A New Tale ~ Creative Writing is FUN!

Writing Great Copy Is About Testing Then Re-Testing!

1/25/2015

A New Writing Guidance Book; A NEW TALE by Stu Leventhal is teaching author's, copywriters, creative bloggers, poets, lyricists and scribes of all kinds how to write uniquely and inventively!

Whether you wish to write better college essays, science fiction, poems or business ad copy you will value immensely from the tips in A NEW TALE. All Levels of creative writers will benefit!

A NEW TALE will give you the confidence and suave to say what you wish to say! Audiences will love your writing and crave more!

If you are a student, your teachers will be amazed by your new level of writing skill.

For copywriters, your bosses and clients will be amazed by the originality and power of your words of wit. You will write ad messages that resonate and are memorable! Your copy will be fresh, persuasive, catchy and very effective! A NEW TALE by Stu Leventhal is more than just a creative writing tutorial; it is empowerment!

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Ethics in Copywriting!

7/25/2014

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The Power of Moral Honest Ad Copy!

The Truth is Hard to Argue With!

By Stu Leventhal

Advertisements, promotional media and marketing efforts now-a-days need to be mostly artistic endeavors with a small sales pitch added. With popularity of the internet and mobile phone technology people are bombarded by advertising more than ever. Naturally as a survival mechanism we have all developed a bad taste for anything that even remotely resembles a commercial. We also have been given the ability to delete and mute stuff we do not wish to be subjected to. Thus advertisements are taking a beating as far as their promotional effectiveness is concerned. Today’s marketing must entertain if it will be tolerated long enough for a sales pitch to be presented.

A lot of philosophers are quick to blame commerce, advertising and big and small business in general for most of the ills of modern society. They are quick to label business people and greedy companies as evil. I say business is a necessary evil or at least we have to accept that the evil part of our competitive business world will not be going away anytime soon. No matter how one feels about the influence commerce and the big business sectors have on steering our societies, one cannot deny the fact that business, industry and commerce for the most part define how modern culture develops.

I say business and commerce is necessary because they are needed to bring great ideas to the public especially in such a modern and materialistic society as ours. When money does not get involved with a great idea that idea dies quickly and often disappears for good. Would I like to see the top business and industry leaders become more humanitarian and stop worshiping profits so much? Of course! But is it realistic to think that will happen anytime soon? No.

Marketing, promotion and advertising are major tools of commerce that business and industry uses to drive profits and compete with each other. Without good promotional campaigns, business dies! With well performing ads, commercials and marketing efforts business thrives! Yes, commercials are often annoying, intrusive and invasive but for now we must accept that commercials are here to stay.

When someone develops the next step towards a cure for cancer it will be business and industry who present the knowledge to the rest of the world via ads, commercials and promotional media. Then, the next group of geniuses can start working on the next step of the cure. Yes, business and industry’s motives will be to make a profit. The question is how can we, the public, point the finger at the salesman and the businessman for bringing us products we desire?

Yes, it is obviously true that the ruthless pursuit of money is often the root cause of a lot of what is wrong with our world. But money is a great motivator. Great things are often accomplished during the quests for fortune and fame. Do I wish all future copywriting would be written with love, understanding, caring and compassion? Yes!

I actually believe that when that rare feat is accomplished the promotional text is of the highest quality and when presented creatively, performs exceptionally well. But as a realist, I must admit I generally expect most promotional text I encounter to be a bore and thus an unwanted interruption and complete waste of my time.

This perception can only be countered by creating promotional materials that are much more works of art than they are sales pitches or, by adding some scholarly value to our commercials. In actuality, I believe the sales pitch would have to be like the signature or credentials at the end of the art piece. Like saying, “This episode was brought to you by XYZ Corporation now go check out our new model E-11 vacuum sweeper with turbo technology. But, elevating our advertisements and commercials to a higher moral level would take buyer support. Ultimately it is the public that decides through purchasing, what types of commercials are acceptable.

In conclusion, outright deceit and deceptions are the only bad copywriting qualities. I believe it takes far too long for new and amateur copywriters to realize the old adage, “Cheaters and liars never prosper!”

Embellishing seems easy at first but it makes it hard to stay the course. So, my best copywriting tip is, do not take shortcuts. Do your homework, find the truth then tell everyone about it with complete confidence and pride!

Want to learn more about Writing Marketing Copy that not only increases sales and brand awareness and spurs positive word of mouth promotion for your business or client, contact: [email protected] and put copywriting in the subject line. We will get you out your FREE report!

