Giveaway for $100 in Google Ads

If you’re the owner of a new website, a growing business, or a published author, it’s likely that you’ve heard of search advertising, also known as search engine marketing (SEM), or pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Essentially, those little ads you see when you do a Google search, is part of an ad campaign.

Search advertising is an effective way to reach the people performing specific searches—including the specific people your business is looking for. Don’t miss out on this opportunity.

Search Engine Marketing Gap

Search Engine Marketing Gap (Photo: Intersection Consulting)

Most likely you have also heard of Google Adwords. Essentially, Google Adwords makes setting up an ad campaign fairly straight-forward and easy to set-up.

Maybe you are a freelance writer, or have a new book out that you want to get out on the Internet.But, you might be wondering, could it actually work for your particular goals?

Why Use Google Adwords?

  • It’s effective, fast, easy, and flexible:  Google is the most popular search engine with over 2 billion searches everyday. More people using Google means more of your target audience will see your ads. You can get your AdWords campaign up and running quickly. No need to be a webmaster or highly technical with easy set up. You always have complete control to change, pause, or end your ad campaign anytime.
  • Target locally: AdWords lets you be incredibly specific when it comes to targeting your ads. You can select from countries, territories, regions and cities when placing your ad. You can choose a point on the map and specify a radius around it where your ads will appear, and even exclude certain areas within your selected locations. Growing, local businesses can make sure Google AdWords Localization they’re reaching their regional audience.
  • There’s no risk: You only pay when someone clicks on your ad and is directed to your website—no strings attached!

As a web owner and freelance writer, I know how important it is to grow my business. In the past, I have gained a few new clients based on advertising alone. Sometimes you have to invest a little bit of money in order to grow your business. Google Adwords can walk you through this same process and get your campaigns going to advertise your business/service/book/website.

The Adwords Giveaway

Now that I have piqued your interest, I want to give 10 business owners a chance to win $100 in free Google Adwords*. In order to participate, please like me fan page on Facebook, follow me on Twitter and comment below as to why or how Adwords could help your business.  I will randomly draw 10 winners.

Fine Print:

* To earn $100, you must spend $25.

Once I randomly draw the winners, I will email you with the code.

I am also running the contest on my travel blog, for an increased opportunity to win.

Remember, follow me fan page, Twitter, and comment below to be eligible! 

HURRY!!! The contest will end at 10 p.m MST on February 21st. Good luck!

25 Steps to Analyzing Your Website Audience

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Kimberly Gino. Please read more about Kimberly in the bio footer.

P question

Who is your audience?

If you are going to write, you must write with purpose and make sure that your words are relevant to your audience. To connect with your readers, you must first understand them. Considering the answers to the below questions will help you get a clear idea of who they are, what they need, and most importantly, why they are taking time to read your words. Only by considering this you will be able to succeed in writing for others.

1. Is your reader a man, woman, or child?
You will want to structure your writing so that it is appropriate for your audience.

2. How old are they?
Your words need to be age-appropriate.

3. Have they just started a career, at mid-point in their working lives, or are they close to retirement age? The subjects you choose to write about will appeal to different age groups at different points in time. A person who has just started a job is less likely to want to read about retirement planning than someone who has been in the workforce for a few years, even if the information is something he or she could use.

4. Are they married, single, divorced, or widowed?
Some topics are more appropriate for people in a specific category. If you are writing for a specific niche, you will want to make sure you are focusing on topics your readers will find informative or entertaining, depending on what your want to achieve with the piece.

5. Where do they live? In a large, urban area, or a small town?
Not everyone lives in large cities, and you want to be sure to include examples and anecdotes which include readers who live in smaller locations as well.

6. Do they work? If so, do they work full-time or part-time?
Part-time work is a fact of life for many people, and not always by choice.

7. How do they get to work?
Do they drive or take public transit?

8. Is your audience unemployed or underemployed?
Some topics you choose to discuss may be particularly interesting for people who want to find a job or find their next job.

9. Does your audience have children? There are many topics you can write about which are of interest to parents, since being one does not stop when children leave home.

10. If your target audience has children, are the children a certain age (newborn, school aged, teen, adult children).
New parents are focused on caring for the baby and have little time for themselves, while parents of older children may have more balance in their life.

11. What kinds of activities are their children involved in?
This information can give you a clue to the amount of leisure time (or lack thereof) your target audience has.

12. Does your audience own or rent their home?

Homeowners have different interests than renters, and you will want to make sure your topic is geared toward the right angle.

13. Do they live in an apartment, condominium, or fully-detached home?
Apartment and condominium dwellers don’t have to deal with outside work as part of taking care of a home, but homeowners do. If you are writing for people who live in both types of dwellings, make sure that your topics are general enough so that they apply to each one.

