What to Blog About Next? How 'bout Now? part 2

I heart evergreen posts. Now and always.

Blogging got off to a suspicious start. Even auspicious, maybe. But I'm not blogging about run-of-the-mill, run-off-the-mouth blogging. I'm blogging about corporate/business/ghost/marketing content blogging.

Which means your blogging efforts will probably require meetings. Schedules. A plan. 

Yeah, I know. Borrrrr-ing. But do it right and you'll be hearing ca-ching!

Here's the good news about planning your blog posts: it doesn't have to be hard, they don't have to be long, and variety is the spice of blogging.

In other words, sometimes you can blog about what you're doing right now.

We're having a sale! is a great way to start a blog post.
Hurry to renew your contract before the price increase! works too. 

Seasonal tips make for great blog content. Got a landscaping business? Why not blog about liability as it relates to snow plowing contracts?

But wait, it's not exactly snowplow season, you're thinking. And we're not having a sale this week. So what do you mean, blog about "now?"

I mean, time is of the essence. You will have to spend some time planning and writing and scheduling your posts to make sure they're always timely. Get it? Blog about now means now, AKA your publish date. You want your content to be very timely ... or very evergreen. And sometimes, in-between.

I'll address evergreen posts (I love evergreen posts!) later, and tweeners too. Meanwhile, if you're wondering what to blog about now, I suggest you plan now to blog about something that will feel like you wrote it just now when the reader reads it... later.

Later! 

~Diane Stresing

Blog Excuses

What's holding back your business blog?

Is it a lack of a plan? A lack of discipline? I'm pretty sure it's not a lack of something to say...

Good old-fashioned blogs may seem less "exciting" than Pinterest, Tumblr, and a host of other social media tools, but the fact that they can increase your sales and reduce your cost of sales is well proven.

What are you waiting for?


~Diane Stresing

What's your newsletter done for you lately?

How many newsletters did you read this week? One from your local winery? bike shop? Did your corporate wellness program send you one? And did you read them?

I'm guessing you received more than you think; you read (at least the headline and possibly first graph of) almost every one. And even if you "just" touched delete on your slick phone screen, you thought - for a brief and shining moment - about the sender.

That's called mindshare. Get enough and you've got a brand. Do it right and you've got a valuable brand. 

But newsletters can do so much more than occupy an atom of your prospect's mind for a moment.

What else can newsletters do? 

Glad you asked.

Well-crafted newsletters can help train and develop employees, get new customers, retain your current clients, and improve your employee satisfaction rates - for a song.

Now I sound crazy, right? Well, give a crazy idea a chance. Done right, newsletters can help you reach your goals.

Regardless of their intended audience, the most effective and cost-effective newsletters are both timely and evergreen. Sound like a tall order? Well, I invite you to stretch with me.

Your newsletter can (and should)...

Be practical and just a tad inspirational. Employee newsletters reinforce (and sometimes replace!) training initiatives and remind everyone on the team that they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Increase sales. Newsletters directed at customers can increase sales, encourage referrals, and deliver coupons. Beyond that, they educate your clients, reduce unnecessary calls, and remind customers why they chose to shop with you in the first place – why they, too, are part of the team. But customer newsletters aren't the only newsletters that should add to your bottom line.  Employee newsletters can also increase sales. How? Have you ever been convinced (or just plain pressured) into buying an extended warranty for a new product, because the salesperson simply wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Maybe that contest was in his company's newsletter. Maybe he wants his name in the next newsletter under the "winners" column. And maybe, just maybe, an underperforming salesperson (or two) will read the list of winners and think, hurumph. I can do better than that.

Newsletters can tell stories, and stories build relationships. Remember newspapers? I bet you read the features, didn't you? The ones with a photo and a headline like, "The Reason I Became a Bottle Washer." Good stories - ones that ooze good news about your brand and have a human interest factor, to boot - are likely to get shared. Go viral, in other words. Another word to say viral advertising is "free" advertising. I bet you see where I'm going with this. Maybe you'll even share it :D

Do you have a newsletter? If you do, is it current? Is it working for you?
If you don't have a newsletter - does your competition?

~Diane Stresing

Related & really interesting
Does anyone read that long copy? Marcia Yudkin settles the long v. short debate.
Do you need a newsletter or a discussion list? One author vs. many contributors - it's your call.
Want a newsletter, but it's just too much work? Get help, get it done.

Customer newsletters: Ignore at your peril

Read the latest studies on customer retention and loyalty, and you might need some cheering up. We're a fickle lot, and apparently, even more so when the economy is this bleak.

You've got to give new customers reasons to come back, old customers new reasons to return, and remind all of your customers that they love you so much they simply must recommend you to all of their friends.

In other words, you need a customer newsletter.

Form and content matter (consider the print v e-newsletter debate that still lives and will for years, here) but any newsletter is better than none. There are no hard-and-fast rules about discounts,  frequency, color schemes, or even distribution methods. There is one fact that can't be ignored, however: you need customers. Don't you?

If you don't need customers, you don't need a newsletter. There. Debate settled.

What should your newsletter look like, what should it say or do? When and how should you send it? These are questions only you can answer for your business. You'll have a better shot at finding the best answers for your business if you noodle over the questions with someone who has experience working with newsletters. (Thanks for asking. Yes, I do.)

The advice that seems to apply to almost every type of business - and non-profit organization, for that matter - is not surprising. Make it worth reading, and keep it short. If you leave 'em wanting more, and they know where to get it, your customers will find you. And isn't that the point?

Making your website work harder: FAQ pages

Think you know what belongs on your FAQ page? Of course you do - to some extent. But before you publish, reconsider from a different perspective: your users.

Notice I didn't say "customers."

Most FAQ pages have two very different audiences. One is the confused customer with a question about (or a problem with!) a product or service. The other is prospective customers.

Customers deserve answers to their frequently asked questions. FAQ pages that deliver helpful answers keep customers happy, coming back, referring their friends.

Prospects need answers to help them make decisions. How well you answer their questions is directly related to how soon you get the next sale.

Reconsider your FAQ page. Whose frequently asked questions does it answer? Does some of the information belong in a "Help" or "Getting Started" section?

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Many companies use FAQ pages to sell more than to tell. Want to sell more? Tell me about it!
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