Feb
27
This week we decided to try an experiment.
How fast could we get to the top of the search engines using a chosen key phrase?
So Monday evening, February 23rd, we chose the key phrase “growing pink roses in Colorado” to work with. I created a screen shot of Google to show placement and results.
Then on Tuesday morning, February 24th, I created my blog post entitled, “Growing Pink Roses In Colorado”.
From there I started watching Google to find out how quickly my blog post would be posted into Google. And as of this morning, Friday February 27th, I received #1 ranking in Google.
Feb
25
Blogging is easy. You can head over to a free blogging platform and be up and running in minutes.
But is that the wisest thing to do?
Take a look at these 8 mistakes many bloggers make, and correct them now before they impact your business. 
1. Choosing a free blogging platform to represent your business.
Quick story. A friend’s wife started up a blog on a free platform about one and a half years ago. She started for fun giving tips on investing. After a year and a half, she had a ton of content, and was starting to look for sponsorship. She blogged on a daily basis, and was starting to receive a lot of exposure. Then someone spammed her comment section, and the free blogging service shut her down – yep, flipped the switch and turned her site off. With numerous emails (no phone number attached to their customer service) she still hasn’t received any comments. And after several weeks, I’m sure she won’t.
If you custom design your own blog (or have someone help you with the design) its yours. You host it yourself, or have someone host it for you. You have your own unique URL, and its easy to start building up your connections.
2. They don’t develop a strategy. You can’t put up a blog and expect people to come. You have to have a strategy behind it.
What is the purpose behind your blog? Why do you want people to visit? What do you expect people to do once they get there?
Feb
23
The changing economy is affecting everyone. And the more I speak with business owners, the more I’m discovering people that have been in business 2 to 7 years are the hardest hit. 
Why?
They started in a rising economy, and have always had growing sales and a growing client base without a ton of work. The marketing they’ve done in the past has always worked – why change it now?
That’s the exact reason why you should be changing it now. Businesses are changing every day. What worked in the past doesn’t work today. And what worked even just six months ago will no longer give you the desired results you are looking for.
So if you’re relying on a website built in 2005, with a handful of pages, you’re missing one of the easiest and most economical ways of getting results to your business.
And that of course is blogging.
“Blogging is simply for people with a lot to say and a lot of time on their hands. It can never bring in business,” you might be thinking.
And yet blogging can and is bringing in business for a ton of different businesses right now. (I ghost blog for companies in several different industries, and I’ve seen the results in just a matter of weeks.)
Why does blogging work so well?
Feb
20
Having been on Twitter for well over a year now, I use it daily and understand its relevance. I understand how to use it to attract new clients, and how to use it to build my business. Could I be doing more with it? Definitely. I think there’s always room to grow. But if you’re just starting out and still struggling with the question of “Why do I want to use Twitter?” use these tips to start out in the right direction.
1. Build your Twitter account with quality people that you truly want to follow. Many people say they follow everyone that follows them. After following several people that filled up my conversation with information that didn’t apply to me, I took a different stance. I watch my conversations, and follow people that I have something in common with, or that I want to try and build relationships with. In many ways it is a two way street – I follow them and they follow me. I just use discretion when choosing who to follow.
2. Don’t build too quickly. You don’t want to go from 0 to 2,000 following’s in a one week period. Likewise, you don’t want to be following 500 people and only have 10 following you. Build slowly at first to learn more about Twitter and start developing relationships. Show people you provide quality content, and give them a reason to follow you.
3. Create a theme with your Twitter posts. I like to add links to quality content I’m reading in the blogosphere every day. I’ll purposely head out to find quality links I can share with my followers. A lot of social networking is about having a system and following it every day.
Feb
19
Put Your Knowledge Into A Blog Post
Filed Under What To Blog About | 1 Comment
What do you know that your prospects and clients don’t?
What do you learn just by being in the business that would be of interest to those that may do business with you down the road? 
I was out networking today and talking with a number of different professionals about blogging. As I chatted and explained blogging to one man, he stopped me after a short time and said, “I just don’t have that much to talk about”. I asked him a few questions.
- Tell me about your business.
- Why is your company different than others?
- Who has been your favorite client?
- What excites you about working in your industry?
And he came alive. I spent over 5 minutes listening to his responses. He was very passionate about what he does, and he obviously new a lot about his industry. He has a ton of experience, and really enjoys being able to help people with his services.
Feb
18
Facebook Does An About Face
Filed Under Social Sites | Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks ago Facebook revised their terms of use hoping to clarify some parts of their website and the way they do business. Instead of clarifying, they ended up causing an online riot.
As of this morning, they’ve done an about face.
Due to the backlash that swept through the blogosphere, they had two choices: retreat back to the old terms, or rewrite them again. As of now they have chosen to revert back to the old.
Facebook still wants to change the terms and put them in a language that better suits the reality of being online. But they will be will be doing it with the help of the 175 million people that currently use Facebook (if you want to take part, join the Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities group).
So what does all this mean? Here are a few thoughts.
- Facebook is a free service. And its on the Internet. By putting any information onto a source like Facebook, you’re giving them certain rights to the information. If you put it online, you lose certain control. Period.
- With the Internet, people have control (as opposed to the big corporations). Look what a few bloggers can do! The Facebook change was announced Sunday and in a matter of hours, it swept through a ton of blogs and through every industry. Because of the fast action, Facebook was forced to make a change – fast. That’s really the power of the people.
- It’s all about give and take. If you want to have 100 percent control, you cannot play online. If you want the exposure and the ability to market your business to the masses, you have to be willing to play in the sandbox with other players. And that means losing some of your control.
- Facebook is not alone. I guarantee if you read the terms of use of any other type of social or information sharing site, you’ll find similar phrases. As a company, they have to have some rights over the material you place on their sites. And with the viral atmosphere of being online, things take on a life of their own.
So, what’s your opinion? How will this change the way you play in the online world?
Feb
16
“You just have to use Digg to promote your business.”
“Everyone is on Facebook.”
“You’re not using Twitter? You’re missing out…”
There are tons of different ways to market your business and start bringing in prospects. In the years past people have sold everything from direct mail techniques, to Yellow Pages advertising, and advertising in newspapers. Today its tools like Facebook and Twitter. 
But with any type of marketing or advertising, it’s not about what tool you use. It’s the results you achieve.
I can spend thousands of dollars on a quarter page Yellow Pages ad. But if my clients don’t use the phone book to find my services, it’s a waste of my marketing dollars.
The same with using Twitter or Facebook. If you’re clients aren’t using those tools, you’ll be wasting your time trying to convert people into clients – people that simply aren’t there to convert.
First, Define Your Audience
Take a look at your current client list. How did they find you? If you don’t know, take the next couple of weeks and survey your clients. Find out where they get their information, how they search for new products/services, and what they looked for before selecting you.
Feb
13
All I needed was a simple answer. 
I headed out to the website, and searched for over 10 minutes through their help section. No answer.
I searched for another five minutes to find a phone number. I picked up the phone and dialed the 1-800 number.
After listening to a long message, choosing English as my choice language, and inputting my account number, I was given six choices. Guess what? None of the choices matched what I needed.
Frustrated, I chose a number to try and connect with a customer service agent. Wrong choice. I only had an opportunity to leave a message and hang up.
Over 30 minutes later, my simple question had turned into a complex problem.
It was no longer about getting an answer. Now the real question was, “Do I really want to continue doing business with this company?”
Ever have one of those experiences? It can be quite frustrating.
Feb
11
Making Money With Other Businesses Products and Services
Filed Under Making Money With Blogging | Leave a Comment
So you have a business 
already in place. You have your own products and services that people love and refer on a regular basis. You’ve designed your site and your blog to showcase and sell those products and services. Can you make money in any other way?
Definitely.
There are many other opportunities for you to earn income from other businesses products and services.
Think about your business. If someone uses your products or services, are there complementary products and services that you don’t sell, that your customers also use regularly?
Let me give you an example.
Feb
9
“I’ve had a website up and running for over three years. Last year I put up a blog because everyone said it was the way of the future. I haven’t created more than a dozen posts in the last 14 months. Today I’m really wondering why I have any of this at all. I’m not getting any leads from the site, and I really don’t know why I’m spending the monthly hosting fees to keep it all up and running. What do I do next?”
Could you have written this note?
I’ve chatted with half dozen business owners over the past week that essentially said
the same thing to me.
The problem is they do tiny steps that when you put them all together will never fit together as a solid marketing strategy.
If you’ve been in business for a while now, you know a thing or two about marketing. You’ve found something that works, and you keep using it. If its mailing postcards, you mail one out every month. If it’s advertising in a magazine, you run an ad month after month.
No matter what you do, I’m willing to bet you have put numbers to it, and know how well its working for your business.
The problem with blogging is people jump at it without a true purpose for it, set it up on their site, blog a few times, get bored and abandon the entire idea. Read more
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