Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Five Ways to Blogify Existing Content to Attract Your Ideal Customer

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Small_2438119817 Your business probably already has a goldmine of potential blog material at its fingertips, whether you realize it or not.

For example, you might have: training manuals, instructions, sales scripts, company descriptions, service/product descriptions, customer feedback and questions, meeting notes, presentation slides, Facebook page activity, LinkedIn group discussions, handouts, memos or emails.

With a few simple adjustments, you can turn that content into blog posts that will attract prospective customers and help them see if you’re a good fit.

If you or your staff are constantly referring to something during client calls or sales meetings, if you’re often sending it as an email attachment, or if you’ve ever heard, “Thanks, that was helpful!” after replying to an email, chances are you have the beginnings of a good blog post.

So this might make a good blog post – now what?

Here are five elements that will help turn existing content into an effective blog post. Hint: Follow the embedded links for more information about each topic.

  1. Length – I recommend that your blog posts are between 250-500 words. In some cases you’ll need to pare down what you’ve written. Other times you’ll need to expand on what you’ve written (often just by adding an introduction and conclusion). Also check the length of each sentence and paragraph. Online writing requires more white space to give your readers’ eyes a rest.
  2. Links – As Debbie Weil says, if you can’t link to something, it doesn’t exist (that’s why we’re getting your content onto your blog!). Links are how you give credit to those you’ve mentioned, build relationships with other experts, and add more value for your readers. Linking to your own blog content also breathes new life into your old posts and gives people reasons to stay on your site and come back for more.
  3. Language – Tweak your language to stay consistent with your brand. Use the same words your ideal customers use – especially in your blog post title. Apply any keyword research you’ve done for search engine optimization.
  4. Love – Building blog posts out of real customer interactions shows that you’re thinking about your readers first and your marketing goals second. Delivering consistent, high-quality content shows how much you care about the people you serve in your business. Try to write each post to one person as if he or she were sitting across the desk from you.
  5. Logic – For each blog post, pull out one key message from your content. There may be plenty more where that came from, which is good news if you want to be a weekly blogger.

Transforming other types of content into blog posts means that:

  • You can easily share the content in a way that brings people to your website, where they’re one click away from doing business with you
  • You can link to and promote the content on social media sites
  • You’ll keep your blog fresh with new content, which will impress both your website visitors and the search engines
  • Because this piece of information is directly related to a real customer concern, there’s a good chance people will be searching for it online

Photo credit: digitalmoneyworld via photopin cc

Should You Date Your Blog?

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This post was originally published at Build a Better Blog.

calendar In his October 2011 post about why you no longer need a blog (in the traditional sense), John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing predicts that soon our content will “no longer be consumed in chronological fashion.”

When Jim Connolly of Internet Marketing Jam explored the question of why people remove dates from their blog posts, he came to the conclusion that marketing blogs need dates, as do blogs in any industry where information changes quickly. [Update: This paragraph was updated on Apr 24, 2017 when I discovered that Jim had refreshed his original post.]

What are the pros of blogging without dates?

What benefits did Jim Connolly see? People were spending more time on his site, and older posts were getting more views, comments and social media mentions.

His feeling was that people are sometimes turned off by seeing that a blog post is “past due,” whether to them that means it’s a week old, a month old or six months old. They simply won’t click through to read it.

Removing the dates, he says, allows your blog post titles and topics to stand on their own merit without that filter. It puts all the focus on the content and makes it easier for your readers to find what they need.

Dateless blogging also gives you more freedom to update existing posts – simply treating them like any other page of your website.

What are the cons of blogging without dates?

“A blog is really a public chronicle of our evolution as writers, marketers and entrepreneurs. While some older content may make me cringe and wish I’d known then what I know now, I try to celebrate my learning and how far I’ve come.” – Linda Dessau, in Is it okay to go back and edit your published blog posts?

By presenting an online journal of your evolving views, suggestions, theories, personal insights and business practices, you’re inviting your readers – and prospective clients – right into your business, heart and mind.

By forcing each post to stand alone with no context of who you were when you wrote it, you remove some of the personality from your blog – some of your personality.

The best of both worlds

Consider how U.S.-based supermarket chain Wegman’s organizes content on their site. They have a separate area for “fact sheet” articles about the core issues they know their customers care about.

Then there is the consistently updated Fresh Stories blog, where Wegman’s staff post personal and timely food and lifestyle tips. In this article about healthy strategies for the holiday season, they reinforce a core concept from the fact sheets (“half-plate healthy“), but make it current for the season.

Will you keep dating your blog?

If you choose to keep dating your blog, there are still several ways that readers can discover your older posts, including:

What do you think? Will you keep dating your blog? Will you pull together your content into fact sheets? Or will you go completely dateless?

The Etiquette of Reblogging

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Copying-contentBlogging consistently can be a challenge, but it’s crucial to your credibility to keep it up.

I often suggest that business bloggers look to other blogs for content ideas that will be valuable to the prospective clients who may be reading.

Recently a client asked:

“What is the etiquette for re-blogging someone else’s blog [post]?”

Great question! You have a few options:

1) Share the content with your network by posting the permanent link to that post in your email newsletter and social network accounts, always introducing it with the author/company name so it’s clear that you’re not taking credit for the content.

2) Interview the author about the topic, by email or phone, so he or she can state the same ideas, but in a written conversation with you where you get to participate with your own thoughts.

3) Write a review and/or expansion of the post, where you briefly quote (no more than 1-2 sentences) the original blog post, and provide the link, author and title of the original post.

If you have EXPLICIT permission from the author, you can also:

4) Reprint the entire article on your own blog, including a bio of the author and an additional statement that reads, “This blog post originally appeared on [blog name] and was reprinted with permission,” followed by the permanent link to the blog post.

5) Revise/adapt the article to suit your own audience, including a bio of the author and an additional statement that reads, “This blog post originally appeared on [blog name] and was reprinted and adapted with permission,” followed by the permanent link to the blog post.

Note that on some blogging platforms you’ll actually see a “Reblog” button. In this case, the system will automatically generate the proper links and credit the author appropriately.

For more information, please see How to Share Great Content Without Plagiarizing.

photo credit: Alan Cleaver via photopin cc

This post was updated on November 17, 2014. See: Business Blogging Etiquette: How to Properly Use and Share Other People’s Ideas.

If You Start a Business Blog, Keep Posting or Risk Losing Credibility

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When you start blogging and then stop, it leaves a worse impression of your business than if you’d never started blogging in the first place.

Have you ever had this experience as a website visitor?

  • Click. Services. This looks good, this might be just what I need!
  • Click. About. Hey, you really seem to know where I’m coming from. You look like someone I’d like to do business with.
  • Click. Blog. Hey, wait a second. All I see is a few posts from last month/year – what happened??? Are they still in business? Is something wrong with the website? Why didn’t they fix it? Did they just stop writing? Do they leave other things unfinished?

Here’s a video where I speak more about this issue:

Like it or not, a blog that’s turned into a ghost town raises doubts about you, your commitment and your capability.

Will your blog turn into a ghost town?

Only time will tell, but check for these three risk factors:

  1. You started with no blogging plan. You had the best intentions to blog every month or every week, and assumed that would just happen. Maybe you’ve planned out some of your content, but did you make time in your schedule for the brainstorming, drafting, writing and editing that are all part of the writing process?
  2. You’re a perfectionist. You’re not sure your posts are good enough, so you don’t post them. Are you pressuring yourself to produce brand new, mind-blowing original ideas in every post?
  3. You’re brand new at this. Blog writing is a skill like any other. It takes time, effort and practice, and so you can either study (this Content Mastery Guide blog is a great place to start!) and apply what works, ask for help or hire someone to do it for you (hey, we do that!).

Do any of those sound like you? Check out my Ten Secrets for Blogging Consistently and keep your business blog alive!

How to Turn LinkedIn Activity into Blog Posts

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Pen-for-writing-blog-posts-from-linked-inThe other day I was using Google to search for guidance on a difficult client situation, when I came across Ilise Benun’s post on the Creative Freelancer blog, “Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Client.”

Ilise runs a LinkedIn group called Creative Freelancer Conference, built as an extension of the annual HOW Design Live and Creative Freelancer Conference. In the blog post, she repeated a question from one of her LinkedIn group members – with permission, of course, and with a link to the member’s website.

At the end of the post, Ilise wrote, “This question has gotten a number of helpful responses from other creatives. Any advice for Stacey? Join the CFC LinkedIn Group to take part in the conversation.”

I was very impressed by this clever combination of LinkedIn and blogging, and I asked Ilise how the blogging strategy is working for her. She replied:

“The LinkedIn Group I moderate for creative freelancers is a place where members engage in very rich discussions. But that group is restricted to members so it’s not accessible to those outside the group or to the search engines. By reposting on my blog, I’m trying to make the material available to a wider audience and grow the LinkedIn Group as well. And it works!”

It certainly worked on me – I joined the group! It also helped when I saw that several people from my network were already members.

By the way, if you’re thinking about starting your own group, check out these tips for effectively managing a LinkedIn group.

As a perfect follow up to my previous post about how to turn your Facebook activity into blog posts, here are a few other ideas for doing the same thing on LinkedIn:

Browse LinkedIn’s Questions and Answers

Whether you answer on LinkedIn or not (note: doing so would be great for attracting new connections and showcasing your expertise), browsing the questions about your industry is a great way of making sure your blog content is relevant. If one person asked, many are wondering!

[Update January 22, 2013 – LinkedIn is closing its Answers section at the end of January 2013. Instead, look for relevant questions within your LinkedIn groups.]

Follow LinkedIn’s Thought Leaders

LinkedIn now features regular posts from some fascinating and inspiring business leaders. Write a response to one of these articles on your blog, or just see how they inspire your own ideas.

Review Your Endorsements

Is there a skill you’d like more recognition for? Write a blog post that demonstrates that skill. You could tell the story of how you used that skill to help a client, or write a “how to” article that highlights your knowledge and expertise.

When you’re active on LinkedIn and other social networking sites, you’re creating valuable content that can benefit both your business and your website visitors. Be sure to take that extra step and convert your social networking activity into blog posts.

Photo credit: The Seafarer via photopin cc