Now back to the subject at hand – content marketing. Many of our new Better Content Marketing students have started Lesson 3: The Contentrix Guide to Style. I love this lesson because it really shows you how formatting your content can increase your reader retention and get them to better notice your call-to-action.

If you haven’t signed up for the course yet, you can do so for free here.

Here’s what else is new…

Content Marketing Preview  and Stretching Your Content

This month’s Content Marketing Preview video includes some great advice and encouragement to get more out of your content. I’ve been making a conscious effort to get my content way out there and I can tell you it makes a big difference.

Watch this month’s takeaway and get an update on what’s happening around here in February. You can see it here.

Marketing Sins of the Year

Derek posted 5 Marketing Tactics to Avoid in 2012 and it’s a must read. It’s a very solid perspective on the social nature of today’s web. No, he’s not suggesting you spend on all day posting cute kitty photos on Facebook, but shows you how to redirect your attention to more meaningful things that increase your business as well.

Kindle Ebook Formatting and Template

Last week, Alice posted a getting started with Kindle tutorial and has followed up with a promised post on Kindle formatting. After trying to reformat my existing ebooks into Kindle format, it really can be a pain in the rear end. Luckily, Alice posted a template that might come in handy too.

See the quick guide and template here.

Lesli’s Picks of the Week

Moving outside our little content marketing circle, here are some other things you might want to check out.

Creating Video Content? Lynn Terry Gives You The Rundown

Over at Clicknewz, Lynn Terry demonstrates some of the hardware and software she uses for video editing. It’s very informative and a great discussion is going on in the comments area, so check it out.

Running Ragged? Doing Almost Nothing Might Be the Solution

I really liked this post from Ali Brown. It’s called “The Most Important Time of the Day for Entrepreneurs” and it really makes sense. Sometimes when you feel like you’re drowning in overwhelm, it’s the simplest and best solution of all.

And a Thought from Twitter

This is Kelly McCausey’s response to this article on solopreneurship. I tend to agree to her because there are more ways to build a solo business than simply serving clients or customers one-by-one. In fact, Contentrix is totally built on helping you do that.

Oh and perish the thought that you have to do all the work yourself. No, you don’t need employees, but never approach business like you’re some lonely little island or you’ll be stuck on that island forever.

And speaking of not doing things all by your lonesome, here are your…

Ready, Made-for-You Content Updates

Stop working so hard on putting the content details together. Concentrate on monetizing and distributing it instead. Here is some new PLR content for you this week.

• Email Marketing: 100 tips, autoresponder comparison and slide shows.
• Autoresponse Plus Illustrated Tutorials: illustrated guides to using this powerful software
• Fast Cash Mega Bundle – includes articles, and autoresponder series and a report
• Mom’s Guide to Depression – ebooks, graphics and articles
• Alternative Car Care PLR – 10 articles

Or if you need original content, created just for your own use, visit visit Alice and Annette. They’ll take good care of you.

New 100 Topic Ideas List – Work at Home Moms (WAHM)

If you want to create your own content, but just need some topic ideas, our Content Accelerators can help you with this.

We’ve got 100 topic ideas in a growing number of niches. By reader demand, this week’s content accelerator is for WAHM topics, but we’ve got plenty of others to choose from.

Phew! That was a mouthful and now it’s your turn to do something, so go publish and prosper!

By the way, if you haven’t signed up for the free 19-week Better Content Marketing course, do it. Alice’s weekly lessons will whip you into shape and keep you moving forward.

Now, let’s check out everything that’s new around here and in the world of content marketing…

Getting More Personal with Your Readers

Starting out with a bang with this great post by Derek, he provides some excellent advice for creating a more personal connection with your readers. Learn 3 ways to do it right here.

Make Email Marketing Way Easier

Don’t let your email marketing go stale and forgotten. Try these 5 steps Alice wrote about making your email marketing easier and more effective.

I can attest to the fact that keeping things simple is not only easier, but it gets you much better results. So do what she says, okay?

Getting Started with Kindle

Over at the DIY plr blog, Alice posted a primer for publishing on Kindle. With over1 million ebooks available and millions of devices sold, it’s definitely worth a dabble.

Lesli’s Picks of the Week

Looking for more good content to help with your content marketing? Here are my picks for the week.

Get Accountability for Your Writing

Alice shared this interesting opportunity for accountability on Patti Stafford’s blog. It’s called Wednesday Writing Sprints. You can read last week’s here and sign up for updates to get in on the next one. The idea is to dedicate yourself to writing and sign in to update your progress.

Facebook Page Heat Maps

Mashable posted a pretty cool slide show, showing where people focus when they visit Facebook Pages. There’s some good intelligence for your own profile photo, content and more. Check it out here.

And a Thought from Twitter

Now, let’s get to writing, shall we? Here are some tools for you…

New 100 Topic Ideas for Your Niche

Our Content Accelerators have really heating things up and making content creation a lot easier for our readers. Each one includes 100 topics for your niche and we just added some content templates for you as well. The newest topic is YouTube, but you can see the full list here.

Now, if you’d rather have someone else take care of the content for you, try these…

Ready, Made-for-For Your Content Updates

Grab whatever you need. Just brand, monetize and add a little bit of you. Most of the work is done for you.

New PLR this week:

• 366 Social Media Tips
• Job Search Online
• Savings Ending Soon: 15 Marketing Reports, 15 Health Reports, 15 Family Reports, 15 Finance Reports, 15 Green-Living Reports

If you have specific original topics you’d like written, visit Alice and Annette at All Custom Content. They’ll take great care of you.

That’s it for me for this week. Now go publish and prosper!

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I last posted, but it’s great to be back. A lot has happened over the past month and just the last week has been particularly eventful.

Since I’d be writing forever if I updated you on what’s happened since December, let’s take a look at the last week because there has been some pretty darned exciting news.

Here’s what’s new…

The 19-Week Better Content Marketing Course is Now Free

If you need a leg up this year in learning how to get all your content published and to get the results you were hoping for, this is definitely something of interest to you. Registration for the Contentrix Better Content Marketing Course is now free. Sign up and get access to your first lesson right away and get feedback every single step of the way.

Using All The Content You Create and Have Created  for You

It’s a common theme. We get excited about a project and we hire someone to write a bunch of content and then we get too busy to publish it. In other instances, we buy up some PLR because we think it will come in handy and then we forget about it. If that sounds familiar, here’s what to do about it.

How to “How to”

Derek wrote some great tips on creating awesome how to content. He has some great out-of-the-box ideas, so check it out.

Lesli’s Picks of the Week

Moving outside of the Contentrix world, here are some great reads for you this week.

Avoid These Clients

Alice told me about this great post by Carla Young and if you work with clients for a living, you’re going to appreciate this. Even though it seems like common sense, it’s funny (err — frustrating) how we find ourselves finding ourselves working with one of these 7 disaster clients. Read it and get yourself right with our client list.

Getting Organized for 2012 – Really

If you’re looking for some great organization tools to get things together for 2012, Rae Hoffman-Dolan may have some ideas for you. I actually use #2, 4 and 6  — really great stuff. Check out her 9 Best Online Organizational Tools list here.

For the Ladies – Success Information Series and Webinar

Over at Solo Masterminds (a project Alice helped co-create, then under the name Mom Masterminds), Kelly and the gang are holding an information series with plenty of tips, ACTUAL success stories and they’re capping it off with a great webinar on January. Mom Masterminds and Solo Masterminds have been responsible for a lot online success stories and this should definitely be worth it. Get more details here.

Now that you’re full up on information and hopefully some plans you can put into action, how about some…

Ready, Made-for-For Your Content Updates

There’s no needs slave away all day, here’s some ready-made content for you. As Alice says, brand, monetize and publish.

• 15 Marketing Reports for $37
• 15 Health Reports for $27
• 15 Family Reports for $27
• Content Monetization Mega Bundle
• Free Veggie Challenge Chart (zip)
• Super Bowl Recipes with Photos
• Beginner’s Guide to a Low Carb Lifestyle
• Self-Publishing on Kindle

We’ll have plenty more for you next week. For now, go publish and prosper!

As the year comes to a close, there is so much to think about and plan. I think this week’s easy content weekly will help with that. We’ve got help for growing your mailing list, making your blogging easier and even for  dealing with your taxes (blech).

Here’s what’s new this week…

Get More Subscribers to Your List and Quickly

There’s no buts about it, the old saying “the money in the list” is nothing but true, true, true. Read this post on how to get more subscribers. It’s very practical advice on staying targeted and growing things more quickly.

Taxes and Blogging

It’s a topic no one really wants to think about it, but it always has to get done. Read Derek’s tips on taxes for bloggers. It’s U.S. based advice as our readership is largely American, so we hope you ‘ll find it helpful.

Finding a Writer on a Freelance Site

Alice and Annette provide an excellent and established ghostwriting service at All Custom Content, but you might still have a need to go to a freelance site to find a writer. There are some pitfalls to be aware of, so read these tips hiring a writer from a freelance site, so you have the best experience possible.

WOWEE! Wow Your Readers

Want to impress your readers? There are some simple things you can do to make your content stand out and they’re covered in the wow your readers with content, so check it out.

