Purple Diamond Blog » BLOGS

BLOGGING CAN BE LIKE DIETING

Charlene — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:40:37 +0000

We have all heard that this is the year for on-line social networking and having a blog, but is a blog right for you? To start one requires a serious commitment on the part of the blogger and the time to keep the blog active with consistent postings or it could reflect poorly on the blogger. Blogging can be like dieting!

Like dieting, you understand the importance of taking care of your health and maintaining a healthy weight and eating right is all part of that. Blogs are the same, they can have a tremendous impact for the health of your business in that it allows you to communicate and build a loyal following to the brand of your business without spending money on advertisement that most consumers are trying to avoid. The blog gives you a voice and also consistent traffic to your website that could lead to more business and it also helps your site with popularity ratings which improves your status or ranking with on-line searches. However, not everyone is blogging or those who are may not be consistent and this reminds me of dieting [something I have done most of my life without too much success]. Right after the New Year you meet so many excited dieters who have dreams of fitting in to a smaller bathing suit by spring or losing some weight and feeling healthier. The local weight loss groups are standing room only and the advertisement on TV is filled with the latest and greatest diets and exercise equipment that will bring you instant success on the road to being healthy, or so they claim.

Does everyone fail at diets or having a blog? No! The key to being successful at both is to develop a system that will work for you in that you incorporate the new activity in your daily life. This blog post is being written at 5am and if I went to the athletic club I know I would find people working out before they are heading to work or at the end of their busy work day. For the serious blogger and dieter, finding a time that works for your schedule to include the new activity helps you to be successful. You have to plan for blogging even though the activity does not require much preparation other than having an idea to write about and access to your WordPress account or whatever program you are using for your blog. However, please know that I have seen many serious minded business owners vow to post regularly on their blog and when I check their sites the last entry is far from current because it just has not become the priority to the day to day operation of their business. To blog consistently you have to be willing to schedule time to write the post much like eating healthy or working out at a health club. Unless you have been writing your entire life this new activity will be challenging on days that you are busy [what day are you not busy?] and on days when you are handling big projects with lots of added stress that inhibits your ability to come up with a new blog topic to post about.

The one thing I will say to those who have started a blog and now realize that you just are not cut out for blogging or do not have the resources to hire someone who will write your blog for your business, ask your web designer to remove the active link or tab on your home page to your blog. Having your website indicate that there is a blog and allowing people to click on to the site and see the last entry was 6 or 8 months ago is not helping your business. And, for those who are reading this and want to have a blog you have to know when you will have time to actually write the posts. You may love to work out in the early mornings which shows you can keep to a schedule and are committed to remaining healthy, but when will you write your blog posts to keep you business blog healthy and up to date? The key to success in blogging is having time in your schedule to commit to blogging or being willing, as I do, to get up early in the morning or work later in the evening to create a new entry to my blog.

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

BLOGGING NO NO

Charlene — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:15:23 +0000

I started my own Purple Diamond blog a couple of months ago and when I saw that I had over 1000 unique hits [1000 individual people] to my site I recognized the power of blogging and I was hooked like many other businesses that have learned that a blog is a great marketing tool if used correctly! However, there are some real big “No No’s” to what you use as content for your blog and it can cost you money and your business reputation.

Til this past week I didn’t honestly think anyone did this on their company blog, but I found out it is quite common and something that laws were created to protect….using other people’s articles without their written permission on YOUR blog . Now, I am not talking about taking a short quote and placing it in your blog or adding a hyperlink to someone’s website where more information is found, I have seen blogs that people unknowingly grabbed an article of interest and posted the entire article in their blog with the name of the author listed. YIKES! If you are doing this you need to stop unless you have written consent from the author. When I started my blog a few months ago I was actually asked by another blogger if he could grab articles to post to his site and I gave him written permission in an email as long as he gave me credit for the work. I knew the purpose of my blog was to help business people be successful and having other bloggers post my articles would be in-line with my mission statement so permission was granted. However, many bloggers are trying to build their own brand and traffic to their website and are not wanting their work posted as a way to build another site. So, there is a copyright law out there to protect them and was passed in 1978 that protects their written work that is posted on the internet even if you do not see a copyright notice and it has some heavy finds attached to it. [note: I am not a lawyer so please review this with yours to verify this information and learn more.]

I am assuming many of the bloggers that I see who are posting other people’s work are not aware of the laws. They might be new to on-line social networking and have a Twitter account and see people Re-Tweet links or they are on Facebook and have used the share option to take what one person has posted and then re-post it on their own profile page, so they get the impression that everything on the internet is FREE and there to share. Building your brand with a blog is powerful, but if you are using someone’s thoughts to offer information you are not helping your business. To gain market share and to be seen as a expert in your field requires you to have your own thoughts and offer your own expertise. If the reason you are posting articles from someone else is because you are too busy to create your own, then I suggest you either get written permission from the author, make time for blogging by prioritizing it in your work week, hire a staff blogger, hire a ghost writer, or take the blog off-line until you have this problem solved. The last thing you need is to ruin the business reputation you have built by using someone’s work without permission.

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

NEED A BLOG, BUT HATE TO WRITE

Charlene — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:53:59 +0000

The talk these days with many business owners is on-line social networking and having a company blog. This is great if you love to write and you have time on your hands, but what does a small business owner do if they really struggle with writing? One solution is to choose a blog that will feature pictures. The focus shifts to conveying a visual message and not a verbal one. I still recommend some written content, but finding words to describe a picture and telling a story or sharing an idea is so much easier when you have a focus for your blog post from a great picture. Another option is to ask for input from other sources on-line. Today, I was actually quoted in another blog, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, for my input on why Entrepreneurs fail. The blogger posted a question and asked for input to create his article and in exchange he offered an active link to the contributor’s website and blog. It is a win win for everyone. You would be amazed at how generous people can be with offering answers to questions via Linkedin and several other on-line social networking sites. The site I found the above blog information request was on PitchRate.com . A third way to have a blog even if you hate to write is to hire a ‘ghost writer’ for your blog. There are many talented writers who are looking for extra income who are willing to take a simple outline about a subject and create an interesting blog post for your business. Since many writers have worked as journalist they are skilled in knowing how to ask questions so that what they are writing is both informative and interesting to read. Where do you find a “Ghost Writer”? Many marketing consultants have numerous contacts in this area, but you could also contact a local newspaper or even inquire at a nearby college about students who are studying journalism or majoring in communications. So, if you hate to write, but want to blog…consider being creative and coming up with a way to make this happen!

[note: my blog is not written by a Ghost Writer, but I have written a few blog posts for clients who needed help. ]

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Charlene — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:42:05 +0000

This morning as I attended the annual Kick-Off Breakfast for the North Shore Business Forum I was engaged in a conversation about having realistic expectations for our marketing efforts. We all want to have HUGE success. Who wouldn’t love to join a business networking group and walk away with a client on the first day you attended a meeting? Or, how about getting mentioned in the paper and having your phone ring instantly with a paying account! Chances are this is not really going to happen for the majority of us. Networking either on-line through Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or at a local chamber event or business networking group requires consistent effort and time. Creating a profile on-line and then not going back to the site for weeks or months is not actively working the on-line market. Though these sites are FREE, they do require you to spend a percent of time each day and week to keep your content fresh and to reach out to those you are adding as followers or friends. The same is true for face to face networking groups… you must allow relationships to build before you secure paying clients. And, you have to have “realistic expectations”! Unless you are ready to invest in an advertising campaign that uses several forms of media to reach your target market and have a serious budget to accomplish your goals, you will not get a big boost in sales in a short time from on-line social networking, one press release in the paper or attending one or two chamber events. The best advice I have for anyone who is out there daily trying to get more business with a limited budget is to have patience with the process and to not give up. It may feel like posting on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook or creating blog posts is not worth the effort, but that is where people are going right now. So unless your clients are not human, your business New Year’s resolution is to be realistic in your expectations and to recognize the various forms of networking and relationship building that are part of cyberland and make it as part of your “To Do” list for 2010. It will not be the huge money maker you want for this week….that requires some traditional advertising like Radio, TV, etc in a blitz campaign ….but it will start to build your brand recognition and increase sales in the long run.

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

BLOGGING ON YOUR DAY OFF

Charlene — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:36:09 +0000

Today is Saturday and next week is Christmas and Purple Diamond will be closed for the holidays. When I started my blog a few months ago I was clear that I would keep it to the work week only and not blog when I was off for vacation, but my stats show that there are still quite a few hits on the days I have not even posted a new topic. There are many types of blogs, but the key to knowing whether or not YOUR blog needs to take weekends, holidays and vacations off is in the strategy of why you started the blog and what your current stats and activity from the blog is!

