Author Archive for Patsi Krakoff – Page 11

6 Ebook Writing Tips from Expert TED Speakers

book-planningHow can you craft a great expert ebook using the same tactics of expert speakers with fascinating video presentations on TED.com?

I’ve been reading Jeremy Donovan’s excellent book, How to Deliver a TED Talk, and gathering tips on how the experts do it (see my previous posts here and here.) Here are three more ebook writing tips from good speakers:

1. Build the ebook content and transitions. We more easily remember concepts when they’re delivered as three examples or elements. This progression helps you stay focused writing your ebook, and more importantly primes the readers to remember your message.

This can be as simple as: Read More→

How to Write an Ebook as Good as a TED Talk

Write-a-bookWhat if you could write an expert ebook using the same riveting tactics used by TED.com speakers that earn them millions of views?

I’ve been viewing some fascinating videos on TED.com, scanning them for tips on how to write a good story. And I’ve read How To Deliver a TED Talk, by Jeremy Donovan.

At some point in your professional career, you’ll likely be inspired to write and publish a book, whether for potential customers, colleagues or to spread your message to a global audience. Your ability to persuade others through  written words will contribute greatly to your book publishing success.

What can we learn from TED Talks about writing an expert ebook? Here are a few key elements from Donovan’s book: Read More→

2 Writing Tips for Expert Ebooks from TED Talks

TEDI’m a big fan of the 20-minute video talks from experts on TED.com.

Just think about this: If more people wrote expert ebooks like these riveting presentations, their books would be easier to read and deliver more memorable information. In this post, I suggest a couple of writing tips culled from these great presentations.

In case you’re not familiar with TED.com, here’s the skinny. Originally focusing on technology, entertainment and design—hence, the initials—TED Talks feature remarkable experts in diverse fields with revolutionary ideas.

TED Talks are truly inspiring. As some of the most viewed speakers in the world, they showcase their high-level presentation skills—a seamless blend of intelligence, entertainment and persuasion.  These speakers provide jaw-dropping stories you’ll be talking about for weeks.

TED’s growing global audience is testimony to the success of their mission, “Ideas Worth Spreading.” Since June 2006, the talks have been offered for free viewing online. Read More→

Your Business Blog Year 10: Is It Still Worth It?

Business-bloggingDoes blogging still make sense for your business? Is a business blog worth the time you need to research, write, format and publish quality content?

Some busy professionals ask me if it’s worth it to blog or would keeping in touch with people through social media sites work just as well? It’s a good question, particularly for small businesses, coaches and consultants who don’t have staff and a lot of time.

Publishing a quality blog requires time and effort. The average person needs at least two hours to complete all the tasks necessary for one blog post, and should be publishing 2-3 times a week.

Ten years ago, when I first started blogging I declared a blog to be “The best darn marketing tool on the planet!” It was if someone had handed me a microphone and people across the globe started hearing what I had to say. I started getting found online and boosted my business revenues exponentially.

But ten years later, there are a lot of ways to spread your word and publish quality content online. Communication is possible everywhere. Clients can be reached through Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter – the list goes on. Read More→

Should Thought Leadership Content Be Ghostwritten?

Ghost-writerAn interesting post from Hubspot author John Hall: “Why Ghostwriting Thought Leadership Content Doesn’t Work.” He contends that busy executives who outsource their thought leadership content are missing out on quality elements.

As a ghostwriter of leadership content, my first reaction was to tell him he’s all wrong. But his article was an excellent outline of what happens when thought leaders try to outsource blog writing and other leadership content to unqualified contract writers.

“Ghostwriting content is not inherently bad. The problem is that not all content should be ghostwritten.

“Consider your end goal of producing thought leadership content: brand awareness, reengagement, loyalty, credibility, conversions.

“Now ask yourself: Should this business-building tactic be delegated to someone who knows very little about you or your industry? If you lean toward the idea that it’s worth the time you save, then know that your content will lack these not-so-minor details.”

Hall lists five elements that end up being neglected in ghostwritten leadership content: Read More→

Reasons to Attend the AuthorU Publishing Conference

AuthorU.orgLike you, I’ve had some bad conference experiences. I’ve spent a lot of money to travel and sit in a freezing cold room for days to listen to experts with big egos. What I hate is when I expect to learn something and instead I’m asked to spend more money.

I’ve been pitched to buy a $5,000 weekend in a guru’s mansion, or to invest in a $50,000 mentorship program. Recently I heard of one such speaker who hired people to run to his table at the back of the room in a sign-up frenzy. Unsuspecting audience members were influenced by crowd behaviors.

So I’m picky now. I only attend conferences where I know and trust the organizer and expert speakers.

Recently a successful leadership coach asked me where to go to learn how he should write and publish his book. There are a lot of book publishing conferences to pick from. But only one I know will deliver high quality information from really helpful experts:

The AuthorU 2014 Extravaganza.  It’s May 1 – 3 in Denver and you can get details here. Read More→

Easy to Make Ebook and Blog Writing Mistakes

Writing-Pen

Here’s why it’s so easy to make these common ebook and blog writing mistakes:

Many small business professionals with a business blog are keenly interested in getting their message out there, and don’t care so much in writing “properly.”

Younger people, in particular, like to write like they talk. Speech can be a great way to convey personality. It’s more like jazz rather than a sonata.

When people use a lot of verbal expressions in online content, however, their readers have to work harder to understand the message.

Blog writing with a conversational tone is good for connecting with people, for sure. You should, however, make a concerted effort to follow grammar and writing rules that make your blog easier to read. Read More→

A Checklist for a Good Blog

Blog-checklistAfter I got home from our Publishing at Sea cruise, I checked out the good blogs of our amazing group of authors, including those of our experts, like Judith Briles! Of course, as writers, they all had important things to say on their blogs. But some weren’t really optimized for best results.

Here’s what I look for in an optimized, good blog (one that gets Google search and reader results):

  1. A good blog title with a tag line that says what people will find on this blog (benefits to reader)
  2. An email subscription sign up button such as an RSS icon
  3. A good blog post title that makes me want to read the full post
  4. A compelling image with each post
  5. Hyperlinks – at least one per 120 words so that posts are identifiable to search engines.
  6. Recent posts or no date on them: If posts aren’t at least once a week (twice is better) then I don’t want to see a date on the posts -which alerts me to the fact you haven’t posted in a month … or six! Read More→

The Experts on How to Get a Book Published

Experts-Book-PublishingThe problem with going to a conference is that I always come away with a to-do list a mile long. But I love the rekindled passion and energy. Truly, the Publishing at Sea conference aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean was an explosion of information and ideas.

Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, captured a few learning gems on How to Get a Book Published on her post here.

Personally, I’m not trying to get a book published, but many of my clients are and I want to as informed as possible about the book publishing industry which is changing so rapidly.

In addition, I felt that getting to know the experts will help me refer my clients to trustworthy people when the time comes to market, publicize, print, distribute and use social media for books beyond the writing process. I can now highly recommend these fabulous book experts:

  • Judith Briles, is The Book Shepherd, and she’s helped hundreds of authors through all stages of the publishing process. She’s an amazing woman and published author. She founded AuthorU, a membership group specifically to answer the needs of writers. If you’d like to learn more, go to her site. Better yet, considering joining the Author U Extravaganza in Denver May 3-5. Read More→

Expert Ebooks: Getting Reader Research Right

Research-ReadersI’ve been sharing about how to start your expert ebook project right, by being clear about who your readers are and what they most want to know.

How should you go about reader research? For example, if you wanted to know how seniors are using the Internet, you could look at the Pew Research site.

How else can you research your readers so that you get this important first step right: How do you focus your expert ebook content on readers’ frustrations and challenges by discovering what those are?

The truth is it doesn’t matter how much of an expert you are or how much you know about your field. You still need to research beyond what you already know or assume.

Don’t skip researching your readers simply because you already have 20-30 years of working with people like them. I don’t care if you’ve got a Nobel Prize in Economics.

Do you think Daniel Kahnemann rests on his ground-breaking work in Behavioral Economics? No, he does not. He is continually researching and discovering more about how  theories apply to real people in the real world. His bestselling book Thinking Fast and Slow is written (and priced) for readers, not academics. Read More→