Want to write short reports to promote your business, but don’t know where to start?

Here’s a simple report writing format that can help take your idea from concept to reality! (It’s the tool I personally use when I need a bit of inspiration for a new project).

Write that Report!!! outlines a simple and easy-to-follow report writing format that takes the guess work out of how to pull together a compelling and cohesive short report. I purchased this ebook last fall and find I refer back to it time and time again while working on a variety of projects.

Why Short Reports?

Without question, mastering the art of creating value-added short reports is a worthwhile addition to your Content Marketing arsenal. The trick is to provide real value and solve real problems for your prospects.  (Once again – it comes down to creating and sharing GREAT CONTENT!) It’s relationship marketing at its finest – you are sharing what you know to help others and building trust and name-recognition while you are at it.

Whether your business resides online or off (or somewhere in between like mine) – if you have an online presence, writing short reports is a great way to establish your expertise and generate trust with your target audience. They are simple and inexpensive to produce and will continue to work for you long after you invest the time and/or money to create them.

Here Are A Few Ways You Can Leverage Short Reports to Build Your Business:

• Use as an incentive to sign up for your email list
• Offer as a bonus to promote your affiliate offers
• Sell them to create immediate revenue
• Create them to promote your product or service (i.e., provde a free report to educate your prospects about “what” they need to do, while your paid product or service shows them “how” to do it (or does it for them).

However, the idea of creating a multi-page body of work can be really intimidating!

How long should it be? (Ideally, your short report should be 15 – 30 pages in length). What topics should be covered? What format should be used? The list goes on and on…

In fact, without some form of a road map to follow, its easy for a great concept to get lost in confusion – and never come to fruition. As a professional writer, I find having a clearly defined report writing format to refer to can cut my research and writing time in half.

Write That Report!!! walks you through:

• why you should write short reports
• how to select a viable (in-demand) topic
• how to create a working outline of your report (and fill it in!)

Write That Report!!! also shows you how to convert your work into a .pdf (for free!) and how to make money with your reports right away. It also explains how to build name recognition for your business and cross-promote other products or services within your report – without offending your readers.

Write That Report!!! provides a lot of value for the money. At only $7 – it weighs in at a meaty 28 pages full of valuable information on how to finally get that short report off your mind – and out into the world. What’s more – when you purchase Write That Report!!!, you also get a complimentary copy of $7 Dollar Secrets – another outstanding tool that shows you exactly how to develop a great stream of income by producing and selling value-added short reports.

Grab Both Copies Now for Just $7: Write That Report!!!

Hope you find this report writing format as valuable as I did!

Til Next Time,

PS Stay tuned, the rest of my series on setting up email autoresponders will post over the next couple of days!

Disclaimer: this post is NOT about promoting my own writing service!

As you may know from reading here, I very rarely promote my own writing service via this blog. This is because the target audience for my writing service is different than the DIY niche I focus on here. My blog posts are targeted towards those who either want to tackle Content Marketing themselves – or are outsourcing on a limited budget.

(In other words – fellow entrepreneurs just like me!)

Now, the true value of a writing service can be debated ad nauseaum – with some arguing that “Content is Forever” – and investing in quality upfront is definitely worth the initial price… and those who say “Hey, I can get an ‘original’ article via Elance.com for $5 – why would I even think of paying more?”

Frankly, my thoughts on this topic are a bit pragmatic.

If you can get a  high-quality ORIGINAL piece of content for 5 bucks – something you would be HAPPY to have represent your business  either “as-is” or with minimal editing – then DO IT.

I’ll even go a step further – if you have someone who is creating great original content for you at $5 per article – take good care of them. (In fact, I would offer them $10 and hope it would buy their loyalty! )

However, in my experience, the odds of finding this aren’t in your favor. In fact, the following comment (copied and pasted here exactly as it was submitted via the ‘Comments’ feature on this site) sums up what you are likely to find in that price range:

It is not simply to do very good custom essays just about this good topic! Find the perfect writing service to have academic benefit and buy essay there!

My goal here isn’t to poke fun at anyone – which is why I removed the hyper links (which pointed to a “writing” service)  from this comment. But, it does an excellent job illustrating what is wrong with so many of the “cheap” writing services out there.

Most often – you either need to rework these articles completely (thus losing the benefit of outsourcing the work in the first place) – or throw it out on the Internet “as is” and hope for the best.

