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Secrets To Writing A Company Blog
In: Blogging Basics
3 Sep 2010
*This is a guest post from Steve Mellor, a writer who shares his insights into an effective process for bloggers*
If you’ve been following Lucy’s advice, you should already have your blog online. I’m sure it was as much of an achievement for you as my first site was for me. Now you are tasked with the job of filling it each day. Lets face it, we all have too much to do already. How do you fill your blog?
Before You Begin
There are a few things that you should know before you start blogging. It’s the basic stuff I tell business people who want a website.
- You have 8 seconds to grab your reader or they will leave your site.
- People don’t care about your company, they just want to solve their problem.
The interesting thing about these two sentences is that acting on the second will negate the first. If you create a blog post that is not focused on your company, but rather what your company can do for your customer, then your readers attention will automatically be grabbed.
With that in mind, lets get to…
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- Tags: blogging, editing, research, writing
Perhaps the biggest news this week in the online world is that Seth Godin announced he is giving up on traditional book publishing and is going all-digital. Seth has the following and the leverage to make this an exciting development for digital publishing. This could be a big step in mainstreaming electronic publishing and changing the consumption of “books.” He has published 12 bestsellers in the traditional manner, so it’s possible he will be the reason some consumers start buying digital products. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Tags: digg, google, google places, google voice, news, realtime, seth godin, social media
Rule-Breaking Is A Luxury of Success
In: Online Marketing
26 Aug 2010
This week I’ve seen several examples of ‘rule-breaking’ in marketing and social media. Minimalist business writer Everett Bogue has decided to turn off commenting on his popular Far Beyond The Stars blog. John Boitnott writes about how the New York Times breaks every ‘rule’ of Facebook Page management practice but has 700k+ ‘fans’. To top it off, Seth Godin announced that he’ll no longer be publishing traditional books.
I’m sure there will be, perhaps already has been, backlash and copycats in equal parts.
But what these folks are demonstrating to me is the luxury that success provides. And success can really be defined as having developed an audience that transcends the platform – audience meaning real, product-buying, idea-sharing people – not just numbers of passive ’followers’. Read the rest of this entry »
Social Media News Roundup – Week of 08/16
In: social media
22 Aug 2010
Facebook dominated the social media/online marketing news this week with their launch of Facebook Places – a location-based service along the lines of FourSquare which allows you to “check in” via Facebook to various places you go. While there was much fanfare, the rollout seems to be quite slow as far as people actually being able to access and use it. As with everything Facebook does, it comes with privacy implications. The default setting is that other people can check you into Places. Visit your settings to change that. Here are the instructions.
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- Tags: facebook, groupon, Twitter
A Simple Model For Social Media
In: social media
21 Aug 2010
Here’s a very simple model for thinking about three main social media channels: your blog, Facebook and Twitter. I should say that this model applies in particular to solopreneurs and small businesses who are still developing their following and trying to use social media to do so. In this model the starting point is simply looking at who the audience is, since that helps determine tone, content and strategy.
The simplest version:
Your blog is for attracting a new audience, and providing value to your existing audience.
Facebook is for communicating with people you know, or at least have ‘weak ties’ with, i.e people that are already in your network.
Twitter is for actively finding and connecting with people outside of your current network.
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- Tags: blogging, facebook, small business, solopreneur, Twitter
Social Media News Roundup
In: Online Marketing
15 Aug 2010
Just to keep you in the loop, here are some of the top stories in the social media and online marketing world from the past week:
Facebook announces changes to Pages
Come August 23rd, Facebook’s long-talked about about changes to Pages will take effect. Any custom boxes on your Facebook Page (business pages, not personal profile) will disappear unless you move the content into a custom tab, which are becoming narrower.
It’s still a little unclear to me exactly what will be left in the left sidebar of your Page when boxes are gone, and how, if at all, you’ll be able to add custom info to the main page. I’m sure Facebook’s ‘wisdom’ will be revealed in time. Read the rest of this entry »
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- Tags: facebook, hootsuite, rapportive, social media, Twitter
Yesterday, my go-to Twitter application, Hootsuite, decided to go ‘freemium.’ Without getting into the pros and cons, I’ll just say that while they are still offering a free service, it is very limited compared to the rich features I’ve been enjoying for a long time. This has created quite a backlash amongst their users, with accusations of bait & switch. If you’re interested in seeing some of the sentiment – just search on Twitter for ‘Hootsuite’ and you’ll see the range of reactions.
The bigger lesson here is to start thinking about how this applies to customer service, and how it could apply to your own business when you have to change the model or create revenue streams, and even to bloggers who want to monetize their sites.
Some thoughts sparked by this whole debacle:
1) No matter what business you are in, if you willingly provide a service to people for free, those people are still your customers and deserve to be treated as such – not as second-class citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
Set Up Your WordPress Site For Success – Online Webinar
In: WordPress
8 Aug 2010
The next online training webinar is scheduled for : Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (PT)
Fee: $10
The topic is: “Set Up Your WordPress Site For Success”.
If you’ve got your WordPress site up and running, the fun is just beginning! This webinar will help you make sure your site is an effective marketing platform for your business. Do you have all the right plugins and features in place to capture email addresses and encourage social sharing? How do you know who’s visiting and where traffic is coming from?
Learn how to get all the business features you need on your WordPress site. Read the rest of this entry »
This past week these two major companies have provided a mini-study in a few do’s and don’ts of email marketing.
I hate to call people out, but, you know, a huge national company should really know better.
I signed up with Firestone to receive their email coupons (I’m way overdue for an oil change…..).
This is how their conformation email appeared in my inbox:
Well, actually it was in my junk mail folder. Fortunately I’m smart enough to check there ;)
But, yes folks “DO-NOT-REPLY” in all caps is really how they set up their “from” email address and “Confirm Sign Up” is really their subject line. If I hadn’t checked my email right away, and had seen this a few hours or a day later, I may well have not remembered that I signed up, or would have simply discounted this message along with the many other spam emails I receive every day since there was nothing about it that signified legitimacy. Read the rest of this entry »
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The goal of Web Training Wheels is to coach small businesses & entrepreneurs in internet marketing and strategy so that you can take a hands-on approach to your own online efforts.I work with people one-on-one or in small groups to provide the necessary coaching and education. I'll give you the confidence and tools you need to effectively use the web to expand your business and express yourself online. Find out more.
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- LucyBeer: Thanks Tara! This is just one way of looking at social media - I'm glad it resonated with you. [...]
- tara: Nice job on this Lucy. I knew it before I read it, so I guess I'm just glad to see my instinctive ap [...]
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- Secrets To Writing A Company Blog
- Social Media and Online Marketing News Roundup – Week of 8/23
- Rule-Breaking Is A Luxury of Success
- Social Media News Roundup – Week of 08/16
- A Simple Model For Social Media
- Social Media News Roundup
- Hootsuite Goes Freemium – Lessons In Customer Service
- Set Up Your WordPress Site For Success – Online Webinar
- I Don’t Want To Blog – Is There Still Hope?!
- Email Marketing Lessons from Firestone and Bath & Body Works
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lucy [AT]webtrainingwheels.com
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I Don’t Want To Blog – Is There Still Hope?!
In: Online Marketing
29 Jul 2010I find that many people have heard that they ‘should’ have a blog, but worry that they are just not the blogging type, or don’t think they will have anything to say.
Is there still hope without a blog?
I would say ‘yes’. After all, a blog only works if you actually post to it and actively promote it. It’s no silver bullet and it does take time and commitment, and honestly, it’s not for everybody.
One of the main benefits to having a blog is that with well-written and targeted content it can attract search engine traffic quite easily. This is the main benefit you will miss out on by not having a typical, text-based blog. But search engines are not the only source of traffic. So while there are many benefits to having a blog, let’s consider some alternatives.
1) Re-think what a ‘blog’ means
The typical idea of a blog is a text-based site that you update at least once per week and ideally more frequently, with posts of several hundred words. But here are some variations on what a blog can be: Read the rest of this entry »