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11 Sorry Excuses for Content That You Shouldn’t be Sharing | Waccabuc Realtor

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Content marketing is the overindulged golden child of the online world. We love it, but it’s starting to smell.11 Sorry Excuses for Content You Shouldn't be Sharing

Our current influential marketers and business developers have dubbed content marketing as the rising star of marketing in 2012. If you search the term “content marketing” in the ‘skills and expertise’ section of LinkedIn, you will find that its relative influence has increased by 27% in the last year.

I, for one, was convinced. The problem was that individuals and companies from around the world, word (and image) vomited content in order to become the next beneficiary of this “marketing phenomenon.”

Some content can be so inspiring that we feel like the next Peter Parker.

“Stories are what bind humans together. Inspire trust by touching people emotionally. Educate and entertain. Become a thought leader through your insightful content of utility.”

But, not all content is good content. And in some cases, it is counter productive.

Do your readers a favor and stop devastating your marketing campaigns with crap content. Besides making the rest of us in your marketing community look like egotistical, self-promoting spammers, your professional masochism is offensive.

Here are 11 examples of content that you should not be creating or sharing.

#1. Provide a link with no text

This tells me two things about you: (1) you are uncreative and (2) you are lazy. Not only will I not click your link, I will judge you and your employer.

#2. Provide a link with spammy text

This has never worked. It still doesn’t work. Unless I spill coffee on my keyboard and accidentally fall on your link, it’s not going to work tomorrow.

#3. Self-promote

We do not live in a time when people want to hear you talk about yourself. Unless you are a celebrity, it’s time to get creative. A basic rule of thumb is that if your mom wants to put it on her refrigerator, it’s time to start fresh. We want utility, entertainment and authenticity – not a professional autobiography.

#4. Intoxicate your posts with keywords to boost you SEO

 We know what you are doing, Sherlock. Optimization is an important part of any content-oriented campaign. (Let’s not be naïve.) But posts where you repeatedly abuse me with an attempt to assert your thought leadership in a particular subject leave me with editorial bruises. I want to help you, but I’m also kind of mad at you. Get smart and find a way to talk about these topics without giving singular posts SEO-poisoning.

#5. Say something that has been said 1 million times

Content marketers tend to think they are the craftiest people on the planet. Truth? It doesn’t matter how well you write. Unless you find an original spin, with new research, data and a cheery outlook, you can go ahead and give the article printout to your mom and expect an audience of one.

#6. Write about something that bores your colleagues

Assume that the people exposed to your content have a certain familiarity with the subject. If your co-workers think there is junk in your trunk (not the good kind), then the readers you want will also think your final product is trash.

#7. Write something that bores you

If you don’t smile once after reading what you’ve written – or cringe at the thought of reading it again – chuck it. If it doesn’t make it through the first content filter (you), it needs to be re-organized and recreated.

#8. Ignore the importance of visuals, formatting and grammar

Looks matter. So does your intellect and precision. Make your content aesthetically superior, pay attention to format and detail, and seek to impress your old 8th grade English teacher. Don’t be the “would-be” hot guy who can’t put himself together and forgets to clean underneath his fingernails. Use what you’ve got and make that extra effort to appear as more.

#9. Make it about you

If you don’t understand by now that content should be purposeful for the reader, then it’s time to rethink your marketing career. Write to satisfy your ego – but be sure you are polishing up your resume as you do.

#10. Have a strong title, but crap content

If you are smart and witty enough to craft a “clickable” title, then you are fully capable of writing something of value. Nothing makes me whack harder at my keys than the marketing snake who reels me in with a title that is full of humor and utility and then leads me to content that is ego-infused, dry, lazy or a scam. You are a car salesman in my book, a car salesman.

#11. Care more about the kudos than the impact

If you don’t give a rat’s ass about the impact of your content on your professional community, then your community won’t give a rat’s ass about you. There are a lot of egos in the marketing biz. Leave your desire to receive praise for your after-hours work at the shrink.

You don’t have to go to Oz to put heart into your content.

Provide something of utility – professional, intellectual, emotional, spiritual – for your target audience. Take creative risks. Strive to produce content that is entertaining, hopeful, tutorial or inspiring. And make us feel something that moves us to action.

