In the world of business blogging and content marketing, there’s nothing worse than a bore.
I know we’ve all seen bad content marketing – blogs that are irrelevant, outdated, full of incorrect information, typos, rambling rants and silly drivel. But what I find to be the worst is mediocrity. Read More→
When it comes to content marketing and great blogging, insight and originality rules.
According to the authors of Content Rules:
“Produce great stuff, and your customers will come to you. Produce really great stuff, and your customers will share and disseminate your message for you. More than ever before, content is king! Content rules!” ~ Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars and More that Engage Customers and Ignite Your business (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011).
This works, but it’s a lot of work. If you’re a coach, consultant, or service professional, say a doctor, therapist, lawyer, financial adviser, or health expert, you need to create content that will help your clients. You need to become a trusted resource for insights, and a go-to curator of tips and information to be helpful to people who are interested.
And you need to create strong feelings around your published content so that people will take action and keep coming back. You need them to subscribe, to sign up, to download, to ask you questions and engage with you so they become clients when they are ready. Read More→
Let me ask you a couple of questions about your business blogging. When you’re competing online with other experts in your field, what makes you stand out? How are your prospects (and clients) finding you among all the other blogs and sites online?
Independent professionals who use the Web for marketing their services can learn a lot from big businesses with big budgets. They hire professional writers to create compelling headlines and creative content to attract audiences to their sites. You can too.
It’s not expensive, but it does require some creative thinking. Here are some tips for good business blogging, simplified, as simple as ABC.
The ABC’s of Great Blogging
A. A great headline
B. Be original and offer insight
C. Create shareable content – Don’t be a bore
How do you know if your content is working for you? Everybody says they want more traffic, but quite frankly, traffic stats leave me scratching my head and saying “Okay, that’s nice…and so what?”
Maybe it’s because I’m not an analytical type, I prefer big picture thinking and gut feelings and intuition. But if I had a metric I could look at and be able to tell if my content is working, i.e. having an impact on readers, then maybe I’d become more analytical.
You know how those yearly physical exams give you a print out of your lab test and tell you if you’re in the “normal” range or not? Why can’t we have a report for our blogs? Or for e-newsletters? Or for overall Web content marketing?
On Monday mornings, for example, you log into your “Content Marketing Impact” account and get a free print out of how well your content has impacted readers:
![PinterestWarrior](<img src="http://www.gryffin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/eMB-PinterestWarrior.jpg" />)
Are you using Pinterest effectively?
Although you may have made excellent written content a part of your marketing strategy, it’s important to remember that there is more to social media than just writing a great post or article. In fact, one of the most important aspects of social networking is much more visual and not as textual as you might think.
The most popular shared items across all social networks are pictures, which shouldn’t be too surprising, given how many images we see on the web in a day. If you want your content to be not only seen but shared, it will be important to consider making image sharing a significant aspect of your game plan. Where should you start? Well, with Pinterest of course! Read More→
The thing to know about business blogging is that it’s a continual quest to make your blog better. One good post now and again isn’t enough; you’ve got to keep readers coming back.
Most of us don’t blog for the fun of it, we do it because we want readers coming to our website. We want people to actually read the content that we craft because we know it has value to them.
So how do we keep readers interested and coming back to your site over and over? Here are some simple ways to spark readers coming back for more:
If you’re a leadership coach or a consultant to leaders you know how time-consuming it is to write quality leadership articles and blogs. Here’s a professional writing service just for you providing leadership articles for your newsletters and blogs.
And, you can get a 10% discount on annual subscriptions with Content for Coaches, if you order before Thursday, July 31, 2014.
If you’re interested, go to Content for Coaches Summer Sale, here.
This is a special opportunity to save money on new subscriptions for quality leadership content. Read More→
Judith Briles is an author’s best friend, especially when it comes to book writing. When she speaks, I listen… and you should to, if you get the opportunity. But until her next authors and writers conference, here’s the next best thing: her latest book: Snappy Sassy Salty!
Could you use a pick-me-up?
A bit of inspiration or silliness?
How about something to chew on or get you unstuck?
How about your clients and followers?
In Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, you will find all that and more. This is a collection of favorite advice from Judith Briles over the years to thousands of authors.
Coffee along with the right words creates the perfect buzz!
As a blogger, I know that the right combination of words engages readers. When a slump hits or your writer juice isn’t flowing, authors need a goose.
Along with a cup of coffee, this little book of short and snappy reminders will get your fingers tapping, your mind buzzing. and your words onto the screen.
Every little blurb is loaded with motivational juice to get writers writing. I bought it to give as a gift, but now the pages are too worn …
If you haven’t worked with Judith, or attended her seminars, you might not know she actually lives, walks and talks these wise words for writers. She’s one of the most helpful, caring, and authentic book experts around … a true book shepherd.
Today, Tuesday, July 22, 2014 is the day … don’t delay, get your copy of Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and claim your FREE GIFTS that are designed for authors, writing and publishing success DURING TUESDAY’S OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH:
Your copy of Snappy Sassy Salty is waiting for you here, click now!
Newsletters: What’s the best format to send yours so it gets delivered, opened, and read?
There is a definite divergence of opinions, but according to my readers, the preferred formatting and distribution method for e-Newsletters is HTML. Half of those who responded to my poll indicated they preferred HTML, and a third preferred plain text.
With more and more people using smart phones, iPads, e-readers, and laptops, does anyone prefer plain text? What about PDF files? (Either sent as an attachment, or viewed as a page on their websites.)
Here’s my perspective:
Can there be an ideal merge of both of these important elements – design for branding AND showcase valuable content?
How’s your e-newsletter? You may be doing all the right content marketing things (e-newsletter, blog, social media, articles, etc.) and still not get good results (get found, get known, and get clients!)
If all you’re doing is publishing good information, without personality, without offers, what’s the point? Last week I asked which was best for marketing: blogs, social media or e-newsletters.
I have written a “Shortcuts” list of questions to ask yourself when planning your e-newsletter and you can access it for free here.
I shared many positive comments on the benefits of sending newsletters. I also received an email from a client who lamented the poor results from her emailed newsletter. After a year she reported:
She asked what she was doing wrong. Here were some of her questions, followed by my answers. This would be a good time to check your own e-newsletter for opportunities for improvement. Read More→
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