Biz Tips Blog: Internet Marketing Tips

Repurpose Your Content to Leverage Your Time

One of the things you will hear us talk about a lot -- and not just us, but many people doing business online -- is that you need to repurpose your content in order to leverage your time and make more money.

What does that look like?

• You write an article.
• You post it on your blog.
• You record the article and create a podcast.
• You send the article out to your ezine subscribers.
• You submit the article to article directories and send traffic back to your book site/blog.
• You create a press release using the content of the article. It gets distributed all over the 'net.
• You break the article down into 5 tips and create a free mini-course.
• You expand on the article and create an ebook.
• You create a video using the content of the article.
• You post a link to your article on your Facebook profile for all your friends to see.
• You Twitter about your article.
• You create a teleclass about the content of your article.
• You transcribe the audio from the teleclass and package the audio and the transcript into a product you sell.

Get the idea? Any more ways you can think of to repurpose your content?

Business Blogging Video Tips: Writing

In preparation for our program on Better Business Blog Writing (starts Monday, 5/19), Patsi's been creating a series of video tips about writing better blog posts.  Don't miss them:

Business Blog Writing Blues?

Business Blog Writing Video Tip (The 4 E's)

5 Ways to Enrich Your Business Blog Content

Tuesday Tutorial: A Great Idea but...

I had this idea over the weekend that I would start a series of tutorials around the tools I use and recommend for marketing online.  I thought I would call it Tuesday Tutorials.  But, it's not going to happen...yet.

This week and the next couple are insane. Three teleclasses this week. Our monthly Blogging & Beyond Mentor coaching call (join us!). Prepping for two presentations at Publishers Marketing Assoc. University at the end of the month. 

Producing a series of videos for our Better Business Blog Writing program which starts Monday. Working on a new site focused on content for coaches and consultants (currently Customized Newsletters, Patsi's original business that continues to operate).

Working on the final edits and formatting for a new ebook on Better Business Blogging.  Getting ready to launch a new free report on Better Business Blogging...

Can you see why there's not a lot of time to create tutorials? Man.

Oh yeah, also started a new mastermind group yesterday on creating and using video for business.  Awesome, amazing group of people. I'm very excited to be part of it.  As I learn more about video, I intend to share my learnings and insights here. 

Blog Squad Teleseminars Happening This Week

Another busy week for The Blog Squad. We're presenting 3 teleseminars about business blogging.  Take your pick:

May 12 - 16 (we present on Tueday, May 13 at 4 pm ET)
As part of the Womens Business Launch Success TeleSummit we join an amazing group of 15 experts presenting on how to sort through the clutter of business building tactics, focus your marketing strategies, and claim financial SUCCESS.

Presenters include: Viki Viertel, Lisa Earle McLeod, Debbie LaChusa, Suzy Spivey, Adam Urbanski, The Blog Squad™, Sheri McConnell, Kyle King, Christina Merkely, Michael Port, Joe Nunziata, MaryPat Kavanagh, Lynn Scheurell, Mara Castello, Wayne Kelly
Details and Registration here.

Thursday, May 15, 5 p.m. ET
Blogging to Explode Your Business Growth
Hosted by Cathy Goodwin
No charge, register here.

Thursday, May 15, 9 p.m. ET
Using a Blog to Gain Expert Status
Hosted by Joe Nunziata
No charge, register here.

Another option...

Join The Blog Squad's Blogging and Beyond Membership program and get ongoing coaching and access to dozens of hours of audio training, transcripts, discussion forum and monthly live coaching calls to get YOUR Internet marketing questions answered. 

The next session is on Wednesday, May 14 at 5 p.m. ET and will include my report on Biz School for Bloggers, an amazing conference I attended last week. Lots of excellent stuff. Join here, only $9.95 for a 30 day trial membership: http://www.theblogsquad.net/mentor

SOBCon08 provided great insights to social networking

This past weekend I attended SOBCon08 in Chicago (SOB = Successful Outstanding Bloggers). It was a whirlwind two-day event starting Friday night with a river cruise and ending at noon on Sunday after a full day of outstanding presentations, 5 minute pitches by some participants, lots of networking, LOTS of twittering, lots of photos, and lots of blogger love.

I've compiled a list of links (below) - by no means complete because EVERYONE was blogging and tweeting about the event - so you can get a sense of what was covered and more importantly HOW the event was covered by the participants.

