She Owns It

Celebrating, Connecting, and Supporting Women Entrepreneurs

Bloggers Wanted! She Owns It Open Call For Featured Contributors!

by Leave a Comment

by Melissa Stewart

She Owns It is seeking a few amazing women (and men) to share their inspiration and expertise with the She Owns It community. We’re very selective about our contributors. Featured contributors will be selected based on their level of expertise and their ability to provide the content that will deliver the most value to our readers.

 

-> APPLY HERE! <-

Application DEADLINE is June 28th.

 

WHO WE ARE

She Owns It is an online hub. Our mission is to inspire and empower women to turn their ideas into reality by starting and growing their own successful businesses.

Our purpose is to inform and inspire by providing the resources, connections and tools necessary to BYOB – build your own business and be your own boss.

 

 

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

You want to make a difference in this space, to have your story and expertise heard. You want to give a fresh perspective to our audience. We want that too.

We are looking for bloggers with an established online presence and an area of expertise that helps our business focused community grow. We look for contributors that can provide original, practical, real-world examples that show real data, real successes — and even real failures.

 

 

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Featured contributors will be asked to create original content for She Owns It that will not be posted on their blogs, but that can be linked to from their blogs. Posts must be in compliance with FTC guidelines, with proper credit and links back to all images.

Yes, video posts are accepted.

We are not able to provide compensation at this time, but this will be a great opportunity for contributors to receive exposure to a new audience across the web and all social media platforms. Contributor’s head shots and bios will also be added to the contributors page and promoted across social media.

 

Contributor Categories

Here are some of the contributor categories we’re looking for:

EntrepreneurshipGraphic DesignStartup Stories
Small BusinessBrandingFemale Founders
MarketingInfluencer MarketingBlogging
Social MediaFreelancing & Side HustlesPodcasting
Venture CapitalCrowdfundingAccounting & Legal
LeadershipHealthy LivingYour Expertise

OR tell us your expertise and maybe we can create a category just for you!

 

 

HOW OFTEN WE EXPECT IT

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Featured contributors must be able to commit to partnering with She Owns It from January through June 2019 and writing a minimum of 6 posts.. One post per month, for six months. After your six month commitment, you’re welcome to stay on and continue as a Featured Contributor. Many of our writers do and we are grateful for every post!

 

 

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, complete the Featured Contributor Application.

Although we would like to reply to everyone, if you don’t happen to hear from us in the next 2-3 weeks, it means that someone else has been selected.  Thank you so much for your interest and I look forward to hearing from you!

 

-> APPLY HERE! <-

Application DEADLINE is June 28th.

 

Why Should Your Website Have a Blog? by @DONNAAMOS

by Leave a Comment

blogging

by Donna Amos | Featured Contributor 

If your business strategy includes inbound marketing, business blogging is essential. If you’re new to inbound marketing or blogging, you may have some questions. Why should your website have a blog? What is it? Why do we do it? What’s the goal of it all?

According to HubSpot, “Business blogging is a marketing tactic that uses blogging to get your business more online visibility. A business blog is a marketing channel (just like social media, direct mail, email marketing, etc.) that helps support business growth.”

Here are four major ways blogging helps support business growth, and why you should have a blog on your website.

Blogs Drive Traffic

A blog on your business website provides the opportunity for you to create relevant content for your customers and potential clients. This is a very effective marketing tactic to drive traffic back to your website.

  • You have a 434% higher chance of being ranked highly on search engines if you feature a blog as part of your website (Tech Client).
  • Businesses using blogs as part of their content marketing mix get 67% more leads than those who don’t (Hubspot).

The blog on your business website becomes the foundation for all your social media platforms. Posting links and relevant visuals from your blog articles to all your social sites gives your followers a reason to click through to your website. Plus, you can also post inbound links directly in your blog articles, to drive traffic to specific landing pages of your website.

Blogs Increase SEO

Blogs substantially increase your SEO. Fresh, quality content is still the key to beating out your competitors on search engine results pages like Google. Use keywords in your articles. List out the keywords, topics, and categories for which you want your business to be found, then these words and related expressions when writing your posts.

And, whether you actively seek these out or not, blogging regularly about your business, industry, products, services, or customer lifestyle will naturally increase your search keywords. Being intent about your words will only increase results. Keywords and topics on your website are a significant way in which Google (and other search engines) find your site for these searched words.