If you are publishing under a pen name, the second option might be tempting.  After all, that sub-par content is not tied directly to your name or business, right? The problem, of course, is that no legitimate publisher is going to pick up something that doesn’t make any sense and share it with her readers. And forget about having it passed along on Social Media sites.  Further, if it’s posted on one of your niche sites, legitimate visitors are going to be put off if they happen to land on that page.

The end results? Your Content Marketing efforts will fall flat.

My recommendation? Depending on your situation, you might consider one of the following options:

• Take the time to find a legitimate (and talented) writer and have the work done right the first time. (If you hire a professional writer, you shouldn’t need to spend any of your own time editing). You’ll pay more for this approach – but think of it as making a sound, long-term investment into your business.

• Buy high-quality private label rights content and rework it yourself into something unique (my personal favorite is EasyPLR.com because it is professionally edited and is offered to a limited number of buyers).

Remember, the content that surrounds your business is often the ONLY way prospective clients can evaluate you. So make sure it is saying good things about you!

Til Next Time,

PS EasyPLR.com offers private label rights articles in packs of 5 or 10 articles for around $1 each.  So, for as little as $5 – you can pick up 5 articles, rework them – and have 5 fresh new pieces of content ready to work for you in no time!

In today’s installment of  Wednesdays on Writing, let’s talk about 8 words that can immediately improve your website headlines.

Whether you are creating content or writing copy – your ability to write compelling website headlines will determine the overall success of your Content Marketing efforts.

This is because you only have a few seconds to grab your reader’ attention and pull them into the body of your content or copy. If you fail to do so during that time frame – it is likely you never will.

Okay – so, no pressure!

Here are 8 Attention-Grabbing Words That Can Immediately Improve Your Website Headlines:*

1. Proven – example:  8 Proven Techniques to Drive More Traffic to Your Website
2. Easy – example: 3 Easy Ways to Lose 10 Pounds this Month
3. Introducing – example: Introducing a Breakthrough Method to Get Out of Debt in 2010
4. Discover – example: Discover 4 Little Known Ways to Sell Your House Faster
5. How To – example: How to Write Great Web Copy Fast!
6. Announcing – example: Announcing a Limited-Time Offer to Get 3 Months of Cable Service for the Price of 1
7. Free – example: Act Now to Get Your FREE Website Marketing Action Plan (just kidding! )
8. Quick – example: 5 Quick Ways to Create $5,000 a Month in Residual Income

*Word Source: The Copywriter’s Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells. (Headline samples are mine).

As you can see, these examples are applicable to both content and copy – but the strategies are straight from the world of direct response copywriting where the goal is to get your prospect to do something – whether it is simply to read your entire article or open his wallet and buy something. This is a great point to keep in mind whenever you sit down to write anything for Content Marketing purposes.

One final point: Notice the word “secret” is not on this list? Although there are those who argue that this is a good headline word – I disagree.

There are very few true “secrets” in this context – there are simply things your readers know and things they don’t. If you are publishing something on the Internet for the entire world to see – how much of a “secret” can it really be??

I don’t know about you, but when I see a headline promising to reveal some special secret to me – my guard immediately goes up and I tend to stop reading.

Remember, the goal of creating online content is to help build trust and credibility with your audience – so be sure to evaluate your headlines with that objective in mind, too.

Til Next Time,

PS For more practical advice on direct response copywriting, check out The Copywriter’s Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells

Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. – a day for family and friends – and eating. (Oh yes, lots and lots of eating).

Today is a day we give thanks for the incredible abundance in our lives in terms of our relationships, our health and the well-being of those we love, and a long list of creature comforts.

I have much to be grateful for today – I’m incredibly blessed to be surrounded by those who love me and for so many other things.

Yet, today is also a day of sadness for me, as well. I lost both of my parents over the last several years and the holidays always make that loss just a little bit harder. Rather than dwell on what is missing in my life, however, I want to focus on some of the positive memories I have. Therefore, today’s post is a piece I originally wrote for my eNewsletter subscribers. In it, I talk about my dad and how he and I shared a love of writing – well, the idea of writing anyway!

Writing was, and always will be, a connection I shared with him – and for that I am truly grateful.

Hope your day is a blessed one. Happy Thanksgiving!

Today’s Post:

Have you ever noticed how much easier something becomes once you make it part of your daily routine?

This concept applies to making healthy food choices, adopting an exercise regimen and yes, even to writing.

Some believe that writing is a talent you are either born with – or you aren’t.

I disagree.

