Archive for Getting Read – Page 4

6 Ways Blog Formatting Engages the Reader’s Brain

What are the two most important parts of your business blog post? Most experts will tell you this:

  1. The headline
  2. The call to action

The headline is what gets read and spread. It’s your “shout-out” on social media sites, in feed readers, email updates. It’s the bait on your fishing hook which draws people over to your blog site to read your stuff.

Writing magnetic headlines is crucial. And you know yourself that a well-crafted headline gets more traffic than a bland one.

The call to action is what gets you business results and turns readers into clients. Even when it’s not a direct “go-buy-click-here” request, it’s part of your funnel process. It starts the participation process.

But hold on there, wait a minute. There are 6 ways to format your blog posts that will  help prime your readers for action. It happens before you ask readers to do something. It must happen, otherwise your readers won’t even read your complete post, they won’t get to the call to action part.

You must engage their brains. You must get inside their heads by triggering unconscious desires and thoughts.

Okay, that sounds a bit oowy-woowy and sneaky, maybe even dangerous. I’m not talking hypnotic suggestions or even tapping into Freudian drives of sex or fear…(although, heck, that sure works, too!)

But if your blog content doesn’t appeal to one of several persuasion triggers (reciprocity, social proof, etc.) then you’re not doing enough with your posts. Your readers may scan your post, without getting their thought processes going, and move on.

It’s not complicated. You’re probably already doing it (unconsciously)! How?

1. Every time you tell a story, you’re tapping into primitive drives to listen and pay attention. As humans, we’re wired to sit up, pay attention, and become alert when someone says, “Let me tell you a story…” Read More→

Goals for Online Content Marketing

Goal What do you want your content marketing to do for you?

When I was a freelance journalist in Paris, I wrote some outrageous things. The point was to get read and remembered by as many people as possible. I figured if I was going to spend my time writing, I wanted to be read. I made up things. That was allowed because I was writing humorous essays for Vogue Homme. The goal was to be edgy and outrageous.

Writing on the Web for marketing purposes is different in some ways, similar in others. But the key is knowing what your goals are for your content pieces.

Do you want to collect email addresses so you have a list to marketing to? Do you want people to subscribe? To download, to buy? Or is your goal to get people to think seriously about a few concepts? Establish yourself as a thought leader? Maybe sell your books, or get consulting gigs?

In any case, I’ll bet there is an underlying — or is it overarching?– goal of wanting to be happily successful.

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The Shocking Truth About Your Blog Traffic Problem

Traffic+computer-mouse How do you drive traffic to your blog? Everybody wants more traffic. But Michael Martine of Remarkablogger makes a really good point:

Most of us don't have a blog traffic problem. What is really going on is we are:

  • Not clear on who our market is
  • Not clear on what problem we solve
  • Not clear on how we're unique/different/better than competitors
  • Ignorant about our market's hopes and fears
  • Ignorant about what motivates our market to click on a link
  • Ignorant about how search engines work

He's recently published a series of five free videos called Blog Traffic Fisher. I suggest you register and get it.

His point: most of us don't have a traffic problem. We get traffic, we just don't get traffic that brings great results. What we want is new business, not bigger numbers of visitors.

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How to Get Read Online: Broken feet, desserts,
money and words

Stock-photo-young-woman-enjoying-the-summer-by-the-swimming-pool-26738179 I'm a skimmer. In the 20 minutes since I got my coffee and opened my email, I've learned what happened to these friends and colleagues:

Which of these messages or posts do you think I opened first? Which got my attention the most? The least? (I sound like Keith Olbermann's MSNBC opening line, "Which of these stories will we be talking about tomorrow?"

Easy, I put them in the order I remembered them, and that's the order in which they got my attention.

Here's why, here's the lesson you need to pay attention to if you're writing blog posts or sending email messages to make an impact.

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Who Are You? How to Write a Better People Page

Balancing-act Newt Barrett on Content Marketing Today recently reported what I have long suspected: visitors to company websites spend a lot of time reading the people or team member pages, you know the ones that describe "who we are"? It's common knowledge that one of the most clicked on blog pages is the About page, where authors showcase themselves.

But how much thought and time goes into writing bio pages? In my opinion, not enough. In fact (horrors!), I've seen company websites that don't even bother putting up a people page. No way to get to know the people running the show.

News Flash: People do business with people! Personality counts!

There's a reason new tools for social networking and online interacting are working like gang-busters. We're social animals and enjoy getting to know people, especially before hiring or buying something from a company.

So it's worth it to make your people pages the best you can.

How should you write your About page or your website Team/ People page? I see many professionals use their resumes. ("Dr. Smith has 20 years experience in strategic planning and holds an MBA from Harvard, etc.") But really, this is pretty boring and very old-school.

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Suspense: Is this the missing ingredient in your ezines?

Crutches_3d
I’ve been in an unsubscribing fury this week. If your newsletter bored me, not only did you get deleted, I took myself off your list entirely. And there you go…

I realize it’s not easy to capture my attention and get me to read all the way through to the end. I’m a tough customer. So I got to thinking, what makes the difference between a fascinating newsletter that I actually read, and one that puts me to sleep or makes me hit the delete key faster than a dog can salivate?

Stories will get me reading, for one thing, but they’ve got to have the "curiously thing" going. There has to be some suspense…

Now I know this is all subjective and in the eye of the beholder, so the best way for me to teach you what I’m talking about is to send you over to read Michael Katz’ latest ezine, "I’ve Got a Crutch on You."

He hits a home run every time with his newsletter, but this one is full of great tips you may be able to copy – er- I mean, model and learn from. This is just one great newsletter, entertaining AND educational at the same time. It just happens to be about writing great newsletters and you all can do this better, I know you can.

Sex Appeal: Do your blog posts have it?

Sexandthecity
When you write, do you try to seduce people?

Psychologists will tell you there are four basic temperaments, each with it’s own particular emotional triggers. Most TV sitcoms have characters who are prime examples of these.

Take Sex in the City. Each of the four women embody different personality styles:

  • Carrie serves as the Humanistic hub that brings all the others together, and she discusses and writes about her feelings and relationships
  • Samantha, the here-and-now, “I’ll try anything,” confident hedonist, represents the Spontaneous temperament
  • Miranda’s hard-edged, skeptical, career-minded “voice-of-reason” perspective corresponds to the Competitive temperament
  • Charlotte’s more traditional, conservative concern for “The Rules” marks her as a Methodical

Jeff Sexton writes a great guest post on Copyblogger entitled The Hidden Key to Cosmo Headlines: Sex and the City? He asks if as a blog writer, do you take into consideration each temperament when you write your headlines?

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Shocking: 68% of Bloggers Do This in Bed

Complete_bedroom_250
The results are in. I surveyed our blog clients and friends, and over 68% of them admit to thinking about their next blog post while in bed!

Next time your lover gets that starry-eyed look, better offer a penny for thoughts. You may be surprised that he/she is actually creating a killer headline.

For example, Brian Clark of Copyblogger uses Cosmo, that conservative women’s magazine and bastion of great journalism. He suggests stealing provocative headlines for the sole purpose of luring in unsuspecting blog readers.

He goes so far as to say, forget content: start with a sexy headline and see what that gets you. Here’s a few of the headlines he wants bloggers to use:

  • “Guys Spill: White Lies They Tell Women All the Time”
  • “The 22 Best Relationship Tips Ever”
  • “Get Ahead Faster: 12 Brilliant (and Slightly Badass) Ways to Do It”
  • “Your Sexual Health: Crucial New Facts Your Gyno Forgot to Mention”

Go ahead and try re-wording these attention grabbers and see if your traffic spikes. (Don’t forget to link to Brian for a little link Karma!)

Michael Katz: Words of wisdom on competition among solo professionals

Michael_katz
I’m a big fan of Michael Katz. 

I read his "E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters", and love his funny writing style. He is a leading expert on electronic newsletters and is head Chief Penguin of Blue Penguin Development, Inc.

Michael recently joined the Blogosphere with his blog It Sure Beats Working,  Michael Katz’s sure-fire advice and steadfast encouragement for the first-time, mid-life, solo professional.

Be sure to read his post on "No Competition Out There." While you’re there, subscribe to get updates by email, you’ll love his stuff.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Michael. For anyone interested in relationship marketing, and writing ezines, you’ll like reading Michael Katz.

Ezine Alternatives: Which one gets the job done best?

Shocked_girl
Lately I’ve been wondering about ezines and subscriber lists: how much energy should you spend on this?

Obviously, if you’ve got a large list, publishing a regular ezine makes sense; also if your list is small but your open rates are 40% or more. Your ezIne should get your message out to people who want it and who are prospects for your business.

There are alternatives to publishing an ezine, and readers may be more inclined to register their email addresses for these:

  1. An email autoresponder series such as a tutorial or mini-course: people are more likely to sign up for a 10-point tutorial or a 7-day e-course that is specific and has a start and end point.
  2. A white paper: a well-written white paper that informs and educates can work well to generate leads.
  3. A blog that readers can subscribe to and get updates via email: because blog posts are usually short and to the point, readers may prefer to read them over lengthy newsletters.

I have all three of these plus two ezines. Not every professional has time to do all. As far as effectiveness in getting your message out to prospects and building a list, which method do you think works the best for you and your business?

To read a recent discussion of ezines vs blogs, go here.