What I don’t understand is that I’m not scared when it comes to writing brochure copy, website content or emails! Is it because I do them everyday or because I have the luxury of hiding behind a company?

Are you a seasoned blogger? Were you scared when you first started?

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Until then, here’s a photo from my last holiday…

Having the right photographs on your websites and marketing material is crucial. Visually, it will help the reader to decide whether or not they like what you have to offer, whether or not you appeal to them and whether or not your product is suitable for them.

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A few key things to look out for:

• Colours convey different moods – pick the right colour for your product
• If you’re using a model – the age and image of the model should be that of your target market
• Keep the background simple – use it to convey your message

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Resources:

• istockphoto is a great site for cost-effective stock photography
• the images which I’ve used in this post are by Douglas Schwartz. His photographs have appeared on more than 200 magazine covers, in countless ads and brochures. He has nearly 4000 photographs available on his website.

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Yes, posing as Slash. Rock and rollll dudes.

Jokes aside, I’m just here to let you know that I will be blogging again and to ask you to continue reading Adelaide’s Online Marketing Blog.

Just like maintaining a website or any other form of continuous online marketing such as Adwords, I’ve realised that you need to dedicate time each week and be committed to achieving results. Otherwise it just ends up being a waste of time and for some, money as well.

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Website 102 moves on to exploring the ‘whats’ that need to be taken into consideration before you start developing your website.

My first reaction is to go on a tirade about knowing your target audience but I guess there are specific elements to a blog which can make it easier for users to read/navigate around.

1. One of the first things you would do to make it easier for people to access/read your blog is to allow them to subscribe to your blog. This is accomplished by having an RSS feed.
2. Have tag clouds - this allows users to read all your previous posts pertaining to a specific subject.
3. A Search bar can sometimes be useful.

As for making a blog appealing, I think that definitely depends on your target audience. My general theory is that black on white is the easiest to read.

“I have often found business blogs quite confusing. Can you tell me how they are normally structured? Also how can we make blogs look more appealing/easier to read for people?”

Blogs are described by Wikipedia as websites whose characteristics include:

• information on a particular subject
• displayed in reverse chronological order (latest post on the top of the page – this is so that loyal readers do not have to scroll to the end of the site to read the latest post)
• allows for readers to comment (interactive)

Business blogs can be written by one person or have multiple contributors. Companies can choose to be as creative as they want with their blog subjects – it can be about anything! CEOs write about the perils of forming a company, marketers write about creating viral campaigns to get a product out there and music companies write about the ins and outs of the music industry. Let your imagination run wild.

Just like websites, business blogs are created with a specific goal in mind. This can be position yourself as an authority on a subject, create a pool of users who trust your brand or have an audience who will be early adopters of your future products.

A blog’s uniqueness is its ability to create a relationship with the reader.

Will blog about blog aesthetics tomorrow

Here are a few suggestions:

• Websites
• Blogs (business blogs)
• Search Engine Optimization
• Integrating online and offline marketing
• Building a micro-site for a specific promotional campaign
• Online advertising tools
• Conducting surveys online
• The age old marketing question: how do you measure ROI?

Why am I complaining about a restaurant on my blog? To demonstrate how word of mouth magnifies online. The general rule of thumb is that a customer will tell 10 times as many people about a bad experience than satisfied customers will about a good experience. Times that by the number of people who read this blog and you will get a much larger number.

Marketers need to be aware of what customers are saying about their product, their company and their service online because it’s their response to this which can make all difference. A customer complaining about your product can act as a suggestion for improvement and if this is the case, you should thank the individual for taking the time to share this. This can change an unhappy customer to one who might give your product another try because you are showing them that you care about their needs.

Respond to comments made and you might be on your way to creating a customer who believes in your company and product enough to tell 10 people about how and why they should be going to you.

Should I name the restaurant?

There are three questions you need to answer before you start building your website.

Question No 1: Why do you want a website? This will help you formulate clear and measurable goals for your website.

Question No 2: Who are your customers? Build a website for your customers because they are the people who are going to be reading it. Do this by defining your target market. For example, Coke Zero is mainly targeted towards the male population and therefore it has a different look/language/appeal to Diet Coke which is targeted towards females.

Question No 3: What are your customers going to want from your website? Provide your customers with ‘answers’ to their questions. For example, if you are searching under Jamie Oliver you’re likely to be after one of his recipes or books and not information about his family.