Email is back.

Despite repeated proclamations of its extinction, rumors of the death of email marketing have been greatly exaggerated — especially since email and social media are a powerful combination. You might not reach the average college freshman, but for slightly older types (you know, the ones with the money), email is still the way to go in many lucrative mainstream niches.

You must first, of course, get your emails read. And it all starts with the subject line.

Email subject lines are a form of headline. They perform the same function as a headline by attracting attention and getting your email content a chance to be read.

So, headline fundamentals still apply. But the context is different, with the email space having its own funky little quirks that need to be accounted for.

Here’s the good news — email also implies a special relationship with the reader; a relationship that will get more of your messages read, even with subject lines that wouldn’t work in other headline contexts. Let’s take a look back at headline fundamentals, the specifics that apply to subject lines, and the “secret sauce” that makes email your top conversion channel.

1. The Fundamentals:

When you’re writing your next email subject line, run it through this checklist, based on the Four “U” Approach to headline writing:

• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?

When you’re trying to get someone to take valuable time and invest it in your message, a subject line that properly incorporates all four of these elements can’t miss. And yet, execution in the email context can be tricky, so let’s drill down into subject-line specifics for greater clarity.

2. The Specifics:

Beyond headline fundamentals, these are the things to specifically focus on with email subject lines:

• Identify yourself: Over time, the most compelling thing about an email message should be that it’s from you. Even before then, your recipient needs to know at a glance that you’re a trusted source. Either make it crystal clear by smart use of your “From” field, or start every subject line with the same identifier. For example, with our own Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter, every subject line begins with [Smart People].
• Useful and specific first: Of the four “U” fundamentals, focus on useful and ultra-specific, even if you have to ignore unique and urgent. There are plenty of others who work at unique and urgent with every subject line — we call them spammers. Don’t cross the line into subject lines that are perceived as garbage. But do throw in a bit of a tease.
• Urgent when it’s useful: When every email from you is urgent, none is. Use urgency when it’s actually useful, such as when there’s a real deadline or compelling reason to act now. If you’re running your email marketing based on value and great offers, people don’t want to miss out and need to know how much time they have.
• Rely on spam checking software: We all know that certain words trigger spam filters, but there’s a lot of confusion out there about which words are the problem. Is it okay to use the word “free” in a subject line? Actually, yes. All reputable email services provide spam checking software as part of the service or as an add-on. Craft your messages with compelling language, let the software do its job, and adjust when you have to.
• Shorter is better: Subject line real estate is valuable, so the more compact your subject line, the better. Don’t forget useful and ultra-specific, but try to compress the fundamentals into the most powerful promise possible.

3. The Secret Sauce:

Getting someone to trust you with their email address is not easy. Twelve years ago when I started in email publishing, people would sign up for anything remotely interesting.

No longer.

But if you do gain that initial trust, and more importantly, confirm and grow it, you can write pretty lame subject lines and people will still read your emails. Just as with that ditzy friend from high school who nonetheless always has something interesting to say, trust and substance matter most.

Don’t get me wrong, writing great subject lines combined with the more intimate relationship email represents is much more effective. And you have to get your initial messages read to establish the relationship in the first place. Regardless, your open rates will improve based on the quality of your subject line.

But there’s something special in this jaded digital age about being invited into someone’s email inbox. You just have to over-deliver on the value to ensure you’re a treasured guest who gets invited back.

The inbox can be a stressful place. How do you make it brighter?

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and co-founder of the writer-friendly Scribe SEO software. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

P.S. Have you checked out Internet Marketing for Smart People, the Copyblogger email newsletter? It features a free 20-step course with solid email marketing tips, so click here and subscribe today.

“Are There Any Good Niches Left??”
Yes, there are plenty of good niches left. Its just a matter of what you plan to offer, and how…

Frustrated with market research or finding niches?
It’s time to get past this step so that you can move on to marketing and making money. These are my own personal secrets for finding & researching potential niches, which I almost always do in 20 minutes or less…

5 Things People Spend Money On
People have a certain amount of spendable income in their personal budget, and they spend the majority of that expendable cash in 5 general areas…

The Products People Are Searching For Online
Plug trigger words into a keyword research tool and see what people are looking to buy. For example, check out this list of 100 keyword phrases that shows the products that people are searching for online…

Keyword Research for Affiliate Marketers
The search volume, or the market depth, is important as this is how you are going to reach your market. It’s also how you are going to figure out the best ways to serve that market…

Using Keyword Modifers to Qualify Visitors
To find the buyers in your niche, simply include single keyword modifiers with your primary keywords when doing your keyword research…

Using Keyword Phrases That Make Sales!
It’s easy enough to write optimized content to get rankings & website traffic. But traffic alone doesn’t pay the bills. You want to write content that attracts buyers and makes sales…

Writing SEO Content: Choosing Keywords & Phrases
With these keyword phrases, your target market is telling you very specifically what they would like to buy. They result in a much higher conversion rate than general search terms…

Ideas for How-To Content and How-To Products
An easy way to brainstorm ideas for websites, content or info-products: simply research ‘action words’ or phrases that will show you which…

Keyword Research with Shopping.com
Shopping.com is a great place to research physical product keywords…

And a Bonus Link… #11!

Membership Site Ideas
Setting up a successful membership site is a great online business model, but how do you know if your idea will fly? There are a few key things you can do upfront to make sure you choose a profitable topic & niche…

While I was catching up on my email this weekend, I had a nice conversation with Ann Smarty of MyBlogGuest.com.

I’ve mentioned before that Guest Blogging is a great way to increase blog traffic, and also get quality inbound links that will help your pages rank better in the major search engines. It’s the easiest way to get targeted traffic.

Ann has created an online community to bring together bloggers who are looking for guest posts, and people who are interested in writing guest posts. You can search by category, tag, topic and specific offers…

It’s free, it’s super fast to get signed up, and within minutes you’ll be able to browse opportunities for fresh blog content – or for guest blogging opportunities.

The link is: http://myblogguest.com

I just signed up myself as I am always looking for cool new people & topics to bring to you here at ClickNewz, and also use guest blogging to increase traffic and improve my search engine rankings. There are a lot of great opportunities posted. Here’s just a snippet of what you’ll find inside:

As you can see there are writing opps for a women’s fitness blog, for tech writers, small business topics, etc. And this is just a sample – there are a variety of topics and niches covered in the network.

Of course, the more people that join and submit their requests, the more opportunities there will be! Check it out, let me know what you think, and share any other guest blogging networks you’ve discovered in the comments below.

Best,

Also See: How to Increase Blog Traffic – Fast!

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First things first: We hate spam. And we hate spammers. Maybe even more than you do.

So this article isn’t about endorsing spam in any way, or suggesting that you do anything unethical.

But as much as we hate spam and wish it didn’t exist, we can’t deny one fact.

Spammers make a killing online.

Just to give you an idea, last year a Russian investigation found a network of spammers selling fake goods and fake pills online. Each spammer was making, on average, $4,600 per day.

Sure, the spammers use the “law of large numbers” to achieve these results. But you also need marketing savvy to make more than $1.5 million a year selling fake stuff to people who would rather shoot themselves in the left foot than listen to you.

When I started looking more closely at their tactics, I found some valuable lessons any marketer should know.

1. Go where the fish are

What is the most important factor you need to have if you want to go fishing?

Most people will say the fishing rod. Others will say the bait, or a boat. Interestingly enough, they are all wrong.

The most important element of the equation is the presence of lots of fish.

If you have a lake full of fish but don’t have a fishing rod or bait, you can probably still improvise something that would let you enjoy a fish dinner tonight.

But no matter how great your bait or how cutting-edge your equipment, if there aren’t any fish, there’s no fish dinner.

Spammers know this, and they always focus their efforts on the niches with the largest number of fish. That means they always target known customers willing to spend money. Examples include health-related niches, luxury goods, anti-virus software, and, of course, men who want access to certain prescription medicines without getting into embarrassing conversations with their doctors.

Lesson learned: If you target a niche that’s too obscure, you’ll have a hard time making money even if your product and marketing are outstanding. If you target a large and profitable market, of course you’ll face more competition. But it’s a lot easier to improve your product and marketing than it is to manufacture buying customers out of thin air.

