Get your blog on in 2011
Are you writing articles, blogs, and enewlsetters as often as you originally set out to?
It’s hard to find the time to sit and write. I totally get that. AND it’s also tough to come up with relevant and value-rich topics, week after week. Combine those two challenges, and the deck seems stacked against you.
But maybe it’s just time to shuffle the cards. Because when you’ve got value-rich, problem-solving, playful and uncommon content with your name on it, you’re one step closer to a cash register that sings.
Why? Because content is the spigot from which your expertise flows. It’s THE way to show your list, your tribe, and your prospective clients that you’ve got the proverbial chops to “get ‘er done.” (Or, as a whitewater rafting guide once commanded our whole boat: “Give ‘er biscuits!” We responded as trained, by paddling like mad.)
It’s yet another method of sharing what you know, with people who need it, without even being “there.” And at the same time, it’s a paradoxical reminder that you ARE there-- ready, able and willing-- to help.
Now here’s the thing about content: you get the most “bang for your buck” when you plan it out, so that it dovetails with your launches.
For example: promoting a weight loss program in February? In January, you can blog about curbing sugar cravings one week, and what to tuck into your desk drawer or purse so you’re not tempted by the drive-thru the next. The next week, talk about our hunger for things other than food. And the next… you can do a quick 3-point Q&A feature with a client who’s already been successful in your program. Voila! One month of content, planned.
It’s a thing of beauty, when you “begin with the end in mind” (thanks, Steven Covey!) and design your content to support the program you’re filling, or the product you’re promoting. But to pull it off, you need a plan.
So as you plan 2011, make sure you’re also charting a series of topics for your blogs, ezines, and articles that support the programs, events, and launches you’re selling. And schedule a time each week to actually sit down, turn off the phone, log out of email… and write.
I’m now offering a very limited number of one-day virtual intensives to help you “get your content on”… and strategize your content for all of 2011, including planning a year’s worth of content for your blog/article/ezine/, my very own pain-free way of cranking out smart content that people want to read, and carving out the time you need to “give ‘er biscuits”. Call or email me to find out more.
How to eat a donut
Want proof that all is indeed well in the world?
Eat a donut.
But don't just eat the thing. Really taste it. Savor it. Allow it to overtake your senses, and steer you to a place that reminds you that life really is sweet. (And that to enjoy it, you need to be just a little naughty!)
This morning, I had the pleasure of tasting la dolce vita again. Like a visit to the fountain of youth, a trip to my favorite donut shop in the whole world has a magical way of reviving and revitalizing me.
And while Mighty-O Donuts really are the best donuts I've ever tasted, it wasn't just the fried dough that's delicious. It was the moment.
The whole reason I was in Seattle this weekend was for my friend Christy's wedding. Christy & I were in grad school together. She's still a classroom teacher, and I went on to be an "outside the classroom" teacher. When we were in school, we occasionally went out for donuts, to sip some of that legendary Seattle coffee... while we dished on the events of our days.
The cool part was that we never took a donut for granted. It was something celebrated, something special. Before that first bite, we'd often tap our donuts together. A kind of donut "toast." Without really intending it, we'd created a ritual around eating donuts, of all things. A momentary pause where we felt the mouth-watering anticipation of eating something indulgent, and a flash of gratitude, to be doing it together.
Several of my Seattle friends used to meet me at the donut shop in those days. To partake in the ritual. I remember my friend Annie once showing up at the soup kitchen I worked at, looking rather disheveled. It was the week before finals. "I haven't washed my hair all week," she said. "And haven't even thought about laundry." She gestured down at her outfit, best described as a "sweatsuit." But she'd managed to buy dozen donuts, and was eating one a day, as a kind of countdown calendar. "So long as I have my daily donut," she said, "I figure everything is going to be okay."
I moved away from Seattle six years ago. And I find that I don't really even like most donuts anymore, in an interesting twist. But I was secretly delighted when I found myself with a little extra time before my train left today... and Christy & I went out for donuts & lattes before brunch. ("Like an appetizer to our breakfast!," we reasoned.)
And, sure enough, one taste and all over again, the meaning of donut-eating coursed through my system, plump with all its reminders of a life well lived. Savor life. Show up for your friends. Get disproportionately excited about little things. Eat salads, but don't only eat salads. Being naughty is fun. And there's nothing quite as wonderful as a little dessert before breakfast.
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This is being written on the train to Portland. How cool is that?! I'm taking an early holiday to visit old friends who knew me even before I was born... and then gather with my sweetie Mark's family in Breckenridge, Colorado mid-week. I'll be back at my writing desk in Miami next Monday, November 22.
Counting People: How to Track Web Traffic
There’s a common statistic that gets trotted out in website conversations that goes something like this: “The average visitor to your website is there only for 45 seconds.” (Or 33. Or 67. You get the idea.)
Interesting enough, especially when a lot of business owners and service providers out there are seriously considering spending a fair chunk of change to plow more traffic to their sites.
There are plenty of strategies to do this, from keyword SEO or a social media package specially designed to help bricks & mortar businesses ramp up online attention.
These are perfectly viable methods, provided you already have a charming website that’s already above the under-a-minute visit average. (Odds are, it’s going to take people more than 60 seconds to locate a buy button, let alone go through the process of convincing themselves it will help solve their “wake up in the morning” problem.)
The thing is, you need to use the right words in the right order on your website if you want to sell something with any success. Even if you've got a gazillion people being sent to your site, if you haven't organized well, or haven't written words that resonate and get them fired up that you're the one to help them out of their latest & greatest pickle, they're out of there. (This goes triple for sales pages, where you’re selling one product, program or event via long form written sales process. More on this next month.)
You don’t want to just be throwing words up into the wind here. Effective communication is like sonar... you send out a sound, and listen to hear what comes back to assess your position. You want as much insight as you can get to get a picture of what’s working. And what you need to tweak.
Now, I’m certainly not going to argue that there’s some magic length of time that people need to be on your site, but I’ll bet my brother Eric's left arm it’s longer than 45 seconds. Especially if you’re educating, selling, and building authentic "I know what I'm talking about and I'm not going to jerk you around" relationships through your website. Especially if you’ve got a sales page or two up.
So what now? Sign up for google analytics. Look, I’m no techie-type, but I did it. (You can absolutely figure it out as you go. Commit to 5 minutes a day, just click buttons and play around with making sense of the data. Don't let the fancy "analytics" word fool you: this is the digital version of a guy with a "people counter" sitting by all the doors to your site.) It’s free, and it will help you see where people are coming from, what they’re looking at, and how long they’re staying. It’ll also help you test out copy on your site so you know what works, and what’s deadweight. Let me know what you find out.
Is your website “the kitchen sink”?
How to pick, promote and prioritize what goes on your homepage.
If your homepage includes “everything but the kitchen sink,” you aren’t maxing out the revenue your website can bring.
The “everything but the kitchen sink” phenomenon is the symptom of a business run by a person with multiple talents, interests, businesses or income streams. What ends up happening is that your homepage becomes a tangled collection of options – “I can do this OR this OR this OR this OR…”
The intention to offer a “feast of options” ends up backfiring -- forcing people to make too many decisions right off the bat. And, as we know: “a confused mind says no.”
And so, in order to make it easy for our favorite kinds of clients to say YES!, we need to rethink our approach.
Instead of a kitchen sink, a website should really be more of a well-curated art gallery. You only hang your best pieces. They make sense together. And ideally, they are also for sale.
I teach my clients to “prioritize” the information on homepage, based on their “bread & butter” product or service. What do I mean? Make sure you are promoting and showcasing the offering that you are most in alignment with, and that you actually want clients to start buying more of, more often.
Try this: instead of listing ALL the services you COULD provide, or that clients have asked you to do for them in the past, think of your signature service or package. And focus your homepage on whipping up enthusiasm about that one package.
It’s like Coco Chanel on accessories: “Take one thing off before you leave the house.” When it comes to your homepage and website, take one thing off that isn’t purposefully adding to your revenue.
Not only does it remove the distraction and “dead weight” from your site, it’s also allowing the value you DO offer to really shine and stand out. Which makes it that much easier for your ideal clients to see how you’ll help them reach their goal… and buy from you.
