Entries Tagged 'blog' ↓

Blogging has long been known as an effective promotional tool for businesses.

Not only do they allow you to add numerous pages of great content to attract readers, they are also an excellent source of links and potential link bait.

Through your articles you can offer advice, build your repuation as an expert in your field and develop online relationships with your readers who, potentially, may become customers of the future.

On this blog I have looked at the art of blogging from many different angles including articles on:

Get Your Blogging Noticed

Can You Be a Great Blogger?

How To Become a Blogging Expert

The Holy Grail of Blogging

Better Blogging

I was interested to come across a really useful pots in socialmediaexaminer.com called 26 Ways to Enhance Your Blog Content.

The article runs through their 26 top tips related to the craft of blog writing and a number of critical factors that will help to ensure the production of high-quality posts. After all it’s only through the constant generation of interesting, well-written articles that you’ll attract a regular audience for your blog.

Grab a coffee and have a read and see how you can improve your blog content.

If you use WordPress as your blogging platform you probably are already familiar with the All In One SEO Pack Plugin.

It’s a handy little tool to help you boost your blog posts’ SEO capabilities.

The only problem with it is that, although you may have already downloaded it into your blog, you probably haven’t really got to grips with using it.

It’s a bit like paying for yoru gym membership but never going – you’re not going to get fit. If you have it but don’t use it, your posts and blog may not be optimised to their maximum potential.

To help you out I found this post on seohosting.com which looks at What you can do with the all in one SEO pack plugin for WordPress?

It’s well worth a read and could help you blog better and smarter.

The purpose behind blogging is to create a readership, give value to those readers and position yourself as an expert in your particular field.

But if you have excellent content, if your blogging package isn’t right your posts won’t get read.

Many people will write hundreds of blogs, one or two of which might go down a storm and generate a lot of interest. But the rest fall by the wayside. Yet there are people out there who score time after time after time.

So how do they do that?

What makes their posts so readable?

Well, it all comes down to how you package your blog posts.

Where’s your focus

When writing about a personal interest, many people write in the first person – “I think the only way to generate great quality traffic to my site is through professional SEO copywriting”.

So what?

But if you change your focus to the second person and actually address your reader directly – “Your website needs traffic to feed your sales. You can either pay through the nose with PPC or you can make the smart move and invest in professional SEO copywriting.”

Just a small change—going from ‘I’ to ‘you’—instantly makes your post more relevant to the reader.

Can I help?

Most people read blogs because they’re searching for a solution to a problem. So make sure your post doesn’t disappoint. No matter what you’re writing about, make sure you relate your content to a common problem that you then solve.

Whether you are talking about reducing a marketing budget, how to whiten your clothes first time every time, or how to reduce wrinkles, providing a solution is vital if you want your post to resonate with your reader.

Don’t over stuff

Just like you would never try to sell multiple products with one sales letter, keep your blog post to one idea.

If you try to incorporate several ideas your post will lose its focus and leave the reader somewhat bewildered.

One idea covered in detail with a great solution will pull in readers.

Easy on the eye

Writing a winning blog post is one thing, but if it doesn’t look good people aren’t going to bother reading it.

Keep your paragraphs short so the page doesn’t look ‘stuffed’ with text. Use headings and sub headings to break things up and show your reader what you’re covering within your post.

Also get a few well chosen images in there too.

Write for your reader not for you

The art to achieving a good and regular readership is to write about things your audience cares about.

Research is vital if you are going to provide your readers with what they want. Just because you find a particular subject really interesting doesn’t mean your audience will.

It’s supply and demand; give them what they want.

Be natural

Many people think if they are writing about a subject in a blog they have to be very business-like and stiff.

Think again.

The best blogs are those written in a natural, conversation style that resonates with the reader.

As you write, imagine yourself sat in your local coffee shop with your best mate. Think about how you would speak to them and then replicate that style within your blog post.

Reading your blog should be like slipping on your favourite slippers. Your reader should get that warm and fuzzy feeling—returning to you blog will be like meeting up with an old friend again.

And that really is all there is to it. Of course, you’ll also need to come up with some great ideas.

At the end of the day write naturally, write to your reader and make it attractive on the eye.

Deciding to start a blog is the easy part. Coming up with consistently great ideas for posts is another matter entirely.

Let’s take a step back. What got you interested in blogging in the first place?

You probably have a few blogs you read regularly and it’s more than likely their content that has inspired you to have a go. But how can you emulate the success of your blogging heroes?

OK, let’s stop there for a moment. You can’t and shouldn’t emulate them. If you want to create a following for your blog you must make it your own through its content, style and voice.

No one is going to want to read a copy-cat blog.

For many new bloggers the intense desire to be the greatest blogger known to man can stifle creativity and natural flare. You are you (there’s nothing like stating the obvious) so make sure that comes through your writing.

Five ways to become a better blogger:

1. Whatever you do, don’t compare yourself to others

If you try to write in the same style as your favourite blogger you’ll create something that barely registers on the ‘OK’ scale.

Every one is different and everyone likes to read different styles. You only have to look at your local bookshop to realise how many different genres and styles of writing there are out there.

You are an individual and your blog posts are your opportunity to show that individualism. Use your personal style to carve out a niche for your work. You won’t please everyone but those that do enjoy your writing will become dedicated followers.

2. It’s not a closed club

If you take a look around the blogosphere you’ll spot several big hitters who seem to be everywhere. ‘How can I possibly be as good as them?’ you may ask. Well don’t. As I said before you are you, so make sure that comes across.

The blogging club is not closed to new members and there’s nothing to stop you from becoming a ‘name’ too. Bloggers come and go all the time so get your name out there and see what happens.

3. Be unique

There is only one you so use that to your advantage.

No one else thinks like you, writes like you, or conveys a message like you. It is that uniqueness that is your blogging secret weapon so use it.

Your experiences, personality and ideas will shape the way you write in a way no one else can emulate. By making your work your own you will attract readers.

4. Fresh topics

Looking at the millions of blogs out there you may think it is impossible to come up with a constant stream of fresh topics no one else has written about. And you’d be right.

But the trick is not to be led down the path of repetition. If you want to write about SEO find an angle that no one else has covered before. Relate your topic to your own world and experiences to be sure your information is completely unique.

It is this constant re-shaping of information that makes the world of blogging so interesting.

5. Stand out

There is one simple thing you can do to make your writing stand out from the crowd—incorporate your own personality. If you naturally write in a humorous way use that to your advantage. Most people read to be entertained in some way, so keeping your writing light will help convey your message.

Be true to yourself.

Is it tough constantly coming up with new angles and topics?

Yes.

Is blogging for you?

If you want to get your ideas ‘out there’, if you enjoy writing, if you want to have a worldwide voice, yes, blogging is for you.

Give it a try—you’ve got nothing to lose.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter and blogger

Today’s guest post was contributed by James Adams, a writer with CartridgeSave covering the latest releases of Canon supplies.

5 Tips for Writing Effective Copy for Products

If you’re running an ecommerce store, then you know that there are two main pillars to your success: get relevant traffic to your store, and then convert that traffic into sales. One of the best ways to do both is to learn how to write not just good sales copy for your products, but sales copy that compels prospects to buy. Ideally, you would like to have compelling sales copy that encourages people to buy, but which is also search engine optimized so that it sends more traffic your way. Let’s take a closer look at 5 tips for writing effective copy for products of any kind.

1. Focus on Benefits

As you browse different ecommerce sites, you will notice that some sites emphasize the benefits of the product, while other sites might merely list all of the features. In all likelihood, the site that emphasizes benefits is making more sales. People don’t purchase a product because they are impressed by the list of features: They want to know what those features will do for them. They want a product that satisfies some of their needs and wants, or they want a product that will better satisfy a frustration that they are currently experiencing. If you are selling a pair of boots, for example, you might want to let the customer know that it has double Teflon-sealed soles. However, there is a good chance that your potential customer doesn’t even know what Teflon is, so it would be much better to tell him that the double Teflon-sealed sole will keep his feet dry even if he gets caught in a rainstorm or steps into a puddle.

2. Know the Audience

When you list the benefits of a product, it is important to know who your target audience is. If you are selling a cell phone, there will be a world of difference between what a teenager and what a business man is looking for. A teenager may want to send text messages to his friends, watch YouTube videos, and play video games. A business man wants a phone that will handle multiple email accounts, allow him to take notes at meetings, and allow him to manage his stock portfolio. Even if a single phone is more than capable at handling all of these tasks, you will want to emphasize a different set of benefits depending on which demographic most often shops in your ecommerce store.

3. Describe Your Prospect Using the Product in the Future

If you can get the prospect imagining himself using the product, then you are halfway to the sale. If you think to all of your own purchases both online and offline, you will realize that you never bought a product unless you could picture yourself using it in the future. It’s an essential part of the human decision making process. You can help your potential customer get there by describing him in a scenario of your own making. If he couldn’t picture himself using the product before, he definitely can now.

4. Weave in Your Keywords

Once you’ve written your sales copy, it is time to work in some keyword phrases so that you can get some additional traffic from the major search engines like Bing, Google, and Yahoo. Excellent sales copy is important, but if no one sees it, then you aren’t going to achieve any sales. However, you should incorporate your keyword phrases in such a way that they don’t distract from your copy. If it sounds stilted, then you should take a few of the keywords out. It’s a good idea to write your copy without the keywords in mind, and then to go back and add them in later. If your sales copy is pretty long, then you can target several keywords. However, if it is only 60 or 70 words long, then you should probably just focus on one keyword phrase.

5. Always Test and Track

It’s a good idea to always have two different versions of sales copy for each product that you sell. You can use various tracking software, including free software provided by Google, to alternate between the two versions of your sales pages and to track the results. After tracking for a month, you can keep the version of copy that converts better and construct a new one to test against it. By doing this, your product conversion will continuously improve, and you will become continuously better at writing copy. You shouldn’t worry too much if you don’t get it right the first time.

Writing great sales copy can be a tough skill to learn. In fact, it is one of the most valuable skills in all of sales and marketing. If you have mastered it, then you should be able to sell nearly anything. Despite its difficulty, there are a few proven techniques that you can incorporate into your product copy.