If you have a copywriting project you need help with or a price quote for some creative promotional copywriting project send your details in an e-mail to:

[email protected]

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SALES WRITING! COPYWRITING! WRITING FOR BUSINESSES!

7/17/2014

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Crafting Words That Sell! Sell!...Sell!

Steps to Effective Copywriting

By Stu Leventhal

Writing advertisements that perform by getting people motivated and chopping at the bit to buy or take action requires innovation, creativity and risk taking. The key to creating creative copywriting that puts a fire under people’s butts to spur them to buy or act right now is research! You obviously have to figure out the right psychological buttons to push to convince a person they must have something or do something right away, this instant. The only way to gain that much power over someone is to study them!

Besides knowing as much as possible about the person you wish to pitch your proposition to, you also have to everything there is to know about the thing you are pitching! It is the tiny things, the minute details that elevate your copy above and beyond the copy of all the other advertisers out there trying to sell similar products and services to yours. You will figure out the emotional trigger that spurs your target to action when you actually take the time to walk in his or her shoes!

Your copy will only be better than your competitors’ copywriting and bring your client more sales when you evaluate all the copy on your subject and in your client’s industry that your client’s competitors are already using effectively to bring in sales and then you craft a pitch that is more powerful or compelling! Yes, copywriting is war! Our words, statements, claims and phrases must marketing, promote and position your client and what he is paying you to help sell as being the best and first choice!

People choose to buy one item over a similar item because they feel it will perform better, is more reliable and dependable or it is cheaper or it is more prestigious to own! That means the copywriter’s job is to convince buyers that their product or services are the best most qualified on the market! You cannot attempt to do that without differentiating yourself from the herd. Something has to be perceived as different, in a good way, from what everyone else is offering.

Good copywriting gets inside your readers head, taps into their emotions and spurs them to action! The purpose of ad copy is not to inform the reader how wonderful your client is or even to shout how great the product or service is that you were hired to promote. The goal of your copywriting is more about explaining how; your client’s company, product or service will improve the reader’s own situation, make his or her life easier, make them wealthier, raise their prestige among their peers, co-workers, family or circle of friends.

The first priority of good copywriting is to clearly make your target buyer or reader aware that this copy was written with them specifically in mind. You do this by stating something, usually straight away, in the title that your target can relate to and identify as special and particular to them and their situation. The more particular the copy pertains to just your target, the more attention your target will give it. Using your targets popular slang language, addressing a common problem all of your targets share with one another, saying something controversial, funny or witty about your targets interests are all good ways of labeling that your text was specially written for your target. Your copy must next alert the reader that they need to perk up and pay attention something important is coming and they are not going to want to miss it!

Copywriting for the purpose of advertising or marketing is valued by how persuasive it is. The goal of the copy is to get someone to buy a product, act or influence their beliefs. Crafting compelling copy involves strategy!

You must tap into your competitive spirit and write with the sole intent of winning over skeptics and doubters. Can you lure readers away from their current supplier? Can you coax people to try something new, take a risk, live dangerously when most of them are quite happy with their present brand?

Truly killer copywriting is very individualistic having been written specifically for the item or situation being promoted. This means that good copywriting is not interchangeable and would not work just as great if it was applied to a similar product but for a different brand. Copy written to sell one brand and type of vehicle is not the perfect copy for selling all brands and styles of cars! Your copywriting must establish an identity for what you are promoting. That identity is like a personality for the item brand or idea you are pushing and that personality reflects on the people who purchase the item or buy in to the idea.

People are known by the clothes they wear, cars they drive, restaurants they eat at, hobbies they pursue, sports teams they cheer for, the types of entertainment they enjoy, the charities they contribute to, the political agendas they support and the people they associate with. To truly lure and win a loyal customer away from a competitor for life, your copywriting has to appeal to the buyer’s self-image, complement their personality and stand for what they stand for! Make that connection with the customer for your client and they will never again have to worry about being undercut in a pricing war!

Can you see how price no longer is a factor when a customer is proud to be using a specific brand or product? When a customer can relish being seen with a particular product and actually enjoys others knowing he is associated with something; a brand, a cause or idea that you are pushing, then you as copy writer have won the battle. Not only has your copywriting convinced new targets to give your cause a try but those new targets are so convinced that they look forward to sharing the news with everyone they meet!

To learn more about Writing Marketing Copy that not only increases sales and brand awareness but also spurs positive word of mouth promotion for your clients, contact: [email protected] and put copywriting in the subject line. We will get you out your FREE report!

