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4 Characteristics Your Freelance Writer Must Possess

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Content reigns as the internet king – but who is helping you build your online business kingdom?  While many would like to become your freelance writer squire, not all word-wielders are created equal.  Before you give any freelance writer a dubbing ceremony, make sure the powers of her pen will maximize your website’s branding, exposure, and revenue potential.

Solidify Your Specific Content Needs

Before you begin your search for a freelance writer, take a moment to reflect upon your content needs.  The more you fully understand your content aspirations, the more precisely you can hone your quest in finding the perfect freelance writer.  There are two overarching elements to consider in your content planning process:

How to Evaluate Freelance Writers

With your branding style and content goals in mind, you can begin reviewing prospective freelance writers.  Keep in mind that most freelance writers specialize in a particular genre or niche, ranging from fiction to SEO web content.  Choosing the right freelance writer means hiring one whose specialty is in line with your specific needs.

The right freelance writer can be a powerful addition to your online kingdom’s round table.  By choosing an ideal wordsmith, you can tap into the powerful potential of the internet and maximize your bottom line.

3 Ways to Communicate Better Online

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Communication is more than a line of nouns, verbs, and adjectives strung together with punctuation.  Instead, communication should be focused on achieving a goal, whether it is eliciting an emotional response or enlightening the reader with interesting information.

The power of written prose is especially important online, where you do not have body language, voice tones, and facial expressions upon which to rest your communication laurels.  With this in mind, there are three time-tested strategies that can certainly help you and your business communicate better online.

Trust that Your English Teacher was Right about W/C

Your English teacher’s red pen was right – at least about the dreaded editing abbreviation, w/c, otherwise known as word choice.  Passive and bland words are not sufficient online, where the reader’s attention is easily swayed by millions of competing websites.  Instead, you should always look for more powerful alternatives.  Is the sweater you are selling light blue in color, or is it a Hawaiian teal?  Do you want your customer to “shop at our spring sale,” or “enjoy discounts up to 50% at our spring sale extravaganza?”  To communicate better, the first step is to choose words that are powerful, create an image in the reader’s mind, and deliver your message.

Communicate with the Finish Line in Sight

In business, the success of your communication is measured by the numbers of increased sales and revenues.  With this in mind, it is critical to ensure that your freelance writer or SEO writer completely understands the goals you wish the content to achieve.  Are you attempting to garner trust and authority in the industry?  Would you like to convert visitors into paying customers?  Is your goal to cement your clients’ brand loyalty?  These goals are each served by very distinct types of content.  To communicate better, you must understand your goal and convey it clearly to your freelance writer or SEO writer.

Speak Only to Busy People

Internet users are notorious for their short attention spans.  With the incredible plethora of information available online, it is no surprise that internet visitors are finicky and have expectations of finding the content they need instantaneously.

To communicate better with online users, you must speak with a busy person in mind.  Would you elaborate painstaking details to a busy CEO?  How long would your elevator pitch to a Wall Street broker be?  Keep your online content concise, and you will capture the attention of the internet user.  Make use of sub-headings, lists, and bullet points, and you make the busy internet visitor’s reading task even easier.

The websites that communicate better than their competitors understand the psychological power of word choice, the importance of driving home their end goal, and the short attention span of internet users.  With these perspectives in your arsenal, it’s time for your content to communicate better.

Secrets from a SEO Writer: 3 Ways to Improve Your Backlinks

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

In the SEO pie, backlinks take up many slices of importance.  As the primary method in which Google differentiated the quality of its search results from its competitions in the early dotcom days, backlinks are particularly utilized by Google to determine the legitimacy, relevancy, and authority of a particular website.

How can you, dedicated webmaster and business owner, improve the strength of your website’s backlinks?   Before you embark upon your link building campaign, keep in mind that quality should always be first and foremost.  For example, a dozen quality backlinks are much stronger for your SEO endeavors than thousands of PR 0 or PR 1 links.

With that said, there are three legitimate strategies that you can utilize to enhance the strength of your backlinks.

Befriend the Social Networks

Web 2.0 has been a godsend for link building campaigns.  Each time an article or blog post on your website gets submitted to the social networks, you enjoy a backlink to your website.  The more people that vote, “Digg” or “Stumbleupon” your content, the stronger the results for both your traffic and SEO efforts.

However, with so many webmasters and publishers submitting content to the social networks, how can your website rise to the top – or rather, the front page of social networks?   The answer lies within the catchphrase “linkbait.”  There is no fishing or phishing involved in this strategy, but only interesting, catchy content that will garner the short attention spans of the average social network user.  Have your freelance SEO writer compose a piece that is controversial, highly resourceful, creative, or funny to increase the chances of sitting on the front page of the social networks.

Be Generous with Your Knowledge

If you have niche experience or unique knowledge, then sharing your wisdom can reap rewards for your SEO efforts.  You can publish a white paper, “how to” article series, or a report that others can download for free.  Bloggers and publishers in your industry will be keen to offer value to their readers – meaning that they are looking to link to interesting, unique information.

Even if writing is not your forte, you can convey a list of ideas to your freelance writer, who can compose the prose that will garner you the industry backlinks you seek.

Lean on the Traditional Article Directories

Last but not least, the traditional article directories are still a reliable source of generating backlinks to your website.  While there are literally thousands of article directories today, submitting your content to ones that have high Page Ranks will build powerful one-way backlinks to your website.  Remember to hyperlink your important keywords in the resources box to maximize the SEO impact of article directory submissions, rather than simply listing the URL.

By taking advantage of these legitimate strategies, you can indeed have your SEO cake and eat it too!

Blogging for Branding: How to Blog Your Way into the Heart of Your Customers

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

From Coca-Cola and GM to Southwest Airlines and Marriott, companies everywhere are jumping on the blogging bandwagon.  In fact, 60 Fortune 500 companies publish blogs on their websites.  Even Martha Stewart is blogging!

Reach Out and Virtually Touch Your Customers

Blogging continues to be a very powerful branding strategy, one that may be even more promising than advertising campaigns.  What other medium gives you direct, unadulterated contact with your customers?  TV, radio, print, and even PPC ads all feature one-way communication.  In contrast, through the prose penned on a company blog, you can connect with your customers on a personal level, giving your target audience a chance to comment and provide feedback.

In addition, blogging is a powerful and affordable way to reinforce your branding strategy.   For example, Southwest Airlines’ “Nuts about Southwest Blog” publishes humorous, personality-infused posts about new events and corporate culture that continue to extend its quirky branding strategy, while simultaneously connecting on a personal level with passengers.

With the branding benefits of blogging (no alliteration intended), how can you market and maximize the impact of your company’s blog? 

Steer Clear of Advertising

While it may seem counterintuitive, you should not use your blog posts as an opportunity to advertise – at least, blatantly.  Instead, the most successful corporate blogs provide interesting value and personal insight.  For example, in a recent entry, Bill Marriott blogged about how the recession is impacting Marriot Hotels and what all companies can do to effectively cut costs to stay profitable.  Coca-Cola’s historian Phil Mooney shares interesting tidbits of information about the beverage company’s illustrious past.  Martha Stewart becomes even more endearing when she shares photos of her kitchen and the adventures of her adorable French bulldogs.

The common thread that runs through all of these corporate blogs is that they are not utilizing the platform to blatantly advertise or toot their own proverbial horn.  Instead, through sharing personal insights and interesting information, they are building brand affinity, a strategy that allows the customer to feel a deeper connection with the company.

With brand affinity created through your blog posts, you don’t need to vulgarly advertise.  For example, if you read Bill Marriott’s post about the fact that he is personally cutting 75% of his 2009 salary to minimize the number of employees that need to be laid off, wouldn’t you want to naturally make a reservation at a Marriott Hotel because you feel a personal connection with Bill?   Or if you read Southwest Airline’s blog and have been keeping track of flight attendants Jodi and Christie on The Amazing Race, wouldn’t you feel inclined to click the “ding” button on the right sidebar to make a reservation?   None of these blogs blatantly promote their businesses, but the subtle, humanizing connection translates into a healthier bottom line.

Whether you compose your own blogging prose or hire a freelance writer to express your thoughts, one fact is certain: your corporate blog can lead you right into the hearts and pocketbooks of your customers!

The Top 4 Reasons Websites Fail

Friday, February 27th, 2009

As a webmaster, you suffer from a 90% probability that your website will fail.   Popular statistics estimate that 9 out of 10 new websites close their proverbial web doors every year.  While poor business acumen can be blamed, there are several other reasons why so many webmasters’ dreams are virtually shattered each year.

Paucity of Content

Too many websites have failed because of a sheer lack of content.  Without content, how will the search engines index your website?  What will visitors read and see once the flashy intro has concluded?

The only adage that has stayed relevant since the birth of the internet through Web 2.0 days is “content is king.”  While other SEO strategies have come and gone, the value of content cannot be understated.

Publishing useful, valuable content serves two strategies: establishing your website’s validity in your visitors’ eyes and harnessing the power of SEO.  An abundance of original, unique content remains a foremost factor for improving your Page Rank and search results.  To aid in your endeavors, you can always hire an affordable SEO content writer, which is an investment that will certainly pay dividends in the future.

Virtual Staleness

You would never visit a bakery should its goods be stale.  Your website is no different!  If your website remains stale, without fresh content or regular updates, what reason would visitors have to return to your website?  Even more importantly, why would the search engines return to index your website if nothing ever changes?  After all, even spiders don’t like stale goods.

Your website is an entity that is constantly evolving.  Just like you can’t give birth to a baby and never parent the child again, you cannot simply launch your website without regularly shaping its growth.  To make your life as a parenting webmaster easier, you can always hire a “babysitter,” or SEO content writer, to add fresh articles to your website that will help it grow.

Remember, the more regularly you update your website with meaningful content, the more frequently the search bots will visit – translating into more indexed pages and improved search results.

Sluggish Communication

Too many websites fail because the webmasters cannot manage timely communication.  If you do not respond to your emails and messages promptly, then you can essentially wish regulars visitors farewell.   In a world where nine out of ten websites die, visitors will correlate the speediness of your communication with whether or not your website is “alive.”

The internet is open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.  In a lighting-speed environment, everyone expects timely communication.  Promptly manage your inbox and messages, and you will be able to develop a rapport that will lead to return visitors.

Weak Keyword Choice

Keywords act as road signs that guide visitors into your website.   In today’s competitive web environment, however, there are millions of billboard signs competing for the same traffic.

To direct visitors to your property, you must ensure that your keywords are powerful and effective road signs for your website.  The more specific you can be, the more effectively you can reach your target audience.  There is tremendous competition amidst today’s saturated web environment, and you want to ensure that you are not needlessly competing for general keywords that may not generate increased traffic to your website.

For example, if your website will sell couture ladies foot apparel, then you do not want to simply optimize for the generic keywords of shoes, sandals, and sneakers.  Instead, you want to focus your keywords based upon how your high-end target audience searches for the latest designer shoes.  In your keyword research, consider what your typical client would type into the search engine, such as “Christian Louboutin pumps,” “Jimmy Choo sandals,” or even “wedding shoes.”  These keywords are much more effective than simply attempting to compete for rankings for the generic keywords of “shoes” and “sandals.”

Capitalize upon smart keywords, fresh and extensive SEO content, and responsive customer support to catapult your online presence into the 10% of websites that DO succeed every year!

Three Ways to Develop Customer Loyalty via Content Development

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Simply because your customers are tightening their purse strings does not force you to loosen customer loyalty.   With the appropriate content development strategies, you can strengthen your customer relations and bottom line.

Most successful businesses see 80% of their revenues derived from 20% of their loyal customers, and keeping a customer is exponentially more affordable than attempting to attract new ones.  With that said, consider incorporating these three content development strategies to cement your profitable customer loyalty bonds.

Ensure Your Content Development Brings Pocketbook Value

In a time where consumers are only spending on the necessities, it is important that your content clearly highlights how much value your products and services bring to their pocketbooks.

For example, if you sell beauty products online, then your content development should resoundingly show how much value the purchase yields to the client.  Your content development copy could read, “Our luxurious algae mask rivals the ingredients found in high-end spas.  Bring this indulgent mask home at a fraction of the cost of visiting a spa, and you have enough nutritious ingredients to enjoy 15 home facials.  Save the $1,000 you would have spent at the spa, and instead indulge yourself again and again in the privacy of your own home for only $50.”

By clearly demonstrating the value of your products, including how much you can help your clients “save,” you can develop further customer loyalty – and of course, additional sales.

Highlight Creative Repurposing Ideas in Your Content Development

Encouraging a customer to purchase from you becomes easier if you can show how many purposes your products can fill.  Be very creative in your content development process and think outside of the cardboard box.

If you sell laptop carrying cases, for example, begin to explore other uses your products may fill.  For example, could you cater to working mothers, showing them how your laptop bags can carry both their work documents and their babies’ necessities?  Or could your laptop cases be repurposed into the perfect camera equipment tote, allowing photographers to enjoy two uses from one product?

Use your item descriptions as an opportunity to show clients exactly how many uses they can enjoy from your products.  Incorporating this content development strategy will prompt customers to see your products in a more valuable light.  In addition, they will most likely appreciate your creative and helpful suggestions, which again, will lead to future customer loyalty.

Involve Your Customers in Your Business

Human beings naturally want acceptance, recognition, and appreciation.  If your company can meet these psychological needs, then you will enjoy lifelong customer loyalty.  While there are a myriad of ways to fulfill your customers’ needs, one easy way is to involve them in your business.

For companies that publish a regular blog on their website, you can easily involve your customers and build their lifelong loyalty.  In your content development process, think about how you can encourage your customers to participate in your business.  For example, you can ask customers to send in pictures of them using your products, and you can feature one client each week on the blog.   Hold a competition on the blog, where your customers submit different ideas on how they have repurposed your products.  The customers with the best ideas enjoy a $10 gift certificate to your website, and you are also left with an arsenal of ideas to include in your product descriptions’ content development.

Reciprocity is an innate psychological reaction, and you can build your customer loyalty by clearly demonstrating how steadfast you are towards their needs and feedback.

Customer loyalty is the bread and butter of every business.  Use these content development strategies and see your bottom line rise.

How Entrepreneurs Can Weather the Recessionary Storm

Friday, December 19th, 2008

While the debate for bailing out the hegemonic players on Wall Street rages, what shall become of the small businesses on Main Street?   As the automakers receive attention for the 250,000 employees in their guard, what will befall small businesses, who, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, employ more than 50% of all American workers?

Entrepreneurs Left on Dry Shores – Yet Again

The sad and unfortunate truth is that small business owners are left to their own devices, once again.  In the land of golden opportunity, the only entrepreneurs that achieve the American dream are those who build upon their own bootstraps instead of fancy IPOs, historical bail-out packages, and costly lobbyists – and in 2009, this same story shall prevail.   Never mind that the Small Business Administration reported that companies with less than 500 employees account for nearly 80% of all new jobs.  Forget the fact that millions of small businesses also require credit to continue operating.   Without loud lobbyists, the cries of small business fall to the wayside amidst the deafening bear trampling of all those on Wall Street.

Navigating Your Small Business into Profitable Waters

With the clear understanding that the government is only sheltering corporations with publically traded NYSE and NASDAQ symbols, how can entrepreneurs and small business owners weather the recessionary storm?  The umbrella that will protect the bottom line in 2009 will be internet exposure.   Reaching customers across economic and global lines, the internet can expand your client base much wider than even the busiest Main Street.  Considering that most of your existing customer base will be reducing their spending budgets, it is simultaneously important that you diversify and ideally expand your potential pool of clients.

However, with nine out of 10 small business owners surveyed by Microsoft adCenter fearful that PPC would prove too expensive, which online advertising strategy proves wise in this economy?  Indeed, the power of SEO comes to the rescue once again.  An abundance of studies demonstrate that the vast majority of internet users prefer to click on organic search results, instead of PPC ads – which bodes well for you, the savvy webmaster and entrepreneur, because SEO is much more cost-effective than paying for advertising.  While the adage, “content is king,” continues to hold its crown in SEO, there are creative strategies you can employ to further harness the power of content to benefit your bottom line:

While small businesses may not have seven-figure marketing budgets found in publically-traded corporations, entrepreneurs do have the creativity and resourcefulness that trump Fortune 500 companies.    Staying in profitable waters in this tumultuous economic storm means fully maximizing the potential profits the internet can bring to your bottom line.

Psychology 2.0: Three Ways Your Content Can Tap Into Consumer Minds

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Webmasters who wield the powerful sword of content reign king in the online realm.  However, not all content is created equal, and to tap into the minds of consumers, it is important that your freelance writer is crafting psychologically powerful prose.  With this in mind, there are three important guidelines that should shape any freelance writer’s repertoire.

Avoid Negative Verbiage

The human mind is unable to process negative images.  Can you imagine not feeling an emotion, or not seeing an image?  For example, when you read the phrase, “do not fall down the stairs,” your mind automatically pictures yourself falling down the stairs – and then negates this image.  Nonetheless, the negative image has already made an impression on your mind.

Research shows that consumers enjoy interacting with companies and websites that are positive and upbeat.  If your content psychologically creates a negative image, this does not bode well for your reader’s sub-conscious impressions.  Subsequently, a versed freelance writer will ensure that your content strikes a chord with the reader through positive impressions, instead of negative images.

Understand the Formula E > L

At our very core, human beings are emotional creatures.  If your emotions are engaged in a heated battle against logic, the former will win.  Human beings are governed by emotion, despite logic’s endeavors.  Therefore, if your freelance writer can trigger emotional chords with your reader, this translates into powerful content for your website. 

Tap into Psychological Similarity

By our very nature, humans automatically feel a rapport with others who are similar to them.  This truth is evidenced by the prevalence of cliques and social groups that dress alike, work in similar professions, live in the same neighborhoods, and share identical interests.  Inherently, we like others who we feel are just like us.

To capitalize upon this psychological factor, your freelance writer’s content should identify with the reader.  Throughout the content, there should be elements that help the reader relate with your website and company.  Make the reader feel an affinity through similarity, and your website becomes deeply compelling.

Hiring a freelance writer who understands these subtle psychological motivators translates into powerful content for your website.  By tapping into a consumer’s psychology, you can motivate them into accomplishing your desired goal, whether it is to purchase products or become a dedicated reader.

Are Customers Confused by Your Article Marketing Efforts?

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Have you ever looked over a glossy magazine advertisement and found yourself unable to find the company tagline?  Or, have you driven down the freeway, blinded by a vibrant billboard – only to pass by not knowing who paid for the advertisement?  The only responses these advertisements elicit are confusion, followed by laughter at the advertising firm and freelance writer responsible for the senselessness.

Cleary, these advertisements were a tremendous waste of money, and as a self-respecting business owner, you would never subject yourself to such ROI mockery.  If this is the case, why are you not maximizing the power of the resource box for your article directory submissions?

Are you committing an online advertising sin?

Too many webmasters and business owners fail to realize the critical real estate an article directory’s resource box provides.  Committing business-savvy sin, many webmasters simply throw a URL in the article’s resource box, or compose a biography that is drier than the Sahara.

If you find that your directory articles are not funneling in the level of traffic you would like, then it may be time to revamp your resource box.   As freelance writers who are highly specialized in creating content for article directory submissions, we are happy to compose a powerful resource box that attracts your target audience.  With that said, should you choose to embark upon this process on your own, there are several important aspects to incorporate in creating a resource box that maximizes your article directory presence.

Three ways to maximize your article directory submissions’ power

Benefit the reader: Attracting a reader to your website means enticing them with benefits.  Although these may not be tangible, wording them in a beneficial manner will sub-consciously trigger the reader to click on your website.

Do you have articles or case studies published on your website?  Or will you be giving away a free white paper or ezine?  Encourage the reader to expand their knowledge base through visiting your site and enjoying these giveaways.  Even if you only have product descriptions and sales copy, ask your freelance writer to make even this content sound compelling.  For example, if your website simply has product descriptions of cell phones, your freelance writer could write, “Learn how the right cell phone can reduce your risk of brain cancer by visiting our website today.”  Providing the reader with a clearly defined benefit will prompt them to take advantage of the opportunity and visit your site.

Incorporate your branding: You should view your article directory submissions as another arm of your strategic marketing efforts, and therefore, you want to ensure that your branding is cohesive across all your advertising mediums.

At the close of the resource box, feel free to include a “soft sell” or tagline for your company – which ideally will tie back into the “benefits” portion of your resource box.

Touching back upon the cell phone website, an effective tagline that brings together both the beneficial and branding elements could be, “Dedicated to saving consumers money and protecting their health, Mr. Cell Phone evaluates all products with a meticulous eye for quality and safety.”

Include SEO details: Article directories are an excellent online marketing tool, especially when it relates to SEO.  Indeed, you enjoy the back link derived from the article directory, but you can take the SEO benefits one step further by hyper-linking the keyword in question.  Therefore, if you want to boost your website’s ranking for “cell phone reviews,” you should hyper-link that particular keyphrase with an appropriate URL.  From a SEO perspective, this is more powerful than simply listing the URL to your website.

The resource box should not be viewed as an opportunity to toot the author’s horn, nor should it be an empty space filled with one lonely URL.  Instead, take advantage of article marketing to build your branding, traffic, and SEO.  In addition, you will never have to worry about other webmasters and business owners laughing at your “advertisement” that neglected to include a tagline.

Content is Presidential – Obama Enjoys Online Advantage against McCain

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Presidential campaigns have been won or lost throughout the simple power of mass media.  John F. Kennedy’s charismatic TV presence is credited for wining him the election against Richard Nixon, while Ronald Reagon’s acting experience bode well for his all-American character portrayed through the silver screens.    In 2008, Obama may win the presidential race through his popularity online – easily symbolized by the incredibly viral video “I got a crush…on Obama” that has been played over 100 million times.

In the 2008 election, internet content is quickly replacing the power of television appearances in determining our country’s future leader.  In fact, according to research conducted by the PEW Internet and American Life Project, 46% of Americans utilize Internet content to obtain information regarding the presidential race.   More than 35% of Americans watched political videos online, tripling this PEW bellwether since the 2004 election.

Understanding the value of internet exposure, Obama has become a forefront runner in utilizing the web to rally his supporters.  The use of social networks, online video, and user-generated content in favor of Obama has given him a strong online edge against McCain – meaning that the Web 2.0 icons of content may play a large role in determining who the next American president is.  Is it only a coincidence that 74% of Obama’s internet-using supporters obtained their political news online, while only 57% of Clinton’s did?

We know that content is king in building your presence online.  However, with the 2008 presidential elections in mind, is content now presidential?  The talking heads and freelance writers are saying yes.

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