Recently I shared the three vital elements of content marketing. Leave out one of these elements, and your content marketing strategy is likely to fail.

In the next few weeks, I’ll examine each element separately for the needs of a small business–starting with social media engagement.

Are you a small business owner? Are you using social media to promote your business? If not, you could be missing a vital opportunity.

Many small business owners miss out on the benefits of social media engagement. I often see small business owners making one or more of these common mistakes:

1. Not Using Social Media At All. Statistics show that social media is growing. In fact, Pew Internet shows that the number of online adults using social networking sites has increased steadily (from 8% to 65%) since 2005. Those statistics are two years old, so the actual number is likely to be even higher now. Social media users include both consumers and businesses. No matter who you target audience is, you can connect with them on social media. Keep in mind that if you’re not using social media to connect with prospects, your competitor probably is.
2. Not Completing Your Social Media Profiles. Too many social media users, an incomplete profile means that you are likely to be a spammer. Most people do look at profiles before deciding whether or not to add a contact on social media. Not completing your social media profile can get your profile blocked, which will keep you from connecting with prospective client. Make sure that your social media profile has an image (a human is best, although a logo is acceptable), a brief description of your business, and a link to your website.
3. Not Engaging with Prospective Clients. It’s not enough to simply have a social media profile. You need to use it regularly. No, you don’t need to live on social media, but you do not to participate regularly. You should add (friend, circle, etc.) users who fit your customer profile as well as current customers. Respond to users who comment on and reshare material that you’ve shared. Make a special effort to reach out to others who use social media. Remember, social media is a tool. To get the most from it, you have to use it.
4. Not Sharing Relevant Materials. You may be doing everything else right, and still get this one wrong. Remember that, as a small business owner on social media, you are representing your business. Using social media as a business professional is different than using it casually. You need to keep your target audience in mind when you share using social media. Share relevant materials from a a variety of sources. Too many small business owners broadcast only their own business posts (which are often based on their marketing materials) over and over again.
5. Not Tracking Results. Finally, many small businesses don’t keep any records about social media usage or results. Because they have no records, they have no way of knowing how effective their participation is. Since they don’t know whether their social media efforts are working, they quit using it. And of course, if they don’t use social media, they won’t see results. It’s a vicious cycle. Fortunately, there are now many tools available to monitor social media. Small business owners don’t have to guess. Pam Dyer, writing on Social Media Today, just published a giant list of 50 tools.

Your Turn

Is social media part of your content marketing strategy? Why, or why not?

Content marketing is one of the latest catch phrases–as well it should be. Content is vitally important if you do business online.

As a result of the new interest in content marketing, there are many folks out there doing content marketing. Unfortunately, many of those new content marketers are also doing it wrong.

In this post, I’ll identify three vital elements of content marketing–elements that many people miss.

The Elements of Effective Content Marketing

After years of mediocre content, content quality has suddenly become more important than ever. Those hastily thrown together articles based on tired old content are no longer going to help your business (if they ever really did).

There are many different aspects to content marketing. A lot of information has been generated to explain various aspects of content marketing. And while much of that information is good, much of it leaves out the basics.

The failure to focus on the basic elements of content marketing is why so many content marketing strategies fail.

You can’t have an effective content marketing strategy without the following vital, but basic, elements:

1. Quality Web Content. Web content is more than just articles. It includes a whole spectrum of materials that you publish online including images, infographics, podcasts, videos, and more. But it’s not enough to simply publish content. That content has to be good, really good. Without quality, your content marketing strategy will fail.
2. Social Media Engagement. Another important factor in any content marketing strategy is social media engagement. This is what will drive prospects to your website. It’s not enough to publish high quality content and simply sit back and wait for your audience to find you. That may never happen. Instead, bring your audience to your content through social media.
3. Audience Relevance. Even with high quality content and social media engagement, your content marketing strategy can’t succeed unless you target the right audience. Publishing high quality content that is of no value to your target audience is no way to conduct a successful content marketing campaign. You may get a little traffic, but you won’t get customers.

