How To Use Social Media To Generate Blog Ideas

August 20, 2013 By Lisa Angelettie 4 Comments

Using Social Media to Generate Blog Ideas

There are thousands upon thousands of blog owners online. As such, it can often be quite difficult for any one blog owner to stand out from their competitors. But if you want to get your head above the rest, you should begin by looking at your content.

The Importance of Unique Content

Fresh content will set you apart from your competition in two important ways. Firstly, it will interest and entertain your readers. Secondly, it will help to identify you as a thought leader in a particular field. Both of these things will drive traffic to your blog and ensure that your audience comes back for more.

Generating content ideas, however, can be tricky. This goes double if you are trying to generate unique ideas. So it’s important to utilise the resources you have on hand to help you come up with great topics for your blog. And of all the available online resources, social media is perhaps the best. So here are some ideas for how to generate content by using the two biggest social networks around.

Generating Content from Facebook

Facebook can be a great place to start collecting unique ideas for your blog. Millions of conversations happen every day on Facebook, and any number of these could contain interesting ideas that you could expand upon.

The key here is expansion. It’s no use to write a blog post that is simply about what people are saying on Facebook. The trick is to uncover why they are saying it, to whom, and why it is important. If the subject concerns a brand or current news story, even better. Tools such as Bottlenose can help us to widen our Facebook search, to determine the most popular conversations at any one time. And if you’re feeling stuck, you could even ask your Facebook friends to suggest ideas of their own.

Twitter Trends and Brands

Twitter trends can be of enormous value for bloggers, especially if the trend at hand is controversial. Bloggers who can spot trends before they happen are the best placed to capitalise upon them, by blogging about them in real time as the trend takes hold, then tweeting links back to the blog post which also include the trend key phrase or hashtag.

Twitter, like Facebook, is also a great place where a blogger can interact with brands. Upcoming products, giveaways or brand news can all be utilised by social media-savvy bloggers to generate content that will be of interest, not only to their own following, but to the brand’s following as well.

Consistency vs. Quality

Whilst it’s important to have consistent blog content, it’s also important that your blog posts be consistent. Unless you blog regularly, visitors won’t know when to check your site for new content. Ultimately, this will cause a decrease in your readership and less flow to your website, if you are also a web owner.

Posting consistent content which is also high in quality is a daunting challenge for even the most experienced of blog owners. It can often feel like a full time job simply to stay on top of your content production. But there are resources which make this task much easier. Using a content calendar, for example, will help you to plan content well in advance of its publish date, and will also provide a space in which you can collect and organize creative ideas as they come to you.

Guest Post

How To Market Your Writing Services Online

February 11, 2013 By Lisa Angelettie Leave a Comment

This is a guest post by Steve Aedy.

Anyone who has spent time in the business world is familiar with the concept of building brand awareness. As a writer, you have probably never given this idea much thought – but you should.

You – and the writing services you provide – are a brand. And, to be successful, you need to build awareness for what you do.

It may seem strange to market yourself. However, if you think of your writing as a service, it seems less awkward to promote what you do.

As is the case with just about every other task you could imagine, the internet can help. Here are eight ways to market your writing services online and build brand awareness.

1. Create a website.

A lot of times, your website is the first point of contact for prospective clients, agents, magazine editors, publishers and more. They will look at your site before they do anything else.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Just like a retail store needs to have an attractive window display to lure clients, you need to have a space for the world to view the services you offer.

You don’t need to create anything overly flashy or super elaborate. Simply provide a place were people can learn about what you have done, the services you offer, and how to contact you. If you don’t want to worry about the mechanics of the site’s design, hire a website designer. Otherwise, there are plenty of online services that will walk you through the armature web design process.

Before you build your website, choose a memorable domain name. Believe it or not, some people do converse offline. For these people, you’ll want an address that is easy to bring up in conversation. Consider using your name for the URL. Or, create a name that portrays the services you provide.

2. Add a blog.

Once you have your website up and running, add a blog. Most people dread starting a blog because it is so time consuming. While that is true – blog writing does take time – it is a very effective marketing tool. Plus, you are a writer! Writing a blog should be right up your alley! Additionally, it will be pretty hard to sell yourself to industry people if you aren’t actively writing on a regular basis.

