Beyond the Elements of Style

A Paradigm Shift

It used to be that marketing writers—like me—were always helping our clients to sell. And that worked for a long time indeed. It worked when we used to send out direct mail and slide infomercials into magazines, and it worked when we created websites and landing pages and advertising copy.

But change is the only constant, and the web is changing faster than anything else, it seems. The new paradigm, the essence of social media marketing, isn’t helping people sell—it’s helping them buy. Changing the focus from pushing Product X to pulling people in to buy Product X. It may seem like a matter of semantics, but if you think about it you’ll see that it’s far more radical than that, a seismic shift.

It doesn’t mean that other forms of marketing are obsolete. In fact, social media marketing sits in snugly with search engine optimization, because at the end of the day, it’s still all about content, still about getting people to one’s site and having them buy once they’re there.

And there are as many ways of getting them there as there are people in any given conversation. But that’s another shift, isn’t it: from advertising (i.e., talking at people) to evangelizing (talking with people). Social media types find advertising invasive, anyway, so we’ll be seeing less and less of it; but one can evangelize from within—a community, a club, a social group—specifically because one is a group member. One belongs. One listens. One supports.

So the first tip for those of you who want to join the conversation? Listen! And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Let’s Talk Search!

It’s something I haven’t done lately … talk about, that is, though I’m doing plenty of search engine optimization these days, and for very good reasons: in a failing economy, customer/client/donor acquisition is more critial than ever, and yet budgets for doing so are smaller than ever. SEO offers a relatively low-cost way to get potential clients and customers to one’s website, and Customline Wordware is offering a number of recession-special SEO Lite packages.

But it’s not fun always working with the Big Three of search engines — Google, Yahoo! and MSN — so today I was delighted to come across this article that announces some new and interesting search engines. I looked at them with some trepidation (after all, who doesn’t remember the dazzling failure of Cuil?), but was pleased with what I saw. No, we won’t be optimizing for them anytime soon, but they’re great tools to keep tucked in the back of your mind as you roam the web.

I won’t rehash the article, but will note the names of the new search engines reviewed:

• Soovle
• facesaerch
• Tastekid
• fasteagle
• FanSnap
• compfight
• Kedricx

Check the article out and play around with the engine that interests you most. With Google’s domination of the search engine landscape, we often forget that there is more than one way to skin a cat. These (and my own perennial favorite, Kartoo) will challenge your boxed-in thinking. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Splogs, Anyone?

From Wikipedia:

“Spam blogs, sometimes referred to by the neologism splogs, are artificially created weblog sites which the author uses to promote affiliated websites or to increase the search engine rankings of associated sites. The purpose of a splog can be to increase the PageRank or backlink portfolio of affiliate websites, to artificially inflate paid ad impressions from visitors, and/or use the blog as a link outlet to get new sites indexed.

“Spam blogs are usually a type of scraper site, where content is often either inauthentic text or merely stolen (see blog scraping) from other websites. These blogs usually contain a high number of links to sites associated with the splog creator which are often disreputable or otherwise useless websites.

“There is frequent confusion between the terms “splog” and “spam in blogs”. Splogs are blogs where the articles are fake, and are only created for search engine spamming. To spam in blogs, conversely, is to include random comments on the blogs of innocent bystanders, in which spammers take advantage of a site’s ability to allow visitors to post comments that may include links.”

I want to say a little more about this, because it is a problem and has in a sense hijacked the public’s perception of search engine optimization. And since a) Customline Wordware does SEO and b) I continue to work ethically, it’s worth talking a little more about it.

Here’s Wired’s take on the issue: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.09/splogs.html (or http://tinyurl.com/knra7)
From the article: “Extreme vulnerability to spam, he says, is a defining characteristic of Web 2.0, and splogs are its first manifestation.”

SEO unfortunately got a lot of early bad publicity through those who abused it, and some of the dirt sticks; but like any other business technique, it can be used correctly and ethically, or it can be abused. Splogs (whether generated by people hired to write them or, as is done more frequently, stolen from other sites via bots) are indeed proliferating, and it’s hard to see where it will end. The author of the Wired piece seems to think that it could end the net as we know it. Stay tuned to see…

It’s worthwhile to occasionally put a long, unique phrase from your web copy into Google and see if it is being copied anywhere. I’ve found my posts copied elsewhere, and have had varying success in getting them removed, depending on the site owners and/or hosting company.

What can you do? Try this: Copyscape.com is a service with free and paid modes where you can check for pages that are duplicating the content from a particular URL.

And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Talking to Each Other

No matter what you do in the freelance world – writer, editor, SEO expert – at some point or another, you’ll need to market your work. Most of us don’t enjoy the process: we’re good at sitting in a room and writing, editing, or optimizing, and a lot less good at tooting our horns to attract more people to pay us to do that sitting in the room.

A necessary evil, at the very least.

One of the best tools I’ve found is to target and join multiple professional associations. And not just any professional associations: you need to choose ones where you will encounter the clients you’re hoping will engage your services. (Other groups — writing, editing, and SEO groups — may be great for your professional development, but don’t join them to get clients.) For example, if you want to target financial clients, research and then visit and/or join a few of their professional associations. You can take it a step further and participate in their email lists, advertise in their journals, attend their conferences, etc., but start with the professional associations: networking is king.

Other groups that exist uniquely for networking purposes are also worth exploring. Google “networking groups” or “networking associations” in your area and see what turns up. Typically this will involve attending regular local meetings and passing referrals to other group members along with accepting referrals from them.

Either or both choices are good, as are online networking opportunities such as LinkedIn and other such sites. Marketing doesn’t have to be a terrible chore, and you can end up with as many contacts as you make sales! And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Google Never Forgets

Help! I’m on the run from children’s Christmas ideas!

Let me note right away that I do not have children. What I do have, however, is a search engine optimization business, and not long ago I did a rather thorough evaluation of a website for a company that features children’s clothing, accessories, and furniture. We did not end up working together, but my computer … remembers.

The reason my computer remembers is because of Google. During the time I was doing this research, my ISP, for reasons unknown to anyone but itself, decided to stop sending my emails. I therefore relied on my Gmail account to correspond with the prospect and work on the website evaluation.

And Google, as we all know, Never Forgets.

So now as I meander around the web, pay-per-click advertising for this company is never far away. I check out the TV schedule and it reminds me about kids’ pajamas. I consider purchasing a book online and it’s right there telling me about a special on children’s dressers. I look into a writing contest and it wants me to pay attention to Christmas décor ideas for the kids’ rooms.

Inanely grinning child models are stalking me as I move through the net, haunting my every click. I want to run screaming from them, but they’re actually intruding into the real world, too. When someone mentioned the company name at a recent party I attended, I started looking around for the hidden microphones.

I could draw some political parallels, of course; but this column isn’t about politics, it’s about words. And today’s cautionary word-related tale? Be careful where and how you use your words, because Google Never Forgets. I’m lucky: I only have child-merchandise pursuing me. But the words you leave out there are there forever. It’s a great reason to think before you type.

Do that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

To Quote, or Not to Quote … (Copywriters: Read This, Please!)

I have to admit it: I have a new favorite blog out there. The marketing world — in which I spend a fair amount of my time — loves loves loves scare quotes. Almost as much as it loves to choose certain random nouns and give them initial caps. Almost as much as it loves choosing words it thinks will drive customers to action and capitalize them completely. And then there are the exclamation marks …

You end up having sentences like these: All of “our” Fine Sports Wear is ON SALE!!!!!!!

Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration, but honestly –– only slight. Good copywriting isn’t about tossing eye-catching punctuation like errant confetti over your content: good copywriting is supplying good content. Period. And for you SEO mavens out there, all this extraneous stuff is horrible at attracting spiders. Do so at your risk and peril.

But I digress. There are, thankfully, two or three other people in the world who feel as I do, and one of them has a blog! Youpie!

When you’re ready for a slightly different take on the use of scare quotes as we all unhappily see them every day, do go visit The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation marks..

You’ll have a lot of fun: I guarantee it! And you’ll also be … beyond the elements of style!

If Content is King in SEO, it Rules the Universe in SMM!

I often talk about content being king. I even have a monthly newsletter titled Limitless Content (sign up for it at http://www.customline.com), and for good reason: content is the point of the web. People go online to do a great many things – make purchases, meet friends, look up information, learn a language, sell an heirloom – and every one of those actions is predicated on there being some content on the site where they ultimately do whatever it is that they’re doing.

Every time Google dances and other SEO experts go swooning over page ranks and links and so on, I order another latte. I don’t care. Page rank is so 2005, folks, and links can be manipulated more than golf scores. But content – good, solid, reliable, authoritative, changing content – that’s what will bring visitors (and customers!) to a site.

The social media sites, no matter which one you choose to consider (and new ones spring up, literally, daily), are all about content. They’re frequented by people who are generally less educated but far more web-saavy than those who are attracted to pre-web 2.0 sites, and these users know all about links – and aren’t about to play that game. You can’t ask for links in this world, and you can’t buy links, either; you have to earn them.

And you earn them through great content. I’m starting to sense a theme here.

The social media world focuses on experience rather than on destinations. It focuses on connections rather than on sales pitches. And it values creativity above anything else. The best way to get noticed is to do something new, something cool, something insanely great – and tell somebody about it. Tell everybody about it.

Who do you tell? Ah, that’s the other catch. To market to these communities, you have to be part of the community. You cannot communicate to web 2.0 denizens unless you’re one of them, unless you’ve spent the time and taken the effort to be there. You have to grow a bit of a thick skin, for social media sites can feature some very mean individuals (read Digg for a few pages and you’ll see what I’m talking about); as is true everywhere, it is generally the people who know the least who attack the most. So you’re going to get some slingshots. You need to have humor and a sense of balance out here – it’s not for the faint of heart.

Let’s get back to content, though. Because social media has changed the way content is presented: even though it must be even better than ever in terms of quality, the quantity rules have changed:

• First, your content has to be bite-sized. Say what you have to say, say it well, remind people of what you just said, and get out. If you can’t do this well, hire someone who can (maybe even a copywriter like me!): it’s essential.
• Secondly, your bites need to be in a lot of different places. Study the sites. (I’m not going to list them here; those lists are available elsewhere – check out SEOMoz’s fine articles on social media marketing, as an example.) Everyone wants something a little different. Modify your bite-sized bits of content to suit the specific audience.
• Finally, and this is where all your old creaky SEO skills come in: change content. All the time. Follow up your bite-sized nuggets with other ones. Experiment with doing a series of such nuggets on a given site. Keep creating this great content and tossing the articles, lenses, and tidbits out into the social media you select. They won’t all stick; but some will.

Remember that you’re not going to make any sales out here: social media sites aren’t going to buy anything from you. But put out content that is creative, dynamic, and intriguing, and if you’re any kind of decent marketer, you’ll draw people in to where you want them to be … and encourage them to do what you want them to do.

Do that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!