Writing.

Yep, when it comes down to it, without written content, you don’t really have anything.

The fact is CONTENT IS KING. You’ve probably heard that expression before. It is absolutely true.

Too often, small business owners don’t give written content the attention it deserves. They write their own copy, or ask Suzy in Accounting to do it. If they’re really desperate, they might go to a site like oDesk or Guru.com and post an ad for someone, anyone, who can write. Unfortunately, if it’s a lowball price, the quality of the writing they receive is likely to be very poor.

Don’t consider your copy writing a necessary evil. Do take the time to develop great copy and do spend the money on someone with demonstrable writing skills, if necessary. Isn’t your business worth it?

Why should you use social media? It’s simple; defined by one word: Connections.

Social media accounts allow you to make connections with people who might be become customers. If you make your posts interesting, your followers/friends are bound to want to know more about you and your company. If all you do is try to sell them on your products or services, you are wasting your time.

I see the worst offenders on Twitter. Many corporate clients see it as a numbers game. Increase your followers to thousands and you’ve won the battle, right? Wrong.

The problem with having thousands of followers, and following thousands yourself, is that there is simply too many tweets to read, let alone follow up on. So instead of simply posting links to a buy page, reach out and make some connections. Find someone who has posted on an interesting topic and respond/retweet. Ask a question. Offer a freebie.

With Facebook, you have more options for making connections. You can get some real discussions going. Ask questions and use the responses to more narrowly define your target market or determine the Call to Action in your advertising pieces.

LinkedIn is a great forum for starting discussions, too. Form your own group around a topic associated with your particular industry.

However, the real key to making social media work for you is responding after you’ve reached out. And this takes time. If you don’t have the time yourself, you must appoint someone on your staff to check all your social media accounts daily and draft an appropriate response to messages and posts. If a follower/friend directly contacts you and they receive no response, you can bet they won’t do it again. And that means you’ve just lost a connection. Back to square one.

I’m currently writing an auto responder email series on how to use social media to become an industry icon. If you are interested in using these series as a free giveaway on your site, just contact me.

Now go out there and CONNECT!

How It Changes Internet Marketing

I recently saw a short news item on TV showing a 90-year-old woman who just got her first computer – and it was an iPad. To me this illustrates that its market reach is going to be enormous. It’s convenient, lightweight, and easy to use with its touch screen just like the iPhone. And because its capabilities extend beyond those of a cell phone, it could function as a person’s only internet connection, allowing them to update blogs, access social media sites, and enjoy a truly interactive experience.

One way this changes marketing is that optimization of web page size is going to be tricky. The internet marketer now needs to come up with a page that is equally reader-friendly on a PDA, iPad, laptop, or large PC monitor.

But the most major change occurs with eBooks. The iPad’s eBook reader provides a reading experience combined with internet access. Unlike the Kindle or other readers, a book on the iPad provides live links. If your information product references a website, for instance, that link can be live and clickable, taking the reader to the page instantly.

Apps are a big part of the iPad’s interactive features as well. Savvy business people will get to work developing an app to be offered as an information product. This increase subscribership and creates customer loyalty.

As the iPad remains on the market longer and increases in popularity, expect that more and more people will choose this product for all their online activity. This means an internet marketer needs to pay more attention to providing interesting and diverse content in order to compete with the millions of other sites vying for the consumer’s attention.

Design Elements

Opt for an understated design rather than flashy, gimicky graphics. Keep the color scheme pleasantly moderate and refrain from drawing attention to calls to action with big red, flashing letters in all caps. Of course you want visitors to notice a buy link, but do so via content rather than posting a line that resembles a Las Vegas casino marquee. Watch the use of punctuation, such as large exclamation points, too!!! Graphics are fine, but forget the flash animation and stick with images that enhance the content.

Offer Something for Free – That Isn’t Really Free

There are lots of websites that try to trick subscribers into signing up for something free – only to find out that it isn’t REALLY free. For example, offering a free product only if the visitor enters their credit card and agrees to receive monthly shipments is an underhanded marketing method. This could ultimately cause your company to develop a bad reputation and negatively affect future sales.

Instead, consider offering something like an eBook, white paper, catalog, etc. that is truly free asking only for the visitor’s name, address, and email in exchange. This is the best way to get visitors on your mailing list and then develop a relationship based on trust and recognition. Need help creating a free offer? aWay With Words can develop an informative document at a very reasonable, one-time price.

Pop-Up Messages

Automated pop-ups are a fine way to keep visitors on your site or exhort them to sign up for your mailing list, but don’t overdo it. Too many pop-ups tend to annoy visitors and could result in the opposite of what you are trying to achieve – gaining a new prospect or client. Limit this type of automated tool to just one in order to recapture potential bounces or keep a visitor from logging off the buy page. When you do get subscribers through your pop-up message, don’t spam their inboxes with too frequent messages. Once a week plus special notices is plenty.

You may want to do a bit of internet research to ensure that your site does not appear unprofessional and scammy. Take a look at some – they are easy to find – then take steps to design your pages differently so visitors see a professional, trustworthy business.