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Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Monday, January 9th, 2012
One tool that has helped many new bloggers and article writers is to create a writing plan. Some people call it a publishing schedule. It doesn’t matter what you call it. It’s a useful tool.
Your writing plan is a pre-scheduled list of blog posts or articles that you plan to write over the next month. It’s best to put them on your calendar so that you don’t push them to the side. Put them on the calendar and mark them off your list as you write them.
So what details should you include in your writing plan?
First, note the date you want your article or blog post to be published. That’s important because if you want to publish it to coincide with a particular event you have planned, then you’ll have to write it a few days before you publish it. If you wait until publication date, your article won’t be as strong and you may find that you don’t have the time to complete it.
Secondly, include your keywords. What keywords will you target for that content? That’s important because this tells you how you will write the article and to an extent how you will publish it.
Next, include a one sentence summary of your article. What do you want it to say? What’s the primary message? If you can summarize the article or blog post in one sentence, then you have clarity. That sentence could go on to be your opening sentence or thesis statement for the article. Then all you have to do is write the article and publish it.
Focus is the name of the game. If you have a writing plan, you’ll be more focused and you’ll be able to produce more content at a faster pace.
Tags: articles, blogging, online marketing, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
If you are a small business owner and trying to pave a path to your door for your customers to follow in getting to know you better and do business with you, then the one thing you should prioritize above everything else is writing a book.
That’s right. Writing and publishing a book will give you instant credibility. Here’s why.
When people hold something tangible in their hands, they know it’s real. When you have your name on the cover of a book, you become an instant authority. Remember, the first half of “authority” is “author.”
So become an author.
It’s not easy. In fact, it’s easier said than done. But it can be done. By writing a book on your topic and offering it for sale on your blog or website, you tell your prospects and your customers that you are a person who knows your business. You are an expert.
So what’s it take to be a published author? It’s easier than you think. You first have to write a book. Then you can spend a couple of hundred dollars to have your first 50 or 100 books published through one of many Publish On Demand publishers on the Internet (be sure to do your homework and find a reputable publisher). Then you start marketing.
If you want instant credibility, write a book. Put the authority in author.
Tags: authority, credibility, publishing, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011
Ever wonder how effective copywriters manage to get people to click their links and read their content? It’s really no mystery. It’s not a carefully guarded secret or anything, although some copywriters would have you believe it is. Rather, effective copywriting techniques are a matter of doing the right things in the right way. Then, watch your site visitors drool over your words.
There are many more effective copywriting techniques than just these, but I thought I’d share 3 of my favorites with you today:
- Write for scanners - Online, people don’t read voluminous works. They scan them. So write for the scanners. That means using graphics, images, bullet points, page layout, headlines and subheads, bold and italics, and other page elements to make your words stand out. Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
- Use power words – Do you wonder why copywriters like the word “free?” It’s because it’s a word that gets attention. People love getting things for free. Veteran copywriter Robert Bly calls it the most powerful word in the English language. Use it in your copy and see what happens. Of course, there are hundreds of other power words too: “Easy,” “guarantee,” “sexy”, etc. Learn the power words and watch your words shine.
- Rely on lists – Lists work. They are memorable. And they get people’s attention. Top 10 things …. 21 ways …. Bullet points. Ordered lists. Unordered lists. They are visual and they’re easy to read. Use them.
So there you have it. My top 3 favorite copywriting techniques. They’re powerful, they’re easy to use, they’re short, and they work. Try them.
Tags: copywriting, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
Every copywriter knows that the trick to getting people to read your story is to give it a compelling headline. This is true whether you are writing for a print publication or if you are writing for an online publication, a blog, a Twitter stream, PPC ads, or anywhere you expect to get readers. If the headline doesn’t compel the reader to move beyond it, then you won’t get readers.
So how do you write a good headline, one that gets the click?
Follow these tips to great headline writing:
- Make it relevant. Tell your readers exactly what your story or blog post is about. Nothing is more annoying to a reader than delving into a story expecting a good read only to find out it was about something else.
- Make a promise and deliver on it. To do this effectively, your headline has to promise the reader that it will teach them something they need to know or inform them of information they can’t live without. But the most important part of your promise is the follow through.
- Make it easy. Make it easy for your reader to click. Phrases like “3 ways …”, “1 simple step …”, and “6 types of …” tell readers that there isn’t much left to do other than click link.
- Don’t be cute. Cute headlines don’t compel readers to click. They may chuckle, sigh, laugh, or respond as you intended, but they likely won’t click.
Good headlines give readers a reason to keep reading. Are yours getting the click?
Tags: headlines, marketing, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 2 Comments »
Saturday, January 8th, 2011
One of the ways to grow a business online is to become a recognized author. You can do this in a number of ways, including:
- Article marketing
- Writing a blog
- Publishing an e-book
- Guest writing
And that’s just to name a few. Today, we’ll talk a little bit about writing and publishing an e-book.
What can an e-book do for you? Let’s see:
- Increase your standing as an expert in your area of expertise
- Improve your reputation among your peers
- Help sell your products or services
- Educate your clientele about what you do – and why
- Aid in branding you and your company
- Allow you to share your knowledge without a huge time commitment
These are just a few of the ways an e-book can help you spread the word about your business. You can give your e-book away for free or offer it on the market. If you sell your e-book, then you can do it on your website alone as a self-published author or go through a traditional publisher and sell through Amazon and other online marketing outlets.
While there are a lot of ways to publish and market an e-book, each one of them offers its own set of pros and cons. But all of them afford you the opportunity to promote your business and to seek additional customers by putting your name in more places.
An e-book is a good way to brand yourself and promote yourself as an expert author. If you’re ready, a writing consultation is just around the corner.
Tags: Branding, business, e-book, online marketing, writing
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 26th, 2010
Marketers have a strange language. We use words like “socratic method,” “analytics,” and “call to action.” We also use acronyms like AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
That’s “action” is in Call To Action.
So what’s it all mean?
Well, the idea, of course, is to get your prospect to take an action. You want to inspire a move, one that is favorable to you. For instance, on your newsletter sign up page your call to action might be, “Join our mailing list.” There is a definite art to writing a call to action.
It should be the last thing on the page. You first capture your readers’ attention. You do that with your headline. Then you spark their interest with a carefully crafted sales letter that focuses on the benefits of your product or service. Really drive those benefits home. If you do that part well then you’ll you’ll spark a desire – a desire for your product or service. Really whet their appetite. And, finally, you close the deal with a strong call to action.
A strong call to action will inspire your prospect to take the action you want them to take: Join your mailing list, whip out their credit card and buy your product, or visit your store.
Whatever your call to action, you know it has worked when you start seeing the results.
Tags: AIDA, call to action, marketing, sales, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 1 Comment »
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
I’m not saying there isn’t a place for formal writing. Clearly, there is. But if you read a lot of business blogs online you’ll find that the tone is generally less stuffy and formal. It may still be professional, but the “stuffy” marketing schlock is all gone.
Online, people read for interest as much as anything else. And if you aren’t keeping their interest they’re going to leave you.
Keep your sentences short. Even punchy.
Your paragraphs too.
This causes people to read faster as they can scan your lines rather than feel like they are reading a chapter of Moby Dick.
Use humor. Make your content interesting and unique. But informative.
If you can do these things with your online content then you can build and audience and keep it. They will return and return to read what you have to say and send their friends by too. Develop a relationship with your readers and they’ll become customers. Drop the formalities, Madam.
Tags: business, content, writing
Posted in Business Writing | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
There are a lot of different link building methods, but article marketing is one of the easiest to implement and also very effective. If you can write 400 words, then you have yourself an article that can easily be submitted to a variety of article directories, gaining backlinks for your business site.
There is more to article marketing than just submitting a handful of articles from time to time, however. You might be surprised to find that there are people, usually website owners or ezine publishers, who are looking for content. If they choose to use your article on their website, you`ll end up with more backlinks.
Since the best articles are most likely to be chosen, you`ll want high quality articles, ones that offer top notch information. These will tend to get picked up by others more often, resulting in a lot more links. Submitting unique articles to each directory will also boost your chances of being chosen and looks better in the search engines, as well.
If you aren`t confident in your ability to write great content, there are plenty of freelance writers who are more than able to do this for a small fee. It could easily be the best article marketing move you make.
Tags: article marketing, link building, writing
Posted in link building | 1 Comment »
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