The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

How I got 3 jobs from a boring newsletter

Hi, I'm Deidre. In my posts, I talk about my voyage down the road of self-employment as a website copywriter, my achievements and roadblocks along the way, and what I’m learning as I go (with Marketing Mentor as my guide).

I never expected that sending an e-newsletter could result in actual work – but it does! And although it’s exciting to see high open rates, I realized that the most jobs don’t necessarily come from the highest open rates.

Puzzling, right? Here’s what happened:

Since I started my newsletter, my goal has been to create something easy to read, while and adding some personality to it. I wrote 4 fun un-newsletters that had very high open rates, as follows:

• My embarrassing (yet sincere) musical pursuits - 64.3% open rate
• Officer, I'm not playing it safe - 57.8% open rate
• Typing is hard with nine fingers - 59.3% open rate
• The cutest sneeze I ever heard - 58.3% open rate

Then, in my latest issue, Stinky copy? 9 ways to tell your client, I sent out arguably more useful content targeted exactly for my main audience, web designers. They always ask me how they can convince their clients to use a professional copywriter. So I answered the question in my newsletter.

It got a 49% open rate, my lowest to date. But are open rates the only way to gauge a newsletter’s success? Definitely not.

Each time I sent an issue out, I got awesome responses. Some said, “Cool newsletter,” and some even said “Can you help me with this project?” (I love opening the lines of communication!)

My 4 fun un-newsletters resulted in lots of nice comments, and sometimes even an actual job.

My boring/useful newsletter (Stinky copy?) resulted in 3 actual jobs.

It could be a coincidence, or maybe it’s just timing, but when I told Ilise, she said, “See, speaking right to your audience has its advantages.”

Some people are saying newsletters aren’t effective anymore. What do you think?

How Friendly is Your Website?

Prospects will visit your website before hiring you.  They begin to form an opinion about you and your talents by their experience with your website – even if you’re not a website designer.  This is why you must have a high degree of website usability (easy to use).

Jakob Nielsen is a widely recognized authority on website usability.  I recommend you study the material his website, http://www.useit.com.  Many of the points below come from Nielsen.

A few basics on what website visitors do:

• Viewers spend 80.3% of their time ABOVE the fold.
• Viewers spend 69% of their time on the LEFT half of the screen.  Recognize that the navigation bar is usually in the first 200-pixels on the left side.  Most of their time is spent in the 300-500 pixel area.
• Clicking hypertext links is the most-used feature.  Second is clicking buttons followed by the clicking the BACK button.
• Users typically read about 18-20% of the content on a page.
• Visitors give you about 3-to-5 seconds to explain the gist of what you do when they first land on your site.  If you fail, they leave.  Remember that the landing page is often NOT the home page.  

Given those facts just how do you create a friendly, usable website?

• Have a header that gives the gist of what you do: Company name, logo, tagline, and possibly location.
• Site must load instantly.  Visitors have zero patience.
• Be conventional: Navigation on the left and your most important content above the fold and to the right of the navigation.
• Write for skimmers: Short paragraphs, sentences and bullets.  Design for skimmers.
• Black font (not gray) on a white background is the easiest to read.  Do not use reverse fonts for the body of your website copy.
• Make the home page digestible within 5 seconds.

As you create your site, periodically ask strangers to try it out.  Ideally these people are similar to your prospects.  Find out how easy it is for them to use your website.

There’s much more to making a website user friendly.  But if you get this much right you’ll be ahead of the pack. 

Karen Zapp is a freelance copywriter and marketing advisor.  Clients include charities and professional membership associations.  Karen publishes a newsletter (ZAPP Nonprofit Leader), and a blog (ZAPP Nonprofit Blog).  She is also the co-author of “Mobile for Nonprofits: Connecting Donors Through the Power of Mobile.”

If you want to create a user-friendly, marketing-smart website, and you ready to "just do it," check out our intensive, one-week online course, Website in a Week.

The fruits of the Marketing Group – Part 3: Website

Can the Marketing Group really help you create a website? The real answer is – yes. It happens all the time. With the support of the group, members create (or revamp) marketing-smart, audience-focused websites.
 
This week, I’m following the journey of one Marketing Group participant, Ana Carini. Ana dove into the process last April and now has a strong foundation to market her business, including a target market, new branding with business cards and revamped website, social media tools, an e-newsletter (she sends hers out daily!) and a one-sheet to give interested prospects who say, "Tell me more..."

So far this week, I talked about how she chose her market: fashion and beauty brands, and looked at the networking tools she created.

Today, we are looking at her website: Ana Carini Design.

When Ana joined the group, she didn’t have a website at all.

During the group process, she created this impressive one that is entirely geared towards the fashion and beauty market. We think Ana’s site uses language that appeals directly to her target market. It shows relevant examples, and demonstrates that she really understands their needs.

She wanted to make sure the content was as clear and concise as possible, so she hired Deidre for help.

Ana even launched a blog for her business.

Ready to get your website (and your other marketing efforts) moving? For a strong foundation like Ana’s, a new Beginner Marketing Group starts the week of September 27th. Details here or fill out this form.

 

Where do those magical incoming links come from?

Do you know the number one way search engines determine how popular your website will be?

Internet marketing expert, Norma Maxwell, says it’s “the number of links you having coming into your website, and the authority of the places from which those links come.”

Norma always impresses with her smart, accessible articles on how to get better website rankings. In her latest article on Biznik, A Simple Guide to Inbound Marketing SEO, Norma shares how to create an effective inbound SEO effort (create those magical links) so your website can soar.

Here is an excerpt:

Fact: The number of links you having coming into your website, and the authority of the places from which those links come, is the number one way search engines determine the popularity (and therefore rank) of your webiste.  Number one.

How do you get those golden links?  There are a lot of ways, and I'll list some of them here.  Just remember, this strategy takes planning, time, and thought--you will not see amazing results overnight.  You will see amazing results, however, as long as you are consistent.

Read the rest at Biznik: http://biznik.com/members/norma-maxwell/articles/a-simple-guide-to-inbound-marketing-seo

Want more SEO guidance from Norma? Check out here other articles: A Simple Guide to SEO,  A Simple Guide to Choosing the Right Keywords for your Business and A Simple Guide to Writing Rich, Compelling Copy.

9 steps to a realistic and effective keyword campaign

Quite a few people found our post, Keywords Made Simple, useful, so we thought we’d give you more on this topic.

Do you dream of a Fortune 500 SVP of Marketing doing a search for “graphic design firm” on Google and having your web site come up at the top of the list?

Well, dream on.

You will get better search engine results if you focus on a narrow specialty than if you go broad with “graphic design firm.” Your job is to build a brand around the keywords that describe your expertise from your client’s point of view. If you choose a sufficiently narrow area, it is possible to own the keywords and keyword phrases around it.

I’ve created 9 steps to finding keywords that will realistically and effectively work for your business.  Here’s one tip:

List the end result of what you do. Think in terms of what your clients walk away with. What is the tangible they come looking for and think they need? What is the tangible they get? A report or an analysis? A brochure or web site? Also, list each individual service that you offer.

I’m happy to share the rest of the list. If you’d like it, just email toolbox@marketing-mentor.com, and we’ll send it right over.

And if you need to get your marketing-smart website up and running, there is an intense Website in a Week group happening the week of August 16 – 23rd. If you join, you can have the marketing-smart content for your site finished before Labor Day. Details here or fill out this form.

Is your business out of sight?

Is your website “out of sight, out of mind?” Do you know how many people are visiting your site each month? Have you added new testimonials or made updates recently?

If not, use this post as a reminder!

And if summer is coming to an end – and you still don’t have your website ready – I have a new Website in a Week group happening August 16-23rd. If you join, you can have the marketing-smart content for your site finished before Labor Day.

If your site isn't “getting done” by itself, and you need some accountability, this one-week, accelerated group is perfect. Details here or fill out this form.

Does your email say "open me"?

