7 Tips for Blogging Newbies

July 26, 2011 By 2 Comments

7 Tips for Blogging NewbiesAs a new blogger, it’s important to look at where you eventually want to end up before you begin. As Stephen Covey suggests, highly effective people (and, in my opinion, highly effective small businesses owners) begin with the end in mind.

If you truly think about what you want to eventually accomplish through your blogging efforts, you’ll soon be rewarded with a loyal audience who connects with you and repays you with an abundance of links and comments.

Here are 7 tips to help your small business blog succeed:

1)   Become your reader. Determine what your reader wants to read as opposed to what you think that they want to read. If you’re in doubt, ask them through a poll or survey.

2)    Learn, learn, and learn. Since successful blogs are all about educating their audiences, you need to keep educating yourself.  Keep up on reading, attending workshops and, of course, reading blogs in your own industry.

3)    Give away your knowledge. Don’t be stingy with your knowledge, tips and advice; there’s no reason to keep your ideas under lock and key. Successful bloggers give away everything that they know.

4)    Research. Read what other bloggers in your industry are writing about, check out your competition and stay current in your field. In the ultra-competitive world of small business, you can never, ever rest on your laurels.

5)    Get organized. Create a blogging calendar that guides you as you plan out upcoming posts and topics; put together a list of possible blogging topics; develop a blogging schedule that works for you. Then stick to your calendar no matter what.

6)    Offer up guest posts. Once you’re on a roll, you should begin researching blogs in your particular industry that accept guest blog posts. Then, get to know the bloggers, interact with them on their blog and eventually offer to write a guest post for them.

7)    Create massive exposure. Make sure to spread the word about your blog in as many places as possible: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, articles, press releases, videos, podcasts, speaking, etc.

Decide exactly what you want to accomplish through your small business blog, and then apply the above tips. Remember, blogging isn’t an overnight marketing strategy; it takes time to grow a loyal audience.

But, if you hang in there and don’t give up, your efforts will be rewarded through more traffic, better leads and, eventually, more sales for your small business.

Shoestring Marketing Association

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

50 of my Favorite WordPress Plugins

June 8, 2011 By 2 Comments

50 of my Favorite WordPress PluginsOne of the most powerful aspects of WordPress is the plugin capabilities. However, since there are literally thousands upon thousands of plugins available, it can also be incredibly overwhelming.

Here are 50 fantastic plugins that I personally recommend you consider using on your own WordPress blog:

ADMIN TOOLS

1)    Jetpack -  Adds cloud power to your self-hosted WordPress blog.

2)    Server Buddy -  Tests server configuration and hosting issues. It also tests compatibility with WordPress themes and plugins.

3)    WordPress Backup –  Backs up your theme, plugins and images.

4)    WP-DB Manager –  Gives you more control over your WordPress database backups.

ADVERTISING

5)    Awesome Ads –  Integrate Google Adsense into your blog.

6)    Chitika Premium Ads –  Integrate Chitika premium ads into your WordPress blog.

7)    WP125 -  Manages your 125×125 block advertisements.

COMMENTS

8)    Akismet — Protects your blog from comment and trackback spam.

9)    CubePoints – Allows you to award points for each comment posted by visitors.

10)    Disqus Comment System –  An advanced comment system that provides a simple way for your visitors to comment and engage on your blog.

11)    Keyword Luv –  Adds an extra field to your comments where people can enter their website URL.

12)    Liz Comment Count –  Displays a comment count on your blog.

13)    Show Top Commentators –  Allows you to display your top commentators automatically.

14)    Subscribe to Comments –  Allows readers to receive e-mail notifications to follow-up comments.

ECOMMERCE

15)    WP-Ecommerce –  Allows you to provide an online store on your WordPress blog.

16)    Affiliate Program –  Provides a way to create an affiliate program through your blog.

ENGAGEMENT

17)    BuddyPress –  Create an extensive social network on your WordPress blog.

18)    WP Forum –  Integrate a forum into your WordPress blog.

