Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

How to Get a New Business Site Going Quickly & Easily, without the Tech Hassles

2009-11-08T13:58:32-06:00

Want a vastly improved website/blog? One that will help you drive more traffic and more revenue to your business than ever before?

Want an attractive, modern business website – at a great price – WITHOUT all the guesswork, technical difficulties and hassles...

If so, I have a very special offer for you.

You and 19 16 13 9 other smart people, to be exact.

Dawud Miracle and Easton Ellswo rth have partnered to offer business website design services through WebsiteHabitat.com.

To celebrate their new partnership and the birth of Dawud’s fourth child, they’re offering an unbeatable deal to the next 20 17 14 10 customers – but only through midnight Pacific time Monday, November 9.

For info and samples, and to be one of the lucky 10 people to get a new site at an incredibly good price, go to WebsiteHabitat.com.

I've been preaching blog platforms for so long now, you probably think I'm just a blog-crazy blonde.

Here's a couple of web-savvy guys who agree with me, and Dawud and Easton will help you learn everything you need to run a business off a Wordpress blog site.

I whole heartedly believe blogs should be used as fully operational websites. You can run your business off a blog, when you learn a few tricks and tips. There's no better way to get started than to get a Wordpress theme, site set up, design customization and training, by two really good guys who know what's up and how to teach you in clear steps.

Here’s what you’ll get if you order now:

A complete professional WordPress-powered website to help you market your business effectively ($1200 value)
The incredible Headway theme to make updating your website a breeze ($87 value)
An SEO Action Pack service ($495 value)
A 30-day free trial membership at BusinessHabitat.com, our online marketing advice counterpart to Website Habitat ($37 value)

A $1,819 value, yours for $650.

I've known these web guys online forever, it seems, and I can guarantee you'll get good products and good training and service from them.

(I don't get any affiliate commission for promoting this, I just like to let you know about good opportunities when they come across my desk.)

If I needed a new site, I'd jump on this, it's such a great way to get a business site going and learn how to run it yourself. I'm going to be participating in their marketing advice membership site, so I hope to "see" you there.

For more information, and to see samples, go to WebsiteHabitat.com.

4 Ways to Show Me the Money on Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn...

2009-11-08T05:47:32-06:00

Are you using Twitter every day to increase your revenues? How about to get more traffic to your blog?

Last week I got a $600 order from a person who found me through Twitter. She had read a message that was re-tweeted from a follower who included a link to my website. I had never heard of this person before, but they liked something I said and followed the trail back to my Content for Coaches site.

The problem with new tools like Twitter is that most businesses don't understand how to use them quite yet, which encourages the contrarians to say things like, "Oh, it's just a fad; yes, but there's no way to measure the ROI; what a waste of time."

I'm no expert on the use of social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, but I use them daily. I can't afford not to because they are a major source of traffic to my blogs.

SMTM = Show Me the Money

I believe in the "show me the money" school of marketing. I also place trust in research studies that are done properly. Fortunately, Business.com just released a revealing survey of 2,948 respondants, the Business Social Media Benchmarking Survey.

Newt Barrett on Content Marketing Today does a great job explaining these business trends and writes about it on his blog. Or, you can go directly to the survey, Business.com.

Here are the top four benchmarks to measure social media success on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook:

Website traffic
Product feedback
Lead generation
Revenue

Heck, I don't even have a category for social media and it's not likely I'll create one because there are too many categories here on this old blog. But you can't have a content marketing strategy without including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The KISS School of Marketing

I also subscribe to "Keep It Simple, Sweetie." While I believe you should be "everywhere" on the Web, I'm only one person, plus a few VA's. Thank goodness there are automatic services (they really are magic!) that feed your blog posts into all your other accounts. If you aren't using TwitterFeed, or Ping.fm, you should.

Although you must "be there," it's really your blog posts that must be there. I may visit Twitter 2-3 times a day when I have time, but some days I don't. And I might not visit Facebook or LinkedIn but weekly. But it looks like I'm there all the time, because I post on 2-3 blogs and they are fed into my accounts.

It depends on where you want to spend your marketing time. Where do you need to put your energy?

Twitter is starting a feature called Lists. Before that, you needed to use additional programs like TweetLater and TweetDeck to keep track of key topics and favorite people. With lists, you'll save more time and get more value from this powerful site.

