The 10 Essential Ingredients of Successful Sales Pages
When you see dozens of copywriting formulas promising “the perfect sales page,” how do you know which ones to trust? After all, each formula seems to have a successful direct sales superstar behind it, and each one looks like a solid plan. What do you do in the face of these wildly different sales letter styles? The first step is to realize that copywriting is more than any one “formula” — it's an exercise in communication and persuasion. Just like a recipe, different formats wil..
Copyblogger (2 days ago)
20 Things that Doubt Will Do, and 3 Things It Can’t
Doubt: is torture* is terrible for others to watch will make you beg to be allowed to stop prompts fantasies of stacking shelves in a supermarket, at night, without thought, free of doubt is normal comes with the territory cannot be escaped reduces demands a front row seat at every launch questions your authority knows all your weak spots can stop you from starting can stop you from finishing can stop you from launching can make your stomach turn with nausea at the sight of your own name in print throws up sh..
Confident Writing (2 days ago)
How to Suck at Writing, and then Write for the Biggest Blogs in the World
This is a guest post by Danny Wong. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. Writing hasn’t always been a skill of mine. I rarely ever read when I was younger, and still had my father read me books for years after I had learned how to read for myself. So how did I go from a forced writer (I only wrote things when I had to for school and never for recreation) to an influential blogger? I started writing for our business blog just because we needed content creators. I was new to th..
Daily Blog Tips (2 days ago)
A Four-Step Guide to Generating Sales Leads from Your Blog
Dean: Did you know you can use your blog to make money offline? Blogger: Offline? What is this “offline” you speak of? Dean: It's the opposite of “online.” Blogger: (confused silence) Dean: You know. Offline. Not on the internet. The real world. Blogger: (shaking phone) Not only does this stupid phone drop my calls, now it’s translating them into crazy moon language. Okay, I jest. But to listen to some bloggers, you would think a blog's only purpose is to make money online, by selling ebooks , membership site..
Copyblogger (3 days ago)
Is Your Headline Good or Bad? Give it the Breath Test
Bloggers have been asking the question “ Do long or short headlines work better ?” for a long time. But the answer to the riddle of how to create a headline that pulls in readers doesn’t necessarily lie in subtracting or adding one more word. There's not a mysterious formula or arcane copywriter's trick. The answer is much simpler than that. The best way to get a headline that works is by using the breath test. Try saying this headline aloud: How To Recognize Six Difficult Telltale Signs Of Disinterest And La..
Copyblogger (4 days ago)
12 Line Thank You: A Monday Morning Poem
She was rushing busy busy When she tripped on the reflection Stopped by beauty Stunned by wonder When she fell into the time warp Timeless beauty Endless wonder When she heard the monk-voice whisper ‘Write them beauty Sing them wonder' And she stopped to write a poem Twelve line thank you, ode to wonder. ~~~ I wrote this last week in response to an invitation from Christine Valtners Paintner at Abbey of the Arts to share a poem in response to the image, above, and the theme of being a monk in the world...
Confident Writing (4 days ago)
The Three Key Elements of Irresistible Email Subject Lines
Email is back. Despite repeated proclamations of its extinction, rumors of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated — especially since email and social media are a powerful combination. You might not reach the average college freshman , but for slightly older types (you know, the ones with the money), email is still the way to go in many lucrative mainstream niches. You must first, of course, get your emails read. And it all starts with the subject line. Email subject lines are a form ..
Copyblogger (8 days ago)
Words in the World: August Sponsors
A big thanks to the August sponsors of Confident Writing for helping to spread the word about writing with confidence and trusting in the power of your own words. This month's sponsors are: Next Day Flyers Next Day Flyers are an online printing company providing offset printing services. As well as flyers they print postcards, business cards and brochures. These might be items that you need to spread the word about your own business, or materials that you're preparing as part of client work that you're doing..
Confident Writing (8 days ago)
How To Write Eye-Catching Headlines that Transform Browsers into Buyers
In order to stop readers in their tracks, capture their attention through every word of your copy, and persuade them to click that “Add to Cart” button without a second thought, you need to master the “headline reading psychology” of your soon-to-be customers. Once you understand why magnetic headlines pull readers in, you'll know how to do it for your own sales pages, every time. Follow along with me for the next ninety seconds and I'll show you exactly how you can turn a casual brows..
Copyblogger (9 days ago)
Treasure Conscious Class: Update
Just a quick update for those of you interested in / thinking about signing up for the Treasure Conscious writing, journaling and photography class. First off, a few clarifying details in response to some questions that have come in: Flexibility : the class runs in effect by email, so you can participate at any time and on any day in the week Writing / Photography : you don't *have* to include a photography element if you'd rather just… write (I can understand that impulse!) Ning : you dont need to have..
Confident Writing (9 days ago)
How to NOT Get Paid to Write Online (And Make Money Doing It)
Fresh out of college, I landed a job writing one-page sell sheets for a marketing company for $50 each. On a rare excellent day, I might do as many as two of these. Soon after, I found a freelance gig that would pay me $300 per article I wrote for an inter-organizational newsletter. I got to interview people for that one. It was more work, but better money. Eventually, I hooked up with a pretty big industry magazine and was being paid $1300 for 2000-word feature articles. That was the big money. Magazine pay ..
Copyblogger (10 days ago)
Social Media Marketing Insight from 21 Smart People (And Me, Too)
There’s a new book out called Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars . Yes, that title sets off my hyperbole radar a bit too (not to mention my alliteration alert), but it’s a solid collection of smart social media advice based on real-world case studies, best practices, and proven techniques. I wrote Chapter Two of the book – The Psychology of Social Media . It’s about applying tried-and-true influence factors in the social media space to build a business or make whatever case you’re trying..
Copyblogger (10 days ago)
Why Your Blog Doesn’t Make Money
Darren Rowse doesn’t make his money from Problogger . Brian Clark doesn’t make his money from Copyblogger . Chris Brogan doesn’t make his money from his blog, either. Neither does Sonia Simone . Not a single founding member of Third Tribe earns the bulk of their income from the blogs that are practically (or in Brogan's case, literally) synonymous with their names. Yes, they make some money directly from those blogs. But revenue directly from the blog doesn't represent the bulk of their income. Not by a long ..
Copyblogger (11 days ago)
A Good Enough Guide to Starting a Blog
Whispered fears run through your mind, freezing fingers as you're typing, blocking drafts from being published, stopping sites from going live. What if your writing isn't good enough. Your spelling, your grammar, your recall of old rules from school: not smart enough. Your style: not witty enough. Not engaging enough. Your ideas: not thought through enough. Your content: not significant enough to match your theme, your topic, your mission, your passion. Your drafts: not brilliant enough to match the plans yo..
Confident Writing (11 days ago)
What You Need and What You Fear
Learning what it is that holds you back is the key to moving forward. A post from Seth Godin earlier this week on avoiding momentum rang true for me, both his identification of the need for momentum with its obligations, commitments, structures and schedules and our fear of it. Deep down, this potential for an overwhelming response alerts the lizard brain and we hold back. We're afraid of being part of something that feels like it might be too big for us. Sound familiar? Me too But recognition shrinks fear. M..
Confident Writing (14 days ago)
The Key to Innovative Business Ideas: Cross-Pollination
Gather round, everyone. It’s time to have “The Talk.” You know the one I mean. You’ve started asking lots of questions and I can tell you’re ready for it, so make yourselves comfortable and let’s go over the basics. Because if you’re in business, you need to know about this. It’s crucial to your success. Mastering this technique will put a spring in your step, and bring new life to your ventures. Plus, it’s actually pretty fun. Birds do it, bees do it The birds and the bees do this naturally, and we can, too...
Copyblogger (16 days ago)
What A Timeshare Presentation And Blogging Have In Common
When I went on vacation a couple weeks ago, my family was stopped on the street by a woman trying to get people to sign up for timeshares. We had no interest in purchasing a timeshare, but we agreed to listen to the presentation for the free gift cards to restaurants at the Virginia Beach [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (16 days ago)
Are You Making It Hard for People to Comment?
