Web Content Editor

By Deb Allen

Article marketing is a relatively easy technique that will bring you more targeted traffic, increased sales and help to establish you as an authority will build your credibility. You get all of those benefits just by writing and submitting articles.

Although the process is simple there are some key elements to keep in mind. First of all you will want to write articles for a purpose. Determine ahead of time if you simply want backlinks, you want to educate your readers, or if your goal is to get traffic that converts into sales, or if you simply want to increase your page rank.

You can achieve all of the above with article marketing but if you have a plan as you begin writing you can gear all of your efforts toward reaching your goals. For example, if you are planning to use article marketing to increase your sales you will definitely want your readers to read all the way through your article and click on the links in your resource box.

If your article is too long or boring the readers may stop reading long before they reach the resource box. If the article is short and does not provide useful information they may again stop reading before they get to the resource box.

Before you begin writing you need to have a topic in mind. Additionally you should have a knowledge base on the topic. If you do not then you will need to do some research.

Don’t forget about keywords. You will want to use keywords that will be used in a search that will pull up your article. Add the keywords to your title, the first paragraph, the last paragraph, and sprinkled throughout wherever they fit naturally.

The first paragraph should be an introduction to what you are going to tell your readers about. Then you will present a problem and a solution. The solution will of course be the product that you are promoting.

Your last paragraph is a summary or conclusion. Here you will want to wrap things up and sort of remind the reader what you have already told them. This is done in a very concise manner and it pulls everything together.

Next you will add your resource box. Do not use this precious space to tell a lot about yourself. Your readers are there because of the information in your article. Keep that flow going.

The first sentence in the resource box should read as if it is a continuation of the article itself. Always provide a free offer or a discount of some sort to entice click throughs to your website. Once there you can collect email addresses and names in trade for the free offer. This is how you will build your list.

You will then be able to send those people offers for this and other products. Your list will continue to grow as long as your article is working for you. Article marketing is a great way to generate an online income. Your articles are like small ads that work for you 24 hours a day 7 days a week. My advice is to write as many as possible.

About the Author
Do you want to learn how to write effective articles? Get an informative free report at:
http://article-marketing-plus.blogspot.com/

Debbie Allen is the author and creator of Article Marketing Plus…

By Angela Booth

Do you blog? If your answer is “No”, start blogging today, because if you’re a freelance writer and your name doesn’t show up in Google, your credibility is zero. Here’s how to get the most from your blog.

There’s more to blogging than you think. Forget considering your blog an online journal: your blog is a professional tool.

I could spend hours talking about the benefits of blogs for writers (and often do), but here are four tips to make blogging work for you.

1. Establish Your Portfolio Blog: Your “Name” Blog

The first blog (yes, you should have more than one) you need to establish is your “name” blog. So if your name is Milly Emmeline Smythe (which I hope is a fictitious name; I’m not referring to a real person), your blog would be titled Milly Emmeline Smythe.

As soon as anyone types your name into Google, your name blog should appear.

Big tip: please forget creative, cute names. Google and the other search engines are software programs; they have no concept of cleverness. Your sole aim is for your name to show up as the first result in a search engine when a writing buyer types your name. If it does: instant credibility.

2. Use Social Media to Share Your Blog Posts

With millions of Web sites online, your blog needs links pointing to it so that people can find you.

The easiest way to get links is to use a couple of the many social media tools. Pick your favorites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn… These tools can help you to get known via links, fast.

Another way to get known is to frequent forums.

3. Get Known on Forums Where You Can Get Hired

Stay away from writer’s forums. Your fellow writers, charming as they may be, can’t hire you. They may even harm your nascent career if you take their advice too much to heart. You’ll rarely find professional writers on writers’ forums: they’re too busy writing. However, you will find pro writers on forums for business owners, Webmasters and Internet marketers.

Adding a link to your “name” blog in your forum signature is an easy way of getting a link, and getting hired too. Capable freelance writers are in high demand on the Web.

4. Write About Your Favorite Topics (the Ones You Want to Get Hired to Write About)

New blogging writers tend to write about writing: it’s top of mind, and it’s what you know. However, it’s rarely the way to get hired to write.

Write about the topics you want to be hired to write about: parenting, business, technology…

Remember the search engines. Over time, your name should appear somewhere on the first page of the search results whenever someone enters search query terms like “writer”, “freelance” and “your topic.”

For example, if your pet topic is parenting skills, your name should appear whenever anyone types “writer parenting” into a search engine query field.

Use these tips to make blogging work for you to build your freelance writing career. There’s never been a better time to be a writer: you can make a great income, thanks to your blogs.

About the Author
Want to make money writing? Discover how easy it is to make money as a Web writer with Angela Booth’s “Sell Your Writing Online NOW” Training Program at http://sellwritingnow.com/Home/training.html The program is fun and profitable too. There’s a full year of lessons and assignments:”Sell Your Writing Online NOW” helps you to earn while you learn, even as a brand new writer.

For free weekly writing information, subscribe to Angela’s Fab Freelance Writing Ezine at http://www.freelancewritingezine.com/ and receive “Write And Sell Your Writing: The Power-Write Report” immediately.

By George M Potter

Web 2.0 can be the secret weapon of every internet marketer for building web traffic to his business. Web 2.0 is about user generated content, interactivity, socialization and content sharing,therefore it’s a very effective platform to get massive web traffic.

Here are 3 simple but powerful ways to drive free targeted traffic towards your website:

#1 Blogging

Short for “web log”, a blog refers to a simple webpage consisting of brief paragraphs of opinion, information, personal diary entries, or links, called posts. Blog posts are archived chronologically with the most recent first, in the style of an online journal. Blog postings, typically updated daily, can include images, photos, links, video, audio, or simple text.

Start a free blog at a service like Wordpress or Blogger and use it to promote your site. Make almost every post to link to the site. Allow your visitors to post comments on your articles. Keep your blog interactive and fresh and soon you will drive increased free traffic to your website.

#2 Squidoo

There are many user generated content websites but Squidoo is still the leader of its kind, so you must not leave it out from your web traffic building methods. Basically Squidoo lets you create a webpage named lens where you can write about any topic you like. It’s a perfect place for internet marketers to load up content and advertise their websites.

You can join Squidoo for free, and set up an endless number of lenses. Lenses are build of modules and you may customize your page as you want. Whether you are a pro or a beginner, Squidoo is a powerful way to get targeted website traffic.

#3 Social Networking

Social networking sites facilitate meeting people, finding like minds and sharing content. The most popular sites of socialization are MySpace and Facebook. They offer an interactive platform suitable for creating a network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, photos, music and videos. Your goal on social networking sites is to create an intriguing profile and to build up a huge list of friends. You may join groups interested in your niche or you can create your own group and so get a great exposure to your business.

My advise for beginners is one and the same: take instant action! Set up your blog and/or lens, socialize on other social networking sites, and you will succeed to boost web traffic!

About the Author
Want to discover more ways to promote your website?
Please visit http://www.mywebtrafficsite.info and find out more resources to build your
free web traffic

By James Lisi

Link baiting is a provocative phrase but what is it? It’s basically creating web content that entices other website owners to link to a specific article or some type of content. It’s a very powerful marketing strategy. A well written link bait can produce a large number of useful links that will increase a search engine ranking. Link baits work best when they are targeted at a specific audience. Most website owners in your niche are looking for unique and interesting content to offer their visitors.

Link baiting begins with a great title. You have a few seconds to grab the readers attention and great link baits have great titles. If readers are not intrigued by the title, they simple won’t read the article.

There are several types of “hooks” that can grab a readers attention. Some of the most effective are:

News — If you are the first to write about a truly newsworthy story, websites will offer the article at their site and typically provide a link to your original news story.

Awards — If smartly done it can help you gain new links. People like to be praised and giving awards to outstanding members of your niche can easily cause the recipients to link to your site.

