Charles’s note: Here’s a world-class copywriting expert who supports my view that ‘Communication is King’

By John Carlton

There’s nothing better than discovering a book by writer who knows how to get deep inside your head, so you can’t wait to get back to the book for another dose of the world he’s created. It’s even better if he’s been a prolific little dude, and there are more books lined up behind that one.

But I’m not holding my breath. I have been left at the altar, so to speak, far too many times by books with good cover blurbs (“The most riveting, ball-busting adventure I’ve read in decades!”) and no juice inside.

Really good writers are hard to find. Bookstores are crammed to the rafters with BAD writers (in case you hadn’t noticed).

Sometimes, for example, I get a hankering for some science fiction – a niche that sustained me during a gruesome adolescence – and I’ll cruise the SF aisles, randomly opening books and reading half a page.

Sci-fi novels are almost universally horrible these days. I long for the next Asimov or Bradbury. But I’m not holding my breath for that, either.

Wait. There’s a marketing lesson here.

Do this little experiment: Grab four books from the bookstore. (And yes, I’m asking you to drive to an actual bookstore, get out of the car, and walk around. It won’t kill you… and it will force you to recognize the vast tree-killing industry out there trying to steal eye-time away from your marketing efforts.)

Get two fiction books and two business books. Doesn’t matter what the subject matter is – just choose something that rings your chimes. Sexy murder mysteries, Idiot’s Guide to Whatever, classic literature, one of those tomes by Joe Sugarman you’ve been promising yourself you’d read some day.

Drink your cappuccino, drive home, and secure a spot where you won’t be disturbed for half an hour or so.

Now, plow into the first book. Read the cover blurbs, the forward, the table of contents, and the first chapter.

That’s it. Just the first chapter.

Toss it aside, pick up the next book, and do the same. And so on, through your little pile.

What you will have at the end of this short experiment is a very stark example of four different kinds of writing. By four different authors.

Now ask yourself: “Do I want to continue reading any of these books?”

My guess is that one of the four will not suck. That fourth book may, in fact, rock out. At least for you.

Repeat this experiment until the lesson becomes obvious. (You can use the library instead of the bookstore, if you don’t want to blow the dough… or you hate cappuccino…)

Some writers know how to grab your attention, quickly and definitively.

Sometimes, they know what they’re doing. They craft their writing to lure you in and hold you there. These are the experts. Other times, the writer is unskilled, and merely “transferring” his own passion to you through the written page. Maybe an editor was in evidence, cleaning up the tangents and B.S.

More likely… the writer got in touch with communicating what he needed to say… and did it. Just slammed it out, and hit pay dirt. He may never be able to get in that kind of lucky groove again.

Online, with most websites and all blogs relying on the written word to convey most of the message, getting read is your Number One Priority. Even if you’re swinging into using video more and more (and I love video)… you still must rely on the same writing skills to grab and hold attention with your script.

Trust me on this experiment: You need to do it yourself. No matter how little you read normally. Hell, especially if you’re not much of a reader.

It’s tough to become a top marketer if you’re languishing among the 25 percent who never read… or the 50 percent who seldom read. (Half the country reads no more than a single book in a year… and it’s usually a crappy book.)

It’s all about mind expansion. Reading will do things to your brain that TV, radio, sports, video games, and every other media can’t begin to touch. Reading is like steroids for the brain. Seriously. (Heavy readers don’t often suffer dementia later in life.) And, as a marketer trying to woo the masses…

… it really pays to be that guy who is well-read, informed, hip, and comfy in the larger culture.

You have more to say. You say it better.

And you get read.

You do not have to be a “great” writer to be a successful marketer. In fact, your grammar, like mine, can blow chunks. And you may use too much slang, and violate lots of other “rules” of formal writing.

Doesn’t matter.

It’s all about communication. About grabbing your readers and dragging them into your world, where they will become so engaged and enthralled… that they stay, and absorb, and bond, and buy.

Something to consider, as the competition heats up in every online market out there.

John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world’s smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers (affiliate link belongs to ETR).

Understanding what makes for great copy is just one aspect of running a thriving, profitable Internet business. With ETR’s Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition, you’ll get a step-by-step playbook to everything you need to know to make money online (my affiliate link).

