Biz Blogging 101 Teleseminar Classes
Biz Blogging 101 – Blog Writing Teleseminar Classes Now!
Biz Blogging 101 – Blog Writing Teleseminar Classes Now!
Biz Blogging 101 – Blog Writing Teleseminar Classes Now!
Biz Blogging 101 – Blog Writing Teleseminar Classes Now!

Business Blog Post Idea Well Run Dry? Fill Her Up!

When the business blog post idea well runs dry,
fill 'er up with blog types to keep things flowing.

By Karen A. Teeters

Bloggers' Block

I know, I know. You need to start blogging on a regular basis and some days the ideas come to you and others days that great big bloggers' block gets in the way of your writing muse. You're dried up.
 
A lot of experienced and successful bloggers have written about this problem and one way to conquer it is to have structure. The structure is being aware of the different kinds of posts you can write. Getting your head into a certain kind of post makes it a whole lot easier to come up with your topic.

Link Post

Take this post, for example. I said to myself that I had not written a “link” post yet. And once I came up with that idea I immediately thought of all the great articles I had read about the types of posts that are available to bloggers! Some writers recommend to keep it simple with 3 or 4 types of articles while others get creative and list up to 52 types of blog posts.
 
So here are links to some of the more helpful recent posts that have been written on “types” of posts to keep your creative blog writing juices flowing! Continue reading

George Carlin and Authentic Business Blog Writing

Be authentic with your business blog writing
and take a tip from George Carlin.

 
By Karen A. Teeters
 
George Carlin

Self Expressed

 
One of the most self expressed people I can think of is George Carlin. The man always had an opinion and an amazing and humorous way to get it across.
 
Later in life as he talks about his career in his autobiography he states that he finally realized rather than perceiving himself as a performer that he was foremost, a writer, a sharer of authentic, original and most of all, in your face ideas.
 

George Carlin the Muse

 
You are probably thinking, why would I bring up such a wild talent as George Carlin to talk about and inspire business blog writing? Truth is, I was sitting in bed this morning thinking about what to write about as an opinion or essay piece blog article and George Carlin came to mind. I believe George is floating around in the ether just waiting to be the muse and reach an open mind to be inspired by “don't let 'em scare you” true authenticity.
 
Yes he does use curse words but he was always so darn passionate and real. Who could ever forget any of his routines? And I know he is dead but his genius lives on on the internet. And he is ready to inspire your blog writing! Continue reading

Build Your E-mail Subscriber List – 5 Proven Opt-in Strategies for Your Blog and Website

How to Entice Your Readers to Sign Up for Your E-mail List

 
by Karen A. Teeters
 
SocialNetBloggger.com Build eMail ListToday, if you have a website, you must have an email newsletter list! All the online marketing experts agree that a large email list is exponentially important to the success of your blog and website.
 
So the secret to attracting a large number of subscribers that are actually interested in your product or services would be invaluable to your online success, right?

Let's look at not just one secret but five proven ways to entice your readers to sign up for your email list. Let's face it, there are lots of great articles out there about amassing huge email lists. I am going to list the ideas that I have personally used or that are on my to do list.

 

1. Offer an Opt-in for a Complimentary Newsletter

 
The number one absolute best way to collect opt-in email addresses is to offer your potential subscribers the information you know they are looking for! You do this with the insider information and top strategies that you only offer to the readers of your newsletter! Continue reading

It’s NOT a “Report.” It’s Just A Blog Post!

Purrfecting the art of the short, quick post

By K. Scott Teeters

Special thanks to http://diylol.com/ for the kitty.You have to be at least 40-ish to get my analogy here. Remember when we were in school and the teacher said, “Now class, your assignment is a REPORT”? For most of us, the word, “REPORT” struck terror into our hearts. “Oh NO! Not a REPORT!” Of course this was in the pre-PC, desktop publishing days when your finished report was either carefully hand written or typed. If your report was going to be hand written, you just knew you’d probably have to write the whole darn thing AT LEAST five times because there’ll always a spelling error and the teacher told you, “SPELLING ERRORS WILL COUNT OFF YOUR FINAL SCORE!”

At least in the modern computer age we have word processors with spell check, plus you can jockey your words around, etc. You still have to do the research, but at least you won’t feel like your hand has become crippled from rewriting a STUPID REPORT over and over. Even if you liked English and History classes where reports were common, it was still quite a task for a teenager. Unfortunately for many of us, the unpleasant experience of “writing a report” got burned into our brain synapses. So along comes someone like me that says, “Lots of blog posts (aka “reports) is the key to blogging success.” If report writing was drudgery for you as a young person, the feeling of angst probably bubbles in your gut like bad leftovers.

