Do You Need to Resuscitate Your Blog?
Is your blog hanging there waiting to be resuscitated from the apparent death that is looming closer and closer? Or maybe it’s not ready to die, it’s just been in a state of unconsciousness lately. Either way your blog isn’t doing well and it’s time to do some CPR and bring it back to life!
CPR for your blog?
Yep! Nicole Dean has been at it again and she’s just released her newest course – Blog CPR. Nicole doesn’t put out garbage. Her products are jam packed with information and she often gives ‘behind the scenes’ information, sharing exactly how she does something in her business! This time is no different! It’s behind-the-scenes stuff. She’s not holding anything back.
Ready to know more now? Click Here!
So, what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time to resuscitate your blog, bring it back to life and learn simple ways to keep it fresh, attract more readers, engage with them, and gather prospects who are interested in the products or services you offer?
For a limited time you can get Blog CPR for just $17 which is a crazy price. Nicole could be charging so much more and soon the price will be going up so be sure to grab your copy now!
Going Viral: How to get the most out of your marketing
Viral marketing has become a respectable and most importantly, very effective means of marketing among businesses worldwide – that’s if it is done correctly and respectfully.
Correctly and respectfully? What does that mean? It means not abusing the system. It means using viral marketing tactics to spread the word about your business, your product and your service without offending others or being self-serving.
But, viral marketing is inherently self-serving, isn’t it? Well, yes and no. To be truly effective, viral marketing must include a give and take approach. You must engage others, take part in conversation, and give as much as you get. In other words, don’t expect your message to spread itself. Viral marketing takes time, careful planning and well-thought out execution.
It has, for lack of a better word, an incurable need for attention.
While viral marketing can be applied in a number of ways, there are 3 main approaches:
#1 – To Share. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are in fact products of viral marketing themselves. While they’re sole purpose is to allow (and encourage) users to share information, they too must share their service via their users. It’s simple, really. Their users believe in them and enjoy their websites so much, that they share those websites with others. Knowing this and trusting this would take place, these social media powerhouses have become multi-million, some billion dollar businesses thanks to, you guessed it, viral marketing.
#2 – To Add Value. Adding value is not a characteristic unique to viral marketing. It is a common marketing approach across the board. For hundreds of years, business owners have understood the importance of offering their customers “more”. For instance, buy this product and receive this additional product for free. You get the picture. So, this notion of adding value applies to your viral marketing in the same way. However, rather than simply applying added value to your products and services, make value-added offers to those who share your message. For instance, send this message to an additional 10 people, and receive a free product. Incentivize and you will see results!
#3 – To create buzz. Similar to sharing, creating buzz is can be extremely effective. How is it different? While sharing refers to others literally sharing information with friends (i.e. Like my Facebook page? Sign-up for your own Facebook page today and see more of what I’m up to, including photos, favorites and more!) creating buzz is more about spreading the word. Consider how gossip spreads, or the way in which gossip magazines create stories based on hearsay. The idea is to get people “talking” about you and your business in a positive way so that they begin to encourage others to become customers, sign-up or carry on the conversation on their own.
As you can see, viral marketing is about more than inundating your audience with your message. Its about strategic planning and taking an approach that puts your business in a positive light while enticing others to not only become customers, but to spread the word as well.
Why Going It Alone Is A Bad Idea
I started my VA business back in January 2006 and one of the things people often ask is ‘what do you owe your success to besides hard work and determination’? Well there’s lots – especially people – that has helped me along the way so that’s why I want to talk about why you shouldn’t go it alone.
Are you the independent type? Do you prefer figuring things out on your own? Will you spend finding your own answers instead of asking questions of someone who could help you get there faster? It’s a nice idea to consider yourself a ‘self made’ woman and it looks great on your bio, right?
If this is you, I have to ask, how is it going so far?
If you’re determined to go it alone you should know that you’re opening yourself up for some bumps in the road. I mean who takes off for a hike and says, ‘Nah, I don’t need a map ‘I’ll figure it out as I go.’? The one who got lost, that’s who. Everyone with common sense bought a map and took the time to study it. Some even hired a guide to lead them through.
If accessing a map and even hiring a guide is such a smart thing to do, why do so many seem to balk at the idea when it comes to learning about internet businesses.
Learning resources on the web are abundant, and lots of it is free. I’ve benefited from it and still do. Still, I can’t imagine if there had been all I had. A lot that I’ve taken in that helped me to succeed came through a resource I paid for.
Just a couple examples are a $50 eBook written by Rosalind Gardner provided the breakthrough I needed to start earning steady affiliate income. Without it, I’d be missing out on a big chunk of my income. Then a $50 coaching session solved a technical problem that had stopped me in my tracks. Without it, I would have been slamming my head into a wall for sure!
While browsing blogs a couple of years ago I stumbled on a woman who seemed to be going out of her way to fly the ‘Don’t Pay For Info’ flag. Repeatedly she blogged about it, ranting about all the free information on the web and telling readers they were a fool if they spend money on ebooks or membership sites.
In between these soap box sermons, her other blog posts related an interesting message. Apparently she’s broke because she complains at length about how she can’t afford groceries one week and a birthday gift the next.
It’s not difficult to realize that she’s against paying for learning because she doesn’t have money to pay for it. Sadly, when I went looking to see how she’s doing today, her blog is gone. I hope her attitude changed since then and that she’s experiencing some success.
Making selective information product purchases is an investment in your business. So is making the decision to join a membership program, if you make a good choice.
I’m not patting myself on the back when I point to the Solo Masterminds membership as a great example of providing more than information for members. Our all female membership which turned seven years old this summer took on a personality and culture of its own right away.
Yes, we’re all about learning but the value added support and encouragement seen between members can’t be manufactured so I don’t claim any responsibility for it.
Profitable partnerships and joint ventures have grown between members and between our coaches and members. Who better to partner with than someone you’ve trained up with?
When going it alone wears you out, why don’t you come be part of Solo Masterminds and start benefiting from our extensive learning center and powerful network of support!
Social Media Time Out
Facebook
Google +
Oh my! And those are just a few of the social media sites. Talk about social media overload!
Last year I had the opportunity to work with a client as her social media manager. One of the first things she complained about when she contacted me was all the time she was wasting with social media marketing. That’s a pretty common complaint but until recently I didn’t really understand just how much time you could waste when it comes to social media. She was spending anywhere from 2-4 hours a day between Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. As I started doing things for her I often found myself wondering how she could spend so much time every day on these sites. Little did I know that I would soon understand.
Side note – I did not do 100% of social media stuff for said client. We followed a 80/20 rule where I could do 80% of the stuff but she had to commit to doing 20% of it. After all it was about her building relationships with her friends/followers and I couldn’t be her and connect with them on a personal level, she had to that herself.
Social Media Time Out
Remember above when I said, little did I know that I would soon understand (in regards to that client spending so much time on social media sites)? Well, unfortunately I get it now. Recently I wanted to know just how much time I was spending being productive wasting on Facebook. I spent a day timing myself and the results weren’t pretty. 30 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 20 minutes here, 5 minutes there…they add up to probably a lot more than you think. I know for me they sure did. I’m sad to admit that I wasted almost 4 hours! Yes, 4 hours! Mind you that was from 10am to midnight but still! That’s ridiculous. And sadly I can’t say that I was even doing anything business related!
So, today (September 1st) I embarked on my month long social media time out! Yep, sometimes even adults need a time out too 
During the next 30 days I plan on focusing on my business! I’m going to put a social media plan into place so that when I do come back on October 1st I have a goal when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc.
Do you know how much time you spend on social media sites each day/every week?
If you don’t, I challenge you to time yourself and see how long you’re spending. I don’t necessarily recommend you take a time out, especially if you do a lot of business related things on Twitter, Facebook, etc. But maybe it’s time to measure whether you’re getting an ROI (return on investment) on that time you’re spending with social media sites.
Thanks to You I’m in My New Place!
The response I had to the ‘move to my kiddo’ special was overwhelming! Overwhelming but amazing! I shouldn’t be surprised – I’ve been a part of the work at home community since 2006 and I’ve seen this community come together to help others out so many times. The bond we all share is priceless. So, I should have known that I would get a huge response.
Everything happened so fast! Within a week of putting the crazy special (on my VA services ) out there I had the money needed to move! I actually had the money before I even had a place to move to! I was running into several road blocks finding the ‘perfect’ place – location, size, affordability, etc and was starting to get disheartened and wonder if a move was ever going to happen. Then, I checked Craigslist (which I had been checking regularly but skipped a day because I was seeing the same stuff over & over) and saw a new ad. I called on it, went and saw it and…well the rest is history! (Side note: the ad was just placed that same day I called! The lady’s previous renter had just moved the day before the ad was placed – she hadn’t even had time to clean the apartment!). It seriously couldn’t have worked out any better.
I fell in love with the apartment (even with this hideous ‘holy purple batman’ as I called it living room – thankfully the landlady is really cool and told me I could paint the living room! ) as soon as I saw it. It had everything I was looking for – inexpensive rent, 2 blocks from downtown, 3 blocks from the beach, a built in bookshelf (built into the wall) and a sun-room. Plus, it was in an ‘older’ style home (I just like the older style homes).
Here’s some pics: Read more
