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The Definitive Guide on How To Write a Blog Post with more than 50 Writing Formulas and Examples.

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So, you’re looking for a blogging template or some sort of popular writing formula to help jump start your blogging (or maybe your book?). You’ve searched for “blog template” or “writing templates” and found a wall of results, but none that really inspire your writing project. I’ve been there too. In fact I started blogging back in 2007 and finally considered myself “officially blogging” in 2009 but it wasn’t until 2011 or so that I began to really concern myself with the art of writing. And by 2012 I was looking for the writing templates for folks like Demian Farnworth, Seth Godin, Brian Clark, Neil Patel, Chris Brogan and Ann Handley. I’ve always been fond of Copyblogger and Hubspot and they’ve always been great about sharing great articles on how to write for the web so you’ll find several links to them here.

Consider this a treasure trove, a definitive writing guide from my Evernote files. It is my hope this gives you the writing template you were after, while also sending you on a delightful journey into the interweb of great copy writers.

This post is the accumulation of what I found and logged over a three year period. This includes online searching as well as my own personal journey reading and learning from books about writing.

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.”

― Ernest Hemingway

Writing Guides from Neil Patel

So let’s dive right into one of Neil Patel’s definitive guides to content writing with these 12 tried-and-true templates. These are some of the most popular writing guides all wrapped up in a nice post.

Click each link to read about each framework.

“Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut

Writing Advice from Demian Farnworth

Before jumping to the next set of templates, let me share Demian Farnworth’s How to Write an Original Post (That Will Likely Be Copied). Here you’ll see style, interesting content, unique voice, facts, storytelling, and intellectual depth. His advice, while not a template per se is absolutely spot on:

Do/share In-Depth Research
Provide Insightful Analysis
Give Probing Commentary
Use illegitimate Ideas
Brazenly Borrow
Ask/Answer Unusual Questions

Demian leads the way in truly unique composition that is both engaging and effective. I bring your attention to Demian’s post because this is where your writing can go once you’ve consumed these templates and guides and you’ve moved on to the higher levels of letting your own voice resonate above the framework of writing. And frankly, I think Demian is the best copywriter (by discipline and application) in the industry today.

In fact, Demian has provided several rich guides to writing, such as The Essential Copywriting Formulas Every Writer Should Know (and Why) Where he talks about the Four C’s (Clear, Concise, Compelling), The Four P’s (Promise, Paint it out, Prove it, Push for action) and the Four Us (Useful, Urgency, Unique, and Ultra-Specific). As well as the 10 Ways to Write Damn Good Copy where he shows us the following:

Plain Copy – No frills writing, no story, no conversation, no sizzle. Just introduce the product. This is about informing the reader about a product.
Storytelling Copy – An interesting story the reader can relate too where there was a challenge that was overcome.
1. Opening
2. Conflict
3. Dialogue
4. Solution
Conversational Copy – This is standard “you and me” style writing that relates to the reader in a passionate way. It often uses the feel, felt, found sales language.
John Lennon Copy – Or said more directly, imaginative copy where you as your reader to imagine a better (fill in the blank). This taps into ideals and desires.
Long Copy – The idea here is that longer copy is better.
Killer Poet Copy – sell with style.
Direct-from-CEO Copy – Writing that is grounded and shows the CEO as approachable and human.
Frank Copy – Warts first, honest writing that is authentic, transparent, and creates trust.
Superlative Copy – This is copy with a big bold claim that often sounds like hype when done incorrectly.
Rejection Copy – Present the velvet rope and why you’re not likely to be the right reader. This is counter-intuitive but can be quite engaging.

And, for more great writing insights from Demian Farnworth, read the following posts:

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.”

― Natalie Goldberg,

And now for some heavy excerpting and copy pasta for more writing guides. As I mentioned, this post is all about sharing the accumulation of writing material I’ve gathered. The following represent swaths of content and their sources. Please check the links for more details and more great content by those authors.

http://www.copyblogger.com/blogging-formulas/

The How to Post

Headline: “How to …”
Introduction: Explain what the post is going to teach, and mention any prerequisites (e.g. “You’ll need to be familiar with CSS” or “You’ll need an electric drill.”)
Main body: Go through “Step #1 …” “Step #2 …” etc, giving clear instructions for each. You may want to include a screenshot or image for each step.
Conclusion: Tell the reader what they should have accomplished by reading. You might invite them to ask for help in the comments, or point them towards further resources (like an ebook or ecourse).

The List Post

Headline: “21 Ways …” or “7 Tips …” etc
Introduction: Draw the reader in, and make the scope of the list clear.
Main body: Number each item, and ensure that each offers real value to the reader. Don’t pad out the list -– if you’ve only got 5 or 6 items, that’s fine.
Conclusion: Ask the reader to add to the list (or to mention their favorite tip) in the comments.

The Review Post

Headline: “Review: [Product Name]” or “[Product Name] Review”
Introduction: Explain the product briefly, making clear what it is/does.
Main body: Consider splitting this into separate sections. It’s up to you what you use, but “Contents” “What I Liked” and “What I Didn’t Like” could be a good basic structure.
Conclusion: Sum up –- should the reader buy this item? Who’s it best for? Make sure you include a link.

http://www.copyblogger.com/7-reasons-why-list-posts-will-always-work/

From Author, Joe Vitale and his book “Hypnotic Writing”
And a resource: http://www.ebiz-ebooks-togo.com/myweb2/HypnoticWritingTheCourse.pdf

Hypnotic Writing Checklist

My paraphrase (in order to turn it into a guide).

Attention grabbing open
Setup a challenge to resolve
Answer objections and fears
Give proof and believable promises
Give reasons to agree
Give call to action

— Over arching laws

Engagement – keep attention, interest, progress
Choice – Give more than one option for next steps to create feeling of control
Ego – Be aware of the readers ego and stroke it
Reward – Give bonuses and wow experiences
Curiosity – Open their mind with an interesting itch, say your piece then scratch the itch with the answer

Vitale’s Hypnotic Formula

Stopper – Get appropriate attention
Reel in – Use Promise, benefits, curiosity, pain, or pleasure
Build Desire – Through emotion, tell a story
Give Reasons – Use logic, explain and develop
Dialogue – Address objections (mind reading)
Proof – Facts, Statistics, testimonials
Guarantee – Risk reversal
Action – Give next step and Why do it now?
Reminder/ Close – PS, pain, pleasure, gifts

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”

― John Steinbeck

5-Step Formula for Effective Online Content

http://www.copyblogger.com/content-marketing-formula/

Like any formula, this one can be stated simply. Actually executing it is going to be more complicated. But if you use this framework, you’ll avoid the pitfalls that bring down most content marketing.

The formula: Effective Content = Education + Personality

Effective content teaches your audience something they want to know more about.

both educate and entertain.

If you’re going to put the work in to create strong content that educates in a reader-friendly way, please don’t bury it with a lousy headline.Great headlines make it easy for readers to share your content. They attract more links, more social media sharing, more readers, and more customers.

All of the “rules” of great content marketing come from one rule: put your audience first. It’s about them — the readers, prospects, and customers — not you.

Effective content educates
Effective content has personality
Effective content has a great headline
Effective content keeps SEO in mind
Effective content puts the reader first

Persuasion Formula

Hugh Rank – “The Pitch” Book (as paraphrased by Joe Vitale)

Get Attention
Build Confidence
Stimulate Desire
Create Urgency
Ask for Response

Aristotle

Exordium – (problem) A shocking statement or story to get attention
Narratio – (promise) You pose the problem the reader / listener is having
Confirmatio – (proof) You offer solution to the problem
Peroratio – (price) You state the benefits of action on the solution

(this is the basis for AIDA = Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)

Attention – get attention
Interest – generate interest
Desire – create desire
Action – ask for action

Ann Handley’s Writing Formula

http://labs.openviewpartners.com/ann-handley-formula-for-creating-great-content/

Utility x Inspiration x Empathy = Great Writing

If you think about that equation, you can’t create a quantifiable output if any of the inputs are zero. If your writing has zero inspiration, it will have zero impact. If it has zero utility or audience empathy, it will have zero impact. You have to see the world through your audience’s eyes and help them in some way. In my experience, the very best writers aren’t always the best pure writers. Instead, they’re the people who possess incredible focus and pathological empathy.

And also this http://www.vidyard.com/blog/5-steps-to-writing-content-ann-handley/

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

― Stephen King

Derek Halpern

http://socialtriggers.com/power-of-curiosity/

[New, Cool, and/or Hopefully Remarkable Thing] + [Desirable Outcome] = [Curious Reader / Viewer]

To use this formula, here are five templates for inspiration:

How’d you like to learn about[new remarkable thing] that [desirable outcome]?
Ever wonder how you can earn [desirable outcome]with [new remarkable thing]?
There’s a way for you to[desirable outcome] with this [new remarkable thing].
If you heard about a[new remarkable thing] that could [desirable outcome], would you be interested in learning more about it?
The key to a[desirable outcome] is to make sure you use [new remarkable thing].

http://socialtriggers.com/perfect-blog-post/

How to Write the Perfect Blog Post

From Derek Halperns infographic

Grab Attention (headline)
Opening that gets reader reading
Big Promise Statement (benefit message via subhead)
Emotional Connection with reader (keeps attention)
Soundbite (authority and actionable)
Big Promise Statement (drive benefit of reading more via subhead)
Useful Content (practical, how to, usable content)
Call to action

Another post that elaborates on the details of persuasive copy (follows same structure) http://www.copyblogger.com/the-structure-of-persuasive-content/

The Four “P” Approach:
A Persuasive Writing Structure That Works

http://www.copyblogger.com/4ps/

The 4 Ps provide more expansive elements than AIDA, which is why it’s a favorite of many top copywriters, notably John Forde.

Promise – Benefit based attention grabbing heading and supporting sentence or two
Picture – Painting a vivid picture of the benefit or desire outcome with emotional ties
Proof – Support for the promise such as stats, charts, facts, quotes,stuides.
Push – Provide an outstanding and compelling offer

“I keep six honest serving-men, (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When, And How and Where and Who” – Rudyard Kipling

5 Reasons Why You Should Use the 5 W’s When Writing Online Photo Captions

http://thecopybot.com/2011/04/online-captions/

Originally used as a method of Bible study in the late 1880s, journalists eventually adopted the 5 W’s method to write newspaper leads.

Don’t make people think.
Reward people with interesting information.
Answer obvious questions.
Approach each photo objectively.
Write clear, concise and compelling copy.

Here’s what I like best about this approach: The 5 W’s will force you to write short, plain but persuasive copy. You’ll avoid the clever and cute, while successfully creating the concrete and convincing.

Five Ws and One H: The Secret to Complete News Stories

http://blog.journalistics.com/2010/five-ws-one-h/

Who was involved?
What happened?
Where did it take place?
When did it take place?
Why did it happen?
How did it happen?

And now a lesson from the bible on writing.

Biblical Persuasion Model

http://www.biblica.com/niv/study-bible/philemon/

Approach and Structure To win Philemon’s willing acceptance of Onesimus, Paul writes very tactfully and in a lighthearted tone, which he creates with a wordplay (see note on v. 11). The appeal (vv. 4–21) is organized in a way prescribed by ancient Greek and Roman teachers: to build rapport (vv. 4–10), to persuade the mind (vv. 11–19) and to move the emotions (vv. 20–21). The name Onesimus is not mentioned until the rapport has been built (v. 10), and the appeal itself is stated only near the end of the section to persuade the mind (v. 17).

THE MOTIVATING SEQUENCE

http://www.actonfs.com/newsletters/issue5/newsletter5.html

“The Motivating Sequence” is found in Chapter 5 of Robert W. Bly’s 2002 book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Direct Marketing. Bly writes, “The copy in virtually all direct marketing promotions follows a well-established formula for persuasive writing known as ‘The Motivating Sequence.’ The steps are as follows:

“Get attention.
“Identify the problem or need.
“Position your product as the solution or answer.
“Prove your product is the best solution or answer.
“Ask for the order.”

http://www.contentrulesbook.com/extras/

Kodak Blog Template

http://www.contentrulesbook.com/extras-files/Content_Rules_Blog_Post_Template.pdf

Headline – Bold and Attention Grabbing
First Sentence – A hook, question, controversial statement to grab the reader
Next Paragraph – answers and followthrough on first sentence
Bullets / Lists – Key takeaway points
Ask Question – Create a next step such as leaving a comment

Basic Generic Template / Liz Strauss

http://www.successful-blog.com/1/how-to-use-a-google-docs-content-template/

gdoc with full template: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C63_MyNOscjBJHXKeZEYj7qU8qYdDJBDPG8ZcPi6QcU/edit

THE ARTICLE

Header<h1> compelling but includes the target keyphrase
Length400 – 600 words
Formattingshort paragraphs, headers, subheads, bullets and bolding
Imageat least one, should be interesting on its own, creative commons
Keyphrase usagefour to six times in the body of the article
Mentionquote or refer to someone with a social following
Linkfrom the post to a web page
Call to actionfor comments
Author boxshort bio, links to Twitter, Google+, etc.

Excerpted from http://www.copyblogger.com/persuasive-writing/

See the original blog post for more context and helpful information on each. These 10 strategies are used quite a bit because they work.

Repetition
Reasons Why
Consistency
Social Proof
Comparisons
Agitate and Solve
Prognosticate
Go Tribal
Address Objections
Storytelling

Writing lesson from MADE TO STICK, a book by Chip and Dan Heath

http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/CTE/documents/Teaching%20That%20Sticks.pdf

Teaching That Sticks

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories

(slightly elaborated by http://litlunchbox.com/2012/12/29/made-to-stick-now-extra-sticky/ )

Simple – Ten point PowerPoints are nine points too many. The best, most memorable mesages are simple and profound.
Unexpected – Violate people’s expectations. Engage their curiosity.
Concrete – We’re hard-wired to latch on to concrete info. Lofty language and business-speak drift effortlessly in one ear and out the other.
Credible – Sticky ideas need to be believable, all on their own.
Emotional – Grab an emotion – fear, love, nostalgia – and an idea gains traction.
Stories – A list of facts is blah. Add people and plot to the facts and suddenly, you’ve got a story to remember.

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

― Sylvia Plath

Seth Godin’s 3 u’s

http://cobrand.squidoo.com/ebooks/uuuEbook.pdf

There are plenty of tactics about how to get more traffic to your pages online. Dozens of blog posts and great advice, easy to find. WARNING: None of these tactics work without the three U’s that are covered in this book.
The three U’s? Yes, it’s simple:

Useful
Updated
Unique

More from Seth Godin on Writing

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/11/how_to_write_a_.html

An appropriate illustration,
A useful topic,
easily broadened to be useful to a large number of readers,
Simple language with no useless jargon,
Not too long,
Focusing on something that people have previously taken for granted,
That initially creates emotional resistance,
Then causes a light bulb go go off
and finally, Causes the reader to look at the world differently all day long.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/04/write-like-a-bl.html

Write like a blogger

You can improve your writing (your business writing, your ad writing, your thank you notes and your essays) if you start thinking like a blogger:

Use headlines.I use them all the time now. Not just boring ones that announce your purpose (like the one on this post) but interesting or puzzling or engaging headlines. Headlines are perfect for engaging busy readers.
Realize that people have choices.With 80 million other blogs to choose from, I know you could leave at any moment (see, there goes someone now). So that makes blog writing shorter and faster and more exciting.
Drip, drip, drip. Bloggers don’t have to say everything at once. We can add a new idea every day, piling on a thesis over time.
It’s okay if you leave.Bloggers aren’t afraid to include links or distractions in their writing, because we know you’ll come back if what we had to say was interesting.
Interactivity is a great shortcut. Your readers care about someone’s opinion even more than yours… their own. So reading your email or your comments or your trackbacks (your choice) makes it easy to stay relevant.
Gimmicks aren’t as useful as insight.If you’re going to blog successfully for months or years, sooner or later you need to actually say something. Same goes for your writing.
Don’t be afraid of lists. People like lists.
Show up.Not writing is not a useful way of expressing your ideas. Waiting for perfect is a lousy strategy.
Say it.Don’t hide, don’t embellish.

http://drivingpeace.hubpages.com/hub/Article-Writing-Templates-The-Secret-All-Successful-Content-Marketers-Use

The “how-to”:

Article title: Grab the reader’s attention with a great title that makes it clear you’re about to teach them how to do XX.
Introductory paragraph: Open with a paragraph that talks about the problem your reader has, a solution they need and how you’re going to teach them to get there.
List of supplies: Provide a list of things they’ll need to accomplish what you’re teaching them.
Specific instructions to do XX: List of the steps to reach XX in specific order.
Summary paragraph: Brief summary of what you’ve covered. Include some advice about applying what they’ve learned, words of encouragement, product recommendations, etc.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/12/15/your-how-to-post-will-fail-if-you-dont-use-these-techniques/

Create a compelling introduction using the PAS formula

You might think that when it comes to writing “how-to” guides that you can just jump straight into the steps. Don’t kid yourself.

Even if you have the clearest and most compelling headline and all the greatest data in the world, you need to prepare your reader for what’s going to come next.

But just writing a short introduction isn’t enough. You have to write a compelling one. Use the PAS formula to do that.

Pain: describe a real problem that your readers can identify with.
Agitate: make that pain seem even worse by bringing up more bad news.
Solve: tell your reader there is a solution…the blog post they are about to read.

How To Template

http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2010/02/how-to-article-template.html

Great title
Simple introduction
List of tools or resources
Chronological steps
Create mental images
Conclude with cautions, tips, advice

Here is a nice curated post with Six Writer’s Resource Links.

51 Writing Templates

Article roundup from ezine articles (from http://blog.ezinearticles.com/category/article-templates )

You might also like these Hubspot resources

Journalism – Inverted pyramid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

http://blog.journalistics.com/2010/inverted-pyramid-press-release-writing/

Most formal instruction on writing in the inverted pyramid style advises you to break the pyramid into three parts:

Part One– the opening paragraph (lead or lede), where you answer the questions who, what, why, when, where and how. This is the information that has to be in there for you to get your message across – the must have information.
Part Two– additional information that is helpful, but not necessary. This can be information that adds color or supporting information.
Part Three– the least important information. This is the ‘nice to have’, not the ‘need to have’ stuff.

