Links from the show:

How to jailbreak your new iPad
University To Give All Students an iPad
Why Does Google Care About Your [...]

Google, Twitter and iPads, oh my! is a post from: Blogging tips for bloggers who want more than a following!

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Google, Twitter and iPads, oh my! is a post from: Devour The Web

If you are a writer, congratulations! You have magic to be envied.

You possess the rare skill of being able to make something from nothing.

You can change thinking, create emotions, paint pictures in your readers’s minds. You can manufacture money from thin air.

Just by moving your fingers across the keyboard.

Through the alchemy of writing, you can take what makes you unique and turn it into consistent revenue. Write with a plan and you can turn your thoughts into an asset that keeps paying you over and over and over again.

Yet many writers make the same mistake . . . over and over again.

Instead of building for their future, they keep running around in circles. Chasing deadlines, spiraling toward burnout.

Sure, they are writing each day and working to get a long list of appreciative clients. But too many writers ignore their most important client.

If you are writer, your most important client is you

If you are writer, your most important assets are the words that you create.

You create great content — blog posts, email newsletters, special reports, landing and web pages, scripts for viral video — for your clients.

You know that words on the page (or screen) are crucial to building a business. And you know that strong writing is one of the most effective ways to create a valuable product.

If you are writer, you owe it to yourself to deliver your best work to your best client, building up your business’s most valuable asset. Day after day after day.

Whether you are building your business with your content, creating an information product to teach others and help them to grow, or writing the next literary masterpiece, you have the opportunity to build a future without limits.

You have an obligation to your most important client

It is not enough to stockpile ideas for your own blog or email list, or promise yourself that you’ll get to it later. Chances are, later will knock on your door at the same time as Publisher’s Clearing House.

Don’t be the chef who gets crummy takeout on his way home, or the plumber with a steady drip in her kitchen sink.

Be the writer who writes. Not just for others, but for yourself. Each day pulling your dreams taut, one sentence at a time.

It’s easy to get off track

Like the mythical Monday that keeps you from sticking to your diet, flimsy excuses are always in reach. And like dieting, it is seeing the results that can keep you on track.

The steady accumulation of words over time is a remarkable thing. A large project can feel daunting, but the most important thing you could ever do is to simply get started.

The first 500 words are seeds. Every syllable after that is fertilizer, sun, and water.

Whether you write 250 or 2,500 words per day, be consistent. Watch them grow. Soon enough you will have a thriving business, a solid product, or perhaps even a bestselling book.

No one’s going to make you do it

You probably started writing so that you could be your own boss. I know I did.

Don’t get me wrong, writing for others is a wonderful way to make a living and I’ve never had more fun in my life. But I also understand that there’s a magic to being a writer which goes beyond the page; a magic that stretches right into forever.

Long after the waves of time have rinsed my footprints to memory, my words will be read, shared and remembered.

You are a writer as well.

So book some time today with your most important client, and make that client’s dreams come true.

Sean Platt writes direct response copy, as well as helping authors write, publish and promote their book. Follow him on Twitter.

Are You Burning Your Most Important Writing Client? is a post from: Devour The Web

This is the second and final installment of The Secret Life of Testimonials.

Most of us ask for testimonials. And if we follow up and pester our customers enough, we get testimonials.

There’s only one problem. Our testimonials have no power.

Testimonials are stories. And stories have power and grace, flow and rhythm. Look around you and you’ll see none of that in most testimonials.

Limp testimonials are a fact of life, because clients don’t know how to give testimonials. But more importantly, because we don’t have a clue about how to ask for testimonials.

As I mentioned last week, the way to ask for testimonials is to use six key questions.

The six questions you need to ask to get a powerful testimonial are:

1. What was the obstacle that would have prevented you from buying this product?
2. What did you find as a result of buying this product?
3. What specific feature did you like most about this product?
4. What would be three other benefits about this product?
5. Would you recommend this product? If so, why?
6. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Some folks may use slightly different terms for #1, like “What was your main concern about buying this product?”

You can slightly amend this question, but don’t stray too much away from it, because it’s critical to bringing out the objection and the reason why this customer (and others) may have been hesitating to buy.

A more detailed explanation of each of the six questions:

1) What was the obstacle in your mind that would have prevented you from buying this product?

We ask this question because the customer always has a perception of an obstacle. No matter how ready the customer is to buy, there’s always a hitch. The hitch could be money, or time, or availability, or relevance — or a whole bunch of issues.

When you ask this question, it brings out those issues. And it does something more. It gives you an insight into issues you may not have considered, because the client is now reaching into their memory to see what could have been the deal-breaker.

There’s always an obstacle, and it’s often something you may not have thought of. So when the customer brings up this obstacle, it presents an angle that’s unique, personal, and dramatic.

2) What did you find as a result of buying this product?

This question is important, because it defuses that obstacle. When a client answers this question, they talk about why the purchase was worth it, despite the obvious obstacles.

3) What specific feature did you like most about this product?

Now you’re digging deeper.

If you ask the customer to focus on the entire product, the answer gets “waffly.” That’s why you want to focus on a single feature or benefit that the customer liked most. This brings out that one feature in explicit richness and detail.

4) What would be three other benefits of this product?

Having already got one big feature, you can now go a little wide and see what else the customer found useful.

