SiteSell: The Blog

Your Site's Voice

Ken's Blog

"Should I use "you" or "we" when I am writing?"

This question pops up in the SBI! forums every so often.  For many sites, it's not an issue.  For example, in a travel site, you talk about your travels (so you use largely "I" and "we").  And if applicable, draw people into dialogue on your Content 2.0 site, using "you" to invite people.

But for some sites, you need to think about the choice.  As one SBIer noted, based on her interpretation of "Make Your Content PREsell!"...

'I think that which voice you choose depends on if you want to be perceived as an 'expert expert' or somebody more approachable.'

The bottom line question for a site, and for your core audience (you simply must be able to visualize your typical visitor/customer), is...

1) Do you want to have the voice of an authority?  This is especially strong if you are a clinical psychologist who wants to sell your services, for example.  There are, I am sure, other scenarios where the "authoritative voice" that talks to ("you") works just fine.  Just remember... if you establish "authority" in this area, you should be able to back it up.

2) Do you want to be one of your visitors ("we")?  A closer, more intimate, and sharing voice?  You are one of them, have been there, suffered that.  You share solutions, etc.  As you see, a totally different approach. You establish another type of "authority"... experience.

So...

The answer to the we or you question has to do with...

• who your visitors are and...

• the whole direction/VPP (Valuable PREselling Proposition) you plan for your site.

Think about both factors when you are figuring out your site's voice.

All the best,

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What's A Typical Traffic Pattern?

Ken's Blog

Every now and then, we all need to "rise out and above ourselves" and see the big picture, not of where we are, but where we are headed.

We generally see three basic traffic patterns...

1) Exceptional - there is a steady increase in traffic, month after month, starting quickly (in the first weeks to couple of months) and growing steadily and well thereafter.  This is usually a sign of a great niche (good demand to supply ratios for many keywords), well executed with good content, and/or someone who is working harder than average and is creating a lot of good content, building inbound links, etc.

2) Moderate -- the more typical pattern is a site that runs in the 10s to 80s (per day) for a few months, sees a jump to the 100-300 range, which seems to be the critical hump after which growth is steady.  The period and exact levels vary with the niche and the time invested.

3) Dismal -- this pattern is generally due to a bad niche (too general being the most common mistake) and/or just not investing the time to build pages and links.

Overall, the conclusion is... The better the niche and the more time invested, the better you do.

And that, believe it or not, got me thinking about the stock market and site traffic.  Here is the connection...

Raising Your "M" Game

Ken's Blog

PREsold customers are easier to convert.  By providing high-value, relevant content to your visitors through Keyword-Focused Content Pages, you build trust, credibility and a willing-to-buy mindset.

There is no reason in the world that Keyword-Focused Content Pages cannot be Product-Focused Content Pages.  Just think of the advantages...

• Online stores usually have several products per page. You focus on one product per page instead. What an edge!...
• You take the time to build good information about each product.  You win the Search Engine wars and then you PREsell. 
• It's C T P M for products!

This is a fantastic approach if you want to become a distributor/agent/dropshipper of big ticket hard goods.  (It can also be useful for Affiliates and Network marketers.)

By the time a customer is looking for a specific product number, model number, etc., s/he is far along in the buying cycle.  Think about how people search-then-buy online...

Put Your Blinders On!

Ken's Blog

One of my favorite jokes is also an excellent teaching tool.  It starts with a little old lady calling the police...

"You have to come immediately.  There's a man walking around in his apartment across the street, with all the lights on, stark naked."

The police rush over.  The officer looks across and says...

"Madam, he's only naked from the waist up."

She replies...

"No he's not.  Stand on the table.  Stand on the table."

As you go about your day building your business with SBI!, you too may become distracted by other people's activities or theories or tips.  Sometimes, the information can overwhelm or cause you considerable agitation.  At its worst, it can put you into a state of "paralysis by analysis."

What's the solution?

"Climb down from the table" and put on your SBI! Blinders...

The Canary In The Mine For Blogging

Ken's Blog

I read Helen Leggatt's BizReport article on how teens no longer consider blogging to be "cool" and that social networking sites are now the "in" place to hang out.  The article misses the point and makes a point.

Let's OVERsimplify to set the stage...

If you asked me 15-20 years ago what the Net was for, I would have told you "e-mail and a bunch of obscure bulletin boards."  If you asked me just 5-10 years ago what the Web was "for," I would have told you it was to "find information."  If you asked me today what this entire interwoven network of smart phones, laptops, notebooks, and various other gizmos is "for," I'd tell you to "find information and to socialize."

The first aspect provides us all with the same huge business opportunity that it always has.  The fact that there is a second aspect does not draw back from the first (which is bigger than ever).  It's simply something new.  The pie grows; it's not being divided up.

While e-mail (15-20 year history) is 1-to-1 socializing, the current socializing is many-to-many.  It's discovery, networking, and a million other things.  It can be used as an adjunct to building your business, just like offline socializing (golf, anyone?).  But it's not your business, so don't get misled when you see the GetRichQuick crowd promising you miracles with social strategies.

Where does blogging fit in?...

The Entrepreneurial Time Mindset

Ken's Blog

Owning and building a business, whether it's online or offline, takes a considerable amount of work in the first few months.  It also requires that you change your mindset.  Instead of seeing yourself as an "employee," you now need to view yourself as an "entrepreneur."

With this mindset, you understand that you must invest time and energy upfront to build a thriving business.  Every serious entrepreneurial effort starts that way.

I'll use myself as an example...

It All Started From 7 Bucks Back in 2003

Ken's Blog

SBIers Elad and Tamar Shippony (www.coolest-parties.com) were recently awarded BuyCostumes.com's annual Affiliate Sweepstakes Grand Prize of $10,000. Elad shared this exciting news in the SBI! Forums. Here's a snippet from his post...

"I still find it hard to believe. Not only winning the prize (which alone is quite overwhelming). But of what it means to be an affiliate and seeing how affiliate marketing has changed our lives and the lives of so many other Web site owners. It seems so unreal. Yet, affiliate marketing is for real. And to think that it all started from 7 bucks back in 2003."

The key phrase is, "It all started from 7 bucks back in 2003." The little snowball, barely more than a snowflake, tells you that all you have to do is keep on keeping on.

Keep on doing what?...

Google's Search Improvements

Ken's Blog

Google has launched a ton of search improvements lately that have SEOers either crying, crying foul (the usual "Google owes me a living" or some variation thereof), or crying out that they are still relevant (as they become less and less so, at least in the traditional meaning of the SEO term).

It reminds me of "The Tao of CTPM/Tao of SBI!/Why SEO Is Doomed," first published in 2004 (I think?)...

http://www.sitesell.com/tao-of-ctpm.pdf

With personalized search, Google tracks everyone's search history for 6 months (logged in as a user or not). They make it tricky enough to opt out of the program that 99% won't. (I'm not sure if a mere cookie erase will do the trick or if the IP address also comes into play -- the tech details are not crystal clear.)

So, for example, if you are someone who tends to search on anguilla and have enjoyed anguilla-beaches.com (i.e., you chose it previously, you didn't bounce back right away, etc.), Google will likely bump other anguilla-beaches.com sites up a tad.

You can't SEO that, unless...

Where Are All Those 200+ Million Blogs in the SERPS?

Ken's Blog

A statement by an SBIer in the SBI! Forums got me thinking...

'When I google for information, it is always a website where I find my information.'

This is a major concept. How come, with 200+ million blogs, bloggers don't dominate the Search Engine Results Pages ("SERPS")?

It's interesting how everyone seems to overlook this "plain view evidence," especially when we've written posts about how SBI!-built theme-based content sites have a disproportionately high % of Top 10 rankings.

Let's take a closer look at what's happening on the SERPS...

Create a Strong Business-Building Chain

Ken's Blog

There are many mistakes that small e-business owners make. I would say that most non-SBIers fail simply because they don't have the right process-and-tools to take them all the way.

They may think they do, but they're usually just buying into a faulty model (a Get-Rich-Quick scam, the latest hot thing, whatever). Or they insist on making their lives 100 times harder than it needs to be by following all the gurus (each with different opinions), by keeping on top of things, by changing directions 100 times (as the gurus change), by spending money on more and more "must have" tools, etc.

These entrepreneurs fail for so many reasons. As a result, there's no "biggest" reason to pinpoint. Except, of course, that they should have chosen SBI! to build their business. The sad part is that they usually don't learn from their mistakes and they'll either repeat the same ones or make new ones the next time around.

So what about SBIers? Are you immune to mistakes?...