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The Goal Setting Rule That Started My Blog By @GroupXMich

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Goal setting: The 100-percent rule

by Michelle Fav | Featured Contributor

This time last year, I wanted so badly to start a blog. It would gnaw at me as I scanned Facebook before bed, during my lunch break at work and even when I was grabbing a bite with friends. I would write an article here and there, thinking it would help me with my goal setting. I never made any significant headway, until finally I decided to commit completely and just do it. Fast forward to today, I’m approaching the six month mark on my blog for fitness instructors, GroupXFitnessTips.com, and a lot of anxiety about my blog has gone away.

At first, it surprised me that I no longer give myself so much heartache over blogging. Then, I stumbled upon Susie Moore’s 100-percent rule (that she learned from Jack Canfield) and it felt like a lightbulb went off in my head.

The 100-percent Rule

According to Susie, “[I]t’s our well-meaning ‘99-percent effort’ that is exhausting. It consumes energy without producing results. It’s stressful. It makes us feel like a failure when we’re not—we just haven’t fully committed to something. Putting 99-percent effort into things that matter in life means we are constantly falling short of our potential—and feeling bad about it.”

With that mindset, 100-percent effort is easy. Once you’ve made a project or goal a priority, you no longer have to weigh your options. The decision is made for you — you work on that goal.

That’s exactly how I felt when I was trying to start my blog. I would waste so much time feeling guilty for not working on my blog and anguished that I wasn’t “good enough”. Once I committed to posting two articles a week no matter what, I removed a lot of anxieties about writing.

3 Tips to Apply The 100-percent Rule in Your Life

  1. Don’t wait for the perfect moment.

Oftentimes we talk about our goals as if they hinge on this perfect situation. For example, I’m not going to go to a fitness class or even step foot in the gym until I’ve lost 10 pounds. Mine was that I wasn’t going to start my blog until I had the perfect URL and a handful of posts ready.

And, some of that preparation is useful when goal setting. But, more often than not we use that as an excuse not to really start something, and then it gets stuck in 99-percent effort and a whole lot of frustration.

With fitness, blogging or other common goals, you just have to get started. None of these goals are the type you achieve overnight, so just getting started putting the effort will help you be well on your way.

  1. Go 100 percent on only one goal at a time.

Most entrepreneurs and side hustlers are constantly goal setting. But, the beauty of 100 percent, is you can only give one thing 100 percent of your effort.

So, choose wisely and stick with that one goal until you’ve crossed it off or it becomes a habit.

  1. Plan around your goal.

Carve out space in your calendar for your goal, and don’t let anything make you change that schedule. That’s 100-percent effort: sacrificing other responsibilities or obligations for your goal.

I know giving 100-percent effort sounds scary, but in actuality, it removed so much anxiety for me around goal setting for my blog. The starting point is usually the hardest part, so join me in committing to 100 percent and never looking back.

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Michelle Fav GroupXFitnessTips.comMichelle Fav, PR expert, group fitness instructor and blogger behind GroupXFitnessTips.com.

I have a wide range of interests, but what’s been keeping me up at night lately? My search to find the perfect song to pair with a group exercise routine. I feel on fire when the beat drops in my fitness class and the entire room is moving deafeningly in sync with the music.

My blog GroupXFitnessTips.com brings together fitness instructors from all walks of life to inspire, encourage and learn from each other. When I’m not at the gym, you can find me crafting corporate stories at my day job in public relations (PR).

Coupling my passion for fitness with my professional obsession with communications, I have an array of expertise to share with you, such as branding strategies, blogging 101 tips and healthy living advice for busy entrepreneurs.

Follow me on Twitter (@GroupXMich) and Facebook (GroupXMich).

5 Tools to Help You Nail Your Next Blog Post

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5 Tools to Help You Nail Your Next Blog Post

by Deanne Wong

Blogging can be a great way to grow your business online. Blogs drive traffic to your website, build brand authority and generate customer trust. Clearly blogs are important, but where should you start? Effective blogging is a process: research, write, optimize, design, publish and share. Lucking there are hundreds of tools out there to help you with the blogging process. This blog post outlines five online tools that you can use to nail your next blog post.

For blog topics and ideas: BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a tool that lets you analyze top performing content for any topic or competitor. The tool breaks down performance by social media shares. Simply type in a topic, keyword or competitor’s domain and find out exactly what content is resonating with the audience.

For an extra grammar check: Grammarly

Grammarly finds and corrects up to 10 times more mistakes than a word processor. When you are done with your first draft, paste it into Grammarly and it will instantly check for over 200 types of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.

For improving readability: Readability Score

Great content is easy to read. Readability Score analyzes your text and generates a reading ease score and a reading grade level. You can use this tool to measure and improve the readability of your writing. In general, you will want to aim for a reading ease score of around 60-70 and reading grade level of around 8.

For title optimization: CoShedule Headline Analyzer

Titles matter. With a number of blog posts published each day, it’s difficult to get consumers to actually read your content. While there is no simple trick to perfecting a headline, the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer tool can give you some guidance. Simply type in your headline and CoSchedule will provide you with an in-depth analysis. The tool first gives you a score from 0 to 100 and later analyzes the words uses and character count.

For blog designs: Canva

Good content comes with good visuals. It has been proven that blog posts with graphics get more traffic, shares and engagement. Canva is an online tool that makes graphic design simple for everyone. Canva has countless free blog post templates, making it super easy to create something that stands out.

Do you have a favourite blogging tool to share? Share it below!

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Deanne WongDeanne is a Toronto-based digital marketer. She is also the co-founder of Hello City Girl, a lifestyle blog dedicated to inspiring readers to create, experience and explore.

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The Basics of Establishing a Web Presence by @DeborahSweeney

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The Basics of Establishing a Web Presence

by Deborah Sweeney | Featured Contributor

A 2014 study by Google found that a little over half of small businesses have a website, though it’s likely that number has gone up since the survey was done. Still, the fact that a little under half of small businesses don’t even have a website it appalling – without one you are losing customers every day. Over 50% of people surveyed said they look up a business online before making a purchase, and that same study found local searches are twice as likely to lead to a purchase. Creating a solid web presence, though, is more than just parking a site under ‘yourbusiness.com’ – you’re going to have to put in a bit more effort to see any real returns.

Domains and Websites

This is step one – buy your company’s related domain name and publish a site. The site doesn’t have to be fantastic, and there are plenty of services online that’ll help someone with little to no web experience publish a decent looking website. When designing it, though, remember that over 60% of all web traffic is now mobile, so at this stage use eye-catching graphics and write short, easy to read content. Your business’s name, address, phone number, and services offered should all be front and center. As a side-note, don’t ignore other top-level domain variants like ‘yourbusiness.net’ or ‘yourbusiness.biz.’ They aren’t as important as a .com, but it’s never a bad idea to buy as many reasonable tld variants as you can.

Social Media

Social marketing is more than Facebook, though having an active profile there is important. You’ll want to register your business on every major site – Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Instagram or Pinterest if you think you can market your product visually. Google+ needs to be on your list as well. Recently the site has been making moves to separate + from the more important ‘Local Listings,’ but that hasn’t happened yet. So grab a ‘Google My Business’ page while you can, and make sure your listing is up to date and looks nice. Then when Google inevitably separates their local/business section from Plus, you’ll be in a good spot to adapt to whatever changes Google implements.

Blogging/Cross-Blogging

Content marketing is how you turn your web presence from good to great. 70% of consumers now say they prefer to get to know a company through articles over ads, so producing good, well-written content is a must, especially if you’re based online or do business with people you do not personally see. The idea behind blogging is to foster trust in, and recognition of, your brand, so don’t just throw 800-word ads up every week and think that’ll do. Rather, you need to identify good topics about which you can write knowledgeably. When you’re first starting out, try focusing on common questions or sources of customer frustration. Then, as you get some experience, you can venture into advising on industry-specific issues. And, once you’re seen as something as a thought-leader, you can try cross-blogging with other companies and outlets. The more links into your site you have, the better your search engine ranking.

Creating a web presence requires much more than a website, though it’s a good place to start. The majority of your target market browse the internet, and a strong web presence makes it much more likely they’ll recognize, trust, and eventually patronize your company. Different business will have different needs, but at the very least make sure your business has a presence with its own site and on the major social networks. Then, as you grow, you can work on expanding that presence through content marketing. Before you know it your own small business will be popping up all over the internet!

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Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com – Calabasas, CA

Deborah Sweeney HeadshotAs CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (MyCorporation.com), Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

Beginning to Meditate by @LUCYrk78

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Beginning to Meditate

by Lucy Rendler-Kaplan | Featured Contributor

How do you feel about meditation? I’ll start: for me, it was very hard to get into. Things are generally harder the more you think about them, as opposed to just jumping in and starting them, and that’s how it was for me with meditation. I thought, “I can’t sit quietly for that long,” “I am not sure I want to get that deep into my head,” and “I’m a little scared of it, honestly.” And while it’s easy to begin something once you decide to, sticking with it is another story. They say it takes 30 days of doing something for it to become more natural, almost a habit.

So how do you start? I have found that meditation is more than simply signing up at your local studio. That is one way, certainly, to keep accountability – if you are like me, you are more likely to do something day after day if you know you’ve spent money to attend a class, but what if you don’t have time to get a studio each day? Or what if there just isn’t one you’ve “clicked with” nearby?

Here are some of the steps that have worked for me, bringing me from a meditation skeptic, to someone that craves that time in each day.

  • Live For Today 
    • Don’t look 30 days out. Take it day by day. Just for today tell yourself, “I am going to meditate today.” Telling yourself “just for today” you are going to do something, relieves a bit of the pressure. I chose 9 pm, so on day 1 I told myself, “Today at 9 pm, I am going to meditate.” I set the alarm on my phone to go off at 8:55pm, because I felt that was a bit of accountability – when the alarm goes off, that was my reminder.
  • Start Small 
    • On your first day of meditation, you don’t have to sit there for 15 minutes. I told myself that I would set my alarm again on my phone for 9:05pm. Honestly, you can do almost anything you can think of for “just five minutes.” I knew that I would see how I felt after those five minutes, and adjust my time goal for Day 2. If those first five minutes felt more like 30, I would aim for 3 minutes the second night. If those five minutes flew by, I would aim for 7 minutes on day 2.
  • Find a Comfortable Spot 
    • Find somewhere you feel calm that you can sit quietly with no distractions. You might want to light a candle near you that has a scent you find pleasing. You mainly want to find somewhere that you feel safe and at peace, and where you can just be. This place will be somewhere you go every day for your meditation time, so you want it to be a stable environment.
  • Don’t Make It A Chore 
    • While I did put an alarm on my phone to set myself up for Day 1, I didn’t add “meditate” to my calendar or to-do list. I wanted to do this to get more in touch with myself and my feelings, and to begin to center myself with an increasing work-load and a bit of stress I had been feeling. We would advise not to start meditating because you’re reading more about it in blogs that come out each day, or because “everyone else is doing it,” or because “it’s in lately.” We think those reasons won’t keep you interested in meditation for very long, and you most likely won’t get as much out of it as you probably can. Maybe it’s not the right time for you to start a meditation practice – that’s fine. It isn’t going anywhere.
  • Breathe 
    •  The easiest way that I found to begin, was to breathe in and out and focus on my breathing. I found that to be centering and a way to begin to quiet my mind. If I was focused, I wasn’t thinking about feeling uncomfortable with the idea of meditation, or worrying if I was somehow doing it wrong. There are many apps you can also use to help guide you through breathing if you find that easier. After a few days of meditating daily, I found that occasionally strong emotions would come up while I was sitting – going back to focusing on my breathing helped get through those feelings at times I wasn’t feeling ready to deal with the issues.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       After my first 30 days of meditating, I learned I COULD sit quietly, and I even began looking forward to the time in my day that I knew I was going to be sitting by myself with my thoughts, and not having to worry about what was next, or what work was like that day. It was my time to be with me, and enjoy my own company. I also found that during my day, I was able to let things that prior to starting to meditate would bother me much more deeply than they began to. I found times during throughout the day that I would be calming myself and becoming more centered without even thinking about it.

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Lucy Rendler-KaplanLucy Rendler-Kaplan is a marketing veteran, with close to 17 years experience in field marketing management public relations and social media marketing. Both in-house and as a consultant, Lucy has created, developed and managed marketing projects for organizations including: Red Bull North America, ONE Coconut Water, Camel and Ethos Water, to name a few.

Most recently, Lucy has left corporate America to work as a consultant, focusing on small businesses and start-ups to design effective social media and marketing strategies to jumpstart brand growth. In addition to strategic business development efforts, she directs media relations, branding, advertising and website development.

As a social media consultant, Lucy works with companies in auditing their current social media efforts and creating a comprehensive social media strategy that aligns company-wide objectives through social business practices.

With an early background in journalism, Lucy regularly contributes to a number of NFL and music blogs, as well as her own, with a diverse focus encompassing Lucy’s passion not only for networking and marketing but also for fitness. She spends her free time honing her photography skills, running and watching an excessive amount of true crime shows.

Let’s connect! Twitter & Linkedin

10 Tips for Silencing Your Inner Critic by @LUCYrk78

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10 Tips for Silencing Your Inner Critic

by Lucy Rendler-Kaplan | Featured Contributor

We all have it. That little inner voice that creeps up in the most inopportune times. The one that tells us not to ask for the promotion, that we aren’t good enough, that we shouldn’t accept that date….the list can go on and on. Sometimes it speaks to us loudly and sometimes it is simply a quiet nag throughout our day. It can last for a minute, an hour or a week. Maybe even longer. At times, we didn’t even want to get out of bed, what’s the point?

Then, one day we learned we can talk back. We learned weccan tell that voice that we ARE good enough to go after what we want.

Here are a few tips that I hope will help:

  1. Start a journal: write down what you were doing each time you began to hear that voice and look for patterns. Learn to recognize that critic for what it is. Next to that list, write down something you did that day that you felt proud once you accomplished it. Look through those proud moments when your inner critic begins to creep in.
  2. Look in the mirror: look at your reflection and tell yourself ONE good thing about what you see. If you can, keep going! Don’t stop at one. If you can only muster one positive attribute, be happy you recognized the good.
  3. Place a post-it on your mirror: It can be anything positive, the one on mine says “I am Grateful.” Make sure it’s a mirror you will look into each day, perhaps while you’re brushing your teeth.
  4. Add a positive to a photo: find a photo of yourself looking happy, a photo you have always liked an use an app that can place a positive self-affirmation or quote over the photo.
  5. Make a list of your closest friends: for each person, write a couple of sentences about each person on why you are friends, why you like them so much. It is said that we are a product of our five closest friends, so the positive attributes you see in them are most likely also seen in YOU.
  6. Think about 10 years from now: when something seems hard or I’m feeling down about something small I may have done wrong, I like to remind myself, “Will this REALLY matter 10 years from now?” Remember a test you failed miserably in high school, and thought it would ruin your life, having done so poorly on it? No? Of course you don’t.
  7. Reframe negative thoughts: put a positive ending on each one. You made a mistake yes, but what did you learn from it?
  8. Phone a friend: the best way to stop obsessing over your own shortcomings is to get outside yourself. Call a friend and inquire about their day, get THEM talking and truly listen.
  9. Cut yourself some slack: are you trying to do much? Are you rushing through things because the to-do list seems overwhelming? Move some of the day’s tasks to three days from now. The earth won’t stop turning.
  10. Put it in perspective: ok, you made a mistake. While your screw up may feel like the end of the world to you, think of how many people truly don’t care? How many don’t even know about it and never will? We are just a small part of a much larger world – teach that inner critic some perspective.

You CAN break this cycle. And you CAN start right now. Let me know in the comments some of the tips that have helped YOU when the inner critic gets too loud.

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Lucy Rendler-KaplanLucy Rendler-Kaplan is a marketing veteran, with close to 17 years experience in field marketing management public relations and social media marketing. Both in-house and as a consultant, Lucy has created, developed and managed marketing projects for organizations including: Red Bull North America, ONE Coconut Water, Camel and Ethos Water, to name a few.

Most recently, Lucy has left corporate America to work as a consultant, focusing on small businesses and start-ups to design effective social media and marketing strategies to jumpstart brand growth. In addition to strategic business development efforts, she directs media relations, branding, advertising and website development.

As a social media consultant, Lucy works with companies in auditing their current social media efforts and creating a comprehensive social media strategy that aligns company-wide objectives through social business practices.

With an early background in journalism, Lucy regularly contributes to a number of NFL and music blogs, as well as her own, with a diverse focus encompassing Lucy’s passion not only for networking and marketing but also for fitness. She spends her free time honing her photography skills, running and watching an excessive amount of true crime shows.

Let’s connect! Twitter & Linkedin

Take These Three Steps to Grow Your Brand Right Now by @deborahsweeney

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Take These Three Steps to Grow Your Brand Right Now

by Deborah Sweeney | Featured Contributor

Whether you and your business are new to the game, or you’ve been in business for a while and feel as though you’ve hit a lull, every business can stand to learn a new trick or two. If you’ve been wanting to take your business to the next level, but you’re at a loss for what comes next, try implementing these three easy tips for growing your business right now!

Amp up your cross-blogging. 

Whether your company has a blog or not, writing guest posts for other blogs in your industry can be very beneficial to your business. You get to completely double your exposure by showcasing an article you wrote (that ideally links back to your website somewhere) to a new group of potential customers who haven’t previously heard about you, and might not have heard about you were you not being featured on a new outlet.

If you do have a blog, try and create cross-blogging relationships with other blogs in your industry. Most cross-blogging typically occurs once a month for each outlet, but if you find an outlet that really grooves with your company and vice versa, feel free to establish a more frequent cross-blogging rate. Conversely, if writing a lot of blogs isn’t something your team has the time to do, you can also arrange something that occurs once every couple months. Establishing a cross-blogging relationship with a company in your (or in a similar) industry can often times lead to a partnership down the road that goes beyond simply swapping blogs. 

Stay on top of your marketing.  

A large part of marketing these days is simply being a master of all things social media. The only way to know your way around social sites is to actively partake in them on a daily basis. Never leave your audience hanging during the work week- you should at least be posting once a day to let your followers know you are a serious business with a serious online presence. As social sites continue to change in a non-stop way, the best way to adapt is to keep up and be an active user every day. If you take a break from your social sites, not only will your customers be wondering where you went, but something major could change that you may not be accustomed to upon your return, setting your business behind its competitors.

Update your company culture.  

Typically, behind every strong brand is a strong team of employees. The most successful businesses have a group of employees who not only get along, but who work together for the betterment of the company. Achieve this ideal company culture by paying special attention to who you hire. On top of skill sets, really think about how these potential employees will mesh with the rest of your team.

Don’t be afraid to liven things up by keeping the office a fun, warm place to be. Celebrate birthdays, watch major sports games together in the break room, take office field trips to the nearest frozen yogurt establishment on the hotter days this summer- don’t be afraid to get creative!

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Deborah Sweeney – Legal Expert, CEO, MyCorporation.com

Deborah Sweeney HeadshotAs CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc. (MyCorporation.com), Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With her experience in the fields of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah has evolved from lawyer to business owner. She has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial industry as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of businesses for MyCorporation.com’s customers.

Ms. Sweeney received her JD & MBA degrees from Pepperdine University. She is active in the community and loves working with students and aspiring entrepreneurs. She serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University and is a founding member of Partners of Pepperdine. Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the areas of corporate and intellectual property law. Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites.  She is a regular contributor on Forbes, American Express, Social Media Today, and BlogHer among many others.

In her ‘free’ time, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin (8) and Christopher (6). Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Follow her on Twitter @deborahsweeney and @mycorporation.

5 Blogging Obstacles to Overcome in Your Business by @AlmostPractical

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5 Blogging Obstacles To Overcome In Your Business

by Neena Nandagopal | Featured Contributor

One of the easiest (and cheapest) ways for business owners to reach their audience is through blogging.

Yet I am continuously surprised at how many entrepreneurs shy away from starting a blog.

And my response is this:

“I know that you don’t think of yourself as a writer. After all you do have a business to run.
And, obviously, you are very busy – which is a good thing.

But as a business owner, marketing is part of your job description.

And blogging is a very effective form of marketing.

So, what can we do to make it easy for you to start blogging regularly?”

While my clients come from many industries – their answers are quite similar.

These are the 5 biggest obstacles that keep entrepreneurs from using a blog to market their business.

Luckily, they are all easy to overcome.

Obstacle #1: I Don’t Know How To Update My Site

The technical side of blogging may seem scary. But most blogging platforms are now very user friendly.

Sure, you can get someone to set up your site – but you need to understand how to use it.

The most important reason is because it is expensive for you NOT to know.

To look “fresh” you should add new content to your site regularly.

Knowing how to update your site empowers you to either do it yourself or hire the right people to do it for you.

Obstacle #2: I Don’t Know How To Work With Images

In blogging, images are important.

You use images to illustrate your posts. So, there are some image basics that you should understand.

First and most important, familiarize yourself with the legal issues about using photos that you did not take.

Either use your own photos or find permissible photos that you can use.

Second, learn the basics of resizing, cropping, and adding a few words to a photo. These can add visual interest and really make your pictures pop.

Services like Picmonkey and Canva make it very easy to work with your photos even if you are not a pro.

Obstacle #3: I Am Not A Writer

This is actually a good thing.

Writing for the web goes against the grain of what we learned in high school English.

When you blog, you should write like you talk.

A light conversational style is a lot easier to read online than huge paragraphs with big words.

Learn to write headlines that grab attention and keep your writing simple.

Obstacle #4: I Don’t Know Anything About Search Engine Optimization

Using good search engine optimization (SEO) is how you let the search engines know what your site is all about.

When you write a blog post, you are writing for two audiences: real people and search engines.

Writing for real people is easy – you say what you need to say to get your point across.

But when it comes to search engines people seem to think that there is a magic formula that they need to use to rank well.

Recently, the search engines have come down hard on websites that try to “game” them. Meaning that if a website uses an underhanded technique to get to the top of the search results – they will actually be penalized and either get dropped altogether or get pushed way down.

You don’t need to be a search engine expert to be a blogger.

Just remember to use your keywords in your article just enough so that the search engine robots can figure out what your article is about and rank it accordingly.

Don’t overdo it – but don’t forget them either.

Obstacle #5: I Don’t Have Time To Blog

Blogging for your business may seem like a huge time commitment.

But you can set your own blogging goals to fit your available time – it is entirely within your control.

If your goal is to make your site look current and active – you can commit to write one blog post per month.

That is only 12 articles per year.

If your goal is to generate huge amounts of website traffic – then you will need to commit to blog more often.

Pick your schedule, create an editorial calendar, and stick to to it.

Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

The more you blog, the easier it gets. Don’t wait for perfect – just get started and learn as you go.

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Neena Nandagopal of AlmostPractical.comNeena Nandagopal is Almost Practical Small Business Coaching and Consulting. She lives and breathes her business – so they are one and the same.

She is passionate about giving creative and talented women concrete guidance on how to establish an online business that is in line with their lives.

Her services include everything from blog coaching packages to creating individualized policy and procedure manuals and business processes.

Neena believes that working more efficiently is the key to business success. However, her philosophy is that time management is outdated. Instead, she works with her clients to manage their focus and attention, because that is what brings maximum results – both online and offline.

When she is not working, Neena enjoys spending time with her husband, four teenage children, and her little shih-tzu.

Neena’s Website: AlmostPractical.com
Neena on Social: Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube

Why Blogging is Important for Your Business by @beck_ruiz

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Why Blogging is Important for Your Business by @beck_ruiz

by Rebecca Ruiz | Featured Contributor

Lets talk about blogging and why it is extremely important for your website and business. When I am writing content and offering copy writing services for clients or speaking to entrepreneurs this is a question I get asked a lot. How important is it to have a blog on my website, what should I write about and how often should I blog?

Having a blog is important for many reasons but it might not be the reasons you think. In this blog today we are going to discover the benefits of having a blog, how to come up with blogging subjects, how blogging lifts your SEO keywords and building a relationship with your audience.

  1. The benefits of having a blog

There are many benefits of having a blog and the most oblivious one is of course writing for your audience. The more you share on your journey for example your challenges, your celebrations, what’s happening in your company and things you have learnt. The more your audience and future audience will get to know you. That way you will build rapport with them and they will be more likely to remember you, your products and your website.

Another important topic is helping your website rank better through SEO (search engine optimisation). When you are blogging you are using keywords in your blog for your target audience. For example I’m using blogging as my main keyword in this post, which will help pickup this keyword up when someone needs help with their blogging. A tip is to use your main keywords throughout body of the blog without overdoing it, which means that it will be easier for your blog to be found when someone is searching under this subject.

  1. What subjects do I write about?

You are sitting looking at the blank screen knowing you have to write a new blog for your website but you have no idea what subjects to write about. I know everyone has been in this situation before not knowing what to write about.

In order to write about subjects your audience will absolutely love I want you to have a look at your marketing material. When you are promoting your products and services through your marketing, you are selling the benefits you give to your customers. It’s looking at your customer’s biggest challenges and struggles, this is what they would like to read about in your blog. The other way is to interview or ask them what are they struggling with and what do they need solutions to? This will give you so many ideas to write about you won’t have enough time to write everything.

  1. How frequent should you be blogging?

How often should you be writing a blog for your website? I’m not going to give you a direct answer here because there is no one size fits all in business. Some people enjoy writing short direct blog posts of around 200 – 300 words, which take no time to write. It’s easy to post more frequent blog posts on your website because they are short. Maybe you really enjoying writing longer more in depth blog posts which means that you don’t write them as often.

Find a style that suits your talents and the needs of your business. Choose what works, plan how many posts you want to publish per month and schedule it into your calendar like any other task that way you will get it done.

  1. How to get traffic on to your blog

You have this awesome new blog on your website and it’s now time to get people to read it. How do you get more people to read your blog?

Social media channels are a fantastic way to promote your blog and build a new audience of readers. I have certain social media channels I have found successful for my business and what work for my niche market.

These are through Facebook on my own personal page, my business page and Facebook groups I am in which my target market are in. Twitter is a really successful platform to promote your blog when including #hashtags related to your new blog. For example with this blog post I could include a hashtag at the end, for example #blog #womeninbusiness which helps reach my target audience. I have heard of other businesses having success with other social media channels, I challenge you to find the best social media option that work for you and your niche. Also send out a regular newsletter including your latest blog to your audience.

Thank you for joining me to find out about the benefits blogging can bring to your business. I would like to hear from you What do you like most about blogging?

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Rebecca RuizRebecca Ruiz is a certified confidence life coach, professional copywriter, blogger, and freelance writer at Life Perceptions based in Perth Australia. She inspires women entrepreneurs through her one on one life coaching to build their self esteem along with their confidence to create more success in their life and businesses. She runs her exclusive invitation only small group program “Mentoring for Success” twice per year.

Rebecca has always being a writer since she was a child and now uses her skills as a professional copywriter. She loves making words come alive by writing web copy, SEO and sales pages that helps women entrepreneurs make more money. She combines her unique style of coaching and copywriting skills to teach women how to write their own copy with confidence. She also loves freelance writing, blogging in her favourite areas of personal development and travel for online magazines.

When Rebecca isn’t working she loves practicing yoga along with sampling gourmet food and wine with her husband.

You can find out more and connect with Rebecca on https://www.facebook.com/lifeperceptions and Twitter.

4 Solid Strategies to Boost Your Freelance Writing Career by @ecainwrites

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4 Solid Strategies to Boost Your Freelance Writing Career

by Elna Cain | Featured Contributor 

Are you a freelance writer?

Been at this for a while and not seeing progress?

Maybe you tried pitching here and there with no luck. Or worse, you signed up to a freelance marketplace and found out prospects aren’t willing to pay more than $20 for content.

You’re probably thinking this isn’t a viable career choice, and you’re just going to go back to AdSense or sponsored posts while you continue going to the day job you despise.

Well, being a freelance writer is a perfect choice for bloggers, aspiring writers, stay-at-home parents and those who hate their 9-5 job.

I was able to replace my full-time income as a teacher by only working part-time hours as a freelance writer. I’m a work-at-mom with twin toddlers, and if I’m able to make it as a successful freelance writer, I know you can too.

If you’re struggling to land a high-paying clients or land recurring work, here are four proven strategies to help you succeed.

1. Constantly Refine Your Writing

refine-writingIf you want to get paid to write, then it’s a bit obvious you should know how to write!

But, this doesn’t mean you need a journalism background to be a freelance writer. You can be a profitable freelance writer even if you’re an average writer. The key to being a success is to have the desire to improve your writing over time.

This means learning how to write for an online audience. Instead of writing big blocks of paragraphs – as you would in school – online writing favors shorter paragraphs and even the notable one-sentence paragraph.

It also means having the desire to learn new types of writing like copywriting. If you can inject some persuasive writing elements into your blog posts or client pieces, you’ll become a better writer and have no shortage of work coming to you.

2. Blog Consistently

blog-consistentlyDo you have a blog? Or worse yet, do you have a blog that hasn’t been updated since your child started walking over four months ago?

I strongly believe every freelance writer should have a blog. Whether it’s a personal blog, a professional blog, or a blog on the niche they want to get paid for, if you’re a writer, have a blog!

Because you know what? Clients and prospects look at your blog, and this can be a deciding factor whether or not they want to hire you.

If you provide fresh and consistent content – and have some form of engagement and social shares – clients will be more likely to take an interest in your services.

So, do your business some good and get back to a consistent blogging schedule. Provide high-value, targeted content for your audience and wow prospects that land on your site.

3. Have a Pitching Process

pitching-processWant to know a secret? The truly successful freelance writers rarely need to spend time pitching. This is because prospects contact them for their content needs. They actually end up turning down work due to lack of time!

But these freelance writers didn’t start off like that. They had to hustle and pitch daily. And that means you should too.

Have a pitching process that you can stick to on a weekly basis. This means:

  • Set a goal of how many pitches you want to send out in a day. For example, try to send out at three pitches a day.
  • Check the job boards – like Problogger – at night and in the morning for the best chance of landing a gig.
  • Constantly review your pitch. If it’s not converting the way you want it to, then change it. Include different samples, or work on using power words to convey your expert knowledge.
  • Keep track of your pitches. Make a Google sheet or Excel sheet and keep track of the job boards on where you found the pitch, the company or blogger you pitched to and when you sent your pitch. This helps when it’s time to circle back and revisit unresponsive emails you sent.

