"There's method in the madness." ~ William Shakespeare
Can you blog quickly AND create meaningful value for your readers?
It's one thing to be saving time with speed blogging tips I'm giving you here this week. But if you're writing junk that has no depth, if you're just saying what's been said before, no one will stay to read. Your readers won't subscribe, they won't buy, and they won't take any action, except to click away.
Here's the crux: how do you go deep when you're in a hurry and got a million other things to do? How can you write great blog content that serves your business marketing goals, when you've only got a half-hour?
Read books. Read Shakespeare. Go to the source. Go to the well. Read the classics, read history, read what geniuses have written. Watch movies, TV. Then blog about it.
Everybody knows that to be successful, your marketing and your blog has to be focused on the client, your readers, right? But what people forget is that readers need you to educate them about what they don't know, what they aren't thinking about, and what they've forgot.
Your perspective on everything is important, because everything is interconnected and interrelated.
Pick up any book. Or, pick up your Kindle and go to any page. There's a paragraph in there that relates to your target audience, only they can't see it. Share it with them. Of course you're going to link to and give credit to the author. But you're the one who sees how this paragraph relates to them, how it can make their lives easier, faster, better.
Example in action: To write this blog post, my idea was to tell you how books help you create added value and depth to your blogging. I started with a picture of Shakespeare and a poignant quote from the Bard. I went to my bookshelf only got distracted by a book titled, The End of Marketing as We Know It, by Sergio Zyman. Zyman is known as the marketing genius behind New Coke … so he knows a few things about what doesn't work.
This book was published in 1999, so I was curious to see how outdated it might be. It's not. Zyman stresses marketing should work to sell more stuff. I found this chapter compelling: What Jerry Seinfeld Can Teach You about Marketing.
Jerry says that marketing is like telling a joke: it has to have a set up, good delivery, and a punch line.
Hmmm, there's a lot to think about in that statement. You can tie it in to just about anything, any subject, any blog post in any niche. Blog posts should have a good set up (headline), delivery and a punch line: a call to action.
My point is that using published books is a great way to add meaning to your blog writing, without spending a lot of time. Great content is there, you just have to open books and find it. Then like adding water to a plant, write your own perspective and turn it into relevant information for your readers.
What other ways can you add value to your blog writing and content marketing?
Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, and I are giving a blogging teleseminar next week. You can learn more, and sign up here:
Time-Saving Tips for Smart Blogging
January 20, 2010 – Wednesday
When you register, you'll get the recording and handouts, including a list of 77 places to find fresh content ideas. I'm not sure I put Shakespeare or Seinfeld on the list, but they should be.
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