5 Business Building Blogging Tips

 

Blogging can help your business. It doesn’t take rocket science to know that you won’t get far in the online world if people don’t know you exist. So, how do you get your name out? How can you generate buzz for your business? Well, it’s simple. You do it by blogging. In order to be successful in your blog marketing campaign you simply have to take a step back and understand how people use the internet. You see, people go online for two reasons – they’re looking for answers, or they want to watch cat videos. Basically, people hop online to find information or to be entertained. Your goal is to become one of those reasons (or a combination of both).

Are you ready to start your adventure into blogging and see what it can do for your business? Good. Let’s get started.

Tip #1 – Answer Questions Your Customers Are Asking

People need answers to their questions. Why not be the source? Offering the solution or answer to someone’s problem is the best way to paint yourself in a new light. Do this often and you’ll gain a reputation as an authority figure in your niche. You have to own it! This is the best way to bring in targeted traffic to your website. Think about it. When you run into a problem or are trying to learn something, what do you do? If you’re like me – or just about anyone else, you simply plug your question into Google and wait for an answer. The key here is to use that same process when you create your post. What is it that your potential customers are searching for? What are the answers they need? Zero in on that and you’ll be set.

Tip #2 – Blogging Doesn’t Happen On An Island

If you think that all it takes to be successful at blogging is to set up a WordPress blog, plug away at a few posts and - voilà, become a success story you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. If you want visitors voraciously reading your posts like rabid dogs you have to get out there and make a name for yourself. The important thing to do here is to find key players in your industry, along with people that share your interest, and get noticed. This may sound difficult, but all you have to do is to think about what your goals are. You’re online trying to get noticed and get new visitors to your site, right? So, is everyone else. By giving other people recognition, you’ll end up receiving the same thing. How to do it? It’s easy. Start following people on Twitter – and then take it one step further. Respond to their tweets, visit their fan page, comment on their blogs. Pretty much start stalking people – but in a good way.

Tip #3 – Um.. Use Keywords

When you first start out blogging you can’t expect to appear in the top of the search engines. As a matter of fact, you probably won’t even be close, at least not at first. Search traffic is the holy grail of website traffic, so even though you can’t expect too much traffic from the search engines (at first), you should structure your posts with SEO in mind. Have a purpose for each post. Be sure to include your keyword in the title, url, image tags, and body of your post. Keep it natural though.

Tip #4 – Embrace Social Media

Search and social are becoming nearly one and the same. You really can’t talk about one without including the other. You have to learn how to use social media as a tool for both research and networking. Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are now your allies. Not only should you be using social media to stay up on industry trends and connecting with peers, you should also be using it to share your content.

Tip #5 – Post Regularly

This is often the most difficult part of becoming a successful blogger. Consistency is key. You want to post content regularly to your blog. This will help you in a lot of ways:

• More keyword-rich content for your website (which the search engines love).
• Regular content that you can share across your social media accounts.
• An opportunity to share your expertise, building your reputation as an expert.

In the end, you’ll benefit greatly by blogging for your business. Google loves fresh content. Updating your blog regularly will help pull in traffic and raise your website in the SERPs.

You didn’t think this would be easy, did you?

by Rivalhost

 

Laptop Entrepreneur Vs Bricks-And-Mortar Entrepreneur

Today, thanks to the Internet, entrepreneurs still in their 20s or 30s are setting up home-based Internet businesses that they run in their spare time, bringing in $5,000 to $30,000 a month.

They can travel anytime they want, and they have the freedom to run their business from anywhere in the world. And best of all, their websites are making money for them, while they sleep!

In his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", author Robert Kiyosaki explains that to escape the 'rat race' you need to spend less than you earn and invest the difference in buying income-producing assets (e.g. shares or rental properties).

The goal is to eventually have the income from your assets replace your earnings from your job. That's how you achieve financial freedom, he explains.

When I was starting out with my business I was $12,000 in debt, I had zero income, no job, and I was homeless. Buying income-producing assets wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to build income-producing assets. Eventually, these web businesses would grow to generate thousands of dollars a day.

