How Poetry Can Improve your Copywriting Ability

 

Advertising copywriters are often told that they need to get to grips with poetry. After all, the ability to express complex images and emotions in just a few lines is what makes a copywriter great.

Actually, poetry can help writers of all breeds, be they novelists or nonfiction writers, to improve their craft. The ability to play music to the reader through words or conjure some unforgettable images is something all writers aspire to achieve.

Read lots of poems

Of course, the best place to start improving your writing craft is by reading poems, and lots of them. Poetry has the advantage of being short, which allows you to experiment with many different styles. Try to read a few and see what kind of feelings and images they inspire in you. If they leave an imprint on you, ask yourself why, what was it about this poem that affected you so?

For a start, try reading “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Diameter of the Bomb” by Yehuda Amichai, and “Hope is the Thing of Feathers” by Emily Dickinson.

Learn to stimulate the senses

The poet paints pictures with words, but that picture is not limited to images; the poet should stimulate our sense of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste just as a picture can do. The poet becomes a kind of camera that produces striking, fresh images that remain fixed in the mind’s eye. This line, for example, offers a strong image: “Sunlight varnishes oak trees crimson.”

Try to play around with images in your own writing, or practice writing a poem or two. See what kind of images you can conjure, and try to understand why imagery works well at stimulating the senses.

Learn to use concrete words

Poetry also teaches us that it’s better to use a concrete word in place of an abstract one. An example of a concrete word is “warm.” It’s concrete because you can experience warmth with your senses—it’s a real thing. An abstract term might be “freedom” or “happiness” because you can’t see or touch them.

Using abstract words in poetry bypasses the reader’s senses, meaning they don’t experience your idea to the fullest. For example: “she feels happy,” isn’t as powerful as “her tomato cheeks radiated warmth.” The image of a tomato, strange as it may seem, will last longer in the reader’s memory because it’s concrete.

Learn to convert clichés

Any writing style that relies on clichés loses its impact. Overused phrases are a bit like stale bread—no one wants to eat it. He may be blind as a bat, or busy as a bee, but these clichés are tattered and worn and have lost all their power.

Instead, you can convert your clichés. For example, try listing all the words you associate with being busy and create a new phrase. For example: “Busy as an old lady knitting.” Finding original phrases will inspire your writing with new life.

Learn to subvert the ordinary

The strength of poetry lies in the poet’s ability to see ordinary objects, places, or ideas in a completely new way. You might see a young child standing in line with his mother, but a poet will imagine the boy painting the walls with nail polish and the mother struggling not to be angry. Just try looking at something ordinary and attempt to see it in a completely new way, and your writing will love you for it.

Learn to think about themes

Poets love themes, and your own writing should include them too. Yet many novice writers find it hard to get to grips with themes. A theme isn’t just an idea. You can’t say that your book covers the theme of war because that’s a topic, not a theme. You can define themes as an idea with an opinion attached. Thus, your theme might be: “even though we claim to be peace-loving people, war is a natural aspect of the human race.” This is the poet’s opinion.

Of course, there’s far more to poetry than this. The best advice is to read a poem at least once a day and internalize the images, the rhythm, and feelings. Study things like metaphor, simile, and other literary devices employed by poets. Once you’ve got to grips with poetry, your writing craft is sure to have improved.

Culled from iuniverse.com

A 5-Step Online Reputation Management Guide (That ANYONE Can Follow)

 

Have you ever Googled yourself (or your company) and seen a negative comment or review? Then you should consider proactive online reputation management.

But it’s not just negative reviews you need to be aware of.

For example, Google “hellofresh pricing” and you’ll see this.

I’d be willing to bet that those who type this into Google are one step away from signing up to HelloFresh (as the query has high purchase intent). Yet the first thing they see is a featured snippet introducing their competitor!

(This probably has a dire effect on conversions for HelloFresh.)

Let’s learn more about online reputation management and how it can help.

 

What is Online Reputation Management?

Online reputation management (ORM) is the practice of crafting strategies that shape or influence the public perception of an organization, individual or other entity on the Internet. It helps drive public opinion about a business and its products and services.

But what does this actually involve?

Well, it may involve using Twitter to jump in on conversations and tackle negative or defamatory comments about your company.

Oxfam are great at this.

 

 

By responding to such criticism in an open and respectful manner (notice that they weren’t even tagged in the tweet — that’s real dedication!), they are able to defend their reputation and hone customer perception.

But while social media is important, I’d argue that SEO reputation management is even more important.

To illustrate, try Googling “t mobile reviews”. You’ll see this.

the #1 result for “t mobile reviews” — a search term with an estimated 8.5K searches/month in the US!

Oh dear… this is certainly not the most desirable #1 result for t-mobile.

A bit of proactive reputation management—well, a lot, in this case—could potentially “fix” this.

If you have a bad review (like T-Mobile does), you should first and foremost try to resolve the CAUSE of this bad review.

(This may mean improving your product or service, offering better customer support, or something else—it depends on what the CAUSE of the bad review was.)

You should ONLY turn to reputation management if the review is subjective and unfairly biased.

But search engine reputation management is about much more than quelling unfair reviews.

It’s about making sure your brand, products and services are accurately represented in the search results. (Remember the HelloFresh example I shared at the beginning of this guide?)

 

You can be perfect at online reputation management

Here's how:

1. Check the first page of results (in Google) for your company… and make sure you OWN the bulk of them

OK, let’s start with the basics.

It goes without saying that when someone Googles you or your company, your website should be the first result.

NOT RANKING IN POSITION #1 FOR YOUR BRAND? HERE’S HOW TO SOLVE THIS…

This is usually caused by one of three issues:

1. your website isn’t indexed;
2. you have a Google penalty;
3. you don’t have any backlinks to your website.

Read this article for more details about (and solutions for) the first two issues.

If you feel that your website may not be appearing due to a lack of backlinks, then go to:

Site Explorer > enter your domain

You will then see how many backlinks and referring domains you have. (Read our link building guide if you need help in this department.)

But what about the rest of the results on page one?

Ideally, you want these to be predominantly “owned” search results (i.e., those where you control the content). So that includes your:

• Twitter;
• Facebook;
• LinkedIn;
• YouTube channel;
• Behance;
• Etc.

The easiest way to do this is:

1. make sure you have any appropriate profiles (and that you’re active on them)
2. link to them from your website (ideally using a sitewide footer link)
3. link to them from other third-party websites on which you’ve registered (e.g., forums, directories, etc.)

This will tell Google that these are your “official” pages and increase the chance of them ranking in the SERPs.

But this will only usually be the case if you keep them active, which can be quite a tedious task in itself. So I recommend using something like Buffer or Hootsuite, as this will allow you to syndicate a single message to all your social platforms.

SIDENOTE.

Keep in mind that certain types of content are better-suited to specific platforms (e.g., images for Instagram or Pinterest, etc.). I would, therefore, recommend that you don’t attempt to automate this fully. Just use these applications to take care of some of the heavy-lifting and reduce the time needed to manage your social profiles.

But, what if you don’t own all these results? What then?

Two options:

1. If the unowned content is positive in nature (e.g., a good review, or a well-written guide), don’t worry about it. Just keep your eye on the SERPs and monitor for any potentially negative changes in this department.
2. If the unowned result is negative in nature, reach out to whoever wrote it and see what you can do. If it’s unfair or overly-subjective, work with them and see if they’re willing to change it.

SIDENOTE.

There is a third option, which we’ll talk about a bit later in step #3 🙂

2. Find high-traffic articles that negatively reflect your brand… then fix them!

People have probably mentioned your brand, products or services in their articles in the past.

This may be in reviews, guides, stories, competitor comparisons (i.e., “your brand vs. competitor”), etc.

But that’s a good thing, right!?

Not always.

What if these mentions unfairly portray you and your company, or are simply outdated and inaccurate?

And what if such articles receive thousands of visitors organic search traffic each month?

That’s a lot of people reading negative, outdated or inaccurate things about your company.

The solution? Find such articles and nip them in the bud asap!

Here’s how:

Content Explorer > your brand name > select “everywhere” > exclude your own site

This will find all mentions of your brand on sites other than your own.

Next, use the built-in filters to refine these results to show ONLY pages with a decent amount of estimated organic search traffic (e.g., 1000+/month).

SIDENOTE.

It’s also worth filtering for English results, too.

Here’s a post by Matthew Barby with an estimated 1.2K visits from organic search per month (that mentions Ahrefs).

Matthew hasn’t updated this post since March 2016, so it still contains screenshots of the old Ahrefs UI.

If you find any mentions like this, it’s worth reaching out and requesting that the outdated or inaccurate information be fixed.

This is because such inconsistencies and inaccuracies can cost you customers and cause a lot of frustration, as they set the wrong expectations.

So, reach out to the person who wrote or published the article and ask them to fix the issue(s). You can even offer to fix it for them (i.e., rewrite the inaccurate part of the post and send it to them to upload.)

EDITOR’S NOTE

We reached out to Matthew Barby about the outdated Ahrefs screenshots in the article on his blog.

This was his response:

So I did exactly that—I sent him updated screenshots for his article.

It doesn’t look like he’s had the chance to update it yet, but I’m sure he’ll get round to it. (C’mon, Matt!) 😉

 

* * *

But what if you find something more serious? E.g., a scathingly negative review.

If the review is objective, you should ALWAYS first fix the root cause before asking the author of the review to update it. But if the review is subjective and there’s no way to fix it from your end, or if the author simply refuses to revoke their unfair critique, then keep reading 🙂

3. Push negative reviews (and mentions) down in the SERPs… and pull positive ones up!

DISCLAIMER: You only need to pay attention to this section if (a) you found at least one negative review using the tactics above, and (b) you’ve done everything in your power to reach a mutual agreement with the publisher of the negative review or article and resolve the issue. We don’t advise trying to bury bad reviews if they’re objective. That’s not “reputation management.” That is a SCAM. But if the review is not objective, and the author is unreasonable and unwilling to remove it, then this is the last resort.

Some negative reviews are more of a problem than others.

It all depends on if and where they rank. And if they receive a lot of traffic.

For example, let’s say that you manufacture microphones.

What if a potential customer Google’s something like “blue snowball ice review” (we’re assuming this is one of the mics you produce) and see’s a negative review on the first page of results?

Well, this will probably put them off ever doing business with you.

this page ranks in position #1 for “blue snowball ice review.”

Same goes for ANY negative review that gets a lot of organic search traffic.

SEE WHICH KEYWORDS ARE SENDING THE MOST ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Did you find a negative review in step #2? (I.e., in Content Explorer)

Details > Organic Keywords.

This will show you which keywords send the most organic search traffic to that page.

If you didn’t find the review in step #2, but have the URL, then do this:

Site Explorer > enter URL -> Organic Keywords

But why do these negative reviews rank and attract organic search traffic in the first place?

It’s usually because they have more—or perhaps stronger—backlinks than the results ranking below them.

Let’s take a look at this page in Site Explorer to see the backlinks situation.

Site Explorer > paste URL > Overview

Hmm, looks like it only has one backlink from one referring domain in this case.

So why is it ranking?

Let’s use the SERP overview feature in Keywords Explorer to find out.

We can see that all of the pages competing for this query have very few (if any) backlinks.

So that’s why the negative review (with only a single backlink) is able to rank #1.

But here’s the thing:

One of the reviews that rank below this review is much more positive.

So it would be preferable for this to rank on page 1 in place of the negative review, right?

Definitely. And here’s the good news: this is pretty doable; chances are you would just need to point one or two good links to this page and it would push that negative review down.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Remember, you should ONLY do this if the review is unfair or inaccurate.

Never try to bury a subjective review.

In this case, I would personally say that the review is a little unfair.

I used one of these mics a while back (before upgrading to the Blue Yeti) and I would give it higher than 3-stars.

If you check on Amazon, it would seem that the majority of people agree with me.

 

A good starting point is to add a link to the positive review from your own site (i.e., you could quote it on your testimonials page, then add the testimonial to your homepage);

But if that isn’t enough to push it up a few spots, you can also link to it from guest posts.

Here’s the process for this:

1. Find a few sites in your niche that accept guest posts (learn how to do this here);
2. Write a post for them. Note: this should be somewhat related to the keywords you want to rank the positive review for. (E.g., in this case, we might write a post entitled “the ultimate guide to podcasting” that featured the Blue Snowball mic)
3. Link to the desirable review (i.e., the positive one) that you want to rank from your guest post

For example, if I was to write “the ultimate guide to podcasting” as a guest post on, say, smarthustle.com, I would link to Techradar’s positive Blue Snowball review from that post.

Do this a few times and that review would almost certainly push the negative review out of the SERPs.

4. Find popular branded search terms… then create content to address those searches

People are searching for all kinds of things related to your brand—it’s not just reviews.

If you’re not there (i.e., in the SERPs) when they search for these things, they’re going to end up getting their information from a third-party.

This may not be desirable.

For example, if someone searches for “ahrefs vs. moz”, well, it’s important to us that the first result (which gets the most traffic) is objective and accurate.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to own this result, but this is one way to ensure that details relating to our product are accurate.

But how do you find popular branded search terms?

Simple; use Keywords Explorer.

Keywords Explorer > your brand name > phrase match

SIDENOTE.

You can also filter for queries with high search volumes if you wish to narrow these results down further.

You can see that “ahrefs vs moz” has an estimated search volume of 80 searches/month.

So what ranks in the top spot for this query?

It looks like it’s this post from Process Street, which hasn’t been updated since 2016.

As such, some of the facts and screenshots in this article are out of date and inaccurate—like pricing, for example:

This is an issue.

We want to make sure that potential customers’ expectations are accurately set.

So we have two options:

1. Reach out to the author and ask that he update the post with accurate and up-to-date information. (This is what we covered in point #2, remember?);
2. Create our own piece of content around this term… and try to outrank him.

In all likeliness, the first option will be quicker and easier. So it’s usually worth giving that a shot before moving onto the second option.

EDITOR’S NOTE

We reached out to Benjamin Brandall—the author of this post—to see what we could do.

This was his response:

So this is exactly what I did—I sent over a Google Doc highlighting inaccuracies, and also added updated screenshots.

We’re hoping this post will be updated soon. 🙂

 

* * *

But the second option is a good call in some cases … especially as you can often quite easily rank for branded terms.

Just remember that if you do create your own content around such terms, the aim is to rank #1 and ensure that your brand is accurately represented. You shouldn’t write a sales pitch. Keep it as fair and unbiased as you possibly can.

WANT TO TAKE THIS A STEP FURTHER? FIND NEWLY DISCOVERED BRANDED TERMS AND CREATE CONTENT BEFORE ANYONE ELSE!

For most brands, new branded search queries pop up all the time.

So while you may already have created content around such popular terms (e.g., “you vs. bigger competitor”), how do you keep up with new branded searches your potential customers are making?

Simple; use the “newly discovered” feature in Keywords Explorer.

Keywords Explorer > enter your brand name (e.g., Ahrefs) > Newly discovered

This shows you the queries (containing your brand name) that have recently been added to Ahrefs’ database. Thus, they’re things potential customers have been searching for very recently.

You can often find some real gems in here, including issues your customers are experiencing with your product or service.

For example, here’s a newly-discovered query for Cloudapp—you can see that their Windows-based customers are clearly having trouble with their Windows app.

As software updates occur all the time, this is probably a new issue that Cloudapp may or may not already be aware of.

But awareness aside, the SERPs for this query are definitely a problem, as the top two results are totally unrelated to Cloudapp.

This means that their frustrated customers aren’t able to find a solution to their problem, because Cloudapp hasn’t created content (i.e., a “help” article) around this term.

The bottom line? Ranking for and carefully addressing the queries your customers have in relation to your brand will ensure that they aren’t left feeling stuck and frustrated—a feeling that very rarely leads to long-term conversions.

So, once you identify worthwhile queries, you can then create content around them in order to rank.

5. Set up alerts for your company name… then tackle any potentially reputation-damaging reviews and mentions in real-time

You should now have solved most existing negative reviews and mentions.

But your work isn’t done yet, as people are likely talking about you or your company all the time.

This means that NEW negative reviews and mentions will pop up in the future.

Unless you’re actively monitoring for mentions of your brand, you won’t have a clue what people are saying about you. This means you can’t possibly react in a timely manner and potentially lessen the blow of any new negative reviews or comments.

Even worse, unless you’re quick to nip such negatively in the bud, who’s to say that such articles won’t be ranking in Google in a few weeks?

That’s why you should actively monitor brand mentions using an alerts service, such as:

• Ahrefs Alerts;
• Mention.com;
• Brand24;
• Google Alerts;

Here’s how to set this up in Ahrefs Alerts:

Ahrefs Alerts > Mentions

Create an alert for your company name (e.g., “ahrefs.”)

To prevent Ahrefs from sending alerts for mentions on your own domain, add your website as an excluded domain. I also recommend adding sites like youtube.com, sites.google.com, and any other sites you prefer not to monitor.

SIDENOTE.

There are many dedicated tools for “social listening” (i.e., monitoring brand mentions on Twitter, Facebook, etc.). But it’s important to remember that social posts usually aren’t as important as article mentions; that’s why we don’t crawl LinkedIn or Twitter for the Content Explorer database. I would also say that so-called social listening is more a job for your SMM and customer care teams.

Leave the mode as “everywhere” and set the language to “English” (unless you wish to monitor mentions in multiple languages.)

Now, whenever you’re mentioned on the web, you’ll get an email telling you about it.

You can then dig deeper and tackle any negativity head-on by:

• Requesting the removal of any inaccurate reviews or comments;
• Tracking rankings of “negative” pages and making sure they don’t rank for terms that may hurt sales;
• Etc.

And if the negative review or comments were caused by an issue with your product or service, you can fix said issue to make sure it’s not a problem for anyone else in future.

Final Thoughts on online reputation management

Like I said earlier, online reputation management is NOT about quashing negative reviews—especially not if they’re objective and fair.

(That’s dishonest and something we absolutely do not advocate.)

It’s about making sure your brand is accurately represented wherever your customers (and potential customers) are looking for you… i.e., on Google.

Because Google rankings change all the time, reputation management is an ongoing process.

You should, therefore, proactively monitor for new mentions of your brand and deal with any potential issues in a timely manner.

Don’t have time to do this yourself?

Hire an online reputation management company to do it for you.

Just ask them about the details of their service and ask if they’re able to do any of the things mentioned above.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other cool reputation management tips! 🙂

 

 

Credit: Ahrefs Blog

7 Ways Twitter Can Improve Your Writing Skill

 

Imagine a place where you could easily improve your writing by publishing 30, 40 or 50 blog posts a day.

In this place, you’d automatically receive individual feedback for each blog post on whether it touched base with your readers.

You’d be sure that every one of your blog posts would be read, and some of them would be widely shared.

Each blog post you write in this place improves your writing.

Such a place exists and, chances are, you already hang out there.

Twitter launched in 2006, at the dawn of the golden age of blogging. Nowadays, it’s known as a social network, but back then Twitter was a microblogging service. Twitter made sense to bloggers because, in simple terms, it was a blogging platform where blog posts had to be squeezed into 140 characters.

Twitter is a blogging platform and a place to improve your writing skills.

As a writer, here are seven things you can use Twitter for according to writetodone.

1. Practice your writing.

Twitter is a writer’s sandbox. You can be creative, try out new things, see what works and what doesn’t. Because each update is so tiny and transient, your mistakes are quickly forgotten. But when you do something that resonates with your readers, it can reach thousands or hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of minutes.

Some writers use Twitter to share micro poems. (Check out these 100 little Twitter poems, or search Twitter for the #sixwords hashtag). Others use it to tell stories from their day or promote their work.

2. Network with other writers

Twitter is known as a social network because it’s fantastic for networking. You can use it to talk directly with all kinds of writers from established old-school writers to successful self-published writers to superstar bloggers.

Perhaps most important of all are the thousands of all-around friendly writers and editors who are still on the journey and are happy to chat, ask for feedback on their writing, and give feedback on yours.

As you network with other writers, you’ll discover writing tips, new writing challenges, and writing communities where you’ll feel right at home.

3. Keep your writing concise

“Eliminate the non-essential” is Write to Done’s advice on keeping your writing concise.

Twitter gives you only 140 characters to play with, so it squeezes the excess pith from your words, leaving only the nourishing juice. You’re forced to write concisely, to discard the ore and share only the gold.

4. Track your results

I know many writers prefer the romance of poetry and stories to the hard, concrete facts of numbers and raw data.

Yet to succeed as a professional writer, you must take a keen interest in numbers. How many dollars you’re earning. How many books you’ve sold. How many readers are subscribed to your blog?

Twitter allows you to track the success of your writing in hard numbers. You can see whether your follower count is growing, whether your tweets are being shared, and (using simple web apps such as Buffer) whether people are clicking the links you share.

If your follower count is flat-lining and your links aren’t being clicked, that’s useful feedback, and you can start to do things differently.

5. Find out what your readers want

One way of attracting more readers is knowing what your readers want. The simplest way to do this is to ask them, and Twitter provides the perfect platform to fire out questions to your readers.

Also, take note which tweets are most popular with your followers – either through retweets, replies, or clicking the link you shared. When readers share or reply to your tweets, they’re saying “More like this, please”.

