Author Archive for Patsi Krakoff – Page 75

Content Marketing Review Winner: Dan Seidman, Sales Autopsy

By Patsi Krakoff
Saturday, April 11th, 2009

DanSeidman Dan Seidman of Sales Autopsy is our lucky winner of a Content Marketing Review. I'm selecting one winner from random entries every Friday (you can sign up here: Content Marketing Review).

I don't think this review is going to be difficult since Dan is doing so many things right.

  • He has a problem/soluion focused website with plenty of content pages
  • He gives readers a choice: text, audio, video
  • He has articles
  • He has a blog
  • He has a newsletter
  • To top it off he has a store with unique products that support his work and markets his services (a best-selling book, CDs, MP3, a sales comic book, and (I love this) a video game about sales reps!

Congratulations and bravo, Dan! I'm looking forward to providing you with a content marketing review on what's great, what's good, and …what's missing. My own little content autopsy…

Categories : Content Marketing

Content Marketing: How to Win a Free Review

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Napkin-sketches-people
  What challenges do you face when it comes to writing great content that markets your business? Do you feel as if you've got the whole "content marketing thing" under your belt?

Or are you like many professionals, scratching your head every time a new buzz word like this gets started?

How do you know if you're "doing" content marketing right? How do you know if it's going to work for your business, in your niche, with your clients?

And, come on, let's get clear. How do you know if "Content Marketing" isn't just another way of dressing up sneeky copywriting tactics to look like they're goin' to Church?

I have an idea. Actually, you'd be helping me out as much as I'd be helping you to understand how Content Marketing works for your business.

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

Why a Content Marketing Strategy Review Matters

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 9th, 2009

Content Marketing Matters!

It really does. As I wrote previously, we are in the Dawn of a New Content Marketing Era and Telling Beats Selling.

Advertising isn’t working.

Content Matters

But if that doesn’t bring up a lot of questions for you, it should.

How do you write content that’s interesting and informs, but at the same time sells you, your products and your services?

When you write content that markets for your business, you face certain challenges.

On the one hand, you write so that readers will get to know you, like you and trust you.

Then, you turn around and blurt out, “Oh, and by the way, BUY MY STUFF!” Uh-huh. No, I don’t think so, that doesn’t work.

To top it off, you may be an independent entrepreneur or a small business without a large budget to hire copywriters and web content specialists. You may write your web pages yourself. You publish your own blog, plus an e-newsletter.

How do you learn to “do” content marketing in a way that works for your business, your targeted audience?

Ah, so many questions, so few answers. While there are a few content marketing books published, and a few more are in the works, there aren’t too many places to learn what you need to know.

Your content should be reviewed for how well it:

  • Grabs readers’ attention
  • Focuses on a solution to a problem 
  • Educates and informs
  • Entertains and engages readers
  • Enriches the lives of readers
  • Inspires action
  • Comes up in search results for main keywords
  • Gets the results you want to achieve

You can get your blog and website content strategies reviewed for a small fee. I usually work with small businesses and independent professionals and partnerships. For more information, please read this page, How Can I Help You?

Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : , , ,

8 Ways to Find New Ideas for Writing Content

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

Searching1
Sometimes the obvious is so close to your nose you can't see it. I just spent the last 30 minutes searching for an idea that would make a good blog post about writing on the Web and content marketing.

One of the best ways to get ideas for content is by cruising over to MyAlltop page to read a few of my favorite bloggers for inspiration. Even if I don't find something, I always get an education and a feel for what's going on in the world of marketing and content strategies. For example, Problogger is a great resource of ideas.

Darren Rowse is challenging readers of Problogger.net to a 31 Day Build a Better Blog effort. Today is day 3. His suggestion from Day 2 is Write a List Post.

Ah-hah! It suddenly struck me… I can make a list post of the eight ways to search for inspiration and information for writing content for a blog post. Here we go.

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Writing Great Blog Content

Website, Blog, Ezine? 3 Questions, 1 Big Fat Suggestion

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, April 6th, 2009

Http-yoursite
Here are the top 3 questions I get emailed about:

  1. If I don't have a website yet, should I start a blog? (Or, if I start with a blog, do I really need a website?)
  2. If I have a blog, should I also do a newsletter? (Or, If I have a newsletter should I do a blog?)
  3. Should I go with WordPress or Typepad for my blogging platform?

Here are my 3 answers:

  1. Yes (and yes)
  2. Yes (and yes)
  3. It depends

Don't you love it when I give short answers? So rare, too. Well I could go into all the reasoning behind my answers, and qualify each according to who's asking the question and what their needs are.

