Tag Archives: Google

7 Traits of a Great Business Blog

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If I had a dollar for every client who was afraid to blog, I’d never need another client again. As a small biz marketing coach, I know that the most authentic way to help our clients is to give them down to earth, real advice that sounds just like they’re sitting across the table from us. Advice that’s timely, genuine, caring and darned valuable. Here are some really great tips about how to do it right once you bite the bullet and get on the blogging bandwagon:

A Great business blog should have these qualities:

1) Problem-Solving

If you solve people’s problems, your blog will pre-sell your products or services.

2) Openness

There are two things I’m trying to describe here, and I think that “openness” is the best word:

  • Desire to be authentic.
  • Ability to share freely.

3) Personality

This can come through via a relaxed writing style, the use of fun images and photos, telling fun and interesting stories, and — maybe most of all — not taking yourself too seriously.

4) A Plan

  • How often will you publish?
  • What types of articles will you publish?
  • Who all in your company will be charged with writing for the blog?
  • If you have multiple authors, who’s going to manage them?
  • What will your comment policy be?

5) Persistence

Google will start to reward your content with the kind of trust that leads to visibility in search results.

6) Passion

But your passion can’t come through in the form of sales pitches and self-promotion, it has to come through in the process of solving people’s problems and educating them.

7) Variety

Your blog posts shouldn’t all read like news releases. They shouldn’t all be designed to sell. They shouldn’t all be the same length. They shouldn’t stick to a company formula.

via 7 Traits of a Great Business Blog.

So if you’re afraid to blog, stop waffling and get down to it. It’s the cheapest and easiest way to get across not only your brand character but also your marketing message of how you help clients.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Too scared to lose your (video) virginity?

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The 40-Year-Old Virgin

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you know that YouTube is now the #2 search engine after Google and feel guilty of still not having made your own video, you need help to lose your video virginity and I’m here to help!

Video’s the way

I don’t need to convince (I hope) that you need to put your mug on your marketing and show it to your business community to make a bigger impression.  You probably are aware of your competitors doing it. Video is the most cost effective way for you to reach complete strangers in large masses.  Visibility connects you to people emotionally (and to some pets).  There is no substitute for video except your actual presence and you’ll need a serious travel budget to see and talk to as many people as your video will online!

Why still a Virgin?

Just like Andy, the electronics salesman on the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin hilariously portrayed by Steve Carell, you probably never had the right setting, the right opportunity and the right time to actually lose your video virginity. I mean if you don’t have the toys or the knowhow, you probably think it will take lots of money and time to do it.

Hate your face?

The other reason why you’re still a virgin could be that you just don’t like your face, your voice or the way you talk.  Well, I’m here to tell you that whether you like it or not, it’s who you are and when you meet people in person, that’s what they get. What’s the difference if that same face you show in person is now talking to people who aren’t in front of you but are in front of their own computers?

Accept (if you can’t love) the limitations of your physical appearance and pretend that the camera is your best client who is in the throes of pain in relation to what you help them with.

Get cracking

Here’s your plan of action if you’re still a video virgin—get a 14 year old grandson or neighbour, doesn’t matter—and get them to show you how it’s done.  While together, record at least 3 different blog topics and post it on YouTube as soon as you’re done.  You will feel so much better for improving your marketing by 100% in just 1 stroke in exchange for 0$!

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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How to Get Anyone’s Attention

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As a straight talking Marketing Coach for Small Biz, what I do all day everyday is to help my clients get their clients’ attention. It is the most primitive and basic definition of marketing. Here are some really cool tips on how to do exactly that:

1.  Get to Know Me

Treat me as though I am worth the effort. Instead of sending out a canned email to hundreds, identify people who can specifically help, and invest some time and energy to understand them. With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google you can learn a lot about a person and figure out whether or not there are truly common goals or if you are just wasting everyone’s time.

2. Show Me Value

As my smart friend and colleague Rick Newman of US News and World Report once said to a room full of entrepreneurs: “All of you have interesting stories, and none of my readers give a s**t”. Guess what, there are thousands of start-ups, new books, eager job applicants, worthy causes, and smart people. Explain why you are truly different. Then, don’t just make it about you. Communicate the specific value you bring to me, and the people who follow me.

3. Entertain Me!

The surest way to be rewarded with attention is through creativity. You have many tools at your disposal.  You can make a cool presentation, video or even write me a short story. My God, at the very least, send me a joke. Just don’t bore me with a long blah, blah, blah email or cover letter that says the same stuff about how you are going to change the world or how you want to make a difference. Show me something cool, fun, and emotionally moving. Give me the Awesome Experience: the convergence of need, entertainment and the unexpected.

via How to Get Anyone’s Attention.

In marketing, boring someone is akin to killing your business. You lose eyeballs and ears, you lose business. Use your creativity or copy someone else’s. For example, the title for a recent best seller called So Good They Can’t Ignore You comes from Steve Martin‘s famous advice to other comedians. Get to know the person and provide incredible value so people are lining up for your help.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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5 Ways Social Media Can Ruin Your Reputation

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Maxistheman

Maxistheman (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a relative social media newbie who helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses, I am really worried about doing the wrong things online. The other day, a friend had to explain that #FF on a tweet meant that they were praising your work. Who knew! So if you’re like me and you want to understand how not to damage your brand on social media, read the great tips below.

1. Boring posts. A boring post is anything that lacks your unique personality or perspective. Giving a fresh perspective on an old topic or going against the status quo is what gets noticed.

2. Disrespecting others. Social media is not the place to work out your problems with people. But don’t retaliate publicly. Simply delete the negative comment, block the person and then decide if you want to address the issue privately, or just move on.

3. Failing to promote others. When someone gives you a great piece of advice, post it on Facebook or Twitter and tag that person. Or utilize the Endorsements feature on LinkedIn and begin endorsing people within your network.

4. Not replying to comments. Actively monitoring comments and questions on every post can be time-consuming, but even posting one follow-up comment per post can show you care and that you’re engaged.

5. Being tagged in questionable photos.   As a business owner, be mindful of how you want to be perceived publicly. Untag or delete yourself from any inappropriate photos.

via 5 Ways Social Media Can Ruin Your Reputation.

If you’ve already made some of the above blunders online, don’t worry. Thankfully social media is so fast and furious that your mistakes are pages and pages of posts ago and what counts is your momentum going forward.

The key thing in social media is a nice blend of social and business while keeping it real and personal. I am such a newbie that I didn’t know how to mass invite my LinkedIn contacts to a workshop, plus I didn’t want to invite everyone. So, I personally wrote a different message to each person I invited including what I thought about their website or biz idea. Wow, did I get complimentary comments and great results. Sometimes, it pays to be a novice!

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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5 Business Naming Trends Startups Should Consider

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Google 貼牌冰箱（Google Refrigerator）

How to pick a brand name that pops  (Photo credit: Aray Chen)

I’m often asked during my branding seminars about how to pick a brand name for a business. It’s a subject that’s almost as emotional and personal as picking your baby’s name so I can only give my personal opinion based on research that I’ve read as well as share the tips in this article below:

1. Real words When you consider Yahoo, Apple, indeed, Amazon and Twitter, they mean something but often have little immediate relation to your business.

Reasons to try this approach: It’s fun, easy and can be quite effective for generating buzz.

Reasons not to: Go too abstract and it can be confusing.

2. Misspelled words  Consider the following examples: Tumblr (Tumbler), del.icio.us (delicious), Digg (dig), flickr (flicker) and Google (Gogol).

Reasons to try this approach: Not only does amisspelled word stand out in a crowd  but it can help you overcome those pesky URL registration issues.

Reasons not to: Using misspelled word could be confusing and is often hard to remember.

3. Two syllable, compound words  Among others, there’s Birchbox, Skillshare, Crowdtilt and JackThreads.

Reasons to try this approach: With the number of URL’s available dwindling this strategy can help you overcome that challenge.

Reasons not to: The compound approach can be overdone.

4.Initials and acronyms Go old school ala IBM (International Business Machines), AOL (America Online) and TBS (Turner Broadcast System).

Reasons to try this approach: If a long, multiword phrase best describes your business, using an acronym can be a logical answer.

Reasons not to: B.O.R.I.N.G. Also, most businesses identified by an acronym use three letters. There are no three letter dot com URL’s left available on the Internet. Zero. So you might be paying big bucks to buy one.

5. Made-up words Skype, Hulu, Zynga… Nonsense can be fun, too.

Reasons to try this approach: A made up name can be catchy and extremely memorable when done properly.

Reasons not to:  If the name is too abstract, it’s likely to be forgotten, or worse, dismissed as silly.

via 5 Business Naming Trends Startups Should Consider.

My best advice on branding a business is timeless. Pick a single word in the English language that relates to something you do, give or cause. My favorite example of this is Staples. It’s easy, memorable and descriptive of what industry they’re in. I urge you to relook at your company’s brand name and make sure it has the same qualities so you can grow your business effortlessly!

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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