7 tips to boost your business through ARTICLE MARKETING

YES, YOU ARE AN EXPERT

7 tips to boost your business through ARTICLE MARKETING

You may not realize it, but if you’re a business owner or operator, you truly are a goldmine of information.

The facts, figures, insights and know-how in your noggin’ is valuable stuff! And it’s not just valuable in terms of how you use it to manage your day-to-day business affairs. It’s also valuable to other people who can use it to solve their problems or fulfill their needs.

Few people know your business (or industry niche) like you do. Years of painstaking experience have made you an expert, someone who is trustworthy and reliable.

leverage your EXPERTISE
Now it’s time to leverage these qualities to drive more traffic to your website. How? Through article marketing. Article marketing basically means writing informative (and useful) articles to subtly promote your products and services to people with an interest or need in your business or industry. You reach your intended audience by distributing your articles via free online article directories on the Internet.

Well-written, relevant article will increase your credibility as a go-to source of information and provider of solutions in your field. This in turn should result in more traffic being directed back to your own website as clients seek answers to their problems.

cheap, easy and EFFECTIVE
Here’s how it works. You write an article and place it through free online article directories. Directories with good web page rankings (based on search engine algorithms such as Google’s PageRank) and lots of visitors will increase your article’s chance of being seen and read. Sprinkled with “back links,” your article will lead visitors to your website, thereby increasing your chances of new business.

If your overall marketing budget is small, article marketing can be a reasonably effective and inexpensive way to drive traffic to your site. Remember, most listing directories are free and you should try to get your articles posted on about 10 of these. Try to list on too many and you risk your submissions being seen as a form “spam” by Internet search engines. Another way to boost your submission is by becoming a “guest expert” on popular blogs related to your business or industry niche. Blogs rely on fresh, relevant content and may enjoy higher search engine placement as a result.

HOW to get started
So how do you begin article marketing? Here are a few tips:

1. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – Who are you writing for? What do you want to tell them? Try to think from the point of view of a potential reader/customer who has problem only you can solve.
   
   
2. KEEP IT SHORT – Shorter is always better. Limit your articles to 500 words maximum with a good range about 350 to 400 words.
   
   
3. TEASE THEM – Give them good information, but not TOO much information. You’ve got to make them want to come to you for the complete solution!
   
   
4. TERRIFIC TITLES – This probably cannot be stressed enough. Your title must be catchy and relevant or your article, no matter how well written or useful, will simply be ignored.
   
   
5. TERRIFIC TOPICS – Your title will likely flow out of your topic. If your topic is dull and irrelevant, don’t expect good results!
   
   
6. QUALITY CONTENT  – Your writing must be clean, punchy and direct. The information must be interesting and useful. If you fail here, your credibility as an expert is undermined. Be sure to sprinkle keywords in your article to link back to your website.
   
   
7. CALL TO ACTION – Conclude your articles with a call to action, especially one that drives them to your site for products or services.

Oh, and one last thing. If you’re truly NOT a writer, or simply can’t stomach the thought of scripting an article, be sure to engage the services of a professional, or at least someone in your organization with a knack for writing. And, whatever you do, be sure to proofread before posting!

written by SCOTT WIGTON

Qualities that make web content good and how to improve yours!

YOUR WEBSITE'S FATAL FLAW and why you need an honest appraisal

Remember that “stuck-up” kid in school? You know, the one who thought she had the real “wow!” factor going on and considered herself to be the coolest thing in the universe (and therefore beloved (and envied by all).
 
There was just one little problem. Nobody really loved her and few wanted to be friends with her. It’s hard to love a snob, isn’t it?
 
Well, this is just the sort of problem many websites have. Too often they’re bloated monuments to the self-importance of their owners and creators. It’s as if they’re shouting “Hey, look at me, aren’t I cool? Aren’t I smart? Aren’t I clever and cute?”
 
To which most website visitors respond: “Um, no, you’re actually pretty lame. See you later.” And who can blame them? You’re saying you’re great when...you’re so obviously not.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T DO THIS

It’s frequently obvious in the copy, the lifeblood of every website. Funny thing is, so much web writing is so very bad. Take, for example, this little gem pinched from a florist’s website describing a flower on offer: “Pinkly pulchritudinous and amazingly delightful, infinitely charming and sensationally fascinating. Ugh. Would that entice you to purchase that flower, or, more likely, induce a fit of eye rolling exasperation?
 
Words matter. If your web copy is oozing adjectives, clogged with shop talk (words and terms understood only by business/industry insiders) or heavily seasoned with $10 dollar words (that’s you lawyers!) that would require readers to consult a dictionary, then you’ve definitely crossed the line.

Even worse is to clumsily tout yourself, especially if you’re in a crowded and competitive e-marketplace. Consider this all too common variation of website self-appreciation: “Why choose us when you have a million choices? The answer is simple. Because we are the best! Best in quality, best in service...” etc.
 
Yeah, right! If that doesn’t sound like that stuck-up kid from school (“I’m the best!”) then nothing does! Websites that do this are essentially saying “We’re great because we say so!” (Can’t you just hear Dr. Phil asking, “How’s that line workin’ for ya?”)
 
Have you committed these website sins (among others)? Chances are you probably have and don’t even realize it. Don’t worry, though, the good news is that you can repent and change your ways!
 
It all begins with an honest appraisal, or audit, of your content. This can be personally and professionally painful, especially if you are the content creator, as is the case with many small businesses.

WHO IS THIS ABOUT ANYWAY?

The most important lesson in this process is: It’s not about you! It’s about your audience. Too many companies of all sizes inundate website customers with information about themselves and how wonderful they are. Who cares!
 
Every word and image must be geared toward meeting THEIR needs, not yours, and helping take an action or make a decision. Therefore, content rule number one is to know who your audience is, what interests them and how to meet their specific desires. Fail to heed this overriding rule and you might as well forgo a web strategy.
 
If, however, you do observe this rule, then a careful analysis of your existing or planned content is in order. The following will be helpful in guiding you through a content appraisal.
are you saying what you think you're saying?

Are the graphics, words, video and audio elements on your web pages conveying the information, the feel and the ability to take action that your audience desires? Carefully look at your content to make sure it is saying precisely what you intend it to. Better yet, have someone else (who didn’t create the content) take a look at it. Being removed from the creation process, they’re much more likely to be able to determine if your message is hitting the mark.

1. are you saying what you think you're saying?
   Are the graphics, words, video and audio elements on your web pages conveying the information, the feel and the ability to take action that your audience desires? Carefully look at your content to make sure it is saying precisely what you intend it to. Better yet, have someone else (who didn’t create the content) take a look at it. Being removed from the creation process, they’re much more likely to be able to determine if your message is hitting the mark.
   
   
2. up-to-date and accurate
   Seriously, you’ve got to keep things fresh. Info that is weeks, months or even years old is inexcusable if you expect to get anything out of your web marketing strategy (i.e. more business!). Are your links dead ends? Are your logos, copyrights and trademarks current? How about your stats? Inaccurate and old information undermines your credibility.
   
   
3. getting things done
   This is about your website visitor’s ability to get done what he or she wants to accomplish. Do you make it easy to do so? If you’re selling, is it easy to buy from you? If you’re receiving donations, do you make it easy and secure for people to give? If you’re offering information to help people make decisions, is that information accurate, concise and well presented? Again, is it actionable information or stale and useless? Remember, you must be ruthless when auditing your information!
   
   
4. go ahead and get help—IT'S WORTH IT!
   Finally, unless you are an adept copywriter or trained graphic artist and web designer, it’s best to farm out your web content to professionals. You’d be surprised how many small to medium business websites rely on unskilled, in-house content creators with results that range from the merely embarrassing to the legally suspect. Here again, however, be discriminating and don’t allow your writers and designers to make another cardinal error — that of making your website a showcase of them and their wonderful talents rather than your bottom line!

Remember, your credibility comes from helping your customers accomplish what they want when they visit your website. It doesn’t come from saying how great you are! Leave that to the stuck-up kids at school.
 

written by Scott Wigton

WANT MORE BUSINESS FROM YOUR WEBSITE? try the quality content approach.

MAKE A PLAN FOR QUALITY CONTENT
WHY YOU NEED A CONTENT STRATEGY NOW
 
Last month, we learned the essential lesson that content is king. A successful website lives and breathes good content because good content delivers what end users want. And, by doing so, you will get what you want: more business and more committed customers.

Too bad most websites get it wrong with content (text, videos, graphics, audio and any other data), that, at worst, is ill-conceived, outdated, and useless or, at best, is half-baked and underachieving.

So, what’s the answer to this low quality content conundrum? How do you take this problem by the horns and put your website content far ahead of the blundering herd?

LET'S GET SERIOUS, FOLKS!