According to Nielsen Online, Twitter alone grew 1,382% year-over-year in February, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the US for the month.

Where it this all going? Harvard Business Publishing writes about it here:

Six Social Media Trends for 2010

Five Mind-Blowing Web Stats You Should Know

Twitter's Business Model: Brilliant, or Non-Existent?

Is this all too much for the self-employed professional who wants to have a strong online presence? Me thinks not. Challenging, yes. Manageable, certainly.

The Spaghetti School

When I started out online ten years ago, like a kid with a new toy, I jumped on all the next new shiny objects. I belonged to the Spaghetti school of marketing: I'd throw up a bunch of stuff and see what sticks.

I made a lot of mistakes. You can benefit from them. Find what works for you, and focus on learning to use it in ways that are simple and time-saving.

Here's an example: You don't have to learn everything there is to know about video and video sharing sites. Get a web cam, or a Flip video. Plug it in. Turn it on. Get an account on YouTube. Upload a short video clip. Copy and paste the YouTube embed code into your blog. Click publish.

Huh? It doesn't get any easier. Really. Trust me, I'm one of the original "techno-idiots." Oh, excuse me, now that I'm "older" and qualify for senior status, I'm calling myself a "technold-fart." Or maybe a computer geekster... or a senior netizen?

Hey, I'm still kickin' and can out-twit some of you young kids...

If You Work for Yourself, Be a Good Boss (Weekend musings...)

2009-11-07T07:14:00-06:00

Are you thinking about next year already? I am. I hate to say it, but this year's over. With the end-of-the-year holidays, and my vacation coming up, it's time to finish up projects, get them announced, and generate some revenues.

What are you doing to prepare for 2010? I'm writing a prediction about content marketing for a book, and I'm launching a couple of projects (sneak preview, Content Marketing for Smarties and Patsi's Private List).

(BIG announcement next week, on the teleseminar (don't forget to register here: How to Create Content Products with MyKnowledgeGenie.)

(Personal Note: This has been a strange year for everyone, political changes that leave one hopeful, excited, or scared, but certainly not apathetic; then there's been the economic uncertainty, global unrest, and, if you're nearing retirement age, some re-working of plans because of shrinking reserves. Whatever your situation, employed, self-employed, or out of work, I hope you do not give up, you maintain your energy and keep on working on those dreams.)

My point is this: make sure you're doing work you really love and you like your boss. You may have to be together longer than you expect! In my case, my boss is myself (not The Hubby, as he would like to think!)...

I'm sometimes difficult to work for. It's not that I work myself too hard, au contraire. I have a pretty good work ethic, I'm responsible and reliable. But I've got an even stronger "play ethic." I firmly believe that playing tennis everyday is the way to keep a healthy body AND, more importantly, a healthy brain. If I'm not having fun, none of this really matters as much.

The problem is the 3-4 hours that it takes for tennis. Especially when I'm organizing a project like the upcoming teleseminar for My Knowledge Genie. (Details here, don't miss it!)

Even with a free teleseminar, there are a lot of pieces that have to be organized, and it has to be promoted just as vigorously as any class for a fee (Twitter, Facebook, blog posts, communities, etc.).

It's one thing to "play hard, work hard," but you can't have it both ways when there are only so many hours in a day and so much energy to go around. I can't spend half my day goofing off, then complain when there aren't enough sales. Well, I can complain, but it's my tough luck.

Success Comes with a Price

Successful people are usually competitive, energetic, and passionate high-achievers. But unless there's some balance, unless I can temper my ambition with common sense, I risk burn-out and stress. Along with that comes grumpiness.

Then I start hating my boss... it's an ugly situation because I can't really stand up and quit. I haven't figured out how to slam the door and walk out on myself...

So, it's a good thing I love my job... and the boss-lady ain't so bad most of the time. ;-)

It's Saturday and 4 a.m. here in Ajijic, and I'm up early to get a start on my day's work. I can get in 4-5 hours work before going off to play tennis.

Mike, the computer guy, came by yesterday and fixed a couple of buggy issues on my old Alien CPU, and got my laptop back from it's temporary crash.

Huey and Dewey, our Maine Coon cats, are fed and sleeping on my desk. The Hubby is snoozing. The sun's not up over Lake Chapala yet, but will be soon. All's well in my world...

Content Creation Made Easy, Interactive, and Affordable: My Knowledge Genie Free Class

2009-11-06T05:21:40-06:00

You may have heard the buzz about it already, My Knowledge Genie is a content creating wizard that will save you a ton of time and energy.

I don't promote products unless I see them as having really good value. As soon as I set up a free account at MyKnowledgeGenie.com, I had to stop my fist from hitting my forehead too hard. This tool really is a genie.

I started a free trial last week, and I'm almost finished with a comprehensive ebook that includes chapters, checklists, definitions, learning reminders, and summary questions. I'll be publishing it soon, and selling it for $97. Cost for all this? $5/month hosting fees, nothing else.

If I wanted to create a free info product, I wouldn't need to upgrade my account. My "genie" would be completely free, yet hosted, created, formatted, and organized and published on their site. Easy as pie.

If you need to create and sell info products like ebooks, books, and training materials, don't miss this free teleseminar:

Join me on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. ET to take a virtual tour with founder Milo Sindell.

When you sign up for this free teleseminar you will learn how to quickly create powerful info products, ebooks, learning modules, speeches, membership sites, books.

MyKnowledgeGenie helps you create content, it formats it for you, you can include checklists, learning reminders, upload files, and ask summary questions. The whole idea is to be able to create content that does a good job of educating your readers with a variety of lists and files.

If you can't attend the live call, a recording will be available if you're registered.

Quite frankly, this program is almost as good as the invention of blogging, it's that good.

Here's the press release with complete information about the new company start-up and it's amazing content creation tool:

Knowledge Genie Launches to Help Authors and Experts Publish, Sell and Share their Knowledge as Interactive Online Applications

Los Angeles, Calif., July 29, 2009 -- Knowledge Genie, a new digital publishing startup, launched today at www.myknowledgegenie.com to help experts, authors and consultants publish, sell and share their knowledge as interactive online applications called Genies.

Knowledge Genie was founded by the husband and wife team of Milo and Thuy Sindell, authors and nationally recognized experts in employee performance and leadership development.

“For most knowledge experts, the traditional approach to sharing your smarts is to write a book, consult and go on the speaking circuit,” said Milo Sindell.

“With Knowledge Genie, we help experts move beyond the book by publishing their knowledge as a Genie, a shareable, sellable online application. A customer interacts with a Genie like a virtual coach, allowing authors to clone themselves and share their expertise with a worldwide audience.”

“Knowledge Genie is a breakthrough in digital publishing,” said Marshal Goldsmith, a well-known author and leadership consultant to Fortune 500 CEOs. “The Knowledge Genie platform allowed me to capture, organize and package my knowledge into an interactive web application called the Marshall Goldsmith Professional Success System that I sell on Amazon.com. Because it successfully replicates interactive one-to-one coaching processes, it literally allows an author or consultant to clone themselves and expose their knowledge to a broader worldwide market.”

Genies are used for a broad spectrum of knowledge sharing applications. Genies can serve as standalone sellable web applications, or as multimedia augments to printed and electronic books, consulting engagements, employee training, K-12 and higher education, customer training and marketing.

The company’s vision is to change the way people share and monetize their knowledge. During the pre-launch alpha testing of the platform, users found a wide range of uses for the Knowledge Genie platform - some of them quirky and unexpected. Some of the more interesting Genie apps created so far include:

A surfing Genie - provides users with daily ocean conditions and guidance for how to best surf those conditions
A financial planning Genie - provides users with a week-by-week plan for organizing their finances in manageable steps
A workforce analytics Genie - takes companies through a step-by-step process to assess the current workforce status and plan for the future
A manicure Genie - how to make your manicure last
Two book-inspired Genies - one author is using a Genie to bring his out-of-print book back to life; another author has created a Genie to serve as a frequently updated online companion to a non-fiction book about a cross country college football odyssey, including all the latest stats.

Much like what Apple has done for creating phone apps, Knowledge Genie will create a Genie marketplace where people across the globe can share, access and purchase Genies of all categories.

From the authoring perspective, the Knowledge Genie platform provides creators a flexible framework to help them capture and organize their knowledge into a dynamic, multimedia learning application. The Knowledge Genie application can centralize documents, video, podcasts, blogs, and internet resources in one location that brings an expert’s knowledge to life. Genie authors are able to control and update their Genie web apps as easily as they would change a word processing document.

The patent-pending technology behind the Knowledge Genie publishing platform draws upon cognitive learning psychology, which demonstrates that adults have difficulty absorbing information when exposed to static printed documents, verbally conveyed presentations and speeches, and even video tutorials.

“We discovered in our corporate consulting engagements that when you integrate prescriptive actions into the learning environment, such as requiring the subject to take some action, comprehension and retention improve dramatically,” said Thuy Sindell, PhD., Knowledge Genie co-founder. “With Knowledge Genie, we structured the tool so the learner is prompted to interact with the Genie app, guided to apply the knowledge in real life, and then return to the Genie to get more knowledge.”

About the Founders

Milo Sindell, Knowledge Genie president and CEO, is a noted author and expert in employee and organization performance, with past clients that include Intel and Sun Microsystems. As co-founder of Hit the Ground Running, a software company founded to license the content and processes of Sindell’s book, Sink or Swim (published by Adams Media), into a software application that was ultimately licensed to several Fortune 500 companies.

After Sindell applied the technology to another author’s book, he was inspired to start Knowledge Genie to help subject-matter experts more fully realize the promise of interactive online coaching and training applications.

Sindell writes about the latest trends in employee performance at “The End of Work as You Know It” blog at Psychology Today Magazine.

Knowledge Genie co-founder and COO, Thuy H. Sindell, Ph.D., has spent her career focused on helping employees take ownership of their career. She is the co-author, along with Milo, of three popular career books, including Sink or Swim: New Job. New Boss. 12 Weeks to Get it Right; Job Spa: 12 Weeks to Refresh, Refocus, and Recommit to Your Career; and the upcoming book, The End of Work as You Know It: Eight Strategies to Redefine Work in Your Terms (Published by Ten Speed Press December 2009). She also co-founded Hit the Ground Running.

In her work as a leadership consultant and coach with Mariposa Leadership, Inc., Thuy has consulted with such firms as Apple Computer, Cisco Systems and Charles Schwab on strategic thinking, influencing, and coaching skills.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing is based on the number of Genies. The first Genie is free. Up to two Genies is $24.00/ month; up to 10 Genies is $49.00/month; up to 25 Genies is $99.00/month; and up to 50 is $189.00/month. Site licenses are available for larger enterprise-wide implementations. For complete pricing details, visit http://myknowledgegenie.com/pricing.cfm

About Knowledge Genie, Inc.

Founded in 2009, Knowledge Genie offers a digital publishing platform that allows subject-matter experts to capture, package and publish their smarts into dynamic online applications called Genies. The Knowledge Genie platform makes it easy for experts to share or sell their knowledge, accessible to any customer or client around the globe with a web browser. The company is based in Los Angeles, California and can be contacted at http://www.myknowledgegenie.com.

3 Key Content Questions You Must Answer

2009-11-04T05:51:59-06:00

To paraphrase Doug Kessler, Velocity Marketing:

While there’s a lot of craft in the practice of content marketing, the core of the discipline is very, very simple: you have to be able to answer three questions quickly, clearly and compellingly:

Who the hell are you?
Why should I care?
Why should I believe you?

If you can answer these three questions well, you’ll have done the hardest and most important part of your content marketing job. You'll also make the other parts of your job a lot easier.

While Doug writes this as part of his Holy Trinity of Technology Marketing, these questions are foundational for writing any kind of marketing content.

The devil is in the nuances, of course. I'll give you a bad email marketing sample of how NOT to do this:

Dear <firstname>,
I'm Patsi Krakoff, from The Blog Squad, award-winning blogger. I've got a great deal for you. You can save 50-75% off all my products by joining my list. I've never offered this amazing discount before and I'm taking it off the table in 4 hours. Thousands have already joined, don't be left out.

I was trying to be really awful here, but even if I weren't, there are problems in answering these 3 questions while trying to write a credible and effective email promotion.

It's hard. Anytime you try to answer the question of who you are and why you are credible, you risk coming across as self-aggrandizing.

Other than saving 50% off unknown products, there's nothing here to tell me what benefits I'm going to get if I join.

It reeks of sleaze and cheap marketing lingo, destroying all chances of credibility. Here's more of what Doug Kessler says in his Velocity B2B Content Marketing ebook:

When you embark on a content marketing campaign, you’re leaving traditional marketing territory and entering the domain of the consultant, advisor, analyst and journalist. Unfortunately, you’re entering this domain with a bad reputation: you’re a vendor.
Because you’ve got something to sell, there’s a big, red, neon sign on your head that sizzles, “Caveat Emptor”.

Your job is to get people to ignore that sign for long enough to hear you out. You don’t do this by pretending you’re not a vendor or that you don’t see the neon sign on your head.

•    You do it by being open, honest and balanced
•    By respecting your audience
•    By supporting each point in your argument
•    By keeping your sales sword sheathed

So here's the challenge that arises: how do you sell with your sales sword sheathed?

You do it by building up to the sales and email marketing messages. They have to be preceded by content that provides quality relevant information that educates, entertains and engages with readers.

A sales message has to have a call to action, the request to buy, or click over to register, or whatever it's designed to do.

An email marketing campaign goes out to people already on your list, so they already "know who you are." You just have to convince them you understand their problems and have a solution for them.

It must speak to readers by addressing their needs and wants, what's in it for them? There has to be a balance between good story, reasons to act, and clear and simple call to action.

Let me try to write my email promotion again...

Dear firstname,
Are you fed up with buying ebooks that don't deliver good "how-to" tips? I know I am. What makes me really mad is that some "gurus" are charging $100 for info products that deliver their marketing pitches, instead of explaining clear steps to accomplish what I need to learn.
I'm going to put a stop to this. At least, for my own part, I'm not going to fall into the trap of under-delivering on my own ebooks.
From now on, you can buy my "how-to" ebooks for 50%-75% off just for joining my private list. I'm doing this so that I can get interested people on a list who want to be the first to get information and who can give me feedback if they wish. You get a good deal, I get to improve the quality of my stuff before I release it to the public at full price.
If this sounds like something you'd be interested in click here. No catch, no obligation. Just honest information at a good price for smart people who want to learn, not be marketed to.

What do you think about these different email campaigns? How else could it be improved?

Put Down Your Twitter Toys & Get Back to Work!

2009-11-03T06:45:23-06:00

I am looking at the Twitterverse and shaking my head. So much going on there, so much noise. Looks like some of you are having just too much fun over there...And like a kid with a new toy, some of you are abandoning your old stand-by business blogs in favor of quick updates on Twitter.

Tsk, tsk.

Put down your Twitter Toys right NOW! Some of you are making too much noise. All that laughing, it can't be good for business, now can it?

Really? You're getting new clients and making money and having a good time, too? Can't be true...and yet...just last week I got a new client who told me she found me through a re-tweet...

I love the new lists on Twitter, what about you? It's a great way to eavesdrop on some of my favorite blog stars.

The thing is, that in spite of all that networking and socializing, somehow Twitter is becoming a BIG driver of blog traffic back to my blogs. I can't deny it. Hmmm, maybe I'll just take one more peek over there before I post this.

In the meantime, here's an important post I want you to go read: 19 Reasons You Should Blog And Not Just Tweet by Adam Singer over on The Future Buzz.

Blogging demonstrates true commitment and passion to your industry that you really can’t fake long-term. Most won’t be able to sustain it over long periods of time with frequency, but those who do so are rewarded in spades and stand out from the crowd.

Twitter is in a sense social sticky notes... It’s snack-sized content. Are you or your business interesting enough to provide the full course? It’s telling who engages deeper vs. those who simply choose to engage 140 characters at a time.

Isn't it time we get back to writing meaty, useful blog content instead of just poking our heads in and retweeting something? Now, don't get me wrong, I love Twitter. But I also enjoy good business blog content that educates, entertains, and grabs me where I feel it.

Confessions of a Content Marketing Doofus...

2009-11-02T08:27:52-06:00

I've got to confess to being my own worse marketing example...This weekend I read my own blog posts...and decided I talk a good talk but don't always walk the talk! What a doofus...(Another great photo from Shutterstock)

It's the post about using client comments as part of a good content marketing strategy. If social proof is so darned vital in influencing readers to become clients, why don't I showcase the emails and comments I get from the people I've worked with?

I can be demure and say I don't like tooting my own horn, but that would be lame since I am telling everybody else how crucial this social proof thing is.

I've decided I'm not alone, I'm sure others out there are doing this too, and so that makes me feel better. But until I get over myself and post some testimonials, I've no excuse for being a hypocrite.

I can blog til I'm blue in the face about the payoffs of blogging, but here's one client's experience:

One of The Blog Squad clients, Tim Wright, who blogs at Culture to Engage, emailed to share his success commenting on other blogs. Tim sent another email about more success he attributes to blogging:

The good news just keeps on happenin'!

Thanks to my three-a-week commitment and a number of your other recommended tactics (like commenting on others' blogs, joining cyber neighborhoods and networks, spicing up the titles, working on keywords and phrases), I had this great thing occur:

An e-mail from an online company that does audio conferences to educate the HR market. They needed a stand in for an audio conference scheduled for next Wednesday. When they started searching (God bless Google!), my Culture to Engage blog appeared.

Result? I'm standing in next Wednesday and I'm offering an audio conference all my own the day before.

And is it remunerative? (Or as my granddad would say, "Does it bring in the bucks?") You betcha.

One audio conference: $750.
Affiliate to sell their follow-up "hard" product: 20%
Visibility among their audience: priceless.

Have I said lately, "You ROCK!"?
Tim Wright, Culture to Engage Blog

I have a file folder full of good stuff like this, but what good does that do? Sure, I can pull them out and read them when I'm having a bad day...

It's not right to keep this stuff hidden, it must be visible to potential customers who are on the fence and who aren't sure if blogging is a good idea or not.

Look at it this way. I'm really passionate about helping other people with their online marketing. I can never forget how hard it was for me in the first few years of business. I really struggled to make sense out of the overwhelming amounts of information on the Internet.

If I can help others to save some time, energy and money, then I will. Like I said, I just need to get over myself. I'm not a bold and brazen ego-centrist. Hopefully, you know that by now.

I've created a stand-alone page where readers can see what clients say about working with me. You can see it here: What Clients Say.

What have your content marketing and blogging successes been like? Share your stories by leaving a comment. Do you have your success stories posted somewhere on your blog?

What Does Your Content Marketing "Table of Contents" Look Like?

2009-11-01T07:26:42-06:00

If you were to write a book, gathering your expertise up and packaging it for your targeted audience, what would the table of contents look like? Could you list 10-15 chapters taking a reader from step 1 through to finish?

I recently did this, in preparation for an informational product. It's not finished yet, but I discovered amazing results from listing the chapters: clarity and inspiration!

For the last two weeks I've been creating fresh content and re-purposing old blog posts, following a trail of steps a person would take to create a strong online marketing presence for a small business. If you review recent posts, I started with:

These are all part of the content marketing steps you would need to take if you were just starting out online, but also if you were revising your marketing strategy so that it gets more Web traffic.

If you have been online for a few years, you may notice that your brochure-style website doesn't get as much traffic as you'd like. Old school web marketing would tell you to do some pay-per-click advertising and Search Engine Optimization. All very expensive. New school says to do Content Optimization. Not expensive.

The "E's" of Content Marketing

When you've got content that educates, entertains, and engages with readers, and when you've got plenty of it because you're actively blogging, your words do a great job of natural search engine optimization. You'll get found in search results for the key words and phrases you consistently write about.

Furthermore, when readers find you, they discover you're an expert, a likable and trustworthy resource, and they'll keep coming back if you're generous with your knowledge. They will download your free report or ebook. They will read your bio and connect with you. They may decide to follow you on Twitter, or retweet a blog post they love.

The First Chapters

As you can see, I've covered quite a few chapters on the preparatory steps that need to be clarified before you start your content marketing campaign. You need to have clarity about what problems you solve, what the benefits to your readers and clients are, and then you need to find a good brand identity, and domain names for your sites, landing pages, products and services.

You need to create cornerstone content, including a powerful bio telling your real back story, and writing about your passion for your business.

You need to have several ways and levels your readers can take next steps, using a product funnel from free to free for email, to token fee, to big ticket products and services.

The Next Chapters

Once these pieces are in place (or while you're working on them), you need to be continually "seeding the Internet" daily or almost daily with your blog posts and tweets. This is how you feed your content marketing machine.

Results? You bet. You get found, get clients, get money.

Work? You bet. If you're an independent professional running a business, it adds about an hour or more to your day. Not everyone wants to do this work, that's why many complain they can't find the time to write on their blogs, or to create content. You can outsource some of it. I am in the business of helping coaches create content for their blogs and content marketing materials.

But this tip I'm giving you here will help save you time. Because once you write down of a list of steps, you'll see that you'll have energy and "oomph" to fervently create blog posts and content quickly.

In my opinion, having a clear plan of content ideas is half the battle. So take 15 minutes to list a "table of contents" to an imaginary book you'd write (if only you had the time...)! You'll find that after you do this list you'll have clarity and inspiration. Then it's a simple matter of writing out 300-450 words on each step of the way.

I discovered this quite by accident and it's working for me. Tell me what you experience once you try it, okay?

Use Client Comments in Your Content Marketing

2009-10-30T07:10:32-06:00

Are you using client comments like you could and should for content marketing? There's power in people's praise, but also in their comments and email messages.

Remember that there are six universal principles of social influence, as identified by social psychologists, notably Robert Cialdini in the book Influence:

Reciprocation
Authority
Commitment/consistency
Scarcity
Liking
Social proof

Your prospects are probably wondering if you can help them. Until you share what others' experiences have been working with you, how can they know?

Hearing what other people say about working with you is one of the most influential ways to convince people that you're trustworthy and know what you're talking about.

As I write this, I realize I am not walking my talk here. I haven't created a place on this blog where my client's testimonials can be accessed.

Wait, there's a great testimonial on the page, "How Can I Help You?" But I could certainly create a new page, and put something like "What My Clients Say" up in the navigation bar. (Note to self: do this today...) I have done this on my other site, but not here.

How to Collect and Use Social Proof

When you've delivered work and your client is happy, be sure to capture their comments in text (via email or blog comment), but also consider using an audio file or video clip.

Audio testimonials: Maintain a free teleconferencing line, such as the one I have with FreeTeleconferencing.com. You can set up a testimonial line, send people the number and ask them to record their message. The company will send you the mp3 file, and you can post it on a special page on your blog or website.

Text testimonials: Collect these from emails and blog comments, or send a written request like a customer satisfaction survey and ask for feedback, both positive and negative. Ask for permission before you publish, and if appropriate, ask the person for a photo and/or links to their sites.

Video testimonials: This is easy to do when you're meeting in person, using a Flip video camera. Even when your clients are global, it's easy enough with a Web cam. Ask a client to record a video testimonial under a minute, even 30 seconds will do. Use a service like YouSendIt.com, to transfer large video files to your computer.

Upload it to YouTube, use a description and tags, and capture the embedding code, paste it into a blog post or on a special page on your blog. Voila...

Not All Testimonials Are Created Equal

Capturing what clients say about you can be used in many ways. You can create new blog posts based on client comments. This goes for positive and negative comments.

But there's a danger in copying and pasting glowing client testimonials. Positive comments tend to be a little ho-hum and bland. Here's an example:

"Just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for your great blogs. I've been reading them for more than a year now. These last few blog posts are totally in sync with what I'm going through myself! And here you are writing about it."

"I find all your information really interesting. I recommend your blogs to all my clients."

"I am so inspired and filled with ideas from your blogs."

As happy as I am to hear these comments from readers, I don't see the value in posting them. Don't get me wrong, this stuff makes my day! I love hearing this! But there's not much social proof at work here.

Look at this example of another email:

"From your excellent set-up work and encouragement, my blog has grown to over 387 posts (and counting), and has generated new leads that resulted in $2,000,000 US dollars (yes, 2 million!) in new business."

This last client includes results in his testimonial. Many clients don't understand how important this is, so you have to ask them: "Since you seem to be happy with our work together, would you mind sending me a sentence or two telling people what kinds of results you're seeing?"

It doesn't have to be financial returns, although that's nice. Sometimes making someone's life easier, faster, better is also important proof.

Build a Product Funnel on Your Blog through Content Marketing

2009-10-29T06:32:30-06:00

Are you building a product funnel on your blog? If not, you're leaving money on the table. Not only that, you're missing an opportunity to solidify the relationships your hard-earned content marketing efforts are creating. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It's odd that Wikipedia doesn't have a page written about this key internet marketing strategy. There's a page for purchasing funnel and one for sales funnel. And there's over 3 million results on Google for product funnel. Okay, don't go there now, here's what you need to know:

Content marketing works because you take a reader through the steps of getting to know you, like you, and trust you. This is the KLT factor. Here's how it works:

Your blog should have cornerstone content pieces to communicate your core values and passion and business mission. These are stand-alone pages to highlight your core information.
Your blog (or website) should have a well-crafted bio or About page, which tells your back story, who you are, and why you care.
Your blog or website should have client stories, case studies and testimonials everywhere to tell your clients' experiences with working with you, your products and services.
And next, you need continual, clear calls to action, so that readers can take the next steps.

Next Steps

Next steps can be to get to know you and your expertise further, or they can already be convinced they want what you've got. You've got to have a way for people to take action by having free products, small fee products, mid-size and larger ticket items. These can be informational items, articles, ebooks, audio files, video files, or high ticket one-on-one coaching and consulting services.

From Free to Fee

And, you have to make this clear and easy for people to find, understand, register for, pay for and get without problems or unnecessary procedures. That's why I recommend giving readers a choice:

Free download, no registration
Free download, simple registration
Small fee ($5, $7)
Slightly larger fee ($25-$50)
Larger, mid-size fee ($75-$150)
Big fee (up to $500)
High end big ticket programs (depending on what your market will accept)

What you give customers should of course be high perceived value and include follow up marketing to upsell them into other products and services. I always give them plenty of bonuses, and excellent follow-up emails with additional information.

The key is to respect the people who give you their email address. They want information and education, maybe even with a little entertainment, not sales pitches.

To use myself as an example, you'll notice up at the top of this blog a graphic image to download Content Marketing with Blogs, a free ebook. You must register your email address to get this ebook, because it's a substantially significant report, and if you're interested enough, you'll want to get the follow-up information. The price for this is your email address, so to speak.

And since readers give me their email addresses, I don't want to bombard them with marketing emails. Au contraire, I use their email address to give them additional information that isn't in the ebook. It's a valuable opportunity to prove to subscribers that you've got their best interests in mind.

The point? Yes, okay, I definitely want them to know, like, and trust me. Am I going to turn around and ask them to buy something or to hire me? Of course I am! But in a nice way. If I've done a good job of showcasing my expertise, they may want to hire me...or not right now. But when they need some of what I've got, they'll know I can deliver.

Not everybody's willing to fork over an email address, many have been burned by spammers and marketing monsters. Under the image of the ebook Content Marketing with Blogs are 3 free digital downloads that anyone can download for free and without registering. This would be the top level of the funnel, since nothing is required in exchange.

These are lead generators, generous information anyone can have. They are designed to build my reputation as an expert who can be trusted to deliver even when nothing is asked in return. At the end of each digital download is my short bio with links back to my sites, and suggestions on how readers can get more information or my services.

This is the product funnel:

Some information for free, immediate download, no strings
Some information for an email address, which will prove you can be trusted to deliver good stuff and not abuse their email
Some valuable information worth paying for, even if it's only a few dollars (make this high perceived value to show you are generous)
Excellent products and services that deliver much more than expected, worth the price.

Let's talk about the mental funnel, the one your readers experience each time they read your content.

The Mental Funnel

As you can see from this diagram, there are several stages readers go through from the moment they start reading your content.

In 1898, St Elmo Lewis developed a model which mapped a theoretical customer journey from the moment a brand or product attracted consumer attention to the point of action or purchase. St Elmo Lewis’ idea is often referred to as the AIDA model - an acronym which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. This staged process is summarized below:

AWARENESS – the customer is aware of the existence of a product or service
INTEREST – actively expressing an interest in a product group
DESIRE – aspiring to a particular brand or product
ACTION – taking the next step towards purchasing the chosen product

This is a common guideline copywriters use to craft sales letters and landing pages. It should always guide you when writing a web page, a blog post, or any content designed to get readers to take action.

Bring to their awareness of a problem, get them interested in your solutions, build desire through emotional triggers, and ask them to take action, usually with a sense of urgency and/or an irresistible offer they'd be foolish to refuse.

My Irresistible Offer:

Since I've been blogging daily, I've discovered a couple of success secrets to content marketing. I'm in the process of creating an incredibly valuable information product that gathers together key elements of online marketing for professionals:

[BIG PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON]

It's not ready yet, but at the rate I'm going, I'll be making a big announcement in two weeks. I'm looking for people to review the product before it's released, but there's a catch.

You can get a free review copy only if you are able to promote it as an affiliate. Not everybody wants to do that, or is set up to do so with a list of people. Email me if you're interested in becoming an affiliate for me.

What you need to do right now: subscribe to this blog so you don't miss any updates. There's a subscription form in the upper right hand, top column.

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