We have some really exciting projects coming up. I know I say this every Friday, but I really mean it! Check your job board and apply to the following projects on these topics:

·         Personalized gifts

·         Circuit breakers

·         Tanning

·         Fashion bags

This week our SEO team has finally been able to implement Word Vision, our super-human proprietary search engine optimization tool. Byron likes to describe it as “super-human” because, with a little bit of guidance from our SEO wizards Michelle and Joyel, Word Vision does the leg work of finding SEO trends, hot topics, and popular keywords. Our ladies simply upload keywords and content into the user interface and let Word Vision work its magic. Over the span of one to two weeks, we check back with reports on listing migration patterns, PPC price, and search volume. This data helps Michelle and Joyel write the most effective title tags and meta descriptions, as well as guide the content the editorial team and our writers subsequently create to leverage these results even further.

It’s the next generation of SEO—finally we are able to measure the impact of our Tip & Advice Centers and Sponsorships that our beloved writers put so much love and elbow grease into making. It’s ROI for our clients and a pat on the back for a job well done by our writers.

Hey Gurus! To everyone who has had a book pitch accepted, congratulations! .....Now what? The book publishing process is not the quickest nor the most exciting process in the world. Watching paint dry takes less time and watching grass grow is actually more exciting. Here's how this wacky world of books works once it is out of your hands.

An author submits all of their 101 tips for approval and editing.

The editing process may happen very quickly, or you may notice that you haven't had any tips edited in weeks. It all depends on how many books and projects are ahead of yours. We have a queue of over 35 books right now and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. If your tips are too long (do not exceed 200-300 words per tip, por favor.) or if your tips need work, this will add to the waiting time.  

Once all of your tips have been approved, we begin the typesetting process. Each tip needs to be uploaded and formatted for book style. Additionally, we need to write a foreword (usually something witty, charming, inspirational and moving, written by yours truly. I'm still waiting on my Pulitzer for the last foreword I wrote.)  And, we need a great headshot from you, the author, as well as an author's bio (100-150 words) and an author's intro (200-300 words) that explains why you are a guru and why your book rules.

If your tips are reallllly looooong and need to be edited to fit the book, this will add to your waiting time. (200-300 WORDS PER TIP, POR FAVOR.) 

Once the book has been typeset, we will then hand it off to our designer who will create the cover art and images needed for your book. When he is finished, we (I) will send your lovely little book over to the printer where the printer will then proof the book and prep it for printing. At this point, you are free to place orders for your books, which are printed on demand and are never, ever out of stock. You can order one book at a time, or you can place an order for thousands, if you are so inclined.  

Thus, the very long, grueling and very not-fun book publishing process. I lie, it is kind of fun. But not very much fun for you, the paint-watching, grass-monitoring author who just wants to know WHEN THE HECK WE ARE GOING TO LET THEIR BOOK SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY! 

Be proactive. Don't feel bad about checking in with me at Amanda@LifeTips.com to check on your book status. I can tell you where in the queue your book is and at what stage your book is. Rest assure that I haven't forgotten you. I'm just having trouble getting to my inbox and voicemail from under this mountain of books.

Thinking about dispersing your keyword terms throughout all your content? If you are not too worried about your SEO value, then you should feel free to proceed with that concept; however, if SEO is relevant, then I would ask that you consider otherwise. 

From an SEO standpoint, it would be detrimental to have all your keywords dispersed throughout all the pages instead of centrally focused on specific pages because of keyword dilution. If there are too many key terms on any given page, it will actually counter the linked keyword and this will tell spiders to browse all of your pages instead of any specific one, which means the spiders won’t rank any linked keyword any more prevalently than another.

Good practice: One keyword per tip yields one linked keyword alongside keyword repetition (unlinked) and variations. This helps narrow the spider’s focus and specifically indicates what any given page is about. 

Not so good practice: One linked keyword alongside keyword repetition (unlinked) and variations on most other pages. This results in confusion for the spider. Sure it will understand you used the term, but it won’t know which landing page is best for the keyword because other terms that have been linked are also competing for importance, which results in dilution. 

Think of it as crabs in a barrel – all the keywords are fighting to be noticed but because all the keywords are used on all the pages, they end up pulling each other down. 

This week’s Job Pitch Board is meatier than usual. Our sales team just got back from a whopping SEO trade show, and with them they bring prospects galore. The editorial team is excited to get started on these projects, as the subject matter really is exciting. Who doesn’t love books and jewelry? Mona will be downward-dogging for yoga, and the wholesale purchasing project just screams “Mandy!” And while I’m a vegetarian and love all animals, I will have to pass the deer hunting project off to another colleague, but baseball will certainly broaden my horizons! 

So here they are, new projects for our writers to watch out for:

·         Books

·         Jewelry

·         Hunting (deer)

·         Interior Decorating (Asian and Danish styles)

·         Baseball

·         Wholesale purchasing

·         Teaching Degree, Business Degree sponsorship

·         Yoga Sponsorship Renewal

Let me explain. Long tail keywords are basically the neglected phrases that people are searching, just not yet as frequently as the top 10 or 20 highly ranked keywords. Most agencies and SEO specialists tend to focus on the thousands of visitors that come to a website for the most popular terms, but neglect the important impact long tail keywords can have. Long tail keywords are basically multi-phrase search queries that web searchers plug in on search engines. Long tail keywords are much more targeted than the basic product or service keyword and often include a specific need or question from the searcher. 

Here’s an example. If the main keyword/topic is “home mortgages” related long tail keywords could include: “Low-interest home mortgages,” “home Mortgages for people with bad credit,” and “home mortgage rate factors.”

The theory behind this is that optimizing your site and creating on-page content to match these search queries will allow you to attract visitors who search for information via these, and similar search terms. Research shows that visitors reaching your site through multi-phrase long tail queries—while less in number—are more likely to click through and generate a lead or make purchases. Another benefit to long tail keywords is that it is much easier to rank higher on search engines because of the generally low competition for these terms.

When a potential customer uses a highly specific search phrase, they tend to be looking for exactly what they want to buy. Specific searches like these are far more likely to convert to sales than general keyword searches.

Calling all writers! Check out these hot topics coming to a job board near you:

·         Credit card processing

·         Nursing degrees

·         Teaching degrees

·         Business (you guessed it!) degrees

In yesterday’s writers’ call Mona and I discussed what makes a great tip (more COWBELL, baby!) and our policy on tip payment. We also talked about the different tone and style each individual project may require. These range from journalistic/informative to conversational (which does not mean slang or Snoop Dogg lingo), as well as witty to authoritative. It also helps if you have skills in writing marketing copy that can promote products or services. In the next few weeks Mona and I will be posting examples of each style; the tips we will feature have all earned $10 payments.

One issue that a writer brought up during the discussion had to do with the LifeTips website. Many writers have expressed their concern that another writer’s photo appears alongside the content they wrote. Alternately, some writers are baffled that their own photo will pop up next to tips they have never seen before. While the caption below the writer does not claim that he or she is responsible for the tips, we agree this is misleading. Our chief of technology is working to correct this technical error, and our goal is to have all bumps massaged out in the coming weeks. I’ll keep you posted!  

Thanks to those of you who joined the call! We love the opportunity to stay connected to our community of writers.

The month of June means warm weather in Boston as well as plenty of new writing assignments to keep our gurus busy! In the coming days, check out your job board and apply to these compelling topics:

·         Sunglasses

·         Christmas

·         Basketball

·         Online shopping

·         Hypnosis

·         Travel nursing

Don’t forget to join our writers’ conference call on Thursday, June 5 at 5:00 p.m. EDST. Mona and I will be discussing LifeTips editorial standards including the recipe for a great tip, payment, and how to break bad writing habits. Dial our conference line at 218-862-1115 and punch in 87631# when prompted.