Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy
From the author of Writing Copy for Dummies, an evolving compendium of perspectives on effective marketing communications.
Get the Marketing Profs Daily Fix
There's something new and noteworthy in the world of marketing blogs. MarketingProfs.com, which is already respected for its website and e-newsletter, has just launched the Marketing Profs Daily Fix Blog. They've been kind enough to welcome me as a regular contributor. And I'm in great company: Seth Godin, BL Ochman, Gerry McGovern and many other marketing heavyweights are making (and will continue to make) regular posts. Please join the conversation. Your comments are welcomed -- even encouraged -- and I suspect that the posts will be much more frank than a lot of the marketing chearleading you'll find on many other sites.
Article syndication seems to be working
By now, I have 16 articles on EzineArticles.com and have started a discussion that has elicited variety of comments, including a blog post that suggests that I'm a little behind the curve regarding this "old" and familiar technique, and a long e-mail critique from a marketer who believes the EzineArticles model of syndication "doesn't work" and who has a better way -- which will be in beta soon. Well, it's only been a couple of weeks, but: * I've seen my web visits increase by at approximately 40%. * According to the stats available on EzineArticles.com, 1927 people have viewed my articles so far. * According to the same stats, 17 web sites have republished my articles. Not bad. Especially since I'm recycling articles I've already written and had been gathering dust on my hard drive. I'll say this: To date, I've found no other way of boosting my web stats that has been as cheap or as effective. What have you found that works?
More on EzineArticles
Now I have eleven articles live on EzineArticles and, judging by messages I get from Google Alerts, a few of my articles have been reproduced on other websites. But what a range in quality! This morning, I got a polite, articulate request to reprint my work on MortgageBrokerLand, which I naturally accepted (with a note of appreciation for the considerate request). The site is a well-organized, content-rich "hub" for brokers in the mortgage industry that shows every sign of professional thought and management. I'd welcome visitors from that site. The very same day, I also found myself in the land of the surreal: an acne information site that collects absolutely irrelevant content in the pursuit, I suppose, of higher search engine rankings and greater revenues from acne-related advertising. Now, I guess that having a link from this site might be of marginal value of increasing my search engine ranking. But as a direct link, it's pretty near worthless -- what kind of visitor would I get from an acne site, and a cheesy one at that? (Unless, perhaps, it was one that landed there by mistake.)
Article PR: First signs of (modest) success
Update: I now have eight articles live on EzineArticles and this morning, I saw the first signs of movement: In my web stats, I saw two link-throughs from an article of mine that had been picked up by what appears to be a kind of "link farm" site. No, that's no storm in the marketing waters. But since it's the first evidence of activity, it attracted my attention.
Article PR continued
My previous post on article PR has generated a considerable amount of activity. As follow-up, here's the latest: I've submitted 7 articles to EzineArticles.com which have all been approved and posted. Per Glenn Murray's suggestion, I'm tracking them with Google Alerts to see how they do. Chris Knight, the EzineArticle's blogger and (I believe) the driving force behind the website, has blogged my article PR post which you may read here. It's too early to give specifics, but I've been approached by an editor who's interested in developing this discussion into an article and possibly a webinar. Stay tuned...
New rules of articles, too
In January, I commented on the New Rules of PR in which author David Meerman Scott suggests that we direct our press releases to web-based distribution channels for immediate consumption, bypassing the media. Yesterday, I discovered the work of Glenn Murray, an Australian writer and founder of ArticlePR who makes a similar argument regarding articles themselves. Instead of pitching them to traditional media, post them to sites such as Ezinearticles or Goarticles where webmasters may freely copy and paste your article into their own sites. In return, they promise to maintain a hyperlink in the author's signature line that directs visitors to the author's website, increasing visits and, more importantly, lifting search engine rankings. Does this work? And is there a downside to making your work so promiscuously available to all comers? I don't know. But I'm about to find out. I posted my first three articles on Ezinearticles yesterday (they're "pending review" before going live); I'll blog about the results in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, you can request Murray's article here.
"The Mystery of Love-Making Solved"
I found a great book at a library sale recently: They Laughed When I Sat Down: An informal history of advertising in words and pictures by John Rowsome, Jr. (1959) Among its treasures are reprints of historic (or antique) ads. Here's a gem from what appears to be the late nineteenth or early twentieth century: The Mystery of Love-Making Solved
Or an Easy Road to Marriage.Start Right and the Battle is Half Won! A man in love or a lady whose heart has been touched with the burning fire of True Love will find in this Book strange Secrets that no friend could tell them, and an Easy Way to Marriage through Love's Intricate Pathway. It also contains many Ancient hidden secrets that the married should know...Every country, civilised and barbarous, has been ransacked to get The Secrets of Love Making. It will bring joy to thousands of both sexes... And you have to love the offer: "Ask Four friends to buy one each, and thus get your own Book free." Any takers?
Jonathan
Kranz
Kranz Communications
Ph: (781) 620-1154
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