Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Blog Contest: We face off against Men with Pens

What's a little blond girl to do when her blog faces off in a match-up contest against the big bad Men with Pens?

We're being judged in a fabulous contest that pits two blogs against each other, mano-a-mano. This is the brain child of John Hewitt at Writers Resource Center that was hatched as part of a March Madness event.

We'll I'm not racing off to bake cookies for the judges. What you see is what you get. I didn't even change out of my jammies and slippers.

I'm a little concerned though, cuz even though Denise and I dish out blog critiques to our clients, it's hard to take a dose of your own medicine. Here are some of the points this blog will be matched up against those big guys Harry and James, the Men with Pens...

Video Clips: Content delivery made easy

Denise and I both own Flip video cameras and have blogged about how we use it to interview people whenever we're at a seminar. This really makes creating valuable content for your blog easy.

Now, I hear a lot of accomplished speakers complain about how they'd rather speak than write...actually they say they'd rather get a root canal than write...but here's a way to make creating content fun and easy: record a tip using your keywords and post it on your blog.

It's so easy even I can do it. (Of course, it helps that Denise is handy at editing and adding the URLs), but even so, the Flip is easy because the software is contained inside the camera which plugs into your computer USB port. You can even edit as soon as you plug it in. No downloads required. Just follow the steps, upload to your account on YouTube, grab the code and copy and paste into your blog.

Take a look at the way we interviewed other professionals at Adam Urbanski's Info Profits Success Intensive last week. Denise is posting them every day over at her BizTipsBlog. Hear what smart people like Adam, and Joe Nunziata have to say... 

Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs - Why this is such a smart marketing strategy

Do you know any blogs about content marketing, or writing content for business? Joe Pulizzi, whose blog Junta 42 promotes writing great content, has opened nominations for the Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs.

Some of the nominated blogs may be included in his book to be published in 2008, Get Content, Get Customers.

"The team here at Junta42 is compiling a list of the top 42 blogs that focus on some aspect of content marketing - that is helping marketers/businesses create and deliver valuable, relevant and consistent content."

Pay attention to this whole blog nomination process: this is one of the most astute marketing strategies around. Why? Because of the following factors:

1. Opening up a blog post for nominations will drive traffic to his blog
2. In sort of a viral way, people who have never heard of his blog before will tell their friends about it
3. Joe will get to know more good blog authors and form relationships with them
4. Joe will get new material for his book
5. Readers will be more informed and curious, and will want to buy the book when it comes out

Smart marketing means paying attention to those people who get it right, and then doing what they do as well or sometimes even better.

I suppose the same can be said of smart writing. Next time you read a piece that's good, keep it and learn from it.

In the mean time, if you think this blog does a good job of promoting good content, why don't you visit Junta42 and nominate it? I'm not too proud to ask!

Horn-Tootin' Friday: We make the "W List" and the "Execution Excellence" Hall of Fame

This week Denise and I were honored on several lists for our Blog Squad services and blogging:

Thanks so much to Toby Bloomberg of Diva Marketing for adding Build a Better Blog to the W List of women bloggers, and to Susan Getgood for her comprehensive list of wonderful women bloggers. Now if only being on the 'W List' gave us rooms at The W... but, hey, I'm just grateful to be in such good company.

And to put icing on the cake, our dear colleague from waaay across the pond and down under, Ian Campbell initiated his blog's Valu-Kudos "Execution Excellence" Hall of Fame by naming The Blog Squad as his first inductee!

Wow, I am so flattered! Part of me wants to say "We're not worthy of all that," but then the other part of me says "You bet!" and wins out: I will brazenly re-publish his  glowing testimonial here:

Blogs for Writers

Thanks to John Hewitt for publishing a list of blogs for writers. There are many good blogs on his list, including this one, and a few I am not familiar as yet.

How many of these bloggers do you read?

• Anne Wayman: Anne runs one of my favorite writing sites, which both offers original advice and keeps track of what the other blogs are saying.

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.

Best Writing Blogs Listed

I didn't get an Academy nomination either, even though I am the best drama queen in my family, according to The Hubby. CoachEzines blog didn't make this list, but that's okay, we're happy with our own little audience of faithful readers.

