Small Business Success Index 5

Index Score^*		Grade
SBSI INDEX	73	C-
Capital Access	67	D+
Marketing & Innovation	65	D
Workforce	76	C
Customer Service	88	B+
Computer Technology	75	C
Compliance	92	A-
*Index score is calculated on a 1-100 scale.

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Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

How to Use Keywords to Improve Your Blog’s Search Results

December 12th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

If you have never thought to use keyword research as a way to improve the visibility of your blog posts, think again.

Whenever we search for information online, what do we do? We do a Google (or Bing, or Yahoo) search. It makes sense, then, that if you want your blog to get found and read (and shared and commented on), you should include the keywords people are currently using in their searches.

For instance, I just did a search for web video templates for another blog post I was writing. Not only did I find companies that offer templates, but I found plenty of blog posts, articles, and videos about web videos in general and web video templates specifically in the search results.

Now, the term “web video” is a very broad keyword search term and is therefore pretty competitive. Whether you are a management consultant, graphic designer, plumber, or attorney, you’ll run into the same problem: broad keywords won’t help you get found because they are used so often.

You need to do 2 things to find better keywords: 1.) get more specific and find less competitive keywords, and 2.) hone in on those keywords that could generate huge traffic.

Let’s use an attorney as our example, because I know a bunch of super fun and very capabile attorneys who must compete in this very broad category.

Our attorney specializes in employment law; specifically litigating discrimination cases. He is writing a series of blog posts about employment law that are aimed at small businesses.

Using Market Samurai (you can download a free trial version that is good for 2 weeks), I searched “employment law” and got 47 million results. This blog post, though, is a guide for small businesses – that gets 15.2 million results –that focuses on racial disrimination – that gets just under 3.5 million results.

So you see, the more our attorney focused on keywords specific to this particular blog post, the better the chance his blog post will be found online.

To really take advantage of search engine optimization, our attorney needs to use those keywords in the title of his post, in subheadings in the body of his post, in the text itself (of course!), and in the image tags.

Try it yourself and see if it helps your blog posts generate more traffic!

Image courtesy of creative design agency Arrae.

Tags: Bing, blog writing, blogging, Google, keywords, Marketing, search engine optimization, Search Marketing, search results, seo, Yahoo
Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing | 2 Comments »

7 Keys to Growing Your Blog Readership

November 22nd, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

If you have been blogging for a while and wondering why no one is reading your articles, it can be super frustrating. I wish I could say there are only one or two things you need to do to grow your blog readership overnight, but unfortunately, as with many things in life, you must consistently do a number of things to see results.

Think about what it takes to lose weight, which will be a huge topic for most of us in about a month and a half – right after the holidays. Losing weight doesn’t happen overnight. Advice does not just focus on eating healthy and exercising; it also includes eating less, tips on portion control, mixing up your exercise routine, getting enough sleep, drinking more water and so on.

Blogging is the same. Do the following 7 things, be persistent, and you will certainly see the results.

1. Write good content

Good content always means useful content. Don’t be vague or give advice in an overview-type way. Include details and examples of what you are describing to prove your point. Use your own experiences to teach others.

2. Write in plain English

The simpler the words and phrases you use when writing, the better. Write like you talk, not as if you are writing a 243-page dissertation for your Ph.D. Think People Magazine, not The Economist.

3. Talk directly to the reader

Freely use “you” and “me” in your blog posts. Your blog posts should be conversational in tone to help you better connect with your readers. You are talking to them, after all, just with words on paper rather than spoken words.

4. Include calls to action

As a small business owner, one of the reasons you are blogging is to generate leads. Ask your readers to do something at the end of your blog post – subscribe to your newsletter, download an eBook, sign up for a free trial or consultation, or anything else you can give them of value that will also give you their contact information, thus enabling you to start the sales process.

5. Promote it

Promote and distribute your blog posts on all the social media channels you and your audience use, from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn to Reddit to StumbleUpon. Use a social media dashboard (like Hootsuite) to make this a bit easier.

6. Build relationships

Reach out to other bloggers, as well as editors of digital publications, and start building relationships with them. Introduce yourself and your blog. Ask to guest blog for them and in the case of other bloggers, vice versa. Offer to repurpose blog posts for their sites. Comment on their blogs. If you can get a backlink to your site from a high-profile blogger or publication, your readership will spike.

7. Submit guest posts to major blogs

If you write valuable content, any editor –of even major blogs – will be happy to use your guest blog posts. As Editor at Tech Cocktail, I speak from experience here. I regularly get guest posts from a handful of fabulous writers that I know our thousands of readers will enjoy. Don’t be shy – just ask. Editors are people too!

Image Courtesy: Karen Axelton

Tags: blog, blog growth, blog readers, blogging, calls to action, content, digital publications, editors, guest blogging, Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing | 3 Comments »

5 Easy Ways to Build a Community on Your Blog

October 20th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

The hardest thing about blogging is building an engaged readership. After all, if I visit a blog that is completely lacking in comments, I am not really compelled to stick around, let alone subscribe. I immediately think, wow, this blog must not be that good – no one is leaving comments.

If you want to build a community on your blog, here are 5 easy ways to get started:

1. Make sure people can comment – and you can respond

I contribute to a blog called Web 2.0 with a few other people in the sales and marketing space. We just realized that the settings need to be changed so we can respond to comments. Lesson learned: Make sure all your writers can approve and respond to comments! If you have a WordPress site, make sure the developer who set it up for you makes that allowance.

On the flip side, you want to make sure people can leave a comment. You probably use WordPress or Blogger – both let you control comments. Here’s how to make it easy for your readers to add their two cents to your blog:

On WordPress, set two requirements: First; comments from people must be approved by you; second, only ask for a name and email address (don’t require a lengthy registration process).

On Blogger, set two requirements: First, let anyone comment; second, turn on the word verification setting to catch spammers.

2. Write up a policy

You don’t have to do this, but it can be really helpful for your readers – and make things easier for you in the long run. No one likes the rules of the game to change halfway through.

Let your readers know whether they can mention their company or blog, if they can swear, how much negativity is tolerated (and whether you will remove comments if things get out of hand), and if you will correct spelling and grammatical mistakes.

3. Ask for comments

You might say, “Duh!” at this point, but seriously, you do need to ask for comments to encourage a conversation. It’s just like meeting someone for the first time at a party or networking event. Say you are having a conversation with a few people, and someone new comes up to your group. If you want to make them feel comfortable and welcome, you could ask their opinion of the topic at hand.

Same with a blog. At the end of your post, ask your readers whether or not they agree and why. Ask if they have tried this product or service before and what they think about it.

4. Respond to comments – good and bad

You not only want to respond to all comments, but to do so quickly. Obviously, if the comments are positive, they’ll be fun to answer. But if they’re negative, don’t ignore them. You can ask people why they feel that way and possibly get a good thread going that others might also respond to. If you keep your comments professional and friendly, you could get a really good conversation going.

Another thing to keep in mind: Negative comments could simply be a misunderstanding over something you wrote. This is your chance to clear up any confusion.

5. Say thanks

Another “Duh” moment maybe, but always thank your readers for their opinion and comment, even if you think their contribution is the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard in your life. Everyone likes to know their opinion was heard. Even if it wasn’t valued, they don’t need to know that. Keep it positive, and you’ll go a long way towards building a great community with your blog.

Image by Flickr user Kat (Creative Commons)

Tags: blog comments, blog community, blogging, engagement, Marketing
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 8 Comments »

Small Biz Resource Tip: Curationsoft

September 26th, 2011 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Curationsoft

It’s a fact: The more content you have on your website the more likely your site is be found by the search spiders, and the higher your site will show up in search results. Sharing useful content on social media can also help you improve your status there. But how do you find all that content? Enter Curationsoft. Search blogs, Twitter, YouTube, the Web and more by keywords, choose the content you want to share, and simply drag and drop the content onto your site or blog. Because Curationsoft helps you find relevant content, you’ll attract more followers and fans and enjoy better search engine rankings.

Tags: blogging, small business resources, social media
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

Is Your Blog Worth the Effort? How to Calculate ROI

August 11th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

Whether you spend significant amounts of time pounding out blog posts, or pay others to blog for you, how can you be sure it’s worth all the effort? Convince and Convert’s Jay Baer has created one of the best methods I’ve found for calculating a blog’s ROI. It involves some math, so if you hate math like I do, I apologize. But it’s a worthwhile exercise, so give it a go!

Here’s what to do:

How much does your blog cost?

1. Determine how many hours your or your staff spends writing, editing and managing your blog. For each person, divide his/her salary by 2,000 (the hours worked per year based on a 40-hour work week and two weeks’ vacation) to get an average hourly salary compensation. Multiply this number by the number of hours each person contributes per month, and then add up a total for all of them.

2. If you don’t know it already, ask your accountant for your company’s standard overhead. Multiply your total from step 1 by the overhead calculation. Add this number to your total from step 1, and you’ll have the total labor cost of your blog each month.

3. If you built your blog internally, you can use steps 1-2 to determine the labor cost of designing your blog. If you had a third-party create your blog, determine how much you spent on the initial design process. Don’t forget to add redesigns and updates.

Baer suggests using a 24-month amortization schedule since blogs tend to evolve quickly and require redesigns about every two years. So, divide the amount you spent on design by 24–this number is your monthly design expense.

4. Add up any fees you spend on Web hosting and SEO services to determine the cost of hosting and maintaining your blog.

Add up your totals from steps 2-4 above, and you’ll have your blog’s total monthly cost.

How much is your blog worth?

1. Now you need to determine which actions on your website can create instantaneous sales or leads. Items such as “Subscribe to our e-newsletter” or “Sign up now” are examples.

2. Set up a Web analytics program to determine how many people take action on your blog. You may want to set it up to count only those people who spent at least three minutes on your blog, for example, to be sure the blog was the driving factor for the behavior.

3. To determine the value of each action, you’ll need to calculate the average lifetime value of your customers by multiplying the average amount of money a customer spends with you per month to the average number of months they remain your customer.

4. Multiply the number of revenue-generating behaviors by the average lifetime value of your customers to get the total value of your blog.

And the ROI is…

If you found the above calculations to be a bit hairy, at least determining return on investment is always simple and straightforward: Revenue – Investment / Investment = ROI

In this case, revenue = total value, and investment = total cost. So, subtract the total cost of your blog from the total value of your blog and divide by the total cost. Convert that number into a percentage, and you have your blog’s ROI.

How does your blog measure up? After performing these calculations, do you think your blog is worth the effort?

Image by Flickr user Sushiina (Creative Commons)

Tags: blogging, Jay Baer, Marketing, ROI, social media
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

How to Launch a Challenge on Your Blog

August 3rd, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

Creating a steady stream of new and engaging content for your blog can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve been blogging for a while. As bloggers, sometimes we feel like content-producing machines, as we face the blank screen of our laptops day after day.

If you’re ready to shake things up a bit, consider launching a challenge on your blog. Challenging your readers to learn something new or make a change in their lives is an effective way to build community among your readers, as you get to engage more directly with them.

A challenge can be as simple as taking your area of expertise and creating a set of actions readers can take that will improve their skills in that area. Celestine Chua successfully challenged the readers of her personal development blog to take 30 Days To Live a Better Life. She offered some tips on how to make your challenge as successful as hers on Problogger.

Here are some highlights I found useful as I brainstormed ideas for a blog challenge for a client:

Build a Community Around Your Challenge

Challenges present a great opportunity to engage your readers and get them talking to you and each other. Communication tools, such as Twitter hashtags and dedicated forums, can enable discussion around your challenge.

Don’t underestimate the power of blog comments. Be sure to read and reply to as many comments as possible – and always answer questions readers may have. These channels of communication will also provide insights on how your challenge is being received. Use this feedback to make tweaks along the way as your community works through the challenge together.

Use Bite-Sized Tasks

Be sure to create tasks that are manageable and effective. It’s best to present tasks that can be completed on a daily basis so participants can make progress and remain engaged. Use layman’s terms and keep it simple. Your role should be to teach and encourage, not to dazzle and intimidate. If people feel they are gaining ground through your challenge, they are likely to continue.

Keep Time on Your Side

Provide enough lead time so people can learn about your challenge, prepare to join, and spread the word to their friends and colleagues. A week should be enough time to get the word out and allow people to make some time in their lives to complete the challenge.

The duration of the challenge is also important for keeping momentum going. Two or three months may be too much of a commitment for busy people; 21 or 30 days is more reasonable. Even the busiest people will likely devote this amount of time to achieving an important goal or learning a new skill.

Have you ever challenged your blog readers? Leave a comment below and let us know how it went.

Image by Flickr user Eva (Creative Commons)

Tags: blog, blog challenge, blogging, Celestine Chua, community building, Marketing, Twitter
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

6 Steps to Finding Guest Bloggers for Your Company Blog

June 10th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

If you have a blog and are feeling so crunched for time you are on the verge of abandoning it, or have yet to start a blog because you fear you’ll end up in that situation, don’t give up!

The key to keeping a blog going when you’re super busy is to use guest bloggers/contributors. Not only will they help relieve the burden, but they will keep fresh content coming when you are on vacation, traveling or just overwhelmed with projects.

Guest bloggers are also a fabulous way to reach a new audience, as they will undoubtedly share their blog post with their network, and your audience will gain a fresh perspective on a topic you already cover or one that you don’t cover at all.

While all of this sounds awesome, finding guest bloggers is not always easy. Here’s the process I use:

1. What blog posts have generated the most interest?

If you haven’t done this yet, first you want to figure out what topics have resonated with your audience based on comments, likes, tweets and shares. Not only will you know what you should write about more, but you’ll be better able to give your guest bloggers some direction.

2. Who do you know?

Go through the contacts in your network and make a list of all the people who write well (or who you think might write well) and who would have something to share with your audience.

3. What would they write about?

Brainstorm the topics the people on your list could cover. They could be topics you write about, have covered before, or haven’t covered yet but think might be of interest to your audience.

4. Ask!

Start asking everyone on your list if they would be interested in writing for your blog, either occasionally, regularly, or just once. (If their blog post does well, they might be able to contribute on a more regular basis.) When you receive a “yes,” immediately ask for a bio to include in their blog post.

5. Set deadlines

As the editor for a few blogs, I have learned to set expectations and deadlines to ensure I am not left hanging. It doesn’t always work, though I have found reminder emails—and lots of them—as well as heartfelt thanks, help!

6. Provide guidelines

To make it a little easier on your guest bloggers, draft a set of guidelines for them to follow when writing and preparing their blog for publication. (If they will write for you on a regular basis, you might as well set them up with an account on your blog platform.) The guidelines should include information on formatting, links, images/photos and their attribution, blog length, adding categories and tags and anything else you require for consistency.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Elaine Vigneault (Creative Commons)

Tags: blog guidelines, blogging, guest bloggers, Marketing
Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

7 Reasons to Start Using Posterous for Online Marketing

June 1st, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

I have a serious love-hate relationship with social media, mostly because it can be a time-suck, so anything that makes managing or using social media easier, I’m all over. And because I’m a big texter and emailer, I really only use social media when absolutely necessary (haven’t been on my personal Facebook page much in a couple of
months, and I miss it exactly this much).

So this is basically my way of saying that I just discovered Posterous, and it’s awesome. The service lets you manage more than 20 social media platforms simply by sending an email. You can update LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Picasa, YouTube – and the list goes on. For small business owners crunched on time but devoted to social media marketing, this is a lifesaver.

Here are 6 more reasons to use Posterous:

1. It is ridiculously easy to use. To do anything, from opening an account to updating social media accounts to sharing an article, you just email post@posterous.com. If you only want to update one social media account, like Twitter, you email twitter@posterous.com.

2. Customize it to your heart’s content. Posterous has a layout similar to a blog, complete with a customized url. You can customize the look, too; always nice
to have that option (this is one of the reasons I hate Facebook—everyone’s page looks the same because there’s only one layout).

3. Add pages, just like on a website. I’m looking around Posterous, and I found the account for a DJ I’ve never heard of, but that doesn’t matter. His site is great. He has 10 pages set up on his account, including a Dates page listing upcoming performances and a Media page containing videos of him performing.

You can add links to a ton of stuff about you: blog posts you’ve written, websites you’re associated with, content on Slideshare, whatever. And of course you can also create an About Me page.

4. Easy way to set up an online photo album. When you email a photo or photos, a photo gallery is automatically created. No more downloading photos from smart phone or camera to hard drive that you then have to upload to whatever site.

5. Write and publish blog posts from your smart phone. Forget dragging a laptop around with you to events just so you can blog about what’s happening. The whole email thing makes it possible to write and publish blog posts when you’re at a conference, meeting, seminar, etc. Just write a blog post in an email and send it off. It’s instantly published.

6. Engagement made easy. You can set up your Posterous account so you will receive alerts via email if someone DMs you from Twitter or posts to one of your other social media accounts. Super handy when you’re on the go and not sitting in front of the computer all day.

The only downside: Their mobile app is available only for the iPhone and Android.

***

Now that I’m done drooling all over Posterous, do you think you’ll start using it?

Image by Flickr user yoppy (Creative Commons)

Tags: blog, blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, online marketing, Picasa, Posterous, slideshare, social media, Twitter, Website, YouTube
Posted in Marketing, Social Media | 3 Comments »

4 Reasons Why I Shut Down my Company Blog – And What You Can Learn

May 20th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

I made the decision last week to pull the plug on my company’s blog. This pretty much contradicts what I am always saying (“Don’t give up!”), so here’s why I did it and what you can learn from my experience:

I already blog prolifically…for others

When I thought about it, I realized that I already had a great online presence. I blog for two of Network Solutions’ blogs, this one and Solutions are Power; Tech Cocktail, where I am also the lead editor; and the Web 2.0 blog, where, again, I am also the editor.

Writing yet another blog that focused on a variation of marketing, content and social media was just adding more noise to an already-crowded space. Plus, the reach I have on the other blogs is pretty wide and deep.

Lesson: If you can write about your area of expertise for an already established blog with an established audience on a regular basis, do it.

I used my best material elsewhere

It’s true, I did not save my best ideas for my own blog. Instead, I used it for the blogs I get paid to write, which makes sense. But I was constantly shortchanging myself, leaving me struggling for topics to cover in fresh ways or new topics altogether. The busier I have gotten, the harder it was to find the time to brainstorm exciting new blog posts.

Lesson: If you can land a paid blogging gig, give them their money’s worth, even if you end up doing this…

…Only half of what I published on my company blog was original

Repurposing blog content is a wonderful idea – after all, you already wrote your brilliant idea and insights down, why waste them? But when you start repurposing huge chunks of content from one blog for another on a regular basis, it’s a sign that you are spread too thin. Plus, search engines only reward new content, so a lot of my blog posts were basically invisible.

Lesson: If you already write and edit an average of 20 blog posts a week, creativity will hit a wall and your reach will suffer.

The blog wasn’t attracting an audience

I have to admit, I did not do a great job promoting my blog; I was too busy promoting the other blogs I write for. As a result, I was not attracting an audience, and without an audience, my blog didn’t have the comments, likes, and other signs of engagement that are core to a fun blog that an audience is attracted to. If you visit a blog with zero comments, likes or tweets, do you want to stick around?

Lesson: If no one is reading your blog, what’s the point in writing it? Go out there and promote it!

So, now that I no longer have a blog, how will I be promoting my company online? Glad you asked! I will be focusing my attention on building a community on Facebook and sharing my expertise there through a monthly marketing series that will focus on a different topic each month. We are starting it in June, and I am very excited about it!

Have you ever shut down a company blog? If so, why’d you do it, and what did you do to fill that void so you could continue to share your expertise? Leave a comment below!

Image by Flickr user Lenore Edman (Creative Commons)

Tags: blogging, company blogs, content, Facebook, Marketing, Search Marketing, social media
Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, Small Business, Social Media | No Comments »

6 Ways Your Blog Can Build Your Social Media Audience

April 11th, 2011 :: Monika Jansen

While blogging is often used to increase search visibility, establish expertise on a topic, and drive traffic to your website, it’s not often used to build your audience on social media, whether you are trying to build up your Twitter following, Facebook fans, or status on Tumblr. It’s a lost opportunity, as there is really nothing better than building on an audience you already have. (Of course, this can work in the other direction too—use social media to build up your blog audience.)

When building your social media following, just remember that quality of fans totally trumps quantity. And by quality, I mean the kinds of fans who engage with you, retweet your tweets, comment on Facebook posts, post to your Facebook wall, and, of course, become customers!

Let’s start with two very basic, common-sense things you need to do:

1. Add social share buttons at the bottom of each blog post to make it easy for your blog readers to spread the word about your fabulous blog and build awareness of your social media presence.

2. Add social media icons on every page of your website, especially if your website and blog are one and the same, which is becoming more and more common. Make as easy as possible for people to follow you on social media.

And here are four common-sense things you might not have thought of:

1. Promote your social media presence (with links to the accounts) in the bio you supply for guest blogging gigs. You’ll be reaching a whole new audience, and if they like what you wrote, hopefully they’ll feel compelled to connect with you on social media.

2. At the end of blog posts, add a link to the social media account you’d most like to promote, asking that people follow you there. This sounds so simple, but you will be amazed by what you can achieve just by asking.

3. Mention your social media accounts in blog posts. We’ve all got so much going on that we cannot remember everything, even if we have the best of intentions.

4. Reference tweets or Facebook posts, either from you or your audience, in your blog posts when relevant. Add screen shots if you can. You can also build entire blog posts around the conversations that are happening on Twitter and Facebook between you and your audience. People are very lemming-like, so the more you show your engagement on social media, the more people will want to be a part of all the fun you are having.

Image by Flickr user Holger Zscheyge (Creative Commons)

Tags: blogging, blogs, Facebook, guest blogging, social media, Social networking, Tumblr, Twitter, Website
Posted in Marketing, Search Marketing, social media | No Comments »