Headlines That Increase Website Traffic and Conversion Rates

 

 Marketing research from MarketingExperiements.com shows that headlines are the most important factor if you are striving to increase website traffic and website conversion rates.

In an experiment, in which various elements of a website were tweaked to determine which would have the greatest impact on conversion, having an effective headline was more important than changing elements of the landing page or shopping cart process. In fact, changing a headline generated 29 percent more leads. That’s close to one-third more leads.

Let me pause a moment though. For those of you who aren’t sure what the term ‘website conversion rates’ is, it’s the ratio of visitors to buyers on your site. So, if you have 100 visitors and only 1 person buys, you have a 1% conversion rate.

Okay, back on track.

While quality and informative content is a must, the headline is kind-of-like the magnet for your website. It’s what will attract the surfer/browser to stop, pay attention, follow what’s going on, and follow the process to opt-in or buy.

As a writer/marketer, you need to have your message focused on what the customer’s interests are. This is especially critical for the headline. You need to craft a headline that will (1) quickly grab a surfer or visitor’s attention and (2) clearly define the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) or the value. If the visitor knows what the benefits are, he’ll be more receptive to ‘following the yellow brick road’ you have in place for conversion.

To increase website traffic and website conversion rates, the most effective headlines are ‘value-centric.’ This relates to number one and two above. You need to ‘hit’ the target customer’s interests and you need to convey the value of opting-in to your mailing list or buying what you’re offering. And, you need to let the visitor know just how significant the benefit/s will be.

An effective title might be: Get Paid to Guest Blog.

In five simple words you’re telling the reader what the benefit is and what’s involved.

“The Value Litmus Test,” an article at ValueCentricSelling.com, explains that along with having the value front and center, you should also provide the ‘timeline.’ This is another factor that will help increase website traffic.

The timeline is the length of time it will take the customer to achieve the benefits. This may not always be applicable to your product or service, but when it is it’s important to include it.

Finally, the headline and offered value must be credible, in other words realistic and actually doable.

Here are two headline examples:

Write an Ebook in 7 Days
How to Get Increased Traffic to Your Website in One Day

The example headlines/titles above each have a value proposition. They’re each promising a benefit and a specific timeline. The writer or marketer must be sure the promises/claims stated are realistic. But, even more than realistic, the value proposition must be believable. If the visitor wonders if it’s really possible, you’ve lost him.

So, breaking it all down, there are four elements to an effective headline that will increase website traffic and increase website conversion rates:

1. Grab the reader’s attention by focusing on his interests
2. Convey the value or benefit of what you’re offering
3. Provide a timeline, if applicable
4. Make sure the headline ‘promise’ is believable and doable

Add these elements to your headlines to generate and increase website traffic that will be receptive to your offers. It will also go a long way in boosting website conversion rates.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author and successful children’s ghostwriter/rewriter. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Writers on the Move and an author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

If you need help with your author platform, check out Karen's e-classes through WOW:
http://www.articlewritingdoctor.com/content-marketing-tools/

 

MORE ON BOOK MARKETING

Published Writers Must Be Pitching

Tips for a Better Zoom Experience

Authors Can Get Reviews Without Paying for Them

 

Create a Unique Opt-in Button Webinar

Writers on the Move finally has a new webinar scheduled for this month: Create a Unique Opt-in Button – Have it Link to Your Opt-in Landing Page.

It’s set for Friday, January 25, 2013, at 4PM EST (U.S.). It’ll be around 30 minutes, maybe less, so it won’t take much time out of your busy schedules. If you're on live and time allows, we learn some of PowerPoints button-making features together.

It's a clever little button that will make you look like a pro. You can use in your sidebar or anywhere else you can link a JPG. And, it's done with PowerPoint!

TO REGISTER GO TO: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E952DE88884F3E

I’m hoping to record it. If you’re not registered you won’t have access to the replay.

The image above is a quickly made rough opt-in button. If the image had link capabilities I could link it to the landing page of my choice. It's pretty cool! The 'how to' information was courtesy of an article at HubSpot.com.

You can check out the complete details for the webinar at: http://www.writersonthemove.com/p/workshops.html

Hope to ‘see’ you there!

PLEASE SHARE THIS EVENT.

Karen Cioffi

What Is An Author Platform and How Do You Create It?

Building a writing career can be a long, and at times, difficult road. And, many new authors think writing itself is the tough part, but that’s not really the case.

Writing a story that you intend to publish traditionally or self-publish has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can create an outline as kind of a GPS to get you from point A to point B. There are steadfast rules and tricks to help you complete your writing journey.

There is an end to that particular writing journey.

With marketing, that’s not the way it works. Marketing your book is the roll-up-your-sleeves part of a writing career. It’s the ongoing job of creating and building your online presence, your author platform. And, the rules and tricks of the game are in constant motion, always changing.

While many of the rules may change, there is one constant in your author platform, and that’s visibility.

It should be noted that the definition of an author platform encompasses multiple genres and freelance writers, and even marketers who create and sell information products, so it may vary, depending on who is providing the definition. But, in regard to your author platform, web editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review Jane Friedman notes that editors and agents are “looking for someone with visibility and authority who has proven reach to a target audience.”

So, the bare-bottom basics of an author platform are: visibility, authority, and proven reach.

Breaking Down the Three Basic Elements of an Author Platform

1. Visibility

This is the promotional aspect of marketing. It’s the element of becoming known in your particular niche and building on that presence.

With online marketing strategies and Google’s updates always on the move, the face of creating visibility has changed. Today, visibility is created through ongoing connections and relationships with your target market, your audience.

2. Authority

Authority is built through ongoing communication. As an author you need to provide valuable information to your readers. Providing this information on a regular basis establishes you as an authority in your niche.

3. Your Reach

Elements one and two of your author platform help take care of number three, your reach. By using effective marketing strategies to create an online presence, such as building a website and creating your authority through ongoing information/article marketing, your reach is automatically broadened.

Other strategies you can use to further broaden your reach include:

•    Guest blogging
•    Article marketing
•    Joint ventures
•    Presenting webinars
•    Presenting workshops
•    Offering ecourses

Today, your author platform is about what you can offer your audience. It’s not about what you’re selling.

Providing ongoing ‘wanted or needed’ information builds a relationship. In the marketing arena a general rule of thumb was to offer 75 percent free, valuable information and 25 percent promotion. Now, it's recommended offering 90 percent free, valuable information and 10 percent promotion.

It’s this ongoing author/reader relationship that will build your author platform and help sell your books, other products, and services.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author, ghostwriter, and online marketing instructor for authors and writers. You can check out her e-class through WOW! Women on Writing at:
Build Your Author-Writer Platform

MORE ON BOOK MARKETING

Being Social can Bring Extra Promotion
Guest Blogging – Advantages for the Hosting Site
Book Marketing – To Niche or Not to Niche

Writing and Online Marketing Focus for 2013

Can you believe how quickly 2012 flew by? Of all the things I’ve learned this year, learning the importance of focus is by far the most important.

This is something you should be looking into for 2013.

While it can be that you have a number of different areas you’re involved in, you need to pick and choose to be ‘master’ of one or two. It’s this focus that will enable you to attract customers or clients. It’s this focus that will motivate you to take the necessary steps to reach your goals.

So, how do you focus in on who and what you want to be known for?

This is interesting, because it can change as the years come and go. For example, I started out as a children’s writer, and while I still love this aspect of my writing, I have evolved into a freelance/ghostwriter (specializing in business incentive and health writing) and an online marketer (specializing in creating and building an author online presence).

Finding my focus, I’ve been taking action steps for the past couple of weeks to revamp my websites to reflect what I want to be known for. I’m still working on my ‘signature’ tag.

What about you?

Maybe you're a writer for children. Maybe you're a technical writer or business writer. Maybe you're a freelance writer. Maybe you're a ghostwriter. Maybe you're all these things.

To help determine your area/s of focus you need to write down the questions below and answer each one (write your answers out):

•    What writing arenas are you involved in?
•    Do you find yourself leaning toward one or two more so than the others, if so what are they?
•    Can you effectively market yourself in these areas?
•    Are you writing and marketing as a hobby or to earn an income or a supplemental income? If your goal is to make money, write down how much?
•    Did you have a writing/marketing goal for last year? Did you reach it? If not, why?
•    What does success mean to you – what does it look like?
•    Do you really want success? If so, is there anything blocking your path to it (often we sabotage our own success)?
•    What do you want to be known for?
•    What can your new ‘signature’ tag be for 2013?

You’ll need to think about these questions. It might be helpful to actually have someone ask you each question and quickly give answers. Sometimes this helps you get a glimpse of what’s going on subconsciously.

Once you have your goals in sight, write them down, be sure to include to increase your online presence and mailing list. After they're in place, you’ll need to keep those goals front and center and read them every day. The reason for this is our ‘intention’ can quickly be sidetracked if we don’t continually keep it insight and in mind. Also, reading your goals every day reaffirms your commitment to achieving them.

With your goals for 2013 in hand, write down action steps to get there. It’s advisable to have a yearly calendar with goals to reach each month. Then prepare a weekly writing/marketing plan to achieve those monthly goals. Again, you need to keep those goals and action steps visible. Remember: ‘out of sight often really does mean out of mind.’

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter (top right sidebar).

Karen Cioffi

Author Online Presence and Book Marketing Ecourse:
http://karencioffi.com
Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

Book Marketing - Bring It Up A Notch by Creating an Effective Author Online Presence

CREATING AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR ONLINE PRESENCE:
Website Creation to Beyond Book Sales

I'm conducting another online class through WOW! Women on Writing that will definitely benefit you if, you want to:

•     Create or increase your author online presence
•     Build or tweak your website for better conversion
•     Learn to blog for success
•     Learn how to do effective article marketing
•     Learn how to create an ebook and cover as a freebie or for sale
•     Learn how to use PayPal buy buttons to sell your books
•     Learn how to create your own product line

CHECK OUT THE LESSON TITLES

1. The Bare-Bottom Platform Basics: The Foundation and Creating an Author Website

2. Blogging for Success: Creating Effective Content

3. Article Marketing: 10 Steps to Writing for Article Directories with Properly Formatted and Optimized Content

4. How to Create eBooks for Freebies and for Sale, Including Creating a Cover with Microsoft Office 2010

5. How to Create PayPal ‘Buy Now’ Buttons for Your Site/s

6. How to Create a Product Line and Attracting Customers Through Information Marketing

This class is for authors and those who are trying to get a foot in the online visibility door, and for those who want to become more effective marketers.

So, go to the WOW page NOW for the details. You'll find out exactly what each Lesson includes. And, there are two bonus lessons and at least one screen-sharing webinar!

The class size is limited, so SIGN UP FOR CREATE YOUR AUTHOR ONLINE PRESENCE TODAY!

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Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Online Marketer, Affiliate Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).

What is SEO and SEO Marketing?

What is SEO and SEO Marketing?

If you’re like the majority of people, you may be wondering what SEO is. Well, it’s simply an acronym that stands for ‘search engine optimization.’

According to TechTerm.com, “Just about every Webmaster wants his or her site to appear in the top listings of all the major search engines.” SEO is the means to accomplish this.

SEO marketing is the strategies or techniques used to create visibility and website ranking within the search engines, such as Google and Bing. And, even with Google’s latest update, the Penguin’s SHARING factor, these strategies are still effective, and needed.

Sidetracking just a moment, Google’s latest update takes the ‘social’ element of blog posting to the next level. Along with your SEO tweaks, your content must be SHAREABLE.

Content that others find valuable enough to share, whether informative or entertaining, is what will help get a higher ranking with the search engine.

Okay, back on track now.

Every online marketing strategy includes promotion, and SEO marketing is a promotional tool under the marketing umbrella. The marketing umbrella covers the creation or manufacturing of a product or service, research and development (R&D), distribution, and any other elements needed to get a product from creation to the consumer. Promotion creates visibility, which in turn leads website traffic and customers.

Utilizing online promotion means you will be using the internet and search engines. SEO marketing is the process of getting the search engines to find and rank your website and your content. You obviously want a high ranking so when a searcher (potential customer) types in a search term (keyword), your site may be one of those on that first search engine results page (SERP), or at least within the first few pages.

Another explanation of SEO marketing:
It is basically the steps you take to have Google, Bing, and other search engines find, index, and put your website on one of their first SERPs whenever people use ‘your keyword’ to search for something.

In essence, SEO marketing is kind of a popularity contest.
When you use effective keywords within your website (title and meta tags) and in informative posting content, Google and the other search engines will find, index, and rank you. This allows you to be picked up and shown on the search engines’ results pages for specific search terms. When a ‘searcher’ finds your link on the SERP and clicks on it, you get a link to your site. The more inbound links to your site – relevant to your keywords or not - the more Google and other search engines ‘like you’ and consider you an authority.

Going a bit further, getting links from other sites with the same keywords in their links that you have in yours, is much better. This is considered as a higher ‘ranking vote’ by Google and establishes your site as having more authority. The more ‘link votes’ you get, the more Google will perceive your site as valuable and give you a higher authoritative ranking.

To be found and ranked by Google, you need to add effective and relevant keywords to your site and content, and have SHAREABLE content.

To find effective keywords, you can go to http://googlekeywordtool.com/

Click on the Google Keyword box and it will take you to the Google Adwords search tool.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children's author and ghostwriter. She is also an author/writer online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing.

Find out more about Karen's online platform classes at:
http://www.articlewritingdoctor.com/content-marketing-tools/ 

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MORE ON MARKETING

Article Marketing – Reprint Strategies Pros and Cons
Creating Images – Simple and Quick

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CREATING AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR ONLINE PRESENCE

 

CREATING AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR ONLINE PRESENCE - Website Creation to Beyond Book Sales

I'm instructing a six-week online workshop through WOW! Writers on the Move:

It'll be six-weeks of learning how to create and build your author online presence, from creating a website right on through beyond book sales.

The course will be information packed and will have at least two live screen-sharing webinars to help with understanding. Because it's so comprehensive, students are limited to 10, so if after reading what you'll be getting, and you want to learn effective book marketing strategies, click on the link.

For more details and to register:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html#KarenCioffi_AuthorOnlinePresence

HERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF EACH LESSON:

Week One: The Bare-Bottom Platform Basics: Creating an Author Website and Blog Content

Lesson One is divided into two sections:

1. 14 Steps to Creating an Effective Website, which includes:
2. Effective Blog Posting

Week Two: Article Marketing: 10 Steps to Writing for Article Directories with Properly Formatted and Optimized Content
`
Week two is an A – Z lesson on article marketing. From finding article ideas to summaries to submissions. It's all covered in this lesson.

To take it further, we’ll discuss how to properly format and optimize your content, so search engines will easily find and index it and readers will value and share it.

Week Three: How to Create eBooks for Freebies and for Sale, including creating a cover with Microsoft Office 2010

This week offers a step-by-step lesson showing how to create your own ebook and cover. The lesson is divided into two sections:

1. Creating an ebook
2. Creating an ebook cover

In this lesson you will actually create an ebook and a cover to go with it. We’ll also discuss the benefits of creating an ebook to offer as a freebie on your site.

Included in Lesson Three is a live 30-45 minute screen-sharing webinar that will demonstrate how to use Microsoft Office to create a cover.

Week Four: How to Create PayPal ‘Buy Now’ Buttons for Your Site/s

Lesson Four provides step-by-step instructions on how to create a PayPal Buy Button and how to upload the code onto your site.

The lesson also goes over the elements needed to create an effective landing page for your ebook, if you choose to sell it.

Week Five: How to Create a Product Line and Attracting Customers Through Information Marketing
Through lessons Two and Three you will have the foundation for creating a number of products within your market. Lesson Five is divided into two sections and discusses what products you can create and how to get visitors (potential customers) to your site. It includes:

1. How to Create and Sell Information Products:
2. Attracting Customers (Generating Visibility) Through Information Marketing

Week Six: How to Create Your Own PowerPoint Webinars

Presenting webinars is one of the top marketing tools. The final lesson will have you creating your own webinar. This lesson explains what a webinar is; what a PowerPoint webinar is; about services; preparation; presentation, and more.

Lesson six will also has a 30-45 minute live screen-sharing webinar to help demonstrate the basics of creating a PowerPoint document.

Note: A replay of the webinars will be available.

For more details on each lesson and to sign up go to:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html#KarenCioffi_AuthorOnlinePresence

AND, THERE WILL BE A BONUS LESSON AND MOST LIKELY A THIRD WEBINAR.

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012


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Clever Ways to Promote Your Ecommerce Website

GUEST POST: Clever Ways to Promote Your Ecommerce Website

By Margaret Jules

Until yesterday selling your product was all about maintaining your local customer base and today it’s all about marketing your ecommerce website for a successful business model. However there are no shortcuts to success. You can only apply some smart techniques to get more hits. Website promotion is actually integral to virtual sales. Try multiple ways at a time to drive traffic towards your website. There are a variety of free and paid promotional methods that you can adapt to hit the bull’s eye. Here are some clever ways you can experiment with to increase your customer database gradually.

1. Apply Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO tops the charts when we talk about ways and techniques to get more hits. This is fast becoming one of the essentials for attracting prospective clients to your webpage. Develop internal WebPages focused on each of your target keywords. Your page title should be keyword rich. Try to do away with the filler words to the extent possible and focus on keyword prominence. SEO makes it easier for the search engines like Bing or Google to locate your website and place it in front of your prospective buyers.

2. Create and follow your blog

Blogging is not all about writing; it is also about staying connected. Your blog should have interesting content that can lure your potential visitors and help them learn about your service or product offerings. You can also ask some relevant bloggers to write for your product or proved service reviews. Who knows…you might get lucky. Try to invite guest authors to your blog. Offer links to relevant content on your webpage in your blog. Link your webpage and blog together. Respond to queries and fan comments on your blog. This will help in creating some brand image about your company.

3. Use social networking sites

Social networking is the latest buzz. Social networking platforms like Twitter and Facebook can help spread the word. Create your company page on Twitter and Tweet as often as you think is desirable in the interest of business. Tweet about your latest promotions, discounts or any new service offering. Create a dedicated Facebook page and encourage your current customers to become fans and leave comments.

4. Other simple techniques like Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click (PPC) can help you in topping the charts of the search engine results. Every time a person clicks on your sponsored advertisement you pay a small predetermined charge. This can serve as a tool of viral marketing. This will also help you create immediate traffic for your ecommerce website.

Conclusion
Ecommerce website promotion is all about real time marketing and creating brand awareness. Google+ pages can also help you promote your product and brand, apart from other various simple and easy methods. Letting your targeted audience know about your existence is the key to a successful virtual business.

About the author:  Margaret Jules lives in Finland and has been doing internet marketing for last 5 years. She loves travelling, meeting new people and works at SEO Morpheus.

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Other Online Marketing Reading

Headlines That Increase Website Traffic and Website Conversion Rates
Beyond Book Sales Income: Book Marketing and Diversification
Facebook Timeline Banner
Engage in Social Networking the Twitter Way

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com (check the sidebar for titles)

Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services

http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

A Ghostwriter - 5 Features That Can Help Build Your Business Part 2

A Ghostwriter - 5 Features That Can Help Build Your Business Part 2 

(Features two to five)
By Karen Cioffi


2. A Ghostwriter Provides Informational Content

Information rules in today’s ever changing world. Providing informative and/or instructive content to your staff, customers, and potential customer is now essential, especially with business transparency being a desirable feature that employees and customers look for.

While businesses and marketers can generate their own content, a ghostwriter frees up company time for more productive and revenue generating work.

‘Informational gifts’ is another content product that businesses need to be aware of. Of the thousands of websites within your industry available for customers to find and subscribe to, why should they choose yours? That’s where an ‘ethical bribe’ comes in to play. Providing an informative report or e-book with valuable information that your potential customer will appreciate tends to motivate that individual, company, or visitor to click on your opt-in box, thereby increasing your mailing list. And, every business knows the importance of having a mailing list – it’s crucial with the increasing e-commerce trends.

It’s this offering of valuable and quality information that helps build a relationship with your site’s visitors and keeps them coming back. This ongoing relationship will eventually lead to an increased mailing list and sales.

3. A Ghostwriter for Your Business’ Landing Pages and Products

The first impression an online searcher – potential customer searching for your product or business type - will have of a business, is its landing page. Obviously, a business needs to have an attractive, quick loading, SEO friendly, and informative page. Now, while a ghostwriter will most likely not be a web designer, she can create the needed content for the site, content that will engage the visitor and motivate him to subscribe to the mailing list and make contact with the business.

The mailing list is what generates long-lasting relationships and sales. Through the mailing list you can offer information, along with product and/or business promotion. Marketing experts advise though, to offer a 75 to 25 percent ratio of information to promotion.

Again, information is what people want today; they want to know how to find a solution to their problem or need, and they want to be informed. If you provide that, you will have sales.

Along with creating effective landing page content, a ghostwriter can produce product descriptions and guides. Through the information you provide and additional research, she can create informative and customer appreciated content, thereby fostering customer loyalty.

4. A Ghostwriter – Copywriting and Keywords
In addition to writing articles, newsletters, e-books, reports, and other content, a ghostwriter should know copywriting. While this skill isn’t essential for some aspects of the job, it is important in the event a client requires projects such as landing pages, email marketing, product guides, articles, or other.

And, being aware of SEO and keywords will help the ghostwriter create traffic effective content, leading potential subscribers and customers to the business’ website.

Knowing copywriting and SEO is a surefire way for a ghostwriter to increase her value to business clients.

5. A Ghostwriter Must be a Good Writer
Lastly, the number one quality a ghostwriter needs to have is being a good writer. It’s also a good idea for the ghostwriter to specialize in a couple of different areas – this also increases her value to specific clients.

If you are thinking of hiring a ghostwriter, you might ask for samples and/or testimonials. Note here: testimonials from ghostwriting clients may be difficult, if not impossible to come by . . . for obvious reasons. If the ghostwriter can’t provide testimonials, it’s important to understand why and ask for writing samples instead.

If you missed Part 1, you can read it here:
A Ghostwriter – 5 Features that can Help Build Your Business Part 1

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More Freelance Writing Articles

Freelance Writing Work: The Possibilities
You Can Write for Money

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com (check the sidebar for titles)

Karen Cioffi Writing Services
A Team of Professionals for Businesses and Individuals
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

A Ghostwriter - 5 Features That Can Help Build Your Business Part 1

A Ghostwriter - 5 Features That Can Help Build Your Business (Part 1)

By Karen Cioffi

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A ghostwriter provides services for different types of people, marketers, and businesses, and on a number of topics. She works silently, behind the scenes and creates whitepapers, newsletters, e-books, informational products, articles, posts, stories, and other forms of content for a business or marketer seeking to:

•    Create and/or build your company’s platform visibility
•    Generate and increase website traffic
•    Provide instruction/information for employees or clients/customers
•    Offer an informational gift as an ‘ethical bribe’ to subscribe to your company’s mailing list
•    Create landing pages for your company or products
•    Create product descriptions and guides

The list goes on and on. But, let’s breakdown some of the uses of a ghostwriter, and her benefit to businesses.

A Ghostwriter is a Must-Have Tool

According to tracking by the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce grew 17.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Within those first three months, Americans spent $43 billion online. And, the projection for 2012 is that e-commerce will increase another 11.3 percent.

Based on trends and statistics, this growing e-commerce market will continue to grow.

1. Building Your Brand and Visibility with a Ghostwriter

So, it’s easy to see that with e-commerce rapidly growing a ghostwriter is a must-have business tool for marketers or business owners who need to provide regularly updated content on their site/s and in their newsletters or informational emails. This marketing strategy is known as inbound marketing. It helps build your platform, creates and increases traffic to your site, and will help increase your mailing list.

Creating content for businesses is actually a busy area for ghostwriters. Marketers are very aware of the importance of having effective and fresh content on the sites they are managing. Businesses hire a writer to write a set number of post/articles per week or month for a certain amount of money per article. Some businesses may want one to two articles per day; others may want one a week.

If you are hiring a ghostwriter for this capacity, be sure she knows about keywords and SEO. The point of hiring someone to create valuable content for your site/s is to have that content picked up in the search engines, which in turn will help searchers (potential customers/clients) find your site/s.

And, if the work involves rewriting articles, the ghostwriter must know the source article’s duplicate content score. Search engines frown upon duplicate content, so it’s the writer’s job to make the article different enough so it is perceived as new.

Maintaining and increasing visibility is essential to authors, writers, and businesses. Keeping up with blog posts and guest article writing is an important marketing tool for all, well at least for those who are trying to sell their products or services.