14. Where do they spend their vacation time?
Do they stay close to home or go on a big trip?

15. What does your audience do in their leisure time?
Try to picture whether your reader enjoys watching or participating in sports, or if he or she enjoys other types of leisure activities.

16. Does your audience financially support a certain charity?
This information will give you an idea of the types of issues which are closest to your audience’s heart.

17. Do they perform volunteer work for a cause they believe in?
A person who gives his or her time takes the level of support one step further.

18. Does your target audience read a daily newspaper?
You will want to know how your target audience gets information, either online or in print form.

19. How much time does your audience spend online?
Surfing the Internet is a regular activity for a lot of people.

20. What problem are they looking to solve right now?
Offer them a helpful solution to help deal with it.

21. Crisis?
Has your audience’s life changed over the past few years with the global economic crisis and is this something you need to address in your topic?

22. Are they looking for some baby steps they can implement today or are they prepared to stick with a longer solution?  
Start with your reader’s goals and work back from that point to find an angle for your writing.

23. Is your audience looking for an escape from the challenges they are facing right now? 
It may help to put yourself in their shoes for a time to see if the best way to help them is to get them to focus on something else for a short time.

24. Does your audience use social media?
If so, which sites are they most active on?

25. What does your audience need from you right now?
Figure out what the void is and write about it.

By taking the time to get a really clear picture of your target audience, you will be able to understand what they need from you. Your writing will be crisp, sharp, easy and very relevant to their needs.

Business Tips for Pinterest

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Steven  Please read more about Steven in the bio footer.

Don’t know what Pinterest is all about? Then it must have been long since you left the World Wide Web. Welcome back! Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networking sites with over 4,000% growth in the last six months. It also has an interesting engagement features ranking third with 88.3 minutes on the average per visitor after Facebook and Tumblr.

English: Red Pinterest logo
Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While most social networking sites started as a platform for social connections and interactions, they hold several business advantages that many entrepreneurs and businesses have started taking advantage of.

Pinterest is not an exception. It allows users to organize and share digital images of interest. This could be personal or business related but whichever it is, Pinterest gets it to the world to see with an option to even re-pin them, just like the Facebook “Like” and Google “+1”.

Just like the album in your home, Pinterest offers you a tool called ‘Boards’ to hold your photos called ‘pins’. You are not limited, in any way, to the number of boards you can create. And specifically for business, I’d advise you create as many boards as the categories of your products or services just as I did with my Mixbook review site.

Is Pinterest For Everyone?

If you will ever need customers for your products, or clients for your services, then Pinterest is for you. It is good for businesses that sell products as well as it is for those that render services. For the product selling businesses, you can pin photos of your products on different boards customized according to the category of products you sell. And for the service rendering businesses, you can pin different images that highlight your work.

For instance, you can pin a screenshot of your homepage, sample of your work if you are a graphic designer or artist, photos that inspire your target audience if you are a consulting business or a freelance writer, etc. Now you get the idea; there is virtually no business that can’t have a place on Pinterest.

Pinterest Traffic Generation

Every business in cyber space is struggling for this one thing: traffic –more customers! This is what we all want, to reach more potential customers and clients, entice them with what we do or sell, bring them to our site and give them the chance to see that we have what they want. Guess what? Pinterest offers you the opportunity to achieve this.

While sharing enticing photos, you can also write descriptions to accompany your pins. However, don’t just write to express yourself to viewers, write also to give your pin some reputation in the SERPs by using your targeted keywords.

Pins can also be shared across other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and when coupled with the links you create with them, will feed you site with more traffic. Personally, I have been getting a couple of visitors from pins pointing to my Pinnacle Studio coupon site. So, yes, it is achievable!

Be Simple and Offer More Value

Don’t be a selfish marketer; nothing can ever replace simplicity and unquestionable value. While pinning interesting photos for your potential customers, ensure to give them more reason to follow your boards by bringing other pins that may hold some value to them but complement your products and services.

For instance, if you are an artist with photos of beautiful flowers for home décor, you can complement these by linking to other home remodeling accessories. Also, a financial blogger can link to related blogs like those on loan sources and business ideas. The key is to know that it is not always about you but the entire accessories that revolve around your field.

Pin Blog Images and Videos

There is virtually no business without a blog. We all have one even when we may still have a separate business site. Blogs are what they are – informative web logs, which is why the search bots don’t joke with them. Hence while you publish articles on your blog with relevant images, don’t forget to pin every of the images on your pinboard. This will gain your blog even more link juice while creating another source for social traffic.

Additionally, we have all forgotten that Pinterest can also accommodate videos. So why not bring those YouTube video reviews and other informative shots for your followers?

Now it is your turn, have you started using Pinterest? How do you use it for business, blog or website promotions?

Are You a Real Writer?

Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Melissa Miller.  Please read more about Melissa in the bio footer.

Writer's Stop

Writer’s Stop (Photo credit: Stephh922)

When I was three years old, my father bought me a collection of Golden Books.  I was in my first days of pre-school, but he thought it was time I learned how to read. Every night, I would climb into his chair with him, and he would read the stories aloud to me. I don’t remember the exact moment I learned to read, or what story it was, but by the time I reached Kindergarten, I could read fluently. I have spent my entire life loving books and stories.

When I was old enough to answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The natural answer was, “A writer!”

In college, I pursued an English literature degree paired with creative writing. Perhaps it was because I had always known I wanted be a writer, that I never asked myself the incredibly important question, “How do I become a paid writer?”

Surprisingly, none of my professors thought it was necessary to include “How to find a job after college” in the syllabus. Since then, I have been a full-time writer, an editor and a blogger, but I have also been a full-time waitress, bartender and cashier. Today, I write full-time at work, and when I go home, I write to keep my prose and imagination limber.

The first thing you need to understand about becoming a professional writer is that it’s very competitive. This means each job for which you apply is receiving many applications. Each magazine or newspaper to which you submit your work is receiving multiple stories.

You will be rejected, ignored and dismissed. Your manuscript or story will end up in someone’s desk drawer or inbox, forgotten or overlooked. But take heart, dear readers-writers!

You aren’t a real writer until you receive your first rejection letter.

Once you reach that milestone, and have the guts to continue writing, you are on your path to professionalism.  Failure is very often a necessary part of success as it helps as grow and hone our craft. Consider this quote from Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling:

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy to finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one area where I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter, and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

There’s a lot of discussion about the value of a college education these days, especially a degree like English literature.

“Do you plan to teach?” People would ask when I told them what subject I had studied.

“No, I plan to write,” I would reply.

And yes, there were moments, especially in the wee morning hours after bartending, that I wished I had studied anything but English.

Yet, I would find myself writing poetry at three in the morning, trying to capture, in words, the way the streetlamps gilded the tree leaves against the darkness; and I knew that I had made the right decision. To me, there is nothing more potent or magical than the written word. It’s something that is anchored within me.

If you’re interesting in pursuing classes in writing, check out these free online courses. There are also paths to earn your English degree online. One of the most valuable aspects of taking a writing class is the sense of community it offers. It will also give you a professional advantage by offering insight into the competition you will be facing.

There are few people who can be successful on raw talent alone. Seek out those who support you, who understand your craft and your ambitions; and never give up.

Incorporating AWeber into Your Marketing Campaign

Image representing AWeber Communications as de...

Image via CrunchBase

You have probably heard of AWeber.  In a nutshell, AWeber is a great email marketing software used to capture names and email addresses for visitors who opt-in. This allows you to email the subscribers with newsletters, special offers, and updates about your business. Often, web owners will offer a free report in exchange for an email address.  AWeber has been helping over 100,000 businesses raise profits and build customer relationships for over 10 years.

The key is the relationship building! Too many people use autoresponders to just sell, sell, sell with affiliate links to every product under the sun!! Blah!! That is the quickest way to get people to unsubscribe. Ultimately, you want to sell a service or product to your list, but you have to offer value, not just sending them links to every product that comes your way.

On my Internet marketing blog and my More Income Blogging blog, I use the AWeber autoresponder software to give away free reports, to keep in touch with my subscribers, or if I want to recommend a good product. Many bloggers and Internet marketers use it for newsletters and other marketing campaigns.

I am not sure why I have not used it here on Inspired to Write. Truth be told, I don’t use email marketing the way I should be. It is not my strong point, and maybe that is why I have been putting it off here. I have a small report I have been working on along with my book – both about freelance writing.  I know many of my readers want to know more about making money as a writer. Why not capture those interested so I can speak with them directly and send them info that is not on my blog? I should.

Email marketing is fantastic – if you use it.  Just like anything you attempt to do to make money online – you have to apply it.  And apply it smartly. I am no email marketing expert, but I know most of the email marketing gurus use AWeber.

AWeber is reputable and makes email marketing much simpler than trying to track subscribers through your own email account, including follow ups, broadcasts, tracking, and more. This is a crucial part of your business because it allows you to build a list of customers and potential customers and to keep in touch with them on a regular basis.

AWeber is NOT for everyone.  If you don’t plan in getting involved with email marketing, don’t waste your time (or money), since there is a monthly fee after the trial period.  With no plans for marketing or staying in touch with your subscribers outside of blog posts, there is no need to get AWeber, or any paid autoresponder system.  I am not going to try to promote something you have no need for.  However, if you think you might go down that road in the future, they do have a 30 day trial period for only $1.

There are some free versions of autoresponders for those not ready to commit. But you can get a much more reliable service by investing in a reliable autoresponder provider like AWeber.

Send Your First Email Newsletter Today – AWeber CommunicationFor those who have no idea of what it is, or are on the fence on how to use it, this video below gives you a basic rundown on how to use AWeber for newsletters.

After you watch the video, you can enter your email address to try it out.  My disclaimer: Yes, the links are affiliate links – so while I will make a small percentage of commission, it is up to you on whether you want to continue with AWeber. I recommend it either way.  But if you are uncomfortable with that you can always go directly to AWeber in your browser.

Take a Free Test Drive today!

Marketing Your Writing Services

Editor’s Note:  This is a guest post from Kirk Ward.  Please read more about Kirk in the author’s box.

EXPERT

Become an Expert! (Pete Prodoehl via Flickr)

Freelancers of all types have one thing in common, they are notoriously bad marketers. Freelance writers are among the worst of the lot.

Well, after throwing that out, I’m probably not going to get an all expense paid invitation to come speak at your next writers club coffee klatch.  After all, what in the Sam Hill does an accountant know about marketing writing services?

Nothing. Nothing at all about marketing your freelance writing services.

But, about marketing services, I know a lot. And, it is my opinion that a freelance writer can market their services using the same techniques as any other professional.

Rainmaker Marketing

In the “professions” (law, medicine, engineering and, yuk, accounting) the top marketers are called “Rainmakers.” And, a whole field of thought has sprung up called “Rainmaker Marketing.” If you haven’t heard the term, run a web search and see what you get. You’ll get anywhere from under 40,000 results to over 1.25 million hits, depending on what search engine you use, and whether you use the quote marks or not.

The term Rainmaker was first applied to senior partners in law firms who had such drawing power that they brought in more business than they could handle, so they passed it off to the junior members of the firm who had available time. Since new business rained down on them from the senior members of the firm, the juniors began to refer to the partners who generated the billings as Rainmakers.

Cute, huh? But, why is it important to you?

Until the mid-70′s when the Supreme Court decided in Bates vs. State Bar of Arizona, attorneys were prohibited from advertising, which included sales and marketing. Heck, it wasn’t until 1990 when the AICPA (American Institute of CPA’s) acquiesced and signed a consent order allowing accountants to advertise, in any way as long as it is truthful, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission.

Now, if these guys (and, back then, most were guys) couldn’t advertise, then how in heck did they bring in so much business?

The same way Bob Bly does. (You do know who Bob Bly is, don’t you? If not, here’s a chance to get out the old Google homepage again.) They positioned themselves as experts and celebrities.

Become an Expert in Your Field

Take our buddy Bob Bly.

In addition to his job as an advertising copywriter, Bob is the author of 83 books, either written or forthcoming. Each one of these books has one single purpose: to act as a self-financing business card for Bob’s services as an advertising copywriter.

Bob has positioned himself as an expert. He’s even fashioned a small industry around his writings, with products and services ranging from copy critiques and web page critiques to copywriting, coaching and on-on-one consultations. He’s a veritable whirlwind of activity.

You’ll find that same philosophy taught to accountants and financial professionals over at Secrets of Marketing Accounting Services where subscribers are taught how to position themselves as an expert in their local community. They learn to become public speakers, using their technical knowledge to speak before groups and organizations in their community.

And, just as you are trying to get published, these accountants are told to get published. And, they become coaches, teachers and trainers to small business owners in their community.

The whole program is designed to enhance their credibility in their community. To position them as local experts in their field.

Become a Rainmaker as a Writer

As a freelance writer, you can use these same techniques to build your reputation and develop your own following. No matter what type of writing you want to do, there will be some form of Rainmaker Marketing available to you.

If you’re a business writer, you can pick a niche and develop a recognition as an expert in that field. One idea that jumps out to me is to write a book on how to write a book in a particular field. If you want to write for veterinarians and pet stores, write a book on how to write a book about veterinarians and pet stores.

That’s the route our good friend Bob Bly took when he wrote a book about how to do copywriting.

Bob was a copywriter. Do you think he was trying to get more folks into copywriting so he would have more competition? Heck no. He was building his credibility as an expert copywriter.

If you want to write a book of fiction, maybe you could start an online webinar series coaching other writers who want to write a work of fiction. Build yourself an email list and start offering the webinars for free using a service like AnyMeeting.com.

Besides the networking you’ll do, the open exchange of ideas from the group will spark your imagination, and the contacts you develop can lead to doors being opened for you book proposals.

Back to good ol’ Bob again.

Does Bob really want to improve your writing and create more competition when he offers his services as a copy critic? Again, the proverbial, Heck No! Bob is again positioning himself as an expert.

Whatever your writing genre, if you want to market your writings, there is nothing more powerful than being able to present yourself as an expert in the field. Positioning himself as an expert is what keeps Bob’s fees in the $15,000 per page range.

It’s nice to be looked at as an expert. In any field.