soulati.com

Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging

Soulati-'TUDE!

Blog Tips 1: Blogs Need Two-Way Comments

By

This marks the occasional blogging tip series inspired by a comment on a blog that warranted a tip series about comments on blogs. Make sense?

While I didn’t read the actual blog post, I did read a comment on the post (not sure how that happened), and it went something like this:

“Thanks for this post about whether I should comment on my own blog when someone comments. I now won’t do it because I think the comment section is for the voice of the reader and not me because they already heard my voice in the post.”

GASP! I AM AGOG!

Please, bloggers, never do this.

  • Blogging is NOT a one-way street; that goes for the comment section, too.
  • If you want to build community, you have to engage in comments.
  • People who comment expect the blogger’s response!
  • If you don’t comment, then no one is home; you look dark, curtains drawn, not-welcome sign in the window.

If I comment in your house and you don’t respond? I’m never coming back because that’s rude.

If someone comments and disagrees with what I say and wants me to explain what I’ve written, but I don’t reply in comments…that’s grounds for divorce.

Blogger’s Tip 1: Always respond to comments on your blog.

Jayme Soulati is the Author of Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey. After more than three years of blogging and writing a ton about blogging, she knows how to build community and responding to all comments is rule numero uno.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

12 Most Snappy Headline Writing Tips For Bloggers

By

Do you know that many blog headlines suck? No, seriously, they do, and here’s why… the headline is the single-most important aspect of a blog and writers often stop short by featuring a less-than-pizzazzy headline.

In this era of time constraints, a headline has to describe the gist of the story, draw readers in, and be creative. With that said, here are 12 tips to get you thinkin’ on better headlines to attract and keep readers coming back:

1. Summarize the story in the title. Give readers the low down of the story right on top. A headline provides the gist of the news, content, story angle, etc. Be descriptive in a concise way. Spend the most time writing the headline FIRST; trust me, this is the best way to get it right.
2. Be creative! Can’t stress enough how critical it is to let the creative juices flow like hot lava. It’s your job to draw a reader in and make them click on that title to see what else is being featured. When the headline is the only chance you get… well, spend more time on it!
3. Say no to hashtags. If you think you’re killing two birds with one stone writing a headline for Twitter with a hashtag, think again. A headline with a hash tag is unappealing. Besides, Twitter is not the only channel for sharing; other channels don’t use hashtags to capture topics, so why do it?
4. Reconsider name dropping. You may be in love with that book author, client or peer in your tribe or feed, but guess what? Your readers have no clue who that person is. When you name drop with the @ sign in a headline it diminishes the headline and becomes very promotional.
5. Use more than one or two words! Amazingly, bloggers think a headline with one or two words is acceptable; rather, it’s an immediate signal to run for the hills. While the content may be decent, there’s no way to tell because one-word headlines say and do nothing to entice a reader to open the door.
6. Be tastefully raucous. Some writers never use raucous words in a headline and that’s up to the discretion of the writer; however, if you’re going to use the “sex sells” mantra, do be tasteful about it. Do a test on occasion — add a racier word than you’re used to and see if traffic boosts.
7. K.I.S.S. — Keep it simple! When a headline carries on for three lines, readers’ eyes completely gloss over. It’s so critical to keep a headline short, sweet, simple and to the point! Not satisfied with yours? Ask someone for help; people do like to help others.
8. Keep key words for SEO to a minimum. Never overdo key word littering in a headline. That’s one thing every reader picks up on and every reader then expects the content to be oriented to SEO juicing, too. All bloggers want to boost SERP, but it needs to be done in a minimalistic way.
9. Use action voice. Write a headline that is a “How To” or includes an action verb. Here’s an example, “How To Refinish a Spindle Chair In Half The Time.” Not only does that title tell me I’m going to learn how to do something, it also tells me I can do it more efficiently. (Anyone who has refinished spindle legs knows how challenging it is!)
10. Ignore first-person pronouns. Use of the word, “I” is verboten… that’s German for “forbidden.” Who’s making that rule? Moi, the author of this post. There are no hard or fast rules to blog headline writing, but this one should be set in stone.
11. No selling! Cannot stress enough how horrific it is to read a headline in which the author is sharing coupons, deals on products or dentistry (yes, I saw a woman doing that on Google+ and kindly told her this is not how Google+ is used with a suggestion on how to do it and then deleted her from my stream). There’s no easier way to alienate readers by putting such things in a headline.
12. Know your audience! Who is in your community? Do you have “mommy bloggers” who might like to know which brand of children’s clothing stands up to 10 washings? Are you an author trying to showcase your latest book? Do you write professionally for small businesses? No matter… when you write a post with your community in mind, the headline needs to orient to them and their takeaways.

