Tag : Blog

  • The Best Way to Blog for SEO – A Beginner’s Guide

    Posted Aug 30th, 2011 By in Blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) With | 1 Comment

    Are you clueless on how to blog for SEO? This beginner’s guide will take you through simple steps on how to get your blog posts in tip top shape for when the search bots come crawling.

    Why Blog for SEO?

    There’s two very good reasons you should do this, which lead me to put together this beginner’s guide on how to blog for SEO.

    1. Since you’re already taking the time to write the blog, so you might as well know how to blog for SEO.

    2. It will help drive extra traffic to your blog in the long term – which is why you’re blogging right?

    How to Blog for SEO

    First you should plan out your blog post. It might seem like extra work, but believe me it will make the whole process a lot easier. You can download the plan I used to prepare this blog for SEO here.

    Topic – First you’ll need to decide on the topic you’ll be blogging about. Ideally it should be a trending topic or something you know is popular with your target audience. There’s no point writing about something no one’s interested in.

    Keywords – Probably the most important consideration when tailoring your blog for seo is the keywords you’ll use. Once you’ve decided on your topic, the best way to select keywords is to head on over to the google keyword tool, which will show you a bunch of suggestions for the topic you enter. Ideally try to choose 2 or 3 phrases which have high search traffic and low competition. If you downloaded the plan I used for this post, you’ll see that the phrases I’ve selected are ‘blog for seo’, ‘how to blog’ and ‘beginner’s guide’, which all have low competition and searches in the thousands. (more…)

  • 4 Important Ingredients in a Successful Social Commerce Campaign

    Posted Jun 30th, 2011 By in Social Media, Social Networking With | 1 Comment

    What started as a mere trend several years ago has now evolved into its own culture. Social commerce is gaining popularity by leaps and bounds in the virtual world and shows no signs of slowing down. Selling products online was once reserved for major retailers with massive inventories and the selling power to reach the masses. Now, thanks to sites like eBay, web stores, and applications for social media platforms such as Facebook, anyone can market and sell their products online.

    Having a successful social commerce campaign hinges on a number of factors. It’s not something you should venture into blindly without having done at least some minimal research. Although once you get your ecommerce campaign up and running, it can run on autopilot to some extent. However, there are certain areas in which you always have to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to selling your products online.

    Let’s take a look at the four most important ingredients in a successful social commerce campaign:

    A Multifaceted Approach

    Simply using one or two of the array of free social media tools available today won’t get you very far in your social commerce campaign. The key to making these tools work for your brand is not just using them, but using them in tandem with other avenues of marketing to gain maximum exposure. Add Facebook and Twitter widgets to your business website and blog. Add links to your website and blog to your Facebook Fan Page and Storefront and your Twitter account. Tweet about sales, promotions, new products and services. Blog about these events as well and announce the blog updates on your Fan Page. Let everything you do online reciprocate what you’ve already done, allowing the campaign to come full circle. (more…)

  • Wake Up Your Readers with Copywriting Spice

    Posted May 6th, 2011 By in Content Marketing With | No Comments

    The recipe for spicy copy always includes salt – lots of it – fresh hot pepper such as a jalapeno or Serrano, and earthy-flavored herbs. Without spice, your copy is tasteless. It reads like every other piece of website content or advertisement or brochure.

    At best, readers forget spice-less copy. At worst, they don’t read it at all.

    Next time you sit down to write, bring the salt, hot pepper, and herbs with you to the keyboard. I’m about to show you how to add the spice your copy desperately needs.

    Salt for Headlines and Imagery

    We’re visual creatures. Readers need pictures for engagement. The good news is that it’s simple to find free stock photography or use your own photos in marketing materials. It’s also possible to suggest an image without any pictures at all.

    The best headlines evoke an image.

    The importance of headlines cannot be stressed enough. There are even books written on the topic. Headlines matter that much.

    But for the purposes of this article, let’s make it simple and say that your headline should address a problem your reader has and that you’re able to solve. It should also reference a concept that’s easy to grasp and one that will cause the brain to automatically conjure images.

    What if the article to this headline read: “How to Make Your Copy More Interesting”? What kind of pictures would you have automatically thought of? Nothing interesting comes to my mind.

    “Wake Up Your Readers with Copywriting Spice” produces countless images for me…alarm clocks, people sitting in front of computer screens with wide eyes, salt, peppers, etc. (more…)

  • 10 Simple Ways Hotels Can Use Social Media

    Posted Feb 3rd, 2011 By in Social Media With | No Comments

    Image courtesy of http://younghoteliers.blogspot.com/

     

    Because social media is so huge today, more and more businesses are using it. Even hotels are getting involved with marketing on social media sites because they see the value in finding customers that way. If you own or manage a hotel, work for one, you’re thinking of starting one, or you’re thinking about studying hospitality management, you may want to consider the top 10 ways hotels should be using social media.

     

    1. Twitter questions and answers

    Create a Twitter page and let people ask questions about the hotel. They can get quick answers that way, without needing to call and talk to an employee.

    2. Set yourself as an expert

    Set yourself apart as an expert on something or as a specific kind of destination — like a wedding hotel, etc. Use social media to market your niche.

    3. Write content

    Write good content about your industry and offer it for others to use/purchase. This really helps get your name out there.

    4. Blog

    You don’t want to get left behind when it comes to a presence on the Internet. A website is great, but a blog can help ensure that you connect with your customers and keep them up to date.

    5. Respond to bad press

    If you get bad press or comments on social media sites, respond to them — appropriately. Don’t just fight back or argue, because that won’t help you keep or redeem your reputation. Instead, be respectful, polite, and clear about the issue. (more…)

  • 5 Great Ideas to Help You Build a Blog Following

    Posted Jan 14th, 2011 By in Blogging With | 5 Comments

    Everyone out there with a blog wants a bigger following.  If it is brand new, you want to get a piece of the pie.  If it is already established, you want to get a bigger piece of the market.  Still, the toughest part is getting that initial following which will make your blog relevant on the scene.  How can you build that following?  Here are the ideas you need to have your blog hit the ground running.

    1. Corner a market. People will wonder what the point of your blog is if it does not have a certain piece of the market cornered.  You are new, so you have to stand out.  Surely, you have thought of something new or would have little reason to get out there in the first place, right?  Nail your themes down very early on so people know they can count on you from the outset.  If they know they are getting something special when they visit your blog, they will continue coming back – as long as you deliver.

    2. Spark a controversy. Well, it doesn’t have to be a major controversy.  In fact, it doesn’t have to be anything ridiculous at all.  What you ought to do, however, is take a concept which is integral to your overall message and get it out there in the boldest possible way.  If you hit a nerve, people will associate you with that relevant style.  If you back it up with real substance, you are going to have a number of readers ready to follow wherever you might lead them.

    3. Have some relevant links. Having your niche in the field you write about is different from being isolated on a far-flung island.  You want to be part of a community, so team up with websites and other blogs that don’t tread on your ground but instead help you achieve your goals.  You may benefit a lot from these associations.  Keep in mind that you can also be considered guilty by association, so take your links seriously.

    4. Mix in some quality video. One of the great things about writing in the twenty-first century is that you can also be a rock star at the same time.  YouTube can be your MTV and you can make your blog sing in ways that never will happen in print.  It’s important that you don’t look like most bloggers (bespectacled and bearded) if you want to stand out.  However, for a literary blog, that might just be the look you can pull off.  Whatever you do, make sure your videos have the goal of more readers, not viewers.

    5. Troubleshoot the other blogs. Blogs that are similar in your field will always have problems.  If you notice them surely others do as well.  Why not be the go-to place for solving the issues on the scene?  People always have some feeling that a void exists when this is the case.  If you fill that void, you’ll instantly gain a number of readers.

    Guest Author: This article was written by Mona Pennypacker of Acorn Creative Studio who specializes in web site design in Colorado.

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