Archive for June, 2007

Want your web copy to crash and burn?

Thursday, June 28th, 2007

If you answered yes, be sure to follow these five tips:

1. Senseless navigation. Your website navigation should immediately let you know:
Where you are,
Where you have been,
Where you can go next and
Where the home page is.

Navigation, in fact, must be so easy that visitors to your site should not even have to think about it. Some mistakes include dissimilar types of navigation on the same site, poorly worded links so your visitor has no clue about where he or she will end up and confusing links or no links back to the home page.

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Posted in copywriting, web content, web copy, writing for the web | Comments

Big-Time Marketing On A Small-Time Budget

Tuesday, June 26th, 2007

We’re often asked how to market big on a small budget.

If for whatever reason, from an iffy economy or less-than-stellar results in the past , your every dollar needs to work harder, not to worry. There are creative ways to stretch your marketing budget to reach a wider audience at lower cost, and they are right at your fingertips.

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Posted in brochures, low-budget marketing, marketing, referrals, small business | Comments

Get It In Writing ’s Allison Nazarian quoted in Writer’s Digest

Monday, June 25th, 2007

Click here to download the pdf of Get It In Writing President Allison Nazarian’s comments in the August 2007 issue of Writer’s Digest on the topic of bidding sites and practices in the business of writing. (Basically, they’re not a good thing for the “biddees.”)

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Posted in copywriting, freelance writing, small business | Comments

Please think twice before calling yourself a freelance writer

Friday, June 22nd, 2007

There is at least one term you will not find in our vocabulary: freelance writer. The term, in my (Allison’s) opinion is disparaging, inaccurate and even unprofessional when it comes to business. In fact, I think it really takes away the business aspect of what we do. Would you call a doctor or attorney who works as a sole practitioner a freelance doctor or freelance attorney?

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Posted in copywriting, freelance writer, small business | Comments

Words that make me cringe – annoying idioms, cliches, and other English language abuses

Thursday, June 21st, 2007



“have a good one”

One what?

“I seen it”

I never saw the appeal of purposely using a non-existent or obviously wrong verb tense.

“Quote Unquote”

With accompanying hand gestures, of course

“at the end of the day…”

Overused filler that has little meaning.

“aks” instead of “ask”

Is saying ask really hard?

“everythink”

Why do some people add a ‘k’ sound to words ending in ‘ing’ …this one really sends me over the edge!

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Does clever actually sell?

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

We’ve seen many business people become far too clever for their — or anyone else’s — own good.

Creativity is great and will go a long way in getting your words read and your message understood. But don’t go for the clever line at the expense of your real strengths – your message, the solution you are offering and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). When writing to sell, focus on why you are offering and promising what you are offering and promising and less on being the cleverest wordsmith around.

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Posted in ad copy, copywriting, writing ads | Comments

What does the world of Web 2.0 mean for your business?

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

You may have heard the phrase ‘Web 2.0,’ the so-called second-generation phase of the Internet.

This is the phase where most of us now know the Internet exists, most of us have access to it and most of us have mastered the basics (e.g., browsing, searching, seeking information). When it comes to business and marketing in terms of Web 2.0, now it’s time for a more sophisticated, targeted approach to what we do and why. In the world of the online, everyone is asking about setting up, maintaining and looking for everyone else’s blogs, e-newsletters, web copy and “e” everything else from My Space pages to articles to press kits.

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Posted in Internet Marketing, Web 2.0, small business | Comments