If you have a copywriting project you need immediate help with or a price quote for a creative copywriting project send your details in an e-mail to:

[email protected]

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February 27th, 2014

2/27/2014

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SPECIALIZED COPYWRITING

By Stu Leventhal

Copywriters and creative writers of all kinds who specialize in writing about one industry can obviously command higher fees. Practice makes perfect, in copywriting as with developing most important, learned skills. Therefore, it stands to reason, the more a writer works on similar gigs concerning the same topic the better he or she will write about that subject matter. Researching becomes easier, quicker and more efficient as you learn where to look for info about your specialty and compile lists of quality reference works to fall back on. The specialized author naturally becomes more confident and comfortable writing in the same genre. The writer can study the best of one’s contemporaries past and present and keep abreast of what other copywriters are doing in one’s chosen field. Slowly and surely you will begin to figure out how to write copy that stands out among your peers and really interests your readers.

As you begin to get a name for being an expert at your topic, clients will seek you out and you can spend less time on marketing and more time writing which will even make you better at writing in your niche. Smart business clients keep current on their competitor’s marketing copy. When they see engaging copy that moves customers, they will seek you out! Word will quickly spread around your industry that you are the copywriter who can capture the readers’ attention in your chosen writing specialty.

Every writing arena has its quirks and challenges. The key to specialized writing is finding the emotional buttons that make your specialized reader tick. Once you know the words and themes that move a particular audience your text becomes much more persuasive and captivating and thus more valuable to clients. The goal is to become a very effective writer as well as an entertaining writer. Through trial and error, research and study you will hone your craft. Soon you will find yourself with your finger on the pulse of your special community of readers. That is when you become one with them. Then you will know what they really want to read about! Only then will people begin to say you are a writer who is in command of his audience!

For an example of why specialist copywriters can command a higher fee than the ‘jack of all trades’ copy writer, let’s look at the very particular specialized copywriting field of writing for the food and beverage industry. Good copywriters all over the world are in high demand in the restaurant, bar, club and catering fields because those industries are very competitive. Naturally having the best copywriter on your side can be the game changer in a field that relies so much on advertising, marketing and promotions to lure customers.

It may at first seem easy to write for restaurants, catering companies, bars and night clubs but as with writing copy for most industries there are underlining issues that need to be understood, standards that must be adhered to and particulars that must first be learned and mastered.

To write copy for restaurants, drinking and dining establishments and caterers is an acquired skill. A writer must know the ins and outs of the food, drink and entertainment industries to write effectively. Copy for restaurants, bars and catering establishments, parties and events is much more than making dishes like vegetarian lasagna and trendy new martini beverages sound appealing! For instance, there are people who have food allergies so you need to communicate exactly what is in the dishes on a menu you write the text for or you may be putting not only peoples health at risk but the whole restaurant at risk for a devastating law suit if someone gets sick.

Restaurant dishes and drinks must be explained thoroughly, and made to sound delicious! You have to mention all the key tasting ingredients in an appetizing way, tell how the items are prepared, cooked and presented without telling the whole boring recipe! Price must be mentioned. Deceptions must be avoided so you do not confuse the diner. It is all important that the customer gets exactly what they ordered. Pouched items cannot be delivered to the table steamed. Charcoal broiled cannot be just broiled!

Menus are far from simple lists of what foods and beverages are being offered at an establishment. The copywriter is expected to steer the customer to the highest priced dishes first and to be able to entice diners to purchase extra side dishes and desserts plus the high priced drinks. The food and beverage industry is also very diverse. A food and drink copywriter must be able to promote a quaint ‘bed and breakfast’ establishment, write about a ‘Cuban all you can eat buffet’, discuss fine wines that pair well with tonight’s Monk fish special and promote a Hawaiian Luau!...And we have not even touched on the technicalities of writing text about nutritional claims.

Those are a lot of subjects for a restaurant, bar and catering copywriting specialist to learn and know all about. Plus you must have the gift of writing words that make the taste buds water and the heart rate speed. Can you see how a copywriter can spend his or her entire career writing for such a complex, captivating and always evolving industry as the Food and Beverage Writing Industry and still not know everything there is to know? Is it any wonder why a copywriter specializing in writing entertaining food and beverage copy can command such high prices!

Becoming an expert at one form of writing will always raise the price you can ask for your work. Being an expert at one field of copy makes it easier for you to attract clients. Remember knowledge often elevates a copywriter’s quality of work much more than creativity. Copywriting is ultimately valued by its performance. Catchy slogans can only take a copywriter so far. Becoming an expert copywriter requires commitment, study and determination to learn everything there is to know about the one field you are passionate about writing about. You have to love what you are writing about to connect to your audience! A copywriter comes across as more genuine when they specialize. That is why expert copywriters get paid the big bucks!

