Blogging has evolved into a very powerful platform that is not just for prolific writers, artists and the online soapbox anymore… it is a marketing tool for all businesses, that can level the playing field, create leads, sales and more market share with ease.
Don’t just take my word for it, recently I found some amazing statistics on Hubspot.com to reflect just how important it is to include a blog in your marketing plan.
According to Hubspot and a survey they did on 1500 businesses, 50% with BLOGS and 50% with static websites…
The Businesses who invested in blogs over just a static website had:
55% More Visitors
97% More Inbound Links
434% More Page Views
I get asked a lot, what is the difference between a BLOG and a WEBSITE? Thanks to WordPress they are, one in the same. With the WordPress Platform you can create a fabulous website that also includes a BLOG Platform, like this site for example or several others that you can view on our “OUR WORK” page.
SO why not create a website only better, especially when you see the statistics above?
Here are some things to keep in mind when creating your new website on the WordPress Platform… (or any platform really :)
- Understand your intention for starting the blog and website. Choose 3 main goals you want your blog and website to accomplish. For example… generating leads, making passive money online, educating your customer, being a resource, an interactive community, showcasing your work and talents, or it could be a virtual store etc.
- You have seconds to engage your visitor, you should be clear on the first thing you want the visitor to KNOW, to SEE, and to DO before you pick your WordPress theme or design your site. THis will save you a lot of time and confusion.
- Your website should be a streamlined, consumer based reflection of your business model. If your model isn’t clear or working, chances are your site will not either.
- You should sketch out your site based on this information before you go theme hunting, and choose a theme that allows you to layout your site with the answers you discover above. This will also help you in build your site yourself, with more ease if you choose to.
- Invest in learning how to add relevant content to your site that is optimized with the appropriate keywords to help you organically drive traffic. You will be doing the same amount of work, just every effort will be that much more effective.
- Blogs are meant for content, so choose content that is of value to your customer, and post consistently… while still valuable to you in building content google will like that matches you with prospects.
- Choose to self host your blog when doing it for business, do not use the WordPress.com platform or Blogspot as you may run into limitation when trying to monetize or expand your business online. It is much harder to change or import a blog from an existing one. We use and only recommend BLUEHOST for hosting and they have a one click upload for the WordPress software :) (just to be upfront we are an affiliate with them, and this is something you can do with your blog too!) We could be affiliates of every host, but only practice what we preach.
There are a lot of little steps it takes to create a blog that is good for business, these are just a few pointers to start and if you need some guidance along, that’s what were here for. It is amazing what we can do in an hour if you are trying to set it up yourself, or if that’s not your thing we do the whole thing too! We can almost guarantee if you follow these steps you could monetize your business through a blog in as little as 30 days!
Boost with your business with a BLOG!
P.S. We have a class coming up too! Check it out HERE
Most online experts and marketers agree that the best thing you can do for your business right now and int he next year, is…
Blogging is the number one thing you can do to grow your business in 2012! When you learn to blog and do it consistently it could very well bring in more money than all your other strategies combined (depending on your product or business)
What you need to know :
- Over 83% of people search online before the purchase a product or service.
- The person with the most content that matches that product or service, in relation to location and up to date website is most likely to be the one found and has a greater chance of being hired or getting the business.
- Blogs are built to organize and optimize content for this purpose!!!
“A Perfect Matchmaker for Customers & Businesses”
Compelling Example :
This year one of our clients… BagsandShellsBoutique.com who started last May is now consistently getting between $1000 and $3500 in passive online sales from just utilizing a blog int he direct marketing business.
This was all it took:
- $1500 in startup and setup fees with us at Laguna Beach Media.
- A simple Blog posts every Monday since the day the Website hit the Internet.
- Each post and entry was optimized using keywords and tags provided by us.
- 3 months of patience before content increased traffic enough to start bringing in sales.
- Consistency has grown traffic from 300 a month to 3000 in just 8 months.
- Now sales are passive through this site and generating $1000 to $3500 a month and generating repeat customers.
What could a blog do for your business… we can tell you exactly, get you set up, train you or do it all for you. But there is no doubt that you could have the same or better results depending on your business!
Don’t be looking back next year and wonder what you could have generated by being more active online with your business. We make it easy, there is no excuse!
We even have a class coming up January 16th, if you want to learn how to do-it-yourself! CLICK HERE to learn more!
We wish you a Happy & Prosperous New Year!
P.S. Business Resolution #1
BLOG BLOG BLOG
WordPress has quickly become the most user friendly and affordable website platform available today. You don’t have to be a web-designer or even a techie to maintain your own WordPress website… but you do have to take advantage of all the ways WordPress can help you be more successful marketing your business online.
