Tag Archives: Audience

Follow Your MAP to Greater Writing Productivity

Posted on by

When you hear the word “outline,” do you give a little shudder? You’re not alone. For so many of us, the outline evokes painful memories of five-paragraph essays, clumsy thesis statements, and prayers for snow days. Outlines tend to make writers, especially younger ones, feel confined and boxed in, forced to quell their creativity for the sake of structure. It’s time to let those middle school nightmares go. An outline can be so much more than where Roman numerals go to die. In fact, when you learn the right approach, an outline can actually make you a better writer. I know it sounds hard to believe, but keep reading and I’ll explain what I mean. MAP it out Effective writing has structure, no matter what kind of writing you’re doing. An outline is just a way of making that structure visible. A well-crafted outline makes you a more productive writer when it’s time to put pen to page. It’s also the foundation of your MAP. Sorry for the caps … I’m not yelling. It’s actually an acronym that stands for: Medium Audience Purpose Most forms of media writing (and yes, a blog post counts) can be boiled down to these three basic elements. The scope and nature of a writing project can change, sometimes dramatically, if one of those elements shifts. Say, for example, you want to create a news release about your company’s latest innovation. The way you present and organize information for that project will be different than if you were going to write an article for a respected industry publication instead — even if you’re writing about the same innovation. In that case, two elements — audience and purpose — shift. That means the entire article has to change its focus. With a workable outline, you can make that change much more easily. A fluid outline is crucial to knowing where you are on the MAP. Writers who work from a rock-solid outline tend to save time and energy by avoiding the hassles of heavy edits and rewrites. That foundation also makes it easier to change when one of the elements that make up your MAP changes. Here are a few ways to help improve the process: 1. Start with a brainstorm It’s difficult, if not downright impossible, to simply sit down and write that speech or company memo from start to finish. It can also prove hazardous to those who cherish coherent and logical writing. Don’t come in cold and expect to start pounding out paragraphs effortlessly. In this regard, not much has changed since that persuasive essay you had to write in high school on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . Embrace the “pre-outline outline” methods that favor ideas over organization. Brainstorming, mind mapping, or free-associating words and phrases on your given topic can help you think of innovative new ways to approach your material. From that freeform mish-mash of ideas, you can start to refine and craft your outline. 2. Develop a core message This is the calm after the brain storm. Forming a central message or concept is key to a successful piece of writing. This message and its tentacles will weave throughout the piece, carrying readers through all corners on a wave of cohesion and comprehension. If you can’t boil down your writing project to a single sentence, you probably need to sit down and think about it some more. This is the central nervous system of your outline. Everything is built to support and strengthen this concept. Scour those pre-outline outlines and cull all the information you can find that helps flesh out and develop your core message. Every new concept, every thread within the body of your writing project needs to come back to this idea. A writer who asks or expects readers to connect the dots themselves isn’t writing effectively. 3. Refer to your MAP Once it’s finally time to use your outline to start writing, be sure to refer to your MAP. What’s the medium ? Is this a blog post or an article or a business communication? And how should your style change to accommodate that? Who’s the audience ? Who, specifically, are you talking to? What specific language do they use? Do they want a formal or an informal approach? Would they consider some kinds of writing to be completely inappropriate? Mentally fix a single member of your audience in your mind and write as though you were speaking directly to her. What’s your purpose ? Are you trying to persuade your reader to take a new point of view? Are you asking her to invest time or money or energy in a project? Do you have a call to action ? Make sure you know what the point of your writing is. You’ll need to remember to drive that purpose home in several places, but particularly at the end. If your audience doesn’t know the purpose of the writing, it’s going to be difficult for them to do what you want them to do — even if they like what you have to say. 4. Give yourself some deadlines Build staggered deadlines into your outline. Tweak them as needed, but don’t let yourself wander around your writing project without specific deadlines. This is a simple productivity tool that can help you balance all the projects on your to-do list. The degree of flexibility may shift considerably if you’re writing a book as opposed to a time-sensitive document like a speech or report. Most writers work better with deadlines, and these built-in markers can help shepherd you through a more efficient writing process. About the Author: Chris Birk is director of content and communications for VA Mortgage Center.com, the nation’s number one dedicated VA lender, and Growth Partner, a unique firm that provides angel investment and online marketing expertise to emerging companies. He blogs at Write Short Live Long .

3c3b757d57button.gif Follow Your MAP to Greater Writing Productivity

Read the rest here:
Follow Your MAP to Greater Writing Productivity

How Eminem Stayed Relevant (And Why it Can Save Your Blog)

Posted on by

It’s been eight years since Marshall Mathers released The Eminem Show , the best-selling album of 2002. It was followed later that year by the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile , which earned Em an Oscar. And of course, earlier this year, Eminem hit a career milestone when I wrote about him on Copyblogger . He stood at the edge of something truly amazing. And then the other shoe dropped. His next album Encore was lazy, kicked off by an embarrassing single and followed up with songs that merely echoed what he’d accomplished with The Eminem Show . Even the frivolous songs were missing the deviant humor present in previous singles. Not one song had the gnarled roots of anger or brazen honesty that drenched the best of Em’s first three albums. When Relapse finally dropped last year after a half-decade disappearing act, fans were famished. Eminem was pushing 40. He’d lost his closest friend and confidant to a couple of bullets. Surely, now he would have a lot more to say than adolescent one-liners aimed at the women who made him angry. This was the album everyone was waiting for But they were let down once again. Relapse was good, but not great. His skills were there, but Em had lost his relevance. Even fans who defended the album did so in a wavering voice. Maybe he was just done. Maybe this was it. Then, just under a year after the release of Relapse , he dropped the first single to a new album, “I’m Not Afraid.” And to the fans, I’ll never let you down again, I’m back I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact Let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was “ehhh.” And there it was. The honesty was back and so was Eminem. You don’t have to be a fan of hip-hop or dirty rotten rhymers to appreciate what Eminem accomplished. He had been phoning it in and he knew it. But rather than skating along on just okay , he went back to the lab and delivered a sonic apology. If you’ve been phoning it in, it’s okay You’re a human being, not a machine. You hit a slow spell. You lost your unique voice . But understand that it’s not a life sentence. Even if your audience is losing interest, it’s never too late to deliver your best and become more relevant than ever. Here are some things I learned about staying relevant from Eminem’s Recovery : Be honest Recovery is a refreshing return to form, mostly because of its stark honesty and humility. Em fesses to letting fans down with his previous releases, but the disclosures run deeper, from suicide to self-loathing. Be honest with your audience , and you might find them especially forgiving. Though Em wears iron armor of bravado, he has no difficulty letting genuine fragility bleed through the verses. This heart-on-his-sleeve honesty connects him to his audience in a way that can’t be manufactured. If you’ve screwed up in the past, own up to it. You’ll be surprised how willing your audience is to embrace honesty. Evolve or die Heavy repetition and little innovation lead directly to diminishing returns. Whether you’re an artist, entrepreneur, or both, it’s important to groom your game and keep growing creatively . Em dropped quite a few of his fallback themes from Recovery , including lyrical tirades aimed at his mother and estranged wife, and the skits that had always showed his boisterous, playful side. Cutting those elements was a risk. They were tried and true, and fans had always liked them. But by doing so, Em gave himself room to create something new and different to embrace. If you aren’t growing, you’re dying, no matter how good you are at what you do. Em confronted this truth and recorded an album crackling with newfound creativity. Bring your A-game Eminem brings all his verbal virtuosity to Recovery , weaving in and out of wordplay, as though a single misstep or broken syllable would crush his credibility. At the end of “No Love,” Em declares he’s going to spit the “greatest verse of all time,” and though that particular verse may not be it, it is an impressive spitting of 300 words delivered in perfect pentameter, all in under a minute. Always deliver your best, and remember that whether your audience is spending time or money on the products you create, you owe them the best in the exchange. Be the best You, not the You it’s easiest to be. Embrace your fears Em made fear of irrelevancy his muse, and the result is a harder-driving album than one would expect after a decade of success. The best aspect of Recovery is it’s the first time Em blends the lessons of his career into a cocktail of his psyche. More than ever before, he accepts responsibility for his life and actions, rather than laying blame on a negligent mom or a savage ghetto. Never before has Eminem made himself so vulnerable. Which, ironically, made him stronger. Recovery is the resurrection that proves any artist can overcome fear and reclaim their relevance. How do you stay relevant? What ugly truths have you faced and how have you turned them around to pull the best from your work? About the Author: Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and Creative Director at REV Media Marketing . Follow him on Twitter .

3c3b757d57button.gif How Eminem Stayed Relevant (And Why it Can Save Your Blog)

Read more from the original source:
How Eminem Stayed Relevant (And Why it Can Save Your Blog)

How to NOT Get Paid to Write Online (And Make Money Doing It)

Posted on by

Fresh out of college, I landed a job writing one-page sell sheets for a marketing company for $50 each. On a rare excellent day, I might do as many as two of these. Soon after, I found a freelance gig that would pay me $300 per article I wrote for an inter-organizational newsletter. I got to interview people for that one. It was more work, but better money. Eventually, I hooked up with a pretty big industry magazine and was being paid $1300 for 2000-word feature articles. That was the big money. Magazine pay doesn’t go much higher until you get into the really big-name publications. I could often get two of those assignments at a time, but I needed to coordinate and interview around ten people for each article, so doing two in a month was a hell of a task. Today, I’m doing much better in my writing career. Since I started blogging, I’ve written hundreds of posts, both for myself and for other blogs. I don’t have to interview people anymore, so it goes much faster and I can write much more. The combined total I’ve been paid for all of those posts (including what I’ve been paid for writing sales copy, promotional emails, and so on) is zero dollars. And really, it pays the bills better than my magazine writing ever did. How to make “not getting paid” pay off I just recorded a call with Copyblogger Associate Editor Jon Morrow entitled “How We Make $2000 per Guest Post,” and the funny thing about that call was that I’d had the idea to write the post you’re currently reading before Jon came up with the hook for the call. I guess great minds think alike. See, newbie online entrepreneurs often want to “make money blogging,” and seasoned writers often come to the internet to expand their freelance businesses by doing online what they do offline: selling words for dollars. Both of those approaches assume a straight line between composing paragraphs and getting a check, but that straight line hasn’t reflected my experience in the blogosphere (and I’m in good company ). To put it succinctly, I don’t make money writing. I make money through a business, and that business does its marketing almost exclusively through writing. Writing for me is a means to an end. It’s a way to gain exposure, gain popularity and authority, and build trust. Once you have enough exposure, trust, and authority with your audience, they’ll consider buying products and services from you if what you offer them is good. The cool part? It almost doesn’t matter which category or niche those products or services fall into. It works like this: Writing -> Readers -> Exposure, popularity, authority, and trust -> The ability to sell stuff. Need a fancy term to make it legit? Call it content marketing . Notice that I’ve used the very specific noun “stuff” to describe what you’re able to sell to a well-matched, receptive audience with enough of those preceding magic ingredients. Information products? Yep. Software and services of all kinds? Yep. Hats? Maybe. Want to sell hats? Then write enough, in places where people who like hats congregate, to become a popular and trustworthy personality who happens to sell hats. Or makes hats. Or wears interesting hats. Or at least likes hats, and talks about hats a lot. Your audience has to be willing to pay for hats, but if they are, they’re going to buy from someone. If your writing has put you in front of them, and made you popular and trustworthy, they’ll buy from you. It works for just about anything. This is all about thinking outside of the nine dots. I came to the blogosphere as a humorist, but what I found was that people wouldn’t pay for humor. So what could I do with my funny writing? Why, sell consulting and website services, of course. I remember asking my readers at the time, “Can I be the funny guy who writes about business, and also build websites somehow?” Give what attracts, sell what people want to buy And the answer was apparently that yes, I could write humorously about business — and tattoos, and unschooling, and The Matrix — and build a large readership who seemed to like and trust me. And at that point, I could offer websites. And consulting. And info products. And likely waffles. If those folks needed a site and/or were hungry, they’d work with me rather than finding their website guy or waffle house on Google. When Jon and I did that call about making $2000 per guest post, what we meant was that guest posting is our primary (almost our exclusive) marketing strategy, and that on average, each post — each performance in front of a blog audience to build trust and exposure — resulted in around $2000 of income. That’s income that was created through writing, but wasn’t income we received for completing a writing assignment. You want to be a writer? Well, don’t confine your thinking to the obvious example of putting words together for pay. There’s a whole world of ways out there to make money as a writer… and the interesting part is that most of them mean you’ll be writing for free. About the Author: Johnny B. Truant is apparently a writer or something and is one of the two guys behind The Charlie and Johnny Jam Sessions . If you’d like personal help on getting paid to write for free, he’s got you covered .

3c3b757d57button.gif How to NOT Get Paid to Write Online (And Make Money Doing It)

Read more from the original source:
How to NOT Get Paid to Write Online (And Make Money Doing It)

Make Your Readers Love You: 5 Lessons from Pixar

Posted on by

Everyone loves Pixar. Okay, maybe not everyone. Let’s just say everyone except that 10% of the human race who enjoy hating on awesome like I enjoy sipping coffee. Fifteen years ago, Pixar smashed the creative and technical limits of the animated feature film. It would be easy saying they came from nowhere, if it wasn’t for the decade they spent scraping by, sharpening their craft, rewriting broken rules while keeping what was best about the classics in their genre. People don’t just like Pixar films. They love Pixar films. How does Pixar do it, again and again and again? Yes, there is some magic, but it’s the kind that comes from plenty of commitment and hard work. Follow these five steps and eliminate the limits on what you or your business can achieve. 1. Be consistent and build trust Toy Story 3 is now in theaters, continuing an impossibly solid 11-film winning streak — throughout its history, each of Pixar’s movies has debuted at the number one position in ticket sales. From the first film to this newest, Pixar never stepped sideways. Their second film, A Bug’s Life , is probably their least appreciated, but still wonderful. Cars is my own least favorite, but it was my son’s #1 for two years straight, and I’m pretty sure anytime Mattel needs money, they can just churn out another fleet of Cars characters. That kind of consistency creates trust: a trust that has vaulted Pixar to enviable success. Each of Pixar’s films has been a box office smash, averaging more than $550 million per film in worldwide sales. Add DVDs, fast-food promotional tie-ins and the like, and you begin to understand that it’s Pixar that has made Steve Jobs really, really rich, more than his other company, one that’s also known for consistency, quality, and undeniable brand loyalty. 2. Take the time to do things right Toy Story re-energized the world of mega-budget digital animation. But unlike the hurry-up-and-render aesthetic of most other studios, each of Pixar’s films is pixel perfect. Unlike live action footage, every second of an animated feature requires specific articulation, many times over. There are no second takes. Yet Pixar has re-worked entire sections of their films they didn’t deem good enough, and even switched directors midway through the production of Ratatouille . According to a June 2010 article in Wired , the average frame of animation of Toy Story 3 took seven hours of computing time. There are 24 frames in a second of movie footage. Pixar would rather be late than shoddy. In a culture where we have timers at the drive-thru, guaranteeing the opportunity to deliver high blood pressure and heart disease in under 60 seconds, that type of care is rare. And audiences know it. 3. Tell a story that connects Sure, Pixar movies pop visually right off the screen (even before 3D versions). But it’s story and character that keep the audience coming back again and again. Pixar has always understood something that most studios can’t seem to grasp — if you want to create highly profitable work, you’re in deep trouble without some amazing writers . Memorable, lovable characters are a Pixar standard. From Buzz and Woody to Nemo and Wall-E, our affection for Pixar characters lingers. In comparison, characters in most other animated features seem pretty … two-dimensional. Pixar fosters a connection with their audience through great storytelling. They speak to enduring archetypes, and deliver lessons we’ve all learned (or still need to). Looking life’s regrets in the eye. Mourning the loss of a loved one. Making room for new relationships. Swallowing fear in the face of adventure. I know I’m not the only grown-up to regularly quote Pixar characters. Tarantino is the only filmmaker I quote more, and I can only do that after my kids fall asleep. Brilliant writing and the ability to connect leave a genuine, lasting impression on our memories. 4. Know yourself, your product, and your team The hidden secret in Pixar’s sauce is its extraordinary team. Usually, studios assemble a cast of freelance professionals for each project. Pixar houses a staff of writers, directors, animators, and technicians who move from project to project. I know I’d have my face in the mud if it wasn’t for the remarkable people I work with each day. I admire Pixar for building a team of filmmakers who know, trust, and believe in one another. A team that’s fanatic about quality, and where everyone has a voice. Steve Jobs, who brought director/screenwriter Brad Bird to Pixar after the studio’s first trio of home runs because he didn’t want the company’s innovation to stagnate, said: For imagination-based companies to succeed in the long run, making money can’t be the focus. Brad went on to write and direct The Incredibles and Ratatouille , both movies with strong themes of family and friendship. He agrees teamwork has been paramount to Pixar’s success: In my experience, the thing that has the most significant impact on a movie’s budget — but never shows up in a budget — is morale. If you have low morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about 25 cents of value. If you have high morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about $3 of value. Companies should pay much more attention to morale. The relentless drive for superb quality comes from within the team itself. According to the same Wired article, the animation team gathers each morning on comfy couches with bowls of Cap’n Crunch cereal to review and rag the prior day’s work. (The team encourages criticism, even from the most junior team members.) It’s this sort of healthy creative environment that allows Pixar to correct missteps before they appear on screen, and achieve something close to perfection. 5. Now, make it your own There is no one else like Pixar, but there is someone exactly like you. Do what Pixar did. Be consistent, take your time, put out a superb product, build an excellent team, and know exactly who you are. Your own digital magic awaits. About the Author: Sean Platt is a ghostwriter and Creative Director at REV Media Marketing . Follow him on Twitter .

