Times change and it just seemed easier to have all of my writings in one area. Therefore, I moved my blog to a Google Blog site.  Please see my newer posts at:

http://sandyketcham.blogspot.com/

Thanks for visiting!

I was recently asked to do a short bio for a client for her Real Estate Website.  English was not her first language and she wanted to sound professional. After writing the bio for her, she admitted that she was disappointed, stating that she had hoped for “more elaborate wordings” and a “vocabulary I do not possess.”  After all, I was the “pro with words.” The complaining email was very long and very poorly written, but I did get the point that I had not satisfied her.  And while she offered me the opportunity to redeem myself by trying again, I declined. 

It is hard to defend oneself from this type of attack. I have been writing copy like this for 20 years, and most clients appreciate what I give them.  They know that when writing marketing copy, it is important to deliver the right message to the target audience in the right way. Good writing is not about using the longest words – it is about using appropriate words. Granted, if the wording is too simplistic, the reader may become impatient and bored. However, if the wording is too obscure and convoluted, the reader may be confused and annoyed. Finally, if the message is too puffed up, it may not ring true. In each of these cases, the reader will not be favorably impressed. Confusion, boredom and disbelief are three of the cardinal sins of writing.

However, after my experience with this lady, I might add a fourth – “elaborate wordings.”  If your audience sees you as pompous or attempting to show off your superior intellect, they may look for someone who understands them, their life and their needs.  If your audience is confused by what you are trying to tell them, they’ll stop listening.  If you don’t hold their interest, they will tune out.  If they don’t believe you, they will almost certainly tell others not to listen. 

Intuit is offering free design templates for websites…

Webs.com offers free design templates and free hosting…

GoDaddy gives free hosting and templates…

Why on earth would you hire a professional Web Designer?

Because…

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.

Your Website is your virtual storefront. Even if you have a real store, many people will find you on the web before they meet you or enter your store. If your site does not adequately convey who you are, what you do and what makes you unique, you may never get a second chance. Do you want your web presence to make you look like one of the pack – or an innovative, creative businessperson?

You are a professional.  Does your website reflect that?

A Website should reflect the culture and personality of your company – without being too cute or too stuffy. A good Website is well designed, well written, functional and user friendly. If the navigation doesn’t work intuitively, the viewer may get frustrated and leave with a negative impression of your company. If you aren’t adequately conveying who you are and what sets you apart, you could lose business.

Your Message is important…
Content is king. This has been the mantra of Website developers since the beginning. With search engines now being able read for content, how you maximize your keywords within your content has become ever more important. If you are not using page titles, alt tags and even image naming techniques to their fullest, you are missing important opportunities to get higher on search engines. If you are not cogently explaining your business – what you do, how you do it and why people should hire you or buy your products, you may rank high on search engines and fail at attracting clients. In web design like almost no other medium, writing, graphic design and technology all work synergistically to create a great Web presence – one that ranks high and attracts customers.

Search Engine Optimization and Social Networks are important…
Ranking high on search engines today is about more than just the Website. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs are all becoming important to how you rank on search engines. Having links to and from each of your social networking venues will improve the rank of all of them. In many cases, people looking for your business might find that your blog, Facebook page or LinkedIn profile are displayed before your actual Website. Having multiple ways for people to find you gives you a real advantage over those who are not using these techniques. Blogs especially give you the chance to “show your stuff” to potential clients. A bonus is that your credibility is raised, and your peers and business associates may actually be moved to refer business your way.

Your Website is your ultimate marketing piece

While it would be foolish to count on your website to do all of your marketing, it is a key element in any campaign. Look at almost any brochure or flyer; watch just about any TV commercial or listen to radio ads, and the successful company’s website is almost always mentioned. That is because the Website gives a company the opportunity to tell their story in greater detail and with more flare than is possible with other venues.

What is YOUR time worth  
There is always a learning curve. While Website templates sound like a quick and easy solution, what if something goes wrong? What if the navigation structure doesn’t work? What if you want the site to do something that the template doesn’t do? How many times have you been on a Website that looks okay, but doesn’t work right? How many times have you ended up being a customer of the owner of that Website?

Finally, the overall “look” of a site is important – the colors, fonts, layout, shapes, images and words all work together to present an overall impression of the company. While templates offer an easy solution, they are not a substitute for a creatively designed, well written, and well built website.

After the presentation, SCORE published the slideshow so other counselors and those needing help could view it.  See it at www.scorefoxvalley.org/marketing.php

“Twitter Forces Marketing Strategy Switch.” This August 16, 2009 Chicago Tribune headline confirmed that my talk two days later was on a very timely subject. The Tribune article proclaimed that there had been 21.2 million Twitter visits in the U.S. in one month (July 2009), and while only 26% of companies polled were currently using Social Network Marketing, 70% said they were making plans to start.

The presentation, titled “Social Network Marketing: What it is…how it’s used…and why we should care,” was geared to SCORE Volunteers. SCORE is a national association of retired and semi-retired executives, who volunteer their time to counsel owners and prospective owners of small businesses. While these men and women have a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw upon, most of them were not completely up to speed on the newer Social Media outlets and how they were changing the face of marketing in the 21^st century.

The presentation contrasted Traditional and Social Media Marketing. While traditional marketing is an “outbound” strategy (think of the advertiser as the hammer; the consumer the nail) Social Media Marketing is an “inbound” strategy (think of a magnet drawing people in). 

Social networking provides a way for consumers interact with a company and each other in a setting built around the brand – a form of grassroots marketing that spreads through the community. To understand the power of this new way of marketing, Nielsen recently reported that 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations compared to 14% who trust advertisements.

I also highlighted some of the social networking “on ramps,” including blogs, business links (like LinkedIn) social links (like FaceBook), video blogs (like YouTube) and micro blogs (like Twitter). Each of these venues works in a slightly different way, depending on the specific goal of the user.

The SCORE volunteers were an interested and engaged audience. So much so, in fact, that I have been asked to return for Part II. Attendees will be invited to bring laptops and be led on a “hands on” tour of some of the more popular sites and a more in-depth discussion of how they are being used.

My only problem: With so much time being spent on researching and preparing talks for these and other members of the business community, I have not had much time to blog, “friend,” “connect,” or tweet on my own social network sites!

So what’s new? If you have added a new employee, added a new product or service, sponsored an event, updated your Website, are having a special sale or promotion you should write a Press Release. In fact, if you have done anything worth mentioning to anyone, you should write a Press Release.

Once you have written the Press Release, send it to all of the local newspapers. Begin a list of outlets and reporters and send it to all of them. (Then save the list for the next time.) Websites and mastheads of the newspapers often give instructions for submission. If you know a reporter or if you enjoy articles by a certain reporter, send the Press Release to that person. While there are no guarantees that the Press Release will be published, there is a good chance it will, and you may even be contacted by the reporter for an interview!

Even if none of the newspapers pick up the story, there are places that will publish Press Releases and articles whenever they are submitted. In the Chicago area, TribLocal is an on-line newspaper that covers about 100 local cities and towns. And they are always looking for news. Articles are accessed through their Website, and may be sent via email or through RSS readers. For a nominal fee, outlets like PRWeb publish press releases to many Websites. The bonus is that they are optimized for high search engine placement.

One thing to remember when submitting a Press Release: You want people to read it. It should be interesting and timely, and written in a way that will engage the reader. While Press Releases are a way to “toot your own horn,” they shouldn’t be blatant advertisements. However, every business and business owner has something unique and interesting to tell people. So, what’s new with you?

There seems to be a fine line between sharing personal information on social networking sites and privacy and security issues.  Every social networking site has its own policies, and they can be found on their websites. Also, be careful about how much personal information you share in your profile.  I am suddenly being bombarded with “birthday specials” from random places.  Since I am not broadcasting my birthday to these places, I think they may be getting that info from one of my profiles. (I am about to remove my birthday from all of my sites :)  While birthdays may not be a bad thing to share, the more information people with bad intentions have, the more likely they are to carry out those bad intentions.

I was recently asked specifically about resumes posted on Linked In.  I believe that resumes that will be posted anywhere online should have addresses and home phone numbers deleted and only email addresses listed.  If there is interest, full information can be given to the specific company or person who is interested.

Here is a link to a blog that gives evn more useful information on the subject: http://blog.mint.com/blog/moneyhack/howto-protect-your-privacy-on-facebook-myspace-and-linkedin/

A business owner group I belong to met today and I just had to write some of the conversation down.  One of our members just won New Business of the Year Award from the local Chamber of Commerce. Cool.  I asked if he had done a press release.  He told me that the PR guys he knew believed that press releases were a waste of time - it was too much like tooting your own horn.  Instead, he purchased a full-page ad in a local newspaper in the name of his family to congratulate him on his award.  He said it was less like tooting his own horn.  Really?

He also told me that not every business should bother with a website!  (He knows I do websites :)  Especially restaurants, as they were found by word of mouth or magazines.  Interesting…   Over the weekend, my family was over and we wanted to order food. The first stop - the Internet.  We looked at menus, prices, delivery areas and even maps.  I have to admit when friends invite me to a restaurant, my first stop is the website to see prices, location, menu items and even to give me an idea of what the place looks like. It is the same for most of my friends.

Then he told me that most social networking sites were a waste of time, especially ones that didn’t have hundreds of thousands of members.  He uses MySpace and believes that  is the only viable site for his type of business (music teacher).  FaceBook?  Not so much. Twitter?  He believes that is a flash in the pan, telling me that there will soon be another “next big thing” and Twitter will disappear.  Maybe…

I guess I was a little miffed because he had just trashed what I do.  I have been a marketer for 20 years and I have enthusiastically embraced Social Networking as a marketing strategy. (In fact, I have been asked to speak to  a group SCORE counselors on the subject. )  I not only write Press Releases for newspaper outlets, but for the Web - with the ability for readers to comment.  I write blogs - for myself and for clients.  While I still do  print ads  and articles for newspapers and magazines, I am focusing my efforts on getting up to speed on online media, including  FaceBook, Twitter and other smaller online groups (which have actually generated more business for me, personally).

If his marketing efforts are working, who am I to say they are wrong for him.  However, I believe that as business owners and marketers, we should look at all of the options, dismiss none of them out of hand, and find the combination that works for us and our business. And we have to be flexible enough to adopt the “next big thing,” even if it is transient and supplanted by another “next big thing.”

During a marketing meeting with other business owners, we were discussing social networking. One of the members said we should invite someone to the group who could tell us how to make money with social networking.  I admit that I was mildly surprised by the comment. While making money is obviously the goal, Social Networking is not like the “outbound” marketing tactics of old.  It is not about taking out a newspaper, radio or TV ad, and not about hawking your wares to anyone who will listen. Just as in face-to-face networking groups, it is all about relationships.  It is far more subtle than direct sales, but many of us believe, ultimately far more likely to succeed.

Social networking is about making contacts, helping people, getting help and, maybe along the way, making some money.  Just letting people know what you do and how you do it might spark interest.  Answering questions about things you know about – even if they aren’t directly related to what you do – is also a good way to get known.  Being active on a network, commenting, encouraging, helping and just being a part of the conversation are all ways to let people know that you are someone who they might want to do business with. Or they may know someone else who needs what you have to offer. If they believe you are a “good guy” and know your stuff, referrals will come.

Building a network is more about quality contacts than quantity.  We all know those who wear the number of connections or “friends” they have like notches on their belts.  For example, I got a Twitter account to see how it all worked. Before I even figured out how to use it, I was being “followed” by several people I had never heard of.  When I looked at their profiles I noticed that their main function seemed to be to have a lot of people “follow” them.  They followed me because they wanted to add me to the list of people following them. Is this the way to build your network? Probably not. 

Is there money to be made with Social Networking?  Absolutely.  However, it is a different paradigm than direct marketing.  It is not about gathering an “audience” to hear your sales pitch. It is about gaining the trust of those in your network.  It is about giving as much as you get, about helping others succeed, while in the process succeeding yourself.  

Here is an article I found on the Inside CRM website on social media sites:  ”50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence on”  (Terrible grammar, but good article :)  http://www.insidecrm.com/features/50-social-sites-012808/