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 33

12 Steps to Creating Web-Savvy Content for Marketing

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

How do you make sure your ebook has good content for marketing purposes? How do you write web-savvy content that works for the Web, that markets your business, gets you found, and is link-friendly?

I mean, it's all good to say you're going to get on the Content Marketing bandwagon… but how exactly do you do that? Here are 12 steps you need to think about:

Before you write that ebook, or blog post, or other content on your website, think about your audience. Once you've defined who you're writing for, then define the problem you're going to solve. Then figure out how people would be using keyword phrases to find their solutions if they were doing a web search.

Write a list of 3-5 keyword phrases and keep those in mind as you write your content.

Once you've defined your audience, the problem, the solution, and the keyword phrases. you should be able to make a list of subtopics or steps you need to cover. With a list, you can expand on each point to create a logical progression to solving the problem.

Categories : Content Marketing, E-Books, Online Marketing, Writing for the Web

Ebook Prices, Expensive? Yes, but you get more than take-out curry…

By Patsi Krakoff

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

Right on the tail of my previous post and reference to Newt Barrett's post about the value of ebooks, Sean D'Souza writes a great post. I want to alert you to his entertaining perspective:

Why Publishers Are Stupid About Book Pricing

So yes, the pricing of e-books is not out of whack.It’s actually reasonably accurate. And the public is saying so. We don’t need huge volumes of a book to be sold. All we really need is for the books to be valued more than a seven-minute goat curry.

What Sean is saying that he pays more at his local take-out restaurant for a meal than Amazon charges for printed books that take months to write and a lot of money to publish and market.

The solution is to offer your book in digital form as an ebook and charge what the real value is for your readers. How much is it worth for them to learn how to get results from business blogging? Or…fill in the blank with …results from xxxx?

As The Blog Squad, I sell our ebook Build a Better Blog for $147. Expensive? If we were to sell it on Amazon, it would seem so. But it's not a $10 or $15 printed book.

In fact, it's more than an ebook; it's comes with a training system and other features. The value is in the fact that after you read it, when you implement the pertinent steps, you will have a business blog that gets results. That's worth a lot more than $147.

This is why an ebook is an important strategy for your content marketing. I'm writing one this weekend. You?

Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

My, my, my! MyAlltop Rocks, here’s why…

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Guy Kawasaki has done it again. He's made it so easy to set up your own page on Alltop.com. Now, instead of poking around the Web, taking hours to get a general "feed feel," I can go see all my favorite blogs and get a quick read about what's buzzin'.

What's a "feed feel?" It's waking up in the morning, going to your computer and instead of opening up email full of junk and worky-type things, I can read what other people are writing about. That and a cup of coffee will get me buzzin' and feelin' good.

What's so cool about this? For one thing, all my favorite people have their own pages too. So if I want to know who Pam Slim reads, or Guy, or other people, I can peek at the blogs that inform them.

And the other thing is that participating in the Blogosphere is just about the swiftest way to connect with other geniuses in your playground and get into trouble with them. So much fun…;-)!

What's the down-side? Well, instead of writing or educating myself about really important things, I can easily fall into an information junkie coma. I don't really need to know why everyone's writing about Skittles on Twitter…

See what you think. Go to my Alltop page. I haven't finished yet adding all my favorite blogs yet, but Alltop makes this really easy to do. Go get your own page. You'll love it. Check out the little video, it'll tell you how to add blogs to your myalltop page.

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog

How to Improve Your Writing the Ben Franklin Way

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Are you good at what you do? Really good? If you make a living at your craft, you must be good. You probably have customers who think you're great. AND… you know you could be better, don't you?

Being good at what you do is a major source of deep fulfillment, not to mention a prerequisite for keeping employment and earning a paycheck. Let me ask you this, then:

What are you doing to improve your writing skills?

No matter what business you're in, especially if you're using the Internet as a marketing tool, you've got to improve your writing. Especially if you don't outsource your content marketing, you must learn to write interesting content that showcases your expertise and value to readers on the Web.

Yet very few professionals spend practice time to improve their writing skills. You can't assume that even if you got an 'A' in college English you write well for the public, the people who are surfing the web to find solutions to their problems.

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

The Real Problem: What NOT to Write About…

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

There are a lot of posts in the Blogosphere about how to choose a topic to post about, where to find content, how to link to good resources.

Even though one of the most commonly cited fears of newbie bloggers and newsletter publishers is "What will I write about?" — I believe this isn't the real problem.

