Five or six years ago, to rank high in Google and other search engines, you had to cross your i’s and dot your t’s when it came to metatags, titles, keywords and more. Yes, those are still important – but not as important as one more item. What is that? Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike discuss SEO.
photo credit: FindYourSearch

No doubt you have your favorite online haunts, as do we. And just because they’re our favorites this month, it doesn’t mean they will be in another few months. With hundreds of millions of websites (and new ones sprouting like weeds), how do these websites get – and keep – our attention?

Web links (open in a new window so you can click while listening to the podcast):

Social Media Examiner
Mashable
BNet
The Huffington Post
Little Green Footballs

Powerful communicating depends on high octane fuel.  The good news is the best stuff is near to hand…and it’s free.  What powers writing, you ask?  VERBS, I answer.  Yes, verbs, along with adjectives and adverbs, are the gasoline that makes your writing take off.

You never hear a sports caster tell his audience that the baseball player “hit a home run.”  No, the player “clubbed the ball into the bleachers, he belted it, he smacked it, he ripped it into the right field stands.  He spanked Mr. Spaulding, tore the cover off it, launched it into the Fenway stratosphere.”  See the difference?  Writers “tear the cover off it” when they understand the use of powerful verbs to energize their writing and their audience.

Adverbs, which modify verbs, and adjectives, which modify nouns, also add horsepower to your writing.  And, when you throw in a metaphor (or simile) or two, you truly have high octane writing.  A metaphor, in case you’re not a word geek like me, is when you say something is “like” something else.  A simile occurs when a writer says something is something else.

A novelist rarely tells her reader that her heroine has clear green eyes.  Nope, the ladies eyes are “emerald ice.”  Her lips are like rosebuds and her words touched lightly in his ears like the first warm breeze of spring.  Metaphors and similes make writing come alive…and they’ll do the same for your product or service.

I’m not saying you should turn every corporate E-mail or press conference into a romance novel or the Superbowl.  I am saying a well placed power verb, metaphor or simile, makes writing stand out; and, more importantly makes it stick in the listeners or readers memory.

That’s what we’re after:  communication that hangs around, that the audience remembers.  When the occasion arises, make it memorable with communication jet fuel.

Personally, I collect them.  While I’m reading, or listening, or, heck, doing almost anything, I’ll make a note of a powerful verb, a good metaphor, or a well placed descriptive adjective or adverb.

Then, as the need arises, I’ll mine the collection for the gold nugget of communication I’ll need to power my writing.  Every good writer I know does the same.  You should, too.  Collect good phrases and good verbs the same way we’ve advised you to collect good personal stories and anecdotes to use in your writing.

Remember, dry rarely sells.  It won’t sell your product, your idea, or your point of view.  Pump up your communication with words that have impact; and, when it makes sense, words that hit your audience with the impact of a meteor the size of a Volkswagen.

That kind of verbal fuel will power your communications to speeds that could leave you breathless.

Photo used with permission http://flickr.com/photo/7765337@N06/2955312136 Creative Commons Licensing

Sunday morning is special. It is sleeping in. It is the smell of fresh ground coffee. It is robes and slippers. Mostly, it is my wife and I together, with the Sunday paper; worrying about troubling news, discussing the opinions, and laughing over the funnies. My darling and I have passed countless Sunday mornings this way, in playful competition for the fun sections and in somber conversation about the news. I worry, now, that we may be nearing the end of those shared moments; those beautiful mornings.

Newspapers are in trouble. In one six month period last year, circulation fell more than two and a half percent. The largest media groups are almost all hemorrhaging cash. The Rocky Mountain News, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Tucson Citizen all recently closed, or are near to it. And the papers that aren’t closing are trimming back, way back; firing staff, combining sections, and cutting pages. The situation is grim enough that a great many industry analysts are preparing the newspapers obituary. There are a few who cheer the print media’s woes.  Not me.  Even though I am heavily vested in the “new media,”  I think the demise of print would be too bad; and for reasons other than what it will mean to the way my wife and I enjoy a Sunday morning. I worry that it’s bad for the country.

You see, up until recently the newspaper was where folks who cared about current events got their information. They relied on the paper to get the story and get it right; and present it in an even-handed way. Even when folks argued about what the news meant, they agreed, in a fundamental way, on what the news was. The news was a shared set of “facts.” People on opposite sides of the political fence spoke a common language, and could, at least, talk to each other. No longer. Now, folks who are interested in current events and government get their news from the web. And they get it from sites that are partisan. These sites have a point of view and slant their reporting. So, when we debate with one another, we use information provided by the websites that reflect our bias.