2. The money is in the list

Email is the most direct type of communication we have. That’s why spammers love it so much. It allows them to display their messages right in the face of their victims.

Now, if creepy, bottom-dwelling spammers get a conversion rate high enough to keep them in business, imagine what kind of results you can get with:

• A legitimate, permission-based list of people who want to hear from you,
• Terrific content that benefits the reader, and
• Smart, respectful promotion of excellent products and services?

Lesson learned: If you are not building your email list, you are almost certainly leaving a lot of money on the table. Blogs, social networking, and various kinds of advertising are all useful tools. But email is still the “killer app” for building relationships with your prospects and clients.

3. Copywriting, copywriting, copywriting

Ever wondered how scammers manage to convince people to buy fake products?

It comes down to one word: copywriting.

Spammers may not always write the most poetic English. But they do use solid, time-tested copywriting techniques. If you master the essentials of copywriting yourself, you’d be able to sell crappy products to a fair number of people. (Not that we recommend that.)

But because you have a quality product or service and a great reputation, you’ll be able to sell it to lots and lots of people. Who will, in turn, tell their friends about how terrific you are.

There are lots of places you can get solid copywriting advice, including:

• The Copywriting 101 series on Copyblogger (free)
• Copyblogger’s Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter (free)
• Read classic books on copywriting (inexpensive)
• Take a paid copywriting course — one that focuses on persuasive writing that sells rather than beautiful or “creative” writing (can be expensive, but if you’re a serious marketer, it’s worth it)

Lesson learned: Copywriting matters just as much as having a quality product or service. In some situations it matters even more. Never shortchange the attention and care you give to your copywriting.

4. Scale matters

Do you know how many emails a spammer needs to send out to get one sale? More than a million.

That’s right, their conversion rates are usually lower than 0.0001%.

So how can they make those thousands of dollars per day in profits? By sending out millions and millions of messages.

Obviously we are not saying you should start spamming people like there is no tomorrow. What you need to keep in mind, however, is that even great conversion rates are still pretty low in the scheme of things.

If you were able to convert 5 or 6% of your list to becoming paying customers, you’d be doing a fantastic job. Which means 95% of your list won’t ever spend a dime with you.

In fact, for many marketers, a conversion rate of 1% is doing quite well. That means if you have 1,000 subscribers on your email list and you send them an email talking about your latest product, you’re doing well if 10 people buy it.

Lesson learned: Numbers aren’t the only thing, but they do matter. If your main income source is your website, learn how to get as much traffic as possible. If your main income source is your email list, learn how to get as many subscribers as possible.

How to do that? Keep following blogs like this one and putting their advice into action.

About the Author: Daniel Scocco is the owner of Daily Blog Tips. He is also the author of the “Make Money Blogging” ebook, which you can download for free by signing up for his newsletter here.

I’ve often said there are 3 good ways to choose a niche for an online business. But today I want to give you another idea – a 4th way that just may get you past your niche-discovery hurdle for good…

The most popular advice is to “do what you love”, or go with a niche you are passionate about. This most likely includes a hobby or lifestyle choice.

This is a great idea because you are already knowledgeable and experienced on the topic. You’re also less likely to get bored with it than niches where you don’t have a personal interest.

The second suggestion is to choose a niche where you have professional experience or expertise. Another great approach, except that most people are already burned out on their chosen profession, or still doing it as a day job, and can’t get excited about spending their nights and weekends at it as well…

The third way to select a niche, and one that I recommend a lot, is to choose something you’d like to start doing. A new hobby or lifestyle, or something you’d like to collect or get into.

Since you are just getting started at it yourself, you actually are your target market. This puts you in an ideal position, and gives you insight and empathy with your market – you can easily connect with them on their level.

You’re in research phase, finding resources and discovering what works and what doesn’t – or the best way to do this or that. Sharing all of that information becomes your “content”. And it’s very easy to generate since you’re already actively collecting information on the topic.

Of those top 3 ways to choose a niche, the last one would be my favorite. I have often started a new online business based on new personal interests. I find that it makes work fun, and that fresh enthusiasm for a topic will take you a long way.

