ComHacker.org

by Patricia Mayo

In the first installment in this series on communicating a message with pictures, I introduced this concept and talked about the purpose of a picture, how to use images to draw attention, and putting the reader in the picture’s shoes.

This time I get to dig into one of my all time favorites - directing attention. The nuances of this use are just so much fun to me - not that I take great joy in fiddling with people’s heads. I just like figuring out each case and exactly how your eyes will be influenced by a picture.

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Trisha, @mayobrains on Twitter

by Patricia Mayo

Maybe being lazy is a good idea, according to - you guessed it (well maybe you didn’t) - Seth Godin. He calls it “keeping copy out of the way of your message“… but I know better.

Photo by Paul Mata

This isn’t the first I’ve heard of the concept. A lot of great and well-renowned books on copywriting say pretty much the same thing. Some of my favorite quotes by famous authors say pretty much the same thing.

Get to the point. Quickly.

But, you see, I have a little problem with broad stroke “solutions.”

“Effective leaders have the courage to say what they’re thinking - and that usually turns out to be what everyone else is thinking.” - William Isaacs, author of Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together

by Patricia Mayo

It is possible to make money blogging - but it doesn’t happen the most obvious way.

Photo by Jay Lopez

I actually make a good chunk of my income blogging.

However, if you look in my sidebars, I don’t have ads. Not a single one. No sponsors, no donate buttons, no Entrecard. This site isn’t in any kind of traffic rotator schemes. I did an affiliate promotion once, but the results were so crappy you’re not going to see that again.

This is all very much on purpose - because the concept of “problogging” does not work if all you have to offer are your words on one blog.

by Patricia Mayo

A little while ago, I posted a little ditty on reading between the lines in Internet Marketing. One of the things I mentioned was to read the benefits and see if you could predict what they’re selling.

via Fail Blog

Well, I analyze a lot of lists from a lot of supposed top marketers to keep up to date. Today, one big name “guru” sent me a whopping sob story about getting slapped by Google and losing millions, and blah blah blah.

by Patricia Mayo

Here’s a news flash - the quicker information can spread on a medium, the faster that medium evolves. Online marketers who have been successful since the 90’s don’t know jack.

Ok, maybe that’s a little too broad stroke, but if they’re touting techniques that catapulted them to success way back in the 90’s - those techniques won’t work quite as wildly well today. Don’t drink their kool-aid.

Or at least, don’t drink their kool-aid plain.

by Patricia Mayo

I’m breaking all the rules in my product launch - but I’m willing to bet my results will be better, and longer lasting, than anyone who does it the “traditional way.”

Photo by Maira Kouvara

The “things” traditional online marketers say you need, like a list and a website, are spot on, but the way they say you should build it is way off.

If you know anything about building a list, you know that at the beginning of it all is the “squeeze page.” I don’t use a squeeze page the way most people do. I let you see more information. I let you navigate through my site.

I am doing everything I can to be as transparent and available as possible. And I’m not just using my transparent squeeze page to draw in subscribers, either.

by Patricia Mayo

Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few truly useful things sold by those 10 mile long sales letters (with the distinct exception of “make money online” information products). Not all products promoted in such ways are crap - and thinking that way is just the coward’s way out.

Original Photo by Steve Woods

However, in order to fully understand whether you’re being sold a rip-off or a real resource, you need to know the full-on ins and outs of sales letter marketing.

It will take some practice before you’re good at reading between the lines, and I’m sure some deceitful marketer is going to read this and revise their marketing - but I’m going to have a go at making this as bullet-proof as I can.