Writing for an Academic Journal: 10 Tips

 

1) Have a strategy, make a plan

Why do you want to write for a journal? What is your purpose? Are you writing for research assessment? Or to make a difference? Are you writing to have an impact factor or to have an impact? Do you want to develop a profile in a specific area? Will this determine which journals you write for? Have you taken their impact factors into account?

Have you researched other researchers in your field – where have they published recently? Which group or conversation can you see yourself joining? Some people write the paper first and then look for a 'home' for it, but since everything in your article – content, focus, structure, style – will be shaped for a specific journal, save yourself time by deciding on your target journal and work out how to write in a way that suits that journal.

Having a writing strategy means making sure you have both external drivers – such as scoring points in research assessment or climbing the promotion ladder – and internal drivers – which means working out why writing for academic journals matters to you. This will help you maintain the motivation you'll need to write and publish over the long term. Since the time between submission and publication can be up to two years (though in some fields it's much less) you need to be clear about your motivation.

2) Analyse writing in journals in your field

Take a couple of journals in your field that you will target now or soon. Scan all the abstracts over the past few issues. Analyse them: look closely at all first and last sentences. The first sentence (usually) gives the rationale for the research, and the last asserts a 'contribution to knowledge'. But the word 'contribution' may not be there – it's associated with the doctorate. So which words are used? What constitutes new knowledge in this journal at this time? How can you construct a similar form of contribution from the work you did? What two sentences will you write to start and end your abstract for that journal?

Scan other sections of the articles: how are they structured? What are the components of the argument? Highlight all the topic sentences – the first sentences of every paragraph – to show the stages in the argument. Can you see an emerging taxonomy of writing genres in this journal? Can you define the different types of paper, different structures and decide which one will work best in your paper? Select two types of paper: one that's the type of paper you can use as a model for yours, and one that you can cite in your paper, thereby joining the research conversation that is ongoing in that journal.

3) Do an outline and just write

Which type of writer are you: do you always do an outline before you write, or do you just dive in and start writing? Or do you do a bit of both? Both outlining and just writing are useful, and it is therefore a good idea to use both. However, make your outline very detailed: outline the main sections and calibrate these with your target journal.

What types of headings are normally used there? How long are the sections usually? Set word limits for your sections, sub-sections and, if need be, for sub-sub-sections. This involves deciding about content that you want to include, so it may take time, and feedback would help at this stage.

When you sit down to write, what exactly are you doing:using writing to develop your ideas or writing to document your work? Are you using your outline as an agenda for writing sections of your article? Define your writing task by thinking about verbs – they define purpose: to summarise, overview, critique, define, introduce, conclude etc.

4) Get feedback from start to finish

Even at the earliest stages, discuss your idea for a paper with four or five people, get feedback on your draft abstract. It will only take them a couple of minutes to read it and respond. Do multiple revisions before you submit your article to the journal.

5) Set specific writing goals and sub-goals

Making your writing goals specific means defining the content, verb and word length for the section. This means not having a writing goal like, 'I plan to have this article written by the end of the year' but 'My next writing goal is to summarise and critique twelve articles for the literature review section in 800 words on Tuesday between 9am and 10.30'. Some people see this as too mechanical for academic writing, but it is a way of forcing yourself to make decisions about content, sequence and proportion for your article.

6) Write with others

While most people see writing as a solitary activity, communal writing – writing with others who are writing – can help to develop confidence, fluency and focus. It can help you develop the discipline of regular writing. Doing your academic writing in groups or at writing retreats are ways of working on your own writing, but – if you unplug from email, internet and all other devices – also developing the concentration needed for regular, high-level academic writing.

At some point – ideally at regular intervals – you can get a lot more done if you just focus on writing. If this seems like common sense, it isn't common practice. Most people do several things at once, but this won't always work for regular journal article writing. At some point, it pays to privilege writing over all other tasks, for a defined period, such as 90 minutes, which is long enough to get something done on your paper, but not so long that it's impossible to find the time.

7) Do a warm up before you write

While you are deciding what you want to write about, an initial warm up that works is to write for five minutes, in sentences, in answer to the question: 'What writing for publication have you done [or the closest thing to it], and what do you want to do in the long, medium and short term?'

Once you have started writing your article, use a variation on this question as a warm up – what writing for this project have you done, and what do you want to do in the long, medium and short term? Top tip: end each session of writing with a 'writing instruction' for yourself to use in your next session, for example, 'on Monday from 9 to 10am, I will draft the conclusion section in 500 words'.

As discussed, if there are no numbers, there are no goals. Goals that work need to be specific, and you need to monitor the extent to which you achieve them. This is how you learn to set realistic targets.

8) Analyse reviewers' feedback on your submission

What exactly are they asking you to do? Work out whether they want you to add or cut something. How much? Where? Write out a list of revision actions. When you resubmit your article include this in your report to the journal, specifying how you have responded to the reviewers' feedback. If your article was rejected, it is still useful to analyse feedback, work out why and revise it for somewhere else.

Most feedback will help you improve your paper and, perhaps, your journal article writing, but sometimes it may seem overheated, personalised or even vindictive. Some of it may even seem unprofessional. Discuss reviewers' feedback – see what others think of it. You may find that other people – even eminent researchers – still get rejections and negative reviews; any non-rejection is a cause for celebration. Revise and resubmit as soon as you can.

9) Be persistent, thick-skinned and resilient

These are qualities that you may develop over time – or you may already have them. It may be easier to develop them in discussion with others who are writing for journals.

10) Take care of yourself

Writing for academic journals is highly competitive. It can be extremely stressful. Even making time to write can be stressful. And there are health risks in sitting for long periods, so try not to sit writing for more than an hour at a time. Finally, be sure to celebrate thoroughly when your article is accepted. Remind yourself that writing for academic journals is what you want to do – that your writing will make a difference in some way.

Culled from The Guardian

6 Tips for Submitting your Manuscript to Publishers

 

If you are considering submitting a manuscript for publication these tips will help you to achieve the success you are looking for and will reduce the chance of your work ending up in the rejection pile.

1. Do your Research

Before submitting a manuscript to any publishing house you will first want to know:

• if they are currently accepting manuscript
• whether they accept unsolicited manuscripts (those submitted by authors, not agents)
• if your work fits with the content they are currently looking to publish
• what manuscript format they require
• their submissions policies

Once you have identified a specific publishing house to submit your work to you will be able to find all of this information under the “submissions” section of their websites.

If finding the right publisher/s for your work seems like a daunting task and you are unfamiliar with all the ones available to you, you can find them in the books below. These resources include all the information you will need in a way that is organized and complete. These are a must-have for every writer who is seriously seeking publication and they will save you lots of time and open up many new opportunities that you did not know even existed.

2. Network

Take the time to get to know other authors in your genre. This can be done by:

• joining writing groups
• visiting and participating in online writing communities and forums
• attending writing conferences
• participating in workshops in your community and online
• using social media such as Facebook or Twitter to connect with other writers

You will learn valuable information from other published authors. Their advice and connections may go a long way when it comes to getting your own work published. We have personally found that just as misery loves company, so does success! Once a person finds success in the publishing world, they cannot wait to share their advice, experience and joy and to help others obtain this same success! So if you have not done so already, reach out! You’ll be glad you did.

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3. Format your Manuscript

Prior to submitting your manuscript to any publishing company, it is first necessary to make sure that it is formatted to their specifications. You can find their requirements on their websites. If there are no specific requirements listed you can be sure that the standard formatting is sufficient. When formatting your book make sure to adhere to the proper font, text size, margins, spacing, headers, footers and page numbers.

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4. Submit it to Editing Services

You want to make sure that when you are submitting your manuscript to a publishing house it is as flawless as possible. It is very distracting for editors when they are reading a manuscript when typos, misspellings and grammatical errors keep popping out at them. To ensure you are sending a polished work, consider hiring an editing service to catch these errors so that they are not present to distract the editor and take away from the overall quality of your work.

