Video Marketing May or May Not Be What Your Business Needs

Video is everywhere, and there are dozens of tools to help you do it well and inexpensively. The cost to hire an expert video firm is dropping, too, thanks to competition.

But before you say, "hey, maybe it's time we invest in video," here's another idea:

Ask yourself if you really need it. Ask yourself if your prospects and customers want it. Ask yourself if you're committed to making it worthwhile.

Because if the answer to any of those questions is less than an enthusiastic yes, you need to go back to the Content Drawing Board, also known as Marketing Plan 101.

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Yes, I'm a copywriter, content manager, marketing communications professional and all-around lover of words. But, I don't believe in content for content's sake. Want to talk about how content can help you attract the right kind of prospects and turn them into customers you'll love doing business with? 

Let's get together. 

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<< This is a good example of smart video marketing. Why?
1. The right tool for the right audience - college students and interns are eating up video.
2. What's better than a testimonial? a testimonial on video!
3. The live event will live as relevant marketing collateral for at least the rest of the summer, probably well into the fall, or even spring semester.

New to video? Periscope is Twitter's video tool; Facebook Live threatened to eclipse it in 2016. Instagram has its own (stories). It's important to note that you don't need to use social media to use video (and vice-versa) - and the tools to create video are getting better, cheaper, and easier to use every day. 

So while it's easy to get overwhelmed (or excited) about the tools, the important thing to remember is that, unless you're in the movie-making business, video is about marketing. 

The tools change constantly; the principles remain pretty much the same. File under "Common Sense Marketing." If you like the sound of that, get in touch. 

Website Content and Considerations - an Excellent Example from Salesforce Partner Pardot

I agree completely with everything in an article on website lead generation that Pardot posted recently.

Completely. With everything.

So, while I don't have permission to publish it here in its entirety, I highly encourage you to read it - if you'd like to get more out of your website, that is.

Go ahead; read it. I'll wait. (You'll come back though, right?

HEY, Welcome Back!  Now that you've read the article, you know that Pardot really walks the talk when it comes to using marketing content for lead generation.

Because that was a pretty darned good example of marketing content, wasn't it? I love it when that happens.

Who Needs Content? Businesses That Need Leads

I just might make it required reading for all of my clients. At least half of my clients are small- to medium-sized businesses who believe that they're too small to follow all the "rules" of marketing and/or they just don't have time to think about marketing. OK, to be fair, they really don't have time.

But what Pardot said is exactly what I keep telling them. If you want your website to help you attract customers and increase sales, you need to:

1. KNOW your customers and what they want
2. Make sure your website helpful, from their perspective and 
3. Create content that makes buying from you (among other things) easier on them.

Good content not only helps you grow your business by generating pre-qualified leads, it also helps to maintain those customer relationships, leading to repeat and referral business. In case you're into that kind of thing... 

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Need help creating content? Sharing it? Or making better use of the content you've already got?
I specialize in marketing small- to medium-size businesses. See my website for more info.

Small But Mighty Important Fixes for Your Website

Your website doesn't have to be an award-winning design delight packed with games and other goodies to attract customers. (Ok; it helps - but it's not absolutely necessary.)

What's essential is that your website is accurate and useful.

Mistakes on your site (or in your business listings) reflect poorly on your business, and they can cost you money.

Be honest - is your website up to date? 

Does it represent your company well? 

Think of your website as part of your customer service team. Is it working for you, or against you? Even if yours is not an ecommerce site, your website is a powerful force that drives sales - or maybe, it drives them away.

Fixing your site may take more than a day (or a week), but you can start now with some very simple steps outlined below. Go to your website, take note of these things - then set aside the time to fix what you can in the next week. A week from now, repeat the exercise. Your site may not look much different, but it will be a lot more useful.

Small But Mighty Important Steps to Improve Your Website

The trick is that you must look at your site with fresh eyes. When you're familiar with a sign, an online or printed page, or even when you read a common phrase, it's easy to overlook mistakes that will throw off someone new to the sight - or in this case, your site.

