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Company’s Website Busted by Blog Traffic

April 10, 2012 By 6 Comments

“How much blog traffic does your company’s blog receive?”

A blog is an easy way to provide information to current customers and potential customers. It can also:

  • Increase your company’s page rank.
  • Help your company gain media attention.
  • Position your company as the ‘expert’ or ‘go-to’ business within your industry.
  • Increase sales and profits.
  • Assist you with keeping on top of customers concerns, needs, and wants.

Most customers expect businesses to have a blog on their website or a link to a blog. If your company doesn’t have one, it’s time to ask, “Why not?” Taking advantage of blogging is a cost effective marketing tool. Used properly, it can increase company sales and profits.

Boost Your Blog Traffic Today With Three Simple Steps

How to boost blog traffic

Client's Blog Busted by Millions of Visitors Photo by John Evans-Stock Exchange Visit www.thetippingpoint.co.uk

Provide killer content for your target audience.

Customers and potential customers want quick, valuable information that will help them solve whatever problem(s) they have. Give them what they want!

After you’ve polled or surveyed your customers, think about blog topics.

Example … If your company is a graphic and web design firm targeting small businesses, you could have blog posts on the following:

  • How to get your small business noticed with a logo that stands out.
  • How color psychology can boost web traffic.
  • How a redesign of your blog can boost blog traffic.

The next step is to write headlines that stop readers’ in their tracks.

Using the above ‘graphic and web design company’ example above, possible headlines for the blog post topics are:

Company X’s Logo on Billboard Stops Rush Hour Traffic

Company X’s Website Makeover Attracts Celebrity Shoppers

Company X Big Fat Blog Traffic Results in 20 Million Hits

Use short and simple sentences.

Use bold headings and bullet points.

Don’t use industry jargon if your audience won’t understand it.

Tip: Think of writing blog posts like writing screenplays. There’s a beginning (Act I, introduction; plot point or big event), middle (Act II, conflict; arc of the story; midpoint), and end (Act III, the resolution).

Remember, blogging isn’t about your company. It’s about helping your customers solve whatever problems they need solving. Blogging is also a good sales and marketing tool.

Optimize content with SEO.

Search engine optimization or SEO can be both time consuming and a pain in the neck. You want to optimize your blog posts. But on the other hand, you want to provide valuable content to readers. The good news is you can do both. However, I suggest putting more emphasis on content.

You can research keywords using Google AdWords Keyword Tool or another program to find the ‘best’ keywords/phrases for your blog. Select keywords/phrases and test them in blog posts. An “A/B” testing is a good way to analyze traffic to see which blog posts received the most blog traffic.

In addition to using Google Analytics, check out HitsLink. The company provides you with in-depth analysis of your blog/website. Reports are easy to download. In my opinion, HitsLink doesn’t seem as cumbersome to use as Google Analytics.

Find the right ‘tone and voice’ for your blog.

Keep your target audience in mind when you think about tone and voice. Tone is the ‘author’s attitude (or mood) towards a subject. Voice is the personality, point of view, or style of writing. Examples of voice are:

  • Funny
  • Upbeat
  • Serious
  • Trendy
  • Dark
  • Snarky
  • Matter-of-fact

It’s usually recommended that blog posts have a conversational, friendly voice. However, there’s a difference if your blog’s audience is for those in finance organizations vs. parents of toddlers.

Conduct research on what your target audience is reading. See what others are writing in your industry. Test blog posts to see which ones receive the most comments and traffic.

Extra Blog Traffic Tips 

1. Who is your target audience? Are they chefs or stay-at-home moms? If you don’t know ‘who’ your target audience is you can’t provide them with awesome content. This is where newer businesses stumble. They don’t know ‘who’ their target market is.

2. What problems are you solving? What problems do your customers need solving? How do you find out? Take a poll or survey using Survey Monkey, a provider of free online survey solutions. SurveyMonkey offers customers more features with one of their paid subscription plans.

3. Once you know ‘who’ your target audience is build a relationship with them. Or, continue to develop the relationship with a successful blog that provides killer content. Hook visitors with brilliant content, and they’ll come back for more.

Warning! If you use these three simple steps to increase blog traffic, your website could be busted overnight. You have a webmaster in-house, right?

Has your website experienced blog traffic overload? Share.

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50 Email Marketing Words That Scream SPAM

April 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Email marketing can be tricky business if you use words that scream SPAM.

If you don’t want your emails to be deleted, don’t use spam words in your subject lines.

email marketing

email marketing (Photo credit: opportplanet)

This marketing strategy can save you time and money in the long run.

Below is a list of 50 email marketing spam words you don’t want to use.

If you use spam words, your email blasts and newsletters will end up in the “Land of Email Marketing Misfits,” known as the Spam folder.

50 Email Marketing Words That Scream SPAM

  1. Free or F R E E
  2. Buy
  3. As seen on
  4. Urgent!
  5. Make money
  6. Make money online
  7. Make money fast
  8. Extra income
  9. Extra cash
  10. Be your own boss
  11. Affordable
  12. Quote
  13. No hidden fees
  14. No hidden cost
  15. Get out of debt
  16. Get paid
  17. Hello
  18. Dear (fill-in-the-blank)
  19. Increase sales
  20. Increase traffic
  21. Network marketing
  22. Multi-level marketing
  23. Fast
  24. Easy
  25. Lose weight
  26. Weight loss
  27. Thousands
  28. No experience
  29. Off shore
  30. Limited time
  31. Limited time only!
  32. Act now!
  33. Offer expires
  34. Offer expires soon
  35. Don’t wait
  36. Order today
  37. Order now
  38. Bonus
  39. Please read
  40. Guaranteed
  41. Risk free
  42. No obligation
  43. Free quote
  44. Free gift
  45. Compare today
  46. Compare
  47. Risk free
  48. Trial offer
  49. Free sample
  50. Please read

Most email marketing services such as Constant Contact give users the opportunity to check their email blast and newsletter for spam.

A low returns indicates little or no spam. A high return means your email blast or newsletter contains spam words. Ouch!

Before you send out your next email blast or newsletter, make sure it’s not filled with spam words.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes: They’re probably bombarded with emails on a daily basis. They have information overload! Give them a reason NOT to delete, or even worse, put your emails in the spam folder.

Once you end up in the spam folder, you’ll stay there forever. You don’t want your company’s email marketing materials banished to the “Land of Email Marketing Misfits,” also known as the ‘Spam’ folder. Do you?

What spam words do you leave out? Share.

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7 Dust-Busting Ways to Clean and Refresh Your Blog

April 3, 2012 By 1 Comment

Having a blog on your company’s website or linked to your website is a cost effective online marketing tool. It’s important to provide content that will attract visitors, keep them interested, and convert them into customers. Place social media icons on your blog to make sharing easier. Have a conversation on Facebook and Twitter to show followers and fans that your company is interested in what they have to say. Show your care and concern.

Below you’ll find 7 dust-busting techniques that will clean your blog and make it shine again.

How to Clean and Refresh Your Company’s Blog 

Redesign it.

The design implemented three years ago could be out-of-date today. It’s important to stay on top of the latest design trends. Pay attention to the color scheme. A bold color scheme could work for an entertainment business, but not for your medical practice.

Rewrite blog content.

Rewrite or hire a freelance writer/blogger to rewrite old content. This is a great content strategy to breathe new life into your blog. Perhaps, the content is outdated or didn’t make a good first impression when it was originally posted. Perhaps, blog posts weren’t optimized with keywords/phrases.

Rewrites could dramatically increase web traffic.

Tip: A headline on a blog post is just as important as a headline on a print article. You still have to ‘hook’ readers.

Ask questions.

Asking questions at the end of blog posts is a web traffic building strategy that most freelance writers and bloggers use. A question shows visitors that you want to know what they think — your company’s interested in having and maintaining a conversation with them.

Revise the writing style and tone.

What’s the tone of the current blog content? Style and tone can affect blog traffic. This is why it’s important to know ‘who’ the target audience is. For example, if your target audience is marketing directors, the content should be targeted to this audience by incorporating industry jargon and lingo. However, if your target audience is the ‘everyday’ consumer, avoid using industry terms. Your message will become muddled and lost. Customers will gravitate to your competitors’ content because it’s easy to understand.

Change the structure of blog posts.

There are many ways to structure blog posts. The most common way is:

  • Headline
  • Bullet headline
  • Information

However, you don’t have to follow this pattern. Be bold and try something new such as:

  • Headline
  • Quote
  • Information
  • Headline
  • Quote
  • Information

Tips

  • Keep sentences short and to the point.
  • Use bold headlines and bullet points.
  • When it comes to links, use a different color to stand out from the crowd.

Test different structures to see which ones receive the most ‘tweets’ and ‘likes.’ One thing that never changes is that web content must be compelling and interesting.

Post consistently.

How fresh is your company’s blog content? Is it posted consistently? You don’t have to publish a blog post every day; however, choose a schedule that works for your company. Perhaps, you’ll post twice a week or twice a month. Whatever you do, be consistent.

Try new angles.

Types of posts such as “How To” and “Lists” work because they’re fast and easy to read. But, you may want to ‘shake’ things up by publishing a controversial post here and there. If you disagree with your competitors, say so. If you disagree with industry trends, write about it (or have your freelance writer/blogger, write about it). There’s no harm in voicing your opinions. It’s a great way to jump start a conversation.

Use these blog ‘dust busting’ techniques to wipe the slate clean on your company’s blog. Experiment with different types of posts from “How To” to “Tips.” What works? What doesn’t work? Analyze the results to find out which posts had the most visitors and comments. Remember to keep your target market in mind when posting web content. Once your company discovers a strategy that works, stick with it. But don’t ignore new trends either. Stay on top of the ever changing world of blogging.

What are you doing to prevent your blog from collecting dust? Share.

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5 Blog Post Tips to Increase Web Traffic

March 27, 2012 By 3 Comments

Your company may have incorporated a blog on its website or have a blog linked to your company’s website. Your company probably uses social media, hoping it will increase your web traffic, sales, and revenues. Unfortunately, if a blog post (or other web content) isn’t compelling or you don’t have enough posts, your blog will remain stagnant.

Follow the five blog post tips below to increase web traffic.

5 Blog Post Tips to Increase Web Traffic 

 

Content-Content Interaction (Formal)

Content-Content Interaction (Formal) (Photo credit: jrhode)

Select the right primary and secondary keywords/phrases.

You’ve probably heard this a million times already, but it begs repeating. Selecting and optimizing the ‘right’ primary and secondary keywords/phrases for your blog posts can increase web traffic.

To find out which keywords/phrases work for your company, test them by using the “A/B Testing” method.

Select a couple of keywords/phrases and use them within pages and Google AdWords (if you advertise on the web) in addition to blog posts.

Look at the number of clicks and impressions for the keywords/phrases. Which keywords/phrases receive the most clicks and impressions? What are the conversion rates? Knowing this information is useful when your choose keywords/phrases.

Once you have your primary and secondary keywords/phrases, hire a freelance writer, content manager, or social media manager to write your company’s web content, ‘tweets’ and Facebook status updates.

Optimizing ‘tweets’ and Facebook status updates with your keywords/phrases can increase web traffic. Try it today!

Write a blog post in a conversational tone.

Writing for the web is different than writing for print. A blog post should be written using simple and short sentences. If you don’t already use the Flesch-Kincaid method to analyze your blog posts, you may want to consider it.

Flesch-Kincaid Score 

90-100 : Very Easy

80-89 : Easy

70-79 : Fairly Easy

60-69 : Standard

50-59 : Fairly Difficult

30-49 : Difficult

0-29 : Very Confusing

It’s important to write web content that has a score of at least 60 or higher. The higher the number means the web content is easy to read.

Most journalists write newspaper and magazine articles that score a 70 and above. They use simple language to get their point across.

Pay attention to the word count of a blog post.

Most freelance bloggers and freelance writers will tell you a blog post should be 300 words to 700 words. However, I’ve read many blog posts that are over 700 words. Heck! I write blog posts that exceed 700 words.

Tip: About Pages, Bios, and other pages are usually 500 words.

Base the word count on your audience.

Ask a question at the end of a blog post.

If you want to start a conversation, ask a question at the end of a blog post. This is a good way to entice visitors to post comments which begins a dialogue between you and your target market.

You could automate an email response such as, “Thank you for reading our blog. We appreciate it!” However, you may want to answer a few emails personally or have your social media or content manager respond.

Tip: Ask a question or take a poll on your social media networks.

Speaking of responding … Make sure your content manger or social media manager responds to comments. Readers who make thoughtful comments want to know if someone from the company is paying attention to them.

If you receive too many comments (100 or more) you could always close comments.

Bold headlines get attention.

Writing headlines takes patience and practice.  A bold headline will stop readers’ in their tracks — they’ll have to read your web content.

Most copywriters will spend at least 30 minutes or one hour writing the perfect headline. This may seem outrageous, but it really isn’t.

Think about it. How much do you think the writers at top selling magazines earn for writing headlines? I won’t keep you in suspense — they earn a boatload of money! It is worth it to pay writers a high salary if a magazine receives a high ROI.

It’s all about ROI (return on investment). If your company wants to increase their ROI, it’s worth it to pay a copywriter top dollar for writing headlines.

These are some blog post tips that can increase your company’s blog web traffic.

Make sure your freelance writer or staff writer keeps the company’s target audience in mind when writing a blog post.

Writing a blog post is different from writing an editorial article. Most of the time a blog post will be shorter than a 1,000 word print article. However, there are exceptions to the rule. This is why it’s important to know your target audience. Write for them!

What is your biggest challenge with blog posts? Share.

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Freelance Writer Reveals Secrets to Writing Headlines for the Web

March 22, 2012 By 5 Comments

Effective communication is important for both print and web copy writing. The most important aspect of writing is creating an eye-catching headline. A freelance writer who’s skilled in writing for the web understands that it’s important to write headlines that get noticed. It’s also important to optimize a headline for SEO purposes. Below are a freelance writer’s ‘secrets’ to writing a headlines for the web that will grab the attention of readers.

How a Freelance Writer Writes Headlines for the Web 

oDesk Freelancer-RJ Nieto

oDesk Freelancer-RJ Nieto (Photo credit: thumbbook)

Reads tabloid magazines

A freelance writer knows that tabloid magazines have the best headlines which is why they’ll read them. Are you shocked?

Tabloids grab a reader’s attention and don’t let go. This is why they sell! The headlines ‘hook’ a reader and beckons them to read the articles.

Effective communication such as headline that grab’s your target audience’s attention is important when you write for the web.

It’s important to ‘optimize’ a headline with one or two keywords/phrases. The key is to place the primary keyword in front and the secondary keyword at the end. Or, you could just use the primary keyword.

Here’s an example:

Web Content Writers Crash SEO Companies Server for the Second Time

The primary keyword/phrase is ‘Web Content Writers’ and the secondary keyword/phrase is ‘SEO Companies.’

A freelance writer reads Cosmopolitan 

The publishers of Cosmopolitan magazine understand the importance of effective communication. Their writers create headlines that make readers want to read the articles.

They may even shock them. Talk about effective communication!

Some freelance writers have been known to subscribe to Cosmopolitan and other magazines, only to rip-off the front covers and toss the magazines. This is how a freelance writer builds a ‘headline reference’ file. It’s good for those days when a writer needs help or inspiration to write a headline.

Reads blogs

A good freelance writer reads other blogs. They pay attention to a bloggers writing style to see what attracts readers to a blog.

Effective communication is highly important when a freelance writer writes for the web. Readers want quick information that’s helpful.

In order to grab their attention, a write must create a headline that makes readers stop what they’re doing. Of course, converting them to a customer is another goal as well.

Continues their freelance writing education

A good freelance writer continues their freelance writing education by doing the following:

  • Attending writer’s conferences and workshops
  • Enrolling in writing classes
  • Reading books about freelance writing
  • Networking with other freelance writers
  • Enrolling in communication classes such as public speaking

Specialize in Freelance writing

You may be surprised (or not) to discover a freelance writer began their writing career as a journalist. It’s not unusual for a newspaper or magazine writer to transition into a freelance writing career.

They’re used to meeting or turning in work ahead of time (deadlines increase, it happens) and understand the importance of writing for a targeted audience. A ‘good’ freelance writer can adjust their writing style to ‘fit’ your company’s audience. Of course, they can write headlines that get noticed!

Now you know the secrets a freelance writer uses to write headlines for web content.

What challenges does your company face when it comes to writing headlines? Share.

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