Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Keep writing great content and people will notice!

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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.

What’s in a (domain) name? Carma Spence-Pothitt and her Home Sweet Home Page book

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This week marks the launch of my friend Carma Spence-Pothitt's book, Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website's Home Page and How to Fix Them!

The subtitle may sound dire, but the book sure isn't! Even though she is an accomplished website and graphic design professional AND Internet marketer, Carma speaks in plain English and keeps things simple.

And she still includes pretty much everything I would want you to know about building an effective online presence – and how to do it right from the start!

I asked Carma to stop by the Idea Generator blog and answer a few questions about how to choose a domain name – here's how our conversation went:

Domain names – can they be too long or too short?

Carma: Yes. You want to have a domain name that provides enough information to pique interest, but not so much that it's difficult to remember. For example, "Jane.com" probably is too short … although it is easy to remember, it just doesn't provide enough information.

That said, if the domain is "JaneDoeLifeCoachToOlympians.com," while it might be giving enough information to help visitors understand what Jane Doe is all about, it can also be so long that it is hard to remember.

Probably "JaneDoe.com" or "LifeCoachToOlympians.com" would be the best choice. The first helps brand Jane's name, the second is focused on what she does.

Should you use your personal name, business name, product name or service name in your domain name?

Carma: Yes. Which one you use depends solely on your long-term purpose and goals for the website. Ask yourself, "What do you want to brand?" If you want to brand your name and you don't think you'll be selling your business in the future, then go with your name.

However, if you want to have a business that you can eventually sell, you might be better served by a domain that has your business name in it.

My philosophy about domains focused on products or services is that these are secondary sites. They are focused solely on promoting the product or service … and hope that the entrepreneurs reading this have more than one product or service to promote.

What do keywords have to do with your domain name?

Carma: When a search engine ranks a website in the search results, domains with key words in them are more likely to rank higher. So, by simply having your key words in your domain, you can actually improve your search engine ranking.

In fact, I recommend that when you are coming up with a name for a new product or service, do the key word research first. Then purchase a domain name with your best key word phrase, and call your new product or service that. It will make SEO easier and you'll be guaranteed that people are searching the Internet for something like your product or service.

What are the characteristics of a strong domain name?

Carma: The strongest domains are easy to remember. It's that simple. Sometimes you have to make compromises to accomplish this, but as long as you have your ideal clients in mind when you create your domain, you should do O.K.

Thanks for dropping by, Carma! I know it's a busy time for you, with the big party going on over at the Home Sweet Home Page book launch page. Folks, drop by Carma's party between now and April 1st to claim your free gifts and the chance to win a 30-minute live editing "Writing Lab" session with yours truly!

Disclaimer: Please note that I received a complimentary digital review copy of this book.

Social networking beyond the link: 5 ways to turn your blog post or article into a conversation starter

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In today’s post I chat with social networking and marketing implementation specialist Kristen Beireis of the Coaches’ Marketing Source.

Linda: Kristen, I’ve never heard the term “conversation starter” before, related to social networking or content generation. What’s the difference between a conversation starter and a regular status update?

Kristen: A conversation starter is intended to get a discussion going. It’s not an “in the moment” or “this is what I’m doing” post, like a regular status update would be. This is a pre-planned update that is meant to stimulate a conversation with those in your network.

Linda: My new blog posts and ezines are automatically posted to my LinkedIn and Twitter accounts already – why isn’t that enough?

Kristen: Blog posts are great information and should be posted to your accounts, but there is  much more you can do. Posting a blog link just says “read this,” and constantly broadcasting to your network can really get people to tune out. I’m sure there’s a conversation to be had around your blog post – you just need to find a way to invite people to engage in that discussion with you. That will get them tuned back in.

Linda: Great points, Kristen! So how do we do it?

Kristen: Expand on the content in your original blog post or article, and take it just a bit further. For example, you can:

  1. Ask questions that get a conversation going around the topic.
  2. Post controversial statements that get people to think about the topic.
  3. Start a conversation with a colleague to ask their opinion about the topic (you might want to email them privately first to let them know you’ll be doing this).
  4. Post quotes from some of the comments you received on the blog or by email (ask permission first for the email comments!)
  5. Ask people to share stories if they can relate to what your piece was about.

You can also include some “teaser” posts with links, the same kind of thing you might use as a promo or introduction in an article directory, but keep those to a minimum and focus on interacting with your network. People get tired of seeing those links all the time.

The point here is to create an engaging discussion around a topic that you are an expert in.

Wow, thanks so much to Kristen Beireis for stopping by and enlightening us about how go “beyond the link” when we share our content on social networking sites.

WHY grow your list? Linda Claire Puig explains…

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This is a guest post by Linda Claire Puig, my co-counselor for the Pink Spoon Telecamp:

WHY Grow Your List? (Count the Many Ways)

by Linda Claire Puig, president, Claire Communications

List-building tips are all over the Internet these days. You can learn for free (including my Momentum articles from June 30, 2008, and July 10, 2009), you can buy e-books on the topic or you can take high-priced courses.

But are you really clear on WHY it's important to continually focus on growing your list?

When you understand what's possible with a bigger list–not just a bigger list, but a bigger relevant list–you open to new potential…for your business, for your life.

Sign me up!It's easiest to explain with an example. Let's say you have a list of 200 people that you keep in touch with on a regular basis. (You are sending a newsletter, aren't you?) You decide to run a $350 group program and announce it to your list by sending a promotional email. Seven people sign up and earn you a total of $2,450.

In marketing circles, those seven new clients represent a very good "conversion rate" of 3.5%. Conversion rate is the ratio of people who purchase to the total number of people on your list.

Now let's say your list grows to 3,000 (still a relatively modest list size), and you offer the same $350 group program. If your 3.5% conversion rate remains the same, you will now sign up 105 new members for your group, for a total earnings of $36,750. You may have to run concurrent groups to accommodate all the new business, a nice problem to have!

But even if your conversion rate dropped to 2%, you'd still sign up 60 new members for your group, for a total of $21,000 in earnings.

So $2,450 vs. $21,000…FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF PROMOTIONAL EFFORT!

Three important mentions here:

1) It's NOT all about a having a HUGE list. Smaller lists can be more responsive than their bigger counterparts. So decide on your income goals, determine your conversion rate history and let that help you determine how big you want to grow your list.

2) Don't forget that while you may attach numbers to your goals, building your list is ultimately NOT a numbers game. It's about building relationships with people who you would like the opportunity to serve. If you approach it this way, you will have a growing list that is always a relevant list.

3) Your list will not grow just because you wish it so. You may set a list-building goal for your year, but you won't meet it unless you take specific, focused action toward that goal. The very FIRST place to start is to have a great pink spoon…something that addresses a pressing need for your audience that you can give away in exchange for their contact information.

There are other reasons to grow your list that go way beyond numbers and dollars. Tell me, how do you help people? What are your gifts? With a larger list, your influence and your ability to help more people also grows.

Bottom line: No one is served by your list (or you!) remaining small.

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To learn more about what makes a great pink spoon, how to use it to grow your list and generate more business — and to create your own pink spoon under the guidance of two marketing communications experts — please register for the Pink Spoon Telecamp.

Intuition Tuesdays – Listen to Linda Dessau and Laurie Foley

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Laurie Foley was kind enough to invite me to join her for this week’s Intuition Tuesdays call, and I had a wonderful time! Thank you to everyone who called in and participated.

Laurie posted a recording of the call on her website: http://lauriefoley.com/intuition-tuesdays-may-12-2009/

You can listen to other calls from this page of her website, or subscribe to her blog for announcements of upcoming events as well as regular tips on how to access and use your own intuition.