How To Writing For Entrepreneurs

Write Aritcles and Blogs that Stand Out and Hook Your Ideal Reader

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- Write a how-to article
- blog post
- or book chapter.
- Meet and get to know four reader personas to understand what drives your readers.
- Create compelling openings and endings.

What you'll learn

Write a how-to article

blog post

or book chapter.

Meet and get to know four reader personas to understand what drives your readers.

Create compelling openings and endings.

Write a precise how-to.

Add flavour to their writing through techniques like story and imagery.

Create an original piece of writing based on a class project (guidance documents are available to download).

* Requirements

* Only that you have a desire to write on a topic you love. This is 'how-to' writing so it's aimed at people who want to write non-fiction to teach their reader something new or to encourage them to think or behave differently. Ask yourself what that is for you so you can get the most out of this course.

Description

Share What You Know

As an entrepreneur or professional, sharing your writing is at the heart of building your credibility and growing your personal and professional presence. It's easy enough to get your work into the world, but, if you want your writing to stand out, you need to know what makes good writing, and know how to do it in a way that is simple, and repeatable, so that you can write effortlessly time after time.

Even if you don't consider yourself a 'writer', this class gives you a fill-in-the-blanks structure to craft a piece of 'how-to' writing that will hook your ideal reader no matter who they are (and you will learn how to identify your reader type!).

Creating work that engages and connects with the people you want to reach and challenges them to think, or to do something differently is what makes your writing better than average -- indeed better than most of the how-to articles you'll see on the internet.

This is not a class about grammar and language; it's about framing your information and message into a format that connects with a reader. You will learn how to do this within a simple framework in your practice piece, giving you the skills and confidence to adapt and innovate as you develop your own voice and style.

Learn by Doing

This course is different to other courses you might take because it's based on doing rather than listening.

You get a project to complete and, after each video lesson, I ask you to spend a few minutes implementing what we just covered. Each activity builds on itself in sections one and two so that you end up with a complete article, or the chapter of a book. You then refine and polish your piece in section three, practising skills that will serve you for life, crafting writing that makes you (and your business) stand out. The process is deceptively simple because I want you to complete a (short) piece of writing, and feel confident to go out and practice your new skills.

Teach and Inspire

Whatever your topic, this course breaks down the fundamentals of 'how-to' writing with a structure you can use again and again to teach your reader something new, to inspire them to do something new or to think differently about your topic.

I'm excited that you're here and can't wait to see your work inside the class!

Who this course is for:

People who are not primarily writers but want to start writing more whether that's blogging or perhaps writing a book.
Entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives, freelancers, self-employed professionals, coaches, consultants, healers and trainers.
This is for you if you're willing to give it a go, and understand that done is better than perfect. No-one becomes a great writer overnight, I simply want you to be able to ship your work and share what you know on a topic you love.
This ISN'T for you if you're not ready to take action. I believe we learn by doing and I encourage you to practice and post your writing inside the course.

Course content

4 sections • 25 lectures

Welcome and Introductions 2 lectures

I Want To See Your Writing! Preview 01:20

This class is different to other classes you may have taken because I walk you through your own piece of writing step by step. Be sure to check the downloadable materials that accompany this lecture because you'll need them as you complete the rest of the video lectures. Thanks!

Introductions and What Are You Reading? Preview 01:30

Time for your first activitiy! I want to know something about you, what you want to learn about 'how-to' writing, and for you to tell me about one of your favourite pieces of writing.

Section One: Your Topic. What to Write About 3 lectures

Your Topic: What to Expect Preview 00:17

What's coming up in Section One!

Your Topic: Choose Your Perspective Preview 02:58

If you ever get that feeling of "Who am I to...?" then this lecture will give you a way to write that gets makes this completely irrelevant, AND makes your writing fascinating.

Your Topic: Wide or Deep? Preview 02:48

One of the challenges I see people struggle with is how to know what to write about. In this lecture we cover how to pick your topic, and also how to do it in a way that makes you stand out as an expert.

Section Two: Write for Your Ideal Reader 11 lectures

Why Do We Write for a Reader? Preview 00:58

Section Two is all about your reader and how to write for him or her (in a way that's interesting and engaging!)

Your Reader: A Reason to Care Preview 03:22

Is it enough that you care about your topic? We answer that question in this lecture and you find out what's the missing piece from so much writing.

Your Reader: Depth of Knowledge Preview 03:21

Another place you can get tangled in questions is how much depth to go into and what level of language to be using. We solve this one for you in this lecture.

Your Reader: Meet Our Readers, Starting With The Idealist! Preview 02:17

Not all readers will have the same reading style as you, and if you don't recognise and write for these different styles, then you're likely to be losing readers and therefore your writing isn't having the impact it could. In this lecture, and the next three, I introduce you to four reader personas I've developed. It's light-hearted to make it accessible, but be assured that it's underpinned by solid theory.

Your Reader: The Thinker! Preview 01:21

The second of our four reader personas...

Your Reader: The Do-er! Preview 00:52

The third of our four personas and this one is likely to make up the majority of your readers so it's important not to skip...

Your Reader: Finally, the Mad Scientist! (and discover which one you are...) Preview 03:10

The fourth and final of our reader personas and also a few questions so you can uncover which one you are!

Writing Framework: Write for Meaningful Melanie Preview 01:41

Now you've been introduced to our readers, here is how to write for them. I give you a four-part framework and one question you MUST answer for each reader.

Writing Framework: Write for Conceptual Claire Preview 01:51

The second part of our writing framework and the question you must answer if you want to catch the attention of this reader.

Writing Framework: Write for Practical Pete Preview 02:02

The third part of our writing framework and what you have to include in your writing if you want this reader to pay attention, and to think about, or to implement what you're writing about.

Writing Framework: Write for Active Adam Preview 02:28

And finally some tips and tricks to capture the attention of someone who's likely to miss out most of your content... he's a hard one to capture. And this brings you to the end of the first draft of your piece of writing -- congratulations! Please remember to post your writing, or a link to your google doc in the question area.

Section Three: Success Tactics. Polishing Your Work to Stand Out 9 lectures

Success Tactics: What We're Covering Here Preview 00:47

Now you have your first draft, the tactics we cover in Section Three help you polish and refine it so that it stands out. You learn what makes good writing and practice skills that you can use again and again, whatever you write.

Success Tactics: Early Engagement (get someone to start reading your piece) Preview 02:23

There's a trick to getting someone engaged with something new and that's to trigger one of the highly addictive brain chemicals. Websites like Facebook do it oh so well, and we look at how you can do this with your writing to engage your reader and leave them wanting to read on.

Success Tactics: Creating Connection (get your reader to stick with you) Preview 02:23

And you also want someone to stay with your writing -- which means you need to create connection. You'll find out how to do this in this lecture.

Success Tactics: Openings Preview 03:43

I'm sure you know how important it is to capture attention early in a piece of writing? Choose from one of these three captivating openings so that your reader wants to continue and will get the results you know are possible for them.

Success Tactics: Show Don't Tell Using Imagery and Analogy Preview 02:17

You want your message to be remembered and you want writing that a reader enjoys. Learn two techniques for doing this so that you can be the writer who stands out.

Success Tactics: Show Don't Tell Using Story Preview 04:00

We might have heard that story is important but I meet a lot of non-fiction writers who struggle to get it right. Stories are bloated and often off-topic. No more. In this lecture we cover a four-step framework for creating stories that shine every time you write.

Success Tactics: A Better 'How-To' Section Preview 01:38

You might understand what you want your reader to do, but do they? In this lecture we polish your how-to section so that there is never any doubt about your meaning.

Success Tactics: Endings (we didn't cover this yet!) Preview 02:10

Endings are even trickier than openings in my experience. How to close so that your writing is complete but not cheesy? And that's exactly what we cover in this lecture.

Final Thoughts and Thank You! (did you post your work?) Preview 01:22

Did you share your work yet? I do hope so because sharing makes it real. Thank you for staying with me this far and please do let me know what's next with your writing.