OVBlogger: Blogging and SEO

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How do you like that title? Kicky. Weird.

Kind of me, right?

I mean, I put a lot of Pat Marcello into this blog. Sometimes, I’m serious, but even then, I put my own weird twist (hence the pretzel reference) on things. I make the pretzel (or in this case the post) mirror how I speak and act. I feel that writing in my blog is like talking to a friend.

Do you know how important that is?

Not everyone will like me or my style. That’s OK. Understood. No hard feelings. Go read a blog that you do enjoy, written by a person you like. THAT’S WHAT BLOGS ARE FOR.

Yes, blogs are great when they’re imparting information, no doubt about it. But if you don’t present it in a way that people enjoy and can clearly understand, you won’t have many readers.

Case in point:

There’s a guy who’s pretty smart when it comes to social marketing and he’s doing a lot of blogging and promoting of his stuff recently. He gives some very good information, and I totally appreciate it. But…

His writing style SUCKS! He’s not just stiff, he’s uninteresting, and totally unclear. I have to read his posts twice or more just to figure out what he’s really trying to say. And I’ll tell you what… No matter how much great information he gives, I’m about ready to leave his feed. I just want to shake him and say, “BE Yourself!”

But then, I don’t really know the guy. Maybe he is that way all the time, but I doubt it. I sense a fear of failure in his writing style. He definitely thinks he’s a bad writer with good information. And that attitude makes his assumption true.

Write the way you would speak. Use contractions. Use slang and depending on your target audience, use the jargon that we use when we’re talking to each other. Writing in your blog should be just like having a conversation with your audience.

And some people won’t like it.

People have told me to quit using slang because it would be easier for them to read. I’m guessing they are international readers, and I welcome them! But I’m sorry guys, I can’t change the way I think and speak which leads to the way I write.

When I was writing reference biographies for Greenwood Press, that was a lot different. I had to write at a college level with very specific language. I couldn’t use contractions. I had to “sound” literary and academic.

Bleh! I’d rather be Pat Marcello and write what comes out of my head.

If you like what I write… Stick around!  I’m just getting warmed up.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Vacations are great, aren’t they? I mean, you get some downtime. You do stuff you can’t do when you’re working, like take a nap in the middle of the day. Very sweet. I did that twice.

Vacations also good for reading. I love to read, and read at least two or three books at a time.

While I was off last week, I read a book for the second time. I don’t often do that. T. Harv Eker and Frank Herbert are two of the few authors I’ve reread over time. But I’ve just added Roy H. Williams to that short list when I reread his The Wizard of Ads. It’s an awesome book, and one that Tellman turned me on to.

In it, Williams talks about advertising, about getting under the surface to find the real stuff, and he teaches you in surreptitious ways. That sneaky guy. When he sells you something, you won’t even know it.  His series of autobiographical anecdotes are interesting and endearing. And, he’s fun. I really love that book.

You see, he doesn’t really talk much about the down and dirty of where to put your deck copy and how many bullets a long-copy sales letter should have; he shows you things in a way that you will remember. He tells you stories.

I had a comment about my “frivolous” style today, and I’ll agree that my style is a tad fanciful. I’m a little wackier than the average serious businessperson and I write some stuff the way I do because I’m slowly moving into that realm of life. Any story will do.

But aside from the now and then serious banter, rather than bore an audience, I’d prefer to be like Roy H. Williams. I like to have fun, and if you’re not having fun with me, well… you’re missing my point.

And that’s OK…

You may totally hate my style, think I’m a twit, and run far, far away. That’s cool. You aren’t one of my people. You don’t get me. And to tell the truth, I probably wouldn’t get you, either.

Oh, well.

But if you enjoy learning and not even noticing that you are, I’m suggesting here that you try The Wizard of Ads. Even if you don’t learn anything, I know you’ll enjoy it.

Popularity: 33% [?]