The problem is, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, believes the other guy. I don’t trust the sources used by people who disagree with me, and I know they don’t trust mine. And that’s bad. How can we debate if we can’t even agree on what are the “facts.” How can we debate if we think the other guy isn’t telling the truth; or, at least, isn’t basing his arguments on the truth. It’s gotten to the point where both sides have websites devoted, entirely, to pointing out how what the other guy calls “fact” is flat wrong…how his sources are stretching the truth, leaving out important factors, or downright lying. It wasn’t always that way. I’m old enough to know. There was a time when most of us had a common understanding of what was fact; even when we had a very different interpretation of what those facts meant. The daily newspaper, and monthly news magazine, was our source.

If newspapers can’t recover their former glory, we are all going to miss that common language of debate. And I’m going to miss those wonderful, playful, serious, loving Sunday mornings. It’s very hard to bond over a computer screen. But, I suppose my sweetheart and I will have to find a way.

photo credit: n0nick

When you write a blog post, a short speech or an article, it’s possible you’re missing one critical step that will make your finished piece a lot better.

That step is “pre-writing.”

What is pre-writing? Well, it’s just what it says it is. It’s a few notes that you make before you actually start to write your first draft.

For instance, my pre-writing notes for this article look something like this:

• pre-writing
• what is it?
• how does it work?
• why is it necessary?
• is it an outline of your piece?
• when should you use it and when does it not matter?
• blogs / articles / speeches / longer articles / e-books / query letters
• summation

So now that we’ve seen my initial notes, let me follow them:

How does it work? The process of pre-writing is to sit down at your keyboard or with a notepad before you actually start writing cold. By making some notes on what you’re going to write about, you’re warming up your writing muscles and drawing a skeleton of your full piece. It’s a mini-road map of where you want to go with your article.

Why is it necessary? Well, perhaps it’s NOT necessary. But to my experience, by pre-writing you’re gathering your thoughts and putting them in a coherent and cohesive order.

Is it an outline? Essentially it’s the informal elements of an outline, but it’s not an outline. I think an outline of something would be more formal. No, it’s just a way of gathering your thoughts and putting them in front of you. For some reason I tend to think an outline of a piece is created after the piece is finished.

When should you use it? And are there times when it doesn’t matter? Of course there are times when pre-writing is superfluous. And for longer pieces, such as a 20-minute presentation, pre-writing may not be necessary, as you’ll be doing a much more thorough job of writing, including first draft, rehearsal, editing, etc. before it is done.

Pre-writing comes into play in pieces that are of moderate length. It wouldn’t work on a short blog post, nor on a long speech. But it may be a useful step for a mid-length blog post or online article as a way of gathering a smattering of your thoughts before you start the actual writing of the piece.

As mentioned in my ‘pre-writing’ notes, I think it’s a helpful step in many creative pieces you might approach: blog posts, articles, mid-length speeches such as a short luncheon presentation, or even an e-book or query letter.

Bottom line: while ‘pre-writing’ may not be necessary in all creative writing you do, try it a few times in your next few pieces and see how it works. It may not be the cure-all, but it’s definitely a useful element in much of my writings.

photo credit: helenadagmar

What do books do for your communication skills? Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon and Roger Pike throw a few book titles and authors at each other and see where the books land in this podcast.

Show Links: GoodReads.com – a mighty useful site for avid readers to track the books you own, read, plan to read, as well as connect with friends and like-minded readers. Kind of like a mild “Facebook for Readers.”

photo credit: wljones15

“Letters to the editor” work.  Let’s be clear about that from the beginning.  Newspapers like publishing them, readers like reviewing them, and they cost nothing but the writer’s time.  “Letters” are one of the publicity vehicles that we in the communications biz call the “free media;” techniques which range from the trendiest strategies involving the social media and the web all the way to tried and true simplicity of placing a letter in your local paper.

“A letter to the editor,” I hear you saying, “Nobody reads them.”  Not necessarily.  Analysis shows that letters to the editor is one of the most read sections in the newspaper.  And letters appeal to a much broader demographic than you might think.  A letter to the editor can reach people.

A letter can allow you to give an opinion unfiltered by a reporter; it can allow you to praise a person or action or to condemn.  A letter can help you raise the level of awareness about your product or an issue you face, it can get you a share of the publics attention, and it can keep your name in the public consciousness.  You might even use it to move a reader to action.  But, to make a letter work, or even get it printed, you have to know what the paper’s editors are looking for.