What these lists of Best Blogs always do for me (and should for you too), is make me aware of good content out there available to read and study. I didn't know about some of these blogs, and will go there now to see what I'm missing.

Of course, Brian Clark's Copyblogger comes in #1, and we couldn't agree more. Here's the list, from Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers the best blogs for writers:

1. Brian Clark’s CopyBlogger
2. Deborah Ng’s Freelance Writing Jobs
3. Tom Chandler’s Copywriter Underground
4. Liz Strauss’s Successful-Blog
5. Angela Booth’s Writing Blog
6. Kristen King’s InkThinker
7. Anne Wayman’s The Golden Pencil
8. Carson Brackney’s Content Done Better
9. Dianna Huff’s B2B Marcom Writer Blog
10. Allison Winn Scotch’s Ask Allison

The question to you, my dear readers, is this: what other blogs do you love? Please share so that we can broaden our reading horizons. They don't have to be about writing; please nominate your favorites that you recommend others like you should be reading. 

How to Pitch Bloggers: Save the Date

How to Get Blog Attention
learn how tonight...
Join The Blog Squad and The Publicity Hound for an important teleseminar:

How to Pitch the Best Bloggers to Create a Publicity Explosion
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Get the details and register here.

How to Get Blog Attention
learn how tonight...
Join The Blog Squad and The Publicity Hound for an important teleseminar:

How to Pitch the Best Bloggers to Create a Publicity Explosion
Wednesday, September 20, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Get the details and register here.

Extreme Blog Makeovers in January

The Blog Squad has decended upon two more blogs and done two extreme makeovers. These blogs were'nt bad to start with, but they are soooo much better now! Here's the recent press release that went out this week.

P.S. If you want to know what goes on in a Blog Squad makeover, and apply some of these tips to your own blog, get the audio files and ebook: Confessions of a Reluctant Blogger: from Boring to Brilliant in 30 Days.

Extreme Blog Makeover Creates Web Traffic Surge

WebMomz Blog and Hollywood Leader Blog go from boring to brilliant in just 30 days with The Blog Squad rescue.

(PRWEB) January 11, 2006 -- Kristie Tamsevicius is an expert on giving business advice to moms who work from home. Her website, www.webmomz.com is a clever portal for those seeking a better, smarter way to be a mother and still run a business from home.

But Kristie’s blog, www.webmomz.com/blog, was a big fat loser. A few visitors a day, no comments from readers, and only a few posts. That is, until The Blog Squad rescued her, and implemented several changes to boost blog traffic and help convert them to clients.

“Starting a new blog felt a bit like traveling to a new planet. I was lost in a sea of new technology and buzzwords. Working with The Blog Squad quickly helped me cut thru the clutter. I learned what all those fancy words meant, how to get my blog up, and how to tweak it to really make it work for my business. Now I’m a certified blog
addict!” says Kristie.

Home Biz Blog for Moms a Winner

Kristie T. has a great blog for moms who work from home, cleverly called Kristie T's Home Biz-a-palooza! The Blog Squad recently did a makeover on her blog, although I must say, she's pretty savvy and came to us with a sharp blog already. She's even mentioned on Dr. Phil's website! She wrote this email the other day:

Patsi,

Recently I was reading blogs by so called gurus of internet marketing.  While many of them did launch blogs this year, they failed miserable.  Guess they hadn’t read your report  Download 17MistakesProfessionalsMakewithTheirBlogs.doc ! Too bad.

If they did, they could be getting more comments, more blog subscribers, and more passive income from their blog. Having the Blog Squad coach me really got me ahead of the game.  Not only did it get my out the door quickly with my new blog, but it also helped me do it right.  Within no time flat, I went from zero traffic to 1000 visitors in just one month.  Thanks for making my entry into the blogosphere fast, painless, and profitable!  You rock!

Kristie Tamsevicius
http://www.webmomz.com/blog

Here's the article Kristie talks about:

Download 17MistakesProfessionalsMakewithTheirBlogs.doc