Every single word you write and release into the inter-webs is an opportunity to reach through a computer screen and make a connection. A connection that leads to a relationship, that leads to a client, that leads to a referral that leads to another client (or three). The internet gives us access to so many more businesses – businesses that may look just like yours. Potential clients can compare and contrast (on their smart phones, possibly while hiding in your toilet). We need to connect with people, to inspire and provoke opinion, and to grow a tribe around our business so that we’re cultivating leads and relationships, not shouting into a crowd. Particularly if what you do is so left-of-centre that your Nanna nods politely when you try to explain it, you need to educate your prospects, through your blog, on what you’re doing and why they need it.

2. “Everything
that
needs
to
be
said
has
already
been
said.
But,
since
no
one
was
listening,
everything
must
be
said
again”
(Andre
Gide)

3. The
essen@al
star@ng
point
The
essen@al
star@ng
point
for
effec@ve
communica@on
is
to
see
the
situa@on
from
the
point
of
view
of
your
audience.
“How
will
my
audience
receive
this
message?
What
will
they
do
with
this
message?”

4. Miss
Universally-­‐Popular

5. Our
aims:
• To
aJract
our
ideal
clients
to
our
blog
• To
educate
blog
visitors
about
what
we
do,
and
why
we’re
wonderful
(our
value
and
point
of
difference)
• To
convert
blog
readers
into
clients
• To
beJer
retain
exis@ng
clients
and
keep
them
enthused
and
referring
new
business.

6. What
makes
your
business
unique?
You
need
to
know
what
makes
your
business
unique
if
you
are
to
demonstrate
to
your
readers
why
they
should
pay
aJen@on.
What
do
you
do/think
differently?
What
do
you
want
to
be
known
for?
Where
do
you
want
to
go
next?

7. Are
you
Oprah?

8. Exercise:
choose
your
categories
(your
key
blog
topics)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
• 5-­‐7
categories
• Don’t
box
yourself
in
by
being
too
specific
• Make
them
easy
to
understand

9. Different
types
of
blog
posts
o Directly
OR
indirectly
educa@onal
about
your
offerings
o Directly
OR
indirectly
addresses
barriers
to
purchase
o Case
study
by
client
OR
by
you
…
And
…
EPIC
CONTENT

10. People
are
reading
your
blog
because
they
want
to
be:
Informed
Entertained
Inspired

11. Every
single
blog
post
must
be
–
Relevant
Useful
Valuable
…
to
your
Ideal
Client

12. Classic,
or
evergreen
content
(to
fall
back
on)
1. What
are
the
‘classic’
topics
of
your
niche?
2. What
needs
to
change
about
those
topics?
3. What
would
be
so
much
beJer
than
how
things
currently
stand?
4. What
new
perspec@ve
from
a
different
sector
could
you
bring
to
the
topic?
5. What
new
perspec@ve,
or
actude,
could
you
bring
to
the
topic?

14. EPIC
CONTENT
• A
hero
• A
villain
• An
emo@onal
story
arc
• An
inspiring,
meaningful
message

15. THE
RANT
Pay
close
a;en<on
to
repeated
rants!
If
you
find
yourself
repeatedly
ran@ng
on
the
same
topic,
that’s
a
sign
of:
a) Passion
b) A
possible
key
topic
c) An
an@-­‐trend
(others
may
be
thinking
just
like
you)
d) Gecng
crotchety.

16. New
angles
on
old
topics
• Of
the
classic
topics
covered
on
other
blogs,
what
elicits
the
strongest
emo@ons
(for
and
against)
in
the
comments?
• Do
you
agree
or
disagree
with
what’s
currently
being
‘put
out
there’?
• What’s
being
overlooked
in
discussions
and
current
trends
and
why
is
it
important
to
be
addressed?

