Today, we’re going to take that one step further and talk about ways you can (and should) be giving away premium content.

First, what is premium content?

Premium content goes beyond a typical blog post or other piece of content to provide more in-depth information to readers. Typically, this kind of rich content is made available for free, but often requires an email sign-up or some other kind of opt-in form to get access to the information.

Here are some of the most common types of premium content:

• White papers – These are often research-driven reports that offer statistics, study results or educational information about a given topic. They are often used to educate readers about complex topics or ideas and tend to be more academic in nature.
• EBooks – Although eBooks can be full-length publications, they tend to be much shorter when used for business marketing. EBooks tend to be more visual and interactive than whitepapers and can be distributed as a downloadable document, such as a PDF, or be made available through an eReader, such as a iPad or Kindle. Here are some additional ideas for creating successful eBooks.
• Tutorials / Guides ­– While this type of content can be developed in various formats (video, text, podcasts, etc.), they have one thing in common – it is problem-solving content that offers how-to information to get something done.
• Video series – Exclusive videos – whether it is classes, tutorials, webinars, interviews or other information – can be another type of premium content. But, instead of making the videos publicly available, they would be downloadable or only accessible via private links. Here are some additional ideas for using exclusive videos.
• Webinars – Online seminars, called webinars, can is a great way to get in front of your audience virtually. A more interactive type of content, webinars work great for Q&A sessions, interviews, workshops or tutorials. Here are some examples of businesses using webinars well.

If you want to see this type of content in action, here are some great examples of different types of premium content that businesses have developed.

Give it away, give it away now

All of this content sounds pretty good, right? So, why in the world would you want to give it away for free? Here are a few good reasons:

• Grow your email list. It’s no secret that email is a powerful marketing tool. In fact, a recent study shows that email converts better than paid search, direct website traffic and social media. So, if you’re not already paying attention to email marketing, now is the time to start. And offering premium content is a fantastic way to entice people to sign up for your emails.
• Generate leads. Premium content is often used as a lead-generation tool. Even though the content is made available for free, it is commonly something that you have to fill out a form to receive. By offering something valuable for free, you can help generate leads who might be interested in buying from you down the line.
• Build awareness. Developing valuable content for free is a great way to get awareness and stand out in your market – especially if the content is truly remarkable. This approach can be a great way to grow your audience and encourage your current audience to spread the word about you.
• Establish thought leadership. Although other content marketing efforts can help position you as a thought leader, developing rich, long-form content can up the ante by showcasing deep thinking on a subject. This kind of content shows that you’re committed to the topic and know what you’re talking about.
• Reward your audience. If you already have an established audience in place, sharing valuable content can be a great way to thank your audience for sticking around. And, if your content is good enough, offering freebies like this is a great way to get your audience talking and spreading the word about you.

Best Practices for Developing Premium Content 

Now that you understand what premium content is and why you should offer it up for free, here are a few things to consider as you develop this information:

• Make it valuable. It might be tempting to hold back or dilute the information so you’re not giving too much away. Don’t. Instead, make it something that’s valuable and worth your audience’s time. If you give someone valuable away for free, then that means your paid products and services will be that much better.
• Make it targeted. When developing your content, make sure it’s laser-targeted to the audience you’re trying to attract. Think about your audience’s pain points and what keeps them up at night. Or, if you’re not sure, ask them! If you develop content that helps solve their problems, you’ll be better positioned to capture their attention and, ultimately, turn them into buyers.
• Tie it to goals. The type of content you develop and how you distribute it will depend largely on your goals. Are you trying to expand your audience? Drive traffic? Generate leads? Whatever it is, make sure that the content you develop is tied to your goals and fits within your overall marketing strategy.

Are you creating premium content? If so, what has worked for you? If not, what’s holding you back?

P.S. This is the 5th post in the Compelling Content series. Here are the previous posts in case you missed them.

• Why Content Marketing is So Powerful for Business
• 5 Types of Content You Should be Writing for Your Blog
• 7 Ways to Integrate Video Into Your Content Marketing
• 7 Simple Ideas to Make Your Content More Visual

If you don’t want to miss out on future posts in the series, be sure to subscribe via email or RSS. 

Image credit: Sharyn Morrow

The post Why You Should Develop (and Give Away) Premium Content appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

If you’re like most people in today’s digital age, you’re turned off by walls of text.

And, the proof is in the numbers.

For example, photos on Faceobok are liked two times more than text updates and 40 percent of people respond better to visuals than plain text.

And, not only are images it more appealing, but people process images 60,000 times faster than text.

You can find even more compelling statistics about visual content right here.

So, how do you make your content more visual? Here are seven ideas to help you get started:

1. Find stock photos to help tell the story.

Whether you’re developing an ebook or writing a blog post, it helps to weave strong images throughout. This helps break up the content and makes it stand out more when sharing on social networks.

And, it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Thanks to Creative Commons licensing, you can use images from Flickr or FreeDigitalPhotos.net as long as you give attribution. This works especially well for blog posts and lower resolution needs.

2. Share your own photos. 

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to share your own photos. Candid shots of your team, your workspace, your products and your events can add interest to your content and help humanize your brand.

3. Use customer-generated images. 

Sometimes, the best photos can come from your customers. Encourage customers to submit or tag photos of them using your product.

MailChimp has an entire gallery of photos of customers wearing the free shirts they give away with the signature chimp on them. And Which Wich gives away free sandwich to people who take photos of themselves with a Which Wich sandwich bag on top of a 14,000 foot mountain. Both of these are really cool ways to get your customers involved and get great photos in the process.

4. Use screen shots to show examples. 

Remember those educational blog posts I talked about earlier this week? Screen shots can be a great way to show examples and walk people through how to do something.

For example, earlier this week, one of my clients used screen shots to demonstrate some of the new features that came out in the latest version of their phone system’s operating software. Sometimes, showing is far better than telling.

5. Create comics or cartoons.

Sometimes the best way to tell a story or convey a message is through a comic or cartoon. Tom Fishburne, the “marketoonist” does this exceptionally well and now he helps brands communicate through cartoons.  For example, this comic one he created about one of my blog posts.

But what if you’re not a talented artist? You can use sites like CartoonStock to purchase cartoons – many of which are fairly low cost for web use.

 6. Design Infographics.

In the past year or two, you’ve likely seen a huge spike in infographics. Essentially, these are graphics that are used to showcase statistics or break down complex information or processes into something that’s easier to digest. You can check out my Pinterest board for some good examples.

If you don’t have this capability in-house, you can hire companies to create these for you. Or, if you need a low-budget option, Stephanie Schwab offers up some free and inexpensive infographic creation tools.

7. Use Presentations.

If you talk to groups on a regular basis, chances are good that you’ve got an entire file folder full of presentations that haven’t seen the light of day. So, why not breathe new life into them by using Slideshare?

Once you’ve loaded your presentations into Slideshare, you can embed them into your blog posts to make it easy for visitors to flip through the information. You can even showcase presentations on your LinkedIn page. For instance, here’s a blog post about social media strategy where I embedded a presentation.

Slideshare also works well for eBooks and white papers and gives you the same ability to embed the content on your site. This can be a more effective way to share the information than requiring people to download it – especially if it’s free.

Are you using visuals in your content marketing? What have you seen work for you?

P.S. We’ll be continuing this series on compelling content next week. So be sure you’re subscribed via email or RSS so you don’t miss out! 

The post 7 Simple Ideas to Make Your Content More Visual appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

That’s why video can be so effective. It’s also the way a lot of people learn. So using helps expand your appeal instead of just providing text.

Let’s look at some numbers to show why video content is so powerful:

• Video shows up in 70 percent of the top 100 search listings.
• Visitors who view product videos are 85 percent more likely to buy than visitors who do not.
• Adding videos can significantly increase conversion rates.
• After viewing a video, visitors are 40 percent more likely to visit a company’s website or contact a company.
• 59 percent of senior executives would rather watch video than read text and about 50 percent of those went on to make a purchase for their business.

I could offer you dozens of reasons why you should integrate video into your marketing efforts, but instead, I want to talk to you about some ideas for integrating video into your content marketing efforts.

 1. Testimonials.

Perhaps one of the easiest and best ways to use video on your website is to get customer testimonials. This gives visitors the chance to actually hear from your clients directly and see why they enjoyed working with you. This is far more powerful than a text endorsement.

Check out this example from Way Solutions. If you want career coaching, doesn’t it help to hear from people who’ve benefited from the service?

