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Hiring a Professional Blogger? What You Need to Know First

Hiring a Professional Blogger? What You Need to Know First

Hiring a Professional Blogger? What You Need to Know First

You’ve heard the idea before that anyone can write. True, anyone can write. But not everyone can write well. And not everyone can keep your business and your interests at the top of their mind. Since I’ve been blogging for awhile now (over five years), I’ve learned a few things. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re looking for someone to hire for blogging. By the way, I’m available!

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Education

Not everyone cares about formal education, but some do. So you might want to ask where the person you want to hire went to school. Do they have a degree in something related to writing? For instance, my degree is from U.C. Berkeley, in English. Also, do they have any other writing experience, such as technical writing, that could assist them in their (and your) blogging efforts?

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Experience

How important is experience? That depends upon what you’d like your blogger to write about. Would having someone inexperienced be better? Who will be reading your blog posts and will that reader care if there are mistakes? Would you care if there were mistakes? Probably yes and yes! So consider someone with some experience. And of course real-world experience counts, as this article from Inc. Magazine outlines: Why Your Company Needs to Hire a Writer (And How to Find the Right One).

Deadlines and Punctuality

You probably want someone who’s a self-starter and can make deadlines, right? You don’t need to be babysitting the person who writes your professional blog. You’d like the posts to be scheduled on time so you can do your job, which means running your company. What kind of track record does your blogger have? Can he or she write to a deadline? How can you tell if they’ll be punctual? Were they on time to the meeting with you? You could ask their references.

Creativity

Do you have to come up with all the ideas for your blog yourself? Or would you rather have a blogger who can come up with optimized headlines and ideas for you, once she knows what you do? Speaking of headlines, they can sometimes be a pain in the asterisk! Of course, the best is to have a team approach where everyone decides on the blog ideas together and then the blogger can be set loose to do what she does best–write.

Confidence

Would you prefer someone who consistently has writer’s block? Or would you rather have someone who can sit down and write without a lot of prompting? Ha! I thought so! Writing is work. It’s not waiting to get prepared to sit down to write. No. It’s actually sitting down and writing. Every day. If your would-be writer carries a notebook around, that’s a big clue that you’ve got someone with passion as well as confidence.

Engagement with Blog Readers

Will your blogger know how to engage with those who read the blog? Or will you be expected to do that? Personally, I recommend that bloggers engage with readers directly. Another good skill to have is to comment on others’ blogs besides yours, if possible.

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Top-Notch Imagery

Without interesting images to draw readers in, a blog can be a simple wall o’words. And you certainly don’t want that!

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Do You Have Someone Like This in Mind?

If not, then I have a suggestion for you. Give me a call. I would be happy to give you a free consultation. Maybe we can work together!

 

Blogging Tips for Startups

Blogging Tips for Startups

Blogging Tips for Startups

Do you have a startup? Are you blogging yet?  Why not? How about now?  Are you tired of being harangued with the idea that every startup needs to blog? How do you get started? What do you write about? How long should posts be? Today I’m pulling back the curtain and sharing some of my personal tips.

Blog Every Day

Yes, it sounds overwhelming. Yes, you can write in small increments. Yes, it will help your startup. Back when I started to exercise, I gave myself an out whenever I went to the gym. If I didn’t feel better after 15 minutes, I allowed myself to leave. During many years of exercising, I’ve only left twice. So set that timer for 15 minutes and get going! You can do it! Now I post twice weekly–Tuesdays and Thursdays. Maybe you can’t do that much, but how about once a month?

Start 5 Topics

Simply put in the headlines (and you can even change those later). For instance, “5 Reasons Your Business Needs a Break Room,” “Behind the Scenes at [your company name here],” “Our 6 Favorite Business Tools.” You get the idea. Throw them in there and don’t worry too much. Having 5 topics going at once gives you no excuse to stop writing. When you’re done writing on one post, jump to another. This idea came from Syed Balkhi, by the way. I wrote about him in a post on WordCamp Orange County, too.

Don’t Be Afraid

Don't be afraid that you'll run out of ideas

Don’t be afraid that you’ll run out of ideas

I’ve run across this fear from talking to people in startups who don’t blog. They’re afraid they’ll run out of topics. But the reverse is true: the more you blog, the more topics you’ll think of. You’ll meet other bloggers, and they’ll give you ideas. (For instance, the idea for this post came from my bud Bridget Willard.) You’ll influence them, too! That was one of the most wonderful things that happened to me–meeting other bloggers and sharing ideas. And don’t forget to go to WordCamp if you can. You may be able to attend virtually if you can’t travel.

