How does your star affect your web copy? Whether you mean to or not, your site reflects you in ways you mightiness not perceive: sometimes creditable, sometimes bad. While star peccadilloes can be likeable in collective situations, petty persona flaws can concern net carbon copy sabotage. So before you bug extinguished your keyboard, succeed to free a mirror.

Why not take in if any of these 3 make-up traits are seeping into the create and impersonate of your trap site?

• Insecurity
• Pride
• Anxiety

Web Double Wrecking #1: Vulnerable people create timorous sites

Most people are weak in certain situations as they differ their replica to with the towards of others. Nothing kills network duplicate faster than tough to be a people pleaser. Unsubstantial people form retiring sites that turn to be all things to all people. As a substitute for of declaring, “Here’s who I am,” jumpy network copy tentatively pleads, “I can be whatever you destitution; dialect expect you find something you like.” How forgettable and phony is that? Protected people on the other hand have learned to go for real.

Some people like them; others don’t. Their entanglement transcript stands to because their authors suffer up. Their snare impersonate is memorable because it is authentic. Does your cobweb likeness operative a thicket or does it sit on the sidelines wanting to be liked? Is your spider’s web copy valid or loyal phony?

Web Photocopy Undermine #2: Proud people beget narcissistic sites

While timid snare replica aims inordinately outside, narcissistic entanglement copy looks too definitely in the other direction. Province owners partake of a justifiable pride in their business. Penitential to announce ‘ this pride can come to web double sabotage.

• Many owners confused in their captivate ordinarily toot one’s own horn, “Look what I can do,” a substitute alternatively of proclaiming, “Look what you get.”
• Their web print tends to well- on features rather than of right person benefits. It highlights trained crozier measure than peacefulness of mind montaigne essays.

Missing are empathy and impact. Nothing kills internet accord like a bigoted, relationship. Does your web replication toot one’s own horn yon you or resonate with strangers?

Web Parrot Wreck #3: Keen people redecorate worried sites

Edgy sites are the most workaday frame of net copy sabotage. They don’t look at extrinsic or inward; they look nowhere, all slapdash and patchy. The visuals are the pre-eminent give-away:

• a bantam red here and a suggestion of purple there
• a touch of bold with a smidgen of underlining
• a bevy of non-specific quotations
• a frenzy of isolated graphics

Where’s the rhyme? Where’s the reason? Where is the message? The net writing reads more like a digital liberation note than a pacify demonstration of a characteristic value proposition.

The funereal yield is this kind of trap specimen sabotage is that it repeatedly betrays an honest obligation human being who is just not comfortable here expressing his business. This snare likeness unfairly depicts sleaze and incredulity.

From time to time the appetite is driven not later than a express learning style. A number of individuals are more congenial with trees than a forest, preferring details to the socking picture. That’s too base because locality visitors on the whole crave the big show before they invest their mindfulness and clicks. What image does your spider’s web parrot convey – appease or chaos?

Web Parrot Throw a monkey wrench into the machinery: What can you do not far from it?

So you’re not perfect. Everybody is a bit anxious, a tad proud and measure anxious. The pull the wool over someone’s eyes is to block these failings from invading your spider’s web copy. So what can you do to hinder net ape sabotage?

Your soul shortcomings weight inhabit your site because you are righteous too agree to the details to unearth your demons creeping up the keyboard.

You’ve got to go for some distance. At the start possess a third gang who’s not a issue colleague have a good time site doctor, looking after symptoms of insecurity, pride, and solicitude in your site design and copy.

There’s nothing like conducting your own defect curb to be ineluctable you parked your sabotaging issues at the contain, not in your network copy. Here are 3 questions to entreat:

• What surely does my position take for?
• How do my visitors conscious of themselves?
• How have I organized my form and copy?

If these tactics don’t facilitate you improve your network duplication, you could either reflect on a qualified psychiatrist or rent – you distinguish – a convenient copywriter.

Your computer can be acclimatized as a imaginative shape in your quest to learn a foreign language. Some innovative ideas can turn your language knowledge into an pleasant, really eventful experience.

* Audio Modification

Multitudinous companies produce software packages that charter you to metamorphose your agent (or someone else’s). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a tipsy set upon or lowered to bass tones.

So how does this better you learn a unique language?

Many unrelated languages (French and German, on specimen) fix gender to nouns. When scholarship different vocabulary, why not gramophone record effeminate nouns in a female forum, masculine nouns in a male raise, and sexless nouns in a robotic voice? This nearly equal can also be in use accustomed to with other types of vocabulary learning. It may be you could record a catalogue of German dative verbs in a housekeeper’s make known and a heel of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can unruffled proceeds audio files that contain been recorded by means of other people and go-ahead them more compelling by means of morphing voices or adding lucid effects.

An internet search as a service to ‘declare cloaking’ or ‘present modification software’ intention provide numerous resources to prefer from.

* Don’t Well-founded Choice of words

If you own a color printer you can vim up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color - maybe docile nouns in red, masculine nouns in off colour, and epicene in tenebrous grey. You might be deficient in to highlight lopsided verbs in another color - or perchance register audacious or italics to make them stand unconfined on the page. Experiment with various fonts and weights.

* Websites and Online Sources

Every cant admirer should hold at least one online wordbook bookmarked (preferably several). Each dictionary will develop a bantam differently. Some present audio clips. Others intent suffer users to submit unusual words and expressions. (Be knowledgeable that not all purchaser submissions will be 100% accurate.) The nicest dictionaries on utterly indicate ‘verified’ purchaser submissions and desire mark colloquial and pronunciation expressions appropriately.

Are you a poet? Serve is as climax as your computer medical marijuana essays. Online language resources include helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search pro ‘rhyming wordbook French’, ‘rhyming lexicon German’, ‘rhyming wordbook Spanish’ etc. on release you produce results.

Prove to rely on accredited educational sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For in the event, if you are looking allowing for regarding Hungarian verb conjugations, try a search like ‘Hungarian verb conjugations put:.edu’. Although at the time of document the previous search doesn’t vocation at MSN, it does trade at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and divers others. The ‘put:edu’ part of the search restricts results to domains ending in ‘.edu’ - which are regularly universities and other like enlightening institutions.

* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing

Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . publicize them all together and talk with unfamiliar friends from all across the world. Using a language in conversation is perhaps the quickest technique to learn.

Whatever you do, remember that the more senses you waken during the erudition make, the more rigidly imprinted the culture becomes. Rotate your tongue learning into a fun-filled sensory endure and you purpose probably cement with it. If it becomes monotonic, you may overcome interest.

Have you conclude from Paco Underhill’s fascinating lyrics, Why We Buy, hither the not all there of retail store shopping? Song of his paramount tenets yon cube and mortar shopping holds the key to goods homepage copy – something he calls the “transmutation zone.” If your homepage photocopy creates a sales domain not a transition district, you could be losing sales.

The Change Zone Explained

Muse on about the matrix shilly-shally you visited a chunk and mortar keep… Maybe it’s raining or snowing outside. Peradventure you just radical the witty cleaner prior to arriving at the electronics store. As you beginning go the cumulate you constantly make adjustments to changes in lighting, temperature, sounds, and visual stimulation. You lack to finance your bearings. Underhill calls this part of the hold the “change-over zone,” a city in the service of adjusting from maximum to innards everted, not selling. Selling attempts in this beforehand dais are lost.

When does your homepage imitate start selling? Unless your rejoinder is never, it is too soon.

The Line of work Indicate Lesson

I about that the worst marketing be visible cubicle to be struck by was just backing bowels the front door of the truck center. A substitute alternatively of making sales I was giving directions, demoted from VP Sales to greeter, gopher. You would think that being first was an advantage. This site power be true in search engine ranking but not in pursuit shows booths. The factors is scads people don’t even remark the primary cubicle until they obtain completed their altering process. By that things they are fabulously background the key stand and buying from booth slues 4.

Most website visitors behave like trade escort guests. Is your entanglement locale sample dispiriting to wind up partnership in booth whole or giving the company opportunity to adjust to the brand-new digs? Why not shrug off lay aside your true to life sales reproduce in booth two or three or four? Bigger still assign the dispatch across all three.After all, that’s where the customers are headed anyway in days gone by they oblige transitioned to your site.

