Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Keep writing great content and people will notice!

By

Alyssa Gregory has just been named the Small Business Information Guide of About.com, one of the largest producers of original content on the Web.

Alyssa worked with us a bit here back when we were You Talk, I’ll Write, and she also features the Style Guide in her online store at the Virtual Assistant Hub.

I asked Alyssa about her experience with content marketing and how it led to this new frontier for her business.

1. How did you leverage your formidable body of online content to demonstrate to About.com that you are an expert on this topic?

Great question! It certainly can be a challenge to get an extensive body of content to work for you and not against you. Hundreds of articles can be overwhelming for the reader to see, and it’s equally overwhelming for the writer to show the quality of the portfolio and not just the quantity.

I tried to zero in on the pieces I considered the most relevant and effective, and use the rest as a collective summary of my writing experience, bolstering the samples I sent in. Luckily, it worked!

2. What are your secrets for continuing to publish great content on a consistent basis?

It’s hard when you’re on the spot and feel pressured to spit out good content on demand. And that’s what it can feel like at times when you write for multiple outlets on a daily or weekly basis.

There are three things I do to try to prevent the pressured feeling from creeping in.

First, I plan in advance. At least one week in advance, I’ll go through all of my writing responsibilities and create a mini editorial calendar outlining what I will be writing about each day. This can take some time, but it really streamlines the process when it’s time to get writing.

If I have a little extra time, I’ll go a bit deeper and outline each article, do some preliminary research, and take time for some brainstorming so I have a running start when publication day comes. Ideally, I would love to write a number of pieces in advance, but this rarely happens with my schedule!

The second thing I do is keep a running idea file. I use it to keep track of everything from posts I read that inspire me, thoughts I have during the day, articles I want to write, etc. My full list usually has around 200 items on it at any given time, so I have a flexible list of material to pull from for when I do my planning. And since most of my writing is on small business topics, I can mix and match ideas for different sites.

Finally, I have found that it pays to be open minded when it comes to ideas. Inspiration can come from anywhere — blogs, comments, commercials, magazines, kids. If you’re receptive to taking in new things and can think broadly enough to relate it back to your topic, you may be surprised when an idea hits you.

3. How do you manage your ideas?

I use Evernote to maintain my idea file. It works great because it automatically syncs from my PC to my Mac. I can also access and add to my list from my BlackBerry so I don’t have to worry about losing ideas that come to me when I’m doing other things. Here is more information on how I use Evernote for idea management: http://www.sitepoint.com/how-i-use-evernote-to-manage-my-ideas/

Congratulations, Alyssa – keep up the great content! And I know you will.

Blogging: Passive marketing, or an introvert’s dream come true?

By

Did you see the first post in this series? Click here for Ghost blogging: Unethical, or an extrovert’s dream come true?

When I first started building a coaching practice and learning how to be successful in self-employment, I heard the idea that there are two types of marketing: active and passive.

Active marketing included tasks like networking, giving free sample sessions, speaking to groups – basically the activities that got me in direct contact with another person who was a prospective client or referral source.

Passive marketing was “behind the scenes” work, things like setting up a website or sending a newsletter – quiet, solo tasks that were pretty appealing to an introvert like me.

(Actually, I’m more of a combination, as most of us probably are. I’m extroverted when it comes to performing – I love being in front of a group, whether I’m singing or speaking.)

This early education may have warned me against spending too much time on blogging, as a passive activity that would keep me hiding out and not getting in front of real people. But I see blogging as a wonderful opportunity to combine both forms of marketing, active and passive.

Writing is a task I can enjoy in my quiet time. Then, by publishing relevant content to my blog on a consistent basis, I create the opportunity to have active conversations.

Readers email me or post comments to my blog, or a post may serve as a conversation starter on Twitter. When I write connective content and link to other bloggers, that is another chance to correspond with someone I may not have met otherwise.

What’s more, most of these conversations happen in writing, so I can think as long as I need to before responding (something else introverts really appreciate).

Nancy Ancowitz, author of Self-Promotion for Introverts®, wrote about introvert authors as social media mavens, and how blogging and other forms of social media give the introvert more control over social settings. (There are more fascinating insights and comparisons in her book.)

Blogging and other social media tools have really leveled the playing field for people who aren’t as comfortable in traditional networking forums. Introverts, let’s show them what we’ve got!

Ghost blogging: Unethical, or an extrovert’s dream come true?

By

For some extroverts who don’t enjoy writing, it can be almost painful to sit still and write out your ideas. The longer you sit, alone in your office, the more energy is drained from you.

Engaging in a conversation is much more appealing, where you can talk about your ideas and what excites you about them. Some extroverts funnel their energy into creating video and audio recordings. But if you rely on recordings for all of your content, you will miss making a connection with certain members of your audience.

Some of your readers and prospective clients can only learn from what they see and read – for them, audio or video simply aren’t enough.

Ghost blogging is an attractive solution, and a smart, efficient way for extroverts to use the strategy of content marketing. I’ve been ghostwriting since 2005, taking my client’s voice, ideas and personality and putting them to paper. My clients are very involved in the writing process (without having to do any actual writing), and we communicate back and forth until we’ve got it right.

Apparently this kind of collaborative approach isn’t what people first think of when they hear the term ghost blogging. In “5 Alternatives to Ghost Blogging,” Tax Anderson suggests ethical ways that executives and others in the corporate world can get help with their blogging (some of these practices are remarkably similar to exactly what I do as a ghostwriter).

I definitely understand when people express concerns that ghost blogging is ineffective or unethical. How can a blog effectively build trusting, long-term relationships with prospective clients unless the posts are written directly by the person providing the service?

And isn’t it unethical for posts to be “signed” by a business owner, when that person had no direct involvement in the writing process?

Because it’s so easy to publish content to a blog, I think we sometimes forget that blogs are a form of a social media, meant to be a conversation. Even when you hire a ghostwriter to help create your blog posts or social media updates (conversation starters) (hey, we do all that!), I believe you should still respond personally to any (and all) comments and social media responses.

Mark Schaefer agrees, and thinks it’s ridiculous to argue about ghost blogging (thanks to Rebecca Leaman who posted this link via Twitter). He offers his own guidelines for corporate ghost blogging, which encourage the author to be involved in the writing process, including any follow-up conversations.

If you’re interested in reading more about this still ongoing debate, Laura Spencer sums up and compiles more links in her post on Everything PR.

Stay tuned for my next post, when I’ll answer the question: Blogging: Passive marketing, or an introvert’s dream come true?

 

Welcome to the Content Mastery Guide!

By

ContentMasteryGuide.com is your place to find the ideas, tools, support, products, services and inspiration to produce masterful content.

Why masterful content?

Content marketing is the practice of sharing valuable information as a way of demonstrating your credibility, knowledge and skill. This helps you to build and enhance online relationships with people you may never have the chance to meet in person.

Masterful content that is planned mindfully, written artfully, edited skillfully, published consistently and shared widely has the power to connect you deeply with your tribe of prospective clients, existing clients and colleagues.

And I want that for you.

Whether you’re a Content Starter, a Content Marketer or a Content Master, there is a place for you here at ContentMasteryGuide.com. It’s absolutely perfect that you are exactly where you are, and if you’re ready to move to a different level, I’m here to show you the way.

You can start by browsing the free resources, or the blog posts listed along the right-hand side of the page.

Do you have questions about how I can help you achieve content mastery and how that could transform your business? Check out the Services page or contact me today!

Content mastery myth: If you can’t keep up with your newsletter, you can’t handle a blog

By

One of the reasons I've heard for not having a blog is: "I can barely keep up with my monthly newsletter, how would I ever manage a blog?"

Here are two ways that posting to your blog 2-5 times per month will actually make your monthly newsletter easier:

1. Your content will already be done. It's no longer a big production to write a mind-blowing newsletter article, because you'll be writing content all through the month. You can choose your best post and feature it in the newsletter, or you can present a short introduction (with a link) to all of your new posts and let your readers choose.

2. You'll be a writing machine. It's no longer a struggle to get started when it's time to write for your newsletter, because you'll be constantly in the flow of the writing process. You'll be running on momentum, not climbing a whole mountain and then starting from the bottom again the next month. 

Writing is a skill like any other – the more you do it, the easier it gets. You may even start to enjoy it! 

(Here are more tips on making the shift from newsletter to blog.)