19)    Thank Me Later –  Send an email to thank visitors for leaving a comment on your blog.

20)    WP Greet Box –   Create a custom greeting based on the referral URL of your website visitor.  It also includes support for RSS, Delicious, Digg, Twitter, Facebook and many more.

POST MANAGEMENT

21)    Best Posts Summary –   Automatically generates a daily, weekly, or monthly review post.  Includes both post titles and brief descriptions.

22)    In Series –  Allows you to easily group a series of posts into a series.

23)    No Self Ping –  Prevents your blog from sending pingbacks internally to your other posts.

24)    Popularity Contest –  Monitors your website traffic and gives you reports on your popular posts. Plugin is fully customizable allowing you to set the values used to calculate your posts popularity.

25)    Related Posts –  Uses keywords in your post URLs to display a designated number of related posts.

26)    Related Posts by Category –  Uses category to locate and display related posts.

27)    WP-Super Cache –  Creates a cache of your posts to avoid server load.

SEO

28)    All-in-One SEO Pack –  The Ultimate SEO WordPress plugin. Allows you to set your homepage meta information and automatically generate custom meta information for your individual posts.

29)    Google XML Sitemap -  Creates an XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap supported by Ask.com, Google, Yahoo and MSN.

30)    Mobile Press –  Optimizes your WordPress blog for mobile phone viewing.

31)    Permalink Redirect –  Creates a 301 Redirect to avoid duplicate content penalties with search engines.

32)    SEO Smart Links –  Also great for SEO, this plugin helps engage your users by linking keywords within your site.

33)    SEO Slugs –  This plug-in removes all the unnecessary words from post titles. This makes post titles more search engine friendly!

34)    Simple Breadcrumbs for WordPress –  Allows you to provide your readers with additional blog navigation.

35)    WP-Page Navi –  This widget adds navigation from one page to the other so visitors can easily view your numerous blog posts you’ve worked so hard on.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

36)    Tweetmeme -  Allows your visitors to easily retweet your blog posts.

37)    Sociable -  One of the most popular social sharing plug-ins that supports the majority of social networks.

38)    Add to Any –  Allows your visitors to share your content to a variety of networks quickly and easily.

39)    WP-Email –  Add an “Email This!” button to your WordPress blog.

40)    LifeStream –  Enables you to stream content from your social platforms across the social waves to your website by leveraging RSS feeds.

41)    LinkedIn Share Button –  Allows your visitors to share content on LinkedIn.

42)    Facebook Live Stream –  Provides live streaming from your Facebook fan page.

43)    Facebook Like Box -  Allows visitors to “like” your Facebook fan page In addition, it displays photos of your fans, number of fans and recent Facebook activity.

44)    Sexy Bookmarks -  Allow your visitors to share your content with striking buttons that you place in your blog.

45)    TwitterCounter –  A cute button that you place as a widget to display your number of Twitter followers.

TAGS

46)    Better Tags Manager –  Allows you to better manage your tags, as well as convert your categories to tags.

47)    Recommended Tags –  Looks at your post’s content and recommends tags. Includes additional features.

MULTI-MEDIA

48)    All-in-One Video Pack –  Upload, record, import and edit videos directly in your blog posts.

49)    Dynamic Headers -  Display unique headers for each page of your blog.

50)    MP3 Player –  Embed MP3 audios on your blog.

Of course there are amazing new plugins being developed every single day of the week. Please let me know of any plugins that YOU personally recommend!

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing, top 50 Tagged With: , , ,

How Much Time Should You Spend Marketing Your Small Business?

May 30, 2011 By 4 Comments

How Much Time Should You Spend Marketing Your Small Business?How much time should you spend marketing your small business? In my humble opinion, this is one of the most important questions to consider when it comes to running a small business.

But, here’s the crazy part. I attempted to pull together some quality research about this question and couldn’t come up with any solid data. Hard as I tried, I just couldn’t find a definitive answer.

So, all I can do is offer my own answer (which is backed by personal experience as opposed to research).

