nick usborne's blog

A total upgrade for my primary business website, nickusborne.com.

nickusborne.com has been up for almost ten years now, and this is the third major re-design.

But this is the first time I have departed entirely from the original purpose of the site – which was to promote my services as an online copywriter, consultant and speaker.

A great deal has changed over the last decade, including my basic business model and my longer-term goals.

If you have a moment, take a peek at the new site and let me know what you think. It’s still a work in progress, and I have a lot of articles to add over the next little while.

Also, if you are a freelancer, or have any kind of business website of your own, you might want to pause and think about whether your own website is due for an update.

Here are three reasons your website might need attention:

1. If the goals for your business have changed significantly.

2. If the focus of your products or services has changed significantly.

3. If the look and feel of your website has become “old”. Yes, website design goes through fashion cycles. Also, the availability of larger monitors has driven a shift away from narrow websites.

Nothing stands still online, and you need to make sure your website is still supporting your strategy, and pointing clearly in the direction of your goal.

Check it out...nickusborne.com

Further confirmation that you should seriously upgrade your online copywriting skills.

Numerous studies and surveys this year have shown that marketing budgets are moving away from print, radio and broadcast – and into online media.

In an article published by MediaPost this morning, the figures reported are confirming the same trend.

Here is a portion of that article:

“A regional survey of 8,500 senior advertising, marketing and media executives by Round2 Communications found that 72% predict they will increase their spending on digital media in the coming year. Justifying this apportionment, 33.9% said ROI for new media is "somewhat" better than traditional, and 28.2% said new media's ROI is "significantly" better.

Along with the good news for digital media, the survey (which focused on executives from companies headquartered in the Western U.S.) delivered some bad news for traditional: 86% of the respondents say they expect their spending on traditional media -- including broadcast TV and radio and print newspapers and magazines -- to remain even (45.7%) or decline (40.3%) in 2010.”

If you are a freelance writer or copywriter, you need to take notice of these figures. You can’t expect offline media alone to support the growth of your business over the next few years.

Sure, there will always be a demand for print and broadcast copywriters. But the demand is shrinking fast, and the competition will heat up.

If you haven’t done so already, you need to develop your online copywriting skills. And I don’t just mean you should learn about writing single page sales letters online. The real demand right now is for skilled copywriters who understand the full complexity of online media and can write any kind of web page, in addition to email and e-newsletters.

The faster that marketing budgets move online, the greater the opportunity for freelancers who can offer a full range of online copywriting skills.

As far as I know, my online copywriting course is currently the only course of its kind, providing professional-grade instruction on all aspects of writing and copywriting for the web.

Learn more about my course, Copywriting 2.0...

There are times when I feel embarrassed to be a commercial writer.

Predictably, Tiger Woods’ sponsors are feeling nervous. And they are spinning the truth like crazy.

Here is a statement from Gillette:

"As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs."

I wonder who came up with that one.

More honestly, they might have said something like:

“When Tiger Woods behaves badly, it makes us look bad too. To protect our own image we will be removing any mention of him from our marketing communications.”

Why couldn’t they have said that? Why do they have to spin everything? What’s wrong with telling the truth about a tough situation?

Companies and politicians pay big money to create a positive spin on a negative message. And there are writers out there who make a good living by crafting these ridiculous distortions of the truth.

Is it any wonder we don’t trust what companies, celebrities and politicians say to us?

If only they understood the damage they do to the relationships they have with their customers, fans and constituents.

One of these days a celebrity or politician will have the courage to tell the plain truth. They will show their spin doctors the door and tap into the power of communicating with integrity and honesty.

Do websites do better than blogs in achieving high rankings in search engine results?

This is a question under discussion in a private forum I belong to.

The thrust of the thread was suggesting that you are more likely to find websites on page one of the search results, and less likely to find blogs.

I felt compelled to contribute the following (slighly edited since posting)...

I think the fact that Google search results deliver theme-based websites more often than blogs has very little to do with the platform, and everything to do with the quality and content of the website or blog.

As every webmaster knows, success depends a great deal on staying the course. The tortoise beats the hare. And as every successful webmaster will tell you, you have to get over the hump and keep adding more and more content.

