Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Why You Need To Blog For Your Business

As featured on MakinTheBacon.com

My Blogging Confession

I have a dirty little confession to make.

Well, I suppose it’s not that little anymore since I’m starting a blog post off with it.

I had mentioned before that blogging did make me get back into my long-lost writing groove. However, I failed to mention that I originally started because I had read online that a lot of people were blogging and making money doing it. So I thought I could do it too. My boyfriend (now husband) and I were house-hunting at the time.  We all know how financially draining/stressful purchasing a house can be, so I was constantly looking for more ways to save/make money.

Yes, you read right. My main reason for blogging was to MAKE MONEY.  But I had no strategy. No idea what I was doing.  No consistency whatsoever.  I didn’t take it seriously for a VERY LONG time. I was just basically blogging on the fly.

Originally, I wanted to share my story about how to save money because I felt I was relatively decent at it.  I had never initially planned on creating a consulting business from it. I figured it would be something I could do on the side while I worked full-time.   It wasn’t until the 5th year mark where I seriously thought about my personal blogging journey, how it evolved, what opportunities it provided and what it enabled me to do. Eventually, my own journey made me realize the potential journey it could create for small business owners.

I may seem biased because I am a blogger first,  a business owner second, but these days more and more people are realizing the value of blogging for business. Just Google it and you’ll find a whole myriad of information out there. There is a lot of research that is done on business blogging, hence there are a lot of stats to back this up.

You need A blog. You need TO blog.

If you’re a multi-level, multi-national company who’s been around for 20 + years, you probably could get away without a blog. You’d still need social media, but the blog? Not so much. However, if you’re a small business owner, you may want to look into blogging.  Don’t get me wrong. Offline networking is importantand I force my introverted self to do so, but there is also great value in online networking.

If I meet you offline, I almost always check your online profile. I’ll check your site, your blog, your social media, your feeds. EVERYTHING.  Now I’m not saying this to scare you and make you freak out about not having a blog or being active on social media. I’m just letting you know because most likely, other people who meet you are doing this too.  I’ve connected with people online initially through social media and blogging. Based on what they were putting out there online, it made me want to take the next step and meet them in person. Their online presence was THAT GOOD.

Why You Need To Blog For Your Business

There’s a good chance that I’m not searching for your website specifically.  I’m searching for something that perhaps your business or product can solve. The internet is loud and crowded. While I do believe there is room for everyone, you still need to claim your spot and let people know that you are here.  You need to get people’s attention.

Keepin’ It Real

While you are using it as a marketing tool to help promote your business, your latest service/product, etc – if done right, it makes the awareness and the whole buyer journey more organic. (Source:  Salesforce Marketing Cloud )

Blog posts give you additional content to post on social media. It’s like killing two birds with one stone. Aside from creating a post on social media, why not promote your blog post on social media. Who knows? It may even start a conversation on social media.

Having An Online Presence Matters

Not to sound creepy or anything but people are watching you. People can find you.  Ok let me rephrase that: people are seeing and reading what you put out there. If you have a decent online presence, people can Google you and find your stuff.  If you’re like me, I do quite a bit of research before I make a decision to purchase or make a decision about something. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this. It’s quite rare I act on impulse.

Unless I’m hangry.

While a lot of people have a blog, there are even more people who are on social media. Not everyone has a blog, but I think it’s safe to say that everyone is at least on one form of social media. The people who claim to not be on social media, i.e. my husband are most likely on Facebook and/or LinkedIn and don’t use it.

For the rest of us, we are using social media to communicate and share things with each other.  People are using blogs as a go-to resource. They consider them to be a trusted source of information.  People are telling their friends and family about blogs their reading (I would HOPE  you are telling your friends and family about mine).  They most likely aren’t sharing websites, but they’re sharing content from the blogs of those websites on social media because they find it be useful. Since it’s useful, they feel others should know about it.  It’s become part of the everyday conversation.

Blogging Creates That Awareness At the Top of the Funnel

How else are you attracting people online? Blogging can help capture peoples’ attention and get you noticed. This is especially important if you’re looking to expand your business and work with others who are not just local. If you are looking for a global presence, then you need to build that online presence.

Once you create awareness, you can create interest.

 

Karen Swyszcz has over 6+ years of blogging experience and has written content on the blog for brands such as SupperWorks, Camp Tech and Meridian Credit Union. She is also the instructor at Sheridan College for the Blogging For Fun and Profit Course and Effective Strategies For Social Media Course.” 

Find her at makinthebacon.com

How To Get Over Your Fear of Social Media

As seen on MakinTheBacon.com

Get Over Your Fear of Social Media. STAT.

Social media is one of those things that is a necessary evil if you have a business. I had recently written a post about How To Fight Your Fear of Blogging. A lot of things mentioned in that post also ties into the fear of social media. Using social media can be considered a form of microblogging in that the posts are significantly shorter than a blog post. Comments are allowed and encouraged.

Believe it or not, I wasn’t really into social media until I started my blog back in 2012. Prior to that, I only had Facebook and LinkedIn, both of which I was barely active on. Even then with using social media, I was anonymous because I was anonymous with my blog.

It’s interesting that many people have a business and are social offline, but aren’t social on social media (For me, it’s the opposite – it must be the introvert in me, but I prefer one on one interactions vs large networking events). It is so easy to go down that rabbit hole of scrolling and thinking everyone’s life is better than yours (Yes, I have been there many times before). But you have to understand that we share what we want to share.

Ask yourself before you post something on social media:

Would this resonate with my audience?

Will there be any possible repercussions?

Your Business’ Reputation Is At Stake

Social media can be scary in that you need to be careful with what you say and post, but ask yourself this, will it help your reputation or will it potentially damage it?

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. –Warren Buffett

When referring to social media, it will take even less than five minutes to ruin it. Well, actually it can be ruined instantly.

But think about what COULD happen if you were more social on social media? If anything, you should look at what your competitors are doing/ sharing and the fact that they are constantly sharing stuff, so why aren’t you? Many products, events, businesses, services are found through social media.

Repeat After Me: Social Media Is NOT a Waste of Time

Another reason I believe there is so much fear and overwhelm because many people think that it’s a waste of time, but it really all depends on how you use it. Being social on social media for your business doesn’t mean always liking random pictures of ice cream and cats (unless your business is about ice cream and cats or your target market is people who are into ice cream and cats). It’s about explaining what you and your business are all about. It’s about finding and engaging with people who are in either in the same/similar industry as you or where your potential clients/customers might be.

When I say engaging with them, I’m referring to posting comments that don’t sound like something from a bot or a slew of emojis. “Great post” doesn’t cut it.

Taking It One Step At A Time

Having a fear of something often comes from fear of the unknown. I believe that the first step in getting over your fear is recognizing the many benefits it can have for your business.

The second step is taking the time to educate yourself on what platforms may be best suited for your business either through research on the internet (although this can possibly lead into another rabbit hole and then paralysis analysis), workshops, consulting services and courses. I strongly believe in social media education. There are so many platforms and there is a strategy for each of them. Updates and features are constantly being added. Algorithms are always changing.  Features of 3rd-party tools that are used in conjunction with the platforms themselves are constantly changing.

One has no choice (especially those who provide it as a service for other business owners), but to educate themselves on an ongoing basis. I recently attended Social Media Camp in Victoria, B.C beginning of last month and will be attending Social Media Week in LA next week. With anything that seems daunting at first, once you start to learn more about it and break it down into bite-sized pieces, you’ll realize that hey this is not so bad.

The third thing is to ignore all the bad stuff that you see on social media and focus more on the good. Yes, there is actually a lot of positive stuff on social media. Don’t be afraid to be part of the conversation. You may have some interesting insight and be able to help someone with your products and/or services!

 

Karen Swyszcz has over 6+ years of blogging experience and has written content on the blog for brands such as SupperWorks, Camp Tech and Meridian Credit Union. She is also the instructor at Sheridan College for the Blogging For Fun and Profit Course and Effective Strategies For Social Media Course.” 

Find her at makinthebacon.com

10 Great Resources To Find Blog Post Ideas

1. Your Social Media Feeds

If you’re mainly following specific people (i.e. influencers and competitors in your industry) and not just random people and your friends, then your feeds could be a serious goldmine for ideas. Participating in the existing conversations could spark more ideas (Would that be considered Idea Inception?).

What are they saying?

What are they predicting?

What are they sharing?

Recall that some of the reasons we share things on social media are to inform, inspire, educate – we find the content to be valuable and want to share with our networks.

Surely you must have an opinion on it.

2. The Intelligent Conversations You Have With Other People

Fellow business owners, leads and clients, whether it is in person over coffee/lunch or virtually. There have been countless times where I have said out loud during the conversation, that would be a great blog post topic! Really. Sometimes the idea will just come out of nowhere.Different people lead to different conversations.

3. Medium

It’s an online publishing platform (an alternative to starting your own blog) that has been around for awhile but hasn’t reached the point of saturation yet. You can find and follow many interesting people on Medium.

4. Facebook Groups

This is where I’m noticing conversations happening. People ask questions, ask for recommendations on Facebook, ask for advice. There are a ridiculous amount of Facebook Groups out there.  I clean house here and there just because the out of sight, out of mind works best.   So just like with social media feeds, I would hope that some of the Facebook Groups you follow are where you would find valuable business advice or find your potential clients.

5. Other business blogs in your industry

What are they writing about? Perhaps you should be writing about these things as well and educating your followers about them.

6. Quora

I feel this platform doesn’t get enough credit and is not as widely known. It’s similar to Reddit, but I think the quality of questions is better and the topics are geared to people who genuinely want to learn or get advice from an industry expert. Although I have seen some not so intelligent questions being asked.

While there are many generic questions i.e. such as how to start a blog, how to grow my blog, etc. I have come across questions and been asked questions that are more thought-provoking. This is especially useful if you are looking for that answer to your super specific question and Google just doesn’t cut it. You can also request certain people to answer your question if you are looking for their opinion in particular.

7. LinkedInGroups

While you may not experience the same level of conversation and engagement compared to Facebook Groups, I would suggest poking your head in every once in awhile to see what people are posting over there. You can’t really predict where ideas will come from. So it’s best to keep an open mind and have many options available.

8. Newsletters

Look through some of the newsletters you subscribe to. Sometimes the newsletter contains different information that isn’t found on the blog. Is there anything that could be pulled from them and used for a blog post? What about the newsletters you send out?

9. Podcasts

Another great reservoir for content. Sometimes just listening to OTHER peoples’ conversations can give you an A-HA moment – i.e. I never thought about it that way before.

10.  Industry Events and Conferences

The previous blog post is the final interview in a Social Media Series, we chatted about Social Media Camp, a Canadian Social Media Conference that I attended this past May for the first time. There was a lot of valuable information and insight. The same was for Social Media Week LA. I made the effort to chat with people more before the conference and during the breaks.

So with respect to new content that should be able to fill up some spaces with blog post ideas in your content calendar for the next few months.

 

 

Karen Swyszcz has over 6+ years of blogging experience and has written content on the blog for brands such as SupperWorks, Camp Tech and Meridian Credit Union. She is also the instructor at Sheridan College for the Blogging For Fun and Profit Course and Effective Strategies For Social Media Course.” 

Find her at makinthebacon.com

 

How To Create A Successful Blog

As featured on www.makinthebacon.com

A Successful Blog Can Create Success For Your Business

If you’ve been following my blog for the past year and a bit, you may have come across the popular blog post – Why You Need To Blog For Your Business.

So you know about the why. I’m going to share a little bit about the how (it’s not as complicated as you think)

First off, just start.

Seriously.

Your first blog post may not be pretty or polished the first time around. But just start with a simple plan and go from there.

Take a look at my first blog post back in 2012.  I like to think that I have come a long way since then.  Note that it’s hard to build credibility or a following with just one post or one video either. You need to have several blog posts. One isn’t enough. People will want to read more of your posts and may come back to your site on a regular basis to check for new posts.

There is a lot of noise out there that only focuses on how they gained 1,000 views in their first month of blogging or how they are making “X” amount of dollars from blogging. When starting out, it’s tempting to give up early on and you will be frustrated at times, may not think your blog posts are good enough.  We are our own worst critics.  The more you write, the more content you’ll have and the better you’ll get.  Remember, you’re not writing a book (yet). But keep in mind that blogging can often lead to writing ebooks and physical books.

Focus On A Different Definition of Success

If you treat your blog the same way you treat your business (i.e. you’re in it for the long haul and are focusing on growth and long-term sustainability), then that’s progress right there. You have to have grit and be willing to persist.

For the record, when talking about a successful blog, I’m not focusing on the making money part. Thanks to society and perhaps upbringing (mine), we were led to believe that money = success. More money, more success.

One of my Instagram posts, shown below here stated what my current definition of success is and I believe it can be applied to blogging.

As a matter of fact, my blog enabled me to achieve all of those things.

Keep It Simple Silly

When it comes to being productive with your blog, there are a few simple things to keep in mind.

1. Set a rough schedule for your blog. If the idea of a content calendar is too much, you can always start off simply by just making a note in your agenda to write a blog post this week or every other week, etc.

2. Remember it isn’t necessarily about the number of blog posts, it’s the quality. Business blogging does not serve its purpose if you are constantly producing sub-par content just for the sake of posting frequently.  You wouldn’t want to be known as the blog that provides useless information or poorly written posts.

You may think that you need to post every day, every week and no that isn’t always the case. At the same time, don’t be like the old me and write blog posts every other month.

3. And don’t be a perfectionist either. Yes, check for grammar and spelling but you don’t have to be the grammar police. Blog posts are meant to be more of a conversational tone than a research article. As long as you tried your best, reviewed it several times (I’ll even read my blog post out loud from time to time), just hit publish already.

The great thing about blog posts is that you can easily edit and update them. You can’t do that with video.

4.  Be willing to commit and make time for it. It’s not a matter of time, it’s a matter of priorities.

Remember that being productive isn’t about getting a lot of things done, it’s more about getting the RIGHT things done.

 

If they are the right things, the ones that will help your business and move your business forward, then that is productivity at its best.

New Blog Post, New Opportunity

Mindset is key. Know that each blog post you publish is a new opportunity to connect with your current and potential customers. Think of each blog post as an opportunity to share your knowledge/opinion/advice (recall that we are a sharing society) and promote your business.

People will come back to your blog because they know you are THE resource for the topics of x, y and z. They’ll want to share your content with their networks because they found it to be very valuable/entertaining/interesting.

You’re killing two birds with one stone in that you don’t have to come up with as much new social media content. Just pull stuff from blog posts or promote the entire blog post.

It’s a sign that your site is of good quality because it is being updated with new content on a regular basis.  According to Hubspot, Blogging helps boost SEO quality by positioning your website as a relevant answer to your customers’ questions .

 

“In addition to my love of writing, these are the reasons why I continue to blog. So keep going, keep sharing and keep putting yourself out there.”

 

Karen Swyszcz has over 6+ years of blogging experience and has written content on the blog for brands such as SupperWorks, Camp Tech and Meridian Credit Union. She is also the instructor at Sheridan College for the Blogging For Fun and Profit Course and Effective Strategies For Social Media Course.” 

Find her at makinthebacon.com

 

The importance of small businesses blogging

FB Pic

 

When blogging made its first appearance in the late 90’s, it was mainly used by individuals wanting to express their thoughts and feels towards various topics. However, over the years blogging has evolved and is now used as a main tool for many businesses to express ideas, pass along valuable information and is a means of keeping connected with clients. Blogging is one of the biggest, easiest and not to mention free marketing strategies out there. Entrepreneurs, whether established or starting up, need to understand the importance and value of this tool.

What having a blog site can do for you:

  • Boost your websites search engine optimization (SEO): by posting blogs frequently, Google and other search engines will be able to use the important key words, which are plugged into your post and your appearance on the search engines result page will increase.
  • Causes traffic to your website: by linking your blog site to your business’s website, you will increase traffic flow, along with creating more awareness around your brand.
  • Establishing relationships: end your blog post with a question and get conversation going, create a section under your post for readers to leave a comment or additional feedback. Being able to review and respond to their comments will give you some insight as to what your customers are looking for from your business.
  • Connecting to the brand: most outbound marketing techniques do not allow you to show off your personal side, blogging gives you the opportunity to show your business’s true personality.
  • Free marketing: whether readers share your post on Facebook, tweet it or email your blog to a friend, this is helping create more buzz around your business.

 

Dwania is the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

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Top 5 Reasons why You should Blog for your Business

Jemi

Blogging has become a huge phenomenon in the online world. Anyone and everyone can start a blog. It’s easy and very inexpensive to start. All you need is a computer, the internet, and the time to put together a blog. As a business owner, you can stand out from your competitors by giving useful tools and great expertise to your customers at minimal cost to you. Here’s what blogs can do for you and your business:

  1. Open Communication between you and your customer: You are starting a conversation with your potential client. When they read and follow you, it gives them a direct insight to how you are as a business owner.
  2. Subscription list: If your readers enjoy your blog they can be notified directly via e-mail. This is an opportunity for you to create database for you to promote your services and products. Limit your e-mails to once a month or twice a month.
  3. Affiliate marketing: When you are receiving a large following of readers, you may want to consider using affiliate marketing into your blog. This will create another stream of passive income right into your bank account. Affiliate marketing are just like businesses advertising on your blog, when your readers click the ad from your blog, and a sale is made, you will get a portion of the sale!
  4. Higher rankings: Google analytics like to see different clicks going to and from your website. The more clicks coming to your blog from your social media sites, and vice versa, Google “bots” see it as a popular place to be and will rank your blog and website higher for FREE.
  5. Free publication: Having a blog puts you, as a business owner, on a different and personal expertise level than someone that is competition and not blogging. You never know who may be reading and following your blog that can create a whole new venture for you that will make you even more money!

Hope these tips will get your fire burning to write a blog. Even if the blog is just once a month to start, it will generate a following that will be expecting your great insight. Happy blogging!

Contact Jemi Echevarria by phone: (647)785-5851 or by e-mail:  jemiechevarria@gmail.com

Name That Tune…

Sheralyn

I may be dating myself but years ago a show on TV called Name that Tune asked contestants to “name that tune” in as few notes as possible. What you ask is the relevance of this memory? It brings to mind that moment your eyes begin to glaze over at a networking event when someone tells you EVERYTHING you ever DIDN’T want to know about their job, position, title, company and number of years on the job. I know you know what I’m talking about and I know exactly how you can avoid it. Just follow “The Rule of Ten.”

In Name that Tune, the music was so good and the “hook” so memorable that people instantly recognized the song. That’s what you want for your business.  An introduction that is catchy and memorable – your own personal “hook.”  The Rule of Ten is my personal guideline to developing a solid, short and simple introductory sentence that succinctly describes you and your product or service. It’s derived from the “Tenplate for Success” which includes ten critical communication tips for those in business. Taking ten means taking the time to distill your business mission statement or your vision into just ten words (or less!) using catchy lingo that will draw in the audience, inviting them to have a conversation with you. Isn’t that the whole idea behind networking? You don’t want the  “glaze over,” you want to encourage and enable a conversation. For that to happen, all you need is something catchy to get the conversation started.

So – what is the Rule of Ten? It’s simple: Take your main product or service, your goal or vision for your business and distill it down to the BEST TEN WORDS that describe your service and sound enticing to potential customers. Think it can’t be done? It can. Your first attempt might rival War and Peace but I assure you, with a little effort, some fine-tuning and perhaps a hint or two courtesy of Google Thesaurus, you CAN create a ten words or less elevator pitch that gets your potential customer talking to you not running from you.

Compare “I am a freelance writer and editor providing website content, editorial, blogging and advertising services for the small business entrepreneur” vs. “I help small business succeed using words that work!” or this one: “At a loss for words? I’ll help you find them!” In the first intro perhaps all you’ve heard is the word “Writer” and immediately images of a lonely, rumpled and wild haired women in front of an ancient typewriter comes to mind.  In the second or third example however, you’ve created the possibility of a conversation between you and your prospective client.  “Really,” they might say. “How do you use just words to help business?” There’s your opening, your invitation to have a conversation with a prospective client, without any pre-conceived notions that might possibly be associated with the word “Writer.”

Tammy Elliott of The Leadership Forum in Caledon calls this finding your passion and letting it shine through in your “5 second intro.” Using this technique helps you position your passion as a value statement and your client is much more likely to connect with you if you are like-minded and have similar values. Using words like “help” implies genuine caring, enthusiasm for what you do and again, it encourages a conversation over an eye-glaze. Try it. Throw a bunch of words on a page and then start working with them. Break out the Thesaurus or Google words.  Choose the best ten, formulate your catchy sentence and then give it a try at your next networking meeting. Have fun with it and hopefully soon your customers will be singing your favorite tune!

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

Creating Creativity on Demand

Sheralyn

It’s hard to be creative on demand and planning creative time is almost an oxymoron. How do you plan WHEN to be creative?  Sure a deadline can be a great motivator but getting creative on a timeframe is often a challenge. Many artistic people will talk about “when inspiration strikes” or about waking bolt upright in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. But how do you manage being creative when you’ve only a limited amount of time in your schedule? How do you create creativity?

Your medium (whether it be art, music, the written word, website design or creating great advertising copy) and the team that surrounds you (or lack of team if you’re a solopreneur) will influence how you go about flipping the creative switch to “ON.”  Today, you can troll the Internet for inspiration and certainly you can look inwardly for significant events that might be turned into working material. Blogging for a consortium of dental professionals I was able to turn a recent uninsured $1350.00 dental bill into two separate blogs: one on how to negotiate the financing of treatment costs and the other concerning the various pain management techniques used during dental procedures. So, writing from life experience is one way to get the creative juices flowing, especially if you’re alone in running your business. If you’re part of a team however, you have the luxury of huddling with them behind closed doors – engaging in “free-thinking” or “thought-shower” sessions – talk about generating creative energy!

With either method, creativity, like almost anything else, requires work. You need to put the effort in to get the end product out. You need to invest time, you need to fuel your mind, body and soul appropriately and you need to practice it like you practice any other skill. That might mean that while your “brainwave” struck at 3am, you need to work at the process of refining your great idea during regular business hours.  When working, you also need to ensure you are properly rested, adequately hydrated and running on a “full tank.” Sound familiar? Whether you are an athlete or in advertising, you’re still a human being and we work best when we take the best possible care of ourselves. It may sound simple but it’s also true. It’s hard to be creative when the tank is running on empty!

