Entries by Matt Wright

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Under the bonnet of a blog : your MOT checklist

It struck me recently that sending out a sub-standard blog and being disappointed with the click-rate, is rather like trying to sell a 2nd-hand car.

Some cars look great on the outside but have a poor engine, whilst others work fine under the bonnet, but just aren’t very attractive from the outside.

Either way, you are not going to have a good driving/reading experience.

So, given that both blogs and cars are essentially a series of components, here’s a checklist to cover all the basics. read more read more

July 16, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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More blog, less blah

Blarghification: “Blogs, blogs, blogs, blogs. Everyone has one these days, but very few of them are actually worth reading or paying attention to. The majority of blogs are pretty ‘blah’, so the next time you have to talk somebody out of creating a blog that they’ll never update, just lament the ‘blarghification’ of the Internet.”

Fair point or not? Personally, I view poor blogs as a chance for good blogs to shine by comparison. read more

July 15, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Blogging: 5 tips for getting started on blog writing

Here are my 5 top (practical) tips for blog writing:

1. Bulk blogging

“You have to be in the zone to be creative”

  • I find it’s better to ‘half-write’ 4 or 5 blogs in note form and then save them as drafts, rather than trying to write 1 blog perfectly from the outset.
  • I can return easily to 4 or 5 half-written blogs ( maybe ditch 1, save 2 for later, and finish off the other 2) whereas I tend to avoid the 1 ‘almost there’ blog….with the result that it never gets finished!

2. Plan Ahead

“Have set topics and schedule them in advance”

Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, it just helps ‘ease’ you into your thought process

  • For example, I write blogs for a restaurant in Oxford called Iffley Blue – every 8-10 weeks they change the menu, so that’s one type of blog.
  • There’s also a Wine of the Month – that’s another set format which can be set up in advance and filled in at a later date.
  • Any special offers/topical interest/other blogs…etc can then be dropped in as & when.

3. Think outside of your box

“Make life easy for yourself – always look to link to other blogs”

  • Imagine you’re a restaurant and you have a great supplier – tell everyone about it and make it worth for both of you!
  • It could be that you source your vegetables from a certain company, and a certain crop is about to come into season that will shortly feature on your menu.
  • Extol your supplier in your 1-off blog (their green production methods, locality…etc) and link with their website & blog.
  • Invite them to also post this blog (about them) on their website
  • If they want to write a blog about you in return, you can then post that on your website…..and so the wheel starts to turn for you!

4. Titles & photos act as inspiration read more

July 14, 2015 /1 Comment/by

How Business Owners Should Behave like Parents

I was struck by a recent interview in The Times with Tony Little, the outgoing headmaster of Eton and author of ‘An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Education’.

Over a 35 teaching career, Tony (or should I say Mr. Little), has learned a lot about the art of boy/adolescent/man management, and many of his observations ring just as true for the business world.

Here’s one of his lists for parents…which is just as applicable for business owners. read more

July 13, 2015 /0 Comments/by

3 reasons NOT to use social media

Question: What do you want your social media strategy to achieve?

When I ask prospective customers, I’m usually met with a blank look – after all, they’ve been told they need to use social media to sell their products or services, and now they’re doing something about it, aren’t they?

Well, no in my opinion – here are 3 reasons NOT to use social media.

No – social media is not about selling in the short-term, it’s about engaging with a view to building long-term relationships. And thence sales. So it’s not a quick win. read more read more

July 6, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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Obituaries – where satire meets sarcasm

“Colleen McCullough, Australian’s best-selling author was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was, nevertheless, a woman of wit and warmth.” – ‘The Australian’ newspaper

Now, readers of this blog will know that I love a good obituary and I regard this is a modern classic for its use of ‘nevertheless’; i.e. essentially ‘No offence, but….’ lurking in disguise. read more

June 26, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Case Study Writing – 5 Top Tips

There’s no doubt that Case Studies are effective. They can’t just be dashed off though, requiring some prior thought, hence the reason why so many businesses neglect them.

I’ve highlighted 5 useful, non-standard tips to help people get started:

1. Plan what ‘good’ looks like

Yes, I know this sounds boring at best, or a ‘fudged’ top tip at worst, but let me illustrate with a few pointers:

  • Where – think ‘Bite, Snack, Meal’

e.g. Will the Case Study sit on the website (bite-sized), be present in a brochure (snack-sized), or be reproduced in a standalone pdf (main meal)? read more read more

June 16, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Case Studies – How to maximise your value

Conversations with friends & family are the most trusted form of content (74% of users), followed by Peer Reviews (68%)” – Source: Crowdtap, Mar-14 Research paper

This compares with 19-40% ‘trustworthiness’ for traditional forms of advertising, such as banner ads, online adverts & tv.

So Case Studies do deliver. However, they are often criticised for not being ‘scaleable’ enough, costing too much in terms of time and effort to put together. read more

June 14, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Case Studies – the SEO killer

SEO – Search Engine Optimization. One of my less favoured terms.

Why? Because, from a copywriter’s point of view, it encourages poorly written material, as evidenced by some of the appalling ‘keyword stuffing’ which used to take place.

However, matters are now improving, with Google constantly tweaking its algorithms in order to reward genuinely useful and frequently read websites.

Here’s 5 reasons why Case Studies are an SEO killer…without even trying! read more

June 13, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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Testimonial – Case Studies for MC Fire Protection

Challenges

  • Design and construct a 10 minute interview for busy Care Home managers
  • Co-ordinate and conduct 6 interviews within a short time period, and gather enough information to fulfil the variety of outputs demanded.
  • Polish the testimonial quotes and obtain sign-off from the Care Home managers
  • Brief and liaise with the graphic designer to produce print quality pdfs

Results

Case Studies delivered on time and in

3 completely different formats read more

June 10, 2015 /0 Comments/by