Why Do You Blog?

Online marketing0 comments

Blogging is like any form of marketing, you need to have a reason why you are doing it. Because if you don’t, you will not be successful with your blogging activities.

So ask yourself the question: Why do you blog?

Most people start out thinking that they would like to start a blog because they see other people doing it. However, they have no real plan or strategy on what they want to achieve – whether that’s to create an effective online presence, to showcase their knowledge and expertise, to monetize their content, or to grow an engaged and loyal audience.

Having a strategy means that you can shape your blog around your specific goals. So if you want to showcase your expertise around your services or products then you need to write blogs related to these topics. If you want to make money from your blog then you want to design your blog with advertising and put in place a strategy to drive traffic to it.

The most successful blogs have a focus and something unique they deliver to their audience. It may be that you are targeting a particular audience such as mumpreneurs or over 50s starting up in business. If you belong to that audience already then that gives you an edge as you understand their challenges and issues. This means that you can deliver something unique to your audience.

It’s your uniqueness that will draw people to you.

So whether you’re just starting a blog or you’ve been blogging for a while, it pays to take a step back and ask yourself the question – why do you blog? – to ensure you’re on the right track to achieve your goals.

First of all, start to brainstorm some questions about your blog:

What makes you unique in your niche? Why do people come to read your stuff? How will  you grow your audience?  How will your blog make you money if relevant?  How will you drive traffic to your blog?

Once you’ve got the answers to these questions, then you will start to get an idea of why you are blogging and what you want to get out of it. You can then put plans in place to help you achieve the success that you want with your blogging activities.
 
If you want to start blogging or revamp an existing blog then download a copy of our free guide “How to Start a Blog”. Click here to download the guide now >> How to Start a Blog
 

How to Maintain an Online Presence Even When You’re Away

How to, Online marketing, videos1 comment

If you run your own business then you’ll know that it’s essential to have an effective profile online, whether that’s via your website, newsletter, blog, and/or social media profiles. However, what happens when you decide to take a break from your business? Just because you’re on holiday, it doesn’t mean that your online presence has to take a holiday too. Let’s face it, you don’t want to lose that traffic to your website or damage your search engine ranking.

So here’s how to maintain an online presence even when you’re away from your business. Click the image to watch the video or read the blog below.

Schedule autoresponders. As I mentioned in my previous blog “3 Ways to Use Autoresponders for Your Business“, autoresponders are a great way of staying in touch with contacts. You can schedule a series of emails to go out while you’re away. Make sure that these emails contain links to your blog posts, article and special offers so that they help to drive traffic to your website.

Schedule blog posts. Don’t forget that you can schedule blog posts too. Just write them before you go and then set a date and time that you want them to be posted. If you’ve automatically linked your blogs to your Twitter profile and Facebook page, then your online contacts will be notified as soon as the blog is posted. You can also set up your email marketing program to send out an email to your contacts whenever you post a new blog.

Use guest bloggers. And if you don’t have the time to write blogs, then use guest bloggers. They not only save you the stress of having to write and schedule content before you go away, but they will share their blogs with their own online audience which will generate additional traffic back to your website.

Schedule your social media updates. Keep your social media profiles up to date by schedules updates using tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. However, keep an eye on your profiles in case anyone responds to one of your updates – you can easily do this on your smartphone or tablet device. Alternatively hire a virtual assistant to maintain and monitor your social media profiles while you’re away.

Maintain website. If you use your website to generate leads, communicate with prospects or sell products and services directly, then you will need someone to maintain it during your absence. Many virtual assistants nowadays have the skills to manage and update websites, whether they are ecommerce or membership sites. So hire someone before you go on holiday to ensure that your website users are being looked after.

So now you know how to maintain an online presence while you’re away with a bit of planning and thought. This means that you can continue to promote your business and keep the traffic flowing to your website, no matter where you are in the world.

If you want to maintain an online presence when you’re away from your business, then click on the arrow button to find out more about our online marketing services. We will help you to set up and manage your online marketing activities so that you can raise your profile and credibility with your network.
 

5 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Manage Your Blog

How to, Online marketing, Virtual Assistant0 comments

Whether you currently have a blog or not, I’m sure you’ve heard how blogging can attract visitors to your website and be a great way to build relationships with your contacts.  As someone who runs their own business, I know how beneficial it is to have a means of sharing your knowledge and expertise directly with your readers.

So if most business owners understand the benefits of having a blog, why do so few of them actually do it?   Well from talking to them, I’ve found that either people don’t know how to set one up or they have got one but just never have the time to post regularly.  And let’s face it, an out of date blog is worse than not having one at all.

So if you want to start a blog or reinstate an existing one, how can you go about it without too much effort?   Well, here are 5 ways that a virtual assistant can help you with setting up and managing your blog.

• Advise you of which software to use.  The best blogging platform is WordPress as you can integrate it easily with your website, especially if your site is already built in WordPress.   It also has plug-ins to help with SEO, spam, and social sharing etc.  There are other options such as Blogger, TypePad and Posterous and a VA can help you make a decision based on your requirements.

• Format it so it fits in with your branding.  If the virtual assistant has the appropriate skills, they can design your blog with the same colour scheme and logo as you use on your website.  It helps to keep your branding seamless across all your online marketing activities so your readers can instantly recognise it’s you when they land on a particular site.
• Research and add content.  A virtual assistant can research content that is relevant to the products or services associated with your business, and follow what the leaders in your industry are saying so you are aware of the hot topics.  Once you have written your article, the VA can post the content on to your blog.

• Set up a schedule.  Depending how often you want to post a blog, a virtual assistant can set up a schedule and remind you when a blog is due.  It’s a good idea to have a regular schedule and stick to it because if your contacts like what they read, they will either subscribe to your blog or check back regularly to see what’s new.

• Promote your content.  Once you’ve written a blog then you want as many people to see it as possible, and a virtual assistant can help to promote it around the Internet.  They can do this by setting up social sharing buttons on your blog, posting links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts, and using websites that let the search engines know that your blog has been updated.

So by hiring a virtual assistant to help you manage your blog,  you need never miss a blog post!  If you want to know more, check out our Blog Design and Management Service to see how we can get your blog up and running so that you can engage directly with your contacts and drive traffic to your website.