March 2005 Two Minute Tuesday

A good movie captures the attention of the audience in the very first seconds. Great writing has to do the same. The first glance a reader takes at an ad, a letter, or an email has to captivate them enough to keep reading without the benefit of a darkened room, popcorn, and jujubees.

If the first seconds of a movie miss their mark, it has the next hour and a half to make-up for it. Copywriting doesn’t have that luxury. The page of the magazine can be turned, the letter ditched, and the delete button easily clicked.

The Poynter Institute found that most people look at the left one-third of a blurb when they are reading online, and they only read further if they are engaged by those words.

This means headlines and subtitles must be informative enough to intrigue your readers.

Less than one second! Keep in mind that a one-word headline can make as many waves as one with lots of words.

But even headlines that can be read in less than a second must be impressive enough for the reader to take further action . . . all I have to say is . . . Jujubees!************************************************************
Intrigued by the Poynter Institute study? Find out more about it!

Well, that's it folks! Exactly 200 words later and your life is Two Minutes better! As always, your feedback is not just welcome but appreciated. Write to me at elizabeth@elizabethbonet.com. ************************************************************
PRIVACY STATEMENT The Two Minute Tuesday respects your privacy. I do NOT give out or sell my subscriber information to anyone.Tell all your friends (and enemies!) about the Two Minute Tuesday by forwarding this email!Subscribe at http://www.elizabethbonet.com/ezine.htm ************************************************************
© 2005 by Elizabeth Bonet, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

February 2005 Two Minute Tuesday

“If the only point to writing were to transmit information, then it would deserve to become obsolete. But the point of writing is to create information, not simply to pass it along.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Information is so readily available – newspapers, the Internet, our Palm Pilots, even our cell phones. Why hire a writer when you can copy practically anything and call it information? Or when they could as well?

Because people hunger for fresh information.

The age of information overload actually creates the need for more writing instead of less. People want something they haven’t seen before. They want something no one has seen before. They also want something to call their own.

“Here, take one of my new brochures!”
“Have you visited our new website?”
“Take a Tips Sheet. They’re really helpful.”

The writer’s Client is the inspiration, the meat of the information, and the “producer” of quality information. They’re not willing to just transmit information. They want to create it.

Thank your clients for being a part of this age old process. It’s a natural instinct that will never go away, just like the world of writing.

And if you’re a writer’s client, thank you for your contributions!
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Well, that's it folks! Exactly 200 words later and your life is Two Minutes better! As always, your feedback is not just welcome but appreciated. Write to me at elizabeth@elizabethbonet.com.

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PRIVACY STATEMENT The Two Minute Tuesday respects your privacy. I do NOT give out or sell my subscriber information to anyone.Tell all your friends (and enemies!) about the Two Minute Tuesday by forwarding this email!Subscribe at http://www.elizabethbonet.com/ezine.htm

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© 2005 by Elizabeth Bonet, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

The January 2005 Two Minute Tuesday

“It sure is pretty. It’s red.”

I’m sure it was pretty, but come on! I needed more than just pretty.

When I was searching for a used bicycle, I called an ad in the newspaper. The guy was selling a ladies’ bicycle, but he didn’t know the brand, the size, or the type of bicycle it was.

Know what you’re selling . . . down to the details.

The bicycle guy knew his main business, and one or two details – red and ladies’. But he was unable to make the sale because he didn’t know all of the details and didn’t know some of the important ones!

For example, if you’re a copywriter, you know you’re selling writing. But do you know what kind of writing? Do you know your particular brand? Do you know what makes your writing different from all the other writing out there? Do you know why someone should buy your services beyond the fact that your writing sure is pretty?

No matter what your business, for the new year take the time to figure out what, exactly, you are selling. That’s the hard part. Once you do this, making the sale becomes easier and easier.

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Well, that's it folks! Exactly 200 words later and your life is Two Minutes better!
As always, your feedback is not just welcome but appreciated. Write to me at ebonet@elizabethbonet.com.

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PRIVACY STATEMENT The Two Minute Tuesday respects your privacy. I do NOT give out or sell my subscriber information to anyone.Tell all your friends (and enemies!) about the Two Minute Tuesday by forwarding this email!Subscribe at http://www.elizabethbonet.com/ezine.htm

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© 2004 by Elizabeth Bonet, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

The December 2004 Two Minute Tuesday

The Two Minute Tuesday goes out the first Tuesday of every month. Written in 200 words or less, the TMT only takes two minutes of your time but provides you with practical, inspirational, and motivational business and writing tips.

Two Minute Tip

Eliminate "should" from any writing you do. I recently received a newsletter that stated, "You should send them a piece of promotional material telling them about your new business and what you are selling."

"Should I? Really? Now why is that?"

"Shoulds" make people feel the following:

• Obstinate
• Guilty
• Nagged
• Scolded

The list could go on. Do you want your clients to have any negative associations with you or your business? I think not!

The errant sentence could have easily been re-written to say, "Send them a piece of promotional material . . ."

Even better, "Send a postcard or letter telling them about your new business."

• The "Send" spurs people to actually take action.
• Changing "promotional material" to a specific item just makes that action easier for someone to envision, making it easier for them to actually do!
• Eliminating "and what you sell" shortens the sentence, making it cleaner. For most people, "telling them about their new business" includes telling the prospect what they are selling.
  

Next time you send out a newsletter or any other type of copy to your clients, double-check those "shoulds." Eliminate them for happier clients!

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Well, that's it folks! 199 words later and your life is Two Minutes better!

As always, your feedback is not just welcome but appreciated. Write to me at ebonet@elizabethbonet.com. ************************************************************

PRIVACY STATEMENT
The Two Minute Tuesday respects your privacy. I do NOT give out or sell my subscriber information to anyone.Tell all your friends (and enemies!) about the Two Minute Tuesday by forwarding this email!Subscribe at http://www.elizabethbonet.com/ezine.htm

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© 2004 by Elizabeth Bonet, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

The November 2004 Two Minute Tuesday

The Two Minute Tuesday goes out the first Tuesday of every month. Written in 200 words or less, the TMT only takes two minutes of your time but provides you with practical, inspirational, and motivational business and writing tips .

Two Minute Tip
Election day is probably the last day you want to be thinking about business, but it’s a great day to be planning for the future. Our country’s future will be changed no matter who is elected, and these changes will undoubtedly effect your working and non-working life.

While you’re glued to the television watching the results come in, appreciate how much planning went into the election campaigns. Months were spent crafting the right slogan and choosing just the right words to say. Years were spent implementing well-thought out strategies.

Do you put the same effort into your business no matter how large or small it is? Would your plans change if you knew that the entire American public would be scrutinizing every word and action made? Luckily, most of us don’t have to think on that level every day!

But each and every customer does deserve the same kind of attention that go into national election campaigns. Keep this in mind the next time you plan for the future of your business.

Choose strategies that respect and motivate your customers. Implement them with as much care as a presidential candidate on the campaign trail.
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Well, that’s it folks! 194 words later and your life is Two Minutes better!

As always, your feedback is not just welcome but appreciated. Write to me at ebonet@elizabethbonet.com.

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PRIVACY STATEMENT
The Two Minute Tuesday respects your privacy. I do NOT give out or sell my subscriber information to anyone.

Tell all your friends (and enemies!) about the Two Minute Tuesday by forwarding this email!
Subscribe at http://www.elizabethbonet.com/ezine.htm

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© 2004 by Elizabeth Bonet, Ph.D. All rights reserved.