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Flushing Blog Posts Down The Toilet

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I’m flushing blog posts down the toilet today over at We Blog Better.

Head over there and give me your thoughts.  Your opinion matters to me.

Writing a blog post is one thing.  Even if it takes hours or days to craft a post, that’s the easy part.

The hard part?

Promotion!

You, my loyal readers, have produced some works of art — so many beautifully-crafted, soul-driven pieces of work that aren’t getting nearly the attention they deserve.

You’ve put in the sweat equity with little or no return on your investment.

My goal is to end that misery for you.  

You do want it to end, right?

I don’t want to see any more of your posts sailing down the drain.

Take a trip over to We Blog Better, read the post, and find the solution to getting more eyes (and the right eyes!) on your blog posts.

And before you decide you don’t need the resource I’m recommending …

  • How’s your current blog promotion strategy working for ya?
  • Getting lots of comments from your target audience?  Or just the same loyal friends?

Today is the day to wrap your brain and your heart around a strategic blog promotion plan.

That is …

If you want to rock your blog and reach your goals!

 

 


Filed Under: Blog Promotion, Blogging Tagged With: , ,

“F” is for Friday and Fun and Four-legged Furry Friends

By 32 Comments

Photobucket

It’s Friday and I feel like having some fun.

We’re all working our fannies off to create a presence online, blogging our little hearts out, and trying to make some sense of this crazy thing called internet marketing.

So let’s take a break from talkin’ shop and lean toward the lighter side of life!

Do you have four-legged furry family members?  Or know someone with pets?

I couldn’t stop laughing when I read what Melinda wrote here:
“What I Could Have Done With $900″

And if you’ve ever forked out the BIG BUCKS to a veterinarian, this post will resonate with you!

I love a person with a sense of humor.  No other asset you own is more valuable.

Talking about fun and four-legged furry family members …

My friend, Keith Davis, had a cat that could open doors (so he claims) and his friend, Courtney, says her cat walks through walls.

Oh, brother.

Can you believe these people I meet online?!

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Filed Under: Blogging, Building relationships online, Humor, Making money on the internet Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

First Ever “No Questions Asked” Interview

By 12 Comments

Solo Mompreneur exclusive!

Today I’m excited to post an extraordinary interview with Leanne Chesser and Cheryl Wilms of WAHM Solution — my first ever “No Questions Asked” interview.

How is it possible to interview someone without asking any questions?  Not one single question??

Click the WAHM Solution logo below and find out!

 

 

 

Filed Under: Balance work and life, Blogging, Brand yourself online, Building relationships online, Following Your Passion, Making money on the internet, Moms in Business, Small business owners, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

How to Fail Faster than a Speeding Bullet in Social Media Marketing

By 7 Comments

The goal of business is to sell information, products, or services and make money.

In order to accomplish that goal, you need to alert your target audience of your existence.

Potential customers can’t buy a product or service if they don’t know about it!

Social networking sites not only allow potential customers and clients to meet you, get to know you, and most importantly, trust you – they help you attract people who have an interest in the information, products, or services you have to offer.

Have you been spending a lot of time on social media venues and not seeing a return on your investment of that time?

Is “clueless” how you feel when you work so hard and the sales barely trickle in?

Here’s how to Waste Your Time and FAIL FAST in social media: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Building relationships online, Internet Marketing Tools, Making money on the internet, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

It’s Viral – for Better or for Worse

By 5 Comments

There is nothing new about networking as a savvy strategy to grow your business.

This is precisely why people attend meet-ups and join the Chamber of Commerce.

But the fact the practice is becoming so popular on the web is why it’s important you take the leap into social networking online so you can take advantage of this shift.

Because social media venues are easy to use and understand, even for people who are not technically talented, people are joining social networks in super large numbers – a trend that isn’t going away and gaining momentum!

Great.

Nice to know but …

Have you overcome the big challenge of developing a tactical plan of action for using social media effectively?

Took me a while to figure this out so let me see if I can help to shorten your learning curve.

Guiding principles for social media marketing – A tactical plan

It’s transparent – be who you are: No pseudonyms allowed and write in your own words.  Don’t be afraid to show a bit of your personal self and let your uniqueness shine through.  Being totally genuine will greatly increase your believability and earn you mounds of credibility.

It’s a conversation – join it: Only by joining in conversations can you hope to be influential in the hearts and minds of your prospects, customers, and clients.  Your brand is what “they” say it is, NOT what you say it is.

It’s personal – focus on the individual: Participation in social media venues, blogging communities, and other social sites is for the individual, by the individual.  Build your brand but don’t author your posts in the name of “Your Company”.  Social media is not the place for mass communications.

It’s viral – for better or for worse: One of the most attractive and effective elements of social media for online marketing is the viral effect.  Everyone is creating social campaigns hoping they will go “viral”.  But this can also work against you – just ask the executive caught bad-mouthing his company on a YouTube video!

Ouch.



Filed Under: Blogging, Brand yourself online, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking Tagged With: , , ,

How I Write A Blog Post (If you’re curious and need a laugh)

By 16 Comments

After midnight – the magic begins (and the neighbor’s dog has finally stopped barking)

Don’t know why.  Gave up years ago trying to figure it out.  I don’t have a creative bone in my body until the clock strikes twelve!  Go figure.

(Right now it’s 1:57 AM)

Coffee is my friend.

Title first – always

It’s not like the blogging police are going to knock on my door if I write the post first and the title last!  Just can’t help it.

I refuse to write one word until I’m totally pleased with the title. (Being a recovering perfectionist, this could take hours)

I know.  They have support groups for this sort of thing.

