Let’s Get Down to Basics

Blogs are websites where articles, commentaries, images, videos, etc. may be posted.  A common feature of this type of site is that it allows visitors to add content, although these can be moderated by the blog administrator.

Being a website, a blog thrives on “hits”, and without people visiting the site, it is likely to be relegated to “internet oblivion”.  So before one thinks of increasing blog subscription, the issue of having a sufficient number of visitors should be dealt with first.  For this reason, the importance of SEO should not be undermined.

Those who already have a popular website may attach their blog to this and take advantage of the existing site’s popularity.  This approach has been known to quickly improve page rank and blog traffic.  However, a credibility issue may ensue, since the association may be construed as bias.

The bottom line is that some form of SEO will have to be implemented for your blog to stand out and generate the desired traffic.

Now That You Have Them, How Do You Keep Them?

Especially when it comes to corporate and organizational blogs, it is not enough that the desired number of “hits” is obtained.  There has to be a way of retaining these visitors so that they will continue patronizing your site, and this is where subscription comes in.  In the process you will have to promote your site so that visitors will realize its value and subscribe.  And these are some of the things that can be done:

1. The visitor should be made aware that subscription is an option, and a desirable alternative at that.  There has to be an invitation to subscribe that is properly worded and effectively placed within the site.  Oftentimes, it is necessary to spell out the benefits of subscribing, and you may even go to the extent of offering a freebie.  Remember, you are promoting the blog.
2. Consistently produce quality content.  This is an effective SEO technique and one good way of increasing blog subscription.  After all, why bother with a blog that contains mostly trash in the first place?  And make sure that the issues remain relevant.
3. Incorporate a feature box.  This is known to improve subscription rate significantly.  However, some technical know-how is required since codes are involved.  If you do not have the necessary skills, you will have to invest and outsource the task.  But if you are after a significant increase in subscription, this is money well spent.
4. Keep the atmosphere friendly.  Imposing your thoughts is a surefire way of losing visitors.  Blogs are popular because of the two-way communication it provides, and not so much as to its propaganda value.

Needless to say, a blog is a potent marketing and communication tool provided it is properly executed and maintained.  And one way of improving its effectiveness is through subscription.

Janine Fields is a professional photographer, who is presently maintaining a personal photo blog and a business blog for her studio.  She sees blogging as an effective way of sharing her work as well as promoting her business.

The problem is that people and companies are so interested in getting their website and content to the top of a search engines results that they forget the fundamentals.  They are so busy making sure that keywords are in place and their preferred search phrases are primed in their website that they forget to engage the reader.  The headline is what makes the viewer read the website.  It is what makes a viewer click the link.  If the headlines do not engage the relevant readers, then it doesn’t matter where your web content is ranked.

Repetition……again

The curse of SEO optimized web content is that it is giving birth to a hate among website user.  How sick are you of reading the same thing three times.  Where a search engine optimized page has simply stuck the needed keywords into a sentence and then “spun” it to say the same thing again in a different way.  Here is an example, where clearly the writer has had to fit in the keywords, “cheap hotels”, “discount hotel” and “cheaper hotels”.

“ Find cheap hotels on our page now.  We have the cheaper hotels online and waiting.  Our discount hotels are cheaper than any other site.  If you are looking for cheap hotels then look no more.” Ha ha ha  what a dilemma

That paragraph could have just said, “Our website advertises cheap hotels”, but because it has been SEO optimized to the hilt, that first paragraph on the website is just a waste.  A complete waste of a reader’s time and attention, and so many people are getting so sick of it that they will just click off the site, because they assume (rightly) that the rest of the site is full of the same filler.

Bad grammar, broken English and bad sentence syntax

Commercial SEO writing is being bought cheaply.  Articles, web content and blogs (and loads more by the way) are being outsourced to companies whom are charging very little but giving back poor quality.  People are buying web content and articles for as little as $1 per 500 words.  The content will have the keywords in, but the only people who can afford to live on $1 per 500 words are in developing countries where English is not their first language.  Their content quality, language and grammar skills are unlikely to be as good as a native person’s skills.  They are also less likely to be well educated; as well educated people would charge more.  This means that web copy is optimized but stuffed full of poor sentence structure, bad grammar and broken English.  The content is often of a poorer quality and less likely to be read in full by the viewer.

Link spamming

Back links are good, but too many back links and the search engine will start to exclude and rank lower.  This is thanks to the changes that are making link farms (pages set up just to create links to others) obsolete.  Creating too many links to other websites is also starting to work against websites, as it is regarded as spending more time on links than content, and is hence getting pages ranked lower.

Duplicate content

There is a temptation to duplicate yours or other peoples content when it comes to make a web copy more search engine optimised.  The big search engines are penalizing sites for this, and it will actually work against a site.  Original and frequently updated websites are better ranked.

This is all distilled into one mantra – good copy sells!

