Archive for Attracting Clients – Page 20

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

What to Do When People Ignore Your Web Words

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, April 16th, 2010

“In one study reported by Nielsen and Loranger, web users spent on average less than 2 minutes before deciding to abandon a site.” Letting Go of the Words, by Ginny Redish

In another report from this same study, the average home page visit lasted 25-35 seconds. Talk about the “blink” affect… wow, that’s not much time to grab their attention.

I can think of two ways for grab people’s attention when they land on your site, your blog, or any page you’ve published on the web:

  • Animated pictures
  • Asking questions

The first one means either adding drawings, like a cartoon (which may not be appropriate for your audience) or a video with moving pictures. Let’s face it, even the most serious adult eye is attracted to cartoons and movies.

The other choice for capturing attention is to ask really good questions, like a survey,poll or quiz (and not, how-do-you-like-me? type questions). Everyone has an opinion and wants to express it.

But what’s a busy professional without staff or big bucks to do? Here one suggestion: Use video clips and a survey. Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
Tags : , ,

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

7 Fascinating Content Marketing Triggers

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, April 12th, 2010

Sally Hogshead has written a captivating book that I’m still reading, called Fascinate.

David McGraw, a member of Leading Coaches, wrote a great review of her book on the Leading Coaches’ Center, which you can check out HERE.

There’s also a cool website where you to answer 28 quickie questions and get back instant results on your fascination score (or F Score as she calls it) and how to use it in your marketing. Very interesting…

It turns out my primary trigger is Mystique. I’m not sure being mysterious is a top quality for someone doing marketing, but hey, maybe I can intrigue and pique your curiosity! Mystique and Prestige are the two triggers I seem to gravitate towards, according to her F test.

In other words, when I’m writing on the web for content marketing purposes, I’m often trying to fascinate you by appealing to your sense of wanting to know more, and becoming the best you can be at blogging or marketing, (or at least getting you to look like you’re the best.)

For example, I’m really proud to have been named #5 Top Content Marketing Blog by Joe Pulizzi’s organization. I’m hoping to leverage that blogging award not just to impress my readers and friends, but to try to show you how you can also gain prestige with your own blogs. I want you to be the best in your field, and I want your blogs to show it.

Which triggers are you using in your business to persuade and captivate not only prospective clients, but current clients? Have you ever thought about this?

You have seven potential fascination triggers: Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing

Invisible Content Marketing: Is Your Attitude Showing?

By Patsi Krakoff
Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Funnyguy When I work with smart, successful people it’s usually to help with their blogs, newsletters, social media and content marketing strategies. And often there’s more to marketing than meets the eye. Much more that the actual words you use…

Most content marketing elements are easily visible. That’s a good thing, because it’s easy to see what’s been done and what works. (Also, what stinks, so to speak.)

But the stuff behind the visible stuff counts a lot. I call it the Invisible Content Marketing. It’s what’s inside the person doing the marketing and the writing that matters. You can’t write without bringing out your character, especially if you’re writing in the first person about things.

Invisible Content Marketing is your attitude. It’s your “tone of voice” on paper or the screen. It’s your personality and your values and …all that stuff that makes you attractive, or arrogant, or sweet, or bitchy, or whiny, or cool, really cool.

Of course you don’t have to be a trained psychologist like I am to know that what’s inside a person really matters, nor do you need a graduate degree to pick up on the attitudes and values of someone when they “speak” to you on the Web.

Every time you write content for your business, people are “listening” to your tone of voice, trying to pick up your attitude, values, and trust-worthiness. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing
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What Is Intelligent Content Marketing?

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Blue-man-student Good question, similar to "what's a great restaurant" or "what makes for a beautiful woman?" No one right answer and it depends on who the "consumer" is.

My recent post on books for intelligent content marketing shows my preference for psychology and how people think. Obviously, when it comes to writing on the Web for business purposes, you've got to consider the preferences of your readers/clients/prospective buyers.

I'm reading a book called Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, by Sally Hogshead. This is an unbelievably intelligent book that will fascinate your socks off and give you a barrel full of ideas for content marketing.

Fascinate explains the triggers behind viral marketing campaigns. I've never read anything quite like it before. Although many of the stories are familiar to me, Ms. Hogshead puts them into a marketing context.

Whether the book talks about fascinating personalities or products, it's enlightening and useful from a marketing viewpoint.

Here are the 7 triggers that cause us to be fascinated by people and stuff:

Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Books, Content Marketing, On Writing Better

9 Must-Read Books for Intelligent Content Marketing

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, March 29th, 2010

What are you reading? You may not have much time to keep up with the latest biz books in your field. But some of us (me) spend a lot of time reading. Let me share with you what I'm reading now that I think is really worthwhile.

Different-thinking-concept You may wonder how these relate to writing on the web, or marketing, but trust me, they do. Psychology is the meaningful connection linking marketing to people in any field or profession.

Here's what's on my night table, my desk, my lounge chair out by the pool, and next to my stationary exercise bike:

What's on your reading list?

Categories : About Blogs, Article Ideas, Attracting Clients, Books, Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

3 Big Reasons to Survey Your People

By Patsi Krakoff
Friday, March 26th, 2010

Question_mark When did you last survey your clients and prospects? Are you asking your people good questions?

There are 3 big reasons you need to be asking your potential and current clients questions:

  1. You need to find out who they are: demographics and psychographics.
  2. You need to find out what they want: what are their challenges, what products would they like, what kinds of services they'd pay money for.
  3. You also want to get their feedback, especially from those who have used your products and services.

Yesterday we had a fantastic Webinar with Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert of MySurveyExpert.com. Jeanne is the go-to person when you want to create surveys and quizzes that work to grow your business. As a Ph.D. sociologist and professor, she's worked with some big name companies as well as some entrepreneurs like Tony Robbins.

Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Pathway to Profits, Teleclasses & Seminars

Webinars Rock, except when they don’t…

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Internet-call We had a GotoWebinar system malfunction yesterday, and are rescheduling the Survey Webinar with Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert for next Thursday, March 25, 2010, 4 p.m. EDT (will be recorded.)

If you've already registered, no need to do anything; you'll get notification of the event access codes.

These things are so frustrating when they happen, and I feel bad for those of you who patiently waited on the call and on the Web. To make it up, Jeanne is offering access to some really great videos on surveys, as well as a $100 discount coupon for her survey creation wizard. We promise to make up for the inconvenience and annoyance this may have caused.

To register, go here: How to Use Surveys & Quizzes to Attract, Sell & Profit. (I'm an affiliate of MySurveyExpert.com and proud of it.)

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars
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