Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

The Importance of Being “Cool”…

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, Online Marketing

A big "Thanks "to Lorrie Morgan Ferrero for compiling a list of "50 Coolest Marketers for 2009" on her Red Hot Copy blog and for including me on the list. This is a good list to check out because there are some very smart people on it, besides being "cool."

Some people on this list you may not know yet, they are up-and-comers in Internet marketing niches.

Why is it important to get to know people on a list like this? Because they're doing things that work. They're doing things you could be doing. I'll bet you could be on this list next year…

Some of them like Ali Brown and Alex Mandossian and Adam Urbanski have been around for years and you would expect them to have huge numbers of followers (and they do!). When they do an email promo, even if they only get a small percentage response, it translates to big money, by virtue of the numbers.

More people on your marketing list, more results you will get. But how do you build up a big list that's responsive?

What Really Matters… the ebook

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, E-Books, On Writing Better

Seth Godin wants to put this ebook What Really Matters into the hands of 5 million people. I don't blame him. It's got some really good gems written by really good people.

You could take a page a day, and a quote from each page, and write something on your blog about it… with appropriate links to the authors, of course. That's over 80 blog posts almost written for you…

Please go download this book now, right here: Download What-matters-now-2.

Then tell me what you think's the best page… what best describes to you what really matters?

Social Media Fairies: They’re real and they’ve got solutions

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

I hate to start the week with a rant, but I'm mad at social media sites for giving me too much to do. Yeah, I know, I could ask my V.A. to do some things for me, but that would require me actually knowing which specific things to tell him to do.

Grrrr…I'm just so frustrated with all this social networking stuff going on. Don't you hate the feeling of having 4 or 5 growling pit bulls in the closet, just waiting to be fed?

It's not like I don't appreciate Twitter. After all, complete strangers re-tweet what I have to say and are a major source of traffic to this blog. I got a $600 order from someone who found me through a re-tweet. So I know it's working and it pays.

It's that gnawing feeling that I'm not doing enough. Going over to Facebook sends pangs of guilt because I haven't answered friend requests in weeks. And I love friends, honest.

My stepmother told me to be careful what I wish for, but here goes:

I just wish the magic social media fairies would appear, give me a list of things I'm doing right, things I'm doing wrong, and give me some clear cut steps for getting the most out of social media.

(…sound effects of roaring thunder, grumbling skies, lightening and the clouds opening up…)

Entrepreneur’s Disease: It Creeps Up on You

By Patsi Krakoff in Coaching/Personal Development, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Online Marketing

What do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed? Lately it feels like the chair and the whip aren't enough to keep the lions from lunging at my sweet psyche. I crave calmness. And yet, what am I talking about?

A few months ago I was scratching my head and drumming fingers because of not enough action. Now things are heating up. I'm buying a new car this weekend. The whole family is well fed and happy. I played some good tennis this week…

I suffer from Entreprenuer's Disease: it's an eating disorder whereby self-employed nut-cases like myself bite off more than we can chew. This month I am gorging myself. Here's what's on my plate:

Regular client work back-logged by missing first week of December on vacation and shortened month due to holidays
Preparing bonus report for subscribers to Patsi's Private List, so they get valuable information
Preparing teleseminar with Joan Stewart for Dec. 17 to announce an amazing Social Media time-saver
Preparing end-of-year sale on leadership development content subscriptions for coaches
Finishing up Content Marketing for Smart Professionals, a mega-info product/ebook/membership subscription site built on MyKnowledgeGenie.com
Preparing launch partners for Content Marketing for Smarties program, sales page, teleseminars
Contacting potential partners to host teleseminars for MyKnowledgeGenie.com
Preparing blogging teleseminar with Joan Stewart for January 13
Preparing teleseminar with Seth Godin for January 8

Are You Boring Your Readers?

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better

How do you know you're boring? Like a fish that doesn't know he's in water, can we really tell when we're boring our readers?

Yesterday it was my turn to read at the Ajijic writers meeting, and I chose a piece about working from home using Web and social media tools. The piece was 1,700 words or 4 pages and takes a while to read. There's a lot of practical information in it, and not many compelling stories.

During the reading, I furtively looked up to gauge audience interest. At one point, I got a few chuckles and eyes were open and on me, so at least I knew no one was falling asleep.

Other than that, I had no idea if I was boring or not, since a lot of it was information about blogging, Twitter, teleseminars, shopping carts and the stuff I do everyday to make a living online. Of course, once the reading was over, there was feedback.

It turns out, the stuff I take for granted as being standard working-from-home tools are a mystery to the average writer in my community. Many of these folks are still computer-shy and working offline. Instead of it being boring in the sense of "old news," it passed into the realm of overwhelmingly "new school."