Toss Topics That Don’t Go Anywhere

There is a limitless number of topics, so toss the ones that just sit and sit. This helps your blog feng shui. Yes, I just made that up. Hahaha! If your startup is a team effort, you could have team members help each other with writing and editing or take turns so there’s less pressure on any one person.

Brain Dump!

Use the old-fashioned "keyhole" approach to writing

Use the “keyhole” approach to writing

Now without thinking too hard, start throwing a bunch of words in your post. Usually I use the “keyhole” concept. Think of an old-fashioned keyhole. Start general, narrow it a bit, put in a topic sentence (if you want), then 3 or 4 paragraphs about that topic, then the wrap up and generalization at the end. That’s it. 350 words gets you a post. Could you do that? Sure you could!

Be Funny

Sometimes I crack myself up. I really do! I’m not saying that to brag. But if a funny idea pops into your head, why not share it? It’s what makes you unique. I’m not a subscriber to the belief that everything has to be so professional that there’s no personality in there. Usually, when I write, the funny bits get added later. One funny bit often leads to another, and so on.

Read it Out Loud

I like my blog to be casual, so I read it out loud. You can also read it aloud to someone else. A tip that really helped me was someone telling me “if you can speak, you can write.” And it’s true. I truly believe that anyone can write. If, when you read your writing, it sounds more like you’re reading someone else’s words, rewrite the words so it sounds like you’re speaking. You’re an expert at something. Come on. You know you are!

Add Links

I like to put in four links–two to my own posts and two outgoing, to someone else’s article or blog. Try to make them a natural part of your post, though. Don’t force a topic by adding your own links until you’ve got a little content.

Add Images

Read Your Post Out Loud

Read Your Post Out Loud

Creative Commons is my favorite place to get images. Don’t forget to use the advanced search and find images that can be shared and used commercially. Recently I’ve started using my own pictures, too. I drag all images into a photo editor and add my name or the photographer’s name from Creative Commons at the bottom. I take my picture using my iPhone and sometimes a tiny lens (the 4-in-1 from OlloClip is fantastic!). Label the images within WordPress. I use a minimum of two images. Three or four for longer posts.

Let Stew

Some people are great writers and they can write perfect, full sentences. I’m not one of those. So I usually start my posts on the weekend and get the majority of the words in there. Tuesday’s post is usually, but not always, done by Sunday night. Thursday’s post is half-baked and gets finished during the week. I don’t have 10 sitting around waiting to be scheduled, but maybe in the future. Maybe.

I’m Still a Beginner

Some of my friends have written upwards of 300 posts, and some day I’ll get there. I know I have a long way to go. I’m always learning. I learn from my friends, and reading others’ blogs. CopyBlogger is a great one for bloggers.

Call to Action

Here’s the part where I ask you a question. Something like “Did I miss anything?” or “What do YOU think?” but you could put in your own call to action. Please visit us on Pinterest! Send us cupcakes! Donate to our Indiegogo! You get the idea! So my real call to action is: please leave a comment!

 

 

 

What to Write about When You Have Nothing to Write about

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Here it is 9:00 p.m. the night before your blog post is due, and you haven’t written one word. You need to get up early the next day for a meeting, but no pressure, right? Also, there’s a full-scale pandemic going on that has you more than a little freaked out. What to do? Here are some ideas.

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Go Back and Review

Now’s as good a time as any to reread some of your older writing. There was that whole series on social media and clowns, for instance. That was a fun series. Then there were a bunch where you wrote about Einstein, Tesla, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Social Media Needs. Do any of those have ideas that you could expound upon? Or are the times we’re living in just too somber? Well, you know what they say: one person’s somberness is another person’s circus! Or something like that.

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Do a Best of Post

Here is where you could pick two or three or ten(!) of your favorite posts. For me, I’m going to pick just one. My favorite post is the one I wrote about Twitter lists. Why? I think the language is sharp and concise, and it was a joy to write, even though I edited it a million times. You probably have a favorite post, too. Or maybe a few.

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Revisit

There might be a post that nobody read and you can’t figure out why. Did you ever pour your heart out writing something and feel that nobody even noticed? That happens sometimes. Could it be the timing? Maybe people were busy with some big event in their lives and didn’t have the time or inclination? Maybe the writing wasn’t up to your usual caliber. Or maybe the images in your post weren’t compelling. Try to see what happened.

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If You’re Really Stuck, Ask a Friend

Reach out and ask a friend what to write. You’d be surprised what your friends know about you. And right now, they’re probably home since they’re all sheltering in place! So there’s that.

 

How to Save Money By Outsourcing Your Social Media

If you’re busy running your own business, then you probably are running short on time. You’re expected to be the banker, create a business plan, and do things like run to the store for printer ink. Oh, wait! That’s me! But I’ll bet it applies to a lot of others, too. If that is you, then you definitely need to outsource your social media.

You Look up and You Have No Social Media

What happens, or so I’ve been told, is people forget that they need social media. They’re off developing a new widget or amazing software, or an entire company, and suddenly they realize it’s time to launch and they have no social media.

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What to Do?

At this point, most people panic. There’s some wringing of the hands and maybe a shot of tequila (or something else stronger), and then a sudden idea born of desperation and too much drinking appears. To avoid panic, take deep breaths! And here are some other ideas from Psychology Today: 22 Quick Tips to Change Your Anxiety Forever.

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The Desperate Plan

The desperate plan usually involves some hurried notes written on a napkin and a niece or nephew who have been on social media, but not really seeped in it. Kissmetrics has a nifty article on How to Successfully Outsource Social Media for Your Business. You may want to choose a smaller project first so you can get to know the consultant, for example.

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Don’t Do That

The person you choose needs to really be soaking in the stuff. And by soaking in it, I mean they need to have used it for business purposes for a while. And maybe you need someone who can do other things as well, such as blogging.

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Save Yourself Some Money

You don’t buy your best outfit at the Dollar Store, do you? (No offense to the Dollar Store.) If you want someone who’ll be the face of your company or brand, you want someone who can easily adopt your voice. That would be a professional social media manager or blogger.

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Outsource for Savings

Rather than hiring someone to work in-house, why not outsource your social media? Here are a few articles that might help you:

If you’ve been looking for a while, send me an email or contact me on Twitter! Or leave me a message here. That works, too! And thank you.

Simple Answers to Your Weird Social Media Questions

Simple Answers to Your Weird Social Media Questions

Simple Answers to Your Weird Social Media Questions

As a Social Media Manager, I get a lot of questions through email, direct messages, and Facebook messenger, as well as in person at events. Most business owners want to cut to the chase, so here are some of the strangest requests and my answers.

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Can We Have Coffee So I Can Pick Your Brain?

Let me think about it. Ok, no. But everything on my website is free. In addition, here are 5 Productive Ways to Respond When Someone Wants to Pick Your Brain for Free.

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Should I buy followers for my social media accounts?

No. And here’s how you can tell: Four Clues Twitter Followers Are Purchased.

Also: if you buy followers your analytics will be seriously off. You don’t want that!

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Will you train me to do what you do?

I could, but it would take a long time. And be pretty expensive. Again, you can read my blog.

Why Does Marketing Cost So Much?

Because you’re hiring a person who needs to eat and breathe. Also, we need coffee. Lots of coffee.

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Can You Set Up My Website?

No, but I can happily refer you. I really like Blue Steele Solutions, by the way. They’re very experienced, professional, and I’m comfortable referring them.

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Can I Call Any Time I Have a Question?

It would be better if you batch your questions and save them for a meeting.

Do You Work 24 Hours a Day?

Nope! Most social media managers don’t. Although some larger companies have a big staff and are able to afford 24/7 support. But then you’re probably not going to talk to the same person every time you call.

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If I Help You, Will You Charge Me Less?

Most of the time, no. And if by “help me,” you mean that you’ll write headlines, that’s probably not a good idea. Although if you have interesting content, that is helpful. My dad used to have a sign on the wall of his garage that said there were two prices. And the price if you helped him was much higher. So there’s that.

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Got a Question?

Ask me here, and I’ll try to answer it. And thank you!

 

 

Headline Writing: 10 Reasons it’s a Pain in the Asterisk*

Headline Writing: 10 Reasons it's a Pain in the Asterisk

Headline Writing: 10 Reasons it’s a Pain in the Asterisk

You have a perfect topic for your next blog post. You go out and take a million beautiful photos, all photoshopped and sized just right for Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest cross-posting. Then you suddenly realize: you don’t have a headline! Has this ever happened to you? Here’s why headline writing is so tough!

Everybody Says to Spend More Time on Headlines

Your headline is the first thing people see. In fact, some people will retweet or report that snazzy article of yours without even reading it. Not convinced by me? Read these articles, then (Copyblogger says to spend 50% of your time writing the headline):

So there’s a lot of pressure to come up with something grand.

