Idea Generator

Blogger uses a theme strategy for her content development

Remember Mary Wollard? Mary is an attorney/mediator who specializes in co-parenting issues following divorce. Her Colorado Family Solutions Center blog is an excellent example of how writing can boost your credibility, highlight your expertise and help people find you on the Internet.

Since I featured her story in May 2008 we've continued to work together on her blog posts. Some posts she'll do on her own, but the longer ones she will send to me for editing.

Recently Mary decided to apply some content strategy in her blog; a structure that will make it easier for her to come up with content and organize her content in a valuable way for her readers.

She's decided to use monthly themes, and will write a new blog each week exploring a different aspect of the theme.

In January she blogged about communication (here is a post I edited for her) and this month she's writing about the harmful consequences of dragging other people into the conflict of divorce.

When I asked Mary how it felt to have her monthly themes all laid out for the rest of the year, she said:

"It is such a relief to have my blog post themes laid out for the entire year. I already have some ideas for specific posts, and even for the ones that are blank I’m confident that having a theme will spark lots of ideas when the time comes."

Quick Writing Prompt: Can you think of 11 themes you can focus on in your blog and/or newsletter between now and the end of the year? Would it make your writing easier if you could start with a theme?

 

Online piano teacher gets it right with writing

When Lisa Steeple of Learn Piano Online came to me for help, she was already:

• Clear about how writing could help her grow her business - she publishes articles online to draw traffic back to her website, where she offers a free pink spoon sample.
• Coming up with plenty of article ideas - she's extremely creative and passionate about exploring the connections between music, healing and personal development.

So why hire a ghostwriter? Here are 3 good reasons:

1. Two heads are better than one - Lisa was drawn to my background as a music therapist and creativity coach, and we are able to collaborate effectively about a topic we're both interested in.
2. Consistency is the key - Lisa and I have an ongoing schedule of one article per week. That way, she can consistently publish fresh content online and draw a steady stream of new visitors to her website.
3. Delegation gets it done - Lisa loves to write, and will expand and develop what I send her. After all, as any writer will tell you, it's easier to rewrite than it is to write from scratch. By delegating the job of getting the first draft done, Lisa makes it easy on herself to get more articles written.

When I asked Lisa what it was like to work with me, she said:

Linda took a huge burden off my shoulders. My time is very limited and so it is a blessing to have someone as talented as Linda to write for me, freeing me up to focus on other parts of my business. I was feeling so guilty before, that I was neglecting this part of my marketing campaign. Now I'm getting it done! I've also definitely noticed a spike in my website traffic, and in the number of people who opt into my mailing list.

Working with Linda has been a joy. She is very organized and easy to communicate with. She seems to have a knack for understanding what I want to say, and present it in a way that represents me well. And when she tells you she will have something ready on a certain day, then that is when it is ready!

Thanks Lisa! And if anyone is looking for a fun, effective way to learn to play piano, please visit Lisa's site.

Read more Client Stories

Fill your VA biz and then take it to the next level

VA's, these Client Stories are for you!

I recently worked on two resources that were designed specifically to help you get as many VA clients as you can handle and then take things to the next level as an online business manager (OBM).

First up was Lisa Wells, of Coast 2 Coast Business Solutions, with her book E-Marketing Essentials for Virtual Assistants: How to grow your business online in less time and with less effort. Lisa combines concrete how-to's with plenty of lessons learned in her own journey from fledgling start-up to successful business owner.

It was a pleasure to revisit some of the material in this book, since I had already edited it in different formats (articles, book chapters, e-courses). This time, it just needed some reshaping to come together as a cohesive whole.

When I asked what it felt like to have this book done, and how it was to work with me on it, Lisa replied:

"Even before I finished the book, my plan included sending it to you for editing because I knew the quality of your work. Like I’ve said before, you took my words and thoughts and sent back a complete book that made me sound like a rock star! In addition to the book, the sales page you did was also great - you gave me exactly what I wanted and in my own style and voice. I have another book project in the works for next year and I can’t wait to work with you again."

Thanks, Lisa!

