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Beach Notes: Stuck

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stuck

This huge log washed up on the rocks in a big storm a couple of years ago on the southern end of the beach at Rainbow Bay. It has been fascinating to see it weather and change color and texture over that time. Obviously there have not been big enough seas since then to wash it back out to sea.

It would be wonderful know it’s story from when it got dislodged somewhere up the river. We think it has probably come down the nearby Tweed River, into the bay, out into the sea before the force of the sea rolled it onto the rocks.

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Do You Know the Five Cornerstones of an Outstanding Business Blog?

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A Guest Post by David Hobart

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Blogging is a useful way to convey a discussion piece or news feeds on a specific subject. If you have a blog or are thinking about setting up a one, it’s a good idea to be aware of what makes a blog stand out and last and what makes an “also ran.” If you’re blogging for business it’s important to keep these in mind.

  • Time. Setting up and maintaining a blog, as with any web content, takes time and effort. One of the most common mistakes that bloggers make is to underestimate the amount of time it will take to set up a blog and add to it regularly. There will be a delay in attracting interest when first getting a blog off the ground, so a potential blogger not only has to make the initial commitment but must maintain the blog even when that interest is minimal. If you are seriously thinking about setting up a blog it is worth planning your blogging time around your daily routine. Aim to blog smaller items at regular intervals rather than write time consuming articles.
  • Content. People blog for many different reasons, but by far the most successful bloggers have powerful opinions that really show through in their writing. Avoid choosing a subject you are not passionate about. Your passion and interest in your chosen subject will make it easier for you to blog without it being a chore. It will also help stop you giving up in the early stages. Remember that your blog is a forum for you to tell the world how you feel, so pick a subject you feel strongly about.
  • Purpose. Once you have chosen your subject, be clear about what you want to convey. Do you want to be informative? Is there a particular demographic you want to target? How could your blog be useful to the reader? Bear these questions in mind when you blog. It will help with clarity of content. Do not make search engine optimization your priority. This may conflict with your writing and readers will pick up on this. The reader should always come first. Address your points quickly as this will help attract the immediate interest of the reader.
  • Personality. Your blog should be an extension of your personality. It should not be cold and lifeless. Another common mistake is writing your web content in the style of an article or lecture. The reader should be able to read your blog and imagine you talking to them. It should be engaging, warm and friendly. This can be difficult to master, but imagine you are in a coffee shop chatting to a friend about your chosen subject, and write accordingly.
  • Individuality. Some of the most annoying blogs are ones where the blogger is following the herd. Lack of originality is a no-no. A potential follower will switch off if they read opinions they have already heard a million times before. They may also assume that you copied your blog from someone else. Don’t be afraid of blogging about what you think and feel. Your views are just as valid as everyone else’s and this is your opportunity to write about them. Also, make sure the opinions you blog about belong to you and no one else.

These five cornerstones hold up an outstanding business blog. Have you incorporated all five into what you’re doing with yours?

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David Hobart is Managing Director at Pure Content.
You’ll find him on Twitter as @DaveHobart

Thanks, David!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of successful business blogging.

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How I Take the Focus Off Money Part II

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A Guest Post by Scott P. Dailey

dryhead

This is part two of a two-part series on how to get the client focused on the relationship, not the costs they incur working with you. In the first installment, I discussed how we can calm the fearful and financially strained Mom & Pop by offering them guarantees. Promising struggling small business owners that you’ll share the risk is one of the best ways to demonstrate your investment in doing the job right, not just collecting some quick cash. In part two below, I turn our attentions toward specifically how we can discuss money so that money is no longer discussed. Sounds like a riddle, but I assure you it’s not. So let’s get started.

I understand that the guarantee is among the best ways to return the risk the customer takes in hiring you and I love the idea of shouldering the burden of proof. But that is only one reason I make guarantees. The other is that I want to help. I really do and nothing says so louder than making promises that remove financial risks and potential losses from the bargaining table. See, I’m not preoccupied with the money part of the sales progression and it’s made all the difference. Yes, I need money too, but I only want it from people who were happy with the way I earned it. Everything else feels like stealing. I want to be paid because we agree that I nailed the thing. The fees I’m asking are the reward I’ve earned for adding value to your business endeavors. If my earnings aren’t my reward for doing great work, well then again it just ends up feeling like I got away with something.

The relationship is the reward.

When a customer asks me, ‘Scott, what do you think?’ or ‘Scott, which direction should we head?’ I get pumped. I mean I get crazy excited. Now we’re building something before we’ve even begun building the thing you want built. We’re building that relationship baby! Killer! When you put things in my hands, you’re telling me that you want me to prove it now, earn your trust, your confidence and oh yeah, that’s the reward!

Allay their fears.

If your clients are anything like mine, they’re asking for your expertise because they don’t possess it themselves. Ever been frightened by something you did not understand? OK then. That’s how your prospects often feel: scared. They’re afraid you’re going to trick them, cheat them, screw them. My pitches are often attended by prospects concerned about wasting money on me and I’m equally concerned that I won’t form the beginnings of a trusting bond if we keep discussing money. Consequently, when this happens I attack the topic by promising to give them back their money if they’re unhappy with the results I’ve produce. Simple right? It works almost every time too. Worried about spending your money on me? Super! I’ll give it back if you’re not happy with how I earned it. Next topic. And off we go.
Defuse with candor.

When the elephant in the room is money, seize the opportunity to demonstrate with meaning how confident you are that your customer made a smart decision choosing you. Don’t allow the customer to dangle their cost fears in front of you as if your fees are a stumbling block they’re justified in bring up. Assuming your fees are sensible to begin with, they’re not a just cause to kill the deal at all. Take back control of the room by offering an out that relieves them of the very risk they’re making such a contentious talking point. Assume the risk and you can return your collective attention to what really matters, getting that relationship a’ budding. Oh yeah! That’s the stuff!

How do you help your nervous clients work with you to grow the relationship? How do you relax them when they liken you to a drill-wielding dentist hovering over them like an opportunistic vulture?

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This is the second in a two-part series.

Scott P. Dailey is a Web designer, copywriter and network administrator. Recently Scott launched ( http://scottpdailey.com ), his social media blog that makes connections between social networking etiquette and the prevailing human social habits that drive on and offline business engagement patterns. You can connect with Scott via Twitter at @scottpdailey.

Creative Commons License photo credit: dryhead

Thanks, Scott!

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

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Cool Tool Review: Docstoc

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Todd Hoskins chooses and uses tools, products, and practices that could belong in an entrepreneurial business toolkit. He’ll be checking out how useful they are to folks in a business environment.

Cool Tool Review: Docstoc
A Review by Todd Hoskins

Docstoc is a virtual flea market for small business.

Stepping into a flea market, you must sort through other people’s clutter, junk, and art to find what is useful or beautiful to you. In the same way, Docstoc offers thousands of free documents, but you’re going to need to be patient to find what you need.

Looking for a contract? Relevant presentation? Template? Background article? Chances are, there will be something of value within Docstoc’s archives. Think of it as a combination of LegalZoom (a content partner), eHow, and SlideShare. Scribd is very similar (and with a better interface), but puts more content behind the paywall.

As a small business, you can upload documents that others may find useful and share in the ad revenue. When registering, Docstoc links your account with AdSense. Through your profile, you also get the chance to highlight the capabilities of your business. Or, you can sell documents on your site – market reports, e-books, etc. You keep 100% of the upload revenue for the first 60 days, and 50% after that threshold has passed. Clicks on the ads earn you a bit of cash, uploads can earn you cash, and clicks on your profile give you potential leads.

There is the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a community-driven site. The good is the sheer amount of content. The bad is how much of the content is devoid of value. The ugly is that the ad-supported chaos is just that – ugly.

The document viewer, on the other hand, is clean, easily branded, and allows you to quickly embed PDF’s, presentations, and other document types within your site or blog.


Todd’s CV –

There is a premium service, which gives you access to more free professional documents, storage, and an ad-free experience from $17 per month up to $120 per year.

I would like to see support for Google docs, more levels of curation, and marketing help for e-book publishers. The site could use some U/X help as well, but for free, I’m not complaining.

Summing Up – Is it worth it?

Enterprise Value: 2/5 – If you have extensive bylaws, handbooks, and approval processes, Docstoc has limited value

Entrepreneur Value: 4/5 – Go premium if you have the budget

Personal Value: 2/5 – One of a multitude of ways to now publish your novel, guide, or collection of resources

Let me know what you think!

Todd Hoskins helps small and medium sized businesses plan for the future, and execute in the present. With a background in sales, marketing, leadership, psychology, coaching, and technology, he works with executives to help create thriving individuals and organizations through developing and clarifying values, strategies, and tactics. You can learn more at VisualCV, or contact him on Twitter.

Ten Minute Rambles: A Tool To Jump-starting Your Blog

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A little over a year and a half ago, I decided to take charge of my health.  Honestly, I decided to take charge of my weight gain and that blossomed into taking charge of my health.  Although I had exercised mildly in high school and had taken the ever-so-vigorous “Walking Class” in college, in the nearly ten year interim I had slipped away from any type of exercise routine that didn’t involve the Wii. 

So, I decided to use the Wii to lose weight rather than as an excuse for lazy exercise habits.  I started with ten minutes of running each day.  Let me tell you, those were the most miserable ten minutes of my day.  I remember running in place, swinging my arms around wildly and complaining very loudly that I couldn’t stand it any more.  But I persevered through those ten minutes.  Flash forward eighteen months or so.  I exercise one hour each day, alternating running and weight training.  I’ve lost around fifty pounds, and I love to exercise (Most of the time!).  That ten minute jump-start was all I needed to make a lifetime of changes.

Jump-start Your Blog

Does this sound familiar?  You’re sitting in front of your computer, your hands are on the keys, and you are doing nothing except staring a blank screen.  Let’s face it.  Sometimes we don’t feel like blogging.  It may be that we don’t have a topic that inspires us or it may be that we have so many other distractions and demands that we just don’t feel like taking the time to blog.  Or maybe we’re new to blogging and we’re feeling a bit intimidated.  We need to do something to get us going.

Try this:  start typing.  Set aside ten minutes to just ramble.  You can write about anything.  Take it out of the realm of blogging.  Write about your bad day.  Write about your kids, your dog, pizza, a sailboat, anything.  Write gibberish.  Don’t filter.  Don’t worry about polishing your work or what others may think.  This may sound like a junior high writing assignment, but it is mentally freeing and may be just what you need to get motivated.

What is the worst that can happen?  You’ll have spent ten minutes writing and you still don’t feel like blogging.  Chances are that won’t happen.  What is likely to happen?  Likely, you will strike upon something that you really want to write about.  You may even strike upon several ideas, leaving you something to store away for future use.  You may even decide to make this exercise part of your writing routine!

Tell us, what do you do to get your creativity flowing when you are in a writing slump?

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!!

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How I Take the Focus Off Money

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A Guest Post by Scott P. Dailey

photo credit: RambergMediaImages

My portfolio is comprised largely of passionate, cash-hungry small shops, boutiques, niches and nonprofits. I do work with big companies now and again too, but they’re the exception to the rule and thus, I won’t be spending time talking about them in this post. No, this post is for the small consultancy that’s servicing the small, proud brick and mortar.

OK, so here it is: I guarantee my work. If I’m designing your Web site layout for instance, I take a 50% deposit that sits in escrow until you approve the layout and the balance you cough up once you’re 100% satisfied with the finished result. With Web design, my contracts call for me to create at least two unique layouts, put them both under your nose and get your approval of one of the two. I even offer you several complimentary rounds of change before requesting your approval. If you don’t approve, you get your money back. If you want to abandon the project before providing approval, you get your money back. I guarantee you’re going to love your new layout and if you don’t, I give back your money. If I’m writing copy for you, I refund your deposit if you don’t like my copy. And if your unhappy with the content of your first monthly SEO/social media report or feel I have fallen short on a promise, I refund your money – period.

My customers are very careful how they spend money on their business. Not so oddly, those deep in the black are even thriftier than those sucking wind. In the red or the black, my customers get sticker shock easily. I know this. So, where I may not always be willing to remove the stunned disbelief from their faces with a crazy discount, I do try to allay their spending remorse by making simple guarantees that protect their investment in me.

I don’t want your money that badly.

If you don’t think I’ve earned it, then I refund it. The relationship is the ultimate prize, not you paying this month’s electric bill.

How do you shift the client’s focus from money to forging a bond with you? How do you prove your customers won’t regret hiring you?

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This is the first in a two-part series.

Scott P. Dailey is a Web designer, copywriter and network administrator. Recently Scott launched ( http://scottpdailey.com ), his social media blog that makes connections between social networking etiquette and the prevailing human social habits that drive on and offline business engagement patterns. You can connect with Scott via Twitter at @scottpdailey.

Creative Commons License photo credit: RambergMediaImages

Thanks, Scott!

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

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