Is your blog content compelling? Are you attracting new readers, engaging with them, and growing your reader base?
In my last post, I shared an acronym that you should be using when writing blog content:
Content (compelling)
Assets (free)
Social Media
Track
Hemingway did not have the technological advantages that we have, nor a blog, but he knew how to engage his readers. As Larry W. Phillips describes in Ernest Hemingway on Writing:
Congratulations! Your reader base has grown to 5,000! You had 4,277 hits on your blog last month, and 737 legitimate comments!
If you’re a solo professional trying to get found online, these numbers could be PDG: pretty darn good. Small businesses, however, might find these figures PDA, pretty darn awful. My point is whatever the size of your biz, you want to grow your reader base, increase hits on your site, and stimulate comments, on your blog, social media, and LinkedIn.
If you’re not seeing growing numbers, take heart; you’re not alone. I know this because it’s one of the frequent concerns and questions my clients have: “How do I grow by reader base?” Here are 4 techniques you should be using to engage readers, and grow your reader base.
“Quality online content” depends on what business you’re in, who your ideal clients are, and how you can reach out and attract them with your solutions. Here’s a memory device when writing for your blog or website. Read More→
Do you know how to blog for your business using personality yet remaining professional? No, seriously – there’s an ongoing trend to be personal with blogs. I see it everywhere – blogs, email, newsletters. If you’re writing for business, you want to connect with your readers by using personal stories. But how much is too much?
Rohit Bhargava’s written a whole book about this, filled with examples of how companies are successfully using personalities to market their business products and services: Personality Not Included.
This is an important skill to master when it comes to writing a business blog that attracts readers yet keeps a professional brand. Where do you draw the line when it comes to sharing personal stories? Read More→
How do you create an emotional connection with your blog readers? More importantly, how do you get them so inspired they want to take action, like join your list, opt-in, comment, or buy something? Here are some psychological secrets to keep in mind.
When writing on the web – either in a blog post, a newsletter or other forms of content marketing, readers are more likely to respond to your offers of service or products if there is a resonance between you. An emotional connection is forged when your reader experiences being on the same ‘wave length’ as you. This can be done several ways.
I have to warn you: this is not always easy to do in an email, ezine or blog. Why? Because people are so different, and what is appealing on an emotional level to one is averse to another. Read More→
Is your blog content writing appealing to both thinkers AND feelers? If you aren’t appealing to these two types of communication (and decision) styles, you’re missing half of your readership potential.
When I’m blogging, I like to cite studies whenever I write about a concept, to prove my point. In The Collected Works of C. G. Jung, Volume 6: Psychological Types, noted psychologist Carl Jung identified four primary functions of consciousness:
Based on this, Isabel Briggs Myers, and her mother, Katharine Briggs, developed a personality inventory (Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory). Many professionals use this tool to help match their communication styles to other preferences.
My communication and decision style leans toward facts and data – (hold the subjective, touch-feely, please.)
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I “preach” the importance of keeping your readers’ needs in mind. So when I write, I picture my reader. Of course, being human, I tend to project myself on to my reader: You will want the facts, not just the personal factors. However, I know that all my readers are not like me. Read More→
What’s the best kept secret of a newsletter bio? As I mentioned in my last post, your bio on your blog or website About page should be current and tell a story, rather than be a resume written in the third person. The same is true for an email newsletter bio.
Unfortunately, I see many coaches and consultants use their resumes for their sidebar bio. (“Dr. Smith has 20 years experience in strategic planning and holds an MBA from Harvard, etc.”)
Then there are those who go to the other extreme: They tell too much about their achievements and come across like an ego-maniac.
While everyone wants to know about who you are as the author of an email newsletter, mostly they want to know “what’s in it for me.” (WIIFM) Read More→
When’s the last time you updated your bio on your About page on your blog or website?
Smart bloggers know that this is one of the most visited pages: People want to know who’s behind a business. Personalities count. Yet many blogs and sites have a standard resume written in the third person, boring as all get-out.
Certainly client lists are important. But so are you. An About page is an important content marketing opportunity. Tell your story, your real story. If you are the sole author of your blog, write it in the first person. Read More→
Do you use story telling on your blog or website?
For anyone involved in persuading others (i.e., everyone), success depends on cutting through the noise and clutter to make the sale or persuade others to adopt our point of view.
Storytelling sells and persuades because it’s an innate skill that has evolved over centuries—something we all know how to do.
In fact, a storytelling gene (FOXP2), discovered in 2001, gives us the physical and neurological skills needed to speak words rapidly and precisely. We use these language abilities to form complex sentences in the proper storytelling sequence. Read More→
In the world of business blogging and content marketing, there’s nothing worse than a bore.
I know we’ve all seen bad content marketing – blogs that are irrelevant, outdated, full of incorrect information, typos, rambling rants and silly drivel. But what I find to be the worst is mediocrity. Read More→
Judith Briles is an author’s best friend, especially when it comes to book writing. When she speaks, I listen… and you should to, if you get the opportunity. But until her next authors and writers conference, here’s the next best thing: her latest book: Snappy Sassy Salty!
Could you use a pick-me-up?
A bit of inspiration or silliness?
How about something to chew on or get you unstuck?
How about your clients and followers?
In Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, you will find all that and more. This is a collection of favorite advice from Judith Briles over the years to thousands of authors.
Coffee along with the right words creates the perfect buzz!
As a blogger, I know that the right combination of words engages readers. When a slump hits or your writer juice isn’t flowing, authors need a goose.
Along with a cup of coffee, this little book of short and snappy reminders will get your fingers tapping, your mind buzzing. and your words onto the screen.
Every little blurb is loaded with motivational juice to get writers writing. I bought it to give as a gift, but now the pages are too worn …
If you haven’t worked with Judith, or attended her seminars, you might not know she actually lives, walks and talks these wise words for writers. She’s one of the most helpful, caring, and authentic book experts around … a true book shepherd.
Today, Tuesday, July 22, 2014 is the day … don’t delay, get your copy of Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and claim your FREE GIFTS that are designed for authors, writing and publishing success DURING TUESDAY’S OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH:
Your copy of Snappy Sassy Salty is waiting for you here, click now!
