Add A Twist Of Life To Your Content!

Just a quick note, letting potential clients know that my content schedule is opening up. Now would be a great time to order one of my services, including my new pre-written content packages!

If you're just starting your online venture, click the buttons to the right. Those buttons will help you to get started with hosting your own website (Hostgator). You'll also be able to set up a top-notch email newsletter or website subscription service (Aweber).

If you have questions or would simply like to drop me a line, contact me at Justaskwriter (at) gmail (dot) com!

Really Cool Post On Creating Natural Backlinks

Today,  I received a really cool message from affiliate marketer Pawel  Reszka's blog, AFF Helper. Pawel always features really insightful post, with just the right twist of humor. Today, he featured a guest post authored by John Gibb. 

The post discussed creating natural backlinks that will help to increase your site traffic, while staying on the good side of Google. If you scroll down, you can see the comment that I (Terr) left for the guys. It really was a pleasure for me to read.

What are some strategies that you are using to gain natural back links? Leave a message in the comments section. And hey, don't forget to sign up in the upper right column  form, to stay updated when I have new thoughts to share, or great new posts like the one I mentioned earlier.

Uh, Excuse Me....Your Passion Is Showing!

When your prospects read your blog, your online website copy or your print copy, how do you imagine their reactions? Can you imagine your sales prospects smiling to themselves after they read your copy? Would your copy make your readers fall over in laughter? Do you imagine them shaking their heads in agreement? If you have shared a touching story, can you imagine your readers clutching their hearts with tears in their eyes? Or, can you imagine your readers taking a deep breath in anger?

If your copy was produced from a place of passion and resonance, then any of these outcomes could become a reality. On the other hand, if you're serving your prospects the same old tired drivel with a side-dish of blah, then all you'll probably generate are glazed stares, and wasted money. You see, when people are bored with what you have to say to them, or when people feel patronized, they'll simply toss your print materials in the trash.

Do you like literally throwing money away on print marketing materials that no one cares about? Do you like wasting money on domain names and websites that does nothing to spark excitement, let alone spark sales? How would love to learn that your marketing materials are sitting at the bottom of someone's paper recycling, or shred basket?

Are you concerned about these outcomes? Did you suddenly feel an urge to check your accounting books, or your receipts? Did a lightbulb figuratively go off in your mind? If so, that's great, because now we're getting somewhere!  I've made you feel a response. Now, you're not only starting to understand the importance of getting your message out there, but you're also learning to present your message with relatability and PASSION.

Just because everyone else takes the boring and ineffective route doesn't mean that you have to! After all, what better way to set yourself apart, than to communicate with your customers, your prospects, and your vendors with a message they'll actually care about? Do you really think that you'll increase your revenues, if you can't inspire or create desire in your customers? Why should anyone be excited about your products or services if you're not excited?

Maybe you simply don't know how to express your excitement or passion about your products or services. It's a good thing for you that I do, isn't it?

Could Someone Claim You As Their "Virtual" Guru?

I recently read a series of newsletter emails from various bloggers. I receive their emails on a regular basis, because I subscribe to their blogs. Although I don't know any of these people personally, I've come to rely upon a handful of bloggers as my "virtual" gurus. This means that although I don't know these people, I have never seen these people and might not ever meet these people, I still rely upon the messages that they send within their newsletters, and within the content of their blogs.

Why have I  selected these bloggers to be my personal gurus? It's quite simple:

1. Their messages were written in a way that resonated with me. Not only are their messages easy to comprehend mentally, they reached me emotionally.

2. The tone of their messages created a response within me. I can't tell you how many times I read their messages, shaking my head in agreement, commenting out loud to myself, or wishing that I could spend all day reading what these bloggers/business people have to say!

3. Their messages reveal the personality of these bloggers/business people. For example, I'm a funny person. I love humor. When I read a blog, a newsletter, or copy of any sort, I give the writer "extra points" for making me laugh, while feeding my mind with useful information. I can think of one business blog and one business newsletter that I specifically subscribed to, because the message was intelligent, yet the writer made me laugh!

So, is the point of this message that you should be making your website, your email, or your print readers laugh? Not necessarily, although that strategy might not hurt! What I'm saying, is that most marketers and business owners make the mistake of spewing sales information at people, instead of trying to have a conversation with people.

I don't care how "touchy-feely" your business entity is, I don't care how passionate you are personally about your business opportunity. At the end of the day, all businesses want to make money. Let's be very honest about this. Therefore, the key to making more money, is to speak to your prospects in a way that they not only comprehend, but they can also feel and (Most importantly), respond to.  A prospect's positive response is what leads to revenue, right? What better way to create an emotional response in your prospects, than to feature written marketing copy that makes people view you as a trusted part of their lives, or their personal development?

Could someone claim you as their "virtual" guru? Is your product or service a necessary part of someone's life, or are you perceived as just one of many business entities "out there"?

It Wasn't Sexy, But It Made Me Feel SOMETHING

Yesterday I was walking by a parking lot, and I saw a car that had a marketing magnet attached to the side of the driver's side door. Since I'm always on the lookout for marketing opportunities, I tried to find a pen, so that I could copy the phone number of the beauty product representative who was marketing their brand, via the car magnet.

It's amazing, but as I was looking at the car magnet, I felt a funny twitch in the bottom of my stomach. I didn't like the way that I felt when I looked at the graphics on the magnet. The graphics featured a woman who frankly looked like a cold, stuck-up witch. The background of the magnet featured dark colors and little orbs that represented stars.

