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Where do you blog? The obvious answer is “on my blog,” right? That should only be one answer. The real answer should be, “wherever anyone will let me.” You should be posting your message everywhere like blog grafitti.You do this with a method called guest blogging.

When I suggest this I get one of two responses; “Why would someone let me write in their blog?” and “Why would I want to write for someone else for free?” These questions are often followed by a bunch of other little questions that simply support the idea that they just don’t see the point in guest posting. Guest posting is an easy and most awesome way to get in front of a new audience and possibly grow your own traffic.

So how do you get traffic by guest posting on blogs?

1. Identify blogs that jive with your style

What blogs do you currently read?  Identify what blogs you love the most. You probably read several that are related to your own niche, that’s where you want to get started. If you are part of the audience of that blog then you are also most likely similar to other readers of that blog, who in turn would likely enjoy your blog.

2. Peruse topics previously posted on said blog

Make sure you are super familiar with the blog’s tone, subject and previous topics covered. How can your expertise complement that blog? Is there something that would fit in but isn’t there? Take note of what’s missing or hasn’t been covered but relates to that blog’s niche.

3. Start writing and write well

If you have an idea for a good blog post, simply write it up. Write it for the target audience of a specific blog. Make sure it’s your best stuff however. Don’t be greedy and save it for your own blog. After all, more people will read it on the blog you are hoping to guest post for, right? Make sure you also include a photo to illustrate your topic.

4. Create a great tagline with a link to your site

Write a short summary bio of who you are and where people can find out more about you. This is a great way to get a quality backlink to your site.

5. Pitch the post

Email the owner of your intended blog and let them know you have a blog post written that you would like for them to consider running on their site. Attach the post (and include it in the body of the email in case they can’t open the attachment). Tell them it’s exclusively theirs to use as long as they let you know they are interested in using it within 3 weeks (or whatever time limit you want to set). Tell them that after that time you will assume they are not interested and therefore will pitch it to other bloggers.

6. Put great posts on your site

If your guest post is accepted make sure that you find out the approximate day it will run and post some really awesome stuff on your site that day. You should be posting awesome stuff on your site anyway, but this day put y0ur best effort forward.

7. Reply to comments about the guest post

Be all over your guest post on the day it runs. If anyone posts a comment, reply to them. This is a great chance to interact with potential readers.

8. Repeat often

Guest post anywhere someone will let you. Readers will start seeing you everywhere and the thinking will generally be that you must be somebody, that you are an authority on your subject. Soon you’ll have your own readership base and people will be asking you to guest post.

Shelly Cone is a journalist, public relations professional, and press release writer. She is also the owner of Beach Betty Public Relations, a California lifestyle design company offering press release services, media relations and collaborative marketing events to help you design your life by growing your business.

Finding the inspiration to write

It happens to even the most prolific wordsmith, the most tenacious talkers; sometimes the words just don’t come. That feeling of being speechless, of having writer’s block is incredibly frustrating. On my desk I have a series of little toys. I have a bright red and white mushroom, a little Japanese plant pet thing, Play-doh, a Darth Vader head stress ball, and Smurfette among scattered sticky notes with scribbled blasts of inspiration. Everything around my workspace is set to foster creativity. Yet sometimes it just ain’t happening. That doesn’t stop the fact that work needs to be done right? So here are a few ways to fight word block and harness inspiration.

Get up and walk around

This works so often and so quickly that I now pull out a pad and pen and set them on my desk before I get up to walk away. Something about a change of scenery or letting your mind work on the idea in your subconscious while you do something else causes the ideas to come rushing forward. Maybe it’s the mere act of getting the blood pumping, who knows.

Freewriting

This is a technique you  might have learned in English class but it helps. Just start writing. Anything. Really. Just start out with this sentence “I am writing on this stupid blank piece of paper because I have no other ideas but I need to get a post done because my readers are waiting on another pearl of wisdom from me and what happens if they don’t get it they will be sad and their day will be less awesome …” Seriously go on from there. Write silly, don’t worry about punctuation or paragraphs or keeping to a single idea, by the middle to the end of the page your writing should start forming a solid idea for a blog post.

Visit some inspirational sites

There are bloggers I love because something in their writing, site design or energy inspires me. Lots of times these aren’t even bloggers in my niche. When I am having a hard time with a post, I’ll take a break and read some of these sites and then come back to my post a little refreshed.

Peruse your swipe file

What you don’t have one? You most definitely should have a swipe file. It should contain all the wondrous, amazing things you see on the Internet so that you can use those ideas as inspiration for your own. This file should be so bursting at the seams with creative ideas that just glancing in its very direction will leave you dripping in creative juices.

Know when to give up

Sometimes you need to recognize when you are simply trying too hard to push an idea. It may be a good idea, but maybe it’s not the right time for it. Scrap it and start from scratch on something else. You can always go back to that idea at a later date–maybe after it’s been in the swipe file mingling with the brilliance therein.

When you hit that block and the inspiration just doesn’t seem to come, keep in mind that the most successful people in the world face that same feeling from time to time. Don’t fight it. Use it as an excuse to take a break, relax and free your mind. Only a free mind can harness inspiration.

Shelly Cone is a journalist, public relations professional, and press release writer. She is also the owner of Beach Betty Public Relations, a California lifestyle design company offering press release services, media relations and collaborative marketing events to help you design your life by growing your business.

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When most people start blogging, whether it’s business or personal, there usually isn’t a definite strategy. Most people just write and see what sticks. Of course, you may have some inkling of what you need to write but no real clue if it’s the right content. I write for my own blogs, as well as newspaper articles for an alternative newsweekly and I manage the blogs of several businesses. That’s in addition to the press release services I provide and the article marketing and web content writing I do. My point is, I’m often called “prolific.”

Turns out it’s not hard to be prolific. You already know your market inside and out. In fact nobody knows your market better than you. And that’s an important point to remember because that’s where your killer content is going to come from.

How to write killer content for your blog

Create a strategy

Don’t go at it haphazardly. What is it you want your content to do for you? More than likely you want it to bring in money. Some people write for fame. But most people want money. So that is an important element of your strategy to recognize. You want your content to cause people to open their wallets, take out some coin and give it to you. So your content has to persuade them to do that. Keep that in mind as you go forward.

Give to receive

If someone is going to feel obligated to give you something you need to first give them the feeling of obligation. Or more accurately, the feeling that they’ve received something of value. Give that to them in knowledge. Your content should make their life better, solve their problems, pick up after their dog. (Whoa, wouldn’t that be cool if your content could do that?) Seriously, though, your content needs to provide something so valuable that readers think “Wow, this is so awesome I’m going to share it with others. I can’t believe this information is just out there for free.” Or something like that.

Most importantly think in simple terms

Because you are an expert you probably think you need to pass on wonderfully insightful information on your topic. But it’s likely that your readers aren’t as expert as you. They are probably looking for the simple answers while you are busy trying to provide insight into new trends. Most people are looking for answers to common questions and most questions require the how-to type of answers. If you sell products provide a series of “how to assemble,” “Other common uses” “How others have used this product” “How to extend the life of” blog posts. It doesn’t always have to be written text. You can run a series of “How others have creatively used our products” and run pictures submitted from readers.

If you sell services you can do something similar. Write blog posts on topics that cover the very basics. If you are an accountant for example, you can certainly win points with a post about the latest tax breaks, but what about “the best way to organize your paperwork now to make filing easy next year” or the “top ten changes you can make now to save $1,000 by Dec.”?

Ask for the money

You’ve provided something of value and it’s an unspoken that you’ll want something in return. But people won’t just be compelled to give up their hard earned dollars if you don’t ask. So ask. Do that with a call to action. Make sure that customers know how to reach you. If you sell products your blog posts should reference your main site whenever possible. It should be a link like “Here’s a list of features of this product” or to see options availble with this product visit our main site www.YourSiteHere.com For services you can always add to certain posts a link that invites readers to contact you for more information. Don’t overdo it however, or you run the risk of coming across like you are selling and that defeats the whole purpose of your blog.

Keep your blog content simple and you’ll not only have plenty ideas for valuable posts you’ll hit the target when it comes to giving your readers what they want.

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By now, it’s pretty common knowledge that having a blog is good for business. It is. But why stop there? A blog can be used as a very straightforward tool or it can be used to annihilate the competition. Or, depending on your aggression level, leave them in the dust. When you plan is internet domination for your keyword or industry then one blog just won’t do. You need to get vertical.

How to dominate your market with niche blogs

Chances are your product or service can have multiple uses. One of my clients sells a product that keeps ice from forming under boat docks in the winter. That same product is also used by duck hunters to open up holes in the ice of a frozen pond. Another product they have prevents condensation in boats that are covered up in the winter. That same product is used for keeping mold and mildew from forming in RVs, cabin closets and gun safes. When you can identify other uses for your product or services then you will start to see vertical markets that you haven’t taken advantage of — yet.

At the heart of my business is writing. I’m a writer when you boil it all down. But I have three distinct markets I deal in. I have a market with internet marketers who are great at selling but not so good at the writing part. I provide the content they need to sell their products. However, I also cater to small and mid-sized businesses. Same thing. They are good at their business, they outsource the rest. But I also have a market in other public relations companies. Larger PR firms specialize in media campaign strategy that I don’t deal in, so they often outsource the writing work and concentrate on the real hand-holding and complex marketing that big corporations need. These are merely the three markets I choose to engage, there are many more out there that I could target if I really had the time.

If you sit down and think about it there are probably several markets that you haven’t even thought about breaking into. Identify those markets and start blogs in each.

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Let’s break it down step by step

1. If you sell flowers, along with your company blog, start a Wedding Flowers blog. Focus it on everything you ever wanted to know about choosing flowers for your wedding.

2. Make a list of about 50 different blog posts you could write. Don’t worry about writing them now just list the topics. For example, “Choosing flowers for a winter wedding,” “The top 10 wedding flower trends of 2010″ “Flower meanings” “Silk vs. fresh flowers” etc.

3. Start writing or hire someone to write them. Try eLance or oDesk for freelancers that can write those first 50 articles for you.

4. Buy a domain as close to the subject as possible. It should have nothing to do with your company name. So in this case it will be “Wedding Flowers” or “Wedding Flowers Ideas”.

5. Slap together a pretty generic blog that focuses on the content of the blog posts. You can pretty it up but you really want it to serve as a valuable tool for visitors not necessarily sell to them or get them lost in widgets and gadgets.

6. Link to your blog. Within the posts link to other helpful blogs and websites (not competition) but also link to your main website. You can do this with a blogroll but you really want to link to it within the posts. Don’t be overzealous, but do sprinkle in the links when you can. For instance the posts all talk about wedding flowers but say you mention something about finding flowers to match your wedding dress. Link “wedding dress” to a bridal shop or an article about finding wedding dresses and link the words “wedding flowers” to your own company site.

7. Schedule the 50 posts on the site and then get started on the next 50. You want to keep your site updated as much as you do your main site or blog.

8. Identify the next market, maybe it’s funerals, maybe it’s a series of seasonal sites (Christmas, Valentines Day etc.) that posts hard and heavy during that particular season, and repeat the steps above for that market.

To gain total control of your market you want to reach your customers from various directions, give them the help they need and be there for them when they are ready to buy.

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When you’re dealing with an online business it’s easy to stay safely invisible behind your computer and let your business do the talking. Sometimes people who feel uncomfortable selling or networking offline start businesses online because they believe there is anonymity in cyberspace. They are right to an extent, but to see real gains in your business or in brand recognition you’ve got to get out there and be social. Yes, I’m talking network, same as you would do in the offline world. You’ve got to pound the pavement so to speak, except that you’re pounding bandwidth.

The benefits of social networking for online businesses

1. You will gain traffic–Traffic is good for business. The more traffic the better right? By getting out there and getting to know people interested in your particular niche you will attract them to your site as well. Visit blogs related to your business. Leave genuine comments or add to the conversation. Interact with your business’ Facebook fans. Make sure you are active on your own blog as well promptly responding to comments and questions. The more you reach out the more people will start looking for you.

2. You will build brand recognition–When you start networking online it’s like you are leaving a cyber calling card everywhere you go. Suddenly people are seeing you on Facebook then they are seeing you commenting on one of their favorite blogs. Then they see you on another blog. All of a sudden it seems like you are everywhere. Your brand will stick in their minds and it becomes recognizable. The best part is you didn’t have to shell out big bucks for advertising.

3. It’s free–Like I said, you don’t have to spend advertising dollars to use social networking to your advantage. It’s completely free. The only thing you have to invest is your time.

How to maximize your social networking time

Of course, you do still have a business to run and you can’t be a social butterfly all day long. So you maximize the time you spend social networking with a strategy. You want to make the biggest social network impact in the shortest amount of time.

1. Identify related blogs–This could be blogs that are competition. Well you definitely want to check out what the competition is doing but you can also want to find blogs that relate to your industry. So if you sell silk flowers maybe you want to hang around some bridal blogs. Right? Just like you would do in the offline world. Identify 10 blogs/businesses whose radar you’d like to cross and start networking. Comment on their blogs, add valuable comments.

2. Find out where your customers are socializing–Where are your customers going for information. If they are going to bridal websites or forums that offer resources or tips that’s the perfect place for you to hang around and contribute. Offer to guest post something about your industry, like “Why silk flowers are a better choice for your winter wedding.” The important thing is to find out what sites your customers are visiting and be there. They’ll see you.

3. Set aside a finite period each day to  participate in social networking–Maybe it’s just an hour a day, maybe it’s two, but be consistent. Another approach is to set a goal for the number of comments you want to leave or how many tweets and retweets you want to post. Start out by promising to visit 5 blog sites and leaving five valuable comments a day. Then adjust from there.

The internet makes it easier to be even more social than offline marketing does. It may seem overwhelming at first but setting a plan and getting social can reap big rewards for your business.

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Whether you are updating a business blog or sending out a press release, you probably have a sentence at the top of the page called a headline. You thought only newspapers had those I bet. Nah, just about any piece of writing that contains information has a headline. It’s the thing that calls out to potential readers telling them why they want to read what you’ve written.

What’s your headline style?

Do you simply write one informative sentence explaining what the reader will learn? For example:

“How to Write a Headline”

Do you get a little snarky?

“Your Headline Sucks, Read How It’s Done”

Or do you draw on their curiosity?

“The 10 Best Headlines You’ve Never Seen”

A headline should do a little of all those things. However, keep in mind your main purpose for a headline. If you are trying to gain more readers go with something a little more snappy or draw on their curiosity. But if you want to get the attention of search engines you are better off going for a straight forward title.

What’s the best headline you’ve seen lately?

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Your website provides the world with all the necessary information about your business and your products. Yet everyone is telling you you need a business blog. You ask ‘Why?’

I say, because you need a ‘voice.’ Not necessarily you but your business and no one can get a sense of that voice by just looking at your website. Because here’s the thing, your website is boring. Yeah, I know you spent extra for the flash/splash page animated whatever but it’s still a business website to me, the web surfer/potential customer. Your website is not going to give me a feeling that I know you. But your blog will.

Take a look around my blog. The writing you see, the advice I give, that’s pretty much what you get if you talk to me in person. Conversely, if you just look at a page that lists my services, maybe my prices and contact information, it doesn’t give you a feel for who I am.

That’s where a blog comes in. Your company blog shouldn’t be a vehicle to pitch sales. It should give customers a peek inside your inner thoughts. What are you about? How do your processes take place? Who’s behind the company? Those are the things a blog should cover. Web customers are different than other types of customers because they want to know that stuff.

It’s easy for anyone to put up a website, but you never know who’s behind it. That makes it easy for scam artists, or anyone else for that matter, to have a presence on the web. To gain trust of a web customer you need to make them feel like they know you. Accomplish this with a business blog.

So what information should your blog contain?

• Introduce not so visible employees
• Employ YouTube to give your customers a walking tour of your facility or processes
• Show them how something is made.
• Talk about current topics in the news that relate to your industry and talk about how your company feels about them.

Don’t be afraid to let your guard down a bit. Embrace a friendly personal tone with your blog. Your business blog doesn’t have to be a chore either. Hire someone like me who offers affordable public relations including blog maintenance or find an employee who embodies what your company is about and have them maintain it. Either way it’s an important part of your public relations plan.

Your customers want to know you. What are you going to tell them?

Once upon a time, a long, long, time ago, I was a real estate agent. A pretty good one too. In fact, my husband and I worked as a team and we were named top sales agents for our office. Early on we had decided to enlist the help of a coach and that made all the difference. We got a lot of good advice from that coach but the number one thing we took from our weekly coaching sessions was that sales is a numbers game and in order to play you’ve got to have enough numbers. In our case it was 40 a day. We were told to “touch” or basically contact 40 people a day in order to get enough negative responses that would lead to positive contacts. I think the numbers worked this way;  you touch 40 people and of those you’ll get three leads and of those three leads one will be a sale.

So we found the easiest way to touch 40 people a day. Instead of door knocking like most other agents we decided to go to businesses. You’ve got a captive audience and they almost have to be nice to you. We never took advantage of that, merely coming in introducing ourselves as real estate agents and then leaving. But the numbers worked every time.

I’m not saying there’s a magic formula to sales but yes, I kind of am. Back in the day it was called networking. And whatever you want to call it, touching people, networking, whatever, I’ve always been a big believer in it. With social media it’s easier than ever to do it. Want to grow your email list or drive traffic to your site? It’s not going to happen if you sit back and list your site on a few blog directories. You need to work it. You need to touch people. I’ve heard from some bloggers that they drive traffic by commenting on 50, and even 100 sites a day. When you are making that many contacts on a daily basis you are bound to make some connections and gain some followers.

Try it. How many people will you touch today?

I was recently working on a blog I started for a client of mine. Since it’s new it has a small readership as of yet. And so logging in to the admin area and creating posts is kind of a lonely feeling. There is something cold and strange about it, and so I am always happy to get back to this one, and even more so to my personal blog These Are the Salad Years. It’s not just this client’s blog. I also have another client like that, as well as another blog I’m starting for my other business venture.

It’s strange to just put something out there in cyberspace. It’s strange to log in to your Dashboard and feel like you are a one man show. But it also reminds me of the early days of both my blogs. It’s normal to question why you are even bothering to blog. Whether your website will even draw traffic and why anyone would even care. But that’s simply a hurdle to get over. Every blogger out there–every single one, including the biggies–started out feeling like they were simply dumping their thoughts into some void. Maybe they didn’t hold that belief for long, but I guarantee that with those first keystrokes in that very first blog post that’s what they were thinking.

There is only one cure for that lonely feeling: be social. Yeah, seems obvious huh, but how often are you social? Is it enough? If you still have that lonely feeling and you’ve been blogging for some time, then you aren’t being social enough. Getting out there will do two things: first it will take the lonely out of you, and two it will drive traffic to your site.

Every blogger has felt the way you do about your early blog efforts, but what separates the big guys who aren’t lonely from the newbies who are, is their persistence and their level of social networking. So get your post done and get out there already!

What do you do when you have a terrific site and no traffic? How do you build up a following? Well you can blog all day, spilling valuable secrets but if you don’t have traffic then obviously no one is reading. And you are definitely not making money. To do that you need an email list.

The best way to get your list going and to start making money from that list is to give things away. I’m not talking about free samples, raffles or other such goodies. Information is probably the easiest thing for you to compile and is probably very much in demand. You likely possess knowledge that others would love to have. Think for a second. No matter what niche you are in there is information others would like from you. If you are a dog trainer, you probably could come up with a book about 101 tips for a more obedient dog.

You ebook doesn’t have to be long, 5-12 pages would work, but do be sure to make it valuable. Then give it away in exchange for signing up for your newsletter or joining your email list. You can use an email program like Aweber that will allow you to create a sign up form and place it on your site. On the thank you page include the download to your ebook. So when someone signs up they will get a message thanking them for signing up for your list and with the link to your free ebook.

But let me say this one more time, give them value. You are asking them for a valuable piece of information–their email address–so be sure to give them the same.

What other methods do you employ to build up your email list?