nickyjameson.com — My take on Copywriting,Technology and Social Media.

The Blog or Website or Both – Revisited

by Nicky

in Blogging Tips, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Some time back I write an article asking this very question. At the time I had a website and was just starting a blog. Knowing that my website wouldn’t be changing that often and that I enjoyed writing about things besides copywriting my view was that, as a business you should have a website and a blog… so both.

Here’s the post: Should You Have a Website or Blog or Both

My view at that time was that it’s probably best to have both a website and blog. I recently set up another venture and found myself reconsidering the question. Although I set up both a blog and a website – again – I’ve found that, with a little creativity I can make my website less static than it is. Overall most of the content doesn’t change. But I have been able to add articles to my site and this keep my content updated. Meanwhile what to do with the blog?

For now I’ll be adding content and articles… to it though I find myself updating my site more often. This calls for some repurposing.

I got some interesting comments on my original post and thought they were worth re-posting here. For a long time I wavered between having a website and blog combined. I know how powerful blogs can be, and I also know that having a blog is no guarantee of getting tons of traffic. Here’s what Nikki says:

“I started with a website and blog combined. (www.surprisingaustralia.com) and I have decided to separate them. I will move my blog to its own site.

The reasons are;

* They serve different functions and are of interest to different readers.
* The web site needs it’s own focus.
* Unless they are both excellent, or visitors are interested in updates they don’t add anything to each other

For those just starting out, I recommend one or the other. A blog will suit people who want to write at least three times a week and a web site is better for those who don’t. It’s hard enough starting out without too much to update each day.

A bonus from doing this is that you can put links between the sites. This will all help increase your presence on the Internet and your standing with the search engines.

Thanks again for the information.

Thanks to you Nikki. Because this is really spot on, and what I’ve been finding with my new website and blog. The website has its own focus. And as any business owner knows, constantly updating content on a blog can be challenging. I certainly don’t have time to blog three times a week or more now. Yet if you don’t update your blog with some frequency it can become dated pretty quickly.

My website isn’t corporate (and not every business website is simply because it’s a website rather than a blog) however it does serve a purpose. As much as I love blogging I don’t think a blog would have done quite the same thing.

(It’s not Copywriting Studio by the way).

Another thing to remember is that the decision to have a website and/or blog can depend on your business. Not every service necessarily lends itself to chatting around the water-cooler. But if your audience does want to talk and is interested in what you have to say on a blog it’s a plus and worth engaging.

I am certainly finding Nikki’s insights are resonating with me at the moment.

You still have to have a strategy and plan for your blog. You also have to put in the time to build it, and link it to the various social networks. But if you have a way of adding content regularly to your site you can almost do the same thing… then just use the blog as another way to help your search engine efforts.

Thanks to everyone who commented on the original post. Feel free to share your comments here too.

Tagged as: blogging, seo, Social Media Marketing, website content

{ 0 comments }

5 StumbleUpon Tactics for Marketers

by Nicky

in Social Media Marketing

Want more traffic to your website or blog? Then StumbleUpon should be one of your bookmarking tools of choice. StumbleUpon is a social networking site where people “stumble” pages and sites they like. Their friends and contacts see their stumbles and share them with other friends. Done well, StumbleUpon can be very powerful for driving traffic to your website or blog. You should only stumble content that’s useful, however. Try not to make everything a sales page and leave out ads.

Here are 5 StumbleUpon tactics you can use to get traffic:

1. Build your contacts and network

Just like Twitter, StumbleUpon is a social networking website, so be sure to build as many contacts and networking friends as you can. They will help you Stumble your articles as well as things you find. You will also Stumble their finds.

2. Complete your profile as thoroughly as possible before linking

This way, when people click on your information, they get an idea of who you are or what your business is.

3. Ensure your website is up to par

Since people will be “stumbling upon” your site, you want to make sure it looks good as soon as they click on the link.

4. Utilize those keywords

Use an SEO service or writer to help you place the best and most effective keywords in your reviews and content. This is truly the key to getting your information stumbled upon.

5. Tag the most essential elements

StumbleUpon uses tags, which are similar to keywords. Tag your site using the most effective, power-packing tags possible. Make sure they are relevant. Try to pick nouns and use ones that will pique people’s interest immediately. While you must use one topic on the site, you can use multiple tags and change them up as
needed.

Pros and Cons of Stumble Upon

StumbleUpon can send you thousands of visitors (and I have had this happen several time) in literally a few hours. The traffic, however can be transitory. People land on your website or blog for a few seconds You can see this if you review your traffic sources in your website stats. You may get a few who return and interact on your site and if so this is great. But it is important to be aware of the nature of the traffic you will be getting. The great thing about StumbleUpon is that even if the number of visitors goes down you may get residual visits for months afterwards.

You can’t necessarily predict the articles that will be Stumbled. Sometimes it seems to be completely random… a post that may not seem to be your best post can get picked up by Stumblers and result in considerable traffic over time, while a post you’ve laboured over (and think is wonderful) doesn’t get a look-in. Since Stumbling your own posts isn’t the aim of StumbleUpon just Stumble anyway and if it flies, good. If not don’t sweat it.

Have a StumbleUpon experience that works for you? Share it with others.

Happy Stumbling!

Tagged as: getting traffic, social bookmarking, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, stumbleupon

{ 0 comments }

How To Create a Buzz Piece

by Nicky

in Social Media Marketing

Freelance Switch featured my special report the other week. In their article Get Business Buzzing with a Buzz Piece Kristen Fischer talked about the value of Buzz Pieces, mentioning several examples such as the one by Mike Stelzner writer of White Papers, and the one by Yours Truly on Social Media Copywriting .

I promised to re-blog the post on my blog and with the focus on a few things to think about when creating your buzz piece. My special report has been very successful, however it’s important to note that creating a buzz piece is only half of the journey – the keys to success with one is:

1. Having a clear objective when you create your buzz piece – who is it for? What do you want it to do? What will your audience learn from it?

2. Marketing your piece

3. Capturing and engaging with prospects

4. Creating something that delivers a clear benefit. Think “how will your audience be better off when they’ve read your piece?” Or better still, think Educate, Enlighten and Entertain. All three are good, two out of three I’d say are a must.

I advise all my clients to create a special report… or something free and downloadable from their site for their prospects. Surprisingly, even when they don’t have to do it themselves many won’t do it. When they understand they need to use an auto-responder and keep in touch with prospects, many see it as “too much work.” The fact is, it’s far more work to try and capture or convert someone just visiting your website. They may not be in a buying frame of mind, they may want to know a little more about you and what you offer. If they visit and leave, that’s probably it… you’ve lost them. With a topical buzz piece you have your first point of engagement.

So here are a few quick tips for the how of creating your buzz piece. It’s really what I did for my own. For the why’s you can read the original article.

1. Choose your topic carefully.

Look for a challenge your audience may be having and provide tips for solving it. Be original or at the very least take a different slant on a popular topic.

For example my focus was on how businesses could find their way through the swirling, overwhelming mass of information about social media. In this one report they could get 19 quick practical tips to use then and there or on their next project. At that time people were still trying to get their heads around social media, what it was and what it meant to them, Although social media has matured somewhat, some are still testing the waters… one reason why the report is still topical.

The key is make it about them, not you.

2. Spend time choosing a catchy title.

As a copywriter I’m not into being cute or clever. I’m first and foremost practical. Business owners are busy people and don’t have time to be figuring out clever headlines. However as this report was in part to get me exposure as a copywriter that meant I needed to use my headline-writing skills. Any copywriter will tell you getting the headline right is hard. I don’t mind revealing I spent hours on the headline (including running it by my copywriting coach) before I was happy with it. When I got it, I felt it.. it just fit.

The key is whether your piece is a how-to or any other guide, get a title that’s catchy and that delivers its promise of usefulness.

3. Set up your Autoresponder

The biggest use of buzz pieces is to interest potential clients and customers in who you are and what you have to offer so you are in their minds should they need help at some point. In the case of my report, I actually sent out a letter by post and followed up with phone calls. That was my offline approach which was marginally successful and was a lot of work.

When I set up my report for download I did so with an autoresponder (such as Aweber). People got the report free… in return for their email address. I recall when my news release went live.. I was getting downloads for the next week non-stop. It was pretty incredible. I still engage with my subscribers via my monthly newsletter two years later and of course my mailing list helps me share news, offers and other things about social media marketing and business.

4. Market your buzz piece

If you don’t tell the world what you have and why it’s important to them, no-one will know. There are many ways to market your piece, some more effective than others. I found the most effective for me was writing a news release and submitting it to PRWeb. You can also use Twitter (which I did – after someone had picked up my report and was reading and tweeting about it) very effectively, and blog about it. I also put the link to my special report on the back of my business card, on my website and in my email signatures.

You’re really only limited by your imagination… the key is market it and ensure you have a mechanism to capture interested subscribers and follow up with them.

5. Talk about your buzz piece – and let others give it away

If you write a really useful piece you’ll find people want to give it away to their readers. People are always looking for quality stuff to give to their subscribers so when you get request for this say yes! It’s a great way to build your own list and it spreads your report out there far faster than you could do on your own. You should also let people know they can give your report away to their colleagues and peers. That gets your name, url and details out there and you never know who might pick it up.

So there you go. I am sure you can think of many more to add to this list… these where simply the main ones I kept in mind. I hope you find them useful.

Thanks again to FLSwitch for the mention.

Tagged as: business building, buzz piece, Copywriting, Social Media Copywriting, Social Media Marketing, socialmedia

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →