Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

3 Reasons Videos Still Need Written Text

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© ottochka - Fotolia.com
© ottochka – Fotolia.com

Some people just don’t like writing. Maybe you’re one of them. And when you hear that Facebook rewards video with more views, YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine, and the opinion that “no one reads anything online anymore,” it’s tempting to throw away your keyboard completely.

I totally get it, really I do, but please don’t do this!

Here are three reasons why making videos does not let you off the hook from writing:

Reason #1: Writing helps you speak better

Whether you do a formal script, a general outline or storyboard, a list of bullet points, or simply a calendar of planned topics, writing ideas before you start filming gives you and your audience more confidence in your content.

You’ll create higher-quality content that stays true to your topic areas and has a bigger impact on the people you’re trying to help.

Reason #2: Writing serves the people who need to read

Some of your audience members may have auditory or visual impairments, internet access issues, or workplace restrictions that make it impossible to watch your videos. Captions and titles can help, but only to a point.

Then there are those like me, who simply prefer to learn by reading, not watching or listening. A vague title and a play button are not enough to compel me to watch – I need a clear idea of:

  1. What you’re covering (a descriptive title and explanation)
  2. Why it’s important to me (why not knowing this information could impact me)
  3. What I’ll get out of watching (highlights and benefits)

Reason #3: Writing helps people and search engines find you

  • On YouTube: Marcus Sheridan of The Sales Lion suggests your YouTube meta-description should always start with a question (“Are you wondering about…?”) and finish with a tease (“If so, this article will help explain and show you….”). Use the same words your clients would use (keywords). Make sure you keep your first couple of lines under 150 characters, he warns, or Google will cut off your text. Also pay attention to the next three lines of your description, because YouTube will only show the first five lines of your YouTube description before viewers must click “Show More.”
  • On social media: Use a brief version of your YouTube description box to entice your social media contacts to watch your video.
  • On your blog: Beyond the first five lines of your YouTube description, expand your blog post text to cover the three items I mentioned above. Give me that reason to watch! Ideally, embed the video right onto your site so I can stick around and learn more from you. In some cases, I’d rather just read the content as a transcript (hopefully one that’s been edited and enhanced).

Videos are very popular right now, and for good reason! They can engage your audience and help them get to know you, and can be quick and easy for you to create. It’s definitely worth experimenting to see how your audience responds to them. Just don’t stop writing completely or you could lose some of your best potential clients.

Want more ideas about how to write high-quality content that has more impact, attracts more ideal clients, and makes you more money? Register for my FREE webinar, Write Less, Earn More.

 

Blogger’s Block? Interview an Expert!

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portrait young woman talking with sound waves coming out of her mouth isolated grey wall background. Human face expressions
© pathdoc – Fotolia.com

In a post about how to leverage expert interviews to sell your online courses, my friend Nicole Holland revealed her top six benefits of interviewing experts in your field. She should know, since in just over one year of doing interviews she increased her own online audience by 17,000!

Nicole Holland’s top 6 benefits of interviewing experts

  1. You get to learn from the best of the best!
  2. You get to know them and they get to know you!
  3. You get to help them make money!
  4. You get to have fun with them!
  5. You get to easily create high-quality content!
  6. You get to earn instant credibility through association!

(Read the full post for more details, interviewing tips, and insights from Nicole.)

While Nicole shares her interviews via her podcast and her free online Business Building Rockstar Summit, we can easily apply this strategy to wellness blogging. For example, you can interview:

Three success tips for interview posts:

  1. Take notes while you talk, transcribe the interview, or (this is my preferred method), ask the person to send their answers by email and let them know you will lightly edit the text as needed.
  2. Present the text in a simple Q & A format (here’s an example), or intertwine their answers with your own comments (here’s an example).
  3. Stay true to your blog’s key categories when choosing the people and topics for your interviews. That way even when you’re highlighting someone else’s ideas, you’re still reinforcing your own expertise.