With all 3 of these viable niche-selection methods, you are limited to choosing from what you already know or feel comfortable with…

4: What would you do if there were no limits?

Life is full of limits: physical, financial, situations & circumstances, you name it. Often we’ll dream big only to remind ourselves of all the reasons those dreams can never become a reality.

But just for a moment, let’s imagine that there are no limits. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of spending your winters in New Zealand, owning a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, going on an Alaskan Cruise, or backpacking across Europe.

This is what they mean when they say “think outside the box”.

They are talking about your box.

Your box is your current frame of reference. It includes your personal experience, things you’ve experienced by association, and all of the elements you draw from to make choices and decisions.

Your box is not the same as mine, or anyone else. It’s also not real. We are all drawing from a unique combination of circumstances and experiences. So it’s basically just perception. And perception is not reality.

Let’s do a quick exercise…

Step outside of your frame of reference for a second, and consider everything that the world has to offer. What appeals to you most?

Dismiss any negative thoughts that appear, and allow yourself to just imagine your ideal life. How would you spend your time? How would you spend money if you had an unlimited amount at your disposal? Jot down everything that comes to mind.

(don’t think or hesitate, just jot it down)

Your next step is keyword and market research. Find out if there is interest in that niche, and whether it is a buying market.

This exercise will open up a lot of new options for you, new niches you may not have considered before. And just imagine getting to wake up every day to work on something you can really get excited about!

You may just be amazed at the things that present themselves along the way when you start thinking and working outside of your current frame of reference. Things that were once outside your reach may quickly become real possibilities – and even options.

We’ll go back to the example of New Zealand vacations. You may be a single mother that lives in a small town in Tennessee. You have a work schedule, your children have a school schedule, and New Zealand is just a fantasy place in your mind that you realize you’ll probably only ever see on tv or on the internet…

You do this exercise, your market research, and you start an online business around New Zealand Travel and Vacations (over 57,000 combined searches each month). You see that it’s sort of competitive, hesitate for a second, and then decide to just go for it. This is what you want, and you’re willing to put in the work to grow this business into an online authority.

And you do.

Now you’re in a position to take that trip to New Zealand, and it’s no longer a personal expense. It’s a tax deductible business trip. You meet people, take photos and videos, blog about your experiences. And before you know it, you’re getting VIP invites from airlines, hotels, restaurants etc that would love to be reviewed and featured on your popular travel & vacation website…

See how that works?

Dream big. Choose your niche… and make it happen!

Best,

Dianne asks: What would you suggest as far as affiliate programs when you are just getting started? I understand there’s CJ, ClickBank etc. Did you start out with one affiliate program and eventually add others?

This is a great question Dianne. I actually addressed this in depth in a post on the best affiliate programs (video/text) as it’s a very common question.

I like to create niche affiliate sites around topics, not around products or merchants. And so you’ll want to choose affiliate programs that are a good match for your topic and your target market.

When you’re just starting out, it’s best to start with the larger networks like: Commission Junction, Share-a-Sale, LinkShare, etc. I’m not a huge fan of ClickBank or Adsense, but they do have their place in some niches…

By going with the larger affiliate networks you can work with multiple merchants, and get paid for all commissions in one payment. This gives you a variety of merchants and products to work with, and helps you reach your minimum payouts easier by combining merchants from one network. It’s also easier for tracking & organization as all of your stats are in one (or just a few) major affiliate networks.

For each niche affiliate site that I create, I usually have a minimum of 3 affiliate merchants. I made the mistake of creating my first affiliate site around ONE merchant (great merchant – high conversion, good payout, awesome products, etc). That merchant closed their affiliate program within a year, and I was stuck with an un-monetized site. I’ve had a hard time replacing them too!

I now have at least 2 back-up merchants for any site I create. Amazon.com is one of my common back-ups as they carry most products you might want to promote.

Dianne asks:When you started out did you put an affiliate link in EVERY article you wrote or what did you find that worked the best after you got started?

Not all of my niche affiliate sites are content-based. Some of them are set up more like a basic ecommerce site or online store that features specific products.

