Precisely what is it that makes authors, holistic practitioners, and social entrepreneurs so similar to one another?
The correct response is that they are typically right-brained.
According to research, the left hemisphere of our brain is responsible for logical processes, language, analysis, and systematic reasoning. The brain’s right hemisphere is responsible for abstract reason, worldview development, imagination, and originality. Working with social entrepreneurs and others who think outside the box (right-brain thinking) is a natural progression from my previous four-decade career in the creative industries and a seven-year stint as a coach and consultant for holistic practitioners. They are motivated by ideas and concepts. They have a dream fueled by emotion and labor enthusiastically and diligently to make it a reality.
The challenge here is that a right-brained person’s vision may not make sense to others if they try to explain it. It might be difficult for those who view the world through a filter of beliefs and principles to make their ideas accessible to others. What marketing is all about is communicating our visions to a broader audience. This is just one of the many reasons marketing may be so challenging for creative types.
The New Marketing Paradigm and Why You Should Be Using Blogs
Blogging is a potent new paradigm marketing tool. You may be wondering why I classify blogging as a type of advertising. “The act of conveying the message that we have something of value to share” is, in my opinion, a perfect definition of marketing. It’s not about making a sale but rather having a conversation. If you want to sell without selling,’ blogging is the way to go in the new marketing paradigm. It’s how we get our points through, educate and instruct our listeners, build rapport, and have meaningful conversations with them.
In my experience, many novice bloggers assume that anything goes on their blogs. If you’re blogging for fun, that’s fine, but if you want to use it as a promotional tool, you can’t take a laissez-faire approach. Here are the top three blogging blunders I usually see from right-brained individuals:
Rather than maintaining a regular schedule, they update their blog “when they feel like it.”
Writing in a blog without a more significant point
Writing in a very unstructured fashion (as they do while they think)
I’ll review these blunders and give my own ‘concrete’ suggestions for fixing them so your blog may be a powerful promotional tool.
The Benefits of Establishing a Routine
In my opinion, people who are more on the right side of the brain are more emotionally motivated. This means they shun the habit of making art whenever the mood strikes them. They don’t bother with it if they aren’t in the air. While they may believe this helps them stand out in their field, I’ve found that it gets in the way of getting things done and instituting procedures that would otherwise help them expand their business.
Creative, right-brained people also tend to juggle multiple priorities at once. They say “yes” to many tasks since they appear to need a lot of stimuli to be happy. The upshot is that they can’t focus on anything for long, so they don’t have enough “me time” to accomplish things like blog posts. And because they aren’t dedicated to a consistent blogging schedule, they don’t make the time for it.
If you want to use blogging as a marketing tool, you must include it into your usual work schedule by setting aside time each week to WRITE and PUBLISH new posts. Establish a routine and stay with it. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Blog at least twice a month to get in the habit, and after you’ve got the hang of it, you may increase that to once or twice a week.
Blogging on a consistent schedule is one way to increase your readership. People will seek out your writings and subscribe to your blog when they recognize your writing style. Your readers will have no reason to continue receiving your updates if you are inconsistent. My own experiences as a blogger have confirmed this for me. My blog traffic has increased by a factor of three in the past 60 days since I started posting twice weekly. This has raised my book sales and ReTweets on Twitter and my subscriber base. One simple adjustment that can have a significant impact in establishing a habit.
Why It’s Important to Have Something to Say
Many more right-brained entrepreneurs tend to blog about things without a clear point. Some people believe that blogging only consists of self-promotion. They are both false. Your blog’s overarching aim and message should be crystal clear. Here’s an example:
One of my blogs’ overarching goals is to teach social entrepreneurs about ethical marketing practices and offer advice on implementing them.
The blog’s overarching message is we can cure humanity and the world by changing how we sell.
To that end, I require that ALL articles published on my blogs, whether written by myself or by guest authors, address either the blog’s overarching aim or message. Building your BRAND requires staying true to your mission and values. You may feel like you’re “repeating” yourself, but you aren’t. Put your right brain to work and consider how you may convey the same notion with various alternative expressions.
One of my customers, for instance, is a poet whose debut collection will be published next month. She’s been at a loss for what to discuss on her blogs and how to use them to promote her books. I advised that she read through her poetry collection and try to distill their central meaning into a few words. Then, she can divide that overarching idea into half a dozen more minor points. A blog post could be written about any one of these ideas. She’ll have twenty or thirty ideas if she does this for only ten poems. She will have enough material for the next six months if she blogs once a week. Consider how her readership and reputation (and message) will grow if she combines this strategy with consistent blogging. This investment will return dividends as she publishes more poetry collections over the next year.