Lesli’s Picks of the Week

Moving outside our little circle, here are some posts that might interest you. Here’s more talk about money plus some great tips on blogging and Adsense.

Managing Your Money

Here’s an audio recording with Nicole Dean and Angela Wills on a topic that you don’t see covered a lot for content and Internet marketers — and that’s about managing your money. Listen to this to find out about making and keeping your money. NOTE: There is a lot of introductory info and talk at the beginning, so if you want to get to the money discussion, forward to about 19 minutes in.

Easier Blogging

Looks like Nicole is popular in this week’s wrap up and this is a great post too. It’s all about making blogging easier and includes a couple of videos that show 2 great techniques.

How to Use Channels in Adsense to Make More Money

This isn’t a new post, but I just happened to stumble upon it this week. It’s from Rae Hoffman-Dolan and she shows you how to increase Adsense revenue with channels. If you don’t know Rae, she is a no-nonsense and very successful online entrepreneur, so check it out.

Now that you’ve got yourself full of tips and advice, how about some…

Ready, Made-for-For Your Content Updates

Here’s some content that’s all ready for your branding and monetization magic. There’s no need to tap-tap-tap at the keyboard when you can earn-earn-earn instead.

• Mobile Marketing Mega Pack: 3 bundles in one, all about mobile marketing
• Competitive Keyword Research: 4 illustrated guides
• 2012 Diet Articles: 15 articles for the New Year
• 100 Online Business Articles Sale: Get these before their gone
• FREE! What Holiday Movies Can Teach You About Business: Timely and at a great price (FREE)

That’s all for this week. Now go publish and prosper!

I started by downloading Lynette’s 2012 Blogging Calendar and will take Alice’s and Derek’s tips from this week into consideration, so I can always have fresh content without having to bang my head against my laptop screen.

So, let’s get started…

What’s New Around Here

Whether you need some writing inspiration or motivation to keep pushing forward, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what’s new at Contentrix and DIYplr.

Never Struggle for Writing Topics

If you ever get stuck and find yourself staring at the computer, wondering what you should write about – you’re not alone. It happens to me all the time, but I’m getting better and one of the reasons is the tips found in this week’s what to write about post by Alice. I really think #1 is the most important solution and it’s really easier than it may seem on the surface. Those 15-30 minutes will save you so much time later when you’re itching to find something to write about.

Easy and Awesome Blog Post Ideas

Here’s even more help for coming up with ideas. Read Derek’s top notch blog post ideas post for 5 more great ideas for content, this time just for blog posts.

I Hate Nickelback Too!

Okay, that’s probably irrelevant, but Alice has made a quick post to give us all something to think about.  Read the whether they love you or hate you and stop fussing over trying to make everyone happy.

Make a Mobile-Friendly WordPress Website

Mobile technology has exploded and many Internet users do most of their surfing on a mobile device. That means, we need to make sure our sites are usable on mobile devices. If you’re looking for a good solution, read this post on making a mobile friendly WordPress site.

Lesli’s Picks of the Week

Venturing out in the wide world of content and Internet marketing, here are a few items that might be of interest to you.

Win a Free (and REALLY big) Custom Content Package – Value $850

Melissa Ingold is looking for PLR Success Stories. Tell her how PLR has helped your business and you could win a custom content package that includes 20-page report, sales letter and ecover graphic. Get the PLR Success Stories Contest details and to make your entry.

Need Some More Blog Post Ideas for the End of 2012?

Alexis Rodrigo has 10 more blog post ideas, perfect for this time of year. Read her end of the year blog posts here.

Enhanced Twitter Profiles for Business

Twitter is currently rolling out some enhanced profiles that offer more branding possibilities. They haven’t rolled out widely yet, but you can learn more at MarketingLand.com’s post New Enhanced Profiles A Boon To Brands On Twitter.

Ready, Made-for-You Content Updates

No need to work your typing fingers to the bone, when there’s content all ready for you to brand, monetize and publish. Here are some new quality picks for the week.

• 1000 Business Ideas PLR: A great list with so many possibilities.
• GoToWebinar PLR: Illustrated tutorials for conducting a webinar.
• Reduce Daily Stress PLR: On sale until it retires on December 21.
• Save Money on Your Utility Bill PLR: 10 article pack
• Picture Puzzles with PLR Rights: Fun, photo puzzles for your visitors
• Emotional Overeating PLR: 10 article pack
• “Gifts for Boys” and “50 Diet Tips for 2012″ – Find them by searching for them by title at PLR MiniMart.

That’s all for this week. Now go publish and prosper!