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Common Math Mistakes People Need to Stop Making

Remember how you were always told to pay attention in math class? If you did, then you wouldn’t have been caught making these common math mistakes. Take a look at these real-life marketing examples and see if you can catch where the math went wrong.

Math Mistakes that Cost Money

Remember when your math teacher taught you about fractions? Back then, you might not have realized how fractions could help you to decide which burger to buy. In the 1980s, A&W marketed their competition for McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.

The A&W one-third pound hamburger was a hit with customers who liked the taste and thought it was a better product than the Quarter Pounder. Both burgers were the same price. However, people thought that price-wise, the quarter-pound hamburger was the better deal.

Consumers believed that four was bigger than three, which meant that for the same price, a quarter-pound of meat was the better value.

Sometimes, marketers and businesses just cannot assume that consumers know how to compare fractions.

Best Value for Your Money

Sometimes a marketing blunder occurs because people just can’t do the math. At other times, marketers are counting on consumer math skills to influence what they buy.

Take a look at these price points. You can get the small fries for $6.00. Or you can pay a dollar more for twice the amount of fries at 32 oz. Seems like a bargain! Then you have the third choice, $9.50 for almost three times the amount of fries. Which one is the best bargain?

When considering the three choices, you’re not just looking for the best bargain anymore. You’re looking for the best value. The large size seems to be the best value for your money, as well as the best choice.

Think again, however. Do you want to buy 88 oz of fries? Sometimes the math isn’t about calculating the best value, but the best deal for what you need. If 32 oz of fries is enough for you, then paying a dollar more for twice the fries (32 oz) is the best choice.

One Little Dot Makes a Big Difference

How are your money math skills? In a few different price listings, we’ve noticed the placement of a little dot can make a big difference. Look at the picture that follows.

What would you rather pay for? 89¢ pancakes or .89¢ pancakes?

Well, 89¢ pancakes seem like a good deal. They cost less than a dollar. But .89¢ pancakes must be from another time! When was the last time you could buy something for less than a penny?

(In the USA, you might be able to find a penny in your pocket to buy your breakfast. In Canada, however, they stopped making pennies, so you can’t even find a penny for your less than a penny pancakes.)

How Much Are You Getting? Do the Math… If You Can!

Do you make mistakes when calculating how much value you’re getting? Someone made a math mistake with percents. See if you can solve the following math problem.

The previous laundry detergent size could wash 25 loads. The new, larger size laundry detergent can clean 53 loads. According to the equation on the ad, 25 + 25 = 53, or roughly double the number of loads for the new size. Seems like the new size is a better deal than the old one… until you notice another number on the bottle.

The new detergent size does 30% more loads than the previous one. The ad wants you to think that 30% approximately doubles what you’ll get with the new product. What do you think?

Key Takeaways

Paying attention in math class does have its benefits! Those math skills can help you to find the best value, catch misleading calculations, and avoid tiny but significant mistakes. Did you catch all the common consumer math mistakes right away?

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Powerful Persuasive Writing Tips You Should Know

Think of the last time you saw an ad that almost persuaded you to buy something you didn’t even need. Well-crafted words can be very convincing and powerful. They can influence your decisions.

Here are some powerful, persuasive writing tips you should know to write copy that convinces your reader to buy from you. First, we start with defining persuasive writing.

What is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive writing is writing that gets your reader to agree with you. To achieve this, you’ll need to have facts, statistics, and other research from credible sources. When your point of view or opinion is backed up with strong and credible evidence, your reader is more likely to agree with you.

What Makes Persuasive Writing “Persuasive”?

Persuasive writing has three key elements. It has ethos, which is the beliefs of a group of people or a culture. If the writer seems to understand the beliefs of the reader, then the writer can write to the reader’s sense of ethos. The second is logos. The writer must appeal to the reader’s sense of logic by providing scientific evidence and facts. The third element is pathos, which is appealing to the passion and feelings of the reader.

If the piece of writing cannot appeal to the reader’s beliefs, sense of logic, or emotions, then it will have difficulty persuading the reader to agree with the point of view it is presenting.

How Can You Use Persuasive Writing at Work?

If your job is to influence people through the written word, then persuasive writing will be an extremely handy skill to have.

The marketing industry needs writers who can write to persuade customers to buy products and services. Advertising and marketing copywriters, for example, write copy for web content, email campaigns, marketing brochures, ads, and corporate brochures.

Persuasive writing skills are also needed for press releases, copy for fundraisers, and articles about government policies.

How Can Persuasive Writing Help Your Business?

Persuading your customers and clients to invest in your products and services is key to your business’s success. Dr. Robert B. Cialdini’s research on the psychology of persuasion has had a tremendous impact on marketing.

One concept he has proven is the principle of reciprocity. Humans naturally want to return favours and pay back debts. An example of this in marketing is a business that gives advice and tips its to website visitors in the form of free blogs, training courses, and PDF downloads. The informative, free content increases the likelihood that people will pay for the company’s products and services in the future.

Another principle is social proof: whatever most people are doing, then someone who joins the group will do the same, even if the behaviour doesn’t make logical sense. Consider how a worker may work a little longer just because everyone else in the department is working late. And think of the last time you decided whether to give a new restaurant a try because of how busy it looked. If you read about a trend that is popular with your age group, you’ll be more likely to try it.

Scarcity is another persuasive tactic. An ad for “the last available room,” “30% off your purchase today only,” and “offer ends at midnight tonight” will create a fear of missing out (FOMO).

Persuasive writing will give people the push they need to decide to subscribe to your email list, buy two for the price of one, sign up for a course, or invest in your consulting services.

Key Takeaways

Persuasive writing uses psychology to give people that nudge to make a decision now. It wins you over with logic and appeals to your emotions. It may even play to your fears (FOMO) or convince you to make a purchase because of the free value you have already received. Persuasive writing creates action through the power of words.

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Metaphor vs Simile vs Analogy: What is the Difference Between Them?

If you could paint a picture with words, what would that image look like? Writers use many literary devices to raise the quality of their descriptions from good to amazing. Three of these devices are metaphor, simile, and analogy. What are these three devices, and what is the difference between each of them?

Let’s take a look at what metaphors, similes, and analogies are and some famous examples of each. When you can create vivid descriptions using them, whether writing at work or writing a poem to a loved one, you can get your point across so much more effectively.

Metaphors Turn Ideas into Pictures

A metaphor compares two things that are different but have something in common. The comparison is indirect, like saying that one thing is like another.

To create a metaphor, think about the idea that you want to express. For example, you want to say that life sometimes feels unreal. What else feels like it isn’t real? Dreams. Movies. The theatre. When you have these two ideas, write the comparison. For example, we have this famous quote by a famous playwright:

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances.”
William Shakespeare

A metaphor turns an idea into a vivid image. You can picture an idea, a memory, or a moment that a writer is sharing much more clearly when you use metaphors. Some writers use extended metaphors, which is the same as taking a comparison and expanding it over several sentences.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson

Metaphors are a succinct way to express a comparison as a vivid image.

Similes Describe Ideas Concisely

A simile is like a metaphor. It compares one thing to something else to make the description easier to picture in your mind. You can identify a simile by checking if the comparison uses “like” or “as.”

We use similes often in our everyday communication. They are especially effective because we can use a few concise words to express an entire thought. Think of the last time you said, “It’s raining like cats and dogs” or “that lecture was as exciting as watching paint dry.”

You could say, “He gave me directions that were really hard to understand. They were so confusing that I got lost.” Or you could say, “His directions were as clear as mud.” We’ve all seen mud before, so we understand just how confused you felt.

Similes can be brief and effective, such as this one:

“Life is like writing with a pen. You can cross out your past but you can’t erase it.”
E.B. White

A simile can also be an idea, such as “be like water” and extended to illustrate what it means to behave like water.

Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
Bruce Lee

Think of all the similes you use in everyday communication, in your emails, your texts, and in conversations. What similes do you use to convey your thoughts?

Analogies Explain by Comparing

An analogy is also a comparison between two things, but the purpose is to explain or clarify what you mean. Metaphors and similes are two types of analogies.

We use analogies often in everyday speech. They have found their way into movies and stories, and they are so popular that you can probably list several analogies from what you’ve watched and read.

One well-known analogy is “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get,” fromthe movie Forrest Gump. Just like a box full of chocolates, life has many surprises.

Another is writer E.B. White’s famous words, “Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.” Sometimes things are better when you don’t understand everything.

Key Takeaway

An analogy compares two things to make a concise explanation. Two types of analogies are similes and metaphors. A metaphor shows how one thing is like another, while a simile compares using “like” or “as.” Use an analogy whenever you want to explain something vividly, just like snapping a photo of your thoughts. It’s economical, precise, and impactful.

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Signs You’re a Bad Writer… and How to Improve

What is a bad writer? I’ve looked at over a handful of articles in search of an explanation of what makes a bad writer, and everyone seems to have a different point of view. Some say it’s the attitude to writing, and others say it’s poor writing skills, such as bad grammar and punctuation.

Writing is both a skill and a work of art, so you could say a bad writer is a mix of someone with a negative attitude to writing and weak writing skills. So how could a bad writer improve their technique? One way is to start by identifying the signs that they’re a bad writer.

Bad Writer Sign #1: Closed Off to Feedback

Bad writers dislike criticism and become defensive the minute they hear that their work is not perfect. They believe there is only one way to write a paragraph, one way to write a story, and that’s their way. They don’t want to see how a sentence could be rewritten to make the meaning clearer.

A bad writer is closed off to feedback and sees comments as an attack on them as a person. They don’t see constructive feedback as a suggestion on how to improve their writing. Instead, they see the comments as a suggestion that they are flawed as a person.

Bad Writer Sign #2: Working on Projects That Last Forever

Some writers blame writer’s block when they start a writing project and never finish. This project could be a short story, an essay, a poem, or a novel. They work on rewrite after rewrite but they never finish what they start.

Writing takes discipline, from setting goals to setting deadlines for completing those goals. A bad writer is constantly stopping before reaching a milestone such as finishing a chapter or completing the final paragraph of a story.

It’s difficult to improve your writing skills if you’ve never finished your first draft of a piece of writing.

Bad Writer Sign #3: Stale Writing Skills

Bad writers have limited vocabulary and sentence structure. They don’t expand their vocabulary to add more variety to their language. Neither do they try to write their sentences in different ways. Each sentence follows the same pattern so that their writing is repetitious.

When a bad writer doesn’t learn more vocabulary or open themselves to criticism, they may also be unaware of incorrect word use, such as mixing up their, there, and they’re; or similar words such as illusion and allusion.

How to Transition from a Bad Writer to a Good Writer

A good writer isn’t necessarily a perfect writer or the best writer. But a good writer will start by learning what they can about writing. They will finish the first draft and be open to feedback on how they can improve. They will work on revisions so that the third draft is an improvement from the first.

Improving one’s writing skills isn’t easy. To make a comparison, writing is like a muscle that can only be strengthened if you use it. With an open attitude to feedback and learning writing skills, a bad writer could become a good writer over time!

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What is Copywriting?

Stellar copywriting grabs your attention, pushes your buttons, and persuades you to buy a product or service. Good copywriting gets you hooked when you read the first word, but great copywriting is what keeps you reading until the last.

So what is copywriting? It’s more than just putting a bunch of words together on a page. It’s the copy – also called sales copy – used in marketing and promotional materials. There’s a lot more technique to it than the report writing and essay writing they teach you in school. Here’s a closer look at what copywriting is… and what makes it so enticing.

Copywriting Speaks to You

Copywriting is like hearing the voice inside your head speaking to you. You’re having a conversation with the page. The copywriter did a lot of research before writing the first word to really understand you, the reader, and what you’re looking for.

The copywriter carefully crafted the headline to capture your attention and grab your curiosity. You want to know the answer the headline is asking.

Like a trail of breadcrumbs, you’re drawn to the heading, then you read the first sentence to find out more information. But it doesn’t stop there. That first sentence knows exactly what you’re thinking. You had a question, a problem, or a pain point on your mind and that first paragraph just stated what you’re thinking. So you keep reading.

You keep reading that paragraph, and the next and the next until you’ve reached the end, when it asks you to take action and sign up or buy something and you do. The copy is convincing because it understands you.

The Real Nuts and Bolts of Copywriting

It seems seamless and magical, the way the words flow, but there is a technique to crafting killer copy. First, the copywriter researched their audience. They want to know them and what’s on their mind. They’ve asked themselves, “What keeps my reader awake at night?”

When you understand your audience’s pain, you can push their buttons and evoke their emotions. Copywriters tell stories that relate to what their audience has been through, whether it is struggling with finances, business, self-esteem, or relationships.

Second, copywriting is concise and skimmable. The words are short and conversational, without jargon or corporate speak. Copywriting also backs up claims with reputable sources. It claims to have solutions to financial or relationship challenges, and provides evidence that if you take action, what you want can be achieved.

Finally, copywriting has a way of creating urgency. The reader needs to take action, and take action now or miss out. It’s the reader’s chance to solve the problem that’s been on their mind.

Key Takeaways

If you’re wondering, “What is copywriting?” the short answer is copywriting is sales copy. Its purpose is to sell and the techniques are subtle. Copywriting is like reading a conversation with a friend who understands a problem that’s on your mind. It’s this understanding and a sense of urgency that persuades you to take action to find the solution that you need.

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