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise (ETR), a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

I was in a Rich Dad seminar, and a young man had been selected from the audience to come on stage for the chance to pitch his business idea to Rich Dad advisor Blair Singer. He would be rewarded $100 if he can convince Blair that his idea is good.

To simulate the real world, he was given 15 seconds.

I cringed as the poor chap tried to talk to Blair but got hammered back with rejections like “Who are you? What do you want? Why are you talking to me?”

Before he could even talk about his idea, the 15 seconds was up. So Blair gave him a second chance.

He failed again.

The young man received an encouraging applause. But for all his bravery and enthusiasm, he failed to sell his idea to get the $100 reward (though he was rewarded with Blair’s audio course on sales presentation.)

Blair Singer was teaching us a valuable lesson. No matter how good we think our product or business idea is, we won’t get anywhere if we can’t convince anybody to buy it. In other words, your ability to sell is more important than your idea.

Now think with me for a moment – isn’t that true for blogging as well? No matter how good we think our content or ideas are, we won’t succeed in getting readers to our blogs if we can’t convince anybody of their value.

Our ability to persuade and influence our readers is just as important as the content itself.

Robert Kiyosaki then came up on stage and pointed to the Communications part of the B-I triangle, which is the Rich Dad version of a solid business model. “Next to cashflow,” he continued,

“The #1 skill in business is Communications.”

In the B-I triangle, the 5 functions in the business are ranked in terms of importance from bottom up.

Cashflow forms the base, because without cashflow the business collapses. Then you have Communications that is the second highest priority.

Communications is everything you say and do. Sales, Marketing and Branding are all part of communications. The key goal is persuasion – to persuade people to do business with you.

Rich Dad says in business, Cash is King. But if you think about it, in the blogging business, cashflow is not a problem since the costs are so negligible.

This brings us to the next highest priority – Communications. Taking Rich Dad’s idea and applying it to blogging, this means for us bloggers…

COMMUNICATION is KING

Our ability to communicate our ideas and information effectively is every bit as important as the information itself, if not more important.

Because even if you put out what you think is the best content in the world, it won’t draw any readers to your blog if nobody is convinced of its value.

Just like the young man who had a great idea and tried to sell his idea on stage, your ideas won’t help if nobody is convinced of its value.

Then why do many bloggers say that ‘Content is King’?

I, for one, am strongly against the idea that content is king. In fact, I almost think it’s B.S. But I won’t get extreme here, so let’s just say it’s misleading.

Why is it misleading? Because it implies that the information itself is the most important thing in blogging.

But in reality, how you communicate your idea or information is every bit as important as the information itself, because nobody gets value from your content without being convinced of its value in the first place.

And if you ask me, I think your ability to communicate the value of your information is more important than the information itself. In other words,

It is not just WHAT you say. It is HOW you say it.

As I compare blogs with different levels of readership, I have observed that the bloggers with the most readers are always the ones who write best.

And I don’t mean the kind of top-grade first-class writing that wins awards in literature. I’m referring to their outstanding ability to communicate their information that connects and bonds with their readers, thereby influencing them.

Just look at the top blogs – Problogger, Entrepreneur’s Journey, Copyblogger, JohnChow, Shoemoney, etc. All the bloggers behind them have uncanny ability to connect with their readers through their superb writing skills.

That’s why you have John Chow fans and Shoemoney fans. They don’t say they are fans of the blog information. Readers are attracted to the blogger and not the blog; the person and not the information.

Information is impersonal and it’s freely available anywhere. Once the reader gets what he wants, he leaves. Information alone does not get repeat readers to the blog.

Remember that a blog is primarily a social media tool, a platform to build relationships. The real reason why readers come back to the blog is due to the perceived bonds they had formed with the blogger.

It starts with the reader liking what the blogger says, then becoming convinced of its value. He subscribes to the blog and returns to hear more. He starts commenting and engaging with the blogger, all the while receiving more of what he perceives as value. Gradually he gets more and more influenced by the blogger’s ideas until he becomes a follower and a supporter.

So you see, it’s the blogger who influences, not the blog information. (That’s where you get the term ‘influential bloggers’.)

The only exceptions where this does not apply are news blog (where speed of new information becomes the main factor). For most kinds of blogs, your ability to write persuasively is fundamental to your success.

Another Problem with the ‘Content is King’ mindset

By saying Content is King, many people think of their blog information as their product. They think it’s the most important part of their blog. I used to think the same way too. But I now realized this is a BIG mistake.

Looking back at the B-I triangle, the Product is only the “tip of the iceberg”. It’s the least important aspect of the business.

This is because a world-class product is useless if the company is weak in the Communications functions of sales and marketing. No sales, no cashflow, and the business collapses.

Thousands of book authors write far better than Robert Kiyosaki. But he beat them all and his Rich Dad book was the New York Times bestseller for 6 straight years. (Notice it is best-seller, not best-writer). And the Rich Dad company is still selling more books everyday.

In the same way, I have come across blogs with articles written in impeccable English worthy of the Pulitzer price. I have also come across blogs with extensive information that is unbelievably well-researched. But they have few readers, simply due to the bloggers’ inability to engage and connect through their writing.

In contrast, a blog written in simple English coupled with an engaging conversational tone attracts a huge following, because of the blogger’s ability to communicate and influence his readers.

The Difference between Yaro and Charles

Looking at Yaro Starak’s blog, I’m thinking “Hey I know a lot of what he knows too.” But right now, my blog is not as well-known as his (though it will be in a few years time ).

The key difference between him and I, besides the four years head-start to build his readership, is his superior written communication skills. He can express and communicate his ideas and information in much more interesting, engaging and persuasive way that readers go “Wow, great post!”

I am in awe of his writing ability. But I’m training hard on mine and will catch up to him . Which brings me the next point -

Practice to Get Better in Communications

Just like sales or giving presentations or even talking in general, blogging to communicate with your readers is a skill that can be learned and improved. It comes by constant practice – the more you write, the better your ability to communicate.

As a matter of fact, by blogging regularly, we are already practicing to improve our writing.

But here’s where many people get it wrong. They practice with the wrong focus – how to write better information. So they work hard to research, accumulate and produce content. But all the while, they are really just brain-dumping and not communicating.

The right focus should be how to communicate better. More than just producing better information, it’s about expressing our ideas better and communicating more effectively. We should focus on practicing how to write in a more engaging, compelling and ultimately more persuasive way.

And the better you get at writing persuasively, the more fulfilling your life as a blogger. Because now you are in the position to add more value to more people.

More readers are engaged with your words. More people are convinced of your value. More followers are influenced by your ideas.

The stronger your ability to communicate, the larger your following.

That is why Communications is King.

Of course, I don’t mean that we should go around disagreeing with everybody for the sake of attention. That’s being an attention-seeker, and it’s undesirable.

But disagreements for the ultimate purpose of adding value to people not only gets you their attention, you can win them over as well. By the end of this article, you will learn how to win friends and influence people through disagreements.

A Word Before I Get Started…

I recently made a guest post at John Chow’s blog about Why Ideas Matter More Than You Think, and the part that got the most people talking was the statement, “Don’t apologize when people disagree with you.”

The whole idea behind this is to guard against changing opinions too much too quickly to be acceptable by others, because the blogger risk getting seen as double-minded and unsure of himself. By learning to be firm and confident with his ideas, the blogger attracts like-minded supporters.

But there’s the danger of taking this to the extreme, where the person becomes too stubborn with his own ideas. He is absolutely not open to feedback, and he fails to learn anything because his ego stands in his way. Others will start viewing the person as being arrogant and proud.

The key here is to strike a balance. You are neither weak-minded, nor are you overly hardheaded. You are right in the middle – self-assured yet open to feedback. You are an understanding person – accepting of people yet not necessarily agreeing with their opinions.

Disagreements then become great opportunities for you to gain friendships from readers and fellow bloggers. There are two different scenerios where this can happen. I’ll also share a true story to illustrate this.

Scenerio #1: When you are the blogger and a reader disgrees with you

Armen Shirvanian had made a splendid guest post here at John Chow’s blog Behind Blogging Glory is Consistent Production. It was well thought out and well written. The only thing is, I disagreed with that. I replied a strong comment saying that the true success behind bloggers lies in being a consistent person and not consistent posting.

I didn’t know who he is, but something got my attention. Armen had responded by thanking everyone, not as in a general thank you, but in a specific way that was related to my opinion. I then cheekily wrote another comment about his writing style, and he responded again by thanking me for the feedback.

His openness and humility led me to become more open to him as well. I reread his post more carefully, as opposed to scanning when I read it for the first time, and realized some parts did make sense to me after all.

Then I visited his blog and contacted him to say hi. I was genuinely impressed by his friendly reply and after a few short exchanges over email, we became friends.

Armen had successfully used a disagreement to gain a friend and influence me with his ideas by his response to my comment. He showed us that the manner you respond can win a disagreeing person to you. Here’s what we can learn from him.

• Thank the person for taking precious time to comment.
• Stay humble and open to the feedback. You don’t have to agree with it, but you should at least try to understand the other person’s point of view.
• If it made sense to you or helped you see things from a different perspective, give credit to the person.
• Show maturity and professionalism in your replies.
• Overall, stay cool and friendly!

Just to add from my experience, we should also determine whether the comment is genuine or not. Some people just disagree for the sake of disagreeing. It’s not worth responding to such comments. But still, we can stay friendly.

In a heated exchange, when you repel fire with fire, you get more fire. But repel fire with water, the heat dissipates, and you may even win a new friend.

Scenerio #2: When you are the reader and you disagree with the blogger

I believe one reason why Armen took notice of my comment out of 46 others is because it was so direct. It began with “I disagree.” I didn’t do it on purpose, but it did catch his attention.

I experienced it myself. Most comments I get is positive praise for what I wrote, but when a negative disagreeing comment comes, it sticks out like an ugly duckling. It’s hard to shake it off my mind.

If there is something the blogger wrote that you hold a different opinion to, grab the opportunity to voice it out. Here’s what you can do.

• If there are parts of the article that you have found beneficial, first thank the blogger for those parts. Then…
• Point out what you disagree and why.
• Explain your point of view.
• Give examples to support your claim.
• Be respectful and avoid personal attacks.
• Overall, focus on adding value to the conversation.

The objective is to add value to the conversation by giving a different point of view. It’s just like a team-meeting at work. In the teams I’ve been involved where people are open and quick to point out their different points of view, I find that the whole discussion becomes more fruitful.

By disagreeing and stating your point of view that adds value to the discussion at the blog, you get the double benefit of the blogger noticing you and appreciating your input. This opens the way for you to win his or her friendship.

And that was what happened for me. I did not just disagree with Armen, but I expressed my point of view and supported my claims with examples. Armen took notice, appreciated my input and treated my comments seriously. By his feedback, I could see that he had been influenced by my ideas as much as his ideas had influenced me. Eventually, we gained each other’s friendship.

On the other hand, disagreeing for the sole purpose of grabbing attention is an absolute no-no. Some people simply disagree without explaining or giving their own point of view. As I mentioned earlier, it’s not worth it for the blogger to respond and will most likely ignore people who disagree for the selfish purpose of attention.

If It Becomes Personal…

I find that most people are nice and will respect your opinion even if it differs from theirs, especially if you are a nice and respectful person yourself.

But what happens if it becomes personal? This means the person is no longer disagreeing with your opinions, but he crosses the line and attacks you as a person, saying things like “You are a cheat and a liar”.

Here’s where it is no longer wise to try to win over people who are already antagonistic towards you. It’s also out of scope for his article. But I just want to point you to a recent article by Yaro who has experienced them personally. He gives an excellent explanation why personal attacks happen and how to respond to them in way that benefits you.

What I do want to say is that in this Attention Age, if people are talking about you, even if it’s not favorable, it’s ultimately a good thing for you because you are getting the hardest thing to get in this over-communicated society – Attention.

A Final Word…

If you think about it, we are all trying to achieve the same goal in blogging – to add value to our readers. We may disagree with our ideas and opinions on how to achieve that. But if we keep our eyes focused on the ultimate common goal and open ourselves to other points of view, disagreements can become a great way to gaining friends and influencing people.

So, what do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Shoot your opinions. I’m ready.