A Good Headline Can Help Your Post Go Viral

A Good Headline Can Help Your Post Go Viral

A Good Headline Can Create a Viral Post

If you haven’t read my When Posts Go Viral: Four Lessons, you might want to take a look. A controversial headline (for instance, Is it Time to Quit Facebook?) can spark people’s emotions and cause a small or large furor. Again, no pressure (just kidding!).

Headline Writing: Your Words Need to Be Perfect

Headline Writing: Your Words Need to Be Perfect

Your Words Need to Be Perfect

Like a good tweet, a good headline needs to have all the right elements. It can’t be too short or too long. The important words need to be near the beginning of the headline. And you need to include “power words,” like “secret” and “magic.” And so on. Is that not a pain in the asterisk?

Because Traffic Blah Blah Blah

Because Traffic Blah Blah Blah

Because Traffic Blah Blah Blah

Every blogger wants traffic, right? When that post you wrote explodes all over the Interwebs, your blog gets a boost, you get more followers, and that 15 minutes of fame will follow you from platform to platform. So that’s another reason you have to get it right.

You Can’t Outsource It

Everybody has outsourced everything. I’m surprised we don’t remove our own hair and ship it to the Philippines (no disrespect to anyone in the Philippines–it’s just something I’d prefer to do myself). But if you want your post to be in your own words, then you have to do the work yourself.

Pain Points: Sisyphus, via Beth Scupham

Pain Points: Sisyphus, via Beth Scupham

Pain Points

Your audience experiences pain, just as you experience pain when you try to write a headline. So you want that headline to draw your reader in. The headline has to be magnetic enough so people will want to read it. It might be fun to write, but if it’s not fun to read? Fuhgetaboutit!

I'm Trying to Think But Nothing Happens!

I’m Trying to Think But Nothing Happens!

You Thought You Were Done

You outlined that article, got your topic sentences down, have all kinds of good images, and now you have to come up with a headline? Are you kidding?

The World is A Noisy Place

The world is getting noisier, and more crowded. The Internet has more people competing for the same space. So your headline has to be the juicy, juicy hamburger, and not the bun! It has to stand out.

Headline Writing: Your Headline is the Juicy Meat, Not the Bun

Headline Writing: Your Headline is the Juicy Meat, Not the Bun

When You Try to Think, Nothing Happens

You can only come up with one-word headlines, or headlines that don’t make sense. If you think they’re boring, what will your readers think?

Always keep one eye open. You never know who's lurking.

Always keep one eye open. You never know who’s lurking.

You Come Up with a Perfect Headline and Someone Steals it

It’s not a very good feeling, is it? But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then is stealing even more flattering? I don’t think so.

*And you know what that asterisk really stands for, right?

 

 

 

When Posts Go Viral: Four Lessons

 

When Posts Go Viral: Four Lessons

When Posts Go Viral: Four Lessons

You’ve been writing your fingers to the bone for years now, writing about everything you could think of for your business blog. You’ve covered all the major topics and included photos of cats, hedgehogs, fancy race cars, and pictures from other viral posts. So maybe by now you’ve given up on anything going viral. By the way, I wrote about pins on Pinterest going viral, which you might like, too.

Recently, a post of mine went viral, and I can now tell you how random it seemed at the time. And my thoughts on it now.

First of All, Transparency

A client of mine could not post a photo on LinkedIn, and asked me to see if I could post a photo. So I took an old blog post from April, “Is it Time to Quit Facebook?, and republished it on LinkedIn, around 11 pm, along with the image and went to sleep, with the thought that maybe one or two people might see it.

The Next Morning

Before I got on LinkedIn, a friend of mine texted me that there were quite a few comments and shares on the post. I went to check, and there were already 45 comments. Since I was at a workshop, I didn’t have much time to reply.

The Next 24 Hours

The next day I tried to keep up with the comments, angry replies, thumbs up, thumbs down, replies to angry replies from other angry people, etc. It was a whole big thing. It really was. Also, LinkedIn picked it up and promoted it under “LinkedIn Pulse.”

Gold-Plated Problem

My business mentor, Caterina Rando, would say this was a “gold-plated problem.” You never expect anything to go viral, but when it does, you think about what you could’ve done differently.

Lesson One

My post could’ve been written better. Well, I always think that. It could’ve been longer, more thorough, and could’ve had better images. Doesn’t every blogger think this about every single post? And yet, there are deadlines, so posts get published. You don’t know what’s going viral.