Some of my other affiliate sites are content-based. See affiliate site options for more on that. Also see: Affiliate Site Options Q&A

To answer your question, every page or piece of web content that I create does has a specific objective. So yes, I include a link on every page – whether that’s a link directly to the merchant, or a link to a related page on my affiliate site. You always want to include a call-to-action and give your visitor the “best next click”.

Dianne asks:When you do have that handful of products, do you recommend putting them on a rotating cycle in articles that you write (i.e. use #1 on first day, #2 on second day, etc. until you get to # 5) and then start over again with #1? Or do you recommend putting them in the sidebar as widgets or both? And then, slowly add in more products?

I wish I was that organized with my schedule! LOL

First, I rarely use sidebar widgets. The best way to market affiliate links is to put them in the content areas of your blog or site. So I create pages about products, or content about topics that lead into a buying decision for the visitor.

The recommendations (and affiliate links) are right there in the article or blog post, within the actual content of the page.

I actually work on my affiliate sites from my keyword list instead of my merchant or product list. I start by choosing a Primary Keyword Phrase for the main page of the site/blog. This is the phrase I most want the main page to rank well for in the major search engines.

Then I choose categories or topics I am going to cover on the site, and use those keyword phrases to create the navigation. The more specific keyword phrases, ie long tail keywords, are used to create the content or product pages within each category.

Once I create the site structure (see example in my Web Page Optimization post) I begin working on the content. And from there I add in the affiliate links or product recommendations as they fit into each content page.

I hope this helps, and gives you an idea of how to create your own niche affiliate sites. Everyone does it differently, but I use the SEO model and work with long tail (super-specific) keyword phrases. For that reason my strategy revolves around keywords, and what the market is searching for specifically. From there I create the site, target those searches, and connect the buyers with the merchants.

Best,

p.s. The absolute best investment to shave months – or even years – off the learning curve for getting your first affiliate site off the ground and actually making sales: Download the Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. She turned me into a successful Super Affiliate, and her model is the one I still use today.

See In-Depth Overview of the Super Affiliate Handbook
^ click here ^

Writing Content is one of the easiest things you have to do in your online business, and also one of the most difficult at the same time.

Anyone can write words and create content. But writing SEO Content that converts visitors into buyers does take a bit of skill & intuition.

It’s easy enough to write optimized content to get rankings & website traffic. But traffic alone doesn’t pay the bills. You want to write content that attracts buyers and makes sales…

“I’m researching keywords, writing content, getting backlinks, have some good rankings and I’m even getting traffic – but still no sales. Help!”

All Long Tail Keywords Are Not Created Equal

Long Tail Keyword Phrases are phrases with 3 or more words. In some of the broader niches, a 3-word phrase is barely considered “long tail”. The phrase will be a very specific search, compared to the usual broad searches.

So it’s less about the number (“3-5 words”) and more how specific the search is.

These more specific phrases convert at a higher rate than general search queries, because the searcher knows exactly what they want. Writing content or creating pages around these long tail keyword phrases gives you a better opportunity to create a strong message to market match.

Imagine the difference between creating a page for “shoes” and one for “jimmy choo bridal shoes”. Even though “shoes” gets a lot more searches, it’s too general to target. You have no idea what kind of shoes your website visitors want to buy.

To give you an example, I recently wrote a blog post for an 8-word long tail keyword phrase. The phrase is How Can I Promote My Website For Free? which gets approximately 235 searches a day according to WordTracker.

That blog post ranks in the top 10 on Google for that phrase.

Mission accomplished, right?

Commercial Keyword Phrases vs Informational Keyword Phrases

In the 8-word phrase I gave above as an example, there are two words that peg it as an informational search: how and free. The searcher is obviously looking for free information (credit card tucked firmly away in wallet).

Compare this to a phrase like “buy online advertising” (15 searches/day). Or “should I buy a website template” (30 searches/day). These searchers are trying to make a buying decision (credit card close by, if not in hand).

While it’s tempting to use long tail keywords with higher search volume, if your goal is to make sales then you want to target the commercial keyword phrases. And don’t let low search volume deter you – write the content once, and let it continue to work for you for years. It is worth it. If your target market is searching for it, you are doing them a disservice by not ‘responding’ to that query with content.

