Category: Blogging

Is Your Message Clear?

Posted on by Linda Anger

Is Your Message Clear?

Image from Unsplash by Tim Mossholder

 

I am discouraged by the fundamentals that underlie usage of obscure communications in business.

WWWHHHHAAATTT?

Yeah, that sentence is a perfect example of an obscure message.

The clear message? I’m sad that so many business people are more concerned with sounding intellectual than they are with communicating clearly.

Simplicity is the name of the game in getting your message across, and in the end, it’s not what you say that matters. What your customer, client, prospect, or employee hears is the critical factor.

Five Guidelines for Clear Messaging:

  1. Avoid words that require a dictionary for interpretation. Few people will bother to look them up.
  2. Use short sentences. Try to keep each sentence under 20 words. Break longer thoughts into multiple sentences.
  3. Make your message relevant. If what you say doesn’t matter to your intended audience, you will not be heard.
  4. Find a clear, concise message and stick with it.
  5. Do not assume your reader thinks and believes as you do.

In the end, language is a tool used to inform and enlighten. The simple choice between one word and another really does make a difference in how your message is understood.

As Dr. Frank Luntz says in his book Words that Work, we need to make people the center of our communication, not the target.

 

Two Years of Silence

Posted on by Linda Anger

Image of a woman with her finger over her mouth for silence

I’d been blogging monthly for nine years when, in January 2016, I decided to put off the post for a week while I considered changes in my life and world. That week turned into a month, then six months of silence.

I questioned my interest in the business that supported me well for 17 years, challenged my ability to write motivational, practical blog posts, and disputed my willingness to participate in an increasingly disassociated and negative online world.

Lost in a world of meaningless chatter, something had to give.

Next thing I knew two years had passed and I hadn’t written a single blog post. I had grown comfortable in my silence.

Then came December, and the problem that caused me to move my website from one hosting company to another.  In the process, I had to copy all the page content and blog posts, paste them into the new site, and reformat everything.

It was time consuming.

And it was exhilarating.

Posts I had written in 2007 were still relevant today, and many were more powerful now than when they were first published. Among them, these:

Bob’s Brilliant Marketing Tool

The Core of All Things

The Law of Attraction: Carport #35

The process renewed my passion for solid, proven marketing communications, and my desire to be “in the thick of it” with my clients. Now, I use silence in a different way, internally and externally. It has become a solace rather than a wall.

Have you stepped away from some aspect of your life, only to discover it anew? What was it, what did you learn, how will you move forward?

How to choose a blog type

Posted on by Linda Anger

A well-planned blog can make a huge difference for an individual or a business. But how do you know what type of blog will work best for you or your company?  Here are four blog types to consider before you get started:

A How-To Blog

Become a Hero by helping people understand how to do stuff . . .
Here, actual writing is limited – it’s more a matter of collecting and sharing material others have created. Show people how to solve their problems and where to go after they’ve visited your site.  Always give credit to the folks whose work you are sharing – gain written permission whenever possible, and make sure it is clear that the “how-to” is theirs, not yours.

A Storytelling Blog

Generate interest in your business and services with real-life stories . . .
You’re often told to ask your clients and customers for “testimonials” – short blurbs about what a great job you’ve done. Sadly, few people know how to write a testimonial that “works,” and even fewer people actually read the testimonials strewn across a website. But you can create a story about your customers/clients and the success that came from your interaction. Then it becomes a human interest story to which people can relate – and that is the type of “testimonial” that attracts attention.

A What’s Happening Now Blog

Perfect for creating a well-linked (and well-liked) news resource site  . . .
If your world is all about what’s happening around the world, a “what’s happening now” blog makes sense. You don’t have to write much, just gather info from other sources, report on them, perhaps add a bit of commentary and links galore. Just make sure your sources – and their sources – are credible.

A Personal Blog

Build a following as a thought leader. . .
Pondering a famous quote or concept in a weekly blog goes a long way in establishing your credibility as a thought leader – one of the golden few people want to follow. A personal blog differs from the other three in that its style is conversational, where the others are more professional. Consider carefully the persona you wish to project and the audience you wish to attract.  Be even more careful in the topics you choose to cover.

 

3 Tips for Better Blogs

Posted on by Linda Anger

Sharon looked me straight in the eye and said: I hate blogging. I don’t know what to say. It takes me forever to write two paragraphs and they end up being nothing but a bunch of blah-blah marketing statements. But I know I have to do it to stay competitive.

Owner of a small consulting business and responsible for “everything,” Sharon echoed a sentiment I hear almost daily: Blogging is a piece of the success pie, and it has become a huge challenge for those not trained as communicators.

What can you do to make your blog better for your readers AND better for you as the producer?  Here are three tips to get you back on track:

1)  Focus on the Goal of your Blog.  Is your intent simply to keep your name Top of Mind with your customers and prospects?  Are you focused on Lead Generation, website traffic, or building your reputation as an information hub?

2)  Remember What Drew You to Your Industry.  Way back when, on the day you started your company or made the decision to take a job in your current industry, you were excited about it. There was something that thrilled you, that satisfied you beyond just the paycheck. What was it? What emotion did it trigger? Find that energy again, and write from that place. It might be helpful to create a list of the reasons you started and the dreams you had about your career.

3) Tell stories. Stories pull the reader into an experience, and the more they see themselves in that experience, the more willing they will be to keep reading and remember you when they need your product or service.

 

 

A Gourmet Meal is Always Served in Courses

Posted on by Linda Anger

Well-crafted, relevancy-rich blogs are like gourmet meals: they’re served up in stages.

Attention spans are short. Demand for relevancy is high, and everyone needs a bit of time to digest one course before going on to the next one.

The best blogs are short and intellectually or emotionally nutritious. Just enough, ruthlessly edited for readability and comprehension.

Here’s an example from Seth Godin’s Blog.

When you think you have a lot to say, say it – then edit it down by half. If it’s still more than three or four short paragraphs, break it into a series of posts, spaced a few days apart.

Just like a gourmet meal.

 

5 Tips for Beautiful Blogs

Posted on by Linda Anger

Content is King, it is true. Your blog must be an easy and informative read or viewers will click off in the blink of an eye.

But Content isn’t Everything.

The visual side of your blog is important, too. Here are 5 Tips for Beautiful Blogs:

  1. Choose and stick with a single font face, or at most, two complimentary fonts.  Use a sans serif font (like Arial) for headlines and sub-heads, and a serif font (like Times) for body text. Too many fonts and colors are visually disturbing.
  2. Use images to enhance your content, and set them to work proportionally with  and enhance your content. Clutter is nasty, balance is beautiful.
  3. Use simple, bold headlines to make your point. Edit down to five words or less.
  4. Keep your content short and informative. Anything beyond 300 words becomes a chore to read on the fly. If you have more to say, break it into multiple posts.
  5. Make your subject line enticing. If it’s not, the chances of people clicking through go way, way down.

Three Tips for Better Blogs

Posted on by Linda Anger

Sharon looked me straight in the eye and said: “I hate blogging. I don’t know what to say. It takes me forever to write two paragraphs and they end up being nothing but a bunch of blah-blah marketing statements. But I know I have to do it to stay competitive.”

Owner of a small consulting business and responsible for “everything,” Sharon echoed a sentiment I hear almost daily: Blogging is a piece of the success pie, and it has become a huge challenge for those not trained as communicators.

What can you do to make your blog better for your readers AND better for you as the producer?

Here are three tips to get you back on track:

1)  Focus on the Goal of your Blog.  Is your intent simply to keep your name Top of Mind with your customers and prospects?  Are you focused on Lead Generation, website traffic, or building your reputation as an information hub?

2)  Remember What Drew You to Your Industry.  Way back when, on the day you started your company or made the decision to take a job in your current industry, you were excited about it. There was something that thrilled you, that satisfied you beyond just the paycheck. What was it? What emotion did it trigger? Find that energy again, and write from that place. It might be helpful to create a list of the reasons you started and the dreams you had about your career.

3) Tell Stories. Stories pull the reader into an experience, and the more they see themselves in that experience, the more willing they will be to keep reading and remember you when they need your product or service.