How Not To Sell Online – Copywriting

Author: Scott Lindsay
Source: download

Do you want to have an online business that makes no sales? One way is to have bad copy on your pages.
If you have a business where you sell products that are in demand and you have done well locally with the products, but you can’t seem to sell them online, perhaps your copy is not what it should be. If you notice your traffic flow is high but you just aren’t getting the conversions you want, it could be because you are saying the wrong thing.
Did you know that content is what helps you sell products? Good copy is the backbone of any website. Without it you are dead in the water. How do you expect to sell anything if your web content is boring or lacks substance of some type?
Your copy has to let your visitors know what you are selling and why they need to buy it. You have to appeal to their sense of entitlement. You have to appeal to their “what’s in it for me” mentality. To do this you must write website text that will entice your visitor to read and follow through until you accomplish the end result with the user: a sale.
This is known as online copywriting. When you write for your website, you have to write in a way to attract readers like a magnet. You want to compel your visitor to read your words. Try to remove all their fears about buying from you. You can do this by making your copy credible. How can this be done? By including testimonials. Testimonials tell the visitor that others have tried your product and liked it or found it worked for them.
You also have to explain the benefits they will get from buying your product. This is a very important part of copywriting. People are not interested in the features as much as they are about the benefits. For example, lets say you go to a car dealership in the heat of summer to buy a car. You request one with air conditioning. Now the salesman will come out and try to convince you to buy that car. In this case you are not interested in how the air conditioner works or how much energy it uses. All you want to know is will the air be cold enough to keep you comfortable in the dog days of summer. If you can do this in your website copy, you’ve done it.
If you have competitors selling the same thing, you have to stress your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). This is a special or unique feature or benefit of your product that is better than anything your competitors may have.
Do yourself a favor and write copy that really sells. Make sure to target your audience when you write for your website. Know your price and include it in your text. Above all, write an attention-grabbing headline that will really spark interest and get people to pay attention to what you have to say.
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. HighPowerSites is the easiest do-it-yourself website builder on the web. No programming or design skill required. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com

Article Marketing – Latest 5 Secrets to Improve Your Article Marketing

Author: Sean R Mize
Source: ezinearticles.com

There are so many ways to make your article marketing strategies more focused, more impacting, and more effective. Some of them are the following:

1. Get to know your readers. You can better serve your readers if you know what they require from you even before you write your first article. Take every opportunity that comes along the way to communicate with these people to get to know their needs and demands, the type of information they need, the language that they are using, and their level of comprehension. Keep in mind that the more information you gather about your audience, the higher your chances of making your articles highly targeted to their needs and demands.

2. Do your research. One of the best things that you can do to improve the perceived value of your articles is to load them up with several relevant information that your readers will find useful and valuable to their lives. Obtain as much information as possible by performing an extensive research. You can check out as many as online and offline resources as possible and interview other people who are considered industry leaders. The more informative your articles are, the higher your chances of earning the trust and confidence of your readers.

3. Keep it simple. Bear in mind that your primary goal in writing your articles is to inform or educate your readers. This will not be possible if you make it challenging for these people to easily get the message that you are trying to get across. Remember, your audience will not spend time checking out dictionaries or analyzing your ideas so you better explain your thoughts using the simplest terms possible. Also, keep your sentences short and make your content scannable to promote further reading and better comprehension.

4. Talk about your products and services. No, I don’t mean to say put blatant ads or sales pitches on your articles. What I mean is choose topics that will allow you to create a need for your offerings to make them more valuable to the eyes of your prospects. Let me give you an example; if you are selling air-conditioning system, you must write about topics about the importance and the convenience that air-conditioning units can offer to your readers to easily influence their buying decisions.

5. Use anchor texts. Based on research and studies, you’ll be able to increase your chances of getting people to click on your resource box if you use anchor texts instead of absolute URLs.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide.

Download it free here: Internet Marketing

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site?

