Category: writing

Write Like Yourself

~ Jordan Peters ~ 55 Comments

Let’s face it: most people can’t write their way out of a paper bag. Further, most bloggers are boring, most journalists are so heavily edited that any personality they’ve added to a story has long since been weaned out by the editorial process.

I want to let you in on a secret, though: it’s not really that people are boring, but that too many have been taught that you shouldn’t write the same way you talk. I blame our educational system, actually, with those 5th grade teachers who drilled us on adverbs, pronouns and the minutia of grammar, coupled with too many boring, tedious academic books that we all suffered through while in college.

Instead, I suggest to you that the best way to write clear, coherent, engaging and enjoyable content is to write the way you speak, to recognize your spoken voice and pour it out onto the virtual page of your computer screen and weblog. Continue reading “Write Like Yourself” →

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How to Write Blog Posts that Your Readers Will Love

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 16 Comments

Would you like to become a better blogger? Would you like to create blog posts that people will remember, comment on, and share?

Silly questions, right?

Of course you’d like that.

But… how?

Do no worry, for I have compiled a short step-by-step guide to help you become a blogger that’s incredibly persuasive and completely unforgettable.

Ready?

Let’s start with the best way to structure your content. Continue reading “How to Write Blog Posts that Your Readers Will Love” →

[Blogging Mindset] Your First Thousand Blog Posts (Are Your Worst)

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 35 Comments

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Okay, maybe ten thousand blog posts is a more difficult milestone than taking ten thousand photographs, so let’s say that your first thousand blog posts are going to be your worst.

Write this down, read it out loud until you internalize it. Why? Because odds are that you are not as patient as you should be, that you have some unrealistic expectations that might end up breaking your own heart. Continue reading “[Blogging Mindset] Your First Thousand Blog Posts (Are Your Worst)” →

Information Overload: Avoid It Like The Plague

~ Jordan Peters ~ 22 Comments

We live in the information age. And it’s being dumped on us by the truckload. Three pounds of stuff in the mailbox a day. Hundreds of TV channels, streaming services to binge on. 623 e-mail messages selling male enhancement pills per day.

And that’s only a fraction of the information that bombards us. There are billboards along highways, news broadcasts on the radio, newspapers, bills, books, seminars, random conversations at lunch time, business meetings, it never ends.

This information overload is felt even when you walk into the supermarket cereal aisle and have to choose from about 200 boxes screaming with bright colors and promises of low fat and high fiber, when all you want is lots of sugar and a cool little plastic prize or something like that.

Kinda of makes you dizzy, right? Continue reading “Information Overload: Avoid It Like The Plague” →

The 3 Step Guide to Amazing Blogging

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 35 Comments

What do you do in a world inhabited by well over 200 million blogs? Why’s anyone going to read yours?

Every niche, every topic, every angle has been covered. The competition for attention and traffic is fierce. But there’s still room for your blog . . . if it’s amazing.

A blog is trivially simple to start, but not so easy to keep rolling. There are so many factors — traffic, social media strategy, design, monetization. If you try to absorb everything at once, you’ll be too overwhelmed to keep going.

It’s important to learn and grow, but you also want clarity more than anything else. You need a plan.

If you make sure you don’t stray too far from these three points, your best path will get a lot easier to find. Continue reading “The 3 Step Guide to Amazing Blogging” →

Why No One Reads Your Blog (and What to Do about It)

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 118 Comments

So, you’re not getting much traffic, right?

I’ve been there, and well… it sucks. No other way to put it.

And worst of all, it’s not always clear why it’s happening.

It’s not like you’re a spammer. You genuinely care about your audience, and you try to publish content that’ll help them.

But nobody gives a damn.

And you’re beginning to wonder…

What are you doing wrong? Continue reading “Why No One Reads Your Blog (and What to Do about It)” →

[Blogging Mindset] When Nobody is Reading Your Blog

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 72 Comments

The first few weeks of blogging. You don’t know what you are doing, you do not know the platform, the rules, the principles. And, worst of all, you’re writing into a void.

You’re talking to yourself.

I remember feeling like this. I wasn’t sure if I was on the right path, or if I sucked big time, or if blogging without an audience is the kind of thing they lock you up for.

90% of all bloggers quit during these first few weeks. After all, it is illogical to pursue something if there’s no reward and no sign of progress, right?

Uhm… not quite.
Continue reading “[Blogging Mindset] When Nobody is Reading Your Blog” →

Do Your Readers Trust You?

~ Cristian Mihai ~ 40 Comments

Those who blog for fun and those who blog in order to earn a living out of it seem to be on two ends of a spectrum. On the one side: logic, strategy and profits. On the other: empathy, passion, and heart.

There’s one point where they do come together, though. Whatever moves you to build an audience for your content, you need to inspire one key response.

More than admiration, money, or attention, you need to earn your audience’s trust. Continue reading “Do Your Readers Trust You?” →