‘Do What You Said You Would Do’: 3 Blog Post Headline Fails

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'Do What You Said You Would Do': 3 Blog Post Headline FailsI was at a conference in Washington D.C. in the late 90s for an exclusive group of winners. We came from 31 school districts and 26 states. Our proposals had been chosen from more than 5,000 from across the country, to be funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Five years of funding, with an average of three-quarter of a million dollars to each of us to support academically at-risk middle schoolers in their learning challenges.

The feds present that day wanted to make sure we knew both how special we were and how much was expected of us.

The first presenter walked to the podium in that Hilton ballroom. We leaned forward with pens and notebooks, poised to record all the stuff we would need to know to implement our grant projects.

She removed her glasses, peered out at us and paused.

[Read more...]

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Here She Comes to Save the Day!: ‘Wanton Exclamation Point’

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dancerI’m not a big fan of  rant blog posts. They get old fast, especially when every blogger on the block is doing them.

But problematic punctuation? Well, that  pushes all my buttons. What can I say? I’m a writer.

Three months ago, I wondered who the first person was who put an apostrophe in where it didn’t belong. In the comments section, you all had your own grammar and punctuation peeves.

My friend from Australia, Di Mace of Word Swords, coined a term that I absolutely loved: Wanton Exclamation Point. It is the perfect way to describe the misappropriation of a punctuation mark that used to have a clear and focused purpose: to tell us that the author was excited—or angry or astounded—about something.

[Read more...]

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How to Remove the OCD from Your Blogging

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Please give a warm welcome to Krissy Brady, the first guest blogger on the Cat’s Eye blog in 2012. I met Krissy when she began reading and commenting here. I checked out her blog and was impressed by the resources she so freely offers to writers. I encourage you to visit her blog. And if you like what you see (I’m sure you will), sign up for email or RSS feed delivery.

How to Remove the OCD from Your Blogging

by Krissy Brady

boy at computerThere are times when we get lucky: we set out to write a fantastic blog post, and it pours out of us like a waterfall. For me, it feels like an out-of-body experience, and I squeal like a little girl once it’s published. There’s a surreal amount of excitement (and relief) when we put our hearts out there.

We relish every minute of the experience, because we know the next time we visit our blogging bubble, it may not go as smoothly. We may set out to write a fantastic blog post, but for some reason it won’t… come… out.

Before we know it, a blog post that was only supposed to take 2 hours has taken up our entire day. We become finicky about every little detail. We have become an OCD blogger. For those not afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,  let me explain.

It has other names. Some call it perfectionism, some call it writer’s block, some even call it general stuckitis. Whatever you call it, know that it happens to every blogger.

Here are some common barriers OCD bloggers experience and some tips for breaking through them:

Barrier #1: Your headline is too long. Then it’s too short.

There’s a lot of pressure attached to creating a snappy headline for each blog post we write. Our headlines are the deciding factor of whether a potential reader will give our blog the chance it deserves. You need to hook them, and hook them fast.

If you’re struggling to think of a catchy title, do what all writers do who are in the same boat: create a working title, and list the important points you want to include. Then, let it simmer as you work on the post itself. While you’re working on the body of your post, you never know when inspiration will strike.

Barrier #2: After searching through pages of photos, you still can’t find one that’s “just right.”

While planning your post, think of 3-4 different types of photos you feel would suit the topic you’re writing about. This will maximize your search potential, and the extra planning ahead of time will make the process more enjoyable.

For example, for this post I wanted an image of someone who was adjusting a crooked photo to represent perfectionism. My second option was an image of someone sitting at their computer, staring blankly at the screen to represent writer’s block/general stuckitis. As I was searching, I found the adorable image above, and went, “Aha! That’s my photo!”

Another quick tip: don’t just look for a photo that suits the topic of your blog post; choose a photo that also suits the mood of your blog post. It’s a subtle way of letting your readers know the style of post they are about to read.

Barrier #3: You write the first paragraph, then revise. You write the second paragraph, then revise. By the time you make it to your concluding paragraph, you’ve gone cross-eyed.

Sometimes, I get really antsy when I’m working on a blog post. It could be due to the amount of coffee I’ve ingested beforehand, but it’s usually because I’m not letting my creativity happen naturally. We all know we don’t have to write a blog post in the exact order we’ll eventually present it in, yet I find I still try to do so, which restricts my creativity.

Write your blog post paragraphs in the order your ideas come to you. The creativity will eventually spill into the areas of your blog post you’re struggling with, and you’ll soon wonder what all the fuss was about.

Barrier #4: Before publishing, you read your post over and over and over…

Even if we’ve proofread our post 15 times (admit it, you’ve done it before), we still feel the need to check “one more time” for a misspelled word or a comma splice, as if our word processor is going to put them in for us.

Use the Rule of 3: read once for flow, deleting unnecessary words and editing clunky phrases, read a second time for structure, punctuation, and misspelled words, and read a final time pretending you’re a potential blog reader. Make sure you’ve covered your points in a clear, concise, and personable fashion.

Barrier #5: After your post is published, you wonder if it’s really finished.

After investing so much time on a post, it can be hard to disconnect yourself from it once it’s published. There’s a definite grieving process that happens, since our creativity is deeply intertwined with our sense of self.

After publishing your post, immediately close your blog and let out the breath I know you’ll be holding. Consider logging out of your blog to be a symbol of you letting go of your post, and I guarantee you will be more inclined to let your next one start brewing.

You might be thinking to yourself, “This is great advice, but it’s a lot easier said than done.” Of course it is! Isn’t all advice?

Start by building your own trust.

Place your left hand on your keyboard. Raise your right hand and say, “I, [ Your Name ], solemnly swear to release myself from the shackles of my inner critic.”

It’s a small step, but it’s a big start.

How about you?

Do you have tips of your own for getting over OCD blogging?

About Krissy Brady

Krissy BradyKrissy Brady is a freelance writer located in Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada. She is a blogger dedicated to keeping the passion for writing alive and is currently working on her first novel, poetry collection and screenplay. To learn more and keep in touch with Krissy, visit her blog, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter for the latest writing-related information.”

 

Filed Under: Blogging, Copywriting, featured post, Guest Posts Tagged With: , , ,

Write Better in 2012 by Reading More: What’s on Your Bookshelf?

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bookshelfI hope you are finding time to refresh and rejuvenate this week between Christmas and New Year’s. I’ve been reading a lot, since Bob, Mr. WordPress, gave me the best Christmas present ever. It was better than the warm, fuzzy socks. Better even than the foaming bath oil and scented candle from L’Occitane.

It was a Kindle!

Now, when you live on a ferry-only island, getting just about anywhere on the mainland—a mega-grocery store, a library, a bookstore—can take at least half a day. If you happen to miss the ferry that runs hourly, it takes even longer. But if you have a Kindle, with Amazon’s one-click buy and instant download, you can make your purchase and start reading within seconds.

It was the perfect solution.

You’ve heard me talk about why writers and bloggers should be readers, too. So, in the spirit of sharing, I offer my best reads of 2011. Note: I am not an affiliate and have no financial motivation for recommending these. I just think they are the best books I read in 2011.

My favorite reads of 2011

Personal Essays/Memoirs

Holidays on Ice– David Sedaris writes a collection of laugh-until-you-snort, holiday-themed stories and personal essays. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be  “Santaland Diaries,” his accounting of the Christmas he worked as a Macy’s elf.

Lit – I’ve been in love with Mary Karr’s storytelling since The Liars’ Club, her memoir of growing up in a hardscrabble Texas town with an unstable family. Her new book follows her journey from drunk to sober, in only the darkly hilarious way she can tell it.

Paris to the Moon – This is not a new book (2000), but it was new to me. New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik offers a collection of 23 essays and journal entries about what he learned when he, his wife and their son spent five years in Paris. Told with the observation of a reporter, with an extra dose of wit and charm thrown in.

The Craft of Writing

On Writing – Again, not a new book, but one I read at least once a year. In the first part, Stephen King gives us a peek into how his childhood shaped him as a writer. The second half gives us his best writing advice. My favorite takeaway sentence: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

Story Engineering– My friend, the talented Larry Brooks, writes about how to build a story with a foolproof process that made more sense to me than any other book I’ve read on plotting.

The Art and Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual – Victoria Mixon’s book has applications for storytelling—and for life. You’ll find everything you need to know about writing a story, all in one place. I haven’t read her sequel yet, but I’m going to pick it up.

The Fine Print of Self-Publishing – A writer friend recommended Mark Levine’s book to me and I wasn’t disappointed. Industry professionals say it’s a must-read for anyone considering self-publishing their book. A helpful and concise breakdown of the costs, contracts and process of self-publishing.

The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-standard Text for Writing and Life – I’ll be talking about this in a separate review on my blog, but just let me say that whether you want to write life stories to give your children and grandchildren or you want to formally publish a memoir (or know someone who does), you must get this book. Marion Roach Smith shows you how to find your memoir’s theme/topic and pull only the ideas that apply to it. Brilliant stuff.

Write the Perfect Book Proposal – I can’t say enough good things about Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman’s book. They are both agents who have sold hundreds of titles to publishers. In the first part, they give you step-by-steps for writing a book proposal that editors and book publishers will notice. The second half looks at 10 actual proposals that sold and why. I followed their advice and already have  a strong first  draft of my proposal completed.

Inspirational

Dream Save Do – My friends Betsy and Warren Talbot, of the Married with Luggage blog had a dream: to travel the world for five years. Whether you want to do that, or write your book, or start that business, or whatever, you can follow the steps to your dream with this book. What I love is that it’s not just the dreaming part; it’s the doing part. They show you exactly how to raise the money to do it. Digital version only.

One Hundred Names for Love – Diane Ackerman has written an inspiring love story about her gifted writer husband Paul West’s journey back to the world of words after suffering a devastating stroke. This amazing story starts with West being unable to speak (except for “mem, mem, mem”) and ends with a return to his desk and the writing of three more novels. Very inspiring.

There they are: my recommendations for 2011. By this time next year, I plan on having a link to my first book. ,

What about you?

Do you have any favorite reads from 2011?

Like to tell us what you loved and why?

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Book Writing Process, Copywriting Tagged With: , , , ,

Harry Potter Headlines: 10 Ways to Conjure Up a Viral Blog Post Title

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girl wizardWriting your blog post is a lot of work. But it’s usually not the part that gives you the most grief.

Your toughest task is coming up with the right title.

Someone once said, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But you know what? People do that all the time. Just go to your local bookstore (or amazon.com) and see for yourself. A book—or a blog post—may contain the secret to the universe, but no one will read it if they aren’t drawn in by the title.

Because when your post lands in your subscriber’s in-box or in their Google reader, it’s competing with every other message, every other blog post, every other headline. Readers skim and scan, looking for the one that catches their interest enough to click through.

I often get asked not just which headline types I favor, but why. So here you go, my take on why some  headlines make a post go viral—and which titles seem to get your content read and shared by a bazillion people. [Read more...]

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‘Clean Slate’ Blogging: How to Write a Post Your Readers Will Remember

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girl writingIn my tenth year of teaching, I learned a lesson that forever changed the way I look at people, their abilities and, in particular, my own capacity to produce great things. As a writer, I have revisited this discovery time and time again.

For reasons unknown to me at the time, I was recruited to take on a class of first graders in an upscale school neighborhood of the city. The school district’s Director of Personnel invited—well,more like urged—me to  leave my current school and take over for a much celebrated  teacher, who was retiring.

I told him, “Those are big shoes to fill.” He said, “You have pretty big feet yourself,” which I took as a compliment. I think.

When I got there, I found that the parents were an assorted bunch of normal people, except for the fact that one was an assistant district attorney, another owned the largest car dealership in the state, another was a judge, another a forensic pathologist and, well, I guess they weren’t that much like the parents of my past students after all.

The school year started like any other one: tearing off huge pieces of butcher paper for the bulletin boards, cutting out construction paper letters, making name tags in big, first-grade type print, fixing alphabet cards to the wall. All the things that make a classroom ready for 29 short, noisy people.

Then my students arrived, rolling through the doors like an ocean wave. Some smiling, some shouting for my attention, some standing back, taking it all in. And a few in tears. A typical first day.

Through the year, as usual, I kept my eye on the prize:

They would learn to read.

I knew how it worked: test for their knowledge of letters and sounds, gradually build to reading words, then sentences, then whole stories. And they did. By mid-year, every child was reading, some, of course, at higher levels than others.

It was what my principal told me in February that year that blew me away. [Read more...]

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Preventing Apostrophe Abuse Begins at Home

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boy with schoolworkWhere did it start? Who was the one who first put the apostrophe in where it didn’t belong? Was it some bartender who innocently printed Tequila Tuesday’s on the specials board one day?

Or maybe it was the appliance store that advertised Used Refrigerator’s and Washing Machine’s.

[Read more...]

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About Page Blues: Are You Making Any of These 5 Mistakes on Yours?

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boy with guitarDid you know that your blog’s about page is consistently the second most-viewed page on your blog?

Whenever a new visitor’s breath is taken away by a post of yours, it’s the first place they go to find out who this amazing person is.

It’s your chance to hook your readers, make them come back for more great stuff from this fascinating blogger. (That would be you.)

Okay. Here’s the thing. You already knew that your blog’s about page isn’t really about you, right?

About pages can be tricky because your readers want to know more about you, but they also need to know how who you are makes you the best person to blog about your topics. And just how you can help them with their needs.

So it’s really just as much about them.

Don’t Make These 5 Classic About Page Mistakes

I see smart, talented bloggers make certain mistakes over and over again on their about pages. They are easily fixed, if you know what they are:

1. You don’t tell me what your blog is about.

Most people think it should be obvious what their blogs are about. But it’s the one thing missing from many, many blogs I visit. Your readers want to know what you’ll be talking about.

My blog’s about page says:

I love to write about things that get people thinking about how they can show up online in unique, real ways.

How they can attract more website and blog visitors with a true voice and compelling copy.

How they can use social media to get their brand out there in the world.

Don’t make me guess what your blog is about. Give me that reason to stick around.

2. You start by telling me how great you are.

One about page I read said, in the second sentence, “[Name here] has long been on the cutting edge of web technology.”

Okay, double demerit: he used the cliché “cutting edge” and he told me how good he is, instead of showing me.

It’s okay to list your achievements (in fact, you should), but let me see who you are and what you care about first.

3. You bore me with too many details.

I want a personal glimpse. I really do.

But 27 diary-like entries—including when you were born, what year you got your driver’s license, the date your first husband ran off with a younger woman and the color of your first-born’s hair—doesn’t quite hold my interest. (Actually read an about page with this information today.)

Better to cut that list down and make some of the trivia fit who you are as a blogger. Give me a sense of who you are and what you bring to this blogging thing.

4. It feels like you’re applying for a job.

I don’t care what college you graduated from. Sorry, but I don’t.

If your about page reads like a résumé, I probably won’t stick around.

Now, there are some instances where degrees and credentials are very important (for a therapist, professional coach or attorney, for example). Keep them in there, but just don’t lead with them because people want to get to know you first.

And take out the chronological history of places worked. Now if you had a job somewhere that lets me peek into a part of you that helps me understand who you are today and why you have this blog? Then, yes, I want to hear that.

5. You don’t give me a short version.

Sometimes, on a first-time visit, I’m in a hurry. If I don’t see what you and your blog are all about—and within seconds—I may click away.

Always include the Cliff Notes version of your about page in a bio box, right there in the sidebar on your home page. Some readers are looking for any old excuse not to hang around, so hook them on you as the blogger right away.

My home page bio (with photo included) is only 62 words but it tells readers right away what they can expect to see on my blog.

What about you?

What do you see missing on about pages you visit?

Do you mix a little personal into your page or keep it all professional?

What do you want to know about a blogger when you visit their page?

Filed Under: Blog as Marketing Tool, Blogging, Branding Tagged With: , , , , ,

With a Little Help from My Friends

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shooting starI don’t usually point you completely away from this blog in a post.

But, hey, go away!

Because what these bloggers have to say is so important.

A little ways back, Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch of the wildly popular Write to Done blog asked the ten of us (Top 10 Blogs for Writers winners) to condense some of what we know into ten small pieces of advice for bloggers and writers.

Now some of us mentor aspiring fiction authors and others of us help business bloggers break through the clutter and find their unique voice. But certain things apply across the board: nurturing creativity, showing up regularly, writing with passion and lots more.

In this post, we share from the heart. For you.

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!

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The Myth of Fairy Dust: One Reason I Never Get Blogger’s Block

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girl fairy w/wandA couple of days ago, someone asked me where my inspiration as a blogger comes from. The unspoken question I sensed was more like, “What do you do when you get ‘blogger’s block’”?

(You know bloggers’ block, that close cousin to writer’s block?)

“Oh, I have a special fairy for that,” I said.

There was a deep silence on the other end of the phone line.

Of course, I was being my usual smarty pants self.

I’ll be contributing my real answers to that question in a future guest post on Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch’s wildly popular Write to Done blog.

But for now, let me just share one insanely simple reason I don’t get blogger’s block.

I read.

I heard on an NPR radio show last week that 27 percent of Americans did not read one book last year.

Not a single book.

Okay, I may not be the norm on this issue. I’ve been a book junkie since I was five.

I was the one who had to consume words with my breakfast. I read the back of the Trix cereal box, and even the side—all the way through those disgusting ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, red dye and trisodium phosphate.

And yes, having taught first graders to read for 10 years, I value education.

But still. One in four read not a single book.

I read, on average, a book a week. (Business books don’t count.)

My tastes run everywhere from Harry Potter books to Les Miserables. And in between that, every memoir, biography or true crime book I can get my hands on.

5 reasons bloggers and writers should be readers

Bloggers and writers should be avid readers. Reading opens up the mind, makes you think in different ways and helps you understand all kinds of people, even if they are in a fictional setting.

Whether you consider yourself a blogger, a writer or a business owner who blogs, reading lots of books across multiple genres helps you:

1. Discover more new ideas—or new slants on old ideas.

As strange as it sounds, new ideas for blog posts come to me when I am reading. I keep a notebook by my nightstand. Something will happen in a book, I’ll ask myself, “What if…? and sometimes a new post idea springs to mind.

2. Improve your vocabulary.

If you are ever pained trying to think of just the right word to use in a sentence, you’ll find the words coming to you easier the more you read.

3. Claim your voice and writing style.

Reading lots of different authors helps you nail your unique voice. For a while, I fell in love with different authors’ styles—Mary Carr (The Liars’ Club), Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones, Long Quiet Highway) and others. I tried on pieces, a few at a time, and in the process found my own.

4. Touch emotions.

No matter the kind of blog you have, your readers want to feel something when they open up one of your posts. Because if your blog is bland, if it doesn’t connect with your readers on an emotional level, they probably won’t hang around long.

When you read a lot, you get a sense of how different writers appeal to the senses and emotions. As you write each post, ask yourself, “What do I want my reader to feel?”

5. Tell your stories better.

One of my guest posters, the brilliant A. Victoria Mixon, recently showed us how we can improve our storytelling with basic fiction techniques.

As you immerse yourself in the characters and plots in the books you read, you’ll soon begin absorbing more ways to do that.

Just in case you’re curious about the last 5 books I read, here they are:

Old Friend from Far Away by Natalie Goldberg

An American Childhood by Annie Dillard

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (unbelievably, I hadn’t read it yet)

About My Sisters by Debra Ginsberg

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (for the gazillionth time)

What about you?

Do you find time to read?

Is reading a lost art?

Do you think reading more makes you a better blogger?

If you liked this post, I invite you to subscribe to the Cat’s Eye Writer blog so you don’t miss a single issue.


Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , , , ,

Storytelling for Business Bloggers

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Welcome to another edition of Top 10 Tuesdays, a semi-regular series introducing you to some of the finest bloggers around, my fellow winners of a Top 10 Blogs for Writers award.

This week meet A. Victoria Mixon. She gives spot-on advice to authors and aspiring authors at  victoriamixon.com. Her new book is The Art and Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual.

Now, here’s Victoria:

You’re in a really bad bind.

You’ve got a business—a product or a service—and you need to get the word out about what you offer. Not only that, but you’re up against an implacable deadline: either you start moving revenue fast, or you start moving out of your office space.

You’re smart, creative, driven. Cornered.

You’re the ideal fiction protagonist!

And this is how you must think of yourself when you blog, because readers of all stripes and colors, fiction and nonfiction alike, read for only two reasons:

  1. to learn something they need to learn about survival
  2. to be reassured live is worth surviving

Readers want to know how others have made it, so they know they can make it, too.

What do you have to offer that can help your readers survive? Who’s out there you’ve already helped? Whose story can you tell?

I contract part-time for a writing studio that sends me case studies for a large (very large) and visible (possibly the most visible) computer corporation online, which this corporation uses for marketing.

They ask happy customers to fill out a questionnaire explaining exactly how they use the products and services, under what circumstances, and with what very specific details. They ask them what they did before, what inspired them to make the switch to the corporation, how it works for them now, and what their future plans are. They ask them for a quote.

Then they send the whole kit-&-kaboodle to me, and I turn it into a piece of copywriting—a nonfiction story.

Readers love this stuff.

  1. HOOK: There’s a protagonist—the happy customer and, even more specifically, the contact at the happy customer company, the named and titled individual who supplies the quote for the ending.

  2. DEVELOPMENT: This protagonist has needs, extremely pressing needs bounded by their resources, their financial situation, their deadlines, their geographical, business, or creative limits.

    This protagonist has a backstory—what they were doing before they switched to this corporation—and a goal—where they hope to go.

    And in the middle of it all is their story, the exact circumstances and very specific details of what they do and how they do it using this corporation’s products and services, a story the reader can project themself into, a place made entirely of words where the reader imagines, That could be me.

  3. CLIMAX: Finally, this story has a premise—how the corporation’s products and services have changed this company’s life. That’s the real, subtle, fundamental reason this case study is written up, so it goes at the end: the contact’s quote about the corporation and what it means to be the happy customer.

    4. The End

It doesn’t matter whether or not you use this corporation’s technique of individual happy customer case studies for your marketing. Because every reader is a potential happy customer, so all you have to do is tell the one story—their story—from whatever angle or angles you’ve got. Teach them what they’re here to learn about survival.

  1. HOOK your reader with something that will surprise and intrigue them. Make it something to inspire their curiosity, something to make them just have to know more. This is how fiction writers send out the crook-neck cane from the wings and get the reader by the neck. Say something right up front your reader doesn’t know but needs to. You don’t have to make sense. Just make them curious.

  2. DEVELOP your reader’s story
    Use the fiction writer’s techniques of backstory (where is your reader right now without you?), goal (where does your reader wish they were?), and most importantly needs (what are your reader’s most pressing needs, most overwhelming deadlines, most nerve-wracking limits?). Show them you understand what it’s like to be them. After all, you’re really just like them, aren’t you? Smart, creative, driven. Cornered?

    The ideal protagonist.

    Be exact about the circumstances your product or service addresses. Be very specific about the details. Write multiple posts, each one focused upon a different set of circumstances and a different hypothetical collection of details. Make your reader feel like they’re reading their own story.

  3. CLIMAX with the premise—the reason you’re writing this
    Your company can help this reader survive. You have something this reader needs. That’s your point. Be sure you lead all the way through your post straight to it.

    Then in the final sentences, give your reader that golden egg that means everything to them, a resolution. Put your all into the very last sentence of every single post, make it the most perfect sentence in the entire piece.

Give it a bit of resonance by referring back to that intriguing, inexplicable thing you said at the beginning.

Give it a classic beauty by making it simple and clear.

Give it a little extra something to make the reader feel good.

You want your reader to become a happy customer? Turn them into a happy protagonist.

  • A. Victoria Mixon is a professional writer and independent editor with over thirty years’ experience in both fiction and nonfiction. She is the coauthor of Children and the Internet: A Zen Guide for Parents and Educators and author of The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual. She can be reached through her blog, her editorial services, and Twitter.
    • Filed Under: Blogging, Copywriting Tagged With: , , ,

    Do Your Readers Understand Your Business?

    By 2 Comments

    do your readers understand your businessLast week, one of my favorite bloggers, Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz, threw out a simple question in her blog post, What Do YOU Do? The Un-Meme Redux.

    She made me think.

    I like that. Thinking is good.

    Naomi’s question was, “Do your readers understand your business?”

    A few days later, a new friend, pajama-wearing motivational speaker (I know, it’s kind of weird, but isn’t it cool?) Patty K, answered Naomi’s question in a post of her own.

    Still, it seemed like a silly question to me.

    My readers know what I do for my clients. Don’t they?

    They must. I blog about stuff every week. Sometimes more often.

    What Naomi found out

    Now Naomi is one of the smartest Internet marketers in the business and the author of the wildly popular blog, IttyBiz. Still, two years ago, she got an email from a regular reader who asked a question that stunned her:

    “So what do you actually do for a living?,” she said.

    Could it be that a regular reader and commenter on her blog, someone she has shared emails back and forth with, could not even know what her business is about?

    The IttyBiz Challenge

    Naomi’s wake-up call made her focus on not just what her blog is about but what her business is all about. What she does to solve her clients’ problems.

    Now, she is challenging us to do the same.

    Her questions are good because they help us get to the heart of not only what we do, but why we do it. I decided to take the challenge.

    Naomi’s questions, my answers

    1. What’s your game? What do you do?

    I’m a blogger and copywriter. I offer writing and coaching to help people develop a stronger, more unique online presence with blogs and online bios that attract their readers’ attention and convert them to customers.

    2. Why do you do it? Do you love it or do you just have one of those creepy knacks?

    People fascinate me—always have. I read every biography and memoir I can get my hands on.  And bringing out each person’s uniqueness—through their blogs, about pages and social media bios—is a challenge I jump up and down just thinking about.

    Okay, it’s also one of those creepy knacks of mine. But isn’t it the best possible place to be: when what you love to do and what you do well intersect?

    3. Who are your customers? What kind of people would need or want what you offer?

    I work mostly with crazy-smart, talented professionals with service businesses. The business or life coach. The realtor. The therapist. Anyone who makes a living selling the amazing stuff that’s inside their brain.

    They either agonize over every word when they write or they could do a crackerjack job, but they just can’t find the time. Some of them just need a little coaching to get into the groove of writing their own blog posts and bios.

    Of course, others say, “Please. Just do it for me.”

    4. What’s your marketing USP? Why should I buy from you instead of the other losers?

    I was a teacher for many years. I understand all the ways people learn. I know how to show people shortcuts to make them better writers and bloggers. So now I’m the coach who is best at helping people think in different ways so they don’t get stuck in The Land of Boring Blogs.

    Oh, and I can say, “Four knives will be sufficient in Swahili.” Try to find another blogging coach who can do that.

    5. What’s next for you? What’s the big plan?

    I want world peace, for sure. But after that, I’d like to complete my blogging blueprint book, publish my memoir, write the Big Book for Creative Thinkers, and start an online blogging class.

    One more thing.  I want to get that four-ball juggling thing down. I definitely want to do that.

    Do these questions resonate with you? Do your readers know what you do?

    Try them on for size. You may find some gems that will also work well in your about page. And, speaking of about pages, after my post last week, one of my subscribers, who also happens to be a friend (David Billings, AKA Sparky Firepants),  sent me a message.

    “Great post, Judy,” he said. “It inspired me to rewrite my about page.”

    David did an amazing job, without a speck of help from me. You can see his shiny new about page here.

    If you take the IttyBiz Challenge, leave a comment with a link to your blog, so we can go see your cool answers.

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