1. Look at your home page, contact page, and the footer of every page.  You might be surprised how many footers contain incorrect information. And even though "all" of your customers "know" your address, phone number and hours, your prospects don't.
2. Check your copyright date. Is it current? (Nothing says "don't care" like a 2010 copyright!)
3. Is contact information VERY OBVIOUS on EACH PAGE of your site? A customer who doesn't know how to reach you won't buy from you.
4. Click every link on your Home and Contact pages - they are of primary importance. Broken Links are Bad. Fix them. Repeat: Broken Links are Bad. FIX THEM. After you've thoroughly scoured your Home and Contact pages, move through all the other pages. (Start with those most visited and go down the list from there.)
5. Out of time? Make note of what you corrected, and where you stopped. Set aside a little time this week to work through the list methodically, correcting what you can and getting help to fix the other errors. Soon, you'll have made noticeable improvements to the virtual face of your company. Pat yourself on the back! But don't stop there. 

After you've corrected the most basic things that are are wrong with your website and congratulated yourself, take a look at your site from a different perspective. Instead of looking at what's wrong, think about the improvements you would like. Maybe you want to add a staff photo or directory. Or a landing page to tout a new product.

I find that most people managing small businesses assume they can't work on their own websites. Or they're afraid to. The fact is, website management tools get easier to use every day. And while overhauling your entire site is a major undertaking, fixing small errors is easy and offers a big payback - fast.

Get started now, before another prospect decides to leave your site for a competitor.

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It's hard to see your site with fresh eyes. Need help? Ask me about a Website Reality Check. 

Don't Fear the Analytics: What Your Website Can Tell You About Your Small Business

Most of the businesses I work with recognize that to increase their sales (and customer base) they need a consistent marketing/content management effort.

Generally speaking, they understand what needs to be done. And they don't have time to do it.

On the other hand, I've worked with a few business owners who I describe as "going on faith." They have a website and pay monthly management fees because they know they need a website, and they know they don't have time to manage it. They are likely to say, "yeah, we have a website, but it's not doing much for us."

And sometimes, they're right.

What I usually find, however, is that the website is working fine and it's not helping the business much because the site is managed only in accordance with the site provider's schedule.

If your business is at all seasonal or cyclical, that's not good enough. Everything about your business, including your website and content plan, must be managed to make the most of seasonal peaks and other factors that are specific to your business.

The image above illustrates an important point. It's Google Analytics' representation of a website I manage for a client. In this case, the website provider and hosting company handles AdWords, PPC campaigns and keyword management. Those activities are monitored and reported on monthly, and reviews and account changes are handled quarterly - with absolutely NO regard for the local, seasonal, and sales cycle intelligence available at the business location.

Remote website management can be great, folks. But remote management without any connection to the business isn't good enough.

Why an Increase in Returning Visitors is Important

When you have an increase in returning visitors, it can mean a lot of things - you can figure out what by looking at a variety of stats and visitor behavior - but in general, it means your visitors (prospects) are thinking about buying from you. By understanding your business cycle, local factors, and digging just a little deeper into your analytics, you can adjust your content marketing (including social media updates) to quickly close those sales and keep new prospects moving toward a purchase.

Don't Fear the Analytics: How to Adjust Your Marketing Efforts

When you notice a change in visitor traffic/behavior, don't freak out. Too many smart business owners sell themselves short when it comes to managing their websites and online marketing presence. I hear a lot of "I don't know anything about websites; I just know how to run my business!"

What I say to them - emphatically - is this: what you know about your business must inform the way your website is managed. Even if you picked your website provider because you didn't have time to spend on online marketing, don't ignore your website! Don't assume your web hosting company understands your business, and don't fear the analytics. Review those monthly reports and adjust accordingly - it's your business, and you'll get better results if you are involved in the way that site is managed.

You don't need Big Data to increase sales! Small businesses can use what they know about

 their customers to increase sales and improve customer service.

If you notice more people visit your money-back guarantee page, remind your sales team to mention that policy every time they talk to a customer. If you find an increase in visits to your service offerings page, highlight some customer testimonials on your social media channels. Or (if you haven't already) add a link to those testimonials and your customer service email or chat contact from the services page. If you're using email marketing (and if you can, you should!) changes in visitor behavior will give you excellent ideas about what you should be sending out to your new prospects and existing customers.

When You Need 38 Hours in a Day

It's a common complaint: many small business owners are frustrated with their websites and online marketing efforts, but not because they don't understand, or don't believe, that their marketing investment is working for them. They just don't have time to give those analytics reports the time they need. If that's your problem, I can help. I love working with small businesses to maximize their online marketing efforts.
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Got 15 minutes? I offer free consultations that won't keep you from your business very long.
Let's talk.

Content Marketing World - May Common Sense Be With You

YAY, I love content. I love content marketing. And I love Star Wars.

Now can you help me understand what Mark Hamill can teach me about the first two?

Disturbance in the Marketing Force? 

Content Marketing World 2016 comes to Cleveland this fall, and I'd love to go. But it would be a little bit like overdosing on ice cream: Sweet, sure. But a love affair with content can really pack on the pounds and bog down your marketing efforts.

I know that sounds weird, coming from a content marketing type like me.

But as I've said before, I'm a big believer that content marketing is really just marketing, and marketing communications is really just communication.

If you're going to Content Marketing World, by all means, I hope the Force is with you (and Mr. Hamill). Send me a post card, brochure, link to your landing page...and if you figure out why Luke Skywalker should headline the event, please let me know.

#ThingsThatMakeMeSayHm

#CommonSenseContent

Hello Common Sense Content

I'm not a huge rule-breaker but I question "the rules" constantly.

• Who made them? 
• What purpose do they serve? and my favorite question: 
• WHY?

So imagine my joy (and mild confusion) when I discovered some common-sense content rules I really don't question much or want to break.

Without further ado, here they are:

Mad Pow - Best Practices When Writing for the Web

Integrating Marketing Content

On the other hand, here is how you take a simple concept and wayyyy over-complicate it:

Sorry, MMC Learning, I just call that marketing. Horizontal, vertical, any-which-way you slice it, the point of marketing communications (and even Marketing Communications) and all business writing is....communication.

I have to admit I have a few clients who have been slow to realize just how important it is to market to your employee first. For heaven's sake, if your own employees don't know what your company is trying to market (communicate) how are they going to do a great job for you?

<steps off soapbox>
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Are you and your organization ready for some common sense content?
Contact me. I'd love to help.

Most Popular Posts of 2016 (so far)

I'll admit it: this blog about writing is all over the place. I write (rant) about journalism, highlight jobs for writers, mention writing contests, and ever so occasionally blather on about the writing process. But, more  often than not, I write about business communication, marketing content, copywriting tips to try and rules to break.

So far in 2016, this blog's most popular posts have been all about mar/comm content. Here they are:

Posts Get Lower Reach When Using Hashtags on Facebook

Should Landing Pages Multitask?

Breaking the Blogging Rules

Who Needs Facebook?

5 Quick Reads to Make You A Twitter Power User

Multi-channel Content Done Right

...and this recent post is catching up quick: one of my excellent example series, of very satisfying content.

Enjoy! 
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Whether we're talking about an email newsletter, a white paper or your employee handbook, when it comes to business communications, the words should work for you - not against you. I have 20+ years of marketing, sales, operations and professional writing experience. If you want to enlist the help of a writer who "gets" business, get in touch. 

White Papers: More than Just Sales Brochures. Or Not.

Ah, the current darling of content, the revered White Paper.

I've written quite a few and have read a lot more.

You know what? Some of them are outstanding. A lot of them are ... well, they're kind of like baloney. Not entirely bad, but not very meaty.

White Paper or Sales Brochure?

Apparently, the term white paper was derived from a type of government document that was intended to explain and solicit opinions on a particular policy or process. Depending upon the weightiness of the reading material, the cover was either blue or white. (To read about the Winston Churchill connection, see Wikipedia.) 

White papers have been through a lot since then - and the term blue paper is all but extinct - but the bottom line is that white papers are hot. What are they exactly? There seem to be a lot of different answers.

Once upon a time - in the early days of "content marketing" -  a white paper was a lengthy, heavily researched and fairly balanced report intended to help readers make thoughtful purchasing decisions (about high ticket goods or services).

Today they're marketing tools to be sure, and they've morphed a bit - but I think they're still long-form journalism at heart.

Purdue's Online Writing Lab offers a nice description of today's white paper formats.

White Paper or Report?

Content has been morphing just about since movable type started moving. Case in point: did you ever research a auto purchase by studying Consumer Reports magazines?

Detailing the best and worst of recent car models, it had everything a savvy shopper could want - crash test reports, average repair costs, the most-common problems with specific models, owner satisfaction information, recall history, pages upon pages of well-researched, detailed information. From a (mostly) unbiased source.

The first white papers I wrote were along those lines. At the very end of the annotated report was a lovely two-to-three paragraph summary, gently guiding the reader to ask for more information, or a demo, or a sample of a (typically high-ticket) product or service.

Few reports published today are so thorough. Or subtle. Who has time, right? Today's decision maker - for better or for worse - is more likely to want a link to an infographic than a report. And a call to action? If it's missing, everyone's confused - including the reader.

Don't get me wrong - the old school white paper still exists. But there's a broadening middle ground, which I argue is packed with sales brochures masquerading as white papers.

I'm not sure what we should call them, but that doesn't matter much, because they do what they're designed to do. They're intended to explain more about a product and get leads and email addresses from prospects in the early stages of the sales cycle. Whether you call them light white papers or long-form sales brochures, they're part of the landscape in today's content-marketing world.

Most importantly: they work.

What Does Your Marketing Content Need to Do for You?

As a copywriter and business writing consultant, I've found the first challenge in most client relationships is understanding what the client wants and needs.

Duh, right? In any professional relationship, you have to understand your client's expectations and goals. But when you and your client have two different ideas about what a white paper is, someone is bound to be disappointed.

If by "white paper," you mean that you want a few blog posts and web pages rewritten into a 3-to- 7 page 'report' on your industry, I'm not going to argue about what you call it. I might think of it as a long-form sales brochure, or a customer education piece, but if you want to call it a white paper, I'm fine with that. And if what you're looking for is a 3-to- 7 page finished product, chances are it will be ready sooner, and for less, than the first white papers I wrote way back when.

If you're hoping to get a longer piece, covering research from several different sources, it will take longer, and cost more.

So What Kind of "White Paper" Does Your Business Need?

Your business may not need a "real" white paper. If your business model, product or service isn't truly new or unusual - or highly technical - perhaps what you need is an introduction to your prospects or customers.

If your business has a broad base of established customers, but only a relatively few are taking advantage of certain services you offer, a case study or customer spotlight can spur interest in your business's broader offerings.

A case study, long-form brochure or customer education piece can be very useful. It can, for example:

• Highlight a product or service currently misunderstood (or underused) by current customers 
• Introduce a new product or ballyhoo research putting your company or product in a good light
• Generate great PR - particularly when a customer highlighted in your case study (or "success story") shares the piece with other business associates
• And customer profiles make great story pitches to trade magazines...

The point is that every long form piece of business copy is not a white paper. And what you call it matters little. What matters is understanding what your business needs, and getting that in front of your prospects.

Want to talk about your content needs?

Free 30 minute consultation when booked by May 5, 2016.  < Sorry; I've been swamped since this offer expired. I may re-issue this offer in July 2016. Please check back then. Thanks ~ Diane

Can Landing Pages Multitask? Should They?

If you've talked to me or read what I've written about good web copy, SEO and marketing communications in general, you know I see many shades of gray in our online world, and one of my favorite answers - regardless of the question - is "it depends."

Should Landing Pages Stick to a Single Message?

YES! Except when... well, at least I didn't start with "it depends."

If your offer is cut-and-dried, if it's as easy as a yes or no question, then yes. Yes, your landing page should stick to a single, sweet and simple message. A blog post from Collective provides some of the best examples (of good and bad landing pages) that I've seen recently. Here, have a look:

http://collective.com.au/lead-generation/landing-page-optimisation/

On the other hand, what's the point of your landing page? Maybe it has several points to make. That's OK too.

Call me crazy (wouldn't be the first time) - I contend that a Landing Page can serve several purposes. 

I don't write landing pages for Coke or Pepsi. I write landing pages for companies with far smaller marketing budgets. In those companies, the owners wear a lot of hats, and quite often, their marketing programs need to multitask, too. 

Like any other good business decision, the best way to approach spending money on web content is to look at your goals and your budget and do the best you can with what you've got. Then, analyze the results and go from there. This isn't rocket science, folks. It's marketing, and it's your business. 

Web Content Rules: Of Course It's OK to Break Them

Knowing the rules is important. Knowing that sometimes it's OK to break them will keep you sane. 

When it comes to writing for the web, it's really important to remember that we are writing for customers, who happen to be human beings. (Really; they're living breathing people! not search engines! And whenever you have a chance to talk to one, you should!)

If you're writing a landing page, with a single, simple purpose (convert - download - sign up - buy) then by all means, follow the rules. One message for you and your page! Test it, and convert away.

The Multitasking Landing Page

With apologies to Sigmund Freud, sometimes a landing page isn't "just" a landing page.  

If you're writing with a purpose that's a little more involved, hey, that's a different marketing animal. You didn't grow your business by just following all the rules, did you? 

Maybe your landing page should serve as an introduction to your site, with a link to a virtual tour of your store - and (gasp!) it's a video. It's OK. I promise, the Online Marketing Police will NOT come after you. 

It's YOUR landing page. Create it to serve your purpose - or multiple purposes. Then track your visitor data, talk to your (real, live) customers, and run your business. By your rules.

Some more rules - or, more accurately, best practices - can be found in a helpful article Search Engine Journal published way back in 2015.  

Should You Use Video in Your Landing Page? 

Yes, with care...if you have the right video...and it doesn't mess with your message or make the page load too slowly or...

OK, in this case the answer is yes and it depends. ;D

Earlier this month, Unbounce blogged about using video as background and also discussed what to avoid when using video on landing pages.

Here ya go:

http://unbounce.com/design/do-video-backgrounds-help-or-hurt-conversions/

Why Are You Still Reading This?

I included several links above, inviting you to leave the page. Maybe you did, and of course, if you're still reading this, maybe you didn't - or you came back. 

Those links up there are proof that I break the rules. Why? This is supposed to be a helpful post for real, live (reading) people, on landing pages and making marketing content that really works, for you and your business.

I hope you found it so. 

#BreakinDaRules

#WritingForHumans

Tweet Away: 5 Quick Reads That Will Make You A Twitter Power User

Is Twitter worth your time? f you have something - anything - to do with growing a brand, attracting or serving customers, yes. YES, Twitter is worth your time.

Twitter is Good for Business, Customer Service, Marketing, and Sales

It's also an excellent tool for research. This is not a screwdriver, however. While we probably watched someone use a screwdriver about1,000 times by the time we turned 10, we didn't grow up watching people use Twitter. (*Ahem* well, most of my cohort didn't, anyway.) 

Want a free crash course in using Twitter effectively? Read the articles linked below, selected from some heavyweights in the social media-watching world.

1. Start here: The headline is "get more engaged followers," the article is really a good overview/introduction to setting up a solid Twitter account. From Full Bundle

2. Practical advice aplenty in this article from Postcron, including:

If you put your URL in the middle of your tweet, you are 26% more likely to get retweeted than if you put it at the beginning or end.

3. RiteTag offers advice on hashtags. The article is slightly geeky but all the tips are actionable items.

4. Buffer analyzed one MILLION tweets and shared its findings, for free. This is not a surprise; Buffer is a social beast, constantly sharing super-helpful content about content. And yes, I'd tweet that. (More on customer-as-advocate in another post...)

5. Here's how to give your Twitter account a big bump when you apply SEO tactics to your tweets from Social Media Examiner, another beast I love to follow.

Bonus Quick Tip: Match Your Corporate Color on Twitter

On your Twitter feed, click your profile to open your home page. On the right hand side of the page, click "edit profile." You'll see options to change your header and profile pictures, and in the left column, about mid-way down the page, a bar titled 'Theme Color.' You can pick from a basic selection or get crafty and choose one to color-match your corporate logo. The only tricky part: you'll need to know the HTML color code. No worries - there's a site for that.  

Have You Heard That Is Twitter dead? 

To paraphrase Andy Grammer: Oh no, honey - it's good. In fact, Twitter's a very-accomplished 10 year old. Pew Research recently gave it a good look - maybe you should, too?


Next: My three favorite tips for using Twitter and Facebook are rather old-school. 

Want to start using social media to share great content? 

Need a little help creating great content? 

I can help. 

Previously: Is Facebook all washed up? 

Really? We're still asking this question? It's a social-crazy world out there, folks, and just like #POTUS, I'm a big fan of Facebook.

Q2 2016: Twitter and Facebook Still Alive, Still Making Marketing Easier

Do you think Twitter is feeling Facebook's pain? 

Facebook has been reported dead or dying so many times in the past five years, it's a wonder it's still ....reporting that 2015 earnings were up nearly 30% over last year. A year from now, my social friends, we will not be lamenting the demise of Twitter. We will still be here, bashing it and proclaiming it dead. In fact, we'll probably tweet about it.

Facebook 2015 earnings.
In millions.
Not too shabby.

And yet we'll still be asking, what is Twitter good for? 

In a rather far-ranging article last week, Barrons suggests that Twitter is barely breathing, is still a powerful business, and maybe the failure is all in Wall Street's head. Hm. Well, I'm a Twitter fan and a big fan of Facebook. Here's my take: They're excellent marketing tools. 

Oh, and Instagram? Yes, it's viable too. And so is Snapchat. The key is to know your business, your prospects, and where they are when they're thinking about purchasing...and to be there for them. 

Twitter and Facebook Are Alive and Well, and Can Grow Your Sales 

If you're trying to increase sales and grow your business, and you're not using social media, well, we're nearing the end of the first quarter....of 2016. Sorry to be snarky, but it's high time to reconsider.

Social media is a sales tool that's here to stay.

I've created Facebook pages and Twitter business accounts for many small businesses and several non-profit/government organizations. They weren't all excited at the outset...now, they are.

Whether you're a personal fan of social media or not is no reason to ignore a powerful tool. Especially one that can help you reach a lot of prospects, quickly, easily, and free (!) or at least, very cost-effectively.
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If you'd like to learn more about how to use either (or both) to marketing your business and reach and serve customers, I can help you get on your way, in just a few hours.  Let's get started!

Content Matters: Multi-channel approach Works for The Verge, and Small Business

James Bareham, Creative Director at The Verge, provides an excellent example of how content can do more than double-duty if you play your channels (and media) right. And he does.

First, he used a LinkedIn post to tell the story behind the Verge's story about Michelle Obama's mastery of social media.

That post (of course) linked to the long Verge article, with a bold, easy-to-read layout incorporating numerous short video clips. All of which work just fine on a phone screen too. Including the one of her singing to a turnip.

What Small Businesses Can Learn From All of This?

• Good content can be shared in multiple ways. In the process of creating a single piece of content, you'll usually find there is a preamble and/or a follow-up piece that can enhance the main piece of content - as Bareham's LinkedIn post neatly shows. 
• Every product has a personality. Work it! Admittedly, Mrs. Obama has a little more personality than most, but, hey, let your work inspire you. I once conducted an interview with a vehicle wrap. (Us B2B copywriters can get a little...funny. Or as I like to say, "inspired.")
• Eat to please yourself, dress to please others. OK, you got me - that's not my line; somebody else said it first. I use it to illustrate the point that no matter how good the writing and overall message, your content - the whole package - has to present itself well. And in 2016, that means the words, pictures, videos, vines, and if you've got one, a star-studded soundtrack, all have to work together. Yes of course, that sort of production is out of reach for most small businesses but at least, please, proofread and take a little time with layout, eh?

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This post is part of my slow-but-growing list of excellent examples. If you'd like to share an excellent example of business copywriting, B2B content, or journalism, please contact me here, through my website, or on Twitter. 

In UI, Words Matter Too

                                           

Words and pictures. We can argue what's more important till the ^ come home.

The smartest design/communications organizations don't play that game. They know words and pictures both matter. They know that words and images work together to get your message across.


Recently, Convincify did a lovely job of illustrating that point.

See what I did there ;)

twitter.com/convincify

No Matter How Mobile-Ready Your Site, You're Still Using Words, Right?  

You can't control the types of devices your users access, read and view your site. But the words you use to get your message across - yep, those are up to you. Certainly, your site must be responsive. Yes, you should test it for various resolutions and compatibility with different devices. 

And, you should spend at least as much time, effort and brainpower getting the words on the screen right. 

Right? 

Right. 

Whew. Good. I didn't *really* want to discuss this until the cows came home. I'll be moooooooving on now.

Move Over Down to Read Your SERPs

Speaking of moooving, you should click over to a SUPER helpful article just posted to the MOZ blog. On the latest eye-tracking studies, it has some very important info for people who want to make the most of their words.

To wit, page descriptions matter more than ever, especially when your prospects are searching on a mobile device.

"Remember you're dealing with a reduced space, so ensure your most important information is at the very beginning of page titles and descriptions, including priority keywords in the body of the website content."

Read the whole article on Moz.com. It's worth all 8 minutes, I swear.
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Need a writer who gets your business, and keeps up with scintillating SEO stuff, too?  Well, I try. The result is 
Writing That Works, for you and your prospects. 

What Do Your Images Say? What Do You Want Them to Convey?

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, you really need to choose your pictures carefully. Below, two examples I came across this week.

This one is good, because it's believable. 

And borderline great, because it's funny. 

This one is not so good. Because, we were never that close. 

Whether words or pictures (or both) are your tools of choice, communicate what you want to communicate, people.

If your business communication need an infusion of straight talk (or a little snark, even), get in touch. I'm a writer who gets business...and I can help you get your message across.

Picture This: in PDFs, All Over Your Site, Images Matter

Ah, pity the poor alt tag. I have championed the little bit of code for years. And the hard-working descriptors still matter.

But not as much as the images themselves.

Google's been busy (< anyone want to nominate that for shocking headline of the year?) updating its image search protocols this summer. Among other things, the search superhero is now pulling images out of .pdfs and indexing them too!

Anyway, the good news for me and my oft-overlooked alt tags is they're still mighty important.

Writing for the Web 2015

The same can be said about meta descriptions and title tags. And of course, one could argue that using the right image is the most important thing about images and your website.

But, hey, I'm talking about alt tags here. They really never got the respect they deserved, and still don't.

Speaking of respect, if you're looking for a writer who thinks talking about alt tags is interesting...you might have found her.

Full disclosure: she's extremely selective about freelance projects these days. But if you think your alt tags need a little TLC, I know how you can reach her.

Qualities of an Effective Manager

What Makes a Good Manager Good?

It may be easier to conjure up an image - or a caricature - of a bad manager than it is to identify what makes a manager good. For the sake of this article, let's define good as "effective and admirable." When I think of the best managers I've had, they were people I wanted to work for, people who inspired me to do my best work, and in some cases, I aspired to be just like them.

What raw ingredients make the ideal manager? If any single business school had the answer, well, there wouldn't be quite so many business schools. In fact, many great leaders and just plain-old good managers didn't go to business school.

Marc Cica, an award-winning manager and former director of sales for a Fortune 50 company, has spent much of his career developing future leaders. Two of the top traits he looks for in an effective manager are "industriousness and alertness." In other words, they're hard workers who can anticipate - and prepare for - change.

"There are no short-cuts to success, it is earned by those who work very hard and persevere," Cica says.

But if "hard work" was the only thing necessary to become an effective manager, we wouldn't need business schools at all. Truly effective managers not only work hard, they work hard at the right things. Deciding which things are the right things requires strategic thinking; convincing a team to work with you on those 'right things' requires a little bit of talent and a lot of good habits.

Habits of Good Managers

Here are some of the other raw ingredients, good habits, and skills that many effective managers share.

1. Enthusiasm

"A leader's energy and enjoyment, drive, and dedication will stimulate and greatly inspire others," says Cica. While too much emotion in the workplace is distracting (see number 2, below) a little bit of excitement about the task at hand is necessary and helps motivate a team.

2. Poise

"Control of your organization begins with control of oneself. Set the example of personal discipline and expect everyone in the organization to react to unexpected events or adversity in like manner," Cica tells new managers.

3. Genuine kindness

When I think about the worst, and least effective, managers I've know over the years, the first thing that I remember about them is how they treated others. When a manager is respectful of customers, co-workers, and subordinates, chances are the whole organization will do the same - and the entire company will benefit.

4. Team Spirit

Cica builds team spirit on the basketball court (he coaches, too) as well as in the office. Why? Because it's vital to any group of people that work together. Everyone on a team must understand that "the 'star' of the organization is the organization itself, and not any one individual," Cica says.

5. Love of learning, and a willingness to change and grow

Abraham Lincoln said, "I do not think much of a man who does not know more today than he did yesterday." Lincoln didn't go to business school, but his instincts were pretty good. Effective managers must learn constantly and prepare their teams to meet new challenges. Cica believes the best leaders are "life-long learners who create organizations that foster and inspire learning and continuous self-improvement."

If you have some of these basic traits, are willing to put them in action every day, and can convince others to work with you rather than focus only on their individual goals, you'll earn the right to be called a good manager.

 ~-~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -  ~-~

This article was originally published in 2011 in Yahoo! Voices, a now-defunct channel of the Yahoo.com family of websites and other experiments. Surprisingly, my byline hasn't changed a lot since then. (I'm sure I haven't either.) I'm still a business copywriter focusing on Ohio's people and places, and my byline still appears regionally, nationally, and in Northeast Ohio - of all places.

Content Matters? When Everything Old is New Again

And in today's news, SEO best practices are changing. Industry analysts say they are expected to change more.

Time to dust this off and pull it out again:

Is content still king?

Look me up in a few years. We can do this again. ;)

Social Media Advice You Wouldn't Expect from a Writer

Google's Hummingbird is still flying high and it's made a lot of content producers sing, but it hasn't revolutionized content or search yet. And I suspect it never will. 

I've said for years, and written many times, that content rocks sales, content rules, and content matters. Or it should. But it may be more accurate (especially for small businesses) to say that it doesn't have to be good content. 

Bear with me, there are some important caveats to this assertion. 

Small businesses with loyal clients and great customer service can get by with bad content. I think it's safe to say those same small businesses - with loyal clients and great customer service - must have a good online presence to continue to flourish, but their content doesn't really have to be stellar to stay alive. 

To grow, well, that's a different matter. 

But let's say you have a single-location, bricks and mortar location in which you offer hair styling products and services. If your clients are happy, word of mouth is going to be your primary source of new business. A static, even woefully simple website and a reasonable presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram (yes, "or" not "and") will be plenty to keep your business healthy assuming you do everything else right. 

While I love to turn up my nose at the misspellings, bad grammar, poorly considered claims and copyright infringements I see on many small business Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, the fact is, if you have a good handle on your core business and treat your customers well, bad grammar is NBD. If you know firsthand of an example in which a small business lost a customer because of poor posting etiquette, I'd love to hear about it. 

What to Blog About Next, part 4

Look, you can't just jump into part 4 of something without at least a cursory click on parts 1, 2, and 3. (I'll wait.) OK. Thanks, and welcome back. Now, part 4 beckons...

And then, there are those magical moments -  the blog posts that write themselves. Two things to you have to do when that happens: 1- grin from ear to ear and 2- hit 'publish.'

This one's a content creator's dream: Nieman Storyboard's roundup of 150 - Iknowright?!! I nearly hyperventilated, ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTY!! -awesome tips and storytelling techniques. Blow off your next meeting, I'm telling you, reading this is gonna be way more productive. 

Ahem. Look I'm not usually one to recommend blowing off a meeting but if you do, it'll be your turn to grin (an evil grin), 'cus your fellow writers will be all, "Where'd you'd get all these great ideas?" and you'll be all, "I dunno, sometimes they just write themselves."

Happy blogging.

~Diane Stresing

Beyond the Keyword Stuffing Discussion

When drafting copy for a client's site as it was in the wireframe stage* I asked what's the 'ideal' length & style for ALT image tags. Nobody seemed to have "the" answer,* so I read a few articles on the subject, many of which contradicted each other. A couple rang true, notably one by Chris Rand and another from the University of Washington.  

Alt Tags and Animal Mix-ups

While both articles were written before Google released its Pandas and Penguins (but after Apple released its Lion, oh my) I suspect (ok, guess) the advice is still pretty sound. Here's what I gleaned:

• The ALT image tag should describe the image AND what it means to site navigation (e.g., would you like to design a bookcase like this? something taller? click to use our free bookcase designer.)

• KW stuffing is bad. Very bad. 

• Accessibility readers generally agree the focus is on the first 125 characters (not counting spaces). For humans (who never agree) the tag should be a max of 7 words long, not more than 12 words long, 16 words of 7-8 characters each, and as long as it needs to be. Don't worry, there won't be a quiz later. There will, however, be infinite changes to the rules. 

• The Hobo blog is worth following. 

Definitive Word on ALT Tags? 

Anybody want to offer the definitive word on the subject? Wanna guest blog about it? I'd love to hear from you! Twitter is one of the best places to reach me. 

~Diane Stresing

*In case you're looking for a good exercise in frustration and general confusion, writing copy while a website is in the wireframe stage is a great place to start. Creativity is running high, the possibilities seem endless, and it's almost impossible for anyone to make a decision and stick to it for more than 10 minutes. At that point in the process, I find it's best to keep a "leftovers" document, full of good ideas bound to fall during the editing process. Later, that "leftovers" document is a gold mine, where you can dig up oodles of blog posts, fodder for landing pages, and other content that didn't quite fit on the site - at first.