Writing Articles that get Read, Remembered and Recommended

by Mark Silver

Published on this site: September 28th, 2006 - See more articles from this month

You already know that writing articles will help your business. You know they establish you as an expert, as someone with authority. And they also create a depth of connection and trust with your customers.

But, maybe you still have a question.

How do you write a great article for your business? (Meaning an article that someone actually reads, remembers, and recommends.)

Well, now, that's a mighty big subject. Obviously, there are many ways to do it, so I'll just give you one simple way, so you have something to jump in with.

It involves three things:

A Keyhole
A Drama, and
A Stepladder.

1. First, The Keyhole
   
   When you look through a keyhole, you only get to see a small piece of what's going on inside. And you see what is directly in front of the door- what you can't help but trip over when you do open it.
   
   The problem you face is that you know a whole heck of a lot about your business- you know the whole room, not just what's visible through a keyhole. It's probably painful to not give someone as much as you know.
   
   But, think back- how long did it take you to learn all that you did? That's right- months or years. So why try to compress your six months, six years, six decades of experience and knowledge into a five-minute slot?
   
   For your best potential clients, they are tripping over things that you can help them with- things that are directly in front of their doorways. Pick one of your customers, and look through his keyhole. What's one thing you see directly in front of the door? Write about that.
   
   For instance, I saw several people in my classes struggling with article-writing. It was the next step for them to take. So I wrote this article- but only as much as I needed to fill a keyhole- just a little bit.
   
   A great article is a refreshing gulp of water- not a firehouse blasting them over.
   
   
2. Second, Engage your reader's physical senses with drama.
   
   A drama is simply an engaging story. For an article, obviously you don't want a complicated plot. Something as simple as 'what do you see when you look through a keyhole?' can be a drama.
   
   Use this law of Nature: everything exists in everything else. Meaning use the drama as an analogy to bring an in-body, immediate understanding, and make your point with interest.
   
   For example, I recently used tailgating when driving a car as a metaphor for the struggle to be unique in your business. How do you be uniquely you when you've been learning from/following the masters in your field? The drama of tailgating, and examples of when to tailgate and when not to, took an intellectual concept about uniqueness, and made it engagingly, physically real.
   
   A great article engages your reader's physical senses, because 'sitting in a chair' is more real than 'thinking about support.'
   
   
3. And third, Help your reader climb the Stepladder.
   
   In some ways, the Stepladder is the most important part. So, I'm going to direct you to read about it in:
   
   Keys to Helping Your Reader Climb Up Beside You
   
   
   • It may look obvious... but it's out of reach.
     
     Your readers may 'get' the point you are trying to make, but if they don't have a way to apply it in their life, it won't really sink in, and they won't get any results.
     
     The do-ability of your article is critical, because someone may
     read something and say, "Yah, that's interesting." But it's when they apply what you are talking about that they get something more profound. And that creates trust and connection with you.
     
     And a desire to get more of what you are offering.
     
     Whatever concept you are writing about, break it down into a step-by-step process. Or identify two or three keys, with examples, of how Johnny Reader can make it work for him.
     
     
   • I say again: Make it Doable
     
     I know you are afraid that if you give away your secrets, that they won't need you anymore. Please hear me with your heart: it's not true! The more you help people, the more they will want. Why?
     
     It's taken you months or years to learn the basics of what you do, and years or decades to master it. Take a moment now and ask your heart to show you how profound and broad what you know is compared to your customers. You didn't learn your mastery from a single article, or even 100 articles.
     
     And your customers won't either. But they will be grateful to know more about the Keyhole. And when they need to see the rest of the room? They'll be coming to you.
     
     
   • There are more ways to core an apple.
     
     There are, of course, other ways to write articles. But this is a darn good one, and easy enough. I challenge you: write an article by choosing a Keyhole view of a subject, finding a Dramatic analogy for it, and then unfolding the Stepladder for your reader.
     
     Then, feel free to share it with your customers.

My very best to you and your business,

Mark Silver

Mark Silver - is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com