03 Apr 10 Innovation or improvement?
What is the biggest nightmare that an entrepreneur has every night when he goes to sleep—fear of failure, fear of not having enough funds, fear of dying hungry, or what?
It is fear of getting the idea stolen. Yes, fear of idea theft is what keep entrepreneur awake at night. These days no one much care about the capital as much as one care about idea, because the latter is scarcer than the former. And our economy is based on nothing but breakthrough idea.
Do it better or do it different?
These are the two different aspects of a coin. “Doing it better” will fetch us incremental benefits, but “doing it different” will lead us to entirely new future.
“Doing it better” is what developing and undeveloped countries are after, and “doing it different” is the goal that entrepreneurs in a developed country chase. That is why major breakthroughs come from developed country.
You can say that “doing it better” will at best get incremental technology; for example, a more energy-efficient air conditioner, better soap, good shoe at less price, etc. But “doing it different” will get us disruptive technology—the technology that ends the previous ones while giving birth to entirely new industry. For example, instead of making better typewriters and calculators, computer was invented; instead of making faster and faster main frame computers, PC was invented.
All innovations are disruptive in nature, and it is the innovation that keeps the ball in the developed economy rolling.
Which one is better?
Both.
Both of them have different use in our lives, and both of them are important. There are times when we need a better product, and there are times when we need a new solution to the same problem.
Innovation is important, but so is improvement.
Tags: Breakthrough Idea, Calculators, Chase, Developed Country, Disruptive Technology, Economy, Energy Efficient Air Conditioner, Entrepreneur, Fear Of Failure, Frame Computers, Giving Birth, Innovation, Innovations, Main Frame, New Solution, Nightmare, Sleep, Soap, Typewriters, Undeveloped Countries
14 Jul 09 How to Make Your Copy Sell
Writing a copy or a sales letter is one thing, and writing a copy or sales letter that boosts product sale is another thing. Sometimes a good copy (for simplicity sake, I will be using the word copy for any kind of writings that aims to sale a product) is the only difference between a successful and an unsuccessful product. In this article, we will talk about how to write a copy that pushes the consumer to buy.
Copy writing is like cooking. If you do it with love using proper ingredients in the right proportion then the guests will be delighted, but when the copy is cooked without much consideration to the proportion of each ingredient, the guests will excuse themselves and leave the party. A good copy consists of the proper use of six key ingredients, which we will discuss below.
Visitor value
No one is interested in knowing how cool the technology was that you used to make the product you are offering, nor do they want to know how ground-breaking the innovation is on which you have based your product. No one gets sold on empty words. People need empathizing words, words that understand their needs, and tell them how good their lives will be after using the product in question. They want to know, why they should invest time, energy and obviously money in the product you are selling.
Appeal to emotion
Do not get sold to the idea that we are made of nuts and bolts, reasons and logic, and comparison and decision. No, we are not. We are, if you prefer it that way, emotional fools. We are governed by the synaptic firings and misfiring, and yes we are made up of veins and bones. We only act when we feel something is important or worth it, and we see any worth or importance in any word or goods only when we understand the value of it, and we understand the value only if the product or the word connects. Touch me where no one has touch before, and I am all yours!
Headlines are important
How many times do you want me to reiterate the importance of headlines in making the visitors act? Instead of wasting my words on how important a good headline is, and how you should create one, I will suggest you to read How to Write Crowd-Pulling Headlines Part –I and three other articles following this. Please do not mind my words. I was trying to be funny. I know I have failed.
Make it lively
Well, the last two sentences of the previous paragraph was written deliberately to make you react, and that is what I call making the post lively. Do not preach gospel. You do not need to adopt a serious tone and make a long face to say something serious. People are not that dumb! You can use sarcasm, controversy (yes, I mean it), humor, drama, or anything that you think will make your writing lively. An image can also do the magic.
Third-party endorsement
My employer says I am a good writer. He thinks I am one of the best writers he has ever employed. Do you believe it, or will you believe it more when I say, I am the best writer around, and you cannot find a writer better than me in the budget you have? Which one sounds more credible? Indeed, the first one, and that is because someone else is saying I am good. You should do the same for the products you are writing about. We call it using testimonials. Testimonials vouch that there are people who liked this product. Use credible and authentic testimonials.
Call to action
Hey man, you wrote a great article, but what am I supposed to do? I liked what the product you wrote about, but from here where should I go? What should I do? These are some questions that are in desperate need for an answer, and the answer is call to action. Add call to action words like, “Hurry, the Offer is Limited!,” “Call Now to Avail Special Discount,” “Click here to Know More.” in the copy you write and the click through rate and also the conversion rate will increase significantly.
I hope I have done justice to this topic. What do you think? Have I missed something that had to be covered? Your suggestions, feedback and complains are welcome. Use the comment box below.
Tags: Appeal To Emotion, Bones, Copy Writing, Fools, Headlines, Innovation, Logic, Love, Money, Nuts And Bolts, Proper Ingredients, Proportion, Simplicity Sake, Technology, Time Energy, Using The Word, Veins, Word Copy, Writing Letter
