Archive for About Blogs – Page 21

Online Content Marketing:
What Do You Wish You Had Known?

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, April 30th, 2010

What do you wish you had known sooner? Done differently? When it comes to blogging or your online content marketing, what do you imagine could have been better?

Michael Martine of Remarkablogger asks this question and it’s a good one. Here’s what he says:

“What is something you wish you had done differently in the past regarding your blog? For some folks, it may be having a self-hosted blog sooner. Others wish they had known more about blog SEO or traffic-building. I wish I had known more about copywriting, information product creation, and email marketing  sooner.”

For me, it’s been learning about how the search engines work, keyword phrases, and how to make my content marketing efforts pay off in getting found on the Web.

How about you? What do you wish you had known or done earlier?

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

Smart Professionals with Dumb Blogs

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Help me please. If I read one more organizational change blog full of corporate speak and business jargon, I’m going to fall off my chair and hit my head on the desk on the way down. At least that will wake me up.

Listen, I know some of these blog authors are smart. They’ve got Ph.D.s. I know they can write, after all, they’ve written dissertations. Maybe like those people who work for government agencies, the problem is “they know too much.”

I also happen to know from having a few personal conversations with them, they have personalities and actually come across as bright, interesting, and down to earth people.

What happens when they go blogging? They pack too much into a sentence. Here are several blogging blunders smart people make with their blog writing. Read More→

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

Top 3 Content Marketing Challenges: Survey Results

By Patsi Krakoff
Sunday, April 25th, 2010
  1. How do I get more people to my site? I need more traffic
  2. How do I convince them to sign up? I need to build a list to market to.
  3. How do I convert readers to clients? I need to write content that influences action and makes sales.

These were the top three challenges you told me about in my recent Content Marketing Needs survey. (If you haven’t done so yet, you can still take the survey here:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q7GRSKX)

Which makes me think about something I often say about blogging being “the best darn marketing tool on the planet to get found, get known, and get clients.”

  • Get found: you need to attract the right people with traffic to your site
  • Get known: you need to get people subscribed to your blog or e-newsletter so they can get to know you with consistent posts that build trust and relationships
  • Get clients: you need to publish content that gets readers to take action and invest in your products and services

Like the old song, you can’t have one without the other.  And yet, some professionals give me the impression they are spending their time and energy in the wrong places. Some of you are working hard on one out of the three key elements, ignoring the others. (I know, there’s only so much time in a day. Maybe I can help you integrate these marketing systems, though.)

Which one are you good at? In which area are you weak? Which one would you be wise to invest in learning? Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

Readers Want Traffic-Building Tips

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, April 23rd, 2010

I’ve been getting some really interesting comments from people who are taking my 10-question survey on their Web marketing needs.

Content Marketing Needs Survey

If you haven’t taken this survey yet, please do so now. I need to know what your challenges are because I’m planning to offer some good workshops soon, and want to be sure you get what you need.

So far, there’s a large percentage of people who want a class in traffic-building and search tactics. Running a close second, however, is a class on writing promotional copy.  So I will more than likely offer both these courses.

If you haven’t run a survey lately, I urge you to do so. It’s fascinating to read what people are challenged by, as well as get to know their occupations. It will take me some time to go through and tally up the answers, but what great blog fodder…

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

Finding What You’re Good At:
What Makes You Special?

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Spaghelli What part of your business doesn’t seem like work to you at all? That’s the stuff you’re good at, isn’t it? That could very well be what makes you special and unique in your business.

In your marketing, you need to have a clearly defined USP, or unique selling proposition. This is a short statement of what you do and what makes you different, special, better than the competition.

In the photo example, if you make spaghetti and you’re a Mexican Chiuahua, you’ve probably got the best Italo-Mexican restaurant in town. There’s no question you’re different from the others, but if you don’t spell it out, it may go unnoticed.

Your statement should roll off your tongue whenever someone asks what you do, or what your company does. It’s equally important to have it clear in your mind each and every time you write content designed to market your business. Especially in your blog posts.

If you’re not frequently reminding your readers how and why you’re good at what you do, you’re missing a chance to influence them to buy from you or hire you. What may seem obvious to the chihuahua who makes great Italian spaghetti, may not be so obvious to visitors… let me elaborate.

Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Online Marketing

The Nuances of Writing About Yourself on the Web:
10 Content Marketing Tips

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

What’s the most difficult thing about marketing your services to people on the Web? If you’re someone who sells your expertise, like a doctor, lawyer, an executive coach, any kind of consultant, it’s probably hard for you to toot your own horn.

