[caption id="" align="alignright" width="216" caption="Jewelry Shop"] [/caption]

Do you think that content is more important than the headline? Many people would agree with you or at least agree that both are of equal importance. Since this is so and this blog has explored writing good headlines, it’s time to give content attention.

Sometimes it seems like writing content is actually harder than just running your business. At least with your business you understand what your clients want because they will tell you loud and clear. In blogging you cannot even be sure that anyone is reading. In your shop you understand cash flow, both in and out. When you blog you get all sorts of analytics, except the one that tells you the number of people who came into the shop because of what you wrote.

Topics: Writing, Pet store, blog, Marketing Plan, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Marketing Principles, Business Owner, Business, Blogging

Tips for Letting Facebook Tell You What to Do

Guest Blogger - Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Many times in our lives we’re faced with situations where we have trouble making a decision.  We noodle it over in our heads but never seem to achieve a conclusion.  Or sometimes we quickly reach an answer but have a nagging doubt as to whether it’s correct or not.

There’s an easy way to resolve these situations: ask Facebook!

Topics: Social Media, Marketing Principles

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Image by Getty Images via @daylife"] [/caption]

No doubt you are using Facebook as part of your business’ social media marketing strategy. You have a possibility of reaching some of the 750 million members. That’s a goodly number of people. Chances are your customers and potential customers are among them and are checking you out.

Is your strategy a correct one? Have you dropped into some bad Facebook marketing practices? I have a list of some of these. If you find that you are doing some of these you want to get them out of your strategy now.

Where is your business page? If you have a profile, it is for a person, not a business. You need to create a Facebook Page. You can even do it from your profile if you want to. A page is made for companies, brands, groups, organizations and is the right place to generate fans.

Topics: Social Media, Marketing Principles

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What is your Facebook marketing strategy? Do you have one? You need a good strategy in order to make sure that you continue to grow and increase your page’s engagement activity.

When do you practice patience and when do you decide that you need to make some changes because you are not having the success you were expecting? Was your goal really realistic? Did you set a length of time that you were going to wait to get those good results?

Topics: Using Different Media, Google, YouTube, Fansite, Google Calendar, Marketing Plan, Facebook, Social Media, Marketing Principles, LinkedIn, Twitter, Marketing strategy

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="266" caption="Facebook logo"] [/caption]

I admit that analytics can be daunting. Are you one of the many that finds that the case? Facebook has made seeking your activity easy to find and understand.

If you have put off this part of your business plan because of fear, Facebook can turn you into a believer as you track some simple metrics weekly. Here are some questions Facebook can answer for you:

Topics: Social Media, Marketing Principles

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="245" caption="Facebook logo"] [/caption]

Does Facebook overwhelm you? Do you have a daily schedule of what to do on Facebook to help you get results from Facebook?

Facebook marketing, when you know what you are doing, is a powerful business tool that can get you more leads, attract prospects that are highly targeted and put you in a position as an industrial expert.

Topics: Using Different Media, Online Communities, Fans, Social Networking, Facebook, Social Media, Marketing Principles, Business, Twitter

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Trademark of Headlines Today"] [/caption]

Guest Blogger—Ann Mullen

Are all headline swipe files just a bunch of snake oil?

I actually found a recent blog by Yaro Starak, “How To Write Award Winning Blog Headlines” at http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/7668/how-to-write-award-winning-blog-headlines/print/ that is an honest introduction to writing headlines you can use as a basis for your swipe file.

Since most people don’t have the time to read the whole article and want the quick fix, I am going to ditch Yaro’s explanations and get to the meat of the matter. You are welcome to read the whole enchilada yourself if you have time. I couldn't cover it all so I stuck to the top six.

Topics: Social Media, Blogging

By Guest Blogger Ann Mullen  I still remember the first time I came upon the term swipe file. It seems like it was just yesterday. Wait, it was just yesterday.

For the sake of those of us who weren’t around the last time the term was used, which was in 2009, Wikipedia defines a swipe files as “a collection of tested and proven advertising and sales letters. Keeping a swipe file (templates) is a common practice used by advertising copywriters and creative directors as a ready reference of ideas for projects….Swipe files are a great jumping-off point for anybody who needs to come up with lots of ideas.

Swipe files are also commonly used by Internet Marketers who need to gather a lot of resources not only about products but also about marketing methods and strategies.”

A lot of times the swipe file is for various headlines.

Still confused? Here is an example of a swipe file headline: 10 Exercise Tips to Use Without Moving a Muscle. The main swipe part is the idea: (Some Number) of Tips to Do (Something). In other words it’s the old Snake Oil Routine.

Topics: marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Wikipedia, Headlines, Headline, Swipe file, Snake oil, Social Media, Business, Blogging

Does your headline grab your audience’s attention to get them to stop and read your blog? Your headline is that critical first impression that will draw people in or leave them looking elsewhere for information.

If you don’t put enough thought into your headline, you can have outstanding information; but no one is likely to read it. Stella Anokam of www.stellaanokam.com in a recent article “Why You Should Spend Time To Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines” said, “Do you know that over 50% of your traffic (and sales too) are lost due to your headline writing?”

Topics: Keywords, Headline, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Blogging

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="A person using his computer"] [/caption]

Do you want to know a secret to getting backlinks for your blog and get free promotion for your business? I’ve been experimenting with one easy way to convey my message, attract clients and build my brand that I want to share with you.

A blog commenting campaign

I have begun a blog commenting campaign. What in the world is that? A blog commenting campaign is a focused effort to look for blogs to comment on to highlight you company. There are so many blogs out there in your niche giving you endless opportunities to plug your blog. That’s because unlike a static website, you can make comments on a blog. You have the opportunity to add what you think to a blog post, read what others have written and even comment on someone else's comment. You should be passing on information while you are doing this because this is how you will gain credibility.

Topics: Backlink, Social Media