I took the liberty of checking out the speaker bios and realized I also had the chance to provide a bit of a teaching moment. To wit, How To (And How Not To) Promote Yourself In A Bio On A Website:

First, showing how not to do it, we have Dave McClure of 500 Startups. Dave decided to take the quick attention-getting route of making himself out to be kind of a weirdo. I’m not sure it paid off for him, unless you subscribe to the idea that all publicity is good publicity — which hasn’t really worked out that well for BP, Conrad Black or the junta in Burma.

(And before any of Dave’s friends start talking about stones and glass houses, I know very well that I’ve crossed the line on a number of occasions using this very strategy [examples here and here]. So yes, I’m a hypocrite. Such is life.)

I’ve highlighted the, uh, best bits:

Dave McClure is a greedy, blood-sucking venture capitalist & founding general partner at 500 Startups, an internet startup seed fund and incubator program in Mountain View, CA. He likes to hang out with entrepreneurs, and occasionally help or invest in their startups if they are foolish enough to let him. Dave has been geeking out in Silicon Valley for over twenty years, and has worked with companies such as PayPal, Mint, Founders Fund, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, Twilio, Simply Hired, O’Reilly Media, Intel, & Microsoft. Years ago he used to do real work like coding or marketing or running conferences, but these days he mostly does useless stuff like sending lots of email, blogging, and hanging out on Facebook and Twitter.  Dave also likes to play ultimate frisbee when his knees don’t hurt

As I said, I’m not too fond of the above. But what do I know? I just put words together for a living.

Next, to show what I think is a good example. To compare, I’ll use Clarity Digital President Leonard Brody’s bio. It’s a bit long, but it works. Again, I’ve highlighted the parts I like — phrases that focus not so much on who he is as what he does and why he appears to rock the flock:

Leonard has been called “a controversial leader of the new world order”. He is a highly respected entrepreneur, venture capitalist, best-selling author and a 2 time Emmy nominated media visionary. He has helped in raising millions of dollars for startup companies, been through one of the largest internet IPOs in history and has been involved in the building, financing and/or sale of five companies to date. In 2004, Leonard co-founded, and was CEO of, NowPublic.comnamed by Time Magazine as one of the top 50 websites in the world, was inducted into the Newseum in Washington and was recently acquired by the Anschutz Corporation. Currently Leonard sits as the President of the Clarity Digital Group responsible for overseeing one of the largest online news conglomerates in the world including Examiner.com and NowPublic, which between them, share over 20 million unique visitors a month and over 200,000 contributors. which is a pioneer in the field of citizen journalism. The company was

I see the difference. Can you see the difference?

Lisa gets Homer back on track, building him a basic website he can use to post his news and ideas. He starts posting unique information on Mr. X. All the Muck That’s Fit to Rake. He posts unique and useful content that can’t be found anywhere else and voila, his site is an overnight success.

Sadly, Homer strays from a more ethical journalistic tradition and just starts posting weird rumors like that Spanish and Italian are the Same Language, or New Race Discovered Living Six Inches Under Denver — All Named ‘Mortonson’. Soon enough, the website is abandoned entirely. The world is a sadder place for that.

Homer, won’t you do us all a favor and relaunch your website? Maybe integrate a blog in there, throw in some RSS feeds and actually build in some navigation buttons up top? Your voice has been dearly missed on the Internet and we want you back.

By the way, if any of my readers are thinking of relaunching their own websites after years of neglect and may need some professional help to update their written content, feel free to contact us. Cheers.

So why aren’t more people staying on your website? Sit down, kiddies. Let me tell you a story.

A friend sends me a link to their website. I check it out. Looks awesome. But hold on.

In less than 10 seconds, my Macbook’s cooling fan is reacting to the Flash animation and is making a noise like it’s about to explode.

I don’t want my Macbook to explode. So I go for the simple solution: I leave your website and I never, ever come back.

Sure, not everyone has a Macbook, but lots of people do.

It seems that only the latest generation of Macbooks has gotten over this flaw. That leaves millions of machines that really don’t like Flash, to the point that they will melt with rage at the mere presence of those pretty moving images.

Moral of the story? Get a good web designer who knows how to build sites that won’t scare your customers. And focus on the written content. Good design (that doesn’t cause a meltdown) will capture attention for a moment, but words will persuade your audience to do what you want.

