Cyberspace contains roughly 15 million active blogs, read by about 52 million people. If my gazintas
are right, the reader-to-blog ratio is 3.466. Does that mean each blog has a mere 3 and a half readers?
Not exactly. Some blogs have thousands of followers. Some have none. The “if you blog it they will
read” philosophy is a myth.

Why?

There are many reasons, but the main answer is focus. Of those 15 million blogs, the approximately
5000 that have a regular audience (yes, that’s less than one percent), have a sharp focus. There’s a
difference in creating a blog post that shares shopping tips and a rant about getting waylaid at the
mall by a group of third-graders on a field trip. Both could fall under the broad scope of “shopping,”
but one offers useful information to a target audience. The other might be a mad shopper’s rant.

People are joiners.

They want to belong, feel a part of a group that falls within their comfort zone. It’s that whole birds
of a feather thing. But imagine a bird with multiple types of feathers — peacock, ostrich, blue jay, cardinal.
Just a little scary, huh? One key to attracting and retaining readers is having a purpose for your blog
— a focus. Make sure your feathers belong to your bird.

People are busy.

They may initially read your blog because they’re your friends, but if there’s no “rhyme nor reason”
to the blog, they won’t keep coming back.

People are selfish.

They read blogs with the “what’s in it for me?” attitude. As you’re preparing your posts — think of the take-away value you’re offering your readers. Will this be worthwhile to them? If not, they won’t be back. If so, they’ll be regulars and will tweet about your blog.

People like predictability.

This concept is what retailers count on. Whether or not you like McDonald’s hamburgers, you know what you’re going to get when you step up to the counter. And serving consistency has created a worldwide empire for that company. Surprises are fun for birthdays and Christmas presents, but when it comes to choosing how to spend the few extra minutes a reader has with her morning coffee,she wants to know what she’s going to get.

Having a plan — a purpose, a focus — is one of the best ways to increase your readership.

1. Expands your outreach

Sears & Roebuck revolutionized shopping by perfecting catalog ordering and shipping. The Internet has taken that concept a step further through the ability to instantly access content and download information products

2. Speaks directly to audience

Even major corporations have taken up blogging in order to put a human touch to their customer service and marketing efforts. For authors and other small business owners, a blog can be a great way to build a trust relationship with your prospects.

3. Easy to set up & maintain

Gone are the days where one needed an array of expensive software or advanced technical training to set up and maintain a blog. Current blogging platforms are easy to manage and can be up and running within a short period of time.

4. Blogs level the playing field

This is a huge difference-maker for small businesses. You can easily optimize your website to reach your target audience, no matter where they live. Plus, you won’t need a large marketing budget to do so.

5. Great branding tool

For personal businesses, such as writers, speakers, and artists, it’s easy to promote your brand through your blog’s content.

6. Establish yourself as an expert

One of the best aspects of blogging is the ability to share your expertise with others. This builds relationships and trust within your target market. And when it’s time for your readers to make a purchasing decision, guess who they’ll seek out?

7. Fresh & exciting

Blogs are designed to be updated regularly. Fresh content is not only appealing and helpful to your readers, it boosts your search engine visibility.

8. Affordable

Today the cost of blogging ranges anywhere from free to a few dollars per month, making a blog by far your best marketing tool.

If you’d like to learn more marketing and blogging tips, check out my FREE Video Mini-Course, The Well-Fed Blogger.

If you’re a writer and you want to sell your work, you have two choices when it comes to sales copy: (1) hire a copywriter, or (2) learn to write good copy. Since you already know how to write well, why not put those skills to use and write your own sales copy? So, let’s get started leaning how to write awesome copy!

There are three main characteristics of good sales copy:

1 – It’s fun to read.
2 – It’s memorable.
3 – It gets your target audience even more excited about the market than they already were.

It’s easier to write sales copy when you divide it into it’s four main components: the headline, the open, the pitch, and the close.

The Headline

I wrote a post on writing effective headlines at my blog about blogging. The main difference between writing blog post or article headlines and sales copy is that in addition to using the headline to grab the reader’s attention, copy headlines should also sum up the exact end result your audience wants to achieve. A little shock element never hurts a good headline, either. (Think: tabloids.)

The Open

The open is the “Here’s What I’ve Got” part of sales copy. It should, first and foremost, grab the reader’s attention, and continue on to bond with the reader, catering to her wants, needs, and fears. The open goes on to explain what your book, story, or article is about and how it will solve the reader’s problems.

The Pitch

Follow up the “Here’s What I’ve Got” with the “And Here’s What It’ll Do for You” section of your sales page or query letter. A good pitch will address and eliminate possible objections. Some copywriters entertain the reader with a story during the pitch section. Another common pitch practice is the use of bullet points that reiterate the important solutions your book will provide to the reader’s problems. In longer sales letters, the pitch portion often includes “social proof” in the form of testimonials and/or case studies.

The Close

Finally, end with the “Here’s What You Need To Do Next” section. Be straight forward and let them know exactly what it is you want and what you want them to do.

• Click the book cover image and you’ll be taken to Amazon.com where you can order my newest book.
• Fill out the form in the right sidebar and you’ll be added to my email newsletter list.

A little urgency is sometimes in order, but don’t get melodramatic. And if you haven’t yet revealed the price or any bonuses you are offering, this is the place to do that.

This post is simply an overview of the components of good copy. For a more in-depth look at each element, go ahead and sign up for my newsletter using the form to your right. You’ll instantly receive access to two of my most asked for workshop presentations, and shortly afterward you’ll start receiving more marketing training, including detailed articles about each of the four elements of sales copy.

If you aren’t thrilled with the information you receive, simply unsubscribe at any time.

What your customer really wants.

When your customer buys one of your books, they don’t really care about the book itself. And, unless they’re a personal friend or huge fan, they likely don’t care about you either. What they do care about is the outcome they believe the content within your book will bring them. That is their desire.

For instance, if you write a book about dog training, they will buy your book because they want their dog to stop jumping on Aunt Hazel every time she comes to visit. Most readers don’t care about the author, the publisher, the design, or even the content, per se — they want the results the combination of those elements will hopefully give them. Period.

So, what does “Results in Advance” (RIA) mean?

Marketing guru Frank Kern explains this better than anyone I’ve heard. I’ll do my best to re-tell his take on RIA.

Draw a little stick figure on the left side of a sheet of paper. That is your reader, where he is right now. Now, on the right side of the paper, draw the results your reader hopes to gain by reading your book. This is the reader’s desired outcome. In our example, it’s a well-mannered dog. Draw a line between your customer and the good dog. Next, draw four dots spaced along the line. The dots represent steps the reader must accomplish before he can move from where he is now to where he wants to be.

Your reader will have to accomplish training tasks before Fido stops harassing Aunt Hazel. The first step, according to most dog trainers, is to simply ignore the dog when he attempts to jump. Giving him attention, even negative, only enhances his excitement. Step sideways as he jumps up, so he’ll miss. Turn your back to him and don’t make eye contact. In other words, don’t draw any attention toward his jumping. Ignore it as much as possible. This step will bring your reader to the first dot in his path toward a well-behaved dog.

If you give potential readers that information before offering the book for sale, say in a blog post or perhaps an email newsletter or free report, this will only increase their desire to buy your book as well as increase their trust in you. That dot is just the first step toward stopping your dog from jumping.

There are other behavioral techniques dog owners can use. For instance, take your potential reader to the next dot by telling them give Fido something else to do while Aunt Hazel is walking in the room, such as “sit.” In other words, take the dog’s attention away from the fact that Aunt Hazel has just arrived. This will bring your reader another dot closer to their desired outcome.

Reinforcing the dog’s good behavior with a reward when he doesn’t jump moves them to the next dot, and so forth, until they’re practically begging you to buy the book. “Wow — if she’s giving me this much good information for free, the stuff in the book must be amazing!”

So, yes, you’ve given away the step-by-step tactics of one aspect of dog training. The dog owner still needs to know how to potty-train the dog, stop incessant barking, prevent the dog from chewing things that aren’t his, and many more lessons that will make owning a dog more enjoyable for both the dog and his master.

But you’ve not just given away one topic of information, you’ve increased their desire and their trust, and you’ve provided Results in Advance.

Discovering the difference can drastically increase your sales.

One challenge with marketing for writers is that an author or writer is considered to be a guru or expert in his or her field. In fact, the word “author”ity stems from the root word author. This is a good thing, because if you’re writing about a topic, you should be knowledgeable about it. The problem arises when it’s time to promote your words, many writers attempt to market like thinkers instead of thinking like marketers.

What is Marketing Like a Thinker?

Have you ever watched an author interview where the book’s writer went on and on about why we should listen to her because she’s the expert? Maybe it wasn’t done in an overbearing, obnoxious way, but if you paid close attention, you may have heard emphasis put on the author’s education, credentials, experience, or even colleagues.

Some book promotion events focus on the features of the book — who published it, who agented it, who edited it, who wrote the foreward, who designed the cover.  While all that may contribute slightly to a reader’s decision to buy a book, what is truly a book’s most important feature? Right! The words! The information the author shares with the reader in order to BENEFIT him.

How to Think Like a Marketer

There’s a big difference between marketing like a thinker and thinking like a marketer. Instead of focusing on yourself or your book, the marketer mentality focuses totally on your reader.

• Who is my audience?
• What are their needs?
• What is their desired outcome for reading this book?
• What are their pain points?
• What in my book will help my audience resolve their points of pain?

Ah, that’s where your book and your market connect, and when you’re thinking like a marketer, you’ll focus your pitches, blog posts, trailers, tweets, or whatever marketing tactics you’re using, to connect the dots between the problems your audience is facing and the solution to that problem provided by your book.