Writing on the Web from Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad

Mindset: How it can grow your business - or shut it down

Have you read Mindset: the New Psychology of Success? Carol Dweck, a research psychologist authored the book in 2006 after accumulating 20 years of data. After reading it, I signed up and attended 3 conferences in order to open up my learning mindset!

This is a change-your-way-of-thinking book that can easily improve your life and business, right away. It answers the question: "If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?"

According to Dweck, when young children are told they have high IQs, they easily adopt a closed mindset. They know they are smart, so they tend to not try anything that is challenging. Fast forward 30 years, and that smart person may avoid risking anything that might show them to be deficient.

A closed mindset can mean that you stop learning, stop attending conferences, because you "know all that already."

It explains why high achievers and high IQ scores don't always succeed when promoted, and why some executives thrive and others fall prey to "CEO disease."

That's why I wrote an article for Customized Newsletter Services, available for purchase and use in your newsletters and blogs: Mindset: Why Executives Thrive...or Barely Survive.

Do You Write for Spiders, Readers, or Your Ego?

Newsletter Nuggets: May 03, 2007
...tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

1. A Note from Patsi: Do You Write for Spiders, Readers, or Your Ego?
2. Blogging & Beyond Mentor Program: The Best Darn $10 Investment
3. May 07 Featured Article: Great Expectations: The Boss/Direct Report Tango
4. What's New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi -

Do You Write for Spiders, Readers, or Your Ego?
©2007 Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D., & Denise Wakeman: The Blog Squadtm

I just read an email from one of those AdSense traffic guys - you know, the ones who put up multiple web sites with keywords built into the content solely for the purpose of getting traffic and click-throughs on ads?

I think they call them `black hat specialists' for their less than natural ways of trying to game Google.

Words = Money

In any case, these guys are making money with words on a web page. Sometimes it's $2 or $4/a day, but if you put up enough of these sites, you can generate $2000 to $4000 a month. And, it's not like 'real' work either. So who am I to criticize?

Do you make money with your words?

Or are your web sites, blogs, and landing pages just d‚cor for your ego, something to show your friends and family?

What Is It That You Do, Really?

What I'm noticing is that there are different kinds of writers on the web: those who write for the spiders, and those who write for their egos. Nothing wrong with either.

Those AdSense guys write for the spiders to crawl their sites and bring in traffic from search engines.

Most of the rest of us, especially we professionals with a business who aren't trained in copywriting or marketing, well, we're writing about ourselves, our business, our products and our services. We're writing for our egos.

A Premier Class of Web Writers

It doesn't have to be that way. Here's what the savvy web writers do: they write for the customer, the client, the readers, and all the web surfers looking for solutions to problems.

Their words also equal traffic and money. They understand it's all about benefits, not features. Nobody cares what you do for a living, really. But everybody's got problems that need solving.

So the next time you have some writing to do for your business - be it a web page, landing page, sales page, a press release, an ezine, a blog post - remember this:

- Write for the reader
- Write for your ideal customer
- Write to solve a problem

Oh, while you're at it, use some keywords to keep the spiders happy.

Little Miss Muffit ;-)

When Your Client's Expectations Are a Mystery

Newsletter Nuggets: April 19, 2007
...tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi - When Your Client's Expectations Are a Mystery
2. May 07 Featured Article: Great Expectations: The Boss/Direct Report Tango
3. What's New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi -

I have a creative challenge this week; maybe you've had a similar one. Have you ever worked with a client who didn't know what they want or need, or who has trouble communicating what they want?

This week a new client said to use my best judgment and design their newsletter for them.

While I am flattered to have someone place a high level of confidence in my work, I have no idea what their expectations are. And people always have expectations, even if they say they don't!

Which got me to thinking about expectations. It's so much easier to work when you have clarity about expectations on both sides of the relationship.

This month's executive coaching article is all about expectations - between the boss and a direct report - and how important it is to set out clear sets of agreements. How much easier it is to work with someone when you know what they want from you, and how much involvement they want you to have with them.

