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A Professional Writer Shares His Relationship Building Secrets. |
By:
Martin Avis |
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Or ... write from the heart to build relationships with the minds.
Building a relationship with a largely anonymous list of people who have randomly subscribed to your ezine or newsletter sounds like a hard challenge. In fact, it is much easier than you may think. Of course, you'll need to demonstrate a few character traits in the things you write. For example, you won't get far unless your honesty and ethics are unquestionable. Reliability and trust are the foundation of any good relationship and you'll need to build on them with charm and empathy for your reader's feelings. Add in a generous sprinkle of outspokenness and the ability to keep your writing newsworthy and current and you have a winning combination. Not all of these factors come naturally to everyone, but learning them is vital.
However, there are important factors that you can learn to put you ahead of the crowd as far as building great relationships with your readers is concerned. This is my own take on some of them that you can start doing right away.
The first and foremost secret is to never think about your readers as a list. 'List' is way too anonymous. You can't ever build a relationship with a list - relationships are for people.
When I sit down to write Kickstart Today, I never write to a list. I write to Richard, who I met for the first time at a seminar and who sent me a Christmas card. I write to Pearson, who started out as a subscriber and soon became a close mate. I write to Margaret, who sends me lovely emails. I write to my daughter, who reads Kickstart at work.
Keeping the image of one person in your mind is easy. Your writing becomes more of a conversation. And the more you write the easier it gets because readers will naturally write to you with comments and you can then keep them in mind as you answer them.
Then, the funny thing is that I get emails from all kinds of other people saying 'how did you know that that was *exactly* what I wanted to hear?' Like astrological star signs there are only so many problems to go round. Write about one and you'll resonate with hundreds of people.
Everybody loves to eavesdrop, but the reality is by writing one-to-one, everyone will think you are writing to them personally. But as soon as you write one-to-many, it becomes impersonal and bland.
Well-meaning experts, who often pontificate about online writing techniques, love to trot out a couple of 'truths':
1. Eliminate the I's and Me's and maximize the 'you's'.
2. Sell something to your list every message to 'train' them to be more receptive.
Forget it! Neither will help you build relationships with your readers.
Ask yourself this question: when did you last establish a relationship with a text book? The much quoted ratio of one 'I' to every five 'you's' will lead you to a style of writing that may be informative, but is not personal. As well as the good information you have to provide, your readers want to know about you and your life - witness the rise in popularity of blogs.
Many years of writing over 800 editions of my newsletters has taught me that readers expect the core information - the things that your newsletter is supposed to be about - but thoroughly enjoy the real-life stories about family, health and visits to the movies. The stuff that relates to their own lives is what brings in the most response.
A good newsletter is like a soap opera - it draws the reader into the life of the writer and makes him or her eager to know more.
Talking about the everyday personal things that happen in your life is how to build a relationship with your list - one person at a time, because the same things are happening in your reader's lives. Each time your life compares with one of your reader's experiences, resonance happens and you've found another soul mate.
The other advice - that you should attempt to sell something with every communication - needs a very special kind of writer to manage successfully.
I know of a few newsletters that manage it to perfection - and the readers hardly realize they've been sold to - but most just come across as pushy and spammy.
In my own newsletters, I've always stuck to the principle that I only recommend things I've used myself and can honestly say are worth the money. If that means I only recommend something every few weeks, so be it. At least my readers know that the recommendations, when they do come, are heartfelt. And I believe my response rates bear out my policy!
Frequency of publication is another factor to consider that can affect your relationship building with your readers.
A monthly ezine will have a harder job building a positive personal relationship than a weekly. And in my view, even a weekly is hard to build a close relationship with.
As you develop as a writer you'll find it easier to write more often. You don't need to write huge newsletters every time - it is the frequency of contact that matters, not the length of your prose! So long as you are interesting and amusing you can publish every day if you like. Just don't become boring!
I still get dozens of emails whenever I skip an issue!
It goes without saying that over-use of other people's writing in your newsletter can damage your relationship building if you aren't careful.
Which brings me to content. Many people still think that a newsletter can be a mish-mash of guest articles. I'm sorry to have to tell you that that particular model stopped working well several years ago. Now, your readers want to hear what you think, what you have to say, what your experiences are. And to provide them with that you've got to sit down and learn to write.
And while we are talking about writing, try to unlearn most of what you've been taught about grammar. You are not writing for your English teacher, you should be writing like you are talking to a close friend.
The kind of writing that really builds relationships sounds natural when you read it out loud. Sentences start with and, words are contracted and the tone is informal.
All of which brings us right back to the start: write as if you are talking to one person, keep it honest and personal and remember that you are not writing to a list, you are communicating with a friend. Relationship building is best done one person at a time.
Our relationship starts the instant you subscribe to Kickstart Today. Kickstart Today brings inspiration and motivation to your day. From famous quotations to the latest news from the world of Interenet marketing. From personal development tips to reviews of the latest moves - you'll never be bored! This and other unique content 'relationship building' articles are available with free reprint rights.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article53719.html |
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