“Early Bird Tickets On Sale for Melbourne ProBlogger Event – #PBEVENT” plus 2 more |  |
- Early Bird Tickets On Sale for Melbourne ProBlogger Event – #PBEVENT
- How to Create White Papers From Your Blog Posts and Use Them Effectively
- Build Blog Products That Sell 6: Tell the World
| Early Bird Tickets On Sale for Melbourne ProBlogger Event – #PBEVENT Posted: 10 May 2012 10:37 PM PDT
Today tickets have gone on sale for our October Event and it is going to be big – both in terms of attendee numbers, venue and what we’re setting out to achieve. This year’s Problogger Training Event will be held over 2 days at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium (or rooms within the stadium). The dates are 12-13 October. Great SpeakersThe majority of our speaker lineup is from Australia’s amazing blogging community (we have some innovative and entrepreneurial bloggers here) but we’re also flying in Chris Guillebeau to bring a little international flavour. Chris will be presenting twice – once as a keynote and once in a workshop. Other speakers and panelists include myself (I’ll be involved in 3-4 sessions), Sarah Wilson, Shayne Tilley (Web Marketing Ninja and regular contributor here on ProBlogger), Nicole Avery, James Tuckerman, Jules Clancy, Stan Lee, Mrs Woog Valerie Khoo and a load more (see the full list of confirmed speakers and panelists here). A Focus Upon Building Profitable BlogsThe focus of this year’s event will be much more upon monetization and building profitable blogs. While we’ll touch on some more general topics in the course of the event the feedback from last year was that attendees wanted training on how to monetize. As a result we’re featuring sessions that are very much on the topic of making money through a variety of methods. This will include sessions looking at the different models available to bloggers, advertising and working with brands, eBook creation, courses and membership areas, selling your services, sponsored posts and much more. Solid TrainingThe style of teaching at this event is a combination of keynotes, panels and interactive sessions. However based on feedback from last year we’re including more ‘keynote’ presentations than previously to allow for more intentional ‘training’ and leading attendees through processes. While there will be plenty of time for networking, discussion and a little fun at this years event – the feedback from our 2nd event last year was that we’d put on the most solid ‘training’ event in Australia for bloggers – we only want to strengthen that. My intent for this event is that bloggers not only walk away with theoretical teaching but practical advice and strategies that they can go away and implement. You can see our preliminary schedule here. Secure Your Tickets TodayTickets for the event this year will be price at $299.99 (AUD) but we currently have a limited number on sale for $249.99 AUD. This price covers the 2 days of training, networking breakfast on day 1, all lunches and morning/afternoon breaks, drinks and food at a networking event (at one of Melbourne’s finest eateries) on the evening of the first day as well as a Digital Pass to the event (where you get access to audio recordings of the event and PDFs of the presentations). SponsorsThis price is as affordable as we can possibly make it thanks to the support of some amazing sponsors -a special thanks to our Gold and Silver sponsors MYOB, Yellow Pages, Curtin University. We do have a limited number of sponsorship spots still available for brands wanting to reach out to the Australian blogging community (and beyond). Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Early Bird Tickets On Sale for Melbourne ProBlogger Event – #PBEVENT |
| How to Create White Papers From Your Blog Posts and Use Them Effectively Posted: 10 May 2012 01:06 PM PDT This guest post is by Mitt Ray of The White Paper Blog. With the rise in inbound marketing, more and more blogs are using white papers to promote themselves effectively. Blogs can use white papers as part of their marketing campaigns to spread expertise, generate leads, get more subscribers, and to take advantage of many other benefits. If you're keen on learning how to write effective white papers and then use them to promote your blog, then you have to read this post! What is a white paper?A white paper is a cross between a magazine article and a brochure. It possesses both the educational qualities of a magazine article and the persuasive qualities of a corporate brochure. This combination of education and persuasion makes it one of the most powerful marketing tools. How do white papers differ from guides and reports?Guides and reports are helpful documents that usually dwell into the solution right away. There's a brief paragraph or two as to why the guide is helpful and why they need to read the guide, and then the helpful information starts. A white paper, on the other hand, dwells into the problems first. A white paper usually starts with a headline and an introduction which explains what the white paper is about, and how it's going to help the reader. Then there's a detailed description of the problems faced by the reader. The white paper goes into detail about every problem faced by the reader and how it affects them and their business. After making the problems clear, the white paper discusses the appropriate solutions in details. This is the