Kacee’s Posts – Page 10

9 Tips for LinkedIn You Didn’t Know

April 9, 2014 Beth Devine

For B2B marketing, LinkedIn is the preferred social media channel for 26% of respondents in a BtoB survey. More than 90% of B2B companies in North America use LinkedIn.

It’s no surprise that LinkedIn drives the most traffic to corporate websites compared to other social media, and it offers a great way to connect with other people in your industry through its groups and personal email.

Check out these 9 tips for LinkedIn to help you master the most popular professional social network.

1. Resume Builder

Need a resume in a hurry? In a matter of seconds, you take take your LinkedIn profile and turn it into a resume using LinkedIn’s resume builder.

You can select which sections from your profile to use, so you’ll need to fine tune the ones you’re choosing. Once you’ve completed your resume, it’s printable as a PDF and has its own custom link for easy sharing.

2. Custom URL

Even easier than resume builder is creating your custom LinkedIn URL. Your current URL will be changed to look like this: www.linkedin.com/in/yourname.

Your new vanity URL is easier to share and looks more professional without a rambling list of digits at the end.

3. Pulse

Want to know the most popular articles shared on LinkedIn? You can access Pulse directly from your LinkedIn page by clicking on interests. The top articles are broken down into “your news,” which is based on who you follow, “influencer posts,” where you can choose channels of interest to follow, and “all influencers,” “all channels,” and “all publishers.”

If you sign up for email notifications, you will get instantly notified when the influencers you chose to follow post something new. Sign in here to update your email options.

4. Trending Content

The topics and content that are currently being shared and discussed on LinkedIn are grouped into ten trending categories in LinkedIn’s Trending Content.

By bookmarking this as part of your industry check list, you can monitor the top content in these topic and audience segments. You can use this for ideas on creating blog posts and other marketing content, as well as tailoring content targeted for LinkedIn’s audience, as you’ll see below.

5. Publishing Platform

If you are looking for another way to contribute to LinkedIn, check out the new Publishing Platform. It’s slowly being rolled out, but if you’re interested in adding your expertise and building your brand, there’s a short form you can fill out now to request access.

This is in addition to the more important effort of writing content for your own blog. Platforms change and although you own the content, it’s like you’re renting space from LinkedIn.

6. Groups

The Interests drop-down menu shows you the groups you’ve joined. You can join up to 50 groups, which will improve your visibility, as well as allow you to search for and contact other members.

You can choose to receive email notifications of discussions within each group by following the same steps in #7 below, except click on “your settings” instead of “group statistics.”

7. Group Statistics

Want to know more about a group before joining? You can check out the group statistics by first clicking on a group, then clicking on the small letter “i” in the upper right.

The information box drops down to show the “about” category. Click on “group statistics” to see its demographics, growth, and activity.

8. Who’s Viewed Your Profile (a.k.a. “Creeper Feature”)

You’ve probably been alerted to this feature with flagged notices in your account. Have you wondered how people view your account without giving away their identity?

Go into your settings (by clicking on your profile photo) and click “select what others see when viewing your profile.”

You have three options, with the totally anonymous option being the super creeper-feature. Remember, by allowing others to see if you’ve viewed their profile, you’re letting them know you’re interested and a resulting connection might occur.

This feature is changing and will have more in-depth information, such as a profile view data chart showing which weeks you received the most profile views and further breakdowns on who your viewers are.

Look for this new set-up which will eventually be offered to more LinkedIn accounts.

9. Showcase Pages

In addition to LinkedIn Company Pages, there are now Showcase Pages. These are pages focused on different brand aspects or products, allowing a business to create relationships based on the right community.

If you’re interested in only a particular aspect of a company, you can choose to follow only that showcase page. Like a LinkedIn company page, you can click the follow button to see their future updates in your home feed.

If you know of other tips, share them in the comments!

Should You Outsource Content for Your Website?

April 2, 2014 Beth Devine

Creating high quality content for your business website is sharing valuable information with your customers that generates more traffic to your site. But should you hire outside help for your content marketing?

Remembering the reasons why you want to provide great, free content will help you decide how outsourcing content will work for you and your business.

7 Reasons to Use Content Marketing

Attract your audience with topics that are interesting to them
Encourage sharing among a wider audience as they share with their social media connections.
Build your network as other like-minded folk in your industry can find you and connect.
Create value with searchable solutions to your audience’s questions. People will want to seek you out for future questions and choose to follow you and what you have to offer.
Overcome objections: As your audience gets to know you and value you, your honest answers to their questions gives them a reason to move beyond their doubts and hesitations.
Build trust through continual outreach and content creation. Your audience will begin to see you as someone unique and exceptional.
End result: You will stand out from your competition.

7 Ways Outsourcing Content Works

Attract your audience. When you outsource content, it’s critical they have a grasp of the topics you want to write about. One way to do this is to give them a list of ideas. For more in-depth structure, you could provide the writer with specifically formulated questions and answers to how the post should be written.
Encourage sharing. Normally the writer you hire isn’t responsible for distributing the content. However, someone in-house should pay attention to metrics. By understanding which content has greater engagement, you can optimize content for future posts.
Build your network. Growing your network is a benefit of quality content and doesn’t add any costs to what you’re investing in your content marketing approach. Increase your connections with content sharing efforts in social media.
Create value. The added value you provide is only going to make a difference if what you’re sharing is well-written and targeted to your audience. Outsourcing content means checking out the writer’s work, seeing if their skills are what you’re looking for, and asking for references from their other customers.
Overcome objections. Hiring a writer with whom you have a connection goes a long way in representing you. Your content creator will become an extension of you and your brand, giving your audience a reason to overcome their “yes, but” responses.
Build trust. As important as being knowledgeable about your industry and brand, a quality writer will understand what your unique voice is and how to effectively promote you. Building trust through regular efforts to answer your customer’s questions is key to content marketing.
Stand out from your competition. While it takes time to really get to know a brand and their niche, creating quality content on a regular basis will help you stand out from your competition. It means getting found in today’s new search engine yellow pages with quality content.

How to Be Green, Safe, and Healthy: Making Little Changes

March 26, 2014 Beth Devine

Making Fun Out of the Ugly

When you hear how unhealthy, unsafe, and ungreen you are, it scares the crap right out of you. Which makes you shut down, hear nothing, and do nothing about it. We are terribly good at avoiding the ugly.

Playing games helps. It paves the way for less tension. Which is why every table at the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce Women’s Leadership Conference got a chance to play at something silly before hearing about our cancer-causing choices.

Ugh. Here comes the ugly part.

Somehow, it wasn’t hard at all. After listening to Kristi Marsh, author of Little Changes, tell us her story, she had us all stand. We got to play another game. Our only rule: be honest.

We’d just learned that at the age of thirty-six, with three young children, she fought aggressive breast cancer. She wanted to protect her littles ones from ever having to experience this horror.

We all want the same thing for our own bodies and loved ones. So we stood and played.

How Green Are You?

With every question she asked, we would either remain standing if our answer was yes, or sit down if we answered no. The first question was “Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home?”

Talk about easy, right? On question number three – three! – I had to sit down, because I don’t have a carbon monoxide detector installed in my house. A woman at our table sat down because she didn’t have three or more houseplants.

The final women who remained standing purchase only bleach-free, recycled toilet paper. Wow. Some of us have leagues to go before we are at that point.

But it didn’t matter. Kristi didn’t push our buttons to make us feel guilty, helpless, or scared. Smiling, she told us, “You have the right to know what’s happening to your food and what’s in your personal care products.”

With full-on optimism, she encouraged us to become advocates for our own beautiful bodies. No change is too small.

Hell-Bent on Making Little Changes

I went home and told my husband we need a carbon monoxide detector. Now. Recognizing a reasonable request when he hears one, not to mention a woman hell-bent on change, he went right out and got one. While he was at it, he discovered all our fire alarms are outdated. We are now fully armed with fire safety.

Taking one small step toward being green, safe, and healthy led to another. This is how you begin.

After the game, Kristi focused on two topics of concern, toxins in our personal care products and GMOs. Time for the ugly. But we were ready. We knew we could hear anything and it wasn’t going to kill us.

Creepy Toxic Cosmetics

There’s a lot to learn about the cosmetic industry and its regulations. Turns out, they are operating under laws that date back to 1938. The result is products filled with endocrine disruptors, pesticides, neurotoxins, and carcinogens.

It gives me the heebie-jeebies to write that.

For information on safe personal care products, check out the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Kristi recommends both on her website Choosing Wiser.

What Is a GMO? And Will It Bite?

Next up, the mysterious GMOs. No one knows how this experimentation on our food source will affect our health. GMOs are the result of laboratory processes that insert genes from one species into another to obtain a desired trait, such as pesticide resistance or faster growth. Just Label It reports that 90% of Americans support mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food.

The top five GMO food culprits are corn, soy, sugar derived from beets, canola oil (also called rapeseed oil), and cottonseed oil. Yes, that means high fructose corn syrup. As for sugar, look for “cane sugar,” which comes from sugar cane and is not GMO-modified.

Kristi said that anything marked “USDA organic” or with the non-GMO verified seal is cleared to be safe from GMOs. You can download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide to carry in your purse for easy reference.

Anybody else thinking what I’m thinking? Time for some little changes in the grocery cart?

Because many of us are uninformed about just what GMOs are, she gives us Eight Ways to Jumpstart Your GMO Learning Curve, exactly the kick in the pants we need to start learning.

Hey, no one said this was going to be a barrel of laughs. You don’t, however, have to be a frightened out of your skinny jeans. It’s simply your right to know as a caring, concerned human being how to be green, safe, and healthy.

Share this with others and let them know that they have the right too.

Get These Pinterest Tips for Your Business and Get More Sales

March 19, 2014 Beth Devine

Pinterest is where people gather content. They’re window shopping for images and items they like. Facebook is where friends congregate. They visit to share their own photos and the cute cat videos they find.

Fortunately for all the cat lovers, you can find cats and lots of great stuff on Pinterest. It’s fun to shop around on Pinterest; you get great ideas, find inspiration and entertainment, and end up finding something you just have to have.

Marketing your product or service on Pinterest means putting your content in the virtual hands of window shoppers who are becoming buyers at a growing rate.

A Pinterest pin now generates an average of 78 cents in sales, a 25 percent increase from the end of 2012. What’s more, a pin continues to drive pageviews and sales for months after it’s pinned.

A pin has an average of more than 10 repins. Compare that to Twitter’s 1.4 percent rate of retweeting.

Pinterest also causes “reverse showrooming,” where people browse online before buying in the store.

Let’s get started with these Pinterest tips for your business because you don’t want to miss out on the potential for more sales.

1. Your Pins

Make it easy for visitors to pin from your website. Get a Pin It button if you don’t already have one.

Create a pin for all your blog posts. PicMonkey is a free and simple online image editing tool, complete with tutorials and editing ideas. Don’t forget to add your business name somewhere on the bottom of each image.

When you add an image to your media library on WordPress, the title you give it becomes the description of your pin. Make sure it includes words that describe the image and will help pinners when they search for related things.

If your pin is an item you’re selling, simply add the price with a dollar sign next to it and it will automatically display below the image when the pin is clicked on. With a dollar amount assigned to it, the pin also appears in the gift category.

Early morning and late evening are high-traffic pinning times, so pin yours then when possible.

2. Your Boards

Besides the pins you pin from your website, you should find interesting images to pin from outside sources. The next time you bookmark something on your computer, consider if it’s something you could include on one of your Pinterest boards.

You can repin from the boards of other pinners who gather content you’re interested in. Find and follow other pinners and boards to browse from.

You’re now a content curator, someone who collects, organizes, and displays information around a particular theme. Use this to showcase your brand’s uniqueness. Show the human side of your business with board themes that reflect who you are.

3. Your Audience

As you select content to pin, remember your audience. While a large segment is female, studies show that men are a growing segment of the Pinterest audience.

Think about the popular topics and try to make your pins work with what the audience wants. The category list will also give you insight into how your topics can be searched. You can find these by clicking on the upper left button that gives you a drop down menu of options.

Most importantly, remember to make it fun! Pinterest is a place for entertainment, so even if you’re sharing information, try to make the pin light-hearted.

4. Your Business

If you haven’t already joined Pinterest, join as a business account, or convert your page to a business.

Once you’ve done that, verify your website on your Pinterest page. With verification a checkmark will be displayed next to your URL in your profile. Use this WordPress plugin for your WordPress site for easy verification.

You can enjoy Pinterest analytics as part of being a verified account. Find the analytics by clicking on your profile name in the top right corner of your Pinterest page.

Optimize your website for conversion by adding a call-to-action button. Be sure to do this on the pages your pins are driving the most traffic, and particularly the pages that feature a product you’ve pinned.

Get pinning for your business today. You can start with the badge at the top of the page!

Want Your Website Found? Then Give Your Audience Control

March 11, 2014 Beth Devine

The internet search engine is the new yellow pages. This is where your audience is looking for you and wants to connect.

You need to adopt a content marketing strategy that gives you front page results.

Content marketing is the key to getting your website found. It’s giving away valuable and free information that your audience is looking for.

It’s the new USP, or unique selling proposition. Whether you decide to focus on price, product, placement, or promotion – the “four P’s” of marketing – the way to sell it is with content marketing.

How to Stand Out from the Crowd

Look around you. Are there any truly unique businesses? Which clothing retailer, grocery store, office supplier, tax preparer, or plumber is a stand-out, one-of-a-kind business?

The way to distinguish yourself from the competition requires more than identifying your message or your unique market position. You must market your message in a way that gets you found. Content marketing is your leverage point.

You have to sell your brand by creating continuous content. This continuous content serves the needs of your audience by giving your audience what they want to know.

Give Your Audience What They Want

Why is this so important? Because “the audience wants control,” as Kevin Spacey said at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

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What Netflix understood about “The House of Cards” is the principle of content marketing. Give your audience control and they will be more likely to find and choose you.

Your audience wants to choose what they read or watch, when they read it, where they read it, and how they read it.

Give people the power to make these decisions and “they’ll more likely pay for it rather than steal it.” By creating continuous content that is free and valuable to your audience, they are more likely to become your customer.

The big question is who. Who will they choose to buy from?

The who is determined by who they find when they search online. If your business has content that answers their questions, then your business will be in their search results.

Next Step: Get the Word Out

There is a new publicity engine in town. Social media is the free mouthpiece for your content. A solid social media presence will help spread your message.

“The audience has spoken. They want stories.” Spacey’s description of film and how to classify it is a great analogy for content marketing.

“They’re rooting for us to give them the right thing. And they will talk about it, binge on it, carry it with them on the bus, and to the hairdresser, force it on their friends, Tweet, blog, Facebook, make fan pages, silly GIFs, and God knows what else about it, ” Spacey said.

“All we have to do is give it to them.”

Get your website found and give your audience control with content marketing. If you need help, Web Savvy superheroes are here to the rescue.

How to Secure Your Accounts With Two-Step Verification

March 7, 2014 Beth Devine

There’s a price to pay for security. When you don’t pay, it costs even more.

Two-step security requires the investment of time. Otherwise it’s free. By giving your online accounts an extra layer of security with two-step verification, you’re keeping the hackers out.

Here’s How It Works

With two-step verification, you need to input two things, your password and a one-time use code. Once you enable a particular personal device as safe, then you won’t need to do it again. You will use the two steps only on devices that are public or shared.

In order for people to access your account, they would have to know both your password and the special code. You get your special code by text on your phone after entering in your password. Once both password and code are entered, you get into your account.

Here’s Why It’s a Good Idea

By having something you know (password) and something you have (cell phone), your online accounts are not as hackable. Passwords are often not secure enough on their own, particularly if you use the same password for multiple accounts.

As if anyone would ever do that. As if we ever have to use the “forgot password” link, like, every other week.

Popular accounts that offer two-step verification include Google (Gmail, Drive, etc.), Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, Dropbox, and Microsoft. Let me know if you use it for something not listed here.

Gmail, Google Drive, etc.

By far the most critical account to secure with two-step authentication is your email account. Why? As Jeff Attwood explains, your email account is “the skeleton key to your online identity.”

At some point, your email probably contained sensitive data that included credit card numbers, bank account information, medical documentation, and who knows what other personal stuff.

Google’s security system sends you a code in a text message whenever you log in from a new machine. Check out Google’s two-step verification and get started. The only issue I had was with my Apple laptop. For some reason, my Gmail worked only through the site and not through my Apple mail account.

I easily configured my iPhone by generating an application specific password. Once you have it, you enter it into your phone when you’re prompted upon opening each app.

Twitter

Twitter walks you through its two-step verification here. By clicking on the gear icon, then settings, then security and privacy, you are able to enable log in verification requests to your cell phone. You’ll need to re-confirm your email address to begin this process.

Securing my Twitter account seemed like a good idea. After reading about Mat Honan’s attack, which focused around his Apple products and Twitter account, I didn’t hesitate to jump on board.

Facebook

By going to Facebook’s security settings page, you can require a security code to access your account from unknown browsers. Facebook will text you a code that you enter in addition to your password.

Facebook’s blog gives you the rundown on its log in security feature here.

LinkedIn

By hovering over your profile picture in the top right corner, you will see a drop down menu with privacy and settings. Click on this, and then click on the shield symbol with “account” next to it near the bottom left of the screen. Then click manage security settings and you will be taken to the page for two-step verification sign in.

WordPress

By installing the Google Authenticator WordPress app on your smartphone, you enable a two-step authentication for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry. Find the app and read more about this safety feature here.

Dropbox

Dropbox’s two-step authentication will send you a text message code when you attempt to log in from a new machine. Go to Dropbox security here, or check out Dropbox’s documentation for more info. If you want another layer of extra security, try TrueCrypt. Learn how to encrypt the contents of your Dropbox with this free open-source encryption software.

*Dropbox Update: TrueCrypt has been discontinued. Please see these free alternatives for disk encryption.

Microsoft

When you attempt to log in from a new machine, Microsoft’s two-factor authentication sends a code via email or text message. It also works with a number of authenticator apps. Find Microsoft’s account here.

The time it requires to input the codes is far less than the time – and potentially costly information – you could lose by having your account hacked.

Two-step photo is a derivative of “second step” by Zaprittsky used under CC BY.

4 Steps to the Best Landing Pages

February 26, 2014 Beth Devine

The four steps to the best landing pages come with a history of attempted murder. Over a hundred years ago, E. St. Elmo Lewis, the creator of the original four steps, was twice targeted by an unknown suspect. First with arsenic, then with fire.

Being a successful businessman has its risks, after all.

Lewis devised the marketing acronym AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action; the four steps in the process of selling. For landing pages, specific elements are applied to these four steps to achieve one objective.

A landing page can cause only one of five actions: to get your visitor to buy, register or sign up (which includes giving permission to follow up), click to visit a targeted page, learn something, or tell a friend.

Determine which of these five desired actions you want and stay focused on that one alone. Like a dog with its bone, don’t distract your readers with anything else.

1. Attention:

You have three seconds. Your visitors will choose to stay or go in this length of time, according to The Three Second Rule.

