
Although I get pretty tired and suspicious of seeing the words “powerful” and “secret,” I’m forced to use it here because I find it appropriate. Affective writing is powerful in such a way that it can touch a person’s being and a secret in a sense the few knew and understood its application. Majority of bloggers and internet marketer are not aware of this seemingly benign method that will put solid quality traffic to their niches. It goes by many names: compelling article, viral content, etc. But all is rooted on this overlooked principle.
Let me ask you a question. What do you think makes a bestselling author? If your answer is based on the emotional impact the author brings to the readers—thereby commanding their full attention and engaging every part of their being to his work—then I say you’ve got the best answer.
In the world of blogging, interlacing words affectively will give you an edge. I’m oftentimes disappointed when I visit well-meaning blog sites and found myself bored—no matter how valuable the information—of its disengaging approach. I’m sure some of you have had the same experience, and I’m positive you may have made the same mistake in the past. I did.
Most of the time, when someone puts up a website they forget to put on other’s shoes or fail to see on a different lens. They always see their work with their own eyes and expect it to be appreciated by others as if those others has have the same level of understanding.
Luckily, we will chance upon a site that will pique our attention and be rapt at the entirety of its content. What happened? How did the webmaster do it? The answer lies on the fact that we are able to identify with the written words, and has somehow tamed our cynicisms, allowing our trust to gain acceptance.
You can maximize the power of words by inspiring the emotional involvement of your readers. You don’t just write. Before going into motion with your pen or keyboard always remember that you are addressing flesh-and-blood human beings—not a potential client nor an article of commerce nor statistics. Your work needs to be able to relate on a personal level, it must open up a realization that addresses the reader’s inner thoughts—his/her dreams, aspirations, frustrations and other aspects of life.
In everything you write, put a human touch on it; Make it a personal experience to your readers. When you write about something don’t be afraid to express your feelings; don’t be ashamed to share your failures and mistakes; don’t get shy on admitting your desires; be true to yourself yet never be selfish by being irresponsible in expressing your profanities. This way your readers will sense a connection and will be able to relate with you because you have shared with them the same vulnerabilities each of us have.
Just as we love a good book, so it is with a good blog. It’s nice to learn and share experiences with other people. With millions surfing the internet, I’m aware that some are searching for answers addressing their concerns. It might be a product or a service or insights. I am a person who is searching wisdom about life, and when I find a good article that relates to this endeavor I dig in. If you have affective writing skill, you will command the attention of many readers. They will be hungry for more; they will always anticipate your next work—like a bestselling novel.
Communication has become more impersonal since the advent of the internet. The more human you affect on your brand, the greater the chance of your success.
Let’s keep it personal on this, ok?
— William Bernbach
I want to share to you my other helpful post:
Attitudes of a successful blogger
Elements of a Distinctive blogger
What you touch upon this article I see terrific value in and importance. How is it that we gain friends? We experience events with them like a relationship, struggles, group projects, emotional expression, etc. Being open and sensing with your audience is the same thing. Be friendly and you may just find some friendly people in return
Great article.
Communication has become impersonal in the internet. I believe that affective writing will make a connection.
Thank you Tyler for sharing your thoughts.
I agree that forging an emotional connection with readers is absolutely essential for success in most types of writing (there are exceptions, of course — technical, business, academic writing, to name a few). I would also add that writing needs to be clean and checked for errors. Nothing disconnects a reader emotionally more quickly than typos and other grammar mistakes, which are like road bumps that jar the reader.
Thanks Melissa for sharing your ideas here. I guess I have to be more careful with my grammar.
Woah, very powerful post, Slinger. I’m really hopeful that I could actually do that, being personal while being informative. But, it’s good that I now know what my writing goal is.
Thanks Andi. They say words are sharper the a two-edged sword. Maybe we should harness its power.
Yeah.. we must know the others feeling to attract them to read our article..
Nice article
Thanks for dropping by. Hope to share to you again my works.
nice post thanks for sharing…..
Thanks for dropping by.
I agree, I visit many blogs that are so boring their message is diluted. The worst thing is when I visit a writing blog and it is done in a dull manner. Inexcusable!
Right you are Charlotte. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Hey Walter,
Very nice post! I hope you washed your hands because with articles like this you’ll have followers eating out of them.
Best of success my friend.
I’ll be back when I have more time to spend.
I’ll be sure about this Christopher. Thank you very much.
Hey Slinger, great points were highlighted in your post. Being real comes from the heart of the writer. The connection comes when two human beings interact with each other.
A mentor of mine said write to one person at a time. Obviously this is a state of mind, we still publish for many.
Again, thank you for an informative post.
I resonated with your message immediately,,, I always say to myself trying to improve my writing skills: “Use your words carefully as they are very important tools to evoke emotional states into your reader”. Capturing the imagination and leading the feelings, is what makes a great communicator.
I’m glad to hear this from you Doru. It inpires me to write more.
Hey Slinger,
really great post, I can see you’ve put a lot of thought into this, comes across well. Look forward to reading more from you.
Annie
I try my best to put my thoughts into writing. I want to express my ideas that I believe can help to others.
Thank you for your kind comment.
Great post – and you have hit it on the nail about what makes for affective blogging.
Writing from the heart is key – one of my most popular posts was when I wrote about the lessons in compassion from my father just after he passed away.
My readers really resonated with what I had to say and that post generated the most comments on any post up till then.
So the lesson for me was to continue to write from the heart and connect with the readers as if I was talking to them one to one.
Yo are right Arvind, writing from the heart is the best way to connect to your readers.
This is a cool point to bring up. This might come back to my mind at a later time, as it is something that is quite relevant. When someone writes in a way that relates to our emotions, we get way more into an article than if it comes out like an encyclopedia entry. I read an article about the California fires today that was story-like and created emotion in the reader, and that served to keep me reading a bit more of it. It could have been written more blandly, but then people would have just looked for the facts and left.
Im glad you’ve shared your thoughts Armen. Writing from the heart is writing for humans.
Very great suggestion and post. I Like and admire your writing style and information. Keep up great work.
Always learning.
Zengirl
I’m glad you liked my post and my writing style. It’s feels good to express my thoughts.
Hi Walter! I zipped over from Megan’s – your blog title did it! Great article here. I come from a newspaper background (borrrring) so I am really enjoying the freedom to personally express myself thru blogging. I must say, after only a few months, it really has the creative juices flowing. Your post is especially valuable to me, and so I thank you! I’ll be back!
suZen
[...] point to the entirety of your website. Examples of anchors are catchy images, interesting videos or affectively written blogs. Of course, they will not lock on any if your webpage is a mix of everything: like the [...]
Walter, your presentation in this post is wonderful– how concise and clear your message is. What I like is that what you’re saying applies to living life as well as to blogging. Speaking from the heart, being yourself, standing in another’s shoes — words to live by.
Love the post Walter. I can’t agree more. A good writer can engage with people on a personal level with his writing. A boring one will be skipped in a matter of seconds.
I have just read this post on your blog and I am truly inspired. Subscribing to your blog now as I am very new to writing and blogging, and hope one day I will be writing as god as you do.
Thanks for sharing.
That’s very kind of you. Thank you for sharing my post.
First time here. This is the first I’ve heard of such thing. Affective writing, but you got a very good point there Slinger. BTW, why you don’t have you own avatar pic?
@ZXT – I’m still trying to figure out how to put my avatar. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Walter,
After you dropped by my blog and responded to my whining with a very helpful slap in the face, I was interested in finding more about you. This post seems to capture the point you made in your comment and I am trying to incorporate a bit of your perspective as I continue to grow as a blogger. You obviously are successful at engaging readers which tells that you know something about what you recommend.
Ralph´s last blog ..So What do you think of you?
Success in blogging takes time, patience and understanding. Take every step one by one, don’t rush, just focus to make it perfect. Then move to another step with the same dedication.
The failure of most bloggers is that they take everything at the same time, and so they get lost and frustrated.
Observe, learn, then apply.
[...] you do – you find that Walter lives his advice with meaty topics and personal. One of his posts addresses exactly that [...]