Now that's an odd question, right? We all know that websites don't smell )at least not literally(. But if you'll bear with me, I'd like to demonstrate the importance of emotion in your copy, and what types of emotional imagery your copy needs to conjure up. To understand why emotion matters so much when selling online, all you have to do is observe almost any shopper in a physical store. Watch what the person does and the behavior the individual has.

I'm getting older. You are too. It's a fact of life that no matter how young we are now, one day we're going to start feeling the creaks and groans of age settling in. I can't stay up as late at night. I'm a little slower to get going in the morning. When I've been writing for a long time, I feel stiff as I rise from my chair. Oh, yeah, and my eyesight is going, too. Somewhere about the time we realize that we've flipped into middle age,

Have you ever stood in a store with something in your hand and then looked up to see if there was a clerk nearby you could ask for help? Sure you have. We all have. Good help is hard to find. Companies have been cutting costs by moving towards self-serve more than ever. Depending on where you live, you may have to bag your own groceries, pump your own gas, or bottle your own water. Put yourself in the mind of the consumer.

Hello' I'm your reader. Thanks for the free content, but I just don't care. Your free content is worthless, because content about you is worthless to me . Hello' is this thing on? Egotistical Marketing We're an egotistical bunch, aren't we? We love to talk about ourselves. We want to tell people how wonderful we are and blather on about how much they need us. We ramble uselessly about our innovative products and excellent services. We're all about us. Want a tip?

I recently gave you 10 quick tips for building a business online . One tip in particular resonated with readers: #4 - Work on one idea at a time. Never splatter out with many ideas. It's overwhelming. Easier said than done. We have too many great ideas, too many things to do, and only two hands and one brain. Which idea is best to follow? This one? That one? All of them? What about time? There's not enough. It all needs to be done now! But where to start? Here? There?

The opportunities to build a business with online marketing are huge and growing every day. In fact, there's so much opportunity out there some people become overwhelmed by all the possibilities. When you can do anything, often you end up doing nothing. People get so dazzled by dollar signs and freedom from bosses and geography that it's easy to forget that what you do for money is often more important than how much money you make.

Some people write to sell, and other people write to tell stories in novels and film. Pretty cut and dry, right? A copywriter is the selling type' she uses her talents to promote a person, place, thing, or idea. That copywriter chooses words to make the subject look and sound great so that a desired action happens. It's all about marketing, sales, and conversions. But great copywriters are also storytellers.

We're all the best. I don't know one single person who tells a prospect, "I suck at this. Don't work with me or buy from me, because I can't do a good job or deliver a quality product." No, of course you wouldn't say that. You're great. You exceed expectations. Is it enough? Most likely not. Prospects are tuning out "best". They've heard it before. They don't care.

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. ~Ecclesiastes 1:9 Being creative in a world where nothing is new is difficult. We all want to be the one to shake the earth and move mountains with our brilliant ideas and thundering blog posts, but it's tough. It's all been said. Finding the angle is a challenge. Sure, giving our work a personal voice helps to be original.

People are unique, and everyone sees the world differently. Present two people with identical items and you'll get two different perceptions about the packaging and material. One man sees Pledge, an outstanding furniture polish, and the other man sees a can of spray no different from any other furniture polish. One woman sees a luxurious Gucci purse, and the other sees an overpriced bag to hold keys and makeup.

When you're a freelance creative, adding value depends on your knowledge, skills, and talent alone. It's easy to think that creative professionals should brand themselves. Before you choose that route, ask yourself these questions: Do you want to be the only resource for customers? Do you want to one day retire and earn passive income? Do you want your small business to grow? In short, do you really want to create a personal branding prison for yourself?

By James Chartrand Have you ever asked yourself if you should be branding yourself or branding your business? You're not alone. It's a hot topic these days, and one worth thinking over. Anyone can open a business on the Internet. The little guy has a chance. The individual can make it big. New businesses are cropping up left, right, and center. People are feeling good these days, too.

By James Chartrand This is my generation, baby. ~My Generation by The Who The right words on your website gets you what you want: better sales, more readers or increased credibility. You can achieve all kinds of goals by tweaking to target your online market audience. Be like Robin Hood in an archery contest - think, research, test and hit it dead on, baby. Here are some good ways to get a head start: Engage in two-way conversational marketing .

By James Chartrand Building a commercial website means finding the right style, tone, and words that convert hits to sales. That goal isn't an easy one to reach. One word - just one - can mean the difference between a trickle of sales and a whole lot of success. That's one of the reasons split testing your copy is an important part of the online business process. Who's reading your content, though? Who skims the headlines of your web page?

By James Chartrand. American rock band Extreme released the ballad More than Words in 1990. The romantic lyrics blended with melodic acoustic guitar soon became a huge hit, as the song raced up the charts all the way to number one. More than words to show you feel that your love for me is real. What would you say if I took those words away? Then you couldn't make things new just by saying I love you. ~More than Words,

"And that," he wrote, "is that." Doesn't much make you want to pitch in with your own views, does it? We all tend to focus on catchy headlines and gripping titles. That split-second interest grabber is important. Copyblogger's great posts on headlines thankfully tell you exactly how to craft your words to create snappy headlines. How you end your post depends on what you're trying to achieve and what action you want the reader to take.

Nike said, "Just do it." Nortel told you to come together. Timex said it takes a licking and keep on ticking. And GE mentioned that it brings good things to life. Well, good for GE. As far as you're concerned, you'd probably be happy figuring out how to bring your tagline to life. Tagline, strapline, slogan' Whatever you choose to call it, it's all the same.

Have you ever had these thoughts? "I wish my blog had content this good." "Wow' How does he come up with this stuff?" "Boy, I wish I could write like that!" Now for the big questions: Why aren't you writing content that good? Why isn't your content profound? Why can't you write thought-provoking content that rocks the blogosphere? Are you satisfied just to shake it a little instead? I know what you're thinking. "Wait a minute, here.

Every girl is crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man . That's what ZZ Top, the famous bearded band from Texas sings. And if that's the case, what's your content wearing these days? Let's consider your content as a naked friend. He's had an invitation. He's going out, and needs your help to pick an outfit. You can't send your content out in the buff. Come on; the poor guy is nude and freezing. You're in charge of making sure your naked,