Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

Article Marketing: Notes

By Patsi Krakoff in Writing Better Ezines

Denise posted her notes over at the BizTips Blog from the radio show interview with Christopher Knight of EzineArticles.com, and they are worthy of repeating here:

Articles should be between 400 and 1000 words

The article title is the most important element; most people make their titles too short. EzineArticles.com has a 100 character limit. Titles should have a primary and a secondary hook to get scanners to read further

The article body should be all about giving — no hype, no pitch about your business; give great, valuable info; what does THE READER need to learn
The resource box is about you, the author; not a bio, but a way to let the reader get more info
Use an editor so you minimize spelling and grammar errors
Take a look at the content you already have created. What is evergreen? Look at it as an editing exercise vs. a writing exercise

The big question always is…how many articles should one submit to get a good return? There is no right answer but most people never submit more than 10 articles so anything more than that is good. 25 to 250 articles will start to drive more traffic to your site.

Chris has an excellent ebook called Article Production Strategies that we highly recommend.

If you’re just getting started with article writing, our colleague Jeff Herring has a suite of article writing templates that we frequently use to jump start our articles.

Article Marketing with Chris Knight: Audio

By Patsi Krakoff in Uncategorized

Blogging and Beyond: Episode 8
Attract, Sell, Profit! with Articles
with guest expert Christopher Knight, owner of EzineArticles.com and author of Article Marketing Strategies

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

I was scouting more info on writing articles for marketing purposes, and spotted this great article by Marnie Pehrson, of Idea Marketers, worth the read: Creating Articles that Are Professional and Build Link Popularity

Marketing with Articles: Each Article is a Sales Agent for Your Business

By Patsi Krakoff in Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Copy

I know many people struggle with writing an article. Then, when they learn that you really need 25 articles, or 50, or 100 submissions before you can get marketing juice from article directories…well, it’s daunting to say the least!

The key to writing numerous articles and making them work for marketing your business is to look at each one as a sales agent. Write short articles, introduce a common challenge or problem your clients have, reveal a solution, and then give people a reason to click through to your site for more solutions, more information.

Chris Knight is the founder of EzineArticles.com who awards the Platinum Ezine Articles Expert badge to professionals with numerous quality articles. He will reveal more tips on how to use your articles as sales agents on our Internet radio show Blogging and Beyond, Thursday March 1, at 8 a.m. PST (11 a.m. EST) on VoiceAmerica.com.

You can get more of his article marketing strategies here:

http://www.drivetrafficwitharticles.com/

Here’re some more good tips about writing articles for syndication from Chris, and why it is important to create a "mental separation" between yourself and your articles:

Marketing with Articles: Chris Knight on Blogging and Beyond Radio

By Patsi Krakoff in Online Marketing, Podcasts, Teleclasses & Seminars, Writing Great Copy

Blogging and Beyond: Episode 8
March 1, 2007, 8:00 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET) on VoiceAmerica

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Christopher Knight of www.EzineArticles.com

"Marketing Your Business with Articles"

Writing and submitting articles to directories is a key strategy for smart marketing online. It’s all about driving traffic to your blog or website. Christopher Knight has been at the forefront of this article syndication model with EzineArticles.com, a leading directory with over 2 million visitors each month. He shares best practices for article marketing with The Blog Squad.

In the second half of the show, Ideal Client Erik Feder shares his progress on his blog and website.

Chris Knight is also the author of Article Production Strategies. If you have questions you would like us to ask Chris, use this link to submit your question. We’ll do our best to get them answered during the show..

Writing Articles + Article Directories = Smart Marketing

By Patsi Krakoff in How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Writing Better Ezines, Writing Great Copy

In preparation for our Blogging and Beyond radio show Thursday, March 1, when The Blog Squad is interviewing Christopher Knight of EzineArticles.com, I’m reviewing key points about using articles to market your business.

Smart Marketing with Articles
©2007 Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D. & Denise Wakeman, The Blog Squadtm

You’ve probably heard about article marketing and how important it is for getting exposure for your ideas and expertise on the Web.

In the consulting work we do with professionals who want to get known and get found on the Web, we recommend writing articles and submitting them to directories as a key strategy.

Submitting short articles to directories that demonstrate your knowledge helps in a number of ways:

1. Drives targeted traffic to your blog or website.
2. Builds your credibility with prospects looking for the type of services you provide.

Why Do I Blog? Let me count the ways…

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Fun and Irrelevant Things About Patsi, Promoting Your Ezine +/or Blog

Kristie T of WebMoms blog tagged The Blog Squad to share 5 reasons why we blog. I’ll let Denise respond over on Build a Better Blog. Here goes for me:

When I sit down to the computer (yes, in my pj’s – after all most days it’s 5 a.m.!), I reflect on what really matters, what’s going on in my business, and how can I be of service by giving interesting and educational information to my readers.
When I search for interesting nuggets to write about, I am keeping my professional skills up to date and relevant in my area of expertise (writing for the web, blogs for business, Internet marketing for the small business professional).
I blog to get my creative juices going.
I blog to reach out to others who have similar interests.
I blog to get stuff out of my head where it doesn’t do much good rattling around; often my blog posts reveal a larger issue that I will turn into a series of articles, an ebook, or teleclass event.

Copywriting: Learn It Or Die

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

Learning how to write good copy for your website, blog, sales pages, and email messages is the key to online success. Write well or die.

According to Brian Clark of Copyblogger.com, copywriting skills are the missing ingredient that prevents most people from successfully marketing online.

Copywriting, well, that’s another skill set, isn’t it?

This morning Denise and I were scheduled to grill Brian about copywriting skills on our Blogging and Beyond radio show, but unfortunately he was left voice-less due to severe flu. So I went over to his blog and studied some of my favorite posts by Brian on what is needed for writing good copy online.

Here’s how Brian defines copywriting:

On Bad Bosses and Jerks at Work

By Patsi Krakoff in Newsletter Nuggets Ezine

Newsletter Nuggets – February 22, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – On Bad Bosses and Jerks at Work
2. March 07 Featured Article: Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Habits Leaders Should Stop Doing Now
3. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –

I had fun writing this new article for your March newsletter: Good Boss, Bad Boss. Who hasn’t had a really bad boss at one point in a career? It’s easy to laugh in retrospect, but while living under the influence of a jerk at work, it’s not funny.

Marshall Goldsmith is an executive coach who writes great books, and he contributes a list of 20 bad habits leaders should stop doing now from his new book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. This is a must-read book for all the reasons I blogged about here: http://www.coachezines.com/2007/02/marshall_goldsm.html

Speaking of books about jerks at work, don’t miss Professor Robert I. Sutton’s The No Asshole Rule. Yes, you read right, and it’s a title that even Harvard Business Review is writing about. Sometimes no other word conveys the same meaning.

If you are a current Customized Newsletter Services client, don’t forget to email me which article you want to use for your March newsletter so I can get it formatted and delivered to you on time.

If you aren’t a subscriber, you can purchase any article from www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com and modify and rewrite them to serve your purpose. All the research is done for you.

Enjoy reading, and don’t be a jerk at work!

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Articles, Blog Posts, & Writing Ezines

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Ezine & Blog Classes, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks

Last night Denise and I spoke with Jeff Herring’s (The Article Guy) teleseminar group about differences with article writing, blog posts, and ezine content. Admittedly there is a lot to write when you want to get known on the web, and it can be confusing to newbies.

Let’s break it down. First, you definitely want to be writing on a blog. This is the fast track for getting found by the people who share common interests with you.

And you want to write and submit articles to article directories so that others can find and read your stuff.

Denise and I agree that an article is written in a little different style than a blog post. An article will discuss a problem, expand it, then look at possible solutions. You may wish to include a personal story to illustrate the problem or solution. You may also want to include some statistics or research

Great Copywriting with Copyblogger Brian Clark

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

Brian Clark of Copyblogger.com is our guest expert on our Blogging and Beyond radio show this Thursday at 8 a.m. PT, you won’t want to miss this. You can access the audio file on our Blogging and Beyond Blog only a couple of hours after the show. Here are the details: