I would have thought this fact should really go without saying, sort of like an unwritten rule that everyone already knows. Recently, I’ve been stumbling upon quite a few websites that have proved the need for this blog post, so here it is. Newsflash of the week. Your potential clients do not whip out their industry jargon dictionary while reading your blog posts. Nor are they impressed when they try to wade through your jargon laden content and realize they need an Advil by the time they are done.

Bottom line here? If you are peppering your posts with speech that reads like a foreign language to your readers, you are losing money. Need an example? How about real estate websites. Most of them are jargon-fests. If you want to appeal to your potential client and win them over, do you think that talking about escrow, short sales, or private mortgage insurance as if these are a part of your reader’s  normal, everyday conversations is wise? It’s not. Many of your readers have very little knowledge of what these terms really mean, that’s why they are searching the internet…they are in search of knowledge. If you don’t provide it, someone else (insert the name of your most fiercely hated competitor) will.

Just Say No to Industry Jargon

Look, I’m no rocket scientist, but let’s take a look at the use of industry jargon on your business website by asking a few logical questions:

• Who are you trying to reach with your website? You are trying to reach the average consumer, the potential client, or someone who is looking for more information about your products or services. With that in mind, your site should be clearly written and able to be understood by all. Rule of thumb to live by; write so a 5th grader can understand your posts.

• How do YOU feel when you come across information beyond your understanding? Have you ever happened upon a website while researching a topic that used so many industry phrases that the entire article or post read like a foreign language? How did it make you feel? Maybe you don’t even remember because you left the site so quickly in order to find real, useful information. Well, that’s exactly what your potential clients are going to do. They’ll head right over to your competition.

So, what’s the answer? Well, for starters, take a look at this list of DOs and DON’Ts, and start handling your web content accordingly:

• DON’T assume your customers have any understanding of your products or services.
• DO create a glossary of terms for common industry words and phrases regularly used on your site.
• DO create posts about common issues and misconceptions in the industry.  Doing so will make it easier to answer future questions and to create additional, useful content for your business blog or website.
• DO arrange your website in a logical order prominently featuring the most popular posts.

That should be enough to get you started in the right direction. Remember…Write for the reader.

One of my favorite, yet most challenging clients, is a highly intelligent and well known financial planner. He’s quite revolutionary in his mission to expose the hidden agenda of many unscrupulous  investment schemes. I write his weekly blog posts and am also working on his first book. At first, this was rather intimidating to me. How could I write for the financial investment crowd without being an expert myself? Easy…Take his knowledge and information (with this client I use his radio broadcasts to compile my facts) and turn them into posts that even my teenagers can understand. That’s what people want. That’s why they are reading.

Write each post with the goal to teach your readers something new. Give them direction. Give them something they can immediately apply in the real world, but leave out the confusing phrases.

My biggest compliment from this particular client actually came in an email from his assistant. Here’s what it said:

“Hi Robin, read your recent article.  I am not from a financial background, but the way everything is explained makes total sense to a layman”

That, my friend, is web content success.

For more information on reaching your target audience, continue to read my blog, or better yet, hire me to write your SEO content for you. Your readers will thank you.

From the brick and mortar company servicing your neighborhood to the Fortune 500 corporation that reaches the world, there is no time like now to harness the power of the Internet and increase your bottom line.

This is somewhat of a double edged sword…

It’s never been easier than right now to establish an online presence.

However…

It has also never been more difficult to pull your online presence together and make it work.

Why? Because competition for qualified clients is fierce. If you are going to rank with Google and convert online lurkers into a trusted group of fans and satisfied clients, you need the right content.

Yes, there’s a difference. There’s regurgitated sludge and there’s intelligent, fresh, valuable content that will build your online presence into a remarkable tool to funnel clients right to your door.

Using content to draw your client into your industry, your world, and your area of expertise adds value to your business and search engine authority to your website, all while developing a bond between you and your target client, well before you ever ask them for the sale.

Ideally, you developed your online presence so you could increase your bottom line while working less hours.

However…

There is a right and a wrong way to go about this . Marketing and selling are vital elements, but you have to go about it differently than the competition. Your website, your content, your industry knowledge has to bring fresh ideas and clear, usable knowledge to your clients…or they won’t stick with you. Writers-Elite specializes in this concept.

Do we write a little sassier than the next guy? Yes.

Do we take more chances and step out on the ledge once in a while? Yes.

Is that what it takes to draw interest? Absolutely.

Your potential client wants to develop that ‘feeling’ of old fashioned customer friendliness and pulling up to the general store where everyone knows their first name, even though we live in the ultra fast paced world of the internet. How is that accomplished? By supplying content that not only informs, but also entertains. Content that gives the reader some insight to your personality, while always bringing them along the friendly path that leads to your front door.

It’s really doable on the internet…And at Writers-Elite, we really know how to do it.

Give ghostwriting a spin… Give us a month and we’ll give your website or blog the best feel it’s ever had.

Our Guarantee

We guarantee that your readership and following will increase. We guarantee to start a buzz about who you are and what your company provides. We will create a client base of individuals who are already warmed up to you, and already charmed by their mental perception of your business. Won’t that be wonderful?

What We Provide – Our specialties include (but are not limited to):

SEO web copy: Search engine optimized articles and blog posts will enhance your web presence and grow the seeds of your business. Writers-Elite creates content for both search engines and humans. SEO means nothing if the human eyes that land on your page don’t enjoy what they’re reading. Quality content is highly readable, always engaging, and well articulated. Every page we write elevates your ranking while motivating your visitors to take action.

Sales letters: The right words can drive dollars to your bank account 24 hours a day. That’s the only kind we write.

Email autoresponders: Think of your autoresponder as your personal team who never sleeps. They are always around to shake the hand of new leads, then guide them toward a comfortable spot (such as your blog) where they can keep the conversation flowing. Setting the right autoresponder into place can yield dividends for years to come.

Press releases: Let’s face it. Most press releases are simply overwritten announcements about events that no one really cares about. We make sure that doesn’t happen. We only write with character and clarity, about events of interest to your potential clients.

Ghost Blogging: Keeping up with a successful blog is time consuming, but a loyal audience will lead to money in the bank. Every post must have a purpose, whether it is to strengthen your authority, gather leads, or close the deal. We provide beautifully written content on any subject, all optimized to get you noticed.

Ebooks and info products: Spread your message, cement your authority, or sell your knowledge. We create and help you distribute the assets that will help you launch your dreams.

Writers-Elite also offers a full range of personal services including but not limited to: letter writing, custom speeches, editing and revision, and custom wedding vows.

Please contact us today for friendly content that respects your customers while pulling in profit.

Contact us by Email or give us a call at 239-440-6856. We look forward to hearing from you!

As a recent guest of the Train With Shane radio broadcast, I was able to share some specifics about blogging and ghostwriting– and how keeping up with your blog posts can greatly help your business grow.

I’ve read quite extensively regarding the ethics of using a ghostwriter for a website, blog or even a Twitter account. Some individuals have questioned the credibility of a business that would turn to such practices.

Before we set up our firing line, lets take a step back and look at the whole picture here. A business, any business, should strive for excellence in every area that falls under its umbrella of responsibility. Thinking this all the way through, one must come to the realization that certain businesses are branded by an idea, certain businesses are branded by a product, and certain businesses are branded by an individual–but they ALL must operate according to the same standards if they are to succeed. Right? … Right.

If that is true, then why is it that you don’t expect Colonel Sanders to fry your chicken wings or Sam Walton to help you find the new Coldplay CD, but you DO expect Guy Kawasaki to answer your emails. Business is business. Guy Kawasaki’s Internet Marketing presence is branded by a person…himself. But at the end of the day, he still has to do his accounting, attend a live seminar taping, pitch his materials and keep up with his appointments. Do you really think he is sitting in front of his computer all day, waiting to personally reply to the comment you left on his website? Well, wipe the sleep out of your eyes and come on over to reality. That’s not how it works.

Almost a decade ago, I was on staff at a fairly large church in Ocala, Florida. The pastor and staff were well known by all of the big Rhema preachers and we produced a weekly television broadcast along with owning and running our own radio station and private school. It was a fast paced, demanding atmosphere to work in–to say the least. But, I learned  more from working at that church than any business school could have ever taught me. Our pastor was awesome, Godly, beloved by the community and always sincere in his actions and motives. He also ran his businesses with the same amount of widom, drive and genious that I would expect from Donald Trump.

There was never a phone call unanswered, a misspelled word in any of his publications or a mark on any of the walls in the school. Even the chairs in the sanctuary were set at a precise distance from each other that was measured by a special stick the maintenance department had created. This was excellence to the tenth power. And do you know what? I have a secret to share with you…Get ready for this. Pastor Tim’s secretary answered all of his emails and written correspondence, most of the time without him even taking a glance at any of it. She would brief him on information that he needed to know, but would conduct herself with full authority to speak on his behalf…(gasp) Can you believe it? His secretary ‘ghost-answered’ his emails. Well of course she did. He was responsible for a church of over 5,000 members, a fully accredited  Academy (K-12th grade) and a radio station. He also authored numerous books and took frequent missions trips. Oh, and did I mention that he was a father of five children? Yes, and the church was never in the red, the staff was well paid, and everything went like clockwork, always.

Pastor Tim was the man behind the church. He was who everyone saw on TV and heard on the radio. But he could not have taken things to the level that he did without having the ability to do two powerful things:

• Number one– He was able to convey his mission, his vision and his way of thinking so completely to his staff, that they were able to make decisions on his behalf. Everyone knew what was expected and carried it out without diluting or putting their own personal spin on things.
• Number two– He was able to let go and trust his people to carry out the vision.

If you can’t wrap your mind around using a ghost writer or a ghost blogger to bring your voice and your brand value to a target audience because you feel it isn’t ethical, then don’t expect to grow beyond the limited number of tasks that you can accomplish on your own. People follow Guy Kawasaki because he is an influential leader in his industry. If he is so limited that he can’t properly convey his mission statement to a ghost-tweeter whom he employs to speak on his behalf, then Houston; we’ve got a problem.

Ghost writers, bloggers, and even ghost tweeters are valid resources that will clear your plate and allow you to further carry out the plan and growth of your business. The only logical argument against hiring a ghostwriter is when a business tries to cut corners and sacrifices their very reputation by employing writers who can’t even put two sentences together correctly. I’ve seen this happen all too often. The way around this pitfall is pretty simple, don’t hire someone who writes $5.00 articles. If you do, you’re going to GET $5.00 articles. I know fellow writers who are extremely talented, but have lowered their standards and have begun to write for low pay. If your writer is turning out $5 or $10 articles then guess what?–They are feverishly trying to complete ten or more per day so they can make ends meet. Do you want your blog posts written by someone who wrote it in fifteen minutes or less? I know I don’t. Bottom line, you get what you pay for…Yes, it was true last year, it was true a decade ago, and it’s true today.

If you are thinking about using a ghost blogger, you are thinking correctly…It logically flows in the growth process of any business or industry. You are not a one man band. Just be sure that when you do hire a writer, you do so with care. Don’t compromise your standards. If you are going to spend your time building a business, then do it correctly. Using intelligent and talented writers to properly convey your thoughts and bring value to your industry is just plain smart business.

Here, at Writers-Elite, we provide Business Blogging and Website  Content Management Services to some of the largest corporations in the United States. We also know how to cater to the small business owner who needs to make his mark in the Social Networking scene. From local search to international exposure, your image is our concern. Please contact us today to learn more about our Business Blogging and Social Media services. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that our level of excellence and attention to your needs comes with an extremely reasonable price tag.

Robin Hale

239-440-6856

Partnershipmktg@aol.com

Murphy’s Law of Blogging: Whatever Can Keep You From Your Blog Post…Will

The first rule of starting your business blog is, of course, to post at least three times per week–daily if possible. And generally we all start off strong. You probably  launched your blog with five to ten start-up posts, giving your new readers something valuable to explore. After that you may have kept it up for a week, maybe even two.

Then, as it will do– life intervenes.

After a while you have what many business owners end up with…‘the abandoned blog.’

It’s okay. The pressure is off. Your business is not blogging — blogging is helping your business. Your business is the main thing, and even it should come after your family and your health.

So what is the answer to your ‘failure to blog blues?’

Adopt a Blogging Schedule You Can Live With

From the outset, you should adopt a schedule of posting that fits your life and business. If that’s three times a week, so be it. If it’s once a week, OK – but it better be good stuff, and probably a bit longer than the average blog post length of 500 or so words. You can also do all your blog writing on one day if you’re feeling extra creative, and schedule them to publish throughout the week. Whatever works best for you— that’s your schedule.

Plan for the Inevitable With Evergreen Drafts

Evergreen drafts are simply blog drafts that aren’t dated to a timely event or season. You can post them anytime and they’ll still be just as relevant as if you posted them today.

How many should you have on hand? I suggest five to ten. The more the better, since time has a way of launching sneak attacks that we never see coming.

Start your evergreen blog posts by brainstorming a topic list. Look at holes in your archives and in your categories. What have you yet to address? Think of basics — foundational pieces of information that your readers need to fill the gaps in their knowledge base.

There Are Other Ways ….

There are many other ways to beat the “no time to blog” blues. If your time needs to be focused on business expansion, a new customer base or marketing, you may want to consider using a service, such as Writers Elite, to take the pressure off. Ghost blogging, when given to writers you can trust, saves time, frustration, and the worry of coming up with fresh topics while dealing with the day-to-day duties of your business.