Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Remote Writing: A Working Vacation

If you're like many professionals, you get caught up in the day-to-day tasks while those big writing projects stay stuck on the one-day-some-day list. Here's an idea: take a trip and spend a few days writing and working away from home and office. No distractions, no worries, no problemas.

I'm writing this from Mexico: I'm taking advantage of a long weekend for the U.S. 4th of July holiday. Since our home in Ajijic, Mexico is rented out, I'm staying at a lovely bed & breakfast across the street: Los Artistas.

With wireless connections greatly improved in some parts of Mexico, working remotely is no problem.  All  you need is a wireless laptop, a plane ticket , and someplace quiet to go to.

Most of Mexico is hot and humid during summer, and most beach resorts are noisy, crowded and expensive. Not so inland. Right in the middle of Mexico, on a 60-mile Lake Chapala, Ajijic is paradise.

Online Identity: Who Are You?

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: William Arruda, of Reach Communications

June 28, 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

What's YOUR Online Identity?

Do you know how others view you online? Do you know what prospects find when they "google" you?. Whether you are a solo professional or own a company, it's important to take charge of your online identity to ensure you have a positive personal brand.

In this episode of Blogging and Beyond, we interview personal branding expert William Arruda, of Reach Communications and co-author of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. Tune in as we explore about the do's and don'ts of creating an online identity that works in your favor.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 28.

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: William Arruda, of Reach Communications

June 28, 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

What's YOUR Online Identity?

Do you know how others view you online? Do you know what prospects find when they "google" you?. Whether you are a solo professional or own a company, it's important to take charge of your online identity to ensure you have a positive personal brand.

In this episode of Blogging and Beyond, we interview personal branding expert William Arruda, of Reach Communications and co-author of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. Tune in as we explore about the do's and don'ts of creating an online identity that works in your favor.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 28.

Ezine Critique: This one's a bummer

Hi <$firstname$>,

Warm and fuzzy yet?

Don't you love it when someone reaches out to you this way? For anyone who uses Kick Start Cart or one of the other versions, you recognize this as a glitch somewhere that should have inserted your first name.

I wouldn't have minded too much when I got this ezine from a person who bills himself as an expert, except for a couple of things:

1. I never asked to be put on his ezine list, and never answered an opt in request
2. His area of expertise is directed towards something I have no interest in doing
3. I am not in his targeted audience of potential clients

He lost all credibility with me. I stopped reading after the first 5 paragraphs. Why? The first 5 paragraphs made excessive use of these pronouns:

I, me, my, they, their, them

It wasn't until I scrolled 1/2 way down (and it was a long article too) that I found the word "you."

If you want to engage readers in reading your ezine, shouldn't you use the word "you?" I think so.

Next time you meet someone at a workshop and get their business card, be sure to ask if you can put them on your email list and then send them an invitation. That way you don't annoy people with your stuff.

His area of expertise? Selling and persuading. You'd think he'd know better, no?

Blog Writing Refined & Defined with the Copyblogger

Everybody loves Brian. Brian Clark's Copyblogger blog made a big splash in 2006, and he continues to help bloggers elevate their writing no matter what niche they're in. His mission: to educate bloggers how copywriting skills can help business blog writing.

He's clearly succeeding. In the first year of his blog he reached 10,000 subscribers. In the second year, 20,000.

We interviewed Brian for our Internet radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Blogging and Beyond. You can listen here.

A few nuggets: when you're starting a blog you need a strategy. Blogging isn't advertising in the old sense but in the new sense. You must have a unique perspective and find new ways to convey that message.

You must reach out to others to find out what they want and need, and create relationships with potential partners in your field. When you have something worth talking about, you'll be noticed in your niche. You will shine. You gain attention by linking out to others.

Even if you've already been blogging for a while, I strongly urge you to visit his blog today and read his Blueprint for a Brilliant Blog Launch. It contains three elements for building readership for your blog that you can apply at any point in your blog's life cycle.

And of course, all of his content is good on copywriting, headlines, and other tips for good blog writing.

One-Track Mind: I Have a Problem

I have a problem managing my work load: I can't multi-task like most successful people seem to do. I am a one-track minded gal. Like for most entrepreneurs and small biz owners, I have plates spinning in the air all the time, and juggling is required.

If it were up to me, the plates would have splattered already. My partner Denise is great at juggling.

Do you experience this when writing for your business? Got any tips for helping me out here?

For example, today I'm preparing a presentation that The Blog Squad is giving up in LA at the Publishers Association. If only I could shut down email, ignore

Secrets of Great Blog Writing from Copyblogger

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Brian Clark, www.copyblogger.com 
June 21st 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

The Secret of Effective Business Blog Writing...

...think like a copywriter. Good blogging and good copywriting share many of the same attributes - clear language designed to focus on the needs of the reader by using stories, education and a demonstration of benefit and value.

In an overly crowded marketplace, a well written blog allows you to catch people's attention, and capitalize on that attention by building trust, sales and profits. Brian Clark, of Copyblogger.com fame, shares the art and science of effective business blog writing.

Brian Clark is an Internet marketing strategist, content developer, entrepreneur, and recovering attorney. In addition to building three successful offline businesses using online marketing techniques, he has sold scores of products and services online via joint venture and affiliate arrangements. You can read his popular blog at www.copyblogger.com.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 21.

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Brian Clark, www.copyblogger.com 
June 21st 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

The Secret of Effective Business Blog Writing...

...think like a copywriter. Good blogging and good copywriting share many of the same attributes - clear language designed to focus on the needs of the reader by using stories, education and a demonstration of benefit and value.

In an overly crowded marketplace, a well written blog allows you to catch people's attention, and capitalize on that attention by building trust, sales and profits. Brian Clark, of Copyblogger.com fame, shares the art and science of effective business blog writing.

Brian Clark is an Internet marketing strategist, content developer, entrepreneur, and recovering attorney. In addition to building three successful offline businesses using online marketing techniques, he has sold scores of products and services online via joint venture and affiliate arrangements. You can read his popular blog at www.copyblogger.com.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 21.

Web Content: Bringing Readers to Your Company for Results

"All people and organizations - nonprofits, rock bands, political advocacy groups, companies, independent consultants, everyone - possess the power to elevate themselves on the Web to a position of importance."-- David Meerman Scott, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, (p. 35)

I'm loving this book and have got it underlined with yellow marker on many pages. David gets it: the power of Web content for business.

He also says, "You are what you publish on the Web." It is all making more sense now. Content isn't just your newsletter article of the month, or your blog posts. It the accumulated effects of everything you write and publish on the Internet that reflects your credibility as well as your understanding of your customers.

That includes white papers, images, audio, video, press releases, ebooks...and the conversations we have with other people that get accessed on the Internet.

Tune in Thursday, June 14th as The Blog Squad interviews David Meerman Scott on Blogging and Beyond, BlogTalkRadio, 3 pm PT (6 pm ET):

David Meerman Scott Talks Marketing and PR

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: David Meerman Scott, www.WebInkNow.com.

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: David Meerman Scott, www.WebInkNow.com.

Web Site Woes: Why Can't I Just Kill It & Blog?

I get such dismal traffic to my Customized Newsletters website that I wake up with dreams of trashing it altogether. Why can't I just put it all on a blog? Blogging is something I know how to do and building traffic isn't such a problem with a blog.

Every time I go in to update or change something on my website, I feel insecure and frustrated. It's not a Dreamweaver problem either. No matter what I do, it doesn't attract more potential clients.

I even know what some of the problems are, but redesigning it from scratch is too expensive for the potential payoff. Each time I've tried major re-writes, well, the problem persists...not enough of the right kinds of eyeballs.

So Denise and I will more than likely convert it to a blog, especially now since Typepad now has stand alone pages that can serve as landing pages.

It seems I'm not the only one who struggles with websites, and home pages, and is considering moving to a blog platform instead. Tom Chandler of The Copywriter Underground talks about it here, and also tells about Matt Ambrose of The Copywriter's Crucible who both get more traffic to their blogs than their websites.

Tom and Matt ask, "Is the Home Page Dead?" in true copywriting style - it seems dead stuff attracts readers. So if I kill it, will they come? I bet they would if I blogged... stay tuned.

Let me know your thoughts on this by commenting. Good idea? Bad?

Word Game: What's Your One Word That Says It All?

I've read several posts over the last month that talk about finding one word that sums you and your business up. And there's the whole long copy vs. short copy debate rekindled.

In his book, "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear," Frank Lutz writes:

It is no accident that the most unforgettable catchphrases of the past fifty years contain only a single- or at most two-syllable words. And when they initially haven't been so simple, someone inevitably has stepped in to shorten them.

Just ask the makers of Macintosh ("Mac") computer. And when was the last time you used the words "International Business Machines" rather than "IBM"? Federal Express is now officially "FedEx," Kentucky Fried Chicken is now "KFC," Oil of Olay is just "Olay," and Dairy Queen now refers to itself as "DQ."

What if you asked your clients this question: "What's the ONE word you would use that best describes what we do well?"

John Jantsch suggests:

Is it fast, attentive, welcoming, creative, cheap, cool, techie, smart, caring? One word is tough, but you need to get there. One simple word that sums up how you are different. If you can do that, and it's a word that means a lot to a lot, your marketing job will be significantly easier.

Pamela Slim on her Escape Cubicle Nation blog gives some one-word descriptions of a few well-known Internet business people, in her post "Can a Single Word Define Your Brand?"

So we gotta ask: what word do you think your clients would use to sum you up?

And, what one word would you suggest as a possibility for The Blog Squad?

All comments welcome!

The point is, if you can distill your essence into one or two words, you can construct your marketing around that word. Brevity is golden.

A Content Plan: Goes with Your Business & Marketing Plan

Do you have a content plan?

Content, Content, Content: Why Having a Content Plan is as Important as a Business Plan

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Allen Voivod, www.EpiphaniesInc.com

June 7 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

If you're marketing your business online you need content and your success depends both the quantity and the quality of your words. Yet few businesses develop a content plan. A Content Plan focuses on informing, educating, and entertaining your ideal audience. Strong Content Plans take the "Know, Like, and Trust" factor and formalize it into an ongoing relationship-building habit.

Tune in as The Blog Squad interviews Allen Voivod of www.EpiphaniesInc.com about how to use content to get found online and win the hearts and minds of your clients.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 7.

Content, Content, Content: Why Having a Content Plan is as Important as a Business Plan

Blogging and Beyond with The Blog Squad, Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., and Denise Wakeman
With Guest Expert: Allen Voivod, www.EpiphaniesInc.com

June 7 2007, 3:00 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET)

If you're marketing your business online you need content and your success depends both the quantity and the quality of your words. Yet few businesses develop a content plan. A Content Plan focuses on informing, educating, and entertaining your ideal audience. Strong Content Plans take the "Know, Like, and Trust" factor and formalize it into an ongoing relationship-building habit.

Tune in as The Blog Squad interviews Allen Voivod of www.EpiphaniesInc.com about how to use content to get found online and win the hearts and minds of your clients.

Use this link to listen live on the air at 6:00 p.m. ET on June 7.