Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

This is More Important Than Blog Post Length

By

RulerThe most common question I hear about business blogging is, “How long should a blog post be?”

A response I’ve heard from other business blogging experts is, “As long as it takes to get your message across.”

I agree with that, though I do give people something to aim for by suggesting 500 words for a “feature” article and 350-500 words for shorter “connecting” posts.

Here’s what I think is a far more important question:

What is the point of your blog post?

When I’m editing clients’ blog posts, I often notice that they finish their articles talking about something different than when they started. So much so that the titles don’t always reflect what seems to be their most important point.

 

That’s why it’s a mistake to publish the first draft of your blog post. Instead, review it with a critical eye to make sure you can answer the question, “What’s the point?”

Once you’ve identified your point, make it clear to the reader by spelling it out at the beginning of your article (you might want to repeat it at the end, depending on your goal for the article ending).

Make your point just as clear to prospective readers, by crafting a blog post title that promises what you actually deliver. From there, you can write a series of social media posts as variations on the same theme.

If you find yourself trying to make several different points, follow these tips for how to pare down a long blog post, how to spot a blog post series and how to focus your mind, your topic and your writing.

Most importantly, make sure the point of your blog post is something that will be meaningful to your target audience. Does it answer a question they’ve asked? Does it demonstrate your expertise and concern for the problems they’re struggling with? Does it point them towards a helpful solution?

photo credit: Marcel Germain via photopin cc

How to Turn Facebook Activity into Blog Posts

By

FacebookSometimes when I describe the basics of business blogging, someone will say to me, “I already do that on Facebook – why do I need to blog?”

Matt McGee wrote an excellent post that explains why you shouldn’t use social media as a replacement for your own website or blog. The ultimate reason is that your site is your property – your name is on the door, you decide how things are displayed and you own 100% of your content. You simply cannot say that about any social media site.

The good news is that if your business’s Facebook page is active, blogging will be a lot easier for you. Here are five ways to turn your Facebook activity into blog posts.

1. Turn FAQs into “How to…” articles. Do you get questions on your Facebook page about how to use your products or services? Or how people can solve particular problems in their business or life? Respond on Facebook, then expand your answer into a blog post. Hint: Look beyond your own Facebook page to see what people are asking on other pages from your industry, or that are related to your industry.

2. Turn positive praise into case studies. Whether it’s a formal recommendation or a comment on your wall, when people share good feedback you can contact them privately and ask for an interview. Find out more about their experience and the problem your business helped solve. Case studies make great blog posts and can also be highlighted in a separate section of your site.

3. Turn to your network. Ask the people who visit your page what topics they’d like to read about on your blog. You could share a few ideas and do a poll, or just see what they come up with. Also be sure to notice if you get a lot of “likes” (and also if they appear quickly) when you post links to your blog – those are popular topics you should keep writing about!

4. Turn impromptu fun into a backstage tour. One of the things a blog can provide is a more casual glimpse behind the scenes of your business (though a business blog needs to be more than just a diary). If you or your staff have posted Facebook photos or stories from your day-to-day travels, round them up and post them to the blog. Hint: Use a specific category such as “Facebook Fun,” “Around the Office” or “What We’re Up To” so it’s clear these are separate from your informational articles.

5. Turn your shares into entertainment. Look over the photos, videos, quotes and links that you found yourself passing along on Facebook or other social media sites in the last week/month. Choose a few favourites and post the links to your blog, along with a brief introduction about why you like them. Similar to the last point, put these in a separate category such as “Fun Links,” “Things We Like” or “From Our Network.”

If you’re already in the habit of posting regularly to Facebook, build on that momentum to keep your blog fresh as well.

Top 10 Small Business Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

By

“When it comes to blogging, what are the ‘don’ts’?”

OopsThat was the first question I heard at a recent blogging presentation to a group of small business owners. (Blogging hint: Questions are a great source of blog post ideas.)

I know that if one person asked, others are wondering the same thing – no one wants to look foolish, make mistakes, damage their credibility or waste their time or money.

She asked. I listened. Here they are:

#10: Setting up a blog that’s separate from your business website. For consistent branding, your blog must look and feel like your website. More importantly, when people read your content, you want them on your site, where they’re one click away from doing business with you.

#9: Blogging for therapeutic release. A business blog must be more than a diary. Notable exceptions are wellness practitioners or business coaches, who naturally bring their own life/business lessons into their daily work with clients. Otherwise, focus on providing valuable, relevant and practical information.

#8: Adding too many new categories. When tempted to add a new category (and please don’t choose “uncategorized”), consider whether this is a topic you’ll have more to say about in the future. Better still, plan your categories from the start.

#7: Leaving your excerpt to chance. Your site’s blog archives page displays, by default, the beginning of each blog post. This will be cut off after a certain number of words (on search engines it may be as few as 25 words). Write your own brief excerpt that gives people a reason to click through.

#6: Publishing your first draft. It’s natural that as you write you’ll clarify your ideas and think of new ones. That’s why it’s crucial to review your post to make sure you’re making one clear point, and that your title, introduction and conclusion still apply.

#5: Trying to be everything to everybody. Write every post as if you are talking to one person – the ideal client you want to be doing business with. If you have more than one client group, you can use categories or tags to help people find their relevant posts.

#4: Being too generic. Prospective clients want and need to see some personality in your blog posts. Ideally, you want the experience of reading your blog to mirror the experience of doing business with you. Write authentically in your own voice, and be clear and strong about your opinions.

#3: Waiting to start blogging until…(insert myths and excuses here). Blogging seems like an easy thing to drop off the list when you get busy. What if you were to put blogging at the top of your list instead of the bottom? How many blog posts would you have under your belt if you’d been blogging consistently this whole year?

#2: Posting too quickly. While point #6 was about reviewing your content, you must also proofread each post before publishing. Ideally you will have an outside editor (hey, we do that!), but the next best thing is to walk away from your desk, come back with fresh eyes and read your post out loud. Listen and watch for typos, awkwardly-worded sentences and whether or not it “sounds like you.”

#1: Starting a business blog only to abandon it later. When people see a “blog” button on your website, or a few articles in your sidebar, you create the expectation that there will be fresh content. How you do anything is how you do everything. If people see that you haven’t followed through with your blogging, they may wonder if you follow through with other things. So plan before you start, and keep it up!

Be careful – making any of these small business blogging mistakes will defeat the purpose of spending any time or effort on blogging, and will keep you from seeing any of the benefits of blogging.

Linda Dessau is the founder and creative director of Content Mastery Guide, offering hands-free blogging services to businesses who want to reach and connect with more clients and customers online. Follow her on Twitter @lindadessau.

How to Turn One Question into a Multitude of Blog Posts

By

Small_4273168957When you’re trying to come up with things to write about on your business blog, frequently asked questions are a great place to start.

Here’s a quick trick: Think about what’s behind the question.

For example, let’s say you own a carpet cleaning company and someone calls to ask:

“Will you be using environmentally-friendly cleaning products to clean my carpet?”

Beyond the question: What is the person concerned about?

In this case, the person asking the question may be concerned about the potential impact of the chemicals in traditional cleaning products, and how those could affect the indoor air quality in her home and the health of her family. Potential blog posts could include:

  • Top 10 Reasons to use Green Cleaners
  • The Hidden Dangers of Chemical Cleaners

Either of these posts would validate the person’s concerns and motivate her to take further action.

  • How to Choose a Green Carpet Cleaner
  • How to Use a Green Carpet Cleaner

These posts would inform the prospective client about how to take action on her own.

  • Top 10 Questions to Ask a Green Cleaning Service
  • How to Choose a Green Cleaning Service

This post would educate the prospective client about hiring someone to help her solve this problem.

What is a frequently asked question in your business? What concerns are behind that question? See if you can come up with a series of blog post titles, using the ones above as your starting point.

All of these posts will work together with the other content on your website to help your prospective clients evaluate whether you are the right company to help them.

photo credit: Horia Varlan via photopin cc

Are You Curating or Hijacking the Content You Share?

By

Hijacking-online-content.jpgSocial media networking is all about balance. Ideally, you want to be spending 80% of your time having conversations and sharing other people’s content, and the other 20% of the time sharing your own content and promoting your business.

Content curation is the formal term for sharing other people’s content. It’s a content marketing strategy that helps:

  • Solidify your credibility as a trusted resource in your topic area (your readers will think, “Sally always finds the best information!”)
  • Keeps you active on social media without having to always create your own content (imagine calling a prospective client and hearing, “Sure, I know you, you’re always popping up on my screen,”)
  • Cultivate relationships with the industry experts whose content you’re sharing (even if someone responds with a simple “thank you for sharing,” that could be the start of something. As a bonus, the rest of their network will see that message and may just check you out as well)

As more people realize these benefits and are using content curation (either manually or through software applications created for the purpose), I see some habits that could be unintentionally creating rifts instead of relationships and turning off your readers.

Let’s call it content hijacking, and look at how you may be doing it on your blog or on social media.

Hijacking content on your blog

It’s a legitimate and effective blogging strategy to use someone else’s content as the jumping off point for your own article (as I’ve tried to do in my recent posts about content curation and Twitter).

What I don’t enjoy is when I click on a link and find just a teaser – a summary and/or quote of the original content, so now I have to jump through an additional hoop to get to the content promised by the headline.

If you’re not planning to add to the content, stick with content curation via Twitter and other social media sites. Just be sure not to hijack there, either.

Hijacking content on Twitter

I know that 140 characters isn’t a lot of room. I know that you’re not intentionally plagiarizing. Yet when you post an enticing headline that leads to someone else’s content, without giving proper credit, you’re performing a bait and switch that could leave a bad impression on your network.

Content curation tips that will enhance your relationships and credibility

  1. Read the entire piece of content before you share. Even if you’ve read the person’s work before, or it was recommended by someone you trust, make sure it’s something you truly want to endorse.
  2. Use the author’s Twitter name. If you’ve discovered the content on the web (versus through social media), look for a link to the author’s Twitter account. Look to see if he or she has tweeted a link to the content, and RT (forward) that to your network.
  3. Make room for the credits. If someone else has hijacked content and you want to give credit, go ahead and add the author’s Twitter name when you RT the post. To make room, you can delete the hashtags or replace the headline with a shorter description. Note (and I just learned this myself): If you need to revise the tweet in order to add the credit, use MT instead of RT. MT stands for “modified tweet“).
  4. Acknowledge the source. For extra credits, let your network know where you heard about the content, by adding “via @name.”
  5. Always share links right from Twitter or HootSuite so that you can add the attribution and control what people will see. Beware: if you check a box to “Share with Twitter” from LinkedIn or Facebook, or if you have your account set up to do that automatically, your Twitter followers will just see the headline and link and it will look like a hijacking.
  6. Follow your content stars more closely. Create a Twitter list in HootSuite so that you can quickly and easily discover new content from your favourite experts and share it with your network – with full attribution, of course!

Want to be sure you’re curating and not hijacking? Learn more about our content curation services!