Successful Blog

  • Home
  • Community
  • About
  • Author Guidelines
  • Liz’s Book
  • Stay Tuned

5 Must-Attend Events to Understand Online Business Growth

July 3, 2012 by Guest Author 2 Comments

by
Ann Smarty

Understanding Online Business

If guiding your business startup to the point that you’re breaking even is your first major hurdle, the second is focusing on sustaining that growth in order to turn your business into the profitable machine that you’ve always known it would be.

Just like the first leg of your entrepreneurial journey, the general idea of growing an online business covers many complicated fields and endeavors, often leaving you in the dark as to the best possible step to take in a given situation.

If getting bigger is what you’re about then you’ll need all the help you can get; check out these five must-attend events to understand online business growth:

1. SOBCon NW 2012

Business owners of all kinds are invited to attend this year’s SOBCon event, a conference that offers education and inspiration to startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Starting off with its theme of Starting Up Strategically, SOBCon NW 2012 will offer six unique “Mastermind Models” that focus on the key elements of a successful startup alongside interviews and talks with those in the know and panel discussions to allow you to benefit from others in your niche.

For those focused on entrepreneurial non-profit efforts, Give Back Sunday is set aside to provide you with the kind of information and insight that you need in order to achieve the best possible results with your charitable efforts.

When & Where: SOBCon NW 2012 is set to be held at the Urban Studio in Portland, Oregon, from September 28-30, 2012. Live chat with Liz if you have any venue and location questions.

2. The Conference Board – The New/Next CMO: What it Takes to Win in Marketing

Startup success and business growth depend, in the end, on marketing and marketing alone; buyers rule. With this fact in mind, it’s easy to understand exactly why a strong mind for advertising is a necessity, especially in today’s crowded business landscape, and The New/Next CMO conference offers marketing professionals big and small the tools and ideas they need to help their business to excel.

This event will help you to better spot and leverage marketing opportunities in your business, focusing on how to achieve real world results while giving you the take-home ideas and inspiration you need sell your brand to the world.

When & Where: The Conference Board Conference Center in NewYorkCity will play host to The New/Next CMO conference on November 8, 2012. There’s no official venue information at the event site but you can book a hotel using NewYorkHotels.org

3. Pivot Conference 2012

Speaking of marketing, Pivot Conference 2012 is another great event for brand builders and marketers, helping online entrepreneurs to gracefully tackle the many challenges and risks to be found in the rapidly evolving world of social media. Attended by some of the biggest and most successful names in social marketing and engineering, you’ll learn how to take advantage of emerging platforms in effective ways while never losing focus on the good old-fashioned art of connecting on a meaningful level with your customers.

When & Where: NewYork, NewYork is the city that Pivot Conference 2012, to be held on October 15-16, 2012, calls home, offerings attendees an exciting travel opportunity in itself! Here’s the official hotel and travel information.

4. Ignition: Future of Digital

In a world quickly moving towards paperless money, digitized business and technology-fuelled everything, digital media professionals need to stay educated in order to stay on top of their game! Ignition: Future of Digital promises to give attendees the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, no the matter the niche in question.

When & Where: New York City continues to hold the spotlight as it hosts the Ignite conference on November 27, 2012 at the Time Warner Center. More location information and registration is available here.

5. Business Growth Conference

Visit a city on the cutting edge of technology and digital media and rub shoulders with the best and brightest minds available by visiting the Business Growth Conference, a full day of professional development activities designed to help any business owner to grow surely and steadily.

When & Where: A visit to beautiful San Francisco, California on October 17, 2012 will be in order if you’d like to attend the Business Growth Conference. More info on the event location is available here. Union Square also boasts many other hotels.

Are you visiting any of the above? Please let us know in the comments!

