Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

Michael Katz: Words of wisdom on competition among solo professionals

By Patsi Krakoff in E-Books, Getting Read, Online Marketing

I read his "E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters", and love his funny writing style. He is a leading expert on electronic newsletters and is ~~head~~ Chief Penguin of Blue Penguin Development, Inc.

Michael recently joined the Blogosphere with his blog It Sure Beats Working, Michael Katz’s sure-fire advice and steadfast encouragement for the first-time, mid-life, solo professional.

Be sure to read his post on "No Competition Out There." While you’re there, subscribe to get updates by email, you’ll love his stuff.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Michael. For anyone interested in relationship marketing, and writing ezines, you’ll like reading Michael Katz.

Simple Free Software Solutions for Biz

By Patsi Krakoff in Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

Open Source Software: Is It Right for Your Business?
Thursday, September 20, 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: James Gaskin, Technology is Broken

Business in the 21st Century requires use and some knowledge of
technology. But how do you know what’s right for YOUR business and how
can you avoid spending unnecessary money on the wrong software?

James
Gaskin will reveal the secrets of open source software and how you can
get the right software for your business at little or no cost.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on September 20.

No White Paper? That won’t look good to prospects…

By Patsi Krakoff in On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing Great White Papers

Don’t be caught telling your next prospect you don’t have one yet, when they ask to read your company white paper.

You must have a professionally written white paper that gives in depth information in your field if you want respect and credibility.

Want to learn how to write one yourself so you don’t have to pay a high fee to a white paper writer? Join me this Friday for Michael Stelzner’s White Paper seminar in San Diego at the Hyatt Islandia on Mission Bay.

To learn more, read my previous post here with all the details including a registration link. (Tell Michael I sent you and I’ll buy you a frappucino…)

P.S. It’s a great excuse to come visit me in San Diego and stay on beautiful Mission Bay at the Hyatt..

3 More Quick and Easy Blog Writing Tips

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content

What problems and challenges do your readers struggle with? Problems and solutions are a great way to provide relevant content on your blog.

How do you know which problems are the greatest for your audience? Here are 3 ways to find out. These will provide you with great content ideas.

1. Run a reader poll using Vizu.com. This easy-to-use poll widget can be set up for free on your blog. (No tech skills required. I did this by myself without having to email for help!)
Ask readers to comment on your blog and suggest major issues they want you to write about and why. (However, unless you have substantial numbers of readers who aren’t shy about commenting, this will bring fewer responses than running a poll.)
Write a top ten list of great blogs in your field. Ask readers to comment and suggest other good blogs. (This is a great way to build links because people on your top ten list will post on their blog about being included in your list…) You will know by their suggestions, which blogs they are reading, and what kind of information they are seeking out.

What other ideas do you have for blog writing that is meaningful and relevant to readers’ needs?

Related Posts: 15 Ways to Find Blog Content
Writing Better – Lessons from Tennis
Writing Better Headlines – the Power of 3

Quick and Easy Blog Writing Tips

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, How to...Tips, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing

When Denise and I teach business blogging, professionals often worry about finding the time for writing on their blogs. We understand and struggle with this challenge ourselves. With 10 blogs between us, you know there are a few neglected ones…

So here are some tips to save you time and effort, and maintain a posting frequency of 2-3 times a week.

What are you doing in your business this week that you could post about that would make your readers’ lives better? (Example: we’ve started a 4-week teleseminar on Branding and Blogging, and for the class, I wrote an outline about blog writing tips; so I’m sharing that with readers here.)
Look at that idea for a post and see how you can make a list of 5-7 tips. Don’t post the entire list in one blog post. Break it up into a series of posts for the whole week.
You can write the series all at once and post-date the publications; or write them up individually and post each day, whichever suits your schedule. (Stay tuned: over the next few days, I’ll post 11 tips for writing easily and quickly so you can save time, energy and money.)

You should be able to post on your blog in 20-30 minutes. That’s not a lot of time to spend on a marketing task that will bring you great results.

Writing on your business blog should always contain information that is relevant and valuable to your readers; you have plenty of that in your head right now, so get it out into a list and start posting. Your readers will appreciate that and your business will grow.

Mastermind Groups: How to use them to grow your business

By Patsi Krakoff in Teleclasses & Seminars

Mastermind Groups: How to Accelerate Your Business Growth

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Karyn Greenstreet, The Success Alliance

September 13, 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

The concept of the "mastermind alliance" was introduced by Napoleon
Hill in his timeless classic, "Think And Grow Rich." He wrote, "No two
minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible
intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind."

