Are You Losing Your Blog’s Drive-bys and Drop-ins?

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driving fastA surprising number of folks find your blog while they are cruising the Web.

They are your drive-bys and drop-ins.

Most of them are attention-disordered. And 79 percent of them are scanners, looking for the answer to a question or some new gem of information.

They are on a big old freeway, cruise control set at 70 MPH, looking for signs that tell them they are on the right road.

They need a reason to stop.

One question I get asked a lot is:

How do I get the visitor who lands on my blog’s home page to hang around (and come back)?

We have precious few seconds. If our home page doesn’t grab those click-happy first-time visitors, they won’t stick around long enough to visit our about page, read our posts, or leave a comment.

One Simple Home Page Fix That Will Catch More of Your Drive-bys and Drop-ins

I see one mistake made over and over again on bloggers’ home pages:

There is no visible, clear call to action.

You know how important it is maximize your home page real estate. You must decide what the first thing is that you want your visitor to see—and act on.

The old term in journalism still applies: above the fold. When newspapers are stacked in the curbside stand or on the rack, the major headline and top part of the news stories had better grab the customer’s attention or no papers will be sold.

Same thing with your blog’s home page. After the header (your blog’s name and tagline), the first spot your readers’ eyes go to is the top right corner.

You had better have something powerful there, something to stop them, make them read.

And do something.

What is the one thing you want your visitor to do?

When I critique bloggers’ home pages, I see the prime top right space used for everything from a link to an ebay purchase (that takes her completely off your site, perhaps never to return again!) to the last five entries in someone’s Twitter stream.

What do you really want your reader to do?

What will be the one thing that will help you reach out to her again, connect with her?

Some bloggers have an in-your-face box for a free gift and newsletter in exchange for an email address.

Some want you to subscribe to their blog.

Others want you to connect with them on social media so they can start building the relationship there.

Do you think your home page could be doing a better job of attracting and keeping readers?

If you need help but your budget is limited, this is for you. I’m offering the mini-version of my home page critique for just $79 until 5pm Pacific Time, Friday, June 10.

You get my professional advice on how to keep more readers on your blog with a home page that gets their full attention, makes them stick around and gets them to take that next step. You also get a digital version of my critique and my popular 10-point tip sheet for promoting your blog and finding more readers.

You get everything my full critique clients get except for the 30-minute follow-up coaching call.

This service normally sells for $309, so I’m excited to offer it at a price that makes it more affordable for you. To find out more, go here.

What about you?

What’s the one thing you want your visitor to do when she lands on your home page?

Do you have a strong call to action there?

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Step Inside CatsEyeWriter Blog’s New House

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I have a special announcement. (Clears throat.)

I’ve wanted to do this for more than a year. I knew in my heart that it was better for my readers. Better for me.

So, I finally took the plunge.

I moved my blog to WordPress!

It was all the work I knew it would take—the redesign (thanks, @SavvyWordPress!), all the fixing of broken links, all the photos to relink, all the subscribers to notify.

And the new URL to bloggers who were kind enough to put me on their “Blogs I Read” list.

Was it worth it?

Yes. It was!

Some of you have heard me whine about Typepad. Living under the same roof as Mr. WordPress (also known as Bob), I saw every day what I was missing.

“Oh. That’s an amazing social media share widget!” I would say.

“Yes, it is.”

“Can you put that on my blog?” I say, looking up hopefully.

“No.”

All the cool toys were for the WordPress bloggers.

Why it’s better for you

I’m still exploring all the fun plug-ins and widgets, but here are a few things you will notice different—and better:

• full Gravatar support so we get to hear and see you in the comments

• option for email notification to keep up on the conversations

• tools to make sharing of content on social media easier

• a more visually appealing site that’s easier on the eyes

• the opportunity for more robust conversations in the comments section (coming soon)

A word of thanks

This blog would be nothing without you, my readers, my subscribers and, yes, even my ‘lurkers.’ I am grateful that you take time once a week to read and leave comments.

If you have subscribed to my blog via email, you don’t need to do anything to continue to receive updates and new posts. You’ll still get notified when a new post is up, just as you always did.

If you signed up via a reader, I don’t have you on my subscriber list anymore! But all you need to do is click on the RSS button to resubscribe. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

And if you aren’t a regular reader, well, I love you, too. Come back often. Or, better yet, join the CatsEyeWriter community.

Oh, and if you’ve been pondering a new blog design yourself, visit Savvy WordPress to see some samples and read about three beautiful but affordable options.

So, whaddaya think about CatsEyeWriter Blog’s new house?

Did any improvement jump out at you? Do you have a cool WordPress tool on your blog that you’d like to see on mine?

Filed Under: Blogging, Misc Tagged With: , ,

Who Are You, Anyway?: Showing Up Online

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who is showing up onlineIt’s been a strange week. I’m in day 10 of the crappy upper respiratory stuff.

Type. Cough. Sniffle. Repeat.

I’m keeping my water glass to myself and trying not to breathe on Bob. In fact, it would be better if I just didn’t breathe at all, his eyes are saying.

And why is everyone
talking about website bios all of a sudden?

This week had a weird synchronicity to it. People have been talking about website bios and social media profiles. In phone calls. On Twitter. On forums. In emails.

Everywhere.

For a minute, I thought they’d all gone crazy. Then I put it together.

It’s what I’ve been working on all week for clients. Fun, memorable bios. About Us pages. Social media profiles.

Bios are on my brain. So of course I’m paying attention more.

You know, like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see all the other ones on the road just like it? They were always there, but you just noticed them.

Showing up online: part II

This past week, I had lots of smart questions from people struggling to create their bios, to boil down the essence of who they are in a short paragraph or two—in a way that is consistent and that attracts
the people they want to work with.

Here are some starter tips:

1. Align your profile and website bio with your brand.

Your website gives people a good idea of who you are (or it should). But if the bio on your website, the one on your blog and the one on Facebook sound like you are talking about three different people, I’d say you have a problem.

Unless you have multiple personality disorder. Then, of course, it would make perfect sense.

Connect your profile with your brand. If you are playful, and your website copy reflects that, so should your profile. Got a quirky sense of humor? Go with it.

Someone tweeted a line from my website bio on Twitter yesterday: She said, “@CatsEyeWriter’s website bio says she can juggle, has been to Timbuktu and can say, ‘Four knives will be sufficient’ in Swahili. I LOVE THIS!”

Everything I said was true. And, yes, a little quirky. Just like me.

Just be sure you show yourself in a real and consistent way—across all platforms.

2. Tell what you do best—and for whom.

When I am browsing through Twitter profiles and bios or visiting someone’s About Us page on their website, I am attracted to the ones that deliver their messages with style and originality.

One of my Twitter friends, Havi Brooks, says it this way on her website’s About Havi page:

My duck and I (okay, the duck is a little weird and that could be a blog post all by itself) help
bright, creative kooky people (who she does it for) destuckify their stuff so they can do their thing (what she does best).

She goes on to say:

So they can work through all the overwhelming, sometimes-terrifying goo that gets in the way of doing what they love and biggifying it like crazy.

When I read this, I know right away. Either I am her target market or I am not.

3. Leave the cardboard person at the doorstep.

I saw a small business networking site recently that warned its members to only enter “basic business information” into their profile. They said, “It’s not about you personally. It’s a business profile.

I couldn’t disagree more, particularly if you are a small biz owner. People who are deciding whether to interact with you are looking for someone real.

Asking yourself a few of these questions will help you uncover—and show—the real, multi-dimensional you:

1. What three things do you believe most about people?

2. What is the one thing you’ve done in your life that you are most proud of?

3. What’s the one thing you haven’t done yet that you want to do before you die?

4. What three adjectives best describe you?

5. Which movie or TV character are you most like and why?

6. What’s your favorite food or beverage?

7. Name the two things that bug you the most when they happen.

Use phrases from these answers to make a list. From that list, mix and match until you come up with the whole person that best describes you.

On Twitter, it’s a challenge to do that in just 160 characters, but that’s part of the fun. And it’s the very process that gets you to the core of who you are.

My Twitter profile says:

Slightly neurotic copywriter. Loves strong verbs, creating unique online identities, oaky Merlot & John Cleese. Thinks the word cree-A-tive is overused.

4. Act online in ways that match your profile.

People are getting to know and, hopefully, trust you, so your online behavior and the copy in your bio should not clash. Who you are should not change. Whether you write an article for a social networking site like Biznik, create a new blog post or make a comment on Twitter, stay true to
yourself.

5. Play with the content as you change and grow.

You aren’t going to be the same person you are today. None of us are. Hey, next year you might climb
Mt. Everest. Or write a book. Or become a goalie on a women’s indoor soccer team (which one of my clients did) You might join the hole-in-one club. Or master conversational French.

Profiles are easy to edit. Be sure to do that regularly so when things change, your customers, prospects and colleagues can keep up with all the cool things you are doing.

What does your profile say about you?

Filed Under: Blogging, Branding, Copywriting, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

‘Crazy Cat’ Edition: Does the Real You Show Up Online?

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crazy catMy odd-eyed Turkish Van cat Nuz has multiple personality disorder.

Okay, he doesn’t really show multiple personalities because he’s a cat. It’s more like multiple animalities.

He usually displays them when he’s trying to talk me into something.

But sometimes it’s when he’s yawning. Or bird watching.

This morning, I swear to God, he did this short “whinny” sound, just like a pony.

I was working on the laptop at the dining room table. After neighing, he trotted into the kitchen and sat on the tile by the refrigerator, with that laser-focused stare of his aimed at me.

The old Friskies Chicken and Salmon con game.

A cat with identity issues

Nuz, at different times, and God only knows for what reasons, has made a flat, nasal sound—sort of like a duck—chattered like a squirrel, and warbled like a songbird. Sometimes he produces a perfectly mimicked bull’s snort. He even growls like a bulldog and, oddly enough, fetches pieces of wadded up paper and drops them at my feet, ears perked, waiting for me to toss them across the room again.

Problem is, Nuz never knows who he is.

I never know who he is. Until he shows up. And when he does, he decides who he wants to be at
that moment.

Not your consistent, “I can trust you because I know you will always be a cat” kind of guy.

Do you have identity issues?

I’m working with a couple of new clients who have asked me exciting, insightful questions from the start. Stuff that made me feel how lucky I am to be playing in their sandbox.

“I want you to help me figure out who I am, said one, an executive coach with a highly specialized and very cool niche, “and how to build an online identity that shows how unique I am.”

I wanted to get up right then and there and do a back flip.
(Didn’t, though. There wasn’t enough room in this particular Starbucks.)

The other client, a leadership development trainer, said, ”I want a website that shows my values and personality, complete with my crazy sense of humor.”

Wow. Two people in one week who get how important it is to have a face and a unique voice on the Web.

Find your true self. And show it.

Before I help these two clients create their perfect blogs and websites, I’ll be taking each of them through a thinking process, with questions such as these, so their real selves show up consistently and they
attract the people who are comfortable working with him and who they were meant to serve:

What are the top three things you believe about people?

If you could describe yourself with three adjectives, what would they be?

Why are you doing what you do?

What do you love most about the business you are in?

Name your top three passions. (This will lead you to the things you really care about and eventually to the stories you want to tell your customers.)

What’s the best compliment you ever got from a customer?

What expressions do you use a lot with customers or clients?

Favorite quotes? (The language piece that is so important to making you sound authentic.)

If you are writing your own website copy, or having someone else do it for you, give a little thought to these questions. And ask yourself other ones.

Listen to the answers.

Because the last thing you want is for your customers to think you are just like Nuz, the ‘crazy cat.’

Filed Under: Branding Tagged With: , , ,

Cookies, Milk and Scraped Knees: What Your Clients Really Want

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Ask any six-year-old what they need and how they’re feeling. They’ll tell you flat out.

“I want a cookie.” (I’m hungry. I want something sweet and good to eat. I don’t want to listen to you because my current need is more important than what you have to say.)

“That boy on the playground hit me. (I’m angry. I’m hurt. I want your sympathy.)

“I have to go to the bathroom.” (I can’t focus on anything you have to say right now.)

If you listen, they will tell you.

Don’t you wish your customers would just freakin’ tell you exactly what they need? Could it be that they are, and we just aren’t listening?

Your clients are more like six-year-olds than you might think. Think about it:

1) They need guidance. They’re easily distracted because so much is happening around them. It’s hard to focus. Too much noise: TV, billboards, cellphone, Internet, e-mail. Go ahead, take them by the hand. Lead them through your home page. Give them simple instructions, just what they need to know and no more. Tell them what you want them to do. Don’t be like the parent who answers the child’s question, “Where did I come from?” with a detailed explanation of conception, pregnancy and childbirth when they only wanted to know whether they’re from New York or California.

2) They don’t always understand what you’re saying. When I was a first grade teacher, I asked my students to draw a picture of something that reminds them of the Pledge of Allegiance. I got a lot of flags and a couple of crudely drawn outlines of the United States and kids with hands over hearts. But one little girl handed me a crayon drawing of four witches in black robes and cone hats with brooms, standing on a hill. She had been reciting the Pledge every morning all year and thought that we were saying, “…and to the republic, for witches stand…” Make sure your customers understand what you are saying to them.

3) They want your attention. Make it easy for your clients to talk to you. If they are on your website, or reading your brochure, they can’t just keep tugging on your arm until you answer their questions. And yet they may want your attention. Leave phone numbers and e-mail contact information. Make it easy for them to contact you.

4) They may say (or think) “why?” Ad executive Bob Hoffman said that when his daughter was small, she put every question through what he called “The Twelve Degrees of Why.” Daughter: “Why do flowers have different colors?” Dad: “Um, to attract insects.” Daughter: “Why do they want to attract insects?” Dad: “Well, they don’t really want to, it’s just that those that do tend to have more success reproducing.” Daughter: “Why?” He said that after the twelfth why, you found out whether you really understood something or not. Same thing with clients. Going through this “why” process (some call it, “So what?”) always helps us get to those deeper, core benefits of our product or service, the ones that will lead to the purchase.

5) They get confused by too many choices. Watch the difference in decision time when you offer a six-year-old five choices of ice cream flavors, compared to, “Would you like vanilla or chocolate?” It’ll either take five times as long, or she won’t be able to choose at all. A direct mail letter asks the reader to take one action, not five. Special offers on websites should highlight a deal on one product, or two at the most. Don’t confuse your customer.

6) They want to know that you feel their pain. The child who fell down on the sidewalk doesn’t want you to offer her a glass of lemonade. Not right now, anyway. She wants you to look at her bloody knee, tell her that you’ve done that before too, and, oh boy, does that hurt. Not until you recognize her pain (and give her a band aid) can she think about your offer of lemonade. In sales copy, tell your customer you’ve been there, you’ve experienced that emotion of fear or guilt or whatever feeling is behind the need or desire for your product or service. And you have a solution, a way out of the pain.

There’s my take on what your customer really wants. I’d love to hear from you. Does it make sense? No? What do you think?

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: ,

Hard Hat Blues: Websites ‘Under Construction’

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Bobdunn_publisher
How many websites lately have you gone to and found the dreaded words, “This Site Under Construction”. If you are an avid web surfer, they won’t fit on your two hands.

The problem here is a Catch 22. Often we come up with our domain name, and if we find it available, quickly nab it and up goes the construction sign. Then, before we can even get started on the site, we print our business cards, letterhead, and other collateral, all with our new web address.

So while you are struggling to get the site up, your marketing has already started, cards are going out, and visitors are arriving.

Is this common?

Yes.

Is it good?

No!

There is nothing more frustrating than finding those “under construction” pages. Sometimes an email will be added, a logo, and a simple, “please come back and visit us soon.” Right, I am going to bookmark this site and check back every other day to see if it is up. Not likely…

Think of it this way. Let’s say you open a retail flower shop. You are in the process of constructing the building or remodeling. You print up your biz cards, or worse yet, run an ad with the physical address.

So now your potential customers are taking the time to drive there, only to find a construction mess and a closed sign. They drive away frustrated.

Your unfinished “online store” will get the same reaction.

If you have a site that is not up yet, avoid advertising the web address anywhere. Or better yet, make that website a priority. Because web customers are impatient. If they visit and find nothing of value, it is doubtful that they will ever return.

How about you? If you go to a site and it is “under construction,” are you likely to go back? I’d love to hear your comments.

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