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Writing Etc. – July 1, 2005

ISSN: 1545-5580

Make Your Writing Sparkle. Write Killer Queries, Get Published.

Join the brightest, most ambitious, and talented group of writers on the ‘net.

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In This Issue:

Notes from Minnesota – Includes a new link where you can peek into the life of a working writer

Hyperbole, Exaggeration, and Half Truths by Beth Ann Erickson

2005 Action Plan to Jumpstart Your Writing Career

We Recommend

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This issue is sponsored by:

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Greetings from Minnesota:

 Happy July! Lots of news today.

For those of you wondering how Champ (the beautiful black puppy we fostered for a while) is doing, you’ll be happy to learn that he’s in all likelihood found a new home.

After a number of false starts, turns out that our dog trainer, Ginny, is seriously considering keeping the amicable pup so he can become her “agility” dog.

Champ will join two other dogs, Strutz and Jack, at Ginny’s house. Strutz, a gorgeous German Shepherd, is an adequate agility dog, but doesn’t seem to have the drive to increase his speed enough to make him a competitor in the agility field. At age nine, Jack, the Border Collie, simply doesn’t care how accurate his maneuvers are.

That leaves Ginny with Champ who quite possibly could jump over skyscrapers in a single bound.

I’ll let you know if she takes the plunge and decides to add him to her little family of pups.

Meanwhile, Lucy (our Rat Terrier Wonder Dog) has performed publicly twice. Both times, she delivered a flawless performance… but she still needs to speed up a bit.

But I love watching her trot through the course and tip-toeing into the kiddie pool at the end. Quite awesome to watch.

Ah, but enough about dogs, eh?

Summer’s passing by and I hope your writing career is progressing the way you’d like it to. I’ve personally never been busier and am enjoying the challenge of pouring words onto paper every day.

I think you’ll enjoy this issue of Writing Etc. Whether you write ad copy, sell your own products, or simply want to write effective queries, today’s article (and action plan) will give you insight into how to better use your persuasive words to make the sale.

So, enjoy your summer!

Beth

P.S. Here’s our updated best seller list… be sure to pick up a copy of each of these titles. They’re awesome.

1.      Jumpstart Your Writing Career and Snag Paying Assignments by Beth Erickson http://filbertpublishing.com/jumpstart.htm

2.      Bob Bly’s Guide to Freelance Writing Success: How to Make $100,000 a Year as a Freelance Writer and Have The Time of Your Life Doing It. http://filbertpublishing.com/bob.htm

3.      Weekly Writes: Exercises in Creative Writing by Shery Ma Belle Arrieta http://filbertpublishing.com/Weekly.htm (You’ll get a ton of fr** writing/freelancing tools direct from Shery at http://WeeklyWrites.com when you order this title!)

4.      Timecross’d: A Love Story Out Of Time by Sean Thompson http://filbertpublishing.com/timecrossd.htm

5.      Secrets of a Writing Hustler: How to Beat the Odds, Overcome Rejection, and Succeed as a Writer by Roscoe Barnes http://filbertpublishing.com/hustler.htm

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~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feature Article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hyperbole, Exaggeration, and Half Truths”

By Beth Ann Erickson

You’ve seen the webpages. I’m sure you have.

They dissolve on your computer screen in a flurry of red headlines, black text, and little yellow boxes filled with gushing platitudes and exclamation marks.

I’m talking about those one-page websites filled with promises to make your life easier, your wallet fatter… designed to make your wildest dreams come true.

They’re the ones that claim to teach you such indispensable skills as how to “manifest” as much money as you’d like (up to $100,000!) simply by following a five-step “system.”

Or how would you like to attract potential clients to your business until they’re “tingling” to give you their money again and again?

Or better yet, did you know you can purchase a “100% 'Legitimate' Way To Quickly & Easily Drive Targeted Cash-In-Hand Prospects And Visitors To Any Of Your Websites at NO Cost.” PLUS you can even watch a “'shocking' play-by-play underground video” that’ll “prove” this person’s claims.

Based upon the number of these little one-page sales gems, I’d venture to guess that this form of selling is probably pretty lucrative. After all, if these sites didn’t generate an income, they wouldn’t exist.

But I have to wonder who would actually fall for these sales pitches.

Seriously. Does any reader truly believe that any one product would live up to the hype generated on these sites?

Probably not.

And yet, people buy.

At least, that’s what we’re led to believe….

Each morning I begin my day curled into my Lazy-Boy rocker reading. I read anything I can get my hands on, but I particularly enjoy marketing books.

This past week, while soaking in book #3 in the Wizard of Ads trilogy by Roy H. Williams, I’m struck by his most humane view of his client’s potential customers.

Williams says that instead of writing to a greedy non-faced entity whose only goal is to pour dollars into their pocket, he suggests that our readers are human beings. People who live a complex life as family members, brothers, sisters, parents.

According to Williams we shouldn’t insult our readers by expecting them to believe anything less than the truth. He says, “The simple truth is that nothing sounds quite so much like the truth as the truth, and most people seem to know the truth when they hear it. The truth is never full of loopholes and generalities. The truth is made of specifics and substantiation, it’s solid. That’s why it’s easy to spot in a world full of paper-thin lies, half lies, and hype.” (Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, page 15).

My suggestion? Avoid hyperbole, exaggeration, and half truths and instead focus on each product’s benefits and USP (unique selling proposition). If you do this, you can avoid most of these unbelievable claims made by markets who should know better than to dehumanize their audience by appealing to the most base of human nature.

After all, I like to think we’re writers bent on making this world a better place, not hucksters out to make a quick buck.

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Beth Ann Erickson is Queen Bee of Filbert Publishing and the author of four books including Jumpstart Your Writing Career (http://filbertpublishing.com/jumpstart.htm), The Almach (http://filbertpublishing.com/almach.htm), and HeartSongs (http://filbertpublishing.com/heartsongs.htm).

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2005 Action Plan to Jumpstart Your Writing Career

Today you need to study ads. Surf to some of the sales sites I mentioned in the main article.

Dissect them.

Do you find them effective?

Would you buy their product?

Did you actually whip out your credit card and purchase the product? Why or why not?

What emotion are they appealing to?

Do you feel the site was filled with hype?

Do you feel it need hype to create a selling environment?

How would you rewrite this sales letter?

Now rewrite it.

Is your sales piece more effective?

Would it make you whip out your credit card?

Share the “before” and “after” with a group of other writers and get their impressions. (You can do this on a group like Vicky Heron’s and my CopywriterMastermind group. Mailto:CopywriterMastermind-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

But most of all, you need to cultivate an environment within yourself where you’re able to truly empathize with your reader so you can effectively present truthfulness in everything you write.

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We Recommend:

Writing For Dollars! The FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. Receive the FREE ebook, 83 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com -*- http://www.WritingForDollars.com

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Don’t Forget to pick up your copy of The Almach. Reviewers are calling it “Haunting,” and “A Great Read.” http://filbertpublishing.com/Almach.htm

E-Mag And Web Site Owners! Did you know that Filbert Publishing has an entire cache of articles you can use FREE. Copy and paste these articles straight into your web site or publication. Here’s the URL: http://filbertpublishing.com/articles.htm

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Writing Etc.

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© 2005 Filbert Publishing