Learn how
mastermind groups can acclerate your business growth by providing
focus, accountability, support and feedback. Karyn Greenstreet has been
running successful mastermind groups since 1994 and will give us the
ins and outs of what makes a group productive and successful for its
members.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on September 13.

Why I love my life…

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

It’s not just the money I get for doing what I love, and I think many other professionals agree that part sure is great but it’s not the best.

The number one reason I love my business is time…having time for tennis in the mornings and sometimes evenings…having time to take yesterday morning off to celebrate birthdays with girlfriends…

It’s not that I work a 4 Hour Work Week like Tim Ferriss suggests we do. I put in my 40 plus some extra to read and learn. But it’s also the quality of the hours.

I spend my time reading, writing and researching, and then teaching what I know to others. I don’t spend my time doing things I don’t like to do, like cold calling, network meetings with people I don’t know, or trying to sell to people I don’t know.

The reason I’m so lucky is that I recognized early on that my time is precious and valuable. I decided that If I could be smart about marketing, then people would call me and I wouldn’t have to go out and find them and call them.

Branding and Blogging: Solving 4 Marketing Problems

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

If you’re like some of the clients we work with, you’ve probably complained about one of these 4 marketing problems:

• Problem #1: Not enough people know what you do

• Problem #2: Not enough people have heard of your business

• Problem #3: Not enough people are moved into action by your message

• Problem #4: Not enough people can find you

Branding and blogging may be two missing pieces to your marketing puzzle that can ramp up your marketing and really make a difference to your business. Quite frankly, I think branding and blogging solves each of these problems.

Denise and I know from first-hand experience: when we branded our company as The Blog Squad(tm) and used our blogs for business, we grew, and grew… and then grew some more!

Denise and I have joined up with Ruth Klein to work closely with a group of only 20 professionals who want to master branding AND blogging to make more money online. There are only 5 seats left, so act now: www.brandingandblogging.com.

We’ll walk you through a process to find an effective brand that really works for you, and then show you how to optimize your blog for business. Even if you’re new at blogging, you’ll want to know how to do this for naming and writing for your blog the smart way right from the start.

Branding & Blogging: A four week tele-workshop brought to you by The Blog Squad and Branding Guru Ruth Klein

September 11, 18. 25, and October 2 at 2 pm PT (5 pm ET).

For details and to reserve your place: www.brandingandblogging.com

Branding for Your Business: How Important Is It, Really?

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

Branding: if you’re an American brought up on Western movies, "branding" probably makes you think of cowboys rustling up calves and sticking a hot iron to their haunches. Now that’s gotta hurt, even if it’s only for a little while…

If you’re in business, you should know that having a ho-hum brand will make all of your marketing that much harder – if nobody can remember you or what you do. What really hurts is not having a brand, or having one that doesn’t work.

Now when you combine a good brand name with great blog writing – well, the cows come running…dare I continue the metaphor by saying clients will stampede to your door? Yippey ay yea and git along li’l doggies…

Okay, I’ll stop. The point is, branding and blogging are two marketing tasks you really need to take care of, if you want to stand out from your competitors and make money, on or off-line.

Two things you should do about that right now:

Go over to Build a Better Blog and read some of the Q & A’s Denise is writing about blogging for your brand
Go read about why you should grab one of the 5 seats left in the Branding and Blogging tele-workshop we’re doing starting September 11, next Tuesday, with Ruth Klein

You see, if you are writing online for your business, you will find that everything you write about should reflect your brand, both your personal and external business brand. Most professionals aren’t clear what that means and how important that is for business.

When Denise and I "branded" ourselves as The Blog Squad(tm), the lid blew off our business. It really made a big difference. (And it didn’t hurt at all!)

7 Deadly Branding Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

Last night Denise and I joined Ruth Klein again for our second free teleseminar on Branding and Blogging – what we are naming as the missing link in 9 out of 10 businesses that are seriously under-branded. Close to 400 people were on the line.

You only have a few days left to join our tele-workshop; there are only 6 seats left since the group is limited to only 20 people. We are going to spend a lot of individual time working on finding great branding for your business, and show you how to leverage your blog. It starts Tuesday, September 11 and you can get info and register here: www.brandingandblogging.com.

In doing research on why many professionals were struggling to find clients and build revenues, we discovered some common mistakes. Here are 7 Deadly Branding Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make.