I also jumped at the chance to work with Tina Forsyth on her Online Business Manager book. We've crossed paths many times over the years, mostly through her work with Andrea Lee.

From reading her blog and the book she co-wrote with Andrea, I felt like I already knew her voice - sometimes irreverent, always down-to-earth and infinitely wise.

Keeping that voice intact was my top priority, while just cleaning up some sentences here and there so that Tina's message came through loud and clear.

This book was filled with a-ha's for me. Its ideas are just as ground-breaking for business owners as they are for VA's. In fact, next week I have the pleasure of sitting down with Tina, voice-to-voice, to talk about bringing the OBM philosophy and practice into my own business. I can't wait!

From Tina: "I'm singing your praises here, Linda. You have a gift for taking what I’m trying to say in my long and rambling way and making it succinct. I also like that you didn’t try to change my voice at all, you ‘get’ who I am and didn’t try to make it sound all proper and boring (which was my fear in having an editor touch my book). Being a coach yourself you take a real coaching approach to the editing process, making it enjoyable vs. painful."

Glad to hear!

Social networking for coaches

Kristen Beireis is in the midst of re-branding herself and her company, from virtual assistants to marketing implementation specialists.

Part of this process was creating a new pink spoon that would demonstrate Kristen’s expertise and answer a need in the coaching industry.

I think she was bang on with the topic she chose – social networking. Who hasn't wondered about how to start, what to post or where to draw the line between your business and personal lives? Kristen answers all of this and more.

My first job was to restructure the paper so that it had three very clear main ideas. Then I needed to maximize its readability by applying some of the writing guidelines from the Style Guide.

When I asked her what it was like to work with me on this project, Kristen (a repeat editing client) replied:

"Thanks for the edit, Linda. It feels much more cohesive and you even spiffed up the language a bit to sound more professional. I’ve never had so many people clammering to get a report. I’m getting more subscribers than I ever have before. In fact, in the first three weeks after I released the edited version of this report, I had 28 people sign up and confirm their subscription to my newsletter. And that doesn’t include those who haven’t confirmed yet. With my old report, I was lucky to get 4 verifications in one month. This is a big change!"

You can pick up your own free copy of this fabulous resource by visiting Kristen's website:
Coaches Marketing Source

Serving up a pink spoon to midlife moms

Coach Kellie deRuyter is working with Kenn Schroder to build a new website, and Kenn sent her my way (thanks, Kenn!).

Kellie has a wonderfully unique niche of midlife moms of young children, and as a midlife mom herself, she has a lot to offer!

In our Claim Your Expertise session, Kellie and I came up with the outline for a free report she could offer to her website visitors, in exchange for their name and email address.

That way, she can follow up with them later, with either:

• Single mailings that announce her other similar resources, products or services that address the same topic
• Automatic follow-up messages that gradually help her visitor get to know her better
• A regular newsletter that does it all

Kellie's report serves as a "pink spoon," as I wrote about in the post, "How big is the leap from your site to your sales?"

When I asked Kellie what is was like to work with me on finishing her pink spoon, she said:

"Getting started on my report was the hardest part for me. I couldn’t decide what to write about or how to write it, and I was too busy to spend focused time trying to figure it out. So I procrastinated for months, until I finally asked Linda for help.

I really liked how professional, yet relaxed and flexible Linda was. She was pleasant, gracious and willing to think out of the box when it came to how I could use her services. Her outline and ideas allowed me to write a nine-page report easily, and her suggested edits made my material sound better while still allowing my personality to come through."

Weaving a theme

In our Claim Your Expertise session, Karen Batchelor and I discussed ideas for her information empire. Completing her website was central to her plans, and so that's where we started.

The most exciting thing for me about Karen's website project was how we used the name of her business, Midlife's a Trip, as the theme for the entire site, and for Karen's service offerings.

Instead of an introductory coaching session, she offers a Midlife Day Trip. Instead of a menu of services, she provides a Midlife Trip Checklist. Karen's upcoming members-only program? The Passport Club! And so on.

