Exposing Your Personal Side with Blogging

Blogging is an ideal way to find a voice in such a huge online crowd. Of course, you can have a business website with all the features and product listings, but this doesn't provide the platform you need to ensure that your customers, visitors and readers know the ‘real you.’

People are always looking to learn more about anyone they do business with and you are no different. So you have to represent your ‘true self.’ You want people to trust you and feel your sincerity when reading your posts.

On your blog, you can say anything you want, but be careful with your freehand. People can take things out of context and when writing, remember that this blog is going to be a permanent addition to the online community, which means that you cannot take it back. Blogging is a way for you to show your personality and allow your readers to have a look into some parts of your life. Be aware, though, that a blog is extremely personal. You put yourself in a vulnerable position, but sometimes, it is required.

My Personal Story

One personal example for me is the fact that I have experienced child sexual abuse at a young age. I used this experience to write two books that would help other young children and their parents. One book is titled “For the Wounded Soul and the other titled “The Man in the Shadows: He Touched Me Where it Hurt.” I am very passionate about this issue and instead of hiding behind what I went through, I made a firm decision to become vulnerable. So for me, this isn't only about making money from the books. More importantly, this is about touching lives with my writing. Do I really want to become vulnerable? Honestly, no, but I have no choice. I didn't choose what happened to me, but I am in a position to help others so I have to share my story or I can’t sleep at night. That’s how serious it is for me!

Other Bloggers

My life like many other bloggers is not scripted, but if we find that what we blog about is an issue that will encourage or motivate someone else, by all means, we are going to tell the story. Believe it or not, we are all connected in some way or the other. Someone’s child may have been humiliated by a bully at school. The person may feel like sharing it on a blog. Another mother might stop by and read the blog after hearing that her child also has been bullied at school. Do you think that this information will help that mother? As long as it is written in a compassionate and informative way, it most certainly will.

Of course, there are some people who will misjudge your intentions, but that is the chance you have to take. Once you know that your intentions are pure, you have nothing to worry about. In real life, we all have so many issues to deal with. If sharing the solution is any way to help someone else, then that is what you should do. The Internet community has enough room for us to tell stories that will impact lives. Broadcasting your feelings and issues doesn't mean that you are oversharing. It means that you care about the issues that affect others. This is the difference between immature indiscretions and candid actions.

Now that you have read all of that, learn more about me by viewing my entire book line on Amazon. I have no more secrets. I am an open book to the world in order to save even one person and I make no apologies about that. Thank you for reading. Share this article with your friends and associates. It will do much good!

5 Small Ways to Amplify Your Business Online for Free

There are specific techniques and resources you can use to amplify your online business without breaking the bank. In fact, it can bring huge benefits that could include more traffic, higher rankings in the search engine, a strong online presence and a higher conversion rate.  Below are several small ways that you can do this:

Guest Blogging

Invite people in your industry to contribute on related websites as guest bloggers. A guest blogger provides free content on your behalf while receiving exposure as a content writer. This not only provides excellent backlinks, but also strengthens your network. Sharing content on a wide range of networks helps you to expand your range and influence. It allows you access to a wider targeted audience.

Populr

With Populr, you can create a landing page for free and direct it to your main web page. It could be used to create a product page as you are getting ready to launch a new product. The service is integrated with analytic solutions and web page template designs and comes with:

Drag and drop features

Video recording

3 domains allowed to be pointed to the account

Sharing capabilities for documents

Tregia

Tregia provides a free service that allows online business owners to discreetly spy on their competition. This doesn’t mean that you are unethical, but that you want to stay abreast of your competition so that you can expand your online business. You have the capability to analyze your competitor’s website to learn what testing tools are being used and the type of analytic tools which are integrated into their website. Of course, you can use the website’s source code to find out a lot of this, but this tool provides a condensed report.

Tweepz

Tweepz allows you to find targeted and influential businesses on Twitter. You can use this free service to search for related Twitter accounts existing from 2006 to 2010. It helps you to find accounts that have been long standing and established. By this, you know that these Twitter accounts are an authority in your industry and possibly will have a huge following.

Hootsuite

With Hootsuite, you are able to manage a wide variety of social media channels. It allows you to track your website across the various social media websites and set up future automatic posts; especially when you are away on vacation or out of the office on business. By so doing, your followers will always be updated with fresh content while you are gone. You will be able to analyze content to see which ones are the most popular among followers from different social media sites.

Other things to consider

In the past, online marketers took pride in website designs and the visitor’s site experience. While this is still important, it is time to start creating a visual platform with images and video marketing. This gives you the advantage of impressing and persuading your audience. You can build your company brand with these powerful methods and stake your claim in the marketplace where you want to be. Check out my books here on Amazon.com. 

2014 Trends in Content Marketing

Before looking at the 2014 content marketing forecasts, content marketing needs to be clarified. Content is important and what you do with the content is also significant to your results. But - there is a big ‘BUTT.” Yes, I know I used two “T’s” in ‘BUT,” but it was just to see if you were paying attention. That is how you write content – engage your audience and provide value-added information that is not easy to find online. Your prospective customer will consider you an expert, learn to trust you, get to understand your brand and have confidence in the information you provide.

If you want your campaign to be successful when marketing content, you must establish your brand and yourself as knowledgeable in your field. This is the foundation for lasting and continuous business relationships.

To simplify, content marketing is all about building strong relationships and not only just selling a product or service. Some forms of content include:

·         Blog Posts

·         Podcasts

·         Social media Posts

·         Electronic Books

·         Online Videos

·         Guest Blogging

·         Email marketing

·         Webinars

·         Web Content

No matter what format you use to publish content, you must have a “CALL TO ACTION” – always and with no exceptions. Write content that will stand the test of time. A good topic would be “Top 10 Places to Visit in Hawaii.” For someone looking to visit this state, you will be the ‘go to’ person for valuable information.

What to Expect for 2014

For 2014, where is the trend going as it relates to content marketing? What are the challenges that online marketers face? With Google Hummingbird, Google Hangout and Google Helpsout, alertness is required in order not to ‘make Google’ or the search engine angry with you. This means marketers have to stay abreast of the new algorithm rules and guidelines.

Most online marketers use content marketing as part of their marketing approach. However, it is safe to say that some of them may not really be able to express what content marketing means to their business model. I truly think that many business owners will be able to definitively express the concept of content marketing in 2014 and how it aligns to the scope of their business. They will also be able to tell why it is so important. It is not going to be a catch phrase in the mouths of those who still say that “content is king,’ without knowing what that really means.

The New Title

Companies, in the past, hired someone to write content for marketing and would give them the title of:

·         Freelance Writer

·         Marketing Writer

·         Content Developer

However, now companies are placing more significance and emphasis on these employees’ positions since it is much more than just writing content and so look for new titles like Director of Content for 2014. No one will have any doubt; not even the employee, of what the job entails. The improved awareness will force companies to make adjustments and put more money into content marketing strategies.

Companies that don’t go the extra mile to put more into their content marketing budget will certainly lose out in 2014. Whether someone is assigned in-house or on a contract basis, companies are going to need more in content creation and distribution.

Going Mobile

Some companies have not yet caught on to the mobile marketing craze. Mobile marketing taking over and by 2016, companies not on board with this are going to feel the ‘pinch.’ A strong content marketing strategy should be incorporated into the mobile phenomenon. In fact, Google’s new algorithm, “the Hummingbird,’ and the complete cancellation of the previous keyword search tool from Google Analytics is going to quickly force companies to embrace this. What does this mean? Well, to reach your targeted mobile audience, your content must be more concise, well-formatted to meet the guidelines and provide more actionable posts since prospects will be viewing the content from their mobile devices.

If this article was useful to you, please share it with a friend, your followers and anyone who is in your contact. For business owners or companies that want to embrace the concepts and improve their business model, you can hire my services to write marketable content for you. In the meantime, check out my Amazon.com page where I have a list of self-published books.