Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Titus Hoskins
If you're new to list building, you may just be wondering what all the fuss is about? What's so important about list building you may be asking? Why should it be the first task any webmaster and/or marketer should do? More importantly, you may be wondering what is the number one benefit of building your list?
Without a doubt, one of the greatest benefits for building a list of contacts, is developing a lasting mutual relationship with a vast number of people who you probably wouldn't normally be communicating with on a regular basis. It is this relationship which is the most important benefit of building your list. You must make a lasting impression and build a lasting relationship with your contacts or subscribers in order for your list to work.
Many webmasters and marketers fail to realize that a list of contacts, even a very large one, is virtually useless unless you form and nurture a relationship with these subscribers. This relationship must be built on trust and respect, one where both parties benefit from being a part of the list. It truly is a give and take interaction, where everyone gets what they want.
Building such a relationship is not easy, it can take years of experience to get right. First and foremost, a subscriber on your list or newsletter must feel wanted, but also they must get something of value from being one of your subscribers. In most cases this "something" will be valuable information which they can use with their website or online marketing. In some cases, it could be special deals, discounts or even bonuses if they purchase through your links, but usually it consists of information the subscriber needs.
Many people make the mistake that this should be some earth-shaking information, but in reality, anyone who runs a website for several years already has some valuable information to give to someone who is just starting a site. In other words, your knowledge will be valuable to someone if you can construct your lists to get subscribers who need and appreciate your information. It may also be helpful to specialize in a certain topic and concentrate all your learning around this topic. Then before long you will be considered an expert, someone who everyone wants to hear from in one form or another.
If you build this lasting relationship with a large group of contacts, you will always have willing targeted visitors to your sites. These repeat visitors will prove to be a great benefit for any webmaster. You will also have a large group of targeted prospects who will be interested in your offers and/or products. Handle this relationship right and you will also have a large list of potential customers, ready to open their wallets if the price is right.
So the next time someone mentions list building, you should realize building a large list of contacts is only the first step and often the easiest part. In this age of Twitter and Facebook, building a large group of contacts can be done almost overnight. However, these contacts are useless unless you build a mutual relationship and then and only then will you see the true benefit of list building.
About the Author:
If you want to find out more about list building, try this handy eCourse on: list building Or why don't you simply follow us on Twitter to get other useful marketing and list building help: twitter bizwaremagic Copyright Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.
Read more Articles written by Titus Hoskins.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Press Preferences - Blogging Software Explained
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
One of the biggest advantages that the web offers is the relative ease of developing tools catering to the needs of a particular user set. For every ten people who want to perform a specific task, there will be ten ways for them to do it because each will have ten different needs to address. Blogging software is an excellent example of this phenomenon as there have been numerous blogging programs that have arisen since the advent of Livejournal in the late 1990s.
Understanding a few of the more common blog software programs can help any blogger make an informed choice about their particular needs and get their message out in the most efficient way.
Livejournal
Livejournal is the earliest, albeit not the simplest, of the blog creation programs introduced. It began as an early form of social media networking software; the emphasis was on friends sharing their journals online with one another. As such, it has a multitude of features aimed at creating a mutually-supporting network of watchers and friends.
There are groups that can be joined and monitored for content relating to the blog's interest, which is a key tool in generating involved commentary. Similarly, it is easy to subscribe to specific blogs and monitor them on the "friends" list for the same kind of content. The Livejournal software also is used by a number of blogs, such as Deadjournal and Insanejournal, and was used by Greatestjournal before GJ went under. Thus, a great many people already are familiar with its functionality and there is a large user base to tap into.
On the other hand, it isn't the simplest system to figure out, with some friends functionality buried under several layers of interface. Additionally, it suffers from a certain juvenile reputation, being firmly associated with high school students in many minds. The audience is still big, but it has its limits.
Blogger
Blogger is one of the most commonly used blogging programs out there. It has the advantages of being very simple and more or less omnipresent. It's become so common to use that the .blogspot portion of a url has become inextricably associated with blogs of all types, be they serious or more casual in nature.
The simplicity of Blogger is its strongest advantage. It doesn't bury the user in options, making the process of setting up and getting a blog moving very easy. Blogs can be tagged and disseminated on short notice, and there are a number of templates available to customize a blog's appearance.
On the other hand, the simplicity of the interface is a slightly shallow concept. Blogs can be tagged, but they can't be categorized within the blog itself. This makes organizing a Blogger blog a bit difficult. Going further, templates cannot be edited easily — doing so requires CSS and HTML knowledge. Any business hiring a blog writer to use the Blogger software will need to stipulate that CSS and HTML editing knowledge are a must as well.
WordPress
WordPress is growing in popularity as a blog platform because it offers a compromise between simple but limited options like Blogger and the more robust yet incredibly complicated options such as Movable Type. WordPress is essentially a word processor built into a publishing package.
A whole slate of editing options are available for writing the blog itself, such as font and formatting adjustments, and the option to edit in visual style or to go right to the HTML if the blog writer is comfortable with that. There are options to make a quick post with very little adjustment as well as options to make a more complex offering with jumpcuts, embedded video and elaborate pictures. Also, the templates can be adjusted without knowledge of HTML, allowing for much more customization.
Moveable Type
This is an unusual entry into the software. It is very well known and incredibly powerful for people who know what they're doing. However, it is also notoriously difficult to install properly and even harder to use to its full effect. MT offers many options for customization, but then so does being able to program in computer languages such as HTML and C++. This is an option not for the beginner, but for someone already experienced with blogging and computer language in general who wants full control of every aspect of his or her blogging experience.
Self Made
This is a bit of a trick in that it isn't explicitly a blogging software program. Instead, some users do elect to simply make posts directly onto their front page using the basic text software of their site. This has a certain simplicity to it, minimizing the need for complicated installs. However, it also has an unfinished look about it, and severely limits the options of what can be accomplished, and as such is an option more to be avoided than embraced.
As a final note, it is fairly easy to get a hold of these blogging programs. Before committing to any one of them, a user should create a "dummy" account for each and try a few sample posts to see how they like working with the software. This will make the entire process a bit more complicated up front, but will ensure that the company gets the tool it most needs.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
One of the biggest advantages that the web offers is the relative ease of developing tools catering to the needs of a particular user set. For every ten people who want to perform a specific task, there will be ten ways for them to do it because each will have ten different needs to address. Blogging software is an excellent example of this phenomenon as there have been numerous blogging programs that have arisen since the advent of Livejournal in the late 1990s.
Understanding a few of the more common blog software programs can help any blogger make an informed choice about their particular needs and get their message out in the most efficient way.
Livejournal
Livejournal is the earliest, albeit not the simplest, of the blog creation programs introduced. It began as an early form of social media networking software; the emphasis was on friends sharing their journals online with one another. As such, it has a multitude of features aimed at creating a mutually-supporting network of watchers and friends.
There are groups that can be joined and monitored for content relating to the blog's interest, which is a key tool in generating involved commentary. Similarly, it is easy to subscribe to specific blogs and monitor them on the "friends" list for the same kind of content. The Livejournal software also is used by a number of blogs, such as Deadjournal and Insanejournal, and was used by Greatestjournal before GJ went under. Thus, a great many people already are familiar with its functionality and there is a large user base to tap into.
On the other hand, it isn't the simplest system to figure out, with some friends functionality buried under several layers of interface. Additionally, it suffers from a certain juvenile reputation, being firmly associated with high school students in many minds. The audience is still big, but it has its limits.
Blogger
Blogger is one of the most commonly used blogging programs out there. It has the advantages of being very simple and more or less omnipresent. It's become so common to use that the .blogspot portion of a url has become inextricably associated with blogs of all types, be they serious or more casual in nature.
The simplicity of Blogger is its strongest advantage. It doesn't bury the user in options, making the process of setting up and getting a blog moving very easy. Blogs can be tagged and disseminated on short notice, and there are a number of templates available to customize a blog's appearance.
On the other hand, the simplicity of the interface is a slightly shallow concept. Blogs can be tagged, but they can't be categorized within the blog itself. This makes organizing a Blogger blog a bit difficult. Going further, templates cannot be edited easily — doing so requires CSS and HTML knowledge. Any business hiring a blog writer to use the Blogger software will need to stipulate that CSS and HTML editing knowledge are a must as well.
WordPress
WordPress is growing in popularity as a blog platform because it offers a compromise between simple but limited options like Blogger and the more robust yet incredibly complicated options such as Movable Type. WordPress is essentially a word processor built into a publishing package.
A whole slate of editing options are available for writing the blog itself, such as font and formatting adjustments, and the option to edit in visual style or to go right to the HTML if the blog writer is comfortable with that. There are options to make a quick post with very little adjustment as well as options to make a more complex offering with jumpcuts, embedded video and elaborate pictures. Also, the templates can be adjusted without knowledge of HTML, allowing for much more customization.
Moveable Type
This is an unusual entry into the software. It is very well known and incredibly powerful for people who know what they're doing. However, it is also notoriously difficult to install properly and even harder to use to its full effect. MT offers many options for customization, but then so does being able to program in computer languages such as HTML and C++. This is an option not for the beginner, but for someone already experienced with blogging and computer language in general who wants full control of every aspect of his or her blogging experience.
Self Made
This is a bit of a trick in that it isn't explicitly a blogging software program. Instead, some users do elect to simply make posts directly onto their front page using the basic text software of their site. This has a certain simplicity to it, minimizing the need for complicated installs. However, it also has an unfinished look about it, and severely limits the options of what can be accomplished, and as such is an option more to be avoided than embraced.
As a final note, it is fairly easy to get a hold of these blogging programs. Before committing to any one of them, a user should create a "dummy" account for each and try a few sample posts to see how they like working with the software. This will make the entire process a bit more complicated up front, but will ensure that the company gets the tool it most needs.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Double The Number Of Online Leads From Your Website Using 5 Fishing Lessons
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Robert Dempsey
If you want to increase the number of leads your website produces by 50%-100% or more there are 5 lessons you can use from…fishing. Those 5 lessons are:
1. Go where the fish are
2. Use the right bait
3. Have a tackle box full of lures
4. Patience required
5. Keep fishing until you catch them
Let's look at each and how they apply to online lead generation.
Lesson #1: Go Where The Fish Are
If you want to catch a fish you need to go where the fish are, preferably where they are in abundance. There is a growing list of where you customers live online, with the major ones being:
Social networks â€" Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, niche networks Video sharing sites â€" YouTube, DailyMotion Location services â€" GoWalla, Foursquare Private social networks â€" industry association sites, private groups Forums Search engines â€" Google, Bing, Yahoo! Blogs
All of the sites mentioned above have varying demographics and different numbers of users. Before choosing which sites to spend time on, use Quantcast.com to see if the demographics of the site matches with your ideal customers.
Smaller blogs are an exception here. You can find highly specific niche blogs perfect for fishing, however the demographics will remain unknown until you do a little research. The easiest way is to subscribe to the blog using email or an RSS reader. This will deliver blog post to you as they're published. In a short week or two you'll be able to tell if the content on the site is attracting your next customers or not.
Blog tip: the content might not be a perfect fit for your customers however the owner of the blog might be a great partner for your business.
Lesson #2: Use The Right Bait
What are the problems that keep your ideal customers up at night? What business or personal challenges are they seeking solutions to? To catch a fish you need the right bait, the online translation of which is free opt-in content.
Opt-in content comes in many formats:
E-books Guides Whitepapers Videos â€" single or short video courses Audio recordings
The more formats you can provide opt-in content for, the further you can spread that content. As an example, you could write a short guide and post it on your blog as an opt-in offer. You could then have that guide turned into a video and posted on YouTube, and extract the audio and post it to iTunes. One piece of content then becomes 3 and attracts customers on 3 different networks. It's also in a format they prefer.
But formatting aside, if your content doesn't inform, entertain or help solve a problem it's a complete waste of time.
Lesson #3: Have A Tackle Box Full Of Lures
If having one magnet that attracts customers is good then 10's or 100's of magnets must be better right? Yes!
As you already know, people have different problems at different points in their business. And I'm sure that your products and services solve more than one problem. If not, create another product or service â€" your customers are sure to have more than one problem.
The point is to create opt-in offers that each solve a single problem or address a single issue. This way, you can create a mountain of opt-in content and capture more leads. The more lures you have in your tackle box the greater the likelihood you'll catch even more fish. The more rods you have out at one time, the more fish you can catch.
Lesson #4: Patience Required
When talking about online lead generation what we're talking about is inbound marketing â€" the process of turning your website and blog into a lead magnet. The simple version of inbound marketing is:
1. Creating a lot of free content, typically on your blog, that attracts the types of customers you want
2. Syndicating that free content as far and wide as possible using social media and other online sharing
3. Converting website visitors into leads through the use of free opt-in content
4. Nurturing leads to becoming customers using additional high-value content with sales messages
It can take some time to turn your first leads into customers. According to the inbound marketing certification program from HubSpot that I passed, it can take between 3 and 6 months. Patience is required to keep going. This brings us to lesson #5…
Lesson #5: Keep Fishing Until You Catch Them
During those initial 3-6 months you may want to give up, and many companies do. You can use this to your advantage.
Measure everything. Here's an example.
Let's say you publish a blog post that announces a free whitepaper that you wrote. On the blog post you have a graphic that the reader can click which takes them to a landing page with an opt-in form. To get the whitepaper they have to opt-in. In this situation â€" very typical of online lead generation - a few of the most important metrics are:
Number of page views on the blog post Number of clicks on the opt-in offer Number of page views on the landing page Number of opt-ins Number of people that opted in that actually downloaded the free whitepaper
Using these metrics can tell you how interested your readers are in the content you're publishing. Test different opt-in offers to gauge topic interest, and when you hit on a good one, start releasing more.
Recap
Let's review the 5 lessons:
1. Go where the fish are
2. Use the right bait
3. Have a tackle box full of lures
4. Patience required
5. Keep fishing until you catch them
By using these 5 lessons you can easily increase the number of leads your website generates by 50%-100% or more.
About the Author:
Robert Dempsey is the CEO of Dempsey Marketing which specializes in direct response social media â€" social media strategy with measurable results. Visit http://DempseyMarketing.com/ today to get more leads and sales using social media.
Read more Articles written by Robert Dempsey.
Copyright © 2011 Robert Dempsey
If you want to increase the number of leads your website produces by 50%-100% or more there are 5 lessons you can use from…fishing. Those 5 lessons are:
1. Go where the fish are
2. Use the right bait
3. Have a tackle box full of lures
4. Patience required
5. Keep fishing until you catch them
Let's look at each and how they apply to online lead generation.
Lesson #1: Go Where The Fish Are
If you want to catch a fish you need to go where the fish are, preferably where they are in abundance. There is a growing list of where you customers live online, with the major ones being:
All of the sites mentioned above have varying demographics and different numbers of users. Before choosing which sites to spend time on, use Quantcast.com to see if the demographics of the site matches with your ideal customers.
Smaller blogs are an exception here. You can find highly specific niche blogs perfect for fishing, however the demographics will remain unknown until you do a little research. The easiest way is to subscribe to the blog using email or an RSS reader. This will deliver blog post to you as they're published. In a short week or two you'll be able to tell if the content on the site is attracting your next customers or not.
Blog tip: the content might not be a perfect fit for your customers however the owner of the blog might be a great partner for your business.
Lesson #2: Use The Right Bait
What are the problems that keep your ideal customers up at night? What business or personal challenges are they seeking solutions to? To catch a fish you need the right bait, the online translation of which is free opt-in content.
Opt-in content comes in many formats:
The more formats you can provide opt-in content for, the further you can spread that content. As an example, you could write a short guide and post it on your blog as an opt-in offer. You could then have that guide turned into a video and posted on YouTube, and extract the audio and post it to iTunes. One piece of content then becomes 3 and attracts customers on 3 different networks. It's also in a format they prefer.
But formatting aside, if your content doesn't inform, entertain or help solve a problem it's a complete waste of time.
Lesson #3: Have A Tackle Box Full Of Lures
If having one magnet that attracts customers is good then 10's or 100's of magnets must be better right? Yes!
As you already know, people have different problems at different points in their business. And I'm sure that your products and services solve more than one problem. If not, create another product or service â€" your customers are sure to have more than one problem.
The point is to create opt-in offers that each solve a single problem or address a single issue. This way, you can create a mountain of opt-in content and capture more leads. The more lures you have in your tackle box the greater the likelihood you'll catch even more fish. The more rods you have out at one time, the more fish you can catch.
Lesson #4: Patience Required
When talking about online lead generation what we're talking about is inbound marketing â€" the process of turning your website and blog into a lead magnet. The simple version of inbound marketing is:
1. Creating a lot of free content, typically on your blog, that attracts the types of customers you want
2. Syndicating that free content as far and wide as possible using social media and other online sharing
3. Converting website visitors into leads through the use of free opt-in content
4. Nurturing leads to becoming customers using additional high-value content with sales messages
It can take some time to turn your first leads into customers. According to the inbound marketing certification program from HubSpot that I passed, it can take between 3 and 6 months. Patience is required to keep going. This brings us to lesson #5…
Lesson #5: Keep Fishing Until You Catch Them
During those initial 3-6 months you may want to give up, and many companies do. You can use this to your advantage.
Measure everything. Here's an example.
Let's say you publish a blog post that announces a free whitepaper that you wrote. On the blog post you have a graphic that the reader can click which takes them to a landing page with an opt-in form. To get the whitepaper they have to opt-in. In this situation â€" very typical of online lead generation - a few of the most important metrics are:
Using these metrics can tell you how interested your readers are in the content you're publishing. Test different opt-in offers to gauge topic interest, and when you hit on a good one, start releasing more.
Recap
Let's review the 5 lessons:
1. Go where the fish are
2. Use the right bait
3. Have a tackle box full of lures
4. Patience required
5. Keep fishing until you catch them
By using these 5 lessons you can easily increase the number of leads your website generates by 50%-100% or more.
About the Author:
Robert Dempsey is the CEO of Dempsey Marketing which specializes in direct response social media â€" social media strategy with measurable results. Visit http://DempseyMarketing.com/ today to get more leads and sales using social media.
Read more Articles written by Robert Dempsey.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Trans-tangental: The Value of Off-topic Blogging Posts
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
Brand-oriented blogs by necessity have to focus on a particular topic. People are coming to the blog because of the brand, and they want content related to the brand in most cases. Readers are creatures of habit, and routine is comfortable to them. A blog should put out on-topic content for the same reason it should update on a consistent schedule. A blog that doesn't maintain a consistent voice or message is probably not going to maintain its target audience's long-term interest, by and large for the same reason that a book that can't decide if it's an adventure story or a romance won't hold a reader's attention.
That said, there are many very good reasons to go into off-topic posting as well. Habit and routine are important, but so is variety. Creativity and a smart change of pace can make a blog more lively and keep the readers guessing. The trick is to balance the needs of on-topic commentary with the occasional bit of off-the-wall entertainment that brings some lively discussion with it.
As an example, consider a blog dedicated to political journalism. The author has a modest audience of several thousand people interested in his posts. The blog focuses on political corruption and promise-breaking, because this is the author's interest and because everyone likes a good scandal story. However, this kind of material can get relentlessly depressing over time. If the only picture being painted is upsetting, people might not check in to the blog quite as often.
So, our mysterious author occasionally breaks from form and posts some material not related to the core message of the blog at all. Every so often, mostly at random, he'll post a recipe from his travels around the world. Or he might share a YouTube link featuring a musical composition he's quite fond of. In these alternate posts, the audience gets a glimpse of the writer's personality, gaining some empathy with him and learning a bit more about the world in general.
This kind of irregular off-topic material is intriguing specifically because it isn't something that can be predicted. The audience can come back every day or every week for the content they've grown to expect, and can also come with the slight hope that maybe a new "unusual" post will come up to catch their attention.
In a similar but variant approach, there's the idea of playing with a particular theme. Say that a blog is focused on architectural disasters. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are devoted to stuff that's simply hideous and ill-advised, such as chartreuse shutters on a house painted orange, while Tuesdays and Thursdays focus on poor construction that's pretty evidently going to fall apart. The main focus of the blog is humorous, rather than serious.