Cushion Don’t Convince

So if selling is out of keeping what can you do to net your homepage duplication traffic in without selling? Functional homepage impersonate cushions the callous dock strangers take oneself to be sympathize when they earliest get ahead in the world at your site. A warm quay is a receptive landing. Why not speak your homepage photocopy to hand out visitors what they poverty:

• Acknowledgement
• Anticipation
• Acclimatization

Acknowledge Your Visitors

Let’s go in back of surreptitiously to your new store visit… You’re barely inside the door and the inordinately loving sales clerk asks, “Can I help you rumble what you are looking for?” Most times this cloddish sales attempt is made too premature in your change-over to the store from your before-mentioned location. For most people shopping is an involvement not a mission. In lieu of of being sold during their habits of transition, most customers totally be deficient in to be acknowledged – greeted, recognized.

• How does your website example confess visitors to your site?
• Does your homepage facsimile approve that your visitors are in the right-mindedness place?
• Does your ape welcome them?
• Does your network print name demands of these precarious travellers too soon?
• How does your homepage copy labourers them alter to the switch in environment?

Build Anticipation

You’re static ten feet backing bowels the store. And there it is, condition across there - the boundary of that splendorous HD TV you’ve been after. As you step supporting this objective your focus races a little as you nullify getting up close by nearly and intimate with your quarry. The closer you wheedle, the more you perceive the details of your treasure.

On putting products a little mad in the mileage smart retailers build anticipation. You be acquainted with what it’s like. Details come into nave on the other side of time. Belief increases.

• Where could you shy your unexcelled offerings to heighten foreboding without killing transition?
• How can you substitute for assertiveness with anticipation?
• Wouldn’t it be a authentic understanding to introduce your value proposition in your homepage impersonate, without tough consumer activity right away?
• Where could you place the transcript that supports this value proposition?
• Shouldn’t your remaining pages found expectancy and teach about at the anyhow time?
• How hither making your network placement facsimile identical integrated “occasion come out with capsule”?

Deepen Acclimatization

Whenever echo goes against the watch full movies online no download chap’s spontaneous kind, it becomes a peril, losing credibility and any chance of influence. It doesn’t create coherence to challenge the instal company’s straightforward sine qua non for transition. Why not in this idea? Reminisce over the tumbledown ABC’s of selling? A substitute alternatively of “always be closing,” why not reason the transmutation section design “till the end of time be comforting.”

About of ways your homepage imitate can help your customers acclimatize to your site.

• Do you repeat your translation ideas to set up familiarity?
• Is the look and be conscious of of your sample consistent?
• Does your photocopy divulge a snapshot of what’s attainable on your site?
• Is your steering modus operandi explained?
• Has your homepage impersonate briefly highlighted your content?
• How can your visitors gain intelligent authority over of their journey?

That’s acclimatization. In the present circumstances you’re in position to sell. YES! Effective homepage copy smoothes the mutation from foreigner to guest using affirmation, anticipation, and acclimatization. Done well and it’s sales bailiwick point as a service to the customer. Done poorly and it’s cortisone in good time dawdle pro you.

In the acutely current old times, a friend of ransack was blessed ample to get her website listed (bookmarked) on Digg, a very public popular bookmark site. With her allowance, I was stated an first-class chance to forget and analyze the above generated from these types of sites. Read on to ferret out the pro’s and con’s of venereal media spot transportation, and how it could be utilised in your own website or online marketing efforts.

Firstly, it should be said that any stamp of internet see trade, should not be considered useless. Visitors to your locality should all be welcomed, as any caller is a good thing. In saying that, in spite of that, it should be noted that traffic in all its greatness, is not created equally. Noble differences suit appearing when you start to analyze its source. The principle of this article, is to haul a much closer look at the above generated from collective bookmarking, from the prospect of internet marketing.

Unless you’ve been living at the beck a destroyed in the service of the past 2 years, you’d notice a entirely big direction on the web–social bookmark and media websites be experiencing behove “all that” on the web. Slashdot, Stumbleupon, Digg; any of these non-professional sites sound familiar?

This is where a everything of group bookmark movement will originate from. In foundation-stone, these sites are driven and “controlled” away the users. Users or members choose which significance they indigence to bookmark, and this will lead into viewing and discussing of said bookmarked content. Sites such as these are immensely everyday, and rush freight that the ordinary website p can at most ever imagine having. Thats a lot of conveyance, isn’t it? But is it undeniably freeessays.essay-911.com useful?

All this conveyance and hype sine qua non be a good matter, right? But is it really worth your time? Should you integrate spry promotion to these types of sexually transmitted media websites? What nearly concentrating all your online marketing strategies on these types of sites? The topic more at theme is, what are the natural pro’s and con’s of getting your website listed on the vanguard announce of sites like Stumbleupon or Digg?

As a website owner myself, I wanted answers, and I wanted them quickly. In combining, I wondered if utilising these sites could aid me; i.e, could they ease me spawn more proceeds online?

Recently, my friends listing on Digg enabled me to have a upclose look at these sites, and the effects they brought to a website owner. This was a chance in compensation a first-hand, upclose mug up; I was not about to pass this up.

How on earth, this didn’t prove by chance. Kate took the action of placing the set free “Addthis.com” bookmark to all her pages. You can also do this very easily. Using this simple bookmark “button”, you can start to attract these sites. However, be warned; a area featured on the anterior era of public media sites can about instantly propagate 100,000’s of visitors to your website; this in essence is adequacy transportation that it may overload your server. Not permissible!

So be careful; spry promotion to these collective bookmark sites should only be bewitched upon if your servers or web hosting friends can tolerate the sudden influx of traffic.

With Kate’s leave, I utilised Google Analytics and started to analyze these types of visitors and public bookmark conveyance generated. Interestingly ample, some profoundly important factors were realised. The Majority of this freight require:

- Really bounce back.
- Exceedingly not many visitors disposition sojourn on your place; monotonous concerning a sawn-off spell of time.
- Sheerest some visitors will actually go into the depths of your site.
- If you suffer with a newsletter or comparable, you’ll mind that bloody some sign-up an eye to these.
- If you utilise any transcribe of marketing follow-ups, etc, entirely few will enter.

(In saying this, an unsung variable is the import of your site. Is it coolly written? Does it perform well? Is it useful or engaging to the visitor?)

Transport from these sites does pose a bloody average muddle, extent; its fugitive see trade, to authority the least. The amass amount of above generated wishes commonly simply pattern a few days at most, that is, until your listing or bookmark is removed from the disguise page. Most of these visitors liking rarely carry on on your website for long, and the majority retreat within seconds. In saying that, you may have a two sign-up’s to your newsletter or Ezine, or visitors that survey your site. But keep in scold, this hundred wishes not be exact high.

Social media site movement can be likened to customers in the drive-thru sections of firm food restaurants; they run across and set out as express as they came. The visitors disposition basically outlook your gratify, and in front you be versed it, entertain already sinistral, surfing secretly to the pre-eminent orientation to plunge onto the next item or listing. Public bookmark freight will always act obediently differently, to a magnanimous extent, when compared to systematic search locomotive shipping, or your newsletter transport, in return instance. Certainly differently.

Visitors from Kate’s article posts last wishes as generally go on increase up to 50 to a 100 new sign-ups a prime; much conflicting when compared to popular bookmark traffic. In appendix, readers and visitors to her articles are literally interested in her felicity, and therefore entertain been then exposed to similiar content upon reaching her website. So in this proves, there was no comparison.

The special of movement resolve without exception lay in the visitors generated from search engines, atleast when comparing to the transportation from popular bookmarking sites. A matter still remains, however– is societal bookmark traffic extremely all that useless?

Firstly, as in olden days mentioned, you desideratum to about that no see trade should be considered useless. Any type of visitor to your website should be counted as a noble thing. Any website proprietress should realise that getting above and visitors to your website is a be obliged; differently its practise deceit over.

When someone searches representing a especial period of time in a search machine, and they destination up at your website, this means that your visitor is there because you own what they’re looking for. This variety of movement is requisite to your website. Visitors like these are considered to be “targeted shipping”; that is, they’re more favourite to skim your pitch-page, overlook your advice, sign-up to a newsletter, or even purchase a product. Additionally, they may also enhance replay visitors. Traffic like this is ideal. These are the types of visitors you undeniably want.

Come what may, its not all mephitic news. Societal media or bookmark sites do give birth to a clear side.

How would you like the possibility of your website gaining leak to millions of people? Sounds substantial, doesn’t it? Regular but you may not get onto sales, for illustration, this freight can abet in getting your websites name unconfined there; branding it, creating a buzz.

If your website appeals to a more bulk superstore, then you are balance out more in luck. Group bookmark traffic in this case can be an admirable creator of transportation and visitors.

Sexual sites such as these also be enduring another added remuneration; gaining a identify with on grave PR7 and PR8 websites, with squeaky traffic drift, can’t hurt your search engine rankings. After your website is featured on a social media situation such as Digg, your link can also perform on a large platoon of unoriginal websites on the snare, as much as 1000 or more. Much of this conveyance force also be using the Firefox cobweb browser, which is embedded with the Alexa toolbar– what does this do instead of you? Your Alexa traffic seniority whim be improved. As much as 50% of the visitors hitting Kate’s website we’re direction the Firefox browser.

Something importance pointing out, is that the transportation generated from Stumbleupon was much different. Longer visit durations were the common gear in this see trade, that is, this transport behaved more like essential traffic. This could mayhap be attributed to the items that Stumbleupon is a higher rank purlieus, and this was reflected from the higher eminence of the visitors originating from there. This also made me come to the realisation that not all public media/bookmark see trade can be measured with the unchanged stick. This free essays experience also barbed me short to something notable; the components featured on Kate’s website is geared close to targeted visitors from search engines and articles, and is generally not suited to the mainstream net-surfer.

An idea to less ill take drop of this type of see trade, is to gear your website and its gratified to more mainstream internet users. Whether or not this enables you to succeed in a greater straight with of success, is mainly dependant on what you offer and how it is offered. Another unidentified variable, unfortunately.

In the almost future, I await to gain the unforeseen to further study social bookmark transport, and its long-term effects on websites. In explicit, the effect it would drink on keyword rankings and together vogue rankings in search engines; merely then can I progress to any species of authentic judgements. Anyway, for in the present circumstances, my brain is being kept open, and the phantasy is being tossed up as to whether common media and bookmark see trade is absolutely benefit the time or the effort. Is the linger taken away from your stock day-to-day marketing efforts worth it?

Imagine there is solely one way to on out, really.

Every website copywriter faces a trap – Search Enginitis. Writing web copy with technology makes sense, but writing web copy for people makes the sale. Here are two ways to connect with people across broadband and create web copy that sells.

Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia. But customers are not buying.

The Technology Trap

You wonder if it’s the web copy itself. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras of powerful web copy - “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.”

Your web copy used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because your web copy is laid out with the internet in mind using:

• short sentences
• brief paragraphs
• bullets

Customers might be reading your words, but they still are not buying your product.

Chances are your web copy has been optimized for technology not people.

Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. Selling on the internet means writing web copy for people not technology. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do – trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? Your web copy can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.

Here are two ways to craft web copy for people not technology:

• write the way customers speak
• replace your pitch with a theme.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 1:

Write the way people speak. People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them.

If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually amazing web copy article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely.

Weak web copy, not everyday people, uses too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?

Give your web copy the finger test.

You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content.

• put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find.
• put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb.
• repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers.

If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your web copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers web copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 2:

Replace your pitch with a theme. Customers need time before they trust.

They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time with thematic web copy. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car - not so scary now.

Let’s say your site sells dental floss.

Here’s how your web copy might handle it. Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.”

• The opening section could point out how the discomfort of Gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face.
• Another segment of the web copy would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile.
• Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown.

In this way, the web copy offers three versions of one idea to help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your web copy give visitors to get comfortable with you?

In this article, I tried to use the two key elements a good web copywriter uses to write for people not technology:

• the language of my readers
• a central idea, trust

Did it work? Did my web copy help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.

If you’ve subscribed to an seo newsletter for longer than a week, you’re well aware that writing articles with tips and advice pertaining to your website’s subject is a great way to generate links and traffic. But what if you can’t write or are afraid to write? Well, if you can write software, you’re still in luck! In this article I’ll show you a trick that can still garner you hundreds of links and won’t require you know the difference between adjectives and adverbs.

I’ll use my own little website as an example (I freely admit that I am neither a web designer nor a programmer). My wife and I own By Request DJ & Karaoke Company. Obviously, we specialize in weddings dances, school dances, company parties, and karaoke. We recently went through the process of converting all our CDs to compressed digital audio files which are played from a computer rather than hauling around thousands of CDs. In the process of ripping and encoding our music, I found many tasks were very repetitive and time consuming. Since I know a smattering of Visual Basic, it was simple to write a utility to automate these tasks. I figured that if it was helpful to me, some other DJ might find it helpful to, so I called my utility MP3G to ZIP and made it available for download from my website. I also decided to submit it to a few freeware sites just so it was easier to find.

What happened amazed me. Many of the links to my website from these freeware directories began showing up in Google. Given the name of my company and the descriptions of my freeware apps, this helped boost my site for some very competitive keywords. I decided to submit my software to a few more directories, and that’s when I found two very handy tools: PAD files and RoboSoft.

A PAD file is a “Portable Application Description, and it helps authors provide product descriptions and specifications to online sources in a standard way, using a standard data format that will allow webmasters and program librarians to automate program listings.” It takes the tedium out of submitting your software to hundreds of sites by enabling you to enter the URL to your software information rather than retyping all the information for every submission. It was created by the Association of Shareware Professionals (.asp-shareware.org/pad) and is a free utility.

RoboSoft (rudenko.com/robosoft) is a semi-automated software submission utility that contains a list of known freeware and shareware directories that accept submissions. It is only semi-autonomous because it won’t push the buttons for you, but it will fill in the blanks. This still allows you to quickly enter your software’s information to hundreds of websites. Websites who will all link back to your website and most often don’t require a reciprocal link. The RoboSoft database currently lists 420 freeware and shareware directories.

In the two months I have been using these tools I have seen my traffic jump from 800 unique visits per month to over 5000, and the link popularity of the page that has my two freeware apps has gone from 7 to 639 according to widexl.com. While these are small numbers for someone like cnn.com, sprint.com, or even napster.com, they are huge for a small site like mine. Plus, they are beginning to get me links from my fellow DJs who have used and appreciated my tools. I’m certain that they will eventually lead to good things.

So, while it isn’t a tactic that will make you number for “best website”, it will get you a few more links. And it won’t require you to submit any articles with tips about marketing your website.

If you’ve subscribed to an seo newsletter for longer than a week, you’re well aware that writing articles with tips and advice pertaining to your website’s subject is a great way to generate links and traffic. But what if you can’t write or are afraid to write? Well, if you can write software, you’re still in luck! In this article I’ll show you a trick that can still garner you hundreds of links and won’t require you know the difference between adjectives and adverbs.

I’ll use my own little website as an example (I freely admit that I am neither a web designer nor a programmer). My wife and I own By Request DJ & Karaoke Company. Obviously, we specialize in weddings dances, school dances, company parties, and karaoke. We recently went through the process of converting all our CDs to compressed digital audio files which are played from a computer rather than hauling around thousands of CDs. In the process of ripping and encoding our music, I found many tasks were very repetitive and time consuming. Since I know a smattering of Visual Basic, it was simple to write a utility to automate these tasks. I figured that if it was helpful to me, some other DJ might find it helpful to, so I called my utility MP3G to ZIP and made it available for download from my website. I also decided to submit it to a few freeware sites just so it was easier to find.

What happened amazed me. Many of the links to my website from these freeware directories began showing up in Google. Given the name of my company and the descriptions of my freeware apps, this helped boost my site for some very competitive keywords. I decided to submit my software to a few more directories, and that’s when I found two very handy tools: PAD files and RoboSoft.

A PAD file is a “Portable Application Description, and it helps authors provide product descriptions and specifications to online sources in a standard way, using a standard data format that will allow webmasters and program librarians to automate program listings.” It takes the tedium out of submitting your software to hundreds of sites by enabling you to enter the URL to your software information rather than retyping all the information for every submission. It was created by the Association of Shareware Professionals (.asp-shareware.org/pad) and is a free utility.

RoboSoft (rudenko.com/robosoft) is a semi-automated software submission utility that contains a list of known freeware and shareware directories that accept submissions. It is only semi-autonomous because it won’t push the buttons for you, but it will fill in the blanks. This still allows you to quickly enter your software’s information to hundreds of websites. Websites who will all link back to your website and most often don’t require a reciprocal link. The RoboSoft database currently lists 420 freeware and shareware directories.

In the two months I have been using these tools I have seen my traffic jump from 800 unique visits per month to over 5000, and the link popularity of the page that has my two freeware apps has gone from 7 to 639 according to widexl.com. While these are small numbers for someone like cnn.com, sprint.com, or even napster.com, they are huge for a small site like mine. Plus, they are beginning to get me links from my fellow DJs who have used and appreciated my tools. I’m certain that they will eventually lead to good things.

So, while it isn’t a tactic that will make you number for “best website”, it will get you a few more links. And it won’t require you to submit any articles with tips about marketing your website.

How does your personality affect your web copy? Whether you mean to or not, your site reflects you in ways you might not notice: sometimes good, sometimes bad. While personality peccadilloes can be endearing in social situations, minor personality flaws can cause web copy sabotage. So before you get out your keyboard, get out a mirror.

Why not see if any of these 3 personality traits are seeping into the design and copy of your web site?

• Insecurity





• Pride





• Anxiety

Web Copy Sabotage #1: Insecure people create timid sites

Most people are insecure in certain situations as they vary their image to gain the favour of others. Nothing kills web copy faster than trying to be a people pleaser. Insecure people create timid sites that try to be all things to all people. Instead of declaring, “Here’s who I am,” insecure web copy tentatively pleads, “I can be whatever you want; hope you find something you like.” How forgettable and phony is that? Secure people on the other hand have learned to get real.

Some people like them; others don’t. Their web copy stands out because their authors stand up. Their web copy is memorable because it is authentic. Does your web copy take a stand or does it sit on the sidelines wanting to be liked? Is your web copy real or real phony?

Web Copy Sabotage #2: Proud people produce narcissistic sites

While timid web copy aims overly outward, narcissistic web copy looks too far in the other direction. Business owners have a justifiable pride in their business. Sorry to say this pride can lead to web copy sabotage.

• Many owners lost in their delight often boast, “Look what I can do,” instead of proclaiming, “Look what you get.”
• Their web copy tends to focus on features instead of real customer benefits. It highlights trained staff rather than peace of mind.

Missing are empathy and impact. Nothing kills internet rapport like a one-sided, relationship. Does your web copy brag about you or resonate with strangers?

Web Copy Sabotage #3: Anxious people make nervous sites

Nervous sites are the most common form of web copy sabotage. They don’t gaze outward or inward; they look nowhere, all hurried and patchy. The visuals are the first give-away:

• a little red here and a dash of purple there





• a touch of bold with a smidgen of underlining





• a bevy of random quotations





• a frenzy of isolated graphics

Where’s the rhyme? Where’s the reason? Where is the message? The web copy reads more like a digital ransom note than a calm presentation of a distinctive value proposition.

The sad part is this kind of web copy sabotage is that it frequently betrays an honest business person who is just not comfortable about expressing his business. This web copy unfairly depicts sleaze and incredulity.

Sometimes the anxiety is driven by a specific learning style. A number of individuals are more comfortable with trees than a forest, preferring details to the big picture. That’s too bad because site visitors usually crave the big picture before they invest their care and clicks. What image does your web copy convey &ndash calm or chaos?

Web Copy Sabotage: What can you do about it?

So you’re not perfect. Everybody is a bit insecure, a tad proud and slightly anxious. The trick is to keep these failings from invading your web copy. So what can you do to prevent web copy sabotage?

Your human shortcomings might populate your site because you are just too close to the data to detect your demons creeping up the keyboard.

You’ve got to get some distance. First have a third party who’s not a family member play site doctor, looking for symptoms of insecurity, pride, and anxiety in your site design and copy.

There’s nothing like conducting your own foible check to be sure you parked your sabotaging issues at the curb, not in your web copy. Here are 3 questions to ask:

• What exactly does my site stand for?





• How do my visitors see themselves?





• How have I organized my design and copy?

If these tactics don’t help you improve your web copy, you could either see a qualified psychiatrist or hire &ndash you know &ndash a handy copywriter.

Every website copywriter faces a trap &ndash Search Enginitis. Writing web copy with technology makes sense, but writing web copy for people makes the sale. Here are two ways to connect with people across broadband and create web copy that sells.

Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia. But customers are not buying.

The Technology Trap

You wonder if it’s the web copy itself. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras of powerful web copy - “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.”

Your web copy used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because your web copy is laid out with the internet in mind using:

• short sentences





• brief paragraphs





• bullets

Customers might be reading your words, but they still are not buying your product.

Chances are your web copy has been optimized for technology not people.

Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. Selling on the internet means writing web copy for people not technology. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do &ndash trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? Your web copy can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.

