Words to the Wise

Sometimes, while I’m writing (or re-writing) web content for a client, they ask me if they should start an AdSense campaign to generate some extra revenue.

My usual answer is “no” because the cost of an AdSense campaign for most of my clients is way too high.

“But Jay,” they say, “AdSense doesn’t cost anything. Google gives you the code and you paste it into your website HTML.”

True. Every word of it. But the cost I’m referring to is the depreciation of your brand because you’re adding advertising to a site that wasn’t meant for it.

Why would you want to give visitors to your site an opportunity to leave your site and look for something else? Is the 25 cents really worth it? On top of that, it makes you look like you want their pocket change, not their dollar bills.

Don’t get me wrong. There are certainly times when AdSense makes sense (and cents) on a website. Take my Clayton, NC relocation website for example. It has ads, a job board and may soon have YouTube advertising. But the difference is that my Relocate Clayton site isn’t selling anything. It gives away every word of information for free with the hope that visitors will find the relevant ads enticing enough to click.

Ask. Nicely, of course.

You’d be surprised at how many people simply don’t ask for the order. They bury it deep inside copy, or in a weak image . Your call to action has to be loud, clear, and easy.

Something like “Pick up your phone and call 1.800.123.1234 now to order your own two week supply” makes it clear what the reader needs to do.

One particular area where I’ve seen weak calls to action is in political campaigns. In fine print, at the bottom of a postcard, is where the campaign genius decides to put the instructions on how to show your financial support.

You have to be clear on what action you want people to take and how they should take it.

We see it every day - outstanding web design, breathtaking graphics, a wonderfully-crafted message, and stellar use of SEO tactics.

But what about the sale? You can have all of the above and STILL not get a single new client or make a single sale.

Today I have five tactics to help you convert visitors into buyers on your website:

1. Give something away. A free report. A free item. Free shipping. Free money.

2. Get them to sign up for a newsletter. I dislike the term “newsletter” since the idea has evolved so much. Regardless, have a way to maintain contact with people - even if they don’t buy the first time. Make it easy for visitors to sign up and give them a reason to buy. Put your free offer from item 1 above in your communication. See number 5 for more details.

3. Have a sale that’s not really a sale. Pick an item or a service. Now give it prominence on your site and say “Now Only $249.99.” Nobody but you knows that it’s always been that price. Sounds like a deal. People like deals.

4. Bundle your offerings. Do you have two products or services that were made for each other? Do people buy the two separately often? Bundle them, reduce the price by 5 or 10 percent and capture more sales.

5. Give away a coupon or savings offer the moment someone signs up for your newsletter or catalog…give them a reason to buy when you KNOW they at least have interest in your site. Not an hour later, not a day later….5 minutes at most…set up an autoresponder and get that offer into your prospect’s inbox.

A friend of mine uses Facebook to advertise their wedding photography business. Another uses it to promote their real estate agency.

So what does this have to do with description tags? Well, when you insert a URL or link into a Facebook message to another user or in a post to a group, Facebook automatically grabs the description tag of that page and pastes it into the message.

This makes for a new twist on description tags.

Since they hold little or no relevance in search engine ranking, anymore few people pay much mind to them. Yet, they are vital in terms of web traffic via search engines…and now, from Facebook.
Do all of your description tags make sense? Could they use a tune up? Are they too long? Too short? Here’s a quick guide to help you out:

Description Tags, with spaces, should be no more than 70 characters long. Without spaces, they should be no more than 62 characters long.

If you don’t have a description tag for a particular page, search engines typically take the first block of copy they see on the page. This isn’t always a great thing if your first bit of copy is a chart or has little to do with the page topic.

There’s a saying going around the web right now:

“Boring podcasts suck”

Thankfully, the phrase acknowledges (albeit by subtraction) that there is the possibility for a suck-free podcast - which is exactly what my BlogTalkRadio show, This Hour has 22 Widgets, proves…or is in the process of proving.

I’ve wanted to podcast for well over a year now. But every time I listened to a podcast, I’d get turned off. My initial reaction to most podcasts is “I don’t want to do my own podcast and have it be as boring as the one I just listened to.”

I think, for too long now, companies have focused on the content of their podcasts and not the delivery. I believe content and delivery are of equal importance when it comes to podcasting. And it seems like a lot of companies these days aren’t getting that. I’m not sure if it’s their need for some marketing guidance, or if a PR agency has sold them on the idea that ‘dry is better,’ but I’ve heard WAY too many PR agency account execs read word-for-word from a script while their clients read back from an equally dry and over-prepared script.

It’s time for podcasts to stop sucking. It’s time to discover BlogTalkRadio, which is what I did.

If you’ve got a business, product or service, and you want to be featured on my show, email me. Here are five very good reason why this form of podcasting is so powerful:

1. It’s live…at first. When the green light turns on, and my intro music plays, there’s no turning back. Whatever game you brought with you that day is the game people are going to hear. The good news is, I’m pretty good at interviewing, have a halfway decent sense of humor and can help you get (and keep) your head in the show.

2. I’s live…forever. One of my favorite things about my show is that it’s always live - even if you listen to it a year after it’s recorded. It’s like watching old episodes of The Price Is Right. There’s excitement and vitality in every episode, no matter when you watch.

3. In the end, it’s YOUR show. While I submit a copy of the final podcast to iTunes and keep a copy on my BlogTalkRadio show page, you can do whatever you like with your copy. Put it on your site to build content. Put out a press release about it. Send a link to it in your company’s e-newsletter. There are a ton of ways to use a podcast as a business-building tool.

4. You control the content. Except for the odd commercial, sound effect and my theme music, the show is really yours. You tell me what you want people to hear, and I ask the right question to let you get your message out. There are no gags, no tricks, no potty mouth, just a live radio show to get your message out.

5. You can be anywhere. I live in North Carolina. You can live in California and still be on my show. I’ve got clients in Florida, Connecticut, Canada, New Jersey and other places. My show works no matter where you are.

What’s keeping you from podcasting?