Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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August 28, 2006

No One Kills a Messenger who Writes for Readers — 8 Sales Rules for Writing

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 1:16 pm

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Poorly Written Messages

power writing at work

In the olden days when there were kings and queens, way before I was born, a business message was sending a runner with message in hand from a battlefield to the king. If the message was good news, the runner might enjoy a feast. If the message was not so good, the king might enjoy seeing the runner run until his life was over.

Even when I was short, that killing the messenger stuff never made much sense to me. It seems like the guys with the messages might figure out what was going on and run the other way, instead of running to the king.

Had I been forced to run messages back then, you can bet I would have found out what the darn message said. Then I’d have figured out a way to write that same message to the king, based on what the king cares about.

That’s what I do for a living — write messages for readers.

So where do sales rules fit in all this?

Mike Sigers Got Me Thinking about Sales Rules

I was at Simplenomics last night, reading Mike Sigers’ post, Mike’s 8 Simple Rules for Repeat Sales, when I realized that everyone is a sales rep. I know. I won’t tell if you don’t tell my husband either.

I’m not making some smoky analogy here. I was a sales rep for the Philips-Van Heusen Shirt Company with a two state territory.

I had a genuine revelation. It came to me that I use my sales training every day and that everyone else uses sales practices too. Granted some of us are a bit better than others at getting them right, but that includes sales reps with training too.

In an email this morning I told Mike I was going to rewrite his post. I explained my reason as everyone is a sales rep. He said:

Wait a minute ?!

Everyone a sales rep ?

Not a freakin’ chance - even you can’t do magic… or can you ?

Let’s turn the page and see how far off I am.

Mike’s Rules for Repeat Selling — My Rules for Writing

Mike talks about how he was training a new sales rep and that naturally led me to think about training writers. Most folks don’t think of writing as selling, but anyone who writes for an audience does just that. Let’s take a look . . .

Mike: What is the main function of a salesman?
To make repeat sales. You might get lucky and sell a customer once, but to sell him over and over takes a real salesman.

ME: What is the main function of a someone who writes for an audience, say a blogger?
To get readers to come back and read some more. You might get lucky and have a reader stop by, but to involve readers takes a real writer.

Mike: How do you make repeat sales?
By taking better care of the customer than your competition does. The old adage is true, if you ain’t the lead-dog, the view never changes.

ME: How do you involve readers?
By understanding why readers read and why they read what you write, by knowing more about your readers than other writers take time to.

Then Mike laid out Mike’s 8 Simple Rules For Repeat Sales
Mike: 1. Give them what they asked for - close doesn’t count, exact does. Not once, every time.
ME: Yep.

Mike: Deliver quality - don’t bother delivering inferior product.
ME: No question about that.

Mike: Don’t oversell them - convincing them to take a chance on selling two years worth of product in one years time is the fast lane to being a one-time supplier.
ME: What he means is that folks can tell if you tried to snow them, padded what you wrote to make it look more important, or put in a bunch of irrelevant information.

Mike: Become a valued team member - go above and beyond or don’t go.
ME: Don’t expect readers to interpret you. Go back and look for where they might misunderstand and fix it for them.

Mike: Keep them informed - let them know about delays, pricing issues and potential problems well in advance of the rumor mongers (your competition).
ME: Have a relationship with your readers that lets them know when to expect what you write. If you make a promise in the title, deliver it in the article that follows. If you get attention from some big media folks, don’t change who you are, stay true to your audience.

Mike: Tell the truth - don’t become overly enthusiastic and stretch the truth. Even if it costs you the sale.
ME: Check your facts. Say when you’ve made an error. Always cite your sources. Never take words that aren’t yours. Be authentic and grateful. Know that some readers won’t like you or what you write.

Mike: Show appreciation for past sales - in my industry it’s nice golf courses, 2 hour lunches and leisurely steak dinners.
ME: Write about your readers when you can. Always speak of them with respect. Avoid terms, such as eyeballs, users, or traffic that implies they might be something less than people. Don’t think you are smarter than they are.

Mike: Show interest - either you invest your time thinking about their company and how you can help them or your competitor will.
ME: Listen to your readers whenever and however you can. Look for opportunities to engage them in conversation. Never lose a chance to find out about an individual who reads what you write.

I don’t know, Mike. It seems to me that we’re saying the same thing point for point.

Sales rep or writer, Mike or Liz, what we’re talking about is relationships. It’s more fun to write for people you care about. It’s more exciting to know that people you care about are reading what you write. Makes total sense to me.

As far as the king goes, I’ve decided he can write and deliver his own darn messages. I don’t like his corporate culture. Would you work for him?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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28 Comments to “No One Kills a Messenger who Writes for Readers — 8 Sales Rules for Writing”

  1. August 28th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
    katiebird said

    Hi Liz,

    I saw Mikes article this morning and knew it was powerful stuff but hadn’t matched it up thought-for-thought as you did. I think you’re absolutely right.

    I’m glad you took the time to do this. Thank you.

  2. August 28th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
    Rick said

    Hi Liz!

    I wish more people paid attention to these points. I wish I paid more attention to these points, but slowly I’m learning!

    Point seven about dehumanizing your readers is especially irksome. The tendency to call people such things as luzers is one of the reasons I eventually got away from Linux and places such as Slashdot. The young techies have a tough time relating to people as people.

    By the way, when are you going to put some of the things you write about in a book, even an electronic book? I would love to be able to read it when I’m offline.

  3. August 28th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Katie!
    Pretty neat, isn’t it. The two really arent’t that different. They key is that were talking about communication and follow through.

  4. August 28th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey, Rick,
    Thanks for the kind words about this piece. Lately everywhere I look I’m seeing connections. The nice part is that the connections are making sense to other people too!

    I’d love to make these books folks are talking about, but I have no money, which means I have no time. :0 HELP!!! and I will.

  5. August 28th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
    katiebird said

    Rick, I hate* the way some people de-humanize the people they work with. Maybe that’s a reason SlashDot never really clicked for me. I keep thinking I should poke my head in, but the next thing I know, I’ve drifted off with glazed eyes.

    *hate is a strong word. I don’t really hate anyone. I might hate some actions or behaviours but even that is probably not very productive. Please assume that I use the word as an illustration of strong negative feeling.

  6. August 28th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
    Rick said

    I understand, katiebird. I have some things I’ve written that are so negative my wife has told me they had better never see the light of day. :) But with the capacity for strong emotion goes both ways.

    Liz, I wish I could help financially. :( My knowledge of the publishing industry is pretty slim. If there is any other way I can help, though, I would love to do so. Let me know. I mentioned the electronic format because I thought it would be easier or less expensive.

  7. August 28th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
    ME Strauss said

    No. That’s so nice Rick. What i meant was I have to do things that earn in the time that I have. When I have time that’s free I write for you guys. :)

  8. August 28th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
    katiebird said

    Ah, Rick — I’ve written whole posts and on re-reading them thought, wow, this isn’t going to make anyone feel good. But, just getting it off my typing-fingers, it makes me feel better. So I can delete the whole thing without feeling the loss.

    I do believe in passionate writing — but I try to make sure that in my passion, I’m not needlessly attacking anyone. I try especially (to bring things back around to Liz’s post) hard not to needlessly attack any of the visitors to my blog.

    I’m not sure I always pull it off, but I try — really I do. There are things I feel pretty strongly about (the hazards of eating/drinking stuff with high fructose corn syrup for example.) But I really try not to turn those feelings directly against people who don’t agree with me.

  9. August 28th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
    Brian Clark said

    Very nice. Let’s see… sales plus writing… what can I do with this?

    Oh wait… that’s my entire blog. :)

  10. August 28th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
    Rick said

    Sometimes I think you don’t sleep now, Liz. To write all you write on your blogs, plus your regular work and personal life. Whew!

    How do you find why your readers are reading you, especially when your site is fairly new?

  11. August 28th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Brian,
    You’re silly. Didn’t Aristotle tell you that just last week?

  12. August 28th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Rick,
    I don’t sleep much. That’s true, but I work from home, so there’s no commute. And I have no personal life. . . .:)

    The first thing you do is find out WHAT they’re reading. Watch which pages in your stats keep coming up. Try to go deeper on the same things.

  13. August 28th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
    katiebird said

    Rick,
    I think she has an alarm on her email account to wake in case she needs to be here in the middle of the night! Or she’s really triplets.

    And, Liz, I’d love to know the answer to his question too.

  14. August 28th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
    katiebird said

    Liz,

    I’ve been watching but it was frustrating because I didn’t have pretty-perma-links set. Now, I should start seeing pages on the statistics lists with understandable titles.

    And there won’t be any stopping my progress! (dreaming)

  15. August 28th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Rick,
    I just know when you guys aren’t around and that’s when I do my other work or I take a nap. Sometimes I even go down the street with my husband to get dinner. . .. :)

  16. August 28th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Katie,
    It’s great that you know what you’re looking at now. You’ll be able to start learning about the people who come to see you.

  17. August 28th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
    katiebird said

    Liz,
    Now I don’t have to leave notes all over the house that say p=675 or cat=27 with odd totals next to them. I can also mess around with my categories more to make it easier for people to find what they’re looking for quickly.

    And maybe find a ‘related posts’ plug in……

  18. August 28th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Steph and Mike probably already have the plugin that you need. :)

  19. August 28th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
    Rick said

    katiebird, I use a plug-in called Related Posts by Alexander Malov and Mike Lu. I don’t know if it is the same one Liz is talking about or not. There is another plug-in called Landing Sites that shows a list of related posts at the top of the page when someone comes to your site from a search engine, too.

  20. August 28th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
    katiebird said

    Liz & Rick, thank you so much!!

    I’ll check with Steph and Mike to see what they suggest. I’ve never heard of Landing Sites — that’s a great idea. I get a lot of visitors by way of seach engines (well a high percentage of my visitors. And that seems like a good way to greet them.

  21. August 28th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Good luck!

  22. August 28th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
    Deep Jive Interests » “The Fall” — Fact of Life or Blogging Bogeyman? said

    [...] Now — I have no idea where I’m at, but week to week I have been lucky enough to get numbers that go *up* (thanks everyone who has supported this website in any small way … you know who you are). And I have to give props to stuff that I haven’t hit upon before because, let’s face it, most of the stuff you read is recycled and recycled (see the many articles on an “echochamber”) — and I have to admit that I’ve never even heard of “The Fall”. [...]

  23. August 28th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
    Mike said

    Okay, first things first - I cannot believe I went away for 8-9 hours and came back and you had not only done it, but had done it VERY well !

    And, on top of that, you got 22 comments while I wasn’t looking !

    THAT was a helluva way to use someones post for inspiration and not only make them feel good, but all your readers too.

    I bow down to your wordliness O’ Mighty One.

  24. August 28th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
    Mike said

    What i tried to say was -

    That’s the model way to repurpose someone’s post.

    It not only makes that person feel good, because you used their post, but it works for you, your readers and the readers of the original post.

    This is the guide by which all other repurposed posts should be judged.

  25. August 28th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike,
    You’re comments are always such fun! You wrote half of this post. All I did was follow the master. I was learning at your knee sir.

    You made it easy. :)

  26. August 29th, 2006 at 8:19 am
    ann michael said

    Hmmmm….Liz, if Mike is bowing down to you does that make you the monarch in question (albiet not a “king”)?

    You haven’t shot any messengers lately, have you?

    (Great post, by the way!)

  27. August 29th, 2006 at 8:31 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Ann,
    No messengers shall die at this hand! You can rest assured on that.

    I don’t trust them to carry my messsages. :)

    I must be a usurper.

  28. September 27th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
    Successful Blog - How to Make Your Writing Unforgettable — Using the Music of the Gettysburg Address said

    [...] Related articles Love at First Write: 5 +1 Steps to Your Authentic Writing Voice 10 + 1 Reasons to Write Well, Not Perfect-ley OR Save the World with Realistic Expectations No One Kills a Messenger who Writes for Readers — 8 Sales Rules for Writing [...]

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