To play with this theme is to write posts that come close to it, and still follow the main theme, but go at it from a different direction. For example, say our architecture blog starts a series called Silly Saturdays, where he posts images and blog entries about people who've deliberately gone a bit nuts in their construction for a funny effect — such as a family that builds a treehouse in the middle of a city. Alternately, he could post a Sunday WOW blog in which he shares images and stories of houses that have truly amazing architecture, subverting the original theme. He's still focusing on the interest in architecture, but changing the pace just often enough to provide context and perspective.
In both the case of irregularly-timed, off-topic posts and those that occur regularly but only as a small part of the main content, the key is to maintain a good proportion. In both cases, the bulk of the content is focused on the key topic at hand, be it political journalism or amusing architectural decisions. This means that the "asides" are small and rare enough that they come as pleasant surprises and changes of pace. They allow the variety that keeps the mind quick and engaged, while not overpowering or distracting from the main message people are coming to enjoy.
Choosing the sort of off-topic message to go into can be tricky. Content that plays with or subverts the main message of a blog is usually easier to work into the process. It doesn't feel forced or squeezed in, because it's still touching on the main body of work while allowing for a bit of creative differentiation.
That said, instinct is usually a good thing to follow. Remember that no one can predict what kind of mood the Internet is in at any given time. Websites about cute cats, bizarre cakes — even videos of pandas sneezing have gone viral for no apparent reason except a "mood" taking hold of us. If you're writing a blog and an idea that doesn't seem in-theme but still worth posting comes up, give it a try. At worst, people might wonder what the big deal is and ignore the post. Fair enough; in that case, you can return to your regularly-scheduled programming. On the other hand, it might just garner a certain amount of interest and bring in a new audience to pay attention.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
Brand-oriented blogs by necessity have to focus on a particular topic. People are coming to the blog because of the brand, and they want content related to the brand in most cases. Readers are creatures of habit, and routine is comfortable to them. A blog should put out on-topic content for the same reason it should update on a consistent schedule. A blog that doesn't maintain a consistent voice or message is probably not going to maintain its target audience's long-term interest, by and large for the same reason that a book that can't decide if it's an adventure story or a romance won't hold a reader's attention.
That said, there are many very good reasons to go into off-topic posting as well. Habit and routine are important, but so is variety. Creativity and a smart change of pace can make a blog more lively and keep the readers guessing. The trick is to balance the needs of on-topic commentary with the occasional bit of off-the-wall entertainment that brings some lively discussion with it.
As an example, consider a blog dedicated to political journalism. The author has a modest audience of several thousand people interested in his posts. The blog focuses on political corruption and promise-breaking, because this is the author's interest and because everyone likes a good scandal story. However, this kind of material can get relentlessly depressing over time. If the only picture being painted is upsetting, people might not check in to the blog quite as often.
So, our mysterious author occasionally breaks from form and posts some material not related to the core message of the blog at all. Every so often, mostly at random, he'll post a recipe from his travels around the world. Or he might share a YouTube link featuring a musical composition he's quite fond of. In these alternate posts, the audience gets a glimpse of the writer's personality, gaining some empathy with him and learning a bit more about the world in general.
This kind of irregular off-topic material is intriguing specifically because it isn't something that can be predicted. The audience can come back every day or every week for the content they've grown to expect, and can also come with the slight hope that maybe a new "unusual" post will come up to catch their attention.
In a similar but variant approach, there's the idea of playing with a particular theme. Say that a blog is focused on architectural disasters. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are devoted to stuff that's simply hideous and ill-advised, such as chartreuse shutters on a house painted orange, while Tuesdays and Thursdays focus on poor construction that's pretty evidently going to fall apart. The main focus of the blog is humorous, rather than serious.
To play with this theme is to write posts that come close to it, and still follow the main theme, but go at it from a different direction. For example, say our architecture blog starts a series called Silly Saturdays, where he posts images and blog entries about people who've deliberately gone a bit nuts in their construction for a funny effect — such as a family that builds a treehouse in the middle of a city. Alternately, he could post a Sunday WOW blog in which he shares images and stories of houses that have truly amazing architecture, subverting the original theme. He's still focusing on the interest in architecture, but changing the pace just often enough to provide context and perspective.
In both the case of irregularly-timed, off-topic posts and those that occur regularly but only as a small part of the main content, the key is to maintain a good proportion. In both cases, the bulk of the content is focused on the key topic at hand, be it political journalism or amusing architectural decisions. This means that the "asides" are small and rare enough that they come as pleasant surprises and changes of pace. They allow the variety that keeps the mind quick and engaged, while not overpowering or distracting from the main message people are coming to enjoy.
Choosing the sort of off-topic message to go into can be tricky. Content that plays with or subverts the main message of a blog is usually easier to work into the process. It doesn't feel forced or squeezed in, because it's still touching on the main body of work while allowing for a bit of creative differentiation.
That said, instinct is usually a good thing to follow. Remember that no one can predict what kind of mood the Internet is in at any given time. Websites about cute cats, bizarre cakes — even videos of pandas sneezing have gone viral for no apparent reason except a "mood" taking hold of us. If you're writing a blog and an idea that doesn't seem in-theme but still worth posting comes up, give it a try. At worst, people might wonder what the big deal is and ignore the post. Fair enough; in that case, you can return to your regularly-scheduled programming. On the other hand, it might just garner a certain amount of interest and bring in a new audience to pay attention.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Blog Writing - Ghostwriting Dos and Don'ts
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
Much of the content on the web is produced by ghostwriters. This isn't immediately obvious, but it really has become a standard practice across the web as a whole, mainly because it's an efficient and reasonable compromise. Sometimes the creator of a product or website just doesn't have the written communication skills necessary to actively promote their brand via blog. Similarly, a talented writer might lack the name credibility to break into writing about something on his or her own reputation. These two talents join their resources and produce a blog in the name of the creator, but with the talents of the writer, and everyone goes home in a limousine; the writer gains valuable experience and hopefully a good recommendation when they eventually move on to other projects, and the content promotes the brand.
That said, there are still some misconceptions about ghostwriting that pop up from time to time. To that end, it can be helpful to clarify the nature of ghostwriting and how it relates to creating a high-quality blog, particularly through examples of some of the best and worst practices that can pop up when employing a ghostwriter.
Do be involved
Hiring a ghostwriter is not quite the same thing as hiring a more traditional writer. Normally a writer is employed to write something in his own name, from his own ideas and for his own purposes. Even a writer hired to convey a brand message is allowed his own identity to a certain extent. But a ghostwriter is writing on behalf of and to an extent as the name of the brand or creator of the brand.
