Defense Articles

Most of us today are so pressed for time that we are always looking for the shortest route possible. And there is such a proliferation of information begging to command our attention that we often choose what is easiest (and quickest) and takes less effort.

Of course, that is why such popular services like MapQuest exist, why almost all magazines today are designed via mini “sound bites” and why Apple places a premium on simplicity and clarity.

I was just looking at some old magazines the other day and the visual layout is completely different - once linear, they are now modular. Some examples include USA Today, Readers Digest, Men’s Health and Consumer Reports.

This is particularly important with anything that has a high percentage of text. This includes brochures, sell sheets, magalogs, proposals, emails and the like. I am always a bit surprised when some of my design coaching clients send me an email that stretches from one side of the email browser to the other.

Try using more: sidebars, subheads, quick summaries, “what’s ahead” content, informational bullets, drop quotes and “mini-profiles” in all your communications. As designers, we are particularly tuned into this but we can all improve and refine our communications with these principles in mind.

If it takes to much “perceived effort” to read something, believe me, people will not do it. So think about giving your clients clearer and easier access to information. You will find, slowly and surely, an increased response to your communications.

With all of the options today for your practice, knowing which marketing strategies to use can be difficult. Here are three chiropractic marketing tips that you should consider using in growing your practice.

Chiropractic Marketing Tips 1: The Internet

Who isn’t connected to the internet these days? People spend countless hours on the web just surfing, downloading, chatting etc. Why don’t you make use of this market by setting up your own website. Just set up a basic website first. A website that tells somebody about yourself, the services that you aim to give, and even a special offer to new patients.

Once you set up a website, you can ask current patients for testimonials to post on your website. These testimonials will help convince prospective patients that you are a real, caring doctor that has seen successful cases in your practice.

It’s important not to focus on building a fancy or pretty website. Not only will this cost you a lot of money, but it is not effective in getting new patients. It’s best to keep it very simple, yet focused. Your site for new patients should be easy to load and read. You want the new patient to call you to schedule an appointment, so your website should lead them to this action.

A simple web address that people will surely remember can be one of the steps that you can take. Aside from that, make sure that your site contains common keywords that your prospective patients will likely search for. The more keyword focused you can be on your website (within reason), the more traffic will be driven to you through the major search engines. When I teach doctors on how to set up their websites, I will recommend they focus their pages on keywords people are searching for in their area.

Chiropractic Marketing Tips 2: Radio

You can try radio broadcasting. Before anything else, figure out the market that you are targeting because this will play an important factor in the radio station that you will get, the time slot that you will play, duration of your ad, etc. As a tip, the time that most people drive to and from work are the peak hours since most people will be tuned to their radio. Although it will definitely reach a lot of listeners, this will cost you more money.

Chiropractic Marketing Tips 3: Yellow Pages

When people need help right now, they still turn to the Yellow Pages for a chiropractor. Once you decide to put up an ad in the yellow pages, make sure that you provide an attention grabbing headline. After the headline, a list of bullets detailing your services and how they benefit the patient. Also focus on what makes your office different. Keep the images small and to a minimum. You want to use the valuable space in your ad to convince the prospect to call you.

Use these three chiropractic marketing tips as a basis for growing your practice and profits.

Most people think of bullets as something that comes out of a shotgun or revolver that can potentially hurt or kill.

But in copywriting, bullets are nothing more than little headlines that reveals benefits to your prospect throughout your sales copy.

This doesn’t mean their presence is of little importance, in fact nothing can be further from the truth.

Bullets can compel your prospect to read further into your sales copy, get him or her excited about your offer and rush to buy what you have to offer.

Most great sales copy have a long list of bullets, sometimes as many as 30 to 60 bullets. The reason being that it offers your prospect a list of benefits that any one or more might be enough reason or appealing for your prospect to want to buy what you have to offer in your sales copy.

Not impossible but it is highly unlikely that every single bullet in your bullet list will appeal and excite your prospect. But what having a list of bullets does is raise your chances of having some bullets that will hit your prospect and make him or her realize that if he or she gets your product for that particular benefit or benefits, it will be more than worth it.

In a nutshell, different people are motivated by different reasons and benefits, so by having a list of bullets of benefits, you are actually covering all grounds.

Every prospect will have different so called ‘hot buttons’ that will get him or her to want to buy what you have to offer. A particular prospect will probably read a sale copy that has a list of bullets and buy based on just one bullet.

Bullets are really very strong motivators that will get your prospect to do just what you want them to do.

Just like the headline for your sales copy, your bullets must convince and compel your prospect to want what you have to offer and read the rest of your copy. Your bullets must also be benefit-laden and enticing. Remember to focus on your prospect’s needs, wants, pains, and frustrations.

