Wayne Hulbert, who knows a thing or two about blogs and search engine optimization, has something to say about writing and how it can improve through blogging.

I love this idea, and know from personal experience it is true! My own writing, since I’ve started blogging, has loosened up a bit. My sentences are shorter. I’m getting more personable. I try to get to point quickly.

Most importantly, I am having more fun writing than I ever did when composing long newsletter content.

Read what Wayne has to say about improving your writing skills. Here’s an excerpt:

Blogging improves your writing skills.

Better writing ability, and an enhanced ability to express yourself in print, is a rarely thought about benefit of blogging.

While most people think of writers as infinitely talented, living in some rarified air denied to the rest of us, writing is a learned skill. While some people are indeed born more talented with the written word than others, most people can become better writers simply through practice.

Blogging is as good a practice field as any.

Wayne goes on to explain how blogs work to improve your writing skills.

Why Not Start Blogging This Week?

If you haven’t started blogging yet, try one out.

You can get a free account (Blogger.com, Typepad.com) – don’t worry about the bells and whistles of the design – just start using it to write an entry every day for a week. Have fun with it. Just write about what you are doing that day that could interest your target readers and clients.

Write from the heart, let your thoughts flow. See if you can tie ideas together into some teaching points that clients would love to read.

Then, if you want to take this to a professional level, get help with setting up a business blog. Either hire Denise and I to set it up for you, or get our do-it-yourself manual, the Build a Better Blog System ebook.

You will save yourself time and money by learning how to do this correctly from the start.

Then just practice, practice, practice!

Do a Google search and you will find advice galore about writing online copy. Is it any different than writing for print publications? Yes. Studies show that the eye reads online screen print differently.

I recommend this online article from MarketingProfs.com:

Marketing Challenge: 7 Ways to Super Content
by Meryl K. Evans and Hank Stroll 

The Stanford-Poynter study found that nearly 80% of study participants (online readers) read article summaries rather than complete articles. When viewing complete articles, readers read only 75% of the text.

How does this impact your writing when composing a post for your blog or a newsletter article for your online ezine?

Here are three things I’ve mentioned before, but merit repeating:

1. Use bold subtitles, (or, as I’ve done here, bold key words)
2. Keep paragraphs short.
3. Ensure there’s white space.

Start off with the meat of your topic, give it to them right away. Then you can wax poetic, expand, or tell a story. You only have a short time to grab attention, so don’t waste words. Let them know right away what you can do for them.

Never forget to pull the reader in by addressing their concerns and challenges.

Then let them know what you are asking them to do. What is your call to action? Email you, subscribe to something, download a full report, sign up for a seminar? Give them clear instructions, links, (make sure the links are working properly) and thank them for their attention.

Everybody has a story.

As Benjamin and Rosamund Zander say in the book Art of Possibility, it’s all made up anyway.

Your story is certainly inspiring to others. You have been there, done that, and now you can help or teach others.

But don’t get too caught up with your story. Some of it, as it turns out, is only interesting to you and your mother or spouse. Keep your stories short and to the point. Besides, we both know it…admit it: your story changes over time!

Remember, WIIFM, what’s in it for me? Always write with the reader in mind, and never forget that you don’t need to share every detail.

Focus on the learning points. But do tell stories, lots of them. Along with quotes by famous people, stories are a great way to keep the reader interested.

Some people are good at turning the mundane into a teaching story. Last night I had a conversation with Andrea Lee, of Multiple Streams of Coaching Income. I asked her a question, and she proceeded to tell me how she used one of those round-wheeled pizza cutters at dinner.

She made a mess out of cutting up the pizza, and she realized she hadn’t been decisive enough, hadn’t held the cutter down with enough determination. So her point was, things are easier once you are clear and determined in your actions.

She held listeners attention by telling a mundane story to make her point. You gotta love it…

How can you write and teach by using everyday events in your life? It requires an exquisite attention to details and an observation of your own thinking.

Of course, more obvious inspiration comes from big stories and life-changing events. But stories can come from the simple things, the everyday events as well.

Inspiring others comes more from being real and authentic. There are universal experiences that everyone can relate to. Your own experiences and stories will tap into your readers’.

One of the better ways to retain readers is to share personal stories. People can relate to universal truths. So if your newsletter writing stalls, spice it up with a personal anecdote. Caveat: make sure it has a teaching point, or some relevance to your readers. Stay on focus with the purpose of your ezine, newsletter or blog.

For example, I am dying to tell you about my 15 minutes of fame, dancing on stage with Gladys Knight and the Pips on Saturday night. That’s right, little ol’ book worm me, up there with Bubba and the gang getting it on with gusto.

