People who work in sales, know about marketing. Whether you’re a blogger, business owner or at-home parent, you’ve probably been visited at least once or twice by a door to door salesman or saleswoman. If you’re anything like me, chances are you find this simultaneously annoying and fascinating, and here’s why: It’s almost impossible to say no to these people! My logical brain is telling me, “Shut the door! You don’t need to spend $100 … [Read more...]
Are Your Headlines Good, or Are They Irresistible?
We're bloggers. We're not award winning authors (okay, I guess some of us are... not me though) so it's only natural for us to struggle with our headlines from time to time. I'll admit, despite my degree in writing I still write mediocre headlines from time to time. No blogger is immune, for sure. But if you don't know this already, you really should be aware of the fact that your headline is in most cases what will stand between you and … [Read more...]
Why Do Bloggers Quit
Recently, when I linked up to a blogger party, I noticed many new blogger faces. Then, I recognized, maybe, a handful of bloggers faces from parties that I attended last year. What happened? Where did everyone go? So, I did some searching and I discovered a few statistics. According to this 2009 article appearing in, The New York Times, "According to a 2008 survey by Technorati, which runs a search engine for blogs, only … [Read more...]
The Humiliating Twitter Conversation That Changed Everything
New bloggers make all kinds of mistakes. We all do. And it's okay... as long as we use them as opportunities to learn. Today, I want to share the story of one of the mistakes I made that completely changed the way I think about blogging and marketing in general. A bright-eyed and bushy tailed newbie, I set out to find the most effective, efficient blog marketing strategy. I cam across an all-too-vague … [Read more...]
How To Earn Back What You Spend On Blog Conferences
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a blogging conference here in Salt Lake City. I spent $150 for the ticket, but I didn't have any additional travel expenses because I live nearby. What surprised me was the number of people who attended with me who had flown in from all over the country. I couldn't help but wonder, "Was it worth the expense?" That was, until I met a woman named Rachel Farnsworth of The Stay … [Read more...]
Simple Secrets to Getting Shares on Every Social Network
We bloggers love to see our content shared on social media, but we've all experienced the disappointment of watching our awesome work lingering in obscurity. The bad news is, the competition for readers' attention has never been fiercer. The good news is, there are some things you can do to tip the scales in your favor. If you hope to get shares on any platform, you can really benefit from spending some time thinking about why people use that … [Read more...]
5 Essential Elements of Your Blogging Strategy
These days, everybody and their cat seems to have a blog. If you have one now or if you're considering starting one, it's smart to have a strategy before you begin so your goals can inform each decision you make. Your strategy will impact the tone of your writing, the look and feel of your site, and the way you set things up to monetize your blog (assuming you want to). Today, I want to talk about some things you'll want … [Read more...]
How to Save Time and Sanity by Doing What Counts
This post was first published over at the Mommy Blogger Academy, but I wanted you guys to get it too. =) If you're part-time blogger you know that it's all about making the most of your time. Like most of us, you probably count the precious seconds you have the spare for your blog and sometimes you may not have any at all-- and that's okay. You can still have a successful blog. You just have to know what works and what doesn't... or … [Read more...]
Why Blogs Fail (3 Case Studies)
You've considered it. We all have. What if my blog goes nowhere? What if all my hard work lingers in obscurity forever? Is it worth it? Why do some bloggers meet with huge success while the majority of bloggers never make it long enough to make 20 bucks in Google Ad Revenue? Sure, it's not always about the money... Or is it? Even if you didn't start out thinking about things that … [Read more...]
Why Every Blogger Needs to Watch the New Hunger Games Movie
Think you're not a marketer? Think again. We're all marketers, bloggers or not, because we're all to some degree "selling" something. Whether that something is an idea, a lifestyle, a product, or an experience, we can all benefit from learning the basic principles of effective marketing. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, it's impossible to succeed in ANY endeavor without some degree of marketing knowledge. I talk a lot about … [Read more...]