Copyblogger Weekly Wrap: Week of September 27, 2010

Those who stalk me (and you know who you are) know that I’ve been talking a lot lately about “Storyselling,” which is a way to sell stuff using stories. But nothing is infallible, so I wanted to publicly announce some flaws I’ve found with it:

• Don’t use Storyselling with the police. Tell them about Uncle Phil’s hairpiece and they’ll still put you in jail for running over a Photomat booth with a city bus. (Don’t ask how I know this.)
• Don’t tell your story after being pushed off a building by the person you were trying to convince not to push you. Tell it before. After is too late. It’s amazing how many people get this one wrong.
• Don’t watch The Story of O with your grandmother, unless you enjoy uncontrolled squirming.

Now, with that out of the way, let me tell you the story of what happened this week on Copyblogger:

Monday:

50 Can’t-Fail Techniques for Finding Great Blog Topics

I could give you an elaborate summary of this one, but really, the title says it all: it’s a collection of 50 can’t-fail techniques for finding great blog topics. Instead, I’ll spend this summary talking about Hollywood gossip. So… do you guys think Lady Gaga is a dude?

Read the full post here.

Tuesday:

Want People To Read Your Sales Page? Make It Scannable

To prove how true this post is, I scanned it only briefly to write this summary, and did so while driving a race car off a cliff. A lot of people are like me, so if your sales page is full of dense text that requires people to read every word, you’re going to turn us off. Also, after scanning this post, I’m pretty sure it was about waffles.

Read the full post here.

Wednesday:

8 Bad Habits that Crush Your Creativity And Stifle Your Success

I totally get this one. Most people have the potential to be creative, but they do these 8 things that stifle creativity and make them boring. Don’t want to be boring? Then stop doing these 8 things, and also get a multicolored hat with a feather.

Read the full post here.

Thursday:

Scribe 3.0: SEO Made Simple

Hey, everyone, Scribe just got even better! I like Scribe. It’s cool for people like me who hate SEO because they think it gets in the way of your writing style, but then you get Scribe and it goes all ninja and suddenly you’re ranking well and life is grand. NOTE: Scribe does not include a pair of those little ninja slippers, exploding powder, or those shiny little stars you throw at people. Yet.

Read the full post here.

Friday:

Why Getting Attention Won’t Make You Rich

I was in a pink full-body suit, climbing the Sears Tower to drop lemons on pedestrians when I read this post — and just in time. Attention may be the first step to building a lucrative business, but it’s not the only one. In this post, Sonia Simone outlines what else you need to do in order to convert attention to currency. For me? I’m selling “I got hit with a lemon by a pink guy and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” t-shirts.

Read the full post here.

This week’s cool links:

• Signs That Blogging is Not Only Alive, But More Critical Than Ever: Think that blogging is dead? Um, no. That would be a stupid thing to think.
• Digg Founder “Burned Out,” May Leave by End of 2010: Kevin Rose has had it, and reading this, I think I’d be expecting a “postal” reaction out of him. Can we get Pete Rose in there instead?
• Trouble Choosing a Niche? Start a Personal Blog: If you’re not sure what to blog about, Darren Rowse suggests starting a personal blog as a testing ground. (Note to self: It’s possible to have a business blog that isn’t all about yourself? Strange, but possibly true.)
• 14 Incredibly successful ways to stand out from the crowd: Like monster* posts? This one about finding a way to stand out in an otherwise crowded space will suit you well. *Does not contain Cookie Monster.
• ‘Cluetrain Manifesto’ Comes True In Age of Twitter, Facebook: The book The Cluetrain Manifesto, written in 2000, is totally being proven true a decade later. (Also, it describes a train on which you can play the game “Clue.” My money is on Professor Plum in the parlor with the candlestick.)

About the Author: Johnny B. Truant wants you to know that his new course Storyselling 101 is half price this weekend and says “You should totally get it now.”