The fun has continued as we've worked on Karen's newsletter, and a series of articles discussing what must be packed for a midlife trip (your ID, your emergency contacts list, etc.). Each of those items is a metaphor for the transformational coaching concepts that Karen uses to help her clients during this challenging and exciting time of life.

Weaving a theme through Karen's website, service offerings and other writing projects has been extremely rewarding and creative for me. What was it like for Karen?

"Within the first ten minutes of my Claim Your Expertise session, I knew I had found the solution that would turn my marketing plans into reality. I was stuck and overwhelmed with the task of merging my website and blog, which involved a complete rewrite of the website content.

With Linda’s help, the first phase of this project was completed in just one week. I was and continued to be amazed with her ability to bring each project in on deadline or before.

We even had to speed up the website launch because a local paper was doing an article on me the day after Memorial Day. With Linda’s help and patience, my new site was ready in time for the increased traffic generated by the article. I know that without Linda’s focus and attention to my project, there’s no way it would have been done in time.

Since then, Linda has helped me with other projects, like my first e-newsletter and an introductory letter to my list of contacts. Because of my confidence in her stellar writing skills and extraordinary customer service, I have also referred several friends to her for editing of their books. If you're in the middle of a writing project, or even contemplating starting one, Linda is definitely a person you want on your team. Thanks so much, Linda!" - Karen Batchelor, Midlife’s A Trip

Unleashing the Goddess Within

To follow-up on my Website Manifesto, I'm going to tell the story of a website sales page that I recently edited. Watch for another website story next month!

Sharon Turnbull, PhD, of GoddessGift.com hired me to edit the sales page for her Goddess Quiz. I was really intrigued by her product, impressed by her knowledge and eager to step into her Goddess world.

The existing page was way longer than she wanted it be, because she was trying to explain some pretty complex topics - archetypal psychology and personality assessments. She also has a huge wealth of information to share and she didn't want her readers to miss out on any of it! Maybe she was trying to write the sales page of a lifetime?

In an effort to keep the page to a manageable length, Sharon had included links to a lot of different pages with more information, inviting her website visitors on a long and fascinating journey. The problem was that it was too easy for them to get lost or distracted along the way.

We worked together to bring the focus back to one purpose: encouraging website visitors to buy the Goddess Quiz.

The result? Sharon's Goddess Quiz sales page is now much more focused. There are three outbound links that open as small new windows; one has more information about each of the Goddess types, and the other two are personal stories of how others have benefited from the Goddess Quiz.

I asked Sharon about the difference it made to have my help with her sales page, and here's what she told me:

“Though I was initially dreading having to ‘brain dump’ on someone who knew nothing about my unusual product, everything about you and your process quickly reassured me I'd made the right decision. You listened carefully and took my concerns to heart while gracefully introducing original ideas that literally rejuvenated that tired old sales page I'd been using. You reconnected me to my story and gave it momentum.

Somehow you knew exactly what to change and what to keep in the copy to make it clear and concise. And the tone was perfect – not hard sell, but not too “woo-woo” either. Your powerfully crafted page was right-on-target and you delivered it in a way that was phenomenal . . . not only prompt and efficient, but actually instructive and enjoyable. Linda, you were Goddess-sent!”

P.S. The results are in! My own Goddess Quiz results showed that I am a Persephone. Check out Sharon's Goddess page to find out what that means about me, or take the quiz yourself!

The Confidence to Write and Write and Write

Mary Wollard is an attorney/mediator, and we met following a tele-class series I did for the members of Dina Lynch's ADR Practice Builder community in the summer of 2007. Now a long-term editing client, Mary tells me that since we've been working together, she has so much more confidence and enthusiasm about writing.

She loves to write and has no shortage of great ideas, but in the past she's always been held up by worries about the quality of her writing.

Now, she just writes (and writes, and writes), with the confidence and reassurance that another set of eyes will go over her blog posts before she publishes them.

Mary specializes in co-parenting issues following divorce, and her articles are amazing! Her blog is at http://cofamilysolutions.blogspot.com/. Have a look, and please pass it along to anyone who could benefit from her sage wisdom.

