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16
Feb 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

I Love the Smell of Fresh Content in the Morning

Our loyal readers may have noticed that we slacked off a bit on our blog this month. Shame on us! We are definitely not alone—starting a blog is the easy part. Feeding it is a whole other matter. Just in the nick of time, two articles with outside-the-box ideas for creating fresh content.

Using Skype for Content and Collaboration

We have been reading a lot about Skype as a collaboration and marketing tool and this article provides some solid examples and how-tos. An idea that we are playing with is using Skype to conduct and record vide interview for our blog. Related businesses (who are not your competition) are the perfect candidates. They get free publicity and you get someone else’s voice on your blog besides your own.

The Power of the Press Release in Small Businesses

Press releases are an often overlooked tool for small businesses. Don’t think that they are just for corporations with an entire PR staff. Releases are excellent tools for building backlinks (especially when us a distribution service like PR Web). Even if you take a less formal route, they are a great way to spread the word about your business.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Marketing tips

03
Feb 2011
Posted by Jasmine
1 comment

Blogging for Website Traffic: The Art of Blogging

If you followed along with our previous post, then you have researched and found some awesome keywords for your website. (If not, feel free to skip back and read Part 1: Intro and Part 2: Keywords.) Now it is time to get to the real meat of the matter, the blog post. There is no secret to writing a great post but there are few guidelines to follow:

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Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing tips

02
Feb 2011
Posted by Jasmine
2 comments

Blogging for Website Traffic: Keywords are KEY to Success

The secret to success in blogging for website traffic is keywords. A well-optimized site uses carefully selected words to draw visitors into it. The real trick is selecting the right keywords. (For an introduction to Blogging for Website Traffic read Part 1.)

So how do you find the right keywords? First you have to understand that there are two main factors in keyword selection popularity and competitiveness. Knowing how popular and how competitive a keyword is will help you to choose words that people are searching for (as opposed to what you think they are searching for) and words that your competitors may are not using guaranteeing you the top spot.

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Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing

01
Feb 2011
Posted by Jasmine
2 comments

Grow Your Business By Blogging for Website Traffic

I have talked a little bit about blogging as an addition to your marketing toolbox before but never in depth. Here it is—I have finally put together a comprehensive series on the subject. A big part of the work that we work that 910 West does with clients is to help them get more traffic on their website. One of the fastest and easiest ways to do that is (that’s right you guessed it) BLOGGING!

Don’t just take our word for it. Here are a few stats that I picked up from a recent webinar on blogging:

• 51% of internet users read a blog at least monthly and over 60% by 2014 (Technorati)
• Companies that have a business blog attract 55% more website visitors than non-blogging companies (HubSpot)
• More than 43% of U.S. companies will market via a blog by 2012, up from 34% in 2010 (eMarketer)

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Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing

27
Jan 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Weekly Roundup: Working with Desingers and Slow Your Readers Down

How to Collaborate With a Designer

My career started as a graphic designer and getting in tune with clients was one of the hardest parts for me to learn. It is partly that because as designers we put too much of ourselves in the process. But it is also partly because clients are often really bad at communicating their wants and needs.

Even now, there is nothing that makes me happier than receiving a well thought out work request from a client. It gives me a clear picture of their needs and objectives and gives me a clear path. If you often find yourself frustrated when with working with your design or marketing people, give this post a read. It has helpful suggestions for communicating your ideas.

Cones In The Road

It is a fact that we don’t so much read online as skim articles. Do not lose your readers—start out with something interest and make them want to slow down and read the whole thing. This newsletter gives some helpful advice and examples to do just that.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing

20
Jan 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Weekly Roundup: Who Should Listen? How much is too much? and Email Marketing

Be More Arnold

This article answers a question that I get asked all the time, “How much is too much information to give away?” My answer has never been as elegant as Micael Katz’s and I am going to have steal this to answer it in the future. Basically, it is not about how much information that you give away but how you frame your answer. In other words, trust the headline and be more Arnold.

6 Parts of Your Company That Should be Listening to Social Conversations

Who contributes to your internet marketing? Is it just your lone marketing person? Think again. There are many aspects to social media and conversations that involve every part of you business: sales, marketing, customer service, research and development, HR and even management. Read on to learn what roles each plays.

How I Use Email Marketing

If email marketing is a part of your toolbox, then check out this article. I got two great ideas that I plan to use right away. The personalized welcome message is a great idea—I always want to respond when I get a new subscriber notice and say thanks but never have the time. Setting up an auto-responder is the perfect solution. Read on for more helpful tips that you can use right away.

Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing tips

13
Jan 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Just a Taste: Blogging for Business

While I am busy getting my notes and resources from yesterday’s blogging for business organized and onto the website, I thought you might want to check out a couple of articles on the subject.

Make it Bigger: The 4 Types of Corporate Blogs

This is a must read for any business who is just starting a blog or has one that is not performing. It is especially helpful if you are unsure or unclear of the purpose for your blog. It lists four types of corporate blogs and provides real world examples of each—truly helpful for any business blog in search of an identity. Blogging for web traffic is the fastest way to get more people on your site, but you must be consistent to keep readers coming back.

11 Ways to Improve Your Blog Posts With Interviews

In the workshop yesterday, we touched briefly on ways to make blogging easier by getting outside help. Interviews are technique that is easy and brings a lot of value and a way how to get inspiring blogging topics. Blogs can get too bogged down in your views so having an outsider bring fresh perspective can liven things up. Interviewing someone is also really easy—it can be as simple as using Skype to record an audio or video chat. If you are in need of blog content, consider adding interviews to your toolbox.

Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing tips

06
Jan 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Crowd Sourcing Movie Reviews: A Success Story

One of the biggest challenges in blogging is figuring out how to get inspiring blogging topics and consistently creating interesting content. My husband, Mike, has been working at being a blogger for some time now. His biggest hold-up is time. He not only has a full-time, corporate, day job but also is trying to build a photography studio and launch a movie blog. Whew! There simply are not enough hours in the day.

While walking our dogs one night, we were talking about how he could get help with his blog. There are plenty of good, freelance writers out there and I know a couple, but our issue was the cost. Right now, this blog is more of a hobby than business so we could not afford to pay a professional. Plus, we needed someone who knew the subject and was passionate about it.

And boom! Inspiration hit. Why not offering free movie tickets to people willing to post their reviews of movies that they have seen on our website? (BTW, check it out at www.iheartflix.com.) For movie lovers it is a great deal. Get paid to talk about the movies that you have already seen. For us, it is a great deal because we get content for about $20 a post. Overall, it is a pretty good deal for all involved.

To promote our program, we posted an ad on Craig’s list and send prospects to a registration page on the website. Within a few hours we had our first submission and they continue to roll in. Overall, our little experiment turned out to be a great success to quickly and affordably creating a lot of blog content.

This solution won’t work for everyone. If you are blogging about something technical that requires expertise, then you might have to look a little harder or spend a little more for good content. The key is to think outside the box to find ways to keep you blog thriving. How will you keep your blog fresh in 2011?

Posted in: Blog, Case studies

22
Dec 2010
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Weekly Roundup: Checklists for Stellar Marketing

The only thing I love more than a helpful marketing article is one that gives me a manageable list of action items—a road map to success ff you will. These two articles do just that. The first one talks about your global internet marketing strategy (not just throwing a website up and calling it a day). My favorite tidbit is when he says that you need a blog for online success and then suggests you not only put your blog on WordPress but build your whole site using it. As a WordPress user, fan and proponent, I couldn’t agree more.

27 Ways to View the Web Beyond Your Site

The second article touches on the importance of local search and how several big names in the Online arena are making bids for smaller companies doing local well. The best part? The list of Action Steps for local marketing at the end of the article. There is only a handful of items and they are all things you can easily do in less than an hour.

Why Google Wanted Groupon and What It Means to Your Local Business

Posted in: Blog, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing tips

15
Dec 2010
Posted by Jasmine
1 comment

The Easiest Way To Lose Your Fan Page

http://blog.hubze.com/the-easiest-way-to-lose-your-fan-page

Facebook has been evolving the business page admin settings for some time now. Watch out for this latest update—it makes it easier to change the master admin (page creator) but could also leave you without control over your page. Anyone who has a Facebook business page needs to read and understand this article.

Posted in: Blog