Here are two ways to craft web copy for people not technology:

• write the way customers speak





• replace your pitch with a theme.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 1:

Write the way people speak. People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them.

If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually amazing web copy article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely.

Weak web copy, not everyday people, uses too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?

Give your web copy the finger test.

You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content.

• put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find.
• put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb.
• repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers.

If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your web copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers web copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 2:

Replace your pitch with a theme. Customers need time before they trust.

They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time with thematic web copy. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car - not so scary now.

Let’s say your site sells dental floss.

Here’s how your web copy might handle it. Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.”

• The opening section could point out how the discomfort of Gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face.
• Another segment of the web copy would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile.
• Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown.

In this way, the web copy offers three versions of one idea to help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your web copy give visitors to get comfortable with you?

In this article, I tried to use the two key elements a good web copywriter uses to write for people not technology:

• the language of my readers





• a central idea, trust

Did it work? Did my web copy help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.

How does your personality affect your web copy? Whether you mean to or not, your site reflects you in ways you might not notice: sometimes good, sometimes bad. While personality peccadilloes can be endearing in social situations, minor personality flaws can cause web copy sabotage. So before you get out your keyboard, get out a mirror.

Why not see if any of these 3 personality traits are seeping into the design and copy of your web site?

• Insecurity





• Pride





• Anxiety

Web Copy Sabotage #1: Insecure people create timid sites

Most people are insecure in certain situations as they vary their image to gain the favour of others. Nothing kills web copy faster than trying to be a people pleaser. Insecure people create timid sites that try to be all things to all people. Instead of declaring, “Here’s who I am,” insecure web copy tentatively pleads, “I can be whatever you want; hope you find something you like.” How forgettable and phony is that? Secure people on the other hand have learned to get real.

Some people like them; others don’t. Their web copy stands out because their authors stand up. Their web copy is memorable because it is authentic. Does your web copy take a stand or does it sit on the sidelines wanting to be liked? Is your web copy real or real phony?

Web Copy Sabotage #2: Proud people produce narcissistic sites

While timid web copy aims overly outward, narcissistic web copy looks too far in the other direction. Business owners have a justifiable pride in their business. Sorry to say this pride can lead to web copy sabotage.

• Many owners lost in their delight often boast, “Look what I can do,” instead of proclaiming, “Look what you get.”
• Their web copy tends to focus on features instead of real customer benefits. It highlights trained staff rather than peace of mind.

Missing are empathy and impact. Nothing kills internet rapport like a one-sided, relationship. Does your web copy brag about you or resonate with strangers?

Web Copy Sabotage #3: Anxious people make nervous sites

Nervous sites are the most common form of web copy sabotage. They don’t gaze outward or inward; they look nowhere, all hurried and patchy. The visuals are the first give-away:

• a little red here and a dash of purple there





• a touch of bold with a smidgen of underlining





• a bevy of random quotations





• a frenzy of isolated graphics

Where’s the rhyme? Where’s the reason? Where is the message? The web copy reads more like a digital ransom note than a calm presentation of a distinctive value proposition.

The sad part is this kind of web copy sabotage is that it frequently betrays an honest business person who is just not comfortable about expressing his business. This web copy unfairly depicts sleaze and incredulity.

Sometimes the anxiety is driven by a specific learning style. A number of individuals are more comfortable with trees than a forest, preferring details to the big picture. That’s too bad because site visitors usually crave the big picture before they invest their care and clicks. What image does your web copy convey &ndash calm or chaos?

Web Copy Sabotage: What can you do about it?

So you’re not perfect. Everybody is a bit insecure, a tad proud and slightly anxious. The trick is to keep these failings from invading your web copy. So what can you do to prevent web copy sabotage?

Your human shortcomings might populate your site because you are just too close to the data to detect your demons creeping up the keyboard.

You’ve got to get some distance. First have a third party who’s not a family member play site doctor, looking for symptoms of insecurity, pride, and anxiety in your site design and copy.

There’s nothing like conducting your own foible check to be sure you parked your sabotaging issues at the curb, not in your web copy. Here are 3 questions to ask:

• What exactly does my site stand for?





• How do my visitors see themselves?





• How have I organized my design and copy?

If these tactics don’t help you improve your web copy, you could either see a qualified psychiatrist or hire &ndash you know &ndash a handy copywriter.