You’d think with all the advice on how to write a blog out there we’d have it cracked by now, but of course we keep on learning, improving, inspiring and experimenting… Which is just as it should be.
I’ve been on the look out this month for posts, articles and resources that will help us write with greater impact.
As the first two ingredients I found both started with “A” I decided to add an extra filter to my search and see if I could come up with 5 of them. Which of course I did, because the blogosphere always provides (with a little bit of creative adaptation).
Here’s the list of ingredients I came up with, together with some coaching questions about how you could apply them to your own blog writing.
Authority
I have to admit, I do enjoy reading Lorelle’s stuff when she rants. This was a piece about the rubbish she was reading from wannabe bloggers on SEO. Her point was simple: don’t blog about that which you understand not
I don’t care what you are an expert in, blog about that. Make your blog the source for your expertise. Share your opinion, your experiences, but tell folks you aren’t an expert if you are not. Let the experts handle the expert stuff and let you handle your expert stuff.
There is so much clutter on the web, why add useless information you honestly know nothing about to the trash pile. I know you want the link juice. I know you want to be dug by Digg. I know you crave getting StumbleUponed or Twittered about, but let’s stop the nonsense and get down to the meaningful, original content.
This doesn’t mean you need to be the authority, or even an authority. (Once you start worrying about that you’ll clam up all together.) You just need to be clear with your readers where it is that you’re coming from, what perspective you offer, what meaningful, original content you can add.
And of course your writing will be even more powerful when you’re clear on the source of your authority.
So the question is:
Are you writing about the things where you know you can add meaningful, original content? If you are – how do you know? Where do you feel it? How can you tap into that feeling more often to add power to your writing?
And if you’re not sure… what would it be like if you did? What would you find yourself writing about?
Attraction
You’ll catch a lot more flies with honey
The post at Drew’s Marketing Minute is worth a read (of course), but the headline gives you the message in 8 words (and there’s another clue.) If copywriting seems like an alien art form to you (and you wouldn’t be alone in that) I’ll leave you with this simple question:
How could you dabble some honey on your copy?
Authenticity
Our old friend, authentic writing. Though Robert Hruzek (the author) didn’t call it that, but gave it the title it deserved: a guaranteed, sure-fire, never-fail formula for successful blogging.
You know what constitutes success in blogging? It’s when you can takewhat you pick up from other writers, and springboard it into something unique; something only you can produce.
This is the challenge we face in relation to all the blogging (andwriting) advice you’ll ever read. At some point you need to take what you’ve learned and turn it back into something new, and unique.
Something that only you can produce.
Authenticity can’t be copied – of course. But I think we can learn how to develop our own authentic style, by recognising what it means to us.
So if I asked you about the bloggers who, for you, had an authentic voice – what would you tell me about them? About the way they write, the language they use, the things they say (and don’t say)?
What can you learn from that for your own writing?
Audience
This post wasn’t about blog writing at all. It was thoughts from Seth Godin on how the music business should respond to the challenges of the digital world. But there was a paragraph in there that really struck home – and has equal relevance to writers who might worry about their copy being stolen or scraped. It was about the inimitable power of
your audience.
Interactivity can’t be copied… The winners in the [music] business of tomorrow are individuals and organizations that create communities, connect people, spread ideas and act as the hub of the wheel…
indispensable and well-compensated.
Think about the blogs you visit where you feel part of the audience.
What are the things that make you feel engaged? Which could you start to use in your own blog?
Approachability
Writing with impact doesn’t mean we’re looking for a collision. Yes, there might be times when you want to make a “forceful contact”, to grab people’s attention, to wake someone up. But it also means to have an impact on, to influence. And that suggests altogether softer, quieter writing skills. It means listening as well as talking. It means leaving room for your reader to be.
This is a challenge for many writers who are making the adjustment from ‘finished’ articles to the more open ended and conversational style of blogs. I found this piece from Darren Rowse one of the best explanations of and introductions to the idea of leaving space for your readers.
Maybe it’s the picture that helps to illustrate the point – what do you think?
