(Please enjoy this guest blog post from ANDREW T DRAUGHON)

We are drowning in information.

Seriously, there’s so much content being produced it’ll make your head spin.

Check out these stats…

205 billion emails are sent daily
30 billion pieces of content are shared on Facebook monthly
200 billion tweets are tweeted yearly (that’s 6,000 tweets every second!)
58.3 million new WordPress posts are published monthly
300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube each minute

Look at the sheer immensity of those numbers.

They boggle the mind.

And what’s even crazier?

According to Google CEO Eric Schmidt…

“Between the birth of the world and 2003, there were five exabytes of information created. We [now] create five exabytes every two days.”

He should know, right?

After all, Google’s cataloging the world’s data more effectively than anyone else.

What’s really frightening is that way back in 2006…

IBM predicted that the volume of information would soon double every 12 hours.

Yikes!

Hence, the frustration:

What’s a budding home business owner got to do to get noticed and stand out from all the “mindless noise” to generate a steady, reliable income online?

After all, isn’t that what we all really, really want?

Isn’t that how we’re going to define our success, how we’re going to “win the game?”

Somebody way smarter than me said that you don’t have to be 100, 50, or even 10% better than anybody else to win…

You just need to be 1% better than the next guy!

Seriously.

Olympic races are won in the tiniest fraction of a second – often less than a heartbeat.

So who’s winning online?

I’ll tell you who’s winning online…

Marketers who provide exactly what people are looking for, when they want it, in the fastest, easiest way they can get it.

And what are people looking for?

Solutions to their problems!

Whether they’re using their phone at the gym, a tablet at Starbucks, or a laptop at home or at work, when people want to solve a problem, they’ve got an IMMEDIATE need.

The only way you’re ever going to stand out from the crowd online is to make sure you’re NOT part of the “mindless noise” of overly-promotional clickbait that’s crowding the web.

In other words, you’ve got to get the craft of creating relationships and providing value honed to a fine edge.

And you’ve got to aim at being just 1% better at it than the next guy.

So, to help you do just that…

Here are 7 ways to make sure that your blog stands head and shoulders above the online crowd, so that YOUR VOICE is heard over all the “noise” on the Internet.

And each of them comes with an assignment, should you choose to accept it.

After all, knowledge without action is pointless.

Headlines are 80% of your results.

And you don’t even have to take my word for it.

David Ogilvy, the advertising legend, once said:

On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.

And the whole point of a great headline or subject line (whether it’s for an ad, a landing page, an autoresponder message, or a video) is to interrupt your target customer’s thought process long enough to get their attention so they’ll read your first sentence, open the email, or watch the video.

Now, we’ve written a lot in the about writing “killer” headlines here on the EMP blog already.

Start by reading the 15-Minute Formula for Writing Irresistible Headlines.

Your assignment:

Download our free special report on writing killer headlines.

Then use the 5 proven triggers to brainstorm a really great headline for your next article, blog post, email or video.

It should go without saying that if you’re a serious marketer…

You need to know your target customers better than they know themselves.

You need to know their age, gender, marital status, income, education, and more…

You need to know their hopes, fears, dreams, and desires…

And you need to know where they hang out online.

Capisce?

Need help figuring all that out?

Read this post on how to Connect with Your Most Profitable Audience.

You’ve got to speak like one of their tribe, using the language, buzzwords, slang, and emotional tone they use.

Your assignment:

At least once a day, participate in an online conversation by commenting on someone else’s content or offering help in a community where your target market hangs out on.

I swear that at least half of the promos that hit my inbox are just plain slimy.

They reek of desperation and “salesmanship” in the worst possible sense.

Know what I’m talking about?

It’s sad that so many marketers aren’t trying harder.

And, giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they just don’t know any better.

But here’s the deal…

You need to be friendly, warm, and helpful when interacting with your audience.

Don’t pitch them with thinly-disguised “buy my s#*t” spam.

That just shrieks needy, desperate amateur.

Your Assignment:

Engage your audience like a professional.

Take a look at how marketers you admire conduct business via email, on their blogs, and on social media.

Then do that.

Online, you are words on a screen.

Therefore logic, flow, and organization are pieces of your online “personality.”

So ask yourself…

How easy is your writing to read?

How organized are your videos?

Is your logic clear, or do you needlessly ramble?

Your use of language “mechanics” defines your online image.

Is your writing full of typos, spelling mistakes, and bad grammar?

Are your videos to the point, succinct, and engaging?

People are BUSY and don’t waste time.

Personally, I use Stephen King’s 10% rule:

Write what you want to write, and then cut it by 10%.

Once I write something, whether it’s a blog post or a video script, I’ll let it rest for a couple of hours—a day or two if I can—then I’ll go back and edit like an English teacher would.

Or, I give it my best shot, anyway.

I’m sure an actual English would take issue with a number of my choices in this post. 😉

Anyway, here’s the process…

Cut out excess words. “Trim the fat.” Eliminate passive voice. Run the “Spelling and Grammar” checker in Word. Re-read the whole thing and clean up anything that’s unclear or breaks the flow.

Anything else is sloppy and will frustrate your audience.

Your Assignment:

Go back through some of your own blog posts and see what you can cut.

Cut it down by 10%. Notice any typos or spelling mistakes.

I promise you’ll find them!

In spite of everything, I always find at least one or two mistakes in my own stuff.

Whenever you post something new—whether it’s a post or a video—stick around.

Participate in the conversation. Thank people for commenting.

Like, Tweet, or Share some of the thoughtful comments.

After all, to be 1% better than the next guy, sometimes all it takes is just showing up!

(I think that was a quote from Woody Allen.)

Oh, and while you’re there, be real.

Be yourself.

Don’t try to impress, manipulate, or dominate.

Just be a real person and treat people the way you’d want to be treated.

Easy, right?

Your Assignment:

Next time you post to your blog, YouTube channel, Facebook or Twitter, check in several times the day it’s posted, so you can participate in the conversation and share the love.

You’ll be surprised at the difference it will make in your credibility.

Different marketers have different “rules of thumb” about how often to blog or email your lists.

And you can find successful folks doing things different ways.

There’s not just one way to build a business, after all.

Some marketers blog, or tweet, or send out an email blast several times every day…

Some once a week…

And others do everything in between.

The point is to build and sustain a relationship of credibility and trust.

Consistency will give you that 1% edge…

Showing up when your audience expects you to show up is the key.

So pick a schedule and stick to it.

Your Assignment:

Create an “editorial calendar” detailing how often you’re going to post to your blog, or YouTube channel, or Facebook, and how frequently you’re going to email your list.

Then do it, consistently, week after week.

If your writing’s hard to read, no one’s going to read it.

Always be sure:

your website or blog has a clean layout with lots of white space,
you’re using a conventional font in a readable size on a light background,
you’re using relevant, interesting images,
and that your site loads fast and doesn’t have lots of distracting “gifs” or popups.

That’s not too hard, right?

Your Assignment:

Read the eight “secret” structural mechanics behind every great blog post right here.

Once you’ve read through it, go through your own website or blog to make sure it’s as readable as it can be; then make any changes you need to make!

Decide your future today

I hate to say it, but the problem of “info-whelm” isn’t getting any better.

With each passing day, the volume of content is growing exponentially.

That means that the “mindless noise” is going to get louder and louder as more and more people participate online (…in more and more places, often via their phones).

Your job as a marketer is to make sure your voice is heard.

And how do you do that?

By taking yourself seriously!

Think about it…

If you don’t value yourself and your expertise, your audience certainly won’t either.

This means you’ve got to get aggressive with converting your visitors into subscribers and converting your subscribers into customers.

And how do we recommend you accomplish this?

Well, we like to…

Monetize the process of list building

Often bloggers will give away a free bribe, or “lead magnet,” to get folks on their list.

You’ve probably seen plenty of these before.

Almost all blogs have lead magnet.

But we do things a little differently, though.

See, everyone else gives away their lead magnets away for free.

And that does build your list, it’s true.

But what if you could monetize your lead magnet and turn your “free bribe” into a profit generator?

It would certainly help you more quickly monetize your blog, right?

In fact, using our 3-step process, we’re able to generate over 400 leads every single day…at an immediate profit.

The good news is that we’re willing to show you how, for free.

Tim Erway (CEO of Elite Marketing Pro), put together an exclusive free report that reveals how to quickly create lead magnets that effortlessly convert your audience into ready-to-buy subscribers.

Click here and get started with the 7-Step Lead Magnet Quick-Start Guide today!

Tim’s profitably generated 1,420,134 leads (and counting), so he knows a thing or two about crafting irresistible bribes and building responsive lists.

So what’re you waiting for?

Make a commitment today to create a lead magnet that will convert your hard work into money in the bank!

Ready to get started?

Click here and get started with the 7-Step Lead Magnet Quick-Start Guide today!

Until next time,

Moni Arora’s Blog