Friday, October 9, 2009

Top Misc Content on Internet

Top Misc Content on Internet

The Basics of Forex Trading

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

You can trade your money for someone else's money and you don't even have to leave your house. All of this can be done right in your own home on your computer. When you are looking to get into FOREX trading there are a few things you need to know before you jump head first into things that you know nothing or very little about.

Using Forex Trading Robots

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

When you are a Forex trader that has been using a Forex trading robot to help with your trading it really is a fairly new field. The fantastically intertwined combination of the human intelligence and the abilities of the Forex robot will provide you with a very useful tool.

4 Best Steps in Global Forex Market

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Get best tips on forex trading, global forex trading

Global Forex: Are You Still Loosing? Get these 5 Tips

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

This article will tell you how to stop losing your trade and help you to develop trading plan

What is Workers Compensation Claims and How to Get it?

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

These have a toll on the life of the workers. Workers compensation claims come as a huge support when they suffer from the physical, mental and economical impacts of such accidents.

An Introduction On Private Loan

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

When you are not qualified for these types of federal loans, then you can consider applying for a private loan. Unlike the Stafford and PLUS student loans that are issued by the federal government, a private loan is offered by private lenders that is not guaranteed by the federal government.

The Benefits of Private Loans

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Different to Stafford and PLUS loans that are guaranteed by the federal government, private loans are loans offered by private lenders to help students to support their school tuition and other expenditures related to the school needs. Since private loans are no guaranteed by the federal government, the interest rates on private loans tend to be higher than ones that are guaranteed by the federal government.

Pros and Cons of Applying for a Loan Modification Online

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

The internet has become a huge window for searching for the best way to modify your home loan.

Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance - This Plan Covers All

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Illinois comprehensive health insurance refers to insurance that covers everything, from preventative care to major operations and ongoing treatments along with maternity if needed.

Illinois Comprehensive Health Insurance - Totaled or Dinged

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

A comprehensive health insurance plan covers all the bells and whistles, so it doesn't matter if your body is totaled or dinged, you will have excellent protection.

Affiliate Online Businesses are Going Through Tough Times

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Are you finding it tough going in these economic times. Contrary to what you might think, it's actually a good time to get involved with affiliate marketing, provided you know what you're doing. If you would like to learn how to earn, you will want to read this article!

Annuity Lead Lists Can Improve Your Sales

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

The financial services field hasn't seen tougher times in quite some time. If you sell financial products like annuities you need every advantage you can get. Here is how annuity lead lists can improve your sales.

Getting Turned Down for a Business Loan Because of Bad Credit is not the End of the World

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

In the past, getting turned down for a business loan could be fatal for some businesses. Luckily there are now alternatives for those seeking additional working capital.

The Executive Panel Interview

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

One of the more difficult interview formats, if not the most difficult one, is the panel interview. You may find yourself a polished executive speaking with members of the board of directors or vice presidential level people. Let's look at ways to prepare for this important interview.

What You Should Know about the Employment Background Check

Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:00 PM PDT

Picture it. You're applying for a job, filling out routine paperwork and you come across a form requesting your consent for a background check. Initially your mind freezes then reels about over your life and what antics or missteps might show up on the check. Let's take a brief look at what information is typically sought when a check is done.

Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster (Alertbox)

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 12:59 PM PDT

Plagiarism Checkers: 5 Free Websites To Catch The Copycats

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 12:19 PM PDT

Secret Formula: How To Write Viral Content For Your Website

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 10:29 AM PDT

2 Simple Steps to Finding Your Website’s Voice | FutureNow's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 06:33 AM PDT

50 Awesome Open Courses for Web Writers | AccreditedOnlineColleges.org

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 03:59 AM PDT

How to Win Over New Kinds of Readers | Copyblogger 4mat

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 05:58 PM PDT

4mat learning styles

SEO Copywriting 2.0 An Introduction to the New SEO Copywriting | Copyblogger

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 02:27 PM PDT

Writing Copy for the Web: Tips to Stay Fresh and Creative - Online Marketing Blog