Convert your visitors toward your goal by attracting their attention with large font and captivating visuals. Make your landing page fertile ground by using web design that keeps the important elements above the fold, or in the visible screen without scrolling.

The three seconds begins with an attention-grabbing headline. Create a headline that matches the one from the place that drove your visitors to your landing page. This way your visitors will know they’re in the right place.

2. Interest:

Instead of talking about the features of your product or service, talk about how it will benefit your visitors. Maintain their interest by using “you” and “your” instead of “we.” This helps them to identify with what you’re offering.

Your design will communicate this with simple and clear elements, just like your copy. Try a one-column format that includes plenty of white space in the copy with small paragraphs and wide side margins.

There should be no more than five lines – not sentences – per paragraph. The first paragraph should be one to two lines. By varying the size of paragraphs, you make your copy easier to read.

Remember the dog and its bone. Keep the focus on one thing.

3. Desire:

How do you make your visitors want to buy, register, click, learn, or share? Answer this question: What do you want them to do?

When they land on your landing page, it should be clear what they’re being asked to do. Everything on the page is there to support the one goal you chose. Remove all distracting elements and visual clutter, including navigation bar, widgets, and extra links.

Don’t lose their interest by veering away from your chosen goal. Write copy that is absolutely clear, beginning with an eye-catching headline followed by the benefits.

Tell them why. When you include “because” you’re giving them a reason to choose your offer. Keep them on track. Everything on the page is steering the visitor to the next and last step.

4. Action:

This is a direct call to people to do what you called them there to do. There should be a minimum of two call to actions, unless the copy is long, then more is required.

Include a graphic button or hot-linked text that stands out. If your copy goes below the fold, then don’t neglect to include one there as well. Use direct writing on the buttons to encourage action. “Buy now,” “sign up free,” “get the ebook,” or “get started” make their expectations obvious.

Your landing page is a goal-oriented tool meant to accomplish one thing only. Stay single-minded. Don’t confuse it with your home page. Make it uncommonly good.

(There is one inconsistency with this post. I used a dog analogy instead of a cat. I hope it doesn’t throw anyone off too much.)

What in the World is a +1 on Google Plus?

February 19, 2014 Beth Devine

The Google plus +1 is not a Facebook like. It’s not a Twitter favorite. It’s nothing like the love heart on Instagram, Pinterest, or Vimeo. And no, it’s not like a thumbs up on YouTube.

What is a +1 then?

The Google plus +1 is so much more than your stamp of approval. It’s inherent ambiguousness – it’s not a word or a familiar symbol – opens the doorway to a wider meaning.

Are there times on Facebook when you want to click like, but it feels inappropriate because the post is about something sad or troubling? If you’re looking for another way to express your appreciation for a post, the +1 is how you do it.

Do you want to make a public recommendation because the content is superb, even if you don’t agree with the point of view? The +1 is your vehicle. How about when you merely want to acknowledge you’ve read something directed to you? +1 can signify you’ve done this.

As a simple response that your comment has been seen, the +1 reminds me of Facebook likes. However, +1’s always originate from a human, unlike Facebook likes, which can be bought and can come from spam.

The +1 gets even better.

The Best Thing About +1’s

The wider interpretation of +1’s as compared to other content appreciation signals is far from its best feature. Perhaps the best thing about +1’s is they give you a wider audience.

There are three ways this can happen.

1. As a recommended search result.

Your name might show up in the Google search results of people who have you in their Google+ network for content that you’ve +1’d. This demonstrates how powerful growing your Google+ network can be.

3. As a recommended post.

When your post is +1’d by someone, it can appear in your Extended Circles streams. This means the people who’ve circled you, as well as the people who’ve circled them, could end up seeing your post. The Google+ post header would read: “(Your name) +1’d this.”

3. In an advertisement.

Your Google+ profile picture and name could show up in ads. When you +1 a brand or brand’s content, Google could use this in their advertisements on other web sites.

You can choose to opt out of this by going to Settings at the bottom of the drop-down menu on the left side in your Google+ account. Once there, find Shared Endorsements and uncheck the box that reads “Based upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared endorsements that appear in ads.” Be sure to click save.

Want to know one more cool thing about the Google +1?

The more +1’s and comments you get, the greater chance you will rank higher in search results. That is to say, there’s not a cause and effect relationship, but there’s a direct correlation. This comes as no surprise when you consider that most content with a lot of +1’s, comments, and reshares are probably quality content.

Searchmetrics tells us,

“Web pages that rank higher in Google searches tend to have more Google+ plus ones and Facebook shares. While having a relevant keyword in the web site domain name or web address now seems less closely linked with high rankings according to new research. And while pages with higher quality content rank better, top brand web pages apparently continue to automatically rank in top positions without obeying the same rules as other sites.”

This is the impact of social media as a content marketing strategy. And it’s not going away. Google+ is a smart place to begin your social media efforts if you want to extend the reach of your brand and your content.

Google defines the +1 as a feature that helps people discover and share relative content from people you know and trust. Using the +1 to engage with your Google+ circles gives far greater results than any other content appreciation features in social media.

How to Become a Better Writer: Tips from the Pros

February 13, 2014 Beth Devine

Learn from the pros. Writers of novels, copywriters, writers now dead, and those writers who create lists of rules can teach us how to become a better writer.

This list of tips from the pros, gathered for your quick consumption, is internet-primed, just the way you like it: fast, free, and fun.

Keep it clear and concise.

Demian Farnworth tells us on Copybot “The Only Rule You Need to Worry About” is clear copy. That’s it. The rest will follow, he assures us.

One sentence will lead to the next when you write it so your readers are clear on its meaning. Just get that first sentence down.

But don’t get all wordy in the process. In A Writer’s Companion, Richard Marius addresses some of the common problems with wordiness and redundancies. Problems include free gift (a gift is free), final outcome (eliminate final), full and complete (use only one), future plans (all plans involve the future), in a position to (replace with “can”), due to the fact that (replace with “because”), and in the event of (use “if”).

The opening line.

It all begins with the first line. Snag your readers here – followed by a killer headline – or you’ll lose ‘em before the second sentence.

So craft a terrific second sentence too. And write a clincher of a third sentence to keep them reading. And so on.

Books are quoted for their best opening sentences. Check out the ones on your bookshelves to see how they stand as openers. Try these on for size. They’re short, raise questions, and set the tone for what’s to come.

Introduce character: “Marley was dead, to begin with …” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Shock value: “My mother was a whore, and I loved her very much.” Mary Brown, Pigs Don’t Fly
Keep it simple: “This is what happened.” Stephen King, The Mist
Tone setter: “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The short of it.

I had an English professor who used John Grisham’s page turners to demonstrate the use of short sentences, short paragraphs, and short chapters. The result is it’s hard to put his books down. When you realize there’s only a couple more paragraphs until you finish the chapter, and only a few chapters left until you’re halfway finished with the book, you keep reading.

With web writing it’s even more important to hold your reader’s short attention span as they barrel through internet at high speed. Keep things short. Three words work. I mean it. Two even. No kidding.

But don’t forget to throw in a longer sentence now and again to mix things up and create a flow.

Adverbs are like dandelions.

Stephen King warns us in On Writing about the proliferative quality of adverbs, and to avoid them like you would the weeds that they are.

If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day . . . fifty the day after that . . . and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.

Watch out for adverbs in dialogue tags.

“What do you think?” she asked innocently.

“Here we go again,” she responded tiredly.

“Tell me what happened!” she said excitedly.

Grammar goofs aren’t funny.

Copyblogger lists 15 of the most common grammar goofs and how to fix them. Too many goofs and you will look the fool.

The choice between fewer and less is a tricky one. If it’s something you can count, then use fewer. If you can’t count it, then use less. Grocery stores get this wrong all the time.

Another often misused word is who and whom. Use whom if there are two subjects.

Incorrect: His brother, who he said would send him the money.
Correct: His brother, whom he said would send him the money.

Break the rules.

First you must know the rules in order to break them. In The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, we are shown an impressive list of rules.

But rules are like safety protocols on a Starship holodeck. They’re a good idea to use because without them, even holobullets can kill. But sometimes it’s okay to turn them off and play dangerously.

“It was a dark and stormy night” is Madeleine L’Engle’s first line in A Wrinkle in Time. She broke the no-cliche rule to great effect. When you break a rule, do it with purpose.

“Really, really shitty first drafts.”

Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird helps us to let go of our writing fears. Forget about the discouraging voices in your head. Write whatever comes through, as if it’s a child’s first draft.

Anne tells us that if you hear, “Well, so what Mr. Poopy Pants?,” you write it. No one has to see it.

And if you’re hearing “radio station KFKD, or K-F**ked” playing in your brain, don’t give up. It’s all very normal. Those inner demons can’t stop you from getting that first draft done.

Oh, and don’t forget to edit. Mr. Poopy Pants won’t be offended if you cross him off the cast of characters.

Learning Authority from Seth Godin, a Mom, and a Robbery

January 29, 2014 Beth Devine

Seth Godin recently wrote a guest post on Copyblogger about striving for authority. The comments were nearly as entertaining and informative as the post.

You would think no one would dare to question Godin, whose authority and credibility have been time-tested and proven. But since it’s the nature of humans to squabble and whine, even Godin, whose high moral ground is the beacon of light for marketers worldwide, will suffer from censure.

As one commenter complained, isn’t it obvious by now that in order to gain authority you must work for it? Why must we be reminded of this again and again?

Because we need it. Duh.

My mom used to tell me, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” Coming from a parent who has earned her authority, she wasn’t so worried about her credibility. Of course, that changed as I grew older and began to question that authority.

To be an authority online, what you do and what you say need to match up. Delivering your promises is more important now than ever with all the social media platforms that allow for public venting and finger-pointing.

When our house was broken into, the policeman who handled the case was unquestionably an authority. Like Godin pointed out, licensed authorities are obvious. What’s not so obvious is the potential to earn authority through acts of credibility.

This policeman earned his credibility when he showed that he was doing the hard work of searching for the perpetrator and supporting us. He also earned our trust. He might have been a figure of authority when he walked in, but he was a true model of law enforcement’s compassion and integrity when he left.

It didn’t matter that he never caught the burglar. What mattered is that we knew he cared due to his investment of time and effort with us as a family.

In describing his contes moreaux, or “moral tales” film series, director Eric Rohmer said, “What matters most is what they think about their behavior, rather than their behavior itself.”

What matters most is not what you do, but what you think, because that’s what’s going to become clear over time. Your behavior will come back to bite you if it’s not authentic. As Sonia Simone, Copyblogger co-founder, wrote in the comments, “Authority without credibility is called fraud.”

Derek Halpern makes a case for gaining instant credibility on his website, Social Triggers. Sounds gimmicky, I know. However, he gives three valid points that expand on what are well-known tactics: “Be honest” – by arguing against your own self-interests, “know your ish” – give accurate and precise information, and “don’t scam” – back your claims with evidence.

Halpern’s blunt personality and no-holds-barred approach make for an authentic online presence. If anything he does comes back to bite him, it’s surely not due to a lack of truth telling. (His How to Deal With Haters is my favorite. I know you’ll love it too.)

To be an authority, emulate the prototype. As Godin tells us, “Authority comes from consistent generosity, from truth telling, and from empathy. It comes from showing up. It comes from telling your truth and consistently sharing your point of view.”

Copyblogger’s founder Brian Clark summed up our inherent need for a beacon of light in Godin in a reply to a commenter, “It’s good to air these things out like the big dysfunctional family we are.”

Well said.

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