Archive for the ‘Copywriting’ Category
Read the latest Subject2 blog post about the most critical factor in forging a lucrative relationship with your copywriter.
The post last week about writing well stirred up so many comments, both pro and con, that I had to write a part 2.
Check it out and please leave a comment . . . is it important to use correct grammar?
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and here’s to a happy 2010!
I was reading a post on Clayton Makepeace’s site and one of the comments jumped out at me. Loren Woirhaye mentioned Googling your name and offered ways to get more exposure and make your name “Google-able”. I Googled myself and while there are others out there with my name, I should have been on the first page somewhere because of this site.
Nope. My Twitter was there, but nothing about Grab More Customers.
Know one reason why?
Because until this moment, my blog posts all showed “Melody” as the author. Not “Melody Brooks”. That’s been changed and we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.
If you want more credibility, make sure you show up on Google. Read Loren’s comment here (go to bottom) for more ideas to make your name “Googleable”.
Some disturbing news from the FTC. Seems that you can now be fined for exercising your right to free speech:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/20/what-to-make-of-ftcs-proposed-paid-post-regulations
I’m still flabbergasted, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s perfectly OK for a cemetery to rip you off because the FTC can’t be bothered to make them follow the same rules funeral homes do…not that they don’t rip you off either, but there are at least some rules.
However, if I’m understanding this correctly (and please set me straight if I’m not), Joe Shmoe has to disclose if he’s helping his brother-in-law get his business up and running, or if he’s getting a free movie ticket for encouraging others to go see a particular movie.
Is a blogged endorsement for a product or service false or misleading because someone is being paid for it? Certainly not. It’s one type of joint venture and businesses do it all the time. It’s one way any smart businessman makes money.
What ever happened to one doing his or her due diligence and the concept of caveat emptor? Or are we so stupid and incompetent we have to have the gubmint take care of us and bubble-wrap us from our own mistakes?
My guess is that somebody got ripped off and knows someone at the FTC.
Color me disgusted. What do you think?
Keyword-rich, informative articles submitted to article directories will increase your visibility on the search engines, making you easier to find. You can write your own articles or hire a writer to create them for you.
Warning #1: You get what you pay for. If you want cheap articles, you’re going to get badly-written articles. Would you write a 500-word article for someone else for $3? If not, don’t expect someone else to do it for you.
Make sure your article writer is a native English speaker and expect to pay at least $3-5 per 100 words. One top-notch article is worth at least 5 bottom-drawer articles. Pay for quality: in the long run it saves you time and money.
We can write high-quality keyword-rich articles for you. Contact us for more information.
Warning #2: Don’t stuff your articles with keywords. Not only will the article directories reject your work, visitors won’t read long enough to figure out what you’re trying to tell or sell them. And most importantly, they won’t visit your site.
2. Catchy Domain Name
Can you think of a better way to make visitors remember your website? Something short and sweet will keep them coming back.
Take your time when you’re deciding on a domain name, and do some keyword research. I chose my domain name after literally days of agonizing over what to call my site. Honestly, for SEO purposes I probably would have done better using something like “XYZ Web Copywriting”, but I liked the sound of “Grab More Customers” — after all, that’s what everybody is trying to do!
3. Organize your site navigation, and make sure you have good tags and keywords
Making your site easy to navigate is one way to improve the flow of traffic to your website. Visitors like sites they can browse easily, and they will return to and recommend sites they like.
Your keywords should be naturally integrated through the site, especially in the title tags (the very top of the screen, in the title bar). You can customize title tags, or have your web developer do it.
Choose your keywords and title wisely. Research what your target market is looking for and determine which keywords they are using to search. One good site for this is spacky.com. You’ll see the number of searches for each keyword and get suggestions for more keywords.
The meta description tag tells the search engines what your site is about. This should be a short description, about 20 words. Again, use keywords as appropriate and don’t stuff.
Low cost SEO can easily land you on the first page of Google or any other search engine. I encourage you to start with these three steps and research SEO online or talk to your website designer or developer. New methods are being tested and used all the time . . . find what works for you, then work it!
It had recently closed its doors “due to the economy”.
Did this closing really have to happen? Was the restaurant an inevitable victim of the recession, or could its failure have been avoided?
I think the latter.
Restaurant owners need to use a little ingenuity when it comes to marketing. No longer can one “hang out the shingle” and expect to do well. Many consumers have limited funds for dining out, and when they do, they want a deal. They don’t want to pay full price.
If you offer them a significant special, they will come to eat. Especially if the message is personalized and comes to their email inbox or mailbox.
The first step is to collect email addresses (snail mail addresses and birthdays also, if possible). Give ‘em a freebie to sign up. Build an email list with an autorresponder like Aweber, and then decide what to offer. Maybe you want to fill up your restaurant at a slow time, say from 6 to 9 on Tuesday night. Or you just want to increase your overall numbers.
Several ways you can do this…
1. A monthly newsletter with discounts good through the month
2. Weekly email blasts with “deal of the week”
3. An ongoing deal at a certain day and time…a “permanent special”, if you will
4. If you collect birthdays, a postcard or email with a coupon good for a free birthday meal
5. Kids eat free at certain times
6. Buy one, get one 1/2 price
7. Buy 2 drinks (usually alcoholic), get reduced-rate meals
8. Free desserts or appetizers
…and so on. The imagination is the only limit here.
This process can work for any business, frankly. It just takes a little thought.
Obviously, it will take time to collect the names, so this may not work if the restaurant is teetering on the edge.
When a prospect sees or hears your ad, he wants to know one thing and one thing only:
“What’s in it for ME?”
If you don’t answer that question–pronto–guess what happens? That ad is tossed, deleted, or ignored.
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see companies make. They’re so busy tooting their horns about how long they’ve been in business, why their products are better than the competition’s, how much they’ve spent on this and that. (Yes, those are all important, but they come later.)
You need to grab your prospect’s attention first. She needs a good reason to keep reading or listening. And the fact that you are located across the street from the library is not a good reason. What can you do for her? Why would she want to do business with you? What pain can you ease or what problem do you solve?
You need to know what you can do for your prospect before you write the first word of your ad copy. You need to understand what would motivate your prospect to buy.
If you don’t know, ASK.
Ask your best customers why they buy from you. Ask past customers why they don’t buy from you now and what you need to do to get them back. A little research now saves a lot of headaches later.
Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes. What pain or problem does he or she have that you can help with? That is what your advertising needs to be about, not how much you’ve invested in your company, blah blah, blah.
Make it about them and you’ll never go wrong.
ASK!
My good friend Michelle Salater has just launched her new company, Sūmèr, LLC. This woman is an incredibly gifted writer and marketer…and I’ll let her tell you about her company herself.
This is from Sūmèr’s website at www.writtenbysumer.com:
“Sūmèr, LLC, specializes in web copy writing, SEO copywriting, and the promotion and marketing of websites after they launch.
Professionally written, optimized copy produces results. When your message is clear, you attract targeted customers, have higher conversions, and rank high in the search engines.
Sūmèr stands for more than effective marketing web copy. Our promotion and marketing services maximize your online exposure, increase sales, and generate a higher return on investment.”
Check Sūmèr out and tell them Grab More Customers sent you.
Your email list is one of the most lucrative resources your business has.
Yet so many businesses don’t do anything with theirs — and I would guess many of them have no idea what to do with those email addresses they collect at the point of sale, other than hold on to them (if they even do that).
Every time I see a site that has good products but no opt-in box, I see dollar signs flying away from the screen. And I’m going to start approaching those business owners and offering my services. Why not?
If a business has just a couple hundred names, they can start pulling gold from that list by sending a "How did you like our product?" email. Or perhaps a "How are you, sorry we haven’t written lately" email. Anything to rekindle the relationship.
But many business owners don’t have time, especially if they’ve had to let employees go. They are likely wearing more hats than they used to, and they need help.
If this is you, please leave a comment or send an email to melody@grabmorecustomers.com and let’s see what we can do to help you grab more sales.
After all, it’s a lot easier to sell to someone who already knows you than it is to sell someone who doesn’t.
Melody
Are you having trouble getting clients to your site – or are they popping in and leaving?
Your website design might be stopping you from getting the traffic you want and ranking high on Google.
If you think this might be the case, you need to join my good friend and mentor, Michelle Salater of Michelle Salater Writing & Editorial, and Nina Menezes, professional web designer and owner of InterDream Designs, for an hour-long, free call on the “Top 5 Website Design Myths” on February 19, 2008 at 8pm Eastern / 4pm Pacific.
You don’t want to miss this call. Michelle and Nina will discuss. . .
- Why your site isn’t ranking #1 in the search engines and how to get it there.
- How your site should look and what you need to make it successful.
- Why your website might be turning off customers and how to avoid it.
- How to get a ton of traffic and turn it into paying customers.
Both Michelle and Nina know what you need to do to have a successful website. You have the best of both worlds – Michelle knows copy, Nina knows design. Michelle’s calls always hand you a ton of great information – and best of all, the call is FREE!
I’ll be there with pen in hand.
Register now at http://webcopywritingqueen.com/designmyths.html
The call is being recorded in case you miss it – but you have to register to get the recording.
P.S. To find out more about Michelle, go to her site at www.mlsalater.com. Nina’s website is www.interdream-designs.com.
