Quick announcement first! Please do join our #MBUStorm challenge to become a better content marketer and win great prizes! We are having lots of fun here!
Now, let’s welcome our mentor: David Leonhardt
**To join us please sign in here -> TwChat.com/hashtag/vcbuzz
About David
David is a professional writer and search engine optimizer at SEO writer and THGM.
He and his team write blogs, books, press releases and speeches.
Please circle David on Google Plus!
Questions we discussed
Q1 David, when and how did you get into Internet Marketing?
I’ve been at internet marketing for a decade. I just fell into it by accident. I was promoting a book, and I discovered I was good at SEO. SEO has changes just a bit since then. People started asking for help, and I just kind of became a consultant.
@seosmarty Taking life as it flies at you! #vcbuzz
— David Leonhardt (@amabaie) September 23, 2014
RT @AllieGrayFree: The industry has changed the most as #PR, #Journalism, #SEO, #Marketing, #Analytics – and it’s awesome #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) September 23, 2014
Q2 How to write a really good article? What are the components?
I did up a list at seo-writer.com of what makes a good piece of content. The single most important element in a good article is an original idea, or an original angle. Never mind Copyscape. If the ideas are not original, it’s just another article. Write like you would talk, but use good English. Don’t try to impress with big words. I wrote about that here. Include an image that tells part of the story Images draw people in.
Q2: Grammatically correct, original, good use of voice, visual usage, easy to share on social #vcbuzz
— Allie Gray Freeland (@AllieGrayFree) September 23, 2014
@AllieGrayFree It’s also an excellent way to be original on a topic #vcbuzz
— Gabe Chesman (@gchesman) September 23, 2014
Q3 Your titles always stand out! How do you create catchy and memorable titles?
I have a few guidelines for strong titles, and I *usually* try to follow them. 3 DOs and 1 MAYBE.
- Title Guideline 1: Make sure the gist of the article is clear. Ex: Anatomy of the perfect book cover design or The ethics of using anonymous sources
- Title Guideline 2: Make it sound exciting. Ex. 16 ways to drive a ghostwriter stark raving mad! (so “stark raving mad” instead of just “crazy”)
- Title Guideline 3: Try to arouse curiosity. Ex: A sneak peak at the leaked CIA Style Guide or 54 ominous signs that you might be a writer
- Title Guideline 4: Try to fit in keywords (but don’t push too hard on this one)
There is no one rule, but I find these guidelines steer me in the right direction most of the time. I do sometimes break my own guidelines. I hope I’m not the only one.
Q4 Where do you find inspiration for your articles?
Inspiration is everywhere! I get inspiration all over the place, but I have two favorite sources. I get inspiration from commenting on other blogs. I leave a comment and realize that I could write a lot more than that. I get inspiration from comments on various blogs. The comments people leave are hints for great new topics.
A4 Use @MyBlogU for inspiration too! We have a very creative community there + good for storing ideas too! #vcbuzz
— Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) September 23, 2014
I get inspiration from comments on various blogs. The comments people leave are hints for great new topics. If you read what other people are interested in, and you also are interested, that’s a golden topic. Comments people leave on social media are also great hints about what would interest your readers.
I get inspired by movies, books and short stories. I think content should be more entertaining … since there’s advice everywhere #vcbuzz
— Yoav Ezer (@YoavEzer) September 23, 2014
I bet you’re right! RT @amabaie: A4 I’ll bet a few people walk away from this Twitter chat with new blog ideas, too. #vcbuzz
— Gerald Weber (@the_gman) September 23, 2014
If you have kids, listen to what they say. Simple things in real life often offer lessons for whatever your niche is.
Convert: Give visitors a reason to subscribe! #vcbuzz
— Gabe Chesman (@gchesman) September 23, 2014
Amaze them consistently. What I said about original ideas – they won’t read anywhere else.
Q5 I see your THGM articles all the time at @ViralContentB uz. How much do you really write daily? What are your writing productivity tips are?
That’s a bit of an illusion. I am an inspired writer, but sadly I am not a productive writer. It’s not my priority. You see my articles on @ViralContentBuz a lot because I promote each article. VCB is one of my favorite ways to spread the word. I checked yesterday and VCB is my 4th biggest referrer over the past 2 months.
I have used @amabaie‘s writing team and I must say he and his team are among the best I’ve ever used! #vcbuzz
— Gerald Weber (@the_gman) September 23, 2014
I choose to write less, but promote hard anything I publish. I also choose to spend a lot of time getting an article just right, rather than writing more articles. So for me #1 is article quality, #2 is promotion, and #999 is publishing frequency.
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