Online Marketing for Local Business
Uncategorized
Email Marketing is Still Here!
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
We talk a lot about web content writers and SEO on our blog, but email remains strong for many marketers, despite the overwhelming adoption of social media and mobile platforms. Why is this?
Much of the time spent engaging with new channels and platforms is “new activity” time. It’s not a zero-sum equation where time is being taken away from email. We as consumers have largely chosen that we prefer email as a medium to receive corporate communications from brands, 74% of adults say they prefer commercial messages in this way versus all others.
We like email, it’s manageable. It’s something we understand. And by now the vast majority of us have learned to integrate email into our lives. True…older folks that have not adopted email by now have become likely to never adopt it; younger people may turn away from email completely in favor of other communication methods. But that said, email is still accepted by a very large percentage of the adult population, and the number of young people who do NOT use email is a growing but still small number – especially when you consider purchasing power. So email marketing isn’t going away.
Another emerging trend is using individual data within your email. Right now, most campaigns send the exact same message out to everybody. And this works quite well for many campaigns, especially considering the time requirements – write one email, send it out to your entire list. Simple. But in this model there’s no data about my subscribers, individually, that I’m using to send that message. I’m blasting the same message to everybody.
When we talk about “data-driven campaigns” we are taking full advantage of individual subscriber info in order to tailor more relevant communications for people. It’s not necessary for many types of emails or businesses, for sure. But for those where it makes sense, it could be something as basic as “Has this person actually purchased a product before?” Within many campaigns now no distinction is being made, or individual lists must be maintained to track each category; in the future, smart distribution services will do all of that for you.
There are thus a number of reasons why email marketing is here to stay, and how it can become even more effective in the future. If you and your company are interested in learning more about how to utilize what could be a potential gold mine – your list of contacts and customers –give us a call at 314 494-3494 or contact us today to get the conversation started!
SEO-Based Web Writing and Distribution
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
SEO-based Web Writing and Distribution
Check out my account profile on Thumbtack.com, for a complete listing of my SEO and web content writing services. Thumbtack is a premier location online to find and hire freelance talent in the disciplines of writing, SEO, graphic design, web programming and many other online fields. As a member of Thumbtack, I’ve been able to share my services with a great number of new clients and potential ones. If you need SEO-focused web writing and distribution, my first hope of course is that you will contact me today to learn more. But there are many other resources you can find on Thumbtack, and I hope that you will support them as well if the need arises for your business.
Tips to Becoming a Better Becoming a Better Web Content Writer
12 years
by jhaynes
in Uncategorized
There are always many business owners, marketers and others who wish to improve their writing skills as they create and distribute their web content online, and even for those that don’t plan on making writing a profession, there are still good ways to hone your skills to become more effective with your ability to communicate via the written word. Here are 3 good ways to evaluate your writing skills.
Write the Article, Then Come Back in 2-3 Days
A great way to know if your writing is at the highest level is to write about a topic that you’re passionate about, and then step back and leave it for a bit. Come back later to review what you’ve created two to three days later. You can’t truly evaluate the quality of your written piece if you review it right after you finish writing. The tendency to be emotionally attached to your own web content writing is too strong at this point, and can affect your judgment on the piece. If you write a blog, publish your article or essay, and then come back to it when your emotional connection has subsided. This can allow you to be in a better position to make an honest evaluation of your work.
Take Your Direction From Search Engines
Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing can help to make a rough evaluation of your web content writing kills sometimes. Recent search engine algorithms on all major engines are now equipped with the ability to determine relevancy and quality of web content. Their spiders are constantly sweeping the web to index sites and rank them according to the quality of their online content. When you receive a good Google ranking or Yahoo, Bing ranking etc…this is an indication your content is gaining favor from both readers AND search engines.
Post Content on Social Media
Share your web content with friends and contacts, and gain the extra exposure it brings on sites like Facebook and the many others. If it gets a lot of “Likes” and “Shares”, you can be pretty sure that your article or post is well-liked for its information, quality, and substance.
Objectively Evaluate Your Work
Try not to judge your work as “good” or “bad”, because it can blind you to areas that need improvement. Make an objective evaluation of your work instead. Set a criterion where absolutely flawless equals 100. Then deduct points from every error that you find. These results can assist you in measuring your improvement as you travel along on your web content writing career.
Also remember, being a good writer takes practice! Which means, you need to exercise the “brain muscles” that create your wonderful content often, as you would any other muscle. Sticking to a very regular and frequent publishing calendar for web content creation and distribution can be challenging, for sure. But in the end your business will prosper because of it, as will your confidence in your own writing abilities over time.
And of course, if ever you decide that you’d like a partner to assist you with your web content writing/creation, there are many resources available to you, including Hat Trick Associates of course but also many other experts as well.
And if you do decide to be your web content writer on your own, remember that practice makes perfect. Or maybe we shouldn’t say perfect, as mentioned above…since there is always room for improvement as you continue your journey as a writer!