tactic to persuade even the most stubborn prospects to action.

By entering the conversation prospects are having in their head, you can resonate with their problems, properly position an offering as the solution and push all the right buttons.

So here's how to get out of your head:

Step One: Know What to Ask

There are an indefinite number of things you can know about your customers.

Fortunately, answering just a handful of questions can provide the most essential insight:

What's their common reality? For example, are they stay-at-home moms or workaholic supermoms? Look for distinguishing characteristics you can describe to make a connection.
What are their goals, aspirations and desires? For example, are they trying to be a better parent or climb the corporate ladder without losing custody of their kids? Know their objectives so you can create and position products and services accordingly.
What are their challenges and frustrations? For example, are there too few hours in the day or unforgiving bosses who offer no support? Dig to find the problems that trigger the strongest emotions.

Step Two: Ask Early and Often

Ideally, you should get many responses to these questions before even creating a product or service. Never mind before creating your marketing. (That way, you won't waste money developing an offering nobody wants.)

You can do this informally through conversations with customers and prospects.

You do it formally using free survey tools available online.

One of the newest and easiest to use is Google Docs forms.

In fact, we use this ourselves to create and analyze simple surveys. (For example, you can complete one now on your biggest challenges and frustrations with web writing and content.)

Step Three: Write With the Responses

Once you gather enough responses, you'll start seeing commonalities.

These commonalities will describe your average customer's reality, goals, problems and needs.

Your next step is to write these into one or more personas. These personas (which internet entrepreneur Eben Pagan calls "avatars") are essentially short profiles.

With these in hand, you're ready to step out of your head and into your customers'.

For example, whereas before you may have written unpersuasive copy that you wanted to write:

Our company is the best in its field. A leader for 10 years, we provide top-notch customer service and the best prices in town. Visit our massive 10,000-square-foot showroom and browse home furnishings you won't find anywhere else.

You'll now write persuasive copy that your customers want to read:

We know that driving from store to store is frustrating. And that wasting precious weekends shopping for furniture isn't your idea of fun. That's why you want one store you can trust for the widest selection. With knowledgeable staff who don't get in your face, but are immediately on hand as needed. If that sounds familiar, you might want to write down our address. You'll find the right furniture at the right price in our 10,000-square-foot showroom. And with our 10 years' experience, you won't have to worry about whether we'll be here tomorrow to support your purchase.

It's a subtle difference. But a difference that can dramatically increase your success.

And I know that's what you want.

Why Calling Yourself "Better" Is Worse

Simon — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:21:00 GMT

Big surprise: Microsoft blew off its expensive yet good-for-nothing Seinfeld campaign.

So the world's again safe from multimillion-dollar marketing blitzes based on ineffective ideas?

Not so fast.

As I write this, Toronto's oppressed by overwhelming billboards for telecom behemoth Bell. They blare statements like "Internet just got better" and, beside the iPhone-like Samsung Instinct, "Way cooler."

If you're new to copywriting, your first instinct might be to copy these ideas for your internet marketing. After all, if Bell invested so heavily, it must be using proven techniques—and testing them to death.

Wrong.

If you follow this approach, you're not only hurting your own business.

You're actually helping your competition.

Why Comparatives Are Weak

Here's why.

"Better," "cooler" and similar "er" words (believe it or not, Bell's campaign bolds out the "er" in every ad, like "better" and "cooler") are comparatives. Quite simply, they compare one thing to another.

There are so many reasons why comparatives like "better" and "cooler" are weak for this kind of campaign that it's hard to know where to start.

So let's start with you. Because you're the intended target.

What's the first thing you would think when seeing the word "cooler" beside an iPhone-like device?

Almost certainly, you would think about the iPhone.

This would logically lead to the question: "Is it actually cooler?"

If not (and if you haven't used either device, trust me—it's not), then the ad hasn't just failed to convince you.

It's simultaneously promoted a competitor and called attention to its relative weaknesses against that competitor.

And that's just a start.

Comparatives are also extremely abstract, which weakens their impact.

"Zero to 60 in three seconds" means something. You can feel the speed. It's concrete (and therefore sticky).

"Faster than a Ferrari" is weaker, even though "Ferrari" means fast in your mind.

When Comparisons Can Work

This isn't to say that comparisons (and comparatives) can't work.

