Content Mastery Guide

The Art of Writing Clear Instructions (or How to Tell People What to Do)

If you're a coach or other service-based business owner, you may not think writing instructions is very important - after all, you're not selling technical gadgets or furniture with "some assembly required."

The truth is that your clients, prospective clients, readers and website visitors absolutely need clear instructions from you! After all, the whole premise of content marketing is that you are providing valuable information about how to solve their unique problems.

A common format for blog posts and articles is to present a topic and then include some actionable steps at the end to help your reader apply their learning. Here are a few ways you might do this:

• Reflection: Ask your readers to ponder or consider the new idea or perspective you shared with them, and how they might integrate it into their lives.
• Journaling: Ask your readers to write about the topic. You can provide specific questions for them to answer, or invite them to ask and answer their own questions.
• Rehearsal: Ask your readers to practice a new behavior, habit, thought pattern or language. Suggest how many times per day or week they should do it, and in which specific situation(s).
• Action: Ask your readers to take a specific action or actions. Suggest how many times per day or week they should do it, and in which specific situation(s).
• Documenting: Ask your readers to keep track of their progress; give them a checklist to mark off their actions or ask them to record it in a journal. You may also ask them to keep track of their results, feelings or thoughts during this process.
• Reporting: Ask your readers to share their results with you, your community or an  accountability partner.

Tips for writing clear instructions

• Limit each list item or sentence to one action (for more details, join us on January 13th for the free call, How to Write a Better List)
• Give your readers an idea of how long to spend on each exercise
• Separate any commentary about the exercise so it's not mixed in with the list of instructions
• Use a numbered list if the order and number of steps is important; otherwise, use a bullet list
• Walk through the instructions several times yourself, from your readers' perspective
• Ask volunteers from your target market to test your instructions

Some of the above material was adapted from Chapter 23 of The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write. The Guide also contains similar writing guidelines for other common writing projects.

Clear instructions are also crucial when you're writing your blogsite pages, to help people navigate your site and especially to take the next step to work with you.

When you take the time to write clear instructions, you increase the chances of helping your reader apply their learning. After getting such good results from your ideas, they will come back for more. And when they're ready to go to the next level, you'll be right there.

P.S. I searched online and found some more fun and helpful tips from Dennis Jerz, who uses the lyrics of the song Coconut ("You put the lime in the coconut...") as a teaching point in his blog post, Instructions: How to Write for Busy, Grouchy People.

 

Reviewing 2010 and Preparing for 2011

One of my holiday projects has been to finish moving my Genuine Coaching Services website to its new home.

I've really enjoying reviewing the materials I created to support my self-care coaching clients, many of whom were creative artists.

I first published this year-end review exercise in 2005. This week, I decided to go back to my coaching roots and follow my own original instructions.

Here are just a few of the gifts I am celebrating from 2010:

• Witnessing as my cousin's daughter become a Bat Mitzvah in April - the entire family worked very hard to prepare and the service was such a beautiful tribute to their love and dedication.
• Turning 40 in August, and also celebrating with my friend Candace when she turned 40 in January (see photo below).
• Attending the inaugural Wealthy Thought Leader event with Andrea J. Lee in Vancouver, BC, and hanging out with so many amazing thought leaders, including my former coaches Mark Silver and Charlie Gilkey, and friends and colleagues Sandra, Alicia, Marcy, Karri, Tia, Jeremie, Glenda, Leesa and so many others!
• Finishing my book Write Your Way to More Clients Online.
• Receiving so much love and support through Chyna's illness. I was grateful when Chyna sent the message that it was time to share my love with another greyhound, and that GINA worked so quickly to bring my next perfect match. I continue to be humbled and strengthened by lessons of patience and acceptance as Patch continues to adjust to his new life away from the race track.
• Harnessing the power of Twitter to meet like-minded business owners in my new hometown of Barrie - before I even arrived!
• Moving into this beautiful home

---

Celebrate your own gifts with this simple three-step exercise from the Genuine Coaching Services website.

You may also be interested in the free 5-part e-course Why Resolutions Don't Work (and what to do instead).

Here is a photo of Candace's birthday lunch from January 2010:

Choose Your Words Carefully (Lessons from My Morning Meditation)

What are you building with your words?

This question occurred to me after my morning meditation session. I was reflecting on how I could be most useful today, and I decided to get some help from a new iPhone/iPad coaching app that I recently discovered.

ThinkPal is designed to "kick-start your creativity and unearth new perspectives," by delivering a series of random coaching questions that you can apply to any topic. The one I clicked to this morning asked, "What are you building?"

That led to some powerful insights as I reflected on how the actions I choose to take today could intersect with what I want to be building in my business and my life.

Then I wondered how the question might help you, and this blog post was born.

What you DON'T want to be building

Here's what you may be unintentionally building with the words you write on the web:

• Overwhelm - By trying to pack too much into one article or post, you may be creating confusion instead of clarity
• Doubt - Overwhelm and confusion can lead your readers to doubt themselves (and you!)
• Distance - If you're using a lot of jargon or technical language in order to sound smart, your readers may feel that you're talking down to them
• Disrespect - Too many typos, misused words or grammatical errors will have your readers questioning your professionalism and capabilities

What you DO want to be building

Here's what you may be intentionally building with your online messages:

• Insights - Just like the ThinkPal app brought me new insights this morning, your writing has the power to inspire the same for your readers
• Understanding - You can help someone grasp a concept that's new to them - even if it's obvious or old news to you
• Action - By building insight and understanding, you guide and inspire your readers to take action
• Suspense - Michael J. Katz's writing provides a stellar example of suspense and other story-telling techniques that help you engage your reader

Will you help me finish this post?

I thought of some other examples, but I wanted to leave room here for YOUR thoughts: What are you trying to build when you write a new blog post? What results have you gotten? What have you built with your blog? Please enter your comments below.

Three Ways that Blogging Improves Your Customer Service

When you publish new content on a consistent basis, it encourages you to continually ask the question: What is my ideal client looking for now? And how about now?

You'll get new answers all the time - and that also means more new ideas for your blog posts.

Customer service benefit #1: When you approach blogging with the intention of meeting your clients' needs in each moment, it will ripple through the rest of your business. Your services are bound to be more relevant, and your delivery more effective.

Earlier, I wrote that if you want to write more, read more. Specifically, read blogs, articles, books, reports and websites about your specialty area. Don't forget these important sources - often free and right at your fingertips - when you're planning your continuing education and professional development for 2011.

Customer service benefit #2: When you immerse yourself in the current voices of your industry and/or your clients' industry, you will be able to share the latest and greatest ideas, tools and resources with your clients and readers.

"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." (I've seen this quote attributed to both Theodore Roosevelt and John Maxwell.) Swooping in once a month to write a brilliant thought leadership post doesn't do much to show that you care.

Instead, stick around through the month with a variety of posts, and take part in conversations via the comments section and/or social media.

Customer service benefit #3: When you publish new content consistently, several times a month (or more), you demonstrate to your readers and clients that you are committed to their development and success.

Although you will not meet or even speak to everyone who visits your blog, it is a natural place to express your commitment to customer service. Yet another benefit of blogging!

Drill Your Way to Better Blog Content

You have great information to share, that will help people and make a difference in their lives. Writing high-quality content and publishing it consistently is a good start, but it's not enough. You also need to make sure your content is seen, read and absorbed by as many people as possible.

It's important to recognize that people have different reading styles. Some prefer to skim for an overview of the topic (they may come back for a closer look) and others like to delve deeper.

For that reason, I like to use the drill-down writing strategy, where you start out with a broad overview of a topic, and then drill down in subsequent pieces (I mentioned this in a post of tips for writing your website pages).

This strategy helps me achieve three important goals:

1. Reach more readers - By publishing a variety of content in different styles, it's more likely that my visitors will find something that suits them.
2. Solve writer's block - By expanding on articles I've already written, I always have a starting point for my next article.
3. Focus my writing - By recognizing which phase of the drilling process I'm in (see below), I can guide myself to either stay broad or to hone in on one main topic and its supporting points.

Time for some drilling!

How to drill down your blog posts

While not every blog post will fit into this model, these simple strategies could keep you busy for a long time!

Phase One - Choose a relevant topic that addresses a key problem your ideal client is grappling with. Then craft a broad overview of the topic (e.g., Ten Leadership Strategies You May Have Overlooked). A top 10 list is a great format for this phase, or you could write a thought leadership post.

Phase Two - Drill down and expand on some or all of the elements you discussed in Phase One (e.g., if listening was one of the skills on your list, you could expand it into Listening Skills for Effective Leadership). Mix and match your article formats, or choose a unified structure and present the collection as a series. BONUS: Compile all of these pieces into one flagship product. I did this with Ten Ways to Thrive as a Creative Artist.

Phase Three - Dig a little deeper. Find another aspect of the same topic (or a related topic) and start again (e.g., Essential Listening Skills for Work and Home).

When you balance your blog with posts that accommodate different learning styles and preferences, you'll keep things more interesting for you and your readers!

Blog + Pages = Blogsite - Simple Writing Tips for Your Blogsite Pages

Last week on Content Mastery Action Day, an Action Club member asked me about turning her blog into a website (or "blogsite"). The process is as simple as adding pages, and yet simple is not easy.

I can't finish my website because I don't know what to write

This same problem has plagued so many talented business owners, resulting in "Coming Soon," screens or blogs/websites with the address: "www.butpleasedontgotherebecauseitsnotfinishedyet.com."

Inside, this creates a sense of pressure, embarrassment or even shame, and that can seep into your confidence level about all aspects of your business.

Outside, this creates the impression that your business itself is undeveloped, under construction or temporary.

You can build a website around your expert content

Hopefully you've been concentrating on writing relevant, masterful content and publishing it on a blog. That blog is a great place to create or enhance your online presence with the most current details about your business vision.

Take your blog, add some pages and voilà! You have a blogsite (blog/website hybrid) you can easily update.

On most popular blogging platforms such as Typepad (the one I use and recommend) or WordPress, adding a new page is as simple as adding a new post. Check with your VA, designer or other web specialist for more details.

