When I receive an email, browse a web site or read a blog I want to see, hear and feel the author’s personality. I want to believe they are talking to me as if we were friends sharing a cup of coffee or tea.
Here is what I don’t want to read:
- Someone “yelling” at me with a hardcore sale pitch
- Someone talking down to me
- Someone writing a term paper filled with facts
- Someone who doesn’t proof-read their materials
- Someone who goes on and on and says nothing
- Someone wasting my time
- Someone who isn’t offering me value.
Here is what I do like to read:
- Someone writing from personal experience
- Someone speaking to my wants, needs and desires
- Someone who gets to the point quickly
- Someone who values my time
- Someone who is talking to me and not at me
- Someone who is friendly and personable
- Someone who treats me like a person and not just a sale.
How do you develop your Internet personality and voice?
As with anything, it takes practice to find and develop a comfortable Internet style. Here are a few tips:
Write from your own experience. Don’t try to be someone you are not. You aren’t Tony Robbins or Oprah Winfrey – you have your own personality and your own story. If you write from your experiences, you are writing from your heart. When you write from your heart, your personality shines through.
It is fine to get emotional. Yes, you can show excitement or anger in your writing. When I sit down to write, I picture myself sitting across the table having lunch with a friend or client. I write as if I’m talking with them. What would I say to them face-to-face and that’s what I write on my blog or in my email. Express your thoughts the way you would speak them!
Make your reader your friend. Write to me as if I were your friend and not your student. No one likes to be lectured to or talked down to. I don’t know about you but a lecturing tone of voice turns me off immediately – I shut down and I’m not listening to or reading your message. Don’t be the teacher in front of a class, be my helpful and knowledgeable friend.
If you don’t know how to tap into your Internet personality or find your Internet voice, here a couple suggestions:
- Let your support network read a few of your blog posts or articles. Ask them how they felt as they were reading it – could they “feel” your personality and “hear” your voice?
- Make a video talking about a subject you plan on sharing with your readers. Does your personality shine through? If not, try it again and talk to the camera as if you were talking with a friend. Now, take the recorded video and transcribe it with the same conversational and friendly style you just used for the camera. That's what I did for this article: Using Social Media Effectively
I know it takes practice but a loyal readership waiting eagerly for your next email or post will be well worth the time and effort. If you write from your heart and share with us those things you truly care about, your Internet personality and voice will come shining through loud and clear.
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Sharon Recommends:
There are a couple books on Amazon.com I think you'll find insightful and helpful:
I'd like to recommend my Kindle book, How To Market Your Business With Guest Blogging. Guest blogging is a powerful way to become an expert in your field and attract more readers to your own websites. Here is a direct link to read more and to purchase: How To Market Your Business With Guest Blogging
The second is a book that has been recommended to me several times although I've never used it myself: ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income
My opinions are solely mine. I am also an affiliate of Amazon.com and if you purchase through this link, I will earn a commission.
