First Word

Every blogger needs a vacation! I'm giving my ole typing fingers a rest. I'll be back chatting you up on August 11. Cheers! Michelle

Do you want to build readership for your blog? Are you a non-writer but you want to hire a writer? Are you thinking, "I could pay to have it done a couple of times a week..." Most clients don't want to pay a writer to blog more than a couple of times a week. Understandable given the expense. Blog writers are paid per hour. The obvious value in blogging isn't easily put into a results measurement either. The number one question is almost always, "How do I know if it's working?" So let's walk through some of these points. How often should you really blog to be build effective readership ? This answer may not be the one you want to hear: every day. You have the minimum which I say is 2-3 times a week. Then you have the favorable maximum, which is daily (sometimes including weekends). Two to three times a week builds audience but it becomes more sporadic than consistent. You'll see in the statistics spikes in readership that coincide with articles ...

I'll never forger this: I was at a networking function and this woman was discussing her blog. She said she had 5,000 page views a month (heck I struggle to get 2,000). She was an average business person. Here is what surprised me: her blog was about knitting . Realizing that I my blog was well under her page views, I suddenly had blog-envy. How does a blog about knitting get 5,000 page views per month? I randomly ask myself that question all of the time. Actually the question I really ask is: how do I increase my blog readership? Hmm ... My blog is about publishing, business and marketing (and I occasionally sprinkle in humor) -- check. I write about broad interest and general topics, too -- check. I include pictures when I have them to post -- check. I think over my "labels" very carefully -- check. I "think" my writing is good LOL (insecure writer syndrome) -- check. So, what's the deal? How can I increase my blog readership? Why does knitting get...

I opened my own company in 2006, and next month I celebrate my 8th year in business. Considering most businesses open and close in the first year, I get asked how I've stayed in the game this long. Well other than a lot of fairy dust, I guess I'll try and distill it down. Persistence AKA never give up . Oh, a few times I've been about this "close" to throwing in not just the towel, but the baby, the dishwater and the tub it came in. A few lean months where my net suggested I could make more at McDonald's and contemplation of a six-figure income back in corporate sounded much better. Yet here I am still standing. Yes, I always give myself permission to have a brief adult tantrum, but once the angst tears and cries of defeat end, I get back to the business of my business. I buckle up, do the buttercup (more like marketing), and business goes on. Speaking of marketing ... you must market every single day. Marketing is like brushing your teeth and bathing (If...

I think most things in life require persistence. When it comes to marketing (and whatever your marketing choice) for your book or business, you have to do one key and important thing: be persistent . We're going to call this the "persistence factor" or PF. The PF influences your success quotient. PF is directly related to the degree of success. There! Your math quotient for marketing. For those of you who hate math, let's just speak in plain English. You cannot do these things and succeed with your marketing programs: Irregular newsletter : if you're going to write a newsletter, be prepared to WRITE it. I like to do mine weekly. I encourage others to do it weekly not bi-weekly not monthly. Keep your brand in front of your target audience -- that's the point. But if you commit, commit! Don't do it one week and drop it the next week. Persistence builds an expectation -- that newsletter will be in in-boxes regardless. People come to expect your newsletter...

A prospective client mentioned she blogged but quit because it was too confessional. I started wondering why the confessional nature of her blog made her quit? I thought she should just quit "confessing" on it and shift the content if she had an audience. Then I wondered, should a business owner or entrepreneur "confess" anything on a blog at all. Here is my conclusion: It depends on the nature of your business . Let's begin with that premise. Are you a counselor? Well, most counselors are not supposed to delve into their own lives so perhaps direct confessions are a no, no. Do you sell products and services? You might want to stick to the product and service world you live in. Do you write self-help or inspirational books? Ah, now we're getting into an area where a little "confession" helps your product and adds credibility to what you're talking about. When I "confess" anything on this blog it typically is with the idea that like ...