We love email marketing. We love Emma for email marketing. And we love Emma’s blog for email marketing best practices. We love them so much we offer a partner discount of 20% off “everything Emma.” 

On the Emma blog, Matt McCutchan shares five effective subject lines that defy conventional wisdom – and they really do! Even though they might go against the rules, they stood out in his inbox and made him open the message. He says:

If you’ve ever seen tips for writing an effective subject line or maybe even attended a conference about email marketing best practices, you’ve probably been advised to abide by a certain set of tried-and-true principles.

First, the experts often say, include your company or brand name so that the mailing becomes instantly trusted and recognizable. Next, keep it short to make the most of the fixed space for subject lines in most email clients and webmail applications. And lastly, use the subject line to highlight the most important part of your campaign message and get your readers to click.

These are great guidelines and are always a helpful place to start. But it’s worth going your own route sometimes, too. I’ve recently noticed five subject lines in my inbox that have seemingly ignored or temporarily kicked conventional wisdom to the curb, yet still grabbed my attention…

See them here: http://myemma.com/blog/2010/07/16/subject-line-remix/

If you need to create an email newsletter – we can't recommend Emma highy enough. Use Marketing Mentor code “MM0701” when you sign up and receive a 20% discount.

Keywords made simple

Sometimes the process of choosing the right keywords can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are two easy-breezy keyword resources for you.

Alan Kravitz, a copywriter who integrates SEO into his copywriting services (and a Marketing Mentor client), recently published some excellent tips in his email newsletter, 5 Things to Remember about Keywords. He gives five tips about keywords and includes this handy list of useful keyword tools:

Keyword research is easy - and affordable! It's true. You no
longer need an M.I.T. degree to research keywords effectively. I either use - or have used - all these tools. Many are free, or at least have free trials. Check them out and test drive them.

• Google Keyword Tool - You do not have to have a Google Adwords account to do basic research.
• Wordtracker - Great for helping you find lots of keywords.
• Keyword Discovery - This site has an amazing feature for research on misspelled words. 
• Microsoft Keyword Forecast - Type in a keyword and it gives you the word's past performance - as well as a "forecast" of how popular it could be in the future.
• Google Analytics - Helps not only with keywords, but with web page effectiveness.
• SEO Glossary - Don't know what an algorithm is? Look it up here.
• Mashable and Social Media Examiner - Two of the best sites out there for easy-to-understand social media info.

In Norma Maxwell’s latest article on Biznik, A Simple Guide to Choosing the Right Keywords for Your Business, she addresses how choosing the right keywords can help you get qualified and targeted visitors to your site. Read it here.

Every marketing-smart website should include SEO and keyword basics. If you need help getting the content for your website ready, the next Website in a Week course begins Mid-August. Details here or fill out this form.

Have you gotten jobs from LinkedIn?

Are you using LinkedIn?

So many people are – but we get questions all the time about exactly how to use it. There are so many things you can do on LinkedIn, and one thing we really love is LinkedIn Groups. Here’s a video about how to use the groups. http://learn.linkedin.com/groups/

LinkedIn Groups is great because everyone in the group shares something in common. It helps narrow down your connections and makes real relationships more possible, because you can get to know people over time through the group community.

In the group setting, you can start or contribute to discussions, ask and answer questions, share news and more. We’ve heard about people finding collaborators, getting publicity, and even getting new clients on LinkedIn from within their group.

One copywriter says:

Quite a few of my LinkedIn group members have gotten in touch with me to discuss projects. They needed a copywriter and found me from within their group. Even though we didn’t know each other personally (yet), the fact that we were in the same group meant we shared connections and common interests. I had known their names from seeing their comments and contributions, and they had known mine for the same reason.

What you have you noticed about using LinkedIn? Have you gotten jobs from LinkedIn? Developed new relationships? Please share.

Beware of article marketing?

One of our clients just called to say that as a result of posting her articles online (places like Ezinearticles.com), her Google rankings fell off completely, and she’s been led to believe this is because she was penalized for duplicate content.

Has this happened to anyone else?