Archive for August, 2010

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How “Ditching Your Niche” Will Help Your Blog Get More Traffic

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

I’ve begun been participating in the GuestBlogging.com Apprenticeship Program, run by one of Copyblogger’s associate editors, Jon Morrow. In one of the first offerings of the workshop, Jon teamed up with Sonia Simone of Remarkable Communication to create The 7 Most Common Reasons Guest Blogposts Get Rejected at Copyblogger.

In the most recent session, Jon talked about cultivating connections. He’s not talking about connections with other bloggers – yet – but about other niches, categories, and industries.

Jon starts by saying: Your content is only as valuable as the connections it allows you to make.

Guest blogging is so powerful because of the connections it allows you to make. The bloggers who make it big don’t necessarily have the best content, but they do have the best connections.

Jon suggests creating dozens of little channels to get people to your blog – don’t just focus on the big highways. How do you do that, you may ask? Good question.

Ditch your niche.

Seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it? Hold tight, you’ll soon see why.

Jon suggests that you don’t get trapped in your niche. Every niche or topic interconnects with other topics, and by focusing on just one, you’re losing out on a ton of opportunity. That’s what the Internet is, afterall: an interconnected community.

But…my industry is huge

It doesn’t matter how big or small your niche is, if you focus only on your industry, your blog will eventually suffocate from a lack of new connections. Like a goldfish, it can only grow to the size of its tank…err, community.

Now what?

In order to continue to grow, stop thinking of yourself in a tiny niche. Realize your blog is a tiny piece of a huge network. Then we start the fun stuff.

Start by brainstorming. Think about what your potential audience might be searching for. What topics would bring in new – but still applicable - audiences?

For example

Let’s say I own a cupcake shop in a small town. I’ll certainly post things about latest designs and flavors, recipes, and updates on small town goings-on; but I’ll also post things about:

  • Running a small business
  • DIY baking that looks professional
  • Cooking (not just baking) tips, tricks, and secrets
  • Healthy baking and cooking
  • Alternate and non-traditional cupcake uses (birthdays, weddings, company events, etc.)

Once you start brainstorming how your industry can play into other niches, the sky is the limit!

Nicki Hicks
Ready to ditch your niche?

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Posted in Blogging, Expert Advice | 2 Comments »


Three Reasons to Say No a Smaller Project

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Dear Service Professional,

As we (hopefully) move away from the Great Recession you may be seeing inquiries, albeit tentative. They’re interested in your landscaping/consulting/tutoring services, but they don’t want to spend that much so they ask you if you can scale back your proposal.

Don’t do it.

I speak from previous experience. Actually, my previous experience has previous experience. In fact, I’m writing this blog post to remind my future self not to sell half a web design, half an internet marketing campaign, or half of a social media consult to anyone who asks.

It’s not that I’m a jerk. Let me rephrase that. It’s not because I’m a jerk. It’s because of this:

If you run your own business and you know what you’re doing then you have put in a lot of time and effort into creating an offering that works. Giving someone half of that project does neither of you any good. It’s not like a pizza that can be evenly split; it’s more like a half-cooked pizza that no one wants to eat.

Here’s why you want to say no:

  1. Your customer will be frustrated because “they spent all this money and they didn’t get what they expected.”
  2. You will be frustrated because you ended up putting in a lot more work than you agreed to. (It inevitably turns out that you can’t complete even a half-assed project in half the time, because you can’t halve the amount of time it takes to do proper project management, administrative tasks or billing. Nor can you halve the time it takes to deal with an upset customer; see point number one.)
  3. And perhaps most importantly: You can’t give only half the years of experience and knowledge you’re bringing to the project. (Can I get an “amen?”)

Chances are, you’ll get some push back if you tell them you can’t scale back your project. I often ask what would it be like if they offered their customers half a job? If that doesn’t work I ask them if they ever would drive just half a car? Wear half a pair of pants? Or get half an appendectomy?

If I get a smile, or at least a acknowledging grunt, I explain that I’m not looking for disappointed customers. I’ve been down this road before, and for us to do a job we’re proud of and the customer is happy with, it’s going to require our full effort.

It’s never easy to say no to a job, especially in these economic times. But if you stick to your guns you’ll get 1/3 to 1/2 of those jobs, and when you do a kick-ass job, they’ll tell their friends and associates the whole story, making it even easier to convince those people that they want you to put your full effort into that job.

Rich Brooks
Fully Engaged

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Posted in Business Philosophy, Entrepreneur & Small Business | 8 Comments »


Advanced Blogging at #ftw2010

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Between my responsibilities of blogging, speaking, generating business for my company, and trying to be a better husband and dad, I’m also ramping up for Social Media FTW, a conference I co-founded with Chrystie Corns and Jaica Kinsman.

As part of our ongoing online marketing campaigns, we’re running a series of interviews with our speakers. Because I was around, we interviewed me first. Watch the lovely and talented Chrystie Corns strut her interview skills below or wach the interview on YouTube.

And, if you haven’t signed up yet there’s still time! However, with over half the tickets gone, they won’t be around for ever. Remember, last year we sold out!

To learn more and register for this year’s Social Media FTW Fall Conference visit our site.

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, flyte news, Web Marketing | No Comments »


Marketing & Advertising Tips: The Placement of Flyers

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Yesterday, as Colin from Market Street Eats and I were discussing owning the sales process (see yesterday’s post), we were putting up a new poster for Social Media FTW, the upcoming social media conference we’re putting on up here in Maine.

Colin taped up the poster on the back of the Dasani cooler that faces people as they walk in and when they’re sitting down. While doing this we were  patting each other on the back for being able to see opportunities that other people miss (again, see yesterday’s post.) After five to ten minutes of this activity, and after the poster had been in place for a few minutes I got ready to go. It was only then that I looked at the entire back of the Dasani cooler:

Yes, it appears that there was already a poster for Social Media FTW on the back of the cooler, and neither Colin nor I had seen it.

1st Lesson Learned: Put your marketing and advertising where people will see it. We understand why giant conglomerates spend all that money to get shelf space at eye level. We stood in front of the poster for over five minutes, STARING at the back of that cooler, and neither of us saw the poster at knee level.

2nd Lesson Learned: Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back.

Rich Brooks
Missing the Obvious

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Posted in Entrepreneur & Small Business, Web Marketing | No Comments »


Owning the Sales Process

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

I just had a great interaction at one of my favorite lunch places–Market Street Eats–with proprietor Colin Rankin. (So great, in fact, that I’m putting off paying work with a big deadline because I feel inspired to blog right now.) I always have a great talk with Colin, and it’s often about the pleasures and perils of running your own business. In fact, I got two, maybe three blog  posts (the others to follow) out of that one interaction.

I went in to ask him if I could put up a poster for Social Media FTW, a social media conference we’re putting on in Maine on 9/22. While we were putting it up a pretty blond woman walked in. (The fact that she’s pretty and blond have nothing to do with this, but I did notice it and I’m trying to paint you a picture here.) You could sense that this was her first time here, and being somewhere between lunch and dinner, it was pretty quiet. In other words, there was no line or other indications of how the ordering process might work.

She walked up to the counter and one of the new wait staff greeted her warmly and asked if she wanted to see a menu. Colin seemed unimpressed. I wondered why, after all, it was a friendly greeting. “I told those guys to go around the counter, show new customers the big board (where the wrap descriptions are), make some recommendations, hand her a take out menu, and ask questions. They think it’s crazy to spend that much time for a $7 wrap.”

“Ah,” I replied, “but it’s not a $7 wrap. It’s $7, once a week, 52 times a year for 10 years. Plus, she might tell her friends, too.”

“Yes, but you look at it that way because you own your own company,” Colin replied.

Colin went on to tell me about one of his first jobs, selling men’s suits. “‘Never let the customer get ahead of you in a sale,’ my boss would tell me. ‘The customer doesn’t know as much as you do, he doesn’t work here. Once he gets ahead of you in the sales process everything falls apart.‘”

We talked more about how at flyte we try not to just email clients their wireframes or designs, but rather walk them through what they’re looking at, explaining the flow, why we made the choices we did, and how this helps them with their goals. If we just post the wireframes then we’re letting the customer get ahead of us; we’re not owning the sales process. (Some people might argue that this isn’t part of the sales process, but I feel you’re always selling, whether in business or in personal interactions.)

If you run your own business, or if your on the sales team (and we’re all on the sales team, BTW), you’re sure to run into a wide variety of customers. Some will know exactly what they want, some will only think they know what they want, and some will have no idea at all and look to you to help them out. The first group is rare; it’s more likely your customer thinks they’re in the first group but are actually in the second group.

If you sense that they are in the first group you can feel free to just take their order and be done. If they’re in one of the other groups, however, you’re going to need to put the focus not on your solution, but on their problems. Their problem could be anything from needing a web site that will generate leads to navigating a wide variety of sandwich choices in a new restaurant. Once you know their problems, and their goals, then you can help them find the solution that will work for them.

I don’t feel Colin was really upset with his staff, but he feels that whatever you learn selling wraps you can take with you anywhere, and I agree.

BTW, Market Street Eats rocks, the wait staff is spectacular, and if you’re anywhere near Portland, Maine, you should stop in there for a wrap. I recommend the Red Rooster, and when they ask if you’d like pickles, just say “yes.”

Rich Brooks
I Am What I Eat

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Posted in Business Philosophy, Entrepreneur & Small Business | 3 Comments »


Maine SEO Project: Camp Runoia (Local Search & SEO)

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

We recently finished a project for Camp Runoia, an all girls sleepaway camp in Belgrade, Maine. Young ladies from all over the United States – and the world – come to Camp Runoia for a few weeks out of the summer, where they’ll experience everything from swimming to horseback riding.

Like many local businesses, local search is incredibly important for Camp Runoia. Claiming their Google Place page was one of the first steps, where the directors are now able to upload images of the girls at camp, videos, and more to keep interest with current customers and showcase the camp for potential customers:

During the camp season, it’s a little difficult for the busy staff to keep up, but you can keep in touch via Facebook.

If you’re looking for a great camp to send your daughter to in for the summer of 2011, look no further than Camp Runoia. If you’re looking for help with your social media efforts, look no further than flyte.

Nicki Hicks
Maine SEO

Posted in flyte new media, Projects Archive | No Comments »


How to Turn Your Blog Into a Lead Generation Machine

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Rich Brooks [hey, that's me!] will be one of the presenters at the Social Media FTW Fall Conference on 9/22/2010. He’ll be presenting on Advanced Blogging Techniques. Last year’s conference sold out, so be sure to register now!

To generate online leads, you need a steady stream of new, qualified prospects to your web site. These days, that means strong search engine visibility coupled with an active presence in social media.

And there’s no better tool to help you in both categories than your business blog. But like any tool, it doesn’t work by itself, it just amplifies your own efforts. Here’s how to maximize your efforts to increase your online visibility, drive more qualified traffic to your site, and convert that traffic into leads for your sales team.

  1. Spend time crafting a keyword-rich title for each blog post. Every blog post creates a new web page; each web page is another opportunity to rank well for one of your targeted keyword phrases in Google and other search engines. Your blog post title becomes your web page title, and titles are the biggest variable in the search engine algorithm, so don’t short-change yourself here. Make sure your best keyword phrases appear in the first few words in the title for maximum exposure.
  2. Keep those titles compelling. Leverage the “sharing power” of social media by creating compelling titles. People will often “Like” or retweet a blog post based solely on the title, even without reading it first! Although the tool may be tongue-in-cheek, check out the Link Bait Generator for ideas on how to create a compelling title.
  3. Blog for your audience: your prospects and customers. Too many business blogs appear to be where press releases go to die. Although there’s a place in an active blog for company news, for most businesses that’s not what will attract customers. Instead, keep the focus of your blog on your customers’ pain points. Every time you get an email or phone inquiry asking you for your expert advice, turn it into a blog post. If one person had that question, probably a dozen, a hundred or a thousand other people had the same question. Answer it before your competition does. Eighty to ninety percent of your blog posts should be addressing problems that your prospects face on a daily basis.
  4. Blog regularly. Don’t fall into the “I don’t have time to blog” trap. Blogging is marketing, and every business needs to make time to market their services. Get up an hour earlier, stay up an hour later, don’t watch “Project Runway” one week (unless of course you have a fashion blog. Then watch it twice.) You should really be blogging at least twice a week, three times when you’re just getting started.
  5. Reach new audiences through guest blogging. If you have the opportunity to blog at someone else’s blog, you are immediately introduced to a new audience. If you get another blogger to contribute to your blog, very often they will promote the post to their faithful readers, who will check out your blog. In either case, the cross-promotion is valuable to help you reach an audience who may never have heard of you otherwise.
  6. Actively market your blog. If a blog is such a great marketing tool, then it should market itself, right? Well, it needs a little help from you, especially at the beginning. Leverage your social media presence by promoting your new blog posts through tweets and status updates. Use tools like Pingoat to push your post to news aggregators. Use social bookmarking & news tools like Digg, Delicious and StumbleUpon as appropriate. Leave (intelligent) comments at related blogs and make sure your name links back to your blog post.
  7. Funnel blog traffic to your web site. Once you start attracting new traffic to your blog, it’s time to convert those visitors into prospects. You can do this through keyword-rich links to areas of your web site where you offer more information, or directly to a lead generation form. Consider offering a free download from your blog (at flyte’s blog we offer “The 11 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Bloggers Make”) that requires an email registration for collecting leads.

Now it’s your turn: what techniques do you use on your blog that generate leads and get people to start doing business with you? Share your ideas in the comment field below…and who knows, maybe some later readers will follow your link back to your blog!

Rich Brooks
Social Media FTW Co-Founder

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Posted in Business Blogs and Blog Marketing | 8 Comments »


Photo Booth Rental – Top Hat Photos Booths

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

We recently completed a relaunch of Top Hat Photo Booths, a photo booth rental company with locations in Floria, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.

There were a few things that made Top Hat Photo Booths a cool company to work with:

  • Their photo booths are much cooler than traditional rental photo booths; they can be taken apart and set up just about anywhere. That means they would work on a casual wedding in a meadow in Maine or on the rooftop of a Manhattan apartment.
  • Their booths offer great branding opportunities; the sides of the photo booth can be tailored to your needs, whether they evoke wedding images (champagne glasses clinking) or your corporate image for a big corporate event.
  • Their prices are lower than their competitors. With pricing that starts at just $750 they’re hard to beat.

Top Hat had a nice looking site, but as they were about to expand into several new markets, the site wasn’t as scalable as they wished. In addition, they couldn’t make their own updates.

Our solution was to rebuild the site on WordPress and tweak the design and layout to make it more scalable so that it could grow as Top Hat grows. We also added a blog and created a nice feature where Top Hat could upload new photos for the top banner area and the site would automatically add a consistent treatment to all the photos.

The second part of the project, just starting, is to help Top Hat increase their online visibility. This will be a combination of social media and search engine optimization.

Even though Top Hat stretches up and down the east coast, no one is searching for “east coast photo booth rental.” That means that Top Hat has to focus on their local search results as much as general search results, if not more. Now brides, event planners and companies can find information on:

If you need a photo booth rental for your next corporate event, wedding or bar/bat mitzvah, be sure to check out Top Hat Photo Booth.

Rich Brooks
Ready for My Close-up

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Posted in Web Site Launches | 3 Comments »


Social Media & Web Marketing Courses in Maine

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Although the leaves aren’t changing yet, they will be soon (sniff!) and that means that classes are getting back in session.

This year I’ll be teaching not one but two classes at the University of Southern Maine:

Web Marketing for Small Business
In this 4 week course you’ll learn how to build an effective web presence for your small business or non-profit. You’ll learn about search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing, blogging, social media, e-commerce, traffic reports, and how to build a web site that generates leads and makes sales. (Please be aware, though: this is NOT an HTML course. You’re not learning how to build a web site, but rather how to make a web site that will build your business.)

4 Thursdays, September 30-October 28, 7-9 p.m.
$215 (8 contact hours/ 0.8 CEUs)
Abromson Center, 88 Bedford Street, USM Portland campus

I’m also teaching a brand new course this fall as well:

Social Media Marketing for Businesses (and the People That Run Them)
Sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are certainly popular, but should they be important parts of your marketing strategy? In this two-class course, you’ll learn how these and other popular social media sites can increase the online visibility of your business, and put you in contact with new audiences.

You’ll learn how to setup and optimize profiles on the most popular, influential sites, how to connect with people in the social media sphere, and how to measure your success. You’ll learn the do’s and don’ts of social media, how to build an audience, and how to listen to what people are saying about you and your business.

We’ll talk about social networking, blogging, online video and all the tools your company needs to master this new arena of marketing.

2 Wednesdays, November 10 and 17, 7-9 p.m.
$115 (4 contact hours/ 0.4 CEUs)
USM Library Computer Lab

Hope to see you there!

Rich Brooks
You Can Call Me “Teach”

Photo credit: Lee Nachtigal

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Posted in Analytics, Business Blogs and Blog Marketing, Email Marketing, Entrepreneur & Small Business, flyte news, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Web Design & Development, Web Marketing | 6 Comments »


The 7 Most Common Reasons Guest Blogposts Get Rejected at Copyblogger (with Sonia Simone and Jon Morrow)

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

The following is a recap of a Remarkable Marketing Blueprint with Sonia Simone and Jon Morrow – both editors at Copyblogger.

1. They Don’t Know Who You Are

Go ahead and submit a guest post via traditional means, but that still means the blogger won’t know who you are. If you’re an unknown, then the big blogs get so many posts from people they know, then why would they post yours?

So how can you fight against it?

  • Start commenting on the blog. If the blogger sees that you are participating in the comments, that will work toward the chances of your guest blogposts being published.
  • Get on Gravatar.com and get your face connected to your comments. It helps connect your name with your face.
  • Don’t use “doppy names”. You’ll stand out…but in the wrong way.
  • It’s all about building a relationship with the blogger:

2. You didn’t meet the standards of the blog

Consider the audience.

Submit your best work to the biggest audience.

Put time into your guest post. (Jonathan put together some point that relate to that here.) There’s a direct correlation between time spent on the post and the amount the post is shared.

Feel free to repurpose your content that you submit to guest post, but don’t do it as a blogpost. Try a PDF or a video – repurpose it as something else entirely.

Don’t submit a post you’ve already run on your own blog.

3. You didn’t match the editorial style of blog

For example, Copyblogger’s first paragraph – even the first few paragraphs – is usually only one sentence long. They use a lot of sub-headers and juicy sub-headers throughout the post. Take time to match the writing style of the blog.

Look through the popular posts and mimic the structure of one of those posts. Don’t reinvent the wheel here. Stealing framework is ethical as far as Copyblogger is concerned.

Adapt your own personal style for the blog you’re writing for.

4. Your topic isn’t a fit

If you want to write a post that is PG-13, you wouldn’t want to post it on the PG-rated Copyblogger. If you’re hell-bent on keeping curses in your post, then try to find another blog that would post a PG-13 post.

5. You weren’t memorable

Help readers make a connection with you with a personal story. Mention your kids, or your dog, or how much you hate broccoli – whatever it is! Those personal details will stick with people and bond you with them.

6. You keep making the same mistakes

Take the original post and compare it to the published version. You’ll learn more from those edits than you ever could from a writing book.

Editors feel good when you correct posts you write again for the blog. If you don’t fix mistakes you keep making, editors might see it as being lazy, that you don’t get it, and that it’s going to take a ton of time to edit/keep up with (and the writer becomes a chore).

That said, you’re not expected to be perfect the first time around. They might even make you rewrite the post. That’s not a big deal. You’re never going to be perfect, either.

Guest posts are a collaboration – don’t feel insulted if and when your posts are edited. For one guest post Jon did, he was told up front he’d be creating 3 drafts. Copyblogger posts go through three rounds of edits with multiple editors, including Brian Clark. (Due to this, Copyblogger is willing to take a post with strong ideals and poor writing and do the work to improve it for publishing.) These are all things you need to be aware of for whichever blog you’re looking to do guest posts for.

You can create a relationship with other guest bloggers by reaching out and asking “How was your experience doing the post for Copyblogger?”

7. You think you’re entitled

Sonia talks about an example with a woman who was persistent about a post she submitted which simply wasn’t suitable for the blog’s audience. Sonia nicely told her this, but the woman pushed. Instead of saying “OK, I’ll edit it and make it so it does suit your audience,” the woman presumed her post she be published. So instead of following up and standing out, she’s actually called attention to herself as a trouble maker.

It’s important to remember humility when you post on another person’s blog – you’re a guest blogger, after all. Act like one.

Sonia Simone – Remarkable Marketing Blueprint

Jon Morrow – Associate Editor of Copyblogger

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Posted in Expert Advice | No Comments »

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