Guest Author: Erin Nelson, who happens to do a great job at exploreB2B

 

Want to Learn More About How to Create Compelling Content that Your Audience Wants to Read, View and Share?

My book – “Blogging the Smart Way – How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how.

It is now available to download. I show you how to create and build a blog that rocks and grow tribes, fans and followers on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It also includes dozens of tips to create contagious content that begs to be shared and tempts people to link to your website and blog.

I also reveal the tactics I used to grow my Twitter followers to over 130,000.

Download and read it now.

 

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via jeffbullas.com

Housing Prices Climb; Market ‘Clearly Recovering’ | Waccabuc NY Real Estate

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“Housing is clearly recovering”, David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indexes, said in a statement.

“There’s a lot of momentum,” he added during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “It shows up in all the housing statistics, not just the prices. As far as I can see it’s going to continue well into the new year.”

Prices in the 20 cities rose 5.5 percent year over year.

It was the 10th month in a row that prices have increased, the longest string of gains since before the market started to turn down in 2006.

The housing market became a bright spot for the economy last year as prices rose and inventory tightened. The sector is expected to contribute to economic growth in 2013.

via cnbc.com

6 Ways To Make It Easier For People To Find You On Social Networks | Waccabuc Realtor

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ImageSocial media is not a quick fix. That said, there are some seemingly small and basic steps we can take to help current and prospective customers and contacts know where we are on social networks, and as a result encourage them to connect with us there.

Here are six ways to make it easier for people to find us on our social networks:

1. Include social media icons on your website

Including Social Media icons that link through to your social networks is pretty basic but sometimes forgotten.

As important, and often missed, is to code the links for your social media icons so that they open in a NEW browser tab when clicked. If this isn’t done your website closes and your social network opens.

If your online visitors are at all like me, they’ll feel frustrated that your website closed when they clicked on the social media icon. When all they really wanted to do was have a ‘peek’ at your social network(s) before returning to your website. If that’s the case, chances are they’re onto a new website rather than returning to yours.

2. Add social plug-ins or widgets to your website

Particularly for those who are new to your website, possibly checking you out, incorporating a feed that shows some of your activity on Twitter or your Facebook Page may help give visitors a sense of your business.

This also provides an easy way for people to ‘like’ your Facebook Page and ‘follow’ you on Twitter, without leaving your website.

For more information and the appropriate code:

3. Include links to your social networks and website on all of your social networks

Look for opportunities to include your website address and the distinct or vanity URL for your social networks in as many places as possible.

This subtly reminds people where they can connect with you online and makes it easy for them to do so.

This raises the next point . . .

4. Use a distinct Vanity URL for each of your social networks

Having your own branded and distinct Vanity URLs for each of your social networks is important. Most of the top social networks like Twitter, Pinterest and more recently Facebook have you create this distinct URL when you sign up for a new social network, but not all do.

Different networks use different names for these Vanity URLs:  Username, Address, Public Profile, etc. Essentially they are branded/distinct/Vanity URLs that make your social networks easier to remember and share in print. For instance …

LINKEDIN

LinkedIn provides a URL something like this linkedin.com/pub/sue-cockburn/80/293/303/ rather than linkedin.com/in/SueCockburn. The former is not user friendly nor will it be easy to print on a business card. You can however go into your profile and create your own Vanity URL. LinkedIn calls this a Public Profile URL.

To create your Public Profile URL:

  1. Click on ‘Profile’ then on ‘edit profile’.
  2. Look beneath your photo on the left side of the page for your existing URL. 
  3. Click on the ‘edit’ link to the right of your name
  4. On the page that opens up go to the right side of the page and look for ‘Customize your public profile URL’.
  5. Create your distinct/branded Public Profile URL.

GOOGLE+

For most of us, Google+ doesn’t allow you to create a distinct Username or Vanity URL, at this time, when you create your account. The URL they provide is more like this: plus.google.com/u/0/104293957075840180131

To make an easy to remember path/distinct URL to your Google+ account consider one of these options:

  • Create website link that forwards to your Google+ account (i.e. gplus.GeorgeSmith.com) – not ideal but it works
  • Use a service like gplus.to to create a Vanity URL gplus.to/JohnSmith

OLDER FACEBOOK PAGES

Facebook now has you create a Facebook Address or vanity URL when you create your business Page.

