Tavaliselt ma päevakajalistest asjadest ei kirjuta, aga hiljuti käsitles Kotkas Äripäevas teemat, mis mulle endalegi sügavamalt korda läheb. Täpsemalt ütles ta:

Kui me suudaks inseneride hulka kordades suurendada ehk siis populariseerida oluliselt rohkem reaalharidust, oleksime ka oluliselt rikkam riik. Miks me ei taha olla insenerirahvas? No ju siis meile ei meeldi parem elu.

Enamik ühiskondlikust diskussioonist käib tänapäeval selle üle, kuidas mõnel on liiga palju, teisel liiga vähe, kuidas anda, kuidas võtta ja kuidas üleüldse on elu väga karm, kole ja ebaõiglane.

Selle asemel võiks aga ju keskenduda küsimusele, kuidas meie ühist pirukat suuremaks kasvatada, mitte pisikest jupitada. Suurim ühiskondlik väärtus tekib tänapäeval eelkõige uute asjade väljamõtlemise, elluviimise ning efektiivse tootmise kaudu, selleks aga on vaja:

1. Insenerkonda, kes vastavate tehniliste lahendustega hakkama saaks.
2. Ettevõtjaid, kes neile inseneridele hea loomekeskkonna rajavad.

Praegu on Eestis võrreldes nt USA, Jaapani või Soomega mõlemast struktuurne puudus ja kuni see ei muutu, ei kasva ka meie pirukas. Loomulikult ei teki kumbki klass inimesi iseenesest, selleks on omakorda vaja järgmisi muutusi inimeste suhtumises:

1. Au sisse tõsta ratsionaalne maailmakäsitlus ja kriitiline mõtlemine. Mingil kombel oleme vajunud intellektuaalsesse sohu, kus isegi “kvaliteetajakirjandus” käsitleb tõemeeli homöopaatiat ja UFOsid kõrvuti päris teemadega ning keegi ei vaevu mõttevirkust üles näitama ning kirjutajat liistule tõmbama, kas ta oma väiteid ka kaitsta suudab.
2. Edendada harjumust probleeme lahendada. Eestis muidu toredate kohalike progejatega koos töötades tuleb mul teinekord nutumaik suhu, kui keegi jälle ütleb, et oi, see on nii keeruline asi, mina küll ei tea, kuidas seda teha või uurida. No mis siis, et keeruline, hakka kusagilt servast harutama ja küll ta välja tuleb. Aga näed, ei oska isegi harutama hakata.
3. Tõsta ettevõtluse mainet. Paljude eestlaste jaoks on ettevõtja ikka suli ja kaabakas, mis on tohutu kontrast nt USA suhtumisega, kus antakse aru, et ettevõtja on see, kes tekitab teistele töökohti ja aitab neil ühiskondlikku väärtust luua. Ameerikas töötades puutusin kokku nt keskealise naisega, kes töötas UPSi kontoris, kuid unistas oma eradetektiivibüroost, orienteerujaga, kes eksportis puitu Jaapanisse, süsopiga, kes sebis töö kõrvalt väikest plaadistamisettevõtet teha jne jne, kõigil oli ettevõtmispisik sees ja ümbritsevad inimesed respekteerisid seda.

Muidugi ei muutu ka inimeste suhtumine üleöö, selle aluseks on omakorda haridus. Konkreetsete ideedena:

1. Vähendada laste hirmu reaalainete, eriti matemaatika ees, seostades seda rohkem tegeliku eluga. Näidata lastele, kuidas maailm töötab, sealhulgas tehnoloogia ja majandus, ning kuidas matemaatika on selle aluseks.
2. Õpetada oluliselt rohkem loogikat. Praegu on algklasside matemaatikatunnid ainult üks suur arvutamise õppimine. Kunagi olid 3 klassi õpikutes sees näited stiilis “see lause on väär” või “kui päike paistab, siis on ilm soe”, praegu ma sellise alusstruktuuri loomist sealt enam ei leidnud. Kui meil on seljaajusse jõudnud peamised süllogismid ning meetod, kuidas ühtedest faktidest teisi tuletatakse, jääb ühiskonnas ka igasugust häma palju vähemaks.
3. Integreerida matemaatika ja füüsika õpetamine. Praegu on matemaatikaõpetajad tihti kimbatuses, kui neilt küsitakse, miks mul seda ruutvõrrandit (või vektorit või tuletist) vaja on? Kui aga kohe pärast matemaatikatundi teha füüsikatunnis praktilisi ülesandeid sellest, kuidas rakett ümber Kuu lendab, asetuvad ka vektorid oma kohale.
4. Rohkem esimesest klassist algava reaalainete süvaõppega koole. Praegu on neid Eestis minu teada vaid üks, ennast targaks linnaks pidavas Tartus aga võib su laps olla ükskõik kui suur tehnika ja matemaatika huviline, variante pole.
5. Matemaatika riigieksam. Selle kohustuslikkuse kaotamine ning matemaatika tundide asendamine ajaloo ja muu humanitaariaga on minu arvates maksnud Eestile tänaseks peaaegu 10% SKP-st. Kui eksamit peetakse liiga raskeks, olgu siis nt A ja B variandid erinevate raskustega, aga mitte olukord, kus terve keskkooli vältel on võimalik reaalaineid täielikult ignoreerida. See ei tähenda muuseas, et kõik peaks ülikoolis mingit seonduvat eriala edasi õppima, aga ka torumees või elektrik, kes on saanud koolis kirjanduse ajaloo asemel ekstra füüsika tunni, on arvatavasti produktiivsem. (Paneme tähele, et teatrikriitiku kohta vastupidine näide ei kehti!)
6. Füüsika ja tehnikakallakuga koolid (või vähemalt üks kool). Mitte lihtsalt reaalkallakuga, vaid selline, kus on juba põhikoolis füüsika fakultatiivkursused.
7. Lapsevanemates arusaam, et reaalained tagavad edu. Pärast Eesti vabanemist tekkis ühiskonnas mingil moel mõtlemine, et vaja on õppida eelkõige keeli, kõnekunsti ja avalikkussuhteid. Need kõik on vajalikud, kuid ei muuda fakti, et IT-spetsialist, keemik või aatomiinsener teenib maailmas keskmiselt oluliselt rohkem kui tõlk või PRi tegija.

Ehk siis kokkuvõttes saame järgmise pildi:

Ja kui ära teeme, oleme viie (ja mitte teistest aeglasemalt kasvava Euroopa, vaid maailma) rikkaima riigi seas nagu naksti. 

Garage48 Tartu has 17 super energetic teams building and launching services today at 6pm EET. Follow the projects and vote for your favourites. You can follow the demo event via live video stream.

Defolio - Winner of Garage48 Tartu 2010Collaborative design website that enables working together with other designers. The site organizes and back ups everything. Includes file versioning, free for open source projects. Subscription for private projects, multiple users, more storage.
Site: http://www.defol.io/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/defoliodesign
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/defolio
Team members: Tõnu Runnel, Priit Haamer, Siim Teller, Fred Koppel, Anton Narusberg, Ahti Heinla, Tanel Jakobsoo, Kristjan Jansen

Tänasest hakkame TEDxTartu blogis tutvustama huvitavaid TED konverentside kõnesid.

Meie missiooniks seda tehes on viia TEDi videod inimesteni, kes neist veel kuulnud ei ole ning julgustada vahel heade kõnede kuulamiseks aega võtma neid, kes end juba TEDi huvilisteks loevad.

Püüame valikusse kaasata videoid erinevatest eluvaldkondadest “vanadest klassikutest” uuemate TEDi kõnedeni.

Loodame, et leiate siit tulevikus enda jaoks midagi uudset ja huvitavat ning kutsume videote vaatamisel tekkinud mõtteid meiega jagama.

Esimeseks tutvustatavaks videoks on valitud seni enim vaadatud kõne – Sir Ken Robinsoni loovuse teemaline esinemine 2006. aasta TED konverentsil. Kõne suurimaks väärtuseks on selle sisu ja Sir Ken Robinsoni võrratu esinemisoskus, mis panevad südamest naerma ja mõjuvad liigutavalt.

Ilma pikema sissejuhatuseta, head vaatamist!

Many people ask me, “How can I get started in web design?” or, “What skills do I need to start making web applications?” While it would be easy to recommend stacks of books, and dozens of articles with 55 tips for being 115% better than the next guy, the truth is that you don’t need learn anything new in order to begin. The most important thing is simply to start.

Start making something. If you want to learn web design, make a website. Want to be an entreprenuer and start a business selling web based products? Make an app. Maybe you don’t have the skills yet, but why worry about that? You probably don’t even know what skills you need.

Start with what you already know

If you want to build something on the web, don’t worry about learning HTML, CSS, Ruby, PHP, SQL, etc. They might be necessary for a finished product, but you don’t need any of them to start. Why not mock-up your app idea in Keynote or Powerpoint? Draw boxes for form fields, write copy, link this page to that page. You can make a pretty robust interactive prototype right there with software you already know. Not computer saavy? Start with pencil and paper or Post-it Notes. Draw the screens, tape them to the wall, and see how it flows.

You probably don’t even know what skills you need, so don’t worry about it. Start with what you already know.

You can do a lot of the work with simple sketches or slides. You’ll be able to see your idea take form and begin to evaluate whether or not it really is something special. It’s at that point you can take the next step, which might be learning enough HTML to take your prototype into the browser. The point is, go as far as you can with the skills and tools that you have.

Avoid self doubt

Many times the reasons we don’t start something have nothing to do with lack of skills, materials, or facilities. The real blockers are self-criticism and excuses. In the excellent book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, the author, Betty Edwards, discusses how we all draw as kids but around adolescence, many of us stop developing that ability.

“The beginning of adolescence seems to mark the abrupt end of artistic development in terms of drawing skills for many adults. As children, they confronted an artisitc crisis, a conflict between their increasingly complex perceptions of the world around them and their current level of art skill.”

At that age kids become increasingly self-critical and equally interested in drawing realistically. When they fail to draw as well as they know is possible many give up drawing at all.

This feeling continues into adulthood. We want to design a website or build an application but if our own toolset doesn’t match up to the perceived skillset we never start. It doesn’t help that the internet gives us nearly limitless exposure to amazing work, talented individuals, and excellent execution. It’s easy to feel inadequate when you compare yourself to the very best, but even they weren’t born with those skills and they wouldn’t have them if they never started.

Do—there is no try

People who succeed somehow find a way to keep working despite the self-doubt. The artist, Vincent Van Gogh was only an artist for the last ten years of his life. We all know him for masterful works of art, but he didn’t start out as a master. Compare these examples from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain showing an early drawing compared to one completed two years later:

He wasn’t some child prodigy (he was 27 when he started painting), he learned his craft by hard work. If he’d listened to his own self doubt or despaired that his skills didn’t compare to Paul Gauguin’s it’s likely he never would have even tried.

This is all to say that there are many things that can get in the way of the things we should be creating. To never follow a dream because you don’t think you’re good enough or don’t have the skills, or knowledge, or experience is a waste. In fact, these projects where there is doubt are the ones to pursue. They offer the greatest challenge and the greatest rewards. Why bother doing something you already have done a hundred times, where there is nothing left to learn? Don’t worry about what you need to know in order to finish a project, you already have everything you need to start.

Photo by vonSchnauzer

By Mark Harrison

We are often told that change is uncomfortable and difficult, that it inevitably involves pain, and that to change your life is to struggle and fight against the status quo. But there is another way. Change can be gentle, spontaneous and natural – effortless, even. With the right approach, big changes can occur without the upheavals we might normally associate with such shifts.

You create your own experience of life

It seems to be a rule of nature that similar things conglomerate. People from a similar social or cultural background are drawn together by a shared worldview; the rich and famous socialize within their own circle; similar scientific ideas which seem to arise at around the same time. The familiar saying, ‘birds of a feather flock together’ arises from this observation.

