More importantly, you should be learning to enjoy it.

It should be painless, quick and satisfying for you.

The end result should provide a clear, final path to your end goal – that being, to print or pixelate.

How and why would you commit murder?

Self . . . → Read More: Leave blood on the editing floor … murder your darlings]]>

As a writer, you should commit murder every day.

More importantly, you should be learning to enjoy it.

It should be painless, quick and satisfying for you.

The end result should provide a clear, final path to your end goal – that being, to print or pixelate.

How and why would you commit murder?

Self editing is very like murder.

In his 1916 tome, On the Art of Writing, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) declares that you must “murder your darlings.”

But how could you possibly do that?

You’ve just given birth and in your minds-eye they have already taken flight – you can see them grown up and enjoying the fame and accolade that will surely come from your brilliant prose.

No, no… you couldn’t possibly murder your darlings.

Most people (and especially writers) can’t do it. That’s the problem.

Once you’ve given life to them, they’ve danced off the page.

But that is not reality.

No matter how much you defend and whine “that’s my best sentence,” you need to recognise it was great (in isolation), but it doesn’t necessarily take that same position in the piece as a whole.

And that’s the catch – you need to look at the whole piece of writing, not each flourish in isolation.

When you edit your work, you need take on the view of your reader.

Editors are first readers; they should make sure readers get quality writing.

To do that, you need to sit in the chair of the reader, not the writer when you edit your work. And so, there will be times when you need to murder your darlings.

But…what is the ‘greater good’ for your murderous acts?

Always to remove useless, unwanted things.

Once you learn that writing is about the piece as a whole (not the flourish) then you have taken your first, trembling steps towards committing the perfect murder – a final edit.

Your turn

Over to you.

Have you committed murder –murdered your darlings – and left their blood in the editing floor? Tell us your crime-scene tale, in the comments.

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IT’S THAT EASY

Social media has irrevocably changed both our personal and business playing fields.

There is no going back.

Many even say that success now depends on participation.

In fact, digital technology as a whole has forced us to reinvent ourselves. We need to cast ourselves in . . . → Read More: Build your tribe by using a c-word [or three] regularly]]>

Now is the best time to be building a tribe.

Social media has irrevocably changed both our personal and business playing fields.

There is no going back.

Many even say that success now depends on participation.

In fact, digital technology as a whole has forced us to reinvent ourselves. We need to cast ourselves in the screenplay of our own life.

The truth is, we live in a fishbowl.

This transparent world constantly faces outward and requires strong acting and brash performance tools to get cut-thru.

You need to be larger than life. Otherwise your message will die in the white noise.

Put simply, a dead message = you lose your audience and tribal rights.

To make sure you get cut-thru, C-words (yes, shock horror) are now virtually required usage, especially when building your tribe.

They will help define you to your tribe members.

Then your tribe will relate to your persona, platform and practices.

Simply being great or writing well is no longer enough.

Your tribe needs to see and know your three C’s: connection, content, character.

Connection

This is where a lot of people, brands and writers are now made or broken. You need to connect with an ever outwardly growing circle (or community) of people in your audience, marketplace, country and around the world; it’s an imperative. Your tribe needs to be eager to hear about and from you, know that you’ll deliver what you promise, are visible on and offline, that you’re willing and freely giving and are passionate about them.

Content

Content has been king for some time now. Where your success hinges is the space between good and great content. Aim for a steady stream that is well crafted and conceived, deeply fills your narrow-cast niche, clearly displays where you’re aiming and is imbued with your passion for words.  Become a contentpreneur who happily embraces and shoulders the responsibility for the success of what you write.

Character

Serve your audience – make that your mantra. Believe in your work, your competence and have faith in yourself. By maintaining your creativity, your commitment and courage you will let your character shine through to your tribe.

C-words now rival the P-words (product, price, promotion, placement and people) as the cornerstones of marketing and tribe building.

They are what brands and tribes are now built on and formed around – playing the trump card in the game of business today.

Your turn

So now it’s over to you. Share with us, below.

Are you using c-words to build your tribe? Are they regularly appearing in your writing…or thinking?

Let us know in the comments.

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IT’S THAT EASY

I admitted to you I was an addict.

I told my Mum I was scared.

Then my sister got the nitty-gritty on the dragon fears that have been haunting my days and nights.

To explain them – I’ve . . . → Read More: Everything [almost] exposed: foes, foibles and fears on Murderous Monday & Tradecraft Thursday]]>

I’m really not trying to make a habit of it, but of late I’ve confessed a lot.

I admitted to you I was an addict.

I told my Mum I was scared.

Then my sister got the nitty-gritty on the dragon fears that have been haunting my days and nights.

To explain them – I’ve carried this around in my diary for many years:

Our dragons are our daily fears; our day stalkers, our nightly sweats.

Fear of the unknown.

Fear of failing.

Fear of starting something new and not finishing.

Again.

Today, if you feel frightened or unsure about the future,

pick up the double-edged sword of light and love.

And always remember,

it’s simply not an adventure worth telling of there aren’t any dragons.

But as in the best old tales, at the end of your exploring,

you will live happily ever after.

-         Unknown

Normally I use my smarts over my strength.

I’m a true redhead known for her fighting spirit, but lately things have been beating me.

You see that’s the other personal secret that I need to admit.

I’m no different to you; I’m plagued with the same seemingly insurmountable fears and weaknesses as any writer. I’ve hit the same brick walls that stop my progress.

Lately, there’s been a big hairy scary project that I immediately knew was going to challenge me beyond the norm – that’s why I HAD to do it. So I landed it. Yippee!

So guess what? Now I’ve spent the last four weeks talking myself out of it – even though I’ve already started the contract – and doubting my ability (AKA competence ).

Yet, didn’t I say only last month that “only the competent doubt their competence”? I’m being silly I know – I’ve been spiralling out of control over this.

I’m definitely still learning.

Needless to say I’ve had to do a lot of work to get me out of the hole I’d dug. But I’m stronger for it.

In that hole, I had nowhere to hide. And I’ve had to use new (and some time-tested) thoughts and approaches to make sure I don’t fall back in.

So that I can do my best work.

Magically, some of those things appear to have hidden powers (that grow with time and use) – like shape shifters – they’ve become my familiars.

Cunningly used they remove your foes.  Allowing you to inform, inspire or compel your reader – to do ‘something’ or ‘participate’ in some way.

They are also very handy for slaying. That would be your writing foibles, fears bad habits and baggage.

What are these slayers?

For a laugh, and to carry the dragon fear metaphor a little further, let’s call them my double-edged SWORDS. They slay foes and foibles.

Used on words, in crafting, creating a vision, building a tribe and on your fears, they can produce magical things.

They can cut through the darkness and uncertainty to shine light on your great work.

Here’s the deal. I want to work my way through the various swords I’ve found useful.

So that I can do that, I’ll try to aim for more structure (than of late, anyway) in my blogging calendar and topics.

Then we’ll be living up to my new mantra and cause for this blog: Slay your writing foes.

I’ve been playing with this over the past few posts, but again for fun I’m creating:

1. Murderous Monday
2. Tradecraft Thursday

They’ll be aimed at working through our foes and foibles:

Murderous Monday: Foe slaying

foe (f)

n.

1. A personal enemy.

2. An enemy in war.

3. An adversary; an opponent.

4. Something that opposes, injures, or impedes.

Here we’ll tackle the nasty writing enemies we all have – grabbing (and holding) readers, building a tribe, engaging and persuading, conversion, using storytelling, getting cut-thru (pardon the pun), marketing, branding, making the sale and whatever else you think are yours (and my) foes.

Tradecraft Thursday: Foible fine tuning

foi·ble  (foibl)

n.

1. A minor weakness or failing of character.

2. The weaker section of a sword blade, from the middle to the tip.

On Thursdays we’ll work on our writing weaknesses – our fears, baggage, bad habits, wordcraft, editing, the big picture and technique.

So…from next week, look out for the first ‘official’ Murderous Monday and Tradecaftt Thursday posts.

Finally, two early apologies to you:

1. Failure is real: One of the cardinal rules we’re told in the blogosphere is to post to a schedule – so your readers know you are reliable, consistent and predictable. Philosophically I agree, but life is life and sometimes doing the things you should when you should (as well as everything else) just zaps your creative spark.

That doesn’t help anyone, least you and I. So I’m setting my own rules (with your accord) on this blog. I will bust my ass to make the calendar, but sometimes I may miss it. Life is real.

I’d much rather deliver to you a thought provoking or emotionally charged post that says something significant, than one written out of need ‘to make the schedule.’

So I may fail occasionally. I’m human.

2. The world is real [big]: Due to time zone differences amongst you, I can’t promise that posts will actually arrive on the correct day. For some of you it may arrive the day before – Wed not Thurs – (which is actually behind I think?).

