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

The “experts” say you should include pictures in anything you publish online - but they never say what to look for in a picture.

Photo via Fail Blog

They say a picture is worth a thousand words - but very few realize exactly what they are saying with their pictures.

Normally, we aren’t aware of the messages these images are communicating - but that just makes the message even more powerful. Just ask any pro selling through a catalog or direct mail.

The difference between a good image and a bad image is very cut and dry - success, or failure. Period.

by Patricia Mayo

Of course you’re not. What, you - afraid to read a blog post? Pshaw. No way. Couldn’t happen.

Photo by Sophie

Yet if I had titled this “Ambiguity Aversion” and just left it at that, I bet you wouldn’t be reading this right now. That’s because of a hard-wired fact of humanity - we’re fully-trained trained skeptics of anything unfamiliar.

And I’m willing to bet that if I didn’t tell you I’m about to detail how to overcome ambiguity aversion to increase any metric, you probably wouldn’t read beyond this point. But since I just did - well, let’s move on, shall we?

Layering even boring statements in catch phrases from pop culture grabs a lot more attention than even a great point could have otherwise. The key is giving people something they can click with and relate to in your writing.

“At the first gate the gatekeeper asks, Is it true? At the second gate, he asks, Is it necessary? And at the third gate, Is it kind?”

Make sure every word passes all three gates before you speak them.

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

I don’t like link lists. In fact, I downright hate ‘em. Whenever I see “Del.icio.us Links for 4-19-08″ I just keep on scrolling. Why?

Original Photo by Daniel K. Gebhart

Don’t you feel like you’re being screamed at? “Look at me, look at me! I’m clickable, you should click! Yes, yes… click! Click now!” Yeah, big deal. Just because I can doesn’t mean I should.

The only reason I am productive - and stay productive - is being picky about what gets my attention. 80% of headlines don’t say enough, and 99% of blog titles don’t say enough. I need more.

Maki over at DoshDosh has the right idea and gives a bit of context. Call me anal retentive, but that’s what I like to see. What about you?