Posts Tagged ‘Rick Sloboda’

Are You Exposed to Copyright Liability?

Canadian copywriting company, webcopyplus, recently confirmed it paid approximately $4,000 US to settle an image copyright infringement claim, and warns web designers, developers, business owners and other marketers they may also be exposed to such claims, with statutory damages of up to $150,000 per image.

“Like many other creative types in the web industry, our copywriters were not clear on image copyright laws, and we were taught an expensive lesson,” said Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter at webcopyplus, which provides designers and businesses optimized web content. “We’re sharing our story, so others can learn from our experience and avoid the same mistake.”

In May, 2010, with the assumption web images without copyright notices were “public domain” and free to use, a webcopyplus copywriter used Google images to find an unmarked 400 x 300 pixel scenic photo to complement an article for a tourism client’s blog.

In December, 2010, the client received a formal cease and desist demand and copyright infringement claim letter, demanding the following actions:

1. Immediately cease and desist all unlicensed uses of the image, and delete all copies from computers and digital storage devices.

2. Remit almost $4,000 to the lawyer’s trust account.

The image was removed within minutes, and a letter of apology was sent. However, following several emails, which included requests for proof of copyright registration and ownership, a counter offer, and the threat of additional legal fees and court action, webcopyplus ultimately opted to settle for $4,000.

“While we accepted responsibility and were willing to settle from the start, we felt the amount was excessive,” said Sloboda. “However, our client was caught in the middle of this matter, and he’d be the one who’d get subpoenaed, so we needed to resolve this issue promptly.”

While copyright laws are complex, Sloboda encourages other creative types and marketers to follow this simple guide: if an image or work is on the Internet and others wrote or created it, do not use it without their permission.

“Ironically, since our start in 2006, this was the only image we ever acquired for a client’s project,” said Sloboda. “Had we purchased a photo from a stock image website, it would have spared us a lot of time and money.”

There are several elements surrounding copyright laws that designers and marketers should explore, including ‘Fair Use,’ where copyrighted work is used for teaching or news, and ‘Creative Commons’, where photographers let people share and use photographs with certain conditions, both which webcopyplus touches on in an article titled Legal Lesson Learned: Copywriter Pays $4,000 for a $10 Photo.

“As copywriters, we work with and rely on a range of creative types and specialists, including photographers,” said Sloboda. “We didn’t mean any disregard for this profession and now have a greater awareness and appreciation for the fact that freely using photos from the web diminishes a photographer’s income and livelihood. We apologize for and regret our action, and we’ve created internal policies to ensure it won’t happen again.”

For specific information or clarification on copyright laws, one should seek the professional advice of a copyright lawyer.

Link: http://blog.webcopyplus.com/2011/02/14/legal-lesson-learned-copywriter-pays-4000-for-10-photo/

Is your web copy right?
Find out at www.webcopyplus.com

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus http://www.webcopyplus.com/, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Jameel in Getting Organized on March 23rd, 2011

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The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites, PART TWO (continued from Friday)

By Rick Sloboda

Make it easy for visitors to share what they find on your site.

Godin liked the “send this page to a friend” functionality offered by some websites. By providing a little bit of information, such as name and email address, visitors could email pages to friends.

Since the publication of Godin’s book, the ability to share online information with friends and colleagues has grown exponentially. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter make it easy for visitors to share with their networks. Today, sharing a favourite blog post or YouTube video is as easy as a single click.

This kind of sharing has become an important marketing tool. By starting an online conversation with your customers and their networks, you can develop a stronger web presence and drive more sales.

The Best of Today’s Websites Emphasize Marketing, Not Technology

Websites have grown up, and many have adopted Godin’s ideas and recommendations. Technology has become a means, not an end. Websites are segmented to target different audiences. Sharing has become a critical marketing tactic and tool. So don’t lose too much sleep over that little monkey. He’s often getting his bananas, and some chocolate sauce too.

What do you think? Are websites doing a better job of meeting the needs of visitors? Which websites are setting new standards of excellence and which are stuck back in 2002?

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Organized, Technology on February 28th, 2011

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The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites, PART ONE

By Rick Sloboda

In his 2002 book, The Big Red Fez, marketing author, Seth Godin, critiqued selected websites, commenting on how they helped or hindered their visitors. He likened the website visitor to a monkey looking for a banana. If the banana is too hard to find, then the monkey will go elsewhere. Today, are websites making it easier to find the banana or is the furry guy starving?

Godin’s Principles of Website Design and Today’s Websites

From Godin’s critique, we can derive some guiding principles for website design. Here is a brief description and thoughts on how websites today measure up:

Use technology to convey information, not obstruct it.

In his book, Godin described a company home page that comprised a list of technological requirements for viewing. If visitors didn’t have the right browser version or software plug-in, they couldn’t view the site. They needed to either download the required software or, more likely, try somewhere else.

Thankfully, we see fewer home pages like that today, but it is still common for sites to require specific software plug-ins. Website elements built in Flash or saved as PDFs still require visitors to have the appropriate software to view them.

This continues to be a challenge for website developers. Website visitors use a vast array of different hardware and software. Building a website that works for all possible combinations is time consuming and costly. For most companies, deciding how inclusive to make a site comes down to an analysis of risk and return on investment.

Limit each web page to one objective.

Godin argued that if a web page offers too many objectives, you risk alienating visitors. Instead of building one page to meet the objectives of all visitors, he recommends building different pages that cater to different needs.

Today, it is still standard practice to build one home page to handle multiple objectives. This practice might be partially a result of search engine preference for flat site architecture. It is also easier to manage and brand one domain name than several. However, aside from home pages, there has been a definite movement to build web pages specific to different markets. For example, Toyota segments its site into pages for prospective car buyers and pages for Toyota car owners. Webcopyplus also segments web copy solutions for designers and businesses.

Website segmentation reflects the influence of marketing on website development. Eight years ago, technology and engineers dominated website development. Today, companies apply fundamental marketing principles and target audiences’ needs and feedback to website design.

Stay tuned for PART TWO of The Search for Bananas: Building Better Websites on Monday.

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Organized, Technology on February 25th, 2011

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How to Find the Right Tone for Your Web Copy

By Rick Sloboda

Most web copywriters argue that web copy should be more direct and conversational than most print materials, but how can you adopt this tone without compromising your brand identity? You can set a tone that is appropriate for the Web while respecting your brand with these few simple rules and techniques.

Why Web Copy Should Be Conversational

1. People do not read on the Web in the same way they read print materials

People don’t read on the Web; they scan. Anything that makes the text more difficult to scan and absorb impedes communication. Formal tone elements, such as longer words and sentences, and third-person perspective, make the text more difficult to comprehend.

2. People use the Web differently than print materials

People use the Web to find specific information. They are not there to browse. Page visits are often only a few seconds long. If visitors can’t find the information they are looking for, they quickly go elsewhere. A more formal tone puts a greater cognitive burden on visitors. The greater the burden, the less comprehension. You’re just a click away from losing potential customers.

3. Web tone is conversational by convention

If your competitor has Web copy that makes them look approachable, then you don’t want to look stuffy in comparison. We are not suggesting that you dumb down your Web copy. Rather, the goal is to adapt a conversational style that is appropriate for your brand. Conversational style has room for plenty of variation. For example, a conversation with your banker will differ from a conversation with your spouse. Simply understand your brand and use the right techniques.

How to Write Web Copy That Fits Your Brand Image

1. Use active voice

Active voice makes clear who is doing what. You should use it for Web copy despite your brand type. Web copy in passive voice sounds more formal, but it can also sound vague, unreliable and possibly deceptive.

Active voice: “We will contact you by the next business day.”
Passive voice: “You will be contacted by the next business day.”

2.  Choose the right perspective

Second person perspective is often the best choice for business Web copy. Third person perspective is too stuffy. Most of your site should be written using the second person pronouns “we” and “you.”

Second person: “We look forward to hearing from you. Give us a call.”
Third person: “ABC Company looks forward to hearing from you. Give them a call.”

First person perspective may work for some elements of your website (such as blogs) where the style is more relaxed and it is clear who is speaking. First person perspective may also be appropriate for a one-person company where the person embodies the brand.

First person: “I look forward to hearing from you. Give me a call.”

3. Use contractions

Most Web copy uses some contractions. Without contractions, phrasing can sound too formal and trip up the reader. Don’t overuse contractions but make sure that your Web copy still flows.

Without contractions: “Do not hesitate to give us a call. We would be happy to help you.”
With contractions: “Don’t hesitate to call us. We’d be happy to help.”

4. Keep sentences and paragraphs short

Sentences and paragraphs should be short to aid comprehension and contribute to the conversational style. The more concise your Web copy, the better. By some estimates, Web copy should be one-third to one-half the length of the same article in print.

5. Use a mix of casual and formal words

Word choice is important for establishing tone. Some words are casual; some are formal. For traditional brands, it is best to use a mix of both.

Casual tone: plenty / lots / tons
Formal tone: substantial / myriad / numerous

6. Avoid slang

Slang can quickly sink your Web copy into “bar room” conversation. In most cases, you should avoid it.

Slang: “Our latest product is off the hinges!”

7. Use cliches carefully

Cliches can be useful to invoke a casual tone, but don’t overuse them. Remember that you also want to be direct and concise. Cliches can make Web copy wordy and indirect.

Cliche: “When the bottom fell out of the market….”

8. Avoid foreign words and phrases

Use foreign words or phrases only if there is no English equivalent. “Schadenfreude” is acceptable; “raison d’etre” is not. Your brand may be traditional, but it doesn’t need to be stuffy.

9. Use a few asides

Asides create a relaxed tone. Use them, but not too often.

Aside: “At our monthly editorial meeting (in the beautiful city of New York) our copywriters….”

10. Try a single-line paragraph

These are great for emphasis and they invoke a casual tone. But be careful not to overuse them.

Single line paragraph: “We offer award-winning service, from coast to coast.”

11. Eliminate empty words or phrases

It’s tempting to pad the Web copy of formal brands with extra phrasing. Eliminate the fluff and keep to the point.

Empty phrase: “At this point in time, we are ready to….”
Amended phrase: “Now, we are ready to….”

12. Use correct grammar and spelling

Even with a conversational style, spelling and grammar rules still apply. Errors in spelling and grammar cast doubt on your credibility. It is critical that formal brands get this right. If you don’t have a skillful writer in-house, consider a professional copywriter or editor.

Understand Web Copywriting and Your Brand Identity – Then Set the Tone

The conversational style of the Web can accommodate all types of brands. By understanding your brand and the conventions of Web writing, you can maintain your brand image while engaging your audience.

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Getting Organized, Marketing on January 3rd, 2011

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Don't Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part Three of Three

By Rick Sloboda

Designers Can Be a Copywriter’s Best Friend

With design forming first impressions before visitors even have a chance to process headlines and body copy, designers can make copywriters’ jobs awfully hard, or easy. Poor design can put visitors into a negative mindset, which sets the stage for a grueling uphill, nearly impossible battle for the Web copy.

On the contrary, good design, explained Dr. Lindgaard, can prime visitors for a sale, and make them more lenient and forgiving. Reflecting on the study, she said, “The strong impact of the visual appeal of the site seemed to draw attention away from usability problems. This suggests that aesthetics, or visual appeal, factors may be detected first and that these could influence how users judge subsequent experience.” She added, “Even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.”

Therefore, it’s wise for Web copywriters and other Web specialists who take their craft seriously to partner with high-caliber, experienced designers. Professional designers have the know-how and skills to set the right tone to help websites gain credibility and trust, and achieve desired objectives, goals and conversion rates.

While many people say, “content is king,” on the Web, Webcopyplus has politely turned down several prospects whose website design was so dismal, no Web copy — regardless how optimized and engaging it might be — would be able to produce the desired value, results and ROI.

Just last week, we told a business owner of a moving company start-up to “invest in a professional designer.” The flaw-filled website comprised a long lineup of trucks, each with a company logo amateurishly Photoshopped on its side. The image was clearly fake, even to the untrained eye. If visitors feel they’re being misled, why would they trust the business behind the website?

Good Design Produces Happy Visitors and Healthy Businesses

Designers are at the core of the Internet’s abruptly advancing speed, sophistication and reach. Good designers can make websites aesthetically enticing and so much more. They can make them findable, usable, distinct, helpful, productive and profitable.

As Thomas Watson of IBM said in the 1950s, “Good design is good business.”

 

clip_image002_thumb.jpgRick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus , which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 29th, 2010

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Don’t Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part Two of Three

By Rick Sloboda

 Looking at the ROI

Before making the decision to do things on the cheap by taking the do-it-yourself route, it’s important to consider the bottom line. Let’s say a professional website costs Dean the Mover $7,500. That’s a lot of pocket change. But, if it generates just four sales a month at an average of $300 a pop, that’s $14,400 worth of business in the first year alone. 

Those are conservative numbers, but regardless, the site’s paid for in about six months. And the business will continue to benefit from the website with minimum costs for several years. That’s an outstanding marketing investment and ROI. Our copywriting firm has teamed up with designers to create websites that paid for themselves in as little as three months. 

So, while many business owners view design as a fluffy, abstract, let’s-play-with-colours-and-move-the-logo-around activity, they’re missing the point. Design is not art that merely exists. Design serves a specific purpose, forming a connection and relationship, as award-winning designer Gonzalo Alatorre says, “between object, business and consumer.” A good designer can solve complex problems and create a wealth of opportunities with direct, measurable impact on a business’ bottom line. 

Meanwhile, a $500 website that doesn’t generate business and merely shows up on sites like www.webpagesthatsuck.com will only hurt a brand and business.

Good Design Gains Importance With Information Overload

More than 75% of North Americans are using the Internet, and more consumers are seeking products and services and spending more money online. As a result, businesses are swiftly transferring their marketing dollars online and delivering more content to consumers at an explosive, unprecedented rate. As people are bombarded with information overload and have limited time to observe, orient, decide and act, they may increasingly rely on instinct and intuition.

Living in a world where we assume the quality of a decision has direct relation to the time and effort that went into making it, it can be difficult to trust our primitive ‘gut feelings.’ But consider the fact that we don’t need to understand mass x velocity to leap out of the way of an oncoming car. It just “feels right” and ultimately results in a decision with an optimal outcome. The old adage that you should always trust your instincts is supported by scientific studies. 

Dr. Lindgaard and her team presented volunteers with brief glimpses of Web pages previously rated as being either easy on the eye or particularly jarring, and asked them to rate the websites on a sliding scale of visual appeal. Even though the images flashed up for just 50 milliseconds, roughly the duration of a single frame of standard television footage, their verdicts matched judgements made after a longer period of examination.

 German social psychologist, Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, conducts breakthrough studies on the nature of intuitive thinking. Based on his research, he told the New York Times, “When a person relies on their gut feelings and uses the instinctual rule of thumb ‘go with your first best feeling and ignore everything else,’ it can permit them to outperform the most complex calculations.” 

In the book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about a marble statue from the sixth century BC, which was bought by a California museum for $10-million, following a 14-month investigation with an electron microscope, electron microprobe, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence. The point is that they had top industry authorities use all sorts of high tech equipment to confirm the statue’s authenticity. 

However, the were a few observers who — in a single glance — felt an “intuitive repulsion.” They felt the statue was a fake. And they were right. Letters used to trace the statue’s history were found to be phony and the statue didn’t come from ancient Greece. It came from a forger’s shop in Rome in the early 1980s, when mullets, the Rubix Cube, and Madonna were ‘in.’ 

Blink also documents a study where psychologist, Nalini Ambady, gave students three 10-second videotapes of a teacher with the sound turned off. The students had no difficulty coming up with a rating of the teacher’s effectiveness. Then the clips were cut back to five seconds. The ratings were the same. The ratings were remarkably consistent when students were showed just two seconds of videotape. Then Ambady compared those snap judgments of teacher effectiveness with evaluations of those same professors made by their students after a full semester of classes and she found they were also essentially the same. 

Gladwell noted, “A person watching a silent two-second video clip of a teacher he or she has never met will reach conclusions about how good that teacher is that are very similar to those of a student who has sat in the teacher’s class for an entire semester.” 

Stay tuned for Part Three on Friday!

clip_image002_thumb.jpg Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 27th, 2010

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Don’t Let Poor Website Design Hold Your Business Hostage: Part One of Three

By Rick Sloboda 

Online visitors form a first impression of a website quicker than the blink of an eye — literally. It typically takes humans 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink. Meanwhile, scientific research led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario, reveals that websites have as little as 50 milliseconds to establish a first impression — a mere 1/20th of a second. That’s it!

This is crucial information for any business, since once a visitor forms an impression on a subconscious level, he or she will selectively search for information confirming that impression. People do this because we all want to prove we have good judgement. So, if our first impression of a website is negative, we have a tendency to mainly seek and see the negatives, regardless of how good their products and services might actually be. Alternatively, if we immediately like what we see, we’ll look for positive information to reinforce that impression.

So how do you avoid making a bad first impression on the Web? Easy. Find a good designer.

Poor Design Sets the Stage For Failure

DIY website design might seem like a good idea at the get-go. Not only can you avoid spending wads of money on eccentric creative types, only you know how you really want your business branded. No one loves your business like you do! Plus, throwing together a layout with some colours, images and buttons, while sipping a Caramel Macchiato on a Sunday afternoon is easy, right?

Wrong. Based on 20-plus years of communications experience, speaking at Web-related events, and teaching Web-writing courses to small business owners, our copywriters have come to recognize a common cycle: 

  1. The do-it-yourselfer spends several hours to a few weeks building a website.
  2. The website is launched. 
  3. The website is live, but there are few visitors that trickle in, if any at all. The few who arrive don’t stick around. 
  4. Typically, 12 to 24 months later, if they’re still in business, they reach out to specialists to improve their SEO. If they get rankings, they wonder why the emails and calls still aren’t arriving. 
  5. Another six to 12 months later, they start to realize the website isn’t working and it’s not going to fix itself. Then comes the sobering realization that, in addition to wasting a few hundred dollars and countless hours and enduring unnecessary stress, they missed out on about three years of opportunities, revenues and growth.

Stay tuned for Part Two on Wednesday!

clip_image002_thumb.jpgRick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on October 25th, 2010

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Optimizing Your Press Release: Part 2

By Rick Sloboda

Writing A Press Release – Advanced Tips

Rick Sloboda

Rick Sloboda

In addition to the basic tips for writing a press release listed above, you can apply these advanced tips to further increase your press release’s exposure on the Web:

  • Include keywords that editors, reporters, and bloggers might use to search for story ideas online. Research your keywords using a free tool like Google Adwords.
  • Place your keywords in the areas most likely to be scanned by search engines, such as headlines and subheads.
  • Include relevant links within the text for the editor, blogger, or reader to find out more information, if desired.
  • Craft your headline with social media networking in mind. If your story is posted with a Twitter account, for example, the headline must fit within the 140-character limit. Also keep in mind, however, that there must be room for the story URL, and the Twitter user’s @name within these 140 characters.
  • Familiarize yourself with specifications of online news aggregators, such as Google News, which requires headlines to be between a minimum of two words in length, to a maximum of 22 for proper indexing.
  • Post your press release on your own website for additional exposure.

Strive to make your press release as ready as possible for easy dissemination through a wide variety of online channels, but ensure that you’ve double and triple checked it. If you’ve done your job well, your story could take on a life of its own online, and you’ll want to ensure the message that goes ‘viral’ is one you can be proud of.

Distributing Your Press Release

Traditionally, press releases have been distributed via snail mail, fax and email. In the interest of saving trees, a simple email, either sent individually, or using a mass email program, and follow up call can suffice.

To build your media contacts list, visit newspaper and magazine websites and look for a ‘Contact Us’ or ‘Masthead’ section. Most will include individual reporter and editor names, sections, email addresses and phone numbers. You can build your list according to the type of audience you want to reach, and have phone numbers ready to follow up after sending your release. Keep in mind that some magazines plan the stories they’re going to run months in advance, while newspapers tend to have stories assigned by the end of the week. If these specifics are not listed on their websites, try doing some good old-fashioned telephone research.

When emailing, include the press release content in the body of the email, in addition to attaching a PDF, in case the recipient is wary of opening attachments from unknown sources. Include your carefully crafted, eye-catching headline in the subject line.

For maximum online exposure, you can also submit your press release to a wire service. There are several wire services available at different prices (some at no cost) that allow you to specify which industries you want to reach. Some options include:

If you use one of these services, be sure to pay attention to their specific press release formatting requirements.

Measuring The Results of Your Press Release

The success of your press release can be measured in many ways, including the number of resulting print or online stories, the number of times your press release has been viewed, or how much additional traffic is driven to your website. Most online wire services display how many views each press release receives, and direct website traffic can be measured using tools, such as Google Analytics.

By learning how to combine traditional press release writing and distribution techniques with new ones customized for digital media, you’re on your way to taking advantage of the cost-effective marketing potential of the almighty press release.

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz, Marketing on September 2nd, 2010

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Building Your Business on the Web (Part Two): Turning Online Visitors into Customers

Q&A with Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter for Webcopyplus

(Part two of a two-part series. Also see Generating Online Traffic.)

clip_image002So you’re getting people to your website, which was covered in Generating Online Traffic, the first part of this two-part series. Now, how do you turn these visitors into customers? Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which produces professional Web copy for businesses around the globe, including Scotia Bank and AT&T, answers your questions.

How important is the first impression on a website?

It’s essential. Studies show you have no more than a few seconds to make a positive first impression on the Web – and as little as .55 seconds. Your website should have a clean, appealing design, with relevant, engaging and informative Web copy, and intuitive navigation and information flow. If you don’t answer key questions right off the bat, Google, Yahoo and Bing will take your visitor to a competitor that does.

What are the key questions?

Am I at the right place? Can these guys help me? What makes these guys different? Several factors are already at play. For instance, is the design professional looking, does it generate trust and credibility? If you get your niece or nephew to do website design and development for $500, chances are it’ll show. That’s like selling retail products or consulting services from a lemonade stand. Also, is your Web copy clear and customer centric? Does it explain why people should choose you over competitors? Or is it full of self-centered, empty hype? Business owners need to that when a person arrives at your website, the visitor doesn’t really care about your business. They care about what your business can do for them.

That’s where experienced copywriters and marketers come into play?

Whether you write the web copy yourself, or hire a copywriter, make sure you flesh out and promote your benefits. Most business owners and copywriters write exclusively about features – what the product or service is, or has. Benefits are what the visitor gains as a result of the features. For instance, binoculars might have oversized lenses. Fine. But what will engage a visitor is the fact that they deliver low-light performance.

Benefits engage people emotionally, which is how we make decisions. We then rationalize decisions logically. For instance, does a person really need a $120,000 luxury vehicle? No. They might desire it for status, which is an emotional desire. And then they’ll justify it with rational, practical reasons, such as cutting edge brake technology, safety rankings, and so on. Benefits appeal to a person’s self-interest, and get people to act. People purchase things for three basic reasons: to satisfy needs; solve problems; or make themselves feel good. That’s why experienced copywriters often say, “Features tell, benefits sell.”

If benefits are so important, why do most websites promote features?

Because it’s easier to list features. A copywriter has to really understand a product or service, and have a good marketing mind, to define and convey benefits effectively.

So isn’t it better for a business owner to write their own web copy, as they know their business best?

Well, most people can write. But most people can also take photos. Take your own photos, and chances are you’ll have an amateurish website representing your business. The same goes for copywriting. Moreover, business owners tend to write what they want to say rather than what website visitors need to hear. A copywriter can bring an objective view to the table.

How much information is necessary on websites?

It varies. For instance, if you’re in fashion selling perfume, and want to build presence and nurture a brand, a few words might do. Visuals would play a key role. But, if you’re actually trying to get visitors to purchase a product from your website, or sell a subscription to a publication or software, you’d need a lot more web copy to make the sale.

As a general rule, web copy should be about half of what you’d use in traditional print, such as brochures. This is partly because it’s harder to read content on monitors and handhelds, and people tend to be impatient and easily distracted when using the Web. So it’s good to keep web copy concise.

What other elements are important to engage and convert visitors?

Since about 80% of people scan copy on the web, meaning they don’t read word for word, it’s helpful to provide visitors web copy in digestible chunks. To achieve this, web copywriters and designers often apply information layering techniques, using links to let visitors drill down to get more detailed information. It allows visitors to quickly access info relevant to their needs, without having to wade through huge chunks of text.

In line with keeping web copy lean and clean, you should kill any filler and clichés. Also, keep the language at about a grade 8 to 10 level, which is in line with Time and Newsweek, so you don’t alienate visitors. And include lots of testimonials. Third-party endorsements effectively generate trust, credibility and sales. Just edit them down to a sentence or two, and be sure to include a full name and city, when possible. A vague “John S.” reeks of spam on the already suspect Web. 

And, finally, ask for the sale. What do you want visitors to do? Whatever it is, it’s in your best interest to ask. This is your call to action. We might be writing copy for the cutting edge Internet, but the old-fashioned ‘ask for the sale’ still applies.

Note: This is the second of a two-part series. Also see Generating Online Traffic.

 

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on June 2nd, 2010

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Building Your Business on the Web (Part One): Generating Online Traffic

By Rick Sloboda

Q&A with Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter for Webcopyplus

Businesses large and small are tapping into the ever-expanding web, which can cost-effectively market products and services 365, 24/7. With more than 75% of North Americans using the Internet and online spending increasing annually, getting your business online just makes sense. To help explain how to grow a business on the web, Rick Sloboda, Senior Website Copywriter, at Webcopyplus.com, a Vancouver-based web copywriting firm that helps businesses increase website traffic and conversions with search engine optimized web content, offers the answers. Rick speaks at web content conferences, and Webcopyplus conducts online studies with various organizations, including Yale University.

So a business wants to improve its performance online. Where do you suggest it starts?

It starts by looking at the business’s objectives and goals, the intended audience and the action you want the visitor to take. Once there’s an understanding of where the business is and where it needs to go, we can then look at aligning online strategies, resources and technologies. Business can tap into a many of opportunities, from social media like Facebook and Twitter, to blogs to press releases and email campaigns, to paid marketing and search engine optimization. Search engines can be a business’ best friend, as search websites can drive more than 80% of all new traffic to websites.

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Which search engines should you target?

Google owns more than 70% of the search market, so if you’re doing well on Google, your business is likely doing very well. Yahoo still has a following, and MSN’s Bing is also gaining ground. Those are the top three search engines our website copywriters pay close attention to, since that’s where consumers and businesses tend to look for products and services.

How do you optimize your website so you appear in search results?

Two key elements are keywords and links. Selecting the right words to target on your website helps search engine robots — programs that search and index websites — determine what your website is about and where you should rank. Links are also critical. When other reputable sites in your industry link to you, it builds credibility with search engines. It’s like a democratic vote in cyberspace. So it’s definitely worthwhile to get vendors, suppliers and partners to link to your website.

Can you simply exchange links with others to mutually benefit?

Yes, but that’s an old and overused SEO tactic called reciprocal linking. Google and friends will actually discount the value of reciprocal links. One-way links carry more clout. It’s likely worth mentioning that some SEO types are trying to beat the system by carrying out three-way linking strategies, which would have business A link to business B, business B link to business C, and business C link to business A. But the search engines catch up to these types of search engine manipulations as well.

And these SEO tricks are frowned upon by the likes of Google, right?

Yes, when you get overly aggressive or break the rules, it’s commonly called Black Hat SEO, and it can get you penalized or knocked off a search engine’s index altogether. For instance, we recently brought on a new client who unknowingly had white text placed on white background. It’s called hidden text, a Black Hat SEO tactic that used to work a decade ago, but not today. In fact, it can really hurt your business.

How do you determine the best keywords to target?

We used to hold focus groups, but they weren’t overly effective because what people say and do can be very different. Fortunately, you can gather hard data from various software, like a program called Web CEO. Our website copywriters and SEO specialists now have the luxury of analyzing and cross referencing actual data that reveals keyword popularity, competition and trends, which often produce surprising results for organizations. For example, a national airline’s executives were using the term “reduced fares.” We were able to reveal that term was searched fewer than 10 times a day — and that’s globally. Meanwhile, “cheap flights” was searched by consumers more than 10,000 times a day. This type of insight can make a big difference to a company’s bottom line, regardless of the industry.

And once you know what keywords to target, what do you do?

Simply put, repeat them often in your web content. For optimal results, our website copywriters strive for keyword density of at least 3%, meaning three out of every 100 words on your website are your targeted keywords. There’s a free online tool website owners and writers can take advantage of at www.webcopyplus.com/tools, which helps achieve the ideal keyword ratio.

Is it true fresh content helps achieve and maintain higher search engine rankings?

Yes, fresh content helps. That’s what makes blogs such a wonderful marketing tool. You can incorporate blogging software like WordPress to your website, and post a few items a month. You’re providing search engines additional content to index, and giving visitors a reason to keep coming back.

When a business achieves desired search engine rankings, what are the perks?

Greater, cost-effective reach and presence, increased leads and sales, and possibly some PR. A Vancouver HR client with dozens of write-ups in high-profile publications like Canadian Business, The Globe and Mail, and National Post, recently told us 100% of their PR opportunities came through reporters Googling terms like HR consulting Vancouver and HR experts Vancouver. Google can really be a goldmine.

Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Tune in tomorrow for Part Two: Turning Online Visitors into Customers.

 

Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.

Posted by Lynnette in Growing Your Biz on June 1st, 2010

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