Research Paradigms Essay Example

Research Paradigms Essay The design of a research study begins with the selection of a topic and a paradigm. A paradigm is essentially a worldview, a whole framework of beliefs, values and methods within which research takes place. It provides a conceptual framework for seeing and making sense of the social world; to be located in a particular paradigm is to view the world in a particular way. A paradigm stands for the entire constellation of beliefs, values and techniques, shared by the members of a community. The significance of paradigms is that they shape how we perceive the world and are reinforced by those around us, the community of practitioners. Within the research process the beliefs a researcher holds will reflect in the way they research is designed, how data is both collected and analysed and how research results are presented. For the researcher it is important to recognise their paradigm, it allows them to identify their role in the research process, determine the course of any research project and distinguish other perspectives. Therefore, paradigms are never right or wrong but merely different ways of looking at society. In that respect, they are to be judged as useful or useless in specific situations only. Macro theory and micro theory Macro theory deals with large, aggregate entities of society or whole societies. e. g. struggle between economic classes, international relations Micro theory deals with issues at the level of individuals and small groups. e. g. dating behavior, jury deliberations, student faculty interactions 2 Early positivism The early positivist paradigm of exploring social reality is based on th e philosophical ideas of the French philosopher August Comte, who emphasized observation and reason as means of understanding human behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paradigms specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paradigms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Paradigms specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to him, true knowledge is based on experience of senses and can be obtained by observation and experiment. Positivistic thinkers adopt his scientific method as a means of knowledge generation. Hence, it has to be understood within the framework of the principles and assumptions of science. These assumptions are determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and generality. †¢ ‘Determinism’ means that events are caused by other circumstances; and hence, understanding such casual links are necessary for prediction and control. ‘Empiricism’ means collection of verifiable empirical evidences in support of theories or hypotheses. †¢ ‘Parsimony’ refers to the explanation of the phenomena in the most economic way possible. †¢ ‘Generality’ is the process of generalizing the observation of the particular phenomenon to the world at large. With these assumptions of science, the ultimate goal of science is to integrate and systema tise findings into a meaningful pattern or theory which is regarded as tentative and not the ultimate truth. Positivistic paradigm thus systematizes the knowledge generation process with the help of quantification, which is essential to enhance precision in the description of parameters and the discernment of the relationship among them. This paradigm regards human behaviour as passive, controlled and determined by external environment. Hence human beings are dehumanized without their intention, individualism and freedom taken into account in viewing and interpreting social reality. According to the critics of this paradigm, objectivity needs to be replaced by subjectivity in the process of scientific inquiry. Ethnomethodology Ethnomethodology, founded in the 1960s by the American sociologist Harold Garfinkel, studies the way in which people make sense of their social world, and accomplish their daily lives. Ethnomethodologists start with the assumption that social order is an illusion. While social life appears ordered, it is, in fact chaotic. Social order is constructed in the minds of ac tors as a series of impressions which they seek to organize into a coherent pattern. While ethnography seeks to answer questions about what is happening, ethnomethodology seeks answers on how realities in everyday life are accomplished. So, by carefully observing and analyzing the processes used in actors’ actions, researchers will uncover the processes by which these actors constantly interpret social reality. 4 Structural functionalism Structural functionalism, also known as a social systems paradigm is a sociological paradigm which addresses what social functions various elements of the social system perform in regard to the entire system. Social structures are stressed and placed at the center of analysis, and social functions are deduced from these structures. It was developed by Talcott Parsons. The central concern of structural-functionalism was a continuation of the Durkheimian task of explaining the apparent stability and internal cohesion of societies which are necessary to ensure their continued existence over time. Societies are seen as coherent, bounded and fundamentally relational constructs, who function like organisms, with their various parts (social institutions) working together to maintain and reproduce them. The various parts of society are assumed to work in an unconscious, quasi-automatic fashion towards the maintenance of the overall social equilibrium. All social and cultural phenomena are therefore seen as being functional in the sense of working together to achieve this state and are effectively deemed to have a life of their own. They are then primarily analysed in terms of this function they play. Individuals are significant not in and of themselves but in terms of their status, their position in patterns of social relations, and their roles the behavior(s) associated with their status. The social structure is then the network of statuses connected by associated roles. 5 Quantitative and Qualitative Quantitative research is research that aims to measure using numbers. Typical forms of quantitative research are surveys, in which many respondents are asked questions and their answers averaged and other statistics calculated and research based on administrative data where for example the number of people who have been patients in a hospital each month is counted. The aim is to create numerical description through a process of ‘coding’ verbal or textual data Qualitative research most often describes scenes, gathers data through interviews, or analyzes the meaning of documents. Here one creates an account or description without numerical scores In practice, the distinction between quantitative and qualitative is not absolute. Even in qualitative studies, it is common to count how many informants fall into one or other category HYPOTHESIS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 Qualities of a good hypothesis A hypothesis is a preliminary or tentative explanation or postulate by the researcher of what the researcher considers the outcome of an investigation will be. It is an informed/educated guess. It indicates the expectations of the researcher regarding certain variables. It is the most specific way in which an answer to a problem can be stated. E. g. If you hit a child with a cane, she will cry. Both a hypothesis and a problem contribute to the body of knowledge which supports or refutes an existing theory. A hypothesis differs from a problem. A problem is formulated in the form of a research question; it serves as the basis or origin from which a hypothesis is derived. A hypothesis is a suggested solution to a problem. A problem (question) cannot be directly tested, whereas a hypothesis can be tested and verified. (i) Hypothesis should be clear and precise. If the hypothesis is not clear and precise, the inferences drawn on its basis cannot be taken as reliable. (ii) Hypothesis should be capable of being tested. In a swamp of untestable hypotheses, many a time the research programmes have bogged down. Some prior study may be done by researcher in order to make hypothesis a testable one. A hypothesis â€Å"is testable if other deductions can be made from it which, in turn, can be confirmed or disproved by observation. † (iii) Hypothesis should state relationship between variables, if it happens to be a relational hypothesis. iv) Hypothesis should be limited in scope and must be specific. A researcher must remember that narrower hypotheses are generally more testable and he should develop such hypotheses. (v) Hypothesis should be stated as far as possible in most simple terms so that the same is easily understandable by all concerned. But one must remember that simplicity of hypothesis has nothing to do with its significance. (vi) Hypothesis should be consistent with most known facts i. e. , it must be consistent with a substantial body of established facts. In other words, it should be one which judges accept as being the most likely. (vii) Hypothesis should be amenable to testing within a reasonable time. One should not use even an excellent hypothesis, if the same cannot be tested in reasonable time for one cannot spend a life-time collecting data to test it. (viii) Hypothesis must explain the facts that gave rise to the need for explanation. This means that by using the hypothesis plus other known and accepted generalizations, one should be able to deduce the original problem condition. Thus hypothesis must actually explain what it claims to explain; it should have empirical reference. 2 Qualities of a good research question. In order to be systematic, clearly defined and specific, a research question must be researchable. To be researchable, a research question should have the following characteristics: i. Interesting The research question needs to be interesting to the researcher because without the ongoing motivation and enthusiasm of the researcher through out the duration of the project, the research project risks ultimate failure. If one is passionate or curious about the issue or problem under scrutiny, maintaining momentum in the research process becomes easier and the product more satisfying. ii. Relevant The question should also be interesting and relevant to the research community of which the research forms a part. Research is generally of interest to a research community when it makes a contribution to the collective knowledge base of a study area or discipline. The orientation is to find a question, an unresolved controversy, a gap in knowledge or an unrequited need within the chosen subject. It is therefore desirable to maintain a balance between the specific research interests of the researcher and the interests of the research community as a whole iii. Feasible The research question should be stated in such a way that the project is feasible and has specific bounderies that make the project delimited and doable. Consideration needs to be given to the costs of the project, the time frame in which it is to be completed, the time and skills of the researcher(s) undertaking the project, and whether the access to research participants and information needed to complete the project are likely to be available. iv. Ethical It is desirable to reflect on the ethical dimensions of the research problemwhen institutional ethical procedures are required for project approval. Considering these issues from the outset, and embedding these considerations in the research question, will help to ensure that the research projectfulfils its ethical obligations, both professionally and institutionally. v. Concise The research question should be well articulated, its terms clearly defined, with as much precision as possible in written language. For example, research projects usually have a broad overarching theoretical frameworkthat informs the area of interest under scrutiny. The theoretical background however needs to be more specifically formulated and can be articulated in terms of specific concepts that are derived from previous theorizations and defined in terms of specific words or phrases in the research question. Research questions specify object(s) of research i. e social entities relationships and processes that are under scrutiny by the researcher. vi. Answerable The research question should be answerable. In order to make a research question answerable, it is desirable in the initial formulation of the research question to use an interrogative form eg who what when how which and why.

One Easy Tip About Ielts Essay Samples Band 7 Pdf Uncovered

One Easy Tip About Ielts Essay Samples Band 7 Pdf Uncovered In addition, the writer has an inclination to be repetitive. He includes background information and examples. Even if you believe you're a bad writer today, you can learn to take your simple essay and transform it into something a great deal more effective. Receive a passage of text and get started reading it out loud. By employing different techniques of page turn you may also boost your eBook encounter. Unfortunately there was not any bank card enclosed in the envelope once I opened it. Using a lot of new words you don't understand how to use properly could make your writing worse, so be cautious! Ielts Essay Samples Band 7 Pdf Some people today argue that it's vital for financial gain, while some claim that it damages local industries. For example, there would be many more laborers during harvesting time in the countryside, or skilled or knowledgeable men and women would aid with the building work in more compact regions, spurring the increase of the neighborhood area in addition to the nation as a whole. Rich men and women have extra cash and for that reason, they ought to give some help to people without a housing and money. Some folks feel that we ought to use traditional approaches to address our problems, others say that we need to use modern strategies. You also have to have a ver y clear position throughout. Check out whether you're able to turn the page with some arrow keys or click a particular portion of the display, aside from utilizing the mouse to deal with everything. The instance is quite vague there is not any reference to a particular train station or how rich men and women could give money to the poor. Having access to previously completed work that you may have confidence in will show you exactly what you're missing. A great illustration of this case is going to be evening language courses. You don't need to locate some complicated ideas. Obviously, there are a good deal of methods to organise this essay. Surely, there are lots of tactics to organise this essay. You are able to use different online IELTS essay samples for this goal. The topic you're asked questions about will be about the topic in Phase Two. These IELTS sample essays are categorised in a manner that makes it simple for you to observe how certain essay question types require that you supply certain responses to be sure the question is completely answered. These high score model essays can help you know how to answer the essay questions and the way to structure your writing. Looking at IELTS essay topics with answers is a huge approach to assist you to get ready for the test. Months before the IELTS test, you first have to realize the position in which you stand in regard to the English language. If you would like to know specifically where you're going wrong, then you have to talk about your work with a seasoned IELTS instructor. You may take my online IELTS Writing Practice Test anywhere on the planet and find a score, corrections, and feedback in only two days. IEL TS speaking isn't an academic test. These steps would help you to get ready for the test in a more systematic and effective method. Your paragraphing is exceptional. The opening paragraph has all of the crucial details about the graph but itparaphrasesthe question. To deal with all areas of the job, you must respond to everything that's asked in the question. In conclusion, manage your time so that you can plan a crystal clear outline, your major suggestions and use an assortment of language and accurate structures to gather a succinct argument that fully answers the question. Even then, provide relevant answers and prevent rambling on about everything it is possible to think about. Our language is part of ourcultural identity, and without it people may truly feel a feeling of loss. Hence, it's said, marry for money is right in a point. To a lot of people, it's appropriate to marry for money instead of love. So, for a lot of people, it may appear appropriate to marry for money instead of love. Top Ielts Essay Samples Band 7 Pdf Secrets You will require a wide variety and mix of these for an IELTS band 7, and you'll want to be capable of using them effectively with some flexibility as opposed to mechanically. Finding an IELTS band 7 in writing is quite hard for many students, and many do not understand what the examiner is searching for. Do you want to know how to boost your ielts band score. When you're graded, you will be provided a score for every one of these, and this will then be averaged.

Common College Essay Topics

Common College Essay TopicsIt's very important to know what is the most common college ESL essay topics, so that you can come up with topics that are going to get your essay up there with the rest. I know that when I was writing my first college essay I didn't know that there were too many things that you should be doing and making sure that you do. I'm going to share some of the things that I did in my college essay writing, so that you don't make the same mistakes that I did.The most common college essay topics are going to be about events and experiences. This can be a bit tricky to write about because it isn't something that you think about a lot of the time, but it's something that can really make or break a college essay. You need to make sure that you make use of every tool that you have in order to make this a fun topic to write about.The most basic rule is that the event needs to be something that happened to you personally. Maybe you attended a concert and heard a band that you loved, or maybe you saw a show at the local theater and enjoyed yourself. A simple event will get a better grade than something that is more complicated.Another thing that you want to keep in mind when it comes to most common college essay topics is the question or statement that you're going to be writing. It's a good idea to write the question first, so that you don't repeat yourself. After you've written the question, then you can write the statement, and after you've written the statement you can write the conclusion.The most common college essay topics that I used were things that I had observed. I would watch something that happened, or I would talk to someone who had done something that I thought was really cool. So my goal was to be able to identify something that I had witnessed or learned about.In order to really hone in on these common college essay topics, you're going to have to do some research. It's very easy to do in most cases, but sometimes it can be hard to g et the information you need. Don't hesitate to take notes throughout the class, and make sure that you take notes while you're watching an episode of 'American Idol'.When it comes to writing an essay, the last thing that you want to do is bore the reader, so make sure that you include plenty of facts in your essay. It's important that you take the time to fill in the blanks as much as possible. The key is to make sure that you are well informed, so that you don't have to worry about this later on down the road.So those are the most common college essay topics that I came across in my college education. One of the biggest things that I learned when I was writing this essay is that I am going to have to research for information, because that is the only way that I can get the information that I need. If you're just starting out with your college writing career, you'll have to do a lot of research on your own.

Be the First to Know What the Experts are Saying About Public Health Term Papers

Be the First to Know What the Experts are Saying About Public Health Term Papers The subject of well-being and well-being covers such a wide selection of academic disciplines, odds are you will have to deal with selecting health research paper topics sooner or later in your college career. Students will have to finish a 7-10 page final paper for this program. Therefore, many students and employees decide to obtain inexpensive essay rather than writing it themselves. Effect of the automobile essay. Write an essay about somebody you admire. What's a descriptive essay definition. When you are confronted with choosing healthcare research paper topics, all the choices may be intimidating for you. How to earn definition essay. What is Really Happening with Public Health Term Papers The term is utilized in three senses. These terms are frequently used in precisely the same context but actually have various meanings. Add one particular paragraph to tackle the subsequent. Provide concrete examples to strengthen your position. In addition, the crucial resources should be readily available like advice leaflets, to pass on to parents to help in the communication and teaching procedure. There are several kinds of dictionary like dictionary of health provisions. Even the term health can have several meanings. The inclusion of public health in the health care neighborhood is a vital part of integration. Non-peer reviews allows for different experts in your field to provide insight on your work also. You don't have to be an expert illustrator or graphics designer! He concluded that no real rails were laid. Among the most notable examples from the previous several decades is the success in lessening the range of men and women who smoke. The Unusual Secret of Public Health Term Papers There's a potential for problems related to dehydration whilst indoors and outdoors year round on account of the climate, and several community members not having enough income to keep essential utilities, such as air conditi oning. Thus, the higher use of soap and hand-washing to avoid diarrhea is considerably more effectively promoted if its deficiency of use is connected with the emotion of disgust. No high rise buildings are noted. The environment contains scrub desert. The Number One Question You Must Ask for Public Health Term Papers Generally, it's advisable to try to remember that public health is always concerned with the wellness of the group, rather than the person. Public health encompasses virtually every area of day-to-day living, thus, it is hard to get a definition broad enough to illustrate its complexity. Moreover, public health also works to stop the transmission of disease. Furthermore, public health strives to lower the disability and morbidity due to non-communicable diseases. This week, you will analyze the function of the national government in healthcare policy making. Cost also affects most individuals as some services aren't free, such as dental treatment and eye tests and a few individuals also must pay prescription charges that may lead to illnesses being left untreated, as some folks afford to cover their prescriptions. A starting point for understanding the function of the nurse in public health is to examine the function of nurses with the title of public or community health nurse and to take a look at the crucial activities they participate in related to promoting the well-being of populations. The mental condition of the person alongside their age is going to be considered. The very first barrier resulting in inadequate resourcing of public wellness is the expectation that public health interventions should save yourself money. There is a clear demand for a comprehension of prevention by all nurses. Nearly 1,300 possible instances of lung illness connected with e-cigarettes are reported across the United States. Both view health concerning physical, mental, and social wellbeing, as opposed to merely the lack of disease. Healthy basically is important for everybody, but there continue to be many people don't understand the significance of a health. Several changes which happened within the Public Health System are as a consequence of awareness promotions and awareness that is highlighted in general by individuals and groups around the country. Women and kids ought to receive more attention as they're often discriminated and don't get needed treatment of a premium quality because of some cultural aspects presented in society. Indian Health Care System In this piece I will try to spell out why Indian Health Care is facing serious difficulties and how it is able to be made better.

Essay Sample - What Can This Essay Sample Help?

Essay Sample - What Can This Essay Sample Help?The E-Iforu Essential Essay Sample is a great help for both the students and the teachers. This kind of e-course is developed again because it is highly recommended to all of the students. This e-course is really very effective in making the students understand about the subjects like English, Science, Math, Geography, History and Philosophy.These essays are very useful for the students because they can be easily understood by them. It is not always a good idea to get the e-course from the internet. It is better to get it from the library or from a college. The library has more resources than the college where the papers are given.When students go to the library, they usually have many options of reading the original text on the subject. So, they can find the right paper that will suit them. They are also provided with the source material that will help them in comprehending the subject well.The E-Izu Essential Essay Sample is very effec tive and it is recommended to all the students. The E-Izu Essay Sample can provide easy access to the best paper ever written by its author, the writer. This essay can help the students to write their own paper so that they will be able to write a better paper.The student can find all the topics that they want to research about and they can find all the topics that they need to write on their essay. There are many tutorials available on the internet that will help the students to find the proper topic on their topic. The students can find the topics by visiting the websites and they can read the tutorial on the website.Once the students have completed the essay and they have researched properly on the topic, they can decide on the best topic for the paper. They should make sure that the topic is interesting and that they do not overuse the topic. The students should make sure that the topic is not boring. The students should take the time to research the topic thoroughly before writ ing the paper.There are many books that will help the students in researching on the topic so that they can write the best essay. The books and the tutorial should not be considered as the best guide but as a guide. It is very important for the students to take the time to research properly on the topic before writing the paper.

huckleberry fin essays

huckleberry fin essays In the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck goes through many adventures on the Mississippi River. He escapes from Pap and sails down the Mississippi with an escaped slave named Jim. Huck goes through the moral conflict of how wrong it is to be helping Jim escape to freedom. Eventually Huck decides he will help Jim and actually steals him from a farmer with the help of Tom Sawyer, a friend. Eventhough Huck and Jim are trying to sail to the Ohio River which leads to freedom, they pass it in the dark. Over the course of the novel Huck's opinion of Jim changes. In the beginning of their voyage, Huck feels he shouldn't be helping Jim to freedom and almost turns him in to slave catchers Twain 87 "I was paddling off, all in a sweat to tell on him; but when he says this (that Huck is his one and only friend) it seemed to take the tuck all out of me.". Huck begins to enjoy having Jim's company, and when Jim is sold by the Duke and the King, Huck breaks down and cries while asking the Duke where Jim is Twain 208 "'sold him' I says, and begun to cry; 'why he was my nigger, and that was my money. Where is he? I want my nigger.". Then Huck steals Jim from the Phelps farm (eventhough he was already set free by Miss Watson's will). Huck Finn changes as we go through the story because Jim is really almost his slave and he grows to like having Jim wait on him. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain depicts Southern life and society in the 1870's. The main point that Twain makes is that Southern life is not as glorious as it's made out to be. We can tell this be several ironies between the way Southern life was depicted and the way Twain describes them. One of the ironies is that plantation owners were supposed to be like kings, but Twain takes one of these "kings", Colonel Sherburn and has him kill Boggs, the town drunk. If these ...

How To Rock At Relationship Marketing

How To Rock At Relationship Marketing At least 32% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers create more company-centric content than customer-centric. Yikes. Thats not good. Dont get me wrong- its important to have great content that explains exactly how your product or service can help your customers. But that sort of content will have its greatest impact long after your prospects know, like, and trust you. Another 27% of B2B marketers write more customer-focused content. Thats great. But there is something to be said for including company-focused content that helps your readers understand why they should buy your product or service after their first few experiences with your awesome content. Thats why the 41% of B2B marketers who combine company- and customer-focused content will win the sale at the end of the day. Heres why, and exactly how you can do it, too, with a little thing we call relationship marketing.How To Rock At Relationship #Marketing Like The Best Sales ProsYour Prospects Don't Care About You, Your Product, Or Your Service (At Least Not Yet) In January, my wife and I spent some time in New Orleans. It's great, by the way- a city full of music. While walking around town, musicians would spot us, walk over, and ask us to buy one of their CDs for only $10. But we didn't buy a single CD. On the other hand, we saw a ton of street performers actually playing their music. They were out, showing visitors like us their awesome talents, and simply had a guitar case open with a sign that read $10 a CD. Anytime we stopped to listen, we gave those guys a few bucks. Give your prospects a preview of what you're capable of with awesome #content.Think about those two scenarios applied to your marketing: You can write content that talks about your product and nothing else, then hard sell someone on purchasing it. Or you could show your readers a preview of what you're capable of first, show them you're a company full of talented folks, and let your content sell for you. I bet you can tell which sales technique  is more effective. The street performers who showed us a preview of what we would get by buying their albums gave us the chance to get to know and like their music enough to trust that their whole album would be great. Why Content Marketing Is Your New Salesperson While it'd be great if you could go out and meet every one of your prospects like the musicians (or salespeople) in New Orleans, it's just not going to happen. Especially not anymore- because people want to find your solution on their own without your help. In fact,  84% of folks prefer to  research  on their own instead of having someone do it for them. Their first experience with your brand is through  your content.  Your content needs to build that relationship. And that relationship cannot begin with a hard sell. And while some even argue that relationship selling is dead, their arguments even further the importance of experiences and relationship marketing.  Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson take to  the Harvard Business Review to explain why "Selling Is Not About Relationships", but rather about being a challenger. The best  salespeople: 1. Teach their prospects. They focus the sales conversation not on features and benefits but on insight, bringing a unique (and typically provocative) perspective on the customer’s business. They come to the table with new ideas for their customers that can make money or save money - often opportunities the customer hadn’t realized even existed. Apply This To Your Marketing: Publish helpful content (the kind that doesn't just scratch the surface).  Participate in the ensuing conversation with blog  comments and social media. And create experiences people will remember long after first meeting you through content. 2. Tailor their sales messages. They have a finely tuned sense of individual customer objectives and value drivers and use this knowledge to effectively position their sales pitch to different types of customer stakeholders within the organization. Apply This To Your Marketing: Understand your audience and their challenges super well. Never be afraid to go super niche or narrowcast your prospects with your content. 3. Take control of the sale. While not aggressive, they are certainly assertive. They are comfortable with tension and are unlikely to acquiesce to every customer demand. When necessary, they can press customers a bit - not just in terms of their thinking but around things like price. Apply This To Your Marketing: The best salespeople "win by pushing customers to think differently, using insight to create constructive tension in the sale." Help your readers understand that they can improve the way they're currently doing something- even if they didn't know they could. Focus on customer value while pushing your readers outside their comfort zone to understand there is a better way. And I would argue that doing all of that builds positive experiences with your content. And that, in turn, serves as the foundation for a relationship. So, if the best salespeople build relationships to  sell, how can you apply those same practices  to build your relationship marketing? So, What About â€Å"New Age† Sales And Marketing Then? Pitches and cold calls are out. At least, that’s what some sales  pros  have been saying. Prospects are more informed than ever before when they make buying decisions- 84% of them, in fact. So, what is the solution? When Entrepreneur asked Tony Parinello that question, this is what he had to say: Let's face it: Buyers are more educated than ever before. What we sales and marketing types need to focus more on is understanding our prospect's world- and the best way I know of to do just that is to ask intelligent questions. Parinello  goes on to explain that those questions should be open-ended and prompt longer responses than just yes or no. And that we should ask and listen a lot more than adding to the noise. Hm. This new age stuff actually sounds a lot like what Dale Carnegie wrote about way back in 1936 in his book, â€Å"How To Win Friends And Influence People.† So, once again, it's about building relationships. And you can do that with your content. Here's how: Ask your readers what they'd like to hear from you. Ask your customers why they use your product or service. Listen to their big challenges on social media. Look at  the questions they ask you in your blog comments. Listen to the questions they ask presenters at events. Review your most successful content to  learn why your audience loved it. Recommended Reading:  How To Find The Best Blog Ideas That Will Have People Craving Your Content Give Away Your Secret Recipes Just like those street performers in New Orleans, you can give away the recipe for your secret sauce, and people will still buy what you’re selling. In fact, some companies give away their most successful recipes- very literally. Living in Minnesota, there is an awesome brewery I love: Surly. Those guys partnered with Northern Brewer Homebrew Store to share tons of their recipes so homebrewers could replicate their  beers. It takes a super loyal fan to want to clone a beer.  And guess what? When you brew your own version, won't you probably also buy that brewery's beer to taste how close you made it? From experience, the answer is yes. You would. And that, in a nutshell, is how giving away your secret recipe in the form of content will actually help you sell more. Giving away your secret recipe will actually help you sell more. #contentmarketingBy sharing exactly how you do things successfully, you build thought leadership in your industry. Relationships are built on trust, and when smart people see how smart you are, they'll want to work with you. If you give away how to do something without your help at all, your audience could do it... but they still might not have the time, knowledge, or experience to do it as well as they could when they have your help. Will Old School Sales Models Work In Your Content Marketing? There are a couple old school sales models that people still talk about. And they get  pretty interesting when you combine them with content marketing. Break and fix. This is when a salesperson shares something jarring, then something rational. Psychologists were able to convert 80% of study participants by disrupting their trains of thought with something out of the ordinary, then following up with something agreeable. Apply this to your content marketing: Show your readers a problem they’re experiencing now but may not even know about it, then provide the solution in your content. 1. Write content  that promises utility. Think of headlines that look like this: How To ___ That Will Help You ___ Or even this: 23 Ways To Get Even More From ___ To ___ The thing in common with this method, is that it connects the main idea of the content to a promise of what your reader will learn. There’s a reason our headline analyzer ranks power words like how to and that will so high: It's a promise of extremely useful content. And we know 34% of people share content simply because it's super helpful. Headlines like that indicate a desired state, too. If you do ___ you will become ___. We want to become better at what we do; it's human nature. When your content promises that and follows through- you've created a magical experience your readers will remember. Recommended Reading And Resources: How To Write Headlines That Drive Traffic, Shares, and Search Results Proof That Emotional Headlines Get Shared More On Social Media Blog Post Headline Analyzer Write Better Headlines With A  Free Headline Analyzer The headline analyzer  will help you: Use headline types that get the most traction for social shares, traffic, and search engine ranking. Make sure you have the right word balance to write readable headlines that command attention. See the best  word and character length for search engines like Google and email subject lines, while also seeing  how your readers will scan your headlines. Try The Free Headline Analyzer Now 2. Help your readers do something better- even if they don’t know they’re doing it wrong. Sometimes, it's easy to believe that just because you're doing something, it's as good as it gets. Take, for example, a blog planning process. If you have one, that's great, right? But what if there were a ton of ways to optimize that process to save even more time for every single person involved in the process? You'd be interested. While it might seem like every topic has been covered before, you can focus on creating content for those topics better than anyone else. Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing. - Peter Drucker Like that blog planning process example, doing the right things is being effective. Doing those things even better is being efficient. If you focus your content on a common problem your readers experience, then focus on a unique angle, you are providing something no one else is doing. That's how you can help your readers do something better- even when they don't know that what they're doing is wrong in the first place. This is why every piece of content from the Content Marketing Blog is long-form: We don't just scratch the surface, but provide helpful, actionable content to help our readers become better bloggers and content marketers. Example Reading: How to Hack Your Efficiency with an Agile Blog Planning Process 10 Reasons Your Editorial Calendar Sucks (and How to Make It the Best) Why the break and fix method still works. It's the classic problem + solution = outcome model. If you introduce a problem, then provide a solution in your content, that's exactly what your readers are looking for. The outcome is how they'll do something better than they've ever done it before. And that outcome is made even better when they use your product or service. Foot in the door. This is when a salesperson asks their prospect to buy something that's relatively cheap, then asks them to buy something more expensive. But it sucks to ask someone to buy from you the minute you meet them.  Remember those folks in New Orleans who point blank asked me to buy their CDs? It's pretty abrasive. Use your content to build a relationship first, then ask for the sale. Use your content to build a relationship first, then ask for the sale.Apply This To Your Marketing: Ask your readers to do something simple first, then build up to something bigger. 1. Ask for a social media share first. 34% of people like to share helpful content, and 73% share content to remember it. It's easy to share useful content, and creating an experience your readers will remember is super important to help them get to know you. I definitely fall into both of those sharing categories, and it's really likely your readers will, too. Recommended Reading: Why People Share: The Psychology of Social Sharing How To Increase Blog Traffic: 5 Ways To Make Contagious Content The Best Place To Put Social Media Buttons On Your Blog 2. Trade awesome free content for an email address. Speaking from experience at , there is no better way to gather email addresses than this. Plus, there are dozens of tools to help you do this (OptinMonster, Leadin, and SumoMe List Builder  just to name a few), and they’re super easy to set up. This is just a little more effort for your reader than asking for a social share, because they are giving you permission to send them relevant content. This is an example of an OptinMonster lead conversion cookie. Read all about content distribution and get your free e-book. We call these cookies at . We give our readers something sweet for a bit in return. Various formats of these have  helped us increase our email subscribers by 90% in just 6 months. Imagine what it could do for your blog. Recommended Reading: 5 Easy Lead Conversion Tips For Your Email Marketing Program Why You Should Give Free Content To Your Readers 3. Provide a free trial signup (if you can). Just like great content hints at how great your product will be, a free trial is a preview of how much better your customers lives will be after they purchase your product. This takes a bit more dedication from your prospects. Think of time to learn something new, knowing an end date to â€Å"free† is coming, and making a purchase decision in a set timeframe. However, â€Å"free† is a super easy way to experience your product for the first time. And you can make that offer through your content marketing. 'Free' is a super easy way to experience a product for the first time.4.  Make it an easy purchase. Do you see the pattern of how you've  helped your prospect build up from a super easy decision (a social share) to slightly more advanced (trial of your product)? That gives your readers time to build a relationship with you through content. And as all salespeople know, relationships help sell. Now that they trust you, it's time to ask for the purchase. Really, this is an art of compliance based on social psychology. And psychology works for content marketing. Recommended Reading:  4 Lessons From Psychology That Will Help You Grow Your Blog Why the foot in the door method works for content marketing. You never know when someone is experiencing your content for the very first time or has seen your stuff a bajillion times. Giving your readers the ability to choose their own adventure with your content will help them create valuable experiences the way they want them to be. How To Get People To Care About You, Your Product, And Your Service I mentioned trust about a million times in this post so far: It's one of the most important parts of making a purchase decision. In fact, Mark Schaefer wrote an entire book on it. And Robert Rose and Carla Johnson  also published a book recently about experiences being the next game changer in content marketing. I dove deep into research to understand how to grow our blog with some core elements of psychology. One of the most interesting parts of that research was about the Psychological Foundations Of Trust. And trust only comes from building a relationship. Good relationships are based on great experiences. This isn't really new. But it is super fun to tie this into content marketing: Find commonalities between your prospects’ challenges and the solutions your product or service provides. Provide those solutions through helpful content for free. Help your reader have a positive experience with your content (tone, usefulness, not too salesy, etc.). Publish and share that content consistently to build expectations of awesomeness. Include useful calls to action in your content so when your prospects feel secure, they have the opportunity to convert. And that is how you can use your content to build a relationship with the 84% of people who research before ever calling you: Understand your audience, teach them, and provide a unique perspective with your content. Ask questions, always learn, and never be afraid to iterate. Give away your secret recipes to position yourself as a thought leader. Promise a solution to your readers' challenges- beyond what anyone has ever told them before. Provide multiple calls to action ranging from little commitment to purchase. Publish that awesome content consistently. If you'd like to create content that sells, get your copy of  the relationship marketing template to get started. It'll walk you through how to create educational content and product-focused stuff, too, all while helping you remember all the actionable steps throughout this post. Recommended Reading:  4 Lessons From Psychology That Will Help You Grow Your Blog