Moreover, don’t forget voice searches that consumers now perform through platforms like Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Cortana. If you asked any of these voice search digital assistants where your business is located when it’s open, or what you offer, what would they say? According to AdWeek, 67 million voice-assisted devices will be in use in the U.S. by 2019. This changes the way that digital content is managed. And, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the last year alone. Voice-powered services have created a seismic shift in how consumers find information about your brand. Voice search needs to be part of your SEO/content strategy.

Blogs Position Your Brand as an Industry Leader

Well-written, helpful articles position your company as an industry leader. By posting topics that resonate with your market and show your knowledge, you are marketing your skills for your business, service or product too.

If you are a retailer, for example, write blog posts about your products. Your customers will get to know you as the knowledge source for the products they want. If you are in B2B, post articulate, well-researched articles about your services. Become the hub or the place to get answers, for your industry.

You are building trust, too. The more you can show that you are well-versed in your field, the more likely your consumer will trust you to supply what they need. Your customers additionally benefit from the learning you provide them.

Blogs Develop Better Customer Relationships

Blogs provide another source to deepen the connection with your customer. By connecting directly on your website, your clients are able to get to know your business or product from the comfort of your online home. As discussed above, build trust by being a source of information. Consumers like to be informed, and they will remember that you are the one teaching them.

Also, just as on your social media sites, respond to comments and interact with consumers. If they have questions about a product you are writing about, respond to them directly on your website. Unlike many social sites, a blog is generally searchable on your site for some time. Your website comments last longer than a Twitter response or Facebook post. Other customers will see your interactions and learn from them, too.

A blog is a fantastic tool for your business in our digital age. If you don’t currently have one, start one and upload some high-quality content. If you currently use blogging in your marketing, how do you think it is working? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Share them in the comments below.

Why blogging is your business’ secret weapon by @CasiYost

by Leave a Comment

by Casi Yost | Featured Contributor

Blogging seems to have become a dirty word with business owners. That and SEO are scary things to most people. I firmly believe they are critical to growing your business and give you an edge considering your competitors don’t want to do them either.

I have a few reasons why you need to be blogging yesterday and what it actually does for your business:

  • Grows your Know / Like / Trust value with customers and peers
  • SEO: Casts a larger net to capture more keywords
  • Become an authority to help others
  • Repurpose content to use on other social media platforms
  • Helps you answer customers frequently asked questions

 

Know/Like/Trust:

 

Your customers want to know who the person is behind the website and brand. They can’t unless you’re constantly engaging them, showing them your expertise and providing new content. The way that I like to do this is create blog posts for other photographers on the gear I use, how I manage my workflow and other tips I can give to help them with their business. For couples, I have discussed how to elope in Oregon, the details of planning the timeline for your wedding, etc. These blog posts allow them to see that I care and that I know what I’m doing.

 

SEO:

 

When your customers type something into a search bar, you want to be able to rank for all of those keywords, right? Well blog post titles are exactly what should pop up on those searches. So when you make your blog posts, they should be targeted to answer questions that they might pose. All the questions. Take time to research what they are searching for, and answer those questions in posts. It will cast a huge keyword net and capture more people that way.

 

Become an Authority:

 

When you blog, you allow people to see you are an expert in your field. Your peers as well as customers will come to you for answers and as a result, you increase your brand loyalty. We all want that right? Well you have to give your customers, peers and everyone else reasons why they should trust you. Being consistent and giving good content is the way to do that.

 

Repurpose Content:

 

Ever feel like you are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to creating good content for all the platforms? Well when you create a blog post, you can use that in your emails, direct people to your website by linking it on facebook, etc. Pinterest is huge and having your blog posts constantly looping in Pinterest is a great way to repurpose content, especially what I call “evergreen” content. Evergreen content is content that can be useful no matter how old it is. Things like “what photography gear I use for weddings” is an example because this probably won’t change from year to year, and it’s helpful for new photographers. Repurposing content and recycling won’t make your viewers and clients get annoyed, because most likely they may not see the post, they might have forgotten, or you have a large number of new customers that haven’t seen it.

 

Helps to FAQ’s from customers and peers:

 

I get about six or seven DM’s a day from other photographers asking about my gear, or what I have done to grow my business, and this is great! However, my answers never change. If they do, I update my blog post. I want to give the same consistent, and well thought answer to everyone. So what I can do is direct them to that blog post and they can re-read it as much as they want. Plus it has pretty pictures and links to other resources, but that’s beside the point. Why is this critical? It saves you time and allows you to maintain a great relationship by giving them a good answer.

