Learn the Secrets of Making Money For Your Business With A Blog

You write and you write. And nobody reads.

How do you change that?

There’s a fine line between writing what you want, and writing what others desire.

Think about your own reading patterns for a moment. Chances are you read a variety of things throughout your busy day. Maybe a newspaper to keep up with world events. Magazines and trade publications to stay informed and be educated. And maybe a novel to escape your everyday life.

You have different sources for different types of information.

Your readers are the same way. They look to you for a number of reasons.

• They want to be educated on something they don’t already know.
• They want to be kept informed on a topic of interest.
• They want to be entertained.

Or maybe they want all three. Your readers have to find value in what you offer. And they also have to look forward to reading what you have to say - and how you say it.

Nobody likes the dry professor that rattles on and on about something that is, well, maybe boring. (Like blogging - how many people truly get as excited about blogging as I do?)

But if you add some spunk, some pizzazz once in awhile, it will keep your readers on their toes, wondering what you’ll come up with next.

I just read a couple of stats I thought I’d share.

750 million people use the search engines each month searching for products or services.

To find those products and services, these same people type in over 61 billion keyword searches each month to find what they are looking for.

Sounds like a lot, right? You really want to be there hanging out at the top of the search engines, right?

Well yes. And no.

The trouble is most people don’t understand what it means to be at the top.

If you’re a photographer, you don’t really need to be at the top of the keyword "photography".

If you’re a bronze sculptor, you don’t really need to be at the top of the keyword "artist".

When people type in generic words like "photographer" or "artist", it’s only a guess as to what they really want.

Are they looking for a school to take a class? Are they looking for someone to commission to work with? Are they doing research?

So why spend the money, time or effort trying to get to the top of these generic keywords?

Instead you need to niche down and get to the top of your exact keyword phrases. Things that people will really type in when they are trying to find you.

bronze sculpture vs artist = 1,240,000 vs 638,000,000 searches

Florida wedding photographer vs photography = 489,000 vs 412,000,000

And when you type in these key phrases, a funny thing is happening. It’s not just websites anymore that come naturally to the top of the search engines. It’s blogs. And social media sites.

Are you marketing your business with social sites yet? Why not?

"I put up a website a couple of years ago and have been spending a lot of money with pay per click ads. Problem is I really don’t have a lot of new clients coming from my site. Do I need a blog too? What am I doing wrong?" ~ Jane, CA

Have you ever thought the same thing? Wasn’t your website supposed to be your ticket to online wealth?

Unfortunately that is what a lot of people would have you believe.

I regularly talk with people that have a simple website in place, and spend a ton of money on pay per click and search engine optimization. Let me ask you a question.

If you had a gas station in a little town - five miles off the highway - would you put up a sign and wait for the traffic to stop in?

You may laugh. But unfortunately that’s what a lot of people end up doing with their websites. They are simply off target from where they truly need to be.

People search online because they know they can get information quickly. They search. They click on a link. If they don’t see the relevancy within 10-15 seconds, they back out and try again.

So if you’ve created an ad for a specific type of garden gloves, and you’re directing anyone that clicks on the ad to the home page of your garden shop, you’re visitors get frustrated and back out.

It’s not about the traffic - it’s about the connection.

The clearer you make your design, your landing pages, your advertisements, and your copy, the easier it will be to convert people from prospects to buyers.

And yes, more and more people are finding it easy to direct your traffic with a blog.

A website is static - you create it and leave it sit (you can add pages, but that takes time, effort and money). But with a blog, you can be adding new content - focused content - on a daily basis.

It allows you to really get specific, and write directly to just a few potential clients. Each post is meant to resonate with a particular audience. Plus it has it’s own natural optimization - so you can begin eliminating the cost of an SEO person.

I know you’re ready to move ahead, and put your online sales on track .

Which would attract your attention?

Just offered - 5 night cruise to Mexico for $249 - inside cabins. Great ports, you’re going to love them. Click for more info.

Or

The night was balmy as we headed on deck to watch as the ship set sail for the second of four ports. After spending the day in Cabo San Lucas, we were all tired from walking, and ready to enjoy a fantastic lobster dinner…

Do you see the difference? A blog is a way for you to share your experiences. It’s a way for you to entice people to want more information. They want to see how the story ends - how your material can directly apply to their lives.

Sure, money speaks. But then it just boils down to price.

If you talk about your adventures, and tell them places you’ve gone, what to expect, what you can do, what the menu looks like - then you’ve created the desire to experience it for yourself.

9 Beaches  is a blog I’ve found recently, and love the way they write, both on their blog and in their ezine. They share experiences, share viewpoints of visitors, and give you ideas of what to expect. I haven’t been there yet, but it is on my short list of vacation spots to visit.

Sacred Destinations is another wonderful blog that shows you through words and photographs the authors travels around Europe. I can scroll through individual locations in each country, and learn a wealth of information about each one.

With both of these blogs, they go beyond selling you on a service, and share with you the idea of being there - of actually experiencing the locations for yourself. Both monetize their blogs in some manner - 9 Beaches by enticing you to visit, and Sacred Destinations with links to products/services.

To Do: Take a look at your own blog posts - would you want to read them? Do they share quality information with the readers? Can they learn something from you? If not, maybe it’s time to change the way you post.

You’ve taken a job with a national company, and begun training on all the tools and technology your company has offered you. You love what they have to offer, and can’t wait to bring in your first client.

The hard part comes in distinguishing yourself from the next person in the company. Sure they have great resources, but do you really want to look like everyone else? Don’t you want an original way of communicating with your prospects and customers?

Chances are your company gave you your own website, and possibly made it an extension of their existing site. So your domain name is:

www.BigNationalCompany.com/myname

You may have invested in purchasing your own domain name, but it still points back to that Big Company site, which ultimately leads back to the national information – pulling them away from what you have to offer.

So how do you capture attention online? What’s your best option?

Start up a blog.

1. A blog gives you a voice. Teach your customers and prospects about your products and services, tell them about upcoming seminars, and give them logical advice. You’re in control of what you share.

2. A blog shares your expertise. Day after day you can share all that you know about your subject matter. If you attend training and learn a new strategy, it’s easy to share with your readers.

3. A blog connects you with a huge audience. When you meet one to one, you only have the option of connecting with that one person. But if you write a great post, it may ultimately connect you with hundreds of potential customers.

4. A blog is a cost effective way of advertising. Customizing a blog is a one time fee. Then you have full control over what text you choose to add, photos you share, and video you include.

5. A blog gives you ins with other media sources. Maybe you’re trying to gain a column in your local community newspaper. Or maybe you want to share your ideas with your trade associations. Blogging regularly shows your dedication, and gives people the chance to see your views. Making it easier to get you the PR you desire. 

Okay, I’ll admit I love cruising. I’ve been on numerous cruises over the past 10 years, and love being able to see a variety of places without having to change hotel rooms. It’s a great way to find out what areas you really love, and want to go back to for longer stays.

So every so often I get Currents magazine in the mail - a magazine put out by Carnival to promote cruises, and give special deals to people that have cruised before.

I sat down with the summer edition last night, and there on page 32 was an article, "Bloggers United." Blogging has made it to cruising?

It seems one of the cruise directors for Carnival has started a blog, and it’s become very successful. So successful it boasts over 2.1 million visitors, 17,800 comments - and countless laughs (what a great tag line.)

In the blog, John discusses everything from his personal life to life as a cruise director. Of course he shares information about the cruise ships and the destinations. But it’s also his personal opinions about, well, everything.

I was also amazed because there is also a Bloggers Cruise being planned for 2009 - how amazing is that? Bloggers are such a strong community, that they can plan a cruise based on the entire concept.

Are you blogging?

Success Works: The idea behind blogging is to share your personal ideas, resources, comments, and opinions. Whether you are an employee, business owner, or just choose to blog about something personal, there is a market for you. The important things is to keep at it, make it personal, and make it fun. 

You’ve signed up as a representative for a company with great products and services. You love what they offer, and the money you can make from the opportunity is amazing.

Now it’s time to build up your downline.

Chances are your company gave you a website that allows you to send people to order products and possibly look at the business opportunity. It’s a great start. But how do you differentiate yourself from the hundreds of others selling the same opportunity?

With a domain name like

www.MyNetworkMarketingCompany.com/rbs12345

you’re not going to get a lot of traction. If they lose your card or forget your name, they’ll end up on the main site www.MyNetworkMarketingCompany.com/, and skip over giving you credit for the entire purchase – or worse, not end up in your downline.

So how do you network online? What’s your best option?

Start up a blog. Consider these eight reasons.

1. A blog allows you to sell more of your products and services, and communicate regularly with your downline. Add categories for each, and share your ideas throughout your blog.

2. A blog allows you to reach beyond your local area. Anyone from around the world can visit your blog and see the latest information. Keep everyone informed with just a few minutes of posting a day.

3. A blog allows you to talk about your latest products, your current events, and your upcoming conventions. Post it all online, and get people excited about all that you do.

4. A blog allows you to create a running testimonial of your actions. You can talk about how fast you are growing your business, how many people you add to your downline, reasons people join your team, and how well people like the products.

5. A blog allows you to dig deep into what makes the business opportunity work. Skip the fluff and go for the details. The reason network marketing works is because you leave a trail for others to follow you to success. Create that trail with a blog.

6. A blog is one of the least expensive ways of building your business. Where else can you reach out to anyone, anywhere in the world for just a few dollars every month? It sure beats that ad you’ve been running all these months for a few hundred.

7. Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. Over time, you’ll have a ton of information and a ton of resources – enough to make you the leader in many categories. People follow leaders because of what they offer.

8.The world is online. Over 80 percent of all shoppers head online to do research before making an investment. If you’re not there – and reachable – you’ll be lost in the crowd. With just a little work every week, you’ll quickly find yourself a blogging expert – and one of the leaders in your business!

It’s 11am. You haven’t eaten since 7, and you’re starting to get hungry. You come across a site advertising a burrito, sandwich, (insert your favorite) and you just have to get up and grab something to eat.

What makes those ads work? Why do they affect you so much? It’s the photography.

Those photos bring out all of the good qualities of the foods, and make you want to dive right in.

That’s where I am today - out surfing and I come across a blog with dozens of fantastic photographs of food. Lunch is a blog filled with, well, food.

Like Chinese food? There’s 23 entries sharing a variety of lunches at a variety of spots (the site is focused on New York).

Like a particular area in town? This site shows you food from a variety of places, including Greenwich Village and Chinatown.

This is a great example of a fun, interactive blog that showcases something the authors love. In this case they don’t have a lot of writing because the focus is all about food.

This is also a good example of a blog that is personal in nature, and hasn’t made the jump to a profitable blog. They have a lot of great content, but haven’t monetized the site to help them with their lunch habit.

What could they add?

• Coupons to the restaurants they talk about.
• Advertising from local restaurants.
• Email a daily lunch suggestion around 10 every day with a new offer.
• Delivery service

And that’s just the start.

Success Works: This is a case where large photographs work well. Staring at them makes you want to take action - especially at 11 in the morning. They have quality content and lots of it. They do a great job of keeping it up to date - now its time to monetize it. Great site!

In honor of Earth day this week, I set out to find a blog that shared a variety of tips and ideas that could us all be a little more green.

Green is the buzz word of 2008. I hear it on the news and on the radio. It’s in magazines and in books. In fact at my local bookstore, they have a whole section up front on living Green.  You know it’s big news if you can create a whole section out of it.

So why not blog on it? TreeHugger fills that niche nicely. TreeHugger strives to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information. They have a variety of ways to share information with their readers, including daily newsletters and a radio show, and post more than 31 posts per day.  

You can read all about cars and transportation, or you can read about the latest fashions. And everything in between. Whatever your interest, you can definitely find something fun on this site.

The thing that impressed me is how well they use their space. They have so much content it begs to be read. And when you do find a page of interest, it’s covered from top to bottom with opportunities. Yet it all works. You’re motivated to stay and read because of the ideas. And you may just happen to click around, making TreeHugger money.

I also like the way they split out their navigation, and offer many choices. I can start by following the Get Informed section, and read about anything that interests me. Then I can Interact. I can visit their forums and share my ideas and opinions. I can comment on any of the existing posts. Or I can take a quiz and find out a wealth of interesting facts. (For instance, how much poop can an earthworm produce in a day? Take the quiz and find out if you’re right.)

Not only do they teach you a wealth of information, they make it fun in the process. And that’s what makes blogging so much fun.

Success Works: Yes, it helps to have a bunch of people writing content for you. You can get to success very quickly that way. But studying a large blog like TreeHugger can give you a world of ideas to incorporate into your own blog. The photographs are dynamic and add to the content. You can have many different choices in the navigation. You can read a short post, or gain access to one of dozens of how to guides. And you can make money in many different ways. What can you learn?

On a recent trip to the mall, I found several new shirts at incredible deals. It’s always nice to get something new for the changing season. But when you save 30%, 50% or even more, doesn’t it just seem more enjoyable?

That’s the premise behind Pink Deals. If you’re in the mood for a good deal, head on over to Pink Deals and take a look at their bargains. (If you’re going to buy anyway, why not save a little in the process?)

Right on their home page, I found deals for RedEnvelope for 25% off an entire order, 15% off a Footlocker purchase, and 2 free Burt’s Bees Lip Balms with a $25 purchase from Drugstore.com.

What makes this blog work it bypasses  the fluff, and gets straight to the deals.  I can immediately see the new deals, take a look at ongoing offers, and sign up to get coupons and other discounts delivered directly to me through my RSS feed reader.

And if your short on time and know exactly what you want, Pink Deals is categorized in many ways, including free shipping, special discounts, and by product.

Success Works: Once again, its all about monetizing your blog in a way that’s customer friendly. You have to decide on your purpose, create your design, and stay true to your plans. In this case, it’s all about the deal. With sponsors providing funding to Pink Deals, the site can continue to bring in new deals all the time.