Invasion of the Blogs

For great tips on what to put in a blog, Meryl K. Evans goes in depth to help you understand why a blog can be so much more than just a blog

Lemmings are cute, but dumb. If you tell them to jump off a cliff, they will. Just like the people who start blogs because everyone is doing it. Guess what happens after a little while? The blogs die.

In managing a list of many Web sites, most of which are blogs, I deleted countless sites from the list because the sites and blogs no longer existed. The people ran out of steam or had no reason to start them in the first place.

How do you know when a blog is right for your business? Learn why people start blogs, how they find their niche and how blogging tools can be used for more than blogs.

Blog content is king

Some people like to read blogs, others like to read newsletters, still others like to rely on feeds and some read a few or all of them. No matter the method the information is distributed, each medium has one thing in common: content. Having a blog connects your newsletter and your business with all of these readers and delivers important content in a particular style.

I've been blogging since June 2000. If you review my early blog entries in meryl's notes, you'll notice they're more personal. When blogs first hit the scene in the late '90s, they were personal diaries and journals. Like the blog business, my blog has transformed from personal to business speak, although I still add personal notes here and there.

A few bloggers tend to talk about their work, their products and their little world. That might work for celebrities where fans want to know everything about them, but it doesn't work for the average business person. Other business people want information on how to succeed and when a blog spends time hawking products offering information of no value, few people will return. The people whose products sell well are the ones who provide valuable information. Readers already know what kind of information they're getting, so they trust that when they buy something, it will be of the same or better quality. This value must be reflected in their blog. It's much like people who only sign up for a newsletter after first seeing an example.

Who should venture where one has not blogged before?
No one wants to be a lemming (I would hope). How do you decide whether or not to set up a blog? The answer isn't black or white (what did you expect?). Ask these questions:

Can you regularly update it -- at least five times a week?

Do you have something to say other than just linking to others?

Do you read other blogs or feeds?

Can you provide information of value to others not just to yourself?

How large is your newsletter subscriber list?

How many unique visitors do you get on an average day, week or month?

The big decider is whether or not you can write in the blog almost daily. The people behind the high traffic blogs post multiple times a day. Though resourceful, merely linking to other sites doesn't give visitors much reason to make the effort to come to yours. Reading other blogs or feeds is a great way to learn how to carry a discussion. Find other blogs covering topics similar to yours and check them out. Disagree with their opinions? Write about it and explain your reasons. Cross-blog discussions are common, and that's where trackback comes in handy.
Trackback is a blog feature. If you decide to comment on another blog posting in your blog instead of in that blog's comments page, then you link to the conversation through the trackback link. Trackback is similar to the permalink, the permanent URL for the blog entry, but it has a different URL for copying and pasting in your blog's trackback box.

Aside from the technical aspects of operating a blog on a daily basis, subscriber list size and Web site traffic are good indicators of what kind of reaction you'll get when opening a blog. Starting from scratch with little traffic means you have a long road ahead and lots of work to do. There is no magic formula anyone can sell you for $97 to make your blog an overnight success. But with some perseverance and ingenuity, your blog can engage many prospects and clients.

Pick a niche

Considering there are numerous blogs out there, pick a niche topic when starting a blog for a better shot at attracting and keeping an audience. meryl's notes focuses on three areas: webby, geeky and wordy. In reality, this is too much. What I need to do for my readers is create three separate blog entry points, so those interested in writing, newsletters and Internet marketing get nothing but the wordy entries. Those interested in Web design get the webby stuff and the technophiles receive the geeky content.

I also manage a personal blog separate from meryl's notes. It's about cochlear implants and deafness. This could fall under the geeky category, but it's a personal blog and doesn't belong in meryl's notes. This blog is written for a different audience.

The blogging tools for both of my blogs come with syndication capabilities so those using feed readers or aggregators can read the content through the software. For an explanation of syndication and feed readers, refer to What Is This RSS, XML, RDF, and Atom Business? When sending a new issue of a newsletter, comment on it or link to it in the blog, that way the blog and feed readers will get the goods, so all three bases are covered.

Blogs in disguise use the same tools

Blogging tools aren't just for, well, blogging. Such tools are an excellent way to help you update your Web site more often than you otherwise would. I use it to manage the list of tableless Web sites. Using blogging tools is much easier than the way I managed it before, updating the HTML files by hand. Though using a blog tool, it isn't a blog. In this case, the blog tool has become a content management system (CMS).

Small business owners don't have a need for the fancy and pricey CMSes out there. They find it easier to use blogging software to manage their sites or hire someone to adapt the tool for their site. Women's Spirituality is one such site. Karen Casey may not use the blog, but she does have discussions surrounding the articles she writes.

Blogs have found a place in businesses and people are finding creative ways to use them. Some companies have a blog on the intranet for communicating project status, jeopardies and metrics. They're used for knowledge management. With information pouring in, blog tools provide a way to share, organize and process the information.

Being a follower can be good or bad. No one wants to walk off a cliff with the lemmings, but everyone wants to succeed. Best practices won't help, since the decision to blog is based on the organization's mission, needs and goals along with its target market's desires and needs. A blog about lemmings? There is one, sort of. Or maybe you'd like to start your own and talk about dumb business moves.

Author Bio
Meryl K. Evans (www.meryl.net), Content Maven, is the editor of eNewsletter Journal and Shavlik's The Remediator Security Digest. She writes columns for PC Today, InformIT, and MarketingProfs. Contact her to get content that inspires action.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Designing Your Lead Magnet To Influence Podcast Listeners To Become Clients

How do you position yourself as the go to person?

Do you have an online presence beyond your store?

People may buy from you but do they buy into you?

Having a credible podcast is a massive plus for entrepreneurs, but you may need help in getting people to listen. Robert Thibodeau covers off the essentials to get you going in the right direction

I have discussed the importance of using a lead magnet to bring you podcast listeners to the point of exchanging their name and email address for something of a perceived high value to them. The entire process is designed to bring listeners to your podcast to make a decision to establish a relationship with you. This process is achieved through a well-designed landing page or lead magnet.

I will explain in a bit more detail, the five things you will need to have in your lead magnet for it to achieve that goal.

Here are the 5 things you need to offer them:

1. Give one specific promise to solve one specific problem and do so for one specific type of person.

For example: I use my "Podcast Creation Checklist" and inform people, "Follow this list in sequence and when you finish the list, you will have your podcast up and running!"

What is the promise: Follow this checklist and you will have your podcast up and running.

What is the one problem: Someone wants to start a podcast but is not sure how to do it.

What is the specific type of person this is for: Someone who wants to start a podcast.

Note: this is not for existing podcasters. It is not for bloggers. It is not for swimming lessons, etc.

It is for one specific market segment and solves one problem: How to start a podcast.

It gives one promise: Follow the checklist and you will have your podcast up and running.

2. Help the person to become a buyer by taking them down the success path.

This means, give them high value.

Give them additional resources in the training.

Give them additional testimonials from those you have helped.

This all lends to building credibility and value in the eyes of your potential client.

3. Make sure you are offering something with a perceived high value in the eyes of the client.

This is something they have been looking for. This is something they need. This is something can immediately put to use.

4. Instant gratification and can implement immediately.

Give them a quick win. Give them something they can see progress and success with. Do not send them 29 videos of one hour each from 1997!

You need to give them something they have immediate access to and can consume quickly.

In the case of my checklist, the first few steps are very easy to accomplish and they can see the results almost immediately.

5. Tell them what to do next!

This is the "take action" phase and is usually something like "Receive Your Report Here" or something similar (as pertains to your offer).

Keep it simple. Use it on the button (so no long sentences! Just a couple of words).

When you incorporate these five items on your landing page or lead magnet, you will be able to see the number of people joining your list grow. More people on your list means more people you are able to establish a business relationship with. The more people you can do that with, the more business you will ultimately generate.

By talking about this offer on your podcast, you can direct your listeners to a unique URL on your website. You can also add the URL to your show notes. Remember, you must make it extremely easy for your listeners to take action! Too many steps and you will lose them.

Build that lead magnet today!

Robert Thibodeau has been in online media since 2010. Between his online radio programs and his podcasts, he has accumulated about 4,000 episodes and conducted 600+ interviews in that time. He has helped many people to launch their own podcasts (many of which have earned numerous podcasting awards). He has a complete podcast training program, taking you from "Concept to Launch and Into Monetization." You can read more information on his training program at http://www.podcast-training.com You can also download his "Podcast Creation Checklist" for FREE under the "Services" tab on his website. He has also created a Christian podcast hosting and marketing platform at https://faithcasters.net

About the author: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Robert_Thibodeau/2198393

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10301254

Understanding Email Autoresponder and Follow-Up Messages

Terry Phong

Did you know that you can make sales on auto-pilot simply by using your autoresponder and the follow-up messages you provide to your subscribers? But before I go any further, please allow me to explain what exactly autoresponders are, for those who may not be in the know.

An autoresponder is a software script that automates your email messages and replies. It's something you would use to send out your follow-up messages to a new subscriber that's on your e-mailing list. Not to confuse you, but those messages are also often called autoresponders. The Autoresponder gives you the ability to create and manage your autoresponders (your messages) if that makes sense.

You can think of email autoresponders as the quiet workhorses in your email marketing. Basically, they are any type of automated emails or even a series of emails (your follow-up messages) that you write one time, schedule, and send out automatically from your Autoresponder (the software script).

I hope that wasn't too confusing. Let's move on to how marketers use autoresponders to streamline their email campaigns to cut down on the amount of work they have to do. For example, rather than emailing each individual who signs up for your newsletter or email list, an autoresponder can easily send out a welcome email with follow-up messages that are all personalized.

At the heart of email marketing are autoresponders. You use it to promote your business. It's also used to build relationships with your potential customers, keep current customers informed and updated, offer coupons to encourage customer loyalty, and a whole lot more!

The problem is, most website visitors won't buy something from you on the first visit. It normally takes on average a visitor 6 or more times before they decide to make a purchase from you. In order to keep them interested and eventually make the sale is where your follow-up messages come into play.

When you start writing your message, you'll need to come up with some compelling subject lines or headlines. Your subject lines are what draw attention from your subscribers, making them feel excited to read the rest of your message. If you send a message with a boring or irrelevant headline or subject line, chances are your subscribers may not even open your email let alone pay much attention to it.

A great way to grab your subscriber's attention is by way of personalization, like using their names. Most autoresponder software scripts or platforms out there will give you this ability to personalize your messages through the insertion of codes. When you send a message out, the code is replaced with the personal information of your subscriber. When receiving the email, the reader will see his or her personal information instead of the code. This is a great way to use personal information to further engage your subscribers.

The first message that you send out to your subscriber should be the welcome or introduction email. The welcome email is the most important one as it will set the stage towards giving your reader what to expect from you and your following messages. The welcome email is a great way to start branding yourself or the company by giving them a little background of what you do and how you can help them.

The second email message in your follow-up series should inform your subscribers about your products and services. Make sure that you explain what your products or services do and how they can benefit from them. People are more likely to be sold on the benefits over the features of a product or service. You can then make them an irresistible offer by giving them a limited time discount if they buy now.

In the third message to follow, try putting some added emphasis on your services and products. Tell your subscribers how they simply must have your product or service because they are a cut above the rest, then prove it to them by offering a sample or trial offer or better yet a buy 1 get 1 free deal. To ensure that you get a sale, you should include comparisons between what you offer and what competitors offer. This way, you'll show potential customers that you are indeed the best, with the best features and the best prices.

Once you have a few satisfied customers, you'll start to build up your credibility. You can also ask your subscribers for feedback in your follow-up messages on how you can make their experience better or how you can personally help them. Once a customer has praised your products or services, you can add it to a testimonial and send it out in another future follow-up message.

A great way to keep your subscribers looking forward to your next email is by ending your message with a teaser for the next message. For example, "Don't forget to keep an eye out for my next email where I'll be sending you something special." This could a flash sale, coupon, or simply a free download.

Leverage your autoresponder and your follow-up messages like your own personal sales team and you'll soon be making sales on auto-pilot. Practice weaving your company contact and website information as well, so your subscribers can easily place an order without any problems or whenever they like. If you put some time and thought into your follow-up messages, you'll soon be turning your subscribers into your customers.

Original article link: https://ezinearticles.com/?Understanding-Email-Autoresponder-and-Follow-Up-Messages&id=10247834

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