Hi {"ANONYMIZED":"2022-09-05"},
You may find that today’s newsletter is a little heavy on content related to coaching. Perhaps that’s not a coincidence — I am a volunteer coach, after all. Along with another father, I coach my daughter’s under-16 girls’ soccer team in Alexandria, Va.
In fact, I am sending this email right before I leave the office for tonight’s practice.
Our team's season wraps up this coming weekend, and I would not have made it through the spring without YouTube coaching videos (here are a bunch I have saved, if you’re curious). I’ve been amazed at how many videos you can find on YouTube with ideas for very specific drills, games and strategies. And a lot of them are really good.
I bring this up as a potential preview. I have been thinking for a while that there has to be a good marketing blog post to be written about these videos — something like “What Small Businesses Can Learn From This Youth Soccer Warm-Up Video.” You may see that post linked here in a future newsletter. Stay tuned.
Okay, on with the show …
1. What Does Good Content Marketing for Business Coaches Look Like?
When I talk (or write) about content marketing, I spend a lot of time dealing in the abstract. For instance, I might write:
“Every piece of content marketing you create should be aimed at prospects in a specific stage of the buyers’ journey.”
Or:
“You want your content to ‘speak the language’ of your ideal customer – is it businesslike or casual? Jargon-heavy or easily understandable? Match their typical tone in your piece.”
Abstract guidance like that is helpful, but I know that seeing concrete examples can be just as important — if not more important.
So this week I kicked off a series on the Squarely Digital blog: What Good Content Marketing Looks Like.
In each entry, I'll share real-world examples of quality content marketing, telling you why I think it’s good as well as how the piece could be improved.
Each entry will focus on a different industry or niche. This week: business and executive coaching. If you’d like to see your industry featured, reply and let me know!
Here’s the inaugural WGCMLL post:
What Does Good Content Marketing for Business Coaches Look Like?
2. Workshop for Business & Executive Coaches
Speaking of coaches … there’s still time to register for the Squarely Digital content marketing workshop for business and executive coaches. It starts next week and will take place on four of the next five Wednesdays: June 16 and 23 and July 7 and 14.
The cost is just $199, and for a full description, hop over to the workshop page on my site to get the info.
And please feel free to share the link with colleagues you know who might find the sessions useful.
>>Learn More/Register Here<<
3. How I Reached More People On LinkedIn
In the last email, I linked to a blog post I had just written, How to Reach More People on LinkedIn. The post featured three tips I heard on a podcast featuring sales expert Samantha McKenna.
A day or two after sending the newsletter, I posted on LinkedIn about the blog post, incorporating all three of McKenna’s tips in the post (including tagging her and the podcast host, Kathleen Booth.
Guess what: It worked.
The post has gotten about five times the number of views as my average LinkedIn post, and it picked up likes and comments from McKenna and Booth (who have bigger followings than me).
And as a bonus, McKenna featured my LinkedIn post (and linked to my blog) in her newsletter last Friday. You can take a look here (scroll down to the third item).
I’m not going to say every tip I share with you will work out this way. But sometimes they pay off pretty well.
4. Content Marketing Tip of the Day: Don’t Hedge.
I posted a content marketing tip of the day for 20 straight days last fall. Here’s one of my favorites:
It’s natural to be wary of being too bold or strident in your writing. While deep down you know that method X is the best way to solve problem Y, when it comes to stating it in public, you’ll feel the urge to pull back and write or say “Method X generally is one of the best ways to solve problem Y.”
Don’t do it. Your content should be confident and straightforward — qualifiers and weasel words will only weaken your message.
5. Off Topic, But …
My favorite thing on the internet so far this month was this Facebook post from a site dedicated to classic rock band The Who. If you click through, you’ll see photos from 40 years ago today, when the Who’s Pete Townshend (already a rock legend) took Bruce Springsteen (soon to become a megastar himself) to see a little up-and-coming Irish band playing in London: U2.
See you next time,
Jon
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