As you now know – writing effective SEO web copy is a process, not a single event, that attracts readers to your website, then compels them to take a specific action.

• You need a primary target market
• You need to know which keywords and phrases to use
• You need to know what they want…
• You have to use a headline that gets their attention, so they’ll read your web copy further
• Then… your copy has to suck ’em in like a vacuum cleaner

In this final Part 7 of How to Write Optimized Web Content…

I’m gonna wrap it all up for you, and you’ll realize just how much work and expertise is really involved to write good web copy that gets results.

Let’s assume your shiny new web copy is now live on the Internet.

That’s great — but now you need to see how effective it is.

To do that, you need to be tracking the analytics of the page. A great and free tool is Google Analytics.

Once you install the short snippet of code in your web page, you’ll be able to track things like:

• How many visitors find the page
• How long they stay on it
• What  keywords they typed to get there
• Where they are physically located
• What other pages they go to next
• And a ton of other great and valuable information

After a while, you can develop a baseline of key statistics that you can use to track results of any tests and changes you make.

For example, some easy and important things to test would be the headline, your offer, and your call to action.

These typically get you the biggest bang for the buck… But you have to do it.

In conclusion … you always get what you pay for. I know it’s cliche, but it’s true. If someone who says they’re a web or SEO copywriter is only going to charge you a ridiculously low fee – like a hundred bucks per page to write copy for your website…

Then you’re probably not gonna get very good results, because they just cant spend the necessary time to research and do a good job for you.

If you’re serious about getting results from your website – hire a copywriter to do the job right – the first time! And dont skimp on quality “words that sell”.

Hope these tips help … and if you want to get the best results that you can, consider hiring a professional web copywriter. That would be me. : – )

In case you missed the other parts of this series, here are the links.

• Click for Part 1 of Optimized Web Copy That Sells
• Click for Part 2 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 3 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 4 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 5 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy
• Click for Part 6 of How to Write Optimized Web Copy

Till next week then…

What are your thoughts?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

You’ve finally gone and hired a web designer to redesign your small business website.

But what’s the real reason why?

Is it because you are bored with your current site?

Because your web site is old and hasn’t been touched or added to since it was new?

Or maybe you just want to re-brand yourself, the look, and change the colors?

Oh… I see… you also want to get more traffic to your website.

Now we’re on to something most business owners want – more visitors.
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But you said you wanted a shiny new web site

Unfortunately, many of you think making your website flashy and pretty, with cool new colors will get more people to visit the site.

But in my humble opinion, you’d be dead wrong.

What you’d end up with is a nice looking website that nobody sees – kinda like having a great looking billboard in the middle of the desert.

It’s beautiful, but nobody will ever see it.
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Relevant, keyword-rich content is still king

Instead of a redesign, what you should be doing is concentrating on the words people will be searching for, and developing new content, blog posts, and pages so search engines will find your site more often.

There’s no doubt that a good image is important, but Google doesn’t rank your website based on your image and good looks. The only thing it can tell what your site is about is by reading the content (words) on your web pages.

So… if your primary reason for redesigning your company’s website is to get more visitors and convert more of them to paying customers…

Then visually redesigning your site to make this happen usually won’t work.

You’ll get better search results with a decent looking site with lots of great content about your products and services, than a stunningly beautiful site with little content.

In other words, you’ll probably be better off hiring a copywriter to write quality content for your readers than blowing your wad on a graphic designer.

What do you think?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

It’s true! If you own or manage a business, there is a way you can get more qualified leads and more paying business, and you can do it without using traditional selling and marketing tactics.

I know…because I’ve personally used this technique to grow my own business.

Before you start screaming at me, because you think it’s some sleazy link exchanges, or underhand method of buying leads, give me a second.

Because it’s not. It’s a proven way that many successful business people have used to grow their own businesses.

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Successful business professionals use this technique

For example, maybe you’ve heard of Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the best-selling Guerrilla Marketing series of books, now chief of the world-famous Guerrilla Marketing Association…

Or Richard Bolles, author of best-selling job-hunting book What Color is Your Parachute, now considered by many as America’s top career expert …

Or David Meerman Scott, best-selling author of Real Time Marketing & PR, and highly respected marketing expert…

These guys are well known as experts in their fields, and they also used this technique to bring in more profits than all the other marketing techniques they’d used.

So what did I do, that they also did?

I wrote a non-fiction business book titled How Your Small Local Business Can Get More Customers on the Internet. It’s not just any book, but a book that shares my professional knowledge, and how it can help my clients.

Now I’m a bona-fide published author!

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The easy path to instant credibility and expert status

And it gives me instant credibility, and readers perceive me to be the local “expert” on the subject of online marketing. Think about it…how many other local business owners have written and published a book?

Writing your own business book is certainly a great way to build your business, and with some commitment on your part, you can do it pretty quickly and inexpensively.

With help from professional book coach Roger C. Parker of www.publishedandprofitable.com, it took me less than six months from initial concept to holding the printed book in my hands.

Plus, because it is self-published, my total cash investment was less than a Yellow Pages ad was.

Now, as business professionals read it, and realize I know what I’m talking about, they’re hiring me for speaking engagements, and also to advise them on their own online marketing strategies.

The cost per copy is so low, I’ve even sent free copies of my book (instead of a brochure) to potential prospects and with my proposals.

No doubt about it… sending a printed book instead of a traditional brochure sure gets people’s attention and say “Wow, he knows his stuff, because he wrote a book!”

You’ll surely stand head and shoulders over your competition, since I’d almost guarantee… none of them have a book to offer.

So what are you waiting for?

Start writing today, and if you have any questions or comments, contact me or Roger Parker, and we’ll get you on the track to successfully and profitable writing your very own book!

What do you think?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Dear Mr. or Ms. Business Owner:

Let me ask you a question…

Does your laundry list of services and features look just like your competitor’s lists?

If it does – don’t feel bad, because you’re in the majority.

But just so you know – this can be a big problem for your business – but one that can be solved by using a little brain power.

Let’s assume you’re in this group and see why it’s not a good thing…

Because you offer the same business products and services as everyone else – your prospects don’t have even one compelling reason to choose YOUR business over the others. In other words, you don’t offer them any advantage over your competition.

Then, the only way to differentiate yourself is with price. And I’m sure you’ll agree that price cutting just to get a sale doesn’t make good business sense in the long run.

That’s because people will buy from you just because of the deal, and we all know a successful business is built from long-term customer relationships.

Not to mention the fact that discounting severely cuts into your profits, especially when it’s a one-time customer.

Fortunately, it’s not too difficult to solve this, and start converting more of your prospects to paying customers.

All you gotta do is add some extra value to your services... something unique … or something your competitors don’t or can’t offer.

Many marketing types call the a Unique Selling Proposition, or USP for short.

Here’s a perfect example of adding value:

I was researching local auto body shops in the Portsmouth, N.H. area because I needed to get some body work done.

Now there’s a ton of body shops around here, (lots of really bad drivers, I guess), but I finally chose Jason Batistelli of Mirror Image Automotive in Greenland New Hampshire to do the work.

Why? Many of the prices were similar, which made it a tough choice, if I was making my decision based entirely on price. But Jason offered something the other shops didn’t (several things actually).

He was personable, was very detailed in his quote, and up front in his recommendations. You could say – he made me feel comfortable.

He provided a lifetime warranty on his auto body work.

He gave me rides back and forth to drop off and pick my vehicle up when it was done.

Plus… he completely cleaned and vacuumed the interior, and washed the vehicle when it was done, so the dust and dirt was gone!

These “extras” sealed the deal for me. Convenience for me and the fact he cared enough about the final results made me a customer for life. (though I hope to not get into any accidents soon).

None of the body shops I talked with even came close to the value Jason offered.

Once you add value, you give your prospects a “smoking gun” reason to choose your business instead of the “others”.

And the value you add doesn’t have to cost you a ton of money, maybe none at all, but your prospect needs to perceive it as different and valuable to them.

So start thinking what you can do to add value to your business, and see how it affects your profits.

Dare to be different! If you don’t know what you can do, look at marketing materials and ads from other industries. Find something and adapt it to your business.

Oh… if you already offer something different, make sure you promote the heck out if it any time you can!

What do you think?

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

And visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Today is Part 12 of the 15 Profitable Marketing Power Tips you should use in every marketing or advertising technique you use to promote your business.

If you’re a New Hampshire business owner who wants to advertise your business effectively, then listen up.

Because I’m going to tell you about one simple thing that will get more prospects to respond to your  carefully crafted sales message. (Your sales message is unique and highly targeted, right?)

But what happens when they are interested, and actually read your ad or web page or follow up letter?

I’ve seen call-to-actions that almost force the reader to jump through an insane number of hoops in order to get the offer.

Personally, I’m lazy, and I hate to spend (er… I mean waste)  my time to get something I want.

For many people – maybe most – if it’s too much work to respond to your offer, then they’ll usually toss it and not respond at all.

The problem is… The purpose of a good call-to-action is to get higher response, not stifle it!

Think about it for a second…Don’t you get frustrated and angry when someone makes it difficult for you?

Profitable Marketing Power Tip #12:

In every sales message the public sees, make it simple to respond to your call-to-action … or risk the possibility of losing your prospects forever.

Do you agree?

To check out the previous tips you may have missed, the links are below:

Part 1 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 2 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 3 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 4 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 5 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 6 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 7 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 8 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 9 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 10 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 11 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

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If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Today is Part 11 of the 15 Profitable Marketing Power Tips you should use in every marketing or advertising technique you use to promote your business.

Today’s topic is… The surefire way to destroy your marketing strategy and your business.

Quick story from a client–

We were talking about the recent Stratham Fair, a small community fair that’s held every year, and usually draws people from all over.

At the fair, there were a number of vendor booths promoting local businesses and their services to the public.

Most of them had sheets you could fill out to get more information about them.

So that’s great marketing, isn’t it? Companies building up a list of interested prospects, right?

Well… my client signed up and gave his personal contact information to six different companies he was interested in.

And after four weeks, guess how many of them followed up with him or sent out information to him?

If you guessed three or four – you’d be wrong.

Okay…how about one or two?

You’d still be wrong.

The correct answer about how many companies followed up… a BIG FAT ZERO. Zero out of six did NOT follow up. Absolutely stupid decisions by those companies.

I wish I knew who they were, cuz they sure as heck need some marketing help.

Think about it. Why go to they trouble and expense of paying for a booth, manning it, and collecting prospect information, (from people who are telling you they are interested) if they’re not even going to follow up?

Jeesh… They might as well just throw their money in the toilet.

If you know me, you know lack of follow-up is a pet peeve, and it really ticks me off.

Profitable Marketing Power Tip #11:

When somebody is interested enough in your products or services to willingly give you their sacred contact information – for goodness sake  – FOLLOW UP with them.

If you don’t, you’re just killing your marketing machine, and putting the brakes on any momentum you have going.

Not to mention, when you are waiting for someone to contact you or send you information, and you never hear from them, doesn’t it really piss you off?

It does me.

Do you agree?

To check out the previous tips you may have missed, the links are below:

Part 1 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 2 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 3 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 4 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 5 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 6 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 7 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 8 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 9 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 10 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

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If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Since the recent death of my son, I’ve come to the overwhelming realization that marketing and business is not the most important thing in the world.

Your life and family is the most important thing in your world! (at least, it should be)

It’s been 5 weeks now, and my mind and heart is still riding an emotional roller coaster, with just about every emotion known to mankind.

And with all those powerful emotions running around inside, it hit me like a ton of bricks…

I’ve come to realize the things in life that are really important, and the things that don’t mean a damn thing in the overall scheme of things.

And you know what? Over the last 5 weeks – marketing, which is my business, hasn’t even existed in my world.

It’s amazing the things I’ve come to realize that just don’t matter at all.

Taking care of my wife and the rest of my family and friends have taken complete priority, and will continue to do so.

Now that doesn’t mean I won’t work my business hard. Of course I have to… the bills still have to be payed.

It just means that I’ll work hard and pay more attention at taking care of love and life itself while I’m still around.

Business will happen.

Unfortunately, it took my son’s suicide for me to learn this valuable lesson.

What does all this have to do with marketing and business and generating leads?

Probably nothing at all.

But I feel a lot better sharing this so maybe you won’t be writing a similar story in your lifetime.

And in case you’re wondering… You’ll start getting new marketing and business tips in this blog soon. As soon as my brain says…

Let’s GO!

Thanks for listening, your cards, prayers, and your support…

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If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter

Today is Part 8 of the 15 Profitable Marketing Power Tips you should use in every marketing or advertising technique you use to promote your business.

It’s more about making it easier for your prospects to actually read your copy than anything else.

Have you ever seen a letter, a brochure, or a website that has so much copy that runs together in one long paragraph?

I’ve seen some where the paragraphs are so long, they are virtually impossible to read.

And even if you could read it, why would you want to go through the extra effort to?

People like EASY, and reading a super long block of copy is HARD.

Profitable Marketing Power Tip #8:

Break up your sales copy into short paragraphs of no more than 3-5 lines each.

Then every 2-3 paragraphs, add a compelling subhead so the people scanning it will know what you’re copy is talking about.

Why?

Because long, uninterrupted blocks of copy are hard to read …visually and emotionally. And who wants to read something when it’s difficult to do it?

Short paragraphs are much easier to read and comprehend. Plus, people who scan instead of reading every word will get the gist of the copy, and you’ll have a better chance of picking up a new lead or client.

Think about it… Isn’t it hard enough to get prospects to read your sales copy when it’s easy to read? Don’t give them a reason to not read it, just because you made it hard to read.

Make it as easy as possible to read and scan, too!

Let me know your thoughts on this…

To check out the previous tips you may have missed, the links are below:

Part 1 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 2 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 3 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 4 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 5 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 6 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

Part 7 marketing & advertising power tips for NH small business owners

If you want help with your marketing strategy, writing effective sales copy, have any comments, or have a marketing project you’d like help with, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter