Laura’s Blog

Blog: The Most Powerful Tool in Your Marketing Toolbox

Thinking about blogging this year?

Websites that include a blog integrated into the site (NOT hosted separately on Blogspot or some other blog hosting service) typically have 434% more indexed pages.

Blog posts are doorways to your business. Publish a blog post once a week this year, and give your customers 52 doors to open.

This article and accompanying infographic explains how to use the “doorway” method to help new customers discover you.

What is Your Least Favorite Euphemism?

I’m constantly on the lookout for euphemisms (yoo-fuh-miz-uhms): indirect, vague words and phrases that take the place of words/phrases thought to be too blunt, too harsh, or too politically incorrect.

I snapped this photo of Aspen Meadows Townhomes from my car while zooming south on I-5 (the West Coast’s major Interstate freeway that stretches from Canada to Mexico).

Aspen Meadows. Last time I checked, Aspen was a ski resort in Colorado. And meadows? I don’t think so. Not with the view of six lanes of I-5 30 feet from your front door.

How to Create and Market A Stellar Podcast

With the rise of smart phones, listening to podcasts is easier than ever. Take advantage of this convenience and create a podcast to grow your business. Today we’ll look at:

• a comprehensive guide to creating and marketing a podcast
• a way to get over your podcasting fears
• a model podcast to inspire you
[ Read more ]

The Psychology of Color, Plus a Few Bizarre Color Factoids [Infographic]

Quiz:

1. What is the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom?
2. What color are bees unable to see?
3. What is the “happiest” color in the color spectrum?
4. What color most attracts mosquitos?

You’ll find the answers to these and other color-related questions in the infographic below. (If you’re too lazy to read the infographic, I’ve provided the answers at the end of the infographic.)

Be sure to check out yesterday’s guest column by Steve Bezella on The Psychology of Color for Marketing.

The Psychology of Color for Effective Marketing

By Gary L. Bezella
Guest Columnist

Color changes people. Colors affect our mood, personality, and buying choices. The right color can boost your advertising effectiveness, but the wrong colors can hamper your marketing.

It’s important to understand the psychology of color to ensure heavy traffic from your advertising. But never let the color of your advertising overpower its overall message.

Here are common colors used in marketing and why you should – or shouldn’t – use them.

What’s a Seaplane Doing in the Middle of the Road?

“I can’t think of anything to write about.”

When I taught high school English, my students frequently moaned about the lack of interesting things to write about.

My standard response: I’d roll my eyes and challenge them to keep their eyes and ears open and to ask questions about everything they see and hear.

When I was driving near my home, I spotted the perfect story starter. I’ve never had to pull to the side of the road to make way for a seaplane. In fact, I’ve never seen a seaplane being towed down the highway!

This scene has the makings for a good mystery/suspense story or an intriguing blog post.

‘The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage’ Updates Online-Related Terms

The New York Times has updated its Manual of Style and Usage.

Here are several changes they’ve made to online-related terms:

World Wide Web is now known as the web with a lowercase “w.” (Have you noticed that very few advertisements include “www” in front of a web address? Most of us know that the “www” is a given; when referring people to our websites, we just say, “Go to BloggingBistro.com.”

website is lowercase, one word.

Internet, however, is capitalized.

Email no longer uses a hyphen.

Why the ‘Spray and Pray’ Marketing Method Doesn’t Work

When authors ask me to help them with their online marketing, they usually open with:

“My agent told me I need a Facebook ‘fan’ page, so I had my son create one for me. But I haven’t posted anything to it. I don’t even know how to use it. Help!”

Most writers struggle to balance the demands of writing and marketing our writing. Unsure about how to woo readers, we use the ‘spray and pray’ marketing method: we create a blog and multiple social media accounts, spray out random updates and pray someone pays attention.

A Two-Step Method for Managing Social Networking Time

Finding time to “do” social networking — and managing that time effectively — is the single biggest bugaboo most of us face.

In this article, I’ll show you an easy method to track the time you spend doing regular daily tasks. And you’ll get tips for social media time management.

8 Tips to Writing Great Content for Your Readers

By Matt Boyd
Guest Contributor

I’m not your typical writer. I’ve never been classically trained in language arts so needless to say, writing has not always been (and still isn’t) second nature to me. There’s a constant balance of writing well and creating content people will enjoy. Finding that balance is often difficult.

Recently, I’ve immersed myself in a whirlwind of blog articles with the sole purpose of studying successful writing styles. It’s always interesting to see which posts are successful by reading how users respond in the comments. Over my time as a studier of blog articles, I’ve learned some simple tips that have helped me create content people respond to and enjoy.