17. Topical
–
be
quick
(or
well-­‐organised)

19. ‘How
to’
headlines
How
to
[Blank]
and
[Blank]
How
to
[Blank]
Even
If
[Common
Obstacle]
How
to
[Blank]
Without
[Objec@onable
Ac@on]
How
to
[Do
Something]
While
You
[Do
Something
Else]
• How
to
[Do
Something]
That
Your
[Target
Audience]
Will
Love
• How
to
Use
[Blank]
to
[Blank]
• How
to
[Blank]
–
The
Ul@mate
Guide
•
•
•
•

21. Numbered
lists
• Numerals
work
beJer
than
words
(ie:
10
not
ten).
• In
Buffer’s
research,
higher
numbered
lists
(e.g.
“100
ways
to…”)
were
shared
more,
as
were
headlines
that
started
with
a
digit.

22. Simplicity
&
Produc@vity
Hacks
• The
Minimalist
Guide
to
[Aggrava@on]
• 11
Ways
to
Simplify
Your
[Blank]
• 10
Shortcuts
for
[Comple@ng
Tedious
Process]
in
Record
Time
• Get
Rid
of
[Recurring
Problem]
Once
and
for
All
• How
to
[Blank]
in
5
Minutes
• A
Cheat
Sheet
for
[Blank]

24. Fear
and
certainty
• How
Safe
Is
Your
[Valuable
Person/Object]
from
[Threat]?
• The
Shocking
Truth
about
[Blank]
• How
[Blank]
Gamble
with
Your
[Blank]:
7
Ways
to
Protect
Yourself
• 13
Things
Your
[Trusted
Person]
Won't
Tell
You
• 5
LiJle-­‐Known
Factors
That
Could
Affect
Your
[Blank]

25. Fear
and
certainty
“Online
Security:
A
step-­‐by-­‐step
guide
to
keeping
your
business
and
customers
safe”

26. Make
it
relevant!
Address
your
ideal
client
in
your
@tle

27. Create
a
curiousity
gap
“BOOM,
ROASTED:
Here's
Why
You
Don't
Ask
a
Feminist
to
Hawk
Your
Sexist
Product”
• If
it’s
too
vague,
it’s
uninteres@ng
• If
it’s
too
specific,
I
don’t
need
to
click
• Instead,
tease
and
en@ce
your
audience
to
click

29. Consider
power
words
Mother
Dying
Secret
Truth
You/Your
Surprising
Cri<cal
Huge/Big
Failure
Kill
Hurt
Pain
Smart

30. Hooks:
lead
with
the
ac@on
“When
I
tell
people
that
I
eat
dessert
every
single
day,
most
are
surprised.
Many
don’t
believe
me.
Ea@ng
dessert
every
day
without
pucng
on
weight
and
without
feeling
guilty
about
it
is
such
a
foreign
concept
to
most
people.”

31. “When
I
was
21,
I
arrived
in
Bangkok
at
midnight
for
the
first
@me,
with
no
hotel
booked
and
nobody
wai@ng
for
me.
Of
the
eight
million-­‐odd
souls
of
Bangkok,
I
knew
no-­‐one.
I
got
a
taxi
to
the
tourist
area,
found
a
@ny
hotel
down
a
narrow
alleyway,
and
secured
myself
a
dinky
liJle
room
with
a
shared
outside
bathroom.
Then
I
lay
on
that
narrow
bed
and
felt
unbelievably
proud
of
myself.”

32. Hooks:
sta@s@cs
&
research
“Are
Poor
Nego<a<on
Skills
Damaging
Your
Earning
Ability?
Nego<a<on
Tips
for
Women.
According
to
a
study
conducted
by
The
Heat
Group,
over
half
of
Australia’s
women
(55.4%)
believe
they
aren’t
being
paid
the
wage
they
deserve
due
to
poor
nego@a@on
skills.”

