How I Trademarked My Business - and You Can Too
February 25, 2005 - by Eileen Parzek - I decided to get a registered trademark for the business name. Why would a micro business want or need a trademark? Well, this business operates virtually and at times, internationally - well outside the jurisdiction of a county DBA certificate. So, my rationale was a combination of protection, branding, and admittedly, a desire to stomp on the world and say, "I'm still here!"
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Your Affiliate Web Site Is Built – Now What?
February 25, 2005 - by Vickie J. Scanlon - When I first got my web site built, I thought I finally had a presence on-line. Wrong! I soon found out that I needed someone to host my site, and I needed a domain name. This, I found, was my moment of utter confusion. And my first thought was – “What have I gotten myself into!?” I realized I needed the following questions answered before I could even begin my on-line journey. What do I need in a web host, what is a web host, what is a domain name and – you mean, I have to pay for a domain name as well?
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Is It Time For A Copy Facelift?
February 23, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It is extremely rare for advertising copy to last for extended periods of time. Changing your copy is a given, the reason being that people and events change. Since we, as copywriters, are reaching our customers on an emotional level, we have to stay in tune with what’s going on in their lives and their worlds. Let’s look at an example.
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How To Ruin Your Press Release in 3 Easy Steps
February 22, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - There are some definite strategies you need to use when writing a press release that gets results. There are also some long-standing, proven ways to completely and totally ruin your release. In an effort to help you get what you want out of your next press campaign, I’d like to share the top three “bombs” with you.
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Eleven Things You Must Know About A Drop Shipping Directory And It's Company..
February 21, 2005 - by Brad Beiermann, Ph.D - A directory will not serve you well if it has hundreds of thousands of products, and none of them are in your product interest category. A directory with a good balance has focused on their categories of drop shipper products rather than the quantity. This gives you a better chance of finding something for your line of business.
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Copywriting Makeover: Know Where Your Customers Are In The Buying Process, Part 1 of 2
February 18, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - When you begin to write copy for any product or service, there are a few things you have to take into consideration. The first is always your target audience: who you’ll be writing to. Finding out about the needs and wants of the audience members, their communication styles, their lifestyles, and a multitude of other elements are “musts” before writing one word of copy. But something most people neglect is giving due attention to the buying process as a whole and where your target audience is within that process. Understanding this can, oftentimes, make or break the success of your copy.
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Buy The Keyword-o-Matic Now and Get a Free Call to Action
February 18, 2005 - by Scottie Claiborne - This is a key point that many many pages of website copy miss.. a call to action. You want to let the customer know how to order and encourage them to place the order now, before they browse any competing websites or forget how to find you. It doesn't have to be as blatant or as cheesy as an infomercial, but make sure there are calls to action throughout your copy.
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Progressive Headlines Guide Customers To Buy
February 17, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - Headlines are, without a doubt, one of the most important elements in copywriting. As has been said countless times before, if you don't get your readers’ attention with the headline, the chance of them reading your copy is virtually none. But headlines (and sub-headlines) play a vital part in the copywriting process for other reasons, too.
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Business Blogging Now
February 17, 2005 - by Barry Welford - Blogging and blogs are a hot topic in business circles now. Their very character is the reason for the explosive growth in blogging that is occurring. Here we will give you a bird's eye view of the key elements involved. It will give you the What and the Why and a little of the How. It is intended for Business Owners and Managers rather than the technicians who will implement business blogs. However even the technicians may find this gives them some additional perspective on why this is all evolving the way it is.
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Success Tips for Writing With Local Keyphrases
February 16, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - Regardless of what you're promoting to your local audience, when it comes to using local keyphrases within search engine copywriting, you don't have to sacrifice readability for high placement.
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Improve the Readability of Your Web Page
February 16, 2005 - by Christine Churchill - Reading on the web can be hard work for anyone, not just the aged. Eye strain runs rampant in the online crowd. Numerous studies have shown that reading performance drops dramatically on the web. Fortunately, you can do many things to improve your viewer's reading experience on your site. Here are my favorite readability guidelines
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"Super Adjectives” Boost the Power of Your Copy
February 15, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - Pretty or elegant? Good or scrumptious? Nice or delightful? There is power in the adjectives you choose. Just like Clark Kent and Superman or Bruce Wayne and Batman, some adjectives are plain, ordinary, everyday words. Others are alter-ego Super Adjectives that leap into your customers’ minds in a single bound. Adjectives are boring, but Super Adjectives impress, inspire, and convince your customers more effectively.
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What is Content? Part II
February 15, 2005 - by Scottie Claiborne Both search engines and customers love fresh, updated information. Some people groan at the thought of having to work so hard at adding new content, but it's not as complicated as you think.
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Beading for Fun and Profit: Bracelet Making Birthday Parties
February 14, 2005 - by Rena Klingenberg - You can have fun and make money at the same time by serving the "birthday party activity" niche. Make-and-take gemstone beaded bracelets are a very popular party activity.
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How To Write Little Tiny AdWords Ads That Bring Giant-Sized Profits
February 11, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It seems to be a phenomenon. You try Google AdWords Select, your ad gets “disapproved” by the powers that be at Google, you count your losses and give up. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are two primary factors to succeeding at Google AdWords. The first is getting the right keywords. The second is writing little tiny ads. Neither is all that easy, but they can both be done.
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The Secret Sauce in Web Site Marketing
February 11, 2005 - by Scottie Claiborne - Web site marketing is about getting people to your site, then convincing them to take action: buy, join, subscribe, read more, etc. I'm going to give you the secret to unlocking the potential in your website. Right now. Absolutely for free.
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Calls-To-Action: Making Them Fit Makes All the Difference
February 10, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It was going so well, so what happened? Many copywriters get off to a wonderful start: The headline is compelling, the body copy is benefit-filled, but then comes the call-to-action and the whole thing falls apart. Why? It could be a dozen different reasons, but one of the most common I’ve seen is that the call-to-action doesn’t fit the target audience.
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10 Ways Your Chamber of Commerce Can Help Your Small Business Grow
February 10, 2005 - by Rena Klingenberg - Joining your area's Chamber of Commerce can be a smart move for your home business. Because businesses that participate in this group promote each other and work together, your own business can grow and prosper quickly. Here are just a few ways you can benefit by joining your local Chamber of Commerce.
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Copywriting and Your Five Senses
February 09, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - In its most basic form, copywriting is, among other things, the art of conveying a message in writing for the purpose of persuading someone to do something. This is especially true when writing descriptive copy. Why? Because your customer’s five senses don’t work on paper… they only work in person. That’s why we, as copywriters, have to create a sensory experience for our customers through our words.
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What is Content? Part I
February 08, 2005 - by Scottie Claiborne - Browse any webmaster forum or read web tutorials and you will find that nearly all the experts these days recommend that you have lots of good content on your site. Sounds like good advice, doesn't it? But what does it mean?
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Optimizing Online Catalog Copy for the Search Engines
February 04, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - It only makes sense. You have an e-commerce catalog site. You want lots of visitors to come to your site and buy. The best (and most cost-effective) way to do that is with great search engine placement. However, search engines are text machines, and most catalogs don’t have a lot of text, so herein lies the problem.
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Increasing Conversions Through Action-Oriented Copywriting
February 03, 2005 - by Karon Thackston - One thing that always befuddles me is the lack of focus many site pages have. It's as if the writer assumes the site visitor will read the copy and automatically know what to do next. The fact is you have to know what action you want visitors to take before you get them to take that action. That means knowing what the preferred action you want visitors to take is, before you write the copy.
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Eight Success Tips for Your First Trade Show Booth Display
February 02, 2005 - by Rena Klingenberg - Exhibiting in a trade show can involve a major investment of money and time. But the financial returns for your business can be excellent if you learn some of the secrets of trade show booth success before signing up for a show and investing in your displays.
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Enhancing Your Sweepstakes Promotion to Entice People to Purchase
February 01, 2005 - by Susan Erler - If your objective is to dramatically increase incremental sales from your already existing Web site traffic, then a sweepstakes or contest alone may not help you reach your objective. Consider combining your sweepstakes with other promotion tools to entice visitors to purchase your products.
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