Bonfire Social Media Marketing and Peyton Media Management have volunteered to launch a social media campaign for Give ‘n’ Gobble, a Portland-based Thanksgiving Day run benefiting Helping Hands, a local affiliate of The Oregon Food Bank.

The annual 5 and 10K run is perfect for Oregonians looking to burn off Thanksgiving meals while supporting needy families. Last year more than five tons of food and thousands of dollars were donated, funding Helping Hands for the entire year and feeding thousands. Gerry Eddy from Helping Hands says Give ‘n’ Gobble has made substantial changes in the community, “allowing us to give families milk, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables.”

Ryan Lewis, President of Bonfire Social Media, was approached by race director, Cindy Aggson. She was looking for a Portland social media agency but resources were extremely limited. Lisa Peyton, owner of Peyton Media Management, had approached Lewis about working together on a pro bono project to help the community. Lewis scheduled a meeting and the campaign was born.

The social media strategy consisted of an optimized blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts and bringing the event’s silent auction online. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, Aggson suggested a Google AdWords campaign to help bring traffic to the website. Peyton called in Paid Search expert Daniela Araujo - who volunteered her time to the project.

In two weeks, the campaign has already seen results. The blog has garnered #1 rankings in Google for key terms; the Facebook page has increased its fan base by 100% and over $8,000 in products and services has been donated to the online auction.

According to Lewis, “The social media demographic fits perfectly with Give n’ Gobble’s target. We’re reaching more people for less money with higher effectiveness.”

About Bonfire Social Media

Bonfire was founded by Ryan Lewis with a mission to integrate online marketing campaigns. Bonfire is dedicated to increasing company reach, share of voice and customer interaction with targeted market segments. Bonfire specializes in social media marketing, social media strategy, blog development and strategic marketing consulting.

About Peyton Media Management

Founded by internet marketing expert Lisa Peyton, Peyton Media Management offers social media marketing and management for businesses looking to improve and increase their online presence. Services include blog creation and optimization, social media strategy and management, copywriting and content creation.

By Karon Thackston

Sometimes choosing which company to buy from is about like
deciding which brand of canned peas is the best. To make matters
worse, the copy on most websites doesn’t offer any help.

There are three major offenders in copywriting that I see
constantly on the Internet. The first is generic copy that offers
no specific differentiation points — in other words, reasons why
the visitor should choose you instead of the thousands of other
sites that are just a click away. The second is overused fluff
copy that has no substance. And the third? Using company-focused
copy (”we” and “us”) instead of customer-focused (”you” and
“your”). It’s the third offender I want to address in this
article.

I am literally shocked that — after decades of marketing
evangelists preaching “It’s not about you!” — website owners
still don’t get it. What’s not to understand? Copy that focuses
strictly on your company and practically or completely ignores
your prospects doesn’t work nearly as well as copy that speaks to
your target customers in their language and about the benefits
they will receive.

I discussed this very topic with SEO friend Jill Whalen
recently, and she commented, “I think people don’t understand how
to write to the customer instead of about their company.” Perhaps
my cohort is right. So, in an effort to educate, let’s look at
several before and after scenarios.

Company-Focused Copy Examples

It’s as if this web design firm has intentionally made an effort
to ignore their site visitors. They use their company name, “the
client,” “customers,” and practically every other word to
describe who is reading the page. Except, that is, the most
important: you. You must address the one, single person who is
reading your web page at any given moment, not a collective
population of people.

ABC Web Design is dedicated to customer service. We make great
strides to offer high levels of customer service and
communication with clients. As a small company, we understand
one-on-one service is needed. Our designers have developed
hundreds of small-business websites and we make the process
simple. Contact us for pricing and a free consultation today.

Do you see that not a single “you” is used? The site visitor is
never addressed. It’s all about the company. Now let’s change it
to be about the customer:

ABC Web Design is dedicated to your success, promising high
levels of customer service and communication. You’ll be kept up
to date — on a one-to-one basis — about the progress of your
project. Relying on years of experience, your web designer makes
the creation process simple, guiding you through every step.
Contact us for pricing and a free consultation today.

Here’s another example.

We have the finest contractors in the marketplace today. Our
kitchen experts have been recruited from the most successful
companies. XYZ Kitchen Remodeling Company of Kalamazoo has the
support of a large network with over 300 reliable and
professional kitchen remodeling contractors serving most of North
America.

Here’s the rewrite:

When you want to work with the finest contractors in the
marketplace, XYZ Kitchen Remodeling Company of Kalamazoo answers
the call. Not only will you benefit from using experienced
kitchen experts, your renovation is backed by the support of the
largest network of kitchen remodelers. That gives you the
knowledge and skills of over 300 reliable, professional kitchen
remodeling contractors in North America.

See the difference? Is it a sin to use the words “us” or “our”?
Certainly not, but your copy should be weighted far more heavily
with customer-oriented words than company-focused ones. Tell
visitors about your service, your results and your experience.
But do so in a way that makes them and their success the center
of the copy.

When you keep the focus on your company, you prevent your target
customer from knowing the benefits they’ll reap after working
with you. However, when you adjust your focus, you shine a bright
light helping visitors to quickly see why you’re the best choice
for them.

Karon Thackston creates customer-focused copy that connects and
converts. If you’re struggling with copy that doesn’t perform,
contact Karon today through http://www.MarketingWords.com for
online copywriting or copywriting training.

Here’s an informative enumeration of SEO copywriting practices you do NOT want to engage in.  Courtesy of the always illuminating Karon Thackston.

Top 10 Don’ts for SEO Copywriting
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved

Following in the footsteps of Rand Fishkin and Guy Kawasaki, I
decided to come up with my own list of don’ts.

There is no shortage of don’ts when it comes to SEO copywriting.
It seems this niche got off to a rough start many years ago
when early comers somehow misconstrued the core principles of
the trade.  Allow me to elaborate on how not to write SEO copy.

1. Don’t shove as many keyphrases into the copy as humanly
possible.  It’s not about the sheer volume of search terms you
include.  Yes, Google and other engines should be able to follow
what the page is about.  Yes, engines are looking to match a
searcher’s query with search engine optimized content on your
web pages, but which pages land at the top is decided through a
series of calculations far more complex than any simple ratio.
When you overload copy with keyphrases you sacrifice quality and
user experience.

2.  Don’t lose site of balance.  If SEO copywriting isn’t about
the percentage of keywords within the copy, then what is it
about?  Balance.  You have two audiences with SEO copywriting:
the search engines and your site visitors.  But surprisingly,
the balance doesn’t come with serving both masters well.  The
balance comes in how much you cater to the engines.  You see,
your site visitors always come first.  However, if you write
with too little focus on the engines, you won’t see good
rankings.  If you put too much focus on the engines, you’ll
start to lose your target audience.  Balance. always balance.

3.  Don’t let someone else choose the keywords.  If keyword
research isn’t a service you offer, an SEO firm, keyword
specialist or some other professional that your client hires
will have to conduct the research.  Don’t just accept keyphrases
these folks toss your way.  Ask to see the entire list with
recommendations as to which terms would be best strategically.
Then you, as the professional writer, can decide which will also
work best within the copy.

4.  Don’t sacrifice flow for numbers.  This is a follow-up to
number three and is a major issue with bad SEO copywriting.
SEOs or clients sometimes insist on using hacked-up search
phrases that simply don’t work in a normal sentence. An example?
“Candies samples free.”  Many copywriters will just grin and
bear it, sacrificing quality and flow for the sake of
competitive values or other numbers.  The result is often some
obnoxious sentence like, “If you’re looking for candies samples
free, you’ve come to the right place!”  Forcing a phrase into
the copy at all costs never turns out well.

5.  Don’t use keyphrases that don’t apply to the page.  If you
operate a site about wedding receptions, don’t try to force a
search term about wedding dresses into the copy just because it
pulls a lot of traffic.  (A) Unless you sell, alter or design
wedding dresses, it won’t be applicable.  (B) Even if you manage
to get the page ranked well for the phrase [wedding dresses],
once the visitor clicks to your site and realizes you have
nothing to do with wedding dresses, they will leave. It’s a
waste of time and effort and it creates a poor user experience.

6.  Don’t use misspellings and correct spellings on the same
page.  I fully understand that the misspellings of keyphrases
can be valuable search terms.  However, to mix correct spellings
and misspellings within the same page of copy looks like you’ve
got a bunch of typos in the content. It’s just not professional.
Some writers will go for the old, “We rent limousines
(sometimes spelled limosenes) for the most affordable prices in
town.”  I don’t care for that approach. It’s just not natural.
Would you ever see brochure or newspaper copy that reads that
way?  I think not.

7.  Don’t use keyphrases the exact same way every time.  This is
how we end up with horrible SEO copy that sounds like a 4th
grader wrote it.  (See #4.)  There are lots of ways to use
keywords in copy, not just one.  In order to sound natural, you
have to get creative with your keyphrase use.  One way is to
break up phrases using punctuation.  Since search engines don’t
pay attention to basic punctuation marks, you can easily write
something using the search term [real estate Hawaii] that reads
like this: “Currently there is an impressive selection of
available real estate.  Hawaii listings can be.”  See?  “Real
estate” is at the end of the first sentence and “Hawaii” is at
the beginning of the second sentence. The engines ignore the
period so there’s no problem.

8. Don’t use all types of search phrases for every situation.
There are many ways in which this “don’t” applies.  One quick
example is that of an ecommerce site.  It wouldn’t be advisable
to use specific, long-tail keyphrases on the home page of your
site.  They are much too specific in most cases and are better
suited for individual product pages.  Broader terms are
typically best for an ecommerce home page.  If you don’t
understand the best applications for the various types of
keywords, you’re likely to have lackluster results.

9. Don’t neglect ALT tags/image attributes.  These tags are the
ones associated with images on your pages and they carry a good
deal of weight especially if the image is used as a link.  The
ALT text counts the same as anchor text in a text-based link.
Depending on a few different factors, ALT text may be a good
place for those misspellings mentioned in #6.

10. Don’t forget the chain of protocol.  There’s a method to the
SEO copywriting madness.  The idea is not to get as many
different keyphrases onto a page as possible.  Just the
opposite, in fact.  Rather than having 12 different search terms
used only one time each, you need to use two to four keyphrases
(depending on the length of your copy) per page.  The title,
META tags, ALT tags, other coding elements and on-page copy need
to support each other as far as keyphrase use goes.  Your goal
is to let the engines know that you have original, relevant
content about a narrow topic.

Unless you have an exceptional number of back links built up,
just mentioning [dark chocolate], [chocolate strawberries],
[chocolate chip cookies], [chocolate cake], [chocolate
desserts], [organic chocolate] and [chocolate cheesecake] once
each on a web page isn’t likely to do a lot of good.  Instead,
pick two or three terms which are closely related and use them
several times each along with mentioning them in your tags.

When you avoid making common mistakes, you’ll find your SEO
copywriting flows much better, is more natural-sounding and
ranks higher, too.

Need help with SEO copywriting?  Karon has written 3 excellent
books to help you learn keyword optimization techniques. Visit
http://www.CopywritingCourse.com today and click to the Order
page for details.

By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved

I shake my head every time I read one of these blanket
statements. I’m amazed at how so many people still think that
one size of copy still fits everyone. It’s just not true.

Here’s an example. A while back, I read, “Prospects hate being
bombarded by text-heavy pages, especially on a home/landing
page.” This is coming from Internet Marketing Report in
relation to business-to-business (B2B) websites. I’m sorry, but
I completely disagree.

Just because a website is B2B does not automatically mean every
single one of its visitors will “hate being bombarded by
text-heavy pages.” The product or service itself, how familiar
the product or service is to the market, the target customer’s
preferred communication style and a dozen other factors
contribute to the decision about whether or not long copy or
short should be used.

On the other hand, we have direct-mail experts who’ve taken
their style of copywriting (sales letters) online. And, just
like the ultra-short copy suggested by the Internet Marketing
Report article, long copy has its audience.

If you ask direct marketers, they’ll swear that the long,
scrolling, often hype-filled sales letters are the end-all,
be-all of copywriting. Again, nothing could be further from the
truth. The same reasoning applies to those who say you must use
a sales letter as opposed to those demanding short copy.

DISC Helps Us Understand

You may have heard of the DISC model that categorizes people
into four primary groups (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and
Compliance). There are others as well, including Myers-Briggs.
No matter how you group people, the point is that everyone is
not the same.

So then, how can one style of copy possibly fit everyone? It
doesn’t. There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. Whether
you’re B2B or B2C, you have to know your target audience and
communicate with them in the way that they will be most
receptive.

For instance, people high in Steadiness traits on the DISC model
prefer longer copy. What’s more, those high in Steadiness make
up over 40% of the population of the U.S. Those high in
Compliance crave details. They, too, would want longer copy.
Dominance types want the bottom line first and possibly details
later if they deem them necessary. And Influence? Those high
in Influence move at the speed of light and make decisions on a
whim. They aren’t much into details either.

Combine with these four styles the additional factors that being
male or female add and you’ve really got your hands full. Want
to get extremely precise? Toss in some persona/profile elements
that deal with lifestyle, convictions and more. It’s enough to
make your head spin at times.

Use Your Judgment

Before you buy into a blanket statement about consumers -
whether it pertains to writing copy, setting prices or anything
else - use your judgment. Does what’s being suggested really
make sense for everybody? Is it possible that all people across
the entire globe respond in the same way? No.

We all communicate differently. We shop differently. We make
decisions based on different criteria. We respond to different
stimuli. If there’s one common denominator, it is that we’re
all different.

Looking for a better way to learn web copywriting? Karon’s SEO
copywriting course teaches you how to improve conversions and
rankings. Complete with assignments and feedback. Get the new
5th edition today at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.

By Lisa Peyton a.k.a. Avarie Parker

This concludes the virtual conversation I had with Brian Regan a.k.a. Printer Brian Dowd.
He was the first to bring recruiting into Second Life and is in the process of helping other recruiting firms do the same. I wanted to get some additional insight into these projects and the future of this ever expanding Virtual World (VW). You can read the first part of our interview, “Recruiting in Second Life: “SL is not an easy button”, here:
http://www.optimalcopy.com/blog

Avarie Parker: Hi Brian!

PrinterBrian Dowd: Good morning.

AP: I was checking out the job boards. Did you have anything to do with their creation?

PBD: Yes, Semper has a job boards division. We have job boards for Printing, Graphics and the Game Industry.

(Computer monitors on Human Resource Island proudly display Semper’s job boards, printworkers.com http://www.printworkers.com/ and
jobs.gigsingaming.com http://jobs.gigsingaming.com/).

AP: So could you please discuss the Tower Consultants (http://www.towerconsultants.com/) project a bit? Perhaps give an overview of the process or steps involved with such a project–the roles and individuals involved?

(Tower Consultants location in Second Life, http://slurl.com/secondlife/HumanResource%20Island/116/81/27) is located on Human Resource Island.)

PBD: From a “Why they are here stand point”? Or from a “How did Semper build them their Second Life location”?; Would you like a cup of coffee?

Coffee Service (Click for a cup): Gives a cup of hot coffee to Printer Brian Dowd

AP: Sure!

PBD: Click on the pot.

AP: Got it, thanks!

Coffee Service (Click for a cup): Gives a cup of hot coffee to Avarie Parker.

AP: Oh goodness, too much multi-tasking…

PBD: LOL, part of modern business I am afraid.

AP: Yes. So I am curious about the process of building out the Tower SL local.

PBD: An easy way to explain it is that it’s like building a website, but more identifying how the firm wants to be branded, what they want in their location, what is their purpose for being there, and what programming and integration is needed.

AP: Ok, great. So you would work with a programmer, designer, project manager, etc?

PBD: Yes, but I do the PM side–like to make sure things are done right and things get moved along at the pace I expect.

AP: I see. So are you seeing SL skills like building, etc. translate into RL (real life) jobs??

PBD: Yes and No. Yes–if companies need SL things done and one is hired to do the project.
No–if you want the skills they have to translate into a relevant skill in RL. Most people gain skills to do SL jobs. So things like Maya and Photoshop need to be learned and understood to do certain things in SL.
The SL scripting language is a basic programming language. So the people have to learn it to be scripters, but it is not robust enough to make them a programmer in RL. Although a lot of RL programmers are scripters here. So they entered SL with the skills already. Make sense?

AP: Yes, definitely. So at this point you aren’t seeing full-time RL jobs that are devoted to scripting in SL? Is it primarily contract work?

PBD: There are some. But you are talking to someone that runs a contract based staffing firm
so I like to provide development firms with contractors. I have a bias.

AP: Do you think that there will be a need for people with these SL skills? Will the trend continue?

PBD: Hmmm, I think there will. It will be a specialty, not a huge market.
I suspect at some point soon VWs will be easy to make–like buying canned website software.

AP: So I if I can back up for a minute. Perhaps you could discuss Tower’s goals within SL and have they been successful?

PBD: Not 100% my place to say. I can say that they have gained exposure and I have fielded questions from people at Harvard and a few large firms about the question you just asked. The current phase of their SL project is explorative at this point. It reaches into areas that I cannot speak of.
The whole “understanding the people in SL and how to interact” question. You know–the stuff I get paid to consult on.

AP: So they are looking at this as a longer-term project, perhaps even planning out a few years then?

PBD Yes. I will say this; if your firm is interested in SL, consider having me do the project. I understand staffing, and SL makes for the right mix.

AP: So, predictions…we have touched on it a bit but if I were to ask you: Recruiting in SL - Goldmine or Ghost town? What side of the fence would you come down on??

PBD: Heh, neither. But I edge more on the goldmine, although it’s more like a small tip of a large gold vein; sticking out of the ground. Potential, but lots of work needed to dig it out. This is really just starting; VWs will have a big impact on recruitment and not just from the agency side. The large firms in here today already are using it. I have seen new jobs created that focus on VWs as a recruitment platform and not just recruiter level –Director level.

AP: I would love to do that!!!

PBD: So your large clients will be in VWs in some fashion or another.

PBD: It would be nice to work from home and use a VW as your office.

AP: So tell me about your Avatar. Is it custom??

PBD: Yes, of course. Residents don’t interact as much with the default avatars walking around.
I guess its like–if you care enough to take the time to make up your avatar, you are less likely to have ulterior motives I guess. You could think of it like all those Myspace friends requests you get
from the no detail profile with one picture and no friends. LOL.

AP: So what does “custom” mean exactly? Is it based on how you really look??

PBD: No, just not a basic look. You took time on yours - the clothing is not default stuff and your hair is not default. You have glasses on.

AP: Is it possible to hire someone to create a custom skin?

PBD: People do it but usually only celebs have them done. Going rate is about $150 - $300 US.
Buying a skin is the most common.

AP: So do you feel all the shopping and consumerism in SL leads to more buying in the RL? Like the way some people believe violent video games lead to real violence?

PBD: I do not believe that. Bad parenting creates what you said I don’t know about the shopping side but I suspect it does.

AP: So you feel there is a link between someone buying tons of stuff in SL and then deciding to buy something in RL?

PBD: I am not a marketing type person but I think it does. Branding is branding, and it’s about trust.

(Aveda offers real life hairstyles in SL, residents can purchase the hair using SL Currency called Linden Dollars.)

(Another example of in-world branding, there is an unofficial Nike store in Second Life, offering virtual T-shirts and work-out gear.)

AP: If a person gets a high from buying pretty stuff in SL, who’s to say they won’t take that into the RL and try to get that same feeling in their real lives. Do you feel that SL encourages classicism??
Someone might be able to buy a diamond necklace in-world, but could never afford that in RL. Is that a good thing?

PBD: Don’t really know. I am not a big shopper.

AP: From a psychological perspective, do you think there are deeper issues here?

PBD: Well, your question is rather large.

AP: Yes, I was struck by a woman I met in SL that wanted to buy some land but had to wait until her RL paycheck cleared the bank. She had a HUGE presence in SL, tavern owner, etc., but couldn’t afford the small RL sum to pay for a small parcel of land. It made me think about the idea of escapism, and are VWs going to be a way for people to escape their lives?

PBD: Yes, but does a VW cause that? No. If you remove VWs, does it go away? No. What I like about Interactive Media over traditional is simple: a person’s mind is engaged and they are part of the story or event. T.V. for example tells us the story and we simply watch and have no control over what’s happening. Interactive media, such as video games and VWs, is much more engaging for the mind. Second Life is very interesting in the sense that you create your own experience in many ways. You can build what you want, buy what you want, hang out with whom you want. Does it all equal escapism? I imagine it does, but most things in moderation seem fine to me. It’s when it’s done to an excess that causes worry.

AP: I agree absolutely. So a final question: every time I talk about SL, I still hear someone say, “Oh, that’s weird” or some similar judgment about the people that are in-world. How would you respond to those people?

PBD: LOL, We are all educators. Ever read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand?

AP: Of course, I have read everything by her.

PBD: There are people that do, those that don’t, and those that want, but cannot achieve.
It is easy to look at something new and pass judgment while having no true understanding of what it is.
Or allowing other peoples opinion to be your own, without taking a small amount of time to reflect upon it yourself. So the true question is: who in their right mind would pass judgment on something new while not understanding it? 1993 and the Internet explosion is still recent news.

AP: Brilliant quote to end on. Thank you so much for your time. I wish you the best with all of your virtual ventures.

[tags]Brian Regan, Generator Group, Recruiting in Second Life, Second Life. SL, Semper
International[/tags]

By Lisa Peyton, a.k.a. Avarie Parker

I—well, my avatar Avarie Parker–was recently lucky enough to sit down for a virtual interview with Printer Brian Dowd, real life President of Semper International LLC. Brian Regan, and his Boston based firm Semper International, was the first recruiting agency to enter Second Life in March 2007. He has expanded his in-world presence from candidate sourcing to offering services for other companies looking to go virtual. The interview spanned two meetings; this is our first conversation in its entirety.

Avarie Parker: Why did Semper International decide to enter the world of SL? What were your initial goals?

PrinterBrian Dowd: I’m a big time Online Video Game player.
Also interested in Serious Games, or the use of video game technology for business application. Our goal was to use SL as a business tool in connecting with people from a distance, as well as understanding how to interact with people in online worlds. So learning and business application was stage one, more or less.
We knew that there was not a large population; however, the population here did match some of our specialties like graphic design and video game staffing. Most people in SL early on had tech or design type backgrounds. We also wanted to find a venue to reach out to an audience accustomed to using the internet as a work condition–things like “Can you have a contractor/employer relationship via an online world?”

AP: Can you give me a rough estimate of the cost involved in your campaign?

PBD: That’s not quite as straightforward as you might think

AP: Perhaps you could give a range…

PBD: You can set up a small location with limited functionality for $500 - $1000.
If you wanted to immerse yourself in SL and learn to build and script, you could do a small location for less, and increase the time you spend working on it yourself.
For me, I was an online gamer in my personal life, so I took the latter approach.
An entire Island like you are on now is a much different situation.
There you are talking $10,000 + and a lot of your own personal time–or let developers do it all and spend $20,000.

AP: Thanks, that answers my question - how many people were involved in a project like the island?

PBD: Very few.

AP: Really? Have you taught yourself how to script, etc?

PBD: Basic scripting and building, yes.

AP: Very Cool! I took a stab at designing a garment and found it to be very labor intensive!

PBD: Like online games, it’s a passion thing.

AP: Yes. Has the SL campaign directly contributed to selling Semper services? Which services have been most affected? Employer side? Employee? Or outplacement? Have you traced the campaign directly to an increase in profits?

PBD: We have generated income from SL at this point, yes. We have successfully recruited and placed people we located in SL. Does it compare to investing in a Monster or CB package? No.
However it gives a bit more than just people, it gives business side benefits: company meetings, mass recruitment, using it as a tool. So it is more than one element.

(Above: PrinterBrian and his coworker Gia speaking at a recent Interview workshop on Human Resource Island)

AP: About how many RL placements have you had?

PBD: Less than 10, although our database has picked up over 100.

AP: But how long have you been in SL? Less than a year, right?

PBD: Yes, March 1st we launched.

AP: So for such a short time in that seems like a big number!

PBD: Ah, OK. Now you must consider that I work it here–meaning I am logged in and developing relationships quite often. This location generates traffic, I generate results. Does that make sense?

AP: Hmm, yes. What questions should a recruiting firm ask itself before embarking on an SL campaign?

PBD: Easy. Does anyone on staff have the energy and willingness to make it work? Spend off-hours doing interviews and getting to know people in SL.
Would you rather hang out in SL or on your Myspace account? If the answer is no, then you may end up spinning your wheels and have no traffic.

AP: SL! I would MUCH prefer to spend time in here than on Myspace…: )

PBD: LOL. OK, so when I arrived you were chatting with Lewis. You met him here on the Semper Island?

AP: Yes, while I was waiting for you. He’s a Graphic Artist out of Binghamton, NY. I told him he should perhaps register with you guys as a candidate.

PBD: OK, so there you go - A graphic artist in NY, placeable if good. If you have a location where he is.

AP: Yes. So should the industry the recruiting firm works in be considered? I mean SL is an obvious choice if you are looking for GAs or programmers, etc, but how about other industries? Tower, for example, deals with HR placements…not exactly hi-tech.

PBD: Yes, you should consider it if you expect to extract people from SL. However, if you want to use it in replacement of video conferencing and phone, it brings a different value. You and I both have Voice Enabled, but we are not using it. It is free to use voice here, no charge. 50 people in a room all able to talk at no charge is an interesting thing to think about, to expand upon.

AP: A very useful and cost effective tool for meetings, etc.

PBD: Yes, or mass interviews.

(Above: Attendees at a recently attended SL Conference)

AP: Describe how you began your SL consulting services and do you think they will eclipse your recruiting services?

PBD: No it will not. It’s not our focus; however it allows us to test talent.
We are also staffing companies in the game industry as well as Second Life or Virtual Worlds development companies, so interviewing someone for an SL dev firm and then seeing their work is effective for us–and not just from a talent standpoint, but a professional standpoint too.
Do they meet deadlines, act a certain way, work in teams or solo, etc.?

AP: Do you have any full-time staff devoted to your SL Consulting?

PBD: No full time staff, but more than one trained person that handles SL consulting.

AP: Do you feel the trend for companies to want in to SL will continue? What do you feel the future of marketing in SL looks like?

PBD: I am not a big fan of the marketing in SL fad. However, if this is a possible direction of the internet
in the near future, then any firm that uses the internet as a tool should have an understanding of it.

AP: Can you point to any in-world campaigns that you feel were successful? National campaigns, I mean.

PBD: I am not really focused on that side, so I would likely not be a good judge.
Consider this - VW’s allow you to develop your brand in a community or experience that is interactive and that is not understood yet. VW = Virtual Worlds. So if you want to create an online experience around your firm or brand, building a VW whether SL or any number of VW’s out there will have a large impact on how people interact with you.

AP:Yes, but you obviously engage in marketing Semper in-world…and Semper’s services. But it sounds like you are more interested in an interactive experience than seeing Coke machines all over the place?

PBD: Coke machines all over the place is not the total answer. It helps, but it’s like banner ads on a website.

AP: Would you say there are companies that are “getting it” when it comes to interacting with SL residents?

PBD: Yes, those that build communities.

AP: Speaking of communities, how can a candidate best leverage SL? Any specific groups or locals they should visit?

PBD: Hmmm, that’s a big question. I would say, there are groups and experiences here for all tastes.
A personal taste in their personal time is not likely related to their professional ones. As a recruiter I am sure you can appreciate what I just said.

AP: Yes. : ) There are networking groups that charge to join–do you feel those groups are worth it? Can you give me a short list of the top business networking groups in SL?

PBD: Not really, I don’t pay to be in any of those groups. I would think they may be a good way to start out, but you quickly move past them.

AP: So how does the experienced SLer go about finding a great RL job?

PBD: Come to the Semper location (http://slurl.com/secondlife/HumanResource%20Island/207/101/27); IBM (http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM/106/5/23) does cool things. TMP (http://slurl.com/secondlife/TMP%20Worldwide/190/43/22) does career fairs.

(Above: Semper International SL Location)

AP: Great, finally something my candidates can sink their teeth into!

PBD: I would say that there is a whole lot of recruiting happening in SL. It’s just not that obvious.

AP: So how can a recruiter best leverage SL??

PBD: Networking, passive recruiting, developing a community, talking to people, gaining friends, leveraging friends, knowing who’s who and becoming a valuable asset to them.

AP: But again, I would assume it’s time consuming - yes?

PBD:Yes, anything worthwhile in life requires effort. SL is not an easy button.

AP: There’s the headline for my article - I love it!

PBD: LOL. Staples is a great client of ours. They will be excited I used it.

AP: Thank you again for taking the time to talk with me today. I really appreciate it.

PBD: No problem. I will not likely give away the valuable lessons I’ve learned but I would like to make sure the integrity of recruitment and VW’s is upheld and thus I’m willing to help out people on many levels.

AP: Wonderful! Perhaps a few more probing questions tomorrow can loosen you up a bit.

PBD: LOL.

Stay tuned for our second conversation where we dive below the surface of SL discussing consumer-user behavior, relationships within SL, and Avatar creation. If you would like to learn more about the services his company offers, you can contact him via SL on Human Resources Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/HumanResource%20Island/188/111/27 ) or email him at bregan@semperllc.com.

Technorati Tags: Second Life, Recruiting in Second Life, SL, Recruiting in SL, SL Jobs, Second Life Jobs, Semper International, Brian Regan, Lisa Peyton

By Karon Thackston

Comparison shoppers are the mortal enemy of pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers. When you’re paying each time someone clicks your AdWords (or other PPC) ad, the last thing you want is a person determined to visit every site to find the best price, the closest location or the most secure guarantee. But, with many categories of products or services, it’s bound to happen. There is a way to eliminate many of the lookers, however.

When you qualify your AdWords leads, you can reduce the click-through rate (CTR) of browsers and help direct only those most interested in your offer to your site. How is it done? By inserting text that will purposely eliminate arbitrary visitors.

Qualifying Your PPC Leads

Purposely eliminating visitors sounds like an awful thing to do, doesn’t it? Perhaps, until you consider the fact that - once these visitors got to your site and found out the details of your offer - they’d most likely leave anyway.

Why not save yourself a click (and the money associated with that click!) and prevent the visitor from running up your monthly AdWords bill? This is exactly what Steve Jackson of Conversion Chronicles and I discussed awhile back. Since that discussion, I’ve come up with a process that will allow you to easily write pre-qualifying ads when you use three simple steps.

Rather than using generic terms to describe high cost or frequently compared PPC items, get as specific as you can with “disqualifying” copy. By weeding out those who would likely take one look and leave, you can save yourself a lot of money in AdWords expenses while increasing conversions.

Karon Thackston is a prominent SEO copywriter who has helped companies including Gorton’s Seafood and GiftCertificates.com excel on the Internet. The author of 2 long-standing ebooks on SEO copywriting (The Step-by-Step Copywriting Course and How To Increase Keyword Saturation) she has recently launched her third work specifically designed to help you write successful PPC ads that convert! Get your copy of How To Write Successful PPC Ads today!

by Madeline Crogan

Have you ever spent longer than you wanted to writing your blog entries? Blogs are a great way to gain authority in you field, but they can be quite time consuming…especially if you are trying to post almost every day.

These five tips will help you streamline your blog writing processes, freeing up your time for other pursuits.

1. Write a week’s worth of entries in one day. It can be difficult to find the time every day to write interesting blog entries. Save yourself the time and hassle by dedicating a good chunk of time to write a week’s worth of blog entries in one sitting. It may seem troublesome, but I assure you, once you start writing, things will flow freely and you’ll actually spend less time than if you’d written a single post every day.

2. Know and enjoy your subject. If you pick your niche only because of demand, you’re going to have a difficult time sounding genuine and writing interesting posts. However, if you understand your subject…and better yet enjoy it, then your blog posts will come easily and naturally without a whole lot of effort.

3. Keep a notebook for ideas. How many great blog posts have been written in your head while sitting in traffic only to be forgotten later? If you keep a notebook with you, you are able to jot down any great ideas as they come to you. It’s much easier to write a post when you’ve got a list of potential topics on hand.

4. Write using bullet points. People like to see lists and lists are easier to write. By using lists and bullet points in your writing, you are breaking things down to the important basics. People can easily scan your list for the main point. It’s better for your readers and easier for you.

5. Forget long posts. Not all of your posts should be 2000 word masterpieces. You might want to include some of those, but most people prefer shorter 500 word pieces when reading blogs. I know that when I am reading blogs, I begin to lose interest if a post is too long.

By applying these tips to your blog writing, you will find yourself quickly becoming more prolific. Maybe you’ll even have time to start another blog!

About The Author

Madeline Crogan has been making money from her blogs for many years. She currently lives with her husband in Hawaii.

For FREE blogging tips and videos as well as information on how you too can be making money from your blogs, click here.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blog writing, tips for blog writing, streamline your blog, how to write a blog entry, copywriting, copywriting portland, Madeline Crogan

By Lisa Peyton, Partner - Optimal Copy

Unless you’ve been totally off the grid over the past several years, chances are you’ve at least heard the buzz about keywords. With the rapid growth of web technologies, keywords have become more important than ever. The simple fact is that if you want to find something or be found on-line, you have to know what group of words to enter into that search box. The same holds true when it comes to top employers or recruiters coming across your resume. Whether they’re sourcing your information from the web or an off-line database, keyword searches are the primary tool they use to sift through the thousands of resumes available.

Monster.com–the largest on-line job board and resume database– and other on-line resume sources offer several ways employers can search through resumes. These prominently include the resume’s received date and specific keywords appearing throughout the entire submission process—not simply those keywords found in the body of your completed resume. Any serious job seeker would be wise to regularly dust off their on-line resume, keeping keywords and content fresh, with relevant keywords always in mind when completing every field during the submittal process. It’s important to remember that submitting a keyword optimized resume is just the first step in the process of landing that perfect job. Nonetheless, it’s a vital one if you even want to be considered.

(Screenshot from the Employer’s Resume Search section at Monster.com)

Identifying Desirable Keywords

So now you’re ready to dig in and find those “magic” words that will get you noticed by your ideal employer and add them to your resume. It’s never a good idea to misrepresent your skills, but it is important to make sure that you’re using the same verbiage employers are using to define your skill set. Simple things like using the plural form of a word or using an industry wide acronym can keep your resume out of the running unless the employer or recruiter uses that exact same search phrase.
There are several lists available with suggestions of where to find the best keywords for your particular industry,
Quintcareers.com’s article “Resources for Identifying Resume Keywords” (http://www.quintcareers.com/identifying_resume_keywords.html)
offers quite an exhaustive list with several creative suggestions. Here’s a brief list of the top sources to get you started:

• Job Postings – Search out job listings for positions similar to what you’re looking for. Monster.com is a free resource for job seekers and can source hundreds of jobs to pull keywords from.

• Job Descriptions – Find on-line job descriptions for the position you’re seeking. Typically they are great repositories of desired skills and competencies for any given job title.

• Articles and News Stories – Research the latest industry news–specifically searching out anything from the employer’s viewpoint.

• On-line Keyword Tools – For those of you that really enjoy data and research, you may want to take the time to check out some tools that are specifically designed to find and analyze phrases that users are searching for. Keyword Discovery offers a free keyword tool - http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html and Google has an analytical tool that will allow you to compare and contrast two separate phrases and spot trending within your given industry. Google Trends - http://www.google.com/trends.

Adding Keywords to Your Resume

The next step involves integrating all these great keywords in to your resume. While I wouldn’t suggest doing anything as blatant as adding a “Keyword” section to your resume, there are ways to include lists or summaries that include the keywords while engaging the reader at the same time. By using headers like “Summary of Qualifications”, “Areas of Expertise,” and “Professional Profile,” you create a handy list of the keyword skill phrases as well as brief explanations of how you’ve demonstrated these skills in the workplace.

Free sample resumes can act as a good template. The keyword rich section above was taken from a PDF found at Resumesandcoverletters.com (http://www.resumesandcoverletters.com/Corinthian_Chrono_Resume.pdf ).
Here are some other tips to keep in mind while optimizing your resume:

• Keep important phrases near the top of your document where they are more likely to be noticed and given more weight.

• Sprinkle the keywords throughout your resume and try to use important phrases multiple times as keyword density is often considered when indexing documents.

• Be sure to use synonyms, plural and non-plural variations, and both acronyms and spelled out versions of all of your phrases.

Giving your Resume a Check-Up

Whether you’re planning on making your information key-word friendly or you’ve always understood the importance of keywords, it’s a good idea to take a close look at the final draft of your resume. Katherine Hansen offers up a great suggestion in her article, “Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness” (http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_keywords.html )
“To determine the keyword health of your current resume, highlight all the words in it that, based on your research of ideal positions in your field, would probably be considered keywords. Electronic resume guru Rebecca Smith says a good goal to shoot for is 25-35 keywords, so if you have fewer than that currently, try to beef up every section of your resume with keywords, varying the forms of the words you choose.”

Resources

http://www.free-resume-tips.com/10tips.html - Resume writing - 10 tips to generate more interviews and higher salary offers

http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_keywords.html - Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness
http://www.quintcareers.com/researching_resume_keywords.html - Researching Keywords in Employment Ads

http://www.quintcareers.com/identifying_resume_keywords.html - Resources for Identifying Resume Keywords

Technorati Tags: resume writing resource, resume tips, keywords on resume, keyword research, seo, optimized resume, resume resources, optimal copy, lisa peyton

by Karon Thackston © 2007, All Rights Reserved

In Part 1 of this series, I introduced you to Announce It!, an online candy-bar-wrapper manufacturer that was seeking professional help with their search engine copywriting. Facing an audience that consisted primarily of women who were purchasing favors for special occasions, Announce It!’s copy had to be spot-on with its communication. The primary problems were that the copy did not convey a sense of excitement or answer all the questions customers might have. It also focused too heavily on the company rather than communicating with the site visitor.

Let’s see how the changes were worked into the copy and what the results were.

The Rewrite

You can see the original copy at:

http://www.copywritingcourse.com/customcandybarwrapper-original.pdf
and the revised copy at:
http://www.copywritingcourse.com/customcandybarwrapper-new.pdf.

Headlines are one of the most important elements of advertising copy and of search engine optimization. The original web page didn’t have any type of headline — a fundamental mistake that needed to be corrected. The introduction of the text now begins with using a keyphrase and stating a benefit. The headline reads:

Creative, Custom Candy-bar Wrappers

Designed To Make Your Event a Hit!

Since Announce It!’s keyphrases all deal with candy-bar wrappers, it’s obvious that visitors who find this site are already familiar with the general product. (At least to the point of knowing what a custom candy-bar wrapper is.) The question they still have is, “Why should I buy from Announce It! instead of all the other candy-bar-wrapper sites?”

As the visitors read on through the copy, they find reassurance that their idea of using custom-designed candy-bar wrappers is a good one. Visitors are also provided with several benefits available from Announce It! that other companies don’t offer. For the sake of scan-ability, bullet points are used to further highlight differentiating factors about Announce It!. (Low minimum orders, free color proofs, free photo inclusion, etc.) This all helps to clearly explain why this site is the better choice over others the visitor may have gone to previously.)

Because the product itself is graphic, it was important to retain the product images used on the original home page. Certainly, customers would expect to see samples of the wrappers. However, to create a greater impact, each image was captioned with a short bit of occasion-specific, persuasive, keyword-rich copy. For instance:

“Custom candy wrappers are a truly creative way to send your retiree off in style.”

The finished product now speaks directly to the site visitor, sounds more professional, outlines important benefits and uses keyphrases in an appropriate way so as not to hinder the natural flow of the copy.

The Results

The results showed improvements in both conversions and rankings. According to Announce It! their conversion rate quadrupled! They also report, “[The copy] has really made a difference in the way the site is perceived and how the customer reacts. I have gone from a one-person operation to a full-fledged business with five employees. The traffic and orders continue to increase every year!”

You couldn’t ask for much better than that!

WEBSITE BIO:Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors with Karon’s Copywriting Course at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.

Technorati Tags: seo copywriting, optimal copy, search engine optimized copy, search engine optimized copywriting, copywriting portland