Don’t let a blog dominate your life. If you have time, write once a week. If you don’t, write once a month.

3. Optimize.

Trying to explain search engine optimization is like opening Pandora’s Box. This particular article isn’t about explaining the ever-evolving world of SEO. Instead, we will simply advise you to do some research. Familiarize yourself with the general idea. Even an amateur website can be optimized with just a few simple steps.

4. Submit to ezines.

Ezines are so much more than a web-based version of a printed publication. They are a great marketing tool for reaching a target audience.

Submit to sites like EzineArticles.com. Your article could get picked up by an ezine from anywhere in the world. All it takes is for someone to see what you’ve written and express an interest in seeing more.

Additionally, this is a great way to boost your SEO efforts. Link back to your website to increase awareness.

5. Comment on other blogs.

Find top quality blogs in the niche you are interested in. Comment on blog posts. This will draw the attention of other readers who might be interested in hearing more of what you have to say. Including a link in your comment will drive even more traffic to your site.

6. Send InMail messages.

Join LinkedIn at a paid level. When you do, you can send InMail to prospects. This is a great proactive approach; you can go looking for prospects instead of waiting for them to come to you. Recent reports have found that 30% of InMail messages get a reply. That means nearly half of your marketing attempts will be fruitful.

7. Use Twitter to research prospects.

Do a keyword search on Twitter. For example, search for a publication name you’re targeting. Once you have found potential prospects, follow them. Often times, that person will check you out and maybe even follow you.

At the very least, you can use this time to research the prospective lead. Get to know them. Find out what they are about. Then, when you send a direct mail, you’ll have a better idea of how to appeal to their needs.

Also, send out random tweets about what you hope to accomplish. For example, tweet something like, “I’m looking to connect with more business magazine publishers.”

8. Create a Facebook fan page.

Create a Facebook fan page for your blog or yourself as a writer. Use contests, polls, and other methods to engage visitors and increase awareness.

The internet is an ever-changing world. What is popular one day might be obsolete the next. The biggest thing to remember when it comes to online marketing is this: don’t ignore opportunities when they present themselves. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try something new. Look for creative ways to build brand awareness and generate business leads.

This article was written by Steve Aedy. He is an in-house content writer for FreshEssays.com, a company that provides custom paper writing services and help with editing for college and university students. You can reach Steve at twitter and google+.

Ninja Tips for Serious Bloggers

October 19, 2012 By Carol Manser 2 Comments

Blogs are born in all shapes and sizes. But there is one thing that all Blogs have in common: someone, somewhere, had a dream. Every single Blog that exists, exists only because someone had a passion, or a wish, or a dream.

And that dream was strong enough to motivate that person get up off the sofa, and Take ACTION, in order to make their dream come true. All the other would-be Bloggers are still sitting at home watching TV – with no Blog to call their own.

Which sort of person are YOU??? Are you serious about setting up a blog?

If you really are going to take active steps to set up a Blog, the first and most important question you must ask yourself is:

Why Do I Want to Set Up a Blog?

Only you can answer this question. And everything you do in your future blogging life will depend on your answers to this question. There are no Right or Wrong answers. Before anything else, you need to know WHY you want to set up a blog, and WHAT you want to achieve with your blog.

The ‘HOW’ of setting up a blog comes later, after you know what sort of blog you want to set up.

Some Reasons Why You Might Want to Blog

The reasons WHY you want to set up a blog, and what you hope to achieve with it, dictates everything you need to do when you get down to the job of setting it up.

For example: Blogs that are designed to bring you untold wealth and an early retirement are a completely different kettle-of-fish, to the Family Recipe Blog.

[Disclaimer: Untold wealth can mean anything from $1 to $1,000,000 – that’s why it’s called ‘untold’. Neat, eh?]

1. The Photo Album/Travel Blog

You might want to share your photos with family and friends, but you hate Facebook. I understand that perfectly – it’s a perfectly valid reason. I sympathize.

2. The ‘I Know How to Set Up a Blog’ Blog

This is a greatly under-rated sort of blog, and it’s one of my favorite types.

Sometimes we just need to impress people – Right?…Right!
Feeling undervalued? Do the kids think you are still living in the Dark Ages? Ha! No way! Set up a blog (before they do ?) and you will Rock! Or maybe, sway… just a little.

This sort of blog has the big advantage of not requiring much on-going work. Setting it up and then bragging about it, is it’s sole purpose.Then, after your friends and family have been suitably impressed with your talents and brilliance, you can move on with the rest of your life, with head held high, and an Eat-My-Dust, Super-Hero Self-Confidence that will leave them gasping in your wake. Brilliant! Yes!

3. The ‘Dear Diary’ Blog

This type of blog will be a blog where you write and publish, thoughts and events that you are willing to share with the world.

There is nothing wrong with starting a ‘Dear Diary’ Blog. Sometimes we just have to ‘tell someone’ what we are feeling, don’t we.
Warning: Don’t share with the world, thoughts that are best kept private. Using this Ninja Tip can save you from some tricky personal complications…such as divorce.
If you want to keep your thoughts personal, and for your eyes only, don’t start a Dear Diary Blog. Keep your innermost thoughts on a File on your Computer, or only confide in the dog.

Extra Ninja Tip: do not call this private File: FMEO (For My Eyes Only). Why? Because some clever-clogs kid will come along and wonder what’s hidden in your FMEO file…. I’ll let you imagine the rest of that story.

4. The Personal Fortune & Early Retirement Blog

You might want to find a way to help to pay the Bills every month.

Great idea, but you will want to set up a completely different style of blog to the Photo Album or Personal Travelogue types of blogs.

NB. How you set up a blog so you can pay the Bills every month is not something to think about at the moment. That will come later, after you have made a committed decision to actually get this baby on the road – and what sort of baby it’s going to be.

Free Bonus Ninja Tip:

If you are having trouble deciding what sort of a blog you want, don’t ask your friends what you should blog about. Why?

It’s your blog. You know best what you want, and why you want it.
If you can’t work out why you want to blog for yourself, your friends aren’t going to know what YOU want, if you don’t know that for yourself.
If you are blogging because someone else gave you an idea that they say is the current best money-spinner – forget it. Why?

Do they really know that the topic is a potential cash cow? I doubt it. The more important reason is that if you had to ask someone else what you should blog about, you will not be sufficiently interested in that topic to be able to write a new and riveting post on that subject every 2 or 3 days – for several months. Because that is what will be required if you want to set up a serious blog that brings you visitors who are not just your family and friends. If you want to set up a blog to make money, you MUST choose a topic you have a passion for, or else you will quickly get bored with it after a month. And then it will fail.

More Ninja Tips: What To Do If You Are Unsure What To Blog About

Ask yourself:

What am I good at?
What do I know a lot about?
Do I have any hobbies?
Is there something I have a passion about?
Is my passion, or hobby or knowledge likely to be of interest to others?
If you hope to make money with your blog, also ask yourself:

1. Is the Topic I’m interested in, something someone else would pay money to know more about?

2. Are there enough people out there who would be willing to pay money for what I can offer them?

Note: This article cannot cover the mysteries of ‘Niche Topic Research’, or ‘How to Find Markets Where You Can Make a Killing’, or Affiliate Marketing. How you do that can be found on the Internet…or at my own blog, My Second Million.

Really, Really Important Ninja Tip for Young Players:

Do NOT tell all your friends you are going to set up a Blog before you actually do it. Why? If you tell people what you intend to do before you do it, you have put yourself in a No-Win situation. Really? Yes, really! Think about it:

Possible Outcome 1:You succeed in setting up a blog.

Great, but is anyone impressed? No. Is anyone surprised? No. Why? You have only done what you said you would do. Nothing more. They are not impressed with your brilliance because you flagged this event earlier, before you had anything to impress them with.
You raised their expectations, and now you have fulfilled them. So what? It’s no big deal – from their point of view.

Possible Outcome 2: You don’t get around to setting up your blog.

If you have not told anyone of your plans, you have lost nothing. It’s a personal decision with no public consequences.
But…if you have already raised people’s expectations by telling them you are going to set up a blog, and then you don’t: you have failed to deliver…you are now less in their eyes than if you had said nothing beforehand.

Flagging your intended achievements before actually achieving them is a No-No in everything you do in life, not just in blogging. Yes, it applies to everything you do in life.

Special Ninja Life-Tip:

Always, always, always….first decide what you are going to do, then do it, then tell people what you have done. That way, you will always give yourself the best chance to reap the true rewards for your achievements.

But if you do it in the reverse order, you will either fail to get the proper praise you deserve, or you will fail to live up to their raised expectations – expectations that you have loaded onto yourself – and you can end up damaging your image in the eyes of others.

Keep safe, friends….and keep Blogging.

Carol Manser specializes in easy to follow ‘How To’ articles on Blogging from Day1 to online Mega-Stardom – Think Big! is her motto. Visit her at http://www.mysecondmillion.com

No Cook Fridays – Guest Posting On Lisa Angelettie Blog

September 28, 2012 By Lisa Angelettie Leave a Comment

Yippee It’s No Cook Fridays!

On Fridays in my house, I don’t cook for the family. We eat take out. Pizza. Sushi. Chinese. Or I let the girls have a “free for all” where they cook whatever they want. That typically ends up being a grilled cheese, turkey burger or Stouffer’s Mac and Cheese. I’ve adopted the same “no cook” principle over here on my site. I typically write for my site, make edits, add SEO tweaks, work with clients, etc. Monday through Thursday. On Fridays I like to rest:)

So this is the thing. Social media sites like Facebook come alive over the weekends. People are off work and can share stuff, comment, like and all that jazz because it’s the weekend. I realize now that I need to probably have some sort of fresh content ready on Fridays for people to read and share over the weekends, but I’m going to be honest, I rather be reading one of my kid’s YA novels:)

Which led me to this bright idea…I’m going to do something that I’ve never done before on this particular site and open up Lisa Angelettie Blog to guest posts. Now I already permit guest posts on some of my other sites, I even developed a plugin that allows bloggers to easily accept guest posts, but I wanted to give this site a chance to really find it’s voice in my niche before I opened it up to other writers.

When your article is published on my site you can expect:

1. For it to be published on a Friday.

2. For me to promote it to my networks via social media throughout the entire weekend.

3. For me to promote it to my list via my weekly newsletter.

4. To receive a nice, juicy backlink from my site.

Now I’m going to be honest and admit that I’m very picky and I will have some standards that I simply will not compromise on. I’m also going to be completely transparent and admit that I probably will give some preference (although no guarantees) to submissions from Articology students and graduates. I will do this because I know that they have acquired a certain level of knowledge on writing for readers while also for the search engines. I’m looking for articles that have that delicate balance.

If you think you’re writing is up to snuff, I’d love to feature you on No Cook Fridays:) Even if you aren’t sure, I encourage you do submit anyway. Submitting guest posts to relevant websites is a great way to increase your site’s traffic and relevancy in Google.

Read The Guest Post Submission Guidelines

Five Steps To Get You Out Of Business Overwhelm

March 20, 2012 By Lisa Angelettie 4 Comments

Are You Running Your Business Like a Deer in the Headlights?
Five Steps to Get You Out of the Glare and Into the Driver’s Seat

Overwhelm. No end in sight. What’s next? Not another!

Ring any bells? As entrepreneurs, we’re unfortunately familiar with the feeling that there are a zillion things demanding our attention, even though we only have time for a fraction of them. New opportunities, programs, tools, apps, and just plain interesting ideas bombard us daily; each is a bright shiny object just waiting to pull our attention away from the important work that really deserves our attention.

What to do?

The number of potential distractions will do nothing but rise dramatically over time, so it’s up to you to figure how to stay aware of potential new business-building tools without SQUIRREL!!!! falling prey to every new thing that comes along. Here are tools that can help you in this sometimes aggravating, always important endeavor.

1. Develop clear decision-making criteria. It’s easy to jump on the latest bandwagon—and there are a LOT of tempting wagons out there. You can’t afford to dabble in all of them; you need to choose those that will best serve your objectives and then dive deep into those key activities.

