Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog

Business Blogging Roundup and Wordpress Plugin Infographic

The amount of content flowing around and past us every day is staggering. I scan and read a lot of articles with emphasis on blogging, online visibility and marketing on the Web in general. I also post one or two articles per week on DeniseWakeman.com and some are relevant to bloggers.

Daily, I share great articles on my Facebook page, on Twitter and on my Pinterest Business Blogging board. Following are links to some articles you may not have seen in the past few weeks...

Building Community on Your Blog (a lot of comments on this one)

Top 5 Reasons to Use Pinterest with Your Blog

Content Marketing System - Jeff Herring's Webinar Replay

20 Simple Ways to Boost Blog Subscribers (Hubspot)

A Simple Plan for Writing One Piece of Powerful Online Content Per Week (Copyblogger)

9 Ways to Find Guest Blogging Opportunities (Tom Treanor of Right Mix Marketing)

And, here's an infographic I ran across on Pinterest about essential Wordpress Plugins: 

Profitable Content Creation - Content Is Cash and How to Get Your Fair Share

This a guest post by Jeff Herring at JeffHerring.com.

Content is the basis of EVERYTHING online. Creating your content and then marketing it well is how you profit from your content online.

Create It - The key to successful content creation is to be prolific. What most people do is wind up staring at a blank screen. I don't want you to do what most people do because most people are broke.

Instead of staring at a blank screen I want you to use templates. Create a 7 tips article or a 3 mistakes article. Then all you have to do is fill in the blanks with your information.

Another great way to become prolific is to just write on regular basis. Make it a habit, and you'll find the flow.

Market it - So many people create their content and then do nothing with it. Again, don't be most people.

There are so many ways to market your content that you really can't run out of ideas. Start with your blog. Then post your article on EzineArticles and other top Article Directories.

Meditation as a Blogging Practice

This is a guest post by Linda Dessau of ContentMasteryGuide.com.

This recent Twitter interchange with small business marketing consultant and former meditation instructor Jeff Korhan got me thinking about meditation as a blogging practice.

I find it most helpful to brainstorm, draft and write my blog posts in the morning. This rejuvenates my creativity for the day ahead, fulfills my most important marketing strategy and fills me with a sense of accomplishment that energizes my productivity for other tasks.

Sometimes, this creative work begins as a form of written meditation, long before I set foot in my work space. I start by simply opening myself up to the universe and writing down whatever message seems important for that day, similar to Julia Cameron's morning pages.

The way I carry this into my blogging is by printing out my draft blog posts and having them with me during that morning writing time. Away from my desk, with a clear, focused mind, it's been amazing what I can come up with.

Writing this post has been a wonderful reminder of this creative tool that's available to me. I've already printed out the draft of my next post so I can start accessing my clear, focused mind to enhance my blogging practice.

(Here are the direct links to the resources that I shared with Jeff Korhan in the Twitter conversation above: Idea catcher free training, article and video.)

Linda Dessau, CPCC, is the author of Write Your Way to More Clients Online and the founder of ContentMasteryGuide.com. You can pick up her free guide, How to be a Weekly Blogger, at www.ContentMasteryGift.com.

Do you use meditation? Are there any other activities that seem to evoke new ideas or creative solutions to questions or challenges that have you stuck? Please share in the comments below.

Is Digital Publishing Part of Your Content Marketing Plan?

If you missed it on DeniseWakeman.com, my colleague Ellen Britt and I have a survey running about how professionals and small business owners like you, are incorporating digital publishing into their content marekting.

We would love to get your input, and then, if you choose, we will send you a copy for the indepth industry report we create from the information we glean. At the moment of writing this post, 770 people have added their two cents. Our goal is to have a minimum of 1000 responses.

Whether or not you're actively involved in digital publishing, or plan to, your level experience is important to us.

Click here to take the Digital Publishing Survey. It will take less than 5 minutes of your time.

How can this information help you?

Why Your Business Blog Needs to Be More Than a Diary

This is a guest post by Linda Dessau of ContentMasteryGuide.com.

As your business grows (and grows up), it can be inspiring to look back at a chronicle of what you've accomplished and how far you've come. Having that record is one of the benefits of blogging, and a reason to continue dating your posts.

But when business blogs are completely filled with announcements and personal musings from the business owner, that's a missed opportunity to connect with your prospective clients.

Sure, your family, clients and other supporters will always be thrilled to hear of your latest successes, accomplishments and lessons learned, but what about someone who is just getting to know you? Will those things mean as much?

Business Blogging vs. Facebook [Infographic]

Just ran across this infographic and I have to say, I'm in total agreement and have been preaching this for several years. This doesn't mean I don't think you shouldn't be using Facebook as a marketing tool, but think about where you're putting your effort and what you get out of it...

Embedded with permission from Patricia Redsicker.

Which side do you come down on...Facebook or Business Blogging...which is better for YOUR business?

Facebook Marketing - Two Resource Articles for Your Online Marketing

 

Recently I posted a couple of articles on DeniseWakeman.com about Facebook marketing. While they are not specifically about business blogging, if you are using the Web to market your business, then no doubt Facebook is one of your online tools. In case you missed the articles, I want to make sure you get access to these resources.

First, if you are intimidated or confused about how to create videos, there's a cool, easy and FREE tool you can use to create videos from the pictures in your Facebook albums. In the post I share five ways you can use this for your business.

CLICK => Easy Video Creation on Facebook [cool tool alert!]

Second, if you have a business page on Facebook, then no doubt you know the format is changing to the Timeline style at the end of the month. This means you need to be more strategic about creating the big bill-board style cover image and the small app images for your page. I've compiled a list of about 50 designers who create timeline covers, as well as links to some articles about the specifics you need to know so you don't run afoul of Facebook.

CLICK => Graphic Design Resources for Facebook Timeline Cover Images

I'm still studying how to optimize and leverage the Facebook page changes for business. Get blog updates or "like" my Facebook page to stay in the loop about the strategies and tactics I'll be sharing with you in the coming weeks so you can stay relevant and visible to your audience.

 

Related Post:

Why I'm giving up on (Facebook) automation... 

Do you proofread your blog posts?

Whether you're writing a blog post or a status update, posting a tweet or writing a description for your video on YouTube, if it's for your business, you need to get your grammar right. 

I confess that sometimes, my fingers are flying, I'm pressed for time and I neglect to proofread my writing. Not good. Inevitably I find a typo or a grammatical error. Thanks to Copyblogger, now you've got a cheat sheet if you find yourself confused about when to use "affect" or "effect".

Check out this great infographic for a quick grammar review...

How Giving Away Information Can Lead to More Local Clients

This is a guest post by Linda Dessau of ContentMasteryGuide.com

Are you worried that the tips, suggestions and advice that you're posting on your blog will take away the need for clients to hire you directly?

Don't worry, because that is NOT the case!

First of all, people who are looking for do-it-yourself solutions because they're not ready, willing or able to pay for your services were not going to hire you anyway. They do, however, have wide networks of people who may. Providing valuable content to those people and their networks will improve your visibility as well as your credibility.

After all, you are a highly trained expert. Always remember that the personalized services you deliver to your clients can never be replaced with information on a blog.

Let's use a reader named Sarah as an example. Sarah would be an ideal client for you – she lives in your area, she's dealing with an issue that you can solve and she's online actively looking for solutions for that problem.

Sarah finds her way to your blog and reads a post about that very issue. Maybe a friend posted one of your links on social media, or maybe she found your website listing in a local networking directory (maybe you even got lucky when she did a Google search).

No matter how she found you, what's important is that Sarah loves what you've written. It makes sense, it seems doable and she trusts you enough to try your suggestions. Good job. You've obviously made a powerful connection – even though you may never have even met! Let's carry out this scenario with four different conclusions, each of which can lead to new clients for you:

1. The suggestions work and Sarah successfully achieves relief from her problem and/or begins a new practice that enhances her life or business in numerous ways. Maybe she'll browse through the mountain of helpful content on your blog to see what else she can try. Or maybe she'll decide that now she wants more! Who do you think Sarah will hire to take her to that next level?
2. Sarah struggles to implement some of the suggestions. She can see how they might work, but she had trouble integrating them into her daily routine. She needs help taking these suggestions and personalizing them for her own unique situation. Who do you think she'll call on for that help?
3. Sarah's friend Gordon mentions that he's having some of the same issues. Whichever of the previous scenarios has played out for her, where do you think Sarah will direct Gordon for help with the problem?
4. Sarah continues to read your new blog posts, since she got so much benefit from the other one. She's also happy to share these with her network. Sometimes she even includes a personal note about how much you've helped her. The next thing you know, Sarah's friends, colleagues or family are finding suggestions on your blog that make sense and seem doable. And they already trust you because Sarah has endorsed you. Now they're proceeding through the scenarios above. And who will they think of when they want personalized help, or know someone who's struggling with any of the issues you can solve?

Remember that there are hundreds of prospective clients who need your services right now who are never going to see or read your blog post. So there is no need to hold back on posting your best ideas. You're not giving away the farm by posting valuable, high-quality helpful content. You're sowing the seeds to a long and fruitful relationship with your prospective client and their network of contacts.

Linda Dessau, CPCC, is the author of Write Your Way to More Clients Online and the founder of ContentMasteryGuide.com. You can pick up her free guide, How to be a Weekly Blogger, at www.ContentMasteryGift.com.

What's your experience been with giving away content on your blog? Do you feel you have gained or lost clients? Post your thoughts about giving away your best info in the comments below.

How to Use Mindmaps to Create High Quality Content at Breakneck Speed

This is a guest post by Sharyn Sheldon at Business Content PLR.

How to Use Mindmaps to Create High Quality Content at Breakneck Speed 

Do you ever dread the thought of sitting down to write an article or create some fresh, high quality content for your blog? Maybe you have an idea you want to write about, but you get stuck in the middle. In my case, there are times when I can't even get the first sentence out because there are too many ideas and I don’t know which one to choose first. Other times, the words flow smoothly and quickly.

The key to speeding up your web content writing pace is good planning. If you’re like me, you probably learned about creating outlines in grade school. You might even resist creating an outline for that very reason. After all, we're free of all those restrictions now, right? Wrong! An outline is your best friend in developing a piece of content that flows beautifully and speedily.

Using Mindmaps to Create Content Outlines