Author’s Bio: Ann Smarty is a blogger and guest blogger with 6 years experience. She is a control freak and she loves when she is busy, so her hands are always full. One of her largest projects is My Blog Guest, the free community of guest authors and blog owners who preach the “high-quality” approach to guest blogging. Follow Ann on Twitter at @seosmarty and Google Plus


Thank you, Ann! Great information, Great guest post! Great birthday present to include SOBCon among them! 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Filed Under: Business Life, SOB Business, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Business development, business growth, events, LinkedIn, small business

Make It Happen

May 30, 2012 by Guest Author 2 Comments

by
Susan Bulkeley Butler

cooltext443809602_strategy

CEO of Me, Inc.

Early in my career at Accenture, I didn’t get promoted when I thought I should have. I didn’t have the necessary skills to perform as a consulting manager. This prompted me — with the help of my mentor — to realize the following: I needed to undertake the responsibilities of the position I wanted before I could be promoted to it. I had to take responsibility for myself … I needed to figure out who I wanted to be and how to make it happen. Ultimately, I became the CEO of Me, Inc. This professional epiphany opened the door to a promotion as Senior Executive, the Office Managing Partner of Accenture’s Philadelphia office and the Managing Partner of the Office of the CEO at Accenture.

Changing roles in the workplace isn’t always easy, but I facilitated my new roles through my Make-it-Happen (MIH) Model, which consists of four easy-to-follow steps:

1. Set a clear vision

Just like the CEO of a corporation has a vision for their company, you need to have a vision for your company (You, Inc.). Take a moment to think about your future. What are you doing in five years? For example: “I am a partner at Accenture, in the Government Services practice, and my team just won a contract with the Department of Defense to implement a new human resources system.” Send an e-mail to someone, describing what you wish to be doing, and date it five years from today. By doing this, you’re talking with others about your aspirations and you’re committing to make it happen.

2. Build a team that supports you

You know what they say: two heads are better than one. Your team will serve as the Board of Directors of You, Inc. They will help you gather the necessary resources for you to achieve your vision. Your team should include people who: you admire, will open doors for you, and will recommend you for the opportunities you need to gain valuable experience. These people can be experts, mentors, advocates, executive coaches, stakeholders, etc. When I was at Accenture, my team included my peers, my clients, people I admired, and people who were in positions that I aspired to have (in addition to others in senior positions).

3. Develop a detailed plan

What do you need to do to obtain the promotion you want and how will you do it? What kinds of skills, experience, and knowledge are required to achieve your vision? Think of your plan as a roadmap or a GPS. You’d never leave for a long road trip without one of these, right? Developing a detailed plan will get you from where you are to where you want to be. Be clear, be concise, and set goals with dates. This way, you’ll always know where you are and what you need to do next.

4. Navigate the journey

BigStock: The Winding Journey
BigStock: The Winding Journey

Once you have your vision, your team, and your plan set in place, it’s time to put You, Inc. into motion. Be aware of your product and its packaging. You should also be aware of how you’re presenting and marketing You, Inc. As you navigate through your journey, monitor what’s going on around you. Which parts of your plan are successful? How about the parts that didn’t work out quite as you planned? Learn from any possible mistakes and move on. Look back at your original plan and make adjustments as needed. I proactively change my plan every 3-5 years. My end goal is to make myself indispensable. As the strategy of your organization changes, you need to change to be indispensable.

Ultimately, to make change happen, you must embrace these four steps and proactively seek opportunities for yourself. As I always say: make things happen for you, don’t just let them happen to you. Take responsibility for yourself. If you do this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goals and becoming the CEO of You, Inc.

—-

Author’s Bio: Susan Bulkeley Butler is the founder and CEO of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Institute for the Development of Women Leaders. Susan is also author of “Become the CEO of You, Inc.: A Pioneering Executive Shares Her Secrets for Career Success” (the Revised and Expanded Second Edition was published in May 2012) and “Women Count: A Guide to Changing the World” (). You can find her on Twitter at @SusanBButler.

Thank you for adding to the conversation!

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

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Filed Under: management, Personal Branding, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Business development, LinkedIn, personal-branding, personal-development, small business

Five Timeless Tactics Link Builders Could Learn from Spammers

March 1, 2012 by R. Mfar Leave a Comment

Finding the Lessons

Note: of course, this post is not meant to idolize spammers; however one should never shy away from learning a thing of two, even if it is coming from the devil itself.

cooltext443809602_strategy

Internet and spammers are inseparable. If you are online, you’re bound to come across some spam every now and then, be it your inbox; forums, blogs, website, or social network, no place is out of spam’s way, just a little opening or negligence on your part can result in a flood of spam emails, posts, or comments … but no matter what form it takes, the spam continues to be a nuisance, especially if it is carrying Trojans or malware with it.

But this post is not about the evils of spam; instead it is an earnest attempt to wheedle out some invaluable lessons out of the adventures (rather misadventures) of these spammers. When we look at it, there’s a lot to learn for link builders in the shenanigans of spammers, let’s take a look at some of these lessons.

1. Tireless approach:

It’ll be interesting to try and find out the first spam message that was generated over the Internet and the first lucky recipient. But whoever it was, the spam has continued to exist for ages. One of the most impressive things about these spammers is that they never get tired of sending spam, then following it up with more spam, and then following up the “follow-up” with even more spam. That’s dedication for you, and that’s what you need to learn. Please remember that I am not directing you to start spamming the hell out of the website owner with a request to link to your website, I am just telling you to take inspiration from the dedication and apply it on your link building strategies.

2. Lack of remorse:

A good salesman is never shy of marketing its product or services at whatever platform or opening it gets. If you are a blog owner, you must have got some of those spam and promotional articles that make you wonder if the sender really thinks that you are going to publish this crap on your blog or website? But a spammer doesn’t think that way; they will give it a try without bothering much about the receiver’s reaction. Again, the lesson is not being indifferent to other’s feelings or thoughts, but to be a little bolder in your proposals and link building efforts.

3. Opportunism:

Spammers have this tremendous ability to sense the opportunity, as soon as they find a little opening, they’ll fill in the inbox with dozens of spam messages. When they look at a certain platform like social media websites, blogs, or forums, all they have in mind is to see if there’s an opportunity to spam. That’s the kind of “eye” you need to have, only difference is that you will be looking for a way to acquire link and not spamming.

4. Reach:

Spammers are good at reaching out and finding new platforms all the time, they can crawl the internet with the ferocity of Google’s crawler. They won’t spare a website in a foreign language, they won’t shy away from spamming an abandoned blog, and they won’t think twice before promoting a link building service to a link building agency. That’s the kind of reach or coverage a link builder needs to have to keep finding new domains and opportunities for getting a link.

5. Flexibility:

One of the most admirable qualities of spammers is to quickly adapt to all new technologies and shifts in trends. No matter how complex is a system, and no matter how many checks are in place, they will still find a way to spam. And even if they can’t find a way to spam, they will keep trying to find one. They are also the fastest in adopting to new changing trends, from email to social networks, and from forums to blogs, they have managed to leave their marks on each and everything which has exist on Internet. What a link builder needs to take out from all that is the flexibility to adopt with the new technologies and trends taking place, and finding a way to build their link building goals around these trends.

_______

Author’s Bio:

Rahil is an online entrepreneur. At his website Weight Loss Triumph you will find a 6pm promotion and you can redeem a discount for Shoe Buy. In addition to current deals and discounts, you will find many different coupons to help you save big on your shopping.

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Business development, link-building, LinkedIn

21 All-Star Entrepreneurs’ Best Decisions to Grow Their Business

May 25, 2010 by Liz 21 Comments

cooltext443809602_strategy

2009 … We couldn’t get it far enough behind us. Who wasn’t ready for the calendar year to turn? We were ready to be back on the winning team again. Many of us revisited our thinking, our our strategies, our resources, and our work styles to be on our best game.

What Was the Best Decision You Made to Grow Your Business in 2010?

I asked 21 entrepreneurial All-Stars (add me and you get 22) to share in a few words what was the best decision they made in 2010 to keep their businesses growing. The answers sorted easily into five major ideas — best practices for sure.

Here’s what we all said. [I’ve included the links to their blogs and their twitter streams. If you subscribe to them, you’ll have your own online entrepreneurial advisory board.]

Have a strategy

Strategy is a practical plan to move forward over time. Great strategy is based on a solid foundation based on who we are, where we sit in the overall picture,the current conditions and the unique opportunities that are ours.

Sheila Scarborough, @SheilaS jumped on this with her thoughts …
My best move this year was to embrace the realization that even as only one person, I have as much ability as a “big agency” to attract quality clients. Why? Because in 2010 I saw that my supposed weakness (being one lone person) is actually my strength. As a solo operator, I don’t have to deal with time-suck meetings, clients that are assigned to me, having to go through a bunch of committees to get things approved, etc. I can organize my time, smarts and effort to be more nimble, more responsive, more knowledgeable and quicker-on-the-draw than anyone else. That rocks!

Carol Roth, @caroljsroth added foundational wisdom to support what Sheila laid out …
Let myself take a few steps backwards in order to build a foundation to make leaps and bounds forward. In concrete terms, this meant not taking on a few very lucrative clients and projects in order to invest more time and effort in a foundation that will allow me to achieve the next level of goals for my business. As difficult as it was to let the proverbial bird in the hand (or should I say “Benjamins” in the hand) go, the potential ROI from the investment more than makes up for that risk.

Turn Decisions into Action

We can strategize ways to grow our own food and cook it, shop for salad, order in, or dine out. But if we don’t decide, execute on a plan, and eat. We’ll be dead.

Michael Martine, @Remarkablogger has decided …
The best decision I made was to decide to grow it instead of just wishing it had already grown, setting goals, then creating and following a plan to reach those goals.

Britt Raybould, @britter moved to action on a long-term plan …
Attending SOBCon helped me kick off a long-awaited project to add knowledge products to my business, creating an additional income stream separate from my hourly and project-based work. The time investment now in creating these products will pay off huge during the next five years. It’s will also add some much-needed balance to my business.

Jason Falls, @JasonFalls decided focus is crucial….
The best decision I made in 2010 was to eliminate distractions and really focus. The flood of messages, requests, things to do and what-not that social media brings will drown you. Prioritize, eliminate the unnecessary and focus on the important parts and you’ll see a noticeable difference in moving your needles.

Pamir Kiciman , @gassho has put his strategy to work in new venues to get new results …
I opened a personal Facebook account. This has helped engage my audience much more directly. For instance, people who weren’t subscribing to my blog via email/rss, did start following it via NetworkedBlogs. This also attracted others on the periphery. And many more people are voluntarily promoting my content. This, and starting a YouTube Channel have put me on the map in new ways.

Stay a Learner

A growing business needs growing leadership to move it forward. Leaders listen, learn, and reach out to others who are finding new solutions, who are testing new ideas, and who have been where we’re trying to go.

Christina “CK” Kerley, @CK says is moving outward …
The best decision I’ve made in 2010 to grow my business is, consequently, the best decision I’ve made in other years, namely: to keep breaking new ground through learning new methods, new media and new solutions around which I can build new practice areas for my business. In 2010, it’s ‘B2B mobile marketing’ just as in years past it’s been around B2B social media, Speaking, Training, Strategy and more.

Terez Howard , @thewriteblogger learns from the best …
The best decision I’ve made this year is to follow the advice of seasoned professionals. I look to successful freelance writers and bloggers to give me the guidance I need to succeed.

Jyl Johnson Pattee, @jylmomIF is getting uncomfortable …
The best decision I made in 2010 to help my business grow was to go outside my comfort zone and do things I didn’t know how to do—things that were necessary to take my business to a new level. This has required putting fear aside, asking for help, listening, and being willing to shift directions. Ultimately, it has helped me grow my skill set, increase my knowledge, and form amazing relationships. It has helped me see that the path to business success is made up of opportunities that require dedication and pushing forward, even when that forward motion is, at times, foreign and/or difficult.

