Susan B. Weiner's Blog, page 74
October 22, 2013
Reader challenge: What mistakes did this social media newbie make?
“I tried social media for more than a year, but I didn’t get any results. So I quit.” This is what one advisor told me when we chatted at a conference. The advisor said he had robust content, including a blog. Also, after listening to the FPA Experience panel, he wondered if he should shift from tweeting financial content to tweeting his dining choices and yoga classes.
What do YOU think?
I realize you lack sufficient details to analyze this advisor’s situation — me too, I don’t even know his first name — but if you spend much time on social media, you probably know the kind of mistakes that advisors make.
What would you suggest this advisor try before abandoning social media forever?
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Copyright 2013 by Susan B. Weiner
All rights reserved
This content may not be reposted without the author’s written permission.
The post Reader challenge: What mistakes did this social media newbie make? appeared first on Susan Weiner's Blog on Investment Writing.
October 17, 2013
Finding your article’s focus with Roy Peter Clark
Identifying their focus is one of the biggest challenges for many of my blogging class students. I try to help them by asking “What problem do you solve for your readers?” I found additional helpful techniques in the “I don’t know what my story is really about” chapter of Roy Peter Clark’s Help! for Writers: 210 Solutions to the Problems Every Writer Faces. I discuss some of them in this post.
1. “Write a six-word theme statement.”
If your idea requires more than six words, it may be too big. A six-word theme may still be too broad. For example, consider “More women than men reach ninety,” one of Clark’s sample themes. However, at least it provides a starting point.
My theme for this blog post is “Tips to focus your articles.”
There are two ways to use your theme. First, as inspiration for your article. Write to explain your theme.
Second, use it to narrow your article. Pare away anything that doesn’t relate to your theme.
2. “Cut the elements least supportive of your focus.”
Use your best material and lose the rest. As Clark says,
Not all evidence is equal. If you can identify the weakest evidence, what is left—your strongest stuff—can support a sharp focus.
The saying “less is more” often applies to articles, blog posts, and more. By deleting flabby evidence, you sharpen your main focus.
Clark lists eight characteristics that make evidence weak. Two of them often apply to financial pieces.
“It will appear in the story only because of your interest in it.”
“It is impossible to write it clearly and quickly for a general audience.”
The next time you read a poorly written post, ask yourself if it suffers from #1 or #2.
……
3. Use the funnel
Putting your ideas through a metaphorical funnel may also help. As Clark suggests on his book’s back cover:
See your work in the form of a funnel. You pour everything in at the top, but as the funnel narrows, you must become more selective, reaching a point where you can leave things out with confidence.
Alternatively, think of yourself as a sculptor with a block of marble. Only by cutting away stone can you reveal your masterpiece.
How do YOU find your focus?
There are many ways to identify the focus of an article, blog post, or other written communication. What’s your favorite technique?
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Receive Investment Writing Top Tips, a free e-book with client communications tips, when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.
Copyright 2013 by Susan B. Weiner
All rights reserved
This content may not be reposted without the author’s written permission.
The post Finding your article’s focus with Roy Peter Clark appeared first on Susan Weiner's Blog on Investment Writing.
October 15, 2013
My big newsletter mistake’s lesson for you
When’s the best day and time to send your e-newsletters? My January mistake upset my beliefs about this topic.
My usual routine and its rationale
I usually send out my monthly newsletter around 8:15 a.m. on the first non-holiday Tuesday of the month. I send it early in the day because my Constant Contact statistics indicate that many people open it before 9 a.m. I figure they get to work early. I’m happy to make it easy for them to read before they’re distracted by work.
I picked Tuesday because I’ve read that people are distracted on Mondays and Fridays as they start and end their workweeks.
I publish on a consistent schedule because I’ve read that your audience values consistency. They want to rely on receiving your content regularly.
However, I skip holiday Tuesdays because I figure my audience reads me at work. I hope you’re not checking email on holidays.
My mistake: Sunday delivery
I made my mistake in haste after proofreading my letter the Sunday before my usual Tuesday in January 2013. I forgot to schedule my newsletter instead of letting it default to sending immediately.
Oh horror! I imagined my newsletter languishing unopened in hundreds of email inboxes. I was extra mad at myself because this newsletter was most of my subscribers’ last reminder about registering for my blogging class. I probably cursed out loud that afternoon.
The surprising results
But lo and behold! Over the following days, my newsletter hit its usual level of subscribers opening it. I didn’t suffer at all for sending it at the “wrong” time.
What a relief! I don’t need to freak out the next time my newsletter deviates from its usual schedule. However, I plan to return to my usual schedule because it’s good discipline for me.
What’s the point?
My experience convinced me that Scott Stratten, who tweets as @unmarketing, was right when he said in “The best time never to send email” that “The best time to never send email is when someone else told you to” because what matters is what recipients do when they receive your emails.
On the other hand, Michael Katz of Blue Penguin Development may be right that there are bad times, but no best times to send your emails, as he suggested in “Why Today is a Bad Day to Publish Your Newsletter.”
What works for you?
I’m curious about your results from sending e-newsletters at different times. Do some times work better than others for you?
______________________________________________________________________
Receive Investment Writing Top Tips, a free e-book with client communications tips, when you sign up for my free monthly newsletter.
Copyright 2013 by Susan B. Weiner
All rights reserved
This content may not be reposted without the author’s written permission.
The post My big newsletter mistake’s lesson for you appeared first on Susan Weiner's Blog on Investment Writing.