How often have you heard “Practice, practice, practice?” One of the best methods for encouraging “spontaneous” creativity and improving your creative potential is to do EVEN MORE WRITING.  Take note of every idea you have and jot them down. You can always review each one later to flesh them out and see if they’ve got “legs.” Not every idea will have merit and some should die a natural death. However, that idea you typed into “Notes” on your iphone when you saw a trucker pull his air horn for a bunch of school kids? You might well turn it into a humorous “Back to School” article about the iconic things kids like to do while riding the school bus.  Whether you use pen and paper or an electronic format, keep some form of ongoing diary or recording of your many ideas and one day, when your stuck for inspiration, a search through one of your “old” notes might prove fruitful.

The idea of being creative can be particularly hard on the entrepreneur who wears multiple hats while supporting their business.  If you’re multi-tasking, coming up with good ad copy, blog material or website content might seem daunting. My simple suggestion here is to “write what you know.” Throw everything you know about your product or service at the screen and once all the words are there you can start the process of weeding out what you don’t need and playing around creatively with what you choose to keep. It’s a bit like planting a garden: you sketch the plan, dig out the border, plant, tend and water and then – you occasionally have to pull out some weeds. It’s work and it might take some time to see the results of your creativity. So you can create creativity, it just takes a little planning, a lot of tending and some careful culling.

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

Why your mental game is infinitely more important for your business success than you think.

Uchechi

There’s no denying it, business success is 80-90% about your mental game. This is something I see every day because I’ve worked with people and coached them through the mechanics of building a successful business. They know what to do, however, they’re either not doing it, or they’re not getting the results they really want.

Take an example of someone who wants to expand her reach and start blogging for her business. However, 6 months later she’s stuck on having the ‘right’ thing to post. This is not about lack of topic ideas or even about knowing how or why to blog, but really about committing to the process and pushing past the fear of judgment and criticism from family, friends and colleagues.

Another example is someone who just launched a great product or service, but is afraid to reach out to others and share it. They are so consumed with fear of appearing pushy, ‘salesy’ or intrusive. As a result, they sit on their great offering and do very little with it.

This is why I believe 100% in working on the mental game with my clients, because without that, no matter how much I teach them about marketing, business financials etc., they will not get the results they’re looking for. Maximum results occur when they’re able to break through blocks and resistance that holds them back!

Another side of the coin is seeing business owners pushing really hard to make things happen. Sometimes, yes, this is needed, but there’s also another side of ‘allowing’ for guidance. We often don’t speak about this in business, but this has been the foundation for all the success I’ve personally experienced.

It’s very common for me to send my clients links to EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique aka Tapping) videos and ask them to tap when I know they’re overcome with fear, anxiety and overwhelm. Sometimes, when I see they’re stuck financially, even though they’re doing the work, I send them forgiveness exercises to do, because I know there’s a huge correlation between resentment, grievances and anger to financial struggles. This is something we don’t discuss in most business training and education, but it’s vital for the success of your business.

I like to think of it like striking a right balance of taking action, and also turning inward, and getting connected. You need to identify how your subconscious mind is keeping you from your dreams. When you’re able to do this, your work will flow better and easier and you’ll begin to see opportunities and resources to help you achieve your goals.

You also need to be conscious on how you feel about your business. Are you in a constant state of doubt, worry, and fear? These feelings will repel the success and financial abundance you want. Focus on feeling positive, confident, and expect positive results. This feeling is more powerful and important than any activity you’ll ever do for your business!

So, I challenge you to focus and add in mental activities to your business strategy. Start cultivating a success mindset that will give you the results you truly want for your business!

Uchechi Ezurike-Bosse is a Business & Lifestyle Strategist, Creator of the 4-Week Business Success Bootcamp and Mind Money Miracles. Uchechi helps passionate entrepreneurs (+aspiring entrepreneurs) master their mindsets to increase their wealth, confidence, and sweet, sweet freedom!  Visit Uchechi at www.myempoweredliving.com and sign up for her FREE video training series The 4 Keys to your Business Success! This free 4-day business training reveals her 4 key strategies needed to build a profitable and successful business, and how to put them to work for you!

If It Doesn't Spread, It's Dead

selfy photo

I recently attended a meetup at Ryerson University, in their Transmedia Zone.  It was a fantastic evening of discussion and debate about content, media, and how the platforms we are using to communicate – social media, Youtube, The Internet itself – are changing our ideas around production and consumption of content, and even ownership of media.

One idea that came up was the idea that media, or content (we were primarily discussing video but it could as easily have been a discussion of any kind of media), is no longer something that we just consume.  It is something that we produce and in fact, it is a way we communicate as much as anything else.

We express our identities, our thoughts, and our ideas in media, as media.  We speak “video”.  And for those who don’t create their own, from scratch, we share what others have produced, as a kind of shorthand for what we want to say.  When I share a captioned photo on Facebook, or content created by a brand like Coke or Red Bull, I am speaking volumes about who I am, what “tribe” I belong to.

Where does content marketing fit in?

I stared to think about what role content marketing plays in this content-sharing-as-communication ecosystem, and why it is so important for business.  To define what I mean by content marketing, have a read of this article, or download a handy infographic here.  Content Marketing is a system in which a business uses content, not advertising, to generate and nurture leads for their business, build trust with their customers, and get found online.

I encounter an objection again and again when I work with clients who are-shall we say-not digital natives, when we get around to a content marketing discussion.  The objection goes something like this: “I am a private person; I don’t want to put myself out there in social media, or by blogging…I’m sure no one wants to hear what I had for lunch.  Plus, I am not willing to give away all my secrets in a blog!  If people want to get my help, they’ll have to hire me!”

That is kind of like moving to France and refusing to speak French.   Digital Media is communication tool, and content is a language that, as a business, you can’t NOT speak.  The best way to get your brand out there is to use media – video, photography, blogging, graphics – to communicate with your customers, and in fact to use media that they will want to share.  To use what Henry Jenkins calls “spreadable media”.

Henry Jenkins: Spreadable Media

This video, titled Spreadable content makes the consumer king, is an episode from Pull: How Technology is Changing the Conversation.  IT was produced by TVO and Q Media and it is taken from  a discussion I had with Jenkins in 2013.

Spreadable media is the best reason I can think of to generate content marketing for your business.  It is how you leverage your existing customers and followers as marketers, giving them the media they need to spread your message for you.

Jenkins also speaks in this interview about the new digital divide, that he calls the participation gap.  He talks about kids in schools who may not have access to skills and opportunities, but it just as effectively applies to business people who don’t have the skills, the training or worse, the willingness to participate in this new language of identity and brands, the language of content.

As Jenkins says: if it doesn’t spread, its dead.  Creating high value, sharable content that your customers can use is the best way to close that participation gap.

Christine McGlade is a Business Analyst, Content Strategist, and Usability Consultant.  With over 25 years experience in the media business, Christine helps small business, social enterprise, and Not for Profits how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow their business.  Learn more about Christine at analyticalengine.ca

Blogging for Business   

Sheralyn

As a writer, I’m often asked “What should I blog about and how often should I blog?”  This question is sometimes followed by the offhand comment “by the way, HOW do I blog?” The easy answer is that by asking these types of questions you are already well on the way to creating your blog.  Yes, blogging can be as simple as this: answer the “5 W’s” and you’ve got yourself a blog.  The “5 W’s” are: Who, What, Where, Why and How. Answer these and you can build a blog fairly quickly and easily.  Throw in something seasonally related or currently in the news and voila, you have yourself a blog. (Answering why “how,” which doesn’t start with “w” is even considered a “w” word is one of life’s little mysteries and the topic of an entirely different blog!)

Who is your audience? Who are you trying to reach out to? You’ve chosen your business because of your particular expertise or because you know and love a product and want to offer it to the public. Blogging to reach that market should be easy – you knew whom your audience was before you even started your business so now you just need to write a message that is tailored to this target market.  Blogging for a product that appeals to seniors should look significantly different from a blog tailored for youth. Choose words that are appropriate and geared to your audience.

The “What” to blog about is simple. What is the core of your business? If you’re a Dentist and it’s the summertime, talk about ice cream, popsicles and sugary treats and the possible detrimental effects that these summer treats could have on teeth.  Real Estate agents might discuss why summer is the best time to sell a home and perhaps blog about how to stage homes in the summer. If your product or service is a little more esoteric (say, writing for example) you could blog about grammar and in a friendly manner take your clients to “summer school” providing tips and tools on sentence structure.

Where to blog? Should you blog on your website, your facebook page or try to publish a post on LinkedIn? Should you be using one of the many web based blogging platforms? In determining the answer that best suits your business you may want to defer to the opinion of a social media specialist in your area. There are advantages to each option and whether you are trying to drive traffic to your website or to your physical location will have an impact on which option you choose. Additionally, knowing your target market should also influence where you blog. If you’ve identified most of your customers are on facebook for example, clearly that is where you should be blogging.

Why should you blog? I might be a lone wolf on this one and certainly as a business that offers blogging services I am doing myself no favours but when it comes to blogging and the “why factor” I urge you to ensure you are blogging relevant content for a reason.  You should blog because you have something of value to offer your customer. Blogging because someone said you should, or posting random content of no significance, will simply drive customers away. For most, the quick answer to “why blog” is to attract customers. That is the “why.” So ensure your content is relevant and will attract not repel.

Now for the “How.”  Call a writer! Just kidding. Use the “5 W’s” as your guiding principle, make a series of bullet points under each heading, determine your overall theme and then start building sentences around these bullet points. As the movie “Field of Dreams” once told us, “If you build it, they will come.” In this case, the structure is your blog and if you build your foundation using the “5 W” bullet points, a fully realized blog will be the end result. The beautiful thing about blogging is that you can schedule your posts to occur at anytime but write them whenever and wherever you want – even sitting on the back deck, in the sunshine, while sipping a cool beverage! See what I did there? I just tied a seasonally related theme to a blog about blogging. Happy writing!

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

VENDOR AND NETWORKING EVENTS

Looking for ways to promote your business? Trying to build strong relationships? Don’t get left behind this year. There are many opportunities to network, promote your business and build your brand in the GTA. From networking to exhibiting, there are many events to choose from. Remember to budget your networking and exhibiting accordingly and ensure that you are getting the bang for your buck. To help you, we have listed a few events happening around the GTA. Maybe I will see you at a few!

YET

Feb 27th @6PM

North York Civic Centre

Y.E.T. (Young Entrepreneurs in Toronto)

Speakers: Various

Cost: FREE

Info: CLICK HERE

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Mar 4th @6PM

North York Civic Centre Room #1

Canadian Small Business Women

Speakers: Christina V. speaking on Blogging for Your Business

Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

Info: CLICK HERE

 

can int b

Mar 7th

Hilton Toronto

Canada International Black Women Event

Speakers: Various

Info: CLICK HERE

COW

Mar 8th

Montecassino Hotel & Event Venue

International Women’s Day Summit

Hosted by: A Celebration of Women

Speakers: Various

Info: CLICK HERE

TOR CAR

Apr 26th

Red Rose Convention Centre

The Toronto Caribbean Business Expo 2015

Speakers: Various

Info: CLICK HERE

im the boss

May 11th

Montecassino Hotel & Event Venue

I AM THE BOSS 2015

Speakers: Various

Info: CLICK HERE

WomanLOGO_5b

Aug 22nd

Toronto Airport West Hotel

Canadian Small Business Women

VENDORS WANTED!!

Info: CLICK HERE

logo

Nov 8th

Toronto

Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo

EXHIBITORS WANTED!!

Info: CLICK HERE

Why Blogging Is Important To Every Business Owner?

Malene Jorgensen

 

 

You may have heard that you need to have a blog on your professional business website as a marketing tool. But once you have created the blog, you may not have any blogging ideas that would match your company mission. This is one of the common struggles of having a business blog.

However, there are three major reasons why blogging is crucial, especially if you are a small business owner, trying to gain credibility in the massive market place. You need to create a trustworthy brand, and that can be challenging if you are hiding behind a website. In addition, a blog opens a gateway between yourself and your customers, and lastly, there are technical benefits of business blogging.

 

CREATING AN OPEN DOOR

When you think about blogging, you may be thinking about individual blogs, where people write about their favourite foods, their feelings and their thoughts. Of course, you should not use this kind inspiration for your business blog. But you should use the structure for your website.

A company can create a gateway of communication with customers by having a blog. The blog should answer common questions in a way that does not come across as a sales pitch. For example, if you are selling insurance, you want to write articles about why insurance is important. You can share case studies, address common myths, and answer questions from potential customers.

If the idea of a blog doesn’t work with your business, you could sell it as a column instead. This may work better if you are using yourself as a brand or business image.

 

ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS

A blog isn’t about you. It really is about your customers. It is about what you can offer them. And this should be a two-way street. Often, people will disable the comments section on the blog, so people cannot respond to the article. And this is a big mistake.

People want answers when they find your article, and they will often look for a comments section to ask that question. This is your chance to impress your potential customer and reel them in. Don’t disable comments and miss this great opportunity. Use your blog to establish strong relationships with people who are genuinely interested in your products or services.

 

MORE EXPOSURE

Lastly, having a blog on your business’ domain helps you in technical ways as well. Every time you publish an article, you are increasing the amount of individual pages you have on the Internet about your business. Other pages include your “about” page, your “contact” page and your “home” page.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, you may not think that a single page will do much for your exposure, but you are not competing with every other page on the Internet. You are only dealing with those pages that are offering the exactly same thing as you. So, with a healthy keyword density and valuable articles, you are well on your way to a successful business blog.

Malene Jorgensen is an entrepreneur, author and speaker. Jorgensen is passionate about online content, blogging, online business development and e-commerce. She owns an international media publishing company and a design studio. Jorgensen has written several books that are sold in over 50 countries. She is also obsessed with coffee and Twitter. You can reach Malene Jorgensen at Website | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram 

Your Brand Values and Governance Model: Developing Your Content Strategy

GovernancePlanning (2)

Part 2 of a 6 part series on Content Strategy for Your Business

 

In the first post in this series, I outlined what a content strategy is and why it’s a critical part of your digital business model.  Over the next 5 weeks of this series, we’ll go through a full content strategy, but where to start?  Sometimes it’s best to start at the end.

 

Governance: Start Your Strategy at the End

When it comes to Content Strategy, A Governance model is perhaps the most important factor.  Why?  Because if you understand up front what it will take to create, measure and maintain your online business communications, you will be more realistic and strategic when you develop your content strategy.  In this post I’ll outline what your governance model will include, and then go into some detail on the creation of the first piece of your content strategy and resulting governance model.

What do I need to Govern?

Online business communications are the basics on your website, which might include

  • Your Home page
  • An “About Us” page or section
  • A services Section and/or product pages
  • Your contact page
  • Campaign based landing pages

Depending on your business goals, it might expand to include content marketing such as

  • Email communications such as e-blasts or newsletters
  • Blogging or articles
  • Info graphics or tools

And depending on your customers and where they are in the sales funnel, it might include brand awareness tactics like

  • Social media: Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN, Instagram, and Pinterest…
  • Influencer marketing

 

Governance of your content strategy means managing these communications, and it is like running a second business, your digital business.  It is part marketing, part sales, and part corporate communications.  And like any business, you need a plan: that’s what Governance is.

Your Governance model brings together all of the pieces of your content strategy into a structured, executable plan of action.  Putting a realistic and actionable governance model in place means being very clear about your brand values and goals, your customer needs, knowing which platforms your ideal customers are using, and which blend of content types will give your brand voice consistency and regularity, and then putting it all in a calendar.

 

A Governance Model Outline

 

Your governance model will be made up of:

1) A clear statement of your brand purpose.  This can be in the form of a mission statement, or it can be in the form of a message map, elevator pitch, or Value proposition (also sometimes called a unique selling proposition or USP).

2) A customer avatar or persona that describes your ideal customer

3) A clear idea of the conversion funnel for your ideal customer and which content types, on which platforms are likely to reach them.

4) An editorial calendar outlining when and what you are going to create or curate and some handy tools to keep it all running smoothly.

These things need to be written down!  Don’t keep it all in your head.  I keep my governance model in front of me in the form of sticky notes and charts pinned to a large piece of foam core that serves as my content strategy whiteboard.   Knowing that these are the building blocks of your content strategy governance model, you can sketch them out very high level, and over the next 5 weeks we’ll fill in the blanks, starting this week with Brand Values.

 

Your Brand Values: Let’s Clarify

What are your brand values, and what are your business goals?  By getting this down very clearly you will have some good material for your About Us page and a guide that will help you with your future content, customer, and platform decisions.  The problem with typical mission statements is that they are very high level and often include a lot of jargon.  For this reason I prefer to create more tactical artefacts, such as a Message Map or Value proposition.

Build a Message Map

A message map is perhaps the most tactical artefact you can create.  It is quick and relatively easy to put together and is a good guideline document if you need to write something quickly such as a product launch announcement, or if you need to give something to your employees so they know the talking points on a particular product, initiative, or your business generally.  CEO’s or PR writers use message maps if they are preparing to do a media interview, for example, or write a press release.

Watch this video about message maps, or use this basic formula, starting with a Twitter-friendly headline.  This means a short, maximum 140-character statement about your brand or product.  Then, write down 3 key points about your brand or product, making sure they are short bullets.  Finally, for each of those three points, come up with a few supporting facts, statistics, or stories that bring the point home.

 Message-Map-Diagram (2)

 

Clarify Your Value Proposition

 

Creating a value proposition using this template from copyhackers will give you a little bit more range of options in terms of how you might talk about your brand as a whole.  Copyhackers has an excellent suite of worksheets and tools for all aspects of content strategy and a great process for figuring out your value proposition, that has you think about your brand and your service(s) or product(s) by filling in this grid.  In the left-most column, write down all of the statements you can come up with that describe the benefits or features of your brand, service(s) or product(s), then really ask yourself if that statement gets a “tick” in the boxes to the right.  When you have a statement that ticks all the boxes, you have a great value proposition!

 

Christine McG
My favourite tool is taken from the book “Gamestorming” because it brings customer target into the mix, and it is visual and easy to fill in the blanks.  Try to make a few of these until you find a combination that feels right.

 

 

elevator-pitch (2)

Once you have a clear idea, or collection of ideas and statements on what you have to offer as a business, the next step is having a very clear picture of your customer: knowing what they want, and where they are going to find it.

Over the next 3 installations, we’ll cover

  • Your Customer: figuring out what your customers want, who they are, and where they are.
  • Social media strategy: we’ll answer the question: do I need a website AND do social media? (The answer is, yes!)
  • Editorial and Content types: we’ll look at creation vs curation and finding the right balance for your brand and your customers, and why you need a schedule. Regularity and consistency is key to building audience.

 

This sounds like a lot of work

I could spend all of my time on creating and maintaining content.  But obviously then I wouldn’t be running my business.  Every business owner has to be a sales and marketing pro these days, however, and much of that sales and marketing activity is contained within the governance model of your online content strategy.  It’s important to find the right balance-or governance model-for your business.

 

For more resources and information on Content Strategy and to download a detailed description of what content strategy entails, go to analyticalengine.ca/resources or download a Content Strategy Info graphic at http://bit.ly/1qY9tYp.

Christine McGlade is a Business Analyst, Content Strategist, and Usability Consultant.  With over 25 years experience in the media business, Christine helps small business, social enterprise, and Not for Profits how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow their business.  Learn more about Christine at analyticalengine.ca

To Blog or Not To Blog: Musings on Blogging

Martina New

 

Blogging, as many business coaches and other savvy individuals tell us, is one of the many social media outlets we entrepreneurs are told to embrace. It is an opportunity to go beyond the brief and restrictive 140 Twitter characters, offer more detail than our Facebook posts should contain, and can be more personal and creative than our professional LinkedIn profile.

Writing a blog, then, should be an enjoyable task that has us running to our notepads or iPads with gleeful excitement. And yet, I still haven’t gone beyond two places where I write just once a month (this blog) and once every six weeks or less for my local community newspaper. I could be doing this once a week or biweekly! Still, I’m not alone, as I keep hearing from my business friends and fellow networkers.

We know “we should” write more often and start a blog, and we do want to, honest, yet somehow so many reasons keep holding us back.

To bolster my enthusiasm, I attended a recent workshop by an avid blogger and writer who shared some of her wisdom. Here is some of what I learned.

 

  • Blogs are a good way to establish a connection with your reader (a.k.a. potential prospects and maybe future clients). It gives them the opportunity to learn a little bit about you, your style, and to know and like you.
  • The reason a more personal tone in a blog is appropriate and more fun to read is that, “people don’t want presentations, they want conversations”. ̴ Suzan St. Maur
  • Suitable topics are things that keep people awake at night, challenges that we face as business owners or simply as human beings. Chances are that if you have things that keep you awake at night, others will be worrying about the same or similar issues. So if you write about those, your readers can relate. Write from your heart to their
  • You can be either a guest blogger on somebody else’s blog site or set up your own. I don’t think the “where” is the real block for any of us!
  • Once you do start writing regularly, be sure to always post your blog on your own website/blog site first, and only then post on other sites, like LinkedIn etc. You want to make sure the Google ranking and any Internet searches direct readers to your own website first.

 

The common sentiment by the workshop leader, as well as other regular writers and ghost bloggers, who were present at the session, was that getting good at writing is much like exercising: you have to do it often to improve it. It is like working a muscle. So think about something you are well versed on, or have been wondering and musing about and think that others would have as well, and start writing it down; there’s no time like the present!

Happy writing.

Source: Workshop by Suzan St. Maur, “How to write better business blogs”. www.howtowritebetter.net

 

Martina Rowley is the founder and operator of Beach Business Hub – THE co-working space east of the Don Valley. She combined her passion and experience in the environmental sector with her community engagement side to create a local work environment where space and resources are shared. She fosters and facilitates collaboration, networking, and learning for and with small business owners and new start-ups. Contact her at:http://www.beachbusinesshub.ca, on Facebook and on Twitter

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