Article:
'relationship building ~ A professional writer shares his relationship building secrets ~ ezine'
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There are lots of factors that help to build that mystical thing called a relationship: honesty,..........relationship building,ezine,newsletter,list marketing....."
Or ... effective writing that builds relationships every time.
There are lots of factors that help to build that mystical thing called a relationship: honesty, reliability, trustworthiness, charm, empathy, newsworthiness, ethics, outspokenness. But if you don't have them, you may find it hard to learn them. Without them your career as an online writer may be short lived.
Let's concentrate here on the key factors that I believe you can learn that will set your writing apart from 99% of the rest, and give you a head start in building relationships with your readers. These are the things you can put into action from today.
The absolute number one secret - and if you stop reading this article before the end the vital information you must take a way with you - is that you can't build a relationship with a list. Relationships are for people. You and me.
My newsletter, Kickstart Today, is read by thousands of people. But it is only ever written to one. Sometimes that one person is my daughter, who I know reads it at work. Sometimes it is my friend Barrie, who may have said something that sparked an idea for an article. Often it is to one of my readers who I've never met, but who emailed with a comment, question or suggestion.
There are hundreds of other people who have written to me over the years and told me what they like and dislike, what their problems are and what they need to know. So when I'm writing about a particular subject it is easy for me to imagine that I'm writing it for that one specific person.
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.
The more you can make your writing appear to be one-to-one, the more of your readers will imagine themselves as the one you are talking to. It is like a whispered aside in a real conversation - it makes the listener feel special.
There are two often-repeated bits of advice that you'll hear time and again:
1. People don't want to hear about you - write about them.
2. Train your list into a buying mood by selling them something every time you communicate with them.
Both are nonsense if building relationships that are what you want to do.
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.
In my opinion - and experience - you simply can't talk about yourself too much! Whenever I talk about my family and friends, the number of emails I get from subscribers eager to know more rockets! Of course, you can't run a newsletter that is entirely about you! That stuff should only be the icing on a rich, content-filled cake.
The best ezines and newsletters balance both, providing a cocktail of solid factual information punctuated by the real-life soap opera content that keeps the reader coming back for 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.
You will sometimes find a newsletter writer who has mastered the art of the constant hard sell, but most who try it just end up looking over-eager to grab your money.
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.
Many ezines and newsletters publish monthly - way to infrequently, in my view, for serious relationship building. Even weekly publication can be slow if you are not a strong and personal writer.
If you can write without too much effort, go for at least twice a week. My own Kickstart newsletter was five times a week for a hundreds of issues and the biggest complaints were when I reduced to three times a week.
So long as you hold your readers' attention, the only complaints you'll get will be when you miss an issue.
Of course, if your newsletter is full of other people's writing and doesn't have a personal style, then very frequent publication may be a bad thing for you.
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.
"..... You are not writing for your English teacher, you should be writing like you are talking to a close....."
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Let me build a relationship with you as soon as you subscribe to Kickstart Today. www.kickstartdaily.com'>Kickstart Today is motivation, inspiration and fun all rolled into one. We'll talk about Internet marketing, business, personal development and great movies! It's free, three times a week.
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