Sally Hogshead , @SallyHogshead is using her beginner’s mind.
I aspire to be the dumbest person in the room. I surround myself with people who are smarter than I am: people with knowledge, experience, skills, network that’s greater than my own. If I’m intimidated by a certain person or group, all the better — these are the people who can challenge and inspire and push me to the next level.

Hank Wasiak, @HankWasiak isn’t holding back …
“Embrace Risk, make a mistake and then fix it better than anyone else. This is the first time in history that how we address and correct a mistake or deal with an issue is perhaps even more important than the mistakes themselves. I see it as a way to put my values and commitments on the line and an opportunity to create a distinct advantage and leapfrog competition.”

Enlist Reinforcements

A person who walks solo is limited by what one person can do, see, perceive, learn, and know. Great businesses are build on relationships that align goals to build something greater than anyone person can alone.

Barry Moltz, @barrymoltz explains how is investing in others …
I invested money in smart people to help me evolve my business thinking and execution.

Janet Fouts, @jfouts deepening relationships ….
I decided not to go in for the conventional business promotion ideas like yellow pages and print ads and trust my instincts. i know that almost all of my business is word of mouth referrals, so I dedicated more time to deepening existing relationships on and off line to encourage the people I know and work with to help me promote my business. I got more speaking opportunities which led to more business as well as a second book!

Shelly Kramer, @ShellyKramer is including others and herself in her business plan …

I’ve made two strategic decisions thus far in 2010. First, I follow Hank Wasiak’s advice and collaborate more instead of less. Today’s business world is about collaboration, not competition, and the people who get that are, in my opinion, strategically positioning themselves for growth and prosperity. Secondly, I consciously try and pay myself first. That means that instead of always letting others’ needs (including my clients) come before my own, I make a concerted effort to pay myself first. That means writing blog posts for MY blog, doing press releases about MY business, and never forgetting that I’m the only one responsible for growing and maintaining my business.

Lorelle Van Fossen , @lorelleonwp gives herself over to the team.

Collaboration. I realized a long time ago that I couldn’t do it all alone. In order to make my business dreams come true, I needed to throw off the mantle of “I am the only one who can do it all” and realize that it takes a village.

Coming on board the incredibly creative team of Woopra a few years ago brought home this thought of the joy of teamwork actually ingnited by my work with Liz Strauss on Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference (SOBCon) and other projects. She taught me how to “play nice” again with others, something I abandoned years ago when I left the corporate world with intent, an atmosphere of “if you can’t step on them, fire ’em.”

Last year, I solidified my investment in Bitwire Media with the innovative thinker and rule breaking producer, Dave Moyer, and Kym Huynh, the Aussie surfin’ lawyer. With their help, I’ve put passion back into my work and my life. Working with people who challenge you to be you all the time, call you on your ignorance, and make you sit up straight, pay attention, and think harder and faster than ever, as well as produce better and with greater quality – it’s so exciting.

I’m now bringing this same energy and enthusiasm – okay, call it passion – to all of my work, with all of the customers, clients, and companies I work for, to my training programs and workshops, keynotes, and every part of my life. All because I changed my thinking. You cannot do it all alone. Reach out. Connect. Share. And mean it.

Let Go to Create!

Holding tightly to what once worked or to what might earn some currency or credit can also make it hard to grab hold of the opportunity that will take us to our ultimate dream.

Tammy Lenski, @TammyLenski
“I decided to stop offering peripheral services that took time and energy away from work that’s at the core of my value to clients, even though the peripheral services were bringing in income. The new doggedly focused approach has been substantial growth.”

Oded Noy, @SocialApproach adds a measure of awareness …
Have the discipline to let go of those aspects of the business that don’t work.