The key is to use them to claim an open position in the marketplace.

For example, if you're staking out the low-price position in your market, comparing yourself to the high-price position holder does wonders. "Our widgets are built with the same quality as High-Price Widgets," you might say. "But they're one-tenth the price."

So next time you get the urge to create a comparison, stop and ask yourself:

Is there a true difference? And, if so, can you use it to claim a position?
Is there a way to describe this concretely?

And remember: Concrete is crucial.

After all, "cheaper" just doesn't have the same impact as "90% off."

"New Microsoft" Teaches How Not to Position Your Company

Simon — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:24:00 GMT

Want to learn how to position your company? Let's start with a lesson in what not to do, courtesy of Microsoft.

We all know that Microsoft dominates desktop software. Mainly because it owns the operating system and office productivity market.

But Apple's biting into its dominance with sexy (and stable) music players, phones and computers.

To help, Apple has repositioned Microsoft as stuffy, lame and hapless. All business and no play.

In response, Microsoft has begun its long-awaited $300 million Jerry Seinfeld campaign to defend itself from accusations of lameness.

But rather than improve Microsoft's prospects, these ads will only confuse consumers and undermine Microsoft's core positioning.

Master Your Domain

For those unfamiliar with the term, "positioning" refers to the psychological space your brand owns in the mind of consumers.

For example, Coke is the real thing while Pepsi is the choice of the new generation. Coke's position: classic. Pepsi's: new and hip.

The positioning is so essential to each brand's success that when Coke tried to steal Pepsi's positioning with New Coke, it resulted in one of the biggest marketing failures in history.

If you're starting or building a business, you want to define and dominate a position in the mind of consumers.

Maybe that position is "high quality." Maybe it's "low price."

Regardless, you must stake out your territory and claim it with clarity.

Ads About Nothing, Results to Match

Unless we're missing something, however, Microsoft appears to have committed a similar sin to New Coke.

In the mind of Microsoft's key consumers, the company does one thing well: business software.

Most IT managers and purchasers choose Microsoft software for stability and compatibility (even if this reputation is undeserved).

The position: (mostly) reliable business software.

Few IT managers are willing to switch to Mac-based or Linux-based infrastructures, at the very least due to the risk of the unknown.

Microsoft will never have Apple's reputation for usability and design. Just as Apple will never have Microsoft's reputation for back-end office systems.

That's why Apple has staked out a different position. The "Think Different" position that implicitly makes it the outsider and underdog.

To attract people who don't consider themselves cubicle-dwellers.

With its latest ads, about nothing, Microsoft is trying to reposition itself as oddball, quirky and eccentric, apparently to battle the stuffy stereotype.

Unfortunately, its core users want stuffy.

What You Can Learn from (Likely) Failure

What's the deal with Microsoft?

The people who buy its software are often very much the lame suit-wearing number crunchers that Apple disparages.

Microsoft should be strengthening its position in this market, reclaiming the stuffy image as positive.

Who do you want managing your data? Your designer, or the CIO in the suit and tie?

Instead, Microsoft got sucked into a position it can't and shouldn't defend.

Meanwhile, Google is about to erode its share of the office productivity market with online business applications.

The big lesson if you're starting a business?

It's not about you.

Almost certainly, Bill Gates' personal offense at Apple's ads catalyzed the misguided response.

If he had only paid attention to his key customers, and what they wanted (more stability, not oddball eccentricity), Microsoft could have used this opening to further solidify its grip on the business market. It could have, for example, repositioned Apple as great for "creative" people but terrible for mission-critical applications required to keep business on track.

As hard as it is to separate ego from business, we all must do our best to avoid the same mistake.

Pick the right position based on your market, not your personal preference.

After all, when's the last time you bought a case of New Coke?

Find and Grow a Profitable Niche With Google Trends

Simon — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:43:00 GMT

Successful internet marketers know that finding a profitable niche and high-traffic keywords are foundations of a moneymaking online business.

Leave it to Google to help with both—and, of course, for free.

The secret, if you haven't used it yet, is Google Trends.

Like the coolest kid at school, it always knows what's hot and what's not.

Identify New Niches

Why develop products and services only to find nobody wants them?

Google Trends lets you find emerging markets by tracking searches. So you can create products and services for under-served customers.

And instantly. Just visit the Google Trends homepage and see what's hot.

For example, right now, "tapeworm" is the number one search on Google:

You probably never thought about creating products to help people fight tapeworms.

But the market, and the profit, might be there.

Validate Potential Niches

Of course, you should probably validate that there's long-term interest in tapeworms.

And here's another astounding use for Google Trends.

Just visit the site, enter keywords and see how interest in them has changed over time.

A search for "tapeworm" reveals that, in fact, there has been steady interest, with occasional spikes like today's:

Target Rising Keywords

Once you validate your niche, you can also use Google Trends to determine what keywords to target.

For example, at Commune we offer web writing services.

People looking for "web writing" might also search for "online writing," "writing for the web" and "website writing."

Using Google Trends, we can see how searches for these different keywords have changed over time.

What we learn is that "online writing" has the greatest sustained traffic:

So if you're growing an online business, or starting a new one, you might want to spend some time analyzing trends. (Did I mention it's addictively fun?)

And if you've already started? Post your examples or tips in the comments below.

Are You Giving Away Enough to Make Money?

Simon — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:22:00 GMT

If you're selling a product online, your biggest concern is probably how to increase revenue.

So when people tell you to give stuff away for free, you might think they're insane.

But successful internet marketers would disagree.

Leading them is Eben Pagan, whose concept of "moving the free line" has proven infectious.

The question is: How much free stuff is too much (or too little)?

Why Free Stuff Puts Cash in Your Pocket

Moving the free line may seem counterintuitive.

But when you understand how it works, it makes sense.

The thumbnail version goes like this:

You give away something valuable.
Your prospects see this and recognize you have the goods.
They feel more comfortable buying.
You enjoy more selling.

What Apple, Detergent and Your Website Have in Common

The concept isn't new.

Direct marketers have known for many decades that sampling drives sales.

(Ever get a bag of laundry detergent in the mail?)

Retailers like Apple know this also applies to product interaction in stores.

So it makes sense that internet marketers would follow suit.

Particularly since establishing credibility is essential to online sales.

And online, a great way to establish credibility is to demonstrate your expertise.

(Confession: That's why we publish our Breakthrough Web Writing e-book and our online guide to web writing.)

Obliterate the Competition with Generosity (And Steal Their Customers in the Process)

But how much must you give away?

The answer, in part, depends on your niche's competitiveness.

Use competitors as a gauge.

And if you really want to destroy them, give away more value than their paid products provide.

Think about it.

If they're charging $50 for an e-book, create a better e-book and make it free (preferably to people who give you their contact information).

Your absence of cost creates a vacuum.

The cost of their paid programs drives prospects into your arms.

And then?

Create higher-value products for higher cost.

Who needs $50 for an e-book when you can charge $1,500 for a set of DVDs?

Why All Your Readers Are Bargain Hunters

Simon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:01:44 GMT

Remember your last big purchase?

You probably spent time considering your investment.

Maybe you wondered whether you could find the same product—or something with similar benefits—for less.

Well, keep that memory in mind as you write for the web.

Because just like you, your readers want a bargain.

Raise Your Information Density

Specifically, readers want to maximize information retrieval and minimize time spent on your page.

To keep them longer, you must raise your information density.

This means increasing the amount of useful information relative to the number of words conveying it.

Force readers to wade through 500 words for one useful five-word fact and your information density is about one percent.

So don't expect them to invest more than one percent of their web session on your page.

Understand Some Complicating Factors

Of course, if information density were the only factor, you could capture 100 percent of a reader's attention with single-sentence web pages—or maybe even a site full of mathematical equations.

Thankfully, being someone who loves the written word, I'm happy to say that other factors do apply.

You can learn eight of the most important in our Breakthrough Web Writing e-book.

But for this post, let's just focus on one: scannability.

Why Scannable Words Work

"Scannable" words have formatting (such as bolding) that helps readers find information most relevant to them.

Using them allows you to raise your page's information density to near 100 percent without writing just one sentence.

Think about it.

Good scannability means that all the most important information has special formatting.

And that allows readers who review just the scannable copy to get the most information for their time.

It's like paying only for the features of a product you actually need.

So when you write for the web, think of your readers as shoppers.

And write them the best deal possible—preferably in big, black, highly scannable font.