33. Headlines
(Write
crap
and
keep
wri@ng
crap,
un@l
you’re
no
longer
wri@ng
crap)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
10.
…
11.
…
12.
…
13.
…
14.
…
15.
…
16.
…
17.
…
18.
…

34. In
summary
‘How
to’
…
Numbered
lists
Simplicity
and
produc@vity
hacks
Fear
and
certainty
Address
your
ideal
client
in
your
headline
Create
a
curiousity
gap
Strike
the
perfect
balance
between
anger
and
happiness
• Consider
your
power
words
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

35. Use
one
big
idea
• What
is
your
main
message?
• Focus
on
just
one
thing
in
your
headline
and
hook.
• Don’t
be
too
clever
in
your
headline
and
hook
as
you
risk
it
not
being
understood.
Save
complexity
for
your
conclusion.

36. Drawing
connec@ons
• ‘You’
• ‘Because’
• Don’t
use
‘set
up’
sentences
that
are
statements
without
arguments,
unless
your
sentences
are
very
short.
(Eg:
“To
be
rooted
in,
move
and
express
from
soul
is
the
ul@mate
experience,
it
is
not
to
be
missed.
When
the
personality
self
surrenders
to
the
guidance
of
soul,
it
has
the
opportunity
to
go
beyond
it’s
self-­‐
imposed
limita@ons
and
truly
experience
being
alive.”)

37. Be
relatable
• Beware
“The
curse
of
knowledge”,
(Chip
&
Dan
Health,
Made
to
S;ck)
–
describe
the
symptom,
its
deeper
source,
and
your
solu@on
in
the
words
of
your
ideal
clients.
• Can
you
use
examples
(your
own,
your
“friend’s”
or
“common
problems
I
see..”)?
• How
can
you
inspire,
engage,
guide
or
lead
without
@pping
into
appearing
condescending,
domineering,
or
smug?
• Some
personal
details
make
you
far
more
relatable.

38. Pick
3
of
your
favourite
headlines
• Flesh
out
the
opening
paragraph,
or
hook
• Write
2-­‐5
subheads
for
each
• Write
a
simple
conclusion
for
each.

39. Building
credibility
• Outside
of
headlines,
avoid
“always”,
“never”
and
hyperbole
• Write
confidently
• Use
sta@s@cs,
technical
details
or
quotes
from
other
people
to
increase
credibility.
Technical
details
enhance
trust
and
make
you
more
convincing.
Include
figures;
be
specific
• (Don’t
break
your
‘flow’
to
supplement
with
technical
details
if
you
can
help
it).

40. Return
to
your
3
blog
‘shells’
• For
each
of
the
3,
write
down:
o
What,
if
any,
data,
research
or
technical
detail
would
improve
this?
o
Who
would
be
a
great
authority
to
interview
on
this
topic?

41. Wri@ng:
web
readability
• Keep
your
paragraphs
short
–
no
more
than
three
sentences
and
some@mes
only
one.
• Use
lots
of
subheads.
These
should
be
able
to
be
scanned
and
will
help
give
your
wri@ng
structure.
• Keep
your
blog
widths
shorter
rather
than
longer
–
about
12
words
per
line
is
op@mal.
• Make
sure
your
mother
doesn’t
have
to
squint
to
read
your
blog
–
increase
font
size!

42. In
summary
…
• Your
headline
and
hook
(opening
sentences)
are
paramount.
Make
this
about
one
big
idea.
Don’t
give
away
too
much.
• Write
it
TO
someone
(your
ideal
client),
use
‘you’
and
be
relatable,
not
obnoxious.
• Make
it
readable
and
able
to
be
scanned
–
short
paragraphs,
subheadings,
large(r)
font.
• Use
data,
technical
detail,
or
quotes
for
credibility.

43. Short-­‐cut!
Guest
blogging
• Before
you
have
much
of
an
audience,
it
makes
far
more
sense
to
guest
blog
rather
than
publishing
on
your
own
blog.
• Guest
blogging
allows
you
to
short-­‐cut
your
blog’s
growth
by
borrowing
another’s
audience.
• Then
you
can
funnel
those
readers
onto
your
blog
and,
once
you
have
a
small
group
of
dedicated
followers,
you
can
ramp
up
the
content
on
your
blog.

44. Why
guest
blog?
• Wri@ng
&
editorial
guidance
(for
free)
from
the
blog
owner
• New
traffic
• New
readers
• New
business
• More
credibility
• Improved
Google
ranking.

48. How
much
naked
is
too
much
naked?

49. Ques@ons
only
you
can
answer
• How
will
this
par@cular
personal
story
likely
be
received
by
my
audience?
• Is
this
personal
story
in
support
of
my
broader
business
story?
• Will
this
story
likely
be
readily
understood
by
a
total
stranger
unfamiliar
with
my
business?
• Who
am
I
likely
to
aJract
by
revealing
this
par@cular
story?
• Am
I
ready
to
receive
responses
(or
deafening
silence)?

50. What’s
your
‘why’?
• If
someone
doesn’t
know
you,
why
should
they
care
about
what
you
have
to
say?
What’s
in
it
for
your
readers?
• You
have
to
con@nually
answer:
why
are
you
doing
what
you’re
doing
and
why
should
people
care?
• Most
people
are
loyal
as
long
as
they
are
finding
the
inspira@on,
educa@on,
or
entertainment
that
originally
drew
them
to
you.

52. Pull
out
5
deeper
issues
your
ideal
client
grapples
with.
Now
match
each
of
these
with
5
specific
outcomes
of
your
offerings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
…
…
…
…
…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
…
…
…
…
…

53. Edi@ng

54. Leave
a
gap
between
wri@ng
&
edi@ng
• Write
blogs
in
batches.
When
you’re
finished,
walk
away.
• Ideally,
leave
edi@ng
for
tomorrow.
• Or,
move
onto
another
task,
take
a
shower,
have
a
cup
of
tea
or
take
a
walk
before
returning
to
edit.

55. Print
out
your
work
• Cri@quing
someone
else’s
work
is
far
easier
than
deconstruc@ng
your
own
because
outside
eyes
bring
a
fresh
perspec@ve.
• Approach
your
own
work
cri@cally
by
simula@ng
this
‘outsider’
perspec@ve
by
viewing
it
in
a
form
other
than
the
one
you
wrote
it
in.
• Print
it.

56. Words
&
phrases
to
avoid
Incen@vise
Diarise
Take-­‐away
Moving
forward
Simply
the
best
The
first
The
only
Try
and
find
(should
be
try
to
find)
Grounded
/
Grounding
Holding
the
space
Transforma@onal
Authen@c
/
Authen@city
Ah-­‐ha!
moment
Enriching
Empowering

57. Look
for
the
hook
• The
‘meat’
of
your
blog
post
may
be
solid,
but
without
a
great
hook,
nobody
will
read
it.
Your
hook
–
your
headline
and
opening
sentences
–
is
your
most
important
part.
• Within
a
sentence,
you
can
order
your
drama,
with
most
important
first.
Each
sentence
should
lead
into
the
next.

58. Cull
and
@ghten
Some@mes
you
have
to
kill
your
babies
When
in
doubt,
leave
out
Cull
the
liJle
words
Cull
extraneous
adjec@ves
If
you
need
a
second
sentence
to
explain
the
first,
you
need
to
rewrite
your
sentence
• Don’t
be
afraid
of
short
sentences.
•
•
•
•
•

59. Listen
for
rhythm
• Read
it
out
loud
(you
can
whisper)
• Listen
for
smooth-­‐sounding
rhythm
• Long
sentences
juxtaposed
with
short
sentences
create
drama
• Listen
for
clunky
syntax.

60. Read
as
your
audience
• You
aren’t
wri@ng
for
you.
• You
aren’t
wri@ng
to
impress
your
mother.
• You
aren’t
wri@ng
to
gain
the
aJen@on
and
admira@on
of
your
colleagues.
• Read
your
blog
post
as
your
Ideal
Client.

61. In
summary
…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Leave
a
gap
between
wri@ng
and
edi@ng
Always
edit
printed
copies
Look
for
the
hook
–
highlight
the
drama
Tighten
your
language
Listen
for
rhythm
Read
as
your
audience.

62. If
your
blog
reader
is
qualified,
why
don’t
they
buy?
Fear
Have
I
made
the
right
decision?
Am
I
was@ng
my
money?
Will
they
deliver
what
they
promise?
Trust
Do
I
respect
this
business?
Are
they
credible?
Do
they
have
my
best
interests
at
heart?

63.
1%
will
buy
Warm
them
up
to
purchasing.
Use
your
blog
posts
to
tell
them
exactly
what
you’re
doing,
why
you’re
doing
it
and
when
the
op@on
to
buy
will
come.
Don't
surprise
people.
Spend
a
long
@me
warming
them
up
to
the
purchase.
Then
…

64. Ask
for
the
sale
• Keep
it
simple.
The
more
confusing
the
call
to
ac@on,
the
less
effec@ve.
Make
the
offer
clear.
Don't
have
any
condi@ons
or
special
rules.
Don't
force
people
to
click
through
to
too
many
pages
to
complete
the
ac@on.
• Make
it
obvious.
Don’t
bury
your
call
to
ac@on
at
the
boJom
of
a
page.
Some
por@on
of
your
website
visitors
are
looking
for
a
call
to
ac@on.
• Don’t
become
someone
else.
If
you’re
excited,
share
that.
If
it’s
par@cularly
useful
for
some
type
of
person
but
not
another,
express
that.

65. Mistake
#1
Stopping
o Create
a
schedule
and
commit
o Have
content
in
reserve
o Keep
revisi@ng
your
‘why’
to
ensure
it’s
relevant
o If
it’s
no
longer
relevant,
change
it
up.
It’s
your
business
a{er
all
o Time
is
a
luxury,
especially
in
marke@ng

66. Mistake
#2
Overlooking
promo@ng
and
networking
o Set
up
a
process
for
promo@ng
each
and
every
post
o Be
generous
sharing,
credi@ng,
and
linking
to
others
o Invest
@me
every
week
into
mee@ng
people
online
(and
off).

67. Mistake
#3
Being
conserva@ve
o All
progress
happen
through
short-­‐cuts
and
leaps
o Make
boldness
part
of
your
business
strategy.

68. Mistake
#4
Listening
to
the
nay-­‐sayers
o Forget
about
trying
to
please
everyone
o When
we
“dare
greatly”,
when
we
are
personal
and
vulnerable
and
take
chances,
we’ll
be
inadvertently
holding
a
very
uncomfortable
mirror
up
to
some
people
o Some
people
will
be
dying
to
watch
us
fail
to
confirm
that
it’s
best
to
maintain
the
status
quo.

69. Links
are
currency
on
the
internet
Gecng
search
engine
traffic
isn’t
about
keywords.
It’s
not
even
about
blog
posts.
It’s
about
crea@ng
something
so
amazing
everyone
talks
about
it
and
links
to
it.
So
do
that.

70. Write
every
day
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wri@ng
is
a
discipline.
It
needs
to
be
exercised
Edi@ng
is
where
the
magic
happens
Brevity
is
a
courtesy
Be
bold
Don’t
be
boring
Don’t
worry
about
upsecng
people.

71. Fight
through
writer’s
block
• How
can
you
let
a
blank
page
scare
you?
Fill
it.
• Pay
aJen@on
to
your
rants.
Ask
yourself:
o
Why
do
I
care?
o In
an
ideal
world,
what
would
happen?
o
What
would
Tyler
Durden
do?

72. Read
• This
is
non-­‐nego@able
• Be
discerning.

73. Invest
in
thinking
@me
• What
can
you
say
‘no’
to
so
you
can
say
‘yes’
to
thinking,
wri@ng
and
blogging?
• Wri@ng
requires
considerable
thinking
@me.
Luckily,
you
can
combine
thinking
with
other
ac@vi@es!
(Par@cularly
exercise.)
• You
need
@me
to
think
to
develop
your
insights
and
opinions
otherwise
you’ll
just
be
regurgita@ng
what
everyone
else
says.

74. YogaReach.com.au
Facebook.com/YogaReach
TwiJer.com/YogaReach
YouTube.com/YogaReach