Thursday, July 31, 2008

[Copyblogger] Are You Throwing Away Your Best Content Ideas?

Copyblogger


Are You Throwing Away Your Best Content Ideas?

trash can

Imagine this, if you will.

An old woman, near the end of her life. Shivering in a fleabag apartment without heat in the winter. Walking four miles each way to the food bank, to carry home unmarked cans of mystery meat. Not even a cat to keep her company, because cat food is expensive.

Then one day she dies, and the neighbors find $2.7 million wadded up in her mattress.

It’s a natural human impulse to hold on to what we have. We figure we can handle whatever discomforts we might be facing now, and who knows how bad it could get down the line? So we hoard, saving up our riches for some mythical later time.

What does this have to do with writing?

Everyone who writes faces this at some point. We come up with a powerful idea, something we think will capture a lot of attention. This is the kind of content we know we need to grow our blog and our business.

So of course we can’t waste it on our measly 300 subscribers (or 100, or 12). We start scheming about how we can make it a guest post on Lifehacker, or convince Seth Godin to link to it. We scribble our great idea on a Post-it so we remember to write it up when we hit some magic number of subscribers–500 or 1000 or 10,000.

The Post-it gets dusty. We never hit that magic number. Because we took our best content ideas and stuffed them into a mattress. We didn’t think our small audience was good enough for amazing content, so we never got a larger audience.

The muse is spiteful

Your muse is a fascinating creature, but she is not necessarily very nice. If she sends you a killer idea and you don’t do anything with it, she can get downright mean. She’d rather go play cards with the boys in the basement than think of more great stuff to send you, because you blew her off last time.

Your muse doesn’t care if you’re a flake about your mortgage or your job or that 10 pounds you’re trying to lose. But if you’re a flake about your writing, she’ll turn a cold, cold shoulder. She’s volatile and she has a damned bad temper. So frankly, you need to humor her a little.

(If this sounds like a drag, sorry. Welcome to the life of a person who creates something out of nothing. You always figured there had to be a catch–well, this is it.)

When your muse sends you an amazing idea, you have to do something with it. If at all possible, sit down and write the idea up as soon as it comes to you. If that’s not an option, at least capture the idea and scribble down any details you find exciting. If you can do it, think of a couple of good subheads. Then schedule a time when you can flesh it out.

Ideas go stale quickly. Get to your keyboard and get that post written as soon as you can manage it.

How to get the most value out of your best post ideas

Instead of saving your best ideas for later, get the most out of them today. Don’t just create one cornerstone post–squeeze some extra value out of it.

Create a series. Spend a few minutes mind-mapping, and come up with 5 or 7 spin-off ideas based on that original post. A series is a tremendous traffic builder, even more so when it starts with a strong concept. You might try putting a well-selected, relevant keyword phrase in the title of each post to start collecting search engine traffic.

Create a Squidoo lens. Rework your main points and build a Squidoo lens (a very simple Web page) around them. Work your keyword phrase into the lens title and first paragraph. Link to your post or your series, using that same keyword phrase. Squidoo lenses tend to rank very well in Google. Web searchers can easily discover you there and, if your content is good enough, will follow you to your blog. Remember that you can include an RSS feed to your blog in any Squidoo lenses you create.

Expand it as a free eBook and offer it as a bonus for subscribing to your blog or email list. Be sure to put the blog’s URL in the footer of the eBook, so when it gets passed along, new readers know where to find you. You don’t even necessarily have to expand it–I created a PDF of my 50 Things Your Customers Wish You Knew post, which keeps popping up in unexpected places and funneling traffic back to me.

Offer it as a guest post . . . this week. A lot of us get hung up on pitching guest posts to the biggest sites in the blogosphere. We get all worked up trying to figure out how to attract the attention of the big guys.

That’s all good and well, but when you’re just starting out, don’t overlook guest posting opportunities that are closer to your blog in size. As a rule of thumb, look for blogs with anything from the same number of subscribers you have to 2-3 times your numbers. To keep procrastination from doing you in, write the post first, then figure out who to pitch it to. You can always tweak it to suit your host blog’s readership. Keep offering it to bloggers in your topic until someone bites.

Hoarding ideas is the same as throwing them away

Sometimes you’ll have magnificent ideas that are too far off topic, or too personal to share with the big wide world. Or, even worse, they’re perfect for that next project you have planned, and you don’t want to waste them on the project you’re working on now.

Write them up anyway, even if they never get posted. You don’t have to post every great idea you have, and you probably shouldn’t. But you can’t hoard your best stuff, either.

Your reputation is being built based on what you’re doing now. Grandiose schemes for what you’ll create when you have a gorgeous new blog theme, a wise and loving mentor, enough time to work on your true life’s work are just that . . . schemes.