It’s not impossible to convert visitors who are looking for information, into buyers. But it is harder – and you’ll see a much lower conversion rate. When you are writing content specifically to promote a product or to make sales, you want to target and optimize for the commercial keyword phrases.

The main point is that you analyze the keyword phrases from the searcher’s perspective, and determine the intent of the search. What is it they are most likely looking for? Your goal as a content publisher is to offer them exactly that.

Using Informational Keyword Phrases

When writing SEO Content, you want to make use of both Informational and Commercial Keyword Phrases. You’ll focus on the latter for creating content that contains a strong call-to-action for a specific product or service. But info-searches have their place in your web content development plan as well.

It takes both types of content to fully serve your market.

Informational search queries can be used to create content or copy for:

• Opt-in Incentives (reports, guides, etc)
• Newsletter Titles
• Internal links for your “money pages”
• Articles for Article Marketing
• Forum Topics (for inbound links & networking)
• Squidoo Lenses

…etc. In addition to being a great source for content ideas that can generate quality inbound links, the info keyword phrases are good to use on a blog where you are trying to build a loyal readership or establish a reputation as a market leader.

But when it comes to making sales… target the keyword phrases that show obvious intent to buy.

This is really only a slight shift in mindset when you are doing keyword research. We’ve been taught to focus on the search volume, analyze the competition in the search results, and if it looks like an “easy rank” then create a page or blog post and get backlinks.

It’s easy enough to stay busy going through the motions and create keyword-optimized content that ranks well. But if you’re getting good search engine rankings, and you’re starting to get traffic to that content, and still not making sales – this (the intent of the search) may very well be the missing ingredient.

Continue to target your market through their queries for info, but use that content strategically to build up your “money pages”. And put a strong focus on creating commercial content for those in your market that are specifically searching for help in their buying decision.

We’ve actually discussed SEO Content & Long Tail Keywords before in great detail, but over the weekend at the NAMS Workshop I discovered it still wasn’t super clear for everyone. Understandable – it actually took me awhile to wrap my head around the concept as well. But boy did it ever make a difference!

Here are two recent posts on this topic that contain even more examples and ideas:

SEO Content | Affiliate Marketing Tips

I put together 4 downloads for those that wanted guides to work with after my presentation at NAMS. You’ll find both of those posts as PDF Files, along with 2 others, in the protected post. The password is “nams3″.

Study the tutorials & posts, look over your own keyword content strategy, and then let me know if you have any questions – you can leave a comment below. Include the link to your site in the comment field for your URL if you would like me to take a look as well.

Best,

p.s. Next we’ll discuss Keyword Qualifiers to help you identify and cater to the buyers in your niche. Subscribe below to receive email notification of this and more great tutorials that will help you take your online business to the next level:

Those of you who subscribe to the Internet Marketing for Smart People email newsletter found out on Monday what Brian and I have been up to for the past few months.

We knew it would be cool, because, well, we designed it to be cool.

We wanted to build something people would really get value from.

But still, when we saw what people were doing inside after the first day, we all looked around at one another and pulled a Keanu.

Whoa.

Inside the Third Tribe has been active for just under two days now. What’s been happening so far?

• Artists and SEOs and copywriters and entrepreneurs of every stripe are all giving each other business advice, feedback, encouragement, and ideas.
• Nitty gritty conversations are springing up about promotional tactics, how to manage entrepreneurial stress, getting past roadblocks, finding our niches, and dozens of other topics.
• Chris Brogan and Laura Roeder have been helping a Triber see how he can measure social media ROI in the real world.
• A Triber mentioned frustration in putting the final graphic touches on his blog — and within a matter of minutes, another Triber stepped forward to lend her own resources and expertise. For free. Just because it felt like the right thing to do.
• One passionate Triber decided to pull together groups of “Niche Tribers,” who are already working to form cooperative bands to support and grow each other’s blogs and businesses.
• Tribers are arranging to meet up in Austin, London, Toronto . . . and more to come.

Here’s the coolest part for me:

We didn’t make this stuff happen

We provided a comfortable, user-friendly space. We’re providing educational seminars. We’re hosting Q&A sessions. And the four of us who founded the Third Tribe — Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan, Brian and I — are part of the conversation, answering questions and sharing our perspective. But that’s the key . . . we’re simply part of it.

