Social media

How Small Business can increase profit in 30 days!

PaulFebruary 29, 2012

Google Chrome (Photo credit: thms.nl)

Always speak the truth, think before you speak, and write it down afterwards. Lewis Carroll

Imagine yourself wanting a certain item or service but you really don’t want to waste gas looking around. So you pull up you Ipad or your computer to Google for that particular subject. If you want to get the most value of the item or services that you are going to pay for, then keep reading. Most Small businesses aren’t thinking that way, they are expecting people to walk in and buy their stuff without first seeing what is available. I’ve come to the realization that 9 out of 10 small businesses in my local Evansville, Indiana aren’t using their business to the fullest on the internet.

It begins with Thinking outside the box!

No small or big business will ever be making their true potential by being like everyone else. I am not saying that you have to go to the extreme but there are ways you can make it more accessible to the clients that your looking for or who are looking for you. It takes 7 times for anyone to actually buy something from you or your company. If your not doing the Rules of 7 right now, you are not going to make the most out of your business. I recently found this out because I was looking for a job online trying to find business that I might be able to work for and I had a really good brain storm. Most of the local business here aren’t following the Rules of 7 and I am here to volunteer my services to anyone who might want help converting clicks into profit.

If you haven’t hired someone to do this then you are just asking for donations sort to speak. Not having a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a Foursquared account, and a website promoting the products or services, just makes your work that much harder. Just like Glasses USA [Affiliate Link], if you look at their website you will see they have a Facebook, Twitter, Email newsletter, and a Youtube account. Each of them are making Noise and make sure people see there product to click and buy. Just because you have them, doesn’t mean you should ignore them or not use them. You might have to pay someone to blog about your product or service but if you don’t then you are loosing potential from your product or even service. The harder someone has to look to find you the less likely they will find you, this is something that I’ve always believed in and will always blog about.

Customer Reviews

Another thing to consider when having a business is what are people saying about you on the internet. If your not monitoring these things then you are not going to fully understand your customers and that might hurt you in the long run. It is essential to have customers who will proclaim your product, for example Glasses USA [Affiliate Link]. On their Customer Testimonials Page [Affiliate Link], you can see that their constantly putting up the good things people are saying about their products. Thus they are showing potential customers just how well they are doing. It is however a good indication also when it comes to employees and if customers aren’t happy with someone’s performance this is also a great way to re-enforce the idea of customer loyalty.

Customer Loyalty

This is something you must always strive for because without that you will not make any money or profit won’t increase. Customers who are loyal to you might pay a little bit more if they feel your company is working hard for them, whether it be groceries or buying a car. If they feel like the company is the best they will go out of the way to tell people and also keep coming back, this I think is the best model to strive for. Nothing sells like word of mouth advertising but that also means you have to know your customers and make an effort to show them you are one of them. If your just trying to push your product then you are just trying to make money but if your showing them you care, then you are showing your potential customers more than just wanting to make money. Your showing them you care about your product or service and that you believe in it!

Know when you’ve done wrong!

Let’s face it, no company in the history of time has ever been a 100% right. There will always be times when a company did something or said something that makes them look EVIL. If you ignore that then you are telling your customers you don’t care, but if your acknowledged it and ask for forgiveness then you are telling your customers you really do care. Most small businesses aren’t hearing what is being said about them on the internet because they are blind to the idea that it isn’t something they should worry about, but I tell you this if your not worrying about it then you are risking your business to the word of mouth customers. There will always be two sides to the coin, even if you didn’t know now. You will know sooner or later because a customer might just bring it up when they call you asking why this other customer said that. If your not prepared what people are saying then you can’t possibly have a answer to the question and might even loose a potential customer because of it.

Some Local business to mention are:

I’m going to share with you some of the local businesses that I see that could benefit from this web post and encourage them to contact me if they are looking to make even more profit then they are now. I am willing to discuss in detail what they are doing wrong and help them improve their customer experiences for a small fee!

Bucks and Jakes Outfitters — Great website and Business location just needs to improve on what they are already doing!

Baumberger’s Furniture — One of those business that had to shrink down because they were not doing some of this already!

Penske Truck Rentals — I’ve check them out and they are good but they could do better!

Paradiseink — This is a new site but seems they need a lot of different things to help promote their service and products!

Desktopdoctors — This business has some stuff already doing that but could do even more!

These are just a few that I’ve been looking at the last few hours and realized that they could be doing some stuff really differently and bringing in even more customers. I think if you have read this article you probably are asking your self how you could make your business grow. If you follow these tips you could make even more money but it is all how you do it. If you like what you read please consider re-tweeting this and also posting it on Facebook and other social media sites!<

Paul Sylvester

Your Small Business: When to Expand, Sell or Close (Infographic) (noobpreneur.com)

HUGE Mistakes Most CEOs, Small Business Owners & Managers Are Making – What to Do Instead (growmap.com)

Why Having a Brand Evangelist Increases Conversions, Customer Satisfaction and Profits (growmap.com)

Choosing a Domain Name for Your Small Business Website (bizfilings.com)

4 Things you must do before hit publish!

PaulFebruary 22, 2012

It’s all about the readers!

I’ve not been one to say this much, but if your read my blog you know I care about my readers. I’m not saying that I will make your jaw drop most of the time but there are times that I think a blog post and want to help others when it comes to writing your own. In this article we will discuss some basic writing ideas that I’ve come to realize and want to share with you. I’m sure others have said something similar but I’m hoping to make it more understandable for the common reader and writer.

Before we can start talking about writing and blogging which to me are the same exact thing, some others might think of them differently. I wanted to at least ask you some questions that we will be exploring in this article.

Why are you blogging?

How to come up with a topic!

Know your Audience

Is there a Length limit?