You can substitute the number “three” with “two.” You could even remove the number completely. But the number does make it easier for your customer to address the question. It lets her focus on a limited number of things and give you the ones that were most useful to her.

5) Would you recommend this product? If so, why?

You may not think this is an important question, but psychologically it’s very important. When a customer recommends something, there’s more than your product at stake. The customer’s integrity is at stake too.

Unless the customer feels strongly about the product, they won’t be keen to recommend it. And when they do recommend it, they’re saying to prospective buyers: “Hey, I recommend it, and here are the reasons!”

6) Is there anything you’d like to add?

By this point, the customer has often said all she has to say. But there’s never any harm in asking this question.

The questions before this one tend to “warm up” the customer, and sometimes you get the most amazing parting statements that you could never have imagined.

Using testimonials to find and address objections

This detailed method of constructing testimonials brings us to a very interesting observation: the testimonial is the flip side of the objection.

Notice the first question we asked the customer?

What was the obstacle in your mind that would have prevented you from buying this product?

That “obstacle” the customer is talking about is really their biggest objection.

So what does this tell us about how we should plan our testimonials?

We should plan our testimonials to directly defuse each objection

Let’s say you’re keen to sell a trip to the wildlife on the Galápagos Islands.

Obviously, the trip is an exciting idea for travelers seeking to explore the wildlife on the islands. But even thrill seekers will most certainly have their objections. So if you did your homework and interviewed the potential customer you’d get objections such as:

1. It’s too expensive
2. It’s too far to travel
3. There are no comfortable accommodations

Now let’s assume these are the three main objections

What are the testimonials going to say?

1. I thought it was too expensive, but (here’s what I found)
2. I thought it was too far to travel, but (here’s what I found)
3. I thought we’d have to rough it out, but (here’s what I found)

Each testimonial is a mirror image of the objection

Sure you have already addressed objections earlier in your sales copy, but this defusing is now being done by the customer, who is a third party. And you know what that means, right?

A third party is always far more believable to your prospective customers. And because each testimonial is specifically linked to an objection, it systematically reduces the risk not once, but twice.

But how do you go about controlling the angle of the testimonial?

You may want the customer to talk about expense, or distance travelled, or relevance. But the customer may want to talk about her fear of seasickness, or dangerous animals. So how do you control the angle?

You don’t.

You’re in the business of helping to construct the testimonial. This means you’re asking questions that give the testimonial structure. You don’t need to control the situation.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t influence things. Here’s how you go about attempting to get the angle you desire.

Start with the key objections you need to address

Call up the customer. Ask the customer if expense, or distance, or comfort was one of their big issues.

If they say yes, continue down that track, and they’ll give you the specifics of why expense or distance or comfortable accommodation was an issue.

But if they disagree, and come up with a completely different issue, for example they say, “I thought the bad weather was going to be a dampener,” then hey, keep following that customer’s train of thought.

Because that train of thought is now revealing an objection you hadn’t considered. And it may be a valid objection that just hasn’t come to your attention yet.

However, you may decide that the stray objection isn’t worth pursuing. And that you can’t use the objection and corresponding testimonial. Well, no problem. If you decide you can’t use the testimonial, you can always call other clients to get the angle you’re looking for.

Sooner rather than later, you’re going to get the exact objections, and the exact testimonials, that help to defuse those key objections.

Which means that the testimonial isn’t something we just throw into our marketing. It means the testimonial is doing some real grunt-work in overcoming objections.

The factor that makes the testimonial so much more powerful is that it’s doing so from a “third party” perspective, and doing it in a way that you as the seller could never do.

You could never bring out the detailed specifics that a client brings out

You could never paint the imagery and the emotion. And even if you could, it would sound like a whole lot of puffery. But when the client comes up with all that detail and emotion, the testimonial becomes rich, complex, and yet believable. And that’s the main job of the testimonial.

Please try the six questions out for yourself! And let us know how you do with them in the comments.

By the way, if you missed the first post on testimonials, you can find it here: The Secret Life of Testimonials

About the Author: Sean D’Souza offers a free report on ‘Why Headlines Fail’ when you subscribe to his Psychotactics Newsletter. Be sure to check out his blog, too.

An editorial P.S.

Hi all, this is Sonia, intruding on Sean’s post for a moment if I may.

When Sean sent me this pair of posts, he was also kind enough to include a review copy of his new product, The Secret Life of Testimonials.

This pair of posts in and of themselves will get you remarkable testimonials. So the first thing I’d like to suggest is that you contact some happy customers today and use the techniques he’s taught you to boost the power of your testimonials. I think you’re going to be impressed with the results.

But if you want to make your testimonials even more effective, I can wholeheartedly recommend The Secret Life of Testimonials. That’s an affiliate link, so if you decide to invest in his program, we’ll earn a few dollars. But I’m quite confident that you’ll make much more than that by putting Sean’s teaching into place. It’s really unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I’m not easily impressed.

Testimonials are both one of the most important pieces of your marketing message and one of the biggest stumbling blocks for many of us. Having a well-thought-out system can make all the difference for you. I hope you’ll at least go check out the details for yourself.

Six Questions to Ask for Powerful Testimonials is a post from: Devour The Web

Do you sound smarter when you use big words?

According to a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology , the answer is no.

In fact, complex writing makes you sound small-minded. Just consider the title of the study: Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: problems with using long words needlessly.

Wouldn’t it be better to title this study something like The effect of using big words when you don’t need them?

To sound smart, you must stop trying to sound smart. Brilliant writing is simple writing, a relevant idea delivered clearly and directly.

Here are 11 ways you can start sounding brilliant:

1. Have something to say

This makes writing easier and faster. When you have nothing to say, you are forced to write sentences that sound meaningful but deliver nothing.

Read widely. Take notes. Choose your subjects wisely. Then share your information with readers.

2. Be specific

Consider two sentences:

• I grow lots of flowers in my back yard.
• I grow 34 varieties of flowers in my back yard, including pink coneflowers, purple asters, yellow daylilies, Shasta daisies, and climbing clematis.

Which is more interesting? Which helps you see my back yard?

3. Choose simple words

Write use instead of utilize, near instead of close proximity, help instead of facilitate, for instead of in the amount of, start instead of commence.

Use longer words only if your meaning is so specific no other words will do.

4. Write short sentences

You should keep sentences short for the same reason you keep paragraphs short: they’re easier to read and understand.

Each sentence should have one simple thought. More than that creates complexity and invites confusion.

5. Use the active voice

In English, readers prefer the SVO sentence sequence: Subject, Verb, Object. This is the active voice.

For example:

Passive sentences bore people.

When you reverse the active sequence, you have the OVS or passive sequence: Object, Verb, Subject.

For example:

People are bored by passive sentences.

You can’t always use the active voice, but most writers should use it more often.

6. Keep paragraphs short

Look at any newspaper and notice the short paragraphs.

That’s done to make reading easier, because our brains take in information better when it’s broken into small chunks.

In academic writing, each paragraph develops one idea and often includes many sentences. But in casual, everyday writing, the style is less formal and paragraphs may be as short as a single sentence or even a single word.

See?

7. Eliminate fluff words

Qualifying words, such as very, little, and rather, add nothing to your meaning and suck the life out of your sentences.

For example:

It is very important to basically avoid fluff words because they are rather empty and sometimes a little distracting.

Mark Twain suggested that you should “Substitute damn every time you’re inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

8. Don’t ramble

Rambling is a big problem for many writers. Not as big as some other problems, such as affordable health insurance or the Middle East, which has been a problem for many decades because of disputes over territory. Speaking of which, the word “territory” has an interesting word origin from terra, meaning earth.

But the point is, don’t ramble.

9. Don’t be redundant or repeat yourself

Also, don’t keep writing the same thing over and over and over. In other words, say something once rather than several times. Because when you repeat yourself or keep writing the same thing, your readers go to sleep.

10. Don’t over write

This is a symptom of having too little to say or too much ego.

Put your reader first. Put yourself in the background. Focus on the message.

For example:

You can instantly and dramatically improve your blog writing skills and immediately explode your profits and skyrocket your online success by following the spectacular, simple, and practical tips found in this groundbreaking new free blog post.

11. Edit ruthlessly

Shorten, delete, and rewrite anything that does not add to the meaning. It’s okay to write in a casual style, but don’t inject extra words without good reason.

To make this easier, break your writing into three steps: 1) Write the entire text. 2) Set your text aside for a few hours or days. 3) Return to your text fresh and edit.

None of us can ever be perfect writers, and no one expects us to be. However, we can all improve our style and sound smarter by following these tips and writing naturally.

About the Author: Dean Rieck delivers brilliant writing to his clients and shares copywriting tips for smart copywriters like you at Pro Copy Tips.

11 Smart Tips for Brilliant Writing is a post from: Devour The Web

I was walking the streets of downtown Austin between SXSW parties last month and someone asked me when I was going to do another pop-music-analogy post on Copyblogger.

“What do you want to see?” I asked.

“I bet you can’t do one using Depeche Mode songs, “ he challenged.

“I bet I can,” I countered.

“Look at that guy in a dress playing the oboe!” he replied.

Rather than share more of the superb street scenery of Austin, Texas, here’s what Depeche Mode, the most popular electronic band the world has ever known, can teach you about effective online marketing.

People are People

People are people
So why should it be
You and I should get
Along so awfully

Want to market successfully online, but don’t want to deal with all that human psychology stuff? Sorry, but that’s basically all there is to it. Understanding what makes people tick and proceeding accordingly is what works. For bonus points, study social psychology and all this social media stuff starts to make more sense, even when it doesn’t.

Never Let Me Down Again

I’m taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never let’s me down again
He promises me I’m as safe as houses
As long as I remember who’s wearing the trousers

What can a song about drug addiction and who’s really in control of that relationship teach you about marketing? That it’s the customer who wears the pants in your business. Get cocky when things are going well and forget that, and you’re in for a nasty hangover.

Strangelove

I’m always willing to learn
When you’ve got something to teach
And I’ll make it all worthwhile
I’ll make your heart smile

It’s the most counterintuitive aspect of effective online marketing. You’ve got to stop pitching and start teaching. There’s nothing more effective than content marketing that attracts qualified prospects while building your authority. And when it comes time to sell, you’ll find most of your work is already done.

Personal Jesus

Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Someone who’s there

Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore wrote Personal Jesus after reading Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley. Gore said “It’s a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care.” In a hyper-niched, tribalized world, people are looking for leaders, not marketers. Who do you care about, and how can you help them?

Everything Counts

The grabbing hands
Grab all they can
All for themselves, after all
It’s a competitive world
Everything counts in large amounts

It’s not all sunshine and flowers. Haters will try to build a name for themselves by tearing you down. Partners and friends will let the money go to their heads. Colleagues will remix and reverse-engineer your products. Whatever, it comes with the territory.

Yes, the lyrics of Everything Counts are a bit cynical. But the live version of the song at The Rose Bowl in California is one of the most joyous demonstrations of fan interaction ever recorded.

Let’s watch the video, remember that what people really want is an authentic experience, and end on a high note. Pay particular attention starting at 4:10, and notice how Dave Gahan ignores the praise of the crowd and encourages them to be the star — now that’s effective marketing.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and wants you to know that Thesis + Scribe = SEO Made Simple. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

5 Things Depeche Mode Can Teach You About Effective Online Marketing is a post from: Devour The Web

This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work.

David Gilbert wants to help parents monitor their school-aged children’s activities online. He’s done his homework and knows his demographic stats cold. He also has a good handle on the main reasons why parents buy these kinds of products. Helpful, too, is that his price point is very affordable — equivalent in value to approximately one month of broadband service.

The market is huge, but there’s a lot of competition in this space already. NannySoft definitely has to bring on its marketing game.

Actual marketing activity has been slow, hampered by a micro-budget. Except for some pay-per-download efforts and sponsored posts by a handful of mommy bloggers, NannySoft marketing has been in quiet mode.

• The Goal: Sell 100,000 units within a 12-18 month timeframe.
• The Problem: Not enough traffic, period. The CTR from visitors being generated from existing pay-per programs at less than 1%. Site is averaging 5 visitors a day.
• Content Marketing Strategies: promotional posts on relevant blogs
• The Current Landing Page (home page): http://www.nannysoft.com
• Value: $39.95

The Maven’s 10-Point Critique

Click image for larger view

#1 — Make your case in the first screen with a strong, provocative headline.

As I said, you have a lot of competition in the web monitor software sector. So what can you say about your software that no other company can or does — or is there a benefit you can push forward that other companies don’t?

Your current headline is okay — “Know What Your Kids Do Online,” but it’s factual, head-based. You already have a stronger headline, “Build a Wall of Protection for Your Kids” further down. Can you feel the difference in emotional resonance?

NannySoft isn’t about software. It’s about parents protecting and shielding their kids from the bad guys and porn sites that operate so freely online. Parents are looking to NannySoft to give them peace of mind in a scary world.

#2 — Keep stirring the emotion beyond the headline, make a strong offer, and don’t try to close the sale too soon.

If we take “Build a Wall of Protection for Your Kids” or perhaps “Build A Rock-Solid Wall of Protection Around Your Kids,” then we transition to NannySoft as the purveyor of parental protection:

NannySoft keeps your kids safe from online predators by allowing you to monitor their every move:

• (Then spell out feature/benefit 1)
• (Feature/benefit 2)
• (Feature/benefit 3)

Also, don’t ask for the sale in your headline. It’s too much like a man who takes a woman to dinner on a first date and proposes marriage over drinks — don’t rush things. Make your case first.

Focus on getting folks to take a 10-day risk-free trial. You can add a “Purchase Now” button and link on the free-trial page and offer your visitor an incentive (discount, free upgrade) to buy now. Back up your purchase offer with a money-back guarantee.

#3 — Forget the screen shots. Hook your visitors with a well-made video.

Take the video tour now — make this your first call to action.

I found myself impatiently wading through your screen shots. A professional video — well-designed and thoughtfully written — could do a much better job of showing your prospects how NannySoft works, what it does, and help them imagine how it might work on their own computers.

#4 — Change the main image to focus on the family.

The child you’re showing isn’t really school-aged and the scene is pleasant and pastoral. Hardly scary or discomforting. So to reinforce the parental protection angle, show the mom or dad with their child on the computer together, or the child on the computer in the foreground and mom/dad in the background. The key is to make the connection between child/family/computer safety.

You’ve already done this with the electronic mock-up on your purchase page (see below). This is precisely the kind of image you want on the home page.

#5 — Change your tag line to further reinforce your message.

“Watching your kids in an online world” isn’t bad, but isn’t emotional enough. You want more words about safety, protection, and security in there.

Remember this is an emotional purchase, just like safety latches on medicine cabinets. Parents want to make it hard for their children to get hurt. Parents want to keep an eye on their kids while giving them the illusion of freedom. Parents want freedom from worry. NannySoft’s message needs to appeal on all these levels.

#6 — Put more of the goodies upfront and rework your navigation.

Right now, your primary navigation is bland. It doesn’t show enough about NannySoft and your company without a lot of clicks. This is important because the primary navigation has the main information visitors want within easy reach when they first arrive. I suggest the following:

• HOME (and don’t forget to link your logo to NannySoft.com)
• Features
• Requirements
• FAQ
• Download Free Trial (highlight this with a bright color)
• Testimonials
• Contact Us

Secondary navigation is the place for sweeteners and confidence boosters:

• About Us — Tutorials — Support

#7 — Answer the question, “Will it work on my system?”