Come back on Sunday, August 5th, for Part 2 of A Ghostwriter - 5 Features That Can Help Build Your Business

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More on Freelance Writing

Writing for Money – Breaking Into Freelance Writing
Freelance Writing: An Additional Path to Income

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012

Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com (check the sidebar for titles)

Karen Cioffi Writing Services
A Team of Professionals for Businesses and Individuals
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

How to get more people to notice your Facebook page

Today, I have the pleasure of featuring Jo Linsdell and her new rhyming children's picture book OUT AND ABOUT AT THE ZOO.

But, first Jo has some great information on using Facebook.

How to get more people to notice your Facebook page

By Jo Linsdell

Facebook is one of the giants of social media and as such is the perfect place to reach out to your readers and build a following.

First you need to decide on the type of Facebook fan page you want and set it up. Once that's done you need people to notice it.

Creating a large and active community for your Facebook page isn't an easy task and usually takes quite a while to build. Here's a few tips to get people to notice your page:

•    Personalise your page for a professional look. Add a Timeline cover image, make sure your description is filled out in the 'About' box and add page tabs with personalised images.

•    Post everyday if you can. This has recently been made easier by the introduction of scheduled posts which allow you to plan status updates in advance.

•    Post content that is likely to go viral. The more people share your posts the more people will find out about your page. Images are content gold! Post some pictures for high impact. Quotes tend to go down well too. Just make sure you stay on topic. All content must be relevant to the page.

•    Share the page link everywhere you can. Post it to your website and other social media profiles encouraging people to drop by.

•    Interlink your social media profiles. If you have a blog, set it to automatically post to your page and then link your page to your twitter account so it posts there too. If your twitter account is also feed to other networks like LinkedIn, Myspace etc... each one then feeds back to the others helping increase traffic. This one thing saves loads of time as you just need to update your blog for it to post to all your accounts.

•    Use the' invite' feature to let your contacts know about your page and ask for a like.

•    Interact with people on your page. Encourage them to post to your wall and ask questions.

•    Highlight a fan of the week to show appreciation to active page users. There are application you can use that will automatically select a frequent user at the same time each week or you can just pick one yourself from those that have posted, shared, liked and commented during the week.

Obviously you want to let your followers know about your books but instead of going in for the hard sell, post about things related to your book. Share recent guest posts you've done and articles you've written or links to interviews. They want to know more about you and what you do not just see a spammy 2buy my book message".

How are you getting people to notice your Facebook Page?

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Now onto Jo's new book, which she wrote and illustrated. We'll start with the details:

Title: Out and About at the Zoo
Author and Illustrator: Jo Linsdell
ISBN/EAN 13: 1477446591 / 9781477446591
Page Count: 32

And, here are two wonderful 5 Star reviews:

Its all Happening at the Zoo!

I review many books. When I see a children's picture book, I tend to savour the artistic way the writer and the artist tend to mesh. Sometimes it’s the blending that makes a simple child's book something really worth reading.

Out and About at the Zoo is a combination of the artist and the writer being the same person Jo Linsdell. She crafted a very cute and adorable children's volume. This simple children's book with bright colors of animals from the zoo is crisp in it poetic delivery. The art sparkles in its simple characters of the zoo animals.

Ms Linsdell seems to know her target audience and gives them a bright a images for them to enjoy. These young children will delight in this books rhythms that come from its verses and art. It is a good book to give for those young and young at heart".

By Bennet Pomerantz

***

This is a fun, short book for the grandkids! If you love reading to your children or grandchildren, this book will become a family favorite quite fast. The simple wording and bright interaction of characters makes it easy for very young readers and exciting for toddlers still listening.

Jo puts some serious thought into toddler reactions and includes those in the book. My favorite part was the last page, because my toddlers decided immediately that we needed to take a trip to the Denver Zoo. "Yay!!! I get to see the elephants!" (Okay, that part was ME not them. But they get to go too.)"

By Jan Verhoeff

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You can get your copy of Out and About at the Zoo at: Amazon.

About the author:

Jo Linsdell is a freelance writer, author and illustrator. Originallyfr om the UK, she now lives in Rome, Italy with her husband and their two young sons.

Jo's website: http://jolinsdell.com


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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012
http://karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com

Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics Part 2

In Part 1 of  Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics we talked about Keywords and their importance on driving traffic. Today, in Part 2, we discuss Anchor Text and Tags.

Anchor Text

Another interesting fact in regard to the statistics’ referring sites is that the KCWM site itself is listed as a source. This is accomplished by creating anchor text within the post content and/or at the bottom of the post as “Additional Reading” or other worded lead-in.  The anchor text (article titles) under this section leads the reader to another page/post within your site.

According to Wikipedia, “anchor text is weighted (ranked) highly in the search engine algorithms, because the linked text is usually relevant to the landing page.”

Is there a difference between an anchor text leading to another post and simply putting the url itself? YES.

Anchor text allows search engines to easily find and index your content and they value this strategy; the url address doesn’t have the same ‘word power.’ Wikipedia says, “The objective of search engines is to provide highly relevant search results; this is where anchor text helps.” This is part of SEO.

Tags

Next on my ‘to do’ list when posting an article on my site is to put relevant tags.