Here’s an example of the bullets you would use if you wanted to sell the ultimate lifestyle

* More time to spend with your loved ones

* More money to buy things for your loved ones and increase the quality of your life

* More time to do the things you’ve ALWAYS wanted to do but never got to do

* Never having to wake up to an alarm clock

* Being able to take the 30 second commute to work, working as and WHEN you please

* Being able to take more vacations and actually making money while vacationing

It is the responsibility of a forensic firearms examiner to asses the physical and chemical makeup of a bullet in order to determine its manufacturer and narrow the list of weapons that are suspected to be used in a crime such as murder. One can find most bullet types in firearms of different calibers and muzzle velocities. However, softer bullets such as lead are prevalent in low-velocity firearms, whereas harder or jacketed bullets are usually used in high-velocity weapons.

Bullets can be classified in one of four (4) categories:

• Lead bullets–These bullets are soft and typically used in low-velocity weapons like small-caliber .22 and .25 handguns and rifles. These bullets are most likely to change shape and fragment upon hitting a target. They have the least amount of penetration yet the deformation and fragmentation of the projectile can cause major soft tissue damage.
• Lead alloy bullets–These bullets contain lead and small amounts of one or more other metals that make them harder. Antimony and tin mixed in with lead are created for bullets intended for high-velocity weapons. Because of their increased hardness, these projectiles are less inclined to change shape and fragment yet more inclined to penetrate deeper into the target.
• Semijacketed bullets–These bullets have a thin layer of brass covering their sides. The nose of the bullet is exposed and is made of soft lead, allowing the bullet to expand and separate on impact. The exposed nose may be slightly hollow, hence a hollow-point bullet, which is the kind that changes shape and fragments even more causing a greater amount of tissue damage in the person that it hits. These bullets are used in low-velocity firearms as well as higher-velocity ones such as .357 and .44 magnum handguns and high-powered rifles.
• Fully jacketed bullets–These bullets are covered with brass including the tip. Also known as full metal jackets, these projectiles are usually intended for use in high-velocity firearms, such as .44 magnum handguns and high-powered rifles. They have the deepest penetration than other bullets, and instead of brass, can be coated with Teflon, nylon, and other man-made materials. These materials are hard and slippery, acting as lubricants that contribute to very high muzzle velocities and a high degree of penetrability. Many full metal jackets are armor-piercing bullets and thus are known as cop killers.

These are the groups that the forensic firearms examiner must classify a bullet found at a crime scene.

Bulleted lists are awesome. They organize information. They inject white space into documents, attracting the eye. They kill redundancies. If bullets were outlawed, we’d be endlessly tormented by statements like this:

The Mini Cooper offers a variety of benefits. One benefit is its compact yet comfortable design. Another benefit is its fuel-efficiency. Yet another benefit is its low cost. And still another benefit is its generous warranty.”

But thanks to bullets, you can read instead …

The Mini Cooper offers a variety of benefits:

- Compact yet comfortable design

- Fuel-efficiency

- Low cost

- Generous warranty

Obviously, the second version is easier to visually organize and digest. Plus, it avoids maddening repetition.

Question: Should you place a period or other punctuation mark at the end of each bullet? The rule regarding this - like the speed limit in downtown Cairo - is actually more of a suggestion than a rule. It is this: Use punctuation if the bulleted phrase is a complete sentence. Use no punctuation if it’s not.

If the list is a mix of full sentences and phrases or single words, you’re on your own. And it serves you right because the items in bulleted lists should either be all sentences or all non-sentences. Like drinking and driving, the two should not be mixed.

At the scene of a crime, a crime scene investigator (CSI) must take great care not to damage or alter bullets that are found. Whether the bullets are extracted from a body in surgery or in an autopsy or from a floor at the crime scene, bullets must be handled with great care. For instance, a projectile can be altered when grabbed with a pair of surgical pliers or removed from within a tree, changing the ridge pattern and making it nearly impossible to find a match for the bullet to a suspected weapon.

Important trace evidence may be found on bullets. Fibers, paint, and other items may stick to the bullet as it travels through or bounces off walls, windows, bricks, or doors. Sometimes, this minute piece of evidence contains DNA in cases when CSI’s find small quantities of flesh and blood.

These tiny particles can be crucial in solving a case or rebuilding the scene of a crime. For instance, a girlfriend may indicate that she has not heard from her boyfriend since he left town without notice and that she has no clue as to his whereabouts. In the meantime, friends and family may insist that he would not just disappear all of a sudden. If criminalists find traces of blood on a bullet extracted from a kitchen wall and the blood is consistent with DNA found on the boyfriend’s toothbrush, criminal investigators may suspect foul play, and criminal charges may follow even without the presence of a body.

Is it possible to make bullets out of ice that will not melt when fired from a high-velocity gun? Sure it is possible especially if they are coated with something to hold them together for their brief flight towards their target. Can we shoot ice cube bullets in high-speed rapid-fire weapons too?

Sure this is possible as long as they are identical and the gun muzzle does not heat up too much. Some get so hot that they melt when firing 1000’s of rounds per minute. But again with a coating of sorts and dry ice bullets this should be possible. Could we put ice bullets in a C-130 Gunship and rapid fire them down on the enemy like a multi-round lightning storm from hell?

Perhaps, it seems this would be possible and rather nice too as you do not have to worry about carrying the weight if you have giant ice machines making the bullets in flight like an ice maker. Meaning less weight is more range and unending supply of ammo, as you make it as you fly. Well then what if we had unmanned aerial blimps, which doubled as a GunShip or a Blimp GunShip? Is that possible?

Indeed we could do that however remember blimps have a limited carrying capacity, nevertheless if we made the bullets in flight and the weapon firing system did not weigh that much, it might be a way to patrol an area from the air and eliminate ground targets which are sighted via infrared at night or video feed during the day. So perhaps we might consider this in 2006.

It is the responsibility of a forensic firearms examiner to asses the physical and chemical makeup of a bullet in order to determine its manufacturer and narrow the list of weapons that are suspected to be used in a crime such as murder. One can find most bullet types in firearms of different calibers and muzzle velocities. However, softer bullets such as lead are prevalent in low-velocity firearms, whereas harder or jacketed bullets are usually used in high-velocity weapons.

Bullets can be classified in one of four (4) categories:

* Lead bullets–These bullets are soft and typically used in low-velocity weapons like small-caliber .22 and .25 handguns and rifles. These bullets are most likely to change shape and fragment upon hitting a target. They have the least amount of penetration yet the deformation and fragmentation of the projectile can cause major soft tissue damage.
* Lead alloy bullets–These bullets contain lead and small amounts of one or more other metals that make them harder. Antimony and tin mixed in with lead are created for bullets intended for high-velocity weapons. Because of their increased hardness, these projectiles are less inclined to change shape and fragment yet more inclined to penetrate deeper into the target.
* Semijacketed bullets–These bullets have a thin layer of brass covering their sides. The nose of the bullet is exposed and is made of soft lead, allowing the bullet to expand and separate on impact. The exposed nose may be slightly hollow, hence a hollow-point bullet, which is the kind that changes shape and fragments even more causing a greater amount of tissue damage in the person that it hits. These bullets are used in low-velocity firearms as well as higher-velocity ones such as .357 and .44 magnum handguns and high-powered rifles.
* Fully jacketed bullets–These bullets are covered with brass including the tip. Also known as full metal jackets, these projectiles are usually intended for use in high-velocity firearms, such as .44 magnum handguns and high-powered rifles. They have the deepest penetration than other bullets, and instead of brass, can be coated with Teflon, nylon, and other man-made materials. These materials are hard and slippery, acting as lubricants that contribute to very high muzzle velocities and a high degree of penetrability. Many full metal jackets are armor-piercing bullets and thus are known as cop killers.

Most people think of bullets as something that comes out of a shotgun or revolver that can potentially hurt or kill.

But in copywriting, bullets are nothing more than little headlines that reveals benefits to your prospect throughout your sales copy.

This doesn’t mean their presence is of little importance, in fact nothing can be further from the truth.

Bullets can compel your prospect to read further into your sales copy, get him or her excited about your offer and rush to buy what you have to offer.

Most great sales copy have a long list of bullets, sometimes as many as 30 to 60 bullets. The reason being that it offers your prospect a list of benefits that any one or more might be enough reason or appealing for your prospect to want to buy what you have to offer in your sales copy.

Not impossible but it is highly unlikely that every single bullet in your bullet list will appeal and excite your prospect. But what having a list of bullets does is raise your chances of having some bullets that will hit your prospect and make him or her realize that if he or she gets your product for that particular benefit or benefits, it will be more than worth it.

In a nutshell, different people are motivated by different reasons and benefits, so by having a list of bullets of benefits, you are actually covering all grounds.

Every prospect will have different so called ‘hot buttons’ that will get him or her to want to buy what you have to offer. A particular prospect will probably read a sale copy that has a list of bullets and buy based on just one bullet.

Bullets are really very strong motivators that will get your prospect to do just what you want them to do.

Just like the headline for your sales copy, your bullets must convince and compel your prospect to want what you have to offer and read the rest of your copy. Your bullets must also be benefit-laden and enticing. Remember to focus on your prospect’s needs, wants, pains, and frustrations.

Here’s an example of the bullets you would use if you wanted to sell the ultimate lifestyle

* More time to spend with your loved ones
* More money to buy things for your loved ones and increase the quality of your life
* More time to do the things you’ve ALWAYS wanted to do but never got to do
* Never having to wake up to an alarm clock
* Being able to take the 30 second commute to work, working as and WHEN you please
* Being able to take more vacations and actually making money while vacationing

Merano - The same gun apparently fired the bullets that killed four people in what police believe may be the work of a serial killer, the Ansa news agency said. Police said the bullet that killed the latest victim, Paolo Vecchiolini, on Tuesday appeared to have been fired from the gun involved in the other deaths. AP