Did you know that Thomas Edison didn’t want his phonograph sold for amusement purposes? He said, “It’s not a toy. It is for business purposes only.”

Isn’t it amazing how much “amusement” and joy his phonograph brought to people when it was meant to be used for “business” purposes only? (The left-side of his brain was definitely sneaking in there, wouldn’t you say?)

And . . .

Alexander Graham Bell insisted that “Hoy! Hoy!” was the only “proper” way to answer a telephone. It was Edison who popularized “hello” instead.

Thank goodness! Hoy Hoy would be a little MUCH, even for someone like me. Think of what fun you could have with a fact like that.

Did you know that Richard Reynolds invented metal foil wrap–but not for food. He invented it at the request of his uncle, cigarette czar R.J. Reynolds, to keep tobacco fresh.

Here’s another “did you know” –

In September of 1988, George Eastman patented his roll film camera and registered the name Kodak. He coined the name because he wanted a distinctive name and because he really liked the letter K.  

Okay, these are interesting facts, but SO WHAT. Who cares?

If you have a site that sells CDs, entertainment systems, phones of any kind, phone accessories, cameras, film, recipes, food, tobacco products, music products, trivia, or biographies, you could use these interesting facts on your Web site. I’m sure I’m missing some sites that would be relevant to these facts, but those are just off the top of my head.

Get creative here. Come up with some fascinating facts about the telephone industry. Create a quiz of some sort. Or, paper them throughout your site by posting one on every page. Do some research, and write an entire page of content surrounding the fact.

Is your competition using this information? Probably not. Think of what can give you an edge and use it.

Do something totally radical and go to a library! Wow–books with paper! I pulled all of these facts from books. I have mountains of them that cover virtually every industry out there.

Tell me what industry you’re in, and I’ll try to find some facts for you. But you need to do your own research. That’s what will make your Web site truly sparkle with creativity.

From time to time, I’ll post more facts for you from other industries. Watch for them!

Robin

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Do you realize how many people type questions in the search query box? They want to know how many ridges are on a dime or how to tie a tie.

Capitalize on this trend by writing Web site content that answers questions. The heading and title for the page should be a question, and the content should be the answer to the question. Answer the question as if you’re a reporter, including the who, what, where, how, and why of the “story.” Make it complete.

Often, these questions have high KEI values and low competition. I’m looking at a page in Wordtracker right now with KEI values beginning at 130,000 with competing numbers of around 10. (A “good” KEI value is 100.)

Here’s what I did. I went to Competition Search in the Multiple Search area and typed in the word “how.”

The #1 result is:

Blue Screen of Death How Do I Fix It; KEI is 130,948; count is 1183 (meaning that 1183 people searched for that phrase in Wordtracker’s database over the last 60 days); and the competition is 10. I chose the Google search engine. Remember that these figures represent a small window into the search world–a very small percentage.

How could you use this phrase successfully? As the H1 title of the content at the top of the page, use Blue Screen of Death as the main title, and How do I Fix it as the subtitle. Use it as an H2 as well but adding additional words, but don’t go any further with headings. Use it in the title tag and meta tags (metas don’t count for much but still use them).

Continue optimizing the page, and be sure to consider both on- and off-page factors. 

Other suggestions in the “how” page of Wordtracker (These all have KEIs over 100,000.):

How to Fix it Car (Competition: 20)

Drunk Driving and How to Fix It (11)

How to Fix Your Dishwasher Do it Yourself (13)

How to Fix Your TV if it Loses its Color (13)

Before you reach KEIs of below 100, you have to get below the #35 keyword.

Try it yourself. Go to Wordtracker and type in words like “how,” “why,” “what,” and other question words. What do people want to know? We’re talking about behaviors here–not keywords.

Then YOU create the content for your Web site and YOU be the one with the Web pages that show up on top.

