Make Your Website a Hard-Working Online Revenue Source

I can’t count the times a prospect has told me – “We’re planning to redo our website, and we want somebody who can actually write to do the content for us.” Then, a few minutes later, the person will add, rather awkwardly – “Of course, it’s never made us any money, but we think it’s important to keep it up there anyway.”

Ah, the website that simply sits there – the “brochure site” that’s listed on company business cards but rarely shows up on Google or makes a sale – it can be the biggest money-waster on a business budget!

Brochure sites are actually a relic of the days when business first noticed the Internet…the days when printed marketing collateral was still the Number One way for businesses to inform the public about their products and services. In those days, marketers didn’t realize there was any difference between printed and online media.

In fact, there are two major differences: time and competition.

A brochure is designed to be absorbed in “slow time” – it may sit on your desk for a few days, be picked up again, thrown in a drawer and emerge a month later. With plenty of time to work its spell, it can afford to be unusual, or perhaps self-consciously creative. It is interacting with you alone – unless you intentionally seek out similar companies, you are not distracted by competitors.

Visitors coming to your website, on the other hand, are usually searching for something specific, and know that a screen full of competitors is just a few keystrokes away. If your content does not capture needs to capture their interest within seconds, they will move on. And you will never know they were even there.

Clearly this online audience demands a whole new level of writing – focused, direct, with no frills or fluff. No flowery welcomes, no Home page rhapsodies about your company – there simply isn’t time!

So how do you create a site that actually brings an income? It’s a complex process, but this is the core:

First of all, before you even begin to design the site content, you need to define its purpose, exactly, and know your audience, intimately: Who do you want to come to your site, and why? What do you want them to find? Are you selling your services to new prospects? Offering details about your newest, hottest product? Providing maintenance to existing customers?

Second, once you have identified your audience and purpose, you need to layer your content, moving from fewest words to most words, least detail to greatest detail, big-picture benefits to in-depth specifications, all directly focused on your prospects’ needs.

With only a few seconds to convey this information, your headlines need to be short, simple, strong, and laser-targeted. For example, instead of “Welcome to the FairGreenMarket Website,” you’d want: “The Fair Green Market - Helping the Planet, the People, and Your Budget.”

Once you’ve captured your visitors with a strong headline, your home page body content has only one further purpose: to entice them to a detailed product or service page.

Again, it’s targeted benefits, not specs, that will get them there. For example, if you’re viewing the home page of a website offering baby products, for example, would you rather click on this option:

“The BabySafeXJ5 Monitor features a DCS-5300 Internet Camera Pan/Tilt 10/100TX with Built-In 20 - 20000 Hz/100 ohm Microphone and comes in Cotton Candy and Blueberry Crème”

Or this one?

“The ultra-sensitive BabySafeXJ5 Monitor lets you watch and listen to your baby when you’re not in the room”?

Once you’ve captured your visitors with practical benefits, you have plenty of time to give them all the details on a product or service page. They’ve already taken the initial steps toward buying based on your obvious knowledge of their needs and desires. From there, it’s a few clicks to the shopping cart and a sale!

Global Expertise Meets Local Challenges at Baltimore Bioneers Events

This fall, a brilliant assembly of global and local environmentalists, healers, and business and community leaders will gather once again in Baltimore to discuss practical environmental, social, and economic solutions for our planet…and for our city.

The second annual conference, “Baltimore Bioneers ‘08: Cultivating Change. Inspiring Solutions.” will take place from Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, 2008 at the University of Baltimore.

Along with international and local speakers, live panel discussions, workshops, and entertainment, the Baltimore event will also feature screenings from the national Bioneers conference, held in October in San Rafael, California.

Like the national event, the Baltimore Bioneers conference will offer answers to global issues. At the same time, national and regional speakers will apply a local lens to topics such as:

• Energy production methods that dramatically reduce global warming pollutants


• New, nontoxic technologies that emulate nature’s design genius


• The best green business practices


• Practical approaches to building conservation-based, cooperative communities


• New strategies for safeguarding human rights and the environment


• Creative new approaches to art from environmental, socio-political, and spiritual perspectives


• Emerging perspectives on health care that merge ancient and modern healing practices and address the new diseases resulting from environmental destruction

Featured among the national experts slated to speak at the Baltimore event are:

• Judy Wicks, founder of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and owner/founder of Philadelphia’s White Dog Café


• Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D., senior scientist at the Ocean Conservancy and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences


• Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and author of The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities

And with the Conference approaching quickly, the Cultivating Change team is ramping up activity with a lively schedule of seminars and salons.

Be sure to check out their website - http://www.cultivatingchange.org or their FaceBook page: Baltimore Bioneers: Cultivating Change, Inspiring Solutions - and keep up with the latest developments on their brand-new blog, Baltimore Bioneers Cultivating Change.

Co-sponsoring the event are the Chesapeake Sustainable Business Alliance, Tai Sophia Institute, The Urbanite and the Baltimore chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

KudoSurf Me!

ISO Green Business Teammates to Join Me in a Summer Excursion to the Frontiers of Web 2.0!

This summer, like last, I'm going to be spending a portion of my days in an Aussie-tinged excursion to the far frontiers of Web 2.0 - the wildly fertile land where the hottest, best-of-the-best-but-as-yet-undiscovered social marketing applications lurk.

And you're invited to come with me!

The tour is led by The Thirty-Day Challenge, a well-established online training program by Ed Dale and Dan Raines of The Immediate Edge.

While running the program free of charge, Ed and Dan are leading a cohort of thousands in an online marketer's dream continuing-ed setup: not just the tools and principles of integrated social marketing a la 2008, but also techniques and basic skills like blogging, micro-blogging, affiliate marketing, small-business marketing, and much more.

The TDC is a free e-intensive (and I DO mean intensive) training in cutting-edge Internet marketing techniques. Ed and Dan have been doing this for at least four years now, and it's been getting bigger all the time - it's a truly global training, offering a chance to connect with entrepreneurs around the world and learn the very latest tools.

Last year we learned about blogging platforms, Stumble, GoogleTrends (and mutations thereof), Twitter, Second Life, etc., etc. This year's pre-season training is starting with an introduction to the new web browser called Flock...you've GOT to check out the Eco-edition of the Flock Browser (http://browser.flock.com/eco). Powerful marketing tools and solid social-networking information, all at the very leading edge of the technology.

Oh, and the goal? To earn $10...that's right, just a ten-spot. No promises of multimillions by the end of the year, no promises of tens of thousands by the end of the month (though a couple of people have done this). It's a credibility measure -- how many scammers are going to sell you a program with that kind of return for your $0 investment? -- and really, knowledge and skills are the prizes in this game.

What does this have to do with you? Well, aside from wholeheartedly recommending the program on its own merits based on my participation last year...last year's stats demonstrated that it's most successful when participants are applying it to their own existing businesses. And it's a lot more fun (and more effective) to go through it as part of a team.

I've got this wild vision of a team of green business owners going through...can you imagine the impact we could have together?

So - does anyone want to get in on this with me? Click here to check it out, and email me at phila@your-words-worth.com if you'd like to be on my team!





KudoSurf Me!

What's Driving Consumers This Year?

If it seems to you that the social gaps are widening...between the health-conscious and the, well, not-so health conscious...between Americans pursuing luxury and those pursuing simplicity...between ultra-driven aficionados of caffeine drinks and 24/7 connectivity and slower-paced folks opting for quality of life...well, the Natural Marketing Institute has news for you.

You're right.

The Institute, which is the driving force behind the green marketing resource site LOHAS.com, has announced the top trends for 2008. The most notable movement is toward a growing polarization in America...or as NMI puts it, a "dual society" spanning issues of health, wellness and sustainability.

Perhaps you've been noticing this is the news headlines and commercials lately... as for example, while celebrity doctors warn of the dangers of obesity, "fat-ism" is called the new racism and fast-food ads praise the satisfaction of finally feeling full. So which way are we going, America -- to the gym or the greasy-spoon?....Or both?

NMI describes the paradox in terms of trends and counter-trends - equal movements in opposite directions. For example, both The WELL BEINGS and the EAT, DRINK & BE MERRYS represent 25% of the American population. While the "Well Beings" are a "very integrated and healthy group comprised of values-based consumers," their counterparts, the "Eat, Drink and Be Merrys" are described as "the least concerned, least health active and least involved consumers."

In case you haven't seen the trends yet, I've reposted the article below. For similar articles on green marketing, check out the LOHAS site...it's a terrific resource.

NMI Reveals its Top Trends for 2008

The concept of a 'dual society' is the overarching theme across health, wellness and sustainability in 2008

Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) is pleased to present our annual trends. These trends are the result of various NMI research sources including the Health & Wellness Trends Database™ (HWTD), the LOHAS Consumer Trends Database™ (LCTD), the Evolution of Personal Care Database™ (EPC), Healthy Aging/Boomer Database™, and Immerzions™ as well as analysis of current activities in the marketplace. NMI databases, now including 10 years of data across 500,000+ U.S. consumers, provide comprehensive information across more than 150 product categories.

NMI’s Top Trends ─ and Countertrends ─ for 2008

1. The Dual Society
The concept of a unified America has given way to bifurcation across many aspects of society including income, education, religious values, the environment, politics and even a stratification across health behaviors and attitudes, as the healthiest and the least healthy segments continue polarization.
Countertrend
Technology continues to be the great societal equalizer, exemplified by Web 2.0 initiatives and the growth of social and business networks. The desire for unification and connectivity appears to be at the core of this movement, manifesting itself in social collaborations of all kinds including facebook, Linked In, Family Post and Ancestry.com.

2. Generation Zzzzz
Generation Z represents an over-stimulated and burned-out generation, aged 25-45 subsisting on less than 7 hours sleep per night, surviving on caffeine-packed energy drinks and sleeping pills. The health implications of this behavior are just becoming known and include an increase in domestic violence, traffic accidents, obesity and stress among others.
Countertrend
In contrast to Gen Z are those seeking sleep alternatives through alternative medicine, meditation, a reduced schedule and a simplified lifestyle.

3. Stop, I want off!
The overabundance of technology, busier lifestyles, dual working families and instant gratification is driving many to “opt out” of the current consumer culture. From scaling back work hours to a renewed focus on “quality versus quantity” and even a rejection of technology, the consumer backlash reflects a growing recognition of the true “price tag” for such lifestyles.
Countertrend
While many are rejecting conspicuous consumption, the other end of the spectrum continues to embrace luxury, premiumization and 24/7 connectivity.

4. Dr. Me
Dr. Me reflects independent attitudes relating to healthcare decisions as more consumers research their own symptoms, diagnose their own illnesses and administer their own cures. Driven in part by dissatisfaction with healthcare, direct-to-consumer Rx advertising and access to online health portals, consumers are finding new, non-traditional ways to manage their health, including consumer directed healthcare plans, alternative medicine, preventative DNA testing and more.
Countertrend
Juxtaposed with Dr. Me health attitudes resides an epidemic healthcare crisis with increasing rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

5. The Culture of Sustainability
It’s not a matter of whether we will run out of natural resources – it’s a matter of when. Sustainability will become the most significant social movement of our time. It will permeate every aspect of consumers’ lifestyles, business infrastructures and other societal constituencies.
Countertrend
Consumers are overwhelmed with many sustainability initiatives with significant “green washing” fall-out expected as consumers learn to discern its true meaning (and impact).

6. Golden Opportunities
The aging population is experiencing an unprecedented level of autonomy, choice and lifestyle participation. With those living past 80 the fastest growing demographic group, the idea of the ‘Golden Years’ is undergoing a radical transformation. From the workplace, to community, to caregiving, the implications are far reaching yet opportunistic.
Countertrend
Issues of loss of independence, control and even financial resources represent profound social consequences for seniors, caregivers, government and society.

7. The New Immunity
A rise in allergies and weakened immune systems is believed by many to be the result of toxic home and work environments, as well as a food supply manipulated by additives, genetic modification, antibiotics, hormones and herbicides. These concerns are driving a growth industry in non-toxic home and building materials, air purification systems, organic foods and allergy-free alternatives.
Countertrend
The lifestyle habits of many adults and children continue to decline in sharp contrast to the New Immunity awareness. NMI’s health attitude segment, EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRYS™ demonstrates the lowest awareness or interest in food ingredients, additives, environmental factors and their health impact.

8. Giving is the new Taking
Volunteerism, activism and participation in the non-profit sector are growing rapidly as consumers discover the emotional rewards of giving, rather than taking. To meet the challenge, corporations are engaging in CSR 2.0 in order to maintain brand allegiance, retain their workforce, and manage their stakeholders, among other activities.
Countertrend
Premiumization, the height of New Luxury, continues to evolve in strong contrast to a more values based, philanthropic culture. At times, premium brands are even co-opting ‘green values.’

Look for more information and implications of these trends to be presented by NMI at industry events throughout 2008 and in the upcoming Health & Wellness Trends Report (to be published in April 2008).


NMI is an international strategic consulting, market research, and business development company specializing in the health, wellness, and sustainable marketplace. Since 1990, NMI has provided unparalleled insight to hundreds of clients around the world. For more information on NMI’s proprietary research tools, customized research services, and insightful market reports, visit NMI’s web site at www.NMIsolutions.com

Tired of Forests Paying for Your Reading Habits? Here's a Solution

As the holiday shopping season begins, I'm going to step away from the topic of green copywriting and Internet marketing for just a moment. You see, my friends and I struggle with an environmentally-devastating addiction....

We're book fiends. Reading addicts. Info-junkies.

Oh, we've tried the e-book answer...and wound up printing them out...sure, it's usually on 100% post-consumer recycled content paper, but still, printing them out! There's just something about the feel of a volume in our hands that pixels on a screen cannot duplicate. And so our Christmas giving habits, collectively, could level a forest...a painful thought.

But thanks be, I've stumbled upon an answer! Actually, two answers, both as green as can be.

You know, of course, that Amazon offers used books from various booksellers. This actually is a green answer of sorts...no new trees are dying for the books you buy this way, and you certainly save a bundle.

But you can do better! Take a look at these two options...


Better World Books also sells used books - so far they figure they've kept 5 million pounds of books out of landfills - and they charge nothing - as in zero, zip, zilch, nada - for shipping in the U.S. (just $2.97 flat rate, worldwide). But this isn't all they do. The profits from your Better World purchase help to fund literacy programs around the world, and a few cents tacked onto every purchase pays for carbon offsets to cover shipment. Rather than the trucks of UPS or FedEx, the muscular legs of your postal carrier carry your purchase to you, thus saving on fuel and carbon emissions!


If this still isn't quite enough, you can go a step further. Eco-Libris has taken the carbon-offset concept and applied it to books - I guess you could call it cellulose offset! For just $5, you can plant five trees to compensate for five books...$10 for 10 books, and then there's a price break as the numbers grow ($23.50 for 25 books, and so on). Eco-Libris works with Sustainable Harvest International, Ripple Africa, and The Alliance for International Reforestation to plant trees in developing countries where deforestation is a crucial problem and where the trees planted provide many local people with sustainable opportunities for a better future.

If your Christmas giving list, like mine, often looks more like a bibliography, why not let the planet share in your giving this year? Check out these new options, save the forests, and benefit disadvantaged communities...truly a gift to the world!



KudoSurf Me!

Do Your Clients Understand Your Green Business Language?

This is a little bit of a rant, I'm afraid...I just read an article in GreenBiz News about an EcoPinion survey that found "Consumers Don’t Understand Green Terms."

To quote the key paragraphs of the article: "a survey of 1,000 Americans conducted the first week of November, on communications and language commonly used by companies and stakeholders in the energy and environment space. The EcoPinion Survey confirms a green gap exists around terms such as energy efficiency, energy conservation, demand response, smart energy and clean energy, and customers’ understanding, acceptance and perceptions of value around those terms.
The green gap in communications is contributing to a growing misalignment between customers’ stated intentions, e.g., their desire to be more green or frugal with energy consumption, and their actual behavior."

My judgment? It all boils down to something I tell my clients over and over: "Your customers don't care what nifty bells and whistles your products or services have. What they care about is - what difference will those bells and whistles make in their lives, what real benefits do they offer?"

Bottom line - It's not about you! If your customers/clients don't understand why your green services are better - not just how, but why - if the difference is wrapped up in green industry-standard terms that mean nothing to John and Jane Doe - it doesn't matter if you win every eco-award in the book. The customers will sail right past you to the company that speaks their language.

So what can you do to change this? Assume nothing! Start with the idea that visitors to your site have no clue whatsoever about the technologies you use and the standards you work so hard to meet...that the terminology that's so easy and intuitive to you means less than a torrent of Japanese would to a monolingual English speaker.

Assume that they don't know, say, the difference between "green business" and "sustainable business"...that they may or may not recycle their trash, much less know the difference between pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content...that "green building" may signify more about the color of siding on a house than the LEED standards that governed its construction...you get the idea! Define your terms. Explain your concepts. Look at your marketing content with "beginner's eyes" - if you'd seen this when you were first learning about green business, would it have made any sense to you?

It's up to you to pass on this information, share your passion about it - why does it matter, why is it better for your customers and the planet? What is your commitment to improving your customers' lives and changing the world in the process?

And after all, what better way of gaining their interest and trust could you have, than providing the education that turns an incomprehensible wilderness into navigable territory? Create a blog and fill it with key concepts...send out marketing articles to distribution services...write a special report or e-book that introduces key concepts of the work you do...make it your mission to teach the world about your work, so your visitors will share your passion!

Yes - it's a bit more work - but think of the talks you give to the Chamber of Commerce and your professional networking groups. How many more people will your information reach on the Internet?

If you'd like more information on ways of educating your visitors, demonstrating your expertise, and building your business through social networking and information marketing, and why a green copywriter can save you valuable time and money in crafting this information, contact me at phila@your-words-worth.com.

Oh, and if you'd like to check out that article and the study (it's available free of charge), click here.




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What is Social Networking, and Why Should I Care? (part 3 of 3)

So we’ve talked about how Web 2.0 social networking is similar to offline networking, and about all the many ways you can show up on social networks…

Now - here's the catch: remember all those new friends you’ve been making?

When you correspond with new colleagues or prospects in real time, do you send them only your own work? Not if you're wise! You might send them a New York Times article, an inspirational Neal Donald Walsch clip, a podcast from the latest Bioneers conference, and - oh, yes, by the way, here's your latest piece of work! And they'll probably be doing the same thing for you.

This is where the “social” part of social networking takes over. You and your social network don’t just share your work and other favorite content among yourselves. You’re actually working together to promote each other. Imagine a professional business referral group on steroids, and you have a rough idea of the power that social networking can offer.

How does it work? Through the many Web 2.0 “social posting” tools. Let’s say one of your new friends sends you a blog post or video they made. Sure, you can comment on it and include your link with the comment. But why stop there?
• You can bookmark it on De.licio.us…a service that not only holds your bookmarks for you, but also tags them for the world as bookmark-worthy….
• Add it to your Google favorites – again tagging them in the process...
• Review it on your Facebook profile with Shareaholic…
• Recommend it to other people using social-posting tools like StumbleUpon, Digg, or Technorati….
• If it’s relevant to your field, post it to your Zimbio wikizine...
• In fact, you might want to send your recommendations for a really good site across the web to multiple networks by using services like Addthis, SocialMarker, SocialPoster, or Pingoat.

This is all part of the new Web 2.0 “netiquette” – sure, you can Digg or Stumble your own content, but you can only do it once per posting without getting “slapped” or penalized in your search engine ranking. Rather like spamming: nice people don't do it. Just as in offline business, the Golden Rule rules – if you give recommendations to others, you are likelier to receive recommendations in return.

In fact, your recommending others’ sites is all part of being a good “Net citizen,” indicating that you’re not head-down focused on marketing your own product or service, but actively taking part in the greater world around you.

There’s much more you can do in a Web 2.0 environment – this brief intro barely scrapes the surface. For an excellent overview of all these tools and concepts, see Mike Mindel’s summary of content from The Thirty Day Challenge by Ed Dale and Dan Raines.

Oh, and if this sounds like a lot of work, rest easy! A blog entry doesn’t need to be more than a couple of paragraphs, a couple of times a week. A video or podcast, of course, is more effort, and at the same time it will go further and last longer, much as a brochure or magazine ad might.

And remember, there’s nothing requiring you to do this writing yourself! Many writers (like Your Words’ Worth) can help you to keep a stream of posts flowing to your target audience. Some (also like Your Words’ Worth) will even write your audio script and then do the voiceover for you.

So – what are you waiting for? There’s a world of social networks out there – have fun!




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