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Got on first page of Newspaper...

by David
4 replies
and my "ducks are not in a row".

After months of struggling to get my little local advertising empire off the ground I got a client featured on the first page of the Frederick News Post (third largest newspaper in the state of Maryland)

The Frederick News-Post Online - Frederick County Maryland Daily Newspaper

... couple days later that article got picked up by WTOP radio! (at least on wtop.com)

WTOP is *The* news radio station in the most powerful city on the planet.

Local cycling enthusiasts start mobile bicycle repair business



My copy was used almost word for word... I'm not mentioned in the article, but the article wasn't about me, it was about the two guys I got started in business, and made a couple websites for, and gave encouragement to (I used to smoke crack with these guys- Crack Cocaine Addiction Recovery )

The article was a human interest story, and a 'here's a feel good' story about the local economy.

BUT

The reporter, now knows who I am!
More importantly, his editor now knows who I am...
The editor spent money on covering MY IDEA... the next time I submit a press release I no longer have to go through the front door!
(thanks Allen, I did what you told me to do in the first ebook you put out:
internetcashmachines if any new warriors do not have this classic, go get it, right now)
and... my site sucks

at least it needs help.

http://frederickwebpromotions.com

Here's the rub... my bread n butter is small to medium service businesses.
These guys have a computer and cable connection but they actually stand at the cash register of their companies. These are NOT corporate types.

It was my intention to create a style and theme of my main site to speak to them... now what do I do with the bigger businesses whose attention I'm getting?

Here's my feeble attempt to date:

added a 'white paper' to my site

there, I just ran out of ammo....

any suggestions gang?


http://www.flickr.com/photos/localgo...ru/3062002886/
#capitalize #local newspaper #local radio #media exposure #newspaper #page
  • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
    First off, congratulations. That must have been a great feeling.

    I would suggest a website template be made up. You can get one through a WSO for a reasonable price. I think it would give your site some pizzaz.

    Secondly, when they come on your site, it is about them, not about you. You need to
    fix your top fold.

    You have your contact information first, then a picture, with no real information with it to explain why it is there. You have to spell it out to them. Many are just glancing, without reading it carefully.

    There is a big empty space beside the picture. Would it be better to capture email addresses there?

    Go into the Copywriting forum and ask for some help. Can you mention benefits spelled out
    close to the top, with bullets for easy reading?

    Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

    Jeannie
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  • Profile picture of the author mikecowles
    Hey,

    Congrats on getting clean first and the publicity second.

    You may want to go to Website Templates, Web Templates, Flash, Word Templates - DreamTemplate to change the look, then have someone change the images out with nice clean related images from Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images & Photos

    ~Mike Cowles. <><
    Signature
    FREE Countdown Software for warriors here. (No Opt-in Needed)
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  • Profile picture of the author David
    Thanks Jeannie and Mike, the site is a CMS, I don't have much control over the 'fold' it's a dynamic site... that said, the domain name pulls, I mean REALLY pulls in Google, at least in Frederick County Maryland.
    (Frederick is 30 miles North of Wash DC and 45 miles west of Baltimore)

    Every single last client I have made a Frederick.com sponsor page for has catapulted to the top of local Google results pages, even beating the crap out an existing site, when a client I take already has an existing site, even if that existing site has been in Google for 10 years!

    so... my hands are kinda tied but I'm not about to throw the baby out with the bath water!


    What else can I do?

    part of the Google success of Frederick.com sites is the volume of uniques it gets every month, so Frederick.com is now an 'authority site' and/ or a 'portal site' in Googles eyes.

    the rest of the success of MY Frederick.com sponsor pages comes from:
    • Science
    • Skill
    • Knowledge of the Game
    • and mostly because I'm a WARRIOR
    • and you're not...( speaking to my competition)
    Signature

    David Bruce Jr of Frederick Web Promotions
    Lawyer Local SEO - |

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    • Profile picture of the author Collette
      How about setting up a separate site that is just yours? One where you have control over the template, etc.

      Then cross-link your fredricks.com page to your "real" site. And build your business from a site YOU control.

      Not trying to offend you, but...

      It seems like you are holding on to the fredricks thing like an umbilical cord. Yet, looking at the press release you wrote for your clients, you are completely capable of flying solo.

      You have a lot more to offer your clients than SERP. You are able to MARKET their businesses on-and-offline. You are able to offer a value to small and medium-sized local businesses far beyond SERP.

      You are able to offer the whole package. That is a goldmine.

      And it's an incredibly valuable skill set to have. But you're not exploiting YOUR skills to YOUR advantage.

      The fredricks alliance could be one part of your service offering - a tool that you use to help YOUR clients achieve their marketing goals. You're making it the central platform of your existence, yet you have so much more to offer.

      A business, like every living organism, needs to continually evolve if it is to thrive and continue to exist. What you started with may no longer be the best option for you to thrive with. If you want to move your business to the next level, you will have to step back and look at where you want to be. And to realize that you may have to make some changes to achieve your goals.

      You stated that you want to attract a bigger-ticket, more "corporate" client. Fact is, the web page you have now ain't gonna achieve that. No matter how you slice and dice it. That page is structured for engines, not people. If you're fishing for a "corporate-type" client, that page is a barbless hook with no bait.

      Seems to me, you're standing in front of an enormous picture window with a fabulous view of the world. But you're not looking at the big view right now. Instead...

      ... you're huddled down, concentrating really, really hard on trying to see everything through a thumb-sized smudge in the bottom left-hand corner of the window.

      It may be time to straighten up, step back, and look through the window from a different perspective. It's a great big world out there. And it's yours for the taking.

      I'm just saying...
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