I can’t find that info anywhere on your site. Make a badge, tell the folks what they need to know, and add it to your home page. Link it to your requirements page.

#8 — Add those essential credibility boosters!

Answer the questions: Who are you and Where are you located?

Your current About Us really isn’t about you at all. I’m a potential customer for a monitoring product that will go on my child’s or family’s computer. I’m already in a wary frame of mind. You need to tell me your company’s story and who the players are.

You also need to tell me where you’re located. Customers are wary about giving credit card info to companies they can’t find on a map. No location, no sale.

Answer the question: Who are your customers and what do they say?

Add testimonials from satisfied customers.

Don’t have enough customers yet? Get yourself connected via social media and give some copies away via Twitter. Set-up a NannySoft Facebook fan page and offer fans a Free Friday giveaway. Add a blog about child safety online and encourage subscribers via RSS and email.

#9 — Standardize your font choice and handling for enhanced readability.

Depending on the page, your font sizes go from too teeny to too large and too bold. Blech. Revise your CSS to give you sizing in the mid-range, 10 to 12 point for body content.

#10 — Rework your home page to help your visitors ‘get the message’ faster.

I believe your current home page design is inefficient in its current form, so I spent some time noodling some possibilities for you. (See the image below.)

The idea is to give your visitors more ‘tastes’ of what you’ve got, to encourage them to explore deeper inside.

Click image for larger view

BONUS — Make sure your awards are really awards and have value.

I took a list at your Awards page and honestly, it reminded me of the ‘any badge is a good badge’ days of the late 1990s. But I do encourage you to seek out meaningful awards from parent and/or teacher organizations and top-flight software industry awards.

And when you get them, don’t hide them on a back page. Add them to the home page where prospects like me with three web-active kids can see them.

My thanks to David Gilbert for his patience and support of Heifer International. Look for my next makeover in 3 to 4 weeks.

About the Author: Roberta Rosenberg is The Copywriting Maven at MGP Direct, Inc. Find her @CopywriterMaven at Twitter. If you’re interested in a private critique/makeover, a site audit, or other services, please email her directly.

Landing Page Makeover Clinic #24: NannySoft.com is a post from: Devour The Web

So this is the second week of the weekly wrap-up, and Brian seems to suspect that I might need encouragement to keep going or something. I tell him I don’t need encouragement as long as the pay is good, and that’s when he tells me for the last time he’s NOT paying me, and then throws rocks at me until I drop his wallet and scamper back into the bushes.

Really, the question is why these Saturday installments exist, and why I’m the guy writing them. And the answer is that like many of you, I have a short attention span. A weekly reminder gets me back on track, so maybe you might need . . . oh, look . . . shiny!

Okay, I’m back. Here’s what happened this week on Copyblogger:

Monday:

How I Became a Better Writer Thanks to Distracted, Hungover College Kids

I hereby give this post by Chris Birk the proud title of “My favorite Copyblogger headline other than mine about the drunk Swiss guy.” Laugh all you want, but the headline on this post did what the copywriting maxim says a headline is supposed to do: It makes you want to go back to college.

Other than that, this is an excellent post on some core tenants of writing crisp, powerful copy as learned in response to the inexperience, impetuosity, and even a bit of the ego of youth. I suggest you check it out before heading off to that kegger.

Read the full post here.

Tuesday:

The Houdini Guide to Getting Noticed Online

The thing you don’t realize about famous “escapist” Harry Houdini is that the guy really had pretty remarkable quad development. I’m serious; click over and look at the legs on that guy. Then come back here and forget that I was talking about a guy’s legs and instead check out the hot young chippie behind him with the buffet on her head. So hot.

AmberLee Fawson’s Houdini post is really about showmanship. You may not be escaping from underwater shackles on your blog (though I’d visit if you were), but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn a thing or two about how Houdini could ramp his audiences up and leave them breathless. Take a peek.

Read the full post here.

Wednesday:

The Secret Life of Testimonials

I always think it’s funny when prospective employers or landlords ask for references because it’s a loaded request, guaranteed to generate only positive sources. Think about it. Would anyone hand over the phone number of their angry ex and say, “Here, call her… she thinks I’m a jerk”?

Testimonials are the same way — you can populate your site with testimonials that make you look great, but one of the problems is that people realize that you’d never post your complaints. While prospects do expect testimonials to make you look good, it kind of loses some of its punch if all that’s said in all of them is 100% great stuff.

Sean D’Souza tells you what should do with your testimonials to make them powerful and believable.

Read the full post here.

Also Wednesday:

Thesis Makes WordPress Way Better (Again)

This was a P.S. post that ran on Wednesday afternoon and given that it was itself a summary of the new advances in the recently released Thesis 1.7, I won’t double-summary-vertigo it too much by doing my summary here. Head hurt yet?

(Note: “Double-summary-vertigo” is not the same thing as “double-secret probation.” If you get that reference, you win a cookie.)

Suffice to say that as hard as Thesis rocked prior to this new version, it now rocks much harder. For those with a short attention span but a heaping helping of Thesis-related curiosity, check out the Thesis 1.7 new features list and watch this video tour that features a South Park version of Brian Clark.

Read the full post here.

