Michael Marrer

One area that many LinkedIn users often focus on is analytics. They are checking and recording their Post Views. Their Article Views. And their Video Views. It’s how they supposedly know if they are winning the social media game. But as Inigo said to Vizzini in The Princess Bride, “you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” No! That’s inconceivable! But it’s true. Because LinkedIn, unfortunately, uses …

Is This the *Real* Reason Your LinkedIn Post Views Are So Low? Read More »

To keep your website focused solely on your products, services, brand and blog? Or to attempt to monetize the interest and traffic that comes there? That has been an on-going question with resulting discussions ever since the hosting and creation of websites became accessible and affordable. I’m not going to insert myself into this argument one way or another. But I am going to add one thing that should be considered. And that is, have …

Are the Ads On Your Website Actually Harming Your Brand? Read More »

No doubt you have already heard or read about the importance of uploading a professional-looking photograph to be used in your profile Introduction Card (the first information people see when looking you up). While you may think it is nice to show the “real” you, LinkedIn is predominantly a business platform. And so the overly-casual Facebook-style photos rarely work here. LinkedIn’s own studies have shown that profiles with professional photos receive 14 times the views …

The One Thing You Should Do Before Getting LinkedIn Profile Photos Read More »

Quotes can be useful in your content, either as a lead-in for your material or as an example of how you used their message to solve a particularly sticky situation in your business. (Of course, as long as they aren’t tired clichés.) The problem lies when a quote is either incorrectly worded or was never actually said by the identified person. “The definition of insanity” is an example of the latter. Einstein did not say …

Always Verify Quotes Before Using Them Read More »

When you or your company had a product or service to sell, you no doubt compiled a list of all of its benefits as well as its features. You probably also, based on research and focus groups, ranked both of those categories from highest to lowest interest. The top ones then became the primary focus of your marketing campaigns. But are you stuck in a rut? Even though some of your customers have said “No” …

Constantly Repeating Only One of Your Benefits Means Missed Sales Opportunities Read More »

Stores in my area that are part of a national coffee and doughnut chain have this cute little game that they like to play. They’ll take one type of doughnut and label it “Manager’s Special”. That’s all it says. And in many cases, you have no idea what it is. Is it plain with just some frosting on top? Or is it filled? If so, is it Boston cream or vanilla cream? Perhaps even Oreo? …

When Customers Want To Buy, Don’t Make It Difficult Or a Mystery Read More »

Copywriters are frequently told that it is a good idea to maintain a swipe file. Which I do. A “swipe file” is a collection of advertising or marketing materials that have one thing in common. Either their written content or their overall presentation of a product’s benefits or features is so well done that it strongly motivates the reader into completing the purchase. These are great references to review when stumped as to how best …

Why Do Direct Mailers Neglect Their Most Valuable Real Estate? Read More »