In the same way, our thoughts tend to attract the conditions we experience. In his now famous book, The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murray writes,

“Everything that has happened to you happened because of thoughts impressed on your subconscious mind through belief… The habitual thinking of your subconscious mind establishes deep grooves… If your tho0ughts are harmonious, peaceful and constructive, your subconscious mind will respond by creating harmony, peace and constructive conditions.

Our experience of life is a reflection of our inner world. The landscape we paint with our minds becomes the one we walk through every day. We are the architects, the creators of our world. Many people are unaware of this, thinking that life ‘just happens,’ that events occur by chance, and that they are forever at the mercy of random occurrences. If you want to change your life, you will need to take responsibility for creating your experience. Your thoughts draw experiences of a similar quality into your life, so it is vital that your thinking be constructive, positive and affirming.

Feeling good is the key to change

Whereas most people create the conditions of their life by default, the practice of deliberately directing your attention can change your life enormously. This need not be a difficult or complicated process: mind control, meditation, visualizations and endless affirmations are not needed. Nature has provided us with a navigational tool: our feelings.

Bad feelings should not be ignored or suppressed – they are telling you something important. When you feel bad – anxious, worried, afraid, depressed – something is wrong and you are being given a signal that your thinking is not drawing the experiences you truly desire into your life.

They should be acknowledged, accepted and dealt with. Again, there is no need for complicated methods to eliminate such feelings. Whenever you become aware of them, you know that your thoughts have drifted off onto the wrong track; gently direct your thinking back to the positive and the empowering.

When you feel very bad, it can be hard to see a way out, and it is important not to expect too much of yourself. Feelings of relief, hope or optimism are often the easiest things to reach for. Relax, accept that all is well and that, when you stop fighting so hard against your problems, life tends to support you. When a drowning man stops struggling, he floats. Thoughts of this nature – and the better feelings which go with them – are what you need to find.

Change takes time

Sometimes, revolution occurs. As a result of a sudden change in our mental landscape – a paradigm shift – our lives can change enormously in one fell swoop. After years of trying, one day I quit smoking. I just gave up, and I’ve never had a cigarette since then.

These shifts, however, are not the ordinary course of things. Most change takes time – it grows and matures. The tracks etched into our minds by years – or decades – of habitual thought are not wiped away instantly; they become fainter for lack of use, just as new tracks become established, slowly but surely, as we build them step by step, and soon become well-worn highways.

Trying to force the pace of change can lead to disaster – trying to pull grass to make it grow faster only kills it. A river rarely takes a straight course, meandering instead through the natural shape of the landscape, keeping to the lowest points, moving around mountains and hills. But the water keeps flowing and, eventually, reaches the sea.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished (Tao Te Ching)

You need to be persistent

A new path can only be established by persistently being walked on. The new tracks you are making in your thought patterns will take time to become established, and at first they will be weak. Your thoughts may keep drifting back to the old, negative patterns. No matter – keep going and, in time, you will look back in amazement at how far you have come.

All journeys proceed one step at a time, and to change your life is to acknowledge that the process is important. Relax, enjoy the ride, have fun.

Change can be uncomfortable

As we set out on new pathways, the unfamiliar routes our minds need to take can seem strange and, as such, a little disconcerting. Can you recall a time when you found yourself in an unfamiliar situation? Perhaps you started a new job or moved to a new town. At first, things were uncomfortable. Soon, you got used to the new situation and you started to feel better.

The reason for the uncomfortable feelings was, as always, a result of your thinking – you probably worried about what could go wrong, about not being able to manage, about not doing well, and so on. You can reduce this ‘fear of the unknown’ by gently guiding your thoughts in an affirming and supportive direction. To change your life is to refuse to shy away from new situations. Even at such times, you can feel good. Remember: You are loved; all is well.

Action does not lead to change; change leads to action

It may seem counterintuitive, but effort does not result in lasting change or success. If it did, everyone who slaves away at jobs they hate day after day, year after year, would be successful and happy. Orchestrating the kind of life you desire is not about effort – it is about the right kind of thinking drawing experiences into your life. To change your life is to stop focusing on effort and start focusing on enjoying yourself. Action is how we enjoy the life we create; it is not how we create it.

Go with the flow

The key to lasting change is to go with the flow of your natural wellbeing. There is no hurry. The stream of life is taking you.

By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond winning. (Tao Te Ching)

Water is an apt analogy. It seeks the low ground and always yields to resistance. Yet water can, over many years, wear down sharp rocks into small, smooth pebbles and carve wide, deep channels through a landscape. This is how change takes place.

To resist the natural flow of life is pointless. We can easily become obsessed with acquiring something or getting somewhere, but to want something so badly is to push it away. To change your life is to work on ‘following your bliss,’ to move with the current. Let go, relax, fall into life. It may take you to wondrous new shores.

A thirty day challenge

For the next thirty days, begin each morning with the intention to be aware of your feelings. When you become aware of any kind of negativity as you go through your day, gently change your thoughts towards something that makes you feel better. The ‘better feeling’ doesn’t have to be extreme – we’re not talking about ecstasy, jumping for joy or falling in love (although this would be fine!) Just reach for something slightly better – a feeling of relief, being grateful for something, looking forward to something – anything that shifts your focus from ‘what’s wrong, what I don’t want’ to ‘what I like, what is good.’

At first, it might be hard. The old patterns are strong and they take time to fade. After thirty days, you will notice a difference. Things will have improved – more of the good stuff will be showing up, and you’ll be less bothered about the bad: it won’t matter so much.

Creating a new way of thinking can take time but, as with anything, gentle and persistent practice is the key to success. Many drips fill a bucket. Perhaps changing your life isn’t so hard.

Author bio: Mark Harrison writes at Effortless Abundance. Check out his latest book, Thirty Days to Change Your Life.

