Part of the Blog Writing Magic series. Subscribe now by email or by RSS so you don’t miss out.

Once upon a time there was a writer with a mission. She wanted to start a blog and get 1,000 subscribers after 12 months of blogging. After all, how hard could it be? She had 14 years of experience designing and writing for the Web plus 200 friends on her personal email mailing list. She figured if she couldn’t do it no one could.

But she rushed into it and made every mistake in blogging history. First she didn’t plan her blog properly. Then, because it was just an experiment, she threw the design together in 30 minutes. Next she changed topics as often as Lady Gaga changes her image and finally she switched domain names three times.

It wasn’t just her who was confused, her readers were too so they didn’t bother subscribing and looked else where for their regular blog reading fix.

It was depressing. But knowing that perseverance is the key to success our fearless writer carried on blogging, scouring the Internet daily for advice, ever determined to work out why her writing was failing to convert casual readers into loyal subscribers.

There was plenty of blog writing advice out there. She read that content is king, people love stories and writers need to have a voice so she wrote more, shared stories and bared her soul. It didn’t help.

Although she wrote her heart out and updated her blog three times a week after six months of blogging she still only had 43 subscribers. Failure loomed.

Finally in a last desperate bid to succeed she resorted to doing what she knew best:

• Write about a topic she knew inside out.
• Give her readers information they were craving.
• Be confident and share from the heart.

She stopped thinking so much about her goals and started thinking more about her readers’ goals. It worked. Check out the graph below and you’ll see the upturn in subscribers. The graph doesn’t show the whole story but slowly her subscriber numbers  creeped up and she got 1,000 subscribers just in time to meet her self-imposed deadline.

Writing blog posts that get more readers

1. Focus on giving your readers value
Work out why your readers have come to your blog and give them your best information every time. Make your blogs posts clear, useful and actionable. Read the bit about focusing on giving your readers value again and make it your blogging mantra or write it down and stick it on the wall somewhere so you focus on it every time you write.

2. Just write as if you were speaking to your best friend
Use the kind of simple language you use in every day life, don’t confuse people with jargon or too many long words.

3. Give your readers clear instructions
They’re blog readers not mind readers. If you have tips break them down into easy steps. If you have advice make sure they can understand it. If you want readers to subscribe ask them to. If you’d like them to share your posts on Twitter or Facebook suggest it to them and make it easy for them. If you want them to leave a comment tell them or leave them with a question to answer at the end of your post.

4. Keep it simple
Telling a story helps but to begin with just make sure your blog post has a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s the information that people want more than anything, a story’s just the icing on the cake.

Writing Static Blog Content That Gets More Readers

Writing useful blog posts that clearly give your readers value is key but to convert new readers into subscribers you also need to pay attention to the static content on your blog too, especially the about page.

Your about page is the single most important page on your blog. Most new readers who visit a blog and are thinking of subscribing will check the about page first before signing up. It’s your big chance to convert blog visitors from casual readers into eager subscribers.

Abracadabra Your About Page

Make sure people who hit your about page can instantly read these four things without having to scroll down:

1. The benefits of reading or subscribing to your blog.
Remember your readers want to know that you can add value to their lives. They’re not interested in your amazing social life or your exotic travel stories. They might get interested in those one day, but right now they’re after one thing: cold hard information and the solution to their nagging problem. If you’ve got the goods make sure blog readers know it right away by telling them what information they can find on your blog.

2. Your credibility
Readers don’t want to invest precious time listening to any old charlatan who sets up a blog and calls themselves a guru. They want to know you have a proven track record of success. Qualifications and experience will go down well too, but don’t talk about yourself in the third person  – use the word ‘I’ and write if you were talking to a friend.

3. Social Proof
Well anyone can say they’re successful it helps to back that up with social proof. It’s a brilliant way to let people know you’re the real deal without talking yourself up. Slipping in name of companies you’ve worked with, testimonials from happy customers or other third party accolades is the perfect way to back up your claims.

4. Calls to action
Don’t forget to seal the deal. Hopefully they’ll like what you read and if they do you want to make sure the don’t slip off without subscribing and forget all about you. Time for another call to action telling them why they should subscribe and including the two words that make people click more than any others: free and now.

You probably guessed that writer whose blogging journey got off to a slow start was me. I finally bought this domain name 13 months ago and started focusing on writing empowering tips for life and work then and soon realised that my readers were more interested in my web design and web writing tips than anything else. I surveyed my readers to find out what they wanted me to write about and they said writing. So that’s what I’m doing.

Today this blog totals over 1,700 subscribers and one of them is probably you. It’s not a miracle, it’s because I’m giving you the information you need and if you want to grow your blog you should do that for your readers too.

Blog Content Writing Practice

• Pick the topic you know most about and write your most useful blog post ever.
• Include calls to action at the beginning and end of your blog posts.
• Ask a question at the end of your posts to solicit comments.
• Rewrite your about page emphasising the benefits people will get from reading your blog and why you’re the best person for them to get it from.

What’s the first thing you’re going to change on your blog now?

Take the Hot Spot Blog Writing About Page Challenge

Paste the first three sentences of your existing about page into the comments then give yourself a mark out of ten for them. Be honest and remember this is your main  chance to convince people that your blog has something valuable to offer them. Do your three sentences do that or do you need to change them?

If your about page needs then try rewriting those three first sentences right here in the comments so we can see your before and after versions. We’ll help you workshop those three crucial sentences on your about page so they will convert readers into subscribers.

Update: I’ve to close the workshop now and might not be able to offer my thoughts. Sorry if you got here too late but I can see this post’s had the desired effect: people are rethinking their about page, revising it and improving it which is brilliant. Well done everyone and thanks for participating.

If you want to add your old and new about page to the comments anyway please do. It’s a great way for us to get to know each other.

