The other day while out riding my bike, I was accosted by three turkeys. I’m not kidding.
The turkeys were crossing the road, and I was screaming down a hill at them. I hit the brakes but they didn’t flinch at all — and then, they advanced menacingly.
I was able to make an initial escape, but they gave aggressive chase. This may sound funny to you, but you weren’t there … this was payback.
Payback for Thanksgiving.
And no, none of this is relevant to business, copywriting, or marketing. But do you want to be unprepared for the upcoming turkey insurgency? I thought not.
I’m getting sleepy from all this tryptophan, so let’s quickly look at what happened this week on Copyblogger:
Monday:
The Dirty Little Secret to Seducing Your Readers
This sexy post about how you can write copy that has your prospects drooling for more contains enough salacious innuendo that I’m beginning to wonder if Copyblogger is soon going to need an R rating. I plan to test it with my upcoming post about the best “assets” in show biz, with the obligatory Jennifer Lopez montage.
Tuesday:
Can You Give Away Too Much Content?
When you’re marketing and/or selling something, it makes sense to hold something back… you know, so that there’s a reason to buy. And yet Copyblogger is always talking about “content marketing,” in which you do your selling by providing a ton of great free stuff. Where’s the line? And for that matter, where’s the beef? Remember those commercials? Man, those ladies are probably dead by now. Shame.
Wednesday:
The A to Z of Excellent Copywriting
Posts like this one (containing 26 individual pieces of advice) always make me nervous for the writer because it looks like so much work. There’s a ton of info on “where to start” with copywriting (and where to look when you want to improve), but, you know… it’s so much work. Is everyone NOT as lazy as I am? Is that what it’s come to? Ah, never mind — these questions are totally sapping my reservoir of effort for the day.
Thursday:
37+ Professional WordPress Themes, One Crazy Low Price (for a Limited Time)
The crazy kids at Studiopress are, for just a few more days, offering the Genesis framework AND all 36 current child themes AND access to all future child themes for a big ol’ discount. I’ve got two sites on Genesis myself, and it’s hot. You should check it out.
Friday:
I’m offended by this episode of the Copyblogger podcast, which seems to imply that I might not be able to generate money through zero effort anymore. Or can I? I sure hope so, because we should all be able to win in online business just like we all won riding that dot-com bubble in 2000 and in 2008 real estate speculation.
This week’s cool links:
- Knock it Down! How to Destroy the Writer’s Block Once and For All: If you have writer’s block, have ever struggled with writer’s block, or enjoy posts that are really long and detailed, this one’s for you.
- How the Illusion of Being Observed Can Make You a Better Person: Sure, researchers were able to change behavior with “eye posters”… but who measured to see if there was an increased incidence of creepy nightmares?
- Importance of Social Media & SEO for Public Relations: Not sure how your PR campaign should wrangle Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk? Me either, so I should read this post.
- 10 Super Easy SEO Copywriting Tips for Improved Link Building: Usability meets copywriting. Very cool stuff.
About the Author: Johnny B. Truant, who actually does know a thing or two about business, recently debuted his Bullet Sessions coaching — so bring out your questions (and also your dead).
Reader Comments (15)
The Tuesday post was awesome “can you give away too much content”..! 🙂
Thanks for these weekly roundups! This week I particularly like Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s post.
Now that’s what I call ‘cold turkey’.
Did they have a glazed, menacing, look in their eyes?
Another thing: tryptophan really works on you? I tried it. Never had th same effect.
The again, even sleeping pills don’t always work on me. Maybe it’s just me.
No, all they had in their eyes was a look of stupidity. 🙂
While I can tell that this experience was harrowing for you, Johnny, I found myself laughing hysterically as I envisioned those menacing turkeys closing in on you. 😉
Demian’s post on Monday was a little racy, but it was my favorite of the week. He’s great at painting a picture with his words, isn’t he? It lacked the thrill of being surrounded by turkeys, but he did a great job illustrating why we need to tease our readers from time-to-time to get them to respond to our call to action.
I just pictured turkeys with tommy guns.
This was more of a “1950s teen street gang with switchblades” situation. Only… a really stupid teen gang.
Thank you for the weekly wrap up. The Tuesday post I must say was amazing. Thank you.
Great wrap-up (and nice reference to Monty Python in the credits)! Just found copyblogger.com (via redheadwriting.com) and it’s already provided myriad insights – thanks guys!
Hey Johnny… If this whole weekly wrap-up thing stops working out, I think I found the perfect job for you:
http://www.butterballcorp.com/careerdetail.aspx?id=51f863d3-3e78-49b0-b437-adb287867dd7&pin=55dfef07-f842-4e4c-a3a2-90b5ae1e7eef
Miss Helpful rides again!
Wow… not much for euphemisms at Butterball, are they?
Johnny,
As you know, I have always maintained that you are by far the best, darned writer in our blogosphere.
Your hilarious style makes me wanna recommend your work to MAD magazine, but they don’t deserve you.
You should try a gig on Saturday Night Live or in Las Vegas. You would be a hit, me thinks.
Thanks for writing this post. I found myself laughing so hard that tears welled up in my eyes. You are so funny.
I appreciate that quality in a writer. I am a fan of humour, laughter, comedy. You tickle our funny bones every time.
Have a good one. And don’t forget to eat caviar on toast and drink champagne. Overhead that Simone’s buying.
Cheers to your life.
Haha, thanks man!
Another addictive wrap up Johnny.
You truly have a way with your words to mesmerize the reader into forgetting they are actually reading in the first place. That is something only great writers can achieve!
There were some awesome articles this week. “The Dirty Little Secret to Seducing Your Reader” was one of my favorites. It had such a unrealized truth behind it.
Keep those great posts coming!
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