His post has some great suggestions (as usual) about practical ways that you can create more space for your reader, and a sound conclusion that
None of these things mean you can’t write comprehensive posts that show off your expertise. To me it is more of an attitude or an issue of the ‘voice’ that you use in blogging. Some bloggers come across as being more closed and unapproachable than others.
Which takes me to my last question…
Think about a blogger that you’d say was ‘approachable’. What is it about what they do - what they write, how they engage with readers, the words and phrases they use – that makes them approachable to you?
And in reverse, are there any bloggers you think are more closed? What specific things do they say or do that makes you think that?
What have you learned from your answers? And how could you apply that learning to your own blog?
Resources
Links to the posts I’ve highlighted:
Don’t blog about that which you understand not from Lorelle writing at the Blog Herald
You’ll catch more flies with honey from Drew’s Marketing Minute
A guaranteed, sure-fire, never-fail formula for successful blogging from Robert Hruzek
Music lessons from Seth Godin
Give your readers room to participate on your blog from Problogger
Photo credit: spell with flickr
Photos, writing, prose poems and poetry, plus short courses and materials to help you capture the art of everyday wonder.
Joanna, this is really a great “coach” post! Wonderful job!
The questions you’ve posed at each section are very good food for thought. Here’s my take on each one:
Authority - You’ll know you’re writing with authority from your feedback. Unfortunately, it’s not something you can “get”; it’s something that is developed - and yes, earned - over time. It’s kinda like Patience: you can’t prove you have it until you can demonstrate you had it! (“I want patience; and I want it NOW!” doesn’t work. *sigh*)
Attraction - Forces you to think about WHO you’re writing to. Always a plus.
Authenticity - For a moment, I thought you were calling ME old! (Kidding!) For me, authenticity is a measure of how comfortable I am with the person’s writing. If I feel “at home”, then that’s authenticity for me. I can consider them friends, even if we’ve never met. Sorta like you.
Audience - I see your point about this, I think: The audience, to my mind, is actually pretty smart. They’ll know; trust them.
Approachability - I’ll be the first to admit, this is the one I’ve been shorting my readers on the most. I’ve always had a tendency to “wrap things up” in a neat little bow. (I suspect it’s a holdover from my fiction writing days, where I loved to use surprise endings that wrapped things up tight. In a book or story, it works.) But hopefully over the next year that will be the thing that changes the most. Finding ways to engage, not only in the post itself, but in the comment section, is the key to building conversations.
Great tips Joanne. I was thinking about the Authenticity one - and I thought of my friend Barbara at http://www.bloggingwithoutablog.com
She did a really creative post on swearing in your blog. And in it, she made up a letter from a fictitious university telling a blogger why they’d banned students from using their blog.
Her post seems to have inspired many bloggers to post on the topic of swearing in your blog. But, none of them have her originality.
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Hi Catherine
Authenticity is a fascinating topic - I spend a whole month exploring it last autumn and still didn’t get to the bottom of it!
It’s interesting how we notice that spark of creativity and originality in others - and I guess that is a part of what we mean by authentic, but for me it can equally well be writing in a plain, simple yet powerful way… telling it like it is, from your own unique perspective. Which I think is how you try and write too
Joanna
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Robert, thanks for such a thoughtful set of responses. It makes me feel good about my coaching questions
I like your take on authenticity. As I said to Catherine, it’s a hard one to put your finger on, but I like that way of putting it
“how comfortable I am with the person’s writing. If I feel “at home”, then that’s authenticity for me. I can consider them friends, even if we’ve never met.”
Which doesn’t mean the other person needs to be ‘like’ us - more that we get some sense that they’re being themselves, which puts us at ease too…
Your comments on approachability are interesting too. I know what you mean about tying things up in a bow, I think all of us struggle with this in one way or another (expect perhaps for the queen of blogging relationships…) and the story format you use so well probably lends itself to that too. On the other hand I’d say that you write stories that have universal appeal, that make a connection with readers beyond the specifics of the story, which is what opens up the room for conversation.
