by  

Get an Evergreen for Your Blog
This Holiday Season

image of evergreen branch

In the darkest depths of winter, an evergreen is comforting. No matter how cold it gets, how much snow covers the ground, or how badly the family dinner turns out, those green branches are always there, offering beauty and reassurance.

Evergreen blog posts are just as valuable. We bookmark and read them over and over again to inspire us, comfort us, and remind us of the basics. We all have half a dozen favorites knocking around somewhere, and the popular blogs helpfully direct you to those posts time and again. They know that on your dark days, what you really want is the friendly comfort of an evergreen.

So why doesn’t your blog have any?

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

What a Bestselling Author Can Teach You
About Hooking Your Readers

image of fishing hook

Pulled away. Distracted by twitter, e-mail, FaceBook. Every reader has it happen several times a day. Will your readers be any different?

Not unless you hook them.

And the secret to hooking your readers comes from the storytellers of the world.

A storyteller can’t rely on the copywriter’s standby WIIFM, because, well, the only thing that’s in it for the audience is the storyteller’s ability to engage their interest.

That’s why they’ve made an art of hooking the reader, and why screenwriting guru Robert McKee has crystallized that art into one key lesson.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

5 Essential Blogging Tips from the
Father of Chinese Philosophy

image of Chinese calligraphy

Confucius, the father of Confucianism, died more than 2500 years ago, but his teachings are still relevant — not least when it comes to blogging.

Here are five classic Confucian quotes that are vital to remember if you want a successful blog.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

10 Surprising Books That Will
Transform Your Writing

image of antique books

You don’t have to look far to find a list of the best books a writer should read. A benefit for new writers, no doubt.

Unfortunately, those of us who have been around for a number of years often own every book that tends to make these lists.

Not only do we own them, we’ve absorbed them into our bloodstream.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the list changed from year to year.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

The First Rule of Copyblogger

image of a man throwing a punch

Are you guilty of spamducation?

Spamducation is a white paper, special report, video, podcast or manifesto that claims to solve a pressing reader problem, but is in fact a thinly disguised ad. Jon Stribling describes them as “compelling headlines and disappointing content written by amateurs or second-rate copywriters.”

The content is too often a lame version of work done by a real expert. (You know, someone who cared enough about the topic to actually learn a lot about it.)

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer
by  

10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy

image of a magnet

Whether it’s a cover letter for your resume, a sales pitch to a client, a blog post, a Twitter tweet, or an internal business proposal, all of us need to write in a way that draws the reader closer to us.

We need writing that’s compelling, interesting, and unique. We need writing that’s magnetic.

Some think that magnetic writing is all about talent. But a few simple techniques can make any piece of writing more compelling.

[ Continue Reading... ]

Buffer