Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

Your Writing Persona: Who Are You?

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content

Lorelle VanFossen asks a good question: Who are you when you blog? Lorelle is author of Lorelle on WordPress and examines your writing persona. This is a long post, but good because it will make you think.

Who is Your Blogging Persona?
by Lorelle VanFossen, Lorelle on WordPress, guest author

Blogs began as online journals, ways to connect and share our lives with others. While they have come to be so much more than that, they are still "personal".

Readers want to feel a personal connection with their favorite bloggers. They form a relationship with the writer, like they "know them". Writers have been building such relationships with their readers for centuries.

Remember those favorite columnists in newspapers or magazines, the ones readers eagerly anticipated in each issue to see what they have to say today? The writing voice may not be truly representative of who the writer was, but it was indicative of the strong writing character they developed. A character readers came to trust.

Do you know who you are when you are blogging? Who is the character you present to the world through your blog? Does your writing clearly speak for that character?

Many bloggers have more than one blog. On one blog, they may be the expert, sharing their learned wisdom to guide people through the mire of an industry. On another blog, they may take things less seriously, casually expressing their fondest wishes for a gentler world and showing off pictures of their child playing at the beach.

Would they write the same way on both blogs?

Writing for the Web: No More Gatekeepers

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Online Marketing, Writing Great Copy

Anne Marie Nichols is author of a freelance writing blog about The Write Stuff and contributes this post about the demise of gatekeepers, the web, and some famous self-publishers that will surprise you.

Goodbye to the Gatekeepers?
by Anne Marie Nichols, The Write Stuff, guest author

Thomas Frey in his Denver Post article, "Gatekeepers on info highway disappearing", brings new prospective to blogging and the new media:

Enterprising people have begun to find the keys to unlocking their future, and it’s a future that doesn’t include the barriers provided by gatekeepers. Publishing an article no longer requires the approval of an editor. Articles can easily be published on blogs or Web pages without ever needing someone’s approval. Videos and podcasts can be posted on iTunes or YouTube 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The true impact is far more significant than any of us can imagine.

The no-gatekeeper lifestyle means you can create whatever product you want and sell it to people around the world without ever having to get someone’s blessing.

While he does have a point here, there has been plenty of instances in history when there weren’t gatekeepers. After all, wasn’t Ben Franklin the ultimate self-publisher? Like bloggers, when you’re the editor and the writer, little stands in your way.

Social Media: Why You Should Pay Attention to This

By Patsi Krakoff in Teleclasses & Seminars

Here’s our weekly heads up for the Blogging and Beyond Internet radio show over at VoiceAmerica. If the term "Social Media" and "Web 2.0" has you scratching your head, then don’t miss this show.

Click here to listen to the show live on the Web.

On Writing: Stephen King’s Advice Extended for the Web

By Patsi Krakoff in Writing Better Ezines, Writing for Others, Freelancing, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy, Writing Great Press Releases

Here’s a nugget gleaned from 37 Signals’ Signal vs Noise blog about writing advice given by master story teller Stephen King in his book On Writing:

"Formula for success: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%…"

I’m one of those picky writers who trained as an editor in an earlier life, so I even reread my emails before sending. I hate typos and errors and excess words. And I commit these faults frequently.

That is why I recommend rereading everything before sending or publishing. If you’re a writer of anything on the Web, you owe it to yourself to become nit-picky. Or get a professional editor or even a friend to review before you publish.

True, much of what is written in blogs is rife with errors, and some younger writers seem to not care so much about form as content. But the rules of grammar and spelling weren’t invented by anal-retentive professors bent on slapping knuckles. They are there for good reason: to avoid ambiguousness and confusion.

And there is an additional reason this is important when you are writing for the web:

Readers Online Finish Content More Than Print Readers

By Patsi Krakoff in Getting Read

People actually do read content online, and new research is busting an old myth. This study is found on Editor and Publisher.com, by way of Bryan Eisenberg of Grokdotcom.com.

In a surprise finding, online readers finish news stories more often than those who read in print, according to the Poynter Institute’s Eyetrack study released Wednesday at the American Society of Newspaper Editors conference.

When readers chose to read an online story, they usually read an average of 77% of the story, compared to 62% in broadsheets and 57% in tabloids.

The study also revealed that only half of online readers scan, the others are methodical in their reading.

Podcasting for Business

By Patsi Krakoff in Online Marketing

Blogging and Beyond: Episode 11
"How to Use Podcasts and Webinars to Grow Your Business"
with guest expert Debra Simpson, Magic in Words

Debra had some great ideas for using audio and
podcasting in your business. With 65 million mp3 players out there,
I’d say there’s a definitely a market for your expertise! I posted
about the interview and one of Debra’s tips.

Blog Squad on Leading Experts TV

By Patsi Krakoff in Online Marketing

Last December The Blog Squad was
invited to be on the Leading Experts talk show. We headed to Palm
Springs to the CBS studios where host Dr. Jeff Hockings shoots the 28
minute show.

It’s taken awhile, but we finally have the video online for the world to see. Check us out on Leading Experts TV!

Audio Articles: Great Idea for Greater Online Reach

By Patsi Krakoff in Article Ideas, List Building Tips, Online Marketing, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog

Today Denise and I interviewed Debra Simpson, MagicInWords.com about podcasts and other media to reach and pull visitors to your online business. (I’ll post notes about our Blogging and Beyond radio show on podcasting and multi-media marketing over on our Build a Better Blog site.)

One idea I hadn’t heard of before is to post audio articles and audio tips on your website and blog. Take an article you’ve written for your ezine or for article directory syndication, and revise it for recording purposes. A 500-700 word article should translate to a 3-5 minute mp3 file.

Why would you want to do this? Because there are 63 million owners of mp3 players in the world, who want to download files and listen to them in the car and in the gym.

Now, I’m not a big fan of listening to podcasts on the treadmill – I need a little rock n roll to motivate my feet! My favorite is Jock Jams – those tunes really get me going!

I am, however, a big fan of getting the maximum juice out of everything I write. And just because I love to write and read my information, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give other options to readers. Some people just prefer to listen to information. Give visitors to your site a choice.

Audio files can be serialized, so that visitors come back to your site for tip #2, etc. A special report or article can be recorded and given away as a bonus for signing up for your ezine.

It is becoming clear that even writers must be prepared for the new interactive Web, what the geeks call Web 2.0, and be able to record information in audio and video files when possible. It that too much to ask of us writers? I think not. After all, 10 years ago, hardly anyone was using email, and we all learned how to do that, didn’t we?

For more tips on audio and creating informational products, visit Debra’s site, www.MagicinWords.com.

“Press Release Must Die” Panel at BlogHer Wants New Parameters for Social Media Formatting

By Patsi Krakoff in Writing Great Press Releases

Press releases are getting major overhauls these days, turning the traditional PR format into more user-friendly versions that facilitate journalists’ jobs of finding information faster.

Julie Crabill from SHIFT Communications participated on a panel at BlogHer called "The Press Release Must Die," along with Bambi Francisco of MarketWatch, moderated by Erin Kotecki Vest of the Huffington Post.

The whole idea is to create press releases that are more useful and convenient for journalists, giving them deeper information and better information through links to blogs, audio and video files, as well as RSS feeds and tags.

Social20media20pr20template I posted about this new social media press release previously and make this new template available to you here through SHIFT Communications:

Download NewPRsmprtemplate.pdf

Beyond Writing: Use Your Voice with Podcasts

By Patsi Krakoff in Teleclasses & Seminars

Sometimes writing isn’t enough. As a writer, you probably like to read information. But here’s a clue: not everyone’s a reader. There is a huge audience of people out there who like listening to podcasts.

In fact, there’s 65 million owners of mp3 players world wide, all looking for stuff to download and listen to. And much of what people like to listen to in the car and on the treadmill are informational podcasts.

Join The Blog Squad this Thursday at 11 a.m. ET for the Blogging and Beyond radio show about podcasting: