I won't give you any real samples, because I'm too embarrassed for her and for others who think they can pass this off for content marketing. Furthermore, I wouldn't want to give her any free publicity, even negative.

Instead, I prefer to give you some advice and tips on how not to be boring. And don't tell me "it's hard coming up with new stuff to write about," or, "I'm so busy, I don't have time to figure this out for myself," or, "What's wrong with copying and pasting if I change it around and make it new?" Bull---shitake...

One Easy Way Not to Be Boring

Go on a rant. Just like I'm doing in this post. Can't think of something to rant about, that has anything remotely to do with your business? Oh come on. What would make your customers and readers rant and rage? You want more readers, you want more comments? Let them know you know what makes them mad.

Here's someone else's really good advice about this. Vicky Sullivan is a long-time speakers' expert. She's written a fabulous piece on how to tap into this deep and profound well of meaningful content. Here's an excerpt:

Uncover Your Brilliance: How to Write So That People Take Notice
By Vickie Sullivan, Contributing Editor, RainToday.com

I love this tip. It's well written, it does a good job of establishing credibility and expertise of the writer (just in case you don't already know who she is), and shows that Vickie really knows how to help people dig a little deeper, to bring out the best in them. 

What do you think about using a rant as a means to connect with readers and to avoid mediocrity in your content marketing pieces? Have you tried it, and what kinds of results, reactions have you achieved? Hit the comment link and share.

Related Post: Get Mad and Get Writing!

Obviously, the old way of doing things just wasn’t working the way it used to. Fortunately, something new was in the wind. Initially, it was just the excitement of the Web as a fresh medium. Then, after the bubble burst in early part of this decade, a new kind of reality emerged: businesses could win customers, not by knocking them on the head with sales messages, but by attracting them with information, entertainment, know-how and insights they genuinely desire: that is, with CONTENT.

What’s all this mean? By creating information our audiences value, we can engage them at the most important points in the sales cycle — when they’re researching opportunities, investigating options, and forming opinions regarding whom they can trust.

How are you doing it now? (Blog, email, newsletter, white papers, ebooks, special report, etc?)

Me personally, I’m big on the following things:

• ebooks that establish my authority in key content areas
• articles that connect me with like-minded communities of marketers
• a blog that links me to larger conversations on the Web
• Twitter as a means of identifying potential allies, friends and partners
• I also have an e-newsletter as kind of nurturance, keep-’em-warm-on-the-back-burner tool.
• I’m experimenting with video — with mixed results.

What kinds of content work best for you to attract and stay in touch with readers, build your KLT factor (Know, Like & Trust), and makes sales?

I think a multi-tiered approach allows us to achieve different goals, with different readers, at different points in the marketing process. As deep, long-form content, ebooks give me (and my clients) a chance to drive a stake in the ground — to establish a turf of expertise that lifts us above the competitive pack. (Another nice thing about ebooks: they can have a relatively long shelf-life.)

Blog posts allow me to address more timely issues, to be part of an evolving conversation; they give prospects a reason to come to my site, bookmark it, and visit it again. Articles fit somewhere in the middle: not quite as deep as ebooks, not as timely as blog posts, but a valid way of sharing insights with people interested in similar issues.

How does all this lead to sales?

Ironically, by taking “sales” out of the equation. If someone contacts me after having read something they respect, there’s no need to “sell” them on my services. Instead, we can have a substantive conversation about what they need and how I can help.

Which social networking sites do you use, what works for you, how do you manage time, etc?

I’m covering my head to protect myself from the stones that may come in my direction, but here’s what I’ve experienced thus far (and that could change over the next few weeks, months and years):

• Twitter: Not a medium for deep content (at 140 characters, how could it be?) but a terrific way to find people who share my interests and values. Once I find them on Twitter, I follow up by leaving comments on their blogs, writing emails, and picking up the phone. I’ve made a number of important business connections this way.
• Google Reader: I know, it’s not a social media site, but a syndication/aggregation tool. But it IS social because it allows me to track the deeper thoughts of people I admire and join them in conversations on their own blogs. I think we tend to overestimate the importance of our own blogs and underestimate the value of participating on other peoples’ blogs.
• Facebook: Not so hot — for me anyway. I find it too difficult to separate the personal from the professional. 
• LinkedIn: I’ve really been disappointed by the quality of the groups on this site. Too many of the posts are overtly self-promotional and insubstantial. (Dear reader, I’m more than happy to have you prove me wrong.) 
• AMA Connect at  http://connect.amaboston.org/: Compared to other social media sites, this is a small pond. But I love it because I’m able to actually MEET people I connect with on this site; that’s often hard, or impossible, to do on larger sites. I found my web developer, Agency3, through AMA Connect and am very happy with the results!

Regarding time management: Oy vey! I have no good answers. When I’m busy with client work, for example, my blog suffers. And I often really struggle to keep up with the good stuff other bloggers are generating. For me, effective time management is still very much a work in progress.

How does CM work for you? How do you know it's working? What kinds of results are you getting? Sales? Leads?  Subscriptions, downloads? Search Engine traffic? Blog comments, Twitter retweets?

In their book, Get Content, Get Customers, authors Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett argue for something smart: a Return On Objectives. Sales processes can be loooong, so instead of tying content to absolute end results (sales figures), I tie them to interim steps. I look for website traffic, ebook downloads, Twitter mentions, incoming email inquiries, speaking opportunities, etc.

When these cylinders fire, the business follows. (And you know what’s great? I don’t have to harangue anyone; instead, people come to me of their own free will.)

How isn't it working like it should? What did you expect that didn't happen? What's missing, needed?

Well, the time management issue mentioned earlier remains a big challenge. As many others have said before me, social media may not require a big investment of dollars, but it does take a lot of time. And there’s a definite air of unpredictability about what’s hot and what’s not. Many times, content I think is sure-fire just flames out without attracting any interest. Conversely, I’ve seen throw-away, after-thought posts take off like no one’s business. As Fats Waller once said, “One never knows, do one?”

Again, thank you Patsi!

Note: Be sure to visit Jonathan's site at Kranzcom.com, and check out the funny vampire video on the lower right side, it's a hoot! Vampire Colleagues who Suck!

He's also written a highly valued ebook: The eBook eBook, and is author of the classic Writing Copy for Dummies available on Amazon or in your local bookstores.

What other marketing tool only costs you an hour of time and brings such great traffic and leads? Did I mention my only other cost is about $150/year in hosting fees? As a small business owner, that's good ROI.

I know it's not always easy to come up with good stuff. To help stimulate you, I made a list of 15 ways to come up with fresh topics to write about on your business blogs. Use each one of these, and you'll never wonder what to write about on your blog again, I promise.

Download my Worksheet for Finding Blog Content here, now, completely free, of course.

This makes it harder for you to grab readers’ attention and get through to them. However, readers are still hungry for solutions and are looking for trustworthy professionals to work with.

I know this because I've experienced it personally. In spite of the recession, people are still hiring consultants to help them with their content marketing strategies and with writing quality content for business marketing.

As marketing guru Seth Godin writes: “With 80 million other blogs to choose from, I know you could leave at any moment (see, there goes someone now). So that makes blog writing shorter and faster and more exciting.”

That makes content marketing on a blog more challenging as time goes on. So what to do? How do you improve the quality of your content marketing? Here are a few suggestions to think about:

1. Sit down and try to figure out what you need to do the most to get best results, make a list of your content marketing strategies
2. Pick up the phone and call a friend or colleague and talk about it
3. Surf the web in search of solutions
4. Get totally confused and go eat something or go work out
5. Come back and find an expert to work with, send them an email asking for help at a price you can afford

What else? Add to this list by leaving a comment. How would you help someone who needs to improve their use of content marketing, for example, with a blog?

1. I know Kathleen and really care about her well-being. I get a lot of messages from her because, like other online marketers, she promotes a lot of her programs. But even if I didn't know her personally, I think I'd want to find out how she broke her ankle. Human curiosity.
2. I also have met Sherman at conferences, but I could care less about what he had for dinner. However, because I subscribe to an email blog service, Posterous, I get emails of his posts, and he's obsessive about sharing pictures of good food. Some are very funny, so I'm always curious. Furthermore, and this is important, Sherman shares so many intimate details about his daily life, things he sees, things he eats, that I feel like I really know him well!
3. I could care less that this guy made $21,365 on the Internet, but I'm curious as to why he thinks it's important enough to email me to tell me. Just wanted to see if he had anything interesting to say about it, and he didn't. Yawn, and <Delete>...
4. I'm a writer for hire, so I'm always interested in what other writing experts say about good writing. This post had another key term that intrigued me more, "words that haunt," and had he put those in the headline, I would have opened it sooner.

My point is that if you want to get read. you have to make the headline or subject line intriguing AND personal. Make me curious, make me care.

Obviously, this is harder to do if you're a big company, and that's why you need to develop a personality or persona who can communicate with readers. Pick a voice, a real person who can become spokesperson, either an excellent writer or the head of the company, or both.

The task isn't easy. How do you know what to share and what to keep private? Kathleen is telling everyone on her emailing list (thousands!) about her broken foot, and I'm sure it will be posted soon on her blog as well.

She uses her personal misfortune to teach others the right kind of attitude to have in adversity. If you have a cold, are you going to share that with readers? Maybe, if you can tie it in with something relevant for your readers.

You may not want to post pictures of your last meal with family on your blog, like Sherman does. But there's something strangely appealing to the way he does it. Remember, skimmers are in a hurry, and want the message lickety-split. Pictures work instantaneously to make an impact. They're quick, and intimate.

Another quick way to reach into people's minds and hearts is through video, because you get sight and sound and, hopefully, personality all in the blink of an eye.

I don't know about you, but as a skimmer, I won't open an video unless the headline really intrigues me, and it's short. Anything over 2 minutes is too long.

What's your opinion about video length? Shorter than 2 minutes? 1 minute, 30 seconds? What about 12 seconds? I'm checking out 12SecondsTV.com coming soon...

Image: Shutterstock

Free Works

The free sample is popular because it works. There are other ways of giving people a free sample of your work rather than free sessions. Writing a case study or white paper is a proven effective way to draw in new clients. So are testimonials and social proof from other clients.

Serious clients don't shop around for coaches by using free sessions. They want to know if they're a good fit with you, but who has time to do free sessions with a lot of different coaches? A good fit is determined in the first few minutes of a conversation, as long as the way has been paved with good content that:

1. Shows you're an expert
2. Shows you've got experience in their field or a similar field
3. Shows you're a human being with real emotions (humor, intelligence)
4. Shows you're flexible yet firm with boundaries

The Real Reason Content Rocks

Free samples, yes, but of your writing, your cases, what others say about you. This is why content marketing is so important. You can't convey the depth and profoundness of your value in a free phone session. Or in most conversations, for that matter, until you get to know somebody well.

That's why content is so important. You can go deep, you can write about what really matters. You can lay it all out in a well-written document.

There are those who are better on the phone and in personal sessions than on paper, and the other way around. The solution is varied: if you speak better than you write, get a qualified journalist to interview you and turn it into a free paper.

There are many excellent writers available to turn your brilliance into a piece of content that will work to show what you know, what you've done and can do, and who you are as a real live human being.

I don't think most people can write quality case studies or white papers for themselves. It requires a professional who can discern the key points that are attractive to outsiders. Maybe if you're a seasoned writer or journalist you can write your own marketing content, but it's hard because you can't see the forest for the trees.

For myself, I had an increase in business the first half of the year, and now things are a little quiet. Personally, I like quiet and it fits with my plan to lead a stress-free life enjoying the things I love: Mexico, tennis, writing, Huey and Dewey, our cats, and the good life with the Hubby. ;-0

Not to say I would say 'no' to a new writing assignment... If you'd like me to help you, check out the new link at the top of the page, How to Hire Me, and see if you could use a blog content makeover or a shiny new piece of content to market your services... just sayin'.