Fervent Reader » Reference

73 Ways to Describe a Widget by Marcia Yudkin

Julie — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:20:27 +0000

I have been doing some copywriting work recently, and am often left sitting and staring at my computer monitor as I try to come up with yet another way to talk about a certain product for the sixth article in a row. This frustration led me to search for some copywriting help in the form of a book or manual. Thanks to Google, I found something called “73 Ways to Describe a Widget: Never Be Brain Dead Again When Having to Write Catalog Copy or Sales Material” by Marcia Yudkin. I was intrigued by the title (admittedly a very catchy one), and thought this was precisely what I needed. I bit the bullet on the $29.95 price tag and ordered the manual.

Description
What I got was a 35-page PDF via instant download that contained Ms. Yudkin’s advice for copywriting. The manual starts off with some basics (describing the difference between a feature and a benefit) before moving into the 73 “prompts,” as she calls them. Ms. Yudkin supplies plenty of examples following the prompts so the reader can see exactly how to convert the prompt into a usable sentence. The examples come from actual catalogs that Ms. Yudkin deems effective (including the LL Bean catalog) as well as original examples that she wrote on her own.

Impression
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this manual. Though there are indeed 73 prompts as promised, I felt that quite a few of them were redundant or at least overlapped a little bit. For example, one prompt asks you to consider what problem the widget solves, and the very next prompt asks you to make up a problem if the widget doesn’t actually solve one. I don’t know; to me those seem very similar. Then another prompt asks you to consider the history of the widget, while a subsequent prompt asks for the item’s inspiration (how, where, and why it was developed), and yet a third asks how long the product has been selling and/or changing. IMO, all of those can fall under the umbrella of “history” of the widget. Do you agree or am I just being picky?

This manual wasn’t a complete waste because it does contain some very interesting prompts that I’d never thought of before and that I’m sure I’ll be able to incorporate into my own writing someday. But there is no way “73 Ways to Describe a Widget” is worth $29.95. I think a price point in the $9.95 range would be more in line with the kind of content provided. As it was, I ended up going to Amazon.com, where I bought two additional copywriting books for $9.95 each. Already I have culled far more usable information out of those than out of Ms. Yudkin’s manual. If I’d gone the Amazon route in the first place, I’d have two solid reference manuals on my shelf and an extra 10 bucks in my pocket. Oh, well — live and learn.

Bottom Line
If you’re considering buying “73 Ways to Describe a Widget,” I’d advise against it unless you get some kind of special offer and pay significantly less than the $29.95 asking price. There are better books to spend your money on.

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Maritime Law

Julie — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:08:06 +0000

My stepfather is an attorney, so his study is full of law books. I like to browse through them once in a while, mostly because I used to be interested in the law when I was in college. I recently came across a book called Cases and Materials in Maritime Law, which sounded a bit dry at first. But once I started reading about things like the Gulf Coast Jones Act and salvage contracts, things got a bit interesting. I ended up sitting with that book for an hour before I even realized that much time had passed! I guess it’s true that I’ll read absolutely anything….

Home Based Businesses

Julie — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:05 +0000

A friend of mine recently told me that she’s interested in starting up a home-based business. She has never done anything like that before, so she doesn’t really know how to get started or even what kind of business she wants to run. I suggested the For Dummies book, because it’s probably a lot more straightforward and to-the-point than some of the other titles out there. She can just read through it, then decide if she wants to take medical coding training courses to get into that field or start a craft business, pet-sitting service, or whatever. I’m kind of interested to see how this whole venture turns out. I hope it’s successful!

Credit Repair for Dummies

Julie — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:37:56 +0000

I was just talking to my brother the other day, and as usual, he was complaining about the state of his finances. He is practically broke even though he has a very good job, and it’s all because he doesn’t know how to manage his money. He has racked up a ton of credit card bills over the years, and since he just makes the minimum payments, he is still in massive debt.

That’s why I’m going to get him this Credit Repair for Dummies book. He needs to figure out how to pay off his bills and fix his credit rating. He should start by requesting a couple of free credit reports to see where he stands now, and then recheck six months or a year from now — after using the techniques recommended in the book. That will show what kind of impact the book really had.

At any rate, something needs to be done. The man is nearly 40 years old but still acts like a college kid where money is concerned!

Frommer’s San Diego 2009

Julie — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:41:32 +0000

My family took a vacation to San Diego in 2005, and we absolutely loved the area. In fact, we’re thinking of perhaps going back there again this summer because our last trip was so rushed that we didn’t get to do everything that we wanted to do. I was having a look through my old Frommer’s San Diego and saw a bunch of starred items that we wanted to put on our itinerary, and they still sound like a lot of fun.

But I should probably update the guidebook so I can get the latest information. That means I’ll need to either purchase the 2009 version or else just check around online for some good travel sites with user reviews. Then I can find out about the best hotels, restaurants, and family activities, and maybe even get some nice discounts or coupons while I’m at it.

I know some people probably think I’m going a little overboard by wanting a guidebook just for visiting a domestic city, but that’s how I’ve always traveled!

Complete Price Guide to Watches

Julie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:57:06 +0000

My uncle is something of a watch collector. He just started on this hobby recently, like within the past three years or so, but already has a number of timepieces in his collection. He prefers classic pocket watches most of all, but occasionally has been known to splurge on pricier name-brand wristwatches as well.

His birthday is coming up, so I thought it would be cool to give him something related to his hobby. Since there’s no way I can afford to buy him an actual watch suitable for his collection, I decided that a book would have to do instead — which is why I’m ordering the Complete Price Guide to Watches.

This reference guide, updated annually, gives collectors lots of information about every timepiece that is produced, from Timex to Audemars Piguet. Every entry tells about the watch, lists a current value, and even shows an illustration of the piece (in most cases).

There’s lots of other helpful pages in the book as well, including a section on how to appraise watches, how to judge the quality of a particular timepiece, how watches work, and even a pronunciation guide. This is indeed a very comprehensive book that I’m sure my uncle will love!