Information-based arm of Designated Editor, dedicated to demystifying search marketing& social media & advocating Clear-Clean-Concise-Content that humans LIKE reading!

Archive for May, 2009

Effective e-Books step-by-step by Jonathan Kranz “Writing Copy for Dummies” at New England EXPO for Business

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Effective e-Books step-by-step by Jonathan Kranz at  New England EXPO for Business
Sponsored by Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association

Research what’s out there, and ID experts from within your own organization

Do an annotated outline: share with marketing team for feedback, way before you write a first draft

Intro, main body, conclusion
Intro: why this report, what’s here, what’s the context, what’s at stake

Avoid gray text, help skimmers, make easy to read

Body: break up visually with

  • Headlines: explicitly say what about, start with active verb
  • Body: Fill that idea
  • Callout box & sidebars: Then & Now, Charts & graphs, quotes from customers, Old & new, real life examples


Each point gets its own page

Connect content to action

  1. Summarize the value of the info
  2. Move from abstract to specific: get them to apply those tools to own orgs
  3. Encourage a next step. Now what? Invite them to a blog, offer a demo, webinar attend


Apply superior screening practices: Offer a quiz, if you haven’t answered 3 positively, go to the web, consult an expert

Remind value, make it personal, encourage next step

Flip the perspective: Make the quiz all “YOU” questions, make it personal!!

Don’t sell: the company, product, service, vision, mission
You’re setting yourself up as an expert; stick to value of the content, the value is the info!

Posted in Content | 5 Comments »

Journalists’ new outlet: Repurposing our skills to meet today’s demand

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

By Suzanne McDonald
Designated Editor

Purists will cross their eyes at the notion of journalists becoming corporate advocates. Hey, we gotta eat, right? There’s a place for us, it’s just unfamiliar.

Never before has written communication played a greater role in everyday decision-making. Few decisions, especially major ones, are made without research. Journalists should pay heed.

Companies, meanwhile, should also listen up. Research does not constitute poring through mass infusions of blatant self-promotion.

Here we have: Peanut butter and jelly. Throw in a high regard for ethics, and everyone wins:

  • Journalists, after retiring that title, will get to eat;
  • Organizations/Corporations will be heard, and most importantly will have the opportunity to listen;
  • Best of all, buyers win overall: They’re heard; they buy; they get what they want.


Isn’t that the mission of journalists: to educate in an unbiased manner?

Blogging and community-building, hosted by corporations and nonprofits, is our new medium.

Posted in Designated Editor's perspective | No Comments »

Corporate blogging “This is the way the world works today” — John Cass from ideaLaunch at New England Expo for Business, part 1

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

“Marketing with Corp blogs: Customers are willing to talk if you’re willing to listen” at the New England Expo for Business
Speaker: John Cass Director of Marketing at ideaLaunch

Gen Y = Digital natives: grown up with phones, etc.

Transparency: People don’t like hidden messages, reveal who you are and reveal connections

Dialog: Key to building trust through authenticity

Use to connect w Gen Y, also works for other generations. “This is the way the world works today”

Content mktg strategy that combines marketing and SEO

Blogs perfect for SEO, in terms of keywords, indexability, and links
Have an engagement strategy.

Compelling content and engagement

3 types of corp blogs

1.    Columnist: really good stuff that you write, don’t answer comments, don’t do outreach to blogging community
2.    Host write content, write back about comment
3.    Most successful: Social engager: writes content, has strategy for reading what’s going on in blogging community and build relationships

Posted in Boston American Marketing Association | 6 Comments »

PRSA’s “Getting Started With Social Media” with Steve Quigley, Boston University PR professor

Friday, May 22nd, 2009


Getting Started With Social Media

A PRSA/SENE

Professional Development Event

http://www.prsasene.org/Events/Social_Media_Event_5-21-09.htm

5/21/09

Steve Quigley, Boston University PR professor

Steve’s talk was largely geared to his audience, PR practitioners, who are grappling with social media and how to utilize these tools. There’s always something to learn, so I’ve noted a few resources that were mentioned. What I found most interesting is how traditional media instructors are adjusting to this wide new world. The answer, it seems: as best they can. A very engaging speaker who’s figuring how to mesh the old and new.

