Last Sunday was National Ice Cream Day in the US. This delectable treat has been pleasing taste buds since the BC years. Many cultures had some form of “iced” treat. Ice cream as we know it today is a more recent invention.

Credit: Sarah Gilbert

As I was digging into my Chocolate Sundae, I lamented how quickly it disappears. Our thinking always, “Just one more bite.” Twelve bites later and the carton is empty. But, it lingers in our minds, ” When did one more bite become a pint’s worth of ice cream?”

Applying Just One More Bite to Content

As a copywriter this is a dilemma that I frequent when working with clients. I have begun to think and adapt “just pne more bite” to my writing philosophy. In this case “one more bite” refers to giving your potential customer reasons to seek more “information”. When they do you want them cognitively primed to see your product as a solution.

Here are two examples:

A) Leading Someone On Without Being Explicit

“Just Do It”  - Nike

B) Asking a Question

“Got Milk?”- California Milk Processing Board.

The key to these examples is that your brain has to make a cognitive leap.

In A, you have to figure out what ” it” refers to. Because you know the Nike Brand you know “it” is athletics. In a great coincidence that is Nike’s business. You are already primed to buy.

In example B we have a yes or no question. Either you have milk or you don’t. I bet cognitively you will remember to pick it up the next time you go to the store.

If you are looking for more examples, think of what these slogans would mean in a vacuum. If you didn’t  know the brand could you still tell what the product is? If  the name of the product is in the slogan, does it challenge your thinking ?  Or is it simply a statement about the product?

The “one more bite” philosophy is about keeping your customers hungry to learn more about you. Let them keep digging for that extra bite to gain satisfaction.

Was there a time when less information made you more interested in a product?

The elevator pitch is a crucial statement for an entrepreneur. There is some mystery wrapped in how someone comes up with a 30sec summary of who they are or what they do. It is one of those terms that makes more sense if we analyze what we are trying to accomplish.

Tips for Entrepreneurs Writing Their Elevator Pitch

1. Start With the Most Exciting Part First

This is an eternal struggle for any writer; Where to even start? The answer is this, where the story is the most interesting.

Chris Westfall puts it best in this short video, 2:59s. He explains how to create a great hook for your elevator pitch.

Westfall knows a thing or two as the a winner of the National Elevator Pitch competition.

Credit: Marco Wessel

2. Your Story Will Evolve

Since your elevator pitch is a personal story it will change as you grow. Every year you gain new skills, accomplishments, and  a new understanding of the world. Your elevator pitch will reflect that. What does that mean for you? Write and rewrite as needed.

3. Leave Room for a Response

Elevator pitches happen in intensive environments. Perhaps you will be meeting with a CEO of the company you want to work for. Or you want to talk to the lovely lady that just sat down at the coffee shop who made your heart skip a beat. You are probably feeling a mix of emotions; anxiety, pleasure, exuberance, and self-doubt.

Take things down a notch and give your audience a chance to take in your pitch. Put the pressure on them to respond by leaving them with something they can question. That is really what the pitch is about, getting to the next exchange in the conversation. Make sure you don’t spend your time doing all the talking.

Entrepreneurs Take Heed

Your elevator pitch will take practice. Note the response of those you talk to. Look for indications beyond tone of voice such as posture or body language. We show our thoughts in ways that go beyond words.

Credit: LeWeb

Was your business hurt by the Google Penguin Update? You are not alone. Many business of all sizes are recovering from one of the biggest disruptions to search results since Panda. Google is fighting back and clearing competition from their flagship product, Search.

SEO is not frowned upon by the major search engines, but there is a limit to their kindness. Spiders have a hunger for data. This means they are constantly scanning for signals much like the vibrations on a spider’s web. When they “hear” a tasty morsel caught they follow the sound to the source.

Bing and Google on Social Signals in Search

Social signals do matter for search rankings. It still isn’t clear how the search engines value those links, but we do have some insights. Meltingposts [1] published an article last month of some responses by Google and Bing to webmaster questions. The author than inferred some conclusions from the answers. This is my response.

Diversity of Sources

I can attest to this from my research. In all search, especially the social end of it, diversity matters. I find this has more to do with Spam than any other trait. Links coming repeatedly from the same sources appear unnatural and that is a sure sign to Google and Bing that your link building techniques are questionable.

Timing

This signal has to do with freshness, authority, and trust. When news breaks millions of people tweet about it. It is noisy with few trusted authority figures spreading the information. Wait for things to die down before sharing. It will show that you care about your sources instead of mindlessly retweeting a popular story for attention.

Surrounding Content

More text does not hurt your chances of ranking better. When you share news add some commentary. Your followers will appreciate it and so will the spiders.

We cannot be concerned with tricks, but formulating strategies that look at the whole of our marketing efforts. Learn to think like the search engines by offering context to your social media marketing activities. Focus on how you can send messages about your trustworthiness and the meaning of your words. This will cushion your website or blog from changes in search algorithms.

 Citations:

[1] Kasin, Aliosha. “Google and Bing Considering Social Signals as Potential Influencers on Online Marketing Efforts.” MeltingPosts. 25 May 2012. 11 June 2012 <http://www.meltingposts.com/2012/05/25/google-and-bing-considering-social-signals-as-potential-influencers-on-online-marketing-efforts/>.

There is a double meaning to the phrase responsive copywriting. Let me explain exactly what I mean. I am not talking about traditional direct marketing. I am talking about writing copy for responsively designed websites.

Seeing the Boxes That Aren’t There

Responsive design is about boxes, grids, and columns. These invisible lines that make websites pleasant to look at and mimic a traditional print experience. These sites are so much more than this. That is why we have to think about the boxes we can’t see.

There is a beauty to responsive design. We have an infinite amount of boxes to play with. They all exist off the screen waiting for the user to find them. Coding is so advanced that we can have elements that only appear when they are needed. That is an amazing thing.

Every website has essentially become a Marauder’s Map that unfolds as a user explores the content.

Is Your Business Ready to Make Some Mischief?

An Example of Responsive Copywriting

The Polon Copywriting Studio ,based out of the UK,  took the message of responsive design to heart when writing for Pepper Digital. They were tasked with creating copy for a website that would be challenged by the ever changing layout. They won an award for their efforts at the 2011 Digital Media Awards.

It has become increasingly important for coypwriters to focus on what they can’t see by testing how their copy looks at various screen sizes.

 Questions to ask:

How will this headline appear?

Do any words or punctuation appear truncated when a browser’s screen is resized?

How will the text look when scrolling?

What text do visitors from different devices see first?

These questions traditionally in the realm of designers are now also in the hands of writers. Website copywriting has become increasingly complex and the design, development, and writing teams need to talk to each other for the benefit of the overall site.  That is why it never hurts for a writer to educate themselves on the basics of coding & design.

 Hiring a Copywriter With Responsive Know How

How can you tell if a copywriter knows about responsive design? Try re-sizing their website. Just like Susansilver.net, you should see those hidden boxes at work. Each one rearranging themselves as the browser is resized. Try it with this post and tell me what you think in the comments.

You can also explore the Resume page to see how responsive design works with a more complex layout.