Writing Web Copy: Missed Opportunities

DOES GOOGLE KNOW WHAT YOU GOT?

Web writers write a lot of site text. By the metric ton. Optimized with carefully selected keywords strategically placed throughout the body text, embedded text links – you got it all, right?

Wrong-o. Virtually every page of a website is an opportunity to sell, yet how many times have you seen missed opportunities – and perhaps didn’t recognize that they were opportunities to move the visitor closer to conversion.

Overused Opportunities
Mission statements, core beliefs, and About Us are often navigation options taking site visitors to pages where they expect to read about the company’s great prices or professionalism in the delivery of services, blah, blah, blah. That’s why these pages of a site don’t get a lot of respect among visitors. I don’t care what the company’s core beliefs are. Do you? I just want my Blackberry delivered on time, that’s all.

Yet, this is where site owners and, therefore copywriters working under the direction of site owners, devote a lot of time and energy working up eloquent text aspiring to noble goals that 99% of site visitors will skip because of the blah, blah, blah part.

Product descriptions are, by definition, intended to sell the goods or services so in this case, the missed opportunities take the form of descriptive benefits rather than a list of product specs. In product descriptions, focus on how this makes the read’s life better in some way.

Underused Opportunities
Case you forgot, virtually every page that makes up a web site is a potential sell page, even if the sell is hidden inside informational content on your site blog or simply part of the site design itself. If you sell rubber bands, working the words Rubber Bands into the actual design of the site (in text format) makes it lot easier for search engine bots to index the web site.

Important note: search engine bots are as dumb as a box of hammers.

The Guarantee/Warranty Page
Before you get to the fine print, a short riff on your commitment to client/customer satisfaction goes a long way in getting prospects to actually read all that fine print. Sell your commitment to visitor satisfaction in the most logical place – the warranty page.

The Archives
The archives should be an expanding collection of green content, posted fresh daily if possible, that has lost its SEO value but still has value as a resource and as a sell tool.

The informational content must be just that. Purely informational. (Good rule of thumb – keep sales and informational content separate on any site you work on.) However, if properly constructed, a well-written informational piece provides just enough information to convince the reader that s/he needs to call this lawyer or subscribe to this newsletter.

An expansive archives covering a broad range within the topicality of a site is a kitbag of sell pages that will be used over and over.

The “Contact Us” Page
Now, this one totally confuses me.

How many times have you clicked on the Contact Us tab only to be taken to a page that contains name, address and phone number and that’s it. Talk about a missed opportunity!

The visitor clicked on Contact Us. You’ve almost closed the deal. That’s a motivated prospect and here’s the perfect opportunity to do a little low-level trust building to finalize terms. Talk about your 24-hour call center, U.S.-based tech support – sell something that’s going to push that “almost called” to “did call.”

Use this space to provide all avenues of contact from an easy e-mail form to your Skype user name. But don’t waste this incredibly valuable real estate. The visitor clicked on Contact Us! Just a little push and s/he will.

The Checkout
Every page of the checkout should be a trust builder. This cuts down on the site’s abandoned cart rate so save a little space on each page to highlight some positive aspect of site security, protection of personal data, don’t sell our customers’ names, etc.

BTW, it’s also important o know when to stop selling. If the visitor is in the checkout line, the sale is made so here, your text is reassuring and guides the buyer through the process, providing positive feedback on every page.

There are other missed opps on many web sites: localized site text for local business, Our Management Team (stress experience, judgment, etc.), Customize Your Order and other drill-down pages – each an opportunity to sell.

So, yeah, the home page has to ring and resonate with the reader in less than 10 seconds (a fun challenge) and the mission statement should have a certain starchy quality to it. After all, it’s kind of like the company commandments so they should sound 100% professional.

Think of each page as an opportunity to sell – soft and reassuring or steaming heaps of hype – whatever the style, use it on every page and even in the design of the site itself.

Build a Boutique Agency In Your Spare Room

A BOUTIQUE AD AGENCY: RAISE THE KINDS AND EARN A LIVING

A boutique advertising agency is small but nimble, offering a variety of services to an array of clients, each of whom wants something different. To become a successful service provider, working out of a spare room over the garage, takes hard work, innovative, on-going promotion and quality word of mouth (WOM).

So, if you’re thinking of building a boutique agency, here are some tips to get you off on the right foot. (Oh, and these service providers earn a nice living. At least the good ones do.)

1. Think locally. Act Globally. Farm the local business community first for clients. Every small business has a web site. Every one of them advertises somehow.

But don’t limit yourself to the locals. Build an attractive website that will be seen by the world. You’ll be amazed that folks from Malaysia call and want some consultation on introducing a new product to the U.S. market and could you advise them.

