Eliminate This Word From Your Ads Now
I’m about to show you a way to make your copy flow better. And it’s probably one of the easiest steps that you could ever take to improve your copy.
It involves cutting out the word \”that\” from your copy whenever it’s unnecessary.
For example, the second sentence of this email reads…
\”And it’s probably one of the easiest steps that you could ever take.\”
when it could easily read…
\”And it’s probably one of the easiest steps you could ever take.\”
Notice how it flows better? Notice how the word \”that\” was unnecessary in this situation?
Ok, let’s look at a few other situations that the word \”that\” is used?
Notice how I did it again – the word that could easily be cut out of the sentence above 
Here’s a few other examples:
There’s no other way that you could get the same results as you will with product X.
How do I know that you can cut your accounting bills by up to 50%?
Did you know that your headline is the most important part of your advertisement?
… can you see how the word ‘that’ can be cut out of each of the examples above?
So here’s what you need to do every time you write an ad or a sales letter.
Read through it and check for any instances you can see the word \”that\” where it is simply unnecessary. And then cut it out of your copy.
About The Author:
As a direct response copywriter, Scott Bywater strives to educate business owners on how to generate more leads, get more of the \”right type\” of customers, differentiate themselves from their competition, and convert their leads into sales via his underground and \”outside of the box\” strategies. You can get his copywriting and marketing tips delivered to your inbox via his eye opening \”Copywriting Selling Secrets\” newsletter available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/
Read more of Scott Bywater’s articles.
Retirement Is the Perfect Time to Fulfill Your Cherished Dream of Writing
The Gallup Survey Organization says 81% of mature adults long to write a book. You’re probably one of them.
In a poll sponsored by the Eons.com web site, 14,000 Seniors and Boomers chose writing as one of their most cherished life dreams.
What’s your choice for retirement writing? The novel you’ve always dreamed of crafting? Perhaps a memoir for loved ones? Maybe you’d prefer to turn out interesting magazine articles on the favorite hobby you’ve pursued for so many years. Like many others, you may want to maintain contact with your former career by writing articles for trade magazines or possibly a how-to book.
What’s holding you back? Are you reluctant because writing seems to be so challenging? Limited to just the chosen few? That’s nonsense. Don’t let those myths keep you from trying what you’ve always dreamed of.
Retirement Writing
As a retiree you have great advantages that will help you to fulfill your dream of becoming a published author. You have time…free time at last to pursue the activities you love. You bring years of life experience and professional knowledge to the task.
Can you use those advantages to become a published author? Certainly you can. You’ll probably never reach best seller status, although some late starters have accomplished that feat. But with some effort and dedication, you can see your words in print as an article or a book. And they can be distributed over the Internet for millions to see.
It’s time to move beyond the starting gate. Set aside those fears of failure. No task can be completed if it isn’t begun. No challenge overcome until it is tackled. So it is with writing. Once you start, you’ll see your confidence build.
Lawrence Block, a prolific novelist and writing instructor, says, \”Writing has this in common with most other skills; we develop it best by practicing it. Whatever writing we do helps us to become better writers.\”
Before You Face the Computer
The process begins well before you sit down at your computer to write the opening lines of your new gem. A bit of self-searching will put you on track. Think through your answers to several key questions:
Whatever your answers may be, be absolutely certain you are comfortable with them. This is particularly important if you plan to write a full-length book, for you will be married to that task for a substantial length of time.
Making Your Choice
Beginning writers regularly ask, \”Where can I find ideas?\” The answer, in short, is the world around you. There are no limits to the ideas that astute observers can develop. And writers must be alert spectators.
Ideas abound right in your own home. Coping with a dear one’s terminal illness. Issues that caused a divorce. Secrets of a relationship that grows stronger with every year of marriage. An unusual family heritage. Cooking or decorating ideas. Unique holiday celebrations. The list is endless.
Beyond your four walls there is an endless storehouse of ideas. You find them all around you by listening and watching and hearing what friends and relatives talk about. Stories, books and articles are built around events and emotions that people experience.
You can also find them every day in the newspaper. You can choose to follow up a factual report and expand it far beyond what a rushed reporter can do on a tight deadline. Or you can choose to take the idea and fictionalize it, adding your own twists and turns.
