Archive for May 2007
How to Set Up Your INDEX Page Numbers Correctly in FrameMaker
© 2007-2010 Ugur Akinci FrameMaker, like all powerful tools, can be frustrating if you do not know how to use it properly. For example, FM has one of the most reliable and versatile book indexing functionalities under the sun. But setting it right might require paying attention to what’s going on in the Reference Pages…
Read MoreImportance of Testimonials in Copywriting
Introduction Testimonials are the best way to present the credibility of a product. A good testimonial will provide a personal account of how the product helped them. A testimonial may sound like an advertisement, but it’s actually written by someone who had a good experience with your product or service. Testimonials are proven to have…
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Three Masters of Copy who are not “Copywriters”
Introduction Copywriting is the art and science of persuading people to take certain actions. The “copy” in copywriting simply means prose, and a good copy is any piece of text that communicates well. The copywriter’s job is to understand their audience and design a message that resonates with them. They use the right words, images,…
Read MoreWrite with Parallel Construction
Introduction Violation of parallel construction is the bane of commercial copy. Sentences, and sometimes whole paragraphs of copy, lose their direction and fail to communicate their core message if they are composed with unparallel components. Parallelism can be used to emphasize the contrast between different ideas, for example: I went to work and saw my…
Read MoreWrite Powerful Copy by Eliminating Old and Tired Expressions
You’ll increase your web site traffic faster if you use clean and short sentences. Remember: less is more. Eliminate all hackneyed expressions from your prose for some snappy copy. Examples: ——————————————————– Ring the bell in order to get service. BETTER: Ring the bell to get service. ——————————————————– Truth of the matter is, there is something…
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Use “Fewer” or “Less” Correctly
Introduction “Fewer” or “Less” is one of the most common questions that writers face. There are grammatical rules about which word to use in certain cases, but it’s easy to be confused when you have two words with similar meanings. It’s hard to know what is correct for each usage. People often use fewer where…
Read MoreTechnical Editing: 4 More Examples
Introduction Technical editing is half art and half science. In order to edit technical documents, it is important to know the type of language that is required for a given document. The target audience of a technical document may be engineers, executives or managers. The level of knowledge and expertise needed for editing a technical…
Read MoreBad English (or “Scamglish”) Gives Away E-Mail Scams
I’ve yet received another “Lottery Winning Notification” – this time from Microsoft (!). Ho ho ho! There are two items that give away these scams immediately: 1) The domain name of the return link is invariably registered in some foreign country (Hong Kong, Slovenia, Russia, UK, Netherlands, Japan, etc.) but never in the United States.…
Read MoreHow long online marketing copy can be?
The question comes up from time to time: “How long an online sales letter should be?” People new to direct marketing are a bit reluctant to send long letters for fear of “boring” their prospective customers. And that sounds like a valid point indeed in this day and age of soundbites, short YouTube clips and…
Read More3 Technical Editing Examples
Introduction Technical editing is an important job in the writing industry. But not everyone has the skills to edit these documents. Technical editors are professionals who make sure that the document is grammatically correct, easily readable and informative. Technical editing demands a different set of skills than general editing does. Technical editors must be able…
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