It was a big charity bash to raise money to expand the Scripps Hospital in Encinitas. Our friends bid big bucks to have the privilege, but hey, it was for a worthy cause and we weren’t too proud to get up on stage and boogie. Our husbands put on official Pip jackets and sang with Bubba. We ladies stayed behind them and did back up. Gladys belted out in her fabulous voice.

It was so much fun. I was living my fantasy, because one of my hidden desires has always been to entertain people. So far in life, I have managed to entertain myself and a few selected friends, and my husband.

Now I’m not sure what the point of sharing this story with you my blog readers, except that, having fun is crucial in life, and bringing your stories to your readers can create better ezines.

When’s the last time you shared an amusing event in your life with your readers? What are some of your exciting experiences that you could turn into good material?

Here’s to writing better ezines!

Most professionals that take up blogging never seem to be at a loss for words. I guess that’s why they love blogging and newsletters; they are both great ways to communicate and express what’s in your head and on your heart.

Last night in our Conversations with Experts telecall (every Wed. at 8:30 pm ET), Priya Shah, a savvy Internet professional with about 10 blogs under her belt, mentioned "blog-block." Never heard the expression before, but I believe she’s put her finger on what makes professionals create blogs that fizzle out after a few weeks or months.

We can all write well when we have a fresh, exciting idea…but to be that jazzed every day, or every 2-3 days, well, you’d be a little hyper or full of yourself if you maintain such a level of passion all the time. But there are ways to get around blog block, such as using other people’s content and linking to them.

She also mentioned the need to create dialogue with readers, and one should be a little controversial. But what is appropriate and valuable? To my surprise, one of the topics that triggered the most comments among my small readership, was the posting on hyphens and em dashes! People get emotional about their confusion over punctuation! (Well, okay, not everyone, maybe I just attract those readers!)

A Writer’s Conundrum

In my journalism training, I learned to always keep the reader in mind, deliver  information that they should want to know in the simplest, clearest, most compelling way.

Now, along come blogs – and the idea here is to be personable, letting people get to know you,  and share your personal stories with them. This is a little different from writing an article for a magazine, or for your own ezine or newsletter.

Here’s my dilemma: Do I tell you I just got back from Asia? (possibly of interest to you…)

Do I tell you about the trip, the Chinese investors in my husband’s computer hardware company (he makes the Razer gaming mouse)? (really fascinating to me, and probably to others doing business in Asia or with computers…)

Do I tell you about the boring 52 hour air travel home? (Really boring!)

Do I tell you about the heart problem I had the next day, the 18 hours in the hospital, atrial fibrillation, and the cute doctors? (Only interesting if you’ve had similar problems, or a morbid interest in my health, which is just fine now…)

Do I share with you how much I missed being online 10 hours a day, and how an hour email fix a day no longer ‘does it’ for me?

I personally dislike blogs that are too personal. I always tell the writers I work with that to create a good newsletter or blog, there must be a reason to tell your personal story, that there must be some important point to it, a WIIFM, something that the readers will go away with that they can use in their business or life.

Now, if you notice, the category for this posting, is "writing better ezines."

So here’s my point, my take-away: Start making your articles and postings a little more personable, sharing stories that may not be business related, but more human-condition related.

Even if you have no interest in my trip to Asia, my travels, my husband’s line of work, my health hiccups, you have to admit, that a little diversion into personal stories has some value and interest.

You see, no more blog-block!

Stay tuned for more of a mix of the personal & tips for ezines and blogs.

Please comment, let me know what your ‘writer’s conundrums’ are…!

Patsi

I am surveying my database of clients and readers about their biggest challenges when it comes to ezines and blogs. Not surprisingly, many people are stuck finding the time to sit down and write.

More surprisingly, people don’t even have time to read or answer emails like they used to. I gotta ask, "Is it me?" Whereas I used to get many immediate responses to my email questions, this time my query has not gotten many responses.

I think it’s my fault. Really I do. It’s because I sandwiched my survey question, "What’s the biggest challenge you face with your ezine?" in between an announcement for my telecoaching program on ezines and blogs starting next Tuesday March 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Oh boy, there I did it again. I started to write this really good post about finding the time to write for your ezines and blogs, and I couldn’t help myself.

My evil marketing self had to slip in a reminder about the telecoaching program!

Shut up, I’m writing here.

So, most coaches and consultants are really busy professionals and hardly have time to read and answer their emails, let alone manage the time and mental space to write coherent thought-provoking articles about leadership and management issues.

Evil Marketing Self:
(Don’t forget to sign up for my 8 session workshop starting next Tuesday. We will meet every other Tuesday over a period of 4 months. The help you will get from like-minded peers and internet marketing expert Denise Wakeman and myself is priceless, but you can be one of 8 participants for only $149. You get personal coaching, tutorials and the ebook all included, plus all sorts of bonus gifts, the audio tapes, etc.)

Hey, excuse me, I’m writing some serious stuff here about writing for your blogs and ezines. So here’s what I’ve discovered about the writing tasks and time management:

Only you know when you are at your most brilliant and productive for writing. For some it’s first thing in the morning. Others are night owls. Pick a time and consecrate it for writing. It doesn’t matter if it is for ten minutes or an hour. Stick to it.

Once you establish a writing habit, you will find that it is not a question of time, but of discipline. Like exercising, getting started is the hard part.

One reason many people like blogging is because it allows them to be more spontaneous and informal. You can let your mind free flow with your thoughts…

Evil Marketing Self:
(Don’t forget to sign up for the telecoaching program, you can read more about it over at www.teledevelop.com. You get:

8 hours of coaching on blog and/or ezine writing, set up and content with 2 internet marketing experts

Access to private class blog with tons of "how-to" tutorials and resources

5 hours of audio from the Blog Revolution Class ($97 value)

Complimentary copy of Secrets of Successful Ezines ($87 value)

Complimentary copy of Secrets of Successful Blogs (when published – $87 value)

30 minute one-on-one consultation with the instructor of your choice for feedback, editing and reviews ($75 value)

You can register here.)

Okay, that’s enough out of you! Go read about blog posting etiquette. This is not a marketing site, bucko. Besides, my readers have all they need to know about writing and publishing an ezine and/or a blog. They are all successful professionals who have all the clients they need. Go home!

My apologies, readers. I just can’t help myself. Too many marketing seminars and whippings from my marketing coach…

Well anyway, if you don’t have all the clients you need and you need some help with your Internet marketing strategies, including your ezine and blog, please join Denise Wakeman and I next week. We’ll try to make it easy, fun and profitable for you to have your ezine and blog up and circulating.

Patsi

My face is still red…

I used to say the world was divided into bankers and artists. I’ll revise that. It’s divided into techies and artists. People who know HTML coding and those that don’t. Only thing is, in today’s world it really counts to be a little of both!

So one day I decided to learn how to do a little HTML coding. After all, I can update my web site using Dreamweaver, and I can design a blog and make it look nifty, but I really don’t know what I’m doing. The software makes it easy.

My associate Garland Holt, a veteran geeky and founder of Graphiquest, gave me a tutorial in basic html coding last Sunday. And a homework assignment using basic bolding, italics, and bulleted lists.

Turns out, it’s really not that complicated, and I did it! So I wrote a smart-alecky paragraph in which I proclaimed I was no longer a techno-weanie, using bolded words, italics and bulleted lists. I told him he could no longer kick sand in my face.

Then, I used my shopping cart system to send him my homework message and told him he’d better watch out now, I was armed with HTML and dangerous.

Whoops! I pressed the wrong button and sent it out to my entire database. Oh yes, my clients, my affiliates, my potential clients, everybody.

I got messages that ranged from What the heck is this? Are you nuts? …and unsubscribe.

Got about 6 unsubscribes, unusual for my list.

Then I sent an apology, and got about 40 responses that were amazing: people forgave me, laughed out loud, told me I flunked, sent me back to dummy land, and shared their stories of similar goofs.

Turns out, people sort of like it when you mess up. They can relate, or they are just glad it was me not them.

One guy told me he thought it was a cleverly disguised marketing message and I should do it again.

One person told me he was glad that I finally made a mistake…what does that mean?

Happy ending…

Go figure. I sold 10 e-books and got two new annual subscriptions to my newsletter services.

Do you think they felt sorry for me? Have I stumbled across a secret marketing ploy? Is this really good advertising for my business?

Have you even goofed like this, and were people annoyed, mad, or pleased? I’d like to hear your stories so I don’t feel like such a techno-weanie again.

My friend Garland continues to send me HTML homework, but I think I’ll just study it for a while before sending it over to him…

Just an artist at heart,

Patsi

Special Deal on Secrets for Only 4 More Days!

"I hate to bother you but…"

I would start off all my marketing and promotions with that little polite introduction. The truth is I really hate tooting my own horn. It is so bad I hired a marketing coach, Denise Wakeman. She does a much better job of it than I do.

Here is what Denise wrote about the fact that you guys have only 4 more days to buy my ebook, Secrets of Successful Ezines, at the $47 price with the 3 bonuses:

Don’t wait until Monday!

There are only 4 more days to get your copy of "Secrets of Successful Ezines" for only $47. On February 1 the ebook goes up to $87.

This ebook is full of resources on content, formatting, and distribution. It features 35 samples of excellent ezines. In addition you get 12 sample Welcome messages, how NOT to do a welcome message, sample of a closing message, a "please forward" message, and a sample e-course message.

Finally, you can learn how 55 successful professionals have grown their ezine lists from 50 to over 50,000 in only 3-4 years.

Here is What You Will Get with this Guide:

• We’ll tell you how you can do it all for free or the lowest cost.

• We’ll tell you what and where and when you can outsource.

• You get hundreds of resources, tips, tools, and trade secrets.

• We’ll give you the questions to determine which parts of the ezine tasks you need to outsource.

• We’ll also tell you which questions you need to ask service providers so you can make your decisions wisely.

• We’ll tell you how to avoid the mistakes others have made with their ezines.

• You get 34 interviews with successful ezine publishers and we’ll tell you the secrets that grew their ezine subscription numbers to tens of thousands of readers!

• We’ll show you what makes an effective ezine.

• You get a step-by-step workbook to guide your ezine planning and purpose, connecting you with your values which will sustain your energy.

• You get content ideas and writing tips.

• You get several templates for formatting your own ezine.

• You get sample ezines others have created.

• We’ll explain the tech stuff like formatting, distribution services, avoiding spam triggers, autoresponders

• We’ll show you how your ezine ties in with your overall marketing plan

• We’ll show you how to make money from your ezine (even automatically).

We don’t want you to miss this steal of a deal. For 4 more days you can get this comprehensive resource for only $47.  On Tuesday, February 1, the price goes up to $87.

Use this link to get your copy of Secrets of Successful Ezines ebook with Interviews and Sample Ezines for only $47:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=120915

And to entice you further, you get these three great bonuses:

Free Bonus #1: Coaching session with Patsi about your marketing efforts and ezines. This includes a professional ezine review. Value: $150.

Free Bonus #2: $47 Coupon discount to apply to any ezine article, editing, formatting or marketing services offered by Patsi Krakoff at www.CustomizedNewsletters.com. Value $47 off price of article or service.

Free Bonus #3: Emotional Intelligence and the Executive Coach, a five-article PDF file with over 10,000 words of information on how E.I. impacts coaching with executive and personal coaching clients. Value: 5 articles at $69 each, $345.

My apologies…

If you hate being marketed to, hate bonuses, hate the whole selling process, you are not alone. That’s why I create ezines for professionals in the first place. Ezines are a great way for you to show people what you are all about without having to "sell yourself."

If you need help with publishing your ezine, help is available. Hire someone, take a course, read a book. This ebook, for example, is a great start.

Make no mistakes, however, there are a lot of secrets that go into making a good ezine. Get this book and learn before you make all those mistakes others have made before you.

Patsi

P.S. If you want to learn more about the book, go here.

P.S.S. If you want to get the free minicourse, go here.

Secrets of Successful Ezines
Minicourse # 7

The Highs and Lows of Ezine Publishing

Today’s lesson from Secrets of Successful Ezines is a chronicle from Suzanne Falter-Barnes, www.howmuchjoy.com and www.selfhelpsalon.com. She shares with us the history of her internet business and the ups and downs of her ezine.

It is a little long, but worth reading it.

This is a sample of the many interviews from people who successfully publish ezines that are included in the ebook, Secrets of Successful Ezines. You can buy the full ebook by clicking here.

But first, don’t miss out on this delightful tale of Suzanne’s ezine!

Suzanne Falter-Barnes
The Joy Letter [info@howmuchjoy.com]
The Joy Letter # 108 — Highs & Lows of Building a Net Business

Highs & Lows of Building a Net Business

In our recent survey to Joy readers, we were asked to provide a timeline of our ups and downs in building this joyful business at www.howmuchjoy.com. There have been definite highs and lows in my small business’s 5 year history. Here are some of them, plus lessons I learned along the way.

August, 1999. Launched site with trepidation, despite ‘gut feeling’ that it would succeed. Had no idea what I was doing. Hired fancy author’s web site creator/promoter at vast expense. But people came.

October-December, 1999. Went on 15-city book tour that I booked and paid for; met lots of people and signed ’em up for ezine, one at a time. Joy Letter list at about 1000.

June, 2000. Major publisher edition of ‘How Much Joy’ book comes out, and book is a dual main selection of One Spirit Book Club. Lots of publicity, more speaking gigs. Joy Letter list up to about 2000-2500.

November, 2000. List disappears! Guy who broadcasts it goes on vacation in Bangkok where he gets sick and is stuck for three months. Never bothers to tell me. I get police involved. High drama. Guy and Joy Letter list eventually turn up again. List up to about 3750.

February, 2001. I sign on with major ezine broadcast service and shopping cart. Launch my first e-products, which do OK, not great. I learn that people don’t really want e-courses as much as they want live contact of teleclasses… at least for my work.

May, 2001. I discover joint ventures with other websites, and begin swapping blurbs, offering teleclasses and more with partners. Jennifer Louden and I team up on what is now an annual event, The Writer’s Spa. It’s clear that two are more powerful together than apart. I continue to develop products and free items for the site.

January, 2002. I sign on with an Opt In list building service, which provides Opt-in names by promoting your ezine. Joy Letter quickly becomes most popular ezine and I regularly add 3500 double opt in names per month. This is great!

May, 2002. I notice that lots of those new names are suddenly strange numerical addresses and IP’s. I start getting flame emails from unhappy people saying things like ‘What is this #@%$*# Joy Letter and where did it come from??!!" Even though I’ve gotten close to 15,000 new subscribers, I pull the plug on the formerly great, now highly suspicious Opt In service.

June, 2002. Joy Letter list hits 25,000 and I have to pay a much higher fee to broadcast/shopping cart company. I get requests for a shippable binder version of the How Much Joy Facilitator’s work, which I launch. It’s an immediate hit.

February, 2003. One year after I begin selling e-commerce products, I find I can almost make a modest living from my profits. I’ve racked up some debt running this company, but it all still feels ‘right in my gut’. Joy Letter list has naturally grown, but broadcast company institutes their new ‘List Hygiene’ program and gets rid of all the addresses that are no good. Suddenly Joy Letter list gets whittled to around 15,000.

February, 2004. CAN-SPAM laws, new SPAM filters, and other obstacles conspire to keep Joy Letter readers from opening their emails from me. I study how to follow the law and still deliver the ezine to those who opt in to receive it. I get less email than I used to, in response to articles, and it’s a new world in email-land. Meanwhile, my e-commerce business continues to grow steadily and I now make a viable living from the website … oh yeah, and I’m still in debt, which I’m working hard to get out of.

June, 2004. I launch a new website, www.selfhelpsalon.com, which I spend the entire winter developing. At the last minute, my advisors make me get rid of the ‘zany New Age guru’ who was gracing the site’s pages, and stick to the topic at hand. We do an entire re-design in 10 grueling days, and I still launch on schedule. As usual, the advisors were right. (But believe me, the zany guru was really fun.)

October, 2004. Still in debt … sigh. Probably will be for a while, but boy am I learning A LOT about how to run a business. I’ve incorporated and become an LLC. Some months I get lots of sales, excited emails from customers, speaking invitations, and great windfalls of all kinds. Other months, I get a whole lot less. But isn’t that just like life?

Downsides are that I have ‘Internet Butt’ from being parked in a chair 8-10 hours per day. And that I find myself getting up at 5AM to tackle the big pile up in the office… but still, even after the creeping waves of overwhelm, and the frequent sense that I don’t know what I’m doing, I STILL feel like I’m on the right path. Above all, I’m grateful for you, my readers, that I get to do what I’m called to in this life. It’s all just evidence of my work’s primary principle: if you’re called to do something, just trust it. The work really will guide you every step of the way.

Additional Fodder:

Some helpful lessons I’ve learned:

Learning how to do things you’re afraid of, like html coding, can only be avoided for so long. But by then, there’s usually a more user-friendly way to deal with it. So, a little avoidance isn’t altogether bad.

Get up and stretch every few hours. You’ll be a nicer person for it.

Don’t refuse to delegate tasks. On the other hand, don’t become wildly dependent on your support staff either. You, too, need to do some of the basic work on your site.

If you want to deliver a quality product, use quality services … not, say, a sketchy broadcaster with plans to leave the country for an indefinite period of time (even if the price is right.)

You’ll always make typos. So proofread. Again.

Nothing is glorious all the time – not even your dream. Expect a little down time now and then, and use it to clean out your desk.

Don’t let the kids use your computer while eating popsicles.

___________

Thanks, Suzanne, for sharing your interesting experiences with us!

If you find this interesting and helpful, you will get a lot out of reading Secrets of Successful Ezines. Don’t miss out, click here to buy.

If you like this ebook and know of other colleagues or friends that would like it, become an affiliate and earn $25 on each copy you sell. Go here to sign up as an affiliate.

Patsi Krakoff

www.customizednewsletters.com