Sticky Communication

Most strangers find this site by searching for “other ways to say awesome” or some other word they’re getting sick of. Sure, it’s a nice way to build traffic.

But in order to feed two ravenous teenagers, I have to build more traffic and convert it into sales of my book and almost-ready online learning program, both called Write Like You Talk Only Better.

What do your people search for?

If you search that title or my name or my company, you’ll find me. But most people search for answers to questions and solutions to problems. I am not a celebrity. Neither are you. Okay, I didn’t mean you, Kanye.

Last week I learned so much about keywords at two excellent seminars, one by Marie Weise of Marketing Copilot on charging up your website, the other by Robert Clarke and Chris Barnes of Op Ed Marketing on Google Adwords.

They all advised me to think about my best customer and the terms she would use in a search that would lead to my site. So I sat on my front porch last Sunday, happy to bask in the glow of our first warm sunshine, pondering my best customer.

I get this, because I advise people to pry into the heads of the person they most want to connect with before they start to write.

Who is my best customer?

My best customer is the small business owner whose livelihood is based on his expertise. He needs to write to convey that. In addition, Rick, as I call him, spends a lot of time on emails, plans and other routine writing.

Rick’s problem? He’s not getting the results he’d like. He’s not getting the respect and recognition he deserves. Plus he’s busy. Very busy.

So under the same sun on a different porch, Rick is asking Google, Bing or another search engine:  how to get better results from his writing or how to become a recognized expert.  Maybe he’s searching for how to write quickly or business writing training.

For sure, he is not typing in “other ways to say cool.”

People like Rick inspired me to write the book. After many years of comfy corporate writing rates, the 2009 crash led me to seek more work from small businesses.

Unfortunately, many could not afford to pay what I expected. What’s more, the expertise that I would be writing about was already in their heads. So why not show them how to do it themselves?

It’s a skill I’ve polished through a masters’ degree in journalism and 30 years’ experience. But it’s not rocket science. If they’re smart enough to be an expert, they’re smart enough to sharpen their writing skill.

No quick fixes

I don’t expect to quickly get first-page ranking for search terms such as better results from writing, become a recognized expert or business writing training. Nor do I anticipate a flash flood of ad clicks and sales.

But I’ve used these keywords, and similar terms, in the Google ad and landing page I drafted. I’ll closely monitor my traffic and conversions to see what’s working.

I’ll use this intelligence to inspire my posts and update my pages. I’m so lucky that writing comes easily. That’s what I want to pass on.

Building my bridge from the search terms most of my discoverers now use to the ones that will attract Rick and like-minded people is going to be long, hard work. Once I’m comfortable with the Ricks, I’ll get to know Marie, who’s in charge of training for her larger company.

Fortunately, writing is fun. The challenge of using the right keywords the right way will add to the adventure. Please leave me a comment if you have more suggestions.

To sustain me through this delayed gratification, I’ll go for some quick hits. I’m toying with writing a series of posts called “other ways to say…” Let me know of any tired words you’d like me to suggest lively alternatives for.

After all, the customer is always right. Especially Rick.

1. Robert Clarke says:

   March 13, 2013 at 1:58 pm

   Hi Barb

   Thanks for coming out for the workshop and for this blog. Chris wrote a blog a while back that you might find handy, it’s called “What’s in a Keyword”: http://op-ed.ca/2012/10/22/whats-in-a-word/

   Thanks again for connecting, and good luck with your keywords
   Robert
2. Barbsawyers says:

   March 13, 2013 at 2:16 pm

   Wow! That’s very helpful. I sure have my work cut out for me. Thanks for everything.