This is a great reminder of how to write good blog posts, and can apply to ezines, from Parias Kelly, a PR blog:
1. Use catchy titles
2. Be unique
3. Make sure to credit your sources
4. Think before you post
5. Stay on topic
6. Link, it’s polite
7. Be conversational in tone
8. Respond to comments
9. When to post
10. Be controversial
11. Blogging is not email
12. Assuming makes an ass out of u and me
It’s worth jumping over to this blog to read the complete article.
In this ongoing series of how to write profitable coach newsletters, Milana Leshinsky reinforces what I have often said in reviewing hundreds of coach ezines:
The number one mistake coaches and consultants make in newsletters is omitting a call to action. Here is an excerpt from Milana on the 4th element necessary for a great ezine.
Success Factor #4: Action. This is the biggest most common problem I see in coaching newsletters.
Great topic, great information, plenty of personality and unique voice… …but no call to action! A call to action is a step your readers can take to implement the ideas you shared with them.
Ideally, you want to tie everything your write into a coaching program or a product you sell. For example, going back to the relationship coaching, an action step could be:
– Take a self-assessment on marriage readiness
– Sign- up for a communication for couples
tele-seminar– Register for an upcoming group coaching
program for couples– Attend a live event on love and dating
– Purchase a book or an audio program on family
budgeting– Send a question about your relationship situation
All of these calls to action prompt either a purchase or further interaction with you, getting your reader one step closer to becoming a coaching client.
Without a call to action, your subscribers will read your stuff, thank you for the great information, and file it away.
So make sure that ever issue you send out has a call to action.
This is the 3rd excerpt from Milana Leshinsky’s article on writing newsletters that get results.
Success Factor #3: Focus. I see many newsletters that consist of bits and
pieces of information. I found that focusing on one topic per issue is most effective.You can include tips and resources, but there should always be a single focal topic in every newsletter you publish.
If you do have to include several unrelated topics, we recommend using a short table of contents at the top of the ezine so readers can find what they are interested in and get to that quickly.
This is Milana Leshinsky’s success factor #2 in writing an effective newsletter that gets results. Here’s an excerpt:
Success Factor #2: Relevancy. The core content of your newsletter must be on a topic you normally coach your clients on.
Let’s say you’re a relationship coach. There is a GAZILLION things you can write about!
– Choosing a perfect partner
– Step-family issues
– Conflict resolution
– The in-laws issues
– Going to school while married
– Having a first child
– Budget and sharing finances
– Social life after getting married
…and this is just to scratch the surface!
Plus, when a topic is relevant to what you coach your clients on, you can use real life examples, case studies, illustrations and tips!
Publishing a newsletter that’s highly relevant to your expertise will not only increase and retain your readership, but will get prospects to approach you directly!
My colleague Milana Leshinsky writes a good newsletter called the Coaching Business Weekly. I want to share with you an excerpt on How to Publish a Coaching Newsletter That Brings Clients.
Here is her Success Factor #1 on writing a profitable coach newsletter:
Success Factor #1: Personality. This is the defining factor!
Nothing can be a greater waste of time than publishing a generic newsletter with no personality behind it.
It’s easy to spot a newsletter without personality. Just look for the word "I" – chances are, you won’t
find it!
Remember, coaching is a very personal and intimate experience. Injecting your personality and your voice in it can help your readers connect with you on a much deeper level than any generic writing.
If you are not sure whether your newsletter has personality, let your friend or spouse read it. Can they "hear" your voice as they read it? Can they easily tell you wrote it? If yes, then you’ve got it!
If it sounds like an excerpt from a magazine article that anyone could’ve written, then re-write
in your own voice.
I find it a lot easier to do when I read it out loud. Does it sound like you normally speak to
people? Do you normally sound excited? Gentle and understanding? Quick and to the point Inspiring?Patient and detailed?
Use your voice in your newsletter, and your ideal prospects will become your biggest fans!
Here’s a good post about the state of blogging, post-revolution. Like any major technology that bursts on the scene, there is use, misuse, abuse, and boring. Jane Genova, Speechwriter-Ghostwriter, says this about the way blogs are going. (Please note the boldings and italics are mine, so that you will pay special attention to these concepts; also note that it doesn’t matter if you aren’t doing a blog yet. These comments apply to writing good newsletter too!)
Blogging – Post-Revolution, excerpts…
By Jan Genova, Sppechwriter-Ghostwriter
Blogging is morphing from a grassroots revolution to a mainstream commercial communications tool. And that’s making all the difference in how the 80,000 who start a blog each day and all the rest of the14.2 million bloggers chat it up the blogosphere.
In fact, ecommerce expert Paul Chaney, President of Radiant Marketing Group, observes that even the term "blog" is being replaced by the more formal communications term "content management system."
So, what does all this mean? A total re-thinking of how to use this medium.
So, to be taken seriously, the postings will have to be clearly differentiated from all the other "stuff" out there.
That now-must differentiation can come in almost an infinite number of ways: Really provocative/controversial content. Information that can’t easily be obtained elsewhere. Brilliant analysis of events, trends, personalities. Authorship by a celebrity such as Donald Trump. Dogged persistence in following a topic. Passionate commitment to a cause or to a corporate function such as customer services, quality, design (e.g. GM’s Robert Lutz). And so on.
There’s a great article about how to ask your clients for effective testimonials, ones that aren’t too sugary, ones that can speak to the real needs of your customers over on the Psychotactics site.
Ask the client three questions:
1) What were your perceptions before you bought our product/service and were you reluctant in any way?
2) How did you feel as a result of using the product/service?
3) What specific results did you get as a result of using the product/service?
For more information read the complete article, it explains how you can avoid getting testimonials that are ineffective and too flowery or vague.
The Psychotactic website says it "unlocks the mystery of the business brain"…good luck on that one.
Michael Levine is author of Guerilla PR and writes the Guerrilla PR Insights ezine with great tips for getting publicity. Here’s an outline of a quick marketing plan he recommends before taking action on PR.
15 Minute Guerrilla PR Marketing Plan
by Michael Levine
To subscribe to Guerilla PR Insights, go here.
Excerpted from the International Bestseller, Guerrilla PR.
When you need a "down and dirty" marketing plan, you can use the following outline. We use this plan at my company as a quick starting point. I’m sure you’ll find it useful as a starting point.
Once you have written out this plan, refine it, then put together an action plan. Good planning is the starting point for getting PR.
Answering these questions is also effective for clearly defining your newsletter goals. If you struggle with your newsletter, it may be you aren’t clear on who your audience is and what you want to achieve.
When’s the last time you sat and wrote out your marketing plan and objectives?
Michael Pollack tells a good story, about his child’s birth. And we love stories, and can’t help but read the intimate details. He makes a good point. People expect to get to know you through your ezine, newsletters and blogs.
How personal do you get? I suppose it depends on your personality, the kind of business you’re in, and how comfortable you are about being transparent.
In some circles, I am an open book; but somehow I am reluctant to share too much of my story online. I guess I don’t want to take up your time unless there’s something in it for you.
Michael writes for the Savvy Solo-preneur, a term he’s coined that fits many of us in the online world who are leveraging the Internet to do business. Read his blog about stories here.
He’s excited about being part of the revolution that blogs play a major part of. (I know, I know, it’s a dangling participle. But hey, it’s my blog, it’s Sunday afternoon, the tennis finals just finished, and I’m too lazy to change that last sentence.)
I’m so grateful for being a part of that world too, in my own small way, and for being able to earn my living doing what I love: reading, writing and blogging. I love playing tennis too, but nobody’s going to pay me for the way I play… And that’s my story.
What’s yours? What do you notice about the world or your industry? Are you telling a story about that? What excites you about your work and how can you tell your readers your story?
A great post over on Yvonne Brown’s JAD Women Talk blog. She highlights her own funny experiences with cliches in corporate America, and a new book from an Australian Author, Don Watson, on "weasel words." I like her post so much I reprint it here, but don’t miss out on visiting her blog for other good stuff.
Attack of the Wesel Words – Reminds me of my Buzzword Bingo days
Enough with the corporate speak already! Just say what you mean for Christ’s sake. Many years ago while a technology officer at a top 10 U.S. bank I noticed that there were a group of words that were consistently used in conversations by staff members. It got so bad that we devised a game to use during meetings. We called it "Buzzword Bingo."
The way Buzzword Bingo worked is each meeting attendee would keep track of words and phrases such as, "at the end of the day", "when the rubber meets the road", "net, net" and so on. The person who reached bingo first would simly make a coughing sound (ahem) to indicate that they won. The manglers of the English langauge never caught on and we had lots of fun at their expense. Over the years this corporate speak has reached the point where one can hardly understand what is being said.
So it was with great glee that I read the article "Attack of the Weasel Words" at the MSNBS website written for Newsweek by Susanna Schrobsdorff about a new book by Australian author Don Watson. Like many of us, Mr. Watson is so fed up with this mealy mouth style of communication that he has written a book called “Death Sentences: How Clichés, Weasel Words and Management-Speak are Strangling Public Language,” a surprise bestseller in Australia last year which prompted a flood of mail from other frustrated language lovers like yours truly.
Some of Mr. Watson’s examples are beyond comical and border on the ridiculous. For example, He laments the fact that librarians are now referred to as: “information needs identifiers,” and that his 12-year-old granddaughter’s report card said that she had “developed a variety of products” in history class. He cites a John Deere tractor safety notice that warns customers to lock the brake or “unexpected non-powered tractor movement may occur.”
When asked what are some of the words he detests most Mr. Watson replied "Implemented." You’ll see implemented everywhere. In this language, you “implement” rather than speak or do. And then there is enhanced. Everything is being enhanced. That word is being used in place of other more precise and descriptive words. You can enhance your marriage or your job. You can even implement your enhancements. And "input" is another good one. Companies talk about “input into our people.” This reflects technology and accounting [ideas]. It all has to do with input and outcomes.
But wait, there’s more. In my opinion, the worst example of this mangling of the language is this one from a high-school [evaluation]: “Just as the skill and processes are not compartmentalized in the creation process, the evaluation of outcomes will occur against a background of understanding that separation of outcomes into discrete components is subordinate to the evaluation of the total process as a comprehensive outcome.” Nobody has any idea what that means.
Mr. Watson has collected examples that people have sent to him and they are posted on the Web site www.weaselwords.com.au. The site is filled with great cartoons and even a confessions section. My favorite is by Barry Carter who writes "I’m a weaselwordholic." Check it out and let me know what you think. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to buy the book if only for levity during stressful moments.
Thank you Mr. Watson. You’ve ripped the mask off the weaselbeast and left it standing naked before us. Readers, are you as sick as I am about this corporate speak? Share some of your examples here and let’s see how creative you can get.
Posted by Yvonne Brown, on Sunday July 24, 2005.
PS: Yvonne writes a great blog, but unfortunately, it is hosted by Blogger. I say this is unfortunate, because there is no permalink or trackback features like you find with Typepad. So I have no way of linking to this post and for people to find it once it goes into the archives and is no longer a current post, and no way to let her know I’ve written about her, except by private email.
This just in from the Blog Squad: Blog violation 06.49: Yvonne didn’t link to the original source of her information, the MSN website article. Fines will be forthcoming.
In case you didn’t know, there is a new Blog Squad roaming the blogosphere keeping tabs on blog faux pas…more on this coming later.
