Articles that Sizzle

Speakers enhance their credibility by establishing themselves as an authority on their chosen topic. One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to accomplish this feat is through writing value laden articles.

Delivering an effective, well organized speech requires preparation. An experienced speaker never stands in front of an audience and just starts talking. Lack of planning, preparation and practice mark an amateur, not a professional.

Writing an effective article requires the same level of planning and preparation or even more. Why more? As the keynote speaker, you have a captive audience. As an article author, you must attract that audience to you.

Step one requires a decision on the specific target audience you choose to attract. To attract a target audience of corporate executives, you would select a topic which would not only prove interesting to them but also enhance their performance. Select a title which catches their attention. Remember they receive hundreds of emails every day. Most corporate executives develop an extremely fast “delete” response for unimportant emails. Personally, I have perfected the “no thank you,” “delete,” response. If the subject line does not strike a curiosity response or the sender’s name is unfamiliar, I have the fastest delete click in the west. You thought Doc Holiday had a quick draw? It pales in comparison to the speed of my delete click.

Step one – select your target audience
Step two – select a topic which interests and enhances performance
Step three – craft a subject line which sizzles interest and immediate attention
Step four – compose a value laden message with just enough levity to keep them reading. No one continues reading dry textbook prose if they have a choice of something informative and fun.

One of the major keys to article writing rests in the keywords sprinkled throughout the article. Remember with a keynote speech, you have a captive audience. Article writing requires that you attract your target audience. In order to attract your ideal audience, think like they think. If you were a corporate executive searching for information on the internet, what words would you type into the search query?

Scratching your head for ideas? Go to www.google.com and type in a test word such as “effective.” The list of effective communication, effective leadership, effective meetings, effective teaching, effective time management, effective communication skills and effective listening appears. These are the most common searches beginning with the word effective. Select one of those areas and enter it in https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal.

Perhaps you selected “effective leadership.” This will not only list related terms, but also indicate the local and global monthly search volume for each term. In addition, it will inform you of the advertiser competition for each term. Obviously the goal of high search volume and low competition is ideal.

Most articles range from 450 to 750 words. Positive, impactful and entertaining content keeps the reader coming back and searching for you.

Establish yourself as an authority by not only writing engaging articles but speaking about a subject which you have thoroughly researched or know from personal experience. Just as one of the cardinal rules of speaking, is to speak about something you know, this same principle applies in writing.

Once you have written a true “page turner” article, the next step is publishing it where others will have the opportunity to enjoy the content. We will talk about that in our next session. Come visit me at Elaine4Success.com. Leave your contact information.

I salute you at the beginning of your effective writing career.

How Big Is Your “Why?”

Every business encounters obstacles. Whether you use those as an excuse to give up or a reason to forge ahead and discover a solution depends on the strength of your “why.”

As a single mother with two little boys to care for, my “why” was powerful. My little guys were one and three when I found myself alone without any child support. Looking at those little faces provided a massive reason to overcome any and all obstacles.

How compelling is your reason to persevere through challenges? If you are of the mindset… “I’ll give it a try,” you will fail. Remove the words “try,” “maybe,” “if,” “perhaps,” and “someday.” Each of these words convey a feeling of uncertainly. Even worse, they are words which give you permission to fail. Try is one of the most hesitant. That is a “dip your toe in the water” word. It means that you do not have any firm commitment to success.

When you make statements, use strong affirmative words.
I am. . .
I will . . .
I attract . . .
I achieve. . .

If those feel too strong for your subconscious to agree and accept, then say, “I am in the process of . . .” The words you use to yourself in your self talk will creep out to others either in direct words or in vibration. Hesitant, non confident words convey a lack of belief in yourself and in whatever you are presenting.

Using weak language is the kiss of death in any form of sales, especially home based business sales. With so many opportunities and so many home based business entrepreneurs marketing their various products, confidence is not optional. Unless you believe in yourself and your product, how can you possibly expect someone else to believe in you enough to send you money? Remember, they buy you first and your product second.

Confident words convey strength of commitment in your company and product. Confident words establish you as the leader. When your self talk is positive and definite, it translates to positive feelings and positive vibrations to others. I remember when I first started in this industry, I was meek and mild. Consequently my sales were scarce or non-existent. It took many hours of intense self-examination to discover the root cause of the problem. My self talk did not display confidence in my ability.

Developing the confidence of a successful person before, you actually experience that success is challenging. I had to draw on my prior success and establish that feeling as I spoke to prospects. Draw on your prior feeling of success, affirm the feeling with committed words and project your belief to others.

The stronger your “why,” the more you dig deep into your feelings and muster the courage and confidence to persevere. When your “why” truly motivates you to do whatever it takes, you will find the strong feelings. A weak “why” and you will quit at the first little challenge.

As a single mother with two adorable little guys depending on me for everything, failure was not an option. I knew I would find a way to give them the love, support and encouragement they needed to grow into healthy men. That is a powerful “why.”

Examine your reason for having your own business. How powerful is your “why.”

Contact me at Elaine4Success.com and we will work together to insure your success.