What SEO Copywriting Is… and Isn’t

I’ve been frustrated lately. It seems people just don’t get it. There’s lots of talk about SEO copywriting these days, but hardly any of it is on target. The majority of the conversations, posts and articles I’ve seen deal with topics like keyword density, allowable limits, over optimization and such. These people are making search engine copywriting all about the search engines. They are forgetting the fact that SEO copywriting is still copywriting.

What that means – generally speaking – is you are still writing promotional copy designed to cause a *person* to take a specific action. Your target audience (your site visitors) should come first. The elements designed to help the copy rank well absolutely come last.

What good is all the traffic in the world if your site copy doesn’t convert visitors into buyers? Not much. That’s why – when writing SEO copy – the human visitor comes first.

Unfortunately, SEO copywriting is getting a bad name because so much of what is being cranked out is repetitious babble. Most of these pages would never have made it on to a site, except for the fact that the site owner wanted to rank highly for certain key terms.

So, in the interest of salvaging the good name of search engine copywriting, before it’s too late, let me offer some guidelines.

SEO Copy Is:

· first and foremost – written for the visitor.

· unique and purposeful.

· natural-sounding – it flows.

SEO Copy Is Not:

· written exclusively with the engines in mind.

· mirrored, adjusted or altered to create new pages by simply changing keyphrases.

· stiff, forced or overly repetitive.

The Dos of SEO Copywriting

When writing SEO copy, you’ll want to:

· understand who you are writing to.

· choose what the focus of the page will be.

· create a plan outlining the message you want to convey.

· decide how best to communicate that message to your particular target customers.

· choose which keyphrases will be incorporated into the copy.

· make sure those keyphrases work well with the page and the planned copy.

· incorporate keyphrases as you write (not after you write), so they flow naturally with the planned message.

The Don’ts of SEO Copywriting

When writing SEO copy, you should never:

· create a plan based solely on how to rank high.

· replace *every* instance of a generic term (car) with a keyphrase (red, convertible car).

· add pages of copy simply to appease the search engines.

· rely on useless keyword density ratios and formulas.

· shove keyphrases in everywhere possible. (No, it won’t get you banned, but it will sound completely ridiculous!)

SEO copywriting is not the process of writing exclusively for the search engines. It is the process of writing copy to appeal to your visitors, while including elements to help the search engines and your visitors understand what the page is all about.

If you remember who truly makes or breaks your site’s success (your customers!) and focus on them, you’re sure to create SEO copy that rings true.

 

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How to Write Great Web Copy 101

You already know how to create great web copy. Just remember your childhood nursery rhymes. As silly as it sounds, “3 Blind Mice” will show you the way.

For some reason, “3 Blind Mice” paid me a visit. As I heard the 100th replay, it hit me – this would make great web copy. As a matter of fact, this simple little ditty contains 10 elements of Web Copy 101. In case you’ve forgotten, here’s how it goes.

“3 Blind Mice; 3 Blind Mice.
See how they run; see how they run.
They all ran up to the farmer’s wife;
She cut off their tails with a carving knife
Have you ever seen such a sight in your life
As 3 Blind Mice?”

Let’s see how this children’s nursery rhyme is a model of Web Copy 101.

Web Copy 101 #1, 2, 3 …3 Blind Mice (title or heading)

1) Try singing “A trio of visually impaired rodents, A trio of visually impaired rodents.” Catchy? Formal writing doesn’t sell. Write the way people speak and you will be heard. The title does something else for this song.

2) If you had to choose between songs entitled “Cows,” “Ducks,” or “3 Blind Mice,” which one would you choose? The title in all web copy has to grab the attention the reader. There’s more.

3) This alluring title makes the content clear right away. How many times do you stumble on a website only to find you’re not sure what they are selling or how it relates to you? Be sure your web copy uses the title or headline to set the table for the visitor.

Web Copy 101 #4 …3 Blind Mice, 3 Blind Mice (first line)

4) This song is going to be about little rodents, not geese. Does the first line of your web copy highlight what you offer, or at least whom your site is for? Good web copy is not mystery writing. Instead it says, “We’re here to sell you something and here’s why you need it today.”

Web Copy 101 #5, 6 … See how they run, See how they run

5) Repetition is the key to any message track and a staple of effective web copy. From a psychological point of view it lets your message become familiar and safe. From a search engine point of view repetition builds your keyword density and raises your search results. From a net reader perspective repetition in your web copy reinforces your message for the superficial reader who is scanning your site quickly. Repetition works on many levels. Let me say that again – repetition works on many levels.

6) The invitation to watch how the mice run around is also a clever way to involve the readers by getting them to do something. Does your site invite some kind of reader activity in the body of the web copy?

Web Copy 101 #7 … They all ran up to the farmer’s wife; she cut off their tails with a carving knife

7) A good way to stitch your ideas together and build more active involvement in your copy is to use pronouns (they, she). By forcing the readers to build connections between previous and current information pronouns keep your site visitors more engaged.

Web Copy 101 #8 … Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?

8) Do you know the best way to keep someone interested in what you are writing? What is 3 times 3? If you thought “nine” you proved my point. If you thought “eight” try night school. If you thought anything at all, you demonstrated the power of questions to generate reader participation. Everybody loves and needs to answer questions. Does your web copy provide thought provoking questions that get your reader thinking and involved?

Web Copy 101 #9, 10 … As 3 Blind Mice

9) Brilliant web copy. More repetition. Plus, the story ends where it started. One of the advantages of writing with search engines in mind is that keyword focus helps you stay on topic. The glancing reader needs this controlling idea to get the essence of why they need what you have, now. Is your site’s central idea consistently expressed all the way through your web copy?

10) True, the song is written for children, but notice the use of short, crisp sentences to tell the tale. How are you telling your tale? You want your web copy to be clear, smart and direct.

I hope they get stuck in your head – the 10 lessons that is, not the lyrics. By the way, no animals were hurt during the writing of the article about web copy 101.

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Why Great Website Makeovers Begin With Copywriting

“Can you give me some feedback on my website?” a life coach named “Kevin” asked his e-zine subscribers. “I just revised my site – -finally!”

Naturally, I couldn’t resist clicking over to see what Kevin had done. I knew Kevin was a thoughtful coach with a reputation for high integrity.

Kevin’s new site cried out for a re-makeover. He had paid a designer to get drop-down menus and a bit of flash. As a result, Kevin admitted, “I have no budget to pay a copywriter.”

Ouch.

After skimming a few pages of the site, I emailed Kevin. “Who is your target market? What do you offer? How are you unique?”

Kevin replied, “I asked for feedback. I don’t have time to answer a lot of questions. And everyone tells me the site looks professional.”

Okay. I can take a hint.

Sure, the site looks professional. But Kevin admits he’s in trouble. So far, he’s gotten nothing but compliments — no orders and no calls.

What can we learn from Kevin?

(1) Copywriters can save you money.

Often I (and other experienced copywriters) can save clients money on web design. Kevin didn’t need all those bells and whistles. In fact, some Internet marketing gurus claim they do more harm than good.

And Kevin didn’t understand HTML, let alone CSS. A copywriter might serve as go-between, translating Kevin’s requirements into web design language. Your web designer saves time – which translates into saving money.

(2) Copywriters help you earn money.

Reading between the lines, I discovered Kevin could be a stand-out. He has developed an innovative 5-step process to help clients overcome obstacles and take charge of their lives.

But Kevin doesn’t realize why he’s unique, so his website reads like five thousand other life coaching sites: vague promises of “take your life to the next level,” “discover what’s important to you” and “enjoy the work you love.”

Naturally I’m disguising the details of “Kevin’s” story, but I really don’t have to. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of sites sound just like Kevin’s.

(3) Copywriting is collaborative.

Like Kevin, my clients often think they can show me a few pages of a website and say, “Make it sell!” Copywriting requires energy and planning, whether you’re a do-it-yourselfer or a firm believer in outsourcing to a specialist.

My clients often invest many hours answering my questionnaire. As they write, they often realize there’s a hole in their business strategy. Or they’re sitting on buried treasure.

Until I know what Kevin wants to do with his website and his business, I can’t make realistic recommendations – even as a casual ezine reader. I need to evaluate Kevin’s copy in the context of Kevin’s own goals, target market and unique selling proposition.

Kevin could do this himself. But, like most busy business owners, he didn’t want to invest the time. And he wasn’t sure what questions to ask.

When clients hire me, we have the luxury (and fun!) of creating a marketing message that hits the target market squarely in the center of the bull’s-eye.

Bottom Line: Websites deliver messages. Without a message, a website is a calling card – nice when you have more business than you can handle.

Most of the time, revising copy brings traffic and sales. Websites typically earn back the copy investment with just a few new clients, not to mention saving energy and funds by avoiding a makeover to recover the makeover.

And one day you realize you’re not getting compliments… but you *are* getting sales.

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Web Copy – How Much is Enough?

 

These days, there’s widespread acceptance that a website is an integral part of the marketing plan of any business. Likewise, it’s commonly accepted that web copy is a vital component of any website. But how much web copy is enough?

The pure volume of information available on the Internet is daunting – often counterproductive. There are approximately 550 billion documents on the web, and every day another 7 million are added. According to an A.T. Kearney, Network Publishing study (April 2001), workers take so long trying to find information that it costs organizations $750 billion annually!

Yet people continue to use it. Information gathering is the most common use of the Internet (American Express survey, 2000). And it seems work-related searches are amongst the most common, with 48% of people using the Internet to find work-related information, as opposed to 7% who use magazines (Lyra Research, 2001).

Interestingly, however, the average person visits no more than 19 websites in the entire month in order to avoid information overload (Nielsen NetRatings in Jan 2001).

So how do you ensure your site is one of those 19? How do you make your content helpful without making it overwhelming? That’s what this article is about…

I’ve written several articles on WHAT to write on your website in order to make it helpful. (See http://ift.tt/1HU1Fec, http://ift.tt/1PKPcA7, and http://ift.tt/1HU1Ea9.) But that’s only half the battle… Businesses also need to know HOW MUCH to write. Here are 5 quick rules of thumb to help you decide how much is enough.

1) Know your audience (Reader or Search Engine?)

Think about whether you’re targeting human readers (potential customers) or search engines. This must always be one of your very first questions, as the answer will determine your approach to content.

In general, human readers think less is more. Search engines, on the other hand, think more is more (well, more or less…). In many ways, it comes down to a question of quality versus quantity. Human readers are interested in quality, whereas search engines are interested quantity. Human readers want you to answer their questions and make it clear how you can benefit them. And they don’t want to wade through volumes of text. Search engines want a high word count, full of relevant keywords, and short on diagrams. (See http://ift.tt/1PKPcQl for more information on writing for search engines. See http://ift.tt/1HU1Eac for an introductory article on search engine optimization.)

You need to think carefully about your audience. In most cases, it’ll be a trade-off. A high search engine ranking is important (or at least beneficial) to most businesses, so a happy medium is required. The following tips will go some way toward providing this balance.

2) Make it concise

Say everything you need to say, but always ask, “Can I say it with fewer words?” The literary world may be impressed by complex writing, but visitors aren’t. Keep it simple, and keep it brief. Your home page shouldn’t be more than 1 screen long. In other words, visitors shouldn’t have to scroll. Subsequent pages can be longer, but try to keep them to a maximum of about 300-400 words each (approximately 1 scroll). A lot of people will tell you that you also need 300-400 words or more on your home page for a good search engine ranking. You don’t. If you focus on the right keywords and generate a lot of links to your site, you can achieve a high ranking without losing your readers’ interest by padding

TIP: For most businesses, a good rule of thumb is to make it conversational. Old school writers and would-be writers oppose conversational copy; don’t listen to them. Unless you’re writing for an old-school audience, feel free to write as people talk.

3) One subject per page

On this, both readers and search engines agree. Don’t try and squeeze too much information onto a single page. For example, instead of trying to detail all of your products on a single Products page, use the page to introduce and summarize your product suite, then link to a separate page per product. This way, your content will be easier to write, your readers won’t be overwhelmed, and you’ll be able to focus on fewer keywords (so the search engines will get a clearer picture of what you do).

4) Make it scannable

According to a 1998 Sun Microsystems study, reading from a monitor is 25% slower than reading from paper. As a result, 79% of users scan read when online. So make sure you accommodate scanning. Use headings and sub-headings. Highlight important words and sections. Use bulleted lists and numbered lists. Use tables. Use statistics. Use meaningful indenting. Use short sentences. Most importantly, be consistent in your usage. Oh… and follow rules 2 and 3 above.

5) Use a simple menu structure

Try to keep your high-level menu (Home, About Us, Contacts, Products, Services, etc.) to a maximum of about 10 items (5-8 is ideal). If you have too many options, your site will seem unstructured and your visitors won’t know where to start. In order for a visitor to want to come back to your site, they need to feel comfortable when they’re there. They need to know what to expect. If they can’t identify any logic in your menu structure, they will always feel lost. What’s more, this lack of structure will reflect badly on your business.

The Internet can be an incredibly cost-effective form of promotion because the cost per word to publish is so low. Don’t be fooled into thinking more is more just because it costs less. Audiences – even search engines – don’t want everything; they just want enough.

Happy writing!

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Top SEO Copywriting Tips

What would happen if…? I’m a person to always ask that question. I love testing and tracking to see what factors can improve or worsen a situation. So, it was only natural for me to track the moves of a little experiment I did involving SEO copywriting recently. I’ll gladly share my findings with you.

Before I do, however, I want to make a couple of things very clear. The outcome of this experiment will not be the same for every keyphrase on every page of every site. There are too many unknown factors at play in the overall SEO equation. Not to mention, all keyphrases are not the same, and all sites are not the same. In addition, this experiment takes no account of link popularity, which is a huge factor in achieving high rankings. With that said, let me show you how I took the home page of one of my sites – that didn’t even rank in the top 50 – and caused it to rank in the top 10.

First of all, I’m not a big fan of checking rankings on a regular basis. I don’t run ranking reports for all my sites to be sure they are all in the positions I want them in for every given keyphrase. I’ll do it from time to time just to satisfy my own occasional curiosity. This experiment began when I noticed the home page of one of my sites was ranking highly for a keyphrase that didn’t seem to appear anywhere in the text. Upon further investigation, I saw that the keyphrase was included in the ALT tags (a.k.a. image attribute tags) and that it was also included in the title tag.

I knew ALT tags previously carried a lot of weight with the engines, but had been downgraded in importance because site owners had badly abused the tag. Had ALT tags been reinstated in their level of importance? I decided to find out.

Keyword #1 was currently in the ALT tags and the title tag, so I decided to eliminate the keyword in the title tag. This would let me see if the ALT tags alone could hold the position in the search engine results pages (SERPs). To make things more interesting, I also decided to research and find a keyword that was a little more competitive and insert it into the title tag. On the same day I removed Keyword #1 from the title tag, I inserted Keyword #2. My home page was not ranked in the top 50 at that time for Keyword #2.

A few days later, the Googlebot came by and boosted my home page to position #18 for Keyword #2. Not bad! The page fell one spot (from #17 to #18) for Keyword #1 since the removal of the phrase from the title tag.

Keep in mind, these are not the most competitive keywords ever known. They each got between 100 to 200 searches a day. Also, the home page of this particular site had been (and still is) well ranked for years for other keyphrases and had a positive legacy with Google.

Five days later, Keyword #2 was moved up three notches to a ranking of #14 while Keyword #1 stayed the same. Things remained in their status quo for roughly 10 days and then began to shift again. Keyword #1, the original that was previously in both the ALT tags and the title tag, vanished completely. It was not found in the top 50. Keyword #2, that was only found in the title tag and nowhere else, dropped to position #25.

Four days later, Keyword #2 was back up in the rankings and was now at #16. To see if I could improve rankings further, I began to make small tweaks to the page attributes. I added Keyword #2 to the ALT tags (taking the places where Keyword #1 had once been), and I also added Keyword #2 to the body copy. The keyphrase was added to one, bold sub-headline and at three places within the body copy: none of which were above the fold. It was not added to any primary headlines that used <H> tags, and no keyword density formula was followed for the body copy. No other pages on my site used this term as anchor text in links pointing to the home page. That gave the page keyword placement in the:

· Title tag

· ALT tags

· Body copy

Seven days later, the home page hit the top 10 for Keyword #2!

So, what does all this mean? Simple. There is no single primary factor in search engine rankings. It takes balance, testing and tracking to find out what works for your particular pages. Your best bet is to do exactly what I did… begin one step at a time and track your progress. Did something cause a positive movement? Keep it. If something causes a negative shift, take it out.

I’m not finished with this page yet. I’ll keep trying different things from time to time just to see what happens. Maybe I’ll add anchor text links from the internal pages to the home page. I might try writing articles with keyword-rich anchor text links to help boost the rankings more. There are many acceptable practices I can implement for this page (or any page) that will allow me to observe the shifts in ranking. As the old saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” A diversified approach to SEO copywriting that includes tags, copy and links is always a wise start down the road to top 10 rankings.

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Write Web Copy for People not Technology

:
Every website copywriter faces a trap – Search Enginitis. Writing web copy with technology makes sense, but writing web copy for people makes the sale. Here are two ways to connect with people across broadband and create web copy that sells.

Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia. But customers are not buying.

The Technology Trap

You wonder if it’s the web copy itself. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras of powerful web copy – “write for the search engines” and “write for the medium.”

Your web copy used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because your web copy is laid out with the internet in mind using:

short sentences

brief paragraphs
bullets
Customers might be reading your words, but they still are not buying your product.

Chances are your web copy has been optimized for technology not people.

Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. Selling on the internet means writing web copy for people not technology. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do – trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace? Your web copy can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.

Here are two ways to craft web copy for people not technology:

write the way customers speak
replace your pitch with a theme.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 1:

Write the way people speak. People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them.

If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, “I read an unusually

amazing web copy article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales”? Not likely.

Weak web copy, not everyday people, uses too many modifiers. “Amazing,” “fundamentally,” and “sagging” weaken trust. How’s your site for modifiers?

Give your web copy the finger test.

You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content.
<li>put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find.</li>
<li>put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb. </li>
<li>repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers.</li>

If your page is a handful, you’ve got too many modifiers and your web copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers web copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.

Write Web Copy for People not Technology Step 2:

Replace your pitch with a theme. Customers need time before they trust.

They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time with thematic web copy. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car – not so scary now.

Let’s say your site sells dental floss.

Here’s how your web copy might handle it. Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea “Some people have nothing to smile about.”

The opening section could point out how the discomfort of Gingivitis wipes the grin off a person’s face.
Another segment of the web copy would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile.
Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown.

In this way, the web copy offers three versions of one idea to help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your web copy give visitors to get comfortable with you?

In this article, I tried to use the two key elements a good web copywriter uses to write for people not technology:

the language of my readers
a central idea, trust

Did it work? Did my web copy help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.

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SEO Copywriting Explained

Within this article today on SEO copy writing, we will look at the specifics of a search engine optimization world and how copywriting pertains to that.

A brief introduction toward search engine optimization is that its goal is to position your website well within the search engine page ranks so that you can gain a great deal of natural traffic to your website. One important part of the high page rank work is developing good web content. The importance of copywriting within this field is that you must be creative in developing web content so that it can meet the demands of both the consumer looking for information on the Internet as well as the demands placed on your website by search engine bots.

There is a great deal of writing on the Internet today which is very boring and does not interest people. The key behind SEO copywriting is that you are looking to impress both the search bots as well as the people who are surfing the Internet and stumble upon your page. You do not get a great deal of time to impress your site upon these people so what you have to say and how you say it is going to be the difference between a sale and another lost lead.

If you are interested in SEO copywriting, look into some of the following sources for more information. Here is the website of one particular company where you can learn more about SEO copywriting in a tutorial forum: http://ift.tt/1PhPyzl. To find many more resources, search the Internet using the following term: “SEO tutorials.” You will have great success in learning more about this particular field.

Good SEO copywriting focuses on many different factors such as the good web content as well as keyword optimization. Keyword optimization is making sure that your website has full use of a particular set of keywords so that when people search the Internet for these phrases, your site will be on the first page of results. This is how you generate good organic search engine traffic. This deal does go beyond just keyword optimization when looking into making a website work. Take your time to learn more from the resources that were listed above. This can give you a good idea of what you will need to become an SEO copywriter or give you some criteria on when to hire one.

Just as some general information, a good SEO copywriter should help you develop a high page rank within the different search engines as well as help build the sales at your website. It is important to get traffic to your website but is also important that you have a good lead conversion ratio. What this means is that you want more people to visit your sites and that gradually more of these visitors convert to quality sales for you. By providing good content that sells, you are setting yourself up as a person who excels at SEO copywriting. Hopefully this article on SEO copywriting has benefited you. This can be a very lucrative field if you learn to market on the Internet.

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Writing Solid Gold Emails With a Purpose

How many times have you seen it? You open your inbox just to see another long, seemingly endless list of emails. You cautiously open each one, giving “some” of them 10-20 seconds of a quick scan. If something captures your interest, you read on. If not, it’s a quick click (delete key) and you move on. If this is your pattern, you are not alone. This scenario is repeated by thousands, if not millions of internet users each and every day.

Knowing this pattern makes the job of internet marketers even more difficult. Our ability to cultivate and retain any significant numbers in a downline is directly determined by our ability to maximize these precious few seconds of reading time. Have you got what it takes to write an email and get the replies flying in? Most of us send out emails almost every day. We do it all too often with out carefully thinking about it. As a result these emails are often written and sent out less than perfect and fail to produce the desired result.

The purpose of sending out mass email is usually intended to attract visitors to view a website rather than make a sale, therefore it is important to take your time and define your aim precisely before writing the email. Here are a few hints to help you along the way:

• Keep it simple and brief.
  Avoid using long or technical words as some people may not understand them.
  Do not use three words where one will suffice.
  If the email is long and full of waffle boredom will set in and without a doubt it is likely to be deleted before reaching the end of it.
  The opening paragraph is vital.
  If it does not click with the reader right away you have wasted your time sending it.
  It’s true that even the best writers spend time editing and rewriting their articles and emails.
  Start with an eye catching headline. It might be a question or statement. You must grab their attention right away.
  Make sure to look at it from your readers point of view, is it forceful enough or exciting to make you want to read on and discover the end result?
  Headlines hook prospects and lead them to the next line. There you start to build their interest to ensure they read the next sentence… and each subsequent one.
  You might even find it is worth offering a free gift or a monthly newsletter that would help their business. There are plenty of free e-books on the web that you can give away.
  If the intention of your email is to make a sale then offer a guarantee or a full refund. This should dispel any fears they may have.

A cheeky way to test out your email is to send it to a couple of friends who are interested in business, add a message at the end of it and ask them to email you. If you don’t receive a reply, take it as a sign that perhaps your email was discarded before they made it far enough down the message, to get your message. When this happens it is a good idea to edit your email and remove any unneeded text before sending back out to your master list.

The exact techniques and methods you use will vary depending on personal preferences, product differences, market circumstances, etc. However, the basic approach is to make sure you give it some advance preparation and work, before sending them out. You will be pleasantly amazed at the difference it makes.

Do you want to build a majorly big targeted following online? Join our free four part Build a Following Univerity e-course and start today.

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Whаt іѕ Twitter аnd How Does іt Work

“Sо dіd уоu tweet today?” Heard а similar conversation rесеntlу? No, thе two people уоu аrе technically eavesdropping оn, аrе nоt referring tо оnе’ѕ ability tо chirp like а bird, but inquiring аbоut thеіr latest status update оn thе micro blogging revolution, Twitter. A website thаt allows users tо put uр information аbоut thеmѕеlvеѕ іn just 140 characters, Twitter іѕ thе current darling оf thе virtual world, wіth еvеrуоnе whо wants tо bе ѕоmеоnе logging іn аnd contributing thеіr two bits. Sо do уоu want tо know whаt іѕ Twitter аnd how іt works? In thіѕ article, wе help уоu understand how thіѕ website works.

Whаt іѕ Twitter?
Twitter іѕ а micro blogging аnd social networking site thаt allows members tо post messages оr updates аbоut thеmѕеlvеѕ іn аѕ many аѕ 140 characters. Thеѕе short messages аrе called tweets аnd members саn аlѕо add hyperlinks tо tweets. Aссоrdіng tо thе company іtѕеlf, іt іѕ а service thаt allows tо stay connected wіth each оthеr. People аll оvеr thе world tweet аbоut аll sorts оf subjects, ranging frоm thе latest news tо whаt thеу ate fоr lunch. Twitter іѕ аlѕо а great tool fоr marketing, wіth many public relation agencies reaching оut tо Twitter аѕ thе latest tool fоr buzz marketing. Several celebrities аlѕо uѕе Twitter tо connect wіth thеіr fans аnd tо spread word аbоut thеіr projects аnd performances.

Twitter іѕ thе brainchild оf Jack Dorsey, whо played аrоund wіth thе idea оf using SMS tо communicate wіth а small group. It wаѕ created bу thе members оf thе company Odeo whо wеrе іn thе business оf podcasting. Thе original name оf thе service thеу worked towards creating wаѕ twttr whісh wаѕ а take оn Flickr. Jack Dorsey аlѕо has said аbоut thе name оf thе service, “came асrоѕѕ thе word “twitter,” аnd іt wаѕ just perfect. Thе definition wаѕ “а short burst оf inconsequential information,” аnd “chirps frоm birds.” And thаt’s ехасtlу whаt thе product wаѕ.” Twitter wаѕ launched аѕ а site fоr thе general public іn 2006. Today thе website has аlmоѕt 100 million active users frоm аll оvеr thе world.

All thе tweets thаt а member uploads іѕ displayed оn hіѕ оr hеr profile page аnd іѕ delivered tо thе subscribers оf thе author. Thеѕе subscribers аrе known аѕ followers оf thе author, whо has control оvеr whо саn оr саnnоt have access tо thеіr status updates. Members саn send оut tweets using thе website оr wіth thе help оf applications available wіth smart phones аnd even thrоugh SMS. Thе website has no registration fees.

How Does Twitter Work?
Sо how does Twitter work? Thе technology thаt Twitter uses іѕ а agnostic message routing system thаt accepts messages frоm SMS, mobile, instant messaging, websites, аnd even third party API оr application programming interface projects. Thе technology thаt Twitter uses has very basic features оf social networking unlіkе оthеr networking websites like Facebook оr MySpace. Thе site wаѕ designed using Adobe Photoshop аnd Omnigraffle аnd thеу work wіth а web application framework called Ruby оn Rails, whісh allows thеm skeleton frameworks ѕо thаt thеу do nоt have tо redesign thе website еvеrу time changes аrе made tо thе interface оf thе website.

Fоr а user, Twitter has а very simple interface. If уоu want tо learn how tо uѕе Twitter, аll уоu need tо do іѕ thе following. It has а box thаt whеrе уоu need tо type оut уоur message whісh wіll bе thеn send оut tо аll уоur followers, appear оn уоur homepage аnd оn уоur profile. It wіll аlѕо appear оn thе public timeline оf thе website thаt іѕ constantly updated whаtеvеr has bееn posted іn thе раѕt 5 seconds. Once уоu have set uр уоur account аnd аrе comfortable updating tweets, уоu саn build уоur network bу inviting users tо follow уоu, learning how tо get more followers оn Twitter аnd following оthеr member’s updates.

Twitter has quіtе а few limitations, one оf thе foremost being thе inability оf updating more thаn 140 characters аt а time. Alѕо limitation tо text wіth аn inability tо add multimedia саn bе а stalling factor fоr prospective users. But dеѕріtе thеѕе limitations Twitter has become extremely popular achieving near cult status аll оvеr thе world. Once уоu have understood whаt іѕ Twitter аnd how іt works, аnd уоu become аn addict, maneuvering уоur way аrоund thеѕе limitations wіll come naturally tо уоu.

Explaining how does Twitter work, іn technical jargon, саn become difficult tо understand. Thе basics оf thіѕ micro blogging website, frоm а user’s point оf view аrе very easy tо understand. Sо now thаt уоu know еvеrуthіng уоu wоuld have wanted tо know, mауbе уоu ѕhоuld climb thе bandwagon аѕ wеll.

To learn more about getting a free place on our popular  build a following university e-course and grow a social media following to rival a rockstar click here.

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How Long Does Your Sales Copy Need to Be?

One question that always crops up is the one regarding the length of a piece of copy. There is really no one answer to this, it will depend on what you are selling. For example if you are selling a short 20 page report your copy will be shorter than if you are trying to sell a $50,000 sports car! So the best answer is that your copy needs to be as long as necessary to get the buyer to hit the buy button.

For this reason we often tell people to not worry about the length of your sales letter. Instead just start writing it out and see how long it turns out. You want to include certain elements and points into your sales piece.

Here’s a basic outline you might like to follow:

1. Headline that asks a question or focuses on a specific problem.
2. Introduction – this is where you address your reader and start focusing on their particular issue. This will be a longer portion where you can tell a story about how you overcame this problem.
3. Starting hinting at a solution.
4. Add bullet points about the features of the product.
5. Introduce your solution and tell them why it is the perfect choice for them.
6. Add any testimonials or reviews if available, this gives them proof that the product works.
7. Now introduce the offer – this is where you add the price and statements that say something like; limited time offer, introductory pricing etc.
8. Close your letter in the next section and outline the main benefits yet again.
9. Add a P.S. – this section is where you say something to the effect of; you haven’t ordered yet, why not? Reinforce that the product is on a limited pricing structure. This creates a sense of urgency and entices the reader to take action.

Once you have gone through the above sections you should have all the details you need for your sales page. All that is necessary is to go back and read your copy. Ensure that your letter follows and reads just like a letter. As you read you should start to create a sense of ‘I have to buy this now’ in your reader. Don’t forget to add images of your products if possible, as this helps them identify with it.

This outline gives you the basics of what to add into your sales letter and will determine the final length.

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20 Months to One Million

Being the owner of multiple businesses, I am always conscious of my money from both a personal and professional perspective. Our lives are very much intertwined and often controlled by our ability to manage, save and spend our money. I was recently reminded of a great concept that I learned about when I was a teenager.
If a person were to take one dollar, invest the dollar in an asset and then sell the asset for two dollars, they will have taken the first step in a 20 month process of accumulating a million dollars. The only habit that would need to be created is the habit of doubling the amount in hand every month for 20 months.  The final amount at the end of each month would be:
Start – $1
Month 1 – $2
Month 2 – $4
Month 3 – $8
Month 4 – $16
Month 5 – $32
Month 6 – $64
Month 7 – $128
Month 8 – $256
Month 9 – $512
Month 10 – $1024
Month 11 – $2048
Month 12 – $4096
Month 13 – $8192
Month 14 – $16384
Month 15 – $32768
Month 16 – $65536
Month 17 – $131072
Month 18 – $262144
Month 19 – $524288
Month 20 – $1048576
Obviously the model is very simple and the idea is basic enough for anyone to grasp, however, I would like to expand on the underlying psychology of this concept. Let’s imagine that we were going to make a committed decision to implement this model in our own personal financial lives and we could not skip any steps or take any shortcuts. By the end of the first year, we will have accumulated only $4096. This means that in the next 8 months, we will have to amass $995,904 more than we currently have to reach the one million dollar level.
At this point, this imaginary experiment becomes more of a fairy tale or daydream to the average person. But let’s think about our minds and the power of focus. For the first 12 months of the experiment, we were making a monthly habit of acquiring assets (likely devalued assets) and selling them at a higher price point. As each month went by, we were forced to become more creative and innovative with our investments as the challenge of each amount grew larger.

Assuming we were successful for the first 12 months, the challenge on month 13 would be to double $4096 to $8192. After an entire year of practicing with small amounts and getting into this habit, the only real change required would be to adjust our perception of the size of the investment.  There are plenty of people in the world who have had success doubling large sums of money in short periods of time (business acquisitions, real estate and currency trading to name just a few). The average person may not understand how to do it but they most certainly could learn if they were to focus their mind and their attention on the task and do whatever it takes to learn the required skill.
I once heard T. Harv Eker use the extreme example that if there was a life or death situation and your life depended on you making a million dollars in one year, you could figure out a way to do it. I completely agree. The point I am trying to make is that I truly believe we are all capable of achieving a goal like this if the stakes are high enough. Why then, do so few people ever try to achieve such a major goal? Why do so many people reject the idea before giving any serious thought to it? There are probably a number of reasons, but from my perspective, the primary reason a person would never even attempt a goal like this is because in their heart, they don’t believe they can do it. If they did believe they could achieve the goal, would they not be actively working on it? Of course they would.
With that in mind we can begin to understand the powerful role that beliefs play in our lives. From the standpoint of our minds, a psychologist would say that a belief is nothing more than an idea that we have consciously accepted as true and ingrained as part of our subconscious conditioning. So if we are holding on to beliefs that limit us and keep us from taking action on a life changing idea, with the proper awareness, we can make the conscious decision to formulate a new belief that supports us in our big life goals.
I think it is both healthy and wise for every person to take time out regularly to examine their habits of thought. Since this article is centred around the idea of financial goals and money, I would encourage you to step back and review your personal thought processes when you were introduced to the idea of ’20 Months to One Million’. If you rejected the idea as something that was unrealistic or out of your level of capability, take some time to examine the belief you are holding that is causing you to reject the idea. What other limiting beliefs have crept into your mind that are no longer serving you? Can you replace those beliefs with a more empowering and gratifying thought pattern?

Take the next step to success get your free Seven Steps to Success eBook here

Susan Harrison

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How to Be Open to The Success You Have Been Dreaming Of

 

Have you ever noticed that successful people asked to be successful?

This doesn’t mean that their success was an easy path. Instead it means that they were passionate enough about becoming successful, that they did whatever it took to reach it. The good thing is you can follow in their footsteps!
Being successful in life in part means knowing how to deal with and overcome obstacles. Everyone agrees that life loves to throw you curve balls, usually at very inopportune moments. Knowing how to deal with these curve balls is what will bring you success down the road.

 

This is such an important topic that plenty of books have been written on the subject. One of the best selling ones is the Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.They talk about having the willingness to ask for things in life. This ability is what allows your dreams and goals to come true. Everyone can do this if they just take a chance on themselves and start asking for success.

Of course leading a successful life entails more than just being able to ask for things. You need to have the ability to follow through and get those things that you just asked for. If you study successful people you will see that they are action takers. They are willing to go out and get what they want, they don’t wait for anything to be handed to them.

This doesn’t mean either that good things always happen to them. What it does mean is that they are open to changing direction if and when necessary. Say for example, your dream was to have a job that involved fewer hours at your office. You asked your current employer if you could start telecommuting and they said no. Instead of accepting this and feeling frustrated with your life, you took action. You started looking for a job where you could work from home part of the time. An opportunity becomes available but it is in a different town. Being the open and willing person you are, you decide that you will make the move to a new location. After all you are getting what you have always dreamed of.

Now if you weren’t open to moving then this opportunity may have never been presented to you. It most certainly wouldn’t have if you hadn’t asked your boss and gotten a no in return. You took action and this turned into a successful move on your part.

You can take your first steps to success by claiming your free Seven Steps to Success Ebook simlpy enter your best email address and get instant access, get yours now.

Susan Harrison

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To the woman who tutted at me using the disabled toilets…

Originally posted on So Bad Ass:

Dear lady who loudly tutted at me using the disabled loos,

I know you saw me running in, with my able bodied legs and all. You saw me opening the door with my two working arms. You saw me without a wheelchair. Without any visible sign of disability.

You tutted loudly as I rattled the handle with my hands that work perfectly and my able voice call to my kids that I’d be out in just a minute.

My lack of wheelchair may have suggested to you that I was some lazy cow who didn’t care. Some inconsiderate bitch who was using something I wasn’t entitled too. (I actually carry a card to explain that I’m entitled to and have a disability key if you’d have cared to ask). You may have seen my face blushing as I caught your eye and assumed I was showing guilt at blagging the…

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