Category: Blog

When you’ve spent time organizing, researching, writing, editing, and rewriting your work, it’s easy to slip into the tone of you being the expert on your book’s subject matter. In fact, you probably are! But mastering that authoritative voice without your writing becoming overbearing on your audience can be difficult – especially for first-time authors.

If your writing is coming across as rude or bossy or condescending, this is probably not the right type of tone for your piece. It’s important to master the authoritative tone without coming across as any of these.

An authoritative tone will come across as the author being confident in their knowledge about that subject. Knowledgeable, but not pompous. Informational, but not condescending. Direct, but not bossy or rude.

How can you master this authoritative tone in your own writing? Here are some of our top tips.

Utilize proper word choice. Because many words can have double meanings or definitions that may have different connotations, it’s imperative for experts to choose their words carefully in order to convey their expertise and not detract from their intended meaning.

Avoid using qualifiers in your writing. Qualifiers such as may, seldom, probably, hardly, likely, and frequently can convey some doubt in your own writing. While they **may** serve a purpose, they **may** also convey uncertainty in your work. (See what we did there? The **may** certainly detracts, right?)

Eliminate any wordiness or extraneous “non-information.” Granted, words can help paint the scene you’re demonstrating for your readers, but too many words, or too much “fluff,” in your piece can detract from your authority.

Read other works like your own. Take note of how the author uses their word choice and the tone that their writing conveys. Use any takeaways to polish your own work.

Practice writing in this authoritative tone and ask your peer editors to review specifically for this. Coming off as an expert in your field, but not pompous, is key to mastering this tone.

Get More Content Like This:

If you found this advice helpful, you’ll find more of it in our Elite Writer’s Lab, and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here. And you can get in for just $1.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

We love this interview clip with Kristen Laidig, where she explains the impact of surrounding yourself with the right group of people. And keep reading for our thoughts on the subject too.

Kristen offers the advice to surround yourself with people who emulate what you want in your life as the saying goes – you are the sum of the five people you are closest to.

Kristen personally found herself surrounded by people searching for the easy button and who weren’t willing to do what it takes and press through, even if life smacks you and blindsides you. She decided to be around people who lifted her up, supported her and who kicked her butt when needed. And through that, her life changed and more success came her way.

Our Thoughts

We wholeheartedly agree with Kristen…and sometimes that means making difficult decisions in your life regarding friends, business colleagues and even family.

Invest more time in the people who want to see your success and strive for success themselves. Cultivate business relationships with likeminded people through social media, but make sure to make real life contact too. Attend conferences, networking events and your circle will naturally grow.

It takes time and effort, but the end results are well worth it. Remember, this is a long game and those relationships will serve you in so many ways…both business and personal.

When it comes to friends and family, it doesn’t always mean you have to cut them out of your life completely…and sometimes, it’s not even possible. But if you find yourself giving more than you take or they are a drain on your energy, give yourself some space. Don’t engage in drama and build your friendship circle with more people who match the energy you want to put out in the world.

Every little bit you do to surround yourself with likeminded people will make a big impact in your focus, outlook and success.

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

In this interview snippet, Ty Cohen, gives advice on what to do with Kindle books that have already been published and sales start to dwindle. These tricks are what helped one of Ty’s students sell 3oo+ copies of a 3 year old book in one month.

If books stop selling or the sales taper off, you can pay more attention to the books you already published. One of Ty’s students sold over 300 copies of a single book he published a while ago, just paying more attention to it. He published the book 3 years ago, but it was his first month hitting the 300 sales mark.

Some tips Ty shared:

• Run cheap Facebook Ads
• Make new covers
• Update descriptions, keywords, etc.

Watch the video for the full details, especially about the Facebook Ad tip.

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

As an author or content publisher, it’s easy to get distracted with other ideas, projects and just about anything. Our friend, Ty Cohen, has been extremely successful because he maintains his focus and isn’t distracted by shiny object syndrome.

Here is his advice for maintaining that focus.

When Ty first started, he confessed to being “all over the place” and being a victim of shiny object syndrome. After being constantly distracted by emails, webinars and everything else, Ty decided to develop his own personal slogan of “Stay Focused” and things began to change.

He shared that slogan everywhere…social media, etc. He said that many people thought he was saying it to inspire them as his audience…which he was…but it was also very much a reminder for him.

The power of affirmations at work!

He also unsubscribed from all those email lists and other things that were distracting, so he could STAY FOCUSED!

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Over 200 million people sign into their Instagram accounts each and every day…and one billion use it each month, making it a platform worth paying attention to.

But online marketers often get frustrated because it’s not a platform that makes it easy to share links. HOWEVER, it’s the perfect platform for growing a loyal following, good branding and plenty of traffic…if you do it right. And when you consider it has a 2.2% interaction rate which is MUCH bigger than Facebook’s 0.22% rate, there is plenty of potential.

(Read these Instagram 2019 stats and more here)

The tone and the content on Instagram is vastly different from Facebook and Twitter. While you may see plenty of political rants, arguments, and offensive statements on other platforms, Instagram’s audience is generally more relaxed. Of course, you can still find this stuff going on on Instagram too, but you have to look for it.

These users are typically focused on posting feel-good content. Some of the most popular hashtags on the network include…

Two Best Practices for Brands on Instagram

Hashtags are Still King on Instagram

Hashtags aren’t popular on every social network. People rarely use them on Facebook but love them on Twitter. So, should your brand use hashtags on Instagram?

Yes, you should. Instagram limits hashtags to 30 per caption. That number may sound high but many users opt for 5-15 hashtags per photo. Not only can you use dozens of hashtags, but they’re also very popular on Instagram. Users frequently search using hashtags so they can discover new content.

But keep in mind that Instagram doesn’t want you spamming. Don’t add hashtags to your photo simply because they receive a lot of traffic. Only use a tag like “#dogsofinstagram” if there’s actually a dog in your photo or if your image is related to the topic.

You should also use your own branded hashtag with your photos. This makes it easy for people who are already fans of your company or product to find you easily on Instagram. It’s also a terrific way to inspire others to post about your products.

Links

One thing that sets Instagram apart is that links in your captions aren’t actual links. Users can’t click through that link to get to your website. Instead, users have to navigate to your profile and click the link in your bio. Many people use the phrase “link in bio” so their followers know how to find the content they’re posting about.

Most marketers and brands use this link to drive traffic back to their main website. That’s a good idea but it’s not the best use for this space.

Instead, update your bio link and replace it with the one page on your site that you want your Instagram users to visit. If you’re uploading a photo to promote your new blog post, then change the link in your Instagram bio to that post. It might be challenging to do this but it’s a simple tactic to direct traffic where you need it to go.

And remember, when you reach 10,000 followers, you can get active links in your stories, which gives you TONS of potential for traffic.

What to Do Next: Get 50 Done-for-You Instagram Templates

Our friend and fellow online publisher, Debbie Drum, has put together an Instagram traffic plan that includes 50 fill-in-the-blanks templates to make it super easy for you to leverage Instagram.

Here’s a quick peek at the templates…

Just go here for full details and discover her unique formula for Instagram traffic.

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Here’s an excerpt from our interview with Jimena Cortes about getting clients from LinkedIn. In this video, Jimena goes over what people are looking for on LinkedIn and some ideas on how you might leverage it for your business.

Watch or read the quick summary below…

Here’s what Jimena has to say…

Every business needs marketing and there are many aspects of marketing; SEO, writing, etc. If you position yourself differently and lead with your RESULTS, instead of just your skills, it can work well for you. Put these results on your profile, in your copy and content because people don’t care about what you can do. They care about what you can do for them.

When you lead with your results, readers think to themselves that they would want those types of results so they would be more apt to contact you.

So, marketing is a big one but LinkedIn can work well for anyone.

You can be business-to-business or business-to-consumer. If, for example, you had a physical product that you sell. There are people who could sell it for you. If you were selling tables, you would find people who sell tables online and in stores and contact those people to see if they would be interested in carrying your line of tables.

It’s all about who you want to work with and what you need from them – OR what they need from you. If it’s PR you’re looking for, or if you want to write for certain magazines, find out who you need to contact and what you need to do to get your foot in the door.

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Here’s an excerpt from our interview with Antonio Thornton about getting clients from LinkedIn. In this video, Antonio explains the importance of recognizing your preferred target audience and finding them on LinkedIn.

Watch or read the quick summary below.

Here’s what Antonio has to say…

With LinkedIn, you will be building one-on-one relationships like you would at any live event. You want to keep the same principles you have with any marketing you do. You want to focus on two things – your market and your message. It’s your foundation.

Your market is the people you are talking to. It’s a group of people with a commonality. You hope the commonality is that they want or need the thing that you sell.

Your message is what you are saying to these people to help them make the decision you want them to make; to buy your stuff, hire you, to donate, to volunteer or whatever the case may be.

When you know who your market is, you know what to say to them. Using LinkedIn, let’s look at this example. If you’re going after IT folks, you would search for IT firms. Who you contact within those firms depends on what you are trying to get them to do. If you want to write technical documents for their firm, you would locate the person who would be hiring the people who write those documents. This might be the CEO or CMO. So, in LinkedIn, you first search for the companies, then you start targeting those people.

For the messaging, if you’re targeting the CEO or CMO of IT firms, you need to know the language needed to reach them. You want a USP. You want a strong message but it has to be written in the way in which it will interest them.

LinkedIn is free but they have upgrade options. I recommend using the Sales Navigator because it allows you to do a lot more, a lot deeper searches. If you want to find the CMO of tech firms in Atlanta, Georgia that have fewer than 50 employees, you can do that with Sales Navigator.

This is important because a firm with two employees will have different concerns than a firm with a thousand employees. They are two very different companies so you have to treat them differently in your messages.

LinkedIn offers a 30-day trial when you sign up. But you want to identify your target market before you sign up. Because time is ticking once you sign up, you want to be able to hit the floor running when you sign up so be sure to know who you are targeting before you sign up.

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Here’s an excerpt from our interview with Antonio Thornton about getting clients from LinkedIn. He has some smart advice for closing the sale once you get the client on the phone.

Watch or read the quick summary below.

Here’s what Antonio has to say…

Closing a sale through LinkedIn is pretty much the same as anywhere else and here’s a quick rundown.

Once you get on the phone with Mark. You listen. Listen to what he has to say to where he needs help.

Then sum it up for him. Say “Mark, it sounds like you have this and this but need help with this and this.”

When he confirms, you say, I can help you with that.

If you cannot personally help them with what they need, can you connect them with someone who can? If you can provide that connection, it’s valuable to them. At that point, they owe you a favor. Maybe they can help you make connections. Maybe they will need your services later on.

In addition, you also have a favor owed to you by the other person. So, if they say thanks for the referral, it turned into a profitable contract. Can I take you to lunch? You can say, no but you can send me some referrals.

The whole idea of the LinkedIn process is to listen to what they need and fill the gap however you can. If it’s with your own services, that’s fantastic. If it’s with helping them make connections, that’s great too because it will help you gain referrals as well.

How to Get the Full Interview:

If you found this tip helpful, we have the full interview available, exclusively to our Elite Writer’s Lab members and the good news is, you can join and get instant access to a huge library of content, just for writers, by clicking here.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living.  You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

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If you’re trying to create a Facebook Story to create your business…good news! It’s easy to do. Let’s run through the basics of getting it done.

To create a story, go to your Facebook Page or Group (or do it from your personal profile if you’re uploading to your personal profile) on your mobile device.

Just click to “add to story” and you can upload a picture or video or take a photo to upload. Don’t worry about having your story completely ready, you can add text and other effects before you publish your story.

Just remember, photos and videos will be in portrait format. You CAN add landscape. Videos can be up to 20 seconds long.

Once you have your content, you can add filters, masks, and/or text or doodles. Save each image on your camera roll before moving on to the next image just in case—you don’t want to lose all your hard work.

Facebook Stories offer a wide range of special effects. Try them out over time, but avoid creating cluttered stories, so think minimalistic. Too many effects can overwhelm your viewers as well as obscure the image or video’s purpose.

Your main goal is to present your business in its best possible light. You want your work to stand out without looking unprofessional or gaudy. Stick to your brand color scheme as much as possible to aid in brand awareness.

The text overlay will probably be your most important tool.  You can use it to create your cover page, section pages, captions on images, and more. You may also want to consider using the paintbrush and pen tools to highlight items in your stories.

Facebook offers 3 publishing options. You can post your content to your mobile timeline, directly to one or more friends/connections (using the “@” symbol and their name), or to your story. This variety of options makes it easy for you to send your stories specifically to the people who would be most interested in the information.

Now, if that’s a bit confusing…there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve made a bunch of templates for you. Just add your text and/or images and go…

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Facebook Story Templates

Our Facebook Story Template Package makes it easy for you to create eye-catching stories for a variety of business-building purposes.

The package includes:

Click here to grab the Facebook Story template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get an additional $10 off the already discounted price. Coupon code: 10TEMPLATES

You can use these templates for your own business, help your clients with getting clients or even include the templates in products you provide to your customers. The choice is yours!

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If you’ve got a huge Facebook audience, it’s probably easy to just throw anything into your Facebook Story and it’s sure to gain traction. BUT if you’ve got a small and growing audience, you’re going to have to add a bit more strategy to appealing to your audience and capturing their attention, so they’ll want to view your stories on an ongoing basis.

Certain types of content have a higher appeal to your target market than others do. Knowing what your audience prefers is very important to your overall success, as well as the level of engagement your story receives. When you implement stories using the content and information your viewers want, you’re more likely to get a good deal of engagement.

Here are a few suggestions to help you discover exactly what compels your viewers to take action and engage with your story. Be sure you track the results so you can repeat your successes by following the same steps. Give these a try and see how your audience responds. Make a note which types work best.

Behind The Scenes

Behind the scenes videos and images let people get to know you, your values, and your items better. This also helps you to build trust as well as greater brand recognition, especially if you include your logo in the visual story. If you are a sole proprietor, share the story of how you first started out in business. If you are a company, share staff stories about what they do and what motivates them.

When you are working on a new product, give them a sneak preview. If you are hosting a webinar or live event, use video excerpts (or teasers) to entice people to attend live, or to view recordings afterwards.

Once your target audience feels that they know and trust you, this can stimulate brand loyalty, which can in turn bring sales, repeat sales, and/or a desire to share your content with others.

Informative Demonstrations

Demonstrations are an ideal way to market products and services. In your stories, share hints, tips and how-tos, as a series of images with text overlay and/or videos. “Seeing is believing,” as they say. This is particularly true and works well for your visual and hands-on learners.

In addition, demos show off your expertise. Address the main issues your target audience has, in relation to your niche. Plan your story content around them. Save the stories to your camera roll, within your Instagram account. Doing this repeatedly allows you to build a library of useful content you can publish regularly there and on Facebook. As your number of followers grows, they will be able to see these stories.

Intriguing Teasers

People love movie trailers and sneak previews. Create stories made from snippets of a larger work. Include a strong call to action and a clickable link where your viewers can learn more on the topic. Keep in mind that teasers are meant to pique interest, not tell the whole story. This is often accomplished by sharing exciting clips and ending the teaser with a cliff-hanger to make them want to see the rest of the longer story/video.

Exclusive Offers

Stories are a great way to provide exclusive, limited time offers to a specific group or to fast-acting viewers. Use a coupon code to track the success of each offer you create. Save the best holiday or yearly promotions on your camera roll so you can re-use them. Prospective followers are more likely to follow you and engage with your stories if you give them a good reason to do so. Exclusive, valuable offers fit that bill.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content can help create buzz around your business. It can also take the burden off you a little in relation to constantly having to come up with fresh content for your site, blog and social accounts.

Run contests to get images, captions, videos and so on, making it clear that the best content will be used by you. Ask for video reviews and testimonials. Ask for questions and answer them. Invite guest bloggers. Giving your target audience the chance to provide feedback shows you care and promotes engagement.

You could also invite a takeover. Pay attention to those who are most diligent about following you on Instagram. Let them take over your account for 24 hours to publish what they feel is useful content. It gives you a break for a day and gives your audience a new “voice” to pay attention to.

Surveys, Polls & Activities

Learn more about your audience so you can serve them better. Ask them what they need help with. Get their opinions regarding options for your next product, have them vote on the options they want most. Plan to do random, prize drawings. These can keep things interesting and engaging.

Those are just a few ideas to try out and see how your audience likes them. Never stop experimenting and keep engaging that audience. It’s worth it to have you on their mind.

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Facebook Story Templates

Our Facebook Story Template Package makes it easy for you to create eye-catching stories for a variety of business-building purposes.

The package includes:

Click here to grab the Facebook Story template package.

And, of course, use our special coupon code to get an additional $10 off the already discounted price. Coupon code: 10TEMPLATES

You can use these templates for your own business, help your clients with getting clients or even include the templates in products you provide to your customers. The choice is yours!

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