Tag Archives: LinkedIn

Content Marketing Tips Infographic for a Constantly Shifting SEO Landscape

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When things are constantly changing around you it can feel a bit chaotic at times and leave you feeling dizzy and confused. With all of the changes to the Google search algorithm, content marketers can feel like they are not sure where to turn next. Well, today It is my intention to share some tips that will help you feel a bit more stable in spite of it all.

The good news is that there are some things that will never change, and that is the basic fact that Google will always reward you for creating consistently fresh, relevant and well-written content. If that’s the kind of content you produce then you can take a deep breath, wipe your brow and keep on writing.

If, on the other hand, you have been ascribing to the school of cranking out a ton of sub-standard, spun content that’s been written offshore then this blog post has some news for you.

Sekari Search & Social Optimization has come out with a spiffy new infographic that visually illustrates what you should be doing when it comes to content marketing. It covers SEO, conversion optimization, tips for creating highly shareable content and much more.

You’ll discover that Facebook & Twitter are still to most popular social media channels, with Google+, blogging, Youtube.com and LinkedIn following behind.

What you can take from all of this is not really news rather it’s a reminder that best practices still work best despite and all of the changes–you should keep on creating quality content and sharing it in social media, on blogs and on quality content directories.

 

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Guest Post: Social Media: Balm or Bane for Authors?

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photo credit: JupiterImages

Today we’ve got another guest post about how authors can make the best use of social media without feeling overwhelmed. This is a topic that I know many writer’s struggle with including myself, so I hope you’re able to glean some helpful insights from Amy’s article.

Social Media: Balm or Bane for Authors?

By Amy Atwell

How many of you use some form of social media? Facebook and Twitter seem to be the bastions most popular with authors today. But there’s also LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon and more. Social networking is what drives GoodReads, Shelfari and LibraryThing. Even Pandora radio lets you create a profile page and encourages a community of listeners.

Many authors find it all overwhelming. It’s a challenge to find enough time to write fiction, much less post and pin and tweet. So where is the sweet spot? Just how important is social media to authors?
If you’re serious about a long-term writing career, social media will continue to be an important and viable source of promotion and audience building. But, and here’s the key, it’s only going to work for you if—

1. You find at least one of social network that you enjoy.
2. You strike a balance between your online social networking and your writing.
3. You approach social networking with the same imagination and commitment you bring to your writing.

Doesn’t sound too scary, does it?
Here’s why I think it’s important—the Internet isn’t likely to disappear. Millions of people are on it, and millions more are buying smart phones and tablets because they can’t get enough of it. In some ways, our society is growing more fragmented, with less person to person interaction in real life. At the same time, people seek out and savor their interactions on social media.
This is where social media works so well for authors. Most stories have some element of human connection at the core of the story. A hero learning to trust. A heroine returning to confront her hometown memories. A family on the brink of disaster brought whole again.
The readers who love those kinds of stories are out there in social media as squawking and hungry as birds. Keep tossing out birdseed on a regular basis, and those birds will find their way to you. Readers who connect with you and your stories will become loyal fans. They will spread the word for you. Remember the old shampoo commercial? “And they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends…” and so on and so on.

That’s the magic of social networking.

You may be a pantser when you write but plotting or, rather, planning ahead will save you a lot of headaches with social media. Make a game plan for yourself so you can make the most of your social networking. And if you’re not published yet, it’s not too early to get a jump start on this. By all means, start to build your tribe now.

1. Study the different social networks and decide which one(s) best match how you want to communicate with potential fans and fellow authors.

2. Secure your profiles on any (frankly, I would do all just in case) social network you plan to use. Ideally, use your writing name.

3. Find an image and write a short bio so your profiles are consistent.

4. Make a list of the topics you will discuss—and not discuss—on social networking. You want to be personable and friendly in your interactions, but remember anything you say can come back to bite you and your career.

5. Start slowly and blend in. Join in other conversations, repeat items of interest, help your fellow authors. Don’t just pop in and shout about your book.

6. Ask questions! Experienced users love to help newbies.

7. Set aside some time weekly, 30-60 minutes to seek out people to follow and friend.

8. Be gracious. Send thank yous to people who repeat your messages.

9. Tend your social network account(s) daily, whenever possible. Each day you miss, you will lose a bit of momentum. 15 minutes is all it takes, really.

10. Be prepared to adapt as the social networks grow and change.

I’ll mention that Facebook is in the midst of rolling out its new Timeline design. Both personal profiles and business (author) pages are changing. You can read a full article on it on Author E.M.S., the online business resource library for authors.

I hope some of that was helpful. I’m happy to field any other questions you might have about social media—so, tell me, what’s your biggest fear or frustration with social networks?

Visit Amy online at her website, Magical Musings, Facebook, Twitter and/or GoodReads.

 

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Do You Have Klout? How to Measure Your Online Influence

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I have been hearing about Klout.com for awhile, and I’ve been seeing those +K tweets on Twitter and wondering what that was all about. Well, now I have a new social media addiction thanks to my friend, LaShanda Henry of Sistasense.tv. She talked about Klout.com in a the SistaSense Circle group coaching program that I belong to.

Klout is a social media site that measures and identifies your social influence in social media. You can join for free and set up a profile. You give the app permission to link to your Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and then it uses that information to give you a score between 1 and 100. When I first joined Klout back in July I had a score of 38. Today my Klout score is 51–solidly in the middle of the pack.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about Klout yet, but I am learning about how it works and how I can leverage its features to get more exposure online.

One of the fun features is the ability that I mentioned earlier, which is to give people “+K’s,” which is kind of like the “thumbs up,” that the “Like” button on Facebook represents.

You can give people a +K to show your appreciation if they shared some of your content with their network, or if they shared something of someone else’s that you found useful. A +K can serve as a thank you for being helpful to you, or as an encouragement to keep up the good work they’ve been doing, or if they have influenced you in some way. +K is not about boosting your Klout score. It’s just about providing a medium for users to engage and build community around their topics of interest.

  • Here’s how to give your peeps a +K on Klout:
  • Log in to your Klout.com account
  • Type in the Twitter.com username of the person you’d like to give a +K to
  • Now you will see their Klout profile. In the area where it lists what that person is influential about, click on the “see all. . .” link. Now you’ll find a list of their topics and you’ll see the “Give +K” button to the right of each topic.

Once you’ve given them a +K you can then Tweet about it, or post a Facebook status update about it.

So far I’m finding Klout to be fun. I guess if and when I manage to boost my score beyond 51 I will see if it does anything to drive more traffic to my site, or increase my social medial following.

If you’re on Klout and want me to +K you, leave a comment. My Twitter username is @evelynwrites if you feel like returning the favor.

Online Visibility: 11 Ways to get More Exposure for Your Blog in 2011

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Bloggers might sometimes get the feeling that they are fighting an uphill battle because theirs is just one of millions of other blogs out there competing for the attention of their prospective audience. But if you develop a solid marketing plan for your blog and take consistent action toward the goals you set daily, weekly and monthly, before you know it, your Alexa rankings will be falling and your Google page rank will begin to rise which means you’ll be attracting more visitors.

Let’s dive right in to 11 tips for getting your blog seen more in 2011:

1. Post consistently

Having a consistent posting schedule gets both your readers and the search engines used to visiting your blog more often.

2. Know the basics of SEO and how to optimize your blog and your posts for the search engines.

If you are running a WordPress blog there are several free plugins that will help you to maximize your blog’s SEO from both a structural and a content perspective. Optimizing your blog helps you get more traffic and better search engine rankings.

3. Comment on other blogs in your topic

Visiting other blogs in your niche or topic, reading the posts and leaving relevant comments is an effective way to increase your visibility with both the blog’s author and your fellow commentators.

4. Guest post on popular blogs in your topic

Guest blogging gigs are a great way to create a win-win with other bloggers in your niche. You help them out by providing content that is suited to their blog and audience, your presence on their blog helps get you exposure with a whole new audience, and the readers get to experience a new perspective.

5. Send out press releases

Whenever you are planning a news-worthy event, send out a press release. Not only might you attract media attention, but you’ll get a ton of high page rank back links to your blog and a nice, if short-lived, flow of traffic to your blog.

6. Host a contest/giveaway

Who doesn’t want something for free? Host a contest or a giveaway where you offer up a valuable product or service in exchange for your readers helping to spread the word about your blog.

7. Join or host a blogging challenge

A blogging challenge can have many benefits including increased exposure for the host and the participants, you get motivated and inspired to blog more to keep up with your fellow challengers and you get a little traffic boost and more comments as other members of the challenge make the rounds to the various blogs.

8. Offer a free product

If you are building your opt-in email subscriber list, offer a free product for visitors to your blog who sign up. Invite subscribers to share your premium with their friends and make sure that it contains a link back to your blog.

9. Be active in social media

Work your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles to send traffic back and forth. Use a Facebook Fan Page to share valuable tips and info with your audience, host events and invite your followers and be a trusted resource that people want to follow.

10. Video marketing

Video marketing is an incredibly powerful way to gain some valuable exposure online. Create a series of videos containing useful how-to tips, recipes, instructions, or advice. Include a link back to your blog in the description box and a compelling call to action in the video. Share your videos on all of the top video sharing sites for lots of traffic and visibility.

11. Article marketing

This tried and true strategy is still effective today, but you’ve got to be committed to creating a high volume of quality articles with links back to your blog. Write articles for some of the top websites in your industry to establish yourself as an expert and draw attention to your blog.

As you focus on increasing your online visibility remember those qualities that make you unique and set you apart. There really is no competition because you are one of a kind. The goal then is to get yourself out there in the marketplace of ideas so that you can shine your brilliance for the world to see. Being modest and shy will not serve you, so if you don’t have the gumption to get out there and share what sets you apart then you may as well fold up your tent and go home.

If you have a vision and a mission to accomplish, then it is your responsibility to share the message that you have been given with a world that is waiting to hear what you have to say. Make 2011 your year to break through. Those who succeed are those who never give up working towards their goals.

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Online Visibility: Are You Ready to Be Discovered?

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Online visibility is all about being found online by the target audience who is looking for what you have to offer. With millions of other websites competing for your prospective clients’ attention, your challenge is to find a way to rise above the ‘noise’ or the many distractions on the Internet, and show up consistently where your target audience is already hanging out.

What inspired me to write this post today was a meeting I had this week with a prospective client. He found me on social media and while he has been cooking up his project, he has been observing what I’m up to online. He visited my blog, my Facebook profile, Fan Page and Twitter and then he sent me a Facebook Inbox message to ask about working with me. These days I have not been publicizing my consulting services too much because my schedule is full to overflowing with producing lots of content for my fabulous clients. But part of my vision for the life that I intend to create for myself includes doing more consulting, and speaking. In order to achieve success in those endeavors I must continue to build on my online visibility.

Towards that end I am preparing to be a guest on a radio show called, “Being, with Ron Ash,” on Wednesday, January 19 at 9am EST. Ron Ash is an author and Pastoral Counselor. This will be my third radio appearance, and the previous two interviews came about because the hosts found my website and resonated with my vision and mission. Ron also found me on Facebook.

So, I guess what I am trying to say here is that you’ve got to be relentless about your marketing. Get yourself out there! Write about the topics that you are passionate about on your blog. Take a stand for something that you believe in and defend it. There will be haters out there, but there will also be people who are attracted to your authenticity and sincerity. And to that last point, be who you are. The world does not need any more copy-cats. For so long I felt insecure because I was always comparing myself to other people and feeling like I did not measure up. Thank God I have learned to get over myself, let myself off the hook and learn to love myself for who I am–warts and all.

The best way to get discovered is to be everywhere all the time. Participate in social media, work your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. Network with your peers and get on the ‘radar screen’ of those luminaries in your field that you would love to work with. Comment on blogs. Contribute articles to the major publications in your niche or topic. Guest blog for a few of the high profile blogs in your niche. Submit press releases when you are doing something newsworthy, and, oh yeah, do something newsworthy! Submitting press releases is an amazingly effective way to generate buzz, which is what you really want.

While you are getting out there, make sure that your house is in order. Make sure of the following:

  • Your blog should look great and has lots of valuable content for your new visitors to consume.
  • If you will be sending our press releases, make sure you’ve got a ‘Press or Media’ page with links to your media kit on your blog.
  • Put your email list opt-in box above the fold and in the upper-right hand section of your website.
  • Create an engaging intro video about yourself and post it on your blog.
  • Create a Facebook Fan Page with a keyword-optimized title and post valuable content there.
  • Share your friends’ content and they will reciprocate.

Gaining online visibility takes time and commitment. It will not happen overnight barring your appearing on the evening news for some reason. If you intend to get discovered by prospective clients you’ve got to be willing to lay a strong foundation and put in the work required.

Remember, there is no one else out there like you. No one else can do the genius work that you were sent to this planet to do. If God has given you a vision then it is your responsibility to bring it to fruition. You would not be given the desire without also having been given the means by which to fulfill that desire. It is your job to take the first step in faith. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk about me working with you to boost your online visibility.

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5 Tips For Becoming a Freelance Blogger

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Freelance blogging involves writing blog posts for other bloggers. You will be helping other bloggers keep their blogs supplied with fresh, well-written content while doing work you enjoy for decent pay. Adding freelance blogging to your portfolio can be an effective way to keep a more steady flow of work coming your way while adding more variety to your work life.

Freelance writers enjoy an enviable lifestyle that affords them the ability to work where and when they choose,  and for clients that they choose doing work that they enjoy. One of the downsides is that there tends to be a bit of a ‘feast or famine’ cycle of being swamped with work, and then sometimes, work is difficult to find. Adding more skills to your service offerings gives you more opportunities to serve a more diverse client base.

Aside from a love and passion for the craft of writing, you’ll also need a solid foundation in Internet marketing, effective website design and some knowledge of basic SEO practices to become a freelance blogger.  Knowledge of how to manage the popular blogging platform, WordPress, is also important. Your clients may want you to write the posts and then publish them to the blog as well.

Because basically anyone who can write a sentence, and who has Internet access can slap up a blog, you’ll have to differentiate yourself from the teeming masses by providing excellent, well-written content that’s beyond what the average person would be able to find upon doing a cursory online search.

Here are five tips for getting started with freelance blogging:

1. Start your own blog.
Your first step is going to be to demonstrate that you can create some results with your content. Create a blog on a topic that you are passionate about and work towards getting it ranked high in the search engines for your keywords. Cultivate an audience and engage with them on your blog. Demonstrate best practices and show potential clients that you know how to build and maintain an effective blog.

2. Create a page for your blogging services
Decide on what price you will charge per word, giving a price for a range of word counts from 350-400, 500-600, and 1,000 word posts. Although blog posts tend to be more effective when they are shorter and to the point.

Post your resume and a way for potential clients to request references.

Provide sample blog posts and consider sharing traffic data for particular posts.

Include testimonials that describe the results your blog posts have helped other blogs achieve.

3. Create relationships with potential clients by guest posting.
You can begin by offering to guest post for bloggers that you’d eventually like to write for. If they like your work they may consider hiring you in the future.

4. Comment regularly on blogs that you’d like to work with.
Leave thoughtful comments that add value rather than trying to show how nifty and smart you are. Join in the conversation and keep coming back to blogs that you like so that you can establish a reputation and credibility.

5. Utilize social media to gain exposure.
Use your Facebook profile, create a fan page for your blog and use the Networked Blogs app to connect your blog with the millions of other blogs on Facebook. Use Twitter to get traffic by tweeting when you publish a post. You
can also tweet about your topic and what’s happening with you.

If your blog is on a more serious business topic you’ll want to create a LinkedIn profile, add lots of relevant connections, and join participate in and start groups on your topic.

Visit the following forums to find blogging gigs:

  • forum.freelanceswitch.com
  • forum.freelancevenue.com
  • jobs.problogger.net
  • bloggerjobs.biz

You can also find blogging gigs on the regular freelancing sites such as oDesk, Elance and Guru.com.

If you’re an online freelance writer looking to expand your reach, freelance blogging can be a fun way to branch out , attract more clients and increase your bottom line.

Resources:

http://www.bloggingteacher.com/how-to-become-a-freelance-blogger

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