Blogging Architecture: How to Write Timeless Blog Posts Every Time

http://www.blogtyrant.com/timeless-blog-posts/

Include a personal back story
Write with consistent and stylized paragraphs, dot points and images
Link generously and in bulk
Solve a problem or make problems known
Develop titles that get attention and hold attention

http://linchpinbloggers.com/six-blog-post-templates/

1. The Michael Hyatt Template

Michael Hyatt uses the SCORRE™ method from the Dynamic Communicators Workshop (DCW) to prepare every post. You can view his Evernote Template here.

Subject
Central Theme
Objective Statement
Rationale
Resources
Evaluation

2. The Copyblogger Template

Here’s a general pattern found on one of my favorite sites:

Craft a killer headline(hook the potential reader with great offer)
Open with a bang(convert the browser into a reader)
Write a really good list(list posts are easily digestible and scannable)
If no list, then just deliver the promise(in a clean and easy way, using the inverted pyramid style)
Call to action / engage reader in discussion.

3. The Seth Godin Template

Seth’s posts are like a rare art form. They are simple, powerful, usually short (200-300 words), variable, and hybrid.

He writes “snackable” content. It’s the quality over quantity model. The content is designed to inspire fast, engage the mind fast, provide actionable information quickly, pose a new problem, and/or inspire different patterns of thinking. They typically are spoken by people with great authority already.

It’s incredibly hard to template this kind of post, but here’s an attempt:

Engaging, thought provoking question/share story/define new idea/call to action (highly variable)
Use simple, short sentences(write less, impact more)
Ship now (faster wins) – will force you to simplify and shorten.

4. The Jeff Goins Template

Jeff is a rising star in the blogging and writing world. His posts are engaging, inspiring, and enabling. There are several different types of posts he creates, but one I personally like is his the “Why” and “How” type posts.

Here’s a rough template to create such a post:

Catchy headline.
Open with personal experience/struggle/observation.
Write a really good list. (either with numbers/bulletts/subheads)
Deliver promise made in headline (with authority/ scannability / simplicity)
Call to action / engage reader in discussion.

5. The David Santisteven Template

Trying to blog for life change? I came across David’s post the other day where he shares this template from Andy Stanley’s book Communicating for a Change.

This formula is Me – We – God – You – We:

Me – personally relate to subject matter.
We – connect the subject matter to the reader.
God – the main idea, in as few words as possible.
You – the call to action.
We – paint the vision, leave reader inspired.

Read David’s post here for more information.

6. The Chris Brogan Template

This is roughly how Chris Brogan writes his posts (he calls it the Writing Frame):

Great Title
Related Graphic
Strong+Story First Paragraph
First Example
Second and/or Third Example
Action Items
Call to Action

Why I Write: George Orwell’s Four Motives for Creation

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/06/25/george-orwell-why-i-write/

I give all this background information because I do not think one can assess a writer’s motives without knowing something of his early development. His subject matter will be determined by the age he lives in — at least this is true in tumultuous, revolutionary ages like our own — but before he ever begins to write he will have acquired an emotional attitude from which he will never completely escape.

(i) Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc.

(ii) Aesthetic enthusiasm. Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed.

(iii) Historical impulse. Desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.

(iv) Political purpose. — Using the word ‘political’ in the widest possible sense. Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after.

10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/02/07/david-ogilvy-on-writing/

On September 7th, 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal memo to all agency employees, titled “How to Write”:

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

Read the Roman-Raphaelsonbook on writing. Read it three times.
Write the way you talk. Naturally.
Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
Never use jargon words likereconceptualize,demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
Never write more than two pages on any subject.
Check your quotations.
Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

David

THE FOUR TYPES OF WRITING

http://www.msdanielsden.com/html/four_types_of_writing.html

NARRATIVE

Narrative writing is defined as relating a sequence of events which occurs over some period of time. Both what happens and the order in which the events occur are communicated to the reader. Effective narrative requires a writer to give a clear sequence of events (fictional or non-fictional) and to provide elaboration for it.

EXPOSITORY

Expository writing is defined as presenting reasons, explanations, or steps in a process. Logical order should be used with appropriate sequencing of ideas or steps in a process. Effective expository writing should contain a main idea, supporting details, and a conclusion.

PERSUASIVE

Persuasive writing is defined as presentation of reasons and examples to influence action or thought. Effective persuasive writing requires a writer to state clearly an opinion and supply reasons and specific examples that support that opinion.

DESCRIPTIVE

Descriptive writing is defined as the clear description of people, places, objects, or events using appropriate details. An effective description will contain sufficient and varied elaboration of details to communicate a complete sense of the subject being described. Details used are usually sensory ones selected to describe vividly what the writer sees, hears, smells, touches, and tastes.

8 Types of writing:

Consider what type of writing is assigned, and explore what will make it effective. For example, your diary has different purpose, components and style than an essay; a research proposal different purpose, components, and style than a white paper. The better you understand the task at hand, the more successful will be your writing.

The five-paragraph essay
Getting started means getting organized.
A good place to start if you are inexperienced in writing.

Essays for a literature class
Brainstorm the question/assignment: restate the key words…

Expository essays
When writing an expository essay, follow these eight basic steps…

Persuasive essays
In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others…

Position papers
Write a position paper to organize and outline your viewpoint on an issue…

Writing for the “Web”
The topic, its main idea, and its conclusion should be immediately visible, locatable, or knowable…

Open book exams
In an open book exam you are evaluated on understanding rather than recall…

Essay Exams
Before writing out the exam, write down its key words…

Research proposals
These recommendations do not guarantee a successful research application! They are intended to help you conceptualize and prepare a research proposal…

White papers
White papers introduce your product or technology as innovative…

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/10/18/neil-patels-guide-to-writing-popular-blog-posts/

Hook your readers

I really learned a lot about hooking your reader by reading blogs by Brian Clark, Darren Rowse and Leo Babauta.

These writers use some great tricks to compell readers to stop and read every word they write, which I think is something we all want to do, right?

The first rule of hooking readers is to write a great headline. Great headlines have four qualities. They are:

Unique:Unique headlines can only be used for your blog post, like this post I’m writing right now. It’s unique because there is only one Neil Patel!
Useful:A headline is useful when it promises practical information. The reason “how-to” guides are popular is because it gives answers to problems.
Ultra-specific:Adding numbers or stats to a headline makes it ultra-specific. My article, 6 Advanced Ways to Improve Your Search Rankings, is a good example of ultra-specific, since I used both a number and the word “advanced.”
Urgent:The best way to create urgency is to put some kind of deadline into your headline. “6 Days until the Stock Market Crashes” or “Your Last Chance to Get a Free Copy of My Book” are good examples.

The best headlines have three or four of these features in them. This formula is called the Four Us.

Writing for impact rather than page views

http://www.chrisg.com/80-20-rule-content/

Writing for impact is an art rather than a science, but there are certain things that you need to do:

Write with a goal– what is the outcome you intend to create? If your writing does not have a purpose then it is difficult for you to know if you have succeeded or not. Can you guess the intention behind my previous article about cold-feet? There were a few goals with that one.
Mine the emotion– if you want to get people to think a certain way or do a certain thing then you need to move Inspire, motivate, tell emotional stories, reveal your inner truths and vulnerabilities. Share your challenges and struggles.
WIIFM– most of human interaction has an element of “What’s In It For Me?”. If the reader doesn’t grasp what’s in it for them right away, well, then you have failed.
Consumption– I am not super strict on grammar (as you can probably tell), but I do attempt to edit. Editing for brevity is great, but also edit to make things crystal clear and remove any road-blocks to consumption. If your audience doesn’t consume your message all the way through then they won’t take action on it, and they won’t spread it. Make it skimmable, engaging, and easy to get through. Take a look how I formatted this article, can you understand why?
It’s not what you mean, it’s what they understand– Closely related to the last point. I know for a fact there will be people who read this article and will take away a message I never intended. It always happens. Sometimes people take what you say out of context intentionally. Sometimes people hallucinate whole phrases you never wrote. People will second-guess your intentions. You can’t help that, but you can work on your message to get it across as well as you can. It’s your responsibility to communicate with as few chances of distortions as possible.
Get agreement– If you want to persuade then you need to be on the page. Get agreement early and often. Build up to your main point with sound arguments. Don’t just bludgeon people with ideas or facts. Can you see where I asked questions in this post?

http://www.quicksprout.com/2012/03/08/9-hard-hitting-content-strategies-for-small-business-blogging/

Is what you wrote original?
Can you provide practical advice or relevant research?
Did you correct any spelling, grammar or factual errors?
Is the topic of interest to a reader or a machine?
Is the article well edited?
Does your site have authority?
Are you providing insightful or interesting information beyond the obvious?
Would you bookmark your article?
Is your article cluttered with call-to-actions, ads or promotions?
Would a magazine or journal print your article?
Is your article short, weak and useless?
How much time and attention did you give to detail?
Would someone complain if they saw this article?

http://www.firepolemarketing.com/2012/05/26/how-to-sell-more/

So, the first link in the chain of marketing is attracting the interest of the right people. Here are the key points again:

Talk about their biggest problems (that you can solve).
Use the language they can relate to easily.
Create fascination to keep people interested.