Outline – never

Note what I mentioned above.  Perfectionists should never write outlines for blog posts – could take days to complete.

Yes, I wrote the required outlines for my college thesis and my term papers in high school.

It was painful.

Keywords – probably not

I don’t really pay much attention to keywords.  Surprised?  Did I just add some shock value to this post?!  I’m a writer – not a keyworder.   I much prefer to rely heavily on “latent semantic indexing”.

And anyway, it sounds fancier.

Has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think?

Content – whatever my readers want, need, enjoy, and find valuable

Let’s face it.  I’m a people pleaser.

Call to action – same one every time

I don’t formally include a call to action in my posts – I just pray for one.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I say a little prayer people will enjoy my posts and come back to read more. :-)

Filed Under: Blogging, Writing effective headlines Tagged With: , ,

Straight Talk On Why You Should Use Social Media To Market Your Business

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The new way of marketing with social media is not just a different set of rules; it’s a whole new game.  Marketing is being totally transformed and the internet is a game changer.

For the minimal cost of internet service, it’s possible to reach the entire world from your computer.

The days of old fashioned (traditional) advertising are numbered.  Have you noticed how many newspapers and magazines are either closing or moving online?

Even television commercials (yuck) are slowly becoming less and less effective.  Why?  Because more people are spending their valuable time online and much less time sitting in front of the television.

The game changer, the internet, has created lots of different venues for reaching prospective customers and clients.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogging, just to name four, are all effective platforms for engaging your target audience and making valuable and lasting connections that can lead to sales.

Social media venues are ideal places small business owners can go to interact with their target market and with other business builders.  The days of shouting out sales messages are over!  Entrepreneurs can now create their own communities based on their passion, products, or services.

Know what’s really cool? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Building relationships online, Customer Care, Online Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cobweb-covered, Unknown, Unread, Unvisited Blogs

By 11 Comments

Blog marketing gives your business a voice.

If you are creative with that voice, you will also enjoy the undivided attention of a captive target audience (which, as you know, can lead to long term relationships and sales).

Using your voice to introduce and promote your products or services is a cost effective manner of advertising and building your business brand.  Blogging is one of the best, most widely-used, and simplest shoestring marketing platforms you can use to grow your business.

However, a cobweb-covered, unknown, unvisited blog is as good as NO blog at all.

Is your blog hiding in the shadows?  Gathering moss instead of gathering steam?  Looking more like a ghost town than a landmark destination? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging, Brand yourself online, Building relationships online, Internet Marketing Tools, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization Tagged With: , , , , ,

How To Reach Desperate Buyers

By 36 Comments

Before becoming an online marketer, the word, “Desperate”, would leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

It reminded me of moments in my life when I was …

Desperate for clear skin!

Or …

Desperate for money!

Or …

Desperate for a date to the prom!

(Never did get that date, by the way) :)

Now that I have some years of online marketing experience under my belt and a clear understanding of what it takes to be successful, “Desperate” has taken on a new meaning and stands in a much more positive and flattering light.

What it really means is “highly anxious”. People with throbbing problems, pressing issues, and insane drives (impulse buyers) are who you should target.

Marketing information to people who live with these types of problems is easy because the problem is clear, obvious, bothersome, and quite possibly embarrassing to the person who has the problem.

As long as you’re selling information to help people solve a desperate problem, they’re going to buy it.

If it seems like nobody wants to wait for results anymore, it’s because nobody wants to wait for results anymore.

When you’re trying to sell how-to information, you’ve got to jump through a bunch of fiery hoops.

How to plant tulip bulbs, how to polish your car, or how to craft your own Christmas ornaments, etc., aren’t “pressing” issues.

No one lays awake at night or paces the floor wondering or worrying about how to do any of these kinds of things.

Would you like to come up with a topic to write about (in most cases, in less than an hour) and learn how to reach desperate buyers?

Ordinary to us can be extraordinary to someone else who desperately needs the information.

Give Me Desperate Buyers Only was recommended to me by a well-respected professional copywriter I met about four years ago and this 174-page, power-packed e-book has earned my highest recommendation.

This is one e-book that won’t be forgotten or tossed aside!

Filed Under: Brand yourself online, Copywriting, Making money on the internet, Online Marketing, Small business owners Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Why Blog If Your Niche Is Already Stuffed To The Gills?

By 24 Comments

Simple …

You have something to say.

Just the thought of knowing there may be thousands of entrepreneurs in your same niche can be pretty intimidating.

Like it or not, unless you are selling one-of-a-kind handmade items, expect to have tons of savvy competitors hovering around who are working diligently to grab your target audience by the lapels to gain their attention!

So start thinking about your competition in a different, meaningful, and positive way.  Consider your business “You, Incorporated”.

There’s only one of you in this world and “you” CAN’T be duplicated.

Study your competitors and determine what you can add to what they’re already offering or what you can do differently or better than them.  Identify your “competitive advantage” – your leading edge.

Sometimes the biggest difference between you and the competition in your niche isn’t “what” you have to say, it’s “how” you say it.  Maybe you have more effective communication skills, a powerful edginess to the copy you write, or a welcomed sense of humor your competitors don’t possess.

Maybe the ONLY difference between you and the next guy in your niche is that you have mastered how to boost your online visibility - which will place you MUCH closer to the finish line in the race to win over the attention of your target audience!

Don’t be scared off by competition.  Embrace the notion and use it to your advantage.

Give your prospects, customers, and clients something they can’t get anywhere else.  Give them YOU.

Filed Under: Blogging, Brand yourself online, Niche marketing, Social Media Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,
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