A book like Writer’s Market, updated annually by Writer’s Digest Books is a treasure trove of ideas. It offers hundreds of pages of periodical listings categorized by subject. Freelancers use it as a bible to locate publications that might use their stories. You can use it as a trigger for ideas as you flip through the 50 categories of consumer magazines and 60 categories of trade journals.
Getting Ready
Whether you’re about to embark on a novel or nonfiction, an article or a full length book, you’re not ready to face that blank computer monitor until you’ve completed all of your initial homework. That includes evaluating the responses to the question listed above..
Most fiction writers begin by drafting an outline of the plot. As each main character is fully developed-and you as the author must know those key players as well as you know yourself–changes will be necessitated in the outline. You must research the locale(s) and the time period of the book, for nothing can cause a reader to lose interest faster than discovering factual mistakes made by a careless writer.
The essence of nonfiction is fact, and you better know your facts intimately and accurately if you are to achieve success. Whether you are writing an historical piece or a how-to, do your research. Know your subject. Those of you who choose to write on your work specialty better make certain you are up to date on all the latest developments. Always remember that progress didn’t end on the day you retired. Change has occurred, and you better be aware of it.
The key word here is research. Getting up to speed. Knowing your subject intimately. Without this, you run the serious risk of suffering from the author’s dread disease, Writer’s Block. It usually results from facing a stark white computer screen that seems to leer at you, challenging you to make the leap from brain to computer, from thought to the reality of converting those thoughts into words and placing them on the computer. Writers who have done their research well and know their subject will seldom if ever face this problem.
The one last component that you must agree to is discipline. Whether you choose to devote only two or three hours a day to your writing or anticipate making it a full-time job, it cannot be hit-or-miss. You must set a rigid schedule, and follow it. A few hours each morning leaves lots of time for other activities, yet adds a hugely enriching complement to your retirement years.
About The Author:
Do you need a support system to help jump start your writing career? See what’s available free on http://www.retirement-writing.com/ – the web site of writing coach and author Charles Jacobs. His latest book \”The Writer Within You\” is a Best Books of 2007 honoree, a 5-star choice on Amazon, B
Why Write? How Writing Heals
You’ve no doubt heard the famous quote, \”The pen is mightier than the sword.\” (Edward Bulwer-Lytton). What you may not know is that the pen also trumps medication and the therapist’s couch. The practice of writing can heal you both physically and emotionally.
Writing Heals Your Body. In a study conducted with asthma patients at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, School of Medicine, study participants wrote about their most stressful experiences. The control group wrote about their daily activities. According to the book Asthma Free in 21 Days, 47 percent of the patients who wrote about their challenging life experiences showed improvement in lung function that could not be attributed to medication or other factors. 24 percent of the control group showed improvement as well. (See Shafer and Greenfield, Asthma Free in 21 Days, p. 139) Notice this: both groups improved their lung function through writing.
Writing Heals Your Heart. Research by psychologist James Pennebaker has shown that people who used writing to make sense of their traumatic life experiences had the long-lasting effect of feeling happier and less anxious. He asked his subjects to write for fifteen …minutes a day on four consecutive days. Half of the group members wrote about a difficult or traumatic event in their lives. The other half of the group, the control group, was asked to write about their day or to …describe their living environment. A year later, he examined the subject’s medical records. The people who wrote about their difficult experiences were healthier than the others. What made the difference? According to Pennebaker, it was the meaning-making that mattered. The people who showed increased insight into their difficult situation during the four days stayed healthier than those who simply wrote about their feelings or the color of their carpet.
Writing Helps You Achieve Your Goals. In a study by psychologist Laura King, people who wrote about their best possible future selves showed an immediate increase in mood and, after five months, a decrease in illness. In addition, this writing work improved their ability to take control of behavior and make good changes! Writers were better able to set and achieve their goals.
