When developing your website, you may have spent a lot of time making sure you covered all the necessary functions to make it  attractive and easy to navigate.  Color scheme? Check.  Tabs clearly visible? Check.  Photos of your business or product? Check. You then placed your “Open for Business” sign on all your online and printed marketing pieces to attract visitors to your site.

But, what happens when visitors get to your site?

Do they find merely words or are they greeted with a message that invites them to do business with you?  Having a website that visually looks good, but doesn’t read well, is like pairing a tuxedo with the grubby tennis shoes you wear to the gym.  It is important to complete the polished look from top to bottom to give a fully professional image.

If you are wondering if your site has polished copy, here are three questions to add to your website checklist:

1. Does your website have just words or a clear business message?

What is the most important message you want visitors to understand about your business?  Is that stated clearly on your home page?  If you find your site filled with paragraphs that ramble on with your most important message buried at the bottom, too little text that doesn’t tell enough about your business, or if your copy sounds like it was written for (and by) machines rather than human beings then, it is time for a rewrite.  Your copy needs to tell who you are, what you do, when you do it,  the features and the benefits of your product or service, why you are different from your competition and what you guarantee to assure your visitors they have made the right choice by working with you.   Check and double check for grammar, punctuation and spelling mistakes.  You may have a quality product, but if your copy is a sloppy mess then your business will scream “unprofessional” to your prospects.

2. Does your copy include SEO rich keywords?

If you search for information on SEO (Search Engine Optimized) keywords, you will come across varied information ranging from companies who promise top page rankings if you go with their expensive service (be weary of those), do-it-yourself methods that can be time-consuming or techie talk that is confusing.  Let us simplify it for you.

Your copy should include specific words in your industry that are most commonly used when a person is searching for your type of business, service and product.  Why is this so important?  Websites that are crawled organically or naturally for keywords are ranked much higher than just adding tags or categories to your content. Recently, we were doing a website evaluation for a seafood restaurant.  In all of their copy, there was not one mention of the word “seafood.”  We saw the word on a photo of the restaurant, but the problem is that Google doesn’t crawl a jpg photo file (unless the photo is named using keywords when uploaded which in this case, it was not).  You will also want to use keywords when writing posts on social media. In our Social Media copywriting class, we explain in greater detail how important it is to include your keywords when posting on your Facebook page, tweeting on Twitter and posting on LinkedIn.

Be sure to also include local SEO keywords so people in your geographic area can find you, for example “New Jersey chiropractor.”   We recently spoke with a business who complained that they couldn’t get local people to hire them for their services.  When we looked at their website, they didn’t have their address anywhere on their site.  These two examples may seem silly, however, it is often the most obvious things that are overlooked.

3.  Is your copy in line with your business and marketing plan?

It is near impossible to write quality copy without consulting your business and marketing plan.  It is from your marketing plan that you can find the golden nuggets to check off the first and second points of your copywriting checklist.  The overall goals of your business need to be reflected in the messages you craft on your website and should be consistently carried across all your online channels.  For example, the same succinct summary that describes your business on your website should be repeated on your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn summary boxes.

What to do if researching and writing are not your strengths

Fortunately, there are professionals available to help.   A skilled copywriter will be knowledgeable on creating content for your entire website and social media pages that speaks to your target audience.  At Virtual Business Solutions, the most important element in our copywriting services is to make sure the copy we write sounds like you.  We pride ourselves on conducting extensive research on our clients’ business including learning industry trends, their competitive advantages and top industry specific keywords. We develop a comprehensive marketing plan that focuses on their business goals and ensures their entire online marketing presence is working hard to achieve the same end.   To see how your website copy ranks, contact us for a consultation and website evaluation.

So many of our clients tell us they can’t compete with the big corporate goliaths when it comes to advertising and marketing budgets. Social Media levels the playing field by offering any size business innovative, FREE ways to get ahead of their competition. Our Social Media series & Content Writing workshop gets you on the fast track by showing you simple yet effective tools to create a Social Media marketing plan.

Social Media For Business Series & Workshop

Today’s marketing is a two-way communication between the seller and the buyer. The consumer wants to know the business they are buying from and feel a personal connection. Social media is not only a compliment to your website and traditional marketing efforts, but it can turn your site browsers into site sales.

What You Can Expect From The Classes:

• Videos and audio clips to guide you on “How To…” set up each of the Social Media tools that we will be covering in these classes.
• Attend these classes on your own time schedule & in the comfort of your own office or home
• Pause and rewind to hear key points again
• BONUS links to our on-line Learning Center which is filled with invaluable material to create a successful online presence
• BONUS access to our community of experts and guru’s

Series includes:

• Intro To Social Media – This class is an overview of all the social media tools available on the internet, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and more.
• Social Media For Business - With the tools learned in the intro class, you will learn how to use the best social practices for your business including what to say and how to brand yourself as an expert in your field.
• Facebook For Business – From account creation to marketing strategies, we show you “how-to” get in front of the 500 million Facebook users.
• Twitter For Business – Taking you from logging in to broadcasting your message, this class shows you how to use Twitter to grow your business. We teach you how to target your niche audience and build an effective “following” base. You will also learn how to build a strong networking list.

Content Writing Workshop

We have extensively researched information available to the business owner on content writing and discovered there is nothing else on the market like this workshop! Our team copywriter helps the non-writer crank out amazing copy like a seasoned professional. Even if you have a knack for writing, you won’t want to miss the valuable insider tips on the in’s and out’s of social media copy.

What You Can Expect:

• How-To Instructions & Formulas to easily plug in your copy
• Examples of successful social media pages
• Guided audio with tips and expert advice access 24/7
  
• Simple tips & techniques to take your Social Media pages from average to amazing!
  
• BONUS material to help you identify your target audience
• BONUS material to help you zone in on your industry’s SEO Keywords
  

In this workshop, our team copywriter reveals her secrets to creating copy that it not only WOWS your fans, but also includes keyword-rich words that puts your information in the forefront of search engine ranking. This hands-on lesson will leave with a customized, valuable marketing tool that you can quickly add to all your Social Media pages AND your other marketing efforts.

Workshop Includes:

• Social Media Short Copy – Those couple of sentences you read on social media sites are powerful tools. A polished profile is one of the most important aspects of your social media page. Our customized short-copy formula will help you write your bio, information and description boxes (“About Us” and “About Me” sections) so that they effectively connect you with your clients.
• Best Social Practices - Now that you have learned the nuts and bolts of social media, we will take you a step farther by showing you “how to” build social relationships for your business.

It’s Simple to Get Started:

This is not a season to be putting large prices on products and services that people need to grow their business. It is of great value to us to help other businesses succeed and rise above this tough new economy. The best way we can do that is to offer our service at a price that everyone can afford. Our Social Media How-To Series plus bonus Social Media Content Writing Workshop is priced at only $149.96.

These programs are valued at over $700.00 and even higher on other sites. This small investment will more than pay for itself when you are able to showcase your business via Social Media to millions of people.

Not Sure if this Series is for You? Take a Test Drive for FREE!

Our experts will be offering a FREE Assessment of your existing Facebook Page, Twitter Page or Website. Our 25+ years of experience has helped numerous businesses create a powerhouse on-line presence. On a teleconference call, we will review your on-line marketing efforts, answer your questions and offer expert advice on improvements that will help convert your browsers into buyers. This service is valued at $99 but for a very limited time, it is yours for FREE.

Our teleconference calls are scheduled for July 12, 2010 so hurry and sign up today!

What Else?

Once you make your purchase, you will instantly have access to:

• The Virtual Business Series 24/7 Online Learning Center - this is where you will find your Series & Workshop material including recorded audio from group calls, videos and screen captures
• Forum Board – this is where you are able to interact with our experts by posting questions and getting additional support.
• 4 Tele-web conference group calls with the team experts.

Sign up for our Social Media For Business Workshop Today!

Meet Your Workshop Team:

Laura Gonzalez, Business and Website Consultant and Coach with 18 years experience, is Founder and President of Virtual Business Solutions and Virtual Meet and Greet. Laura’s passion is to provide solutions for business owners to succeed in this new economy. She provides resources, training, online tools and sales strategies that simply work. As a consultant and coach, she views clients’ entire business operations and helps them break through business barriers and mind sets. Laura helps clients realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and teaches them new tools to permanently raise their bottom line.

Sharon Higgins has over 15 years experience in copywriting, conceptual ad design, business writing, editing, event planning and marketing strategy. Sharon is skilled in creating attention-grabbing writing pieces such as newsletters, web pages, e-blasts, promotional material and ads designed to compliment a company’s existing or emerging marketing plan. Sharon is a focused team player who strives to create more than just a simple writing piece, but a working tool that will define her clients’ message and help their business achieve optimum success.