The C Factor: Making or Breaking Your Efforts to Get What You Want Online

The C Factor: Creative, Concise, Clear, Complete Communication

Never has it been more important to be a creative communicator on the web today. You have to grab attention and convey the key components of your subject - sometimes in as few words as possible.

There are two groups of internet communicators who struggle in their efforts to get what they want from others - whether that be subscribers, customers, partners or even just an answer to a question. Their problem centers around the number of words they use to say what they have to say. One group uses too few words and the other uses too many.

Do you sometimes find it tough to decide how many words to use? How do you decide whether to keep it tight or go for the distance? I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.

Here are some of the Crucial Tools of Internet Communication.

Sending and Replying to Email

As an new internet marketer I wrote long emails full of details and description. Today, email threatens to take over my life if I’m not careful and I’ve learned to keep things simple whenever possible. You can take simple too far though. Shooting off one liners may be great time conservation effort, but it’s not very friendly. I’m learning that there’s always room for a friendly greeting and a personal salutation.

Writing Articles

Article Marketing remains a powerful tool. There are still many who should be using it to get what they want who do not.

Do you want more traffic? Write and distribute articles. Do you want more sales? Write and distribute articles. Do you want more partners and affiliates? Write and distribute articles!

Whatever you want - write an article that will help you to achieve it and distribute it where your desired market can be found.

The issue of too few or too many words comes into play in the area of article marketing quite often. You generally want to stay somewhere between 350 and 800 words. If an article exceeds 800 words you can split it into two parts with some fine tuning.

Writing articles for the web requires short paragraphs, a clear objective and an avoidance of distractions.

Writing a great article and having it picked up for reprint on another website is like being a ‘guest speaker’ at their ongoing event, so make the most of every opportunity.

Writing Blog Posts

Much of what we can say about writing articles we can say about blogging - but blogs give us latitude in voice and length that we can’t get in an article. If article marketing is like being a guest speaker at someone else’s event, blogging is like being the host of your own. You’re free to be yourself. Put your feet up and relax a little, but don’t forget you’re blogging for a purpose.

Never use more words than you need for a blog post. If you can say what you need to in 150 words, it’s perfectly ok to stop there. If you need 1200 words to get your point across, go ahead.

Posting on Forums and Networks

Posting on forums is not the same as writing an article or blog post. When you post to a forum or network you are stepping out into a community and entering a discussion. If you write in the same voice you would for an article you’re going to be talking to yourself. If you write like you would a blog post you’re going to seem presumptive.

Think about it. Take your time and get to know the culture of the community before you start communicating.

Asking Questions

You’re using too few words when you’re asking a question but don’t give enough information to elicit a useful reply. Before you hit send or submit on any form of communication that asks a question - double check that you have included all of the necessary information.

If you leave something out, some may ask you for the missing info - but most will not. Especially those who are most equipped to give you a good answer - they’re busy and don’t have time to play 20 questions with you. Ask a clear question and you will get a clear answer.

Making Offers

Truly one of the most important efforts at communication that we will ever take on is the Offer. An offer is simply an invitation to act.

You may think you don’t make offers if you’re not selling anything but that’s not true.

You offer your blog readers an invitation to subscribe to your RSS feed. If your offer is clear and instructions are provided on how to accept it, you’ll get what you want. If your offer is complicated to understand, you won’t. You also offer your blog readers an invitation to comment on your blog. If you never extend a specific invite you’re not likely to get many comments.

If you are selling something, realize that making offers is about more than writing sales letters or making a pitch by email.

We make some of our most important offers in day to day communication. Writing an enticing sentence or paragraph must become as natural as breathing for all of us or we are not going to get what we want nearly as often as we could.

Leavings Comments

Commenting on a blog is so much more than leaving a comment. In many instances it is a first contact with someone you hope to partner with some day. It is an opportunity to be seen by a community that shares your interests.

There is an art to leaving a great comment that compliments the post and shows your experience and interest without coming off spammy or self centered.

To get what you want from blog comments, always take time to get to know the blogging community before acting.

Micro blogging on Twitter

Tell people what you’re doing in 140 characters or less. Talk about being concise!

I love Twitter. To be able to communicate with an interested group of people several times in one day is incredible. There are times when the 140 character limit is frustrating, but for the most part I am

happy to use 100 characters or less to say what I need to.

I’ve joked with friends about all of the books about succeeding with Twitter. We mostly agree that Twitter just isn’t that complicated - however, you can and should be strategic on Twitter to get what you want. If you’re not sure what that means for you, perhaps you should pick up one of those books ;).

Updating Status on Facebook

I don’t update my status often, but when I do I see an increase in activity on my Facebook account. It’s a great way to make a passive statement about a new project. It doesn’t require a reply but it reaches a lot of eyes.

Evaluating your C Factor.

Every single time you set out to communicate - review your effort by asking yourself if you have been as creative as you could be. Your readers like to be entertained. Anything you do to elevate their mood or surprise them with something interesting or new will improve your chances of getting what you want.

When you need to use fewer words but are having a hard time trimming them down - look for ’side issues’ that don’t directly support your primary objective and cut them out without cutting down your message.

When you need input or advice, check your questions and requests to ensure that you’ve provided complete information.

Whatever it is you want to achieve on the internet today - you’ll get it faster and get more of it when you master the C Factor.

P.S.  This post has been submitted to the ProBlogger Killer Titles Group Blogging Project.  Do you have a blog post you’d like to submit?