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vangogh
04-20-2009, 10:07 PM
Mark Twain said the difference between the right word and the almost right word is “the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

A few weeks ago I posted a thread, choosing the right words for more sales (http://www.small-business-forum.net/copywriting/1280-choosing-right-words-more-sales.html), in which I linked to a post at CopyBlogger.

Consider this thread a follow up to that one. It also links to a follow up post from CopyBlogger, 50 Trigger words and phrases for powerful multimedia content (http://www.copyblogger.com/trigger-words/). This post will walk you through a list of potential trigger words in various categories.

Health and Hope
Anger and Frustration
Betrayal and Revenge
The Forbidden and the Powerless
Passion and Urgency

Each of the above are powerful emotions and the post will give you a few trigger words for each to get you started.

Any words you can add to the list?

KristineS
04-21-2009, 04:22 PM
I think something to do with fear or being afraid. You can goad some people into doing something by accusing them of being afraid. You can also use words to play on people's fear of something, be it sickness or losing a loved one or bugs or dogs or whatever. I'm surprised that category wasn't mentioned.

vangogh
04-21-2009, 06:47 PM
The fear thing can be as easy as fear of missing out. That's why you see so many time sensitive offers. 50% off until Tuesday sort of thing. I guess fear of loss is covered under urgency.

You're right though. I'm surprised there wasn't a full section of trigger words on fear. Guess it wasn't meant to be all inclusive though


There are way more emotional trigger words and phrases than the examples I list here. And there are many more categories of emotion to tap into. My hope is to simply get you thinking about word choice, regardless of your content format of choice.

BBlackwood
06-12-2009, 04:12 PM
The most potentially compelling word in copywriting is "imagine." To imagine something, you have to leave your rational left brain and delve into your unconscious. It literally induces a light hypnotic trance.

When you combine that with a powerful suggestion to imagine actually receiving the benefit of what you're offering, you have moved your prospect from rationally considering your offer to actually experiencing ownership.

vangogh
06-12-2009, 06:51 PM
"Imagine" is a good word to use. I've seen the advice often that if you can get your potential customer to imagine themselves using your product you've moved much closer to the sale.

It's a word I tend to use naturally, but having seen and understood the advice I'm more conscious of tossing it into my copy at times.

strilascu
12-29-2009, 06:20 PM
The optimal length of a blog is something that attracts heated debate. Here is a discussion that points out that it isn't the length but proper handling of the topic with good, tight writing.

Jay Abraham, the master of the 20-page direct mail copy, demonstrated the fallacy of arguing over length. He teaches that a person will read a piece of any length as long as it interests him or her.

<please set up a signature>

vangogh
12-29-2009, 06:31 PM
Agreed. I always thought the debate about how long a blog post should be a silly one. A blog post should be as long as it needs to be to communicate what you need or want to say.

You should, however, design the page to make it easy to scan. Many people seeing a large mass of text will decide it's too much effort and move on. If you structure the content with headings, use shorter paragraphs, mix in some images and whitespace you do have a better chance of having your post read. To imply that a blog post has a perfect length though is just silly.

Paul Elliott
02-09-2010, 07:36 PM
You should, however, design the page to make it easy to scan. Many people seeing a large mass of text will decide it's too much effort and move on. If you structure the content with headings, use shorter paragraphs, mix in some images and whitespace you do have a better chance of having your post read.

Bullets and lists make great formatting tools.

Paul

vangogh
02-09-2010, 08:39 PM
Yep. I typically use some lists in most every post. I don't like posts that are all list, but I think it makes sense to get in a few bullet points here and there for the formatting.

Spider
02-10-2010, 09:04 AM
Okay. If we cannot argue about how long a blog post (or an article, or a webpage) is to be, can we argue about how much white space is enough, too much or not enough. Bearing in mind that ANY white space will add to the length of the post/article/page.

I am reminded of the gardening expert that says such-and-such plant needs to be well-watered but not over-watered. The trouble is, my watering-can is marked "1-gall" "2-gall" "3-gall" instead of "not enough" "enough" and "too much" and my hose has no markings at all!

I get the bullet points and I get the sub-headings, but I've never been able to figure out how much white space to apply. Using the "what seems right" principle has killed more plants than I care to admit, so I wonder if the same might be true for some blogs/artilces or webpages I have written.

Any suggestions?

vangogh
02-10-2010, 11:34 AM
Frederick a few months back I wrote a post all about whitespace in design (http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/whitespace/) so I hope you don't mind if I point you there for more details.

Whitespace is important. I don't know that there's going to be a rule that says you need x&#37; of whitespace, though I'm not thinking you were expecting something like that either. The reason whitespace is important is that it allows room for what you want to be seen be seen.

Whichofthesesentencesiseasiertoread?
Which of these sentences is easier to read?

Obviously the second one. That's because I've added space between the letters as you normally would when writing. The space allows you to see the individual words where in the first sentence you can't.

Now take it further. In addition to spaces between words you'll add spaces between paragraphs. You'd want to have space between your text and any images in your post. Space between the text and the borders of the area containing them.

Imagine a page which is nothing but one paragraph after another. It's not inviting to read. Your words have to work extremely hard to pull someone in. Most people will see the dense text and think of the effort it will take to get through it. Some will put in the effort, some won't.

If on the other hand you add more whitespace throughout your text becomes more inviting, because there doesn't seem to be that same effort required.

One thing I mentioned in my post is a comparison between the stores Banana Republic and The Gap. Both are owned by the same company, but their stores are designed differently and appeal to different markets. If you've ever been in a Banana Republic store you'll notice most of the store is empty space. They don't try to fill up everything with products. That gives the store a sense of elegance and luxury (they must be doing well if they can leave all that space empty) and makes you think upscale. As a consequence they can charge more.

The Gap on the other hand is stuffed wall to wall with as many products as possible. You get a very different sense walking into one that you would walking into a Banana Republic. It's not seen as upscale, but rather discount. The prices are less. Oddly since both stores are owned by the same company I think they often sell the same clothing. The clothing probably starts at Banana Republic and then makes its way to The Gap a few months later.

Getting back to visually designing a blog post of article. Keep in mind that anyone landing on one of your articles probably has plenty to do. They can also likely find an article similar to yours somewhere else quickly. Don't make them want to find that other article. Make your post easy and inviting to read. If you add some whitespace and even some images into your posts it appears as though there's less text and less effort to read and more people will end up reading.

One last point. Think about an art gallery in a museum. Are the paintings all hung next to each other so they touch? No each is given some space around it. The reason is if you put them all next to each other and packed as many as you could on one wall, you wouldn't notice any of them individually. You'd have to put in a lot of effort to notice one painting. By hanging them so there's a lot of space between one painting and the next each has a chance to stand out. Whitespace or negative space helps you see what's in the positive space.

Hopefully some of the above helps. Check the post I linked to for more details.

Spider
02-10-2010, 01:21 PM
...Using the "what seems right" principle has killed more plants than I care to admit...
Frederick a few months back I wrote a post all about whitespace in design (http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/whitespace/) so I hope you don't mind if I point you there for more details.
Whitespace is important. I don't know that there's going to be a rule that says you need x&#37; of whitespace, though I'm not thinking you were expecting something like that either...I get the points, VG, although my post was intended to be a little lighter than your posts seemed to recognize. Not entirely without seriousness, though.

I read your linked post - very useful - and a couple of the other linked posts. Was I expecting or hoping for a set rule? To some degree, yes. I mean, I know what I like but I don't know what everyone else likes. I always preferred sales letters with space and pictures and subheadings, etc. Then I saw an 8 x 11 sheet of solid text, smallish font, close spaced, very narrow margins, the faintest of paragraph breaks, typed in Courier (or some other 'typewriter' text) and I felt the excitement, the urgency, and read it all the way through. I have no idea why.

Okay. I'm not going to get any set rules. I guess no-one has ever painted a masterpiece by numbers. That's why we have designers and artists, huh?! :)

KristineS
02-10-2010, 01:38 PM
Frederick, unfortunately white space is very subjective. I have this argument with my IT Director all the time. I like lots of white space, he likes considerably less. Over time we've learned to let the site dictate or the piece dictate how much white space there should be. Some things have a lot, some have very little.

As a general rule, pieces for our companies tend to have more white space and our web sites tend to have less. We seem to have found the balance between boring and busy and it works for us. I guess everyone just has to determine their own comfort level.

vangogh
02-10-2010, 03:23 PM
Yeah I guess I posted more than you needed. The thing is there isn't going to be any paint by numbers approach here. Whitespace is a principle of design and how much and where you use it really comes down to the specific design and the specific audience.


I always preferred sales letters with space and pictures and subheadings, etc. Then I saw an 8 x 11 sheet of solid text, smallish font, close spaced, very narrow margins, the faintest of paragraph breaks, typed in Courier (or some other 'typewriter' text) and I felt the excitement, the urgency, and read it all the way through. I have no idea why.

There were probably a lot of factors in the design that made you want to read that 8 x 11 sheet. Whitespace is only one aspect of design. Ultimately it's the combination of many aspects that will determine if the design is good or not.

For a simple guideline know that whitespace is going to make your content easier and more inviting to read. You don't have to over think it wondering exactly how much you need.

A slightly different yet related concept is using images to break up the text of your post. For awhile now I've been adding images to every post I write. There are times where an image is clearly related to a specific piece of text and so naturally it gets added near that text, but otherwise here's how I decide where to add them.

I write the post and look at the preview and then every few paragraphs I add an image. There's really not that much more thinking that goes into it. Same thing with whitespace. I know that too many paragraphs in a row is going to make the text less inviting so where I can I'll drop in a list or a blockquote or an image or something that breaks up the monotony of one block of text after another. I might even break one long paragraph into two for no other reason than to get in the extra space between them.

Don't over think it. Just add something here and there to break up the text. The more you do it, the more you'll develop a sense for where it might be best to add the extra space.

greenoak
05-23-2010, 09:24 AM
i like fun...party and free....and anything about taking a break....
love the twain quote
also like lists on my blog...but i have trouble with the numbers....i think i will try bullets...
my blog is in the doldrums right now...probably because of neglect due to facebook...im only getting about 40 readers a day...so bad!!! but my facebook has 580 fans...!!!!
on both i really think a lot of it is about the pictures....thats what i hear from my customers...