Rembrandt’s Blog

There are a lot of performing arts shows out there today (“Fame,” “Glee,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Dancing with the Stars,” etc.), and I love watching the good dancers and singers.

But it made me think about public relations and SEO copywriting. For example, you know how some of the performers warm up singing, “Mi, Mi, Mi…?” Well, this could be the theme song for many of the Web sites out there today!

It’s About the Customer

As an entrepreneur excited about getting the word out about your business, it can be easy to fall into the trap of talking about all of the unique features of your products and services.

You post your new Web site and wait for sales to grow. But in the midst of your excitement, you may have forgotten to answer one very important question…

What’s in it for your customers?

To avoid this mistake, try to keep these things in mind when preparing or reviewing your Web site:

• Is your home page all about you?

When new visitors arrive at your site, are they greeted with a bunch of sentences that start with “We”?

“We have great services,” “We are well known,” “We are a leader in the industry,” Blah, Blah, Blah.

If this sounds familiar, please update your Web site copy so you focus on the customers. Try to help them solve their problems.

• Do you let visitors know they are in the right place?

When first-time visitors arrive at your Home page, they want to know that you can help them and they are in the right place. They also want to find answers fast.
 
To test your site, have some potential customers, friends, family, associates, or other outsiders review your site. Do they know “what’s in it for them” immediately? Can they find what they need quickly and easily? If not, your site needs updating.

• Is your site user friendly?

Is your home page simple, or do visitors see graphics, ads, videos, links, call-out boxes, and more when they first arrive on your site? While all of this can be high tech and entertaining, it can also distract customers.

Instead of trying to have a “cool” site packed with the latest technology, give customers what they want. Offer short, easy-to-read paragraphs, and stick to one basic message.

Figure out the one action you want site visitors to take on each page of your site, and then make it easy for them to take that action. Whether you want them to sign up for your newsletter, get a free report, call your sales rep, or something else, keep it simple.
 
Improve Your Site With A Few Quick Changes

These are just a few thoughts on how to improve your Web site and customer experience. As a small business owner, it can be easy to concentrate on your business features and the top items you want to sell. But check your site on a regular basis to make sure your customers’ needs are a priority. Keep it simple and user friendly, and you’ll see better results.

And if you just don’t have time to review and update your Web site, you can save a lot of headaches and money by hiring a professional, SEO copywriter. It’s money well spent. You’ll see results, and best of all, you can focus on your core business responsibilities.
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Do you have questions about SEO copywriting and boosting sales on your Web site? Please send me a note below or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

If you have been watching or listening to the news lately, it is packed with negativity concerning the latest unemployment rates, stock market upsets and violence overseas. It’s enough to make your blood pressure soar. Well, I’m not going to let it get to me. What about you?

Instead of focusing on all of the negativity that’s out there, it’s time to have a positive outlook and figure out a plan-of-action to change things for the better.

To start, review your financial situation…no matter how scary it may be. After all, it’s essential to know where you are so you can create a budget and take steps to achieve your new goals.

And sometimes it can be difficult to move forward on your own. For motivation, turn to positive family members, friends, mentors, and business associates.

Share your thoughts with others via online forums and discussion groups. You can also get some great information online at sites like www.smallbizamerica.com, http://www.pinkmagazine.com/index.html, http://www.sba.gov/, www.score.org, http://www.suzeorman.com/, www.fico.com, http://www.creditguard.org/, www.startupnation.com, and others.

Now, this may seem like a lot of work, and it is. But this is not the time to relax.

Instead, it’s essential to give 110% or more. After all, there is a lot of competition out there for the limited amount of available new business, jobs, investors, and more. If you are not working for your “piece of the pie,” you’ll be left in the dust by the competition.

Things are messy right now. But if they are going to get better, it’s up to all of us to stay positive, assume responsibility for our future and take action to move forward.

Do you need help boosting sales for your business with PR and SEO copywriting? Please write to me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!

I just got off the phone with a potential new client. She wasn’t sure how to build buzz for her organization. And after months of jumping around with SEO, media pitching, press releases, and other activities, she needed my help. Nothing was working. Do you know why? She wasn’t focusing on a specific goal.

How are you going to get there if you don’t know where you’re going?

While it’s essential to take advantage of all the publicity and search-engine-optimization activities available to save time and money while building awareness, they won’t work unless you have an action plan.

Now, it can be tempting to just jump in and start using the various social media applications, SEO tactics, press-release distribution services, and other cost-effective technologies to try to boost sales quickly. Instead, if you focus your efforts and develop an action plan, you’ll have much better results. And it doesn’t need to take a lot of time.

Here are three quick steps to help you organize your activities:

1. Research.
Figure out whom you are trying to reach and where your target market hangs out. Do they use social media like Twitter®, FaceBook, YouTube, and others? Or does your audience stick to niche, industry publications? Make a list of the tops venues or sites to pursue and the results you hope to accomplish within a certain timeline.
 
2. Solve Your Customers Problems.
Next, use the appropriate venues you just discovered to offer solutions to your customers’ problems.

Maybe you can write an article about a key topic for one of your targeted publications? Perhaps you can offer valuable information via blog entries on your site?

The whole point is to focus on your customers and give them the information they need in the place they will most likely go to find it.

3. Get Help.
Now that you know what kind of information to provide your customers (and where to distribute it), get some help.

Whether you hire an intern who can monitor your online buzz at no cost, a SEO expert who can save you time and effort with the appropriate Web coding or a publicist who can serve your organization’s specific needs, outsource some of this work to people who can help you stay on track with your action-plan goals. Then, you can focus on your core business activities and pleasing current customers.

Rather than try different activities haphazardly to bring in sales, take the time to develop an action plan first. Then, monitor your progress. In the end, you’ll save time and money. But more importantly, you’ll be able to service your current customers while bringing in new ones quickly and cost-effectively.

Do you need help with your public relations and SEO copywriting activities? Please contact me below or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!