Content Mastery Guide

Editor and Ghostwriter

Article marketing: How to be keyword rich AND creative in your article titles

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I fully admit that I haven’t put much effort into SEO – search engine optimization. I prefer to focus on creating great content, and building relationships with people who will help me share it.

On the other hand, I believe that by using SEO techniques, you can be of service to the people out there who desperately need what you have to offer. You are putting yourself in their path so they will find you and you can help them.

Now that’s something I can get on board with!

Three Tips for Keyword-Rich Article Titles

While I think we’ve already established that I’m not an SEO expert, here are three things I’ve learned about writing keyword-rich titles:

1. Do a little research. Find out what terms people are actually searching for (Google has a tool for that), related to your article topic.

2. Fish in a smaller pond. Choose the keywords people aren’t searching for THE MOST. There is less competition to deal with.

3. Be top-heavy: Use your keywords at the beginning of your title. Instead of “The Top 10 Ways to Discipline Your Teenager,” try, “Out of Control Teens (6,600 searches worldwide last month): Top 10 Discipline Techniques.”

So is that it? Just stuff your title with keywords and fight for a spot on the front page of the search engine results? Nope. I would always encourage you to write for people first, and search engines second.

Three Tips for Creative Article Subtitles

You might notice that I’ve used titles and subtitles in my examples. As a loose rule, put your keywords in the title and get more creative in your subtitle.

Here are three ways to bring more creativity into your article subtitles, so they’re attractive to your ideal readers:

1. Play with your words. An alternate title for this article might have been, “Article Marketing: How to be creative AND rich.” It’s a play on words – a deliberate deception, if you will – since instead of finances we’re talking about keywords. Be cautious here. If your article content is too much of a departure from your title, you risk losing the trust of your readers.

2. Make an outrageous connection. Get people curious to find out how the two things in your title could possibly relate, e.g., “Business Planning 101: What My Kitchen Renovation Revealed About My Business Goals.”

3. Repeat what works. What do YOUR readers respond to? Look at your open rates, click-through rates, comments and email replies. Which titles got the most response from your specific readers?

Also consider the type of article you’re writing, and for what purpose. For stock articles that you’re going to submit to general directories, you might want to experiment with a plain, descriptive, keyword-rich title.

But for specialty articles that you will email to your subscribers or submit to a membership site or specialized directory, you will want to inject more personality and flair.

Ideally, your titles will be rich enough to show up in front of hundreds of people, and creative enough for your ideal readers to self-select and click through.

Remember that click-throughs are only part of the story. You need that reader to get all the way to the bottom of your article so they find and follow your call-to-action (hopefully an offer for your pink spoon) and join your tribe.

How a fellow shower thinker got my attention on Twitter

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We had a great call on Tuesday, called How to Find, Feed and Fill Your Ideas Catchers So You Never Have Article Writer's Block Again!

Thanks again to my co-host, Laurie Foley of Intuitioneering, and please stay tuned to the Idea Generator update emails on Tuesdays to hear about future calls and other resources.

One of the topics we covered was how to keep your idea catchers perpetually full, when I shared what I've noticed about the creative power of water. Next thing you know, I got a tweet from Alex Carter, the Non-Profit Coach (Alex was featured in October's IAC VOICE), about a friend who keeps an erasable marker handy to capture shower ideas – ingenious!

It was great to hear from Alex and to continue to conversation we started on the call, but what was ever cooler was the tweet that came next.

You see the good folks at the Calmar Consulting Corporation, a husband and wife team of self-confessed shower thinkers, must have a Twitter search set up to find just such topics, and they were quick to "re-tweet" the message (forward it to their own followers).

And because I'm alerted when my name is mentioned, all of a sudden they were on my radar so I could discover them and write about them here. Pretty savvy use of Twitter, don't you think? If you have a look at their Twitter stream you can see examples of other little gems they've picked up on Twitter that are a perfect match for their product.

And what is their product?

Why, AquaNotes, of course – a waterproof pencil and paper set for the shower!! I just placed my order, and I'll definitely let you know what I think of them!

This website makeover’s got legs!

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Chyna’s greyhound rescue group, Greyhounds in Need of Adoption (GiNA for short), just got an incredible website makeover. I can’t say that I had anything to do with it (unfortunately), but I am very impressed.

Here’s what I love about the new site:

First off, it’s fun and interactive. While I don’t generally have much patience for websites I have to wait for (while they load), in this case it was definitely worth it.

Secondly, the site immediately engages the visitor in a relationship with “the product” – as soon as you arrive at the site you will be greeted immediately by a greyhound ambassador.

Finally, the website leads the visitor on a logical path to learn exactly what they need to know in order to take action, and gives them plenty of opportunities along the way to take a short cut to their next step.

Are you ready to see the site? Wait, first I want to show you the old GiNA site at www.saveagrey.com. While it was enough to hook ME, I was already pretty sold on the idea of a greyhound and really just needed the instructions for how to proceed. [Update December 24, 2012 – The old site is no longer available from that link. Trust me, the new one is a lot better!]

Here’s what the new GiNA website looks like at meetgina.ca.

Way to go GiNA (and Proximity Canada)!

So what do you think of this website makeover? More importantly, what do you think of these amazing dogs? (OK, I am a little bit biased.)

Top 5 mistakes to avoid on your article directory profile page

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In addition to providing a space for an author resource box they will display with your article, many article directory websites such as EzineArticles and Coach Spotlight* also give their visitors the opportunity to read a more detailed profile of each author.

Here are five mistakes you will want to avoid so that you can really shine in this spotlight:

Mistake #5: Too much, too soon

What does the reader need to know about you to feel confident enough to take the next step (which ideally is to visit your website and sign up for your pink spoon)? Tell them this much, and then stop! Don't feel that you have to use your full word count to describe your coaching process or your service options. Just show them that you have the training, experience and/or knowledge to help them solve their particular problem.

Mistake #4: Too polite

Are you worried it will seem rude or pushy to ask your reader to take an action or visit your website? On the contrary. If you don't tell them about what you have available, how can you help them? And since your motive is to help, not to sell (isn't it?), how can that be rude? It's actually the kindest thing you could do. Since you sometimes can't put an actual link into your profile text, just invite the person to visit your website. They will find the link displayed elsewhere in your profile.

Mistake #3: Too formal

People want to do business with those they know, like and trust. If you use formal language in your profile you put a gap between you and your reader and it is harder for them to feel a connection with you.  

Mistake #2: Too generic

Be sure to include specific details about what you do and how you help people. Just don't go too far here and use jargon words that are so specific to your area of expertise that someone who is new to it – like the reader who needs your help – will not understand the terminology. 

And the #1 Mistake: Too careless

If your profile – or any of your writing – contains errors in spelling, spacing, punctuation or grammar, it is a poor reflection on you as a professional. Your readers are going to assume that how you do anything is how you do everything. If you don't take the care to review your profile for errors, how can a prospective client trust that you will take care of them? It is not about being perfect (I always appreciate the readers who point out the occasional typos in my own work), it is about investing in the quality of your writing.

So make the most of your article directory profile – it is the beginning of what could be a long-term relationship with a new reader and potential client.

*Coach Spotlight is a relatively new article directory site specifically for coaches, and I've just started working with them to provide writing tips and resources to their members. Bob Simpson and his team have been working really hard to increase their traffic and in only three months have had impressive results from their efforts. A basic membership is free, and it's all you need to get noticed by members of your target market who are already searching online for the exact solutions that you provide.

WHY grow your list? Linda Claire Puig explains…

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This is a guest post by Linda Claire Puig, my co-counselor for the Pink Spoon Telecamp:

WHY Grow Your List? (Count the Many Ways)

by Linda Claire Puig, president, Claire Communications

List-building tips are all over the Internet these days. You can learn for free (including my Momentum articles from June 30, 2008, and July 10, 2009), you can buy e-books on the topic or you can take high-priced courses.

But are you really clear on WHY it's important to continually focus on growing your list?

When you understand what's possible with a bigger list–not just a bigger list, but a bigger relevant list–you open to new potential…for your business, for your life.

Sign me up!It's easiest to explain with an example. Let's say you have a list of 200 people that you keep in touch with on a regular basis. (You are sending a newsletter, aren't you?) You decide to run a $350 group program and announce it to your list by sending a promotional email. Seven people sign up and earn you a total of $2,450.

In marketing circles, those seven new clients represent a very good "conversion rate" of 3.5%. Conversion rate is the ratio of people who purchase to the total number of people on your list.

Now let's say your list grows to 3,000 (still a relatively modest list size), and you offer the same $350 group program. If your 3.5% conversion rate remains the same, you will now sign up 105 new members for your group, for a total earnings of $36,750. You may have to run concurrent groups to accommodate all the new business, a nice problem to have!

But even if your conversion rate dropped to 2%, you'd still sign up 60 new members for your group, for a total of $21,000 in earnings.

So $2,450 vs. $21,000…FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF PROMOTIONAL EFFORT!

Three important mentions here:

1) It's NOT all about a having a HUGE list. Smaller lists can be more responsive than their bigger counterparts. So decide on your income goals, determine your conversion rate history and let that help you determine how big you want to grow your list.

2) Don't forget that while you may attach numbers to your goals, building your list is ultimately NOT a numbers game. It's about building relationships with people who you would like the opportunity to serve. If you approach it this way, you will have a growing list that is always a relevant list.

3) Your list will not grow just because you wish it so. You may set a list-building goal for your year, but you won't meet it unless you take specific, focused action toward that goal. The very FIRST place to start is to have a great pink spoon…something that addresses a pressing need for your audience that you can give away in exchange for their contact information.

There are other reasons to grow your list that go way beyond numbers and dollars. Tell me, how do you help people? What are your gifts? With a larger list, your influence and your ability to help more people also grows.

Bottom line: No one is served by your list (or you!) remaining small.

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To learn more about what makes a great pink spoon, how to use it to grow your list and generate more business — and to create your own pink spoon under the guidance of two marketing communications experts — please register for the Pink Spoon Telecamp.