Business Logs – Page 34

A Simple Step by Step Template for Writing a Blog Post

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I thought some of you might find it helpful to have a step by step template for writing your blog posts. Here’s what works for me:

1. Find an image that fits your post. Many bloggers don’t use images, but I think images add so much. Most of my pictures come from stock.xchng and Flickr. For more information about using images including copyright issues, check out this post.

2. Write your title. If you don’t have any experience writing headlines, check out Copyblogger’s great series: How to Write Magnetic Headlines. Also, consider using one of these 22 headline templates.

The title, or headline, is by far the most important words in your post, so don’t rush this step.

3. Make a list of your points. I got this from Tim Ferriss. He writes:

Think in lists, even if the post isnâ€™t a list. Separate brainstorming (idea generation) from synthesis (putting it all into a flowing post).

I find it hard to start writing sentences and paragraphs right away, but writing a simple list is easy. This list is rougher than the first draft so I don’t worry about grammar or even writing complete sentences.

4. Take your list and craft your first draft. Create sentences and paragraphs based on the points on your list. Once I’ve written on a point, I cross it out. This gives me a sense of progress as I “use up” each point on the list.

The key to this step is quantity not quality. You’re only writing the first draft so don’t edit while you write. This will slow you down. You can fix any mistakes in the next step. Your goal right now is to write as many words as you can.

5. Edit. Read your whole post once or twice. As you read, make necessary changes to polish up your post. This could mean adding subheadings for easier reading, rewriting clunky sentences, moving sentences and paragraphs around to make your post more organized, fixing grammar mistakes, and cutting out unnecessary words.

6. Click “publish”. Congrats, you’ve given birth to a new post!

If you’ve found this template helpful, feel free to bookmark this post or print it out for reference sake.

Over to You

What does your posting template look like?

Think of Your Blogging Competitors as Partners and Friends

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Jeff Chandler writes about launching a new business blog:

As I get ready for the launch of my own project, I’ve discovered that there are many people who have been willing to lend me a hand. Many of these individuals operate websites within the same niche that I plan on launching my site in and it struck me as odd to see competitors offer their support. However, it would seem that after spending a year and a half within the community, I’ve developed relationships with key individuals.

Jeff’s experience shows us the effectiveness of turning your competing bloggers into partners and even friends.

What did Jeff do to develop relationships with his competitors? He wrote posts for them. He networked on Skype and Twitter. He emailed bloggers directly. He left many blog comments.

Because of these activities, he predicts that his launch will go well. He continues:

Thanks to these relationships, I’m able to plan out a successful launch of my blog through guest blog posts, articles on high trafficked blogs, and individuals offering to lend me a hand with anything I need help with. I’m in a pretty good position thanks to the year and a half I spent building relationships with notable figures.

Following Jeff’s Example

Even if you’ve already started blogging, you can still benefit from following Jeff’s example. The blogging community is usually open and helpful. As long as you’re willing to take the initiative on building the relationship and then follow through with something of value (like blog comments, guest posts, or links), most bloggers will help you even if you’re both targeting the same audience.

Therefore, don’t be afraid of competitors. Instead, reach out to them and see if they would be willing to partner up with you.

Related Posts:

Over to You

How do you see your competitors?

Have you ever partnered with another blogger in your industry?

4 Reasons Why Business Owners Make Great Bloggers

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I run across business owners that have great businesses. They sell quality products/services. They keep expenses low. They have enough funding. They even have a solid business plan. However, even with these characteristics, they are apprehensive about business blogging.

If I get an extended time to talk to them, I give them these 4 reasons why they would make a great blogger.

1. They’re well informed.

Many bloggers spout their own opinion without much practical experience to back up what they’re saying. However, business owners are different. They have the practical experience, the expertise, and the unique insights into their industry that the average blogger doesn’t have. So, what they say usually carries more value.

Think about this way. If a professional photographer and an amateur blogger both have a blog, which one will be more informative? Yes, there are some amateur photographers that know more than most pros, but those kind of amateurs are rare.

2. They’re passionate.

Passion is definitely a characteristic of successful bloggers and most business owners are passionate about their industry.

You can see this passion whenever they talk about their business and their industry. They love to talk about these things for hours. Also, you can see their passion in the long hours that they choose to work. Almost all the business people I know work more hours per week than the typical worker.

3. They’re good conversationalists.

I like what John Battelle says:

…your site needs to be a reflection of you. Youâ€™re a great conversationalist, or you wouldnâ€™t be running a business.

With the internet being more social than ever before, blogging is more about starting or joining a conversation than just getting information out there. If you can start or join a conversation in real life about your industry, you can blog successfully for your business.

4. They don’t have to be experts in writing.

One of the most common misconceptions about business blogging is that you have to have serious writing chops or you won’t be successful. I’ve written about this before. Basically, you don’t have to be Shakespeare to make your blog a success. In fact, most of the popular bloggers would be long shots to win a writing contest.

Here’s the big principle:

If you can talk, you can write.

By and large, the internet is an informal communication channel. This means an authentic, conversational tone is going to work better than a formal, corporate tone. In fact, I bet that the top blogs in your industry are written in a conversational tone. So, pretend you’re speaking to someone as you blog, just write down your words, and you’ll be fine.

