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Blog writing and marketing

If you have more than one blog, you will appreciate that one of the greatest challenges of maintaining a series of blogs, is keeping them all up the date – and committing to various content publishing schedules – while doing all the everyday things that fill up our lives.

I currently own four blogs including this one, and the third blog, which I launched in October 2010 (but have only started working on seriously – by adding daily content to – over the last week or two), is finally taking shape. 

But while focusing on that blog, I’ve managed to neglect one of my weekly blogs as well as this monthly blog.

Yes this all sounds like a poor, long-winded excuse to explain my lack of overall writing over the last few weeks. 

Marketing and your blog

But while writing content for your blog is very important (after all, no-one likes to visit a blog that shows the same old, tired content day after day, week after week or month after month),  I have discovered that a major part of maintaining a blog is marketing it. 

And while I haven’t been as prolific as I had planned to be, I haven’t been idle.  I have been working on marketing activities. 

Here are some of my marketing activities:

  • attending networking events
  • guest blogging
  • social media updates and conversations
  • article directory marketing
  • business directory listings

I’ve learnt that zero marketing can mean zero traffic, and I am making a real effort to make sure that marketing becomes part of my daily list of duties. 

But to make sure all bases are covered, I’m going to have to draw up a strict editorial calendar, so that I make sure I keep all the blogs up to date as well as market them.

Time, I think, to do some writing on another of my blogs while I’m in my flow…

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By Debbie Legall – 17 June 2011

A career in journalism

I gave a careers seminar at a secondary school in Surrey on 10th May.

I had decided to go ‘old school’ in the way I presented it because (forewarned that it was going to be a small group, and was going to be held in a classroom rather than in a lecture theatre full of students, I dispensed with the idea of using a PowerPoint presentation.

I opted for coloured card featuring printed quotes, small groups of words and bullet point lists.

I also tried to make the session an interactive one by using quizzes to draw the pupils in and give them a chance to speak.

Judging by the feedback I received, the session went very well and the pupils felt that it had given them lots of useful information about a future career in journalism.

How to improve your chances of finding work in journalism

Holding the seminar on careers in journalism was an exhilarating experience for me and I hope to repeat it again with more groups of students.

But what, you may wonder, does all this have to do with the services I offer?

While a key link of course is writing, there is one other major point.

It is flexiblity.  Journalism as a profession is changing, particularly with the increased use of websites as a means of conveying information.

It is no longer enough to specialise in one narrow area to the exclusion of all else.  Those with a wider range of skills and experience (even when starting out) are the ones who will be the most attractive to prospective employers.

Being flexible, being open to new experiences and developing a wider range of skills is therefore the key.

I’ve certainly realised this in my work, and have, over the years been skilling up and broadening my horizons accordingly.

 

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By Debbie Legall – 14 May 2011

The joy of HTML

I recently spent a long time (I am too embarrassed to admit exactly how long), trying to change the default footer text on this blog.

I combed through the HTML file like a possessed being, and tried all of the (few) tricks I know to get it to work.

It all went horribly wrong.  I’d kept a copy of the original code, and was thankfully able to copy it back into the default footer – and calm was restored to my footer.  The text plus the links are now displaying as they used to in the default setting.

While battling through the long cycle of adding/saving/amending/saving/copying and saving one HTML revision after another, it struck me that managing content on blogs – takes more time, effort and stamina that I would ever have guessed, and isn’t for the faint-hearted.

But it isn’t all bad news because managing a blog is also about breaking new ground, and having the opportunity to turn your hand to tasks that were previously the preserve of ‘specialists’ only.

Blog boundaries are blurring

While the core areas of specialist skills still exist, there is more and more blurring – as designers and developers work to accommodate user experience requirements.

And writers like me are becoming more involved in other areas also – such as design (particularly in relation to accessibility, SEO and more.

I recently wrote a guest post for Marko Saric’s blog How to make my blog , and many of the comments I received seem to support the blurring boundaries argument.

No area of blog activity should be looked at as a standalone piece of work.  Everything is interlinked – content, design, functionality – so it’s worth taking a look at our skills in all these areas.

I for one will make it my personal mission to conquer and customise the default footer text on this blog as soon as possible.  And that’s just the start.

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By Debbie Legall – 15 April 2011

Ideas of March

While scanning through a web magazine today, I found an interesting reference to a web developer and her ideas about hosting arrangements.

What caught my eye more was that she is also a writer, and I immediately looked up her website and found a reference to the Ideas of March.

The Ideas of March – which was started in the US by Chris Shiflett – is the name of a blog post he wrote in which he calls for a blog revival.

The idea is a simply one, and to quote Chris, involves the following:

  • Write a post called Ideas of March.
  • List some of the reasons you like blogs.
  • Pledge to blog more the rest of the month.
  • Share your thoughts on Twitter with the #ideasofmarch hashtag.

So, here are my Ideas of March…

I am relatively new to blogging, having only caught blogging fever in October 2010. I have three blogs including this one. The other two are: Simply Write - Content Matters blog – for my copywriting/writing business and Vibrating Reed – my hobby blog.

Until the launch of my hobby blog this month (March 2011), I saw blogs mainly as a way to talk about business services and a way to offer tips and advice to potential customers.

Why I like blogs

  • A blog can be as varied as your imagination.
  • A blog can be purely professional, strictly social, or a fascinating hybrid that allows you to express yourself in new and wonderful ways.
  • A blog can be a way to share as much or as little about yourself or your interests as you wish.
  • As a ‘consumer’, blogs allow me to tap into the knowledge, ideas and skills of others and get me thinking in different ways.
  • Blogs also lead me to new sources of information – as the beginning of this post shows.

One of the ideas of March is to pledge to blog more. I tend to add only one post a month to this blog, and this is the second post this month, so I hope that I’ve started (albeit late in the month) as I mean to go on during the rest of 2011.

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By Debbie Legall – 28 March 2011

Launch of the new, merged Simply Write website and Content Matters blog

After many weeks of planning (and much more time spent talking about it!), the new, improved – and merged – Simply Write website and Content Matters blog launched on Friday 4 March 2011.

They say that you should never launch a new piece of functionality on a Friday just in case it breaks, (because there usually isn’t anyone available over the weekend to help you fix it).  But in this case, flouting the don’t-launch-on-a-Friday rule didn’t backfire.

Why a hybrid blog?

A few reasons really.

The previous version of my website had remained unchanged for almost two years, and I wanted to be able to update pages without having to buy an additional publishing systems or have to continue to pay for a PHP developer to make editorial changes for me.

I had been running the Content Matters blog for a few months on a separate blogging platform and wanted to have the website and the blog together – on one platform, for ease of editing and for a consistent look and feel.

I wanted to be able to add new pages and use all the tools available to boost the site’s SEO.

Most of all, I wanted a tool that would allow for almost unlimited customisation, with ample scope for any new functionality to be developed in the future.

I now have all of that and more…

What’s new on the website and blog?

Apart from updated content and some new images, the merged Simply Write website and Content Matters blog now have a host of new features – including a newsletter sign-up facility, a free report for newsletter subscribers, contextual testimonials, plus an integrated contact form.

Other facilities include a blog comment management system that blocks spam, a share and save feature incorporating social media links, plus blog archives and a ‘popular posts’ feature.

I will continue to add weekly blog posts to the Content Matters blog, and over time, will add more ‘static’ website pages, plus examples of my published work.

The new hybrid blog is on WordPress and was built using the Thesis theme.

Perhaps I should look into some more plugins too?

More next month.

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By Debbie Legall – 11 March 2011

Creating content with your customers in mind

This month, I’m highlighting the content I have recently posted on my Content Matters blog.

As the title of this post suggests, I’ve been looking at content from a ‘customer’ viewpoint.


Are you having a one-sided conversation?

It can be all too easy to treat the content on our websites as ‘ours’ – and see our websites as an opportunity to talk about what we want to talk about using words and phrases that we know and understand because we use them all the time in our field of work.

And this is ok if you like having one-sided conversations.

But one of the main ways to connect with customers online is to use words that everyone will understand – so that you can draw your readers closer.

Yes there are many schools of thought on this but if anyone can understand the content on your website, then it’s far more likely to appeal to a wider group – and feel less like an exclusive club that generates little interest.

So below are some links to posts – to give you some ideas.


Links and ideas

Using plain English…  – and why it is so important.  This post on plain English has a much longer title, and was designed to get you thinking about how easy it is to generate words that mean nothing, and lose your readers in the process.  You’ll discover how to turn your copy into plain English.

Planning and creating a rich body of content for your website – after all, who wants to visit a website that has nothing new on it, and shows no signs of life?  I’ve also included some ideas to get you thinking about how you can continue to feed your website with fresh, valuable content.

Keeping your online marketing on the right side of the law – and this is targeted at your marketing and advertising efforts.  Consumer protection is the goal here – as tighter controls on the claims we make about our products and services become the norm. In the UK for example, new controls come into force from 1 March 2011.

I’ll be returning to the theme of connecting with your customers in the months to come, and of course, am open to any ideas you’d like to share in the meantime.

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By Debbie Legall – 11 February 2011

Create your own website

It’s hard to believe that January has almost ended.

And as we head into the month of February, any New Year resolutions we have made and kept (that have managed to survive), will be put to the test…

One of my New Year resolutions is to sort out my small group of websites and blogs, and merge the main ones together in one place.  It’s going to take slightly longer than I had originally planned, but it is now underway, and I will share more details about it next month.

One of my other New Year resolutions was to complete my first ebook, and I have now done just that.  Perhaps my ebook can help you achieve your goals for 2011?

If you want to set up your own website this year - my ebook can help.

Website Wonder: The Easy Guide to Creating Your Own Website From Scratch shows you how to create your own website using a clear, easy-to-follow step-by-step approach.

Crammed full of tried and tested methods, useful tips and information, Website Wonder will help you to launch your business website or personal website with ease.

Find out more about the ebook here.

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By Debbie Legall – 22 January 2011

December round-up

As 2010 draws to a close, I am taking this opportunity to add an end-of-year message that summarises the services on offer. 

  • copywriting
    …to grab the attention of your audience – and create words that sell
  • content writing
    ... core copy for your websites and printed materials – created from scratch, using your materials or other sources of information
  • article writing
    …to help you keep your website and other titles regularly updated with relevant articles and news stories
  • website content overhaul and re-structure
    … website refresh and overhaul work – covering content, usability and launch project activity
  • website editorial guides and training
    …to help you and your staff to understand your content and to help own and manage it

As you can see, the above list  offers only brief highlights of what’s available.

If you would like to know more about any of the above or related services, please fill in the form here and I will respond as soon as possible with the information you need.

Over the coming weeks and months, I will be adding more detailed posts showing how each service I offer can directly benefit you and your customers.

I wish you all a very happy New Year.

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By Debbie Legall – 28 December 2010

WordPress wizardry

Unbelievably, it’s already about a month and half since I launched this website.

I’ve been working on my WordPress skills and tapping regularly into the skills of the vast and helpful online community for tips and tricks.

Apart from tampering with templates and mulling over menu types, I’ve been creating content – or at least planning for new content.


New content available

The new content includes:

  • the first legal PLR package of five articles for purchase (more batches covering a wider subject area are planned),
  • a press release about the package, and
  • a new free article for you to share.

I have also launched a new weekly blog called Content Matters and am about to start a monthly enewsletter.

If you’d like to receive the enewsletter, please drop me a note via the contact form and I’ll add you to the mailing list.

If you’d like to know more about my new blog (which is still very much a work in progress!) please visit the Content Matters blog.

All that remains for me to do now is to start marketing my blogs/websites.  Easier said than done perhaps?

I look forward to sharing my progress with you – and showing off my WordPress skills – next month…

Debbie

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By Debbie Legall – 29 November 2010

Welcome

Welcome to my new website!

It’s taken me some time to launch this website – but finally, after many months of talking about it, visualising and thinking about it, it has become a reality.

Use this website to access an exciting range of copywriting services, information projects and content I am working on.

As a highly experienced copywriter and content specialist, I’m adept at all things content – and am equally at home working on projects large or small.

I hope you’ll find copywriting inspiration on this website.

Take a look around – starting with my services -  and see what you think…

Get in touch if you’d like to know more about how I can help you.

Debbie

13 October 2010

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By Debbie Legall – 13 October 2010