Mental Hugging 101

There are countless ways to give mental hugs. Here are some of the most effective ways:

Talk about the problems your product solves.Painkiller ads quite literally talk about the pain they solve. Note that the focus is usually the pain, instead of the relief (which is the benefit.)
Showcase your product’s benefits.Pretty much every detergent bottle has a picture of a shining kitchen or a before/after pic. They both showcase the benefit of the product.
Show how to become a “better” person.Clothing is almost always advertised with the idea that you become something “better” with the advertised clothes. H&M is young, cool, and trendy. Armani is classy, expensive, and prestigious.
Engage with important values and tie them to your products.I can’t remember a car ad that wouldn’t be about values. The most common values in car ads nowadays are status, comfort, safety, and environmental thinking.

A Study Guide on the Spiritual Discipline of Fasting

By Justin McCullough

Fasting is God-Centered.

Throughout Scripture fasting refers to abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Unlike a Hunger Strike (political power) or health dieting (physical not spiritual).

Biblical fasting always centers on spiritual purposes. Always God-focused.

“First, let it [fasting] be done unto the Lord with our eye singly fixed on Him. Let our intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father which is in Heaven” – John Wesley

Fasting can bring breakthroughs in the spiritual realm that will never happen in any other way.

It is a means for God’s grace and blessing that should not be neglected.

Keep God at the center of your fasting rather than the physical benefits, success in prayer, the enduring of power, and spiritual insight. See fasting as worshiping the Lord!

Types of Biblical Fasts:

“Normal Fast” – abstain from all food (solid or liquid), but NOT from water. [Luke 4:2]
“Partial Fast” – restriction of diet but not complete abstention. [Dan 10:3]
“Absolute Fast” – abstaining from food AND water. In dire emergencies for a direct spiritual need*. In the natural, not more than 3 days but supernatural forty day fasts are recorded in the bible. *Note, should never engaged in unless clear command from God and for no more than 3 days. [Esth 4:16, Acts 9:9, Deut 9:9, 1 Kings 19:8}
“Corporate/Public Fast” – during Mosaic law they held a public on day fast during the day of atonement and in instances of group or national emergency. [Lev23:27, Joel 2:15, 2 Chron 20:1-4, Ezra 8:21-23]. Serious problems and relationships can be healed through unified group prayer and fasting in a church our close group.
“Regular Fast” – participating in “normal fast” on set days of the week. {Zech 8:19, Luke 18:12}

Jesus on Fasting

Jesus himself fasted [Luke 4:2] and he taught correction on how to do it on the Sermon on the Mount [Matt 6:16] and he explained to the disciples of John the Baptists why, Jesus and his disciples were not currently fasting:

¹⁴Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

¹⁵Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Matt 9:14-15

The point here being that while Jesus, the bridegroom was present, it was a time for feasting not fasting, but there would be a time when they would fast.

We find that time for fasting among the disciples occurs after Jesus ascended in Acts 13:2-3 (Setting apart of Saul and Barnabas) and was a common practice in the founding of the early church Acts 14:23 (ordained elders in every church).

Discipline brings freedom.

“Our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks; fasting helps keep them in their proper channels” – Richard Foster

More than any other Disciple, fasting reveals the things that control us. Often the good food and lack of discipline covers up what is inside us – fasting allows it to come to the surface and be seen. This revelation leads to transformation and freedom.

“I humbled my soul with fasting” David (psalm 69:10)

If you are struggling with pride, fear, anger, bitterness, jealously, etc those things will surface and we can then receive healing on those things through the power of Jesus Christ.

Seeking God.

Fasting reminds us that we are sustained “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). In fasting, we are not so much abstaining on food as we are feasting on the word of God. Fasting is feasting!

Benefits include personal transformation, healing, increased effectiveness in intercessory prayer, guidance in decisions, increased concentration, deliverance for those in bondage, physical well-being, revelation, and more.

Fast for greater and deeper rewards rather than to impress those around you. Do it in secret and only tell those that must know. Otherwise you will impress others and that will be your reward.

God knows our heart and is happy to reward us with his riches in heaven.

Applying it. Progressing into Fasting.

Starter fast.

If you are uneasy initially, try a partial fast for 24 hours. Initially it is easier to do a Lunch to Lunch fast, so start there. Drink water and fruit juice as you “try” this partial fast. Break your fast with a light meal of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Be mindful of the inner attitude of your heart. Work as normal, but inwardly you will be in prayer and adoration, song, and worship. In a new way, with new awareness apply your daily tasks as ministry to the lord.

Normal fast.

Do a full 24 hour fast with only water – drinking lots of water. You can add lemon juice to your water to add flavor if desired. With success here, move to 36 hour fast (essentially starting your fast directly after dinner then thru all 3 meals the entire next day and then breaking fast the following morning).

Drink water when you have hunger pangs. You are the master of your stomach, not its slave. If you can, dedicated your normal meal time to meditation and prayer. Listen for the Lord to speak to your and provide revelation.

Directed longer fast.

After several normal fasting sessions with spiritual success, seek the Lord for guidance on if he wants you to go on a longer fast such as a three to seven day fast. Some have chosen to go ten days, 21 days, and even 40 days.

Things to consider.

This is God focused. Look to God, praise Him and seek him during your fast.
This can guide and direct your spiritual life and lead to healing and transformation.
Look for what bubbles up and seek to give it over to the Lord.
This is a way to learn your spirit is stronger than your flesh. You are the master over your stomach. And can apply that to other areas of your life such as anger, bitterness, jealousy etc.
Expect and listen for God to speak to you and share revelation.

Deep Dive / Extended Study:

If you want to dig into scripture and see how fasting was applied biblically, as well as when and what situations to fast for, you’ll find a wonderfully deep and well organized outline with distinct situations and specific scriptures here: http://www.dianedew.com/fasting.htm

About this article:

Disclaimer/Source Material – I wrote this as a study guide for the “Fasting” chapter in Richard Foster’s book, Celebration of Disciplines. Most of the contents of this article are verbatim excerpts and quotes from the book focusing on core messages from the chapter but arranged in a different order for the purposes of teaching the lesson on fasting to a small group at church. I highly recommend this book for anyone studying spiritual disciplines in pursuit of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.

11 Very Personal Life Lessons You May Not Be Ready For.

By Justin McCullough

8bc72ed7 There are moments that define you, experiences that make you who you are, and decisions that change the course of your life. I’ve been thinking about that. What about you?

Have you considered your personal story line, your legacy, and your points of impact on your family, friends, and workplace? Are you making every day count? Are you growing, loving, and experiencing joy?

Easy questions to write, but not so easy to answer.

If you’re even a smidge self aware, you should know a good bit about yourself. The good the bad and the ugly. If you don’t know those things, it’s time to do a personal inventory. Do it with a searching heart, not a condemning mindset. Write it out on paper, type it up, and make note of it. It’s ok, you don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want too. But, be honest with yourself.

I’ll go first.

When I reflect, I see all kinds of junk. Lots of bad and ugly. In fact, I’ve been a lot of undesirable things. A workaholic, a perfectionist, an empire builder, an intimidator, a neglectful husband, and an absent dad just to name a few. I’ve been uncompassionate, unbalanced, and unloving. I’ve been mistreated and hurt in countless ways. I’ve been the target of an alcoholic father, unfair business partners, dishonest co-workers, a sexual predator, an armed robber, and a wide range of haters who attack who I am as a person. I’ve lost businesses, amassed huge debts, endured hurricanes, neglected friends, struggled and lost loved ones.

But that does not, and has not defined me.

And I know you’ve experienced something similar and possibly far worse. But it doesn’t define you either.

All my life I’ve always felt like I could be more, could be better, and while it was counter-intuitive I was certain that the apple could actually fall far far far from the tree. As a result, in all the bad things I’ve been and all the bad things I’ve encountered I somehow refused to accept it as my lot in life nor let it define me as a person. Even as a child I reflected on things, asked what my purpose in life was, and looked for answers.

With a view for the future, I grew and tried to keep a vision for a good life even if I didn’t really know what it was nor how to attain it. And, for most of my life I wondered what I was made to do, who I was supposed to be in this world, and how to “get there”, whatever that means.

As I reflect on my life, thanks to another birthday, I can’t help but see the diamonds in the rough that have come to surface over the years.

Here are some personal gems I’ve discovered along the way that have made serious impact on my life. I hope this can benefit you in someway.

No name calling. Ever. Almost 20 years ago I told my girlfriend (now wife of 15 years) that no matter what – in fun or in anger – we would not do any name calling. And, it has been one of the biggest influences of our marriage and life together. We often point back to this simple decision as one of the best things we could have done for our relationship. We set this precedent in our house as a family with our two boys as well. I’ve applied this to the rest of my life with friends and co-workers. It’s amazing how impactful this is – and how respectful and dignified your approach to relationships can become.
Be a good lover. No, not sexually, but in all of your life, in all that you are. We live in a world where we “love” everything from pro sports teams, to cars, to colors, and everything in between. And beyond the dilution of “love” in such informal ways, media, advertising, and all kinds of things on the web flood us with sexy images of love and attempt to turn love into sensual pleasure. This sort of love (eros love) is not the definition of love. There is a far greater love we must learn for ourselves. Like the Beatles said, all we need is love. This love is the love Jesus spoke of (agape love and philos love). This is the love that sets you free. For me, I had to first learn to love myself before I could love others because I realized a few years ago that I didn’t know what love, true love, really was and I didn’t love myself. I discovered this when I deeply reflected on my life alongside a few characteristics of true love; it’s patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. Love never fails. For me, I lived for nearly 30 years without even the most simple awareness of this kind of love. It has become one of the best discoveries for my life – ever – and it continually informs the way I live, learn, grow and of course love.
Give and give some more. Taking is easy, effortless, and perfectly self aligned. Real growth, joy, and success come from giving. And I mean, truly give. Give time, give money, give your skills and talents to something beyond yourself. This eluded me for years and I was such a selfish taker, but I didn’t know any better. I foolishly masked my taking as work ethic, as a “look out for number one, because no one else will” mindset, and as a protection and self-preservation mechanism. And, while I had learned the value of giving in the context of sales and marketing, it was merely a tactic to success, not an outflow of a healthy heart and mind. And then, as I understood more about true love, I understood more about giving. And my cold shielded heart began melting. Turns out giving is a spiritual muscle that, when flexed, has profound impact on the giver and receiver both. Now, instead of taking, I look at giving where ever I can. This can be as simple as actually talking and listening to another person without an self agenda, it can be doing something for someone in kindness, doing the thing you get paid for without accepting payment, giving money to someone in need, covering the tab or going on a mission trip or helping a good cause. Learn to give, it will truly change your life and how you encounter the world around you. You’ll find a surprising amount of abundance where you always thought you were in such short supply.
Decide to do good. And actually do it. When you do an inventory of yourself, you’ll find all kinds of ugliness that needs attention. So do something about it and chip away those things. Forgive yourself and others who have hurt you. If you need more time with your kids, decide to do it in a tangible way, and actually do it. If you want better friends, decide to be a better friend yourself and by all means, get away from unhealthy relationships. Create a new perspective where you look for the good in things rather than the bad. Look for new opportunities to do good things, to curb bad habits, to discipline yourself.
Take criticism. Don’t be so sensitive when you get feedback you don’t like. This is one of the hardest aspects of my life, and always has been. I was dependent on praise, on acknowledgement, on being seen as important and valuable. My defenses were always up, quick to justify and defend at all costs. And this is still something that registers on my radar. But once you accept that you are not perfect, but a work in progress, then you can value what others have to say in critical moments. Trust me, your wife, your boss, your child are not clueless and what they are saying can be extremely helpful and insightful if you are willing to hear it, reflect on it, and do something about it.
Be a lifelong student. Read, learn, chase knowledge and apply it. Do not be distracted and marginalized by a pure consumer life of television, media, and empty distractions. It turns out that we can easily be blocked from the kind of learning and truth that will change our lives for good. All we have to do is… nothing. Just keep doing the same thing over and over again. Yep. It’s so easy to go each day and just “make it” another day. And, if you’re ambitious, it’s easy to only learn within your profession and to only focus on your career. But the best way to flourish in your career, family and life is to constantly grow as a complete person. This includes your passion areas, your communication, your behavior, your lifestyle, and your whole self. If you don’t learn new things, you stagnate and struggle. For me, I discovered leaders were readers back in 2005 and despite hating to read and never owning any books outside of college, I picked up a book, The Richest Man in Babylon, and read it. And I decided I would read other business books. I eventually read a couple hundred books from writing, sales, marketing, psychology, leadership, management, and entrepreneurship. I experienced amazing career growth. But it was lopsided and only focused on my career. I had become a better professional and it had positive impact on my personal life, but there was more to my life than my career. But I didn’t know that for a long time. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I began reading and learning in more personal areas of my life – and this became true gold for me. I started looking for help in all areas of my life – my marriage, my family, my finances, and my spiritual self. The impact of a whole-life diet of books, seminars, and activities beyond my career have been phenomenal catalysts to a far better way of living. I’ve become a better husband, a better dad, and a better person. All because I was willing to be a lifelong student. And you should too.
Be present. Where ever you are, be there. Put the smartphone, ipad and ipod, down. Slow down and be where you are. At dinner, be at dinner and enjoy the company and food rather than multitasking and juggling tasks. When you’re at work, work. Get off Facebook and personal emails and personal chatter and focus on the work at hand. Give full attention to where you are and you’ll discover that every moment is better, more precise, more rich. People will experience your presence and benefit from your full attention and you will too. Especially in the company of loved ones whom treasure your time with them, your eye contact, your conversations and attention. If you struggle here, have time-outs from your phone, laptop, television, and so on. And make the best of those time outs. You’ll find new life and fulfillment will come with relatively no negative impact on all those things you’ve been so distracted by.
Build, create, and Invest. Make something! Give to the world, or your family, or someone you care about investing in them in someway. And, build or create something for yourself, it will bring an amazing sense of satisfaction. This can be anything – write a book or a blog post, design something, plant a garden, start a business, make a tree house, cook a new meal, or draw something. Better yet, meet someone who is doing one of those and work alongside them and help them build or create something! Find new ways to release something new and beautiful into the world around you. This can be simple or complex, but purpose yourself to be a creator and builder – and do it – and don’t stop! We are built to be creative, to create and build, and to leave a mark in the lives we live. And don’t underestimate the value of building and investing in another person. Be a mentor, a coach and an influencer in someone’s life. This can be the most amazing invest you’ll ever make, one that makes you better while also positively shaping the life and future of someone else.
Be a man. A real man. No, not the kind of man that has a beard and chops down trees or the kind that has all the money and nice things in life or the kind of man that attracts women left and right. I mean a real man. You see, being a man isn’t just being a male, hitting a certain age, being able to impregnate a woman, or have a job or own a house or call the shots. Being a man is something else entirely. We live in a world full of adult children masquerading as men but who are still acting like childish teenagers or dependent children – not at all a real man. So, I say, be a real man. One with integrity. One with impact and accountability. One with the ability to love, to honor, to respect, and to stand tall in hard times. The kind of man that surrenders selfish motives, the kind of man that hugs and kisses his children and wife, the kind of man who has accountability and authority but doesn’t throw his weight or position around. Be the kind of man who leads at home just as well as he does at work. Be the kind of man that laughs, cries, and opens his heart. The kind that helps others even if it’s uncomfortable and the kind that doesn’t give up from what is right and true. This is an area that I was slow to learn. I essentially spent most of my twenties figuring out what a real man was. I chased it at work and to some degree at home, but was never really a complete man. It wasn’t until I decided I wanted to be a great husband, a great dad, and a spiritually whole person that I learned to be a man. In fact, so much of my discoveries of true manhood is based on learning to love and deciding to be a student interested in more than just my career. The truth is, I’m not sure I’ve got this all figured out, but I can tell you I’m much more of a real man than I was even five years ago. And none of this would have happened had I not desired to really step into manhood and be a better man for the sake of my family, my marriage and myself.
Continually Invest in your marriage. Your spouse matters – every day – even when you’re having a bad day and especially when they are having a bad day. The marriage is the easiest place to go on auto-pilot and let things ride. It’s so easy to become cohabiting partners rather than life giving lovers and friends. It’s so easy to neglect the other person, heap on expectations, be short and unkind, and dismissive. Its easy to feel entitled and unappreciative and take your spouse for granted. But don’t. Your spouse is the foundation to an amazing life – a long life, and one rich with experience and love. The things you two will do together are amazing. You’ll endure hard times and good times. For me, I’ve been with my wife nearly 20 years and we’ve experienced a lot of seasons. For years we didn’t have kids and it hid how poorly I invested in us. I mean, we did a lot together, but I had a lot of freedom and often took a lot for granted and created a lot of bad situations and hurt feelings. I usually just shrugged and figured it would work out because I loved her. But after about 10 years, we had our first child and suddenly I realized how unprepared I was. My first child was one of the key reasons I began looking for the good life because I was so out of control and I didn’t even know it. All my habits and behaviors were selfish. Over the last 10 years, I’ve been learning how to truly invest in my family and marriage. And to do that, means I spend more time listening, not “being right”, not trying to take for myself, and not being clueless to what’s going on around me at home and in my non-work life. It means I take phone calls I used to send to voicemail, it means I come home even though I still want to work, it means I eat better because its better for us not just me, it means I don’t drink to get drunk, don’t stay out as late, and don’t jump so quickly at any chance to spend time away from home. It means I turn the TV off, I have family dinner, and attend family functions and our kids events. Which has a significant impact on my marriage and my wife’s sense of comfort and security and feeling like I value her and our family and children. And this is where the marriage is more than myself, and to invest in it means to do more than “just be married”, but to be engaged in it daily. To refuse to be on auto-pilot and be mindful of the promises I’ve made to be a good husband and good father. To do this requires awareness and intentionality. I’m still working on all this, and by all means not a master, but I’m much better today than I have ever been. And for me, areas that were hurting in me became better and better the more I invested in my marriage. And I know this investment will always pay dividends and is absolutely part of my journey to the good life I want to live.
Discover your spiritual center. This is the key to your best life, the only way to truly rise above yourself and discover your purpose and what will make you whole. I wasn’t whole for a long time. In fact, I’ve been slow to this party and it blows me away how much I’ve missed out on, how much junk I was mixed up in, and how much pain I could be free of. You see, for me, I think I’m smart, talented, and successful. Even inside my pain, my struggles, and my failures, I looked good to those around me. A great career, people who respected me, and lots of things accomplished – but all the success, all the accomplishments, and all the nice things I wanted didn’t fill me up and make me feel good about myself or others. I was hurting inside, feeling unloved, and generally feeling like I was missing something even though I had all the things I was told mattered – job, money, car, home, wife, children, and my own freedom to do as I pleased. But it wasn’t enough. I was unhappy and it wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. It wasn’t until I found Jesus and discovered the truth of his teachings and what the Bible has to say about the good life that I began to thrive as a complete person. It was my spiritual self that was starving and hurting and I never knew it or understood it. But, I can honestly tell you that the good life is a product of knowing who we are as a son or daughter of God and living a kingdom life rather than a self-centered life. There is a profound healthiness and wellness that comes from discovering your spiritual center and learning to feed yourself spiritually. And, if you’re like me, it wasn’t the first, second, or ten thousandth place I looked because I thought, no I knew, that I didn’t need God – I could take care of myself. I’m glad I let go of that pride and “intelligence” and began looking to heaven instead of myself. This is the single most profound wisdom in my life and it continues to give me new gems of truth and glimpses of the good life daily. I encourage you to look and learn for yourself. It may not make sense – and it will be counter intuitive, but you’ll be amazed by what you find. There is a God that loves you and counts none of your faults and failures against you who is anxiously waiting for your heart who wants to show you truth, life, and love at levels you’ll never understand on your own. See it for yourself, don’t just take my word for it. Go look at Mathew, Mark, Luke, and (my favorite) John in the Bible. See what Jesus said about life and living. Amazing stuff.

I hope all this speaks to you and there is something (or several things) that help you on your journey to the good life you always wanted. I hope you see that we’ve all got issues, but there is more that we can become and we aren’t defined by all our mistakes and failures.

I hope you’ll reflect and see where you can apply positive direction and change to your life. I know you can.

And, if this is a message that resonates with you or prompts questions let me know in the comments below or email me. I’m happy to hear from you. And share it with a friend if you think it may make a positive impact on them.

Cheers!

Living in Jesus. The Last Teaching of Jesus Christ.

By Justin McCullough

vine Do you know the big idea that Jesus had to share with his disciples on their last night together? Have you considered what the central message for the twelve disciples was? The big take-away?

As a Christian, this is a huge teaching and one I hope gives you an “aha moment” and deep insight in your life with Christ.

It does not sit on the surface, yet it is very much right in front of you.

To see it, we must read the book of John and dig into his last hours with the disciples – which starts at The Last Supper and ends in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to his arrest.

By this time, Jesus has already entered Jerusalem on a donkey, been praised as Hosanna the King of Israel, turned over tables in the temple declaring it a house of prayer, healed a blind man and given several teachings with the Parables – all while foretelling of his imminent death and seriously upsetting the Pharisees.

I suspect if ever Jesus worked “overtime” it was at this time. Preaching, teaching, healing, facing the Pharisees, mentoring the disciples, praying all while fully aware of His upcoming betrayal and death on the cross – the fulfillment of His heavenly purpose.

But in all this Jesus wasn’t anxious.

Instead he was instructive, intentional, and loving and we see this clearly through the Gospel of John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, whom had firsthand experience of the unconditional love of Jesus. In fact, John is clearly very special to Jesus as he saw things with Jesus that many others did not see -such as the transfiguration, Jesus anguishing in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus on the cross (he was the only disciple present), and John is the one whom Jesus asked to care for his mother, and was the receiver of the revelation as recorded in the book or Revelation.

So it is from John that we get such a complete account of this evening and the message Jesus was so clearly trying to share.

In fact, from John chapter 13 though chapter 17 we get 154 verses, most of which is Jesus speaking, and most of which is focused on His central message, His last lesson.

You could even say that this message burdened Jesus greatly and that he was intent to share it, so much so that he repeated himself frequently, passionately, and directly, he even gave an amazing metaphor to anchor it and a finalized it in prayer to ensure it would last eternal.

The lesson begins in John chapter 13 with Jesus washing the disciple’s feet and ends several hours later in John chapter 17 with a glorious prayer for himself, the disciples, and all believers.

So, here we go. Let’s see what Jesus was intent to teach.

Point 1: Jesus is accessible.

John 13:20
²⁰Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

Point 2: Love is of utmost importance and distinguishes committed followers of Christ.

John 13: 34 – 35
³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Point 3: Jesus is in the Father, and the Father in Jesus, and through belief in Jesus we will do great things because Jesus will do it for the glory of God.

John 14:11-14
¹¹Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Point 4: Love and follow Jesus commands and he will give you the Holy Spirit to help you which will live with you and in you.

John 14:15-17
¹⁵“If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Point 5: Jesus will reveal himself to those who keep His commands and loves him and they will be loved by God and you’ll see that the Father is in Jesus, and that you are in Jesus and he is in you.

John 14:20-21
²⁰On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Point 6: The Holy Spirit is your guide to truth, which comes directly from Jesus and Jesus wants his truth to be known through you because it brings Him glory.

John 16:12-15
¹²“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Point 7: You will have peace in Jesus because the world you will have trouble.

John 16: 33
³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Point 8: You will be one with the Father just as Jesus is in the Father and He in Jesus, He will be in you – being brought to complete unity.

John 17:20-23
²⁰“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Point 9: Jesus will continue to reveal God’s love for you and that His love would be in you, just as it was in Jesus, and that Jesus too would be in you.

John 17:25-26
²⁵“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.

Jesus ends his prayer in John 17 with all of us in His prayer – that we would truly know His love, the truth of God, and that Jesus would abide in us just as Jesus abides in God.

Abiding in Jesus is the central message he wanted to teach.

The above scriptures and points are clear indicators of how important it was for the disciples to understand how Jesus operated in the Father, and the Father in Jesus, and that all that would be in you.

Therefore we have the “Abiding in the Vine” message in Chapter 15 of John to really solidify this message as a paint-by-numbers illustration of the life available by abiding in Jesus and the promises for our life that flow from it.

See for yourself by reading John 15:1-17. I have selected key scriptures that further unlock this teaching.

John 15:1- 2
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[^a^] so that it will be even more fruitful.

John 15:4-6

4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

John 15:7-8
⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:9-14
⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command.

John 15:15-17
¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

What you can expect from The Abiding Life.

In John 15:4-8 Jesus makes 4 clear promises – each building upon the former:

Remain in Jesus and He will remain in you. (John 15:4)
You absolutely will bear good fruit (John 15:5)
(because you abide in the vine) Ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. (John 15:7)
You will glorify God with your good fruit, being seen as a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8)

Why? Because, as Jesus says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8

In the message of the vine, we can unpack so much of the truth Jesus wanted to share with us. I think this is why Jesus continued to reenforce how he remained in God, and that he would remain in us if we remain in Him. Because it takes this vine connection to receive the Holy Spirit, love, and greater works and the real fruit of a Christ-centered life.

Lets follow this out further.

What does Jesus want for us?

To Abide in the Vine! What does that mean?

Abiding in Christ is to Abide in love – his great command.
Abiding in Christ is to be productive – bearing good fruit.
Abiding in Christ is to ask and receive – to have prayers answered
Abiding in Christ is to grow spiritually, to be pruned by God for good fruit and for His glory!
Abiding in Christ is to have Joy – the complete Joy of Jesus!
Abiding in Christ is to love Jesus and His children.
Abiding in Christ is to be obedient to His commands, His word, and to hear the Holy Spirit in your life.

On the other hand if we are not abiding in the vine…

We will not:

Be loving, growing, flourishing, producing good fruit, receiving the gifts of the spirit indwelling. We will not have love, joy, peace, faith or gentleness.

Galatians 5:21-26
²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Indeed, one of the first visible signs of disconnecting from the vine is the loss of joy and peace.

Colossians 3:16
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 4:22
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray continually, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Through love we abide in the vine by living a practical life with Christ-likeness, His characteristics with love and obedience to His teachings and always in prayer, praise and worship, and thankfulness.

John 15:13
¹³Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

This is one of the keys to Abiding in the Vine!

This is to put aside your goals, desires, and wants and serve someone else – it is service, selflessness and listening to the Holy Spirit. It is acting in love rather than fear, it is living in abundance rather than in lack, it is acting with Christ-like character (gal 5:21-26)

We are friends of Jesus when we do as he commands (love and love your brothers) and that allows us to remain in his love. There is no love without obedience to the teachings of Jesus. To love is to be obedient. To love is to be in the vine and have all of the truth of Jesus be accessible to you, that in His name, you could ask for anything and He would do it.

Priceless Online Marketing Guides From Neil Patel

By Justin McCullough

One of the web’s most informed internet marketers, Neil Patel, has been deploying an entirely new approach to content marketing – long format blog posts in the form of an authoritative guide on key topics for online marketers and entrepreneurs. With multiple online businesses including CrazyEgg and KISSMetrics, Neil has been using QuickSprout.com. his personal site, to share his in-depth findings and experiences. It’s a treasure trove for content creators and online marketers.

6 Outstanding Marketing Guides from Neil Patel

The following guides prove to be enlightening for even the most experienced marketers – and if you’re new to online marketing, then this is extremely well organized foundational material for you to review and apply.

1. The Growth Hacking Guide

Looking to get and keep customers? Then this growth hacking guide is the perfect primer. You’ll learn how to think differently about growth, how to measure it and create it. You’ll find it’s not a “marketer” who does this, but instead, a methodically driven creator and experimenter. You’ll love the examples, depth of information, and end-of-chapter summaries.
Read the guide

2. The Content Marketing Guide

This is essential reading for bloggers, ecommerce sites, and business owners who are looking to drive sales, traffic, and trust using high-value content. This is something Neil is a master at and you’ll find everything from generating good content ideas to planning your content creation and learning how to write like a pro. You’ll learn more about SEO and how to promote the site and solid ways to monetize the traffic. You’ll get a lot of value out of the examples, templates and advice.
Read the guide

3. The Link Building Guide

For online marketers and anyone trying to generate more traffic to their site, one of the most important skills is link building. This is a “normal” SEO concern, but it’s written for business owners and marketers to get a complete view of why this matters, how it works, and the strategies involved in building great inbound links. You’ll find ideas, advice, tips, and direct instruction to quickly advance your link building strategies and results.
Read the guide

4. The SEO Guide

This SEO guide gets into advanced topics and proves to be a great next step for those that have mastered SEO Basics and have already moved past the well known SEOMoz Beginner’s Guide. Additionally, this guide is written after the now infamous Penguin and Panda Google updates, so you’ll find it’s extremely relevant and useful for today’s SEO best practices. You’ll like that tactical advice, sound strategies, and helpful examples.
Read the guide

5. The Online Marketing Guide

This 14 chapter guide pulls you through developing strategy, plans, conversions, email marketing, pr, and more. It’s billed as a beginner’s guide for first-time marketers, small business owners, and experienced entrepreneurs. I found it to be a well organized collection of concept and strategy for online marketing – more than a primer, but less than a definitive end-all guide. I think you’ll find it useful for all the key aspects of your online marketing efforts.
Read the guide

6. The Copywriting Guide

Great writing is the foundation for all marketing, seo, and useful content. It’s engaging, persuasive, and shareable. If you are interested in selling more online, getting more people to follow you or recommend you as a resource, then this guide is a critical tool. You’ll learn about creating clear and compelling content, headlines, and customer focused messages. Most improtantly, you’ll learn how to focus on the customer and convert more people.
Read the guide

Marketing Case Study: Dodge Super Bowl Farmer Ad. (How it Failed and How To Fix It)

By Justin McCullough

Practical Examples on How to turn the Dodge “Farmer” Super Bowl Ad into Content Marketing with a Lasting Audience.

20960930_SS Hanging with nowhere to go. That’s what Dodge did with the Farmer Super Bowl ad.

Dodge took the biggest single exposure opportunity with 108 million live viewers and an almost great ad and failed the “sales-minded” part of its story telling and didn’t tell us what to do next.

And you won’t believe what they already had in place to work with!

This spot is so close to being an unexpected home run for Dodge and the ad agency – WITHOUT the huge production budgets that it begs to be a case study. It practically IS a case study.

It’s tweaks away from content marketing at the highest level – but it misses the mark.

Go ahead, watch for yourself, I’ll wait.

Did you notice the audio and images?

Did you see Hollywood actors, chase scenes with computer animation or the finest expose’ of cinematography and lighting?

Did you see the call to action?

You could have made the 2 minute, $15-20 million dollar, spot yourself.

AND NAILED IT.

AND built an audience. AND a conversation. AND a list that converts. (I’ll prove it, just follow along.)

This ad stripped out all the Hollywood magic, all the standard ad agency glitz and glamor and focused on a compelling message. All stirred up with nowhere to go.

It literally wasted all the conversational momentum and passed on the opportunity to build an audience.

But instead, it’s just a long branding ad. Why, Dodge, Why?

I’ll explain it all, including some things you didn’t know that will blow you mind and have you saying the same thing, for the love of God, Why?!

Great Use of Emotional Marketing

farmer The ad has already proven itself as an emotional marketing powerhouse with a remix and plenty of people talking about it.

For all the merits explained in this mega post about how to create emotional marketing, this Dodge spot creates an emotional connection, causes a physical reaction, and becomes something worthy of discussion. It only misses the mark because it doesn’t inspire action (or channel it) and direct us to the next step.

And, as you’ll see in a minute, Dodge has a lot we could have done next.

If you are a content marketer you’ll notice how this could have been a result of your work, not one of the best agencies in America.

The audio from Paul Harvey’s 1978 speech, an authentic American message of faith, hard work and family values along with beautiful static images strengthen its ability to connect emotionally and inspire action.

In this case the lack of Hollywood magic made it stronger – more human.

Clarity on Content Marketing from Chris Brogan.

Just 2 days after the Super Bowl, Chris Brogan explained why Content Marketing is Not Branding.
“Content marketing is sales-minded storytelling”, Chris said “[and content marketing] had better be helping your market make a decision of some kind.” Indeed, the objective of marketing is to create a compelling action, a next step.

Chris says that content marketing includes:

Friendly story telling
A push to action (or an offer)
Direct sales efforts
An occasional off topic warm fuzzy effort

While not listed, there is an implied 5th point to provide helpful information (not necessarily story telling) that answers problems, scratches an itch, and otherwise provides value.

So, for example, because Chris is doing content marketing himself, in that informative article he literally spells out how the article is intended to convert.

“Did I charge you any money? No. Did I tell you about my product or service in the body of this post? No. What I did was start what I hope to be a relationship with you and I’ve invited you to get my awesome newsletter. That’s me content marketing.”

So, what’s this got to do with Dodge?

Real Impact. Real Story. Really Missing the Mark.

dodge-ram-farmer I don’t know about you, but I’m no farmer. Even still, I was absolutely stirred up. The spot had my attention and a gentle nudge or invitation was expected, and I feel necessary. The ad agency and Dodge actually did a lot, but left so much to die on the vine.

Viewers are trained to know that automotive ads are just to remind us of their brand and keep it top of mind. We don’t expect much of these ads. So, for the most part the viewer has only a basic emotional connection with the brand and we all understand there is nothing to really do unless you are looking for a truck right now. If so, then the ad pushes us to a Dodge dealer.

Most of us move on, flip the channel – whatever. Virtually none of us go to the dealership tomorrow.

Without direction, some of us may share the link to the video on twitter of Facebook.

However, when you make a spot supercharged with emotion, completely unexpected, and replete with a message of God, family, and farmers – you’re doing more than telling us to remember the brand.

Even still, we didn’t know much about what was really going on here. It was hard to talk about and all the indicators of next steps are missing. So, even as this video spreads it still dies on the vine – too much is missing.

Let me explain…

The part missing in the Dodge spot is how this content converts attention into prospects and prospects into customers. More than just leaving out a call to action and any logical next step, they leave out some amazing information and give no indication to how much has been put into this message.

For $15 – $20 Million to run the spot, there better be some part of this story that converts – right?

Get this…

Not only did their spot have no call to action, here’s their YouTube description – do you see a link or any call to action there? Nope.
youtubedesc

Here’s what you don’t know.

BECAUSE your introduction to this video is ONLY from the Super Bowl ad or from a You Tube Video on a website, like mine above, you don’t know there is actually a fully developed back story.

They don’t even hint at it. And this is way to much to leave open to discover. Just a gentle nudge of a next action would have been plenty.

Here’s the missing back story and what Dodge didn’t tell us or help us understand in the ad or the YouTube Video

home1 1 –Dodge is serious about this Farmer campaign and has dedicated a lot of resources to it. They put farmers front and center on the homepage for Dodge Trucks with a beautiful hero shot of their truck on a farm with this headline “The Ram brand declares 2013 the Year of the Farmer”.

They are telling us this is a movement they want us to join.

But that’s not all.

2- They are donating $1 million dollars to support FFA. A worthy cause.

home2 3- You also don’t know they have a creative web page dedicated to this $1 million dollar program to support FFA. That includes the Farmer video plus content. Yes, content. The content (well some of it) that we are talking about.

4 – You also don’t know they have some beautiful images that follow the theme of the video and Farmers message for you to share on Facebook. Here are three I really like.
ramsharebadges
5– This movement has a Twitter Hashtag, it’s #KeepPlowing

ramnewsletter 6 –They have an email newsletter to sign up too. It’s hidden. You have to scroll down and click a link before actually getting to it. So, it’s probably not getting signups and whatever it is getting is abysmal compared to what it would get if it were simplified and brought up to the Farmer page where it belongs.

7 – They have a You Tube account for the embedded Farmer video on their homepage. Currently it has the text of Paul Harvey’s speech and no link or call to action in the video description.