Way Solutions Testimonial – Magan from Jennifer Way on Vimeo.

In addition to customer videos, Clover websites shows a pull quote of the testimonials for those that would rather read than watch. A smart way to showcase both.

2. Employee introductions.

It’s a common practice to include employee photos on websites, but why not add video too? A short introduction from each employee allows visitors to see the personalities of the people who work for you and get a better sense of what it would be like to work with your company.

Videos also give you a chance to inject more personality into your company brand. Through these videos you can show that you’re fun and quirky, intellectual and serious or creative and passionate.

For example, the law firm of Arnold & Itkin showcases videos of each of their attorneys on their bio pages. If you’re searching for someone to hire, doesn’t it help to hear directly from the attorney?

3. How-tos & demonstrations.

As I mentioned yesterday, educational content can be very powerful. And sometimes, the best way to explain something is through video.

You can show how your products work, demonstrate your services or provide how-to guides that showcase your expertise. Informative videos like these can be the backbone of your website and also make for great blog posts.

The University of Phoenix does a great job of providing educational content and job search tips with short 15 to 30 second videos. This one shows how to answer a tough interview question.

4. Go behind the scenes.

Give visitors to your website or blog and inside peek at what happens behind closed doors at your business.

Give a tour of your office. Film part of a brainstorming session. A restaurant can show how they make their world-famous pizza. Manufacturers can show products being made. You get the idea. It’s this kind of stuff that helps people connect with you and what you do.

I love what Jeni’s Ice Creams is doing on Vine, for example. They’re using Twitter’s short video service to show how they make their delicious treats. Every time I see one, it makes me want to hop in my car and go grab some ice cream. How’s that for effective?

Testing new treats for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.Caramel sauce on the inside. #sobewff vine.co/v/bnjm7nlHdaX

— Jeni’s Ice Creams (@jenisicecreams) February 7, 2013

5. Answer questions.

Think about the questions you get from clients and prospects every day. You can use videos to answer those questions. You could build an FAQ page with videos, weave these into your sales process or include them on your blog.

Another great idea is to solicit questions from social networks as Gini Dietrich does with her Facebook Question of the Week. Then, she creates a short video with the answer. This allows people to pick Gini’s brain and gives people a chance to get to know her better and see if she is someone they’d like to work with.

Here’s an example of her answering a question about whether CEO’s should tweet for themselves or under the company name.

6. Interview outside experts.

Another way to engage your audience is to bring in authors or experts on topics that you think your target audience would find valuable. This expands the topics you cover on your site and may also brings in new audience based on the expert you bring in.

I did this last year with a weeklong video interview series. For example, here’s my video interview with Pam Slim from Escape from Cubicle Nation about entrepreneurship.

 7. Entertain!

Sometimes, the best videos are just plain entertainment. Although this won’t work for every company, creating funny, inspiring or entertaining videos can be a great way to show the personality behind your brand.

I love this fake case study that John St. agency created about putting together an eight-year-old’s birthday party. Although the video is entertaining, they also showed their creativity and capabilities with the video. Genius.

Best Practices for Developing Video Content

Now that you have some ideas on what kinds of videos to create, here are a few best practices on how to do them well:

• Keep them short. Unless you’re recording a lengthy webinar or in-depth piece of information, most videos should be relatively short. Two to three minutes is a good rule of thumb for most. If you get much longer than that, people tend to tune out.

• Be focused. Know what you’re going to say in advance. Practice a few times if you need to. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you should stay on point so people will stay engaged. 
• Have good lighting & sound. Professional videos will always be best. However, if you’re going to do it yourself, you should still make sure that you have good lighting and sound to make it easy for people to see and hear you.
• Be yourself. The point of video is to help people get to “meet” you on a more personal level. Don’t be afraid to let your hair down and show who you really are. This will help people connect with you in a deeper way.

Do you create videos for your business? What has worked well for you?

Image credit: jsawkins

The post 7 Ways to Integrate Video into Your Content Marketing appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

For instance, I have a client that has only been blogging for a few months. Just last week, they received a lead from their website for a service that they had just blogged about a few days before.

Just a coincidence?

I think not.

If someone you looking for a solution and you find a website with a blog post that addresses that particular issue you have questions about, wouldn’t that make you more likely to buy from them?

I know I would.

That’s what makes blogging and content marketing is so darn powerful.

