27 Dec 09 Online News Writing Framework

Writing news is different from writing an article, or writing a story, as the goal and readers of the news is also different (at least have a different mindset). Unlike a story, you do not need to build up your news till it climaxes in the last paragraph, and you are not also supposed to supply logic to prove a point the way you need to do with an article.

To keep things simple for you, I am providing here a news writing framework that will help you craft a piece of interesting to read news. This framework will help you make the news interesting to read. Fill the details in the following boxes and then just interweave them to give it the shape of a piece of news.

Tags: Boxes, Climaxes, Interesting News, Logic, Mindset, News Writing, Online News, Online Writing, Paragraph, Shape, Writing Help, Writing News

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14 Jul 09 How to Make Your Copy Sell

Writing a copy or a sales letter is one thing, and writing a copy or sales letter that boosts product sale is another thing. Sometimes a good copy (for simplicity sake, I will be using the word copy for any kind of writings that aims to sale a product) is the only difference between a successful and an unsuccessful product. In this article, we will talk about how to write a copy that pushes the consumer to buy.

Copy writing is like cooking. If you do it with love using proper ingredients in the right proportion then the guests will be delighted, but when the copy is cooked without much consideration to the proportion of each ingredient, the guests will excuse themselves and leave the party. A good copy consists of the proper use of six key ingredients, which we will discuss below.

Visitor value

No one is interested in knowing how cool the technology was that you used to make the product you are offering, nor do they want to know how ground-breaking the innovation is on which you have based your product. No one gets sold on empty words. People need empathizing words, words that understand their needs, and tell them how good their lives will be after using the product in question. They want to know, why they should invest time, energy and obviously money in the product you are selling.

Appeal to emotion

Do not get sold to the idea that we are made of nuts and bolts, reasons and logic, and comparison and decision. No, we are not. We are, if you prefer it that way, emotional fools. We are governed by the synaptic firings and misfiring, and yes we are made up of veins and bones. We only act when we feel something is important or worth it, and we see any worth or importance in any word or goods only when we understand the value of it, and we understand the value only if the product or the word connects. Touch me where no one has touch before, and I am all yours!

Headlines are important

How many times do you want me to reiterate the importance of headlines in making the visitors act? Instead of wasting my words on how important a good headline is, and how you should create one, I will suggest you to read How to Write Crowd-Pulling Headlines Part –I and three other articles following this. Please do not mind my words. I was trying to be funny. I know I have failed.

Make it lively

Well, the last two sentences of the previous paragraph was written deliberately to make you react, and that is what I call making the post lively. Do not preach gospel. You do not need to adopt a serious tone and make a long face to say something serious. People are not that dumb! You can use sarcasm, controversy (yes, I mean it), humor, drama, or anything that you think will make your writing lively. An image can also do the magic.

Third-party endorsement

My employer says I am a good writer. He thinks I am one of the best writers he has ever employed. Do you believe it, or will you believe it more when I say, I am the best writer around, and you cannot find a writer better than me in the budget you have? Which one sounds more credible? Indeed, the first one, and that is because someone else is saying I am good. You should do the same for the products you are writing about. We call it using testimonials. Testimonials vouch that there are people who liked this product. Use credible and authentic testimonials.

Call to action

Hey man, you wrote a great article, but what am I supposed to do? I liked what the product you wrote about, but from here where should I go? What should I do? These are some questions that are in desperate need for an answer, and the answer is call to action. Add call to action words like, “Hurry, the Offer is Limited!,” “Call Now to Avail Special Discount,” “Click here to Know More.” in the copy you write and the click through rate and also the conversion rate will increase significantly.

I hope I have done justice to this topic. What do you think? Have I missed something that had to be covered? Your suggestions, feedback and complains are welcome. Use the comment box below.

Tags: Appeal To Emotion, Bones, Copy Writing, Fools, Headlines, Innovation, Logic, Love, Money, Nuts And Bolts, Proper Ingredients, Proportion, Simplicity Sake, Technology, Time Energy, Using The Word, Veins, Word Copy, Writing Letter

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24 May 09 Anatomy of a Persuasive Letter

As the name suggest, a persuasive letter is written with an intention to move the recipient in the certain direction. Writing and winning the reader can be both easy and difficult depending upon the nature of the letter, and the mood of the recipient. If the recipient is in positive frame of mind, and is likely to accept the proposal then even a weak logic and not-so-strong persuasive letter will be effective, but if the recipient is not likely to accept your proposal then it will need some convincing before the recipient agrees to the proposal. Writing this kind of persuasive letter takes some research and effort.

There is a certain structure you need to follow in order to build a strong argument that in turn will win over the recipient. Before discussing the structure of a persuasive letter, let’s first talk about the research objective. The following list will tell you what all you need to know before you can begin writing a persuasive letter.

Define the target audience
Purpose of writing a persuasive letter.
Make a list of information you want to include in the letter
Make a list of supportive arguments. The arguments will show the reader what is in there for him.
Make a list of possible objections, or mental block that might be pushing the reader to decide against your proposal.
Is there something peculiar about the problem you are going to address? Make a list of it.

Anatomy of a persuasive letter

Introduction: Introduce your product, services and request in this first paragraph. Outline the important changes in this new version.

Outline the benefits: The introduction paragraph should be followed by the paragraph that will talk about the benefit of the product, services and request you are making. In this paragraph write statements that will build case for you.

Call for action: Once the recipient knows about the benefit he will have by accepting your proposal, you need to tell him what you want from him, and what action he should take to help you.

Thanks: Thank your reader for the time he has devoted in reading the letter. Also include a conclusion in this final paragraph. The conclusion should be as forward thinking as it can be.

Tags: Address List, Anatomy, Benefit, Frame Of Mind, Intention, Introduction Paragraph, Logic, Nature, Objections, Paragraph Outline, Proposal, Recipient, Research Objective, Target Audience, Version Outline, Writing A Persuasive Letter

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27 Dec 09 Online News Writing Framework

14 Jul 09 How to Make Your Copy Sell

Visitor value

Appeal to emotion

Headlines are important

Make it lively

Third-party endorsement

Call to action

24 May 09 Anatomy of a Persuasive Letter

Anatomy of a persuasive letter

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