If your blog is feeling a little stale or stagnant lately, you can stop the moss from growing on it right away!

Listen to the Audio Boo below to find out how you can choose one, two, or all three ways to give your blog a makeover and a boost.

Need more eyes on your blog? Feeling like your posts are floating around out in never-never land? Let’s change that scenario!

Here are 3 great ways to get lots of eyes on your blog:

1. Continuity Blogging Community — Jane Lee

Free to join and ongoing

2. Ultimate Blog Challenge

Starts August 1st, 2010

Michele Scism & Michelle Shaeffer

3. 31 Days to Build a Better Blog — Lisbeth Tanz

Starts August 23rd, 2010

It’s true. Flattery will get you everywhere.  And social media venues are no exception.

Online marketers often complain that social media sites are a waste of time. They spend hours crafting and posting promotional offers and updates that bring no sales, no clients, no subscribers, and no results.

The truth is that using social media venues is a smart, savvy, effective way to get your message out to your target market. The key is knowing HOW to do it right. Having one-way conversations by posting “Me, Me, Me”, “I, I, I” messages simply doesn’t work.

Sorry to hurt your feelings but … nobody cares about “You”.

In order to get the results you desire and deserve, remember that flattery will get you everywhere. You may not be ready to hear this, but you must be prepared to “give” before you “get”.

Here’s how it works:

Compliment

Give others a thumbs up, a shout out, or kudos for a wonderful blog post, an inspirational quote, a helpful resource, a personal story, etc. that adds value to your life and/or your business. Simply let people know that you appreciate them or admire their expertise. Of course, be absolutely genuine. Don’t say it if you really don’t mean it. Everyone can spot a phony, fabricated remark. You’ll be surprised how far sincerely complimenting others will, in turn, get you noticed online and build your credibility.

Comment

Always take a few minutes to leave your thoughts in the comment box on someone’s blog. Comments create backlinks to your site, providing a tremendous benefit to you. However, posting self-serving promos, coupon offers, and other sales messages will get your comments blocked. Remember that most successful online professionals moderate their blog comments. “Selling” is not proper social media etiquette and you’ll be labeled as hype-y and probably banned from future comments. Only leave well thought out, appropriate comments that are directly related to the topic.

For more simple and creative ways to build your business on the internet and more info on social media marketing, subscribe to the Online Success Newsletter … it’s 100% free and always loaded with expert tips and fantastic resources.

Gee, I hope not.

Now don’t get me wrong here.  People may be thrilled to read your posts, but they don’t have to be thrilling.

Maybe you’re like me.

I spent years studying literature, journalism, and creative writing – my favorite subjects!

Great.  But when I started a business blog, I quickly realized I needed to throw a lot of my cherished language arts skills and rules out the window.

Not so easy to do.  Business blogging is nothing like writing a short story for a magazine, a press release, a thesis, or a newspaper article.

However, it’s okay to add a little vim and vigor and let your personality shine through in your blog posts!

You want a blog with loyal readers – where people want to come back for more.   You want to attract visitors with attention-grabbing headlines and compelling content.

Here’s a cleverly-written post you’ll enjoy about the essential elements of a business blog:

“How to Bake a Blog: Recipe for Business Blogging Success”

And remember that your blog posts do not need to be end-to-end thrills.

Guest Post by Fiona Bosticky

Being a start-up, or a small business, or an entrepreneur takes special skills.  You need to be a little bit daring, prepared for lots of hard work, and have just the right amount of faith in yourself.

In the beginning there are long hours, a lot of planning, and an inner strength that almost cannot be described.  However once things get going and you start to see the rewards –YOUR work out in the world, meeting people who appreciate your work, and if you’re lucky – even making some money, being an entrepreneur can feel awesome.

With all this in mind, why would a single mom, who in the universal-sense is normally considered to have such a tough job, make such a great entrepreneur?  Here’s what I think:

1. They know how to Juggle/ Multi-task

Women are normally renowned for being great multi-taskers, and to be in the situation of raising a child on their own, is a crash course in high-level multi-tasking.  We have busy enough lives with plenty of pressures, but when you are also running the life of a dependent, on your own, you quickly learn how to do literally 1,000 things at the same time.

Entrepreneurs who can juggle like this – do the job, do the finances, do the marketing, and do the managing – all at the same time, are definitely one step ahead.

2. They can handle a Tough Customer

Children can be very demanding, and sometimes difficult to satisfy.  Single moms understand this, and normally have a “battle-plan” for dealing with these situations.  This skill can easily be transferred to the workplace, and to the area of customer service.  Occasionally we do come across a tough customer in business.  And single moms definitely have an advantage in dealing with these people to achieve a mutually-beneficial outcome.