Toby Bloomberg, @tobydiva points out that to grow it’s important …
To take more chances to color outside the lines.

Rajesh Setty , @UpBeatNow chimed in with a similar thought …
Letting go of deals that were not there in the first place. Just that one action saved a lot of time that I was able to put to use more productively.

Nurture and Feed Your Purpose

Tending the dream fire and keeping the resources that ignite it could be the most important idea of all. Building a business takes energy, passion, and a willingness to work when the work isn’t always fun.

Becky McCray , @BeckyMcCray added something that we often overlook …
I took time away from my business, in order to grow my business. After three days at a terrific business conference, I took three days of quiet reflection with only a few friends. The result is a better focus, renewed purpose, and many new ideas, and now I’m sure I’m on the right course to grow in 2010.

Live the Person You Want to Be

More than half of any business success is showing up with all that you have — integrity, consistency, competence, confidence, and compassion.

@LizStrauss
The best thing I did for my business this year is decide to “kill off all other options” to be known for the unique, strategic, innovative, community builder I am. I am showing up fully, entirely, and living my abilities and passion full out. I am focused on my priorities, with a clear vision of where I’ll be when the year is done and where I’m going after that.

To keep me on that path, I’ve built the following model on which to test everything that comes up.

  • How can I incorporate this idea, action, or plan onto the path that moves me to my destination? If I cannot, who would could gain traction from this great idea, action, or plan?
  • Does this offer to speak, work, or volunteer move toward my goal?
  • Is there a way to partner with others with similar goals so that we all benefit at the same time?

What about you? What is the best decision you made for growing your business in 2010?

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

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Get a Great Deal When You Join Third Tribe Before June 1, 2010. I’m a proud affiliate.

third-tribe-marketing

Filed Under: Business Life, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog, Trends Tagged With: bc, Business development, LinkedIn

6 Cold Truths about Building New Business in 2010

February 23, 2010 by Liz 32 Comments

Strategy and Focus

cooltext443809602_strategy

Yesterday I was working with a serious professional on how to use the Internet to grow his national business. He had sent me a list of questions about strategy, productivity, time management, SEO and directories, how to use Twitter, how to write stronger headlines, and how to follow Chris Brogan’s advice from the SOBCon2010 webinar that online business should concentrate on finding revenue. We looked at his blog for a few moments and talked about what makes a compelling blog post.

Strategy and new business is all focus and knowing the cold truth.

6 Cold Truths about Building New Business

My business client said some thing like,

“I’m having so much fun figuring out Twitter. It’s hard to know that I’m doing the right things with my time.” I suggested he Google, “I’m addicted to Twitter” to see that he’s not alone.

Part of the Internet addiction is the lovely relationships and community that it brings to us. Keeping that going can be very alluring, even when it takes our time and focus away things that might be earning. Managing time and ourselves as we build and manage our relationships is crucial to surviving and thriving as a business.

Until you know and feel your focus as an Internet citizen, review these these cold truths often.

