Have you launched your blog yet?

Blogging has so many important benefits and it’s no wonder that huge corporations and megastores are getting into blogging. Even WalMart has a blog! Especially for the micropreneur, blogs have several distinct advantages. Here are a few of them.

1. Blogs provide search engine food. Google loves fresh, relevant, and frequently updated content. A blog can help you get free search engine traffic.I experienced a powerful example of this recently. One week ago, a reporter from NBC news called me. He found my blog doing a Google search on a topic he was doing a story on. That evening, I found myself on national television. You can see a portion of the MSNBC news cast here.
   
   
2. Blogs create community. Because they are interactive, a blog draws people back to your site again and again. Your visitors will read your post then leave their comments, read comments left by others, and come back to see how the conversation is flowing. Message forums can also accomplish this, but blogs are much easier to manage than message forums, which attract a lot of spam. With RSS (Real Simple Syndication), people can subscribe to your blog feed and be notified automatically when you update your blog.
3. Blogging puts you in control. Posting to your blog is as easy as typing an email or a word document. Why pay a designer to add a page to your website when you can update your site whenever you like, easy as pie? You can blog as often or as rarely as you like to serve your particular needs.
4. Blogging grows your profits. There are many ways you can add additional monetization streams to your blog so you can make more money in your business without working harder.
5. Your customers love blogs. On your blog, customers can ask you questions, read info about your products and services, and share their opinions. A blog has a more friendly feel than a website.
6. Blogs help you know your target market. As you observe who is leaving comments and linking to your your blog, you get to know your target market better. This information helps you be a smarter, more effective marketer.
7. Blogs = easy market research. A blog is an easy way to conduct surveys and polls to help you get inside the mind of your customers. This information is invaluable to you.
8. Blogs help your customers get to know you. A blog gives your customers a chance to see your personality shine through. They’re able to get a glimpse of who you are as a person, not just a business. People buy from people they like!
9. Blogging is free. As a small business owner, you have a limited marketing budget and have to make your advertising dollars stretch. Blogging is a free marketing tactic - it only costs you a little of your time.
10. Blogging is fun. I’ll admit it, blogging is addicting once you get going! It’s rewarding and fun to express yourself and be part of the new media. With so many benefits to your business, what’s not to love?

So, have you launched your blog yet?

Please leave a comment and let us know what your challenges, concerns and experiences are.

By Elizabeth Gordon

You often hear about entrepreneurs getting lucky - getting on Oprah or selling their business for $50 million to a big conglomerate. When you hear these stories of seeming overnight success, it makes you think, “Wow, they are sooo lucky.” But what sometimes appears to be luck is actually the result of a well laid plan and strategy that is finally coming to fruition. Every time you hear the story of an entrepreneur’s big win, you are probably not going to hear about the 100 times before that they failed, but trust me, they did.

What allowed them to eventually get to their big win? They didn’t beat themselves up after they failed, nor did they let it make them fearful of taking future risks. Instead, they viewed each small failure as simply a stepping-stone on the path to success. The good news is you can improve your luck. When you recognize that there is no such thing as “the overnight success story” and instead make the goal of each day to move the ball one step closer to your goal, you’ll increase your odds every day. If so-called good luck is really just persistence, creativity and determination that have finally paid off, there are some ways to stack the deck in your favor.   Continue Reading »

By Audrey Burton

Small business owners attend networking events to get clients. Much of the time, it doesn’t work the way they anticipated, and they often give up before really determining why it didn’t work. They move to a different group and are destined to repeat the same mistakes.

First of all, let’s talk about networking basics. In order to get the maximum bang for your networking buck, join a group where your target market gathers and keep showing up. That means to go to every event you can possibly attend over and over so you can build relationships with the other members and they grow to trust you. You are not just looking to get clients directly from the group though; you want them to refer others to you, so that relationship is very important. Also, you need to stick with it for at least several months (depending on the frequency of the meetings), bringing the same consistent message. Continue Reading »

By Sri Dasgupta

“How do I connect with someone quickly?”

This may seem like a simple question, but it’s actually a little more complex — and perhaps you know that already. When I work privately with clients on such a topic, it takes a few months!

Still, here are two steps you can take right away, to connect quickly with someone, no matter what the situation.

Continue Reading »

By Minesh Baxi

Use these 10 questions to determine how focused you are on Networking

1. I have at least 400 people in my network who receive information from me at least once a month
2. I have a compelling 30-second commercial
3. I focus more on selling through my relationships than on selling to people directly
4. I have marketing materials like business cards, brochures and a website, which showcase my expertise. They have a clear, attention getting headline, bulleted points about what I can do for my clients and a low risk, irresistible offer

Continue Reading »

By Biba Pedron

Networking is my favorite, low-cost marketing tool. However, a large number of people often find it a challenge to get results and turn prospects into clients, simply by networking.

So here is another very effective marketing tool that requires no skills, can be applied to your business immediately and will help you to gain many new clients.

Simply get testimonials from your current clients!

Testimonials from satisfied customers are typically the best way to promote your business. And it doesn’t cost you a thing. So, stop selling and let your clients and raving fans do it for you. Continue Reading »

By Larry Baltz

You’re sitting in a room full of eager business owners at a networking event. One by one, everyone stands up and introduces themselves, hopefully gaining the opportunity to find one or two new prospects in the crowd.

Unfortunately, most business people stink at Introductions.

Take for instance the remarks made at a recent event I attended. A hotel sales rep introduced himself and stated that his hotel offered beds, meals and meeting rooms. Oh really? How many hundreds of hotels offer that, I thought. What he said was essentially the same introduction used by all the hotel sales people in the room that day. Continue Reading »

By Bette Daoust, Ph.D.

If an event falls into the area that is part of your expertise, find a way to attend and learn from others. Every time you attend an event, you should be able to come back with information that you can use for your own business. If you go through the display booths, you can pick up good information about what others are doing in the marketplace. It is also a good forum for developing new business relationships. This is much easier if you are simply a participant at the event. If you have a table, you will be more restricted in movement. People that drop by your table will have an interest in what you do but most often these events only provide you with exposure. I tend to let others display and wander around the room. This gives me additional information and ideas. While attending a special event, it will pay to mingle with other attendees and listen to what they have to say. You will gain more insight as to what the crowd is looking for. If you decide that you want to speak at this event the following year, you will have some insights about what they thought was good and also what they thought was useless. Go to these events with an open mind and learn as much as you can. Do not go with the thought in mind that you have to go because it might be good for business. Turn up your enthusiasm and get the most out of it. These special events are tools that help you towards being more successful. Continue Reading »