I ran across this great slide share about how content marketing works on Vizedu from Sandeep Arora, but there’s something missing. Don’t get me wrong, I love this explanation of what content marketing is, how it works, and the difference from traditional marketing.
In order for your readers to find you, read your content, and remember you, you’ve got to grab their attention, spark an emotional engagement, and get them to take action.
How do you do this? Read More→
Content marketing through blogging is like playing tennis. You get results through consistency, practice and persistence.
Is your blog like my tennis, a hit or a miss? Are you writing posts that are clear winners for your readers? Are you serving quality, relevant content within the lines of your readers’ needs?
As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently returned from tennis camp in Texas. It was great: I played good tennis, and all the players that were there were good. As my playing improved through the week, I thought of how it applies to content marketing– specifically, blogging.
Persistence and control is the name of the game. My weak spot can be impatience: if I get impatient in a rally, my energy turns to aggression, and I’ll end the point with a whopping drive… clear out of the court.
I know people who blog like that. They write 600-900 words every few weeks, then wonder why they aren’t getting search traffic.
Blogging for your business doesn’t work that way. Steady as you go, writing at least twice a week, at least 350 words, focusing on the keywords that drive results for your business, mixing information with stories, always keeping the reader in mind. Read More→
One universal truth about blog readers is that fresh content will keep them coming back and reading your blog again and again. But there are so many kinds of blog posts that attract readers that it’s hard to choose. Too many choices lead to blog blocks. Here are six types of blog posts you can write easily and quickly.
We’ve talked endlessly about what to do when you’re in a blogging slump and how to come up with new content. So now, let’s talk about some types of blog posts that your readers might like to see: Read More→
Does your website answer readers’ questions? This is a key element of a smart content marketing strategy. You must devote a few key content pages to answering readers’ questions about your business products and services.
Otherwise you’re not helping them solve their problems. You won’t keep visitors on your site for long; it will be “click and bye-bye.” Read More→
I’ve been blogging recently about how experts need to publish their own ebooks as part of their strategy to get found, get known, and get clients through online content marketing.
Here are 10 questions to ask yourself before you write a single word of your expert ebook:
Download the questionnaire here: www.Ebooks4Experts.com.
Over 10 years ago, professionals started using blogs to communicate to clients. As co-founder of The Blog Squad, I proclaimed blogs to be ‘the best darned marketing tool on the planet!’
To some extent they still are, but the key for experts is to excel with quality content. A blog is only one channel for online content marketing, along with social media networking sites. Another key communication channel is publishing expert ebooks. Read More→
In my current series of posts about writing ebooks, I’m primarily addressing the challenges of experts who want to write and publish a digital book, for example, on Amazon.
Who, exactly, is an expert? Who qualifies? I don’t know that there’s any definition or standard that one must go by. To me, my clients are professionals such as doctors, lawyers, consultants, coaches, speakers and educated people who’ve been practicing their skills for 20, 30 or more years. They’re experts.
Wikipedia defines an expert as someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, or occupation and in a particular area of study.
I guess just about anybody can call themselves an expert, especially if they have knowledge and skills that others don’t. Writing and publishing an ebook doesn’t make you an expert, but it certainly shows your knowledge, experience and value as such.
Why Write an Ebook instead of a Printed Book?
There is no denying the shift that is happening in the book industry: ebooks are on the rise and here to stay. Check out some of the latest industry data:
Reports from Amazon
Most experts I know believe that by publishing an ebook, they’ll get known by a larger number of people. They’ll establish credibility by writing about what they know best. They’ll connect with readers who may have exactly the kinds of problems they can solve.
To me, writing and publishing an expert ebook not only makes sense, but is a requirement for anyone who wants to use the Web to get found, get known and get clients. What do you think?
(Image: freedigitalphotos.net)
Starting to write your expert ebook is not the first step. What comes before ebook writing is key –
Without smart preparation, you’ll find yourself bogged down with too much information and lack of focus. Fortunately there are online tools that will help you discover more about your ebook topic.
Amazon.com makes it easy for you to find out other titles, readers’ reviews and sales results. Survey tools like SurveyMonkey makes polling easy. As an expert, you can ask colleagues as well as clients for their ideas and opinions. And of course you can use social media pages to ask for other people’s perspectives. Read More→
Experts know a lot. Of course they do, any professional who’s been gathering experience for 20, 30, even 40 years has a lot to say. But many experts think they can pour out everything they know into an ebook and readers will want to buy and read it.
I call this the fire-hose writing approach. Give them everything you’ve got and hope that you hit a nerve that resonates.
You could be wrong. Readers don’t really want to know everything about your field of expertise. They mostly just want to fix a problem they’re having.
The biggest mistake experts make when writing an ebook is to focus on what they know instead of on what readers want to learn.
Reader Focused Writing
This is why you must shift your focus when writing an expert ebook from your expertise to how your readers and clients struggle.
For example, when listing a table of contents that takes the reader from A to Z – everything you know about coaching and goal setting – just to pick an example – your ebook contents needs to go directly to the reader, what he/she struggles with, why traditional solutions don’t work, what new solution you offer, and how the reader will benefit.
In other words, smart experts write an ebook following this progression:
This is not a new concept, but it can’t be emphasized enough when it comes to writing quality digital content designed to highlight your expertise in an expert ebook. Those ebook writers who start writing with a reader-centered focus will not only have an easier time writing their book, but they will also end up with greater appeal to their audience.
In website design, this is called “user-centered design” process. It’s frequently used in product development and R & D. In brief, it’s a process for creating products and services that work well for the end users. You create your design to help people achieve their goals in ways that will work for them.
As an expert, you should already know your targeted audience well since you’ve been working with them for years. Maybe they’ve changed, and if so, you need to find out what their frustrations are. Find the “sweet spot,” what they most want to discover.
Then help them understand and discover solutions they may not have thought of.
Readers don’t want to know everything you know, they don’t want to become experts. They want to fix what’s wrong and your job is to help them understand how to do that in plain language.
I’m guessing that the biggest problem that experts have in writing about their own field is that, like the spy who gets killed, “they know too much.”
Instead of blasting readers with a fire-hose, target their problem and pain with a small fire-extinguisher. It’s much kinder, don’t you think? Don’t ruin your chances of successfully publishing an expert ebook that helps you get found, get known, and get clients.
(Photo: freedigitalphotos.net)
In this series of blog posts about writing an expert ebook, we explore these questions about digital content writing, or content marketing:
Or, is it any different? Most people I know, including many of my clients for whom I ghost write and edit, assume that all book writing is the same. They try to follow the rules of style and grammar learned in school.
They could be wrong. If there’s one thing rapidly changing technology has taught us is to question everything. Don’t assume anything.
What worked for Dickens and Hemingway won’t necessarily work for you on the Web. It might work, but then again it probably won’t. Read More→
If your business blog needs to get inbound links, here’s a prime example of how to do it. Pay attention to this tactic, it’s easy, it’s smart blog marketing and a great way to get other blogs linking to you, thereby improving your search rankings.
I’ve talked about creating your own Top 10 lists before, and it still makes sense, even more so given the way SEO works today.
Recently our blog here, WritingontheWeb.com showed up on a list of the Top 25 Must-Read Content Marketing Blogs. Well, we’re listed as #24, but hey! Who cares?
Author Jennifer Barry, who writes for Hubspot as well, says on the Writtent.com blog:
“The marketing industry is diverse and ever changing, and one of the easiest ways to stay on top is to read the most relevant and pertinent blogs. There are thousands of marketing blogs out there that focus on different aspects of the marketing industry from optimization, conversion, advertising, and content.” Read More→
