Archive for Writing
Developing A Writing Style
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Some people are natural-born writers. They hold a pen up to paper and words start flowing. On the other hand, there are people who struggle to write a few paragraphs. Having a unique writing style will help set your writing apart from others, even if you fall into the group of people that finds writing difficult. Here are some ways to develop your writing style.
The best writers have a love of words, and they are avid readers. Believe it or not, reading is a great way to develop your writing style. The types of things you enjoy reading are probably things you would enjoy writing.
Reading other peoples’ writing will also give you insights on your own writing. As you read, some authors’ styles will seem to pop out at you as very good or very bad. You probably have a writing style similar to the authors you enjoy reading.
What are your writing strengths? Some people are great at writing news-oriented stories, while some people prefer to write reviews and opinion pieces. If you like to teach people things, your writing strength could be how-to articles. If you enjoy coming up with slogans and catchy headlines, you might be a natural when it comes to copywriting. There are many types of writing to explore.
In order to develop your writing style, you need to write. Try to write something everyday. The more you write, the easier it will get. Experiment with different styles and techniques. You will see that some types of writing come easier to you. Blogs and journals are a great way to get writing practice.
These “practice writings” don’t need to be masterpieces, and you can delete what you write if you want. The point is to keep your writing muscles flexed by exercising them a little each day. Your natural strengths will come out as you try different forms of writing.
Embrace your personality and voice as you write. Use words that you would use when you speak. If your writing sounds unnatural and awkward, your reader will be turned off. Let your personality come out in your writing. Have a conversation with your readers as you would with someone you were speaking to face to face. If you like talking about certain subjects, write about them.
Free writing can also help you develop your unique style. Sit down in a quiet place and set a timer for five to ten minutes. Clear your head and start writing what comes to your mind, and keep writing until time runs out. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling. Just write whatever you think of.
When the timer goes off, read over what you have written. It may not make sense, but it can give you ideas for other things to write about.
Getting Testimonials for Your Next Book
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You’ve just created a book and you’re ready to publish. Congratulations! The book market is still growing in demand. And publishing is a fantastic way to build your business and make money. However, it’s not enough to simply publish a book. If you want to sell books then you’ll need to do a bit of marketing too. Testimonials may be a key ingredient in your book-marketing strategy.
Before You Publish
Before you publish your book it’s a good idea to gather a few testimonials. These testimonials can be used on your website and sales page. They can also be used inside the cover or on the back of your book to help a prospect justify the buying decision. Collecting testimonials before you publish gives you the opportunity to hand pick the best testimonials to include in your book.
Who Gives the Best Testimonials?
Generally, it’s easier to ask for testimonials from peers and associates. They are the people you know and trust. If you have a sizeable rolodex of people in your industry or complimentary industries then you’re ready to ask the big question, “Will you write a testimonial for my book?”
People in your niche or in complimentary niches make the best testimonials because they add credibility. For example, if you wrote a book about “How to Get Started with CrossFit” and you have a testimonial from a personal trainer, that makes more sense than a testimonial from a home organizer. It adds more credibility to the testimonial.
Asking the Big Question
The best way to ask for a testimonial is via email. This is because it makes it easy for you to attach chapters from your book and sample testimonials. Write the email asking for the testimonial and describe the book and the book’s market. Even though you’re talking to people you know, they will still want to know what’s in it for them. So let them know how they benefit. Usually, the benefit is in the form of a link to their website and including their name on your book and/or website with that link.
It’s also recommended that you include the attachments already mentioned – a few sample chapters and a few sample testimonials. Let them know that they can modify the attached testimonials to meet their needs or they can write their own. Finally, give a time frame that you need the testimonial back from them and thank them for their consideration and their time.
As you gather your testimonials, don’t forget to keep the information organized and to send thank-you’s to each person who responds. These people have contributed to your future success and may continue to play a role in your book sales and marketing. Treat them graciously.
Landing Pages That Get Results
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Getting a high conversion rate with your landing page isn’t just about writing good copy. Design can play a huge factor as well. Poor design can kill even world class copy. Yet many entrepreneurs don’t really understand what goes into landing page design.
The design of a landing page doesn’t use the same rules of design as graphic design. The goal isn’t necessarily to look good, though that doesn’t hurt.
Instead, the goal is to direct attention flow as clearly as possible. You want to first make it easy for the headline to catch attention. Then you want to direct that attention in an unobstructed way.
Here are a few tips on landing page design.
Headline Color and Font
Red has traditionally been one of the highest converting colors in any market. This is still true today, with a few notable exceptions.
In markets that are heavily marketed to, such as the “make money online” market or the “lose weight” market, red headlines can actually decrease conversions. People are tired of hardcore sales messages and start to tune them out.
In a heavily marketed market, try a deep blue color instead. In other markets, red is still a healthy choice.
For fonts, always go for a sans-serif font. Tahoma has been tested to pull extremely well. Make the font as big as possible to fill the whole screen.
