Sean Romanoff Communications

What’s in it for me?

That’s the classic question audiences everywhere ask before they sit down to listen or read whatever it is you’re saying. The phrase is so popular it has it’s own acronym (WIIFM), and all good teachers of communication skills have told people they’re teaching to think of that question as they prepare to speak or write. Most good presenters and writers diligently comply with that advice.

And almost all of those people get it wrong.

It’s not their fault, though.

Why do people misunderstand WIIFM?

The problem is that most instructors don’t explain that you truly have to address the question from the audience’s perspective. Usually when a person thinks about the WIIFM question it’s with the assumption that what they’re about to communicate has value. Of course it has value, otherwise why would a person take the time to tell others about it? But that assumption forgets that your audience has to be convinced what you’re about to tell them has value.

They are skeptical, and rightly so.

Business professionals everywhere are deluged on a daily basis with messages all along the “truthiness” spectrum. As a result, they tend to disbelieve first and ask questions later. Even those who have taken the affirmative step to read or listen to your message do so with a certain degree of hesitation.

So how do you overcome your audience’s natural apprehension?

You truly think about what’s in it for them.

In very tangible ways you explain how what you’re communicating benefits them. In what ways will their lives be better? If the goal is to help them write stronger emails, explain how that will improve their work performance and what the result of that change could be for their careers.

Make sure you differentiate your message so it’s clear what makes you unique. But that’s not enough either. You need to substantiate it as well so your information appears credible. Do you have facts from reputable sources to back up what you say? If you’re using your own data, explain how you compiled it and what you did with it, so the information makes sense and you don’t appear to mislead them in any way. And connect the dots to make it clear how these facts prove what you say.

Do all these things — explain the benefits, differentiate your message, and substantiate your information — and you greatly increase the buy-in from your audience.

Red ink pens.

They’ve long been the standard tool teachers use to correct papers. And they’re a curse to every student who’s ever seen something they’ve written dripping red. Why? Because you’ve broken the rules, of course.

The rules. Those things that make sure all of us communicate in roughly the same way. Some might tell you it’s how to tell “proper” English from what the rest of the riff-raff writes or speaks. But that’s not really what the rules are all about.

They’re really about making sure we can all understand each other. If every person followed their own rules of writing, we’d quickly lose the ability to make people understand what we’re trying to say.

So then the rules are good, right?

Well, not exactly. Anyone who’s been paying attention to this post so far should have noticed that I’ve broken the rules several times already. Microsoft Word is telling me I’ve already written three sentence fragments – on purpose.

So then the rules aren’t so good?

Well…let’s get a little clear about this. Rules are good in the sense that they set the parameters of the game. In this case, the game is writing well.

But the rules do cause problems. Here are just a few of the biggies – they limit choices, they extinguish creativity, and they destroy individuality. It sounds awful. Don’t worry though. This is exactly what the rules were designed to do. By making a standard form, we can usually understand the writing of every single person who puts pen to paper.

If you want your writing to stand out though, you can’t simply follow the rules and expect you to be a good writer. You need to have a sense of style and write with your own voice too.

So how do you balance when to follow the rules and when to follow your own style. Clear communication is what you’re after. If communicating clearly means you should follow the rules, do it. But if you can’t get the idea across the way you want to without ignoring or bending a rule or two, then follow your instincts. Most of the sentences I’ve written here follow the rules, but I’ve broken a few when I thought the writing was better doing it my own way.

Here are a few of my own rules that help me create my personal style:

• Use contractions – it’s more like the way we all speak.
• Try a sentence fragment here and there – it makes a point, so long as you don’t do it too often
• A paragraph can’t be too short…but it can be too long.

Just remember that the rules are there to help you. If you feel like they’re holding you back, go ahead and break a few.

Sean Romanoff is a copywriter and online marketing consultant. He specializes in blogging, WordPress web sites, article marketing, social media, and all other aspects of creating an effective online presence. To contact Sean, just click here.

We like to know what’s coming.

