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

 Hiring a Second Set of Freelance Hands

Hiring a professional isn’t a luxury; it’s almost always smart thinking. Just think about remodeling your bathroom on your own and you’ll understand what I mean.

To be productive sometimes you need a second set of hands to free up your time and mental energy, so you can do what you do best.

Fortunately, the internet has made it easy to find the brilliant and talented freelancers who can help you, at affordable rates. You’ll wonder why you ever hesitated to hire some help.

 

HOW TO HIRE A FREELANCER

What should you look for when you’re hiring a freelance writer or virtual assistant (VA)? Experience is a good start, but then again, there are lots of talented writers and VAs who are just starting out, so don’t weed out the newbies too quickly.

Ask for testimonials. Ask to see samples of work. Then talk to the freelancer about what you need. Can she do what you need done? Can she deliver on your timeline?

Craigslist is another great resource. You can post an ad for your project on Craigslist. Having said that,  as a writer perusing Craigslist for work, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly.

Give as much detail as you can about who you are, where you are, what you’re looking for, and what kind of compensation you can offer. I see ads posted every day that are vague, nonsensical, arrogant, and many more that are just plain sketchy. I don’t have the time or energy to guess what I might be getting into should I take the time to get in touch. The freelancer who does have the time to respond to something poorly posted may be available for all the wrong reasons.

Post a well-written, detailed job listing. Put a call-to-action at the very end. This is to see who reads to the end, and can follow instructions.  Ask the applicant to respond with a link to his or her work or some testimonials with contact information.

If you are a small business owner, you should be networking with other small business owners (if you aren’t, you should be – that’s a whole other blog post). Ask other entrepreneurs for recommendations. Where I live, in Durham region, we have active, robust networking organizations; some of my best clients have come from networking meetings.

Check out other small business websites. If they’re good, find out who built the site. Ask who wrote the copy on the site, or who did the graphic design.

Use LinkedIn and Facebook, where you can search up “writer” or “communication specialist” and “virtual assistant” in your extended network.

One amazing resource is the job website Indeed.ca. Resumes are searchable, by keyword. If you search “writer” or “administrative assistant” in your city, dozens of great resumes will pop up.  Pick out a few that look promising, and go on Facebook and LinkedIn to do some due diligence.

Stephanie Regan has been writing professionally longer than she’d like to admit. Find out more about Stephanie at www.durhamwritingservices.com.

Stolen Moments

Sheralyn

As entrepreneurs we are often overwhelmed with the day to day management of our business. It can be difficult to juggle the expectations of clients, family and for some of us, other work commitments. Perhaps you are still working full or part time while launching your business. Trying to find balance and live up to your own expectations is daunting. Today I remind you to take time to breathe and to take advantage of “stolen moments.”

Of course it is critically important to devote time and attention to your business and be fully committed to it while concurrently avoiding the dangers of multi-tasking. To be successful requires your full investment. The reality of life however, is that this is simply not always possible. So when it isn’t, take advantage of those stolen moments.  Today for example, I write this blog from the “parents room” of the dance studio my daughter attends. It’s actually quite quiet. Yes I could have run errands and been flustered as I flew around town trying to accomplish groceries, banking and prescription pick up in my two hours of “free” time but instead I chose to grab a coffee, bring the laptop and sit and catch up on some of my writing. With two blogs, an article and a draft vision statement for a non-profit agency all due on the same day (poor planning I know!) this is the perfect use of two hours of “spare” time. I’m actually sitting still for starters, enjoying a hot cup of coffee while it’s still hot and getting work done. If you are still dividing at least some of your time between work elsewhere and self-employment, this kind of stolen moment is sometimes, the only way work gets done.

At a networking event recently, I sat with a group of women who shared their stories of managing business and family life. Universally, a common theme surfaced. That is, women continue to berate themselves for just about everything, even success. My mother had an expression for this “With enemies like you, who needs enemies!” Wise up Women!  If we multitask we think we should be sole focused, if we have tunnel vision, we are “failing” at multitasking. We are told we must be 110% devoted to our business but don’t forget to build in downtime! Article after article says we need to find balance in our lives yet still others suggest we must eat, breathe and sleep our business or we will never achieve success. This mixed messaging is overwhelming, burdensome and unnecessary.