While writing may come more naturally to some people, it is definitely a skill that can be polished and improved upon with time and lots of practice. Now, not everyone will be able to create Pulitzer-prize winning work, but I do believe you can learn the basic rules of grammar and sentence structure – and then “unlearn” them when necessary (i.e. when they get in the way of the conversation you are having with your readers).

In other words, if you can have a coherent and meaningful conversation – you can learn to become a better writer.

But you will have to sit down and actually write.

I have always loved writing – and have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember. Reading and writing were passions my dad and I shared – and something we used to talk about often.

Fact is, we talked all the time about all the writing we were planning to do – for him, it was about characters and settings and story lines. For me, it was always about launching my own writing business and making a go of it. (For some reason, writing novels has always seemed an awful lot like really hard work to me).

At that time, my dad and I also happened to be two of the most non-productive writers you ever saw. But, boy, we sure did like to talk about it. Somehow, amidst all that talking and planning, we rarely got around to sitting down and actually writing anything.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away suddenly almost 9 years ago and took all those great ideas and stories with him. I never did find out how his passion project – a novel we had been discussing for years – would end.

It still makes me sad to realize that I never will.

I also find it more than a little ironic that now that writing is a major part of my daily life – he isn’t here to be part of it. I think he’d be pleased at the progress I’ve made as a writer – and am positive he would push me to become better. Likewise, I am positive the habits I’ve established by sitting down to write something – anything – every single day would have inspired him to do the same.

So, regardless of whether writing is something that comes easily to you – or if you find yourself staring at a blank screen more often than not, I encourage you to carve out time each day to start getting your thoughts down.

It doesn’t matter how much or how good what you produce is initially, once you make this part of your regular routine – patience and practice will take care of the rest.

I promise.

Ideally, your answer should be…

A little bit of both. (Or, should I say – A LOT of both! )

If you stop to think about it, there is an important distinction between creating content and writing copy. I personally like to think of these two endeavors as the Ying and Yang of the Content Marketing world.

On one hand, you have content creation which represents the “give’ part of your relationship with your audience. Yes, you are optimizing that content in order to derive SEO benefits, but unless your content imparts genuine value in the form of meaningful information or fresh ideas, your SEO efforts will be in vain.

On the other hand, there is copywriting. This is where the “take” side of the equation comes into play. Copywriting exists to sell something – whether that “something’” be a product, service or idea.

In other words, copywriting is meant to persuade, whereas content is meant to inform.

In the early stages of your online business, you may find you are doing a lot more giving than taking. This is as it should be if your goal is to be in this game for the long term. Remember, you are trying to establish a relationship with your readers – and you have to establish trust and credibility in order to do that.

If you try to incorporate too much “take” too early in the process, that fragile bond you have established with your audience may be broken. However, don’t feel you should avoid the “take” part of the process indefinitely. Unless this online thing is just a hobby, you will need to be compensated in order to continue giving.

You will need to find your own balance between your content creation and copywriting efforts. They are both important to the long-term success of your business – so it is important to that you be able to wear both hats with style and grace.

Til Next Time,

PS Are you ready to make your own online business a reality? Are you confused about how to start a successful blog without spending a small fortune in the process? If so, Beginner 2 Blogger is a great resource that will walk you through this process in just 4 information-packed weekly lessons. If you want to get your site up and running even faster, be sure to order the DVD option so you can learn at your own pace!

Setting goals is the best way to accomplish whatever you want in life. I am a firm believer that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to – as long as you have a clear vision of what it is.

However, it can be very overwhelming if you focus too much on the big picture vs. what you need to do every single day to accomplish your long-term goals.

In her book, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, author Anne Lamott explains why she keeps a 1″ x 1″ empty picture frame on her desk. It serves as a visual reminder that she doesn’t have to figure out how to frame and create an entire novel in a single day. Instead, her thinking is that when she mentally holds up that tiny one inch square lens to her overall vision – what she can “see” through it  is a good goal for her to capture in her writing that day.

She does this to keep herself from getting overwhelmed – and to ensure she is moving forward every time she sits down to write.

This concept is an important one to keep in mind when establishing your own content creation and promotional goals. If you get too hung up on the “big picture” – you may forget that TAKING ACTION on a consistent basis is the key ingredient of success in this endeavor. It is easy to get bogged down in all the details and never end up actually doing anything to advance your business forward.

For example, I’ve been working on an action plan for what I want to accomplish in 2010 and beyond. Since I am currently in the early planning stages of this process, I have been taking notes on any and all ideas that come to mind – not just for this site, but for several others, as well.

Sometimes, I get stuck and that nasty inner critic comes out and wonders how I could possibly accomplish all that I want to – and still maintain some semblance of a life at the same time.

When this happens, it helps to review the progress I’ve made in just a couple of months (since the 90-Day Content Marketing Challenge began). More than anything, following this action plan has helped me see that 1.) daily action does make a difference and 2.) even baby steps forward add up faster than you can imagine.

So, don’t be afraid to dream big. Write it all down – get it out there. Then edit and clarify your vision and frame it in a way that motivates you. For example, if  your goals are financial – decide on a specific dollar amount within a certain amount of time (i.e. $5,000/month in passive income within 12 months).

Then, break down your goals into monthly, weekly and daily action steps it will take to get you there (or at least closer to it). Be realistic and be sure to consider all the other demands on your time. Making yourself crazy or miserable is not a good way to accomplish anything – so if you only have 30 minutes a day to devote to your online business – figure out how to maximize that time in a way that advances you toward your goals.

It’s a lot of fun – and very motivating – once you start to see the results of your efforts accumulate!

Til Next Time,

PS Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life has long been one of my favorite writing resource guides. If you would like to learn more about it, check out the full review in the Content Marketing Toolbox.

I just added a new book review to the Content Marketing Toolbox.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott, has been on my personal bookshelf for years and is one of my all-time favorite writing resource guides.  Although the book is geared toward the fiction writer, many of the tips and suggestions she makes are very applicable to online content creation, as well.

Rest assured, this isn’t your average boring and dry tutorial on how to write. Instead, Bird by Bird is laugh-out-loud funny and irreverent – a true embodiment of the mantra “you need to entertain in order to educate.” You almost forget you are being educated as you are drawn in by the author’s unique take on both writing and life.

Ms. Lamont also shares a number of poignant details from her own life and explains how tragedy and loss shaped her voice as a writer. By exposing her own insecurities and personal challenges, she opens the door to connecting with her readers on a more personal level.

This book was written long before the advent of Web 2.0 and the current emphasis on establishing a relationship with your readers. However, the author’s timeless writing style and on-target writing advice offer a lot of lessons to anyone seeking to create valuable and meaningful content that resonates with readers.

Til Next Time,

PS You can read the full review here.

Perhaps you’ve seen the old Seinfield episode where George once again finds himself out of work – and rather than pouring his time and energy into securing gainful employment, he instead directs his efforts toward gaming the unemployment compensation system.

After observing the lengths he was going to in order to keep collecting that unemployment check, Elaine finally asks…

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just get a job?”

If you are spending your time trying to rewrite or rework poorly written or overused Private Label Rights (PLR) content (or ghostwritten material) into something worthwhile – you just might be a George.

(You might be a Kramer if you even think about posting it to your site or elsewhere online “as is” ).

Truth is, not all PLR content is created equal. In fact, there is a very broad spectrum of available content out there – some of it is quite good and some of it is… not.  Rewriting weak and poorly structured content will almost always take as long (or longer) than starting from scratch and doing it yourself. Considering that the content you use to promote your online business will continue to work for you long after the initial investment of time and/or money put into it -  you will want to evaluate your options carefully.

Here are a few things to consider before purchasing PLR articles:

1. How is the quality? This seems like a no-brainer, but if you are thinking about buying PLR content, be sure to evaluate the accuracy, sentence structure and overall flow of the material. Is there enough “meat” to each article for you to rework it into something fresh and uniquely yours? Or will it take a ton of time for you to figure out how in the heck to make it work?
2. How many other people will have access to that exact article? Some sites offer their articles to an unlimited number of buyers for an extended period of time – while others offer them to a limited number of customers for a short period of time. Obviously, less is more when it comes to how many times a PLR article is resold.
3. Are the articles evergreen? If not, are they updated frequently? Some topics (and the content built around them) stand the test of time better than others. If your topic is in a rapidly changing niche or field, you will want to select content that is fresh off the presses.

Fortunately, you can test out the content from many PLR sites for a relatively small investment. (Each site has different policies re: this, so be sure to check around before trying one out for the first time). One I have personally reviewed and like is EasyPLR.com. This site offers articles, special reports and eCourses on a wide range of topics with prices starting at $5 for a 5 article bundle.  Each bundle is sold to a limited number of users (75) and new bundles are added on an ongoing basis.  Plus, the quality of the content is high – which makes them a much better source of ideas and inspiration.

If you’ve been thinking of adding PLR content to your Content Marketing arsenal, why not pick up a small bundle for $5 – $10 and give it a try?  Be sure to let me know what you think!

