Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

If You Work for Yourself, Be a Good Boss
(Weekend musings…)

By Patsi Krakoff in Fun and Irrelevant Things About Patsi, Patsi's Story

Are you thinking about next year already? I am. I hate to say it, but this year's over. With the end-of-the-year holidays, and my vacation coming up, it's time to finish up projects, get them announced, and generate some revenues.

What are you doing to prepare for 2010? I'm writing a prediction about content marketing for a book, and I'm launching a couple of projects (sneak preview, Content Marketing for Smarties and Patsi's Private List).

(BIG announcement next week, on the teleseminar (don't forget to register here: How to Create Content Products with MyKnowledgeGenie.)

(Personal Note: This has been a strange year for everyone, political changes that leave one hopeful, excited, or scared, but certainly not apathetic; then there's been the economic uncertainty, global unrest, and, if you're nearing retirement age, some re-working of plans because of shrinking reserves. Whatever your situation, employed, self-employed, or out of work, I hope you do not give up, you maintain your energy and keep on working on those dreams.)

My point is this: make sure you're doing work you really love and you like your boss. You may have to be together longer than you expect! In my case, my boss is myself (not The Hubby, as he would like to think!)…

I'm sometimes difficult to work for. It's not that I work myself too hard, au contraire. I have a pretty good work ethic, I'm responsible and reliable. But I've got an even stronger "play ethic." I firmly believe that playing tennis everyday is the way to keep a healthy body AND, more importantly, a healthy brain. If I'm not having fun, none of this really matters as much.

The problem is the 3-4 hours that it takes for tennis. Especially when I'm organizing a project like the upcoming teleseminar for My Knowledge Genie. (Details here, don't miss it!)

Content Creation Made Easy, Interactive, and Affordable: My Knowledge Genie Free Class

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, E-Books, How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars

You may have heard the buzz about it already, My Knowledge Genie is a content creating wizard that will save you a ton of time and energy.

I don't promote products unless I see them as having really good value. As soon as I set up a free account at MyKnowledgeGenie.com, I had to stop my fist from hitting my forehead too hard. This tool really is a genie.

I started a free trial last week, and I'm almost finished with a comprehensive ebook that includes chapters, checklists, definitions, learning reminders, and summary questions. I'll be publishing it soon, and selling it for $97. Cost for all this? $5/month hosting fees, nothing else.

If I wanted to create a free info product, I wouldn't need to upgrade my account. My "genie" would be completely free, yet hosted, created, formatted, and organized and published on their site. Easy as pie.

If you need to create and sell info products like ebooks, books, and training materials, don't miss this free teleseminar:

Join me on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. ET to take a virtual tour with founder Milo Sindell.

3 Key Content Questions You Must Answer

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

To paraphrase Doug Kessler, Velocity Marketing:

While there’s a lot of craft in the practice of content marketing, the core of the discipline is very, very simple: you have to be able to answer three questions quickly, clearly and compellingly:

Who the hell are you?
Why should I care?
Why should I believe you?

If you can answer these three questions well, you’ll have done the hardest and most important part of your content marketing job. You'll also make the other parts of your job a lot easier.

While Doug writes this as part of his Holy Trinity of Technology Marketing, these questions are foundational for writing any kind of marketing content.

The devil is in the nuances, of course. I'll give you a bad email marketing sample of how NOT to do this:

How to Create Content Marketing Products with
My Knowledge Genie

By Patsi Krakoff in Uncategorized

“My Knowledge Genie” Teleseminar Interview with Milo Sindell

Who: Interview with Milo Sindell, founder of MyKnowledgeGenie.com

What: MyKnowledgeGenie.com is an
online information product builder. Learn how you
can quickly create information products such as ebooks, training modules, and
comprehensive learning packages with this easy-to-use, low cost
platform.

Date: Thursday November 12, 2009

Times: 4 p.m. ET
            3 p.m. CT
            2 p.m. MT
            1 p.m. PT

Bridge-Line: 308-344-6459
Participant code: 1042440#

My Knowledge Genie will help you create ebooks, training modules, speeches, books, membership sites, and content marketing pieces quickly and easily.

I started a free trial last week, and I’m almost finished with a comprehensive ebook that includes chapters, checklists, definitions, learning reminders, and summary questions. I’ll be publishing it soon, and selling it for $97. Cost for all this? $5/month hosting fees, nothing else.

My Knowledge Genie provides a Web platform that formats, distributes, and sells your content product, and you keep all the revenues. You only pay a minimal hosting fee. No revenue sharing.

Join me, Patsi Krakoff, from The Blog Squad, as I interview the founder of My Knowledge Genie, Milo Sindell.

We’ll go on a virtual tour of this content creation genie. I suggest you open up a free trial before the call at My Knowledge Genie.

If you can’t attend, there will be a free audio recording available shortly afterwards.

If you have difficulties calling in, it may be because too many
people are trying to join at the same time.

You’ll need to try again,
and verify your call-in numbers. It’s best to call in 2-3 minutes early. The call
will be put on mute in order to eliminate background noises.

If you have questions, send an email to me:
pkrakoff at gmail dot com, and I’ll try to ask our expert before the end of
the
call.

Please plan on one hour for this call.

To prepare, I suggest you check out www.MyKnowledgeGenie.com. Take a virtual tour and start a free trial to see how this works.

Here’s some interesting information about Milo Sindell, our Knowledge Genie expert:

Milo Sindell is the founder of two start ups: Hit the Ground Running
and Knowledge Genie. As the founder of Hit The Ground Running, he has
developed a software to increase employee performance and retention in
three critical stages of the employee lifecycle: starting a job, being
engaged on the job, and leaving the job.

Hit The Ground Running also developed a first of its kind program that
transforms the 1:1 coaching methodology of one of the world’s experts
on leadership, Marshall Goldsmith, into a virtual coaching web app
(www.myMGpro.com) or also available on Amazon).

He then co-founded, Knowledge Genie (www.MyKnowledgeGenie.com),
a new electronic publishing platform that enables individuals and
organizations to capture, package, and publish what they know as an
interactive web app. Milo is also an expert and entrepreneur in the
field of organization and employee performance.

He has worked for leading organizations, including Intel and Sun
Microsystems. He has published three books and numerous articles in the
field of employee performance and talent management.

These books include: Sink or Swim: New Job. New Boss. 12 Weeks to Get
it Right; Job Spa: 12 Weeks to Refresh, Refocus, and Recommit to Your
Career; and the upcoming book, The End of Work as You Know It: Eight
Strategies to Redefine Work in Your Terms.

Once you sign up, you’ll get an email with instructions to confirm your registration. Please read and follow the instructions, click on the link to finish your registration. You’ll get the telephone bridge numbers sent to you.

Hope to see you on the call!

Put Down Your Twitter Toys & Get Back to Work!

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

I am looking at the Twitterverse and shaking my head. So much going on
there, so much noise. Looks like some of you are having just too much fun over there…And like a kid with a new toy, some of you are
abandoning your old stand-by business blogs in favor of quick updates
on Twitter.

Tsk, tsk.

Put down your Twitter Toys right NOW! Some of you are making too much noise. All that laughing, it can't be good for business, now can it?

Really? You're getting new clients and making money and having a good time, too? Can't be true…and yet…just last week I got a new client who told me she found me through a re-tweet…

You Are Registered for the
My Knowledge Genie Teleseminar

By Patsi Krakoff in Uncategorized

You’ve registered to attend a teleseminar training with me, Patsi Krakoff.

The teleseminar details are as follows:

My Knowledge Genie

Who: Interview with Milo Sindell, founder of MyKnowledgeGenie.com

What: MyKnowledgeGenie.com is an online information product builder and training system. Learn how you can quickly create information products such as ebooks, training modules, and comprehensive learning packages with this easy-to-use, low cost platform.

Date: Thursday November 12, 2009

Times: 4 p.m. ET
3 p.m. CT
2 p.m. MT
1 p.m. PT

Bridge-Line: 308-344-6459 PLUS pin: 473191#

(Note: This phone number is subject to change if we get larger numbers registered. Please read the email updates next week before the call to verify the number and the pin.)

