feed hat blog

Are you guilty of spamducation?

Spamducation is a white paper, special report, video, podcast or manifesto that claims to solve a pressing reader problem, but is in fact a thinly disguised ad. Jon Stribling describes them as “compelling headlines and disappointing content written by amateurs or second-rate copywriters.”

The content is too often a lame version of work done by a real expert. (You know, someone who cared enough about the topic to actually learn a lot about it.)

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of content marketing. Which means I’m a huge opponent of badly done content marketing.

Sloppy, junky, selfish content just gives the legitimate folks a bad name.

The first rule of Copyblogger is you do not publish content that sucks

Why do we hammer you every week with techniques to make your writing sharper, crisper, more effective, and more magnetic?

To let you create content that’s as strong and alive as it can possibly be.

Sure there are tools that will let you hack, mash, smash, and mangle someone else’s content into a word soup that Google thinks is original.

Google won’t help you if no one wants to read what you’ve got to say.

The second rule of Copyblogger is you do NOT publish content that sucks

There are plenty of “push-button” systems out there that claim to teach you how to succeed wildly with content marketing and social media.

How to build a six-figure business on Twitter without having anything to actually say.

How to spend 45 seconds a day on Facebook and churn out killer profits.

How to turn YouTube or Digg or Squidoo into an effortless cash machine.

And some of those systems probably work, at least to some degree.

If you have content that doesn’t suck.

So what makes for content that doesn’t suck?

Great content comes from craft, care, and attention, not talent.

It comes from obsessively focusing on what your reader wants. What’s bugging her? What problem is she having a hard time solving? What does she want more than anything? What’s she dreaming about? What wakes her up at 3 in the morning? What makes her feel like a beautiful and unique snowflake?

It comes from studying proven techniques, trying them out, and watching what works best for you and your readers.

Most people are afraid to improve their writing because it looks like work.

And I’ll tell you the secret the scam gurus never will. It is work.

It’s work the same way that sailing is work. Or learning to play a ruthlessly good game of poker. Or mountain biking. Or cooking your way through every recipe in Julia Child. Or beating your best score in Rock Band.

Good copy and content writers don’t pore over our favorite writing references just to gain an advantage in our marketing. (Although that’s nice.)

We do it because it’s fun. We do it because we’re obsessed. We do it because it’s a fantastic game. We do it because we love to watch the human mind at work. We do it because we can. We do it because it’s an awesome high when it works.

Don’t let learning copywriting intimidate you. And don’t create content that sucks because you think it’s too hard to make something worth reading.

Instead, get intimidatingly good. You can, you know.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the creator of the Remarkable Marketing Blueprint.

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The First Rule of Copyblogger

It’s that time of year again . . . time to get your trick-or-treating gear ready.

Trust me, this year you’re too old to troll the neighborhood begging for miniature Twix bars. Your neighbors are wise to you and your “Eminem costume.”

Instead, how about putting a little thought into what your blog will be this Halloween?

Sure, you can go the cheap and easy way and get a Perez Hilton mask, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, look through this collection of spooky archetypes and see if you can spot your blog on the list.

The devil

Instead of a pitchfork, the devil blog sports a yellow highlighter and screaming red headlines.

The devil blog is all about setting up scams and systems so you don’t need to show up to write every day. Sure, the convoluted “blueprint” you paid for that combines scraped content, Adwords arbitrage, and finding a source for counterfeit Acai berries is going to take you about three months to build. And that’s if you don’t sleep. But one day it’s gonna pay off big, baby.

The devil blog is all about the blogger. Your needs, your income, your rewards, and to hell with your readers, or anyone else for that matter.

Double bonus points if your blog is about making money online and you have yet to make your first twenty bucks.

The angel

You’ve been blogging since 1968, back when your posts took the form of hand-embroidered manifestos passed from coffeehouse to coffeehouse via traveling folk singers. Readership really picked up once the Internet got invented.

You’ve given thousands of hours of your life to your community and never asked for anything in return. You are saintly beyond reproach.

Ok, there was that one time, back in 2002, when you asked your audience to do you a favor. They flamed you like a campfire marshmallow. You blamed Al Quaeda and global warming, and have never tried it since.

The zombie

This is the blog that actually died about 18 months ago, but somehow it just keeps limping along, looking plaintively for brains.

You keep meaning to get serious about your cornerstone content. You fully intend to get your blog moved over to your own domain name. And you’re definitely going to write a new post since that last one you did on Groundhog Day. But frankly, Farmville takes a lot of free time, and you just don’t have the bandwidth.

Our advice: Put the damned thing out of its misery and give it a decent burial already.

The sexy witch

You’re tough and smart. You’re ballsy. You’re outspoken. You swear, a lot. You’re prickly and inconvenient, and possibly a little nuts.

You’re not afraid to mock your male compatriots for having smaller/less effective testicles than you do.

You look pretty darned good in that costume, and you know it.

The trendy costume

You’re swine flu or Dead Kanye or the Public Option for U.S. healthcare.

The main thing is to get people talking, stir up lots of controversy, and get some buzz going. Six weeks after Halloween is over, even you won’t remember what exactly the point was.

To paraphrase Andy Warhol, in the future, everyone will be a trending topic on Twitter for fifteen minutes.

The power ranger

You do everything right. You have superhuman strength, agility, and you can fly. Your content is strong, your headlines are sharp, your Twitter etiquette is impeccable.

You’ve got everything going for you, except no one can tell the difference between you and the other 10,000 power rangers that showed up at their door on Saturday night. Find a little spark of something genuinely different and you’ll be ready to actually unleash that ninja storm and do some damage.

So how about you?

I was trying to think of the canonical cool costume to end with, but there really isn’t one.

Because really good costumes can be funny, weird, interesting, creative, insane. The things that make for great Halloween costumes are pretty similar to what make great blogs. But they can’t be lame me-too copies of what some other cool person is doing.

Let us know in the comments what your blog is this Halloween. We can’t wait to check you out.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

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What’s Your Blog Going to Be for Halloween?

We’re honored that Copyblogger has been chosen as the top blog for writers for the fourth year in a row. Thanks to Michael Stelzner for the nod, and for holding this terrific competition.

Here are all the winners with Michael’s commentary. If you’re interested in writing online, you’ll get a lot out of adding each of these to your daily reading.

1. Copyblogger This site is the heavyweight champion of the world four years running (and one of the top blogs on the planet)! The brain-child of Brian Clark, his blog keeps winning because of its insightful articles.
2. Men With Pens: James Chartrand and Harry McLeod maintain the number two slot with their inspiring content and rich community discussion.
3. Write to Done: This blog nearly always delivers a home run with its excellent articles for all writers and is the product of top blogger Leo Babauta.
4. Editor Unleashed: Inspired by the former Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest, Maria Schneider explores writing, social media and community on her excellent blog.
5. Freelance Writing Jobs: This site is the first stop for freelance writers seeking new work and great articles (and it remains a top winner since this contest began). Congrats Deb Ng!
6. Confident Writing: Joanna Young delivers rich and useful articles that will help you take your writing to the next level.
7. Urban Muse: Susan Johnston covers a wide range of excellent topics that all writers will enjoy.
8. WordCount: Journalist Michelle Vranizan Rafter explores the challenges freelance writers face on her excellent blog.
9. Quips & Tips for Successful Writers: A true cornucopia of ideas for writers, Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen provides endless content and freelancing tips.
10. Fuel Your Writing: This site will certainly fuel you! Michelle Krasniak Oxman and her huge team of contributors provide great content for writers.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

Originally posted here:
Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2009

Sure, there are still some iconic brands. Apple, Nike, Coke.

But those are giant companies. They go by different rules.

For the rest of us mortals, does the traditional idea of a brand — an iconic emotional shortcut that lets customers identify with a product — make any sense anymore?

Won’t smart, lean, agile little companies eat the big, lazy brands up?

After all, a village business doesn’t need a brand, right?

Well . . .

The direct marketing view

A lot of direct marketers like to mock branding and “awareness” advertising as a self-indulgent waste of time.

Brilliant direct response copywriters like Eugene Schwartz and Gary Bencivenga were master harpooners. They only had one shot at their prospect, and that’s all they needed to create millions of dollars in sales.

They didn’t need a “brand halo” to make their products look good. Their copywriting created a complete experience within a single brightly-colored envelope. To rely on a brand to do the selling for you was almost .

Think it’s the lack of advanced techniques that’s been holding you back?

Think your blog isn’t finding readers because you don’t have the coolest plugins? Or that your sales page doesn’t convert because you couldn’t afford the 1,999 Secrets of Ninja Marketing Masters product that got released last month?

Think the secret to successful marketing and running a profitable online business is some piece of Jedi mastery that you would need to study for years to learn?

Not even close.

Most businesses (online and off) just get the basics wrong.

So here’s what works. Get these right and you’ll be ahead of 98% of your competition.

And if you’re just getting started, you’re in luck, because you don’t have a lot of bad habits to unlearn.

Describe benefits, not features

I know you’re rolling your eyes. This gets covered on the first page of Marketing for Blithering Idiots, but we don’t do it.

We get wrapped up in what we do, and we forget to translate that into what our customers get out of it.

The insanely simple and direct way to handle this is just to put a bulleted list on your sales page (or About page or Hire Us page, wherever it’s relevant) under the title:

Here’s What [My Product] Will Do For You

List out the seven most important wonderful things that your customer will experience as a result of doing business with you. Make sure this list can be seen “above the fold” on the screen — in other words, without the viewer needing to scroll.

Make them a nice mix of logical and emotional benefits.

Benefits are the little black dress of marketing: always appropriate. Try tucking them into your headlines, or writing entire blog posts around key benefits.

Don’t forget that testimonials and case studies are a great way to show benefits rather than just telling people about them.

Make your advertising too valuable to throw away

I got this from copywriting legend Gary Bencivenga, and it’s even more applicable today than it was when he used it. Since he made millions of dollars as one of the most successful copywriters in history, I pay special attention to what he has to say.

Advertising is, almost by definition, junk. Direct mail, infomercials, billboards — we see these as garbage, even though they do sometimes influence us to buy.

Bencivenga instead positioned his direct mail advertising as valuable content. He perfected the art of the “magalog” — a commercial mail piece that looks like a magazine. His magalogs contained valuable stock tips, health information, or expert financial advice.

Many of the products Bencivenga promoted were early versions of information products — specifically, books and newsletters. He didn’t pull the “B” material from those books and newsletters to give away in his marketing. He found the very best tips, the juiciest and most beneficial advice, and sent it to prospects for free.

Sound familiar?

(What can I say, I only steal from the best.)

Bencivenga’s technique works perfectly with content and email marketing. The more genuine value you create in your marketing materials (which includes your blog, your Twitter stream, and your forum posts), the tighter relationship you build with your customers.

Address objections

It’s hard to keep your cool when you create a business. You put so much work and care into it, the idea that anyone doesn’t love it as much as you do can be hard to fathom.

You need to get over this.

Most people who see your marketing messages won’t buy from you. But many of those would buy from you, if not for some unanswered question in their minds.

Objections are all the reasons prospects think your product might not be for them.

Objections boil down to fear — fear of feeling dumb, fear of making a mistake, fear of wasting money. Give your copy enough time to address those fears and overcome them.

And one super-secret technique

OK, this one really is a ninja trick. Check out this Copyblogger post on the sneaky, ultra-advanced sales technique that most marketers miss.

But shhhh, don’t tell anyone. Otherwise any newbie could do it.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

See the rest here: 
The Complete Newbie’s Guide to Marketing

Do you want a wider audience, more subscribers, better conversion to paying customers, fanatically loyal readers, and enviable word of mouth?

You can have all of them by keeping one simple piece of advice in mind:

Treat your readers like dogs.

If you want to teach your dog to sit, how do you go about it?

Any good trainer will tell you that the smart way is to give him lots of rewards and love every time he sits when you say, “Sit!”

It doesn’t take long before he’s waiting eagerly to see what other kinds of instruction you might have. Would you like him to shake hands? Fetch your pipe and slippers? Take out the trash and wash the dishes?

Positive reinforcement makes an ally of your dog. You’re in the same pack. He wants to do things for you. He’s happy and you’re happy.

How to treat readers like dogs

Every time a reader does something you like (read a post, subscribe to your blog, open a message in an email newsletter, etc.), you want to give that reader a reward — a cookie.

(When I say “reader,” I also include podcast listeners, video watchers, etc.)

That’s what I call “cookie content,” and it has three characteristics.

1. Cookie content makes life better

Cookie content makes the reader’s life better somehow. It might be a funny image, a useful tutorial, or just a really good low-carb dessert recipe.

But in some way, large or small, cookie content makes the reader glad she took a few minutes to consume it.

Reference and how-to content make great cookie content. Inspiring, funny, or heartwarming content can work too, if you’re good at it.

If your readers print out your content so they can refer back to it, or bookmark it on Delicious, you’ve got it right.

2. Cookie content can be used right away

The 60-Year Plan for Getting Moderately Well-Off doesn’t tend to make for good cookie content. 10 Things You Can Do This Weekend to Repair Your Credit does.

No, you don’t want to overpromise quick “magic bullet” schemes. But cookie content isn’t about the long term and it’s not about hard work. It’s about fast, simple solutions that people can use right away.

It’s fine to talk about the longer term too. But be sure you have enough quick cookies in your content to keep things palatable. Your readers have enough complexity to contend with. They’re not looking for more in your content.

3. Cookie content tastes good

Cookie content is highly readable. It brings the reader pleasure. It’s often entertaining. It’s well organized, which makes it digestible.

Cookie content uses your best writing skills. Not to show off how smart and talented you are, but to make the content more delicious for your reader.

Easy reading is damn hard writing
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

Training your readers

In a crowded email inbox or RSS reader, cookie content will tend to attract your reader’s attention first. You’re literally training that reader to consume your content, because the content is beneficial and appealing.

Each time she reads your work, she feels better. It doesn’t take long for you to become a pleasurable habit with that reader. (Even better, you’re 100% fat free.)

Does this mean you never get to promote yourself? Not at all. You can make high-quality offers regularly (and should, if you want to make a living). Just be sure you’re including enough cookies to keep your reader’s attention and interest.

You probably don’t want to create content that consists of nothing but cookies. That can give even the most self-indulgent reader indigestion.

But include enough that you’re always training your audience to open your email, read your blog posts, and pass along your special reports. You’ll find that the more you reward them, the more they reward you.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and the founder of Remarkable Communication.

Read more: 
How to Create Better Content: Treat Your Readers Like Dogs