Widely credited as being the father of modern-day advertising, David Ogilvy brought research-based method and insight into an industry that had long been shrouded in mystery. He revolutionized the advertising world.
Never heard of David Ogilvy? When Fortune ran an article about him entitled “Is David Ogilvy a Genius?” he promptly asked his lawyer to sue the editor for the question mark. That tells you all you need to know about the man.
Here are some of his words of wisdom concerning advertising headlines. Because these rules are rooted in the human psyche, they continue to apply just as much today as they did thirty years ago.
I want to encourage you to apply these tried-and-true principles to your blog writing and social media posting. Do so and you’ll see a much higher percentage of people clicking through to read your content. (Quotes from Ogilvy are in italics and headline examples are taken from Victor Schwab’s famous 1958 advertisement 100 Good Advertising Headlines – and why they were so profitable.)
1. People are more likely to read your body copy if your headline arouses their curiosity; so you should end your headline with a lure to read on.
Always write blog posts for your reader, not yourself, with at least one clear deliverable to improve the life of your reader. The trick is to convey to the reader right there in your headline enough information to pique their interest. If the reader is confident they'll learn something worthwhile, or be entertained, they'll click through and read on.
Example:
A LITTLE MISTAKE THAT COST A FARMER $3,000 A YEAR
2. Some copywriters write tricky headlines -- puns, literary allusions, and other obscurities. This is a sin.
In the average newspaper your headline has to compete with 350 others. Research has shown that readers travel so fast through this jungle that they don’t stop to decipher the meaning of obscure headlines. Your headline must telegraph what you want to say, and it must telegraph it in plain language. Don’t play games with the reader.
Try to sympathize with your reader. She is bombarded with marketing messages all day long, and not just in the print media and TV, as in Olgivy’s time, but also from the Internet, her emails, and even her phone. She has had to become a master-filterer in order to make the best use of her time.
Help her make a quick and informed decision whether your blog post is for her by keeping your blog headlines, and your Tweets, simple and descriptive. Also, make sure your headlines are a true reflection of what she will find when she clicks through, or she won’t entrust you with her time again.
Example:
FREE BOOK — TELLS YOU 12 SECRETS OF BETTER LAWN CARE
3. Avoid blind headlines -- the kind which mean nothing unless you read the body copy underneath them; most people don’t.
Again, you’ve got to put yourself in the shoes of your reader. During the course of her day, she has to conserve time and energy. She cannot afford to click hundreds of links on Twitter and in Google search results just in case there is gold beneath the surface. She has to make informed judgments about what will benefit her and what will not. Make sure your blog post packaging tells the reader what’s inside, otherwise she’ll always go with a safer bet.
Example: YOU CAN LAUGH AT MONEY WORRIES — IF YOU FOLLOW THIS SIMPLE PLAN
Notice how familiar the example headlines I’ve used in this post are. That’s because 60 years on bloggers are still using the same headline-writing techniques day in, day out. They’re still using them because they work.
So next time blogging inspiration strikes and you find yourself searching for the perfect blog title, be sure to keep David Ogilvy’s wise words on hand as a point of reference. After all, the man was a genius!
DB
Photo credit: Alex Barth
Recently one of our blog readers posed a question about writing the acknowledgments section of her book. In response, here are five pointers that may help authors get to grips with their own acknowledgments section. If you have any other questions on this topic drop us a line in the comments.
1. Acknowledgment pages are by their very definition personal and therefore are often written less formally than the rest of the book they reside in. However, be careful to thank people in a way that is not too different in tone from the tone of the rest of the book. Readers of what purports to be a serious book may be put off the author's jovial appreciation of friends and family.
2. Be judicious in the number of people you thank. Don't stray too far beyond the people who actually helped you in terms of writing your book. Be parsimonious in your praise of animals, too. (So many authors thank their faithful friends of the quadruped variety.)
3. Find ways to break up the repetitiveness that tends to enter these pages -- "And I'd also like to thank ..." You can do this by categorizing the people you're thanking. For example, you can divide your thanks into expressions of gratitude to those who helped you with research; those who reacted to early drafts of the manuscript; and the support team who kept you sane throughout the process. That's three thank-yous instead of possibly ten. Jim Beqaj, the author of How to Hire the Perfect Employer, cleverly thanks those who helped him get started down the field, those who got him over the goal line, and those who cheered him on throughout the game.
4. Be aware of privacy issues. If your book is an exposé, the people you thank might feel exposed, too.
5. Make sure you spell names correctly. It's more than a little ironic to misspell the name of someone who means so much to you.
Hope this helps!
If you have questions about writing or publishing drop us a line in the comments below.
DB
Photo credit: vistamommy (via flickr.com)
Perceptions of social media are changing. What used to be considered a fad -- just another obsession for teenagers with too much time on their hands -- has become an integral part of the marketing efforts of some of the biggest brands in the world.