3c3b757d57button.gif Make Your Readers Love You: 5 Lessons from Pixar

Read more:
Make Your Readers Love You: 5 Lessons from Pixar

The Force that Powers Persuasive Content (And 3 Ways to Intensify It)

Posted on by

You hear it from us all the time… If you want to engage and influence, connect emotionally and then justify logically . That’s still true. But there’s a Force more powerful than logic or emotion… And it’s you . Same as it Ever Was First, what do we know about effective persuasion? We can now scan and record human brain activity in controlled tests, and the results continue to verify decades-old social psychology studies on persuasion. Those same social psychology studies confirmed the effectiveness of centuries-old persuasion techniques practiced by sales people, savvy politicians, and smart parents. And those very techniques originate with the observations of the ancient Greeks and Romans over 2,000 years ago, who developed the art of rhetoric to effectively persuade the masses of the day. It’s a cliché, but the more things change, the more they stay the same. In other words, technology, media, and cultural context are dramatically different and ever evolving, but human beings respond fundamentally the same way we always have. And when it comes to persuasion, people respond to a person’s perceived character way more than logic. Strong character can even defeat an eloquent emotional appeal in many persuasion duels. So let’s take a closer look. The Origin of the Force The ancient art of rhetoric is based on three compelling components: Logos is an appeal to pure logic and reason. Pathos is an appeal to the desires, fears, passions, and other emotions of the audience. Ethos is an appeal to the authority, honesty, and credibility of the person speaking or writing. Of the three, Aristotle said ethos may well be the most effective means of persuasion a person possesses. And while general reputation certainly comes into play, Aristotle further said that ethos is best demonstrated through the tone and style of the messages you deliver. That’s right – the content of your character is determined by the character of your content . Here are three powerful ways to strengthen the force of your ethos. The Force is Strong in Those Who… 1. Show Some Decorum Ethos is driven first and foremost by virtue, with a twist. Rather than an inherent trait, virtue is perceived by the audience when they believe you share and uphold the same values they do. You connect with them when you satisfy their expectations. The ancient Romans called this meeting of audience expectations decorum . It’s not necessarily about being prim and proper – after all, the best person to persuade a gang of drunken bikers to sleep it off is likely one of their own, not the local schoolmarm. In short, you can’t lead a tribe that thinks you don’t belong – and it’s totally up to them to decide if you fit in. So if the idea of changing to meet the expectations of an audience doesn’t sit well with you, you’ll have to attract an audience that naturally fits with who you already are. Luckily, that’s what the Internet is famous for. 2. Have Han Solo Authority There’s no doubt that Han Solo is a pragmatic bad ass. Whether you’re raiding the spice mines of Kessel, rescuing a rebel princess, or seeking just-in-time help at a murderous moon-sized space station, Solo is the likable, talented, practical pro for the job. In terms of ethos, you want to display similar practical wisdom to increase your persuasive mojo. Be the likeable street-smart authority whose content helps get things done, not an aloof academic expert looking down from the lectern. You don’t have to be perfect (Solo sure isn’t). In fact, letting your flaws flow increases your authenticity and strengthens the bond with those you’re trying to reach. When it comes down to it, all that matters is you know your stuff and deliver. A Wookie sidekick is nice, but optional. 3. Exhibit Jedi Leadership The final key element of an ethos that persuades is the goodwill and receptivity cultivated between you and the audience. This is usually best accomplished when people feel you are acting out of selfless leadership, without a vested interest or ulterior motive. “Wait a minute Brian,” you’re saying about now. “I do have a vested interest. I want to sell stuff and build my business!” Okay, I hear you (and these voices in my head are freaking me out a bit). That’s where we come back once again to valuable free content. Even while naturally promoting you and your business, great content with independent value is nonetheless a gift to your market. As long as you’re transparent (and unapologetic ) about the reason you’re providing the content, you’re exhibiting effective leadership that entitles you to pull Jedi mind tricks at will. Put the audience first and you’ll get what you want in return. Everyone wins. Jedi Mind Tricks Without Going to the Dark Side A strong perceived ethos is powerful stuff, which is why many have faked congruent character for fun and profit over the centuries. Church, state, and aristocracy have all seen healthy amounts of character manipulation thanks to the persuasive power of ethos. Social media seems ripe for similar shenanigans. But great content can’t be faked, and a worldwide reach means you can be you and attract like-minded people who think you rock just the way you are. So there’s no need to go to the dark side of the Force to fit in. Freed from the tyranny of geography, the Internet allows us to avoid being character chameleons and be authentic instead. Smart online marketers realize they don’t need a tiny niche topic to lead a tribe, because they themselves are the niche. Never forget it’s all about them. But it’s you who has the appeal. About the Author : Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of Thesis and Scribe . Get more from Brian on Twitter .

3c3b757d57button.gif The Force that Powers Persuasive Content (And 3 Ways to Intensify It)

See the rest here:
The Force that Powers Persuasive Content (And 3 Ways to Intensify It)