Copyblogger Weekly Wrap: Week of Janaury 31, 2011

So Copyblogger finally has a Facebook page.

I suspect that this has to do with psychology more than public relations. I mean, sure, Copyblogger has a lot of subscribers. On Twitter, it has a lot of followers and gets a lot of retweets. But does it have any friends? Does it have any fans? Well, it does now, and it’s about time….

Which leads me to conclude that Facebook today is kind of like a McDonald’s birthday party when you were a kid. All you have to do if you want friends is to sign up, and stay away from the clown. Now, if we could only get a PlayPlace around here. I have my fingers crossed that they’ll spring for the big slide, but Brian keeps arguing for a ball pit.

In any event, here’s what happened this week on Copyblogger:

Monday:

The “Common Sense” Mistake That Makes Your Writing Lifeless

Want your writing to be more effective and interesting? Ignore common sense. And yes, sure, you can read about some kinds of common sense to ignore in this post, but it’s best to be safe and ignore all of them like most unknown bloggers. I once heard about a guy who tried to remove a bunion with a shotgun. Now THAT’S senseless!

Read the full post here.

Tuesday:

How to Capture Your Reader’s Attention

Some proven ways to get attention: Yell “fire!” in a crowded theater. Streak at the SuperBowl. Fall into a neverending sequence of drug rehab and jewel thievery incidents beginning shortly after starring in a remake of The Parent Trap. However, I wouldn’t recommend any of those after having tried them all myself. And since you’re going to need to get attention if you’re going to be able to sell anything at all or move anyone to act, you’d really better read this post.

Read the full post here.

Wednesday:

The Straight Dope on Facebook, Twitter, and SEO

Finally… the long-awaited answer to whether my fifty Twitter spam bot accounts are increasing my ability to rank in search engines for the term “elephant examinations.” First Google says that social media doesn’t contribute to ranking, then they change their mind, and then they declare that all of the actual ranking is done by magical faerie savants. I guess we now finally have our answer. (Hint: faeries.)

Read the full post here.

Thursday:

Convert … or Die

I totally misunderstood the title of this episode of the IMfSP podcast. It’s actually about the need to convert readers and casual visitors into paying customers (with a detour into how a really popular way of doing business can sink you) but I thought it was literal. So, in a misguided panic, I sent my entire stack of 1980s action-adventure videotapes to the Ukraine, where they’re able to do VHS-to-Beta transfers using a process that somehow involves oxen and a yeti. The nice man I talked to on the one phone his village owns assured me that “American stereotypes seeing much better in glorious new Beta format,” but I remain skeptical.

Read the full post here.

Thursday Part 2:

Save $100 on Search Marketing Expo: Early Bird Discount Expires Saturday, 2/5

I think the headline says it all. Except for this sentence and the previous one.

Read the full post here.

Friday:

5 Steps to Captivating Readers with Your Secret Message

Did you know that you’re telling your readers something even though you may not be directly intending to do so? It’s true. You should read this post and figure out how to 1) maximize the positive impact of that message and 2) minimize the impact of the stupid things you’ve told them over the years. Example: Remember the time you ran out of paper towels and decided to use the cat to dust the top of the TV? Yeah, you told them about that, too.

Read the full post here.

This week’s cool links:

• Use YouTube to Build Your Blog’s Audience: I’ve always heard that YouTube can be a great traffic source but wondered how exactly you were supposed to use it. Now I know.
• In Social Media, Everyone Can Hear You Fart: When I first heard that Kenneth Cole made a politically incorrect tweet about the Egypt riots, I figured people were overreacting. But then I saw what KC had done wrong. It was just a stupid tweet. One lesson from this: if everyone can hear you fart, at least fart in a clever or funny way.
• How Small Business Can Get BIG Online with Content Marketing: This is a good “101-style” post that delivers what the title says. If you’re tired of drill-down articles on specific content marketing topics and need to see the big picture, read this.
• Do welcome popups work?: Sigh. I’ve very seriously considered a popup myself for one reason: People are distracted online, so I figure putting something right in front of them might be a good idea. I’m now convinced it works, and the question is whether I want to be (more) annoying.

About the Author: Johnny B. Truant specializes in selling through stories and is the proud creator of The Badass Project, a site profiling amazing people who make your excuses look stupid.