Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

A Passionate Case for Educational Content Marketing

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In a shining example of how a high-quality blog post can generate attention for years to come, I want to share something I found when I was researching "How to Write So Readers Will Learn," for the Content Mastery Action Day Presentation call.

Chalkw200-h188 Tech writing expert (and fellow Typepad user) Kathy Sierra posted Marketing should be education, education should be marketing back in February 2007, and actually stopped posting to this blog just a couple of months later (but that's another story).

Kathy's blog, Creating Passionate Users, was designed to explore how the science of learning could help tech writers (and others) make "users" (of products/services) more passionate about the product/service, as well as the rest of their life.

I really loved the case that this post made for marketers and educators to borrow from each other's techniques for the good of all. I can certainly see the potential for getting kids excited about learning.

I also appreciated the reinforcement of the idea that educating readers about our services and products will help us to make a deeper connection.

Check out Kathy's post and let me know what you think!

Marketing should be education, education should be marketing

Update (September 16, 2011): Here is a new video by Kathy Sierra, that I found on Tim Grahl's website about online marketing for authors.

Blog Posts Help Turn Social Networking Into Business Networking

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Last week at the Barrie Public Library, a group of business owners gathered (face-to-face!) to learn more about how to use social media tools to grow a business.

My contribution to this panel discussion was Content Counts, an updated version of my manifesto about the quality of online content.

One of the points I made to the group was that when you have high-quality information posted to your blog, you can link to that from your social media accounts.

Why would you want to do that?

Benefits of posting your blog links on social media

  • You become a more valuable connection – one who has useful information to share.
  • Your friends, followers and fans can easily pass along your link to their own networks.
  • It's a way to stay active on your social networks, even if you're shy about starting or jumping into conversations. The more you blog, the more active you can be.
  • Once they're at your blog or blogsite, it's easy for people to read more articles, join your mailing list, or check out your services.

Corporate blogging expert Debbie Weil says, "If you can't link to it, it doesn't exist." That's why if you're using social media to grow your business, being social isn't enough. As brilliant, inspiring, funny and helpful your tweets may be, linking to a single tweet is a bit of a dead end if there's no link back to your blog or website.

Inviting people to your site is the key step that helps them get to know you better and decide whether to hire or refer you.

 

 

How to Make a Three-Dimensional Connection on a Two-Dimensional Blog

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A blog is a special kind of website that is (hopefully) frequently updated with text, images, audio or video. Each of those updates is a post.

As a business owner, you update your blog and hope that your current and future clients will visit, look at your content, and like it enough to start or continue a relationship with you.

By their essence, blogs are really impersonal things. You're over here, your reader is over there, and there's no live interaction between you.

Reaching-w200-h300 Here are three tips for shortening the distance between you and your readers:

  1. Put a little love in your blog. When you sit down to write, think about the positive difference you'd like to be making in your readers' lives. Think about one ideal client, and how this might help him or her.
  2. Reach out and touch somebody's smartphone. Here's one more reason to be focused and brief in your blog posts: You never know where and when people might be connecting with your content. Make it easy for people to grasp your message quickly when they're on the go. If you make that connection, they'll come back when they have time to look more closely.
  3. Teach your readers well. If you help your readers learn something that's useful and valuable to them, that leads to positive feelings about you. The next time they see your name in their Inbox or social networking account, they'll remember that feeling and build from there.

Fame is Fleeting But a Blog Post is Forever

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“When you share a well-written, relevant, helpful article, it’s like a bright flash that lights up the online world for a moment, an hour or a day. There are links, tweets, retweets, accolades, introductions, referrals and maybe even a sale or two. Then, in the span of a moment, an hour or a day, someone else shines their light and people move on. Good writing is pointless unless you’re doing it consistently.” – Content Creation Manifesto #3

Another benefit of building a mountain of high-quality content happens long after your brief moment of fame, retweets, comments and emails. And that’s when people stumble upon your blog posts on their own.

I experienced a nice example of this last week when creativity coach Sue Mitchell posted a link to a blog post I wrote in December 2010 (her tweet is the third one shown below). The next thing you know, TWO people from her network posted the same link to THEIR networks. What a wonderful way to introduce my work to a new audience – the best way, in my humble opinion.

Drill-post-retweets-apr20-2011

Here are five ways to produce “forever” blog posts, and help them be discovered, re-discovered and shared for years to come:

  1. Balance your blog – Aim to write at least one “how to” or thought leadership post per month, and then build on that with connective connect to consistently keep in touch with your readers.
  2. Connect the dots – Speaking of connecting, be sure to include links to other posts you’ve written about the topic – I also use the service LinkWithin, which automatically displays and links to similar stories at the bottom of each post. This step will help your readers find your earlier work so you can continue the conversation.
  3. Be green – While you can find inspiration for new posts from seasonal themes or current events, make sure that most of your content will be relevant no matter when someone sees it – we call this “evergreen content.”
  4. Say the same thing in different ways – Some of the most popular blogs cover the same topic many, many times, so don’t worry about repeating yourself. You just never know which analogy or collection of tips will finally help someone say, “Oh, NOW I get it!”
  5. Check your work – Don’t let typos or grammatical errors linger out there for the world to see. Remember to use this simple and effective proofreading strategy.

Want to write more “forever” blog posts? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

And by the way:

Drill-post-retweets-reply-apr20-2011

How Will Weekly Blogging Make Me More Money? Coach Bloggers Talk…

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Some coaches wonder whether there's any point to blogging or if it's worth their time. Their bottom line question: Am I going to get more clients? And the real bottom line question: Am I going to make more money?

I spoke to some accomplished coach bloggers to get their answers:

Blogging shows prospective clients whether they can relate to you

Glain Glain Roberts-McCabe is the Founder and President of The Executive Roundtable, devoted to supporting ambitious mid-career leaders. She's a regular blogger (sometimes multiple posts per week) and says that even if they’re not reading every post, people are still seeing her posts go by (for example, on her LinkedIn updates), and that's a good thing because it keeps her "top of mind." People tell her she always seems to be showing up on their screen. This reinforces the perception that her business is fresh, there's always something new going on and she is at the forefront of her industry.

And she's met prospective clients, who've sent feedback like "I totally believe what you’re saying [in this post]." Glain told me, "[Blogging] is a very powerful way for coaches to connect to an audience. It's important for clients to feel like they can relate to you, and if they're reading your blog, they’ll either like your tone of voice or they won’t."

Marcia Even the busiest people are online looking for information

Some coaches scoff at blogging, because they say their clients and prospects are too busy to read blogs. Dr. Marcia Reynolds is the author of Wander Woman: How High-Achieving Women Find Contentment and Direction, and a pioneer in the coaching profession. She is also a busy blogger, contributing regularly to Huffington Post and Psychology Today, as well as her own blog.

Marcia told me that her audience of executives and leaders may be too busy to read LONG posts, but they are definitely online looking for information. They want "sound bites," she said. "People who don’t write in a quick-scan format won’t get read."

Marcia has found that blogging has helped expand her visibility, so that when she publishes a new book or launches a new program, she has a wider audience. And even when prospective clients have discovered her another way, she finds that they still check out her blogs as a way to get to know her better – before they call.

Blogging helps establish your credibility

Bregman Peter Bregman is the author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (September 2011). As CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., he is a management consultant who coaches CEOs and leadership teams at some of the world's premier organizations. He also writes a weekly blog post for the Harvard Business Review and occasionally contributes to Fast Company and CNN opinion. He spends at least one day per week writing, and says, "I love it so it's easy to make time for it."

He also cautions that blogging is a mistake for people who are doing it simply to get clients. "If you don't enjoy the writing, and you're not dying to get new ideas out every week, then it will feel like a real burden to blog and it will be a huge challenge to sustain." (A note from Linda: Remember, you don't need to completely re-invent the wheel every week. You just need to present the information from your own unique and creative perspective.)

How has blogging influenced Peter's business? He said that blogging helps establish credibility, which has made it easier to get new clients. 

As for me, one of the biggest benefits that weekly blogging has had for my business success is that my confidence as an expert has sky-rocketed. As I explained in a previous post, it's much easier to plant your flag of expertise on top of a mountain of content.

Is weekly blogging in your future? Contact us today to learn how we can help!

P.S. Update February 2, 2013 – For more insight into this topic, scroll to the end of this article for Mark Schaefer's crystal clear explanation of the six ways you can money with a blog.