Your imagination is part of your greatest wealth, but imagination without action is a drug that will waste away the best part of your life. Don’t save the best for later. You might not get any later. Put your best, most glorious work out now, and your spiteful muse will turn into a trustworthy ally.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is an Associate Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.


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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

[Copyblogger] The Zig-Zag Method for Catching Attention and Building Credibility

Copyblogger


The Zig-Zag Method for Catching Attention and Building Credibility

Cutback

We give a lot of advice here on Copyblogger. Usually we try to stick to the fundamentals of solid writing and effective persuasion—the things that have been proven to work for decades and even centuries.

Beyond those fundamentals, there’s only one rule… the rule of change. Every technique du jour will inevitably lose effectiveness (at least for a while), and something else will come along that works better (at least for a while).

The problem for some content marketers and copywriters is that they’re always chasing what’s worked, instead of looking for what will work next. Sometimes that can be a safe and effective strategy, and that’s why we look to past winning tactics for guidance. But if you’re focusing on temporary tactics instead of winning fundamentals when browsing your swipe file, you may end up parroting something that no longer works.

Here’s my general rule of thumb:

When I see “everyone” doing something, I know it’s time to do something else. In other words, when everyone is zigging, it’s time to zag.

When zagging becomes fashionable, it’s time to zig.

Zig-Zag for Attention

Doing something that differs from what people expect always tends to catch attention. Part of why we tune things out is a lack of novelty, which makes even previously desirable subject matter mundane.

Taking an approach that differs from the crowd can help you stand out. But you can also mix things up with your own audience to keep things fresh and attract attention.

For example, Copyblogger Associate Editor Jon Morrow produced three great posts recently that did very well in terms of traffic, comments, and links. Here are the titles:

Jon’s idea was to deviate from the Copyblogger norm and write simple, general headlines for these posts, and I agreed. We usually write ultra-specific titles, so Jon was zigging against our own zag… and it worked like a charm.

We almost second-guessed ourselves on How to Be Interesting. The content of that post would have easily supported something like 21 Ways to Be an Interesting Blogger, which would have been a lock for Delicious Popular.

But guess what? It made Delicious Popular anyway, plus the general nature of the title got it picked up by mainstream media outlets as well.

I’m not telling you to stop writing ultra-specific headlines, because they work. What I’m saying is sometimes you’ve got to cutback against the very waves you’ve created to keep things fresh.

Zig-Zag for Credibility

When it comes to copy that sells, credibility with your prospects is key. And when you take the same old tired copywriting approach as everyone in your niche or industry, you come across as manufactured and insincere.

For example, competition in the Internet marketing product arena is fierce, and yet you often see the same copy approaches over and over. So, higher profile marketers have started zigging against the zag.

Frank Kern celebrates his unconventional personality, reveals the very marketing tactics he’s using on his followers, and often makes fun of those tactics. It’s a very endearing way to overcome cynicism and build credibility and trust.

For another example, check out this promotion for the new Mind Valley Labs membership site. The opening breaks two well-established rules of copywriting for information products, and then proceeds to tell you those rules are being broken. Not as clever and entertaining as Kern, but certainly disarming when you’re a prospect who feels like you’ve seen it all.

I did something similar when we released the Teaching Sells report 9 months ago. Conventional wisdom says I should have explicitly painted a rosy lifestyle picture for the reader, in essence selling the root “dream” behind the desire for an online business.

Instead, I turned that wisdom on its head:

Want to have a profitable online business?

Here's the part where I tell you all about how fabulous it is to have a purely online business.

And then I tell you how you can have the lifestyle you want, live where you want, and have unlimited income potential—all from publishing online.

What’s that?

You mean you've already heard all that stuff?

Oh… You’ve already been sold the dream, over and over.

Now you're looking for a way to make the dream come true that actually works?

OK.

Let's just jump straight to that part.

“Selling the dream” to my existing audience (and to bloggers in general) would have been stupid and inauthentic. The report would be off to a terrible start from page one. But by acknowledging the skepticism I know is out there, I caught attention and hopefully maintained credibility with the audience.

And guess what? By acknowledging the “dream” even in an unconventional way, it’s still firmly planted in the mind of the reader. Rather than expressly painting the picture, I let the reader imagine their own version of the dream, which is 1,000 times more powerful than what I might come up with.

Zig-Zag Just to Be Different?

A word of warning.

There’s so much emphasis on being unique and remarkable these days. And for good reason, because being just like everyone else is a one-way ticket to obscurity.

But being different for the sake of it can backfire, too. That’s why I like the term “winning difference.” Yes, be unique and remarkable, but do so in a way that helps you accomplish your goals. Choose something that’s sincere and effective, instead of trying to emulate someone else’s winning difference and ending up a wannabe.

I guess you’d call it strategic zig-zagging. Anything else is just reckless driving.

About the Author: Brian Clark is the founding editor of Copyblogger, and co-founder of Lateral Action. Get more from Brian on Twitter.


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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

[Copyblogger] Why Urgency Succeeds Like Nothing Else In A Bad Economy

Copyblogger


Why Urgency Succeeds Like Nothing Else In A Bad Economy

Urgency

Let’s say you have to pee.

So this is a normal bodily function, eh?

It means if you feel that sensation and you don’t go soon enough, you’ll be in trouble. But how many of us go use the facilities when we first feel the sensation?

And how many of your customers are buying your products or services in a bad economy?

  • Should you discount?
  • Should you put in bigger signs?
  • Should you send out a zillion emails?

Or would it be more prudent (yup, prudent), to understand the factor of urgency?

So what’s this factor of urgency?

Let’s analyze the situation:

  1. The client has the need for your product/service.
  2. They know you’re the right person.
  3. They even know where to go, and what to do.

They should be rushing to buy your product or service. But good grief, they’re holding out.

Holding out?

What are they holding out for?

If a person has a backache, shouldn’t they fix the backache right away? If they have a backache that drives them insane shouldn’t they be rushing to fix it?

Yes, they should, and no they don’t rush. In fact, they’re doing something quite the opposite:

  • They’re putting up with the pain.
  • They’re putting up with the frustration.
  • They complain about it often enough, but won’t get it fixed.

Surely that’s madness.

Yes, but not on their part.

It’s madness on your part!

You are the person to blame. You haven’t provided them an incentive.

  • Or haven’t given clear instructions.
  • Or haven’t created enough risk reversal.
  • Or haven’t created urgency of any kind.

Which takes us back to someone in a dire need to pee. They’re going to be uncomfortable soon enough.

So why won’t they go?

  • There’s no incentive: Is the toilet you’re providing right next to where they are?
  • There are no clear instructions: Do they know where to find the toilet? Can they see the signage?
  • Have you created a well-lit toilet area? Or is it dingy and kinda scary?
  • And is there an urgency? Is this the last toilet for the next 50 miles?

Urgency isn’t created with one angle. There are half a dozen angles, at the very least.

And each urgency angle has its own job to do

Each angle removes one more objection, and creates one more reason to act right away.

You see, humans don’t behave the way you think they behave.

  • They don’t fall madly in love at first sight.
  • They don’t buy stuff the moment they see it.
  • They don’t even pee when they first need to.

They wait, and wait, and wait. So it’s your job to minimize that waiting time.

You do that by repeatedly educating your customers using different angles. But education alone isn’t enough.

You have to give them a reason to buy, and you can’t be shy about selling. It’s the education combined with the sales that creates the factor of urgency.

This understanding of urgency is critical in any economy.

But here’s what happens in a good economy

People buy easily, because hey it’s herd-mentality… You’re buying, I’m buying, so it’s okay to buy.

But then the economy closes in. The clouds graduate to that menacing shade of inky-blue.

And all this time, the herd-mentality hasn’t gone away. Everyone is still following the herd.

Except now, no one is buying

You’re not. And yup, I’m not. So in that worsening economy, urgency becomes ever-so critical.

Even when people are quite clearly in trouble. Even whey know they have a need for a product or a service, they’ll wait.

And the only thing that will get them to act is an even bigger problem.

So let’s look at an example:

Let’s say your customer needs to fix his roof. It’s raining. There are a dozen leaky spots in the house, and two dozen buckets.

But this customer is still waiting.

Unless someone educates him that if he does fix the roof, he’ll pay a lot of bucks. But if he doesn’t, then he’ll end up paying twice as much, as the damage worsens.

And then, that ‘educator’ must provide the incentives, instructions, risk-reversal and yes, urgency. Over and over again, from multiple angles.

You see, creating urgency isn’t a one step, it’s a series of steps.

We have to go when we have to go, only because we feel safe to go. It’s your job to create that safety net, with repeated education and sales.

And that’s when the customer really goes.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah.

What a relief, huh?

For both parties too. :-)

About the Author: Sean D’Souza offers a free report on 'Why Headlines Fail' when you subscribe to his Psychotactics Newsletter. Check out his blog, too.


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[Copyblogger] Blog Mastermind is Live

Copyblogger


Blog Mastermind is Live

Blog Mastermind

Just a quick note to let you know that Yaro Starak’s Blog Mastermind Coaching program just went live. I’ve recommended Yaro’s course since he first developed it last year, and I was one of his earliest beta members. If you’re looking to make more money from your blogging efforts, Yaro will show you step-by-step how he does it, and how you can to.

Check out Blog Mastermind here.


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