Archive for Writing
They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!
Posted by: | CommentsThis is no doubt one of the most famous advertising headlines in history, written by the direct marketing expert John Caples in 1926. The ad was to solicit correspondence course students for the U. S. School of Music. The full-page ad was dense with copy – several hundred words filling the entire page. Then, as now, the debate raged about whether people will read long copy. Or, should copy be short and crisp? Fast forward to today: should blogs and other social media copy be short or long?
John Caples famous ad
Ads starting, “They laughed when….” are still being written. A few recent examples: “They Laughed When I Went To Buy Tax Liens, But When Those Checks Started Rolling In”, “They Laughed When He Ran Away From the Basket… Until He Sank the Three Pointer!” and “They Laughed When I Said There Was a Secret to Writing Good Headlines.”
Why was the Caples ad so successful and compelling and still being imitated? For starters, it uses one of the oldest tricks in the books – it teases you in. You want to learn what happened when he started to play. Did they stop laughing? Did people listen?
It also fed the desire of most people who wished they could play the piano like Chopin or Rachmaninov. Gradually, Caples reeled them so they could learn how to play right in their own homes.
So, we still need the answer to the question: when people today are collapsing under information overload, will they read long copy? Or is it necessary to feed readers with bite-size chunks of copy? Here is my answer: it depends. I know, that sounds like fence sitting.
Whatever Works
But what do your readers want to learn about the subject? Is it complex? Does it need more explanation than short copy allows? The answer to the question is to write as long as it takes to make your case. I was pleased that Copy Blogger wrote about this and came up with pretty much the same answer – whatever works.
Here is another recent point of view from Direct Creative Blog. I liked this a lot: “You should be interested in that part of the market who are interested in your products. These are the people seeking information and who will read your copy, even very long copy.”
I was reminded of that when I was in the market for a digital camera. All of a sudden I started noticing ads for digital cameras. They were always there, but I wasn’t in the market. When I decided I needed a new digital camera I read everything I could, even long copy, or especially long copy, because I wanted as much information as I could find before I made a decision to buy.
We do need to remember this: the difference in social media copy is that it is being read on a computer, most likely a laptop and more often on a smart phone. So the key points need to be “above the fold” to capture the reader’s attention. That is the reason Twitter limited messages to 140 characters because that’s about how many fit on the screen of a cell phone.
Well, I’ve written a lot make a point: use short copy when that’s all you need to make the sale. Use long copy when that’s what you need to make the sale. End of debate.
Creative Communications Requires Out of the Box Thinking
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Annie Hart
By Annie Hart
Or else what?
Or else be left behind in the dust. These days we can no longer afford to poo-poo creativity. Time is ticking and creativity is the wave of the present and the future.
Those who are still thinking in the past will be left behind in the un-creative dust.
So you do want to be on the wave of the future, don’t you? I’m sure you do.
Being creative in your communications requires thinking outside of the box. Communications is a wide field of expression – everything from print media to video, to public speaking, to billboards.
It is everywhere we go and in today’s fast paced world, we need to use our creative brains to keep up with the pace.
It can at first seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to, because using your creative brain is actually enjoyable and energy saving. It’s your old, stuck-in-the-rut left brain that’s getting in the way.
So who is this old brain that keeps you doing the same old same old? I affectionately call him Mr. Lizard and he loves doing the same things over and over again.
Mr. Lizard is the master of repetition, but needs to learn some creativity.
Ban your lizard brain
Why? Because he HATES change. He hates being original and he does not want to stand out in the crowd. He enjoys being one of the boring pack.
But do you?
Do you really enjoy expressing yourself like everyone else? I doubt it. You might be used to doing that but it’s probably not what you really want.
Try this test – if you’re tired or bored with what you’re putting out in your communications, then it’s a likelihood that you’re relying too much on your old lizard brain (cousin to your left brain).
Mr. Lizard doesn’t mean to but he enjoys keeping you stuck. So you’ve got to override his ideas and try something different. That’s what creativity really is – it’s the art and science of doing things differently.
Originality is creativity’s middle name.
Thinking outside the box means trying things that you haven’t tried before. And often, those that are most successful, come up with something that at first seems totally ridiculous!
What's your purple cow?
Think of Seth Godin’s purple cow. Silly right?
Silly but effective. Imagine yourself putting a big purple cow on your website, business card or brochure. You’re probably cringing right?
Well I’m not suggesting that YOU put a purple cow on anything. That was Seth’s original idea. But I am suggesting that you take risks like he does and think outside of the routine.
Here are some ideas to get you started, but feel free to improvise:
- Think in color, that was part of the purple cow’s effectiveness, it catches our eye and is interesting and different.
- Think “difference” – take a look at something that you’ve done and ask yourself, “What could be different about this?” One small change often makes a big difference.
- If you really want to go out on an edge, and I suggest you do, then ask yourself, “What is the last thing that I’d want to do?” You can decide whether you want to do that or not, but at least you’ve gotten yourself to think way outside of your usual box.
That’s the idea. Stirring up your creativity is good for you and good for the world, because no one wants to read or engage in your boring, ordinary communications. They just don’t, so don’t kid yourself about it.
People today, especially the younger generation, like things snappy, quick and interesting and so do you if you’re honest with yourself.
Sometimes we’re afraid to make change, try something different and live outside the box. But that is old Mr. Lizard again asserting himself when he should be off taking a nap.
Today wake up Mr. Lizard and try something new. You will be glad you did.
Creativity in communications is everything. It is the wave of the future and I know you want to be on that wave.
Don’t you?
Annie Hart believes that Stories Change the World and she has brought her work to the fields of Business, Education, Healthcare, Non-Profit, Youth at Risk & Community Organizations. She can be found passionately sharing stories and tools of change on her blog and popular Radio 42 show.
Business Communication Through Words, Pictures and Actions
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes it seems that brand new ways to communicate are being invented every day. Uh, uh. We’re mistaking new channels of communication – like the Internet, Skype, smart phones – for the actual messages we send to make ourselves understood. Despite the revolution that is the Internet, nothing has changed from how we sent messages in ancient times.
Think about it: there are only three types of messages: words, pictures and actions. Those 150,000+ IPhone apps all fall into one or a combination of words, pictures and actions.
We communicate with words.....
.....pictures
.....and actions.
It’s essential to think carefully about how we send a message so that the recipient is absolutely clear what we mean – the deadline is 5 p.m. this afternoon – and the underlying message in how it is delivered. As my mother used to say, “Let’s watch our TOV.” (Tone of voice.)
The sharp retort: “The deadline is 5 p.m. this afternoon!!” conveys much more than a simple “The deadline is 5 p.m. this afternoon.” Have I done something wrong when my manager raises his voice and then stalks out of the office? Of course, that is sending a very clear message. By the same token, we get the message when we feel a feel a friendly pat on the back. Nonverbal communication in business can convey so much more than words alone.
Why does this matter? We’ve all noticed it. Electronic communications is slowly squeezing the civility out of discourse. We dash off emails and text messages with little regard for how the recipient will receive the message. Face-to-face communication where a smile can convey more than a thousand words is missing when increasingly work is done virtually, and a laptop becomes the business traveler’s office.
I particularly worry about younger professionals who live by texting and communicating virtually on Facebook and other social networks. The emotional context is missing. Or worse, is misunderstood.
The back pat, the belly laugh, and the handshake – these convey so much more than words. Are we forgetting how to use them?