If you still don’t think you have the writing skill to succeed, you can hire an editor or a ghostwriter. Or you can record yourself speaking and then get your posts transcribed. Also, try voice recognition software like Dragon NaturallySpeaking. That works for many bloggers.

Don’t Forget About Books as Sources for Blog Content

Aaron Wall’s post about books reminded me that books are great sources for content on your blog.

Many blogging experts advise beginner bloggers to follow the popular blogs in their industry. Then, they say you should write about what the other bloggers are saying. The same principle goes for reading the popular books in your niche and writing commentary about them on your blog.

Why should you write about books?

Well, for one thing, it shows that you are well read and are keeping up with the trends and developments in your industry. Also, many people are reading the books. They are searching the web to see what other people think about the books.

What kind of blog posts can you write?

You can write short blog posts commenting on the concepts and ideas you found interesting in the books.

Book reviews can drive traffic to your site since people often search online for reviews before they buy a book. Check out The Simple Dollar’s book review section for great examples of in depth reviews. You don’t have to write super long reviews, but if you call a blog post a review, I think it should be at least 500 words. Most people seem to expect reviews to be longer and more in depth than the typical blog post.

Surprisingly, outlining a book is helpful for many people. If you’re looking for good examples of book outlines, visit this a neat site: bookoutlines.

Free Ebook Giveaway Strategy: Build an Email List or Not?

In my last post, I wrote about the proven marketing strategy of giving away a free ebook. One of the common debated questions between online business people is how to give away your ebook. On one camp, some people say you should never give away your ebook without asking for an email address in return. There are variations to this method. Some people ask for an RSS subscription instead of an email address. On the other hand, many internet marketers say it’s better to make your giveaway truly free and not ask for anything in return.

Ask For Email Addresses or Not?

I think the answer to this question depends on your goals and your industry audience.

If your goal is reach the most number of people, you should not ask for email addresses. Many people are reluctant to giveaway their email address because they think businesses might spam them. Also, since you’ll reach more people, this means you’ll get more links and that will lead to a better SEO ranking. For example, David Meerman Scott currently has the fifth ranking for the term viral marketing with his ebook, The New Rules of Viral Marketing. He doesn’t ask for email addresses whenever he releases his free ebooks.

However, if your goal is to gain a powerful communication channel, then building an email mailing list is the right call.

Basically, it boils down to the old “quality versus quantity” dilemma. If you don’t ask for email addresses, you’ll get a lot more leads and you’ll spread word about your business and blog farther and wider across the net. But, those leads won’t be the highest quality since you won’t have a way of keeping in touch with them. If you collect email addresses, you won’t get as much traffic or as many leads, but your leads will be higher quality since you can repeatedly contact them through their email address.

Also, consider the audience of your industry. Some audiences are more receptive to giving away their email address. Other audiences like younger ones don’t even check email on a regular basis.

If you don’t know your audience well enough, it might be worth it to just test both methods. Use one method for your first ebook. After that ebook launch, wait a couple weeks and then release your second ebook with the other method. Then, compare the data and see which method brought more sales.

Also, look around your industry. What method seems to be having more success?

Both Methods Work Well

One great thing about choosing between these two methods is both methods work well. The action of giving away a free ebook puts you way ahead of most online businesses. Your task is to figure out which method is better for your business, but don’t worry too much about making the wrong choice. As long as you have a quality, relevant ebook and work hard to promote it, you’ll get great benefits with either method.

There are successful online business people and social media experts that disagree with other about the methods. Compare David Meerman Scott and Rich Schefren. Both are successful business men. They are also considered social media experts within the internet marketing community. Yet David gives away his ebooks without asking for anything while Rich uses his free ebooks to build a list.

Feedback

Which method do you think is better for your online business?

Start a Word of Mouth Marketing Campaign by Giving Away a Free Ebook

One of the proven methods for building your brand and reputation is releasing a free ebook.

Basically, you write about a relevant topic in your industry. You don’t even have to come up with something new. Many bloggers take their best blog posts and use them as the basis of their ebook. Also, you don’t have to make your ebook long. I know of a popular ebook that was less than 20 pages. I think you should aim for at least 15 pages. If you can write more, that’s great.

The Advantages of an Ebook over a Blog Post

If you’re going to base your ebook on blog posts, what is the advantage of repackaging your content in ebook format?

First, an ebook has a higher perceived value than a blog post. This is especially true if you make your ebook look professional. You can do this by getting a nice looking ebook cover, adding images where appropriate, and using other design elements like fonts, eye catching formatting, headers, footers, and icons. If you don’t have design skills, find a professional designer. Check out ChangeThis for examples of well-designed ebooks.

Second, some people like to print out what they read. Sure, they can print out your blog posts but your ebook will be formatted much better for print.

Third, free ebooks are relatively scarce in many niches. It will be a big deal whenever you release your ebook. You can accompany your ebook launch with a press release. And if you tell other bloggers and website owners about your ebook, you’ll probably get a lot of links and traffic, since you’re provided a ton of value to your industry. Because of its uniqueness and perceived value, the potential for a free ebook to spread widely and rapidly through word of mouth is much greater than a blog post.

How to Give Away Your Free Ebook

There’s some debate over the method to give away ebooks. Some people say you should get email addresses or RSS subscriptions in exchange for the ebook while others say you should give it away with no strings attached.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the pros and cons of each method.

Over to You

Have you ever created and give away an ebook? Have you ever read a free ebook?

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