RESOURCES:

PHILADELPHIA RESTAURANT CONSULTANTS:

http://www.philadelphiarestaurantconsultant.wordpress.com

Food cost tips, sales tips, menu design, operational streamlining, crew retention, kitchen safety, food safety are all discussed on this Philadelphia Restaurant Management Blog. Stay current on all kinds of Philly hospitality industry news, restaurant, bar and entertainment management tips, copywriting, marketing and promotional advice that is cutting edge for the Philadelphia hospitality arena! If you need restaurant management promotional or copywriting advice contact Philadelphia Restaurant Consultant: [email protected]

CATERING SALES TIPS:

http://www.cateringsalestips.wordpress.com

The web place for caterers to discuss, marketing, promoting and copywriting! Catering Sales Tips has all the ideas you need to start a catering company or add catering divisions to your restaurant, bar or club! Learn the ins and outs of winning the loyal business of catering clients who order over and over again! This site is about gaining catering sales! Want to learn more about promoting and running a catering company, E-mail: [email protected]

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EXCELLENT WORDS & PHRASES FOR AD WRITING

8/12/2013

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POWER ADVERTISING TERMS

NEW, SAVE, LOVE, GUARANTEE, DISCOVER!...

Certain words ADD sales punch to describe your merchandise or sales offer - use
one of the following words. It may be helpful, used alone, or with other words. They have been selected from successful ads for your convenience in preparing copy.

Absolutely. Amazing. Approved. Attractive. Authentic..
Bargain. Beautiful. Better. Big. Colorful. Colossal.
Complete. Confidential. Crammed. Delivered. Direct.
Discount. Easily. Endorsed. Enormous. Excellent. Exciting.
Exclusive. Expert. Famous. Fascinating. Fortune. Full.
Genuine. Gift. Gigantic. Greatest. Guaranteed. Helpful.
Highest. Huge. Immediately. Improved..Informative.
Instructive. Interesting. Largest. Latest.. Lavishly..
Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited.. Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth..
Miracle.. Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular..
Powerful.. Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely..
Proven.. Quality.. Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable..
Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce..
Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified..
Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy..
Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested..
Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited.. Unparalleled..
Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable.. Wealth.. Weird..
Wonderful.

70 PHRASES STIMULATING ACTION
Close your ad with an action-getting phrase. Give the reader something to write or do. Here are 70 suggestions for ways to get action. Study them. They will help you prepare your copy for better results.

Act now!.. Send your name.. All sent free to introduce.. Amazing
literature.. Free.. Ask for free folder.. Bargain lists sent
free.. Be first to qualify.. Booklet free!.. Catalog included
free.. Complete details free.. Current list free.. Dealers write
for prices.. Description sent free.. Details free!.. Dime brings
details.. Everything supplied!.. Exciting details free.. Extra
for promptness.. First lesson, 25 cents.. Folder free!..
For literature, write:.. Free booklet explains.. Free plans tell
how.. Free selling kit.. Free wholesale plan.. Free with
approvals.. Full particulars free.. Get facts that help..
Get started today!.. Get your copy now!.. Get yours wholesale..
Gifts with purchases.. Illustrated lists free.. Interesting details
free.. Investigate today.. It's Free!.. Act Now!.. Literature
free.. Mail material to:.. Money making facts free.. No
obligation! Write!.. Offer limited!.. Send today.. Only 10 cents
to introduce.. Order direct from:.. Order Now!.. Don't Delay!..
Particulars free.. Postcard brings details.. Request free
literature.. Revealing booklet free.. Rush name for details..
Sales kit furnished.. Sample details free.. Samples sent on trial..
See before you buy.. Send for free details.. Send for it today..
Send no money.. Send post card today.. Send 15 cents for mailing..
Send today.. Send your want lists.. Stamp brings details..
Stamped envelope brings.. Test lesson free.. Unique sample offer..
Valuable details free.. Write for free booklet free.. Write us
first!.. Yours for the asking.. 15 cent stamp for details..
$1 brings complete.. 32-page catalog free

What's the most powerful word in advertising history....YOU!
The word 'You' should be used as much as possible in advertisement copy.
The word YOU makes everything you are writing about more personal!

When writing copy for online adds don't underestimate the word CLICK.
Never just assume the reader knows what you want them to do you have to tell them what to do, at every step. 'Start'...'Try'...Spur them to act now with 'ends at midnight!'

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Online Advertisement Copywriting, Promotion and Marketing Tips

7/2/2013

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   THE BASIC WEB COPYWRITING PHILOSOPHY
                                  by Stu Leventhal
1.       Your title has to hook the reader in. If it fails the rest of your work never even gets read. So therefore, it would make sense to spend most of your time designing, testing and perfecting the perfect titles!

2.       When you advertise or promote goods or services, ideally you would like to be able to converse face to face with your prospective client or customer. Now that is obvious not possible unless you were to seriously limit the size of your potential market. Still, any other form of marketing is basically a replacement for the door to door sales pitch that you obviously can’t have with every single person. So, keeping in mind exactly how you would go about selling something to a prospect if they were standing right in front of you is the secret to knowing how to design and promote something effectively. If you wouldn't say it to their face, don't put it in print!

3.       There are a lot of fancy ads out there and a lot of fancy advertisement firms who would like you to believe marketing and promotion is a crap shoot or a mind boggling mystery, you win some and you lose some. This allows them to charge outrageous amounts for substandard work and justifies the shabby performance of their ad campaigns. Marketing is a skill whose results can be monitored scientifically and mathematically. Good Marketing and promotions are more associated with knowledge of statistics than artistic creative ability. Experience is what makes the great marketers not genius! Do your homework when you design your ads, test and improve, then test again and improve some more and your ads will perform wonderfully. How could they not? Go with your gut, bet on a whim and you are rolling the dice!

4.       Don’t get caught up with trying to impress the buyer with how witty you are. They aren’t buying you. They are buying the product or service you are promoting! Focus everything on winning over the potential customer.

A door to door sales man can tell you there is no time to cloud the issue with cute stuff. You have to get right to the point. Steer the prospect in the direction you want them to go. Nothing can be left to chance and there is not a second to spare or a word to be wasted! If you approach building your ad copy on your website, blogs, Facebook fan pages and promotional emails with a mindset of, what would a door to door salesman say or ask the client standing in front of them and you put that same message in your text you will get great results. Stop showing off with your ad copy and start informing and assisting your readers so they can purchase your goods with confidence! You will see a huge improvement in RIO return on investment of your marketing costs.

5.     If you want to get people to pay attention to your writing, long enough to be able to convince them to shell out real money, you need to learn how to make them forget about the troubled economy, their worries and put aside their common sense and rational thinking for a spell. This is a tall order! It is done best by touching a chord with their emotions. Sympathy, love, fear, anger, loyalty; any strong emotion will do. Money is no object when peoples emotions come into play!

6.     Change your writing from attempting to capture everyone's attention to addressing the needs of a certain type of individual. You can't communicate with everyone using the same style of language. Target one specific type of audience with your text, make it sharp and to the point and the other audiences will get the idea too.

                         GET A FREE QUOTE ON ALL YOUR
                                          COPY WRITING NEEDS

WE'D BE HAPPY TO QUOTE ON ALL YOUR COPYWRITING NEEDS

I once was set up on a blind date and my date surprisingly turned out to be a lovely looking and somewhat charming at first woman but all she did was talk about herself telling me how wonderful she was. It's years later and I now realize that she was probably just nervous and trying to make a good first impression. But, at the time I chalked it up as the worst date I'd ever gone on and gave our mutual friend, the match maker, hell for a long time afterwards. No one likes a bragger!

The quickest way to total boredom is listening to someone drone on and on about them self! And, the first chance you get don't you run for the door? So how long do you think anyone is going to keep reading promotional, marketing and advertising copy that does nothing but repeat your company's name and/or declare over and over again how great your product and services are? If you want anyone to pay any attention to that kind of babble, you have to get real trust worthy people who are beyond reproach to give you honest testimonials and real positive as well as informative and constructive reviews that don't sound like you paid the reviewer.

The trick to good promotional copy is to really explain why your products, services and brand are the best. Your customers are not stupid. You need to make a valid argument and show real proof! Remember you are trying to persuade someone to give you money! Don't they deserve a little bit of special attention? Intelligent writing copy will get you a much better return for your dollar than excessive, loud, flamboyant boasting. We specialize in writing professional, informative ad copy that your competition is not putting in their ads. Stop taking your customers and prospects for granted and reap the rewards.

Price quotes are complimentary, so why not click on the yellow price quote button and let us start helping you optimize your ad campaigns right now!

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Writing Great Copy Is About Testing Then Re-Testing!

Ethics in Copywriting!

SALES WRITING! COPYWRITING! WRITING FOR BUSINESSES!

February 27th, 2014

EXCELLENT WORDS & PHRASES FOR AD WRITING

Online Advertisement Copywriting, Promotion and Marketing Tips

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