Sure, why not?

2. Track local media. I don’t want to get hung up on localization, but a boutique ad agency has a built-in trust factor with local businesses so that neighborly trust enables you to skip the trust-building phase and get down to business because both you and the client know “ol’ Sam.”

3. Optimize your web site for both global and local search. Add your town, state and zip code to “advertising agency Trotwood Ohio.” More and more search engine users are savvy to local search and prefer to work with someone close by.

4. Provide a menu of service offerings. Most clients don’t want to go from here to there. They want a project manager who can take care of the editorial development, the graphic design, the upcoming company picnic. The more services you provide, the more services you sell.

Consider the following:

• search engine optimization

• content development including blogging and optimized site text

• site design

• print ad design

• graphic arts

• multi-media including DVD products

• event planning

• on- and off-site marketing

You get the idea. It doesn’t take a lot of time and it doesn’t cost a dime to call the local Ramada to get a conference room rate for your event planning file or a rate card from the local press. Valuable information that you can collect during “down” time.

5. Join the Chamber of Commerce. Total no-brainer. Once a month the CoC gets together for a networking lunch. Bring business cards and strike up friendships. Don’t sell. That happens organically as more and more members know who you are and what you do.

6. Join the Better Business Bureau. A trust builder. And it goes without saying, keep your record spotless. People do check with the local BBB and if you have a couple of outstanding complaints, you ain’t gonna land the gig.

7. Advertise your own services, as in. follow your own advice. You should have a small print ad running daily or weekly in the local newspaper. First, you want that name recognition and second, buying ad space in bulk saves you beaucoups bucks.

8. Plan meetings to take place in public places. The last thing you want is your deep-pockets client tripping over a sippy cup on the way to your spare room office. Talk about amateur night, even if you are the best there ever was.

Find the right location for client meetings (their offices) or a local eatery and always pick up the tab.

9. Build authority and expertise. Enter industry competitions and tout your wins and quietly forget your failures. “Gold Medal Winner, National Design Show” listed on the stationery builds credibility. And of course, such an award is worthy of a press release to the local paper. Get that free ink.

10. Perception is reality. High-end stationery, a professionally designed web site, a pricy suit – all say success and that you “get it.” Create a professional persona and you are a professional.

Need some help getting started. NP. Drop me a line or give me a call. Webwordslinger.

The Importance of a Writing Space By George Angus

George Angus,

Owner Tumblemoose Writing Services

We have a guest poster today – a friend from Alaska, George Angus, of Tumblemoose Writing Services, on the importance of creating a writing space.

Thanks, George. Good advice for all

The Importance of a Writing  Space

George Angus

tumblemoose.com

One of the most valuable things I learned when I went full time with my writing was the importance of having a writing space I could call my own.  In Stephen King’s great book, “On Writing” he espoused the benefits and the requirement of having your own writing space.  I took the advice and I’ve found it invaluable.

You see, a writer writes.  Every day.  Yes, Every day.  In order to be the most effective use of your writing time, you need a place to call your own.  I’m fortunate to have great support at home and we turned a little used room into my writing space.  It’s not fancy, it’s not filled with inspirational posters and shelves of great literature – it’s a room with a door.

Yes, a door is an important component.  When the door is closed, it means that unless an alien spaceship has landed in the back yard, DO NOT DISTURB.  This allows me to focus on what I need to be doing: writing.

I know that a lot of folks are not as fortunate as I am to have an available space dedicated to my practice of the craft.  I will tell you that if there is a will, there is a way.  Stephen King described writing his first novel in the laundry room.  Take a look around your home.  I mean really take a look around.  Is there an extra room that you could use?  How about a space under the stairs ala Harry Potter?  Is there a large walk-in closet that would do the trick?  The point is to try and look at your available space in ways you hadn’t considered before.  How serious are you about writing?  Don’t discount the possibility of making sacrifices in other areas so that you can have your space.

Remember that your space does not need to be fancy, replete with a large picture window with a view of the lake.  The basic requirements are a space that is well lit (or can be well lit), access to electricity and in ideal conditions, access to the internet.  With that said, it is important to keep your comfort in mind.  Hunched over in the crawl space, fending off spiders and shivering in 50 degree temps is not going to help your muse.

A good writing space is crucial to your success as a writer.  Take the time to look at all of your options and do what you need to in order to have your writing space – any sacrifices will be well worth the effort.

Make More Money From Home As A Web Guru

Make Your At-Home SEO Biz More Profitable

You hear about these success stories all of the time – people who quit their jobs and are making handsome money on the world wide web. Sometimes very big money, as in billions of dollars. Of course, that’s the exception to the rule, but the rule isn’t too bad. If you do it right, you can supplement and even replace your paycheck and gain earnings independence – the stuff of dreams.

First, the Right Idea
A place to upload videos? Sorry, it’s already been done – more than once. But it doesn’t have to be an expensive, brain-buster idea. Just helpful. Here’s an example. One man bought a book for his son on how to make paper airplanes. In the process of creating the airplanes, the book itself had to be cut up and basically destroyed. So this give the dad a pretty good idea – a web site that allowed paper airplane downloads – complete with video demonstrations on how to fold the origami flyers.

At first, he didn’t get many hits because he was buried in the search engine results pages. But within six months, he was clearing $200 every 30 days and within in a year he was up to $600 monthly. Not enough to quit his day job, but enough to make a real difference in the quality of his life!

Spend a few hours on the web and you’ll quickly discover that there are lots of individuals, just like you, earning real money on the web. One doctor in Tennessee owns three web sites for pregnant moms and he makes more from his web sites than he does from the work he does in the OR. So, yes it’s possible, with an idea that hasn’t been overused. Topics to avoid?

- get rich quick schemes
- any kind of investment that can’t be explained in one sentence
- flipping and rehabbing old homes for money
- single-topic e-books with dedicated web sites consisting of a single, hype-filled sales letter
- multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses (pyramids)
- anything that makes you uncomfortable because you’ll be working with the
topic everyday

Second, the Right Time
That’s now. The W3 is the fastest growing marketplace ever and the sooner you become a part of it the sooner you can grab your piece of the pie.

How are these for impressive numbers? The National Mail Order Association recently announced that 75% of all web users now use the web to make, or at least research, a purchase. Three out of four web surfers use the W3 as a primary source for easy comparison shopping.

At one time, people were afraid to provide personal information online, fearing that it could (would) be stolen. However, today’s commercial sites employ heavy duty encryption (coding) to make sure the black hats are kept at bay so, each year, the number of people who recognize the convenience of online shopping grows. In 1999, 25% of web users made a purchase. In ’06, that number jumped to 75% – a 50% increase in just seven years. Now that’s a market you want to be in!

If you’re running an editorial or SEO business from home, drop me a line or give me a call. Earn more when you learn more.

Webwordslinger

Writing the Perfect Landing Page

Well-designed landing pages land orders. Lots of 'em!

You read and hear a lot about landing pages, but not many site owners use landing pages for maximum effect.

A landing page is the first page a visitor sees upon clicking a link to your site, either from another site, through organic search results or a PPC link. The landing page MAY be the home page, but not necessarily. A visitor can land deep on your site based on the search words that were employed or which link was clicked.

So, in effect, almost any page can be a landing page, though some SEOs contend that a landing page is always a sell page. Not true. In fact, a landing page that makes a strong sales pitch isn’t a good landing page and you’ll see a high ratio of bounces as visitors determine, “This isn’t what I was looking for!”

The Characteristics of a Good Landing Page
There are quite a few, so let’s look at the characteristics of a quality landing page in detail. This is worth knowing. Most site owners slap together a home page with a dash of information, a bunch of sales copy and a “BUY” button that takes the visitor to the checkout. Bad. Very bad. You don’t sell the product or service before the visitor even knows what that product or service is.

Also, it’s important to bear in mind that a landing page should appeal to the visitors needs, NOT your wants. You want to sell something or obtain an opt in. The visitor doesn’t care what you want so keep landing pages targeted at visitors, not making the sale. That’s comes later.

Easy, Straightforward Navigation
If visitors land in site zones that don’t meet their needs, it’s a good idea to provide a navigation bar to take them to the zone or home page, archives or checkout so they can conduct their business and move on to the next item on the day’s agenda.

You don’t always know where a visitor will land so provide easy navigation on all pages. A site map is useful and a big “HOME” link will keep visitors on site longer.

Meet the Visitors’ Expectations
Regardless of how visitors reach your site, they have certain expectations when they access a landing page. They clicked on the link to your site for a reason – to meet a need or want.

If your landing pages consist of opt-ins, a log-in (Sign Up Now) or a bunch of links to affiliates, that visitor is so long gone you won’t have time to see the dust settle.

Define Your Business
On every landing page? Yep. Every page has the potential to be a home page – the first page the visitor sees – so every page should be constructed with information in mind.

Now, this doesn’t mean you post your three-page company mission statement on every page. That’s a waste of good pixels. Instead, use taglines, headers and product pictures to define quickly what your business is about. We’ve mentioned in previous posts that the average time visitors spend assessing the value of a site is a whopping six seconds. SIX SECONDS! If visitors don’t know what you’re about in six seconds, you lose them.

Perform All Aspects of Sales
From quality materials to free overnight shipping, a well-designed landing page must serve as a primary sell page within the site without sounding like a heap of hype. That means visitors learn about the benefits of your products or services (use bulleted text instead of long paragraphs), manage any visitor objections and describe the “iron-clad, 30-day, no-hassle, money-back guarantee” in six seconds or less.

Large headlines grab attention. Headlines should describe benefits to the user instead of product features. For example, selling a paper shredder, which is the grabber?

The Acme 5000 comes with a 1.5 horsepower motor. (feature) Or;

The Acme 5000 is so powerful, it’ll shred a Cadillac. (benefit)

Convert
All landing pages must also be designed to convert visitors to buyers. That means easy access to product descriptions, shopping cart and check-out. Or, in the case of services, the landing page needs complete contact information IN BIG TYPE, not in six-point type at the bottom of the page. Visitors have questions before they convert. Provide every means available to answer those questions and establish personal contact.

Provide a toll-free number on every landing page and staff client care 24/7. You never know when a call will come in, and often, a client care call turns into a sale – once all questions are answered, all objections addressed.

Build Trust
Man, that landing page has to do a lot!

In this case, however, trust is more a perception than a reality. Trust builders include:

• impartial product reviews from journals and periodicals;

• customer testimonials (real ones, please);

• customer-generated reviews (it works for Amazon, it’ll work for you);

• logos from web security companies like VeriSign and Hacker Free;

• assuring text that you don’t sell buyer lists and all information is confidential;

• a guarantee.

Impress with Quality Design
Does the look of your site reflect industry standards? If you’re the marketing director for a large accounting consultancy, a site that employs “spray paint” text won’t fit the image you’re trying to project to a gaggle of CPAs. Instead, quiet, confident professionalism is what you want to project in the look of your site. Save the spray paint for the “chopper shop” sites.

The look of your site should reflect company values – cool and hot or sedate and conservative – the look of every site page makes a subliminal statement about your business image.

Keep Body Text Industry Appropriate.
If you’re main demographic is teens, the body text can be “like OMG totally casual 4U.” However, if your target demographic wear three-piece suits, they won’t appreciate being called “dawg,” or “dude.” Your site’s body text, from home page to check-out should be comfortable reading for that target buyer.

Be Straight With Visitors
No bait and switch, no added fees (restocking fees??), no hidden extras that’ll cost the visitor more. The fastest way to lose a hot prospect is to deceive so if the landing page says FREE SHIPPING, that shouldn’t just apply to “orders over $100,” on interior pages, it should apply to all orders.

Forget Branding. Who Cares?
Branding is important to you. It isn’t to potential buyers who come in through a side door landing page. Visitors come to your site for solutions and benefits, not to see your really clean logo and clever catch phrase.

Save branding for the “About Us” page. Visitors who click on this link are expecting a little self-congratulatory back slapping here. On landing pages, the product or service takes precedence over branding your business, at least in the customers’ eyes.

The key to a successful landing page is simple: provide what the visitor wants, not what you want, which is a sale. Visitors need time and they must feel secure and comfortable before the sale is made.

Put your needs aside. Save it for the “Order Now” page. That’s where you can sell. Otherwise, meet visitors’ expectations wherever they land.

Then, once they land, they may want to check out some of the scenery as they work their way to the checkout.

Looking for landing pages that don’t crash and burn? Come on over to Webwordslinger’s place. Drop me a line or give me call so all site visitors have a pleasant flight.

Media Kits: Downloadable Advertising

Get the word out and sales coming in with a media kit.

Fortune 500 companies have press kits available on their websites. So do most of the sites that comprise the Russell 2000. Even small, one-person service providers make press kits available in the hopes of getting some free “ink.” And why not? Print media needs green content just as much as web sites so, if you have an interesting idea, promo, freebie, service, give-away or contest, put together a downloadable press kit.

What should your press kit include?
1. Well, obviously, it should include a brief description of your site, your goods and services, coupled with your unique selling proposition. What makes you so good?

2. A one-page list of bullet points. Remember, this press kit is being read by a journalist who wants the facts fast so she can move on to her next assignment.

3. Your picture, and one that’s been done by a professional. A picture of you playing with the kids at a theme park does not say “Professional Investment Advisor.” You, in that standard corporate pose from the waist up, set against seamless paper, as boring and mundane as these business pictures are, represents the best of you.

Dress the part. Suit. Take out the ear stud and, if at all possible, cover the neck tattoo. (What were you thinking?) It’s not a trust builder and that’s what your picture is all about. Building trust. There’s a guy behind this web site and you’re looking at him in a suit.

4. Complete contact information including: name, email address, phone, physical address, Skype user name – whatever makes it easy for a reporter to contact your PR Director for more information.

5. Production values count. Yes, the media kit will be downloaded and who knows what will actually appear in the viewer’s browser. It depends on which browser he’s using and what settings she has clicked on or off.

Do bear this in mind. As many as 50% of all recipients of your media kit will not be able to view images – charts, graphs and other picture-type files. Instead, they see that box with the red ‘X’ inside it.

Send images as bitmaps (bmp), gif or jpg files. One of them should work in the reporter’s browser.

Back to production values. You can look good on a budget. One advisor rented an office from a friend to shoot his online video. No deceit. You see this kind of thing on TV ads all the time. The advisor, who worked out of his house, was shot using a broadcast-quality DV camera with interchangeable lenses, the set was lit to compensate for image compression (needs a bit more light in this case), the shooter rented a teleprompter ($25 for the day) and the video welcome looks absolutely first rate on this financial advisor’s website.

Remember, as we’ve said many time before, perception is reality on the W3. If people perceive you to be a well-established consultancy because your web site maintains high production values and offers a lot of good information, you’ve done a good job. And it’s not cheating if you deliver high-quality services to fit the standards set forth on your online outlet.

6. Testimonials. A few, not pages and pages of raves from satisfied buyers. A couple of good testimonials using complete names and community addresses to add validity is all you need in a media kit. Reporters want facts, not opinions – unless they’re professional opinions.

One web site sells used medical equipment – expensive stuff – hundreds of thousands of dollars for a CAT scan with only 40,000 miles on it. Any way, the owner of this site has testimonials, with pictures, from MDs and hospital administrators who testify about the money they saved buying this or that piece of medical hardware. Those “professional” testimonials work better than the one from Martha B., Los Angeles.

7. Often forgotten, be sure to include your company’s logo in the most common image formats (bmp, gif and jpg). A reporter may use your logo in the piece and that’s free advertising. Don’t miss the opportunity.

8. Finally, include a contact card. A business-sized card with your company name, your name and other contact information. The reporter may not want to run a story on you now, but may want to keep your name on file. A contact card is ideal, especially if it slips right into the Rolodex.

A press kit that presents the best image of you and your business takes a little time and a little money to compile. And, for sure, not every site owner needs one. However, if part of your marketing campaign is to grab some local or regional ink from your hometown print media, a press kit will more than pay for itself after your first feature runs.

So, do it right. Look good. And create a link on your site for a downloadable press kit. As one of millions of web reporters, I promise – we’ll all appreciate it.

Need a press kit for your site? Give Webwordslinger a call or drop me a line. We’ll get some traffic on your site, no problem.

JUST SAY NO TO CONTENT SPAM. BUY QUALITY!

Don't Buy Crap Writing. It Ain't Worth IT!

Closing the Sale: What Are The Obsticles?

You Don't Get Paid If You Don't Close The Sale

It took a long time to get here. To the point of sale (POS). The visitor has browsed, added several items to her shopping cart and is ready to make a purchase. Are you ready to capture that sale? Does your site instill confidence and deliver benefits visitors won’t find at the local mega-mall? No?

Well, here’s an eye-opener for you. An Australian study revealed that 86% of web users employ their computers to:

• learn more about product features and benefits

• comparison shop for the lowest prices

• locate the local brick-and-mortar

• read product reviews from journals and buyers

• make buying decisions – plural. Web users decide what to purchase and where to purchase – two critical decisions that affect your site’s commercial success.

If you’re wondering why you’re seeing great traffic flow but not converting at anticipated ratios, part of the problem might be your closer. How can you keep visitors from using your site for information only to make the purchase from a real-world store? Real world is faster, the consumer can touch the product in the store and ask questions of a salesperson or customer care representative.

So what can you do to close more sales. You’ve spent a lot of time and money to get buyers to this point. It’s a shame to lose them so late in the buying cycle. You need to close the deal.

The Value of On-Line Shopping
To close and make the sale, consider the reasons above that people give for web shopping and browsing. You can turn each of those negatives into a positive by properly and positively positioning the buying process on your site in the mind of the buyer.

Okay, web shoppers use your site to gather information. Once that information is collected, off they go to make the actual purchase at a store in town. Remember, you’re asking the potential buyer to make a couple of sacrifices: to purchase from an unknown vendor and to wait three to five business days before receiving their purchase. Oh, and you can throw in the hassles of on-line returns into that mish-mash, as well. Buying on line can be a hassle – unless you sell the value of shopping on-line as part of your web design and text.

What Can You Offer to Close the Deal?
1. Well, start with the convenience factor. Sure you can run down to the mall, battle the traffic and the crowds, scour store after store or you can click “Add to Cart” and make life easier. Buying on-line isn’t just convenient, it’s a time-saver making the buyer more productive.

2. Offer shipping options. Offer overnight delivery for those emergency items that absolutely, positively must be there in the morning. This is especially true of companies selling B2B where room for error is non-existent.

People will pay extra to get their new “toy” the next day. They’ll pay an extra $20 to get their laptop tomorrow instead of by the end of the week. However, some buyers are more cost conscious so offer either free or low-cost shipping. Free shipping on orders over $XXX is useful in getting the buyer to toss one more item in the cart.

3. Offer personalized service. You can outsource this task but make sure your phone “reps” know your products, policies and company philosophy.

This will cost both time and money. You, the site owner, will have to prepare scripts for the reps who answer telephones for hundreds of different companies to provide customer services. So, all products should be immediately accessible to the rep with product specs for callers with questions.

These reps should also be set up to take the order and close the deal. They should offer to process the order as part of their script. Think about it. If a potential buyer has taken the time and trouble to call you, you’re close to closing. You just need that little nudge to turn a “No Thanks” into a “Thanks for all your help.”

4. Offer guarantees. Product guarantees, shipping guarantees, satisfaction guarantees. And don’t hide these benefits in the fine print. Shout it from the roof tops. “If you aren’t happy, we give you your money back no questions asked within 30 days of sale.”

Guarantees are trust builders.

5. Keep the checkout simple; provide assurances at each step. Your buyers – especially repeat buyers whose information you already have on file – should be able to make a purchase with a click or two.

At each step of the checkout process: (1) assure the buyer that he or she is on the right pages and that all is in order to this point; (2) provide a prominent back button; (3) allow buyers to change items and quantities without having to back out of the check-out and (4) assure buyers that they are on a secure site in both your site text and through the use of trust-building logos from the BBB, VeriSign and other security-focused companies.

6. Provide an immediate invoice with order number. These invoices are generated automatically and delivered to the buyer’s email inbox. Indicate all order information, including anticipated ship and arrival dates and be sure to provide a telephone contact.

7. OFFER BOUTIQUE SERVICES. Worth repeating even with the big letters – offer boutique services. Why? Because more than any other single factor, these services differentiate you from the Wal-Mart across town. Wal-Mart may have their greeters but you can deliver lots more in the way of personalized service and convenience.

Offer Gift Certificates
The gift that says “I don’t have a clue what to buy you,” but always appreciated by the recipient.

Offer Personalized Greeting Cards
If the purchase is a gift, the ability to send a hand-written, personalized note is a great closer. Many on-line buyers, including many companies around the holidays, want to send along a personalized note along with the gift.

Gift Wrapping
Offer special gift wrapping options for grandparents and parents, kids, the corporate world, and other buyers with special gift-giving needs. A nice selling feature is to show the different wrapping options on that page in the check-out sequence. A picture is worth a lot more than a thousand words when it makes the buyer look good, too.

Personal Shoppers
A lot of men are clueless when it comes to things like jewelry and frilly things. We never learned. No one ever told us. And a lot of buyers could use some help. The customer contacts the personal shopper (you know the inventory better than anyone) by email or phone, describes the gift recipient and leaves the choice up to the personal shopper.

Same with a lot of wives who keep missing those hints for a jumbo-sized HDTV. Most consumers, men and women, don’t know what to look for in high-def. But your business’s personal shopper can find just the right TV to make the whole family happy.

Email Reminders
Buyers who always forget birthdays, anniversaries and holidays will appreciate the personalized email you send two weeks before the couple’s anniversary. And where are these buyers going to make their purchases? From the nice web site that reminded them that now was the time to buy.

These are services that set your site apart from the big box stores. You may not be able to compete on margins but personalized services, free set up and removal of the old unit, loyal customer specials – all of these are value-added features that not only make your business distinct from all the rest, they’re the reasons buyers will wait a day or two and purchase from an unknown but clearly customer-oriented business.

Hey, is your web site pulling as expected? If not, please drop me a line or give me a call. I know we can do better.

editor@webwordslinger.com

Add Value To Your Writing: Add Pictures

Snap Some Pix, Land More Jobs

If you own a digital camera, or want to invest in one, you can land more writing gigs. And you don’t have to be a great photographer. If you can take a few, decent product shots to go along with your product description copy, you can charge for the pix and the prose. The job got bigger and all you had to do was snap a few product shots.

Here are some tips on taking good pix and clipping out the clip art, which almost always stinks.

First, let’s start with a basic, fundamental principle of advertising: products sell better when people can see them. That’s why every product in your Lands’ End catalog has a nice (really nice) product picture taken by a pro photographer using professional models. Oh, and a Nikon commercial, digital camera that costs more than $2000 before you start adding lenses.

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a pro, use professional models or own a $2K digital camera to improve the quality of your product shots. Even if you take them into Photoshop to enhance them, Photoshop can only work with what you’ve produced so take a lesson on producing product shots that sell the product.

The Only Thing Worse Than No Photo Is a Bad Photo
Pop over to eBay to see this point in action. The better, more professional sellers have nice looking product shots, often ripped from printed product information. First-timers, or sellers that just don’t get it, plop the product on the kitchen table, snap a digital picture, upload and they’re done.

You can actually go to eBay and see some of the most awful photos ever taken. A chimp could take a better snapshot. The point, here, is that if you aren’t going to do it right, don’t do it at all. No picture really is better than a bad product picture.

Staging
Staging involves laying the product out for the shoot. Consider a couple of factors here. First, if the product contains more than one item, i.e. a headset, separate ear cups, a USB adapter and a user’s guide, show the entire package and all of the components in the package.

You usually see this with the unopened pack center stage with the components laid out around the complete package. The reasons for this are obvious. It shows all of the pieces the buyer will receive and it presents an array (display) that looks pretty impressive.

Another staging tip? Use a neutral colored background. If you’re serious, go to a photography store and buy what’s called “seamless.” It’s thick, seamless, matte (no shine) paper used by professionals. It creates a neutral background that keeps the buyers’ attention on the product.

Keep it simple. Don’t dress up the “set” with distracting doo-dads. One thing you can add is a human being – all of one or just a part of one. For example, if you’re selling wet suits for scuba buffs, having your brother wear one of your products is a pretty good idea – as long as you can still shoot against a neutral background! If you plop your brother in the backyard for your product shot, guaranteed visitors will be looking at the above-ground pool behind him.

A hand, foot or face is also a good addition for some product shots because it provides scale. The buyer can see how large the handbag is or how small the MP3 player is. Just make sure that the hand is clean, well-manicured and nail-polish free. Focus on the product, not on the shade of polish she’s wearing.

When staging products, prop them up rather than lay them flat against seamless or some other neutral background. Pick up a children’s block set. You’ll find blocks of different sizes you can use to create a professional looking layout that catches the eye of the web buyer.

Lighting
For some reason, lighting is always a stumbling block to high-quality product shots. Maybe it’s because the photographer simply uses the direct flash from the camera, which is product photo death in most cases.

You usually see a bright, white reflection of the flash off the product, making the product look like it’s glowing, while the rest of the background goes dark. It’s terrible. Looks like a five-year-old took the shoot.

Never use the camera’s built in flash as your sole source of light. It’s fine for holiday snapshots but it does absolutely nothing to make a product look better.

Actually, the best light for many products is natural light, preferably on a partly cloudy day. Photographers call it “gray” or “flat” light and they love it. You will, too. It’s even, it’s just bright enough to light the product without any glare and it creates a neutral “atmosphere” invisible to the viewer. Once again, we want them focused on the product.

If you do shoot indoors, use at least two different light sources. Incandescent lights don’t work. They aren’t bright enough and they cast a yellowish hue. And stay away from florescent bulbs entirely. They give your shots a sickly green hue guaranteed to make the best product look icky.

You can rent lighting at the local photo shop or ask your friends. The best lighting setup? One general fill light on the right, a narrower spot light focused on the product from the left and the camera’s flash from the front. The side lighting mutes the harsh camera flash. The result is a well-lit, clear, professionally looking product photo.

Shooting Tips
The quality of digital cameras is measured in pixels. The more pixels, the sharper the image. Now, you don’t have to go out and buy a top-of-the-line camera. A mid-priced camera, like the Panasonic Lumix FX01, is available for less than $250. If you plan on taking lots of product pictures, a decent camera is well worth the money. And, you can use it to take pictures on the family vacation. Not bad.

Use a tripod. If you don’t have one, borrow one or buy one. You can find just what you’re looking for at less than $35. A tripod not only gives you clearer shots (less hand shaking), it gives you an extra set of hands.

While staging your products, lock down the camera so it covers the field you want – the height and length of the actual, finished picture. Now you can make adjustments to products, glance at the camera screen and readjust as necessary. You don’t have to keep reframing each shot. The camera is locked into position so all you have to do is stage the products and click.

It’s also a good idea to take a backup shot of each product. Adjust the lens aperture or speed a notch. This will give you a couple of exposures from which to choose. Another tip: identify each shot you take by product number, or at least a brief description so you can find a particular shot when you need it. Believe it – this is a real time saver when you start uploading shots to your site.

If you intend to change products often, it might make sense to set up a simple studio somewhere. You’ll need fill and spotlights, a flat surface, seamless paper and blocks to show products in their best light. If all of your photo supplies are in one place and set up to shoot, regular updates of new products on your site won’t be such a time-consuming chore.

You don’t have to be a professional. You don’t have to hire a professional photographer. But you do need some basics to take product shots that actually sell the products – the right lighting, background and a decent digital camera.

Oh, and you’ll also need to practice and experiment. So, take your time, have some fun and save some money by creating your own product shots.

Need some site copy or maybe some advice on marketing your website? Drop me a line or give me a call. Now, “Say Cheese.”

Yes You Can Earn Money Writing From Home. It Just Ain’t Pretty.

OR YOU CAN WORK IN YOUR JAMMIES

Lots of people do it and great writers they ain’t.

We’re not talking about flowing prose or seductive poetry. We’re talking long-form (22-page) sales letters hawking some webinar, seminar or sermon somewhere. It ain’t pretty. But it pays the bills if you want to do the leg work to build your reputation and display your wares.

Start a Blog
I did. This one. And two more.

I use these as show places for my writing and expertise. They’re free, but if you do build a blog, keep it fresh – at LEAST two new posts a week. A post that people will buy. I don’t care if you’re the greatest poet since Robert Frost. No one NO ONE will pay you for poetry.

But they will pay you for other kinds of writing.

Post to Writer Blogs
There’s like a million of them including this one. And these blogs provide an opportunity to engage the writing community – the guys grinding our the sausage everyday. Look, the web consumes content every day. It’s ephemeral content – valuable as green content for 61 days then as helpful as last week’s lettuce – the brown, slimy thing in the veggie bin.

So, the more you post the more you get your name and your skills out there. Also good for building creds.

Sign-Up for Outsourcing Sites
Elance, Guru, helium, rentacoder – there are lots of places looking to buy your words. Thing is they don’t want to pay a lot of money for them. I didn’t say you’d earn a lot of money, just some money.

Most of the buyers on these sites are looking for words by the pound – content spam they spread all over the web. It doesn’t have to be well written, just cranked out by the pound.

As you start to build a reputation for delivering on time – reliability is a big factor – you can gradually raise your prices.

Use Social Media
At least MySpace, Facebook and Linkedin. Bulk up your profiles with samples of your writing and links to all your other sites – like your blog. Use these to create contact points where people interested in buying your words can follow a crumb trail of links from this site to that to your blog. Connect everything to everything else to create multiple contact points.

Never Say ‘No” to a Job
You’ll learn their jargon and how Tab A fits into Slot B. And if the client finds out you can’t do the job, you’ll find out soon enough.

If you’re going to make money writing for the web you have to do a blog post on eyewear in the morning, an article for client syndication on German cathedrals in the afternoon and another blog post, this one on the Democratic Party’s latest activities.

If you can’t switch from one topic to another to a third in a day, you won’t make as much. The web has information on anything and everything so don’t let research put you off. Say ‘yes’ to the gig. Then learn what you have to learn.

50-50
Terms. Lotta rip-off artists. I’ve been scammed way too often, but then I’m the trusting sort. Any way, standard terms 50% when you start the project and 50% when the project is finished to the client’s satisfaction.

ACCEPT NOTHING LESS.

Other must haves:

• Hit all deadlines and milestones
• Expect a job to take 50% longer than you estimate
• Expect revisions
• Expect to work with the client from hell.
• Avoid quitting jobs. Word spreads fast.
• Walk away from a non-pay two time zones away. Chalk it up to experience.
• Expect work to screw up home life now and then. A deadline is a deadline.

There are college kids, stay-at-home parents and unemployed professionals looking for a little income. You can earn money for your words but because there are so many writers feeding the beast, and because content’s value is ephemeral, it’s not worth much.

The key to success is to take lots of small, $100 jobs which add up day in and day out. If you can write quickly about any topic that comes your way, you can actually make decent money writing for the web.

It ain’t easy, it ain’t pretty and it sure enough ain’t art. But it can help with some extra cash at the end of the month. And you can do it in a sweat suit.

And hey, if you need some content or SEO/SEM consultation, just drop me a line.

Later,

Webwordslinger