The other part is the collection of entrepreneurs at all levels. Some of them are names you recognize, some are new to the game. But all of them are energized by the Third Tribe model of kumbaya respect and community combined with razor-sharp marketing strategy.

If you want to know more about how the tribe works and how you can get access for a very attractive price, here’s where you can find the details. (If nothing else, you’d be smart to go check out Brian’s copy approach — it’s prompted a huge discussion among members on its own).

On Friday Feburary 5, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Central Time, the price goes up to $47 a month. So if you’d like to join in and check things out, this is a really good time to do that.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and a co-founder of Inside the Third Tribe.

Conversation in social media is supposed to be “open source,” right?

We’re supposed to gain energy and excitement from being open to the entire internet, to ideas that come to us from literally every corner of the globe.

But too often “social media” turns into a predictably closed circuit of the same people having the same conversation.

Finding your own tribe can be a wonderful thing. It can also make your blog unbearably boring.

The move from “wonderful” to “boring” happens when we fall into a pattern of always interacting with the same people, always talking about the same topics, and always reinforcing existing networks. There’s no growth, only stagnation.

I’ve seen this happen often with myself. I think that I’m growing and cultivating, but all I’m doing is reinforcing what’s already there.

So, here’s another idea.

If you’re an existing leader . . .

• Give someone else a chance to use your platform.
• Let a new voice guest post on your blog.
• Tell your network about an up-and-coming blogger.
• Bring a different perspective to the conversation.
• Introduce a new or relatively unknown participant to your circle.

If you’re not a leader yet (but you’re working on it) . . .

• Make an effort to bring in new ideas to the conversation. Be willing to talk about what no one else is.
• Push the boundaries of what’s expected in your field.
• Proactively connect with people outside your niche, or in overlapping niches. Sometimes the best ideas come from an intersection of unexpected opposites.
• Don’t just blindly follow established leaders. Actually make a conscious decision to follow them if you think they have value to offer. In other words, don’t follow someone just because everyone else does.
• Guest post for someone you don’t already know well. Bring your ideas to a totally new audience.

Awesome things can happen when we consciously branch out beyond our habitual circles of association.

Instead of just aligning with people with the same skills and strengths as us, we can seek out those with different talents that complement our strengths.

Instead of reinforcing the same patterns of conversations, we can move beyond our comfort zones and make more meaningful connections. We can find new and interesting ways of approaching tired problems.

Instead of reenacting the same mental synapses, we can actually diverge and possibly . . . just maybe . . . innovate.

Get remarkable by getting out of your comfort zone

Who knows, maybe a lawyer could teach you how to build a better case for selling your product. Perhaps a teacher could help you communicate better with the beginners in your audience. Maybe a politician could teach you how to better dodge questions and avoid dealing with real issues.

OK, just kidding with that last one.

When we make a conscious effort to continually bring in fresh ideas and voices, we grow. We break the patterns that we’ve created. We move beyond plateaus to higher ground.

We can only change the game when we change the rules we play by.

And if we do, then just maybe, we can create something that’s really new. And isn’t that what we live for?

About the Author: Jonathan Mead is a writer, martial artist and trafficker of truth. He recently released a free ebook called The Zero Hour Workweek, aimed at helping people find freedom from the 9 to 5.</p

Ever found your eyes glazing over when you read through your own copy or blog posts?

I hate to break it to you, but a lot of the products, services, or niches that we write about just aren’t that thrilling. Although the finer points of search engine optimization might keep you glued to your screen, most of your clients or blog readers aren’t feeling the excitement.

So what can you do?

You bring in a register which deals with excitement: the heroic. We’ve all read advertisements encouraging us to “win the battle” with our email, or our paperwork, or our tendency to procrastinate. They grab our interest by making a frankly unexciting activity sound like a heroic quest.

The use of heroic language in decidedly non-heroic contexts isn’t anything new. Poets have been doing it for centuries, though generally in a satirical context (if you’re interested, Alexander Pope is a great example of the mock-heroic with The Rape of the Lock and The Dunciad).

You can definitely still use heroic language for comic effect. (It’s possible to do this unintentionally, too, by going over the top in your copy.) But the heroic is a powerful way to tap into our need for drama, for excitement, for a story, a quest . . . and a hero your reader can identify with.

So how do you do it?

Heroic Words Work

Certain words can turn dry topics – like writing, personal finance, small business and marketing – into something that makes you feel a frisson of excitement. You can almost hear the rallying notes of a battle horn, and see the sun glinting from swords. A few favorite heroic words are:

“Battle”

(Writers seem especially fond of this one: I think we just like to make our struggles sound more exciting than they really are…)

• “I have had my battles with writer’s block.” from Writer’s Block … A Thing of the Past
• Also see Battling Blogger’s Block on Problogger

“Dragon”

• “You can think of each project like being sent on a big quest to slay a dragon. Your client is the king of the realm. The project is the dragon threatening his kingdom. You go out and slay that dragon, and the client will give you a nifty monetary reward. You fail, and so does his kingdom, and he is justifiably pissed” from The Dragons of Writing and How to Fight Them on Men with Pens

“Enemy” / “Nemesis”

• “Blogger’s block is the arch nemesis of productivity” in 10 Simple Productivity Tips for Bloggers on Daily Blog Tips
• “When it comes to taking payment from international clients, your number one enemy is processing fees” from Taking Payment with PayPal, Escrow and Other Online Options on Freelance Switch

“Fight”

• See Grow Up, Green Up: How to Fight the Impulse Purchase on Dumb Little Man
• “When you feel as if your head’s underwater, don’t wait to drown. Kick and thrash like a motherf*cker. Fight like your life depended on it.” from Johnny Talks about Motivation on IttyBiz

“Quest”

• “Has your quest for project efficiency ever led you to rely on outdated tools and methods?” in Why Every Freelancer Should Slow Down and Brainstorm on Freelance Folder

“Treasure”

• “Your library website and departmental webpages should help you find the treasure,” in Research via Google alone: Are you crazy or just lazy? on The University Blog

“War”

• “Having one day can give you the space to zoom outside of the war zone” in 10 Lesser Known Ways to Increase Productivity on Pick the Brain

Metaphor, Hyperbole, and Overkill

Heroic language can become a running metaphor when you theme the entire post around it – see Taylor’s The Dragons of Writing and How to Fight Them series on Men With Pens. Like using pop culture references, this gives you a hook to hang your post (or series) on, and potentially a structure.

Heroic language can also be used as hyperbole, to set a powerful tone. Some writers can pull this off well, but for others, it’s too aggressive. Dave Navarro uses it to great effect in How To Kick That Habit’s Ass (When It’s Been Beating Yours) on Rock Your Day – just look at these excerpts:

“You get knocked down, punched out, kicked to the curb, beaten to a pulp … hell, pardon my French, but you get your frigging ass kicked emotionally and psychologically, big time.”

“It All Starts With Declaring One Word: War.”

“Finally, build your battle plan…”

But for some bloggers, that’s too much, and would be jarring for readers. (Can you imagine gentle, pink-haired Sonia Simone writing like that?) If in doubt, go sparingly. Try using heroic language for a punchy introduction and conclusion to your post, and ease up in the middle.

Take Up Your Sword Pen

Heroic language combines exaggeration with metaphor – both powerful tools for grabbing attention. If you have sales copy which seems a little bland, why not add a touch of the heroic?

• “Solve Email Problems” becomes “Battle Your Email Overload”
• “Stop Procrastinating” becomes “Defeat Procrastination”
• “Advice to Help You Do Better” becomes “Advice to Help You Win”
• “Ditch Your Bad Habits” becomes “Conquer Your Bad Habits”

If you’ve got a blog on a topic that’s not inherently gripping (productivity, personal finance, writing, small business marketing, habit-breaking), introduce some of the heroic words. Make it a quest, not a project. Look for treasure, not results.

Let your readers, prospects, and customers be the heroes while you help them solve their problems.

About the Author: Conqueror of the keyboard, battler with the blank screen, Ali is a hired wordsmith for several blogs, as well as writing for her own Aliventures.