Controversy — Make a prediction or write about a controversial theory. Don’t waste the readers time; have research to backup your prediction or hypothesis. Expose a fraudulent comment or incorrect assumption about your industry. These types of content can also help establish you as a person of authority in your niche.

Humor — Websites enjoy providing links for their readers that offer entertaining content. You can try to receive a one-way link from a popular website in your niche by warmly teasing the site or its owner. Top ten lists and funny images are effective.

Contacts — Collect information from the prominent members of your niche for a study or to compile a list. If they are impressed with your completed project they might offer you a one-way link.

Coupon — Create a link bait that offers something of value to new clients. It doesn’t have to be a condominium in Tahiti. If it’s a notable or intriguing free item, noncompetitive websites in your niche will often link to it.

Resource — Write an insightful, very useful article on a particular topic. Impressive web content that stands out from the rest will produce a lot of long lasting links. You can provide a list of great blogs in your niche and some of the bloggers will link back if you have insightful content. “How to” articles are effective for link baiting.

Don’t have the page filled with advertisements or praise for your company. People simply won’t offer a link for their readers to an advertisement page. Also, don’t create an article or blog that appears to have been search engine optimized.

Successful Link Building Strategy

If you don’t have the time or the skills needed to write enticing titles, web content and put a comprehensive link building plan together, consider working with an expert. Well done link baits are very effective at creating new links to a website and substantially increasing traffic.

About the Author
James Lisi is President of Increase Visibility, a TopSEO’s.com #1 ranked firm. The company’s staff has the skills to raise the search engine rankings of small, medium and large companies. Visit us at http://www.increasevisibility.com and for a limited time, website owners can receive a free website analysis by filling out a simple form.

by Elizabeth McGee

You may not be a Pulitzer Prize winner or even a skilled copywriter, but you can learn to create content and develop a writing style that is informative, unique and draws interest.

Successfully developing your writing skills will definitely increase your chances for getting your content read, defining you as an expert in your field and ultimately draw traffic to your business.

Here’s a formula designed to help you maximize your potential with the written word.

Content Writing Musts

When writing content for blogs, websites or articles you must do the following:

• Provide value to the reader
• Grab the reader’s attention
• Write for your target audience
• Don’t forget your call to action

Provide Value

Think carefully about why someone would want to read your article? If it educates, entertains or solves a problem it can be very effective. When you craft a piece of content, your goal should be to achieve something for your reader.  That means offer your reader worthwhile information that will either help them to do something they need to do or solve a problem they are desperate to fix.

Providing the kind of value I’m referring to goes beyond offering ideas and tips that make the usual rounds.  You’re going to have to step out and find information that isn’t found everywhere; this could mean taking original ideas and put an interesting spin on the topic, add personal advice or tell an unusual story.

Grab the Reader’s attention

When writing content for the internet you have a very small window of opportunity to grab a reader’s attention.  If you bore your reader or turn them off with your choice of words or dull writing style they’ll simply move on to something else.

Learn to craft catchy headlines and keyword dense subheadings.  Write short paragraphs that get to the point quickly, avoid writing long continuous blocks of text.  Smaller paragraphs will make your content scannable to the eye making reading a lot easier.

Write in an active, conversational tone. This can take practice but it’s a skill that is quick and easy to develop. This will give you a writing voice that is much more enjoyable to your reader and makes writing a lot easier for you.

Know Who You’re Writing For

You’ll lose readers if you don’t write in a manner that is directed to your specific audience.  For example, if you’re writing to novices, use lay terms.  If you’re writing to knowledgeable people, bring your reading level up a notch.  If you’re writing to the very young instead of a more mature crowd, adapt your writing to their age group.

If you have more than one demographic, write separately for each group.  Not knowing who you are writing to will suck the essence out of your content and leave it dry and lacking lustre.

Display a Call to Action

You’ve written your content to whet your reader’s appetite so don’t leave them hanging!  At the close of your content offer them something that will satiate their hunger.  Don’t be afraid to include a link that says, “Click here for more info!” or “Subscribe to my blog for more helpful tips!”  Your readers will appreciate the information and if your content did its job, they’ll be receptive to taking you up on your link suggestion.

