I found a fantastic copywriting blog today: Copyblogger

Copyblogger is extremely addictive and super frustrating. I agree with the stuff I already know and absorb what I don't. The problem is the links. I want to click them all.

How to handle wandering:

1. I like having a visible breadcrumb trail. Not only does it help me keep track of where to store stuff in my head, but I can quickly retrace my steps if I need to. I can also recapture my original question or thought and am less likely to close the window thinking, "Crap, I am wasting too much time on this site."

2. Find a way to help your reader keep the information handy: RSS, bookmarking, social bookmarking, linking to your own blog, sticking it on a post-it gadget or adding a reminder.

I wish I could go through each of these and find the benefits of each. Readers don't read on the web. They harvest. They cherry-pick. They scan for results and rarely follow arguments. And they need a way to take what they learn home with them. Remember that bounce rates are meaningful -- if you lose your reader in 30 seconds, did they walk away with your name and good information? Do they remember your brand? Will they come back?

3. How do people go back? How do you remember where you put stuff?

I don't know, but I'm back to Copyblogger to find out.

4. Typos are a cry for help. Can you spot the one I found?

My email goes through and catches a lot of spam. Some does not get caught and I have to eyeball it myself. I always wonder who actually clicks on some of these obvious ones for Viagara or Obama Coins. I don’t think many people are likely to fall for those.

There is another kind of phishing scam that frightens me for people who don’t speak English, ready too quickly, aren’t familiar with phony emails or are lonely for communication–the same people who get scammed in real life.

So how can I, a humble English Major help?

Spam with bad English is sneaky–it’s text and it doesn’t flag many keywords like “enlargement” or “goes all night.” Text can look a lot more convincing, especially when it comes from an address like “irs-usa.com.”

First clue: .com is for commercial ventures. It’s not a strict rule, but you can be sure a true US government agency will use the “.gov” suffix.

Here’s the text of the last one I got:

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity
we have determined that you are eligible to receive
a tax refund under section 501(c) (3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Tax refund value is $189.60.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days
in order to IWP the data received.
If u don’t receive your refund within 9 business
days from the original IRS mailing date shown,
you can start a refund trace online

Unless the sender is young, foreign, stupid, busy, or Prince, the IRS is not likely to use “u” in place of “you.”

There are a few other hints, let me know if you can’t see them and maybe I can help you with the blind spots in your own copy.

Everyone has a little bell. My husband, a mechanic, can magically find an air bubble, leak, or missing doo-dad by taking it for a drive. I know he's doing a complex series of deductions and calculations before he comes up with a diagnosis, but it always looks like he just asks the car and the car obliges with a smile.

Doesn't it seem that way when an expert does his or her "thing?" Illustrators, programmers, gamers, actors ... proficiency has that ability to see when something isn't right. Seeing content mistakes like typos, misspellings, bad grammar and even extra white space is a super power with mixed blessings. I can send out warnings--"Look out! You forgot a parentheses!"--but I can't save you from a shark. I'm sorry. I guess that's not what I'm here for.

Have you ever been reading a story, following instructions, or picking from a list of search results and you're chugging happily behind the narrator, following every word, getting ready to hit the "add to basket" or "next" button? When you DO click on that link, or decide to press and read "more," you've got good web writing.

Think about it. What stops you from reading something? What is it that makes you go, "Oh, that's a load of crap, I don't buy it" and slam the book closed, crumple up the instructions or click the "x" and close the window?

when you deciding on a gift or even just picking a search result and felt yourself drawn to the "next" or "add to basket" button? Things happen quickly on the internet and the faster your reader can follow you, the better. So think about your potential clients and as you march your the ducklings around your showroom, why does one suddenly waddle off in another direction? What caught his eye? Was he bored? Or did he hit a slick spot?

Think about it: you're on the web for a reason. You want something. You don't always know what you're looking for, but you have a little bell that goes off when you find it. You're like a duckling wandering into a museum. You don't know what you're looking for, but you don't hvae all afternoon to lollygag. You quietly tag along behind a line of ducklings who listening to a tour guide. Before long you realize that the tour guide is speaking Portuguese, so you find another group and follow them. Eek!