Successful Blog

5 Productivity Hacks for Bloggers

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By Abby Perkins

A blogger’s time is one of the most important aspects of their profession. The slightest distraction can be incredibly costly to their productivity – especially if those distractions are persistent. There’s no question about it – wasting time prevents bloggers from performing at their highest level.

However, there are productivity hacks that can help bloggers manage their time more effectively.

clean organized desk

1. De-clutter your workspace

The best thing any blogger can do is set up a dedicated work space that is free from any possible distractions. An untidy work environment can leave you preoccupied and unfocused.

When you establish a place of order and structure, your thoughts become clearer and your mind becomes more focused, allowing you to be more creative and stay on task. Keep the area you work in clean and uncluttered – and, if you can, make it completely separate from communal areas like the living room or kitchen.

2. Disconnect from distractions

Bloggers can be a lot more productive without the distraction of a cell phone or the constant buzz of incoming emails. Though these things don’t seem like a big deal, they’re often a bigger distraction than we realize. Download a service like Pocket to help you stay focused, especially if you find yourself frequently distracted by articles and videos when you really should be working.

There are also services like Inbox Pause and StayFocusd to turn off email notifications or block certain distracting websites during certain periods of time.

3. Take notes and plan ahead

Journaling is an effective way to get unstructured thoughts and ideas down on paper. Once you’ve written out your thoughts, you can more easily organize them into actual blog posts and articles.

It doesn’t require much of your time, but organizing ideas by developing a schedule will also help you become a more successful blogger by allowing you to plan your time more accurately. If you write ideas down as they come to mind, you’ll be less likely to forget them later, and planning ahead will help you be more productive the following day.

4. Outsource research and writing assignments

A blogger’s work can get overwhelming. If you find yourself with a backlog of writing and not enough time to do it, it can be beneficial to consider paying someone to do research or write blog posts on your behalf. Outsourcing your work helps you save time, while letting you maintain control and consistency over your work. You can relax or complete other duties while other people deliver results for your blog.

One thing to keep in mind – if you’re outsourcing content, make sure you and the freelancers you work with have a clear understanding about things like pay, author credit, content ownership and more.

5. Switch up your location

The human mind craves stimulation. Working in the same area every day can lead to burnout and stress. If it’s possible, make an attempt to work in a different location once a week or every other week. You could go work in the park, in the local library or in the corner of a coffee shop. Changing your location is an great way to gain a new perspective and regain your focus on writing.

Whether you blog for fun or it’s your main source of income, everyone can agree that there are never enough hours in the day. These productivity hacks will save you time and increase your efficiency.

What are your favorite blogging productivity tips?

Author’s Bio: Abby Perkins is Editor in Chief at Talent Tribune, where she writes about jobs, workplace culture, and HR technology.

Photo Credit: Alsterstar via Compfight cc

Big Data Could Mean Big Savings

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abigdataaaaIs your business looking to save money?

Chances are the answer is a resounding yes. Look no further than big data.

The current darling of the business world offers many advantages to businesses of all shapes and sizes, including yours.

So just how can big data save you money? And what can you do to give your businesses the biggest chance of succeeding with big data?

Big Data and How to Use It

Businesses these days have access to huge amounts of data, from sources such as website metrics, customer histories and social media stats.

These sets of data are too big to handle using everyday office software, and so are known as big data. Analyzing big data can offer insights on many aspects of your business. When it comes to your budget, analyzing big data offers insights that make things easier on the purse strings.

Saving Money by Spotting Leaks

When UPS started using big data to make sure their drivers were following the most efficient routes, they saved an impressive 15 million gallons of fuel during the first year. You too can use big data to see where your business is leaking money.

For example, you might track your sales over the course of a year and notice that during November you are buying in more stock than you need, some of which is going to waste. Now you can adjust how much you buy during that month, and save money.

Or perhaps you’ll compare the amount spent on a specific marketing channel with the revenue that comes back as a result of it to find out if the outlay is worth the return.

By using big data to track in-comings and outgoings or, like UPS, to spot inefficiencies in the way your business is run, you can spot potential leaks and take action.

Save Money by Knowing What Works

One of big data’s strengths is its usefulness in tracking customer behavior, and this can certainly save your business money.

Take for example your social media stats.

By getting an overview of which updates are the most liked and shared, which topics are the most popular, you can see what matters to your customers. That means you can give them more of what they want and tailor your business to match their needs, which is a more efficient use of your resources.

