Rising to the top since their debut online in October 2008, HobNobCharleston.com is the perfect online portal for locals and visitors alike to meet all their Charleston, SC, needs. This includes videos, pictures, blogs, news stories, directories, and an extensive calendar of events. 

In a nutshell, HobNobCharleston.com is a community website that provides viewers with an extensive business directory, an all-embracing calendar of community events, a wide spectrum of community blogs, videos, and so much more. With sister websites in 800 other cities nationwide, HobNobCharleston.com offers its online visitors a plethora of information to choose from.

Referred to as the “virtual Mayor of Charleston,” owner of HobNobCharleston.com, Becky Smith, serves the overall community, business community, and nonprofit community.

“We love to highlight events and businesses that are special and that are making a splash in the city,” says Smith. “We have a great business directory that we offer to all the businesses where they can list their business for free.”
HobNobCharleston.com also offers great deals on ad space for those businesses looking to get front row and center on this premier Charleston, SC, community portal. HobNobCharleston.com also has a page for real estate agents to post their listings at no charge. The great benefit to real estate agents: Their listings don’t just show up on the

HobNobCharleston.com site; they show up on all 800 HobNobCharleston.com sister sites. Smith also encourages HobNobCharleston.com visitors to upload important community events on the HobNobCharleston.com calendar.

“We want it to be the biggest community calendar in Charleston, so everyone knows where to go,” says Smith. “It’s a one-stop shop for them.”

In this exclusive interview, Smith breaks down HobNobCharleston.com’s role in the community:

What makes HobNob unique compared to other community sites?

Well, what we like to focus on is interacting with the community. We don’t like to just spit information out there and let it sit. We like to update it—keep you informed. We want you to interact with us by communicating anything going on in the Charleston area. Also, we are always running contests that not only highlight our businesses but are also a lot of fun for the community to get involved with. We do trivia, giveaways, and raffles.

Can you provide us with an example of one of your contests?

We started our first contest with the Women of Business. We had hundreds of women sign up for a Pamper Yourself in Charleston package of almost $1000 worth of prizes—all donated from local businesses. The winner was Tiffany O’Neil, and she was very excited to get her huge package! She received a free teeth whitening, free wine tasting for five people at Wine Awhile in Mount Pleasant, beauty control products, $50 spa giveaway, and more.

If I were going to visit Charleston, how would I benefit from visiting HobNobCharleston.com?

You can definitely visit our local business directory and find local restaurants, local music events, shopping centers, hotel listings, art galleries, sporting events, real estate, transportation companies, and so much more. All the things you would need in Charleston are on our business directory, and you don’t have to filter through all the other things on the Internet. You can go straight to HobNobCharleston.com, and the site will tell you exactly where to go. Also, our events calendar lets visitors know all the exciting things that are happening around town. We have a lot of people uploading events, including local businesses, HobNobCharleston.com, and community members—so it’s a very extensive list of events.

Mostly, visitors can get a real feel for what Charleston is all about by visiting HobNobCharleston.com because we highlight much of our local events and businesses with video and pictures. Basically, visitors can see what the community does and how this is a small town and a big town.

We’re extremely excited to announce that our client, Hills of Africa Travel, is featured in an article in JustLuxe. JustLuxe is a luxury web publication that provides prosperous consumers with information on luxury travel, goods, and services.  

The feature focuses on the unique and customized services Hills of Africa Travel provides for each client. It also focuses on Hills of Africa Travel’s new, soul safari with internationally acclaimed author and psychic, Ainslie MacLeod.

Planning a trip to Africa can be just as overwhelming as it is exciting. Thoughts of fierce felines and sun-drenched safaris can quickly turn to questions and concerns regarding one’s travel plans and safety. When planning a trip to Africa, one’s best bet is to rely on the experience and expertise of a seasoned travel professional. That’s where Hills of Africa Travel comes in. -JustLuxe

To view the entire article, visit  The Magic of Hills of Africa Travel.

Writing successful headlines for your business marketing materials is extremely important. The right headline will get the attention of potential clients and help increase site traffic.

There’s a certain formula for writing headlines. Magazine and newspaper headlines are usually witty, creative, fun, and clever. Headlines for ebooks, sales letters, press releases, online articles, and blogs need to be more direct. They need to be rich in keywords to increase SEO and site traffic and usually lack some of that witty repartee found in magazine headlines.

Choosing the best keywords for your title is crucial in grabbing the attention of viewers and ranking high in search engines. Once you understand the components of a well-crafted and result-driven headline, you’ll keep viewers interested in reading further.

Here are some templates for creating headlines:

·       How to…

·       Discover…

·       Have You…

·       5 Ways…

·       Three Tips…

·       Does Your Website…

·       How to Do…

·       Is Your…

·       Free…

·       Save…

·       The Truth About / Behind…

·       Make More…

There are many other combinations you can use to create effective headlines, but these are some of the most popular and effective.

Use a phrase about the topic of your blog. Place a colon after it, and then explain the importance of the topic. For example, “Website Effectiveness: Discover Your Return on Investment,” or “Web Design: Do You Need an Update Now?”

To learn about our many result-driven writing services and get more tips on writing effective web copy, visit Michelle Salater Writing & Editorial, LLC.

Titles are a pain in my butt. Always have been. I remember back in high school when I was the newspaper editor how I used to go nuts (hair pulling ,high drama nuts) over creating the perfect headline. Sadly, in my adult life, things haven’t changed much. So, you can imagine the suffering I went through trying to name this blog. I wrote down every possible idea. Nothing clicked.

When a good friend of mine suggested Dinosaurs and Pudding as a weblog title, I thought, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. It would be fitting for a band, not a blog about marketing and copywriting. Yet, I kept coming back to it. What was it about Dinosaurs and Pudding that struck a cord with me?

Possibly because it is different. Unique. Heck, I’d click on it just to see what it was all about. Wouldn’t you?

Why did I pick Copy Doodle instead? The “professional” side of me opted for something a bit more, well, professional. While it may not be as fun as Dinosaurs and Pudding, it has a spunky ring to it. And I like it.

Welcome to the Copy Doodle weblog–a space created to doodle about marketing and copywriting and the joys and the pains of operating a small to midsized business.