May You Never Be Lost For Words: Blogging For The Verbally

Challenged… Discover My Exact System For Writing Posts Which Inform, Educate, Entertain, Challenge And, Most Of All, Get Read!!!

Stuart Wright. Internet Marketing Coach

And Web Mentor. Copyright of Stuart Wright. If you wish to reproduce this report, in full or part, contact the author at: info@stuart-wright.com

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Testimonials.

“When I tell friends and former colleagues that I am involved in internet marketing their looks sometimes communicate shock, disdain, incomprehension or just plain pity, an old man gone soft in the head. When I suggest they might like to have a look at it they recoil in horror. One expressed it for them all: “I wouldn’t be seen dead amongst them.” And who can blame them with the scams and scammers we all have experienced.

But if they could read your elegant prose Stuart I’m sure the outcome would be different. Certainly if my old English prof could experience your pristine writings he would do so with a wave of semi orgasmic pleasure – which is all the more remarkable, he being a Catholic priest! Keep it coming Stu”. Brian Passman.

“Just sat down and read your report "Blogging for the Verbally Challenged" and understood, for the first time, the importance of using blogging to its full potential. Your report was informative without being stuffy, and full to the end with interesting tips for readers to maximise the impact of their blog. The use of images hi-lighted your message of interacting and keeping the reader interested, at the same time building long term rapport. A "must have" report, for anyone wishing to build traffic to their website via blogging.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge”. Mike West.

“I have been blogging for some time now and I found Stuart's blogging report refreshing, humorous and extremely informative on the subject. This excellent document is great for a person just starting out, but at the same time superb for the experienced campaigner, also. I believe that Stuart will go from strength to strength and become a sought out authority in blogging.No matter who you are, you are always learning”. Paul Bursey.

“Hi. If you are thinking of getting someone to help you with your Internet Marketing Stuart is a genuine guy and very willing to help people succeed. It is worth giving him a call”. Vanda-Lynn Hughes.

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Testimonials (cont’d).

“I am so lucky that I managed to get a sneak preview of your report.

Now when I first read your blog-posts I was blown away with the end result. I was intrigued to see how you manage to interweave your experiences and almost obscure take on life’s sometimes trivial observations into a blogpost that always delivers.

Now the whole world will get to see just how you go about writing your masterpieces and I for one believe it will be a very sought after FREE report.

Too many people struggle to write inspiring, informative and easy to read blogposts and you have the perfect solution for them with your report … it is a must for anyone that would like to learn from a master wordsmith.

Well done Stuart and good luck with “Blogging For The Verbally Challenged”. Baz Smith.

“Great report Stuart, It’s great to see how others are inspired and write their blogs differently, I like your style! A very easy and interesting read! It gives people a way of discovering their own way & style whilst showing yours off. Fantastic! Joella Brown.

“Thank you for your report. I got down to reading it this morning. I thought it was very good and informative also being a beginner it helps, anything at the moment helps”. Gordon Smith.

With thanks to you all for your kind words shown here and to everyone else for your encouragement and support.

Stuart.

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What’s In The Report Then, Stu..? Section. Title. Page. 1. A Cover To Make You Want To Look

Inside… (It Worked – You’re On Page 4 Already…)

Cover.

2. Testimonials: What People Are Saying About This Report. (And I Didn’t Even Have To Pay Them!)

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3. Why Bother… Apathy And Other Excuses.

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4. Peek Out From Behind The Stage Curtains; Know Your Audience.

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5. Voice Training: Altogether – Doe, Ray, Me…

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6. But I’ve Got Nothing To Say… 11. 7. Keywords Karate. 13. 8. BANG! 15. 9. Images Inspire The Imagination. 17. 10. Sexy Sensory Sentences… 19. 11. Loop The Loop. And Land Safely. 21. 12. Don’t Be Shy. Spread The Word… 23. 13. YOUR 9 Step Brilliant Blogging

Checklist. 24.

14. Let’s Be Resourceful Here… 25. 15. Over To You: Show Me What Ya Got..!

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Right – Let’s Get Started!

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Why Bother… Apathy And Other Excuses. So, you’re wondering just why you should bother to put in the effort to create a blog and keep it updated with regular new posts. What’s in it for you? And is the give/get back equation stacked in your favour? If that’s your mindset, my friend, this report is not for you. The WIIFM (“What’s in it for me?”) mentality won’t take you very far in the blogging world. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that your posts should be without purpose or a desired outcome in mind. In fact, quite the opposite – as you will read later. You need to give, give some more, then keep on giving BEFORE you can expect a return. Approach your writing with the mindset of contribution, adding value to your readers’ experience and your rewards WILL come. As my mentor, bless him, likes to quote from his favourite film “Field of Dreams” (I think he has it on BetaMax and Laser Disc, plus an eight track cassette soundtrack): “The people will come”. And he’s right. You need to provide value so that your readers don’t ‘bounce’ away from your site before they’ve had chance to check out what else you’re offering. Now, let’s talk about the key reason why publishing regular quality posts is vital to your online success – relationships. Your blog, if used correctly, is a superb way to build a strong relationship with your readers. It enables them to get to know you, without any “BUY NOW!” pressure.

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Once they know you, like you and trust you they’re far more likely to buy from you AND remain a loyal customer into the future. They may even become an enthusiastic advocate for you. Now, that’s real value – your customer can buy from you with confidence, will happily endorse you and you have a customer for life, not just a one-off sale. (Check out my resources section to explore the concept of “Attraction Marketing”; for now let’s keep this report focused on helping you build brilliant blogs). What did I mean by “your blog, if used correctly…”? Read on, it’s coming, I promise… But… you’ll have to make some of the connections yourself; this isn’t painting by numbers. I want you to think about what I’m saying – because you’ll learn more by connecting the dots in your own unique and colourful way. (Hint: Could that be a blog post strategy..? What if there are more for you to discover than I’ve labelled explicitly? Get in touch when you’ve discovered the hidden hints and tips secreted in this report…) Ready for more? Your audience awaits. Excited and eager for you to sweep aside your website’s deep crimson velvet curtains and present your finely polished posts for their appreciation and plaudits…

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Peek Out From Behind The Stage Curtains: Know Your Audience. During my Banking days, I spent four years in Business Development promoting the bank’s services to professional and business contacts. A colleague of mine secured an opportunity to pitch to an international engineering firm with major airline engine manufacture contracts. He spent weeks working on his presentation and, come the day, delivered a near-faultless pitch to the assembled senior personnel, including the Financial Director, Head of Human Resources and various departmental chiefs. At the end of the presentation, a rather puzzled FD turned to him and interrupted the stunned silence around the boardroom table with the words “Thanks, Chris, that was a really informative presentation on Group Mortgage Schemes. But what we invited you here for was to discuss an Employee Sharesave Scheme…” (Oops! Right ladder, wrong wall). Chris didn’t get the contract and left the bank soon after. How well do you know your audience? What are their interests, likes and dislikes? What issues do they face, what are their worries and what solutions would they like to see to these problems? In other words, how do you know that what you have to say will appeal to your readers? Do your research. Get on forums, read e-zines and magazines in your chosen market area. Found out what people are commenting on and wanting answers to.

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What are the current trends within your chosen arena? What future developments are being discussed? Use this information to make your posts relevant and ensure that they ‘add value’. Who could you speak with, in your chosen market, to find out more? If you don’t know anyone directly, it’s time to put your networking prowess to the test… Time to find out if the ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ principle works for you… A popular type of blog post is the ‘Interview with an expert’. Arrange this type of interview and use it for your blog, perhaps even publishing a mini-series of posts. The benefit for you is that, by association, you will be perceived as an authority figure and person of influence within your market. The more research you can do, the more knowledge you can accumulate, the greater the credibility your writing will demonstrate. So, fail to research your audience and your audience will fail to research you; they won’t be booking tickets to your show. So, you know your audience; who they are and what they want… Now, how are you going to communicate with them? What’s your voice? Time to limber up the vocal chords…

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Voice Training: Altogether – Doe, Ray, Me… I’m a Silver Surfer and I reckon I’ve got plenty in common with people of my age; I understand their life challenges, concerns and (in some, not all) technological wariness. I reckon I can speak with authority, empathy and at a level that resonates with anyone who’s passed their half century. I have a passion for motorbikes and anything to do with being on, in or under the sea. I know that I can intrigue and interest readers when writing on these subjects. There are many other areas of my experience which I am confident to write about. What interests, hobbies, pastimes and work experiences do you have that you could write about in a way that demonstrates your expertise and engages your readers? More of this in the next section… The pitch of your post is important. What personality quirks will you reveal? Who is this person whose words I’m reading? Do I, the reader, get a sense of them; their triumphs and tribulations, their hopes and fears? And – beware; this is a massive point – if you pretend to be someone you’re not, you will be found out and your credibility will be destroyed. Rely on your own instincts and integrity to let you know if you’re in danger of acting out of character or becoming a false and insincere author. Just don’t do it! You’re perfect just the way you are…

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I love old people. Hey, I am one! I enjoy spending time around them and appreciate their humility and humour. I like to think that I have both of those qualities and write with equal measures of self-deprecation and mischief. There’s often a twinkle in my eye when I imagine the impact my words will have… Maverick, yes. Malevolent, no. I want to charm, educate, intrigue, inspire and challenge you and sometimes do so with tongue planted firmly in cheek. I suppose ‘avuncular’ would be an apt description of my writing style. And, I hope, it applies to the real life Stu, too. So, that’s me. What about you? Have you found your voice yet? How would you describe your style? Better still, ask your friends and family to critique a piece of your writing and you’ll find out exactly how you come across. If you’re happy with their comments, keep going in that vogue. If their impressions are different than you expected, ask them how you can get your personality into your writing. Remember: Insincerity has a terrible stench that makes you want to put distance between you and its source. By contrast, ‘Eau de Bona Fide’ has the sweetest aroma that will make your readers want to return and savour time and again… So you think you’ve got nothing to say..? Read on…

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But I’ve Got Nothing To Say…

I agree, you’re absolutely right. I mean, it’s obvious from every angle that there’s nothing whatsoever about you that could be even remotely of interest to your readers. Except, you won’t have any readers – because you’ve got nothing to say, right? Brilliant! Fantastic! Great News! I don’t have to write the rest of this report… WRONG!!! Unless you’ve stopped breathing or have taken a vow of silence (now, that’s a post I would love to read…) you have plenty to say! So, let’s get to the bottom of this right away: Your mindset will affect what you write, how you write and even whether you write at all. Many times I’ve heard latent bloggers say they don’t have anything to write about. I don’t let them get away with that, and I won’t let you either. You have a lifetime of experience to call upon; everything that you’ve done, every sight, sound, feeling, taste and smell that you’ve ever known, all your successes and failures, all your hopes and wishes, the people you’ve known, the places you’ve been, your work life, your home life, your interests… all of this is YOU and it’s your experiences and opinions we want to read about. You get the picture? Adopt the mindset that people really want to read what you have to say. Put a reminder next to your screen. Make it your mantra. Whatever it takes for you to believe it with all your soul.

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Check out some of the ‘chewing gum for the eyes’ to be found on Twitter and Facebook (yet still gets read) and you’ll realise that what you have to say is many, many times more interesting and worth posting. Trust me. To give you an idea, and inspiration, that anything in your life can be used in a post take a look at some of my recent offerings: There’s An Alien In My Kitchen! It's A Kind Of Magic... When Is A Christening So Much More..? Nothing is too mundane to write about. Everything can be of interest. Just try it for yourself. What you’ll discover is that you have a library of experiences just waiting for you to publish… Now, let’s talk about those pesky keywords…

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Keywords Karate. Countless books have been written about keyword research and application. One of the most thorough descriptions of keyword research and usage is given in a book that I’ll mention in the resources section later. I don’t plan to reinvent the wheel however, I will add my opinions to the debate and discuss my own experiences. First off, where do keywords fit in? What’s their purpose? Simply to alert the search engines to the content and theme of your post, so that they can assess relevance to the searchers’ enquiries. With that in mind, it’s appropriate to give the search engines a signpost or two. You know what you want to say and you’ve decided on your message. Now it’s time to decide on your keywords so that your post will get in front of your target audience. Again, how to conduct keyword research is the subject of various detailed treatise elsewhere. So, I’ll let you know what I do with my chosen keywords. I’ll show you how and where I place them and highlight their significance. Before that, let me just herald a note of caution with a small fanfare: I’ve read too many posts that were keyword infested to the point of farce. They lose all sense of direction and just become a poorly stitched together patchwork of keywords and key phrases, with nothing to encourage the reader to stay on the page. To me, they appear convoluted and incomprehensible.

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Much better, in my opinion, to write your post with keywords and key phrases in mind and include them in a natural, non-invasive way. I try to include my main keywords in my title, but don’t beat myself up if it doesn’t fit in a logical way. Next up, you’ll find them in my first sentence and beyond that as fits my message without compromising the thread. You’ll notice some words here are in Bold, some are Bold I talicised and some Underlined. My purpose is to signpost my keywords and key phrases to both the search engine ‘bots’ and my readers. I’m convinced my readers will remember the key elements of my text because of this. (What’s this section about..? Correct!) After the first three highlights of each keyword or key phrase I leave the remainder in plain text, to avoid overdoing it. Perceived wisdom has it that a keyword density of between 1% and 3% is appropriate, so keep that in mind when you check over your work prior to publishing. Also, remember to use them in your description, tags and with any images or other media that you insert. Make sure to use keyword rich Header tags (H1 to H6) as they are significant indicators of the content of your posts (and therefore relevance to the search string). See section 9 for more… But first, brace yourself…

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BANG! Whatever figure you’ve read about the window to capture your readers’ attention, halve it. Unless you want bounce rates higher than Michael Jordan… Instant appeal, instant attention, is the name of the game – before your readers leave you. Shame; could have been the start of a beautiful relationship… So, what do you do to grab their attention? Try these:

• Ask a question. (When is/How is/What is...?) • Say something funny. (My body is a temple… More

of an ancient ruin, really…) • Say something controversial. (All bloggers can’t

spell). • Use contradiction. (Oxymorons aren’t so moronic). • Use a “How To” title. (How to write Brilliant Blog

Posts). • Make a play on words. (Close Encounters of the

Furred Kind).

Something I use a lot is “…” as I believe it tempts the reader to engage and eke out their own conclusions. Also, on the subject of engagement, teasing and temptation I follow the Burlesque principle; I like to tantalise and gradually reveal my theme. (All done in the best possible taste, of course!) Use the first couple of sentences to offer a glimpse of what is to come, then insert a “read more/read less” break.

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The reader has to take action to find out what else you have to say; they’re joining you as you lead them through the rest of the document. Clearly, a blog post is a one-dimensional dialogue. I like to make it as near a conversation as I can, so that my readers feel involved. I regularly throw in little asides, as if you and I are sharing an ‘in’ joke, or in gentle self-deprecation. Also, you’ll find questions to the reader within my posts. Some of these I will answer, others I deliberately leave for my readers to draw on their own experiences to make their unique connections. Vague presuppositions can have the same effect, can’t they..? Newspaper and magazine articles have the attention grabbing headline nailed. And notice how the first paragraph draws you in… I keep an ideas file with clippings of headlines and articles that have amused, intrigued or annoyed me. In other words, if they elicit a reaction from me – which, after all, is their purpose – I’ll keep them handy to potentially re-work into my blog post titles and early sentences. Next, we’ll talk about the ‘show’ that goes with the ‘tell’.

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Images Inspire The Imagination. What does this make you think of?

(Be polite; my ego bruises easily!) Or this?

(Really?) Or this?

(Hot stuff!)

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All have featured in my recent posts. Take a look and see how they work with my content: Internet Marketing Superheroes... Leather & Air... What's The Setting On Your Wealth Thermostat? Before you’ve even begun to read the words, you’ve formed a sense of what the post is about, from the image. Therefore, the right image is essential in order to convey the essence of your message. I’ve used clip art and stock images before although these days I prefer to shoot my own images and the resolution on my mobile phone is perfectly adequate. There’s no excuse that I don’t have my camera with me; any excursion, long or short, is a source of potential images. I’m constantly adding to my library of images for future use, in the same way as I collect headlines. I place my principle images in the top left of my post, so that they appear above the break line (see page 14) thereby occupying the position of most impact. Other images, if warranted, appear in the main body of my text. Remember to add a relevant title, description and tags to your images, for keyword purposes, and unlink them (unless they’re deliberately being used to navigate elsewhere).

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Sexy Sensory Sentences… If you’re versed in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), you’ll find yourself au fait with what’s coming. Everyone else, you’ll get a perspective, loud and clear, with some firm foundations in sensory language, that will leave you hungry for more, wanting to sniff things out for yourself. (See Section 14 for more on NLP). In a person to person exchange, there are plenty of cues and clues to help us establish rapport with our interlocutor. In our blog post medium we have no such feedback, so we have to adopt a strategy to ensure that we ‘connect’ with as many of our readers as possible. This strategy recognises that no two people have identical experiences of their world, even in response to an identical (or the same) event. Ideally, it involves engaging each of the senses via our writing, as we have no cues regarding our readers’ preferred representational systems. Consider these two descriptions of the same event: 1. It was hot today. I was at the beach so I decided to

go snorkelling to cool down. I saw lots of fish then I lay on a sun lounger reading my book.

2. It was a glorious cloudless sunny day at the beach today. I decided to snorkel in the clear azure sea and felt immediately refreshed as soon as I dived in the pleasantly cool water. I felt the gentle sway of the tide pushing me here and there as I lay supported by the water, fascinated by the scene below me. I saw fish of all sizes, colours and designs moving gracefully amongst the colourful undersea fauna.

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Tiny crabs scurried around the ocean floor, seeking shelter between the rocks as I swam above.

When I surfaced and removed my mask I tasted the salty brine on my lips and my eyes stung momentarily. I could hear the gulls squawking joyfully overhead as they effortlessly spiralled upwards on the thermals, along with the happy sounds of al fresco singing and dancing around a beach barbecue. It smelled delicious as the aroma from grilled fish and meat caressed my nostrils. Mmmm. My mouth watered. I could just taste the tangy food, washed down with something cool…

When I left the water my skin felt a slight wind chill, tiny goose bumps appeared in my flesh, soon to vanish as the warmth from the sun gently dried me…

Which description puts you right there at the beach with me? Which would make you want to read more?

Ideally, aim to engage each of the five senses. If that seems a little OTT, stick with describing sights, sounds and feelings as these are the most used senses for the majority of us.

Remember: You want to engage with your readers; you’re aiming to build a relationship with them to the point where they know, like and trust you.

Have fun and get creative with the words and phrases that you use…

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Loop The Loop. And Land Safely. By now, you’ve drawn your readers in with an intriguing headline and opening gambit. You’ve taken them on an aerial acrobatics wing walk with you and you’ve worked out that I like to tell a story by telling a different story. (Metaphorically speaking, I think it’s the only way to go don’t you…) You’ve ensured that your post is keyword rich without becoming a ‘Chav’ bling-filled nonsensical tome. You’ve used appropriate images to illustrate your theme and you’ve conducted a conversation of sorts with your readers. You’ve written with a voice that will appeal to your audience and you’ve engaged them with delicious, chocolately, melt-in-your mouth sensory language. What next? Two things: Firstly, I like to close the loop with a comment that links back to my opening and leaves the door open for a sequel… (Come on, you know you always want to know what happens next when you’ve watched a particularly good film…) Finally, your call to action. Remember the purpose of your post? Here’s where you invite, encourage, cajole (nicely, of course) your readers to take action. All done? Well, almost…

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Before you release your love child into the big bad world, there’s just time for a post-natal check. Make sure your baby isn’t inflicted with typos and check for grammar and syntax errors. (I use a Dictionary and Thesaurus). Acknowledge the author of any content you may have used. Quote your sources if you’ve used any statistics Complete your description, meta-tags (keywords) and tags (do this for your images, as well). Check your post loads quickly. Check that any links work as they should. Hit ‘Publish’, sit back, smile (very important), pat yourself on the back (make sure no-one’s watching or you could unwittingly become a YouTube stooge), and treat yourself to something pleasant (very, very important). Congratulations! I feel very proud of you… Top of the Class and a Gold Star to you!

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Don’t Be Shy. Spread The Word… Your keywords will signpost the way to your post but you can do more to boost your circulation. How about you give your readers the opportunity (and encouragement) to share your posts? How about you sign up to have links to your posts syndicated on other sites? In section 14 I’ll give you some resources to get you started. What about other media? After all, you’ve done the hard yards; you’ve researched and written your post, so you know your subject. Maybe you could turn your post into an audio download… (You could use your phone’s voice recorder). Maybe you could turn your post into a video… (I create a video from each blog post. Why reinvent the wheel?) I mainly use a Kodak Zi8, although my Blackberry is always handy for ‘ad hoc’ shoots. Think about other ways in which you can re-purpose your work in order to distribute it to a wider audience… Click Here To Visit My Site

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YOUR 9 Step Brilliant Blogging Checklist. Who is your Audience?

What’s your Voice & Style?

What’s your Message?

What Keywords are you using?

What’s your Headline & Opening Line?

Are you using Images?

Are you using Sensory Language?

What’s your Call To Action?

How will you Spread The Word?

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Let’s Be Resourceful Here…

As promised, a few resources you may find useful: Why Bother… Apathy And Other Excuses. The ‘Attraction Marketing Strategies of the New Rich’ by Stuart Ross, of The Six Figure Mentors is a comprehensive, workbook style, guide to everything you need to know to have eager customers seek you out and buy from you. Email me for more information, at info@stuart-wright.com Keywords Karate. ‘Get Rich CLICK! The Ultimate Guide to Making Money on the Internet’, by Marc Ostrofsky, includes one of the most comprehensive guides to Keywords and Search Engine Optimisation I’ve ever read. Check out the Book Reviews on my site for more information on this excellent resource. ‘Platinum SEO Pack’ is a free WordPress plugin that gets you started on Keyword optimisation. A couple of well respected, and more comprehensive, resources are ‘SEO Pressor’ and ‘Market Samurai’. BANG! ‘Sliding Read More’ is a free WordPress plugin that inserts a hide/reveal page break in your posts. I think it helps add an intrigue factor as well as loading the page faster. Sexy Sensory Sentences… ‘NLP for Dummies’, by Romilla Ready and Kate Burton, is a solid and thorough, but easy to read, introduction to NLP.

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Loop The Loop. And Land Safely. I use ‘Collins Shorter Dictionary and Thesaurus’, plus the ‘Oxford Dictionary of Idioms’ and ‘Oxford Concise Dictionary of Quotations’. Don’t Be Shy. Spread The Word… ‘SexyBookmarks’ and ‘Share and Follow’ are free WordPress plugins that help share your work across many Social Media. ‘IMautomator.com’, ‘Google+1’ and ‘BlinkList.com’ will help you broadcast your new posts more widely. YOUR 9 Step Brilliant Blogging Checklist. See page 23. Feel free to print the checklist as an aide-memoire.

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Over To You: Show Me What Ya Got..! Congratulations! You made it here… That tells me that you’re keen to improve your blog posts, and you’ve learned plenty of hints, tips and strategies here. So… What are you waiting for..? Over to you, my friend. If I can help in any way, please let me know. I’d really love to hear how you’re doing, so let’s keep in touch. To your outstanding blog posts! With Best Regards, Stuart. July 2011.