It's frustrating when you want to leave a comment in response to someone's writing… and you can't. Here are some of the hurdles I've come across recently. Profile required . What if I don't have a profile that fits your drop down box? This is a Blogger bugbear of mine. I don't use Blogger so don't know how easy or hard it is to set up the commenting options, but if some people can set it up so I can leave name and url… why can't all Blogger bloggers? Subscription required. Really? Why? Captcha..
Confident Writing (16 days ago)
Four Sales Page Elements That Get People To Buy Now
When your sales page isn't converting the way you need it to, it doesn't just hurt your bottom line – it can cripple your confidence as a writer and make you doubt your future as a marketer. On top of that, the frustration of having to rewrite underperforming copy can make copywriting seem like a tedious chore instead of the enjoyable exercise in persuasion it's meant to be. Fortunately, there are simple (but powerful) ways to write highly effective copy the first time – copy that gets readers emo..
Copyblogger (17 days ago)
My Twitter Presence: Welcome to My Neighbourhood
Sometimes you read a question that your mind wants to answer (okay, wants to blog about). Chris Brogan's question at the end of a post on his Twitter presence : how do YOU use Twitter? made me want to answer. To explore the question, and try and answer. Maybe it was prompted by another conversation earlier in the week, on Facebook. Brad Shorr had asked: If you had to use only Facebook or only Twitter for business, which would you choose, and why? My answer, for business, if I *had* to choose only one, was Fac..
Confident Writing (18 days ago)
Writing to be Treasure Conscious: Online Class starts September
To the dull mind nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light ~ Emerson I'm delighted to announce a new online writing class, starting mid September. The focus is on writing with a small w, finding ways to capture through words (and photography) some of the treasures of the everyday… and to discover some of the hidden gems in your words. Details and how to sign up below: Treasure Conscious Learn to be more conscious and aware of the treasures of the everyday. A g..
Confident Writing (21 days ago)
The Best Bloggers Are Learners
I know the old adage really says, The best teachers are learners. I think the saying applies to we bloggers, too. Ever find yourself stuck in the same routine? Personally, I have a cleaning routine. I clean each room in a specific order. I dust each piece of furniture in one order around the room, clean [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (23 days ago)
Spread the Word About Your Services for Writers
Here's an opportunity for you to: S pread the word about your product or service to a web-savvy , positive and enthusiastic community of writers and bloggers How? By becoming a sponsor of the Confident Writing blog. Confident Writing has been named one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers for the last two years. It has a subscription readership of >2,500 and an active user community . Readers are interested in: Publishing and self-publishing Software for writing and writers Writer's services (editing, agents) Crea..
Confident Writing (23 days ago)
7 Ways Social Media Helps With Business Networking
I’m a firm believer in networking. In fact I credit my network with a great part of why I have achieved my goals in the last five years. My journey from intention through to completion just would not have been possible without my friends, mentors and contacts. Many of the people responsible for where I [...]
Chris Garrett on New Media (29 days ago)
Five Things I’ve Learned During My Writing Journey
I’ve been writing professionally for about 10 years, and the majority of those years were spent at the newspaper. I delved into blogging early this year, and I’ve learned a lot from this experience. These two writing avenues have taught me things about myself I didn’t even know. I like writing on deadline. When I first started [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (30 days ago)
4 Amazing Tips for Overcoming a Writer’s Block
This is a guest post by Petteri Ollila. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. When you write for living, whether you do it for your blog or you are an author, it is crucial for your success to be persistent about writing. Especially if you are your own boss, no one is going to come and force you to start writing or whatever it is you should do today, so it is sometimes really hard to start. The motivation just always isn’t there when you need it. In my opinion, one of the bigg..
Daily Blog Tips (30 days ago)
What Ben Curnett said … about the Ultra-Marathon of Reflection
A community isn’t built or befriended, it’s connected by offering and accepting. Community is affinity, identity, and kinship that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions. Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (33 days ago)
Leveraging Authority for Creative Control, Freedom and Rewards
Ask a business owner what they want, why they are in business. You will certainly hear the following amongst the answers: Rewards (financial or otherwise) Freedom Control What you will find though, and I include myself in this, is business owners actually working COUNTER to those aspirations. Rewards, freedom and control come from being at the top of the pile [...]
Chris Garrett on New Media (35 days ago)
Getting Your Blog Traffic An Old-Fashioned Way
Last week, I had two doctor’s appointments, one at my new gynecologist and one at my new ophthalmologist. Both of these visits had a common thread. At each, my physicians made small talk with me. I told them about my 3-year-old daughter and my love for family. Both asked what my job was, and I don’t [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (37 days ago)
Procrastinating to Write That Huge Article? Break It Down In Small Parts
Last week I got an idea for an article that I am sure will become popular. It basically contains 100 ways to achieve something (can't talk too much about it right now, but I'll let you guys know when it gets published). The problem is that I couldn't get motivated to start writing it. I would open the WordPress post editor, write the title, and then keep staring at the blank screen. I tried to start writing the post for three days in a row, but every time I gave up after 15 minutes or so. “Man, it is go..
Daily Blog Tips (43 days ago)
26 Needle In The Haystack Blogging Topics
If you’re just starting out blogging or you want to create an additional blog, here’s a word of advice: Find a needle in the haystack. Beginner bloggers probably have heard the terms “niche” and “micro niche.” A niche is a distinct segment of a market, while a micro niche is a more specific form of a wider [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (44 days ago)
How to Kill Your Brand in One Easy Step
Most times when a company kills their brand it is through a steady decline. The kind of loyalty to unloyalty that Scott talks about in his excellent post over there. There are also those occasions where the brand goes from king of the world to “wouldn’t touch that in a hazmat suit” bad overnight, such as [...]
Chris Garrett on New Media (44 days ago)
Want to Improve Your Writing Skills In The Next 10 Minutes?
As most of you guys know, I own another blog called DailyWritingTips.com . A couple of months ago I was talking with my editor there (Maeve Maddox, the person with the deepest English knowledge I have ever met), and we started discussing how an average person can improve her writing skills without spending too much time at it. We figured that the best way is probably to learn and avoid the most common English mistakes. Things like exchanging less with fewer, misspelling its as it’s, or placing commas where th..
Daily Blog Tips (50 days ago)
Not So Prepared for a Portable Office
One of the great things about being a writer; online or in print, is that your office can be anywhere you want it to be. This has always been a major appeal to me and part of my “someday” plans. But what do you do when someday gets here and you haven’t really planned? It’s [...] Not So Prepared for a Portable Office A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (51 days ago)
Are You Allowing Your Blog To Be Spamtastic?
Spamtastic is not good. I went on vacation for one week and didn’t touch my blog. When I returned home, I found 112 comments on my blog. Do you know how many I approved as legitimate? Two. And I wasn’t even sure if one of those two was just really good-sounding spam. Last week, I talked about [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (51 days ago)
5 Reasons to Love Webinars Explained
Webinars rock, but it seems my “webinars rock” illustration caused more confusion than it educated! To rectify the situation, I have cut up and explained my thinking in this article. 1. Awareness and Ideas The first reason to love webinars is that you get the opportunity to create a sense of event around your ideas, value and [...]
Chris Garrett on New Media (53 days ago)
Why Guest Blogging is Fun and Extends the Value of What You Do
A Guest Post by Jessica Cortez Many articles here on Successful-Blog have addressed the importance of guest blogging. Some have pointed out the advantages of getting your work and your name out there when you’re just starting out. Writing about topics you find interesting is a great writing motivator, too. And [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (56 days ago)
Why Webinars Rock
Check Out Magnetic Webinars … or ask me any questions or let me know your thoughts in the comments … Related Posts:My Midnight Sun AdventureHow I Got 1,154 Subscribers in a MonthDo You Lead or Follow?Visit, Use, Like, LoveWhy I Sucked at SXSW So You Don’t Have to Your Free Subscriber Download! Download 'Killer Flagship Content' now. Make [...]
Chris Garrett on New Media (57 days ago)
What’s More Important: Intention or Perception?
A Guest Post by JennyDecki First, I’d like to thank Liz for letting me write a guest post. Even though we’ve only talked a few times and met once, if she called me at 3am and needed a ride home after an awesome party I wasn’t even invited to I [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (58 days ago)
You Don’t Have To Raise Your Hand To Make A Comment
As a blogger, you recognize the importance of following your favorite bloggers. You know that they can offer you the insight and direction you need, not only to become a better writer, but also a better business person. If you’re like me, you’ve probably read through a host of different blogs from how to write effective [...]
