Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Better Business Blogging: Get a personal trainer and buff up your blog

Every Monday I meet Pablo Healing in the gym at our club for an hour of intense, grueling, sweaty workout. Yes, that’s really his name… and even though working out with Pablo can hurt, in an odd way, it’s healing and I look forward to it!

Not that I can’t workout without him. I do. Just not as well by myself. Why? Because, like any human, I make excuses, and when it starts to hurt, I back off.

Pablo is a trainer who doesn’t allow me to ‘back off,’ because he knows humans. He knows we are capable of a lot more than we think.

Truth is, I’ve never been fitter; it’s improved my stamina on the tennis courts as well as my League match scores. Working with a personal trainer works incredibly well, on many levels – physically, mentally and spiritually.

Have you considered a personal trainer for your business blog? Can you imagine what you could achieve with The Blog Squad there along-side you as you get your blog in optimal shape?

Authors Can Make Money - Online more than in bookstores

Authors waste too much time worrying about the wrong things when it comes to selling books online.

Missing on many author sites are a gold mine of free articles, a link to a content-rich blog, pages optimized for the search engines, and a way to capture email addresses.

Tom Antion and Adam Witty would rather authors take care of their Internet presence... Like which web pages pull in the most traffic. Or which pages lose the most visitors. Or how to blog about their topic. Or how to manage their own websites without having to rely on expensive techies who take two days to fix one lousy typo.

Tom, an internationally acclaimed expert at Internet marketing, and Adam, founder and CEO of Advantage Media Group, a leading publishing house, want authors everywhere to stop relying only on bookstores to sell the bulk of their books. They want you to know about their "three-pronged attack" for making books fly out the door, thanks to a website that goes ka-ching, ka-ching.

Denise and I have bribed them to be our guests during a complimentary teleseminar for authors and aspiring authors. It will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, January 31, 2008. It's called "How Authors Make Money on the Internet...FOR REAL."

Curious? Sign up for this complimentary teleseminar at http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/click

Authors waste too much time worrying about the wrong things when it comes to selling books online.

Missing on many author sites are a gold mine of free articles, a link to a content-rich blog, pages optimized for the search engines, and a way to capture email addresses.

Tom Antion and Adam Witty would rather authors take care of their Internet presence... Like which web pages pull in the most traffic. Or which pages lose the most visitors. Or how to blog about their topic. Or how to manage their own websites without having to rely on expensive techies who take two days to fix one lousy typo.

Tom, an internationally acclaimed expert at Internet marketing, and Adam, founder and CEO of Advantage Media Group, a leading publishing house, want authors everywhere to stop relying only on bookstores to sell the bulk of their books. They want you to know about their "three-pronged attack" for making books fly out the door, thanks to a website that goes ka-ching, ka-ching.

Denise and I have bribed them to be our guests during a complimentary teleseminar for authors and aspiring authors. It will be from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Thursday, January 31, 2008. It's called "How Authors Make Money on the Internet...FOR REAL."

Curious? Sign up for this complimentary teleseminar at http://www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/click

Conversations, not Advertising Hype

If you're writing about your company or your services and products with a conversational tone, you're right on track. An article in Business Week tells why. Advertising: Now a Conversation by Ted Shelton Business Week Jan. 18, 2009:

In today's environment where independent information about a product is plentiful, traditional one-way messages to consumers no longer work... in the post-industrial world, reputation, relationships, and recommendations can come at any time from anywhere to affect a purchase decision.

Blog authors and content marketers who embrace the fact that consumers are going online to find out about products and services are finding that joining the conversations is more effective.

But what if you're a small business owner or independent professional? There may not be any conversations to join. You must start the ball rolling. Create a conversation with your readers. Engage with them about their challenges and frustrations. Provide free information and solutions.

Find out more about how to write blog content effectively by joining us for February's course: www.boostyourbusinessblog.com.

This requires a new style of writing that many marketers and professionals quite simply don't know. How do you have a conversation on your 

Social Media & Blogging: What you need to know for your business

Thanks to blogging, Denise and I are a thousand times more 'findable' and we get asked to speak at various events all over the country, including virtually. It's neat being invited to share our knowledge about online marketing with people we ordinarily might never run into.

So when Leesa Barnes of Podcasting fame announced she was organizing a Social Media Telesummit, we accepted her invitation to speak about blogs immediately. The thing I like about this event, is that Leesa really walks her marketing talk. She has carefully planned out the event months ahead of time, and has gotten participation from top experts in the rapidly growing Social Media fields.

We're speaking about blogs and other 7 other social media tools such as podcasting, video sharing, and Facebook, and how they fit into online marketing this Wednesday Jan. 30, at 8 p.m. ET. We're inviting you all to come listen in.

To learn more about the telesummit event, and register for the preview call on Wednesday, go here: www.socialmediatelesummit.com/2008/.

Related post: 7 Social Media Tools: A Conversation

42 Top Content Marketing Blogs: We made the list at #25!

This blog has been included in a list of 42 Top Content Marketing Blogs, that Joe Pulizzi has compiled. I tell you this because I'm glad and proud, of course. But there's another reason: there are some very good blogs on this list that you should familiarize yourself with.

If you're writing for your business, you should visit some of these blogs to learn how to do content marketing better.