What criteria do you use to decide whether or not to take on a new activity or project? While your business is unique, any of the following will give you a good starting point for creating your own decison-making touchstone:

– Will this directly contribute to my earning more money?
– Can I expect a fairly quick positive ROI from this?
– Does my research indicate that this activity makes sense for me?
– Is this task truly important, or is it just urgent? In other words, does doing it (or failing to do it) have significant long-term consequences for my business, or am I just feeling big time pressure to get it done? Sometimes a task will be both important and urgent, but all too often, important tasks don’t come with deadlines; that’s why they’re so easy to postpone.
– Can I clearly identify how this particular activity will move me toward my stated business objectives?

2. Chunk it down. One of the easiest ways to feel overwhelmed is to look at a big task in all its enormous scariness. Fortunately, one of the easiest ways to get out of overwhelm is to chunk it down, or break the task into very small action steps, each of which feels much more do-able. This is one of the things I do for my clients that generates the biggest sighs of relief.

As an example, putting “revamp my website” on your To Do list is a sure way of making you want to hide in a corner. You’re much more likely to succeed in this goal if you create small action steps, such as: Review current side for good copy; do keyword research for new site; interview web designers; upgrade website platform if necessary. Notice that any one of these small steps can be further broken down. The goal is to give yourself such a clearly defined, manageable task that you know exactly what needs doing and are confident about moving forward on it.

3. Be productive in 15-minute increments. I can’t overemphasize how valuable I’ve found this one technique. I’ve found that, no matter how uncomfortable or tedious a task, I can handle it for just 15 minutes. (I recommend setting a timer for yourself. I happen to use a virtual one I found at www.online-stopwatch.com, but a kitchen timer works great, too.) The excellent news is that, once the timer goes off, I’ve got two equally good options: (1) celebrate having made progress on the task, or (2) continue working on it if I feel like I’m in the groove.

In a related vein, you might create a list of activities you can do “when I’ve only got a few minutes free.” If you’ve finished one project and don’t want to start another because you need to leave for a client meeting, or if your client shows up to the restaurant late, or you get stuck waiting in line, you can chip away at this To Do list. You’ll be especially productive if you use these little chunks of time for activities that can normally turn into long, dark rabbit holes (reading e-mails or working on Facebook both spring to mind).

4. Commit to being a groupie. Not that kind! Commit to organizing your day so that you group like activities together. There’s almost nothing that will fracture your focus and destroy your productivity more than flitting from task to another. Rather than interrupt your work on a client proposal to answer the seductive ping of an incoming e-mail, then leave that to add something to your next blog post, group these activities. Maybe you can designate a certain time of day (using our friend Mr. Timer, perhaps) to writing, which could include proposals, blog posts, content for teleseminars, and so forth. Another chunk of the day could be devoted to creating your subject-matter-expert presence online. What makes sense for you? (See #1.)

5. Regularly reassess your activities and their priorities. Your business is not static, and neither are the demands on your time. I recommend to my clients that they set aside an entire day every month to get out of their usual environment and spend some time in reflection and evaluation of what they’re doing to grow their business.

I’m guessing nearly everyone has heard of the classic approach of identifying A-, B-, and C-level priorities; it feels kind of time-worn. The fact is, though, that it’s a classic for a reason. When you’re faced with a mile-long To Do list, are you able to confidently say that the only things on it are your A-level priorities? If not, it’s time for a do-over.

One of the easiest ways I move my clients out of overwhelm is to gather all their great ideas in one place. (This eliminates the temptation to jump on a bright shiny object now “so I don’t forget it.” Once the ideas have been corralled, it’s easier to do a side-by-side comparison of proposed activities so that you can assess which truly are worth your time and energy. Those that are mission critical get on the A list; those that are merely important go on the B list; the nice ideas get relegated to the C list; then the tempting B and C lists get put away. Then the A list gets re-evaluated so that the client is crystal clear on what THE most important activity is for him/her to do today.

If it’s time to get yourself out of the headlights of overwhelm, apply one or more of these tools to your day and enjoy the experience of feeling in control.

Kathleen Watson is an implementation specialist who shows her clients how to move from big ideas to big actions to big results. You can get a free copy of her 15-page workbook, the Take Action Now System™, by going to www.SteppingIntoBig.com.

10 Things I Learned About Article Marketing In 2010

December 23, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 8 Comments

10 Things I Learned About Article Marketing In 2010

Please check out my latest guest article over at BizChickBlogs.com. It’s all about the 10 things that I’ve learned about article marketing in 2010. I never think of writing these types of “reflective” articles, so it was great fun writing this one. Look out for big things in 2011 for this site:)

Personal Branding – Using The Internet To Build A Powerful Brand

November 19, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 7 Comments

Personal Branding – Using The Internet To Build A Powerful Brand

When building a Personal Brand, the easiest, fastest and most impactful way to do so is online. But be fore-warned, it’s just as easy (and even faster) to destroy your brand if your social media campaign doesn’t have a strategy behind it. Whether it’s blogging, article marketing, tweeting, or posting to Facebook and YouTube, having an effective internet presence is the number one way to boost your brand.

Developing a solid personal brand can have a tremendous impact on your bottom-line if done correctly. Here are some tips to building a stand-out Internet Brand.

1. Know Your Goal

Begin with the end. First determine, what is the goal of being on the internet? Is it to get clients? Is it just for socializing? Do you even have a goal? For purposes of this article, let’s assume your goal for being on the internet is to generate business and get clients.

However, before diving into all forms of social media head-first, you must indentify some objectives to reach your goal. Consider this:

Do you know where your clients are?
On which social media platforms do they engage/ participate?
What is the message you want to convey to them?
Will your objectives boost your brand awareness?

The true test of your social media campaigns’ effectiveness will come from your ability to create an online community who will become cheerleaders for your brand.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Knowing where your customer is will save you lot’s of time and energy. It will also help define your marketing message.
In addition to knowing where your clients are, you need to identify who they are. You may think you know your target audience, but when it comes to building an online community, ask yourself this:

What benefits do my products or services provide?
What do I want to say to that audience? (Your communications shouldn’t always be a sale or a “call to action”; in other words, a one-way conversation. Start by building a relationship and creating 2-way conversations.)
What type of person needs my product or service?
What is the best way to reach them on the internet that will showcase my company’s culture and generate sales?

Once you have answered these questions, then you can begin to create a strategic social media campaign to reach your ideal audience. (More on that later)

3. Personality + Passion = Purpose

Put passion and personality into all of your online profiles and be consistent across the board.

The most important reason for businesses to have an internet presence is to build a powerful, compelling brand. The only way to make that brand stand out amongst the crowd is to filter through all of the fluff for your target audience. Take advantage of the opportunity to showcase your personality and passion in all of your communications. By doing so, your audience will see your authenticity and get a clear understanding of your purpose.

You also have the opportunity to make an emotional connection with your audience. The majority of sales are made based on emotional connections. Why wouldn’t you use this platform as a vehicle to build a fierce Brand reputation?!

Your brand should communicate the following:

Who you are (Personality)
What makes you unique; The only one who can deliver (Personality & Passion)
Your expertise in your niche (Passion)
What service/ product you provide (Purpose)
What motivates you to do what you do (Purpose)

All of these components is what makes you you! If you are truly passionate about what you do, your audience will identify with that passion and understand your purpose for doing what you do. It not only adds value and credibility; it makes you the go-to-guy (or girl) in your industry.

Imagine reading a blog or Facebook post about a single mother’s struggle to raise her autistic child. Because of her experiences, she is now coaching other parents who are facing the same trials and tribulations. Not only would her story resonate with thousands of people, it would most certainly add value to her offering? This is not a manufactured brand. This Brand clearly and authentically communicates her passion, personality and purpose!

4. Develop a Strategy

Now that you have your goal, your audience and know where to reach them, you can develop an effective branding strategy. Each interaction you make with your audience should be strategic and accomplish at least one of the “5 E’s”

Engage
Educate
Evoke (an emotion)
Entertain
Establish (your Expertise)

You can use all social media platforms the same way or use different platforms to convey different messages. But decide early how and when you will use each. If your audience has come to rely on your blog posts as humorous anecdotes, you can’t suddenly decide to be an advocate for abused children using the same platform. You will not only lose your audience, but you will lose credibility.

The purpose of strategic online engagement is to define your Personal Branding. In order to increase your Brand awareness, you will also want to be strategic with:

Timing – How often will you engage? Will your communications correlate with current events? Have your customers come to expect information from you at specific times? Be consistent!