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog (58 days ago)
No, You Cannot Guest Post on my Blog
There has been a trend in my inbox lately with people who would like to guest post on my blog. I’m starting to treat it all like spam because like spam the pitches are completely irrelevant to my content. I got so frustrated by each pitch that I started answering these requests with some requests [...] No, You Cannot Guest Post on my Blog A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (59 days ago)
Claiming Your Independence – 5 Years of Business Lessons
Five years ago I cut loose from my day job and launched myself into the adventure that is working for oneself. That was the start of my journey towards claiming my independence day, and I think there are lessons for you if you want to do something similar to what I have done. I’m proud of where I am at but as well as talk about the successes, I am going to share with you the mistakes so you can avoid them. If you just want the main lessons, skip to the end. Otherwise, see what you can learn from my journey … ..
Chris Garrett on New Media (60 days ago)
Proofread Your Way To Error-Free Blog Posts
There’s nothing worse than hitting the ‘publish’ button on a blog post and realizing that you’ve made a glaring error. It’s much the same when you write a tweet or a status update, where your only option is to delete it and start again. With most blogs, you can go back and edit, but posts [...] Proofread Your Way To Error-Free Blog Posts A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (64 days ago)
Blogger or Writer: 3 Ways to Nourish Your Writing Roots
This is a guest post from Brad. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here. Everyone knows you can make money writing; authors of books, newspapers, and magazines are all presumably paid for their work. But people are consistently intrigued with the idea of earning money blogging. Why is this, when a blog is basically a series of self-published articles? A blogger is a writer that goes above and beyond to do their own publishing, marketing, and monetization. The lifeblood of bloggin..
Daily Blog Tips (69 days ago)
Learn Out Loud!
Have you ever noticed how music affects you? I listen to a pretty wide range of music, mostly older melodic heavy metal, but I also love classical music, good piano music, and I enjoy a good symphonic piece. However, I do not listen to rap music or country music. Rap music is degrading, not only [...] Learn Out Loud! A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (71 days ago)
37 Ways to Find Inspiration for Blog Posts
It seems to me that when we talk about blogs we almost always want to talk about lists. People Like lists, they are fun and easy to make up and they are digestible in little reading chunks. So, having a hard time thinking about what would be a good topic for today’s post I figured [...] 37 Ways to Find Inspiration for Blog Posts A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (73 days ago)
Are you Plugged In?
Are you plugged in? I don’t mean social media here, I mean plugged into some kind of training or motivational speakers to get and keep you hyped up? Building a web presence can be a lonely undertaking. You can and will lose steam if you don’t stay pumped up about your business and keep plugging in [...] Are you Plugged In? A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (76 days ago)
Using PLR in a Pinch
In some circles the reference to PLR articles (Private Label Rights) is very taboo; using them is frowned upon even worse. There’s good reason for this; most of them suck, are written poorly and distributed to thousands of users. But there are a few places that have been around for several years and deliver quality [...] Using PLR in a Pinch A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/
Blogging Tips (79 days ago)
5 Reasons You Should Invest Your Time in Networking
Networking has delivered more return on investment than any other tool in my business. Both financially and in non-monetary terms, my network has delivered so much value that I can not imagine what my situation would be like without it. If there is one thing that I could suggest that would be guaranteed to boost any business, networking would be it. The problem is, everyone who believes in networking recommends it the same way. “It works, try it!”. But how does it deliver value exactly ? Lewis and..
Chris Garrett on New Media (79 days ago)
The #1 Habit of Effective Online Business Owners
What would you say is the main habit that is common to all successful online business owners? Is there one thing that if you just applied it would make a massive difference to your own progress? As a inquisitive student of internet marketing I talk to a lot of people involved in the online business world, friends, gurus, mentors. I’m also a big fan of business biographies and checking out interviews with the experts. In investigating these folks’ strategies, something comes up again and again. The more you lo..
Chris Garrett on New Media (88 days ago)
