Published on Friday, May 15th, 2015 under Blogging, Marketing · 2 Comments

How to get new customers by guest blogging

Wondering how to expose your business to a bunch of potential new clients?

If so, this article is for you. But before we dive too deep, let’s cover the basics first…

What exactly is a guest post?

A guest post (also known as a guest blog) is a published article that’s written by a guest author.

For example:

A healthy food website might publish a recipe written by a celebrity chef
A law firm might publish an end-of-year tax guide created by a local accountancy firm

Why you should consider guest blogging

Guest blogging is worthwhile because it exposes your business (and expertise) to an entirely new audience – an audience that’s outside of your existing circle of influence.

And the best part is that once published, guest posts are timeless. Each article serves as a 365 days-a-year sales person for your business – not like an article in the newspaper which simply gets thrown in the bin.

Benefits for the guest (the author of the article)

Exposure to a new audience
Links directing readers to their website

Benefits for the host website

Content without effort (a quality blog article without expense)
Sharing knowledge on a subject matter which isn’t core expertise

I know it’s a cliche, but guest posting really is win-win (*sigh)

How to find guest blogging opportunities

Let’s face it, NZ is a pretty small place – so you probably know the websites you could approach to request a guest blogging opportunity.

But with that said, there are a couple of things that can help: Read More

j j j

Published on Friday, April 17th, 2015 under Blogging, Marketing

3 steps to starting a new business blog

Looking to create a business blog?

Today’s article demystifies the process for starting a blog, and covers the important (and often over-looked) first steps.

Need a reminder on the merits of blogging? See what cockroaches and BBQs taught me about blogging.

So you wanna start a blog…

It’s tempting to jump in and start writing your first post, but with a bit of research and planning you’ll give your business a much better chance of being found by your potential customers (isn’t that the goal?).

3 steps to starting a new business blog:

1. Conduct keyword research

Write a list of all the keywords and phrases you think people use when searching for your product/service in google
Use the google keyword planner to determine the search volumes for your list of keywords (this is the average number of people who enter each search term into google each month)
Take note of the most popular keywords from your list (those with the highest search volumes that closely relate to what you sell)

Notes: Skip this keyword research step and you’re simply hoping that someone will stumble across your blog by accident. Looking for more detail on keywords? See this guide to keyword research.

2. Write a list of article headlines

Brainstorm a list of blog article headlines that:
1. Include the most popular keywords (from your findings above)
2. Actually provide value or solve your customers problems
3. Will make people want to read the full article (remember, the headline is the teaser!)

j j j

Published on Friday, February 13th, 2015 under Blogging, Case Studies, Marketing

What cockroaches and BBQs taught me about blogging

Wondering if blogging works?

If so, I’ve got a story to share with you.

It’s about an article I wrote last year for a business called Ecomist. Heard of them?

An article about cockroaches

Ecomist are best known for their insect repellent dispensers, but they also have a product which is great for keeping cockroaches out of your BBQ (and if you’re like me, this is a real problem!).

Anyway, a year ago I wrote a blog for Ecomist called ‘3 steps to keeping your BBQ cockroach-free‘, and Google absolutely loved it.

Why? Because Google had a shortage of decent content in this particular subject area (see what I mean below).

How blogging helps search results

Check out the search results for Ecomist’s article below (and feel free to check these for yourself ).

– Google search for “Cockroach bbq” and the article is in 1st place.

– Google search for “How to get cockroaches out of a bbq” and the article is in 1st place.

– Google search for “Barbeque cockroach problem” and the article is in 2nd place (I suspect this is because of the word ‘Barbeque’ instead of ‘BBQ’)

But you know what the best part is?

This article is over 12 months old, yet it continues to perform as a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week sales person on the Ecomist website, with no effort required since the day it was published.

And it will probably stick around for years to come.

Cheers, Dan

ps – like this article? Check out blog writing: are you helping or selling?

j j j

Published on Friday, December 12th, 2014 under Blogging, Marketing

Blogging: Avoid the trap of writing about your business

Does your business have a blog?

If so, you’ll know that the easy part was setting it up.

The hard part is deciding what to write about, but don’t worry – you’re not alone.

Because many businesses don’t know what to write about, so they end up writing about themselves – which is a BIG mistake.

Why blogging about your business is bad

You use your language, not your customers (learn more about the blog writers curse of knowledge)
You focus on selling product (rather than helping your customers)
You talk about what’s important to you (rather than your customers and their problems)

So to avoid the mistakes above, you first need to find out what your reader actually cares about.

3 ways to find out (and write about) what your customers care about

j j j

Published on Friday, August 15th, 2014 under Blogging

How to avoid the curse of knowledge

Are you an expert in your field?

If so, then chances are you have the curse of knowledge.

And this curse could be seriously impacting upon the success of your marketing, especially when it comes to your writing.

What is the curse of knowledge?

The curse of knowledge occurs when you know a lot about a topic, making it hard to communicate info about that topic at a level that your prospects and customers can understand.

This happens because:

You use too much jargon
You go into too much detail
You struggle to keep things simple

And the result? Your reader feels overwhelmed.

Your reader feels like they’re looking at a huge plate of lasagne when they’re not even hungry!

Yes, it’s no secret that sharing your expertise helps build trust with your prospect and customers, but how do you do so without going too deep?

Answer: You need to fight the curse of knowledge!

4 steps to overcoming the curse of knowledge

Be aware of the curse (great start!)
Be guided by your readers questions (more on this below)
Get a second opinion (before sending that email or publishing that article)
Write for a 10 year old audience (keep it simple!)

Forget about what you know.

What you know isn’t important (it’s part of the curse!)

Instead, think about what questions your prospects and customers ask you on a daily or weekly basis. Think about the problems they have, and the challenges they face.

What was the last question you received from a customer via email?
What seems to always come up in conversations with prospects?
What do you find yourself having to explain over and over again?

The answers to these questions are clues about what your audience want to know about, so use them to decide what topics you’ll cover in your email marketing and/or next blog article.

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” – Steve Jobs

j j j

Published on Friday, August 8th, 2014 under Blogging, Business, Marketing · 2 Comments

Blog writing: Are you helping or selling?

If you’re anything like me, you hate being sold to.

And that’s because as customers, we’re absolutely sick and tired of it.

We’re sick of cold calls, sales letters and websites that push products and services on us.

Instead, we’re looking for solutions to our problems – we’re looking for help!

So are you selling or helping?

Does your blog or website push product?

Or does it genuinely help your prospects and customers with the challenges they face?

Exercise: Take a look at the example headlines below.

Which headlines are helping? and which are selling?

Real estate:

A. Why list your property with us?
B. How to prepare your house for sale

Accounting:

C. 10 tax minimisation tips for your business
D. How we can halve your tax bill

Building:

E. 5 things to consider when building a new home
F. 5 reasons to choose us for your new home

Answers at the bottom of this article.

And it’s not just about the headline.

The article you write has to deliver on the promise of your headline, and truly help your audience.

Disclaimer: Ok, this might not work for all industries – for instance, a blog article has never influenced which petrol station or cafe I visit. But if you solve problems, provide advice or swap time for money then I think it’s worth considering the difference between helping and selling – especially online.

Exercise answers: Helping (B, C, E) Selling (A, D, F)

j j j

Published on Friday, July 18th, 2014 under Blogging, Marketing

Copywriting checklist: How to sell the crap out of great products and services

Do you write the copy for your website or blog?

If so, then prepare to have your mind blown.

Because what you’re about to view is the most valuable copywriting resource I’ve ever seen.

Ever.

In fact, it’s so awesome that I was pretty darn tempted to keep it to myself (but in a moment of weakness I shared it below for the greater good).

What is it?

It’s a blue print for writing copy for the web.

From a sales page for your website, to an article for your blog – following this recipe makes writing web copy easy. And best of all, using this formula significantly boosts the chances of turning your prospects into customers (as you’ll see)

So dig in and enjoy!

Download/view your copy here (.pdf 2.1MB) or click the image below to view.

In the guide:

Writing a headline
Declaring the problem
Presenting your solution
Borrowing credibility
Creating social proof
Using testimonials
Creating a call to action
Reversing all risk
Price anchoring
Frequently asked questions

Full credit to Dane Maxwell for creating such a simple, yet thorough copywriting guide.

j j j

Published on Friday, July 4th, 2014 under Blogging, Email Marketing, Marketing

Email subject lines: Avoid this common mistake

It’s an easy mistake to make.

Using an email subject line like…

August update
Spring newsletter
Weekly summary

So let’s set the record straight…

It’s called a subject line because it should describe the subject of your email (and the examples above fail to do this)

Actually, if I had my way, it would be re-named a ‘benefit line’ – explaining the benefits of opening your email (but that’s another story)

5 awesome subject lines (from around the globe)

I scoured the web and found these attention-grabbing beauties for your delight.

We lied last time. This is the best deal ever.
Meet Tom. He learnt the hard way.
This actually is rocket science.
The holidays are just around the corner. Fortunately, so are we.
Step away from the leftovers. Get fit with us.

Don’t you just want to devour these emails?

Remember: Your subject line needs to encourage your recipient to read your email – so get creative, have fun and be interesting!

j j j

Published on Friday, June 20th, 2014 under Blogging, Marketing

6 business blogging tips for your next article

Does your business have a blog?

If so, then these blog writing tips are for you (or your copywriter)

6 copywriting tips for your next article

—-

1. Use sub-headings

Readers are like wild animals, hunting for information. Sub-headings will help readers scan text easily to find the info they want.

2. Write for one person only

Avoid phrases like:

To those of you…
Many of you…
If you have not already…

These are all a sign that you’re writing to a faceless crowd rather than one reader.

3. Use short words and sentences

“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is harder to make something simple” – Sir Richard Branson

Read More

j j j

Published on Friday, May 23rd, 2014 under Blogging, Marketing

Is blog writing the new cold-calling?

Have you ever made a cold call?

Here’s what happened to me on my last cold call…

My palms were sweaty
I spoke way too fast
I couldn’t wait for it to be over

And the worst part of all? I only left a voice message!

Could blogging be the new cold calling for your business?

If you’re not into making sales calls, why not invest your energy into creating helpful blog articles than can reach hundreds (or thousands) of people over time?

3 reasons business blogging makes sense:

It’s timeless (blog articles are like 24 hour online salespeople for your business)
It demonstrates your expertise and credibility in your field
It drives visitors to your website from google (and if your website is good then more visitors means more business)

And the best part?

Many businesses don’t appreciate the value of blog writing yet, so there could be an opportunity to take the lead in your industry or niche.

Why doesn’t everyone have a blog for their business?

Because blog writing takes guts.

It takes guts to deliver real value (without fear of your competitors seeing or stealing it)
It takes guts to resist the temptation to make every article an offer or a sales pitch
It takes guts to play the long game when everyone else is going for quick wins

Can I help you with your blog writing?

Call me on 07 394 4407 if you’d like my help or feedback.

j j j