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Many expert copywriters suggest that if you have a mental blank you should go for a walk and I have to agree with that. When my mind goes blank I head down to the beach for a walk and that really helps me focus.

But this morning that walk really didn't do much to focus me on anything but fear. To the east there was a really stunning sunrise ... great colors ... a truly awesome view that would have blown me away but for what I could see to the west. Over there was a big black cloud and inside that cloud there were ever tighter rings forming and as it got bigger and the rings got tighter I began to think about tornadoes.

Fortunately all that happened was that the rings began to blow away and it rained but it certainly got me thinking about how much safer I might be if I was back in the office working.

So here I am ... energised to do some work and stay safe at the same time.

Now if you've been reading my columns for a while you are sure to have come across at least one where I've talked about the difference between features and benefits and why you need to emphasis one and forget the other.

In case you haven't then let me briefly go over the difference between features and benefits ... the things that we can talk about when we're promoting a product. One of those two talks about the whoever is providing, producing or selling that product while the other talks about what the product can do for the person who is thinking of making buying it.

One can help you make a sale in a matter of seconds while the other can turn the potential buyer off just as quickly and send them scurrying for the exit. You will often see the features of a product being talked about because it's easy to do. You won't see the benefits talked about quite so often.

It's so easy to talk about the features but that's like talking about yourself ... buyers really aren't interested in you or your sponsor. Buyers want to know what's in it for them ... what the benefits are that they will get out of buying the product and that's what you have to focus on with your sales pitch.

But how do you do that when it's so much easier to talk about yourself? It's easy to be in the mind-set of talking about yourself but how do you get into the mind-set of talking about something else?

Well there's a little three-letter word that can help you focus on the benefits and while it may not be as powerful as some of the real power words we can use ... words like 'stop', 'sale', 'bargain' etc. it does give you the power to focus on the benefits.

When you want to start talking about the features of the product you're selling start with the word 'get'. Whether you're building a landing page ... an interstitial ad ... a gallery or a free site ... start with the word 'get' and your mind is almost forced to begin thinking about what the benefits of the product you're selling really are.

But don't put your complete reliance on that simple three-letter word. Don't think that using that single word will solve all of your problems. You can start your sales pitch with that simple word and still slip back into the old habit of writing about the features rather than the benefits. Just because you start your sentences with 'get' doesn't mean you won't end up talking about the features.

So look at your text carefully ... don't be in a rush to get it done just so you can move on to the next task on your list. Rushing anything in this business can make anything you do a complete waste of your time.

Check what you have written to make sure that you really are talking about the benefits and at the same time think about the benefits that individuals want. Do they really want 'more porn than you can see in a lifetime' ... or whatever generalised over-the-top phrase you might think of using.

Or should you be bringing the features down to something more specific ... something that might make you sound less like you're full of hype and make your product sound more relevant to potential buyers?

Starting with the right word ... or words ... is just the beginning. It's not the ultimate key to success ... it's just the foundation that you need to build your sales pitch on and no matter how strong that foundation is, if the rest of your text doesn't build on that foundation you won't see the results you want.