The best letters are always personal and passionate; written from the heart.  Still, some folks don’t write because they think they don’t know how, or where to begin.  Here’s my advice:

First, identify publications in which you might want to share your opinion.  Your local paper is more likely to publish your letter than is the Washington Post, and a trade journal is more likely to do so than “Business Week.”  Keep track of these publications so you are aware which would be an appropriate vehicle for publication should an issue or opportunity arise.

Keep it short, pointed, and jargon free.  Most media outlets have very definite and unbreakable limits regarding the length of letters.  Obey them.  Don’t use jargon unless you absolutely have to; and, if you do have to, explain it.  Keep your focus limited.  Don’t try to comment on every possible element of the issue.  Stress one or two key thoughts.  You don’t have the space for more.

Have your statement of greatest impact in your first line; or within the first couple of lines.  Identify your issue quickly.  Many readers won’t go past a line or two unless you’ve really grabbed their attention.  Opening with passion and power is your best shot at influencing them.

Don’t flame.  In the world of Internet jargon, a flame is a deliberate ad hominem insult.  Avoid doing that, even if you feel you have the right.  It turns most people off and they stop paying attention to the rest of your reasoning.

Don’t go on endlessly about yourself.  If you have specific knowledge that enhances your opinion, you may want to very succinctly state it; but including your entire resume in a letter to the editor boors people and wastes valuable space.

Use paragraphs.  Sentences should be short and clear.  Run spell-check, proofread, and edit your submission before you hit send.  Use exclamation points VERY sparingly; and never more than one at a time!!!!!!!!!!

Some techniques work well in letters.  One of the best is to “compare and contrast” two ideas, products, or policy directions.

If you are responding to a particular article be prompt.  Don’t wait a week.  The closer you submit your letter to the article or event you’re commenting on, the more timely it will appear, and the more likely it will be published.  Also, if you’re responding to an article, say so up front, and include the date it was published if you can.

Include the contact information required by the publication in question.

Letters to the editor are a great way to generate buzz.  If you, and a few of your friends, write sincere, heartfelt, and individualized letters, the chances are good that opinion will be noticed and will be shared with the readers friends, family and co-workers.  Letters are a terrific part of an overall media strategy.  You can use them to achieve immediate results in specific areas; and you can use them to lay the groundwork for long-term strategies and to “move the needle” on topics you think are important.  And remember this, even if your letter isn’t published, it is influential to the editors of the publication involved.  It can influence them to post another letter like yours on a topic they otherwise would have ignored.  And, at least, it lets them know your issue is on the radar.

photo credit: Monica Arellano-Ongpin

I subscribe to at least a couple of dozen e-mail newsletters. Some good, some bad, some extraordinary*. Some I ready start to finish every time they pop into my e-mail box. Others I just delete because I’m not in the mood. I know that’s the state of the e-mail newsletter racket.

So what makes me open one newsletter and pass another by?

There are three main things I look for:

1) content
2) personality
3) usefulness

Now content is important – but if the newsletter doesn’t have much personality it becomes harder and harder to open on a regular basis.

If it has personality but is lacking in content and usefulness I may continue to read it if it amuses me on a regular basis. But probably not.

Usefulness is a bit of a moving target. Some of the best newsletters I’ve read in the past few years have outlived their usefulness. Not because the information is no longer good, or the person behind that information isn’t personable – but sometimes I’ll stop reading something simply because I’ve soaked up about all I’m going to from that newsletter – and either the information is re-hashing stuff I already know, or I’ve personally moved on.

So publishing a newsletter is a bit of a gamble.

And it needs to be one more thing: concise. That doesn’t mean it should be a short, throwaway e-mail. No, it should have all it needs to succeed in the three previously mentioned areas – and no more.

If you’re a writer who pieces together a regular newsletter, you know it’s an on-going challenge. Some weeks you’re up to it and others you don’t succeed the way you would like to.

Life gets in the way: kids need rides to school or your time; sleep-deprivation won’t work any more; you have other business that is more pressing. Could be any number of reasons why the latest issue isn’t up to your personal standards.

But you publish anyway because you know at least SOME people are waiting to read your latest article or listen to your latest podcast.

Besides, it’s a good exercise in self-discipline. And it’s a learning tool: the more you write about anything, the more you learn about the topic you’re writing about.

(Do you subscribe to our Inner Circle Newsletter? Please do – and see if we possibly bother to live up to our own standards!? Just fill in the form on the upper right hand column of this page…)

(btw: the most extraordinary newsletter I receive on a weekly basis is the MondayMorningMemo^© from Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads^®.

The Monday Morning Memo focuses mostly on advertising and writing. But Roy is not only a terrific writer – he finds ways to help you look into your heart. You should check it out…)