This means that the "idea man" behind the brand needs to work very closely with the ghostwriter to discuss topics, posts and commentary. Yes, notice that commentary is included: Any good blog includes a very active comments section from which good ideas can be brought to light, and the replies of the ghostwriter to these comments must reflect the same persona he adopts as the author of the blog. This requires bouncing ideas and the nature of replies off the idea man and keeping things in theme, as it were.
Don't Micromanage
This may seem to contradict the prior point, but the two actually compliment each other. Yes, a ghostwriter must work very closely with the "name" they are writing under to make sure that the content produced is in line with the authorial vision of the brand. However, there is a reason that a brand hires a ghostwriter, and that reason is his expertise. The writer knows the way he is comfortable writing and knows how to communicate in that medium. This means that any brand that hires a ghostwriter must be comfortable bowing to his experience in the field he has chosen and listen to his advice.
The reason for this is to create consistency. Part of maintaining a good ghostwriting image is projecting a consistent voice and style of writing from issue to issue. If there is a lot of call behind the scenes to change the tone or content of a blog, the message eventually will become schizophrenic and fail to keep readers' attention because it can't stay on message.
Do consider outing your writer
This is a risky decision, but it can be a vital one. Sometimes a relationship with a ghostwriter can develop so thoroughly that it becomes obvious they need to be taken on full time. Ghostwriting is, by its nature, a tenuous and temporary relationship, but it can also serve as a sort of internship leading to long-term agreements. Perhaps the blog is incredibly successful and the writer justifiably would like a bit more recognition for his work.
This kind of announcement should be handled carefully but honestly, explaining the good work that the ghostwriter has done and the nature of the decision to bring him out in public. It will definitely have consequences; some readers are fickle and might feel upset they weren't reading the "real" thing, but in general most people will stay for the good content they have grown accustomed to.
Don't settle too fast
As mentioned, ghostwriting is a good choice for people who want a more temporary relationship. Some blogs are by nature very short-term projects, such as a blog intended to serve as advertising leading up to a particular product's launch and the immediate period after the launch. Then the blog closes down after serving its purpose, remaining online only as an archive for interested parties, if at all.
In these cases, it's important to understand the nature of ghostwriting and not force a blog past its lifespan. Let the project go as long as it needs, and then move on to another, possibly with another writer. No writer is perfect for every project, and recognizing when new talent is necessary for a project is a vital skill in getting good ghostwriters. However, this requires being up-front and fair with the writer from the beginning, and letting him or her know the temporary nature of a project. Writers often get used to working from project to project, but when they don't know that a project is going to be temporary, it can lead to them scrambling to fill the gap in their schedule.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
Much of the content on the web is produced by ghostwriters. This isn't immediately obvious, but it really has become a standard practice across the web as a whole, mainly because it's an efficient and reasonable compromise. Sometimes the creator of a product or website just doesn't have the written communication skills necessary to actively promote their brand via blog. Similarly, a talented writer might lack the name credibility to break into writing about something on his or her own reputation. These two talents join their resources and produce a blog in the name of the creator, but with the talents of the writer, and everyone goes home in a limousine; the writer gains valuable experience and hopefully a good recommendation when they eventually move on to other projects, and the content promotes the brand.
That said, there are still some misconceptions about ghostwriting that pop up from time to time. To that end, it can be helpful to clarify the nature of ghostwriting and how it relates to creating a high-quality blog, particularly through examples of some of the best and worst practices that can pop up when employing a ghostwriter.
Do be involved
Hiring a ghostwriter is not quite the same thing as hiring a more traditional writer. Normally a writer is employed to write something in his own name, from his own ideas and for his own purposes. Even a writer hired to convey a brand message is allowed his own identity to a certain extent. But a ghostwriter is writing on behalf of and to an extent as the name of the brand or creator of the brand.
This means that the "idea man" behind the brand needs to work very closely with the ghostwriter to discuss topics, posts and commentary. Yes, notice that commentary is included: Any good blog includes a very active comments section from which good ideas can be brought to light, and the replies of the ghostwriter to these comments must reflect the same persona he adopts as the author of the blog. This requires bouncing ideas and the nature of replies off the idea man and keeping things in theme, as it were.
Don't Micromanage
This may seem to contradict the prior point, but the two actually compliment each other. Yes, a ghostwriter must work very closely with the "name" they are writing under to make sure that the content produced is in line with the authorial vision of the brand. However, there is a reason that a brand hires a ghostwriter, and that reason is his expertise. The writer knows the way he is comfortable writing and knows how to communicate in that medium. This means that any brand that hires a ghostwriter must be comfortable bowing to his experience in the field he has chosen and listen to his advice.
The reason for this is to create consistency. Part of maintaining a good ghostwriting image is projecting a consistent voice and style of writing from issue to issue. If there is a lot of call behind the scenes to change the tone or content of a blog, the message eventually will become schizophrenic and fail to keep readers' attention because it can't stay on message.
Do consider outing your writer
This is a risky decision, but it can be a vital one. Sometimes a relationship with a ghostwriter can develop so thoroughly that it becomes obvious they need to be taken on full time. Ghostwriting is, by its nature, a tenuous and temporary relationship, but it can also serve as a sort of internship leading to long-term agreements. Perhaps the blog is incredibly successful and the writer justifiably would like a bit more recognition for his work.
This kind of announcement should be handled carefully but honestly, explaining the good work that the ghostwriter has done and the nature of the decision to bring him out in public. It will definitely have consequences; some readers are fickle and might feel upset they weren't reading the "real" thing, but in general most people will stay for the good content they have grown accustomed to.
Don't settle too fast
As mentioned, ghostwriting is a good choice for people who want a more temporary relationship. Some blogs are by nature very short-term projects, such as a blog intended to serve as advertising leading up to a particular product's launch and the immediate period after the launch. Then the blog closes down after serving its purpose, remaining online only as an archive for interested parties, if at all.
In these cases, it's important to understand the nature of ghostwriting and not force a blog past its lifespan. Let the project go as long as it needs, and then move on to another, possibly with another writer. No writer is perfect for every project, and recognizing when new talent is necessary for a project is a vital skill in getting good ghostwriters. However, this requires being up-front and fair with the writer from the beginning, and letting him or her know the temporary nature of a project. Writers often get used to working from project to project, but when they don't know that a project is going to be temporary, it can lead to them scrambling to fill the gap in their schedule.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Beyond Expectations - Getting the Most out of Like and Share
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
People long have loved to find new and innovative uses for the most innocuous technologies and advances. In the late 19th century, "moving pictures" were a nickel-arcade novelty. Today films such as Avatar are made on budgets comparable to military-grade hardware investments. Alexander Graham Bell's telephone could barely call from one room to another; now the average iPhone has more uses and computing power than all the computers used in World War II combined.
This trend is repeating itself with the rise of social media network marketing practices. What started as socialization programs only slightly more complex than the average e-mail client has grown into one of the newest and most promising marketing niches in the entire world. Taking advantage of this means familiarizing oneself with a few surprisingly simple concepts that have unusually far-reaching implications. In particular, marketers are finding that the "Like" and "Share" features on Facebook have become the newest and best tool in the online marketing arsenal.
We "Like" It
The "Like" function is a pretty simple one — people click "Like" for things that interest them. On the surface, this seems almost irrelevant, but thinking so ignores the way Facebook operates. Taking advantage of the "Like" function is actually the key to getting good marketing opportunities out of Facebook.
When a user clicks "Like," whether on Facebook itself or through a site's Facebook plug-in, Facebook records the data and uses it in a number of ways. First, a notification is put up on the user's wall confirming the "Like." This informs other users who are familiar with the wall about the product, news item or event, giving them an opportunity to examine and potentially "Like" it as well.
Therefore, if a user has even 200 friends, which is not that great a number given the increasing inter-connectedness of online communities, that's 200 people who will see what their friend "Liked," and who will have the chance to "Like" it themselves. This is the very foundation of viral content, or content with the ability to move rapidly along through intermediate connections of hundreds of people.
Additionally, Facebook makes recommendations to users based on things they have "Liked." Thus if friend A has friend B, and friend A puts a "Like" on business C, friend B will not only get an announcement about the "Like," but may have the business recommended to them since they "Like" friend A. This is still another route of communication and an indirect marketing opportunity that requires no more effort than a simple click. Thus it is to any business' advantage to put a plug-in allowing people to "Like" them on Facebook via the businesses' site.
"Share" a Little, Gain a Lot
"Sharing" is another process which allows users to spread information about themselves and the products, news items or events they enjoy across multiple networks. This level of extra-connectedness in essence performs the same function as "Like," but with more data given which people can use to evaluate contacts and make connections.
"Like" simply gets a basic fact out there. "Share" will tell users more about each other, allowing for the kind of networking that drives modern business. It also expands the audience beyond the immediate momentary location of Facebook to other sources such as LinkedIn or Twitter. This further creates the potential for any post to go viral, allowing it to spread quickly among related yet distinct audiences.
Two-way Street
The communicative rather than broadcast model will serve marketers well in the area of "Liking" and "Sharing." Yes, it is good when users "Like" a business — it drives referral traffic to the business and allows for more information to get out there. However, equally good is when a business provides "Likes" to others and for their material.
In the first, most mercenary example it will increase the business' own traffic automatically. Consider friends A and B from before. If friend A puts up a post that Business C likes for whatever reason, friend B will see the "Like." This creates another indirect marketing opportunity and referral traffic automatically. So it's clearly to a business' benefit to be active in the community and to consistently "Like" things that are interesting to the business.
Indirectly, it creates goodwill in the community. The model of the Internet is a place where people exchange ideas and information, so people respond well to good comments. If business C "Likes" friend A's post, then friend A may "Like" them in return, for reciprocity if nothing else. This can be amplified by providing well-thought-out, insightful and proper comments on various walls throughout a given Facebook community.
At its roots, Facebook "Likes" and social networking "Shares" create opportunities to be more involved, and they reward increased and thoughtful involvement more than automatic, disinterested participation. Actively read through communities touching on a brand's interests and look for the "Likes" and referrals others are following. Provide commentary for your brand, as well as for the interests of others, and people will respond out of courtesy. The brand that behaves like a human will receive human consideration, while the brand that acts like a robot will be blocked out automatically.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2011 Enzo F. Cesario
People long have loved to find new and innovative uses for the most innocuous technologies and advances. In the late 19th century, "moving pictures" were a nickel-arcade novelty. Today films such as Avatar are made on budgets comparable to military-grade hardware investments. Alexander Graham Bell's telephone could barely call from one room to another; now the average iPhone has more uses and computing power than all the computers used in World War II combined.
This trend is repeating itself with the rise of social media network marketing practices. What started as socialization programs only slightly more complex than the average e-mail client has grown into one of the newest and most promising marketing niches in the entire world. Taking advantage of this means familiarizing oneself with a few surprisingly simple concepts that have unusually far-reaching implications. In particular, marketers are finding that the "Like" and "Share" features on Facebook have become the newest and best tool in the online marketing arsenal.
We "Like" It
The "Like" function is a pretty simple one — people click "Like" for things that interest them. On the surface, this seems almost irrelevant, but thinking so ignores the way Facebook operates. Taking advantage of the "Like" function is actually the key to getting good marketing opportunities out of Facebook.
When a user clicks "Like," whether on Facebook itself or through a site's Facebook plug-in, Facebook records the data and uses it in a number of ways. First, a notification is put up on the user's wall confirming the "Like." This informs other users who are familiar with the wall about the product, news item or event, giving them an opportunity to examine and potentially "Like" it as well.
Therefore, if a user has even 200 friends, which is not that great a number given the increasing inter-connectedness of online communities, that's 200 people who will see what their friend "Liked," and who will have the chance to "Like" it themselves. This is the very foundation of viral content, or content with the ability to move rapidly along through intermediate connections of hundreds of people.
Additionally, Facebook makes recommendations to users based on things they have "Liked." Thus if friend A has friend B, and friend A puts a "Like" on business C, friend B will not only get an announcement about the "Like," but may have the business recommended to them since they "Like" friend A. This is still another route of communication and an indirect marketing opportunity that requires no more effort than a simple click. Thus it is to any business' advantage to put a plug-in allowing people to "Like" them on Facebook via the businesses' site.
"Share" a Little, Gain a Lot
"Sharing" is another process which allows users to spread information about themselves and the products, news items or events they enjoy across multiple networks. This level of extra-connectedness in essence performs the same function as "Like," but with more data given which people can use to evaluate contacts and make connections.
"Like" simply gets a basic fact out there. "Share" will tell users more about each other, allowing for the kind of networking that drives modern business. It also expands the audience beyond the immediate momentary location of Facebook to other sources such as LinkedIn or Twitter. This further creates the potential for any post to go viral, allowing it to spread quickly among related yet distinct audiences.
Two-way Street
The communicative rather than broadcast model will serve marketers well in the area of "Liking" and "Sharing." Yes, it is good when users "Like" a business — it drives referral traffic to the business and allows for more information to get out there. However, equally good is when a business provides "Likes" to others and for their material.
In the first, most mercenary example it will increase the business' own traffic automatically. Consider friends A and B from before. If friend A puts up a post that Business C likes for whatever reason, friend B will see the "Like." This creates another indirect marketing opportunity and referral traffic automatically. So it's clearly to a business' benefit to be active in the community and to consistently "Like" things that are interesting to the business.
Indirectly, it creates goodwill in the community. The model of the Internet is a place where people exchange ideas and information, so people respond well to good comments. If business C "Likes" friend A's post, then friend A may "Like" them in return, for reciprocity if nothing else. This can be amplified by providing well-thought-out, insightful and proper comments on various walls throughout a given Facebook community.
At its roots, Facebook "Likes" and social networking "Shares" create opportunities to be more involved, and they reward increased and thoughtful involvement more than automatic, disinterested participation. Actively read through communities touching on a brand's interests and look for the "Likes" and referrals others are following. Provide commentary for your brand, as well as for the interests of others, and people will respond out of courtesy. The brand that behaves like a human will receive human consideration, while the brand that acts like a robot will be blocked out automatically.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Who Else Wants to Know How-To Write an Effective Advertisement?
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2006-2011 Bill Platt
Webmasters struggle everyday with the question of how they should advertise their website. There are so many advertising venues; it is hard to know which is the right venue or the right combination of advertising venues.
The answer to this question is actually simple. The right venues are the ones that allow you to earn enough sales from the placement of your advertisement to make a profit. Your advertisement should earn more money for you than it cost for you to buy the advertisement.
Choose Your Words Carefully
"If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind - give it more thought." --- Dennis Roth
With advertising of any type, you must learn to choose your words carefully.
Most online advertising is in the form of a classified ad. With a newspaper, you can choose any size of advertisement to communicate your message to readers. The newspaper charges you based on the number of words in your classified ad.
Online, you don't get the option of buying additional words. Instead, you buy an ad, and the publisher tells you how many words or characters you are allowed to use in your advertisement.
Here is how the different search advertising options break down:
ExactSeek.com through the ISEDN.org network:
Headline Length: 30 characters
Description: 100 characters
Google Adwords through Google.com:
Headline Length: 25 characters
Description first line: 35 characters
Description second line: 35 characters
Overture.com through the Yahoo network:
Headline Length: 40 characters
Description: 190 characters
As you can see from these numbers, you generally do not have that much space to tell your story so you need to select words that best tell your story, using as few words as possible.
Most products or services cannot be sold in just a few words so your goal should be to get people to your website and let your website do the selling.
On your website, you can tell your story in the way it needs to be told. Your website can also answer all of the questions that the reader might have about your products or services.
Choosing The Right Formula For Your Advertising
In your own mind, you might think that people need to know all of your credentials. But, advertising should not be viewed as a "brag fest". People do not care what you have done; they only care about what you can do for them.
So tell them how you can help them and give them a reason to visit your website for more information.
If you understand why your customers buy your products and services, then you can answer their questions and help them solve any problem they might have.
If you can solve their problems, they will buy what you are selling.
Pre-Qualify Your Visitors
If you are engaged in PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, you definitely need to pre-qualify your visitors in your advertising. Why pay for people to visit your website if they are not likely to buy what you are selling?
If you are engaged in selling wholesale products to retailers, why would you want to pay for visitors people whose sole intention is to buy one of what you are selling at retail prices? You wouldn't, would you?
Provide enough detail in your advertisement to help people make an informed judgement as to whether you can actually help them accomplish what they want to accomplish.
Give your prospect enough information to skip your advertisement, if he or she will not benefit from your offer.
Even if you are using other types of advertising like pay-for-inclusion, you will still want to pre-qualify your visitors, because if you don't, it will skew your website conversion numbers. Too many unqualified visitors to your website might give you the erroneous idea that your sales copy is not performing as well as it should.
Use Power Words In Your Advertising
"Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words." --- Aprocrypha
Copywriters are always talking about "power words" or "power phrases". These are word combinations that influence the reader to take an action.
One example of using power words in your copy is to substitute the word "children" for the word "kids". Parents are more influenced by the reference to children than they are by the reference to kids.
"Guaranteed" is another power word. It gives your reader an added incentive to buy what you are selling. Prospects take comfort in the idea that if they discover later that they have made a bad decision, they can always get their money back.
"Proven" is another power word. It tells your reader that you can back up what you are saying with "proof". Your prospect can see "scientific" or empirical "evidence" that you are telling the "truth". These are more power words for the person who is paying attention.
Power words attract attention, spur reader curiosity and compel readers to take the action that you want them to take.
Pay More Attention To Your Headline
The 25 to 40 characters that are available to you for your headline are the most important part of your advertisement, hands down.
On most websites, the headline is in bold print. The truth is your prospect will not see your description at all, if their attention is not captured first by your headline.
"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood." --- William Penn
Test and Track Your Results
If you do not take the time or effort to track your advertising, you will never know what is, or is not, working for you.
Set up different landing pages for your ads to determine which ads are producing results and which ads are failing to deliver on their promise.
This one step will save you more money than you can imagine. It will allow you to dump the dogs and build upon your successes.
Shades Of Gray
Ad tracking will enable you to pinpoint the effect of the slightest changes in wording and presentation.
Changing one word in your headline or description could make the difference between selling one unit and selling 500 units, but without a tracking system that might never be apparent.
Let's compare two headlines:
* Read Our Wealth Tips,
* Read Our Wealth Secrets.
Which of these two headlines is more compelling to you?
Do you see how much of a difference one word can make in your copy?
Play around with your copy to find text that is more likely to compel your reader to visit your website.
The words you use in your copy can make all of the difference in the world.
Stand Above Your Competition
The PPC advertising companies are going to hate me for telling you this, but you don't need top placement in their search advertising results, if your ad is written better than the ads of your competitors.
The company with the most compelling headline is going to draw the attention of the reader. It's not uncommon for the advertisement in position five or six to get the click because of a compelling headline and an attention grabbing description.
Fortunately for you, most of your competitors probably do not understand how to write an effective advertisement. This will allow you to quickly jump to the head of the class without spending more money for those higher spots in the PPC bidding process.
Start Small and Take Care With Your Advertising Budget
When you are testing new advertising copy, you should start small. You don't want to spend $1 a click in a pay-per-click advertising venue, using an advertisement that hasn't been tested or proven successful. To do otherwise is a waste of valuable resources.
Google Adwords ( http://adwords.google.com ) and Yahoo's Overture ( http://www.overture.com ) systems both require you to start your bidding at five cents a click.
At http://www.7search.com , you can buy advertising for as little as one cent per click.
At http://www.ExactSeek.com, the founding member of the ISEDN (http://www.ISEDN.org), you can build an ad around a specific keyword phrase for as little as $12 per quarter or $36 per year. Your ad is then displayed through more than 200 ISEDN member websites.
After You Have Mastered The Art Of Advertising...
After you have mastered the art and science of advertising, you will learn the most important lesson of all.
All venues can produce exceptional results, if you have written a compelling and effective advertisement.
When you write effective advertising copy, you will be able to convert anyone's traffic into sales.
