Hey Jason,

I agree with everything you have said AND I have a couple suggestions for amping up anyone's content marketing program.

HEADLINES: Since much of content marketing uses print such as blog posts, articles, etc. HEADLINES are as important as ever.

You get about 6 seconds to grab the attention of the average internet surfer so your Headline/ Subject Line or Title of your piece had better rock.

I suggest you take as long to craft the title as you took to write the article. Nuf said.

SYSTEMIZE IT If you plan to market with articles/blog posts/videos on the internet ... turn it into a system and schedule it regularly. It does you no good to post an article to ezinearticles.com randomly every once in a while.

Make the committment to do it twice a month for 6 months with a "sticky" website to back it up and garner new sign ups and only then measure how many leads have come in in this fashion.

AND I guarantee you that good content with attention getting headlines will get you LOTS of new website signups ... it is "old school" and it really works!

My two cents,

Dike

Dike Drummond MD http://www.superteams.com http://www.investortours.com http://www.leadershipstylesblog.com http://the-commercial-investor.com

Hey Zeke, You left out my number one free online lead generator. Articles.

This builds off of your Press Release idea. Take the same press release ... tweak it into a 500 word article with a snappy title.

Write a nice Bio Box for the footer that contains a link back to your chosen webpage.

Post on Ezinearticles.com and isnare.com and wait for folks to pick it up as content on their sites.

You get incoming traffic AND inbound links that automatically increase your SEO. And people who click to your site from an article will stay longer and hit more of your pages because they have already "Got" you from your article content.

Lot's of other free ways to get fast traffic - thousands of hit in just a day or two - with bookmarking tactics as well.

My two cents,

I found a really cool thing that supports my newsletter and blog writing lately. It's a speech recognition program called "Dragon naturally speaking".

With just an hour to train the program in my speech patterns, I was writing draft newsletters and responding to e-mails simply by speaking at normal speed. I am dictating this comment in the program has made one spelling mistake.

This has revolutionized the way I create newsletters and the speed with which I can go through my e-mail.

I don't get paid to make this comment. I'm letting you know, because all writers should know about this tool. It is potentially an even stronger support to your writing than any of the eight tips above... which are all great tips BTW.

Check it out for yourself. www.nuance.com.

Hey Kristen Right on for Mastermind groups. In my group the most value comes from the fact we have each given the other group members permission to tell us the things no one else would dare.

Since we are focused on each other's success, we get to point out each other's double signals and inconsistencies and when what we are saying is a complete crock of hoo haa.

It consistently leads to breakthroughs in both our business and personal lives. I wouldn't miss even one of my MM group calls.

Dike Drummond

Amen, Referrals are the easiest way to grow your business ... and all you have to do is ask.

Hey Veronika I agree you absolutely have to start with a clear Vision for two reasons in my experience.

1) It brings the power of Attraction in to play. You can be pulled toward your Vision rather than running away from what you don't want.

2) It allows you to say "NO" quickly. If an opportunity or task or potential client is not aligned with your Vision ... just say NO. And in my experience, the ability to say NO is one of the biggest success factors for small business people.

Cheers, Dike Drummond

Blog upgraded and feedburner sign up added. Great motivation to join the blogging fast lane. http://wellspringnetwork.blogspot.com

Thanks Mark

Hey Zita,

Here are a couple more...

"You were given two ears and one mouth ... use them in that proportion."

"It is far better to be interested than interesting."

Empathy is the power skill of the power networker. That is ... concern and compassion for the other's issues and challenges,

That's the start .... and then a genuine desire to help or make a difference.

In business that empathy and that desire are the seeds that will grow into successful [and profitable] relationships.

Have a great day,

Dike Drummond

Hey Ed,

I see the webcam video as the ultimate web 2.0 lead generator if you use it as a article-equivalent.

Everytime you write an article for distribution on the web or in your newsletter, I recommend making a quick webcam video and posting it on your site in a video archive and on YouTube and other video distribution services.

As long as the content is quality - you teach something useful or give people a new way to understand an old concept - and you put your web address in the video in a tasteful way this is a major "new" way to generate web traffic and get higher google ratings.

It is easy to make it personal and professional enough ... And the budget is next to zero.

Have a great day,

Dike Drummond

Hey Mark, Nice article and here's my spin.

[I am putting this out to you and the other folks who make a living writing or could improve their business by becoming a more engaging writer. Quality information, well presented is the King of the new millenium ... ]

Never put more than three ideas in an article.

Write it as if you and the reader were best buddies sitting down over a cup of coffee one-on-one and you are telling them something you just learned that is really cool.

I also find it very helpful to dictate the rough draft - I use copytalk.com which is flat monthly rate for unlimited dictation - that way I can keep the conversational tone.

Use a metaphor that explains the concept in a totally new way - "if commercial real estate was a four course meal, lead generation would be the appetizer". It helps people change their perspective on the topic and "get it" in a new way.

And last .. in this visual day and age ... when you write an article you also have the script for a Video you can punch out on your webcam and mount on YouTube. At the very least put a quirky picture at the start of the post.

You can see a couple examples of my articles at my blog http://wellspringnetwork.blogspot.com

Have a great day, Dike Drummond