Malene Jorgensen Archives - Canadian Small Business Women

Apr 11 2015

What Is The Deal With Membership Sites?

A membership site as a business model is becoming a very interesting way of doing business. Many people have found that teasing some content in a webinar and then offering paid content to customers is a profitable way of doing business. For example, a personal coach gives a webinar on the importance of having a healthy life in all aspects.

Once the webinar is done, the creator will give a discount on a course or a membership deal that gives customers tools to get that ideal lifestyle. This can be PDFs, videos and other goodies, only accessible via a paid membership.

This is a business model that has grown tremendously over the past year. But as with any business model, this is not a guaranteed model. Even though some people have found success using this model, this is far from a successful one. Many people will simply copy concepts and information already used by professionals.

In addition, there are marketing hurdles, as webinars are best marketed on social media pages. But you will be competing with all other webinars and memberships available online.

If you can put your own twist on this membership business structure, feel free to try it out.

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

Mar 11 2015

Should I Start A Podcast?

You may have noticed a spike in podcast shows over the last year, as more entrepreneurs are starting to record shows to expand their personal brands. Many people listen to podcasts to expand their business knowledge, get new ideas and connect with other entrepreneurs.

People start podcasts for various reasons, but many business owners start these shows to promote their respective businesses. For example, if someone is a health coach and advice on personal nutrition, he or she can create a podcast where the discussion will fall on health in various ways.

At the end of the podcast, the business owner can refer to various products or services to get people to go back to the company’s website. While the podcast may not generate money in itself unless there are deals with advertisers, it can be a great marketing tool to push more paying customers.

It is also a great way to self-promote, if the business owner is planning on starting speaking, blogging or being the face of the business.

There are plenty of how-to’s when it comes to starting a podcast online. A simple Google search will give you everything you need.

Jan 11 2015

Why Blogging Is Important To Every Business Owner?

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.

Dec 11 2014

Is Engagement On Social Media A Return On Your Investment?

When people talk about social media marketing, there seems to be a focus on what you are getting in return. How is your timely investment measured? How is that investment related to sales? Some people tend to believe that just because you start sharing links on Facebook and Twitter, you will make money. Sure, there are success stories of people making lots of money online with their businesses, but this is far from the norm.

In other words, just because you are sharing links to your e-commerce store or your online products doesn’t mean you will see any returns on this investment. Instead, you may need to change your view of social media marketing all together to see just how useful it can be.

It really isn’t about how many products you sell every time you share a link. Instead, it is about the relationships you create on the network and about how you continue to nurture them. The investment really comes down to the engagement you have on these networks. If you start conversations, chances are that you will gain some loyal customers. So, when you do end up releasing a new product or service, people are more likely to invest in them if they are suited for their needs.

If you have thousands of followers who are excited about your business and you aren’t seeing any purchases, the problem may not be with your social media marketing. One common problem I stumble upon often is that people will disregard their Twitter or Facebook followers because they aren’t seeing any sales. But your social media marketing efforts may be paying off. The followers may be coming to your website – which is the goal of social media marketing – but they are turned off by your website. Then, they leave again without making a purchase.

You can find out whether this is a problem by implementing an analytics system to your business website, so you can see how many people are coming from Twitter or Facebook. You need to analyze all the steps in your social media strategies to determine what isn’t working. Only then can you find your social media success – and see the returns on your timely investments.

Nov 11 2014

What the Heck is SEO and Why Does It Apply To Me?

If you are a business owner with a website, you may have heard the words “search engine optimization” or SEO. Chances are that you ignored the words when you heard them, because you wanted to focus on your business, your own product development and making sales. And I don’t blame you. But SEO is something you should focus on if your business operates primarily online. If you have an e-commerce store, for example, search engine optimization is a must.

So, what is SEO?

When a person opens a browser and starts searching for something, the person will use certain keywords to find what they are looking for. If you have taken SEO into account when crafting your content, chances are that your website may show up on page one in Google, Bing or Yahoo. SEO is a term that describes various techniques to optimize your content for search engines.

You can’t just create a website and expect to be on the first page of search results, when you search for your website’s name. Unfortunately, you are competing with thousands of other websites with similar names, content, articles and so forth. You have to make your website original, unique and optimized. There are four major areas you can start focusing on right now; value, bounce rate, keywords and back-links.

One thing that search engines put weight on is value. In other words, the content on the website in question must provide valuable information for the readers. Value can include an interesting story, a captivating piece of journalism or an e-commerce store with products for sale. Even your product descriptions add value.

If your website isn’t offering anything of value or interest, people will quickly click back to the search to find another relevant site. When these users quickly bounce away from your page, Google will register the time spent on the site and compare it to the total amount of visitors. This percentage is called the bounce rate. If you have a high bounce rate, search engines may believe that you are misleading readers with your website, claiming you are offering certain content when you are not. You can track your bounce rate on individual pages and articles using Google Analytics.

To improve your bounce rate, you should write valuable content. This is why integrating a blog is so important. It will help give you exposure in search engines, which is an excellent form of marketing. A blog will also give you an opportunity to share value in other ways than just your products or services.

One way to improve your bounce rate is to use keywords to improve your exposure. If you are writing a travel blog about Florida and have a lengthy article about hotels, you want the phrase “Florida Hotels” to be 4 to 6 percent of your overall article – or other relevant key-phrases depending on your article direction. Because this phrase is a higher percentage than other phrases you may have used to craft your article, Google will pick up on this and rank it accordingly. If someone is searching “Florida Hotels,” chances are your site will rank well. Keep this in mind when crafting blog articles.

Lastly, you want to build up some back links organically. This goes back to the concept of value. If another website finds your content to be useful or valuable, they will link to your articles from their sites or social media accounts. This link is called a back-link; it links back to your website. The more back-links you have, the more search engines will think that your content is useful and valuable to people.

Unless you are writing on a very specific topic, you will have to put in hours of work to rank well in search engines. You are competing with websites that have been in search engines for years. But don’t put all of your energy into search engine optimization.

Yes, search engine optimization is important, but don’t think that adding 1000 back-links will secure you a top spot in Google. Since the beginning of 2011, Google has released 25 different algorithm changes that have had some major impacts on traffic for major websites. Back-links may be important in one update, but less important in another.

To ensure a great spot in Google, it really comes down to your readers. Make sure you are giving them valuable and usable information that is worth reading and exploring. Only then will you see the results that you have worked so hard to get.

Stay Social with Canadian Small Business Women: