Aaron Franklin runs one of the most popular barbecue joints in Texas (a state where people are serious about their barbecue). The barbecue industry is extremely competitive–and secretive–and you’d think that Aaron would keep his recipes to himself. But unlike most of his peers, Aaron freely shares with the world his recipes, his techniques, and everything about what he does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmTzdMHu5KU

What Aaron knows is that although the recipe is important, the real secret to an awesome barbecue is the chef. Even though he gives his secrets away, people still line up for blocks to buy his meat.

Building a website that actually makes you money is much the same way. I can freely share my process and my website success formula, but it still makes a huge difference who is building the site.

How about in your business? What are you really awesome at that no one else can replicate? Be sure that you’re sharing it with the world on your website.

To your success,

Steve Johnsen

From our earliest days, we are entranced by stories. Watch any small child listen to Mommy reading a book, or to Daddy relaying a story about his childhood. As we grow older, the power of stories does not diminish. Why do we all love to watch movies? Stories make our worlds go ’round.

In business, we must tell stories, too. Regardless of how mundane the topic may seem for any given business, the decision-makers in every industry are all human beings… and human beings respond to stories.

In my profession, I am responsible for sharing essential information that connects my clients with their customers. I take this responsibility very seriously. There is a big difference between providing people with information (which rarely generates a good response), and truly connecting with people through a compelling story. My job is to make sure my clients are connecting and engaging deeply with their prospects and customers, because if they’re not, they’re not going to get results.

When my team embarks on creating a website that offers an engaging experience, storytelling is a major focal point. When we write copy for people, we do not just put words on paper and hope someone will read them and respond. To the contrary, our first order of business is learning through a process she calls “discovery.” Discovery is an essential first step in ultimately capturing the essence of a message, and thus being able to tell a story that causes the right reaction–the reaction you need from your customers to increase your business success.

This week I encourage you to examine the story you’re telling on our website: Is it compelling? Does it touch human emotion? Does it address pain points and illustrate how they may be solved? Is it even a ‘story’ at all? If what you’re saying about your business does not meet these criteria, you’re losing opportunities to gain customers and their loyalty every single day. That can be changed in an instant, simply by creating, and sharing, the right story.

To your success,

Steve Johnsen

It was a dark and stormy night. Snoopy sat atop his doghouse as thunder rumbled in the distance. Occasional flashes of lightning lit up the dark sky and silhouetted the trees behind him.

Hunched over his typewriter, Snoopy stared at the page in front of him. With a sudden spasm of his paw, he crumpled the paper and tossed it to the ground. Woodstock edged closer to him and laid his head on Snoopy as the first drops of rain began to spatter on the rooftop next to them.

Snoopy was discovering what thousands of other authors already knew — writing is hard. Or, more specifically, good writing is hard. (Bad writing is fairly easy to produce.)

It’s the same with search engine optimization. And online marketing. Bad marketing is easy. Good marketing is hard work. Good web design is hard work. Good SEO is really hard work.

Most of us who are reasonably well educated can tell the difference between bad writing and good writing. We might even be able to explain it to someone else. Even though we could not write a great novel if our lives depended on it. That’s okay. You don’t have to be a novelist to appreciate great writing.

However, how many of us have studied enough about web design, or search engine algorithms, or SEO, to know what will work or what will not? That’s why when you go to invest in your marketing, it pays to get some expert advice.

To your success!