How to get people to read your post?  Use social media! As soon as I make a new blog post, I:

 

  • Put a link to my post on my personal and business Facebook page
  • Put a link on LinkedIn. It’s algorithm is super user friendly and similar to what Facebook and Instagram were like five years ago
  • Talk about it in your Instagram stories while you’re at it
  • Put the link in your bio on your Instagram page
  • Send the new blog post out to your email list
  • Share the post with people you think would be interested

 

So save yourself time, invest in blogging because it will do more for your business than you realize. If you don’t feel like you’re a great writer, have someone proofread. As long as what you are delivering is good content and not fluff, you will see how it helps you and your customers.

 

Let me know what you think! Share this and message me with questions on all my social media accounts!

 

XO,

Casi

Tools to Help You Find Content That Will Engage Your Readers by @donnaamos

by 1 Comment

Content that engages

by Donna Amos | Featured Contributor 

Successful content marketing involves producing quality content that your readers want to read. If the most well-written piece you could possibly produce doesn’t resonate with your audience, it’s useless. While simply writing on topics relevant to your business niche seems adequate, it is really like shooting in the dark. You need to be writing on topics that relate to your business, but they must also be topics that your audience currently finds interesting.

To discover this, you must listen to your audience and see what interests them at the present time. What current topic is all the rage? What current event relating to your business or industry is causing a stir? Sometimes called news hijacking, this practice of following trending news is a great way to cash in on trending topics to attract readers and connections.

What I am NOT advocating is simply writing what everyone else is writing. Your content must still be fresh, original, and useful to your readers. That doesn’t come from parroting the same lines as everyone else. But you can discover trending or popular topics and write about them from your viewpoint, or demonstrate how your business or product can impact the conversation.

There are some great tools available that can make harvesting topics much easier for you. I’ll briefly highlight each one and provide some simple suggestions for how to use them effectively.

Solopreneur Connect

Solopreneur Connect is a great social media listening tool. It can help you listen to conversations that relate to your business or industry niche. You can read conversations on what your target audience needs and their problems. Solopreneur Connect can show you what interests your audience by allowing you to search for relevant keywords in conversations on different social media platforms.

To set up Hootsuite for listening to conversations:

  • Sign in to your Solopreneur Connect account.
  • Click on ‘search.’ You will see an option to setup –  keyword search.
  • Click on ‘Keywords’ and type as many keywords as you want to use. Type in one at a time and click on add after each.
  • You can then add a location if you want to do so.

Solopreneur Connect’s comprehensive social listening tools empower marketers to execute brand monitoring and analyze social data for marketing insights. Gather introspective, contextual insights to topics, hashtags and influencers relative to your mentions to find new and incremental marketing opportunities.

Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is another tool that allows you to know what your audience is currently sharing. For example, I typed “writing” into the tool. The free version only allows users to see what is most popular by shares over the past year. The result was a piece about whether or not to use only one space after sentences from the Washington Post. Since May 2018 it has had 349.9k shares across all platforms. Pretty popular.

The paid membership allows for much more versatility, including what is currently being shared about your chosen keywords, even on each social media platform. It would be worth the cost, considering the other features included, to use this one tool to analyze what is currently being discussed in your industry niche.

Google Alerts

Another tool you can use is the Google alert tool. It is very useful. You can set alerts for your keywords and when such keywords come up, you will receive notifications in your email inbox.

For example, if you are in the writing niche and you want to know what is trending, you can create an alert for it using Google alert like this:

  • Type http://www.google.com/alerts into your browser
  • Log in with your Google account
  • Enter the keywords you want to monitor separated by commas
  • Click on options
  • Select how often you want to receive the alert. (choosing “as it happens” keeps you constantly updated)
  • Select the sources i.e. news, video, blog, etc. (selecting automatic covers all the sources)
  • Select the language, choose the region, and choose the number of results
  • Select the email where your alerts will be delivered
  • Click on create

Pretty soon, you will start receiving alerts in your inbox.

Answer the Public

With Answer the Public you enter the keyword you are interested in and it will return the phrases that actual users are typing into Google and Bing. The how, what, where, when, can, are, etc. If you know exactly what is being searched for you can provide the solutions that are being searched for. It’s perhaps one of the best but most underutilized sources of research for content ideas. Until now…

Now that you have some great tools to help, you can harvest topics and set priorities for writing content that resonates with your audience. This content will drive users to your site, and to your business.

What other audience listening tools do you like to use? Share them in the comments below.

Time = Gold (and … money = silver) by @SBSLEducSoltns

by Leave a Comment

by SJ Barakony | Featured Contributor

Putting Productivity ahead of Busy-ness in Business

 

“I’m so busy!”

“How are you? How’s business?  Busy!”

 

There are mild variants,  yet, the theme is constant: The individual is … say it with me now …. B-u-s-y.

Since when did our nation’s backbone, entrepreneurs, decide that this status was the end all, be all, in conversation, let alone in practice?

Let’s reframe. First, though, empathy & grace are necessary.

I know: There’s a LOT on your plate;  I’m sure many of these are on your calendar, scribbled on sticky notes, and/or are pop up reminders on your smart device:  Payroll. Review insurance coverage. Talk to the V.A; accountant; and/or financial advisor. Respond to client messages. Etc …

Still, we shouldn’t aspire to busy-ness; when we stop, if merely for a moment & reflect, we realize that as entrepreneurs, we’re solution providers & producers.

Thus, the more we produce, the more pro-ductive we are: it’s productivity which we should strive for, a 1:1 replacement for the ‘busyness’ that is our default answer to so many questions.

Painting a picture to aid in this mindset shift, we revisit the 1st few words …

 

Time = Gold.

 

… and now can move to implement this truth in our business first ( self-leadership ), then, model it for staff + customers, lastly, replicating it to other entrepreneurs in our network.

 

Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.”
― Lin Yutang

Click to Tweet

Lin Yutang #quote

 

 

Precious Metals

 

Gold :  

Time is an irreplaceable asset, just like gold. Gold is finite & very rare: Its value has held firm for thousands of years & once was used regularly in commerce worldwide. Just like there’s always been a 24 hour day, the amount of gold available for mining is constant; fluctuation in the ‘price’ of gold is due to the underlying currencies, just like your productivity ties to how well you lead yourself.

Silver :

Money is a reflection, a flag, which signals how much value you’ve added to the marketplace; your monetized service, product, &/or specialized knowledge is your entrepreneurial bridge b/w problem identified & solution provided. We look to silver now, as its value is also stable, yet it’s more abundant in nature than gold. So, with an abundance mentality x growth mindset, you know you can grow your share of this not fixed pie.

 

 

Two must read books

Without a shred of doubt, I wholeheartedly recommend both. Each has a high ceiling of potential energy which can be tapped to lead to dramatic improvements in your productivity & reduced busy-ness.

 

E-Myth: Revisited

The Fifth Discipline

 

Stephen R. Covey

He passed away over 6 years ago, gone & not forgotten as a pioneer; through his off the charts levels of contribution, we have much to tap into. The 4 quadrants is something to study often, & implement in short order.

 

Covey’s Time Management Matrix, in the written word

Or perhaps you’d learn better from a visual?

 

 

Suggested ‘Twitterverse’ Follows

 

A Helpful Guide to Becoming Unbusy by Joshua Becker

How to Stop Being Busy All the Time from Gus Razzetti

4 Ways to Break Free From Being “Too Busy” penned by Rikki Rogers , culled from The Muse

 

Leverage = Legacy

 

This concept is transformational.  Pulling from the vastness of the internet, here are two marvelous resources. Once you take this small two-step seriously, my advice is to keep going!

 

Kelly Azevedo

Amanda Abella


Systems Thinking?  

 

Its powerful.  In a previous post, you learned all about the power of principled self education.

Here’s a superb opportunity to practice what you read by visiting Donella Meadows ‘s website.

And if you haven’t yet bumped into this infographic, please, I implore you, dive in over the next 24 hours. Your income can become systems driven wealth through active application of this business truism.

 

In my ongoing discovery, I’ve repeatedly shared these maxims with those whom I mentor, in coffee 1:1’s, & elsewhere: Why? They’ve allowed me to run multiple business ventures at the same time, all while making strides towards being productive = gold = time & (more) passive = silver = money.

 

Next steps:

 

 

What can Westminster Abbey teach about implementing this content?!  

 

This inscription, when understood at a deeper level, reflects the ongoing value of lifelong learning.

 

Action Time

 

As with anything you choose to read, listen to, or watch, the truest formula = what you do next, how you proceed, & why?

Reflect, through meditation, prayer, yoga, or in a moment(s) of silence on this post, please, & thank you for reading!

 

In short …

 

  • A producer is productive; a consumer is busy. ‘Busy’ shouldn’t be a status, symbol, or state of being for the wise entrepreneur
  • Time = gold.  Money = silver.  Prioritize your irreplaceable asset;  focus on it and not on money (income, wealth) as #1.
  • Review the links to invest in 2 highly recommended books
  • Covey’s quadrants/matrix is a terrific tool in and by itself
  • Suggested Twitter follows & some of their scholarly tweets. #MustReads
  • Understand systems & leverage in your entrepreneurship education
  • Leadership starts with self

 

Soft Skills aren’t ‘Soft’ by @SBSLEducSoltns

by 4 Comments

by SJ Barakony | Featured Contributor

“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” … and …. soft skills are the breakfast of  winners!

 

Did that subtitled quote ( thank YOU to the late Peter Drucker ) catch your eye?!

Good!

(It was meant to do just that, dear readers.)

 

We now dive into a deep pool …

In truth, an entire online library could conceivably be dedicated to nothing but them!

Thought leaders all across the globe, including many in your LinkedIn network, have spoken of their past experiences, spun stories, & shared wisdom nuggets through books, webinars, podcasts, & even created whole curricula focusing on these immensely valuable skills.

So, we’re just skimming the surface: Becoming self educated, role modeling a better ‘You, Inc.’ to your staff, clientele, & fellow entrepreneurs & revisiting your business culture would each be forward thinking outcomes.

 

Foundational Definitions

 

Soft Skills :  

Please click here , here , & here.

You might already be asking …  Are these the same as people … interpersonal … or life skills?      Yes.

 

Culture :

Excellent articles

1 … 2 … & … 3

 

 

Let’s now briefly discuss the inexorable connection between culture & soft skills in your business(es).

 

Are soft skills a necessary part of a vibrant entrepreneurial [workplace], culture?

 

A great number of signs point to a clear, resounding ‘yes’, since these skills are so often not taught in classrooms in all ‘tracks’ ( K-12, up to & including graduate level studies )

An entrepreneur is likely to become a magnet to others if she offers them as part of ongoing professional development for her staff, regardless of industry. If you’re dealing with confounding challenges that coaching or some other service pro hasn’t yet solved, or, maybe you just seek to expand, laser focus here;  you are onto something BIG.

 

What do others say?

 

Here’s a post well worth reading …

 

And this author comes to a like conclusion.

 

A personal story & opportunity to serve

 

My own entrepreneurial journey wouldn’t be nearly as rich without the visceral impact of these skills on my own ventures.

 

Through the fall of last year, I had the high honor of being a member of a nationwide committee

And, for that same organization, I was asked to be a co-panelist on this webinar.

 

If you’re offered anything similar, what’s commonly known as an influencer, as I was, please, I implore you: take it!

 

Our discourse at networking events, in business dealings with peers, levels of customer service, engagement & satisfaction amongst your staff, decreased turnover:

I truly believe all would benefit positively.

 

A Sampling of @Twitter Thoughts [from across the ‘Twitterverse’]

 

Future Learn

Vala Afshar

Scott Hartley

 

What soft skills should I focus on to improve my business’ culture?   

 

The answers will vary considerably from venture to venture, industry to industry. After all, this field is not barren; it is richly blossoming in content of all kinds which you can surely beta test, or go all in & fully invest your development dollars from the get-go.

 

 

Should I hire, fire, outsource, and/or promote with these skills as the key determinant?

 

Yes.

You can always get someone up to speed on ‘harder’ (read: technical) skills if you have an individual who understands how to prioritize ( time management ); whom has a good attitude;  who can work on any team and contribute; who knows how to resolve a conflict; and whom can build her leadership abilities through influence, vision, & service rather than expecting others to follow a title, or positional authority.

 

What’s the best way to deliver them?    

 

This, too, is flexible.

In a hyper competitive industry (e.g., real estate, insurance, financial services, banking), encouraging your staff, & leaving room in your own day for lifelong learning would be smart. Many of these professions already require ‘CE’ , however, incentivizing ongoing development of soft skills through ‘comp time’, bonuses, etc., will offer you a clear edge. Everyone else is aware of the former, while you also recognize the latter = difference maker.

Finding ways to collaborate with a services professional who offers group facilitation, mentorship, business coaching, or a consultant with focused training program would be a clear win:win.

 

Next steps:

Take action!  The Gig (Sharing/P2P) Economy moves infinitely faster than its predecessor eras. And, expecting that the conventional schooling institutions will begin to offer these skills so you won’t have to invest wouldn’t be advisable.

 

Learn more. If this post & the related links doesn’t yet convince you of their importance, attend a conference, lunch & learn, register for a webinar, or listen to a podcast that discusses professional development.

 

In short …

 

  • Soft skills should be taken very seriously
  • Culture is a foundational necessity.
  • If offered an opportunity to spread the word about soft skills, accept it with a smile
  • Fundamental challenges ( i.e., turnover, satisfaction, engagement ) can be solved at the root
  • Reconsider your standards for hiring, firing, and promoting staff.
  • Delivering soft skills into your culture can be done in numerous ways
  • Don’t stand still

 

________

Thank YOU for reading!

Do I Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur? By @JamieCheng

by 2 Comments

Do I Have What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur?

“Fear leads to self-doubt which is the worst enemy of creativity.”

David Ogilvy

 

Has the thought of “am I truly made for this entrepreneurial journey” ever visited your mind?

 

Or maybe, you’re like me — you’re more optimistic, and your gut assures you that things will turn out well in the end.

 

You just know it. But…

 

Somehow, things seem to go awry… People whom you trusted to find support from, say things that snuff out your already flickering flame. Inside, you feel like you’ve been stabbed with their words that were blunt enough to cut like a sharp knife.

 

stressed face of a women

 

But here you are, my fellow survivor.

 

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (not Kanye West)

 

This piece is written with my heart in my hands. If you’re reading this, I promise that you this will change the trajectory that you’re heading for the better.

 

I’m just like you — you’d give up safety for adventure; you’d take risks for things that you see potential in. No matter what phase of an entrepreneur’s journey you’re at right now… Just keep on keeping on. And if need be, take a step back. Trust me, that step could be the very thing you had to do to propel you 10 steps forward.

 

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

 

Listed below are 3 golden keys that successful WOMEN have.

 

1. Being Optimistic

Be Optimistic

Being optimistic might seem “ignorant” or “delusional” to a realist. But studies have shown that optimism is an essential trait to find success. What you believe in, or let yourself believe becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

Hoping to get a confidence boost? Try being a little more optimistic.

 

Sometimes you really just got to let go and jump into the deep.

 

You planned it all out, you’ve done your due diligence and researched what you could… You’re ready to take action!

 

At this moment, I guarantee you that flashes of what’s on the line, doubts on whether it’ll work or not, and a hundred more “what-ifs” are coming. But, just give yourself a second to be a child and let go of all the things that can’t be controlled.

 

2. Being Persistent

be persistent

As much as stepping the path less traveled forces you to grow exponentially, and learn things through painful and unforgettable trial-and-errors, remember to still have faith like a child.

 

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.”

Winston Churchill

 

Know that the lows of life or business are never forever as long as there’s action being taken. Life is that b*tch who is indifferent to how badly hurt you’re going to get from what she throws at you. You have to get up!

 

What does getting back up means?

 

It means having control over your emotions and reminding yourself to establish a growth mindset.

 

NEWS FLASH! Successful women do feel sad, get angry, and probably got lost more times than you and I have. No matter, they still find this drive to just try one more time. They let themselves learn from mistakes and failures instead of staying down on the ground, therefore they have this substance and grit that we all admire.

 

These successful women were persistent.

 

3. Being Confident

Being Confident

You know how we, as ladies, would appreciate a second opinion on whether our shoes match the outfit we’re wearing. Or if this particular top makes us look fat.

 

80% of the time as an entrepreneur, you’re not going to have this privilege. It is not the easiest thing to find someone who truly understands, or who is able to elevate you. Finding assurance within yourself is the key to being confident.

 

If you find that confidence is one thing that you’d like to get better at, I’ve got good news for you! It can be practiced. You don’t have to be naturally confident to be a confident person…

 

Confidence can be practiced.

 

Here are 3 confidence-boosting habits I make myself do:

 

#1: Talk to Yourself Aloud

Talk To Your Self Aloud - Self-talk

A form of introspection… When you become more self-aware and when you focus on your strengths, you’ll become someone whom you never thought you could be (in a good way).

Use a mirror, a spoon, or take a video recording of yourself. Speak out loud what’s troubling you and then, lay out the solutions you think could work. Choose your action plan and tell yourself what you’d tell someone else who’s facing the same situation as you.

Practicing speaking out loud in confidence solidifies positive thinking about yourself.

 

#2: Present to Others Like You Know What You’re Doing

Present to Others Like You Know What You're Doing

People trust confidence. It’s a given.

When you practice talking to your family, friends, or prospects, you’ll only get better and more comfortable at it. Whatever doubts that you have in mind, understand that only you are aware of it.

You don’t have to know everything, you just need to know what’s needed (for now).

Start presenting like you know what you’re doing.

