“Everything  that  needs  to  be  said  has  already  been  said.  But,  since  no  one  

was  listening,  everything    must  be  said  again”  (Andre  Gide)  

The  essen@al  star@ng  point  

 The  essen@al  star@ng  point  for  effec@ve  

communica@on  is  to  see  the  situa@on  from  the  point  of  view  of  your  audience.    

   “How  will  my  audience  receive  this  message?  

What  will  they  do  with  this  message?”  

Miss  Universally-­‐Popular  

Our  aims:  

•  To  aJract  our  ideal  clients  to  our  blog  •  To  educate  blog  visitors  about  what  we  do,  and  why  we’re  wonderful  (our  value  and  point  of  difference)  

•  To  convert  blog  readers  into  clients  •  To  beJer  retain  exis@ng  clients  and  keep  them  enthused  and  referring  new  business.  

What  makes  your  business  unique?    

You  need  to  know  what  makes  your  business  unique  if  you  are  to  demonstrate  to  your  readers  why  they  should  pay  aJen@on.    

What  do  you  do/think  differently?    

What  do  you  want  to  be  known  for?    

Where  do  you  want  to  go  next?  

Are  you  Oprah?  

Exercise:  choose  your  categories  (your  key  blog  topics)  

1.  …  2.  …  3.  …  4.  …  5.  …  6.  …  7.  …  

•  5-­‐7  categories  •  Don’t  box  yourself  

in  by  being  too  specific  

•  Make  them  easy  to  understand  

Different  types  of  blog  posts  

o Directly  OR  indirectly  educa@onal  about  your  offerings  

o Directly  OR  indirectly  addresses  barriers  to  purchase  

o Case  study  by  client  OR  by  you          …  And  …  

EPIC  CONTENT  

People  are  reading  your  blog  because  they  want  to  be:  

 Informed  Entertained    Inspired  

Every  single  blog  post  must  be  –  

 Relevant  Useful  Valuable    

 …  to  your  Ideal  Client  

Classic,  or  evergreen  content  (to  fall  back  on)  

1.  What  are  the  ‘classic’  topics  of  your  niche?  2.  What  needs  to  change  about  those  topics?  3.  What  would  be  so  much  beJer  than  how  

things  currently  stand?  4.  What  new  perspec@ve  from  a  different  

sector  could  you  bring  to  the  topic?  5.  What  new  perspec@ve,  or  actude,  could  you  

bring  to  the  topic?  

EPIC  CONTENT  

•  A  hero  •  A  villain  

•  An  emo@onal  story  arc  •  An  inspiring,  meaningful  message  

THE  RANT  

Pay  close  a;en<on  to  repeated  rants!      If  you  find  yourself  repeatedly  ran@ng  on  the  same  topic,  that’s  a  sign  of:  

a)  Passion  b)  A  possible  key  topic    c)  An  an@-­‐trend  (others  may  be  thinking  just  like  

you)  d)  Gecng  crotchety.    

New  angles  on  old  topics  

•  Of  the  classic  topics  covered  on  other  blogs,  what  elicits  the  strongest  emo@ons  (for  and  against)  in  the  comments?    

•  Do  you  agree  or  disagree  with  what’s  currently  being  ‘put  out  there’?  

•  What’s  being  overlooked  in  discussions  and  current  trends  and  why  is  it  important  to  be  addressed?  

Topical  –  be  quick  (or  well-­‐organised)  

‘How  to’  headlines  

•  How  to  [Blank]  and  [Blank]    •  How  to  [Blank]  Even  If  [Common  Obstacle]  •  How  to  [Blank]  Without  [Objec@onable  Ac@on]    •  How  to  [Do  Something]  While  You  [Do  Something  Else]  ���  

•  How  to  [Do  Something]  That  Your  [Target  Audience]  Will  Love  

•  How  to  Use  [Blank]  to  [Blank]  •  How  to  [Blank]  –  The  Ul@mate  Guide  

Numbered  lists  

•  Numerals  work  beJer  than  words  (ie:  10  not  ten).  

•  In  Buffer’s  research,  higher  numbered  lists  (e.g.  “100  ways  to…”)  were  shared  more,  as  were  headlines  that  started  with  a  digit.  

Simplicity  &  Produc@vity  Hacks  

•  The  Minimalist  Guide  to  [Aggrava@on]  •  11  Ways  to  Simplify  Your  [Blank]    •  10  Shortcuts  for  [Comple@ng  Tedious  Process]  in  Record  Time  

•  Get  Rid  of  [Recurring  Problem]  Once  and  for  All    

•  How  to  [Blank]  in  5  Minutes  •  A  Cheat  Sheet  for  [Blank]  

Fear  and  certainty  

•  How  Safe  Is  Your  [Valuable  Person/Object]  from  [Threat]?    

•  The  Shocking  Truth  about  [Blank]    •  How  [Blank]  Gamble  with  Your  [Blank]:  7  Ways  to  Protect  Yourself  

•  13  Things  Your  [Trusted  Person]  Won't  Tell  You    •  5  LiJle-­‐Known  Factors  That  Could  Affect  Your  [Blank]  

Fear  and  certainty  

“Online  Security:  A  step-­‐by-­‐step  guide  to  keeping  your  business  and  customers  safe”  

Make  it  relevant!  Address  your  ideal  client  in  your  @tle  

Create  a  curiousity  gap  

“BOOM,  ROASTED:  Here's  Why  You  Don't  Ask  a  Feminist  to  Hawk  Your  

Sexist  Product”    

•  If  it’s  too  vague,  it’s  uninteres@ng  •  If  it’s  too  specific,  I  don’t  need  to  click  •  Instead,  tease  and  en@ce  your  audience  to  click  

 

Consider  power  words  

You/Your  Surprising  Cri<cal  Huge/Big  Failure  Kill  

Mother  Dying  Secret  Truth    

Hurt  Pain  Smart      

Hooks:  lead  with  the  ac@on  

“When  I  tell  people  that  I  eat  dessert  every  single  day,  most  are  surprised.  Many  don’t  believe  me.  Ea@ng  dessert  every  day  without  pucng  on  weight  and  without  feeling  guilty  about  it  is  such  a  foreign  concept  to  most  people.”    

“When  I  was  21,  I  arrived  in  Bangkok  at  midnight  for  the  first  @me,  with  no  hotel  booked  and  nobody  wai@ng  for  me.  Of  the  eight  million-­‐odd  souls  of  Bangkok,  I  knew  no-­‐one.  I  got  a  taxi  to  the  tourist  area,  found  a  @ny  hotel  down  a  narrow  alleyway,  and  secured  myself  a  dinky  liJle  room  with  a  shared  outside  bathroom.  Then  I  lay  on  that  narrow  bed  and  felt  unbelievably  proud  of  myself.”  

Hooks:  sta@s@cs  &  research  

“Are  Poor  Nego<a<on  Skills  Damaging  Your  Earning  Ability?  Nego<a<on  Tips  for  Women.  

 According  to  a  study  conducted  by  The  Heat  Group,  over  half  of  Australia’s  women  (55.4%)  believe  they  aren’t  being  paid  the  wage  they  deserve  due  to  poor  nego@a@on  skills.”  

Headlines  (Write  crap  and  keep  wri@ng  crap,  un@l  you’re  no  

longer  wri@ng  crap)  1.  …  2.  …  3.  …  4.  …  5.  …  6.  …  7.  …  8.  …  9.  …  

10.  …  11.  …  12.  …  13.  …  14.  …  15.  …  16.  …  17.  …  18.  …  

In  summary  

•  ‘How  to’  …  •  Numbered  lists  •  Simplicity  and  produc@vity  hacks  •  Fear  and  certainty  •  Address  your  ideal  client  in  your  headline  •  Create  a  curiousity  gap  •  Strike  the  perfect  balance  between  anger  and  happiness  

•  Consider  your  power  words  

Use  one  big  idea  

•  What  is  your  main  message?  •  Focus  on  just  one  thing  in  your  headline  and  hook.  

•  Don’t  be  too  clever  in  your  headline  and  hook  as  you  risk  it  not  being  understood.  Save  complexity  for  your  conclusion.  

Drawing  connec@ons  

•  ‘You’  •  ‘Because’  •  Don’t  use  ‘set  up’  sentences  that  are  statements  without  arguments,  unless  your  sentences  are  very  short.  

(Eg:  “To  be  rooted  in,  move  and  express  from  soul  is  the  ul@mate  experience,  it  is  not  to  be  missed.  When  the  personality  self  surrenders  to  the  guidance  of  soul,  it  has  the  opportunity  to  go  beyond  it’s  self-­‐imposed  limita@ons  and  truly  experience  being  alive.”)  

Be  relatable  •  Beware  “The  curse  of  knowledge”,  (Chip  &  Dan  

Health,  Made  to  S;ck)  –  describe  the  symptom,  its  deeper  source,  and  your  solu@on  in  the  words  of  your  ideal  clients.  

•  Can  you  use  examples  (your  own,  your  “friend’s”  or  “common  problems  I  see..”)?    •  How  can  you  inspire,  engage,  guide  or  lead  without  @pping  into  appearing  condescending,  domineering,  or  smug?  •  Some  personal  details  make  you  far  more  relatable.  

Pick  3  of  your  favourite  headlines  

•  Flesh  out  the  opening  paragraph,  or  hook  •  Write  2-­‐5  subheads  for  each  •  Write  a  simple  conclusion  for  each.  

Building  credibility  

•  Outside  of  headlines,  avoid  “always”,  “never”  and  hyperbole  

•  Write  confidently    •  Use  sta@s@cs,  technical  details  or  quotes  from  other  people  to  increase  credibility.  Technical  details  enhance  trust  and  make  you  more  convincing.  Include  figures;  be  specific  

•  (Don’t  break  your  ‘flow’  to  supplement  with  technical  details  if  you  can  help  it).  

Return  to  your  3  blog  ‘shells’  

•  For  each  of  the  3,  write  down:    o   What,  if  any,  data,  research  or  technical  detail  would  improve  this?  

o   Who  would  be  a  great  authority  to  interview  on  this  topic?  

Wri@ng:  web  readability  

•  Keep  your  paragraphs  short  –  no  more  than  three  sentences  and  some@mes  only  one.  

•  Use  lots  of  subheads.  These  should  be  able  to  be  scanned  and  will  help  give  your  wri@ng  structure.  

•  Keep  your  blog  widths  shorter  rather  than  longer  –  about  12  words  per  line  is  op@mal.    

•  Make  sure  your  mother  doesn’t  have  to  squint  to  read  your  blog  –  increase  font  size!  

In  summary  …  

•  Your  headline  and  hook  (opening  sentences)  are  paramount.  Make  this  about  one  big  idea.  Don’t  give  away  too  much.  

•  Write  it  TO  someone  (your  ideal  client),  use  ‘you’  and  be  relatable,  not  obnoxious.  

•  Make  it  readable  and  able  to  be  scanned  –  short  paragraphs,  subheadings,  large(r)  font.  

•  Use  data,  technical  detail,  or  quotes  for  credibility.  

Short-­‐cut!  Guest  blogging  

•  Before  you  have  much  of  an  audience,  it  makes  far  more  sense  to  guest  blog  rather  than  publishing  on  your  own  blog.  

•  Guest  blogging  allows  you  to  short-­‐cut  your  blog’s  growth  by  borrowing  another’s  audience.  

•  Then  you  can  funnel  those  readers  onto  your  blog  and,  once  you  have  a  small  group  of  dedicated  followers,  you  can  ramp  up  the  content  on  your  blog.  

Why  guest  blog?  

•  Wri@ng  &  editorial  guidance  (for  free)  from  the  blog  owner  

•  New  traffic  •  New  readers  •  New  business  •  More  credibility  •  Improved    Google  ranking.    

How  much  naked  is  too  much  naked?  

Ques@ons  only  you  can  answer  

•  How  will  this  par@cular  personal  story  likely  be  received  by  my  audience?  

•  Is  this  personal  story  in  support  of  my  broader  business  story?  

•  Will  this  story  likely  be  readily  understood  by  a  total  stranger  unfamiliar  with  my  business?  

•  Who  am  I  likely  to  aJract  by  revealing  this  par@cular  story?  

•  Am  I  ready  to  receive  responses  (or  deafening  silence)?  

What’s  your  ‘why’?  

•  If  someone  doesn’t  know  you,  why  should  they  care  about  what  you  have  to  say?  What’s  in  it  for  your  readers?  

•  You  have  to  con@nually  answer:  why  are  you  doing  what  you’re  doing  and  why  should  people  care?  

•  Most  people  are  loyal  as  long  as  they  are  finding  the  inspira@on,  educa@on,  or  entertainment  that  originally  drew  them  to  you.  

Pull  out  5  deeper  issues  your  ideal  client  grapples  with.  Now  match  each  of  these  with  5  specific  outcomes  of  your  offerings  

1.  …  2.  …  3.  …  4.  …  5.  …  

1.  …  2.  …  3.  …  4.  …  5.  …  

Edi@ng  

Leave  a  gap  between    wri@ng  &  edi@ng  

•  Write  blogs  in  batches.  When  you’re  finished,  walk  away.  

•  Ideally,  leave  edi@ng  for  tomorrow.  •  Or,  move  onto  another  task,  take  a  shower,  have  a  cup  of  tea  or  take  a  walk  before  returning  to  edit.  

Print  out  your  work  

•  Cri@quing  someone  else’s  work  is  far  easier  than  deconstruc@ng  your  own  because  outside  eyes  bring  a  fresh  perspec@ve.    

•  Approach  your  own  work  cri@cally  by  simula@ng  this  ‘outsider’  perspec@ve  by  viewing  it  in  a  form  other  than  the  one  you  wrote  it  in.    

•  Print  it.  

Words  &  phrases  to  avoid  

Incen@vise  Diarise  Take-­‐away  Moving  forward  Simply  the  best  The  first  The  only  Try  and  find    (should  be  try  to  find)  

Grounded  /  Grounding  Holding  the  space  Transforma@onal  Authen@c  /  Authen@city  Ah-­‐ha!  moment  Enriching  Empowering  

Look  for  the  hook  

•  The  ‘meat’  of  your  blog  post  may  be  solid,  but  without  a  great  hook,  nobody  will  read  it.  Your  hook  –  your  headline  and  opening  sentences  –  is  your  most  important  part.  

•  Within  a  sentence,  you  can  order  your  drama,  with  most  important  first.  Each  sentence  should  lead  into  the  next.  

Cull  and  @ghten  

•  Some@mes  you  have  to  kill  your  babies  •  When  in  doubt,  leave  out  •  Cull  the  liJle  words  •  Cull  extraneous  adjec@ves  •  If  you  need  a  second  sentence  to  explain  the  first,  you  need  to  rewrite  your  sentence  

•  Don’t  be  afraid  of  short  sentences.  

Listen  for  rhythm  

•  Read  it  out  loud  (you  can  whisper)  •  Listen  for  smooth-­‐sounding  rhythm  •  Long  sentences  juxtaposed  with  short  sentences  create  drama  

•  Listen  for  clunky  syntax.  

Read  as  your  audience  

•  You  aren’t  wri@ng  for  you.    •  You  aren’t  wri@ng  to  impress  your  mother.    •  You  aren’t  wri@ng  to  gain  the  aJen@on  and  admira@on  of  your  colleagues.  

•  Read  your  blog  post  as  your  Ideal  Client.  

In  summary  …  

•  Leave  a  gap  between  wri@ng  and  edi@ng  •  Always  edit  printed  copies  •  Look  for  the  hook  –  highlight  the  drama  •  Tighten  your  language  •  Listen  for  rhythm    •  Read  as  your  audience.  

If  your  blog  reader  is  qualified,  why  don’t  they  buy?  

Fear    

Have  I  made  the  right  decision?  Am  I  was@ng  my  money?  Will  they  deliver  what  they  promise?  

Trust    

Do  I  respect  this  business?  Are  they  credible?    Do  they  have  my  best  interests  at  heart?      

 

1%  will  buy    

Warm  them  up  to  purchasing.  Use  your  blog  posts  to  tell  them  exactly  what  you’re  doing,  why  you’re  doing  it  and  when  the  op@on  to  buy  will  come.    

Don't  surprise  people.  Spend  a  long  @me  warming  them  up  to  the  purchase.  Then  …  

 

Ask  for  the  sale  

•  Keep  it  simple.  The  more  confusing  the  call  to  ac@on,  the  less  effec@ve.  Make  the  offer  clear.  Don't  have  any  condi@ons  or  special  rules.  Don't  force  people  to  click  through  to  too  many  pages  to  complete  the  ac@on.    

•  Make  it  obvious.  Don’t  bury  your  call  to  ac@on  at  the  boJom  of  a  page.  Some  por@on  of  your  website  visitors  are  looking  for  a  call  to  ac@on.    

•  Don’t  become  someone  else.  If  you’re  excited,  share  that.  If  it’s  par@cularly  useful  for  some  type  of  person  but  not  another,  express  that.  

Mistake  #1  

Stopping    o Create  a  schedule  and  commit  o Have  content  in  reserve  o Keep  revisi@ng  your  ‘why’  to  ensure  it’s  relevant  

o If  it’s  no  longer  relevant,  change  it  up.  It’s  your  business  a{er  all  

o Time  is  a  luxury,  especially  in  marke@ng  

Mistake  #2  

Overlooking  promo@ng    and  networking  

 o Set  up  a  process  for  promo@ng  each  and  every  post  

o Be  generous  sharing,  credi@ng,  and  linking  to  others  

o Invest  @me  every  week  into  mee@ng  people  online  (and  off).  

Mistake  #3  

Being  conserva@ve  

o All  progress  happen  through  short-­‐cuts  and  leaps  

o Make  boldness  part  of  your  business  strategy.  

Mistake  #4  

Listening  to  the  nay-­‐sayers  

o Forget  about  trying  to  please  everyone  o When  we  “dare  greatly”,  when  we  are  personal  and  vulnerable  and  take  chances,  we’ll  be  inadvertently  holding  a  very  uncomfortable  mirror  up  to  some  people  

o Some  people  will  be  dying  to  watch  us  fail  to  confirm  that  it’s  best  to  maintain  the  status  quo.  

Links  are  currency  on  the  internet  

 Gecng  search  engine  traffic  isn’t  about  keywords.  It’s  not  even  about  blog  posts.  It’s  about  crea@ng  something  so  amazing  everyone  talks  about  it  and  links  to  it.    So  do  that.  

Write  every  day  

•  Wri@ng  is  a  discipline.  It  needs  to  be  exercised  •  Edi@ng  is  where  the  magic  happens  •  Brevity  is  a  courtesy  •  Be  bold  •  Don’t  be  boring  •  Don’t  worry  about  upsecng  people.    

Fight  through  writer’s  block  

•  How  can  you  let  a  blank  page  scare  you?  Fill  it.  •  Pay  aJen@on  to  your  rants.    Ask  yourself:  o   Why  do  I  care?  o In  an  ideal  world,  what  would  happen?  o   What  would  Tyler  Durden  do?  

Read  

•  This  is  non-­‐nego@able  •  Be  discerning.  

Invest  in  thinking  @me  

•  What  can  you  say  ‘no’  to  so  you  can  say  ‘yes’  to  thinking,  wri@ng  and  blogging?    

•  Wri@ng  requires  considerable  thinking  @me.  Luckily,  you  can  combine  thinking  with  other  ac@vi@es!  (Par@cularly  exercise.)    

•  You  need  @me  to  think  to  develop  your  insights  and  opinions  otherwise  you’ll  just  be  regurgita@ng  what  everyone  else  says.  

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