I hope you find value in the article and can use it for your ezine, blog or website. For more up-to-date tips about writing for the web, for newsletters and blogs, subscribe to CoachEzines blog here.

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Featured Article for May 07:
Great Expectations:
The Boss/Direct Report Tango

Categories: Leadership, Communications, Careers, Retention & Succession Planning

What should a leader expect from a direct report and what can the latter expect from the leader in return?

When both parties have clear expectations, the relationship is smooth like a tango. If one person gets out of step, however, the ensuing relationship makes for discord.

Writing for the Web: What You Need to Know

Newsletter Nuggets – April 05, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi –   Writing for the Web: What You Need to Know
2. April 07 Featured Article: No More Jerks at Work: Preventing Desk Rage
3. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi
Tomorrow I’m off to Mexico, but instead of going to Ajijic where my husband and I have a home, we’re visiting Loreto Bay in Baja, on the Sea of Cortez. They are developing a large resort with villas targeted to retiring baby boomers.

We’re always on the look-out for emerging paradise communities, although I suspect you really carry paradise with you in your heart and imagination more than anywhere else.

This week there were some great posts on other people’s blogs about writing for the web and I point you to them from my Coach Ezines blog post “On Writing: Stephen King’s Advice Extended to the Web.”

How much writing are you doing for the web these days? I didn’t know this when I first started writing newsletters in 1997, but writing for the web is different than for other media. If you’re online in any way -- ezine, website, or blog – you need to learn a few things.

To read about the importance of good writing to good blogging, read Lorelle Van Fossen’s post on the Problogger site.

And more about rereading and the importance of waiting before you save and publish from Glen Stansberry’s post on Problogger here.

To read excerpts from Stephen King’s book: On Writing:
37Signal’s Signal vs Noise blog

Are you ready for a blog? 20 question assessment to find out if a blog is right for your business: http://nextlevelpartner.typepad.com/bbab/2006/01/blog_assessment.html

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Featured Article for April 07:

No More Jerks at Work:
Preventing Desk Rage

It’s a sign of the times when a well-known Stanford professor and best-selling author publishes a book titled The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t (Warner Business Books, 2007). Robert I. Sutton argues that variations of terms like creep, jerk and bully don’t carry the same authenticity or emotional appeal.

Blogging Matters: A Whack Up the Side of the Head

Newsletter Nuggets – March 22, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs from Patsi Krakoff, Psy.D.

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – A Whack Up the Side of the Head- What Blogging Has Done  
2. April 07 Featured Article: Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Habits Leaders Should Stop Doing Now

A note from Patsi – This week Denise and I are in New York for BlogHer Business conference and as I prepared notes for our presentation, I couldn’t help but reflect on where blogging has taken our business in the 2 ½ years since we started writing on blogs.

It’s been phenomenal. I knew I wanted to have a platform to write and communicate to potential clients. In fact, coming from an academic background that includes psychology and journalism, that was my main interest in blogging: to write about the topics I loved.

I wasn’t prepared for what happened: huge increases in traffic, people finding and hiring us, being invited to give teleseminars and conferences, publishing chapters in 3 books, and earning five times more money than before blogging.

I share this with you not to brag or to beat you over the head with our blogging evangelism stick. You may not want to start blogging (and the only reason I can think of is that you don’t have ½ hour a day to write on it or read other blogs in your field). But if you want to get more clients, more speaking gigs, more book contracts, more traffic, more money… then you just might want to try blogging.

I’m a slow learner sometimes. So now I’m doing what I love AND earning good money doing it. Can’t beat that. Sometimes you need a whack up the side of the head before you “get it.” Consider yourself whacked.

To read more about business blogs, visit our blog here.

Top 10 Reasons to Do an Ezine and a Blog, read this. 

Are you ready for a blog? 20 question assessment, go here to take this test.
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Featured Article for April 07:

No More Jerks at Work:
Preventing Desk Rage

It’s a sign of the times when a well-known Stanford professor and best-selling author publishes a book titled The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t (Warner Business Books, 2007). Robert I. Sutton argues that variations of terms like creep, jerk and bully don’t carry the same authenticity or emotional appeal.

