According to eMarketer and Hubspot.com, in 2012, there will be about 169.3 million online video viewers, and about 51.2 million Smartphone video viewers. Video is becoming a hot topic in the world of blogging, and it’s one that today’s bloggers need to pay attention to.

As readers become more and more overwhelmed with information, many will turn to the more passive option of viewing videos, rather than the more active, time-consuming option of reading blogs and online information. While you may not want to base your entire blog on video blog posts, you should definitely consider adding some of them to your blog.

It’s actually not that difficult to craft decent video blog posts using some basic technology and equipment. But most how-to’s out there are going to tell you what you should do, instead of what you should avoid! Knowing how to avoid major pitfalls, though, will make a big difference in your video blogging experience. With that said, here are three major things to avoid when it comes to video blog posts:

1. Avoid Unscripted Videos

If you know your topic really well, it can be tempting to start a video blog with little more than idea or topic in mind. Avoid this route, though!

The main reason to script your videos is that without a script, you’ll end up using conversation fillers as you catch up with your thoughts. While you might be able to get away with “um” and “like” in everyday conversation, this will not be the case when it comes to your video blog. Viewers will pick up on every instance of a conversational filler, and if you use too many of them, they’ll simply tune you out.

While you do want to script your videos, you don’t want to sound like you’re reading straight from the script. There are a couple of ways to avoid this. One is to simply practice your script several times before doing it on video. Another is to write detailed bullet points for your script and to “wing it” while you’re shooting the video. Either option can work, depending on your topic and personality. However, having some sort of script or plan for your video will ensure that you cover the necessary information without getting off topic, inserting filler words and sounds, or completely boring your viewers to death.

2. Avoid Totally Boring Visuals

If your blog is primarily informational in nature, you’ll probably end up with lots of “talking head” videos. However, it’s important to remember that the videos are meant to be a visual as well as an auditory way to get information across to your regular and new blog readers. There are lots of ways to spice up the visual aspect of your video blogs so that they are more interesting for viewers. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re blogging about financial topics and are creating a video blog to compare credit cards. You could just talk about the pros and cons of two different cards, which would be fine. One way to step up the visuals would be to stand in front of a large American Express vs. Visa sign, or whatever would be suitable for your blog.

An even better option would be to insert actual illustrations or actions into your video blog. You might make a whiteboard chart or drawing comparing the basics of each type of credit card as you’re making your video. You can also add in cartoon-style drawings in post-production if that suits you.

The point here is that you can use your video blog to just talk about different credit cards. Or you can create a totally engaging, eye-catching video blog that your readers and viewers will want to link to on Facebook and Twitter because it’s just so fun to watch!

3. Avoid Talking to Too Long

Unless you already have a big following who loves your video blogs and trusts you not to waste their time, your videos shouldn’t be longer than ninety seconds – and they should preferably be under a minute. Internet users are, again, bombarded with information every day, and they need bite-sized pieces of information rather than large chunks.

Here are a few ways to avoid letting your video go on for too long:

• Break down larger topics. Instead of a video comparing five different credit cards, make one video for each card, listing its pros and cons. Or make a series of how-to steps for your video, rather than a complete start-to-finish tutorial.
• Time yourself. Keep a watch or timer nearby as you’re shooting your video. If you reach and pass the ninety second mark, scrap it and start again, figuring out where you can be more concise this time.
• Have a script. This is another place where a script comes in handy. A script helps keep you from wasting time with fillers and off-topic conversation so you can use your ninety seconds to the fullest.
• Give the big picture. You can always use a video blog post to give the overview of your blog topic. Then, use words below the video on your blog layout to give more details about the topic at hand.

Creating a video blog post for your blog isn’t too difficult, but it does take practice. You’ll need to practice using your equipment, getting the lighting right, and even talking in front of a camera without seeming too stilted. But by avoiding these three pitfalls from the beginning, you’ll start out ahead of the crowd when it comes to video blog posts.

Ashyia Hill is a social media advocate at CreditDonkey.com, a website for entrepreneurs to compare business credit cards.  Creating a video log may seem easy, but prior preparation will make it a success!

Today’s “how to” is all about writing content for the web. Below I have several tips that will help keep your readers engaged in what you have to say:

General Tips for Writing on the Web:

• Short paragraphs are best. When people look at big blocks of text they get overwhelmed and don’t want to read it.
• Stay conversational! It’s great to write how you talk because people feel like they can connect with you, that you are authentic, and they will want to work with you as a result. Writing for the web is not about being a crazed perfectionist. The online world is a forgiving one so just write and get your message OUT!
• It’s good to break up text by use of attention-grabbing headlines and sub-headlines (an example: content formatting example)
• Always think about where you’re leading the reader – Just like in writing a book or story. You want to keep them engaged and clicking from page to page in your site OR lead them to contact you. I always suggest coming up with a list of “Calls to Action.” Pamla does this best by telling people all the things they can and should do with her (http://pamlawhorne.com/start/). I don’t suggest you do this as a page on your site so much as just make the list and when you write each page of content, make sure you add a call to action and lead people to sign-up for your mailing list, contact you, comment on your blog, order your product, connect with you on social media etc.
• Image use is great! … as long as it is NOT clip art, distracting or pointless. If it helps sell the point, then it’s great! Plus, with the huge buzz going on right now with Pinterest, it could lead to more website visitors!
• Testimonials are amazing and help people trust you. It’s wise to sprinkle these throughout the pages of your site, and also include them on one general testimonials page.
• In blogging, it’s great to also lead people to other content within your content. This is less subtle than a call to action. So for example, notice how even in this blog post I am linking to other articles I’ve written to help educate you on a variety of topics. This is key to showing you that I know a lot about how to build and market your business online. If you feel this content is valuable then you’ll want to stick around by signing up for my emailing list or sharing this content on your social networking sites so you are looked at as more of an authority. See how it all works?
• Write from your heart with the priority and intention to add value to people’s lives. This is KEY and what writing content is all about. I am writing this blog post because I genuinely want you to feel more comfortable about writing. Writing is key to getting your message out through your website, blog and social networks. The more that you write, the more that people will hear about you and the longer-lasting your message will be. Don’t stop writing.

So tell me, what was the tip that struck you the most? What content tips to you have that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear your thoughts (or get your help sharing this article if you thought it was helpful) through the Facebook comments box below.

In my last post, I discussed getting your blog up and running. Why are you blogging? What is it about? How do you get started? Hopefully you’ve now had a chance to move forward in your own blog creation. Let’s assume you now at least have your blog generated, your categories set up, the theme customized, and (maybe) you’ve posted one or two times. What’s next?

Be Consistent.

When you’re first beginning, it might seem overwhelming to imagine yourself writing a new post every day – so don’t. Start small and manageable, like once a week; just be consistent in how often you post. Don’t worry if your posts aren’t the Holy Grail of the blogging world. As long as you are true to why you started your blog in the first place, and keep your posts authentic, then you have little to worry about.

The best piece of advice I ever got was to be consistent.

Once you get into a rhythm and feel more comfortable with the whole posting process, you can start to increase the frequency of your blog posts. Now, I have to admit, there are times when I barely get one post done a week. I don’t beat myself up about it. I acknowledge what’s happening in my life at the time, and then I write about it (remember, my blog is about sharing my experiences and having a personal, creative outlet). However, to create the most value in your blog, keeping a consistent posting schedule is important.

There’s more to consistency than just frequency.

It’s great to have a regular schedule of blog posts, but if they aren’t consistent with your topic, then it becomes confusing to both you and your readers. “It is important to remember that your blog should only have one topic.” If your blog is about your video production business, don’t slip a post in there about your recent family vacation to Italy, unless, of course, you filmed the whole trip and are offering tips for other travelers wanting to do the same.

Keep your articles relevant to what your blog is about.

The last part of being consistent has to do with tags and keywords. Huh? Yes. When I first started blogging, I considered myself a fairly computer-literate person, but there were certain terms (like tags and keywords) that I didn’t have much experience with. I had heard them being tossed around and talked about, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to effectively use them.

The easiest way for me to explain them, is to consider them a lot like your categories, which help you “file” your post in the right location. Your tags and keywords help you, your readers, and search engines find those specific articles within your filing system. The trick about tags and keywords, much like categories, is not to go overboard.

You can, and should, have multiple tags for each post (unlike categories), but be consistent in the words you choose to highlight as keywords.

There is often the temptation to add a tag for every possible description of the same word. For example: Mommy, Mother, Mom all mean the same thing. Pick one and stick with it.

Comment on and follow other blogs.

I remember how excited I was when I got my first notification that someone liked and left a comment on one of my blog posts. It was the highlight of my day, my week! Imagine giving someone else that feeling. It might not be their first ever comment, but everyone loves feedback. Not that it should matter, but knowing that someone is reading your blog (and paying attention to it) offers validation for having it.

In today’s world it’s all about creating relationships.

Choose wisely the blogs you decide to follow. It’s fine to read about varying topics, but don’t just follow all the blogs you happen to browse upon in a day. When you are thoughtful about the blogs you patronize, those blogs will start to notice you and hopefully return the engagement.

Link to your social media sites.

If you are a beginner in the online world, then this might seem like another overwhelming task. What if I don’t have any social media sites? What if I’m only on Facebook and not Twitter, Linked-In, YouTube or the oodles of other available sites? Don’t worry! It takes time to build your online network. Take it slow, one step at a time. Do what’s comfortable for you, at your own pace.

Once you have your social media accounts set up, link your blog to them. This usually is a simple action, as most social media sites now expect you to link between them and are very accommodating.

Why is this important? It creates efficiency.

If you could automatically update several sites at once, each time you made a new blog post, why wouldn’t you? The more you are visible in the online world, the more people will find you and get to hear your message.

Create an ‘About Me’ page.

If you haven’t already done this, do it now! You’re to the point now where people are starting to find you, whether they stumble upon you browsing the web, or whether you have directly given them the link to your blog. Once they’re there, people want to know who you are.

By creating an ‘About Me’ page, you are letting people know you’re real.

Important tip: be concise in the information you share.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate, with your complete biography and business history. In fact, by keeping it short and sweet, it is more likely to get read in its entirety, rather than passed over to the next page, or worse yet, the next blog.

Don’t get discouraged.

You’ve been blogging consistently for several months. You’re sticking to your topic, categories, tags and keywords. So where are all the people? How come no one is following you?

Be patient. It takes time to build presence.

Noah’s Ark wasn’t built in a day, and it’s unrealistic to expect that your blog will become famous overnight. Keep writing, and your followers will come.

Be Authentic.

If there’s one piece of advice that applies to everyone, in every situation, it’s to be authentic. Often easier said than done, I know, but so important!

No one wants to read something that isn’t genuine.

When people take the time to read your posts, whether it’s a story, a product review, or a welcome to your newest employee or business partner, offer them a reason to come back. By writing what you’re passionate about (which is hopefully also what your blog is about), and by coming from your heart, it’s hard to go wrong. It might be scary at first to open yourself up, but trust me, it’s worth it.

When all else fails, or when you find yourself off track, remember why you started your blog in the first place.

Reflect on the beginning; take yourself back to the dreams you had and the vision you saw.

I have a saying, which sometimes I find myself using all too often: “Life happens.” When life happens to you, embrace it. Keep in mind, it’s just a blog, have fun with it.

I sincerely hope you find success with your blogging and I can’t wait to find you!

Connect with Pamela on on Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In.

Pamela Zimmer quit her career for Motherhood. Being an Architect, and an entrepreneur at heart, Pamela struggled with her decision to have her own Architecture firm. She knew she always wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom, but also knew she wanted to have a successful career. After 13+ years of working in Architecture, 7 of which she ran her own successful business, Pamela finally chose to listen to her heart and realized that being a stay-at-home Mom was her true passion and life purpose. She is now a #1 best-selling author in the book ‘Get Your Woman On!’ and strives to support and inspire other women who are ready to make their life transformation. Pamela is working on her own book, as well as starting a business as a peer-to-peer counselor for Postpartum Depression. Her blog, Stories of a Mom, is where Pamela shares her experiences, from one Mother to another.

I turn on my computer, log into Google, and with coffee in hand I stare at the blinking cursor in the search box, wondering what to type. I want to start a blog, but I have no idea where to begin. Does this sound like you? This was me, a little over one year ago. I had ideas, I had passion, I had no clue. If you can still relate, then keep reading as I’m going to share with you some beginner blogging basics.

Why are you blogging?

The first question you have to answer can only be answered by you. What is your intention for you blog? Is it solely as a personal, creative outlet? Is it to generate income? Is it to help build and supplement your business? For me, the answer is all of the above, but it didn’t start off that way.

When you first begin your blog, it is important to focus in on the why of your blog.

Of course we all want to generate income and build our businesses, but you can’t just jump in wanting all three. Start with the one reason that first got you thinking about blogging, and the other reasons will soon follow.

Pick a topic.

You’ve solidified your why, next is determining your what. What is your blog going to be about? If your main reason for blogging is to generate income, then maybe you want to have a blog focusing on product reviews and giveaways, and/or include several links for products and up-selling opportunities. If your why is to build your business, then perhaps your blog should focus on hi-lighting your business services, employees and industry trends.

For me, the main reason for starting a blog was as a personal, creative outlet; I didn’t have a business when I started.

I focus on sharing my experiences, in hopes that I can inspire, support and educate those who read it. I’m not using my blog as a cash machine, nor am I using it to promote my business. I write about what’s on my heart, what happened in my day. I write about the lessons I’ve learned, and I write about what makes me smile. I keep my focus on why I began blogging in the first place – to simply write.

Since I’ve started, I’ve come up with several other ideas, for different blogs.

It is important to remember that your blog should only have one topic.

For example, if you first created a blog for your business, but you also now want to write about your travel and vacation adventures – start another blog! You can have as many blogs as you want (keep in mind there is always some kind of maintenance for each one), but you shouldn’t mix topics.

Choose categories.

Now that you know the why and what of your blog, the next thing is to figure out the how. Much like your topic, choosing categories needs logic and thought. Think of categories as your filing system. It’s where you put your blog post, as if you were actually printing it and putting it into an actual folder in an actual filing cabinet.

Each post should only have one category.

The key to choosing your categories is to create a system that is specific, without creating overlap. Your categories should be clear, so that you, as the writer, know exactly where to “file” your post, as well as allowing your readers to easily browse a category and get what they’re looking for. However, you don’t want to have too many, which can cause confusion for you and your readers.

What program to use?

You’ve figured out the bones of your blog, and now you’re ready to get started. But wait, there’s one tiny little problem – what program do you use? There are many programs you can choose, and I don’t claim to know them all. Some are free, some charge fees. Some are basic, some are elaborate.

Do a little homework and search for a program that has the features you want and need.

Again, if your why is for a personal, creative outlet, then you don’t necessarily need a blog with a ton of bells and whistles. However, if you are going to be offering products and giveaways, you need a program that has that capability. Start by browsing blogs similar to the one you want to start. What programs are they using? What are the features they have? What kind of technical support do they offer? – This is very important. The last thing you want when starting out is to be left to figure things out all on your own.

If you’re still stuck and can’t decide, my advice is to pick a program that someone you know uses, and has had a good experience with.

You can always switch to different blogging software later (and most have the ability to transfer over from a previous site), but if you start with a known, then the actual doing (the writing and posting) won’t seem so intimidating.

Once you’ve chosen a program, now it’s time to customize. You don’t have to, but this is the fun part, so why not?! Most programs offer a vast library of themes to choose from. If you keep in mind the features of your blog, then narrowing down a theme can be a little easier, as browsing through sometimes hundreds of themes at a time is enough to overwhelm the best of us.

Add content.

You’ve brainstormed the perfect title for your blog topic, you’ve diligently added your categories, and your theme just screams “you.”

You’re ready to write! Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a brand new blog.

However long you’ve spent dreaming up, organizing, and researching your blog, the most rewarding part is when you finally get to see it and share it.

Stay tuned for Beginner Blogging Basics – Part II, where Pamela will share her tips on continuing to succeed, and discuss the when and who of blogging.

Pamela Zimmer quit her career for Motherhood. Being an Architect, and an entrepreneur at heart, Pamela struggled with her decision to have her own Architecture firm. She knew she always wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom, but also knew she wanted to have a successful career. After 13+ years of working in Architecture, 7 of which she ran her own successful business, Pamela finally chose to listen to her heart and realized that being a stay-at-home Mom was her true passion and life purpose. She is now a #1 best-selling author in the book ‘Get Your Woman On!’ and strives to support and inspire other women who are ready to make their life transformation. Pamela is working on her own book, as well as starting a business as a peer-to-peer counselor for Postpartum Depression. Her blog, Stories of a Mom, is where Pamela shares her experiences, from one Mother to another.

I have listed 3 ways below to help push you outside of the no-touch zone with your audience:

1. What I do the very most is write in a conversational style. I write how I talk and act. I do not try to sound perfect, or corporate or stuffy. I want my authenticity to shine through and for my reader to feel I’m right there with them – because I am! I get feedback often that website visitors feel comfortable on my site and they get engaged with my writing. I would WAY rather have that feedback than a perfect design or 0.001% better conversion rate. If your visitors can connect with you, the sales will naturally follow. I want to make my writing 100% about YOU. I want it to breathe life into your business and spur your creativity so you go out and produce something new to spread your message. When your are conversational, your message will be remembered.
2. Since I brought it up in the first tip, I make sure that everything I create is about YOU, not me. I have no interest in being one of those service providers that just pushes my agenda or pushes product in your face all the time. If I write blog posts, or send an email to my followers, or create a Facebook post, it truly comes from my heart as something that I think will help you. (Isn’t this the way it SHOULD be??) People can smell a salesman a mile away and that is a huge turnoff to most. One of the biggest trends I’ve noticed that will carry into 2012 is that people crave to work with genuine, real, authentic, trustworthy people. That’s it. We are tired of scams or salespeople saying their product does one thing when it does another. I know I would keep following a leader that genuinely wanted ME to have success in life. If you ever wonder what your audience wants, it’s generally the same qualities you want in a leader or service provider or friend.
3. Another key way to connect with your audience is through the use of video. This is also why so many people are afraid of video – they feel so exposed once the recording starts. But isn’t that the best part of video? We are totally in the spotlight. Learn to love it everyone – get excited to show your true self to others. You are here because deep down in your gut you discovered that you have a message to share with the world. It’s time to get that message out and video is a great way to help accomplish that. Stay tuned for a great post I have scheduled for January by Guest Blogger Beth Rosen, “6 Ways to Make Your Video Go Viral.”

I suggest that before you finalize that eBook, before you push that new product, before you publish that new blog post – you ask yourself, “Did I really show up and try to connect with my audience?” If the answer is no, then go back and rework it. The online world is like a giant library where everything you do gets indexed. Make sure only your best is out there for the world to learn from.

If you felt this post was a good reminder, please help me share it through Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. I would also be curious to hear your comments and see what else YOU do to connect with your audience.

Thank you all – have a safe and Happy New Year!

My sunny theory: I don’t think the blog owner got lazy, but rather, they didn’t know what to say! How many times have you thought, “I should write a blog post, it’s been a while..” yet you still don’t get it done. You worry if what you write will be what people want to read… will they care? will they share it? will they comment, or not?

I say, forget the noise and just write. People WILL care. You WILL help others. And the more you write, the more people will share your content and comment on it.

Backing up, there are a few tricks you can use to develop blog post content people will want to read:

1. Yahoo Answers – You can go to http://answers.yahoo.com then click the top button “Browse Categories.” You will see pages of questions (and the public’s answers). You can click on “Most Popular” or “Most Viewed” to organize the search results. What is SO awesome about this is that these are the questions your audience has!! For example, if I have a blog about dog training, I can go to the category “Pets > Dogs” and see a list of questions or of people wanting advice about a particular topic. Then all you need to do is take the general concept, and write your heart out about it. You know people will search for it since obviously people are asking the questions. Poof, content!

 

2. Google’s Keyword Tool – You can go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and at the very top add in a general topic such as “Dog Training”. This awesome tool will churn out tons of search phrases people are searching for every month! For example, you could write about “Puppy Training” and you would know that 450,000 searches occur every month of people looking for information about that topic. The way to use this tool is two-fold. One, you can use it to brainstorm writing topics. The second is that this is a killer Search Engine Optimization tool which allows you to target certain keyword phrases to boost your exposure online!

 

3. Other Industry Leaders – When is the last time you spent 30-60 minutes on Google typing in search phrases related to your topic and seeing what other go-to experts are doing? This tip is far beyond just finding some things to write about as you can get tons of ideas to grow your business too. I think it’s essential to do market research – often! – and peruse their website, blog and social networks. You’re not looking to steal anything, you’re just taking note and brainstorming to get ideas and inspiration. No need to reinvent the wheel, but to take the wheel and put your spin on it (no pun intended).

 

4. Freebie! – An extra bonus idea is to scope out your social networks looking for things people write about. For example, if you write about marriage.. I just saw a lovely post on my Facebook wall about a woman celebrating her 15 yr anniversary, and 19 yrs together total. That could inspire you to write about how to celebrate your anniversary, or how t keep your marriage alive, or how to make a spark. Who knows that inspiration will come when you are searching for ideas. The great thing about social networks is people are constantly spilling the beans about how they feel and what they are doing. I’m not saying this is bad, but it is good market research!

My CHALLENGE for you today is:
Create a list of at least a dozen possible writing topics AND go write your next blog post, TODAY! Procrastination doesn’t make dollars or sense! This is your time to share your expertise and your message with the world. It won’t wait for you, so it’s time to fully engage in your passion and Get It Done!

If you found this post to be inspirational or useful, please help me share it with the world. Let’s get the ball rolling and help as many people as we can! Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness.

There is a TON of valuable information in this post. All of the links open in a new window and the content will laser in on that topic. I invite you to spend some time here and really take advantage of this FREE platform I’ve developed just for you.

For those of you who are just getting started online, this post would be excellent for you to print out and keep by your computer as you
build your online platform (your website, social networks, leads – it is all-encompassing of your touch-points online). For those of you who think they are on a great track online, this may be a good post to see what has slipped between the cracks or what area you could build up for better results.

So let’s get started. Consider your online platform and online presence. Really think about the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into building a website (whether you invested $10,000+ or started a free WordPress site), into starting a social networking account and trying to figure it out, into listening to webinars and teleseminars and reading blog posts on “how” to do it all. Next, I invite you read each question *slowly* and really analyze where you’re at with each of these items:

• Do you have a professionally designed logo that can make for good branding?
• Are you staying ‘up to date’ on what’s happening in your industry so you become the go-to authority for news?
• Do you post to your blog regularly (not once a month, but one a week or more?)
• Is your business brand consistent between all touch points online – from your LinkedIn profile to your Facebook cover to your email newsletter look and feel?
• Have you looked at your content in the past three months to see what, if anything was outdated material?
• Do you do what you say you are going to do online (release new products on time, follow through with your ideas, etc.)?
• When is the last time you did keyword research or competitor research?
• Have you reached out to anyone lately to discuss the concept of collaboration, so you can grow your business more quickly in new markets?
• Do you have a growth plan or goals to help grow your business (such as how many email subscribers you’ll get, how many Facebook friends, how many blog posts, how many emails will you send out to your list each month, etc.)?
• Have you stepped back to evaluate if your web team really IS good, or just the inexpensive solution who isn’t really getting you where you need to be?
• Does your website design help you or hurt you, and when is the last time you’ve evaluated areas for improvement?
• Do you have a solid free introductory product you can give away as incentive for people to sign up to your mailing list?
• And is that free introductory product branded and professionally designed and formatted?
• Do you have obvious social networking icons and feeds on your website so web visitors can connect with you?
• Does your tagline make sense and help you stand out from the noise? Is it easy to remember and does it make an impact?
• Do you have a list of keywords you are targeting with every piece of content you write, so you can start dominating search engines?
• Are you regularly adding products to your website that are for sale so people can get ‘the next best thing’ from you?
• How often are you adding a ‘call to action’ in everything you do (at the end of blog posts, in your email newsletters, in every contact point)?
• Are you organized with your business and do you treat it like a real business with scheduling and planning meetings?
• Do you thank your web visitors, email subscribers, social networking friends and clients for sticking with you?
• How often do you implement new ways to drive traffic to your website and blog?

Your impact on the web IS what you make of it. Those are just a few questions you can ask yourself from time to time to make sure you are BUILDING. Starting an online business is not the easiest task in the world. You are competing with billions of web pages out there. But, there is more than enough room in the sea for us all to profit.

The trick is knowing what to do next to continue building your online platform. Stay focused. Don’t lose the momentum. If you need help with your direction or with implementing tasks, feel free to contact me and let’s have a loose conversation about it. The key is to get help from people who know what they are talking about – and that becomes obvious when someone writes about those topics and gives away the farm just to help others. I’m not tooting my own horn here so much as just teaching how to identify the right kind of person to help you with your business.

If you thought this post was of value, please SHARE this post with others on your social networks. My goal is simple: Helping Others. As many as I can get my hands on.

Thank you for spreading the light!

This post isn’t about Google+ Pages, but I do intend to write one once there’s a little more to share about it. For now you can add your description, photo, same ‘ole — but I still of course suggest you set one up for yourself!

What’s fun (and sometimes frustrating) about playing with online tools is that I feel like I’m living in a pin ball machine. My attention pings from one place to another and shortly my brain hurts and I feel a little overwhelmed – information overload (yes it happens to all of us, even those that do this for a living!)

However, on this delightful cruise of the net I checked in to Google Webmasters (the best free tool ever!). Google Webmasters is amazing for all sorts of reasons, all of which are related to Search Engine Optimization. One section of this site shows me a list of all the websites out in the web world who have been super cool enough to link to my site (pages or posts).

Enter point.

Last night I scanned the list of websites that have linked to me – a few including:  Slate.com, Wikipedia, Ask.com, Answers.com and hundreds upon hundreds more.

Then I clicked over to the list of keyword phrases where I’m ranked on the 1st page of Google. That was a fun list.

Each time I review all these stats (and I do it often – ahem, you should too), I remembered back when I first started this site. I was new, I was a “no one”, I just wanted to share everything I knew with anyone that would listen.

My next thought is of all my clients who trust me and venture off into the blogging world, half fearless, half fearful. I say, “Just trust me. Get to 100 blog posts and you’ll see why blogging is so important. You’ll see how many people are sharing your content, you’ll get more sales and clients – that’s what happens when you put people first.”

If you just hang in there, and KEEP BLOGGING, you will have a day like I had last spring… I had written a tiny little post that took me maybe 10-15 minutes about Google Personalization. One day I login to my blog and see I got 1,000 new visitors to my site within 24 hours. The editor in chief of Slate had linked to my post. Sweet!

If you just hang in there, and KEEP BLOGGING, you will find people sharing your content (most of which you don’t even know about!). You will get more visitors. You will make more sales. You WILL see the BENEFIT.

I just wanted to send those words of encouragement to all you bloggers out there. Providing good content is important. It does matter. We just need you to log on and share what you think we could benefit from! 

“Social Media Examiner presents the web’s largest fully online small business social media conference, Small Biz Success Summit 2012.  Discover how to quickly attract quality customers, build loyal fans and grow your revenue with social media.

Here’s why this summit should interest you:

1. 100% small business focus: No big businesses and no speakers who target big businesses. This is fully for the tiny business.
2. This it totally new content: Broadcast new media, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, video marketing, blogging plus search and much more. Social media is always in flux and this event will cover what you need to know now. If you’re working off what you learned six months ago or longer, you are ages behind.
3. Our biggest conference ever: Study the line up. Twenty-five speakers. If you learn some useful new tactics then it pays for itself.
4. Every presenter is a small biz owner. This is highly customized for you.
5. Fully online: You don’t need to leave your home or office because this event is online!
6. Exciting networking opportunities: You’ll join thousands of your peers in an exclusive LinkedIn networking group.

Click here for details.

Twenty-five of the world’s top small business social media marketing leaders will be summit instructors. All are small business owners.

Presenters include: John Jantsch (author, Duct Tape Marketing), Anita Campbell (founder, Small Business Trends), Michael Stelzner (founder, Social Media Examiner–that’s me), Mari Smith (co-author, Facebook Marketing), Jesse Stay (author, Google+ for Dummies), Lewis Howes (co-author, LinkedWorking), Hollis Thomaes (author, Twitter Marketing), David Siteman Garland (author, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper), Joe Pulizzi (co-author, Get Content, Get Customers) and Brian Clark (founder, Copyblogger)–just to mention a few.

…just to name a few.”

Then I saw this PDF flyer which explains the schedule starting February 1st. I also saw tickets are 1/2 off until Nov 18th so now’s the time to get my ticket.

