Let’s face it, duplicate content on the web is inevitable.

Blog and website owners worry about the wrath of Google for duplicate content, and there had been much talk about the  Google Duplicate Content Penalty.

Well, here’s the good news: there’s no such thing as a Google Duplicate Content Penalty!

Josh Garcia, in his post entitled “The Mystery of Google Duplicate Content Penalty” confirms this, and so does Google itself, in the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog.

Here’s what’s great about Josh: he delivers a straightforward answer to our worries about this issue, and always has awesome, insightful posts for his readers.

So there you have it folks, if your site has some duplicate content, don’t worry too for fear of being punished with the Google Duplicate Content Penalty.

What is this anyway?

It simply refers to the penalty that Google could possibly give you after identifying several webpages that have basically the same content. Others have even speculated that this can result to banning your blog or website from Google for a period of time or forever!

But Google has cleared the air by saying that “there is no such thing as a duplicate content penalty.” It’s a different thing when you plagiarize, of course. Duplicate content on a site is not necessarily ground for drastic action unless it appears that the intent of that content is deceptive and meant to manipulate search engine results.

What about the republishing of online articles, you may ask. Well, reprinting or republishing someone’s article on your site is not going to cause a Google Duplicate Content Penalty because again, there’s not such thing.

Moreover, as long as you give credit to the source and if the reprints are helpful to your site visitors and your overall mission, then it’s not a problem at all.

We all want to be flooded with traffic, to have plenty of comments to read, to be retweeted, bookmarked, and fanned on Facebook. The competition may be fierce out there, since everyone wants your attention, but any successful blogger will tell you that nothing beats sincere, engaging, original content.

With creative, interesting content, even if there IS such thing as the Google Duplicate Content Penalty, you have nothing to be afraid of.

Did you ever get confused with this duplicate content issue? What are your views on duplicate content on the web? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment, or if you want to read more posts regarding Google, let me know.

Also, don’t forget to share this post if you enjoyed it. Thanks!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

How’s everyone today? I hope you’re doing great.

Okay, so many of us have blogs and of course, we do a lot of writing. But if you find that you’re not getting much traffic or comments, you may be making some serious blogging mistakes.

And who better to point out these mistakes than the amazing copywriting and blogging experts behind Copyblogger? Jonathan Morrow gives us the “20 Warning Signs That Your Content Sucks”, and I must say that it has got to be one of the best posts I’ve read recently. In fact, today’s post was inspired by Mr. Marrow’s list.

Jonathan always lays out the facts with wit and humor, and his list of “signs” makes perfect sense. Indeed, if we want to “achieve greatness in blogging”, we do need to work our butts off. And, with plenty of competition out there, I think we should ask ourselves, “do I make these 3 blogging mistakes?”

#1  Being content…with our content.
So maybe we think we have great topics, and even have a list of more topics ready to be created into a short blog post. One of our biggest blogging mistakes is thinking that our content is “fine” or “good enough”. Well, mediocrity has no place in the web right now – you’ll either be remembered or buried so do everything you can to produce praise-worthy posts.

#2  Writing about everything; lack of focus.
Site visitors surf with a purpose in mind. They’re either looking for a particular product/service or topic, and either way, your blog should answer their need. One of the biggest blogging mistakes people make is making their blog about them – when it should be about the readers.

#3  Not reading and expanding knowledge.
Writing a lot for your blog means reading a lot as well. No matter how polished we think our writing styles are, there will always be room for improvement – and more topics to write about! By reading, we learn from other bloggers and copywriters, and hone our skills as well.

Blogging can be tough, especially when we’re making these blogging mistakes. Indeed, writing, reading, engaging readers and tracking traffic takes a LOT of time, energy, and dedication. If we really want to drive traffic, get more fans and read more comments, there’s no room for committing these blogging blunders.

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. If you enjoyed this post, feel free to bookmark or share this with your friends. Thank you!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

Let’s say you have been selling eco-friendly products.

