Better late than never...
Listen to Content, Content, Content: Why Having a Content Plan is as Important as a Business Plan
Transcript from the show...
Denise Wakeman: Hi, this is Denise Wakeman of the Blog Squad.
Patsi Krakoff: And this is Patsi Krakoff.
Denise: And you're listening to "Blogging and Beyond," the show about how to leverage the Internet to attract, sell, and profit. For the next 30 minutes, we're going to bring you the best expert information on how to use the Internet to build your business. During our show today, we're talking with Allen Voivod. I hope I'm pronouncing that right.
Allen Voivod: Yep.
Denise: Allen Voivod of Epiphanies Inc. will talk about developing a content plan to grow your business.
Patsi: That's right, Denise, and I can hardly wait to hear Allen. I've wanted to hear him ever since we were wowed by his presentation at Adam Urbanski's "Attract Clients Like Crazy" boot camp last month. Allen and his wife Lani are star pupils of Adam's and have transformed their business using content for the Internet.
Denise: So, Patsi, why don't you go ahead and introduce Allen.
Patsi: Allen Voivod and his wife and partner Lani, who unfortunately couldn't be here with us today, are known as the content lovers of www.epiphaniesinc.com. They help budding entrepreneurs and small biz dynamos to "Aha!" themselves in fun and profitable ways with valuable brainstorming tips, creative promotional strategies, and top‑notch advice on how to use dignity marketing tactics to grow your reputation, your business, and your bank account. Welcome, Allen.
Allen: Thank you very much for having me.
Denise: We're very excited that you're here. As Patsi said, we met you a few weeks ago at Adam Urbanski's boot camp, and you gave a great talk about your journey of getting online, and starting to build your business online. That was very powerful for us to hear.
Allen: Thank you.
Denise: First of all, you and Lani call yourselves content lovers.
Allen: Yes.
Denise: Why? And how did that come about?
Allen: Because we love content is the short answer.
Denise: OK.
Allen: I will give you a brief sketch of our history. We've been writing content, and we're used to the word content because a lot of the stuff we have written is for the online atmosphere. That tends to be referred to more often as web content, so that's how we came to embrace that word. But, we've been doing it for a number of years, until 2004, when we actually incorporated and created our own business, Epiphanies Inc.
It started out as copyrighting and content services for small businesses and large corporations. Over time, we started looking at the content we were creating, not just in terms of individual elements, but as part of a larger picture. It evolved into something we call content strategy. We look at the particular forum we're writing for and say, "OK, where does it fit in the whole picture of a business' content planning?"
Denise: OK, good. Now, in your introduction, Patsi mentioned you work with people on how to use dignity marketing tactics. Could you define dignity marketing before we go any further?
Allen: Absolutely. That basically came about because a lot of people we have encountered, ourselves included, don't really like the word "sell." It's a four letter word for a lot of people, us included. It sort of makes us uncomfortable. And yet, we and a lot of people we have encountered, especially micro business owners, entrepreneurs, and solo professionals, really, truly believe in what they're doing. They have tons of expertise in whatever field they have chosen to work within, yet the idea of actually promoting themselves makes them uncomfortable.
What we like to focus on is it's dignified aspect. We like to think about it in terms of really sharing your own expertise, developing your content around the knowledge and passion that you have, and sharing it with your ideology in a way that is authentic and natural.
So, when you have something to sell to the world, you are very comfortable in saying, "Oh, by the way, I have this particular product or service to sell." The fact that you've been offering your passion and expertise in other arenas makes it a little more comfortable for you to actually say on occasion, "Well, here's also something you can do to get further involved with me and buy."
The audience listening to it, because they've been on the receiving end of your content knowledge, passion, and expertise for so long, and have seen your generosity in delivering it, doesn't look at you as coming at them with a forced sales pitch. They're more receptive. That's the idea behind tectonic marketing.
Denise: That's great. Yesterday and last week, we spoke with Michael Stelzner of "Writing White Papers" and it's a lot the same along those lines, educating and informing rather than selling.
Allen: Right.
Denise: Of course we all have to sell, otherwise we don't have a business. So whatever you want to call it, it still has to happen, right?
Allen: Exactly. Yes.
Denise: OK. Today we wanted to talk with you about content plans, because that's something I know you do, or that you work with your clients on. Can you talk a little bit about using a content plan?
Allen: Yes. Sometimes it's easier to talk about a content plan in terms of what it isn't, so I'll start with that. It's not a full marketing plan, because that involves researching demographics, psychographics in industry, and geographics - all sorts of academic pursuits that are part and parcel of business planning.
It's also not a schedule of advertising and promotional planning per se, because that is more specifically related to selling.
It is a plan for you to share your knowledge and expertise in a way that develops a trust factor, builds the relationships, demonstrates your expertise in a low‑key way, and gives people a chance to get to know you over time. So, a content plan is a way to actually schedule out the ways you're going to communicate with your audience.
Denise: OK. So, it's about the communication vehicles you use.
Allen: Yes. The relationship‑building is the primary key behind it, because it's designed to develop that relationship rather than sell a product or service, or advertise a product or service. That's not to say that you wouldn't do that as part of a content plan, but it would definitely not be the focus of the whole plan.
Denise: OK. How does a content plan relate to a marketing plan and a business plan? Where does it fit in?
Allen: Got it. Well, a content plan essentially fits within a marketing plan, which then fits within a business plan.
Denise: OK. So it's a subset.
Allen: Exactly.
Denise: OK.
Allen: So within a marketing plan, you would have a media plan for generating publicity based on certain things that happen within your business. You might have an advertising schedule for when you're placing advertising in, say, radio or print ads, or doing pay‑per‑click ads.
And then you would have a content plan. I guess this is potentially jumping into another topic of what might be within content plans, but it would be how you plan out other relationship‑building activities, like blogging, article writing, or what we like to call mash‑up releases, which are like press releases, but are more like articles. It's more like providing content to online and offline publications.
Denise: OK. Let's follow that train of thought. Why don't you talk about what is typically in a content plan?
Allen: It's pretty much anything that can deliver content. You could say it includes podcasts or video blogging or vlogging, or whatever the current mash‑up term for that is right now. It includes regular blogging, focused press releases, white papers as discussed last week, or special reports. It also includes articles for trade publications or industry associations, or sent off to article directories online or to offline publications. It could be speaking engagements, sending out print newsletters or ezines, or conducting teleclasses, seminars, and workshops. The list goes on. Any way that you would focus on delivering content to an audience are the sorts of things that would be in a content plan.
Denise: OK. In my mind, I was thinking content planning was all about delivering content online. But you've just talked about quite a few ways to deliver content offline too.
Allen: That's right.
Denise: I was thinking about writing content, as opposed to speaking content.
Allen: Yes. And it depends on a couple of things. First of all, it depends on what you as a business owner or business marketer are particularly comfortable with. Some people would rather stay removed and not necessarily put themselves in front of an audience. The oft‑quoted aphorism is that people are more afraid of public speaking than death.
Denise: Right.
Allen: But that is one way you could do it. Other people would just rather stay behind their computer and blog, and some people feel comfortable with at least being seen, but would rather stay behind their computer.
Denise: But not heard. OK.
Allen: You guys like to be everywhere.
Denise: Well, we had to develop that likeness. Did you have a question, Patsi?
Patsi: No, I was just agreeing with him. We definitely have our preferred comfort zones, and we've also had to learn to speak in front of a group and do things we would really rather not be doing.
Denise: Like speaking in front of groups. But, we have seen through the development of our business, and I think a lot of business owners, especially solo professionals and small business owners, have learned they have to get out in front of people in order to keep the message going. Of course, that makes sense that that's a way to deliver content.
Allen: Right.
Patsi: And I just wanted to add that because you're forced as a businessperson to go in areas you're not comfortable, you eventually develop comfort in those areas. I'm really quite comfortable speaking in front of groups now, and I used to not like writing press releases. I really don't mind them anymore.
Allen: Right. And that goes to the other point about why you might choose a particular content vehicle to go with: the needs, tastes and desires of your audience.
Denise: Right.
Patsi: Yes.
Allen: If your audience is really looking for somebody to be in front of them, like front and center speaking workshops, then if you're passionate about the business and the area you're in, that's where you've got to go.
Patsi: Right. And we all have to develop different skills, new skills as we progress along our business paths.
Allen: Yes, indeed.
Denise: All right. Let's ask the million‑dollar question: why do I need a content plan?
Allen: Oh, goodness. Well, I'll put it this way. You don't necessarily need a content plan, and I probably shouldn't be saying that. But the truth of the matter is, people do succeed in business without content plans. I would be remiss if I actually said that you absolutely, positively needed a content plan.
That being said, the reason why you could and should have a content plan in place is because it helps you communicate with your target market more frequently. It helps you build up a reservoir of documented knowledge and expertise. It demonstrates that you are an expert in your field. It gives you the opportunity to build relationships with your audience that isn't simply screaming in their faces, "Hey! Buy my product! Buy my service!" It shows you are not interested in clients and consumers so much for their dollars as for the relationship that you can build with them.
