Archive for content marketing with blogs – Page 12

Engaging Content: 7 Tips to Get Readers to Think

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Confused_mind
When it comes to content marketing, there are ways to write content so it actively markets you and your business without being “in-your-face” sales copy or boring product reviews or press releases.

I’m reminded of an excellent book on creating effective website design called Don’t Make Me Think.
The premise is that a customer searching for products and services online shouldn’t have to figure out how to find what they’re looking for on your website.

When it comes to reading your blog, however, please, please DO make me think!  As I said last week, your readers may scan your post, without getting their thought processes going, and move on.

Your blog posts should have meaty content that stimulates your audience to ask questions, to comment, to agree wholeheartedly, or disagree vociferously.

How can you do that?

Here’s my list of ways to engage the brain, for example, in a blog post:

  1. Ask a question that can’t be answered (without thinking for a few minutes, at least)
  2. Describe an ethical conundrum and ask readers to contribute solutions
  3. Ask your audience for their top 3 tips for …. (insert a common problem your customers have)
  4. Write about a problem you experienced or a mistake you made, and ask, “What would you have done?”
  5. Describe a most pivotal moment in your business, and ask others to share their story
  6. Write about a situation facing a customer and ask readers to contribute ideas and projected outcomes
  7. Suggest some ideas and ask for more ideas…(hint, hint)
  8. …
  9. …
  10. …

Okay, now it’s your turn. What methods do you use?  How can you write blog posts that stimulate readers to think and even actively participate?

Bonus question: How does doing this actually work to market your business?

Your readers may scan your post, without getting their thought processes going, and move on.
Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Writing Great Blog Content
Tags : , , ,

How to Write with Your Right Brain: 5 Tips

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, June 20th, 2011

Ist1_2776388_coffee_cupOne of the smartest things you can do to keep up with blog writing is to use your brain well. Use your right brain to tap into your creativity.

The third thing I do in the morning when I get up is write on one of my blogs. (First, brew a pot of Cafe de Olla; second, feed Huey and Dewey, our kitties.) When clients ask, “How do you find time to post on all your blogs?” it’s kind of a non-problem, since I’m fueled by coffee and love…!

One of my favorite posts is here, because two writers (John Jantsch and Sean D’Souza) who really understand content marketing explain this further in The Right Brain/Left Brain Tango: How to Get Your Creative Mojo Back.

Here are 5 tips for being more creative and productive with your writing tasks.

  1. Write first before you open email or your list of things to do. Any writing task should have priority over other tasks in the morning. Why? Writing uses mostly your right brain, and you need clarity, without those little gnawing distractions.Beware the left brain that wants to spoil your creativity by reminding you of things “to-do.” When you first wake up, you’re functioning in your right brain. Use it immediately for improved creativity.
  2. Before you go to bed and fall asleep, remind yourself which writing tasks you want to work on in the morning. Your right brain will think about them as you go to sleep, and probably as you wake up. As a result, you’ll wake up with those writing jobs in mind and can start right in on them – as soon as the coffee’s ready and the pets are fed.
  3. Leave your desk relatively uncluttered when you stop working at night so that in the morning you can start writing without distractions. It helps to have a safe place to set your coffee, where the kitties won’t knock it over when they come to lie in front of your computer screen. (If you have dogs, you won’t understand this part, but I’m sure there’s similar arrangement for those little darlings.)Img_0053 Read More→
Categories : Brain Based Content Marketing, Content Marketing, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, On Writing Better
Tags : , , , ,

7 Ways to Format Blogs to Engage Readers’ Brains

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, June 16th, 2011

What are the two most important parts (a.k.a. opportunities to engage readers) of your business blog post? Most experts will tell you this:

  1. The headline
  2. The call to action

The headline is what gets read and spread. It’s your “shout-out” on social media sites, in feed readers, and email updates. It’s the bait on your fishing hook which draws people over to your blog site to read your stuff.

Writing magnetic headlines is crucial. And you know yourself that a well-crafted headline gets more traffic than a bland one.

The call to action is what gets you business results and turns readers into clients. Even when it’s not a direct “go-buy-click-here” request, it’s part of your funnel process. It starts the participation process.

But hold on there, wait a minute.  There are 7 ways to format your blog posts that will help prime your readers for action. It happens before you ask readers to do something. It must happen, otherwise your readers won’t even read your complete post, they won’t get to the call to action part.

You must engage their brains. You must get inside their heads by triggering unconscious desires and thoughts.

Okay, that sounds a bit oowy-woowy and sneaky, maybe even dangerous. I’m not talking hypnotic suggestions or even tapping into Freudian drives of sex or fear…(although, heck, that sure works, too!)

But if your blog content doesn’t appeal to one of several persuasion triggers (reciprocity, social proof, etc.) then you’re not doing enough with your posts. Your readers may scan your post, without getting their thought processes going, and move on.

It’s not complicated. You’re probably already doing it (unconsciously)! How? Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Getting Read, How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Writing for the Web
Tags : , , , , , , ,

How to Make Content More Engaging: 10 Tips

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, June 13th, 2011

The Content Marketing Institute hit a home-run with their question to content experts, “How do you make content more engaging?” This is an important post to read for anyone blogging and posting content to connect with readers.

Ten experts responded, including moi, and their answers are illuminating.

 

In my opinion and experience, content that engages is emotional.

The human brain is emotional at its very core.

While women process messages with more emotions than men, both must be engaged emotionally for a message to be remembered and acted upon.

Marketers must uncover the key emotional triggers their product inspires and pinpoint them in their messages.

Here is a summary of what other content marketers think about this important question:

Just as there is no single definition of engagement, there is no single way to engage with your audience:

  • Focus on what is important to your ideal reader, which is often different than what is important to your business.
    • Actively listen to your audience and respond to their needs.
    • Create buyer personas to capture key information about your readers. Read More→
Categories : Content Marketing
Tags : , , ,

Why You Should Be Happy Before You Blog

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Three Keys to Blogging When you Are Happy
A guest post by Erica Nelson

You know how your smile is written all over your face? Your emotions are imbedded in your words and how you write.

Just like when you walk into a restaurant, the waiter immediately communicates without saying one word what your service experience might be like, the opening phrases of your blog or website are going to speak volumes about how you are thinking and what you are feeling.

What I’m asking is that you pause before you write for your audience. Get a picture of the person reading your blog, in your mind’s eye. Who is your audience? How do you want to reach them? Get clarity, and then go into the right mindset before writing a word.

I look back on my career as a journalist and author, and I recognized at one point I had written more than 5,000 articles that were published – articles that I was paid to write.  Now I have a daily blog on Facebook where I post original happiness quotations with over 4,700 fans. I know that people can tell a lot more about me than the words will allow.

Being in a positive state of mind will change our results. So, I’ve come up with three keys for you – in case you want to shift the energy behind your words – to blog when you are happy. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, On Writing Better
Tags : , ,

Content Marketing with Videos: Free Webinar

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, May 16th, 2011

You probably already know you should be using video to attract readers to your website, but you might not know how easy and quick it is. Publishing video on your site is like a client magnet.

Trust me on this, you don’t need to buy expensive tools and hire a producer. It’s the best way to get new viewers to your website and blog. (And it’s really easy when you use a monthly production service like I do: iMotionVideo, who does it all for me!)

But what if you want to do it yourself? What are the basics you need to know? How can you learn to use video quickly?

This week, when two of Tom Antion‘s people called me up with an offer of a free webinar on video marketing, I immediately saw the value in sharing these video tips with you.

I asked them to deliver this webinar exclusively for professionals who don’t have a lot of time for marketing tactics.

Join me, along with Colin Martin and Marc Bullard, in a free webinar next Thursday, May 19, 2011 at 5:00pm ET to learn the secret tactics successful marketers are using on free hosting sites such as YouTube that are bringing an avalanche of traffic to their websites.

Register to attend and get the recorded webinar here:

http://bit.ly/jfLTBt

Online video is THE most powerful tool on the Internet for driving traffic to your websites and services. Search engines are focusing on online video to deliver the content their customers are looking for and have even changed their search parameters to push video to the top of the search results. Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Content Marketing with Videos, How to...Tips, Online Marketing, Teleclasses & Seminars
Tags : , , , , , ,

How Blogging Is Like Playing Tennis

By Patsi Krakoff
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Blogging for your business is like playing tennis: you read the environment, deliver key shots, get ready for the next post, respond to feedback, and try to stay on target.

I play tennis with an “excuse champion.” Every time she misses a shot, she blames her racquet, or her strings, the ball, the sun, wind, or some body part. She’s quite creative.

