I’m asked to explain this often enough that I’ve decided to share that explanation here so that managers of businesses I don’t yet work with have a quick reference guide.

Firstly, let me say that I’m not surprised that many are confused.  It’s easy to be confused because things are evolving in a such a way and at such a rapid pace that the lines between formal and informal are blurring.

The term ‘blog’ was originally derived from ‘web log’, essentially an online, or web, journal.  Most bloggers today probably weren’t active at that time, so today, the common term is ‘blog’.

Blog’s have evolved from their journal beginnings to become a dynamic multi-user communication tool.  They’re really active online conversations at best.  As such, they tend to be as informal and diverse as the personalities of those who use them.

The greatest advantage of a blog is that it’s super quick. Super quick to get information online.  Super quick to get response.  Super quick to get interaction going between the writer and the audience.

The very nature of this free interaction means that the conversation can sometimes go all over the show, expanding on and digressing from the original topic in nano seconds.  It’s all part of the fun.

And the search engines love blogs. They love them because they are perceived as being popular and the more activity on them, the more popular they are perceived as being.  They’re the ‘wiki’ of any and every subject imaginable.

Best of all, for businesses, they’re low key, yet powerful money magnets.

They are ideal for relationship building and education.

As you’ve probably gathered, the corporate web site is an entirely different species in the online animal kingdom. Corporate web sites are primarily concerned with two things:

1. disseminating the corporate philosophy and area of expertise
2. creating and maintaining the corporate image

In fact, the two online mechanisms are so far apart that other than sharing the same internet, they bear little resemblance to each other.

Earlier I mentioned that the confusion about the differences has arisen because of a blurring of the lines between the two.  You may ask, “How can there be any blurring if they’re so far apart?”

The reason is that many are opting for a combination of corporate web site and blog.  This is being done usually in one of two main ways.

1. A corporate site with a blog add on dressed up to look like the corporate site
2. A blog that comprises both corporate information and blogging

This second option is becoming more and more popular due to the speed and lack of cost associated with it.  A blog allows you to publish the information you need to disseminate quickly and inexpensively.  If you can find (or custom create) a theme you like, you also have the option to have a static front page and navigation bar just like a traditional web site.

In this instance, your posts become visible as independent pages under “Categories” and “Recent Posts” both of which can be made visible in a side bar for easy access.

This means that not only is your corporate information front and center, but it’s also easily accessible to search engines as are all your subsequent posts.

Blogs, by the way, allow you to have posts and / or pages.  Pages would contain information that you wouldn’t change too often, while posts will feature ongoing updates.

There are pros and cons to both these approaches.

Pro’s for corporate site blog add on:

• appears to be part of the corporate site
• where image is of prime importance, the blog is ‘skinned’ with a theme the same as the corporate site theme
• is accessed at the same url as the corporate site

Cons for corporate site blog add on:

• ‘Skinning’ with a corporate theme usually results in severe loss of functionality – most of the blog functionality is impossible to incorporate in a skin
• More complex to update to the new WordPress versions as the skin has to be made compatible.  Incompatibility can result in the blog simply disappearing from sight and becoming invisible
• Gives the impression that the blog is merely a vehicle for stuffy corporate speak rather than true interaction
• is also usually a lot less visible to search engines (as a result of loss of functionality)
• requires the web site designer or IT department to install and maintain.  Usually these people are not bloggers so this is an area which doesn’t really fit their expertise.  They are used to formal programming and the down and dirty casual blog approach is often quite incomprehensible to them

Pros for the independent Blog:

• Quick and easy to get it installed and up and running.  Requires no html or programming experience – there are thousands upon thousands of free templates available allowing you to create a look that suits your requirements
• If you require a custom theme, WordPress themes can be commissioned at great rates because there are so many WordPress afficionados practicing their craft
• Quick and easy to update – no html required, though you can certainly use html if you want to
• Search engines love the blog format and find the content quite easily – simple keyword use will result in quickly increasing rankings
• Perfect for creating a ‘buzz’ and encouraging interaction with the audience.  Others can make comments easily and you can choose whether comments are required to be moderated before being publicly visible.
• Allows flexibility in the length and nature of content posted.  Short or long posts work equally well.
• Allows easy, on going communication with the audience

Cons for the independent Blog:

• Themes can sometimes be a little inflexible.   Picture placements, fonts and font sizes are often set parameters and these can’t be altered without programming.  However, for the most part, this is not a big issue.
• Can sometimes look more messy than a corporate site because of the nature of the theme and the volume of information
• Will operate best when it has it’s own unique url rather than a corporate add on url

As you can probably tell, I’m fairly partial to the combination of corporate site and blog through the use of an independent blog. It’s the ideal situation for many businesses.  It puts the people who will be providing content in control rather than having them wait on an overloaded IT department.

It outranks a newspaper for immediacy and ease of access.  It costs next to nothing and if you get tired of the look… no problem.  Changing a theme takes seconds.

If you’d like some advice or help with your online presence, please email me.  I’d love to help.

Another way to make your email marketing easier and more effective is to invite participation from others in compiling your emails.

Most of us have a very limited time available and this adds to the difficulty of maintaining a consistent program. Perhaps the easiest way of keeping up a regular email schedule while maintaining the interest level of your audience is to get others to help you by providing material to be featured.

Your emails can be as simple as a single article that showcases a staff member and their particular skills and knowledge – or it can comprise several articles written by different individuals such as staff members, or even customers and vendors. There’s nothing more persuasive than a first hand account from a customer who discusses how they use your product or service.  Plus you have the added bonus that the customer is usually thrilled at the opportunity to promote themselves at no cost.

The secret to making this method work is to have your email schedule planned a few months in advance. Once you’ve decided your theme for each issue, match that theme with a variety of staff, customers or vendors and approach them immediately to request their input.  Give them enough time to put the article or information together – but not enough that they completely forget about it.  I usually let people know a month or more in advance that I’d like them to contribute.  As soon as I have their agreement, I set up a reminder schedule – an email that goes out once a week to remind them about the deadline for their submission.

In this way, I’m able to maintain focus without annoying anyone and it’s a lot less stressful than waiting until the last minute only to discover that they’ve run out of time before they’ve even begun. If you can spot that they’re having trouble with this early, you can suggest that you interview them and write the piece for them.  Or that they supply you with a point form outline that you flesh out.  Whichever way they choose, you end up with fresh material from a variety of sources instead of the same old thing each issue.

It’s a great PR exercise.  Your customers and vendors are usually quite flattered at being asked to contribute and your staff get an opportunity to gain broader recognition of their skills.  And best of all, it’s no longer all on your shoulders.

Obviously, the more experienced you are, the easier it is to spot glaring marketing mistakes. That’s pretty easy.  What is not so easy is predicting how well your target market will receive your message – or how they will perceive it.

This is where testing comes in as an invaluable aid and precaution.

I have to admit that it’s not often I have the luxury of testing an approach.  Firstly, testing can be quite expensive, and not many clients really understand the value.  If you’re testing an ad, you really need to run the various versions of the ad in the same publication at the same time in order to determine which approach works best.  The reason is that then the dynamics are comparable – same day, same time, same audience e.t.c.

Ad testing is usually done by ‘split’ testing and usually, only larger, national publications offer this facility. This means that they will publish each version in different ‘runs’ of the publication.  For example, they may have an A/B split run where 50% of their publication will run one version of your ad and the other 50% will run the other version.

By placing various identification mechanisms in the ads, you’re then able to determine exactly which ad creates which response.

On the internet, you can run split testing for no cost at all by utilizing specific Google tools set up for this purpose.  Free, but a little tricky, technically if you are doing this yourself and are not technically minded.

Recently, I was faced with a dilemma where, for a number of reasons, I really needed to test before an ad ran – one of these being a hot dispute between me and the client regarding which was the best approach.

With no money and no time to do a professional test, and not wanting the ad to run and perform badly – in which case I’d get blamed even though the client may have gone against my advice – I decided to do a ‘grass roots’ test of my own.

I printed out the two ad versions and either emailed or hand delivered them to people I personally knew who fitted the specific target demographic.

Without giving any indication as to which I thought was better, I simply asked them to tell me which ad caught their attention and why – as well as whether they would respond to it if they saw it in the newspaper and why – or if they wouldn’t, why not?

Immediately, without any hesitation, they all selected the same ad. What was interesting was that they all had different reasons for selecting it.  Some simply said it was ‘more catchy’.  Other’s said the headline peaked their curiosity.  Others said it looked easy to read.

In contrast the other ad was perceived as ‘boring’, ‘too much work’, ‘too much copy’.

The amazing thing was the ad they’d chosen actually had more copy than the ad they didn’t like. It was clearly laid out with bulleted points and it was easy to get the message by simply scanning it quickly.

The ad they liked was in a ‘story’ form with the fact interwoven through the story.

But somehow the perception was that it was ‘less’ copy, and easier to read.

The client was very much in favor of the shorter, bulleted copy ad with the facts presented up front.  When they were presented with the results of the informal testing, they decided to go with the ad which had been chosen by the market.  But without that testing, the ad that was found to be not appealing would’ve run – costing them money without producing a good return.

This exercise was a lesson to me. As a result, I’ve made a decision to do informal testing whenever possible.  I believe it will save my clients money and the feedback I receive from the market will help me hone my approach, wording and offers in a way that nothing else could.

Informal testing is a great tool – it’s easy, quick and free – and it produces very valuable insights into the minds of those to whom I’m speaking.

The short answer is: it’s one of a number of critical components.

In internet marketing, there are many different components that play a part in your success.  Just getting in front of your audience is an entire process in itself.  One that can keep you, or your staff, busy literally full time.  If you don’t have this handled, how good your copy is, is not really an issue.

Other factors include taking care of processing sales, and for physical products, inventory, shipping and returns are all critical details that play a part in the ultimate success or failure of the business.

So… in the grand scheme of things, how important is your copy… really?

Initially, your copy plays a vital role in that the keywords and keyword phrases you use will influence your search engine listings.  In other words, find the right keywords – the ones most often used by your ‘hot to buy’ market  to find for your type of product or service – and you’ll come up faster and higher in the search engines when they search.

Once you’ve come up in the search engine results, the descriptive  summary shown has to be relevant to what your prospect is  looking for, or they won’t click on your listing, no matter how high it’s ranked.

Thirdly, your copy has to be interesting, useful and relevant. If it isn’t they’ll soon click out of your site.  It has to be so good that not only does it hold their attention, but it’s valuable enough to them to actually bookmark for future visits.

And finally, it has to be persuasive enough, targeted enough and sales oriented enough that it converts visitors into customers.

Think about it like this:  imagine your copy is a story book.  It can have a gripping title and attractive cover, it can be widely advertised and promoted.  It can even be endorsed by your favorite celebrity… but once you open it and begin to read, it has to hold your interest and deliver on your expectations, otherwise you’ll probably not finish it and you certainly won’t look forward to its sequel.

So, yes, your internet marketing copy is very important. So important, that it’s well worth while spending time and effort on making sure that it has more than just strong keywords, but also delivers exceptional content.

First and foremost, copy has to be focused.

• Focused on a well defined audience.
• Focused on a clear, simple message specifically for that audience.
• Focused on achieving a specifically defined result.

When we  try to address everyone in general, we end up speaking to no one in particular.

The easiest way to write the kind of copy that produces measurable results is by following this simple procedure:

1. Set aside time to work on the project.  At least an hour or two.
2. Do not allow yourself to be interrupted.  Turn the telephone ringer off, close your door and take your email program off line.  It’s essential that your train of thought is not interrupted, otherwise it’s inevitable that you WILL lose focus.
3. Take a blank piece of paper and draw 3 circles on it. Make the circles large enough to write notes in.
4. Circle 1: define your audience. How old are they? What do they do? Where do they live?  Put in as much information as possible.
5. Circle 2: What is the main message you want to convey to your audience? Usually this will be built around the primary benefit of your product or service.
6. Circle 3: Once your audience has read the message, what do you want them to do and how will they do it? This needs to be spelled out clearly.

Once you’ve defined these parameters, it’s time to begin actually writing your message.  An effective ways of doing this is to identify someone you know who fits the demographic profile of your specified market.

Then, imagine you’re sitting with this person in a relaxed setting.  Perhaps you’re having coffee together at your favorite coffee shop.  Imagine yourself telling them about your product and focusing on the message you want to convey – which will be the major benefit they’ll enjoy.

Write down how you imagine the conversation to go.  Once you’ve done this, imagine the questions or objections this person may have.  Answer them clearly. Then tell your friend what they need to do to own the product.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll have the outline of a friendly, personal and persuasive message.

The next task is to edit for clarity and grammar.  A few deviations from traditional grammar are fine if they enhance the sincerity of the message, but blatant mistakes will damage your credibility.

For instance, saying ‘you don’t got’ instead of ‘you don’t have’ doesn’t enhance the sincerity, it simply makes you look uneducated.  Expletives also don’t enhance sincerity. Foul language makes you look crude. If you’re not sure about whether to use a phrase you might use in regular conversation, it’s better to err on the side of caution than to take the risk of sounding crass.

Having said that, keep your tone natural.  ‘Speak’ in your own voice – just tidy it up a little.  If your message begins to sound long winded or rambling, then edit.

Use the fewest possible words.  For instance, if you’re selling real estate, you wan to avoid using flowery phrases such as one of the realtors in my city uses.  His sales pitches have become a city-wide joke.

His ads frequently read something like this: “This splendiforous residence boasts ample, luxurious accomodation enhanced by exquisitely tasteful decor… from the lushly verdant gardens overflowing with flora…”  I’m sure you get the idea.

Keep your copy simple and real.  Write the way real people in your audience market speak.  Minus the serious grammatical errors.

When you find yourself becoming verbose, examine the sentence and try to replace unwieldy phrases with either one or a few carefully chosen words.  One accurate word will often suffice.

Get someone who fits your intended audience profile to read the finished copy.  Ask them to tell you what it said to them.  Listen to their perceptions.  After you’ve asked a few people to read and comment on your copy, you’ll get a sense of the message they’re receiving versus the message you intended.  Revise your copy accordingly.

Don’t get offended or try to explain what you really meant.  Remember, you won’t be there to clarify your message to your readers.  It has to be clear on the first read as you won’t have another opportunity.

If you feel you need a professional critiquing of your copy, I’m happy to help you.  You can email me at jackie@jackiecooperwriter.com