There is no copyright in newspaper headlines, according to a recent decision by the Australian Federal Court.

Ruling in a case between LexisNexis Australia and Australian newspaper publisher, Fairfax, the Australian Federal Court is the first court in the common law world to consider whether copyright subsists in newspaper headlines.

If you want to increase conversions on your landing pages you’ll definitely want to split-test those pages. By seeing how changes to key page elements impact conversions, you can make ongoing improvements and continuously increase conversions.

As simple as this sounds, though, there are a few ‘rules’ to keep in mind when putting together your tests. Here are three (3) rules for split-testing landing pages:

Are the paywalls erected by newspapers such as the United Kingdom’s esteemed publications, The Times and the Sunday Times, paying off? Internet based Beehive City reckons the signs are mixed.

Based on capturing sign-up data for The Times / Sunday Times since they erected their paywalls on June 15, 2010, Beehive City asserts the following:

Top direct response copywriter Clayton Makepeace recently revealed his four copywriting ‘super powers’. They’re probably not what you think… and they’re definitely powers you’ll want to emulate when writing (or hiring someone to write) your website, email or other sales copy.

How powerful are these four super powers? Well Clayton says they help him to: persuade busy people to read ultra-long sales copy; trigger actionable emotional responses (without resorting to cheap tricks; and, best of all, persuade prospects to BUY.

Clayton’s discussion about his super powers is pretty entertaining so check it out at the link below. In the meantime, here are my take-outs:

More and more Internet marketers are foregoing long sales letters on their webpages these days and opting for either a combination of video and sales copy or just a video and an order button. With so many Internet marketers using videos to convey their sales message… do we still need copywriters?

The answer is an overwhelming YES. If there are words involved – whether they are spoken, as in a TV commercial, radio commercial, infomercial or online video or written, as in a print ad, direct mail piece, catalogue or web copy – a copywriter is required. And, underlying these words, is the story to be told.

Videos need to be as carefully planned and constructed as sales letters, just as TV commercials have always needed to be as carefully planned and constructed as print ads.

Conversion Conference West 2010 will take place in San Jose on May 4-5, 2010. It will include presentations, workshops and networking opportunities for Internet marketers wanting to boost their online conversions. Keynote speakers include Tim Ash (CEO of SiteTuners.com), Bryan Eisenberg (CEO of BryanEisenberg.com and Jakob Nielsen (Principal and co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group). For more information visit Conversion Conference.

Internet Marketing Events Calendar »

A few days ago the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that it had finalized its revisions to the FTC Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising – the FTC’s guidelines on how advertisers should keep endorsements and testimonial ads compliant with the FTC Act.

We’ve previously discussed the FTC’s proposed changes to the Guides (last updated in 1980), but these latest revisions include additional changes not included in the proposed revisions released in November 2008.

The changes affect EVERYONE involved in publishing endorsements, advertisements and testimonials – web publishers, advertisers, email marketers, bloggers, social networkers, merchants, affiliates – including Internet marketers located outside the U.S. who market TO people within the U.S.

Not too long ago I came across a debate on a now-defunct Internet marketing discussion board concerning sales letters. One camp argued that a sales letter should stand alone and follow a specific format. The other camp argued that the sales letter should take into account the context of where, when, why, and by whom the it is likely to be read.

As it happened, the debate arose over a particular sales letter that many in the first camp regarded as ‘weak.’ In this case, the sales letter was the final element in a product launch sequence of communications, preceded by a series of pre-launch emails, reports and videos.

The debate rages on. Do webpages with nothing but text generate more sales, or do webpages featuring both text and images (e.g. illustrations, photos, etc) and/or other graphical or multi-media elements (e.g. videos) convert more?

There are many schools of thought on this subject. Some people say they get more clicks and sales on text-heavy webpages, while others swear by including images, videos and other graphical or multi-media elements. Who is right?

Given recent indications that the United States Federal Trade Commission intends to clamp down on Internet marketers and others using ‘atypical’ testimonials in their marketing, it may be reassuring to know that testimonials are not always required in your marketing materials. In fact, other forms of ‘proof’ can sometimes be more effective.

Testimonials are really just a form of social proof that the claims you make in your sales copy are true. Don’t get me wrong, well written and effectively deployed testimonials can often clinch the sale, since prospects are typically more swayed by what others say about your products and services than what you say about them.