How to Write a Block-Rocking SEO Press Release

You know what a press release is: A press release is the #1 tool in the publicist’s bag of tricks. A press release is what publicists send to media to let the public know what their clients are up to. But what you may not know is that business owners (a.k.a. Those do-it-yourself publicists) rely …

Six Reasons Your Website Needs Video

Micheal shooting Brooks & Dunn video Sorry about that, my Luddite friend. I too, am a reader, not a watcher, but times have changed. Today’s websites need video and here are the top six reasons why: #1. Search engines love video. For the last few years, Google has rewarded sites that include video, presumably because …

How To Write Killer Copy (For Reals)

Copywriting has long been the black sheep of the marketing world. It’s a crucial part of the marketing process, but it’s tricky, and therefore many overlook copywriting as something that will take care of itself. Big mistake. Numerous studies have shown that small tweaks to your copy result in huge returns. Still, most don’t want to pay …

Why Social Media is Important for Small Businesses

I hear this one often: you’ve got a small business, so why even bother with social media? As much as we might like to ignore it, social media has become a major player in today’s internet. As a business owner, it’s not something we can ignore, and with Facebook’s Two Billion+ reach, why would we? Lamenting …

How to Optimize for Local SEO (6 Quick Fixes)

Before we jump into the search engine optimization waters, there’s something that should be clear: there are two types of search engine optimization: There’s Organic Search and Local Search. Organic Search is all about how people find your site in the search engine rankings. Local Search is all about getting your business to rank better in the Google Places …

How Socrates and Science Can Make You a Better Marketer

Here’s how you can take the teachings of a guy who’s been dead for centuries, combine that with some modern-day science, and walk away with a foundation for marketing mastery. Check it out: As a marketer and blogger, your visuals and your text are going to matter a lot. You have, on average, 8 seconds to persuade your audience …

How to Generate Free Publicity (Part 2)

OK, so you’ve got a great story about your business you want your local media to cover. How do you get their attention? Just like in fishing, we call it The Hook. The Hook is an intriguing email subject line/press release headline that makes readers (and editors are readers) want to know more. Here are …

How to Generate Local Publicity (Part 1)

It’s the holy grail of all small businesses –  Free Publicity. But how do you get it? In this age of information overload, it can be hard for beginning businesses to be heard above the din of more experienced buzz-makers. The good news is that the more media outlets there are–newspapers, e-zines, magazines, social media …

How To Grow Your Readership

“At the ‘Tools of Change’ publishing conference in New York, Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler revealed a remarkably simple, effortless way for authors to sell more eBooks on Amazon… or in fact anywhere eBooks are sold online. In a survey of Goodreads’ 15 million-strong membership, he found that the main driver of eBook purchases was, unsurprisingly, ‘referral by a friend’.”–BESTSELLER …

Why Write a Killer Blogpost

Sure, it seems easy enough – all your friends seem to have started one, so why shouldn’t you? But with the advent of the internet and weblogging, it seems that everyone has become an expert and so it’s hard to separate the good content from dross, the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. There …