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The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide

Blogger

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of writing guides out there. But in my opinion, none surpass the simple, direct advice of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B.White.

This classic serves up much good advice, especially in the last 20 pages in a section titled “An Approach to Style.” Nowhere have I seen more helpful advice in so few words and with such precision. This is why I always keep this book within reach.

If (for shame) you don’t already have this reference in your library, I will leave it to you to explore it in depth. But I would like to provide my own version of eight important writing tips as they apply to blogging.

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12 Tips for “Psychological Selling”

psychology

Many copywriting and marketing gurus teach simplistic ideas about psychology. They insist that people can be fully understood and manipulated with a checklist of motivators or pyramid of needs.

What nonsense! I can’t even figure out why the guy at the pet store puts 75 cat food cans in one bag and a tiny box of treats in another so that I lurch to my car leaning to one side. How can I possibly summarize human psychology in a few bullet points?

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How to Profit From Testimonials…
Even With No Testimonials!

Opportunity

So far in this series, we’ve discussed why testimonials are so powerful, how to collect testimonials with my “SPURF” system, and 10 ways to make your testimonials work harder.

But what if you don’t have testimonials? What if you need other ways to give your credibility a boost?

No problem.

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10 Quick and Simple Ways to Power Up Your Customer Testimonials

Ten

When we were kids, my friends and I made up a game we called “Made You Look.” Three or four of us would get fairly close together – in a shopping plaza, on the street, or anywhere there were lots of people – and look up as if we saw something incredible.

It would never fail. Passers-by would glance up to see what we were looking at. Some would stop and stand there for half a minute trying to discern the object of our attention. And the more of us doing it, the more people would look. One time in New York City, we did this with a dozen cohorts and virtually stopped traffic on Broadway.

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How to Collect Tons of Testimonials
with the Secret “SPURF” System

Testimonial

In the world of selling, you can use testimonials – among other techniques – to take advantage of the principle of “Social Proof.” According to this principle, all of us look to others to help us decide how to act. The more people doing it, the more correct it seems.

I illustrated this idea recently in part 1 of this series, Testimonials and Teenagers Whizzing in the Bushes: The Power of Social Proof.

Few people, however, make an effort to collect testimonials and keep them on file. So let’s look at a simple system I’ve developed to gather testimonials from your customers.

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Testimonials and Teenagers Whizzing in the Bushes: The Power of Social Proof

Teenager

Testimonials add power to your copy. How? Let me answer that question by telling you a little story about a rabble of bladder-challenged teenagers whizzing in the bushes along an Interstate near my home.

Trust me. There’s a connection.

You see, some time ago, my wife and I were on our way to a party when traffic slowed to a standstill along a stretch of highway. Nine out of ten cars were filled with teenagers, so I quickly concluded that there was a concert at the nearby arena and that the ill-designed off ramp was clogged.

Fortunately, the wait paid off with unexpected entertainment.

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