In the past few months, I’ve had more than one client insist that I remove all contractions from the Web copy I’ve written for them.

I use contractions because I had read somewhere (long ago) that contractions make copy — especially Web copy — easier to read. Contractions make copy flow better, and they make copy sound natural.

After going through yet another project and removing contractions, I did a bit of research to determine why some clients were so adverse to them.

According to Jennifer Alvey at the Word Solutions blog, Baby Boomers and Gen Xers were trained to use contractions only in “casual” writing.

This makes sense to me. I’ve had more than one client over the years come back to me with, “My daughter in college proofread your copy and made the following changes . . . .”

The changes always entail rendering my zippy marketing copy into stuffy, dull, awkward prose that adheres to the rules of standard college English. UGH.

According Roy Jacobsen, in his article, “Contractions and How Not to Abuse Them,” eliminating contractions is a huge mistake for this very reason.

Jacobsen, quoting William Zinsser, author of Writing Well, gives a number of guidelines on when to use contractions. Bottom line: consider your audience, your tone and what you’re writing.

For us marketing types, using contractions is A-ok — especially because we’re usually compelling people to take some sort of action. As Zinsser points out, because we tend to skim content (especially online), we often miss the second word when a contraction is spelled out — i.e. we read “would not” as “would.”

Hence, contractions improve reader comprehension, which in turn increases conversions.

Well-written, grammatically correct copy never goes out of style. Formal academic English, however, has no place in marketing copy.

Do you agree or disagree? And, do you push back when clients ask that you remove contractions?

Edited to add that Copyblogger also has a great article relating to this topic: 7 Bad Writing Habits You Learned in School.

Since joining Twitter in October 2008, I’ve had the chance to “meet” lots of really cool women. Many of them are in marketing, some are not, but they all have one trait in common: they are very, very smart.

Herewith, my list of women you should be following on Twitter (in no particular order):

1. Anne Holland (@AnneHolland55) — After selling MarketingSherpa, Anne took a hiatus and spent three months sleeping. She’s now back in the entrepreneurship saddle with WhichTestWon.com and her blog, Anne Holland’s Ventures. Welcome back, Anne!

2. Sandy Carter (@sandy_carter) — Author of The New Language of Marketing 2.0, Sandy is a VP at IBM who writes about social media for technology companies.

3. Stephanie Tilton (@StephanieTilton) — Stephanie is an expert freelance white paper copywriter and one of the founding members of the way cool, totally hip Savvy B2B Marketing blog.

4. Jamie Wallace (@suddenlyjamie) — Like Stephanie, Jamie is a founding member of the Savvy B2B Marketing blog. She’s also got her finger on the B2B social media pulse and “gets it” like it’s no one’s business.

5. Lois Geller (@loisgeller) — Lois moved her highly successful direct mail agency from NY to Florida and never looked back. President of the Lois Geller Marketing Group, she’s also the author of SOLD! Direct Marketing for the Real Estate Pro. Be sure to check out her Joy of Direct Marketing blog.

6. Rachel Levy (@bostonmarketer) — Rachel just recently accepted a job as Director of Marketing and Social Media at Second Time Around. Hopefully she’ll keep up her blog. Congratulations, Rachel!

7. Ardath Albee (@ardath421) — Ardath writes about B2B marketing and sales. Read her fabulous insights at her Marketing Interactions blog.

8. Kellye Crane (@KellyeCrane) — Kellye, a PR consultant, is one person whose tweets I enjoy reading. She also writes the Solo PR Pro blog.

9. Beth Harte (@BethHarte) — Beth is the MarketingProfs Community Manager and publishes the Harte of Marketing blog.

10. Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs) — In addition to being being a terrific writer (she can write circles around me), Ann is the Chief Content Officer for the very popular MarketingProfs publication. Be sure to catch her on her Annarchy blog.

11. Allen Mireles (@allenmireles) — Allen, a social media consultant, is the Principal of Allen Mireles Marketing PR. She writes frequently about social media and PR on her blog and is frequently retweeted.

12. Jill Konrath (@jillkonrath) — Jill is the best selling author of Selling to Big Companies (a must read for anyone who wants to work with the GEs and HPs of the world). She’s also the SHeEO of Sales shebang, *the* Web resource for women in sales and provides training as well as an annual conference.

13. Laura Ramos (@lauraramos) — A VP and analyst for Forrester Research, Laura writes about issues pertaining to B2B marketing — including social media. Be sure to catch her insights at her B2B Marketing POSTs blog.

14. Helaine Smith, DMD (@helainesmithdmd) — Full disclosure, Dr. Smith is my client, but the longer I work with her, the more I learn — about business, working with people, and setting and achieving goals. She also has an “outsider’s” perspective on social media that is often refreshing. Learn more about dentistry and how it affects your health at her Successsful Smiles blog.

15. Kel Kelly (@kelkelly) — I met Kel at a Publicity Club of New England meeting and have been her fan girl ever since. She possesses two things I would kill for: daring and deadly wit. The founder of the “un-agency” Kel & Partners, Kel writes a blog that will leave you in stitches.

16. Leslie Poston (@geechee_girl) — A “social media enabler” Leslie helps social and entertainment businesses (think restaurants and artists) market themselves. I met her face-to-face at the last New Hampshire TweetUp — very exciting! She also publishes the UpTown Uncorked blog.

17. Kelly Parkinson (@copylicious) — Kelly is one of those copywriters who combines real creativity with business acumen to deliver copy that’s different, engaging — and that gets results. (Her Twitter profile reads, “I help companies fight robot invasions” — ha!) Be sure to read her fun and witty blog.

18. Jill Whalen (@jillwhalen) — *The* SEO goddess, Jill is a frequent speaker at SEO conferences around the world as well as the President of the SEO firm High Rankings. I met Jill for the first time this year — she’s smart, funny, and lives, eats, breathes SEO. Sign up for her popular High Rankings Advisor newsletter.

19. Sima Dahl (@simasays) — Principal of Parlay Communications in Chicago and founder of MarketingJobWire.com, Sima provides marketing that supports sales.

20. Ginger Burr (@GingerBurr) — Ginger is the person who helps me and lots of other women look good every day — she’s a wardrobe consultant, and a damned good one. Learn more about clothing, colors, and how to dress for the life you live at her website Total Image Consultants. She also has a new home study course — “Who Taught You How to Dress?”

21. Michelle Golden (@michellegolden) — I “met” Michelle online a year or so ago and am continually impressed with her insights and business acumen. President of Golden Marketing, Michelle helps lawyers and accountants grow their businesses. She also writes the terrific Golden Practices blog.

22. Debra Helwig (@dhelwig) — Debra is another person I’ve recently met and have come to know through Twitter and now phone calls. Smart and funny, Deb is the Marketing Communications Manager for IGAF Worldwide, an international trade association for accountants. She writes the pithy Service Minded blog.

23. Casey Hibbard (@casey_hibbard) — Author of the book Stories that Sell, Casey is the expert on writing case studies. She writes a blog by the same name.

24. Sandra Fathi (@sandrafathi) — Sandra is the president of Affect Strategies, a strategic marketing, communications and PR firm in New City. She and her team write the Tech Affect blog.

25. Michele Linn (@michelelinn) — Another Savvy B2B Marketing Blog founding sister, Michele is a freelance B2B marketing writer, blogger, and work at home mom. You can find her at the B2B Savvy blog (see link above) or her business site.

26. Margie Dana (@margiedana) — I groan when I see Oscar winners pull out a slip of paper to thank wonderful people in their lives. I needed a slip of paper when I made this list because I left off one the most fabulous women — Margie Dana, President of Boston Print Buyers. I’ve been a fan of Margie since before social media even existed. She is *the* goddess of all things relating to buying print (as in, you need that piece printed and whom should you hire?). She hosts monthly meetings, holds an annual conference and puts out a weekly newsletter. In short, she is a *must follow.*

I know I left out tons of other smart and successful business women. If you know of one who needs to be included on this list, please leave her name in the comments section (or DM me on Twitter @diannahuff) and I’ll start another list.

Additional Smart Women to Follow

27. Lilia Shirman (@B2BGuru) — Lilia is Founder and Managing Director of the California-based Sherman Group, a marketing firm that helps companies address complex challenges in growth and profitability.

28. Carla Clayton (@blondeaffiliate) — Carla helps Web newbies market their businesses via blogs, social media, websites, etc. Be sure to read her clever blog, Internet Marketing for Blondes.

29. Lisa Duhamel (@VirtuallyReady) — Ooooh! Lisa, President of Virtually Ready, does custom clickable Twitter backgrounds plus lots of other things to extend your reach online. Good to know!

30. Diane Hessan (@CommunispaceCEO) — Another very smart woman I follow but forgot to mention on the original 25 is Diane Hessan. Diane and her team help clients manage online communities. Be sure to subscribe to her Verbatim blog.

31. Kami Huyse (@kamichat) — According to Kellye Crane, Kami is a true pioneer in the social media / PR space. In addition to being the Principal of My PR Pro, she writes the Communication Overtones blog.

32. Rachel Kay (@rachelakay) — Another PR pro, Rachel’s firm, Rachel Kay Public Relations, is based in San Diego, California. Rachel writes the CommuniKaytrix blog.

33. Rebekah E Donaldson (@b2bcommunicate) — I met Rebekah about a year ago when she asked me to review her e-book about hiring a B2B marketing consultant. You can follow Rebekah via her blog, the red on marketing blog — great stuff.

34. Debbie Weil (@debbieweil) — Debbie is another smart woman I inadvertently left off my list — and one I’ve been a fan of before blogs and social media. (I subscribed to her newsletter way back when.) Debbie is the author of the Corporate Blogging Book and an all around smart woman. Be sure to check out her blog, BlogWrite for CEOs.

35. Penny Power (@pennypower) — Penny is the found of Ecademy, the online social networking site that is very popular in Europe. She coined the term, “Independent Capitalist,” which you can read more about in this February 2009 interview I did of her. She recently published a book about social media: Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me. A very smart woman, indeed!

A few weeks ago I experienced a total computer melt-down: my motherboard bit the dust AND my machine was completely overrun by malware.

While my computer was in the shop, I limped along using online email (rather than my normal Outlook).

It wasn’t until I got my computer back and began uploading all of the software again (which took HOURS), that I had a real epiphany:

Why am I relying on expensive, bloated, and hard-to-use software when much of this technology now resides online as “software-as-service”?

On top of that, I realized that over the years, my work habits had changed due to technology — but these habits were very inefficient as they were based on work habits that began years ago when I relied on paper and typewriters.

More important, I realized that my contact database, which I thought was pretty clean and up-to-date, lacked lots of information about my customers and colleagues — information that resides in various places online, namely LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and Websites.

So began my migration to Gmail and the very tedious but exciting process of collecting all of this information in one place.

If you don’t use Gmail, I highly recommend it. Not because it’s incredibly easy to use (and far easier than Outlook, which continually frustrated me to no end) but because it has a contact database where you can store all kinds of information about the people in your life — both personal and professional.

Within the Gmail Contacts database you can store the following:

Name and Address
Email (work, personal and other)
Phone (work, home, mobile and other — i.e. Skype)
Address (work, home and other)
Website
Birthday
Other information relevant to you or the individual

The Website listing is the feature I like best. I can include as many Website links as I want and am now able to list links to people’s various social media profiles, blogs, and corporate and personal Websites.

It’s very easy to add new links — it literally takes all of two seconds (as opposed to ACT!, where I would have to modify the contact template).

I can already see that I’ll save a ton of time with this feature. Often times, for example, I’ll be in LinkedIn and will want to recommend someone but don’t know their LinkedIn URL.

