How to Make People Care What You Think

Dale Carnegie, in his famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People talks about the magic of developing genuine interest in others. As writers, sometimes we have a selfish streak a mile wide. After all, that is why we write, to share our "unique" view of the world with others. Have you ever written anything, posted it and just known that everyone would flock to read it, only to discover that hours, or even days later, your blog traffic was still hovering at 3 hits and those are your own?

Yesterday we talked a little about a universal sales formula. The first step in that process is a thing called "prospecting". This is the discovery process that a salesperson must go through to determine who wants, and or needs their product, and which part of that audience they have easy access to. As a part of that process a good salesman will spend time finding out about the potential customer, or developing a genuine interest in what makes them tick. As artists it is easy for us to attempt to forgo that part of the process, break out the soap box and start in to add our two cents to the conversation. The internet has made that even easier.

When we assume that people will be in shock and awe when they discover the TRUTH that we have single-handedly revealed we do ourselves a great disservice. We must always keep in mind that, just like us, others are most interested in what effects and benefits them, and not what we think they should be interested in. So, how can we go about this discovery process? What if we just slowed down long enough to think about our audience, before hitting the "publish post" button? I am intending to ask myself how it will sound to someone who has not had the benefit of my experience. How can I make it relevant to them?

So, your turn, what other questions should we be asking about our intended audience? And, how should this effect what and how we share as writers?

How to Sell Anything, Anytime, to Anyone!

How You Can Sell Anything With Your Writing

Most people assume that the primary tool required to be a successful writer is talent. That could not be further from the truth. While there are many talented writers who are successful, if you ever watch television or films, you, like most of us, are constantly surprised at some of the scripts that get sold and produced.

In his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad (a must read by the way) Robert Kiyosaki tells of an interview with a young reporter whose work he had read and admired. She asked for his advice, since he has written multiple New York Times best sellers, on her own attempts at publishing her novels. He suggested she take a course in sales. The young woman was enraged, it seemed she was insulted that he thought her Masters in English Lit was not enough, why would she want to learn sales, she was a "writer". He gently pointed out that the cover of his book touted him as a best "selling" author, not best "writing", she like others who ask a guru for advice, left disappointed with the Truth.

So, here, loosely adapted from my good friend and networking master Boe Parrish from Corporate Care is the road map to writing to sell.

1. Know your audience. Who are they and what do they want to hear?
2. Find out what they want that you have to offer and find a way to ask this question: If I could solve your problem in a way that benefits you, would you buy.....
3. Tell them how you can accomplish just that!
4. Present your solution in terms and pictures that will appeal to them, based on step 1.
5. Ask them to buy from you, join your organization, donate to your cause, whatever the case may be.

So, what about you? Which steps do you typically leave out? Are you the typical "artist" or "writer" that only wants to hear themselves talk and forgets to say things that his audience will care about? Or do you forget to ask them to take action? What else do you find works well for you?

Three Big Mistakes I Have Made With My Blogs

I recently went to a writer's lunch at Lifechurch in Edmond Oklahoma to hear Tony Steward of Joetoprocycling.com talk about his experiences with creating online content, both in his own private ventures and also as a member of a content creation team for Life Church's online communities. Here are three things I learned from his talk that I was doing wrong.

Number Three: I don't have a plan. I have a lot to say, but it all just sort of comes out in no particular order. I have heard him speak on the subject briefly once before and he shared his tools for planning blogs, which I need to get from him again, because as I already pointed out, I DON'T HAVE A PLAN. (people with plans amaze me, and I am sure would have recorded his initial advice and already be using the tools to organize their posts into meaningful thoughts)

Number Two: I am not encouraging conversation. While I desperately want to hear what people think of what I write I don't write in such a way to encourage them to engage in commenting. I have a tendency to "share what I know". Tony expressed, that while he is learning a lot about cycling, and quickly gaining expertise, he leads with his ignorance. In other words, he starts with a question, or something he wants to learn and asks for opinions and advice, leaving room for others to add to the conversation.

And the Number One mistake I have made: I try to say everything in a format that is meant to be bite sized. Rather than condense one or two good points on a topic into a few good paragraphs, I write a novel. There is a place for Tolstoyan literature, it's called a library. People on line are busy. They are picking up your blog in the three minutes between the end of their morning projects and the drive to lunch. While they want to hear what you have to say, they don't want to hear ALL of it right now. Give them a few actionable ideas or thought provoking questions and leave it at that.

So, what about you, what have learned to or not to do with your writing? What works for you, or what would you like to do better?