How Do You Tap Into The Healing Power Of Writing? You write. All of the studies suggest that any kind of writing will improve your health and sense of wellbeing. I encourage all of my clients to do three pages of journaling a day. Maybe you’re one of those people who have always wanted to journal but when you open a blank book your mind goes blank, too. Here are some ways to get started:
1. Fill in the blank. Choose one of the sentences below to complete. List your statements as rapidly as possible.
2. Write about five difficult things that happened in your life….
3. Write about five good things that have happened in your life….
4. Gratitude Journal. In her book Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach encouraged her readers to use a gratitude journal. Find a beautiful journal and each night record five items for which you are thankful. As a twist, do this with your partner or children. Every few months, I take out a journal and write down five things I am grateful for about my husband. Then I slip it under his pillow or on his desk. A few days later, I get it back with a new list from him.
5. Vision Quest. Ghandi said, \”Become the change you want to see in the world.\” I say, \”Write the change you want to see in your life!\” Each day, write a description of what your life looks like when it reflects your dreams.
Whatever you write, know that it will heal your body and heart. Don’t ever worry about what you’re going to write. Write fast and carelessly every day. Forget all the rules. Forget that you are not supposed to write about certain things. Forget what your English teacher told you about the right way to write. Just get down your observations, feelings, and ideas. Don’t write about anything boring to you—that’s a sign that you are telling lies, writing to please others and not yourself. When you get stuck, ask yourself Brenda Ueland’s very helpful question: \”What in thunder do you want to say?\” Then say it.
About The Author:
Right Now! Coach Rochelle Melander supports people in writing to transform their lives and businesses. If you’re ready to establish credibility, make more money, and market your work by writing a book, blog, or Web site, get your free subscription to her Write Now! Tips Ezine at http://www.rightnowcoach.com
Read more Articles written by Rochelle Melander.
Taming the Monkey Mind
Huston Smith wrote the following about meditation. He could have been talking about writing. See what you think:
The restless mind can be likened to a crazed monkey cavorting about its cage. Or rather a drunken crazed monkey. But more! — a drunken crazed monkey that has St. Vitus’ Dance. Even this is insufficient. The mind is like a drunken crazed monkey with St. Vitus’ Dance who has just been stung by a wasp. Those who have tried to meditate will not find this metaphor extreme.
What happens in your brain when you try to write? My clients report a number of distractions and doubts. Listen in:
Take the distracting thoughts, add in a couple of ringing phones, the ping of mail coming in, kids or coworkers stopping by with questions—and be amazed that anyone writes anything.
Psychiatrist Edward Hallowell calls this Attention Deficit Trait. He says, \”It’s a condition induced by modern life, in which you’ve become so busy attending to so many inputs and outputs that you become increasingly distracted, irritable, impulsive, restless and, over the long term, underachieving. In other words, it costs you efficiency because you’re doing so much or trying to do so much, it’s as if you’re juggling one more ball than you possibly can.\”
Fortunately, the fix is easy.
1. Schedule time to think. Anyone who creates needs quiet time to mull over ideas and organize their thoughts. It’s tough to do that when machines and people are vying for your attention. Commit to giving yourself at least 30 minutes of quiet time each day. Do not use this time to read, write, or talk on the phone. Just be. Go for a walk, take a drive, or simply sit in a chair and stare out the window.
2. Change your environment. When we spend 90% of our computer time responding to the ping of our email or playing games on Facebook, it can be difficult to use the same space to write a sales letter or a poem. If possible, take your writing to a new environment. Use a local library or coffee shop as your writing studio. If you need to write at your computer, find ways to make writing time different from work or play time. For example:
3. Keep a Monkey Mind file. When you write, keep open a separate document to record the thoughts of your monkey mind. That’s where you can jot your wild ideas for new projects, possible future careers, reminders to get gifts for your in-laws, and anything else that your brain throws at you. At the end of your writing time, review the monkey mind file and transfer information to the appropriate place (your to-do list or another project file).
Readers, take heart. Everyone who writes needs to learn how to tame the monkey mind. Don’t believe that some writers are immune to this. They’re not. They’re just more experienced at getting their minds to quiet down for a few minutes a day. Learning these skills takes time and effort. But guess what? The more you write, the easier it gets!
About The Author:
Right Now! Coach Rochelle Melander supports people in writing to transform their lives and businesses. If you’re ready to establish credibility, make more money, and market your work by writing a book, blog, or Web site, get your free subscription to her Write Now! Tips Ezine at http://www.rightnowcoach.com
Read more of Rochelle Melander’s articles.
