A game plan to “work” any room in-person

A game plan to “work” any room in-person: (from "No More Cold Calling" here)

• RSVP and say, “yes” to meetings, conferences, gatherings, fund-raisers, and business mixers.
• Do due diligence and prepare. Check out websites, Google, or Bing names of sponsors, members, speakers, and attendees.
• Prepare a seven- to nine-second self-introduction that is an engaging pleasantry.
• Read the news: online or in print. Read both local and national coverage so that you can be knowledgeable and conversant. (This includes sports, entertainment, book reviews, and restaurant/food features).
• Prepare three to five topics of conversation in case you get stuck for subjects of interest.
• Leave your Bluetooth, gizmos, and gadgets out of sight.
• Approach those alone or groups of three or more who sound and look like they are having a good time.
• Let people know what you need/results you seek.
• LISTEN to what others say they need and OFFER to help.
• Go to have a good time, and you will.

Build Relationships with Key People

From: Rise to the Top

1. Mention them in your blog or video (best);do a book report video 
2. send them a link to it. Give them something free: 
3. Thank them

Romancing Your Readers

From: Writers Village by John Yeoman

Pattern your protagonist upon your target reader - not as they really are but as they (your reader) would like to be.


How can you do this? Mentally picture the person you are writing for.

If yours is a ‘genre’ story, draw up a profile of the typical reader of, say, romance, sci-fi, paranormal mystery, crime (of every flavour), historicals and the like. And examine their tastes. For example, a Google search along the lines of ‘historical fiction readers demographics’ can be highly revealing.

Works in conversations, too.

Long Form Journalism

Here's a great blog on long content articles: Here
It has lots and lots of other content and links. It's worth a full read. Here's a sample of the key nugget though:

The New Yorker is the authority when it comes to long-form journalism. That’s why Tumblr invoked their name when advertising for freelance writers.

But what can they teach you about business-to-business content marketing? What can they teach us about using epic content to build the value of your brand?

Fortunately, a lot.

• Solve business objectives — Your costumers are probably not looking to kill time with a seven-thousand word essay on Taylor Swift’s teenage angst empire (New Yorker customers are, however). Your customers want to know how to generate more traffic, leads and sales. Use epic content to do that.
• Educate with stories — Dig into the history of your company or customer testimonials. Begin with a meaningful conflict, agitate the pain and then trot in your solution. As The New Yorker has demonstrated, people like in-depth stories. It makes learning fun. Give it to them.
• Diversify your content — Think blogs, email white papers and ebooks. The more vehicles in which you communicate your message the more people you will reach and the more effective you will be. Warning: Keep your message consistent across mediums.
• Use social media — Unless you’ve got a huge audience already, your epic content will be DOA if you don’t use the power of social media to gain exposure. And don’t forget to make Google+ a strong component of your content marketing strategy.
• Invest in quality writers — Great content is hard to create. And you can’t fake it. Gone are the days of keywords stuffing or outsourced content farms. Only superior content will build your influence with your target audience and Google. There’s no way around it (even if you are Tumblr).
• Speak their language — When you answer their questions, alleviate their fears and encourage their desires you will write effectively for both people and search engines.
• Create a schedule — A giant publication like The New Yorker knows six months out what content it will create—and when it will publish. Create and manage an editorial calendar, using tools like the WordPress Editorial Calendar plugin.

LogLine Tips

From Rachelle Gardner

What the LogLine should include:
→ A character or two
→ Their choice, conflict, or goal
→ What’s at stake (may be implied)
→ Action that will get them to the goal
→ Setting (if important)

Tips:
→ Keep it simple. One plotline, 1 or 2 characters.
→ Use the strongest nouns, verbs and adjectives.
→ Make the conflict clear but you don’t have to hint at the solution.

Tell what happens, not a theme

Here is Nathan Bransford’s simplified formula for a one-sentence pitch: “When [opening conflict] happens to [character(s)], they must [overcome conflict] to [complete their quest].”

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

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