What are you trying to accomplish?

Who Influences YOU?

FOCUS ON ONE QUALITY BLOG!(Affiliate Link)
Guest post on related high quality blogs.
Collaborate with social-media savvy bloggers.

In all things you do FOCUS on RELATED collaborations!

Quantity Equals Failure. Success Focuses on Quality!

When you started blogging did you think you should have more than one blog, I did. I even tried that in the last year but I found that I didn’t get any more money than when I was blogging by myself. I love to read what Gail writes about on her blog when she does because I get the most insight into how to blog just a little more. I must admit, I need to start having more RSS feeds and expand my reading to even more blogs. I have started to create a bigger list of blogs that I think I will enjoy to read on a weekly basis and this is my hope that I become a better blogger for you and others.

Writing Topics

Having been blogging for a few years, I’ve come to understand that if you don’t use the right topic, no one will come to visit your blog or read your blog post because it just doesn’t interest them to click. Some bloggers have done some great topics Like Shevonne, who writes about her new phase of life. She tries to get the reader involved and make them see that their is more to her than just about blog posts. If you read her blog post you will see that she actually does a great job at drawing the reader and making them think about their own life and what phase they are in. It is more engaging to the reader to actually have something to relate to whether it be on a blog or in person. Find a Topic and start typing, it really doesn’t have to be a big blog post but it helps if you let your mind wander and keep it coming.

Try to limit the Length of Post!

250 is enough
A long post is easier to forget and harder to get into. A short post is the opposite.

Problogger

This isn’t always going to work when it comes to writing those blog posts. I usually like to keep it under 1,000 words per post but I’ve found that sometimes, the more you write about a subject the more you will want to add to it. Sometimes, you need to experiment and see what your readers will read and what comments you get from them. I’ve even tried that with some of my latest blog posts but that isn’t always going to work for you and you should figure out what the sweet spot is for your blog.

Be Youself!

Trying to imitate someone is nice, and some may consider that flattery. I don’t know if it is me or if your here just to because your found this article interesting. Nothing can change who you are and who you will become, so just writing about a subject without at least adding your own flair of personality will not get you any where in getting people involved. People want to connect with you and see your flaws and your personality more than they want to read a HOW TO or reviewing an product. I’ve found this to be very true, if all your doing is just reviewing products, you may never see the true potential of revenue but if your connect with your readers in a blog post they will come back again, and again just because they want to see what else that makes you human!

Summary of the Post!

I’ve given you a lot to think about when you write a blog post and I am sure this isn’t going to be a
n easy article to digest but if your follow these rules then you will become a better writer and thus you will have people come to your blog more and more. After all, if your writing about anything, you are wanting to connect with your readers in one way or another and that is the main reason for blogging for me at least. Topics are only one way to engage the reader to come back time and time again. I write to connect with my readers and If you liked this blog post please feel free to share it with your friends and family. I’d love to hear your stories and comments because that helps me find out what I am doing wrong or what I am doing right.

If you like this post, feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed or Subscribe to my Email list. I send one out every time I publish a blog post, so you can keep up to date on what is going on my website.

Paul Sylvester

How to Get People to Pay You to Write (bloggingtips.com)

Three Ways of Writing Valuable Content for Your Web Design Blog (xemion.com)

Basic Things You Should Know About Writing (sabinianabalagtas.wordpress.com)

7 basic rules of writing web content (marketing.yell.com)

8 Basic Tips for Writing an Amazing White Paper (contently.com)

5 Essential Keys To Successful Blogging (contently.com)

The Anatomy of a Better Blog Post (problogger.net)

Finding your voice in sea of echo’s!

PaulJanuary 3, 2012

Image by arneheijenga via Flickr

“Nothing ventured is nothing gained!“

If anything I have learned is that sometimes it doesn’t always come easily. I’ve had my share of up’s and downs and that to say is something that I will always struggle with. If your wondering if you can start blogging but aren’t sure if any one will hear you. You’ll first want to answer a few questions and thus will help you understand your passion just that much more. Blogging is somewhat of an art and thus everybody will have a difference of opinion and that can make a better blog than not!

We’ve all seen people talking about Technology but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a unique perspective of it or that someone else could do a better job. Blogging isn’t just about blogging, it is the desire to fill people’s lives by sharing my experiences and techniques. I may not know everything about blog, I could use more college class time to learn write but that will only go so far.

It takes time!

If your wondering about those make money blogging promotions and hearing how you can earn money overnight, you might as well not even start blogging. I’ve heard my share of making money overnight or those one click button software’s. I have learned that writing isn’t always about being about money but about the people and the community. If you care about your community and be loyal to them then you are more likely to succeed then if your just making money. Blogging for money is hard and can result in some cash but I have learned that nothing comes easily.

It takes effort!

Writing isn’t always going to be easy or even sometimes you can have writers block other’s call it blog block. I admit it, I occasionally have a hard time thinking of my next blog topic and thus can be hard to sit down and write. I will say it has grown easier and I’ve learned techniques that let me get past that but it doesn’t always work. Knowing your strengths can help you become a better writer but that doesn’t make your blog content better. The only way you can make it better is engaging your audience and making them want to come to read your next post.

A blog is a tiny book!

My blog is really just a tiny book and if you think about that you will be much better off. I never think if my blog as anything else because that is essentially what a blog is. I like to write but also like to see how it does on the long run. I’d hate to have to wait till the book is done to see what people say or who actually buys it. This way I know everyday what people are thinking or doing and I can tweak how I do my blog accordingly. This is why I love blogging, nothing is ever going to stay the same and thus I can always go off on tangents when I find something that really makes my blood flow. These are just why I like to blog. Others could have their reasons but mine is simple! Community is the Key!