Pluperfecter: Steven Streight on SEO and internet marketing - Peoria, IL

Happy Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Sun, 13 May 2018 10:04:00 +0000

Tunnel Vision of Website Visitors

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 07:27:00 +0000

Many business owners think customers read their website in logical order, like a book, but that's totally wrong.

Customers exhibit a type of tunnel vision, ignoring what is irrelevant to them. They skim and scan and skip everything that is not directly related to the problem or need they feel at the moment.

Thus, your website must clearly emphasize major concepts and topics that customers care about, helping them to be blind to irrelevant content and helping them to focus only on their immediate interest.

Special, idiosyncratic, personalized focus of customers is a big important part of website usability studies. One weird fact is that if a customer thinks a bit of content should be found in a certain spot on your website, they'll keep coming back to that spot, over and over again. It tends to be a vicious circle phenomenon.

You must make each page of your website focus on a specific topic, product, or idea. In the HTML document, this will be the one and only H1 tag. Then each topic should have clear subheads, which will be H2 tags in the HTML document.

You must realize that the vast majority of visitors to your website will not be interested in everything you have to say.

Most customers will have one specific, narrowly-defined issue. They'll have one burning question or aggravating problem they want to solve. They'll want to quickly and easily find relevant content for that topic, without having to swim through tons of irrelevant content.

Since you can't predict which question or problem any given customer may have, you need to make sure that all conceivable questions and problems pop out from the website, making it easy for customers to skim through it and identify the bit of content that meets their needs.

Even if your product can do many things and solve multiple problems, a specific individual customer may not care about all that. They may have just one thing that's motivating them to visit your website. Be sure that your website shows awareness of this customer reality.

Don't bury your topics and sub-heads in a flurry of hype.

Don't force your customers to read lots of irrelevant content before they finally find the one thing they need.

If we all had to pay attention to everything all the time, we'd never get anything done.

Present the salient points about your product in a logical manner, within a framework that makes it easy for customers to jump around and zero in on a specific bit of content that satisfies whatever their need is at a given moment.

An FAQ format is ideal for presenting this information.

An example of web visitor tunnel vision is here:

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/tunnel-vision-and-selective-attention/

Voice Search Changes How You Optimize Website Content

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 08:49:00 +0000

Google is moving more strongly toward being a direct answer provider, rather than a search engine providing links to possible solutions.

This means your website can be Google's quoted resource -- IF your web content completely answers every question a customer could possibly ask about their problem and its solution.

If your answer is so complete and well-written that Google serves it up to customers, you'll crush your competitors.

Look at your website. How good a job does it do in answering customer questions? Does it even show any concern about typical questions customers have?

If you don't know all the questions your website should be addressing -- ask your sales staff, service department, or receptionist. Also, go directly to customers and ask them what questions, concerns, frustrations, and problems they have.

An FAQ format is a great way to present information about a product, rather than long, dense blocks of hype. You'll see this on Amazon product pages, where customers ask questions, then answers are provided by other customers or the manufacturer of the product.

Think deeply about your customers, the problems they face, and the questions they are asking. It's very annoying to go to a website, wanting to purchase something, but not finding answers to important questions you have.

Customers with "more nuanced" questions tend to be ready to buy now. They're doing research and want to be very sure they make the right product choice, with no regrets later.

Make sure your website accommodates them.

Read more about voice search and Google snippets here:

https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4889153.htm

10 Types of SEO Keywords for Effective Website Content

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:41:00 +0000

Everybody knows that for SEO power and content enrichment, your website text must contain naturally occurring keywords.

Keywords are words and phrases that customers and industry leaders use that are relevant to your business, problems of customers, and how to solve them.

You don't take mediocre, hurriedly thrown together copy, then sprinkle strategic keywords into it to empower it for SEO. That won't work. Google will consider poorly written, superficial, fluffy content to be Inferior Quality Web Content and will downrank your website in search results.

You explain the customer problem, why it's urgent to fix it immediately, and how your product solves everything easily, quickly, and affordably.

Then your website needs to answer every conceivable question a customer could and does ask, from every possible angle, defining technical terms, and speaking in a friendly, person-to-person voice of authority and credibility.

Now let's drill down into the general kinds of keywords that should be used in your website.

10 Basic Types of SEO Keywords

1. Customer Defined Keywords (User Vocabulary)

2. Industry Defined Keywords (Technical Terminology)

3. Product Defined Keywords (Catalog Copy)

4. Thought Leader Defined Keywords (Buzzwords / Insider Slang)

5. Geolocation Keywords (Local Shopping)

6. Related Vertical Keywords (Commercial Ecosystem Glossary)

7. Prospect Footprints (Customer Conversations)

8. Leading Keywords (Highly Competitive Nomenclature)

9. Longtail Keywords (Esoteric Terms of Highly Motivated Shoppers or Researchers)

10. Synonyms / Close Variants (Alternate Terminology)

How to Save a Post on Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 07 Feb 2018 04:25:00 +0000

See a really great post on Facebook? Full of good information?

Shared it to your wall perhaps, but afraid it will get lost as you add more posts, and it gets pushed down into oblivion?

Use the "Save Post: add this to your saved items" tool to keep track of it.

Save Post tool is found in the 3 dots at upper right corner of a post. Click or tap on it to activate the drop down menu, it's at the top.

When you save things on Facebook, they'll appear in the Saved section.

To view the things you've saved:

Go to Facebook.com/saved or click Saved in the left side menu of the homepage. Click a saved category at the top or click a saved item to view it.

Note: Saved items are private, so only you can see them.

Reading a Book in a Bar

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 04:11:00 +0000

One time several years ago, I brought a book into a bar on Main Street called Sonny's. It was not tolerated.

As I was reading it, some guy came up to me and actually growled, "I don't drink beer in the library, so why are you reading a book in a bar?"

I replied, "I don't tell you what to do, so why are you trying to tell me what to do?"

Dangers of Free Public Wifi

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 03:58:00 +0000

While Starbuck’s free public Wi-fi is convenient, is it actually safe? NO. Never use it.

It’s not just Starbuck’s Wi-Fi that is considered to be unsafe, using any public Wi-Fi can put you at risk for hacking, malware, and identity theft.

The main reason for this is how open these public networks are.

There are either very little (or no) authentication steps required to connect. Anyone with any device capable of connecting online can freely establish a connection.

The other big reason that public Wi-Fi spots are unsafe, is the lack of any encryption. The purpose of encryption is to protect data as it travels from point A to B. It does this by scrambling the data, so that if it is intercepted, it cannot be read or accessed.

The absence of any encryption means that any data flowing through the web can be intercepted, read, and accessed.

So for instance, if you are using Starbuck’s Wi-Fi to online shop, and you enter your credit card information, this info can be read as it is traveling from your device to the store’s server.

On public Wi-Fi networks, hackers can also set themselves so that they appear to be the connection point, or place themselves in between you and the real Wi-Fi connection point.

In these cases, instead of being directly connected to the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi set-up, your information is actually being routed through the hacker’s set up.

This allows them to see everything you are doing online, and collect the information going through the web. Malware can also be distributed through unsecured networks.

Don't use public wifi -- but if you do, never buy anything online using your credit card. Wait until you're home.

Also, make sure that any software updates and upgrades are coming from the software itself, and not from a website’s pop up notification.

Hidden Value of Lurkers

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 04:33:00 +0000

Lurkers, up to 98% of your Facebook, blog, and website visitors, have a hidden value that will now be revealed to you.

Lurkers are individuals who read or watch what's posted in online forums, blogs, websites, YouTube, and social media -- but they never interact.

They don't click Like. They don't share or post comments on your content. You never hear from them via email, website contact forms, or private messages.

Most lurkers are good people who are too shy, inarticulate, or busy to interact with you online. Some lurkers have been personally attacked by trolls and want to avoid any further trouble.

However, there are also lurkers who are malicious stalkers, snooping around, spying on you, nosey about your life and beliefs.

Other lurkers may be competitors wanting to steal your ideas or exploit your expertise, claiming it as their own.

Some lurkers may quote you on their own internet platform and make fun of, or misinterpret, what you post.

But most lurkers are enjoying your posts. They're part of your silent, secret fan base. They may be sharing your ideas and expertise with other people in the offline world. Lurkers may be personally benefiting greatly from your posts.

Once in a great while, they may even tell you something like "I've been following you for many years now, and want to express my delight in your thoughtful and informative posts."

Don't have negative feelings about the good, benevolent lurkers. They tend to be 90% to 99% of the total Internet user population.

In fact, they might be your biggest, most loyal fans...and doing a lot to promote you, your business, your music and art.

What Exactly is a Troll?

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 03:57:00 +0000

Many people have a very mistaken idea about what an internet troll is. Often they call anybody who posts a contrary or opposing view a "troll."

Wrong.

Trolls post inflammatory remarks with the sole purpose of angering people and disrupting a conversation. They tend to hammer their opinion relentlessly.

Often, their first comment will seem civil, and just mildly know-it-all. But when you express yourself and say something the troll disagrees with, all hell suddenly breaks loose.

Anyone who tries to correct a troll,or share an idea that contradicts what the troll said, will get F bombs and words like "idiot", and filthy language insults. Personal attacks prove without a doubt that a troll is present.

Nobody "wins" a discussion that is attempting to clarify or discover truth. Each side learns a little, even if their opinion doesn't change. It's good to listen to opposition.

If nothing else is gained, you at least get better at understanding a different point of view and at advancing your own perspective. If all you do is hang around with those who always agree with you, you're going to be dumbed down and unfit to debate an opponent -- and not even realize what is happening to you.

Sometimes you may read a post and feel the viewpoint is missing a vital angle or some pertinent information. So you post a comment, politely and non-combatively, that conveys your understanding of an issue.

If some thin-skinned, intolerant, arrogant person then jumps in and accuses you of "trolling", just post a link to an article that documents and verifies your remark. Be nice, intelligent, and calm about it.

Often however, this won't solve much, because people don't like to appear wrong or misinformed. Few individuals are really open minded and fair about issues that are close to their heart.

But lurkers who stay out of the argument may appreciate your link and may learn something, even if they don't click Like on your comment.

Remember, trolls are defined by their attitude. Simply posting a contrary view is not trolling. Trolls are hateful troublemakers who enjoy stirring up hurt feelings and confusion.

I train CEOs and business managers in how to deal with negative comments and trolls. I've developed tactics and strategies that have proven to be very effective.

Need help with online reputation management or trolls? Contact me.

steven.streight@gmail.com

Google-compliant SEO

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 04:05:00 +0000

What is "SEO that is Google-compliant"?

It's what I provide to my clients.

That means search engine optimization based on Google Webmaster Guidelines. It "optimizes" (makes as good as possible) your website, so Google recognizes it as the ideal source of information and products for customer questions and needs.

Your website must take full advantage of best practices in content format, naturally occurring keywords, HTML meta tags, robots protocols, image alt attributes, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), micro-data markup, favicons, and much more.

Web designers typically don't focus on SEO. They seem to be unaware of how to do it correctly and how powerful it can be for your internet branding and marketing.

When your business has a Google-compliant SEO-empowered website, you gain a huge competitive advantage, that's not easy for rival companies to copy.

How Google Disfavors Bad Websites

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 17:15:00 +0000

Many business people don't understand how Google keeps targeting certain aspects of websites that are mediocre or anti-user.

It's good for you to know what Google is persecuting.

You can't attract more customers to your website, and generate more sales, if Google thinks your website sucks.

When Google wages war against deceptive claims, aggressive ads, sparse content, keyword spamming, and black hat tricks, your website better not have these issues.

Such Google algorithm updates as Panda content assessment, Mobilegeddon, Intrusive Interstitial penalty, Penguin 4.0 bad link devaluation, RankBrain artificial intelligence, or AdWords Shakeup -- each of these changes in Google search can have a big impact on how your website ranks in search results pages.

Google has an algorithm running all the time called Above The Fold (ATF).

The ATF algorithm can impact rankings when ads or other elements push your main content down the page.

Google’s John Mueller has explained that ATF doesn’t need a refresh. It is working all the time. So as Google crawls your site and identifies ads (or other elements) pushing down your main content, your site can be negatively impacted.

Google will disfavor any website that has obstructions to customers in their pursuit of information.

This is because Google wants its search results to please and help customers. Google wants to identify the best websites for answering customer questions.

If your website has poor usability, badly written text, non-optimized images, mediocre design, confusing architecture, slim content, incomplete explanations, technical terms not defined, annoying ads popping up, vague category heads and subheads, or other problems, Google will not consider your website to be a good place for customers to visit.

SEO involves major enhancements to your website content, so that both Google and your customers will be happy. What's good for Google is good for your customers -- and good for your website to implement.

On Page SEO Improves Text Content

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 11:33:00 +0000

If there was one basic fundamental guide to empowering a website with SEO, without diving into HTML code, what would it be?

"Is this website answering all the questions that customers typically ask, or could conceivably ask?"

This "on page SEO" (Search Engine Optimization) focuses on enhancing your website's content, making sure that it's based on customer needs and questions. Think about that for a moment.

Does your website provide well-written text that (1) identifies the customer problem, in their language (not corporate talk) and (2) explains in interesting detail how your product solves that problem, from every possible angle and niche interest?

FAQ style question and answer format is something from Web 1.0 that everybody understands. It's the preferred SEO way to present website content.

It's in line with how customers do internet searches for information about problems, solutions, and products that provide these solutions. FAQ info pleases search engines and they'll more likely send customers to your website because of its relevance.

Rather than tell a bland story about quality products, low prices, and great service (like everybody else is shouting) -- your website should contain expert responses, in friendly language, to customer fears, desires, and confusions.

Which means you've got to know your customers better than your competitors do, and thus can talk to them more effectively.

Test Your Website for SEO - and attract more customers

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:31:00 +0000

Test Your Website's SEO

Does your website need SEO? How can you tell?

Search engine optimization empowers your website to attract customers.

Many websites have no SEO implemented, or poorly implemented, so the websites just sit there on the web, accomplishing nothing.

Your visibility as a business includes search engine results page ranking. How well is your website doing when customers do Google searches on keywords related to your business?

Simple Test to Check Your Website SEO:

(1) Enter into Google some key words that pertain to your business.

For example, if you're a dentist, you'd want to enter such phrases as dental implants, teeth whitening, family dentist, affordable dental work, pain free dentist, dentures, tooth extraction, wisdom teeth, baby teeth, teeth grinding, mouth guards, etc.

These are typical terms that people use in Google search when they're looking for answers, services, or products to solve a problem.

Thus, your website needs a good amount of text defining and explaining these terms. Google will look for the best match of website content that's relevant to such topics. If you have nothing, or perhaps just a sentence or two, in your website on a specific issue, your website needs more content.

(2) For each keyword or phrase, look at the search results. Does your website appear in the first few pages? Does it appear at all?

Done. You now know how much SEO power your website has. If people can't find your website when doing internet searches, your business is in serious trouble.

See those business that are appearing on the first 3 pages of Google? Those are your competitors -- and they're using SEO to steal customers away from you.

Rank Higher in Search Results

There are many SEO factors involved in how highly a website ranks in search results.

HTML page titles, meta descriptions, H tag headers, robots protocols, AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) validation, Schema dot org code are some of the website code structure that needs to be correct.

If a website has longevity, it's been online for many years, Google will tend to favor it. When other reputable, prestigious, helpful websites link to yours, that's going to boost your rankings in search results.

In addition, SEO is impacted by various aspects of content, including such things as:

nice visual appearance, well written text using naturally occurring keywords, FAQ style answers to common questions, product comparison guide, strong calls to action on every page, captions under photos, interesting About page, and proper use of headlines and subheads.

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CONTACT ME for SEO help.

If your website is failing in SEO, not showing up in search results, and not generating sales for your business, let's talk about it.

I've provided Google-compliant, ROI oriented SEO and social media marketing for local banks, hospitals, manufacturers, agriculture, accounting firms, law offices, dentists, grocery stores, tourism, historical organizations, chambers of commerce, and many other types of business.

There could be some very simple, quick, and affordable ways to fix what's wrong and get your business back on track for strong competitive advantages that rival firms won't be able to copy.

20 Tips for Facebook Business Page Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 23:28:00 +0000

I enjoy managing Facebook Business Pages for my clients. I won't share all my secrets, for I have developed some effective strategies and methodologies that are unique.

But here are 20 basic, effective ideas on marketing a business on Facebook.

(1) Set up a Facebook Business Page and be sure to provide all the information required (About, Hours of Operation, Street Address, Contact Info, etc.).

(2) Use a cover photo (that goes across the top of the page) that shows your building or your product solving a problem for a customer, or something that's relevant and dramatic.

(3) Consider putting your business name, slogan, and phone number and street address (or email address) on the cover photo. This makes your cover photo an ad that everybody sees.

(4) Make sure your cover photo looks good in a variety of devices, especially mobile. You can find mobile device simulators online that will provide renderings of any webpage on many different devices and screen sizes.

(5) Use a profile photo of the CEO, owner, or manager to personalize the business and make it more human, less remote from customers.

(6) Use the Call To Action button in way that's appropriate to your business (make a reservation, book a room, etc.).

(7) On your About page, be sure to differentiate your business from competitors. Give a brief explanation of what your business is and what makes it special, plus what products or services you provide to what kind of customers.

(8) Post photos of CEO, owner, store manager, especially when they're interacting with customers or engaged in community service projects.

(9) Post photos of products, from various angles, by themselves and also products solving problems or meeting needs of customers.

(10) Post photos of your building, so people can have a mental image of it when they drive to your physical location. This will help them find you.

(11) If you have a physical location, tell customers about landmarks that are nearby, or the intersection, or what neighborhood your business is located in. Don't just tell them the address, which may not mean much if a customer isn't familiar with that street.

(12) Post videos of product in action, customers (with their permission) enjoying a product, tours of your facility, company events, employees happy at work, etc.

Hubspot says: "The 2017 State of Inbound report cited video as the “main disruptor,” with 24% of marketers naming it as a top priority.

“Watch video” is one of the CTAs that Facebook allows brands to add to their Pages for a reason -- because it’s becoming one of the most popular ways to consume content."

(13) Post links to news articles relevant to your business, to your industry, and to the needs and problems your customers have.

This is something almost no business does, so it's an easy way to stand out from the competition and give customers content that's interesting and helpful.

(14) Post answers to questions that customers typically ask.

(15) Post definitions of technical terms and other things that will educate your customers.

(16) DO NOT post relentless self-promotions. This makes you seem like a pushy, hard sell salesman that everybody hates. Post a nice variety of content that is not necessarily self-serving, but that gives customers good information.

(17) Post text and video tutorials about how to use your products.

(18) Post explanations of what each product's purpose is and how it achieves it, with product comparisons to help customers decide which model is best for their needs.

(19) ENGAGE with all comments. NEVER ignore remarks they make. DO NOT delete embarrassing questions, angry complaints, or tough criticisms.

Negative comments are your golden opportunity to shine, to take the high road and show how kind, understanding, and professional you are.

(20) Figure out the best timing and frequency of posting.

Generally, it's good to post from about 8 AM to 11 PM, with a focus on lunch time (when people can take a break from work and check out Facebook notifications) and a little past dinner time (around 6 PM).

My general rule of thumb is I post on behalf of my clients about every 2 to 4 hours, every single day, except Sunday.

You may think that's a lot, but if you have really good, interesting things to post, people will appreciate it and gain benefit from your postings.

Post too often -- and people may feel you're desperate or even spamming them. You'll look obnoxious and troublesome.

Post infrequently -- and people may think you have no enthusiasm for your business or no expertise in marketing. You'll look very unprofessional and boring.

********

Follow these simple guidelines and you'll be WAY ahead of your competition, I guarantee it.

Sound overwhelming? Too busy to deal with it?

I manage Facebook business page marketing for a very reasonable rate, with professional social media marketing expertise that is unmatched in the Peoria area.

Contact me today.

steven.streight@gmail.com

SEO Mistakes Made by Local Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 05:12:00 +0000

Google provides good advice on how to implement SEO on your website.

There's at least one web design company in Peoria I know of that often uses "black hat SEO", i.e. techniques to try to trick Google into thinking a website is relevant to customers.

By using these unethical techniques, a website might rise high in search results temporarily, but will suddenly drop in rankings, and may be penalized or even banned by Google.

As a business owner, CEO, or marketing manager, you should get to know what works, and what doesn't work, in SEO.

The biggest mistakes I see local businesses of Peoria, IL make on their websites are:

(1) not enough keyword-rich text that answers customer questions in an FAQ type presentation

(2) "we-oriented" text that blabbers on and on about the company, without really addressing customer needs or problems

(3) not providing photos or videos of the product in use solving a customer's problem

(4) poorly composed meta tags, especially meta description

(5) poorly implemented H (header) tags

(6) not mobile-optimized.

Here are Google Webmaster's preliminary remarks on SEO.

QUOTE

Avoid the following techniques:

* Automatically generated content
* Participating in link farm schemes
* Creating pages with little or no original content
* Cloaking
* Sneaky redirects
* Hidden text or links
* Doorway pages
* Scraped content
* Participating in affiliate programs without adding sufficient value
* Loading pages with irrelevant keywords
* Creating pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other badware
* Abusing rich snippets markup
* Sending automated queries to Google

END QUOTE

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Need help with driving more customers to your website, via Google-compliant SEO?

I can provide this assistance to you, like I've done for Peoria area banks, accounting firms, law offices, hospitals, dentists, restaurants, book shops, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, manufacturers, grocery stores, and other types of business.

Contact me today.

Stop Playing Facebook Games and Quizzes

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 04:17:00 +0000

Games and quizzes on Facebook are often big trouble, and not just for innocent entertainment.

Many people I personally know have had their Facebook accounts hacked due to participating in them. Worse things could also happen.

Facebook games and quizzes often ask for extreme permissions, like access to your account and friends list, and ability to post on your behalf.

If a game or quiz has malicious intent, they can start spamming all your friends and they'll think it's coming from you. Other more criminal intentions can also be involved.

http://technology.inquirer.net/59686/hackers-using-fb-quizzes-harvest-personal-data-report

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 06:39:00 +0000

Marcus Lemonis invests his own money, tens of millions, into failing businesses he believes in.

Here is THE PROFIT television show's -- "Top 10 Rules for Business Success":

(1) Don't Be An Ass.

Treat people nicely, without being a chump. Really crazy business people have zero self-awareness, it shows immediately and they will not change.

(2) Make Your Employees #1.

Customers are sometimes wrong. If you treat your employees great, you'll also have good customer relations. Hire the right people, then tap into their strengths.

(3) Know What You're NOT Good At.

Then find experts to help you. You don't need to excel at everything. But you need to find ways to make up for what you're weak at.

(4) Avoid Drama.

Sometimes you have to just accept the crazy and work around it. Family businesses bring long-festering issues and conflict into the picture. Working with friends and relatives can be very dangerous, because you may overlook bad aspects of their work and attitudes. Deal with dysfunction, build on strengths.

(5) Be Vulnerable.

Open up, let your emotions be expressed when appropriate, instead of allowing them to be repressed and boiling under the surface.

(6) Be Authentic.

Not pretentious. Your business has a story, but it must be non-fiction. Customers don't want fake narratives contrived to sell products based on falsehoods.

(7) Be Transparent.

Don't lie about anything. Be trustworthy. "Little by little, the story kept changing. He lies because he doesn't know how to do anything else. He's used to manipulating people deceitfully. I lost $300,000 on that deal."

(8) It's All About Follow-Through.

I don't run your entire business. I don't manage it forever. You must step up to the plate and perform. You must do what you agreed to do when we made the deal. You must consistently show strong leadership in your company.

(9) Know Your Numbers.

Know your production costs and sales figures. Know your profit margins. Have accurate and ethical accounting processes. The numbers are the health report for your business.

(10) Don't Blame Others.

Quit whining. Stop pointing fingers. Roll up your sleeves and get to work.

How Customer-Centric Website Content Increases Sales

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 03:49:00 +0000

As a business, you need to be found by customers.

People who have a need that your products satisfy, they should be able to find you when they do a Google search, using keywords related to their problem.

How does your business appear high in Google search results?

SEO, search engine optimization, which includes improving your website's HTML code meta tags -- and adding better written content that answers questions asked by customers.

Most websites have HTML code that is not compliant with Google Webmaster SEO requirements. This can be easily seen by looking at the source code and comparing it with what Google recommends.

Most websites also use a company-centric approach to content, instead of a customer-centric approach. Talking about your company from your own point of view is a guaranteed way to bore and annoy customers.

Nobody wants to know more about your company.

People want to know more about solutions to their needs and problems. That's their top priority.

Business people wrongly think, "If people knew who we are and what we do, they'd buy from us."

Correct orientation is, "If we understood better what the customers need and how they talk about it, we'd be more successful at promoting our products as the solution."

Your website, your blog, and your Facebook business page should be slanted entirely and aggressively toward customer needs. Typical customer questions should be answered.

Guidance should be given to customers so they can discover which products best solve their problems.

When you show your customers how their problems can be solved, how their lives can be enhanced, how their needs can be met -- THEN they'll want to know more about your company and products.

The words "you" and "your" must dominate your online content. You'll see website traffic and sales increase dramatically when you change your content strategy to be customer-focused.

By adding more customer-centric content to your website, blog, and Facebook business page, you'll be telling Google that your business has answers that customers are seeking.

By addressing customer concerns, interests, and needs, your online presences will position your business as a leader in its field, so that Google will start making your website rise higher and higher in search results show to customers.

Your website should be working just as hard as you do. It's one of your most important sales and marketing tools.

No Goal is a Big Reason Why Online Marketing Fails

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 06:03:00 +0000

One big reason why websites, blogs, and Facebook business pages fail to produce results is because no realistic goal was formulated.

For example, somebody decides to make a blog, and "monetize it", which means ruining it with ads.

When people visit the blog, they're repulsed by how spammy it looks, with ads cluttering the design and distracting from the blog's content.

To make matters worse, the person doesn't publish posts very often, has no understanding of SEO, and doesn't get any traffic to the blog. So the ads do nothing but annoy the few people who go to the blog.

You must develop a goal for your web presences.

"Tell people who we are, what we do, and what products we carry" is the strategy of losers. It's company-focused.

"Tell customers how their needs are met by the benefits and features our products provide" is the strategy of winners. It's customer-centric.

Blogs are primarily for SEO.

Blogs are best used to supply fresh, frequent, relevant content to Google. This savvy content positions you, in the mind of customers and in the Google algorithm, as a leader in your field, a local expert.

Then, by strategic use of a blog, your business rises higher and higher in Google search results when customers are seeking what your business provides.

While Google prefers longevity (web pages that have existed for several years or more), I've seen a client with a brand new website, brand new Facebook business page, and brand new blog, get to page 1 on Google search results in just 3 months.

This victory was achieved in spite of ferocious competition, local companies advertising on the radio and with gigantic 4 color postcards in the mail twice a month.

Bicycle Fever presentation for your organization: ACT NOW

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 08:43:00 +0000

Owner of Younger Than Yesterday and long time friend and fellow musician, Craig Moore, was happy to receive a signed copy of my book "Bicycle Fever."

My book "Bicycle Fever", written for Charles Ruppman and the Proctor Cycling Classic, in association with Bradley University, Peoria Historical Society, and Peoria Public Library, traces the evolution of bicycle technology, culminating in Peoria's role in early bicycle manufacturing and international bike racing.

Want a fascinating, educational, and humorous presentation for your group, club, or company?

I have given this presentation to Peoria Women's Club, Chillicothe Historical Society, Peoria Public Library, and others.

People laugh and learn. Interesting aspects of Peoria, and astonishing Peoria champions, are covered with amusing anecdotes and tales of bizarre daring and skill. A good time for all.

I video record my presentation, and upload it to YouTube, so those in your organization who were not able to attend can view it.

Booking now for Fall and Winter 2017.

CONTACT me at:

steven.streight@gmail.com

THANKS.

Branding vs. Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 00:12:00 +0000

Branding is extremely important for any business. It's not a footnote, it's a big headline.

A rough analogy. You want to land a job interview for a high level executive position, for which you are qualified. So you buy a brand new suit, tie, and white shirt -- or you ladies buy a new business outfit and shoes.

That's similar to branding. But you don't just sit around, wearing your new interview garments, hoping the phone will ring.

After sophisticated branding, you then have to market that brand and sell your products and services.

Branding includes logos, tag lines, slogans, radio jingles, TV spokesperson, colors, CEO photos, etc. It's your identity, the first impression your business makes on customers. It's your corporate image, the company's overall personality.

Branding is based on (1) what differentiates you from your competitors, (2) how you position your company as Top of Mind Choice or Industry Leader, and (3) what problems you solve for customers.

Once you have determined what makes your company special, and describe that special aspect in terms of customer needs (NOT corporate bragging, with "we do this" boredom), you're ready to start a marketing campaign.

As a website content writer and SEO specialist, I can tell you that all your marketing material MUST be written in language your customers use.

You may have to introduce, and define, peculiar industry terminology, but most of your content must be customer-oriented and using their exact words.

All your radio commercials, TV spots, social media posts, billboards, brochures, email promotions, even down to corporate slogans and business cards, MUST be directed toward the customer's needs, problems, and interests.

It must NOT be "we-oriented", bureaucratic bloviating, corporate culture messaging. STOP doing that. STOP it right now. You need to understand how damaging it is to boast from the company's point of view.

Get to know how your customers talk about their needs. How they complain about competitors. The specific words and phrases they use when searching on Google for answers and solutions to their urgent problems.

For example, my business cards used to say "Web Content Development". That's how us IT guys and gals talk.

When I said that to clients, they'd always say, "You mean you write content for websites? You come up with the words to put in them?"

So I changed my statement to "Website Content Writing."

If you keep just this one idea firmly in mind, and judge all branding and marketing communications according to this rule, you'll be light years beyond most if not all of your competitors.

You WILL see sales and store traffic increase. Contact me for more specific recommendations for your particular business.

10 Worst Things a Business Can Do on Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 06:19:00 +0000

What are the biggest mistakes a business should avoid on Facebook?

Sprout Social lists these 5, and I add a few more....

(1) Post too many promotional messages. People are turned off by relentless, pushy ad campaigns and product announcements.

(2) Use slang and jargon that doesn't really fit with your brand or target audience (in a vain attempt to be "hip").

(3) Being impersonal, with no unique point of view, no sense of a real person behind the posts, too cold and bland.

(4) Misguided attempts to be comical, using humor that's not easy to understand -- or being satirical, but it's not obvious that satire is intended.

(5) Not responding at all, or not quickly enough, to comments, questions, complaints, etc.

Turned Off: How Brands Are Annoying Customers on Social

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/q3-2016/

I would add:

(6) Not posting information (including links to relevant news items) that positions your business as the leader in your field.

(7) Posting irrelevant information about sitcoms, Hollywood, fashion, etc. that has no bearing on what you sell, just to get a lot of Likes and comments.

(8) Not posting information about what differentiates your business from competitors.

(9) Not posting photos or videos of your products in use, solving problems for customers.

(10) Not posting videos of the CEO, business owner, or manager talking directly to potential customers, explaining how your products benefit people.

Passion and Hard Work Won't Make You Successful

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 03:48:00 +0000

On Shark Tank, I keep seeing entrepreneurs who think their main selling point is their passion and hard work.

Passion and hard work mean absolutely nothing. I've known lunatics who were passionate and working hard.

I think this crazy attitude comes from New Age gurus.

"Wish hard enough and it will magically materialize."

"What you picture in your mind must appear in the world."

"Thoughts are things."

"Believe it will happen, and it will happen."

"Have zeal and make it real."

"Fake it until you make it."

And other loads of crap.

To succeed, you must be smart, not just fanatical.

You need to know the market.

You have to first know the problems, needs, and desires of your customer. Without that foundation, all the passion and hard work in the world will accomplish nothing.

You don't just invent something, then try to see who you can sell it to. You have to begin with the customer's pain and perplexity, their anguish and anger, their frustration and futility.

You have to see a big problem that is not being solved very well by competitors. You then design a solution and those who need it are already craving it.

Marketing is simply connecting your solution with the people who need it.

Your marketing must come not from a marketing team in a conference room, but from the lips of customers, how they talk, what they say about their problem, what they dream about and desire.

Your website, Facebook business page, brochures, radio commercials, TV advertising, business cards, everything should speak to that need and in the language your customers are using.

Your marketing should start and end with "You...." and not "We...."

Your company should be positioned as the expert, the problem solver, the thought leader in your field.

Whether your business is ham and sausage ... or photography and video productions.

You start with the customers and their needs, questions, problems, wishes, hopes, and dreams. NOT with your corporation or how great your product is.

Nobody wants to buy your products and they never will.

What they want is a way to fix a deficiency, enhance a lifestyle, or solve a problem. That's what they will buy. Not "product" but SOLUTION.

How To Use Owners Manuals to Overcome Buyer's Remorse -- ELEKTRON ANALOG FOUR example

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 05:05:00 +0000

Owner's Manuals should always include text that reinforces what the product is and does for the customer.

This is the manufacturer's last chance to overcome buyer's remorse, diminish returns, and encourage customers to recruit their friends.

When a customer receives a product from a store or from a delivery method, ecstasy is quickly followed by doubts, misgivings, disappointments.

"Is this really such a great purchase? Did I make the best decision? Is this product living up to my expectations and the hype to which I was exposed? Did I waste my money? Should I return this and get something better?

The Owner's Manual is a fantastic opportunity to answer these questions by truthfully emphasizing how incredible the product is and why the customer made the right purchasing decision.

Owner's Manual introductions are the manufacturers way to give the customer ammunition for responding to questions from friends, like: "Why did you spend so much money on that thing? Why didn't you buy what I own?"

However, most owners manuals fail to do anymore than say "Thanks for buying our product. Please read this instruction book carefully."

Here's what Elektron provides in the Analog Four reference manual.

QUOTE

THE BACKGROUND OF THE ANALOG FOUR

Some things never go out of style. They seem to possess an inner, timeless quality, an objective trait that sets them apart from the rest. Makes them stand out. They can be found in all areas of human activity, throughout history.

From science to art, literature to architecture, photography to theatre - works of art embodying the essence of these expressions are found everywhere. Including, of course, within the domain of sound.

Making and shaping sound using analog circuits goes far back in time. Initially used in compositions dating from the first decades of the 20th century, analog circuits were popularized in the 1960s thanks to artists such as Wendy Carlos.

Today, they are frequently emulated by both hardware and software. Their legacy is impressive.

The analog tone and timbre has become synonymous with appealing sounds. Rightly so. The depth, fullness and slightly skewed characteristics of analog sounds speak directly to us.

As the French poet Baudelaire noted:

“Irregularity, in other words the unexpected, the surprising, the astonishing, are essential to and characteristic of
beauty.” (Intimate Journals, 1930).

We at Elektron owe a lot to analog technology. It is in our blood. The Sidstation, our first product, featured an analog filter which was decisive in generating the unique sound of the synth.

With the Analog Four we return, in a sense, back to where we started.

Only this time we bring the knowledge and experience gained from the development of instruments like the Machinedrum, Monomachine and Octatrack. The result, we can confidently claim, is the best of two worlds.

Rich, warm and lucent analog sound, combined with the accuracy and precision only state of the art digital control can achieve.

This makes the Analog Four not only a perfect match for our existing product lines - the instrument is also ideal for any modern studio or live setup in need of that inimitable analog sound.

The Analog Four is our contribution to the proud history of analog instruments.

Enjoy the power of true hardware,

The Elektron Team

END QUOTE

http://www.kraftmusic.com/media/documentation/Elektron_Analog_Four_Full_Reference_Manual_OS1.1.pdf

Fighting Trolls and Beating Them with Misinterpretation

noreply@blogger.com (steven edward streight) — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 01:51:00 +0000

I greatly enjoy it when trolls make their futile little attempts to disagree with my viewpoint, or to flame my own music.

My secret weapons in online debate consist of:

(1) not caring about who likes or dislikes my music

(2) not caring about their hysterical rants

(3) not caring about "winning" a discussion

(4) not caring about their fragile egos and their desperate clinging to a musical artist whom I have debunked as a fake.

(5) totally ignoring nonsensical replies and keep hammering away at your main point, remaining completely oblivious to hateful flames and wild accusations

(6) repeatedly pretending to misinterpret destructive criticism as praise

-- this really annoys and infuriates trolls, often causing them to say "I'm done with this conversation." You turn the tables on them. Trolls want to make you angry and upset, but you make him so angry and upset, he can't take it anymore.

If you make music to please and get praise from other people, you'll always be sensitive and vulnerable to hostility.

Make music to please yourself and forget about fans, stardom, and popularity. That junk is for narcissistic losers.

Case in point: the Dorian Concept video of him pretending to be working hard, hot-knobbing and air-tweaking his MicroKorg in a pretentious show of nonsense at the Boiler Room.

Dorian Concept is easily seen to be faking a performance as he uses a pre-recorded set. It's like lip-syncing, only with a synthesizer.

Go to YouTube and type in "Dorian Concept Boiler Room" and you'll see the fake performance video.

Guys who adore and idolize this fraudster Dorian Concept get really bent out of shape when they see me critique him.

Watch my Troll Smashing technique in action. Maybe it will help you in a similar situation.

***************************

Playground Music:

+Steven Streight Can you not hear the delay effect? He's changing the delay timing

Steven Streight:

He's making furious motions, touching knobs without even turning them, they stay in the same position.

jayjaybirdsnest:

+Steven Streight Also looks like hes got some form of adhd or ocd.

Personally i have both, and when im playing live i get super nervous and somewhat jittery, so i usually fuck with the eq knobs a lot, even if other people cant hear the differences i'm so tuned into the music that i can hear even the slightest little change. most likely another factor.

Nocturnes:

+Steven Streight Either way he's producing shit better than you'll ever be able to create in your whole life.

All his movements are subtle, he's actually playing the controller and it's not meant to perform the whole song from scratch but rather add minor effects live.

Fuck off with that foo foo lame ass shit. You're being completely hypocritical as well, implying you have nothing to hate/disrespect Dorian Concept. But you're doing just that you old little shit.

Steven Streight:

Bullshit. Dorian Concept is faking it and you know it. All that hot knobbing and air tweaking with no change in the sound.

He's a pathetic fraud. It's abundantly obvious.

I know what's going on, and so do the many other synthesizer players I showed this video to. We know MicroKorgs. Dude's not playing it.

Aname Goeshere:

+Steven Streight Any sufficiently advanced virtuoso is indistinguishable from magic.

Steven Streight:

This performance is neither "virtuoso" nor "magic" but almost entirely fake.

Nocturnes:

How is he fucking fake, that makes no sense. Look at your fucking videos, all you're doing is smashing your face mindlessly on your kassolator that you obviously do not know how to use.

m1studio:

+Steven Streight Steven, completely agree.This guy is a fakey fake live.

He is literally pretending to play the keys; he has his fingers resting on the plastic above the key bed.

He even flicks his hand next to the keyboard as if he's doing something. I'm sure to the crowd that is below him can't tell what they heck he's doing, but the video sure shows that clear as day.

They even start shaking and moving the camera more, because the camera operator even realizes what he's "doing" is absolutely nothing.

Maybe he wrote and performed the music in studio (maybe), but he's not performing anything live that he recorded.

Even the fake knob tweaking (old DJ trick) doesn't do anything to the sound.

He's frickin' constantly moving about to different knobs like an idiot with no result.

Yeah he has the cables plugged in, but that's all for show.

This guy sucks.

Nocturnes:

This is a performance with the use of effects to only heighten/increase the sound of his specific music. His production is so complex that you cannot perform single handily by yourself on a single synth. It's polyphonic because there is multiple rhythm within a single beat and a looper wouldn't be sufficient because the timing and tempo constantly changes.

Nocturnes:

This is something you won't ever understand because you aren't an actual musician, or at least a knowledgeable/talented one for that matter.

Nocturnes:

Look at your videos -- they're fucking terrible and you should kill yourself.

Steven Streight:

Thanks. I'm glad you like them.

I'll make more, and there will never be any hot-knobbing or air tweaking fake playing nonsense on them, I guarantee it.

Nocturnes:

Yeah your music actually sucks, you will never be as good as Dorian.

Steven Streight:

Thanks. I'm happy I can please you with my actual synthesizer playing, rather than pretending to perform along with a pre-recorded set.

Nocturnes:

You're cancer to music, and you'll never be a respect musician.

Steven Streight:

I greatly appreciate your taking the time to watch all of my amazing music videos.

Your boy-love for Dorian Concept, the fake MicroKorg player, is really cute, too.

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