Hot direct response SEO copywriting tips for cool online writers.

Is your copy going through a marketing midlife crisis?

My goodness. It’s hard to believe that SuccessWorks (my SEO copywriting firm) has been in business for over 10 years now. Where DID the time go?

Yesterday, I had the weird, odd out-of-body experience one feels while looking at decade-old marketing materials (it’s like looking at old high school yearbooks –what was I thinking with that hairstyle?) Back in 1998, SEO copywriting was not the SEO uber-thang that it is today. Print was still king and content development for the online market was definitely a new skill set. I was a one-woman shop back then, finding my foothold in a new online world. Although SEO copywriting was quickly becoming my niche, I marketed myself as a Jane-of-all-writing trades. I’d pen brochure copy. I’d provide top-notch editorial service. I’d serve up sizzling sales letters. I’d do it all.

Not so much anymore.

SEO copywriting is my main niche, with a secondary focus in online writing. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in the brochure-writing world. And I haven’t written a direct-mail sales letter in eons. My current site reflects most of my main services and has done a pretty good job for me. I like it. Prospects like it. That makes me smile.

Then again, am I completely happy with my current Website’s tone and feel? No. These last few months have meant a lot of marketing soul-searching and determining where to go next. After 10 years in business, I’ve seen the worst of the dotcom era (so far,) weathered the “what the hell is SEO” storm and enjoyed some fantastically fun clients. I’ve seen what works for me, what doesn’t come close and charted a course for future success.

In short, I’m coming out of a marketing midlfe crisis – and realizing that the marketing tone and feel that used to work for me (and for SuccessWorks) just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Sound familiar? Here’s how to determine if you’re facing your own midlife:

• You find yourself thinking that your existing copy “isn’t quite right” anymore and “doesn’t quite capture what you’re offering” – yet, you don’t know what you’d change or how.

• It feels like you’re in a marketing rut and all your copy has sounded exactly the same for years.

• You’re completely out of fresh marketing ideas for your own company when you used to be a fountain of creative flow. Anything you do create may feel more reactive than proactive.

What did I do? No, I didn’t buy a red muscle car, call myself “Bronson” and engage in extreme kayaking, or date a college-age boytoy. But I did pull out of my marketing midlife crisis.

Outside of lots of percolation time, I talked to trusted friends and associates (all exceptional marketing brainacs) to figure out my next course of action. I chatted with customers. I hired outside marketing help to help me brainstorm. I became more accountable and more involved. I discovered what I want SuccessWorks to be rather than being stuck in what it was.

And go figure, the creative ideas started flowing again.

Your company can see the same results. Ask your customers what’s most important to them. Hire outside SEO content and marketing professionals for advice. Get out of the groupthink and start charting a new course. The energy and excitement you’ll feel is palpable – and breathing new life in an old marketing campaign can see some profitable benefits.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have the SuccessWorks site strategy to plan…

What to do right now for catalog marketers: Build a blog

Sure, blogs seems like old news.

“Everyone is blogging,” you say. “How can my catalog company see search engine benefit by creating random bits of blogging fodder.”

Good question. The answer is this: Blogs can help overcome some common catalog marketer challenges without having to change your site. And that’s a good thing.

The challenge with online catalogs is the templates are typically text unfriendly. You have a teeny-tiny word count paired with a site that’s mostly graphics. What’s more, the content is also typically “fixed” – showing a “standard” product description direct from the manufacturer. That means that every other catalog site selling that product also shares the same product description. In an ideal world, you can “touch” the existing page content and make it unique. But if you have 10,000 SKU’s and a rapidly-changing inventory, tweaking the content seems overwhelming.

Enter the blog. Blogging allows you to wax poetic about your products without having to alter your product templates. The writing can be fresh, unique and keyphrase-rich – and allows you to market your products in a unique way that standard product copy doesn’t provide.

Check out Zappos blog as an example. Although the goal of the blog is to promote the brand, the writing does it in a way that’s chatty, informative and fun. For instance, one of the posts profiled snowboarder Charlotte Dutton. Yes, the article is about her. But check out those in-article hyperlinks. Readers are pointed to specific Zappos.com product pages (in this case, “beauty” and “skate park shoes,”) relating to the article. Pretty snazzy, eh?

(Although Zappo’s could have done a better job including keyphrases in the hyperlinks and prequalifying the landing page. The “snowboarding” link took me to the “skate park” page, which didn’t list the word “snowboarding” anywhere.)

Catalog marketers: If you don’t have a blog, talk to someone about the pros and cons (my company, SuccessWorks, creates blogs posts and strategy, and there are many other firms that can help.) See if it’s something that could see positive ROI for your company. As mentioned in a previous post, the holiday season is almost upon us – and a good blog can help drive new traffic, plus gain search engines rankings that may not be possible on your main site.

What to do right now for catalog marketers: Planning your SEO copywriting strategy

Dear catalog marketers,

It’s August 1st. Have you finalized your holiday SEO copywriting strategy?

Right now, while we’re enjoying vacation time and lazy summer days, the words “holiday season” sound far in the future.

Guess what - it’s not.

Already, you’re seeing “Back-to-school” newspaper inserts…and soon, Halloween goblins will be gracing the shelves…after that, holiday music will bombard your ears with cheer and joy. By the time the vicious holiday season cycle starts, you’ll be in the depths of it - and without a clear content strategy, you’ll be leaving money (and sales) on the table.

In short, get on it. You’ve got just enough time to write new SEO copywriting content, add holiday references to old content and leverage new ways to gain happy customers.

Catalog marketers: here’s what you should be thinking about, right now.

• Do certain pages need to be rewritten to reflect the holidays and/or a seasonal theme? What organic and PPC landing pages need to be created and by when?

• What non-sales content (such as articles, buying guides, holiday “must haves”) should you create? Is this new content better suited for a blog? Should you include it as an article on your site? What about creating a newsletter?

• Have you recently double-checked your keyphrase research? Are there new keyphrases you can fold into your content?

• When are content rough and final drafts due to editorial? Will that give IT enough time to upload the pages and implement any changes?

• What offline seasonal promotions are planned? How are you mirroring your offline marketing initiatives online?

• What about overflow? Will you need to hire additional freelancers, train your staff in SEO copywriting or bring on additional in-house writers?

Sure, it seems like a lot of advanced planning. But by getting your SEO copywriting ducks in a row now, it will be smooth sailing come holiday time (at least around your online content.) And that could be the biggest holiday gift of all.