C R E A T E A H Y P N O T I C F L O W

How to Create a Hypnotic Flow

Henneke Duistermaat

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This is a free chapter from the book Blog to Win Business

“This IS the business blogger's survival guide. Keep this ammo on your bookshelf if ever you find yourself in a lurch.”

~ Sean Work, Director of Inbound Marketing, KISSmetrics

For more information about the book, go tohttp://www.enchantingmarketing.com/blog-to-win-business/

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Create a flow to

hypnotize your readersEver read about the breadmaker technique for blogging?

The idea is that you follow a known recipe to half-automate your process.

Baking bread in a breadmaker is super-easy. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the right order, press a few buttons, and voilà: 5 hours later your bread is ready.

Sure, it’s not artisan bread, but it’s tasty and free from enhancers and additives. Plus, if you use the timer, the lovely smell of fresh bread wafts up to your bedroom early in the morning, welcoming the new day, and teasing you to get up.

Using blog post recipes is a bit like baking bread in a breadmaker. You follow a proven process with known ingredients. Youcompose an attention-grabbing headline. You write an opening that makes your reader crave more. You write bite-sized sentences and an inspirational paragraphfor dessert.

And you create an effortless flow. This free guide discusses:

● Whether you should outline your posts or not

● How to use proven blog post recipes to create a logical flow

● The ideal blog post length

Note: This guide refers to several blog posts and explains how they’re structured. You get most out of this chapter if you’re able to read the blog posts while going through this chapter.

Ready?

Let’s start.

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Create a natural flow that keeps your reader spellbound

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To outline or not to outlineOutlining a post means planning what you’re going to write and in which order you’re going to write it. Some blogging experts may say that you should outline all your blog posts, but outlining has both advantages and disadvantages.

Outlining can help you create a logical flow in your blog posts. Outlining can speed up your writing process because you’re less likely to veer off track into areas that are irrelevant to your post. In other words, when you don’t outline a post, you probably cross out more irrelevant paragraphs and spend more time editing to ensure each paragraph logically follows the paragraph above it. At times you may even struggle to arrange your paragraphs, as your key point has been buried somewhere half way in your post.

When outlining a post, however, you have to do all the thinking up front. You take away the opportunity to come up with new ideas while writing because you’ve already laid down a blueprint to follow. Writing becomes more of a mechanical routine rather than a creative process. Of course, writing doesn’t always have to be a creative process. Following the steps you’ve outlined is a good way to write blog posts.

My advice is to experiment with different processes and see what works for you. You may find that you use outlines for certain post types while freewriting others. That’s how it works for me.

To help you with outlining your posts, you'll find recipes for 3 popular post types below. The blog post topics I refer to below are all about writing or content marketing. However, you can use these “recipes” to write a blog post about any topic.

Proven recipe #1: The long-list post

Long-list posts take some time to compile, but they’re worth your effort. Numbers stand out in social media streams, and posts with high numbers tend toget shared more often. Long-list posts also provide an excellent opportunity to show off your in-depth knowledge about a topic.

For long-list posts, I always create an outline. Otherwise I risk creating a list of random tips without any order or logic. You need to break your topic down in logical parts so you can give your reader time to breathe again. This is what you do when outlining your post.

I’ve written a guest post summarizing the best advice on writing marketing

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emails—it became the most shared post on Copyblogger in 2013. You can check out the post here: http://www.copyblogger.com/37-email-marketing-tips/

I created four different sections for this post. This is the outline:

Provisional headline: How to write emailsIntro: Readers might struggle to get their emails don’t get opened, but thispost helps to write emails that get opened, read, and clicked Part 1: Why and how to make your emails conversational Part 2: How to get emails openedPart 3: How to get emails read Part 4: How to sell in your emailsConclusion: Never take anyone’s attention for granted

The introduction of this blog post opens up a gap between the current situation for many readers (struggling to get emails opened) and the desired destination (getting emails opened, read, and clicked).

The advice is broken down in 4 different parts—each part includes 8 to 11 tips. A long-list post is a checklist written in an engaging way—often with links to articles that explain tips in more detail.

Each section is introduced by a subhead to tempt readers to continue. The subheads are simplified versions of headlines: How to create emails that are eagerly anticipated, How to get your emails opened, How to write engaging emails, and How to sell in your emails.

Reading a long list of tips can become monotonous. To give readers breathing space, each section features a mini-introduction reminding the reader that the author feels their pain or reminding them of the promise that they’ll learn how togain readers and clients by writing better emails. The mini-introductions addressthe reader directly using the word you.

As always, avoid common-sense advice in your post. When readers get the feeling that you’re including many tips they already know, they quickly switch off. Make every tip valuable and don’t waste your readers’ time. This is also a good opportunity to practice writing sound bites as each tip should be short and contain a nugget of wisdom.

A long-list post is overwhelming, as nobody can implement so many tips in one go. The conclusion should, therefore, remind people of one key point or a first step they should take. The final paragraphs of this blog post reminds people of the idea behind the blog post: treat your readers like friends, and don’t take anyone’s attention for granted.

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Proven recipe #2: The short-list post

As a general guide, long-lists posts have at least 20 different tips, but usually more than 30. Short lists posts can have as few as 5 tips.

Each article you publish should have one big idea. Each argument, each story, and each example should support this big idea. Even a list post centers around one idea. In the example above, the big idea is that people should treat their email subscribers as friends—even if they want to sell to them.

Below follows the outline I wrote for a short-list post with blogging tips (http://www.copyblogger.com/common-blogging-mistakes/). In my email to theCopyblogger editor, I explained my “big idea:” Many people are jumping on the blogging bandwagon without thinking what they can do for their readers. Theyend up taking up space rather than adding value.

Here’s the outline I wrote in the same email:

Provisional headline: 11 Ways You’re Wasting Your Blog Readers' Time1. You don’t care about your topic2. You don’t write in plain English3. You love complexity4. You’re self-indulgent5. You think you need to publish daily6. You write purely for SEO7. You focus on word count8. Your conclusions are stale9. You don’t know who you’re writing for10. You don’t edit11. You don't show your personality

Tips in a long-list post are conveyed in one or two sentences. In a short-list post, a tip may cover one paragraph or a few paragraphs—this depends on the number of tips and the length of the post. Try to be consistent in the number of paragraphs you use for each tip.

Follow these key requirements to make a short-list post a success:

● Remember to create enticing subheads.● Describe each tip in a few short paragraphs.● Don’t stick to a rigid format for each tip, as you become predictable and

start boring your readers. Do try to be consistent in the overall length of each tip.

● Introduce variation by starting some tips with a question and other tips

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with an ultra-short sentence.● Include bullet points when appropriate, but not for each tip.

If your list is a series of mistakes, give people suggestions of how to do it right. Otherwise you just make them feel miserable or foolish about their mistakes. A list with mistakes requires an upbeat final paragraph.

Proven recipe #3: The how-to post

A how-to post is similar to a short list of tips, but the tips follow a strict order: do this first, then this, and then that. The steps can be numbered, but that’s not required.

The KISSmetrics post How to Use the Persuasive Power of Mini-Stories in Your Sales Copy [http://blog.kissmetrics.com/power-of-mini-stories/] is based on the“big idea” that sales copy often turns people off while stories mesmerize. The post provides a guide to using stories to make sales copy engaging and persuasive.

As this concept of story-telling is rather fuzzy, and because it may be difficult to understand how it works in practice, the post features various examples, plus a large part of the article is used to persuade readers that mini-stories are beneficial.

Here's the outline:

Headline: How to Use the Persuasive Power of Mini-Stories in Your Sales Copy Intro: Sales copy is often a turn off, but you can write sales copy as mesmerizing as stories Benefit 1: Increase desire to buy Benefit 2: Persuade by creating a sensory experienceBenefit 3: Make a boring product fascinatingBenefit 4: Strengthen a brand by adding personalityGuide: How to write your own mini-storiesConclusion: Reinforce the points that boring companies don’t exist and that each company has stories to tell

A standard how-to post will feature a list of steps and, possibly, examples of each step. But if you suspect your ideal reader doesn’t get the concept or doesn’t understand its benefits, you need to spend more time explaining the why rather than the how.

This how-to post spends a lot of energy on the why. The opening paragraph

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highlights the difference between stories and sales copy, and the science behind the persuasiveness of stories. A quote of an expert is used to increase the credibility 0f this argument. Using expert quotes is a useful way to make your arguments more credible and authoritative. By dropping quotes into your blog posts from time to time, you also show that you know what others in your industry are saying.

The why of story-telling is explained with 4 benefits. Each section about a benefit follows a similar outline:

● Short intro● Example● Explanation of the example● How to apply this to your own story-telling

After the 4 benefits of story-telling are explained, the post summarizes the how-to in the section Three Principles for Writing Seductive Mini-Stories.

A how-to post doesn’t always have to follow this exact outline. Many how-to posts simply illustrate the various steps you need to take to gain a certain result—whether it’s learning how to handle a difficult boss, how to repair a puncture, or how to draw a stick-figure.

How-to posts are popular. Best-selling author Jonah Berger suggests in his book Contagious that people love sharing practical information.

How to improve the flow of your postsWhen you next write a blog post, create a working title first, then pick a “recipe” you feel is most suitable for your post. Are you sharing a selection of tips? How many? Pick the short-list recipe if you decide to go for fewer than 20 or so tips. Go for a long-list post when you have more tips.

Are you sharing a guide or a loose selection of tips? If you’re sharing a step-by-step guide, go for the how-to post. Remember: you don’t need to follow this guide to the letter. If the why is less important, you can limit it to one section. If the how is more complicated, then spend more sections on the steps your readers should follow. Add examples to make your advice less abstract and clarify your points.

This is how I move from “recipe” to a fully written post:

● Create a working title—this should include a specific benefit because that’s

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what guides you in outlining and writing the post● Write down what your reader is most struggling with and what the desired

result is—this is the information you can use later for your introduction● Outline each section of your main body—the main body excludes your

introductory and final paragraphs● Write a first draft of your main body● Leave your first draft to simmer overnight and edit it the next day● Decide which obstacle prevents your ideal reader from implementing your

advice, address this obstacle in your conclusion, and write your conclusion when you feel fresh

● Reread your post to ensure you’ve kept to the promise you outlined in the headline

● Write the opening paragraph as you outlined or update it if you’ve changed your mind—keep your ideal reader in mind when writing

● Rework your headline—write at least a dozen different versions before deciding on your favorite

● Read your blog post aloud to ensure it sounds conversational—we discuss editing in more detail in the next chapter

This is the process that works for me. I don’t like writing a blog opening first, as it adds pressure to the writing process because I know my opening and closing lines need to be the best I can come up with. I find it easier to do this once I’m in the flow of writing.

You don’t need to stick to my process (of course!)—find what works for you. Also,don’t limit yourself to the recipes described in this chapter. When you read a well-structured post, you can dissect it and find the building blocks—just like I’vedone with the recipes and examples here.

But don’t feel you need to look for other recipes. The vast majority of my posts follow the 3 recipes outlined above.

How long should a blog post be? How long is a piece of string?

Your blog post needs to use as few words as possible to convey your points clearly. No rule exists to dictate the length of your posts. However, if you’d like toengage with your readers in longer “conversations,” then you may want to aim for at least 1,000 words. Longer posts also have a bigger chance of ranking in search engines and generating more traffic to your site.

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However, don’t focus too much on word count. Write with what you feel comfortable. Trying to pad out a post to meet a specific word count is a mistake. You start boring your readers with irrelevant information, and you might muddleyour flow so much that readers don’t get your main message.

If you feel your blog posts are too insubstantial, consider this: have you given your ideal reader a valuable tip? Does he feel you’ve rewarded him for clicking through to your blog posts? If you sense he may feel cheated, consider enhancingthe value of your posts by providing more detail, extra examples, and more in-depth information.

A well-written blog post will feature 6 ingredients: an attention-grabbing headline, an opening that makes your reader crave more, bite-sized sentences, aninspirational final paragraph, subheads that entice scanners to start reading, anda logical flow of information.

But be careful. A well-written post can still be bland. To create enchanting blog posts that touch your readers, prepare your posts with a sprinkle of love—just like you’d prepare a dinner for a good friend with genuine care.

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Further readingThis article is based on chapter 9 from my book Blog to Win Business.

“It will make you smile, kick your ass, and massively improve your blog. I highly recommend it.” ~ Jon Morrow, Boost Blog Traffic, LLC

“You could easily find 1,000 books and courses about blogging like a pro, but you won’t find a more useful andengaging one.” ~ Barry Feldman, Feldman Creative

This book discusses how to create a unique voice and position your blog as a must-read resource in your industry. It also guides you through the 6 essential ingredients of lip-smackingly good blog posts:

1. An attention-grabbing headline

2. An opening that makes your reader crave more

3. Delicious bite-sized sentences

4. An inspirational final paragraph for dessert

5. Subheads that entice scanners to start reading

6. A logical flow of information

Each chapter provides practical advice on improving your writing.

The book has received an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 (based on 121 reviews on Amazon).

Click here for further details or to purchase the book for the cost of only a cup of coffee.

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Copyright © 2014 by Henneke Duistermaat

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the publisher at the address below:

Enchanting Marketing Ltd

4th Floor, Northern Assurance BuildingsAlbert SquareManchester M2 4DNUnited Kingdom

Disclaimer

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, ordisruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Published by Enchanting Marketing Ltd

Cover design by Bogdan Matei

Illustrations by W. Gurinow and E. Pigurskaya

Proofreading and editing by Angie Farnworth

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