Real benefit is gathering input real-time

“Manifesto for the 21st Century Public Relations Department”

Book: “The Clue Train,” understand how the old guard thinks

Book: “New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott

Council of PR firms prfirms.org white paper: “Evolving Role of PR in the Age of Social Media”

Seth Godin: Flipping the funnel

  • how to turn strangers into friends
  • friends into customers
  • and then customers into salespeople

Hopes

  • We’ll get paid to be listening
  • Rediscover our voices, our real selves
  • Guide organizations and ourselves toward greater authenticity & empathy

Commoncraft.com = simple videos to explain complicated things: RSS, blogs 3 minutes

Technorati does annual state of the blogosphere

AdAge Power 150, top comm. Blogs

New Age clipping: Randian6, BuzzMetrics

Posted in Providence networking and learning | 52 Comments »

“Your website should be like a party: When people show up offer a drink — “Copywriting for Dummies” author at New England EXPO for Business

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

Speaker: Jonathan Kranz
http://www.kranzcom.com/

Harness the power of creating content that people find valuable that brings them in
    Valued by qualified prospects
    Genuinely useful expertise
    Essential lure

The correct attitude for inbound marketing =  Create a mirror: don’t be narcissistic

Your website should be like a party: when people show up offer a drink, bathrooms, here, take your coat

You have this problem? Fortunately we can help … here’s what you’ll find on our site

What’s going to keep them? bookmark the page? Talk to their friends about it?

Reports, articles, ebooks, newsletters, blogs

Balance          what you know      with       their needs

                   All your experience                 Customers hopes, dream, desires
                                                                  What keeps them up at night
                                                                  What will make them look good

Connect the dots: write content that’s meaningful

We forget what we help people with

Tell me something you did successfully that helped a client, achieve a goal

Posted in Content | 3 Comments »

“Content is more important than ever before” Jonathan Kranz at New England EXPO for Business

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

How businesses are being changing by social media, moderator John Cass
Sponsored by the American Marketing Association Boston Chapter
New England EXPO for Business 5/19/09

Bob Cargill, Nowspeed Marketing
Ave employee trusted more than CEO

Mike Volpe HubSpot
As a marketer, think more like a publisher than an advertiser, use content to get found in SEO, engage with people in social media

People missing huge portion of equation if only focus on social media, should be publishing

Jonathan Kranz, “Writing Copy for Dummies”

Web like train station: first place where people contact you, place to find your intel, direct them to your intel

Social media: question is, should or not engage in blogs, Twitter etc., what is right mix of tools and platforms that matches best with your targets and how they communicate. Communicate with your prospects and customers where they are

Content is more important than ever before. It’s attracting customers and prospects with something they’ll find valuable or even entertaining

Marc Fireman, Fleishman-Hillard

Now in networked model and you can’t control your message
Consideration and preference is being developed in social media, e-tail sites
Campaigns used to last months, social media is far longer
Social Media is like an event, you need the human element, invite people to try things, listen to what they say

Mike Think about allocating media budget and more about hiring people to publish the media in-house,

Jonathan authenticity isn’t good enough, have to show reasons why people should engage with us. “We’re the ones with candy and flowers ate the door”

Bob advertising in social media vs engagement

Marc provide relevance and benefit, not just sales; have means to have deeper conversation with these people, it’s not I need to make a sale today

John (moderator) What about traditional media?

Jonathan What journalists don’t realize is there’s no better time to be a professional communicator. Thanks again for mentioning our conversation earlier today and plugging Designated Editor

Marc Just start, you can’t learn it from a book, have to understand what’s happening. Build it, and they will come.

Jonathan Start with just reading and watching, get a sense of the lay of the land

Mike Can’t ignore that this is happening. Someone is saying something about you. You’re already getting negative feedback, may as well as be there to respond

Mike outbound marketing is being ignored. It’s not about just social media, it’s about putting it all together. Location-based services

Jonathan Wonder if the next big thing is going to be aggregation, so many places to look

Mike SEO, blog, all assets that you build, measure and see returns over time

John (moderator) How is Twitter changing digital marketing

Mike speeding things up what’s happening this particular nanosecond

Audience question How much extra time are you spending on this, on top of your traditional tasks?

Bob have editorial calendar, schedule blogs, YouTube videos

Mike it’s intertwined throughout marketing and involved ppl outside

Jonathan Still wrestling with keeping up, focus on quality vs quantity

Marc Spend 1-2 hours per day extra on social media efforts

Posted in Boston Social Media groups, Social Media | No Comments »

“Search engines don’t rank websites, they rank pages of a website” — Nick Stamoulis @ Brick Marketing’s daylong workshop

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Please note: this is purely highlights about content and keywords from Nick Stamoulis’s portion of the daylong workshop. The seminar also covers email marketing and website pillars.  To sign up for upcoming Boston-area workshops: 

www.brickmarketing.com/internet-marketing-workshops.htm

This is not intended to be final copy.

Speaker: Nick Stamoulis
5/13/09

Content

  • Write for humans first, search engines second
  • Only have seconds to deliver what people want, don’t make them scour your site
  • Avoid grammar, spelling errors
  • Incorporate keywords naturally
  • How much content per page: 250 words min.
  • Write content to help visitors, not for search engines


Search engines don’t rank websites, they rank pages of a website

Keywords

  • Is this applicable to the type of visitor you want to come to your page
  • Doesn’t matter if ranking well for a term that know one is looking for
  • Use many variations of the same phrase
  • Only optimize 2-5 keywords per page, which are related
  • Research keywords individually for each page
  • Don’t just sprinkle keywords around the site


Age of website
When site has been around for a long time, become valued

Components to be optimized

  • Content
  • Meta Title Tags: short natural sounding description of what’s on the page w/  keywords
  • Footer: have co name, mailing address, email, phone number on every page
  • Site maps: enable search engines to index them all


Start with SEO and then add to blog, articles

Link building tools:

  • Blogging
  • Online publicity: Slide for sources, have 1-2 relevant links, 375 word min, each unique
  • Blog comments: Research the blogs that your customers read, use a real human not a company
  • Local profiles: Google maps, Superpages, Yahoo! local, yelp, yellow pages
  • Article mining: Google Knol, EZineartciles
  • Social Networking: Google profiles, Squidoo, FB, MySpace
  • Video marketing: Animoto, they animate a powerpoint
  • Directory submission


After site optimized

  • Plan out in advance 2-4 diff link-building activities each month
  • Don’t do more, because could get flagged
  • Build trust and authority: position self as expert in your industry

Posted in Boston SEO Networking Group | No Comments »

What do you have that varies from your competitors? SEMNE’s “Determining the SEO Health of Your Website” with Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings

Friday, May 15th, 2009

SEMNE: Determining the SEO Health of Your Website with Jill Whalen 5/12/09

Speaker: Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings
http://www.highrankings.com/

http://www.semne.org/meetings/determining-the-seo-health-of-your-website#

How search Engines Work

2 components
Crawler: fetch the pages, trouble if can’t see
Algorithm: Relevancy, what others say about you, what you say about yourself

Be sure site doesn’t impede spiders

Google’s text cache: see what’s indexed
    Menu links (Java menus can be a problem, not just Flash)
    Headlines
    Content
    Anyone can use this, doesn’t need any technical skill

Site operator
    Shows: how many and which URLs indexed
    Duplicate content issues
    URL problems, not getting indexed
    See what title tags look like
    Pages indexed that shouldn’t be

Http Header checker
    Check bad URLs
    Check redirects

Randycullom.com/headerchecker

Keywords & content issues: what to look at
    Keywords targeted
    Site architecture
    Anchor text
   
Keyword phrases
    Only 1 phrase? Biggest waste of SEO, every page should target a bunch
        Shouldn’t strictly target 1 keyword for 1 phrase
Use a few related phrases
    Only highly competitive phrases
        Only works if you’re an established site with a lot of marketing $s
        Other, easier phrases to get
    Phrases that aren’t relevant
        This traffic doesn’t convert
    No phrases
        Designers who have no SEO clue may haven’t incorporated keywords

Use: adwords.google.come/select/keywordtoolexternal
    USE EXACT MATCH, much more accurate

Title tags
    Unique to each page: don’t repeat them, should be custom
    Focus on main phrases: don’t throw in extra words that don’t matter
        Optimize 3 phrases per page

    10-12 words make for good title tag
    Keyword stuffing: too much is not a good thing

Site architecture
    Are important pages in main navigation
        Don’t bury things, make sure you have internal links
    
Anchor text
    Are navigation links descriptive
    Are there call to action within website: use keywords to describe page pointing to

Content
    Unique to each page
        Uses main keyword phrases
        Stressing the benefits
        Not keyword stuffed
        Is content indexable, found by search engines
        Don’t hide content behind graphics, people want to read content
            Be proud of it
            Your copy makes sales, not pretty pictures

SEO isn’t about stuffing keywords, it’s about writing naturally

Popularity components
    Is the site
        Link-worthy? Is there something worth linking to?
        What do you have that varies from your competitors?
        Linking to/from own properties where it makes sense

        Using other forms of marketing and PR
           
Measuring success
    Just looking at rankings?
        Don’t look at rankings anymore
        No 2 ranking are the same: personalized, geo-focused
    Have analytics
        More important than rankings
        Have Google analytics installed correctly
    Measuring conversion
        Put thank-you page as a goal in analytics
        See which phrases are providing conversions

Firefox keyword extension

Try not to use any one word more than twice in menu and titletags

Use PPC to see what’s converting best and integrate that into web pages

Companies assume people know who you are
Can’t exclude people who don’t know what you do
    Who you are, what are you all about, are searchers in the right place?

Posted in Search Engine Marketing New England | No Comments »

Stephen Jenvey on social media: “This Is R&D. Fail Fast, Fail Often” at Boston AMA’s “Implementing Social Media Into Your Strategic Marketing Plan”

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Boston AMA’s “Implementing Social Media Into Your Strategic Marketing Plan”  April 30

Stephen Jenvey, Partner & Social Media Consultant, b4south

Have to believe in what you’re doing and measure everything do. This is R&D. Fail fast, fail often, build credible data, it speaks for itself


Justin Levy, General Manager, New Market Labs

Can’t start and then 3 months later stop. Have to hussle and engage. Listen is the most important thing you can do. Get on those sites to save your name and business brand

Don’t look for experts, look for the people who hussle & execute


Mike Lewis, VP of Marketing, Awareness Social Media Marketing

Capture data, awareness system, tied into database, know much more about clients, can integrate basic profile info & behavioral info: what they’re posting, what they’re buying,
JetBlue using SM the right way


Jay Welz, VP of Marketing, Dana Farber
Twitter person has a voice, is more personal, have polls, what should we do with this or that

Hired people who didn’t even have Facebook or Twitter accounts

Twitter: don’t ask for money, build awareness, check out video

Posted in Boston Social Media groups, Social Media | 2 Comments »

How he’s made millions: Amit from SuperAffiliateMindset.com and PPC Classroom

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

Boston SEO Networking Group 5/4/09

http://www.meetup.com/BostonSEO/calendar/9671622/

Since guest speaker Amit from SuperAffiliateMindset.com and PPC Classroom was running late, Jeff Selig jumped in and offered background info.

What is a marketing affiliate? Takes different forms: selling good or service or generating a lead for an industry. There’s an affiliate for any group/vertical

Target, acquire, monetize

Provide content for site, for example, that’s specifically geared toward weddings

Link Junction, all kinds out there, banners, text links to add to your site

Find what you’re passionate about: soccer site

Worst revenue: Google AdWords, then eBay, Amazon, then lead generation

Taking feeds in as an affiliate, can juice up the site for affiliates

Content: text, movies, photos

****

Amit and his story:

Used to work at MIT Lincoln Labs, PhD in Physics

Didn’t like job, looking for other income means, discovered Affiliate Marketing

Didn’t even know how to make a website, understanding SEO = find high-volume search terms and put it in article. 6 months of building it, 2 uniques, and no affiliate sales

Read self-development book on setting goals, set a ridiculous goal at $10,000/month

Started focusing and making different decisions. Started looking for other opportunities

So simple but it made sense, had 15 failed campaigns. Most people go through 3 failed and then quit. Participated in forums, if other people can do it, what am I doing wrong, what are they doing right.

Within 4 months, 12/05 made $10K that month, Jan fell to $3,000 but knew it was working. 6/15/06 greatest day of life, making $20K/mo. Said to boss “can’t afford to work for you anymore.”

A week after resigned, profits went to almost zero. Optimize to adjust to new market conditions, back up to $6K the end of the summer.

PPCclassroom.com $10M biz this year
9 modules: keyword research, optimize, 9 coaches, monthly updates
$97/month

Be persistent, consistent, remember your goal

Pick a technique, follow one system, stay consistent until hit 99% competency. 95% you’re breaking even. Think of how much time you need for degree.

Test PPC, SEO and/or social media, see which you really enjoy

“Social media going to be bigger than PPC in the next 5 years”

Two phases: test 15+ offers to find which is profitable. 10% will be profitable. Faster go through them, faster find winner. Focus on the winner: optimize, develop landing pages

Build small site, test it out, main sites have 100s to 1000s of pages

Google quality score: Unique content, send people to real site, contact us, about us

If you strip all affiliate links from site, is it useful at all? No =  bad

Talk to affiliate managers, looking for advice for hot areas

Merchant: personal rapport, quality offers, came recommended,

Clickbank: what type of affiliate support, conversion tracking code
How helpful and proactive are they of their affiliates

Few articles per week, based on conversion data

Good niches: testing, attend trade shows, affiliate summit, mastermind with other affiliates for ideas, which niches are successful, talking to affiliate manager, earnings per click for offer

Best success, someone referring a particular offer

Some link-building and article mining, shifting to social media avenues

Hypertracker.com $20/month is great 2 diff landing pages for 2 different offers
Create 2 ads for every ad group

Majority of online shoppers are female

Most sites 1 point of purchase

Superaffiliatemindset

Perry Marshall blackbelt course on AdWords

Tested Advertising Methods by John Cables

Social media vs. PPC results = 1-2% conversion rates for PPC

More narrow the niche the higher the conversion

Todd Bairstow keywordadvisors.com advises: Local terms = easy results  +  How-to = more longer tail

Other recommendations: Commission Junction = old manager, trusted

Posted in Boston SEO Networking Group | 5 Comments »

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