Boring Title Here. Exciting Stuff After the Jump.
Blogs. Links. Stories. Articles. News. Opinions. Columns. We are inundated with words, data, ideas, stories, facts, figures, and notions. How in the world are we to process what's good, bad, stupid or interesting? Many people write about the same things, the same subjects, and sometimes even have the same views. What differentiates everything?
We use our best judgment. We are constantly judging books by their covers, or tweets by their links. What are the ultimate deciders in getting us to pick up that book or click on that link?
For me, when it comes to a book, cover art is very important. Example - I loved the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" but it would have been a cold day in hell before I picked that book up. Why? Well, because I'm not a chick-lit fan. I don't like purses and shoes, and cutesy curvy girly fonts on my book covers. Am I missing out on some entertaining reads? Probably. BUT if it gets enough recommendations from people I trust, I might double back and look at it. What's interesting is sometimes a book publisher will reissue with a different cover art and then I'm interested. Weird what ensnares us, right? My point is, first impressions are everything.
In the case of Twitter, where everyone is limited to 140 characters, and all links look like pieces of code, how do you decide what's worth your time to click on? The setup. The Title. The Lead In. Your Sales Pitch.
If you're directing me to an article about, Oh - I don't know, lets say the State Fair, at a time when everyone is doing the same because it's a big thing, you have to give your tweets a great lead in. Entice me. "Fire Breathing Bearded Lady on Tuesday @ The State Fair" sounds more interesting than "State Fair this week, list of events" And don't just do one tweet that you constantly retweet - send out variations at multiple times of the day/week (there are proven higher times for Retweets).
If you're a blogger it is imperative that you are constantly sounding fresh and creative in order to keep and garner new readers. Don't get bogged down in tweets that say, "My New Blogpost." Start off with a question, "Ever wondered how to make a million dollars in a month?" and then post the link. Create an air of intrigue and mystery. Getting the click is half the battle.
After you get people to your site or your cause, that's a whole other issue.
Be Exciting. Be innovative. Don't be a cookie cutter blogger/tweeter.
We use our best judgment. We are constantly judging books by their covers, or tweets by their links. What are the ultimate deciders in getting us to pick up that book or click on that link?
For me, when it comes to a book, cover art is very important. Example - I loved the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" but it would have been a cold day in hell before I picked that book up. Why? Well, because I'm not a chick-lit fan. I don't like purses and shoes, and cutesy curvy girly fonts on my book covers. Am I missing out on some entertaining reads? Probably. BUT if it gets enough recommendations from people I trust, I might double back and look at it. What's interesting is sometimes a book publisher will reissue with a different cover art and then I'm interested. Weird what ensnares us, right? My point is, first impressions are everything.
In the case of Twitter, where everyone is limited to 140 characters, and all links look like pieces of code, how do you decide what's worth your time to click on? The setup. The Title. The Lead In. Your Sales Pitch.
If you're directing me to an article about, Oh - I don't know, lets say the State Fair, at a time when everyone is doing the same because it's a big thing, you have to give your tweets a great lead in. Entice me. "Fire Breathing Bearded Lady on Tuesday @ The State Fair" sounds more interesting than "State Fair this week, list of events" And don't just do one tweet that you constantly retweet - send out variations at multiple times of the day/week (there are proven higher times for Retweets).
If you're a blogger it is imperative that you are constantly sounding fresh and creative in order to keep and garner new readers. Don't get bogged down in tweets that say, "My New Blogpost." Start off with a question, "Ever wondered how to make a million dollars in a month?" and then post the link. Create an air of intrigue and mystery. Getting the click is half the battle.
After you get people to your site or your cause, that's a whole other issue.
Be Exciting. Be innovative. Don't be a cookie cutter blogger/tweeter.