Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Sex Appeal: Do your blog posts have it?

When you write, do you try to seduce people?

Psychologists will tell you there are four basic temperaments, each with it's own particular emotional triggers. Most TV sitcoms have characters who are prime examples of these.

Take Sex in the City. Each of the four women embody different personality styles:

• Carrie serves as the Humanistic hub that brings all the others together, and she discusses and writes about her feelings and relationships

• Samantha, the here-and-now, “I’ll try anything,” confident hedonist, represents the Spontaneous temperament

• Miranda’s hard-edged, skeptical, career-minded “voice-of-reason” perspective corresponds to the Competitive temperament

• Charlotte’s more traditional, conservative concern for “The Rules” marks her as a Methodical

Jeff Sexton writes a great guest post on Copyblogger entitled The Hidden Key to Cosmo Headlines: Sex and the City? He asks if as a blog writer, do you take into consideration each temperament when you write your headlines?

Content Marketing: It's not enough to publish

Our friend Kathleen Gage, the Street Smarts Marketer, did a good job of answering an email from a client who questions the value of writing articles and submitting them to online article directories.

The person asks a question which many new to Web marketing wonder even if they don't actually ask it: "I personally don't know anyone who has gotten increased business from this tactic and none of my clients have either. Who is getting more business from this and what are they doing differently?"

This same question has cousins: "I'm not making any money from my blog/newsletter/website."

Kathleen turned this question into a great blog post entitled Maybe making money on and with the Internet is an out and out lie!

Here are Kathleen's 8 key points you need to think about besides just writing content:

1. How well written is the article and is it specific to a market?
2. Do you have a title that grabs people’s attention?
3. Do you have a resource box at the end of the article?
4. Is there a compelling offer you are making in the resource box that would encourage the reader to visit your website, blog or a landing page?

A Kick in the Pants for Your 2008 Internet Marketing

In 2004 I wondered if I'd done the right thing. I had quit doing my other jobs as a psychologist, a consultant, and coach. I figured that if I could focus my energies on doing just one specialty, newsletters and blogs, it would pay off and I could have the life I dreamed of: working from home on the computer with plenty of time to play tennis. No more offices, no more commuting, no more rigid working hours.

It's now 2008, and for more than two years now, the income has steadily increased. In December, 2007 we had our best month yet, 66% more than December 2006. This year I plan to earn 50% more while working 20% less.

How? By implementing effective Internet marketing systems. When you've got the right systems in place, you get the right results.

For the past few weeks we've been blogging about our new kick-butt teleseminar The Law of Action we're doing with Kathleen Gage, the Street Smarts Marketer. Most of the posts are on our Internet tips blog at www.BizTipsBlog.com and you can read about it there.

The Law of Action says any action is better than none. We'll help prioritize and simplify 4 action steps a week to you take the right actions to get results for your business. There are a few seats left, so grab yours now, it starts on Monday January 7.

Related Posts:
News Release: The Law of Attraction Works Best with The Law of Action
News Release: Doing Business on the Web
The Internet is a Tool to Build Your Business
3 Tools for Online Success - Free Audio
Video: How to Attract Clients and Build a Business on the Web
Internet Experts: How to Evaluate Who is Right for You

Great Content vs Marketing: What do I write about?

So now you realize that you need to publish content to get found online and use the Internet to grow your business; then there's that big question looming like a dark cloud: What do I write about?

Brian Clark writes If Content is the New Advertising, What Does Your Advertising Say About You?

• You need to attract attention and make people aware of who you are and what you do.
• You then need to transform that attention into revenue or some other measurable benefit.

The plain truth is, great content is the most effective way to advertise online, because to be considered great content, it can’t look anything like what we consider advertising.

Great content naturally shows readers that you’re knowledgeable about your field of expertise, and that’s why it works so well.

Here's an example. When you tell a story about a client with a problem and how you provide help, people are drawn into it. Especially if it is a common problem, people are identifying with the character in the story, and visualizing the results as you reveal how you solved the problem.

By engaging people through your story or anecdote, you are stimulating their own thought processes and imagination. They become one step closer to hiring you or to buying your product.

When I was starting my therapy business and needed clients, the first place I advertised was a family magazine. I bought space to write stories of people 

3 Tips for Blog Writing When You'd Rather Not...

So far, looking at the poll results, it looks like readers want to master writing information products and blog posts for marketing success in 2008. I suspect many people haven't voted yet, as some are still away on Holidays.

(Then again, if you're like many people, reading blogs and surfing the Internet has a big appeal after spending a series of days with the relatives!) My blog traffic didn't go down over these last few weeks, even though I haven't been posting as frequently. But that's another story...

Here's a few quick tips to help you quickly get into the swing of writing good blog posts. I myself struggle with "writing rhythm:" when you're hot, you're hot, and when you've been away from it for a few days, you're likely to write with the passion and enthusiasm of a librarian on Valium.

"Get-back-to-writing" tips:

1. Go check with what your readers want to know. (See first paragraph above...and run your own poll.)
2. Go check with what your competitors and/or peers are writing. (Then do something different!)
3. Make a list of 3 helpful tips to help readers solve a problem that interests them.