Content Marketing

Content Creation: Batching Your Tasks

Content creation is hard work, especially when it comes to written content. It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing the content yourself, or someone else is doing it for you. Ultimately, someone has to sit down and put pen to paper… or words to screen.

If you approach content creation in a linear fashion, it will take you much longer because you’ll constantly be switching between tasks.

For example, writing and editing are 2 different processes. If you edit as you write, your creative process will be jarred, and you’ll not achieve a state of ‘flow’ which is what most writers strive for.

By the way, if you are serious and want to take your content marketing and your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.

The best way to stay organized and speed up content creation will be to batch your tasks. Below you’ll find 7 tasks to batch.

Why Is Batching So Effective?

Batching is basically grouping similar tasks and doing them all at one go. It’s almost as if you’re in an assembly line at a factory repeating the same task over and over.

This will not only increase your speed, but you’ll find it easier to focus on the task too. You won’t need to constantly go back and forth between tasks.

While it may seem like you’re not making progress, because nothing seems to be getting completed when you’re in the process – when it’s time to create the content, everything will already be done, and you just need to start writing.

That’s when the speed truly builds up and you’ll make up for lost time and more. Now let’s see how to batch your tasks.

Decide On Your Task For The Day

Content creation generally revolves around 5 tasks:

Researching
Outlining
Writing
Editing
Publishing

You do NOT want to do them all in one day. So what you’ll do is decide what task you’ll do for the day. Ideally, you’ll want to complete all the work associated for a specific task before moving on to the next one.

For example, you might decide to spend Monday and Tuesday doing research. Wednesday may be for outlining. And from Thursday to Saturday, you’ll write like a maniac.

On Saturday, you’ll edit and proofread what you wrote… and on Sunday, you’ll publish the content.

This is just a general idea. Decide for yourself what you’ll do each day and only focus on that task.

Work In Pre-Determined Time Blocks

The next step will be to decide WHEN you’ll do the work. You don’t want to adopt a haphazard approach to content creation – or you’ll never get the job done.

Decide on a time block when you’ll begin and end the task. For example, you may decide to do your research from 9am to 11am. That’s fine. Just make sure you stick to it.

Many people find it especially difficult to write. Like author, Steven Pressfield said, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”

The best way to overcome this problem will be to sit down at your desk at the specified time, whether you like it or not… and give yourself just 2 minutes to write. Anyone can do that.

You’ll realize that once you start, most of the time you’ll keep going. Use this technique and you’ll trick your mind into being less resistant to the task at hand.

Do Your Research

In step #3, you’ll do ALL the research you’ll need for you to write later on.

This is especially important for non-fiction. Keep your research notes organized so that you can refer to them easily.

Remember to create a customer avatar of your ideal prospect; this way you can write all your content in a way that is incredibly appealing to him or her and you will be much more likely to get them to take a particular action (you are adding a call-to-action in your content, right?).

Outline Your Content

Having an outline will increase your writing speed exponentially. Of course, your outlines will be based on the research you’ve done.

Make a list of the points you’ll cover and so on. Even if you’re typing on a computer, having your outlines written on paper in front you is recommended.

In this way, you can glance at your outline as you type rather than switching between tabs and so on.

Write Like A Maniac

This is where the pedal hits the metal, and the rubber meets the road. Once your outlines are all ready, start writing your content.

There’s a saying – “Write drunk. Edit sober.”

So when you write, just let your thoughts and words flow. Don’t be overly concerned about typos, etc. The goal is to get the content written.

Even if you’re creating content for infographics, social media posts, sales copy, etc. this principle will apply. Write first… and churn out ALL the content that you need to complete!

Take Time To Edit

Once all your content is done, it’s time to edit the content and fix the errors such as spelling/grammar mistakes, sentence construction issues, typos, etc.

Batching this task will mean completing all your editing for the content you’ve created before moving on to the final task.

This may seem an onerous task, but it can have a significant impact on the final piece of content, so can’t be overlooked.

Publish Your Content

This is the most fun part of the lot. You’ll either be publishing the content on your blog or turning it into a digital product to sell. You might have other plans for it, but the principle stays the same.

Publish your content when it’s all completed. A common mistake beginners make is to create 1 piece of content, do all the steps above… publish it… and then run off to repeat the process with the next piece of content.

Can you even imagine how tiring and time consuming that will be?

By now you’ll realize that while batching your tasks seems to be a more delayed approach, it’s actually faster when you look at the big picture.

Adopt the pointers in this article and you’ll be a lean, mean, content creating machine.

If you really want to know more about the power of content marketing and blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a free detailed blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂

How To Avoid The Top 7 Common Mistakes Bloggers Make

Starting a blog can be a very interesting and financially rewarding endeavor, but only if you do it right. Unlike other online business models such as ecommerce, Kindle publishing or product creation, blogging has very few ‘moving parts’ to it and is simpler.

Once you install WordPress, a cool theme and some useful plugins, you’re almost set. Now all you need to do is create content.

As simple and straightforward as this sounds, there are still a few pitfalls that must be avoided.

By the way, if you are serious and want to take your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.

Below you’ll find a list of 7 common mistakes that bloggers make… and what you need to do to steer clear of them. Take note of these pointers and remember them.

Not Defining Your Ideal Target Audience

You can’t be everything to everybody. It’s important to pick one niche, find a sub-niche within it and target a specific audience in that niche.

For example, fitness for men above 40. Or potty training for dogs. Or self-care for first-time moms.

You must have a specific audience in mind and your blog posts must be targeted at them. This is how you’ll build a loyal tribe of readers.

It can sound counterintuitive because you want a large audience, but a highly targeted audience is much more likely to get you and but from you once they see you as an authority.

Not Posting Regular Content

Initially, you’ll be excited when you set up your blog. You’ll probably create content regularly and be checking your stats to see if you’re getting traffic.

However, as time goes by, you’ll discover that content creation can be a grind. Writing is hard work. Constantly coming up with topics to write about can be a chore too.

You must have a specific audience in mind and your blog posts must be targeted at them. This is how you’ll build a loyal tribe of readers.

If you don’t post for a month or two, they’ll get tired of checking your blog and won’t show up anymore.

You’ll lose your audience, and your blog will appear stale. So, aim to post at least twice per week. This will ensure that you’ve fresh content in your blog regularly.

If you dislike writing or you’re busy, you can always hire writers from Fiverr, Freelancer, Upwork or TextBroker to write articles for you.

Not Building Your List

You’ll definitely want to build a list from your blog so that you can stay in touch with your readers. Install the Thrive Leads plugin on your site and you’ll be able to create pop ups, scroll mats and even embed sign up forms in your blog posts.

With a list, you can earn commissions via affiliate marketing, or you can increase traffic to your blog by letting your subscribers know whenever you have a new post.

Make sure you use a good autoresponder service, such as Active Campaign or Aweber.

Poorly Written Content

It goes without saying that your content needs to read well and not be full of grammar and/or spelling errors.

Besides the obvious errors, your content needs to be informative and entertaining at the same time. If your readers are bored, they’ll close your page and move on.

People will sit and binge watch Netflix for hours. It’s not so much an attention span issue here as it is an ‘interest’ issue. If your content is interesting, you’ll hook your readers and keep them on your blog.

Make sure the content is user-focused and it’s best to write like you talk. Conversational content will always win online. Leave the formal writing to stuffy college professors and dusty books at the library.

Your blog needs to provide information that’s relevant, useful and entertaining. It’s a tough juggling act, but that’s what separates the popular blogs from the thousands of blogs that no one bothers visiting.

Selling Too Hard

This is a common mistake made by many beginners to marketing. They either display too many ads on their blogs or their content is too salesy.

People can see through the bloggers’ veiled attempts at providing skimpy information with an ulterior motive to sell.

You’ll want your blog posts to appear as natural as possible. The goal is always to educate and entertain. Selling should appear as an afterthought. Deftly weaving affiliate links into your content without calling attention to them will spark your readers’ curiosity.

Let them click on these links on their own… and they’ll be much more likely to buy what you’re promoting. People love buying stuff, but they hate being sold to.