8 – They have a twitter account for Ram Trucks and it’s pretty much unmanned and on autopilot. Seriously?!

With millions of dollars in just the Super Bowl ad, the powerful story of the video itself, plus all this ground work in place – why did you leave so much on the table? So much was done right!

While the website has stunning design with gorgeous photography, it’s lacking all the polish of a content marketer looking for the call to action, looking for the business that needs to be done.

Let me spell it out.

How Content Marketing Woulda Done It.

1. The digital foundation.

The eight points above show a lot of effort had already gone into the digital space. But not the stuff that actually converts. A content marketer would have had all the digital properties completely setup and ready to do business.

1.1 The Website Domain

Use a unique domain name like GrowUSwithRAM.com or GrowUSFarmers.com or RamforFarmers.com

Alternatively, if Dodge required it, the unique domain name would have redirected to the Farmer section of ramtrucks.com.

1.2 The Website

The site would be laser focused on this campaign with content, lead generation stuff, and all the things that were started at http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/keepplowing/ could have been a fine foundation. The visitor would be given a few new options including an email signup form, additional unique content and statistics on the American farmer and a way to join the movement (the Farmer Community by Dodge Ram).

1.3 The Email Newsletter

An email signup form to show support of Farmers and tie the interest into action. This would have included just a name, email, and a simple radio button to select either “I am a Farmer” or “I am not a Farmer”. The signup would have been tied to an offer and benefit. For example, “Every signup will result in $1 dollar given to FFA on your behalf”. Farmers would get ongoing newsletters from Dodge that keep a relevant connection to Ram and sales offers. Non-Farmers would get ongoing newsletters about the FFA and how to connect with Ram.

1.4 The YouTube Video

The video description would have a link to the website. The video itself would have a longer ending to include the clear call to action, hashtag, and website address to go too next for the $1 million dollar donation for FFA.

1.5 Text to Support

All digital properties would have had a unique text for cell phones to support farmers. This would have been used to build the Dodge list of text subscribers and act as a donation / giving portal as well as an ongoing connection to this audience. For example, future text messages might share info about extending the life of a vehicle, or preparing a vehicle for trade in and of course information about farmers and supporting the FFA with updates.

1.5 The Hashtag

The hashtag should be an extension of the unique domain name. The hashtag would be monitored and replied to when used.

1.6 The Twitter Account

Leading into the game, the twitter account would have beet tweeting too and with users about the Super Bowl and ad’s that were airing. They would have been IN CONVERSATION MODE, much like Oreo was doing. During their spot, they would have been tweeting against their hashtag and the other tags like #SBAds etc. The twitter profile would have had a farmer image, a link to the farmer website with a clear call to action “RAM Supports America’s Farmer. $1 Million to be given to Farmers with your help, click here link to farmer page”. Ongoing tweets would have gone out during the black out to drive traffic to the spot on Youtube (where the Youtube spot had a link to the website). https://twitter.com/ramtrucks

2. The Dodge Community

The website would have life with real people present. An ability to start and keep discussions going based on interest.

2.1 Community Voices / Bloggers

A few credible bloggers would have been tapped to share in the content creation and discussions on the site as well as the conversations around the twitter hashtag. These people would be key insiders of the Dodge Farmer community. These bloggers would have been partners in the audience effort to help the conversation along, join the conversation and keep it authentic for farmers, the FFA and even Dodge. I would have started with Becky McCray, Livestock owner and entrepreneur and trusted her guidance on the rural online audience.

2.2 Comments and Forums

The website would have a comments area and forums area to keep people talking and participating in the community. This would include open Q&A and ongoing topics to discuss for both Farmers and Dodge lovers.

3. The Dodge Farmer Super Bowl Ad

The spot that ran during the game would have been modified specifically for live viewers. As I already mentioned the changes to the YouTube version of the commercial would be for YouTube only. The live spot that ran during the Super Bowl would have been modified specifically for these viewers and include a clear call to action.

3.1 Hashtag Visible One Minute Into Spot

Because the spot is 2 minutes and very engaging, after 60 seconds, the spot would have had a twitter hashtag visible in a discrete way until the end of the spot. People would be tweeting and talking about it real time and later.

3.2 Change Final 3 Images for Call to Action

That last 20 seconds pack a lot of power. One of the final images includes the boy with his cowboy hat looking to the right and matches the Paul Harvey’s narrative ”when his son says he wants to spend his life doing what dad does… so God made a farmer.”

These final images would include clear next steps. Something like this:
Ram0

Ram2boy

Ram2

Ram3
Please note the web address listed GrowUSFarmers.com is just for example purposes, added to illustrate the point about a clear next step call to action.

Most of this would add $0 additional cost. They already had the spots, the site, the social media outlets.

But the gain would have been huge.

The End Result and Additional Benefits for Dodge:

The $1 million dollar give away would have been recognized as a great show of support for FFA.
A passive call to action for discussion through the Twitter hashtag would have created a lot of tweets and discussion.
People tweeting around the hashtag and being responded too in real time creating more buzz and intimacy with the brand.
A clear call to action, to go to the website would have resulted in huge traffic, interest, and leads.
More people would have shared from the website and used the image badges and shared them on Facebook creating more visibility and interest.
The YouTube video would have included calls to action for texting, tweeting, and visiting site so the millions of viewers there would be activated too.
A community would be ready to receive the interest of the viewers for commenting and forums discussions creating even more community.
An email list would have been formed for ongoing marketing and communication allowing you to monetize the ad spend with tangible leads and advocates.
An audience would have been built around Dodge Ram Trucks and lots of discussions, mentions and inbound links would have occurred.
FFA would have gotten a lot more attention and visibility.
Dodge partners would have gotten extended value for support.
Farmers and FFA students would have loved Dodge all the more.
Instead of Oreo being the talk of the town for being responsive and relevant, Dodge would have owned the conversation through its emotional marketing with a clear call to action and a community of people ready willing and able to share in the discussion.
The original intent of Branding would have been even more effective.

A few basic items on your social media outlets and website along with a simple and clear next step would have gone a long way.

Note to All Major Brands

You should consider all the points in this post. They apply to you too.

When you are buying your visibility, pay it off and keep the conversation going. The viewers expect you are there, ready, listening and interested in what they have to say. The days of buying ad placement and pushing a finished spot and calling things done are gone. You’ll have to be able to continue the discussion. When you do, you’ll be winning. For now at least.

Final Note to Content Marketers

This spot is so close to being an unexpected home run for Dodge and the ad agency – WITHOUT the huge production budgets that it begs to be a case study. It practically IS a case study. And I think this is something you could have done yourself.

I wrote this article for you. This is an example you can repeat – well, minus the ad that plays during the Super Bowl. But everything else INCLUDING creating a video like the Dodge Farmer video, you can do. And I hope you will.

Create emotional marketing and pay it off with clear calls to action. Your clients will appreciate it. Remember, content marketing is all about moving you to a buying decision through sales-minded story-telling.

Over to You.

If you know someone at Dodge or The Richards Group, get this article to them. I would love to hear them weigh in on their thoughts and if they agree or disagree.

So what do you think?

Have you joined Chris Brogan’s Newsletter yet? What about mine? Signup below and go ahead and share this on Twitter or Google Plus. Leave your thoughts below.

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About this article:

Point 1: Jesus is accessible.

Point 2: Love is of utmost importance and distinguishes committed followers of Christ.

Point 3: Jesus is in the Father, and the Father in Jesus, and through belief in Jesus we will do great things because Jesus will do it for the glory of God.

Point 4: Love and follow Jesus commands and he will give you the Holy Spirit to help you which will live with you and in you.

Point 5: Jesus will reveal himself to those who keep His commands and loves him and they will be loved by God and you’ll see that the Father is in Jesus, and that you are in Jesus and he is in you.

Point 6: The Holy Spirit is your guide to truth, which comes directly from Jesus and Jesus wants his truth to be known through you because it brings Him glory.

Point 7: You will have peace in Jesus because the world you will have trouble.

Point 8: You will be one with the Father just as Jesus is in the Father and He in Jesus, He will be in you – being brought to complete unity.

Point 9: Jesus will continue to reveal God’s love for you and that His love would be in you, just as it was in Jesus, and that Jesus too would be in you.

Abiding in Jesus is the central message he wanted to teach.

What you can expect from The Abiding Life.

6 Outstanding Marketing Guides from Neil Patel

1. The Growth Hacking Guide

2. The Content Marketing Guide

3. The Link Building Guide

4. The SEO Guide

5. The Online Marketing Guide

6. The Copywriting Guide

Great Use of Emotional Marketing

Clarity on Content Marketing from Chris Brogan.

Real Impact. Real Story. Really Missing the Mark.

Here’s the missing back story and what Dodge didn’t tell us or help us understand in the ad or the YouTube Video

How Content Marketing Woulda Done It.

1. The digital foundation.

1.1 The Website Domain

1.2 The Website

1.3 The Email Newsletter

1.4 The YouTube Video

1.5 Text to Support

1.5 The Hashtag

1.6 The Twitter Account

2. The Dodge Community

2.1 Community Voices / Bloggers

The Four “P” Approach:
A Persuasive Writing Structure That Works