New Rules for Writing a Press Release

Newsletter Nuggets – March 8, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi –New Rules for Writing a Press Release
2. March 07 Featured Article: Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Habits Leaders Should Stop Doing Now
3. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –There are new rules for writing a press release. Here are a few tips from Joan Stewart, affectionately known as the Publicity Hound. She’s an expert on writing press releases that work.

She shares these “new rules for writing a press release” with our listeners on our  Blogging and Beyond radio show (the audio file is posted by Thursday afternoon).

• Press releases no longer have to announce legitimate news
• They no longer have to be only one page
• We can distribute them online as often as we want.
• They can include links so consumers can click through to a landing page or a sales page.
• We no longer have to use the "who, what, when, where and why" formula high in the press release.
• No longer do we have to consider a press release a failure if it gets no media attention. If it brings people into our sales funnel, we can proclaim the release a success.
• Under the new rules, we don't measure the success of our releases by the number of clippings it has generated but by whether the press release has been able to change people's behavior

To read Marketing with Press Releases: 10 Steps for Writing Internet Press Releases, visit
http://www.coachezines.com/2007/03/marketing_with_.html

On Bad Bosses and Jerks at Work

Newsletter Nuggets – February 22, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – On Bad Bosses and Jerks at Work
2. March 07 Featured Article: Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Habits Leaders Should Stop Doing Now
3. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –

I had fun writing this new article for your March newsletter: Good Boss, Bad Boss. Who hasn’t had a really bad boss at one point in a career? It’s easy to laugh in retrospect, but while living under the influence of a jerk at work, it’s not funny.

Marshall Goldsmith is an executive coach who writes great books, and he contributes a list of 20 bad habits leaders should stop doing now from his new book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. This is a must-read book for all the reasons I blogged about here: http://www.coachezines.com/2007/02/marshall_goldsm.html

Speaking of books about jerks at work, don’t miss Professor Robert I. Sutton’s The No Asshole Rule. Yes, you read right, and it’s a title that even Harvard Business Review is writing about. Sometimes no other word conveys the same meaning.

If you are a current Customized Newsletter Services client, don’t forget to email me which article you want to use for your March newsletter so I can get it formatted and delivered to you on time.

If you aren’t a subscriber, you can purchase any article from www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com and modify and rewrite them to serve your purpose. All the research is done for you.

Enjoy reading, and don’t be a jerk at work!

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Featured Article for March 07:

Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Bad Habits
Leaders Should Stop Doing Now

Categories: Leadership, Careers, Coaching
www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com

“We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what to do. They need to learn what to stop.”

—Management expert Peter Drucker, as quoted by Marshall Goldsmith in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, 2007

Almost all of us delude ourselves about our workplace achievements, status and contributions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can certainly mislead us when we are told we need to change.

CAN-SPAM – What You Need to Know

Newsletter Nuggets – February 8, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – Ezine Week
2. What You Need To Know About CAN-SPAM
3. March 07 Featured Article: Good Boss, Bad Boss: 20 Habits You Need To Stop
4. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –

This is Ezine week, as The Blog Squad is featuring email marketing with ezines on our Internet Radio Show, Blogging and Beyond on VoiceAmerica.com channel Thursdays, 8 a.m. PT). We are interviewing Chris Baggott of ExactTarget.com, about email best practices.

And we’re reviewing all the essential elements to an ezine in a series of blog posts at www.CoachEzines.com, Recipe for an Ezine: 8 Key Ingredients.

When’s the last time you had an ezine checkup? Like everything on the Net, things change rapidly, and you need to know best practices. I’ve included a review here on Spam laws.

Ezine marketing isn’t dead, it’s just changing all the time. Are you?

10 New Rules for Writing Successful e-Content

Newsletter Nuggets – January 11, 2007
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – Blogging and Beyond Kicks Off
2. 10 New Rules for Writing Successful e-Content
3. February 07 Featured Article: A Leadership Checklist – 7 Questions
4. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –

You may be reading this before or after our Internet radio show Blogging and Beyond debuts on VoiceAmerica.com, I don’t know. Either way, the beauty of the internet means you can either listen in real time, or afterwards.

