Related Links

Featured Links





Recommended Products



 

 
Featured Articles

Get More Links With a Viral Marketing Campaign
So you want to setup a viral marketing campaign, but where do you start? A viral marketing campaign is simply a strategy that you can use to get people who like your website and web materials to consciously or unconsciously promote your site while they’re ...

New Viral Tactic: 'Cause Marketing'
Once again, I've discovered a NEW marketing technique. We'll call it 'Cause Marketing'. It's a very simple concept really, pick out your favorite 'cause' that you can rally people behind, say for instance the fight against the use of Smart Tags. Then, you ...

Product Marketing for Home Based Online Businesses
Copyright 2005 Timothy SpauldingIf you are like most internet based home business entrepreneurs then marketing your product and driving increasing traffic to your web page is essential to increasing sales. The challenge is to market your products and ...


Google
Does Hype Work on the Web? (The Sequel)
 
on the Web?" My contention was that today's web users are too
savvy to fall for hyper-inflated sales language like "Totally
insane offer!" and "Expires soon, don't delay!" and we're jaded
from having been subjected to it by TV advertisers over the years.
The response I got to that article suggests my theory was mostly
correct.

A group of e-booksellers and publishers used the article to jump
start a discussion on their forum about marketing hype. Rod Purnell
concluded that whether we like it or not, hype is effective.

He said, "Hype still works and I think people as a whole are still
eating it up, even if they don't want to admit it." He contends
that the excitement created by hype is contagious and can actually
drive people to buy.

But Teresa King of eBookWholesaler.com says there's a fine line
between using hype and using a strong call to action to create
excitement. If you cross that line, she says, you lose your
credibility.

"I think enthusiasm is very important. I think a page that
promises to show you how to make 400 extra dollars per month is
way more realistic than a page that says make a million in six
months. Those are so hyped up that they come across as totally
unbelievable."

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen would agree with that. He and
John Morkes conducted a study into the way people read online and
found that users detest what they dubbed "marketese" - the
promotional writing style that uses boastful, subjective claims
like "hottest ever". He says credibility suffers when users can
clearly see that the site exaggerates.

"Promotional language imposes a


cognitive burden on users who
have to spend resources on filtering out the hyperbole to get at
the facts," Nielsen wrote. "When people read a paragraph that
starts 'Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized
attractions,' their first reaction is 'No, it's not' and this
thought slows them down and distracts them from using the site."

Another problem with hype is the word itself. It can mean both
a flamboyant promotion (yay) and a questionable, exaggerated
claim (boo). So if old man Webster can't even figure out which
way it swings, how can webmasters and copywriters?

Online marketer Andrew Tegenkamp of http://lightningbiz.com/ipc/
has an answer to that dilemma. He posted this on the forum: "I
think that if creating hype on your sales letter makes you lie,
you've gone too far. If you're still selling the truth but using
words that inspire people, you're two things... a genius and an
honest business owner!"

Nobody ever said being a genius was easy, however. Writing web
copy that's exciting and persuasive without using false claims
or inflated language is a tall order. But it's a challenge that
pays off in the end. After all, using hype-free copy means never
having to say, "Your results may differ from those you see in
our promotional materials."

Copyright (c) 2003 by Heather Reimer

About the Author
If you'd like a free content analysis on your website (including
hype barometer!) visit: http://www.TheWriteContent.com or send
me an email to Heather@TheWriteContent.com

The Write Content delivers action-inspiring web content, sales
letters, newsletters, press releases and more. SEO copywriting
at a painless price. Satisfaction guaranteed.

News



Troubles galore as BJP enters final year of rule (Karnataka Newsletter)
New York Daily News
Bangalore, May 26 — Karnataka's scandals-scarred, dissidence-riven Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government completes four years of its maiden rule in the state next week, depending heavily on its troubled national leadership to stay in power in the ...

and more »

As Left Front plans, quick-footed Didi acts (West Bengal Newsletter)
New York Daily News
Kolkata, May 26 — Despite the negative publicity she has been receiving for her various antics as West Bengal chief minister, the feisty Mamata Banerjee's ability to lead lightning fast movements on any issue can never be doubted. The Left Front (LF), ...

and more »

Latest Newsletter from Executive Compass Strengthens Stellar Reputation
Virtual-Strategy Magazine
UK's top bid management company, Executive Compass continues its winning streak as evidenced by the report of impressive seventeen important successes for its clients in its latest newsletter. Executive Compass continues to rage into the first half of ...

and more »

CPI-M jittery as police dig deeper into murder case (Kerala Newsletter)
New York Daily News
Kozhikode, May 26 — The CPI-M top brass in Kerala is getting nervous with the police closing in on the party's lower and middle-level leaders in the murder case of former party leader TP Chandrasekharan. Chandrasekharan, 51, a popular local leader in ...

and more »

FIA WTCC Newsletter 22
PaddockTalk
This is the second time the FIA World Touring Car Championship visits this modern and demanding racetrack, located in Southern Portugal, which was inaugurated in 2008. Among the many possible layouts offered by this impressive, state-of-the art venue, ...

and more »