There was no marketing message on the magnet besides the name of the company's brand, and the phone number to reach the representative. There were no redeeming qualities about this marketing magnet and worse, the look of the magnet made me feel turned-off and excluded. Really, who would want to purchase products from a person who represented themselves to the public as cold, distant, barely available, and possibly a witch?

I decided not to write down the phone number on the magnet. My feeling was that if the marketing message was a turn-off, then the marketer would be even worse to deal with. But I will say this: The magnet made me feel SOMETHING. I didn't feel positive, but I felt SOMETHING. The only thing worse than a poor marketing presentation or message, is a marketing presentation or message that is as flat as week-old soda!

When is the last time that you've thought about your marketing message? Many marketers and business professionals are brainwashed into thinking that if they simply put the message "out there", they'll become flooded with orders.  How is that working for you? If it's not working out the way that you've hoped, then maybe its time for you to change your strategy, so that you can stop wasting time and money, using the "Build it and they will come" strategy.

Is Your Sales Message A "Seductive Samantha", Or An "Obnoxious Olivia"?

Picture if you will, a gathering full of attractive singles. The atmosphere at the gathering is just right, and people are sitting on the couch, standing in various corners of the room, or they are mingling outside on the back patio. Some people might be standing on the front porch. You get the idea.

You enter the gathering and after fixing yourself a drink, you have a seat on the couch. Before you work up the nerve to approach someone to start a conversation, you start to scan the room, in order to check out any possibilities with potential. As you start to look around, your eyes become glued upon a woman who has taken up temporary "residence" at the dry bar.

This woman has to be the most fascinating woman that you've laid eyes on in a long time. What makes her so fascinating, so alluring, SO ATTRACTIVE, is in the way that she doesn't have to try to be attractive. She seems to effortlessly attract men like bees to honey. She's not wearing the most flashy or trendy ensemble. Her hair is pulled back off of her face. She's not circulating around the room. Yet, something about her drives her admirers crazy with fascination! Therefore, they engage.

While you're watching this scene entranced from the couch, your line of vision suddenly becomes blocked by the sight of a woman wearing a neon pink, button-down halter top. She plunks herself down on the couch next to you, hip to hip. She leans extremely close to your face, announces that her name is Olivia, and she forcefully leans in to take a hug from you! You stammer in shock, and mumble something to the effect of "Nice to meet you", although you're still trying to decide whether meeting Olivia is truly a nice thing!

Olivia sticks a business card with her phone number down the front of your shirt, and demands that you call her. Then, she starts to work the room, following one guy, laughing too loudly for another. It's very obvious that Olivia has made it her mission in life to let every single guy in the room know she's available for engagement. She doesn't care how she gets her message across, as long as she's getting her message across.

Obviously, I'm using an analogy of two ladies at a gathering, in order to illustrate the importance of using the right type of customer engagement strategies. "Samantha" wasn't as forceful or as demanding as "Olivia", but she was definitely more attractive. "Samantha" was very confident and comfortable in her own skin. She understood what would work for her, in order to be viewed as attractive. On the other hand, she wasn't cold or aloof; She was warm, considerate, and appealing.  "Olivia" in this analogy was obnoxious and forceful, because she was insecure, and lacking in social skills. She also lacked general respect for the people she reached out to.

Ask yourself how you'd like to be perceived by your online site visitors, and by your current customers. Is your online message attractive, considerate, warm, alluring and inviting? Or, is it a forceful, cold, aloof, boring turn-off? Is your online business message a "Samantha", or an "Olivia"?

Did You Go To Your Last Event With Your Figurative Shirtails Showing?

You might be wondering why I chose such an interesting title to my post, or why it would concern me if you were properly dressed when you went to you last event. What does the way that you were dressed for a party have to do with a blog about freelance writing?

After reading the book Giving The Bird, The Indie Author's Guide To Twitter, by Benjamin Wallace, I realized that this post title has everything to do with your online marketing strategy. Allow for me to explain. Getting right to the point, the author makes an analogy in his book, that hanging out on Twitter is akin to going to a party. If you've ever attended a party or an event, then you know that they can be a bit anxiety producing. The thing that most people worry about most, is how they will present themselves at the party. They worry about what they will say, and if anyone will care about what they have to say.

If a business person is planning on attending a networking function, their stress level increases. After all, one's presentation at a networking event can make or break their financial future, in some cases. This  is why it's not uncommon for people going to parties or to important functions to make faux pas, such as wearing mixed colored socks, forgetting a watch, wearing different pairs of shoes, or leaving their shirttails hanging out of their pants!

In other words, business people sometimes place such an emphasis upon showing up at an event, they forget to properly prepare for the event. The same is true for Twitter engagement. Many businesses are so focused upon "Joining the conversation!", they forget to prepare their conversation points. Some business entities have no clue as to what they'll say when they set up a Twitter account. And no, "Click This Link!" isn't a conversation starter, or much of a conversation at all.

If you are a business owner or a manager of a business entity, then please understand that your Twitter feed holds so much potential for your business and your brand. However, you've got to be willing to TRULY ENGAGE. Setting up a Twitter account isn't engagement. Slapping up a redirect link isn't engagement. True engagement entails having a real conversation with your followers and customers. Engagement is vulnerability with your Twitter feed readers. Engagement is acknowledging your Twitter feed readers with more than just an order to click your links, or a call-to-action to purchase your products!

If you are at a loss of words, or if you simply can't find another moment in your day to engage, then allow me to "attend the party" on your behalf. I'm an excellent conversationalist, and I promise to ensure that your Twitter feed readers will want to get to know you better!