Archive for the ‘Realistic Expectations’ Category

A Copywriter’s POV: Get Published & Get Noticed

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

Hello,

Are you a business owner, with a web site — but haven’t been published, yet?

Well, I don’t want to chastise you, but you must do it!

Why?  Well there are lots of reasons, and I’ll list some of them.

7 Reasons You Want to Get Published …

1.  Get noticed.

2.  Establish yourself as an expert.

3.  After you’re seen as an expert.

4.  Enjoy the recognition from being an expert.

5.  Get more business from those who read your published materials.

6.  It’s easy to do.

7.  If you can’t do it, you can hire someone inexpensively to ghostwrite it.

And there are so many different things you can write that will give you the prestige for ‘being published.’  You can, for example, write a real book — you know, the old-fashioned, printed kind?

3 Ways to Get Published & Get Noticed:

1.  Self Publish a Print Book …

You can even self-publish and you don’t have to worry about finding an agent, who’ll represent you to the big publishing houses … with whom, your chances are slim and none anyway.

For self-publishing, there are a lot of companies, who do ‘on-demand publishing.’  That’s when you order a book online at amazon.com and if it’s an ‘on demand’ book, one computer will tell another one to print off one copy of this book and mail it to you.  (It’s seamless to the buyer.)

In fact, I published my book, The Wacko From Waco, this way, with iUniverse.  They were great!

2.  Publish an eBook …

This is super easy.  Just write your manuscript in a Word document.  Then, when complete, you’ll want to convert it to a pdf file.

If you know how to do this, great.  But if not, you can hire it done very inexpensively.

Next, decide if your objective is just to enhance your reputation — to be seen as an expert and, therefore, get more business because more people will recognize you as an expert in your field …

Or, is your objective to sell the ebook for profit?  If so, you’ll have to decide if you want to sell it on your site, assuming the subject matter is compatible.  If it isn’t, then I suggest you get a new domain name and a hosting account, so you can sell your ebook.

You’ll also need a shopping cart, of course, where you’ll upload your ebook’s pdf, so your customers can download it, after they pay for it.  A great source for how to write an ebook is Bob Bly’s site.

3.  Publish Some Articles …

Most likely, you’ve heard/read a lot about this one.  There are many article directories you can use to do this.  Aside from the obvious reason of being seen as an expert, you’ll also do this, in order to get back links to your site … that means that those who use your article will link back to your site.

When you write the article, you’ll get a ‘resource box’ at the end.  Here is where you get get to tell a bit about yourself – and provide a link to your site … the real reason to do this, IMO.

There are many of these, but the one I like best is Submit Your Article.com.

So, there you are — 3 ways you can use to establish yourself as an expert and, hopefully, get more business, as a result.  Don’t expect overnight success, though.  You need to be diligent and write often about topics your prospects would find beneficial.

And, whether you publish an ebook, articles or promote your print book on your business web site or on a different URL — be sure to get it optimized by a real expert — so the search engines will be sure to find you when someone looks for you.

I work with two excellent SEO experts.  They are very responsive, fast and know their stuff!  Aly at WordPress Consultant and SEO and Ryan at clarkeconsulting@comcast.net.  Aly has gone well above and beyond the call of duty both for my site and my blog!  And Ryan can also produce a simple web site that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

If you need help to develop an overall marketing plan or marketing strategy that will include the expertise of a kickass copywriter, I’ll be happy to assist you.

Good luck getting noticed!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Professional Copywriters Don’t Walk on Water: Do You Suffer From “Unrealistic Expectations” for Your Internet Marketing Efforts?

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

Most of my clients are savvy enough to know that effective Internet marketing requires a lot of misses, before they get a hit. 

But once in a while, I run into someone who doesn’t understand that copywriters can’t promise a ‘home run’ every, single time.  (I usually gracefully decline these folks.)

Look at even the best baseball players … they strike out more often than they get a hit.  A GREAT hitter, with a .300 batting average, misses 7 out of 10 times that he steps up to the plate.

And, then there’s the Einstein story of failure.  After a thousand experiments that didn’t work, he didn’t give up. Thankfully, he didn’t cave in because the next one (#1,001) testing a tungsten filament … worked brilliantly! 

And we’re still benefiting from that brilliance.  So, the question is … are you a business owner, with realistic expectations, who understands you have to test, test, test?  Or, are you looking for that impossible homerun every, single time at bat?

Marketing online, using Google ads to drive traffic to a landing page, for example, expecting you’ll become a millionaire in 30 days … is probably NOT going to happen, no matter how convincing the copy is!

 

Yes some Internet marketers, who sell information products on how other Internet marketers can get rich at least ‘claim’ to do that. 

But for most businesses, whether you’re selling a product to consumers or B2B or you’re selling a service … it ain’t gonna happen.

 So, what IS the realistic approach to marketing online? 

If you want to be profitable and competitive over the long haul, you’ll need to test a lot.  Marketing tests will reveal what works and what doesn’t.

 

Test the offer.  Test the way you ask for the order.  Test the way you ask for their email address.  Test your ads.  Test everything … and go with the winner.

One Google ad that I know of, increased click-thrus by 30%, just by changing ONE word. 

The tests, themselves, won’t make money.  But, they’ll tell you what the searchers respond to best.  And that, after all, is what you care about, right? 

And, when you find a winner that’s withstood the ‘test of testing’ … then you can make money, by using it again and again, with sound strategy and carefully planned roll-outs, hopefully.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com