So, don’t overtly sell all the time. Keep most of your posts content-driven but have affiliate links scattered here and there so that you get sales.

Poor Formatting

The Gutenberg block editor can seem clunky in the beginning but once you’re adept at using it, your blog posts can be made to look great.

Make sure you’re using a clean, fast-loading theme. Readability matters. The font used should be easy to read and legible. Use headings, sub-headings, images and videos to break up the text.

You may choose to have a sidebar or not. Not having a sidebar does give a page a cleaner look, but this is a personal choice. What matters is that your content is easy to consume. The user experience is very important.

Not Having A Clearly Defined End Goal

If you’re blogging for fun, then it doesn’t really matter what you post or when you post. But if you’re blogging for profit, then you must have an end goal in mind for EVERY post you make.

Is it to educate? Or will you be selling products through it? Or is it for traffic generation and list building?

Having an end goal in mind when creating content will help your blog stay focused on what you want to achieve – which could either be a bigger email list, increased readership or more sales.

So, decide what the goal is first – then write your blog post. If you want to know more about writing a great blog post, check out this post here.

These 7 tips when applied consistently will help you create a blog that’s engaging, popular and profitable.

Over time, you’ll have an income-generating asset that makes passive income round the clock… or you can flip it for 3 to 6 times (or more) what it’s currently earning and walk away with a sizeable chunk of profit. It doesn’t get better than that!

If you really want to know more about the power of blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a free blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂

10 Tips To Make Your Blog Posts More Interesting

“I learned that by being entertaining you make a connection with another person.” – Robin Williams

There are several reasons why someone would start a blog. Maybe they wish to build an audience or an email list. Or maybe they wish to have an authoritative site and make money online with affiliate marketing.

Whatever your reason for building a blog, ultimately, you’ll want people to see it. To attract people to your blog, the content needs to be excellent and your blog has to look great.

In this article, you’ll discover 10 ways to ‘spice up’ your blog posts and your blog overall. Apply these tips and you’ll definitely make your blog more interesting and attractive!

Are you ready to get started? Let’s go…

Use Attractive Images

A picture says a thousand words. If you want your blog to be interesting, you absolutely MUST break up the text with images – and ideally, all your images must have a caption between them.

When was the last time you came across an image and didn’t read the caption?

Almost never. People like making sense of the image and the caption reinforces their perception of what they’re seeing.

There are 2 types of images you can use on your blog:

Creative commons images (free)
Royalty-free stock photos (paid)

You can get creative commons images from sites like Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, etc. You won’t need to pay a cent for them and can use them in your blog posts.

Some of these sites will allow you to use their images for free, but you’ll need to credit the image creator. You can do this in the caption.

Royalty-free stock photos can be purchased from sites such as IstockPhoto. Generally, these photos tend to look much better than what you’d find in the free sites.

Furthermore, the sheer variety of images in the paid image sites will mean that you can find photos that very closely match your content.

Use photos in all your blog posts. They’re one of the best ways to make your blog posts ‘pop’ and capture the readers’ attention.

Use Quote Images

People love quotes. Social media is replete with motivational quotes. Even the latest trending, “Let’s go, Brandon!” is a quote. Ingenious marketers are using that quote on mugs, t-shirts, etc. and making tons of sales.

You can always do a quick Google Image Search for quotes related to your blog post. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on productivity, a quick search for ‘productivity quotes’ will bring back these results.

Now all you need to do is compile a few quotes and verify that the quotes and the attribution is correct.

You’ll then need to create your own quote images for your blog. Do NOT use the images you find via Google Image Search. Most of these will be copyrighted images. You need to make your own… and it’s easy.

There are 2 excellent solutions for creating quotes:

Canva is free to use. Stencil and Snappa are paid options.

There are also other websites that you can use such as Quotefancy, Quozio and MediaModifier.

Quote images have the same purpose as stock photos – to break up the monotony of the text and add a dash of color and ‘punch’ to your blog posts.

Memes And Gifs!