So, here’s the catch.

Most people today suffer from what I call, ‘The Busyness Epidemic.” Ask someone, “How’s it going?” and you’re likely to hear, “Oh man, it’s crazy!” Or, “I’m on OVERWHELM!” Continue reading

Working a Large Business Mixer

Shark Aquarium Wall3 Networking Experts Share Tips
to Work a Large Business Mixer

by Karen A. Teeters

Networking with the Sharks

This past year I attended the largest networking mixer I ever experienced. It was called Networking with the Sharks. Almost 450 people showed up to network and share their businesses. No, I did not get bitten by anything with “sharp” teeth. But I admit I was somewhat intimidated by large groups of 5 to 6 people mingling and talking and just about all of them total strangers.

Networking with Animals Walking on Two Legs

I did the best that I could at the Camden Aquarium event held in Camden New Jersey on the waterfront. The room was huge and gorgeous and the buffet layout of fruits and tasty sweet delights was luscious. Did I mention one full tall wall was indeed a huge water aquarium filled with the sparkling personalities of live swimming sharks? But it was actually the animals walking on two legs that scared me. Continue reading

5 Reasons Do It Yourself Websites Fail Small Businesses

by Karen A. Teeters
 

or Customized WordPress Websites Save You Money and You Can Still Self Edit!

 
Do it Yourself Websites Fail the Small Business ownerAs a website designer and online marketing consultant for small business, I find that many of my clients hire me because they are extremely disappointed with the search engine rankings and number of visitors to their websites. The majority of these websites were built by amateur friends or by the owner on do it yourself (DIY)  template sites. The site might look good but my clients eventually realize after a few months or even a few years that they need professional help to improve their local search optimization and to create social media ready websites.

Why Do It Yourself Websites Fail Small Businesses:

1. Keywords and SEO:

 
One of the main reasons a potential client finds your site is because of the keywords that you put into your content. These are the words you believe your potential client will use to do a search for your services and products in search engines like Google and Bing. If your webmaster cousin or you can not figure out how to do this effectively, you have wasted your time. Continue reading

Passionate About Business Blogging Yet?

Passion, Your Plan and Your  Writing Habit  Get You Results!

By Karen A. Teeters

socialnetblogger.comBusiness Blog Data

Recent marketing data shows that business blogging works. The data shows nearly 40% of US companies use blogs for marketing purposes and that companies that blog have 55% more website visitors. That is pretty good incentive for a small business owner to write blog posts, wouldn't you think? But there is more. Business to Consumer companies that blog get 88% more leads a month than those that don't. And Business to Business companies that blog get 67% more leads a month than those that don't. Here is the kicker. Companies that blog 20 or more times a month are seeing the biggest return in traffic and leads. I want to be in that bracket, don't you?

Small Business Passion for Blogging

A nutritionist, a business coach, a power trainer, a chiropractor are all small businesses that can benefit from business blogging. But the amount of success these businesses are going to experience is directly related to the passion the owner has about the service she is offering. Continue reading

Read Problogger the Book for Great Tips for the Business Blogger!

Problogger the Book has Great Tips for the Business Blogger!

by Karen A. Teeters

A Business Blogger Must Read

Darren Rowse's and Chris Garret's now classic book, Problogger, Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income main purpose is to provide expertise and advice to those blog writers who would like to make money from their special interest or niche blogs.
 
However as a business blogger myself, I find many of the chapters offer spot on advice for those small businesses that want to attract more business to their websites by offering an authority leadership blog emphasizing tips and industry insights to their readers.
 
The book was published back in 2008 which means it was probably actually written in 2007. But the tips and advice are still fresh and relevant for today's business blogger. Continue reading

Twitter Gets You More Visitors and Page Views

WordPress Statistics Prove
that Twitter Gets Results!

by Karen A. Teeters

If you have been following my blog posts for a while you may have read my observations that Twitter really works!

Majority of Hits from Twitter

What I really mean by that is the statistics prove it. Whenever my husband, Scott Teeters or I send out social media micro posts by linking to our blogs or favorite articles via a great little toolbar tool called Hootlet (from Hootsuite-check it out), we check our statistics on our WordPress websites and see that the majority of our hits are from our Twitter followers.
 
A few might be from our LinkedIn or Facebook page followers but hands down, every time, our Twitter followers REALLY do it because we see the little “owly” (Hootsuite's mascot) twitter short address on our WordPress statistics pages! The unique visitors and page views always go SUBSTANTIALLY up! Continue reading

Hootsuite Hootlet Wings Your Social Media Campaign

Hootsuite Hootlet Browser App
Provides Wings for Social Media

By Karen A. Teeters
 
My secret to posting on my Twitter account, LinkedIn account and Facebook business page quickly and easily on a regular basis?

Newsletters and Google Alerts
Serve up the Latest News

 
I subscribe to a boatload of fantastic newsletters and blogs on social media and blogging. I get them delivered to my email in box daily. And I get Google alerts on several social media topics which are also delivered to my in box So you know what that means? Everyday I am in the front of my computer working on projects and I check my email regularly for feedback and comments from my clients. So I am constantly seeing these juicy newsletters and alerts. First thing in the morning, at lunch and dinner time I am scanning my emails for the latest on small business online marketing and social media.

Good Stuff gets Tweeted

What enticing tidbit did Danny Brown, Chris Brogan, or Copyblogger send my way? Continue reading

Time to Make Your Business Blog, an Old Comfortable Friend?

Or answers to the question –

Having trouble staying committed to a long term relationship with your business blog and not sure what to do?

By Karen A. Teeters

Business Blog is Powerful Marketing Tool

Your business blog, dear small bizpreneur is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to you today. So are you taking the writing of it seriously or does it scare the heck out of you? In an evolving marketplace where your online presence is taking over older traditional tools like print ads, TV, radio, and yellow pages, you can no longer afford to ignore the professional and serious blogging.effort needed to compete.
 
Maybe like many of my clients, you have a very social media savvy website with links to your Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin accounts. And maybe you even have a helpful tips newsletters that goes out at least once a month. But the regular blogging thing may be stopping you. You may have even started with your blog, kept at it for a few months and then just lost steam after not being sure what kind of return you were getting.

Love Lorn Advice for Bloggers?

If I was a love lorn advice columnist, I might say something like, “Having trouble staying committed to a long term relationship with your business blog? Maybe you are just not into blogging?”. Continue reading

Three Easy Ways to Feed Your Blog Monster-Tips for Short, Quick Blog Posts

Or BAM!, Now You Have a New Short Post in Minutes!

 
By K. Scott Teeters – Co SocialNetBlogger and Co-Owner and Web Designer of FiveStarSiteMakers.com

Consistent Blog Posting for Top Ranking!

Consistent blog posting is hands-down the quickest way to get you to the top of the search engine listings. Back in the olden days, (way back in 2000) to get on the first page of the search engines, you had to do a lot of link swapping, meta tag, and keyword tricks. These things still work, but there’s a new guy in town called blogging. Because blog posts tend to be relatively easy to create, it seems that he who posts most wins the top spots in the search engines.
 
That’s because the search engines LOVE fresh material. They will spit out a static site that hasn’t been updated in months every time in favor of your newly published blog posts. How do you feed the blog monster without eating up your time? Continue reading

Dude, Why Do I Need to Blog Everyday?

Or How Your Consistent Blogging Gets You Great Ranking

 
By K. Scott Teeters – Co SocialNetBlogger and Co-Owner and Web Designer of FiveStarSiteMakers.com



A System for  Consistent Blogging

The short answer is this: “No… but, yes.” Okay, do you “need” to blog? Of course not, you don’t “need” to do any of this. If you’re a hobbyist or you just like to share your day-to-day activities with the world, the inhabitants of this planet can wait for your next insight. But, if your objective for your website is to be on the first or second page of the Google search engine rankings, then you might want to develop a system for blogging every day. Let me explain how I came to this conclusion.

Three Easy to Follow Tips for the Social Media Newbie

or If you think Social Media is Hard,  (it ain't easy) Get Some Help!

by Karen A. Teeters

 

Recently I got a call from a relatively new business owner  who was in the same social media conundrum I was in a few years ago.

Client Referral   One of my website clients had referred her to me.  I had coached my client  on basic social media pointers for newbies and she realized I was the best candidate to do the same for her business  friend. And so I made a training appointment with my  new client to show her how she can use social media marketing to drive business the right way. We will use the free internet Skype  program so that she can see my computer screen as we talk  over the internet.

And I will start with three easy tips. In my online marketing coaching, I always emphasize the importance of first having an excellent website because that is  the hub of all your  social media efforts. If you do not have a nice home to invite all you social media  friends to, then you have wasted your time.

But once you have a customer friendly, professional looking website in place, then what do you do? My new client explained to me that she had started her Facebook page and she filled in the profile for her LinkedIn account and she had posted a few things but she still was not sure what her goal was or what she should do next. She even bought a few books on the subject but was still confused. I explained to her that she was on the right track by contacting me because I was in her same situation myself when I first started. I got myself on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and had read several best selling books. Continue reading

7 Reasons to Blog as Social Media Strategy

Or Consistent Thought Leader Blogging Enhances Your Social Media Efforts

by Karen A. Teeters

You may remember reading on my other posts that  I always advise the practice of lurking or following businesses similar to yours on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. If you took that advice, you may have noticed something most blog writers for small businesses do on a pretty regular basis.

 

It has to do with their blog posts. Whenever a savvy social marketing business posts a brand new blog article, don't you see a microblog on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn with an enticing tagline and link to the post? Something like: 5 Proven Ways to get Great Leads http://ow.ly/4qEDW.

 

How often have you clicked on a link like that, read the article, liked the article, perused the website, and decided to follow that writer or business on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn? Maybe you even signed up for a newsletter and received a free ebook of tips as a thank you?

Continue reading

Why You Need to Blog Your Heart Out!

Or SEO Back in the Olden Days Versus Blogging Today!

By K. Scott Teeters – Co SocialNetBlogger and Co-Owner and Web Designer of FiveStarSiteMakers.com

SEO in the Old Days

You’ve got your new site with all the SEO bells and whistles, now you just have to make sure you have the bandwidth capacity to handle the torrent of traffic that will be burning up your server. Right?

Ahh, not quite.

Back in the olden days, say, around the year 2000, to get good search engine rankings you needed to do the following…

Continue reading

Why Creating an Inviting Website is Social Media Strategy Number One!

Or What do I do first with Social Media for my Small Business?

by Karen A. Teeters

When I go to networking meetings and share with other small business owners my specialty of creating websites and online marketing consulting, I always get asked about  the mystery of that latest buzz word, social media marketing. They are frustrated and say things like–I have a Facebook Account but I don't know what to say and what is Twitter for–?

 

Get Results

 
Are you one of these confused business owners? Many small business owners already have a website. They may have started a blog. They might even have a Facebook profile, a LinkedIn profile and maybe even a Twitter account  but most people are clueless when it comes to having a social media marketing strategy that will actually get results-people signing up for their newsletter or even people inquiring about their services from online efforts.

Continue reading

Social Media in Plain English Videos Explain it All

Social Media Videos for You, the Small Biz owner

by Karen A. Teeters

Blogging in Plain English

Maybe you have seen some of the Plain English Videos by an education company called Common Craft.

The company creates short 3 minute videos that explain complicated stuff with cut out outs and fun, simple explanations that even an elementary aged school kid could understand. These great, short videos have become quite popular on YouTube.

Social Media?

If you are a busy small business person  trying to figure out the maze of websites, blogs, social media networking and even Twitter, then I can help. Continue reading

Social Media Revolution Video and WordPress Websites

Social Media and WordPress Websites get the Revolution Started For You!

 

By Karen A. Teeters

For me the revolution in internet marketing went to the next level when I learned about blogging and the power of WordPress websites. Going beyond the power of the blog by producing full, powerful websites with the WordPress platform in record time made a believer out of me.Throw in the interconnected communication of social media and the ability to get followers quickly and my personal revolution kicked in to the  next phase.

Now I am  at the point  where I have not only created innumerable web2.0 websites for my own businesses, I am now doing the same for other small business entrepreneurs. This is the next phase. Years ago I sold print advertising and created ads to help businesses increase sales. That is the old technology. Continue reading

Customized WordPress Website is your Social Media Hub

 

 

Your website content and blog posts are key to your successful social media marketing campaign!


by Karen A. Teeters


Social Media and Websites create a "Two Way" communication.

When I discovered WordPress websites a few years ago, I felt like I had found online magic. About five years before, I had created my first website with Adobe's very old  website software, Adobe GoLive. It was a little glitchy and not  too intuitive  to learn but the results were nice. With WordPress.org it was different. Once I got past the installation, the creation on the backend or dashboard of pages and posts was a dream. 

After initially doing online research to find the best blog creator, all the advice I read pointed to WordPress. With my first WordPress blog creation, I was delighted to discover that WordPress is also a very powerful  and popular website creator as well. After that discovery, you could not stop me from creating new websites. I loved it so much, I went back to college to become a graphic designer. I am in love with the ease of creating a beautiful and still marketing effective WordPress website! Now that is all I do!

Did I mention how powerful WordPress is to market your business with online and social media marketing?  Any good website today needs to serve as the central hub of your social media and online marketing efforts.  But WordPress was created to empower your social media  strategies like nothing else.

Let's look at how this works.

Continue reading