BUT, if you’ve had a Page for more than a few months, and haven’t already gone into your “Basic Information” settings and created a distinct username or vanity URL, you should do so now.

  1. Open up the ‘Admin Panel’ on your Page
  2. Click on ‘Edit Page’ and then ‘Update Info’
  3. Look for ‘Username’ and click on the link to the right of it that walks you through the process of creating your Facebook Address

If you haven’t already created a Facebook Address (Username) for your Page, then it is likely something like this: facebook.com/pages/Marys-Spa/173089451105629?fref=pb. 

Good luck trying to print that on a business card!

Distinct or Vanity URLs are important as:

  • They help make it easier for people to find you on social networks
  • They make your social network names simpler to remember and less difficult to find, for you and others
  • They can be printed on a business card or other print material – assuming you haven’t used a really long name in the branded portion!

A note about Title Casing

It’s a good idea to title case your brand specific information in your Vanity URL. Doing so makes it stand out, easier to read and potentially remember.

Consider this facebook.com/suessimplestitches as opposed to this facebook.com/SuesSimpleStitches or twitter.com/bobsautoshop or twitter.com/BobsAutoShop. Title casing can make the branded portion of your URLs readable at a glance.

5. Add your social networks as clickable links to your email signature

This allows people to see the social networks you’re on and connect with you, or check you out. Good for them and good for you.

6. Include your social network addresses on your print material

Share your major social networks on your print material: business cards, invoices, letterhead, in-store and mail out fliers, brochures, newspaper ads. Of course, it goes without saying, these should all be added to any eNewsletters you send out too – as clickable links.

As social media becomes more and more mainstream, these basics will become more and more important.

via socialmediatoday.com

Why rising house prices could be great for American consumers | Waccabuc Realtor

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A lot of the speculation about what an improving housing market will mean for the economy has centered on new construction. After all, if the housing sector comes roaring back, new homes being built will translate into more construction workers with jobs.

But there’s another way that the improvement in housing could translate into economic gains, one that is potentially larger but much harder to estimate in advance. One of the biggest questions for the economy in 2013 is how much a stronger housing market will translate into more consumer spending. It matters a great deal; residential investment is 2.5 percent of overall economic activity right now, while personal consumption is 71 percent. It would be great to see a rise in building activity, but the consumer is where the major macroeconomic action is.

House sold? Time to go to the mall. (SOURCE: REUTERS)

House sold? Time to go to the mall. (SOURCE: REUTERS)

A good starting point is “wealth effects.” This is simply the idea that when people become wealthier, such as when their stock portfolio rising in value, they will feel more flush and therefore spend more money. Figuring out just how large these wealth effects might be is notoriously difficult, and they can vary a lot depending on any number of factors. A 2006 study estimated that a $1 rise in the value of homes triggers 2 cents of additional spending in the quarter immediately following, and nine cents total. In a paper last year, Charles Calomiris, Stanley Longhofer, and William Miles found that the wealth effects from housing vary significantly depending on whether the homeowner is old or young, poor or rich—but their overall estimate is that a dollar of extra housing wealth triggers five to eight cents in additional spending.

That, by the way, is much more than their two cent estimate of the wealth effect from a gain in securities. In other words, if Calomiris and his colleagues’ estimates are right, rising home prices should mean more for the American consumer than a comparable rise in the stock market.

So what would that mean in practical terms for growth? Over the year ended in November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s index of U.S. home prices rose 5.6 percent. If that rate of home price increases continues, it would increase the value of the entire U.S. housing stock, $17.2 trillion in the third quarter, by about $963 billion.

Using the Calomiris estimates, an increase in home values on that scale should then trigger between $48 billion and $77 billion in extra spending. On the high end of that estimate, that would represent about an 0.7 percent gain in consumption spending and half a percent gain in GDP. That may not sound like a lot, but is a pretty big deal; in an economy that has been growing at a 2 percent rate for the last three years, 2.5 percent would be a welcome shift upward.

But there is reason to suspect that this unique economic moment could make the impact of higher home values higher than usual. In the Great Recession, spending fell by even more than could be attributed solely to the wealth effects caused by falling home prices. A vicious cycle set in through which falling home prices contributed to people being underwater on their mortgages, which had an outsized impact on their spending. Research by Atif Mian, Kamalesh Rao, and Amir Sufi last year found that in counties with high degrees of household debt and home price declines, retail sales fell much more than elsewhere.

That raises some interesting possibilities. It seems at least plausible that this vicious cycle could work in reverse. If homeowners who ended up underwater on their homes accounted for a disproportionate drop in spending, could home price increases that bring their net worth into positive territory have a disproportionate positive effect on spending?

We are in sufficiently uncharted territory that it is hard to predict with confidence, but this may be one of the best hopes for an improved consumer-driven economy in 2013. Maybe, just maybe, there exist tipping points by which a rise in home prices pushes families from owing more than their home is worth to owing less, and once they cross that tipping point, they will spend more freely.

Regardless of whether that effect exists or not, what is clear is that at a time when spending will come under pressure from a rise in the payroll tax, the best hope for the American consumer is to be found on the home front.

via washingtonpost.com

The death of the mortgage broker? | Waccabuc Realtor

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Starting next year, mortgage brokers, who serve as middlemen between homebuyers and lenders, will be subject to new rules that experts say could push many to leave the business. Issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week, the new rules prohibit brokers from raking in more compensation in exchange for placing borrowers in more expensive mortgages; they also disallow brokers from getting paid by both the borrower and the lender on a mortgage transaction. While the rules will make working with a broker safer for consumers, experts say they may also leave them with fewer brokers to choose from. “It certainly does put some of the more marginal players on the fence,” says Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at mortgage-info website HSH.com.

For borrowers, this unintended consequence may make shopping for a mortgage more difficult. Brokers tend to have access to a large number of lenders and are able to quickly determine the best loans and rates available. Without brokers, mortgage applicants have to contact banks themselves, going from institution to institution until they have a list of mortgage products and rates they qualify for. They can also search mortgage-shopping sites, but many of those sites only provide referrals, without giving consumers enough information to comparison shop.

Of course, there have also been plenty of risks to working with brokers as well. Critics contend that brokers were among the main causes of the housing crash, putting borrowers into risky mortgages that they couldn’t afford because they had a financial incentive to do so—a big reason why the new rules were created.

But now that a lot of the shadier brokers have left the field and the new rules wipe away much of the risk to working with the brokers who remain, the bigger challenge for consumers will likely be finding a broker who can give them access to many lenders. Over the past few years several large banks, including Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have announced they’re no longer working with independent mortgage brokers. (Some of those banks have said that mortgages originated by their own loan officers performed better while others have cited difficulty in controlling negotiations between independent brokers and clients.)

The decline of mortgage brokers has been underway for several years. That’s been largely due to the real-estate downturn that pushed many of them out of the market and earlier regulations for the industry that made it costlier to be a broker. The National Association of Mortgage Brokers currently has roughly 5,000 members, down from 25,000 in 2006, says Don Frommeyer, president of the association. Experts say the disappearing broker has made things harder for mortgage applicants. “Consumers are already having a difficult time getting a mortgage,” says Brad Hunter, chief economist at Metrostudy, a housing market research and consulting firm. And if the number of brokers does decline further, he adds, “that could have an impact, making it more challenging for borrowers to get loans.”

Mortgage brokers’ share of home loans has also dropped as their numbers have declined. During the last two years, mortgage brokers accounted for about 10% of total mortgage originations, compared to 20% in 2008 and more than 30% from 2004 through 2006, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.

Opinion: Obama’s mortgage freebies

Basil Petrou on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new mortgage rules and how the feds control nearly every corner of the housing market. Photo: Associated Press

Those figures could decline further due partly to the rising costs that accompany the new rules and declining profits, says Mark Goldman, senior loan officer with C2 Financial Corp., a San Diego-based mortgage brokerage firm. New players are also unlikely to emerge. “They’ve raised the barriers of entry into mortgage brokerage,” he says.

Going forward, borrowers who use brokers will soon have more protections than in the past. It’s less likely that they’ll be steered into a mortgage with a higher interest rate or fees or one that charges a penalty for paying it off in advance. Also, brokers won’t be able to make more money by sending a client to buy title insurance from an affiliate.

Those who have difficulty finding a broker should consider checking out LendingTree.com, which finds lenders within its network that will consider your loan based on your personal information. Separately, consumers who have a relationship with a bank—whether it’s a deposit or brokerage account or wealth management ties—should consider asking the institution if it offers any discounts on rates, closing costs or other mortgage fees.

For their part, most mortgage brokers who are still around say they’ve already implemented most of the new compensation rules, which were initially announced in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was signed into law in 2010 and a Federal Reserve compensation rule that kicked in the following year. (The CFPB’s announcement finalizes those regulations.) Brokers who haven’t done so yet will need to change their practices over the next year to comply with the new rules.  

 

 

via marketwatch.com

 

Seven essential factors of homeowner’s insurance | Waccabuc Real Estate

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You’ve put a lot of work into your home to make it your haven from the stresses of life. But things can happen quickly to upset that peace, such as a fire, theft, or natural disaster.

With that in mind, do you have enough home insurance to protect your home and your precious personal belongings if something bad happens?

You’d be surprised at how many people don’t have enough, says David Isaac, senior product manager at Met-Life, a provider of all types of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs.

“I work in insurance, but I have neighbors and relatives who just don’t know what they need to protect themselves. Many times, they end up being surprised that they weren’t covered after a certain incident even though they have insurance,” he says. “It just wasn’t enough, or they didn’t have the right kind.”

To protect your home and family, keep reading to learn about seven factors to consider when determining how much home insurance is enough.

Factor #1: The cost to rebuild your home

When the unexpected – such as a fire or tornado – comes rolling through your home, you want to build it back the way it was before disaster struck, and that’s where your home insurance comes in.

However, 16 percent of homeowners do not have enough insurance to rebuild their home if it were destroyed, according to the 11th annual “US National Homeowners Insurance Study” by market research company, J.D. Power and Associates.

But how can you make sure your house is restored to normalcy?

The Insurance Information Institute (III) recommends you ensure your home insurance covers the price to reconstruct at today’s construction costs – not what you paid for the home originally.

“For a quick estimate of the amount of insurance you need, multiply the total square footage of your home by local building costs per square foot,”  III says. You can get this information from your local real estate agent, builders association, or insurance agent.

It’s also a good idea to talk with your home insurance agent about automatic inflation coverage, which updates premiums and coverage annually to reflect the cost of inflation.

“This coverage’s main purpose is to help customers avoid inadequate insurance coverage,” Isaac says.

But beware – not all insurance companies have this in place. You need to sit down with your insurance agent to see if you do have automatic inflation coverage. That way, you can be sure that you’ll be able to rebuild your $500,000 home for what it’s worth now – instead of for the $200,000 that you purchased it for 20 years ago.

[Think a home insurance update is in order? Click to compare quotes now.]

Factor #2: The cost to replace your personal belongings

Another factor to consider is what your home insurance will cover for the items inside your home if they’re stolen. So if a burglar breaks into your home and takes your television, how much will your insurance company pay you for another?

This can be a tricky question, says Isaac. It depends on what type of television you had, and whether or not your insurance covers replacement cost or the cash value of the item.

With an insurance policy that covers replacement cost, you could receive the latest flat-screen television – even if the set that was stolen was 10 years old. That’s because the policy refers to the original price of the item, regardless of how old or outdated it might be. But with an insurance policy that only covers cash value, you would get only what the television is valued at today. And because of inflation and the advances in home electronics, a television you bought for $2,000 two years ago is likely worth a lot less now.

So, if you’re trying to get the cheapest home insurance policy possible, a policy that covers cash value is a better option – since a policy that covers replacement cost comes with a higher premium, Isaac notes. “But at a time of loss, you will feel in a much better position to replace most of your stuff if you had the more expensive policy that includes replacement of personal property,” he says.

[Is your home well protected? Click to get an updated home insurance quote now.]

Factor #3: The cost to cover your valuables

So your insurance company will cover your personal belongings, but what about more unique – and expensive – items? Let’s say a diamond ring has been passed down to you from your late mother, for example. It’s worth at least $10,000. You cannot find it anywhere. Will your home insurance replace it?

Unless you added what’s called a rider or endorsement policy to your standard insurance, don’t bet on it.

That’s because every standard insurance policy has limits on the coverage for expensive items. For example, jewelry is usually only covered up to $1,000 to $2,000 within a standard home insurance policy, according to III.

But don’t worry – that doesn’t mean your valuable items will have to be left uninsured. For items that are worth more than the amount that your standard policy would cover, there are riders that you can add to your homeowner’s insurance that provide additional coverage beyond the regular policy.

And the rider can be written out for items like jewelry, artwork, watercraft, gun collections, and other valuables that are not covered normally, says Isaac. These items are typically appraised and in the event of a loss, the insurance company will pay you the appraised amount.

[Need some extra coverage for your valuables? Click to compare home insurance quotes now.]

Factor #4: The cost of damage from floods and earthquakes

Floods and earthquakes can be devastating catastrophes that destroy property. But these natural disasters are not covered under a standard home insurance policy, so you need to buy special flood or earthquake insurance for protection.

And not having flood or earthquake insurance can be a risky gamble for certain folks, Isaac says.

“You need to analyze where you live and what is around you,” he adds. “Floods can occur anytime, anywhere with flash floods from heavy rains or dikes breaking.”

Take Hurricane Irene, which came ripping up the East Coast in 2011 and flooded homes, for example. During that year, fewer than one out of 10 homeowners carried flood insurance in New England and the mid-Atlantic states, according to the J.D. Power’s annual insurance survey.

Just like floods, earthquakes can cause devastating damage as well, especially if you live in a state like California, which is notorious for earthquakes.  

So, if you live in a region that is prone to natural disasters, talk to your insurer about what your coverage options are.

[Think you may need some extra coverage? Click to find the right home insurance now.]

Factor #5: The cost to live after a disaster

Here’s another thing to think about: If disaster strikes, whether it’s a natural disaster, a fire, or something else, where will you live and how will you stay afloat financially if your home is destroyed?

You might end up in a hotel or have to rent an apartment, but you’ll still have to make mortgage payments even during the rebuilding period. So where does the money come from for essential living expenses like meals, clothing, cell phones, and other crucial items after you have lost everything?

“Most home insurance policies allow a small amount to help out people with their increased cost of living while they aren’t in their home,” Isaac says. “But they won’t cover you forever.”

In fact, most standard home insurance policies will cover up to 20 percent of the policy on the house, he adds. And in many situations, you can increase the temporary living expenses for a small addition to your premium.

But ultimately, every policy is different, so you really need to talk with your insurance agent about how much coverage you need. Discuss a lot of “what ifs” and understand what will be protected in those situations.

[Click to compare home insurance quotes now.]

Factor #6: The cost if someone sues you

Your sweet little great aunt falls on your stairs and breaks a hip and an ankle. Two weeks later, a lawsuit is delivered to you by her attorney.

You might not believe it, but this kind of scenario happens all the time, says Isaac.

“Accidents happen. Unfortunately, those who are injured can be your neighbors or friends at one point. If something tragic occurs, you need to have enough liability insurance,” he says.

To protect yourself, you might want to consider taking out an umbrella policy or a personal excess liability insurance policy – both of which can often be bought separately from your home insurance. This type of policy can give you $1 million or even more coverage to help pay for judgments against you by a judge or jury in the lawsuit, says Isaac. It saves you from paying out of pocket or having to sell your home or belongings to pay the settlement.

The III states that most home insurance policies provide a minimum of $100,000 worth of liability insurance, but recommends that homeowners have a least $300,000 to $500,000 worth of protection.

via homes.yahoo.com

10 Secrets of Professional Writers Every Blogger Should Know | Waccabuc Realtor

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We all know good writing when we see it and we cringe when we see terrible writing.  The worst thing is that the harder people try to write well, the worse their writing usually becomes.10 Secrets of Professional Writers Every Blogger Should Know

Here are 10 secrets of professional writers are guaranteed to improve your writing.

1. Avoid clichés

But you know that, don’t you? And yet clichés are more systemic and invasive then people imagine. A cliché is any idea or expression that has lost its force through overuse, to the point where it becomes meaningless and drab.

Here are some examples that I have found in recent blogs:

  • In this day and age
  • Never a dull moment
  • Given the green light
  • Rose to great heights
  • Calm before the storm

The problem, and the attraction, with clichés is that they seem to say exactly what we want to say, so it is tempting to hang on to these tried and true expressions.

And yet, they will deaden your prose, make readers mentally sign off and expose you as an amateur.  Everytime.

So avoid overused sayings (yes, I know, like the plague).

2. Write like you speak

Use a conversational tone.  Really. And you don’t have to use complete sentences either.

Think of it this way; if you wouldn’t say it a casual conversation, think twice before you write it.  A blog is a friendly chat that will inform and entertain your audience. It is not a lecture, an academic thesis or the opportunity to harangue your readers from your soapbox.

3. Talk to your reader like a friend

In real life you would use words like  “you” and “I” so use them in your blog too, just like you would if you were chatting at a barbeque. This lesson comes hard to those who have spent a lot of time in academic writing (in fact most good writing lessons come hard to this group), but good writers love using you and I these days because it speaks directly to the reader.

4. Use anecdotes and case studies

These are little stories are the spice of blog. Facts only go so far and no one wants to read too many of them. People like stories about people and anecdotes humanize your information and make the reader care about the issue.

5. Parallelism

This sounds technical but it just means a balance within sentences that have the same grammatical structure. Before you skip to the next point consider that according to Wikipedia using parallelism improves writing style and readability and makes sentences easier to process.

This is a typical example that I found in a blog.

“James likes to play soccer and hockey. He also likes to play a bit of tennis too.”

It reads better to say:

James enjoys soccer, hockey and tennis.

6. Getting down and dirty

Use adjectives sparingly.

When I ask my gen y students how they recognise good writing they often look perplexed (but then again, they tend to look perplexed most of the time). Finally a tentative hand will go up and a brave student will suggest that good writing is “descriptive”.  And by descriptive they mean lots of describing words – or adjectives.

And a lot of people believe this.

But in a harsh kink of fate this leads to exactly the worst kind of writing –the dreaded flowery prose.

Mark Twain said it best.

“When you see an adjective, kill it.”

This is what he actually said in a letter to D.W Bowser, 3/20/1880

I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. …. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them–then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.

7. But there’s more

There is another part of speech that will make your readers want to put their head in a vice. The dreaded adverb. In his acclaimed book, On Writing author Stephen King describes “the road to hell as being paved with adverbs”.

Adverbs clutter your sentences and are considered a pitiable substitute for good writing.

To put it simply adverbs prop up poor verbs. Considering that verbs are the V8 engine of your sentence, using weak non-specific ones means you need an adverb to help it along, a bit like a Zimmer frame, and not a good look.

The famous example from every writing text is:

“The man walked wearily and laboriously up the hill”

The better way to write it is:

“The man trudged up the hill”

So, for example use the better verb skulked, instead of a phrase like “moved suspiciously”.  Think about using phrases such as “teased mercilessly” when you could use taunted, or “ran quickly” when you could use dashed or sprinted.

You get the point. Use specific verbs and nouns and use adverbs and adjectives sparingly. It sounds technical but with a small amount of thought you will supercharge you sentences and make your writing a pleasure to read.

8. Exclamation marks!

OMG! I know I don’t need to tell you this but exclamation marks can give your writing a gushing, effusive quality!  They are mostly used ironically these days so unless you are an enthusiastic teenager, use with care.

9. Tighten up

Make your writing “tighter” and more powerful by removing the extra words or phrases that don’t contribute to the meaning of your sentence.  Look at your sentence; can you remove some words to make it more succinct? Less is better. Always.

10. Rant or reason?

If you want people to take you seriously develop evidence-based opinions. Why do you think as you do? Try to be able to back up your opinions with facts, research or statistics. Otherwise you may as well just get on a soapbox at the local park and rant.

Take home writing tip:

Think like a wise man, but express yourself like the common people. (W.B.Yeats)

via jeffbullas.com