This teleseminar will be recorded and the audio file available shortly afterwards. If you miss the live call, you’ll be able to listen to the recording at your convenience.

If you have difficulties calling in, it may be because too many people are trying to join at the same time.

You’ll need to try again, and verify your call-in numbers. It’s best to call in 2 minutes early. The call will be put on mute in order to eliminate background noises.

To prepare, I suggest you check out www.MyKnowledgeGenie.com. Take a virtual tour and start a free trial to see how this works.

If you have questions you want answered, just email me before the call next Thursday, pkrakoff at gmail dot com.

Please plan on 45 minutes for this call. I’ll send you a reminder next Thursday morning to repeat the phone numbers.

Here’s some interesting information about Milo Sindell, our Knowledge Genie expert:

Milo Sindell is the founder of two start ups: Hit the Ground Running and Knowledge Genie. As the founder of Hit The Ground Running, he has developed a software to increase employee performance and retention in three critical stages of the employee lifecycle: starting a job, being engaged on the job, and leaving the job.

Hit The Ground Running also developed a first of its kind program that transforms the 1:1 coaching methodology of one of the world’s experts on leadership, Marshall Goldsmith, into a virtual coaching web app (www.myMGpro.com) or also available on Amazon).

He then co-founded, Knowledge Genie (www.MyKnowledgeGenie.com), a new electronic publishing platform that enables individuals and organizations to capture, package, and publish what they know as an interactive web app. Milo is also an expert and entrepreneur in the field of organization and employee performance.

He has worked for leading organizations, including Intel and Sun Microsystems. He has published three books and numerous articles in the field of employee performance and talent management.

These books include: Sink or Swim: New Job. New Boss. 12 Weeks to Get it Right; Job Spa: 12 Weeks to Refresh, Refocus, and Recommit to Your Career; and the upcoming book, The End of Work as You Know It: Eight Strategies to Redefine Work in Your Terms.

Confessions of a Content Marketing Doofus…

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

I've got to confess to being my own worse marketing example…This weekend I read my own blog posts…and decided I talk a good talk but don't always walk the talk! What a doofus…(Another great photo from Shutterstock)

It's the post about using client comments as part of a good content marketing strategy. If social proof is so darned vital in influencing readers to become clients, why don't I showcase the emails and comments I get from the people I've worked with?

I can be demure and say I don't like tooting my own horn, but that would be lame since I am telling everybody else how crucial this social proof thing is.

I've decided I'm not alone, I'm sure others out there are doing this too, and so that makes me feel better. But until I get over myself and post some testimonials, I've no excuse for being a hypocrite.

I can blog til I'm blue in the face about the payoffs of blogging, but here's one client's experience:

What Clients Say

By Patsi Krakoff in Uncategorized

Want proof that content marketing with blogging pays off? Here are a few client testimonials…

Bud Bilanich is The Common Sense Guy. He was also one of The Blog Squad’s early blogging clients. It was some time in 2005 that we set up Bud’s blog www.CommonSenseGuy.com on TypePad.com. Bud took to blogging like a duck to water.

Bud Bilanich sent us a copy of an chapter he is contributing to a book called One Great Idea. His great idea is that he decided to use a blog to brand himself and his business. And he credits The Blog Squad for teaching him everything he knows about blogging. 🙂

Bud says:

As a small business owner whose brand is me, I have recognized the importance of personal branding. I am a keynote speaker, executive coach, organization effectiveness consultant, and author. I am my business; therefore, my brand needs to speak for me.

…it’s my blogs that have helped me the most with my branding efforts. When I decided to begin blogging, I went to the experts, The Blog Squad. They helped me set up my www.CommonSenseGuy.com blog on TypePad.

This blog, and another one I added, helps me reinforce my common sense message everyday.

Bud’s blogs have helped him gain international exposure, get more consulting jobs, attract more speaking gigs, and develop joint venture partnerships. What more can we say? Every business, big or small can benefit from the branding potential of a blog.

