Because your essay about persuasive writing is so, well, persuasive, you just landed another subscriber.
I really like the clever way you connect with the reader by including them in the process. (Example: "Feel that? That little ‘oh crap, I do this too’ moment?") I became a *part* of the essay while reading this.
I was reminded of what a journalism professor told a group of students years ago, about the important elements of a good story: Who, What, When, Where and Why. "But," he added, "there's one they don't teach in J-school: 'SO WHAT??'" If you don't address "So what?" you just lost your reader. It's all about *them*. Thanks for the reminder.
Haha yes! Awesome Larry. The 'so what' lesson is great and so true. And it's so easy for us to 'get stuck' into our own 'so what's'. We can't help it almost, because we're so passionate about our own thing. But this again is a reminder to ask it on behalf of our readers, conversation partners etc. Thanks man!
Rik... oh so painfully true. "Nobody cares about your writing" (or product) is one of the basic premises of a copywriter's world. My struggle as a writer is always how to take these ideas I have circling around in my head from an eagle's eye view and bring them down to earth, make them relatable to the people I'm aiming to speak to. "Because if I want my writing to mean something, I need to learn how to make people care." Thanks.
Yes, 'take these ideas I have circling around in my head from an eagle's eye view and bring them down to earth, make them relatable to the people I'm aiming to speak to'. This is the challenge and it's not an easy one. Messing around with persuasive frameworks week after week is helping me get more used to it but I have to say, I'm still very much learning how to making people care myself. Thank you Linda :) Onward!
I’m thinking that another fundamental aspect to engaging with readers is to care about them. Beyond making them care about us as writers, it’s self-evident if we care about them as much or more. Communication has to be two way to be called communication.
Hey Kathy, thanks for your comment! I'm not sure what you mean here Kathy. Not to say I'm some cold asshole that doesn't care about other people, but how do you mean we should 'care about our readers' in our writing? I would maybe even argue, depending on what you mean, that caring about our own problem/solution (and the vision that we're working towards) would already be caring about our readers (because they're on the same road to the same vision). Also, I might not personally know readers. Can you clarify?
Yes. Its good advice with to suggest persuasive writing to make people care, using techniques like hooks and circling back. Great reminders.
This is the only piece by you I’ve ever read so I’m thinking in broader terms of all the content I read on all platforms and, to be honest, things I’ve also written. There’s a difference that comes out in the essay’s words between trying to get likes vs trying to give a reader the best gift the writer has to give them in that essay. There’s an aspect of honesty and open-heartedness involved even if it’s a piece criticizing US politics.
Maybe the word is thoughtfulness, i.e., thinking about how best to offer another person 5 minutes’ worth of one’s own thoughts. We’re offering a gift of words that a whole lot of other people also are offering. It’s about more than just what we know. It’s probable that other writers know much more about even the specific thing we’re writing about, but they don’t know it like we know it. One needn’t be LeBron James to write about basketball.
Thinking about your essay, and how it feels awful writing something very important to the writer himself and getting “meh” results—and you’re right, we don’t know personally the folks who read our pieces—it seems to me like optimal writing would combine both aspects of what you mentioned. Hook a reader into what you care about. Care enough about a reader to present a piece in an enticing way that makes them want to keep opening your gift, and also, give them your best gift since they’re giving you 5 minutes of their life investigating your gift.
I’m not sure if this is anything different than what you already said. Your words “making them care is your biggest problem” caught my attention. I wondered if that actually is a writer’s biggest concern, or if a writer caring about a reader is the writer’s bigger concern. A caring writer evokes caring readers. The writer cares about his readers first. The readers reciprocate.
You may already be saying this exact thing. It felt worth exploring more.
Ah yes, I guess you're saying vs. peddling uninteresting nonsense that you don't even care about yourself (i.e. 'trying to get likes'). So I guess, 'caring' or being 'passionate' about something in general is essential, and otherwise possibly not bothering sharing your writing. I agree :) For me, digging up these 'sharable nuggets' is done in conversation, before it ever makes the leap to writing about it. Thanks for your in depth response Kathy, very clarifying, interesting, and 'caring' of you ;)
Dammit, Rik, ya did it.
Because your essay about persuasive writing is so, well, persuasive, you just landed another subscriber.
I really like the clever way you connect with the reader by including them in the process. (Example: "Feel that? That little ‘oh crap, I do this too’ moment?") I became a *part* of the essay while reading this.
I was reminded of what a journalism professor told a group of students years ago, about the important elements of a good story: Who, What, When, Where and Why. "But," he added, "there's one they don't teach in J-school: 'SO WHAT??'" If you don't address "So what?" you just lost your reader. It's all about *them*. Thanks for the reminder.
Haha yes! Awesome Larry. The 'so what' lesson is great and so true. And it's so easy for us to 'get stuck' into our own 'so what's'. We can't help it almost, because we're so passionate about our own thing. But this again is a reminder to ask it on behalf of our readers, conversation partners etc. Thanks man!
Rik... oh so painfully true. "Nobody cares about your writing" (or product) is one of the basic premises of a copywriter's world. My struggle as a writer is always how to take these ideas I have circling around in my head from an eagle's eye view and bring them down to earth, make them relatable to the people I'm aiming to speak to. "Because if I want my writing to mean something, I need to learn how to make people care." Thanks.
Yes, 'take these ideas I have circling around in my head from an eagle's eye view and bring them down to earth, make them relatable to the people I'm aiming to speak to'. This is the challenge and it's not an easy one. Messing around with persuasive frameworks week after week is helping me get more used to it but I have to say, I'm still very much learning how to making people care myself. Thank you Linda :) Onward!
Strong points here, Rik.
I’m thinking that another fundamental aspect to engaging with readers is to care about them. Beyond making them care about us as writers, it’s self-evident if we care about them as much or more. Communication has to be two way to be called communication.
Hey Kathy, thanks for your comment! I'm not sure what you mean here Kathy. Not to say I'm some cold asshole that doesn't care about other people, but how do you mean we should 'care about our readers' in our writing? I would maybe even argue, depending on what you mean, that caring about our own problem/solution (and the vision that we're working towards) would already be caring about our readers (because they're on the same road to the same vision). Also, I might not personally know readers. Can you clarify?
Yes. Its good advice with to suggest persuasive writing to make people care, using techniques like hooks and circling back. Great reminders.
This is the only piece by you I’ve ever read so I’m thinking in broader terms of all the content I read on all platforms and, to be honest, things I’ve also written. There’s a difference that comes out in the essay’s words between trying to get likes vs trying to give a reader the best gift the writer has to give them in that essay. There’s an aspect of honesty and open-heartedness involved even if it’s a piece criticizing US politics.
Maybe the word is thoughtfulness, i.e., thinking about how best to offer another person 5 minutes’ worth of one’s own thoughts. We’re offering a gift of words that a whole lot of other people also are offering. It’s about more than just what we know. It’s probable that other writers know much more about even the specific thing we’re writing about, but they don’t know it like we know it. One needn’t be LeBron James to write about basketball.
Thinking about your essay, and how it feels awful writing something very important to the writer himself and getting “meh” results—and you’re right, we don’t know personally the folks who read our pieces—it seems to me like optimal writing would combine both aspects of what you mentioned. Hook a reader into what you care about. Care enough about a reader to present a piece in an enticing way that makes them want to keep opening your gift, and also, give them your best gift since they’re giving you 5 minutes of their life investigating your gift.
I’m not sure if this is anything different than what you already said. Your words “making them care is your biggest problem” caught my attention. I wondered if that actually is a writer’s biggest concern, or if a writer caring about a reader is the writer’s bigger concern. A caring writer evokes caring readers. The writer cares about his readers first. The readers reciprocate.
You may already be saying this exact thing. It felt worth exploring more.
Ah yes, I guess you're saying vs. peddling uninteresting nonsense that you don't even care about yourself (i.e. 'trying to get likes'). So I guess, 'caring' or being 'passionate' about something in general is essential, and otherwise possibly not bothering sharing your writing. I agree :) For me, digging up these 'sharable nuggets' is done in conversation, before it ever makes the leap to writing about it. Thanks for your in depth response Kathy, very clarifying, interesting, and 'caring' of you ;)