By using big data to analyze what is most liked, what provides the best return on investment and what is most popular with your customers; you can save your business a considerable amount of money in the long term.

How to Succeed With Big Data

To make big data work with your business, start small.

As pointed out in “Big Data Meets the Little Drone“, it’s often best to integrate big data with your existing systems at first, rather than going all-out on new technologies.

By starting small and honing in on one specific area, you can reap the rewards of big data without emptying the coffers.

When planning your big data adoption, don’t forget person power.

Big data needs someone to harvest it and analyze it. By having a good idea of who will do that and making sure they have the skills, time and support necessary to carry out the task, you’ll be giving yourself a better chance of getting what you need from big data.

Plan carefully, figure out where it’s best for you to begin, and work in enough time and support for you and your employees to get the job done, and you will soon be using big data to make big savings in your business over the long term.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, SEO, big data and saving money in your business.

Real World Marketing Tips for a Digital Generation

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By Diana Gomez

There are some serious advantages to networking exclusively online. You have full, thoughtful control over your image. You can create content according to your calendar—even posting things on social media through a third party, right on time.

Handshake

These things carry over into your personal approach. You feel more confident, more at ease with your marketing strategy. After all, no one is rejecting you to your face. And this would be all well and good… if your business is already perfect and you don’t need to grow or create any new business relationships.

The truth is, customers are more engaged, feel more understood and valued, and are more likely to return to your business if you show your face in public. After all, even when buying online, customers are abstractly aware that a human is pulling the strings. Lifting the veil creates trust—and what’s more important to a successful, long-lasting relationship than trust?

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the six keys to successful communication are:

  1. Engagement and focus on shared content
  2. Tone of voice*
  3. Facial expressions*
  4. The words someone uses
  5. Subconscious body language*
  6. Conscious movements or gestures*

Arguably, all of these may be more effective in face-to-face interaction than through online communication. Indisputably, the four starred items are exclusive to such.

Critical opportunities for face-to-face interaction include:

  • Resolving problems efficiently.
  • Fostering long-term relationships.
  • Creating new relationships quickly.

Don’t worry! Even the shyest networker can step out from behind their computer screen and capitalize on these opportunities.

Networking events

I thought I’d start big and ease you down the anxiety escalator. But don’t skip this just because it’s a lot of work—it’s also the most effective way to get your name out there.

If you are interested in giving back to your community, partner with a local organization or charity. Not only will this increase your local visibility and give you a platform to advertise your business, but you will also be raising some money and doing some good—and that doesn’t go unnoticed by the public.

Trade show booths

You don’t have to throw a benefit with 500 attendees right off the bat. Trade shows and expos happen year round for various events in your area—marathons, festivals, health food expos. Sign up for a booth and gain instant visibility within an existing market with similar interests.

Publicity stunts

I’m not saying you need to paint the entire side of a skyscraper or organize an impromptu dance routine—publicity stunts can be small and tasteful, but should always be in the tone and interest of your brand.

Hire a celebrity look-alike to pass out advertisements on the street. Hold a pie-making contest and garner attention for the entire three months leading up to it. Use your imagination, remain politically correct and tactful, and the rest will be local (or even viral) history.

Local sports teams

Children’s’ sports leagues are always looking for sponsors. Pardon my objectification, but you’ll practically have little billboards running around, even after the season has ended. They had fun, you gained visibility. What could be better? Added bonus for introverts: very little salesmanship is required from you.

Referral incentives

A great way to ensure repeat business is to have your customers do the talking for you. Create referral incentives—in other words, if a customer refers a new person to your store, they get a bonus product or discount. This creates a sense of community and, literally, word of mouth.

Handwritten notes

When it can’t be face-to-face, make it face-to… hand? Nothing adds a personal touch like seeing a real person’s handwriting in all its weird, ink-smudged glory.

Handwritten touches are great as often as you can muster them. If you are pressed for this kind of time commitment, create a protocol for special occasions—if it’s indicated that it’s for a gift, for example, or if you can see from the customer registry that it’s their birthday or anniversary. If you find it really works for your brand, consider hiring a part-time student worker for just a few hours every week.

Hashtags

A great way to tie these personal communications into your social media strategy is with everyone’s favorite thing to hate—hashtags. Include your chosen hashtag on your packaging, on all your products at networking events, even on those kids’ soccer tees.

