Yeah, I get them all the time. You probably do, too. The infamous email from an alleged digital marketing service: Dear Sir/Madam, Despite having a good design, your website is not showing up on Google for your market's keywords … Or something to that effect. Obviously, they haven't been to my website. They would know in an instant that I'm NOT a madam. Last I checked anyway. And they don't know my target market, either. I know that because I DO show up on Google (page one of the SERPs, in fact) for my target market's keywords… B2B … [Read more...]
Working Remotely – 7 Tips from the Trenches
Some of you are working your job remotely from home, perhaps for the very first time. Welcome to my world! I'm an independent commercial business writer (okay … a freelance B2B copywriter), writing ad copy and marketing content for the industrial manufacturing and safety sectors. For the past decade or so, I've been working remotely. In fact, over the course of that 10+ years, I've only met one client face to face. One client. And I've only worked for two clients down home here in Arkansas, the Natural State. Two … [Read more...]
Make a New LinkedIn Connection? Go Straight for the Juggler… NOT!
Ok, I know. It's the jugular you go after, not juggler. But… you're reading this because you wanted to make sure, right? Maybe you were curious, or just wanted to poke a little fun. That's Ok. If you're reading this... Mission accomplished. At first, this major blunder bugged me to no end. Probably bugs you too. But now, I actually welcome the immediate sales pitch after I accept a connection request on LinkedIn. You know the kind. You accept a connection request and the person INSTANTLY follows up, trying to sell their services. … [Read more...]
Email Your B2B Documents to Kindle
I'm a freelance B2B copywriter and I really don't like briefcases. I really don't like briefcases because they're big and bulky and just one more item to check in at the airport. While I work from my home-based office the majority of the time, I do travel some. In fact, on Sunday I'm "leavin' on a jet plane" and heading for an intensive web copy workshop in Austin, Texas. And I want to travel as light as possible. One carry-on and one laptop bag; that's all I need. If I still had to drag that old briefcase along, repacking would be … [Read more...]
B2B Copywriter Makes 2 Industrial Strength Fails…and One Business-Saving Fix
The importance of backups in protecting your data...and your business. Screwed up my computer last night. It's not something that happens often, mind you. I've been fooling around with these marvelous machines for longer than many of my clients have been alive. But it does happen. Taking a break from my writing chores, I thought I'd fix a minor problem that's been nagging me for a while. When I did, I ended up playing the "dummy card." I do that on occasion. And that's why I keep a plan in place to protect me from my own stupidity. … [Read more...]
B2B Copywriter Gets Unexpected Lesson…from Solitaire
It was 5:30 AM on this January 1, 2015. I'd awakened early, as usual, and stumbled down to my office. Everyone else was still sleeping, even the dog. On the way, I stopped in the kitchen to get a pot of coffee started. As I waited for this Elixir of Life to finish brewing, I thought I'd play a few games of Solitaire on my computer to get the old brain cells warmed up. Now, I'm not a big gamer. In fact, the few games that come with the operating system are the only games on my machines, both desktop and laptop. On the second … [Read more...]