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

by Karon Thackston © 2007, All Rights Reserved

The old cliché is wrong. All our lives we’ve heard, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” That may occasionally be true, but for the most part it’s what you say AND how you say it. Case in point: Announce It!, a custom candy-bar-wrapper manufacturer, had copy on their home page that was acceptable. It mentioned pretty much all the important things a site visitor would need to know about ordering candy wrappers. Yet the copy wasn’t pulling as well as it should have been.

The Problems

The target audience consists mostly of women. In addition, these women order favors for special occasions. That means (stereotypically speaking) you have people who ask a lot of questions and are especially cautious of buying something they can’t touch, feel or see (in person) for use at a major life event. Communication (what the copy says as well as how it says it) is vital.

The text had to convince women that they could trust Announce It! to produce something they would show off in front of all their family and friends for important occasions such as birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, weddings, showers and more. That meant answering the questions these women have as well as instilling confidence that their party favors would be the hit of the event.

Technically, the copy was OK. But it lacked excitement. No, not hype… excitement. It needed to reach out to women and make them feel welcome while also reinforcing that Announce It! was the perfect solution for them. You can see the original text here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/customcandybarwrapper-original.pdf .

As I’ve always said, you never want to “we” all over your copy. The content needed to speak to the site visitor, not talk about the company. The old text was full of “we’s” and “our’s” and hardly even acknowledged the site visitor.

From a search engine standpoint, the site was bouncing around a good bit. According to the site owner, “For a long time, I held the #1 position for many of my keywords. As search engines evolved, my site started bouncing. It was time to hire a professional.”

The Solution

The plan was to make the text more inviting and supportive while providing information that was easy to immediately identify. I wanted to help Announce It! differentiate itself from other candy-bar wrapper and favor sites. That meant making important benefits clearly visible. In addition, a glimmer of excitement would be added to the copy to get the women in the mood to buy.

A complete change of focus for the copy would also happen. Rather than “we” and “us” the copy would be directed toward the visitor while still communicating important benefits about buying from the company.

Lastly, correcting an elementary mistake would help the copy read better and assist with SEO. The hope with SEO was to give Announce It! some stability, as it had a history of bouncing back and forth between the first and second pages in the SERPs.

The overall goal was to increase conversions for this site. As the site owner herself said, “Without conversion, your rankings don’t mean as much. You really have to convert the visitors once they get to your page.” Oh so true!

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll look at the rewrite and the results of this copywriting makeover so you can see firsthand what effect the changes had for Announce It!

Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors with Karon’s Copywriting Course at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Already know how to write, but need help using keywords? Get Karon’s report “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.

Technorati Tags: SEO copywriting, copywritingcourse.com, copywriting course, Karon Thackston, optimized copywriting, search engine optimized copywriting, portland copywriting

By Eric S. Gregory

Ah, Portland, Oregon. Bluer than the Pacific Ocean—bluer even than the Democratic Party’s collective blood. Where success is measured by how well your comfort and success accord with doing the “right thing.” Where compassion and creativity share a bottom line and an extended vision. Where marketing that bottom line means you capitalize with words like “creative,” “authentic,” “unique,” “independent,” “progressive,” “experimental,” “original,” and so on ad naseum. Where ideas “inevitably overflow outside traditional worlds” [wk.com - Weiden & Kennedy]. Where the “magic” a company has to offer exceeds the product, extending into and is “deeply ingrained in giving back to the community” [www.hannaandersson.com - Hanna Andersson]. Where companies are “as responsible as we are profitable, and committed to doing good with the resources we have” [www.keenfootwear.com - Keen Footwear].

Now I’m not suggesting that these marketing templates and conceptual strategies are strictly located to and from Portland, Oregon. Turn on your on demand digital cable in high def and you’ll quickly recognize many of the same catchphrases, keywords, and “responsible” products calling your name. So is this turn towards a marketing voice rooted in “doing the right thing” (which naturally always includes making a profit) then more of a generalized transnational strategy? Of course it is. But I’d still argue that this trend grew, developed, and was perfected here in Portland, and that at the very least, it’s representative of the marketing moves popularized by the big name Portland success stories. People in Portland are typically very comfortable. The climate and pace of life are almost too moderate. We’re politically progressive (duh), we’re concerned with a balanced quality of life. But most of all, we think ahead. We can live for tomorrow because we’re situated quite well today. And the metropolitan area attracts a certain breed of American: typically young (under 40), college-educated, white—I realize I’m stating the obvious here—but perhaps above all else, Portland attracts “responsible creatives.” And responsible creative types are going to best know how to create, push, and market products to other responsible creative types. We Portland marketers want to sell our product, our brand name, our website, etc. to ourselves (or someone who looks and lives a lot like us).

Now this may not be news to those of us who map and make these strategies. Then again, perhaps it is. I’d suggest that the Portland Principle (a cool phrase invented by my business partner which suggested something, some kind of a general trend—and now here I am filling in that “je ne sais quoi” with a specific definition) has outlived its usefulness. This ultimate consumer—the Columbia Sportswear-clad chick who lives in the condo unit just below you—the one who drives a Subaru outback with the “Keep Portland Weird” and the “Re-Defeat Bush” bumper stickers, who jogs every other morning with Hugo, her Weimaraner, whom you never see on the weekends because she’s out hiking or kayaking or whatever godawful recreation this particular type regularly engages in, who religiously recycles (except for those occasional mornings when she’s way too hungover), who isn’t quite sure whether she’s going to vote for Hilary or Obama because they both seem kind of untrustworthy, but she certainly isn’t going to vote for a “crazy” like Kucinich—or maybe she will. She read something on Salon.com about how he’s attracting more and more deep-thinking twentysomethings and that must mean something, right? Must our copy always be scripted and delivered to the specific needs and impulses of this (completely fictional–and I might add, unimaginatively so) ultimate consumer? I don’t think so. I think people like her are tired—or at the very least—uninspired by copy that relentlessly retreads the same progressive ground over and over and over again (and if a cardboard character like this one is bored by such marketing copy, imagine the response of the woman who actually lives in the condo unit below yours).

I’m hereby throwing down the gauntlet to local and national copywriters and editors. When asked to script the “About” page for your employer or contractor, try not to write that such and such a firm “is an independent, creatively led fill in the blank that creates strong and provocative relationships between good companies and their consumers” [www.wk.com] (I’m picking on Wieden & Kennedy because they, perhaps more than any other Portland-located firm, represent the success of this so-called “Portland Principle,” and because they specialize in original and creative idea-making). I’m not suggesting I have any specific answers or even general directions to move towards aside from a move away from clichés about “caring relationships with communities and the natural world at large.” I’m suggesting that hip will always be shackled by its own localized and temporal attachments. I would like to see smart and successful copywriting move beyond hip. Language is arguably all we have to bend our cages. Let’s use what we’ve got. And let’s all breathe a little. It’s the right thing to do.

Technorati Tags: portland copywriting, seo copywriting, creative marketing, portland principle, seo copywriting portland, copywriting services portland, Optimal Copy, Eric Gregory

By Lisa Peyton

At the core of all search optimized copy is keyword content or “density”. SEO pros may disagree on just how important this content is, but they all agree that it’s important. There are several keyword density tools out there so I’ve listed my favorites for your consideration. I use the tools below to check out the keyword density of my landing pages and to check up on my copywriter’s work to see if I need to have him rework and increase the amount of times he has worked the targeted phrase into the text. I also use these tools to research the keyword density of the contenders for that coveted #1 spot on any given search engine for my keyword phrase, getting a good idea of where to set the bar for my own copy.

I would love to be able to say that there’s a set keyword density formula for all the top search results in Google—unfortunately, there isn’t. After testing out several phrases and comparing the top 5 results for each one, there is typically wide disparity between the keyword percentages on the page. I found some pages that had percentages as high as 40% and 50% for the targeted keyword phrase and others that didn’t even have the searched phrase in their title tag, resulting in an overall percentage closer to .23%, or less than 1%. This shows that there are several other factors being considered within those tricky search engine algorithms. But we all already knew that! So remember to keep keyword density in perspective–it’s only one component of a well-optimized page, but a relatively easy one to nail with the handy tools listed below:

http://www.keyworddensity.com/

At first I didn’t like the idea of having to find a second page when I was focusing on the density of the page I was building out, but it’s pretty interesting to compare the top ranking pages for your targeted keyword phrase. This tool is one of the only free resources I found that will let you enter the keyword phrase that you would like the resulting percentages to be based on. I think it’s a great starting place when trying to test out the keyword density of your content, but I wouldn’t use it as the only source for your data.

http://www.webjectives.com/keyword.htm

Webjectives offers another free tool that allows you to enter the keyword phrase along with the URL of your webpage. There are 2 check boxes that allow you to perform partial keyword matching and decide how to deal with case sensitivity. For example, “Technical Recruiter” would be a different keyword than “technical recruiter.” The results page breaks down the density using the individual components on the page–such as Title, Body, Meta and Alt tags, as well as giving you an overall total percentage. It very nicely counts all the words on the page for you and gives you a final weighted keyword density for the entire page.

http://www.seochat.com/seo-tools/keyword-density/

This is a second type of tool that doesn’t ask you to input the keyword phrase, instead you enter the URL and check-off a handful of different options, including the number of keyterms to display, the elements to include such as alt tags and meta tags and the number of words per phrase, 1, 2 or 3 words. This tool is a bit limited if you are trying to optimize for some long-tail terms that may have more than 3 words. The result is simply a list of phrases and their corresponding percentages or density on the page. This tool is useful when trying to determine which keywords your competition is targeting since you don’t have to have a specific keyword phrase in mind when performing the analyses.

http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/

KeywordDiscovery, my current keyword research tool of choice, offers a density tool with their subscription service. It’s not technically “Free” but it’s included if you purchase their other keyword services, starting at about $70 bucks per month. Their keyword density tool is among those that don’t ask for specific keywords but return a list of phrases with the highest density. This tool allows up to 4 words per phrase, so it’s a bit more focused if you are targeting specific search terms. The chart includes the keyword phrase, density percentage, actual word count, number of searches for the term and whether the term is located in the title, description, and the link-text or heading of the page. Once again, this a great tool to see just how optimized your competitors’ web pages are. One quick glance allows you to see which words they have gone out of their way to target and how competitive they are.

Technorati Tags: seo copywriting portland, seo copywriting, search engine optimized copywriting, search engine marketing, internet marketing portland, keyword density tools, free keyword tools, free seo tools, portland copywriting