Graphical Headline, Graphical Subheads
Instead of just using plain text for your headline, you can really bring it to life by making it a graphic instead.
This allows you to add drop shadows, yellow highlights, creative punctuation and so on. This applies to both headline and subheads.
If you use this technique, always try to compress the image as much as possible. Your headline should load instantly when visitors load the website.
Color, Background and Width
The background of your sales letter should be as unobtrusive as possible. Many top sales letters just have white backgrounds. If you want something a little better looking, you can use a slight color or a mild pattern.
Never use a background that calls attention. Your reader’s eyes should be on the sales message, not the design.
Always use black text on a white foreground. Different text colors and different foreground colors never, ever work.
The width of the sales letter should be relatively narrow. This helps create the sense that the content is easy to read. The width should be no more than 700 pixels wide, preferably below 650 pixels.
Ezine Marketing Tips to Promote the Solopreneur
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Have you thought about using an ezine to market your business? If not, consider using an online magazine to gain interest and traffic. Here are a few tips to use as you craft your magazine.
People love to read magazines. They provide articles, ads and photos to view. You can use one as a way to market your business.
With magazines also come subscribers. It is one step closer to getting people to try your products and invest in your business. Here are some ways you can use your ezine to leverage your business position.
Offer a free subscription – Just for signing up and giving their name and email address, you can offer free subscriptions to your online magazine.
Write articles about your products – You can write articles related to your niche market, helpful ones that offer timely and expert advice to your reading audience. But, don’t forget to write pieces about your business products. Let people know that you are an expert and then tell them about what you do.
Create a readers section – This is where readers can have their questions featured and answered by you. Include an email address where they can send them.
Offer advertising for free or at a discount – This is one way to pay for your magazine efforts. Offer a free month of advertising in exchange for subscription. Also include the price for advertisements depending on where on the page their ad is located.
Have guest writers – Ask readers and colleagues to write articles. If their submission is accepted, then they can get a discount on their total product order on your site. And, you can give them a byline.
Use directories – Ezine directories such as ezine-dir.com allow you to create a page to promote your magazine. Include links to your advertising page, your magazine site and your website. Even create a page that gives them a sample of the online magazine to read.
Hold contests – Everyone loves contests. The prize could be a free item from your store (within a certain price). Second and third prizes could be discounts upon purchasing. Feature the names of the contest winners in the next edition after the contest ends.
Send out mailings to your email list – To those that have opted in for contacts on your website, send them an email autoresponder with a link to where they can subscribe to your online magazine. You can advertise a free report as incentive to sign up.
Promote it on social networks – Do you have a Facebook business page? Talk about your ezine there. Even create a magazine page where subscribers can give feedback on your work.
Ezines can be used to promote your business by providing vital information about your business to current and prospective customers.
If you’re ready to ramp up your marketing efforts, then you need my weekly Biz Tips ezine. By subscribing now, as a bonus you can have a copy of my ebook Biz Tips: The Book – Entrepreneur Edition absolutely free, filled with business and marketing tips designed to help you where you are right now. The weekly business tips, Biz Tips for Solo Business Owners and Entrepreneurs is delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.
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Getting Over Blogger’s Block
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Writer’s block is a common ailment among writers, whether it is a news reporter under a deadline or a student trying to finish a report. If you are a blogger, you may find yourself suffering from “blogger’s block”, the condition of not knowing what to put in your blog.
Your blog should feature your voice. It is easy to find reprint articles when you feel stuck, but try to avoid putting them in your blog. You can publish a reprint article on your website and create a blog post that links to it, but keep the blog content your own. This will enable your readers to get a feel for your personality, as well as develop a relationship with you.
The media is a great place to find things to blog about. Watch the local news, read the paper, or check media websites. Take a look at what is going on in the world and spin the stories into a tale for your readers. If you have a website about coaching solopreneurs and come across a news clip that features something they would find interesting, by all means, blog about it. After you give your opinion on the story, link to the original news source as a convenience for your readers. They may find your post so interesting; they’ll want to read the original story, too.
You can blog about your affiliate programs and make money at the same time. If you are an affiliate for something, find a way to create a blog post about it. You can review the item, give tips on how to use the item and so forth. You will have something to write about, and if your reader clicks on your link and purchases the item, you’ll make money at the same time.
Blogs are also a great way to promote your website. Let your readers know when you have made a change to your site, such as publishing a new article. Create a blog post that contains the first few lines of the article to tease your readers, as well as a link to the page that features the full text.
Keep your posts timely and helpful. If it is almost Labor Day, adding a post with tips on “spring cleaning” your business isn’t very timely. However, tips on rejuvinating your business when kids go back to school, would be both timely and helpful.
To help your readers stay up to date with the new posts that you add, install Google Feedburner. Once you register, you will be given a small amount of HTML to add to your blog. Your readers can choose to subscribe and have your new posts delivered to their email or computer’s home page.