Again, I heard they’ve already sold 255 seats to the Small Biz Success Summit 2012. I wanted to reach out to you guys to see if you are planning on attending or what your thoughts are. Please send me a comment or share a post with me on Facebook or Google+ about it.

Based on all I’ve read about the Small Biz Success Summit 2012, I’m thinking it’s a slam dunk. You don’t even have to leave home to attend (major plus – no air fare, no hotel). We all know that Social Media is THE place to be in terms of social networking. I read they will cover Facebook, blogging, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube (THE BIG SIX). Maybe I’ll see you there!

So many people have this dilemma. The next step is to rush, rush through logo and website design, rush to add content to the site, rush to turn that sign over to read “Open for business!”

My suggestion? Ask your web developer (how do you know if your web person is any good? click here) to put up a blog with a decent free theme. Someplace you can go to and start blogging now. You don’t have to have your logo done, web design done – nada. Just get “something” up and start the race. The key is to write content while you build the site – then add the design and branding in within the next month or two when you’re all set. This way you generate traffic NOW instead of waiting another two months (that would be super frustrating for you).

The #1 way to get a LOT more traffic and a LOT more results is to blog your heart out. Get to 100 blog posts as fast as possible. This will be key in starting to build your online platform! Adding content alone will give you a big increase in traffic. The faster you want results, the faster you should write blog posts with good valuable content.

Then people come to your site and love your blog post content. At that time, they will want to know what else they can get from you. So, what you want to work on creating is a KILLER good “free introductory offer” to give away in exchange for people signing up to your email list. It has to be something everyone wants NOW. (Such as the “7 things you are doing every day to kiss your financial future good-bye”) Something that everyone wants, today.

Let’s say you make a 7-15 page, beautifully designed and formatted eBook. I can help with the design and formatting (which needed to be done AFTER your branding and logo design so you have congruency). Once your eBook is ready (let’s say you have a goal to knock out the content in 7-10 days – design takes 2-3 days usually), now you have a high value product free on your site. Now you are leaps better at capturing leads.

Then you go to your calendar and make a note that once or twice a month, you send a high-value email to that email list so they are staying connected to you and interested in you.

Next, you start working on creating a $97 product. Maybe it is a 2 DVD or CD set (that is beautifully packaged – now that you have a brand and logo) and a small workbook. So you now funnel people from your free eBook to your $97 product that people can’t live without.

Then, you create the outline for a really great 4-8 week teleseminar. One a month maybe where you deliver a process or method, and then give the listeners a challenge to go execute on. Then end with a Q&A. Charge $300 per person.

Now you have a TON of free content from your blog and eBook (and other things you’ll naturally be a part of such as guest blogging, radio interviews, podcasting maybe), you have your rockin $97 product and teleseminar recordings. Now it’s time to start building your membership site (which could take 6-12 months to create). You give a high value call once a month, plus access to all of your content and interviews, etc. You charge $50-100 a month.

etc etc. By this point, you may not have even realized it, but you have an online platform now!

Now backing up, by the time your website design is done, set a goal for the number of blog posts you want to publish and have your eBook content done (or maybe the whole final eBook done).

Once that is done and design is complete, package it all together and then you work to create that next product to generate good starting income. You don’t need to wait for the perfect website – I can’t stress that enough.

Design is your brand, it is what people will see to connect with you, trust you and remember you. Let the content be so great that they don’t even care if you have a design.

Anything worthwhile doing takes time.

My CHALLENGE for you today is:

• Sit down and write out 30 ideas for topics you could write about that is related to your message or topic. Just brainstorm – free write. There’s no need to make this perfect. When you are just getting started, I say “JUST WRITE” than focus so hard on what topic you need to write about to be perfect, perfect. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be perfect – just add value to people’s lives!
• Next, go to your calendar and write a reasonable and realistic schedule for how often you want to publish a blog post. Remember the goal is 100 posts as fast a possible. That could take you a year or 6 months – that is up to you. A good goal to start is twice a week. Then get used to that and up the ante again to 3 posts a week.
• Then, just start. It’s that easy, just “go”.

If you need help or have questions about building out your online platform, I would like to invite you to make a Facebook post below. If you want advice or direction, I’m always more than happy to share what I know. Thank you in advance for your interaction: