Comments on: Online Sales Software Is Getting More Relevant: Is Your Copy Doing the Same?

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:44:14 +0000

One wonders how “Lemon” would have rated.

By: Dean Mullis

Dean Mullis — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:35:17 +0000

This is the best balanced review of Glyphius I have found http://www.pickaguru.com/misc-glyphius.html
It lists the positive and negative aspects of Glyphius. The review ended saying basically what Roberta said above, it is a good tool but not a substitute for good writing.
One thing of interest in the review was when Glyphius was used on the famous line “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play!”, it rated it a negative 27.

By: Roberta Rosenberg

Roberta Rosenberg — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:38:53 +0000

I think so, Tom. I think Glyphius is used best for short sentences and phrases, hence its usefulness primarily for heads/leads. Sometimes I find the results anti-intuitive yet it works.

Assume nothing. Test everything.

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:56:45 +0000

Thanks Roberta. Am I right in assuming its use for copy (vs headlines) is somewhat limited?

By: Roberta Rosenberg

Roberta Rosenberg — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:12:14 +0000

I’ve used Glyphius to help me develop test heads and teasers. More often, the G-juiced heads did better … but not always. It’s a fine tool to support your creativity, not a substitute for it.

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:01:07 +0000

Dom: I haven’t tried it. I expect it might offer some benefits in general consumer markets, but I tend to work in niches where I suspect — because it doesn’t “know” the market — it’s less useful.

If you can’t test (gasp) it could be very useful, but I would never use it as a substitute for creativity or a great idea.

By: Dom King

Dom King — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:52:27 +0000

Has anyone tried using Glyphius to improve their sales copy? I’m tempted to get it, but I’m not sure.

By: Tom Chandler

Tom Chandler — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:01:47 +0000

Joseph: Thanks! I don’t know about staying ahead, but waking up one morning and realizing the parade’s about a mile down the street and moving fast isn’t a picnic either.

Roberta: Great point. One analyst dubbed this class of product “Behavioral recommendation” software — a chilling phrase which makes me want to reprise the role of the hammer-thrower in Apple’s “1984″ ad.

I refused to include it in the messaging.

I think the public is happy to get relevant shopping recommendations while online, and deathly afraid of having data from many different sources — most of it collected without their knowledge — collated into something kinda nasty.

This, fortunately, isn’t that.

Frankly, I share some of those concerns. Privacy is one of the next big frontiers in marketing. A few missteps and the industry could see some serious repercussions on the political and legislative fronts.

By: Roberta Rosenberg

Roberta Rosenberg — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:24:12 +0000

What a spot-on read that should strike terror into the hearts of copywriters and their clients who think the ‘SOS’ will continue to work. My second thought was on the flip. With customers so freaked about privacy concerns, will truly relevant promotions freak them out, too?

I think my concerns may be somewhat generational but I think we need to figure out the fine line between “Wow” and “Ohmigod.”

By: Joseph Ratliff

Joseph Ratliff — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:17:02 +0000

Tom,

Congratulations on your Top 10 Blog for Writers award!

As for this post, a professional copywriter must keep up with their industry, actually keep AHEAD of their industry to include the latest techniques and marketing methodologies in order to survive.

Knowing the latest on the product you are writing about is really one of the basics…and I do hope that all copywriters keep abreast on those types of things.

Joseph Ratliff
Author of The Profitable Business Edge 2