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Make a List of 5 Key Points

By Patsi Krakoff in Article Ideas, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, On Writing Better

Writing_hand
The key to writing multiple articles for your blog, ezine, web pages and marketing purposes is to start with a good list of 3-5 key points. My previous two posts on this explained the time and energy saving advantages.

This is not to mean you don’t have to do any research or reading on your topic. It depends on how well you know your subject. If you know the topic well, it’s easy to break down a concept into 3-5 elements.

Here’s my 5 point list for any serial writing project:

  1. Start with an idea that will benefit your readers
  2. Break it down to 3-5 steps or key elements
  3. Write an introduction to the article that includes the problem/solution, benefits to the reader, and your list
  4. Post about each point in your list on your blog
  5. After the final point, summarize and review, and remind readers why this is important to them and what they can do next

That’s it. Writing the points as a daily blog post helps you to be short and to the point. Also, blog writing tends to be more informal and personal. For me that helps stay away from academic jargon or language that’s formal or convoluted.

Posting daily breaks the full article down into doable chunks. This helps you avoid writing blocks or procrastination because you have a writing plan: you have your list.

At the end of a week, you have several chunks you can gather together to form a full article.

Previous posts:

Serial Writing Formula: 1+5+2=7+1

Confessionals of a Serial Writer

Confessions of a Serial Writer

By Patsi Krakoff in Article Ideas, On Writing Better, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Blog Content

Check_boxes
I’m not sure when it began or who’s to blame, but at some point in my writing career I got lazy. Or maybe I got smart. I started skipping the long research on a topic and reading up on its history. I just started making a list of main points and then writing out a couple of sentences on each item.

I think I got the idea from Jeff Herring, The Article Guy, who said if you can write a 7 item grocery list, you can write a good article. Now Jeff teaches article writing for people who struggle with writing and have a hard time coming up with stuff.

That’s not my problem. I love writing – but my problem is writing too much. Anyone with a doctorate suffers from the same disease. Dissertation-itis. Nobody has time to read all those words anymore, especially not online.

That’s when I fell in love with the "Make a List" writing school. Their theory is anything worth reading can be written in a list of bulleted points.

I confess, I’ve taken the list building approach to an extreme. I’ve become a serial writer.

I wish I could say that it’s the cure for writer’s block, or that it’ll turn your work into Internet gold. I will proclaim it to be a rousing success for saving you time and energy whenever you’re faced with writing for your ezine, blog, web pages, press releases, and even white papers.

Here’s how to start a serial writing project: (in list form, of course)

Read More→

Serial Writing Formula: 1=5+2=7+1

By Patsi Krakoff in Article Ideas, Email Marketing Tips, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

Math_genius
I’m no math genius, nor do I even think remotely like that in analytical terms. But once in a while I stumble upon something that makes sense, saves time, and produces exponential results.

I’m talking about serial writing. You take one main concept, break it down into a list of 5 key elements, write an introductory overview, write a concluding summary, and here’s what you get:

7 stand-alone articles to post on your blog and to submit to article directories
1 longer article you can include on your website, ezine, and format into a PDF special report to sell or give away as a bonus.

1 idea = 5 points + intro + summary = 7 articles + 1 PDF report

Here’s why I like to do this:

Read More→

Internet TV: Coming to a Blog Near You

By Patsi Krakoff in Coaching/Personal Development, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

Joyful_day_in_hawaii
Denise just posted info about our Thursday Blogging and Beyond radio show with Roxanne Darling, Are You the Next TV Star?

Check out Roxanne’s TV show over at BuildaBetterBlog.com.  At the end of her show each day, Roxanne leaves a clue and you can call into the radio show and claim a prize.

Really cool, spending a few minutes on a beach with the lovely Roxanne, waves and Hawaiian music in the background… What will we be able to do next on our blogs? Your choice!

New Rules of Internet Marketing & PR

By Patsi Krakoff in Books, Online Marketing

NewrulescoverWe just learned that The Blog Squad is mentioned in a new book by David Meerman Scott: The New Rules of Marketing & PR. What an honor…you can see a list of all the others included and we’re in great company!

Scott writes an excellent blog called Web Ink Now, about online thought leadership and viral marketing. We’ve sent Scott an invitation to be a guest on Blogging and Beyond.  Stay tuned…

Free Teleseminar on Blogging for Business

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Teleclasses & Seminars


Blog
The Blog Squad are guests of Jerry Hart, Hart Creative Marketing, this week…

Build a Professional Blog That Gets More Traffic to Your Website and Turns Prospects Into Paying Clients…

with Jerry Hart, CEO of Hart Creative Marketing, Inc. featuring the Blog Squad (Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman)

Tuesday, May 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET – FREE
Register: https://www.gotomeeting.com/register/815043457

Read More→

Working From Home: 5 Reasons to Love It

By Patsi Krakoff in Fun and Irrelevant Things About Patsi, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Patsi's Story

Disorganized_desktop
Des Walsh
of Thinking Home Business inspired me to write 5 things I love about working from home.

(In fact, I’m thinking about making Fridays a day for posting more personal things. Hey, it’s my blog! While I’ve always focused on keeping this a business blog about writing, part of smart blogging includes being real so people can get to know you. Besides, I like writing about me, me, me…)

1. If I wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. with an idea, I don’t have to take notes til I get to an office. I can start writing at my computer whenever I want. In fact, I often start my day at 4 a.m. and then I don’t feel guilty when I take a few hours off in the middle of the day to enjoy the sunshine or a tennis match.

2. The view from my home office window includes palm trees, a swimming pool, and not many cars.

3. I can snack on healthy foods from the fridge instead of using a vending machine in some cafeteria.

Coffee_pot_old
4. I don’t have to get in a car and sit in traffic to get to work, although some days the walk downstairs to the coffee pot seems long and far away. Hmmm, maybe put the coffee pot upstairs…?

Young_tennis_player
5. Obviously, not having to wear panty hose and real shoes is a plus, although I only work in my p.j.s when I first get up. I get dressed appropriately around 9 a.m., even put on a little makeup and pretend I’m facing real people. Of course "dressed appropriately" means in tennis clothes and tennis shoes, ready for a match at all times.

Des mentions not having a boss is another good thing, although we answer to a higher boss: the client! And of course, then I have Denise, but we’re each other’s bosses or co-bosses!

Catsandmouse
I share my desk and work space with Huey and Dewey, the kitty owners of my house who reign supreme over all things.

Love to hear what you love about your work space and life…please share.

Online Marketing: 6 Steps

By Patsi Krakoff in Email Marketing Tips, List Building Tips, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

Steps_white
This week I posted a series of blog posts: 6 Steps for Successful Online Marketing for Your Business. While it is impossible to be comprehensive in 6 steps, I believe I cover many of the essential skills and tools you need to thrive online, no matter your profession.

Two of the posts were published here and here, because they relate to writing; the others were on our sister blog that focuses on Internet marketing, www.BizTipsBlog.com. The final post, Step 6, is important because I talk about the right tools for each step.

Here’s an excerpt of those:

Remember, for online success you have to: attract, give, convince, compel, sell, and up-sell. And you need to use the right tools for each job, as in:

Step 1, to attract, you need a website, a blog, and/or a landing page. You need bait (keywords) everywhere in the cyber pond: articles, press releases, podcasts, blog posts, web pages, archived newsletters, etc.

Step 2, to give, you need a database management system that helps you build a list of prospects, deliver digital downloads, segment your lists by interests, and follow-up with email confirmation and autoresponder messages. For us there is only one tool that does this job, and that is KickStartCart.com.

Read More→

Bloggers for Hire: a New Profession

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

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Jim Turner, One By One Media

Thursday, May 10th 2007
3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET) 

Bloggers for Hire: An Emerging Profession

Head3
The days of hiring a public relations firm and buying advertising are
going the way of the dinosaur for companies that want to get noticed
and make a splash. They are turning to business blogging, podcasting,
video and social media tools. But most companies don’t have the
resources or knowledge to use these tools.

A new industry of tech-savvy
professional bloggers and social media experts are meeting the need.
The Blog Squad interviews Jim Turner of One By One Media about the emerging trend of social media experts for hire.

Compelling Offers & Converting Visitors to Clients

By Patsi Krakoff in Email Marketing Tips, On Writing Better, Online Marketing

This is step 4 in our 6-step formula for getting clients and making money with your business online. This is the bridge between writing for your business and getting results. How well you write irresistible offers to your readers will persuade them to buy. But without a seamless sales process to reinforce your credibility as a business, the sale will fall through.
Reeling_in_the_big_sale

Step 4: Make a Compelling Offer and Convert Your Visitor to a Client

Some say it takes 7-12 contacts with a prospect before he/she is ready to buy. Others say it takes much more than that when the only contact you have with the prospect is through written words on a Web page.

Why? Because your words lack the credibility and trustworthiness of a human face or voice. You can understand the popularity of audio and video blogging for just that reason: people trust people they like and feel an affinity to. It’s hard to do that with words on a page.

This is why copywriters earn such large fees. They aren’t writing about ideas or features or even painting a rosy picture of whatever it is you’re selling. They are connecting on an emotional level with your prospects.

Read More→

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