Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How to Captivate Your Readers with Seeds of Curiosity

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Photo by Joshua Lanzarini
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Have you ever become so engrossed in a TV show that you spend hours binge-watching the episodes? (My weakness is British murder mysteries.)

Maybe your friends told you it was an amazing show that you absolutely had to see. So when you finally have free time on a Saturday evening, you decide to put on the first episode.

At first, you’re leaning back in your chair and enjoying the show, but you have one eye on your phone as you scroll through social media. (Yes, I’m guilty of this.)

And then: Bam! The unexpected happens.

A plot twist changes everything. [Read more…]

The Powerful Ingredient in ‘A Christmas Carol’ That Will Make Your Writing and Marketing Compelling

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Illustration from the first edition of A Christmas Carol | Scanned image by Philip V. Allingham via Victorianweb.org
Want to connect with other writers? Make sure to get your invitation to my private writing community on Facebook!

Every Christmas Eve, my whole family gathers around the TV to watch the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol. It’s one of our favorite traditions.

(If you haven’t seen this version, you can watch it on YouTube here — I believe it’s the best film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic story.)

No matter how many times I watch it, my heart is always touched by each scene. I feel the happiness of the crowd at Fezziwig’s party. Tears come to my eyes when Bob Cratchit cries over his poor Tiny Tim.

But, most of all, I love Alastair Sim’s wonderful performance as Scrooge — how he convincingly portrays Scrooge’s change from heartless and tightfisted to kind and joyous.

You watch with delight as the once grim man can’t stop laughing and smiling and stunning all with his kindness, even while muttering to himself, “I don’t deserve to be so happy.”

What makes stories like A Christmas Carol so enthralling? Why do we love watching movies like these year after year?

In today’s post, let’s look at one ingredient that makes stories like A Christmas Carol so powerful and emotionally compelling. It’s an ingredient you can use to make any type of writing captivate your readers, whether you’re working on a short story, a blog post, or even a sales page. [Read more…]

3 Simple Descriptive Techniques That Will Help You Write Vividly

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3 Simple Descriptive Techniques That Will Help You Write Vividly
Photo by Rawpixel
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It feels like you’ve been staring at the computer screen for hours as you struggle to rewrite several paragraphs. You’re trying to capture in words the images in your head, but the sentences on the page sound lifeless and dull.

Maybe you’re writing a blog post about a recent trip you took, and you want your readers to hear the cacophony of the city’s traffic and see the neon signs drenching the street with color.

Or maybe you’re writing a sales page, and you want your readers to be able to envision themselves using your product. You want them to feel as if they’re already holding the product in their hands and can see how it will make their lives so much easier.

The ability to describe something vividly is an essential skill for every writer to master, no matter whether you’re a blogger, novelist, or copywriter. Vivid descriptions transform your paragraphs from vague and boring to engrossing and memorable. [Read more…]

How to Use the Four Modes of Persuasion to Make Your Writing Irresistible

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How to Use the Four Modes of Persuasion to Make Your Writing Irresistible

This is the view from my new writing desk in my new home in Raleigh, North Carolina.

My family and I are loving Raleigh. The house we’re renting is surrounded by woods that are so beautiful and peaceful. I’m torn over whether to go out exploring or stay here in my new writing space typing away.

After several weeks of not having a permanent address, I’m happy to finally have a place to call home. And to once again have a desk to write at!

As I wrote in my last post, I had to get rid of many belongings and pieces of furniture during my move from New York. My desk was one of the things that I ended up giving away, and I never could have imagined how difficult it would be to replace it.

If you’ve ever hunted for furniture before, you know that there are hundreds of decisions to make.

What’s your budget? How big of a desk can fit in your space? What type of a desk? A traditional design of solid wood or a contemporary design of metal and glass? One with a computer drawer? Or maybe you’d like to try a standing desk?

I visited several furniture stores but didn’t see anything that I liked. So my hunt for a desk ended up involving many hours of searching online. I read countless product descriptions, which are really advertisements in disguise. Each one tried to convince me that this was the perfect desk for me.

Of course, my eyes started to glaze over as I read so many product descriptions, but some stood out from all of the others. Those were the ones that had my cursor hovering over the “add to cart” button.

What made those descriptions different from all of the rest?

In a nutshell, they expertly employed four powerful rhetorical strategies known as the modes of persuasion.

These four persuasive techniques are essential for making any argument compelling.

You can use them in a blog post, in a speech, in an essay, or even on your website’s homepage – anytime you’re trying to persuade your reader to take action, form a new opinion, or take a big step that will change their life.

Read on to discover the four modes of persuasion and how you can use them to make your writing more effective. [Read more…]

I’m Moving! (Here’s What It’s Teaching Me About Writing)

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Photo by Congerdesign

These past few months I haven’t had a chance to write on the blog because I’ve been preparing for a big adventure. I’m moving to North Carolina!

It still feels strange to write that though the moving date is now days away. I’ve lived in New York my whole life so it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’ll soon be calling another state home.

But I’m excited for what the future holds, and I can’t wait to get past the craziness of moving.

This move so far has felt like a crash-course in becoming a minimalist. My parents are selling their house and moving to North Carolina too, and we simply can’t take everything with us.

So we’ve had garage sales, given away or donated furniture and books, and thrown out everything else that won’t fit in the moving truck. [Read more…]