 

#3: Let Your Yes be Yes and No be No

Aim to not be so easily swayed by someone else’s opinion. It might be from someone close and important to you, however, confidence comes from liberation from these fragments of several people’s opinions.

Ultimately, it comes back to what you think and what you’re going to do about it.

 

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

With these 3 golden keys, as well as the 3 habits to grow your confidence…

I’ll give you my vote — I say yes, you do!

 

To be insanely honest, strategies that you’re seeking to find success are useless until you’ve mustered enough courage to JUST TRY.

The Blog Features You Need to Have To Increase Traffic by @dailydream360

by Leave a Comment

by Sharon Mendelaoui | Featured Contributor 

I am amazed at how many bloggers and website owners have not set up simple things on their website which help with increasing site traffic and exposure. I’m not talking about doing an SEO overhaul here, but straightforward stuff like adding sharing buttons to your posts. If you have added a sharing button, have you ever clicked on it to see if it is working correctly? In this post, I take a look at some essential elements every website or blog should have to increase traffic.

Necessary Information and Ease of Navigation

The ease of getting around your website is the number one thing you should be analyzing. Remember people don’t always come to your site from your homepage. In fact, more often than not, people are searching for something particular and entering your site from a post they found in Google, a pin they saw on Pinterest or a social media post they read.

Look at your site homepage and one inside post and see if it has:

  • Links to your social media channels
  • Easy to find contact link to the contact page
  • Clear about you information or a link to your about page
  • Easy categories and menu navigation to get around your site

Putting these items in your main menus or in widgets on your sidebar are the best way to ensure that no matter which post or page people come to they can get around your site easily.

Social Media Sharing Buttons

Why You Need Them?

The number one reason is you want to encourage people to share your post on their social media channels. The more people that see the link to your post the more opportunities you have that they will click on that link and visit you.

Make Sure They Are Set Up Properly

It amazes me that when I go to share someone’s post on social media using one of their blog sharing buttons that they don’t have them set up properly. It is one thing to allow people to share your posts but if they don’t tag or mention you in that share well you lose the ability to show your reach on that social media channel.

The most common error I see is when I go to tweet something I read. It shares the tweet but it does not include a “via @yoursocialhandle” mention in the tweet. How will you know that someone tweeted your post? How will you engage that person on Twitter if you don’t get a notification they shared your post. This is a missed opportunity.

The second error is that the link does not shorten. Make sure that your social sharing buttons allow for using Bitly or another way to shorten your link. Otherwise, just your tweet e a long ugly URL to the post. Not something people will want to share.

If your social sharing plug-in or theme’s feature doesn’t allow you to add these two elements – find one that does so that you can ensure to act on a tweet or share if it happens.

Pin Images in Your Post

I have already talked about why you need to be using Pinterest for your blog or business in this post. Having a pinnable image in each post on your blog is paramount to using Pinterest to increase traffic. For one it will make you pin that image to your own boards and increase the chance that your Pin will be pinned by other people. The result is another opportunity to bring people back to your own website.

Adding a pin button to your horizontal images or a pin share button at the top and bottom of your post is not enough. You actually have to create a long vertical image with a 2:3 ratio or approximately 600 x 900 pixels. Don’t try to make them extra long as Pinterest is now cropping long images that go beyond the 2:3 ratio.

Ask Someone to Review Your Site

Sometimes we are blind to the most common things on our own websites. Ask a friend to take a look at your site, to share your posts and really dig deep into your site’s features. You can also hire people to do a detailed site review where they can help you see how a stranger interacts on your site. Site reviews don’t have to be expensive and can really help give your site a leg up on the competition. Contact me here if you are interested in a site review or audit for some graphic tips, feature suggestions or general feedback on your site.

9 Simple Sure Fired Blog Secrets To Guarantee New Fans by @XLConsultingGro

by Leave a Comment

9 Simple Sure Fired Blog Secrets To Guarantee New Fans

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Engaging new fans to love what you say and keep them loyal to your brand isn’t really that secret!  Just follow our 9 simple rules of engagement and you can shine online. Check out our 9 simple blog secrets to guarantee new fans.

Pick A Catchy Headline

What makes a headline ‘pop’? There are several free sites that can analyze your blog headline to determine the best scoring headline.   Hubspot’s blog article gives you many ideas on how to write a catchy headline.

Try Using a mixture of the following

  • Common Words
  • Uncommon Words
  • Emotional Words
  • Powerful Words

Pictures and Videos

Attention spans have been reduced to just a few seconds.  Nothing engages faster than pictures and videos. Make sure these are at the top of your blog.  If you don’t have a budget for video, use your pictures to make a video story using the free Lumen 5 software.  In 30 minutes or less you can produce your own video, post it on your blog and your YouTube channel.

