Successful Blog

An Engagement Checklist for Successful Business

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A Guest Post by
Shawn Hessinger

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As the experts and this blog often state, you’re only a stranger once. You’re a stranger up until the moment you extend your hand and introduce yourself. From there, you begin the process of becoming an acquaintance, and eventually, a friend. And social media has taught us that’s where we want to be. People don’t want to do business with logos anymore. Perhaps they never did. They want to do business with people they know, people in their network. To get in their network, you start by saying hello. You engage.

I know. In recent months you’ve no doubt heard the term ‘engagement’ more times than you can recall. Every social media expert wants to lecture you on its importance. But what does it all mean? As a marketing professional, a blogger, an entrepreneur – what types of customer engagement should you be worrying about, and how can you be sure you’re doing enough to not just stop being a stranger, but to start becoming a friend?

Below you’ll find a quick checklist to help you pinpoint opportunities and create new customer touch points.

Are you creating content?

Creating content on a consistent basis is one of the most powerful ways to engage your audience. It gives them something to engage with, while also showing your interest in getting to know them. The simple fact that you’ve penned that blog post, created that resource, or published that newsletter tells your audience you want to be part of the conversation, and you want to create a different type of relationship with them. Your post is your offering to a more intimate conversation. How you choose to create content is up to you. Whether you start a WordPress blog, a Tumblr account or create videos over at YouTube, is your choice. What matters is that you create content. That you give your customers (and potential customers) something to introduce them to your brand, and that shows them what you believe in. The first step of engaging is bringing something to the party.

Are you sharing other content?

Creating good content on your own site is only the first step in becoming part of your community and building awareness for your brand. The second step requires realizing that it’s not all about you and doing your part to lift up the people around you. You do this by sharing other people’s content and promoting their brand. For example, I act as the community manager at BizSugar, a social network focused around connecting small business owners and promoting their content. It’s a place where bloggers, entrepreneurs and others go to lift up other people, and the results of those interactions have been pretty fantastic. Engaging with others doesn’t always mean you go in talking about yourself. Sometimes it means talking about them. In fact, ideally, that’s what it means more often than not.

Some other ways to promote others?

  • Share links to your network on services like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
  • Recommend or submit great content to social networks like Sphinn (http://sphinn.com/) or BizSugar.
  • Bookmark their posts at places like StumbleUpon or Mixx .
  • Create new content that promotes theirs, perhaps in the form of a YouTube video or a follow-up blog post.

Again, the medium you choose to use isn’t what’s important. It’s that you’re taking time to connect with your community in a way that is welcomed and shows it’s not all about you.

…Are you sharing it on your own site?

All the social media gurus will tell you that a great way to build your personal brand is through guest posting on other people’s blogs to leverage their audience. But what about your own site? Do you accept guest posts, or is it all you, all the time? This blog and Liz Strauss is a great example of a place that does engagement really well. Liz engages with her community by opening her home to them when appropriate, and creating a new level of trust between herself, her audience, and her guest authors. It’s a relationship where everyone benefits, and it’s a powerful form of engagement.

Are you networking online?

Another important way to engage with your community is to go where the action is and talk to people. What are the popular blogs in your niche that house the industry’s most important conversations? Identify them and get involved. What industry-specific social networks does your audience gravitate to? If you find they’re members of Third Tribe , then you might want to become part of that community and establish yourself as a trusted resource. If they’re active in certain Twitter chats, then you may want to block off time to participate in those. You can’t do a good job engaging your audience if you never leave your front porch.

Are you creating a presence offline?

What? You didn’t think you just had to engage online, did you? Don’t forget to also reach out to customers in the real world. That means creating engagement touch points in-store, joining your local chamber of commerce, starting a local Meetup, and partnering with local vendors. This is a great way to strengthen relationships you’ve made online, and to really get to know them as people.

The evolution of social media into marketing has changed the way brands must interact with customers. It’s no longer good enough to offer a great product; now you must offer a great brand experience as well. And that experience starts with that first introduction, when a company extends its hand to engage with a larger community. It’s when they stop being a stranger, and begin on the path to becoming a friend.

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Shawn Hessinger is Blogger & Chief Moderator at BizSugar
bizsugar You can find her on Twitter as @bizsugar

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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Top 5 Facebook Apps for Business Users

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A Tools Review by
Rahil Muzafar

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Top 5 Facebook Apps for Business users

Facebook is becoming of more and more assistance for both normal users, and more importantly, the businesses. Myriad of opportunities and apps exist for businesses to take advantage and make their stay at Facebook even more productive. Facebook is no more just a simple place for friends to hang around and share information, picture, and videos with each other, it has evolved into a place, where people can not only make friends, but they can also conduct lots of business activities, market their businesses, and so on. If you are running a business, and you happen to be an avid user of Facebook, then you should start using Facebook for purposes other than the much hyped business networking, a plethora of business apps can make things much simpler than you’d expect.

Let’s take a look at some of the most practical business apps.

1. Pagemodo

Not many people have the aesthetic sense, skills (or time) to create remarkable pages for their valued businesses. Pagemodo is for these people, providing the facility of creating professional looking business pages with incredible ease, sans any technical or graphic expertise, and an option to publish these pages straight away. The custom design and templates offer a wide variety of options. Pagemodo offers both free and premium packages; paid members can use many special features while paying a very small cost.

2. RSS Graffiti

For people who have multiple pages and feeds, there can’t be a better personal assistant than RSS graffiti (and it reminds you of that funny animal Giraffe, for me its reason enough to embrace this app). Apart from that, the application allows you to choose the combination between the feed that will be posted on the wall, page, profile, group, etc. You can choose exactly what shows up where, and how often. No matter who you are, or what type of business you are running, RSS graffiti will manage your feeds, in a hassle free and effective manner.

3. Facebook Files

This application lets you take your information wherever you go- which means you can access the files you need anywhere, as long as you have got access to your Facebook account. You can get up to 5 GB space for free which is extendable on demand. Share your files with your friends, colleagues, or subordinates, anywhere and everywhere. It serves like a mobile hard drive that you don’t have to carry physically, and the best part is that there’s no chance of losing it.

4. Networkedblogs

Blogging is all the rage these days, and this one is specifically meant for bloggers. Even though, there are a number of Facebook applications serving different purposes for bloggers, but this one is easily one of the best. This news reader application has the capability to pull up feeds from your blog, it lets you do stuff like adding a blog to your Facebook, read other peoples’ blogs and comment. It also lets you post feed on your profile or business page. In short, this app will enable you to make the most of Facebook community consisting of millions of people and create the much needed buzz for your blog.

5. I Endorse

In the online world, there is no asset as valuable as having the credibility, and when it comes to enhancing credibility, there’s nothing more effective than the testimonials coming from real people and real customers (believe it or not, but now the customers can differentiate between real testimonials and the bogus ones). “I Endorse” eases the process of accumulating testimonials (they call them endorsements).

Special mention – Facebook Lists:

Create and maintain all kinds of lists you can think of, no more sticky notes strewn all over the office, no more losing the grocery list, no more forgetting birthdays, and you can also share your lists with friends, and they can add/ update/ manage things for you.
,

Rohail Muzafar

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Thanks, Rohail! Rohail’s website is Surf Clothing and you find him on Twitter as @w3whiz

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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Is Your Blog An Engaging Blog?

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For me, everything has always been mathematical.   I always thought that if I followed the formula precisely, then I would automatically get the desired results; x plus y would always equal z. 

Does this consistently hold true?  The short answer is no.  For example, human beings need food, clothing, and shelter to be safe, grow, and prosper.  We can provide all of those things, but if we neglect the human element, the personal touch, then we do not produce the desired result, a well-rounded, productive adult. 

How does this relate to our blogs?  We may be putting in the required time and energy to produce a blog, but we may not be getting the results we want.  Perhaps we are missing the human element.  Maybe our blog isn’t engaging.

What does it mean to be engaging?

When we say that someone is engaging, we mean that we are interested in them.  We may use the adjective ‘charming’ to describe them.  We are engrossed with what they have to say because what they say has value and they seem knowledgeable.  They enjoy talking to us, so we enjoy listening.  It is a beautiful symbiotic relationship.

Cultivating this quality in the real-world will help our blogs immensely.  It only stands to reason that being sincerely engaging in person will carry over to our writing.  So, a great first step is to learn to be an engaging person in our every day life.

As noted earlier though, sometimes these things just don’t add up.  Perhaps the engaging person that we are in person doesn’t carry over in our writing.  It is time, then, to examine our blogs in order to see how we can make them more engaging.  Here we go:

  • Are you pleased with your blog?  This isn’t a matter of egotism.  If you don’t like what you are writing about and how you are writing, nobody else will either.
  • Does your blog reflect your personal code of beliefs?  This is related to the first point.  Readers can sense insincerity.  It is certainly off-putting when a writer seems to be portraying a false image.
  • Do you display an interest in your readers?  Do you welcome feedback, respond to comments, and write about topics that you feel will interest your audience?
  • Are you a learner? The only way to avoid recycling information is to research new points.  No, we don’t have to spend hours at the library.  We need to make learning a way of life, questioning new ideas and delving into happenings that interest us.  Then, we must pass that information along to our readers. 

 All of us have off days.  Not every post will be as engaging as the last.  What is important is that overall we are engaging writers.  This trait which attracts readers in the first place is sure to keep them in the long run.

Tell us, how do you make sure that your blog is engaging?

Jael Strong writes for TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction pieces for print and online publications.  She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas .
Thanks, Jael

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

I’m a proud affiliate of

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Beach Notes: Sand Crab Camouflage

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

We gently encouraged this little sand crab to go onto the rocky area for a photo shoot, because it blended in so well with the sand that it was not easily seen.

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Had this mad thought. If there were marketing consultants in the crab world, they surely would not get a good hearing if they told their clients to stand out from the crowd, would they?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

5 Sure Fire Ways to Motivate Yourself

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A Guest Post by
Farouk Radwan

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We all have goals and tasks that we want to accomplish but unfortunately we don’t always find ourselves motivated to do our tasks or to pursue our goals.

One of the big differences between successful people and those who didn’t succeed yet is the ability of the first group to motivate themselves to work on their goals.

Certainly we all want to be successful and that’s why I decided to write this post to tell you about 5 surefire ways that can help you motivate yourself.

1) Know exactly what you don’t want: Sometimes knowing exactly what you don’t want can motivate you more than knowing what you want. Wanting to be rich will certainly motivate you but not wanting to be poor, miserable, broken, sad or helpless can sometimes motivate you more.

Visualize the worst scenarios that can happen If you didn’t work on your goals can give you a strong motivational boost.

2) Combine both positive and negative motivation: In order not to fall in the trap of negative thinking you must use both positive and negative motivation techniques. Just like you should remind yourself of the negative consequences you should use visualization and images to remind yourself of the amazing feelings you will get when you succeed.

For example if you want to get rich you can hang on the wall above your computer a picture of your dream house or dream car. Each time you will look at them you will get motivated.

3) Don’t wait for the right mood or the right time: Lots of people mistakenly believe that people who are highly motivated always feel good while pursing their goals while the truth is that those who are self motivated have learned how to work even if they feel really bad.

Its not about waiting for a good mood to start but its about learning how to start even if there is no good mood.

4) Use motivational media: No one can underestimate the effect of suggestions we receive from songs, movies, pictures ..etc. If you are getting these suggestions anyways then why not make some of them positive by filtering out the negative media you get subjected to and increasing the positive media you encounter?

5) Lack of knowledge results in lack of motivation: Why would a person who want to do something badly never become motivated to do it? For example I know many people who would die to lose weight but in the same time never try to do it. The reason some people lack motivation is that they don’t know what to do in order to solve their problems, had those people educated themselves about possible solutions they will become motivated to pursue their goals
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Farouk Radwan wrotes for The Ultimate Source for self understanding – 2knowmyself.com You can find him on Facebook as m.farouk.radwan and on Twitter as @2knowmyself

Thanks, Farouk for the motivation on a Friday morning!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Successful-Blog is a proud affiliate of

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Blogging By Using The Power Of The Eyes

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By Terez Howard

A month or so ago, I got a Victoria’s Secret catalogue and decided I would get a pair or two of flannel pajamas. I didn’t really care if I purchased them after winter ended because I figured they would be cheaper by that time. But now, I cannot stop thinking of those warm-looking pjs.

Shortly after I received the catalogue, I noticed how uncomfortable I felt in my pjs when I was in bed. My pant legs always ended up twisted like pretzels around my legs and rode up as if they were short shorts. I got to the point where I couldn’t stand if my pants only started to ride up to my knees.

Then I remembered those flannel pajamas, the ones that had pants like leggings, nice and tight ones that would not ride up or twist. I needed them yesterday!

What those pajamas have to do with blogging

But this post isn’t going to be about my pajamas, even though I could probably fill up a post just talking about them. It’s about our eyes. Victoria’s Secret does something very interesting that I never noticed before.

That company provides pajamas for everyone. Skimpy lingerie to shorts and tees to lovely nightshirts to those flannel pjs that I like, Vickie’s really has every woman’s tastes covered.

That got me thinking about blogging. What am I giving to my audience? Are they getting a need satisfied? Are they getting the information they want? Are they at least being entertained to some degree?

We bloggers cannot write to appeal to every Internet surfer. But we can appear attractive to the members of our audience.

Utilizing the power of the eyes

They draw people in. They entice them. They make people go, “Hmmm.” Pictures are the start of a reason to read your post.

Tap that “Add an image” button in WordPress and upload a shot to your blog post. Since I’m a freelance writing mama, I am certain my audience would be interested in children. That’s why you will see family-friendly photos on my blog.

If you can’t take a few original pictures (which are best, in my opinion), there are plenty of royalty-free stock photo websites. Expect to pay a fee to free your mind of worrying about infringing on copyright laws. My favorite is iStockphoto.

The first words people read are headlines, telling people whether or not they want to read a post or not. Show people how they will benefit by reading your entire post in your headline. Give them a tantalizing reason to read what you have to say.

I personally look at headlines very simply. There are basically two types of good headlines: the ones that tell you exactly what to expect and the ones that make you wonder what to expect. Experimenting with those two will get readers hooked on the rest of your words.

What do you see?

What you see directly affects your actions. The same goes for your readers.

How do you utilize the power of the eyes in your blog posts?

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Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She has written informative pieces for newspapers, online magazines and blogs, both big and small. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas. You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger.

Thanks, Terez!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!