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This is not your father’s world wide web. Thanks to soaring smartphone sales, new tablet devices like the iPad, and the burgeoning trend of connected devices, individuals are accessing and experiencing the web in a very different way than they were even five years ago.

The desktop browsing experience is also undergoing radical change, thanks to the evolution of JavaScript frameworks and the push for standards successors such as CSS3 and HTML5. It’s an exciting time to be developing or designing for the web.

Even for the seasoned developer, it can be difficult to know where to start if you want to embrace the new technologies of HTML5 and support new devices like the iPhone, Android-based smartphones or the iPad without neglecting users on older browsers. Fortunately, the collaborative nature of the web means that lots of developers and designers are working out best practices and solutions toward these problems together.

One of the most interesting new projects aimed at giving designers and developers a starting template for integrating HTML5 and other modern features into their sites is HTML5 Boilerplate.

Created by Paul Irish and Divya Manian, HTML5 Boilerplate is the product of more than two and a half years in iterative development, and it’s chock-full of best practices and techniques for creating cross-browser compatible websites that will work with legacy browsers (which means IE 6) while also being HTML5-ready.

To be clear, HTML5 Boilerplate is not a framework. It’s a template that can be modified and used for your own projects. You can use as much or as little as you want and make your own additions and subtractions. Still, it’s one of the most robust and well-commented starting points we’ve seen for setting up a solid HTML5 base for your projects.

One of the best things about HTML5 Boilerplate is that the source is openly available under a public domain license; you can use it and integrate it into your own projects in any way you want.

As a result, a ton of awesome projects have already used HTML5 Boilerplate alongside other techniques. Just check out this page on GitHub to see a sampling of some of the HTML5 Boilerplate-infused spin-offs.

Check out these additional tools, projects and resources to get the most out of HTML5 Boilerplate:

• The Source Itself – Available on GitHub for your watching/forking/commenting pleasure, this is the source for HTML5 Boilerplate. You can keep up with the latest changes, ask questions and make suggestions. You can also check out the various forks from around the community.
• Paul Irish’s Official HTML5 Boilerplate Screencast – Nettuts+ published this awesome 40-minute screencast that Paul Irish created to walk you through HTML5 Boilerplate. It shows off all the features and offers some awesome tips. Definitely check this out.
• Add 960 Grid System to Boilerplate – One of our favorite CSS frameworks is Nathan Smith’s 960.gs. It’s easy to add 960.gs to Boilerplate to create the best of both worlds.
• Use it with WordPress – Sam Sherlock created a really great WordPress theme that combines HTML5 Boilerplate with the Thematic WordPress theme framework. He has also infused many elements from the new default WordPress 3.0 theme TwentyTen.
• Some Tips To Keep in Mind – This collection of tips from Brian Blakely are good points of reference.

We’re really excited to see how HTML5 Boilerplate evolves and how other projects choose to integrate the template. It’s a terrific starting point for many designers and developers who just don’t have the time to pull all the little bits and information together when getting started with HTML5.

Are you using HTML5 in your designs? What tools are you using to ease the process? Let us know in the comments.

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Images courtesy of HTML Boilerplate.

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As social media becomes a more integral part of many company’s operations, there’s a battle being waged behind the scenes pitting public relations, digital and advertising agencies against each.

The prize they’re pursuing is the mandate to help companies create strategic and tactical social media plans and campaigns. The winner gets to play a key role, while the losers will be forced to play minor supporting roles. This battle is particularly interesting because for decades the three agencies happily co-existed within their own orbs. There was was cross-over but, in reality, there was little competition.

Social media, however, has changed the landscape. Rather than the three agencies having a gentile lunch, they have suddenly found themselves in the middle of a mixed martial arts contest for the big chunk of the social media pie.

The question is which agency is best suited to lead social media?

Is it PR agencies who know how to tell stories but, traditionally, have not done created or developed Web sites, widgets or applications? Is it ad agencies that put together great creative ideas for campaigns but have little experience with having conversations with consumers? Or it digital agencies, who can build great widgets but aren’t story tellers?

What makes the battle increasingly intriguing is how each kind of agency is beefing up their capabilities to transform themselves from one-trick ponies. PR agencies are adding creative and digital talent through hiring or acquisitions. Ad agencies are getting stronger when it comes to social media strategy and tactics, while digital agencies are building out their strategic and tactical operations.

At the same time, a growing number of companies are looking for one-stop social media shopping or, at least, they want one agency to take the lead, and then manage the other agencies in the ecosystem. By and large, companies are not looking to have multiple players at the table.

My take is that PR agencies are probably the best-suited to take the lead role in many situations. This is based on the beilef that PR agencies are story tellers, which is a crucial part of making social media thrive. Regardless of the service or platform being used, compelling stories have to be at the heart of any social media program.

PR agencies also have lots of experience in building relationships and communities. They are experienced in outreach and providing strategic and tactical counsel while listening and monitoring conversations happening about clients and the markets their clients operate in. And PR agencies have creative capabilities that involve putting together events, promotions and communications campaigns.

For many companies, having a PR agency take the social media lead makes a lot of sense, particularly if the PR agency has digital capabilities in-hour or through a trusted network of suppliers. It provides one-stop shopping.

This isn’t to suggest there aren’t advertising and digital agencies doing great work within social media, or that they won’t be picked to lead social media programs. But at the end of the day, PR agencies seem a more natural choice.

For more perspective on the roles that different agencies are playing within the social media landscape, check out this AdAge column.

Disclosure: I have a strategic relationship to provide social media strategic services to Media Profile, a PR agency.

The prospect of receiving discounts is the number one driver for consumers to “like” a brand on Facebook, according to a new study from ExactTarget and CoTweet. Showing Support Closely Follows Discounts As mentioned above, data from “Facebook X-Factors” shows that the highest percentage of consumers (40%) are motivated to like a brand on Facebook by discounts [...]

Kui sada ettevõtjat, visionääri ja hakkajat noort 48 tunniks ninapidi koos tööle panna, jõuavad esialgu ehk lennukana tunduvad ideed reaalse teostuseni, näitas Tartus ettevõtlikkust innustanud üritus Garage48.

When you see dozens of copywriting formulas promising “the perfect sales page,” how do you know which ones to trust?

After all, each formula seems to have a successful direct sales superstar behind it, and each one looks like a solid plan. What do you do in the face of these wildly different sales letter styles?

The first step is to realize that copywriting is more than any one “formula” — it’s an exercise in communication and persuasion.

Just like a recipe, different formats will give you different results. The recipe you’re looking for will depend on your audience — and you’ll have to test yours to find out what they respond to best.

But whatever sales page recipe you choose to follow, the important thing is to understand the reasoning behind the “ingredients” that go into it. Let’s take a look at what every successful sales page should have — regardless of how your recipe gets stirred up.

1. Headlines that make promises and demand attention

Here at Copyblogger we’ve talked extensively about writing great headlines — and the importance that a solid lead-in has for getting your copy read.

If you don’t nail the headline (the single most important part of your sales letter), no one will stick around for the rest.

Your headline must pre-qualify the reader based on their needs and wants, as well as promise them an intriguing result if they’ll stick around and read what comes next.

Want to get good at making this happen? Practice. If you’re not cultivating a headline swipe file and honing your attention-grabbing skills with each blog post you write, then you need to get started now.

2. Opening paragraphs that promise and persuade

Presuming your headline piques your readers’ curiosity, you then need to lead readers to a psychological commitment to read every word of your copy.

You can do this by using those initial paragraphs to draw them in, establishing rapport, and expanding on the promise you made in the headline.

This is the place to get more specific about what your readers are about to learn. Most important of all, let them know how that knowledge will get them closer to their desired result.

There’s a reason opening paragraphs are often called “teasers” — they’re meant to show just enough to make the reader want to see more.

Continue to help your reader understand they’re in the right place (and that there’s juicy knowledge to be gained by scrolling down), and they’ll keep reading all the way to the very end.

3. Stories that reveal the reasons behind the offer

The old expression “Words tell, stories sell,” is still 100% true — people become more emotionally connected with copy that tells a story. You’ll do well to create a compelling (and true, of course!) backstory to why the offer you’re making came into existence, because that pulls the reader into your copy on a deeper level.

We all want to see how the story unfolds — and that’s precisely why so many effective sales pages include transformative stories about the product’s author (or the people the author has helped). The reader wants a result via your offer, and they’ll pay close attention to storylines that involve that result coming to pass.

If you’re not a natural storyteller, then revisit some sales pages you’ve seen in the past and read them again with an eye for story. You’ll be surprised how you see good writers work these seamlessly into their copy.

4. Details that foster rapport and credibility

Many sales letters include a “Who am I and why should you listen to me?” section meant to establish credibility (and more backstory) about the product author. You can definitely emulate this straight-to-the-point delivery, but there are other ways of achieving the same result with more subtlety.

Let’s go back to the story — this is the perfect place to weave in the writer’s background — the results received, the credentials that establish authority, and the reasons that make that person the perfect choice for satisfying the reader’s needs.

Readers buy from those they trust and like. Pepper your copy with details that make the product author an interesting and authoritative source, and the overall message becomes much more compelling.

5. Subheads that stop scrollers and make reading easy

Solid subheads serve two powerful purposes in a high-conversion sales letter.

First, they make it easy for the reader to know why they need to read the section of text below. Essentially, they are mini-headlines designed to set up a promise and entice the reader to keep going.

For each text block in your sales letter, ask yourself “Why should anyone read this?” and translate the answer into a compelling sub-head. Revisit blog posts you loved reading, and watch how the author kept you hooked with solid sub-headlines.

The second purpose of subheads is to convey such an attention-getting promise that the people who “scroll and scan” stop in their tracks and say “I’ve got to go back and read this.”

Don’t let a subhead into your sales letter without first asking if it’s “stop-worthy.”

6. Anxiety-reducing testimonials

Most people treat testimonials as an exercise in stroking the product author’s ego.

But readers don’t care about that. They care about their own problems (and specifically, getting them solved) and they care about the objections they have when they consider clicking that “Add to Cart” button.

They’re going to be thinking things like:

• “Will this work for my situation?”
• “Is this going to be too hard?”
• “Will I have time for this?
• “What if I need to return this?”
• “How can I trust this person?”

It’s your job to anticipate their objections and gather testimonials that show an antidote to the anxieties behind them. Take a look at your testimonials and ask if they’re doing their job. If not, you know what to do.

7. Proof that your product or service actually works

If “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” then you need to have some full bellies to show to your soon-to-be-customers.

Walk them through specific examples of how the product or service worked for you (which incidentally, you can easily do by weaving these elements into your story).

If you have customers on hand with success stories, here’s where you work these in as well — taking special care to position the results in a way that reduces customer anxiety.

Look for ways that previous customers were able to get results despite the obstacles, setbacks, or circumstances that your new customers are likely to be worried about. Then use those examples to show how your new prospects can do it, too.

8. An offer they can’t refuse

Remember, you’re selling more than just a product or service — you’re selling solutions, outcomes, and experiences.

Break out every detail of what your product does for them (and weave that into your story as well), and get very specific as to how much each benefit is worth — financially and emotionally.

Paint a clear picture of everything they’re getting. Stack value upon value until your readers are filled with the sense that your offer is exactly what they need — and furthermore, that the price is a no-brainer bargain.

Shoot for the “10X factor.” If you can show the reader that your offer is truly worth ten times what you’re charging, the buying decision becomes much, much easier. And if you can show how the product pays for itself (essentially becoming “free”), so much the better.

9. A risk-free environment

People are terrified of being oversold, scammed, and taken advantage of on the internet — and so their shields are up when it comes to trusting what you say.

That’s why it’s such a good idea to offer a strong guarantee that takes all the burden of risk off of their shoulders.

It’s called “risk reversal,” and it’s easy to do. Simply offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee — if they don’t like what you’re giving them within 30 or 60 days, let them get their money back.

Never make refunds difficult — the goodwill you generate from being a no-hassle provider is worth any cost of returns.

Of course there are some exceptions — when a return is truly costly to you (for example, for a physical product), you may need to put some guidelines on returns so that you don’t get taken advantage of.

But if what you’re selling is digital, the downside just isn’t there. The small and temporary cost of refunds will be more than made up by the word-of-mouth referrals of happy customers.

10. A solid close that gets your “buy” button clicked

All good things must come to an end, and when your sales message does the same, you need a strong call to action.

Remind your customer what benefits they’ll get when they buy, and resurface the pain and inconveniences that will go away when they’ve fully used your product or service.

Once you’ve done that, ask them explicitly to buy. Not doing so will cost you conversions, and it’s an easy mistake to make because we can be hesitant to ask for things.

You don’t have to do the “hard sell” here — just invite them to “join you,” or “get access,” or “download” — just by clicking and making a purchase.

And that “P.S.” that’s such a sales letter cliché? Works like a charm.

When people get to the end of your letter, all their lingering objections get put on one end of the scale, and your price tag gets put on the other. Here’s your opportunity to tactfully let them know that they have the chance to get the benefits they want, and solve their problems at the same time.

Your call to action: Tell us what else you think is essential to a great sales letter

As I said at the beginning, there are dozens of copywriting formulas out there, and all of them serve their purpose and have solid avenues of conversion. This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, it’s meant to give you the basic framework for persuasive copy.

Why don’t you join us in the comments below, where you can add your wisdom and get access to the ideas of others? Click in the comment box below and tell us what other essential “ingredients” you would add to this list. We’ll see you there.

About the Author: Dave Navarro is a product launch manager who can’t wait for you to join the 7,000+ people using his free workbooks in the Launch Coach Library (a crowd favorite in the Third Tribe forums).

P.S.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page after you leave your comment, so that every time you return to it in the future, you can learn even more about writing great sales letters.

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Bloggers have been asking the question “Do long or short headlines work better?” for a long time.

But the answer to the riddle of how to create a headline that pulls in readers doesn’t necessarily lie in subtracting or adding one more word. There’s not a mysterious formula or arcane copywriter’s trick.

The answer is much simpler than that.

The best way to get a headline that works is by using the breath test.

Try saying this headline aloud:

How To Recognize Six Difficult Telltale Signs Of Disinterest And Lack Of Motivation In Your Student And Customer

Ran out of breath, didn’t you? And even if you didn’t quite run out of breath, you had a hard time getting through the whole thing.

You’ll also find that you struggle to recall the contents of that headline. Because if you can’t say it in one breath, you can’t hear it in one breath, either.

When your headline can’t be easily said aloud in a single breath, your message gets garbled.

Look at some of the most enduring headlines ever:

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Do You Make these Mistakes in English?

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano. But when I Started
to Play …

That last one was a mouthful, wasn’t it?

No matter how you try, it’s hard to say: “They laughed when I sat down at the piano. But when I started to play … ” in one breath.

So what’s going on here? How come this headline works when it clearly fails the breath test?

It’s called punctuation.

If you have a long headline, all you have to do is punctuate to indicate that there’s a pause there. You’re ending one thought and beginning another.

How you punctuate it is totally up to you. You could use parentheses. Or an em dash. Or a comma.

The original headline used a period, making it two separate sentences. But that headline could also be punctuated like this:

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano (But when I Started
to Play…)

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano — But when I Started
to Play …

They Laughed when I Sat Down at the Piano, but when I Started
to Play …

Punctuation exists to give a mental pause between thoughts. When you have that pause built into your headline, a reader can read it as if it were two sentences. So even though it looks like one big sentence, it’s really two.

Next time you’ve written a great headline and you’re wondering if it’s too long, just do the breath test. If it fails, add some punctuation.

If it still fails, dump the headline and start again. You should never compromise when writing headlines.

If your reader can’t process your headline in a single breath, they can’t process it in their heads, either — which will render a perfectly good headline perfectly useless.

About the Author: Sean D’Souza offers a great free report on ‘Why Headlines Fail’ when you subscribe to his Psychotactics Newsletter. Be sure to check out his blog, too.

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One inevitable consequence of working in the aviation industry is an idolization of pilots. As aviation bloggers, the Wingtips team is certainly not immune to this fate. But as anyone who has ever been on an airBaltic flight surely knows, this aviator adoration is completely justified, because commercial pilots certainly cut an impressive figure. On this blog, the Wingtips crew has had the chance to talk with some of the airline’s most renowned pilots, like Gerhard Ramcke, as well as to experience what pilots feel when they’re up in the air, at airBaltic’s flight simulator. But one question remained to be answered: how, exactly, does one become a commercial pilot?

Path to the Skies

In order to find out, Wingtips turned to one of the airline’s most recent hires, Markus Salmberg. A native of Sweden, Markus flew his first commercial route for the airline just last Thursday. But his path to the skies began much earlier—back in October of 2007, when Markus began studying for his Private Pilot’s License (PPL) in Sweden. He sat down behind the wheel of a real single-engine plane three months later, in January of 2008, when he flew an aircraft for the first time. After more than forty-five hours of flight time, he received his PPL. But that was just the first step in a long process of studying, testing, and training, which would culminate three years later in Riga, just across the Baltic Sea from his home in Stockholm.

After receiving his PPL, Markus spent many months clocking more flight hours in a small single-engine plane. During that time, Markus worked as a de-icing supervisor, loadmaster, and loading specialist for SAS Ground Services at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. His employers were supportive of his efforts to become a pilot, and let him coordinate his schedule to allow for more time in the air. But after he had accumulated the necessary hours of flight time—more than two hundred hours—Markus took some time off from work to study for the Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) theory exam, which tests a pilot’s general knowledge of aircraft, navigation systems, and flight procedures.