Once you get the hang of blogging, and you've developed your posting wings (2-3 times a week), the real problem is filtering out an excess of information. You must narrow down your focus. Weed out all the dead rabbit trails.

This is the real problem for most of us. I call it Reverse Writer's Block. It's when you have so many ideas and resources and things you could write about, you grind to a full halt.

The real question becomes: what business am I in? What am I in the business of selling? What do I want readers to spend money on?

I'm not denying that writing clever blog posts and newsletters that showcase your expertise isn't foremost. Nor do I diminish the quality of relationships intended in your content. But if you're in business, I'll assume that you have something to sell.

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

7 Ways to Leverage Your E-Newsletter Content

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Michael Katz and Chad Board are experts at teaching professionals how to write and publish a successful e-newsletters. Today they reviewed ways to re-purpose newsletter materials and get the most marketing power out of your publication.

There was a lively discussion on the teleseminar, open to members of their E-Newsletter Success Program.
As some of you know, I'm a big fan of Michael and Chad: I really
believe that they've got the e-newsletter training stuff down to a tee,
and are teaching it well.

I took some notes. They came up with 7 ways to leverage your e-newsletter content:

Submit your main article to online article directories. My favorite is Chris Knight's Ezine Articles. Be sure to put your name and blog URL in your resource box so people can find you on the web.
Re-purpose your main article for blog posts. In
some cases, one newsletter article can be turned into a series of
posts, depending on the length. Of course, this goes both ways. I've
often turned blog posts into newsletter material.
Create a special report or e-book,
or an e-course delivered by autoresponders. What do your newsletter
readers want to know more about? Are there "7 insider secrets" in your
industry that you can share with them?

Categories : Email Marketing Tips, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing

Recession Proof Your Business: List 5 People To Be Grateful For

By Patsi Krakoff

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Big changes for my business in 2009 already. What about you? Are you gearing down…or gearing up?

I know plenty of colleagues who are using their time well: revising infrastructure, ramping up their web presence, creating more content on the Web to get found by the people who need them.

You see, it's undeniable: People still have problems that need solving. Do you have solutions for them? Will they find you? Are you getting your message "out there:" on a business blog, on Twitter, on Facebook and wherever your people are?

Get back to basics. What's made you successful this far? I've been thinking a lot about that lately. After my move back to Mexico at the beginning of the year, I decided to focus more on my writing talents and services that earn me the most revenue. The goal is to work less while earning more.

I know many professionals who aren't using their time well. They're spending time and money learning about what to do but they're stuck. They think about starting a newsletter or a blog, and they do the research on the best ways to do this. They aren't jumping into action.

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

Copywriting for Twitter- How to say more with less

By Patsi Krakoff

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Are you on Twitter yet? You know I'm not someone to jump on the fad-du-jour. But when I see something that isn't a waste of time, that makes for smart marketing, I will tell you about it.

You need to be on Twitter. Why? Because top people in your field are there. You can find out what's going on, what research they care about, what the buzz is. If you like people, especially people in your niche, this is where you can meet them, and connect. It's content marketing in 140 characters or less.

Twitter folks will follow you back to your blog, and when there, are more likely to leave comments. It's a productive way to build readership, aka drive traffic.

It's not about "What are you doing?" Forget that. Use the 140 characters to ask a question, share a quote, share a thought, be funny or be profound.

I'm not a Twitter expert. Coach Deb and Warren Whitlock wrote the Twitter Revolution handbook. Nor am I a social media and networking maven. Denise Wakeman is.

Categories : Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog

A Blog Is Not an Option Anymore

By Patsi Krakoff

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Terri Z Interviews The Blog Squad in a teleseminar Thursday February 5, at 1 p.m. ET.

Boost Your Business with a Blog: It's Not an Option Anymore

If you want to learn how to build a professional blog that turns readers into clients, this free class is for you. Registration is required, however, and to do that you need to go to this page: The Blog Squad Teleseminars.

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

Archive for Online Marketing – Page 33

12 Steps to Creating Web-Savvy Content for Marketing

Ebook Prices, Expensive? Yes, but you get more than take-out curry…

My, my, my! MyAlltop Rocks, here’s why…

How to Improve Your Writing the Ben Franklin Way

The Real Problem: What NOT to Write About…

7 Ways to Leverage Your E-Newsletter Content

Recession Proof Your Business: List 5 People To Be Grateful For

Copywriting for Twitter- How to say more with less

A Blog Is Not an Option Anymore

Content for Coaches and Consultants

Serenity Virtual Assistant Services

Social Buzz Club