Here's my current thinking…

Check out the options offered by Men with Pens. They offer WordPress blog customization, web design, and copywriting services.

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Online Marketing

Web Writing Tips from Brain Traffic: for Dummies, Smarties, Oldies, and Newbies

By Patsi Krakoff
Sunday, April 5th, 2009

Man-and-pen
A great post over on Brain Traffic by Elizabeth Saloka. Here is an excerpt of her good writing for the web tips:

  1. Trim fat. Keep your content – sentences, paragraphs, etc. – short and sweet.
  2. Stay focused. As you’re writing, stop and ask yourself: Is what I’m writing relevant?
  3. Don’t exceed 60 words per paragraph. Better to break after one or two sentences.
  4. Honor thy bulleted lists. Three items? You should bullet. Ten items? Definitely bullet. This will help your readers quickly assess, divide, and digest information. 
  5. Avoid fluff and cutting-edge, innovative corporate-speak. Readers can smell it a mile away. 
  6. Speak to the audience as ‘you.’ Make them feel special, like you’re speaking directly to them. Remember, conversational.
  7. Talk like a human. Make sure you don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness. Also, don’t get overly grammatical. Sometimes it’s better to break a few grammar rules than to sound stuffy.
  8. Stay grounded. Don’t fall in love with your writing. You’ll lose perspective. And, you’ll probably be less open to constructive client feedback.

Want to dig deeper? Check out the Brain Traffic blog, more about content strategies, and Kristina Halvorsen’s book recommendations.

Categories : Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

3 Rules for Writing Content for Your Business Blog

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Nib_tip
I just read a great post over on the Marketing Professor blog by Travis Campbell, 3 Rules for Using Twitter for Business. These same three rules should apply to all of your content marketing, but they are particularly relevant for writing content on your business blog.

(Travis must be doing this right, because I found him on Twitter and I'd never heard of him or his excellent blog before today.)

1. Have a Strategy. Here are some strategy points to consider:

Give them a reason to read: Is your content useful to your target market? Do your blog posts give readers insight into you as a person, as well as useful information?

Show them you care: You have to be more than a lecturer or teacher. Get real. Be human.

Mix it up: While building a profile for business, remember people ultimately do business with with people. Feel free to mix up your updates with some of your own questions, observations, and your personality.

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

Content Marketing Pioneers: The Dawn of a New Era

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Evolution
"Content Marketing" is the Buzz-du-Jour among marketers everywhere, both on and offline. But it really isn't anything new.

Smart marketers have been using these "new" writing techniques and content strategies for decades. Direct marketers, in their long sales letters, are expert at this. The "advertorial" has been around and used on the Internet for more than a decade. Aren't we just renaming copywriting techniques?

Why the big hullabaloo now? Why are so many experts rushing to get a Content Marketing book published? (5 Content Marketing Books You Need to Read) Why all the blog posts and Twitter Tweets … Content Marketing Top Blogs, Content Marketing sites?

Something's a-foot!

…I've always had a nose for shifts and major upheavals. Here's what I think is happening on a big picture level:

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

The BS Bailout: Free Better Business Blog Writing Program Bonus

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, March 30th, 2009

Splatted-tomato
I absolutely hate using my writing blog to promote a sale, so I ask your indulgence just this one time. Don't throw tomatoes.

Actually, you may love me for this, especially if you want to get your business blog spiffed up AND get a valuable bonus program on Better Blog Writing.

Now that I think more about this, you'll have a chance to learn about the 10% nuances that make a blog get results or not. Because that's often the difference between a blog that works and one that doesn't…it's often just the little nuances.

One of the best programs I ever did with Denise Wakeman as The Blog Squad was our Better Business Blog Writing Program. Here's how you can get it for free…

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content

The Blog Squad Bailout: Last Chance to Get a Blog Squad Blog or Makeover

By Patsi Krakoff
Sunday, March 29th, 2009

Blogger-with-community
What do smart professionals do when they decide to start a business blog? They call The Blog Squad to set up their blog, and learn how to use it for business results. Or they get a Blog Squad Makeover for an existing blog.

However, you won't be able to do that after March 31, 2009.

March 31, 2009 will be the last time you can get blog set up and training with our personal attention. The Ultimate Business Blog Set Up Program is being taken off the market. That means you've only got a few more days to get your blog with our help. After that, we're outsourcing to other resources.

If you're smart, you'll take advantage of this last special offer, a 25% discount for this service. You'll save $500.

Even if you already have a blog, and especially if you're not getting results with it, you should read more about how our special coupon can be applied to an Extreme Blog Makeover as well:

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Blogs We Love, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
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