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carlos gomez

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Writing Challenge Day 6: AFK

Today I noticed that it really is easier to just press call and share ideas back and forth rather than sending thousands of messages.

It’s crazy how the chat era, which was my first taste of international communication, was so big due to phone calls being completely out of question, as they were much more expensive with long-distance billing, roaming and such.

I remember spending many, many, many hours of my youth on my pentium 1 with dial-up, loading up ICQ or AOL, and chatting with complete strangers about comic books, games, goth stuff, comedy, punk bands and whatever I was into at the moment. 

You would just click on a category and it showed you a ton of people with similar tastes. What an amazing way to see just how small the world was, and what an incredible way to share information about anything.

That later carried on into text messaging, we all began texting each other because, again, it was cheaper than calling, and you don’t have to flatten your ass for hours on a computer. Then came the muthaload, broadband. With broadband and skype you could just have a video chat with anybody at any time, as long as you wanted, at no extra cost. Following that came teamspeak and ventrilo, which allowed you to chat with other online players. 

All of those brought an era of internet voice calling that was wonderful, you could talk for hours with friends and family while playing or just browsing the internet, some nerds even used it for work!

Then I have no idea what the hell happened that everybody became terrified of voice calls.

MSN AIM came out and everybody began just typing, chatting, sending SMS, anything to avoid a 2 minute conversation. It also allowed introverts and people of all kinds and tastes to come out of the shadows and express themselves in ways they never did before, for better or worse.

But today, a lot of us, who can chew the fat for hours, sometimes prefer to just send a message and a gif. Will we communicate exclusively in gifs in the future? Maybe gifs with audio? Real-time live gifs? What a world, can’t wait.

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Writing Challenge Day 5: Stay Worried

Today I noticed how most of the time life, uh, finds a way. We hear sometimes that over-worrying and over-thinking is completely unnecessary and that everything usually has a solution.

What we later forget is that the solution was mostly brought through preparation, and that preparation was brought by… you guessed it, worrying.

It’s natural to feel concerned about what may go wrong, especially the older we get. We learn through experiences, whether they are ours or others.

Living in Thailand, I arrived with a backpack and luggage full of clothes, and every 90 days I had to exit the country to renew my visa. Each of those times, I remember packing everything with the pessimism that I may be denied re-entry. That possible rejection caused me to worry a lot.

For months I lived out of my luggage, never buying anything that couldn’t fit in my bag, except for a cheap tv that I always expected to leave to my roommate.

A year living here, I met the most wonderful lady of my life, and we decided to marry. We married legally and through planning and planning, we set the date for the big event and invited all the guests and I was still waiting to do my trimestral border-run, what a nightmare.

I remember packing absolutely everything, diploma, birth certificate, the marriage certificate, and even considered faking a pregnancy test, just in case.

The day comes, 2 weeks before the big day, and I’m flying into Myanmar. As I arrive, we head straight to present the immigration documents for the student visa application. I can hear monkeys everywhere and it took me a while to absorb just what in the world was going on.

I arrive at the hotel, give the wife a call, telling her everything will be alright, trying not to think about anything that could go wrong, but it was impossible not to. Went out to get food and a couple of beers and when chilling in my tiny hotel room, I couldn’t even sleep.

The next day we all head over to immigration to retrieve our documents and get our approved visas so I can head back home and finish preparing everything. As soon as we all arrive at the immigration offices, our agent tells us the worst news, that we are all rejected and can’t get student visas due to the new regulations.

That’s it, I guess back to Venezuela and chill with my cat again. Or I could just, you know, talk with the immigration officer.

I took a deep breath and headed over there, determined to Frank Abegnale myself back into Thailand. I spoke with her, showed her all my documents, and used the last remaining bit of charisma in me to get her to understand my situation and get me back in the country to my beautiful wife.

As the officer starts looking at my documents drowning in my incessant blabber, there is a shining bright light, almost like a trading card hologram, the marriage certificate! The officer asked me how long I’ve been married and told me that I can apply for a spouse visa.

I asked her where I can apply for that and if there is enough time, and she responded “You do in Thailand, I get you tourist visa, so romantic, Miss Universe number 1”. Maybe she didn’t really say the last part, but I sure heard it.

And there you have it, I came back, had a lovely kid, and now we’re planning to head over to the Philippines. Under a lot of stress right now due to the passport extension issues with Venezuela, but hey, life always finds a way.

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Writing Challenge Day 4: Target Audience

Today I noticed that what you read online is the very careful and meticulous words of the person on the other side of the screen.

For the past 7 months I worked on the social media and website of an Irish jewelry product (key word). Every single word I wrote was tailored to a specific type of people, or target audience as they say in the biz.

Now, these are people that can clearly buy their Irish jewelry anywhere, find their Irish jokes anywhere and share their passion anywhere, but they followed this specific brand that made them feel proud of who they are, learn about their culture, find prayers and inspirational quotes to share with their families and laugh at themselves. Now, I’m sure we all have something like that with whatever we follow too.

Well, little did they know that on the other side of the screen was a fat pseudo comedian latino just trying to find engaging stuff for them to like with the SOLE purpose to get them to shell out their pot of gold.

My punto here is, social media, news, and all media in general, they disconnect us all from that reality, they make us live a fantasy by simply giving us the things that they know and are studied to work, with the sole purpose of selling us their product.

And I’m all for it, we are all suckers for a product that speaks directly to us. I honestly can’t wait to sit down in the movie theater with my giant bucket of popcorn to watch Dr. Strange and then spend hours reading trivia and easter eggs.

Typed from my iPhone.

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Writing Challenge: Day 3

It's A Small Talk After All.

Today I noticed how much I miss small talk. Ever since I was young I always loved meeting new people, saying "Hi" on the playground, when somebody wore a shirt of a band I was into, if I saw somebody doodling, or even when I just saw somebody bored, I would try to start a conversation with them.

I would ask them about anything and we would begin chatting about anything, nothing personal. Now with others, it would not just work mentioning a small observation, some would actually respond more to a complaint, or mentioning a nuisance they could relate with at the moment. It always helped me understand how different everybody is, just by seconds of sharing words with them.

This is something I got from my mom, she would chat with anybody even in the grocery line, the security guards of the building, anybody that was waiting along with her.

As I became an adult, I got to a point that I even struck up conversations about made up stuff with strangers. I recall one time telling a taxi driver from the airport some made up nonsense that I flew into town specifically to remove my Netflix account from an ex-girlfriend's TV, I have no idea if he knew I was joking or not, but it was still quite fun the responses and laughs we had on the way.

Living in Thailand, this has stopped me dead in my tracks, not being able to strike up a conversation freely with anybody.

But now, it's none of that, it's just a nod, or a "Sorry" or "Ok!" and all of the years of professionally playing Pictionary Charades (instead of pencil and paper). I even miss just listening to the small talk from strangers around me. Sometimes I even ask my wife, who speaks Thai, to tell me just a gist of what strangers are talking about.

Back to what I was saying. Living here for already 4 years and not being able to strike up a conversation made me realize that mom had it real rough for the 10 years we lived in Houston. She struggled a ton learning to speak English and just couldn't get into it. I guess she felt no urgent need, aside from how difficult learning a second language can be as an adult.

I really miss small talk and I'm sure you did too. Love you mom.

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Writing Challenge: Day 2

Year 2

Today I noticed that we grow much quicker than we realize.

Last week, the wife, baby and me spent three days on the beach after a much-needed break from being in the capital. Baby was super scared of getting in the water at first, but after a bit of gentle-daddy-bullying, she got more used to it and would even sit and play in the water with the sand.

It continued like that for the other two days as baby would always hesitate first before stepping into the water on her own.

When we returned home, it was time to prepare for baby's two year birthday. She had tons of fun, played with her cousins as mom and me made cupcakes and pizza for them. It's amazing to see how naturally social she is with her cousins despite being a quarantine baby.

As the kids played and ate, we chatted with the cousins and told them about the beautiful beach town we always go to when the city gets to be too much. They had the idea of joining us and we didn't hesitate and booked for the next week.

We all finally came to the beach and as soon as I put my just-turned-two baby down, the first thing she did was walk straight into the water, all by herself. It's crazy how in a week she changed so much. Babies grow way too fast for us to even notice.

Another huge difference this time was also her attitude. Instead of running around and me chasing her, which I don't really mind thanks to the exercise, she was much more calm, walked around, explored, got in the water, stared at the waves, dabbled some words, and even saw a horse and said "Horse! Neigh neigh neigh!"

There was a moment when she was standing inside the water, knee deep, just staring at the ocean, that in my mind I though "Look at her all sulking like me, so proud!" That I asked her "Feeling the pressure of just turning two? This year is huge. You're gonna begin communicating, eating with utensils, possibly going to school, continue to practice your writing... That's a lot! You sure you're going to be able to handle the pressure?"

She just stared at the ocean as I imagined a nod of "I got this, daddy". What a champ.

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Writing Challenge: Day 1

Windmills.

Today I noticed that dough mixers haven't changed in a really really really long time.

A simple spinning mechanism rotating with a ton of force, mixes the flour, yeast, eggs, milk and sugar, ingredients we've been using to make THE PERFECT DOUGH for bread for thousands of years.

The KitchenAid mixer has a style straight out of the 50’s that has never broken and has not needed fixing. What did we have before? Windmills! And look how long ago that was.

What a leap! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to see the next mixer that will come out in 1,000 years. Can't wait!

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Steps For Writing For Web

Did you know? According to a Nielsen research, 79% of test users always scanned any content, and only 16% of them read word by word?

The goal here is to make reading something automatically. How can you do that? Less words and easy formats.

Here are 5 ways to make reading easier and more accessible:

Highlight or bold important information.

Number lists or bullet lists.

Meaningful subheadings.

Short paragraphs.

Short sentences that are punchy.

To make any of the above work, they have to be straight to the point. Try to make your content be able to answer these three key questions in the shortest time possible.

What is this about?

What can I do here? What am I looking at?

How is this useful to me?

All of these questions should be immediately answered to avoid customer distraction, and ideally should all be above the fold.

An engaging above the fold should always have:

Headline that commands attention.

Subheading to clarify.

A strong Call To Action (CTA).

Here's some examples how to make some effective headlines that grab attention instantly:

Clarity is always better than cute and clever, don't make something that requires thinking about a punchline.

Avoid clickbaity hype, such as TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AMAZING MIRACLE PRODUCT!

Be specific where possible, include numbers, statistics and any detail that is a fact related to the benefits of your product.

And of course, be clear, people today have unlimited options and most of the times know exactly what they're looking for.

Say what it is.

Say what it is and who its for.

Say what it is and what you're able to do with it.

For the sub-headline, it is also important to list the benefits, now that they know the product, they want to know how it can help them.

As for the CTA, that's where they seal the deal and are ready to convert, but not yet, almost there.

Here are some good CTA examples:

Sign up FREE

Get Started NOW

Get In Touch

Join Free

Shop Now

Add To Cart

Book A Class

Avoid CTA's that don't really get anywhere, such as:

Submit (unless you're into that kinda stuff)

Click HERE

Download (Probably the scariest CTA on the internet)

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Copywriting and Content Writing

First we have to understand that the difference between Copywriters and Content Writers:

Copywriter:

Content that inspires action

Websites

Landing Pages

Sales Pages

Email Campaigns

Video Scripts

White Papers

Content Writers:

Educating, informing, inspiring, and building relationships

Articles

Blog posts

Ebooks

Reports

Newsletters

Video tutorials

It's very important to research, as Ogilvy said, "Advertising without research is as dangerous as a general that ignores intel."

Guessing is always the enemy.

When researching, start with a questionnaire:

Who is your target market?

What problems are they experiencing right now?

