A bit of bragging here: I really am a great writer.
However — and here’s a confession of sorts — I’m still learning the ins and outs of growing a business.
I can write a news release with my eyes closed. I can put together a great article in a handful of hours. I can whip out a boffo search engine-friendly, keyword-rich web content piece in less than 60 minutes. Brochures, newsletters? Easy, peasy.
But if you need advice and techniques on how to grow your business, I’m not your woman.
But I know people. In particular I know Joseph Ratliff.
Now, before I go further, know that I’ve hired Joseph to be my “build my writing business” mentor, so I’m a tad biased.
Joseph is the author of the Profitable Business Edge and you can learn more about his consulting services at his main website: http://www.profitpartnersconsulting.com/
(In fact, if you’re writer determined to get your freelance business writing career off the ground in a hurry, you can learn more about his mentoring program at that site.)
He also has a couple of blogs: http://profitablebusinessedge.blogspot.com/ and a new one: http://josephratliff.name/
Joseph is a copywriter, yes. But he’s also a consultant for business both online and off. In fact, his business is pretty much split 50/50 between brick-and-motor companies and those who exist only online.
He’s been a godsend to me. Check him out. You’ll sing his praises, as well.
Let Me Blog For You
June 18, 2007
If you’re the owner of a business – large, small, mid-size, online or brick-and-motor only – you need a blog.
Why? It’s simple, really:
Blogs drive traffic to your website.
More traffic to your website means more business for you.
More customers for you – whether to your website or to your downtown storefront – translates to more sales for you.
And blogs do so very inexpensively. In fact, if you do the blogging yourself, your blog need not cost you a thing.
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Not one penny comes out of your pocket. So if your blog brings you more income with no outgo, what are you waiting for? Start blogging!!!And if you don’t want to blog yourself, hire me to write your blog for you.So, just what is a blog? Wikipedia.com defines a blog as:
….a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics or local news, some function as more personal diaries.
But there’s more to blogging than talking about your personal life. More and more businesses are finding blogs to be a terrific tool to generate traffic. In addition, business’ customers feel they are part of the family — that they are a true part of a business. Talk about generating customer loyalty!
As you can see, I’m a huge fan of blogs. This website for my marketing communications company Harvest Sage Communications actually is a blog. It costs me nothing, since I signed up for a free blog at WordPress.com. Another great free blogging site is Blogger.com.
For more proof about how a blog can change your business for the better, check out these links:
A blog can be a great way to drive free traffic to your website.
A blog can bring a highly desirable clientele to your business.
Now, a blog can take a lot of your time. At least half an hour per post, and if you post to your blog everyday (which is highly recommended for best results because search engine “spiders” find new web pages more quickly than older pages), that can take a ton of time away from things that you, as the business owner, could be better off doing – such as making sales. So let me blog for you. Drop me a note today and let’s get blogging!
The Maid Man GETS Blogging
June 14, 2007
If you’re the owner of a small business, you should have a blog. Especially if you’re the owner of service business — you’re a plumber, doctor, facialist, writer, and so on — you need a blog.
Ron Holt, owner of Two Maids and a Mop in Florida, gets blogging. He’s been blogging about his three-branch maid service since May 2005 and, while I don’t know how many blog readers he has, I do know his blog is informative and highly entertaining.
His cleaning business is doing very well. In November 2003, his company had three employees; a bit more than three years later Two Maids and a Mop has 50 folks cleaning 45-55 homes a day. Of course, Holt will tell you the reasons his business is successful are many – his “pay for performance” policy and his company’s detailed attention to customer service, among others.
Yet his blog is a real interest grabber. I live in Pennsylvania and I enjoy reading his blog every time he posts. I’m now a huge fan of his cleaning service and I’m not a customer.
But I could be someday, for Holt plans to expand and”dominate the housecleaning industry. Soon as he opens a branch near my home in Pennsylvania (Note to Ron: Come on up to Reading, PA!), Two Maids and a Mop will be MY cleaning service.
And all because he posts to a blog.
You should, too.
The Never-ending SEO Learning Curve
June 11, 2007
If you feel keeping your website a search engine darling takes a huge amount of work, you’re right — getting to and maintaining a high SE ranking requires, as the site Bruce Clay, Inc. says, a “constant keywords monitoring and information rework. Search Engine Optimization never rests, much like your competition.”
So how can you get the attention of the search engines? One way is by blogging, and by blogging often. A client of mine, MyHealthMyWorld.com hired me last year to blog at HealthRecordNews.com, and within three months that blog went from a Google Page Rank of 0 to a Page Rank of 3 (the highest ranking is a 5) — all with blogs written and posted about three times a week.
There’s a nifty SEO guru discussion featured in the blog post “Got 100 Dollars? 7 Experts share budget website marketing tips.” Of particular note — to me — is this, written by Todd Malicoat of the site Stuntdbl.com. Here’s an excerpt of portion of the $100 dollar blog discussion:
I don’t think there is one sure fire plan based on the amount of money you have, but the point is, that it shouldn’t take MUCH money to make more if you do so strategically using the tools that are available to you. The power of e-mail alone is amazing. The power of a great article and web publishing is astounding. The power of good links and great rankings
is mind boggling.