If you are not looking at your stats and seeing the growth to your site then stop reading this and go to your Dashboard of your own blog and please get to know your own site. I use WordPress so it is very easy to see it in the “At a Glance” section. If only your IT support person has seen the backside of your blog and you are just writing and having them post this to your site you should be requesting reports from the person who is assisting you. You need the numbers to help you make an informed decision on how frequently your company needs to blog. As a marketing professional I will share that the more frequently & consistently you blog, the better stats you will have providing what you are posting is worth reading and sharing with others. And, if you are not using other sources like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc, to give a “shout-out” to your own blog topic you are working hard and not smart. I do not post a topic without Tweeting about it or sharing it with my fans on Facebook and friends on Linkedin. I also have the link as part of my signature for my emails and I verbally talk about my blog ALL the time. It is not a personal diary, though there may be some blogs that people are using as a journal without focusing on getting readers, but if you are using this as part of your business marketing strategy you have to self-promote and ask others to share.

So, for myself, I will still be blogging over the holidays and vacations, but it might not be as steady as I do during the work week.

All my best to your success!
~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

BLOGS, SPAM MARKETING & POSTING COMMENTS

Charlene — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:41:39 +0000

My blog is around a month old and I decided to create my own blog so I could see for myself how well this form of marketing works. It is one thing to read reports about a new marketing product, but it is another to see firsthand what my client’s potential experience would be by starting a blog. My short experience with this form of marketing has been positive for the most part. I am getting tons of unique clicks, many loyal readers who come daily and I am developing a following in my own business by mentioning my blog at a few different business groups. How would I know they read my blog? They actually email me or mention my blog when I see them at a networking event. The blogging itself does require a strong commitment to create new topics on a regular basis, but it has been rewarding in that it offers me a place to easily add the content I am missing on my website and to share my thoughts with a target audience that is interested in business marketing. So, why have I written the phrase “spam marketing” in this title? Well, if you are the person who is the administrator to your blog then you most likely know what I am referring to. Each day I get a significant number of spam comments either to do with selling some type of drug or sharing a triple rated site. YUCK! I asked my IT specialist to look in to this for me and find out what I can add to my blog to keep these spam sites from attacking my blog every day, but the marketing person in me is laughing. If I wasn’t interested the last 50 times I deleted you, what makes you think today would be any different? Now, I do get that this is an automated process, but I have to note that these spammers could teach all of us about “perseverance” and not giving up on trying to “sell”! Though they are an annoyance for me, I do applaud their tenacity and we can learn something from their marketing strategy……..post comments on popular blogs or targeted blogs in your field so that anyone reading it can click on your own name and have it go back to your site. If what you post as a comment is interesting or insightful, it could be an easy way to get known and drive traffic to your own business. So, if you read my blog and you want to add a comment and your business isn’t pushing drugs or naked people, but you have a business that you are trying to market then do not be shy and let us hear from YOU!

All my best to your success!
~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

KEEP COPIES TO ALL YOUR BLOG DISCUSSION TOPICS

Charlene — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:06:07 +0000

Today I went to my Purple Diamond LLC fans page on Facebook and was alarmed to see the 24 Discussion topics I have posted over the past couple of months were gone. Cyberland never never land? Were they gone for good? I quickly tried to contact Facebook, but saw only a list of “help” topics that didn’t answer my question of where all my written works had gone. I then reached out to my spouse who is the smartest man I know in the IT field and he asked if I had backed up all that I had written and I had to admit that I didn’t. Thankfully, within 15 minutes the topics were back on my fans page. Not real sure what was happening with Facebook, but I was relieved to see all my written work. Quickly, I started to copy and past each of the 24 topics in to a word document file and I backed it up to my system so that I would not lose everything I have written.

Keeping a copy of everything you write for your business as a blog topic post or Facebook Fans page will help you to build a portfolio to draw from if you are ever need something for a client, a seminar you are talking at or to add to a new site that you have joined. And, if the cyberland squirrels get in to your Fans page or blog and everything disappears…..you have back-up!

All my best to your success!

Charlene