Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

5 Ways to Enrichen Your Blog Posts

Business blog authors love writing on blogs since it’s so quick and easy. You can usually post in 20-30 minutes and be done with it. That’s a great use of your marketing time, and you provide readers with valuable content to market your business.

But while ‘quick and easy’ is great, sometimes it’s not enough. Denise and I recommend you write at least one rich and meaty post a week. Stimulate your readers to think. Be profound. Go deep.

“Oh no,” you might be saying. “More time to spend on blogging!”

It gets even worse: here’s another “E” writing tip! Enrichen your blog posts! First it was the 3E’s - Educate, Entertain and Engage readers.

Now there are 4 E’s! Educate, Entertain, Engage and Enrichen with your blog posts!

How do you enrichen your post? Here are 5 ways. But don’t expect to be writing and posting in 20 minutes. This takes time to read, research, find quotes, and to link back to sources.

Brian Clark and the Secret to Life

If you haven't read Copyblogger Brian Clark's story The Snowboard, the Subdural Hemotoma and the Secret to Life yet, do so now. This is what I refer to as telling your story and capturing the hearts of readers. But be prepared to be moved...

Cornerstone Content for Better Business Blogging

Do you know what I think most business blogs are missing? A clearly defined key post that explains:

• what the blog author’s core message is
• what the blog author’s story is and why they are blogging
• what the blog author really values and cares about
• what the blog author gets angry about

I call this Cornerstone Content. Others call it pillar posts, flagship content, core content.

It needs to be featured on special stand alone page(s). You announce it in a side-bar notice and link to it so that first time visitors know exactly where they can read your cornerstone message.

Content Marketing for Consultants: How Michael got more business than he can handle

Many of the professionals I work with providing newsletter services (www.CustomizedNewsletters.com) are highly educated consultants and executive coaches who make their living by delivering information, coaching and training services to others in organizations.

In other words, they're independent service professionals who are hired by businesses to create great results: like my friend Michael who markets his business writing services to corporations. In 2003, Mike had a problem because of the economy at that time. Businesses were pulling in the reins on hiring outside consultants. Remind you of anything?

If this kind of story sounds familiar to you, read on. I want you to go look at a video where Mike tells his story of how he turned an economic downturn into more business than he could handle.

http://www.theblogsquad.net/wpvideo

I often ask consultants, "Besides your newsletter, what other ways do you market yourself and get clients?" Nine out of ten rely on word of mouth referrals from past clients and colleagues. Only a few are regularly using email, blogs or social networking methods for getting known and getting leads.

My suggestion?

Hypnotic Writing? Jon McCulloch speaks out

Guest author Jon McCulloch emailed me from Ireland the other day in response to my posts about hypnotic writing as a sales copy technique. I asked Jon to share with everyone here his thoughts about Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Writing book:

Hi Patsi,

Your review of Joe Vitale's "Hypnotic Writing" was interesting, although you might enjoy another's perspective.

Vitale does have a lot of interesting stuff to say, although he's done the usual thing and hijacked a lot of pretty basic concepts we've known for a long time and just hung another label on them ("hypnotic").  A smart thing to do, of course, but let's not pretend he's invented anything new.

But my biggest objection to the book is the pseudo-science he employs to "prove" his claims. He's by no means alone in this, but since he's in the spotlight he'll be the one to "shine", so to speak.

First, for example, in several places he implies he can write copy to "compel" people to buy.

Gullible or not? Or just easy to persuade...

I had to let out a sigh of relief when re-reading Robert Cialdini's Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. Seems the esteemed professor and expert on compelling behaviors admits to being somewhat of an easy sell himself. Which is why he says he started studying people who fall for sales scams and ways they are influenced to act.

Whew, I'm not alone. I love a good story and easily get roped in by expert copywriters. Even when I know an offer's too good to be true, I want to buy it just to see, to make it work anyway.

Negative Business Blogging: Just don't bore me...

How can you create better business blog posts? This isn't always easy to do. How many different ways can you write about your expertise with enough pizazz to create buzz or at least a few reader comments? Here's a suggestion:

Go negative. Take something someone said and rigorously disagree with them. People love reading an argument. It's human nature. But there's a right way to do this...

Easier said than done if you want to maintain good relationships with colleagues and peers, if you ask me. One person who gets it right is Leesa Barnes, Podcasting Expert. Last week she disagreed with someone over the environment. I thought I'd share this excerpt and link to her post. She knows how to "go negative" in a way that is cool and stirs up the conversation.

Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day and I’ll be honest. I don’t care about the environment. Actually, I do care about the environment, I just don’t care about all the hype surrounding it. It seems that people care about the environment only when it’s cool to do so.

Read her full post and then see how you can use  negativity to create an interesting post for your readers. Of course, you can always disagree with me and start an argument about this...;-)

Greased Pig Marketing, the Sweeney Todd Way: If advertising is dead, why won't it go away?

Sonia Simone asks a good question as guest author over on Copyblogger: If advertising is dead, why won't it go away? Here's an excerpt of her excellent post including one of the best metaphors for old style, in-your-face marketing I've read in a long time:

"The old advertising model included two major pieces — attraction and conversion. Effective ads attracted attention, then converted that attention into action.

But that conversion doesn’t happen by sliding customers down a greased chute like a pig being rolled into the slaughterhouse. (If that’s your model, remember that Sweeney Todd’s return and referral business was pretty lousy.)

Those two still matter, but they’re overshadowed by two new pieces — referral and conversation."

I just love a good metaphor. The idea of sliding readers down a long sales letter to slaughter and the comparison to Sweeney Todd's "return and referral business" is hysterical. Bravo.

The point is a good one. Read the post for a good overview of the way new marketing with content is evolving. Your business needs to keep this in mind.

Hypnotic Phrases: Why they work

You might be curious if you read my previous post about Joe Vitale's book Hypnotic Writing. I don't think I did a good job of explaining why and how hypnotic phrases actually work for you when writing copy and blog posts.

You're probably savvy enough to spot the hypnotic phrases I used towards the end of the post as examples. I used them to illustrate tongue-in-cheek how to implant the suggestion of going over to buy the book on Amazon. But I know that much is lost on the Web when it comes to subtle attempts at humor.

I've been thinking a lot about how and why using certain phrases really do work to persuade readers. This is important stuff for anyone who wants to develop relationships with clients through writing, especially on the Web.

Here's why hypnotic writing works for your business:

It's about connecting with readers (almost intimately).

In person, you would think about establishing rapport through non-verbal behaviors and using your eyes and face.

In writing, you express how your reader is responding to what you write, what they might be thinking and feeling. And sometimes you are only guessing and suggesting...

Every time you use the word 'you,' you are connecting with your reader.

Seduce and Persuade Your Customers with Your Words

I spent the weekend devouring every word Joe Vitale wrote in his recently re-released book Hypnotic Writing. Fascinating and useful.

Fortunately I had some copy to write for a new program Denise and I are launching soon. I was able to go back and rewrite a few things, adding some "hypnotic phrases." As you read this you might be thinking I've gone off the deep end and drunk some California Kool-Aid...

But I assure you, Joe Vitale isn't even from here, and he's made seriously big money writing words. These are not only genuine copywriting insights, but proven tactics that get people to buy.

I didn't have any trouble buying into the concept of creating a "waking trance," since I studied hypnotherapy in England 20 years ago. I even had a hypnotherapy practice here helping people to quit smoking or lose weight. This was while I was going to graduate school to get my doctorate in psychology.