Testing, Testing, 1,2,3…

Following the completion of the ATPL theory exam, a pilot must add so-called ratings to his basic Private Pilot’s License. These ratings are given after the completion of skill tests, performed in a real plane with an instructor, which verify a student’s ability to implement certain essential skills while piloting a plane. For example, with a basic PPL license, a pilot can fly only in conditions of good visibility. In order to fly in different weather conditions, a pilot must add an instrument rating to his license. He must therefore learn to fly using only his navigation instruments, because in bad weather a pilot has low visibility, and can’t rely on what he sees outside the cockpit. During the instrument rating skill test, a pilot flies a plane while wearing a set of “blinkers”, which block his field of vision so he can’t see outside the window.

Following the instrument rating skill test, a pilot must take another skill test to receive a multi-engine rating, which allows him to fly aircraft with more than one engine. During the training for this rating, pilots learn to fly small twin-engine planes. Afterward, they attend the multi-crew cooperation course, where a pilot learns to work with a co-pilot—one of the most important skills for commercial aviators, who always fly in pairs. The training takes place in a rudimentary flight simulator, which replicates the feel of a cockpit, so that pilots can learn the correct procedures and regulations for communicating during flights. Markus completed his instrument rating, multi-engine rating, and his multi-crew cooperation course at flight schools in Sweden and Norway. 

Learning to Fly…a Boeing 737

In the spring of 2010, Markus noticed a press release for the airBaltic Training Centre, which offered a Type Rating training program for the Boeing 737 plane. The Type Rating program is one of the last steps in the process of becoming a commercial pilot. This training course teaches a pilot how to fly a specific plane—in this case, the Boeing 737. Markus quickly registered for the course, moved to Riga for the summer, and began the program at the Training Centre, located right next to the main terminals of the Riga International Airport.

The four-week Type Rating program covers all of the basics for flying a Boeing 737. For the first half of the course, Markus reviewed all of the aircraft’s systems and the basic construction of the plane. After he had sufficiently proven his knowledge of the aircraft—including the hydraulic, electrical, pneumatic, and landing systems—he had to prove his skills at actually piloting a plane. First, he spent a couple days with an instructor in a paper mockup of the Boeing 737, learning the exact location of all the instruments, switches, and displays. Then it was on to the legendary flight simulator itself, where Markus had a total of nine grueling four-hour sessions. During these many hours in the simulator, he was subjected to various malfunction scenarios, such as engine blowouts, equipment failures, and other emergency conditions.

Following the nine sessions of flight simulator training, the Training Centre’s instructors evaluated Markus’s ability to perform a takeoff and landing—but this time, the tests were conducted with a real-life aircraft, not a simulator. Markus performed a total of six takeoffs and six landings, all of which were conducted right here at Riga International Airport. Sitting next to an instructor, Markus took off from the runway, circled in the air above the terminals, and then came back for a landing—completing what were certainly the shortest flights to ever originate at Riga International.

Almost There

Markus began his Type Rating training on June 1 of this year, and completed his final skill test for the Boeing 737 aircraft on July 5. Markus then requested a series of addition tests in order to apply for employment at airBaltic. (airBaltic’s Type Rating program does not in itself guarantee employment at the airline.) These included various technical assessments, multiple psychological tests and interviews, and several additional evaluations and tests that assessed his aviation knowledge. Though he was exhausted after almost six weeks of testing and training, Markus was justifiably ecstatic when he received word, just two weeks ago, that he had been hired by airBaltic as a pilot trainee. 

However, his training is not over yet. As an airBaltic pilot trainee, Markus will fly commercial routes (he has recently flown round-trip flights to London and to Helsinki) while sitting next to a co-pilot who evaluates his performance. This is called Line Training, and is similar to the training that cabin crews must undergo as trainees. Each of Markus’s flights as a trainee will be assessed by his co-pilot/instructor, who keeps an eye on the captain’s command of things like navigation, inflight procedures, and radio communications. 

Commencement

Following multiple Line Training flights, Markus will then takes yet another difficult exam: the Line Check. It is only upon receiving a passing grade for the Line Check final exam that Markus can ascend to the rank of a junior officer, at which point his Airline Transport Pilot License is fully activated and he can proudly call himself an official commercial airline pilot. If all goes according to plan, this proud moment will come at the end of September, exactly three years after Markus began studying for his Private Pilot’s License in Sweden. 

Sound like a rigorous process? You bet. So next time you see one of your airBaltic pilots flash one of those signature aviator’s grins, remember—those pilots have spent years training to do what they do. They’ve earned those smiles.

Google and AOL have signed a deal that extends the search and advertising partnership between the two companies for another five years. The agreement also includes mobile search and adds a content sharing partnership with YouTube.

In a statement, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said that, “After nearly a decade-long partnership in search, we’re looking forward to expanding our global relationship to mobile search and YouTube. All aspects of our partnership will be improved by this deal.”

The extension of the deal wasn’t a given by any means; the $1 billion investment Google made in AOL back in 2005 proved to be disastrous financially. Further, Microsoft has been aggressively making deals to grow marketshare for Bing, most notably with Yahoo, which now sees Bing powering Yahoo search and its related advertising.

With the renewed AOL deal, Google locks up about 2.3% of the search market according to the most recent numbers from comScore. Google currently has 65.8% of the market, while Microsoft has 27.1% between Bing and Yahoo.

Beyond web search, today’s deal also broadens Google’s reach on mobile and gets additional premium content onto YouTube – both of which are currently high priorities for the company, as CEO Eric Schmidt noted in his statement on the deal. “It’s particularly exciting to see our relationship expand into video and mobile. These areas are now at the heart of users’ online experiences and at the core of both of our businesses,” he said.

More About: aol, Google, Search

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Something has gone wrong, but you can’t put your finger on it.

Your posts aren’t attracting the attention they deserve.  Comments are scarce and retweets require hours of pleading on Twitter. You spend days scouring the web for answers.  You even reach out to other bloggers for their insight. But you still come up empty.

Soon you ask yourself if your market is ready for your blog. Or is the problem in your own head?

You May Have Talked Yourself into a Corner

Along the way you may bought into “rules-of-thumb” that sound right but are really holding you back. These lies are killing your blog.  Here are 10 of the most crippling ones…

1. “They” Are Different Than Me

   This lie prevents you from using sound advice from other successful bloggers.  It tells you that “You are Unique” and that you can ignore “proven” strategies offered by successful business people.  So, instead of moving forward, you waste scarce time re-inventing the wheel.  Or even worse, you believe that everyone else has a special advantage.  You have to take the “scenic route” to success because you don’t have the money, education, or connections.  Trust me – this is bologna.

   Truth Serum: This post by Sugarrae will do the trick: “There are No Damn Silver Spoons (Or Defining and Achieving Success Online)

2. My Branding Can Wait

   It’s easy to fall for this lie.  It cons you into believing your readers only care about the content of your posts.  Not true.  Your reader’s visit your blog for an experience.  Your writing is just a (big) part of your success formula.  The rest relies on how you present yourself and your brand.  Poor graphics and layout will distract your reader and disrupt  their experience. Your blog needs to look great now.  Get on it.

   Truth Serum: Annabel Candy’s excellent post will set you on the right path: Personal Online Branding to Make You Shine Online
   

3. All I Need To Do is Publish Great Content

   This is a subtle lie that works because it is partially true. Great blogs DO have great content.  But, they are also great because people know they exist.  The big blogs promote themselves religiously.  Their content just pays off the promise. You may be buying into this thinking because your believe Marketing is inherently anti-social.  If so, then let’s deal with that fallacy right now -

4. Marketing is Anti-Social

   This one really gets under my skin. Listen, passion hidden under a basket is worthless. You need to get your message out there.  That means you need to market your viewpoint constantly.  Get this straight – BAD Marketing is Anti-Social.  Good marketing is authentic, backed-up by real products, and focused on serving your reader.

5. Making Money Shouldn’t Be A Goal

   You may believe that money is dirty and immoral.  Ok, fine.  However, consider this, if you were given $1 million would you use it for noble ends?  Could you help a person, a community, or a nation?  If you are truly passionate about your subject then why not make money to advance your cause?  Think about it.

   Truth Serum: I hang out with a great crowd of people called the Third Tribe.  We are learning how to combine authentic social strategies with business.  Check it out.

6. I Need to be A Great Writer First

   This may get me into a little trouble, but I’ll say it anyway.  Most top bloggers aren’t the greatest writers.  They succeed because they are constantly improving their writing skills.  Now, I need you to hear this.  This lie is a stalling tactic.  It bottles you up until you hit some imaginary expert threshold.  Don’t fall prey to this mindset.  The best way to become a great writer is to write.  So get started.

7. Blogging is My Business

   This lie uses misdirection to send you in the wrong direction.  If you look closely, the A-Listers use their blogs to gather an audience.  They then sell products to that audience.  It’s a simple model that works.  Blogging is not a business it is a tactic.

   Truth Serum: Taylor Lindstrom’s guest post on Copyblogger nails this one: “Why Your Blog Doesn’t Make Money”

8. People Don’t Want to Know About Me

   This lie feeds a deep-seated fear that you aren’t good enough.  You may be thinking that your story isn’t all that interesting.  Or worse, you believe that people will be turned off by you.  This is simply not true.  Blogging is a social activity that works when you put yourself out there and make connections with real people. It still shocks me that one of the most popular pages on this blog is the About Me section.  Give this some serious thought

9. There’s a Magic Formula to Success

   This is another stalling tactic.  You’ve fallen for this lie if you are scouring the web looking for the perfect formula.  If you are busy “researching” then you aren’t writing and promoting your passion.  The only “silver bullet” that I’ve found is disappointingly simple – Get started.  That’s right – start writing.

10. I’ll Build A List When I Have More Readers

    I’ve fallen for this lie.  Thankfully, I caught the deception early and started building my email community.  Your email list is your first “asset”.  The people who sign-up are your first loyal fans. Take great care of them and they will take amazing care of you.

Now that you know these lies, you have to decide to not let them stop or misdirect you again. Here’s a quick suggestion to keep you moving forward: be suspicious of anything that is stopping you from writing, connecting with your audience, or promoting your blog.  It’s working for me.  It will work for you too.

Comment below and tell me about a Lie that is crippling your progress.  Go ahead talk to me and I’ll talk right back

Posted by Doug Aberdeen, Software Engineer

People tell us all the time that they’re getting more and more mail and often feel overwhelmed by it all. We know what you mean—here at Google we run on email. Our inboxes are slammed with hundreds, sometimes thousands of messages a day—mail from colleagues, from lists, about appointments and automated mail that’s often not important. It’s time-consuming to figure out what needs to be read and what needs a reply. Today, we’re happy to introduce Priority Inbox (in beta)—an experimental new way of taking on information overload in Gmail.

Gmail has always been pretty good at filtering junk mail into the “spam” folder. But today, in addition to spam, people get a lot of mail that isn't outright junk but isn't very important—bologna, or “bacn.” So we've evolved Gmail's filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this "bologna" from the important stuff. In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules.



Priority Inbox splits your inbox into three sections: “Important and unread,” “Starred” and “Everything else”:



As messages come in, Gmail automatically flags some of them as important. Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most (if you email Bob a lot, a message from Bob is probably important) and which messages you open and reply to (these are likely more important than the ones you skip over). And as you use Gmail, it will get better at categorizing messages for you. You can help it get better by clicking the or buttons at the top of the inbox to correctly mark a conversation as important or not important. (You can even set up filters to always mark certain things important or unimportant, or rearrange and customize the three inbox sections.)

After lots of internal testing here at Google, as well as with Gmail and Google Apps users at home and at work, we’re ready for more people to try it out. Priority Inbox will be rolling out to all Gmail users, including those of you who use Google Apps, over the next week or so. Once you see the "New! Priority Inbox" link in the top right corner of your Gmail account (or the new Priority Inbox tab in Gmail Settings), take a look.