"We've used Mequoda's strategies and techniques to sell thousands of books, videos, and subscriptions."
- Charlie Spahr, Executive Director, The American Ceramic Society
Affordable search engine optimization tips for editors (hint—they’re all free)
As a daily editor with evergreen topics, I simply can not write a post without targeting a keyword. Most articles on the Mequoda blog are useful whether you read them today or whether you read them four years ago. Many of our most popular articles were published back in 2008, and all of them were optimized for search engines. There’s no way that we’d see even 2% of the traffic we are currently getting on those blogs if we’d named them something flashy, click-worthy and non-descriptive.
Texting Becoming Bigger Part of Business Communications
Melcrum had an excellent blog on Monday about text messaging as a communications channel. Their focus is on internal communications—so Mike Berry, their head of content, worries about “hard-to-reach and non-wired employees, perhaps on production lines, factories or distribution centres”—but there are lessons to be learned for external messaging as well.
Berry leads us to a survey on texting conducted by the Vitiello Communications Group and a report they issued in their October 2010 online newsletter called Dialog.
Thoughts for Writing Effective Lines of Copy
Copywriting. Many of us do it every day. But how many of us, in writing our marketing pitches, succeed in coming up with something memorable?
Well, don’t feel bad. Michael Cieply wrote last week that there have been hardly any memorable lines in films in recent years. Now granted, that isn’t copywriting, but screenwriters get paid a lot of money to come up with memorable lines. “It may be that a Web-driven culture of irony latches onto the movie lines for something other than brilliance, or is downright allergic to the kind of polish that was once applied to the best bits of dialogue,” Cieply wrote.
Order this new, 90-minute webinar, co-sponsored by Mequoda and SIPA, and discover how to write text ads that can generate millions in revenue.
Are there SEO copywriting lessons to be gleaned from the Beloit College Mindset List?
Do you ever feel old and out of touch with popular culture?
I knew I was no longer young when — and this happened quite a few years ago — I overheard two teen-aged girls talking in a music store.
One asked innocently, “Did you know that Paul McCartney had another band — before Wings?”
Attention to these SEO copywriting details can boost your site’s “findability” and popularity
So, you’ve written a terrific blog post that’s chock-full of your targeted keyword phrases. It simply exudes SEO magnetism — or so you think — and you want to upload it immediately and start to measure the response.
Here’s a suggestion: Wait. Have another look. Check it once more, this time to determine if you can improve the SEO linking opportunities. Then make a few tweaks.
The two major factors that affect search engine optimization are content and links. Writing great content is not enough. To be an effective SEO copywriter, you must be committed to both content and links. (You don’t want to leave these details to the I.T. folks; SEO is your responsibility.)
Begin experiencing organic growth by utilizing Google’s Keyword Tool in order to find the best keywords to target with your SEO copywriting efforts
Find the perspective of your potential customer
Start writing for the Internet so your website can be found and indexed by search engines
SEO copywriting tips on beating mental blocks
This informative webinar on SEO copywriting reveals the SEO copywriting secrets and SEO copywriting tips of top online SEO copywriting experts.
Tips on SEO Copywriting from Peter Schaible at the Mequoda Summit in Napa Valley
In 90 Minutes, Get Copywriting Secrets to Instantly Boost E-mail Marketing Results 33-67%!
Registration for the Mequoda Summit opens today – select your interactive program sessions with ease
Four free white papers that will kick your landing page design and optimization skills into high gear!
Master your audience development editorial management skills when you download our new toolkit for online editors
Download these three free white papers and sending more effective email newsletters and promotions.
Download these three free white papers and start building more effective landing pages
Ten free whitepapers for turning your print publishing company into a successful online publishing company
It isn’t enough to know how to design a landing page, you should also understand why writing for the web is not the same as writing for print
As a valued reader of mine, I have an irresistible offer for you including hundreds of dollars in free gifts.
Use PDF files to improve your site’s landing page rankings with Google
Help build your niche brand with this eight-step link-building technique
Learn our Five Creative Copywriting Tips for Attracting, Engaging and Monetizing Customers by downloading our FREE SEO Copywriting Secrets white paper.
Learn our Five Creative Copywriting Tips for Attracting, Engaging and Monetizing Customers by downloading our FREE SEO Copywriting Secrets white paper.
Download our new SEO report (for free) and learn the five creative copywriting tips for attracting, engaging and monetizing customers
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If a copywriter creates a great landing page and no one finds or reads it, does it have any impact?
While the answer to the first question may be debated forever, the answer to the second is a clear and resounding “no.” For the words we write to have any impact, they must be read. And to be read widely, they must be found by search engines.
The key to creating successful sales letter landing pages is writing keyword-rich copy that Google ranks highly
Uploading a sales letter landing page to a website without regard to search engine optimization is a sure way to not be found. No matter how great the content, if Internet users can’t find it, it does not exist for them.
The four-legged stool technique was developed originally by Bill Bonner of Agora Publishing, strictly for selling financial newsletters.
Expert copywriter Robert W. Bly noticed, however, that these four elements also work for 90 to 95 percent of all information products.
The concept is pretty simple: a four-legged stool is very stable. If you pull one leg off, it’s only relatively stable—you can still sit on it, but not as comfortably as you would a four-legged stool.
The Secondary Promise is a lesser benefit that the product also delivers.
Although not as large as the Big Promise, the Secondary Promise should be big enough so that, by itself, it is reason enough to order the product… yet small enough so that it is easily believed.
This way, even if the reader is totally skeptical about the Big Promise, he can believe the Secondary Promise and order on that basis alone.
Rosser Reeves wrote a classic advertising book in 1961 titled Reality in Advertising. Many of us newcomers have never read this book, mostly because it’s widely unavailable.
But lucky for us, Robert W. Bly spent $95 for it on eBay and shared with us at this year’s Mequoda Summit Reeves’ three requirements of a USP (Unique Selling Proposition):
The 2006 Mequoda Summit, our third, was the best yet.
Enthusiastic participants traveled to Waltham, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) from all over the U.S and from as far away as the United Kingdom, Germany and China to attend.
We extend our sincere thanks to all who attended, participated and those who provided us with feedback.
There were many informative and enlightening presentations, so it’s hard to choose the most memorable. Some of the many highlights:
At this week’s Mequoda Summit, Robert W. Bly, the man McGraw Hill calls “America’s best copywriter” will deliver a presentation titled “World’s Best Kept Copywriting Secrets”. He also has a book by the same name.
In his presentation on Friday afternoon, Bob will reveal tips for writing great headlines, great outer envelope messages and will demonstrate how to deliver a complete and compelling message.
Clayton Makepeace is a legend in the direct response advertising business. He has the respect of both his clients and peers—the hallmark of a real professional.
He has a huge portfolio of winning direct mail packages, commands top dollar for his work and in April of 2006 conducted a $5,000-per-seat, how-to seminar for aspiring copywriters. I can’t imagine anyone not putting his name on their top-10 list.
At MakepeaceTotalPackage.com Mr. Makepeace displays his considerable skill with one objective: to get other copywriters to sign up for his free email newsletter.
"We've used Mequoda's strategies and techniques to sell thousands of books, videos, and subscriptions."
- Charlie Spahr, Executive Director, The American Ceramic Society
"We have used the Mequoda Method to deliver a real-time online magazine that features individual issues and our amazing archive of premium content."
- Paul Belliveau, Vice President New Media and Production, Yankee Publishing
“We’ve used these techniques to boost sales of our higher-priced products, and dramatically increase our multiplatform subscription revenues.”
- Susan Laden, Publisher, Biblical Archaeology Society
"Adoption of the Mequoda Method has produced three benefits for us. First, we are seeing sustained growth in subscription revenue. Second, we monetized a content archive with two decades of news and information. Three, our new customers have immediate access to the content they seek."
- Robert Michel, Founder, The Dark Intelligence Group
"We have used the Mequoda Method to increase our revenue by more than 60% while completely eliminating direct mail from our marketing mix. Unsurprisingly, this has allowed us to dramatically increase profitability and our ability to fund our mission-driven programs."
- Gail Odeneal, Director of Marketing, Program on Negotiation Harvard Law School
"We have used the Mequoda Method to create two successful online magazines that generate subscription revenues that are completely independent of our advertising driven legacy business model."
- Stuart Hochwert, Founder and CEO, Prime Publishing
"We know there’s demand for individual subscriptions based on our limited marketing efforts, but we needed the resources of a top-tier marketing organization to effectively and aggressively scale our individual subscriptions business. Mequoda has the best business processes we’ve seen for getting the job done."
- Hampton Stephens, Publisher, World Politics Review
"Mequoda’s knowledge of the fundamental practices and technologies at the core of the media business is unsurpassed by any other group of consultants I know. If you’re in the media industry, Mequoda would be a valuable ally."
- Bryan Welch, Publisher
“The team I worked with at Interweave successfully transitioned a leading print enthusiast media business into the digital age. The folks at Mequoda were an important part of this team and the company’s most valued strategic advisor. We could not have done it without them.”
- Clay Hall, Former CEO, Interweave
"With more than 3.2 million monthly unique visitors, Mother Earth News has increased its revenues 39X over the past 10 years, using these strategies.”
- Bill Uhler, Publisher, Ogden Publications
