writing

5 Ways to Shorten Your Twitter Bio

by Marian Schembari on March 24, 2011

I know, I know. I’ve written about Twitter bios and “what not to tweet” more times than is probably healthy. But, what can I say, I’m a giver. I also need to rant about 90% of what happens online, so there you go.

For today’s reading pleasure, I want to address more Twitter bio “don’ts.” Yes, these faux pas sometimes drive me crazy, but omitting these snippets from your bio means you can keep it under the 160 character limit without resorting to writing “u” instead of “you” AND it allows you to write more about who you are rather than focusing on other, completely unimportant, things.

1. “I am” or “Sally is”

If you’re squished for space, there’s no need to include the “I am.” We know it’s you. While you don’t want to appear like you can’t put a sentence together, if you have lots to include, just cut those first two words. Plus, I always think it reads better. It’s more casual. Less stuffy and stilted.

(Also, don’t even think about writing your bio in third person. People don’t want to follow a “professional” bio. They want a real human. Act like it.)

2. “Opinions are mine and not of my employer”

This one’s tricky. Your employer may require you to include it, but that sentence above is forty characters you could spend talking about your cat.

First things first, make sure you don’t need it. If you’re unsure, ask your boss before removing as we don’t want you to get in any trouble now, do we? That said, I feel like a lot of people add that line unnecessarily. Because it sounds all legal-speak and fancy. I bet you a million billion dollars that half the folks who’ve included that line don’t actually need it and their audience doesn’t actually care.

Now, delete. Simple as that. What else can you say in forty characters? Talk about that novel you’ve been working on, your favorite thing to blog about or why we should get in touch.

3. “I don’t autofollow”

I should hope you don’t autofollow. That’s the first thing.

The second thing: Is this really how you want to leave us? So many folks have these great bios and then end on a negative note by saying they maybe probably won’t follow us back.

Listen, following and not following and unfollowing and autofollowing is just part of the Twitter world. If I wanted to know HOW you use Twitter I would ask. I want to know why I should follow you, what you do, what you bring to the table. I couldn’t care less if you don’t follow every tweep that follows you.

4. Listing links

You are aware there’s a space on Twitter where you can post a link to your blog/website?

Even better is when folks know this, paste the link, then paste the link AGAIN in their bio. As if listing it twice will make us more likely to click.

Sometimes though, you have two places you’d like us to go. Then, and only then, are you allowed to post a link within the actual content (but I highly recommend you shorten it to save space).

Have more that two sites? Create separate accounts for your 12 other blogs and I promise you’ll get more out of Twitter.

5. Hashtags

Really? Why? Please, someone raise your hand if you actually search through Twitter bios using a hashtag.

No?

Anybody?

That’s what I thought. Ditch the hashtags folks. They make you look like a newbie and make your entire bio hard to read Plus, that’s one extra character you don’t need to worry about. Trust me, these babies add up.

How about some really GREAT bios?!?

This all said, I always come across these brilliant, clever, funny, interesting bios every so often and I’ve started taking screenshots. Maybe I should turn this into a feature of what to do as opposed to bitching about what not to do?

Check out these two bios I just love:

Thoughts? Any bios you especially love and want to nominate?

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4 Absurdly Effective Steps to Take Before Asking to Guest Post

by Marian Schembari on February 21, 2011

The past year has made guest posting all the rage. With the launch of Jon Morrow’s GuestBlogging.com last summer, every blog with more than a dozens readers was suddenly inundated with guest posting requests.

It’s no wonder. I guest post around once a month (check out my portfolio here) and when each new post goes up I get around 10-30 new subscribers, as well as a major traffic spike.

Earlier this month I was lucky enough to guest post for the amazing Erika of Redhead Writing. I landed forty new subscribers as well as being able to position myself in a new community.

The best way to grow your community is to leave it…

When working on a blog strategy, one of the first things I advise clients is comment on relevant sites. This accomplishes two things:

  1. Gets them reading, thinking about and responding to the “right people.” You’d think this was common sense but it’s unfortunately overlooked.
  2. Puts their name out there, helping them form relationships with the blogger as well as starting conversations with readers. Plus, if they include their URL and full/blog name, they’ll get a few click backs and therefore more traffic to the site.

While it’s more time consuming than commenting, guest posting is like taking those two accomplishments above and putting them on steroids. It’s an amazing way to generate traffic that sticks and lead to new opportunities.

I’ve written a number of guest posts, but the most effective in terms of – shudder – “ROI” was a social media post I scrawled specifically for photographers. Same advice I would have written here, but adding personalization and concrete examples aimed at a brand new audience turned that guest post from generic advice to awesomesaucerockstar and made me a couple hundreds bucks in new projects.

But how do you land these posts? Most of you probably recognize the importance of guest posting, but some of the bigger sites either don’t reply or are quick to reject. By using these simple four steps, I always land the post and make fabulous new blog friends in the process:

Step 1: Find a blog

Guest posting is great because it takes the pressure of the blogger for a day but you have to make sure your ideal site actually accepts guest posts first. I made the mistake once of asking a Hot Shot Blogger to guest post and hadn’t done my research to see that he hadn’t featured one in over a year. However, many major sites feature one guest poster per week and those would be ideal as you have more of a chance of getting in.

Note: Use your judgment on this one. For example, I personally accept guest posts, but only if someone comes to me with a great idea. So if you were to look closely it might seem like I’m not open to contributors. No harm asking anyway, but this first step is something you need to think about before going any further…

Step 2: Sign up and snag first place

The next step is to sign up for that blog’s feed so it’s emailed, not just posted in your reader. You want to know the SECOND they post so you can be one of the first people to retweet and leave a thoughtful comment. Being top of the comment feed means more people are likely to read and respond. Plus, a blogger is always waiting for those first few comments to gauge the reaction.

Over the next few weeks I want you to comment on every post your Top Blog writes. Join their community. Talk to commenters as well as the blogger. This is the KEY step. I never accept guest posts from names I don’t recognize. The writer needs to not only read my blog, but engage with it. Otherwise I think they don’t care.

Step 3: Follow/connect/friend/email

Remember what I said about being nice last week? Do that. Email the blogger to say how much you love them. Retweet their stuff. Make it known that you love what you do and are part of their community. Don’t ask for anything – just be genuinely nice and they will appreciate it. Trust me on this one.

Step 4: Choose a topic and WRITE THE POST

Before contacting these blogs, think of a topic first. There’s nothing worse than an offer to guest post when the guest poster doesn’t have the slightest idea of what to write about. Make sure the site hasn’t written something similar already. Do a search. It should take 5 seconds of your time to confirm the blogger hasn’t, in fact, covered what you want to cover.

Then, write the damn thing. Attach it as a Word file so it’s easy to read and as a text document so they can cut and paste into the blog. If you know the blogger well it’s sometimes okay to just email and ask if they’d be interested in a guest post, but it’s definitely better to show the finished product from the get go. Plus, think about it from their perspective – it’s always better to know exactly what they’re posting straight from the get-go.

And on a final note, do what you’re say you’re going to do. About 50% of people who ask for a guest post here never actually write it. Don’t be that person.

Why Go Through All This Effort?

Because. If the blog is worth writing for (meaning you’re not just doing it as a favor, but they have a large community you can tap) they’ll have A LOT of requests gracing their inbox.es So not only does your content need to stand out, but they need to know that you appreciate and are part of their community.

Have you started guest posting yet? How do you usually land them?

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The Secret of a Successful Blog? Develop a writing style.

by Marian Schembari on April 1, 2010

There are blogs about everything and for everyone. No. Really. There’s a blog entirely devoted to Tina Fey’s scar. Meaning if you think you have some awesome idea for a blog and you’ll become ridiculously successful and have a movie starring some hot actor to play you, you probably won’t.

Seriously, I’m pretty sure all the great ideas are taken.

Alright, I jest, but in reality your experiences traveling the world may be brilliant and make an incredible blog, but you need to keep in mind there are others out there. You will never be the only one. You will never be the smartest. But if you have the smarts and the uniqueness and can develop your own writing style by being you? Well, then you have a fighting chance.

My favorite bloggers of all time have developed “cult” (not my word) followings for a reason. Penelope Trunk has come great career and life advice, but so did my college career counselor. Penelope, however, is controversial just for funsies and that works for her. Love of my life, The Bloggess, is so hilariously self-deprecating and absurd and because of her wacky sense of humor she’s one of the most successful bloggers out there.

So writing in your authentic voice pays off. Not a writer? Try video. Or talking out loud first, that’s one thing I find insanely helpful when I have writer’s block. As for the rest of you budding journo-bloggers…

Tips for developing your writing style:

1. Don’t try too hard to impress. Write how you would normally say things and, for God’s sake, avoid the thesaurus on a semi-regular basis. If you wouldn’t say it in your head, you shouldn’t write it down. Remember, unless your a New York Times blogger, blogging isn’t necessarily about being a journalist or the best writer out there (though there are some amazing bloggers who are both). People read blogs for niche information written by experts. And the experts people choose are interesting/funny/frank/eloquent (choose a word that fits you).

2. Ignore that blogger rule about being concise. Don’t ramble on forever, that’s boring, but if you have something to say, say it and stop worrying about the word count.

3. Write all the time and don’t publish it. Keep a journal, write test posts, anything that gets those writer juices flowing. This way you’re not paranoid about who might see it, and reading over your writing might help you pinpoint your unique style.

4. Think about your audience. This can get a little tricky so I don’t want you to over-think it. Honestly, I don’t know who the hell my audience is and I don’t stress about targeting a specific demographic. If you’re into what I have to say, awesome, I’m beyond ecstatic that you’re here. I love feedback and want to know how I can help you (which is where this blog post came from, thanks DeFacto!). HOWEVER. I will write how I write and if you don’t like it you can leave. But if you don’t have that mindset, if you’re trying to attack potential employers at a Fortune 500, maybe refrain from using profanity. If you have a specific audience in mind, read similar blogs and try to emulate that style while keeping your own voice.

5. Make a tweet cloud. This one’s my favorite, but it’s only for you guys on Twitter (duh). What’s a tweet cloud, you ask? Only the coolest thing ever! Basically it makes a funky cloud of the words most used in your tweets. Here’s mine: Alright, so let’s do a little breakdown of what this means about my own style –

  • My use of the words awesome, seriously, friends and guys shows my tweets are relatively casual.
  • My (obscene) use of the word thanks means I communicate directly with people.
  • Feel, love, hate and actually = opinionated.
  • And it looks like I tweet about publishing, blogs, tips, books and marketing.

So have a look at what you tweet about. Does it illustrate anything about your personality? Things that interest you? Can you translate that over to your writing?

I can’t stress enough the importance of having a distinct writing style and it’s even more important with blogging than with any other writing form. We read blogs because there are people behind them, people we trust and people whose style fits our reading preferences. Don’t try to please everyone and – for God’s sake – be your brilliant, fabulous and unapologetic self!


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What I’ve Learned About Writing For Other People

by Marian Schembari on February 3, 2010

The past month or so has been interesting for my writing career. I’ve stopped just writing for myself because the occasional person has offered to exchange my writing for the green stuff. Which is weird. But awesome. Weird because ever since I was a kid I wanted to be a writer. I kept a little writer’s notebook (courtesy of the greatest inspirational book for any young writer), pretended to be Harriet the Spy and kind of wished I could be my dad. Weird because now I’m doing it. Years and a hundred mind changes later and I can officially call myself a writer. Which is where the awesome part comes in.

Except lately I’m been staring at a blank screen trying to find the perfect word. I agonize over every sentence and read things over and over again until the words start sounding weird. (You totally know when that happens. When you say a word a million times and it doesn’t even sound like a word anymore?) And I think to myself: why is this happening? I’ve never had writers block. Writing has always been easier for me than talking. Than anything, really. After about an hour of this yesterday I just decided to write like I thought. Cuss words, “like” and “totally” peppered throughout. A little aggressive. And the strangest thing happened – everything started flowing again.

Some of my now paid writing is a little more professional then the occasional “shit” and “totally” so I went back and removed them from my press release/article/thesis/etc. Doing that didn’t change my voice though, and I keep forgetting why these people hired me. My parents and various other older professionals tell me to watch what I put on the blog. That bringing up my day job or any other such inappropriate nonsense could jeopardize future work. Which is totally possible. But I feel like now I can afford to only take jobs from people who actually get who I am and how I write. I understand the need to tailor your writing to each client but I’ve also learned it’s much easier to put yourself into the words first and edit later.

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