Thursday:

Why Third Tribe is Shutting Down

On April 1st, Sonia Simone wrote a post announcing that the Third Tribe community would be shutting down due in large part to massive amounts of Fear and Loathing between its principals, thanks to a vortex of drugs, ego, and identical twin Thai massage girls at the South by Southwest conference last month.

But there’s more to the story here, people.

Sonia conveniently doesn’t mention how the streets of Austin were shut down for all of Saturday afternoon until the woman dropping Segways off of the roof of the convention center could be taken down with rubber “knee-knocker” riot squad bullets, and then how her PCP rage eventually necessitated a full SWAT assault anyway.

She doesn’t tell you about the “This isn’t a [expletive] donut, Chris. It’s an [expletive][expletive] BAGEL!” incident in which several German tourists were hospitalized.

And she doesn’t even mention Steven Seagal, for reasons that should be obvious to everyone.

Anyway, get the rest of the April Fool’s fear and loathing here.

Friday:

10 Tricks For Getting Inspired to Write

So what I got out of Jonathan Morrow’s post about getting inspired is that it’s NOT okay to sit down to write a post, decide I’m out of ideas, and then blow it off and go to Burger King. And believe it or not, it’s NOT just because Burger King sucks. It’s because there are ways to get inspired enough to write the post you don’t think you can write. Gee, thanks, Jon. I guess that means I can’t go to Taco Bell, either.

Jon lists ten ways to get ideas into your head and ring some inspirational bells, and they’re not what you may think. Which is probably why you haven’t tried them, and why you really should give them a shot when the well runs dry.

Read the full post here.

About the Author: Johnny B. Truant has a dumb blog at JohnnyBTruant.com. You should also really check out his Jam Sessions with Charlie Gilkey, because they’re filled with tasty informational nuggets that will make your business better.

Johnny’s Copyblogger Wrap-Up: Week of March 29, 2010 is a post from: Devour The Web

The Friday Traffic Report podcast will resume next week.  We’re taking this week off for Good Friday.  Although I maintain that EVERY Friday is good, this one is particularly good.
Have a great weekend everyone and thanks, as always, for being loyal readers of The Friday Traffic Report.
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Happy Easter! is a post from: Devour The Web

There comes a time in every blogger’s life when the thought of writing another blog post makes you want to . . . well . . . gag.

You know you should write, you know your readers are expecting to hear from you. But sitting down to crank out another post is like throwing your bucket down the creative well and coming up with nothing but mud.

The well is dry, baby. Nothing more to give. And yet somehow you have to find something to say.

The question is, “How?”

Some grizzled veterans like to say you have to write whether you feel like it or not. They tell you to suck it up, stop being a wimp, and do your freakin’ job.

In my experience though, that’s largely crap.

Because when you’re a beginning blogger, you don’t have an editor or publisher giving you the evil eye that says, “You’d better write or else.” No, the only one pushing you is you, and it’s all too easy to let up and go watch TV or play video games or catch up on some sleep.

For us, inspiration isn’t optional; it’s the force that drags us to the computer and tells us it’s time to say something that changes the world. Somehow, you have to find it, and you have to keep finding it for as long as you have a blog.

No, it’s not easy, but it is possible. Here are 10 tricks that have worked for me:

1. Look at magazine covers

The writers who think up the headlines for magazines like Cosmopolitan and National Enquirer are some of the highest paid, most creative people in the world. So why not piggyback on their work?

Whenever I’m feeling stuck, I’ll go to the bookstore and read all of the covers until an idea for a great headline of my own strikes me. Or, if I’m feeling especially lazy, I’ll go to Amazon or magazines.com and browse the images of the covers there.

Either way, I usually end up with at least 5-10 ideas for new posts.

(Hint: this often works best when you pick magazines that have absolutely nothing to do with your own topic.)

2. Browse openings

Sometimes, writing a whole post is as simple as finding a crackerjack opening sentence.

Whenever you have a general idea for a post but can’t find an exciting way to open it, try flipping through the first page of novels on your bookshelf (thrillers are often best) and read the first sentence. If you don’t find one there, browse through the archives here at Copyblogger and read the opening sentence of every post.

Often times one will jump out, and it’ll give you the momentum to write a post.

3. Read your favorite author

There’s an old saying that to write a lot, you need to read a lot.

And it’s true. Not only does reading teach you what works and what doesn’t, but it can also get you in the mood to write.

Whenever I’m feeling lethargic, I take 15 minutes to read Seth Godin or Stephen King. The way they write is full of so much energy that some of it usually rubs off.

For you, the author may be someone else; what’s important is to find writers who inspire you and keep their work handy for when you need it.

4. Retype passages from those favorite authors

In some direct response advertising agencies, I’ve heard they ask new writers to rewrite famous sales letters over and over again. Many good copywriting courses do the same.

On the surface, this might sound like mindless labor, but it’s not. Something about retyping the words of another writer teaches your mind how they do it.

I know because I’ve done it. After retyping a paragraph or two of Godin or King, I usually have an idea for a new angle or post. It sounds weird, but try it for yourself sometime.

5. Browse quotations

People pass around quotations for a reason; they’re witty, insightful, memorable, everything good writing is supposed to be.

So why not let them inspire you? Go to a website like quotationspage.com and browse through the millions of great quotes. Let one of them spark an exciting new post idea.

6. Listen to music

Everyone knows about this one, but I’ll give it a slight twist.

Some people find that listening to music while they write helps them, and if that works for you, go for it.

Personally though, I’ve found it’s better to close my eyes and listen to the music before I write, keeping my mind is blank as possible while I do it. Within 30 minutes, an idea usually pops into my head, and then I turn off the music to start writing.

It might seem like a small difference, but if you’ve had trouble writing while listening to music before, give this one a try.

7. Listen to smart dialogue

Have you ever noticed that a good blog post reads a lot like a snappy monologue? You can almost hear the voice of the blogger.

In that vein, one of the best ways to get yourself going is to find a TV show, movie, or radio broadcast with smart dialogue and listen to it for a few minutes. It trains your brain to think conversationally, and sometimes it’ll give you an idea that’s perfect for a post.

You might want to be on the lookout for screenwriters whose dialogue you think is particularly good (Quentin Tarantino and Charlie Kaufman are two good places to start), and listen to their work purely with an ear for how they use dialogue.

8. Talk to your readers

Last year, I invited Copyblogger readers to tell me their frustrations, and then I chose 20 of them for free blog consultations.

The result? Nearly 300 people left comments, explaining in detail what was giving them trouble and why.

I’ve learned more from those comments and consultations than any other form of market research I’ve done at Copyblogger, and they gave me dozens of ideas for new posts and products. It’s humbling, but sometimes you have to realize you’re not the only source of blockbuster ideas. Your readers are full of wonderful ideas too, and they’re eager to give them to you.

9. Close the door

This is another tip I got from Stephen King. In his book, On Writing, he advises writing your rough draft with the door closed and then revising with the door open.

He doesn’t mean you actually have to close the door (although it’s a good idea). What he means is you need to forget anyone’s opinion but yours when writing your first draft.

The surest way to frustrate yourself is to imagine what everyone is going to say about your work before you finish it. Get the rough draft done, listening only to your own intuition. You can agonize over how people will react when you’re making revisions.

10. Find your joy

If you let it, writing can make you miserable. You can force yourself to write about topics you hate, exhaust yourself by writing when you’re tired, and beat yourself up whenever your work doesn’t measure up.

But that’s a mistake. Because the writers who make it aren’t the stereotypical mad geniuses whose careers are a flash of brilliance followed by an untimely death. Most terrific writers are normal people who take joy from their writing, and so they write as much as possible.

It’s so easy to forget the importance of that joy, and in my opinion, that’s the real reason why we have a tough time inspiring ourselves to write. We’re trying to trick ourselves into doing something we hate.

And we need to stop. Because here’s the thing . . . the sooner you allow yourself to have fun with your writing, the easier you’ll find it to sit down and write. It will give you life, and you’ll want to do it.

My advice?

The next time you’re stuck, find something to write about that makes you smile. Find something to write about that gives you a buzz. Find something to write about that touches you so deeply, tears of joy are running down your face while you type.

That’s what writing is about. It’s a gift, not only to our readers, but also to us.

Enjoy it.

About the Author: Jon Morrow is Associate Editor of Copyblogger. Get more from Jon on twitter.

10 Tricks For Getting Inspired to Write is a post from: Devour The Web

Before I talk about our reasons for shutting down Inside the Third Tribe (our community of next-generation internet marketers), I want to stress that it had nothing to do with our members.

In fact, they’ve been amazing. More than 2,000 smart, motivated entrepreneurs, hungry for knowledge and passionately applying the education we provide.

And it’s not because I don’t believe in the community. In fact, I think it’s one of the most remarkable projects I’ve ever been involved with.

Unfortunately, we’ve had some issues with the team that I no longer believe we can reconcile.

There were hints all along, as there usually are. But at the recent South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, it became clear that we couldn’t continue as we had been.

I think we were somewhere at the edge of Austin when the drugs began to take hold.

Brian said something like, “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive . . .”

And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was heading for Austin going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down.

And Brian’s baritone voice was bellowing: “Holy Jesus! What are these animals?”

“Bats, Brian,” I said. “Austin is known for it’s bats.”

You have to understand, he’s been under a lot of stress

He’d seemed lucid enough back when we were planning out how we’d approach the conference. Lucid, but showing some signs of strain. We had launched too many projects back to back, and frankly, South by Southwest tends to bring out Brian’s . . . eccentric side.

His voice was fast on the phone when we were making plans, but he sounded reasonably in control of himself.

“You’re going to need plenty of legal advice before this thing is over.”

“Really? OK,” I said, grabbing a pad of paper to take notes.

“And my first advice is that you should rent a very fast car with no top. This blows my week, because naturally I’ll have to go with you. And we’ll have to arm ourselves.”

My voice faltered a little. “Sorry, did you say arm ourselves?”

But you know, I’ve followed Brian down a lot of strange rabbit holes, and so far we’ve always done all right.

So we got the convertible, and the guns, and the 55-gallon drum of creamed corn, and he pulled some kind of connection that let me secure a tank of medical-grade ether.

I try not to ask too many questions when he gets like this. Which makes it my fault too, I realize.

He couldn’t stop talking about retirement, about how much he wanted to walk away. “Social media is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.”

“Right, but there are good people too!” I kept saying. “You know there are.”

But he wasn’t in any kind of space to hear me. As I’ve come to realize, there is nothing more helpless and irresponsible than a man in the depths of an ether binge. He took another hit and sank into a dark silence while I circled the Austin airport.

We were there to pick up Chris Brogan

Brogan . . . now there’s a piece of work. I don’t mind the first-class airfare or the Rolls Royce or paying for all the booze. Whatever. The man’s got his issues. But picking up the tab for those identical twin Thai massage girls is just . . . I don’t know, it gives me the creeps. Plus it’s hell on our profit margins.

He was hysterical, as usual, as he careened out of baggage claim. His voice kept getting higher and higher, talking about not getting his due, not getting his respect, not feeling the love.

“Don’t you understand? Don’t you get it? I’m still huge!” he shrieked.

“Brogan,” Brian said, in the dangerous voice.

That’s the first moment when I started to get nervous. Brian’s dangerous voice is . . . well, dangerous.

“I’m everything I ever was!” Brogan screamed. “Who have we got now? Nobodies! Can’t you see it? I’m still big! It’s the media that got small.”

Brian pulled out something that looked like a gun, and I nearly passed out. I don’t know if you realize this, but since 9/11, pulling out a gun in a U.S. airport is like wearing a giant sign saying, “Dear TSA dudes, please blow our heads off. Thanks tons, love, Copyblogger.”

Brian squeezed off two tidy shots, but instead of a sound like gunfire, there was a sort of whuff.

Brogan hit the floor like a sack of irradiated meat.

“Damn it, Brian, what the hell was that?” I grabbed the gun and stashed it, then tried to lift Brogan’s head off the linoleum and check his vital signs. Actually, my words were a little stronger than that. You have to be firm when Brian gets this way.

“Elephant tranquilizer,” Brian said. “Brutal stuff. Very bad. He’ll be having hallucinations of having his intestines gnawed by naked mole rats for about . . . ” Brian checked his watch, “the next 12 to 16 hours.”

Don’t even ask me how we got him into the car. There wasn’t room in the back seat but somehow we managed to fold him into the trunk of the convertible and we headed for the hotel.

Brian got snippy with me for insisting we crack the trunk for air, but the last thing in the world I need is a social media darling dying of asphyxiation in the trunk of my rented car. I do have a few boundaries.

Then there’s Darren Rowse

Darren, Mr. “Nice Guy” of the interwebs, was supposed to meet us in the hotel bar. We couldn’t manage to get Brogan out of the trunk, so we left him there, the trunk propped open by his elbow, twitching and sweating and muttering something about a close-up.

I don’t know if you know Darren. He’s . . . well . . . he’s something of a character.

He was slumped, as he usually is, giggling on the red plastic bar stool. He turned his manic grin to us and patted the machete that he always carries. “You call that a knife?” he said. He held up the machete proudly. “Now that’s a knife.”

“Yeah, right, hi Darren,” I said. I was starting to get tired. One of them at a time I can usually take, but between Brian in an ether funk and Chris hallucinating on elephant tranquilizer, the last thing I needed was Darren’s incessant self comparisons to Crocodile Dundee. “That’s awesome, honey. Put it away before you make the bartender nervous, ok?”

“Of course it took me a week to crawl this far,” he muttered, giggling. “I thought I was a goner. I said to meself, Darren old son, find yourself a nice comfortable spot and lay down and die.”

“Rowse,” Brian nodded in greeting, his teeth clenched.

Darren stroked the machete thoughtfully. “Up North in the Never-Never, where the land is harsh and bare, lives a mighty hunter named Darren Dundee.”

Brian began to growl.

“What the [expletive] is he [expletive] on about?” Darren snarled, the giggle dissolving. “Is he taking the [expletive] out of me? Because if he wants a fight, I’ll give him a [expletive] [expletive] [expletive] fight.”

“Both of you, play nice, please,” I begged. “Just ten minutes of peace and then you can start in on each other.” I was desperate for a drink. But one of us had to keep a clear head, and as usual, it looked like it was me.

“He’s [expletive] high again.” Darren’s eyes narrowed.

“I wouldn’t recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they’ve always worked for me,” Brian said, with a majestic dignity that almost made me love him again.

From there it just went downhill

Anyway, I guess you remember the rest of it from the news accounts. They didn’t get it exactly right, but it was close enough.

Brogan is doing better in rehab than any of us could have hoped, so I’m crossing my fingers. We don’t think the U.S. will try to extradite Darren for what happened to that biker, and let’s face it, the guy did pull a knife on us. Poor bastard.

Brian’s wife won’t give me any details, and when I drove out to their place to try and figure it out, he took a shot at me. You know, it’s Brian. He’ll be ok. He always is.

If I were going to write the truth about everything I know, about 600 people — including me — would be rotting in prison cells. So I’m going to have to leave it there.

All I know is I can’t do this any more. I’m walking away while I still can. I booked a massage for later this morning, I’m going to go cash my settlement check, and then I’m going to take a walk on this beautiful first day of April and try and figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

Until then, you all take care, ok?

P.S. This post is 100% Brian’s fault.

P.P.S. Thanks, Hunter.

Why Third Tribe is Shutting Down is a post from: Devour The Web