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Five Ideas for Creating More Ezine and Blog Content More Easily

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

You already know the money is in your list. Because it’s far easier to sell to people who already know, like and trust you. And hopefully you’ve been working on building a list of people who in some way have raised their hand and said they’re interested in learning more.

One of the easiest ways to do this online is by offering for something of value or interest on your site in exchange for visitor’s emails. But in order to get people to your Website, you have to be found on the search engines. If you want to get found more, it helps to post plenty of fresh, relevant content—particularly via a blog. Then push it out to the world using social networking.

But simply getting site visitors and building a list isn’t enough. You have to communicate with them on a regular basis and share information that’s useful, valuable, informative or entertaining. Otherwise they’re gonna forget who you are and why they wanted to hear from you in the first place. Then all your hard, list-building work is going to go to waste. That means also publishing an ezine/enewsletter or print newsletter.

Of course, if your to-do list is already a million miles long, the idea of coming up with content regularly probably sounds about as realistic as having the tooth fairy loan you money. But it really doesn’t have to be that difficult.

Below are five simple ways to generate newsletter and blog content fast:

Share a link – find an interesting article on someone else’s blog or Website? Write a couple sentences about what it is and why it’s worth checking out, then share the link.
Post a guest article – Nobody ever said you had to write everything yourself. You can republish an article by another expert offering complementary products or services. You can have guest writers who create content for your site regularly. Or even use articles from one of the online article databases or a source like bloggerlinkup.com. Just be sure to give proper credit and a link back to their site if required.
Record and post a podcast – Even if you’re a total technophobe, recording podcasts is a piece of cake. You can use a no-cost teleconference service like freeconferencecall.com to record a 30 second to 10 minute audio using your phone. Then download the MP3 directly from their site.
Post transcript excerpts – If you like to script out your podcasts beforehand then this is a no-brainer. Otherwise you can have any podcast, live event or teleseminar recording transcribed on the cheap. Then post excerpts or edit into multiple blog posts or articles.
Write a series of short tips – Blog posts and email articles can be longer articles up to about 750 or more…but they don’t have to be. Short tips one to three lines long can be a terrific option too. Publish one or a few at a time. You can even have guest experts submit tips for publication.

Do you have other secrets for writing more content? Thoughts on these tips? Please do share by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing

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Interesting News from Google Sure to Impact Your Website Marketing

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Monday, August 8th, 2011

Entrepreneurs…Got an important Webpage that Google hasn’t picked up yet? Wanna make sure critical new or updated pages on your site are indexed quickly and properly by Google?

Last week Google launched a new way for site owners to request specific web pages be crawled…The Crawl URL form.

While Google has always had an “Add URL” form for requesting a URL be added to the search index, it was meant more for searchers who noticed a Webpage was missing.

This form has now been renamed Crawl URL and is aimed at business owners and Webmasters. You have to log in to it with a Google Account (they’re free, so no worries there). However, you can submit only up to 50 URLs a week.

Before you get all excited, this is actually not meant to be used on a regular basis…It’s more for major updates or important new content. But this can be a key marketing tool if you’re in the process of launching something new online.

You can and should use the “Submit URL” form and other Google forms found here http://tinyurl.com/c32rbu for general Website submissions.

Learn more about all of this in a far more detailed article from Search Engine Land: Fetch, Googlebot! Google’s New Way To Submit URLs & Updated Pages here: http://tinyurl.com/3wvsf44

Got more to add on this subject? Please do share by leaving a comment!

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Why Writing Effective Content for Your Website Is So Different

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Friday, August 5th, 2011

As an entrepreneur, the most important part of getting a Website or blog site that actually drives leads, grows your list and/or makes sales is planning. The next most important part of your Website is the content, or copywriting.

You can’t just slap any old writing up there and expect it to get your ideal prospect’s attention and sell them on why they need to buy from you. If you really want your site to be effective at growing your small business, typically you can’t even take good print marketing copy and put it up there without at least tweaking it.

Now you’re probably thinking “Why not? What’s so different about writing for the Web?”

I hear this question from entrepreneurs all the time. Often followed by, “Can’t I just put my brochure content up there…Or worry about content later…Or put up a business card site?”

The answer is “Sure, you can do any of those.” They’re fine as temporary measures so you can get a site up in a pinch. But I wouldn’t expect to get any leads or sales.

This kind of thrown-together Website might even be worse for your business than nothing at all, depending on the information you do have and how it’s organized.

Here's why…

If your site creates the wrong first impression, is confusing, or doesn’t tell people what they want to know, most folks will be gone in a heartbeat.

And chances are they will never come back!

Think of it this way…In the physical world you have to cut through a lot of clutter. But there usually aren’t a hundred stores right in front of your customer, competing for their business.

On the Web, competition is virtually unlimited and at your prospect’s fingertips. They can easily go to another site if they don’t find what they want on yours right away. So they do.

This alone greatly affects the kind of content you put on your site and how you organize it. But there’s even more to it than that.

Let me explain…

There are three major differences between writing
for the Web and writing for print.

First, you have to write for two audiences: potential customers and search engines. Each of these audiences has different information needs. And each is vitally important.

If you don’t write to suit the search engines, your site doesn’t get found. If you don’t write to suit your potential customer, you won’t make sales.

Second, people read differently on the Web than they do in print. Typically they’re in a bigger hurry and skim first to see if you have what they’re after…Then only reading if something really interests them.

This makes how you organize the information on each page critical. Because you have to consider not only what they want to read, but how they’re going to read it.

Third, you only have maybe four seconds to get—and keep—people’s attention on the Web. So you have to let them know right away that you have what they want, and make it easy for them to find, or they’re gone.

I know, I know…You’re probably thinking that’s a heck of a lot to take into consideration. And you’re right.

Which is why just slapping up your brochure text or a business card site isn’t going to do the trick. Instead it takes careful thought and planning—combined with on-target, copywriting designed to get your ideal client or customer to take notice, and take action—to really make your site work for you.

But it’s worth it!

After all, few things beat having a prospect get in touch wanting to hire you out of the thin blue air because they found you on the Web…Or waking up with more money in your business account than when you went to sleep. It’s like manna from heaven.

The key is to start by knowing exactly who your ideal client or customer is, and they’re specific wants, needs, goals and problems. Then writing your content to suit them first, and achieve your goals second.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. But once you understand the basics, it gets much easier to create the content you need. To help you with exactly that, I highly recommend you sign up for my free 7-day copywriting ecourse “Write Money-Making Marketing Materials like the Pros” below…

Want more help writing lead-generating, sales-making Website content?

Sign up for my free 7-day copywriting ecourse “Write Money-Making Marketing Materials like the Pros” at: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/resources

(Just scroll down a tad if you don’t see it right away.)

Of course, feel free to leave a comment about this article or my free copywriting e-course here.

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Categories : Build Your Business, Content Marketing, Copywriting, Website Marketing

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How to Use Keywords to Get More Website Traffic and Improve SEO

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (1)

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Most entrepreneurs have heard of keywords. Some business owners even have a keyword list put together. But time after time clients ask me: “What am I supposed to do with all these keywords?”

I’m going to get to that, but first let me give you the upshot of how and why keywords help your search engine rankings…

Search engines have something called spiders that crawl the Web. These spiders go through your site code, looking for keywords that tell them what your site is all about. Then they report back to the search engine database.

The search engines then try to match your keywords with terms and phrases people are using to search the Web in order to provide relevant search results. The better the match the higher you’re going to show up in the results.

So your goal is to come up with the best keywords and keyword phrases for your site —based on what prospects are searching for. Then use them properly to communicate with the spiders to improve your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Now, for this article I’m going to assume you have a list of the keywords already and dive right into how to use them.

Drawing the Spiders to Your Keywords

How do search engine spiders know which words on your site are keywords?

Two ways…

1) Repetition

The spiders assume if a keyword (or phrase) is repeated multiple times on a page that must be what the page is about.

However, this doesn’t mean you should pack your pages with keywords willy-nilly. Doing this will get you penalized, or removed from the search engine database completely.

What you want to do is use keywords naturally in your text. Usually, repeating any word or phrase two to four times in your body copy is perfect.

How do you know if you’ve overused your keywords? Read your text out loud. If it sounds like a six year old wrote your copy, you’ve used them too many times. If it sounds smooth and natural you should be good to go.

2) Proper keyword placement

Certain locations in your content are considered more important in the eyes of the spiders (and often your readers). So focus on putting keywords in these spots whenever possible.

Headlines, Subheads and Article Titles – Headlines, subheads and titles tell both humans and spiders what kind of info we can expect to find…Particularly if you use the H1, H2 formatting.
Link text – Anytime you have a link in your text to another page or site, spiders assume those words indicate what kind of info can be found on the other end of that link. So avoid linking with meaningless phrases like “Learn More” or “Click Here”. Instead use keywords in your link text.
Beginning and end of pages – Both people and spiders tend to put more weight on what you say at the beginning and end of pages. At the same time, they assume the middle is just additional supporting details. So be sure your keywords are included in the very first text the spiders will read. Then put your list of keywords after the © at the bottom of each Web page.

But you can do more than just put keywords in your Website content…

More Powerful Spots to Put Your Keywords

Once you’ve got your keywords written into your body content there are a few more places in your HTML code where the spiders might look (you may need to ask your Web master for help with these). Most of these are not visible to Website visitors. But they each do their bit to boost your search engine rankings.

1) Title Tag – You know that text you see in the top bar of your Web browser? And the link text you get in search engine results listings? Both of those are generated from your title tag. Plus, the spiders rank your site higher for the keywords in your title.

2) META Tags - This section of HTML code has just one purpose: To be read by the search engine spiders. These used to be really important, but have lost some of their power. However they seem to be gaining power again, and they certainly won’t hurt you.

META description tag. In some search engines, this is where all or part of the description that shows up in search results comes from. So keep this in mind and write a keyword laden description that also entices searchers to click on your link.
META keyword tag. This is where you want to list the top ten or so keywords (or keyword phrases) you’ve used in your content.

3) Image Tags – Search engine spiders can only read text. So images in gif, jpg, or bmp format are just big blank spots. Make them readable by spiders by putting keywords-laden descriptions in your Image Tags.

Keep in mind, incorporating keywords isn’t a quick fix that immediately skyrockets you to the top of the search engine rankings. It is a simple, inexpensive and effective way to make a positive difference in your rankings and drive more targeted traffic to your Website. And well worth the time and effort.

Do you have any other suggestions for using keywords to improve search engine rankings or SEO? Thoughts on this article? Please do share by leaving a comment…

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Categories : Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Website Marketing

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Writing to Satisfy Both Readers and Skimmers on Your Website

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Writing for the Web truly is different from writing for print. One of the most critical ways it’s different is that people don’t read the same way on the Internet as they do on paper. In fact, many people don’t read on the Web at all—at least not at first. Instead they skim and scan to see if your business has what they’re after.

Then, only if they’re really interested will they read your site content word for word. Or do a mix of skimming and reading.

So as an entrepreneur you don’t want to skimp on the amount of Website content (or copy) you write. Because, as I’ve talked about in previous articles, your Website has to have all the tools and information it needs to be a good salesperson. Otherwise it won’t help you grow your small business.

That means your writing has to be friendly and easy to understand. And your copy has to answer all your customer’s questions and deal with their objections…Then convince them to take action.

It also has to achieve three core goals:

Make the shopping experience easy and convenient
Inspire confidence
Show what’s different, or better, about buying from you

That’s a mighty tall order to fill in the 250 words or less some “experts” recommend. Though really, it’s not about how many words of copy should go on a page because you need exactly as much as it takes to achieve your goals—no more and no less. It’s about how you write and format that copy.

So, let’s get back to what I was saying about skimming versus reading…

Most people will skim your Website before they read it—at least initially—because they want to see if you have what they are looking for. And they want to find it as quickly as possible.

However, when they’re really interested in what you are saying—or serious about buying soon—then they’ll devour every last word you put up there. Assuming, of course, that it is interesting, informative, and easy to read.

So, since some site visitors are going to read while others are going to skim, you need copywriting that satisfies both. How do you do that? Try editing and formatting your Website content with these important rules in mind:

Banish Big, Bulky Paragraphs

Big, long chunks of text are just not inviting to read. Especially on the Web. They just look like too much work, and are almost impossible to skim.

Make all your paragraphs no more than five lines long. On the Web even a one sentence paragraph is fair game.

Be Up Front

Stick to one point and state it early in the paragraph. People who skim read the beginning of a paragraph far more often than they read the whole thing. And the last thing you want to do is bury critical information where it won’t get seen.

It’s Good to Be Short

It’s easier to both skim and read ideas that are broken down into bite-sized pieces. So keep sentences around 20 words or less. This seems hard at first, but you can almost always find a way to break a long sentence into two shorter ones. Use Tools/Word Count in Microsoft Word to keep yourself honest.

Use 5 Cent Instead of 50 Cent Words

Long words take more thought, and are more likely to be misunderstood, than short ones. Plus, these days most people (even college educated ones) read most comfortably at about an eighth grade level. So anytime it’s possible to use a shorter word, or two short words instead of one long one, do it. The exception: if the long word is specific to an industry or market you are trying to reach, then by all means use it.

Catch Their Eye

One of the best ways to make your copy both skim friendly and effective is with well-written headlines and subheads, and well-placed bolding and highlights. Someone should be able to skim nothing but these to get all the major points and decide whether or not to read deeper.

Bring On the Bullets

Next to headlines and subheads, bullets are one of the best tools for satisfying both skimmers and readers. Just make sure each one provides a clear, compelling benefit—not just a feature. Because it’s not just about what your product or service is or does. It’s what it does for your customer that matters.

By writing and formatting your small business Website content with these rules in mind, you make it easy for people to find exactly what they are looking for in an instant. And you can write as much copy as you need to satisfy anyone who wants to read more, and convince them to take action.

Share your thoughts on this subject by leaving a comment below.

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Categories : Content Marketing, Copywriting, Online Marketing, Website Marketing

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A Fresh Way to Get More Website Traffic – Slidecasts

Posted by: Stacy Karacostas | Comments (0)

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

As a professional marketer and an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for new ways to drive traffic to my Website. Recently I ran across a terrific article by my friend and Online Marketing for Introverts expert Donna Gunter on creating slidecasts for marketing your small business and Website.

Slidecasts are basically just PowerPoint slide shows that are set to run automatically and loaded to sites online. If you write and set them up right, you can use them to drive Website traffic, grow your list and even make sales. Best of all, if you’re already writing articles or speaking in public, you’ve got content that can easily be converted to slidecast format.

For loads of practical beta on how to create and use your own slidecast presentation as an online marketing tool, check out Donna’s article here: Content Marketing: 7 Steps to Creating an Irresistible Slidecast Presentation

Have you used slidecasts as an online sales or marketing tool? Have you watched a slidecast presentation? What are you thoughts on this concept?

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Categories : Build Your Business, Content Marketing, Online Marketing, Practical Marketing, Website Marketing

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Worthless and Powerful Words for Marketing Your Small Business

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Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Have you ever run across a clearly talented entrepreneur, whose marketing materials didn’t come close to doing their services or products justice?

Ever read a business’ marketing materials or Website and still not really understood what they did or sold, who would buy, or why anyone would even want to?

Maybe you’ve had the experience yourself where someone read your stuff then asked, “Okay, so what exactly do you do (or sell)?” Or worse, discovered that loads of people were visiting your site…Only they were clicking away without taking any action.

All too often the problem lies in the written content or copy. Copywriting, or writing to sell, is vastly different from the way most of us were taught to write in school. And it’s highly specialized skill that requires years of practices and a solid understanding of sales and marketing psychology to be effective.

When small business owners either decide to write their own marketing materials or Website, or they hire the first or cheapest writer they run into, they typically end up with generic, bland, boring copy. Instead, what entrepreneurs really need is content that grabs their ideal client by the eyeballs and doesn’t let go until they’re convinced to take action right now (whether that action is signing up, emailing, registering, calling, or buying right now).

To help you determine whether or not your copy is designed to do the job—and help you make it more effective—below are two lists. The first is common words and phrases that are worthless in your marketing materials. The second is a list of words that really sell.

Avoid these weak and worthless words and phrases like the plague:

Great customer service
Quality
Honesty
You can trust us
Will
That
Prosperity
Call for a free consultation
Sign up for newsletter

Plus…

Overblown promises (Lose 30 pounds in one week with no dieting or exercise)
Most words with 3 or more syllables
Having most of your sentences or paragraphs start with we, I, our company, or “your company name”
General statements meant to speak to the greatest diversity of prospects

Use these powerful marketing words and phrases whenever possible:

Free
You
Imagine
Because
Discover
Finally
At last
Why?
Guarantee
Here’s why
Here’s what you get

Plus…

Any kind of call to action like: Click here, Sign up below, Email me, Tear out this coupon, call this number, etc.
Specific nouns and adjectives
Numbers, graphs, charts, examples, and other specifics

Just switching out a few words and phrases can make a huge difference in your response rates and sales. So grab this list, and use it to make your own Website and marketing materials way more effective.

Want more help writing sales-making Website content and marketing materials? Sign up for my free 7-day copywriting ecourse “Write Money-Making Marketing Materials Like the Pros” right here: http://theunchainedentrepreneur.com/resources

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Categories : Build Your Business, Content Marketing, Copywriting

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Entrepreneurs…Discover How to Finally Write and Publish a Client-Attracting Book

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Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Do you have a book in you?

Susan Daffron

Have you been telling yourself you’re going to write and publish a book?

Are you having trouble getting that book written, let alone published?

Maybe you want to write a book because you want to be seen as an expert, get more clients, grow your business, or spread your wisdom. All great reasons for sure. A book is a powerful marketing tool that can do all this for you and more!

But, first you have to get it written. Then you need to get it published. Finally you have to get it out into the world.

It used to be that meant endlessly shopping your idea to publisher after publisher hoping someone would take a chance on an unknown author like you. Or paying thousands of dollars to do a minimum print run that usually resulted in stacks of books gathering dust in a garage or closet.

Thankfully, the rules of the book publishing game have changed. Nowadays it’s easier—and cheaper—than ever for entrepreneurs with little time or money publish a book. And once you know the secrets, you don’t even need to sit down and write your book from scratch.

The best part is…Having a book truly can help you land clients, speaking engagements and opportunities. Plus, if you do it right, you can even make money from your book sales.

But you do have to know what you’re doing in order to get your valuable info into book form—and leverage it to improve your credibility and grow your business.

That’s why this week I’m hosting a very special call with Susan Daffron of Publishize.com on “How to Quickly and Affordably Publish a Client-Attracting Book”!

Susan is the author or co-author of 11 printed books (and counting!). And she has worked in the publishing industry since 1986.

Susan’s got a practical approach that I believe is going to make a huge difference for you. So I hope you’ll join us for this hour-long call.

You don’t even need to opt-in for this one. Just show up on the line.

Here are the details you need to get on the call:

When: Thursday Feb 3, 2010 at noon Pacific (3 pm Eastern)
Where: Just call this number and then type the access code:
(218) 339-4300
Access Code: 217836#

Or go here to learn more: http://www.LogicalExpressions.com/teleseminar_stacyk.htm

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