You’ve got a good website in place, a blog, a Facebook and Twitter account and everything seems to be going well so far. Do you refine your website some more? You don’t, because to you, everything seems fine and dandy.

But you want MORE people talking about your products and telling their friends and family. You want word-of-mouth to spread naturally.

So how do you get more people to your site and buy your great eco-friendly stuff? A website that “looks okay” to you could be a pretty boring website to someone else. And boring doesn’t help you to get word of mouth, does it?

So what do you do?

Refine your website. Make it better.
These days, you cannot content yourself with “okay”, or “fine”. Your website and everything in it should be extremely engaging and incredibly tangible! Make your entire website a buzz generator. Every page should have a certain mood, designed to elicit a specific thought in the visitor’s mind. You want them to be thinking, “this is really cool!” or “wow!”.

Remember the AIDA model?
When you refine your website, go back to it. Get their Attention with your landing page. Hold their Interest and lead them through your site with great navigation so they don’t wander off and click away. Make them Desire to know more by featuring some interesting bits on every page. Get them to take Action with your call to action (to buy or to share) and make it easy for them to proceed to checkout when they do buy.

On the other hand, if you already have a great website that gets raving reviews, congratulations! Just keep it current. Surprise your loyal visitors from time to time with a new offer or a great new blog post, and they’ll surely keep coming back to you!

Do you think it’s time to refine your website? What are your challenges? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. If you enjoyed today’s post, please don’t forget to bookmark it or share it with your friends. Thank you!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

Many of us think the ability to multitask is an exceptional quality.

It is, but the problem is, not everybody can do it well. And not everyone can dodge distractions.

Maximizing productivity by minimizing distractions is perhaps one of the biggest challenges of any multi-tasker. We oftentimes welcome distractions by considering them as so-called “short breaks”, unaware that this contributes to decreased productivity.

As busy internet marketers or entrepreneurs, many things demand our time, but we know we can’t always squeeze everything into one day.

Maximizing productivity means working efficiently so let us look at some of the ways that we can focus more, and do more:

1. The To-do Clutter: Don’t put off what can be done today!
   Got a lot of post-its and papers tacked on the board in front of you? More often than not, our list of to-do’s increased because we failed to focus and get things done. Focus on a few important tasks for the day. Any distraction that is not related to any of those tasks should be set aside or ignored.
2. Music: It doesn’t have to be super loud to be inspiring
   When we listen to songs we are very familiar with, our mind constantly shifts and before we know it, we’re just singing or daydreaming! If you must work with music in the background, maximizing productivity would mean turning it off when you’re finishing an important task, or turning the volume lower for the not so important ones.
3. Fatigue and Hunger: Get enough sleep and eat on time
   Obviously, maximizing productivity cannot be expected from a hungry, tired or stressed person. The solution? Get plenty of sleep, and don’t skip meals! It will do you good, and help you avoid stomach ulcers and dark under eye circles. Plus, you get to work faster because your mind is sharper.
4. Social media: Separate work from personal interaction
   We love the social networks, but it has been found that its accessibility in workplaces is the leading cause of decreased productivity! If you’re handling a Facebook or Twitter account for the company, that’s fine. But if you keep checking your home feed and replying instantly, a huge chunk of valuable work time is wasted. To solve this, check your personal accounts at home, or after work.

Minimizing or eliminating distractions is indeed the key to maximizing productivity. Focus on the few important tasks at hand, and you’ll realize that less is truly more!

Do you often find yourself distracted while working? What are your common distractions and how do you deal with them? Leave a comment below or share this post with friends if you liked it. Thank you!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

A few days ago at the mall my friend was handed a flyer by this lady who sold real estate.

My friend doesn’t have plans of buying a house, but she read the flyer anyway and checked out the company’s website.
The houses looked nice and the prices were reasonable but being a marketer herself, she was turned off by the typographical errors she spotted on the flyer and wondered why the color schemes in the flyer and the site were different.

In marketing, image is everything.

This is why having consistent marketing materials is important. With a copywriter and a great graphic designer, it should be easy to do right? So why do we still see some inconsistent marketing messages in some marketing materials?

The importance of a consistent look and feel

Just how important is producing quality, consistent marketing materials? These materials are the “face” of the company, so it’s important that they not only look good and have flawless content – they also need to deliver consistent messages in order to be effective. We wouldn’t want to confuse prospects, customer and clients with inconsistent messages, slogans and even company colors, would we?

Marketing materials speak volumes about your brand, company and credibility. Might as well make it perfect. Here are some basic guidelines for creating consistent marketing materials:

• Colors and Images.
  Materials should be designed from a consistent palate of colors and images. You would want to ensure you are sending a clear, consistent and compelling message, from your website, brochure and email newsletters to your print and billboard ads.
• Perfect grammar, consistent terminology.
  Care about the words you use. Bad grammar has no place in a professional company. Consistent marketing materials require the use of consistent terms too. Content is king in your marketing materials, and this reveals a lot about the professionalism of your business.
• Update, update, update.
  After spending the time and money on your marketing materials, you probably don’t want to do it again. Make it a habit to review your materials regularly to ensure your messages are still current and consistent. No matter how busy business gets, never, never forget to keep your materials updated.

With consistent marketing materials, you not only make a great impression – you also build your brand and draw potential customers in!

Have you spotted inconsistent marketing materials and messages lately? Share your tips or own experience by leaving a comment below. If you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to bookmark it! Thanks!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

Ah, women.

I’m beginning to think that they are the world’s most important and influential market.

In fact, marketing to women has gained special attention from marketers worldwide. And why not?

According to one study, women comprise a majority of all consumer purchases — clothes, computers, new homes, vacations, healthcare, food, etc. Women are using their incredible buying power, and marketers today recognize the importance of marketing to women – whether she is a single woman, a wife, a super mom, a grandmother, a busy professional.

Women play important roles in household purchasing decisions. They usually choose what goes in the fridge, the next appliance to be bought, what their children wear, what decors are put up in the house, research for family vacations, plan doctors visits, etc. Her roles may vary, but one thing’s for sure: her voice is strong and her spending power – limitless.

So what does this mean for marketers, especially the males? Huge.

Marketing to women is no rocket science, but think about her power to promote a brand. Get her attention and win her taste, and you can trust that she will tell others about your brand – which could translate to more sales for you!
The rule for marketing to them is simple: create lasting relationships.

Hence, to truly appeal to the female consumer, here’s what you can do:

1. Create and establish a site personality that she can relate to.
   Women relate to sites similar to the way they relate to people – that’s why it’s all about relationships. Trustworthiness, warmth and networking matter to her, so get rid of all the hype and speak to her the way you would to a friend.
2. Listen to her needs.
   Create discussion forums and online communities where she can share her thoughts and experiences with others. Women love to share with others, so give her a venue for comments, feedback and recommendations.
3. Impress her with excellent service.
   We all love to be taken cared of, especially women. Show her you care by answering her questions promptly, creating meaningful emails, holding giveaways (they love freebies!) and following up.
4. Be her go-to site. Be an expert.
   Depending on what product or service you offer, try creating a section of your site that answers her questions and provides her free valuable information. With expert information, she will feel more confident in her choice and is more likely to buy.

Once you get her nod of approval, she can, in turn, help you to market to other women! If you get lucky, she’ll refer you to her friends and family and marketing to women will be a breeze!

Do you think marketing to women nowadays is easier or more challenging? Share your thoughts, and if you liked today’s post feel free to share this with your friends. There will be more on this topic soon!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

Here’s the thing: it’s simply not enough to be good at what you do nowadays.

I’m sure you’ve encountered people in your professional life who have less than stellar professional abilities but are getting loads of gigs.

You wonder, “Why?” – when your resume is way better than theirs.

Well, it may simply be because they are better marketers, and they have been implementing a strategic marketing plan.

They may not keep clients over a long time, but you have to admit, they’re pretty darn good at reeling them in. And reeling them in means knowing and truly understanding their needs – and knowing your business well enough to be able to address those needs.

Needless to say, a well-conceived and properly implemented strategic marketing plan is the foundation for your business’ success.

So how do you do it? Go back to the basics. Only when all these things are clear to you can you implement a great marketing plan:

Know EVERYTHING about your business.
What are you product or service strengths? Know all these by heart, including your pricing, sales promotion and distribution methods, etc. Take a look at your industry. Is it growing or declining?

Know your prospects, clients, customers.
Who are they in terms of age, sex, income, job title, etc.? Do you know their habits more or less? What do they currently value most about your offerings – convenience? Service? Reliability? Affordability? How did previous clients/customers learn about your product or service?

Check out your competition.
In your target area, how many competitors do you have? What do they offer that you don’t? What online marketing strategies do they use. Is their website and content better than yours?

Know your budget.
Which tools or strategies did you used that required least amount of time and money, yet delivered great results? Do you need to make new action plans? If yes, what’s the budget for its implementation?

Indeed, your marketing efforts are less about you and your business than they are about your clients, and customers. Take with you the confidence that comes from truly knowing and understanding your business, so that you can come up with a great strategic marketing plan that will make you a winning online marketer.

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck

Everybody wants to be on top of Google’s search results, right? But it’s tough to get to that first page, let alone the first spot, right?

Wrong.  Well, at least, that’s what Ryan Deiss says in the Perpetual Traffic Report. Ryan is one of the most well-known successful internet entrepreneurs today, and he talks about Google’s algorithm, which is based on 3 simple and easily manipulated variables in this report.  He says that all you need to do is to figure out these 3 variables Google is emphasizing, tweak your strategy accordingly and watch the free traffic flow like water!

Now before you raise your eyebrow in doubt, let me give you these variables straightaway:

1. Content (keywords, domain name, tags, etc.)

2. Links (inbound, outbound, authority, etc.)

3. Activity (traffic, RSS subscriptions, comments, updates, etc.)

It used to be that people scrambled for Google Adwords, paid listings, sponsored search listings, etc. to get more traffic. But as Ryan clearly shows in his report, there has been a huge disparity and decline in the clicks to these traffic strategies. In the Perpetual Traffic Report: organic search traffic is still KING! The key, according to Ryan, in winning in coveted first page spot in Google is this: you must work on ALL THREE variables.

Google is now factoring ACTIVITY more heavily in their rankings. This simply means that great content and all the links in the world mean nothing if your page remains unchanged for days and weeks at a time.

Therefore, sites that get more blog comments, generate more RSS subscribers and get a bump in overall traffic have a tendency to move up in the rankings faster and stay there longer.

The key formula, then, in the Perpetual Traffic Report is:

Content + Links + Activity = PERPETUAL TRAFFIC

Measurable activity will perhaps be the biggest challenge of all, since this obviously takes time, building relationships and engaging in truly valuable conversations.  The Perpetual Traffic Report only gives us the beginning of a task yet to be done. How we can maintain consistency in all three – content, links and activity is entirely up to us.

To Your Success,
Elmar Sandyck

Heard about Hootsuite? It’s a hoot to use!

Twittering has evolved from a social “message burst” to a full-fledged social media tool, and more applications are being created around its unique appeal.
There’s a new player in this scenario, and it’s a great tool to use! The newest in social media, Hootsuite, is pegged as a “social media dashboard”, offering a lot of valuable Twitter resources for those of us that like to Tweet a lot or have multiple accounts.

Here’s are the reasons why we love this hot new tool:

1. Multi-tasking is a breeze.
Got two or more Twitter accounts? It’s easier to maintain these accounts with the Multi-Editing feature. Access and maintain your tweets in each account and still maintain privacy of your own Twitter password.  Switch back and forth or post to all of your tweets via the HootSuite dashboard and you’ll never have to log in and out again!

2. Ease in running a business.
With a Multiple Editors feature, you can have a “business” Twitter account, and have someone else Tweet information as needed, perhaps have one person tweeting about marketing promos, while another replies to direct messages you may receive!

3. No sweat tweet scheduling.
This tool makes it pretty easy to schedule your tweets using its date and time feature and send it out later. That way, you don’t have to spend all of your time glued to the screen and tweeting every so often.

4. Link shortening for optimum impact.
Links are shortened within HootSuite.  This savvy tool also enables you to monitor your mentions, even your retweets. It’s like a mini Google Analytics program for your tweets, where your tweets have metric value!

5. Light and easy on your computer’s memory.
HootSuite is internet based, so it won’t affect the performance and speed of the computer. Similar applications like TweetDeck take up a great deal of processing time on the hard drive.

6. Saved keywords.
This savvy tool allows you to save some of those keyword searches and recover them at the click of a button. No more searching or figuring out the keywords to join in a trend or continue one, as you can have them easily accessible.

7. Fantastic navigation.
Similar to the Twitter homepage and easily tabbed, the HootSuite dashboard is set up with ease in mind. Tabs like “Home”, “@Replies”, “DM’s”, and the like make it a no brainer to use.

Indeed, Hootsuite can transform the way your business engages on the web with its amazing features! It’s a great tool to use, and I give it two thumbs up!

If you happen to be trying out or looking for the best Twitter client to suit your needs, I hope this post has given you a fantastic new option. On the other hand, if you’ve already been using Hootsuite, let me know what your favorite feature is. Otherwise, feel free to share this post with your friends who may be searching for a great Twitter tool!

To Your Success,
Elmar Sandyck

I’ve subscribed to great newsletters over the past few years and today I look back on the reasons why I decided to subscribe to them in the first place.

There has to be some secret formula for writing catchy newsletters, right?

Let’s see what made me decide to want to receive these newsletters:

• Was it the attractive layout? Yes.
• Was it the snappy content? Yes
• Was it the people behind the company? Yes.

As you can see, these are the same reasons why we love some blogs and websites. Writing catchy newsletters uses the same basic principles as writing great blog posts and effective web copies, but I believe there are 2 things that make newsletters unique: well thought-out subject lines and powerful introductory one liners.

In blogs and websites, you have the option to go to another post or page to read something else if you don’t like what you see. However, in the case of newsletters in inboxes, the subject line is king. It will determine whether or not a newsletter will be opened.

Every now and then we need to be reminded of the basics. So whether you’re just planning to launch a newsletter or thinking of giving your current one a makeover, here are some tips to guide you in writing catchy newsletters:

• Tip #1- Pique your readers’ interest with a great subject line.
  Make your recipient stop and notice. Email newsletters, just like any other email, get stuck in the inbox unless it’s opened and read. Thus, write a catchy subject line, no longer than 50 characters including spaces that will draw the recipient’s attention.
• Tip #2 – K.I.S.S.
  Now that you have their attention, your next task is to give them a reason to linger and read some more. Keep your newsletter short and simple. (KISS) Be brief and direct to the point.
• Tip #3 – Adjust writing style to your readers.
  Get to know your readers well – their demographics, their profiles, their likes and dislikes and other preferences. Suit the tone of your writing to what they want.
• Tip #4 – Lay it out in bullets.
  All text, in paragraph form, is not ideal in email newsletters. Pique their interest over and over again by highlighting or emphasizing important points or enumerating basic points.
• Tip #5 – Tell readers what to do next.
  Would you like them to forward or share your newsletter or direct them to your website? Make sure you tell readers what to do at the end of your letter.

Like me, people today subscribe to several newsletters, not just one or two. So make sure yours gets opened. With these tips, writing catchy newsletters shouldn’t be too tricky. Good luck and happy newsletter writing!

To Your Success,

Elmar Sandyck