In the article “Using Categories and Tags Effectively on Your Blog” on
ProBlogger.net, it explains that tags should be thought of “as the colorful little page markers you might use to flick back to your favorite pages in a book. The tags don’t describe the book as a whole, instead they describe individual sections of the book.”

Two important factors to consider:

•    Tags complement categories. If you use Wordpress you’ll be able to and should use categories. Blogger does not offer this feature, so it’s even more important to use tags.

•    Tags should be focused and use the same ones for each specific topic. This means if you are writing about book marketing, use the same specific tags: book marketing, book promotion, etc.

 Don’t switch them up. Be consistent because it is this consistency that search engines will use to index your site and establish you as an authority on that keyword. This means a higher ranking in the search engines.


Promote your Blog Posts

If you want to enhance your visibility, you need to SHARE each article/post. Wordpress and Blogger both have plugins or gadgets to provide easy ‘sharing’  to Facebook, GooglePlus, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Linkedin. Make use of the ‘sharing’ feature.

Then of course there are your other social networks, your groups. Don’t forget to post a message in your groups letting them know you have a new post up.

Use these three blog posting elements for each of your posts and your traffic/views are sure to increase.

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RECOMMENDED TOOL: Article Marketing
Increase Website Traffic with Properly Formatted and Optimized Content


Find out what article marketing is and all you need to know about using your words, your content effectively to increase your visibility, bring traffic to your website, and increase your authority.

GET THE FULL DETAILS: CLICK HERE!



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MORE ON ONLINE MARKETING

Widen Your Reach Know Your Audience
Small Business Marketing – Know What Consumers Buy

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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).
Karen Cioffi
Award-Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter
Author Online Presence Instructor

Create and Build Your Author/Writer/Home Business Online Presence
http://www.karencioffi.com/author-online-presence-ecourse/

Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/



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Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics Part1

Every marketer knows the importance of article marketing – it’s an effective visibility tool and increases the user’s expert status. For individual websites, this is in the form of blog posting.

But, you can write an article that’s properly formatted, has a great title and amazing information and if you don’t use keywords, include tags, SHARE and Promote that article, you won’t get optimized traffic to your site. This can’t be stressed enough.

I did an analysis of two of my sites. Both are focused on writing and marketing. My individual site, Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing (KCWM) usually has three posts per week. The Writers on the Move (WOTM) site usually has one article per day.

Take note though that when getting website statistics, numbers will vary significantly depending on the source of the information. Blogger’s Stats tool was used for this analysis.

According to the Blogger Stats, which site do you think gets more traffic?

Since the marketing philosophy is’ content is king,’ you’d think the WOTM site would get tons more traffic, because it provides quality information on a daily basis.

Well, if that’s the site you chose, you’d be wrong. The KCWM site gets more traffic than WOTM does.

Another interesting tidbit is that the majority of traffic from both sites comes from:

Google searches
Yahoo searches and yahoo mail
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Twitter

Google is by far the leader of the traffic sources with Twitter holding up the rear.

So, the question to ask is WHY does the KCWM site get more traffic?

The answer has to be keywords, anchor text, tags, and promotion. Let’s take a look at each factor.

Keywords

If you notice above, the leader of the traffic sources is Google searches, which is driven by keywords.

Every post on my site is keyword focused. What this means is that I do a keyword search before posting the article. I start with a focused word, say “blog posts.” If the article focus words don’t pull their search weight, I change them to more effective keywords.

And, as it has been stated before in other articles, your keywords should be in your title,  subtitle (if you have one), and within the content of your article. Be sure to add the keyword in the first paragraph and last paragraph, and here and there throughout. Just be careful not to overdo it.


Come back on June July 1st for Part 2 of Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Website Statistics. It talks about Anchor Text, Tags, and Promotion.

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More on Marketing

Article Content Formatted and Search Engine Ready
Creating Content: 10 Online Repurposing Formats

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CHECK OUT Design Your Own eBook Cover in 10 Easy Steps Using Microsoft Office 2010

Ignite your writing and marketing efforts with Karen Cioffi and A Writer’s World ezine. Get weekly tips and guidance, plus updates on free webinars, and TWO FREE ebooks! Sign-up today.

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New Business Logo Design for A Writer's World Ezine

Creating a business logo design for your writing, especially if you offer services or products is an essential part of marketing.

Taking this into account and listening to my writing coach, I've been working on creating a focused platform for my writing and writing services and I think I finally came up with something.

Above is the new logo for The Writing World newsletter.

I've done a poll on the logo design, you can check it out HERE, but after getting emailed feedback, I decided on a more unique logo.

Now I know I'm taking a risk with the 'old world' feel of this design, but once anyone reads my posts or other content, they will quickly realize my writing is current, informative, and professional.

While you do need acquire and analyze input from others when deciding on a logo, unless you can hire a professional you'll have to go with your gut for the overall design. And, remember, you can't please everyone. Some people will 'get' what you're conveying and others won't. That's the nature of things.

Also, when promoting your newsletter, or now some marketers are calling it an ezine, you need to have a FOCUSED landing page for the opt-in.

What? Why?

Simple, today's readers are usually scanning what they read and looking for more information. This will likely have them scanning your site, if the information they read is valuable, for other articles or offers. THIS IS DISTRACTING.

If a reader lands on a page that ONLY tells them WHY they should OPT-IN to your ezine or newsletter, and your copy is effective, they will be focused and be much more likely to SIGN-UP.

You can check out my new OPT-IN page at The Writing World Newsletter
(In regard to the url for the site, I tried to get the domain name awritersworld.com, but it was taken.)

Another tip for promoting your ezine is to always offer something of value - a free gift. The gift should relate to what your site is about and be something the reader can use.

That's about it, except I'd love your feedback on the new logo. PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

Oh, if you haven't signed-up yet, PLEASE DO! Want to know why you should? Check out
The Writing World.

If you have the inclination to sign-up NOW, there's an opt-in on the sidebar, right on top!


Thanks!

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Visit Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing for more writing and marketing information.

For more on logos, check out:
Logos for Writers

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Design an eBook Cover Webinar

Writers on the Move has its next FREE webinar set up: 

Design Your Own eBook Cover in 10 Easy Steps Using Microsoft Office 2010

Title: Design Your Own eBook Cover in 10 Easy Steps
Date: June 22, 2012
Time: 7 PM - 7: 45 EST (U.S.) - May run a bit longer
Presenter:Karen Cioffi
Cost: Free
Format: Live Webinar
Handout: YES (after workshop)

We will be recording the workshop. Any handouts and the recording link to the workshop will be provided after the event. Attendees will be added to A Writer's World ezine for updates on Writers on the Move upcoming webinars, along with writing and marketing information.

DESCRIPTION:

What author today hasn’t thought of self-publishing a book through Kindle? If a poll were taken, the results would probably be close to 100 percent. Most will have either considered or are considering this new wave of publishing freedom.

In fact, ebook authors and marketers, such as Jim Edwards, consider traditional publishing as a weak link in your writing armor, especially in regard to information ebooks.

Whether you want to publish with Kindle or you prefer selling your ebooks from your own website, you’ll need a cover. But, not just any cover, you’ll need a unique and appealing cover. A cover that may very well be the determining factor as to whether a potential customer clicks on the BUY button.

You might be thinking that you’re not tech savvy and don’t have any special programs for the job. Well, if you have Microsoft Word 2010, you don’t need anything else. Most of this is possible with MS 2007, and possibly MS 2003. You’ll have to test it out.

And, aside from creating great book covers, you can create amazing business logo designs with the same process.

Join Karen for step-by-step instructions as she actually creates an ebook cover on this screen-sharing webinar.
To register for the webinars email Karen at karenrcfv - A T - yahoo

Please put "Design an eBook Cover" in the Subject box.

Details and the actual REGISTRATION to attend the LIVE WEBINAR will be provided upon your sign-up request.

You won't want to miss this. To register, email Karen at:
karenrcfv - at *yahoo* dot *com*

Want even more information in an in depth ebook? Check out:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/books-on-marketing/design-your-own-ebook-cover-in-10-easy-steps/


If you get the ebook, you can attend the webinar to see the information in action!

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For more on marketing check out:

Websites That Work: 7 Key Factors (Part 1)
Book Promotion: The Foundation

~~~~~~~~~~
To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for A Writer's World Newsletter on the right top sidebar!

Until next time,

Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer

Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com


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Facebook vs AdWords

I've come to realize that promoting my book is going to require some form of paid advertisement; that's the hard reality of it. I have a FB ad that's been working particularly well for me and I'm on my way to doubling my sales this month and that's just by increasing my CPC (Cost Per Click) by an extra $0.10.

But still, I was dissatisfied and wanted to sell 10-20 books per day instead of 4-5 books per day. I kept running into these $75 Adwords coupons all over the place; so I clicked on the "coupon" which was really a sorta credit application that had to be approved. I went ahead and filled out the application (they don't ask for your s.s.) which asked some basic questions about my project. A few hours later I received a rejection letter, they didn't tell me why I was rejected but there you have it. After that I decided to set up my own account just to test the waters of Google advertising.

The process was complicated and tedious. I felt like I needed to hire a savvy ad-executive just to get me through it. It took me a couple of days to figure it out, but I was then successful with setting up the ad and all the components that came with it. The downside was I wasn't allowed to market to anyone under the age of 18; well that's my entire audience (13-17), but I proceeded anyway.

The most important part of the set-up was picking the keywords. I chose 34 relevant keywords. I was ready to go. I put in my cc information and set the date for the weekend only, between the hours of 6pm and 3am, because those are the hours teens are wasting away in front of the computer.

Now, for the grand finale, after I put in my cc information my keywords lit up with the minimum prices of CPC. My average CPC was $1.25. Kiss my butt Adwords. Some keywords were $0.40 per click but with my 34 keywords my daily budget would exceed $25 per day. I set my daily budget to only $12 per day. My FB ad runs at $1.50 per day. Needless to say I deleted my account and increased my daily budget on FB. I figured that's where teenagers go to live anyway.

Share your paid advertising stories by leaving a comment. http://vicihowardblogspot.com