Hyperbole, Exaggeration, and Half Truths

(Today's blog post is written by Beth Ann Erickson of Filbert Publishing and was obtained from www.ezinearticles.com)

You've seen the webpages. I'm sure you have. They dissolve on your computer screen in a flurry of red headlines, black text, and little yellow boxes filled with gushing platitudes and exclamation marks. I'm talking about those one-page websites filled with promises to make your life easier, your wallet fatter... designed to make your wildest dreams come true.

They're the ones that claim to teach you such indispensable skills as how to "manifest" as much money as you'd like (up to $100,000!) simply by following a five-step "system." Or how would you like to attract potential clients to your business until they're "tingling" to give you their money again and again?

Or better yet, did you know you can purchase a "100% 'Legitimate' Way To Quickly & Easily Drive Targeted Cash-In-Hand Prospects And Visitors To Any Of Your Websites at NO Cost." PLUS you can even watch a "'shocking' play-by-play underground video" that'll "prove" this person's claims.

Based upon the number of these little one-page sales gems, I'd venture to guess that this form of selling is probably pretty lucrative. After all, if these sites didn't generate an income, they wouldn't exist.

But I have to wonder who would actually fall for these sales pitches. Seriously. Does any reader truly believe that any one product would live up to the hype generated on these sites? Probably not. And yet, people buy.

At least, that's what we're led to believe. Each morning I begin my day curled into my Lazy-Boy rocker reading. I read anything I can get my hands on, but I particularly enjoy marketing books.

This past week, while soaking in book #3 in the Wizard of Ads trilogy by Roy H. Williams, I'm struck by his most humane view of his client's potential customers. Williams says that instead of writing to a greedy non-faced entity whose only goal is to pour dollars into their pocket, he suggests that our readers are human beings. People who live a complex life as family members, brothers, sisters, parents.

According to Williams we shouldn't insult our readers by expecting them to believe anything less than the truth. He says, "The simple truth is that nothing sounds quite so much like the truth as the truth, and most people seem to know the truth when they hear it. The truth is never full of loopholes and generalities. The truth is made of specifics and substantiation, it's solid. That's why it's easy to spot in a world full of paper-thin lies, half lies, and hype." (Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads, page 15).

My suggestion? Avoid hyperbole, exaggeration, and half truths and instead focus on each product's benefits and USP (unique selling proposition). If you do this, you can avoid most of these unbelievable claims made by markets who should know better than to dehumanize their audience by appealing to the most base of human nature. After all, I like to think we're writers bent on making this world a better place, not hucksters out to make a quick buck.

Beth Ann Erickson is the queen bee of Filbert Publishing and editor of Writing Etc., the free zine that'll make your writing sparkle, help you create a profitable writing career, and get you on the road to publication fast. You'll receive the e-booklet, "Power Queries" when you subscribe today. http://FilbertPublishing.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Beth_Erickson http://EzineArticles.com/?Hyperbole,-Exaggeration,-and-Half-Truths&id=3117794

It's All About the Money (Yes & No)

Yes, I admit it, I'm a shameless marketer.

It's why I put the name "Marketing" in my business name. But no matter what business you are in, you have to market or you won't get paid. It's all about the money.

And not.

Let me explain.

Money is a tool. Money brings with it lots of good things: food, clothing, shelter, gas in the car, insurance, electricity, Internet service, phone service, medical insurance, and maybe even a movie or a dinner out. If you aren't marketing and testing, you aren't making money. And I don't work for free. Do you?

For some reason, people think if you are a writer, or an artist, or work in some business other than a typical "brick and mortar" business, you will accept anything that comes down the pike, like any amount of money someone will offer you for a job. That's ridiculous!

Try this: Call up a plumber and ask them what they charge. Then call them for a job and see if they will just take what you offer them. They will laugh at you, and then ask for their fee. All of it.

I called a plumber out of desperation this summer because our bathtub was plugged and wasn't draining. We tried everything short of dynamite to get it unplugged. Finally, I called the local plumber. They came out, put a hose down the drain, and blew the sucker clear. They were there about 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes maximum.

The bill?

$90.

Did I try to tell them they should take only $30 because I have a friend who is a plumber who can do it for me for that price? No. He would have laughed at me asked me why I didn't call my friend the plumber.

I paid it.

Why? That is his fee and is what the market will bear.

Was I happy to pay $90 for only 15 minutes of work? No. But his fee is what it is for his field of expertise.

So, for those who think I'm just in this business for the money, you're right.

And if you think I'm in this business ONLY for the money, you are wrong.

I write because I have this insatiable need to put words on paper, or on the screen. I have a mind that won't shut off. It's like the bunny with the battery pack, it keeps going, and going, and going. I have tried to stop writing and it worked about as well as my trying to stop breathing. I became light-headed and sick and felt like I was going to die.

But I also live for the things money can't buy. The letter from a reader saying the words I wrote moved them to tears, or helped them reunite with an estranged loved one, or made them laugh so hard they fell out of their chair. Those emails, calls and letters give me goosebumps and I tingle for days.

Then there are those who tell me that I'm a hack. I'm high if I think I'll ever make it as a writer, or that they wouldn't buy my book if it was the last book to read on Earth.

Fine. I'm ok with that. I'm not going to make everyone happy all of the time, which is true whether I have pen in hand or not. It's part of the business. If you can't take rejection, and if you take it personally, you have no business being in the writing business.

It's a good thing I have a thick skin. And a never ending optimistic attitude.

So, yes, I have a challenge to sell 1,000 books by the end of the month and part of those sales is going to charity, but I'm not going to stop believing and pursuing my goal. If I make it, whoohoo, I'll celebrate.

If I miss the mark, I'll learn from the experience, and improve my efforts in the next promotion. But I'm not going to stop. Ever. This is my life, and this is what I want more than anything. And I want it for all the good things it will bring to me and those I love.

And I'm grateful to be able to pursue it. And I'm confident I'll not only meet that goal, but I will EXCEED IT.

See you at the top. :)