You’d think the latest question Liz asked me would be simple to answer. And on the surface it is. Yet, I’ve needed an extra day to think about where to take this one2one conversation next.

When you go around the Internet, what mistake do you see most often?

That’s her question. Think about it for a second. Do you see what I mean? I could answer this from so many different levels and perspectives that I’ve actually been stuck on how I wanted to answer it.

Since Liz is asking me for one mistake, I’m going to need  your help. So let’s have a discussion in the comment box. I’ll start it off…

Having been a web designer for so many years, you’d think the mistake I’d see most often would have something to with visual design, site architecture, or layout. Sure, there’s plenty of poorly designed sites out there. And we all know plenty of blogs that are poorly organized and cluttered.

But the mistake I see most often isn’t in the way a site looks. The mistake I see most often is how a site owner uses their site to communicate with their audience.

I’m bias, that’s certain. And my bias leans heavily in the direction of conversation and relationship. Yet, I know from experience, that it’s conversations that lead to relationships that lead to business. People want to do business with people - not with businesses. In other words, they want conversation and relationships.

Most website owners, most business owners and a lot of marketing coaches simply don’t get this. They focus on slick or carefully crafted marketing copy that’s meant to evoke an emotional response to create action. I’m not saying that’s bad - not at all. I just think that there’s more.

So what I often see are business owners trying to fit themselves into a method of copy writing that’s not so much about building relationship and which I feel is unnatural. Pick a handful of business websites and read the copy. Tell me if you feel like the business owners want a relationship with you or do they just want your business?

I advise all my clients - even those working with copy writing and marketing gurus - to consider their websites as the beginning of a dialogue with a person in their target audience. Don’t just meet them where they are, engage them in conversation. Write as though you’re sitting with them over coffee, listening closely to the problems they face. And respond with an open, conversational tone.

This is easier to do on a blog because of the chance for conversation in the comment box. The blog has the advantage as well in that you continue to engage in that conversation with your audience each time your write a post. But you can do this on a static website as well. As you write, just picture yourself having a conversation about where they are.

Remember, people want to do business with people. So don’t be afraid to show who you are as a person. You can be a marketing professional and still be person. Anyway, you know from your own business interactions that connection, personality and temperament play an enormous role in successful business relationships. So why not build your personality into your marketing materials. Let people know who you are right out front. Let them see you as a person. Then invite them to sit at your table with their cup of coffee. Who knows what can happen next.

So I think not actively engaging people in a conversation that can build a relationship is the most common mistake I see in websites.

There are many others - certainly - even around content. So I turn my site over to you to share what mistakes you often see was you’re perusing the web.

And I have to be sure to continue our one2one conversation by asking Liz…

What’s helped you go from just being a writer on a blog to becoming a conversational dynamo?

I can’t wait to see Liz’s answers. She is truly a master at writing conversational copy, if you ask me. But until she answers, let’s talk…

Want to experience an interesting experiment in how our brains work?

On a recent blog post, 20 Surefire Ways to Beat Writer’s Block, we were discussing methods for working through write’s block. Mark Tillman Tillison of Tillman Tillison Consulting (sorry for the typos Mark) offered the very interesting idea that:

…writing (or typing) using colour can also be very effective (in overcoming writer’s block).

This works because creative and technical processes are handled by the two different hemispheres of the brain. Using colour helps the two hemispheres to work together.

Funny, I’d never thought about it using different colors to help stimulate different parts of the brain when I write. I’d love to know more about it. Have you had any experience with this?

What I found even more interesting was a link to The ColorText Brain Teaser that LaurenMarie of Creative Curio added during the conversation.

The ColorText Brain Teaser was put together by Phillip Miller Eberz who say something similar posted on a middle school wall in Texas.

The basic idea is to see how easy it is to trick the brain through association. You have to try it…

Below is an example of The ColorText Brain Teaser. You do it by saying the color of each word. Be careful not to say the color named by the word. Example: if you see Blue you would say “red” because the color of the word blue is red. It’s harder than it looks. Give it a try…

Now, I have warn you, it’s very easy to trick yourself. Try saying the colors out loud. Or better yet, say them in front of someone else so they can check your accuracy. Then, tell what you think.

I didn’t get six words in without making a mistake. And I’ve done this a dozen times and haven’t made it through once without making a mistake.

I’d love to hear how you do. How far did you get before making a mistake? Tell me about your experience.

So what’s the secret to blogging success?

Yesterday Muhammad at Pronet Advertising wrote the 4 steps to success. His 4 steps are clear, good advice and probably similar to what you’ve seen before:

• Step 1: Good Content
• Step 2: Unique, Hosted Domain
• Step 3: Be Social
• Step 4: Invest Time, Be Patient

The interesting thing that was said, however, came in the comment box when someone asked Muhammad, “I know that good content is the key but where I find GOOD content? Is there anything that you can recommend?”

Ralph had a good answer that, “Good content is not for sale…. supplementary content is for sale….”

This got me thinking. So, of course, I joined the conversation with:

“Good content - especially compelling, interesting content - comes from inside you. Find what you love, what you’re passionate about, and write on that topic - even if it’s different than what you’re focused on now.”

What do you think? Can we buy good content? Or is it something that’s created by each blogger themselves?

Let’s talk about it in the comment box.

We all want more traffic to our websites, right?

We dream of the day that we get that massive wave from Digg or StumbleUpon. And when we do, it’s a rush, right? We watch our stats climb by the minute - 500….1,000….5,000….10,000 visitors - “oh God, don’t let it end!”

But it does end. It ends as an ocean wave ends: breaking on the shore, splashing its wake up the sands and retreating once more to whence it came. Such it is with our blog traffic.

These social content sites are great, don’t get me wrong. And I’m not suggesting not to use them. I use them and will continue too. But the deluge of traffic they bring can often give us a false sense of our blog’s health.

Essential Keystrokes’ Char wrote about this recently in her Web Traffic - I’ll Take Quality Over Quantity. In her post, she explained how the traffic she got from Digg in a recent post was matched, and in quality perhaps surpassed, by a link in a post from a prominent blogger like Darren Rowse.

Now, don’t run out and link to Darren or Brian Clark thinking that’s the way to get traffic. Though it could be if you’re doing what Char does - write great content. Which is why Darren picked up her link.

But how did Darren find Char to link too? The relationship, of course. Darren had to know Char exists in order to find a link to her. That begins with the relationship.

Same is true of another good friend, Adam Kayce at Monk at Work. Recently, he had a post picked up by lifehack.org. Adam’s blog is fairly new, yet growing at a nice rate. However, when he got picked up by lifehacker, he got a nice, large traffic blip with a number of first-time commenters. His traffic has increased by a nice rate since. But most interesting is that his feed subscribers almost doubled in the few days after.

So even though social content sites are certainly useful, it seems that writing great content and building relationships is the key to building traffic.

What’s been your experiences? Am I right….wrong….short-sighted….somewhere in between?

I just completed a new static site at The Campaign for You. Matt Hugg and I worked together to plan, develop and create a site that would easily and clearly market his many offers. For instance, you’ll see on the homepage that we highlighted his ebook, The Complete Campaign for You Workbook.

Ease of use for his visitors was a key to the design. No page or service is more than 1 click away from another. His ability to self-manage his content was a vital and necessary part of our project. I used Adobe Contribute as the platform for content management basically because of its ease of use.

Matt, by the way, is a career coach. While he focuses on the non-profit world, his knowledge, tools and materials are applicable in any job/career setting. Matt’s concept of The Campaign for You is in teaching you how to treat your own career and job search as a campaign, ultimately finding the ‘job you love with the organization you want’.