Tips to Help You Start, Maintain and Grow a Business Blog

Blogging has literally exploded over the last few years.  In fact, even back in 2005, BusinessWeek proclaimed that Blogs Will Change Your Business – and the publication was right.  If you’ve been holding off with the belief that blogs are a fad, it’s time to realize they’re here to stay and your business needs one.

Why are blogs important for business growth?

Blogs reach and engage large audiences in a way that traditional one-way information doesn’t have the capability to do.  At the same time, blogs put a face to your business name while highlighting your expertise and passion for your industry.  Another bonus: blogs are collaborative and they encourage interactions.  Soliciting comments from readers is a great way to engage with customers.

Here are some tips to help you start, maintain and grow a small business blog:

Identify a goal and blog intention

While you want to promote your business, don’t make the plugs too obvious in your content strategy.  Decide what your purpose is and allow it to drive your content.  Most blogs are centered on sharing information that their readers find useful.  Define your goal, and adhere to it.

Start your blog with the right software

Once you decide you want a business blog, consider your hosting software options.  Free blogging software can be a simple and cost-effective solution for small businesses.  If your blog takes off, you may consider integrations with existing business Wed domains (and remember to communicate to your readers of the host changes).  Remember to make sure your blog is simple for users to navigate.

Dedicate yourself to regular and relevant blogging

Two signs a blog has lost its way are when there are no active posts for more than two weeks, and

Photo via www.zincsolutions.com

when blog content is off topic from previous posts.  Blog inactivity and irrelevant posts give an unfavorable impression of your business.  Keep your posts consistent with the use of a calendar and research current issues so your blog is compelling and relevant.

Develop a traffic-generating plan

Last, but far from least, is finding a way to move visitors to your business blog.  There are a number of ways to generate traffic to your blog, both non-traditional and traditional in nature.  Add built in RSS feeds and remember that your email signature and main business Website and great places to link your blog.


Your blog is worth the time and effort it takes to start and sustain. By sharing content via your blog with your visitors, you’ll establish a strong reputation for your business within your industry.  Happy blogging!

What has helped you maintain and grow your blog following?

Lori is a work-at-home mom living in Noblesville, a suburb of Indianapolis.  She is mom to two young children and enjoys spending time watching them grow.  Lori enjoys shopping, spending time with her husband and kids, reading, and traveling.

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Why You Should Guest Blog (or Hire Someone to do it for You!)

You have figured out ways to make your blog get real attention.  But do you contribute guest posts to other blogs?  While it may seem like the last thing you have time to do, or counter-intuitive, guest blogging is worth it.  You can reap huge benefits from guest blogging, or hiring someone to guest blog on your behalf.  Guest blogging allows you to take what you do and love and spread knowledge into other areas of your target market.  It spreads your reach and builds an authoritative reputation for you and your business.  Here are some ways content outside of your virtual walls can benefit your business.

Reach a broader audience.

Through writing guest posts, you create added awareness with people who are interested in the topics you’re writing about.  These people may not know about your business, but will see you as an expertise and in turn, want to check out your business.  So you will…

Attract new leads.

There’s no double that guest blogging provides a perfect opportunity to generate leads.  The readers of the blog you contribute to are likely looking to solve a problem – and your post may help them.  It’s a win for all.

Build strong relationships.

Relationships are the foundation of a strong business.  Contributing guest blogs is one of several ways to establish new relationships with other bloggers in your niche.  It allows you to join an already-established community, and share what you know.  Plus, it could also lead you to new partnerships with the blogger for future business opportunities. You never know what doors it may open. 

SEO benefits.

Guest posting is good for search engine results.  As you write guest blogs, you prove that you are well

Photo via edgital.org

informed about and have experience related to the products or services you provide.  This means that people who enter a search into Google for the topic may find the post you wrote.  Yes, this happens when you write on your own blog too.  However if the blog you guest post on has larger readership and significant social media following, it’s more likely to be shared socially – a SEO indicator that the content is high quality and relevant. 

Guest blogging, whether you’re the author or you hire someone else to write the posts on your behalf, is a great way to build credibility and receive greater personal and business exposure.  Consider the many benefits of guest blogging as you ponder whether or not to invest the time in writing for another business.  It’s time well spent.

How has guest blogging proved beneficial for your business endeavors?

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Why You Should Hire Work from Home Professionals

Are work from home individuals capable of completing work at the same level and quantity as those who work from a brick-and-mortar building?  Many people may have this question run through their minds as they contemplate hiring a work from home professional.  But the answer is yes; individuals who work from home boast a lot of positive attributes that may them the perfect addition to your team. Let’s explore some of the reasons why you should hire work from home professionals:

They’re highly motivated.
Work from home professionals are given a great sense of freedom.  Many of them find this type of work environment extremely desirable.  A standard office has its distractions such as loud co-workers, numerous phones ringing and distractions when simply filling up a water bottle.  Those who work from home tend to work more hours than those who work in a typical office setting with higher productivity.

They are more productive.
Many work from home individuals are great at time management.  They may check their email after hours, just to prepare for the next day.  This means questions may be answered on timely basis.  The human brain does best when it focuses on things for about an hour and a half.  When you’re a slave to your cubicle, that doesn’t work.  Traditional job structure doesn’t allow for individuals to maximize their productivity according to the way the human brain best functions.

They have no commute.
There is no commute for work at home individuals, which means your employee won’t be late.  They

Photo via: comerecommended.com 

save on gas and wear and tear on their vehicle.  Hiring work from home professionals means you’re helping make the world a little more eco-friendly.

They’re empowered.
Individuals who are trusted to work from home are instantly empowered, which means they a lot of pride in their job because they feel trusted.  Work from home individuals are more creative and more enthusiastic about their work than those who work in a traditional office setting.

Save on overhead costs.
When you hire a professional who works out of their home, you actually save money.  You don’t have to have the office space to accommodate the individual, nor any of the other costs that come along with housing an employee in a brick-and-mortar setting for forty or more hours per week.  There are a lot of ways companies save money when employees work from home.

While it may be hard to step back and hire an individual who works in a different state or even a different part of the country, you’ll be glad you did.  Professionals who work from home are experts who are both productive and able to produce high quality work.

Why did you hire a work from home professional?  Was your experience excellent?

Photo via: comerecommended.com

Lori is a work-at-home mom living in Noblesville, a suburb of Indianapolis.  She is mom to two young children and enjoys spending time watching them grow.  Lori enjoys shopping, spending time with her husband and kids, reading, and traveling. Feel free to leave her a comment.

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Page Rank: The Basics

Page rank is a term that many of us throw around without truly understanding.  Everyone uses it but no one really understands how it truly works. Billions of pages exist and millions are generated daily and the search issue is more complex than you probably think. Pared down to the basics, it’s a numerical value that indicates the importance of any page on the Web.  It’s an algorithm named after Larry Page, the name of its developer and one of the founders of Google.  This algorithm used by Google web search engine ranks websites in their search engine results. Page Rank is one of hundreds of factors used to determine search results.  But how does it work? 

Pages that are more “important” carry more weight than pages that are deemed as less important.  You may wonder if it really matters to your business and the answer is yes, it does!  Page rank is an important factor as it relates to a site’s ranking in the overall organic search results. Plus websites in the top three organic positions on Google receive over 58 percent of all clicks from Web users according to a study from Optify.

The rank of a page is determined by three factors; the first is the number of pages linking to your page. The next is the Page Rank of the pages linking to your page. The third is the total number of outgoing links from the pages linking to your web page. 

Photo via: www.mypremiumtricks.com

You gain the most Page Rank boost from pages that have high page rank themselves and link to only a few other websites.  Incoming links from pages of low page rank with many outbound links boost your pages page rank – as long as you don’t link back to them. 

As the Internet grows, the scales that determine Page Rank constantly evolve.  This results in changes in a page’s Page Rank, where the measures will increase or decrease for no apparent reason.  Called the “Google dance”, this phenomenon is just another reason why it’s essential to continually build your site by adding fresh content and to work on building the site’s number of inbound links from other highly ranked sites.

The reason Google works is simply because it relies on the millions of people who post links on website to verify which other sites afford valuable content.  Google then assesses the significance of every web page with the use of several techniques.

Fun Fact: Page Rank is derived from the name of its developer Larry Page.  He’s one of the founders of Google. 

Hopefully this info provided some clarity about what it is and does.  Remember that Page Rank tells the importance of a page in relation to other pages. It’s just one of many factors that determine ranking in the search results. 

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What is Page Rank – And How Do I Improve Mine?

Every business that has a website has a goal: for it to rank high in the search engines like Google and Yahoo.  When people go to the search engines in hopes of a product or service you offer, you want them to find your business.  A higher rank results in increased visitors, typically leading to more sales.  Now that you know what page rank is, let’s talk about how to improve it.

Photo via seomarketingprogram.com

Select the right key phrase.

Your key phrase is a critical part of getting page rank.  If your phrase isn’t competitive, that makes things a little easier.  Make sure your key phrase is in the title and in the body of your page. 

If you phrase is competitive, then you’ll need to make your site worthy of a high ranking.  Think: when you search on Google, the best sites usually rank at the top, right?  Google wants it that way, because of the Google search engine wizards refer bad sites, people will turn to Bing or Yahoo instead of Google.

Earn your high ranking.

When it comes to a high ranking for your business, it’s not about tricks.  The search engines never stop tweaking their formula, so tricks won’t do it.  Make your site worthy of a good ranking.  Attributes that make a website high quality (according to a search engine) include a page that’s relevant to the term being searched for, has an authoritative voice, share useful content, is well-established, is quick to load and has links that work.

Build a quality site. 

Figure out which sites are beating you.  Is you site better than them?  If so, you’ll likely eventually surpass them in ranking, just be patient.  If your site isn’t quite as good, make the necessary improvements and higher rankings will follow.

Seek expert help.

Seeking profession help is going to be very beneficial when it comes to making your page rank escalate.  Professionals are called SEO’s, or search engines optimizers, specialize in improving your page.  These experts know just how to help you determine which keywords you should target to get other sites to link to yours.  To help your page see more traffic and earn more sales, expert help is the way to go.

 

As customers peruse the search engines, it’s crucial your business ranks high on the list.  Concentrate on writing content that’s compelling and original to attract links naturally.  Focus on your own judgment of quality, and add value for Internet users and you’ll see your site steadily rise up the search engine results page.

Is your website search engine friendly?

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3 Easy Ways to Boost Your Online Credibility

If you have a small local business, or one that is more global, it is typically a good idea to have a shop online that offers your services and products available for sale.  So many people today actually prefer to shop online, even if they have a local store just down the road.  Wondering how to make sure those who visit your website trust you?  Use these three tactics and watch your prospective customers turn into regular customers.

Demonstrate security

Despite the ever-growing prevalence of shopping on the Internet, there’s still a risk for scams.  It is

important that your online site demonstrates how secure you keep information and how trustworthy you are to entice shoppers to choose your store over online competitors.

To show your customers that your business is one that is trustworthy, you can show the measures you can to protect their personal information.  When you have a secure page, your customers will see a lock icon in the browser.  Customers will also see that your web page URL has a ‘S’ at the end.  There are a number of ways to secure your website.

List all prices clearly

Another step to increase trust among your customers is to clearly share your prices, the costs associated with shipping.  Customers are much more likely to make a purchase if the shipping prices are shared clearly on your website.  Other information that builds credibility includes the details of your shipping and policies related to refunds and exchanges.  People aren’t going to move forward with their purchases if you leave them with too many unknown details about your prices.

Feedback from your customers

Don’t you want to hear what people say about a business and it’s products and services before you make a purchase?  Prospective customers want to hear from people who have had experience with your business.  They want to know what people thought of their products and services, and hear if people were pleased with their purchase.  Share your feedback, reviews and testimonials clearly on your website to allow your current and prospective customers to see and read.  This will encourage purchases from those who stop by to visit your website and help them feel like they can trust you.  While some negative and malicious reviews are better left unshared, a few that may be less than idea are okay to share.  Just make sure you show how you fixed the issues with your customer to ensure their satisfaction.

Businesses of all sizes can benefit from building their credibility and reputation online.  Make sure to always have a website that shows your honesty and willingness to ensure your customers are satisfied.  These three tips are a great check list to use as you make sure your website is one that will make prospective customers trust and believe in your business.

Photo via: 365outsource.com

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Businesswomen: Master the Art of Negotiation

Women often debate about the best pieces of career advice women give one another.  Some say books can teach you to be a good leader.  Others argue that the majority of business books are actually written by men, and they simply don’t understand the challenges face in today’s business world.  Here we have compiled the most successful tips that businesswomen often struggle with, focusing on negotiating.  Here are five tips that can help women conquer their nerves, ease their jitters and master the art of negotiation:

Over-prepare.

Prior to enter any type of negotiation setting, get organized from an informational stance.  Jot down the reasons you’re negotiating for what it is that you want.  Once your rationale is clear, compile research that backs your argument.  For instance, if you’re hoping to hire help, assemble the criteria for bringing on an.  What’s the minimum number of people an assistant typically supports?  Does revenue have a minimum amount of revenue it must clear in order to validate hiring help?  Be prepared to express the ways an assistant would add value to the organization.

Stay steady.

Before your meeting, prepare your facts and your demeanor.  You can’t walk into a negotiation without your ducks in a row.  The result can be a complete nightmare.  Demonstrate your optimism and show that you believe a solution that satisfies all parties is reachable.  Boost your self-confidence by focusing on your strong points and abilities; dwell on your successes to help remind yourself of your value.  Role-play the negotiation prior to the real thing with a person your trust beforehand to help control your emotions.

Inquire strategically.

www.forbes.com

In a negotiation setting, questions that require open-ended answers are often times incredibly powerful.  Questions of this nature open up the dialogue and also can earn you additional time if you need to compose your thoughts.  Think along the lines of: Can you elaborate on how you came to this solution? What is preventing us from coming to an agreement?

Strategize silently.

Use silence to your advantage.  When people are nervous they tend to ramble.  So don’t talk too much, you just tend to over-promise or under-sell—things you’ll later regret.  Stay quiet and think so you can prepare for your next move.  Silence also makes your counterpart open up and talk.  Silence helps keep you in the more favorable position.

Identify mutual gains.

Seek out a way that both parties benefit.  A win-win is the best way to negotiate; never look at the situation as a win-loss.  There has to be a positive in their somewhere if you look at the situation with an open, optimistic mentality.

The art of negotiating is one that is tricky, but can be conquered with the right mentality.  Take an optimistic approach and the above tips can help you overcome your fears and struggles and end up on top.

What advice do you have for other businesswomen?

Photo Source: forbes.com

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4 Ways to Improve Your Website This Week

Business owners are notoriously busy.  You need to run your business, manage your Web presence, serve your customers, pay invoices and keep up with social media efforts.  Oh, and it’s nice to have a little bit of a personal life, too.  With your plate so full of tasks, wouldn’t it be great to get one thing under control? Here are five things you can do so your website is in great shape next week:

Improve your About Page.

Most small business owners wind up ignoring the about page on their website.  If one was created, that seems like a small feat.  Besides, no one really looks at the page anyway, right?  Wrong. 

One of the worst things a business owner can do is ignore the About page.  Customers frequent this page to learn about the business, build a relationship, understand what your business is all about, and decide if your company is worth doing business with.  Use your About Page to share your story, credentials, pictures, your values and other humanizing information.  Don’t view your page as a laborious task, think of it as a place to formally introduce yourself to your audience.

Show off your social media skills.

Put your social media profiles on a pedestal!  Use your website to highlight your social skills.  Are you on Facebook?  Twitter?  Awesome.  Include icons on your home page and other prominent pages of your website (think your About page or Contact Us page) so your visitors will follow you on these social networks.  Cross-linking increases the strength of your profiles and gives customers an additional place to engage with you. 

Update your blog.

Photo via djdesignerlab.com

It isn’t really that hard to bring some life back to your website.  Use some of your time this week to make some changes to your blog.  Write a post that directs your audience to look at the pages within your website that you’ve revamped.  Answer some questions about consumer issues and give your take on where the industry is going.  Talk to your audience again.  Updating your blog gives your audience something to read and engage with, while also boosting your rank on the search engines.

Focus on Navigation.

One of the most overlooked parts of your website is navigation.  It’s essential to creating a website that encourages a successful business.  Your website should be user-friendly, simple to navigate and intuitive.  Focus on what your customers need to know so they can find their way to your products quickly.  Don’t try to get over-clever when you name tabs on your site.  Think simple and do some keyword research to ensure the phrases you’re using in your site navigation are still relevant.

Your website is a crucial component to a successful business.  A few small changes can lead to a big boost in customer satisfaction, leading to happier, loyal customers that come back to your for business time and again.

Photo Source: djdesignerlab.com

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Honest Feedback: Why You Need It and Ways to Get It

In the world, everything revolves around communication.  In order to run a business that grows and thrives, communication and feedback are essential.  Oftentimes, small business owners may think they know what the customers’ want, but might later find out they were wrong.  This is where honest feedback comes into play.  Here are some reasons why you need it and some easy ways to get the feedback that will help your business reach a whole new level.

“It’s expensive and time consuming.”

Many small business owners have uttered these three words time and again.  While it may sound harsh, if you aren’t able to afford to seek feedback some level then you really can’t afford to run a business.  Feedback really isn’t that expensive, a small cost in relation to your gains.  As far as time goes-- make getting feedback a top priority like marketing your business or updating your database.

Photo via fensa.org.uk

Feedback costs both time and effort.  It takes energy to find out what people think of your products and services.  On the back end, it can cost if the feedback is negative and painful. The truth hurts sometimes. 

But the effort is well worth the information you learn.  Selling people what you know they want is more profitable than guessing what you think they want and being offended and confused when they don’t buy.  Customer feedback is your opportunity to listen to what your audience has to say and do something about it.  Point blank, feedback saves you unnecessary actions, wasted money and time.  Find out what people want and you can quit producing and selling what you think people want and stop marketing in avenues that don’t benefit you.  Use feedback so you can deliver what people want, consistently.

Feedback is your friend, but sometimes she’s hurtful.  Have you ever asked someone’s opinion to find out you hated his or her answer?  I have.  How did you respond? 

The truth hurts sometimes, but you need to hear it.  It needs to be an ongoing part of your company if you hope to grow with your customers and stay in business.

Here are ways to get feedback your business needs:

• Social media is a great way to get feedback.  Listen in on conversations about your business in order to find out what people really think.
• Utilize effective questionnaires to receive anonymous responses.  Remember not to lock in on one or two negative responses when you have a plethora of positive ones.  Instead, identify trends among the questionnaires.
• For more in-depth interaction, use interviews.  Feedback is another side of a conversation that can hold incomparable value.  In order to converse with your customers, there must be an exchange, someone giving a message and someone receive it. 

Feedback is something every business needs.  It isn’t always pretty, but it does help you improve your business and it’s products and services.  Use the ways suggested to help get feedback and improve what your business has to offer.

Why do you think feedback is crucial?  How do you get your customers to give honest and open feedback about your business?

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