How to Use WordPress to Set up a Combination Professional Site and Blog

Wordpress is a blog platform. But did you know it can be used as much more than that? You can use Wordpress… [more]

How to Use WordPress to Set up a Combination Professional Site and Blog How to Use WordPress to Set up a Combination Professional Site and Blog

Web Directory Lists: Promoting Websites or Provoking Spammers?

You've probably seen more than a few Web directory lists floating around the Web. There are free Web… [more]

Web Directory Lists: Promoting Websites or Provoking Spammers? Web Directory Lists: Promoting Websites or Provoking Spammers?

Publish Your Press Releases to Your Website (Despite Duplicate Content)

  I used to run a PR firm, and I still do a good deal of PR writing. Press releases are naturally something… [more]

Publish Your Press Releases to Your Website (Despite Duplicate Content) Publish Your Press Releases to Your Website (Despite Duplicate Content)
twitter ads

Credit: BigStockPhoto.com

I’m going to be up front with you. I’m not a fan of advertising on Twitter. I’m even less of a fan of posting ads to my own Twitter account. So I clearly have some bias. Twitter advertising can be a hot button issue for some though, causing followers to flee or advertisers to come a-calling. Some love it because it’s a way to monetize something they do anyway, or reach a new targeted market. Some hate it because it causes unsolicited clutter and “invades” real relationships. I fall squarely into the latter group.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-advertising in general. And I’m not saying that advertising has no place in social media. But Twitter is an exception for me. Here’s why:

It’s Not What I Signed on For

Twitter is primarily a networking tool. It’s a place for conversations, no matter how abbreviated. For most Twitter is not a tool for simply broadcasting commercial messages. Now I’m not one to say that everyone should or has to use a social media tool in the same way. That would be both ignorant and self-centered. But I will say that everyone has a responsibility to their followers.

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kindleCredit: DanieVDM (via Flickr)

It seems that whenever I log onto Twitter now I find people retweeting a post from Mashable. The post is about Amazon.com and their claim that e-books are apparently getting uber-popular because (*gasp*) they’re outselling hardcover books. This pisses me off. Not the fact that e-books are doing well, but the fact that Mashable (yet again) decided to post a stats-centric article with no semblance of critical thought before kicking it out to the RTing masses.

This isn’t the first time I’ve called Mashable out on posting faulty stats that mislead readers and help to create non-news more than reporting actual news. And while I hope it’s the last, I somehow doubt it.

Now look. I’m not a regular Mashable reader, but I’m also not someone with an axe to grind. I read them periodically, retweet their stuff when it’s not nonsensical, and can certainly appreciate their writers’ talents for crafting linkbait-worthy headlines. I just have little tolerance for people with influence in the blogosphere who choose to use that influence irresponsibly. And I’d consider passing along half-assed info without asking legitimate questions to be precisely that.

Let’s explore some of the claims from the post (meaning the stats from Amazon that Mashable chose to pass along to readers without any further worthwhile context), and what the potential problems are. We’ll look at some of the questions they should have asked before contributing to the current Amazon hype-storm all willy-nilly. And then I’ll point you to some better sources — the ones that did.

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linkbait lures

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We’ve already established that linkbait is not a dirty word. But how can you make it work for you? More specifically, how can you create successful linkbait for your blog or website when it seems that everyone on the Web is doing it these days? After all, isn’t the point to stand out?

Yes. Yes it is.

Fortunately linkbait can still be very effective, and it’s still possible to stand out amongst the crowd. It’s all in how you look at it.

The Two Types of Linkbait

sensationalist headline

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Linkbait is often talked about in a negative light because of one type of linkbait — the sensationalist variety. These are articles and blog posts that use very hyped up headlines to get your attention and attract almost automatic links and sharing (because let’s face it, sometimes people really don’t read past the headline). For example you might see a post called “Facebook Now Commands 41% of Social Media Traffic.” The key with these types of posts is that the content rarely backs up the title’s claim (and you can see a more detailed breakdown of that issue in the post linked above).

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Continue Reading 6 comments }Blogs, Content, SEO

Facebook for Business

by Terra on July 12, 2010

By: Terra L. Fletcher, owner Fletcher Freelance (Yes, I am on facebook.)

Why Social Media? Why facebook?

As a freelance writer and marketing consultant specializing in all things online, I often tell my clients, “Social media is not going away. You need to pick one venue to do – and do it well.”

The advantage of facebook is the huge audience. In March 2010 facebook surpassed Google as the most visited site on the web. If you can’t find a social media network that fits your demographic or target market, try facebook. In the last six months 35-54 year old users have increased 276%. Those 55 and older have increased 194%. Although young females still take the lead, this is slowly leveling out.

Getting Started

To create a facebook page for business, you need to first create a personal account. (Don’t worry; your business page need not reveal you as the owner of the page.) From the log-in page click on “Create a Page.” This prompts you to enter information about your company. You may wish to adjust your settings to “unpublish” while working on your page. Once you have finished editing your page, make sure to publish it.

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social media etiquette

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Whenever I hear the word “etiquette” visions of stuffy old charm schools play in my head. I don’t believe you have to (or even should) be nice to everyone all the time just because you want everyone to like you. It’s okay to dislike people, disagree with people, and share honest opinions as long as you can back them up. I’m also not a big believer in wearing a peachy little persona all the time just because other people tell you that you should.

I’m going to throw a buzzword at you, but one I think really matters — authenticity. I’d rather someone truly be themselves when I meet them in the social media space as opposed to watching them putting on a show.

That said, I’m a surprisingly big fan of general social media etiquette. I think it’s often less about manners and more about basic common sense. There are plenty of things that you wouldn’t want people doing to you while you’re on social networks, blogs, or using other social media tools. So don’t do those things to others.

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Email marketing has grown to become one of the most powerful direct marketing methods available today. In 2009, email marketing earned about $45 for every dollar spent on it. With such a high ROI (return on investment), it’s clear that when leveraged properly, email marketing can get huge results for little investment.

Of course, to get those results, you have to build your email marketing campaign correctly. And achieving this starts with avoiding these common email marketing mistakes.

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Make no mistake. There are plenty of good, even great, SEO companies out there that use proven techniques to get results for their clients. But far too often our industry is given a black eye by shady SEO companies ripping clients off for thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it.

Whether you’re just now looking for an SEO company or you’ve been with one for a while, you need to be on the lookout for these 7 signs of a sketchy SEO provider.

1. They promise specific rankings—Your SEO company doesn’t run Google. So, no matter what they say, there’s no way they can guarantee your website will reach a certain position in the search results. If your SEO company is making this promise, run away as fast as you can. They’re liars.

2. They can’t show you proof of their past work—You want to make sure the SEO company you hire has actually gotten results for their clients in the past. The best SEO companies have detailed case studies showing where the client’s website was before they started working on it and where it is now. If your SEO company can’t show you proof of their work, I recommend taking your business elsewhere.

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You don’t read much about article marketing anymore. A lot of people look down on article marketing. They think it’s an outdated technique that just doesn’t get results. They think it’s a marketing technique only used by spammers.

And they’re wrong.

The truth is article marketing still works. Sure, there are a lot of people out there who do it all wrong, but you don’t have to be one of them. If you do it right, article marketing can still help you build your online presence and drive traffic to your website.

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Photo by TrueFalseFilmFestival

Storyboards are visual aids generally used when creating a movie. They lay out the major action within different scenes of the film and make a movie look like a graphic novel while in its pre-production stage. This helps the director and cinematographer plan out the various shots needed to make an interesting and well thought out film that is unified in its presentation and has scenes that work only to push the movie forward.

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Continue Reading 0 comments }Blogs, Content, General

Too busy to tweet? Think Twitter is a waste of time? Your competitors don’t. Savvy small business owners know that Twitter is quickly becoming the face of the real-time web. If you’re a small business person you need to be on it. Here’s why:

Twitter enables amazing and immediate access to customers. For example, I received the opportunity to write for this blog directly from Twitter. The publisher read a blog post I wrote and reached out to me directly through Twitter, and the result has been a mutually beneficial relationship for which I am very grateful.

Twitter is also a great networking tool. As a freelance writer, I’ve used it to get advice from colleagues I respect and meet them in person at conferences.

As a so-called “micro-blogging” tool, Twitter is experiencing a similar kind of traction that blogs did in the late 90′s and early 2000′s. It exploded on the tech savvy scene in 2006 at cutting-edge internet conferences like Austin’s SXSW Interactive Festival, and those early adopters have blazed the trail all the way to the mom and pop shop down the street. Imagine how quickly you can get a message out to your marketplace using Twitter to test out a new idea, interact with customers or find new ones.

Yes, it’s a pain to Tweet often, and you want to post something of value for the people following you, not how much beer you drank last night or when you’re going to get that root canal done. Always remember that anyone following you means you have an audience. That means it’s important be mindful of how you represent your product or service, or just your own personal brand.

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