The key is to choose a hashtag that is going to be relevant to your business for eternity. Don’t include a year or any other limiting qualities. This is a huge part of your branding, and has the potential to be that bridge between your real world relationships and digital interactions.

The fact is, in-person conversation accounts for only 40 percent of business communications. While most business owners are aware of this, convenience and the demand for multitasking leads to overblown amounts of screen time.

This is an opportunity for you to step up. When everyone else is hiding behind e-mails, you can be the one to go above and beyond—and make your customers feel like they’ve been seen and heard as the whole person that they are.

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of content marketing strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase.

Five ways to attack the hard things in your business

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Running a business is an exhilarating, adrenaline-pumping, wild ride. It’s also grinding, lonely, and terrifying.

And then there are days when you just have to do something hard.

Hard like firing or laying off an employee, telling a client that you can’t meet their deadline, or (worst case scenario) shuttering a business.

It comes with the entrepreneurial territory.

There will be days when you would rather have a meteor land on your head than go to your office.

I’ve had to do all of the hard things I mentioned above, over the last 25 years. If you find yourself facing a hard thing, it’s time to prove your mettle, (wo)man up, and get to the other side.

With every “hard thing” you handle, you are putting on another piece of armor, like a medieval knight. Over time, you’ll find yourself in full battle gear, fearless in the face of any challenge.

knight on a rearing horse

Five ways to attack business challenges

1. Look Inward and Reframe

Staring down a challenge that seems insurmountable, one simple tactic is to change your attitude toward it. After all, you may not be able to change the nature of the task itself. Sit down and consider why it’s important to embrace the challenge. How will you feel once it’s done? What benefits will accrue after it’s over? Use visualization techniques to put yourself in the mindset of someone who has already accomplished it.

If you feel negative thoughts start to creep in, write down your battle plan and be very specific about why you need to overcome the difficulty at hand.

2. Outsource It

I know, I said you had to buckle down and do it yourself, but sometimes a task feels harder than it should because you’re not the right person for the job. If you’re consistently dreading doing something, perhaps it’s a task you can outsource to someone who specializes in it.

If talking to the media is a job that makes you break into a cold sweat, think about hiring a consultant who will do it with pleasure.

3. Get Backup

Strength in numbers, baby. As an entrepreneur, you need to be the driving force, but you don’t always have to go it alone. Find a colleague or friend to help you get over the hump. Shutting down a business is somewhat like grieving for the loss of a loved one; it’s OK to bring in help as you deal with the fallout.

4. Rip off the Band-Aid

Stop worrying about how difficult something will be, and just do it. The task will loom larger and larger the longer you procrastinate it. So take a deep breath, trust yourself, and get it done quickly. In the case of laying off an employee, your business can suffer if you drag out the process unnecessarily.

5. Find Inspiration

There’s no such thing as a new challenge in business. No matter what it is, someone out there has already dealt with it. Many of the most enduring business books have stories and inspiration to get you through the tough times.

Look at some of the large business communities, like American Express OpenForum, where you can talk to other business owners. You are not alone.

And certainly, this Successful Blog community is here to support you!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: matthijs rouw via Compfight cc

Get More Sales and Better Revenue Numbers

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asaleeDoes your sales team enjoy your sales meetings? Or have you caught the telltale glazed eyes that let you know the stacks of work back at their desks are looking a lot more attractive than your meeting right now?

Done right, your sales meetings can boost your profits, help your team bond, and bring you the insights you need to drive your business forward. So what makes for a great sales team meeting?

Follow these five tips to turn your sales team meetings from boring to brilliant:

1. Keep Your Focus Narrow

As the article “Ideas For Sales Meetings – Sales Skills Development” points out, cramming too into too little time leads to dull meetings that drag on and bore your sales team.

By picking a focus for each meeting – such as a specific skill or product – you’ll make your meetings more effective.

Your team will have time to digest the new information and learn from it. You can’t cover multiple topics effectively, so narrow your focus.

2. Offer Something to Take Away

If you want your team to get something from your meetings – offer them something!

The goal of your sales team meetings isn’t to give your team an info dump and then send them back into the field. The goal is to make your meetings count, improving your sales and getting the most from your team.

To do that, add fun and interesting skill building exercises, team bonding activities, or even bring in an expert to teach something new.

Use your meeting time to strengthen your sales team and you’ll see the benefit in your business turnover.

3. Give Everyone the Floor

Being talked at for the duration of a meeting really makes it feel like a drag for your team.

Instead, get them engaged by making sure at least some of the meeting time is dedicated to giving everyone a chance to have their say.

Keep the conversation productive with direct questions and great time management to make sure everyone gets a chance to contribute without the discussion getting too far away from the key point.

If you make the conversation about everyone, your team will be more engaged.

4. Presentations? Make Them Pop

Presentations can be an engaging way to get your point across during sales meetings. Or they can be the point when your sales team starts surreptitiously checking their smartphones.

To make presentations work for you, keep them sharp and relevant. Try adding multimedia such as sound bites, video or images, and inject something new, unexpected, humorous or interesting to keep your team’s attention.

Make time in your presentation for interaction, such as questions or even a simple show of hands.

5. Make Time for Motivation

Adding motivation to your team meetings adds an element of fun and competition that encourages your team to do better.

You can offer rewards, for both a job well done, and for excelling at in-meeting activities. The rewards can be as simple or as impressive as you like. Don’t forget the simple act of thanking your team, praising the team as a whole and any particularly outstanding performers.

Make sure your team knows you appreciate them, and give them a reason to give you their best.

Your sales team meetings don’t have to be a chore.

Following these tips will help you build meetings that your team will benefit from, leaving them feeling valued, motivated, and with new skills ready to bring to the table.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, SEO, sales skills and team meetings.

Writer’s Block. The Pain and Panic are Real.

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

There’s nothing quite like that feeling of knowing you owe the readers of your blog several hundred words and realizing you’ve got no idea what to write about. The realization that you can write on just about anything only makes it worse. It mires your brain in some sort of one track spiral that does nothing but turn around and around on itself.

Sorry, there are no blogs coming out of the station today.

So you take a walk. You open up the Google machine and surf around. You browse your book collection. You check your blog roll. Hoping for some sort of inspiration to drop an idea into your head.

Been there?

We’ve all seen the lists of X Ways to Beat Writer’s Block and there are often some great bits of advice in them. The problem is sometimes when you’re so stuck you can’t string a cohesive content thought together to save yourself, light prompts usually don’t cut it. You need serious, focused help.

Enter the blog topic generators of the world!

They aren’t perfect, they won’t write for you and they can’t be held responsible for everything, but topic generators have saved me more times than I can count. Here’s a look at 4 blog topic generators you can use to get writing, right now.

BlogAbout by Impact Branding & Design

“BlogAbout was an idea born out of frustration.”

Blogabout

Start by clicking the refresh button in the center of the screen until you find a prompt that strikes a spark.

Clicking it 5 times has given me:

  • preparation
  • the customer experience
  • customer service
  • a challenge
  • saving money

I’ll use preparation.

Now, click the Next button that generates a fill-in-the-blank phrase you can use with your own keywords. Hit the refresh button to get a new phrase or hit the heart to save a phrase to your notebook.

Here’s what I got:

  • When It Pays to
  • Why __ Timing is Everything
  • 7 Things that Really Great X Do
  • 7 X Tools No X Should be Without
  • 4 Ways to Make Your X More Successful

And that’s how I ended up here with a post on blog topic generators no blogger should be without. How great is that?

Here are a few more generators for you to check out.

ContentIdeator

Enter in a single keyword and click Get Ideas. Pages of existing headlines come up and all you have to do it choose whether you want to see 10, 20 or 30 ideas at a time. Use what you see as inspiration for you own post.

Portent’s Content Idea Generator

Enter your keyword and click the arrow to get started. I’ll use content. Next, you’ll get a title with helpful descriptors. Don’t like it? Hit refresh for another, and another. Here’s the second title I was given:
That’s workable, right?

Portent

Blog Topic Generator from Hubspot

You’ll need three nouns for this. When you’re ready, hit the Give Me Blog Topics button. I used content, productivity and business and was given these 5 blog topics.

Hubspot content generator

So. I’m not saying these generators will fix everything but they’ll get you focused on a single thread that’s more likely to turn into a blog post or article than, say, aligning your writing utensils from left to right in order of frequency of use will.

And now I give a round of applause to Impact Branding & Design, Portent, Content Forest and Hubspot for helping us all to find our way out of the desolation that is writer’s block.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+