Blogging makes a great tool to market your business. Many free and paid services are available. I'm going to weigh in on my opinion based on observation and use of the tools. Blogger -- I obviously prefer Blogger. I use it for this blog, and I have been satisfied with its capabilities for what I do. And that is key to the process. What are you going to do with it? Now video blogging has become a big deal, and many marketers have promoted its use as popular. I see many sites now use video blogging, too. For what I do, video blogging isn't key. So my use of the video feature isn't as critical. Most sites now offer that feature (more or less in capability). Blogger allows you to insert a video. The problem I found is that my iPhone capabilities make it nearly impossible to send a video to my computer (too much bandwidth is required). So if you do intend to video blog, it's more dependent on whether or not you have the video-making capabilities. Additionally, some blogs ...

I am amazed at how many people confuse my weekly newsletter First Word with my First Word blog. So, I thought I should give you a clear-cut definition of the two marketing pieces. First, though, I should tell you that THIS is my blog. This Web page is my blog. My newsletter you can sign up for by going to www.3LPublishing.com and signing up by clicking on the newsletter button on the homepage. So what is the difference between the two? Blog -- a blog is a Web-based kind of "diary" if you will where you talk about things related to your business or life. It is always best to choose a topic or theme so your readers come to understand and know what to expect when they read it. I try to take a humorous or irreverent approach to both my blog and newsletter, and I discuss subjects, from publishing to writing, and from public relations to marketing, and from personal to self-help subjects. Once every now and then, you will find something completely random and unrelated just to ...

I wasn't inspired yesterday so I didn't blog. OMG! How is that possible? Well, I had some other things on my mind and two major projects to edit. So, you know ... life! Today, though, is blog day Friday. I am going to make a social commentary this morning versus actually teach my spectator friends anything relevant or important ... or heck! Maybe what I'm going to laugh about might actually be a learning point ... who knows. Here we go ... today's self-described "learning point" has to do with social media and the obvious. The obvious being that my profile shows that I'm in a "relationship" and the less obvious being men who overlook my relationship status and essentially go for it anyway. If you're a guy who doesn't wish to be shot down, perhaps you ought to observe not only the relationship status, BUT also the fact that I gush publicly about my boyfriend, too. Yes, if you really look beyond the superficial (my profile picture) and m...

With social media, your website or blog, and your newsletter, your own image often becomes a part of your brand. One thing I swore when I left corporate America is that I would never wear a  suit ever again. I also wanted to do things my way. And I consider myself a lot of fun to work with and be around. So, when it came time to do the perfunctory head shots for social media, in particular, I was mindful of what exactly I wanted to convey about my image. (P.S., companies that put logos on social media instead of individual images, I think are missing the boat. I hate it when I'm talking back and forth with a logo ... it's impersonal and I don't know if you're a man or woman.) You will never see a boring head shot on any of my marketing materials. I am not a staid corporate executive. I will never be a vanilla girl who will bore you to work with me. And as you can see, I have played up in my image what I want the world to see -- fun, easygoing, not conservative, and ab...

No, there are no magic elixirs or formulas for instant business success. The Blue Fairy won't make your business a "real" business with a wave of the wand nor will the evil witch change your fate with a potion (can you tell I've been watching too much Disney over the holiday break?). BUT I have some great news. You don't need wands or potions to be successful in business. I've been a business owner for seven years, and here is what I've learned over the years and what I know works in business. Here are three things every business owner should be doing to create a profitable, successful business. No. #1 -- Networking . Do you remember in college when your professor told you to go out and network and you thought, "Oh no! I would rather spend the evening in the frat house." The idea of going out and meeting strangers sounded about as exciting as a root canal. Well, reality is you have to network to be successful in business. You have to shake stra...

Do you know what I consider my two most valuable marketing tools? My blog and newsletter. Here is why ... Blog : a blog refreshes and keeps your website at the top of the search engines without having to do search engine optimization. You constantly add keywords to your "labels" and keep your company name and presence on the Internet refreshed. Now couple this with education-based marketing, which enables you to keep your prospective clients or customers informed but not pitched to. You don't want to pitch, but rather provide information about why your services are valuable to your client by educating them about how things works vs. selling them something. Blogs enable education-based marketing and keep your name on the top of the search engines. Newsletter : I've been doing my newsletter weekly for the last six years. Every Sunday my readers can count on seeing First Word  (you can sign up at www.3LPublishing.com) arrive in their in-boxes. This tool acts as an on...