An outdated website is invisible online and even worse if you are found, if it is not current or fresh you are most likely losing opportunities you don’t even know about. With over 85% of people looking online before they buy, it is more important than ever that they find you and a well put together site that invites them in rather than turns them away.
Here is a CHECKLIST to help you bring your current site up to date or what to implement on a new WordPress Website:
-
YOUR URL/Domain Name matches that of the Company Name & Logo.
- YOUR LOGO & TAGLINE Is clear and descriptive and well designed.
- NAVIGATION Titles are clear and lead to correct pages and current information.
- OPT IN Option is visible and easy for people to take advantage of and offer privacy statement.
- CRITICAL INFORMATION Is visible on top half of screen.
- TESTIMONIALS / PORTFOLIO Are a must a should be complete and easy to find.
- SOCIAL MEDIA Is integrated into your site with links to the networks you belong to.
- BRANDING Is consistent from look, to content and packages and services.
- KEYWORDS Are critical for Optimization and make Blogging highly effective.
- VIDEOS & PICTURES Can help your site with Optimization and Traffic as well as interest.
- LINKS Are all active and connected to the correct sites and information.
- ONLINE STORE Is secure and offers correct pricing, product information and a seamless transaction.
- BLOGGING Allows you to take advantage of content and keywords while marketing your expertise.
- CONTACT Information should be easy to spot on every page and have it’s own page with Email & Phone Number
- STATS Allow you to know what is working and what is not, every site should have access to this information.
Every business has specific needs in their website and WordPress allows you to do all of this and more. We take all of these things into account when we are creating a site for our clients and have updated existing sites. We also want to be a resource to you if you want to do it yourself, just do it well! Check out our NEW DIY RESOURCES SECTION and get started on something new!
Call us at (949)231-2995 or CONTACT US if you we can help you check some items off the checklist!
Ciao,
MINDSET is something I haven’t written about, but it is something I spend a fair amount of time on in the classes I teach and with my clients. Our work generally starts with a decision to create a new website, to learn something new, to transform old, outdated content and copy, or to strategize on what is missing, or the next marketing steps to take…
While all of these things are important to the success and growth of your business, they are only threads extending from one main source, and that is your MIND.
Confession : I speak from personal experience, of having been there… doing all the right things, spending a lot of time and money on the right strategies, beautiful websites, well written copy and materials, only to find that in the end it was my mindset that was the problem, the real reason things were not really working as well as they should and could.
Further Confession : Rather than look at where my thoughts were, or where I was making decisions from, I continued to spend more time, more money, re-working, websites, copy, flyers, messages until honestly, I was confused and exhausted… ready to give up and get a real job.
AND… I did for a year, as it ended up it was the best thing that could of happened to me! It gave me some much needed distance from being too much in my business, and it gave me the appreciation, perspective and mindset I needed to come back and step into something new and experience success I had never known with very little effort. No one was more pleasantly surprised than me.
YOU’RE GOING TO GET THERE…
Now companies and individuals come to me for all the things I had done over and over… and over again (hence effortless, most the time) but behind the scenes, along the way the MINDSET always comes into play and these seem to be some common pitfalls…
- What is your WORTH : This is the foundation for the the next steps and leads to some really amazing decision making… Those who place the value of themselves and their products or services higher than others tend to have more clarity, more profitable pricing, time management and less all around conflict in their business. If you did not have an answer to this question or you didn’t like your answer, I would start by finding where and what your resistance to BOLDLY marketing your business is and do the work to resolve that, then continuously take an inventory of just how much you have to offer personally and professionally.
This is so important, and I had heard it so many times before it actually clicked… YOU truly have to believe in YOURSELF and YOUR, not just ABILITY to be SUCCESSFUL but the INEVITABILITY of it. IT WILL HAPPEN…
- Be COMPETITIVE but stop COMPARING : All great business mentors tell you to make sure you know what your competition is up to, but too often I see people and companies obsessed with the competition in an effort to copy or one up them. This takes the focus off of your ability to be effective and doing only what you can do best. I recommend keeping a healthy distance and immerse yourself in industry knowledge but not competition.
- Raise your STANDARDS & BOUNDARIES : Little marketing therapy here, (truth is, one of my clients coined this phrase) Working with customers, employees and suppliers is much easier and profitable when you have set standards and boundaries for payment arrangements, working conditions, communication and scheduling. Coming from someone who put the FLEX in flexible… this will revolutionize your business, seriously! This is true in your personal life too, of course :)
- BE the PROFESSIONAL you would want to work with : Who do you work with and why? Do they call you back promptly, reply to every email, communicate clearly and honestly with you, tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear, under promise and over deliver? Make a list of the qualities in the people you admire and want to work with and become that more and more in every opportunity.
- Be PRESENT : Zen moments are important too, but my point really is to stop putting your success off in the future or re-living successes and failures of the past. Or planning and re-planning a strategy that is never executed, is self defeating and discouraging… AKA, seemingly working very hard to stay in the same place or even go backwards. Success is about what you do today and tomorrow, as in what you execute today. It is not about 100 sales or clients 90 days from now, it is about x new number of sales today, x number of leads today that adds up to sustainable success. It is also much more fulfilling!
Maybe you have heard some version of all of this before, (I know it takes several times. sometimes) but if you see some truth in it for you… know that it could save your business, know before you spend another dime on marketing, it is as important as your website, your copy and every action you take because they all lead back to you.
I have a MINDSET, MESSAGE & MARKETING class coming up December 5th :: CLICK HERE to learn more.
To shifting your mindset,
New trends are exciting and if you are on the leading edge of those trends, they can build a strong foundation and marketing platform for your business.
Social Media is a great way to spot these trends, because you can see what people are talking about, what interests them, what outrages them, what they like and what they don’t.
You could say that your friends or fans on Facebook are your market research group, and my special segment of friends on Facebook are telling me that powerful trends are emerging. These trends are being reflected on the news, in the stores and how companies are starting to market. Now you may realize that these topics have been around for sometime… but I am saying they are gaining traction and attention is a very positive way.
Your segment may offer you different research, but you may find they all have a common thread, currently my Facebook friends are calling for more socially responsible times through…
OCCUPY WALL STREET
HEALTHY, NATURAL FOODS & PROPER LABELING
TRANSPARENCY IN POLITICS & FUNDING
UNITING & SUPPORTING CURRENT EVENTS & CAUSES
These are movements that are going forward and if it is relevant and something you are passionate about, it can bring you and your business with it as well as being an ally to progress!
What is going around on social networks that are receiving a lot of attention and opinions? The key here, is not what your personal opinion is (although I admire those who stand up for them and try to myself) The key is these topics all have one BIG theme in common that you can apply to your marketing strategy… and that is becoming a more socially responsible individual, creating more socially responsible products and services and being an activist and advocate for a better way.
I believe this will be the BIGGEST trend in successfully marketing your business in the near future and one I hope that it isn’t just a fad, but lasting way to do business! There are thousands of ways to become a more socially responsible business and you can choose ones that are near and dear to your heart or relevant to your business. Marking a time when sincerity and trust that goes a long way in marketing and done with responsibility it can become a marketing campaign & platform that takes you a long way and creates greater good all around.
There are thousands of ideas of how businesses can become more socially responsible, but here are a high 5 to help you get the idea:
- Support your community through fundraising or volunteering time or expertise: Imagine the impact you could have by supporting local schools, shelters, rehabilitation centers, senior centers… not only in bettering your community but in spreading the word on what you and your company are about… in a sincere way!
- Be Green: Recycle and use recycled products, conserve energy, switch to non toxic products, educate employees and customers, offer benefits and or discounts to those who join you in your efforts and wear it proudly.
- Train the Next Generation : There are so many qualified, recent graduates or students who could intern for you and your company. This is a WIN WIN… as you get the added bonus of ambitious help and becoming known for training and contributing more seasoned professionals to your field and they get priceless seasoning and experience that will open doors for them for life.
- Be a Leader: Start or sponsor a movement in your community or industry. Clean up beaches or neighborhoods, plant trees, beautify neighborhoods or parks, draw attention and funds to local issues or programs that need your help.
- Be a Good Neighbor: Small businesses need to stick together now more than ever, promoting other businesses and services in your area can help you become a valued resource to your customers as well as a lifesaver to your peers. This is one … “what goes around comes around” and gives a feeling of true community as well as helping everyone around you flourish.
Social media is a great place to do you research on how to become more socially responsible and once you do, it is a great place to market how you are doing it to gain support, followers and respect in your industry, your community and among your prospects and customers!
It puts a smile on my face every time I meet with a new client and they give me their general title, product, service & job description, only to find out underneath all that they have a voice, a message and are advocates for a better way, that they are integrating old and new to create a hybrid of something even better that really serves people and communities… honestly is makes my job of marketing them so simple and yet very powerful!
As LBM grows, so will our own socially responsible campaign… but we have started by providing a select number of confidential scholarships to our classes for new and struggling business owners as well as donating a percentage of each class or workshop to one of our, or our clients worthy and local causes! I am energized and motivated by integrating this more and more into Laguna Beach Media.
Let’s find your voice and make this trend stick!