And Finally…

Upon completing the article look it over with objective eyes.  Is it something you yourself find interesting?  Of course it never hurts to ask a colleague, friend or relative to take a glance as well. A second pair of eyes can be very enlightening.

And of course it goes without saying; check your spelling and grammar.  There’s no bigger ‘turn off’ than misspelled words, poor grammar or sentences that the reader has to work at to make sense of.

About the Author

Get more ideas for creating website content by visiting the Homenotion Writer’s Corner. Here you’ll find tips, guides and lessons on how to easily create great content, articles, small reports & e-books.

When I introduce myself as a web content editor I’m often faced with the response- “You’re a writer then”.  The answer to that is ‘no I’m not’, that skill belongs to a copywriter.

Although a web content editor does need the ability to write, this is only a small part of the work they will undertake. Websites today combine text, images, video and music; a good web content editor needs to be familiar with all these skills.

The aim of a web content editor is to ensure a website attracts and retains its target audience. The website content must appeal to their needs and be presented in manner that keeps them coming back.

Some of the tasks a web content editor will do include:

• Sourcing, researching and producing new content for a website.
• Editing existing content, which includes text and images, to suit a website’s layout, image and style.
• Content marketing activities such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), article marketing and press releases.
• Interacting with a website user’s by monitoring online forums and message boards or replying to email enquiries.
• Using website statistics to formulate web content strategies for attracting the target audience.

The main aim of a web content editor is to keep a website’s content fresh and appealing. So often a company produces a wonderful looking website and then thinks their work is done. This unfortunately is not the case if they want that website to be a success.

A website’s content serves three main purposes:

1. To be inform or persuade the visitor to perform certain actions. For instance to buy a product or use a service.
2. To retain a visitor’s attention and encourage them to return. This is known as making a website ’sticky’.
3. To convince the search engines that a website should be listed higher than its competition for relevant keywords such as ‘gift shopping’.

Skills a website content editor may require include:

• Ability to research, write and edit web copy
• Knowledge of multimedia content
• Be able to format images using Photoshop or similar software
• Have an understanding of HTML, XHTML and CSS
• Ability to apply SEO techniques to website content
• Be able to analyse website statistics and formulate strategies
• Able to work with Content Management Systems (CMS)
• Be familiar with Web 2.0 practices such as blogging and social bookmarking

With the large number of organisations now developing their own websites the demand for web content editors is continually growing. But it is important for these organisations to recognise a web content editor as a profession with its own set of skills to complete the task successfully.

Often an organisation will employ a journalist as a web content editor who has little knowledge of how the Internet works. The journalist has the skills to write great copy but if the content is not presented correctly on the website its value will be wasted.

An analogy I’ve often hear is;

Developing a website is like to raising a child; they cost a lot of money and require a lot of attention.

A web content editor gives that specialist care and attention to a website, which over time will repay the investment by growing in popularity and success.

By Mark Smiciklas

In order to retain the attention of prospects and clients visiting your small business website, the content you present needs to be organized, easy to read and search engine compatible. Writing for the web is different - online reading is not the same as reading from print. Web users, particularly those performing website searches, have limited attention spans - they tend to scan pages for specific information rather than reading every single word of content.

1. “Clean” Information Layout

Research indicates that the average web user only reads 20% of the content on any given web page. Here are a few ways to design your content so it captures the attention of your visitors:

a) Descriptive headings - Let the reader know exactly what’s on the web page by using headings that provide accurate descriptions of the content

b) Short paragraphs - present one topic or idea per paragraph to make it easier to scan through a web page

c) Bullet points - if some of your web pages present multiple facts within a single section, lay out the content in point form to make it easier for your visitors to “digest” the information

d) Bold text - use bolding or capitalization to draw attention to important words/phrases

2. Concise Copy

Avoid the urge to present every detail about your company, product or service. Approach your content from the perspective of your website visitor and (briefly) describe how you can help provide a solution to a problem they might have. When it comes to editing, a good rule of thumb is to take what you’ve written and cut the word count in half!

3. Simple Language

One of the biggest problems with many websites is the amount of “gobbledygook” that is used. Try to avoid the use of technical language, industry specific lingo and acronyms. Your visitors will appreciate (and pay attention to) straightforward descriptions of your company, products, services and solutions.

4. Keywords

Take some time to research the keywords that are applicable to your product/service before writing or editing you website content. Keywords are the words or phrases web users type into search engines i.e Google, Yahoo!, etc to find information on the internet. Having the right keywords throughout your site’s content will increase the likelihood of potential customers finding you online.

Google offers a great tool that will help you come up with keywords and provide you with search statistics (how many times the keyword was used in Google searches over a period of time).

5. Great Content

Offering great content will make your website better - An obvious statement, but based on the content on many websites, easier said than done. It’s important to understand the meaning of great content - it’s not content you think is great, it’s content your visitors will find exciting and useful.

a) Write an article that solves a client’s problem
b) Write an e-book that helps visitors learn something new
c) Start a blog to share your ideas - and invite people to comment
d) Publish a white-paper on a topic or trend that is important to your clients/prospects

One last note - offer your content for FREE…making people jump through hoops and exchanging content for email addresses is not the best way to build your brand online. If you offer good content and goodwill, it will pay off in the long run.

About the Author
Mark Smiciklas is a Vancouver Marketing Consultant. His firm, Intersection Consulting, helps small to mid-sized businesses address challenges in the areas of marketing, management and business development.

To find out more about Intersection Consulting, please visit http://www.intersectionconsulting.com. For more thoughts and ideas on marketing and management for small business please visit the Intersection Blog at http://www.intersectionconsulting.typepad.com.

By Darren Jennings

One of the biggest questions I am asked very frequently is how to drive more traffic to your sites. Driving traffic to your sites is the single most important stage in your marketing campaign, because this is exactly what it is all about, Marketing on the Internet.

So many people have a belief that having a site on this vast space is the way to success, the problem is this, the vast space known as the WWW is like the haystack and your website is the needle. When you put your site onto the haystack (WWW) it just gets swallowed up into the darkness. Your next job is to give people directions on how to find that needle or in your case Website.

The techniques out there today are constantly growing and changing so you really have to keep up with the times and trends, the days of SEO have long since gone, although still used today by less conventionally educated marketers. Today’s crowds of people who you want directing towards your service or product are scattered all over the WWW, so you have to go and find them before you can get them to look at your site.

This concept has really sky rocketed the profits of those who know how to use and harness this trend to its maximum capability. These techniques are free and can drive huge amounts of traffic to your sites daily.

Article writing:

This is a highly powerful way of driving huge amounts of traffic to your sites on a daily basis and won’t cost a penny. If you write good articles about your niche and post them daily you will receive masses of quality traffic to your site. The key is to put your link into your signature.

Blogs and Forums:

These are full of people who are right at the forefront of your campaign, again find the forums and blogs related to your topic and begin posting on a daily basis, you must add your link to your signature not in the post, and most forums don’t allow this. Using this technique will drive traffic to your site too.

Working on a budget, these ways are amazing at driving huge amounts of qualified traffic to your site. Although it may seem like a pointless exercise, consider this, marketing is about reaching out to people to show them your service or product also to brand you. When something new comes on to the market they apply tons of marketing to get their name known, this technique is the same as what I have highlighted above. The amount of people who read articles or participate in forums is by the thousands, after all you’re reading this article right now, and so I know my marketing has worked.

How to drive more traffic to your site is not rocket science once you understand how people think and where they go to think. Using these 2 techniques alone will show massive improvement to your visitors if you are consistent, don’t just write one post or one article and expect a miracle.

About the Author
Darren Jennings- has professional experience as a Business Growth Specialist and has Trained and Coached many to greater success. http://www.successfulincomestrategies.com

by Jeremy Long Chia Teik

The blog has now become a marketing tool for many marketers who want to sell their products or services online. It is phenomenal in effect and has brought various successful stories for marketers engaged in different marketing online activities.

Blogging has much to do with conversations. Your blog must attract readers and bring in the traffic. What is essential to achieving this goal is to pay much attention to your blog content. It can affect the outcome of your marketing campaign. Listed below are a list of tips for great content. It is by no means exhaustive.

(1) Content must be of value and informational  You can write on any topic that is relevant to your niche. The posts must be informational and should provide value to your readers. The content must be interesting and satisfying to readers. If readers are satisfied with the content, they will return to your blog for more information.

(2) Content should be unique  One of the important tips for great content is that it should be unique, besides being of value and informational. Content that captures the interest and satisfies your readers will surely bring about a loyal readership. Readers will return for more. New readers will be added through time.

(3) Blog should be updated  It is intrinsically the nature of blogging that your blog be updated regularly with new posts. New posts are what readers are expecting to see when they return to your blog. They will be delighted to find new refreshing material. Even the spiders of Google will be pleased to know that your blog is being updated regularly with fresh and new content.

(4) Build your reputation  Whatever you are posting in your blog matters a lot to your reputation as the provider of quality content. With links pointing back to you, your blog will experience an increase in traffic, which will in turn raise your ranking. Always ensure that your content is of quality as this will boost your reputation.

(5) Build up your credibility  Building up your credibility as an author is one of the tips for great content. Readers will respect you as the expert in your field. They will come back to you should they need help.You are perceived as the best author who can help them with your knowledge.

(6) Provide mind-provoking content  Content that provides for interaction will help generate traffic for your blog. Mind-provoking content that encourages debate and discussions is a good food for thought. Readers can participate and contribute their views thus paving the way for better interaction, which eventually will lead to increase in visibility for your blog.

Content for your blog is important to your readers. The posts must delight them with great content, and only then will your readers respect you for what you have provided them with.

About the Author:

For latest updates on how to increase traffic, raise page ranking, write effective articles and powerful squeeze pages, create explosive blog marketing system, learn about viral marketing, and bring in massive income from your internet marketing business, please Click here.

By Chris Simpson

Today there are more and more people who are beginning to use social media outlets to help promote and market products. There are many ways that you can learn how to use these social media outlets to increase sales if you know what you are doing. In fact, many people are beginning to realize that this is a top marketing strategy. Of course you may have no idea where to get started. So, here are a few top strategies to help you utilize social media outlets to increase your sales.

Get Involved in Multimedia

First of all, if you want to utilize social media outlets, it is important that you get involved in multimedia. People love pictures and videos and they like it more than just words on a page. It’s easy to use photos on photo social media sites such as Flickr or similar sites that will help you bring in more traffic to your own website. There are video social media outlets as well that you can use, such as Google Video and YouTube, that can bring in more traffic to your site and help you to use social media to your benefit.

Stand Out on Social Media Sites

When you decide to get involved in social media outlets, you’ll need to make sure that you stand out. There are many people on these sites, so if you want to use them to your advantage, you need to figure out how you can stand out. Decide how you can best get attention. Getting attention for your self on these sites will help you to draw in traffic and the sales that you want as well.

Become a Member of the Media

Becoming a member of the social media is important as well. Get in on conversations and get accounts at social bookmarking sites, such as Digg and Stumbleupon. You can use these sites to help you drive more traffic to your site, so make sure you learn how to appropriately use them. Also, you can use sites like Facebook and MySpace to help you make sales as well if you know how to get involved and what is happening on these sites.

Allow Criticism

When you are involved in social media outlets, it’s important that you allow criticism. If you do this, you’ll actually build credibility and show that you can stand up and your product can stand up even when criticized. Take the time to answer these criticisms, but don’t just delete them or you may actually hurt your efforts to sell products and use these social media outlets as a sales tool.

About the Author
Chris Simpson is dedicated to helping people earn money at home by finding honest and legitimate work at home and home based business opportunities. Find legitimate online work from home today at: http://www.HomeNetPro.com.