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 10:47 AM PDT

Tipps wie man Content für seinen Blog schreibt | Webdesignblog

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 10:39 AM PDT

10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work | Copyblogger

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:46 AM PDT

A List Apart: Articles: The Discipline of Content Strategy

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:11 AM PDT

Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data - Boxes and Arrows: The design behind the design

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 09:11 AM PDT

Post-Medium Publishing

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 08:48 AM PDT

Conversation Agent: Inbound Marketing Summit 2009 - my presentation

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 06:47 AM PDT

50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Writing Skills « Smashing Magazine

Posted: 08 Oct 2009 02:09 AM PDT

One Big Way to Avoid a Headline Fail

Posted: 09 Oct 2009 08:42 AM PDT

FAIL

The other day, we published a headline that failed.

It happens to everyone, even those of us who consider headline writing to be a primary skill.

In this post, I'll show you one way to avoid a headline fail when using one of the more powerful headline formats.

I'm talking about the "question" headline.

How to Effectively Use a Question Headline

As I said, the question headline is very powerful. When used properly, it creates an almost irresistible draw to prospective readers, no matter how busy they are.

Occasionally I'll hear someone say that a journalism professor or writing coach told them never to use a question – whether in the headline or otherwise. This is terrible advice, because it's only half correct.

The true rule is that you should never use a question that the prospective reader can answer with a no. If you ask that type of question, you've just failed… because you gave people a reason not to read your content.

The proper way to use a question headline is to ask a question that your readers can't answer. In that sense, your question (like all good headlines) becomes a compelling promise to the reader that they're about to discover something they didn't know before, if only they keep reading.

Let's look at examples of the right way and the wrong way to use a question, thanks to my own headline fail from earlier in the week.

How We Screwed Up a Question Headline

You know a lot of different people contribute to Copyblogger. And it's probably no surprise that we assist with editing content from our guests in order to make it as engaging as possible.

One thing we do more often than not is tweak or rewrite the post titles (headlines). This works out to everyone's benefit, since the stronger the headline, the more traffic to the post and more exposure to that specific writer.

So a couple days ago, we ran a post about backing up your claims with proof by Sherice Jacob. It's a really solid post, so if you didn't read it, you really should.

The original title of the post didn't work as well as we thought it should, so Sonia rewrote it. After that, Sonia queues the post in WordPress for my final approval and publishing.

I look at the headline, read the post, and think, "This looks good." The headline had a provocative edge to it, which should have helped the post spread rather nicely.

Except it didn't.

An easy way to gauge the response to a post in real-time is on Twitter. The number of retweets and clicks on the link (via bit.ly) will give you a general picture of how well a piece of content is doing relative to how things usually go day-to-day.

It quickly became clear that Sherice's post was under-performing, and I couldn't figure out why. And then it hit me.

A Failed Question Headline (And the Fix)

Here is the headline we published:

Are Your Readers Calling You a Liar?

Do you see the problem?

Taken literally, the answer to this question for most people is simply "no." As ornery as blog comments can get, it's likely most people have never been flat-out called a liar by a reader.

But because the content of the post makes it clear that you might not know if people are doubting whether or not you're telling the truth, the headline wasn't even a good match for the post. The real killer, however, was the ability to answer the question with a "no."

Total headline fail.

Later in the day after discussing it with Sonia, we changed the post title to this:

Do Your Readers Secretly Think You're a Liar?

Do you see why this is much better?

The question can't be answered, because you have no way of knowing what your readers are thinking unless they tell you. And the use of the word "secretly" adds an additional compelling element that makes it clear we're talking about something your readers aren't telling you.

Learn from My Mistake

Even though the title was changed, most of the damage had been done. The email had already gone out, the post had been tweeted, and I have no idea if the title ever updated freshly in feed readers.

So it's important to look for potential headline fails before you hit publish. Which is what I usually do, but everyone has off days.

And hey… it gave me something to write about for today. Hopefully you find some value in learning from my fail.

Because from now on, I'm covering up all my mistakes. ;)

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of DIY Themes, creator of the innovative Thesis Theme for WordPress. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

Thesis Theme for WordPress
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