Words to the Wise

Blogging is about connecting. Even with all the ways to promote your blog and its content, if your content doesn’t connect with your audience, you may never have a successful blog.

Ok, now that I’ve totally turned you off blogging, let’s turn this ship around and give you six keys to creating good blog content:

1. Write a headline that gets attention. Much of your audience will find your blog posts through search engines and their RSS feeders and only see the headline of one of your posts and possibly a tiny snippet of info. Write your headline in a way that grabs your reader’s attention and gets them to click through to read on.

2. Create captivating content. When a visitor clicks their way to your blog, you want to keep them there. And chances are, you aren’t the first blog they’ve encountered on the subject they’re searching out. Stand out by being unique - yet still relevant. This is done through the tone of your writing and your perspective on your niche. Be you…within reason, of course. Be funny because you’re funny - not for the sake of being funny.

3. Acknowledge comments. A blog post doesn’t end with the a click of the Publish button in WordPress. As long as your content is live on the Internet, you can expect visitors. Read and acknowledge those comments - good or bad. This is where true relationships are built on a blog. When others come to your blog and see comments and your responses, it’s like a welcome mat that invites them to do the same.

4. Share link love. Don’t hoard your readers. Share links to relevant content off your site. Trust me, people will appreciate it. It shows readers that you’ve taken the time to find relevant content for them and actually share it with them.

5. Leave the black tie, or LBD*, at home. One of the big differences with blogs is that your tone can be much more formal than on a business website. Although my main site is pretty relaxed, my blog offers an outlet for less formal topics. Think of a blog as a social tool and bring your conversational tone.

6. Offer more than words. Don’t be shy about offering links to relevant products you sell via affiliate programs if that’s congruent with the purpose of your site. Just don’t oversell thees products. It’s fine to blog once, maybe twice about a product you’ve used, loved, and now want to share with your readers.

*LBD: Little Black Dress

Jason Pedley is a freelance copywriter in North Carolina. He’s written copy and SEO content for clients in Raleigh, NC and around the world and he never wears an LBD when he blogs. Learn more, but not too much more, at the new and improved home of SEO content writer Jason Pedley.

Copywriters can be like cops - never one around when you need one, and always one around when you don’t need one.

But let’s face it, a cop isn’t likely to write web content, blog posts and other fun stuff. So how do you keep a copywriter so happy that they drop everything to do YOUR work whenever YOU want?

Lesson 1 - Be accessible. Nothing says you don’t care about your project like taking five days to respond to an email about something project-related. I know there are exceptions, but there are also trends. A response to an email question within 24 hours shows you’re serious about your project and can keep your copywriter on-track. If the question is vital and you don’t respond, it’s possible that the copywriter will do work on another project until their question is answered and ‘lose steam’ when it comes to your project.

Lesson 2 - Be human. Yes, the copywriter knows you’re the client and you have the final say about the project, but throwing your weight around for the sake of showing your importance will lead to you finding another copywriter. Most of the copywriters I know would rather take less money than deal with a client’s inflated ego.

Lesson 3 - Be upfront. I once had a project to write web copy for a real estate agent. I had completed the first draft of 10 site pages based on my client’s input and submitted them for review. It was at that point the client told me her husband hated everything I had written. If you’re not the only decision-maker on a project, let your copywriter know. It helps them plan and make decisions better and keeps the unexpected (and unwelcome) surprises to a minimum.

Lesson 4 - Be honest. There are copywriters out there, myself included, who truly want to see you succeed and want their copy to be a part of that success. If you don’t like a word, a sentence, a paragraph or a page…say something. There are few things more deflating than writing pages of copy, only to find a month later that someone has re-written the copy because the client didn’t like it but didn’t say anything.

Lesson 5. Be ready. A very wise man in the PR field once said “Prior preparedness prevents piss-poor performance.” He also said “Prior agreements prevent future disagreements.” Take those to heart. Hammer out even a small agreement so that you and your copywriter have basic parameters and guidance in the unlikely event of a disagreement. Simple things like payment schedules, deadlines, what the copywriter’s fees cover and the like can keep a small problem from ruining a project.

Lesson 6. Be rich. Ok, I’m only half kidding about this one. But the reality is that I have clients who take 90 days or more to pay for my copywriting work. I also have clients who take 90 SECONDS to pay. Guess which client is more likely to get worked into a copywriter’s schedule when they need something and the copywriter is really busy? You know it - the one who pays fastest. That doesn’t mean a copywriter won’t bend over backward for a client who takes 90 days to pay - a copywriter will do anything for the right client.

So there you have it. And trust me when I tell you that copywriters want to keep the good clients for a long, long time. A good copywriter-client relationship goes both ways.

Jason Pedley is a professional SEO content writer based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Contact Jason today for your next marketing project - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

I know I’ve talked to you about using Google Alerts to mine competitive data, keep on top of your online brand and even use it snag property deals before there’s even a sign on the front lawn. Those uses have always been no-brainers to me.

And to me, there’s still no fuzziness about using Google Alerts to gain info on people, including potential clients, bosses, employees, mothers-in-law, neighbors, local politicians and even former bosses who burn their house down or threaten you with cease and desist orders.

In fact, my thoughts on Google Alerts were recently used by Jonathan Fields in his blog post: Stalking Or Due Diligence: Google Alerts Gone Bad?

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m @JPJay411 on Twitter.

To add to my comments on Jonathan’s blog, I think it’s important to note that gathering information is one thing, but how you use it is where value rests. Getting a fresh piece of news about a friend, client, or potential client gives you an opportunity to connect, even if it’s just a brief email or note that keeps you on their radar and holds that proverbial door open for the next project or sale.

If you’re looking for a good way to see if your brand is being mentioned on Twitter, try search.twitter.com. You can even set up RSS feeds so you’ll know when people are mentioning your terms.

Please stalk responsibly.

Jason Pedley is a professional copywriter based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Contact Jason Pedley today - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

According to a report by Pew Internet & American Life Project, 49% of those who use the Internet also use search engines such as Google and Yahoo! on any given day. Sources with the project say this is an indicator of search engine users’ desire to be in the ‘driver’s seat’ and find what they want online as opposed to having it given to them passively.

I say it’s an indicator that someone’s lying to the researchers. 49%? For real?

The project began back in 2002 when, at the time, only 29% of Internet users said they used a search engine on an average day.

As for email, 60% of users claimed to use email on the average day.

I’m assuming the other 40% were lying or too busy checking email to respond the to the survey.

Also according to the report, search engine users tend to be “socially upscale” with at least some college under their belts and incomes of more than $50K a year. Younger users search more on a typical day and men are more likely to use a search engine than women…Don’t look at me. I don’t make this stuff up.

Jason Pedley is a professional SEO content copywriter based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Need SEO content that improves your online presence? Contact Jason Pedley today - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

-Winston Churchill

What are you seeing in your business?