5. Tailor your Cover Letter

Make sure that when you are submitting your cover letter you are addressing the person that will be reading your manuscript – this is not the place to write “To whom it may concern.” Take the time to show each individual publishing company that you know who they are, understand their needs and how your work specifically provides them with exactly what they are looking for.

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6. Know the Standard Policies for Manuscript Submissions

More and more publishing companies are getting with the times and allowing for online submission of manuscripts, either directly through their website or through email. This saves time, money and paper. However other publishing companies still prefer (and require) the traditional method of using traditional mail. It is important to know which policy your publishing company of choice is using and to format your manuscript accordingly. You will be able to find out which policy they are using on their websites under their “submissions” sections.

To learn more about how to submit your manuscript, whether it is via the Internet or post office the following articles will provide you with what you need to be prepared to do either:

By using these 6 tips you will be able to find the appropriate publisher for your manuscript and tailor it to their requirements, setting you up for success and a real shot at being offered a contract.

Culle from Think Written

9 Tips for Marketing to Kids and Teens Successfully

 

What’s one tip for marketing your product or service specifically to kids or teens?

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

A. Advertise on Music Platforms

There are two things you know about most teens: they love music, and they don’t have much money. One way to reach teens is by advertising on music platforms with free versions (YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, etc.). Teens are more likely to be using these free versions, and most of these platforms have advanced advertising analytics to ensure that you’re reaching your audience.
- Brett Farmiloe, Internet Marketing Company

B. Get Them Involved

Cut through the commercials, and take your product on the road. Hit high-density venues where you will find kids and teens, such as malls, fairs, schools, etc., and bring your product to them to try firsthand. If mom and/or dad are there to witness their children having fun with your brand, then they will be more likely to purchase it for them over and over again.
- Vinny Antonio, Victory Marketing Agency

C. Be Trustworthy

Even with teenagers, you’ll be dealing with parents who have the power to block your access to their children. You have to make sure you’re worthy of the trust parents need to place in you before they’ll let their children use your product or service.
- Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

D. Keep It Short

In today’s age of 140 characters and Instagram pictures, kids and teens have extremely short attention spans. Long sentences, lengthy explanations and blocks of copy will not communicate your message in a way that’s easily processed. Pictures, graphic examples and short sentences that pop have helped ZinePak effectively market to younger audiences quickly and efficiently.
- Kim Kaupe, ZinePak

E. Hook Their Curiosity

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of noise out there. And the things that gain the attention of teens are what makes them laugh, cry, jeer or truly think. In building content for one of the top 50 most-trafficked websites on the Internet, we built teen content in near real time with a unique voice and engaging visuals. Relevant content that resonates at an emotional level is king.
- Matt Hunckler, Verge

F. Target the New Social Networks

New social networks, such Instagram and Snapchat, rise fast these days. Pay attention to what social networks kids are using, and you’ll be able to leverage those channels to reach them. If it’s a great product or idea, word will spread fast.
- Russ Oja, Seattle Windows and Construction, LLC

G. Be Relatable and Relevant

Marketing to kids inherently involves appealing to their inner world; their imagination. We once developed a tea product for children, licensing a known cartoon to brand it. For teens, social currency is a must. You must stay attuned to current social media trends such as Instagram and Snapchat. Being conscientious matters; do not forget parents spend on and supervise their children.
- Arthur Ebeling, Koi Creative, Inc.

H. Reply Quickly

When marketing to kids and teens, social media is where most of your target consumers are hanging out. Social media moves fast, so when you’re marketing to kids and teens, remember that the attention span on most of these platforms is rapid fire. You must engage fast, be responsive to questions and feedback and communicate in real time. Being accessible will gain you mindshare with this audience.
- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

I. Post Sharable Videos Online

Kids and teenagers still respond to video best, but not many companies can afford a prime TV spot. The best alternative is to create exciting online videos and market them through social media channels. Once kids see their peers sharing the next cool thing, you can bet their parents will hear about it.
- Robert De Los Santos, Sky High Party Rentals

Culled from Huff Post

Steps to Writing a Great Progress Report

 

Business Dictionary defines a progress report as “An assessment that takes place during a project or process, that conveys details such as what sub-goals have been accomplished, what resources have been expended, what problems have been encountered, and whether the project or process is expected to be completed on time and within budget”.

When writing a progress report, certain elements are very important. Let’s take a look at them:

The Heading: Like other forms of writing, a progress report offers a title, date, names of both writer and recipient, and their positions. This should be well-written in the right positions.

The Introduction: Basically, this first part of the report should contain the purpose of writing, the timeline, the scope, the sponsor(s), etc.

The List of Completed Projects: It is important you list those projects you and your team havedone in the past showing the date, project name and duration in a tabular form for easy analysis.

Problems Encountered:Even with the best planned projects, challenges are commonplace; hence, these must find a good mention in the report. The writer of the progress report must state what was done to overcome those challenges, and recommend possible actions, if any, or offer advice on sources of assistance in future endeavours.

State Any Future Tasks: Since this deals with a project, it is not sufficient tostop at what has been done without mentioning what plansare there to be executed in the continuation of such project in the future. This, of course, must entail the date, duration, stages,personnel, sponsor(s), project supervisor(s),location, etc.

Summarize the Report: Briefly state achievements recorded, challenges faced, recommendations offered andother outlined tasks in the project continuation. This section should contain information about every stage or sub-section in the report but in short and clear notes.

Note:

Project report writing is an official document prepared in succession and which offers a guide to management decision making, therefore, each stage is represented by a report topic identifying the particular work done, present stage reached, etc. Project report may take the form of memo, verbal account, business letter, email, etc.

Book Promotion on a Budget — Tips for a Beginner Writer

 

Writing and publishing your own book is such an exciting experience, filled with incredible ups. However, many writers, amidst the excitement, fail to realize that they’re responsible for promoting their own book – leaving it to the last minute. Promoting your book isn’t as difficult as you may believe, but it does require determination, motivation and a little head start.

Don’t let the thought of book promotion deter from the excitement of writing your own book. It’s all part of the process, whether you’re walking down the traditional publishing or indie publishing path.

Here are a few little tips on how to promote your very own book, even if you don’t have heaps of money to push you along.

The Internet Saves the Day

With social media and websites, the internet is single-handedly the greatest thing for promotion on a budget.

Most authors, especially first-time authors, only have a small following on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There is a way around this, though. When you’re planning on writing a book, you should also start working on building up a following.

Growing your social media following isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s not impossible. There’s an array of authors on the internet, desperately trying to sell their books and, in all honesty, if you do it wrong, you can risk being unfollowed.

With the right profiles, bios, and content, you can create your very own brand for free. Posting too often or being too aggressive can have an adverse effect. Use your social media accounts as more of a networking type of role, attracting interest in your work, rather than a powerful promotion tool. We promise you’ll see the benefits.

Author promotion is helped greatly by a blog too. We know, you might be wondering how you’ll write a full book and blog, but the long-term rewards are just incredible.

Kelsey Benson, content editor for Resumescentre.com explains: “With every single blog post, you are exposing your character, showing your skills and creating new content online. It opens new doors, more followers and improves your SEO rating.”

The more you post, the better your articles and the more interesting your blogs, the higher you will list on Google. Before you know it, a great percentage of your visitors will be coming in, directly from Google. When your traffic begins to increase, why not create a pop-up or mailing list about your new book?

Search Engines prefer articles that are longer than 1,000 words — just a little tip.

Tap into Networking

Networking is pretty much a mandatory part of the equation. It’s mutually beneficial, and that allows people to be inspired, work together and gain an acknowledged reputation.Introverts everywhere, you don’t have to panic. Networking doesn’t mean attending multiple social events (although, that wouldn’t hurt). It is just as simple as networking with one person at a time. Focus on quality rather than quantity. One good, helpful connection would be more advantageous than ten ghost connections.

Social networks and niche websites like LinkedIn, BumbleBizz, and Onlinewritersrating are brilliant ways to connect with people and fellow writers. However, many make the mistake of clicking connect and, then, never really connecting. Make sure that you reach out to people, send messages and even ask for a coffee.

As an author, the best thing that could happen for you is a co-promo agreement. Another author will promote your book or recommend it, and you do the same for them…when the time arrives.

Start in Advance

We recommend that you start promotion at least six months before its release date. This includes all the networking, teasers, website building, social media marketing and everything else you could possibly think of.

We can’t stress this enough, your promotional efforts should never be left until the last minute. Moreover, the earlier you start, the more interest you will generate, producing more sales.

Creating an author platform should be one of your main goals, as well as writing your book, obviously. Growing this platform requires building your own unique brand, building relationships and getting really serious about social media.

It doesn’t matter how new you are; you can grow your author platform from scratch if you just put the effort in. The first step is to create your own website. From that, you can create content, guest post and direct people to your site. This will take time, hence the recommended minimum of six months.

Focus on Content

Content marketing is one of the most important things, really, any business can do. As an author, you should treat this new venture as a trade, marketing, and advertising just the same.

“Content marketing might just seem like another buzzword, but it’s vital — and it’s here to stay,” states Hellen Lewis, a social media manager at Canada-Writers. “It basically revolves around creating and sharing of online material – something which we’re all basically experts at anyway.”

This material should be used to attract attention to your profile or website, not explicitly market your book. When people check out your content, they might just sign up to your mailing list, follow your work or research you. Ultimately, you might eventually gain new book customers.

We’ve already briefly mentioned blogs, but we’ll discuss them again because, well, they’re important. As a writer, not only do you have all those amazing skills to showcase, they can really help you. Writing relevant blog posts, perhaps even relevant to your book, could be the best advertising you could do.

Importantly, using your blog as a personal diary, sharing holiday pictures and talking about your life, yes, is blogging, but it isn’t content marketing. For promotion, you should focus on useful, specific blogs, targeted to a particular niche.

Another effective way to market your book is through video. Did you know that Google owns YouTube? This has led to online videos increasingly becoming the go-to for many users.

It’s not just 7 second Vine videos either, we’re talking long-form, hour-long interviews, Q&As, and documentaries. If you need any proof, just take a look at Shane Dawson’s viral 40-minute documentary-style videos that stormed the internet.

Don’t overlook audio content either. The majority of the world carries around a smart device, everywhere they go. People have really taken to downloading and listening to podcasts in their free time.

Imagine how many loyal followers you could gain from talking to people for thirty minutes every week. Whether it’s about books, marketing, feminism or being a mum, there’s a space for you in the podcasting world.

Last but not least, photos. The internet is exceptionally image-heavy, don’t ignore it.

“Images with witty, fun captions can easily go viral – especially on Facebook and Twitter. Keep it down-to-earth, relevant and on-brand, and you could gain new followers, that may just be interested in buying your book.” — Alan McGill, senior marketing manager at EssaySupply.com.

Below is a little content marketing schedule, which will prove priceless in your book promotion endeavors.

• Things to post every single day– Make a simple effort to post every single day on Twitter and your Facebook page. This could be something really simple, that will only take a few minutes of your day. Don’t forget to respond to comments and replies on your posts, engage with people and follow new people.
• Things to post every two to three days– Instagram and LinkedIn posts should be kept to every few days. Users of these apps don’t respond the same to regular posting. Posting too much might be considered “spam” and people will unfollow. These posts should be more thoughtful. Take the time to like, share and connect with new people on these apps too.
• Things to post once a week – We recommend a blog post a week. However, don’t be scared to post more than once a week, if you have the time. If you have a YouTube and Podcast, your content for these platforms should be scheduled for once a week…usually at the same time. This way, people will tune in.
• Things to do once a month– check your analytics once a month, consider what you did well and where you could improve. You should also aim to guest post, collaborate or network at least once a month. You’ll be surprised at how many new followers you can get, just from appearing on somebody else’s podcast.
• Things to do once a year– This is entirely your choice, but a book a year isn’t the craziest thing you could do. If you love writing, you’ll love your job.

Reach out to your Readers

It’s not just about gaining readers, it’s about keeping them too. It’s a lot like a real-life relationship – it takes effort, communication, and engagement. Mastering the art of engaged marketing will be sure to benefit you and your sales.

“Social media has made reaching out so much easier for modern authors. With the use of ‘live’ features, polls and stories, you will be able to really involve your audience, an invaluable aspect of book promotion.” — Ethan Coy, social media manager at Best Writers Canada.

Don’t forget to use your brand to engage. By ‘brand’ we mean your personality and voice. Act as a friendly friend to your readers, show interest in their lives and reach out to them. There are many ways that you can do this, these include:

• A reader of the month section on your website
• Contests or giveaways
• Handouts at events

As the author, you are ultimately responsible for the relationships with your audience. Engaging, kindness and authenticity will be sure to profit you along your writing career.

Join Forces with Influencers

Influencer marketing has taken the marketing world by storm. You’ve probably seen it yourself – people online with a large following, making sponsored posts. Well, you can use this to help promote your book.

Influencers are already doing a great job at connecting, promoting and engaging an audience. Consequently, you can benefit from this.

Influencers aren’t a one size fits all type, though. You have to find an influencer that will genuinely gain you new and interested followers. There’s really no point reaching out to a fashion influencer if your book revolves around gardening, for example.

Look for popular authors, bloggers, bookstore owners, organizations and relevant people in your niche, reach out to them and just see what they can do, it can’t hurt, right?

If your book is revolving around the world of heartbreak, targeted at young women. There are many lifestyle influencers with tones of young female followers. In those cases, it could be good to reach out to a range of prominent Instagram or Twitter personas.

Many authors send free copies to influencers. Let the writing speak for itself.

Don’t Forget about Press Releases

You are a writer, after all. Why not cut the costs and write your own press release? Here are our top tips on writing the best press release:

• Have a hook – the best news stories grab the reader with something really interesting.
• Focus on your headline – this will be the breaking or making point.
• Include quotes and testimonials – this will add efficacy.

Not too wordy – a press release should be about 300 to 400 words long, enough to grip the reader and keep them interested.

Don’t Forget about Email Lists

With the help from content marketing, it would be absolutely worth building up your own email list – a vital resource for promotions, launches, and getting reviews.

With a little help from your website, blog posts and social media, people will, hopefully, happily enter in their email, to receive updates from you.

You will have to create a compelling opt-in /popup. Perhaps offer a free chapter, guide or course, or even a free book in your series. Once people have given you permission to email them, you’ll be able to let them know about new blogs, books, and products.

Take your Book Promotion to the Next Level

It just shows you don’t need all the money in the world to promote your book, simple efforts, engaging with your audience and regular posts will do the work for you – and get you started without needing to invest huge sums in advertising.

Promotion is a really important component in book publishing. Don’t leave it to the last minute, and use your ingenious creativity to elevate your brand. You did write a whole book, after all…

Culled from Your First 10K Readers

5 Ways To Make Your Business More Visible Online

 

1. Keep Your Website Fresh. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is no longer just about keywords. Search engines are looking more and more for websites that are continually updated with new information or pages. “Business Card” style websites no longer work, if your website is static you are going to start dropping in the search rankings!
2. Valuable Content Is King. You may have heard the expression “Content Is King” before, but many businesses have taken that to mean any content. That is definitely not the case! Content is like currency, you are paying your potential customers to learn more about you. If your currency has no value, you won’t get anything in return. Make sure everything you put out there is either helpful, emotional (cute, funny, sad, etc), or related to current events. And most importantly, it always has to be connected to your business’ message.
3. Get Rid of Superfluous Social. In a rush to be relevant did you create pages for your business on every social media platform? It’s alright, we all did it, but now it’s time to delete the pages that aren’t being used. Empty or outdated social pages look bad to both consumers and search engines. If you are a law firm you probably don’t need an Instagram page, just like a soaps store doesn’t need to be on Linkedin.
4. One Word: Mobile. Going back to your website, if it isn’t optimized for mobile devices then it should be! Not only has Google factored into their algorithm whether your website has a mobile version, more and more consumers are using their phones and tablets as their primary devices. If someone can’t read your website because the text is too small, they are going to move onto a competitor. Don’t let that happen to you.
5. Cohesive Branding. Branding isn’t just for the big boys anymore. If someone looked at your website, Facebook business page, business card, and storefront would they know they all belonged to the same business? If the answer is no, it’s time to make sure your online and in person branding all looks the same. You want someone to recognize your website after they’ve walked past your storefront, and vice-versa. The more times a consumer sees your brand, the quicker they are familiar and comfortable with becoming a customer of your business.

Culled from Burlingame

Managing Your Reputation as a Public Figure

 

Managing your reputation as a public figure in a time of crisis can save your whole career. We know the story of Maryam Booth. A disgruntled ex-boyfriend supposedly tries to extort the girl by threatening to release naked videos of her. Girl refuses and then he supposedly goes ahead. It is even worse when the girl is a household name and even more terrible when she’s an actor from the conservative northern part of Nigeria.

To put the gravity of what happened to her into context, fellow Nigerian actor, Rahama Sadau was kicked out of the northern Nigeria movie industry (Kannywood) for holding hands with a man in a music video. Fortunately for Maryam, she won’t be banned from the industry because this was deliberately done to blackmail her. But her public image has taken a huge hit even if we do know this was done to harm her. She is simply a victim of blackmail. However, Maryam still has the responsibility of managing this crisis the best way she can.

 The easy way to manage a reputation crisis is to manipulate Google Algorithms so positive news about the person shows first. Then push a lot of spin articles to change public perception. But this is short-term and no more than a quick fix. If you are looking for a long-term solution, here are a few ideas on managing your reputation as a public figure in a time of a crisis:

Be Realistic about Goals

First thing you need to do is to access the situation you are in and be truthful with yourself about the damage done to your reputation. This is no time to brush it under the carpet and say, “It’s not so big a deal.” If you are not truthful about the damage this crisis has caused, you will not be able to set attainable goals in your crisis management. 

Is your situation so bad you might not work again in your industry like Rahama Sadau, or is it safe to continue posting on Social Media? The point is, you need to understand the extent of the damage, who is affected and then set your crisis management goals.

Note the level of Damage

A simple Google search of your name can give you an idea of how bad this damage is. In Nigeria especially, there are many blogs that feed on negative news and will pounce on anything terrible about you. But note that it is not the number of blogs that carry the news that matters, but the quality of the blog. A single post from a very popular blog is bigger damage than a hundred small blogs! The evaluation of the situation then gives you a baseline as you plan to take action.

Control your Emotions

It will be an emotional time for you, and unchecked emotions can lead you to make even bigger mistakes. Sometimes emotions can lead you to lie which will only make things worse when the truth comes out. Sometimes emotions can lead you to attack random people on Social Media which only makes you look unhinged. Every online comment or phone call from a relative increases your vulnerability. 

Truth is, acting out of emotions will only make things worse. If you are in a situation where you need to offer a public apology and you end up attacking people commenting on your situation early on, it makes your apology less sincere. 

Stay off Social Media for a while. Do not take calls (Everyone would have an opinion on how to handle the crisis and a barrage of opinions will only make you more unsettled). And talk to an expert on the next step to take.

Plan your strategy with the Media

Communication with the media, traditional or online requires finesse. When the emotions are running high, it might not be a good idea to make a statement immediately, no matter how tempting it is to do so. You need to decide when to make a public statement and how to make that statement in order to shape public opinion in your favour.

Watch Social Media

Social Media can be an eco-chamber and not really reflect what the world feels about you. But you can use it as a meter to measure how you can respond to the situation. One thing you should never do is get into a social media exchange.

Let’s say you have been accused of sexual abuse. People will get angry and they will vent online. Sometimes, many of them are not angry, and many of them don’t care! They just join the bandwagon to get on the clicks and the retweets. Engaging them is like digging a hole deeper. It will be harder to get out of the mess.

Measure the reaction on social media but do more work away from social media to clear your name (Sue! People will feel that you wouldn't sue unless you were innocent), and then address the media when the dust has settled. Play to their emotions and focus on how this crisis has affected your life and career.

Consider the Difficult Options

Sometimes, suing is not the best option. Imagine you are suing someone with political clout or unlimited resources? Even if you are in the right, it might still turn out bad for you. Going to court keeps the story in the public eye and may not be in your overall best interest. Sometimes, the difficult options might even include decisions like a change of name, career or location.

Seek Help

If you know you cannot handle this on your own, seek help. Fortunately, TRW Consult offers Reputation Management services with an impeccable record of satisfied high-profile clients. We will access your situation and advise on the best steps to take that will ensure you win in the court of public opinion.

 

Common Marketing Problems of Small Business Owners

 

As a small business owner, what would you say is your biggest marketing challenge? Some challenges small business owners face when it comes to marketing might include:

• not enough resources to effectively implement and carry out a marketing plan
• budgetary constraints to hire the right team members
• not sure what direction you need to go or even how to begin
• not enough time to do the marketing tasks you’d like to do

Unlike ten years ago, a business can stay competitive in its industry without a large marketing budget. Thanks to the Internet and social media, getting your messages spread across the radio or on a television commercial isn’t as critical as it once was. You can—for free, mind you—now spread your message to your audience in a more effective, non-interruptive way using free tools like social media and blogging platforms. Because this method of marketing is what a lot of companies are still getting used to, our job is to partner, teach, and help small businesses better understand how to do it.

Here are some marketing tips we suggest for small business owners:

• Budget for a website design (or re-design) that will allow you to capture leads online. A one-time investment in a well-designed content management system will pay off for you over and over again. Your website should be one that allows for easy updates, has a built-in blog, allows you to easily capture leads.
• Start using social media. Is this easier said than done for you? Then it’s time to start researching. See what your competitors are doing and how they’re using social media. Use it as a way to talk to people and start building their trust.
• Blog everyday. One of the most effective ways to improve your search engine ranking is to produce fresh content on a daily basis. Content that will solve a problem in your industry, provide value to those reading it, and share knowledge about industry news and topics you already know so well.

 

Culled from The Marketing Squad

 

 

6 Ways to Make Writing Easier (And More Fun)

 

Do you enjoy writing – or dread it?

I write for a living, and I also coach writers and would-be writers, so I know just how tough it can be to get up the motivation and the courage to write.

But in almost every job, you’re going to have to do some writing. You might also want to write for personal reasons: perhaps you’d like to write your memoir for your grandchildren, or you’re keen to write fiction or a blog.

How can you make writing seem less terrifying – and more fun?

#1: Write About What’s On Your Mind

This is something which I still do from time to time, even though writing’s usually pretty effortless for me – and I know a lot of other people find it useful too.

Write for ten minutes without stopping (set a timer) about any topic you like. You could write about your day, your worries, your workload … anything. You don’t even need to write in whole sentences. The idea is just to get the words flowing: get used to typing onto a blank page and filling it with your thoughts.

No one will ever see these getting-going pieces that you write. You can delete them if you like, or you can save them so you can look back at them in future.

#2: Try a Writing Challenge

Writing can seem like a big, serious thing to do. It doesn’t need to be that way at all – in fact, writing is an act of creativity and it can be a lot of fun.

If you’re looking for a way into writing, try out a writing challenge which gives you a prompt of some sort. You could give Creative Copy Challenge a go – the idea is to create a short, coherent piece by using all the words supplied, and you can make it as crazy as you want!

#3: Come Up With Ideas Separately

One of the biggest struggles that I hear from the writers I coach is getting started. Often, they end up staring at a blank page for ages, because they’re not sure what to write about. I know just how daunting this can be … but thankfully, it’s also pretty easy to fix.

Instead of sitting down and trying to come up with something to write about, make sure you’ve already got a stock of ideas. You can jot these in a notebook whenever you think of them, or even set aside time to deliberately come up with a list of ideas to write about – challenge yourself to get to 50, and don’t worry whether they’re “good” or “bad”.

#4: Write an Outline First

Even if you’ve got an idea, it can be really tough to write the first few words (and I often advise struggling writers to work on their introduction last). Instead of trying to fill a blank page from top to bottom, write an outline first. It doesn’t need to be in depth – it just needs to give you a framework to hang your writing from.