main difference between a white paper and a guide—a white paper dwells on the problems before providing the solution. One more difference is that the white paper has a persuasive brochure at the end which usually sells a service or product relevant to the solution in the white paper. This can play an important lead generation. Another important point to keep in mind is that white papers can be scientific with a lot of references. When should you use a white paper and not a guide?As I mentioned above, a white paper can be a fantastic tool to promote your blog, but you can't always use it. If you want to use a white paper to promote your blog, you need to make sure that a white paper would suit your blog topic, your audience, etc. A white paper might be a fantastic marketing tool for some blogs, but it might not be for others. For example, I have two blogs on marketing: one of them is on white papers, and the other's on social media and inbound marketing. On my white paper blog I give away the free white paper on how to write white papers. This works because people who visit my website are people looking to learn more about white papers and how to write them—therefore a white paper on how to write white paper acts as a helpful document and sample, and this helps promote my blog. When I first started my other blog on social media and inbound marketing, I offered the free white paper “How to get started with inbound marketing.” This white paper explained the problems with outdated marketing methods, how inbound marketing works, and how to get started with it. This white paper did well, as I was able to display the problems and solutions clearly and white papers do play a role in inbound marketing. Recently, though, I took that off the site and replaced it with a guide on how to get started with Pinterest. I could have written a white paper on it, but I decided to use a guide as a white paper on Pinterest would have been redundant. If I wrote a white paper on how to use Pinterest, I’d need to talk about the problems with other social media and image-sharing sites and I didn't feel that this would be appropriate. Also, I wanted to make a free guide which doesn't have any marketing messages or information about any of my services. This is why I decided to write a guide instead of a white paper. If you want to write a white paper for your blog or to promote your business you need to be clear about your aims, your audience, your topic, etc. and then decide if it would be better off to use a white paper or to stick with a guide. Normally it's best to use a white paper if you're providing a service or product in the B2B sector. Sometimes white papers might not work in the B2C sector; the best thing to do in those cases is to use a guide instead. How can blogs use white papers?Whether your blog is part of a business, or whether it's a standalone blog, there are plenty of ways you can use a white paper to promote your blog or your business. Here are a few ideas. How can an independent blog and a blog that is part of a company use white papers?The different ways in which standalone blogs, and blogs that are part of businesses, can use white papers include:
How can blogs that are part of a business use white papers?Below is a list of the benefits of white papers to blogs that are part of a business. These advantages usually don't apply to independent blogs:
How to create white papers from your blog postsYou can either create white papers from scratch, or from your blog posts. Given that we’re all bloggers, I’m going to teach you how to create white papers from blogs post. If you would like to learn how to create white papers from scratch, read my white paper on How to Write White a Paper! Contents of a white paperA white paper usually consists of:
If your blog has been around for a while, you can probably get all the above required information for a white paper from your blog posts. In fact, you can take any solution-focused blog post and use it to build a white paper. A blog post usually consists of a headline, followed by the introduction where you briefly write about a problem. Next comes the main part of the post, where you write the solutions to the problem in detail. As you can see, it’s pretty easy to either repurpose blog posts, or use them as the basis, to create your white paper. Creating the white paperAs I mentioned earlier, white papers usually detail problems, then follow up with solutions to these problems. So let's start off by taking all the blog posts you plan to include in your white paper. Make sure all these posts are on the same subject or belong to the same niche. 1. Write down the problems Write down a list of all the problems from the blog posts you have amassed. After you have written them down, go through them thoroughly. Now, write down a brief introduction to the Problems section of the white paper. This needs to be written briefly, based on all the problems you listed. After you finish writing this introduction, you can start listing out each of the problems and describe them in detail. Make sure you expand on those few lines you wrote earlier. You want each problem’s description to be between 100 and 400 words long. After you have listed all the problems, write down a brief conclusion which tells the reader that the problems stated can be solved with simple solutions. This conclusion should lead the reader into the Solutions section of the white paper. 2. Write down the solutions For the Solutions section of the white paper, you can use the same solutions you provided in your blog posts. You might need to modify it a bit to suit the white paper and the detailed problems you just wrote. First, start off by writing a headline and brief introduction to the Solutions section. Here, write about all the solutions you plan to discuss, and how they can help solve the problems you’ve already covered. After that introduction, list the solutions one by one and copy in the content from your blog posts, modifying the content so that it reads well in sequence and so that the problems and solutions match each other perfectly. This will improve the flow of the white paper and make it easy to read. 3. Write a conclusion At the end of the Solutions section, write down your conclusion. The Conclusion should lead the reader into the brochure section of the white paper. You need to let the reader know that the tips you have provided in the white paper do work, and if they would like to try out a product or service that provides the same solution they should keep reading… 4. Create the brochure section After the Conclusion, it’s time to create the brochure section of the white paper. Here, you can just give a brief outline of your blog or business, and then follow it with the benefits of your product or service. At the end, don’t forget to include a linked call to action which asks the reader to contact you to find out more about your product or service. 5. Write the Introduction and headline After you finish writing the Problems, Solutions, and Brochure sections of the white paper, go back to the beginning and write the headline, sub-headline, and the introduction. I like to leave this task till last, because by the end of the writing, I know exactly what’s in my white paper and how I’ve pitched the problems and solutions. Writing the Intro and headline last means I can make sure that they pre-empt the content of the white paper very well. First write an attention-grabbing headline and sub-headline that will convince the reader to read the rest of the white paper. For the introduction, all you need to do is sum up the contents of the white paper in around 300 to 500 words. Here, just outline some of the contents of the white paper. Let the reader know what the white paper is about, mention some of the important problems and solutions that are discussed here, and highlight how they will find the information helpful. Think of the introduction as a mini-white paper, or a teaser. Don't give away too much information in the introduction, as you still want the reader to read the rest of the white paper and find out more about what it contains by themselves. 6. Check the flow After you finish writing the entire white paper, read it several times to make sure all the contents of the white paper complement each other and fit in well together. This will improve the flow of your white paper and make it easy to read. If you follow this process you should be able to create a powerful white paper from your blog posts. You can then use this white paper to take advantage of all the benefits mentioned above. Have you ever created a white paper from your blog posts? Have you got any other tips you would like to share with us? Please share your comments with us below. Mitt Ray blogs about white papers on "The White Paper Blog," where you can download his free white paper on "How to Write a White Paper." He is the Founder of Social Marketing Writing and the Director of imittcopy. He is also the author of the book White Paper Marketing. You can follow him on @MittRay. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How to Create White Papers From Your Blog Posts and Use Them Effectively |
| Build Blog Products That Sell 6: Tell the World Posted: 10 May 2012 07:06 AM PDT This guest series is by Greg McFarlane of Control Your Cash.  Image courtesy stock.xchng user lusi Say you've done all of the above. Now, the only remaining step is to get the sale. Sounds obvious, but all the preliminary work means nothing if you don't close. You need to tell people to buy, rather than just crossing your fingers and hoping that they might. It’s not just writing…There's a certain finesse required with this. You don't sell in the same voice in which you entice, cajole, or inform. Lots of bloggers have trouble making the transition. If you're going to put yourself out there as a seller of "you-branded" content, you don't have the luxury of stumbling through and hoping that your sales pitch falls on receptive ears. At this point, considering how much you've put in, selling yourself is mandatory, not optional. You have to use language forcefully, more forcefully than you do in your blog posts. Burrow into your prospect's head, and by extension, your prospect's wallet. Focusing on the benefitsThere's a timeless axiom in the advertising business: People don't want a bar of soap, they want clean hands. The benefit of the product is far more important than the product itself. When you instead start focusing on the product—which, granted, you expended considerable effort to create—you're not exactly empathizing with your clientele. It's supposed to be about them, not you. No one cares how many hours you spent interviewing people for the DVD series you're selling. Nor could anyone be less interested in how many pages your ebook is. (Beyond a certain point, of course. If you're going to charge $329 for a three-page ebook, it had better contain the GPS coordinates for the Ark of the Covenant.) No, cost-conscious buyers—any discerning buyers, really—want to know the answer to the universal question: What's in it for me?How are you going to make your readers' lives easier/simpler/richer? State how you're going to do it. Yes, it's great that you poured your heart and soul into your work, but that doesn't necessarily make it sellable. The human tendency is to concentrate on oneself, rather than other people. Which makes perfect sense—of course you'll brush your own teeth and wash your own windows before doing the same for your neighbor. But if you want other people's money, you have to force yourself to think about them first, as unnatural as that might sound. Here's an example of what not to write to get people to buy your products. The example is technically fictional, but it's a composite of other bloggers' calls-to-action: “Starting today, I'm running a discount on my latest project. You can get my 36-page, 8,459-word ebook for just $11.99. This ebook, Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them, is the result of many months of research, and is now being made available to you for a special introductory price.” Wow. Thanks for doing me the favor of offering to take my money. This is like the employee who walks into the boss's office requesting a raise, and the first point he cites is how many hours of uncompensated overtime he puts in. Or that he has a baby on the way. You need to give your employer, or anyone else in the position of enriching you, a reason for doing so. Again, concentrate on the end users here. Without them, you and your product are nothing. Here's an alternative sales script, one that focuses on the buyer. It's longer, but it also (hopefully) appeals to the buyer's senses: “Your car makes an unfamiliar noise. So naturally, your first reaction is to drive to the nearest mechanic, and waste maybe half an hour in the waiting room, putting yourself at the mercy of a professional whose livelihood rests on finding as many things wrong with people's cars as possible. For the love of God, don't. Stop throwing your money away. That knock you hear doesn't mean you need a new $1400 transmission assembly. It means you need to spend a couple more dollars on higher-octane fuel. That ear-splitting undercarriage rattle can be quieted in seconds, with the appropriate ratchet and a quarter-turn of your wrist. My new ebook, Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them, breaks down the most common, least pleasant sounds that can emanate from your car. It tells you where they originate, what they mean, and how to prevent them. Some will require a look from a technician, but you'll be amazed how many won't. Fix them yourself instead, and you'll save untold time, money and aggravation. Car Noises And How To Diagnose Them includes sound files of dozens of the most common noises, along with complete directions on how to locate and assess them. Download it here for just $12, and I'll include a mobile link for iOS and Android (because very few car noises occur when you're sitting in front of your computer at home).” Obviously that sales treatment isn't going to be suitable for your blog and its products, but you get the idea. People are more budget-conscious these days than they've been in some time. They will part with their money, but you need to give them a compelling reason to. Drawing the lineThis doesn't mean you should be penning advertising copy with dubious assertions. ("Scientifically proven to regrow hair!") Quite the contrary. If there's ever a time to be honest, it's when you're explaining to your readers what your products can do for them. Your readers will respect you for it, and if you give them value, they'll spread the word. For an established blogger, creating products that extend that blog can be a rewarding way to engage your readers and foster an ever-growing audience. For an up-and-coming blogger, selling a worthwhile product can cement your reputation as an authority in your field all the more quickly. Creating blog products takes plenty of time and effort, and while selling them in a rough economy can be a challenge, it's such challenges that separate the average bloggers from the remarkable ones. Say what your product's benefit is (not what your product is, what its benefit is.), and sell. Key points
That’s it for our tour of the tricky business of building blog products that sell. How are your products selling at the moment? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Greg McFarlane is an advertising copywriter who lives in Las Vegas. He recently wrote Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense, a financial primer for people in their 20s and 30s who know nothing about money. You can buy the book here (physical) or here (Kindle) and reach Greg at greg@ControlYourCash.com. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger Build Blog Products That Sell 6: Tell the World |
Over the last few years I’ve hosted 2 events here in Melbourne for bloggers. What started in 2009 as a quickly pulled together and very cramped and crowded event for 150 bloggers has grown considerable.
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