By the time I reached my late twenties I had 64,000 clients in 116 countries worldwide, and 16 different income streams. I could work from home... or whilst travelling around the world... or from the luxury cabin of a cruise ship in the Caribbean... in fact I could do this from any place on the planet where I could get an Internet connection!

Furthermore, my first Internet business only cost $400 to set up, and yet was bringing in more than $10,000 a month in income! When you compare the costs of running a normal bricks-and-mortar business to those of an Internet business, the differences are striking!

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Costs of running a simple home-based Internet business
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Internet connection $20/month
Getresponse autoresponder service $60/month
Gotowebinar webinar service $99/month
Hosting $15/month
2 Outsourcers (web design, customer service) $500/month
-------------------------
Total: $694/month

Imagine having a business that...

- Costs practically nothing to set up
- You don't need staff
- You don't need offices
- You don't need a shop
- You can work from home
- You can work from anywhere in the world
- Other people are selling your products for you, for FREE! (e.g. affiliates)
- Your business runs on autopilot (e.g. people buy your products from your websites automatically)
- You get to leverage incredible technologies such Email, Search Engines, Affiliate Programs, Voice-Over-IP, Online Auctions, Video streaming, Webinars, and Social Media!

... And all you need... is your laptop!

Other benefits of the Laptop Entrepreneur Lifestyle include:

* Total flexibility! You can work when you feel like it... You can get up as early or as late as you want... no more alarm clocks... You can take days off whenever you feel like it...

* You don't have a boss! No more taking orders from a nincompoop! You can even experience the satisfaction of 'firing' your boss! (Laptop Entrepreneurs often start their businesses in their spare time, whilst still working at a job. Eventually when their income from their Laptop Business exceeds that of their salary, they 'fire' their boss!)

* You don't have to deal with annoying coworkers anymore! No more bickering, no more office politics, no more endless pointless boring meetings...

* You can be a stay-at-home dad, or a stay-at-home mom! No need for nurseries, or a nanny... You get to see your children grow up...

* You can spend more time with your loved ones, your family, your friends... you can visit them and stay with them in different countries around the world...

* No more commuting... getting stuck in traffic every day... wasting hours every day... spending a fortune on petrol...

* You can travel any time you want, visiting different countries... you can go to seminars, take a course, learn new things, expand your horizons...

* You can live by the beach... you can 'retire to the sun' now, rather than wait until you're 65!

* You can live in a low-tax or zero-tax jurisdiction... no more spending a fortune and weeks of your time on accountants every year!

* You can give yourself a pay rise every month! (e.g. you can increase your earnings every month, simply by growing your mailing list every month!)

**************************************************
A typical day in the life of a Laptop Entrepreneur
**************************************************

My typical day looks something like this. I wake up, take a shower, and step outside to take in the fresh sea air, admire the view and play with my Golden Retriever, Leo.

I then have a breakfast of fresh 'Green Juice' (cucumber, celery, apples, spinach, avocado) with my partner, while relaxing on the loungers by our swimming pool.

I then sit at my laptop, answering some emails, to arrange a joint venture or a webinar or product launch, or to give assignments to my team of outsourcers.

I then take a break and go cycling through the mountain trails next to our house, taking Leo for a run. In the summer we usually end up on the beach in front of our house, where we love to swim.

In the afternoon I'll usually write, creating products, blog posts, content for my membership sites or my books, and emails to send to my mailing list. Or sometimes I'll study a new course, to find out new business strategies.

In the afternoon my partner and I go play tennis, or we go out with our friends for a meal, or for some relaxation at the spa on our resort. In the evening, we like to just relax by the fireplace, have a nice meal, and watch a DVD.

Once a week, on average, I do a 90-minute webinar for my clients.

We go on 6-7 trips a year, around Europe, or to more 'exotic' locations such as Thailand, The Maldives, Bermuda, The Caribbean, Senegal, Egypt, Australia, etc.

If I want to take a 4-month break or a 6-month break to write a book... then I do just that!

If you like the sound of this, welcome to the world of The Laptop Entrepreneur!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_L_Anastasi

By Mark Anastasi