Blogging to make money online? How can a solo online business owner pounce on this opportunity?
There are a number of ways to make money online with blogging. I know when many solo webpreneurs think of juggling the writing of articles , blogs, social media posts, and creating other multi media channels to increase visibility, it causes instant creative paralysis. It makes your head want to explode. However, there are some major benefits to be gained if you can wrangle some of these platforms and use them effectively in your business. One such way is learning how to use blogging to get more traffic and sales.
Now, unless you are an author by trade, coming up with fresh and engaging blog posts two-three times per week can seem a bit intimidating. However, it may be one of the best ways to get people to notice you above your competitors.
I came across a post by Francois Muscat who sites some interesting research numbers from a study conducted by BuzzLogic/Jupiter Research. The study polled “2,000 online consumers found that blogs were a prime influencer of purchase decisions“.
Here are some of the results Muscate highlights from the study:
50 percent of blog readers said they found blogs useful for purchase information.
Blog readers trusted relevant blog content for making purchase decisions more than content from social networking sites.
For those who have found blog content useful for product decisions, more than half (56 percent) said blogs with a niche focus and topical expertise were key sources.
What are the ways blog readers make use of the information? Use it to discover products and services (17 percent). Refine their choices (19 percent). Decide on a product or service (21 percent). Get support and answers (9 percent).
Twenty-five percent of blog readers say they trust ads on a blog they read. Nineteen percent say they trust ads on social networking sites.
It’s clear by looking at the numbers that a consistent and well written blog will garner the know, like and trust elements needed to drive visitors to buy from you. Because of the perceptions of overwhelm when it comes to blogging, many online business owners skip it altogether and jump right into social media and get frustrated with lackluster results. If you ever wondered why that is, maybe these numbers provide some “ah ha” moments for you.
Not only is blogging key to the obvious benefit of helping to boost your search engine positioning, it is imperative in establishing credibility, conversation and connection with your visitors. In addition to influencing consumer’s buying decisions, it also arms you with a content marketing arsenal that can be re purposed into other forms to increase your reach and influence.
Another important take away from the study is the fact that “blog readers trusted relevant blog content for making purchase decisions more than content from social networking sites”. A key indicator that we need to be strategic in employing social media into our marketing mix. If most consumers look to social media to converse verses looking for products or services, perhaps the best strategy is to talk to consumers in social media and inform them on your blog.
As you evaluate your marketing activities and their ROI, make sure you consider how blogging to attract clients will fit into your overall strategy!
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Content marketing more than anything is considered as “THE” marketing strategy of today. Not only does it address the need of businesses to acquire and maintain a HOT consumer base, thus driving profits, it also fills the need of consumers for relevant and valuable information that help them take informed profitable action. If that hasn’t convinced you enough on the merits of content marketing here are 10 reasons why you should be using it in your business.
1) To Establish Yourself as a Credible Expert
Content marketing thrives on the creation and sharing of valuable and relevant information to a defined consumer base or prospective consumer group over a period of time. The keywords here are valuable and relevant, two things that distinguish content marketing from interruption marketing which it has taken over. By repeatedly providing information that’s relevant both to your business and to your customers, you gain the reputation of being an expert in the field, greatly benefitting the credibility of your brand.
2) To Make it Easier for Customers to Trust & Buy
Content marketing goes beyond giving a sales pitch into providing information that your customers actually want to know. By moving away from the traditional way of marketing that is full of interrupting strategies such as advertisements, you set your business up to be accepted more by consumers because the information you provide makes them feel like they know your brand well thus developing trust.
3) Provides You an Opportunity to Educate Your Customers
An informed customer makes better purchasing decisions making content marketing a win for both of you.
4) To Escape the Month to Month Marketing Trap
Most online business owners get so wrapped up in the technologies that support their marketing efforts, that they don’t have time to focus on the big picture. This puts you in a “last minute” planning cycle where things are put into motion without a proper strategy in place. A solid Content Marketing strategy provides you with cushion. It gives you a way to accomplish all the awesome ideas you want to implement but takes away the stress and panic of trying to do it all at once and blindly.
5) To Create Content that Drives Customers to Act
Content marketing enables you to present vital information about your product and the need for it without coming off as if you’re selling it. This sharing of content establishes a connection with customers that breaks down sales resistance.
6) To KNOW your customers want, needs and pains
Content Marketing promotes real conversation. It, more than any other medium represents what the web 2.0 movement is all about, a two way communication. When your prospects don’t feel like they are being sold but nurtured, they will drop their objectivity and more willingly engage with you and your message. Helps to create products people will buy if they are telling you what they want, right?
7) To Stop Wasting Time and Money
Content marketing adapts your business to consumer attitudes and preferences of the here and now. People want information and they know how to get it. So stop wasting your time on ineffective advertising strategies that people tend to ignore nowadays.
8) To Get Of f the Internet Marketing Merry-go-round
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein. Isn’t that where most webpreneurs find themselves? Spinning your wheels trying to get somewhere with no real compass to get there is just insane. Content Marketing stops the merry go round and puts you on a real path to success.
9) To make Developing Products & Services people want easier
Content marketing establishes a connection between your business and customers that is built on the trust that you are also after the interest of the customer more than just making a profit. This makes it easier for customers to give feedback on the products and services that you offer thus making development of these things more customer-centered and less of a guesswork.
10) To Achieve the Success and Impact your desire
Content marketing is the here and now of marketing. Traditional marketing means no longer work effectively because people now have a better knowledge of what they want and they know just how to get it. By adopting content marketing to your business, you allow this shift in consumer attitude to work to your advantage, ensuring the success of your business venture.
With people spending more and more time online than they do anywhere else, many online business owners battle through technology and trends to get their attention. It isn’t unusual to see pop up, slide over, video or audio ads on webpages you visit, in fact they are very common and often successful form of interruption marketing. However, since you have to get people to your site to experience this, you have to cast a wider net and what about the folk who don’t fall for the hovering opt in form? Where does that leave a good marketing strategy? Yes, my friends, diversity is the name of the game and it seems content marketing is fast emerging as the way to go when it comes to reaching and connecting with potential customers. So, businesses have turned to that and a variety of websites, blogs, and other online media with the aim of providing customers with the necessary information to drive them to take a profitable consumer action. The problem is, it’s difficult for a solo online buiness owner with limited time and budget to sustain this kind of undertaking; that is, without a plan.
Your business can gain a lot from using the content marketing model. So, outlined below are steps on how you can create a simple three month online content delivery plan that can help you set up your business for success.
1. Choose a product/service you want to sell
First and foremost know what you are dealing with. Remember, content marketing is all about providing relevant and valuable information to your potential customers. Identify what product or service you want to sell and focus your research on the market or the industry that it belongs to. Mastery of the product or service you are trying to sell is key.
2. Choose a Monthly Theme that relates to your product or service
When you know what product or service you want to promote each month, try to think of a concept or a theme that will work well around it. Get creative with this one because how you present it will largely determine if people will stick around to know more about it. Choose a different theme per month so there will be some variety and keep people checking for anything new. When in doubt, take a look at an observance calendar to find fun ways to deliver your offerings to your audience.
3. Identify what type of content you want to deliver and how frequently
With the different kinds of media available to you online, pick one that is best suited to your message. Social sites, web blogs, online newsletters, all of these have their own advantages and disadvantages and it is up to you to determine how to work a particular medium’s strengths to your content delivery needs. Don’t employ these methods just because everyone is doing it. Make sure it is the right option for your resources. Otherwise, it can fall flat. Also, plan out a schedule on when you are to deliver your content. This is often neglected by some, but shouldn’t be because it’ll help you keep track of the success of your content and will help you trend on your progress.
4. Publish your content
Once you’ve chosen the appropriate medium for your type of content, it’s time to put it out there. Take on the mindset of a “publisher” instead of a “seller” so that you can come off as more credible as you gift to your potential customers the information they are seeking.
5. Get Feedback: Track What Works and Why
As you release your content, don’t forget to provide avenues from which your customers can give their feedback. This will make it easier for you to improve on matters that they find problematic or to build on ones that they find useful. Make sure you utilize analytics tools to look at the hard numbers and access the impact of your return on investment.
Content marketing is the today’s hot new “it” marketing strategy. It’s better suited to meet customer demands as well as business sale’s goals, content marketing benefits both ends by being able to provide customers with relevant and valuable information while at the same time driving them to take better profitable action. So how does one capitalize on the merits of content marketing? Here are some ways on how to become as content marketing superstar.
1) Develop a Content Marketing Mindset
Get yourself out of the traditional marketing mindset that centers on selling your product and services through constantly bombarding potential customers with advertisements or what they call interruption marketing. This method isn’t suited to the times anymore as people are now more likely to unsubscribe or simply ignore overt selling. Get yourself into the mindset that people nowadays want to get educated more than anything. They want to be in the know and have the information needed to make an informed decision on how to spend their hard earned dollars.
2) Re-Think How You Market Your Products and Services
As previously mentioned, you have to get off the horse of traditional marketing because it is no longer effective. With content marketing you broaden your avenues for bringing awareness and relevance to your products and services. A lot of new media is available for you to consider such as online newsletters, podcasts, websites, and microblogs. All of these forms have their advantages and disadvantages so plan you intend to market your business and work with a format that will play particularly well to your talents and resources.
3) Commit to the Process
Content marketing is all about consist delivery of high quality content. Once you’ve taken it on, commit yourself to providing your customers with the information they need. Through constant exposure and contact with your customers, you establish your expertise as well as influence in your market. This sets up a trust between you and the customer that will be greatly rewarded with an increase in profitable consumer action as well as repeat businesses.
4) Consider Yourself a Publisher
Getting into the mindset of content marketing means that you now take a different primary role. You are no longer just someone selling a product or offering a service, you have now become a publisher. By embracing this role, you will better be able to work for the interest of your target audience and give them relevant and valuable information.
5) Focus on Entertaining and Adding Value
Engage your customers with your content by focusing on entertaining as well as adding value to your content. This will be the means by which they will continue to patronize your brand and give you their attention.
6) Create a Schedule for Delivery
Again, consistency is key not only in matters of content, but also on when it gets to your customers. By defining a schedule you can easily keep track of the success of your content over time.
7) Systemize your plan and appoint someone to manage the process
A good team and a good strategy are key to the success of content marketing. By having someone manage it, you can define guidelines and standards for the production of content so you remain consistent.
Content marketing is a better fit with the web 2.0 model. The consumer is in control. Like the fans of a music artist or actor, it is their acceptance and magnetism toward you that will catapult you to success. So, if you wanna be a superstar in your market and have the ability to change the world, start implementing these steps today! Lights, Camera ACTION!
If you are like most solo online business owners, you have become ensnared with all the intricacies of marketing your business. So, much so, that you have totally lost the passion and zeal for operating in your expertise. You may even be second guessing whether this was such a good idea to begin with.
There are so many cool things you can do to reach customers online. The problem is… there are so many things you can do to reach customers online. And, we find ourselves trapped in a web of half completed systems in our business that causes us to slow down and become ineffective in our marketing. So, your business stalls.
If this sounds like you, here are six steps to free yourself of the sticky traps of the how and focus on the “ what” and “why” to build a profitable online presence.
Re-visit “Why” You are in business
When you first started your entrepreneurial journey, you had so much optimism, fire and passion to change people’s lives as well as your own. What happened? The thrift of online business start up, in my opinion, weakens the muscles needed to grow a business. As a result, our vision and purpose gets lost and our voice gets muted as we find ourselves trying to get the technology to work so we can start to move. Things change so fast in the online marketing game that while you are trying to figure out the right auto-responder sequence. People have moved on to another marketing trend of the moment to get customers. And, guess what? You are missing out because you can’t even articulate who you are anymore because your brain is fried.
Define “What” it is you are offering
According to a survey done by Foster Research, 90% of customers go online to make buying decisions. So, if you are murky on what your solutions to the problems people are searching to solve are, no one is going to care that you have an awesome website or free “fill in the blank” to offer. When you get caught up in the “how” like what email to send, how often etc. It’s not going to matter how often you communicate with your list, because you have not defined what the result of working with you will be. Look at your own inbox and you will see that it is mostly filled with information you could care less about. So ,you need to ask yourself, how you can communicate more value and meaning to the lives and use of your target audience.
Discover the place where your brilliance breaks through
Online, content is everything and another area where webpreneurs get lost is in operating in areas that don’t suit their natural passion. If you are trying to write weekly blogs and you hate writing or are too busy, you won’t be able to get people to connect to your message. People can’t know you if they don’t see you, like you if they don’t know you or trust you if you are invisible. So, if you can speak, record it then transcribe it. I have found that if you can just talk about what you do and the issues that people have that you exist to solve, the brilliance of you just flows naturally and abundantly. So start there and re-purpose to reach a broader audience.
Plan to do something, not everything
This is a biggie. If you want a news letter because Guru X said you need a newsletter to build your list or a radio show because Guru Y said so, you will find yourself in a horrible tailspin if there is no strategy in place for YOUR vision. I know that traffic generation is the goal but you have to start somewhere and the “do-it-all” approach will leave you and your business broke down, especially if you don’t have a team or the financial resources to get help with implementation. So try the small, slow and steady approach. This way you can develop a rhythm that works for you as well as get more intimate with what your target audience’s pains are.
Commit to an action plan
Don’t allow yourself to become like a dog chasing a ball. Discipline yourself to commit to the plan of action you create. Don’t be distracted by new programs or events. Just work your plan. Those things will always be there. Besides, how many programs have you purchased that you actually use in your business to affect?
Limit your Influencers
Piggybacking off the previous point, try to limit those you follow or employ for advice to a limit of 1-2 people. Anymore will just clog you brain space and render you paralyzed. Stay focused and you will be productive and profitable.
Remember, time is money and the more time you spend trying to do everything and listen to everyone about YOUR business, the less money you will make. So dream big and work smart to see your online business become a web wide success.
With the advent of new media, traditional ways of marketing don’t suffice anymore or simply don’t work . People tend to skip through advertisements when watching television, skim through webpages for content that they need and consciously ignore all material that are blatantly selling them something. With this change in consumer practice, content marketing has taken a foothold by being able to strike at people’s increased need for education as they gain access to newer forms of media brought about by the internet. Til now, the strategic content marketing trend has largely been leveraged by bloggers and mid-size to larger business. But nowadays, a simple content marketing strategy can go a long way for a webpreneur, especially if you give it something extra to stand out. To help you with that here is a list of five simple ways to jumpstart your content marketing strategy.
1) Create a signature series.
What better way to identify yourself than to create a signature series that will carry your brand’s vision and identity thus giving your content and your business in general a better recall from customers.
2) Choose content formats that are easy to produce
Different forms of media are available from which you can produce your content so choose one that will best deliver your message to your customers. Know first your available resources and from that work out which format is best suited for you. Email and websites are common choices because they hardly cost anything and only require your time and great content. Other formats such as custom magazines and print or online newsletters require a little more in terms of “packaging” your content. Go with your strengths and your resources.
3) Create a calendar or timeline for production
A good strategy always comes along with a great deal of planning. Get organized. Assuming you already have a targeted customer base, figure out a schedule of when content gets to them. Remember in content marketing, you only establish your credibility through repetitive contacts with your customers, so make sure that you plan your timeline well.
4) Determine who will manage this process
Have a team setup for this purpose only and assign someone will manage it. By doing so your content remains cohesive all throughout. Pick someone adept on your business goals and vision while at the same time has the creativity to deliver these messages the best way possible. With a content manager, guidelines, standards, branding, voice tone and messaging, and the quality control process are tracked and guided properly so that your content remains consistent no matter what format you produce it.
5) Ask for feedback, duplicate what works and improve on what doesn’t.
The great thing about content marketing is the connection it builds between your business and your customers over time. Given this great opportunity, maximize it by incorporating their feedbacks into your marketing strategy. People are glad enough to be able to find an avenue to voice out their concerns on products and services so give them that. It works to your advantage because then you will be able to improve on your business while building on their trust.
Content marketing is a term commonly used to cover all marketing strategies or formats that deal with the creation and distribution of relevant and valuable content geared at engaging potential customers and making repeat businesses with those who are already customers. This approach to marketing is different from traditional marketing or interruption marketing as it is more commonly called, which focuses on directly selling products and services to consumers through advertisements which are strategically placed where these customers are likely to be found.
What makes content marketing different? Three words…”relevant” and “valuable” and consistent delivery of content. While traditional marketing focuses on content aimed at directly selling products, content marketing focuses on providing consumers with the necessary information to make a good choice whether or not they choose to buy your product or service. And doing so consistently. This approach may have been unthinkable before given the ease by which advertisements provide recall and identity to a brand, but the advancements in technology that have made information easier to be distributed has caused a shift in how people approach products and services, they now want to know more about what they are looking at before they get it. It is no wonder then that content marketing has become the chosen marketing strategy of businesses in recent years.
Here are some of the other advantages of content marketing and why you should make a shift if you want your online business to be successful.
Builds customer trust and confidence.
When you are in touch with the needs of your customers and you willingly provide it to them without any hidden agenda, they break down their sales resistance and respond better to your product or service. Content marketing allows you to educate your customers on the industry and the relevance of your product or service without it sounding like a sales pitch. As you continue to provide them with information, you begin to establish your credibility in their eyes thus building their trust of your brand as an authority in your field. This leads to increased consumer action and more repeat businesses.
Effects last longer.
Unlike other forms of marketing, publishing your content via a blog, a microsite, or other online media will continue to provide traffic long after you’ve posted them. Given that you have high-quality content posted, anyone who stumbles upon your content even months after you initially published it can still potentially become a customer.
Economical.
Content marketing makes good use of your time, energy and money. In most cases, money isn’t even the biggest issue because you don’t have to spend as much as you have to for ads. The real investments would have to be time and effort because great content only comes out through the most extensive planning, research, and execution.
Reaches your target audience.
With content marketing you can lock on to a specific consumer base and reap tremendous success from it. This is because content marketing allows you to optimize and create your content based on the specific interests or needs of your target customers plus allows you to distribute it in formats most suited to them.
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