And these days, both online and off, people are more savvy. People don't want to be sold to. Nobody wants to be sold. Nobody is necessarily going to buy something when you're ready to sell it. They're only going to buy when they're ready to buy.
Denise: Right.
Allen: There is a point and a need to offer sales pitches. It's really necessary for you to be in front of your audience when they are ready to buy, and you do that by building relationships and producing content that establishes relationships. That's what a content plan helps you do.
Denise: OK, that makes sense.
Allen: I wasn't sure it was going to, for a minute.
Denise: Yeah, it makes sense.
Patsi: It really does make sense. And also, I think when someone starts to build up a library of content, especially on the Internet, there's a point where you have to ask yourself, what do I need to do, what do I need not to do. I mean, you need some direction building all this content.
Denise: Right. It can get very scattered.
Allen: Yes.
Denise: So, putting a plan together about how you're going to strategically leverage all this content can be very powerful.
Allen: Yes. Pick two, three, five, whatever you feel comfortable with and won't overwhelm you, do it and do it regularly. Picking just a couple of content vehicles to put in your plan and follow through with is definitely the best way to go. And then for online text content, once you build these things up, it also has a search engine optimization benefit.
Now, I wouldn't necessarily claim I'm a search engine optimization expert, but I have heard from a number of people who claim expert status in this area that fresh, keyword‑rich content related to your area of expertise is one of the best things for your natural search engine rankings. If you're doing this online, as you build up relationships over time with the content you've put out, you're also serving another master: Google.
Patsi: The big master. We're going to take a quick station break here and come back to that concept. I hope our listeners are taking lots of notes. We want to quickly remind you that you're listening to "Blogging and Beyond" with the Blog Squad, Denise Wakeman, and I am Patsi Krakoff. And today we're talking with Allen Voivod of Epiphaniesinc.com, the author, along with his wife, Lani, of the blog www.epiphaniesinc.com/blog. You can find information about their company, which specializes in content plans, at www.epiphaniesinc.com.
And you can get information about the Blog Squad at www.blogsquad.biz . If you have a question for Allen, you can call the show now at 718‑508‑9559, or you can send an IM message via Skype to "dwakeman." Now, back to "Blogging and Beyond" and our conversation with Allen about developing content on the Internet.
Denise: OK, Allen. So, we were talking about why you need a content plan, and I know you write about the power tools of a content plan. Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Allen: Sure. First I'll tell you about the concept of what a power tool is.
Denise: OK.
Allen: For us, it's basically any particular form of content that can be repurposed over and over and over, and over again. For us that is great, for anyone that is great, really, because if you can write something once and use it many times over, you've really made good use of your time and energy.
There was a time when I used to say, as a writer, I was lazy. I set out to get the most out of anything I had to write. So, the idea of a power tool is something that can be used in multiple arenas. For us, the three power tools are blogging, article writing, and press releases. You can often write something, whatever that may be, and use it in these three arenas. We'll use a 300-word article as an example.
You can send that article to an article submission service and get it online. You can send it as a press release, and you can also use online press release distribution services to send the exact same content out. If you've developed some offline media contacts relevant to your business or industry, you can email that same content to those relevant folks. You can post it on your blog as well.
From there you can get into more advanced strategies, like using it as content to build up an eventual special report or white paper. You can use it as the jumping-off point for developing a teleclass. There are any number of ways. You can podcast it. You can video blog it. Whatever you would like to do with it. That sort of 300-word bite-sized chunk, for us, is something that really works very well.
Those three aren't necessarily the only power tools out there. Our mutual friend and mentor, Adam Urbanski, uses the teleclass as his power tool.
Denise: Yes.
Allen: That's how he works best. Essentially, for you, whoever you may be listening to, it's the one tool that allows you to create content and then use it many times over.
Denise: OK. We've also referred to that as "slicing and dicing content."
Allen: Mmm.
Denise: Because, again, you can take a longer article and slice it into multiple blog posts, for example.
Allen: Yes.
Denise: So, we're talking about the same thing. Now, can you run into any trouble by repeating and repurposing the same content in different places? Why would you want to do that if you're looking for the same audience?
Allen: Gotcha. Well, I'll say two things about that. First of all, I have heard from a search engine optimization standpoint that it can be a little bit tricky having the same content in multiple places. A search engine such as Google might look at it and say, "It's the same exact content, two different places." So Google might devalue it to some degree.
We've discovered something that's been added to our favorite article submission service called "Article Leverage, " where it actually walks you through a few steps to make changes in the content and randomize it. That way it appears differently in different places, which is nice.
Denise: OK, and what's your favorite article submission site?
Allen: That would be www.submityourarticle.com, May I offer an affiliate link for that?
Denise: Sure.
Allen: It's www.ahaarticles.com. At least I hope that's right.
Denise: "Ahaarticles" with two a's in the middle there?
Allen: Yes.
Denise: OK. Got to get that shameless plug in there.
Allen: Yes, exactly.
Denise: www.submityourarticle.com or www.ahaarticles.com.
Allen: Gotcha.
Denise: OK.
Allen: The thing about putting the same content out in different places, as much as I would like to be egotistical and think people are going everywhere they possibly can and reading every possible thing that I or my wife might produce, the fact of the matter is people aren't doing that. Unless they are really, really, very rabid fans, and those people are few and far between.
So, the rest of the known world is more than likely to be in one place or another and will only encounter you in that one place or another.
Denise: OK.
Allen: There will be a couple encounters here and there, but the likelihood that they're going to come across you in multiple places is small. The point of actually using that content over and over again is to cast a wider net. You have a greater opportunity of connecting with your ideal audience that way, and the likelihood that they see you and that same content over and over again is minimal.
Plus, even if they do, it just gives that person the impression that, "Oh, wow, these guys must be really something." They're over here, they're over here. Their reaction is more that of being impressed by the broadness of your reach rather than the repetition of your content.
Denise: OK. That makes sense. I like that. Casting a wider net. It goes with what Patsi often says about having multiple poles in the pond, or fishing lines in the pond.
Allen: Yes.
Denise: I guess the line goes in the pond and not the pole, right?
Allen: Yes, ice fishing is big around here. I'm in central New Hampshire
Denise: OK, a tip‑up? What is that? A little house where you sit and fish?
Allen: No, those are "bob" houses. A tip‑up is actually somebody's amazing invention where they drop a line down through the hole they've drilled in the ice, and then they go back into the warm bob house and wait. And meanwhile, there's a little flag connected to the line so when a fish bites and pulls on the line, a little flag pops up to let you know, "Oh, over at that tip‑up, I've got a fish."
Denise: OK. Well, thank you on that little diversion and lesson on ice fishing. I didn't know that, but that's a very smart invention. OK. Now, how does one go about deciding what kind of content to create?
Allen: Well, the number one piece of advice I would give is to ask your audience, because if you decide you want to write a blog and it turns out you have an audience that is not very Internet savvy, you've got a problem. You should probably blog anyway.
Denise: Yeah.
Allen: We heavily promote and suggest to people that they blog, especially solo professionals, service professionals, entrepreneurs, and micro‑businesses. We absolutely recommend blogging to 99.44% of the people we come across.
Patsi: OK, I guess I would agree with you with that.
Allen: But yeah, if your audience is looking for a primary way to be communicated with, then that's the way to do it. So, the content you decide to create should really come from looking at your audience, finding out where they're going for information for your particular industry or business or niche or what‑have‑you, and then making sure you create content to appear in the places where they would be going.
Denise: They could be attending trade shows or conferences, so they're looking to see speakers. Or they read trade magazines. We're talking about offline, for example. So, you'd want to submit your articles to offline trade magazines.
Allen: Exactly. We have one client, a real estate agency that specializes in vacation homes. Even though they are based here in central/northern New Hampshire Connecticut Florida
Their primary way of getting in touch with their audience has been in offline publications in those regions and states. They are trying to shift their business to attract more leads and prospects online and we're helping out with that process right now, but they traditionally have been reaching out to people in the locations where they live, and that's still thousands of miles away in some cases.
Denise: Right.
Allen: But that's what's appropriate for them in their particular business.
Denise: Right, OK. Well, that makes sense. So, how do you go about integrating all of this into your marketing strategies?
Allen: Well, I would say you have what a lot of people would call a marketing funnel. That's a term I have heard in a lot of places, most recently from Karen Greenstreet. She has described it as essentially picking one particular centerpiece of your business, of your marketing, of your relationship function, that you want everything to flow to.
So for example, if you're blogging, writing articles, and writing press releases, the way you integrate everything is to drive people to one place, or to take one action. All your relationship building should ultimately be centered around driving that one transaction. For us, for example, it's sending people to our ezine "The Inciter." That's I‑N‑C‑I‑T‑E‑R, for inciting people's ideas and that sort of thing.
Denise: OK, good.
Allen: And so when we write articles, our blog posts, and our press releases, the ultimate bottom line call to action for our readers is to say, "If you like this a lot, please come to our website and sign up for our ezine."
That way you have the ability to regulate the relationship. You have the opportunity to communicate at will with your audience, to whom you've already demonstrated that you have useful information, knowledge, and passion to share.
You're not just about sending them a sales pitch every week, every Thursday at . You're actually so into what you do, and you're so passionate about it, that you just have to share it.
That's really more the goal for you than anything else. You know this is a person you're comfortable with. The fact that if you are authentically sharing your passion for your business, and you do have something to sell, and you do make the offer, it will be welcomed. And more often than not, you will succeed with it.
Denise: Right. So the goal for you is building your list.
Allen: Exactly.
Denise: OK. And, of course, we've talked about that in many different ways.
Allen: And so, integrating the marketing then comes down to deciding where you want to focus your attention and where you want to be driving people. This is essentially what your particular sales process is.
It might be different for some people rather than others. One example of this might be if you were in a business where you actually needed to be on the phone with people when setting up presentations for something technical.
On the other hand, if what you have to explain and offer really requires you to be sitting down across the table from a person, then the sort of lead generation you would want to do is making sure that you gather phone numbers and physical addresses.
Then you would pick up the phone and call, or send direct mail. It just depends on what your particular business process is. You then design the content as your lead generation in order to funnel people into giving you the information you need to stay in touch and build up a relationship on a regular basis.
Denise: Right. OK, one final question before we wrap up. How do you recommend people start putting together a content plan?
Allen: Well, what I would suggest is for people to first decide what they like to do. That's the number one thing. Do you like to write? Do you like to speak? Knowing your particular preferences is the first step.
The second step is to look at your audience and figure out how they like to be communicated with. Do they prefer to be reached online or offline? Do they prefer to have somebody in front of them or to do it through reading a publication, whether it is online or offline? How does your audience like to be communicated with and how do you like to communicate?
If there is any sort of overlap, which would be ideal, then those are the areas you want to focus on developing content.
I would suggest, from an overall perspective, that you focus on anywhere from one to six at a time. If you are not producing content on a regular basis that is intended specifically to build relationships, I would suggest just starting with one and getting regular at it. As you get comfortable with it and as it becomes more natural, add another and build over time. So it might be getting your blog started and getting used to the idea of writing blog posts. Then it might be taking some of those blog posts, perhaps expanding on them a little bit, and turning them into articles, for example.
Denise: OK.
Allen: That's one way to go about it. But, ideally, I would say the way to start is to find out where the overlap is between what you like to do and the way your audience likes to be communicated with and start there.
Denise: OK. That makes perfect sense.
Patsi: Yes, that really makes sense and we've always advocated that. For us, it is really starting with the blogging. The blogging is the foundation for us writing content, but for someone else it might not be. You really have to look at what you like to do, because that's where you are going to spend your time.
Allen: Right. The one bonus out of all of this is that as you create more content and get more comfortable talking about what you do, whether that talking is done through writing, or audio, or video, or being in front of somebody public speaking, the more comfortable you get in talking about it. It actually becomes easier to sell, whether you are actually selling your service directly or whether you are just talking about what you do with authenticity, with verve. It makes it a lot easier to communicate what your value is and what kind of benefits you provide to your target market, and ultimately that will help you be more successful.
Patsi: For sure. Well, this has really been informative, Allen. We want to thank you.
Allen: Oh, thank you. It has been a pleasure being on.
Patsi: Thank you for taking the time to inform our listeners about developing a content plan to grow your business on the Internet.
Before we wrap up, I have a couple of important announcements. I would like to let our listeners know that next week on "Blogging and Beyond" we are interviewing David Meerman Scott, the author of "The New Rules of Marketing and PR." You want to make sure to tune in on June 14 at for the show.
Allen: I am going to be tuning in for that too, yeah.
Denise: Yeah, it's a great book. We will be looking forward to talking with him. I do want to remind our listeners you can find information about Allen and Lani and their company at www.epiphanysinc.com. Again, Allen, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing all your expertise about developing a content plan.
Allen: You're very welcome. It's great to talk to you both again.
Denise: OK, so you've been listening to "Blogging and Beyond" on BlogTalkRadio. You can always get the latest information on the show on our blog at www.bloggingandbeyond.com, and remember that the time is now.
Patsi: The time is now to attract, sell, and profit. Blog on.
About the The Blog Squad:
Blogging experts Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman are known as The Blog Squad™. They have teamed up to help professionals Attract, Sell and Profit by harnessing the power of blogs, newsletters, and ecommerce systems. Between them, they have 17 years of Internet know-how, write on 10 blogs and publish 2 ezines.
Patsi and Denise have co-authored, "Build a Better Blog: The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Your Business with a Professional Blog" and many other blogging programs to address niche blogging.
They host a Blogging and Beyond, a weekly Internet radio show. You can get their free weekly ezine Savvy eBiz Tips at www.SavvyeBizTips.com.
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