So here goes: You should spend at least 60% of your work-time marketing your small business.

I know, I know, it’s all a bit suspect. I teach marketing, so of course I would recommend spending an inordinate amount of time marketing your small business.

But, if you can cast your skepticism aside for a moment I have another important question for you to consider: Have you invented a product or service that can sell itself?

If you have, I offer you my heartfelt congratulations. But, most of us don’t have that luxury.

Unfortunately, there are hundreds and thousands of truly excellent products or services that haven’t made a dime in sales. I’m sure you may even know a few examples.

And, the only reason why an excellent product or service isn’t making sales is because the small business owner isn’t spending their time marketing the product. Instead, they’re spending most of their time working “in” their business.

Here’s my simple 3-step process for running a successful small business:

1.    To run a profitable small business, you need to make sales.

2.    To make sales, you need to get the word out about your products or services.

3.    To get the word out about your product or service, you need to market.

That means, like or not, you are a marketer first, small business owner second.

And, if you’re on a shoestring budget, you certainly don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing, so you’re going to have to put a lot of time into your marketing. There’s really no way around it.

So, how did I come up with the fact that you should spend 60% of your time on marketing? Because that’s how much time I personally spend on my own marketing activities including: posting on my blog, social networking, publishing articles, creating videos, hosting webinars, speaking, SEO and networking (just to name a few).

Here’s a quick survey to find out how much time you spend marketing your own small business.

CLICK HERE to tell us how much time YOU spend marketing your small business.

CLICK HERE to find out how much time OTHER small business owners spend marketing their small businesses:

Let me know your thoughts!

Filed Under: article marketing, blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

7 Unique Ways to get Massive Exposure From Your Articles

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

7 Unique Ways to get Massive Exposure From Your ArticlesI’m sure that, as a small business owner, you understand the value of writing articles that educate and inspire your potential clients and customers.

So, you write an article and submit it to a few of the top article directories. Your article gets a few views and perhaps even a click or two back to your website.

And, this is where reality sets in.

You’ve just spent an hour or two writing an article with only one or two visitors to show for your efforts. It’s pretty safe to assume that you are not enjoying the process of writing articles.

But, don’t give up too quickly. If you’re going to take the time to write an article, you just need to make sure that it works overtime for you.

You want your articles generating massive exposure with the potential of bringing in hundreds of new visitors to your website.

Here are 7 unique ways for creating extra exposure from your articles:

1.    Offer to write guest blog posts.

There are thousands of blogs actively looking for guest blog posts. You can either start by researching blogs in your industry through a blog directory such as Technorati or, you can join a service such as Blogger Linkup that connects blogs and guest bloggers.

2.    Submit guest articles to ezines.

Start by searching for ezines that cater directly to your target market. Subscribe to them and find out which of them accept guest articles. Contact the ezine publishers with a sample article that they can use in upcoming issues.

3.    Research niche article directories.

You’re probably familiar with the big article directories. However, most small business owners can find niche article directories that are specific to their target market. To find appropriate article directories within your industry perform a Google search using “your target market” + “article directory.”

4.    Offer to write for associations.

There are hundreds of associations that are eager for content to offer to their members. Search for these associations through Google by typing in “your target market” + “association.”

5.    Submit to document sharing sites.

Turn your article into a .pdf document and upload it to document sharing sites such as Scribd

6.    Upload to ebook directories.

Take a few of your related articles and turn them into a 10-12 page eBook. Upload your eBook to e-book directories like Free-ebooks

7.    Rebrand your eBook.

Rebranding your eBook is a way to help it go viral. This means that you let your readers change the affiliate-links to their own, giving them incentive to distribute your eBooks to their own network.  You can use a software program such as ViralPDF

So, the next time that you write an article, make sure that it brings you massive exposure and hundreds of leads to your small business.

Filed Under: article marketing, blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, traffic Tagged With: , , ,

50 Free and Fabulous Traffic Strategies

May 25, 2011 By 6 Comments

50 Free and Fabulous Traffic StrategiesAs a small business owner, you probably already know the obvious ways to generate free traffic back to your website. (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, video marketing, etc.)

But as a Shoestring Marketer, you’re going to need to tap into an arsenal of creative, high-impact and hard-hitting tools.

Here are 50 fabulous traffic strategies that you may not be currently using.

And remember, the best part is that every one of these marketing tools is totally, completely and absolutely free:

1.    Offer to write a guest post on a blog that caters to your niche. Join Blogger Linkup to connect with bloggers who are looking for guest posts.

2.    Use Trackback links when you refer to other blog posts. The best part is that a link to your blog is now included on their site.

3.    Manually submit your site to at least 100 web directories in order to receive 100 priceless backlinks to your site.

4.    Record an article and upload it to podcast sites such as Podcast Alley

5.    Find ezines in your industry that accept guest articles and offer to write one. You can search for ezines at Ezine-Dir

6.    Create a “hub” of unique content on Hubpages

7.    Comment on high-traffic blogs and include a link back to your site.

8.    Write an informational eBook and give it away on your blog or website in exchange for your visitor’s name and email.

9.    List your free eBook in popular eBook directories  such as Free-ebooks

10.    Upload your eBook to popular document sharing sites such as Scribd

11.    Add your free eBook to Craigslist

12.    Place your eBook on Ebay

13.    Start a viral campaign by giving away your free eBook when others Tweet about it or Facebook “like it” using CloudFlood

14.    Write a press release and submit it to Free-press-release

15.    Send your press release out to journalists and editors. The company Gebbie Press will send you a disk full of addresses for free by filling out a form on their website.

16.    Submit articles to offline trade magazines.

17.    Start a LinkedIn Group Linkedin Groups

18.    Create a short Powerpoint that teaches a specific skill and post it on Slideshare

19.    Create an informational video and post it on dozens of video sharing sites using TubeMogul

20.    Create an informational product that someone else will include as a “special bonus” for the product that they are selling.

21.    Build a lens using Squidoo

22.    Create stories using social media at Storify

23.    Create a short and snappy signature and use it in all of your emails.

24.    Post in forums appropriate to your niche and include a link to your site in your signature.

25.    Send a free copy of your product to bloggers in exchange for a product review.

26.    Answer questions in LinkedIn Answers Linkedin Answers

27.    Answer questions at Yahoo Answers

28.    Run and publish surveys using Survey Monkey or Question Pro

29.    Allow your customers to share, vote and interact through  Ideascale

30.    Analyze and schedule the best time for your Tweets using Timely

31.    Create website polls using Micro Poll

32.    Submit your site to Cool Site Of The Day in hopes that they will feature your website.

33.     Join Triberr so that your “tribe” can re-tweet your blog posts.

34.    Create a course an add it to Learnable

35.    Offer fun quizzes on your site using Question Writer at Question Writer

36.    Offer fun contests on your site.

37.    Load a top bar to your site that directs your visitors to perform a certain action (sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to your blog, etc) using Hello Bar

38.    Participate in a banner exchange program Banner Exchange

39.    Make free business cards online and hand them out using Freepdfcards

40.    Create a newspaper style format of popular Tweets using Paper.li

41.    Supply a testimonial for a product or service that you have used in exchange for a link back to your site.

42.    Place your free offer on someone else’s thank you page.

43.    Set up an integrated social network on your blog using Buddy Press

44.    Set up a separate social network using Ning

45.    Create a “how-to” video and submit to tutorial sites such as Good Tutorials

46.    Get involved in a Google Group related to your niche at Google Groups

47.    Optimize each page of your website for a particular keyword or search phrase using a plugin called Scribe SEO

48.    Make a custom 404 error page for your website redirecting people back to your home page.

49.    Place your text ad on thousands of websites for free using Adsvert

50.    Start an affiliate program to get the word out about your small business.

That should do it! With a bit of creativity and tenacity, there’s absolutely no reason as to why you can’t generate thousands of visitors back to your website without spending a dime.