Bud has given us permission to share his article. Download Branding by Blogging and learn more about Bud Bilanich’s success using a blog to build his business.

Blog Commenting: A Testimonial that It Works!

Recently Tim Wright completed our Law of Action mentoring program. He
was kind enough to share some of his blogging success with us…

YOU ROCK!

I’ve followed as much of your advice as time (and the rest of my
business and life) allows. Most significant, thus far, has been that
I’ve relentlessly posted comments on blogs comparable to mine.

I’m having separate phone conversations w/ the two bloggers I admire
most, of those whose blogs I’ve left comments. I see all sorts of
interview, shared article, blog cross-fertilization, and teleseminar
possibilities in our future.

Did I already say YOU ROCK?

Both conversations went divinely. We shared common interests, compared
and contrasted our expertise, and ventured into the
how-can-we-help-one-another-be-more-successful area. I already foresee
tele-interviews to increase our mutual visibility and credibility and
probably to initiate shared product.

Additionally, I’ve been, thanks to my blog and the 3-posts-a-week
advice, invited into a strong and getting stronger subject area
community that will substantially increase my blog’s visibility.

Tim Wright, Culture to Engage Blog

Blogs Build Your Business: You Want More Proof?

Later, Tim sent another email letting us know about more success he attributes to blogging:

The good news just keeps on happenin’!

Thanks to my three-a-week commitment and a number of your other recommended tactics (like commenting on others’ blogs, joining cyber neighborhoods and networks, spicing up the titles, working on keywords and phrases), I had this great thing occur y’day:

An e-mail from an online company that does audio conferences to educate the HR market. They needed a stand in for an audio conference scheduled for next Wednesday. When they started searching (God bless Google!), my Culture to Engage blog appeared.

Result? I’m standing in next Wednesday and I’m offering an audio conference all my own the day before.

And is it remunerative? (Or as my granddad would say, “Does it bring in the bucks?”)
You betcha.

One audio conference: $750.
Affiliate to sell their follow-up “hard” product: 20%
Visibility among their audience: priceless.

Have I said lately, “You ROCK!”?
Tim Wright, Culture to Engage Blog

Chris Baggott on Business Blogging

Last week we spoke with Chris Baggott about search engine optimization and business blogs (audio and transcript available). Overall the response was excellent, though a couple of bloggers didn’t like the “corporate” approach of using a blog to generate leads.

Chris sent us this comment:

I just wanted to thank you both for a great session last week. Your questions were insightful and I really appreciate your open-mindedness for some of these new concepts.

A successful relationship requires direct communication. To get the right to build a relationship with a customer or prospect you have to first be found, second build credibility that a relationship with you will add value to the prospect or customer. Blogging is spectacular for this stage of the relationship.

From that point however 99% of the time that relationship is going to evolve to leverage some other medium…which might include face-to-face, email, telephone or even paper based things like catalogs.

You guys are a perfect case to show that a successful blogging program shouldn’t be measured by the number of comments…but from the amount of traffic and conversions.

Thanks again,

Chris Baggott, CEO
Compendium Blogware
Related post:
SEO Blogging vs. Community

GolfAsian Blog: 3 Years Old & Still Posting

Just have to share this email (with permission of course) that arrived in our email box last night, from client Mark Siegel. We frequently point to Mark Siegel’s business blog success when we present to groups and we love that he sends us unsolicited progress reports from time to time. Here’s Mark’s latest business blog success story…

Hi Denise and Patsi,

The Thailandgolfzone is 3 years old today and still remains the single best investment I have made in marketing and client communications, by a long mile. From your excellent set-up work and encouragement my blog has grown to over 387 posts (and counting), generated new leads that resulted in $2,000,000 US dollars (yes 2 Million!) in new business, and even catapulted me into becoming the “Thailand Golf Guru.”

For the latter I have been asked to write for Asian Golf Monthly, a major golf publication here, invited to speak on golf tourism at the Asian Golf Business Summit, interviewed by Forbes magazine along side of billionaire Herbert Kohler, and even contracted by the Thai government to be Thailand’s golf ambassador to the world! Wow, now the fun really starts!

Who would have imagined that a small one man operation like Golfasian armed with great service and a Blog Squad business blog and a customized newsletter to get the word out could have achieved so much success and fame in just 3 short years, and this is in spite of the world’s economic and equity crisis.

Well once again I have to thank you, Denise and Patsi, for your initial consultations, advice, and encouragement. I am 100% convinced that without your assistance on the Thailandgolfzone, these accomplishments over the past 3 years would have not been realized.

Keep up the great work, count me in as a true believer in your services, and feel free to use me as a reference for business blogs as well as your current venture, social networking for business success.

Best Regards,
Mark Siegel
Managing Director
Golfasian Co. Ltd.
+66-(0)2-714-8470
http://www.golfasian.com, http://www.vietnamgolfvacation.com, and http://www.thailandgolfzone.com
The golf experts in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia!

Blogging Success Story: Mark Siegel

Mark Siegel is a blogging success story. Mark runs the Thailand Golf Zone blog which we helped him set up and optimize about two years ago. Periodically Mark sends us updates about the success of his business which he attributes to the success of his blog. In January we got an email from Mark saying he could directly attribute $875,000 in new revenue to his blog.

Yesterday, we got another raving (in a good way) email from Mark Siegel:

It’s me again, Mark Siegel, and I just wanted to say keep up the great work on blog education! What you did to help me create the Thailand Golf Zone, continues to be the single biggest marketing action that has helped fuel my Golf business’ (Golfasian) yearly TRIPLE DIGIT growth.

That’s right, even in these uncertain economic times, the advantages I have over my blog-less competitors, trust I have developed with my clients, and expert reputation I have earned with the press has come in large part from the Thailand Golf Zone blog which the Blog Squad helped set up for me 2 years and 344 posts ago.

I can not thank you both enough for this and as you can see you have turned a somewhat skeptical thinker into a blog and Blog Squad champion!

Thanks again,
Best Regards,
Mark Siegel
Managing Director
Golfasian Co. Ltd.
+66-(0)2-714-8470
http://www.golfasian.com and http://www.thailandgolfzone.com
The golf experts in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia!

Got a Blog? Guest Author Bea Vann
i Shares Her Blogging Success

The following article by Bea Vanni, was originally published by The Well Fed Writer. Disclosure: Bea Vanni is a member of our Blogging and Beyond Mentor program. She does give The Blog Squad credit for contributing to her blogging success, but we did not lobby for inclusion in her article! We’re reprinting this article to give you a perspective about business blogging other than our own. Enjoy!

GOT A BLOG? ADD ONE AND YOUR BIZ COULD SOAR!

Got a blog? Just like milk builds good bones, blogs build good business. As solo professionals, we know information helps us cut through the struggle of marketing our business. Knowledge solves our challenges and also those of our clients.

As writers we live or die by the written word, and if a potential client hears the human voice behind our passion, they’re more likely to trust us. A blog can create that connection and trust if you share your unique perspectives and teach useful techniques to fix problems.

Did you notice that you aren’t in the business of doing that thing you do, but more in the business of marketing it? Does it make it you crazy? Well, a business blog drives more traffic quicker than a website and elicits demand for your services because you show how much you care by sharing what you know. That’s what happened to me.

When I began blogging in early 2006, I didn’t know how to build my business with a blog. I only knew I wanted to share my expertise and began writing on living and working in Turkey. I didn’t have a strategy or a niche, but on the way to the blogosphere, I got discovered. All of a sudden people wanted me for my expertise: Speaking engagements, interviews, and writing projects increased two-fold.

Today, I know a lot more about how a blog conveys credibility and expert status owed to the Blog Squad www.FixMyBlog.com, experts on building a blog for business. They taught me tricks and tools most don’t know about and set my blog on the fast track to double my traffic and knowability overnight.

A professional business blog offers repeat opportunities for you to hook up with your ideal prospects and allow them to sample you, your know-how and your commitment. A blog’s not for everybody, though, so be sure you’re on the right track before you begin. It takes diligence, time and a fount of ideas to ensure success.

If you decide to blog for business, plan a strategy first and target a niche, then write tips and tricks in ample quantities aimed at what your readers want to know. To create a business blog, always use a pro’s blogging platform, like TypePad. No need for techie skills, no wait for your webmaster to post updates, or a windfall of money to pay a publicist.

Be patient because it may take a few months of writing before you begin to see results in your knowability. Foremost, tack up a subscription box from Feedblitz for your readers to subscribe to your posts, and track your blog stats with Site Meter. Both tools are FREE!

Once you post regularly, both the blog search engines and your readers will put you in their blog funnel and visit more frequently. Take it from me; build your online presence with a business blog and watch how it can transform your professional image and credibility.

About the Author
Bea Vanni specializes in the design, development and delivery of high-quality writing, editing and business solutions for consultants and SMEs who want to gain more visibility for their work and attract more clients. Check out Bea’s blog at http://www.remarkablesolutionsblog.com.

San Francisco Chiropractor Boosts Business with Back and Wrist Pain Blog

“We are ¾ of the way done with the blog makeover,
and my blog looks 100% better than before, I am posting almost every
day, and my blog traffic has increased 500%. It is currently my #1
source of new patients,” states Dr. Davis.

San Francisco Chiropractor Boosts Business with Back and Wrist Pain Blog

San Francisco chiropractor Dr. Eben Davis is
using a blog to attract clients to his back and wrist pain clinic. His
blog, http://www.sfbackpaindoctor.com, is his number one source of new patients.

He recently engaged the services of The Blog Squad to do an “extreme blog makeover” to improve the blog and help educate potential patients. He now gets five times more traffic to the blog.

Dr. Davis adds, “More importantly, the patients that come
from the blog are better educated and seem to get better results. It’s
a lot of work, but well worth it.”

“Blogs are user-friendly, and anyone can set one up and publish on
the Web instantly. But many business professionals lack blog marketing
savvy to get good results,” says Dr. Krakoff.

“Dr. Davis wanted to improve his blog so we did a complete analysis
of the blog’s usability, branding, design, content and search engine
optimization,” adds Dr. Krakoff.

Dr. Davis publishes a blog because he knows patients are using them
to help choose chiropractors. Since most other chiropractors in San
Francisco are using static template websites to promote their services,
he wanted to do something better, something more personal so patients
could get to know him better before they came in.

“We are ¾ of the way done with the blog makeover, and my blog looks
100% better than before, I am posting almost every day, and my blog
traffic has increased 500%. It is currently my #1 source of new
patients,” states Dr. Davis.

Not all businesses that jump into blogging experience instant
success. Like any marketing tool it requires time and energy. Although
it is one of the least expensive ways to reach a broad audience of
prospects, it requires frequent writing to get readers and new business.

“When a company doesn’t post frequently on their blog, and isn’t
using it well,” adds Dr. Krakoff, “It looks like a neglected store.
Visitors leave with a bad impression of the business. Most business
bloggers don’t realize that a few tweaks to a blog can make a big
difference.”

Businesses interested in improving their blog results should visit www.fixmyblog.com for details on how to get started.

What Does Your Content Marketing
“Table of Contents” Look Like?

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Online Marketing

If you were to write a book, gathering your expertise up and packaging it for your targeted audience, what would the table of contents look like? Could you list 10-15 chapters taking a reader from step 1 through to finish?

I recently did this, in preparation for an informational product. It's not finished yet, but I discovered amazing results from listing the chapters: clarity and inspiration!

For the last two weeks I've been creating fresh content and re-purposing old blog posts, following a trail of steps a person would take to create a strong online marketing presence for a small business. If you review recent posts, I started with:

Use Client Comments in Your Content Marketing

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Content Marketing, Email Marketing Tips, How to...Tips, Online Marketing

Are you using client comments like you could and should for content marketing? There's power in people's praise, but also in their comments and email messages.

Remember that there are six universal principles of social influence, as identified by social psychologists, notably Robert Cialdini in the book Influence: