The F7 Blog
Figureseven, Inc. has been helping businesses maximize their offline and online marketing efforts for over a decade. This blog provides insight, tips and advice from our experts to help you achieve your marketing goals.
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Blog Guidelines III
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 29, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
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Del.icio.usI conclude my 3-part treatise on blog content with a few other thoughts to keep in mind:
- Make sure that the topic is clear to someone who only reads the headline.
- Make sure that the lead paragraph tells who and what the story is about and why the reader should care about it.
- Make sure that it is free of jargon .
- Ask your readers a question at the end or include something to stimulate readers to comment and provide feedback.
Engaging your site visitors might not be as challenging as you think. Then again, if you are overwhelmed by this prospect, consider using an outside source (hint, hint) that could provide you with the content you need to create a blog that makes your site a must-read visit.
Blog Guidelines II
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 27, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
Here are some additional thoughts on what goes into a good blog, one that will keep site visitors returning to read more:
- Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren't a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you're speaking to your friend or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist's rule of 5 W's in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.
- Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence).
- Use a clear headline, and don't be afraid to make bold statements (but don't mislead people either).
- Write like you talk. It's okay to use common expressions from speech. Examples: Go figure. Don't even go there. Now, I ask you. Gotta love it. (And, remember the age group of your readers – try to avoid using jargon that they might be unfamiliar with.)
Blog Guidelines I
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 25, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
After writing my last blog about the importance of blogs, I realized that some people might be a bit in awe of the prospect of writing a blog. To help assuage those fears, here are some guidelines that I believe will help you to craft your message more effectively.
- Write with the reader in mind - your reader will read your post looking for what's in it for them.
- Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don't waste people's time. If you don't have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do.
- Proof-read for typos and glaring grammatical errors (this is also something that I will do before we post anything). Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.
- Keep it short and simple. Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.
Now, to avoid breaking one of my own rules, I will leave the rest of my guidelines until my next blog.
A Study in Common Sense Marketing
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 22, 2010 in Branding, Marketing
I wanted to offer my congratulations to Scott Brown for running a very savvy (and successful) campaign - from a marketing perspective. Politics aside, he seemed to better understand how advertisements can effectively position you against your competition. The ads that he ran on television (and I'm not talking about ones paid for by some outside organization interested in the outcome for its own reasons) were simple and explained his positions and views. I cannot recall seeing even one ad from the Coakley campaign that detailed what exactly it was that she stood for. Rather, they were all aimed at taking shots at Mr. Brown.
I was sitting at home on election night and got a late call from the Coakley campaign asking me if I had gone out and voted for Martha yet - the arrogance. I verbally castigated the caller and basically said that she did not deserve my vote because of her impersonal approach to outlining her positions. In retrospect, it was her camapign to lose - and she did a bang-up job of it.
Avoiding Blog Malaise
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 21, 2010 in Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing, Social Media
One of the biggest challenges of interactive marketing is generating pertinent blog content that will be of value to your customers. They come to your site to learn about your products and services and to perhaps pick up some inside information that is unavailable anywhere else. Blogs offer access and immediacy – getting a “traditional” press release placed might require a 45-day lead time. Getting news out on your web site requires no such time lag. And blogs allow for subjectivity – these are your thoughts and views, so express them.
Having said all that, generating a blog on a regular basis can be a real challenge – tough to think about things to write about, and sometimes, even tougher to effectively express your views on your chosen topic. But make it a priority – it creates new site content that will keep customers coming back to your site for valuable information and it prevents your site from becoming static and ignored by search engines.
I Hate to be Critical, But...
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 7, 2010 in Branding, Marketing
This past weekend, I took the time to watch a number of football games. And while I was pleased by the Patriot’s victory and a bit disappointed by BC’s loss (though it was not unexpected), I was astounded by the number of really poor commercials that ran during those games.
One in particular that grated me was the “Bud Lite” series that parodied infomercials with stupid ideas of its own. What creative genius thought “Let’s imitate a spokesman who died within the past year and try to get the audience’s attention by selling a really lame product?” And what equally concept-challenged Bud Lite executive said “Wow – what a great idea.” Maybe there is simply too much competition and all the good promotional ideas for beer are gone, but is appealing to the viewer’s in this way the best that they’ve got?