Social media and social networking RULED.

Throughout the presentations, everyone was posting on twitter important points and tips shared by the speakers. This enabled thousands of people who could not attend the event to get a flavor of what was going on and to participate in a limited way by commenting and asking questions.  If you're not using Twitter yet, sign up now. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/BlogSquad (click on the Follow button).

White Papers build your list and convert

Last year we interviewed the guru of white papers, Michael Stelzner on our Blogging and Beyond radio show. After the interview we asked him to teach a class for our network about using white papers to get more leads, which he did and was a big hit.  Then, we acted on Michael's information and we wrote a white paper about how to get found on the web. I can't remember when exactly we launched the white paper -- I think it was in July 2007 -- and to date over 1000 people have requested the paper.

The results have been numerous follow up conversations with prospects and new clients for our products and services. 

Now, Michael has released a series of videos about how white papers exploded (and I use that word intentionally because that's what happened to him) his business and how you can use white papers to get more leads for your business too. And, as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what kind of business you have.  You need to educate your prospects, give them excellent, valuable and action-able content, and you can bet they will be attracted to work with you.

A blog isn't enough. An ezine isn't enough. A website isn't enough. You need as many lines in the pond as you can so you can reach people where they live and give them the info they need in order to decide to work with you.

Watch the videos and let me know what you think.

The Blog Squad are Featured Guests on Marketing Qi

The Blog Squad featured on free teleclass about business blogging to gain expert status:
Tuesday, May 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Register here.

May is a crazy month for us with 5 teleclasses and 2 radio interviews all on business blogging. All are free except for one which we'll tell you about later.  We kick off the month as featured guests on the Marketing Qi event:

You are invited to attend, as our special guest, an extraordinary online/teleconference event that has the potential to make this year the best ever for your business...

Register Now (using this free online pass at):

==>   http://www.MarketingQi.com/blogsquad

just by enrolling in the Marketing Qi (say *chee*) Business Teleseminar 12-week Intensive, featuring...

LIVE in-depth interviews with twelve top marketing and business experts on the web today...

The speakers will be teaching you cutting edge business information such as:

Video Landing Page Secrets from Mike Stewart

As a quick follow up to my post about how I'm learning about video on the web, you might be interested in checking out Mike Stewart's Video Landing Page Secrets. Mike is really the master at using video as a sales tool on the web, and he's the one whose tutorials I bought to learn how to use Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Even though Mike advocates using Wordpress for your video landing pages, I contend you can do the same thing on TypePad or on any web page.  His point is that you can set up a video sales page in a few minutes with no knowledge of html by using a blog, and he's right. Mike produces excellent training tutorials so this may be a good way for you to go if you're ready to jump into video.

Read this article from USA Today: Marketing Gold Could Be Found in Web Video

ButtCamp in Los Angeles on Sunday

Internet marketing guru, and our mentor, Tom Antion, is presenting his famous full day ButtCamp in Los Angeles this Sunday, April 13. The program is sponsored by the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Speakers Association and non-members are welcome.

The Blog Squad will be presenting a segment on business blogs, of course. So, if you're planning to be there or if you can make it, let us know.

Tom Antion always over-delivers so you'll get way more than you paid for. And, ButtCamp alumni can attend all future Buttcamps free. This is the 4th Buttcamp that I'll be attending and I learn something new from Tom everytime. Tom's programs are worth every penny for the new ideas, tips and up-to-date Internet marketing tactics you'll learn.

Sorry for the late notice but we just found out that non-NSA members could attend.

The Video Education of The Blog Squad

Video is not the next big thing.  Video is the big thing right now. Everybody's doing it and The Blog Squad is no exception.

As you've seen from recent posts on this blog, on Build a Better Blog and Writing on the Web, we've been learning about video and how to use it to market our business services. I've even set up a blog just for posting our business blogging video tips.

As simple as a lot of the tools are now, there is most definitely a learning curve so I'm taking this opportunity to tell you how I've been getting up to speed on the video thing: what classes I've taken, what software I'm using and what equipment.

The first thing I've learned is that shooting the video is the easy part. With a Flip Video camera or a good webcam, it's almost as easy as point and shoot.  Of course, you need to know what you want to say and show so there is some prep involved, even for a 2 minute video.