How a Newsletter can make You a Trusted Resource


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Why Does Everybody Know Me?

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"Everybody knows who you are. How do you know so many people?" I hear it every so often... and my answer is really easy. It's not because I'm such a charming person. It's absolutely because my name shows up in their inbox every single week. The thing is, people don't know me - they know of me, whether they open my emails or not. (Or even if they think my subject lines are boring .) Repetition and consistency do pay off but, by their nature, the results take time . There is no shortcut, so start now. Click to Tweet this Article
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Why and How to Do a Wrap-up Article

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A wrap-up article is a logical and unique grouping of pieces of content where the grouping provides value to the reader beyond the individual pieces on their own. You might think of it like a themed gift basket. There are several reasons we need to be creating these wrap-up articles. They... serve as a great resource - valuable information grouped together use commonly searched keywords and phrases (good SEO) encourage deeper reading are often faster to create provide a process to repurpose past content remind us of what we've written and provide inspiration to write more Wrap-up articles serve us better than just about any other content we might create. Of course, we have to be creating content on a  regular basis  to be able to wrap it up. There are lots of different ways to group pieces of content : by topic - e.g. content idea generation, writing tips by use - e.g. how-to, conceptual, tips by thing - e.g. infographics, videos by user - e.g. for begi...
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Does your Content Strategy Match your Small Business?

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You sell services or you sell products, or you sell both. Whatever your product mix, a component of your small business content strategy needs to be informing potential customers about those products and services. Make sure your promotional messages fit with, and flow from, your informational content. It’s a balancing act. We’re all familiar with the feeling of being blasted with too many repetitive sales offers (not good for us). At the other end of this spectrum is creating great information but having no call to action (not good for you). Direct promotion This includes things like advertising and special offers. A banner ad is pretty direct. A BUY NOW button is also pretty direct. Indirect promotion This is where you work your promotional messages into your informational content, writing articles that naturally lead into a call to action. Success stories are an example of this; at the end you can say something like, “If you want to feel like this, get in touch.” A ‘How...
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Build On Your LinkedIn Relationships

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Set up your LinkedIn preferences so that you are receiving an update email at least once a week. Use the email as a reminder and, when you receive it, scroll to the bottom and click on 'view all network updates'. Take a few minutes to scan the latest updates from your contacts. Send notes to congratulate others on their successes. Comment on and share links to items of interest. Check out who is newly connected with who and identify someone that you'd like to be introduced to. Click to Tweet this Article
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Stop Saying "Feel Free"

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The next time you start to type “Feel free to phone or email me” -- Stop. If you’re in business, shouldn't it be obvious that you want calls and emails? "Feel free..." is a little wishy-washy, like using the word “just” . Instead, use a more direct call to action . Assume that people will have questions, concerns or feedback. “Call or email with your questions and concerns.” “Questions? Call or email – I’ll be happy to answer them.” “Tell me what you think of this. By phone or email is fine, at your convenience.” Even better, be specific about the type of response you desire . “Call me Friday morning so I can answer your questions and we can discuss the next steps.” “Send me your questions by email so I can give you detailed answers.” Create your own unique version of this call to action , use it, make it a habit -- make it part of your brand. Not only does “feel free” send the wrong message, it’s overused. This is an opportunity for you to stand out. Cli...
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Remember Your Audience

Keeping blog content relevant to your target reader is a key factor in blog success but can easily get lost in our rush to get everything done. One way to slow down and remember your audience is to sit quietly at your keyboard for even a minute or two, just before you compose your post, to think about the topic you are addressing in terms of your target reader. Once you place yourself in your reader's chair, it becomes easier to write specifically to them. This short moment of meditation will absolutely increase your focus and build your blog success. Keeping your posts relevant, interesting and helpful will have your readers returning for more. Click to Tweet this Article
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The Difference Between Editing and Proofing

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We often use the words editing and proofing interchangeably but there is a significant difference. If you're not aware of it, you could be failing at both. Editing is big picture or 'zoomed out'; proofing is detailed or 'zoomed in'. Editing is about the overall structure and flow of the article. Are the introduction and conclusion supported by the content in between? Are the paragraphs organized well? Is it easy to read and digest? Are the sentences structured well? When you're reading something and you have to pause to reread a line - that's a signal that editing is needed. Proofing is about grammar and spelling and punctuation. It's often about the little words, like 'of' instead of 'if'. And about missing words, like 'the' or 'an'. It's hard to proofread our own writing because our brains follow the same pattern as when we typed it. Reading out loud, or printing to proof with paper and pencil, are both good...
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What Kind of Busy Are You?

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Since when does being busy have to be a bad thing? It's easy to find articles about how to avoid busy-work and how not to wear 'busy' as a badge. My first inkling that 'busy' isn't always good came in the form of a phone call from my (at-the-time) boss. We worked at different locations and he asked how things were going. My answer included the word 'busy' and he said, "Linda, you shouldn't be complaining." At the time the business group I worked in was weathering a period of slow business, and things had just started to pick up. To me, being busy was really a good thing and I was (failing at) sharing our good news. That was over 20 years ago but it stuck with me. Now I'm a small business owner and I don't feel any different. Why is being busy shameful? And why can't we wear our busyness like a badge of honour? When I'm busy, I'm making money - what could be better than that? It's a big part of why I work. ...
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Resources Online (Wrap Up)

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Here are some of my favourite online tools all wrapped up in one place: Colours and other shiny things: Color Scheme Designer - Play around to find a scheme you like or enter an html# and it'll give you complementary matches. This is one of my most used online apps! COLOURlovers - Very useful for determining colour schemes and for seamless backgrounds. Flickr - If there is anything visual about what you do, you should be using Flickr, another social media tool and a whole other community. Wordle - A fun little online 'toy' for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. Prezi - A very different kind of presentation software. It's not likely I'll ever use Powerpoint again. Research and productivity: Google Insights for Search - Compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties. Google Alerts - An easy way to monitor your online reputation and a whole bunch of other things. Anothe...
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What Colour is That?

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I get into some interesting discussions with clients and friends about colours . The fact is that we can do a lot to make sure the colours in our branding are consistent wherever used online. And we can do the same for our print materials. Consistency is the key because none of us see colours quite the same as anyone else. First there's the way they appear to us because of the way our eyes work . "Colour (color) blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women in the world." (source: colourblindawareness.org ). About 4.5% of the population is affected by some form of colour blindness, most of them men. And it's not all black and white and grey - there are different types of colour blindness. Then there's our perceptions about certain colours, and even shades of those colours. For example, baby pink and soft mauve aren't typically associated with business, unless you own a baby boutique. Red is ass...
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