Archive for Writing for the Web – Page 11

Don’t Jerk Blog Readers Around:
5 Tips to Keep on Track

What’s the most frequent complaint I hear about blogging? Next to “I don’t have enough time,” it’s “I don’t know what to write about.”

Guess what? The two questions are related to the same problem: not enough clarity about business blog goals. Here’s how I help my clients solve this problem of clarity:

  1. Define your business Ps & Q – (3Ps + 1Q):
    => What Problem do you solve?
    => Who are the People you serve?
    => What Products and services do you offer?
    => What makes you uniQue??
  2. Create a course outline or a table of contents as if you were writing a book or teaching a class on this problem, i.e., your expertise
  3. Make a list of keywords, categories and topics you’re qualified to write about and that must be addressed to solve the problems of your readers
  4. Make an editorial calendar for each day of the week you’re going to be blogging. Make sure you cover all the topics and categories, and that your keywords are repeated frequently in posts and titles (search engine optimization).
  5. Make a weekly blog schedule to include writing the content, sharing it on social sites, researching and commenting on other blogs, and formatting, editing, linking, etc.

Don’t underestimate the time it takes for all the peripheral upkeep of blogging. Maintaining a successful blog takes more time than just writing a post. And it almost always takes longer than the 30 minutes required for writing.

Do you jerk readers around?

When I’m working with my clients on their blogs, I often find their content is all over the map. Quite often, they Read More→

How is Playing Tennis Like Blog Writing?

One of the concerns professionals ask me about when they’re starting a new blog is this: “What if I run out of things to write about?” They’re concerned that they’ll start repeating themselves and become boring or bored.

This is not something to worry about and I’m going to prove it this week. There are 1,001 ways to write the same thing over and over again, and have fun with it!

For example, as I write this post it’s 6 a.m. and I’ve got the French Open on TV. I’ve set out to write another post about… how to write better blog posts. This is something I’ve written a million times. How can I make it different or compelling?

A quick search of previous posts and I’ve found a couple of other blog posts about blog writing and tennis:

  • 5 Blog Writing Lessons from the French Open Tennis Championships
  • French Open Tennis: More Business Lessons
  • Writing Better – Lessons from Tennis

Maybe I’ve said it all using tennis metaphors, but I don’t think so. The point I’d like you to take-away is that no matter what your main message is, there are many ways to frame it using different themes and analogies.

What sports or hobbies do you know that ties in with the business blog you’re writing? Use your imagination. Have fun with it. Chances are, your readers will enjoy it also.

Why a Content Marketing Strategy Review Matters

Content Marketing Matters!

It really does. As I wrote previously, we are in the Dawn of a New Content Marketing Era and Telling Beats Selling.

Advertising isn’t working.

Content Matters

But if that doesn’t bring up a lot of questions for you, it should.

How do you write content that’s interesting and informs, but at the same time sells you, your products and your services?

When you write content that markets for your business, you face certain challenges.

On the one hand, you write so that readers will get to know you, like you and trust you.

Then, you turn around and blurt out, “Oh, and by the way, BUY MY STUFF!” Uh-huh. No, I don’t think so, that doesn’t work.

To top it off, you may be an independent entrepreneur or a small business without a large budget to hire copywriters and web content specialists. You may write your web pages yourself. You publish your own blog, plus an e-newsletter.

How do you learn to “do” content marketing in a way that works for your business, your targeted audience?

Ah, so many questions, so few answers. While there are a few content marketing books published, and a few more are in the works, there aren’t too many places to learn what you need to know.

Your content should be reviewed for how well it:

  • Grabs readers’ attention
  • Focuses on a solution to a problem 
  • Educates and informs
  • Entertains and engages readers
  • Enriches the lives of readers
  • Inspires action
  • Comes up in search results for main keywords
  • Gets the results you want to achieve

You can get your blog and website content strategies reviewed for a small fee. I usually work with small businesses and independent professionals and partnerships. For more information, please read this page, How Can I Help You?