Overwhelmed with these tips on how to perfect a blog headline? Please don’t be! Review the patterns in your own writing and note a few areas you might consider improving. Then, take a few of the aforementioned tips and change up your style a bit.

What do you think? Is anything missing?

 

This post originally appeared on 12Most.com January 1, 2013 by Jayme Soulati.

Related articles

Get Blogging Voice: Part 2

By

blogcommunityYesterday, we addressed how better to understand blogging voice beginning with a look at video blogging. By using examples within others’ writings, voice becomes more apparent. In the first part to this series, there was a quick exercise to get a baseline of your own blogging efforts. Today, we’ll further our quest for blogging voice with several exercises to identify and develop a strengthened voice on your blog.

So, here’s a quick review:

  • Determine the type of voice you want to portray and write with
  • Observe others’ styles of voice and begin to emulate that approach to a degree
  • Use the exercises yesterday and today to strengthen your purpose and “sound”
  • Develop your voice with consistent writing and get comfortable

Step 1: Know Which Factors Contribute To Voice

There are several key factors that remain the same across for all bloggers interested in finding voice. If you write with snark or in a friendly manner, all the elements below are critical to let your voice shine in your writing.

Five Key Factors of Blogging Voice

  1. Passion for what you write and the excitement or positivity you show. If you want to create community, you have to bring them with your passion. Remember what was mentioned yesterday — passion begets a connection with your audience.
  2. Confidence with yourself and your personal esteem to show you should be believed, you are credible, and you deserve attention.
  3. Authority and command for your topic are critical. If you inject your writings with “I think, I’m not sure, perhaps, could be true,” then readers will be unsure, too.
  4. Personality has to come forth; are you naturally an extrovert, introvert, cracking jokes all the time, snarky, happy? Each of these characteristics contribute to word choice, exclamations, and personalization that make you, you.
  5. Consistency is critical to success of voice. When you post 3-4 times weekly, you’re writing A LOT. You’re always thinking of topics to write next and hopefully, you’re putting them in draft on your blog or tablet. When you keep writing, you eventually find a comfort and flow in how those words appear. You’ll stumble every now and again, but making mistakes for all to see is human and important. Writing more than twice weekly is important for voice because all of the above weaves in harmony.

But how do you develop these factors?

Exercise 1: How to Build Confidence and Authority

I’m of the opinion that confidence in what you write is the first success factor before anything else. With confidence comes voice. Here’s an example of a tried-and-true blogging method I use frequently to build confidence and authority:

When you read and something strikes you, jot a note, tear the page and keep it, bookmark it, or sit down to write.
Tell about that news event or story you read to bring your readers to the same page as you. (Tell it briefly and provide a link to the story.)
At bottom, interject with your own opinion.

Better yet, add your opinion and then add five tips you’d offer to your audience.

You’re building connection, being authoritative, and showing your intelligence. With this healthy pairing of a news event with a few tips alongside your opinion, there’s no better way to showcase confidence.

As an example of what I mean, the Lance Armstrong crisis provided much blog fodder. I elected to wait until well after the interviews with Oprah to write this blog post, “Did Anyone Media Train Lance Armstrong?”

In the post, I referenced Advertising Age and its story with three experts answering that very question. I shared the story and what the experts said, and then I gave five of my own professional tips at the bottom of the piece. This formula is a good model because people can see your expertise and creativity shine.

Exercise 2: Showcase Personality and Verve

The streets of Santa Monica were really busy with a lot of people who were attending the farmers’ market.
The sights and sounds of Santa Monica during the Saturday morning farmer’s market always delight with the chatter of vendors hawking their wares, and families and cyclists zigging and zagging through passersby while ogling the incredible array of fruits and vegetables.

It’s obvious; you can feel, sense, visualize, and imagine the scene in Santa Monica at the Saturday morning farmers’ market after reading the second example.

When you write a blog, it’s important to draw readers in with some of that kind of voice. You have to communicate what’s in your head on screen to make your audience want more!

  • Pick out something you’ve written in the past.
  • Read it out loud.
  • Is it dry and a bit boring, or do your words have personality and verve?

A blog is not a feature story, but it is certainly featuristic and demands your attention to word choice and the personality you inject.

Step 2: Add Style to Your Blogging Voice Foundation

Ever hit a blog and the comment section is a graveyard? Even if you want to comment, there’s really nothing to say or contribute. Sometimes the blogger is just spewing content with no real connection to a reader; voice is stilted and boring.

To make sure your comment section isn’t a graveyard, try channeling one of these styles in your writing:

  • Snark. There are only a few people I know who write well with snark. Their voice is abrupt, littered with cuss words, appealing to a special audience, and it may be a way they build confidence with an “I-don’t-care-what-you-think mentality. Warning: Snark does not work for everyone! Be careful when trying this approach to voice; it can fail easily.
  • Genre-istic. When you land on a blogger who is a daddy or mommy blogger, they’re writing with purpose — to build community and authority for a specific target audience and perhaps the corporations who need them to market their wares. There are also many tech bloggers who review products and devices; they, too, are trying to appeal to that gear-type audience. The voice is highly authoritative (or should be) with confidence that they know their subject matter. If they’re selling product, they’ll have a strong sales voice to encourage calls to action. With the goal of blogging in a category, you can become an authority when you believe in your product and your mission. This is a perfect example of why you need to establish goals and a purpose for your writings.
  • Friendly, Casual. There are many bloggers who just write because. They are blogging as a hobby and use quotes, jokes, storytelling, self-deprecation, book reviews, and more. The tone could be friendly, dry humor, funny, and addressed to a community the blogger knows really well. There may be a finite number of folks who are part of that community who also contribute to the banter. Those who write in a casual way often are hobby bloggers or finding their way. Voice comes, yet purpose is elusive.
  • Corporate Business. Company blogs have an automatic professional voice and tone, but they don’t always have to. When someone’s voice is so stilted and painful to read, it sends readers running. When a company decides to launch a corporate blog to push authority and products, it’s imperative they find someone to write who can inject some personality to the writings. No one wants to read a dry, unfriendly business blog; in fact, it’s the first ingredient for disaster.
  • Verve, Personality. If you want to write a personal blog where you let down your hair and invite the riff-raff in to judge you, then develop a thick skin. You will get spammers and anonymous commenters who will have a hay day with your content. If you’re blogging for therapy and to heal, your community will come out in droves to support you. There are many people who take solace in these types of support blogs, and it’s highly therapeutic. The blogger’s voice has to be soothing, conversational, friendly, soft, and respectful of readers. Most often, that blogger has to be willing to share personal stories that connect with readers interested in sharing something similar.
  • Healthy Mix. Probably the best blogs deliver a healthy mix of all of the above. Depends on the mood of the day, right? If you’re a professional blogger, then mixing up the topics, while maintaining a healthy voice, shows confidence to let your community get to know you better. After all, behind every blog is a person, humans love to connect, and bloggers have that opportunity to make that connection.

There really is no tried-and-true method of teaching voice; it is elusive. The examples above merely provide a brighter light about the factors that contribute to blogging voice. In the end, it’s totally up to you to relax already and get comfy with your topics while zesting it up with a little of this and little of that. Try cooking without a recipe; that’s the ultimate in creativity, and that’s how blogging voice gets baked, too.

This post is part two of a two part series about developing your blogging voice. Check out yesterday’s post on figuring out what a blogging voice is.

This post originally appeared on the Shareaholic blog March 1, 2013 by Jayme Soulati.

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Get Blogging Voice: Part I

By

tongue.jpgJust how does one find blogging voice?

The answer is…elusive! Not sure there is a solid answer, but at the bottom of this article we ought to have a much better understanding of what the hoopla is about a vlogger’s voice.

Omgosh.

When I typed “blogger” in the last sentence, it came up “vlogger,” and I am so grateful that happened whilst sitting in the middle seat in a full airplane cabin pecking letters one by one because the batteries died in my iPad keyboard.

So, instead of using merely a blogger to understand voice, let’s first explore the world of vlogging as it relates to that. Video blogging is so much more visual which makes it easier to illustrate the concept of voice.

What is Voice? Examining Voice and Vlogging

What is your impression watching peeps on camera?

It’s pretty painful sometimes, right? When a vlogger has to look at the camera without furtive eyes or naturally down-turned mouth (without a smile), it is difficult to make great video.

Now think of the words delivered during a video blog.

  • Are you following along and listening?
  • Is that blogger making a connection with you?
  • Are they droning on and on without coming quickly to a point?
  • Did they tick off an agenda or a bulleted list of items they’d cover in their piece?
    How about tone? When someone speaks, it’s normal to listen for inflection and excitement and authority. Is the tone of that vlogger credible? Do they take command of their subject matter and do you believe what you hear?

Exercise 1: How to Identify Others’ Voice on Video

Run and get a video blog you recently watched; I’ll wait. Spend two minutes only re-watching the vlog and pay careful attention; no multi-tasking!

In your head, jot down your impression of clarity, confidence, body language, tone, personality, credibility. Don’t worry, you’ll notice these automagically now that you’re looking and listening more closely.

In a recent vlog I saw, unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the end and here’s why:

• The person was forced and lacked personality.
• S/he was cracking jokes that were not funny, and the content was subpar.
• It was a sorry attempt at connecting with community using a medium that appeared uncomfortable for him/her.

Let’s revisit some of the factors that make a video blog successful:

• Tone
• Facial expression
• Personality
• Connection with audience
• Command of authority
• Believability

When you add all of the above together with high marks, what you get is a masterful vlogger. Yet, it takes time and practice!

No one can master being on camera unless they are trained broadcasters (who daily practice news delivery prior to going on camera).

Think of Anderson Cooper next to David Letterman. That provides an awesome dichotomy, doesn’t it? The two can’t be farther apart in personality and tone yet they command respect, authority and attention.

Understanding Your Blogging Voice

Are you starting to get the picture of how we’re going to segue into blogging voice?

Many bloggers experience months and months of blogging only to feel a lack of connection with HOW they write. When you read a blogger using English as a second language, the content is often stilted and word choice is sometimes stark. There isn’t naturalness to the flow of the article, and it takes the reader more time to connect with the writer.

This is not a criticism in the least, it’s merely an observation about how those words jump from the screen and in what tone and fashion. It’s how the reader connects with the writer that makes voice come alive.

Blogging voice is extremely different than journalistic voice or that of an author of romance novels. When bloggers write, there is more usage of the first person. Some new bloggers feel compelled to thread the word “I” throughout writings thinking perhaps that writing in the first person is more personable. In one opinion, it’s more egocentric and boorish.

Bloggers who have “found their voice” seem to fit right into an easy presence and comfort in their blogging skin without too much toil.

Here’s how you get to find your voice:

Establish Goals

When you start blogging, you need to set goals for yourself and the blog.

  • Do you want to build community and subscribers?
  • Do you wish to be an influencer or thought leader?
  • How about being the leading blogger in a genre or category like a parent blogger?

The goals you set drive how you write and thus your voice. If your goal is to sell diapers to moms, then you will need to command authority and then add a sales bent to that voice. Right?

Example of a Mommy Blogger Selling Diapers
Yesterday, I tried the new brand of diaper, called Baby Undies, on my infant daughter and learned the hard way that pretty packaging doesn’t mean better-quality diapers! (I think I’m going to stick to my favorite brand, Diaper G, instead!)

Tone: Personable and friendly

Credible: She experienced a negative event and is warning other moms not to buy that brand

Soft sell: She’s sharing a factual event and encouraging her community to follow her advice

Be Consistent. It takes 12 months of posting about three times a week to find comfort with your online presence. If blogging is your profession, in that 12- month timeframe you most likely have accomplished a few goals and have already switched it up a few times. If blogging is your hobby, then 12 months may be when you see a few milestones happen, and you grow from there.

Know Your Audience

Who is reading your blog? Better yet, who do you want to read your blog? If you are an online educator for home-school kids in fifth grade, your voice will be friendly, informal, conversational, yet authoritative and credible. Your audience is also the home-school parents who duel as teachers.

If you’re the pastor of a community church, blogging voice is going to be oriented to inspiring families to volunteer, tithe and attend church. That pastor blogger will walk a fine line between creating community, encouragement and being a leader.

Understanding your audience who is or may be reading your blog is critical to finding your voice. You will write more powerfully instead of in a meandering way. You will connect with them to attain your goals each time you write. You’ll think of what they want to hear and write with that purpose.

Think About Buyer Persona.

Have you ever heard of a buyer persona? At first, I thought it silly, but after really thinking hard about who buys my services, I could picture that person reading my blog. ‘

My blog articles began to take on a more professional tone to address some common marketing issues in companies.

My voice amplified confidence in my subject matter, and I felt a connection to the person I’d like to have visiting my blog.

This has contributed to a good feeling about my writing, defined my blogging purpose, which ultimately contributes to my voice.

Exercise 2: Start to Identify Your Own Voice

How and where you find blogging inspiration for writing fodder is a topic for another day. For the purpose of this exercise, select a topic you’d like to write about. Perhaps you’re a master gardener with a blogging goal to enroll people in your master gardening classes so they can earn their certificate and join your ranks. (Can you recognize the blogging goals in that last sentence?)

How will you write? With purpose!

Your words need to be visual and help the reader connect with your passion about gardening. Do you sense the personalization that has to come across in blogging? Your passion must be apparent; if you write with dryness you will not connect with your audience. Passion for our topic begets connection with your audience.
Ever read the children’s books Fancy Nancy? Certainly, the illustrator made those books but she had to have the words as inspiration. It was a team effort, for sure. Your words need to inspire anyone with the hint of a green thumb that they can become a master gardener just like you.

Your plot of land becomes your canvas to create a breezy, flowy, rainbow garden that brings a gasp of visual pleasure with butterfly wings a flutter.

How did that sentence grab you? I hope it created a bit of a visual…don’t butterflies always do that? Notice the word choices that are lighter and more creative with visual appeal. Try to put more of these types of words in your writings and loosen up. Quit being so stilted. A blogger with voice is comfortable with self first and that confidence helps portray authority.

This post originally appeared on the Shareaholic blog Feb. 28, 2013.

 

Related articles
Enhanced by Zemanta

Is A Blogger A Writer?

By

What kind of merry-go-round are we on, folks?

The questions keep flying in circles:

  • Is a blogger a writer?
  • Is a blogger an author?
  • Is a blogger bona fide?
  • Should a journalist become a blogger?
  • Is a blogger a reporter?
  • Is a freelancer a consultant?
  • Should I write in the first person or third person if I’m one person?

OHMYGOSH, already!

Let’s set the record straight so everyone knows the following:

Bloggers are writers. They write every day they post an article. Sometimes the piece is short, sometimes it’s personal, sometimes it’s in-depth investigative journalism like this piece by Amy Tobin on Sunday Social Justice.

Would bloggers be able to pass muster every day writing by journalistic standards? Nope, but they’re not trying. On occasion a piece comes along the likes of squarely on the rump, and that piece deserves high praise and slotting into a publication the likes of Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Oh, did I already mention Amy Tobin’s work?  I’ve never given double link love in a blog post before and I’m gifting Amy with that first…and, she knows why!

Bloggers as Authors

jayme-soulati-blogging-book-cover.jpg

Photo Credit: Jayme Soulati via iPhone 4S on AA flight to LA

Are bloggers authors if they write books? Many a blogger has written a book; I’m not the first to re-purpose a treasure of archived content into a useful and educational business book.

In case you didn’t know, I recently self published, . So, bloggers can write books; have you? Does that make a blogger any less of an author? NOPE! But, some do believe so; and, that’s OK. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.

Journos as Bloggers

For sure a journalist ought to blog, but I bet the topic of the blog would not be akin to their daily beat. That would be a bit strange. Perhaps a journo could blog about a hobby or something; that way, the blog would not interfere with daily writings for the online or offline publication.

Is a freelancer a consultant? Well, you can read on that topic right here and see if you can come up with an answer any better than we could!

First Person or Third Person

Should you write in the first person or third person if you’re one person? A subscriber suggested my newsletters should be written in the first person. That shows I’m writing the content about myself.

Why?

Doesn’t everyone want to give the impression their practice is larger than one person? If you write in first person, it’s too personal and seems full of braggadocio. I can’t, and public relations professionals rarely if ever write in the first person as we’re writing for others.

I’m all about ghost writing for myself; the ones who really know me under the cover will know who’s minding the store. What about you? First person or third?

Subscribe to Jayme’s Newsletter!







Related articles