To succeed, you have to be stubborn, hold the faith and keep writing and improving.

I think the reason why so many blogs fail to do well is that blogging platforms attract people who are impulsive and want a fast result. They want an inexpensive, easy to use platform that allows them to get started right now. They don’t want to do the hard work.

Blogging services attract people who want the easy button.

Those same people would likely also fail if they wrote a theme-based website.

It’s not the platform, it’s the people.

Let me give you an example.

Check out SingleServeCoffee.com. It’s a blog, built on a rather old and unsophisticated custom platform.

The subject is single serve coffee. It was started by a fellow call Jay Brewer a few years go. His site is number one for dozens of very profitable keywords. In fact, he did so well with this blog, he created a work-from-home company called Blogpire.com. He now publishes ten or more theme-based blogs, all on the same, rather clunky platform. Does it work? It works well enough for him to have several remote employees and pay their salaries.

His secret? The same as ours. He works hard and never gives up.

Another way to check out the fact that blogs are perfectly capable of dominating page one of the search results is to explore some specific topic areas. Go to Google and search for “technology gadgets” or “high tech gadgets”. The blogs win hands down. Not because they are blogs, but because they are really good blogs and better than the competing websites.

I could go on and on. (And often do.)

But I’ll just restate my main point. There is nothing about a good website that gives it an advantage over a good blog when it comes to search results. The Google algorithm doesn’t care whether it is looking at a website or a blog. It doesn’t give one platform more gold stars than the other.

The differentiating element is not the platform. It’s the people or person behind the platform.

5 ways to increase your productivity as a writer.

Of everything I have had published, one of the biggest sellers has been a rather short guide, just 45 pages, called Writing Rituals.

Why the popularity? Probably because as writers we all know there are days, if not weeks, when we are not nearly as productive as we would like.

If we are freelance writers or copywriters, those periods of low productivity quickly turn into periods of low income.

In short, if you write for a living, you need to be productive every day.

A lucky few seem to have been born with the ability to be madly productive without any extra effort. But most of us require some help. We use to-do lists, scheduling applications and any other tool we can use to stay organized, on track and focused.

Writing Rituals, while addressing the use of such tools, also applies the power of rituals. Not habit, but rituals.

The guide takes you through a sequence of five rituals which, when applied, will almost certainly help you not only maintain a higher and consistent level of productivity, but will also help you improve the quality of your writing.

As always, the guide is available through the Writing Rituals website, along with a couple of bonuses.

As of this week, you can also buy it, at a lower price, without the bonuses, at Booklocker.com.

Not Me Mondays: Bob Bly.

If you are freelance writer or copywriter and are looking for a role model, I can’t think of a better choice than Bob Bly.

But be warned: if you want to be like Bob, you’re going to have to work very, very hard.

He has been writing for a living since...I don’t even know...but I’m thinking some time soon after the end of the Crimean war.

Over the course of his career he has written copy for over a hundred different companies. When see the full list ion his website, it is quite dizzying.

And he is no slouch in the publicity department either. He has been on TV and radio shows including MoneyTalk 1350, The Advertising Show, Bernard Meltzer, Bill Bresnan, CNBC, Winning in Business, The Small Business Advocate and CBS Hard Copy.

He has also been featured and/or quoted in major media ranging from the LA Times and Nation's Business, to the New York Post and the National Enquirer.

Take note, aspiring freelancers: he works as hard on his marketing as he does on his writing.

Think he’s busy with all that?

In addition to his copywriting work, Bob has also written over 70 books. While most are about writing, copywriting and marketing, one of his titles - and I’m not even sure he would want me to tell you this - is on the subject of hot dogs..

On top of all this, he is a really nice guy. Not at all one of those, “I’m rich and better than you in every way” people.

You can learn more about Bob at Bly.com.

Not Me Mondays: Michel Fortin

I’m going to give something a try. Each Monday, for a while at least, I’m going to write about a fellow writer, copywriter, coach or marketer. I’ll stick to the people I know and respect.

Why? For a couple of reasons. One, to give back a little. I think I do OK giving back to people who read my writing and purchase my products. But I don’t do so well when it comes to recognizing my own colleagues and peers.

Also, I hope to serve as a filter. If you read me because you trust me...then consider these Monday posts as a thumbs-up for other people you may want to deal with.

There will be no particular rhyme or reason in the order in which I write these posts. So don’t read anything into my choice for this first post in the series, Michel Fortin.

True, he is a fellow Canadian, and he lives only a few hours from my own home, although we have never met face to face.

And, like me, he is a long-time copywriter.

I have a few years on him when it comes to copywriting, and experience as an online copywriter. But he has achieved a lot more than me in the area of delivering products and services to other copywriters and online marketers.

While there are a ton of people who produce a veritable flood of courses and programs, I have picked Michel for one particular reason.

Like me, he believes you can sell hard without resorting to hype, deception and manipulation.

That’s a big issue for me in marketing online, and always has been.

But Michel, and his wife Sylvie, are way ahead when it comes to articulating and sharing that message.

I also respect the fact that when you go to his site, it isn’t all about selling his own products and services. He takes the time both to state his position on various issues, and give away a ton of useful information.

You’ll find Michel at MichelFortin.com

Big companies don’t answer your questions very well. Experts next door do.

If you type the word coffee into Google, the first result is usually Starbucks. My own site, CoffeeDetective.com, is listed on page twenty of those results.

This isn’t so surprising. We expect the big guy to be number one when we type in any single-word search that describes a broad topic area. Coffee. Money. Travel. Gardening.

But what happens when you type in a question that is far narrower in its meaning?

Go to Google and type in the phrase, “is coffee fattening?”

In this case, CoffeeDetective.com comes in at number one or two, and Starbucks is nowhere to be found.

Big company websites focus on what they do and what they sell. But they don’t do nearly as well when addressing the specific questions that people actually ask.

Try again with “organic coffee pods”.

Again, CoffeeDetective.com is in the number one spot, and Starbucks is nowhere.

The fact that big companies focus primarily on what they do and what they sell provides individuals who are writing their own websites with a wonderful opportunity.

As experts next door, we don’t try to compete on that primary topic description – like coffee, money, travel or gardening. Instead, we find out what people really want to know. What are the real life questions that people are asking? What information are people actually looking for?

By taking the side of people who are asking specific, narrow questions, people writing their own information websites can beat the big guys in search results.

Don’t compete with them on what they do and what they sell. Compete with them on the narrow sub-topics which address the information searchers are actually looking for.

U.S. Companies are moving $65 Billion advertising dollars online.

Not Millions, but Billions.

To put that into context, listen to what Anthea Stratigos of Outsell Inc. said in a recent interview in Forbes Magazine. "To scale that, compare the total U.S. TV and cable advertising revenue for 2009, which is about $66 billion. The marketing dollars companies now spend on their own sites is equivalent to all TV ad revenue for the year."

Pause and think about that. $65 BILLION  that is no longer going to be spent on traditional media, but is going to be spent on online advertising and company websites.

How will that money be used? Anthea predicts, “Page content, Web analytics, search engine optimization and site design. Most of them have invested in social networking platforms to create direct dialogues with their consumers.”

So here is my question for you.

Do you plan to invest your career as a copywriter on writing for traditional media, or for online media?

Do you plan to build your future as a traditional copywriter or an online copywriter?

Keep in mind that the figure of $65 Billion is not a projection for the next five or ten years. It’s the amount of marketing and advertising money moving from TV and print to the web THIS year.

For some time I have been advocating that copywriters urgently need to upgrade their skills and get into the business of being an online copywriter.

For those who haven’t believed me, maybe you’ll believe all those billions of dollars.

If you are ready to take the plunge and take your share of that $65 Billion shift, be sure to check out my online copywriting course.

Some free guides to writing for the web, and other related topics...

A couple of years back I experimented with writing some short guides to writing for the web, and then selling them for a few dollars each.

I never did sell many copies, but I think the guides are useful.

My plan B is to make them available free.

The ones I have uploaded so far are now on my Scribd page. More to follow soon.