That sly dog… He’s connecting!

I’ve heard a lot of great feedback about this blog and my writing style…

I’m honored.

I’m flattered.

I’m humbled by the complimentary things people are saying about my writing and the connections it’s creating.

Wow! Thanks to all of you who’ve taken a moment to let me know what you think!
This has led to my being asked how I write blog posts that drive engagement…

And I did end my last post saying I’d take on the topic of authenticity. So I suppose I’d better tell you now…

I am not going to deliver on the promise of this blog post.

Not the implicit promise anyway. If you’re looking for one of those black and white “Definitive Guides” that promise to tell you exactly how to do something amazing, you’ve come to the wrong place.
What I am going to give you are not necessarily black and white, easily repeatable steps. I don’t think it’s possible to issue a prescription for authenticity and engagement that just works out of the box for anybody and everybody.
There’s a process of self-discovery you may need to go through to let people see “the real you” in your writing. There’s plenty of art and only a scant bit of science involved here.
So what am I going to give you?
I could be coy and pretend that I don’t know what’s going on with my content, that’s it’s all just happening and I’m along for the ride.
Conversely, I could go the other way and pretend to have a formula you can follow that pumps out retweets and comments by the dozens.
The truth lies somewhere in between these two extremes. I have a pretty good idea what I’m doing and there aren’t many accidents in my approach.
That said, I’ve never really spent any time thinking about how to write, or, to put it more accurately, how to talk to you. I just do it*.
So, thinking out loud through my keyboard right now, maybe that’s “Secret #1” to writing content that connects with readers: I’m not writing content. I’m talking to you.
I’m trying to write down what I would say to you if you were sitting here with me having a conversation about content. I’m not using any polished marketing language and I’m not trying to sell you a product. I’m purposely not adhering to all the rules of grammar I was taught (and have at least partially forgotten).
In my estimation, this style allows you to “see me” without the incredible pleasure of meeting me in person (and hopefully it allows you to pick up on my amazing and nuanced sense of humor 😉
I’m not saying this is the only way to write content that connects with readers, it just seems to be working for me.
* To be clear, none of my articles flow seamlessly from my mind to the page. I read and re-read each partial post dozens of times as it comes together, trying to do the very things I lay out here in this article.
Secret #2: Stop Giving a Shit what Anyone’s Going to Think
That’s actually completely misleading. I very much give a shit what you think right now. But not if you work for Marketo and not if you work for HubSpot, Pardot, Act-On or Eloqua (I’m sure you’re all great people, it’s nothing personal). These are our competitors and I don’t write a single word for their benefit.
And if you don’t like what I have to say or have some negative reaction to me, let’s just say I’m decidedly not writing for you.

Another way to say this might be “do not try to please everyone”. That leads to luke warm crap that is neither hot nor cold.
 

 
Listen to GaryVee: you need to be anywhere but the middle.
I only care about what you think if you’re a marketer trying to get the job done with limited resources. You I care about deeply, no matter the size of the company you work for. You are exactly who is on my mind, which brings me to my next point…
Secret #3: Have very specific, real people in mind when you’re writing, not just personas.
I started this blog to help marketers go head-to-head with deep-pocketed competitors. That’s my only focus as I conceive of articles and bust them out.
To that end, I’ve paid attention as people have subscribed to this blog. I’ve checked out hundreds of subscribers’ LinkedIn profiles and exchanged emails with many of you.
I do this to know more about the lives of the people I’m reaching. It helps me stay crystal clear about exactly who I’m writing for (I suppose I should I say “who I’m talking to”). And I do mean exactly…
I received an email from the Director of Marketing Operations at a company in the Boston area. He let me know that, similar to my company’s fight competing against billion dollar giants in the marketing automation industry, he’s facing off with giants in the backup/storage industry like EMC, HP & Dell.
I frequently think of this particular person when I’m writing a blog post. I work to ensure that I’m giving him something of value in every paragraph.
And he’s not the only one. There are several other individuals, both subscribers and customers, whose stories have taken root in my mind. I use their stories – their very faces – to keep my thoughts on track and guide my writing.
I’d be happy to hear from you as well. My email address is mward@Net-Results.com. Shoot me yours and I’ll let you know when I publish more marketing goodness on this blog.

This helps me maintain clarity despite the slew of distracting ideas and doubts that try to work their way into my head. I know who I’m writing for. I choose to keep my focus not on generic personas, but actual people who’ve chosen to engage with me. I think this is one key to what’s been called the conversational, genuine tone of my writing.
I work hard to be as clear as I can for these people – for you – and to provide all the help and value I can while being honest about the difference between the things I know and the things I think. And that leads me to Secret #4…

Honesty is everything in the modern content game.

I don’t know exactly when it changed, but thankfully the old days of marketing speak appear to be well behind us. Thinking out loud again, I guess it’s the result of the “social revolution” or whatever the professional writers out there call it.
With everybody using facebook or twitter or whatever to share so much about themselves, anyone being disingenuous or trying to sell you on something stands out like a sore thumb.
It can be very hard to get comfortable with speaking plainly online. I struggled with the idea for years before committing to writing without apology. I still experience doubts between blog posts (and I’m writing far too infrequently… having a company to run can really cut into your writing time), but am incredibly energized every time I get to write (I plan on picking up the pace substantially. Hopefully I can pull that off and sustain it).
With those four “secrets” behind us, I find that I have a little bit more to say on this topic. Maybe I can over-deliver here and leave you with a few bonus tips that I find helpful:

• Read every word out loud. Do it again.Can you picture an incredibly comfortable public speaker delivering your words to an audience with authenticity and enthusiasm? Can you envision that audience falling in love with the speaker and crowding around her with questions when she finishes speaking? (Bonus: Can you picture yourself being that speaker?)If you can’t picture this clearly in your mind when reading your content aloud, it may be a sign that your writing lacks flow and power. You are not there yet. Keep trying. Revise. Restart. Re-read.
• Not everybody has to love you when they read your words.Think Kevin Spacey in House of Cards. The character he plays is a morally bankrupt manipulator of the highest order, but we hang on every word when he turns to the camera and gives us a window into his thinking. We’re fascinated.

   
  Don’t be a morally bankrupt manipulator, but do give us a window into your thinking. It’s got to be relatively unvarnished or we’ll all know you’re sanding off the rough edges. And that’s the deal these days – the internet has exposed us to so much, everyone’s bullshit radars are naturally tuned to be on high alert.

• Be willing to throw it all out the window again and again.The second blog post in this series was originally adapted from a script for a video we’ve never published. I’d deluded myself into thinking I had a publishable blog post in there.I took an honest look at what I’d written and threw it out the window. The concept was great but the execution sucked. I spent hours re-writing that post and it clearly came out a winner – because it did it’s job of helping marketers add a useful tool to their arsenals.It sucked to start over, but if you publish low value content you’ll lose your audience. Quality > Quantity.
• Stop lying to yourself.I don’t know if I can articulate this point effectively. I’m afraid that those of you susceptible to believing your own press are exactly the people who will ignore this point.I would know. I’ve had my moments seeing things through rose colored glasses. Sometimes I think I’ve gotten over it.A point I’ve mentioned before and will likely return to frequently in as many forms as I can is this: much failure can be prevented through honest self-appraisal.Is your content strategy realistic? Your overall marketing plans? Is your draft compelling? Did you put it all out there or hold something back?
  I could go on. If you hear me, then you’re on the path.
  Success it seems, can occasionally be had through luck. I wish I would, just once in my career, have luck drop a quantity of realized opportunities in my lap. It’s never happened. I don’t expect it to.
  When you fail to honestly appraise your plans – when you deceive yourself – your chances of failure at anything are multiplied massively. Get real, think diligently and work hard.

So what say you? How do you build connections with the fine people who consume your content? I’d be honored if you’d take a moment to chat me up in the comments.
Thanks for reading,
Michael