How to Use Facebook for Business: Social Networking 101 for Entrepreneurs, Authors and Speakers By: Stephanie Chandler

How to Use Facebook for Business: Social Networking 101 for Entrepreneurs, Authors and Speakers

By Stephanie Chandler

It seems the most popular question lately is, “Are you on Facebook?” Launched as a way for founder Mark Zuckerberg to connect with friends at Harvard, Facebook has exploded into the mainstream. With nearly 200 million users, and a million new members joining each week in the U.S. alone, people are paying attention.

One of the biggest benefits that social networking platforms like Facebook provide the business community is the ability to get repeat exposure with the people in your network. Clients, peers, and prospects can make up your network, and you can promote events, sales, special offers and more through your Facebook profile.

Not only is Facebook a tool for your business, but it can be fun to connect with old friends, family and coworkers. There is something about sharing an old grade school photo that can create an instant bond with those from your past. Even personal connections have the potential to become new business opportunities.

Ready to get started? Here are some ways to maximize Facebook for your business:

Create a Powerful Profile

There is no cost to create a profile on Facebook and based on site policies, it must be tied to a human name, not a business name. Use the “About Me” section to describe your business and what you do. In the “Information” box on your main profile page, you can feature links to your website, blog and other business resources. Be sure to include your photo so that others can recognize you online.

Build Your Contact List

Facebook is based on the concept of connecting with friends. You can send and receive friend requests and once accepted, your friend can view your profile and you can view theirs. To begin connecting with people that you know, you can either import your contact database or you can search Facebook for individual people.

You can also view the friends list for each person you are connected to. As an example, once you have accepted a friend request from your peer, Mary, you can view her list of friends. If you know any of Mary’s friends (or you would like to know them), send a connection request.

Communicate with Wall Posts

Each Facebook member has a “wall” where friends can post messages. This is a great place to post a quick note to those in your friends list. In the business networking world, this is the online equivalent of picking up the phone to say hello.

For example, if you are connected to a CEO who you saw at an event recently, you could post a note on her wall that says, “Loved your presentation at the XYZ event – thanks for the great ideas!”

Update Your Status

At the top of your Facebook home page is a status box. When you post a status update, everyone in your friends list can see your update on their home page. Those using Facebook for social purposes might update their status to say, “Jenny is putting the kids to bed.” For business purposes, this is a place to share tips, promote events and even boost sales.

Effective business updates could include: “Jenny found a great article on social networking: www….” or “Joe at ABC furniture is hosting a special event! Check out www….”

Participate in Groups

Online groups allow you to network virtually with potential clients and peers. To access groups, start from your Facebook home page, view the list of applications and click on “Groups.” You can browse through thousands of themed groups with topics ranging from business to politics and everything in between.

You can also search groups to find topics related to your industry. For example, if you own an office supply store in Sacramento , you might search for general business groups based in Sacramento . If you are an auto parts dealer, you might join the Honda Civic owners group along with other auto-related groups.

If you really want to maximize the potential with groups, consider starting one of your own. Once again, there is no cost to do this and the visibility can be great. For example, if you are a business broker in Dallas , you could start a group for Dallas business owners. You do not need to promote your business at every turn. Instead, make it known that you’re a broker, but provide value for members by sharing interesting tips and engaging with them in the online forum.

Build Your Friends List

For business purposes, the one with the most friends on Facebook wins. Okay, not exactly, but the point is to connect with as many potential clients as possible. One way to do this is to join a group and send connection requests to fellow members with a note: “Hey, we’re both members of XYZ group. Let’s connect here on FB!”

Just as you would with an in-person business introduction, take a moment to learn about new people you meet on Facebook. Networking always works best when there is a two-way exchange. If you can help a new Facebook friend, they will likely want to return the favor.

Create Fan Pages

Because Facebook requires that a profile be designated to a human, not a business, they have instead provided the ability to create fan pages. You can create a fan page for a business, product, book, author, speaker, celebrity or just about anything you want.

To create a fan page, scroll all the way down to the bottom of Facebook and click on “Advertising” (don’t worry, it doesn’t cost anything to set-up). Next, click on “Pages” at the top of the screen. You will find some helpful explanations about how pages work, along with a link that will allow you to create your page.

Pages function a lot like profiles so you can add links, events, discussion boards and other features that make them interactive. Facebook will also post updates from your fan pages back on to your profile so others know about them. And instead of sending friend requests out, you can invite others to become a “fan” of your page. You will also have the ability to send messages to all of your fans, allowing you to cultivate a community online.

Manage Your Time

The biggest complaint most have about social networking is that it takes a lot time to manage. I recommend designating time in your day for Facebook activities. You can login once or twice a day to view messages and manage your connections. Just be careful not to let time get away from you (it’s easy to do!). Also, remember that the more time you spend on Facebook, the more ways you will find to use it to your advantage. Be creative, show your personality and have some fun. That will all be reflected in your success.

About the Author

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books including “The Author’s Guide to Building an Online Platform” and “From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur.” She is also founder and CEO of http://AuthorityPublishing.com, which provides custom book publishing and author marketing services for business, self-help and other non-fiction books, and http://BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs.

Finding The Best Keywords To Use On Your Site – By Terri Seymour

Finding the Best Keywords to Use on Your Site

© Terri Seymour of www.SeymourProducts.com

When you own an online business one of the most important things you can do is get high rankings in the search engines. There are many ways of doing this. One of the most effective ways of getting your site noticed by the search engines is by using relative keywords.

Keywords are words that people use to search for a site. For example: If you owned a site from which you sold pet care items and people typed in puppy food, you would want your site to come up. Now, some people might type in more descriptive phrases as well such as nutritious puppy food, or cheap puppy food. These are the types of keywords you would need to add to your site so your potential customers can find you.

The first step in optimizing your site keywords would be to find exactly what phrases and words people are using to find sites like yours. One way to do this is to do a search for a free keyword suggestion tool. Once you find one, just type in a one or two word phrase and this tool will tell you how many times your word has been searched for and give you other suggestions with their search numbers. This can be a great way to find out which keywords are best to start using on your site.

NOTE: This has to be done consistently. Don’t think that doing it once is all it takes. Keywords are constantly changing so to stay on top, you always need to know what people are searching for. Now you need to make a list of specific targeted keywords (the more specific to your site, the better). I would start with a list of 10 – 20 keywords and/or phrases. After you make up your list of highly competitive and specialized keywords it is time to start using them on your web pages.

You need to take into consideration something called “keyword density”. This is the number of times you “plaster” your keywords onto your web pages. Too many times can do more harm than good. You would normally want your keyword density to be between 3% and 5%. That simply means that for every 100 words, your keyword appears 3 to 5 times. If you just paste the keywords anywhere and everywhere your site will more than likely be rejected by the search engines.

It is also a good idea to headline your keywords in large, bold type at the top of your site. For example: Cheap Pet Care Items Including Nutritious Puppy Food Another way of putting your keywords to good use is by using them as anchor text for your links. For example, instead of using a regular url or “click here for a link”, use keywords such as “pet food and toys” as the link.

You also want to make sure your web pages are titled with keywords, not just index or homepage or other generic titles. One example of a good title would be Pet Care, Vitamins, Nutritious Puppy Food, Cheap Prices, Toys You want to use about 8-10 words in your title as only the first 70 characters will show in the actual title on your page. Besides using the above methods, you want to sprinkle your keywords in relevant places throughout your webpage. Do not just paste them anywhere. Remember, quality, not just quantity will get you more results.

The best placement for your keywords is in the first 20 or so sentences. Then limit the use of the keywords throughout the rest of the text. You might also try summarizing all your pertinent keywords in your final paragraph to tie them all together. NOTE: The spiders cannot read text on graphics unless you use the ALT tag. The ALT tag is inserted into the image code like this: Then, if for some reason the image does not show up your keywords “ Pet Care Food Vitamins Toys” will.

If you consistently use the methods above, your site ranking should improve substantially. I know mine did once I used these techniques. But remember to research your keywords regularly and make any changes necessary.

About the Author:

Terri Seymour (also known as “The eBook Lady”) has over ten years online experience and has helped many people start their own business. Visit her site at http://www.seymourproducts.com for resources, $1 resell ebooks & software, free tutorials, affiliate programs, free ezine and free business ebook with Master Resell Rights. http://www.seymourproducts.com/free.shtml

65 Reasons To Write A Press Release – By Darlene Bishop

65 Reasons to Write a Press Release
If you’ve done any reading on the subject, you probaby realize that sending out press releases is one of the most effective, cost-free strategies available for marketing your business. All too often, however, we just can’t think of WHY to send a release. We are under the mistaken impression that we simply have no news worthy of sharing.

Here’s a list of 65 reasons to send out a press release that will help dispel that notion and help you get started TODAY to utilize this outstanding promotional strategy for your business:

• A contest you’re sponsoring
• A contest you’ve won
• A grant you are giving
• A grant you have received
• A scholarship you’re contributing to
• A scholarship you’re sponsoring
• An award or commendation you’ve received
• An award or commendation your company has received
• Appearance at national events
• Articles written about you
• Articles you’ve written
• Awards you are handing out
• Business anniversary
• Business expansion
• Business Open House
• Change in business hours
• Classes you are teaching
• Classes your company is sponsoring
• Clients, or customers you have acquired
• Company events or programs
• Company name change
• Company sponsored trip for your employees
• Company tours you make available
• Contributions you are making to a local charity
• Corporate accomplishments
• Corporate sponsorships (sports teams, etc.)
• Ezine or newsletter you publish
• Facilities expansion
• Free classes you offer
• Free demonstrations you’re putting on
• Free information available at your website
• Free samples you’re offering
• Fundraiser you’re sponsoring
• Guest you’ve invited to speak to your employees
• Holiday promotions
• Holiday tie-ins
• Joint venture with another company
• Key employees’ retirement
• New employees you’ve hired
• New products or services you’re offering
• New website or online service you’re offering
• Participate in local events
• Patents you have applied for or been awarded
• Personal accomplishments
• Polls and surveys you’ve taken
• Publications you have to offer online or in print
• Report on a fundraiser you finished
• Research you have conducted and the results
• Sales promotions
• Speaking engagements you have planned
• Special events you are participating in
• Special events you are promoting
• Special meetings you’re hosting
• The latest book that mentions you
• Trade shows you are participating in
• Trademarks you have applied for or been awarded
• Training seminars you are attending
• TV show appearances
• Visits by local celebrities
• Website anniversary
• Workshops you are presenting
• Your appointment to a board or committee
• Your company’s incorporation
• Your latest book
• Your retirement

While there are many other reasons to write a release, these ideas should help you jumpstart your creativity.

For more information on HOW to write a press release, read How to Write a Press Release That Editors Will Publish.

Article copyright © 2009 by Darlene Bishop. All rights reserved worldwide.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darlene ‘Dee’ Bishop is a professional freelance writer helping business owners build their businesses… one word at a time™, a Christian minister and the Pastors & Ministers Examiner at Examiner.com.

10 Ways to Use Google Alerts for Business and Social Media: (Plus Tips to Improve Search Results) by: Stephanie Chandler

One of the most useful services released by Google in recent years is its powerful Google Alerts (http://Google.com/alerts). This free tool allows you to receive e-mail notifications when keywords and phrases that you specify appear on websites, blogs, online news channels and more.

Here are 10 ways to leverage Google Alerts for your business:

1. Business Name – Keep track of websites that mention your company. This is an opportunity to send a note of thanks or address an issue if something derogatory is posted like a complaint about customer service. Big companies track mentions of their businesses online and you should too.

2. Personal Name – Find out where you’re mentioned online. This is especially important for prominent figures such as authors, speakers, celebrities, and individual service providers.

3. Website – Track where your website is mentioned by creating an alert for your domain. Leave off the leading “www” and instead just specify your domain and extension such as “authoritypublishing.com.”

4. Blog – If you host a blog, follow the website guidelines above to create an alert for your blog domain. This should also produce results if your blog link is posted somewhere with a specific pointer to one of your pages.

5. Titles – If you distribute articles for online marketing purposes, create an alert for each article title so that you can track where your articles are appearing. Authors can use this same strategy for tracking book titles.

6. Industry Research – To stay on top of industry news, create alerts for keywords and key phrases for your industry. For example, I have alerts for “publishing industry” and “business book.” This makes it easy to stay on top of news, competition and much more. If you are using social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, this can help you locate useful content for micro-blogging or to give you topic ideas to cover in your blog.

7. Competitive Research – If you want to find out who is talking about your competition or where they are being mentioned, create alerts for each competitor’s business name and/or website URL.

8. Lead Generation – If breaking news can produce leads for your company, use Google Alerts for related phrases. For example, if you own a human resources firm and want to find out what companies are hiring in Sacramento , you could create several alerts: “now hiring Sacramento ,” “job posting Sacramento ,” and “job listing Sacramento .”

9. Lead Research – If there is a company or client that you want to land, create alerts to stay on top of their most recent online activity. This can provide valuable insight into what they company is up to and who is talking about them.

10. Top Client Research – Track activity for your top ten or twenty existing clients. This can give you valuable insight into what they’re up to, and also provide you with reasons to contact them. For example, if one of your clients receives major media coverage, you will learn about it right away and can send them a note of congratulations.

Useful Google Search Tricks

Exact Keyword Search: You can specify exact keywords by putting a plus sign (+) in front of the word. For example, if you search for the word “publish,” Google search results would include “publishing” and “publisher.” Adding a plus sign to the beginning of the word (+publish) will ensure that you only receive exact matches.

Exact Key Phrase Search: When you search for a phrase, Google results will returns anything that includes all of the words in the phrase, not that exact phrase. But if you enclose your search in quotes (“how to publish a book”), the results will only include that exact phrase.

Alternate Keyword: To return a search with alternate results, use “OR” between the words (the letters OR must be capitalized). For example, “author OR writer” will return results with either keyword. For a more complex search, you can put part of the phrase in parenthesis: (author OR writer) “business books”.

Synonyms: If you want your search results to return related terms, use a tilde (~) in front of the word. For example, if you use this feature to search for the word “~author,” Google returns results that include “book,” “writer,” and “literature.”

Search a Single Website: If you want to track new entries on a specific site, you can use the “site:” operator. For example, if you want to track mentions of business books on the New York Times website, your search would look like this: “business book” site:nytimes.com.

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About the Author

Stephanie Chandler is an author of several business and marketing books including “From Entrepreneur to Infopreneur: Make Money with Books, eBooks and Information Products.” She is also founder and CEO of http://AuthorityPublishing.com, which provides custom book publishing and author marketing services for business, self-help and other non-fiction books. For author and speaker details, visit http://StephanieChandler.com

How Are You Fairing In This Economy? By Diane Walker

How is life treating you? Are you any better off this year than you
were last year? Are you moving forward or are you moving backwards?
No one stands still.

I hear people complain about the economy but yet, in my area, I see
them out buying, eating out and living like normal. Not sure about
other parts of the country. They say Tampa Bay is supposed to be
doing poorly, yet I sure don’t see it.

I have found that if you are motivated to do something you can do
it. You can make a difference. If you sit around and complain, and
whine it gets you no where. You must take action and move forward.

Is your JOB secure or are you living scared? Do you have a PLAN B?
If not, it’s time to start thinking about building one and making it
happen. I’ve seen good friends that thought they had it made in a
secure job, 401K’s and investments, have things change over night.

If you are in debt, do you have a plan to get out? Do you have
enough money in the bank to live 6-12 months should your job go away?
Do you have income coming in from multiple sources? IF not, what do
you plan to do about it?

I lived my life for 11 years in the JOB world, paycheck to paycheck I
got tired of never having a window to look out. I reported to my
cubicle each day around 7 and left around 5 or 6 sometimes 7. I
made fairly decent money but had no time to enjoy it. I got old and
yet at the time I really had no business background nor did I know how
to start a business of my own, so I was stuck.

I finally became so fed up with that mundane type life, I looked for
another way. It was not easy but it was worth it, and today I’m
thankful to be totally free. My mission has become showing others
that they can do it too. I know if I can break out of the box, and
make it happen anyone can, including you.

Think about where you are. Are you happy where you are? Is your
future secure? If so, take some of the excess cash and store it away
so you know your future is secure.

Are you living paycheck to paycheck with no extra? IF so, how are you
going to make that change? It may be a struggle for a while but it
is possible to make a difference. You can do it. Cut back on
little things, maybe eat out less, and save the money and put it away
so you have something to fall back on, or take it and start a side
business if you have not already. Build some security.

Look at your own life right now? Ask yourself questions? Look at
where you were last year….the one before. Are you better off now
or then? I hope you are moving forward and making progress. If
you’re not, what are you going to do about it?

Your future starts with you. You can take action today to start
planning for the future, OR you can put it off and stay on the same
path. Just remember if you do NOT take action, you get no where. IF
you’re struggling today just to get by, and don’t make changes,
you’ll be drowning in the future.

Don’t depend on the “government” . They won’t take care of you. All
the do is spend our hard earned $$$. Starting a business of your
own, lets you keep more of your $$$$ as you build a future. Take is
serious and make it happen for you.

I DID IT! I know if I did it so can you.

Hope to see you on the beaches of the world enjoying life one day,
instead of counting pennies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Diane “AKA” MLMBlonde is co author of the book Navigating The World Of
Network Marketing. Chapter one online at http://JackandDiane Book.com
She resides in Florida, or part time in Minnesota. She has 2
children, and 5 grandchildren and one little dog. For more free
helpful tips and articles visit her site at http://mlmblonde. com

Are You Making It Hard To Buy From You?

Are You Making It Hard To Buy from You?
©Tessa Stowe, Sales Conversation, 2009

One of the reasons you may be finding it difficult to sell your products and services could be that you’re making it hard for prospects to buy from you. Without realizing it, you are slowing down a sale or even preventing the possibility of a sale, even if a prospect desperately needs what you are offering.

So are you making it hard for a prospect to buy from you?

Ask yourself these five questions and you’ll soon find out:

1. Can you clearly answer the question, “Why should I buy from you over your competition?”

If you aren’t conveying the answer to this question throughout your sales campaign, then you are leaving it up to your prospect to work out the answer. Working out the answer will take your prospect considerable time and effort, so most prospects won’t bother to do a thorough job. As a result, they’ll probably be unaware of a lot of your value and differentiations and will just see you as the same as everyone else.

2. Do you have a standard, one-size-fits-all, presentation or demonstration?

Your solution has lots of features and functions, and only a subset of those features and functions is of relevance and interest to any one prospect because only a subset will solve his or her specific problem. If you give a one-size-fits-all presentation or demonstration, you are leaving it up to your prospect to work out which features and functions are relevant. Your prospect will just feel overwhelmed and confused after your presentation and demonstration, and overwhelmed or confused prospects delay making decisions.

3. Are you selling your product or are you selling an end result-an outcome?

Your prospect is not interested in buying your product but in buying an end result – an outcome – and your product just facilitates that outcome. If you sell a product, you will be leaving it up to your prospect to work out whether and how your product will deliver the outcome he or she wants. Again, this will take your prospect time and effort and, again, most prospects won’t bother. Focus on how your product helps your prospect achieve a desired outcome.

4. Do you work out the financial justification with your prospect?

Before your prospects will buy your solution, it needs to make financial sense. If you leave it entirely up to your prospects to work out the financial justification, your sale will de delayed until they get around to doing it. What’s more, even if they finally do the financial justification, they will not be aware of all the areas in which your solution can benefit them, so the financial justification will not be as strong as it could be if you laid it out for them.

I hope you are seeing the recurring theme in my comments about the first four questions: If you leave it up to your prospect to do certain things, they may or may not take the time to do them and, because they don’t know your solution as well as you, they will not come up with the best answers. The more things you leave up to your prospect to do, the more you will slow down the sale, risk the sale-and even prevent it.

There is one more question you need to ask yourself and, in some ways, this is the most important one:

5. When you are talking to a prospect, is your intent to sell your products and services?

If your intent is to sell, your prospects will know it and clam up. They will sense that it’s all about your making a sale, whether it’s in their best interests or not. Your intent to sell can actually slow down and prevent sales.

Alternatively, if your intent is to help your prospects get what they want and need – whether it is your solution or not – they will be more likely to open up to you and give you the information you need to help them. They will sense that you have their best interests at heart and will be more open to your questions and ideas. Your intent to help them, rather than to sell your product, will actually speed up the sale if your product is what they need.

If you want to make it easy for your prospects to buy from you, your intent should be to help them. Then, in alignment with that intent, do ALL the work for them in terms of making it clear why they should buy from you over your competition, what features and functions of your product fit their needs, how your product leads to their desired outcome, and how your product can be financially justified – because you are the one best equipped to do so.

Tessa Stowe teaches small business owners and recovering salespeople simple steps to turn conversations into clients without being sales-y or pushy. Her FREE monthly Sales Conversation newsletter is full of tips on how to sell your services by just being yourself. Sign up now at http://www.salesconversation.com

Perserverance – Success is Closer Than You Think – by Gary Gzik

Perseverance is not about skill or talent. It’s simply about finishing what you started. There are a lot of good ideas that just stall or sputter until all momentum or desire is lost. For even the most talented individual, challenges, obstacles and failures are commonplace. Only when a person matches talent with perseverance do opportunities become avenues of success.

Perseverance goes the extra mile. It is an attitude, a sense of accomplishment. We are all creatures of completion. We feel great when we get things done. So does every member of our team.

As leaders, we must inspire accomplishments. This sometimes requires us to pull people along, other times it requires us to push people through barriers. Either way, perseverance is the key.

Be careful not to fall into the trap. Perseverance can attract roadblocks and excuses from those operating from fear, doubt or laziness. You have to sift through the reality from the excuses. Challenges are a normal part of doing business but they are only opportunities in disguise for those that choose to see them that way.

Remember perseverance means succeeding because you are determined to, not destined to.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States stated;
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Conduct you and your team’s effort with an attitude of ‘Success is closer that you think!’ Far too often people give up when success is right within their grasp. Perseverance is about building the right attitude and the right habits to succeed. If you or your team just give up on a goal, how do you know you just won’t give up on the next goal? You build individual and team character through persistent determination.

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Gary Gzik is a Corporate Trainer and CEO of the business consulting company BizXcel which publishes Generating Greatness, the bi-weekly ezine for business professionals. If you are ready to push your business to new heights, make more money, save time and improve productivity, then get your FREE tips now at http://www.bizxcel.com

Look Like a Business- by Kay Green

Look Like A Business
by Kay Green, www.MyPreciousKid.com
Copyright 2003 – 2008

When beginning a home business it is very important that it look like a business not a hobby. IRS allows deductions for expenses for a business but not for a hobby. IRS allows deductions for expenses for a business as long as you make a profit 3 of the first 5 years.

To look like a business you need the following:

1. A separate business checking account. All income needs to be deposited into that account with a note in the register what the income came from (and a matching invoice for that income). All expenses need to come out of this checking account (or a separate business credit card) using notes in the register explaining all expenses. IRS wants to see a clear separation of household money and business money. Take personal draws from this account when you have acquired profits.

2. A separate credit card that is just used for business. Use the business checking account to pay this bill as well.

3. A merchant account so you can accept credit cards for sales. Merchant Accounts accept Visa and Master Card with additional fees for Discover and American Express. Setting up a business account with Paypal is also advisable. Studies have shown that customers will spend 36% more using a credit card than cash.

4. Business Cards to give to potential customers and contacts.

5. Advertising online and offline. Advertising for clients shows IRS you are a business working to make a profit.

6. Bookkeeping records pulling in all income and expenses from your business checking account, business credit card and cash (I hope you never pay cash for business expenses). QuickBooks, Quicken, and Microsoft Money all work well for small home businesses. If you have multiple products I suggest QuickBooks for better record keeping. Monthly receipts and invoices to back up all expenses and income.

7. A mileage log of every where you go and every mile that is connected to business and every mile that is connected to volunteer activities.

8. I suggest reading the book Tax Savvy for the Small Business and Tax Savvy Guide. They are very valuable in telling you what can be deducted in your business.

FREE Printer / Business Resources / Take Credit Cards

Articles written by Kay Green, Christian homeschool mom to Melissa 26, Jordan 23, Allison 21, Haley 9. Kay and Russell, her husband of 30 years live in rural Oregon.

Kay’s first granddaughter Madison Kay was born December 2006. Twin grand sons Micah & Mason will join the family in May 2009

http://www.MyPreciousKid.com Child Safety & Baby Gear Store
http://www.PreciousKids.org Adoption & Homeschool Resources,
http://www.KayGreen.com Author and Family Site

COPYRIGHT 2000-2009 My Precious Kid, Kay Green.
All rights reserved. Reprinting is only with permission and with this author’s box and copyright intact.

Can Twitter Really Help Your Small Business?- by Lesley Spencer Pyle

Can Twitter Really Help Your Small Business?

Use Twitter to market your homebased business.

By Lesley Spencer Pyle

You’ve probably heard of Twitter, even if you aren’t sure what it is. Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service–think public instant messenger stream. From your mobile device or computer you send updates called tweets, which are text posts of up to 140 characters. Your tweets can be read by others, and you can sign up to follow the messages others write so that you can get short, quick updates from them.

As a homebased entrepreneur, Twitter gives you an open door to connect not only with other entrepreneurs but also other companies, marketing experts and more. As homebased entrepreneurs, these tips, connections and opportunities can spell great marketing options for you.

The bottom line is Twitter can help you grow your home business.

How Do Businesses Use Twitter

• A restaurant tweets daily specials.
• A ticket agency tweets about-to-expire tickets.
• A real estate agent tweets new homes on the market.
• A chamber of commerce tweets local events and promotions.
• A PR expert tweets publicity opportunities.
• An entrepreneur tweets co-marketing opportunities.

Tina Hilton, owner of virtual assistance company Clerical Advantage, says Twitter can be a valuable use of time and energy. “I have never gotten a client directly from Twitter,” Hilton says. “But have had several referrals from people I’ve connected with on Twitter.”

Using Twitter, or other forms of social networking like Facebook or LinkedIn, takes the long view. Instead of providing instant sales, Twitter is another way to build relationships and develop credibility and trust.

“I think the key to using Twitter is to see it as a way to get to know other people, not necessarily as a way to get clients directly,” Hilton says. “With the increase in social media marketing, cold, impersonal marketing concepts are getting stale. People want to find out who’s behind the company–the real person. I have fun using Twitter; giving updates on everything from how many cups of coffee I’ve gone through in a day to web links to things I found especially useful or informative.”

Twitter Builds Relationships
After using Twitter for a bit, you start to absorb clues about people’s personalities. You learn about their priorities, events they attend and what makes them tick. That helps you better understand how to serve them as potential customers.

To do that, you must submit updates that are helpful, useful and educational. If the only tweets you send out are sale ads, don’t bother. Hilton says, “As you build relationships with your Twitter followers, the chance of them passing your name along when someone needs services you provide gets higher. I am careful not to send too many updates, too often, as that can often come across as twitter spam.”

Advice for Twitter Beginners
If you’re new to Twitter, start by following people you find interesting–whether they’re in your target market, in the same business as you or just pique your interest. Use your own photo rather than a company logo or other icon–people want to see who they’re connecting with. Also, introduce yourself to those you follow and those who follow you. Think about how you’d react if you were meeting these individuals in person and act accordingly. If they follow you, they’d like to get to know something about you, so share more than just the latest sale you’re holding, specials you’re offering or blogs you’ve posted. And most of all, have fun with it! When you start tweeting, you can find me @lesleypyle.

Lesley Spencer Pyle is the founder and president ofHomeBasedWorkingMoms.comandHireMyMom.com, and she is the author of The Work-at-Home Workbook: Your Step-by-Step Guide on Selecting and Starting the Perfect Home Business for You. Pyle has been working from home for more than 13 years.

Copyright © 2009 Entrepreneur.com, Inc.

Blogging for Business: Benefits of a Blog and Tips for Getting Started- by Stephanie Chandler

Blogging for Business: Benefits of a Blog and Tips for Getting Started

By Stephanie Chandler 

A blog is essentially an online diary that allows you to post information, tips, thoughts and ideas in a running log format for others to view. Blogs are used by companies large and small to build an audience, promote a business and gain valuable online exposure.

Not sure if a blog is right for you? Here are six key reasons to start blogging now:

Search Engines Love Blogs: The major search engines provide higher rankings to sites that update data frequently. When you post to a blog several times each week, you content is constantly changing and growing. The search engines will reward your effort with improved search engine rankings.

Build an Audience: A good blog can attract many new customers. People who like what you have to say will pay attention to your blog by subscribing to your blog feed.

Content is Archived Forever: Each post to your blog adds to your growing index of content. The more content you have, the more reasons you give the search engines to find you. For example, if you wrote a post last month about the lifespan of a blue butterfly, when someone searches the Internet for that particular subject, there is a good chance that your post will be returned in the search results (depending on the competition for the related keywords).

Establish Yourself as an Expert: Hosting a blog is one of the quickest and easiest ways to showcase your expertise in your subject matter. When you share valuable tips and resources, you engage readers while building credibility in your industry.

Get Media Exposure: The media is constantly on the hunt for sources to interview for stories. From magazine and news reporters to major radio and television producers, blogs are becoming a strategic place for the media to find talented industry experts.

Leverage and Repurpose Blog Content: It doesn’t take long to build up a substantial amount of blog content. You can repurpose your posts into articles, ebooks, books and reports. Many bloggers have found publishing success by building a loyal following online and then impressing publishers with a ready-made online “platform.”

 Ready to get started? Here are the steps to take:

1. Search the Internet for blogs in your industry and do a little research before you start. Studying other people’s blogs will help you identify what you like and don’t like and how you want yours to look and feel.

2. If you already have a website, check with your hosting provider to see if they provide a blog plug-in option. If not, popular blog services include www.Typepad.com, www.WordPress.com and www.Blogger.com.

3. Establish several categories that appeal to your target audience. For example, my business growth blog has more than a dozen categories including articles, book recommendations, technology tips, resources for authors and online marketing. Categories make it easy for readers to browse through your past entries. 

4. Develop content ideas for your industry. Your blog can include personal opinions, book reviews, links to helpful resources, industry statistics, product recommendations, excerpts from books or white papers (from which you own the copyright) and much more.

5. Keep it simple. Blog entries do not need to be long-winded. In fact, online readers prefer brief content that is easy to scan. I recommend writing just one to three paragraphs for each post. Use sub-headings and bullets to make the text easier to read. Photos and videos can also add visual appeal.

6. Add outgoing links to your blog posts when appropriate. For example, if you mention an article you read in XYZ magazine, make sure to include a hyperlink to the article. Not only will your readers appreciate the option to view the sites you reference, but having links pointing to other sites can further improve your search engine rankings.

7. Schedule time to work on your blog. You should be posting at least three times each week for best search engine optimization. Instead of logging in several times each week, write several blog entries at once and then schedule them to publish on specific days.

8. Promote your blog by including your blog link in your e-mail signature, on your website, in social networking profiles, and anywhere else you can find to share it with the world. You can also submit it to directories such as www.BlogCatalog.com and www.Technorati.com.

9. Consider minimizing some of the effort involved by inviting others to contribute. Your blog could include posts by employees, customers, peers or strategic partners.

10. Maintain your momentum. Be on the lookout for fresh topic ideas so you can avoid getting “bloggers block.” When you come across something interesting, get in the habit of writing it down so you have it handy when it’s time to update your blog.

It may take some time to build momentum for your blog, but in the long run, the rewards can be significant. When the call comes from a major media source or a big client referral, you will know that it was all worthwhile.

About the Author

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several business and marketing books including FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO INFOPRENEUR: MAKE MONEY WITH BOOKS, E-BOOKS AND INFORMATION PRODUCTS. Discover hundreds of resources for entrepreneurs at www.BusinessInfoGuide.com. For author and speaker details visit www.StephanieChandler.com