This guest post is from marketing strategist, writer Crazy Ernie’s Copy Barn

Give it Your Best Shot

A listener or reader wants compelling information at the very start of your talk, speech, interview, blog post, lecture. Give me something that peaks my interest at the beginning.

The first few words mean a lot. It is best not to waste them with a boring introduction.

Begin  with

* news,
* self interest
* curiosity.

Hey, Pass the Remote

Do you remember the early days of cable TV?  There was a lot of really bad content on obscure channels.

Movie channels slowly made things better but still, there was a glut of boredom.

I sift through thousands of blogs, podcasts,  TV and YouTube interviews trying to get to the best of the  content. It can be a challenge.

Ready?…Go!

I say let’s start by cleaning up intros.

There are some excellent blogs on the internet that get straight to the point. Frank Kern always does. Outspoken Media is pretty good, Brian Clark and Aaron Wall. Some others seem to be convinced of the  the ‘agonizingly long post’ school of thought.   But that’s a different story and another post.

Example of Good to Great

Larry King is the master of interviews. Watch and learn .  No long, wordy intros. Larry just blurts out a question and waits for a response. So simple it hurts to watch anyone else stutter and stammer and search for words and hem and haw…and finally make a four word sentence.

Re Runs of Friends

Friends, the TV show-  starts with an interesting moment. A hook. Something you can laugh with or hang onto. Then  comes the intro music and we’re quickly back into the show. Nice.

Here’s Your mission

Notice how many horrifyingly long introductions there are on podcasts, blogposts, You Tube and others.. It is amazing.

Like a world wide plot to drive me over the brink.

It’s easy to find videos, posts and interviews you can listen or read two minutes into with nothing at all to hang your hat on.

Stop this. Add up the hours the world is wasting with filler.

Give them a Ticket.

When you find such an  introduction going on and on, a long bio, a tease, another tease, a list of what we are about to do ( yes, I am aware of the formula –’ tell them what you are going to tell them’) leave a comment linking to this post.

How about no intro at all?

Honestly, I don’t know if I can ever click play on another podcast. I  fear that the next eight minutes of my life will be thrown into an abyss.  It’s like grabbing an electric fence. I have been neuro-linquistically programmed against content.

Presenting -The Untro. Just do it.

Here’s to better writing, podcasts, videos, speeches, radio shows and  SEO . Charlotte today… tomorrow- the world.

–Marketing Strategist viewpoint

photo listener42

Many marketing principles remain the same over the years. Trust is a big one. Integrity ranks up there, too.

I work in the Raleigh, Charlotte, South Carolina and Virgina areas quite a bit. That’s local to me.  Driving the other night I was thinking about SEO and the needs of a good website.

So here’s a quick checklist for a successful website:

What’s the purpose of the site.

Define some reasons for having a site. What do you want it to accomplish?

Once you have a purpose or mission for the site, your web pages will start to fall into place.

Each page or blog post on your site should also have a purpose. There are many ways to make

each page work for a specific sub goal.

Think long term.

Plan your site so that it has the flexibility to improve and expand. All things develop in a ‘transend and include’

fashion. It is a good idea to think long term, then back up and think small and mid term as well. You never know what is

going to happen  but you can plan ahead by building in flexibility.

Choose a URL carefully.

There is much written on this topic. The latest thinking is that a url with an exact-name-title will work best. If you don’t have a name that exaclty fits your subject matter, it’s still OK.  There are ways to use SEO to work around most any issue. The name of this site breaks that ‘rule’ but it still works.

Unique

Every site is unique. Techniques and topics that work on one site will fall flat on another.

Test the market

Do some research and find the keywords that support your topic. If they don’t add up to a large enough potential audience, or are already smothered with attention you might want to expand or refine the category. You want a focus that good Search Engine Optimization can enhance for years to come. If you are thinking locally such as Raleigh or Charlotte, North or South Carolina, you will include testing that works with those parameters. Or, you could have a site that is designed for a world wide reach. There are situations where  both are viable on the same site..

Set a Budget that works.

What good is making a great movie if nobody knows about it? Just so, a successful website is a process. There are many forms it can take, from posted brochure on the web to an interactive hub. Some sites cost thousands to maintain and some are literally free. The general rule is similar to standard business. Quality costs but resourcefulness is still the biggest asset.

If you need a web presence  talk to a professional for clarification on the  options. I was driving from Raleigh to Charlotte the other night listening to the radio thinking how the term SEO didn’t exist a few years ago. Today, billboards are digital and you can email from a phone.

Marketing has changed dramatically and  the new ways of doing things can be confusing. The good news is- sound marketing principles remain.

For SEO  from North Carolina to Washington State, Europe to Asia,

every website deserves a unique linking strategy.

It’s no secret that strong links make a strong website show up prominently in the search engines.

But one link size does not fit all.

Old Dog, Old Tricks=Good Dog

Marketing has always worked this way so why would the new technologies be different? They aren’t.

There are lots of companies cropping up all over the world who’s offer is to build a certain number of links for any site for a set price.  You should know that an offer like that is a warning sign.

Spare a Dime?

Yes, some sites are so weak and so small that any one-size-fits all linking strategy will help. But that’s not our goal is it? To have a small, shallow site and keep it that way with small, shallow links?

Good Old, Down Home, North Carolina SEO

Like all things in business, integrity wins in the end.  Of course there are plenty of examples of quick, big wins like lottery winnings that create a huge celebration only to fizzle quickly. The same is true for website links.

A strong linking strategy rises to the top. It might take months and years but that’s the way it has always been, yes?

So the beat goes on pretty much the way it  has in the past.

Some people are looking for

• a quick fix,
• some go for a medium success…enough to get by,
• and others use the proven SEO methods that have always held up.

Off topic but…

Have you ever read one of Warren Buffet’s annual reports? They are strong and clear. Boring…maybe, but they make the case for doing things the old fashioned way. Earning it.

So, the bad news is, business strategy has not changed with the internet. And for SEO in Carolina, Singapore or Moscow,

That’s also the good news.

There is more depth in a children’s story than first meets the eye. Charlotte’s Web is a good example.  The same is true for depth in populations.

People are developed at different levels. This is easy to see in children. School is a good measuring stick. There’s pre-school, elementary, high school, college and beyond. It’s obvious that a first grader is not a college senior.

But what about different levels of development in the general adult population?  It’s there.

It is insightful and revealing to pull back the curtain and get a look at the value levels motivating different groups of people. Nascar fans and Green Peace folks are very different. It’s measurable. Rap music reflects a value that does not often merge with The Daughters of the American Revolution.

Each person has a definite dominate value level. Groups that share those values emerge.

Any movie can be made more dynamic by combining people of varying personal value levels in a forced interaction. Reality TV shows do this to cause underlying friction among participants. It builds tension and makes a better show (for people at a value level who like that sort of thing).

Throw a bunch of hicks in a house with brainiacs and you’ve got potential for some entertaining dynamics. Add a battle of the sexes and the sparks fly. Roll cameras, edit the action, and cash in.

So how do all these values look on a chart. Can you actually lay out a sequence of development that can be seen from an overview? Yes. Dr. Clare W Graves did some interesting work 50 years ago.

He saw patterns in people and groups that explain where they are in development. Think of it like this: A tall building represents human development. There are about eight floors with the top being the most adequate at apprehending phenomena (perceiving things). On which floor does your elevator stop?

Isn’t this sort of like an interior class system? Yes it is and it is serious. If you eat sleep and breathe sports, that might be an indication of where you are on the ladder of development. If you are consumed with saving the planet, that’s a tip off of a different level. If you are a Madison Avenue marketing professional, that’s another category.

Wait a minute. Does this categorize people in pigeon holes they might resent? Yes. It does.

Plus, it groups whole crowds of people in value memes. Are you afraid of position on the ladder? Is your development going to show that you are at a dreaded low place? It might. If you think this is troubling wait till you see the evidence that it is …accurate.

I have studied the work of Clare W. Graves for many years and am convinced of its validity. As a writer, I use these levels to cut through to the core values of the target audience.

I write in a different style for a Nascar product than I do for a Symphony fund raiser. I use the Graves work for insight into the values of each audience, then I craft my writing accordingly.

For more information on the work of Clare W Graves just Google his name and get ready to study and apply his insights.