Writing web content sounds easy enough: if you can write, you can write for the web, right? Not necessarily. Some small business owners find writing for the web to be a time consuming and frustrating task. It’s not always easy to put your thoughts into words–and optimize those words for search. Here are a few tips on how to write for the web from The Website Wordsmith, Alexa Steele .  

Web Writing Tip 1: Start with the headline

Headlines are, in many ways, the most important aspect of your website content. They are the first thing your reader sees and must therefore be attention-grabbing. They are also indexed by search engines, and so need to be optimized with keywords. Writing your headline first can focus your writing and help you establish a connection with these two distinct audiences.

Web Writing Tip 2: Know your keywords

One of the biggest differences between writing for the web and writing for other media is the need for search engine optimization (SEO). Keywords are at the heart of all SEO. By using a tool like Google AdWords Keyword tool you can identify keywords and key-phrases people are using to search for your topic. You should then include at least two or three of these keywords in your content.

Web Writing Tip 3: Know your audience

Who’s going to be reading your content? Do they know your subject well or are they beginners in need of detailed explanations? Are they looking for information or entertainment? Are they familiar with your brand or do you need to introduce yourself? The answers to these questions–and others–will impact how you write your content so get an idea of who your audience is before you begin.

Web Writing Tip 4: Make it an easy read

Web surfers are notorious for their short attention spans. They have a tendency to scan webpages before (or instead of) reading them thoroughly. By including headlines, sub-headings, lists, quotes, and bold lettering you can highlight important points and make skimming easier . Also, unless you know your audience is more advanced (see tip #3) it’s a good idea to keep your writing at about an eighth grade reading level. Have someone proofread your writing, too, to edit out errors that can trip up and confuse a reader.

Web Writing Tip 5: Give it a call to action

Ultimately, you’re creating your content for a reason: you want the people who read it to take an action. Including a call to action like “call now,” “click here,” or “leave a comment” lets your readers know what they should to do next, which increases the likelihood that you will get conversions.

SEO copywriter Alexa Steele works with marketers and small business owners to create engaging, persuasive, search engine optimized copy for websites and other forms of Internet marketing. To read more of Alexa’s articles–or to engage her for your next SEO copywriting project–visit www.thewebsitewordsmith.com.    

Happy 2011!

The core thing that influences the success of every business is the viability of your customer list. While there is much debate over quality vs. quantity, I will always take that stand that you need BOTH. You want a large list (quantity) that contains your ideal customer (quality). (I’ll be sharing more about this on my free teleclass “5 Simple Keys to Attract Your Ideal Customer: How to Get More Leads, Build Your List and Grow Your Business FAST!”)

As we enter this new year, I asked you to share with me what are your biggest priorities in 2011. I specifically asked you to tell me what you most needed to focus on most when it comes to list building, lead generating and traffic building. This is what you said (listed in order)…

1. Blogging
2. Referrals
3. Keywords
4. On-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
5. Video
6. Joint Ventures
7. Teleseminars
8. Article Marketing
9. Affiliate Marketing
10. Facebook & Twitter [tied]

So what do you think? Do you agree with this list? What would you add or change?

• Marketing Communications: could be an AD agency or just a graphic artist, copywriter and web designer. The Ad agency would also have a creative director that oversees the other 3 specialists. They create your identity, logo, brochures, website, packaging, ads (both online and off) and most materials. Can also create email newsletters. A direct marketing specialist would also fall into this category.
• Web site: web designer works on the visual representation, web developer handles ecommerce, community forums and other functionality, SEO expert gets your chosen keywords emphasized,
• Social Media: blog/community manager oversees blog content and responds to community members (blogger could also be in a different dept. like PR). Twitter and forum communicator.
• PR: gets feature articles written, product placements, press tours, press kits, press releases, speaker placement, quotes,and more.
• Event Marketing: identifies, schedules and prioritizes marketing events, creates booths, demos, etc.
• Channel Marketing: work with resellers, OEM, Affiliate managers and Evangelists: who get 3^rd parties to sell your products or services or use them in their own products
• Business Development & Sales – works directly with key customer accounts to close a sale.

This is most of the major categories of specialists. The ones you need to work with can vary depending on your type of business.

What other marketing specialists have you used?

Do you automate the marketing of your blog posts? Here’s what I’ve done.

My blog posts are relevant to small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to market their business better. As such, I have them automatically posted to places that small business owners can find them such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and more. I have spent some time automating this process so I can focus on the creation of content and not the marketing of it. Here are the methods and tools I used to automate the updates of my blog posts.

Twitter

I have two twitter accounts; the first, @expertmktgcoach, I tweet each post once, and the second, @debzimmer, I use to repeat the tweets throughout the day.

I use Hootsuite to import the RSS feed from my blog to twitter. This sends out one tweet per account. With Hootsuite, I can also schedule tweets on that second account so that the tweet reoccurs throughout the day.

LinkedIn

My blog headline posts to my LinkedIn status using Hootsuite. Hootsuite also sends the status to Ping.fm which updates numerous other sites that I visit less often.

My blog is then imported into my LinkedIn Profile using the LinkedIn WordPress Application.

Facebook

I use Facebook Notes to import my RSS feed into my Facebook Page. This creates a duplicate copy of my blog on Facebook. I can also use Hootsuite to import the headlines into my wall on my personal Facebook profile or public page.

Social Bookmarking

Using the WordPress Plugin tool for OnlyWire, my posts are automatically bookmarked to numerous bookmarking sites with which I have accounts. It creates bookmarks at more bookmarking sites than I can reach through Ping.fm. Ping.fm reaches other social media sites that OnlyWire doesn’t, such as Plaxo.

RSS Reader

I use Feedburner for those who want to get my blog posts in an RSS reader format.

Kindle

If you are a Kindle user, you can read my blog by subscribing through the Amazon Kindle Store.

SEO

Each post I write is search engine optimized. I use a number of tools including WordPress plugins to assist me with search engine optimization.

Email

There’s one more automation tool I’m considering but haven’t yet implemented. I see that AWebber is now integrated with Feedburner and can send the RSS feeds in email to your subscriber base. I think that sounds way cool. I just wish the tools I currently use offered that service.

That’s all I’ve got on blog marketing automation. Do you have any tools or systems you use that you particularly like?

Anyone can write a blog. Some people write blogs for personal reasons, some write about their hobbies. I focus on how to use a blog as a tool to grow your business.  To be an effective blog writer and to get the most return on your investment of time and money spent blogging, you will need a blog strategy, personal discipline, an internal desire, and unique content.

Your blog strategy will determine why you are writing your blog and what your goals are. You need your plan to include how frequently you are updating it, what types of content it will include, and it needs to speak to your target customer.

Your blog needs to be updated regularly according to your plan. If it is not updated regularly it will get less traffic and be less effective in implementing your strategy. Not only do you have to update frequently, you also need to be persistent and keep at it. It will take time to develop a following. It doesn’t happen overnight. This requires discipline.

You need to have the desire to create the content on a regular basis, and to be persistent. You can’t stop once you start. I have found that once I got in the habit of writing, I about my daily routines and interactions with my blogger goggles on. For example, I was at church thinking “Oh, that would make a good blog post”.

Which brings me to content. You need a content plan that offers compelling content to attract your customers and keep them coming back. You can create a 3 month rolling calendar of what your content strategy, topics and types of articles will be. You can even write them in advance.

• Strategy
• Discipline
• Desire
• Content

These are the 4 key personal characteristics that are required to have a valuable and successful blog.

How do I use my blog?

Now that you have your blog set up, How do you use it? What is your blog philosophy?

Think of your blog as an interactive tool. With a newsletter you push information to your customers. With a blog, your customers can talk back to you by leaving comments, and you can reply to them.

Your blog becomes an extension of your company’s public persona or brand and thus it needs to reflect your brand.

Here are some ways to build your brand with your blog:

• Portfolio – Express your brand’s personality by expanding your portfolio to your blog.
• Inform – Share with your customers some key learning or “how to” tips. Inform them of new products or services or any product recalls.
• Networking – You can use a blog for networking. Go to websites of other people in your field and leave comments on their articles and include a link back to your blog. They will do the same to you.
• Awareness – Post links to articles and content on the web that relates to your business or brand.

A blog can be a powerful marketing tool as long as you have a clear blog philosopy. It is a subtle way to brand your company while appearing authentic and knowledgeable and setting you up as an authority in your field. The blog helps you to establish a relationship with your customers and build trust. Your prospective customers get to know you and your company before buying.

Do you have a blog philosophy?

Blogs are easy to get for free. The easiest and most popular site for hosting your blog is Blogger. If you want advanced functionality, use WordPress.com. Both of these are free. There are actually a ton of free blog sites that add more social features as well.

Why would anyone pay for a blog when you can get one free?

The downside of the free sites is that they will not give you all the benefits of search engine optimization and thus will not optimize the amount of traffic to your site.

A paid blog with your own domain will give you better search engine traffic and thus be better at increasing your customer base and your income. This blog site is written using the open source WordPress.org blog software and self-hosted at Godaddy.com. I chose this because I liked the blog philosophy of WordPress. It is easy to use, is extensible and there are thousands of free plug-ins to support it. I have over 15 active plug-ins at the time of this post. They help with everything from search engine optimization to blog monetization. And, it only costs $5 per month.

Blogging is an easy and inexpensive way to create a web presence, and a blog is easy to keep fresh and up-to-date without the expense of a web developer. If you want to make money at blogging, use a hosted solution where you own the domain name and the content resides on a server you can control.

Blogs can be a free or low cost way to gain more visibility for your business. It can establish credibility in your field. It helps you to be recognized as an expert and thus people will turn to you for advice in your field. This also helps you to build your brand and communicate with your customer. It creates a face to the customer and builds the personality of your brand.

Your customer can subscribe to your blog which enables them to stay in contact with you and strengthen your relationship.  Blogs make it easier for your customer to give you feedback. They simply need to leave a comment after a post.

Blogs can be monetized to increase your sales and add supplementary income to your bottom line. A blog is also a useful tool to increase traffic to your site because the blog format is naturally search engine friendly. It is optimized for search engines. Blogs make it easy for you and customers to get links back to your blog or website which enhances search engine optimization and traffic.

You think you need a blog but you have no idea why. What are blogs anyway? What is the purpose? How is a blog different than a website? Do I need a blog philosophy?

What is a Blog?

Blogs are a type of website with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, text, graphics, video or links to other blogs, web pages and other related media. Unlike a website, a blog enables the reader to leave interactive comments after each entry.

Why do I want a Blog?

The most important reason to blog is to create a relationship with your customer.

What is a Blog versus Website?

How should your blog differ from your website? Your blog is about creating a relationship with your customer. It is “pull” marketing or publicity. Your blog reflects opinion, personality, individual viewpoints etc. Your website is an example of “push” marketing, meaning direct response, offers and promotions.  It is corporate information. Your website is factual. For example, while your website will contain press releases, your blog will contain commentary on announcements. If you host an event, your website will include facts about the event and registration information. The blog will include photos and stories from the event.

A blog can be used to get interactive with your customer, to raise awareness of topics related to corporate goals and to assist in closing sales. From a public relations perspective your blog can be used to deal with disasters and build the reputation of the company. Regardless of your blog philosophy, the blog should always be focused on your customer and talking to their needs, wants and desires. It is a dialog.

The Federal Trade Commission has finally issued an update to their guidelines concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials as used on the internet and social media. The last update was in 1980, well before the influence of websites, blogs and social media.

If you are a blogger, affiliate marketer or internet marketer, you need to be aware of how these revisions affect you and your business. You may want discuss these changes with your attorney and make adjustments to your web site, blog or social media campaigns.

The full text of the press release is available here.

The full text of the Act is available here.

In summary, the clarifications to the FTC Act are:

1) Advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect.

2) “Material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. So, Bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

3) Celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media.

It’s a good idea to ensure your web site, blog and social media strategy are following these new guidelines for the use of testimonial advertising and endorsements.