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Game 3: #3 Seed The Copywriting Maven Versus #6 Seed Be the Story

The Matchup

Third-seeded The Copywriting Maven is taking on sixth-seeded Be the Story. This should be a much different game than the last one. The two sites have widely contrasting topics and styles. The higher seed is devoted to copywriting and the lower seed to fiction. As for the looks of the two sites, they couldn’t be more different.

Note: I am dying to work in the phrase, That’s so Maven! Let’s see if I can do it.

Introductions

The Copywriting Maven is the blog of Roberta Rosenberg, an experienced copywriter and blogger whose work has often appeared on the ubiquitous Copyblogger. The topic is copywriting and marketing. The posts often cover topical items such as current advertising campaigns and other public events. There are also many how-to type articles.

Be the Story is the blog of J. Timothy King, a fiction writer who mainly self-publishes e-books. The posts focus on fiction and often cover King’s thoughts on different books and movies. He often posts humorous or light pieces such as The Dr. House Drinking Game.

Archives

The Copywriting Maven

The Maven began in earnest back in June of 2006. The posts average about eleven a month, which is a reasonable clip. Typical posts include tips, resources and commentary. There area also some sponsored reviews. There’s nothing wrong with that, but from what I can see she doesn’t really address them in such a way that it teaches more about copywriting, which would be nice. It would also be nice to have some better archive tools, but I’ll go into that when it comes to usability.

Result: The Maven stops and pops in a two pointer off the backboard.

Be the Story

Be the Story has been around a reasonably long time. It’s archives stretch back to November of 2005. The frequency varies greatly, but I would average it out to be about two or three a month, with some months skipped entirely. Many of the posts are advice, while others are personal observations or rants and the occasional product promotion.

Result: Be the Story answers back with a two of their own.

The two teams start out even, 2-2.

Design

Be the Story

This may be the least attractive design in the whole tournament. The posts are hard to look at. The ad placement is jarring and the site even seems lopsided. I’m glad there is a feed, because I hate visiting this site.

Result: Airball! No points.

The Copywriting Maven

I don’t love the site design, but after the punishment dealt to my eyes by Be the Story, anything is an improvement. Three column themes can look cluttered if you aren’t very careful, and this one is definitely cluttered. There are a lot of features mixed in with a lot of ads. The site could also benefit from a more attractive masthead. That said, you can tell that the site is serious about blogging, and it is a step up from the basics.

Result: The Maven attempts a three but barely hits the rim. She gets her own rebound though and puts it in for two.

The Maven jumps forward with a 4-2 lead. Be the Story is going to have to make up a lot of ground now.

Usability and Navigation

The Copywriting Maven

There are a lot of cool features on this site, including both content feeds and email subscriptions, a twitter feed, a list of recent comments, a list of recent posts and a list of recent visitors. There are also a lot of ads, and they are interspersed with the features. This means a nice feature like the recent posts list is forced to the bottom of the page but a fat button leading to Rosenberg’s LinkedIn profile runs near the top. I don’t see a real strategy here. Perhaps one column needs to be devoted to text and the other to graphics or one to ads and the other to content. Whatever the case, a little organization would go a long way. Another confusing aspect is that it can be hard to tell site links from ad links, which may be helpful for drumming up business, but can also turn off readers. As for the archives. Well, there IS an archive page, but it is blank.

Result: The Maven goes for an ambitious three-point shot, but has to settle for one point from the charity stripe. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Be the Story

Can a site be ugly but still score ok on usability? Lets find out. Be the story offers a LOT of subscription options and has a very prominent (though only moderately useful) archives section. King also offers a related post feature at the bottom of his posts, which is a nice way to keep readers reading. Overall, the features of the site are easy to find, so while it isn’t spectacular, it is usable.

Result: Be The Story manages to rattle in a two-pointer from the top of the key.

Be the Story closes the gap to 5-4 by sticking to the basics.

Purpose

Be the Story

This site says it is “about writing stories and being a better writer” . By the looks of the items for sale, it is also about selling a few e-books. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as the second doesn’t get in the way of the first. The are some decent how-to type posts, but there are many others that seem like filler or just random thoughts.

Result: Be the Story picks up another point at the free throw line.

The Copywriting Maven

The tagline reads. A copywriter shares tips, techniques, reviews & cranky commentary. The Maven writes about copywriting. While there are how-to articles and discussions of concepts, she also spends a lot of time observing current copywriting. All of that fits within the purpose. She is even up front about the reviews.

Result: The Maven finger-rolls a two in.

The Maven pushes ahead 7-5.

Personality

The Copywriting Maven

The Maven is happy to share. Her opinions run first and foremost through her articles, and you get an excellent sense of who she is by reading the blog. More importantly, you get the feeling she is an entertaining person to be around.

Result: Slam Dunk. Two points with authority.

Be the Story

King seems like a likable guy. His articles do sometimes go into the personal. He isn’t quite as entertaining as The Maven, but he runs a friendly, fun blog.

Result: Be the Story scores on an unspectacular layup. Two points.

The Maven maintains her lead, 9-7.

Five Most Recent Posts

Be the Story

• Online Fiction Tuesday #1
• Carnival of Storytelling #9
• Why I Don’t do 70 Days of Sweat (and other sprints)
• Sharing the Love with Holly Lisle Fans: Limited-time Free Offer
• Carnival of Storytelling #8

Three of the last five stories are basically groups of links. Another is a promotion for an affiliate. That leaves only Why I Don’t do 70 Days of Sweat (and other sprints) as a legitimate article. It’s an explanation of why he doesn’t compete in events such as NaNoWriMo. It is mildly interesting. A second problem is the length between posts. The five posts stretch back to the first week of January. With a pace that slow, you would hope for more substantive material.

Result: One point from the charity stripe.

The Copywriting Maven

• Maven’s Mailbag: CLIO wants 12 Jr CW Stars, Email Stats, Boiling Egg Perfection
• I Hate Logos – The Downside to Being a Value-Added Marketing Copywriter
• Copywriting Maven EXPOSED? Not until you show me the big bucks upfront, pally.
• Maybelline Plumps Up Their Promises with a Brilliant Proof
• Top 100 Freelancing Blogs – and Copywriting Maven is on the list

While the Maven does not post daily, all of her posts are from the past two weeks, so she is staying current. The I Hate Logos article has a good explanation of how a message can get lost among all the pretty pictures if you start the design process before the writing process. The Maybelline article also stands out as a discussion of clever customer-friendly marketing practices. Overall, the posts are solid, though not spectacular.

Result: A final two point shot to close out the game.

Final Score: 11-8

Post Game Analysis

The Copywriting Maven is a quality site and Rosenberg has plenty to say about the marketing industry. It is a site worth taking a look at if you are interested in copywriting and marketing. Be The Story seems to be on the decline. There are some good things in the archive, but there isn’t much happening lately.

What They Can Work On

The Copywriting Maven could benefit from a better masthead and a more user-friendly organization. Rosenberg also needs to put some material in that archives section. Those two steps alone could add two to three points to her score.

Be the Story needs a bit of an overhaul and a stronger work ethic. An attractive theme, even if it was a stock theme, would be a big improvement. A few more posts a month would show some commitment. If these don’t change, I doubt we’ll see this site in the competition next year.

Note: Nope. I couldn’t find a way. Maybe next round.

Stay tuned for the next matchup. The $100,000 Dollar Man, #2 Bob Bly Copywriter takes on #7. Words on the Water. Will we see our first upset?