  1. Perceived productivity won’t move you forward. Tweaking a blog, updating a status, and talking on Twitter can all be useful business actions. But stop often to make sure what you’re doing is on the path to getting new business and not work that doesn’t connect to it. Everyday I see folks who talk on Twitter only to their friends … as if some customers or clients will “discover” them. Just as often I guide folks who spend all of their time working their blogs, never meeting a potential client – kind of like someone who stays home forever, dressing up every night to go out, wondering why a date never shows.
  2. Your friends don’t owe you work. A wonderful and cherished ethic of the social web is “givers get.” It’s true, but don’t over-invest in it. It’s not about friends taking their time, their work, and their reputation to build your business for you. We start our work lives getting told what to do and it seems natural to go to our friends and say “put me to work for you.” But a simple “what can I do to help you?” puts the work of finding your strengths, carving out a role, and figuring out how you might fit into their business on them. That’s asking more than most folks have time to do.
  3. An idea is not an offer. Have you noticed that ideas are everywhere, but people who execute on their ideas are fairly rare? If you want to work with someone, go beyond the idea to a plan that shows at least in broad brush strokes how the idea would roll out. Be able to explain the benefits, the timing, and the budget. Even if the client you approach can’t buy in, he or she will be able to tell you more specific reasons. You can tweak the plan and have something tangible to present to the next one.
  4. Most new business is outside your current network. It’s fun to hang on Twitter and talk about business with our colleagues. It’s also easy. We already know where to who’s there and how to start the conversation. But new clients and customers are usually not the people in our existing networks. Move into circles and networks that don’t know you or what you offer.
  5. Negotiation is never about your goals. Align your goals for funding revenue with the goals of the folks you want to buy in. If you can sit on the same side of the table and show how doing what you want will make them a hero while it also makes their jobs easier, smarter, and more meaningful, then you’ll get the attention you’re looking for.
  6. You can’t stay offline. You can’t stay online. Growing businesses are learning that a seamless existence of multiple channels that reach out to clients and customers. Telephone and email are still great social tools and many deals still need to get sealed in person. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the tools determine your strategy. Your customers and the worlds they habit do.

As the recession eases, you might notice that we’re hearing less and less about following links and “shiny objects.” Businesses are realizing that time well invested on the Internet can reap huge benefits.

What other cold truths do we need to know about building new business? Bet you know one I’ve missed.

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

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

Register Now!! for sobcon-vmc

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, Business development, LinkedIn, Strategy/Analysis

Your Blog is a Business, Do You Have to Be a Salesperson?

October 28, 2008 by SOBCon Authors 1 Comment

Sell like a car guy
Do not be like this guy

Many people started blogging as a hobby, in the traditional sense of the online journal. In the last couple of years, however, blogging has become an industry with legions of entrepreneurs telling you how to make money online. The number one means of making money online? Sell something.

But what if you don’t know how to sell? Or like to sell? Can your blog be a business if you are not out there selling?

Yes it can.

How to blog your business without being a salesperson

Going online and trying to sell something can be a demoralizing experience. There is a lot of competition out there in every market and every niche. The secret to being a success in your online business is to focus on your potential customers, rather than on your products. Communicate with your possible purchasers and build a relationship.

It is much easier to build trust with your pool of customers than it is to expect them to find your product or service and give them a sales pitch, or jam them into a squeeze page. Providing value to your readers, getting involved in their communities, and building relationships should be your core business model.

6 Steps to Providing Value

Instead of studying books on sales techniques, I’d like to recommend that you turn your attention to a series of other skills that will make your business much more powerful and successful:

  1. Learn how to position yourself and your business
  2. Learn how to promote yourself and your business
  3. Learn how to interact with your community
  4. Learn how to make effective presentations
  5. Learn how to engage your audience
  6. Learn how to connect with your potential customers

Over the next few weeks we will discuss the steps that you can take to develop these skills and take your blog and your business to the next level. Our goals?

  • Empower our audience to get involved
  • Engage our audience with useful content
  • Enlist our audience to spread the word and grow our business

What is your potential customer looking for?

This is your homework assignment for the week: Think about your business and the product or service that you provide (or are considering providing).

How does your blog deliver value to that customer or market?

Does your blog make it obvious what actions to take to get that result?

Next week we will discuss how to position your blog to take advantage of this value.

Filed Under: Blogging Tips Tagged With: bc, Business development, business focus, sales

Recently Updated Posts

9 Reasons To Use WordPress

Useful Marketing Tools That Wont Bust Your Budget

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

Do You Have What It Takes To Be A Successful Blogger?

6 Tips for the Serial Side Hustler

How to Make Your Blog Popular

Helpful Tips for Business Blogging



From Liz Strauss & GeniusShared Press

  • What IS an SOB?!
  • SOB A-Z Directory
  • Letting Liz Be

© 2023 ME Strauss & GeniusShared