3. They have well developed Decision-Making Skills

When you are a single mom, the decisions for your entire family, tend to fall onto your shoulders.  Being in this role, builds fast and effective decision-making skills which can easily be transferred to business.  When you are in the habit of quickly assessing situations for the most desirable outcome, and then deciding the course of action, you become very efficient.  And having excellent decision-making skills can prove highly beneficial as an entrepreneur.

4. They know when to be Positive and say “Well Done”

When the joyful moments come in their families lives, women understand the importance of celebrating and taking a moment to reflect on the good times.  This is so important as an entrepreneur and small business owner.  Sometimes it is easy to be caught up in the work, as there always seems like there is more to be done.  But knowing and understanding what’s important, and taking a moment to celebrate the good things, even if they are little, can really make a big difference.

5. They understand Endurance and Persistence

Being able to go-the-distance, and keep the family happy and moving along is a big responsibility for a single mom.  Single moms truly understand persistence in the home to achieve what they want to achieve.  The ability to keep going and endure through the hard times is a huge skill that every entrepreneur must possess to succeed in this world.

Fiona Bosticky is an Aussie marketing coach, social media advisor, and entreprenuer.  Doing her part to help businesses around the world with marketing planning, marketing strategy, websites, social media strategy and blogging.  To find out more, visit Abnormal Marketing.

I’ll openly admit that I’m a Twitter-holic. (I know. They have support groups for people like me).

There’s something fun and really easy about Twitter’s micro-blogging platform that fits nicely into my marketing strategy.  And it’s a free social media platform so it definitely fits into my marketing budget.

Once in a while I am challenged, though, to fit my Tweets (messages) into 140 characters or less.  Sometimes I just need 5 or 10 more characters and sometimes more than that.

I discovered a great free tool that allows me to Tweet longer when I want to.

If you find that you’re also in need of extra characters when you’re tweeting, check it out.  It’s called “Twitlonger”.

Visit www.Twitlonger.com

While we’re on the subject of Twitter, did you know that you can schedule your Tweets in advance?

As a busy mom, small business owner, and online marketer, I’m always on the lookout for time-saving and organizational tools that will help to make my days run a lot smoother and less stressful.

“Social Oomph” is a no-cost tool that I can’t be without!  If you’d like to save lots of time and get your Twitter messages scheduled a day in advance or a week or more, check it out.

Visit www.SocialOomph.com

Are you a Twitter fan, too?  What Twitter tool or application do you like best?

Listen to this post if you like!

I’m a big fan of Twitter and I believe Social Media Marketing is essential if you’re trying to build your business online.

You can’t turn a blind eye, ignore the fact, sweep it under the rug, or crawl into a hole of denial.  Take a look at television ads these days. Social media venues are here to stay!

The last time I checked, Twitter is growing in popularity by 40% a month! If you’re struggling or confused about out how to utilize Twitter as an effective, results-driven marketing tool, let me share some strategies that will help you to get the most out of Twitter.

Keep these guidelines handy for using Twitter to brand yourself and market your business:

• Provide value and share biz tips and tools
• Create anticipation
• Drive conversation
• Showcase your Biz
• Announce important events and product launches
• Build community
• Be helpful and answer questions
• Brag a bit! You deserve it. And show a little personality!
• Experiment with giveaways, discounts, and contests
• Post surveys

In keeping with proper and acceptable etiquette, make sure that less than 10% of your Tweets involve any kind of selling or promoting. So what should you be Tweeting about?

Re-Tweet information from your followers that you find useful, funny, or relevant.

Share Twitpics – the most opened links on Twitter!

Communicate newsworthy items and events and be sure to ask your followers to Re-Tweet messages for you.

Speak in your authentic voice and show why your biz and you are pretty cool!

Send out welcome Tweets to new followers (no selling, please) and become the go-to person in your niche by providing helpful tips and resources and answering questions from your target market.

Promote what you want to promote, but keep relationship building your highest priority.

Not quite sure how to “brag” the right way on Twitter?

The biggest challenge is getting over the “fear” of bragging. My friend and colleague, Cathy Goodwin, can help. Just get her mp3 recording and 25-page workbook by going to: BRAGGING 101 (This is my affiliate link and I give it my highest recommendation) Tiny investment – Big results!

Have you ever noticed how Twitter and Facebook have become ideal “help desks”?

People ask their burning questions and other people answer them.  And just like email and text messaging, it happens in real time. That’s pretty amazing.

