Misconceptions About Good Writing

Welcome back to Copyblogger! Thanks for taking a moment to check in with our community for writers ... I'm Stefanie, Copyblogger's Editor-in-Chief, and below you'll find your weekly dose of tips to help you transform from an ace writer into a full-fledged content entrepreneur. Scroll on! --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by Digital Commerce Partners Free for a Limited Time: [Give Us Just 30 Minutes and We’ll Transform How You Sell Online](​ --------------------------------------------------------------- Misconceptions About Good Writing I’ve always found the goal of meeting a word count to be a bit silly. Some messages can be clearly communicated in 1,000 words and others need 3,000 words. But if you use 3,000 words when 1,000 words would perfectly suffice, your writing will likely feel excessive or even self-indulgent. That’s why I consider the ability to self-edit one of the most valuable skills a writer can develop. However, writers have to gain momentum to fuel their careers. They need to publish content regularly in order to learn about writing and make the best choices for their work going forward. So, how do we marry these two ideas — writing practice and precise communication? I call it the balance of The Prolific and The Potent. The 7 steps are ridiculously simple: - Research your ideal reader/customer/client. - Write a lot. - Edit your text into a cohesive presentation. - Save the parts you cut out for future content. - Publish. - Look for ways to improve. - Repeat. While they're all easier said than done, step 6 is a particular challenge because if you’re too self-critical you’ll get stuck. At the same time, if you never find aspects to improve, you’re probably not that interested in growing. The ability to write well is a skill — one you can learn even if you've never considered yourself a "good writer" (or even a "writer") before. And if the first step above about research doesn't turn you off, you could be ready to write valuable assets for you or your clients. Stay tuned to the end of this email for an important lesson I've learned about improving as a writer! --------------------------------------------------------------- How to Build Community on a Membership Platform =​ On this episode of The Copyblogger Podcast, Tim Stoddart and Ethan Brooks talk about what Ethan has been working on. He goes into detail about building community at one of Sam Parr's newest ventures, Hampton. ​[Click here to listen to the episode](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- Get Your FREE Assessment This experimental offer is free for a limited time ... At Copyblogger, we’ve created hundreds of funnels, generating tens of millions of dollars in sales. Then we thought, “What if we could distill our process down to its essence while retaining its effectiveness — could this work in other markets? Our initial tests tell us it can, but we’re looking to test it in more markets. For free. Answer 10 simple questions, and we’ll map a 3-part content conversion funnel for you. Delivered to you in 7 business days. ​​[Click here to transform how you sell online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- The 5-Step Writing Process That Solves 3 Painful Problems =​ written by Brian Clark​ How often do you struggle with getting started on a draft, cutting the fluff, and finishing a piece of content? These three issues are really symptoms of the same painful challenge, which boils down to not clearly understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with your writing. Don’t worry ... it’s a fairly common ailment. There’s a five-step process you can work through that will help clarify your objectives, which leads to greater clarity in your writing. This method also helps you overcome writer’s block and finish any writing project with only the necessary elements, because you’ll know exactly what you’re after and how to make it happen. ​[Click here to read the article](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- Here’s a Key Lesson I’ve Learned About Being a Good Writer “Improving” should be how you can serve your audience better, not necessarily how you can make yourself look better. For example, I’m slightly embarrassed by some older pieces of content I’ve produced. But ... Are there technical things wrong with them? Are there actual mistakes? Not really. They just don’t resonate with me now. To overcome that, I have to remember that we’re all in different places in our journeys. Something I wrote three years ago could be brand-new and relevant to someone who discovers it today ... even though I’ve evolved from that point. Because ultimately, even though I may not like one of my older pieces of content, it could be the perfect solution for someone who is currently in the stage I was in when I wrote it. So instead of wasting time being embarrassed, I look for any aspects I can improve to enhance the audience experience. “High quality” is a measure of whether or not your contribution helps your audience in ways they can’t find anywhere else. You have to demonstrate those benefits in your content and in the ways you promote it. Which means you never really stop learning how to be a good writer. :-) Talk with you again soon, ​ ​[Stefanie Flaxman](=)​ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COPYBLOGGER MEDIA​ --------------------------------------------------------------- Share with friends, get discounts to The Copyblogger Academy Have friends who'd love our newsletter too? Give them your unique referral link (below) and get MASSIVE discounts to The Copyblogger Academy. 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