The challenge is coming up with the content that makes sense for your business (and finding the to create it).

To get started, I strongly recommend creating a content plan for your blog. As you build the topics you’re going to write about, it helps to think about how you’re going to present the information.

Here are the five types of content you should be including in your blog:

1. Educational Posts

Educational content should be the backbone of your content marketing efforts. These posts come in the form of how-to guides and answers to questions your clients and prospects commonly face.

Think about the questions you get from your clients on a regular basis. Chances are good that your prospects have these questions too.

The goal here is to sell through education. You do that by helping make your prospect’s life a little bit easier.

Here are some ideas:

• Help readers break down complex issues in a way that’s easy to understand
• Explain recent changes in your industry (i.e. healthcare reform, law changes, tax updates, etc.)
• Offer up tools or resources that can be useful to your prospects
• Provide a step-by-step guide for solving a common problem
• Show unique ways your product or service could be used

Anything you can do to help people better understand your industry and the work you do will be extremely valuable to you.

2. Thought Leadership Posts.

A blog full of opinionated posts and Monday morning quarterbacking is not the way to go. However, taking a stand on an issue can help differentiate you from your competitors and others talking about the same topic.

In these posts, you can show how and why you approach things differently at your company. Or, you can call attention to problems in your industry and what you’re doing to help solve them.

These kinds of posts should be written somewhat sparingly, but they are an important component to successful blogging – especially if you want to position yourself as a thought leader and a go-to resource for your topic.

3. Humanizing Posts.

Because blogging can help readers better connect with you and your company, you should make a conscious effort to weave in some posts that help humanize your brand. You could either dedicate content around this idea or make sure to weave storytelling and personality into everything you do.

There are so many ways you could do this. Here are just a few ideas:

• Create regular videos to introduce key members of your team.
• Show photos of your employees having fun together – at events or on a day-to-day basis.
• You could share the community involvement of your staff member or encourage people to join in your company’s fundraising efforts.
• Tell a story of someone who was impacted by the work you do.

Don’t be afraid to let your hair down and let your true colors, or “killer swag” shine through. Doing this will help people get to know you better and make them much more likely to want to work with you.

 4. Buying Decision Posts.

Because your blog is supposed to help you drive leads and business, you need to also write content that will help readers make the decision to buy. For example, comparing your services with that of a competitor can help readers make an educated decision about the work you do. Or, you could write about when it makes sense to look for a solution.

For instance, I wrote about when it makes sense to outsource your social media efforts. This is an example of helping people better understand why and how to hire someone. This helps educate people during the buying process.

Another way to do this is to talk about pricing. People are searching for this information and if you can be the one to provide it, they will be more likely to buy from you. Not to mention, this could decrease the sales cycle by weeding out unqualified leads.

5. Case Studies and Examples.

One of the best way you can sell the work you do is by showcasing the results you’re able to help generate for others. Case studies are a great way to do just that.

This is a great way to sell your services by letting someone else to the talking.

And, if you’re unable to get case studies and client stories (or you’re unable to do so for compliance reasons), you could always showcase examples of other people or businesses that are doing things right. People love to see how ideas or theories can be put to work and showing how others are applying those ideas can be super powerful – even if they’re not your own clients.

You need balance

The best way to be successful with your blog is to integrate all of these types of blog posts into your writing. Not only with the varied types of blog content appeal to different audiences, but it will also help readers who are at different stages of the buying process.

If you focus on writing these kinds of posts on your blog, you’ll be sure to see the benefits of it.

Are you writing these kind of blog posts? Which ones do you still need to add to the mix?

What’s next?

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for the next post in our Compelling Content series. We’ll be talking about how to use video in your content marketing efforts.

To make sure you don’t miss it, click here to get these articles delivered to your inbox. Or, you can always subscribe via RSS.

Image credit: Search Engine People Blog

The post 5 Types of Content You Should be Writing for Your Blog appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

I firmly believe that 2013 is the year of content marketing. Although the concept of content marketing has been around for a long time, we’re finally reaching a place where it’s becoming mainstream in the digital space.

Blogging and digital content is no longer a “nice to have” option. It’s a must for businesses that want to succeed in the digital age.

Content marketing – also called inbound marketing – focuses on attracting prospects to you like a magnet instead of pushing out a message and hoping it sticks.

In other words, effective content helps people find you when they’re looking for information or to solve a problem. Being able to provide that information when someone is ready to make a buying decision – especially for B2B and service-based businesses – is incredibly useful.

This is something that social media alone cannot do. That’s why you must have original content to share first.

Here’s why content marketing is so powerful:

1. It helps you get found. It’s no secret that Google likes fresh, relevant content. And, the more content you produce with strategic, targeted keywords, the more likely you are to get found when people search for a given topic. A static website will have a tough time competing for top search engine spots compared to sites that produce regular content.
2. It helps people get to know you. If you’ve heard me say it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – we do business with those we know, like and trust. Content marketing helps showcase the people behind the business and presents the opportunity for visitors to build relationships with them through comments and social sharing. After all, we do business with PEOPLE, not company logos.
3. It builds trust. When you focus on creating content that solves problems (with no strings attached), you become a trustworthy source of information. And, when the person is ready to buy, they will be more likely to buy from you.
4. It positions you as an expert. Sure, your website touts the work you do and the awards you’ve won. Although that’s all fine and good, additional web content – whether it is blog posts, white papers or webinars – helps you demonstrate even deeper knowledge on a subject. This shows to prospects that you know what you’re talking about and it demonstrates what it would be like to work with you. Not to mention, this kind of content can lead to you being a resource for journalists and other bloggers looking for information.
5. It improves the sales process. Content marketing can help generate qualified leads, decrease the length of the sales cycle and decrease the cost per lead of other marketing initiatives. All is this is possible because content marketing attracts people who are looking for a solution, so you’re providing information at the right time. That’s why this can be far more effective than the spray and pray approach of advertising.

Now that you understand why content marketing is so valuable, I want to dive in a bit deeper and talk about the different kinds of content and how it can work to drive sales for your business.

That’s why I’m creating a week-long series about how to create compelling content.

In addition to talking about the different kinds of content (blogging, videos, ebooks, etc.) we’ll also offer up a variety of examples to help you see how different businesses used content marketing to achieve their business goals.

I’m really excited about this series and I hope that it will help you see the value in content marketing and discover new ideas for implementing this into your overall marketing efforts.

I don’t want you to miss out on the series, so click here to subscribe via RSS. Please note that my RSS feed has moved to Feedblitz, so if you were subscribed previously, please re-subscribe to the new feed so you don’t miss any content. Or, you can click here to get new posts via email or sign up via the form below.

Thanks!

Image credit: Explain that Stuff

The post Why Content Marketing is So Powerful for Business appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

The report states that 39 percent of client-side marketers worldwide identified content marketing as their top priority this year. Although content marketing barely edged out social media engagement in terms of priorities, the year-over-year numbers show that social media marketing is on the decline – both from a priority and enthusiasm standpoint, while content marketing is gaining momentum.

Why the shift?

I think there are a number of reasons why we’re seeing this change in mentality about social media and content marketing.

The social media hype is wearing off.

For far too long, social media has been filled with an abundance of hype and fear mongering. Blog posts and videos exclaim that you MUST have a social media presence if you want stay in business.

Not only is that wildly untrue, but it also sets up many businesses for failure by suggesting that’s the case. I’m a big proponent of social media, but it does not make sense for every business.

Now, I think we’re starting to see the sheen of social media wear off. Marketers are either not seeing results from their social media efforts or they’ve realized they’ve placed too much importance on this marketing channel.

Either way, we’re now reaching a point where social media is going to quit being perpetuated as the answer to every marketing problem.

Social media isn’t getting results.

As a result of all that hype, businesses quickly scrambled to develop a social media presence to avoid missing out on this golden opportunity.

But sadly, I think many did so without developing a clear strategy first.

Whether businesses wanted to be seen as hip with the times or they just felt the need to be on social channels “because everyone else is”, these reasons are no longer holding water.

These businesses have invested time in social media, but they’re not able generate results passed numbers of “likes” or followers.

Now, marketers are realizing they either need to pull back from social media or re-think how they spend their time there. Or, perhaps they are realizing that this social media thing is much harder than they thought.

The reality of the work it takes to be successful is finally starting to set in.

Social media needs content to be successful.

To quote Jay Baer, content is the fire and social media is the gasoline.

Social media can indeed amplify your content and your brand. But, you have to have something to share first.

Sadly, many businesses have done this backward. They’ve built out profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest, but have yet to develop interesting, original content to share.

Without content, your social media efforts are thin on value. People follow and connect with you because they want to hear YOUR insights, YOUR ideas and YOUR solutions. If you don’t point them to something you’ve created, you’re either constantly promoting yourself (i.e. “buy our stuff!” or “hire our team!”) or promoting other people’s stuff.

That’s why you’ve got to develop your own content first. And it doesn’t have to be a blog. It can be videos, photography, white papers, ebooks, podcasts, webinars – you name it. You just have to create something original and valuable to your target audience.

Once you do that, you can use social media to help amplify that content and get it into the hands of more people.

Perhaps, at long last, marketers are starting to recognize that content marketing can be incredibly effective, which is why it ranks as the top priority for 2013.

The Bottom Line

Do I think social media is going away?

No.

I think it’s still a viable way to build relationships and connect with customers and prospects.

But, I think (and hope) it will no longer be considered the silver bullet that solves everyone’s marketing challenges. Instead, it should be one of many tools and channels available to help you achieve success with your business.

What do you think? Is social media going away? Do you think it has lived up to the hype?

Image credit: Auntie P

The post Has Social Media Marketing Lost its Luster? appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

* *  *

I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m an addict. I should be forced to sit down at a twelve step meeting and awkwardly introduce myself to others jonesing for the written word. We should be sitting in a circle staring at the floor with stale doughnuts and weak coffee bubbling near the door.

I’m a letter addict. But I can stop anytime I want. I just don’t want to.

And I shouldn’t have to.

I’ve taken my desire, my passion, my need to write and applied it to the businesses I’ve worked with over the last few years.

What I’ve found is that even the most business hardened CEO loves to get a handwritten note. It can be something as simple as saying thanks for doing business.

Hand written notes are nearly unheard of in our world of instant messaging, emailing and texting. And while the speed and efficiency of those means of communication make them an excellent, if not vital, means of business communication, they lack the real human interaction and feel of a hand written note.

There are several situations in which a handwritten note is the perfect business plan. Some examples include

1. Give thanks. After you’ve worked with a client, send them a thank you note. This lets them know that you enjoyed working with them, and you’d like to again sometime. It also sets you apart from any other thank you notes that likely came as emails.
2. Following introductions. FoIf you’ve met a perspective client or partner when you’re not quite in ‘business mode.’ Maybe a mutual friend introduced you at a party or a coffee shop and you weren’t quite ready to sell yourself. Not to worry, a simple, handwritten letter will show that you’ve invested enough time and energy into them before any work was even discussed.
3. Apologies. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this, but sometimes, mistakes happen. If you or your business has dropped the ball with a customer, send them a letter. It’ll show that you care. It’ll show that they are more than just a business transaction to you and it’ll be your best chance to get them back as a customer.
4. Holidays. Holidays offer the perfect opportunity to show people you care. Valentines Day is right around the corner. And while giving chocolates to your clients is nice, a handwritten letter is a more personal (and cost effective!) way to show some love to clients and business partners.
5. Celebrations & life events. Celebrating events in a client’s life can be a simple, yet meaningful way to tell them you care. Sending a birthday card, an anniversary note, maybe even a mother’s day card for a client who is also a new mom. These seemingly small actions speak volumes.

There’s no better time than the present to start writing letters, to friends, to colleagues, to clients and of course to family. Everyone loves the feel of open an envelope that isn’t a bill. And, if all goes well, it’ll lead to more business.

Do you ever write handwritten notes? How do you incorporate personal touches like this into your business communications?

Born and raised in Mark Twain’s neck of the woods, Drew Blanc grew an appreciation for literature at a young age. He has worked with small businesses and startups for several years and is now following his true passion, writing for Pensxpress.com

Image credit: Lisa Yarost

The post Why You Should Write Handwritten Notes appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

As I’ve been approaching this date, I’ve been thinking a lot about the whirlwind of the past year, what it’s taken to get to where I am today and how grateful I am to finally be working for myself.

It’s been a rewarding and challenging journey. And in the past year, I’ve learned so many important lessons – about business and myself.

