• By Cathy Goodwin
• Published 07/9/2009
• Writing for the Web

Online business owners are always challenged to create compelling content for their web sites, blogs and articles. For effective copywriting, you can get inspiration from your passions outside your business. As an avid fan of basketball, I believe we can learn a great deal by watching the game. (Anyway, it’s a way to justify the hours and energy invested.) To take just one example, great basketball players take a LOT of shots. They shoot from all over the court, even when they’re double-teamed (which they usually are). They take many bad shots and, every so often, they have a really bad game. When they’re hot, they take three-point shots and make them look easy. Experienced copywriters take shots by writing a LOT of content. They write for web sites, blogs, ezines, article distribution services, and more. When they don’t have clients, they create products and use their skills to write promotional copy.

Copywriters warm up by taking LOTS of shots…at headlines, openings and bullets. Some write twenty, fifty or even a hundred headlines before choosing two or three to test. They test three or four openings to see which has the best chance to hook their targe

t markets. Players who keep passing the ball, waiting for a perfect shot, come across as timid. Fans get frustrated. Let’s not even wonder what the coaches are thinking. Timid players often end up creating turnovers. In the same way, sometimes you can’t keep waiting for the perfect words and the ideal ideas. Often it’s better to take your best shot – write the best sales letter or web site page you can – and then test to see what happens. When you wait for perfection, your competitor might jump in, just as the opposing team can grab a pass and race down the court for an easy lay-up. Copywriters can’t be afraid to take risks when they write. When you write an edgy sales letter or send around a controversial article, you lose subscribers and you get critical comments from self-appointed “referees.” But you also attract your most lucrative clients and your strongest business allies. Basketball players keep their game faces. They always look they really want to be out on the court playing. Some of the great ones look like they’re having fun.

That’s the recipe for copywriting, too. Take a lot of shots. Don’t wait till everything is perfect. Take calculated risks. And look like you’re having fun. Readers, like fans, can always tell.

And now I invite you to learn more about how you can use copywriting to increase web site sales and attract more clients, more easily and effortless than you might realize. Get immediate access to my free guide, “7 Copywriting Tips To Jumpstart Your Sales.” Free Copywriting Tips . From Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., Copywriter and Web Site Marketing Coach. Copy-Cat-Copywriting.com

by Cathy Goodwin