For a content marketing strategy to work, all three vital elements must be there. Leave out one of these elements, and your strategy will fail.

Picture, if you can, trying to balance a milking stool on two of its three legs. It simply won’t work. Something vital is missing.

Likewise if you leave one of these elements out your content marketing strategy, it simply won’t work.

What are your content marketing tips? Share them in the comments.

As I was buying our weekly groceries last week, it struck me (again) how much writers vary.

You see, I always buy a bunch of bananas during our weekly shopping trip. In fact, the store I go to really only offers two different kinds of bananas: organic and non-organic. (Once in a great while, they also offer plantains.)

Bananas are pretty much the same wherever you get them. But that’s certainly not the case with web content.

It doesn’t matter where you buy your bunch of bananas. No matter where you go, as long as you buy the same type of banana, they will taste pretty much the same (as long as they’re not spoiled). It’s okay to base your banana-purchasing decisions on price.

In this post, I’ll list some of the characteristics you should look for in a web content writer.

A lot of prospective freelance writing clients act like purchasing web content is the same as buying bananas. They expect to be able to shop around for web content based on price and still get the best quality, but it just doesn’t work that way.

There are many variables to consider when it comes to selecting a writer to create web content for you. Here are five of them (in no particular order):

1. Writer’s command of the language. How well does the writer know the language? Being able to understand a language and being able to construct well-written sentences are two different things. There is a lot of poorly written web content out there. Don’t add to that.
2. Writer’s understanding of the subject matter. Does the writer understand the subject matter of the web content? If not, is he or she willing to do the research necessary to understand it? Many writers are just willing to graze the surface of complex subjects.
3. Writer’s reliability. Look at the writer’s portfolio and/or LinkedIn page. Do they have testimonials from past clients? What does their previous writing look like? If the previous writing is of poor quality, it’s likely that the content created for you will also be of poor quality.
4. Writer’s experience. Believe it or not, experience really does count when it comes to creating quality content. An experienced writer is more likely to meet your expectations and can handle a variety of different projects. An inexperienced writer may panic or give up.
5. Writer’s understanding of the web. Writing web content is very different from other types of writing. There are many excellent writers who are not familiar with the characteristics of good web content, but who have written for other publications.

Too often when it comes to web content, you get what you pay for. The lowest price is not always the best deal.

If you purchase web content, share what you look for when you select a writer in the comments.

The recent Internet uproar about a freelance journalist, Nate Thayer, who was asked by a major magazine to revise one of his articles for free has mostly died down. But for many the question remains–is freelance writing a viable career choice?

Can you really earn enough money from freelance writing to pay the bills?

It’s a question that a lot of writers are asking–with good reason. If you look at many of the advertisements for writing jobs, the pay for many writing gigs is abysmal.

Steph Auteri’s post on freelancedom blog, What Got Me Here: Self-Education, Goal-Setting, Hard Work, and a Helluva Lot of Privilege, brings up some excellent points. I especially like that she emphasizes hard work in her post.

My own take is that it is still possible to earn a living as a freelance writer, but there are lots of struggles that writers must overcome first.

Here are seven of the struggles that freelance writers face:

1. The writing jobs that are easy to find are usually not the ones that pay well. You’ve probably seen the ads that pop up on websites advertising for writers. Or, you may know of one or two really popular job sites that always have writer gigs listed. The thing is, most of the advertised writing jobs that are really easy to find don’t pay well. They accept almost everybody and they have a really high turnover.
2. “Earning a living” means different things to different folks. To me it means that I am able to pay my bills and buy other necessities with some left over for extras. I don’t live extravagantly, but I don’t want to always have to worry where my next meal is coming from either. The fact is, the amount needed to “earn a living” varies widely depending on where you live, your lifestyle, and your expectations. Most freelance writers don’t charge enough.
3. Freelance writing is not an easy route to quick cash. Too many people see all freelance work as a route to quick cash. The truth is that it could take months to build up a steady stream of clients. I always recommend that new writers have savings before they start. If you absolutely must have a set dollar amount by next week, you’re better off taking a traditional job until you can build up your savings.
4. There is a lot of writing competition out there. If you focus on the competition, it’s easy to get discouraged. There are a lot of freelance out there. There are probably literally thousands of us, with new ones joining the marketplace every day. The key is to concentrate on marketing your own skills, keeping your customers happy, and learning everything you can about writing.
5. Many freelance writers don’t realize that they are running a business. Nearly every week it seems I read about another freelance writer who didn’t save money for taxes or who has hit a slow period with nothing to live off of. Such stories are common for a good reason. It takes more than just good writing skills to be a good freelance writer. You also need some business savvy.
6. There’s a misperception that freelance writers can write about whatever they want. While technology has made it easy to self-publish, you won’t earn a living as a freelance writer unless you are willing to write about topics that people want to pay you for. That tome you’ve been really wanting to write on the history of hairnets in America probably isn’t marketable.
7. There will always be somebody who is willing to work for less. It’s always shocking to read about writers who are willing to work for practically nothing. And I’d love to say that they’re all horrible and have no skill, but a few of them are quite good. Don’t let this get to you. Many of them will eventually learn to charge what they’re worth or they will go out of business.

Your Turn

Do you think it’s still possible to earn a living as a freelance writer? Why, or why not?

If you’re thinking of becoming a freelancer, it can be hard to know exactly where to start.

That’s where The Freelancer’s Bible by Sara Horowitz with Toni Sciarra Poynter comes in. Not long ago I received a review copy of the book.

Now that I’ve had a chance to look at the book, I’d like to share my thoughts.

First of all, let me make it clear that, although I received a copy of the book to review, my opinion here is my own and was not influenced in any way.

Now that the disclosures are out of the way, it’s time to get on with the review.

About the Authors and Freelancers Union

One of the things that really sparked my interest is where the book is coming from. It’s coming from the founder of the Freelancers Union. The Freelancers Union is a good resource for freelancing news and information. You can find their blog here. It stands to reason that their book might also be a good resource.

What You’ll Find Inside

When I opened the book, I was not disappointed.

The Freelancer’s Bible is highly readable, with many examples and interactive elements such as quizzes and checklists. Most of the advice here is relevant and easy to implement. But be aware, there is a lot here and you probably won’t absorb it all at once.

The main body of the book arranged in five logical sections (which are almost mini-books in and of themselves). The sections are as follows:

• Part 1: Getting Started–New freelancers in particular will want to pay attention to this section, which includes a step-by-step guide for getting started, advice on setting up a freelance office, and building a portfolio.
• Part 2: Getting Work–This section addresses one the biggest challenges that most freelancers face. It’s also a topic where bad advice could really harm a freelancer’s business. I was pleased to find that the advice here is competent and realistic.
• Part 3: Growing Your Business–This was the section that I found to be most interesting simply because this is what I currently need. The section could also be called advanced marketing and networking tips because that describes a lot of what is discussed here. It also touches on business structure and passive income.
• Part 4: Managing Your Business–Freelancers at every level need to learn how to organize their business, and this is the section that shows them how to do it. U.S. freelancers will want to pay close attention to the section on taxes.
• Part 5: Your Business and Your Community–This is the section that deals with life balance, which is a struggle for freelancers and non-freelancers alike. It also covers some financial concerns and ends with a description of the Freelancers Union.

The Bottom Line

While not everything in the book is applicable to my specific situation, there’s plenty of well-researched information here. This is a great resource for every freelance writer to have.

Have you read The Freelancer’s Bible too? What did you think?

The freelance writing community has always been vitally important to me.

In fact, when I first started this blog I attempted to profile as many writing blogs as I could find in my Of Note series. (Sadly, some of the blogs profiled in the series no longer exist.)

Today, I’ve once more decided to highlight some of my favorite writing blogs. I’ve also linked to last year’s writing community post.

