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Blogs (used for business) are supposed to be relationship builders, so they say. Of course, purist bloggers will say they shouldn’t be used for business, but if you read this blog, you’ve gotten past all that and we can discuss blogging for business candidly, right?
But many people who give advice on blogging for business say that you shouldn’t sell on your blog. The blog is just for building those relationships. Well, I love to make new friends and cement relationships with existing ones as much as the next guy/gal…but ummm…I also blog to build my business.
If You Don’t Tell Them What You Have to Offer, How Will They Know?
See, I don’t really understand how one could think that just writing interesting blog posts without ever making any offer to your readers is going to do you much good. Sure, you can do some promos/ads in the side bar of your blog, but realistically…most of your readers ignore the side of your blog. They are interested in what you have to SAY. And if you don’t SAY what you have to offer…how will they know?
Making offers in the context of your posts makes the most sense. Tell them while they are listening and engaged in what you have to say. Of course, I’m not saying that every blog post needs to be a full-on pitch (but go ahead, make some pitch posts sprinkled in with the great content), but include some kinds of business-building call-to-action in a large percentage of your entries.
If you have an ecourse or newsletter that focuses on the topic at hand, mention it.
If you have a product that helps people with a problem you’re writing about, tell your readers about it.
If you know another company that sells a great product solution, link to it with an affiliate link.
Your blog readers are not mind readers, plus they read your blog because they like you and/or your company. They WANT to know what you’re up to, what you have to offer, etc. NEVER assume that your readers already know what products you have and that they’ll take the time to investigate what would suit them best. You need to guide them and tell them.
This is something Lynette Chandler and I really try to drive home in our Internet Marketing Blogging Bootcamp, which happens to be opening for registration next Monday.
(Side Note: See, I’m including a link because I want you to go sign up for the notification list and consider joining us for the bootcamp when registration opens. I do not want to leave it to chance that you already know this, because you probably don’t as you’re busy and have more important things to keep track of. )
If you look through this blog, you’ll see it is FULL of useful information, a bit of silliness (that people seem to like), a lot of subtle plugs and a decent amount of straight promotions. I have a decent readership, but don’t have the huge numbers many A-List bloggers do…but I will tell you that this blog is one of the biggest keys to my ongoing profit.
Some Outside Perspective on How This Blog Sells
Interestingly enough, a number of people have caught on to my money-making scheme with this blog…he he he.
Andy Beard says about myself and Lynn Terry “they probably have more paying customers than many A-list bloggers have subscribers.” -> Read the full quote in context here.
John Reese wrote about an audit his team did for BlogRush members and he mentioned that a lot of make-money blogs were disapproved because “most of the blogs in that category were heavy with ads and promotional material compared with the ratio of tips, techniques, and true unique ‘helpful’ content.” And then he proceeded to list this blog as one of the blogs that actually got it right. -> Read the full quote in context here.
Brent Hodgson wrote about “over-the-shoulder-selling” which “is a type of inclusive sales pitch which just engages people - not as sales prospects, but as people,” and listed me as one of the people who “use this tactic (either subconsciously, or very deliberately).” -> Read the full quote in context here.
Yes, It Applies to YOU!
And please don’t tell me this is only suitable for this type of “Internet marketing” blog because it’s simply not true. If you have products to sell and you have people who enjoy your related content - you can incorporate selling into your blog.
So tell me, do you incorporate selling in your blog? Subtle or direct…it doesn’t make you a snake oil or used car salesman. It makes you someone who can relate to and make great recommendations to your readers.
But first -> YES! Guys can be guests too! I’ve had a few guys ask if they could be a guest blogger and OF COURSE they can. Some of my favorite Internet Marketing Sweeties are men.
Here are the details reposted:
If you’re in the B2B / Internet Marketing market, this might be a great opportunity for some additional exposure. I’m looking for people to commit to contributing a bi-weekly original blog post from July - September (approx 8 blog entries)…and if we like working together, we can probably continue on after that.
In return, you will receive a biographical page on the Sweetie website and you can include a byline in each entry.
If you’re interested, please a quick resume to my assistant Mel at news @ internetmarketingsweetie.com with the following info:
1. Your full name.
2. Best email address for contact.
3. Your business URL.
4. Topics you’d like to write on.
5. Links to 3 samples of your work.
6. Can you commit to 8 original blog posts?*
7. Do you have experience using WordPress (not required, but helpful)?
*Note: There are no specific length requirements, just that the content must be useful. It must be original text (not published elsewhere). The 8 posts can be prescheduled, so if you are on holiday or away during the July - Sept period at all, you can still participate. All posts are subject to editing and approval.
Something really weird is going on with some marketing blog bloggers that seem to have gone tabloid. I think it’s totally cool to disagree with people and you should be a man/woman and have the guts to say who you’re disagreeing with - but what’s with the personal shots?
Next we’ll be seeing photos of our cellulite-covered bathing-suit clad bottom halves saying “You’ll never guess who,” exposing all gurus and their ever-growing computer-planted behinds. Or maybe when that skinny guru (I think there are a couple!) goes to a sushi restaurant and shares one piece of sushi with his/her skinny friend, we’ll hear all about it.
I jest, but I admit I was kind of surprised by a couple of personal jabs this week.
One of note - came from Rick Butts and his blog post entitled Worst Internet Marketing Advice I’ve Ever Heard. This post was a video response to this post by Ross Goldberg. I got pulled into the whole thing because I commented on Ross’s post as I disagreed with what he said and Rick addressed my comment in his video. Yes, it sounds like a soap opera, I know. Don’t worry if you don’t follow, just watch Rick’s video and you’ll see what I mean.
Now, I realize that Rick likes to use a bit of humor, so I can cut him some slack. But his video alluding to the fact that Ross may fancy himself as a vampire and other comments, made me wriggle in my seat a little. Why not just state your argument and inject humor where it isn’t directed at a particular individual? But hey, if that’s Rick’s thing…it’s Rick’s thing and it looks like Rick and Ross have decided to discuss things on a more even-handed level.
Warms my heart.
But then I came across this post on Mashable that contained no humor, took comments out of context and was clearly written to take personal shots. The post is entitled, Is Twitter Vulnerable to Marketer Attack? by Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins and he uses bits and pieces of an email from John Reese to illustrate that marketers are taking advantage of Twitter.
He refers to John’s customers as victims and states his concern that “there are a million affiliate marketers with even less scruples” - oh please. If you want to make an argument, make one based on the facts and true issues in front of him. Forget the fact that no marketer, spammer or idiot can actually ruin Twitter because it’s completely permission-based - if you do actually have an argument, just make it.
Sure, I realize these guys do this to bring in traffic - as we know controversy is a great attention-getter (and it works cuz I’m sending these guys traffic). But does controversy need to be so personal?
A few few weeks back, I wrote about working on my back. Well, this lil’ one is still using my body as an amusement park and I am really looking forward to her arrival in this wonderful world of ours. Frankly, it’s quite frustrating being so limited in what I can - in work and play - and it’s been a real eye opener for me.
This blog entry, is in part, to ask for just a bit of patience with me. Overall, it’s business as usual here, but some things are slowing down. As far as ordering products, getting customer support and so forth - that’s always covered (my support desk is here, by the way, if you need it).
But when it comes to JV requests, personal emails, etc. I am falling behind.
JV Requests - Please Save Them for the Fall
If you have any type of JV request, please hold it until late September as I’m not taking any right now. Product recommendation is something I always have a personal hand in, so those things will have to wait.
I’m also…
Looking for Guest Bloggers
I’m a blogger at heart (who knew there’d be such cool technology when I was just a kidlet with a penchant for writing?) and I know I’ll still be blogging regularly, but to pick up a bit of slack, I am looking for some guest bloggers, starting in July.
If you’re in the B2B / Internet Marketing market, this might be a great opportunity for some additional exposure. I’m looking for people to commit to contributing a bi-weekly original blog post from July - September (approx 8 blog entries)…and if we like working together, we can probably continue on after that.
In return, you will receive a biographical page on the Sweetie website and you can include a byline in each entry.
If you’re interested, please a quick resume to my assistant Mel at news @ internetmarketingsweetie.com with the following info:
1. Your full name.
2. Best email address for contact.
3. Your business URL.
4. Topics you’d like to write on.
5. Links to 3 samples of your work.
6. Can you commit to 8 original blog posts?*
7. Do you have experience using WordPress (not required, but helpful)?
*Note: There are no specific length requirements, just that the content must be useful. It must be original text (not published elsewhere). The 8 posts can be prescheduled, so if you are on holiday or away during the July - Sept period at all, you can still participate. All posts are subject to editing and approval.
Well, that’s it for me for now. Back to a bit of work…then more rest.
I was just told about Carrie Lauth’s beginner’s guide to blogging and wanted to make sure I posted it here. Carrie has prepared this free 12-page guide for those working in the Natural Mom market (you know cloth diapers, organic living and all that great stuff), but I took a look at it and it’s a really decent guide for ANYONE trying to get into blogging.
The guide goes over all the basics including:
What is a blog.
What blog platform to choose.
Hosting your blog.
Customizing your blog.
What to blog about.
Overcoming writer’s blog.
Making money with your blog.
There are a few tips here and there are specifically for natural moms, but overall, if you’ve needed this whole blog thing explained from the beginning it’s definitely worth a download.
Have you noticed that guest blogging has kinda exploded lately? It’s not uncommon to see request or permanent invites for people to guest blog. I think it is great. In fact, in IM Blogging Bootcamp, we encourage guest blogging. It relieves you of the pressure to come up with unique content regularly. Plus, a little (relevant) deviation from just you, y ourself and your company can be good.
Yet, sometimes you see some pretty excessive rules for guest blog submissions. One such I recently came across required the guest blogger to write posts that are between 600 - 1000 words.
That’s practically an article. I’m not saying bloggers shouldn’t accept long article like posts. But seriously, as blog readers, don’t you think article length posts are a bit tiring to read? Yes, the quality of the article matters. But my guess is, most blog readers are not into long article like posts.
Furthermore, I think this is rather a turn off for guest bloggers. It is true that big, popular blogs can demand a lot and there would still be people who’d dive at the opportunity. Yet, I can’t help feeling a little irked over it. What do you think?
A while back, I tried to paste in YouTube code into my WordPress blog and discovered because I use the “Visual Editor”, it would mess up my whole template. I also discovered that when I moved from Blogger to WordPress all my carefully pasted videos, were gone or messed up.
To add the YouTube code, I had two choices. Use the text editor OR install a plug-in. Now, I’m proficient enough with a text editor, but I still like to be able to quickly preview the end result.
Instead, I chose the WP YouTube plug-in. Not only can I paste in the YouTube videos easily, I can make my videos look pretty darned snazzy and match my purdy blog. You can set up multiple profiles that allow you to change the appearance of your videos through your control panel.
You can name the tag what you want, specify the size (IMPORTANT on this very narrow blog) and specify the colors. Then when you’re ready to post videos, all you need is the ID of the YouTube video (not the whole copy and paste code). For example the ID is shown in red below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjYT5OLoR8U
Then you simply take that ID and surround it with the label you set out in the profile.
In preparation for the Blogging Bootcamp that starts on Monday…Sweetie Saturday needs to take a break for this week.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have good news:
1. Here’s a cool “Before You Post” freebie that Lynette made. Go and grab yours…it’s totally free, simple to use and very handy.
2. Next Saturday brings us to another installment of the Sweetie Saturday Report. This month’s report is all about practical strategies to help you run your business…instead of having it running you. I’ll have more details coming soon.
Until then, have an awesome weekend and I’ll talk to you soon!
Blogs (used for business) are supposed to be relationship builders, so they say. Of course, purist bloggers will say they shouldn’t be used for business, but if you read this blog, you’ve gotten past all that and we can discuss blogging for business candidly, right? 
See, I don’t really understand how one could think that just writing interesting blog posts without ever making any offer to your readers is going to do you much good. Sure, you can do some promos/ads in the side bar of your blog, but realistically…most of your readers ignore the side of your blog. They are interested in what you have to SAY. And if you don’t SAY what you have to offer…how will they know?
Andy Beard says about myself and Lynn Terry “they probably have more paying customers than many A-list bloggers have subscribers.” -> Read the full quote in context here.
Something really weird is going on with some marketing blog bloggers that seem to have gone tabloid. I think it’s totally cool to disagree with people and you should be a man/woman and have the guts to say who you’re disagreeing with - but what’s with the personal shots?
Next we’ll be seeing photos of our cellulite-covered bathing-suit clad bottom halves saying “You’ll never guess who,” exposing all gurus and their ever-growing computer-planted behinds. Or maybe when that skinny guru (I think there are a couple!) goes to a sushi restaurant and shares one piece of sushi with his/her skinny friend, we’ll hear all about it. 
A few few weeks back, I wrote about 
A while back, I tried to paste in YouTube code into my WordPress blog and discovered because I use the “Visual Editor”, it would mess up my whole template. I also discovered that when I moved from Blogger to WordPress all my carefully pasted videos, were gone or messed up.
In preparation for the 