BONUS: You can watch and listen as Nicole shows off her interviewing skills at the Business Building Rockstar Summit. You’ll hear 40+ marketing experts teach the exact steps, strategies and mindsets that have helped them build brand recognition and attract a never-ending flow of amazing clients and customers.

Claim your FREE ticket to the Business Building Rockstar Summit
(Linda’s affiliate link)

P.S. As a follow-up to meeting on Twitter and chatting about how social media is meant to be social, Nicole chose me as her Twitter expert for the Business Building Rockstar Summit! Register now to hear this and all of the other valuable sessions.

P.P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Your Content

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© 95C - pixabay.com
© 95C – pixabay.com

Some of my older blog posts have been getting a new life lately. Thanks to Denise Wakeman and her online visibility challenge, I’m now building new content collections on Medium and Facebook, and I’m continuing to repurpose my blog posts on LinkedIn.

Repurposing or reusing blog posts is one way to be more efficient with your content marketing. Let’s look at how you can take all three Rs of environmental stewardship and apply them to your blogging strategy.

Reduce – While I’ve long recommended daily blogging (not in the way you might think) and weekly posting, when you include the other Rs (reuse and recycle) in your content marketing plan you can actually write less and get much more return on your investment of time and energy.

Reuse – When I reuse and repurpose my archived posts on other platforms, new people can discover, read and share my work even if I haven’t published at Content Mastery Guide. That’s comforting if I’ve had an accidental break from blogging. And as I wrote in this post about LinkedIn blogging, Denise reassures us that we don’t have to worry about duplicate content.

Recycle – Just like discarded bottles can be used to create new bottles or even new houses, your blog posts can turn into e-books, presentations, videos or countless other pieces of content, or more new blog posts.

In Why Multiple Tweets About Your Blog Post Are Not Bothering Anyone, I explained why it’s okay to repeat yourself on social media. I’m going to recycle some of those points here to explain why it’s also okay to repurpose your blog posts on other platforms.

  1. People may have missed the post on your blog. Even if you promoted it widely, your connections may not have seen or read the original post. Most people only see a small percentage of what their connections post on social media, because other updates come along to push your post down and eventually off the page.
  2. People scan for what’s interesting and important to them. Sometimes changing the blog post title a bit when reposting to a new platform is just enough to spark interest in someone who glossed over your original message.
  3. People forget things. Even if they read it once and found it useful, they’ve read many things since then. People in your target audience will appreciate the reminder and the renewed incentive to take action and apply your advice.
  4. People know other people who need you. Your connections may not be members of your target market, and may never click on a single link you share. However, by seeing your posts they begin to associate you with the key topics you’re blogging about. They’ll remember this when someone asks for a referral for what you do.
  5. People have their favourite hangouts. For example, someone who spends an hour a day on LinkedIn is more likely to see your post than someone who just pops in once a week to respond to invitations. Another key benefit to repurposing your posts on other platforms is that new people who hang out on those platforms can discover you when their connections like and share your work.

When deciding which posts to reuse, start by analyzing your website and social media traffic to highlight your most popular articles. If people are already responding to them, you know it’s worth giving them a wider audience.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy the Blogging Tips newsletter, delivered weekly to your inbox! Sign up here.

How Blogging Supports a Launch – With Launch Geek Cristina Favreau

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© vector1st - Fotolia.com
© vector1st – Fotolia.com

I hear many people talk about how September feels like a new beginning in their life and in their business. And the launch of a new season often comes with the launch of something they haven’t done before in their business.

When you’re already so busy with a launch, where does blogging fit in? It’s often the first thing to go on the back burner, but you may not realize all the ways blogging can help make your launch a success.

To delve into this topic, we’ll hear from Cristina Favreau, the Launch Geek. Cristina and I met online and worked together many years ago, and have launched and relaunched many things in our businesses since then.

Today, she’s in the business of launching stuff online – courses, products and programs, events, businesses, membership sites, podcasts, blogs, you name it, she’ll help you launch it! Best of all, she helps you come up with a launch plan that fits YOU – your product or service, your personality, and your level of technical know-how.

How does a blog enhance your credibility during a launch, and how might that affect your results?

I know this is a given, but it’s important to point out that launching is not the time to start BUILDING credibility. You build credibility, over time, through your articles and blog marketing activities.

During a launch, your blog will help you achieve a few goals (depending on your situation):

  • Building your launch interest list
  • Creating curiosity, anticipation, buzz for what’s coming
  • Improving keyword rank
  • Demonstrating social proof
  • Attracting media or guest opportunities

While all of these elements are important, in my opinion building your interest list is the most important goal to work toward.

That way you’ll have a list of interested people (AKA a warm list) to send launch promo emails (versus sending a barrage of launch emails to your entire list for the duration of your launch).

What shape should your blog be in before you launch?

Because every blog and each launch is different, there’s not one right answer.

I advocate for starting where you are with what you have (“shoulds” just make everything more intimidating).

There are, however a few best practices to consider. I’ll also share some of my suggestions, based on my experience.

First and foremost, no matter how long you’ve been blogging, the most important factor of launching is PLANNING!

I know, I know! Planning isn’t sexy.

I’m sure you have better things to do than create an elaborate launch campaign. So don’t. Create a simple one.

Creating a simple launch plan will give you a clear picture of what blog elements are needed to support your launch (which may affect your timeline and/or budget).

Here are elements to include in your simple launch plan:

  • Important dates (open cart, close cart, teaser period, pre-launch phase, content release, live/virtual events, bonus release, program start/end, etc.)
  • Tasks to complete, when and by whom
  • Teaser, pre-launch and launch content plan
  • Visibility/promotion strategy for each piece of content
  • Teaser, pre-launch and launch email strategy
  • 2-3 launch goals and a way to track them

Your blog plays an important role in each of these elements, but especially during the teaser period (3-6 weeks before pre-launch) and pre-launch phase (5-10 days before you open the cart) where you “prime” your audience for what’s coming up.

Here’s a suggested blog strategy for the teaser period and pre-launch phase:

Write a weekly blog post (or more, depending on your schedule), only about your product/program topic

  • Create a freebie that is directly related to your product/program topic
  • Link to that freebie in each blog post
  • Send a link to each blog post to your entire email list
  • If you’re planning a launch a few months in advance, share “behind the scenes” of your upcoming launch (people love getting the inside scoop)

Keep in mind that during the teaser period, discuss the TOPIC of your product or program; don’t mention the product or program you’re about to launch (not just yet).

What are the top 3 ways that blogging can support the launch of…

An online business:

  • SEO and keyword ranking
  • Builds your list
  • Gets backlinks and shares (links, post excerpts, quotables, shareables, e.g., Click To Tweet)

An in-person event:

  • Your audience sees you being active in your industry (even if they can’t make the event)
  • Acts as your virtual business card where people can learn more about you after the event
  • Gets backlinks and shares (links, post excerpts, quotables, shareables, e.g., Click To Tweet)

A virtual event (telesummit or webinar):

  • Demonstrates your industry connections and expert status by association (interview your event speakers)
  • Gets backlinks and shares (links, post excerpts, quotables, shareables, e.g., Click To Tweet)
  • Offers added value for event participants (convert presentation transcripts and Q&A into blog posts)

A recurring podcast, blog or newsletter:

  • Offers added value and alternative learning methods (post transcripts of audio and other content upgrades like worksheets and PDF reports)
  • Adds SEO value when you turn audio into text transcripts
  • Interviews mean more and content for you and potential exposure to the other person’s audience)

A book or other information product:

  • Gets backlinks and shares (links, post excerpts, quotables, shareables, e.g., Click To Tweet)
  • Creates buzz with free chapters and other book excerpts
  • Generates content for your book or info product

A course or training program:

  • Demonstrates that your program works (blog about success stories/case studies of students)
  • Gives people value while they wait for the course to start
  • Generates interest in the program with “behind the scenes” posts as you create your program

A membership site:

  • Attracts new members with a sneak peek of course content
  • Provides subtle ways to mention your membership site
  • Demonstrates value of site when you write profiles of member success stories

Wow, if I wasn’t already a blogging evangelist, I would be now! Thanks, Cristina, for showing us how integral blogging can be when you’re launching anything in your business.

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6 Ways to Enrapture New Readers With Old Posts

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Old wooden treasure chest with strong glow from inside.
© Sinisa Botas

If you’ve been blogging for awhile, you likely have a treasure trove of posts waiting to be discovered by new eyes – and rediscovered by you.

Scott Gingrich and I share a client and he recently suggested she update some of her old posts. He wants her to have one thorough, comprehensive piece of content that covers each of the main topic areas she helps people with in her business.

I thought this was a great idea! As we’ve been working on doing this for her, I’ve been thinking about why and how we can all update older posts on our site.

3 reasons to update an old blog post

  1. Things have changed

Are there facts or recommendations in the post that no longer ring true? You definitely want to correct or update these, so your posts remain relevant and helpful over time (which also brings up the question, should you date your blog?)

You may also want to update any outdated references to current events, but consider preserving them – and your blog – as a sort of time capsule in the evolution of your business.

  1. You know more and you’re a better writer

Even if the information is still technically correct, your own views and opinions will evolve as you advance in your business. You’ll want your blog to reflect that, because you never know where someone will land to get their first impression of you and your business.

Blogging is a skill like any other. It can be learned and, with practice, mastered. Even stepping away for a few moments as you’re drafting a post gives you a fresh perspective and helps you spot typos and places where the reader may stumble. Imagine what you’ll find after a few months or years!

  1. People need the information

Has your post continued to gain attention (people reading and sharing it), even as you’ve added newer posts to the site? This is a clear sign that there is still interest in the topic.

Here’s an example from Content Marketing Institute, where they update and republish old posts as part of their Back By Popular Demand series:

Now if this is the only reason you’re considering this post and the other two reasons don’t apply, consider promoting the post again rather than changing it. Trust me – you won’t be bothering anyone with the repetition. Your social media connections may or may not have even seen the link the first time you shared.

6 ways to update an old blog post

  1. Swap out some of the blog post elements, such as the title (I like to test my titles for emotional value and general marketing effectiveness) or image. This is something Denise Wakeman suggests when you repurpose your content, i.e., on your LinkedIn blog, Medium, or as a Facebook note (the last two are things I learned about from Denise’s 7-Day Visibility Challenge). Also take a fresh look at the post’s call to action, especially if the blog post author no longer works for your business.
  2. Support your original premise with research or data. Often this will be research you’ve curated from other trusted sources, but you can also create your own. According to Andy Crestodina, original research is the most powerful and effective form of content for many reasons, and he calls research-based content the secret to more traffic. Even if you have no numerical data, you can offer anecdotal statements about your client base or industry (e.g., many of my clients/colleagues tell me…).
  3. Incorporate other expert opinions by interviewing or quoting influential leaders in your field. This will add credibility and colour to your post, and could also help you make valuable connections and gain exposure to a new audience.
  4. Curate and summarize the best blog posts about the topic. Similar to #3, this will enhance both your content and your relationships with other experts in your field. Remember that the goal here is to spotlight, not copy, this content.
  5. Build structure into the post. Did you write your original post as a stream of consciousness or “brain dump,” without any thought to how the ideas flowed together? Do you define, introduce and conclude each topic, or do you expect your reader to connect the dots? Be sure your post includes a thoughtful introduction and conclusion, along with sub-headings and/or lists that break up the text.
  6. Combine several posts. Though this is the exact opposite of what I recommend when you find a post getting too long or unfocused, you may find that over the years you’ve written several pieces about the same topic. Try bringing those together into one longer article, updating where needed to match the evolution of your knowledge and experience. This composite post can become a core, evergreen piece of content for your website, just as Scott described above.

When you’re planning your future blog posts, look to the past for content you can update and enhance. Chances are, you’ll find valuable information your audience needs to hear again, and a compelling message that will draw in new readers.

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