Author Archive for Patsi Krakoff – Page 132

Blog Memed: I’ve Been Hit, Tag, Your Next!

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, December 15th, 2006

Today I was "memed" by Denise Wakeman who was memed earlier by Paul Chaney who was memed by Diva Toby Bloomberg.  This is a game going around the blogosphere where you reveal What 5 Things You Don’t Know About Me.

A meme is like a thought virus or a cultural virus that gets passed on, usually organically.  In this case, the meme is getting passed around strategically by bloggers.  It’s a good way to introduce you to other blogger friends and for readers to learn more about me and the others already memed. 

Here’s the definition from Wiktionary:

Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples might include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, ethnicity etc.

OK, here goes…5 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me:

(Tag! You’re it: Dr. Charlie Parker, Paulette Ensign, Penny Sansevieri, Ian Griffin, and Bud Bilanich, the Common Sense Guy.)

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs

American Idol of the Internet Could Be You!

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, December 14th, 2006

I’ll admit it: I stole this idea from Ellen Britt, of Marketing Qi. She made this announcement to her people when The Blog Squad was on her teleseminar series. It goes like this:

Have you ever had secret desires… illicit thoughts about wanting to be the winner of one of those TV shows like American Idol or Survivor? Oh, come on now, admit it! I won’t tell anyone…

Imagine what it would be like to have fame, fortune and your face plastered on all the TV networks…why you probably couldn’t even go to the grocery store without people asking for your autograph.

Well, now’s your chance…

You could be the next Idol, the next Star, the new Americal Idol of the Internet!

The BlogSquad is undertaking an international search for…their Ideal Internet Marketing Client!

Only two days left to apply, get national radio exposure, and 13 weeks of free marketing mentoring.

Details here: www.blogsquadcontest.com.

Categories : Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog, Teleclasses & Seminars

Customized Newsletter Article Site Bites Dust, Gets Back Up

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

Thanks to the diligent work of Web Wizard Ilya Pozin, www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com is alive and well and fully restored after last week’s malicious hack. If you are new to Customized Newsletter Services, this is where we catalog all the business and personal development articles for sale for use in newsletters.

Ilya’s company Ciplex gets 5-Star recognition in the service department. Many of you know Ilya as Tom Antion’s boy wonder and "Prime Propeller Head." He is now with us on the West coast, living in West Los Angeles.

Thanks, Ilya. If you are looking for website help that is quick, efficient, and gets results, give him a call. His team of professionals know what they are doing on many levels, including marketing (often overlooked when it comes to web designers.)

Categories : Online Marketing

Customized Newsletters Hacked! What Are You Doing About Your Passwords?

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, December 11th, 2006

Our brand new article directory site, www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com was hacked last week and destroyed. Visitors got a 404 redirect page, with a nice obscene four-letter word on the tab.

There is a back-up copy up there now, but all the category listings have to be restored. So if you are looking to buy article content for your newsletters or ezines, bear with us while we work feverishly to restore the categorized articles. Some articles are already listed on the home page, but not all.

This couldn’t have happened at a worse time: Denise and I were ready to launch a price-slashing sale on all articles before the end of the year. We will still do this, so just will wait for total restoration on the site so you can look for topics that interest you.

Two questions for you: how can hackers be so malicious? How can you protect your passwords?

Let this be a word of caution to all you people who use general, easy to remember passwords like, "Admin"… Do not do this! I never thought that this was a real danger until now! Best passwords are a combination of nonsensical words and numbers. And keep your passwords written down where only you can find them.

If you’d like to share your own horror stories about hackers, please do so; it will make me feel a little better…

Categories : Buying Content, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks

White Papers: Syndicate Yours and Get Found on the Web

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, December 8th, 2006

Michael Stelzner writes about where to post your professional white papers. I only recently discovered his Writing White Papers blog, and it is excellent, worthy of getting the feed.

He refers readers to two special reports from Marketing Sherpa on how and where to syndicate white papers.

The reports include a brief examination of available content syndication sites, including:

* CNET’s TechRepublic/ITpapers, BNET 
* KnowledgeStorm
* TechTarget

In addition to the above sites, WhitePaperSource has performed in-depth reviews on many of the above sites and some that are not listed.

While some of these sites may be more appropriate for the tech fields, the Sherpa report lists a total of 12 sites for syndicating your white papers.

Categories : Online Marketing

Writing Guidelines: Nag, Nag, Nag

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, December 7th, 2006

I don’t care if I repeat myself. The Hubby finds it annoying, but when it comes to rules for writing, you can never hear them enough. Let’s face it, we all forget rules when we are writing.

Here are some guidelines from the CopyDiva blog, worth repeating:

The best way to improve readability in marketing, blogs, articles, even white papers:

1. Use the active voice: Write your sentences in the active voice instead of the passive voice. Active engages readers, passive drags down readability.

2. Use simpler language: Perfect example — instead of “utilize,” a 3-syllable word, try “use.” Opt for shorter simpler words wherever you can. Don’t try to impress with your large vocabulary.

3. Vary sentence length: Write the way people talk. Most people speak in phrases that vary in length, especially good public speakers. Write a mix of sentence lengths to keep the tempo lively.

4. Use the language of your audience: Writing for people who have specific technical knowledge? Use terms they understand, but sparingly. Too much jargon bores even the most technically-adept person.

Got that? Of course, this does require that you re-read and edit your stuff before you publish/submit/save. You do know that, don’t you? Of course you do…

Categories : Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy, Writing Great Press Releases

Best Writing Blogs Listed

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

I didn’t get an Academy nomination either, even though I am the best drama queen in my family, according to The Hubby. CoachEzines blog didn’t make this list, but that’s okay, we’re happy with our own little audience of faithful readers.

What these lists of Best Blogs always do for me (and should for you too), is make me aware of good content out there available to read and study. I didn’t know about some of these blogs, and will go there now to see what I’m missing.

Of course, Brian Clark’s Copyblogger comes in #1, and we couldn’t agree more. Here’s the list, from Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers the best blogs for writers:

  1. Brian Clark’s CopyBlogger
  2. Deborah Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs
  3. Tom Chandler’s Copywriter Underground
  4. Liz Strauss’s Successful-Blog
  5. Angela Booth’s Writing Blog
  6. Kristen King’s InkThinker
  7. Anne Wayman’s The Golden Pencil
  8. Carson Brackney’s Content Done Better
  9. Dianna Huff’s B2B Marcom Writer Blog
  10. Allison Winn Scotch’s Ask Allison

The question to you, my dear readers, is this: what other blogs do you love? Please share so that we can broaden our reading horizons. They don’t have to be about writing; please nominate your favorites that you recommend others like you should be reading. 

Categories : Blogs We Love

Identity: Who They Gonna Call?

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

The whole point of e-newsletters (and blogs) is so that when your readers need you, they remember you (hopefully in a good way) and will find you easily. They can call you up or email you to hire you, or buy your products and services.

Michael Katz of Blue Penguin writes about this in his recent ezine (always a fun read). He calls it Identifiability:

"Although apparently not a real word, this sums up an important aspect of being remembered. Because if I’m going to call you or pass your name along to a friend in need, you’ve got to pop into my head the moment someone mentions a desire for "blank" (with blank being whatever it is you do).

"…If your blank is clear and narrow (e.g. "Restaurant marketing guru," or "Financial planner for female small business owners," or "Bald, but oddly likeable E-Newsletter expert") you’ve got a good chance of coming to mind.

"If, on the other hand, you’re associated with a more generic label (e.g. "life coach" or "management consultant"), you’ll be competing with many more people, one of whom (rather than you) may pop into my head when I start thinking about who might fit the bill."

Read More→

Categories : Email Marketing Tips, Online Marketing, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog

The Coaching Electric: Andrea Lee Presents

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, December 4th, 2006

If you are a coach and want to use technology, then this teleseminar is for you:

The Coaching Electric: How to Be, Do and Have a Greater Coaching Impact Through Technology led by Andrea J. Lee

Coaching is human; Technology is not.  Yet new technologies have the potential to enable coaches to reach more people, and have a greater, deeper impact than previously thought possible. 

The process of exploring this leading edge requires us to deepen our coaching skills and strengthen our capacity for leadership. Expand your concept of what meaningful and profitable coaching looks like by visiting with these colorful and compassionate case studies. 

Caveat: Contrary to the topic, this is **NOT** a conversation about shiny, new (hint: distracting!) technology. On the contrary, in fact, I hope you will be pleasantly surprised as we go deeper into how the technology we’re already familiar with can be maximized.  In other words, technophobes are most welcome!! 🙂

Again, call details are here:

DATE/TIME: Tuesday December 5, 2006 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM Eastern (Duration: 2 hours)
LOCATION: Via Telephone Conference Line

And reserve your seat with this link:

http://tinyurl.com/tmaet

Categories : Teleclasses & Seminars

Blogs + Marketing: Call with Ellen Britt, Marketing Qi

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, December 4th, 2006

Not one, but two opportunities to join The Blog Squad this week:

Marketingqi On Tuesday, December 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET we are the featured guests on the Marketing Qi teleseries.  We’ll be talking about…BLOGS! 

You can register for the event here (no charge):

http://snipurl.com/MarketingQi

Categories : Teleclasses & Seminars
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