A different take on writing “dry” copy!

I received a surprisingly entertaining update to a weather app on my iPhone recently.

It’s a great example of how a dash of creativity can make “dry” copy interesting:

How to make "dry" copy entertaining!

Survey Results: “Biggest key to persuasive writing”

Click image for bigger version

A while back‚ we asked our readers to vote on what they thought was the most important key to persuasive writing.

As you’ll know if you’ve done our training‚ of the options presented above‚ “consequences” or “implications” is the biggie (we call it “FBI”: Features‚ Benefits‚ Implications).

The good news, as you can see: Many (39 per cent) got it right. But it’s interesting that so many didn’t!

For an explanation‚ shoot a quick email to paul (at) magneto.net.au with the subject header “Tell me about FBI” and I’ll fire a short tip back to you.

When sitting is suicide

I hope you’re standing as you read this: Long hours sitting at your desk can kill you – EVEN IF you’re lean and you exercise regularly.

That’s a bummer (pun intended) when it comes to writing – or doing any desk work. A recent article in Men’s Health (“Why your desk job is slowly killing you”) cites numerous studies showing that sitting is an independent risk factor for heart disease. Here’s what stood out most to me:

•	A study of 17‚000 people found that those who sat for most of the day were 54 per cent more likely to die from heart disease‚ irrespective of their weight or how often they exercised.
•	Even if you exercise for 45 minutes five times a week‚ you’re still classified as “sedentary” if you work a 60-hour week at a desk.
•	We have a heart-disease-causing gene in our bodies that doesn’t respond to ANY amount of exercise‚ yet is activated (made worse) by sitting for as little as 45 minutes.

Take a stand
So should you ask for “danger” money because you’re always writing at work? Maybe not. The answer could simply be to STAND more.

Standing chews up as much as 50 per cent more calories than sitting‚ and has several other benefits, like helping to avoid neck and back pain.

Naturally you can’t just stand all day and be healthy. Regular exercise is crucial. But if you’re on your butt a lot‚ here’s how you can stand more to avoid your murderous chair:

1.	Stand up when talking on the phone.
2.	Do your brainstorming and research standing up.
3.	Can you raise your desk so you can stand and work? Some desks are adjustable. (Furniture designers: Give us a jack so we can raise and lower our desks!)
4.	If you use a laptop, three-drawer filing cabinets are a good height to stand and work from.
5.	Hold “stand-up” meetings. Added upside: Your meetings may be shorter!
6.	Better still, if you’re only meeting one or two others, have a “walkie-talkie” meeting‚ where you walk and talk. Walking could even give you better ideas (it activates your brain differently).

For more on applying these ideas, see “Brain Gym” here: http://www.magneto.net.au/Ezine/when_sitting_is_suicide.html

Can you think of more ways to get people out of their chairs? Help us live longer and share your thoughts below!

P.S. Here are some “standing desks” — some even come with treadmills or exercise bikes!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ario/1748276967/#/

http://unclutterer.com/2011/04/29/workspace-of-the-week-standing-desk-in-a-cubicle/

Creativity for cut-through

An excellent example of how creativity can give you “cut-through” (when you cut through the clutter and get noticed).

 

Subject headers that get opened

Although I normally delete emails from a particular sender, they just used a great subject header that MADE me open it:

Paul, where do I send your free gift?

Now, call me opportunistic, but who doesn’t want something for free? The fact that I didn’t actually want their free gift is beside the point – curiosity drove me to open their email!

Some other principles to keep in mind:

• Ensure the reader is familiar with your “From” field. If they know your business, XYZ Company, but don’t know you, make your email show “From: XYZ Company | [Your Name]“.
• Keep your subject header short – some say less than 60 characters, maximum. I say scan your own email inbox. Which subject headers do you tend to read? For these tired eyes today, it’s those less than about six words. The shorter the better.
• Subject headers are really headlines. Some proven principles of headlines are news/announcement (“Magneto trainee voted ‘Best Writer in Universe’”), benefits (“How to get your readers saying ‘yes’ more often”), and curiosity (“Like to work less yet do more?”).

Let’s use this post to collect email subject headers that worked. Keep your eyes peeled, and when you see one, add it as a comment below!

P.S. Here are some good “sales” headlines to play with, from the founder of Copyblogger, Brian Clark:

http://www.copyblogger.com/10-sure-fire-headline-formulas-that-work/

500 billion words analysed

Researchers from Google, Harvard and Encyclopedia Britannica just finished a four-year project, analysing over five million books (four per cent of all books ever published). The “digital fossil record,” as they call it, contains over half a trillion words in seven languages.

One of the findings: In just 100 years, the English language doubled in size, from 544,000 words in 1900, to 1,022,000 in 2000. (Could that explain why your grandparents seemed to talk less than you?)

For more fascinating facts about your culture, check out the full story.

How to write under pressure

Are you so time-poor that you’re debating whether you should even read this?

If ridiculous deadlines knot your gut and give you tunnel vision causing you to miss even basic errors, this is for you. But even if you’re an adrenaline junkie, needing the pressure to perform, it’ll help you, too, because it’s all about process.

Clear, familiar processes are lifesavers when you’re under pressure and not thinking straight. So, as pilots practice emergency drills until they’re second nature, try to internalise the process below — print it, look at it daily, use it often — so that when you’re under the pump you’ll do it automatically.

1. Objective: Clarify what you want to achieve. “Begin with the end in mind” (Stephen Covey).
2. Readers: Stand in their shoes. If you were them, what would interest you about this? Why would you want to do what you’re asking? Why wouldn’t you, and how could you overcome that?” More: “Know Thy Readers”
3. Dump: Do a brain dump. Quickly jot down your points as bullets, in any order.
4. Signpost: Next, highlight your major points and write snappy subheads above them. Signposting your structure like this makes text highly readable. More: “Subheads — A GPS for Your Reader”
5. Restructure: Is your message informational or persuasive? If informational, move the “big news” to the top. If persuasive, try motivating them with the consequences of doing or not doing what you’re asking. We call this FBI in our courses (Features – Benefits – Implications). More: “Video: Six Steps to Persuasion”
6. Proofread: Never trust yourself. Hidden errors are guaranteed — the only question is how big or embarrassing they are. Biggest key: reread with fresh eyes — yours (after putting it aside for a while) or someone else’s. More: “Exterminating Errors”

“That’s too much — I said I was busy!”
Did you skip what I said earlier? (You’re under pressure, after all!) The key is to internalise the process so you do it automatically. Any new knowledge seems daunting and slow to apply at first, until it becomes subconscious. Chunk it down: Try applying a few tips at a time.

Got a different take on it? How do you handle deadline pressure? Do your stressed-out buddies a favour and share a tip or two below!

A 2300-year-old persuasion tip

Like to learn about the gold standard in persuasion that dates back to 300 BC?

To see it, first vote on what YOU think is the most important key to persuasion.

The knowledge you seek, Grasshopper, will then be revealed…

Writing tips from PUAs (pick-up artists)

Did you know that, if you’re male, you can become a certified Pick-Up Artist (PUA)?

Whether you think it’s interesting or idiotic, a recent Sydney Morning Herald article (link at end) on the phenomenon got me thinking: Would the same principles of charming women also work to charm readers? After all, it’s just psychology, right?

With a bit of tweaking, yes:

1. “Smile; it makes you more attractive.”
   • Your writing IS you. People make snap judgments about you based on your document. So make it look sharp: Consider layout, formatting, graphics and overall presentation.
   • Make emails more readable with bullet lists; short, chunky paragraphs; and above all (literally), a clear “summary” subject header.
2. “Be genuine. Women can smell a lie.”
   • To sound authentic, write (almost) like you speak. Use plain English.
   • When persuading, admitting a small fault helps people believe your other claims.
3. “Maintain strong eye contact. It shows confidence.”
   • Get your eyes off your needs and onto your client’s. Listen carefully when they talk about what they need.
4. “Talk about your passions. Bore yourself and you’ll bore her.”
   • Be passionate about your topic. Choose your attitude. If you’re going to spend time on it, you may as well make it sing! Far from boring people, you’ll inspire them (and probably yourself).
   • If it really does bore you, DIG. There’s gold in them thar hills; you just haven’t found it yet. Dig into your reader’s mind; what, about your topic, turns them on? Dig into the topic; what interesting angle hasn’t been covered yet?
5. “Don’t use money to impress. You’ll just lose respect.”
   • Deserve respect. Back up your claims with solid proof. Be specific; e.g., don’t tell them that X will save time, give them an idea of how much time.
   • Good design is important, but won’t mask bad writing.

What do YOU think are the best ways to charm, engage or persuade your readers? Share them below!

Paul

P.S. Here’s the Sydney Morning Herald story on Pick-Up Artists.

 

Writing for SELFISH readers

This is the third in our “lazy, busy, selfish” readers series. (See the others here.)

The essence of them is that even if your readers aren’t lazy, busy or selfish, if you assume they are you’ll get much better results.

Here’s how to write for selfish readers:

• Make it about them and how it affects them. E.g., don’t tell them you want to meet to tell them about your doodad; do some digging so you can say you want to meet to solve a problem you KNOW they’ve been struggling with (that your doodad fixes).

• Transmit on WII-FM. All readers are listening to this station: “What’s In It – For Me?” E.g., first tell your staff about how the new computers will improve their lives, and THEN about how good they’ll be for your company and your customers. Selfish first; idealism second.

• Use “YOU” more. Research shows that using words like “you”, “your”, “yours” and the reader’s name at least twice as much as “I”, “me”, “my”, “our”, etc, makes writing much more engaging. E.g., don’t say, “Customers who do X will get Y.” Say, “If YOU do X you’ll get Y.” (Capitals for emphasis only!)

• Specifics sell. You need all the persuasiveness you can muster to hook selfish readers. Selfish people are cynical, so quantifying some of your claims can boost your credibility. E.g. don’t say X will save them time; give them some idea of how much time it could save them.

As sales guru Zig Ziglar says, “You can get everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.” ‘Nuff said.

Have I helped you get more of what you want? Got a “selfish” tip or experience you could share? I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below…