The Value of Organization
This relates to the way that many people with a right brain tend to write. Many people, even those with the most brilliant vision, seem to lack the ability to articulate their thoughts clearly and coherently convey them, whether verbally or in writing. This is tremendously disheartening for them, as they cannot fathom how anyone else might fail to perceive what they do. This is a HUGE problem that calls for far more guidance than I can provide in a single blog post, but I can offer a few quick pointers that can assist right-brained thinkers in expressing their thoughts more clearly in writing:
STEP 1: Determine What You Want to Say
Determine the article’s essential message or point before you begin writing. Many bloggers write in an esoteric, poetic style that doesn’t get the reader anywhere. Nothing good comes from doing this in terms of expanding your following, reputation, or sales. It provides nothing of value to your readers, either.
TIP 2: Express Your Intended Meaning in the Title
There are a lot of blogs out there whose right-brained titles are all flash and little substance. Your blog content loses all marketing value as a result of this. People won’t click on your article’s link on Google, Twitter, or Facebook if they have any doubts about what it’s about. If nobody is clicking, then nobody is reading.
Condense your message into a snappy blog post title. Keep it short (most search engines have a limit of 60 characters for this) for maximum effectiveness.
Thirdly, remember the message you set out to convey.
Those who operate primarily from their right hemisphere are constantly brimming with creative insights. The issue is that they are very open about sharing these thoughts whenever they occur. While this is an essential aspect of the creative process, it can make a blog post unfocused and aimless. You shouldn’t feel obligated to include every thought that crosses your mind in your writing unless it significantly improves the overall argument you’re making. In addition, the article’s effectiveness is diminished if you introduce a new idea halfway through without expanding on it (something I frequently observe in right-brained writings). If there are ‘plenty of other things you want to express, jot them down for a future piece.
Structure Tip #4: Make It a Three-Parter
Writing an excellent blog post follows the same ‘formula’ as producing an effective essay or delivering an effective presentation:
Introduce yourself and your topic by explaining what you intend to say and why.
Get your thoughts out there.
Briefly recap what you just said (and its significance).
You can sharpen your writing concentration by using this format. It aids your readers in deciding early on if they want to keep reading. They’ll be able to judge whether or not you delivered what you promised in terms of content quality after they reach the article’s conclusion. If readers feel they gained something from your post, they are more inclined to revisit your site. You have not represented the value of your content enough in its structure if readers cannot assess it.
The Future is Packed with RightIncompetent Marketers
There seems to be a growing trend of creative, left-brained individuals venturing into business ownership, particularly in social entrepreneurship. I hope to help owners of value-driven businesses become effective communicators using Web 2.0 tools like blogging and social networking.
Some of the advice I’ve given today may be challenging for those with a more left-brained way of thinking, but we’re all on a social learning curve together as we forge the new business and marketing standard. Learn to use your left brain, but never give up your right brain’s creative vision, global perspective, or morals.
In the coming decades, people like you, with your wonderful right-brain traits, will usher in a new paradigm in which ‘whole brain marketers’ can effectively convey ideas that express a more nuanced and complete picture of our world.
The 7 Graces of Marketing: How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell and Tweep-e-licious! was written by LYNN SERAFINN, MAED, CPCC, a certified coach, teacher, marketer, social media expert, radio host, speaker, and author. How to Use Twitter to Promote Your Business Ethically is a Compendium of 158 Tips and Strategies for Writers, Social Entrepreneurs, and Changemakers.
She was a nominee for the prestigious Brit Writers Awards and has been named one of the Top 20 Marketing Authors on Twitter by Social Media Magazine. She won the Bronze Medal in Business and Sales and the Silver Medal in Humanitarian and Ecological Social Affairs from the eLit Book Awards.
Regarding marketing, Lynn takes an eclectic approach, drawing on her more than two decades of study and practice of Indian spirituality and her extensive professional experience in the music industry and the educational sector. Her company, Spirit Authors (http://spiritauthors.com), is responsible for the successful marketing of numerous best-selling non-fiction authors.
Lynn is also the creator of the 7 Graces Project CIC, a non-profit organization that aims to teach entrepreneurs how to promote their businesses ethically, help people and the world, and bring back the best in people. Lynn’s books, a free 90-minute Twitter audio session, weekly marketing advice, and information on how to join the thriving 7 Graces Community can all be found on her website.
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