Til Next Time,

PS The best way to use PLR is to rewrite and rework it into something fresh and new. (Remember, search engines and human visitors love fresh, unique content!)  Be sure to infuse it with your own personal perspective – you know, the one gained from a lifetime of experience?  Ultimately, this is what will separate your site from all the “online clutter” out there – and will help you build a long-term business that rises above your competition.

When it comes right down to it, the headlines and titles you create form an inherent promise to your readers. You don’t want to sacrifice long-term trust and credibility by drawing readers into content that doesn’t deliver on what the title suggests. Therefore, it is important that you find the right balance between getting attention and being honest.

Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to come up with compelling headlines all the time. I write every single day on a variety of topics – and I often spend as long on that single line as I do on the rest of the article or post.  However, I do have a handful of  tried-and-true headline formulas I look to when I need inspiration or want to get my thoughts flowing in a different direction.

Here are 3 of my personal all-time favorite headline styles:

• How To. Yep, “how to” articles are everywhere and they can fall a little flat if you aren’t careful. What they have going for them, however, is that if someone wants to learn about a topic -  there is a good chance “how to” will be part of his search query. In fact, according to Wordtracker’s free research tool – there were over 102,000 searches today that included the words “how to” – that’s over 3 million searches in just one month. Of course, most of those searches won’t be related to your exact topic – but odds are some of them will be.


Bottom line: people want to know “how to” do things – and you can satisfy that demand by providing well-written and informative content that shows them the way.

• Numbered Lists. This approach is my absolute favorite and I use it all the time. Why? Because it works. I have seen it in my own article marketing efforts and with projects I’ve done for clients – whenever I write something that contains a number in the headline (i.e. 7 Ways to ______ ) – that article invariably does better in terms of page views, pick-ups by other online publishers and url clicks back to my site than non-numbered articles.


I don’t have proof for this – but I suspect the reason for this is that many Internet searchers are drawn to bite-size pieces of information. Numbered lists are great for skimmers looking to pick up useful information quickly.

• The Question. Posing a question in your title or headline is a good idea for a number of reasons. First, it opens the door to a conversation with your reader by asking if something pertains to her. Therefore, it is a great way to establish common ground with your audience. In addition, asking a question in your headline allows you to demonstrate your expertise in your subject area by solving the problem it presents in the body of your content.


Some of my favorite question headlines start with  “Are You _____,” “Do You Ever ____,” – and my all-time favorite…. “Have You Ever Made This Mistake – Or Is It Just Me?”  Just kidding!

Til Next Time,

PS Don’t forget how important it is to incorporate keywords into your title. Yes, your headlines need to grab attention. Yes, they need to relate directly and accurately to your content. But, they also need to be FOUND by both the search engines and your human readers. My keyword research tool of choice is Micro Niche Finder – but WorderTracker offers a great free resource that can also help you select which words you want to target.

Let’s start this conversation about website headlines by focusing a little on what they are and what they can and cannot do.

Headlines (and titles) are your initial handshake with your reader. They can range from weak and limp-wristed (yuck) to over-powering and over-the-top (ouch). My personal style isn’t so much the Vulcan-death-grip-drop-you-to-your-knees approach in either handshaking or writing. Instead, I like to shoot for something in the middle.

(But if I had to choose sides – I would lean slightly towards the stronger end of the spectrum. So consider yourself warned. )

The point is, you want your first contact with your reader to inspire trust and confidence. A weak and wimpy first impression is no good – and neither is false bravado (or false promises).  The best website headlines are going to grab attention and hold it – but only long enough to get your visitor/reader through the door. They decide in the split second it takes to read it whether or not they want to invest more of their time with your words.

To accomplish this – your headlines should promise to do one of 4 things for your reader: It should convey that you know how to make their lives:

• Better
• Easier
• More Fun
• More Profitable

Craft a headline that points to how your content can help them accomplish any combination of these 4 things – and you are on your way.  (The rest of this week, we’ll talk about how exactly to do that).

Without question, headlines are key to your success with Content Marketing. Keep in mind, however, that a great headline is only part of the equation. It will get the ball rolling, but you have to back it up with great content that delivers on the promises the headline makes.

Tomorrow, we’ll cover some of the best tried-and-true website headline creation strategies – and how to make them your own.

Til Next Time,

PS Don’t forget my live Webinar chat with Lynn Terry is later today at Noon EST.  If you haven’t registered yet – there is still time.  Hope to see you there!