I’ve always enjoyed the chat in the comment boxes at MZM (it was one of the things that helped me realise it was just that - a different kind of zone where you could take a load off.. and all that) and been impressed by the audience participation you have going on there (supported not least through WILF)…
So it will be fun to see where more engagement takes us - is there a zone beyond the zone? I guess so, and if there is, well, I’ll be coming too
Joanna
Love that rant by Lorelle Joanna, thank you for sharing it. There is a lot to digest in your post, and I think I focused on Lorelle’s quotation because of some other *voices* talking to me. They are voices which speak of streamlining and choosing carefully instead of trying to be all things for all people… kind of wraps up for me as
Authenticity + Approachability = Authority better Appreciated and thus better Accepted by your Audience, who very likely were Attracted by your Authenticity + Approachability in the first place.
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Rosa, she’s a woman who knows how to get to the point all right!
There was a lot to digest here (too much maybe…)
I guess I look at it in two ways - one is, which of these do we need to work on or develop right now? the other, an overview of what we’re trying to do, which I’d also construct as some kind of formula, like
Authenticity + Authority + Approachability = Audience = (over time) Authority (squared)
(Maths not my strong point!)
Of course I realised when I was writing this that the missing “A” was Aloha, I just couldn’t think of a way to work it in. Maybe it’s a post we could dream up together some time
Joanna
Joanna, thank you for this absolutely awesome, alliterative advice. I really tried to think of another “A” quality that pertains, but came up empty. As for what makes a blogger approachable, good question. Posts don’t give me many clues. For me it’s all in the comments. Bloggers who respond thoughtfully to reader comments are often eager to engage on a deeper level. In my experience, approachability is a function of a blogger’s enthusiasm for conversation. Writing style doesn’t enter into it. I know bloggers with a very “in your face” style who are wide open, and bloggers who write quite graciously and yet have little interest in engaging readers much if it all.
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Brad, thanks for the feedback, I’m glad you enjoyed (and echoed!) my alliteration. Once a word nerd and all that…
It’s a very interesting point you make on approachability. Very similar to a phone conversation I was having with another blogger this morning - we also felt that it’s wasn’t just about conversational style, because lots of people do that and don’t follow up with the *practice* of being conversational and approachable.
So I think you’re right, that is something we can only gauge over time, by observation, by listening, by seeing how people respond in practice - rather than how (or what) they write in the post.
Joanna
Joanna, I think you got the Aloha - it is in the Authenticity + Approachability + Acceptance and it = an incredibly strong, compelling Attraction
Joanna,
These five “A’s” are all critical to effective blogging. It would be tough to choose just one, because you really can’t have just one without the others to support, strengthen, temper, and/or round it out.
Though I tend to think Authority is an indispensable “A” which “qualifies” a blogger by giving that blogger credibility within his or her niche, Authority simply isn’t enough.
Authority without Approachability = Arrogance (another “A” by the way, but not one we want to have on our list of writing resources).
Authority without Attraction = Alienation (yes, another negative and undesirable “A.”)
Authority without Authenticity breeds Antipathy. (There seem to be quite a number of “A’s” we’d do well to avoid.)
And, finally, Authority without Audience interActivity = Aloofness. (Apparently “A” can go either way for us.)
So, as important as Authority is, it simply can’t stand alone. Otherwise it invites all these other “A’s” that we definitely don’t want to have hanging around!
Loved this post, Joanna!
Jeanne
Twitter: joannapaterson
says:
Rosa, thanks for the equation!
I might not be getting the time to write about writing with aloha just now… but it is often times in my mind, and I hope those attitudes, values and approaches will always infuse my writing… leading to a compelling attraction
Joanna
Jeanne, I think you deserve the prize for this month’s most creative comment! I love the way you’ve turned this round to look at the undesirable As that would follow if we didn’t add these ingredients into the mix…
It’s often a more convincing way to learn isn’t it, to look at where we don’t want to end up, and then adjust our path to take us to the Awesome place we want to be
Joanna