Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

A Content Marketing Basic: Have Something Great to Say

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At the Wealthy Thought Leader conference in March 2010, I got chills listening to all the talk about "info crap." Was I creating info crap? Worse, have I been helping other people create info crap? I can't do anything about what's out there, but I can say that the crap stops here (I feel like I'm channeling Karri Flatla).

As a Content Starter, having something great to say comes from asking a lot of questions about who your ideal clients are and what they're looking for, and then listening intently to the answers.

As a Content Marketer, having something great to say has to do with continuing to ask and answer the questions your ideal clients care about, and providing them with solutions that are narrower and more specific.  

As a Content Master, having something great to say means opening up yourself to a broader audience, and asking yourself questions about whether your message is special enough, meaningful enough and great enough (Charlie Gilkey would call it epic) to launch on a bigger platform.

Content marketing is an incredible tool for connecting more deeply with the people you already know, and for making new connections with the people you were meant to know. Just don't forget the "content" part of the equation. Have something great to say.

Making the Shift from Newsletter to Blog

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I've made no secret of my opinion that while not everyone needs to be a Content Master, to achieve success with content marketing you need to evolve beyond publishing one new piece of content per month (i.e., a monthly newsletter).

You'll still write that monthly article and send your newsletter, but in between you'll share additional content and communicate more frequently with those people who have joined your mailing list. 

Here are three steps you'll want to take as you're planning the transition from a monthly newsletter to more frequent content via blog and email:

1. Prime your readers – Let your readers know about the upcoming change and what benefits they can expect (for example, more valuable content and more ways to access that content).

2. Prime your schedule – You'll need to spend more time on your content creation. Plan for where you will find that time, whether it's watching less television, batching your tasks or saying no to activities you really don't want or need to be doing anyway.

3. Prime your content – What are you going to be writing about? Use a blog post planner to build out your strategy.

Remember, you don't have to come up with original, earth-shattering content every time you publish a post on your blog. You can also comment on, revise or build on existing content from your own blog or elsewhere. I call that connective content. 

How to turn a long article or book chapter into bite-size blog posts

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I've long talked about the danger of trying to write the article of a lifetime, and advised you to break up longer articles – especially if you're trying to make more than one point.

People who visit your blog may or may not know you, may or may not have time to read a longer item, and may or may not be interested in more than the one topic that brought them there in the first place.

But what if you're trying to explain a model, theory or method that has many pieces? You want to explore each of the pieces in depth, and those pieces may break down even further in several parts.

Does that mean you have to scrap this longer content and start again? Not at all! Here are four steps to help you turn a long article or book chapter into bite-size blog posts:

Step 1: Compose an introduction to the series. Sometimes this will be a stand-alone post, as I wrote here. Other times, your introduction will be part of the first post of the series, as in this example.

Step 2: Look at what you've written and find the natural breaking point(s), where you've finished talking about one element and you've started talking about another one.

Step 3: Decide on a format for each post in your series – will they be quick and to-the-point (example), or use a typical article format (example)?

Step 4: If you're going with an article format, compose an introduction and conclusion for each of your blog posts. Otherwise, just insert each separate point into its own blog post, using the format you chose.

Here are some additional helpful tips for turning your long article or book chapter into bite-size blog posts:

  • Language: Carry over some of the same language and phrasing in each post, so that you reinforce your unique writing style and personality. Above all, try to use some of the same language that your typical client might use when they discuss the topic.
  • Independence: Assume people are reading each piece as a stand-alone blog post. They may never read the related posts, or they may read them in a different order than you wrote them. Make sure each post makes sense on its own.

It IS possible to cover topics in more depth on your blog. And if you've taken the steps I've suggested, you've provided a road map of your ideas to the person who has the time and interest (and the good eyesight!) to sit and read them all at once.

The bonus is that you haven't lost the person who just came for a quick look! You gave them a quality taste of what you have to offer, and if they're a good match for you they will be back. That is the magic of content marketing.

June article ideas for coaches

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It's the beginning of summer and the pace may be changing for both you and your clients. How can you tap into their warmer mindset and keep them focused on their coaching goals? Here are some article topic ideas for the month of June:

  • Life coaches: Life can be a beach! 10 ways to make work feel like a vacation
  • Parenting coaches: School's out! Why structure is important for kids – even in the summertime
  • Marketing coaches: Business slower in summer? 10 ways to leverage your down time for maximum results
  • Money coaches: Vacation spending: Plan ahead and come back with cash in your pocket
  • Career coaches: How to plan a fun community event that will do some good AND wow your boss

Writing prompt: Use these sample titles as a starting point for topics that are relevant for your clients, prospective clients and readers.

Content for Clergy: How Val’s flagship content is changing the landscape of ministry

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When Coaching4Clergy founder J. Val Hastings and I started working together, he was a Content Starter who had been publishing a newsletter for several months and wanted to make a bigger difference with his writing.

He has gone on to write a very bold and provocative e-book, "The E3-Church: Empowered, effective and entrepreneurial leadership that will keep your church alive." In it, he challenges ministers and other church leaders to make a series of crucial mind shifts and is very upfront about the consequences of keeping the status quo (on his website he states, "6 out of 10 churches will close over the next 10 years").

And he didn't stop there! We've also taken the handouts from his successful coach training program and turned that into a stand-alone print book, The Next Great Awakening: How to empower God's people with a coach approach to ministry, which will have a much farther reach than the people who attend Coaching4Clergy's live coach trainings.

When I asked Val about the difference it's made to work with a Content Mastery Guide, he had this to say:

J Val Hastings "Wow! In the last six months I’ve written six newsletter articles, received Master Author status on several ezine article sites, composed an eBook and just completed my first print book. I’ve accomplished in the past 6 months what I’ve longed to do for the past several years. The difference—I’m working with Linda. Literally, I talk and she helps me write. In the past I’d describe my writing style as primarily “bullet point.” Linda is drawing out and developing additional styles of writing within me. At times it feels like “magic.”

Aside from this list of writing accomplishments I’ve made with Linda's help, the real story is how writing translates into business development and professional credibility. For example, I felt like “royalty” while teaching a six-week course at a local university. Students were thrilled to have an author teach their class. Another example, directly related to my work with Linda, is the development of a Train-the-Trainer Program that’s generating quite a bit of interest.

What’s next? Blogging. I’ve avoided blogging for some time and am ready to move forward, especially with the support of Linda."

I can't wait, Val! Thanks for your inspiring work.

[Update December 19, 2010: He did it – check out Val's blog!]