Today I suggest to you that whatever you are doing is okay, as long as it’s working for you. Your business, your success, matters most to whom? You, not anyone else, therefore it should not be subject to any other persons opinion of success. So take advantage of the stolen moments along the way, making them work for you in whatever way makes sense for you.  However, I would also remind you that taking advantage of stolen moments must apply to both your personal and professional life. After all, balance is important. Like they say on the airplane, you have to put on your own oxygen mask first in order to help others. For me, that means while this week I work from the Dance Studio, perhaps during next weeks two hours of “down time” I will do something just for myself and without any guilt. When you are managing a small business, you MUST take advantage of these stolen moments, whether it’s to be productive or to give yourself permission to take a break so that you can be more productive in the future. So breathe and take advantage of the stolen moments, where ever and whenever they present themselves!

 

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

Bridge Building 101

Sheralyn

Using bridges as an analogy for great communication is a pretty common theme for me and I believe it’s a message that occasionally bears repeating. Great communication is about building bridges between people.  Like a bridge that facilitates transportation between two geographical points, a communications bridge acts as your platform to transmit information. It requires a solid foundation, pillars of support and the actual bridge span that connects the two. The definition of communication is this: “The development of skills in three critical areas: Listening, Language and Writing.” Think of these three skills as your pillars, foundation and bridge span. Communication is about sending a message and ensuring that message is both received AND understood. When communication fails, it’s because the bridge was left unfinished or because it crumbled, not having been built on a solid enough foundation.

The bridge could be your website, a blog, a video about your business, perhaps it’s a sales call to discuss your product or it takes place while you’re conducting a seminar in front of an audience. Whatever your “bridge” it is based on the premise of creating a two-way flow of information. (It’s important to note however, even a one – lane bridge allows traffic to flow in both directions, we just have to take turns! Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we did?)

Here are a few simple tips on how to build a better bridge to your customers:

  • Keep your communication clear and concise. State your position (just the facts) using language that is precise and carefully chosen.
  • Avoid over reliance on industry specific jargon – not every one “gets” it.
  • Avoid excessive and unnecessary elaboration. Say more, with less.
  • Ensure understanding by soliciting feedback.
  • Encourage two-way dialogue by asking questions.
  • When creating content for your website follow the techniques we have blogged about before: Treat web content like it was a Resume and answer the basic “Who, What, Where, Why and How questions.
  • If you have a contact button on your website – RESPOND when people use it! Encourage the conversation. If you put a tollgate on your bridge, make sure it’s staffed otherwise no one is getting across and not answering a customer query means a lost business opportunity.

 

If communication is further defined as the ability to “express or exchange information” what else can you do in your business to ensure that exchange takes place? I would argue that listening is the single most important pillar of the communications bridge. In any relationship, business or personal, listening to the other person helps them to feel valued, that their opinion matters or that there concern has been addressed. By listening, I am referring to “listening to hear,” (to understand) not “listening to respond” (planning your comeback.) Listen to what your customer is asking for rather than trying to sell what you think he needs.

Just like a poorly built bridge, the stakes are high and the consequences long term.  Perhaps you read about the recent collapse of the Nipigon River Bridge, severing the Trans-Canada Highway, the only road linking Eastern and Western Canada. It’s not only an enormous and costly mistake for the bridge builders but has long term consequences for any business attempting to transport goods and services to its customers along this corridor. Similarly, what are some of the consequences of poor communications for your business?

  • Misunderstandings
  • Lost business opportunities
  • Angry employees or customers
  • Poor sales
  • Potential legal ramifications
  • Long-term damage to your reputation

You may have heard the old saying; “If it’s worth saying, say it right the first time!” or my personal motto “Say only what matters because it matters what you say!” Either promotes the same message – good communication needs a solid base to “bridge” the gap between your customer and your business, between fostering good relationships and repairing bad. Communications is a bridge that runs both ways and if it doesn’t, it leads to nowhere.

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

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

Summer Blog Tour 2015

WomanLOGO_5b

It was a pleasure to be invited to be a part of IC Publishing’s Summer Blog Tour.  I am looking forward to reading about other entrepreneurs like myself.  I would like to thank Shery Andrunyk for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.  Here’s a bit about Sheri:

Sheri Andrunyk is the founder of I C Publishing (tour sponsor) and the I C Bookstore, entrepreneur expert, mentor, and author of Working From Home & Making It Work and Hearts Linked by Courage. She is writing two more books this year, and is extremely passionate about providing more choices, resources, and high level support to other writers, business professionals, wellness coaches, and spiritual mentors.

Bites and Blogs: What are your tips for creating meaningful content for social media? How do you determine what blogs you’re going to write, and why? How do you remain consistent?  How do you know you’re on the right track?

With regards to social media, content is king.  My approach is the ever so popular 80/20 rule.  I try to follow this as closely as possible.  It states 80% informative and 20% promotion is the best way to keep your audience engaged.  Within that 80% of content, I try to use content from my blog site, which in itself is a “soft” way of promoting the site itself.  I am a believer in using all possible platforms to promote your business, so use whatever hidden or soft ways of promoting your business that allows the reader to have your business in mind constantly.

Blogging is a great way to get your point across without having to engage an audience for a long period of time.  I personally don’t blog, but I do have contributors who are experts in their field who blog on a consistent basis for my blog site.  I am very firm on consistency when it comes to blogging.  I require a minimum of 1 contribution per month for 6 straight months from all my bloggers.

There are many “hot topics” out there in the world of blogging for small businesses.  My selection is based on the topics that are a firm requirement to assist with starting and growing your business.  The resources we provide via our blogs are those that we find answer all the questions that are being asked by aspiring entrepreneurs.  We have been fortunate enough to witness our success over the past three years based on the increase in our readers.   Our numbers have increased each year by 50% and so has the interactions.  We have also been fortunate enough to have experienced blog contributors, who have written pieces that resonate with our readers.

Talks: What steps do you take to create new workshops, programs, or keynotes?

Creating workshops that resonate with your audience can be challenging.  You have to not only consider your guests and what they need, but you also have to consider what your competitors are offering.  Our workshops at Canadian Small Business Women are largely based on materials that are necessary for your business.  We also don’t focus on having ‘big name’ speakers whose main focus is to upsell to my audience.  There are a few requirements that I have:

  1. The workshop must be less than 2 hours long.
  2. The workshop host cannot spend more than 10 minutes introducing themselves and their business.
  3. The workshop must be hands on
  4. The workshop must have a “to do” list that allows the attendees to implement everything that was taught in their business.
  5. Do, feel free to upsell, but you cannot upsell throughout the workshop. The last 10 minutes are usually dedicated to that.

Books: Everyone has a story, some a book. If you’ve written a book, what was your creative process? What encouragement would you give others just beginning their book writing journey?

I have not had the pleasure to write a book, but it is in the works.  I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by inspirational authors who have encouraged me to take that leap in to being an author.  I currently have a title and a short outline.  I will just have to find the time to move forward and start writing.  I welcome any suggestions from our readers as to how to find my way creatively.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Wow!  I would tell my younger self to pay attention to the small details.  I am not one to regret any decisions made and I definitely live each day to the fullest.  I would definitely tell my younger self to learn how to let go of things sooner and to not be so high strung!

What are you working on now, and how can we, as a collective community, help?

We are currently working on the launch of our membership website.  Our goal is to have our members benefit from the partnerships we have made with many companies across Canada such as Vistaprint and Staples.  We would love the readers to join our network as well as to refer the network to others.  We can be found at www.canadiansmallbusinesswomen.ca

 

Passing the pen to next week:

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.  She has completed her first book Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect: www.embraceyourdestiny.ca,  www.twitter.com/sandradawes

 

Tamara is the founder and creative director of Sweet Clover Studios. A creative space where design, inspiration and the desire-to-grow combines to produce purposeful materials. From surface pattern designs to children’s books, the process and personal insights are shared to create community and an example of multi-passionate creativity.

http://www.SweetCloverStudios.com  or Instagram : @sweet_clover_studios

 

Happy Blogging!!

“B2B” Communications: It’s About Time!

Sheralyn

 

Funerals that offer “creamation” services and companies that say their products or services are “Quiality” – what is your first thought? It they don’t show this much attention to detail on services they are trying to sell us via the internet, I guess we shouldn’t expect too much in terms of their service overall. You might have thought from the title that this would be a blog about “Business to Business” Communications and in a roundabout way it is. But that’s the problem with abbreviations – not everyone has the same understanding of their meaning and a breakdown in communication is the result. What I really want to address today is more about a “Back to Basics” approach to communications. Concepts like “yes, grammar matters” and the lost art of conversation. If we are open to learning how to do these things well, it’s possible our “business to business” communications will improve too.

Spelling matters. Grammar matters. Most of us can’t parse a sentence and don’t know a dangling participle when we see one but we sure as heck know (or should know) the difference between “its” and “it’s.” If you don’t (and this is not shameless self promotion by any means) you had better hire someone who does! Your business might depend on it. Utilizing technology, we tweeted a query not too long ago asking for your input – does it matter to you if spelling isn’t accurate on a website. Would it deter you from buying a product or service if the website contained language inaccuracies? The response suggested overwhelmingly that consumers would indeed bypass a poorly written website, choosing instead someone who took the time to get it right. The perception is clearly that attention to such detail really does matter.

These results are not surprising to me, nor should they be for anyone. You wouldn’t expect your doctor to “sort of” be able to practice medicine and I’m sure you rely on your mechanic to really “get it right” when he is working on your engine. It only makes sense that the same level of care and attention to detail would go into the website that advertises these services yet it always surprises me how often this fails to be the case. Time after time we come across websites like the one offering “Quailty” repairs. The thing is, as much as I advocate a return to the basics, technology can actually help us with these kinds of errors because all anyone has to do is hit “spell check” on their computer! Sure it might not catch the difference between the correct use of “here” vs. “hear” but that’s where the B2B education kicks in.

Communication is so many things. It’s about listening, speaking and writing and it is about the “ability to express or exchange information.” (1) How we interact with one another in every aspect of our lives is governed by effective communications. To do it well takes plenty of practice. It is a skill we should continually improve upon throughout our lives. Entire courses on networking are taught to business professional and really, isn’t this just an opportunity to teach people how to have a conversation? We need such courses because so many of us have now become completely reliant upon technology and all the abbreviations associated with it that we have forgotten how to talk to one another. Indeed, we have forgotten how to look up and into the eyes of people who are sitting right next to us! We are rational (sometimes!) reasoning creatures gifted with the ability to orate and yet it is a vanishing art form.

Therefore, I dare to say this. It’s time we got back to the basics. Put down our tech devices and learn the ability to speak and interact with one another. Bring grammar back into our schools and teach kids that while efficiencies gained from “ttyl” abbreviations work in some situations, they do not work for all. We need to learn how to spell and how to put a sentence together the “good, old-fashioned way.” Technology is a wonderful thing but it is only as smart as the user and what we put into it. “Garbage in, garbage out” as the saying goes so let’s recycle those old school dictionaries and put them to good use. From the perspective of your business, here’s why it is so important. Research shows that 59% of consumers would not use a company that had spelling or grammar errors on their website and that fully 70% of people notice these mistakes and feel it shows “an obvious lack of care.” (2) Further, if the average person only spends between 10 and 30 seconds on your website, being memorable because of your errors is not the right way to get noticed!

In educating ourselves about effective and efficient means of communication without the use of technology we might then be better able to apply that knowledge when we do use it. Building a great, error free website that helps tell the world what you can do is vital. Technology IS important but so is how we use it. Communication skills: good for life – and good for business too!

 

(1)MerriamWebster

(2)realbusiness.ca.uk

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

LinkedIn / Facebook / www.writingrightforyou.weebly.com

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

Business Research Demystified … And Why You Need It! (Part 1)

yvonne

One of the keys to starting a business or writing your business plan is Research. More important than this is conducting the right type of research.  I don’t know about you, but usually the word ‘research’ can evoke all types of emotions, which does not often include excitement.

But that need not be the case, even if it were, we need still need to do it. Think of research as a means to gain knowledge, get ahead, be relevant or establish facts, and business research being to gain the required business knowledge and facts for the purpose of establishing a more concrete foundation to develop your business and give you an edge in the market and over your competitors. When you look closely at businesses that have failed some of the contributing factors could have been eliminated had they taken the time to do some research and gather valuable information on their target customers, about the market, supplier and competitors.

On speaking with many ‘entrepreneurs’ or business owners, I find some of them disregard the process of undertaking any form of research. Often a times, they feel they have all the information they need based on their immediate experience. However, what research allows you to do is broaden your knowledge of what your customers want; know how to price and position your products and services; know what your competitors are doing so as to compete strategically; and understand market and industry trends to ensure your products or services are relevant etc.

Simple forms of undertaking research include asking your trusted network and potential type target customers about the feasibility of your business idea, products or service; and looking at similar businesses to yours and what products or services they provide and prices they charge. Simple as it may sound, these still constitute research.

Whether starting a business or looking to grow your business, I want to challenge you to step up your game, and approach your research in a more structured manner in order to gain better insight and results.

Though some businesses have started out successfully without any research, a time comes when they have to pause and research to maintain their strategic advantage or they become irrelevant.

Look out for Part 2 on the types of research that apply to new businesses or existing businesses.

 

Yvonne is a Change Consultant, Coach and Speaker who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc,www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc, www.oliveblue.com

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