5 Great Posts About Writing

Here are five recent posts from some of my favorite freelance writers:

1. Why and How Successful Writers Set Goals from John Soares at Productive Writers. Setting goals is often a step that freelancer writers skip. John explains here why that’s a mistake.
2. You Don’t Need A Niche To Start A Successful Freelance Writing Career from Anne Wayman at About Freelance Writing. To niche or not to niche, for many writers that is the question. Veteran writer Anne Wayman tackles this common question with a common sense approach.
3. Here’s the Definitive Word on What Writing Clients Usually Want by Carol Tice at Make a Living Writing. Carol’s blog has become the “go-to” place for freelance writers who want to earn a good living, and deservedly so. This post provides very practical advice that most writers should be able to follow.
4. How to Win the Pitch When You Don’t Have One Ready by James Chartrand at Men with Pens. I’ve always appreciated the way that James Chartrand tells it the way it is. In this post, she tackles how to pitch effectively.
5. Gamification: Make Freelance Writing More Fun by Jennifer Mattern. I’ve been following Jennifer’s blog for a long time, and I’m never disappointed with the content. This post takes a unique approach to making freelance writing more fun.

If you like this post, you may also enjoy my last look at some of my favorite writing blogs, Five Fab Resources for Freelance Writers. You’ll find five more great freelance writing blogs.

Your Turn

Do you have any recent posts about writing that you really enjoyed? Share them in the comments.

My sixth grade English teacher would have said “no.”

If you’re a sixth grade English teacher, you probably need to stick to the rules when you write. After all, you don’t want your students picking up any bad habits.

If you’re a blogger or a marketer, however, you have a bit more leeway.

How Should You Write for the Web?

As you may know if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, I’m a big fan of conversational writing when it comes to writing blog posts and marketing materials. If you’re writing for the web, I’m also in favor of using a highly scannable style.

This isn’t just a matter of personal taste or opinion, though. A scannable conversational style has been shown to be more effective time and time again. Check out this post from Connie Sung Moyle on the VerticalResponse Marketing Blog, Writing for the Web (It’s Not What You Learned in English Class).

Unfortunately, there are still some writers who don’t understand this principle. I often see blog posts and marketing materials that look like they were written for my former English teacher and not for the web.

The New Writing Rules: What’s Okay and What’s Not

Of course, just because you’re using a conversational style doesn’t mean you can throw all of the grammar rules you learned out the door.

If you write for the web, here’s a quick list of writing techniques you’ll want to add to your own writing:

• Conversational tone. Yes, this means that it’s okay to start a sentence with And or But once in a while. It’s also okay to use an occasional sentence fragment because that’s how people talk.
• Formatted text.When you’re writing for an online audience, make full use of bulleted lists, headlines, and other text formatting features to draw the eye to your text.
• Images. Images are another device to attract the reader’s attention. Make sure that most of your posts have at least one.
• Short sentences and paragraphs. Your web reader doesn’t have time (and won’t) plow through huge chunks of unformatted text. Keep it snappy.

However, your sixth grade English teacher was right about a few things. The following mistakes should never have a place in your web writing:

• Misinformation. Just like your teacher taught you–do your homework.
• Spelling errors. There are no excuses any more. Use your spell checker.
• Misspelled names. Not only is this wrong, it’s embarrassing.
• Text message lingo. Unless you’re actually writing for a cell phone, use a style that mimics the way people actually talk.

Your Turn

How strict of a grammarian are you when you blog? Do you agree with my points about conversational style? What points would you add?

Everybody has their own communication style. Yet many freelance writers do not realize this, and try to use a cookie cutter mold to communicate with all of the clients.

The cookie cutter approach doesn’t work.

You need to be aware of how your clients prefer to communicate and how you prefer to communicate.

When your preferred style doesn’t match with a client’s style, you should be ready to make the necessary adjustments.

Communication problems are one of the biggest obstacles freelance writers face. And communications problems often stem from a clash of communication style.

5 Different Communication Styles

So, what different communication styles are there? Here are five different communication styles that your client may have:

1. Postmodern communicator. This client prefers to use modern tools like text messages and social media to communicate with others. They hate phone calls. They may ignore an email or letter.
2. Tools-based communicator. This client conducts most of his or her business using an impersonal method like email or a project management tool.
3. Human touch needed. This client seems to need to hear your voice. They are likely to schedule a phone meeting or video conference. Emails hold little significance for them.
4. Traditional formal communication only. For years, formal business correspondence was the way that things got done. For many people, traditional communication is still their preferred style. Yes, I’m talking about snail mail, although faxes are also included.
5. Face-to-face. The final communication style is face-to-face. These clients prefer to meet and get to know the freelancer who will be working on their project. They are likely to be local, although you may meet them at a conference.

Are you surprised by the differences?

Why So Different?

So, what’s behind the differences in communication style? And most importantly, how can you tell what style a prospective client prefers?

At first glance, you might think that the differences are generational–and to some extent they are. Younger clients tend to be postmodern or tool-based communicators because they have grown up with and are comfortable with those methods of communication.

But personality plays a huge role too. For example, extroverts tend to like a human touch in their communication. They want to talk to someone or meet them face-to-face. Introverts, on the other hand, tend to be postmodern or tools-based communicators.

So, if you’re dealing with a new client or prospect, how do you know what type of communication works best with them.

The answer to discovering your client’s communication style is simple. Pay attention. Here are some methods you can use:

• How does the client communicate with you? If they contact you by email, they probably prefer that. If they called you, the telephone may be their preferred communication method.
• When does the client respond? If you send them an email and it takes forever to get an answer, try giving them a call instead.
• Ask. It’s okay to ask the client what type of communication method they prefer. You don’t have to guess. Surprisingly, many freelancers forget this simple truth.

Over to You

What communication style do you prefer? How do you handle differences between your preferred communication style and your client’s preferred style?

Share your answers in the comments.

Social media should be a big part of your freelance writing marketing efforts. If it’s not, you’re missing out.

That’s why I was excited to receive a copy of the new book from Jan Zimmerman and Deb Ng, Social Media Marketing All-In-One For Dummies.

In this post, I’ll outline some of my thoughts about this new resource. I’ll especially cover how I think that writers ought to use this book.

Incidentally, I have known Deb Ng (one of the book’s co-authors) for some time and once wrote for her blog. I also received a review copy of this book, and I do not have affiliate links in this post.

I’ve also reviewed Deb Ng’s earlier book, Online Community Management for Dummies.

My opinion here is my own and was not influenced in any way by knowing Deb.

Now that the disclosures are out of the way, it’s time to get on with the review.

First Impressions

This book sat on my desk for nearly two months. Every time I’d pick it up to review it, I’d end up putting it right back down–for good reason, this book is over 700 pages long! The prospect of reading it was a bit overwhelming.

But then I noticed the phrase “9 Books in 1″ on the cover. When I started looking at it as nine smaller books instead of one giant one, I found reviewing it to be a more manageable task.

What You’ll Find Inside

This book is good guide to many aspects of social media. Here’s a brief outline listing each of the nine “books” that you’ll find in this book and a description of each:

1. The Social Media Mix. This is an overview of social media from marketing perspective. This is a good place to start if you’ve all you’ve ever done with social media is send personal statuses. Basically, it covers topics like social media ROI and developing a marketing strategy.
2. Cybersocial Tools. If you love social media tools, this is the book for you. This section discusses dozens of tools and other resources. It also covers the use of e-commerce, SEO, and social bookmarks.
3. Blogs, Podcasts, and Video. This is the section bloggers will love. Not only does it give a good overview of blogging. It also covers the use of podcasts and videos. The final topic of this book is an overview about the use of images for blogs.
4. Twitter. This entire book is devoted to the use of Twitter as a social media marketing tool. I’m a pretty heavy user of Twitter, so I found most of this to be review. However, it does cover the Twitter chats, which many writers probably have not done.
5. Facebook. To be perfectly honest, I’m not a big user of Facebook for my freelance writing business. However, I looked at this chapter anyway and found lots of helpful information. This covers many Facebook features that you probably aren’t aware of.
6. Google+. The Google+ book will be helpful for anyone who is new to using Google+ for business. However, some of the newer Google+ features (such as communities) are missing. I was also hoping for an explanation of Author Rank. Google+ Hangouts are covered, though.
7. Pinterest. One of the books included here covers Pinterest. This section is a good overview of Pinterest, a social media tool that allows you to share and comment on images. There are also plenty of great marketing tools.
8. Other Social Media Marketing Sites. I have to confess that I was a little disappointed to see LinkedIn shoved into this category when I would have preferred to see an entire book devoted to it. In addition to LinkedIn, this book covers a lot of smaller social media tools and communities. It also talks about location-based social media like FourSquare, covers some of the daily deal sites, and provides an overview of social games.
9. Measuring Results; Building on Success. This entire section is devoted to analyzing and measuring your social media efforts. This is must-read if you are a serious social media marketer. You’ll find dozens of resources (free and otherwise).

How to Use the Book

Social Media Marketing All-In-One For Dummies is a great resource for freelance writers and I’m definitely glad that I have it on hand. Whether you’re just getting started or are already a seasoned freelancer, there’s something for you to learn in this book. I definitely recommend it.

However, be aware that this is not a book that you are likely to read cover to cover. Instead, I recommend using it more like a reference book. You’ll want to have it on hand to study particular aspects of social media marketing. When you’re ready for a particular topic, you can study the “book” within this book that deals with that topic.

Your Turn

Have you read this book too? What did you think?

Being able to write articles and posts as an expert can bring you more money, so the motivation for a freelance writer to label themselves as an expert in a particular field is evident.

But should you do it? Should you call yourself an expert?

In this post, I’ll examine the trend of “expert” freelance writers and explore what it really means to call yourself an expert.

Differences Between Being an Expert & Specializing

The word “expert” is often overused. It’s becoming increasingly popular for freelance writers and other online professionals to label themselves as an expert when in fact they are really only specialized.

Many writers confuse being an expert on a particular topic with specializing in a particular type of writing. But the two are completely different.

Let’s look at medical writing as an example. It’s possible for a writer to specialize in medical writing without actually being a medical expert themselves. Naturally, a medical writer would consult closely with those who have medical training and review medical materials. They would rely on such experts to get their information.

However, unless the writer has specific medical training they shouldn’t market themselves as a medical expert. Rather, their expertise is in writing and medical writing is their specialty. Do you see the difference?

And of course, this is not just true for medical writing. It’s true in other fields where writers work as well such as law, finance, engineering, psychology, and many others. Some job posting ask for an expert when what they really need is a writing specialist.

What Is Expertise?

One of the reasons that there is such confusion is that there is a lot of bad advice about what being an expert really means. When you add to that a financial incentive, it’s easy to see why this is happening.

I’ve read articles and blog posts advising people to call themselves an expert for the following reasons:

• You’ve read several books, articles, etc. on a particular topic.
• You’ve spent x amount of time writing about a particular field.
• You’re trying to specialize in writing about a particular topic.

In my opinion, none of these reasons really justifies calling yourself an expert.

Typically, an expert would be expected to have academic training and/or professional experience in an area. (Of course, some writers do have this and actually are experts.)

Are You an Expert?

So what’s the harm, you might be asking. Why shouldn’t I call myself an expert in a particular area?

Well, besides misleading others there could be a legal risk to you if someone misinterprets your writing as professional advice.

I rarely write posts or articles about medical topics, but when I do I always include a disclaimer that states that I am not a medical professional. I definitely don’t want someone to be relying on something I wrote when they should be visiting a doctor.

So what am I an expert in? Well, for one thing I’m an expert in writing effectively and accurately. I have years of professional experience and training that enables me to write well about a wide variety of topics.

I also have business expertise, based on my academic training as well as my professional experience. Which is one reason why I’ve chosen business writing as one of my writing specialties.

Your Turn

There’s a glut of so-called experts out there.

When do you think a writer should call themselves an expert?