Memes have been all the rage for the past 7 years or so. They show no signs of waning in popularity. Because memes are shared all over social media and they’re usually humorous, people automatically look at memes hoping to be entertained.

You can make free memes with a meme generator such as Imgflip or Kapwing. It’s best to have a good sense of humor when creating memes. If you lack ideas, you can visit Me.Me for inspiration.

An important point to note is that not every niche lends itself well to memes. If you’re in a serious niche such as ‘coping with grief’, you’ll want to be very careful using memes. You might be able to get away with one or two memes just to lighten the mood, but you don’t want to appear flippant.

There’s a fine line to walk here. You’ll have to exercise common sense when using memes. The same applies to using gifs that you can find on Giphy, which you can embed in your blog posts.

Remember to use memes and gifs in moderation. They work wonderfully well for grabbing attention, but too many of them can be distracting.

Break Up The Text

Reading text on a screen is a lot more stressful on the eyes than reading a paperback. This is why it’s imperative that you break up the text in your blog posts.

For starters, keep your paragraphs 3-5 lines long. Forget what you were taught in school about paragraphing rules.

When you’re online, readability is everything – and if the reader gets tired reading your content, they’re just one click away from Facebook or Kim Kardashian’s Instagram account.

And they’ll leave your blog and you’d have lost them. So you definitely want to break up the text on your blog post into smaller bite-sized chunks.

As mentioned earlier, you can use images, quotes or even have sub-headings (H2, H3,etc.)

The sub-headings will make the content easier to read for skim readers and you can have an extra line break before every sub-heading so that there’s more white space in your blog post.

You’ll want to maintain the same format of headings and sub-headings throughout your blog so that there’s uniformity and consistency throughout your blog.

Use Videos

Nothing grabs more attention than a video. These days, most people prefer watching videos over reading. So, you’ll definitely want to embed a video in your blog post.

There are two ways you can do this:

Create your own video (RECOMMENDED)
Use someone else’s video

Creating your own video is the recommended option because it puts a face and a voice behind the blog. People like watching other people.

Even if you’re shy and prefer to do a screen recording using a tool like Camtasia, your voice will still engage your readers. Just make sure the video is interesting.

One of the benefits of creating your own videos and having your own channel on YouTube is that your videos will attract traffic. You can then have links in your video description that points viewers to an opt in page to build your list. Or you can point them to your blog posts.

If you decide to use someone else’s video on your blog, you’ll probably be embedding a video from YouTube. This is legal and nothing to worry about.

Just click on the share button…

Then click on ‘Embed’ and you’ll be given the code to copy and paste in your blog.

The video will show up in your post with the play button. You can use a video to break up the text on your blog.

Quality And ‘Flow’ Of Content

No matter how many attractive images and engaging videos you use, at the end of the day, the quality of your written content will decide how interesting your blog post will be.

The content needs to flow well and should not feel like a mishmash of clunky paragraphs virtually stapled together to form a post.

Each point needs to lead to the next and so on. That will make the reading process smooth and seamless. Being a proficient writer will definitely help here.

If you dislike writing, you can always hire expert writers on sites like Freelancer. Always make sure that the content reads well, and is interesting and engaging.

Many marketers try to optimize their blog posts for SEO (search engine optimization), and they end up adding keywords in parts of their content just to rank well. Very often, these keyword-rich sentences don’t fit in well with the content and can sound awkward.

So, if you’re trying to rank your blog posts for specific keywords, make sure the keywords are woven seamlessly into the content so that the reader experience is good.

Use Infographics

This tip is especially useful for content that needs to be simplified. Any listicle can have an infographic created on it.

When creating an infographic, you’ll want to distil the blog post and use the most important points as your infographic’s data points. Keep your points short and succinct.

An infographic doesn’t require too much text because the icons and symbols in the image will convey the message effectively.

What matters is that the infographic is a derivative of your content. This will make the it congruent to the entire blog post.

Once the infographic is completed, you’ll insert it in your blog post (somewhere in the middle or at the end. This will help to break up the text or sum up your content in one neat image.

If you have no idea how to make an infographic, you can easily hire a freelancer on Fiverr to create an infographic for you. It’s very affordable.

