Forget Marketing

1. Be Specific.

One of the key components of good web copy is to make your words speak directly to your potential customer.  Stay away from being too generic.

2. Speak TO your customer.

Also, try to speak TO the customer - not AT the customer.  By making your copy personal, you’ll have a much better chance of reeling in your customers and keeping their attention on your product or service.

3. Whenever possible, use names!

People really like seeing their name.  When a person sees something with their name on it, they are far more likely to read it.  When creating your email marketing list, always ask for their name as well as their email address.

4. Write for the “average Joe.”

Your copy should be written so that an average person can easily read and understand it.  Often times, when writing your copy, people spend too much time in technical verbage and tend not to focus on specifics.  The trick is to write in a plain and straightforward manner.  Potential customers are far more likely to pay attention if they do not need to focus on comprehension.

5. Know your audience.

Knowing your audience is key to writing good web copy.  You have to first understand your reader in order to effectively communicate an idea to them.

6. Play nice.

Write in a friendly manner.  Avoid writing in the third person, which always comes across as distant and will not allow you to really connect with your customers.  You should try using first person as much as possible.

7. Keep them interested.

Keeping your customer interested in what you have to say is vital to your web copy’s success.  Grab their attention with a good headline and don’t let it go!

8. Remember the bottom line.

Always keep your objectives in mind so that you’re focused when you’re writing your copy.  Even though you are trying to be friendly and engaging, the bottom line is the bottom line.  You need to write copy so that it sells without being boring or pushy.

Good luck!

Introduction:

Copywriting is basically marketing. The objective is to write a headline that then makes people want to read your first sentence, your first sentence to bring the reader to your second, and so on. The ultimate goal is that by the end of your sales letter or website copy, your reader then has their mouth watering so much that the only logical choice is to buy, and buy NOW!

Copywriting can include everything from unique selling point (slogans) to articles about your product or service. Understanding copywriting is absolutely essential to your web copy marketing campaign.

There are two main objectives to writing web copy.

The reason for copy is to sell your product or service - whether its copy on your brochure, your website, a flyer - anything - it’s main objective is to sell. Web copy, however, is designed to do two things:

Primary Objective: Sell

Secondary Objective: Boost Search Engine Rankings

Generally speaking, copywriting is the aspect of choosing just words and text - not really the LOOK of the copy. But when it comes to web copy, all aspects are considered. Headlines, placement, colors, etc. are all highly valued attributes.

Since the main idea of copywriting is to sell an idea, product or service, its absolutely vital that a small business owner understands what makes up good copy. Quality content that captures the potential customer’s attention and effectively communicates the features, benefits, and a call to action, is good copy.

Tip: Speak directly to your target audience.

Effective copy is going to speak directly to your target audience. Its going to offer very useful information that will captivate and motivate them, address their concerns, answer common questions, and explain your product or service in your copy.

Your copy should make your readers feel that they want (or even better - that they NEED) your product or service. You have to prove to them that they cannot live without your product.

Often times, writing copy from the point of view of your target audience can really help. Try to use language that they would use. Talk like they would talk. You have to relate to them on a deeper level or they’ll just “bounce” off your website and onto someone elses.

To write good web copy, you need to accurately portray your passion for your product or service to your customers. Some people are excellent at this, and some people are terrible and need to hire someone to do this for them.

Good luck!

Recently, I was contacted by my good friend Steve who wanted to let me know about his latest business venture. Here’s what Steve had to say:

Business Management Basics does what it states; gives you the basics for small businesses success.

After 20 years in corporate business and 12 years running his own furniture manufacturing and exporting business Steve Coleman has been through it all.

From learning the basics and with the unstinted help and knowledge of business friends, he put together a very profitable business, sold it and retired to Costa Rica three years ago.

All his business knowledge is practical and with much research, he has put together Business Management Basics to help small business owners get started on the road to business success.

Here he gives back some of the knowledge and experience gained from over 30 years in business, in a practical and useful manner.

Knowledge is power, in this case business power.

Steve Coleman can be contacted through his Web site www.businessmanagementbasics.com

Everyone wants to add a YouTube video to their Wordpress blog!  Here’s how you can do this quickly and easily.

Please note: You MUST remove the OBJECT tags from you HTML code.  Please view below for an explanation.

1. Log into your Wordpress admin and create a new post.

2. Go to YouTube.com and find the video you would like to post.

3. On the right hand side, there will be EMBED CODE. Click into this area, right click, and click “Copy.”

4.  Open your Wordpress post that you started to create, and navigate to the area in which you wish to post the video.

5. Click the “HTML” button in your Wordpress post.

6. Paste in the YouTube Embed code.

5. Remove the “OBJECT” tags in the beginning and the end of this code.

And at the end:

1. Log into your GoDaddy.com account.

2. Click on “Domain Manager”.

3. Click on the domain name that you wish to change.

4. Click “Nameservers” on the toolbar at the top.

5. Make sure that the option for, “Custom nameservers (I host my domains elsewhere.)” is selected and type your new Nameservers.  If you are hosting through another web development company, they will be able to give you your nameservers, otherwise the nameservers for Synergy75.com are NS1.SYNERGY75.COM and NS2.SYNERGY75.COM.  When you are done, press “OK.”

All there is left is to wait - propigation usually lasts 24-48 hours.

I want to make this abundantly clear - entrepreneurship is a calling. Most people view being a “lone ranger” “going it alone” and “pioneering” as something terribly romantic, deliciously enticing, and amazingly exciting. The first time the entrepreneur quits his full time job (and steady paycheck!), however, they are in for a rude awakening.

Being an entrepreneur is all about perseverance, drive, ambition, and balance. Over my years of being

“lone ranger”, I’ve made an infinite amount of mistakes. Each mistake wasn’t a failure - but rather a learning experience and an opportunity to build my personal integrity to a new level. Although many times I thought about giving up and going back to the 9-5, I stuck it out. Here’s what I’ve learned. Following them cannot guarantee success, but it will greatly improve your chances.

“No challenge in business is identical to any other.”
-Norm Brodsky

1. Know the Math

A business is almost like a living creature. Unless you pay attention to every one of it’s needs, you will eventually be putting your tail between your legs and begging for your old job back. Knowing your business needs is a challenging thing, but the only way to succeed in doing this is by looking at the core numbers that your business is producing and understanding the relationships between them all.

This will give you an idea of how your business sales are doing, if you can afford to hire a new salesperson or office manager, how much money you’ll need to deal with all the new business you’re bringing in, and how you can afford to market your small business. You absolutely cannot wait until your accountant tells you about this stuff - you need to be able to tell your accountant!

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2. Don’t count a sale until you receive the check.

My first sale with my first business was when I was giving guitar lessons as a 14 year old freshman in high school. Boy, was I excited. Every time my phone rang with someone who was interested in receiving guitar lessons, I would immediately start counting them in my head as a sale, and start counting my profits already! When I wouldn’t hear back from that individual, I would simply say, “They’ll call next week!”

Even later in life, I would make somewhat of the same mistake. I would have an excellent meeting with a potential new client (one of my internet start-ups) and I would walk away sure of a sale. I later read an article that informed me that if you don’t receive a check on the initial sales call, 96% of the time you never will.

3. Just say “no” to shortcuts.

Your business is going to take a lot of hard work. Nothing is easy in creating a small business. With that said, we all look for shortcuts - ways to do things easier. It’s only natural, especially if it’s it’s your first start-up. I’ve learned that the unfortunate reality that my shortcuts almost always come back and bite me.

I am one of the most impatient people you’ll meet. Since I was able to walk and talk, I’ve tried to find cheaper, faster, and easier ways to get things done. I’ve learned that I need to work with my business and make decisions based on the assumption that my business will last forever - not just TODAY.

5. Cash is tough to save and easy to spend.

It takes money to make money. One of the first things I learned was that in the start-up phase, I learned to only spend what was needed to survive. I’ve seen companies waste tons of money on furniture, office space, branding, etc - when they could have waited! If your cash runs out before you start gaining customers, your business is dead.

Growing up, my father always used to say, “Andy, always pay yourself first.” He didn’t mean I should immediately draw from my business account first - he meant that whenever money was coming in, I should invest in my savings account. Saving money is crucial to any business survival.

When first starting with Joomla, what seems like the most simple of tasks can become the most troublesome.  One of the first questions we receive whenever we create a new Joomla webpage is, “How do I remove the ‘Welcome to the Frontpage’ on Joomla?”
In order to UNDERSTAND the answer, you must first understand the integral parts of how Joomla was created.  But who want’s do do that?  We just want to get rid of the “Welcome to the Frontpage” area on Joomla!”

Here’s how:

1. Log into your Joomla account.

2. From the “Menus” dropdown, select “Main Menu*”

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3.  From the Menu Items list select “Home” (or whatever your home page file is on).

4. On the right hand side, click “Parameters (System)” to open an Ajax drop down menu.  Then, change “Welcome to the Frontpage” to whatever you’d like your title to be, and leave it blank if you want there to be nothing on the home page at all.

You’ve now successfully changed your “Welcome to the Frontpage” message in Joomla.

1. Decide How to Develop Your Website
Today, web design is easy! Anyone with a computer and a little creativity can design and create an elaborate web page in just a few hours of work.  But beware – you want your website to look professional!  This is not something that should be taken for granted.  As the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”  This saying is especially true in web development - simply because there is just so much competition!

Here are some tips on how to start a new web site:

A.    Buy one on eBay (Pretty cheap, and quick!)

This may sound absurd, but it’s for real.  At this very second, there are dozens of websites for sale on eBay.  The benefit of buying a website on eBay is that everything has been pre-made for you!  All you have to do is find a good deal, and make sure that you don’t pay too much.  When it comes to eBay, $50 US is a good price to pay for a pre-packed website.  Occasionally, someone is selling a website that they developed which already has many members - the members are what you will be paying for as these members are extremely valuable.  Anyone can create a website - but it takes time, money, and energy to bring in the members.

Chances are pretty likely that a website that you are buying on eBay has been bought 50 times before.  In 2007, Google has started to penalize websites for duplicate content.  This means that if your website has text that is on 500 other websites, don’t expect good search placement when a users searches for your keywords.

Personally, I have had decent results with websites bought on eBay, but you need to make sure that you either re-write the text on the website, or do a search on Google to make sure that your content is not on 1000 other websites.  I once bought a website off eBay only to find out that the articles on the website I bought could easily be found on over 50,000 other websites!

When trying to search for other websites with your content, follow these steps:
1.    Highlight 3 or 4 sentences from your website
2.    Open your web browser and go to www.google.com
3.    In the SEARCH bar, type in a quotation mark (“)
4.    Paste the text that you took from your website
5.    Put a quotation mark at the end
6.    Press search

If your search returns a LOT of search results, grab another few sentences and try it again.  If you continue to have high search results, then your content is most likely all over the internet, and it may not be a good investment.  However, even if the content is all over the internet, it may still be a good investment - if you’re interested in taking the time to create entirely new content!

Last comment about eBay – if you buy a website from eBay, hosting is always a question.  While most people who are selling websites are hosting them, I would always recommend a third party hosting company.  You can find great deals on hosting through my company, Synergy75.com.

B.    Build your own website

This can potentially be a great way to start your website.  Doing so will save you money and you’ll also be able to customize your website exactly how you see fit.  This also ensures that you have 100% original content.  It would be ideal for you to create your own site, but beware! Your website must look professional. If you do not have the ability to create a professional looking website, then don’t bother.  Again, you get what you pay for!

C.    Hire a local web development firm.

Though often the most costly route, hiring a web development firm to create your website for you is always the best way to start off.  Any good development firm will be able to add a content management system of some sort which will allow you to edit your own website easier than sending an email.

I’m (of course) partial to my own development company, Synergy75.com.  I employ 6 developers from across the country.  We have some of the best designers and coders in the industry today and can offer some amazing deals (especially to new customers!)

D.    Hire a freelancer

The only website that I would recommend to hire a freelance from would be www.GetAFreeLancer.com.  Before I created Synergy75.com, I used this service extensively, and I still use them on occation.  You are allowed to post your first project for free, then freelancers bid on the project, and communicate through the website.  Finally, you can choose a provider and deposit money into an escrow account.  The money is not released to the provider until the project is 100% completed to your specifications.

2.    Buy a domain name and sign up for web hosting services.

If you bought a turnkey website on eBay or anywhere else, then chances are pretty good that your website has also come with a domain name.  If it has not, you’ll need to get one.  This is a simple and cheap task!

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A.    Decide on a domain name.

First, choose the domain name that you’d like to have. A domain name is the address or URL (universal resource link) that you type into your address bar to navigate to any website.  Generally speaking, it starts with a www and ends with a .com, .org, .net, .info, or .co.uk.  It should be easy to read and relevant to your site.  For instance, if your site is about quitting smoking, then you don’t want a website www.chocolatelovers.com.

B.    Check to see if someone has already taken that domain name.

Again, this is another simple step.  You need to navigate to www.GoDaddy.com and look for this box:

Enter your domain and press Go!  When you do, it will tell you if you are able to purchase your domain name, or if someone already has.  If it is available, purchase it.  It then belongs to you!

C.    Find a hosting provider.

Now you need to find a hosting company to “host” your website.  Hosting is basically the physical place that your website sits – usually on a computer in a warehouse somewhere in the world.  I rent an entire server from LiquidWeb because they have decent hosting packages that are affordable, plus 24 hour customer support.

HINT: If you are a UK citizen, buy hosting from America! As I am writing this article, the dollar is worth less than half of the GBP.  That basically means that you get HALF PRICE monthly payments!

D.    Change your domain’s name server to point to your new hosting.

When you have acquired hosting and need to point your domain name to this hosting, it’s time to change your name server.  This is the sort of tasks that could be confusing to a beginner, so I’ll try to explain clearly. (Note, when you sign up to my hosting services, we will do this for you)  Your name server is what tells your domain what to “show” to someone who types it in.  It’s basically the link between what you type into your browser window and the data that is displayed.

Go to the website that you bought your domain name from (IE GoDaddy.com) and log in.  Somewhere in your account settings will be a section that says something like “Manage My Domains” or “Advanced Settings” or something along those lines.  Click on it, and it should have something that says “Change Name Servers.”
You basically need to copy the name server that your new hosting account has sent to you, and put them into this section in your account.  A typical name server looks something like NS1.SYNERGY75.COM.  There should be an NS1 and an NS2 number.  Copy and paste them both.  If you have any trouble, don’t hesitate to call customer support.

3.  Install You Website

If you chose to build your own website then you will need to upload these files to your server.  To do this, you’ll need an FTP program such as SmartFTP or CoffeeCup FREE FTP which can both be downloaded from www.download.com.

Then, you will need to find out what your FTP information is.  The general standard is the following:

ftp.example.com
Username: root
Password: example_password

The FTP program you choose should be able to tell you the rest.  Once you are connected, you need to upload your files - but make sure you name your home page index.html or index.htm in order for your server to see it as your, “home” page.

In most cases, if you’ve bought your website from eBay or paid for custom development, the professional organization you bought from will handle the installation for you.

All you have to do now is market your website!

Now Announcing the 27 Most Effective Headline Words of All Time

It’s Time to Discover the Secret Words That Your Competitors Don’t Want You to Find Out!

Headlines are the most important part of your entire website.  Think of the last time that you went to the book store and bought a book. Why did you pick it up? What was the first thing you saw when you looked at it?

Chances are pretty good that you picked the book up after reading the title, and then turned the book over and read the back. After deciding the book looked interesting, you decided to purchase it. You pulled out your wallet and spent $8-$18 because of a catchy headline and some good text on the back of the book. You became a “conversion.” A “conversion” happens when you turn someone who is just browsing your site into a buyer.

A good “conversion rate” is typically around 1-3%.  That means that if 100 people come to your website, 1-3 people buy.  With good copy, good headlines, and great website design, however, you could even see upwards of 5-12%! That is what you strive for.

Headlines need to convert people’s interest. The only purpose of a headline is to make the reader read your first sentence. It then takes a good first sentence to make the reader read the second sentence and the third, etc.  Getting people to your website is easy – getting them to become a sale or conversion, is not.