Simple writing tips for your key blogsite pages

Writing your About page - We covered this topic in last week's call, Writing an Online Bio. Action Club members can download the recording, handout and worksheet from last week's call. The key to an effective About page is to put yourself in your visitors' shoes and imagine what they need to know about you in order to take the next step in your relationship.

Writing your Services page - On your main Services page, give a broad description of each service, with the option to click through to more detailed pages for each individual offer. This gives everyone an overview without overwhelming someone who is just exploring. Want an even simpler option? Suggest that visitors contact you for the details. You can always add those detailed pages later. This is about getting it done!

Writing your Contact page - To minimize spam (unwanted email), use a contact form (such as Wufoo like I use on my site, Contact 7 for WordPress or a Google Docs form) instead of displaying your email address. Visitors can fill in their contact details along with their questions or comments, and it is sent to you just like an email. Include a postal address and phone number on your Contact page to enhance your trustworthiness as a "real person." 

Writing your Welcome/Landing page - To welcome your reader to your blogsite - perhaps for the first time - I suggest you write a specific message for them (versus your latest blog post). Again, put yourself in your visitors' shoes and help them know they are in the right place.

You can either create a "featured" blog post that will always display at the top, or you can set up your blogsite so that visitors to www.yoursite.com will "land" on a Welcome page.

Later, you may want to branch out into some other optional pages where you can promote your special programs and events, products or free resources. 

For now, starting with these four simple pages will turn your blog into a blogsite, building on your expert content and solidifying your blog as the home base or "hub" of your online presence.

 

Barrie Author Opens Online Club to Help Business Owners With Dreaded Task

For Immediate Release

Linda Dessau, author of Write Your Way to More Clients Online, helps business owners write blog posts. Her Content Mastery Action Club meets monthly by phone for an "Action Day" of learning and writing. In between, members can access a library of resource materials as well as editing services.

A recent HubSpot study shows that companies that blog attract 55% more website visitors than non-blogging companies (source: http://bit.ly/blog-study). That's no surprise to Dessau. "People are online everyday looking for solutions to their problems," she explains, "Service businesses are uniquely positioned to publish quality information to fill that need. And in the process, they build trust, credibility and relationships with prospective clients."

It's called content marketing, and Dessau has been doing it since 2003. In fact, she has met the vast majority of her editing and writing clients through her own content marketing efforts.

Not everyone sees the same results. "Today anyone can instantly publish new content online, and that's both a blessing and a curse." Dessau warns that content marketing can work against you if prospective clients are turned off by typos or confusing grammatical errors.

She recommends that business bloggers proofread carefully, reading each post out loud before publishing. Members of her Action Club can have their new blog posts professionally edited each month, providing both accountability and peace of mind.

"Under Linda’s guidance, I feel much more focused, relaxed, original and organized, and less overwhelmed about the writing process," shares Action Club member Joellyn Wittenstein Schwerdlin, "I now have the confidence to expand my once-a-month newsletter to 4-5 monthly blog posts, which I'm planning for 2011."

Action Days happen on the second Thursday of every month, and new members are admitted all month long at http://www.contentmasteryguide.com/actionclub.html.

###

For more information:

Web: http://www.contentmasteryguide.com/actionclub.html
Email: linda [at] contentmasteryguide.com
Phone: 705-737-3491

Linda Dessau is an editor, writer and writing coach, certified by the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). She created the "You Talk, I'll Write" service in July 2005 to combine her passion for coaching with her gift for writing. She launched ContentMasteryGuide.com in May 2010.

How to Write a Blog Post, Part 4: The connecting post

Writing connecting posts helps you to grow your network, build relationships with prospective clients and establish yourself as a trusted resource.

A big part of its appeal is that when you write a connecting post (I've called it a "connective piece" earlier on this blog) you don't have to start from scratch with a blank page or brand new idea.

Instead, you're connecting the dots for your readers (Andrea J. Lee calls it "being their Google") between:

• A personal story and a business lesson
• Your current post and a previous post
• Someone else's post and your own post
• A client's story and your reader's situation

How to write a connecting blog post

• Keep up with the news - To find relevant blog posts to share or potential guest authors to invite, try setting up Google Alerts, a Twitter search tool or a blog reader. I also suggest you commit some of your article writing time to following your mouse around the blogosphere to see what you can find. (Note: That includes your own site - look for posts you can comment on or rewrite from a fresh perspective.)
• Make the content your own (even when it isn't) - Whether you're sharing a link, posting a guest article or describing a client's triumphant success, include an introduction or explanation. Show how the content relates to your blog's mission, which is (hopefully) to solve the unique problems of your ideal clients.
• Review your week - Look to your Inbox, telephone calls and personal adventures for stories and examples of the topics you write about in your blog. Grant yourself the license to make some creative connections.

There are going to be some days when you just don't have any new content in you. And there will be other days when someone else just said it better. With connecting posts, you can keep blogging anyway, adding some variety and spice to your own mountain of content.

---

How to Write a Blog Post, Part 1: The "how to" post
How to Write a Blog Post, Part 2: The personal post
How to Write a Blog Post, Part 3: The thought leadership post