Categories
Recommendations

Business Blogging: Keep It Simple and Informative

Article Contributed by Tami Stodghill

It’s pretty much been established that blogging is important in network marketing. To quote a popular Business Week article: “Blogs Will Change Your Business—Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up…or catch you later”. Blogs offer an abundance of information from an even bigger variety of sources. They are generally—if done well—honest and provide insights that are tougher to absorb sometimes through news articles and news reporting. The right blog can answer questions you may have in regard to any number of topics related to your business. Subscribing to blogs you find informative is a must. I do. I have perused the internet for bloggers who seem to speak to me and offer another view of things that I hadn’t thought about. And we should never stop learning or being open to receiving new information.

When I was previously in the work force putting in my 8-5 hours, blogging was part of my responsibility as a Press Relations specialist. It was also part of my freelance writing career. I was able to write about software in a way that offered easy reading and a view from a “real-world” user of that software. And now that I own my own business, I approach it from the same way. I write what I know was important for me in my learning how to be successful in my business and I want to offer it to others in the way I perceived it. I write every entry hoping what I write will change someone’s life and help them to better understand what it takes to be their own boss. I take the attitude that if I can help even one person change the level of their success, then I’ll know I’ve contributed.

I get contacted by people who ask me things such as “what do I blog about?”, or “what do I say?”, or “what if no one thinks I’m interesting?”. And overthinking and analyzing what you want to say in your blog can actually detract from its effectiveness. If you sit down and expand on one thing that happened to you, or that you learned from, you will, most certainly, have appropriate blog content. That said, however, you should also put it out there in a way that is readable, understandable and appropriate. Thus, the importance of writing skills…

No one is a perfect writer. And writing styles vary person to person. That’s why one person likes Nora Roberts and the other lives for Stephen King novels. And comments, if you receive them, should be received with the attitude that you value the input and will grow and learn from that input. The more you write, the better you will become at it. And there are many people whose blogs I read even a year ago, that I revisit now and am taken aback at how inspirational their content has become. The best writing, to me, is done in a conversational style. If you can say what you want to say the way you would to a friend through your writing, you will reach people.

Ideally, your blog subscribers or readers should feel you there talking to them, and welcome the content as offering a value in it’s information. It should also be simple and follow a clear train of thought. No matter what you are covering, it should be read, and reread before you put it out there as your own.

Sometimes, I will write a blog and read it the next morning and decide the best place for it is in a file. It wasn’t what I wanted representing me and it didn’t offer content that I would have read myself. That’s the true test. Ask yourself, “Do people really need this information?” And if they do, are you including content that is actually supporting the point you are trying to make? Is it guiding your subscribers and readers to the conclusion you want them to come to? When you read it, if it sounds redundant, edit your work. Keep what you need to make your point, and do away with fluff or unnecessary content.

I started a habit a long time ago of keeping a small pad and pen with me wherever I go. If I’m out and about and think of something that changed the course of my day, or try something that I experience success with, I jot down a few words to remind me about that thought. At any given time, I may have 10 topics that are pending as possible topics for my blog. Some may never be used. Others, I can’t wait to write about and they are crossed off the next day. It’s a great habit to get in and will provide you with content to expand on. Even things people say to you or something you read in a book can be a spur for a great blog idea.

The important thing is to get started. Once you do, you will find it comes easier with each entry. Worst case, you find out you need to improve your writing skills and utilize a grammar/spelling checker to help you out initially. Best case, you may discover that you have a hidden talent and actually might have fun doing it.

About the Author

Tami Stodghill was the Press-Relations manager, for a world-wide extensible-technology distributor based in London and the US for 20 years. She was also a freelance writer for several industry publications and is now a home-based business owner with WMI. She makes her home in Page-Lake Powell, Arizona, in the summers and Palm Harbor, Florida in the winters where she enjoys boating and reading, camping, hiking and meeting new people. She runs a blog site exclusively to offer tips for success for any small or home-based business.

Categories
Online Business

Blog vs Ezine? How To Choose For Your Solo Service Business

wordpress_logo.jpg

I often read debates on forums about whether you should have just a blog or just an ezine, with questions like,

“I currently publish an ezine and a blog, but I’m thinking of dropping the ezine and going with just the blog.”

My answer… you need both!

And here’s why:

Creating a blog post is much easier to do than going down the whole ezine publication route; however, as you do not know who is reading your blog you cannot begin to build a relationship with the reader in the same way you can when publishing an ezine.

