Anyone who has lurked on the Flying Solo forums, realises the amazing breadth and depth of talent hidden in back bedrooms around Australia. For others hard at work in traditional servicing businesses, they are weighing the odds between having the perceived safety of using an agency or company that employs staff and talks the language of the corporates... or realising that their marketing/IT needs can be filled best by 2-3 trustworthy freelancers.

One advantage is that small businesses on a budget can order up a small project of low-cost, like Adwords management, that their staff might flounder with, to gain better results. Similarly, if the freelancer knows about SEO they can educate the business owner of the benefits and work it into a web makeover or content writing job... without expecting them to pay $2,000 upfront for SEO without knowing the return. Conservative business managers tend to believe it only when they see the numbers and the results. Inch by inch, it’s a cinch!
]]>jennifer@pow.net.auWriting, marketing, small business issues2009-08-09T09:18:03+10:00http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/f4c2661561dba8a7cba74821518ee53a-8.html#unique-entry-id-8http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/f4c2661561dba8a7cba74821518ee53a-8.html#unique-entry-id-8Everybody has something that they are passionate about and have a carrier load of knowledge about. Instead of leaving it locked up in your mind, release it into blog-space with an easily set up blog (such as Blogger.com).

Luckily, to create web logs, you don’t even have to be a great writer. As people are searching for specific, helpful content, they are looking for ideas in plain English.

With blogging, you must remember that is not like advertising; first you must build your credibility and this means focussing on giving readers good value. That said, a blog can be a great way to gain more traffic to your site, and get people talking about issues in your industry.

So, remember to add your URL (main link) to your website and, if the blog is a separate entity, fill out the ‘About’ information section with a summary of your background.

How Often Should I Write?

This depends on your time, but if you put aside half an hour per week, this should be enough to write a good post. Prior to writing, you should read a few business magazines and/or content rich websites, so that you are up-to-date on today’s talked about issues. The latest Dynamic Business and Nett magazine issues talk about:

• Beginner’s guide to social media
• Using Twitter
• Working from virtually anywhere (virtual offices, PAs, technology)
• How should importers deal with today’s difficulties
• Cloud computing and outsourcing of IT
• Rewarding staff on a shoestring
• Starting your own social network
• How green is my computer? (Environment and IT)
• Beginner’s guide to content management
• Business-class service (for B2B)
• Foreign trade for the small business

As an example, you could write about your ideas on these issues, or how a new technology/media has actually affected how you work. Personal anecdotes are very powerful after you open up a current issue with an overview.

When I first started blogging, I thought a few posts would be enough, then I took a look around other blogs (try Technorati, Stumble Upon, or blogger.com) and realised some popular blogs are very professional, have several writers, and hundreds of posts.

If you are in a niche industry, don’t forget to add the keywords most people would type in the search box throughout your post... if it makes sense, that is!
]]>jennifer@pow.net.auWebsite marketing, seo2009-07-20T17:23:55+10:00http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/8cb1cd29e73b82ec057b87469b32b5cd-7.html#unique-entry-id-7http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/8cb1cd29e73b82ec057b87469b32b5cd-7.html#unique-entry-id-7Page Title
Ensure that you have a good page title that describes what the page is about and keep it short, up to a maximum of 65 characters. Include your field and your general location, if location is pertinent.

Headings
The most important header tag is the h1 tag. It is a heading tag that is big and bold. It used to be a critical SEO factor but now its just one factor. Be sure to include one h1 tag at the top of the page but ensure it is not the same as the title Tag (or incur a penalty for over-optimisation).

Keywords
Keyword density used to be the rage a few years ago and the belief was that the more number of times the keyword phrase appeared in the copy, the search engines recognised it and ranked the page well. This is not true. Copy that is meaningful and appealing to humans is the most important criterion.
Subheadings will break up the text and allow for quicker scanning of important areas by readers.

Focus
Does your Copy answer the queston "what's in it for me"? If so, you are on your way to better sales conversion rates. If not, a rewriting of your website by a copywriter will highlight the various benefits of your services.]]>jennifer@pow.net.auWebsite marketing2009-07-20T17:20:46+10:00http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/253c93bab900a332cf780c940d8af652-6.html#unique-entry-id-6http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/253c93bab900a332cf780c940d8af652-6.html#unique-entry-id-6

Would you like to save some time? Then listen closely... repurposing content will save your business both time and money.

If you have an original consumer-friendly article, then make it dance a few jigs; load it on your website, upload it to an ezine article bank, e.g. www.therepozitory.com.au, put a summary or the whole article in your enewsletter, and load it onto your Facebook page (use Notes section).

Onlywire.com is a useful tool for those who have multiple social bookmarking accounts, as it loads up your article automatically on various sites, e.g. it adds a link on Twitter if you provide your username and password.

If you have a good news release, then many choices arise. Approach the news media directly with a cover email and a release attached (remembering contact details always), post it to PRWeb.com for global visibility, or if it’s only of local relevance, choose your media on www.seekingmedia.com.au. Most news release distribution services do provide a way to include social media tags, which are picked up in Technorati, DIGG, del.icio.us, etc., increasing your impact even more.

Also put a summary into your enewsletter with a link to the full story on your website news/media page. If you have a news section, it takes very little time to establish an RSS feed button so anyone interested can subscribe to your news.

What About the Media?

Remember that a lot of consumers are picking up news directly online these days, so sometimes it's not necessary to have a buddy-buddy relationship with magazine and news editors worldwide. But it does help if you want to target a niche industry and an exclusive magazine, to look into what the editors are WANTING to receive. Because they get many, many releases from PR people, and just once they would like to have a real person asking the editor what they want to feature in the issue after next (that's how far they work ahead).

When repurposing your content, remember that you are catching a wider cross-section of audience, and very few people will be reading it twice, although that depends on your marketing reach.

By Jennifer Lancaster, Power of Words]]>jennifer@pow.net.aumarketingmarketing materials2009-07-03T20:03:59+10:00http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/myblog.html#unique-entry-id-3http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/myblog.html#unique-entry-id-3First of all, let’s look at why people purchase:
 

1. They have a problem or need, and the product meets their needs
2. They have trust in you, your brand or offering
3. The timing is right – they want it now

Delivering quality content will ensure that your readers begin to trust you for your niche expertise, and this trust eventually leads to SALES.  You are overcoming their understandable doubts over dealing with an unknown business, by developing this ongoing relationship. Offering free and helpful advice is also key to developing trust in the reader.
Your clients receiving this regular reminder of your services will also bring in more sales - and more profits, since you didn’t have to pay again to acquire them.
Your regular ezine creates a long-term communication channel between your business and the prospect/client. As long as they have given their permission to be emailed (opted in or past client), and you provide an unsubscribe link at the foot of the email, this mailing is not considered “spam”.
Then, when the time is right for them, the person or brand who comes to mind will be the one that provided the best information and fulfillment of that particular need.
 Marketing your ezine is a low-cost way to grow your business. To your subscribers, your business is only a click or a call away, and curiosity may soon overwhelm them to contact you.
Ezines are an interactive process.  You can easily conduct surveys and also test which articles are more popular. A survey allows you to collect some demographics for more targeted marketing, and you could provide a small prize or discount offer in return. 
Ezines can easily drive traffic to your website, and links can zero into what you want to show them. These clicks can be tracked.
Instead of gambling a lot of marketing dollars on advertising a new product, you can market test an ad for a new widget or new idea for service in your regular ezine, and check response rates.  Email is free, whereas mailouts and print advertising are most definitely not.
Once established, you can if you wish include third-party advertisements in your ezine, and advertisers will pay you for this. 
 
But How Do I Create an Ezine?
 
To create a successful ezine, it must be unique, targeted, relevant and concise. To grow your reputation, it must also be well written. Since ezines are now freely available for people to pick and choose, yours must convey original content. 
 
You are probably way too busy doing what you do best to compile a well-researched newsletter every month.  That’s where using a professional writer comes in. It is my job to make the ezine sound like it has come straight from you (the publisher) as an expert in your field.  Other industry experts can also be called on to lend credibility. So write a brief and get a few quotes from copywriters, such as Power of Words. We offer affordable copywriting from a home office. 
 
Then you just need to choose your automated email provider, which I can recommend, try the free monthly trial, and then you are on your way. After the first month it costs from around $31 per month depending on subscriber numbers.
 
Once the setup has been completed, by using outsourcers, managing an ezine can totally be taken out of your hands, leaving you more time to talk to your customers, friends, or dog.



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In a 2008 Micro Business survey by Flying Solo, 44% of participants said the biggest challenge they faced was finding enough clients/customers. Wouldn’t it be good if that was made a little easier and less expensive?  Business people need marketing that gets results, and that is what I have been studying for years.

While 85% of respondents found clients through word-of-mouth, 31.9% found customers through their website, 32.8% through other business partnerships, and 27.4% through social networking and forums. Cold calling ranked way down at 15%…  eye-opening figures for sure. Perhaps we should not be afraid to try new marketing mediums, especially low cost ones.

Many advertising salespeople out there are getting desperate… because things are changing. Businesses of all sizes are taking some budget away from traditional print, radio, and TV, and focussing more online, with the aim of creating ‘touch-points’ with customers. This means the organisation is visible and even interacts with the customer where they are having fun, sharing and communicating – like in a virtual community or social network.

Most of us know how important it is to make our websites search engine optimised. Amazingly, only 18% of the 1411 participants had their website SEO working satisfactorily, with a large proportion having done no SEO at all. Search Engine Optimisation is one of those things that can be done with zero budget if you have the right knowledge, and I explain how in my new guide. It is befuddling to me that something that can attract customers naturally is not even being done by the majority. 

How hard is it to be exceptional on the internet in 2009? It’s not hard, if you have a roadmap.

In the Small Business/Entrepreneur’s Guide to Digital Marketing on a Shoestring, you will be given the knowledge to market and test it all yourself, or get the help should you need it, all online.




]]>jennifer@pow.net.aucopywritingsmall business issuesWebsite marketing2009-07-05T19:40:29+10:00http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/myblog.html#unique-entry-id-1http://www.pow.net.au/myblog_files/myblog.html#unique-entry-id-1There seems to be general confusion about what small businesses really need to do to get ahead with their online traffic-building and marketing (e.g. Twitter, keywords, tags, inbound links, cross links, paying for directory listings to gain traffic, Adwords, ad infinitum). Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and try to jump the horse before making him trot. I’ve done my searches on empty titles {Page Title} and found so many websites built by newbies and small businesses on a shoestring. Yes, I have seen pink text on a BRIGHT blue background and grey text on a black background, but what I’m interested in is how focussed you are on yourselves. Shame on you.

The boys over at FutureNow Inc have more tools, webinars, and reports than the average marketer, and they also don’t mind giving them away. One great tool I’ve found is the ‘We We tool’ - it interprets how many we’s you are using compared to how many you’s. Is your spiel all about yourself, or is it client/customer focussed? Try it out here… if you dare.

Another fascinating read to help cut the crud from your SEO and marketing is Copyblogger.com. The latest blog is ‘How to Write Copy for Short Attention Spans‘. You will notice several different writers’ advice on copyblogger, all of excellent quality… hence their popularity.

But What About Social Media — the New Phenomenon? At every second turn someone is promoting an event to help businesses learn social media networking. Just here in Brisbane we have had two lately, and another on 27 May with Interactive Minds about Using Twitter. Then there is the Social Media Success Summit (all online), which kicks off 26 May.

You might have considered using Twitter yourself. Find out if it is really valuable in this article. Some very localised businesses would not suit that style of marketing, especially one where you do everything yourself! Remember, you can only do so much. And with that advice, off I go to enjoy the rest of my day as a Mum instead of a SEO copywriter with ADD.



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