Now I can simply click over to Gmail, look the person up and presto, can copy and paste the link directly into LinkedIn without having to click out of the screen I’m in.

Ditto for recommending colleagues on Twitter as well.

(Hopefully Google will adjust the “other” Website labels so that you can actually list links as “Twitter,” “LinkedIn,” etc.)

On top of that, Gmail automatically links to a person’s Google Profile as well.

How do you keep track of people’s social media profiles? Do you find that you’re connecting with people more through their profiles versus email? What other ways do you use Gmail to improve productivity?

While in college studying for my Masters degree in English, I was fortunate to have a wonderful professor who literally beat us over the head with regard to pruning wordy copy.

She absolutely hated sentences that began with “there are.” My papers would come back with this phrase crossed out in red ink. I learned pretty quickly to not use it.

Beginning a sentence with “there are” takes away the power in a sentence and the thought being expressed ends up sounding weak.

Plus, beginning a sentence with “there are” is just plain lazy — especially if you call yourself a writer.

Next time you write something, go back through the piece and search for the “there are” constructions and eliminate them, then reconstruct your sentences. I guarantee your copy will read 100% better.

Having just secured my Facebook branded URL, I was reminded again why using the same “brand” across all social media properties is important.

When it comes to business and marketing, one’s good name has always been a sterling asset, and with the rise of social media, it’s imperative you “own” your name and use it in order to build your brand and reputation — whether you work for a company or you’re in business for yourself.

What follows are five basic strategies for building your brand online.

1. Purchase your name as a URL

If you are like me, you have a number of people across the U.S. who share your name. (I’ve found five people named “Dianna Huff” on Facebook, for example.)

If you haven’t already, buy your name as a URL — i.e. www.janesmith.com — from a registrar such as GoDaddy.

Buying your name allows you to then point this URL to your existing Website or use it as your Website URL if you’re in business for yourself.

I use “www.dhcommunications.com” as my primary URL because that’s my business name, and I point “diannahuff.com” to my site. This means that if someone types “diannahuff.com” into a Web browser, they’re taken to my site automatically.

If you work for a company, you can use your URL to send and receive personal “branded” email — a good thing should you have to find a new job. Think about how this email address looks on a resume, “joe@joeschmo.com” versus “joeschmo@gmail.com.”

You can also use your URL for a blog (where you showcase your industry expertise) and send prospective employers to it in addition to your LinkedIn page.

2. Complete a Google Profile

When I first learned of Google Profiles, I didn’t think I needed one since it’s easy to find me via a Google search.

However, I changed my mind pretty quickly when I learned another “Dianna Huff” had nabbed “my” name. D’oh! (I ended up having to include my middle initial for my profile.)

Having a Google Profile also ensures you show up on the first page of the Google search results (albeit at the bottom) — an important consideration if you share a name with a famous person (i.e. Liz Taylor) who hogs the first and even second page search results.

If you do share a name with someone famous, do what David Meerman Scott does and use your middle name or your middle initial to set you apart. (And don’t forget to buy the URL of this version of your name.)

3. Use the same name across all social media

I’ve noticed some consultants will use a Twitter screen name that describes their services. While doing this tells people what you do, it doesn’t tell them who you are — and I don’t know about you, but I remember people by name, not by job function.

To help people remember your name and to connect the dots across social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, use the same name everywhere.

And, don’t forget to use your name when commenting on business blogs, too.

(Quick tip: When developing your Twitter profile, add your first and last name to your Profile under “Settings.” This makes it easy to find you via Twitter’s “People Search” function.)

4. Become an expert

I read somewhere that expert status isn’t bestowed on you, you have to claim it for yourself.

To become an expert, learn about a niche or specific aspect of your industry. If your target audience is lawyers, for example, learn everything you can about them, and then become the go-to person who knows everything and anything about lawyers and marketing, lawyers and HR, lawyers and building a practice — whatever it is that you do for lawyers.

How do you learn? Read. Everything.

My good buddy Mac McIntosh once said that you can become an expert in five years if you read one hour a day on your chosen topic. You can cut that time in half by reading two hours a day.

I repeated this advice to my other good friend, Tom Ahern, a few years ago, and he’s now one of the top fundraising consultants in the U.S.

(You can listen to his success story by downloading my podcast interview of him.)

5. Talk about your expertise

Write e-newsletters about your topic, publish articles on other sites, start a blog, speak at conferences and develop how-to guides and white papers.

Consider publishing an e-book that addresses an industry challenge or that takes a contrarian point of view — or do as my client, Dora Vell, CEO of Vell Executive Search did: publish your own data that the press then writes about.

Once you get your name out there, people will associate it with your area of expertise, making you the expert — which then translates into more links to your site, and if you’re a consultant or business, more sales.

You can do lots of other things to build your online brand. Please feel free to share your particular strategy.

I love seeing cool and original marketing campaigns — and one arrived at my doorstep yesterday in the form of chocolate covered grasshoppers.

Yep. They arrived in a white plastic ziplock pouch with copy that read:

You’re a risk-taker, a dream-realizer. What’s left to do that you haven’t already done? Eat a grasshopper. They’re farm raised, covered in chocolate and rich in protein. So, not only will you be breaking boundaries, but you’ll be eating healthy, too.

A tag attached to the pouch gives a clue as to why I received this culinary delight: “Entrepreneurs can change the world. Join the movement now! grasshopper.com/idea”

My son got pretty excited and went to check out the site but couldn’t figure out what the company was offering . . . after viewing the site, I think the company is offering a service where you sign on for a national telephone number that then sends your voice mail messages to your email, Blackberry, etc.

I think the service is a great idea, and I love the campaign, but I’m not sure why I was targeted. Apparently, 5,000 of us received the grasshoppers (the tag says I have grasshopper bag #1343 of 5,000).

Go check out the site and see what you think. And, let me know if you would eat chocolate-covered grasshoppers.

Update:

Did some research on this chocolate covered grasshopper campaign.

According to a Fox News video, a company in Needham, MA sent the grasshoppers to 5,000 “of the most influential people in the U.S.” in the hopes that these people would then talk about the company and its campaign (ahem).

Having spent the last few days looking at the pouch of grasshoppers sitting on my desk, I am still of two minds concerning this campaign.

On the one hand, I agree with Internet Marketing Consultant Brent Csutoras who says this is a very clever social media campaign.

On the other hand, I also agree with Dave Ibsen, author of 5 Blogs Before Lunch, who says that he’s not sure why he needs an “Advanced Number” or even what an “Advanced Number” is.

As I posted above, that is exactly what I thought when I viewed the company’s Website.

So, the company got me and lots of other people to write about its campaign — which according to the Fox News video, was the company’s objective.

But, it didn’t get me to buy — or even consider its service. Is the campaign a failure or success?

When you sit at your desk all day (the way I do), it’s easy to fall into bad eating habits. To aliveate stress and break up boredom, I often snack: chips, crackers, nuts, and candy get consumed pretty regularly (which is one reason why I work out!).

In this guest blog post, Marci Anderson, Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer, gives tips for healthy snacking when you’re crunched for time. Take it away, Marci!

As a nutrition therapist I get to talk about one of my very favorite subjects A LOT — food. But for most of you, food is the last thing on your mind when you’re slammed and a deadline is fast approaching.

Let me assure you that feeding your body and your brain is an essential component for increasing productivity, enhancing your mood, and improving your health. And after counseling hundreds of people, I’ve discovered one nutrition principle that is either friend or foe — snacking.

Here are the four most common pitfalls busy professionals make when it comes to snacking, as well as four simple solutions to break the bad habit cycle.

Pitfall #1: Going too long without eating.

When work is busy its easy to push eating to the back burner. I recommend eating every 4-5 hours. This becomes much more manageable when your snack is pre-planned and convenient (see next tip).

Pitfall #2: Falling victim to the nearest vending machine or candy jar.

When ravenous hunger strikes and you don’t have a nutritious snack handy, anything (and everything) will do. Before going to sleep at night, pre-plan a snack or two to bring to work with you and keep it easily accessible.

Pitfall #3: Snacking on carbohydrates solo (i.e. candy, crackers, fruit).

No, carbs are not evil. But they are metabolized very quickly, supplying your body with instant energy. If you feel hungry 30 minutes after eating an apple, now you know why. A snack should reflect a mini-meal with carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Carbohydrates supply quick energy and are good for the brain, protein supplies longer lasting energy keeping you fuller longer, and fats trigger hormones which elicit feelings of satiety and satisfaction.

Pitfall #4: Munching to procrastinate.

Yes, eating is a very effective way to avoid a project or assignment. But the consequences are often less than desirable. If you need a distraction try a few jumping jacks, push-ups, or lunges. Taking 60 seconds to increase your heart rate will clear your mind and reduce your levels of stress and anxiety.

Here are 4 super simple snacking solutions that are well-balanced, affordable, and tasty.

1. Cottage cheese with fruit. Do not buy fat-free. I go for Hood Cottage Cheese with pineapple.

2. Whole grain crackers with peanut butter or almond butter. I make mini-sandwiches (PB smeared between two crackers) ahead of time and keep them stored in a zip-loc.

3. Yogurt with slivered almonds. Again, I avoid fat-free yogurt. The 6 oz. Activia yogurt is tasty and just the right size.

4. Larabars. If you like convenience food, this is a MUST. These bars are made with dried fruit, nuts, and spices, minimally processed, and filled with healthy fats and fiber. You can find them at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco, and even Amazon.

For more nutritious tips, check out Marci’s blog at http://www.marcird.com/_blog/blog. You can learn more about Marci by visiting her website — she’s based in Massachusetts and helps people find healthy balance through daily exercise and proper nutrition.

“Omit needless words.”

Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think, used the above sentence as a chapter heading regarding Web content.

I keep this sentence in my head when editing copy. Cutting needless words from your copy makes it easier to read and make the copy “flow” better. It’s akin to pulling weeds from your flower bed — the more weeds you pull, the better your flowers look.

When I edit copy, I play a game with myself: how much copy can I cut yet still communicate the message and keep a smooth flow? Herewith, my tips for cutting words, phrases, and even entire paragraphs:

1. Keep yourself to a specific word count. One of the reasons I love Twitter is because I have to write concise messages in 140 characters or less. If you’re a veteran copywriter, it’s the same process as writing those 25-word “blurbs” for print publications or classified ads.

Adhering to a word count means you have to really work at getting your message across quickly and in fewer words. It’s actually a lot of fun.

2. Don’t fall in love with your copy. Because I’ve been writing since my college days, I have no problem with cutting entire pages of copy and starting over. Words come easy to me.

For others, however, writing is a hard process and once something is on paper, you’re loathe to cut it because then you have to struggle to write more. Cut it anyway. I’ve found that when I cut  copy I’ve fallen in love with, it’s easier to write something even better because now I have the “space” to do so.

3. Hunt down redundancies. When I write fast and without effort, I find my copy is full of useless words that I use over and over and ideas that I communicate two or three or four times (just like this sentence, ha!).

Here is how I can edit this sentence: When writing fast and without effort, my copy becomes bloated with useless words and repeated ideas.

4. Print out the piece and look at it. While sitting with my client today, I realized that the Web content I had initially submitted really could use some pruning. The copy didn’t look dense on my computer screen, but it sure did on paper with the large blocks of text and “explanatory” verbiage that could easily be cut.

5. Consider *every* word. When brevity counts, you have to consider every word on the page. Can you combine words and ideas? Can you cut prepositions? Can you use contractions? Can you eliminate whole sentences? Instead of saying, “She was born in Boston,” simply state, “Jane Smith, a Boston native . . . .”

What are your tips for pruning deadwood from your copy?

Learn how you can improve your white paper copywriting skills — and grow your freelance business — by attending the first ever White Paper Success Summit.

Michael Stelzner sees a need . . . and fills it

A few months ago, my colleague Michael Stelzner (*the* go-to guy who knows anything and everything about white papers)  taught hundreds of freelance copywriters how to market their services at his online copywriting summit. 

According to Mike, lots of people wanted to know how they, too, could make thousands of dollars writing white papers.  (Michael says he didn’t hide the fact that he makes $7500 per paper and usually runs four projects each month.)

Because of the response, Michael had planned on offering a white paper event for freelancers in the spring of 2009. But the economy caused him to rethink things.  Nobody could have imagined how many businesses would end up suffering from the recent economic fallout.

“It became immediately apparent to me that waiting until the spring to offer a white paper event for freelance writers would be too late,” says Michael. “Let me explain why.”

“You see, back in 2002, just after the last major stock market crash, white papers took off as super-powerful marketing tools for businesses.  Why? Because businesses needed resources that would help them sell under the radar to customers who were frankly resistant to spending any money.”

According to Mike, smart businesses were achieving amazing success with white papers.  So much so that literally overnight, thousands of white papers were being produced to generate leads and help businesses stand out.

Today we are at the front end of the very same pattern that occurred in 2002, but the need is even bigger! 

Why Michael worked non-stop all through the holiday madness 

To meet this need, Michael put together the best panel ever on creating marketing white papers. He’s calling his brainstorm the White Paper Success Summit 2009 and his goal is to empower freelance writers to create white papers that help businesses achieve success. 

Michael is a great guy and really knows his stuff — I know, because I interviewed him for the definitive MarketingSherpa reports on white papers, read his book, Writing White Papers, and have been a guest on his hugely popular teleclass series. 

And, because this is a recession and you need to watch your bucks, Michael has made this White Paper Summit *very attractive* for freelancers.

First, you’ll save huge dollars by not having to pay for airline tickets, hotel costs, or other expenses because the entire White Paper Success Summit is being held online.

Second, if you register now, you’ll save 40% off the regular admission price.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Register for the White Paper Success Summit today!

In the past, I’ve posted examples of landing pages that didn’t quite work.

However, I just ran into a GREAT landing page produced by the Womack Company, whose ad in this morning’s HARO email caught my eye.

(For those you who don’t know, HARO emails come three times a day — and they are stuffed full of queries from reporters and editors.)

Womack helps professionals overcome the daily overwhelm of email, meetings and other distractions, so of course I clicked through to their landing page and was pleasantly surprised to read this ad-specific headline and copy:

Want more time for HARO? We show you how . . .

We’re huge fans of HARO ourselves, so we’re delighted you’re here. We know you’re great at what you do. You’re organized and productive, and now you’re considering taking on something new… But you’re already busy. And there’s another HARO email coming any minute now…

We help workplace performance, so you have the time for what you want in life. We study this stuff, so you don’t have to. Fine tuning your organizational tools, technology and systems. That’s what we do.

The page includes a number of different ways you can interact with the Womack Company including:

1. An e-newsletter — If you don’t read the newsletter by the end of the week, Womack will remove your name. That is how serious they are about your time effectiveness. (I instantly signed up.)

2. The HARO DVD package — Learn how to save an hour a day, and if you’re a member of HARO, you get a nice discount.

The company also offers articles and individual coaching.

What I like about this page is that it offers products at all levels of the sales cycle. I’ve never heard of the Womack Company, so I started the sales relationship by signing up for the e-newsletter. If I like it, I might order the DVD/CD package.

I also like that it’s tied directly to the HARO ad and that it has a “home-grown” feeling versus being agency slick. Including a picture of Jodi Womack and HARO’s Peter Shankman gave the entire promo total credibility. In addition, the copy lacks hype and hard sell and is down-right friendly to boot. I’m sold.