Online 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 Online Marketing – Page 24

12 More Blog Branding Tips + Action Plan

By Patsi Krakoff

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

This week I've been giving you some tips on how to find a good name for your blog, because until you've found that, your account profiles on various sites won't be as laser focused and memorable. I gave you 10 tips for brainstorming creative brand names, and then some tips for tag lines. Here are 13 more branding ideas:

Check your client testimonials and find common words or themes – this will reveal how your clients "see" you. Focus on benefit statements. What words keep coming up?
Once you identify the words your clients are repeatedly using to 'thank you' or 'solve their problems,' check out each word at www.visualthesaurus.com for another way of saying the same thing. Use these "hot client" words and sentiments in building your sales copy, websites and blogs to reinforce your brand.
Identify all the activities you enjoy doing outside your business. How does this create an identity for you? How can this help you discover a clever and unique brand name?

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

Branding Your Blog: Tips and Tag Lines

By Patsi Krakoff

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Branding is more than finding a clever name for your blog. It starts
there, but then you must extend the brand with a tag line, logo design,
colors, your photo and bio, and create a consistent profile everywhere
on the Net.

Equally important is to harmonize your business name
with your blog name. For example, when I first started this blog, my
business was called Customized Newsletter Services. This blog was my
communications center for everything about e-newsletters for coaches,
so I called it CoachEzines.com. When things evolved, this blog evolved
into blog writing for marketing on the internet for small businesses,
so I changed the name to Writing on the Web.

Ah, you see
why there are days when I wish I could start over. I didn't think
things through 4-5 years out into the future. Don't make these branding
mistakes like I did.

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

10 Handy Tips for Finding a Clever Brand for Your Blog

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

It's said you have less than 30 seconds to capture a person's attention when they ask what you do for a living. It may be even less.

Having a great brand for your blog is even more important: it will make all of your marketing pay off. People will easily remember the name and your blog will stand out from your competitors. But finding a great brand isn’t easy. Sometimes it appears out of the blue in a flash of brilliance. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

But most of the time, it takes careful thought and excavation to find what works for you. Your goal is to find a branding name and identity so that readers can remember your blog, immediately know what problems you solve, and feel confident you have something to offer them.

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

6 Deadly Blog Branding Mistakes to Avoid

By Patsi Krakoff

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

Many professionals and entrepreneurs are brandless or under-branded. And so are their blogs.

They don't stand out from their competition, and on the Web, that's a disaster. As a result, the effort, time, energy and money spent marketing is twice as long and hard.

You've got to find a memorable brand that says in a blink who you are and what you do. And you've got to use that brand everywhere on the web, especially on a blog, on Twitter, Facebook, and other sites. (Photo credit: Shutterstock – now there's a great brand name!)

With a good brand and powerful Internet tools like a business blog, you get big results. Your name and your business stay top of mind when someone is ready to hire or buy.

Finding a great name is one of the hardest things to do. In my opinion, the best way is to brainstorm with a colleague or friend. You may have your nose too close to the blackboard and not see a great branding name.

The next hardest thing is to find an available domain name.

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

Branding on Twitter, etc: What You Need to Think About Before You Tweet

By Patsi Krakoff

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

I recently had a custom Twitter background designed for my Twitter profile, @PatsiBlogSquad. and you can check it out here and tell me what you think.

A Twitter background is important in order for visitors to get a quick grasp of what you do. In the blink of an eye (or two), you want people to know what you do, and how they can find your blog and website.

So I asked the talented Kay McFarlane to tell us more about branding on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Branding Yourself on Social Media Networks

Guest Post by Kay McFarlane www.HerAffiliateManager.com

Hopefully, you are spending time utilizing Social Media as a way to network and build your online contacts. Every day more and more followers are appearing on your Twitter follower list and you invite them to read your blog, follow you on Facebook. Maybe even on Plurk or Ning.

The question I have for you is: Are you successfully BRANDING your service or self on these networks?

Your brand is what connects you across all of these networks and without some consistency you are likely losing out on some great brand marketing opportunities.

So here are some tips for successfully branding yourself across Social Media Networks.

Choose ONE consistent user or profile name that makes sense to your goals. (Google ‘Hermedia’ and you will see the value in this one tip)
Choose ONE profile photo and update it no more than every year
Have a logo and by-line and keep it consistent
Take the time to create a thoughtful profile
Create custom backgrounds using your BRAND

Start an excel chart to track all of your Social Media accounts and make sure you that you brand each profile by taking some time to upload your photo, custom skin (or background), and rss feeds for your blog and twitter.

If launching your brand across Social Media seems a bit daunting then consider hiring a VA or New Media PR service to help.

(Kay McFarlane is the owner of Her Media Marketing and Design and www.HerAffiliateManager.com)

Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

The Smart Way to Get Started on Twitter:
Twitter for Business Coaches

By Patsi Krakoff

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Here's a good primer on how to use Twitter: Twitter for Business Coaches. It's been crafted by expert coach Suzi Pomerantz.

You don't have to be a coach in order to benefit from this book. Any professional can get started with Twitter for Business Coaches. Forget all the hype and hoopla. Don’t waste time wading through the tons of information online about Twitter.

Simplify your life, get the information you need with Twitter for Business Coaches. It tells you what to do, why you should do it, and provides real proof why you should care.

This is a primer that will give you tips in an easy to use format. You can read about it here and register to download it. (Disclosure: I’m not an affiliate and I don’t get a commission, but I think there’s important information in it if you want to be one of the executive coaches on the cutting edge of what’s new in online marketing.)

Once you’ve set up your Twitter account and followed me, @PatsiBlogSquad, send me a Tweet! Don’t forget to use a service like TweetDeck or SocialOomph so you can use it easily, and also, automatically feed your blogs posts into your Twitter account using TwitterFeed.com.

Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

Smart Video Marketing from iFlashVideo

By Patsi Krakoff

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

I just came across a professional video site and I'm debating whether I should use their services or not.

I want to put a professional video presentation on my site ContentforCoaches and submit it to YouTube (for additional traffic) – this has been high on my list for a while now.

Problem is… I just haven't had time to put together something that looks good enough, you know, professional. I have no problem with using a Flip video for casual, amateur clips, but for selling professional services, I want something polished.

Well, check out what I just found:

iFlashVideo is a company I "met" on Twitter, that is, I met Jason Anderson (@iFlashVideo). (Who says people don't do business on Twitter? Jason sure does!)

At his suggestion, I checked their site out, and gave them a try. It was inexpensive to get a professionally crafted video. Tell me what you think…

I think this may be the answer I've been looking for. Look at how professional this video is. Then take a look at the pricing over on their site, iFlashVideo.

You'll be shocked at how inexpensively you can have your own custom video created for you.

Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

“Double Your Blog Frequency” Week

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, October 16th, 2009

I hereby declare this to be "Double Your Blogging Frequency Week."

Mark it on your calendars.

For those of you who know you're not blogging enough to get good marketing results, I'm throwing out the gauntlet.

Will you take up my challenge to you? (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

All you have to do is this:

Publish a post to your blog, today, right now.
Then immediately start another post and save it as a draft.
You have 24 hours to finish it and publish it.
But once you do, start another draft.
Repeat for 7 days, until you "get it"
Keep on keeping on…

It's not hard. It's not even a trick. Even if your schedule interferes with the 24 hour accomplishment, it's okay.

The reason this works, is psychological, having to do with our brains are wired. The brain doesn't like unfinished business. Even if you're forgetful like me, you'll have a signal going off inside your head that encourages you to get back to finish what you started.

I am a psychologist, by training, and I read a lot of books about the brain. So trust me, this works on both a theoretical level and in real life.

I'm curious to find out what you experience once you try this for a week or so. Please hit the comment button and tell me, and don't worry, I'm going to remind you next week.

(I already have a blog post saved as a draft to remind you!)

Question: Do you have an opinion about whether or not a daily blogging habit should include the weekends, or not?

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

Secret Daily Blogging Habit Revealed…
(I promise this will get you going!)

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Want to know the key to becoming a daily blogger, to increasing the frequency of your blogging? Do this:

Always write one post ahead of time. Publish one, start another immediately, save it.

That's it, all there is to it. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

This one tip is guaranteed to get you blogging more often.

Here's how it works: once you've got a post published, start another one right away and save it as a draft. Then you always have one "in the hopper." You can go in and finish it up later.

Then, as soon as it's published or scheduled to publish, go in and start a draft of your next post. Don't finish it, just start it.

This "one-in-the-hopper" tip is the biggest reason my blogging frequency has doubled without that much increase in blogging time or effort.

Try it, you'll like it!

The reason it works is because your mind continues to work on it even when it's only just started and saved as a draft. The brain doesn't like unfinished business. When you do go and finish it up, you'll find that it's easier, faster, better.

[Action Tip: Go do this now, or mark a time in your calendar (1/2 hour?) you will publish a post and immediately start another. Try it for 2-3 days in a row and get back to me how it works for you.]

[Alternative: Need more background information? Download Content Marketing with Blogs ebook, and study what else you need to know to get results from your blogging efforts.]

Categories : About Blogs, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing for the Web, Writing Great Blog Content

How to Become a Daily Blogger

By Patsi Krakoff

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Should you start blogging daily? This is a question every professional should consider. Maybe the question is better phrased like this, "Should I increase the number of posts I'm writing?" (Photo credit: Shutterstock.)

I'm experimenting. In the few months since I started posting on this blog almost daily, I've more than doubled my traffic stats.

I don't mean the same visitors are coming back more often, although that's happening too, I mean there are twice the number of people visiting, and twice the number of pages being read.

Here's the kicker: I'm finding it's easier to write daily posts than it is writing 2-3 times a week. I'm spending less time writing posts. And I'm learning more tricks and tips about content marketing and blogging strategies that are paying off.

Results matter, traffic is only an indicator.

Categories : About Blogs, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content

Archive for Online Marketing – Page 24

12 More Blog Branding Tips + Action Plan

Branding Your Blog: Tips and Tag Lines

10 Handy Tips for Finding a Clever Brand for Your Blog

6 Deadly Blog Branding Mistakes to Avoid

Branding on Twitter, etc: What You Need to Think About Before You Tweet

The Smart Way to Get Started on Twitter:
Twitter for Business Coaches

Smart Video Marketing from iFlashVideo

“Double Your Blog Frequency” Week

Secret Daily Blogging Habit Revealed…
(I promise this will get you going!)

How to Become a Daily Blogger

Content for Coaches and Consultants

Serenity Virtual Assistant Services

Social Buzz Club