I struggled for a while to define the purpose of this blog because it started out as a platform for me to compose content for an ebook on writing ezines and newsletters. But in the last 3 years, I'm writing about other forms of communication for business: press releases, articles, white papers, even sales copy. It's all about Content Marketing.

It's all about learning to write for your business on the web in a way that builds relationships with prospects and clients: Content marketing. Joe Pulizzi runs an expert blog on the subject, Junta42Blog, well worth the visit.

Want to know about this subject? Get Content, Get Customers is an excellent free ebook written by Joe and Newt Barrett.

Free Teleseminar: Avoiding Business Blog Failure

Free Teleclass: How You Can Prevent Business Blog Failure
Mike Jay interviews The Blog Squad
January 24, 2008 at 3 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT)
Dial-in: 218-486-1300 PIN 792414#
No registration required.

In this conversation Mike Jay, Founder of Leadership University, asks The Blog Squad to reveal why they claim blogs are the best darn business marketing tool on the planet. There's a lot to love about blogging: it's fun, inexpensive, and satisfying to see your thoughts and words published on the Web.

But if you aren't seeing tangible results for your business, you could be on the verge blog failure.

In this info-packed interview you will learn:

• Why every business needs a blog
• What every professional must do BEFORE starting a business blog
• 3 things to do if you're new to blogging
• 5 reasons a business blog fails
• 4 key elements essential to business blogging success

This is a preview call to their teleseminar program in February:

Better Business Blogging: Boost Your Blog for Better Results
Presented by The Blog Squad: Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman
Tuesdays: February 5, 12, 19, and 26
5 p.m. ET - 70 minutes
More info about this program to take your blog to new heights >>>

Writing Better: Going to the crossroads down Mexico way...

I have an expatriate's heart. When I moved to Paris in the early 70s I had no idea I would stay until 1989. I moved back to San Diego long enough to get my doctorate and meet my husband. Then we took off to live in Ajijic, in Jalisco, Mexico in 2002.

I'm leaving tomorrow to check on our house down there, and to reconnect with friends in the village. I tell you this because it has everything to do with writing better.

You must read Brian Clark's recent post The Content Crossroads: Supernatural Success at the Intersection of Ideas . It's one of those, you know... wish I had written this! posts you want to keep for inspiration.

It weaves a story of Robert Johnson, the blues guitarist, the Medici Family in Florence Italy, and Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist who coined the term "meme" for the natural selection process of speading ideas. Here's one of the suggestions Brian makes for improving your writing:

Travel: One of the great benefits of online business is freedom from the tyranny of geography. And the more we see of the world and different cultures, the more our minds open up and see limitless connections and possibilities. One of the worst things we do to ourselves in terms of creativity is to stay within the realm of the familiar.

So that's my story, and a good excuse for sneaking away to Mexico for a week... If you'd like to see our house, please visit this photo tour here.

Copywriting Makeovers: Watch a Pro in Action

I don't know about you, but one of the best ways I learn about writing - especially writing sales copy - is by looking over the shoulder of a pro while they edit and tweak content to make it more effective.

When my first editor at the San Diego Union-Trib sat down with me and with a red pencil slashed through my first by-lined feature article, I rapidly learned how to make copy better. I remember fighting back the tears at the time, but boy did I learn quickly.

Now here's a chance to look over the shoulder of Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero as she tweaks copy in order to improve sales results. And, it's free. It all happens Tuesday January 22 at 2 p.m. ET. Here's where to register: http://snipurl.com/copymakeovers.

Here's why you should register: copywriting is THE most important skill you need to acquire when using the Internet to grow your business. Writing on the web involves copywriting skills, even when you're not writing a sales letter per se. That's because on the web, all you have are your words: they are your customer representatives and relationship managers. You must learn to write well.

Read more about this Copywriting Makeover Webinar presented by Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero of Red Hot Communications:

Who and Why? 2 Questions Your Site Should Answer

A client asked for feedback on their blog the other day. I visited and was amazed. While the content was definitely oriented to reader benefits (earn more money, have more time off, create a dream life) --always a good first step --the content was simply signed, "The Team."

There was no 'about' page or anywhere on the site to say who was authoring the content. There was a company but no company bio or any personal names at all. No way to know who was "speaking" to the reader.

When I suggested that they identify themselves, the client explained it wasn't necessary since people come to the site through a link from someone and they would know who sent them there.

The two biggest questions people ask when they read a page is

1. Who is speaking to me? (and, Why should I believe anything they say to me?)
2. Why should I stay and read this?

You can't hide behind a company name, or be vague if you want to create credibility and trust.

Free Publicity: How to Create a Media Plan

How do you get free publicity for your business? How can you create a well thought-out media plan to catch the attention of frazzled news directors, busy reporters and grumpy editors?

If you don't have a penny to spend on advertising and you want the world to know about your product, service, or cause, then you need to know how to get the attention of the media, according to Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound.

Because of the importance of media publicity for a growing business, The Blog Squad is interviewing Joan Stewart Wednesday January 16, 2008 at 5 p.m. ET, for their monthly mentor program teleseminar series, Blogging and Beyond.

Attendance is free, but you must be a member of the Blogging and Beyond Mentor Program. You can join the program at  www.theblogsquad.net/mentor. A 30 day trial membership is only $9.95.

The seminar will be delivered simultaneously via telephone and live webcast where participants can submit their questions directly to The Blog Squad and The Publicity Hound.