Content Marketing | Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

Archive for Content Marketing – Page 68

How to Write an Email Promotion Message… 6 Rules to Guide You

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

This is my follow-up to yesterday's post: How NOT to Write an Email Promotion Message. It's so easy to pick out what's wrong with something; the real crux is in correcting an email to make it sizzle.

Pat McGraw of McGraw Marketing contributed a great comment which sums up what is wrong with the previous email message: "This laundry list of stuff has no clearly stated benefits and is more about the Famous Guru that it is about the recipient of the offer(s)."

I agree with Pat about what's wrong:

No greeting, nothing with my name
No reason given why this is important to me
Only give me one thing to think about at a time, otherwise too many choice, no action will be taken.

There are others, but clearly the biggest one is not addressing the needs or wants of the reader. What's in it for me?

Even if I know who is sending me a message, I still need the reasons to care to be spelled out. Why? We're all busy with our own stuff. So if you don't spell it out for me, fuggitaboutit, I delete and move on.

Rule #1: Grab my attention. Here's a clue. I scan email headlines to decide what needs to be read. If your subject line isn't compelling, I ignore your email.

Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni Shares Content Marketing Insights

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Valeria Maltoni is a co-author of The Age of Conversation, a groundbreaking ebook collaboration by 103 of today's top marketing writers. She is also a Fast Company Expert blogger and a contributor to Marketing Profs Daily Fix, and Marketing 2.0. And she is eighth on Joe Pulizzi's Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs.

I recently asked Valeria some questions about content marketing and share her perspectives here.

1. What kinds of content do you write or use to market your business?

In my day work in corporate America, I use a mix of stats, studies, citations, and stories to sell my personal ideas. When talking with customers, I like to play back to them the conversation they initiate with us – the questions they ask, the issues they tell us they face, and help them with tips, information, and technical knowledge from our teams.

I started Conversation Agent, my personal blog, from a pretty simple concept. My observation was that the line between marketing and public relations would be blurring considerably with greater adoption of social media.

Categories : Content Marketing

Article Content for Sale: Just Add Your Name

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Excuse this interruption to your Holiday fun, but some of us are working today! Okay, I'm going to play tennis in a few minutes, but before I go, I gotta ask: Do you need content?

Need any coaching articles for your newsletters or blogs? You know, just in case that brain of yours needs some back up material to supplement your own writing?

Don't put pressure on yourself to write all your content yourself. Use the power of others: buy content to supplement your own.

Here's the deal: in 1999 I started writing newsletters for other executive coaches and leadership consultants. I write the articles, they put their names to them. Since then I've built up a library of over 100 articles, full of research data, based on leading business books and the Harvard Business Review.

I'm putting them all on sale until December 31, 20% off. You buy the articles, either 1000 or 2000 word lengths, then you can cut and paste, rewrite, add your own stuff or use as is. This gives you plenty of meaty content to use in any of your white papers, newsletters and blogs. Topics are ever-green and non-dated.

Take a look here: www.contentforcoachesandconsultants.com/article-titles/. If you buy any, use this coupon code: CCC20 before check-out and get 20% off.

Be targeted and topical. These articles are suitable for coaches working with leadership and personal development issues. Got questions? Leave a comment.

Categories : Buying Content, Content Marketing, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Blog Content

Blog Writing Goals … a few questions before the end of the year

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Why are you reading this blog? Seriously, I'd like to hear from readers what you are seeking. What would you like to know about? What topics are so compelling you'd come back here each day to read something new?

Since the name of this blog is Writing on the Web, I'm assuming you have questions about writing and how to use content on the Web to attract clients for your businesses. But this can mean different things to different people.

I focus on content marketing and blog writing tasks. There are many ways to write and publish content (blogs, newsletters, articles) on the Internet that helps you attract people who want and need your services and products.

At the beginning of the year I started a poll and asked this question:

"Which writing tasks do you need to master to explode your Internet marketing in 2008?" Here are the results:

57.9%    Writing great blog posts
42.1%    Writing articles, ebooks & info products
27.2      Writing great newsletters
20.2%    Writing great sales copy
13.2%    Writing great press releases
6.1$      Writing scripts for video clips
4.4%      Writing dialogue for audio files

Writing great blog posts that attract prospects and gain subscribers and eventually convert those readers to clients is one of the most challenging writing tasks. The difference between good and great is enormous.

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better

2009: The Year of the Personality?

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

I just responded to a request for a prediction for 2009 from Joe Pulizzi, founder of Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs. His question, which I throw out to you, is this:

"What is your prediction for how brand marketers will create and distribute their own content in 2009?" How would you answer this question?

My answer follows here:

In 2009 we'll see more brands developing a personality or a persona to represent the core values of the company. This 'persona' will be responsible for most of the brand's blog content and social media messages.

Cutting edge companies like Razer, the computer gaming hardware developer, have been using their founder, RazerGuy, as spokesperson for years. Other brands will find or create a persona to embody the spirit of their company. How else can companies connect and build relationships unless there is a person with a real personality?

As The Blog Squad, my partner Denise Wakeman and I have realized the importance of a 'persona' to connect with people and to represent what our company does. Fortunately, we're real people. I pity those companies that are going to have to invent a persona – that will never work as well as authenticity.

Rohit Bhargava hit the nail on the head with his book Personality Not Included. I predict that 2009 will be the Year of the Personality!