So I got to thinking today about another platform you can use to get an answer to, “What topics should I blog about?”

If you’re stumped for ideas for blog posts, why not ask your readers for suggestions in a blog post?!  You might be pleasantly surprised what they have to offer.

What’s really cool is that you’ll be accomplishing two important goals at once.

Your question will become a post so you’ll be creating fresh content for your blog.  And you’ll be encouraging “interaction” with your readers, which makes for the best kinds of posts.

But if you’re in a REALLY BIG hurry and need some ideas RIGHT AWAY for topics to blog about, here’s a list of 100 ideas!

It’s on the house – enjoy! (Pay special attention to #9)

1.  How I Use Facebook

2.  Ways I Embrace My Audience

3.  Should My Town Use Social Media?

4.  A Community I Love

5.  Technology That Empowers Me

6.  How Flickr Did it Right

7.  How Best to Comment on a Corporate Blog

8.  Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Conference

9.  How I Find Blogging Ideas

10. Somebody Has to Say It

11. My Children Will Do it Differently

12. How Schools Could Use Social Media

13. The Best Parts of Marketing

14. Presentation Skills for a New Conversation

15. How I Find Time to Make Media

16. Empower Your Best Customers

17. After the Event- Carrying the Conversation Forward

18. Just Jump Into Podcasting- Heres How

19. My Community and How You Can Engage It

20. Twitter Jaiku Pownce Facebook- And Then What

21. Making a Miniseries

22. If I Were an Advertiser Today

23. My Mother is On Facebook

24. Does a Big Brand Need You

25. Books I Want to Write

26. Serving the Deep Niches- How I Do It

27. How Women Use Social Media

28. A Hard Look at My Media Habits

29. If I Were a Television Producer

30. Social Media Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

31. Elements of a Marketing Campaign

32. Social Media Campaigns are NOT Traditional Campaigns

33. Idea Making and How I Make Something

34. What I Spend Money On

35. Do Rock Stars Need Social Media Strategies

36. How I Use My Website

37. Book Shopping- Buy These Books

38. MTV Changed the World in the 80s- Here is What Comes Next

39. How I Process Blogs and What I Do With All That Info

40. Ten Guilty Pleasures

41. The Internet Application I Havent Seen

42. If I Worked for a Venture Capital Firm

43. My Day Job Versus My Passion

44. The Difference Between Fark and Truemors

45. Fixing Conferences

46. Making Marketplaces for Media Makers

47. When I Feel Frustrated

48. Branding Strategies I Use

49. Your Ideas And My Ideas- How We Play Together

50. Friends I Cant Wait to Meet

51. The Art of Chaos

52. Telling My Boss About Social Media

53. Could I Quit My Day Job

54. When to Cut Back on Web Habits

55. Breaking Down My Favorite Blog

56. Explaining Social Media to Your Chamber of Commerce

57. Non-Internet Equivalents to Internet Tools I Use

58. Considering Media for the Rest of the Globe

59. Twitter is Too Simple- Twitter is Just Right

60. The Future of Podcasting

61. Video Made Simple

62. Facebook Applications I Love

63. You Are Here

64. Blogging Tactics- How to Keep it Fresh

65. I Want to Brag A Minute

66. Who Says What About Your Brand

67. Tools for Blogging

68. Wordpress Plugins I Use And Why

69. Media Topics That Need More Coverage

70. Comments versus Blog Posts

71. How I Drive Traffic to My Site

72. News- Is it Useful and How I Might Fix It

73. Which TV Network Gets Videoblogging and PodCasting

74. Franchising My Media

75. Handling Critics

76. My Audio Tricks

77. Ning Sites I Like and Why

78. Controlling My Brand

79. Sharing and Contributing

80. How Twitter Improved My Blog

81. Email After Twitter

82. Facebook Video Improved My Social Network

83. Letting Go

84. Downtime- What I Do Offline to Recharge

85. How I Went From Very Shy to Less Shy

86. The RIGHT Number to Track for Podcasting

87. PodCamp Has to Change

88. Shaking Things Up

89. Joining A Network- Things to Consider

90. Newspapers and How I Would Change Them

91. Interview With a Veteran

92. The Countries of My Social Media World

93. Giving it Away

94. Consulting Strategies for Social Media Experts

95. Turning Media into a Business Card

96. Podcasting on a Budget

97. For Every Excuse a New Strategy

98. Just When I Think I Am Done

99. Buying Gear- My Shopping Tips for Podcasters

100. When is Free Better- When Not

Another Friday will be rolling around soon and Twitter enthusiasts everywhere will be joining the popular weekly event as an opportunity to recommend their favorite followers to others.

Some people choose to post at #followfriday and some prefer the shorter version, #FF.  If you’re brand new to #’s (hashtags), visit http://hashtags.org or do a search for hashtags on Twitter to learn more.

Follow Friday recommendations are oftentimes referred to as “kudos”, “mentions”, “reco’s”, and “shout outs”.

Here are my Four Best Tips for getting desired results using Follow Friday recommendations:

1) Don’t just “clump” a pile of names (Twitter ID’s) together in the same post.  It’s the standard approach I see all the time and it won’t work to get your favorite followers the attention they deserve. No one wants to take the time to rifle through name after name in order to check out each person’s profile.

2) Don’t create posts like: “Follow so-and-so” or “Follow my friend, so-and-so, he’s great.”  Does that really make you want to check the person out?  No, I didn’t think so.  You may think your Twitter friend is great, but why should I?

3) Give each of your recommended followers their own chunk of the spotlight.  Praise each one individually to share their talents, skills, expertise, and personality!  For example:

Be sure to follow @shoestringgal to tap into the most Powerful Free Marketing Platforms! #followfriday

Look to @ConnieGreen for a 5-pronged approach to online writing success! #followfriday

Check out @CathyGoodwin for copywriting savvy & the best doggone dog blog on the planet! #FF

4) And my all time favorite tip is to place your Follow Friday recommendations in a BLOG POST.  A blogging platform is the perfect venue to make your Twitter followers shine!  You can include a bio, a short story about each person, or a list of products or services they promote.  You might also want to share how you met and why you decided to follow these folks.  Posting your Follow Friday shout outs on your blog gives you total creative freedom and flexibility!

Would you like to follow me on Twitter?

You can call your Twitter followers any endearing name you like.  I call my followers “Peeps”.

Twitter is a cool little micro blogging platform that small business owners should not overlook or discount.  It’s one of the top venues for establishing authentic relationships, sharing your expertise, and building your brand.  So the rumors are not true.  Twitter is NOT a waste of time.

Without question, Twitter is my all time favorite social media marketing site.  I like the rapid fire conversations and the challenge of keeping posts at 140 characters or less.

If you’re looking for an ALL-INCLUSIVE FREE Twitter webinar on how to “Twitter Your Way To The Top”, mark your calendar for April 29^th.  My friend and colleague, Jessica Swanson, founder of Shoestring Marketing, will be the host.  All of Jessica’s webinars are jam packed with tons of information, tips, resources, and action plans!

Some online marketers seem to be at a loss for WHAT to Tweet about.  Here’s a list that will help to lift the fog and eliminate the confusion:

• Use interesting quotes related to your target market
• Talk to your followers with @replies
• Link to someone’s blog, article, video, podcast, or picture
• Ask questions
• Answer questions
  
• Re-Tweet valuable and helpful information
  
• Announce an upcoming event (webinar, teleseminar, meet up)
• Make a comment
• Pay a compliment
  
• Use #hashtags (www.Hashtags.org)
• Introduce followers to your products, programs, and services
• Post a survey
• Take a poll
• Create Twitter lists
• Share Biz Tips and Tools
  

20% of your posts should be promotional and 80% should consist of interaction, instruction, and education.

If you follow this rule of thumb, you’re going to generate traffic to your site and obtain qualified leads for your business!

Here’s the link again to the Free webinar: “Twitter Your Way To The Top”

It’s not because I don’t like you and it has nothing to do with your ethnicity, color, creed, political party, or gender.

When I get a new follower notification from Twitter, here are the factors I consider in making my decision to follow you back … or NOT.

PHOTO: Right out of the gate, if you don’t have a picture on your profile, I’m gone!  And I don’t mean a company logo or some silly avatar or cartoon.  And please don’t use an off-in-the-distance snapshot of yourself.  In order to build a relationship, I need to see your face.  You don’t have to hire a professional photographer to take a pricey  head shot.  Just use a digital camera or upload a photo you have on file.

BIO: Tell me “why” I would want to follow you.  What is your expertise?  Who do you serve?  What words describe you best? I need you to zero right in and grab my attention. If your profile is missing a bio or your bio is bland and boring, I’m gone!

REPLIES: Are you interacting with your followers?  Are you Re-Tweeting interesting and valuable information posted by others?  Or is your home page filled with one-way conversations?  If all your Tweets are “me, me, me” focused, I’m gone!

Twitter is a great platform to showcase your expertise, build community, drive conversation, be helpful, and provide value.

So if you want me to follow you back, please let me see your face, tell me about yourself, and show me that you’re interested in building relationships by interacting with others.