Authors and publishers are taking note. The largest publishing houses and the most successful authors are seeing the necessity of having a significant presence on social media platforms.
It is undeniable that social media offers a whole host of new opportunities for authors and publishers to connect with readers and relevant groups of people. That's why here at BPS Books we coach our authors on how to use social media to connect with readers and enter into mutually beneficial conversations with individuals, businesses, and online communities.
If you are an author or a publisher and are one of the few remaining doubters, take a look at some of the stats in the video below. You might just be surprised!
The Espresso Book Machine
BPS Books is excited to announce that it has extended its reach to Espresso Book Machine customers. BPS Books titles are now available for purchase via the revolutionary Espresso Book Machine.
Espresso Book machines are situated in selected bricks and mortar bookstores and they allow those stores to offer around a million titles that are not held in stock, or on site.
With the new Espresso machines readers select and purchase the book of their choice from an extensive digital catalogue. Then they stand back and wait for it be printed and bound right before their eyes.
The EBM can print a three hundred page book in a around four minutes -- the time it takes to line up and buy a book at a bookstore counter.
All BPS titles will continue to be available through online bookstores such as amazon, chapters.indigo.ca, barnesandnoble.com and borders.com.
Find out more about the Espresso Book Machine on the On Demand Books website.
Some writers absorb the books they read into their own craft. It is instinctive and subconscious on their part. As gifted artists, they take the given into the workings of their own creativity. They are not fully aware of how books are put together or at least cannot verbalize their knowledge.
Other writers are keenly conscious of the form books take and how the writers of those books attained that form.
Most writers, (whether of fiction or nonfiction) however, would do well to become more conscious of literary form. It shouldn’t hurt their creativity for them to step away from their writing of a novel, for instance, and examine other similar novels. How are they structured? How long are they? How are the plots constructed? How is dialogue handled?
This kind of analysis is a must for writers of genre fiction: mysteries, thrillers, horror novels, science fiction, etc. Why? Because these novels follow strict formulas in terms of style, length, and even plot. The best genre fiction writers learn to follow the formulas while bringing a unique voice to bear.
Writers should also research the publishing history of the type of books they wish to write. How have they been published? As hardcover or quality paperback originals? By which publishers? Were they reprinted and sold as mass market paperbacks? By which publishers?
So before you put pen to paper again, pick up your favourite novel or nonfiction book and try to figure out just what is so likeable about it. Remember, you should be absorbing books that absorb you!
DB
Are you using social media the wrong way?
In addition to our usual focus on writing tips and publishing, we'll also be chiming in every so often with our musings and tips about online book marketing. This short post will get the ball rolling.
Whether you're a published author, or an aspiring one, you'll be aware that social media platforms have taken on a huge role when it comes to marketing books online.
My guess is that you've already come to the conclusion that it is necessary to develop your online presence using social media. But if you're already active on social media platforms, there's an important to ask yourself: Am I using them the right way?
I came across this great video recently, and I thought it worthy of a mention on the blog. It's a very short interview with online marketing guru Chris Brogan, in which he offers some great tips on how authors can use social media effectively. Hint: two-way communication!
I have worked on so many non-fiction books that I sometimes feel like a family doctor who has cared for so many patients he can diagnose a problem almost before it hoists itself up onto his examining table. Here are seven problems that I often encounter as I read manuscripts.
The manuscript is just not good enough.
Okay, so this is a little obvious, but often a manuscript, though it may cover an important topic and do so exhaustively (and not necessarily exhaustingly), is poorly constructed, at both the sentence-by-sentence and structural levels. Sometimes I actually say out loud, in an aggrieved Kramer-like tone, “Why don’t you just tell me what you mean?”
You can “control” for this by showing your work to tough-minded and frank-tongued readers. If they can’t say back to you what you’re writing …
The manuscript lacks a clear beginning, middle, and ending (or, like speeches you have probably suffered through, it has more than one beginning or ending).
Beginnings are particularly tricky. Writers often “start over” several times at the beginning of their manuscript because they feel the need to get a proper run at their subject. Sometimes they are unconsciously searching for a premise on which to base the writing.
You can strengthen your writing on this point by developing an “elevator speech”: an utterance of four or five sentences describing your book. I can imagine, Tony Horwitz, the writer of A Voyage Long and Strange: A Rediscovery of the New World, describing his book to someone this way: “When I was finally able to look at Plymouth Rock, two things struck me. First, that it looked more like a pebble, and second, that we wrong to fixate on the Pilgrim Fathers as being the real discoverers and founders of America. Several nations had boots on the ground and oars in the water across the continent before and during the settlement of the New England colonies. My book looks at the America those explorers knew.”
His book has a strong beginning (it sets the premise and promise, defines its audience, and clearly indicates what’s to follow and the value of it), a strong middle (each chapter deals with a different nation’s discovery), and a conclusion that rounds it all off.
Simple, simple, simple (but not easy).
The manuscript is unclear concerning its audience.
Establishing an audience is another early-in-the-manuscript challenge. Writers not only search for a premise early in their writing, they also search for their readers. A piece of writing should clearly identify a main audience and speak to it at all times.
You may find it helpful to imagine the reader asking, “What’s in it for me?” This will help you establish your premise and promise … and who the “me” is: your audience.
The manuscript is written at the wrong reading level for its audience.
Some manuscripts have a clear audience, but the writing is either too elementary or too complex for that audience. “Know thy audience” is almost important an injunction as “know thyself.”
The manuscript is boring.
Here’s where I make a distinction between the logic of the content and the logic of the reader. Sometimes a writer’s expertise comes across as boring because it fits the logic of the content but not in a way that is logical for readers. For example, a writer exulting in a topic may not have established for the reader why the topic is significant and why it would be well worth the reader’s time to read what she has to say about it.
You may be able to fix this problem by making sure you have erected adequate “signage” for the reader. It’s amazing how much better a trip goes when you have a sense of where you’re going, why you’re going there, and what delights await you once you’ve arrived.
The argument is unclear or lacks concreteness.
The words “for example” are the abracadabra of good writing.
The manuscript is repetitive.
Authorial anxiety can create bloated word counts. My suggestion is that you look at the second time you say something to see if it is better constructed than the first time you say it. Often the second statement is the result of the author’s subconscious realization that something needs to be said more clearly.
A key difference between writing and speeches may be of use here. Speeches need to be somewhat repetitive (though artfully so) because the audience includes people who “get” things at different speeds. In fact speeches make a virtue out of repetition, using such rhetorical flourishes as: “I’m not here to tell you xxxxxxx. And I’m not here to tell you yyyyyyy. I’m here to tell you zzzzzzz.”
Writing shouldn’t be repetitive; slower readers can always go back and read something again. Let them do the repeating for you.
DB
"Easy reading is damn hard writing."
We had Christmas late this year – a few weeks into January – because right around Christmastime two of our children flew off to London, England, and two to Winnipeg, and then my wife and I also visited London.
And so it came to pass that I received from my daughter this month the fourth volume of The Paris Review Interviews (New York: Picador). A wonderful gift!
You may remember from a previous post that I like to mine these interviews for their insights on writing and editing. Following are two quotes from this volume. Both speak of the difficulty of writing.
The last writer I would think of as “out of control” is the essayist E.B. White, yet here is what he says about the experience of writing:
When I start to write, my mind is apt to race, like a clock from which the pendulum has been removed. I simply can’t keep up, with pen or typewriter, and this causes me to break apart. I think there are writers whose thoughts flow in a smooth and orderly fashion, and they can transcribe them on paper without undue emotion or without getting too far behind. I envy them. When you consider that there are a thousand ways to express even the simplest idea, it is no wonder writers are under a great strain. Writers care greatly how a thing is said – it makes all the difference. So they are constantly faced with too many choices and must make too many decisions.
I am still encouraged to go on. I wouldn’t know where else to go.
Maya Angelou speaks of an unusual writing discipline:
I have kept a hotel room in every town I’ve ever lived in. I rent a hotel room for a few months, leave my home at six, and try to be at work by six-thirty. To write, I lie across the bed, so that this elbow is absolutely encrusted at the end, just so rough with callouses. I never allow the hotel people to change the bed, because I never sleep there. I stay until twelve-thirty or one-thirty in the afternoon, and then I go home and try to breathe; I look at the work around five; I have an orderly dinner – proper, quite, lovely dinner; then I go back to work the next morning.
After quoting Nathaniel Hawthorne’s statement, “Easy reading is damn hard writing,” she says of critics who call her a “natural writer”:
Those are the ones I want to grab by the throat and wrestle to the floor because it takes me forever to get it to sing. I work at the language. On an evening like this, looking out at the auditorium, if I had to write this evening from my point of view, I’d see the rust-red used worn velvet seats and the lightness where people’s backs have rubbed against the back of the seat so that it’s a light orange, then the beautiful colors of the people’s faces, the white, pink-white, beige-white, light beige and brown and tan – I would have to look at all of that, at all those faces and the way they sit on top of their necks. When I would end up writing after four hours or five hours in my room, it might sound like, It was a rat that sat on a mat. That’s that. Not a cat. But I would continue to play with it and pull at it and say, I love you. Come to me I love you. It might take me two or three weeks just to describe what I’m seeing now.
And all this isn’t to speak of the hours writers spend with editors to bring their work to an even greater pitch of perfection. Most people simply don’t realize just how much work is involved in writing and publishing a book.