Podcasts

Showcase your authority by interviewing guests on your own podcast show.  Software such as SoundCloud makes it easy to upload your podcast and use for different purposes and gain a new group of fans who like to be inspired while driving, shopping or working out.

Be Active and Consistent

A blog once a year doesn’t gain you new fans, but actively developing content on a regular basis (at least once a month) will help you get out in front of an audience that is hungry for your magic.

Be Honest and Vulnerable

Your readers will connect better with you if show vulnerability.  That doesn’t mean you have to pour your heart out with every post, but sharing some downs as well as your ups, will make you seem more real.  It’s closer to everyday life.  It helps your readers to know that your life is relatable to theirs.  We aren’t all movie stars!  Share your doubts, too.

Be Authentic

We all have different personalities, but being “you” is what’s important.  No-one can write like YOU.  Our voices are all different.  Make sure your true, authentic voice is what is your followers will hear.  They will detect anything less than sincere.

Two-way Communication

In today’s world customers are looking for an “experience”.  Disney and Apple are always wowing their customers, and you can do the same.  Listen to your tribe, what questions do they have, how can you deliver a better experience?  Do you wrap your arms around them and deliver everything they could wish for before they even know they need it?  That’s what Disney and Apple do!  Your blog can do that too.

Be Helpful

If you have developed a two-way communication with your readers, then you are in the best position to be helpful.  But first you have to know how to help, so put out questions in your facebook group so you can answer the pain points in your blog.  If you have examples, so much the better as we all relate to someone else’s journey.

Story Telling

To sum up, everything you write is a story, it has a beginning, a middle and an end.  Your blog needs a structure that your readers can follow and genuinely enjoy.  If you can find the emotional connection, then you have followers for life.

It’s simple, write often, write from your heart, write to engage and watch the results.

What GDPR entails for bloggers, even outside Europe by @lexanesirac

by Leave a Comment

by Lexane Sirac | Featured Contributor

GDPR is short for General Data Protection Regulation, and it’s a big thing coming to the European Union on May 25th, 2018.

Now, don’t log off immediately, non-European friends – this affects you too. Any website owner can be sued by European people who visit it. The only way that you would not be affected by GDPR rules is if you make your website closed to anyone in Europe.

Which probably won’t happen.

This post is not legal advice in any way – it’s just a breakdown of the main consequences of GDPR on bloggers, without the corporate jargon. You can read the whole regulation online.

Old key and laptop

At the heart of GDPR: no more automatic opt-ins

Do you use a premium content strategy in order to harvest email addresses? Or, very simply, a newsletter subscription form?

You still can, but you should be careful with the way you present your form. Many bloggers currently think that someone who gives them their email address is okay with getting emails afterwards. Others have added a pre-checked box, that people can uncheck. That’s better, but we’re still not there.

The law says there must be explicit consent to sign up: basically, you are going to need to add this checkbox and leave it empty so nobody can sign up by mistake.

This means it might be harder to get email subscribers, but you can look at the bright side too:

  • Fewer unsubscribes: people actually choose to be there, so it’s likely that they will want to stay subscribed
  • No more fake addresses
  • No more emails sent to low-quality contacts that will never become leads: they just won’t sign up

No more moving people between mailing lists

Let’s say you have a career advice newsletter.

If you launch a personal finance newsletter on the side, you can’t add people to it automatically – even if you’re sure that they will love it, they didn’t ask for it. You need to send them an email as part of the career advice newsletter, telling them about the personal finance newsletter and including a nice call-to-action so they sign up.

Again, this regulation is there so people won’t get subscribed to newsletters they won’t care about: make the most of it. Your contact database will be smaller, but your engagement will soar!

Cybercrime Abstract Concept

No more hiding data breaches

This shouldn’t happen anyway, but if you have an issue with your data, then you will need to tell your subscribers in under 72 hours. If your MailChimp (or any other email automation tool) account gets hacked, for instance, people need to know that they address may have been compromised. Let’s just hope that never happens to you!

Really, the whole opt-in regulations and mailing lists constraints are at the heart of the GDPR, for bloggers at least. Larger companies have a whole lot of data protection requirements, but since we generally don’t have to worry about those ourselves and leave it to our service providers, it’s all pretty simple for us.

Therefore, there is absolutely no reason to not follow the rules we do have to follow. You have until May, but better get started now so you can finetune everything before then!