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

 

Social Media Marketing- Tips to Up Your Game

People are steadily coming to realize the importance of social media and integrating it effectively into ones business and marketing strategy. It's quite rewarding to say the least. Think about these statistics: Facebook has 900 million active users and there are more than 200 million users on Twitter. That is a lot of people and in a nutshell is the reason why you should have a social media strategy! Many people assume that it is highly technical and costly but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's actually pretty simple. The hardest part is simply jumping in and just getting started. I'm not talking about the basic Facebook profile where most people use it to let others know that they are in a complicated relationship, or are "checking into Starbucks" or having Ruth and Chris for dinner. That is not a social media strategy! That is just using Facebook to socialize. That is not our game plan.

 

Social Media First and Foremost

What you must take into account and remember when it comes to a social media strategy is that it takes time and it takes patience. As with every other legitimate business practice, nothing comes over night or with ease. If that were the case, everyone would be a social media success! It takes time to gain followers and credibility and so you want to make sure that you do not become disappointed if it does not happen for you right away. For some it will happen very fast, for others it will not and this is completely normal as it all depends on what the business and profile is all about and how it relates to the masses!

Social Media Must-Do's

You want to make sure that you are posting new updates as often as possible. You want to make sure that these updates are relevant and respectful! You don't want to post things simply for the sake of posting. You must make sure that you are "posting on purpose." As a business person, you never want to post things that may be offensive, derogatory, or sexually offensive. This is a sure way to lose followers in a heartbeat. Keep it professional, informational, inspirational and of course add some character. Post with consistency. Social network users look for updates and so if you are not posting on purpose, you run the risk of losing followers, customers and not being taken seriously.

·         Make it a point to interact with people - acknowledge comments, respond back and "like" other users content. People need to know that you are there and you are real.

 

·         Use interesting and captivating headlines - this grabs attention and speaks to emotions.

 

·         Be versatile especially in the beginning. Don't limit yourself to strictly Facebook, or strictly Twitter, or strictly to your own blog. The only way to expand and gain new followers and customers is to go everywhere that the people are and then hone in on what is working best and most effectively for you after you've tested the waters a bit. Be everywhere in the beginning and then narrow it down to few later.

 

·         Stay up to date. Keep it fresh. Make sure that all of your information is current and keep a current profile image up.

 

·         Create a business page to market your business so that you can add followers. This is not the same as your Facebook profile. A basic profile will limit you in how you can engage people and in the applications that you can take advantage of to engage people. Creating a Facebook PAGE (otherwise known as fan page) is an absolute must.

 

Social Media Don'ts

·         Don't do the Hard Sell. Never do the aggressive hard sell. Buy from me now! Join me now! People hate this. People especially hate this when they don't know you from Adam and this is what a majority of people are doing! This cannot be the complete focus. Only 5% to 10% of your social media strategy should entail "the sale focus." It's better to take a back end approach.

 

·         Do not self promote. People are not interested in hearing you toot your own horn.

 

·         Don't lie or exaggerate. People can typically see through B.S., especially the type of people that you are hoping to attract. Be genuine. Don't say that you are an "expert" in areas that you are not. Don't claim to have made a million dollars when you have not. People appreciate genuine people.

 

Stay abreast on social media and make it a point to read as much as you can and slowly implement new features and strategies into your social media strategy. For the most part, most information is free. If you have money, you can pay someone to assist you with getting your social media strategy going (just ensure that they are qualified to in fact get you the results you desire). If you don't have money, but you have time, invest in reading and learning so that you can begin to take action. There are endless resources available to you on the internet.

Social media is not difficult at all. It is completely up to you to make a decision in your mind to simply begin or to begin to generate results. It's an affordable, superfast way to put your business on the map and begin to build your brand and credibility. Invest some time, money if you have it to spare and begin with these tips. You'll be well ahead of the masses!

 

 

Make Money Online (Without Spending a Dime)

Making money online used to pretty much require you to have your own Web site, products to sell and some marketing savvy. But a new generation of dot-coms have arisen that will pay you for what you know and who you know without you having to be a web designer or a marketing genius.
But it's hard to tell hype from the real deal. I did a search on "make money online" and "making money online", and much of the information out there is just promoting various infoproducts, mostly about Internet marketing. I see why people sometimes ask, "Is anyone making money online besides Internet marketing experts?"
So I put together a list of business opportunities with legitimate companies that:

• Pay cash, not just points towards rewards or a chance to win money
• Don't require you to have your own Web domain or your own products
• Don't involve any hard-selling
• Aren't just promoting more Internet marketing
• Give a good return on your time investment

In the interest of objectivity, none of the links below are affiliate links, and none of them have paid or provided any other consideration for their presence here. These are legitimate companies with business models that allow you to get paid for a wide range of activities.

1:Help friends find better jobs.
Sites like ReferEarns, Zyoin, Who Do You Know For Dough?, and WiseStepp connect employers with prospective employees, many of whom are already employed and not actively job-hunting, via networking - the people who know these qualified candidates. Rewards for referring a candidate who gets hired range from $50 on up to several thousand dollars - not chump change. If you know a lot of job-seekers (and who doesn't these days?), this is a great way to break into the recruiting business with no overhead.

2:Connect suppliers with buyers.
Referral fees are a common practice in business, but they haven't been used much in online networking sites because there was no way to track them. Sites like Salesconx, InnerSell and uRefer now provide that. Vendors set the referral fees they're willing to pay (and for what), and when the transaction happens, you get paid. uRefer also allows merchants to set up referral programs for introductions and meetings, as well as transactions.

3:Write.
A growing number of sites will pay for your articles or blog posts. Associated Content and Helium will "pay for performance" based on page views for just about anything you want to write about. Articles on specific topics they're looking for can earn direct payments up to about $200. The rates are probably low for established writers, but if you're trying to break into the field and have time on your hands, they're a great way to start. Also, a lot of companies are looking for part-time bloggers. They may pay per post or on a steady contract. Our Weblogs Guide posts blogging jobs weekly in the forum.

4:Start your own blog.
You don't have to have your own Web site, or install blogging software, or even figure out how to set up the advertising. At Blogger you can set up a blog for free in less than five minutes without knowing a thing about web design, and Blogger even automates setting up Google AdSense so you can make money off your blog by displaying ads and getting paid when people click on the ads. To make even more money from it, set up an affiliate program (see below) for books, music, etc., and insert your affiliate links whenever you refer to those items. You'll have to get a lot of traffic to become a six-figure blogger, but pick an interesting topic, write well, tell all your friends, and you're off to a good start.

4:Create topical resource hubs.
Are you an expert on a particular niche topic? Can you put together an overview of the topic and assemble some of the best resources on the topic from around the web? Then you can create topical hubs and get paid through sites like Squidoo, HugPages and Google Knol. Payments are based on a combination of ad revenue and affiliate fees. You'll get higher rates doing it on your own, but these sites have a built-in supply of traffic and tools to make content creation easier.

5:Advertise other people's products.
If you already have a Web site or a blog, look for vendors that offer related but non-competing products and see if they have an affiliate program. Stick to familiar products and brands - they're easier to sell. To promote those products:

• Place simple text or graphical ads in appropriate places on your site
• Include links to purchase products you review or recommend in a blog, discussion forum or mailing list you control
• Create a dedicated sales page or Web site to promote a particular product

They all work - it just depends on how much time you have to spend on it and your level of expertise with Web design and marketing.

6:Microstock photography.
You don't have to be a professional photographer to sell your photos for money. People are constantly in need of stock photography for websites, presentations, brochures and so on, and are willing to pay for the right image. People generally search for images on stock photography sites by keywords, not by photographer, so you have the same chance as anyone else of having your image picked. Just be careful that you don't have images of trademarked brands, copyrighted art or people's faces that are readily identifiable (unless you have a model release), but just about anything else is fair game, and I promise - you'd be amazed what people need pictures of, so don't make any assumptions. If it's a decent photo, upload it. Some sites to get you started include Fotolia, ShutterStock, Dreamstime and iStockphoto. The great thing about this is that it's truly "set it and forget it".

The above list is by no means comprehensive, but it highlights some of the new and interesting ways to make money online without investing any money, without having a product of your own, and without having expert sales and marketing skills. Most of all, unlike taking surveys or getting paid to read e-mail, the potential return on your time investment is substantial.

By Scott Allen

Article source: http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/homebasedbusiness/a/makemoneyonline.htm