Although this doesn’t begin to encapsulate everything, here are some of the important things I’ve learned in my first year of business:

1. Build a platform before you need it. One of the best things I did for my business was to build a strong platform before I quit my day job. While consulting on the side, I also spent time building this blog, growing my social networks and strategically building relationships. All of those things made it much easier to get my business up and running quickly. Starting out from square one would have made the journey that much harder.
2. Don’t be afraid to get help. Like many entrepreneurs, I’m a do-it-yourselfer. But, there are plenty of tasks I shouldn’t be doing – both from an efficiency standpoint and from a skill standpoint. I’ve learned that I’ve got to hire people to fill those needs so I can spend time on the activities that matter most to my business and my clients. This is going to be even more critical as I grow my business.
3. Learn when (and how) to say “no.”. This is a lesson I’ve always struggled with. I’m a people-pleaser by nature and love nothing more than to help others out. But, saying “yes” to everything is not good for me as it gobbles up time and leaves me feeling depleted. I’ve learned that I’ve got to say “no” more often so I can say, “yes” to the things that really matter. As an business owner, everyone wants a piece of your time, so I’ve had to sharpen my ability to say “no” and learn how to do it with tact and grace (I’m still working on it though!).
4. Learn from your mistakes. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t tripped up a time or two in the past year. Although I absolutely hate to mess up, I’ve learned a lot from the times I have. It’s not good to dwell on your mistakes, but it does make sense to figure out what went wrong and how you fix it so you don’t encounter the same problem down the road.
5. Embrace your freedom. Working long and hard has not been the challenge for me – it’s been the opposite. For me, it’s difficult to give myself permission to take time off or pull myself away from the office. But, I’ve learned that it’s absolutely critical. Working myself ragged only drains my creativity and leaves me unfocused and tired. I’ve learned that I’ve got to get out of the office and go for a run, stop working at a decent hour and take a random day off to spend time with a friend in town. Not only does that help keep me energized, but it also gives me the space to think and dream.
6. Being selective is okay. When I first started out, I was so determined to succeed that I said “yes” to every business opportunity that came my way. And while that made sense at the time, as my business grows, I need to be more selective about choosing the right companies and partners to work with. That way, I’m making sure it’s not only a good fit for me, but for the client as well.
7. Build systems to improve efficiency. One of the hardest things about starting a business is that you’re doing everything for the first time. Proposals, agreements, invoices, marketing strategies – you name it. The first time you do it, it takes an inordinate amount of time. That’s why it’s important to build a system or process for tasks that you do over and over again so it makes it faster for you and gives you the ability to scale when you’re ready.
8. Make time for learning. For me to stay sharp, I’ve got to stay on top of marketing trends and what’s happening in the business world. Although it’s hard to pull yourself away from all of the work that needs to be done, it’s good to spend time reading or attending conferences or events where you can continue to hone your skills.
9. Constantly build relationships. I’ve talked a lot about the importance of relationship building. And, as a business owner, it’s even more critical as that is where the majority of my business has come from. But, the trick is that you have to be strategic about it. It would be very easy to spend half of your time at every networking event in town or engaging on social media all day. You’ve got to find the right balance that works for you and figure out where it makes sense to spend your time.
10. Find colleagues and mentors you can trust. Entrepreneurship can be awfully lonely. Although your friends and family can be very supportive, there are few people that truly understand what it’s like to work for yourself. I’ve learned that spending time with fellow business owners is incredibly valuable and gives me an outlet for sharing ideas and frustrations. Pam Slim calls this your High Council of Jedi Knights. I’m thankful to have a number of smart people in my council who I can lean on and I’m always looking to expand that circle.

I’m so grateful to my family, friends and colleagues who have supported and encouraged me along the way. Thanks to you, I’m looking forward to many more years of entrepreneurship ahead!

What about you? What has entrepreneurship taught you? What lessons have you found to be most valuable?

Image credit: The fine folks at Proof Branding designed this awesome poster. You can purchase it here.

The post 10 Valuable Lessons from my First Year as an Entrepreneur appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

* * *

It’s been four years since I started my blog, The Financial Minute. I’ve spent many hours writing and fumbling my way through growing pains as a blogger.

Sure, the original intention was to create a marketing tool for prospects looking for a fee-only financial advisor, but my blog had, and still has, an altruistic piece: My love for helping others understand personal finances.

Because I do enjoy helping others, my blog has always been written from an educational standpoint. I strive to deliver answers to complicated financial and tax concepts in a complete yet simple manner. I don’t give half the answer and require folks to hire me to get the rest.

Looking back, I can certainly see how this tool has served my business very well. It’s driven clients to Von Haefen Financial Management and has been a connector to get me to writers looking for quotes for the likes of The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. That itself would seem to equal success, but there’s more.

Writing from this perspective has delivered to me a wonderful gift. This gift has made itself known over the last several months.

After receiving many emails regarding a myriad of topics towards the end of 2012 (a period in which I was extremely busy keeping up with impending changes and trying to best serve my clients), I began to notice I had well-documented answers to many of these client questions in my blog.

Through my blog, I had created a giant repository of authoritative information written in my voice.  A voice my clients trust and understand.

Blogging as a Time Saver

Using my blog to help deliver answers to clients and prospects has been a wonderful tool and time saver. Because of the nature of my work, many of the topics are complicated and require detailed responses.

For example, a client recently asked about an email they received from Amazon regarding the Tennessee Use Tax. Guess what, I blogged about it six months ago.

So, rather than spend 15 minutes reviewing the minutia and crafting a response, I simply guided my client directly to the blog post to answer her questions.

Obviously, I don’t simply respond with a link attached to an email. My relationship with clients is too important to do that.  Sometimes I will offer guidance and refer to a blog post for more details.

After spending four years writing and developing my blog, I have found a new benefit.  What started out as a tool for marketing, SEO improvement, and to increase my authoritative voice, I have since found my old friend, The Financial Minute, to be a great time saver.

What has surprised you about blogging? Have you seen any unexpected benefits come out of your efforts?

* * *

Troy Von Haefen, CFP, owns and operates Von Haefen Financial Management, a Nashville fee-only financial planning firm focused on helping individuals, families and small business owners reach their financial goals. You can follow Troy on Twitter at @tvonhaefen.

Image credit: magarell

The post The Most Unexpected Benefit to Blogging appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.

If you’ve been blogging for any length of time, chances are good this has happened to you.

In fact, it happened to me yesterday. And, when I flippantly tweeted it, several people responded that they have that same problem all of the time.

Since this is common issue that bloggers face, this is the perfect opportunity to explore some options for remedying this issue.

So, the next time you start blogging on something you’ve already written about, you won’t waste any time determining what to do.

1. Republish the content on your own blog. Although this is something you shouldn’t do all the time, you can give your old content new life by republishing it. This is something Copyblogger often does with their vast archives. And Michael Hyatt did it last year when he was on vacation. Not only does this give you a blogging break, but it introduces new readers  to some of your best work that may be buried on your site.
2. Submit the content somewhere else. As I’ve said before, guest blogging can be a great way to get in front of a new audience. You can either write something new or you could submit your old post to be syndicated on another site. Either way, it gives you an opportunity to further spread your ideas.
3. Write a new angle. You may have talked about a particular topic or idea before, but maybe this time, you can take a different approach. Look for unique ways to talk about the topic. Or, maybe you could bring someone in for an interview on the topic. See what you can do to present the information in a new and exciting way for your readers.
4. Update the information. If it’s been a year or more since you wrote about that particular topic, it might be time to take the information and provide an update. For instance, if you wrote about your favorite productivity tools last year, you might want to update it to include some new tools that are now on the market.
5. Use a different format. If you’ve previously written about a topic, this time, you could publish the information using a different medium, such as photos, videos, podcasts, slide decks, infographics, etc. Maybe you could even interview someone on the topic or try out Vine, Twitter’s new 6-second mobile video creator. Whatever you choose, this is a great opportunity to use multimedia to reach your audience in a new way.
6. Repurpose for other uses. If you keep grooving on a particular topic, maybe it’s time to move the information off of your blog and use it other ways. Perhaps the information could be great fodder for e-letters, eBooks, whitepapers or other collateral materials.

What about you?

Certainly, if you keep coming back to the same ideas, you might need to spend some time finding new blog post inspiration and topics to write about. But sometimes, it just takes thinking about creative ways to get the most out of the good ideas you already have.

What do you do when you keep coming back to the same blog post idea?

Image credit: De Shark 

The post Stuck on the Same Blog Topic? 6 Ways to Give it a New Twist appeared first on Blue Kite Marketing.