11 Small Words that Crowd Your Copy

 

We talk about copywriting at VR because it’s integral to any marketing. Whether you’re writing an email, website copy, online ad, Twitter Tweet, Facebook post, or blog post, you’re communicating to your audience with words, and therefore copywriting.

There are small words that make a big impact on your copy – and not always a positive one. In my recent blog post, Who Else Wants to Write Better Copy, I discussed cutting clutter and improving copy. And the quickest way is by removing any unnecessary words such as “that” or “to.” Well, here are additional small offenders that crowd your copy – try removing them whenever you can:

1. Some: We have some great products vs. We have great products
2. Great: We have great products to chose from vs. We have products to chose from
3. Many: We have many products vs. We have products 
4. Even: They even grew their ROI 20% vs. They grew their ROI 20%
5. Right: Many business are making the switch right now vs. Many businesses are making the switch now
6. Such: It makes such a difference vs. It makes a difference
7. Quite: It’s been quite a hard choice vs. It’s been a hard choice
8. Only: It only takes a minute vs. It takes a minute
9. Got: We have got choices vs. We have choices
10. The: Improving the copy vs. Improving copy
11. Really: They really get the job done vs. They get the job done

These words might be small, but taking them out can make a big impact. Start cutting your copywriting clutter today! Are there additional words you can think of removing from your copy? I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

 

via blog.verticalresponse.com

Animal Tales Extravaganza at the Bronx Zoo

Where and When:  Beginning 4/16 and every weekend through 6/26 at the Bronx Zoo.  Check site for start times for specific events.

Why Go:  It’s a kids’ program at the Bronx Zoo featuring live entertainment, Marvel Superheroes including Spiderman and Green Goblin.  Also Little Flower Yoga and “Making Books Sing” throughout the day.

Price:  There is a 20 percent discount being offered for online “total experience” tickets.  Otherwise, admission at the gate is  $16.00 for adults, $12.00 for children (Ages 3–12) , seniors (65+) $14.00

 

Easter Candy Hunt

Where and When:  Westmoreland Sanctuary on Saturday, April 16 from 1:00pm–3:00pm

Why Go: This event is held each year on the weekend before Easter Sunday.  Children ages 12 and under are invited to take part in one of two candy hunts during the afternoon.  Ages 6 and under search the main lawn for Easter candies, while ages 7 to 12 search through the forest.  Following the hunt, there will be a series of fun games— then head over to the museum to see the Easter bunny.  It is sponsored by the Bedford Village Chowder and Marching Club. Bring your own bag or basket.

Price:  Free. Ages 12 and under. Rain Date: April 17 at 1:00pm

 

Earth Day Celebration at the Kensico Dam

Where and When:  At the Kensico Dam in Valhalla on Sunday, April 17 from 10:00am–4:00pm

Why Go:  Enjoy live music, kids’ activities, a farmers market and a celebration of Earth Day. Performers include Annie and the Natural Wonder Band and “Solar Punch,” a  band that uses only solar energy to power their instruments. Also, Jeff Boyer with his Attainable,Sustainable Energy Show will use fun experiments and visual effects to show young audiences how wind and solar energy are transformed into green power. There will be produce and food available and lots of exhibits and giveaways.

Price:  Admission is free

 

WHUD Kids Fair

Where and When:  At the Westchester County Center on Saturday, April 16 from 11:00am-5:00pm

Why Go:  This is a rain or shine event which makes it a sure bet.  Local radio station WHUD holds this fair that is presented by the Maria Fareri Hospital at the Westchester Medical Center. Enjoy educational activities, sports, games, science experiments and live entertainment, plus animals from Muscoot Farm and much more.

Price:  Children:  $5.00, Adults $8.00

 

Lego Fun at Lyndhurst

Where and When:  Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 from 10am-4:00pm at Lyndhurst in Tarrytown

Why Go:  It is the sixth annual “Lego Fun at Lyndhurst,” a day of fun for the whole family.  Meet Lego expert Arthur Gugick as he shows of his masterpiece buildings. There will be areas to build with Legos, face painting, with raffles and prizes sponsored by the Palisades Lego Store plus a Lego train built by I Lug NY.

Price:  General Admission: $8.00, Children 3-12 yrs. old: $7.00

 

And a few more ideas for next week’s Spring Break vacation:

Spring Egg Hunt

Where and When:  Tuesday, April 19 at John Jay Homestead beginning at 10:45am

Why Go:  This annual event for residents of the Town of Bedford is sponsored by the Recreation Department and it is all about Easter fun. Children will be divided by age for the hunt. Bring your own baskets.

Price:  Free

Flashlight Egg Hunt

Where and When:  Bedford Village Memorial Park on Wednesday, April 20 (rain date 4/21) at 8:20pm

Why Go:  Also sponsored by the Recreation Department for Bedford residents, this is a night-time hunt for grades 3-7.

Spring Fun

Where and When:  Bedford Community House on Monday April 18 and Wednesday April 20 9:00am-2:00pm

Why Go:  A day of art and crafts, active play, cooking and more for grades K-5

Price:  $35.00  Call 666-7004 to register

Weeklong Mini-Camps

Fun with French

Children have the chance to reinforce their French language skills during the school break with sports, art and crafts, cooking, music, computer science and other activities at the French Immersion Vacation Program at the French American School of New York in Larchmont

Westchester Youth Soccer League

Spring Break Camp is from April 18-April 22 for boys and girls at the Armonk Sports Center from 9:00am-3:00pm. Have fun, improve your game, make new friends or bring the team at Westchester’s largest indoor/outdoor spring break camp.  Call the Westchester Youth Soccer League to register.

 

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Katie Andrino and Kaitlyn Hurtado were going to try belly dancing. Emily Hoffman and Donny Castaldo made seaweed crunch. Raquel Wasserman and Christina Carlson learned to make coils out of wire that would become artful pieces of jewelry.

These teens all participated in Fox Lane’s eighth annual Wellness Day held on Tuesday. The school-wide program has grown in scope and become more ambitious each year in its offerings to students, which ranged from flower arranging to self-defense to meditation to a workshop on self-acceptance.

“The best part of the day is just doing something different,” said Nestor Salazar, a senior who tried his feet at Latin dancing in a workshop called “So You Think You Can Dance?” He also went to a workshop on firefighting. “This day is all about being healthy and happy,” he said.

The day takes months to plan and about $20,000—much of it fundraised through grants and PTO contributions—to put on, said Robin Schamberg, an assistant principal and founder of the program. This year, a logo and tee-shirt unified the students visually and all four classes mixed together in the workshops—in years past, the students were divded into upper and lower grades.

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors wore the “Foxes Imagine,” tee-shirt, designed by Simon Abranowicz in honor of the 70th anniversary of John Lennon’s Imagine album, and seniors debuted their class shirt, designed by Everest Rainford.

Students seemed to value the day to take a break from challenging classes and studying for upcoming AP exams to expand their minds in a new direction.

“I knew about how food relates to nutrition, but I learned here how specific enzymes break down and affect your energy,” said Chris Reinhardt a senior who attended the “Eating for Athletes” session. His classmate, Jason Poon, said he was going to give coconut water a try as a way to replenish electrolytes after working out.

The day can have lasting effects, said student planning committee members, Renna Gottlieb, Roxy Rappaport and Gabrielle Alleyne.

 “I still make recipes I learned from past cooking workshops,” said Gottlieb. “And I think this day strengthens the school community by having all the grades mix up together.”

Featured speaker Jamie Nabozny gave students a lot to think about, added Rappaport. Nabozny won a landmark lawsuit in federal court earning a safe educational experience for gay students.

“I think people will think twice about being a bystander to bullying,” she said. “Hearing him speak makes people want to take action.”

Nabozny showed a documentary film based on his experience to a packed auditorium of students and answered questions—from the curious, “how did you spend the $900,000 you won?” to the personal, “how did you feel when you were beat up for being gay?”

Nabozny told students that even though their school seemed like “a good school, a diverse school, a safe school,” there were still kids there that felt isolated and sad. “If 85 percent of you are not bullied or bulliers, then you are bystanders,” he said. “It takes courage to stand up.”

Emily Hoffman, a senior, said she was moved by the presentation and happy to see how supportive students were of each other during the post-film discussion, which became quite personal at times.

The program requires a committee of 22 student and faculty to put on over 40 workshops, two featured speakers and a lunch for the entire student body. Though “it’s a lot of work,” it’s well worth it, said Schamberg.

“One year, a student told me before wellness day that she wanted to be a professional soccer player, like Mia Hamm,” she said. “At the end of the day, she said she wanted to save the world. She’s now working at a non-profit doing human rights work.”

Rep. Nan Hayworth, M.D. (R-NY) announced the annual congressional Artistic Discovery art competition and encouraged high school students in New York’s 19^thCongressional District to submit entries.  Peekskill, Cortlandt, Yorktown, Bedford, Katonah, Southeast, Cross River, Somers, Golden’s Bridge, Brewster and Croton Falls and all located within the 19th District. The winning entry will be displayed as part of a year-long national exhibition in the United States Capitol.  

“The Artistic Discovery congressional arts competition is a wonderful opportunity for 19th District students to showcase their artistic talents locally and nationally,” Hayworth noted.  “Our district has many talented and promising young artists and I strongly encourage students to participate in the competition.”

Since its inception almost 30 years ago, more than 650,000 high school students have submitted artwork for this nationwide competition.  Each high school student in the 19th Congressional District may submit one entry of two-dimensional artwork created during the 2010-2011 school year.  Submissions must be no larger than 28 inches high, 28 inches wide, and 4 inches deep and details on acceptable mediums are located in the guidelines document. The registration deadline for student entry forms is April 26, 2011.  

A reception and awards ceremony showcasing all entered artwork will be held on Friday, May 6, 2011 at the Orange County Citizens Foundation Gallery in Chester, NY.  The winning piece will be selected by an independent panel of judges from the local community.  Students’ artwork will be on display at the gallery until Saturday, May 14, 2011. The winning artist and one guardian will be presented with two roundtrip tickets to Washington, D.C., to attend the unveiling reception at the U.S. Capitol as well as a $1500 per year scholarship to an art and design college, should they apply and be accepted.

For additional information and entry forms, please contact Stephanie Sweeton in Congresswoman Hayworth’s office by phone at (845) 291-4139, or email stephanie.sweeton@mail.house.gov.  Information is also available at www.hayworth.house.gov

Feds announce partial settlement with 'robo signing' servicers

State attorneys general continue with separate probe

By Inman News, Thursday, April 14, 2011.

Inman News™

In a partial settlement addressing so-called "robo-signing" foreclosure practices, the nation’s largest loan servicers have agreed to hire outside consultants to review foreclosures initiated in 2009 and 2010, and to compensate homeowners who should not have been foreclosed on.

Consent agreements announced Wednesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve and the Office of Thrift Supervision also prohibit loan servicers from foreclosing on homeowners who have been approved for loan modifications.

Federal regulators said they will assess fines against loan servicers separately, and that state attorneys general who are conducting their own joint investigation into the handling of foreclosure paperwork will continue to have the right to take additional enforcement actions.

Critics said that the failure of federal regulators and state attorneys general to forge a universal settlement agreement with loan servicers raises the likelihood that the impacts of the robo-signing controversy will drag on.

Foreclosure-related filings slowed during the first quarter, to their lowest level in two years, as loan servicers reviewed their procedures, buying additional time for some borrowers but creating uncertainty in housing markets.

When drafts of the proposed consent orders were leaked to the media last week, consumer advocates said they did not go far enough in holding loan servicers accountable for illegal practices.

The proposed consent orders "permit the perpetrators of these abuses to design a plan to comply with existing laws and contracts," groups including the Center for Responsible Lending, the NAACP, and the National Fair Housing Alliance said in an April 6 letter to regulators.

"This is insufficient to halt the abuses. Specific and protective measures regarding loss mitigation, account management and documentation must be included in any settlement, as well as an appropriate penalty for past illegalities," the groups charged.

The Mortgage Bankers Association today issued a statement Wednesday supporting the consent agreements as "welcome progress on these difficult and critical issues. There is nothing more important than getting the housing market back on the road to recovery, which is in the best interest of borrowers, lenders, servicers and the nation as a whole."

The OCC announced agreements with Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, PNC, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Lender Processing Services, and MERSCORP and its subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc.

The Federal Reserve announced agreements with several of those companies, plus MetLife Inc., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., and SunTrust Banks Inc.

The OTS issued enforcement orders against four servicers supervised by the agency: Aurora Bank, EverBank, OneWest Bank and Sovereign Bank.

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