Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Top 10 Tips for Getting the Most 'People Power" out of Conferences

Not all smart marketing occurs online. Never underestimate the power of your smile, and a handshake, to go with your introduction at networking and trade show events.

Last weekend, The Blog Squad attended the 2nd annual BlogHer conference for women bloggers. Here’s what happened when Denise got a little bold and extended her hand in line to the gentleman next to her: she met and had a conversation with Guy Kawasaki, marketing expert!

Later on, a client of ours managed to grab Denise and pull her into an introduction and conversation with Mena Trott, founder and developer of Six Apart and Typepad. You can’t replace the value of face-to-face meetings, ever. No amount of email or phone calls will do the job as well as in-person.

We also met face-to-face with Phil Hollows, founder of FeedBlitz, which turned into several conversations on how we can work together to improve services to our clients.

Are all conferences worth going to, in spite of the time and expense commitments? I would say, most are, yes. Besides the valuable people contacts, the information is inspiring and leads to new perspectives on how you can run your own business.

Download Top10tipsforNetworking.doc

Unsubscribe Me Etiquette

I read a great post on Jessica Duquette's "It's Not About Your Stuff!" blog...and she gives us a great email text to send out to people who arbitrarily subscribe you to their ezine, without permission, simply because they've met you at a networking event.

Actually, Jessica was struggling to clean out her inbox and her post gives tips on doing that. But here is the email she sends to people to take her name off their lists:

"Warmest greetings, <name>!

Thank you so much for thinking of me with your ezine. While I can see the content is excellent, I just wanted to touch base with you personally to let you know that with all due respect, I am trying to keep the flood of emails down to a dull roar in my Inbox, and so I will be unsubscribing today.

I have a suggestion that has worked well for me: rather than adding people to your list without their express permission, (which by the way is a form of spam, or unsolicited email), when you meet someone you think may benefit from your information, invite them to opt in by sending them an email with a link to your newsletter opt-in page. That way, there are no hard feelings in either direction and you are certain that each person on your list is there because they chose to be! This makes for a more potent and effective list in the long run."

Now that's a nice way to unsubscribe without risking losing a relationship with them in the future. I'm afraid I haven't always been so polite when this happens to me.

What do you do about this problem?

BlogHer, San Jose: The Blogging Conference for Women

You gotta love the name: BlogHer! It's a conference for and by women who blog, "where the women are"...but there'll be men there! And I say, thank you for that!

Anyone going to the BlogHer Conference in San Jose this weekend?  The Blog Squad will be there and we'd love to meet you.  Let us know and we'll figure out a way to meet and say hello in person.

We've already arranged to meet up with Phil Hollows of FeedBlitz. He says he'll be the English gentleman there... I'll bet I can pick him out of the crowd, having lived a number of years there. But it won't be as easy, I don't think he'll be carrying a copy of the Financial Times and sipping tea, but I could be wrong...

Phil sent us an email saying, "Beyond simply putting faces to names, I’d like to hear more about your use of FeedBlitz and changes you’d like to see, plus get the chance to talk about some things coming in FeedBlitz 2.0 if you’re interested."

Denise and I are big fans of FeedBlitz...that's the little subscription form at the top of all our blogs whereby readers can get instant blog updates delivered to your inbox. If you haven't used my subscription service to this blog with Feedblitz, please do so now, you'll love it.

If you're anywhere near San Jose, please come by and meet The Blog Squad...you can't miss us in our trademark bright pink shirts and mod-squad black suits! We'll give you a Blog Squad badge and share some coffee...or tea...with you!

Email Broadcasting with the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Here are a few questions we get from clients...

"What's the best way to send out my newsletters? ... What about sending out marketing promotions? ... How can I send a message to only those people who signed up for my mini-course?"

Have you been asking these questions as well? We've got some answers for you, but you must sign up and register for this class immediately, because it's happening later today!

Email broadcasting is one of the most important functions you will have to master for making money online. This one function can make the difference between merely sending out newsletters, and making money online from people on your list.

Join Us for A TeleSeminar about Email Broadcasting on Wednesday, July 26

How to Broadcast Your Ezine and Mini-Course Using the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET
Registration: $27 includes mp3 audio and transcript
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

http://www.broadcastyourezine.com

Can’t make it?

Sign up anyway, and you'll get the audio file to listen to online or download to your mp3 player!

This teleclass will give you how-to steps to set up and start using the broadcasting features of the best marketing system on the Internet: Kick Start Cart.

We highly recommend you sign up for a free trial account with Kick Start Cart to attend this class, so it makes sense to you and that the steps are clear. You can get a 30-day trial account for free by using this link. (If you already have this system, or 1ShoppingCart, or another one of these private label systems, there's no need to get a new account).

Here are a few questions we get from clients...

"What's the best way to send out my newsletters? ... What about sending out marketing promotions? ... How can I send a message to only those people who signed up for my mini-course?"

Have you been asking these questions as well? We've got some answers for you, but you must sign up and register for this class immediately, because it's happening later today!

Email broadcasting is one of the most important functions you will have to master for making money online. This one function can make the difference between merely sending out newsletters, and making money online from people on your list.

Join Us for A TeleSeminar about Email Broadcasting on Wednesday, July 26

How to Broadcast Your Ezine and Mini-Course Using the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET
Registration: $27 includes mp3 audio and transcript
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

http://www.broadcastyourezine.com

Can’t make it?

Sign up anyway, and you'll get the audio file to listen to online or download to your mp3 player!

This teleclass will give you how-to steps to set up and start using the broadcasting features of the best marketing system on the Internet: Kick Start Cart.

We highly recommend you sign up for a free trial account with Kick Start Cart to attend this class, so it makes sense to you and that the steps are clear. You can get a 30-day trial account for free by using this link. (If you already have this system, or 1ShoppingCart, or another one of these private label systems, there's no need to get a new account).

Denise Wakeman's BizTips Blog Ranks #8 in Influence

You see, this is one of the things that is so powerful with blogging: even us "little guys," without big PR or marketing budgets, can get known on the Web.

Congratulations, Denise Wakeman for your great blog marketing over at Next Level Biz Tips blog!

Our own Denise Wakeman, my Blog Squad partner, and her Biz Tips Blog has been ranked #8 in influential authority for "blog marketing." This puts her ahead of Fast Company, Marketing Sherpa, and other big number blogs! The study was done by Onalytica, a UK company, who "identifies, measures and monitors who has influence on issues, markets and brands."

Denise says, "What an honor to be included with the likes of Seth Godin, Micropersuasion and Wired News!  An article in WebProNews covers the story well (they come in at #9, right below Next Level Biz Tips!).  The study, done by Onalytica measures the influence and popularity -- I'm not very popular :-(  -- and you can read about it on their blog."

Denise is a blogging wiz: she also writes for Your Project Partner at AllBusiness.com, and they come in #15 in this study.

This study brings out two important facts about blogging:

1. You don't have to have large numbers of readers to have influence
2. Your influence is increased the more you link to important resources for your readers

Denise and I have always stressed the importance of researching other resources in your field and linking to them in your blog posts. If you are writing 2-3 times a week on your blog (our recommendation for most biz blogs), then you should be doing blog research the other days of the week, and providing resources for your readers.

That's what makes you an "influential authority." Now go out at do some blog search!

LIst Building: Frequently Asked Questions

The Blog Squad, Denise and I, are giving away a special report to all new subscribers to Savvy eBiz Tips ezine, 31 Frequently Asked Questions about Building Your Ezine List.

To get your copy, sign up for Savvy eBiz Tips here: www.savvyebiztips.com, and you'll get this report on starting, managing, and growing your list of subscribers, as well as weekly tips for using the Internet to get clients and make money.

If you are already a subscriber, don't worry, we sent you an email so you could grab your copy too.

We answered questions that people submitted to us during our List Building teleseminar last month. If you missed this informative event, you can download the audio files, the transcripts, the resources list, AND our Insider Secrets to growing your list, by visiting www.growyourezinelist.com.

List Building: Super Info Package Launched

Our multi-media package on "25 Proven Ways to Grow Your Ezine List" is finally launched! 

The last couple of weeks we've been working feverishly to complete this comprehensive package based on our recent teleseminar.

http://www.growyourezinelist.com

Here's what you'll learn...This information package will give you the insider secrets to growing a list that will reward you with Internet sales. Save yourself time and money by learning what we have discovered doing business on the Internet for over a dozen years:

• Which database and email broadcasting systems work the best so you don't have to worry about keeping track of subscriptions
• How to write an opt-in web page that includes a paragraph that is shown to double sign-ups
• What's a "squeeze page" and do they work?
• How to craft a compelling ezine description
• What to put on the "thank you" page and follow up autoresponder messages
• 25 tips for growing your list
• 3 keys to retaining subscribers

Our multi-media package on "25 Proven Ways to Grow Your Ezine List" is finally launched! 

The last couple of weeks we've been working feverishly to complete this comprehensive package based on our recent teleseminar.

http://www.growyourezinelist.com

Here's what you'll learn...This information package will give you the insider secrets to growing a list that will reward you with Internet sales. Save yourself time and money by learning what we have discovered doing business on the Internet for over a dozen years:

• Which database and email broadcasting systems work the best so you don't have to worry about keeping track of subscriptions
• How to write an opt-in web page that includes a paragraph that is shown to double sign-ups
• What's a "squeeze page" and do they work?
• How to craft a compelling ezine description
• What to put on the "thank you" page and follow up autoresponder messages
• 25 tips for growing your list
• 3 keys to retaining subscribers

• Which database and email broadcasting systems work the best so you don't have to worry about keeping track of subscriptions
• How to write an opt-in web page that includes a paragraph that is shown to double sign-ups
• What's a "squeeze page" and do they work?
• How to craft a compelling ezine description
• What to put on the "thank you" page and follow up autoresponder messages
• 25 tips for growing your list
• 3 keys to retaining subscribers

Co-Authoring Expert Steven E Reveals Bestseller Secrets

This Wednesday, July 19th at 8:30 ET, Conversations with Experts will feature co-authoring expert Steven E, TEAM Publishers

How to Get Instant Credibility with a Bestselling Book

You too can be a best selling author with the Wake Up...Live the Life You Love series. We give you Instant Credibility... and take you to the best seller list. We have 3 programs in one. First, we take you through the publishing process starting with your story submission. Next, we teach you how to build your business with a book through our exclusive Millionaire Book Marketing Method.

As a bonus, we produce a book and take you to the best seller list. You will be able to say that you are a best selling author for the rest of your life. We currently have 12 million stories in print around the world.

NOTE: This Conversation is a bit of departure for The Blog Squad. We have had a lot of requests for information about how to get published fast and easy so we are bringing you the experts from TEAM Publishing so you can learn about this powerful program for getting into print fast.

Registration is required at www.conversationswithexperts.com

If you cannot attend the Conversation, you can pre-order the audio program for only $4.95.  The audio will be $9.95 after the Conversation.  Save 50% and pre-order now.

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line
Hosted by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.

Conversations with Experts is sponsored by Build a Better Blog System.

Writing Great Blog Content: Painful?

Rich Brooks of Flyte Media says that writing content is painful, and compares it to having dental work without novacaine! What do you think?   

For me, writing - whether for my blogs, website, my email broadcasts and newsletters - is more like getting my teeth cleaned: it can be painful, but then you come out with a pretty white smile!

Take this series I'm undertaking on how to write great content for your blog. This morning's addition to the list of tips is about scanning your favorite blogs for relevant ideas, then taking an excerpt from it, linking to it, and making your own comments. (If you want to boost readership, go for disagreement and controversy. But that's a different topic.)

Here's what Rich says: "No matter how much you love your job, no matter how passionate you are about what you do, writing content is going to be much more work than you think."

The passion makes the writing start like a burst of energy. Education and discipline, however, are the tools that have to kick in to make your content readable, search engine optimized, and interesting to other people.

I agree with Rich that writing always takes more time and work than you think, even when it is full of passion. Passion isn't enough, some hard thinking and decent grammar should back it up.

Your thoughts on this? Is passion enough? Does grammar even count?

Ezine Broadcasting the Smart Way

Looking for guidance on how to broadcast your ezine, mini-courses and autoresponders?  Look no futher.  Our next teleseminar is on Wednesday, July 26:

How to Broadcast Your Ezine and Mini-Course Using the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET
Registration: $27 includes mp3 audio and transcript
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

This teleclass will give you how-to steps to set up and start using the broadcasting features of the best marketing system on the Internet: Kick Start Cart.

The official announcement will go out on Thursday and you can get the details now: http://www.broadcastyourezine.com/

Looking for guidance on how to broadcast your ezine, mini-courses and autoresponders?  Look no futher.  Our next teleseminar is on Wednesday, July 26:

How to Broadcast Your Ezine and Mini-Course Using the Best Marketing System on the Planet

Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET
Registration: $27 includes mp3 audio and transcript
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

This teleclass will give you how-to steps to set up and start using the broadcasting features of the best marketing system on the Internet: Kick Start Cart.

The official announcement will go out on Thursday and you can get the details now: http://www.broadcastyourezine.com/