Your outline might be as simple as:

• A few notes about what needs to happen in this scene of your novel
• Five bullet points which you want to cover in an email to your boss
• Several subheadings for your latest blog post

I like to write my outline into the document which I’m using for the piece itself: that way, the screen’s no longer looking so scary and blank!

#5: Don’t Worry About Your First Draft

When you’re writing, you’ll find that your words rarely come out perfectly the first time. This isn’t because you’re a bad writer – even experienced professionals often go through many drafts. The whole point of a first draft is to get your ideas down onto the page, however imperfectly, so that you’ve got something to work with for the second draft.

No-one ever needs to see your first draft, so don’t censor yourself while you’re writing it. If you find yourself thinking this sentence is convoluted or that’s such a cliché or that’s not quite the word I want, just carry on. You can fix it in the next version.

#6: Experiment With Different Styles

Finally, don’t be afraid to try something new. It often takes a while for newer writers to find their voice (it took me years), so don’t get stuck in writing in just one way.

Trying out different styles could mean:

• Writing something very casual and conversational – this works particularly well for blogging, but could also be great for a first-person novel or even a poem
• Write in a journalistic way – concise and factual
• Write something with lots of grand imagery and metaphor
• Bring more humor to your writing
• Try creating a piece in a similar style to a writer with a distinctive voice

You might later decide that this really isn’t your style, but it’s a great exercise for your writing muscles to try it out.

Culled from Pick The Brain

What Does Being Digitally Literate Mean?

Let’s understand it this way- back in the day, knowing excel used to be a big deal. Every resume that I made for myself during college days said ‘Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PPT, Word’. Today, using excel is a minimal requirement. Similarly, today’s equivalent of being digitally literate means knowing the basics of all online platforms. What makes you stand out today are skills like coding and data analytics.

Tomorrow, they too will be a minimal requirement, this is the inevitable future.

The four pillars of digital include

• Coding

• Digital Design

• Digital Marketing

• Data Analytics

Why just these four? Because that’s all you need for building the companies of tomorrow. You need a coder to build it, a designer to make it look good, a marketer to sell it and an analytics person to optimize it.

Hence having even one of these digital skills can prove to be a great asset for anyone today.

Opportunities that being digitally literate bring on board:

1. Take any business online

The number of customers to be found online will always beat the physical limitations of brick and mortar. Roughly, only 18% of the world’s businesses today are online and the rest don’t know how to get there.

2. Build your own brand

“Developing your personal brand is key to monetizing your passion online.” — Gary Vaynerchuk

Don’t think of it as being an influencer, look at it as - following your passion. Being socially active and sharing valuable content that you’re passionate about could get you the recognition only fifteen-year long hardships could bring.

The idea is to create an audience that loves the authentic you.

This can allow you to not only start a product line in a matter of weeks but also put you in the limelight.

2. Start your own blog

You can earn massive payouts with advertising options such as Ad Sense, Facebook Audience Network and many other options that are available out there today.

Having a large number of visitors on your blog can give you an opportunity at a great earning opportunity similar to the old school broking - Affiliate Marketing. Today, all major e-commerce websites offer a program for affiliates that offer a great commission.

Best part? It’s all passive income.

4. Freelance or Digital Nomad

A freelancer is a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. And it is high in demand. So today, being a freelancer can easily mean earning better than most desk jobs have to offer.

While a digital nomad is similar to a freelancer but is not restricted to any physical location, they travel from place to place. Hence the term - Digital Nomad.

If you Google -“Top Freelancing Industries”, the top results are- graphic design and web design. Hence, digital skills are extremely vital.

Also, it’s super easy to get gigs to work on with a great freelance platform like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Indifolio and many more.

5. Build your own business

As discussed earlier, the four pillars of digital are the foundation to build companies of tomorrow. If you think you have a vision and want to see it come to life, all you need is a little digital literacy, the right skill set and you can truly actualize your dreams.

6. Be a consultant, you’ll be most valuable

 

Most people don’t have these skills. So anyone who’s ahead of the curb gets the most benefit of mastering these skills which are being financially secure.

Quick Bonus - Types of income

You may already know this but there are two types of income primarily:

1. Earned/active Income - The income you basically exchange your time for.

2. Passive Income - Recurring or non-recurring income that is generated with activities that require a one-time effort or zero-time investment from your side.

We can sum up the article in one sentence, it would say:

“Create enough passive income to cover your active expenses, and then you won’t need any active income and will be financially free”

Most digital jobs offer the opportunity to earn money passively, which is what we need today!

Conclusion

The only thing AI and Machine Learning is doing for humans is taking away the manual labour intensive jobs human beings used to do. It is taking the jobs away from us that were redundant and didn’t require much mental capacity. These redundant jobs are being automated so that human beings can use their brains for innovating and doing better for humanity. This is where digital skills play an important role. Just like all the jobs today require you to know how to use a laptop, all jobs tomorrow will need you to have the general knowledge of digital skills.

Culled from Entrepreneur

 

6 Tips for Book Marketing with Little to No Budget

 

Book Marketing is important, but it can quickly get expensive. Author, BK Walker, she shares some great tips to help you promote your book with little to no budget for marketing.

Oh the thrill!

The thrill of wanting to write a book and making the decision to actually do it. For months, maybe even years, you pour your heart and soul into each page, until what will soon become your baby is finally finished. You then submit your completed manuscript to publishers, doing the Happy Dance because your writing is good enough to receive an email back from a publisher wanting to take your book under their wing. Maybe you are an indie publisher who hit the “Publish” button to see your book go live to the world.

What most authors don’t realize, whether traditionally published or self-published, is that you’re responsible for the marketing and promotion of your new release. I know…Shocking!

It’s not as hard as you think, but it does take consistent, persistent work on your part. While some authors spend thousands of dollars in their marketing campaigns, there are some things you can do that cost little to no money at all.

Start marketing your book at least 6 months before its release. This means building your author platform, sharing information about your book with blogging and social media.

Create a mailing list. You can create this free of charge using Mailchimp. Your mailing list will become your life line when your book releases and for future books, sales, KDP free days and special promotions.

Make friends with other authors. When your book releases, ask them to share the news with their readers and in return, you can do the same for them. Author cross promotion is a great way to increase exposure, sales, and gain new fans to your reader base.

Become visible. Be active on social media, posting every day, several times a day. You can even set this on autopilot, scheduling posts with platforms such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social.

Get graphics. Design stunning graphics/images with teasers or excerpts from your book and share with your readers. You can get amazing graphics done for you for $5 at Fiverr.

Be easily found. Create a website that has your amazing bio, all of your works so readers know what you write, how they can get their hands on a copy of your book(s), and how they can connect with you.

While writing a book and becoming a published author is exciting, it’s important to realize that building a strong author platform is crucial to the success of your book(s).

It doesn’t have to be a drag either. You can make marketing and promoting your book(s) fun while connecting with some amazing people. Stop by and listen to my free podcasts for more ideas and tips for marketing and promoting your books at BK Walker Writing.

BK Walker is just like every other ordinary woman – a wife, mom, caregiver, and animal lover, who just happens to also be an Amazon bestselling author. BK loves to share her knowledge coaching authors to break through the marketing masses making their mark on the world at BookIt BK, and giving their books the attention they deserve with increased exposure organizing virtual book tours at the Virtual Book Tour Café.

 

8 Ways to Do Big-Time Marketing Without Spending a Fortune

 

Marketing is essential to any company’s bottom line. However, traditional advertising channels such as newspapers, radio and television can get expensive really quick. Furthermore, they may produce little or no ROI. Contrary to these earlier practices, your own marketing strategy does not need to break the bank. Here are several tactics for saving money on marketing while still ensuring that your message reaches your target audience.

1. Do partnered giveaways.

Team up with other brands to generate large contests with grand prizes instead of organizing small, standalone giveaways. All of the involved businesses should pool distribution support and marketing manpower, as well as share email lists and social media followings. One example to take inspiration from is Oklahoma’s News on 6, a TV station that has partnered with different local businesses in Oklahoma to promote giveaways.

