swanie

There are some smart folks in marketing (and some not-so-smart) folks. I consider copywriter, Eugene Schwartz a genius. He wrote the book, “Breakthrough Advertising.” His advice and insight is invaluable and timeless. A critical takeaway point I get from his book is this: marketing (he uses the word ‘advertising’) has but one job to do … …

To run a successful business, you have to advertise, right? Not necessarily. Granted, not all market places work the same, but the following is a good rule of thumb: First, advertise only if it is not possible to meet every desired prospective client in person. Next, advertise only when the following four conditions are met: Can the …

You can visit numerous ‘respected’ sites such as google.com, amazon.com, espn.go.com, cnn.com, facebook.com, or microsoft.com and see that they have World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) validation errors (go to http://validator.w3.org to test any site). And not just a few, they have many errors! So, if those sites don’t adhere to W3C guidelines, why do I …

This is the best web sales content writing checklist I’ve ever seen [source: www.bly.com]: The “so what” test … After you write your copy, read it and ask whether it passes the “so what” test. Copywriter Joan Damico explains: “If after reviewing your copy, you think the target audience would just respond with ‘so what,’ …

By now you’ve probably heard that many people earn an income by blogging. As a business professional, that may not interest you or be worth your time. But before dismissing blogging altogether, consider these three reasons for professional blogging …

To think readers want to read every word I vomit is arrogant and self-serving. I strive to say what I need to say, not one word more or less. Still, I wonder if there is an ideal length (not too short, not too long) for a web page. I found several reliable sources for the …

I argue the headline is the most important element of an advertisement. If the headline doesn’t engage the reader, the rest of the promotion is for not. The same goes for blog posts. Even if readers subscribe to your blog, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re reading your content. It’s likely they also subscribe to other …

When I claim to build ‘clean’ websites for professional clients, it means that I build websites and blogs that optimize online conversions. To do so, I follow a critical online conversion formula …

Several years ago, I attended a media conference and what one of the panelists said about what makes a good story stuck. In fact, it not only stuck, I revere his advice (and maybe it wasn’t originally his advice, either) as a golden rule of blogging …

Anyone can write. Few can write well. It’s an art form. It’s a science. And when it comes to web marketing, it’s an essential. And while it can take thousands of hours to master the skill, it is possible to do well following this practical sequential writing formula … I call them the 5 Ps.