Monthly Archives: March 2011

Digital Content Curation: Having Your Say and Adding Value to Your Content Marketing Mix

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Recently I have been hearing a lot about a new buzzword in the blogosphere, “curation.” Since the fall of 2010, it’s been trending upwards because it’s something that most bloggers and online content creators are already engaged in, but now we’re sort of giving it a funky, cool name.

Digital curation, according to Wikipedia, is the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_curation

So, content curation, which is what you are already doing when you share a useful blog post that you found on Twitter, posting an update on your Facebook fan page about an emerging industry trend or record a podcast about your topic is all about aggregating and adding your particular spin, knowledge and expertise on the subject.

Curation is an important aspect of marketing when you are part of a community of subject matter experts or authorities on a particular topic. As a member of a tribe of like-minded people, you share your colleague’s content with your network, and they reciprocate and share your content with theirs.

Here are three sources of ‘roundup’ collections of the most popular, currently available tools for content curation.  My favorite one these days has been Amplify, but take a look at what’s available and see what you like the best:

http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-content-curation-tools-for-daily-use

Content Curation Tools to Aggregate, Filter, Edit, Curate and Distribute Any Type of Content – updated weekly – - MindMeister Mind Map http://bit.ly/eRe0g1

http://www.masternewmedia.org/real-time-news-curation-the-complete-guide-part-6-the-tools-universe/

Let’s use the topic of content marketing as an example.  Some of the leading voices in content marketing include people such as Joe Pulizzi, of Junta42 and the Content Marketing Institute.

In a March 2 post Pulizzi writes, “People don’t care about you, they care about themselves.  Create content that solves customers’ pain points. Stop talking about yourself, your products, your services.  If you do, make it about your customers.”

http://blog.junta42.com/2011/03/10-reasons-your-content-marketing-is-killing-you/

Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger Media, is another one of the prominent voices in the content marketing arena. Copyblogger has been named one of the most popular blogs in the world by Technorati, it’s on the Advertising Age’s ‘Power 150 List,’ and the Guardian named it one of the world’s 50 most powerful blogs.

 

One of my personal favorite resources at Copyblogger is their, “Magnetic Headlines,” series. When I am creating content and I need a bit of headline inspiration that series is my go-to resource.

http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/

Newt Barrett, a content marketing strategist, from Content Marketing Today is co-author with Joe Pulizzi on the book, ‘Get Content, Get Customers.’ Barrett says, “By delivering content that is vital and relevant to your target market you will begin to take on an important role in their lives.”

http://contentmarketingtoday.com/

So, digital content curation puts the curator in the driver’s seat, so to speak allowing them to play the role of human aggregator, but one who adds significant value over simply forwarding a list of links on a particular topic.  Curation of the popular topics in your niche can help your content marketing efforts by adding value to the lives of your readers and positioning you as the trusted authority.

Please feel free to share your favorite curation tools, or share a link to your favorite content marketing resources in the comments.

 

Personal Development: Who Are Your Mentors?

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You hear it all of the time when singers or entertainers are being interviewed the interviewer will ask who the artists loved to listen to while they were learning their craft because those are the people who have had an influence on the artist’s work. As a writer or an entrepreneur you are following in the footsteps of those who came before you. You are influenced by your teachers, the books you have read the seminars you have attended, other bloggers, your life experiences, and your general environment.

If you are an online entrepreneur on a mission to constantly improve and sharpen the saw, you’ve got to be purposeful about finding good mentors and establishing a relationship with them that is mutually beneficial for both of you. But I also want to mention that it is possible to establish a relationship with a mentor who is no longer living. Sounds weird, right? But it is possible. I consider author, Napoleon Hill to be one of my top mentors. I was reading his book, The Law of Success, where he mentions assembling a council of imaginary advisers made up of historical figures that inspired him. You can assemble your own imaginary council of advisers and appoint your heroes and mentors to meet regularly and give your guidance and direction.

All you have to do is create a list of people you admire, what qualities they possess that you would like to cultivate in yourself, and what accomplishments they have made that you would also like to make. Visualize them all seated around a table with you in a conference room and begin to seek their counsel. Be sure to write down any ideas or advice they might have to offer you.

As for mentors who are still living, and who are within your reach, make an effort to reach out to them and ask if they would be willing to mentor you. The worst that could happen is that they could say no, but if you do not ask you will not give them the opportunity to say yes. One thing I know for sure is that we teach that which we most need to learn, and when you teach you solidify what you already know. Any prominent person in their field knows that you’ve got to start somewhere, and if they are wise they know that in taking the time to mentor you they deepen their knowledge and skill while also giving back.

Don’t make the mistake of trying to blaze a trail on your own. There are so many successful people out there who are willing and eager to take a novice under their wing and help guide them on their path to achieving their goals. Make the effort to reach out and make a connection with someone that you admire and see if they would mentor you. It can be a rewarding and transformational experience for both parties involved.

So, if you want to develop a new skill cultivate some new habits that will support your success. Be diligent and disciplined, but also have fun with it. And be sure to sign up for my email list so that you can get weekly updates and tips that do not appear on the blog.

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Developing a New Content Marketing Strategy

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As a professional writer and blogger I have been engaged in the practice of content marketing since the launch of this blog in the fall of 2007. At that time, my freelance writing practice was just beginning and I wanted to start getting my work out there as I did not have a lot of clients or clips to refer prospective clients to. Over the years I have attracted some amazing clients and built an impressive body of work with this blog.

 

My first blog, which I started in the fall of 1997, was a personal blog, so I was not marketing anything with it I guess except my own ideas and my world view. I never looked at my traffic stats and I was not trying to grow an email list. I was simply blogging for the sheer enjoyment of it and because I was part of a vibrant community of personal bloggers.

 

Marketing is simply telling the world about the products, services or ideas that you have to offer. Content marketing is the practice of creating and syndicating (purposefully sharing) valuable content in an effort to attract your target audience to your blog or website.

 

Once you have gotten them to your website your goal is to engage them and use your content to begin to foster the ‘know, like and trust’ factor that will ultimately either lead to a conversion from visitor to subscriber to customer to fan, or they may just go elsewhere. Actually, most people will end up going elsewhere, but that is fine because you only want to work with people who resonate with your message, and the only way to know that is to continuously get your message out there into the marketplace.

 

When I first started this blog I simply gave everything away. I researched meticulously and wrote blog posts on topics that I thought would be useful to my prospective clients. But as time went on I learned that there is nothing wrong with marketing yourself and the products and services you provide even as you offer valuable content to your readers.

 

Now I understand how crucial it is to include a compelling call to action in each blog post.  People want to be led, and if you want them to take a particular action you must tell them exactly what action they should be taking. Whether you want your readers to sign up for your email list, enquire about the services you provide, or buy a product that you are offering, you’ve got to direct them to the next best action to take.

 

Recently, my client work has begun to take over my life, and I found myself staying up late at night to keep up and not miss deadlines. Juggling single parenthood and self-employment is no joke. I took a hiatus from posting to the blog while I got a handle on my client work load, but also because I needed to re-visit my content marketing strategy. My business has matured to the point where most of my new clients are referred to me from my fabulous, current clients. But just this week I received an inquiry from a prospective client who found my blog and wanted to hire me—despite the fact that my blog had not been updated in weeks.

 

But I will say that I have also learned that in addition to providing a platform where I can share my expertise to attract prospective clients, I have been greatly encouraged to hear the positive feedback that I receive through the comments on this blog, and via email about how what I share on the blog has helped you in some way. I feel blessed to be of service to you.

 

So, please take a moment and enter your name and email address into the subscription box for my email newsletter where I share valuable content that you