Headlines that don’t sell 

The problem is that people and companies are so interested in getting their website and content to the top of a search engines results that they forget the fundamentals.  They are so busy making sure that keywords are in place and their preferred search phrases are primed in their website that they forget to engage the reader.  The headline is what makes the viewer read the website.  It is what makes a viewer click the link.  If the headlines do not engage the relevant readers, then it doesn’t matter where your web content is ranked. 

Repetition……again 

The curse of SEO optimized web content is that it is giving birth to a hate among website user.  How sick are you of reading the same thing three times.  Where a search engine optimized page has simply stuck the needed keywords into a sentence and then “spun” it to say the same thing again in a different way.  Here is an example, where clearly the writer has had to fit in the keywords, “cheap hotels”, “discount hotel” and “cheaper hotels”. 

           “ Find cheap hotels on our page now.  We have the cheaper hotels online and waiting.  Our discount hotels are cheaper than any other site.  If you are looking for cheap hotels then look no more.” Ha ha ha  what a dilemma

That paragraph could have just said, “Our website advertises cheap hotels”, but because it has been SEO optimized to the hilt, that first paragraph on the website is just a waste.  A complete waste of a reader’s time and attention, and so many people are getting so sick of it that they will just click off the site, because they assume (rightly) that the rest of the site is full of the same filler. 

Bad grammar, broken English and bad sentence syntax 

Commercial SEO writing is being bought cheaply.  Articles, web content and blogs (and loads more by the way) are being outsourced to companies whom are charging very little but giving back poor quality.  People are buying web content and articles for as little as $1 per 500 words.  The content will have the keywords in, but the only people who can afford to live on $1 per 500 words are in developing countries where English is not their first language.  Their content quality, language and grammar skills are unlikely to be as good as a native person’s skills.  They are also less likely to be well educated; as well educated people would charge more.  This means that web copy is optimized but stuffed full of poor sentence structure, bad grammar and broken English.  The content is often of a poorer quality and less likely to be read in full by the viewer. 

Link spamming 

Back links are good, but too many back links and the search engine will start to exclude and rank lower.  This is thanks to the changes that are making link farms (pages set up just to create links to others) obsolete.  Creating too many links to other websites is also starting to work against websites, as it is regarded as spending more time on links than content, and is hence getting pages ranked lower. 

Duplicate content 

There is a temptation to duplicate yours or other peoples content when it comes to make a web copy more search engine optimised.  The big search engines are penalizing sites for this, and it will actually work against a site.  Original and frequently updated websites are better ranked. 

This is all distilled into one mantra – good copy sells!

Let’s first get a simple definition of both, so that we can clearly mark out the difference between them:

Plagiarism, broadly, is taking the work of somebody else, in some sphere, and trying to pass it off as one’s own. That is, misleading others so as to convince them that the work in question is from yourself rather than its originator. This covers taking an original work, and, even as altering its specific words and phrases, preserving its gist such as to express the idea as one’s own.

Copyright Infringement, on the other hand, is using the work of somebody else – be it a group of words, a phrase, or a whole passage – in a context that one isn’t authorised to use it in, for example, making somebody else’s music available online for free without having permission to do so. Copyright (and its relevant law(s)) does not cover the idea, but the expression of a given idea; i.e. its form.

As mentioned, the two often go hand-in-hand, because in plagiarising something with commercial ends in mind (or merely plagiarising whilst preserving the original work), one is also often committing copyright infringement. Conversely, they are separate things, as with the case of illegal file sharing, whereby the sharer does not purport to be the creator of the work (indeed, they wish to express that this is the work of X artist) – and so copyright infringement has been committed, but no plagiarism. Plagiarism can also be committed, for example by passing off the content/work of an academic paper (which isn’t usually subject to copyright) as one’s own when one did not produce it.

Copyright also differs slightly in its categorisations from country to country, whereas plagiarism is generally recognised as referring to the same thing worldwide. In the UK, copyright is an automatic right. When somebody produces a written, drawn or photographic piece of work, they automatically have copyright over it. This means, in practise, that they are protected from this work from being reproduced (in any context) without their permission (this act being known as ‘Copyright Infringement’), and furthermore, are free to exploit this work for their own profit. This is the right of the originator.

Material protected by Copyright is automatically afforded this status upon creation. Although many people are keen to use a Copyright symbol: ©, this is not necessary and does not alter the rights in any way. If one does not possess the Copyright to a given work, they are not free to reproduce it in any form without express permission from the Copyright holder – doing this is Copyright Infringement.

It should be noted that some works being used without permission do not result in Copyright Infringement. “Creative Commons” material is that which the author has allowed to be shared, free of charge (but with a reference to the originator). Using this without permission is fine, but using this without a citation is still plagiarism.

Professional writers (like people in all other walks of life), require financial stability, with which they can conduct their lives. Part-time writers on the other hand (by definition) are either undertaking writing as a hobby, or as a form of supplementary income. Whilst the ethic is not a logical consequence of this, it generally does seem to follow that a part-time writer will approach the task of writing much as a part-time pub-team football player may approach their past time; with a sense of the easy going and nonchalance.

The part time writer is able to operate on the basis that, when inspiration comes “I will just know”, and “that’s when the good writing comes”. Again, the mindset is purely symptomatic of the role that the writing plays in the person’s life. Financial dependency on the pursuit is not at the forefront of their mind, so they are able to wait around until the best situation arises.
The professional writer, on the other hand, will have an impending deadline. If inspiration has not blessed them with its presence; too bad. The deadline (and therefore, getting paid!) doesn’t care for inspiration, it cares for yield – measurable output. This, then, acts as an incentive.

There also seems to be a somewhat romanticized idea of “the writer” in wider society, that many part-time writers consciously or otherwise aspire to attain. The image of the debonair (often male) creative soul, sitting for hours in a lonely château, sipping wine from Provence whilst coolly puffing on a blond-branded cigarette whilst the most crystallized epitomisations of existential gravity “reveal themselves” is both untrue and fantastical. Writing, like other jobs, is work. It may come easier to some (thus, we have professional writers that chose writing over, say, carpentry), and some display a quite discernible talent for it, but this in no way displaces the fact that hard work must be put in for money, merit and recognition to come out.

This sense of delusion in many part time writers also links to the next point; that of the willingness to co-operate with others (namely, editors). The professional writer, having had plenty of experience in the field, as well as a quite cemented knowledge of their own ‘calibre’, may well be reluctant to accept changes, but will ultimately (through maturity, self-awareness and perhaps an absence of entitlement and arrogance) accept the suggestions of those whose job is to take their ‘raw’ submitted piece and make it fit into a wider publication.

This is rooted in both a knowledge of the greater workings of the place into which their article has been submitted, as well as a sense of reality that their piece is not flawless or the greatest thing ever written, but a piece of work (of which, of course they can be proud), commissioned for an end-goal. On the other hand (once again linking to an earlier point), the part time writer is often observed to have a somewhat Kerouac-esque idealism, following a rough mantra of “First draft; best draft”. Whilst this is a fine philosophy, first drafts are often substandard for a number of reasons, and this must be accepted as part of the transition to a professional writer.

People have very short attention spans these days.

Blah blah blah

Why?  Because we don’t need a long attention span?  Back in the past, information was gleaned from other people, from books, TV and radio.  This all took time and attention.

Now……… We can get whatever information we need through mediums in seconds.  Check your mobile for football results via text, find your location with your sat nav, research breast enhancements online, calculate your taxes on your iPad, call an automated number to hear lists of what is playing at your local cinema, hear 24 hour news on your iPod……….You don’t need a large attention span anymore.

So the FIRST STEP to persuasive content, the MOST important part is to keep their attention.

Step 1:

Grab their attention.

Do it with short snappy phases, pretty graphics and thought provoking titles, sub titles and comments.  You must convince them that they WANT to read the rest of your page.

Step 2:

Decide your goals.  What do you want your landing page to achieve?

• Do you want them to click onto other page?
• Do you want to direct sell a product to them?
• Are you trying to convince them of an idea?
• What are you trying to communicate?
• Are you trying to create leads/enquiries?
• Are you directing them to something else?

Step 3:

You have your goal, now how do you achieve it.

So you want people to click on another page, then write a web page directing them there, show them pictures of why it is great, what they will get, why they want to click there.  Create flash displays and movies to prove it.

If you are trying to direct sell them something then put the selling details and the checkout all on the landing page.  Don’t sell them the idea and then ask them to click on your shop link, because the second they click another page, then THAT page has to grab their attention again and re-sell them the points they just forgot.  Put your sales details, pics and checkout on the same page and close the sale on the landing page.  Then put extras, up sells and continuation sales on the checkout.  Little check boxes that say click to upgrade to gold service for $3.00, etc, etc.

Step 4:

Break up your content.

Short sharp paragraphs

Make your point and move on.

Do it well and keep it short.

Step 5:

Layout should flow smoothly,

Don’t ram all your ideas into the page like stuffing in a Christmas goose.  Keep it easy to read, and break it up into sections.

Step 6:

Add reading breaks.

If your landing page is all information and needed content, then break it up with a little insertion here and there.  Insert a tip or two, or an interesting fact or two, tucked into your text.  Even insert a little humor if you feel like adding a little sugar to cut the mustard.

Step 7:

EDIT IT DOWN!!!!!!

Your landing page is not paying by the word.  Say what you have to, be clear, concise and short.  Write it, remove words, write it again, cut bits out, re-phrase.  Get to the point with as few words as possible.

YOU WILL LOSE PEOPLE WITH TOO MANY WORDS.

Take a sentence example:

“This website will show you how to make your fancy Christmas goose look good”

EDIT IT DOWN

“How to make your Christmas goose look good”

EDIT IT DOWN AGAIN

“Christmas goose – Make it look GOOD.”

Step 8:

Proofread it.

Read it all for errors.  If there are bits that you only skim through when you read, then those are the bits where you will lose your viewer.  I just proof read this, and skimmed over step three.  So I am aware that, that is that bit that may lose people.

Step 9:

It should take you twice as long to write, because every time you type a line, you should have to stop to applaud yourself.