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How Important Is It For Copywriters To Have An Agency Quality Website?
November 22, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
Over the years, I’ve had several copywriters ask me how important it is to have an “agency quality” website. My answer is always the same: it’s very important if you are prospecting other than locally.
When you prospect locally, the client can meet you personally. But when you prospect nationally, your website, “telephone” personality, and marketing materials form the basis of your prospective client’s impression of you.
Fortunately, it’s not difficult to find a designer/webmaster who can help you build a high quality site at a reasonable cost. And some of my students do a very nice job of creating a quality site themselves.
Because I’ve found national prospecting to be far more profitable than working with local business, I encourage my coaching students to prospect nationally (and sometimes internationally), and create a website that supports a sophisticated positioning.
What, exactly, constitutes an “agency quality” website?
Here are five pointers for creating a website that convinces quality clients that you are the right copywriter for them (plus two common mistakes to avoid):
1. Make sure your website has a “you” orientation. The Home page should not talk about “you” except in the context of what you can offer a client.
2. Have a “unique selling proposition” (USP), or positioning statement. Why are you “the best” choice? Do you serve a particular niche? Are you an expert at some important element of copywriting (e.g., offer development, headlines, concepting, etc.)? Make sure your USP “shines through” on your Home page.
3. View your entire site as a lead-generating tool. If you write a direct response package, you first try to get your prospect into the envelope. Once inside, you attempt to lead your prospect through the package, with the end destination the reply card or order device.
Use the same principle in designing your website and its navigation. Always send your prospect to the “contact me” page, or the page where you offer more information. As with any lead-generation effort, your only goal is to get your website visitor to respond.
4. Create an offer, and offer it on your website. Unlike general advertising, direct marketing is defined by the offer. If you don’t have an offer, you’re not employing the most fundamental rule of marketing, and it will cost you responses.
5. Pay attention to look and feel. Copywriters have the right and responsibility to make sure the end product produces leads or sales.
This means that the copywriter should offer the art director some level of direction on look and feel (without overstepping bounds, of course).
A clean, well-organized website that exhibits a “professional finish” will offer a sophisticated client some level of assurance that contacting you will not be a waste of their time.
What NOT to do on your website:
First and foremost, don’t “preach to the choir.” Because the world of copywriting is new to new copywriters, they have a tendency to “tell what they know” on their website.
But a quality client (usually mid-size to large companies and organizations), doesn’t want to know why copywriting will help him. He already knows that, even if he doesn’t know how to write copy himself.
What he’s looking for is validation that you could be the right copywriter for him.
Websites that attempt to “teach” generally attract clients who need teaching (oftentimes small business with a low appreciation of what good copywriting can do for them, and an even lower threshold for paying reasonable fees).
The second mistake I see is mentioning price on the Home page (or anywhere in the site, for that matter).
Quality clients do not put price first, and any discussion of price usually comes after the copywriter has a complete picture of the marketing problem that needs to be solved.
Not long ago, one of my coaching students complained that his prospects seemed fixated on price. After going to his website I noticed that his Home page positioned him as more attractively priced than other copywriters.
This positioning inadvertently created a USP based on “low price” — something we copywriters should always avoid.
Bringing up the subject of price on your website will actually cause your prospect to put it front and center. Best to let pricing discussions occur “naturally” in the process of landing a job.
Web Copywriting, What You Need to Know
November 21, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
Within this article on Web copywriting, we will look at copywriting in general and how to succeed in this particular niche of copywriting. Copywriting is a growing field but some of the greatest growth is coming in the niche of Web copywriting.
There is a great deal of demand for Web copywriting today as more and more people realize the importance of good web content. This is critical for two reasons and explains why there is such a demand for Web copywriting.
1. The first reason is that there are more than 4 billion web pages out there according to Google and this number continues to grow in leaps and bounds every day. With such a large number of web pages, it is very hard for your website to get noticed if you’re writing average content that no one wants to read.
2. The second reason that is important to have good web content is that it will give you a better chance at having your website indexed. The way that websites are indexed is that search engines have search bots go through and find different web sites. The search bots analyze the page and look for particular keywords.
3. To truly know what you should write when developing a website, you need to have some knowledge of Web copywriting. There are many different factors that go into getting your website indexed and noticed by the search bots so this is where experience in this arena can greatly help.
4.If you have experience in Web copywriting, you will find that you will have a great deal work available for you. You can write Web content for websites as well as sales letters and other types of marketing materials for websites.
5. In addition to the reasons that you must write good web content, this content must also be easy to read for your prospective audience so that the traffic driven to a client’s website can be converted into sales.
6.Web copywriting will continue to grow in leaps and bounds due to the difficult nature of this task. You must work to get your website noticed by both search engines as well as human audiences. This is a difficult task because you’re writing for two audiences as opposed to one and making sure that you can sell at the same time.
Hopefully this article and Web copywriting has given you some good information if you are thinking about going into this field. There are a great deal of opportunities and it is a very flexible and high-paying occupation due to the fact that you can work from around the world if you have an Internet connection.
You’ll want to take some time to read more about the field so you have a better grasp of how you should write for people. Any person can write Web content but it takes a strong copywriter to write content that can sell as well as get indexed. This is a field which will take a great deal of time to learn so be sure to expand your Web horizons as well as you can.
Ronald Piper is an online researcher who publishes new information on specialized topics. He provides daily, relevant information on your favorite interests. To view more articles related to this particular subject, please visit his website at:ronaldpiper.com
What Do I Need To Do To Start Marketing My Business On The Internet?
November 19, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
Many people are daunted by effective custom web design, site optimization, internet marketing, seo, etc. How can you blame them? There are so many so called “experts” out there spouting off the latest internet tripe. With just a little research, you soon discover that these experts are usually hawking some business opportunity or selling software. So, we’re going to divest the entire process of it’s mysticism and make it as plain as possible.
Here’s what you’ll need to market your business effectively on the internet. The first thing you’ll need is a great website. This is not the area where you want to play it cheap. Do not design your own website! Unless you’re a graphic designer, you’re probably not as artistic as you think that you are. Hire a good web design company. Think about it. The first contact that many prospective customers may have with your business are you marketing materials such as your web site. A well designed web site should educate, instill confidence and trust in potential customers and above all is A SALES OR CLOSING TOOL. This can not be emphasized enough. It should not merely be a pretty online brochure. It’s purpose to either directly or indirectly close business for you. Period. Make sure you check around on the internet and observe your competitors websites before deciding on the design of your site. A good design company will help you with this. Study the design elements and features of the most successful companies in your industry. Do searches to determine which of their sites get top rankings in the search engines. Also, look for opportunities to innovate to make your website even better than theirs. Make it clear what you want from your website to your web design company.After your site is constructed, the next thing that you need is for your site to be optimized. Site optimization consists of selecting the right keywords and then imbedding those meta keywords and phrases in the pages and links of your site, installing site maps, doing link exchanges, installing robots and analytics, tying in blogs and article directories, posting articles, and more. This makes your website search engine friendly and helps to get you higher rankings in the search results. Make sure your design company is experienced at this. Some designers are just so eager to get the business that they’ll claim to know more than what they actually do. Do not bypass the site optimization step and just try to submit your site to the search engines. All that will happen is that no one will ever be able to find it.The last component is actually internet marketing or promoting your site. One popular way is submitting your optimized website to the search engines. There are literally thousands to choose from. However, the majority of searches are done through: Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN. A study conducted by Berrier Associates shows that of people who spend five or more hours a week online, they average an astounding 71% of their time searching for information. Other research shows that the most common method of finding a website is through search engines. Google powers over 70% of all searches and is the trendsetter for algorithm creation. Therefore, search engine marketing is of paramount importance.Some search engines are free and others you pay for. A good SEO company can advise on which search engines work best for you. By applying just these simple strategies, you will be well on your way to getting good results from your internet marketing.
From The Minds Of Wharton
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Outsourcing: How to Make Money Without Going to Meetings and Seminars
November 12, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
In the past more companies have outsourced many of the functions of customer service and other aspects of their business. Oftentimes what is overlooked is the opportunity to make money without computer skills by outsourcing your Internet business needs as well. Here are a few ways you can do that.
In this example we are going to use blogging as a way to make money. I want to show you how you can do this without any computer skills at all.
1. The first thing you will need to outsource is setting your blog up. Did you know that for less than $100 you can have a professional blog set up and running to make you money.
Today blogging platforms such as WordPress offer any Internet business an excellent way to get an online presence very quickly. You may want to pay someone to set up your blog. It takes the stress off of you.
2. Affiliate marketing is a great way to monetize your blog. Most Online Programs offer excellent images that you can add to your blog.
The nice thing about affiliate marketing is the merchants will collect the money and ship the product for you. You earn a commission for doing this.
Another thing you can do is offer a home business opportunity as your product itself. The company that you represent will provide you with marketing materials that you can add to your blog. Again you can outsource that and have your blog builder add the graphics for you.
3. Content on your blog is most important for the search engines. You can always leverage your time by hiring a blog writer. Over time the fresh content will be more valuable and worth many times over what you payed someone to write them for you. The key to blogging is to social bookmark your blog post and some writing companies will provide this service as well.
4. One of the fastest ways to get people to your website is to create back links in your blog or website. You can hire people to post comments in other people’s blogs and create back links this way. You can also hire someone to post in discussion forums and brand yourself as an expert on the products you promote.
There is much more than we can write on the subject of outsourcing to make money without computer skills. The point is there are people who will do things for you online and do it at a reasonable price. Your lack of computer skills does not have to stop you from building a successful Internet business.
Bill Bettler is a full time Online Enterprenuer who has been helping individuals make money from the comfort of their own home for the past year.
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Pay Per Click Firm | The Beauty Of Organic!
November 10, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
What was the last movie that you watched? Do you remember who referred it to you? Did you look up reviews online? Did you ask around for personal reviews?
Understanding organic traffic is based upon the same principal. If done correctly, your leads will be highly targeted and loyal.
Here are the “Top Reasons We Fail At Prospecting For Our Home Based Businesses”
1.)Your “warm market” is actually cold. Stop handing out marketing materials to those who are not interested.
2.)Keep your word. Call when you say your going to call. Get to every meeting early!
3.)Keep a group. Even Jesus had 12 disciples he discussed ideas with and taught new methods to.
4.)Learn the lingo. Understand your prospects needs as an individual, then provide solutions.
5.)Market correctly. Take the time to write articles and make videos for your target audience.
6.) Use article publishers to relay information to your clients. Instead of creating a landing page, snap a Squidoo page in place and email it to your clients.
7.)Understand your skill determines progress. If you didn’t close a prospect it’s not their fault, it’s yours. Before you waste time, practice your lines until they become your own!
8.)Serious success! Keep yourself focused by parting from non producing acts during your work day.
The beauty of organic traffic is that it can be generated for free and with a little hard work and consistency you can establish yourself as a successful well rounded internet marketer. Just like anything else worth attaining, there is a skill which needs to be developed first and the easiest way to go about this is to “Just Do It.” You don’t need to know all the answers now but you do need to start the never ending journey now and take action as there is no destination. When your green your growing; when your ripe your rotten.
Any successful internet marketer can tell you that understanding your own mind is a huge step in progress.
Your mind can create the most outlandish stories and make you believe they are reality. It is a powerful tool! Feed your mind with positive information and keep influential individuals around you at all times.
Harvard University did a study of influence and the formula stated, “Take the 5 people you spend the most time with and add up their annual incomes then divide that number by 5, that is about what your either making presently or capable of making with that influence around you.” This is a powerful formula, one which all successful people must adhere to in order to create wealth. It’s a natural law and that law is called, “Law Of Attraction.”
Robert Kiyosaki states, “The most valuable piece of real estate in the world is in between your ears.” This statement in itself is so powerful.
These tips have aided me in prospecting correctly and I hope they aid you. When you can get past yourself and start to understand it really is all about the highly targeted lead. Your marketing endeavors will become much easier.
Justin Verrengia is the author of the “How To Create A Successful Campaign From Start To Finish” blog, and articles about personal growth as well as network marketing. To view more great free tips visit his blog at: How To Create A Successful Campaign From Start To Finish
5 Steps to Abundant Web Traffic and Backlinks Using News Popularity Sites
November 3, 2009 by IBI · Leave a Comment
Social media news popularity sites like digg, reddit, mixx, etc. are the latest sources for huge traffic, backlinks and search engine marketing. If your post hits the front page of one of these sites, you will get thousands of visitors, hundreds of back links, and repeat visitors to your blog.
However, it is not easy to hit the front page of these sites. Every day, hundreds of people submit thousands of articles to these sites but none of them make it to the front page.
Most of the articles submitted to these sites are spam, of very low quality and self promoting marketing materials. The regular visitors of these sites demand good quality, informative, fact filled, and funny contents. Contents that attack a different angle to old materials may also do fairly well.
By following the five steps described in this article, you will be able to reap the benefits of traffic and back links to your site without wasting time and efforts.
1. Know your audience. The first step to creating posts that get the attention of the visitors of these sites is to study the front page stories on these sites. Different sites cater to different tastes. Find out the type of contents that are popular in each site. For example, stories dealing with technology, liberal politics, and entertainment do well on digg.
If you are writing a story that does not quite match the popular topics of the site, you need to create an angle for satisfying the taste of the site’s audience. For example, conservative politics does not do well in digg but if you can talk about religion in politics in an entertaining way, it may get more votes than a serious post on why religion should be a part of politics.
2. Announce your presence. Sign up for a few sites and create your profile with authentic information about you. Include your blog links in your profile. Upload a picture so that everybody knows you are a real person, not an unknown spammer and scammer.
3. Drum up your post. Use some visual cues, like a digg button, on your high quality posts. This invitation helps your site visitors to submit your stories to the news popularity sites easily. Don’t use these buttons for every post. You don’t want every post submitted to these sites. If you submit every post, regular visitors of these news popularity sites will consider you as a spammer.
4. Create a friends network. Locate a dozen submitters, preferably bloggers in your niche, whose posts regularly appear on the front page. These submitters know what succeeds on the site and they spend lots of time finding stories that are likely to get votes. They also compete for stories to submit to these sites before anybody else.
Include these power submitters in your friend network and read stories submitted by these users. If you find a story interesting, positively vote on the story. Post comments on these stories.
Find out the sources of the stories of the power submitters. Subscribe to these sources using your RSS reader and set up Google alerts for news items related to the topics. If you find a story that matches the criteria, submit it before anybody else.
5. Share your stories. Once you have established yourself as a positive contributor to these sites, invite a few power submitters to read your high quality post and comments on it. Use twitter and instant messages for taking your networking efforts with the power submitters to the next level. Not all of your network friends in the news popularity site will respond positively. However, you will find a few who are willing to share their insights with you.
Announce your best posts to your twitter followers and inform about them to power submitters using instant messages. Don’t do it for every post. It will annoy the recipients and they will abandon your as fast as they can.
If some of your twitter followers are bloggers who are interested in your post, one of them may create a post spun off of your article and provide a link to your original story. If this happens within a few hours of you publishing your post, it will boost the quality of your story.
Getting your stories into the front pages of news popularity sites is hard work and time consuming. If you want to invest the time and efforts, the reward in terms of traffic and backlinks can be worth it.
Dr. Deepak Dutta has provided free online marketing tools like free classifieds and free ads sites for more than a decade. He has recently launched a social media link building tools.
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