When I asked Mary about the difference it makes having me as her editor, she had this to say:

"It is such a relief to know that I can concentrate on getting my ideas down and not on perfecting the final product. Linda's edits are always so thoughtful and make everything I write more readable without changing the original intent or flavor. Having Linda on my team is an essential part of my business plan."

Getting technical

Sandra De Freitas, the Tech for Coaches, hired me to edit her book, "Does this Blogsite make my Wallet look Fat? How to use a WordPress blogsite to make money, attract clients and gain expert celebrity status."

WordPress is a free (open source) blogging tool that's also a powerful content management system (CMS).  With Sandra's book, you'll be able to use WordPress to create your very own blogsite (a combination of a blog and a website). And you could probably do it over a weekend.

Sound good? Email bookvip@aweber.com to get on Sandra’s VIP list for pre-sale pricing.

This was the perfect time for this book to have come into my life, because I was actually creating a blogsite at the time (for a non-profit group that I'm involved with). Not only did it make it MUCH easier to get my site done, but I was able to be much more helpful to Sandra. I had first-hand experience building a site with WordPress AND I had used her book to do it.

Aside from editing, I also made a couple of suggestions about WordPress functions that still had me confused, and we worked together on adding some new sections to the book.

Above all, CLARITY was key for this project. We needed to ensure that "geeks" and "non-geeks" alike will be up and running with WordPress in no time flat. So as I read Sandra's helpful, jargon-free instructions, I tried them out in my own WordPress system, and made sure they were crystal clear and accurate.

I am SO pleased with the work I did on Sandra's book, and extremely proud to be involved with it.

Sandra is amazingly disciplined - it's truly inspiring! "I gave myself a tight deadline and then made it even tighter, " she said, "I wrote this book from start to finish in 3 1/2 weeks and I only used the weekends to do it." Wow!

When I asked Sandra about the difference it made having an editor on the project, she had this to say:

"I knew before I even wrote the book that I would hire you to edit it. You may not know this, Linda, but I actually considered extending my deadline a few times because of various excuses. Having you on my team and reading your emails about our time line really helped me focus and stay with it. I also loved the funny subtitles you added to the book! Thanks for keeping me on track, encouraging me to keep writing and making me look good!"

UPDATE (May 9, 2008) - Sandra's book is now available from www.WordPressBlogsites.com. Here she is with the book:

Merry Go 'Round in Hand, Instant Courage in Heart

A ghostwriting client recently shared a great story with me.

In her "Claim Your Expertise" session, mediator Wanda Joseph and I worked on honing in on a more specific niche group of clients. It was a delicate balance between the stretch and the comfort zone, and I think she did great!

We ended up a little broader than I originally recommended, but her target group of "workplaces in the public sector," was MUCH narrower than what she'd started with.

Wanda was curious and excited about the possibility of creating information products, as a supplement to her training programs and as a way of helping more clients than she could possibly reach in person.

We started with The Merry Go 'Round, a written sample of her training expertise. With fun & creative icebreakers and suggestions for respectful ground rules, it's designed to improve the climate of conflict-ridden staff meetings.

The report will soon be downloadable from her new website (our other work-in-progress) in exchange for the visitor's name, email address and permission to keep in touch.

A few weeks ago, my client was traveling and found herself face-to-face with a member of her niche market. She could see that this particular person didn't need her services - she was more like an "after" picture than a "before" picture!

However, my client had the insight to realize that this was still an amazing opportunity. She complimented the person on what she was seeing, introduced herself and talked about her work. The woman immediately provided contacts for her regional association of libraries, instant access to a huge potential market.

The clincher? My client handed the woman a print-out of the Merry Go 'Round, featuring the valuable do-it-yourself exercises and all of her contact information.

"I had so much more confidence to approach this woman with that special report in my hands. I've been afraid to sell myself before, but now I see that I have a valuable service that people want to know about and tell other people about."

"Writing the Merry Go 'Round report with you also gave me the language to describe what I do - both from the positive perspective of someone who's doing it right, and from the opposite perspective of someone who has the problem that I can solve."

So what are we up to now? We're writing an e-book compilation of her winning training strategies. It's going great, and I just can't wait to see where we end up!