You CAN Write Remarkable Content

You Can Write Remarkable Content

It may take a few tries but hang in there

I was privileged to attend a conference a few weeks ago presented by Merrimack College as part of it’s 2012-2013 Leadership Series entitled “It’s Time to Create Your Digital Platform!” As a perk of membership in the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce, admission was free. I gladly would have paid. Two of the three speakers, Michael Hyatt and Brian Halligan, are best selling  authors. Halligan also happens to be co-founder and CEO of Hubspot, a marketing software company that helps businesses transform the way they market their products. The third, Sally Falkow, is a highly respected public relations guru. I took notes, scribbled down links to websites, wrote down recommended book titles, sent out real time tweets and, giving in to my inner geek, got my books signed by the authors. Later, when life had slowed  down some, I looked over  my notes. One phrase jumped off the page. Each of the speakers said it during their presentations. Some said it more than once.  It took on the aspect of a mantra. To get noticed in a noisy world, you have to write remarkable content.

Sound Scary? It Doesn’t Have To Be

I started thinking about my clients – you – the good people who sometimes read my blog. I’ve heard you say it. “I’m not a writer. I can’t write remarkable content.” Well here’s how my trusty Oxford American Dictionary defines the word “remarkable.”

re • mark • a • ble (ri-mahr-ka-bel) adj. worth noticing, exceptional, unusual.

If you’re not a professional writer I understand why you would be intimidated at the prospect of writing exceptional or unusual content.

It’s All About Your Audience

My point is this. If you sell concrete, your website should be geared to people who want to know more about concrete. Since concrete is your area of expertise I’m betting that you can produce content that, if not exceptional or unusual, is at least  worth noticing? That is to say worth noticing to your audience. Don’t get me wrong. No matter how much expertise you have in your field, a professional writer will always do a better job at crafting your web copy than you will. But if you focus more on the worth noticing part of the definition of remarkable and less on the exceptional and unusual parts, you just might be surprised at how remarkable your content is.

Some Helpful Resources

If you’d like to dive a little deeper into the world of remarkable content, here are a few links that are favorites of mine. I hope you’ll find them helpful:

Now Back to You

Did you write your own copy for your website? How did that go? Or did you hire someone to write it for you? Were you satisfied with the result?

P.S. To my writer friends and colleagues. Don’t be angry with me for suggesting that clients on a limited budget might want to try writing their own copy. My intent here was to give them some helpful advice if they want to go in that direction. Know this. They will never replace you.

Why Salespeople Get a Bad Name

Why Salespeople Get a Bad Name

Sales is a difficult profession. That’s why I have respect for good salespeople and contempt for bad ones. It can be very challenging out there when you have to make a sale to put bread on your table, or to satisfy a belligerent boss. Sadly, caving in to the pressure often takes the form of compromising your values. I witnessed this first hand last week.

Starched White Shirts and Baklava

I have been patronizing a small family owned dry cleaning business for the past two years. I’ve gotten to know the family and look forward to stopping in. Sure, they’re very good at what they do but my visits are more about pleasant conversation and home made baklava than crisply starched shirts. I’ve mentioned what I do for work a couple of times but never tried to sell them anything. One day last week they called me to ask if I would be interested in redesigning their website. “Of course,” I said. So after throwing a pile of dirty clothes on the counter and getting my pickup slip, we sat down to discuss the possibilities. There was a problem.

Right Place Right Time

They were at the end of what they believed to be a one year contract with a large, well known company whose specialty is traditional phone book ads. I won’t mention their name. Just imagine a book being the color of a banana. Subtle enough hint? As we talked, their sales rep pulled into the parking lot. Pure serendipity. To avoid a potentially awkward situation I respectfully offered to leave. The family patriarch grabbed my arm and said, “please do me a favor. Just sit here reading this magazine (note: the magazine was in Greek. I don’t read Greek.) and listen to what he says so we can discuss it later.” Well, I thought. This is kind of different. I didn’t see any harm in it so I complied.

Making the Sale at all Costs Just Might Cost Too Much

What I heard was a toxic mix of lies and misinformation.

  • lie – “You can’t redesign your website or move it to another provider because you will lose all of your search engine standing.”
    The truth is that you can redesign or move your website any time you choose. By using 301 permanent re-direction code, a technique any web designer knows about, anyone looking for an old page will be redirected to the new version of that page. The permanent nature of the redirect tells Google to remove the old page(s) from it’s directory and replace it with the new page.
  • misleading information – “Don’t worry about your domain name. We’ll take care of it for you.”
    I cautioned about this in an earlier post. While this may sound like one less thing you have to worry about, what it really means is that they will own your domain name. One more way they make it difficult for you to leave and take your business elsewhere. Your domain name is a vital part of your business. You should own it. They should tell you that.
  • selective memory – “You signed a two year contract”
    Before the sales guy arrived, both brothers emphatically stressed that they were told they were signing up for one year. It was a precondition to signing the agreement in the first place. The sales guy suddenly had a different recollection. Guess who I believe?

Now Back to You

I’m pretty steamed about this. I know it’s easy for me to say but if making a sale requires that you lie, please look for other work. There are plenty of terrific salespeople out there who blend their skill (make no mistake, selling is a skill) with good values and strong ethics. What do you think? Have you been manipulated by a shady salesperson? Did you know it when it was happening? What’s your take? Talk to me.

Photo credit: Supermac1961

Think SEO is Too Expensive? Think Again.

I Knew I Should Have Gotten Directions

Why is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so expensive? I hear this question all the time. I’m going to tell you why. But first a brief history lesson. In the beginning (mid-nineties) there were few websites. It was easy to get found. Just pack a few keywords into the content of your site and voilá, there you were. Now there are more websites than stars in the sky (yes, I’m exaggerating to make a point.) It’s NOT easy to get found anymore. End of history lesson.

Search Engine Rank: Easy Concept, Hard Execution

Think of your new website like a new house. You’ve spent  all this money to design and build it. It’s finally done. You’re  excited. You throw a party and invite people over to see your sparkling new home. No one shows up. What happened? You forgot to tell them how to find you. See where  I’m going with this? There are just too many websites for you to not take search engine optimization seriously. Taking it seriously means accepting that you have to pay for it. I’m not going to get into who you should hire to do this. Like any other industry there are those who are very good at it and those who aren’t but claim to be. For purposes of this rant I will assume that you understand that.

So Here is Why It’s So Expensive

Because of the sheer volume  of websites (there will likely be thousands  more by the time you finish reading this), search engine optimization has evolved into a stand alone skill set. Getting your website to stand out from the countless others in your industry and in your geographical area takes expertise and experience. Here are a few things you need  to understand:

  • content – if you’re undertaking an optimization effort on an existing  site, your content will have to be reviewed for keyword density and placement. The content may have to be edited or rewritten entirely
  • research – the keywords you think your customers are using to find you may not be the ones they’re  using at all. Only keyword research and competitive analysis can determine this
  • tools – an experienced SEO person knows how to use the right tools to uncover the information necessary to achieve high page rank
  • measurability – (I made up this word. You get the point.) your SEO efforts have to be analyzed and measured for effectiveness to ensure the proper  strategies are being used
  • reporting – periodic reports need to be provided. This is part of measurability
  • tweaking – depending on results your website may have to be tweaked and  adjusted
  • time – doing all of the above well takes time. That’s why it’s expensive.

I can go on. The point is this: If you take your  business seriously enough to invest in a well designed website, skimping on search engine optimization will cancel out all of your best intentions. It’s  kind of like building a brand new house and never  telling anyone how to find it. Unless you’re a recluse (I’m assuming you’re not), this is just not going to work.

And Now Back to You

Have your search engine optimization efforts paid off? Is your website being found? Do you agree or disagree with my analysis? Did you skimp? Be honest.

Photo credit: snappybex

Seek First to Follow, Then be Followed

Listen First

If You Want People to Listen to You - Listen to Them

Last August I wrote a series of posts dealing with the four most common objections to social media:

My purpose was to “handle” each objection – which is really a salesy way of saying I wanted to counter each objection with logic, facts and common sense. I hope I succeeded. But in the past few days I’ve been asking myself (what is it about a new year that makes us talk to ourselves?) a more basic question about social media .

Why Do We Do It? Why Do We Really Do It?

There’s an urban legend that’s floated around Hollywood for years. (Note: I’ve never been to Hollywood.) The legend has it that a young Dustin Hoffman once asked his idol, the great Lawrence Olivier, “why do we act? I mean really, why do we do it?” Pausing for a moment, Olivier looked at Hoffman and said, “there are three reasons why we do this. Look at me, look at me and look at me.” Dustin, it seems was hoping for a deeply philosophical answer. What he got instead was a heavy dose of honesty. For businesses the objective of social media is simple – to connect with your customers in a way that increases your potential to sell whatever it is you sell. For the millions (or is it gazillions by now) who tweet and twitter for personal reasons, I suspect the motivation has more to do with Olivier’s response to Dustin Hoffman’s question. Make no mistake, there is ego involved here. We do it because in doing so we are exercising our very human need to be heard, to be validated. And in the world of social media there is no greater validation than to have people follow your tweets and comment on your blog posts.

How to Increase Your Following

Ah! The holy grail. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet here. There is no “one thing” that is guaranteed to build your following and have hordes of consumers clambering for more. But as Oprah would say, here is what I know for sure. You will NEVER get anyone to follow you if you’re not following anyone. You will NEVER get anyone to read your posts and comment on them if you don’t read and comment on theirs. Keep this word in the front of your brain: Community. To get people to participate in the conversation (and that’s how you should be thinking of your social media efforts) you must participate. Think two way street. Habit number 5 in Stephen Covey’s wildly popular and important book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People states “seek first to understand, then be understood.” I’m sure Mr. Covey would not mind my slight adaptation: Seek first to follow then be followed.

And Now Back to You

Do you blog or tweet on a regular basis? Do you have followers? Do people comment on your posts? If so, how are you building your community? Who do you follow? Do you participate? Talk to me.

Photo credit: Joe M photo