The first barrier to overcome on the way to better website content is a psychological one. Simply put, you’ve got to take content seriously! As previously discussed, content has too often been treated like the unwanted stepchild in website development. It gets some attention, because, let’s face it, a website is always going to have content on it. However, the content that finally appears is rarely the product of a well thought out process which has been led by someone whose overriding responsibility it was to ensure end users get what they really want — actionable information. Like the unwanted and difficult stepchild, website content planning gets short shrift, and the potential of your website will suffer accordingly.

That’s why just admitting that content planning is worthy of your full attention is an important victory, though further effort will be required to impart killer content onto your website. Now it’s time for the next step: Developing a strategy to produce content that gets results for your customer and for you!

DEFINING A CONTENT STRATEGY

Without a well conceived strategy, generals lose battles and coaches lose the big games. Without a good content strategy in place, you will miss out on the whole point of having a web presence in the first place — generating and sustaining business. Of course, we all want content to be easy; if only it were. But it will be a whole lot simpler and less painful when you put a content strategy in place. First, let’s take a quick look at an important definition. What, after all, is a strategy?

Succinctly put, a strategy is a comprehensive plan, a map, to achieve a desired result. Sounds easy enough. Yet the wealth of websites burdened by disappointing content and equally disappointing results reveals that most people don’t get this fact.

Too often, novice website owners and developers make the mistake of confusing the content itself for a content strategy. The two are different animals entirely. For example, a plan to include on your website a series of videos, certain types of articles, a blog or links to Twitter and Facebook do not amount to a website content strategy. These are really just specific types of content — content tactics, if you will — that even when combined don’t yield a cohesive content strategy.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

To get beyond tactical thinking, it’s helpful to see exactly what a true strategy will accomplish for you.

Also, as noted last month, it is critical at the outset to appoint a person, a content strategy czar, to oversee this process. Rather than being a dictator, this person shepherds the process along, keeps it on track and ensures that all stakeholders’ interests are heard, respected, and, if applicable, included in the final content strategy document.

So what elements should your final content strategy document include? If done right, it will stipulate:

1. The types of content (articles, data, graphics, video, etc.) required to meet end users’ needs (and thus meet  your primary objective) and, secondly,  who is responsible for creating that content.
   
   
2. How all web content is to comply with your brand and messaging.
   
   
3. How the content is to be organized (information architecture) on the website.
   
   
4. A workflow process, cooperating with other people and departments if necessary, to ensure content delivery to the site.
   
   
5. A process (and an editorial leader) for content maintenance and updating once the site is up and running.

 
Next month, we’ll look at the qualities that make web content good and how to improve yours!


written by Scott Wigton

CONTENT IS KING - But Why Is So Much of It So Bad?

Almost two decades after the first websites went live, you might think most businesses would know what they’re doing when it comes creating an effective website.

Unfortunately, this frequently isn’t the case.

Let’s Be Honest

Too often, websites resemble a confused amalgam of half-baked ideas and incoherent packaging that probably arose from an equally confused and possibly politically compromised development process.

Go see for yourself. Visit a few sites. Did they really meet YOUR needs? Or are they little more than quivering heaps of low grade cyber schlock that leave much to be desired?

Some people (read customers) have simply resigned themselves to wading through the cyber schlock. Those who won’t, however, will simply take their business elsewhere. After all, a better site may only be a single click away.

Now consider your own website. Be honest. Think from the perspective of a potential customer. Your  foremost thoughts should be: 1) Does this website actually meet my customer’s needs, by helping them take an action?  2) Does it support our specific business objectives?

If you can’t answer these questions with a definitive (and honest) yes!, then you’ve got a problem.

Content Is King
In real estate, the enduring mantra is: Location! Location! Location! For websites it’s: Content! Content! Content!

Content is the driving force behind all successful online efforts. Good content boosts sales, boosts credibility and boosts loyalty. Good content gets things done. But don’t all websites have content? Yes. It’s just that most of it is poorly conceived and frequently irrelevant and too often useless.

One  problem is that content is treated as a low priority in the web development process. Why? Because creating good content takes time, discipline and forethought. Thus, it can seem vague and daunting at the outset of a web project. Remember, quality content always provides value to your audience while simultaneously delivering on your business goals.

Another problem is many people mistakenly view content as a cheap commodity, something to just “fill out the pages”  and of relatively little importance. Thus, it becomes almost an afterthought and a breeding ground for mediocrity or worse.

Finally, if your company has multiple stakeholders, then everyone is going to have their ideas and demands about what qualifies as essential content. Meetings will be held, surveys taken and lists created. And then the real fun begins as these same stakeholders battle it out for their slice of the pie.

A Few Helpful Guidelines
So, if you want better content for your website,  it’s helpful to keep a few critical points in mind:

1. Ask the all important question — Simply asking “Why?” focuses minds on exactly what it is you hope to accomplish through your website and the central role that content plays. As the process unfolds, this question forces a stricter examination and, hopefully, a higher standard of content.
   
   
2. Don’t tune out — There probably are several stakeholders in your business with an interest in delivering web content. Listen to them, be open to their ideas, but don’t rubberstamp them in the interests of simply getting along. Their ideas and content must align with the overall objectives to be realized.
   
   
3. Bigger is not better — dial back on quantity of content. Too many sites unleash a virtual avalanche of material, most of it useless to the end user. Be brutal when it comes to deciding what is important, and what accomplishes defined objectives.
   
   
4. Designate a content czar — A website project with a content czar is like a chicken without a head. This doesn’t mean that no one else contributes content. A content czar is simply empowered to ensure that all content, from whatever source, meets the litmus test of 1) meeting end users’ needs and 2) achieving clear business objectives.

Next month, we’ll take a look at how to develop a strategy for better content. 

How To Turn Email into a River of Revenues

What would you say about a marketing device that returned over $43 for every dollar you spent on it?

Too good to be true, right?

Wrong.

That device is none other than the commercial (HTML-coded) email, a tool that far outstrips all others when it comes to pure return on investment (ROI). So, how on earth does an email garner such grand results?

To understand this, you must realize an effective commercial email is a well conceived, superbly timed, and, above all, expertly designed piece of marketing that is focused on accomplishing one thing: Getting a customer to take action.

Just how good can an email get? According to the Direct Marketing Association’s 2009 study, commercial email returned $43.62 for every dollar spent last year. Compare that to an ROI of $21.85 for Internet search advertising, $15.22 for direct mail and $7.32 for catalogs.

The Perils of Poor Design

“Fantastic!” you say. “Let’s crank out an email right now and blast it to our list. After all, emails are easy and anybody can do them.”

Not so fast. While it’s true that millions of emails are exchanged daily, only a tiny fraction are well enough designed to grab a customer’s attention and get them to make that all important click that results in a purchase.

To begin with, there are essentially two types of commercial emails, ones that mostly depend on text to get results and those that are more visually or image driven (much like a magazine ad). Many of the very best commercial emails contain a balance of both. Whatever the approach, it must be chosen because it has the best chance of making an impact with your audience.

It is important to know quality design is NOT just about a snazzy picture, cute turn of phrase or a colorful graphic (though these might be part of a well-designed email). Rather, good design depends just as much on advance planning and strategy and careful selection of elements to achieve the desired end.

Remember, the competition – and clutter – is fiercer than ever.

Take your own email inbox, for example. Most of what you receive is either deleted immediately or quickly scanned and disposed of. The level of email fatigue and cynicism is high, but that’s because most commercial email solicitations are inadequately thought out, poorly timed and lack quality design.

No wonder people (that’s us, folks!) are so quick to trash emails.

Don’t Waste Your Opportunity!

But there is good news. Most commercial emails arrive with the consent of the customer. At some point, he or she has asked to receive email updates or solicitations from you. This gives you a vital opportunity to impress them.

However, if your email is sloppily designed, annoyed customers will quickly unsubscribe from your list. Don’t waste your chance to enjoy an ROI of $43 to $1 or more simply because you decided to do it yourself.

Instead, hire a capable designer who understands that the following are essential to a successful commercial email: copy that is well formatted and brief (keeping in mind that email readers are in a hurry); a reminder that the customer granted permission to receive email from you; an easy-to-find unsubscribe link; focused content that focuses on one or two ideas rather than many; careful timing; a call to action (a compelling offer that screams: “take action now!”); solid HTML coding; strong copy and headlines; compelling images (but not too many); and, of course, a catchy subject line that demands the email be opened.

Again, remember the subject line is crucial to getting an email opened but after that it’s good design that will determine whether the end-user/customer decides to read on and take you up on your offer.

Good Design Turns Clicks into Profits

Finally, never forget that an effective email is a marketing tool that can deliver convenience and value to your customers while realizing significant dividends for you. If $43 to $1 sounds good to you, the key to success is a creative and expertly designed piece that cuts through the clutter, cements customer loyalty and burnishes your brand.

written by Scott Wigton