Archive for About Blogs – Page 31

Learn to Blog Smart & Make an Instant Global Impact

As a follow up to my previous post, let me be clear, really clear:

Join Andy Wibbels to Get Unscrewed

How to Make an Instant Global Impact
with a Content Marketing Blog

Aff-igi-screwed-125x125 I no longer do "how-to-blog" teleseminars, although I am planning some workshops on Content Marketing with Blogs, focusing on the creative writing and content parts.

It's true, and I know it's a bit strong to say this, but if you don't have a blog, you're screwed.

Here's an opportunity to learn from one of the best guys… I'm a big fan of Andy Wibbels, author of BlogWild, and he's doing a new updated blogging and social media course. If you haven't been on a teleseminar call with Andy, you don't know what you're missing!

Here's what it's all about: There's a free call this Wednesday October 7 at 9 p.m. ET with an overview of blogging basics, and so you can find out more about this 6-week teleseminar series.

When I'm talking with clients, I find that many people are still confused about blogs and social media, and how they work together to make money. If you're one of the confused, or a reluctant blogger, then you should join blogging expert Andy Wibbels for a free call on how to use blogs and social media to conquer your niche, make thousands and achieve instant global impact.

Free registration: preview blogging and social media call with expert and all-around great guy Andy Wibbels, on how to make Instant Global Impact.

7 Steps to Playing a Much Bigger Game

Steps_white I was in my writer’s group last week, and our groups’ most successful writer leaned over and whispered to me, “How do you stay motivated and come up with compelling content for your blog every day? I’m struggling…”

“Oh, that’s easy, I just think of all the readers, new clients, and money I lose when I don’t write.” I was half-way joking, but it’s true. If I want to stay successful, I spend 30-60 minutes blogging every day.

Want to know the real truth? And the reason I think she has this trouble staying motivated and sustaining blog energy? She’s not clear. She’s afraid of certain things like what to write, what not to write, how personal, etc.

She hasn’t done the basic preparation work. Before starting any blog, I tell people to sit down and clarify purpose, audience, and a few key details.

I’ve got an important (free) opportunity if you want to go beyond your current level, please read on:

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The SEO Song: White Hat / Black Hat Blues?

by Guest author Jenny Pilley, The Creare Group

BlackHat
Earlier this year I was invited, very kindly, by Patsi to be a guest blogger. Since receiving the invite it’s an offer I’ve been keen to accept, but time passed and I had yet to respond…until recently.

I am a Content Writer for The Creare Group, a web design and (White Hat) SEO company based in the UK. Like many companies, we have been promoting our services as a means of helping all businesses, including those struggling in the economic down turn.

Since speaking to various small and medium sized companies, we have discovered underlying problems within the SEO community. These have involved illegitimate, dishonest and down right disgraceful ‘Black Hat’ SEO agencies.

They have contacted many business owners, promising them Page One Position One listings for Organic Search Engine Optimization within an impossible timeframe.

But of course there are a mass of small and medium companies that:

a)    Want to be the first search result

BUT

b)    Do not understand the logistics of SEO

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Most Influential Content Marketing Leaders List +
101 Great Blogs You Should Be Subscribing To

Woman_in_rollers_blowing_her_nose

As if toothaches and root canals weren't enough to keep me down, I've been attacked by a cold. No, not the flu, but a good old-fashioned cold, sniffles and coughing included. Instead of whining, let me just blow my nose horn for a few paragraphs…

Yesterday the lovely Ambal Balakrishnan, co-founder of ClickDocuments (@Ambal) announced a great list of Most Influential Content Marketing Thought Leaders. I'm so proud to be among such good company. This list has all the content marketing leaders on it.

Plus, it's a share group so you can follow all of them on Twitter with just one click, how cool is that! The share group of twitterati is on a site called TweepML, and it's easy to use. Go check it out. But wait, there's more!

This morning I awoke to the news of being on a great list, Kevin Muldoon's 101 Great Blogs You Should Be Subscribing to.

This is a super list of great business blogs in different categories, and I am on the section that lists writing blogs. I highly recommend you find the blogs that can help you in your quest to become better at marketing what you do on the Internet.

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Content Marketing with Blogs:
When Blogging is Like a Toothache

Ist1_2871873_horrible_surgeon

Is writing on your blog a pleasant and easy task for you? Or is it sometimes worse than getting a tooth pulled? If so, I'm thinking of you this week.

The tooth fairy turned into a wicked witch and sent me to the dentist's for two root canals over the weekend. I don't write well on pain meds and antibiotics. I forgot a friend's birthday party. And I'm barely getting my work done. Fortunately, two root canals in Mexico cost under $250, a far cry from US prices. But even so, it hurts!

Here's what's new: If you haven't downloaded Content Marketing with Blogs, do so now. I've added a bonus report 5 Questions for Writing Web Content that Gets Results. Here's what this free ebook provides:

  • 4 reasons blogs fail
  • Why good content isn't enough
  • 4 keys to having a great blog
  • 7 step formula for online marketing success
  • The new shift in content marketing focus
  • What's required for the 21st century

If you want your blog to work as the most powerful marketing tool on the planet, (which it is, or should be!), then you need to know a few things. This report is the latest information and summarizes it all into simple steps.

Don't struggle with your blog any more. Make your content marketing writing tasks easy. No more pain.

5 Questions to Ask for Writing Great Web Content
#1: What’s the Problem?

Problems

Organize and simplify your Web writing by asking 5 important questions:

  1. What is the problem (pain, predicament)?
  2. Why hasn't this problem been solved?
  3. What is possible?
  4. What is different now?
  5. What should you do now?

As you write your copy, you should cover each of the answers. This will keep you on task, and lead your readers through to action. I suppose it depends on what you're writing, but I can't think of many web pages, blog posts, newsletter articles where these 5 questions wouldn't be appropriate.

I've been re-reading Maria Velosa's Web Copy that Sells this week. Her blueprint for creating simple copy that works to market your products and services is clear. There's a reason it's organized this way.

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A Simple Blueprint for Writing Web Content that Gets Results

WebCopythatSells

The rules haven't changed, but it's surprising how many people start writing on the web without regard for the basics. Many people focus on the medium, the latest shiny tool: the blog, the Twitter tweets, and Facebook updates, without regard for the basic rules of writing copy for the Web.

Content marketing is a buzz word because marketing people like new buzzes, and it sure beats writing advertisements that get ignored. But smart marketers know the rules and never forget them. Even if the Internet changes at lightening speed, the writing basics for copy are the same.

I'm a newbie, I've only been writing marketing copy for ten years. Before that, I was a journalist and a psychologist so I wrote feature articles and academic papers. Writing content for marketing is different. It's designed to produce an action, most often sales.

Every once in a while, I go back to the basics. A standard learning tool for many copywriters is Maria Veloso's Web Copy that Sells, originally published in 2004. The 2nd edition is now out and I've been reviewing and re-reading it. Good stuff.

Here's a recap of some really key nuggets from this book:

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Boring, Banal and Full of Bull-shitake:
How to Write Better than That

Boring_nerd_2

I spent the weekend doing research…well, not entirely, I played tennis, went to the movies, watched HBO and laughed a lot with my hubby. But work wise, I've been visiting a lot of blogs and sites lately, researching what makes for good content marketing and bad.

Newt Barrett does a terrific job of highlighting sites that get Content Marketing right as well as those who miss the boat over on his Content Marketing Today blog. I always learn better when I can see samples of what works and what doesn't work. I'm sure you do too.

However, I am a little stymied in my quest to find bad samples of content marketing on blogs. Why? It's not that there aren't bad sites and bad content on the Web. There's a lot of garbage. But mostly what I find is mediocrity.

Many bloggers are writing reasonable content. And they're probably getting some results. Most blog writers are just barely scraping the surface of what needs to be said. I believe most of you can do better than that.

Mediocrity Sucks

I hate mediocrity, because you can't really disagree with it or get excited, or anything. It's just a waste of my time to read the same old things. With mediocrity, you can't quite put your finger on it, but you know it stinks.

Okay, let me be frank. I think there are a lot of boring blogs that could be much better. People are regurgitating what others are saying. Sometimes they add their own perspectives, sometimes not. But mostly they're trying to post as much content as possible, without really saying anything new.

Boring, banal and bull–shitake, is what I'm really thinking. In fact, I know for sure that one professional is merely copying and pasting posts from other people (me!) and republishing them as her own. Besides being borderline illegal, and not very Kosher, it's boring. Been there, read that. Please don't bore me with old news.

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The Mysterious Case of the Hidden Blogs

Blog1

I am really proud when dear clients take to blogging and regularly post good content and become passionate voices in the Blogosphere. But I've just got to vent a little here. One of my pet peeves just got me going again.

Here's how this went down this morning…I set off to visit two of my favorite executive coaches who've started blogging. My intention was to highlight their good work, you know, show off what two intelligent yet busy professionals were doing about their content marketing.

So I went to their websites because I couldn't quite remember the names or the URLs of their blogs. No problem, found their websites easily. Even without knowing their exact business names or site URLs, these two come up all over page one when you do a Google search for their names. I expected that and that was the easy part.

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