It’s Getting Hot in Here

1. heatherlloyd: Taking time to put yourself in your target audience’s shoes helps you create copy that’s more targeted and less mechanical

2. charismatickid: If you read your copy out loud and you hear the same keyphrases over and over, it’s time to edit.

3. healymonster: Copywriting tip: Write like you talk. People get sucked into copy that’s easy to read.

4. CopywriterTO: #Copywriting tip: Get your readers’ attention by starting your copy with a compelling story.

5. Mainecopywriter: Copy Tip: Only 10% of your copy gets read. Use subheads to capture attention and draw the reader into the copy.

6. Cbreecopy: Tip: Shorter is not always better. Longer titles are more descriptive and provide better SEO.

7. caseyfleming: #Copywriting tip: Talk about your customers 90% of the time and your company only 10% of the time.

See the full list here. Thanks, Eric!

An imposing looking executive sits in his chair. He has both feet planted firmly on the ground, a scowl on his face. His hands are folded together in front of him and his elbows rest on the chair; he leans ever so slightly forward (and says)…

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s product.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.
Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?”

Answer these questions in your written marketing collateral so your sales people don’t run into this sort of uncomfortable situation.

The basic philosophy applies very well to written content as well. Less is more. Get to the point in the first line because if you don’t grab your audience’s attention instantly, they’re clicking on to the next website.

I heard a number of excellent elevator pitches this morning while attending a High Output Business Networking session at Buzz Coffee in downtown Vancouver early this morning. But the best one was delivered by Craig, the founder of Under the Piano, as he introduced himself to the group of business owners and professionals. Going from memory, I believe it went like this:

Hello, I’m Craig and my company is Under the Piano. I provide a unique form of relaxation… I play a grand piano and my customers lie under it while the music is playing for about 45 minutes. They feel the vibrations of the music go through their bodies as they listen to a unique composition that I’ve created just for them. It’s very relaxing. Most of my clients lately are couples and as you know, the spring wedding season is coming up soon, so if you or friends would like to experience something very unique, I recommend that you call me at Under the Piano to schedule a session.

Just as Craig finished, a colleague stood up and delivered a fantastic testimonial for his service, emphasizing that it was an unforgettable, romantic and positive experience. I could tell from the reaction of the other attendees that Craig was going to get a lot of direct and referral business from this one event.

It wasn’t just Craig’s fine delivery or the testimonial that made the attendees lap up his presentation. The words themselves were important. They could translate with very little adaptation onto a web page.

You’ve got a concise description of what Under the Piano does: “I play a grand piano and my customers lie under it while the music is playing for about 45 minutes.”

The value proposition: “They feel the vibrations of the music go through their bodies as they listen to a unique composition that I’ve created just for them. It’s very relaxing.”

A definition of the target market: “Most of my clients lately are couples and as you know, the spring wedding season is coming up soon…”

The call to action: “If you or friends would like to experience something very unique, I recommend that you call me at Under the Piano to schedule a session.”

Brilliant. My hat’s off to Craig.

Craig had to leave before I got a chance to meet him, but I did get to talk with many excellent entrepreneurs who offer a wide range of services. Hat tip to the following local business owners and experts:

* Bonnie Sainsbury, Duet Media. Bonnie brings creativity, new imaginative concepts and the most effective best practices in the social media world right to your door.

* Des Dougan, Dougan Consulting Group Inc. An affordable solution for planning, supporting and implementing information technology to meet your business needs.

* Jamie Graham, Vertical Grain Design. Vancouver-based web design and programming.

* Jen DeTracey, Lift Strategies. Assisting organizations in becoming more distinctive and more profitable through strategic marketing.

* Julien Fontbonne, Virtually Canadian. Providing guaranteed search engine results or your money back.

* Kerry Plowman, WestCoast Internet Marketing. Build your future with lead generation strategies.

* Lara Hildebrandt, Quadrus. Lara works with individuals and businesses to build the financial security plan that best fits their needs.

* Michael Koro, Financial Design Group. Insurance and investment planning.

Business Networking Done Right?