Click here: Article Writing Guide

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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says “If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed”

Kiki And The Rattlesnake

Author: Kathie Freeman
Source: isnare.com

It gets hot in Texas. The air shimmers and dances above the plains, and the baking sun draws a spider’s web of foot-deep cracks in the hard-packed clay. Lizards dig in under the biggest rocks they can find, and even the prairie dogs hide deep in their burrows, venturing out only in the late evenings to scrounge for seeds and dry grasses. And cats? Well, cats mostly stay indoors, if they have a choice, in the cool, comfy world of air conditioning and ceiling fans.

The early mornings are nice, though, for strolls in the garden and for long, leisurely baths on the patio swing. Kiki’s stitches were by now completely healed, and the fur on her belly was rapidly growing back. She was certainly glad to be rid of that horrible funnel collar, too. What a nuisance that was! For nearly two weeks she hadn’t been able to wash anything but her front paws and half of her tail, and eating or drinking anything was a major challenge.

After her bath came the usual rounds of the garden and then the prairie dog colony. The first mound had fresh scent, and she probed it with one forepaw. Nothing down there but air. The second and third mounds produced the same result. Rats! After all this time you’d think she’d be able to catch at least one of the wily critters, but she hadn’t even come close.

Beyond the last mound, a scraggly creosote bush squatted next to a cluster of sand-blasted rocks, half concealing them with its twiggy umbrella. She hadn’t been out there yet. Maybe it was worth checking into. Her approach was casual but cautious. There was nothing particularly menacing about this particular rock formation, still, one can’t be too careful when venturing into unfamiliar territory. She nosed around the base of the largest boulder and placed one paw on the smooth stone. It was still cool to the touch, though the sun had just begun to caress its crown with one golden finger.

One easy bound brought her to the peak, where the sparse leaves struggled to provide just a bit of shade. Clusters of small yellow blossoms adorned the branches, and a lone honeybee clambered over the delicate petals, its leg-baskets heavy with pollen. Kiki sniffed at the spray of flowers it had just left, but the fragrance frankly left a good deal to be desired. In fact, the whole plant had a vaguely oily smell.

Kiki slid down the shady side of the boulder and instantly froze in her tracks. She stood motionless, hypnotized by the wedge-shaped head that undulated before her, jaws agape, hooked fangs bared. The dusky brown and grey coils of its long, lithe body churned restlessly, and its upraised tail rattled a stern warning. The menacing head flashed toward her. She leaped aside, feeling the brush of those fangs against her shoulder.

A more sensible cat would have probably high-tailed it for home and counted herself lucky, but something about this creature challenged her to stand and fight, and Kiki was never one to back down from a challenge. She’d had run-ins with snakes before, but a garter snake isn’t much more troublesome than a lizard when it comes down to a pitched battle. This was different. She knew instinctively that this was a dangerous, even a deadly foe.

Kiki circled to the side, looking for an opening. The serpent turned with her, its rough scales rasping like footsteps in dry leaves. It lunged again. Another near miss. Kiki retaliated with two sharp thwacks to the back of its prostrate head. The snake pulled back into itself and regarded her with cold, yellow eyes. Its forked tongue flicked in and out, testing the air for her scent. Again she circled and again it struck, this time a glancing blow to her flank. Close. Too close. She backed away a few feet to consider her strategy.

Her foe was quick and unpredictable, and she had only her reflexes to keep her alive. On the other hand, it seemed to have a fairly limited striking range, much less than its overall length might suggest. If she stayed just beyond that strike zone, she should be pretty safe.

Kiki paced back and forth just outside what she judged to be the danger zone, teasing it into another strike. It worked. This time it fell several inches short of its target. The snake pulled itself upright and fixed her with a baleful glare. Its tail rattled furiously. Try that again, it hissed. She did. The result was the same. Now it was just a matter of time and patience. Kiki’s was strong. The snake’s was wearing thin. Another strike and another. She could tell it was tiring. Two more futile lunges and she made her move.

Choosing the moment after a strike when the reptile lay prone and vulnerable, she sprang. She seized it a few inches behind that treacherous head and shook it savagely. The long body twisted violently, flipping her off her feet, but she hung on desperately. She didn’t dare let go now. She clamped down harder and jerked her head from side to side. Her jaws ached, and her shoulder was painfully bruised from being slammed against the ground, but still she held fast. The snake was almost finished. It twitched a few more times and lay still. Cautiously she released her grip and stepped back. One more spasm and it was over.

Kiki tapped it with one paw just to make sure. Nothing. A few licks to her sore shoulder and she was ready to attempt the next step – getting it back home. After all, she had to show off her prize, didn’t she?

Preferring to avoid those still-gaping jaws, she seized the beast by the tail and started dragging, or should I say trying to drag? That sucker was heavy! She braced with all four feet and pulled with all her strength. It moved just a little. One step backward, brace and pull. Step back, brace and pull. Slowly but surely it was coming.

The sun rose ever higher in the sky, and the hard-packed earth grew hotter and hotter. Every rock, every tuft of grass was a major obstacle. Nearly an hour had passed before she finally reached the edge of the garden. Another twenty minutes or so brought her to the back door. She meowed and knocked for admittance. Mama Morales was the first to respond.

“Ay, Dios mio!” she shrieked and slammed the door in Kiki’s face. Some welcome! Slightly exasperated, she knocked again. From inside she could hear Mama’s voice, still frantic, and Delia, trying vainly to soothe her hysterical mother.

“Calmase Mama. Take it easy! You give yourself a heart attack. Now what on earth ….. ” she was saying as she opened the door. “O-o-o-oh!” and once again the door slammed shut. After a moment it opened again, just a crack, and Delia peeked out. “Oh my goodness.” Closed again. This was getting real old, real fast. After all the trouble she’d gone to to bring them this magnificent trophy, this was the reception she got? She knocked again and meowed loudly.

The door opened a fourth time and out came a broom handle. Delia poked at the snake a couple of times to satisfy herself that it was truly dead. Then she opened the door a bit wider, snatched the cat inside, and slammed it shut again, leaving the hard-won prize on the patio. Kiki protested loudly but in vain. The door stayed closed.

“Kiki, what in the world….How in the world….Kiki, are you out of your mind? You could have been killed! Kiki, don’t you ever do that again, do you hear me? Not ever!”

“Ay Dios mio.” was all Mama Morales could manage.

The End
copyright 1998

Adapted from Catwalk, an exciting feline adventure story.

Hello From Cuba (10) – A Country Excursion

Author: Susanne Pacher
Source: isnare.com

Hotel Havana Libre, Sunday, April 10, 2005, 12:45 pm

After my walk through the Vedado neighbourhood, my friend Pedro came to pick me up since I had suggested a little excursion with a rental car to get to know the countryside. His wife and sister-in-law unfortunately coulnd’t make it since their cousin was coming to town. La Habana can feel a little claustrophobic since the transportation options are limited and even a basic taxi ride to the Eastern Beaches (Playas del Este) is quite costly.

And it’s also nice to get away from the city, which can get rather congested and contaminated with car exhaust fumes from all the old vehicles. I can’t imagine what the air must be like here in the summer when it is 35, 40 degrees Celsius with 80, 90 percent humidity. All the locals talk about the extreme heat in the summer and it’s better to visit outside of the months of June to September, even October.

In addition, August and September are very prone to hurricanes which are an additional complication, that’s why many buildings have crosses of thick adhesive tape attached to the glass. The tape prevents the glass from shattering when the hurricanes hit town.

Renting a car is always an interesting experience. I rented a small skoda at the Hotel Havana Libre for about $46CUC for 24 hours. If there were no damages and the gas tank was full upon return, there would be an additional $30CUC for the insurance and an additional driver. Being in the rental car felt strangly liberating because all of a sudden it was possible to overcome all the limitations of Havana’s public transport and you could go where you wanted.

My friend Pedro is an experienced driver and loves driving, so he drove and off we went eastwards along the coast. We passed by Cojimar, Playas de Este, Playa Guanabo and stopped at the Puente Bacunayagua bridge which forms the border between the provinces of La Habana and Matanzas. The bridge is more than 100 m high and the view extends through forests to the ocean in the north and inland there is a valley with lush vegetation (Valle de Yumuri) with a chain of medium-size mountains in the background. At the bridge there is a little basic restaurant and a shop for tourists and we stopped for an hour or so. We also saw a really oversized iguana, apparently it was the offspring of the mother iguana which apparently is twice the size. The animal must have been almost 10, 15 inches long, including tail.

We then proceeded eastwards, past Santa Cruz del Mar, where there is a big rum factory, to Matanzas, the capital of the province of the same name. We just took a little drive around town and didn’t stop, but the town has a couple of nice squares with monuments and statues. The architecture is definitely much less stunning than in La Habana. After Matanzas we drove inland to a small mountaineous area called “Escaleras de Jaruco”, from where we had a beautiful view inland and towards the sea.

On the way back we briefly stopped at Playas del Este to capture the sunset and then we headed off towards Cojimar, a town famous for its connection to Ernest Hemingway. The town apparently still houses a very old man who was the inspiration for the novel “The Old Man and the Sea”. Apparently the old man is still alive, probably around 100 years old or so and he used to receive visitors (for a small fee), but his health has deteriorated over the last few years and he no longer receives visitors. We wanted to have a nice dinner in a Paladar in Cojimar, but one was completely full, and the other one so expensive that we decided to continue on.

After our arrival back in La Havana we decided to go to a pizzeria near the Parque Central since I had a real craving for pasta. The food here can get a bit monotonous and I love Italian food, so we headed into a freezing, over-air-conditioned pizza parlour, where they had just run out of spagetthi. We tried another upscale Italian restaurant on the other side of the square, but it had prices that were higher than in some of Toronto’s fine restaurants and we decided to head back to the Barrio Chino since they also serve pasta.

There we tried to park the rental car, but in doing so, we had a little encounter with the local traffic police. They alleged that my friend was not wearing his seatbelt (although he was) and they ended up giving him a fine of 10 local pesos (about 40 Cents or so). Apparently it can happen very easily that a local Cuban gets stopped and the police impose a fine and there are not too many things you can do.

After a very filling pasta dinner (for less than $7 for 2 people) we headed back to the hotel which is very close to the University. There was a big concert on in front of the university’s steps and there were thousands and thousands of young people singing and chanting to the sound of a pretty famous Cuban pop group (“Moneda Dura”) which plays very popular music for young people with sociocritical undertones. The atmosphere among the people, singing and dancing in the street, was amazing. I ended up heading to bed at about 12 or so and the music from the concert stopped at about 12:20 am and the huge crowd dispersed.

Early this morning I awoke to the smell of exhaust fumes from some of the buses and old cars passing through. Since I had to take the rental car back at 11 am today, my friend came to the hotel early and we decided to visit the area of Miramar, also called “Playas” on the western side of Havana, past the Rio Almendares. Miramar is a very upscale area with many foreign embassies, upscale hotels and congress centres. “Marina Hemingway”, a nautical centre with canals, boats slips for yachts and private residences, is also located in Miramar.

It is so strange, but Miramar actually reminded me a bit of Fort Lauderdale. In general, Miramar, due to its more modern architecture, some of which is in very good condition, reminded me quite a bit of Florida. We visited a public sandy beach in Miramar which is surrounded by a range of public recreational buildings, most of which have been abandoned and are in dire condition due to the lack of public funds for upkeep. It is a real shame to see so much of the beautiful architecture around here collapsing and my professor said that in the future it may be cheaper to tear down a lot of the old architecture and rebuild from scratch than to try to preserve the old architecture, particularly in Habana Vieja.

As I had to return the rental car at 11 am today, we filled up the tank and although we had only gone about 250 km, the cost of the gasoline was $36 CUC (which is equivalent to about Can$45 or so), which was quite a bit more than I had expected. We took a brief tour through Nuevo Vedado, then past the Centro de Deporte Nacional, past the Comite Central (the Cuban government) and punctually returned the car at 11 am without any problems.

This afternoon I have been invited by my friend to come and meet his family at a private dinner. I am really looking forward to the experience of spending time with a Cuban family and from what I have experienced so far, Cuban hospitality is truly amazing. I’ll try to pick up a few flowers from the market and bring along some of the Canadian souvenirs that I brought from Toronto to reciprocate the favour. It’ll be interesting to see Cuban life from inside a Cuban home….