I often wonder what would happen if that creativity were channeled into focused attention to the ball and her strokes. If you’re thinking about all those other things, surely you can’t be ready for the next shot…

I’ve got clients who are excuse champions. The biggest excuse they use for not blogging enough is they don’t have enough time. While that may be true, (who does?) but it’s also true they don’t blog enough because they don’t have a journalist’s mindset.

A journalist is curious about people and events and can’t wait to share information with others. I just read a fabulous article over at The Content Factor and here’s what they wrote about why some professionals stop blogging and why they shouldn’t: Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Content Marketing, E-Books
Tags : , , , ,

4 Content Marketing Goals for a Coach Website

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, May 2nd, 2011

How should content marketing be used on the home page of your website? What makes good website copy? More specifically, if you’re a professional service provider, like an executive coach, a consultant, a lawyer, health care or financial adviser… how do you create a website that attracts clients and gets potential new leads?

No matter what business you’re in, your content must achieve 4 things. Here are 4 goals of your online content:

  1. Connect immediately (by speaking to your readers’ challenges or problems)
  2. Answer questions and educate (by suggesting solutions)
  3. Provide choices without confusion (by providing 3-4 places to read more)
  4. Compel readers to take action (simple sign-up form or contact link)

That’s a basic outline that you could follow, not just for websites, but for your blog and other content marketing pieces.

Let me give you a great example so that these 4 goals come alive:

Here’s a screen shot of the newly revised website for ScholzandAssociates.com. Chip Scholz is an executive coach. His previous website was well designed, but it had too much information, in my opinion.

Like other executive coaches, he offers many services: facilitation, assessments, leadership development, speaking and books. The challenge is to present all the services to readers, while maintaining the focus on them and their problems.

I think this site does a good job because it’s about the outcomes and benefits of coaching. It backs that up with case studies from Chip’s clients. It’s brief and to the point: Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, Writing for the Web
Tags : , , , ,

Content Marketing Tip: Use Ready-to-Publish Articles

By Patsi Krakoff
Thursday, April 28th, 2011

Content marketing is easier when you can outsource some of the writing and researching to qualified writers. A great way to short-cut the time needed to research, write and publish quality online content is to find a good writer to supply articles.

For example, as a former executive coach and psychologist, I write for other coaches and consultants who are too busy with clients to write their own newsletters and blogs. You can find good writers in just about any field.

While this has created a good business for me, doing what I love, I don’t see many people using other people’s content for optimal results. Furthermore, when they do use writers, they don’t personalize it to make it their own.

Content marketing can’t work well without unique and personalized copy. I get frustrated because people use canned articles ‘as is’. They don’t take the time to add their own stories, to explain how it is for them in the work they do.

You need to connect the dots for readers.

  • Tell them why this article and these ideas are important to them.
  • Tell them about the work you do with your clients.
  • Tell them how they can learn more about what you’re publishing.

In my ebook Content Marketing with Blogs, I talk about the 4 Es: educate, entertain, engage and enrich the lives of people each time you write and publish on your blog. When you write, think about elements of each goal: Read More→

Categories : Attracting Clients, Content Marketing, How to...Tips, Managing Your Ezine & Blog Tasks, Writing for the Web
Tags : , , , , ,

What’s Missing in Content Marketing: Who and Why

By Patsi Krakoff
Monday, April 25th, 2011

Storytelling and personalization is the biggest missing piece in content marketing as I see it. People are good at writing about what they know. They aren’t as good about expressing who they are and why they do what they do.

If you’re not writing real stories, your content – on your blog, in your newsletter, on your web pages – runs the risk of being boring. You may be excited about what you do as a professional, but your clients will get bored or overwhelmed if you just throw information at them.

In the Content Marketing Webinar last week, I talked about communicating your back-story… the background about the why and who of your business. It’s especially important in service businesses where people hire you to help them solve a problem.

I once asked a guy who founded an online training service what his back-story was, and he didn’t know what I meant.

He thought I would see the obvious, that there was a gap in what was available online and an opportunity to make money. Okay, that’s exciting… to you and your spouse for sure.

But there’s always more to the story than that: Why did he personally spend considerable time, energy and money creating what he did?

There has to be drive, passion and love. He had to care. That’s the story people need to know. Read More→

Categories : About Blogs, Attracting Clients, Brain Based Content Marketing, On Writing Better, Teleclasses & Seminars
Tags : , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »

Content for Coaches and Consultants

Serenity Virtual Assistant Services

Social Buzz Club

get your bright idea known