4. Invest In Your Business

invest-businessLet’s be real here.

Freelance writing is a business, and you’re not just a writer; you’re a businessperson. And the best thing you can do for your burgeoning freelance writing career is to invest in it.

Invest in a freelance writing course to help you be that A-list sought after writer you know you are. Learn the skills and tools you need to profit from your writing.

Because it all boils down to making an impact with your writing. And if you can do that for your clients, you’ll have no problem landing consistent work.

Wrapping it Up

The demand for freelance writing is huge. More and more businesses are coming online every day. They all eventually come to realize they need content – quality content. You can fulfill that need.

But, you may have a difficult time from the start. Instead of making mistakes and feeling discouraged, improve your writing and practice writing every day on your blog.

And to really see an improvement, develop a solid pitching process and invest in a freelance writing course to give your business that extra attention.

Over to you – what’s stopping you from being a successful freelance writer?

I’m Elna and I’m a freelance writer and coach. I help people become profitable freelance writers. Check out my free email course on Get Paid to Write Online and learn the steps you need to be a freelance writer.

 
Write Your Way to 1k

Tis The Season For Giving Back by @LUCYrk78

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Tis The Season To Give Back

by Lucy Rendler-Kaplan | Featured Contributor

Many businesses realize that affiliating themselves with charities are not only a great opportunity to get involved in giving back, but it is also a powerful marketing tactic. The business gets to develop a larger network and it helps others at the same time. Consumers like to associate themselves with businesses that support causes – while they may not have the means to donate regularly to a charity (even if they wanted to) it makes people feel good that they are giving back while purchasing something they need.

This idea is nothing new – the idea of companies “giving back” goes by many different names and uses a variety of marketing slogans: Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR) and “Voting With Your Dollars” are the two I tend to hear most often. Simply put, CSR refers to the idea of participating in initiatives that benefit others.

As a marketing or brand manager, it can be confusing and overwhelming to decide what charity to align with. Once you have done your research and found charities that are worthwhile, transparent with where the donations they receive go and have similar views and visions, how do you pick one? When I do this with clients, I tend to choose charities that I am personally drawn to, and also ones that seem to be close to my consumers’ hearts. It is more important that the chosen charity would be one that my current and target consumers would support, than if I would support it with my own money.

The next criteria to choosing a charity from a brand standpoint, is one that gives the brand a broader reach than they would get on their own, and brings a meaningful and engaged community to your brand. This is a win-win for both you and your charity. Charities, like brands, are interested in building their membership base. Partnering with a charity not only brings their community to you, but it also allows the charity to get their message out to all the people your brand interacts with, with the goal being to bring new members to support them, as well as your brand. Cause marketing is actually no different than any other partnership you might form between your brand a for-profit business. You are looking for another like-minded company, where by coming together, you both will have the opportunity to amplify your messaging with a shared voice.

As you build up the relationship between your brand and the charity you have aligned with, you will want to get in front of the employees that work with the charity and explain your product or services to them. Most charities also have people that follow the charity or support the charity in some way. These people are all target consumers by indirect association. As the relationship deepens, you can look to these people to become brand ambassadors, as their charity will also benefit from your brands success. Perhaps you are donating a specific portion of your brand’s sales to the charity- you can invite the charity to help get the message out that they will be the beneficiaries of sales during a specified time period.

While you are working on a charity marketing initiative, it is important to keep your motives clear. I would suggest that the end goal is always helping people, making a difference.

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Lucy Rendler-KaplanLucy Rendler-Kaplan is a marketing veteran, with close to 17 years experience in field marketing management public relations and social media marketing. Both in-house and as a consultant, Lucy has created, developed and managed marketing projects for organizations including: Red Bull North America, ONE Coconut Water, Camel and Ethos Water, to name a few.

Most recently, Lucy has left corporate America to work as a consultant, focusing on small businesses and start-ups to design effective social media and marketing strategies to jumpstart brand growth. In addition to strategic business development efforts, she directs media relations, branding, advertising and website development.

As a social media consultant, Lucy works with companies in auditing their current social media efforts and creating a comprehensive social media strategy that aligns company-wide objectives through social business practices.

With an early background in journalism, Lucy regularly contributes to a number of NFL and music blogs, as well as her own, with a diverse focus encompassing Lucy’s passion not only for networking and marketing but also for fitness. She spends her free time honing her photography skills, running and watching an excessive amount of true crime shows.

Let’s connect! Twitter & Linkedin