Try as often as you can to incorporate one the key benefits of your website’s product or service into your headline.  For example, someone advertising a new air purifier could say:

“Facts You Should Know About How to Instantly Kill 99.9% of Air-Born Bacteria That Will Harm Your Family”

See? You’re taking the benefit, which is, “Kills 99.9% of air born bacteria,” and turning it into a catchy headline.

Also remember:
Words in quotation marks are read and retained 80% more often!

Most copywriters make the mistake of writing the copy first, and then the headline.  This is wrong! Never do that. Always write a killer headline first, and then write your killer copy.

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Now here we go:
1.    Announcing
“Now announcing the secrets to acne treatment.”
“Announcing:  Going out of business sale!”

2.    Secrets of
“How to Discover the Secrets to Better Intimacy.”
“Order now, and Discover the Secrets of Success!”

3.    New
“Now Announcing This New Secret That Everybody Is Talking About!”
“Discover New Secrets to Weight Loss!”

4.    Now
“The Time To Buy Is Right Now.”
“There Has Never Been a Time Like Right Now!”

5.    Amazing
“Order Now for Your Amazing New Kit”
“Now Introducing the Most Amazing New Vacuum Cleaner”

6.    Facts (You Should Know)
“Facts You Should Know About Healthcare”
“Facts You Should Know About Weight Loss”

7.    Breakthrough
“Click Here For Your Breakthrough New Report”
“Now Announcing a Medical Breakthrough”

8.    At Last
“At Last, an Easy Way to Make Money Online!”
“At Last, the Answers You Deserve!”

9.    Advice to
“Advice to Lower Your Mortgage Payments by Half!”
“Advice on How to Stop Acne Before It Happens!”

10.    Truth of
“Do You Want to Know the Truth of How to Lose Weight?”
“At Last, Learn the Truth of How to Live a Better Lifestyle”

11.    Protect
“How to Protect Your Family Even When You Are Away From Home”
“At Last, a Secure Way to Protect Your Investments”

12.    Life
“Here’s How to Live the Life You’ve Always Dreamed About”
“Discover the Secrets to a Happy Love Life”

13.    Here
“Here, You Will Find What You Have Been Looking For”
“If You Want to Get Rich Online, Start Here”

14.    Discover
“Discover the Secret New Way to Protect Your Investment”
“Here is Where You Will Discover Secrets That Will Change Your Life”

15.    Yes
“Yes, At Last, Your Search Is Over!”
“Yes, Send Me My Free Report!”

16.    Bargain(s)
“Looking For a Bargain? Look No Further!”
“Now Introducing the Best Bargain You’ll Ever Find Online”

17.    Do You
“Do You Want to Discover Your True Potential?”
“Do You Want to Buy a Bargain?”

18.    Love
“Here Is How to Protect The Family You Love While You Are Away From Home”
“Looking For a Bargain? You’ll Love This!”

19.    Hate
“Do You Hate Spam As Much As We Do? Read On!”
“How Much Do You Hate Your Sky-High Interest Rate?”

20.    How Much
“You Have No Idea How Much This Will Change Your Life”
“How Much Is Too Much to Change Your Life?”

21.    How Would
“How Would You Like to Lower Your Mortgage Payment?”
“How Would You Like to Win a Free Vacation to the Bahamas?”

22.    This
“This Idea Can Change Your Life!”
“This Is Your Chance to Change Your Life”

23.    Only
“Previously Only Shared to 200 People”
“Only You Can Decide to Change Your Life”

24.    Sale
“Buy Now – This Is a One Time Sale!”
“Don’t Walk Away From the Greatest Bargain Sale of Your Life!”

25.    Free
“Download Your Free Report!”
“570 Free Sales Letters and Business Forms!”

26.    You
“You Are the Only Person Who Can Change Your Life”
“You Must Act Now”

27.    How to
“How to Make Money Online Fast”
“How to Design Your Own Golf Course”

Blog to get people to go to your website!

1. Blog

That just so happens to be exactly what I’m doing now!  But, you don’t have to be a computer geek with no life (like me!) to blog - anyone can do it.  Just choose a subject that you are totally passionate about and write about it.  You don’t even have to know that much about the subject you are blogging about!

You can set up a free blog on Wordpress.com or Blogger.com and start writing on a subject that relates to your business or your website.  Another way to bring traffic into your new blog is to comment on other people’s blogs and include a link back to your own blog.

2. Create Loyalty

It’s a widely known fact that retaining your existing customers is much more cost-effective than finding new customers.  This same truth applies to traffic on your website or online business. Customer loyalty programs encourage people to come back to your website or online store.  Reward repeat customers with discounts, gifts, coupons, or other incentives - and always keep track of the success of each program!  By creating an emotional attachment between your customer and your online product/service, you will become a brand to them.

3. Get the Word Out!

Most new businesses share the news of their new online business venture more than the early Christians shared the gospel of Christ!  Verbally sharing (more about verbal sharing in point 5) it is great - and often helpful - but let’s learn to take this sharing a step further.  Free and low cost news release and press release distribution agencies (like PRWeb.com) can help you spread the word about your online business or new website.

There are free agencies that do somewhat of the same thing - such as i-Newswire.com, and TheFreeLibrary.com all distribute press releases as well.

4. Know Your Stuff

One of the major benefits of moving (or even just advertising) your business online is the ability to track your data.  You can track orders, most frequent shipping locations, most common age, sex, race, and all sort of other helpful information.  Tracking (and using) this information increase the conversion rate of your website by up to 50%.  Find out the core demographic group that is using your website, and market to them!

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5. Speak Up!

Speak at whatever venue you can score an invitation to!  Local business association meetings, chambers of commerce, national trade events, or local colleges are all great venues to contact.  Having a physical location can sometimes be a benefit - you can invite local businesses to come participate in a speaking event that you host.

6.  E-Mail Marketing

In the future, I will be posting quite a bit about email marketing - I firmly believe that email marketing is a brilliant way to get new people to visit your website.  This is low cost and extremely effective.  The idea of email marketing is to offer something for free to a potential customer (something digital that they are able to download instantly) in exchange for their email.  You then send them weekly or bi-weekly emails with useful information in their email.

The idea is that you build yourself a marketing list in which you can advertise your products and services.  You don’t want to just sent them an email with an advertisement in it, but you want to send them something useful - tips or tricks that relate to your industry, or latest industry events.  Whatever it is, you now have a list of people whom you know are already interested in your products and services.

7. Become An Industry Expert

This is extremely valuable for your online presence.  Join forums, write blog posts, join social networking websites - do anything and everything in your power to meet other people who have questions that you are able to answer.  For instance, when I was building a church directory in Scotland, I was joining every Christian forum that I could and offering advice, suggestions, and relevant conversation.  My signature contained the URL to my web directory, and I was able to drive quite a bit of traffic to my website.

8.  Post A Video

I simply cannot stress the power of video.  The video that I show below is just a very light-hearted example of a marketing video.  The idea for this video was to get people to think that this video is funny enough to send to their friends, and at the same time I would get free marketing with it.

Another great way to drive traffic to your website or online store is to create a “how-to” article on a topic in your industry and then post it to free websites like YouTube.com or Google Video.  For instance, I will be creating “do it yourself” videos on YouTube.com in the future and posting them on YouTube.  This is an extremely effective way to drive traffic straight to your website, and also to identify yourself as an expert.

9. Websites, websites websites!

Websites like Digg.com and Yelp.com are both great ways to show off your new online venture.  Yelp.com is extremely effective - especially if you’re doing business locally!  Yelp is a website in which you sign up and post reviews about different businesses you’ve visited in the area.  If someone has a great transaction with you, it would greatly benefit your business if they were to write a review on your business on Yelp.com.

Digg.com is an extremely powerful traffic-generating website.  Users to Digg.com sign up and post interesting articles on Digg.com which then drive traffic to your website article.  Make sure to use this often with your blog!  As posted on their website, “Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users.”

10. Joint Venture

This is huge!  Pair up with another company that offers products and services that benefit your online business.  In this area, the more you give, the more you receive.  It’s not enough just to announce your business - meet local business owners who share the same passions that you do and offer to market them to your customers in exchange for them marketing to theirs!