By the way, be sure to visit the KEI Observation Deck for a daily dip into phenomenal KEI values. I’ve given you a small view today, but my partner John Alexander knows how to extract pure gold from Wordtracker. Visit his blog and watch him at his best.

Robin

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Posted by permission of
David Singer.

In yesterday’s post, we talked about using the five senses in our Web site content. Today, we’re going to talk about writing content that will bring your visitors into the action of your content. 

For example, in sales copy, we know to write about benefits versus features. Your visitors want to know the benefits of that mountain bike (reduce stress, get out from behind the desk and enjoy the great outdoors, fitness, speed, etc.) versus features (29″ wheels, Tektro Alloy Mini V-brake, Alloy fork w/rack mounts, Atomic 13 R Double Butted Aluminum, RE2P Geometry, etc.).

However, let’s take it a step further by putting your customers into the action. Fiction writers do this all the time, to where you forget what’s going on in your life and focus on the “setting” the fiction writer has created for you. The same thing can be done with creative writing.

Listen to this wording from a bicycle Web site:

“Bicycles are simple, elegant, efficient and fun. A bicycle can take you back to your childhood, be a vehicle for exploration and adventure, or simply give you a fun way to get to the local coffee shop.

“Whatever aspirations you have for riding a bike–fitness, commuting, racing, or just cruising with family and friends–Raleigh has a bicycle that’s right for you. We understand, because we’re out there for the same reasons.” http://www.raleighusa.com

Isn’t that phenomenal? Notice the nostalgic angle? This copy appeals to those who are interested in fitness, those who commute to work, and families. It appeals to the adventure crowd, the racing crowd, and the crowd that likes to hang out with friends in local coffee (or other) shops. They describe bicycles in the simplest of terms, which is extremely effective.

This Web site has many target audiences, but they’ve managed to mention quite a few in that copy. They’ve put their customers into the action by appealing to them personally.

Use words that bring your customers into the action of your content. Make them feel like they’re part of the “scene.” When you do, the “Buy Now” button becomes a NEED rather than a WANT.

Robin

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Posted by permission of
David Singer.

Have you ever tried describing your products using some of the five senses?

Let’s take a look at how vivid the five senses can be:

Picture an orange, then begin to peel it with me. Stick your finger into one of its ends and start to remove the peel, piece by piece. Your fingers feel the moisture of the orange and slight stickiness of the fruit, and you start to smell the sweetness of one of nature’s most fragrant foods. Set the peel aside and begin tugging the orange apart one section at a time. The smell is much stronger now. You can almost taste it, can’t you? Pop a section into your mouth and bite down, hearing the fruit break apart as you do. Your taste buds explode with the sweet, orangey taste. Pop another section into your mouth and feel the moisture of the orange on your lips. Isn’t it delicious?

While not all products can be described using the five senses, you can certainly describe most products using many of the senses.

For example, why do people like to go horseback riding? To feel the wind whipping through their hair? To “taste” the freedom of getting away from behind a desk? To breath in the clean air?

Obviously, these aren’t words used to describe a product when it comes to getting rankings, but I’m not talking about rankings. I’m talking about conversions . . . I’m talking about writing content that appeals to your target audiences.

If you own a flower shop, describe some of your romantic flower arrangements using romantic words . . . rose petals so soft that they feel like a lover’s touch. Then, include a card using those words with the flower arrangement. The buyer may not have the words himself, but the flower arrangement will say it all. Your USP could be that “Our Floral Arrangements Say It All.” (or whatever)

Another idea:

It may not be your product that invokes the senses but the setting in which you place the product. For example:

Psychedelic orange orb ladies’ watch that brings back memories of the smell of patchouli and the sound of Janis Joplin

The whole idea is to put the potential buyer in the mood for this nostalgic collector’s watch. In this case, the smell of patchouli and the sound of Janis Joplin definitely puts me in the era of this particular watch. I can see and smell and feel the era. I’m there, ready to click the “Buy Now” button!

What do people want to do when they watch TV? Eat popcorn. If you sell TVs online, put your readers in the setting by describing the taste and smell of popcorn, relaxing on your cool leather recliner, drinking a cold beer with your buddies as you watch football, etc. Bring your readers into the scene so they can feel how it would be if they owned the TV.

Try it. Open up your five senses and TRY IT!

Good luck!

Robin

P.S. This beautiful picture is owned by David Singer, a past workshop of mine. He’s quite a photographer, and he’s letting me use a number of his photos on my blog. David has a Web site devoted to x-ray inspection systems (Vidisco). His site is rather amazing. Take a look at this x-ray picture of a gun that his x-ray equipment produced. Wow!

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Do you realize how big “nostalgia” is these days? Think about it. What are you nostalgic about?

It depends on your age group. I’m nostalgic about Halloween. I love to remember what it was like to trick or treat as a child. What fun we had racing from house to house with our bags of candy and little flashlights, and how upset we were when the bags broke. We were little kids dressed like ghosts, witches, and fairies–all having a wonderful time. (These were the “good old days” before the demented people put razor blades in candy and when Halloween was still a holiday just for kids and the young at heart.)

As a search engine optimizer, I’m nostalic about InfoSeek and Inktomi, Excite and Snap. Do you remember those days?

Think about your industry. What is there to be nostalgic about in your industry?

Write content centered around those different aspects of nostalgia and draw in traffic to your site. Remember that any valuable content you create will open potential windows of traffic into your site.

Those who are thinking too logically will question this way of thinking. Why should they create a page of content on the history of the Wizard of Oz if they sell the movie or collectibles about the movie? People (like me) who are fascinated by the background of the movie would be drawn in to the site to read the valuable information. We are one of your target audiences! Show us what you have for sale (not in a hard sell way, of course), and we’ll definitely consider buying from you.

Let’s look at it in a slightly different way. If you create this wealth of information on your site, you’ll become an authority on the subject. Other sites will link to your site because of the valuable information you provide.

Nostalgia is just ONE of the different types of information you can provide.

Your assignment today is a slightly different one, but the topic is nostalgia. One of the biggest problems is that many people don’t know how to get started with their content writing. They don’t know where to begin. You can call it writer’s block if you want, but it’s more a case of not knowing where to start or being afraid of not writing anything “good.”

Let me tell you two little secrets. Ernest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.” Please forgive the language, but it does make a very vivid, colorful point.

Second secret: Out of all the writing I’ve read from my students, every single piece of it has been good. EVERY SINGLE PIECE HAS BEEN GOOD. The same thing is true from you. (Don’t argue with me.)

How do you get past “writer’s block?” Just write. Don’t worry about where you start. Start at the end, in the middle, WHEREVER. Just write.

So, here’s your assignment. Think of something nostalgic about your industry. Go to your word processing system. Set the timer on your cell phone to go off in 15 minutes. Start typing. Don’t pause to answer the phone, talk to your associate, or ANYTHING ELSE. Tell your family if you work at home that you can’t be disturbed for 15 minutes.

Then start typing about your topic. Don’t pause in your typing. Don’t hesitate.

If you pause to think, immediately write down what you’re thinking about, even if it has nothing to do with the topic.

In other words, just WRITE for 15 minutes. Don’t worry about starting at the beginning. Don’t worry about how it sounds. Just WRITE. Don’t edit. Don’t worry about misspellings or grammar.

Let the words flow from your mind. Don’t watch the clock. Just WRITE.

If this is difficult for you, practice until it becomes more natural. It will become easier with time. You want to get to where you write about your topic from the heart for your VISITORS–to where you’re giving them valuable information about whatever topic you choose.

If you can’t think of anything nostalgic about your industry, think of another topic and do the same assignment using that topic.

The idea is to get past the point of being “afraid” to put down the first words.

Tell me about your experiences.

Robin

P.S. Don’t throw away your writing. We’ll want to edit it and put it on your Web site for nostalic content!

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