Five Lessons Small Business Owners Can Learn From Politics
As I write this post, we are minutes away from the first of three presidential debates for the 2012 election. The similarities between politics and business are striking. Many of the same attributes that help people win elections help when marketing a business as...
How Long Should a Blog Post Be?
One frequent question among bloggers is how long the post should be. I usually answer this the same way: It should be as long as it takes to convey the thought or idea. There's no set limit. Overall, usually the 400-600 word range is a good place to be. It's enough...
The Difference Between Formal And Professional
Professional Writing, Every Time Marketing copy represents your business in front of the general public. When it's not professional, it becomes evident to readers, and can cost you in the long run. Misspell a few words on the company home page, and there could be a...
The Importance Of Meta Tags In SEO
Are you looking to boost your website in the search rankings? Sure, building links and creating content are both important, but there's something that you should do before that. You'll want to make sure that your page's meta data tags are properly filled out. If your...
Content Writing Tips For Better SEO
There's a reason that every marketer walks around still uttering the phrase that content is king. It drives traffic to your website. It helps turn readers into customers. It is what makes your website act as a member of your business's sales force. There are a few...
How To Establish “Voice” In Content Writing
What is "voice" when we're talking about writing? Simply put, it's what makes you, you. To use another medium for an example, it's what happens when a classical musician covers a Metallica song. It's what happens when Guns N Roses covers Bob Dylan. It's what happens...
Help Your Readers By Eliminating Redundancy
A commercial aired recently, that pokes fun at business redundancies. I'm not even sure who the commercial is for, but it ends with bad news delivered in a meeting room. All the people look expressionless when he says he's not kidding. It's not until he adds "or...
The Secret To Better Links
When it comes to ranking in the search engines, links are currently one of the most important factors for success. Frequently linking to engaging web content, especially high within your post, can help raise your search engine rankings. It's important to take full...
Stop Text-Speak
Twitter, texting and other short content platforms have revolutionized the way that we talk with each other. They're also single-handedly responsible for maiming the English language. When you publish web content, blogs, articles, social media posts, or any other...
Dear Solo Entrepreneur, Please Stop Using “We”
If you are a solo entrepreneur, please stop using the word "we" in reference to your business. I'm asking on behalf of the Internet. Your readers can see through this transparent attempt to make your business seem larger. Instead, why not tell your readers: What...
Don’t Kill Creativity
I can't tell you how many times it happens. You have a great idea while you are out doing something away from the computer. When you finish doing whatever you were doing, you sit down, power up the computer, open up the word processor. Then.... Nothing. Poof. Gone....
From Traffic To Customer
When you look at your search engine traffic in the form of a pie chart, it comes from three main places. First, there's those who find your website through social media, or some other link to your website. Predictably, this is called referral traffic. If your site is...