How Well Do You Know Your Target Market?
Let’s start with a little hypothetical here. You own a wedding venue, and you’re using your blog to attract organic traffic to your website. Good for you! That’s what I would do in your situation, too. So you’re doing a little brainstorming, trying to figure out what potential brides and grooms would be interested in that could get them to your site. You settle on a blog about how couples can save money wedding planning. You write it up, make sure it’s got some good SEO juice for the keyword “how to save money on wedding,” and wait for the visitors. Over the next couple of weeks, your blog post…
Restaurant WordPress Plugins Made Simple
When I started my company website about two years ago, my only significant website experience was with Squarespace. So when I tried to dive into WordPress, there was quite the learning curve. I spent a ton of time scouring the internet, trying to figure out how to make my site behave. I’m still not a site building expert by any stretch. But I have picked up some knowledge over the past couple years from running my own WordPress site and blog. Since most restaurant and venue operators are also not site development experts, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about restaurant plugins and how you can use them to add extra functions to your…
The Easy Guide To Email Subject Lines (with examples!)
Marketers really like their lingo and abbreviations. KPIs! CTAs! CTRs! IPAs! (That last one might be something else.) All this jargon can make some concepts seem complicated when really, they’re pretty easy to understand. You’re a smart cookie. You just don’t have the time to memorize a gajillion technical terms and read through 14 case studies about what works and what doesn’t. So. I’ve put together an easy, mostly jargon-free guide to email subject lines, with some handy examples right from my inbox. We’re gonna talk about The most important metric for evaluating your subject lines; A few different types of subjects; and Some best practices that you can use…
Is a Button Bonanza Sabotaging Your Website?
Very recently, one of my lovely blogging and email marketing clients asked me to do an audit of the copy on her business homepage and product page. I was happy to help, so I hopped over to her website to see what I could see. As the page loaded, the clickable elements began to appear…and appear…and appear. This website, while very attractive, had no less than six clickable elements “above the fold” — aka before you start scrolling down the page. And that’s not even counting the navigation menu. Holy overwhelm, I thought. I know this brand. I know their product. And even I didn’t know where to look. There…
4 Life Lessons from Behind the Bar
No, not namby-pamby lessons like the importance of teamwork or communication. I mean, I did learn those things during my years as a server and bartender, but I’m talking actual life lessons here. These are hard-earned, sometimes painful truths gleaned from deep within the bowels of this wild industry. The kind you remember after the tears have dried and you’ve moved on to a completely different stage of life. I haven’t stepped behind the bar in about six years, but there are some lessons you just don’t forget. 1. It’s okay to ask for help The hardest shift I ever worked was an AM shift at a neighborhood bar in…
The Hotel Blog: Do You Need One?
When you’re planning a trip to somewhere new, what’s the first thing you do? You probably head to the ol’ internet to do a little research. What is there to do in the area? Any big events coming up? Great outdoor spaces? Must-visit restaurants? The answers to these queries will often appear as blog posts from those in-the-know. Well-written blogs connect searchers to small businesses all over the internet — including hotels. With some time and attention focused on written content, your blog posts could get you more site traffic and — if it’s done right — more bookings. Why does my hotel need a blog? It may not! Not every single hotel is a great…
How to Write Menu Descriptions that People Want to Read
Did you know that the average diner will spend less than 2 minutes reading your restaurant menu? Some people will only peruse the entrees, and some will beeline straight for their favorite protein. And some cheapos will just skim prices, looking for the lowest number they can find. (I feel you, fellow cheapos.) So you don’t have a lot of time to sell your best dishes. With limited real estate and even more limited attention spans, you need to make your menu descriptions helpful and enticing. So here are some menu writing tips that will put the winner in your dinner. Draw an accurate picture Word choice is important, and space…
57+ Creative Topics for Your Wedding Venue Blog
Coming up with content ideas is one of the toughest part of blogging, no matter the industry. Fortunately for wedding venue managers, there is a wealth of ideas to write about weddings! From bridal style to centerpiece ideas to etiquette to the newest trends, you have a vast range of topics to write about. I’ve pulled together nearly 60 topic ideas that you can refer to any time you’re stuck and need a bite from the blogging muse. Real Weddings You have a steady stream of content ideas flowing through your venue every weekend during wedding season. I’m talking about the real weddings that you’ve already booked. These are your calling card. They’re…
5 Reasons Copywriting is the Special Sauce You Need
Listen, I understand that it seems a little self-serving for a copywriter to explain why copywriting is so important. That would be like a turkey explaining why ham is a superior Thanksgiving protein. But the value of copywriting is an established fact, just like ham’s dominance over turkey. Since there is often some confusion about what exactly this type of writing entails, I thought I’d share an overview of copywriting — what it is, and why it’s important for businesses of all sizes. What is copywriting? The simplest definition? Copywriting is the words on the page (aka the “copy”) that get the audience to take an action. This includes the…
The Magic of Transition Words for Better Writing
Today, we’re going to unlearn one of the silly rules that was forced upon us in high school English class, and instead do something that makes sense. We’re going to add informal transition words to our writing. Now, the powers-that-be never banned transition words on their own. But there were certain words that we were absolutely forbidden to use at the beginning of a sentence, like “and” or “but.” I am here to give you carte blanche to throw that rule out the window and go bananas with transitions. Why use transition words? Transition words display the logical relationship between two thoughts. They help the reader follow your ideas from…