This reminds me of the joke in which a brain surgeon says to a writer at a cocktail party, “You’re a writer, you say? I’m thinking of becoming a writer when I retire.” To which the writer says, “That’s interesting, because I’m thinking of becoming a brain surgeon when I retire.”
DB
Get your "elevator pitch" right with a successful blurb.
I sometimes advise authors to write their own blurb about their book in progress, to see if that helps them focus on what I call their book’s premise and promise, whence they can build a clearer structure overall. (This also helps them, and me, to come up with a description of the book for my own publishing list or other potential publishers.)
It may help you to take this exercise yourself.
By “blurb” I mean a condensed, concise, and compelling description of your book, á la a book advertisement, a book publisher’s description, or a review comment.
I am in England right now and so will consult my stack of book-review pages from several newspapers to see if I can find some examples.
Here’s one from the Sunday Times. In this case it’s the paper’s own lead-in description in its review of the book Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World:
The American obsession with putting a positive spin on almost everything has had an extraordinarily negative effect on the nation, as this entertaining study of the happy industry shows.
The lead-in line for a review of Nazi Literature in the Americas reads:
Robert Bolano’s light-hearted work is not quite a novel, more of a spoof encyclopedia of imaginary fascists and their worthless literary endeavours.
I have a couple of issues of the book review section of the New York Times with me, too. Let’s see what it yields.
An advertisement of the book The Mad Ones: Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld leads off with the words:
The powerful true story of three brothers who took on the mob and became counterculture icons.
Some words excerpted from Kirkus Reviews are quoted and give further information:
Riveting, richly atmospheric pulp nonfiction … prose as tight and hard-boiled as any James Ellroy novel … a novelistic study of an iconoclastic criminal in revolutionary times.
I’m not suggesting that the author of such a manuscript say to those who ask what they’re working on (or put this in their book proposal to a publisher): My book is riveting and richly atmospheric. It is as hard-boiled as any James Ellroy novel…”
However, saying that it is a dramatic true story of three brothers who took on the mob and became counterculture icons and so forth is a clear way of describing the book and bears clues regarding how a book could be constructed. Note also how the subtitle of this book describes exactly what the book is about.
A full-page advertisement of the book Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson bears the words:
In Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson showed how to change the way we think about this volatile region of the world. Now, in Stones into Schools, he takes the next step, revealing how to promote peace there – stone by stone, school by school, one child at a time.
That’s an example of good publishing and good writing.
Consider a few descriptions of book from the best sellers list:
The nonfiction book A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall is described thus:
Two men buy a pet lion cub in London, bring him to Africa when he is grown, and later have a heartwarming reunion; update of a 1971 book.
A short review of The Fleet Street Murders begins this way:
Charles Lenox, the amateur detective … is finally given the chance to pursue his dream of becoming a member of Parliament. But the hastily called election in far-off Stirrington comes at a most inopportune moment, just as this amiable gentleman sleuth … has involved himself in the baffling murders of two politically adversarial Fleet Street journalists.
I suppose a book blurb is analogous to the elevator speech in business: the statement of your program proposal or business pitch condensed into a compelling statement that can be made to an executive in the time it takes you to travel together from the ground floor to your office floor.
So spend some time working your manuscript into a short blurb. You may be unable to come up with a compelling statement, and this may indicate the need for a radical rethinking of what you’re doing. However, this exercise is likely to help you clarify for yourself, and for your prospective readers, just what you’re up to when you’re absent from society performing that most solitary of tasks: writing.
DB
"The finest available inquiry into the 'how' of literature."
-- Salman Rushdie
In my last post I mentioned that two of the best ways to improve your writing skills are to study good books (more on that in my next post), and to read books that discuss writing.
I shared some inspiring quotes from the The Paris Review Interviews, a collection of conversations with some of the world's foremost writers. Described by Salman Rushdie as “the finest available inquiry into the ‘how’ of literature,” this series is an invaluable resource for authors of all stripes.
Without further ado, here are some more words of literary wisdom from The Paris Review Interviews:
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez: “One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily. In the first paragraph you solve most of the problems with your book. The theme is defined, the style, the tone.”
- Stephen King: “When I sit down to write, my job is to move the story. If there is such a thing as pace in writing, and if people read me because they’re getting a story that’s paced a certain way, it’s because they sense I want to get to where I’m going. I don’t want to dawdle around and look at the scenery.”
- Joan Didion: “When I’m working on a book, I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just retype what I have. It gets me into a rhythm. Once I get over maybe a hundred pages, I won’t go back to page one, but I might go back to page fifty-five, or twenty, even. But then every once in a while I feel the need to back to page one again and start rewriting. At the end of the day, I mark up the pages I’ve done – pages or page – all the way back to page one. I mark them up so that I can retype them in the morning. It gets me past that blank terror.”
DB