Oh, there’s a lot of lip service paid to the value of spontaneity, and there is value in letting things develop without form at times. But usually we like to know what to expect, especially when we’re looking for information.

Readers come to look for a certain pattern in a blog post. That pattern lets them skim for information when they don’t have time to read the entire post, and it gives them a level of comfort that helps build the reader/blogger relationship. Plus from the blogger’s or writer’s perspective, it offers a repeatable format. That’s extremely important when you’re the only one maintaining a blog because you can be more efficient. But it can also help when a blog has multiple contributors so the format doesn’t vary too much from post to post.

The structure of my posts is sort of a three part approach. First I introduce the topic I’ll discuss. Next I try to throw in three tips or points, although sometimes there are more. If I can put them in a bullet list or identify them with subheads in bold, I do that. And then I offer a conclusion usually centered on how this helps make a blog or blog post better.

Despite the temptation for some writers to just wing it, the better approach is to plan out a structure for all your posts. It’s better for the reader, as well as the writer. And you end up with an ongoing relationship as a result.

Sean Romanoff is a copywriter and online marketing consultant specializing in blogs, articles, and all other aspects of making your web site effective. To contact Sean, click here or go to www.seanromanoff.com.

A picture is worth about…oh, 350 words.

 At least it is on this blog. That’s because my typical blog post is about that length. And I make sure to have some kind of image with every post. But why do you need one in a blog post and how do you pick the right image?

 An image can do something words can’t do — it can become associated with an idea and stick in the minds of readers. Think of word, any word. It can be anything — dictator, corn, flag, whatever. More than likely you have a strong image that you connect with that word. That’s what a picture can do that words can’t. It connects with people in a way that is immediate and permanent.

 But in the best case, it’s not just the picture itself. It’s also the words. Words get more specific than a picture can by itself. Pictures can enhance the meaning and impact of your words which makes your words more powerful and your ideas more influential.

Of course, you can’t forget that images simply make your blog posts more attractive. You can have the best ideas written with flowing prose, and if it just looks like a giant block of text, you’re not likely to get very far. By making your posts more attractive, your blog has more appeal and so you’re more likely to get people to read what you write.

 Picking the right image can be tough though, especially if you need a picture that evokes an idea. It’s easy to pick a picture of a tree when you’re writing about trees. But it’s not so easy to pick one when you’re writing about a topic that’s intangible – like freedom. When you do choose an image make sure there is an obvious and strong connection between it and the words. This is more art than science, so practice a bit to get the hang of it.

 One important tip though: be sure you have the right to use the image. Pictures and other images are copyrighted just like words are, and you don’t want to illegally use someone else’s hard work. It’s not good business ethics and it can get you into trouble.

 It’s really this simple, though. Images help you communicate better and have more attractive blog posts. Make sure you give the choice of what image you want to include the time and energy you should.

Don’t draft where you post.

Instead you should write all the drafts of your blog posts in whatever word processing software you use. For most of us that’s Microsoft Word and composing all your drafts there makes sense for several reasons related to your writing, but also because you have another place where all your posts are stored. This way they can be revised slightly, and much more easily, for use in other contexts, such as article marketing or creating a special report.

 But before we get ahead of ourselves, there are some much more immediate benefits to using Word to create your blog posts. One of the most important is that you can catch mistakes more easily. You can’t underestimate the value of this. While WordPress now has spell-check (something missing in early versions), it’s not nearly as strong as what you get from Word which also has grammar check. That helps if you type the same word twice, use the wrong word, or misplace a line of text.

 You also get a better sense of what your post will look like because you see it in a larger format than the posting dialog box you get in WordPress. That also helps with revising because it lets you move text and quickly see how the change affects the post. This is very difficult to do in WordPress.

 One quick tip, though. DO NOT do your formatting in Microsoft Word. When you cut and paste your formatting won’t look the same. Just type out your text in Microsoft Word and paste it into WordPress, and you’ll be fine.

 In fact, your blog posts will be so much better, you’ll be better than fine.

Don’t throw it away!

What am I talking about? That grating tendency so many writers have, no matter how experienced, to write something so boring, so trite, or so meaningless that you could delete that first line entirely and it woudn’t affect the blog post at all. It essentially becomes a throw away line.

A strong first sentence is essential. After the headline (and subhead if you have one), it’s the next most important line. That’s because it has a very important job.

The first thing a first sentence should do is grab the reader’s attention. You can use a quote, a question, or even a statistic (if it’s the right statistic) to get the ball rolling. One of the best, and easiest ways, to get started is with a surprising or shocking statement. That’s what you see in this post. The sentence, “Don’t throw it away!” isn’t what you expect in a blog post about the first sentence of an article or post.

One thing it shouldn’t be is a simple statement of information. While I’m a big proponent of proof and evidence to support your appeal, you can’t lead with that unless it’s a piece of information or a statistic so unusual it will shock the reader on it’s own. If not, save it for later.

The other key function of a first sentence is to move the reader along. To do that, it needs to inspire enough curiosity to get the reader to read the next sentence. “Don’t throw it away,” is designed to make you wonder what you shouldn’t throw away. Your first sentence should always motivate the person to read the next one.

Beware of this habit. It has a nasty way of creeping into your writing and making it weaker than it should be. If you follow these guidelines, you’ll write first sentences that are the envy of copywriters everywhere.

The secret? Curiosity.

Reading that sentence is an example of the power of that very quality. Give people a reason and they will dig for information, especially if that information can help them make their own lives easier or better. And although there are any number of headline formulas –  and many books can give you loads of simple headline writing methods — there are three easy ways to spark curiosity and get your target reading, which is the purpose of a headline.

Lists – Mentioning a list in a headline gives the impression there is a wealth of information within. Pick a topic people are interested in, and they’ll dive right into a post that promises a certain number of hot tips or best practices.

Questions – We don’t like questions left unanswered. But it’s not just the question itself, but the right question that makes the difference. A question that requires only a yes or no answer, no matter how intriguing, is dangerous because with a “no” you risk losing a potential client or customer forever. Go for questions that start with what, where, why, and how because they tend to start a conversation. And that’s what you want to happen.

Inside information – That’s what you find in the headline above. Words like secret, exclusive, or lost give the impression the information within isn’t known by everyone. A possible edge like that makes even the most cynical among us dig a little deeper.

Keep in mind that a good headline merely gets your foot in the door. To keep the conversation going you have to deliver on that promise and do it in a way that’s fun and engaging.

Get to the point.

That pretty much sums up the way to write a successful blog post. You can be clever, but be quick. You can be incisive, but be quick. You can be thoughful, but be quick. Are you noticing a trend?

More than any other kind of communication, a true blog post is a written conversation. And good conversation gets to the point. If you’re wondering, just think back to the last time a friend told you a meandering story.

I’ll assume you’re now convinced.

So with this empasis on speed, there are four keys to make sure your blog post does the job it’s supposed to do and does it quickly.

Headline – It’s the first thing a reader sees so it stands to reason that the headline is important. There are a variety of ways to write a headline but what has worked for this blog is the basic “how-to” headline often written in the form of a question. A business blog should convey useful information, so a reader needs to know what the subject is and what specific topic will be addressed. In this post the subject is business blogging and the topic is the keys to a successful post.

First sentence – Don’t let the first line be a throwaway sentence. It must push the reader forward. Short sentences are often good and surprising ones are great. But don’t fake it just for the sake of trying to shock. When you do that you run the risk of losing the reader forever because your credibility is shot

Length – A blog post needs to be long enough to convey value, but short enough that a person feels like it wasn’t a chore to read. A range of 250-350 words is a good rule of thumb.

Unity – Stick to the point. And don’t be repetitive unless you need to emphasize that point.

Follow these simple keys and your blog readers will thank you. Plus, they’ll make a blog more fun to write.