Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Aaron Wall made a great point about the difference between articles and blog posts. Also some interesting discussion in the comments. (Especially the link to an article about the same subject by Jakob Nielsen, which I read at the time and then promptly did not apply to my situation.)

I’m sure that there are some industries that still need new blogs. But I currently sit in an industry with too many. Internet Marketing is probably one of the wortst industries to be a blogger in because there is so much noise and so many echoes about the same topics.

I don’t fancy myself as a top blogger, but I do enjoy it. I also feel that I have important stuff to say, so I’m going to treat that stuff differently than a blog post. This blog should be for bite-sized ideas, not lengthy articles.

For those of you who have been following along, that means that my mini-series about running an AdWords campaign is not going to be a series of blog entries, but rather a series of articles. Something didn’t feel right about the idea of the mini-series. I’m glad that I could figure it out.

SEO Black Hat came up with a great tip about writing effective headlines: mimic tabloid headlines.

Think about it: tabloid headlines must grab your attention immediately to get you to make that impulse buy. Sound anything like internet marketing? Hmm… Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always wondered how some bloggers do it. How do they consistently release stories? For me, inspiration has always come in spurts. When I write one good post, I more than likely can write 10 more quality posts in the same sitting.

If you’re anything like me, then it’s a good idea to write your posts when you have time and inspiration. Before publishing, set your blog to release your new entry in the future. And set the schedule so that your posts are being published at even intervals. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently came across a widget for creating filler copy. Its purpose is for designers to have some fake text to use as filler in their designs. (It’s not a designer’s job to write the content, right?)

Here’s what the widget would look like if you installed it on your Mac:

The joke is that some people really do write this way. Do you? Maybe it’s time to trim out some unnecessary words on your website.

Most web designers and web developers ignore accessibility. Now that Target is being sued for not having an accessible web site, the bar is going to be raised for your own site as well. Yes, this is yet another thing to worry about. And no, you should not half-ass it.

If you cater to those with visual impairments, then you will also reap benefits from the world’s most famous blind user: Google. I kid you not.

HTML, the document format of web pages, was designed to be consumed by those with vision impairments, not just by those of us with good eyesight. Once again, everyone has gotten lazy and hasn’t learned how to truly use HTML for this purpose. I’m going to point out a few things that should be done to help improve your site’s accessibility. Read the rest of this entry »

I attended an excellent webinar on Thursday, hosted by Marketing Experiments.

A key takeaway from the presentation:

Stop bragging. It’s disgusting.

Craft every element of your marketing campaigns around the value that you bring to your customers. Don’t brag about yourself. Nobody wants to hear it.

You don’t actually work on Friday, do you? Yeah, I didn’t think so! Every Friday, I’ll post links to interesting articles I’ve run across on the Web.

This week, let’s focus on writing for your customer.

• We We Calculator: Enter the URL for a page on your site, and see how often you talk about yourself. How often do you address your customers’ needs? (Hint: You want more of the latter!)
• Advice for CMS Users: This article does a great job of telling you how to write for your audience on the web.
• Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet: A useful resource by Future Now that links to great articles about writing copy for the web. (They’ve also written a second part.)

I am a blog junkie, so I’m hoping to help you find new ideas every week. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know about the gems you’ve found.

Studies have revealed that most blog and wiki readers never comment or contribute.

In most online communities, 90% of users are lurkers who never contribute, 9% of users contribute a little, and 1% of users account for almost all the action.

As a marketer, this presents a great opportunity for you. Blog comments and forums. You finally have an easy way to interact with your very own customers. Oh boy, Oberto!

Read my commenting guidelines before you run off and start Googling for blog entries to comment on:

1. Be relevant. Don’t try to force your products into the conversation. Only do so when it makes sense. Many people write blogs and participate in communities so they can escape from advertising. Err on the side of being a blogger’s peer, rather than “just another marketer.” Heck, this may be your chance to become friends with a customer. (Imagine that!)
2. Link back to your web site or blog. Most blogs let you submit a URL when you comment. If you’re talking about a particular product or service, link to its page on your site. You will be rewarded by the search engines for getting another link to your site.
3. Put in some effort. Just today, I read a spammy comment on 37signals’s blog. It’s since been removed, but notice that the next commenter called it out immediately. Be sure that you’re contributing to the conversation and not just pasting your pitch into the comment box, clicking submit, and moving on to the next blog.
4. Subscribe to the blog and say hi again later. This makes the blogger feel more like you’re their friend than someone who wants their money. Plus you may learn more about your customers from stalking them reading their blogs. (Huh? How do I subscribe to blogs?)
5. Don’t ever fake your identity. You will be found out. Just ask Wal-mart.

If you can make it a point to comment on just 1 blog entry per day, it very well could make a difference. It’s kind of like marketing without marketing, really.

Go ahead, try commenting on my blog for practice. I’m very forgiving and like feeling the comment love!