Unless you’re a raving narcissist, you probably struggle to publish a blog where your goal is to look like the smartest in your niche. And yet you must, if you want to get found, get known and get clients.

You can write about what you’re an expert in, share your knowledge, and talk about your work with the people you’re helping. But even if you’re the world’s number 1 best at what you do, this challenge is one of the most difficult:

How do you build trust with readers who land on your blog or website in 25 seconds?

(Because that may be all you have to impress them. Studies show that people usually spend 25-35 seconds on a web page.)

One of my clients is a successful coach. She helps high-achieving executives become better at what they do. And  she’d love for other people to know how good she is at doing what she does, because she’d love to help more people.

She hasn’t started her blog yet, because she’s not clear how she would convey her message. She knows she’s good at what she does, but doesn’t want to come across as a “know-it-all,” when it comes to coaching people to make lasting improvements in their lives.

Here are 10 tips professionals in any field can use to write about themselves on the Web and get marketing results. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, On Writing Better
Tags : , ,

How Professionals Build Trust on the Web:
“What I Believe Is…”

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, April 19th, 2010

What’s the best web or blog site you’ve seen lately that does a good job of representing a professional?

For me, it’s the site of Dr. Frank Lipman, MD.

I love this site because right away, in the first seconds, you are drawn into reading his key quotes, and you know exactly what kind of man this is, and what business he’s in.

This site is well done. This is how professionals can build trust on the Web. This is good content marketing for the professional service provider.

If you’re in any kind of service business, if you’re a doctor, lawyer, coach, consultant, author, speaker, you know how important the trust factor is. People want to know you, first, then more about your business options.

Trust is one the hardest things to build into the “blink” factor on a web site. It’s one thing to grab readers’ attention with great headlines and clever tag lines. It’s another level of challenge when the stakes are serious like health, wealth, and life satisfaction.

Does anyone know how they did that revolving banner at the top? Please let me know, because I want one for a client. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

Writing on the Web: Letting Go of the Words

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 15th, 2010

I think the Web is fascinating, don’t you? Yet frustrating. So much information, so many ways to entertain yourself, so many ways to get sucked into a time machine fantasy world.

Twelve billion web pages… and most of them talking about themselves, saying nothing that’s easy to understand in a blink…

It’s not unlike Alice in Wonderland, it can be anything you want it to be. I’m reading a good book called Letting Go of the Words, by Ginny Redish.

This is a really good book for anyone charged with writing on the Web. In fact, it’s a must-read for anyone with a website or blog. If you’re a fan of usability and you’d like to improve your site’s performance with better writing, definitely get this book.

Here’s what two really smart people who know the web well say about this book: Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Books, Content Marketing, Writing for the Web

Search Engines Are Stupid… Help Them Out

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Are you spread too thin? Over-committed? Is your blog too confusing, too many topics, too many choices for readers to make?

Oh, and by the way, how are your search engine results? Do you come up on the first page when people do a search for the problems you solve?

I’ve been told by someone who knows business blogging that I’m “diluted.” No, not “deluded,” in the psychological sense, although that might also play into it. “Diluted” in that it’s not clear. At least, I think that’s what he means.

I don’t think I’m the only self-employed entrepreneur that suffers from the problem of trying to cover too many bases, of trying to attract too many kinds of people, of offering too many products and services.

The key point my expert was trying to drive home is that online, you can’t afford to be “all over the map.” Why? Because search engines are stupid. They don’t understand variety and nuances. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars, Writing for the Web

How to Win a Blogging Award

By Patsi Krakoff
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Can you claim your blog to be award-winning? What kind of prize do you think you’d get if they put you on a best blog list? Most original? Best resource for time-saving tips? Most helpful, profound, smart? Funniest?

The first time I got onto Joe Pulizzi’s Top42 Content Marketing Blogs, back in 2007, I was kinda surprised. And extremely flattered, since I was in the company of some of the top blogs I look up to for inspiration, like Copyblogger, Online Marketing Blog, Conversation Agent, and Web Ink Now.

Now, 3 years later, the pool has quadrupled, and I’m still in the top ten… This quarter, this blog ranks #5. I’m very proud, but more than that, I’m grateful. Being on this list has added more than a few smart readers to the subscriber list, and put me in contact with some great people.

It is also makes getting up early to write everyday worth it, it contributes to my motivation and inspires me to write better.

I want to share with you what the benefits of being on an award list, and what I’ve done since to try to stay on the list. I think there are some good lessons for other bloggers. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Content for Coaches and Consultants

Serenity Virtual Assistant Services

Social Buzz Club

get your bright idea known