About the Author:
If you want to learn how to make article marketing effective and profitable for the promotion of your online business, you will be able to locate several article marketing training guides at http://WritingPuzzle.com/ If you are looking for an article syndication service company to help you promote your online articles, explore http://thephantomwriters.com/ which has been providing article marketing services since 2001. Bill Platt is the owner of both of these web properties.
Follow @contentmanager on Twitter.
Copyright © 2006-2011 Bill Platt
Webmasters struggle everyday with the question of how they should advertise their website. There are so many advertising venues; it is hard to know which is the right venue or the right combination of advertising venues.
The answer to this question is actually simple. The right venues are the ones that allow you to earn enough sales from the placement of your advertisement to make a profit. Your advertisement should earn more money for you than it cost for you to buy the advertisement.
Choose Your Words Carefully
"If it takes a lot of words to say what you have in mind - give it more thought." --- Dennis Roth
With advertising of any type, you must learn to choose your words carefully.
Most online advertising is in the form of a classified ad. With a newspaper, you can choose any size of advertisement to communicate your message to readers. The newspaper charges you based on the number of words in your classified ad.
Online, you don't get the option of buying additional words. Instead, you buy an ad, and the publisher tells you how many words or characters you are allowed to use in your advertisement.
Here is how the different search advertising options break down:
ExactSeek.com through the ISEDN.org network:
Headline Length: 30 characters
Description: 100 characters
Google Adwords through Google.com:
Headline Length: 25 characters
Description first line: 35 characters
Description second line: 35 characters
Overture.com through the Yahoo network:
Headline Length: 40 characters
Description: 190 characters
As you can see from these numbers, you generally do not have that much space to tell your story so you need to select words that best tell your story, using as few words as possible.
Most products or services cannot be sold in just a few words so your goal should be to get people to your website and let your website do the selling.
On your website, you can tell your story in the way it needs to be told. Your website can also answer all of the questions that the reader might have about your products or services.
Choosing The Right Formula For Your Advertising
In your own mind, you might think that people need to know all of your credentials. But, advertising should not be viewed as a "brag fest". People do not care what you have done; they only care about what you can do for them.
So tell them how you can help them and give them a reason to visit your website for more information.
If you understand why your customers buy your products and services, then you can answer their questions and help them solve any problem they might have.
If you can solve their problems, they will buy what you are selling.
Pre-Qualify Your Visitors
If you are engaged in PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, you definitely need to pre-qualify your visitors in your advertising. Why pay for people to visit your website if they are not likely to buy what you are selling?
If you are engaged in selling wholesale products to retailers, why would you want to pay for visitors people whose sole intention is to buy one of what you are selling at retail prices? You wouldn't, would you?
Provide enough detail in your advertisement to help people make an informed judgement as to whether you can actually help them accomplish what they want to accomplish.
Give your prospect enough information to skip your advertisement, if he or she will not benefit from your offer.
Even if you are using other types of advertising like pay-for-inclusion, you will still want to pre-qualify your visitors, because if you don't, it will skew your website conversion numbers. Too many unqualified visitors to your website might give you the erroneous idea that your sales copy is not performing as well as it should.
Use Power Words In Your Advertising
"Let thy speech be short, comprehending much in a few words." --- Aprocrypha
Copywriters are always talking about "power words" or "power phrases". These are word combinations that influence the reader to take an action.
One example of using power words in your copy is to substitute the word "children" for the word "kids". Parents are more influenced by the reference to children than they are by the reference to kids.
"Guaranteed" is another power word. It gives your reader an added incentive to buy what you are selling. Prospects take comfort in the idea that if they discover later that they have made a bad decision, they can always get their money back.
"Proven" is another power word. It tells your reader that you can back up what you are saying with "proof". Your prospect can see "scientific" or empirical "evidence" that you are telling the "truth". These are more power words for the person who is paying attention.
Power words attract attention, spur reader curiosity and compel readers to take the action that you want them to take.
Pay More Attention To Your Headline
The 25 to 40 characters that are available to you for your headline are the most important part of your advertisement, hands down.
On most websites, the headline is in bold print. The truth is your prospect will not see your description at all, if their attention is not captured first by your headline.
"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood." --- William Penn
Test and Track Your Results
If you do not take the time or effort to track your advertising, you will never know what is, or is not, working for you.
Set up different landing pages for your ads to determine which ads are producing results and which ads are failing to deliver on their promise.
This one step will save you more money than you can imagine. It will allow you to dump the dogs and build upon your successes.
Shades Of Gray
Ad tracking will enable you to pinpoint the effect of the slightest changes in wording and presentation.
Changing one word in your headline or description could make the difference between selling one unit and selling 500 units, but without a tracking system that might never be apparent.
Let's compare two headlines:
* Read Our Wealth Tips,
* Read Our Wealth Secrets.
Which of these two headlines is more compelling to you?
Do you see how much of a difference one word can make in your copy?
Play around with your copy to find text that is more likely to compel your reader to visit your website.
The words you use in your copy can make all of the difference in the world.
Stand Above Your Competition
The PPC advertising companies are going to hate me for telling you this, but you don't need top placement in their search advertising results, if your ad is written better than the ads of your competitors.
The company with the most compelling headline is going to draw the attention of the reader. It's not uncommon for the advertisement in position five or six to get the click because of a compelling headline and an attention grabbing description.
Fortunately for you, most of your competitors probably do not understand how to write an effective advertisement. This will allow you to quickly jump to the head of the class without spending more money for those higher spots in the PPC bidding process.
Start Small and Take Care With Your Advertising Budget
When you are testing new advertising copy, you should start small. You don't want to spend $1 a click in a pay-per-click advertising venue, using an advertisement that hasn't been tested or proven successful. To do otherwise is a waste of valuable resources.
Google Adwords ( http://adwords.google.com ) and Yahoo's Overture ( http://www.overture.com ) systems both require you to start your bidding at five cents a click.
At http://www.7search.com , you can buy advertising for as little as one cent per click.
At http://www.ExactSeek.com, the founding member of the ISEDN (http://www.ISEDN.org), you can build an ad around a specific keyword phrase for as little as $12 per quarter or $36 per year. Your ad is then displayed through more than 200 ISEDN member websites.
After You Have Mastered The Art Of Advertising...
After you have mastered the art and science of advertising, you will learn the most important lesson of all.
All venues can produce exceptional results, if you have written a compelling and effective advertisement.
When you write effective advertising copy, you will be able to convert anyone's traffic into sales.
About the Author:
If you want to learn how to make article marketing effective and profitable for the promotion of your online business, you will be able to locate several article marketing training guides at http://WritingPuzzle.com/ If you are looking for an article syndication service company to help you promote your online articles, explore http://thephantomwriters.com/ which has been providing article marketing services since 2001. Bill Platt is the owner of both of these web properties.
Follow @contentmanager on Twitter.
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