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Finding a New Angle for Your Best Information
Stuck, uninspired, unmotivated, feeling stale – anyone who blogs regularly is going to experience those things from time to time. Especially when we’re busy, it’s hard to take time to get inspired. Sometimes I don’t need inspiration so much as a new angle – a … Keep reading…
Pick a Topic Like You Would Pick an Apple
Consider how likely you would be to open/read articles with these titles: How to Be a Politician Small Business Marketing Healthy Foods for Everyone Dressing for Work The Benefits of Travel How to Find Any Job How to Be a Millionaire Nothing much exciting… been … Keep reading…
How a Not-so-good Writer Can Be Successful at Blogging
I like to joke that I’m a great example of how someone who can’t write can still have success with a blog. The fact is, in my past career I did a lot of writing: job descriptions, standard operating procedures, workflows, and reports of all … Keep reading…
Here’s How Writing Content Turns You Into an Expert
There are many marketing benefits to regular blogging or writing a newsletter. But other – perhaps more important – benefits may not be clear until after you’ve been doing it a while. Regardless of how much you know, sooner or later you’re going to need … Keep reading…
End the Year with a Blog
If you’re buried in holiday preparations – at home or for your business – perhaps blogging is low on your to-do list. What if you knew exactly what to write about for the rest of the year? Here are a few no-fail ideas to wrap … Keep reading…
Where Do You Get Stuck?
When it comes to writing articles for your blog or newsletter, what’s your stumbling block? Perhaps it’s… coming up with ideas adapting your ideas for writing starting to write finishing writing editing and proofing finding or creating graphics keywords and publishing If you can identify … Keep reading…
Long Term Planning for Your Small Business Blog
While teaching a blogging class to small business folk recently, we were doing an exercise to get us thinking about our blogging strategies beyond the next post or the next month. We posted flip chart sheets around the walls and together filled in all the … Keep reading…
Best Beginner Business Blogging Advice
If you’re planning to begin blogging for your business, I’d like to shorten your learning curve. Because, oh boy, do you ever have lots to learn. The good news is that you don’t need to know it all before you start, and learning as you … Keep reading…
One Simple Test Will Change the Impact of Your Headlines
You can tell when you read a headline that lets you get to know the writer a little better. It often contains an opinion, or perhaps a turn of phrase that is unique to them. If your business is all about selling you, it’s worth … Keep reading…
Writing is Not the Only Ingredient of a Winning Blog
Blogging success has less to do with your writing skill than you might think. Yes, it has to be interesting or useful… hopefully, both! But if it’s not also these other things below, it likely won’t be successful for your business: #1. Valuable What’s in … Keep reading…
Content Template – The Checklist
Using a content template can shorten your writing time and also keep you more focused. The purpose of this particular template is to give people a useful tool to complete a task more efficiently. This type of article shows off your expertise. Because it is … Keep reading…
Content Template – How to Start
Content templates can simplify your content development time by providing structure – sort of like filling in blanks. That means you can be done and onto your next task in no time. The purpose of this template is to create an awesome resource for beginners … Keep reading…
Content Ideas for Consultants – Useful Content (Part 2)
If you’ve already mastered Getting Started (Part 1 in this series), you have gained some momentum and are ready to expand your skills and tackle some content that is useful to your readers and time-saving for you. Save Yourself Time and Be Useful There are … Keep reading…
Content Template – What I Learned
Using a content template is sort of like filling in the blanks on a form. It will get you started and make your writing time more productive. The purpose of this content template is to help people learn something new… and the best way to … Keep reading…
Content Template – The Newsjack
Every part of your business needs some type of content. And you need to develop content consistently to reap the benefits. There’s a content creation trick that can speed up the process by providing structure. Using a content template is sort of like filling in … Keep reading…
What do iWatches and Zombies have to do with eMail Marketing?
Perhaps nothing. Using a news story or pop culture as a hook can create interest that attracts readers. Keep your subject line (or headline) relevant and appropriate, though, or you’ll forsake credibility. “What will Happen to eMail Marketing on the iWatch?” is a good example, … Keep reading…
What I Learned at BlogJam2015
Anita Hovey and I acting out I thought I would be spending the day with other business owners. I thought blogging was a marketing tool. I thought that swearing in public wasn’t nice. None of these turned out to be true at BlogJam2015 at the … Keep reading…
Tweet to Promote your Newsletter and Blog
Sure you’re doing lots of writing but is anyone reading it? Social media is a great way to promote your newsletter and blog to get more reading and more subscriptions. Particularly on Twitter, you could post a different call-to-action as often as daily. Here are … Keep reading…
How to Start Writing when you Feel Stuck
Are you struggling when you sit down to write? Do those first couple of sentences elude you? Recently I learned a powerful technique for dealing with this dilemma. During a coaching session on writing with Neil Everton, I was asking him for help with closing … Keep reading…
Crafting a Title to Get Read
Whether it’s an article title, a blog post title, a subject line or a call to action, there is no doubt that crafting a good one takes a little art and a little science. “The job of the headline is to get the first line … Keep reading…
What were you doing on Boxing Day?
Were you reading my blog on December 26, 2013? Maybe not but someone was because I had over 800 pageviews that day. Up to that point, it was the most pageviews I’d ever had in one day. In fact, it was 10% of the monthly … Keep reading…
7 Reasons you need a Content Strategy
Wondering why you might need a content strategy? To stay current, sharp, and develop opinions To build your reputation by demonstrating your expertise To inform about your products and services To get found when people are looking for the services and products you provide To … Keep reading…
How to Find the RIGHT Image
A friend asked me to help her out by finding images of people talking on the phone to be used to market a new service. I like crestock.com for images (because they’re reasonably priced and easy to buy from) so I logged in and started … Keep reading…
Content to Wrap Up the Year
December and January are good months to publish articles that sum up the past year and preface the new one. If your newsletters (or blog posts) are informational, this can be a good strategy for several reasons: Website traffic is increased by directing your readers … Keep reading…