Category: Online Business

Your next newsletter is due out this Friday! You’ve got your newsletter template in front of you; you’re sat at your PC all ready to go, and, horror of horrors… you’ve got blank page syndrome a.k.a. writer’s block. Your mind is a complete blank and you can’t think of a single thing to write about!

Writing articles is one of the main reasons why many solopreneurs put off producing a newsletter – they think they won’t have anything to write about and writing an article is too time consuming anyway!

WRONG!

You would be surprised at how easy it is to come up with writing your own articles, and how much fun it is too!

Let me share with you today my top three tips for overcoming writer’s block:

Tip 1: What is your area of expertise?

A great source for coming up with an article is to think about your area of expertise. Can you write an article on, say, ‘Ten Top Tips for [put in your area of expertise here]’.

Brainstorm some ideas.

Example: I could write an article called Ten Top Tips for Organizing Your Office.

Tip 2: Use article titles for inspiration!

Some great article titles, which will also get you thinking, are:

* [Number] Top Tips For …
* How To …
* The [number] Key Ingredients for …
* [Number] Mistakes to Avoid to …

Where you need to insert a number, odd numbers always seem to work best – try 3, 5 or 7. Top 10 Tips articles are also good too!
Try and come up with three or four article ideas – you will probably find that you can think of a lot more

Example: I could write an article called The 5 Key Ingredients for Organizing Your Office.

Tip 3: Visit the article submission sites and see what other’s are writing about.

Head on over to any one of the top article submission directories and have a look around at the articles that have already been written on your chosen niche. Let me be clear, I don’t advise copying those articles or any parts thereof and passing them off as your own, (I know you wouldn’t do that, but I just have to say it anyway) simply do this as a way of researching possible article topics and inspiring you to write your own original article.

Perhaps you’ve found an article of interest to your niche but you can present the topic from a different perspective – one that’s not already been covered. Or you’ve read an article on your particular niche, but the author hasn’t covered a specific area that you know a lot about. Write an article that covers that area!

Example: There are many articles on office organization and general organizing tips, but my particular niche is in office organization for online solopreneurs, so I can write office organization articles specifically for solopreneurs. It’s a slightly different angle to general office organization.

Search engine optimization can seem like a big black hole to solo entrepreneurs. On the one hand, the cost of most professional SEO services are beyond our budgets; and it’s difficult to assess the effectiveness of these services before you buy. On the other hand, if we try to do it ourselves, the process can be bewildering! There is so much to learn about: new terminology; a myriad of “rules” for optimizing your website (that change constantly as search engine algorithms change); lots of tools for analyzing and measuring all kinds of things that may or may not be helpful. Below are a few tips I’ve learned over the last several years as a solo entrepreneur optimizing my own site; I hope they help you navigate the maze of search engine optimization, and save some money in the process.

1. Beware SEO services that promise to get you top ranking for a particular keyword.

Aside from the fact that they are often quite expensive, what they are promising is often not even effective. It doesn’t help much to rank highly for “blue ceramic frogs” if only a dozen people search for that term in a month! Also, search engine optimization isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. If you’ve paid someone to do the work for you, and three months later there is a change to search engine algorithms or in your website focus, you’ll be faced with paying for this service all over again!

2. Don’t fall for tools, tricks and “secrets” that attempt to game the system.

Known as “black hat SEO”, these tricks are usually only helpful for a short while; they can also get you in trouble (i.e., lower rank) with the search engines. Examples include “keyword stuffing” (filling your page with keywords to the point that it no longer makes sense), tools that help you build links by blindly pushing content onto other people’s blogs, and automatic link exchange tools.

3. Be careful with accepting paid advertisements on your website.

I learned this one the hard way earlier this year, when I agreed to put 4 links at the bottom of every page on my site. The links turned out to have nothing to do with my website content; Google penalized me heavily for that mistake! That’s not to say that you can’t accept any paid advertising; just get advice from a professional before you do so.

4. Learn your keywords.

Keywords and keyword phrases are the foundation of any SEO strategy. There are many keyword tools available to help you discover and evaluate potential keywords; try a few tools and pick the ones that make the most sense to you. Then use those tools to compare different keyword phrases. Check your website stats (if you don’t have Google Analytics yet now is the time!) to see what keywords are already bringing you traffic, and compare how well different keywords convert (i.e., the visitor buys something, or signs up for your newsletter.) Look at sites similar to yours to see what keywords they are using, too.

5. Write for your audience, not the search engines.

Start with your keyword phrases, but don’t let them overly influence how you write your copy. It’s more important to provide content that is relevant to your desired visitors and easy for them to read. Get feedback and revise and improve; this is a never ending process! Hire a professional copywriter to help you. Even if you never learn anything else about SEO, if you keep tweaking your copy to be better and better for readers, you’ll do well – because ultimately, search engines want to serve up pages that their visitors will find helpful!

6. Keep your content fresh.

Search engines love new content; it’s also what will keep visitors coming back to your site! A blog is an easy and efficient way to do this. If you add new posts often, the search engine spiders will visit more often, too – meaning that your latest post will get attention sooner, too!

7. Get professional help.

Luckily, there are ways to do this that aren’t expensive; some are even free! I recommend the biweekly High Rankings Advisor newsletter, which explains SEO in a laymen-friendly way, all white-hat and practical. And definitely check out George Ajazi’s free search engine optimization consulting for small businesses! A SEO veteran with lots of big-business experience, George knows his stuff, and is willing to help the small business owner. The only thing he asks is for a link back to his site. I’ve worked with George, and highly recommend him.

Article Contributed by Stephanie Fish
Perhaps you’ve got a small business and it’s been thriving with your own marketing and research efforts. But if you want to boost your business marketing, consider the services of a virtual assistant.
Virtual assistants who’ve been trained and experienced in marketing research and business marketing — particularly through the Internet — can be invaluable to growing your business. It would take time for you to learn and do everything yourself, time that you could put to better use by focusing on the aspects of your business that you enjoy and are an expert at.
For example, not everyone is adept at using Web 2.0 for business marketing. Besides, it can eat up a lot of your time every day. Wouldn’t you rather use that time to develop your business in other ways or even relax and enjoy your family?
Here are a few marketing and research tasks that a virtual assistant can perform for you:
* promote your business in social networking sites, a very time-consuming task
* produce a podcast which will expand your business’ web presence
* look at competitors’ websites and report on what they’re doing – so you can analyze what your competitors’ approaches and come up with strategies to outdo them
* find information you need to grow your business, such as identify affiliate programs that are relevant to your business and could increase your market reach
* look for websites or blogs relevant to your business where it might be profitable for you to advertise your products or services
Could you do all this yourself and still live the life you want? Probably not. Yet these things could take your business to the next level and ultimately increase your income. You should certainly be familiar with these processes in order to effectively hire and supervise somebody to do them for you. However, you don’t have to do them yourself.
Let a virtual assistant declutter your mind of the minute but essential details of business marketing and research. Then you can focus on work that have greater impact on your business, such as monitoring and evaluating your marketing efforts and those of your competitors, formulating strategies, and mapping out growth directions.
About the Author
Stephanie Fish is the owner of Buckeye V.A, she works from her home office in Ohio. After completing her Associate of Applied Business Degree from KSU,she launched her own virtual assistance business. To learn how Buckeye V.A. can help your business please visit http://www.buckeyeva.com

Article Contributed By Adam Hommey
As an internet marketer and a webmaster for internet marketers, I get frustrated when I visit a website and end up flipping through pages of content that doesn’t lead to anything. Most people’s website content doesn’t tell me what the next steps are. And, they don’t tell me what actions I should take. So how can they expect to convert their website traffic into more customers and sales?
Every page on your website – regardless of its purpose or content – needs to guide your visitor to the next step.
Obviously, your sales page leads visitors to click to the secure shopping cart order form so they can buy from you.
Your special report download page guides visitors to enter their name and e-mail address and hit “Submit” so they can be added to your mailing list.
But what about your “About Us” page (which contains your bio), your “Media” page (which lists all the major outlets in which you’ve been featured), and your “Contact Us” page?
Here Are 3 Easy “Calls to Action” to Convert More Website Traffic into Sales on the About Us, Media and Contact Us Pages
1. On the “About Us” page, after your bio, add a powerful client testimonial praising your expertise and your measurable and specific impact on the client’s bottom line. Then add the line “Ready for these kinds of results in your organization? Click here to get started now!” (This links to the contact page).
This call to action, in fact, can be used for any page that does not have an obvious “next step.” Just make sure the testimonial ties in to the page content. If the page is a list of your keynote speaking topics, have the testimonial be about how your keynote set an awesome tone for the entire conference, not about how helpful your sales department is to your customers.
2. Your “Media” page should not just be a collage of logos. It should contain short videos of your TV appearances, audio clips of your radio interviews or featured-expert interviews on teleseminars. It should also include links to the articles where you were quoted or links to your articles that got published on the top websites. Let the world see what a sought-after, in-demand expert you really are.
With that being said, a simple, but effective call to action would be, “Sarah B. Marketer looks forward to being the featured expert on your next program. To schedule her appearance right now click here.” (This links to the Contact page.)
3. The Contact page, by definition, is a call to action. It needs to take your visitor by the hand and lead them through the next step.
It should not just be a page that displays your mailing address, phone number, and main corporate e-mail. Rather, it should lead with a paragraph that congratulates the reader for their decision to take action. Then, it should explain the process for getting in touch with you. It should also describe what someone should expect once they contact you.
Next, guide them through a simple web form that asks specific questions. This way you can do your homework and present prospects with a specific response and action plan. Make sure to keep this form as brief as possible, and only ask questions that directly inform how you and your visitor would do business together in the near future.
Having a web form, rather than just a link to your e-mail address, guides your visitor to take a specific action. This raises their level of commitment to you and increases your chances that they will buy from you.
Bottom line: Make sure that every page on your website provides a roadmap for your visitor with a specific call to action. This is the only way your prospects will reach the destination that you prepared for them. And, it’s the only way you will increase your website sales conversions.
About the Author
The Website Surgeon, Adam Hommey, increases website sales conversions for entrepreneurs, small business owners and Internet marketers just like you who want to make more sales now. To see where you’re actually losing money on your website, get a live website review at http://www.livewebsitereviews.com

Article Contributed by Robert Skrob
Business owners across any and every industry are constantly on the lookout for effective (and cheap) ways to market their products and services online. Looking beyond the inundated world of advertising many have found the email newsletters or ezines to be one of the best, inexpensive online sales tools.
Alexandria Brown, known as the Ezine Queen and Author of Boost Business with Your Own Ezine, is one of them. As one of the leading authorities on email publishing, she is a proud advocate of using the ezine to drive sales.
According to Alexandria, offering a free ezine is important because most people are surfing the net for information, not with the intent to buy something. She calls ezines the “bait”. If you can establish yourself as a credible source for information and build a large list of people who are interested in your information, you will create “built-in” buyers. Now, anytime you introduce new products and services you will market to an already-existing customer base.
Here Are The Ezine Queen’s 7 Reasons to Grow Your Business with Ezines Now
1. Ezines Make It Possible to Grow a Mailing List Full of Sales Leads.
By offering a free ezine, you make it possible to collect contact information from tons of current and prospective customers, allowing you to market to them all at once. In every issue of your ezine, you can share information about your products to a targeted audience you already know is interested in your service.
2. Ezines Provide an Effective Means for Promoting Your Products.
Ezines give you the opportunity to demonstrate how great your product is by sharing free examples of what you have to offer.
3. Ezines Help You Position You as an Expert in Your Niche.
Your subscribers will come to see you as an expert simply because you offer good information. Experts sell more and can charge more.
4. Ezines Help You Keep in Touch with Customers.
Ezines help you stay on the radar screen of every past, present and future customer. It’s your job to remind your customers that you are still in business. So keep yourself in front of your prospects so they think about you first when they are ready to buy.
5. Ezines Spread the Word About Your Business Effortlessly.
When you share quality information with your subscribers, they will forward that information to their friends, family and colleagues with just a click of the mouse.
6. Ezines Are an Ideal Way to Get Contact Information from Your Website Visitors
Most people visiting your website will not buy during the first visit. That means you should do anything you can to contact these prospects again. It takes several times for potential customers to see your message before they will take a chance and buy. An ezine gives customers a reason to stick around, and you the opportunity to continue marketing to them.
7. Ezines are Cheap and Easy to Publish
Ezines are easy to design and there are no printing or postage costs. Best of all, you can get your messages out much more quickly than traditional mailings.
About the Author:
Robert Skrob, President of the Information Marketing Association teaches new entrepreneurs and small business owners how to build 6 and 7 figure income information marketing businesses simply by modeling top experts like Bob Regnarus. Now you can get his FREE Video revealing how 5 info-marketers easily created and marketed fast-selling products & how you can too. Get free access now at http://www.infomarketingstartup.com