Game 4: #2 Seed Bob Bly Copywriter Versus #7 Seed Words on the Water

The Matchup

Second seeded Bob Bly Copywriter takes on seventh seeded Words on the Water. Bob Bly offers the allure of big money and success. Words on the Water is smaller and dates back less than a year, but there is some good content.

Introductions

Bob Bly Copywriter

This is the third copywriting blog in four games. What Bob Bly brings to the table is a fame that moves beyond blogging. His book, Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More (upgraded from $185,000) is one of the all-time best selling books on writing. He has written several other books on the subject as well. Bob Bly was one of the inspirations for my career. Although I shied away from copywriting in favor of technical writing, it was his book that first gave me insight into the world of professional writing.

Words on the Water

Blog author Monica Valentinelli is a freelance fiction writer and ghostwriter who also works full-time for an Internet search optimization company. The blog primarily about freelance writing.

Archives

Words on the Water

Valentinelli has less than a year of archives. Her past posting record was a little spotty but it has picked up in past months. One of the staples of her blog is freelance tips - short articles focused on a single aspect of freelance writing. There are also many articles about blogging and marketing.

Result: Words on the Water scores a layup. Two points.

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob has been at the blogging game since 2004, but he doesn’t really seem to like it. Clicking on his Blogging category brings up a series of articles about how pointless blogging is. My personal favorite is, Are Most Blogs Self-Indulgent Drivel?. He concludes yes. Still, his dislike of the medium doesn’t seem to stop him from posting. He writes about three short posts a week. Unfortunately it is hard to find any “best” articles because he lacks an archive page, which is becoming my most common tournament complaint.

Result: Bob answers back with a two-point finger roll.

The score is even at 2-2

Design

Words on the Water

Words on the Water has a very attractive design. It is simple and uncluttered with a soothing graphic for the masthead. The two-column page has no major distractions to take away from the content. While this isn’t a professional design, it as pleasing as a stock design can look. It uses a black background and white text though, which can make using graphics in posts a little more complicated.

Result: Words on Water shoots a three. It may not be nothing but net, but it goes down smoothly.

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob’s blog theme is a three column affair, which can lead to clutter. In this case the look is pretty clean, just bland. There is nothing offensive or annoying about the look, but there’s nothing to really catch the eye either. If a professional designer was involved at all, it was just to do the masthead, which is still nothing special. For a guy who claims to be making big money, I think it would be nice if he spent some on his blog.

Result: Bob banks an easy two pointer in off the glass.

For the first time in tournament, an underdog has taken the lead, 5-4.

Usability and Navigation

Words on the Water

Words on Water is definitely pro-usability. There is only one advertisement on the page and it comes at the bottom of the right-hand column, so the users are immediately given options. You can subscribe to the posting feed (but not a comments feed) and view the archives by category or using the tag cloud, which highlights the more frequent blogging topics. There aren’t a lot of extra bells and whistles such as a recent posts list or a recent comments list, but everything she does offer is easy to find and access.

Result: Words on Water is fouled shooting the three. The shot goes wide, but she might be able to make it up from the stripe. The first shot goes down easily. The second is a gimmie. The third rattles out however. So close… a comments feed and a site map might have put that last shot in. Two points.

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob has all of the standard tools. There’s a recent posts list, categories and an archive sorted by month. He has several subscription options, but they are all related to different readers, not different feeds. You can’t get an email subscription or subscribe to comments. You can sign up for a direct marketing newsletter, however. The one annoying usability problem is the lack of a Home link that goes back to the blog. Clicking on the masthead goes to an extremely involved contact form aimed at customers. As I already brought up, there is no archive or best of page either. That would have been nice.

Result: Bob hits the six-foot jump shot for two.

Words on Water maintains its one-point lead, 7-6.

Purpose

Words on the Water

Words on Water is about freelance writing. The large number of freelance tips articles fall right in line with that purpose. Related topics such as blogging, marketing and career planning also keep the blog on track. There is no sales pitch to distract the reade.

Result: A two pointer from ten feet back. Nothing but net.

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob bills his blog as a direct marketing blog. Oddly though, his last post in the category of direct marketing was last October. In the past five months, he hasn’t written about his core subject. The most related topics, Advertising and Online Marketing also haven’t been covered since around the beginning of the year. Most of his recent posts have been in the General category, although reading through them shows that several are about freelancing, a topic he does have plenty of experience with. I would say he has strayed a bit from his purpose, which isn’t a bad thing in life, but won’t get you a lot of points in this category.

Result: Bob gets a free throw based on past performance. One point.

The score is 9-7 now in favor of the underdog. The crowd is starting to get excited. It looks like an upset is in the making.

Personality

Words on the Water

Valentinelli is straightforward about what she advocates and in talking about her professional life. She alternates well between objective advice and opinion. The blog is less personal than I expected when I saw the theme, but it does have a point-of-view.

Result: Two more points from the paint.

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob has the nerve to blog about how he hates blogs. You’ve got to give him some credit for that. He isn’t afraid to be a contrarian, even taking on some of the assumptions that would drive people to buy his books (more on that later). He also makes my favorite nerd statement in quite some time, “One of my greatest pleasures is to read trade journals, newsletters, and business magazines…” This guy is a character.

Result: Bob stops and pops a three.

You knew Bob wasn’t going to give up easily. Words on the Water now leads by just a point. 11-10.

Five Most Recent Posts

Bob Bly Copywriter

Why Freelancing Sucks

Hey, didn’t I just write 10 Reasons Freelancing is for Suckers? Heck, I even mentioned Bob in the article. His article covers the stuff I covered. Surely he mentioned me, right? Damn, no. He must not have seen mine. It must be a coincidence. Don’t cry John, don’t cry…

I Have Seen the Future, and It Is Automated

Bob talks about automation and self-service culture. He doesn’t mention anything related to marketing or blogging, but it is a nice little article.

Are You a Broken Man (or Woman)?

I find this article very interesting. Bob is criticizing the fact that our culture is obsessed with money. He also lambasts “make money online” schemes. I completely agree with Bob, but with a book called Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year or More, I’m not sure that Bob has the moral authority to lead.

The #1 Perk of Freelance Writing

Bob says the number one perk of being a freelance writer is not wearing a suit and tie to work every day. I felt a little strange reading it. I’ve worked as a technical writer for some of the biggest companies in the world, and the only time I wore a tie was the job interviews. I’ve never worn a suit to work except once as a joke. I think Bob is remembering a corporate world that doesn’t exist - at least not in my area code.

Another Nail in Print’s Coffin

Bob discusses the slow destruction of print magazines, especially the b-to-b magazines he loves. I agree that magazines are on the decline and I will miss them.

Overall the articles are interesting, although off topic. His has some things to say, but I don’t feel like I learned much more about direct marketing or advertising. All his posts are recent, with the oldest about two weeks old.

Result: Bob makes a turnaround jump shot for a two pointer.

Words on the Water

A Freelancer’s Service Announcement: Please Write your Emails

Valentinelli urges writers to use proper English in their emails, especially when they are looking for work. The advice may seem obvious, sadly, some writers still need to hear it.

You Can Market Your Work with Video

Can you pimp your writing career on YouTube? Apparently you can. This is mainly a YouTube clip, and not her own.

The Guild: Web Video about Online Gamers at “their Finest”

Another YouTube clip and this time it is for gamers. Valentinelli does write for online games, so the topic is valid, but it could be a little more interesting.

March’s Battle of Words: Nomination for my Blog

This is a post talking about my tournament. It also doubles as a reason for her to discuss “benchmarking tools like Google’s PageRank and Alexa rankings.” We are in agreement on this issue.

Usability: The Good (and Bad) of Facebook

Usability! Now there’s a post after my heart. Pity it’s so short.

I’ve read better articles on Valentinelli’s site than the last five. The writing could be more expansive. On the upside, the five posts have come in the past three days, so the frequency is well above average.

Result: It isn’t a slam dunk, but it is good enough for two points.

The final score is 13-12. Writing on the Water pulls off the upset!

Post Game Analysis

It’s the first upset in the tournament! One of my original idols, Bob Bly, falls to an underfunded upstart. Dreams can come true for a blog that makes an effort. The giants are not invincible.

What They Can Work On

Bob Bly Copywriter

Bob needs to open up that mighty bank account and put some money into his blog. There’s no real excuse for a guy who claims $100,000 a year to nickel dime his web site. He also needs to take a look at what he wants his site to be about. Is it about direct marketing? Copywriting? The pointlessness of blogging? Aspiring minds want to know.

Words on the Water

It would help if Valentinelli slowed down a bit and took more time on her posts. She could go into some detail on the subjects she explores and perhaps show a bit more of her personality. Also, she needs to choose her graphics carefully. With a white text on black background blog, she should probably shy away from anything but black and white photos and graphics.

Tune in next time, when we move to the Janowitz bracket and watch #1 seed Daily Writing Tips take on #8 seed C. Hope Clark. Will we see another upset?