That’s because being Downunder we lead the way in each day (he eheee….).

Warrior training lies ahead.

And you do know that historically redheads were the most fearsome warrior-women don’t you?

Your turn

So now it’s over to you. Share with us, below.

Want to be a warrior-writer? Let me know in the comments your thoughts, fears, foes or objections and we can work through them together.

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IT’S THAT EASY

Image: kodakgold

Personal belief seems to fall on fallow ground.

However, gaining and holding that sought-after attention is tough – it’s elusive in this digitally saturated world.

Toggling between tabs and screens is the norm, . . . → Read More: The Grand Design of writing]]>

Nowadays we’re very demanding when it comes to stimulation, entertainment and achievements. Life revolves around crowd (or community) kudos, acceptance and attention.

Personal belief seems to fall on fallow ground.

However, gaining and holding that sought-after attention is tough – it’s elusive in this digitally saturated world.

Toggling between tabs and screens is the norm, fracturing your focus and giving you little real chance to assimilate it all.

To actually focus on just one thing… anything, feels like it happened a long time ago. Enjoying that moment seems a lifetime away.

Typical of today, there are few television programs that captivate my attention. Maybe that’s due to my disparate likes (from doco’s to Masterchef), or perhaps it’s my increasingly discerning use of my time… and focus.

But Sundays’ are different.

Last night it was Grand Designs time to shine for us. I’m not quite sure why this program appeals to us – our home is as far from grand as it can get and the only design aspect regularly used, is to see how much more stuff we can fit into an already way too small space for two and two-half-adults.

Perhaps the appeal lies in the presenter, Kevin McCloud. As a designer, writer and TV presenter, his English accent and architect heritage belies the warmly human view that he freely imparts as he watches the conception and growth of these always unusual homebuilding projects.

He may criticise their lack of schedule and budgeting, but he embraces the emotion of each one – that they make the people happy. He also appreciates the craftsmanship, care and passion of peoples’ plans – from those that are wildly outrageous using mud and straw, to resurrecting a ruined English castle.

The homebuilders always transform their base materials, as if by alchemy, into a finished home fashioned with individual beauty, more often than not both inside (with feeling) as well as outside (with personal flourish).

Last night we watched a couple in Herefordshire. They wanted to build a home that would simultaneously blend into and grow out of the surrounding landscape.

Sadly time disproved their expectations for the completion timetable and difficulty, but the growing family of five still managed to work with and through the process with heart and grace.

Their focus remained unwavering.

This was their home; not a flat-pack.

Despite four years of camping out and becoming almost self-sufficient from their acreage in that time, they were still adamant that they would not have changed or sped up the journey.

That’s exactly where they drew their inspiration from – their focus on the journey.

Too often these days we rush through things in order to move onto the next, forgetting to enjoy the small moments and experience them. To grow with them.

Despite hardships of weather, inexperience, scarcity and dwindling finances, they managed to grow with the home and embed the whole process into their life – weaving their lives into the building as it grew with them.

Their life wasn’t interrupted by the homebuilding; it was added into the mix and made into something more. A greater whole.

The program got me thinking.

It reminded me that this was the way things used to be done.

That your life worked with your surroundings, projects and challenges.

Memories were made with an experience, not an acquisition.

And so it should be with writing.

It should be a journey – one that provides memories (nice and not-so) while giving you gifts along the way – slippery slides to enjoy as well as challenging mountains to climb.

Writing is not an acquisition, it’s learning. Over time.

It’s not innate ability, talent or good luck that makes you and your writing a success. It’s work. Pure and simple.

Heard of the 10,000 hour rule? It’s the idea that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to master a skill. That’s writing in a nutshell.

You need to do the work.

Exactly what the grand design is for your writing is up to you.

There are patterns to follow, paths to take, signposts to notice, rivers to flow with, but at the end of each day, you need to feel something. That is the grand design.

You need to have passion for what you are doing.

Handcrafting is what you do.

Be proud of it.

Writing is creation.

Creation is divine art.

You take your thoughts, paint word pictures to match and then you lay them on the page. Done well, those words will blend together and grow out of the page. Just like the Herefordshire couple’s home.

The might and power of your work lays behind the thought, the emotion, the flow behind your fingers and the trust in yourself and your gift.

We all know that struggling, fear and doubt are part of our writers’ life. They are our constant companions.

But battling the demons of self-confidence also introduces us to their bounteous twin sisters – joy, dreams and passion. With them at hand they give flight to our fingers and pens.

In the end, your writing comes from somewhere within. It is not a logical method that can be rolled out at will any more than an artist has a masterpiece at the end of every brush he picks up.

Instead you should embed words and writing in your life, make them your essence… just like the Herefordshire family built a home that became their outward-facing soul.

“Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth” [Pablo Picasso]

What’s your writing truth? Does it have a grand design?

It can be whatever you create in your mind.

You are the author.

What do you think? Let us know so we can all learn….

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IT’S THAT EASY

Image: ZoofyTheJi

We must be able to bring to mind readers’ feelings, loves, hates, fears, dreams and foibles.

Naming and knowing all the demons and angels that endlessly circle inside their heads and are . . . → Read More: Think like your reader: what are they running away from?]]>

Similarly to novelists, copywriters and business writers need to be able to think (and write) their way into the head of their reader.

We must be able to bring to mind readers’ feelings, loves, hates, fears, dreams and foibles.

Naming and knowing all the demons and angels that endlessly circle inside their heads and are driving their feelings and actions, helps you know what to say to get their attention.

If you want to get a response to your work, to persuade or engage, using average words won’t work.

The words need to be specific to their needs and pain at the time they are reading you. They have to feel as if you are reading their mind.

You need to build rapport with them. In their head. And make their pain go away.

And how do you find out?

Simple. Ask questions. Think your way through their mind, and into their heart. Feel what gets them going, pulls them down or excites them.

Find out what those are, and you can start writing.

Have some fun

So let’s start thinking your way through some minds.

First, how would you describe yourself right now?

Just one word.

And the person nearest by?

Another word.

Now, finally someone that comes from your imagination.

A third word.

What you have just done is describe three people’s personal attributes. They may differ widely, or be similar in nature – that’s not what’s important right now.

Right now I want you to think of each of those attributes as something that the person is:

1. Is running AWAY from, and
2. On its flipside, is running TOWARDS

Why am I asking you to do this? It’s another copywriter’s trick [hat tip to Andy Maslen for this one] that will help you overcome your fears of not knowing what and how to write a persuasive piece of work.

Here’s an example.

Keep it real

By doing this you have just gained a greater psychological understanding of the person you identified (including yourself, if the top line was you – as it was in my case – but more on that another time).

This understanding gives you a huge advantage when writing to (and for) each of these readers.

There’s no more wondering what buttons to push – you already know what they need (to avoid) and want (to get) to solve their problem or take away their pain.

Building a reader profile or platform

Now do the same exercise, for a single person.

There will now be multiple attributes and feelings in the table, all for the same person – as we juggle many issues and feelings at once. The more you can identify, the more detailed the picture will be of them.

By applying this to your writing, you’ve now got a feel for your reader and what you need to say to them to get them to say, do, think and feel the way you want them to. This will help you handcraft persuasive writings that inform, inspire and sell ideas, products and services.

The two big ones

A shortcut to this process is by focusing on fear and greed. They are both enormous motivators in life and are often used in copywriting and advertising to great effect.

If you can isolate these, you have a straight road to into your reader’s mind.

What makes your reader tick? How have you got under their skin and into their mind to know what to write? Share your methods in the comments, so we can all learn….

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IT’S THAT EASY

Image: tatlin

Is there something that you can’t seem to forget … something that inhabits your dreams and leaves its essence with you each morning?

Is there a hidden passion, yearning to be unlocked?

Despite what everyone says, we do not exist for the sole purpose of grinding out a living, . . . → Read More: Where there’s a will, there’s a payday]]>

What keeps you awake at night?

Is there something that you can’t seem to forget … something that inhabits your dreams and leaves its essence with you each morning?

Is there a hidden passion, yearning to be unlocked?

Despite what everyone says, we do not exist for the sole purpose of grinding out a living, paying our bills then slowly sliding our way into retirement and finally death; never to have really lived.

Unfortunately though, that’s the self-made mind-trap that many people are in.

They’re wrong.

We are here to do something. We’re here to live a life.

Life should be one long experience from beginning to end.

It shouldn’t been black  and white; instead, technicolour. Multiple 3-D effects should feature, with sights, sounds and smells surrounding you all day, every day. But it’s not necessarily a blockbuster movie either.

Life is also lived in the small moments.

Feeling the changing seasons, seeing the ‘shepard’s delight’ at the end of the day, smelling freshly mown lawn and hearing the crunch of autumn leaves under your feet. It’s noticing the single, tiny plant valiantly pushing its way up between the concrete pavements, to reach the light amongst the city sky scrapers.

