7 Common Sense Steps To Grow a Blog

7-common-sense-ways-to-grow-a-blogThere are many of you who are thinking about blogging as a way to relate to customers and draw in more business. Kudos to you. That’s exactly why a small business should be blogging.

Every once in awhile I talk to small business owners who want to blog not just for their customers’ sake but because they want to establish a popular blog that is known throughout their community for being interesting and popular.

Depending on the community – that can be easier said than done. Most blogging communities are over saturated at this point, and in order to make a mark, you really need to shine.…

A Week of Opinions: You Need to Hire a Professional Writer

why-you-need-to-hire-a-professional-writerHiring a writer is one of the smartest moves any small business can make.

I’m not just saying that because it’s what I do. I’m saying it because I have seen the toll that bad writing can have on a small business, and I’ve seen the effect of good writing.

For all you out there who know your website needs updating and are thinking about doing it yourself, please read the following analogy.

You need a new computer. You’re not sure what to get. (Although if you have half a brain, you should get a mac and I’m only saying this because it’s opinion week.…

A Week of Opinions: Ghostblogging is Smart

a-week-of-opinions-ghostblogging-is-smartGhostblogging is the process of paying someone else to write blog posts for you. There has been talk in the blogosphere about whether or not this is ethical. I say blergh to those people who think it is not.

When businesses blog as a part of their company’s marketing campaign, hiring someone to write the posts for them is not unethical. In fact, it’s smart.

Understanding the importance a blog has on a company today is essential. This ties into to Monday’s post so I won’t go on a big long soapbox again, you can just scroll down to read it.…

A Week of Opinions: Why Your Thoughts Matter

A-Week-of-Opinions-Why-Your-Thoughts-MatterI was talking with a friend the other day about how I come up with my blog posts. Any blogger knows that it’s not an easy feat to put out many posts a week. My friend is thinking of starting a blog and her biggest concern is whether or not she would be able to come up with enough topics to sustain a 3-5 posts a week schedule.

I understood her apprehension and didn’t sugar coat things. It’s difficult. At times it’s a task that seems impossible, but I gave her a piece of advice that I am sharing with you now.…

How to Keep Eyes on your Site for Longer

how-to-keep-visitors-on-your-blog-for-longerWhen watching TV, are there certain commercials or scenes that make you click away? For me, it’s uncomfortable situations, such as ones you’d find in Curb Your Enthusiasm. The same scenario happens on blogs as well. There are certain factors that cause people to click away, increasing your bounce rate.

When people leave your site without clicking on another page or reading further, it means you lose the opportunity to win them over.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when writing blog posts in order to keep eyes for longer.

Tell a story

People really like reading information in entertaining forms.…

Don’t Bore your Blog Visitors – Give them What they’re looking for!

don't-bore-your-blog-readersToday I’m very excited to have my first guest post!  Kiesha from We Blog Better is here to tell us how, as blogger, we can stop boring our visitors.  I hope you enjoy, and without further ado….

Don’t Bore your Blog Visitors – Give them What they’re looking for!

Just because your blog supports your business doesn’t mean it has to be full of dry information, facts and product specs.

A lot of times business owners make the mistake of using their blog as an online advertising platform. After all, business owners want to reduce their ad expense account – why pay for what you can get for free?…