I contacted my friend, Kathryn Haley the owner of the recently-launched Vancouver-based business Home for Her to ask her about her experiences in setting up and maintaining the content for her online presence. Kathy’s business serves independent women homeowners by providing guidance and creating confidence in all areas related to owning a home. Because of the nature of her specialized business, she needs to communicate very clearly what she has to offer her target market.

Here’s what she wrote when she had put the finishing touches on the website:

This site is finally ready to go live and I am filled with excitement, exhaustion and hope.

I am excited because this process has taken me far out of my comfort zone and I have discovered I thrive on that feeling. I must…I seem to put myself there a lot these days.

I am exhausted because setting up websites is not my strength, and it has taken a lot of tweaking, screaming and several bottles of wine. It is a work in progress so please give any feedback or comments to help improve your experience.

There you have it. Putting the website together in the first place is not an easy thing. Frankly, this early step in developing a business can be so intimidating that some people realize that perhaps they weren’t ready to become entrepreneurs after all and quit the project entirely. (That’s awfully sad, but if you can’t do it yourself and you don’t have the budget or willingness to out-task the web copywriting, there aren’t a lot of alternatives — unless you’ve got one of those businesses that can thrive just fine without the web. Selling crack, for instance…). But those who do launch often find themselves re-energized and full of purpose as soon as their business goes “live”.

How do you maintain the website content? Well, you’ve got a few options. First, write the stuff yourself. Again, if you haven’t got the time or talent, the next option is to hire a copywriter, such as… me.

A third option which I often make use of myself to supplement my own efforts and maximize content freshness, is to cross-post content with strategic partners. Of course, it also helps build links which help gather Google juice to turn a lonely website into a well-trafficked, SEO-friendly site.

Whichever method you choose has benefits but can also pose challenges, as Kathryn notes:

The written content for the site comes from myself and from guest writers. I have posted a couple of articles that I have written myself. The content comes from conversations I have with design clients or friends and simply thinking about some of the biggest problems I have had to deal with over the 13+ years of being in the renovation industry.

Once I determine a topic and actually start writing it usually only takes about 1 hour to finish it. My challenge is getting into the head space to write… I find myself second guessing whether readers will think the posts are silly.

What kind of content seems to work best for Kathryn? It’s important to mix it up:

I believe it is the variation of writing styles, topics and experts that provides the best experience for the reader. It creates a ‘something for everyone’ site that has mass appeal. The variation of topics also allows me to use SEO on a wide range of keywords, maximizing exposure to Google and other search engines.

The site also benefits from the cross promotion that each writer brings.

Are you having difficulty launching your website? Or are you finding it difficult to ensure the content on your website is fresh and Google-friendly? If you would like a free consultation about your website content strategy or need a copywriter to get your articles written, go ahead and contact me

If you have other tips about creating and managing website content or just want to reply to this post, please leave a comment!

Is This Content Still “Fresh”?

Blogs

The blog is often the essential tool of any social media campaign. You can use it to provide authoritative information, announce new things happening with your organization and link to things you’re doing elsewhere on the web. The blog is where you provide the authentic “voice” — or voices — of your organization.

As the most-frequently updated part of a website with fresh content, a blog is typically easier to find on Google than static web pages. It also is ready-made for facilitating discussion with your audience through a comments section, allowing your organization to obtain instant feedback from your fans, provide extra information and (as sometimes necessary) issue timely clarifications and corrections. There are many other benefits, but for now, suffice to say that the blog is the work-horse of many social media campaigns.

Twitter

Free instant messaging in 140 characters or less to your closest friends, whether you number them on one hand or in the hundreds of thousands. The PR benefits are obvious. One extremely important thing to remember about using Twitter for your organization is that you are often using it to connect with influencers who will spread your message to other channels.

Experienced Twitter users for organizations will often use their profiles as link-back machines to automatically promote content on their own websites, especially their blog content. In that case, think of the website as home-base, with your Twitter account inviting people back to your site to see what’s going on.

Facebook Fan Pages

Facebook Fan Pages are often set up as bulletin boards merely syndicating content from the main website. Actually, there can be value in this if updated regularly, since Google likes Facebook. If your website is having trouble competing in its niche to get on page one of searches, your fan page may be easier to find. That said, a more ambitious use of these platforms is to host contests, allow fans to post content that you might not want on the main site, or offer something special to your customers or supporters.

As with Twitter, a Facebook Fan Page will typically represent another spoke linking back to your hub, the main website.

YouTube Videos

YouTube is the most famous video-sharing site in North America. There are competitors, but if the point is for your video to reach as many eyeballs as possible, it makes sense to at least post one version of your video on YouTube. Use it to create educational clips, show interviews and demonstrate whatever it is your organization does. The medium is great for announcements, tutorials, advertisements — whatever you want to do.

Keep in mind that text is still king on the Internet, even when you’re working with video. With good descriptions and tags, more people will actually see your video.

Which Social Media Tools Should I Use for My Business?
As usual, I would remind my readers that social media is not the be-all and end-all of marketing tools. Direct-mail marketing, sign-boards, brochures and other “traditional” marketing tools also have their place.

First, figure out your target demographic. Next, focus on what it is you’re selling (whether that’s widgets, services or a charitable cause). Define your campaign. After that, you can start looking at the tools in your toolbox.

Be A Social Media Punk

“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” — Anaïs Nin

I first started writing for corporate clients years ago when I realized that I was a genius – and also realized that there are millions of other geniuses out there.

To be sure, my own genius is confined to an embarrassingly small range of talents necessary for effective copywriting.

I’m a genius when it comes to understanding what other people are trying to say. I enjoy hearing people talking about themselves, their businesses and their interests. When it comes down to it, I’m what you call a good listener.

After I’m done hearing (or reading, or listening to MP3 files, since not all clients have time to sit down for a chat) what my clients have to say, I start writing.

The other part of my genius is that by the end of this writing process, I can tell my clients’ story even better than they can tell it themselves.

It’s not that my clients lack talent or clarity of vision. But they’re usually too busy doing whatever it is that they’re passionate about (and from which they earn their dough). They just don’t have the time to sit and write in clear and persuasive terms what makes them, or their business, or their public service, unique.

That condition applies for all the content I produce, whether it’s writing comprehensive content for a corporate website, newsletters, blog posts, case studies, press releases – whatever my clients need.

Producing clear and persuasive writing depends on listening, understanding your audience, and tailoring useful information to fit that audience. Correct grammar and a solid understanding of writing rules are also essential. It’s specialized work.

As I noted earlier, my own genius is fairly narrowly defined. Genetics has nothing to do with it. I have this talent owing to years and years of writing experience, working closely with my clients and learning from my mistakes.

There are plenty of other geniuses out there. I know because I’ve met hundreds, maybe thousands of them – and some of them are my clients. Often, they are running their own organizations, or about to begin as entrepreneurs. In every industry and field of human endeavor, there are people who have become geniuses through education, experience and hard work.

Are you a genius who would like to engage our writing services to tell your story? Contact WRITEIMAGE for a free consultation about your copywriting needs.

So if you’ve ever wanted a bit of insight into what exactly we do around here at WRITEIMAGE (and why our clients seem to like having us around), here are the first two case studies, hot off the presses:

* website content copywriting
* newsletter writing

I suddenly hear a faint murmur from that shy person sitting in the corner at the back of the room with their hand half-way up: “What is a case study, exactly?”

I’m so glad you asked, sir (and you can put your hand back down). There are many kinds of case studies. But the ones we like to write for our clients are one-page descriptions of projects, events and campaigns that were completed in a successful fashion. One format we like to use goes a little like this:

1. Describe the organization involved. Throw in some important details about what makes this organization totally awesome.
2. Explain the challenge this organization faced. Why was it such a challenge in the first place? Why did it need to be solved right away?
3. Describe the solution. You don’t need to give away anyone’s secret sauce. Still, you ought to be able to show how this solution worked a lot better than, say, waiting for the X-Men to drop by and save the day.

Slap that page down on an organization’s website and presto-change-o, you’ve got marketing collateral that explains precisely what kind of value you can provide to your customers, fundraising donors, supporters or Internet stalkers.

That’s pretty much it. We’re not really giving away any information here that isn’t already public knowledge. And if any company out there wants to use this format to write their own case studies, they’re welcome to it.

But we’re betting that if they instead call us and get us to write case studies for them, we can write them better, quicker, and (compared with the cost of devoting hours of an in-house non-specialist to the task) a fair bit cheaper.