What benefits does your product of service deliver?

How is your product or service better than the competition?

How you can find this research:

Amazon Books.

Books of your target audience.

Read reviews: Problems and solutions.

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Funnel-Vision

A marketing funnel describes your customer's journey with you from the initial stages when someone learns about your business, to the purchasing stage.

We can separate the funnel into three (or three and a haif) sections.

TOP

Starting with the top of the funnel, the widest. This one is to attract new clients. An intro, sharing similar beliefs, values, humor, celebration, a showcase.

Audience: Someone who has never engaged with you previously.

Answers the question: What is your product and why should I care?

MID

Here you show them things about having a lifestyle with your product and how it would benefit them.

Audience: People who have previously engaged you but have not converted.

Answers the question: What is so great about it? What is it like to own it?

BOTTOM

This is is, the customer that reached this part is already in the game but still needs that extra push to sign. It's time to show them the experience of actually becoming part of your business.

Audience: Is familiar with your product, likes it, but has not purchased or added anything to their cart...yet.

Answers the question: What is it like when others shop and how can I buy? Can I see some social proof or customer reviews to finally convince myself?

Bottom bottom

Here the customer is shown that your product is irresistible, you seal the deal with some FOMO, discount, free shipping, financing plans or any other promos. Why they should act NOW.

Audience: This client has added the product to their cart, is already convinced, and is ready to purchase.

Answers the question: What is the benefit and reward? What would happen when not acting now?

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Types of Ad Copy

Benefit-Based Ad Copy

This is where you show the customer a potential benefit from using your product.

This is the most common Ad type, but it's not always the most effective.

Feature-Based Ad Copy

This is where you tell the customer your features, hoping that it will convince them that you're the best in the market.

Question-Based Ad Copy

This is where you ask a customer a direct question related to their problem and offer a solution through your product.

The question you ask should always be an opener to the benefits of using your product.

Storytelling-Based Ad Copy

This is an uncommon type of Ad Copy that is based on placing your customer in a story and then pitching them a product.

This is the Ad Type that scales performance more often, but it's the hardest to do without experience.

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Make a Connection

The idea is to make content relatable, allow the customer to cozy themselves in your content by sharing their ideas back to them.

For example, on a date, value is shown to see how you can make each other happy. You do what you believe is right until you're proven wrong, and do this only by interacting. Act on what you believe and take steps in fortifying that connection.

That is how you create a habit, and it releases dopamine, serotonin, and all that brain-chemical that makes us feel good. In hunger, we seek food, we go to a store, cook, etc. Once that food is consumed, it releases the happy chemicals.

Whenever we take action on what we feel or believe in, the result is happiness.

When you create content, focus on that idea, not just show a discount or an attractive item, but introduce your idea to see if it matches their desire. Be able to answer their questions without asking, with content that is subtle and see if it answers their questions.

After that, speak to an audience that loves your message.

Few things to focus on:

- What type of memories can you trigger? We know that nostalgia is one of the biggest selling tactics of recent days, as you can see in superhero movies, sequels, prequels, and products that people have loves as far as they can remember. There's a reason ads still use songs from The Beatles.

- What type of reasons can you offer? Everybody consumes something for a reason, whether it's hunger, desire, an idea, an urge or hype. Let them know that what you are offering is exactly what they need.

- How can you make it personal? We live in a day where you can buy literally anything you want online. You're looking for a genuine war TANK? You got it. Kitten Mittens? What size and color are you looking for? Everything can be found online.

Make your product as personal as you can by connecting with the client to let yourself stand out from the automated. When they read the content, organic or paid, the goal is to get them to stop scrolling long enough to understand that you can help them.

How do you do that?

Make it relatable, speak their language. In the end of the day, it's what THEY want.

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Who are you writing for?

That's the very first question you should ask yourself.

Buyer Persona

A specific description of a person who represents your target audience.

Includes interests, challenges, goals, demographics, and behavior.

Think of it as a model of what your ideal customer might look like.

Dig Into These Demographics

Speak to customer service and sales teams.

Conduct interviews or send surveys. Ask your customers directly about themselves.

Dive into online analytics. See what you can find out.

Things you want to compile

- Location

- Age

- Gender Identity

- Primary Language

- Interests

- Goals

- Values

- Buying behavior

If you're B2B (Business to Business)

- Industry

- Business size

- Job title or position

- Identify Challenges

What is holding them back from achieving their goals?

What roadblocks do they face? What stops them from reaching their goals?

What stops them from taking action? What are their hesitations or fears about moving forward?

How can we help them overcome these obstacles?

Imagine you run the social media presence of a dentist office. One of the challenges of your target audience might be a fear of dentists. In that case, you can focus your strategy so they feel comfortable and safe so they can book their appointment.

Determine Goals

Figure out what success looks like for your target audience.

- What drives them?

- What does progress look like?

What's the ultimate goal? The answers can be: professional, personal, or a mix of both. Figure out what motivates them to take action.

Combine it all into one identity that you can refer to as you create and share that speaks directly to the heart of the customer.

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Magical Ring

Ninja: Do you have any stories to share?

Shopkeeper: Of course, here's one for you. There once was a king who had a pretty rough time managing his emotions. Experiencing nothing but extremes, he would always feel either too excited or too depressed, which caused him to never get anything done. Just as he was about to lose all hope of getting his life together and be a viable ruler for his people, he was visited by a traveling relic hunter. To rid the king of his woes, the relic hunter gave him a magic ring, promising it would make him sad when he is happy, and happy when he is sad. It worked like a literal charm, and the kingdom became very prosperous as a result. When the king passed away, the castle's wizard promptly grabbed the ring to finally try and understand the source of its power. As it turned out, the ring wasn't magic at all! But how could a non-magic ring make you sad when you are happy and happy when you are sad?

Ninja: …

Shopkeeper: ...

Ninja: ...

Shopkeeper: Any guess?

Ninja: Not really.

Shopkeeper: It had a small inscription that read "This, too, shall pass".

Ninja: Woah... that's deep.

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The Rule of Three (in ads)

"If you want something stuck in someone's head, put it in a sequence of three"

Storytelling: Three-act structure, three bullet points.

Sticky ideas: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people.

- Friends, Romans, Countrymen.

- Blood, sweat and tears.

- Location, Location, Location.

- The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

- Faith, Hope, Charity.

- Mind, Body, Spirit.

- Stop, look and listen.

- Keep it simple.

- Sex, lies and videotape.

- I came, I saw, I conquered.

In jokes you see it everywhere: The set-up, anticipation and punchline.

In sales: Who? What? How?

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6 Types of Leads

Offer Lead:

A direct appeal that goes straight to deal, offer leads almost always mention the product, the price, the discounts, premiums, guarantees, and other related "deal" elements very early in the lead, if not in the headline.

An "invitation" type lead that opens by asking a prospect to become a member or try a product that is a more subtle variation of the classic offer lead.

- Immediately focus on the most emotionally compelling detail of your offer.

- Underscore the most valuable benefit of the deal.

- Elaborate on the same deal-benefit in the lead that follows.

- At some point, include a compelling "reason why" you're offering that deal.

Promise Lead

The product usually isn't mentioned as early, but it still opens with your product's best and biggest claims. In a classic "Promise" ad, the big promise is your headline, your first line, and often, your last line too.

- Should start with the product's biggest benefit.

- Must connect the core benefit to the prospect's core desire.

- Should sound as new and original as possible.

- Should be bold, but still possible.

- Must follow with even bigger proof.

- Often focus on speed, size or quality of results.

- Usually won't work to skeptics or highly "unaware" prospects.

- Can work very well with "On the fence" prospects.

Problem-Solution Lead

The classic "hot-button" approach, where you delay any talk of the product at first and instead lead off by identifying your prospect's biggest, most emotionally-charged, and relevant issue. Promises related to the product immediately follow.

- Target those worries that keep customers up at night.

- Make sure they're worries that carry deep emotional weight.

- You have to stir those emotions first to prove you feel your prospect's pain.

- You don't want to linger on the problem too long before offering hope.

- You MUST offer hope of a relevant solution at some point in the pitch.

Secret Lead

The "tease" of the hard-to-come-by knowledge, a formula, or "system" leads the promo. The secret can either be a solution or hidden problem, or, as in many financial promos, a "system" for getting consistently good results. Usually, you get the best mileage when ordering the product that reveals this secret.

- The secret is intriguing and beneficial.

- It is introduced in the headline.

- It is not disclosed during the lead.

- As the letter progresses, more clues are given.

Proclamation Lead

Decidedly indirect, a proclamation lead seeks to jar the "unaware" reader out of his seat. Maybe with a factoid that's just incredible, maybe with a shocking future forecast or prediction, or maybe with a bold statement. The goal is to disarm the prospect for just long enough to work your way back to the product and your pitch.

A well-constructed Proclamation Lead begins with an emotionally-compelling statement, usually in the form of a headline. Then, in the copy that follows, the reader is given information that demonstrates the validity of the implicit promise made.

- Make the proclamation bold, not reasonable.

- Make a promise.

- The subject must be relevant.

- Return to the proclamation at the close.

Story Lead

Stories can engage readers who don't know you or the product well or who might flinch at more direct, unbelievable claims. Testimonials, guru bios, historical proof, or track record, all yield story leads.

Just make sure to tell the story quickly and keep it in context of the bigger promise / core idea of the promotion.

The headline/story should convey all the key elements of a successful ad:

- One strong idea.

- One desirable benefit.

- One driving emotion.

- One inevitable solution.

One strong idea/emotion/benefit is better than half a dozen mediocre ones. There is no stranger way to engage your prospect than with a simple story.

Adhering to the "rules" of good story-telling will produce the biggest effect. That means beginning in the middle of a conflict, expressed or implicit, that affects the protagonist the reader can identify with, and offering an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

[writethecopy]

4 Tips for Banner Ads

- Relevant, eye catching graphic, visually appealing.

- Short and to the point copy. "If there's a better price, we'll match it".

- A strong CTA. Don't be afraid of simple like "Start your free trial!"

- Logo and brand colors.

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8 tips for Landing Page Copy

1) Use testimonials. Some might even be used as headlines.

2) Emphasize the BENEFITS. People already know what they like, tell them what they could DO.

3) Write a killer headline. People skim and scan, focus on:

headline, sub headline, pictures, CTA buttons, major section headings, bullet points, short paragraphs, image captions.

a) BIG, STRONG, CLEAR HEADLINE.

b) Compelling subheading that pushes benefits.

c) Large pictures that demonstrate benefits and explain the message.

d) Strong copy in CTA.

e) Break copy into major sections, lead by headline with large type.

f) Short bullet points for benefits.

g) Short paragraph less than five lines.

h) Caption on images.

4) Keep your writing simple! Be simple, this isn't a novel. Simplicity SELLS.

Avoid complicated terms like:

- On-demand marketing software.

- Integrated solutions.

- Flexible platform.

- World leader / Best o da best!

- Once in a lifetime opportunity!

- Changing the way X is done.

- Paradigm shifting.

- Exceeding customer expectations.

- Built from the ground up.

- For X by X.

- We do xyz so you don't have to.

- Do more with less.

- Efficient and effective.

- One stop shop.

- We go the extra mile.

- The most blablabla.

5) Write like a HUMAN. Write how you speak, normal words like talking to a 10 year old. Use short sentences, be funny, use first person, use expressions like "Seriously, I'm thinking, wait a second, it was crazy, wow, it was... etc etc"

6) Use numbers and be specific.

7) Ask readers to take action. DON'T BE FRIENDZONED! ALWAYS BE SELLING.

8) A/B test your copy.

- Headline variations

- Sub headline variations

- CTA copy

- List of benefits

Always have different options to look at!