The other day I was talking to a guy at the health club I just joined. (Never had time when I was working for someone else.) We started talking about our personal trainers. If you aren't familiar with the term, these are fitness experts who are educated to design work-out routines based on an individuals strengths, needs and goals.
Anyway, Rick said something that struck me right between the eyes. "I got so confused reading all the books and fitness magazines. Everyone has a different opinion of what works the best. I finally figured if I was going to work out, I might as well pick one expert, listen to them and follow their program."
Later, as I was driving my sore body home, I thought about how appropriate Rick's comment was to Internet Marketing. Everyone's an expert. (Even people who have yet to sell their first eBook.) And there are a million programs, books, secrets, techniques and tactics that will work for you.
The problem is, you can easily fall into what my favorite business school professor called, "Analysis Paralysis". That's where a lot of people are stuck. They keep reading, and it gets in the way of actually doing something.
***** I was guilty *****
I was guilty of this, too. I must have bought several hundred dollars worth of books and courses before I found what worked for me.
Fortunately, the expert I decided to follow was, in hindsight, an excellent choice. And by following his advice and listening to his ideas, I have built up a couple of successful income streams.
My point isn't that my "guru" is the right one for everyone. The point is to pick one or maybe a couple of people you really respect, and model them. Of course, make sure they are actually successful in their own businesses first. But when you find someone you respect and whose style you like, listen to their advice and follow what they recommend in their writings.
***** Save Your Brain *****
Following this strategy can save lots of brain cells that you would spend switching strategies and tactics. It avoids confusion and gives you a good point of reference from which to work.
You don't have to keep reading and searching for the latest eBooks. Assume your guru knows the latest tactics and will advise you of how well they work.
I'm not saying you never look at another eBook or eZine again, it's just that you have one primary star you follow, it's that much easier to find your way.
Imagine that you are sitting in front of a group of people and you have just completed your first reading of your first story and the audience gives you a standing ovation. Or, imagine that you are sitting at a table in a bookstore signing copies of your first book, and there is a line out the door and around the corner of people waiting to meet you. In both cases, you look at these people and acknowledge that these are your fans, these are your people. But who are they? Can you see them in your mind's eye? Can you tell me how old they are? Can you tell me their gender, their income level, their main area of interest?
Knowing who your audience is will make a big difference in how you craft your story. For example, let's say you are writing a children's story. What age group are you targeting? The text in a ?first reader' will be different than the text in a ?read it to me' book. There was a gentleman who gave me a manuscript for his children's book; he wanted my opinion and helpful comments. The story had short sentences but the words were big and the ideas were vague. There were very few concrete images for the reader to imagine. When I asked him which age group he was targeting, he said, "I don't know! Maybe this isn't even a children's book!" Mind you, this was after he had already spent thousands of dollars with a graphic artist to do the pictures! There was no turning back. He was crushed.
This man made a common mistake. He assumed that because he was writing a ?children's book' that he should write short sentences and that would qualify his work as being for little people. When I read it out loud to my eight year old daughter, she was offended. She picked up immediately that he had made a mistake. She wanted to know why he was talking down to her with the short sentences and then over her head with the big words and ideas. The result was that she wanted me to stop reading; it was boring and offensive. Her expectation was that we were going to read a story that would be for her; what she got was something else, which caused frustration and rejection of the story.
Knowing who your target audience is will help you choose the language in your narrative voice. Ideally, your narrative voice should sound like you, and we'll cover this more in-depth in another article, but if you are writing an autobiography and you are a Mexican woman and your goal is to inspire other Mexican women to rise above their circumstances and make something of themselves the way you did, then you should write to that target audience. In other words, if you sound like an academic, because now you have your PhD, this particular audience might not want to read the book. They might be offended by your tone. Similarly, if you are writing a book about nuclear science, then your language needs to reflect the educational level of your audience in order for them to want to approach your book.
Knowing your audience is crucial because each reader comes with certain expectations, as do publishers. Depending on the genre, females might be attracted to language that invokes more emotion; males might like language that is concrete and tangible. A sports story needs to know if the audience is full of beginners or experts. If you are not sure who you are writing to, go to the bookstore and people watch. Hang out in the section you are interested in and see what kind of people pull books off of your shelf. Are they more male or female? How old are they? Which books did they choose? You might be surprised by this research.
So imagine again, this time you are on the Today Show or sitting on the couch with Oprah for your whirlwind book tour. Who is in the audience? Can you see them? Find out who they are so you can speak their language. They'll love you for it.
Both Jeff Mulligan & Tara Schiro are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jeff Mulligan has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Desktop, Online Marketing and Internet Marketing. Resource Box: Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for two software companies. Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 15 different ways for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on thousan. Jeff Mulligan's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
Tara Schiro has sinced written about articles on various topics from Writing, Affiliate Programs and Writing. For valuable feedback and editing help on your articles, letters, or books, please contact Tara at