Lesson Two

You can’t complain about a post going viral. Seriously. You might as well complain that your house is too big for one maid to clean. Or it takes you ALL DAY to shine your gold watches. Nobody wants to hear that. Or, at least, if that’s your biggest complaint, then your life is pretty cushy. It would be all the way at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Social Media Needs.

Lesson Three

You can’t really prepare any more than you’re already prepared. Well, I guess I wouldn’t post right before going on vacation or a long weekend. You always leave a little time to comment back to people, but probably not 48 hours worth of free time for a single post.

Lesson Four

Forgive yourself for not answering all the comments and move on. You can post something along the lines of “thank you for commenting and sorry I can’t reply to all of you.”

When Your Social Media Post Goes Viral

When Your Social Media Post Goes Viral

OutComes

Here’s a screenshot from that one post on LinkedIn. In addition, I got about 45 new people wanting to connect, a couple of hundred shares of the article on Twitter, new connections on Pinterest (not too many), and around 25 new followers on Facebook. And of course, the usual spam. Oh, and a job offer. So that was nice.

And Another Thing

I’m not sure why this post went viral. It could be that LinkedIn likes posts about Facebook not having good reach, since Facebook and LinkedIn do compete for some of our time, in a way. Maybe it was late at night and there was a quota (self-deprecating humor for the win!). Most probably, the article was selected by the secret magic LinkedIn algorithm.

Has One of Your Posts Gone Viral?

Were you prepared for it? How did you handle it? I really do want to know!

 

Transform Your Brilliant Content: Ten Ways to Recycle Content

Transform Your Brilliant Content

Transform Your Brilliant Content

Ten Ways to Recycle Content

Ever had a great idea that you weren’t sure how to share without making all your friends crazy? Sure you have! You have one of those right now…sitting in your back pocket. That idea for a Portable Solar Dog Grooming Truck, for instance, needs to be seen. Or that website for cats who take selfies (you even bought the CatsWhoTakeSelfies.com domain and a GoPro!) just begs to be released unto the world. But how?

Blog

Your website is the basis of all great ideas. This is where the ideas live. Use your blog to expand your brilliant idea, adding pictures, drawings, and video, if possible (more about video below). Once you’ve written about your idea, you can begin to spin it into other formats. This is where the fun begins!

Twitter

Yes, you’ll need to tweet about your great idea. Take different snippets, add different pictures, and voila! A blogpost of a few hundred words can become many tweets. Don’t forget to pin your newest post to the top of your Twitter feed, along with an image. Twitter has become more and more image-centric, so take advantage.

Pinterest

Speaking of images, you can pin your blog post to your blog board (here’s my blog board, by the way). Include search terms so that people looking for your topic can find it. Anything with cats and selfies, or cute, wet dogs has to be on Pinterest. Unless it already is!

Facebook

Maybe only 3 or 4 people will see it on Facebook unless you promote it, but still. You have to put it there. And the more you post and interact on Facebook, the better the chances that your content will be found.

LinkedIn

Create a more scholarly headline to get people to click on that link. I like this example of good LinkedIn headlines, from LinkedIn Makeover.

YouTube

Why not create a video of your blog post and put it up on YouTube? YouTube is absolutely wonderful, especially if you have a how-to video that needs to be seen.

Instagram

Pictures of cute dogs and cats! Who could resist? Hashtag it like crazy. That’s how people find you on Instagram, and everyone seems to hashtag everything shamelessly.

Solid Gold

When your content gets a little old, you can bring it back to life. You can rewrite an older blog piece by changing about one-third of it and adding pictures. If you’ve been blogging for a year or two, this is a good way to reuse content.

Create an eBook

Once you have a few posts, you can bundle a few and create an eBook. For instance, you could take your solar idea and bundle that with some other posts you’ve written for a book about portable solar.

Make a Slideshare

If you’re good with images, you could make a PowerPoint that you share with your friends on social media. This could go on all channels, and in this new format, many people might relate to it more. Or you could find someone who could do it for you.

Podcast

Many people are audible learners, and prefer learning by listening. Or they’d love to listen to you speak your idea. You can have someone transcribe your Hangout on Air or blog post and then use the podcasts for still another purpose.

How Do You Recycle Content?

Each time you switch mediums you’ll come up with some new ideas, which will appeal to a different audience. Some people love video, some like to listen, and some want to scroll quickly through images. What’s your favorite way to recycle?

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