Therefore you are missing out on building the like, know, and trust factor that is so important for a solo service business owner.

That said, a blog is also an essential online communication tool simply because there are some people who do not wish to subscribe to a regular newsletter, but will subscribe to a blog’s RSS Feed.

RSS Feed? Put simply, anyone can come along to your blog, and subscribe to your RSS feed thereby receiving any blog posts that you submit as soon as you submit them. By not publishing a blog you are missing out on this whole other target market reach.

My preferred tool for blogging is WordPress and I’ve been using this for the past three years. The main reason I use it is because it’s hosted on my website so each time I post to my blog, I’m creating fresh content for my website, which the search engines love, and all of this goes towards improving my search engine rankings.

A blog allows you to interact with your target market as readers can leave comments. However, as it’s not directly delivered to your target market’s inbox, it can be much harder to develop a relationship.

So let’s just take a look at some of the pros/cons of a blog vs. a newsletter:

Pros
* You can really show off your expertise by posting on a regular basis.
* Blog posts don’t need to be very long – approx. 200-350 words.
* If you have some important information to share, you can instantly create a post – no waiting for your next newsletter to make your announcement!
* If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!

Cons
* You need to post regularly – at least once a week – in order for this to be an effective marketing strategy.
* You need to feel confident that you will be able to write fresh content regularly.
* It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.

When And How Often To Post

Now, this can be a dilemma. It’s important that you post to your blog regularly in order to provide fresh content to the search engines; some experts say you should be posting at least two to three times a week!

Now that’s a big commitment if you’re not really a writer, so here’s what I advise to get your blog going…

Each time you publish your newsletter and write a fresh article for it, post that article on your blog.

And then try and make other posts throughout the month so you’re keeping your blog content continually updated. Posting to a blog is not as rigid as publishing an ezine so it can be difficult to create an editorial calendar or some other system. You want your blog posts to be spontaneous wherever possible. You also want to have in place a sign-up box to your ezine on your blog either in the sidebar or at the bottom of every post.

Some possible topics for your blog posts:

* Links to other blog posts of interest to your target audience
* Any new products or services that you’ve launched
* Any places where you’ll be speaking
* Events that are taking place within your industry
* An opinion that you have about something that is happening within your industry
* Links to resources that you’ve found to be invaluable

Conclusion: A blog + an ezine = more targeted traffic to your website, more subscribers to your list, and positions you as an expert within your niche!

Categories
Entrepreneurship Home-Based Business Online Business Starting Up

eCommerce on a Shoestring Budget for the Do-it-Yourself Entrepreneur

This article is contributed by Michelle Ulrich.
eCommerce%20on%20a%20Shoestring%20Budget.jpg
1. Website
a. http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/ – FREE
Microsoft Office Live Basics is the easy way to get started on the Web. If you have always wanted your own Web site, Microsoft Office Live has just made it easier — much easier.
– Free domain name and Web hosting
– Easy-to-use Web site design tools
– 500 MB of Web site storage space
– 25 company-branded e-mail accounts
– Web site reports
– Search advertising tool with $50 credit* – (I do not recommended to start)
b. Go Daddy’s Website Tonight for as little as $4.00/month
Go Daddy has THREE plans (or so) to choose from!
Blog instead of a website
c. Blogger.com – Free
d. WordPress.com – Free
e. TypePad.com – Basic Level is Free
i. With TypePad Basic you’ll be blogging in minutes. Choose your design from dozens of professional templates. TypePad makes it easy to include pictures and links, manage comments, and categorize your posts. Includes 100MB of storage and 2GB of bandwidth per month.
ii. $4.95 per month for higher level of service (more storage space, etc.)
Benefits of a blog versus a website
– No web designer needed
– Pick a template and start adding content
– Useful for selling one product (i.e. a book, ebook, info product, etc.)
– Useful for selling a relationship with potential clients
– Useful for opinion writing – be careful what you put out there; people read blogs!
– Hone writing skills
– Post at a minimum of 3x/wk for higher Google rankings
– Can also be a link from a website, which also increases traffic to your website
2. List capture form on your website and ezine delivery
a. iContact.com $9.95/month for up to 500 subscribers; 15-day free trial
i. Non-profits receive 20% discount and may pay by check monthly, quarterly, or annually
ii. Templates or design and paste HTML code
iii. Surveys
iv. Auto Responders
b. ConstantContact.com $15/month for up to 500 subscribers; 60-day free trial
c. CampaignMonitor.com
i. For each campaign you send with more than 5 recipients, you pay a flat delivery fee of $5 plus 1 cent/recipient. Any campaigns you send to 5 or less people are free of charge.
ii. Let’s say you’re sending an email newsletter for a client to their database of 4,500 subscribers. To send this newsletter, you will be charged $5 plus a cent for each recipient, $45 in this case, making a total of $50. All prices are in US dollars.
3. Shopping Carts and eCommerce
a. Mals-e.com
i. Shopping cart, digital downloads and affiliate program ONLY
ii. FREE for up to 1000 digital deliveries per month; you can purchase more as you increase your sales.
iii. $8/mo option for unlimited orders per month
iv. $95 flat one-time fee for their mOrders plus version for a desktop application for downloading and ‘databasing’ orders properly and permanently. www.mals-e.com/morders.php
v. Reporting
vi. Numerous third-party add-ons
b. E-Junkie.com
i. FREE 1-week trial
ii. $5/mo for 10 products/50 MB storage space; rates go up to $125 incrementally based on the number of products
iii. Product storage and delivery
iv. Easy to use, pop-up free, installation free
v. Shipping and postage calculations
vi. Sales tax and VAT calculations
vii. Inventory management
viii. Product promotion
ix. Discount codes
x. Affiliate management
xi. Customization (even works with an existing cart for digital downloads)
xii. Tracking, logging and notifications
xiii. Global acceptance
1. download page and email in language of your choice
xiv. Extras
1. send out free expirable download links
2. Works with eBay and MySpace, too!
c. Payloadz.com
i. Digital downloads ONLY
ii. FREE for up to $100 transaction limit / 50MB of storage
iii. $15/mo for $500 transaction limit / 100 MB of storage
d. WAHMcart.com
i. Full shopping cart very similar to Professional Cart Solutions (see below for full list of options, but you get EVERYTHING for $29.99/mo – no tiers
e. Professional Cart Solutions (aka – 1shoppingcart.com and many other private labels)
i. FREE 30-day trial or $3.95 for 30-days depending upon private label partner
ii. Four tiers of service
1. Starter $29
2. Auto Responder $29
3. Basic $49
4. Pro $79
iii. Shopping cart
iv. Broadcast (ezine, email announcements, etc.) delivery
v. Auto Responders
vi. Digital downloads
vii. Affiliate program
viii. Ad tracking
ix. Reporting
x. Payment processing with PayPal as well as a large list of merchants such as Authorize.net; QuickBooks/Intuit will be on the list soon (poss. Fall 2007)
xi. Templates for ezine delivery to come out soon (poss. Fall 2007)
4. Online Publishing Centers
a. CaféPress.com
b. LightningSource.com – Most recommended by traditional publishers if you must do Print On Demand (POD).
c. Lulu.com
5. Miscellaneous online services
a. CentralDesktop.com – Free online collaboration tool for up to 3 users; $25/mo for up to 10 users and other various packages. Use this tool to work with a virtual team to delegate the projects or pieces of larger projects.
b. EventBrite.com – Event management program. First event is free, then up to $9.95 each event. For paid events, your PayPal, Google Cart or merchant fees shall apply. You can specify donations or payments, number of ‘seats’ available, reporting, and lots of extras.
c. Evite.com – Free event management tool where you can pick a template, customize one on your own, add your Outlook contacts, track responses, and it even integrates with PayPal for paid events.
d. Foldershare.com – Free folder sharing application from Microsoft (a bit clunky to set up between two parties, but is an awesome program for sharing documents with clients, subcontractors, etc.)
e. Google.com – Google offers email, word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, classifieds (Google Base), groups, Blogger, Desktop and lots of other programs for FREE.
f. OpenOffice.org – Free office suite similar to and compatible with Microsoft office. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program. Interface similar to other office suites.
g. SurveyMonkey.com – Free up to 10 survey questions with 100 responses allowed; $19.95/mo for unlimited questions per survey and 1000 responses allowed, $200/yr to have unlimited questions and responses.
h. TheBasementVentures.com – Host teleclasses, teleseminars, etc. with this free tool. You can even record your own audio and then copy and paste the html code on your website, download the mp3 file and burn it to a CD for info product sales.
i. Thumbstacks.com – Free webinar presentation tool. This is for PowerPoints or various incarnations of PowerPoint only.
j. YouSendit.com – Free file sending program; $4.99/mo for 2 GB file sending, send multiple files, and no ads on your ‘send’ invitation.
k. Zoho.com – Office suite with free and $5 on up for other options. Word processing, spreadsheet, presentation tool, Wiki, notebook, Meeting (desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, etc.), projects, CRM, database creator, planner (online organizer), chat, mail, and more.

About the Author
Michelle Ulrich is the Chief Villager and founder of The Virtual Nation, an educational destination for Virtual Professionals around the globe. Michelle is an avid believer in giving back to her industry and she does this by offering coaching, teleclasses, resources, and tools, in addition to providing a community of learning, a nation of culture, and a virtual village for her members. Education is the foundation of her organization as well as for her own personal and professional development. Michelle has been a community college instructor teaching a Virtual Assistant certificate program online. Aside from coaching and teaching, she is also a speaker and soon-to-be author on the subject of Virtual Assistance. She maintains her private practice where she specializes in working with authors, coaches and speakers who struggle to keep up with e-commerce and new technologies. Clients can check out her services at www.virtualbusinessmarketing.com, while Virtual Assistants can find her over at www.thevirtualnation.com. She can be reached by telephone at (916) 536-9799 in the Pacific Time zone.

Categories
Home-Based Business

Ten Ways to Make Blogging Work for Your Business

blogger-car.jpg

Blogging is quickly becoming the new favorite for small business marketers. Mainly because of the amazing results they received when they blog regularly. And publicity isn’t the only benefit to blogging. There are many ways that blogging can add merit to your business. In fact,

The Wall Street Journal recently featured The CWAHM blog in an article on how blogging can help small businesses create a buzz for their products and services. The results from this were amazing and prove that blogging truly works: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120526706660828097.html?mod=ITPWSJ_20.

Here are the top ten ways to use blogs to increase your business revenue.

1. Ad revenue – Offering paid advertising on your blog is one of the easiest ways to see tangible evidence of the benefits of blogging.

2. Link swaps – Swapping links with other like-minded bloggers increases your standing with search engines. One of the biggest blogs available, problogger.net, recently completed a survey in an attempt to find where bloggers get the most traffic? The overwhelming response? Google at 46%. This shows us how important search engine ranking are. Link swaps are just one way to improve yours.

3. Reviews – Another growing trend online is that of the customer review. People appreciate reading the thoughts of others before they purchase a product. It doesn’t seem to matter how big or small the product, either. Posting reviews of books you’ve read, CDs you love, etc, is a great way to generate traffic for your blog.

4. Free offers – Who doesn’t love a freebie? There are many ways of using freebies to your advantage.You can offer a free ebook when someone signs up for your newsletter is an easy way to build your subscriber base. Many blogs also offer contests for those who post comments or interact in other ways on the blog.

5. Blog tours – Being a part in a blog tour is like being the next stop along the railroad. If set up correctly, the tour will send participants from one blog to the next to read more about whatever topic the tour is covering. I’ve participated in many blog tours for book releases. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to bring new readers to your blog.

6. Networking – It goes without saying that building relationships with people is one of the oldest ways of gaining long-time, loyal customers (or in this case, readers). Taking part in the comments discussion on blogs and forums is a great way to do this. The key, though, is to be authentic. Don’t simply blast places with the link to your blog; take part in the discussion and provide useful information – not just your URL.

7. Directories – Listing your blog in blog directories is probably not the best way to generate traffic, but it can be useful in certain ways. It’s a great way to connect with other like-minded bloggers and possibly generate some link exchanges, etc.

8. Press/Media – Getting media attention can be challenging. One great way to bring your blog to the attention of the media is to send out Press Releases when something newsworthy happens on your site. For instance, when I offered a free e-book on my site for Mother’s Day I put together a press release to announce it to the world.

9. Consistency – Posting on a regular basis is key. Try to find a schedule that works for you and stick to it. Even if you can’t blog every day, work to get posts out there two to three times a week. Most blogging software, including WordPress and Blogger, allow you to set the date and time our post will be published. Utilize tools like this to keep your blog consistently updated with fresh, new content.

10. Updates – Finding ways to keep your readers informed is a sure-fire way to keep them coming back to your blog. There are a quite a few ways of accomplishing this, such as offering a newsletter, setting up a Feedburner.com account, and making your RSS feeds easy to find and subscribe to.