All Posts
For a modern lesson on a classic fundamental, let’s take it back to elementary school for the 5 W’s (and 1 H) for a moment shall we? Who, What, Where, When, Why & How…although not in that particular order.
WHO…you of course! Don’t think blogging is for you or beneficial to your company? Read on my friend…
WHAT’s the point of business blogging? To communicate clearly to a wide variety of readers (either from your business sector or to one who is interested in acquiring your company’s expertise) and reach them on a virtual yet tangible level that says 
wanna do lunch…via Skype?
HOW can a blog work for your company? Let me pass on what I’ve come to understand. Basically, if you are a small to medium-sized company, more than likely you have a limited advertising/marketing budget if any. This may in turn affect your ability to rub elbows with your industry-related business colleagues and the frequency of networking opportunities. But guess what? If you have a semi-talented employee who can write pretty well or hire a content writer like myself (hint, hint-plug, plug) you can be well on your way to leveraging social media to your advantage and profit margin.
WHY and the WHAT points are somewhat synonymous. You (or your superiors) want to have a corporate blog which elevates you/your company to a WORLDWIDE PRESENCE. This taps you into the local and global business market by creating dialogue via your company website to an UNLIMITED number of people for almost FREE. Need I say more? Ok but just because I can hear the anticipation…
WHERE is Waldo, Jane, Bob or whatever your name is? Where do you pow-wow and have your swank & usually expensive lunch meeting to seal your deals? Your couch if you’re lucky! In 2012, most freelance and small business owners work from home or out of a local Starbucks. You can save time and money with this fantastic networking tool by using a little of Father Time and a smidge of talent to take your business to the next level and into an unlimited marketplace. No expense account required.
WHEN you choose to use social media to your advantage, you win-plain & simple. Oh and today is a great day to start.
Still saying blah, blah, blah?????
All Posts
A content writer or business blogger (whether plume or keyboard, or in my case, both) takes on the identity of his/her subject as though they are vicariously living as the CEO or decision maker for that business entity. It is in this forum where jack of all trades requires that you master, at least on some level, all & not none. A good content writer or blogger assumes the identity of employee/employer and advocate for that business.
Taking on a client who is part of an industry in which you’ve never been employed can seem overwhelming or to some impossible. Do you take that client on and fluff your credentials as though you have had a million clients in that same industry…a been there done that so of course you should hire me attitude? Or do you let them know how darn good you are at research and how becoming a student rather than a “know it all” behooves them and your craft? Because any good content writer will tell you it’s about RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH …and yet more RESEARCH. That includes your company client, their area of expertise, their competition and what’s not being said/done/reflected in their own and competitors marketing identity. You have to write it like you live it, in it…their world, their conference rooms and marketing strategy meetings.
Recently I took on a client in a very interesting and technical industry. And I certainly can admit some hesitation and anxiety prior to the pitch. It was seemingly too technical for a person who spent a good deal of my career in a very white collar legal environment. But I soon realized that this is what it’s all about. What content writers do-we morph. And through many hours of research and allowing my brain to think outside its confines and experience, I soon became intrigued and began to write in such a manner that impressed me (really it did) and my client. This is what allows you to write from a position of “seeming” expertise and authority rather than obvious novice.
So stay encouraged my fellow content writers and bloggers- embrace what you don’t know, learn what you need to and then write like you live it.
All Posts, Marketing
Our last 4 prospective client requests for websites all had questions about blogs. I personally was pleased because there seems to be a growing conscientious to how effective blogging is to not only your site’s SEO but to your business’s brand. There’s a few things I want to talk about like transparency, effectiveness, analytics, and search engine optimization. Now I know there are many blog platforms out there, but for me a self hosted WordPress site offers so many options and features and the learning curve is fantastic to pick up and go.
The Reach: Taking some time out each week to write a post or two can really help drive some numbers to your website. Mainly because WordPress and search engines get along really well, but also because blogging creates fresh new content on your website where a traditional website may only see new content once a quarter. Even what could be seen as a low-interest website like stamp collecting could achieve visits by the thousands each week based on what they talk about and how. Never limit your business products or services to just what you think may be a small target audience. This is the internet we’re talking about here, millions of people are on throughout the day and night. There’s bound to be hundreds of thousands who share your views and can appreciate your opinions and opposition to a subject matter.
Engage, Engage, Engage: Consider other blogger’s and sites that talk about what you do and comment on their posts. Not so much to try to drive away readers, but to bring up valid points that may have been missed, or a little bit of controversy. We all like drama, and some of the hottest posts aren’t in the original article but in the comments where readers go back and forth trying to one up each other or drive home a point. You’d also be surprised at all the places you post, and who may want to view your blog entries to see if you know what you yourself are talking about.
Crowd-sourcing and Feedback: Without full-out asking for it, blogging can be a way to get great customer feedback. Consider a competitor of yours recently launched a new product. At first it seems like a great idea and may be a great product to those that need it. But what if it has a major flaw or is missing something vital that one of your products has and your clients appreciate much more than your competitors? Well after writing a post about it comparing the two products, you can see how your visitor weigh in with their comments. Of course your post won’t be written in a way to seem like your bashing. We’re not trying to be e-thugs, but a tasteful comparison could lead to better R&D for your brand, even when there isn’t competition.
Search Engines: I wonder when we’ll stop calling them search engines and just refer to Google instead. Google’s algorithms are still quite unknown, but what is known is how well an unknown website can pop-up as a number 1 or 3 organic result for a subject matter. Regardless of what the site looks like, and more so on how relevant the content is to the string of keywords used in a user’s search. With a static HTML site, you’d have to embed keywords, a page description, and some meta-tags to your page’s code. Not to mention the on-page keyword usage and image ALT tags you’d have to remember to include. With WordPress all of that is mostly taken into consideration. When adding an image to a post you easily have the options to put captions and alternate text messages for your images and graphics. You have a categories and tags box to check off and type in your keywords and associated post categories. It all really makes for an effortless optimization.
Overall Effectiveness: If you’re a small business who thinks that no one out there is interested in reading about what you have to say, let me tell you that you’re wrong. Even for the stamp collector, there is plenty to say that people are looking for. Imagine if you were the only blog out there talking about the history of some stamps, or hidden facts about some designs for stamps, or maybe even ways to save money on postage that most people wouldn’t know. I’m not a stamp collector but show me how to save money on postage and I’ll be all over it, and share it with my friends who may share it with their friends. One because its easy to read and share both on computers and mobile devices, and Two because it offers an audience I normally wouldn’t be able to reach on my own through traditional marketing. When I first started blogging late last year, I posted once a month (maybe) and I had traffic to my blog at about 25-50 people a month. Now I have a team of 2 other (3 soon) bloggers and we each post a different subject article once a week. In the past 30 days we’ve had almost 1500 visits (Google Analytics).
I hope that this clears some uncertainty on why you should get blogging NOW! For those of you that already do, add your pointers in the comments below. We can all learn something to be more effective!
All Posts, Marketing
Of the past few weeks I’ve been getting quite a few questions about SEO. With the growing consciousness of the power of search and keyword relevancy, all questions are pretty much valid. Let me start off though with stating that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a service all on its own. My personal recommendation is that you find a reputable company that provides these services almost exclusively. They’ll work with your web designer or if you don’t have one, they’ll make the necessary updates for you in their marketing plan. Typically you’ll see prices range from $700 to $2,000 a month. And that’s where I notice a lot of people’s facial expressions drop.
For the average small business start-up, forking over $1,500 a month in SEO services may be a bit high. There are a few things I want to bring to light about SEO and the shoestring business.
- SEO is not for every business on a budget. If you can only allow for a budget of $100 or less per month, you’ll be better off doing a local PR campaign, or an ad in your community newspaper, or social media.
- Evaluate how much profit you make per each new customer before doing SEO. If each new client brings you a profit of $50 to $100 but you’re monthly invoice for proper SEO is over 1k, that SEO plan needs to bring in more than 10 new clients a month at least.
- SEO should incorporate many online facets like, directory listings (DMOZ, Altavista, Google), local directories (Yelp, Superpages, Google Places).
- There should be some goals and metrics involved before and during an SEO campaign. I’ve heard a few people say they’re doing SEO but have no idea what the increase of inbound links are from month to month or what their lead to conversion rates are.
- Don’t think SEO is something you’re going to do for one or two weeks or months and then turn off or stop the service. Like any other marketing plan, SEO needs to be considered as an ongoing plan. You’ll want to monitor and even graph your traffic, leads, and conversions each month. Stopping altogether really isn’t an option, but switching providers due to bad performance may be.
There are other things a business owner can do to boost traffic on their own website. Some free tactics include Google Analytics and Website Grader from Hubpspot. The data that these two sites provide can really give you an in-depth look at the traffic coming into your site, what keywords are relevant, browser usage and more.
I do want to stress that SEO is fantastic when you’re ready to really compete against your competition. You’ll certainly want to expect more traffic to your physical brick and mortar store too. Having great sales reps and customer service already in place will help capitalize on all this new recognition too.
All Posts, Social Media
No matter what your business is, a blog is increasingly being regarded as a necessity. From architecture, to web design, having a blog to talk on your relevant subject matter is a great way to show knowledge and offer tips on your industry.
- You’ll learn more about your industry by blogging. You’ll be forced to continually learn more specific details about your trade, and also find a need to keep your finger on the pulse of newest developments. By blogging about up to the minute topics, search engines will see your blog posts on relevant topics and you’ll actually show up. For example, when Apple does a press conference about a new device, sites like Engadget and Mashable are already talking about it (in some ways live) on their sites.
- An audience will see you as the authority on a subject matter. Do you have inside tips on how to flip realty properties? Well the more you give out this “coveted” information, the more people will visit your site looking for more. And they’ll tell others about your site and blog too. Why? Because the tips you’re providing are practical, and actually work. So going forward, they’ll look to you before even trying Google!
- The ability to engage. What you blog about, people will be able to respond do. Which is nice because for one you get to hear great feedback (good or bad) about what you’re talking about, and also it grows your contact list. These responders will be registered on your site to comment, which gives you their contact information for your newsletters and such.
- To help people. It’s not always about pushing your products and services. It should be more about how you can give back to your community. I think this is a key element because it shows how humble your business is. And if a visitor to your site feels comfortable with you (even having to never have met you), chances are they’ll contact you for services.
- A Social Media hub. As you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites, you link back to your blog on relevant subjects. So if you wrote a new blog post, you should tweet about the subject and link it back to your blog. Same with this the other sites. The hope is that your followers Re-Tweet it, “Like” it, and share it among their friends and followers. This also amplifies your message to lengths that you would otherwise never be able to reach.
- Blogging grows your network. The more you blog and circulate your posts among people on your lists and followers, the more search engines will pick you up in organic searches, and the more visibility your blog will get from people all around the internet.
- Promoting your product and services. Just released some new software that will help save people 30 or more minutes in conversions or calculations? Well put out a press release on your blog about it. Talk about the details, how it works, why it is better than your competition’s software, and how compatible it may be with existing software.
- Compensations. Yes successful blogs do actually make money. Maybe not enough to quit your day job over, but you can make some change by hosting ads on your blog pages. At first it may start with free ad placements from various local or lesser known companies. Eventually as you grow your traffic, you can sell these ad spaces to reputable vendors for their products and services. You’ll want to keep things relevant to your trade and industry.
- RSS and syndication. One of the first things you need to do is setup an RSS so that people can sign up and get your newest posts directly to their RSS readers. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. So that means each time you hit that “publish” button, you readers will get your post directly to their emails, smart phones, and RSS readers almost instantly.
- Because it’s fun. Yes blogging can be fun. I think at first it is seemed as a necessary task, but eventually it becomes something you’ll enjoy doing. Especially when you hear feedback from your readers. The more engaged they become the more you want to provide quality content for them to read and pass along to others.
Do you have some other tips to ad to this? We’d love to hear them in your comments below.