2. Foster user-generated content.

Get users to build content and broadcast your company. BuzzFeed utilizes this method by encouraging community posts. HerCampus.com is largely community-driven, with the majority of its site content created by university women. Another tactic is to create a contest for the best user-generated content. For instance, Doritos hosts a yearly Crash the Super Bowl contest with a cash prize to get fans to produce Super Bowl video commercials for the brand.

Related: Millennials Spend 18 Hours a Day Consuming Media -- And It's Mostly Content Created By Peers

3. Promote customer referrals.

Encourage customers to refer their friends to your product or service. Airbnb and Uber grew considerably thanks to their powerful referral programs, both of which only involved small incentives. All you need to do to bolster your referral program is to provide a little money or discount to the source and recipient of the referral.

4. Use social media.

Social media provides many cost-free avenues for advertising your brand, including Facebook and Twitter. Another growing opportunity is hosting a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) and inviting Reddit users to ask any questions. A wide range of individuals and companies have hosted Reddit AMAs, from celebrities promoting movies, to employees of large corporations, to founders of start-up companies. Before hosting one of your own, be sure to read through a few relevant threads to get a sense of what the best practices are for marketing your business and for answering questions.

If you have more money in your social media budget, consider creating a YouTube video. Get ideas from “Dumb Ways to Die,” a safety PSA for a local Australian train company that went viral due to a skillful combination of animation, catchy music and black humor.

Related: If Marketing About Avoiding Death Can Be Funny, Why Is Your Content So Somber?

5. Hire brand ambassadors.

Employ friendly individuals to be brand ambassadors for your product or service. Brand ambassadors act as representatives of the company and spread the word to the public in many types of ways. Businesses like Lyft and Amazon hire university students as brand ambassadors to advertise their services across college campuses.

6. Transform old campaigns into new ones.

Instead of starting a marketing campaign from scratch, repurpose or update a previous one to save time and money. Refashion what works and toss out aspects of the campaign that were not successful. Moreover, this strategy should help maintain the consistency of your message, and according to Rand Group, a consistent advertising message may improve brand recognition. An inconsistent one on the other hand can be costly – it can lead to significant setbacks for brand recognition.

7. Exploit online marketing tools.

There are many free or low cost marketing tools on the Internet that help companies save money and time on marketing efforts. For market research, SurveyMonkey provides free online survey and questionnaire tools for polling your target market and analyzing their responses. MailChimp offers a free email marketing service for sending emails using newsletter templates, managing subscribers and tracking email results. If you want more powerful tools, try a 30-day free trial of HubSpot, an extensive inbound marketing and sales software.

8. Dispose of weak ads.

Stop wasting money on poorly performing ads. This may sound like common sense, but an estimated 46 percent of ads go unseen, so many businesses do spend money on ads that never reach an audience. Keep track of what you are paying for and why you are pursuing certain tactics. If there are marketing channels that have little ROI, then curb your ad spending, reevaluate your current strategies and carry out more effective advertising approaches.

Marketing your brand can be an overwhelming and costly process, but these tips will save you loads of money and time. There are many more free and inexpensive tools available today than ever before – take advantage of them!

4 Techniques for Improving Your Writing Style

 

Not all these strategies will be right for everyone, but it can’t hurt to at least consider them.

Focus on the whole as well as the parts

Any time you add or revise some words, reread what surrounds them to ensure that everything else still fits. Often, a change in one place will necessitate a change in another. Naturally you must focus on each line as you create it, but as soon as you have the first draft in place, back up a few lines and read through the earlier text again. You will sometimes find that the latest addition doesn’t fit in quite as it should—perhaps it restates a point already made, or doesn’t make a smooth enough transition from what came before.

 

As you form each new sentence, keep going back and rereading it from the start to ensure that all its elements mesh together. (Don’t worry about the technical stuff, like whether or not you should underline book titles in your writing or how many spaces to leave after a period). As you form each new paragraph, keep rereading it from its first line to see how its sentences fit together: perhaps the topic shifts enough that the paragraph should be broken up, or perhaps a particular word now is repeated too many times within a short space.

 

Put your work aside for a while and then come back to it

You may be confident that you have polished your words into their final form, only to find that when you look at them a little later, problems jump out: illogical connections, clumsy sentence structures, a strained-sounding tone, subtle grammatical errors. A lapse of time enables you to come back to your work with a more objective eye. A day or more away is ideal, but even a few hours can make a difference.

 

Have someone else look your work over

Any writer, no matter how skilled, can benefit from getting a second opinion, because by definition one is always too close to one’s own work. Given that any writing is ultimately intended for other people’s consumption, it only makes sense to find out how other people perceive it. The individual whose opinion you seek need not be a better writer than you, since the goal is not necessarily to have this person correct or revise what you have done. Rather, it is to provide you with feedback on how your points and your tone are coming across. If your critic doesn’t get your jokes, or finds a character you meant to be funny and sympathetic merely irritating, or can’t follow some instruction because you left out a step you thought would be perfectly obvious to anybody—at least consider the possibility of making changes (and do your best to remain on speaking terms afterward). A professional editor is ideal, but if this is not practical or affordable, select someone whose opinion you respect and who represents your intended readership as nearly as possible.

 

Read your text aloud

This strategy will be super helpful if your writing is intended for oral presentation, but can be useful for other genres as well. Hearing your own words, as opposed to looking at them, may change your impression of them and expose weaknesses such as pretentious-sounding terms, wooden dialogue, or rambling sentences.

 

Writer's Digest

 

How Poetry Can Improve your Copywriting Ability

 

Advertising copywriters are often told that they need to get to grips with poetry. After all, the ability to express complex images and emotions in just a few lines is what makes a copywriter great.

Actually, poetry can help writers of all breeds, be they novelists or nonfiction writers, to improve their craft. The ability to play music to the reader through words or conjure some unforgettable images is something all writers aspire to achieve.

Read lots of poems

Of course, the best place to start improving your writing craft is by reading poems, and lots of them. Poetry has the advantage of being short, which allows you to experiment with many different styles. Try to read a few and see what kind of feelings and images they inspire in you. If they leave an imprint on you, ask yourself why, what was it about this poem that affected you so?

For a start, try reading “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Diameter of the Bomb” by Yehuda Amichai, and “Hope is the Thing of Feathers” by Emily Dickinson.

Learn to stimulate the senses

The poet paints pictures with words, but that picture is not limited to images; the poet should stimulate our sense of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste just as a picture can do. The poet becomes a kind of camera that produces striking, fresh images that remain fixed in the mind’s eye. This line, for example, offers a strong image: “Sunlight varnishes oak trees crimson.”

Try to play around with images in your own writing, or practice writing a poem or two. See what kind of images you can conjure, and try to understand why imagery works well at stimulating the senses.

Learn to use concrete words

Poetry also teaches us that it’s better to use a concrete word in place of an abstract one. An example of a concrete word is “warm.” It’s concrete because you can experience warmth with your senses—it’s a real thing. An abstract term might be “freedom” or “happiness” because you can’t see or touch them.

Using abstract words in poetry bypasses the reader’s senses, meaning they don’t experience your idea to the fullest. For example: “she feels happy,” isn’t as powerful as “her tomato cheeks radiated warmth.” The image of a tomato, strange as it may seem, will last longer in the reader’s memory because it’s concrete.

Learn to convert clichés

Any writing style that relies on clichés loses its impact. Overused phrases are a bit like stale bread—no one wants to eat it. He may be blind as a bat, or busy as a bee, but these clichés are tattered and worn and have lost all their power.

Instead, you can convert your clichés. For example, try listing all the words you associate with being busy and create a new phrase. For example: “Busy as an old lady knitting.” Finding original phrases will inspire your writing with new life.

Learn to subvert the ordinary

The strength of poetry lies in the poet’s ability to see ordinary objects, places, or ideas in a completely new way. You might see a young child standing in line with his mother, but a poet will imagine the boy painting the walls with nail polish and the mother struggling not to be angry. Just try looking at something ordinary and attempt to see it in a completely new way, and your writing will love you for it.

Learn to think about themes

Poets love themes, and your own writing should include them too. Yet many novice writers find it hard to get to grips with themes. A theme isn’t just an idea. You can’t say that your book covers the theme of war because that’s a topic, not a theme. You can define themes as an idea with an opinion attached. Thus, your theme might be: “even though we claim to be peace-loving people, war is a natural aspect of the human race.” This is the poet’s opinion.

Of course, there’s far more to poetry than this. The best advice is to read a poem at least once a day and internalize the images, the rhythm, and feelings. Study things like metaphor, simile, and other literary devices employed by poets. Once you’ve got to grips with poetry, your writing craft is sure to have improved.

Culled from iuniverse.com

A 5-Step Online Reputation Management Guide (That ANYONE Can Follow)

 

Have you ever Googled yourself (or your company) and seen a negative comment or review? Then you should consider proactive online reputation management.

But it’s not just negative reviews you need to be aware of.

For example, Google “hellofresh pricing” and you’ll see this.

I’d be willing to bet that those who type this into Google are one step away from signing up to HelloFresh (as the query has high purchase intent). Yet the first thing they see is a featured snippet introducing their competitor!

(This probably has a dire effect on conversions for HelloFresh.)

Let’s learn more about online reputation management and how it can help.

 

What is Online Reputation Management?

Online reputation management (ORM) is the practice of crafting strategies that shape or influence the public perception of an organization, individual or other entity on the Internet. It helps drive public opinion about a business and its products and services.

But what does this actually involve?

Well, it may involve using Twitter to jump in on conversations and tackle negative or defamatory comments about your company.

Oxfam are great at this.

 

 

By responding to such criticism in an open and respectful manner (notice that they weren’t even tagged in the tweet — that’s real dedication!), they are able to defend their reputation and hone customer perception.

But while social media is important, I’d argue that SEO reputation management is even more important.

To illustrate, try Googling “t mobile reviews”. You’ll see this.

the #1 result for “t mobile reviews” — a search term with an estimated 8.5K searches/month in the US!

Oh dear… this is certainly not the most desirable #1 result for t-mobile.

A bit of proactive reputation management—well, a lot, in this case—could potentially “fix” this.

If you have a bad review (like T-Mobile does), you should first and foremost try to resolve the CAUSE of this bad review.

(This may mean improving your product or service, offering better customer support, or something else—it depends on what the CAUSE of the bad review was.)

You should ONLY turn to reputation management if the review is subjective and unfairly biased.

But search engine reputation management is about much more than quelling unfair reviews.

It’s about making sure your brand, products and services are accurately represented in the search results. (Remember the HelloFresh example I shared at the beginning of this guide?)

 

You can be perfect at online reputation management

Here's how:

1. Check the first page of results (in Google) for your company… and make sure you OWN the bulk of them

OK, let’s start with the basics.

It goes without saying that when someone Googles you or your company, your website should be the first result.

NOT RANKING IN POSITION #1 FOR YOUR BRAND? HERE’S HOW TO SOLVE THIS…

This is usually caused by one of three issues:

1. your website isn’t indexed;
2. you have a Google penalty;
3. you don’t have any backlinks to your website.

Read this article for more details about (and solutions for) the first two issues.

If you feel that your website may not be appearing due to a lack of backlinks, then go to:

Site Explorer > enter your domain

You will then see how many backlinks and referring domains you have. (Read our link building guide if you need help in this department.)

But what about the rest of the results on page one?

Ideally, you want these to be predominantly “owned” search results (i.e., those where you control the content). So that includes your:

• Twitter;
• Facebook;
• LinkedIn;
• YouTube channel;
• Behance;
• Etc.

The easiest way to do this is:

1. make sure you have any appropriate profiles (and that you’re active on them)
2. link to them from your website (ideally using a sitewide footer link)
3. link to them from other third-party websites on which you’ve registered (e.g., forums, directories, etc.)

This will tell Google that these are your “official” pages and increase the chance of them ranking in the SERPs.

But this will only usually be the case if you keep them active, which can be quite a tedious task in itself. So I recommend using something like Buffer or Hootsuite, as this will allow you to syndicate a single message to all your social platforms.

SIDENOTE.

Keep in mind that certain types of content are better-suited to specific platforms (e.g., images for Instagram or Pinterest, etc.). I would, therefore, recommend that you don’t attempt to automate this fully. Just use these applications to take care of some of the heavy-lifting and reduce the time needed to manage your social profiles.

But, what if you don’t own all these results? What then?

Two options:

1. If the unowned content is positive in nature (e.g., a good review, or a well-written guide), don’t worry about it. Just keep your eye on the SERPs and monitor for any potentially negative changes in this department.
2. If the unowned result is negative in nature, reach out to whoever wrote it and see what you can do. If it’s unfair or overly-subjective, work with them and see if they’re willing to change it.

SIDENOTE.

There is a third option, which we’ll talk about a bit later in step #3 🙂

2. Find high-traffic articles that negatively reflect your brand… then fix them!

People have probably mentioned your brand, products or services in their articles in the past.

This may be in reviews, guides, stories, competitor comparisons (i.e., “your brand vs. competitor”), etc.

But that’s a good thing, right!?

Not always.

What if these mentions unfairly portray you and your company, or are simply outdated and inaccurate?

And what if such articles receive thousands of visitors organic search traffic each month?

That’s a lot of people reading negative, outdated or inaccurate things about your company.

The solution? Find such articles and nip them in the bud asap!

Here’s how:

Content Explorer > your brand name > select “everywhere” > exclude your own site

This will find all mentions of your brand on sites other than your own.

Next, use the built-in filters to refine these results to show ONLY pages with a decent amount of estimated organic search traffic (e.g., 1000+/month).

SIDENOTE.

It’s also worth filtering for English results, too.

Here’s a post by Matthew Barby with an estimated 1.2K visits from organic search per month (that mentions Ahrefs).

Matthew hasn’t updated this post since March 2016, so it still contains screenshots of the old Ahrefs UI.

If you find any mentions like this, it’s worth reaching out and requesting that the outdated or inaccurate information be fixed.

This is because such inconsistencies and inaccuracies can cost you customers and cause a lot of frustration, as they set the wrong expectations.

So, reach out to the person who wrote or published the article and ask them to fix the issue(s). You can even offer to fix it for them (i.e., rewrite the inaccurate part of the post and send it to them to upload.)

EDITOR’S NOTE

We reached out to Matthew Barby about the outdated Ahrefs screenshots in the article on his blog.

This was his response:

So I did exactly that—I sent him updated screenshots for his article.

It doesn’t look like he’s had the chance to update it yet, but I’m sure he’ll get round to it. (C’mon, Matt!) 😉

 

* * *

But what if you find something more serious? E.g., a scathingly negative review.

If the review is objective, you should ALWAYS first fix the root cause before asking the author of the review to update it. But if the review is subjective and there’s no way to fix it from your end, or if the author simply refuses to revoke their unfair critique, then keep reading 🙂

3. Push negative reviews (and mentions) down in the SERPs… and pull positive ones up!

DISCLAIMER: You only need to pay attention to this section if (a) you found at least one negative review using the tactics above, and (b) you’ve done everything in your power to reach a mutual agreement with the publisher of the negative review or article and resolve the issue. We don’t advise trying to bury bad reviews if they’re objective. That’s not “reputation management.” That is a SCAM. But if the review is not objective, and the author is unreasonable and unwilling to remove it, then this is the last resort.

Some negative reviews are more of a problem than others.

It all depends on if and where they rank. And if they receive a lot of traffic.

For example, let’s say that you manufacture microphones.

What if a potential customer Google’s something like “blue snowball ice review” (we’re assuming this is one of the mics you produce) and see’s a negative review on the first page of results?

Well, this will probably put them off ever doing business with you.

this page ranks in position #1 for “blue snowball ice review.”

Same goes for ANY negative review that gets a lot of organic search traffic.

SEE WHICH KEYWORDS ARE SENDING THE MOST ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Did you find a negative review in step #2? (I.e., in Content Explorer)

Details > Organic Keywords.

This will show you which keywords send the most organic search traffic to that page.

If you didn’t find the review in step #2, but have the URL, then do this:

Site Explorer > enter URL -> Organic Keywords

But why do these negative reviews rank and attract organic search traffic in the first place?

It’s usually because they have more—or perhaps stronger—backlinks than the results ranking below them.

Let’s take a look at this page in Site Explorer to see the backlinks situation.

Site Explorer > paste URL > Overview

Hmm, looks like it only has one backlink from one referring domain in this case.

So why is it ranking?

Let’s use the SERP overview feature in Keywords Explorer to find out.

We can see that all of the pages competing for this query have very few (if any) backlinks.

So that’s why the negative review (with only a single backlink) is able to rank #1.

But here’s the thing:

One of the reviews that rank below this review is much more positive.

So it would be preferable for this to rank on page 1 in place of the negative review, right?

Definitely. And here’s the good news: this is pretty doable; chances are you would just need to point one or two good links to this page and it would push that negative review down.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Remember, you should ONLY do this if the review is unfair or inaccurate.

Never try to bury a subjective review.

In this case, I would personally say that the review is a little unfair.

I used one of these mics a while back (before upgrading to the Blue Yeti) and I would give it higher than 3-stars.

If you check on Amazon, it would seem that the majority of people agree with me.

 

A good starting point is to add a link to the positive review from your own site (i.e., you could quote it on your testimonials page, then add the testimonial to your homepage);

But if that isn’t enough to push it up a few spots, you can also link to it from guest posts.

Here’s the process for this:

1. Find a few sites in your niche that accept guest posts (learn how to do this here);
2. Write a post for them. Note: this should be somewhat related to the keywords you want to rank the positive review for. (E.g., in this case, we might write a post entitled “the ultimate guide to podcasting” that featured the Blue Snowball mic)
3. Link to the desirable review (i.e., the positive one) that you want to rank from your guest post

For example, if I was to write “the ultimate guide to podcasting” as a guest post on, say, smarthustle.com, I would link to Techradar’s positive Blue Snowball review from that post.

Do this a few times and that review would almost certainly push the negative review out of the SERPs.

4. Find popular branded search terms… then create content to address those searches

People are searching for all kinds of things related to your brand—it’s not just reviews.

If you’re not there (i.e., in the SERPs) when they search for these things, they’re going to end up getting their information from a third-party.

This may not be desirable.

For example, if someone searches for “ahrefs vs. moz”, well, it’s important to us that the first result (which gets the most traffic) is objective and accurate.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to own this result, but this is one way to ensure that details relating to our product are accurate.

But how do you find popular branded search terms?

Simple; use Keywords Explorer.

Keywords Explorer > your brand name > phrase match

SIDENOTE.

You can also filter for queries with high search volumes if you wish to narrow these results down further.

You can see that “ahrefs vs moz” has an estimated search volume of 80 searches/month.

So what ranks in the top spot for this query?

It looks like it’s this post from Process Street, which hasn’t been updated since 2016.

As such, some of the facts and screenshots in this article are out of date and inaccurate—like pricing, for example:

This is an issue.

We want to make sure that potential customers’ expectations are accurately set.

So we have two options:

1. Reach out to the author and ask that he update the post with accurate and up-to-date information. (This is what we covered in point #2, remember?);
2. Create our own piece of content around this term… and try to outrank him.

In all likeliness, the first option will be quicker and easier. So it’s usually worth giving that a shot before moving onto the second option.

EDITOR’S NOTE

We reached out to Benjamin Brandall—the author of this post—to see what we could do.

This was his response:

So this is exactly what I did—I sent over a Google Doc highlighting inaccuracies, and also added updated screenshots.

We’re hoping this post will be updated soon. 🙂

 

* * *

But the second option is a good call in some cases … especially as you can often quite easily rank for branded terms.

Just remember that if you do create your own content around such terms, the aim is to rank #1 and ensure that your brand is accurately represented. You shouldn’t write a sales pitch. Keep it as fair and unbiased as you possibly can.

WANT TO TAKE THIS A STEP FURTHER? FIND NEWLY DISCOVERED BRANDED TERMS AND CREATE CONTENT BEFORE ANYONE ELSE!

For most brands, new branded search queries pop up all the time.

So while you may already have created content around such popular terms (e.g., “you vs. bigger competitor”), how do you keep up with new branded searches your potential customers are making?

Simple; use the “newly discovered” feature in Keywords Explorer.

Keywords Explorer > enter your brand name (e.g., Ahrefs) > Newly discovered

This shows you the queries (containing your brand name) that have recently been added to Ahrefs’ database. Thus, they’re things potential customers have been searching for very recently.

You can often find some real gems in here, including issues your customers are experiencing with your product or service.

For example, here’s a newly-discovered query for Cloudapp—you can see that their Windows-based customers are clearly having trouble with their Windows app.

As software updates occur all the time, this is probably a new issue that Cloudapp may or may not already be aware of.

But awareness aside, the SERPs for this query are definitely a problem, as the top two results are totally unrelated to Cloudapp.

This means that their frustrated customers aren’t able to find a solution to their problem, because Cloudapp hasn’t created content (i.e., a “help” article) around this term.

The bottom line? Ranking for and carefully addressing the queries your customers have in relation to your brand will ensure that they aren’t left feeling stuck and frustrated—a feeling that very rarely leads to long-term conversions.

So, once you identify worthwhile queries, you can then create content around them in order to rank.

5. Set up alerts for your company name… then tackle any potentially reputation-damaging reviews and mentions in real-time

You should now have solved most existing negative reviews and mentions.

But your work isn’t done yet, as people are likely talking about you or your company all the time.

This means that NEW negative reviews and mentions will pop up in the future.

Unless you’re actively monitoring for mentions of your brand, you won’t have a clue what people are saying about you. This means you can’t possibly react in a timely manner and potentially lessen the blow of any new negative reviews or comments.

Even worse, unless you’re quick to nip such negatively in the bud, who’s to say that such articles won’t be ranking in Google in a few weeks?

That’s why you should actively monitor brand mentions using an alerts service, such as:

• Ahrefs Alerts;
• Mention.com;
• Brand24;
• Google Alerts;

Here’s how to set this up in Ahrefs Alerts:

Ahrefs Alerts > Mentions

Create an alert for your company name (e.g., “ahrefs.”)

To prevent Ahrefs from sending alerts for mentions on your own domain, add your website as an excluded domain. I also recommend adding sites like youtube.com, sites.google.com, and any other sites you prefer not to monitor.

SIDENOTE.

There are many dedicated tools for “social listening” (i.e., monitoring brand mentions on Twitter, Facebook, etc.). But it’s important to remember that social posts usually aren’t as important as article mentions; that’s why we don’t crawl LinkedIn or Twitter for the Content Explorer database. I would also say that so-called social listening is more a job for your SMM and customer care teams.

Leave the mode as “everywhere” and set the language to “English” (unless you wish to monitor mentions in multiple languages.)

Now, whenever you’re mentioned on the web, you’ll get an email telling you about it.

You can then dig deeper and tackle any negativity head-on by:

• Requesting the removal of any inaccurate reviews or comments;
• Tracking rankings of “negative” pages and making sure they don’t rank for terms that may hurt sales;
• Etc.

And if the negative review or comments were caused by an issue with your product or service, you can fix said issue to make sure it’s not a problem for anyone else in future.

Final Thoughts on online reputation management

Like I said earlier, online reputation management is NOT about quashing negative reviews—especially not if they’re objective and fair.

(That’s dishonest and something we absolutely do not advocate.)

It’s about making sure your brand is accurately represented wherever your customers (and potential customers) are looking for you… i.e., on Google.

Because Google rankings change all the time, reputation management is an ongoing process.

You should, therefore, proactively monitor for new mentions of your brand and deal with any potential issues in a timely manner.

Don’t have time to do this yourself?

Hire an online reputation management company to do it for you.

Just ask them about the details of their service and ask if they’re able to do any of the things mentioned above.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other cool reputation management tips! 🙂

 

 

Credit: Ahrefs Blog