Don’t Delay Subscribe Today

If you like what you read here remember to subscribe free by email or by RSS so you don’t miss out on the rest of the Blog Writing Magic series. Last week I covered writing hypnotic blog headlines and in the weeks to come I’ll tackle:

• Blog post layout
• Editing
• Writing practice

Please tell your friends and followers by using the share buttons below or recommending this post in your favourite blog bookmarking site so we can grow the Hot Spot Team. I look forward to seeing you here again soon. Thank you for reading and happy writing! Annabel

I don’t rate myself a great writer even though I’ve been writing for the Internet since 1995 and my work’s been featured on popular blogs like Copyblogger and Problogger. Entrepreneurs pay $125 an hour for my writing because it wins business for them, but despite that I’ve only recently gained the confidence to tell people I’m a writer.

So when my dear blog readers ask me to write about writing it scares me. I’d prefer to walk on hot coals than position myself as an expert on writing because, although I love writing, I’m not a natural writing genius.

I write slowly. I’m always looking for ways to improve what I’ve written and I’m never 100% satisfied with the finished product. Every blog post you read I’ve spent hours planning, writing, editing, formatting and tweaking. Then when I hit that publish button and the post goes live I worry about if people will like it and whether any pesky typos have slipped me by.

Occasionally a post spills out like a silk handkerchief out of a hat ~ there are a couple here that only took me an hour or two to write. But the typical 1,000 word blog post that you read in a few minutes took me a hundred times longer to write. So I guess I’m not that different from you or many other writers.

My writing is improving every day and I’m getting faster too but the truth is writing takes time and practice. There’s no magic wand you can wave to improve your writing and pen blog posts people love every time.

Still, I do know a few valuable lessons about the blog writing game that will help you improve your writing, get new blog readers and win more business online. Today I’m going to walk with fire and share my writing tips with you.

Blog Writing Magic Series

What I plan to do is tell you the Internet writing rules I’ve learned over the past 15 years and then step aside to let you weave your own magic. I’ve created a series called Blog Writing Magic to help you improve your blog writing and this is the first post in the series.

Each Blog Writing Magic post will have:

• Guidelines for you to follow.
• Tips for better blog writing.
• Fun writing exercises to get you practising.

If you like what you see here don’t forget to subscribe by email or by RSS so you don’t miss out on the rest of the series, and please tell your friends and followers too, so we can grow the Hot Spot Team.

How to Write Hypnotic Headlines and Drive Readers to Your Blog

People will never read your blog posts if the headline is more fizzle than sizzle.

Even people who’ve subscribed to your blog by RSS feed or email will read the headline first to decide if they want to read the whole post or not. Sadly, if your blog headline doesn’t seem to help with their problem or doesn’t arouse their curiosity they’ll never read the whole post at all. You can put those violins away though and make sure your blog posts get read by learning how to write hypnotic headlines that people click on.

I can’t teach you how to write good headlines, give you any set formulas or wave a magic wand to turn you into a top writer over night but I can give you some ideas, resources and motivation so you can learn the art of headline writing for yourself.

A blog headline should immediately tell people what the blog post is about and give them a reason to read it so compelling, newspaper style blog headlines are what you need. If you write hypnotic headlines at least some of the time to begin with then you’ll:

• Get more readers
• Win incoming links
• Gain new subscribers.

Hypnotic Blog Headlines to Get You Started

Some of the most popular types of blog posts and are easily translated into great headlines. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

1. Ask a question – Questions are a good way to arouse readers’ curiosity, make them want to find out more and give them a need to read the full story.

• Is starting a blog the hardest part?
• Are anti-wrinkle creams all they’re cracked up to be?
• Confused by affiliate marketing?
• Would you Travel 1,846 Miles for this Man?
• Do you know why networking’s crucial for blogging success?

2. Ask Why – Try to solve a common or persistent problem your readers have.

• Why you need to write killer headlines for your blog
• Why I got headhunted for a vacation
• Why do people love to travel?
• Why time management is dumb
• Why I’ll always back up my work from now on

3. How to – Help your readers do something better, faster, in simple steps or with confidence.

• How to work out what your dream is fast
• How to break the blogging rules with panache
• How to sleep soundly
• How to stay focused in 9 words
• How to use Twitter as a motivational tool

4. Numbered lists – A popular staple for a reason because people love numbered lists. I was scathing of this when I started blogging and wrote 101 ways to feel happy as a joke because I hated the idea of list posts. The joke was on me as it went on to become one of the most popular posts on my blog at that time. List posts are also a great fall back plan if you’re in a hurry. Compared to other types of blog posts they can be written quickly and can easily be written bit by bit work if you can add a new point when you have 10 minutes to spare.

• 10 ways to get the life you want
• 3 keys to living your dream life
• 101 ways to feel happy
• 5 instructions for better writing
• 7 good reasons to go for a walk

5. Best or worst – Make your readers curious and give them a handy reference they’ll keep coming back to.

• Best and worst things about living in Australia
• Worst blogging mistakes and how to fix them
• Best blogs to go for blog writing tips
• Worst blog designs ever
• Best ways to network using social media

Advanced Headline Honing Techniques

If you’ve read this far that’s great news. You must have liked the post headline and you deserve to know that I had fun brainstorming by myself and wrote over 30 headlines before picking the one I thought would work best. Here are a few other headline techniques I’ve experimented with:

• Court controversy with your headlines – Why time management is dumb.
• Experiment with rhyme – Don’t delay, subscribe today.
• Use alliteration – Best business blogs.
• Use buzz words like ‘killer’ or ‘awesome’ that will appeal to your readers – Killer ways to travel for less.
• Cite celebrities or popular culture – A surfer’s guide to success or In bed with Seth Godin.

Those are just a few ideas for writing hypnotic headlines, now you just need to practice. Lots. Remember that even top copy writers like Brian Clark,  Roberta Rosenberg, and Sonia Simone have spent years practising and improving their writing skills.

If you want more ideas for writing blog headlines I recommend Copyblogger’s Magnetic Headlines series.

Another great resource is Sean D’Souza‘s report: why do most headlines fail?

Last Word on Blog Headline Writing Tips

• Focus on creating headlines that show you provide useful value to your readers.
• Get in the habit of scanning newspapers and magazines to see which headlines stand out. Make a note of great headlines and see how you can customise them to make them work on your blog.
• Plan your attention grabbing headlines first then write the post to fit them.
• Try to keep your blog titles short but if they have to be long don’t worry, just bear in mind that people may not see the whole headline so get the most important words in first.
• Make sure the font size for your headlines is big enough so people know they’re headlines. You’ve spent time creating headlines you can be proud of, now make sure people can read them.
• Finally the most important tip of all is have fun writing your blog headlines.

Remember those top copy writer I mentioned before ~ Brian, Roberta and Sonia? They didn’t get good at writing by reading about writing. They didn’t get good at headline writing by thinking about writing. They got good at headline writing just like we will: by practising it lots and accepting that it’s never going to be perfect but can only get better.

Blog Headline Writing Practice

1. Come up with 5 headlines for your blog from each of the styles above: How to, why, question, numbered list and best or worst. If you’ve got categories on your blog come up with 5 titles for each of the headline styles above that you could actually use on your blog. For example, if you have 5 categories on your blog that will be 25 headlines. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the information you need to actually write the whole post. Just try to come up with titles your readers should find interesting. Have fun with it, channel you inner tabloid newspaper editor and concentrate on writing as many titles as you can. You can always edit and refine them later.

2. Go back through your blog archives and see if there are any boring headlines. If you find some improve them or come up with better headlines on the same topic that you can write about another time or just change the headline so more people read it.

3. Leave a comment with your favourite headline from your blog and or any other blog or if you need help with a blog post headline tell us the original fizzer headline and we’ll see if we can come up with ways to make it sizzle. Let’s use the comments to workshop blog headlines and help each other hone hypnotic headlines.

Don’t Delay Subscribe Today

If you like what you see here remember to subscribe free by email or by RSS so you don’t miss out on the rest of the Blog Writing Magic series. In the weeks to come I’ll tackle:

• Blog content writing
• Post layout
• Editing
• Writing practice

Please tell your friends and followers too by using the share buttons below or recommending this post in your favourite blog bookmarking site so we can grow the Hot Spot Team. I look forward to seeing you here again soon. Thank you for reading and happy writing! Annabel

Can you name an unwanted side effect of having thousands of people reading your blog? Here’s one – complete strangers emailing you about their new blog, website, book or business and asking you to help them promote it.

The first time I got a pitch email like that I was actually pleased. Like most new bloggers I was desperate for my blog to be read by someone who wasn’t a friend or relative, and getting a pitch email let me know that I’d somehow got on someone’s radar. That first time, and many times after that, I replied to pitch emails with a polite email like this:

“Thanks for contacting me. So sorry I can’t help you this time but my blog isn’t about remote control cyborgs so I don’t think your product will interest my readers.”

Times have changed. Now a cursory glance is all an unsolicited pitch email gets before it ends up in my email trash can.

Even though I’m the kind of person who replies to all my emails (yes, it’s an illness, I’m self-treating) I don’t feel bad because some of the pitch emails don’t even seem to come from real people, or at least not people who have real communications skill, real passion for what they do or a real idea about how to get people to say yes.

How Not to Write a Pitch Email

Let me show you a few samples of pitch emails I’ve received to give you an idea of the suffering innocent bloggers and business people like  you and me are being put through. Take this as an example from a pitch email that recently turned up:

“Hello Rich,

I have been trying to reach you regarding…”

Unfortunately, this company plundered the domain name registry to see who registered my blog address and came up with my husband’s name Rich, not my name Annabel. Getting someone’s name wrong or misspelling it is bad enough but actually reassigning their gender is heinous.

This is a prime example of how not to write a pitch email and also includes an example of stilted writing in the use of “I have” instead of “I’ve”. I’m not sure if this email was actually written by a robot or just seems to have been.

Call me old fashioned but I still think “Dear” followed by their first name is the ideal way to start an email or letter to someone you don’t know. Unless you don’t know their name in which case find out what it is before emailing them. If you really can’t unearth a first or last name then you should either brush up on your detective skills or go with “Hi there,” as a last resort although I can’t recommend that.

Most people prefer to be called by their first names these days but I try to respect my elders and if I want to be formal, which an unsolicited email pitch calls for, I’d use a title and start the email “Dear Mr. Candy”.

Here’s another bad pitch email which shows that anyone can make mistakes.

A fellow web copy writer contacted me as part of a mass mailing via LinkedIn recently. This interesting email pitch case study highlights the dangers of mass mailings. Please bear in mind that I’m a professional web copy writer too and had connected with this copy writer on LinkedIn to support her endeavours. Then she sent me this:

Email Subject: Your LinkedIn Profile Needs Help!

That got my attention so I opened the email and read this:

“Why is your LinkedIn profile so weak?“

I have to give this woman credit for being proactive in seeking work and her offer of $50 to rewrite a LinkedIn profile seemed like a good deal too. So good in fact, I might have even forwarded it to a few people if I hadn’t felt so insulted at being told my profile was weak. But my ego’s still intact because I decided she probably hadn’t actually read my profile – for starters it wasn’t that bad (admittedly not a Pulitzer prize winner but at least average) and it did at least say that I was a writer which would have been a red flag for her not contact me with her offer if she’d taken a moment to read it.

Even if she did mean to contact me I don’t think it’s a good plan to insult people and make them feel like idiots in a pitch.

To add injury to insult the entire email was in heavy bold lettering, with a lot of hideous italics thrown in. I’ve left it that way so you can see how unpleasant it looks.

The final nail in the coffin came when, because I’m inherently nosy (I am a writer after all) I decided to check out her LinkedIn profile to see what was so good about her profile writing. Sadly there was no link to it so I’ll never know.

How to Write a Pitch Email That Works

I could share many more bad email pitch examples but let’s move on to how you should write a pitch:

1. Don’t pitch strangers by email or any other way. Build a relationship with them first on Twitter or by commenting on their blog.
2. Be sincere and personal.
3. Get your facts right, show them you’ve read their blog.
4. Mention something you’ve done for them – linked to their blog, left comments, shared it on Facebook, subscribed to their newsletter, or bought their latest product.
5. At the very least find out the person’s name and spell it right.
   
6. Use the normal language and abbreviations you’d use if you were speaking to someone so you don’t sound like a robot.
7. Be formal and use Dear as the opening address. Unless you don’t know their name in which case you’ve not got much of a chance.
8. Avoid using exclamation marks in pitch or emails. They never inspire confidence in a business situation.
9. Don’t insult the person you’re trying to win over.
10. Always include a link to your blog and other social media profiles like Twitter and Facebook.
11. Don’t do a mass mailing – you waste everyone’s time.
12. Make sure the email isn’t all in an ugly font or bold lettering.
    
13. Be brief. This isn’t the time to write an essay. Emphasise the benefits and let them know the best way to move forward.
14. Thank them for taking the time to read your email.
15. Don’t pitch at all.

How to Write a No Pitch Email Pitch That Works

I want to mention two books I’ve recently found out about, both written by blogging friends. Both the authors write great books and great pitch emails that follow all the rules above including the last one: don’t pitch.

These authors just emailed me saying they’d like to send me a copy of their book. They didn’t ask me to write about their book, they didn’t request I review it and they didn’t pressure me in anyway. They never emailed my husband instead of me. They never asked for anything. Which made me actually look forward to getting their books and open to reading them.

Well, actually they did ask for one thing. They asked me if they could send me their book. So I agreed. How could I not? I like to read. One of the authors didn’t even have to ask me for my address because he had the intelligence and consideration to  look for it on my blog and he found it all by himself. Who is this polite, respectful genius I hear you ask? What does he write about? Where does he live? How can I meet him? Is he married?

I’m happy to reveal it’s the one and only Rob White, who writes about success, lives in Boston and can be encountered regularly here on Twitter. Yes, he is married but unlike some of us he doesn’t seem to witter on about his personal life or divulge any of the little snippets of information I like to winkle out of people on his blog. I had to look on the inside cover of his book to find out his marital status. Hmmm, I wonder if that reticence is the reason for his success or a symptom of it…

But I digress. The point is that all these successful ‘pitchers’ actually did was ask if they could send me their book and then send it. Clever isn’t it? So that’s why I say the secret of successful pitching is don’t pitch and I’m happy to tell you about these two books.

180 by Rob White

180 is an  impressive  hardback book. It’s the kind of book you could keep by your bed and use as a personal weapon if an intruder snuck in on you, yet Mind Adventure writer Rob White sent it to me in Australia all the way from the USA.

180 contains 90 lessons for you to follow over a 90 day period to create a 180 turn around in your life. It’s stuffed with stories, quotes and illustrations that will inspire you to reach your full potential, change negative beliefs, stop worrying, feel happier and be more successful. It asks if you’re you ready to make a 180 degree turn around in your life and if you are, or know anyone who is I recommend it.

180 would make a brilliant gift for a young person on a special birthday, someone going through a mid-life crisis or anyone who wants to change their life for the better and is ready to make that their focus for 90 days. Check out 180 here.

Upgrade Reality by Dirk De Bruin

I call him Diggy and you will too when you get to know him. Diggy’s been writing about personal development at his blog Upgrade Reality for over a year and he’s got some great insights and stories to share.

His first ebook, also called Upgrade Reality, only came out this week but I got a sneak preview and I know it will help many people with their confidence, motivation, relationships and just about any area of their personal and business life. I love the story about how Diggy turned his life around, his willingness to share that and his dedication to helping other people.

What’s the best way for someone to pitch you?

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Please Spread the Word

Thank you for reading and being part of the Hot Spot Team. If you like my blog please help me grow it so that I can eventually turn it into a viable business. You can help by sharing the blog or specific posts on you Facebook wall, Tweeting them, emailing posts to friend, relatives and colleagues or just telling people about Get In the Hot Spot.

The best way to grow a business is word of mouth and I’d really appreciate it if you can tell someone or as many people as you can about Get In the Hot Spot.

Thank you so much for helping with that. I can’t wait to see you here again soon.

Good luck with all your plans! Annabel

Photo credit: Seattle Municipal Archives, Michael and Flyfshrmn98.

Guest post by Kate Mende-Fridkis

Since I’ve gotten myself in the Hot Spot today, I thought I’d do my own take on a “how to” post. Annabel has this inspiring ability to seize an enormous topic, drag it onto dry land, cut it into little, manageable pieces, and serve it, fetchingly arranged and pleasingly accessible. That sounded a lot like sushi. So here’s my sushi of the day. Here’s something that I’ve learned about blogging: It’s all about the struggle.

Writing about your mistakes and your learning process not only helps you, it helps other people. And also, it’s art. One of my favorite things about art is that it transforms the mundane. When I have an unproductive, lazy, stupid day in which I forget embarrassingly simple things, take five minutes to calculate how much tip to leave, and trip on the doormat twice in a row, writing about it transforms the experience into something funny. It rescues my day from the closet of lost days, where it would’ve been thrown into a dusty pile and forgotten, and turns it into something sort of lovely. Like a snapshot of a flower. Like a painting. It isn’t just that the experience is made funny by writing an amusing piece about it, but the piece itself has worth. It has become its own entity.

Writing has always been an important part of my life, but I didn’t realize that it had the kind of freeing potential I’ve been describing until recently.

I didn’t go to school as a kid. Not even for one day. I didn’t take any tests, or have gym class, or a specific time that I was supposed to eat lunch every day. I was homeschooled (unschooled, technically). I wasn’t surrounded by other kids who were the same age. As a result, I had the sense, growing up, that I was very different from everyone else in the world, and also that I was very beautiful. After all, there was no clique of more popular, shiny-haired girls to teach me otherwise.

I didn’t make any effort to wear certain clothes because they were “cooler.” I was already cool. And so I wore plaid shorts and a shirt with big flowers on it and played in the woods and kissed homeschooled boys who were overwhelmed with joy and awe at me simultaneously being a girl and paying attention to them. And I wrote all the time. I wrote books, from the time I was twelve or so, about fantasy worlds. About mysteriously powerful girls who had to raise their slender arms dramatically and shoot magic out of their fingers in order to defeat the corrupt, red-robed High Council that had coldly controlled the political system of an ancient, lavishly forested world for millennia. These girls almost always had messy brown hair and a Jewish nose with a bump on it.

Kate Mende-Fridkis

And then I went to college. Where it turned out that I was not quite as different or as beautiful as I’d always assumed I was (Jewish noses weren’t in, apparently). After that I moved to Manhattan for grad school, and there were models in the subway, and models jogging in Riverside Park, and models standing in front of me in line at the gelato place, ordering something non-fat and tiny, and about a million young, gorgeous, intensely accomplished people, running around with purposeful looks on their perfectly planed faces.

It’s taken some adjustment.

At which I am not always as adept as I’d like to be.

I had, by then, stopped writing fantasy novels. I didn’t have the time. I lived strings of ordinary days, in which any high elves that might hunt gracefully in the depths of Central Park stayed hidden, and my building’s super cornered me in the dingy basement and passionately accused me of mis-recycling. There was a chasm between my two worlds. The world of my childhood, where I’d been gorgeous and the promise of the fantastical was latent, lying dormant, everywhere I looked. And this bigger, louder, grown up world that so many people had met so long before me.

I started to write. About being a woman. About being a young woman in a strange world. And I realized that I didn’t want to write neat, well-plotted stories anymore. I wanted to write about the uneven, lumpy, awkwardness of daily life. Which doesn’t come with a perfect plotline. It comes in little bits, and in time broken into days, and in days that blend together. It comes in tiny epiphanies and lots of repetition. Writing can force you towards the epiphanies, and it can turn repetition into a pattern that can be analyzed. Regular blogging does this naturally. Like keeping a journal, but with feedback, and with the thought that goes into presenting something to someone else. Blogging nudges you towards thinking a little bit more carefully about what the things you do mean.

Some people say that you should make sure every post is a perfect, finished product. As in, it’s the best you can possibly do at the time. I’m on board with the whole “the fewer typos the better” school of thought, but I also believe that blogging is the ideal space for working through things at a rapid pace, and assisting other people by publicly investigating your own mistakes. I don’t necessarily mean the kind of mistakes that prevent certain family members from attending holiday gatherings, unless you’re comfortable with that (and have always hated holiday gatherings in any case). It doesn’t have to be that intimate. It just doesn’t have to be perfect.

Penelope Trunk talks about why perfectionism misses the point, and I agree, both because I haven’t done dishes in about two weeks, and because I can’t bring myself to feel very badly about it. Annabel shares the mistakes that she made when she first started this blog. Believe me, I’m learning from them constantly.

So how do you transform the mundane? By writing it.

I write because I’m frustrated. Because I don’t have the answers. And because, by writing, I actually do have some of the answers. For me, blogging is the result of Manhattan and models and adulthood on a girl who spent most of her life in a gentler world. It’s the evolution of my relationship with the ordinary, and with the things that continue to bother me. It’s a display case of my mistakes, where my mistakes, through being set out there, are transformed into something kind of beautiful.

Kate Mende-Fridkis lives in New York City. In addition to blogging at Eat the Damn Cake, she writes for the Huffington Post (check out her blogger profile here), has been repeatedly syndicated on Jezebel and Brazen Careerist, and makes really good grilled cheese sandwiches. Like, seriously good.

Photo credit: Sushi or Death

I’d love to get your advice about how I can make my blog better, give you what you want and create a hot product that will really help you.

This survey will take five minutes or less and I really appreciate you taking the time to give me your valuable feedback.

I’ll let you know the results of the survey on the blog and your answers will help me create my first ebook, webinar or course which I’m very excited about. Many thanks! Annabel

Photo: Stefan Baudy

Guest post by Hagan Blount.

Looking back on the last year, I’ve gone from not having a site for my food musings to being featured in major media outlets like the Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Post. I just did what I thought was fun and the press came naturally. But I realized that it must have been more than that when I was updating my press page recently, and paused for a bit of reflection. Narrowing it down, these are the six steps I’ve been using to get more press:

1. Find the popular writers in your niche and connect – get featured on sites that these people are reading

To get to the press, you need to be pressworthy. If you’re not notable, it’s harder to be pressworthy. The one thing I hear from actors and actresses in NYC is that they need work, but they need a résumé to get work, and they can’t build a résumé without getting work first, so they’re screwed.

I don’t think they’re screwed, I think they’re just lazy and won’t put in the time they need doing stuff for free or for little pay in order to build their resume, they want to wait for something that’s “worth it.” When you’re just starting out, you really can’t select the publications in which you’d like to be featured. The easiest way to do this is to start small and work up. I’m not saying you can’t write “To Kill A Mockingbird” and win a pulitzer in your first foray, but this way is just easier.

On a project I did in January, I started connecting with all the food bloggers in Manhattan. I started by accepting anyone who wanted to join, and in the end, I had a critical mass that got press from the most popular food news sites in Manhattan and two of the top five local food bloggers.

So, how do you go about finding the most popular bloggers in your niche? Here’s how I did it:

• Ask the fans – Find some fan/help forums on the subject you’re into and ask them who they read. Who are their favorites? If you’re really into your subject, you’ll get some research done in the meantime by reading some new perspectives on your field.
• Blogrolls - Look on the most popular sites in your niche and see who they link to – talk to those people! Add them to lists, follow, RT, and mention them on Twitter, like them on Facebook. Tim Ferriss said that one extremely helpful way he got noticed early was by finding the thought-leaders in his field, looking at each of their blogrolls, and sending each of them advance copies of his book to review. When twenty of the people that you’re reading tell you to read something, you’re going to read it!
• Confirm your suspicions – Alexa and Compete are two awesome places to go to see how popular a blog is. Type in some site names and you’ll find that Annabel is a bit more popular than I. When you start to grow an audience, make sure you’re investing your time wisely.

I’ve declined a bunch of guest posts on sites that are just starting out and need content. I’m not going to invest my time guest posting on a site when I know no one is going to see it, but when you’re just starting out, if you can grab readers from another audience, I say do it.

Just make sure there’s an audience!

2. Find the individual emails of the press

All press websites have places you can submit tips or ask the editor questions. Unless you’re staging an event where pigs fly, you’re probably not going to get much traction asking people to cover your story on these sites. Even with personal emails, you are still going to get the delete button more often than not.

Remember, these people are just people like you and me. There are very few press superstars, but they are asked 1,000 times a day to cover 999 crappy projects, and their filters have to be on and working overtime. Imagine if your email box was more like an RSS feed – that’s what it’s like for these writers, so make every email count, write sexy and descriptive titles, and don’t send so many that you get rerouted to their trash can!

3. Live in a big city

Bigger press outlets happen to be in bigger cities. I am typing this from a Starbucks that’s less than a mile from pretty much every major news outlet in the world. That means that a great deal of their reporters are here. There are also many smaller news outlets just blocks away from me. Would you rather be huge in Kansas City (Perth) or part of a very popular blogger cadre in New York City (Sydney)?

I started off doing a project in the not so foodie city of Boston, then in the fairly foodie Washington, DC, and then I moved to the hyper-foodie culture of NYC. I moved to the center of the scene in my country. If there is a center for your scene, and you have freedom to move, explore your options. If you’re in the shot already, it’s easier for them to focus in on you.

4. Be First

If you can be the first to review a product, service, ebook, or even if you can make something like this post commenting on a new partnership, you could get picked up by the media.

This goes for everything that you do, but if you’re the first to do something, let everyone know about it! Don’t be afraid to promote yourself. If you don’t toot your own horn, no one can hear the music.

5. Be Awesome!

Go find something that hasn’t been done before and do it. When someone says, “that would never work,” you’re onto something. Don’t write to an audience: write for yourself and your audience will come! Follow what you’re interested in and passionate about and the intensity and desire will come through in your writing.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that most stuff we get excited about is just a mash-up of two things that were interesting before and they got more interesting by being combined. Think of mash-ups that you can make in your field and just do them. My most popular mash-up was a restaurant tournament where people voted on their favorite places – it was time consuming, but for the amount of press I got from that one event, it was worth it. Make a list of ideas, start drawing parallels between them and you’ll come up with something cool.

And now for the final and most important step …

6. Keep your clippings!

Links die. I control my site and that’s it, so I keep all of my important press clippings in JPEG format on my own site. I take screenshots of the web pages and piece them together in a photo editor to freeze the moment in time. If I have an audio clip, I copy the piece, cut it up with an audio editor if I need to, and put it on my website. If I have a TV appearance, I get my friend to DVR it, copy it, and upload it to YouTube.

The people who say they can’t get work without a résumé full of gigs? This is your new résumé, so fill it up!

Looking at this list, you can see that pretty much all of it talks about being pressworthy. Only one bullet talks about actually interacting with the press! Public image and your personal connections go hand in hand with having awesome, buzzable content.

And there’s no substitute for great content. If you only follow one item on this list, my suggestion is to always be awesome!

Hagan Blount is a Foodie, a producer, and a social media maven who’s been featured in The Huffington Post, National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal Online, Mashable, The Christian Science Monitor and a whole bunch of local food blogs in NYC. He’s a total media whore.

Thanks For Reading

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“If you’re lost in the forest, let the horse find the way home.”
Anne Lamott

Have you read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott? My friend Molly recommended it for my reading list of the best books I’ve ever read.

Bird by Bird is sub-titled, “Some Instructions On Writing and Life”,  and it’s a classic you must read if you haven’t already. It’s so good that I’m going to put in on my Christmas wish list because it’s one of those books you want to read more than once and underline your favorite passages.

I rarely buy books because I’m blessed with a brilliant local library so this is a true accolade.

Will Bird by Bird Appeal Only to Writers?

Bird By Bird will do more than just help you improve your writing skills. Anyone who loves to read would enjoy this book for the brilliant writing and intimate stories it tells. It will also appeal to readers who like life development or self help books and memoirs.

The instructions Lamott gives us are definitely as much on life as on writing. She has much to share on dealing with:

• Lack of confidence;
• Jealousy;
• Depression;
• Addiction;
• The death of a loved one;
• Being a parent;
• Self-identity;
• Self-acceptance;
• Self-love;

Lamott dares to share so much personal information about herself in a way that makes me yearn and dares me to do the same.

I came away from reading it feeling that I know a lot about her but there’s still much to learn, and likewise that I understand a lot about myself and life in general, but there remains much to learn there too.

5 Instructions on Writing and Life From Bird by Bird

1. Trust your instincts

This sounds new age and hippyish but it’s true. I think many of the problems facing us in the modern age are caused by people being so out of touch with their instincts. Life’s too full of goals to be reached, new cars, clothes and houses to be brought and deadlines to be met.

Sometimes you just have to chill out, go with the flow and see what happens. Some things can’t be rushed. Some problems get bigger (or seem to) the more you spend worrying at them and trying to solve them.

As the quote by Lamott at the top says:

“If you’re lost in the forest, let the horse find the way home.”

Do you ever feel stressed, lost or indecisive? Don’t worry, sometimes you just need to let the river carry you along. You’ll end up down at the sea in time anyway so there’s no point in fighting against the current.

2. Self-acceptance is the key to happiness

Lamott quotes Ethan Canin:

“Nothing is as important as a likable narrator. Nothing holds a story together better.”

You’re creating and narrating your own life story and you need to like or even love yourself. What makes people likable is not their clear skin, designer clothes, state of the art cell phone. Surprisingly, what makes people likable is their faults. Lamott says:

“perfect means shallow and unreal and fatally uninteresting.”

We connect with other people who have the same flaws as us. We are more aware of our own flaws than anyone else but we need to accept them and embrace them because those faults are what make us interesting. They might be hard to live with at times, but they’re a huge and valuable part of us.

3. Give it all

Don’t be afraid to give everything you’ve got and avoid saving something for later. Don’t worry that if you give all of yourself too soon you’ll run out of ideas, love or hope. You won’t.

The more you give the more you’ll get back. That’s the way of the world. The more you hold back the lonelier and more unfulfilled you’ll become. So give freely of yourself and to others.

4. Live in the now

Lamott quotes from the movie Cool Runnings:

“If you’re not enough before the gold medal, you won’t be enough without it.”

How many people do you know who think they’d be happy if they only had the right career, holiday or wife? The trouble is happiness doesn’t hinge on what you’ve got.

I’ve come to realise that people are either happy or they’re not. Even momentous events like winning an Olympic medal, winning the lottery or your first novel becoming a run away best seller won’t change your happiness level in the long run.

So we need to decide to be happy today, even if we’re unco-ordinated, badly paid and physically imperfect. Nothing can make you happy apart from yourself.

5. Be truthful

Admit who you are. Lamott says writers are needed to say:

“This is who we are.” It’s true for everyone. We spend our lives hiding behind our designer sunglasses trying hard to be cool, funny and popular when we’re not.

“If you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don’t go running all over the island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

Let your light shine too. Some people won’t like it. They might even try to get you to change the light bulb or turn your light out all together. But if you can find your own true light and connect with other people who enjoy basking in it then the world will be a better place.

More About Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott writes for Salon. She’s the author of several books including Bird by Bird which you can buy online at Amazon.

Thanks for reading

Please add your comments below and don’t forget to get updates by email now or get the RSS Feed, if you haven’t already, so you don’t miss out. As always, good luck with all your plans!

Thanks to Brendan Lally for the photo.

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Don’t you hate those phone messages you get with the plinky plinky music that say you’re on hold but your call is very important and you’ll be connected shortly?

Shortly! What does that mean? Is it even a word?

Sometimes<!–more–> the wait is 10 seconds which is fine. Other times it’s 10 minutes which is not fine and can be infuriating.

Either way sometimes not knowing how long the wait will be is the hardest part.

If you’re expecting something, or want something to happen, human nature wants to know when you can expect it.

But sometimes something you want to happen occurs when you least expect it.

That’s what happened to me last week.

Surprise Visit

My best friend, Fiona, from England came to Australia and paid me a surprise visit.

We’ve known each other for 23 years, since we were 19, but haven’t seen each other for about 4 years, then suddenly, out of the blue, she was here with me. It was so exciting, unexpected and delightful that I simply didn’t manage to write my post in time.

When life surprises you in the most delightful way like that you need to be flexible and go with the flow.

Sorry Sorry Sorry

So this is my round about way of saying sorry I missed a blog post last week.

Most of you know that I live in Australia with my husband and three kids but I think I forgot to mention that the wee ones are currently on school vacation for six weeks.

Yes, school ended well before Christmas and doesn’t start again until the end of January here. Hence I’m busier than usual and, combined with visits from overseas relatives, I’m struggling to keep up with this blog.

New Blog Schedule

So I’ll be reducing my posts to once a week for the mean time. Tuesdays will be the big day.

Blog Developments

Some things about this blog are clear:

• I love writing it, sharing ideas with my readers and hearing your thoughts.
• I’m committed to writing it and looking forward to achieving my goal of 1000 subscribers soon.
• I’m committed to helping my readers and providing weekly inspiration and advice to keep them fired up and striving for a life less ordinary.

But there are a few problems with my blog. In order to keep it going I need to make money out of it.

Will I earn money from this blog this year?

Most of us need money to live on and I’m no different. I need to be compensated for my time, ideas and writing on this blog. I’d do it for the love of it if money was growing on the trees in our garden, but it’s not and my husband feels strongly that I should be making money from blogging or not do it.

But I feel so guilty even thinking about making money from it, let alone telling you this.

In blog speak they call it “monetizing” your blog. It sounds so mercenary and horrid but it needs to be done if Get In the Hot Spot  is to survive and my dream of earning a good living from my writing it to succeed.

And if so how?

The trouble is that I’m not sure how I’ll be able to make money from my blog.

The best option seems to be from selling products.

So I need to put on my thinking cap and come up with something that you will want to buy and that will be useful to you. I think it should be inspiring and entertaining too.

The dilemma is that I’m basically not a materialistic person. And I don’t think you are either. Selling people things they don’t need or want is not something I will do but if I can sell you something that you want then we can be mutually satisfied.

Possibilities for things you might like to buy from me are:

• Books (or ebooks I suppose)
• Handy inspirational memos
• Posters
• T-shirts

Other options are to sell my services:

• Web design services
• Web copywriting services

Or I could request donations.

Maybe a combination of these things will be needed but I want to keep the blog simple, useful, valuable and, above all, maintain my integrity.

I have a lot to think about. I’d love to know what you think about my dilemma.

So thanks for holding and for bearing with me. I promise we’ll get connected again next week.

I’m looking forward to it.

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Today I want to say happy holidays to all my readers and a huge thank you for visiting Get In the Hot Spot and hanging out with me here.

Lately I’ve realised I was crazy to write about personal development ~ it’s a flooded subject and highly competitive too. But looking back I didn’t choose personal development<!–more–>, it seemed to choose me.

My Dream

Get In the Hot Spot grew organically and I hope to differentiate myself from other personal development bloggers by being ‘the dream woman’. The person who not only encourages and shows people how to live their dream but also walks the walk and dares to be different. Most of all I want to write articles that are concise, real and useful.

My Suppport Network

Since I started blogging I’ve had brilliant support from friends and relatives and I’ve also enjoyed encouragement, comments, empathy and feedback from many other bloggers.

They’re an amazing bunch of people in far flung corners of the world. Many of them write personal development or lifestyle design blogs themselves, while others shudder at the very thought of personal development and have carved out more tangible niches for themselves in business or blog instruction.

To acknowledge their place in my blogging world and to introduce them to my readers and each other I’ve created an awards list. There’s a big wide world of blogs out here but I think there’s room for all of us.

Thank you

Thanks again to all my dear readers, faithful friends and fellow bloggers.  And good luck with all your plans in 2010.

GITHS 2009 Blogging Awards Results

Most Accessible Blogging Star

Darren at Problogger

Most Radical Blogging Star

Leo at Zen Habits

Most Dedicated

Seth at Blogussion

Most Domesticated Goddess

Connie at Daytona Food Examiner

Sweetest

Fida at Unusual Travel Destinations

Healthiest

Fiona  at Writ Large

Most Hard Working

Nicholas at Site Sketch 101

Most Graphic

Stephen at Human Explosion

Most Paradoxical

Lisis at Quest for Balance

Most Positive

Lori at Jane Be Nimble

Most Off the Wall

Gordie at Lifestyle Design For You

Most Gung Ho

Karol at Ridiculously Extraordinary

Cleverest

Robin at Radsmarts

Sexiest

Kelly at Cleavage

Most Honest

Dani at Positively Present

Most Zen

Walter at Lion Slinger

Most Touching

Oscar at Freestyle Mind

Zaniest

Cheryl at That Girl is Funny

Most Controversial

Hishaman at My Thinking Life

Most Passionate

JD Meier at Sources of Insight

Most Unique

Hilary at Positive Letters

Sunniest

Dayne at The Happy Self

Most Mysterious

Eric at Eden Journal

Strongest

Josh Hanagarne at World’s Strongest Librarian

Most Enthusiastic

Randall at Travel Ph

Most Generous

Brandi at 2inspired

Most Outrageous Speller

Srinivas Rao at Skool of Life

Most Qualified

Alex at Someday Syndrome

Oh dear, I’m sure there are some lovely people I’ve forgotten to mention. Please forgive me and leave a comment.

Is there anyone in your life who deserves an award?

Thanks for reading and happy holidays everyone

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Photo credit: Pink Sherbet

As a writer you’ve got to get used to rejection. It happens and you learn to deal with it in one way or another.

It’s probably true in every aspect of life. If you want to succeed you’ve got to be able to deal with rejection or failure then carry on with your grand plans anyway.

You wouldn’t be a writer<!–more–>, business person or any type of artist if you couldn’t handle rejection. You’d be a mail person or a check out clerk. No one ever says to them:

• we don’t like your work.
• we don’t want anything to do with you.
• we”re going to get our mail delivery and groceries sorted out by someone else.

If you take risks you will experience rejection and failure

For writers, rejection is a writer’s rite of passage that I’ve discussed before.

Often we get rejected in other areas of our life too. If you’ve ever been rejected in love, for a job or for anything else you’ll know how rejection feels. But you have to learn to accept it and move on.

Here’s How To Bounce Back From Rejection

1. Don’t take it personally

Even it you’re a sensitive, creative type you can’t succeed in life unless you stop taking rejection personally and stop being over-sensitive. My parents warned me not to go into writing saying:

“It’s too competitive, dear.”

They probably thought that with my sensitive personality I wouldn’t be able to cope with the necessary and inevitable rejections.

Writers are by nature sensitive types but we need to toughen up too. Cultivate developing a hide as thick as a rhinoceros. It won’t be easy but it’ll get easier with time and the more rejections you get the easier it will become.

Most of all remember that rejection is probably not a personal thing. Often there are other forces at work that caused you to be rejected that have nothing to do with you.

Maybe the lover who spurned you was just not ready for committment. Or your boss was just feeling the pressure to make staff cutbacks from her boss. The rejection is probably more about them or other external forces than it is about you.

2. Choose carefully who you share with

Some people won’t give you the feedback  you hoped for. Either they won’t care about how you feel once they’ve given their feedback, or they think that being tough is the best way to help you learn.

I’ve found that there are many wonderful mentors around who love to help, teach and encourage other people who are learning their field. These type of people will give you the constructive criticism you need. They’ll provide concrete pointers on how you can improve your writing, job skills, communication problems or whatever has caused you to be rejected. Their input and advice will help you get better.

Unfortunately, not everyone makes a good mentor. You need to pick and choose carefully who to share your precious work with.

3. Think back to your successes

Remember that this one rejection is not indicative of your whole life.

There are plenty of things that you’ve succeeded in. Don’t let yourself get too down. Dwell on your successes and be kind on yourself.

4. Take a moment to lick your wounds

Being rejected does hurt. It’s okay to feel down, wounded, sad, despondent. It’s okay to feel like a failure. It happens to everyone sometimes. Just give yourself  time to come to terms with it. A day, maybe a week, a month at the most. But not longer. You have to move on.

Take comfort from the fine company you keep too. If your writing’s been rejected you probably think you’re the only person in the world that’s experienced it. Or at the very least that only you and a handful of other no-hoper, wannabe writers. But it’s not just bad writers who get rejected. Have a long look at your rejection letter and consider it a badge of pride.

You can now join the ranks of successful writers like Rudyard Kipling, Dr. Seuss, George Orwell and JK Rowling. There’s a short list of illustrious writers who’ve been rejected here which makes interesting reading and all goes to show that a rejection by one person is just that. It’s a personal judgment that may not be shared by other people.

Even paid professionals – editors, writer’s agents and publishers sometimes get it wrong and fail to recognise the next big thing in the writing world. You know that they get it wrong because they do accept writing that fails to resonate with readers and ends up languishing in the bargain bin at book stores.

5. Assess

Usually when you get rejected by someone you get an indication of why. If not do email or phone them asking why. Be polite and calm. Just ask one simple question such as:

“Please can you tell me why you decided not to give me the job this time?”

Listen to the reasons and ask yourself what you can do better next time. If it’s appropriate you might want to ask for a second chance. This year I’ve been rejected by three editors and each time I’ve rewritten the article or written another completely different article for them which was then accepted. Learn from your mistakes and never give up.

Remember too that the person who rejected your work expressed their opinion. You need to decide if they personally don’t relate to your work or if it has flaws which need fixing.

If you want to bounce back from rejection this is the most important step. Work out why you failed then get on and have another go.

Be persistent and believe in yourself

When you get rejected or fail just climb back on that proverbial horse and refuse to dwell on it.

Unless you’re ready to be a mail person or a check out clerk. Of course, writing is so badly paid that many writers will have to take on jobs like those to support our writing habit. But that’s another story.

Do what  you have to do to pay your way in life, but don’t be afraid to take risks because you may be rejected.

You’ve got a right to have a dream. You owe it to yourself to be persistent and resilient and keep pursuing that dream no matter what.

Thanks for reading

Please add your comments below and don’t forget to get free updates by email now or with the RSS Feed, if you haven’t already. That way, you won’t miss out. Thanks to Lauren Clemson for the photo.

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I hear that if you Digg it, or bookmark it on Delicious or Stumbleupon, that will get more readers here. Many thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

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