Content – If your objective is to stir up controversy, that’s perfectly fine, that is the value you provide for your audience. However, please don’t mix in touchy subjects with your content if that is not your intention for your brand. Nothing will dilute your message faster and turn off your base!

Placement – This goes back to knowing where your customers are. How are you going to communicate with them? Knowing that will boost your online presence for your community and create value for your clients. Make sure your brand is easily understood on each of your online platforms. If you do decide to switch tracks with your marketing messages, use a different social media marketing approach and explain to your audience why you’ve done. (Remember, make the emotional connection!)

All in all, you get the biggest bang for your buck using social media and the internet to build your brand. When you are clear on your message, the customers will come!

Kelly Green (Brand Coach Kelly) empowers new entrepreneurs and career transitioners to build a powerful Personal Brand, clarify their marketing message, identify their target audience and attract more money, clients and success! For your FREE Personal Branding strategy session, contact Brand Coach Kelly at: http://ThePersonalBrandBlueprint.com

*Special thanks to Philip for requesting this article topic for today’s article marketing spotlight.

How To Grow Your List Through Monthly Teleseminars

July 9, 2010 By Lisa Angelettie 5 Comments

Today On The Article Marketing Spotlight – Author Gina Bell

One of the coaching services I offer is “e-coaching or web-coaching” where clients have one-to-one access to me every day of the business week via email to ask me their most burning question.

Here’s the most recent question I received (client identity is confidential):

Question: “Here is one area of concern – list building. About five months ago I started hosting a monthly teleseminar in order to build my list. Today is my 5th one. When I started there were 47 people on my list. Now there are 138. Not what I was hoping for.

I am committed to these calls through the end of the year. I enjoy speaking which keeps me doing it. The people I am interviewing also have small lists, and they aren’t really doing much promotion either. How do I do a better job in building my list for the teleseminars?”

Answer: A monthly tele-class or radio show is a great visibility strategy and credibility too (based on who your guests are).

I agree… turtle-paced list growth is very frustrating!

Here are some simple things you can do to increase list building results (some you may be doing already):

#1. Invite guests that do have bigger lists than you (sometimes this is a stretch outside of our comfort zone but well worth the reach.)

#2. Make it a requirement that your guests invite their list to the call (you can use a speaker agreement and provide them with a short invitation script that they can copy/paste/send to their list).

#3. Use teaser bullets when you announce the topic for your upcoming call to create curiosity. Teaser bullets are a like mini headlines and we all know how important compelling headlines are – right!? After you done reading this post, hop on over to CopyBlogger.com and enter “teaser bullets” into their search box. Just this one change alone can dramatically increase interest in your teleseminar topics!

NOTE: Copy Blogger is my #1 resource for boosting my motivational copy skills! I recommend that ALL of my clients spend some time on their blog. Why? Because writing effective copy is an essential skill set for women in business online.

#4. Use cliff hanger statements/bullets in your communications to build excitement about what’s coming up next month. If you’ve ever watched a daytime or evening drama and experienced… “Here’s what’s coming up next on Days of Our Lives” for example and they play a series of clips that move you to the edge of your seat and leave you saying “Oh I can’t wait to see THAT episode! I’ve got to know what happens!” – that’s what you can create in your copy. Here’s a great article on – you guessed it – CopyBlogger.com that talks about this (see #5) and gives a great example too.

#5. List your tele-classes with free teleseminar listing services such as

a. See You On the Call at seeyouonthecall.com

b. Conference Call University at cculearning.com

#6. Use a “tell a friend” page/script as a thank you page once people opt-in. The service I use for some of my virtual events is www.YourTellAFriend.com (at the bottom of the form you can include a “slide by” link that takes them to your official thank you page and call-in details)

#7. Invite more than one expert to each call and conduct a PANEL discussion… instead of one guest inviting their list, now you have three each month (and triple the traffic filtering through your Tell A Friend page too!).

As you can see there are many ways to “take it up a notch or ten!” as I like to say

LAW this to this

For additional list attraction advice you can also visit http://www.ListAttractionWeek.com. The event is over but the recordings are still available.