A great resource for your seasonal-themed articles

In a previous post I listed several reasons why writing articles can help you build your online presence and attract more clients.

Here's a great resource for getting statistics and other info to include in your articles: the U.S. Census Bureau’s “Facts for Features and Special Editions.”

There you’ll find statistics, demographics and economic information for various calendar events – Back to school, Labor Day, Halloween, Black History month, etc.

The “Back to School” section includes numbers of students of various ages, parental involvement in kids’ education, teacher salaries, and more.

How to use the info:

Including statistics where appropriate can help emphasize a point. For example, suppose you want to impress upon teens and their parents the importance of staying in school. Facts for Features lists comparative average earnings of college graduates vs high school dropouts.

Get ideas for taking a unique angle in your writing. While so many other mental health professionals are giving tips and advice about how teens can adjust to college life, you might write an article aimed at students over 35 years old, who comprise about 16% of enrollees. Since fewer professionals write directly to this demographic, your piece will have a greater chance of being noticed.

How your writing can attract more clients

Writing articles and blogs posts are ideal for connecting with potential clients and referral sources. Here's why:

Your writing shows a sample of what you can do. People who read your articles are doing so because they are already interested in the topic. Thus, you're connecting with those who are most likely to contact you or recommend you to others.

Much better than a business card, your written piece gives people something useful. They can take your insights and and follow your tips - and notice immediate benefit.

Writing is a way to market without being pushy or “salesy.” And if you write about common problems that lots of people have, the impact can last for years. People's issues and challenges change over time. Those who need you today may not need you 5 years from now. But by then, there will be new people with similar problems who can benefit from your advice.

Your writing makes it easier for people to recommend you to others – Instead of saying “Call so-and-so – she’s a good therapist,” people can show their friends samples of what you know and how you can help.

Writing articles positions you as an expert. The more you write about a given topic, the more your name will be associated with the subject matter, and the higher your name will show up in Google search results.

Writing builds your online presence. You will become more ubiquitous online as you continue to publish articles and blog posts. If you do it right, your writing will end up on dozens or hundreds of websites, and others will quote you.

Simple tips for getting listed in Google search results

Google's Matt Cutts explains, in plain English, the basics of how to get found on Google.

Free Content for Your Fact Sheets and Brochures

Fact sheets and brochures branded with your name can enhance your image as an expert. If the information is helpful, people will keep these items and pass them on to others.

You don’t need to write all the content yourself. Save time by using material that’s already out there. You can use documents produced by U.S. government agencies – such as NIMH – without getting in trouble for plagiarizing. Why? Anything produced by the U.S. government is in the public domain. It is not copyrighted. That means:

• You don’t need permission to use the content. 

• You don’t need to pay royalties.
• You are free to use the content in any way you like. You can modify it, adapt it, or use just parts of it.
• You are not obligated to cite the source. In fact you can put your own name on it.

Here are a few examples of publications from NIMH:

• Fact sheets on ADHD, PTSD, The teenage brain, Suicide warning signs

• Booklets (some have Spanish version) on Anxiety disorders, Autism spectrum disorder, Eating disorders, Men and depression

• Statistics on various mental conditions and disorders

• An image library with images (mostly of the brain) to enhance your brochures

All of the above publications from NIMH are in the public domain, absolutely free for your use. More resources on psychological topics are available at the websites of other government agencies. For example:

• Post-stroke rehabilitation fact sheet, from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
• Anger Management booklet from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Homework tips for Parents, from the Department of Education

How to find public domain content in government websites:

USA.gov is the main portal. From there you can search within specific agencies (e.g., NIH, NIMH, Department of Justice, etc.) or type your keywords into the search box to get results from more than one government agency.

Alternatively, you can search Google, adding the following to your keywords: site:gov (no spaces between the characters.) This tells Google to search only within government websites.

NOTE: Although all documents and images produced by the federal government are in the public domain, you may find some material on government websites that was produced by an outside contractor. Such material may be protected by copyright.

Therefore, when searching for public domain content, add the phrase  “public domain” (in quotes) to your search. A Google search for tips on anger management would look like this:
“anger management” tips “public domain” site:gov

With public domain content you can quickly churn out fact sheets and brochures on several topics. Just copy and paste. If you have more time, you can modify the content so that it better reflects you and your practice.

Where to Distribute Fact Sheets and Brochures:

• Give them to clients when appropriate.
• Drop them off (after getting permission) at the offices of other professionals (physicians, attorneys, etc.) as well as at hair salons, health clubs, schools and other places where your prospective clients hang out. 

• Post them for download on your website.

• Hand them out at your presentations.

Be sure to include your full contact information on every product. This not only makes it convenient for people to get in touch with you; it also helps to brand you as an expert on the topic.

** Please join my free, monthly conference calls focused on marketing. Sign up online at bit.ly/monthlycalls
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NAMS 5 Webinar Series, and more...

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a week-long NAMS 5 webinar series - 26 hours of presentations on the latest tools and techniques in online marketing and productivity. 

My presentation was titled: Beat Procrastination...For Real This Time. It generated a bit of Twitter buzz, since it's a problem we can all relate to.

By the end of the week I had tons of notes and links from the other expert presenters that I've already put to use.

After the webinar series was over, organizer David Perdew kept working. He gathered all the Powerpoint presentations and put them on a download site. Then he added:

• PDFs and Audios of the presentations
• Audio files from FOUR previous NAMS 3-day conferences (150 hours) 
• Software - Article Twister and Local Domain Hound

As if all that isn't enough, he's including the following, which are coming up:

• 18 hours of "deep dive" interviews over the next few months
• A free ticket to the NAMS 6 live conference in August.

How much is he asking for everything (and more) mentioned above?

UNTIL FEB 4 at 5 pm Eastern, you can get it all for $397.

I've never seen so much quality, expert content offered for this fee. I strongly recommend that you take a look a this before the Feb 4 deadline.

Here's my affiliate link to learn more and sign up. I'll be at NAMS 6 in August. If you're there, I'll treat to dinner on Friday night.

pw

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Outsource for $5?

Outsourcing work can be kind of scary. You have to trust people you've never met, based on recommendations from other people you've never met.

What if you could outsource a small task - say, do a voiceover for your video...or send out press releases...or even build a Facebook fan page for you - any of these for 5 bucks?

Fiverr.com brings together people willing to give a small sample of their work for $5, and those who are looking for help with these tasks. It's a great way try outsourcing and see how it works for you.

There are some fun opportunities on Fiverr as well. Want an Elvis impersonator to croon "Happy Birthday" to your mom? Need a wallet made of duct tape (any color)? Interested in what happened on the day you were born? You can get all these for $5.

But there are some shady offers on Fiverr as well. Don't be tempted by those that promise you 500 incoming links to your website, or 25,000 views to your Youtube video. These links and hits are generated by software robots. Once Google catches on (and it eventually will) that they are not legitimate, you may suddenly find that yourself de-listed by Google.

5 Ways to be found in Google search results

Do you want to be more visible in Google search results? Here are 5 simple tips:

1. Get a free listing on Google Maps, When people search for a local product or service, a map of their geographic region is displayed ABOVE all the other search results. Even if you don't have a website, your business can appear on this map.
   
2. Post quality content on your website or blog, and post it often. Google ranks websites by the amount of content on a website as well the richness of content and how often it's updated. Great content is the best Google bait!
   
3. Try to match your keywords and key phrases with what your audience is probably typing into search engines. Use these keywords in the title and description metatags of your website or blog, and in the content you post on your website. Use the Google Keyword Tool for suggestions.
4. Post comments on other blogs and news sites. Arrange with colleagues to do a guest blog post on their sites, and invite them to do the same.
   
5. Get incoming links pointing to your site. Link from your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Ask noncompeting colleagues to link to you. Use contextual links that contain keywords such as marketing for professionals, rather than simply "click here." Contextual links that relate to what your website is about, are considered more relevant by search engines. If you have a lot of similar contextual links pointing to your site, you will likely get a higher ranking in search results when people search on those keywords.