Filed Under: blogging, free offers, seo, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, top 50, traffic Tagged With: , , ,

Do You Have the Blogging Blues?

March 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

Do You Have the Blogging Blues?I’m sitting in my office with a cup of coffee and writing this blog post. The sun is shining, the ideas are flowing and life is good.

Suddenly, my phone rings and it’s Tammy, one of my business colleagues. We’re talking about business as usual, when, out of nowhere, she drops a huge bomb:

“Jessica,” Tammy moans, “I hate to admit it, but I’m sick of blogging. I’m tapped out. I feel like if I have to come up with one more @#$! idea for my blog, I’m literally going to….”  You get the main idea.

There’s nothing fun about having the blogging blues.

It’s just another reminder to me that small business owners face a daunting reality when it comes to small business blogging: they know that they should blog, but don’t always like it.

So, what in the world is a small business owner supposed to do?

First of all, I’m not going to try and persuade you that your small business needs a blog. Believe me, it does.

This post is about helping you make the whole blogging experience more enjoyable.

Here are a few tips to help ease those small business blogging blues:

1. Perfection is over-rated.

Too many small business owners feel that they need to produce a flawless blog that would make Shakespeare green with envy. Writing a blog post is nothing like writing an essay for your high school English class. Blogging is a platform that is meant to be informal, conversational and unfussy. Obviously you don’t want your post riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, but don’t feel that it needs to be “essay-quality.”

2. Be yourself.

The good news about blogging is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to write a post. That being said, I am a big believer in filling up your blog posts with your own unique personality. In the writing world it’s called “finding your voice.”

In today’s marketplace, prospects want to connect with real business owners. They want to know the face behind your business. So, if you’re funny, be funny; if you’re serious, be serious. The point is that it’s a much easier process if you infuse your blog with your one-of-a-kind persona.

3. Only blog about what you love.

Don’t get overly worried about what you think your prospects want to hear. If you’re a passionate small business owner and love what you do, then share that love with your readers. True enthusiasm is contagious.

4. Recycling is in style.

It’s perfectly fine to tweak, reuse and recycle your ideas. Let’s face it, there are only so many topics in this world. If you were going to write a “10 Mistakes That Small Business Owners Make…” blog post, then get as much mileage out of that idea as possible.

Write separate blogs about “10 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make With… Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging or video marketing. (I could go on and on.)

You could conceivably generate dozens of posts just from that ONE idea!

5. Just do it.

This is not clichéd and overused advice when it comes to blogging. Sometimes the best cure for the blogging blues is to just sit down at your computer and start hammering away on that keyboard.

There are lots of days that I’m not in the mood or don’t have anything to blog about. But, I just get started and as we all know, getting started is always the hardest part.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that blogging is easy. It does take time and effort. But, once you get past the blogging blues, you may find that you actually enjoy it!

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: ,

50 “Kick-Butt” Blog Topics for Small Business Owners

January 26, 2011 By 53 Comments

50 blog topics for small business ownersAs a small business owner you understand the importance of a blog in today’s competitive environment. So, to get the word out about your brand, you assemble your small business blog and diligently begin the process of writing helpful, relevant and educational posts.

Every few days you dutifully post to your blog until the unthinkable happens: you run out of ideas, your creative well is dry and you’ve entered the dreaded land of “Blogger’s Block.”

Not to worry – help is on its way!

Here are 50 small business post ideas to help you overcome “Blogger’s Block” and bring about a whole new level of creativity:

1)      Identify a pressing problem in your industry and provide the solution.

2)      Review a best-selling book in your niche.

3)      Interview an expert in your industry and post the interview.

4)      Write a tutorial or how-to article.

5)      Put together a list of people in your industry that you recommend following on Twitter.

6)      Make a 3-5 minute video or screencast and post it.

7)      Compile a top ten list of important resources for your readers.

8)      Illustrate how a current event relates back to your industry.

9)      Assemble a list of the top 10 books in your industry.

10)   Send out an invitation for guest blog posts.

11)   Ask your readers a question and answer it in a post.

12)   Highlight a successful customer or client.

13)   Expose a scam in your industry.

14)   Post a poll on Facebook and blog about the results.

15)    Examine a “hot issue” in your industry by debating the pros and cons.

16)   Ask your readers to send you new product/service ideas; compile the best ideas into a list and let your readers vote.

17)   Put together a “tip list.”

18)   Post a photo related to your industry and blog about it. (Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.)

19)   Write about the advantages/disadvantages about a particular product in your industry.

20)   Write a post highlighting an upcoming sale.

21)   Compile a list of the top 10 blogs in your industry.

22)   Feature causes and charities you support.

23)   Illustrate why your small business is unique, distinctive and one of its kind.

24)   Relate your small business to a special event – Olympics, Valentine’s Day, Ground Hog’s Day, etc.

25)   Link to another blog post and offer your unique opinion.

26)   Predict trends in your industry.

27)   Blog about a small business mistake you made, what you learned from it and how your readers can avoid it.

28)   Write about how your industry has changed in the last 5, 10, or 25 years.

29)   Compile your best 10 blog posts of the year.

30)   Put together a contest for you readers. Offer a fun prize.

31)   Debunk or challenge a common belief in your industry.

32)   Find a free and valuable resource and post a link to it.

33)   Record a 3-5 minute podcast or audio and post it.

34)   Assemble a list of the best blog posts you have read this week.

35)   Search Digg, StumbleUpon and Google Alerts for hot topics in your industry. Blog about them.

36)   Take an old blog post and update it.

37)   Find a popular topic in your industry and run a blog series about it.

38)   Share statistics and current research in your industry.

39)   Visit a quote site, find a quote that relates to your industry and write about it.

40)    Write a post that highlights the “best in your industry…”

41)   Write a post about the “biggest mistakes in your industry…”

42)   Create a beginner’s guide for newbies in your niche.

43)   Send out a survey on Twitter and blog about the results.

44)   Blog about a day in your life (or a day in the life of your industry).

45)   Tell your small business story and why you are doing what you are doing.

46)   Put together a “dictionary of common terms” in your industry.

47)   Blog about who you would love to meet and why.

48)   Write about what frustrates you about your industry.

49)   Talk about what you love about your industry.

50)   Write a press release and publish it on your blog.

So, there you have it, 50 small business post ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Hopefully, you will never encounter Blogger’s Block again!

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, top 50 Tagged With: , , ,

12 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog

December 9, 2010 By 2 Comments

12 Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your BlogImagine that you’ve taken the giant leap to start a blog to bring more brand awareness and exposure to your small business.

You’ve taken all the necessary steps to build your blog platform and now comes the day when you make your very first blog post. You spend hours crafting a post that is educational, inspirational and positions you as an expert in your field. You are as proud of this post as if it truly were your own flesh and blood. And, most of all you can’t wait to share it with the world.

So, you hit “publish” and wait for your readers to react to your nuggets of wisdom. (And, you wait and wait and wait….)

Why aren’t you generating any comments? Why aren’t people emailing you thrilled that you have shared your expertise with them?

It’s called “lack of traffic” and if there’s no traffic to your blog, no one will ever see it. Period.

So, how can you begin enticing readers to visit your blog? Here are twelve quick ways to generate a flow of non-stop blog traffic:

1. Create great content.

Obviously, this goes without saying. But, your content needs to educate, entertain, inspire or offer a solution to your reader’s problems. You want to try to accomplish at least one of these tasks with every blog post.

2. Keep your posts short.

We are living in an age where short attention spans are the norm. Keep your posts under 500 words so that you don’t lose your ADD readers.

3. Get your blog indexed in Technorati.

This is the daddy of all blog catalogs. Make sure that you go through the very simple process of submitting your blog RSS feed to Technorati.

4. Submit your blog feed to other top blog catalogs.

Blog catalogs and RSS feed catalogs are where readers go to find blogs to read. You want to make sure that your blog is there. To make the process even easier, you can use a service such as SubmitinMe to manually post to the catalogs for you.

5. Entice your readers to subscribe to your blog.

Offer your readers a free goodie (such as a downloadable ebook, whitepaper, audio class, etc.) if they subscribe to your blog.

6. Let your social networks know about new posts.

Whenever you post to your blog, Tweet it out to your followers, update your LinkedIn status and let your Facebook friends and fans know about it. If it’s a good post, they will pass it on to their community as well.

7. Get involved in the blog community.

Blogging is a social activity. Read other blogs, comment on other blogs and refer to other blogs within your own blog posts.

8. Comment back.

When your readers make comments on your blog, make sure that you comment back to them. You want to encourage a natural back and forth dialogue between you and your readers.

9. Participate in a blog carnival.

A blog carnival is a blog event that it is dedicated to a particular topic and is published either weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of an article that contains links to other blog posts on that particular topic. Blog carnivals can be a wonderful way to produce awareness around your blog. Read the rules and regulations of the blog carnival and get involved.

10. Offer to write a blog post for a high-traffic blog.

Research various blogs within your particular industry. Read the blogs, comment on the blogs and interact with the blogger. Once you’ve established a relationship, send them an email politely letting them know that you would be willing to be a guest blogger for them at any time in the future. Include a link to your own blog so that they can check out the quality of your work.

11. Use your blog posts in your ezine.

Instead of writing a brand new article for your weekly ezine, send out the first few paragraphs of one of your past blog posts. Then include a link for the reader to continue reading the post on your blog.

12. Include your blog URL in your email signature.

Develop an email signature that you use whenever you send an email. Of course, your email signature should include a link to your blog.

Once you implement these twelve strategies, you’ll certainly notice a spike in traffic and begin generating comments and interaction from hundreds (even thousands) or readers in your particular industry.

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, traffic Tagged With: , , , ,

Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog

September 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Why Your Small Business Needs a BlogLike many small business owners, you’ve probably been intrigued by the concept of blogging at one time or another. However, at the same time, you’ve never been sure exactly how blogging would specifically benefit you or your business.

One of the main attractions of blogging is the simplicity behind it. You don’t need to have innate technical abilities or well-developed computer skills to tap into the power of blogging.  A blog is nothing more than a simple website in which you “post” an entry that is published immediately. In addition, each post is displayed in reverse chronological order so that the newest posts are always at the top of the blog.

Basically, a blog is an individual’s commentary on a particular niche topic such as wine, gardening or marketing strategies. Blogs generally consist of text, images and links to other blogs, web pages and media that relate to its topic.

One of the main reasons that blogging has become a phenomenon in recent years is that it gives individuals the ability to communicate to a mass audience whenever and wherever they want. In addition, the blogger can easily update their blog at a moment’s notice.

Blogging is quickly becoming essential to small business success. Here are a few reasons why your small business needs a blog.

1. Simple to create. Building a website can be a technical nightmare while blogs can literally be created in minutes. In addition, there are free blog services such as www.blogger.com that allow anyone to start and maintain a blog.

2. Provide dialogue with prospects and customers. Blogs are now being used as a communication vehicle to share important information with customers. Because blogs can be updated in real time, businesses owners are finding blogs to be one of the quickest and most accurate ways to distribute their message.

3. Here to stay. According to study conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Survey, there are over 12 million creators of blogs and 57 million Americans who read blogs. Obviously, blogs are a staple for the small business owner and should be embraced wholeheartedly.

4. Drive traffic to your website. When small business owners use blogs to educate their target market and communicate with their customers, they can drive additional traffic to their website. This is essential for anyone seeking new leads for their business or interested in generating online sales.

5. Flexibility to post whenever, wherever, 24/7. When authoring a blog, all you need is access to the Internet. This level of flexibility removes many of the barriers associated with traditional forms of communication. Some blogs even allow you to post via email.

6. Establish yourself as an expert. By keeping a blog up-to-date and contributing in an area where you have experience, you quickly build your reputation as an expert. Once you’ve established yourself as having knowledge in a particular subject area, you can begin contributing to other sources such as news articles and interviews.

7. Generate ad revenue. The beauty of a blog is that you can attract those interested in a very specific subject area. This is an ideal market for online pay-per-click advertising like Google Adsense. This is a perfect way to provide value to your readers while generating revenue for your business.

So, the next time you’re debating if your small business needs a blog, consider these seven reasons. And, once your blog is up and running, you’ll find it to be an irreplaceable platform for getting the word out about your products and services.

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,

How To Blog Like a Rockstar

August 25, 2010 By 26 Comments

How to blog like a rockstarIf you’re up on stage blogging your heart out to an empty stadium, don’t quit…here are 21 quick and easy ways to blog like a rockstar and fill your stadium with die-hard fans.

1. Write compelling headlines. Your headline is how people decide if they’re going to read your blog post of not. So make sure that it reaches out and grabs hold of your reader.

2. Capture your reader’s attention in the first paragraph. Your first paragraph should draw in your reader and entice them to keep reading. Keep it simple, snappy and sassy.

3. Keep sentences short. Short sentences stand out, are simple to read and balance out longer sentences. Utilize short sentences throughout your blog for some added pizazz.

4. Omit the fluff. Omit all unnecessary words, especially fluffy, frilly adjectives. Just the facts, Jack.

5. Use keywords throughout your post. To help the search engines find your posts, sprinkle important keywords throughout the body and in the title.

6. Use white space. Using plenty of white space throughout your post makes it easier to read. When your readers are faced with a page of dense, black text, they’ll literally give up before they even begin.

7. Make use of lists. Bulleted or numbered lists make your posts simple to scan. And, since so many of your readers are “scan readers” this strategy ensures that they stick with you ‘til the bitter end.

8. Use bold text and italics. When you want to emphasis a certain point or draw attention to an important word, use bold text or italics.

9. Link like crazy. One characteristic of bloggers is that they link, link and then link some more. They link externally to other relevant blogs and they link internally to their own past blog posts. In addition, links help Google determine what your post is about.

10. Keep your posts short. We’re living in a world packed with people who have short attention spans and overloaded lives. Aim for posts that are 300 – 500 words. Short, sweet and to the point.

11. Talk directly to your reader. As you write your post, imagine that you’re talking to one person in a face-to-face conversation. Your goal is to make the reader feel as if you’re having a conversation with them and only them.

12. Solve your readers’ problem. One of the main purposes of your blog is to help your readers solve some of their most pressing problems. This is how you position yourself as an expert.

13. Don’t preach. Blogs aren’t meant to be a personal pulpit in order to preach to your congregation. They’re a social platform meant for connection, interaction and creating relationships.

14. Have some fun. If you’re not having fun writing your blog, your readers aren’t going to have fun reading your blog. So kick back, relax and have some fun!

15. Forget what you learned in high school English class. Forget the tight-laced rules that you learned in English class. Blogging is more about connecting with your audience than worrying about sentence fragments, run-ons or dangling participles.

16. Proofread. Even though your blog posts can break some of the strict rules of grammar, you still need to adhere to some of the basics. Make sure that you don’t have glaring typos, misspellings or jumbled sentences.

17. Read your post out loud. Reading your posts out loud helps capture your authentic voice so that you sound natural and real.

18. Let your personality shine. Your personality should be a part of every single post that you write. If you’re funny, then be funny. If you’re serious, then be serious. Just make sure that the “real you” is shining through each and every post.

19. Voice your opinions. Don’t be afraid to have opinions when you blog. Let your readers know what makes you happy, what makes you sad and what drives you crazy.

20. Interact with your readers. Since blogging is a social platform, it’s natural to interact with your audience. Use your blog as a way to connect with your prospects by encouraging comments and replying to comments.

21. Provide closure. Never leave your readers hanging. Wrap up your blog posts with a short conclusion that signals to your reader that you have finished.

So there you have it. As you implement these 21 quick and easy tips, you’ll soon discover that you have more fans than you ever imagined.

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,
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