In this week’s roundup we have a great collection of advice for improving your website, from using your under-appreciated Thank You page for conversions (nice!) to actually monetizing your blog (bonus!) There’s also a good dose of reality for anyone still looking for marketing secrets plus a unique perspective on using search to benefit your brand. So grab your favorite beverage, find a comfortable chair and read up!
7 Steps To Dominate Search Results For Your Brand
Written by Laura Click
Do you Google yourself? You should! You might be surprised by what you find. And this is not just a narcissistic activity. The health of your business could depend on it. In this post Laura brings up a uniquely interesting question: do you own the search results for your name and brand? If you pop your company name into Google, do the results shine with your brilliance or tarnish your reputation? It’s worth taking a look at and worth tweaking if you need to. Read more to find out what you should be looking for, what you want to avoid and how to make search results work for you.
Read the article at FlyBlueKite.com and follow Laura on Twitter @lauraclick
Two Very Harsh Truths That Will Make You A Better Marketer
Written by Ross Simmonds
Sometimes people just tell the truth. The hard, ugly, aggravating truth. The one that doesn’t come with secrets and magic and power words like “conquer!” and “win!” In this post Ross gives you that truth: and that’s the less-than-sexy fact that creativity is good, but results are better. Oh, and marketing is hard, dirty work. It’s refreshing when someone tells it like it is instead of sugarcoating it. So go get yourself a dose of reality because you may not want to hear it but this is great advice and you’ll feel a lot better when you do.
Read the article at RossSimmonds.com and follow Ross on Twitter @TheCoolestCool
6 Ideas For Your Blog’s About Page And Why They Work
Written by Daniel Sharkov
If your “About” page is a dull litany of your accomplishments and life story, read this. If your About page is about you, read this. If your About page is missing a photo of the actual person it’s about (you), read this. In fact, if you have an About page at all then read this! Daniel shares some great ideas from taking your page from ordinary to actually functional and maybe even a to conversion tool. So don’t let it languish as just another bit of required copywriting. Use these tips to pop it up.
Read the article at ReviewzNTips.com and follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielSharkov
The Ultimate Guide To Choosing A Blog Monetization Strategy
Written by Marc Andre
You know how you read a post that claims to be “The Ultimate Guide to [insert random thing here]” and it ends up being something like six paragraphs? That’s not this post! This one is pretty darn ultimate. There is a whole slew of monetization options followed by pros and cons for each. There’s also some pretty awesome commentary on things you should consider before you choose one. I’m thinking this is more like an eBook in disguise so be very grateful to Marc for putting this together and offering it free and clear right on his blog. You may find options you never thought of. Or learn about some perks – or pitfalls – you didn’t think of. But you won’t be disappointed, so get your strategy together by starting with this post.
Read the article at ProfitBlitz.com and follow Marc on Twitter @ProfitBlitz
Why The Thank You Page Is The First Step In Relationship Building
Written by Jennifer Bourn
We talked about “About” pages so why not the overlooked, underestimated “Thank You” page? When was the last time you gave a second’s thought to your Thank You page, beyond making sure that you didn’t misspell “Thank You”? First impressions count, but sometimes last impressions count more. You could not only be squandering opportunities by ignoring this page but you could be losing business if you’ve done it incorrectly. Jennifer gives you some solid advice for turning your Thank You pages into real follow-up and conversion tools and she follows up with a list of homework for you so you can improve yours. I
Read the article at BourneCreative.com and follow Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferBourn
What was your favorite tip here? Did you find something you want to try? Let me know!
Excellent round up, Carol Lynn! Thanks for introducing me to some new blogs! I really liked Ross and Jennifer’s posts – smart advice there for sure!
Also, thanks for including mine in the mix. I always appreciate it. 🙂
I’m glad you found some new people! I try to dig as many out of the woodwork as I can 🙂 Loved your post. I don’t remember ever seeing anyone talk about search from that perspective. It should give people a lot to think about!
Carol Lynn,
Thanks for including my link.
You’re welcome, great guide!