Life should light your spark, whatever that may be.

“I don’t want to get to the end of my life find that I just lived the length of it.

I want to have lived the width of it as well” – Diane Ackerman

According to Seth Godin, you should “do work that matters.”

However, exactly what that work is, is up to you. And your creative muse.

Everyone has the ability to reinvent themselves and to make a living from their passion. There are no rules to say that we cannot reinvent ourselves and change what is expected of us.

It is only our expectations of ourselves that limit our growth.

Opportunities (big and small) are everywhere for writers, designers, mothers, teachers, builders, hobbyists – really anyone – to make a change in their own world. But you need to take the first step by ploughing your field, to reap your crop.

And by this I don’t mean just waving a wand or making some intentional wishes and hoping for the best. You’ll need to work hard for it. It won’t just happen for you.

In Godin’s book Brainwashed, he identifies seven levers available for anyone (like you) who may be in search of reinvention:

1. Connect
2. Be generous
3. Make art
4. Acknowledge the lizard
5. Ship
6. Fail

And the seventh pillar is the key to the other six:

7. Learn

Each step requires your effort and passion. They are what will drive the magic behind your transformation.

From risks there is often reward. But to get those rewards you must also push against the resistance created by that little voice inside your head that plants the seed of doubt.

There is no room for doubt, only belief in yourself.

Have you found your life yet? Tell me about it in the comments.

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IT’S THAT EASY

Across continents and centuries, dragons have featured in myths, legends and storytelling.

To most people they imbue a sense of other worldliness to stories; drawn from a time, mind and place of make-believe. Others say they are now only hidden from our view, because our seed of belief is too weak to grow.

It was full of challenges, milestones, action, successes and the obligatory few stumbles.

But that’s what life is about isn’t it?

You have to stretch yourself across it, as well as living the length of it – otherwise it’s a life only half lived.

If you . . . → Read More: My 2011 confession as an AWOL writer]]>

This year has been a big one for me.

It was full of challenges, milestones, action, successes and the obligatory few stumbles.

But that’s what life is about isn’t it?

You have to stretch yourself across it, as well as living the length of it – otherwise it’s a life only half lived.

If you don’t get a few bruises to go with the smiles as well as a good mixture of tears and laughter throughout a year it’s not one that’s been well lived – and way to black and white for a colourful gal like me!

The year (and this blog) was started with a word resolution and true to its intent, it attracted a lot of associated things to me, as well as those that my own focus had identified.

Remaining open did prove to set its own challenges for me. However that said, some amazing discoveries were made as well as some serendipitously finding their way to me. New friends were made, a vertical hill of new things and skills were learnt as well as restructuring my business to deepen the use of my branding talents, and narrowcast my niche and client relationships.

So a satisfying year to look back on – savouring the sweet with the sour.

Next year already looks to be another colourful addition to my card deck, with a matching new word resolution – but more on that in the New Year.

My confession

Now this is where we get serious. My writing for clients always has great headlines, a moving story and emotes an action or reaction, but my blog posts sometimes don’t. There, I’ve said it.

Call it blog mojo, learning curve, mastering a new writing form or still searching for my ideal copy platform, I don’t feel I’ve quite yet found it.

You see, after 100 posts and not yet twelve months, I’m still not satisfied.

I’m searching for the flow (or ‘runners high’ as some call it) and so far, the water hasn’t moved swiftly enough for my liking.

So this summer I’m going back to basics.

I’m going back to think, read and doodle the hours away, on some favourite subjects:

Storytelling . Passion . Myths and metaphors . People pictures

Magical thinking . Story appeal . Word images

Ideas . Enchantment

I’m going mining. I’m digging for my ideal, my inner weirdness and the single cause (choosing which one will be the problem) that keeps me awake at night….

All so that I can better entice you to come along on this journey – across the landscapes of writing, branding and ideas – to make things happen.

AWOL writer

I’m taking full advantage of being a freelancer this summer and taking a goodly portion of late December and January off from blogging (and the majority of client work) to enjoy the looooong Aussie summer sunshine – relaxing with my husband and kids.

Wishing you all a fabulous holiday season and many thanks  for reading, commenting, sharing and coming along so far – you’ve kept me motivated and inspired – and I hope I have hit the right note for you at least once this year.

I’ll be back next year, first probably with my new word resolution, with new energy and mojo.

Happy holidays xxx

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IT’S THAT EASY

You’ve toiled for ages trying to pitch it properly, edit it and then proof it to make sure it’s error-free.

But there’s one more thing to decide…

Do you use:

Yours faithfully

Yours sincerely

Kind . . . → Read More: Editing clips: Signoffs]]>

So you’re writing a letter or pixeling an email ….

You’ve toiled for ages trying to pitch it properly, edit it and then proof it to make sure it’s error-free.

But there’s one more thing to decide…

What is the accepted way of signing off these days?

Do you use:

Yours faithfully

Yours sincerely

Kind regards

Regards

Best Wishes

What is appropriate?

Yours faithfully – for a formal letter that you’ve addressed “Dear Sir/Madam”

Yours sincerely – for a formal letter addressed to a named/particular person, a personal salutation

Kind regards, Regards or Best Wishes – when you now the person or you’ve previously ping-ponged emails or letters

Does this help clear things up for you?

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IT’S THAT EASY 

The cold hard facts about the extent of the ‘creep’ may be news to you, especially as a business owner and marketer.

Many people still question the validity, purpose and . . . → Read More: Are blogs ‘media’ for marketers?]]>

The longer I spend in the blogosphere the more I realise that there are so many overlaps between traditional media and the world of blogs.

The cold hard facts about the extent of the ‘creep’ may be news to you, especially as a business owner and marketer.

Many people still question the validity, purpose and results gained from blogging – especially for businesses and brands. But here’s some news, if you’re not already taking notice of them, then you should be. And add them into your media plans.

Bloggers are borrowing and repurposing many of the tools of mainstream media to promote themselves and build entrepreneurial online business. They have media kits, boilerplates, long form sales letters, call-to-actions, taglines, branding, and subscriber bases (aka circulation) that would put some longstanding print publishers to shame.

They are serious about what they say, how they are seen and the impact they can have – on a brand, person and reputation.

Just take a look at Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere.

The report covers many key areas that are sensitive to marketers and business owners alike – as well as being important to bloggers themselves.

“This year’s topics include: blogging and social media, bloggers and traditional media, traffic and analysis, brands and marketing in the blogosphere, bloggers’ motivations and consequences, monetisation, and changes within the blogosphere over 2011.”

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick run down on some findings, taken directly from the report:

1. Who are the bloggers?

“Roughly three fifths are male, a proportion that holds true over all blogger types. Not surprisingly, a majority of bloggers are in the 25-44 age range – but a third are over 44. Worldwide, bloggers are generally well educated“

“The majority of bloggers have been blogging for at least two years and nine out of ten who own a company or maintain a blog for their company blog about their industry.”

2. Bloggers and traditional media

“Almost one third of bloggers have worked for the traditional media, with a monthly magazine being the most common form (41%). 55% of Professional Full Timers and half of all Corporate bloggers have worked for a monthly magazine in the past. Of those who have worked with traditional media, 24% are still employed and blog separately.”

“81% report that their blog is part of a non-media company.”

3. Brands and the blogosphere

“38% of respondents say they blog about brands that they love or hate. 33% of Professional Part Timers post reviews at least once a week.”

“Bloggers are being actively courted. Nearly four out of 10 overall, 59% of Professional Part Timers, and 66% of Professional Full Timers have been approached to write about or review products. Pros are approached eight times per week on average. The most frequently approached Hobbyist, Professional Part Time, Professional Full Time, and Entrepreneur bloggers report being approached more than 200 times per week.”

“The majority of bloggers report that they are influenced by the overall behaviour of a brand or company. Close to 20% of bloggers report that they boycott products as a result.”

“Product reviews are the most common type of brand programs among bloggers. Professionals also participate in traditional PR announcement coverage and sponsored posts.”

“We asked respondents for their views on blogging vs. other types of media. Among other things, we found that more than two thirds believe their blogs are getting taken more seriously as sources of information, with 76% of Professional Full Timers agreeing.“

4. Media habits of bloggers

“Overall, 14% of bloggers spend at least 21 hours per week visiting social media sites.”

5. Consumers in the blogosphere

“This is the second year we surveyed consumers on their trust of and attitudes toward the media they consume. Compared with other media, blogs continue to outpace other social media and many traditional media in terms of trust and generating consumer recommendations and purchases. Facebook remains somewhat influential, but less so than blogs, and Twitter has seen a drop in influence over the past year.”

A complete copy of the report findings can be viewed on the Technorati website

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Image: renjith krishnan