You can download a free desktop audio player for the Blogging and Beyond show.

Go to the page for our show and download the player in the upper right corner of the info page where it says "Download Desktop Icon".  Follow the setup instructions to install the icon on your desktop.  Then, you'll be able to click the icon and listen to current and archived shows.

The Blogging and Beyond Show is live every Thursday morning starting January 11 at 11 a.m. ET,. “Blogging and Beyond” is produced on VoiceAmerica™ Channel.

Our goal is to show our listeners how someone can have a real marketing presence and start leveraging the Internet using simple online tools, in a relatively short time.

You can register for the Blogging and Beyond Mentor Program to get directly involved in your own Internet marketing plan at www.blogsquadcontest.com/mentor.

Denise and I have lined up a few excellent guest experts, as well as our Ideal Client, Erik Feder, who will benefit from live coaching on the air. You can stay up to date by subscribing to the blog www.BloggingAndBeyond.com.

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10 New Rules for Writing Successful e-Content

What are the new guidelines for writing ezines and emails that will help get them opened, get read, and get results?

The key to writing good e-content is to make the most sense in the fewest possible words, while making an impression/connection with potential clients, to the point that they respond to your call to action.

Here are a few “new rules” shaping effective email content today:

1. Keep an eye on headlines (they’re more crucial than ever). A cleverly crafted headline (or subject line for email) will determine if your email is opened and read or not. Headlines appealing to reader’s desires on an emotional level will be more effective. “Insider secrets,” “5 tips you can apply now to save time/money/energy,” and “What they don’t want you to know,” are examples of titles that work because they are compelling. They offer a promise to solve a problem. They leave the reader with great curiosity. They seduce the reader to open and read the email.

2. Use keywords in the headline. Use them again in the first paragraph, and repeat several times in the body of the content. When somebody types keywords into a search engine looking for information they need, will your content be found?

3. Keep content length short and to the point. Once you write your message, review it and delete as many words as possible. Ask, “So what?” to each sentence. Keep the focus on your core intention for that email message.

To continue reading, see the complete article over at www.CoachEzines.com.

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Featured Article for February:

A Leadership Checklist: 7 Questions

Categories: Leadership, Careers, Retention

No matter how successful and talented you are, you’ve made mistakes and have acquired some bad habits. Some are old; others have seemingly popped up overnight. Behaviors that may have worked well for you in the past can render you ineffective in the present.

The Search for the Ideal Client Begins: Is It You?

Newsletter Nuggets – December 28, 2006
…tips and tricks for writing great ezines and blogs

Table of Contents

1. A Note from Patsi – Ideal Client Contest Voting Is Open
2. End of Year Article Sale
3. January 07 Featured Article: Open Source Innovation and Other Weird Ideas That Work
4. What’s New on the Blogs?

A note from Patsi –

The voting is open over at www.BloggingandBeyond.com, for our Ideal Client who will be showcased on our new Internet radio show. Finalists and others will be able to participate in a parallel mentorship group that runs simultaneously to the 13-week show.

We will coach our chosen Ideal Client live for 15-20 minutes, on the Blogging and Beyond Show, every Thursday morning starting January 11 at 11 a.m. ET, continuing through April 15. Our show “Blogging and Beyond” is produced on VoiceAmerica™ Channel.

Our goal is to show our listeners how someone can have a real marketing presence and start leveraging the Internet using simple online tools, in a relatively short time.

You can apply for the Blogging and Beyond Mentor Program (only $97 until December 31 at midnight ET). The information page isn’t quite finished yet, but it will be on Friday. Just email me for information on how you can be part of this program at the special price: Patsi@blogsquad.biz.

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End of Year Article Sale: Here’s how you can get article content you can rewrite and use as your own to suit your executive or business coaching ezine and blog purposes:

Until midnight December 31, all articles are on sale at 30% off, if you use this link to select and purchase:

http://snipurl.com/Article_Sale_30