Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How to Write Captivating Headlines: A Powerful 5-Step Process

Published | Last Updated By 3 Comments

Person working at computer | How to Write Captivating Headlines
Photo by Austin Distel

You’ve spent hours pouring your heart and soul into a blog post.

You’re writing about an important topic that you’re sure will help readers, and you want to convey your message as effectively as possible.

So you’ve edited each paragraph until your eyes ached from staring at the computer screen. You’ve crafted a compelling introduction that will entice readers to keep reading, and your conclusion is powerful with a memorable final sentence.

Unfortunately, however, all of this time and effort will go to waste if no one reads your article.

Often, there’s only one way to get people to read: you must craft a headline that is so irresistible it draws people like a magnet to click on your piece.

People’s social media feeds are flooded with a constant stream of articles and online content. If you don’t have an attention-grabbing headline, your post won’t reach the potential readers it could help and inspire.

But don’t worry!

In today’s article, I’m sharing my five-step process that will help you write captivating headlines so your target audience reads your valuable blog posts.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

5 Powerful Writing Tips from Award-Winning Editor Jack Hart’s “Storycraft”

Published | Last Updated By 2 Comments

Yellow typewrite on table next to vase
Photo by Luke Lung

Several months ago, I wrote an article sharing twelve of my favorite writing craft books. These books focus specifically on teaching you how to strengthen your skills as a writer and storyteller.

They get into the nuts and bolts of how to structure and edit your writing so it will captivate your readers.

Recently, I enjoyed re-reading one of the books on the list: Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction (Amazon affiliate link) by Jack Hart.

Hart served for many years as managing editor at The Oregonian, the Pacific Northwest’s largest newspaper. He also guided several Pulitzer-prize winning articles to publication.

In this book, he teaches everything that he learned from his many years as a journalist. Using examples from books and newspaper articles, he shows how to tell a captivating story. He covers everything from how to develop characters to choosing point of view to bringing scenes to life.

Even though his book is aimed at writers of nonfiction, I believe there is much that writers of fiction can glean from its pages as well.

In today’s post, I’ve written up my top five takeaways from my most recent read. [Read more…]

Two Essential Journals That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals

Published | Last Updated By Leave a Comment

Brown leather journal with compass on cover rests on top of a laptop | Two Essential Journals That Will Help You Achieve Your Goals
Photo by Colton Sturgeon

Have you set a big goal for the year? Maybe you plan to finally write a novel or start an email list or go to the gym each morning or learn a new language.

But maybe you’re also a little worried because you’ve broken New Year’s resolutions in the past.

You made significant progress towards your goals at first, but then your schedule became busier than you expected, your motivation ebbed, and those goals looked further and further out of reach.

Studies by Dr. John Norcross show that 60% of the people who make resolutions in January will no longer be following them by July.

Why are resolutions so difficult to keep?

“It’s human to slip up,” Dr. Norcross says. “Our evidence-based research shows that people who are successful at keeping their New Year’s resolutions slip as many times as people who are unsuccessful.”

It’s just that people who are unsuccessful slip up and give up. But people who are successful have systems in place that ensure they stay positive, pick themselves up, and learn from their slip-ups, tweaking their plan of action so they don’t fail again in the future.

Journaling is one of my favorite systems to use to help me stay accountable to my goals. In today’s post, I’m sharing my two journaling methods that help me track my progress on different projects, learn from my slip-ups, and motivate me to keep working towards my goals and not give up.

These journals have helped me build a successful blog and email list, learn three foreign languages, and finish many writing projects. I can’t wait to hear what they will help you achieve.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]

How to Write a Memorable Conclusion: 5 Techniques of Famous Writers

Published | Last Updated By 8 Comments

A Mac laptop and a typewriter side by side | How to Write a Memorable Conclusion: 5 Techniques of Famous Writers
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters

You’ve spent hours pouring your heart and soul into a blog post. You have an important message to share with your audience, and you’ve crafted a piece that you know will help them.

But now you’ve reached the conclusion, and you don’t know what to write. You fear that you’ve said all you have to say, and if you tack on more sentences to your piece, you’ll just be repeating yourself.

But you know you can’t skip the conclusion. If you’re writing a persuasive or inspirational piece, the conclusion is the last place you have to convince the reader of your opinion. A weak conclusion can diminish the effect of your entire piece of writing.

It’s like if you were enjoying a three-course meal at a fancy restaurant. The soup was creamy and delicious, the steak was perfectly cooked, but then the dessert arrived, and the pie tasted funny. That’s the taste that’s going to linger in your mouth after you finish the meal.

Just like the chef needs to wow you with the final course, you need to wow your readers with your conclusion. Otherwise, your piece will feel unfinished and be unsatisfying to your readers.

So how can you wow your readers?

In today’s blog post, let’s look at five different techniques famous writers have used to craft powerful conclusions that made their pieces memorable. [Read more…]

How to Find New Blog Post Ideas When You’re Stuck

Published | Last Updated By 5 Comments

Person holding red pen and writing in journal | How to Find New Blog Post Ideas When You're Stuck
Photo by fotografierende on Unsplash

You just published a new blog post. It was long and informative and your audience loved it. But now several days have passed. You check your blog’s stats.

Fewer and fewer people are reading your last article. Instead, your audience is waiting with bated breath for your next piece.

So you open a blank document to begin writing, but you just stare at it in desperation. What on earth should you write about next? You run your hand through your hair. You think about the TV show you’d much rather be watching than tormenting yourself with this blank page and a blinking cursor.

Does this sound like any of your writing sessions? If it does, don’t worry.

In today’s article, I’m going to share with you five strategies you can use to make sure you never run out of blog post ideas. With these ideas at your fingertips, you’ll be able to continue publishing consistently and build a strong connection with your audience online.

Let’s dive in. [Read more…]