Typography And Readability

The font you use on your blog needs to be legible and easy on the eyes too. There are countless articles written about fonts and font pairing. You may wish to use 2 different fonts – one for your paragraphs and one for your headings.

The most popular and effective fonts for a blog are:

Tahoma
Arial
Verdana

Avoid using cursive fonts or other fonts that look stylish but when used in large blocks of text becomes difficult to read (e.g. monotype corsiva).

When it comes to readability, the font size matters too.

Avoid making your font size too small. Many older people will find it difficult to read your content. 14pt is the new 12pt!

When your font is legible, reading the content becomes less taxing on the eyes – which means your readers will not get tired easily. Your blog’s bounce rate will be lower and this will give your blog posts an SEO advantage.

The color of your font makes a difference too. Avoid using light grey font on a white background. Some websites will mention that having lighter text is easier on the eye. That may be true, but if it’s too light, it’ll strain the readers’ eyes instead. So exercise common sense here.

Your WordPress Theme

If you’re using WordPress for your blog (and most people do), the theme you use will play a huge role in your blog’s appearance. Avoid using free themes. The paid ones have more features and usually look much better.

There are thousands of themes on the market. You’ll need to decide what theme you want, depending on the type of blog you’re creating.

Many of the most popular themes have a lot of flexibility so that you can toggle between the different options and make your blog look exactly the way you want it to.

Some of the most popular themes are:

A good theme will not only give your blog a clean appearance and make it look professional… but it will also load fast. We live in a day and age where people want everything fast.

If your blog takes ages to load, you can bet you’ll be losing visitors by the boatload. They’ll just close the page (while it is still loading) and will never see your blog. So, use a WordPress theme that has a fast load speed.

You can check the speed of your blog here: https://gtmetrix.com/

Your Opinions And Stories Matter

People love watching and listening to others. It’s why Oprah is a billionaire with her talk show. It’s why Joe Rogan’s podcast gets downloaded millions of times… and it’s also why reality shows still remain as popular as ever.

As a species, we’re curious to hear and watch what other people say and do. Why else do you think social media is so addictive?

When you’re writing a blog post, even if it’s a serious topic, you’ll want to inject your opinions and stories within the post. If you have no stories of your own, tell other people’s stories.

There are many movies based on other people’s life stories. Rocky, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Blind Side, and many other poignant movies are stories about people’s trials and tribulations… and how they overcame all odds.

There are always opportunities to add your own stories and opinions. It’s better to be opinionated than to have no opinions. Even if your opinions are polarizing, you’ll still benefit by building a tighter audience who agrees with what you’re saying.

They’ll feel that you’re authentic and are on the same page as them. This is the type of ‘loyalty’ you want. You don’t want your blog to be sterile and bland like vanilla. You must let your personality shine… and your readers will enjoy reading it.

In Conclusion…

These are just some of the many ways you can make your blog posts interesting. Always remember, you’re writing for other people. You want their experience on your blog to be an enjoyable one.

If you can do that, your blog will always have a loyal following, and if you monetize your content, you’ll see sales and profit.

It all starts with giving the people what they want.

“The currency of blogging is authenticity and trust.”

– Jason Calacanis

The Easiest Blog Post You Will Ever Write

Writing your own original articles and blog posts is mandatory if you own a list or run an internet business. Blogging is risk free and should be part of any online business.

Mandatory. Part of your standard operating procedures. A basic staple. Something you can’t do without. You get the picture.

Blog articles can be used in so many ways that I’d need to write an article just to explain all the ways you can profit from articles. 🙂

1. Determine Your Title

Most people don’t spend much time on their title and that’s a no-no. It’s a flagrant foul in basketball. A bounced check. A driver cutting you off in traffic. Things that are mindless.

As with everything I ever say about writing articles, your title is important. Very important. Imagine this scenario…

You’re searching the internet for blogs or sifting through articles at your favorite directory in hopes of finding some useful tips for selecting curriculum for your upcoming homeschooling year.

Which of these would you take a closer look at…

The Easiest Way To Choose Your Curriculum
Making Your Curriculum Choice
5 Questions To Ask When Choosing Curriculum
Homeschool Book Decisions
Choosing Your Homeschool Resources

While all of these are related to choosing your homeschool curriculum, “The Easiest Way…” and “5 Questions To Ask…” probably have more appeal. If you’re pressed for time, you probably aren’t going to read all five … you might read two.

And the title is going to determine which two gets your attention.

So, first things first, it’s important that you create an appealing title. We’ll talk more about this in another lesson, but three simple “rules” that I go by in crafting titles that I’d like to pass on to you are…

Be specific. It’s not “Questions To Ask”, it’s “5 Questions To Ask”. It’s not, “Lose Pounds”, it’s “Lose 3 Pounds in 7 Days”.
Make It Simple. Who would ever read an article, “7 Extremely Hard Ways To Lose Weight”? Or, “Top 10 Most Difficult Ways To Find A Date For Valentine’s Day”? Offer SIMPLE solutions. EASY ways to accomplish a desired result.
Speak To A Group. If your article is intended for a specific group (I.E. Beginners, WAHMs, Christians, Senior Citizens, College Students, etc.) then say so in your title. Rather than “How To Write An Ebook”, go with “The Beginners’ Guide to Writing An eBook” or “How To Write a Christian eBook”.

So, determine your title and then begin the writing process.

Hint: Go to good old EzineArticles.com and review the titles of other articles (paying particular attention to which articles are viewed the most – indicating their popularity) and then use those titles to model your own after. I.E. If you see the popular title, “The Easiest Way To Lose 10 Pounds And Get In Shape Fast!” you could easily entitle your own article, “The Easiest Way To Learn Guitar And Play Songs Fast!”

And don’t forget Amazon.com. Go and find the bestselling books in your niche and take a look at the Table Of Contents for more inspiration for articles.

2. Write Your Opening

You’ve got about 30 seconds to get your reader’s attention if you’re going to get them to consume your entire article. That’s not much. It’s important that you get them interested quickly. I’m going to share three to get you started…

“There must be some reason why some _________ outperform others.” . This opening is all about informing the reader that some people have an advantage over others. And, in order to level the playing field, they need to follow the advice in your article. Example: “There must be some reason why certain tennis players win more matches than others. Said another way, if two equally skilled tennis player compete … why does one get to go home a winner and the other a loser?”
“I’ve always been impressed with those who could __________.” . This opening allows you to mention a specific result that is desired to, not only you, but the reader as well. Your article teaches the person how they too can experience the desired result. Example: “I’ve always been impressed with those who could hit a backhand winner on the run. It never came easy to me and I have marveled many times when others seem to hit that shot so effortlessly. Then, I figured out their secret…”
“Do you find yourself _________?” This opening is a good one because it allows the reader to identify with what you’re writing about. When they say “yes” to your question, then they know the article is for them … and they’ll read on to discover what they can do about the problem they face. Example: “Do you find yourself double-faulting a lot? For years I gave away point after point – usually in critical times during my matches – by hitting into the net or just beyond the service box. Finally, I paid for a lesson from the local pro and this is what he taught me…”

Choose one of these openings (or one from the related article coming tomorrow) and write approximately 125 words as your introduction to the article. Be sure to transition from your opening into your first question.

You can do this in one of two ways: (a) Specifically mention that you’ll be answering the three most asked questions from beginners, or (b) Simply answer the questions without ever actually posing the questions in the text of your article.

3. Answer Question #1

If you’ll recall from earlier, question number one is…

“What is _________ ?”

Simply plug in the topic of your article into that question … and then answer it in approximately 250 words.

What is tennis strategy?
What is podcasting?
What is virtual real estate?
What is forex trading?
What is retinopathy?
What is a VoIP phone?
What is Tai Chi?

Give a brief explanation of the topic in your own words and then move on to the next question which builds upon the first question.

4. Answer Question #2

That question again is…

“Can you show me an example of ________?”

Now the article is taking shape. We go from an introduction to an explanation and now we have an illustration. You’ve explained what it is and now you’ll explain what it looks like. Provide an example. A case study. An illustration. A method. Something the reader can identify with to better understand what you’re saying.

You’ve explained what tennis strategy is … now give a scenario in which tennis strategy is at work.
You’ve explained what virtual real estate is … now give an example piece of VRE property.
You’ve explained what Tai Chi is … now share one of the key moves of the discipline.

After providing some sort of example, move on to question number three…

5. Answer Question #3

From earlier in our lesson, the final question is…

“How can I get started with __________? “

It all climaxes with 1-3 simple steps the reader can follow in order to begin practicing your teaching.

By this point the reader knows WHAT the topic is about, and they know a basic use or function of the topic. Now, they need a simple explanation of how they can get started with application. How can they use the information?

You can either give the reader ONE action step to take in order to get started (I.E. The first thing you’ll want to do is enroll in a class.) or you can provide them with a simple set of THREE steps to put into practice as a sort of mini-system (I.E. Step

One is… Step Two is… Step Three is…).

6. Decide Upon A Close

To complete your article, you’ll want to use your final 125 words (approximately) to close out your content. There are two components of the article close that I think are necessities if you want to see any results from your efforts.

The Spark. You want to leave the reader with a desire to get started. You want them excited. You want them motivated. You want them to take action. I’m not necessarily talking about giving them a rah-rah pep talk (although that might not hurt either!). I’m speaking of getting them to realize that they can get the desired results they want if they’ll get busy doing something. Your job at the close of the article is to encourage them (gently or blatantly) and challenge them to achieve.
The Segway. The other thing you must do during your close is to lead into your resource box. Your article is for the reader. Your resource box is for you. Your content is to provide useful information for the reader. Your resource box is to get the reader to a point where you present an offer. And the closing of your article is the place where the two roads meet. Lead the reader to a decision to make a positive change in their life – to take action. And then use your resource box to provide a means to do just that.

7. Create A Featured Resource Box

Most people use the same generic resource box with each of their articles. In other words, it’s the same resource box regardless of what the article is about.

That’s a big mistake in my opinion.

With an ever-changing audience reading articles about ever-changing topics why would you want to use a never-changing resource box?

Your resource box – in order to be truly effective – must be a continuation of the article itself. It must offer something more that is directly related to the content of the article.

I mean, think about it: the reader has warmed up to you at this point. You’ve shared something useful. They like your style. They are pumped up and ready to take action. Why blow that moment with a resource box that does nothing to really enhance or continue or build upon where they are at this moment in time?

Let me give you an example:

If I’ve just explained what tennis strategy is about, pointed them to an example of tennis strategy and briefly outlined how they can create their own tennis strategy – which is more effective at this point…

Jason Daly is the publisher of Tennis Tips, a free weekly newsletter full of informative helps for tennis players of all skill levels. For your free subscription, drop by http://www.JasonsTennisTips.com today.
Jason Daly is the author of How To Outplay Your Opponents By Outsmarting Them, a free strategy report for tennis players of all skill levels. Grab your complimentary copy at http://www.JasonsStrategyReport.com today.

Obviously, having just read the article on tennis strategy, you’d be more likely to take action if resource box #2 was in place … because it’s a continuation of the article. It’s part 2. The sequel. The rest of the story.

Note: And, upon visiting my site and registering for the free report, you’re automatically going to receive my free newsletter as well anyway.

The point is this: a carefully crafted resource box — one that is specifically relevant to the article itself — will outperform a generic resource box. You’ll get more results by using a resource box that builds upon what’s been shared in the article it is attached to.

So, that’s an incredibly easy way to write a good blog article.

You can crank out an entire series of these articles for beginners. All you need to do is answer three simple questions.

What is _________?
Can you show me an example of _________?
How can I get started with _________?

It works for any niche. Any topic. Any person. So what are you waiting for?

Discover How Using Honesty Will Boost Your Email Open Rates

You may have heard marketers say, “Email marketing is dead” … or email deliverability rates are low these days. The list of complaints is many and by all appearances, it seems like email marketing is getting tougher now because more and more subscribers are wary and jaded.

Marketing emails are viewed skeptically, and subscribers are much more discerning now. This is why some marketers have started using platforms like Facebook Messenger or bot services such as ManyChat or MobileMonkey because engagement is generally higher, but that doesn’t always convert into leads or sales.

Yet, there are a handful of marketers who excel at email marketing. They have high open rates, high click through rates and their emails get them a ton of sales and commissions.

So, how do they do it?

The answer is simple. They have a good relationship with their list, and they have a good sized list. The best way to build your list fast will be to retain your current subscribers as you add more to the list. If each email you send gets many unsubscribes, it will be an uphill task.

Ultimately, you need to be an honest and transparent marketer who is unique enough to stand above the noise. This is crucial to building trust and getting you noticed by your subscriber.

Don’t think of your email list as simply a cash cow to promote your (or affiliate) products or services, but rather think of them as your tribe.

Once you can achieve these 2 goals, getting people to open your emails and buy your products or the products you recommend will be a breeze.

You must treat them well and make them realise that you are simply trying to help them. The fact that you may make money by them buying your products or services is simply a byproduct of your helping them to succeed. Of course, this need to be a genuine desire to help them; you will NOT be able to fake this, so don’t even try!

Use the 5 pointers below to boost your open rates by winning your list over with your personality

Promote Only What You Believe In

This is a HUGE factor when it comes to building trust with your list. You should always promote or sell products that are of high-quality and will get the buyer their money’s worth.

Too many marketers these days tend to promote every product under the sun just so that they can get commissions.

In the short run, this may work… but over time, their list will stop trusting them and the sales will dry up faster than a wet towel in the Sahara desert.

Do your research on the product, the product creator, the price, the pros and cons, etc. This will allow you to give an honest review of the product and if it’s something that you wouldn’t buy… do NOT recommend it.

Show Them You’ve Purchased The Product

One of the best ways to inspire your list to buy the product you’re recommending. Even if you received a review copy or a complimentary gift in return for a promotion, go ahead and buy the product if you like it.

Take a screenshot of your purchase and display it in your email to show that you actually forked out money for it.

This will show that you too have skin in the game and you’re truly recommending something that you believe in.

Test Out The Product If You Can

Test the product out and see if it works. It doesn’t matter if it’s perfume or some ‘make money online’ (MMO) eBook that promises profits.

Make sure that you test the product out and see the results for yourself. Do you like it? Does it deliver on its promises? Is it worth the money?

If the answer is yes to all of the above questions, then you can promote it knowing full well that it’s good. Do not blindly pass off the claims on the sales copy as gospel when doing a review.

Don’t Contradict Yourself

This is very common among online marketers who promote products in the MMO niche. On one day they may be praising a particular YouTube video ranking software and saying that it’s the ‘last one you’ll ever need.’

A week later, when a new but similar video ranking software is released, they’ll promote this like it’s the best thing you’ll ever need.

Your subscribers can see through these shenanigans. Do not contradict yourself in your emails. If you’re promoting a software that is really good, then you should get a copy of it yourself and try it out.

You can then share your knowledge and tips with the list and show them the results you got from using the software.

You’re supposed to promote and also help your subscribers learn to use what they buy. You can create tutorial videos, blog posts. etc. to guide them. You are limited by your own imagination as far as delivering value goes. That’s what a wise marketer would do instead of pushing every piece of junk that hits the market.

Finding Your Voice

As a marketer, you’ll need to stand out from the rest. There are many ways to do this. You could use photos of yourself in your emails or have an attractive personality that comes across in your emails.

A sense of humor or brutal honesty or links to videos that you’ve made will help your readers get to know you better.

The key to being unique is to let your personality shine. Do not try to fake it till you make it or act like an authority who is pulling in six figures a month, if you’re not even close. The age old dating advice of just being yourself applies here too.

If you can practice these 5 tips and make them second nature to your email marketing, your open rates will skyrocket, and your subscribers will look forward to your emails.

If you want to know more about nurturing you list, check out the featured resource below for a free Simple List Building report; download, read it and take action 😊