Writing On The Web by Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Content Marketing Strategies for Smart Professionals

7 Steps to Playing a Much Bigger Game

By Patsi Krakoff in About Blogs, Coaching/Personal Development, Content Marketing, Online Marketing

I was in my writer’s group last week, and our groups’ most successful writer leaned over and whispered to me, “How do you stay motivated and come up with compelling content for your blog every day? I’m struggling…”

“Oh, that’s easy, I just think of all the readers, new clients, and money I lose when I don’t write.” I was half-way joking, but it’s true. If I want to stay successful, I spend 30-60 minutes blogging every day.

Want to know the real truth? And the reason I think she has this trouble staying motivated and sustaining blog energy? She’s not clear. She’s afraid of certain things like what to write, what not to write, how personal, etc.

She hasn’t done the basic preparation work. Before starting any blog, I tell people to sit down and clarify purpose, audience, and a few key details.

I’ve got an important (free) opportunity if you want to go beyond your current level, please read on:

Content Marketing with Blogs:
Who Are You Blogging For?

By Patsi Krakoff in Uncategorized

Who’s the Target Visitor you're aiming for when you're writing on your blog?

The "who" of your blog matters more than "what" your blog is all about.

It’s bigger than when or where or how, too. Here's an excerpt of a recent article by Easton Ellsworth of Visionary Blogging: How to Create Blog Content That Rewards Your Business Forever

Knowing why you’re blogging and who you’re blogging for is more fundamental than deciding anything else about your blog, including what to blog about.

When you’re birthing a blog, the why and who are the head and shoulders. After those emerge, the what and how come out quickly.

I've often said this to my clients and beginning bloggers who – with a gush of enthusiasm and passion – just want to start writing on a new blog before doing the preparation work. You've got to know the purpose of your blog AND who you're writing to.

Here's more from Easton:

The SEO Song: White Hat / Black Hat Blues?

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

by Guest author Jenny Pilley, The Creare Group

Earlier this year I was invited, very kindly, by Patsi to be a guest blogger. Since receiving the invite it’s an offer I’ve been keen to accept, but time passed and I had yet to respond…until recently.

I am a Content Writer for The Creare Group, a web design and (White Hat) SEO company based in the UK. Like many companies, we have been promoting our services as a means of helping all businesses, including those struggling in the economic down turn.

Since speaking to various small and medium sized companies, we have discovered underlying problems within the SEO community. These have involved illegitimate, dishonest and down right disgraceful ‘Black Hat’ SEO agencies.

They have contacted many business owners, promising them Page One Position One listings for Organic Search Engine Optimization within an impossible timeframe.

But of course there are a mass of small and medium companies that:

a) Want to be the first search result

BUT

b) Do not understand the logistics of SEO

Most Influential Content Marketing Leaders List +
101 Great Blogs You Should Be Subscribing To

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

As if toothaches and root canals weren't enough to keep me down, I've been attacked by a cold. No, not the flu, but a good old-fashioned cold, sniffles and coughing included. Instead of whining, let me just blow my nose horn for a few paragraphs…

Yesterday the lovely Ambal Balakrishnan, co-founder of ClickDocuments (@Ambal) announced a great list of Most Influential Content Marketing Thought Leaders. I'm so proud to be among such good company. This list has all the content marketing leaders on it.

Plus, it's a share group so you can follow all of them on Twitter with just one click, how cool is that! The share group of twitterati is on a site called TweepML, and it's easy to use. Go check it out. But wait, there's more!

This morning I awoke to the news of being on a great list, Kevin Muldoon's 101 Great Blogs You Should Be Subscribing to.

This is a super list of great business blogs in different categories, and I am on the section that lists writing blogs. I highly recommend you find the blogs that can help you in your quest to become better at marketing what you do on the Internet.

Content Marketing with Blogs:
When Blogging is Like a Toothache

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

Is writing on your blog a pleasant and easy task for you? Or is it sometimes worse than getting a tooth pulled? If so, I'm thinking of you this week.

The tooth fairy turned into a wicked witch and sent me to the dentist's for two root canals over the weekend. I don't write well on pain meds and antibiotics. I forgot a friend's birthday party. And I'm barely getting my work done. Fortunately, two root canals in Mexico cost under $250, a far cry from US prices. But even so, it hurts!

Here's what's new: If you haven't downloaded Content Marketing with Blogs, do so now. I've added a bonus report 5 Questions for Writing Web Content that Gets Results. Here's what this free ebook provides:

4 reasons blogs fail
Why good content isn't enough
4 keys to having a great blog
7 step formula for online marketing success
The new shift in content marketing focus
What's required for the 21st century

If you want your blog to work as the most powerful marketing tool on the planet, (which it is, or should be!), then you need to know a few things. This report is the latest information and summarizes it all into simple steps.

Don't struggle with your blog any more. Make your content marketing writing tasks easy. No more pain.

5 Content Marketing Questions:
Getting readers to take action

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy

Here's a final note in my blog post series about writing good content on the Web that gets results. In Maria Velosa's 2009 edition of Web Copy that Sells, she suggests 5 questions your copy should answer: (Photo Credit: Shutterstock)

What is the problem (pain, predicament)?
Why hasn't this problem been solved?
What is possible?
What is different now?
What should you do now?

As you answer these questions, you lead readers down a path towards action. Good content on the Web, when it's well written, should:

Educate
Entertain
Engage readers
Enrich lives

If at all possible, you should strive to enrich the lives of your readers as well. Try to make their lives better by showing them how they can save time, energy or money.

Question #4: What is different now?

How will your product or service make your readers' lives different? This is where you explain who you are, how you know what you're talking about, how your product or service can help them, and what's different about your product or service that will eliminate their problem.

Content Marketing Questions: What’s Possible?

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing Great Copy

Question #3: What is possible?

In Maria Velosa's Web Copy That Sells book, there is a 5-step blueprint for writing on the Web. This is really what content marketing is all about. When you answer the following 5 questions, your writing tasks are simplified and your copy becomes clear.

What is the problem (pain, predicament)?
Why hasn't this problem been solved?
What is possible?
What is different now?
What should you do now?

First answer question #1, what's the problem. Then, answer questions
#2, why hasn't the problem been solved? Then answer question #3, what's
possible?

As you write out several sentences to answer these questions, you'll lead your readers through a path that leads to action. Action is the goal for all good content designed to market your business on the Web.

Content Marketing Question #2:
Why Hasn’t This Problem Been Solved?

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Online Marketing, Writing Great Blog Content, Writing Great Copy

I'm reviewing Maria Velosa's Web Copy that Sells, 2nd Edition, recently released. Her 5 simple steps for writing on the web are:

What is the problem (pain, predicament)?
Why hasn't this problem been solved?
What is possible?
What is different now?
What should you do now?

Question #2, Why hasn't this problem been solved? This is a great opportunity to address the challenges your readers and potential customers face.

You have a chance to show you understand your readers well, and you have an expert's understanding of the subject matter. You can delve into the history of the problem, providing insights they may have never thought of.

5 Questions to Ask for Writing Great Web Content
#1: What’s the Problem?

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

Organize and simplify your Web writing by asking 5 important questions:

What is the problem (pain, predicament)?
Why hasn't this problem been solved?
What is possible?
What is different now?
What should you do now?

As you write your copy, you should cover each of the answers. This will keep you on task, and lead your readers through to action. I suppose it depends on what you're writing, but I can't think of many web pages, blog posts, newsletter articles where these 5 questions wouldn't be appropriate.

I've been re-reading Maria Velosa's Web Copy that Sells this week. Her blueprint for creating simple copy that works to market your products and services is clear. There's a reason it's organized this way.

Content Strategy Map: This Pic’s Worth 1,000 Words

By Patsi Krakoff in Content Marketing, Online Marketing

I love this graphic about Content Strategy.

It's creator is Mark Smiciklas, Intersection Marketing Blog:

Based on Six Steps to a Successful Small Business Content Marketing Strategy in ContentMarketingToday, by Newt Barrett, one of my favorite content marketing experts. Don't you think Mark does a nice job of summarizing graphically what CM's all about?