Business owners and executives are very busy, often involved in many different aspects of their company and operating with stretched resources at best. Creating and maintaining a network of quality content that resonates with your target audiences is time-consuming work that requires careful analysis. Your brand deserves to be seen – and with the right help, there are ten powerful steps you can take to attract more customers and generate more revenue.

In my latest article, 10 Ways To Promote Your Business In 2011, published in Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine, I demystify the world of web-based marketing and reveal the truth of ten simple steps to advance your online presence that will attract highly qualified customers to your door, website, phone, email – wherever you want. That sounds nice, right?

How to promote your business online with a powerful marketing strategy

At the heart of a powerful marketing strategy is a website that has been tailored to attract new customers and keep your current customers engaged. In 10 Ways To Promote Your Business in 2011, I explain the commercial value of original website content and discuss how the structure and format of your site is a vital element of search engine optimization (SEO). You will learn how keeping your content fresh and constantly evolving can have a direct impact on the growth of your business.

You will also learn how effectively placed external content can set the foundation for millions of dollars in revenue and even more importantly, how your brand can turn into a recognizable, respected name by embracing the possibilities that are right in front of you. By using a customized package of varied and exciting content written by experts in your field, you can give your business the opportunity it deserves to evolve for years to come, not just in 2011, but 2012 and beyond.

You will see how any successful marketing campaign is made up of three elements that come together to produce impressive results:

• Increased Visitor Numbers To Your Website – It’s your job to get yourself noticed by using SEO website copy, case studies, white papers, blog posts, articles, press releases, advertising space and other techniques.
• Better Brand Awareness – Regardless of how competitive your industry is, the right content can guarantee that your target market sees your business as a significant brand in your industry.
• Turn Visitors Into Revenue – Once potential customers have been drawn to your website, give them the calls to action they need to achieve an impressive return on your investment.

In addition to discussing the benefits and methods of online marketing, the 10 Ways To Promote Your Business In 2011 article offers an insight into the realities of click through rates and conversions. I look at the real results that quality promotion can deliver and give you all the information you need to ensure that an increase in highly qualified visitors means an increase in sales for your business. So how do you leverage these powerful marketing strategies?

Promote your business in 2011 and beyond with Young Copy

Young Copy provides an incredible selection of professional copywriting services including press releases, articles, case studies, and high performance blog posts. We even developed an all-inclusive marketing services solution customized to meet your budget and needs. All Young Copy promotional writing services, both individually and combined, can transform your business’ brand image fast and offer the return on investment you have always wanted for your business. Young Copy’s team of expert writers and SEO specialists ensure that every service is carefully tailored to your unique business needs, and that every piece of content speaks directly to your target market.

Using any of Young Copy’s promotional writing and marketing services, we guarantee a consistent, high-quality range of fresh, creative content that grabs the attention of the market you want to sell to, as well as attract search engine spiders including Google, Yahoo, and Bing to improve your search engine rankings. Imagine ranking #1 for your most competitive keywords. You can do that with Young Copy.

See the potential of online marketing through 2011 and beyond

If online marketing is not already a key element of your advertising resource, 10 Ways To Promote Your Business in 2011 is an indispensible guide to what the web can do for you. If you are one of the few companies truly taking advantage of the Internet, my article just might reveal a few truths about unlocking the full potential of excellent website copy and SEO.

Explore the possibilities of great online marketing services, promotional writing services, and technical writing services, and see how Young Copy can promote your business or contact us today to get started with a powerful online presence.

So why now?

Over the years Young Copy has been perfecting website content and copywriting to help clients increase their revenue. Although Young Copy is a promotional and technical writing services firm, clients have always requested marketing services including search engine optimization (SEO) services as well as marketing design services such as website design, banner design, magazine ad design and so on. That said, we have started surfacing those marketing services so more clients can be aware of everything we offer.

As a team, Young Copy has the expertise and skills to fully audit an organization’s website for everything including website content, copy, SEO, design, and ongoing marketing as part of our customized marketing solutions. After launching several successful projects that incorporated everything we do, I decided to step back and perform a website audit on Young Copy’s website. As a result of putting all our services together into one powerful marketing communication strategy, I wrote an article in Ping! Zine detailing what a website auditor does and can do for your business.

What you will learn

If you want to increase revenue generated by your website, you should consider reading the “Are you ready for a website audit?” article. You will learn what a website auditor is and does. Plus you will get insight as to the many aspects of having a website audit completed by a professional website auditor.

For example, you will be introduced to many of the practices we use every day to help clients achieve remarkable success including:

• Proper Call-to-Action
• Usability
• Website Design
• SEO
• Copywriting
• Brand Equity

Before you spend more of your hard earned dollars on advertising campaigns, website design services, SEO copywriting services, and other marketing initiatives, you need to spend a few minutes and read over the items defined in the “Are you ready for a website audit?”article.

Don’t spend another minute wondering what it takes to generate more revenue with your website. Instead, read the “Are you ready for a website audit?” article and learn how you can increase your visitor-to-customer ratio by implementing the ideas and concepts provided to you by a professional website auditor.

How to get the article

There are three ways you can read the article.

1. Download the PDF version of Are you ready for a website audit?.

2. Read the full HTML version in the Young Copy Resource Center on the Are you ready for a website audit? page.

3. Visit Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine, download issue 36, and turn to page 24.

What you’ll learn

You may already be utilizing standard press releases, but you may not be generating the results you want or expect from a press release marketing campaign. As Senior Editor of Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine, I recently published an article detailing the major differences between standard and optimized press releases.

Why you should read the article

Take a few minutes to read the article. You’ll learn cost vs return on investment, ranking high in search engines, longevity vs quick traffic, how to track results, and much more. As a professional writer, I have written dozens of successful optimized press releases for clients. And all have achieved remarkable results: generating leads, traffic, and increasing revenue. You too can take advantage of press release marketing to boost your revenues. It’s worth the investment and you’ll be able to see results immediately. But you need to read the article to find out how you can achieve more traffic and revenue for your business.

How to get the article

There are three ways you can read the article.

1. Download the PDF version of Standard Press Releases vs Optimized Press Releases.

2. Read the full HTML version in the Young Copy Resource Center on the Press Releases – Standard or Optimized? page.

3. Visit Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine, download issue 33, and turn to page 49.

What is an optimized press release?

An optimized press release is just like a standard press release, but written and formatted for search engines. The average press release is about 400-500 words, depending on what you have to say for that particular release. For approximately every 100 words, you include a text link back to your website using a variety of keywords and phrases that your customers use when searching through their favorite search engine. Remember, Google counts for the majority of your traffic. (If you disagree with me on that, talk to me.)

Do optimized press releases work?

You bet they do. I’ve seen clients move to the top of search engine rankings by utilizing our optimized press release writing services. We distributed them too. You’ll get an instant boost in traffic (if they are done right). And you’ll see some of your lower ranking keywords and phrases move up quickly in the search engines. When you distribute an optimized press release, Google picks up your content because it’s fresh, newsworthy, and … it’s filled with keywords that attract your audience.

The Upside

You get links back to your site instantly. Initially you’ll get a surge in traffic with each release. However, the links stay out there in cyberspace for a long time. Thus you get the benefits of link building. Trust me. It works.

Build momentum

In order maintain your marketing momentum with optimized press releases, you need to distribute often. How often you ask?

How often should you send a press release?

People often ask me, “How often should I send a press release?” I tell them, “As often as you can as long as it’s newsworthy.” You can see results by sending at least one a month. But if you have newsworthy topics that require more than one release per month, send no more than one a week. That said, anywhere from 1-4 releases per month will really help your branding, traffic, and SEO results.

What not to do

Some companies (not that I’m going to mention any names) will send a press release every other day. Yes, it helps with branding, but guess what? They are not listed at the top of the search engine rankings, especially in Google. Want to know specific examples? Send me an email, call, or post in the comments section to find out.

Tell me what you think

Have you utilized optimized press releases for your company? Did they work? Did they meet your expectations? How often did you send a release? Agree/disagree with me on anything I’ve written in this post or any other post?

I want to hear from you. I’ll write a featured post on your company and your campaign. You can send me an email, call, or post in the comments below to get started.

4.8 million views and counting

The Wario Land: Shake It! video has been viewed over 4.8 million times since its launch (as of today’s posting). Impressive? You bet. But what are the numbers on increase of sales or exposure to the game itself? Although the video is cool and the effect from a marketing point is right-on in terms of creativity, metrics above all are most important.

Interviewing the Wii marketing executive

If you follow my blog (if not subscribe today), you know that I frequently interview executives from CEOs to VPs of Marketing/Sales. Hearing the results and experiences of the executives who develop brilliant marketing campaigns, intelligent software that’s user-friendly, or just all-out cool businesses, is one of the best ways to learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to achieving your successes.

Moving forward, I will try to secure an interview with the executive behind the Wario Land: ShakeIt! video and see what the metrics are and what the return on investment (ROI) is for the campaign.

Tell me what you think

Did you like the Wario Land: ShakeIt! video? Do you think it will prove to be a successful marketing campaign? Have you come across other cool internet marketing ideas? Or have you implemented a cool Internet marketing idea at your organization that achieved great results?

I want to hear from you. I’ll write a featured post on your company and your campaign. You can send me an email, call, or post in the comments below to get started.

First, take a look at the Dependable Solutions case study. Then read the previous blog post Developing A Winning Advertising Slogan. Once you have read the case study and the previous blog post, you should have an idea as to what Dependable Solutions provides to their clients. To sum up, they help organizations achieve the following:

• A Manageable IT Infrastructure
• A Stable, Secure Network and Computer Setup
• 99.9% Uptime

The New Slogan

I came up with a few slogans the company could use, but ultimately we decided on “Your Technology Management Experts” as the new slogan.

Remember the Peer1 and SingleHop slogans I discussed previously? Both start with “We” and state what the company does for its clients. For the Dependable Solutions slogan, I used “Your” instead of “We” to help establish a personal connection with the company’s target audiences. Instead of saying “Your Technology Management Experts,” I could have stated, “We Are Technology Management Experts.” The slogan would still be powerful, but by using the word “Your,” Dependable Solutions can build a more personal connection.

Since the company manages technology solutions for its clients, I decided to use a form of “manages” and “technology” in the slogan. And to distinguish Dependable Solutions from other companies, I incorporated the word “Experts.” Take the personal connection factor “Your,” combine that with “Technology Management,” then add “Experts” to round it out.

Success Today

The slogan, along with the postcards, website copy, and brochure copy, was launched November 2007. Today, eight months later, Dependable Solutions has doubled its number of employees, opened a new store front for home users needing technology assistance, and expanded into new vertical markets. The company is consistently increasing revenues, adding new clients and employees, and developing new relationships with its new marketing copy and new winning slogan.

Coming Up…

In the coming weeks, I will share more topics and ideas on creating and developing winning advertising slogans.

1. Developing a winning slogan for Young Copy. Since I develop business slogans for my clients, why not go ahead and develop one for Young Copy.

2. Launching the new Young Copy slogan. Will it be successful? I think so. After all, if I develop winning slogans for my clients, I can do the same for Young Copy.

Slogans, a favorite topic

One of my favorite topics – developing a winning slogan. Aside from it being easy, at least it is for me, developing a slogan is one of the best things you can do for your company. But unless you understand the fundamentals of how to develop a catchy slogan that will stay in the minds of your customers, do not attempt to develop one on your own. So before you consider creating a slogan for your business, take a look at the following process I use when I create slogans for Young Copy clients.

Two sides to great slogans

First you need to understand there are two sides to every great slogan. One side represents what you do and the other side represents how what you do benefits your customers. Each side can consist of one or multiple words. And when you bring both sides together, you have an effective business slogan. For example, I wrote about PEER 1’s “We Get IT” slogan a while back. Let’s break the slogan into multiple pieces.

“We” represents PEER 1. “Get IT” represents how customers benefit from using PEER 1. If you read the We Get IT – Great Branding? blog post, you know “IT” is a play on “it” and “Information Technology.” And you know that I think using a play on words as PEER 1 did is brilliant. You do not always have to use a play on words, but in some cases it could help you distinguish your company’s slogan from your competitors’ slogans – if they even have a slogan.

Don’t have a slogan?

Most companies do not have slogans, much less a catchy slogan. If they do, at least based on my experience, they rarely get it right. On top of rarely getting it right, the ones that do usually spend way too much money to have a team of creative people come up with the right words to burn on people’s memories. I’m not suggesting that everybody who reads this can go out and create a slogan on their own and it be good, but it will help you understand what you need to know if you decide to work with your own marketing team or you decide to outsource your “slogan” project to a professional.

Get a free Information Technology (IT) or related slogan.

You’ll like SingleHop’s slogan

Back to the two sides of a company slogan. Even though the entire slogan should represent your company and what you do for customers, the first side should represent your company’s services in one or two words. Jot down a few words that describe your company’s solutions, services, or products. For example, SingleHop, a managed dedicated server company, created the “We Manage IT Differently” slogan. Again we see a play on words using “it” and “IT” for Information Technology.

Side A: “We Manage IT”

Side B: “Manage IT Differently”

Side A represents what SingleHop does best – they manage Information Technology. In this case they manage dedicated servers.

Side B represents what they do for customers – they manage Information Technology different than their competitors.

Making the slogan better

Could the slogan be better? Absolutely. But it’s still a useful advertising slogan because it intrigues customers and motivates customers to find out how SingleHop manages Information Technology differently. Of course, their slogan has no meaning to you unless you are shopping for a new dedicated server hosting company and you need a company to provide management services for your dedicated server.

To make their slogan better, let’s follow the logical process I use when I develop slogans for my clients. We know that SingleHop provides dedicated server hosting and manages dedicated servers. But I have one question – how do they do it differently? Actually I have many questions. Do they do it cheaper? Do they have better support? Do they have more qualified engineers managing dedicated servers? Do they have better software in place? Is their network better? I could go on until I have exhausted every question imaginable. Yes, it takes asking the right questions, and in some cases, a lot of the right questions in order to come up with an advertising slogan that does its job well. On the other hand, it may only take a few questions to get the best information needed to develop a winning slogan for your company.

Looking into the future

Or maybe it goes back to my original point that “it intrigues customers and motivates customers to find out how SingleHop manages Information Technology differently.” Maybe customers see the slogan and start a conversation with the SingleHop team to learn more about how they do it differently. If that’s the case, the slogan should work well. Down the road I will interview the SingleHop team and find out how well their company slogan is working.

Related posts and more

1. Developing a winning slogan for a technology management company.
Learn how I created a slogan to help a technology management company stay in the minds of their clients.

2. Developing a winning slogan for Young Copy.
Since I develop business slogans for my clients, why not go ahead and develop one for Young Copy.

3. Launching the new Young Copy slogan. Will it be successful? I think so. After all, if I develop winning slogans for my clients, I can do the same for Young Copy. Blog post coming soon!

Post your comments

I want your opinion(s). Agree or disagree with this post? Have a better slogan in mind? Want to challenge the post in any way? Post your comments today. Let me know what you think.

I talk to people in the software and hosting industry daily. And since one of my most popular services is press release writing and distribution, Parallels always comes up in the conversation. Either my client mentions the name first or I ask them to give me their 30 second history on the company. To date, everyone I talk to in the industry accurately describes the company’s history. So how does a software company develop a new brand, launch the new brand, and become a well known name in the industry – and do it in less than three months?

Parallels® (formerly SWsoft) is a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software that optimizes computing for consumers, businesses, and service providers across all major hardware, operating system, and virtualization platforms. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with 900 employees in North America, Europe, and Asia.

I personally think Parallels has an impressive marketing strategy, dating back to Plesk, their hosting control panel company. The marketing team at Parallels knows exactly what it takes to build a brand and gain recognition in the industry. Based on what I see everyday in hosting news related sites, Parallels takes advantage of press releases. From mid January 2008 to today, Parallels has released at least 15-20 press releases. That’s an average of five a month. I recommend to my clients they should release at least 1-2 times a month and if budget allows, distribute press releases four times a month.

Imagine what Parallels (or your company) could achieve if they utilized optimized press release writing services.

In the future I hope to interview the brilliant minds around the new Parallels brand. Hopefully I can chat with Kurt Daniels to learn more about the new Parallels initiative. I am most curious to see how well their press release marketing strategies help increase sales for their flagship products:

Parallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Virtuozzo Containers
Parallels Plesk Control Panel

Meanwhile, please sign up for the Young Copy feed by clicking on the “Subscribe to RSS Feed” graphic to your right. If you have questions regarding how a well planned, well written, and well executed press release marketing strategy can help you achieve better branding and more revenue, please send your questions via the Contact form.

If you have been reviewing my website, you know that I provide both promotional writing services and technical writing services. Since I mainly write for software, hosting, and technology companies, white paper writing falls under both types of services. That said, I decided to place the Applicure white paper in the promotional writing portfolio and the technical writing portfolio.

The Applicure white paper is a perfect example of how a technology company can successfully outsource their writing projects to an off-site, remote professional writer. I think part of the success comes from Applicure’s marketing team. They did a great job in providing feedback to me during the white paper writing process. As a result, the white paper, the process, and the remote team communication turned out better than I expected. Team collaboration goes a long way and becomes extremely important even if team members are thousands of miles away from each other and located in two countries – (Cincinnati, OH, U.S.) and Israel.

Immediately following the white paper, the Applicure marketing team requested I write copy for a new brochure they planned to use to attract new prospects. The brochure’s goal: reach new customers in the U.S. market with a target audience consisting primarily of executives and upper management at U.S. based data centers. I will post more about the brochure copy in a future post.

As someone who practices professional writing daily, I have first-hand experience with how powerful a press release marketing strategy can be for companies. When you combine the 10 rules I listed in the article with optimized press release writing and optimized press release services, you can generate more traffic and more exposure to your potential customers, partners, and anyone interested in your products and services.

In the coming weeks and months I plan on writing posts and developing case studies on how well optimized press release writing works for my clients. The companies interviewed will be sharing the top benefits they receive from our regular press release writing, optimization techniques, and press release distribution methods.