6. Learn what entices

In the web age, writing is copywriting. And copywriting means attracting attention.

Twitter, with its built-in systems for tracking results, is ideal for learning what gets attention and what gets ignored. In particular, you can use Twitter to practice writing headlines that get the most clicks. The better you are at writing neck-snapping headlines, the more readers you’ll attract to your blog posts, ebooks, and articles.

7. Improve your writing with creative inspiration and ideas

Twitter is a playground of ideas. Everywhere you look, you’ll find ideas for stories to tell, research to pursue, and people you could interview for your next article.

Whenever you feel stuck for writing ideas, turn to Twitter. In just a few minutes you’ll find an idea or story angle that excites you and you want to pursue.

So what are you waiting for? If you’ve yet to sign up to Twitter, or you’ve allowed your Twitter account to fade away into zombie status, get started today!

Beyond Writing: 5 Reasons You Should be a Published Author

 

It is possible you are a very good writer, and you have written many books, but you haven’t published any, because you are yet to see a reason to publish one. Aside from the obvious: Why would you write a book and then not share it to the world? Or why would you write a book and then nobody reads it?  Here are five reasons why you should become a published author:

1. It is an opportunity for you to build a personal brand: The best and easiest way to build a personal brand is to write a book about who you are, what you stand for, your challenges and how you have overcome them; then, get it published. Once you have done that, it would be easy for people to see you for who you are and not make speculations about who they thought you were.
2. It is an opportunity for you to establish yourself as an authority in your industry: The best way to establish yourself as an authority in your industry is to write about what you do. It is easier for people to see you as an expert, when you have actually published a book in that line.
3. It is an opportunity for you to become an inspiration to people: In a world filled with so many people with struggles, and thus, yearning for inspiration, your book can reach millions of people; and you can become an inspiration to some or most of them. That is also one way to change lives and make an impact, without necessarily having to talk to millions of people in a face-to-face conversation.
4. It is an opportunity for you to make a passive income: The royalty you can get from a published book can be a big deal. Even if you don’t sell a large bulk of book at once, you still get to make some money on a frequent basis.
5. It is an opportunity for you to have a legacy: The best part of publishing a book is that you live on through it. You may die, but your book can never die, so far it’s still in existence. So, it is an effective way to have a legacy.

Aside from the benefits and opportunities mentioned above, your writings deserve more than being stuck in a folder on your computer, or on some leaf in your notepad at the corner of your shelf; they deserve to be read and enjoyed by millions of people who can benefit from them. So get a copy of books you have written, and get them published!

Beyond writing is to be a published author.

5 Tricks to Step-Up Your Self Promotion Skills

 

No one wants to be super annoying, and that’s what a lot of people’s greatest fear is when they think of self-promotion.

Self-promotion comes much more naturally to some people than others – the task is obviously more difficult for introverts or people that generally like to keep out of the limelight.

Self-promotion also means having to indulge in that dreaded word - networking. Yes, it can strike fear into mere mortals, but networking is a key part of a business, and of building your personal brand.

So, how can you make self-promotion a little easier for yourself, and ensure you’re not becoming obnoxious with your messaging?

Here are some tips.

Self-Awareness

Self awareness is so important to keep in mind when you’re self-promoting, or indeed, in any of aspect of your life.

Being self-aware is about having an understanding of your place in a conversation, and being conscious of your actions and choice of words. It’s basically thinking of other people and their perception, considering how you would see yourself.

For some people this is just normal, but you’d be surprised how difficult lots of people seem to find it.

To start with, don’t intrude on every conversation at an event or on social media and seek to railroad through with your message or what you’re up to at the moment. Self-promotion is a subtle art, and it’s about building foundations and relationships, instead of the equivalent of getting out your microphone and blaring out your resume.

Listen to others, engage with them - and where appropriate, and relevant, tell them a bit about yourself too.

Promote Others

Give and you shall receive.

Practice being someone that gives to other people around them, or those in your industry, by promoting others for cool things that they’re doing. If you look like a positive person who likes to help and support others, then other people around are more likely to return the favor.

Of course, you shouldn't just say things for the sake of it, but if you’re principled about promoting people doing good things, then chances are that you’ll start to see people doing the same for you.

Being generous and sharing others success is a positive action, and whether you get anything back or not, the other person will feel valued.

Ask People to Promote you

Another thing you could consider is asking your close buddies to do your self-promotion for you. If you hate writing about yourself, ask someone else to come up with something.

Or you could ask someone to post something from their own account, or do a joint post about something you’re working on together.

This can work really well, because sometimes, if people see that someone else is saying something good about someone, it can carry more weight then you personally telling someone how great you are.

Keep it Interesting

No one has the time to hear your whole life story, however interesting it might be. Try to keep your self-promotion concise and impactful, and only include the really good parts that pack a punch.

A good practice is to write down your key points at home, so that if you get into a conversation or you’re asked anything online, you can quickly reel off some of the best parts about you, instead of a monologue that goes nowhere.

Be careful not to sound too robotic though, and try not to come across too polished - otherwise it’ll just sound like a sales pitch.

Also, be light-hearted, and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Stay Authentic

Self-promotion is obviously about trying to convey positive messages - but this doesn’t have to mean that you make everything sound 'hunky dory' all the time. Being honest and authentic about your struggles and failures can be just as effective - if not more so - than pretending everything’s been plain sailing.

People can relate to and connect with vulnerabilities, as they too have had their own, so sharing your story in a way that's authentic, and even self-deprecating at times, can be a really good, truthful way to promote yourself, which people will notice and pick up on in the long-run.

Final Thoughts

Self-promotion doesn’t have to be sparkling, loud and super positive 24/7. Be relaxed, true to yourself, and be honest when you’re building your personal brand, whether online or in-person.

A version of this post was first published on Bryan Kramer's blog.

3 Tips to Expand Your Content’s Reach

 

Nobody likes crafting a stellar press release, blog entry or even social media post, only to watch it disappear into a black hole with little or no exposure.

Here are three ways to optimize your online PR content for greater reach, readership and results:

1. Punch up press releases via social media. A/B test your press release headlines on social networks to compare effectiveness using metrics like retweets, favorites, mentions and clicks. The metrics will tell you which is more effective, removing the guesswork and ensuring a more productive release.

"First, create two headlines for an article or press release that you think will perform well,” says Peter Methot, managing director of executive education at Rutgers Business School. “Then tweet both of these headlines roughly one hour apart and compare the data for each tweet."

The headline that has received more clicks, mentions and RTs obviously performed better. Use this one for the press release or any other type of content you’re distributing. “Let the data be the determining factor—not a gut instinct,” Methot says.

Register for PR Daily’s Aug. 6 PR University webinar “The New SEO for PR: Skyrocket Reach and Budget with Optimized Content” to learn how to vault your brand or news to the top of today’s search rankings.

2. Share content with variations to different time zones. Share any given press releases socially at different times to reach prime viewing audiences in key geographical regions. This will expand its reach and shareability.

“We found that 10 a.m. Eastern is the best time of day to push releases,” says Methot. “We want this content to be seen in different time zones in that sweet spot, so we push it again via social media with slight variations so it falls at roughly 10 a.m. in whichever time zone we want it to be seen.”

3. Frame content to address audience wants, needs or pain points. Use words and images your audience would use, rather than company-centric jargon or technical speak. This is how your key audiences will look for answers to their wants, needs or pain points, so deliver solutions in the same way.

Methot gives this example: The heartburn relief drug Nexium is also referred to as “The Purple Pill” or “esomeprazole magnesium,” its clinical name. Each of these names can help segment audiences and shape the content and words used to aid them in searching for the drug online.

For instance, someone using the search phrase “purple pill” has likely seen the product’s marketing materials and may have a need for more information about the benefits and risks. Someone using “Nexium” in a search is more likely in the buying phase and wants to know where to purchase the product or find a prescribing doctor. A person using the drug’s clinical name is probably a doctor. This person’s information needs would more likely be about dosage and other prescriptive guidelines.

In each of these situations, content end users will use different words in their research and reading—and the content they search for and engage with must be useful, understandable and relevant to their given moments of need.

Hitting that sweet spot will go a long way toward giving your content greater reach and results.

Brian Pittman is a Ragan Communications consultant and webinar manager for PR Daily’s PR University. SEO-PR’s Greg Jarboe and Rutgers University’s Peter Methot will search engine marketing tactics in the Aug. 6 University webinar, “The New SEO for PR: Skyrocket Reach and Budget with Optimized Content.”

 

How to Write Better: 7 Straightforward Techniques to Try Today

Whatever you write, you want to get your thoughts across as clearly and effectively as possible.

If you’re a novelist, you don’t want awkward word choices or repetitive sentence structures to distract your readers from the story.

If you’re a freelancer, you don’t want your work to seem sloppy or poorly edited.

If you’re a blogger, you don’t want readers to switch off because you’re far too wordy.

Want the good news? Even if your writing isn’t as strong as you’d like, there are plenty of straightforward techniques you can use to improve it.

1. Cut unnecessary words

Here are two paragraphs that say the same thing. Which one is stronger?

In my opinion, the majority of freelancers should probably avoid working for free (or for a nominal sum) unless they are at a very early stage of their career and as yet have no pieces for their portfolio at all.

Freelancers shouldn’t work for free unless they’re just starting out and don’t have any pieces for their portfolio.

The second clearly states a stronger case.

If you’re writing a blog post, most readers will assume that it gives your opinion. You can be clear, firm and direct.

2. Avoid well-worn phrases

Some phrases are so familiar that they’ve lost their impact: they’ve become clichés.

For instance:

• At the end of the day…

• Like stealing candy from a baby…

• For all intents and purposes… (sometimes miswritten as “for all intensive purposes”!)

• Let the cat out of the bag…

 

When you edit, you don’t need to cut every cliché…but do check whether a rephrasing might work better.

In dialogue, or in a first-person narrative, clichés can be a helpful way of characterizing someone’s speech or thought patterns — but do make sure you’re being careful and deliberate.

3. Write directly to “you” (in nonfiction)

Although this isn’t appropriate for every form of nonfiction, bloggers and freelancers often write directly to the reader as “you”.

This is a great way to make your writing direct, conversational and stronger.

Blog posts and articles quite often use “you” or “your” very early on, in the title and/or introduction.

You generally have two options: You can seek employment as a staff member of a publication, or look for freelance writing opportunities.

Unless you prefer your friends to be story nerds or those who lean toward obsessive-compulsive tendencies when it comes to grammar, you shouldn’t necessarily seek to befriend your editor.

(Emphasis mine.)

As in these examples, use the singular “you” and avoid phrases like “some of you may know”. Yes, you (hopefully!) have more than one reader, but each reader experiences your piece individually.

You can also use “I” where appropriate (e.g. to give an example from your own life) – though usually it’s best to keep the focus of your piece on the reader.

 

4. Vary sentence structures

What’s wrong with this paragraph?

You should write regularly (not necessarily daily). You should aim to write at least once or twice a week (I recommend a total of 3 – 4 hours per week). You may find it difficult to keep this up at first (especially if you’ve not written much before).

The advice in it is perfectly reasonable. There’s nothing hideously wrong with the actual words used. But the three sentences are very similarly structured: each one starts with “You” then a modal verb (“should” / “may”), and each one ends with a phrase in parentheses.

When you have several sentences in a row that follow the same pattern, they stand out…in a bad way.

Sometimes, it’s appropriate to structure your sentences like this — e.g. in a bullet-pointed list — but in regular paragraphs, it’s often unintentional on the author’s part, and it seems artless and poorly edited to the reader.

 

5. Use subheadings as signposts

If you’re writing blog posts, articles or sales copy, subheadings are crucial.

They break up long pieces and help readers stay focused; they also offer “signposts” to readers who may be skimming for specific information.

When you craft your subheadings, think about:

• Making them clear and direct (just like titles / headings) — don’t try to get clever!

• Keeping them short — subheadings have a larger font than regular text, and don’t generally look good when they wrap around the end of a line.

• Being consistent with the structure — for instance, each subheading might start with an imperative verb (as in this post).

 

6. Use direct, straightforward language

It’s very rare you’ll want to write something deliberately indirect! Instead, you’ll want your words to come across clearly and strongly to the reader.

This may mean avoiding the passive voice – advice that you’ve probably heard before! In case you need a recap:

Active voice: John threw the ball. — succinct and clear

Passive voice: The ball was thrown by John. — wordier and less direct

The passive voice allows the agent (the person performing the action) to be omitted from the sentence altogether:

The ball was thrown.

This can be useful; for instance, you might be writing about something where the agent is unimportant, or where you want to conceal the agent. (“Mistakes were made” is a classic example here.)

In general, though, you should write in a direct, straightforward way.

Make it as easy as possible for readers to engage with your ideas or your story.

 

7. Read aloud (or edit on paper)

No one’s first draft is perfect, and the above six suggestions should help you rework yours.

Often, it helps to go through your piece slowly and methodically — many writers find that reading aloud helps, as this highlights the cadence of your words.

If you prefer not to read aloud (or if your colleagues, family or cat would give you funny looks if you tried it), then print out your draft so you can edit on paper.

Using a different format makes it easier to spot typos and repetitive phrasings.

At times when printing isn’t practical, I’ve also found it helpful to convert my draft digitally: that might mean turning a Word document into a .pdf, putting a novel manuscript onto my Kindle or previewing a blog post so I can get closer to the reader’s experience.

Confident, powerful writing will help your message (or your story) have its full impact on your reader.

What will you do this week to strengthen your next piece?

Ali Luke blogs about the art, craft and business of writing at Aliventures (when her 3-year-old isn’t demanding to “write on mummy’s laptop”). Her in-depth post, Your Two-Year Plan for Writing, Editing and Publishing Your Novel (However Busy You Are), explains how to get a novel completed even if you can only spare 30 minutes a day.

 

How to Write for Children

 

Writing for children is quite different from other styles of writing. Some people might even argue it is harder to write for children than it is to write for adults. Writers tend to put themselves in the minds of their readers, but how do you put yourself in the mind of a child? It is possible but can be quite an uphill task.

Here are some tips on how to write for children:

1. Do not be limited: If you are given a project to write stories for children, you will probably need to do some research on what kids like now. So if kids are into video games, you will probably write about that. But this is a very wrong approach. You need to realize that kids are still learning every day and they are easily drawn to new things and interests. Do not be limited. Write about new stuff and you will grab their interest.
2. Don’t treat them like babies: Yes, you can write about deaths and tragedies. There are limits, but children are tougher than you think. As for the vocabulary, do not overthink it as they can easily understand new words from the context. If they don’t, remember they are learning and can easily search for the meaning. Having a glossary at the end will help as well.
3. Do not sound like you belong: You might be tempted to input things they are familiar with, especially pop culture references. Unless this reference is essential to your story, this will simply sound desperate and will make you look out of touch even more. It gets worse when this reference gets outdated. So do not try to act like you understand what kids like just to keep their interests.
4. Help the kids break free: Kids live in a world limited by the knowledge and rules of grownups. Use your character to create worlds of endless possibilities for them. Let your characters cross boundaries, have adventures, learn new things, and build their self-confidence and sense of independence.
5. Be relatable: While you have your protagonist crossing boundaries, they should not be perfect. They should make mistakes children make so that readers can relate. They should make a mess they have to fix and this would help the kids relate to them more and be inspired.
6. Read More Children’s Books: You need to read what others are writing for you to have a grasp of a flexible and ever-changing age group. Do not be afraid you might not sound original because the more you read other works, the more you find your own distinct voice.

 

Finally, you can always contact The Ready Writers Consult as content creation is our forte. We have a record of amazing ghostwriting services including content for children.

 

Samuel Ejedegba

How to Describe Characters in a Story

 

The way a writer describes characters in a story can either bring the characters to life or make them seem flat. Finding the right words for the description of your characters can be a bit tricky. Especially if there is so much to convey about them. However, you would not want to give everything away in a single paragraph. No reader enjoys hindered immersion when reading a fictional book. This is more reason why you should learn how to describe characters in a story using these simple and appropriate techniques.

Avoid listing out a character’s features:

Writers who don’t have descriptive adeptness tend to list out the features of their characters. Some even skimp on their character description. While the former doesn’t only seem boring, and forgetful, the latter might make readers build for themselves the imagery that counters what you intend to portray.

For instance, “Chelsea was a girl with blonde hair. She was tall and had dark knuckles.”

The above character’s description looks boring. More so, it doesn’t give room for adequate visualization.

Choose details that show your character’s personality:

You need to decide the personality of your character, and weave your description around it. You might choose to focus on your character’s profession. You might also choose to describe why he does certain things the way he does them and so on.  You should however be careful not to choose so many details to lump together. Choosing a single detail to focus on is usually advisable.

For example, “She had chosen the black hijab over the red one because she perceived red to be a harbinger of evil. This was the perception of every maiden in Umutu. It doesn’t even really matter to her if she was in a different town. She was definitely not going to thrash her life precept because… ”

The above description obviously portrays a stark religious female who found herself in a different town. Readers are immediately aware that this particular character may not welcome civilization over her beliefs.

Also Read: How to Create the Perfect Antagonist for your Story

Use similes and metaphors over adjectives:

While adjectives will tell what your character looks like, similes or metaphors will show your character. It will even make them step out of the book pages because of the imagery deposited in the imaginative minds of the readers.

Rather than write; “Ade was a very tall man”, you could write something like; “Ade’s feet loomed as the baobab tree in Benson’s Park”

Because the tree used is a very tall tree, your readers can begin to imagine how tall Ade really was. You don’t need to have a strong suit in descriptive writing to get this right. Employing simple similes or metaphors in your character description will go a long way in bringing your characters to life.

Describe your character through another character’s point of view:

Here, you simply need to adopt a character’s perception of another character. It should however be noted that gender has serious roles to play here. For instance, what makes a woman alluring to a man could be: hips, breasts, facial beauty, or generally the physique. While fragrance, command of respect, level of intelligence, or general masculinity could make a woman find a man attractive. Whichever gender’s point of view you choose to describe a character with, you should consider the popular perception. That way, your story seems more real.

Read Also: How to Choose the Right Diction for your Manuscript

Express your character’s emotion through action:

How people react to certain things goes a long way to show their personality. If your character is impatient, or one who is short-tempered, let it reflect through actions rather than in narrative.

Rather than simply state that a character got angry, show your reader what he did to show he was angry.

With the above tips on how to describe characters in a story, you might as well discover you don’t need all the finesse to write an appealing character description for your story.

Chima Rachael J.

4 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand in a Congested Marketplace

 

The beauty of free enterprise, capitalism, or whatever you want to call the backbone of an economy is that anyone from anywhere can launch a business.

As a result of this freedom, the Marketplace is full of small businesses and locally-owned enterprises. This makes the marketplace congested.

This high competition makes it challenging for even the most successful brands to stand out. As a business owner, or marketer tasked with elevating the status of your brand, it’s imperative that you find a way to rise above the crowd and overcome the burgeoning list of industry competitors.

Here are four tips to get you started:

1. Pursue alternative pricing

The quickest way to get noticed is to offer alternative pricing that stands in stark contrast to the competition. There are three general ways of doing this.

Low pricing: The first option to consider is low pricing. If you’re able to sell a similar product or service at a lower price point than the competition, you’re going to garner attention. This is obviously much harder than it looks, though, or everyone would offer lower prices.

Premium pricing: The opposite strategy involves developing premium pricing. If your products are extremely high quality and your target market has the budget to pay a higher price, then you can benefit from differentiating your brand in this manner.

Unique structure: The third option is to offer a unique pricing structure. If everyone in your industry offers a 90-day retainer for services, consider offering a month-to-month payment structure. People like alternatives and a unique option can grab attention.

It’s a good idea to start with dollar signs, since most markets are based on how much products and services cost the consumer. However, it’s not the only way to stand out.

2. Devote your brand to customer service

Establishing a customer-centric culture is the second best way to stand out in a crowded industry. According to Andrew O'Connor, director of search at American Addiction Centers, customer centricity is important for three reasons:

• The balance of power has shifted to consumers, who can now amplify their pleasure or displeasure with businesses via social media.
• Automated business models have made personal customer service less frequent.
• Long-term loyalty of a customer base is the best way to guarantee profitability for years to come.

By building a customer-centric company, you can stand out against the collection of other organizations in your industry that turn a blind eye to customer issues.

3. Forge partnerships

At some point, you have to realize you can’t do everything on your own. Even the most powerful brands find it valuable to forge partnerships and relationships with other businesses. This doesn’t necessarily mean the competition, though. This isn’t about mergers or acquisitions. This is about cross-industry partnerships that help you offset deficiencies and leverage resources you don’t have.

The Coca-Cola Company and Ericsson recently did this to help rural communities that needed access to better resources. Are there any businesses in other industries that you could combine forces with to strengthen an aspect of your business or increase recognition?

4. Don’t be afraid to pivot

The term “pivot” often gets exaggerated in entrepreneurial circles. People assume it means you completely abandon your core business activity and spin off in other direction. It’s not always this dramatic, though. Sometimes a pivot is nothing more than a very subtle decision to specialize.

For example, let’s say you’re a full-service landscaping business that earns 75 percent of your revenue from mowing lawns. Instead of competing with the other lawn care companies in your area that offer the same services, why not dedicate all of your resources to offering cost-friendly mowing? It’s part pivot, part specialization.

The majority of businesses in crowded industries fail to stand out because they don’t do anything to differentiate their brands. They simply do what everyone else does, content with scraping by and ignoring the scary proposition of taking a risk.

While part of the problem is the sheer volume of competition in industries such as law, health and construction, the other half of the problem is that many business owners are afraid of standing out. They like the idea of differentiation, but when it comes down to taking action, they can’t seem to step out on a limb.

If you truly want to stand out in a competitive industry, you must take action. The tips mentioned in this article are a great place to start. As millions of new businesses launch in 2016, it’s important that you stop following the crowd and start forging your own path.

Culled from Entrepreneur

9 Tips For Writing Your Autobiography

 

Writing your autobiography can be a great way to tell your life story and provide a keepsake for friends and family. And you don’t need to be a famous person or a professional writer to do it. Read on to find out how to compose an autobiography that’s both informative and interesting…

You don’t have to be famous to write your own autobiography. Some people create a memoir simply because they enjoy writing, while others want to preserve their life story for future generations. They may not intend it to be read by anyone other than their own family.

Unfortunately, many of those who want to document their life shy away from the project, fearing that composing an autobiography is too difficult for the average person. In reality, anyone can write a memoir suitable for an audience of family members and close friends.

If you’re afraid your life hasn’t been “big enough” to merit an autobiography, don’t worry. Your family will want to know about your personal history and relationships with others. They’ll also be interested in how you felt about events you’ve lived through, and the lessons you learned along the way.

“Look for the times when your life changed the most, and when you changed the most,” recommends poet and memoirist Janice Erlbaum in The Autobiographer’s Handbook (Holt Paperbacks). “Those are the times of peak drama in your life.”

Whatever your motivation for writing your autobiography – and whatever kind you want to write – these tips can help get you started.

1. Get a feel for the work.
One of the best ways to learn how to write your life story is to read some of the great autobiographies that have been committed to print. For example, Benjamin Franklin, Katharine Hepburn, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela and Billy Graham all wrote excellent autobiographies that are still read today.

You can find examples of how to write an autobiography in the stories of sports figures, great religious leaders, government officials, doctors, railroad workers, singers and actors, along with ordinary people who found meaning in their lives. Choose a category or person that inspires you, and read several examples of how great life stories are shared with the public.

Reading different styles of writing can also help you get a better feel for how to write an autobiography that will best suit your own story.

2. Understand your intended audience.
The next step in the writing process is to determine who your readers will be. If you’re writing your life story to give to your grandchildren as a keepsake, your word choices and tone will be drastically different than if you’re writing for the general public.

Writing for family members requires less detail when describing familiar settings and people. Instead, provide your own memories and perspective on events, and try to include interesting facts and anecdotes that family members may not already know.

Those outside your group of friends and family will need a more complex word picture to grasp the settings and characters in your story. Think of how you would describe these people and events to a stranger: What would someone need to know in order to understand them?

3. Develop a core concept.
Many great autobiographies have a central idea that unifies the entire life story throughout the book. Persevering love, faith in the face of hardship, overcoming tough odds, going from rags to riches, or lessons learned over time are all inspiring themes.

What is key to the story of your life? Determining one main reoccurring theme will help weave continuity and interest throughout your autobiography.

4. Jump-start your memories.
Think about all the different periods in your life. You may recall long-forgotten events and people you haven’t seen in years, or discover new meaning in your memories as you string them together.

Looking through family photos and talking with parents, grandparents, your spouse and old friends can help you remember significant events that are rich with details and entertaining stories. Diaries, letters and even emails can help spur your recall.

Ask each family member to bring one favorite story from your life to the next family reunion. The person with the best story wins a prize, and all of the entries can be used as possible material for your autobiography.

Include all five senses in your writing whenever possible. Rich, detailed writing can bring your story alive for your readers. Think of how you will answer the following questions: Who? What? When? Where? How? Why?

5. Organize your story.
Determine where your journey with the reader will begin. Will you start with your birth, or skip your childhood and begin with your first true love? Some writers choose to list their story chronologically from their childhood to the present day, while others opt to arrange their book according to themes or major events.

Whichever format you choose, having a written outline will help keep you organized.

Some writers benefit from making notes on index cards and organizing them in a recipe box. Others prefer compiling notes and ideas on a computer – they’re easy to search, and quite a few programs and apps are available to help you keep everything organized.

As with any kind of writing, it’s important to set a firm start date, as well as a weekly goal to help keep you on track. Set a specified daily word count, or decide to write one chapter per week. Determine a date when you’d like to have a first draft completed.

6. Keep your focus.
Find a quiet time to write every day – a time when you can get lost in your memories and let your thoughts flow from your fingertips. Some writers prefer early-morning hours, while other write better late at night. Find a time that fits your schedule and set a regular appointment to write your story.

It may be helpful to surround your work area with inspiring items such as family photos, inspirational quotes and your favorite music.

Staying focused on why you’re writing your autobiography may be difficult as time progresses. Write out a mission statement that describes the inspiration for writing your life story, and refer to it when you feel a drop in your motivation.

 

 

7. Keep it interesting.
After you have written out a particular scene or event, go back and read what you wrote aloud. Check for any awkward phrasing or sentences that are bogged down with too many details. Your story should move the reader smoothly from one scene to the next.

Cutting out unnecessary words and overly long sentences can help your writing flow without being interrupted.

You writing should be descriptive. The best way to do this is to “paint a mental picture” with your words. For example, simply stating that Uncle Joe smelled bad after being sprayed by a skunk is not as interesting as describing everyone’s reaction to Uncle Joe when he walked into the room.

8. Use writing tools.
If you find that you’re struggling, autobiography templates can help you get started. Available in books and online (including on some genealogy websites), these tools present you with a series of questions about your life. You simply answer them, and the templates arrange your answers into story form.

A good dictionary, thesaurus, and word processing program are also indispensable tools when writing an autobiography. But don’t use big or complicated words in an attempt to impress your readers – instead, choose language that best helps you tell your story.

9. Edit your work.
Editing and improving your work can be a difficult process, even for a professional writer. Consider having friends and family read a draft – their suggestions could help you finish your autobiography more easily. And they may find spelling and grammar mistakes that you’ve missed.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to make their suggested changes – as the author, you have the final say.

Before you consider the work finished, you may want to set it aside for a few weeks, then read it with fresh eyes. Does it say everything you want to say? Is it missing important events, or are there stories you still want to recount?

At the same time, don’t fall under the spell of perfectionism. Your autobiography doesn’t have to be the greatest book ever written for your friends and family to enjoy reading it. They want to know what really happened in your life!

Writing your autobiography can be an enlightening and enjoyable process. By following a structured plan and working to keep your focus and motivation, your life story may soon be a reality that will be treasured by your loved ones for generations to come.

 

Culled from Everyday Health

How to Write a Bestseller

 

Many authors crave to have the title ‘bestseller’ attached to their books, I mean who doesn’t anyway? However only a few authors tend to know what it takes to write a bestseller, and if you plan on writing a bestselling book, then read on to get a full glimpse into how to write a bestseller.

Writing a bestseller shouldn’t be all that difficult if you follow these steps below.

1. Don’t regurgitate an old idea.

If you’re writing a book to make it a bestseller, then you should be able to bring out a new ‘big idea’ that will interest your audience as well as lure them to pick a copy of your book.  Put ample efforts into research before writing; don’t just write because you want to write.

2. Have your audience in mind.

If you want your book to become a bestseller, then your audience needs to be duly considered. Don’t write like you are your main audience. You need to consider the thousands or millions of people whom you want to pick up your book and enjoy it. Have your audience in mind; give them something to talk about and make your book memorable.

3. Invest in developmental editing.

It is not enough to write and edit for grammar and spell check, invest in developmental editing. That way, you can easily expunge phrases or clauses that might be posing some kind of distractions to your readers. Remove irrelevant and redundant words and edit your manuscript with clarity of mind.

4. Choose the right book cover.

I cannot emphasize this enough. Your choice of cover for your manuscript can either make or mar your entire book. You might want to read my article on Choosing the Right Book Cover for Your Manuscript  to help you learn how to select a befitting cover for your manuscript.  Nobody will pick up a book with a bad cover, and how else do you want to make your book a bestseller if it doesn’t attract readers.

5. Don’t stop promoting your book

The journey to making your book a bestseller doesn’t end in a single promotion stint. New books are published daily, and you need to continue pushing out your book to the public. If you had launched it before, then organise a discussion fest for your book. Talk about your book more often on social media, create a hashtag for it, and just don’t stop promoting your book.

Now that you have learnt how to write a bestseller book, congratulations in advance on becoming the next bestselling author.

Chima Rachael J.

9 Strategies To Revive Your Brand

 

Commoditization is a fact of market. I always remember that great observation by VJ Govindarajan that “Strategy starts dying the moment it is created”. It dies because its (potential) effectiveness dies and with that, its relative value.

That idea, transposed to brand is, in reality, what commoditization is: the (slow) death of relevant value. However, there are strategies you can put in place to reverse the speed and/or pace of that commoditizing effect. Here are nine ways I outlined to a leadership forum in Malaysia recently to decommoditize your offering and reassert its branded value.

In the presentation itself, I focused on actual commodities, but the principles are in fact applicable to any brand that doesn’t command the value that it needs to, or once did:

1. Think of the product in new ways – when you redefine what something is or could be, you reframe its context and it’s much easier to redefine what it can be used for. When you stop thinking of milk as a drink, for example, and start thinking of it as a food, as Fonterra did, you change the scope of the product you’re working with in so many ways.

2. Redefine who you want to be a brand to – if the current audience places a declining level of value on it, think about who might be able to use it in ways that enable you to regain value. Starbucks redefined the value of coffee globally by making coffee hip, urbane and tailored to individual taste. Now they’re looking to do the same thing with tea. In a world that really does believe it’s seen or searched it all, discovery is a powerful consumer motive.

3. Change what it looks like – sometimes changing the value of a commodity can be as simple as changing how it appears to others. Think about the difference in pricing and perception between bottled beer and beer on tap. However, new packaging alone won’t make up for a product that doesn’t add value. What it can do is signal the unrealized value that you want consumers to take up on.

4. Formulate your offer in different ways – the water industry changed how we think of water by adding vitamins and/or carbon dioxide and then segmenting those offers to specific audiences. Today, the world spends more than $100 billion a year on bottled water. What could you do to what you have to make it more than it is right now?

5. Name it in different ways – the deer industry in New Zealand renamed its venison offering “cervena” to differentiate it from deer meat sourced from elsewhere and to make a strong country-of-origin play. If you’re selling copper and everyone else is selling copper, what can you call your copper to distinguish it from what people can source anywhere. Again – renaming alone won’t be enough. In the case of cervena, the change in name spoke to an idea that consumers were interested in, and eliminated the concern, amongst American consumers, that they were eating Bambi.

6. Package it in different ways – the red meat industry is now starting to segment its offer and to assign different perceptions of value to cuts and breeds that not too long ago would all have just been beef. Angus is a classic example. Others are packaging along ethical lines to put daylight between themselves and others and to appeal to consumers who are prepared to pay more for feel good foods. Cage-free and free-range eggs are part of this trend. (What’s interesting for those interested in moral labeling, however, is how those terms and others can be defined in some jurisdictions. It doesn’t necessarily mean what it appears to mean.)

7. Distribute it in different ways – changing the distribution channel can be a highly effective way to transform your white label product into something valued by a more specific audience. iTunes rebuilt the value of music by reinventing the concept of the single into a single digital track and allowing people to buy the music they wanted in a new way, at a new price. Tablets are having the same effect on books and magazines – redefining how consumers access content and buy it. It’s a very different value equation than it used to be – but at least it’s a value equation.

8. Price point it in different ways – This is a particularly effective approach when combined with segmentation. Go after various parts of the market with products that demonstrate various levels of value add and are price pointed accordingly – e.g. a bulk product at a bulk price, a high end or specialized product priced at a top-end price, and a consumer focused product that may even operate at flexible price points. Forced into what was close to a death-spiral for many, the airline industry repriced to find new ways of achieving yield. First, they cemented the front-end profit by giving business and first class passengers more space and more comfort to protect margins. Then they debundled their economy offering, adding new categories like Premium Economy, cramming in more seats in cattle class and instigating fees for service that have kept the asking price low whilst charging at every point for things that were once considered included. This evolution hasn’t exactly been a success from the travelers’ point of view, but it has certainly forced a rethink on what is paid for, and how.

9. Wrap a different story around it – New storylines can change how people perceive a product. Water, beer and wine have all used stories to engage consumers and to deliver a new sense of worth. Increasingly, there are opportunities to link undifferentiated products to differentiating stories around environment, supply chain, conduct, purpose and cause. Psychologist Dr. Norman Holland, in an interview with Stephen Denny, explains why: “When we adopt a brand for our own use, we integrate it into the stories of our daily lives.” Once integrated of course, that storied brand has new value for buyers because now it’s personal.

A note of caution. While, as outlined above, there are a number of ways to stave off deterioration and even to restore value to goods whose value has decayed, there is also no denying that the product or brand you make has a best-before date in terms of margin. Unless you assume commoditization, and continually look for ways to slow its advance or reverse its influence, it will get your brand in the end.

The key to successfully staging a resurgence in the value of your brand is to think of each of the nine tactics outlined above as a multiplier. To an extent, the more multipliers you can employ simultaneously, the greater the chances that you can relift your brand. Focus them specifically on the key needs and unmet desires of your (new) target market. So, for example:

In a market, where your brand has been painted into a corner – I might look to use these three approaches:

Think of the product in new ways X Change what it looks like X Distribute it in different ways

Or if the market you’ve traditionally targeted is treating your brand like a commodity and threatening to start a price war, I might combine these four:

Redefine who you want to be a brand to X Package it in different ways X Price point it in different ways X Wrap a different story around it

When you change how a product is viewed and accessed, you open the door to changing how it can be marketed.

Culled from Brand Strategy Insider