Starting an article with a blank page in front of you is difficult.  This article will give you ideas on how to choose topics to write about and it may even bring you just a little more confidence to write your first or next article today.  Writing an article is easier than you think!   IF I CAN WRITE, YOU CAN WRITE At the end of 8th grade, it was highly recommended that I attend summer school for my worst subjects— Math and English (I barely passed these subjects).  I went; however, one month later I was diagnosed with pneumonia and spent the summer in intensive care at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn. Fast forward eight years. To increase bond sales among the Registered Reps at Bear Stearns, I interviewed the RRs to learn what they needed from the trading desk. (That is where I was working at the time as a Retail Trader). From those many conversations, I designed innovative marketing forms, provided more information than what was previously taking place, and eventually starting writing an article a month. The topics of the articles were chosen by me from a list of questions the RRs asked me most often. A colleague, George Adell, proofread whatever I wrote. I wrote about the nuances of municipal or government bonds.  I also wrote about the operational side because, well, it's very different than selling stocks, options, mutual funds, etc. Over time, I was asked to put all my articles into a

My coaching mentor happened to be a former financial planner, my boss for a few years, and "the father of coaching".  Thomas Leonard taught me that writing wasn't as difficult as I made it out to be. He could, and often did, design a new website every day -- including all the words of another new coaching program.   He wrote 100's of top ten articles and turned the best of the best into a book.  He also offered the coaches he was training the opportunity to include their own top ten lists on his site. To become published, all I had to write was a title, short introduction, and ten tips.  That was it.  If I wanted to explain each tip in a paragraph, I could.  I'd go to the site and just write.  (Hint: You can write articles this short, too!) I wish I had known that the site would be removed before I had an opportunity to download all my articles. Working for Thomas inspired me to write and learn simple tips on how to choose what to write about. More Inspiration My first coach, Eddie, inspired me to "write and speak about what I know". I started writing pages and pages of articles. I taught first as a volunteer and then I was paid to teach classes about business plans, marketing on a budget, how to use the internet, how to create a website page from scratch, and many others. Never could I

I find that financial advisors, more than any business owner, are guilty of NOT understanding the difference between SPAM and an email they don’t like. It could be because advisors, as a whole, are newer to aspects of the internet and many don’t have newsletters due to compliance reasons, lack of funds to pay a compliance person to check their email newsletters, or because they don’t enjoy writing. The good thing is that many custodians, IBDs, advisor networks, and marketers offer their members compliance approved articles that can be placed in newsletters that are mailed or emailed. And if you haven’t been around the internet since it started, then you haven’t watched the progression of emails considered spam, or be aware of the laws created in 2003 regarding spam, called the Can Spam Laws and beyond. If you register for a newsletter (sign up), you get emails from that person/business. The content and delivery of those emails varies. And if you decide that you no longer want to receive those emails, what you should do is unsubscribe or remove yourself from the subscriber list. Occasionally, you may register for a newsletter and find that you don’t like it. In this case, I would recommend deleting it. And if you get a bunch of emails you no longer want from that person, go down to the bottom of the email and remove yourself. However, what I find is that advisors join newsletter lists and when they don’t like

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Celebrating 19 years of writing! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I hate writing and try as I have, I suck at it and yet, I still I do a lot of it! But no matter what classes I took to write better, proofread better, etc., they didn’t work. Like many of you, I’m an insightful idea person (that’s what my clients call my out of the box ideas that they use to grow their businesses). Some of us are just like that. But I don't want all the ideas that could make someone money to go to waste. So I write them down, explain them as best as I can and let the experts do the rest! Although Chris Mifsud, my marketing manager, isn’t critiquing this post, it’s because of her, Karen Kanakanui, and the virtual assistants I’ve had over the years, that my ideas end up looking so polished. Heck they look like articles on my blog, ebooks, workbooks, workshops, etc. – and not just great ideas. Sure, I put in my time on those things, but to me, they do the hard part! Thank you Chris, Karen and the rest! Here's how my newsletter was started in 1998... I was

At the start of internet marketing, this marketing strategy used to be called "article marketing."   Today it's called, "content marketing".  Same thing, for the same reasons. What are article banks? Article banks are two-way websites where authors "deposit" articles to invest and where lenders "take" the article to use. The "interest" someone pay for using an article consists of a bio or resource box. Each article bank site includes guidelines for authors and potential publishers. Authors retain first rights - retain ownership - to articles placed on article banks. Some article bank sites publish e-zines that include recently submitted articles, ad swap requests and/or an "articles wanted" area, too. You'll find many article bank Web sites listed below. If you know of an article bank I've missed please, that could be of interested to financial advisors, add them to the comments box. My blog, www.MarketingWithIntegrity.com  is an article bank because I give people the option to ask me for permission to use an article in their newsletter or on their blog.   For Authors Are you a new writer? Gifted writer? A business owner who enjoys writing can find article marketing to be an excellent way to market services or products with little capital outlay. Any article posted to an article bank includes copyright year, the name of an author, short author bio (sometimes called a resource box), and a link to the author's Web site at the end of each article. Some article bank sites

Editorial Calendars Help Financial Advisors Focus On Topics That Are Important To Their Ideal Clients I'm sure you've heard about the importance of creating a marketing calendar.  Truth be told, most financial advisors don't have one! You can start a marketing calendar very simply by creating an Editorial Calendar and then, eventually, expanding on it.   What's an Editorial Calendar you say? "An editorial calendar is used by bloggers publishers, businesses, and groups to control publication of content across different media, for example, newspapers, magazines, blogs, email newsletters, and social media outlets."  Read more at:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial_calendar Here are a few examples of editorial calendars from financial magazines. Maybe the topics on these lists will provide you with ideas of what to place on your calendar. Morningstar http://www.morningstar.com/aboutus/mediakit/adoppts_editcalendar.html Financial Advisor Magazine in PDF format http://www.fa-mag.com/userfiles/stories/Mediakit/2015/fa-media-kit-2015-editorial-calendar.pdf Investment News http://www.investmentnews.com/assets/docs/CI97516125.PDF?v=1 Financial Executives International  http://www.financialexecutives.org/KenticoCMS/Financial-Executive-Magazine/About-the-magazine/calendar.aspx#axzz3msz1DyPI Kiplinger http://www.kiplinger.com/customer-service/media_kit/Kiplinger_Editorial_Calendar.pdf Money Magazine http://moneymediakit.com/2015-edit-calendar/ Did you know that magazines from all industries use an editorial calendar? As a (former) monthly columnist for a few magazines, the editors provided me with their yearly editorial calendar to help me select topics and meet deadlines for my articles.   Create an Editorial Calendar for YOUR firm Every firm has an overall editorial theme -- the things you specialize in.  Then within those themes you have sub-themes. For example: as a consultative-coach, my firm specializes in helping advisors create efficient operations and marketing systems that grow firms faster. That's my overall theme. Sub-theme could be: basics of systematizing, operations management, niching, simplified business planning, marketing strategies, social networking,

See how collaborative article marketing works and the steps you can take to easily create your first collaborative article Are you looking for additional ways to market yourself authentically, establish rapport with your clients, and easily create marketing materials? Let me tell you about a simple way financial advisors can write articles and create "buzz" among clients and strategic partners. It's called Collaborative Article Marketing. The advantages of collaborative article marketing are many, the uses are endless, and the rewards very much outweigh the effort you put in. Over the years, I've created a few collaborative articles. I've collaborated with an expert in the field of web design to create the article, 10 Parts of a Financial Advisor's Website I also collaborated with 3 groups of business owners to create "10 Ways To Say No To Freebie Seekers Who Want To Pick Your Brain" http://www.marketingwithintegrity.com/freebie-seekers-turn-them-into-clients-and-referrers-or-turn-them-far-far-away/. Top 10-type articles are the best to collaborate on. These lists are highly readable and engaging to people. Hey, it has worked on Letterman for years! As a financial professional, you know that "high-touch" practices are linked to profitability; however, there are only so many ways to remain in front of clients and strategic partners and to ask for referrals without appearing "salesy". There are many buzz-generating advantages to writing an article with this collaborative process, such as: Collaborative articles are easy and fun to write, especially if you format them as Top 5, Top 7, or Top 10 lists. You can

Dear Financial Advisors, CPAs, Accountants, Benefits Managers, Bookkeepers, Insurance Agents, etc. HELP ME WRITE AN ARTICLE ON EMAIL PRODUCTIVITY! I haven’t done this since 2003, when I wrote a Top 10 Article on the Ways to Say No to Freebie Seekers... I'd like your top two tips for saving time in regards to EMAIL. For each tip I use, I'll credit you (your name, title, website URL and twitter account). Below are a few tips in the right format (title, paragraph, your name, title, website twitter account URL): Create a REMOVE Folder Always unsubscribe to newsletters you realize you don't want. However, instead of taking the time out to find the unsubscribe link, then make sure the link really did unsubscribe you etc, do this instead. Create a REMOVE folder in your inbox. Quickly move any unwanted emails into that folder. Then each ____ you pick the day ____ (I like Friday afternoons) go into that folder and unsubscribe to anything you no longer want. Please create your tip in the form of a paragraph. If you have a title for it, provide it. If not, I’ll provide one for you. You can send me your tip by hitting reply. Thanks much! I'll let you know if your suggestion has been chosen and tell you when it's on my blog for you to share OR use on your blog, too. -- Maria Marsala, Business Coach to Financial Advisors, www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com. >@mariamarsala   Here are a few tips I've

©2013 123RF Stock Photos There are many ways to reuse or repurpose articles you've written. Blogs give your articles new life and drive traffic to your website at the same time!Before blogs existed, my newsletter subscribers would ask me to re-send tips on specific subjects. Thank goodness for blogs! In 2002, I created my first blog.Every time I create a new tip, I post it to my blog. The articles are categorized and a search feature makes it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. Additionally, and most importantly, the search engines love blog posts. Articles you post on your blog may be ranked higher there than on your website. PLUS, if you use you're a favorite social media sharing plug-in, it adds sharing links each blog post. Then you and your visitors can share your article or tip with others. Take Action 1) Post your articles, events, and important information from your newsletter to your blog. 2) Create categories for your blog this week. Start by reading a tip at my favorite WordPress Blog Information site 3) Add a social networking plug-in to your blog posts. Learn how at the WordPress Codex Website 4) Are you looking for information on a specific business-building topic? Start at my blog. I've posted the categories and links below to make it easy for you to begin. Marketing With Integrity Blog - Categories Accounting/Taxes Computers/Websites/Software FA Tactical Tips Goals Human Stuff Ideal Clients Leadership Marketing Article Marketing Networking

Article marketing Article marketing is the best way to market on a limited budget. Write articles directed to your niche. Place them on your blog and share them on social networking sites where your ideal clients hand out in masses. With a subscription box on your website, gather emails and create a newsletter using your articles. You can put your articles on your stationary and give them out at networking events. You can turn groups of articles into an ebook that you can give away, too. (c) 2013 Maria Marsala, Elevating Your Business   Read more tips on this subject from a variety of business owners at http://rescue.ceoblognation.com/2013/05/03/entrepreneurs-share-tips-on-getting-leads-when-youre-low-on-cash-part-2/