Internet Marketing, Muncie, Indiana
Your content on your website needs to be fresh. Updating on a regular basis is crucial for increasing traffic. Yes, we’re talking blogging. An active blog can increase traffic, will make your website more ‘sticky’ (visitors visit frequent and more often), and can give a voice to the organization.
If you are like most people, you dread logging into your email marketing program and seeing that you have lost list members due to them unsubscribing. I am here to tell you three good reasons to look forward to getting unsubscribes.
The first is that you are actually using your list. The only way that I have ever seen to not get an unsubscribe is to never send an email. If you are not going to use the list why go to the time and effort to build it. So congratulate your self when you get the unsubscribe because you are actually using your list.
The second thing is that someone is opening your email. To unsubscribe they had to at least open the email and click the unsubscribe link. The good thing is that your headline worked and got them to open your email. Now if you are using dishonest headlines, (“You have won”, “your account status”, and other headlines along those lines) this is not a good thing and you are reaping what you have sown. If you are using a solid headline that matches your email and it gets opened, this is a good thing. Your headline is doing its job.
The third good reason to be glad to get unsubscribes has to do with personality. Now here is a shocker, not everyone is going to like you or your writing style. Those that don’t will unsubscribe. The good thing though is that if they don’t care for your style you will never build a relationship with them. If you can’t build a relationship with them they will most likely never buy from you. So each unsubscribe will make your list more targeted to people who actually like your style and are more likely to respond favorably to your offers that meet their needs.
So now you have three good reasons to no longer dread seeing that people have decided to unsubscribe from your list. Rejoice in the fact that you are actually making your list stronger and more profitable in the long run.
If you are attempting to create a successful blog for personal or business reasons, you should know that looks do count. Many bloggers make the mistake of thinking that looks are not as important as content, since readers are essentially reading your blog for the words, not the way it looks. The fact is that people will not take your words seriously if your blog looks less than attractive. To have a successful blog you have to have it all. You must have interesting content as well as a great look. If you want to update the look of your blog, consider these areas of importance.
Easy To Scan
The way your blog reads on a page is an extremely important part of your blog’s look. You should always remember to keep your blog posts short and to the point. If you are treating your blog as a personal diary, your posts may be a little longer than normal. But, if you are trying to get more traffic to your blog, then you really want to focus the attention with short posts that offer the main point easily. Most blog readers will only scan your posts, not read them word for word. So keep this in mind when you are writing. The shorter the post, the more likely they are to read the entire thing. If your blog is easy to scan because the posts are short and the breaks are clear, you will have a great looking blog.
Professional Edge
When designing or redesigning your blog, try to make it as professional looking as possible. Even if the blog is not for a business, the more professional it looks, the more seriously people will take it. If you have the funds, you might even want to get a professional to put it together for you. No matter what you have to do, just keep a level of professionalism in your mind throughout the design process.
Friendly Colors
Most people don’t think twice about what colors they choose for their blog. The facts are that some colors come across better on the web than others. Blue and black are easy to see, so they are always great choices to use. Sea-green, beige, or purple are also great soothing colors to use for a blog. You should stay away from using colors like pink, yellow, or any neon varieties. They are extremely hard on the eyes when reading them online and can deter people from reading your blog. Keep these color tips in mind when you design your blog to get the best results available.
Appropriate Graphics
It has been noted that the use of pictures on your blog is a great way to boost traffic. Blogs that offer pictures that correlate with their content are fantastic. Readers love to connect with the content further through pictures. With most blogging software offering ways to easily add pictures, it should not be a problem for most publishers to add them right into the blog.
Successful Layout
Most people who design blogs and websites will tell you that the layout does matter as well. The way a blog looks to the reader in important in terms of layout. The layout should be clear and defined. If the reader is confused by the layout, they will likely not stick around to explore. They will most likely go right on to the next blog available. If a professional design your blog, you will likely not need to worry much about the layout. Look at your site like a reader would and seek out the best advice you can. Lastly, simply test different layouts on your friends and family to see which ones they find the most suitable for your blog.
Blogging has been around for a few years now and it amazes me that many businesses and non-profit organizations have not tapped into this valuable marketing strategy to move their mission forward.
If you run a business site, but do not currently have a blog, there is a great chance that you are leaving money on the table. Regardless of what kind of business you are in, a dynamic and interactive blog will improve customer response and add profits to your bottom line.
When you use a blog as the platform for your newsletter, you can post each of your promotions to the web, and then invite your subscribers to your blog to view your most recent update. When readers follow the link from your email to your latest blog post, they will not only have the opportunity to respond to the current promotion, they will be able to browse your blog and take action on offers you made last week, last month, even last year.
Blogging is a great way to generate new web traffic for your domain. By setting your blog software to ‘ping’ search and directory portals each time you make a post, you can alert a large number of people about your new content with the single click of a button.
Also, search engines are more likely to spider your site on a regular basis if you update your content frequently.
You can configure your blog so readers are able to leave comments and questions about your articles. They don’t have to take the time to send you an email, they can just click on the comments link and post their feedback right there on the spot. This is one of the easiest ways possible to encourage productive interaction among your prospects and customers.
Blogging requires no special technical knowledge. Sure, there is an advanced side to this marketing strategy, but just adding a blog to your domain and making posts on a regular basis can improve your traffic flow and customer response tremendously.
An easy way to direct more traffic to your site is by developing relationships with other websites. Make certain that your link-partner has a good web-reputation, of course. It’s as simple as sending an email and just asking.
Have a theme. This will help attract readers. It provides a framework around which to blog. Have a list of topics that you write about handy when it comes time to blog.
Blogging takes time. Set aside time in your schedule to blog. It can only take about 15 to 20 minutes per day. At first, it takes longer, but as you grow as a blog writer, the amount of time involved will decrease.
Blogging is a two-way street. You must respond to the comments you will get. The larger the blog following, the more comments you will get.
Be legal. Be careful of giving away information that could be considered to be business confidential. Also, be mindful of photo sources that enhance your blog, make sure you pay for the rights to use those images. Do not use photos or illustrations you find on Google Images and expect to use them free of charge.
Capture your blog ideas. It could be electronic and/or a paper system. This material gives you something to say when you may not be inspired to write.
Be authentic. Readers appreciate honesty about your take on the topic.
Be patient. Readership grows over time. Don’t expect your first blog entry to be a hit and go viral. Set aside time to blog and give the blog time to grow.
Measure and review. Take a look your blog analytics at least every three months. Where are you in Google for the topics you blog about? Do you receive feedback about your posts?
Be sure you have a unique, keyword focused Title Tag on every page of your site. And, if you MUST have the name of your company in it, put it at the end. Unless you are a major brand name that is a household name, your business name will probably get few searches.
If you are a small business owner, then I’m sure you don’t have time to blog, Facebook or create videos. Am I right?
While it may be true that time is not on your side when it comes to online marketing, these three things could very well set you apart from your competition and drive customers to your door.
Start a Blog
The key to starting a blog is to just start one. Start out slow and easy. Try WordPress or Blogger. The point is to set it up and start producing high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience (your customer base). Here are some suggestions to help you get started writing content:
Another great way to start a blog is to read other blogs relevant to you and your business. Try searching and gathering blogs and put them into a blog reader like Bloglines or Google Reader.
Start a Facebook Page
Facebook is now the most popular destination in the world on the web (along with Google). To get started, simply create a page, add your logo and post updates. These updates could include ANYTHING related to your business like links to your blog entries, customer testimonials, press releases, videos and information relevant to your industry. The more you post relevant content and interact with customers on Facebook, the larger your fanbase and your revenue will grow.
Start Using Video
Do you know the number one reason to start a YouTube account and produce a video? Videos receive priority in search engine results! Video also allows you to show personality and present information in an easy-to-digest manner. Keep the videos short (under 3 minutes) and relevant. Start with a company overview or a client testimonial video then build your video library from there. Of the three suggestions here, video is the one where you may need to seek professional help to gather, edit and produce the content…but it’s so worth it.
Take the next three months, implement these three ideas and then review. Look at the analytics of your website, did traffic increase? Keep track of your sales, did they result from your activity blogging, sharing and posting?
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Spiders can only search text, not text in your images — which is why you need to make the words associated with your images as descriptive as possible. Adding an “ALT” tag allows you to include a keyword-rich description for every image on your site.