Archive for Attracting Clients – Page 24

3 Drivers of Blog Traffic: The ICE Effect

It doesn’t really matter if you call your online efforts content marketing,  online marketing, blog marketing, or a chihuahua. What matters is results.

Are you getting results from the Web? If not, where do you need to improve? The minute someone lands on your blog, do they say, “Hey, a chihuahua I could really love!” Or, “This blog’s for me!”

What’s your challenge when it comes to using the Internet to attract clients, sell them your products or services, and profit in your business? For many of my clients, the problem is how to stand out and how to get found.

You may be unique, but unless the right people are finding you on the Web, your efforts are wasted. There are really two challenges, as I see it:

  1. Branding: you need to clearly and quickly identify your uniqueness in a memorable way
  2. Visibility: you need to be easily found in multiple places on the Web

When good branding is combined with good visibility, you get great findability.

This Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 4 p.m. ET, I’m presenting a workshop on how to get more blog traffic. Read More→

The Psychology of Content Marketing with Blogs

Why do business blogs work so well to attract new clients? For that matter, why is it I’ve declared them to be “The Best Darn Marketing Tool on the Planet!

When it comes to writing on the Web, a blog is a great way to get found, get leads and get clients.

There are a couple of reasons blogs work. For one thing, there are over a billion people connected to the Internet looking for information.

According to Technorati, there are over 170 million blogs… maybe more, but then a lot of those may be abandoned.

When search engines do a good job of indexing content on the Web, they match up search requests with published content. Since blogs are content-rich and frequently updated, they provide fresh keywords for search engines to index.

Someone looking for a solution to their problem, or answers to their questions, clicks on links that are offered up on a page of search results. Those links could be to web pages, blog posts, videos, or podcasts, it doesn’t matter. Read More→

What Makes You Mad?

In a previous post about What Drives You, I explored some of the personal reasons behind my energy and drive in my business. This is important for you to do as well. As you work in any business, especially your own, you should know at the deepest levels where your fire is.

Keep asking yourself “why?” and “how come?” you are driven to do what you do. Where is your fire? What makes you angry? There is energy in anger, and when you uncover it, it will keep you motivated.

I’m not talking about the unhealthy kind of anger, the kind where you try to get back at someone for some real or imagined insult.

Look at your anger in terms of a higher purpose. How can you use your anger for a higher good?

Read More→

Michael Martine’s Best Blog Traffic Tips

(News Flash: I hate last minute changes to my schedule, who doesn’t? Especially when one of us (that would be me) gets a date mixed up… The teleseminar workshop on how to get more blog traffic is not this week, but next: Wednesday May 19 at 4 p.m. ET.  The very popular Michael Martine @Remarkablogger, will be teaching The Ultimate Traffic Formula then. Hope you’ll join us!)

In the mean time, it’s been an opportunity for me to brush up on all the traffic tips and trends that are currently being used by smart bloggers. Michael generously shares his best blog posts with us here:

Guest post from Michael Martine of Remarkablogger:

I went and collected all my best posts on blog search engine optimzation and traffic analysis and put them together here in a big list for you. I want you to have these handy as a resource you can turn to anytime to boost your knowledge about improving your blog’s search situation.
WordPress SEO – Why Should You Care?
Read More→

Scattered Marketing, or Content Marketing Google Map?

I can get lost for hours over on Google Maps, what about you? I love the way you can zoom in from a 10,000 foot view down to the cars (or horses) on your street.

In my case, I can see boats out on Lake Chapala.

I was surprised to find they even have this in Mexico now, although it’s limited to certain areas. I can’t zoom in to see the horses down the street, but I can get as far as to see the swimming pools in my neighborhood.

Which would be a great feature to have for your business, right? Imagine you could get a bird’s-eye view of what people see of your business on the Web, then zoom in to see the different places you’re showing up on the Internet…

Do you have a map for your marketing? Most people I talk to don’t. In fact, some people I know use the spaghetti strategy: throw a lot of stuff out there and see what sticks, what works. Read More→

Myths & Realities of Blog Traffic: 7 Steps to Clarity

It’s sad and disappointing. My friend and colleague Sam spent some big bucks on a fancy new website, that included an attractive design, a flash banner, nice pictures and ten pages of text… only no one was finding him.

Hardly any traffic at all. He tried using his name on some of the search engines but he could hardly even find himself.

I told him he needed a blog, so he had his web people add a blog page, but he really didn’t do much better. A few months later, over coffee and a phone call, Sam confided his frustrations:

  • The only comments he gets are spammers: “Nice post, visiting my site for Viagra/insurance/poker, etc.
  • He’s in a competitive market with well-established players/bloggers
  • He has no idea how to get the attention of his ideal clients
  • He fears his clients don’t read blogs
  • He’s baffled by his low traffic, and Google analytics seem like Greek to him
  • He tried going over to Twitter and came away with a headache
  • He’s recently discovered an Internet Marketing Millionaire Guru site and is about ready to invest in an expensive Traffic program

When I heard that, I  yelled into the phone, “STOP right there, bubba! Don’t you dare throw your hard-earned money at this problem and expect it to be fixed. First off, you don’t have a traffic problem.” Read More→

What to Do When People Ignore Your Web Words

“In one study reported by Nielsen and Loranger, web users spent on average less than 2 minutes before deciding to abandon a site.” Letting Go of the Words, by Ginny Redish

In another report from this same study, the average home page visit lasted 25-35 seconds. Talk about the “blink” affect… wow, that’s not much time to grab their attention.

I can think of two ways for grab people’s attention when they land on your site, your blog, or any page you’ve published on the web:

  • Animated pictures
  • Asking questions

The first one means either adding drawings, like a cartoon (which may not be appropriate for your audience) or a video with moving pictures. Let’s face it, even the most serious adult eye is attracted to cartoons and movies.

The other choice for capturing attention is to ask really good questions, like a survey,poll or quiz (and not, how-do-you-like-me? type questions). Everyone has an opinion and wants to express it.

But what’s a busy professional without staff or big bucks to do? Here one suggestion: Use video clips and a survey. Read More→