This may be one of the instances where a solo professional has an edge over big companies. At least you don't have to worry about choosing a person to blog for the company and do Twitter tweets and Facebook notes.

Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Writing for the Web

Writing for the Web Resources: Ask the English Teacher

By Patsi Krakoff

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

I got a Google alert today to say my name appeared on a blog site. I was delighted to discover this blog: Ask the English Teacher. Crawford Kilian is a retired professor who's an avid blogger.

This Ask the English Teacher blog came about when he corresponded with an English teacher in China over common confusions in English grammar.

The blog is full of great resources on writing. I recommend you visit. The list of other blogs comprise some of the most useful resources on the Web when it comes to Internet usage.

Crawford "gets it:" using good grammar isn't about being perfect. It's all about the readers and making it easy for them to understand you.

"I've taught my students that the writer's job is to make the reader's job effortless. Anything that makes the reader wonder what I really mean is a distraction and a burden. That includes mistakes in spelling (their or they're?), punctuation, and anything else that slows down understanding."

I've known about Crawford for some time and bought his book Writing for the Web 3.0. His other blog is similar in name to this blog, Writing for the Web.com. One more resource you can use for better writing…

Categories : Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Writing for the Web

2009 Will Be the Year of Content Marketing…are you prepared?

By Patsi Krakoff

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

"If 2008 was the year social media went mainstream, 2009 should be the year of content marketing, the corporation as media company, the brand as publisher and broadcaster," says Junta 42 publisher Joe Pulizzi.

It's true that much of what you read these days about online marketing is about using Twitter, Facebook and social sites effectively. And most of what experts are saying about using these sites has to do with the quality of your messages and how to tie into building your brand and relationships.

If you haven't been keeping up with all this, don't worry. Some of us just aren't early adopters. We can wait for the dust to settle and just learn from the mistakes of others, after the best practices are ironed out. But get prepared because much of this will become as mainstream as email.

What is becoming crucial is that we can no longer afford to NOT pay attention to content marketing, be it on a blog, email newsletters, or on Twitter.

It doesn't matter if you're part of a big corporation trying to brand and market your products and services, or a solo professional or small business owner.

Creating content that engages readers is the challenge. You can forget going out and buying an ad. You've got to write – or hire someone to write for you.

Joe Pulizzi writes from a corporate perspective and gives 10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now for 2009.

Categories : Buying Content, Content Marketing, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing

Marketing with Meaning Blog Author Bob Gilbreath Shows How to Market with Content

By Patsi Krakoff

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

I never knew about Bob Gilbreath and his fabulous blog www.MarketingwithMeaning.com before Joe Pulizzi's list of Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs singled him out. I interviewed Bob recently about how he uses content to market his business.

Here's what Bob has to say about sharing personal stories on a business blog:

"I believe it is important to share as much of my personality as possible. I learned from my favorite blogs that the key to keep readers returning is to bring your own stories forward as much as possible.

"Readers don’t just want a factual white paper from a talking head, they want to smile and see things from your individual perspective.

"I often end up talking about everything from my children to my love for Guitar Hero, both to make key points and share who I am."

And here are other questions Bob generously responded to…

Categories : Content Marketing

Personal Stories on Your Business Blogs: the fine line

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, December 8th, 2008

James Chartrand writes a great post on Copyblogger about Why You Need to Transform Your Website Into a Story. He says,

"Effective web writers are moving away from bland, factual information. Readers won’t settle for that anymore.

It isn’t interesting. It isn’t compelling.

Facts don’t stir emotions and encourage people to take action. Facts don’t sell until people look to rationalize the buying decision they’ve made at an emotional level."

I agree. People do business with people, not companies.

So when I left on vacation I wrote a post in which I expressed gratitude, shared some personal information, and explained I would be re-publishing an important series about better business blog writing.

But I got a critical email from a reader who thought this was inappropriate. Here's what happened:

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

5 Ways to Enrich Your Blog Posts

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Business
blog authors love writing on blogs since it’s so quick and easy. You
can usually post in 20-30 minutes and be done with it. That’s a great
use of your marketing time, and you provide readers with valuable
content to market your business.

But while ‘quick and easy’ is great, sometimes it’s not enough. Denise
and I recommend you write at least one rich and meaty post a week.
Stimulate your readers to think. Be profound. Go deep.

“Oh no,” you might be saying. “More time to spend on blogging!”

It gets even worse: here’s another “E” writing tip! Enrich your blog posts! First it was the 3E’s – Educate, Entertain and Engage readers.

Now there are 4 E’s! Educate, Entertain, Engage and Enrich with your blog posts!

How do you enrichen your post? Here are 5 ways. But don’t expect to
be writing and posting in 20 minutes. This takes time to read,
research, find quotes, and to link back to sources.

Categories : Content Marketing

Archive for Content Marketing – Page 68

How to Write an Email Promotion Message… 6 Rules to Guide You

Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni Shares Content Marketing Insights

Article Content for Sale: Just Add Your Name

Blog Writing Goals … a few questions before the end of the year

2009: The Year of the Personality?

Writing for the Web Resources: Ask the English Teacher

2009 Will Be the Year of Content Marketing…are you prepared?

Marketing with Meaning Blog Author Bob Gilbreath Shows How to Market with Content

Personal Stories on Your Business Blogs: the fine line

5 Ways to Enrich Your Blog Posts

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