How do I write about my products? I have built a lot of different sites for a lot of different people and this question always comes up. I’m not quite sure why. Some of these people had had brick and mortar stores for years But somehow when it comes to writing about their products, they draw a blank.

And I can understand that. Most people don’t like to write. And if that’s the issue, I can understand that. But don’t tell me you don’t have anything to say about your product.

The best salesman know everything there is to know about the product they are selling. It is no different on the Internet. In fact, maybe even a bit easier to show all the knowledge you have of your products on the Internet. Most hosting providers will give you a virtually unlimited amount of storage. Use it. Use it to build content around your products.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s a product you manufacture, sell retail or sell as an affiliate. Those with the most information (backed with the right promotions) will win the prize. And yes, I did list affiliates, because there are a lot of companies out there that will create a product and just forget about it because they know there is an army of affiliates waiting to promote that product. Be an army of one. by not stopping with the information your vendor gives you.

And before you start writing content, remember this: you know a lot more than who you are writing for. That seems like a simple statement, but you have to consistently remind yourself this. I did not know how new newbies could be until I helped someone with their first WordPress installation. A sentence for an intermediate WordPress user can translate into a thesis for a newbie.

What Type of Content?

First there is the product itself.  What can you say about it? What color is the? What sizes it? Does it have any distinctive markings on it? What does it look like? If you had to identify it with the police sketch artist could you? I’m not asking these questions to be silly. I am asking them from experience. You’d be amazed at what people type into the search box. If you can answer that question, then your report is traffic.

What are the features of the product? We’ve all heard about features and benefits. The features are basically what a product does. And the benefits list how you benefit from the product. You’ve probably heard that you should focus on the benefits, but we are not just in the advertising field, we are also in the search engine field. A benefit may get someone to buy, but people search for features. When I want to make sure the gaps under my doors aren’t letting in cold air, I don’t search for “lower heating bills”. I search for “seal gap under door”.

But keep benefits in mind also. Benefits are for selling to people that aren’t in the market or at least, don’t think they are. The person on a mission will search for “seal gap under door”, but the person just browsing will need to be thrown the hint “lowers heating bills” which will jog his memory about last month’s bill. And if you have a lot of products that fulfill that benefit, you’re in luck. Benefits are more general and content is easier to find and create.

Tutorials are another way to expand the content you have available with a product. Again, it doesn’t matter if the product is your own or you are just an affiliate. A lot of affiliates have cleaned up by creating a bigger resource for the product they are selling than the vendor themselves. How do you use the product normally? What are some unconventional uses? What are some really unconventional uses? How do you do one very specific thing with the software? How do you do another? And another? Be clear and write good step by step instructions.

Written text is one form of content. We also have pictures, pictures you may need for the tutorials above. It is best to give these files a keyword based file name to help with your ranking. It may also help to host your images on a social image site like Flickr to get a bit more extra traffic. Then just add the flickr code to your posts or your pages.

Videos are another form of content that can help. Creating videos of you using or installing the product you sell. And make sure that you don’t just host the video on your site. Spread it as far you can by uploading it to every video site you can find.

Put a contact form on your site and beg for questions. Then answer them with posts when it makes sense to do so. If no one is asking questions, go to forums and answer sites and answer them there. Then go back to your site and write a more detailed answer.

Where to Put Your Content

Your site is a good start. But it is not the end.

You noticed that I said to host your pictures and videos on a social site if you can. This was not just to save you storage space. These sites have communities, huge communities.

There are also social networks, article directories and forums out there. On the internet, you have to think about potential. There are potential customers on these sites who will never find your site unless you make it visible to them. But here is not the place to sell. Here is the place to write anything related to your products that will set you up as an expert in your field or niche.

No product descriptions. No sales pages. No features. Show your knowledge of a product by covering it’s niche. If you sell computers, write about how to install a video card. If you sell blog themes, write about css

Content ideas are everywhere, you just have to look. And if you listen, potential customers will give you the best content ideas. But don’t be greedy and keep all of your content on site. The benefits of spreading your content around to various social sites and networks are massive. Now get to work. You have a lot of content to create.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Creating Your Organization’s Social Media Strategy Map
• Don’t Wait – Profit With Social Network Websites
• Why tagging is important

 

Image by Zemanta via CrunchBase

• Get Mentioned
• Make Your Post More Visually Appealing
• Link to Related Posts
• Choose Good Tags for Your Posts
• Link to Bloggers in Your Niche
• Make a Little Money

It is hard enough to write at times and then you have to do all of the above also. Well, maybe not all of the above, but at least some of it. Unless, of course, you want to be your blog’s only subscriber.

And right now, as I am writing this, this is being done for me. Well, not the “Get Mentioned” part, but that button at the bottom of this post may help with that.

The rest is covered, almost like a personal assistant for your blog. I have been using Zemanta for a while and they had been mentioning customizable features for a while. Well, they released the new version during Blog World Expo and I tried it out the first day.

Now you can add your friends from Facebook, MyBlogLog, and Twitter, you can use your own pictures from Flickr, and add up to 130 of your own feed sources.

For more details, check out the Zemanta demo or read more about Zemanta at Bloghology. And if you want to see my ideas on using Zemanta for a niche blog, go to my other blog.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Have You Tried Zemanta?
• Hands On With Zemanta – Your Blog Writing Concierge?

Mobile Web On A Budget

I probably spend less than an hour a month on the cell phone. Talking, that is. Plus I usually just listen and say things like
"OK" and "Uh-huh" and on long phone calls I create these sweet doodles that I can never recreate at any other time. It is a tool to keep in contact with my wife and family. For anyone else, they can wait until I am near a land line because most of the time they are in close proximity.

I don’t really speak that much at all. I am comfortable with that most of the time.

Well, I get service through Virgin Mobile. I never use 200 minutes in a months. I don’t want a contract. I get unlimited texting. And the internet access is cheap and decent. No other service came close for the price. 

But on to the bookmarks. I did not really want to enter a new environment when I went mobile. There are certain social networks and sites that are specifically mobile. I was looking for sites that I already used now that had a mobile version, for the most part.

In the toss up between the Mokeskine and my phone, the winner is obvious. It depends on the purpose. My daily to do list is pretty short. I don’t need a notebook for it, just a post-it note. The Moleskine is good for ideas. The phone mainly passes time and helps with daily errands.

A few notes first. These are in no specific order. I don’t really feel it necessary to be this connected at all times. I mainly fill idle minutes with something at least semi-useful like typing 140 character anecdotes. There also seems to be no common location for a mobile version of a website.

Jott

Jott is not a web address, but a phone number you can call, speak to, have it transcribe what you said and post your transcription wherever you want. I use it when I am driving. The limit on messages is 30 seconds.

I use it mainly for reminders because I remember the most random things when I am driving. When the bot asks "Who do you want to Jott?", I just say "myself", followed by what I need to remember. Then I say "yes" when I am asked "Do your want a reminder?". Then you just say when. You can use regular language like "tomorrow" and "next Tuesday".

I set up my wife’s email in Jott as a novelty. It transcribes what I say and sends the transcription with an email with a link to the recorded message.

I have used Jott with Twitter a couple of times also. I just find the times I have the ability to use it are few but at those times it’s good to have.

Now you can listen to feeds on your cell phone by saying "Jott feeds". I have yet to try this feature.

Jott’s number: (866) 568-8123

Some more information on Jott:

• New Jott Feed Feature Reads Feeds for You
• Using Jott as a Writing Tool

Google Reader Mobile

I have yet to get much further than browsing the headlines just to get an idea what’s going on. It’s better than reading three month old magazines in waiting rooms.

I have started to use the Mobile version of Google Reader in the sidebar of Flock. But for Flock, first you have to edit the about:config.

Google Reader’s Mobile Address: http://www.google.com/reader/m/

Twitter

Twitter was my introduction to the mobile web. I tried to login to the standard page a few times. Gave up. And them found out there is a different mobile version. Now I fell stupid.

I use both the mobile version when I feel interactive and the text message to "40404" when I just feel like sending an update.

Twitter’s Mobile Address: http://m.twitter.com

And Twitter’s simple interface conceals it’s potential complexity. Here are some resources that my show you some uses of Twitter you never thought of.

• Twitter is for the Tragically Connected
• How Twitter Can Help You In Various Ways
• Website Marketing with Twitter
• 101 Everyday Uses for Twitter
• 10 Most Obvious SEO 2.0 Uses for TwitterTwitter Fan Wiki

Ping.fm

I just recently added this one. Ping.fm is a service that takes a blog post or status update and sends it to multiple service instead of just one.

For example, you could send a test message to the address that Ping.fm gives you after you sign up and it will post it to any or all of the services at the right.

Recently Profilactic, my preferred lifestream service support 186 social added the abililty to post content from within their site using Ping.fm.

Tell them to use beta code "tastyping" to sign up. I just tested their service asking the question "Do you see the world in categories or tags?".

I Google Mobile

This is for the times I need answer to keep a question from bothering me. The other day I tried to text tweet a link by texting it to Twitter after I found it on my phone in the drive-thru line. But it grabbed the Google results page instead of the page I was reading. I gave up. I am bound to find other uses.

You can set up your settings for your mobile page here. Google will walk you through a wizard that will help you choose widgets which will work for the mobile version of the Google homepage. You can add weather, Gmail, and Google Reader among a multitude of other things.

iGoogle’s Mobile Address: http://www.google.com/m/ig

FF2Go

FriendFeed To Go gives you a lot of the features of FriendFeed on your phone. You can see a video of it in action here.

Friendfeed is lifestreaming with commenting and voting functions. In order to get the mobile version to work you must use your API key. It’s a long key, but so far, I have remained logged in each time I have visited the site on my phone.

FF2Go’s Address: http://ff2go.com 

BackPack

I have had a love hate relationship with BackPack. I used it for everything for a while. Then my pages and lists became so bloated, I took a vacation. I went to to do list’s on Post-Its. If the list didn’t fit, that’s just the way it is. Anything else can get filled in ideas.

But this has worked for me in various capacities. I keep my project list for my day job on one page and I share this with other people at work. I keep the bills I pay and credit card balances on another which I share with my wife. I have Quicken, but Backpack is simple for quick reference.

I also keep long term lists like supplies for our bedroom remodel, software I want to buy, books we need, etc. All of these lists could be handy at the strangest times. And they are with me everywhere and easy to deal with.

You can also add items to BackPack pages by sending an email to the address listed at the bottom of each page. And pictures via picture messaging. Good for wish list?

You can get to the mobile version of your BackPack page by adding /mob to the end of your url.

GOOG-411

This actually the service I have been using the longest. I started using it right after hearing about it over a year ago. It’s one way stone age GPS. If you know where you’re at, you can call where you want to be and get directions. If you’re lost, you’re SOL. And voice recognition has come a very long way. You just call the number and usually get what you are looking for. And that number is 1-800-466-4411.

MobyPicture

I figured MobyPicture would be cool if I accidentally stumbled onto something newsworthy. I could be the first one to have a picture a post it too Flickr. It hasn’t happened yet. But it might. You never know.

I carry around a camera with me always now, thanks to cargo shorts and the camera on my phone only takes 1.2 MP pictures. But MobyPicture is almost instant. Take a picture. Send it to MobyPicture. And it’s on your MobyPicture page and Flickr.

Plurk

Plurk is another site I have joined recently. I’ve been in and out. There’s a different dynamic than Twitter. I spend most of my time online in work mode. Plurk is a break, like the Stumbleupon forums. You’re not going to get anything useful done but that’s not why you’re there. But like I said, I have only been in and out. I will have to investigate further.

Plurk’s Mobile Address: http://www.plurk.com/m/

Some posts about Plurk:

• Playing With Plurk
• Why I’m Not Using Plurk
• Plurk Takes on Twitter, Pownce

A Plugin to Create A Mobile Version of Your Blog

And just in case you want to create a mobile version of your blog, Alex King has created WordPress Mobile Edition. I have yet to install this plugin.

I will definitely be exploring the mobile web further. I am bound to find more uses. It’s only been a month.

I don’t know if images help or detract from the content. I think I like them and have been adding them to most posts lately. I have also been bugging a lot of bloggers about how to streamline the process of adding pictures to a blog post. I know there is a Flickr gallery plugin for WordPress that will make the process I am about to describe quicker. It apparently adds a tab to your posting box that is linked to your Flickr account. But it has issues in my installation and only gives fatal errors

First, at least get familiar with the licensing terms a photo can have. Some require attribution to the photographer. Some cannot be used  for commercial purposes. Others are public domain. Those are the best. You can do just about anything with a photo that’s in the public domain.

There is no downloading or uploading involved in this process. Here is what you need:

• The Google Toolbar, so you can do the next step.
• Yotophoto searches multiple sites for free pictures. Go to Yotophoto, right click in the search box and choose "Generate Custom Search" from the menu. This will add a button to the Google toolbar that will allow you to search Yotophoto from the toolbar. I have four custom searches: Yotophoto, Delicious, Bloglines, and Google Reader.
• Sign up for Picnik. This is a great tool for photo editing. I have Photoshop, but Picnik loads faster and when all I am doing is looking to resize or crop a picture, I might as well go with a quicker tool. Install the browser plugin.
• Get a Flickr or Photobucket account. I have Flickr. i can’t vouch for how this will work with Photobucket. I just know that Picknik connects to Photobucket also.

Now, when you need a picture, use the Google toolbar to search for it and click the Yotophoto button. When you find the picture you want, right click and choose "Edit in Picknik". Once Picnik loads the picture, resize it or crop it as needed. Then choose "Save and Share" from the Picnik menu. From there you can move your picture to whatever online photo account you use. I then go to my Flickr account and right click on the picture to get the url for my blog post. The above plugin would take this last

copy and paste step out , if you have better luck than I did.

I have the Fck Editor plugin. It allows me to float the picture how I want in the post without having to write css. It’s good to have some sort of a margin or padding around your picture. The test on this them used to bump up a little to closely to the images.  It just didn’t look right and interfered with reading the post.