Why Blogging is Good for Business

First before I get into this I want to explain my absence since I have last posted. The absence was intentional as I have been pushing a survey in order that I might have a better understanding of the target audience I am releasing a course on RSS to. I am not done with collecting data on this, I want to at least have 100 participants so I can have a decent sample to get my information from.

Now to the meat of the post. I have been talking with some folks about the necessity of having a blog for your business no matter if you are a solopreneur, running in a MLM style business model, or a corporate public traded entity. The first obvious reason from an SEO stand point is that it helps to build links to your main site. It also helps in deep linking-which is linking from one post to another post-within your blog so that folks spend more time on your site getting to know you and your business. You want people to build a relationship with you as that builds trust in you and your business. Blogging allows this ability as it facilitates a sense of community with you and anyone presently seeking what you have to offer. Additionally it also helps you in figuring out what products or services to continue to offer because people have the ability to leave feedback in the way of commenting and also distributing your content across the various social media sites out there.

With that being said you can position yourself as an authority in your industry and someone who is also a thought leader. For example if you write a well discussed post on how your product or service works, and how it can legitimately improve someones life, people will see that you care about your customers- past, present and future- and their well being to provide them with all the information they need to become an informed consumer. For me my pet peeve is going to a static site or eCommerce blog and not having enough information provided on a product to see if it would actually benefit me.

When I would visit sites back in the day when I was heavy into paint shop pro and everything to do with it I relied heavily on being told exactly how to do something so I knew how to use their tubes, frames, masks, and so on. Trust me if you didn't pay attention to where you were supposed to download something it would come back to bite you in the rear. I had that happen to me, I didn't have enough information on one site to tell me where I was supposed to do the aforementioned task, so I had to wait until I came across another site somewhere down the trail to find out the information.

Which now that I have said that having a blog for your business also helps in staying a step ahead of the competition. When I didn't have enough information from that one site I never went back to it. I will however, always go back to sites that provide concise information and resources that they have tested to make sure they work. So not positioning yourself as an authority in your niche can hurt your bottom line on the internet as people won't come to your site anymore if they suspect it is rubbish. Conversely, if you have a well written, informative blog you just got the upper hand on the competition that didn't even bother to care enough to put together a polished blog with intelligent, thought provoking material.

I could write on and on about the benefits, however I am sure that after reading this you have had a chance to see just a few of them.

5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself When Deciding on a Business.

As I continue to work on developing my Internet consulting business there are things that I will share with you so that you can see what processes I am going through in order to work towards the final hard copy of my business plan. This is one of those activities that I think is vital to you as a burgeoning entrepreneur as you begin to test the waters. So open up a Word doc, Google Doc or grab a pen and paper whatever works for you and write these questions out and then take some time to sit down and answer them a little at a time.

1. Do I have the "passion" to carry out the tasks necessary for the business to be successful? Yes I definitely have the passion for all things Internet related. I want to show other people the power of the Internet and how they can use it to make their business better and more accessible. Back in the late 90's I really didn't grasp the importance of the Internet just yet and now ten years later there are still others out there just like I was who need guidance and teaching on how to maneuver the Web 2.0 landscape in all of it's complexities.
2. Have I clearly defined a high integrity set of governing operating values that will support the delivery of quality products and services to my customers? I need to sit down and put together a "best practices" or set of policies for my company and make sure they are available to the public both online and by request offline. This also needs to be included in my business plan. Will I be able to promise a lot and deliver more? I am one to go above and beyond the call of duty when and where possible customers who deal with me will be satisfied to know that they have someone who is willing to go the extra mile for them.
3. Do I have adequate funding in place, not just promised, to make sure that the business can make it through the first year without having to deal with financial crunches? No, this is another thing I need to sit down and work on. I need to put together a financial plan so I can see what expenses I will have and how much I will need to create a cushion for that time when I do get to go brick and mortar.
   
4. Do I have the necessary leadership and managerial skills to implement a complete written business plan that serves as my working guidelines? I answered yes to this but now that I have been doing some research among the top five consulting firms in the world I have come to realize that I need the educational credentials to help me really learn from others in the business community. So I am going to be going for my BA in Business and Technology.
5. Do I know how to attract, select, and hire only the best staff members? At this point this does not apply to me but as my business grows I will have to take on additional partners so I will be keeping an eye out for what other top companies in my field are doing to find and retain the best staff for their company.

These questions will really help you to see exactly where you are as you begin the process of running your own company as you can tell by my answers I did a fair job in assessing my strengths and weaknesses and how I plan to overcome those weaknesses.

My Top Entrecard Droppers for August

I have been very busy the last two days paying bills and taking care of personal errands. I want to get caught up on my blogging for this week and I thought I should start off with mentioning my TOP DROPPERS for the month of August.

Dropper
Wonderful Things in LIfe	Is ran by a Pinoy mom blogger who is also a devoted wife and Christian
Politicus US	A political blog that tackles a lot of hard topics, a blog worth checking out
Gadgets Directory	Pretty much everything Google, if you're looking for info on a Google Gadget then this is the blog for you to check out.
Metallman's Reverie	A mixed bag blog, this guy has some pretty interesting random topics
My n95 Pictures	A blog devoted to mobile pictures.
Richard.M	Based out of the UK this guy rebels against the media and government through his blog and life.
Wonderful Tech. Stuff	A great blog for everything tech related, if you have Firefox you should check out his post on SpeedyFox
Nita's Corner	A blog dedicated to various interests for women such as scrap booking, recipes, media etc.
Chip Flip Jump	Into high stakes Poker or Blackjack? This blog covers both topics. I think I need to read what he has to say about Blackjack, it is one of my favorite table card games.
Blazing Minds	A great little arts and crafts blog with some very unique and lovely quilted postcards I would love to buy and send to some special women in my life.

One thing I do want to mention is that if your serious about making Entrecard work as a leveraging tool for your business look for blogs that are serious about dropping. It should state it in their profile if they are a casual dropper or dedicated dropper e.g,.

The other thing I want to add is for the bloggers who do make it a point to drop on you regularly do try to become somewhat active in their community. If you see a post that hits you the right way make a comment on it. The way I look at it Entrecard is still a viable way of getting free advertising for your blog. For the cash strapped entrepreneur why not check it out and see how you can make the most of this great site.

Questions To Evaluate The Business You are in or Have In Mind

Awhile back I bought a My Own Business handbook from myownbusiness.org and have been using it to develop my new business venture. In it they ask you to do the following activity to determine if either what you are doing is working or if what you plan to do will work. I am going to share with you my answers on these questions.

Questions To Evaluate The Business You are in or Have In Mind

• Is it something I will enjoy doing? Yes
  

  My favorite activities are: writing, research, internet, learning new things, staying active
  I like to serve people by:helping them succeed so they can live a better life

• Will it serve an expanding need for which there is no close substitute?Yes

• Can I be so good at a specialized, targeted need that customers will think there is no close substitute? yes

• Can I handle the capital requirements? Yes

• Can I learn the business by working for someone else first? yes

• Could I operate as a hollow corporation, without a factory and with a minimum number of employees? n/a
  
  

• Is this a product or service that I can test first? yes

• Should I consider a partner who has complementary skills or who could help finance the business? Not at this time, but is something I may do in the future.
  

As an internet consultant I would already have the equipment needed to do the job which is a PC, an internet connection and a modem so the need for raising capital would not be a concern. Also I believe in going the extra mile for people as I am a visual learner I would show them how to do something as well as tell them as I feel it is better to watch and learn. I mentioned this before but as an individual being the one responsible for all the operations of your business you have to at least have a working knowledge of various aspects of running your business.In saying that I do think that I would serve a need and give specialized services. I answered n/a to the hollow corporation as it is defined as a company that subcontracts manufacturing and packaging. Since I don't have any manufacturing or packaging needs that is obviously a moot point.

What is an Internet Consultant and Why did I choose to become one?

Since this term is obviously not in Websters I will break it into two definitions.

Websters Online has this definition for internet.

Internet: : an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world

Consultant:
1 : one who consults another
2 : one who gives professional advice or services

In looking at these two definitions my take on an internet consultant is one who advises an individual or business how to navigate the internet to get the most out of their time on the internet.

The reason I decided to partake on this journey into this type of career is that hey I was a newbie to the internet at one time and trust me I have had my fair share of trial and error when it comes to figuring things out. I had to do most of my learning on my own in the form of searching through sites to find how to articles, and tutorials. I was proud of myself for being able to learn how to set up an email account back in 1998. Now 11 years later I have mastered blogging, forum management, chat rooms, and the myriad of social networking sites as well as Twitter the top micro blogging service out there today. I have seen so many folks out there struggling to figure out the basics and it hit me why not use all of my experience over the last 11 yrs to help those who are and will inevitably be new to the internet.

For instance some who have businesses online still do not know what a blog is or if they do know what one is they don't know why they need one in addition to their main site. Then there are those who may have been blogging for a little while but have not really done much with it and suddenly look at their stats only to find that they could be doing a lot more to get traffic so they want advice on how to inject nitros oxide into their blog to get it to perform better. Some folks don't even know how to read their stats.

That is where I come in I help them make small changes to their back end to help them get a boost. I also help them understand their back end. In today's economy it is imperative that a solopreneur knows as much as they can to help their bottom line.

Entrecard Blog Review :Ricks World

The other day I was going through the advertising section of the Entrecard Market and I came across this great blog titled Rick's World. Rick is a recovering alcoholic who shares his struggles with staying sober in a very personal yet blunt manner. I could feel his optimism as I read one post where he talks about how good he felt being sober for six months. I am not a recovering alcoholic but I have had my fair share of being with mean drunks who never cared to recognize that they had a problem. I have respect for those that do and I also respect them even more when they are willing to really put themselves out there publicly as Rick has done with his blog writings. If you follow my blog, you should also follow his and try to encourage him with positive thoughts and energy to keep up the good fight against the demon that is alcoholism.

He also has another blog titled

Politics, Economics & A Passion For Rebellion

Four Things Your Business Blog Should Have (minimum)!

Yesterday I was presenting in the Friday Markets over at SBRN and I gave the following advice:

There are four things that your business blog should have.

1. It should have an RSS subscribe button either in the top right hand corner of your blog or top left hand corner of your blog so that folks who use RSS service such as Google Reader can have a way to add your site to their reader. It should be above the fold and easy to find. For those who are new to internet terminology the fold is the area above the scroll.
2. You should have contact information readily visible or easy to find. You need to have your name, address, email and phone number so that people who come to your site can get a hold of you while they are still on your page or site. If your phone number is there and you just happen to be near the phone when someone calls to inquire about your services then that also provides a way for you to increase their time on your site while they are looking through it and talking to you about your goods or services.Of course the email information also helps then they can email you while still having your page or site open thus still providing another chance to keep them on your site longer while they have to switch back and forth between email client to your site. By having your mailing address present that further solidifies your business as a real entity. Even if your in an MLM and use their company generated software.
3. If you run a blog and write consistent postings about your business happenings and ups and downs as well as informational articles related to your industry then you need a social bookmarking button at the foot of each post so they have one touch access to easily spread the word about your business across the social networks. You can see here at the bottom of my posts I have a Stumble This button and a Socialmarker.com button in the side bar that enables people to click and submit.
   
4. Last but not least you should have picture of yourself on your site so folks can have a way to identify you with your site. This should preferably be with your contact info, or on your about us area.
   

As you can see with my blog here I have my RSS subscribe in the top right hand corner of my right side bar along with an email subscribe area. Below that I have my contact info with my picture and I have my social networking submission buttons at the footer of each post. Now if you are not a technical person on installing code please contact me and I can help you get the basics installed so you can get on with the business of running your business. I can help you get set up on Feedburner, install the code for it on your blog, and get your social networking buttons installed.