Can you explain the goals and concept behind SourceBottle and describe how it works?

I always say my goal is for journalists and bloggers using SourceBottle to be inundated with quality sources; and for every SourceBottle subscriber to get publicity or famous, whichever comes first. SourceBottle is a very simple concept. The service gives journalists and bloggers a free platform to reach out to a large network to source experts and case studies for stories. And it's very efficient. Conversely, it also offers up free media and publicity opportunities to PRs and businesses.

It works like this: A journalist or blogger posts a 'call out' for a source via the site. The service then emails the call out to subscribers. If a subscriber can answer the call out, they do so via the site and may get interviewed for the story (and the free publicity that comes along with that).

What made you think of the great name?

I'd like to take credit for the name, but it was my husband's idea. But I'll take credit for recognising how good it was.

What would you say to a person in the news industry of the benefits of a source information centre such as SourceBottle? Same for a business person looking for publicity?

For a journalist or blogger, the service is available to source experts and case studies from a large pool of talent. And it's a free and easy tool to use. It's particularly useful for urgent call outs for sources as it's very efficient. Another key benefit of the service is that you know that anyone who responds to you via the service is happy to be quoted in the media. (I've been told this can be an issue when looking for sources for a story.)

For a business person, SourceBottle is a free publicity tool to help get you recognised as an expert in the media. To get the same recognition using advertising can cost thousands of dollars.

Do you see SourceBottle as a form of connection between new and old media?

No, not really. I just see it as a tool for any and all media and am thrilled that both old and new media appear to be finding it useful.

How important to the functioning of SourceBottle is the uptake in the use of smart phones by the news industry and PR professionals?

It definitely helps make the service more accessible, so from that perspective it's very important.

Do you find social media a useful tool for connecting with clients?

Very much so. It's been instrumental in developing a following for SourceBottle, particularly Twitter. While the core service is communicated via email, many of the call outs are also shared via Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to help source experts and case studies.

Finally, what are your three top marketing tips for startups?

1. Be bold with your ideas and recognise there will be a LOT of late nights.
2. Embrace social media and its potential, but don't treat it like a business tool. (What?) Treat it as a tool to connect with others with shared interests. If you do that well, it will automatically become a very effective business tool.
3. Develop a PR strategy incorporating both reactive media opportunities (like responding to a call out on SourceBottle) and proactive techniques (like issuing press releases and publishing them online where possible).

However if you are new to social media networking you may well ask what is the best time of day (and how often) to post. This can be crucial in helping to expand the reach of your updates, gaining that all-important connectivity and interaction with the community, helping you make make important business contacts.

The optimal time to update really depends on your readers’ social media connection habits. If possible find out when the majority of them spend time online going through their social media. One excellent way to do this is to survey them in a post.

Some may prefer to read posts early in the morning prior to going to work, while others may prefer a later time. However if you are unsure of the best times to post with regard to your readers, this article from Social Media Today recommends the following three time frames.

The Early Birds (post from 7am – 9am)
After Work (5pm – 7pm)
Night Owls (11pm – 1am)

Experiment with the different categories and see which concentration of updates gets the best response. If you are using Facebook Pages for Business, check the new revamped metrics (a joy for statistic lovers!) and look at the “Talking about this” for an idea of how well you are “spreading the word”.

However while you’re in reflective mode, and looking to make improvements for 2012, why not do the same for your social media business pages? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Sharpen the message
Go back to the aims you had when you began your social media as a communication and marketing arm to your business. Has it successfully delivered the message you had in mind? Have you brought together people who contribute regularly and intelligently to the page? Does social media successfully direct traffic to your business website?

If these goals have not all been met, consider sharpening the message. Keep your posts more on topic and reflective of your company’s aims and mission.

Tweak the personality
There should be consistency between the “character” of the social media site and that of your website and company. Though social media is designed to be a more “chatty” and integrated forum, the style and substance should not be so far removed from the character of your website as to create a sense of disconnect. Check to see if this is the case in your social media accounts.

Involve your audience more
Social media is not only about sharing information with your readers but also creating a two-way conversation. Should this not be happening with your social media sites, look to ways to get your readers more involved. Consider questions, polls and ask for readers’ requests. Open up those communication channels!

Survey your audience
Taking the idea of involving your audience one step further, why not survey them to get feedback on the social media site? Ask them what they like, and more importantly, what they don’t like about the site. Ask the type of posts they would like to see included (for example, more interviews with leading personalities in the relevant field).

Adjust (if necessary) the frequency of your posts
One of the key questions you’ll need to ask your readers is whether or not the frequency of your updates works for them. Are there too many posts? Or too few? A great deal of social media is about getting the balance right and considered input on this question from your regular readers may be invaluable. Listen to the reactions and adjust the regularity accordingly.

So there's a start towards getting your thinking going on how to improve your social media business communication for the New Year. For any questions, don't hesitate to contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia (your content writing specialists).Finally, as this is the last article for 2011, I’d like to take the opportunity on behalf of AWA to thank you all for your support during the year and wish you a happy, safe and even more productive 2012.

However, how do you go about monitoring your website’s traffic? While there are many tracking software options available, one of the best, and certainly the most popular, is Google Analytics. This is a free tool offered by the search engine giant which is able to track visitors to your site and deliver a stunning range of reports.

The steps to joining up and using Google Analytics are quite straightforward:
1. Open up an account with Google Analytics.
2. Go through the steps outlined by GA to create your unique code.
3. Copy the code and enter it before your tag in the back end of your site. The code will not be visible on your site but will act “behind the scenes” to track visitors.

Note: You may need to enter the code on every page of your site to fully take advantage of the program. Consult with your website developer if you are unsure.

Once you’ve got the code on your site, it’s time to start setting up and interpreting the wealth of statistical analysis and reporting that GA offers on its personalised dashboard. If you’re a little like me and consider that too much analysis is barely enough, you’ll love the vast number of reports that can be generated through GA. However if you prefer to keep your traffic analysis simple, Google Analytics can offer a slimmed down reporting system as well.

For more information on GA, including how to set up the dashboard, see here. For an excellent introductory article from Smashing Magazine on the types of analysis available, check here.

One important piece of information that you will be able to glean from GA data is the length of time visitors spend on your page, including how many depart almost as soon as they arrive. The “bounce rate” percentage figure can give you an excellent indication of whether or not visitors are finding your site relevant. A high very bounce could indicate a large number of visitors landing on your site that are not looking for what you offer; or it could indicate a low quality or untrustworthy looking site that is sending visitors packing , Other figures will tell you which pages visitors landed on, and which they departed from, how long they stayed on each page, and more.

Identifying high bounce rates can help you work out areas that need work such as layout or content writing. For help in improving the content writing of your site why not consider hiring a professional writing agency? For more information about how Article Writers Australia can help you with quality content, contact Julia or Leonie here.
 

The key is to keep the posts short and focused. Make the text clear and concise which will help deliver the message you want to convey. Always use easy to understand words.

But what should you discuss? If you are writing a news article, or creating a blog, a great guide is to follow the dictum of the news journalist: answer the 5 W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why and H (How) on the subject on which you are writing. Where appropriate answer these in the first couple of paragraphs or as early in the article as possible. This will help catch those readers who “skim” articles quickly rather than read from start to finish.

This is particularly suited to the Internet where people now have a tendency to quickly look for what they want and move on should they not find it.

If you have a number of points you’d like to raise with visitors, do so using bullet points or a numbered lists. The items are separated with white space between them, making them easier to digest.

Lastly activate your verbs (the doing words). This usually results in a more effective, economical and direct way of communication. An example would be:

Passive: The conference was given an opening address by the professor.

Active: The professor addressed the conference.

To remember the saying “content is king” in regard to web writing is to know to focus on clear, positive text. If you’d like to hear more about what a content writing service can do for you, contact Leonie or Julia at Article Writers Australia here.

Here the key is to keep the structure simple.

 Put the most important content first. Search engine spiders tend to prioritise text according to its position on the page. The higher the content (the closer to the "body" tag in the html), the more priority it is given by the search engine. For this reason place the material you consider most important high up on the page, not further down. In some cases such as a two column layout, your navigation will appear first in the html (and thereby “read” first by the search engine spider) before the layout. However by tweaking your cascading style sheets (CSS) you can make the content look on the right, yet be presented first in the html code.

It follows that minimising flash banners and keeping images to the minimum will help your readers scan the information as well as helping spiders categorise your page. Navigation is also a key point: ensure that other pages can be reached from the landing page with a minimum of fuss (usually no more than three clicks).

Don't forget to use plenty of "white space"! Keep your content from looking cluttered and your search engine spider (and readers) will thank you.

By keeping the layout simple you make it easier for search engine spiders to categorise your page. An excellent rule of thumb here is to look after your reader. If a web page is easy to read for a visitor, with clean and well-written text and easy navigation, it should also be the same for search engine spiders.

If you’d like further information on how a quality article writing service can help you with your readers’ experience and search engine optimisation, please don’t hesitate to contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia here.

Improving content is a key part of increasing your website’s “stickiness” — encouraging your reader to “slow down and stick around” and visit other pages. This becomes crucial if you wish to guide your reader to a selling page. Further to this is encouraging your readers to return and become regular visitors. Here regularly updated articles and web content is important.

Some of the other advantages of engaging a writing service are as follows.

Time saving: Time is always of the essence, particularly for the small business owner who covers a multitude of tasks in the company. Regular hours taken to add website content (remember search engines reward original and regularly updated material) is time taken away from other aspects of the business. By outsourcing this, the business owner (or one of the staff) is free to perform other duties.

Quality of work: Rushing web content deadlines at busy times can result in below par work if you are writing content yourself. Engaging quality outside content writers should ideally result in work from people able to express themselves in the style you prefer, with clear and concise text optimised for keywords and on deadline.

Understanding of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): While effective search engine optimisation involves a number of areas, regular quality and original text on your website is a key factor in a successful overall SEO strategy. Good content writers will understand how to place keywords and how to write clearly which in turn should help your visibility with search engines and impress your readers.

Article Writers Australia selects content writers based on skill, experience and knowledge which means content is always of a high quality. To ask about how AWA can help with your website content needs, please contact Leonie here.

More importantly though, clear and concise text can be a great help to your readers.

Readers are the key element to the success or failure of your website. Put simply, in the days when they are spoiled for choice, readers will move on from a website if they don’t like what they see or read — perhaps to a competitor!

It follows then that making your website text interesting, informative and easy to read will assist in keeping your visitors on your website. This and other techniques can help make your website or blog “sticky”, meaning visitors will tend to “stick around” (become loyal readers), perhaps to purchase goods if your site is a commercial one.

Making your verbs active instead instead of passive is one simple way to liven up your web text content. George Orwell said in his 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” that one should “never use the passive where you can use the active”.

Not only does activating your verbs tend to shorten sentences, it also invigorates your text.

Example.

Passive: The keynote speech at the conference was presented by Professor Smith.

Active: Professor Smith presented the keynote speech at the conference.

By concentrating on making your sentences active, you should add a freshness and vibrancy to your writing that may have previously been lacking. In combination with other website factors, such as good layout and ease of navigation, your readers will benefit from this approach and be able to find the information they need faster and more economically (less words). Remember the golden rule for search engine optimisation (SEO) — any benefits which make it easier for readers to enjoy text should also score you points with search engines.

While there may be occasions when the passive verb is needed, by concentrating on the active verb, you should make your text stand out.

For any queries about content writing, contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia here.

Now in a huge step forward for businesses, particularly those on a tight budget, by introducing the long-awaited Pages for Google Plus,the social media portal has taken on the advantage for businesses held by Facebook by its highly successful Facebook Pages.

Creating a Google+ Page is easy, according to the search engine, all you need is an existing personal profile on G+. For a short video from Google promoting the recently released Pages for Google Plus, see clip here.

According to Google there are five categories that Brand Pages can be placed:

• Local Business or Place;
• Product or Brand;
• Company, Institution, or Organization;
• Arts, Entertainment, or Sports; and
• Other.

For clear instructions on how to set up a Google Plus Page for your business, see this article from the Social Media Babe.

So does using G+ have any advantages over other social media as a communication tool for my business? The answer is yes. G+ has incorporated features which deliver a number of benefits for small businesses.

Circles
Developed to allow users to differentiate between (for example) Friends, Family and Business Contacts, Circles has a number of possible uses for businesses. Contacts can be sorted into different demographics for example, enabling the business owner to target different Circles depending on their relevance.

If you outsource work to independent contractors this facility will also help you keep track of projects and monitor freelancers input.

Hangouts
If you haven’t tried Hangouts then take it for test drive! Originally created to allow a video “get together” for ten people, the Hangouts facility can also be utilised for businesses in a number of areas. One of these would be providing a free (and high quality) video conferencing facility with staff who operate out of the office. Another would be to enable you to host mini webinar-style conferencing with potential or existing clients.

Again using the example of freelancers, Hangouts could be used to discuss projects with a group of contractors, enabling feedback and questions in real time.

SEO and ‘Direct Connect’
Google will be trying out its “Direct Connect” feature in its Pages for Google Plus, something which promises to have a big effect on your SEO. Using the +1 feature (similar to Facebook’s “like” button, the user can recommend your business. According to Google, the number of +1s a business page attracts will have an impact.

Fast and effective, Pages for Google Plus adds powerful communication tools for the small business. If you haven’t tried Google Plus or Pages for Google Plus, take it for a test drive, you may well be surprised at its versatility.

Looking to outsource your web content? Contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia here.

This is the role of headlines.

While headlines have always been important for print media, they are more so for online articles as the headline is not only the first introduction to the item but often the link to the story. The reader who views the headline on the landing page, or in a link on another site or through a Reader such as Google Reader will not link through if the headline does not "grab" them.

The well-written headline therefore should both pique the reader’s interest, contain keywords (words that relate to the subject) as well as define simply what the story is about.

Accuracy
The headline should at all times be accurate and describe the article well. Make sure the headline is specific enough to describe what the article is about, yet never be misleading. Never promise one thing in the headline, only to lead into a completely different subject. This will only frustrate your reader, possibly encouraging them never to return.

Optimise your headline
Link your headline with your search engine optimisation strategy (SEO). For example, include some of your targeted keywords in the headline text. Obviously this is a tactic you should use sparingly as articles, blog posts containing the same keywords over and over will distract and even annoy the reader.

Highlight Benefits
This can emphasise the “what’s in it for me” factor for your reader. With the range of choice, the reader may look at the headline and ask if this solves a problem/answers a query etc. If the headline introduces clearly what it is they have in mind, the likelihood is they will click through and read the text.

Try sub heads
Using a sub heading along with your headline can give you a little more room to move to explain the article. Sub headings generally are longer than the headline and add to, rather than retell, the information already imparted in the headline.

For more in-depth information on writing attention-grabbing headlines, see this article by CopyBlogger.

If you are looking for experienced content writers to provide a quality writing service, contact Leonie at Article Writers Australia for more information.