A popular, proven strategy that builds brand identity, increases recognition as an expert amongst peers, and helps label you as an influential source in your target market is article writing. However, if you are unsure of the topics that would resonate with your potential customers, or are unaware of resources to help develop an article marketing campaign, I have identified 5 proven strategies that can aid in creating an article writing funnel that can consistently generate topics of interest specifically for your target audience.
1. Surveys: Hidden Source of Story Ideas
3 or 5 question surveys can garner a wealth of information useful in developing new products and services, marketing opportunities, good will and feedback from current and prospective customers. Responses can be used to develop story ideas, providing relevant subject-matter information that can be used in article, service and product creation.
2. Blog Hopping
Develop ideas from other sites’ content. Frequently visit your favorite or the most popular blogs and see what people are talking about. Is it controversial? Can you offer a different perspective? Can you create an article around the topic? Once you develop your article, link back to the originating site. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the site’s blog and let the owner know you stopped by and have expanded the conversation on the topic. You will drive more traffic to your site and increase readership.
3. Analyze Your Blog
Review your own blog and determine which postings receive the most views and reader comments/feedback. Develop a short series on the topic(s) to entice return visits. Use your social media outlets/networks to promote the series and increase blog signups. By giving readers want they want, you will develop loyal readership and capture those all important email addresses.
4. Article Directory Goldmine
Running out of ideas? Visit article directories and read articles written specifically for your target audience. Develop a new “take” on the article’s theme or select an important point, and write about it from your perspective. Article directories are excellent sources for staying abreast of popular topics and you can use them as a starting point to express your opinion and share insights with your ideal audience.
5. Web 2.0: Social Media Opens Doors
Social media venues such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, etc., offer unfettered access to topics, opinions and experts on literally any conceivable topic. Search these sites for resources and various comments that stimulate your creative writing processes. Create a swipe file of ideas, so you will an ongoing repository of new potential subject matter.
It may take a few months of article writing to really benefit from these tactics, and you may be too busy to implement all of them at once. However, the more options you choose, the greater opportunity to increased visibility and nurture brand creation. As more readers visit your site or interact via social media connections, the greater your opportunity to increase traffic, leads and profits.
Technorati Tags: article writing tips, build brand, increase traffic and profits tips
In Part 1 of Top 7 Reasons to Beat the Cluttered Desk, we provided 3 reasons to declutter your desk. Below are 4 additional reasons to maintain a clear workspace: keep focused, reduce stress and remain productive.
4. Calming effect
Sometimes, when you are preoccupied with your surroundings (whether it’s a home office, a brick-and- mortar one, or a family matter, etc.), the thought and sight of clutter (desk or otherwise) can play on the psyche and perhaps cause you to be a bit anxious, hyperactive, high-strung, demanding, unproductive and less than up to par. This may come from “stewing” on knowing your desk is a “clutter mess” that’s out of control. Taking the time to clean your desk can have a calming effect. You’ll also discover a pride in knowing how your “newly-found” desk looks.
5. Keep more organized
Facing a desk full of papers and telephone messages over time can eventually take its toll. Unfortunately, the more you don’t clean up the mess, the more the desk and office chaos can gnaw at you and cause you to lose focus. Additionally, with a clean morning desk, no paper piles will stare you in the face or be subject to an accidental push to the floor. On the other hand, your clean desk with its tidiness will help you to at least appear to have things organized and under control. And you’ll look like you’re running your business with ease.
6. Reduction in workspace accidents and spills
If your desk is cluttered or messy, there is an off-chance for some office mishap. Perhaps you inadvertently throw something away. You may have left a cup of coffee on your desk the night before and by morning you forgot it was there. So, when moving that stack of papers to get at your clipboard moved the coffee cup onto its side and spilled coffee all over your keyboard. Oops!
7. Time robber
Day after day that you enter your office with “the same pile of stuff” staring at you, you’re taking your focus from whatever it is you really planned to do that day. You’re robbing yourself of your productivity. Get back that time by starting fresh each day with a clean desk.
If your desk is clean, as you begin your day, you’ll find it’s easier to clean at night, and you will clean it more often. Additionally, there will be a calming effect, and your productivity will increase because you’re not spending your time moving your files and stacks of papers around. You’ll also know where things are; you’ll be less distracted when working on specific projects. Further, your empty desk will provide a place where you can put the items you plan to work on that new day; in turn, this will help you get to your projects in an orderly fashion.
Technorati Tags: declutter, increase productivity, stress free
You don’t have to look around the Internet too hard or in many magazines to find numerous articles and blogs about “the benefits of having a clean desk” or “how to organize and clean up the ‘cluttered mess!’” With which, even Albert Einstein took issue when he said, “If a Cluttered Desk is a Sign of a Cluttered Mind, What’s an Empty Desk a Sign of?”
Others will tell you a cluttered desk is a “sign of genius.” Which Einstein was; so there you go!
There is actually a sickness associated with working long hours at a cluttered desk: irritable desk syndrome (IDS). According to researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi, a computer-monitor manufacturer, many office workers are suffering from IDS, which can cause chronic pain, loss of productivity and other physical and mental symptoms.
If you’re like a good share of the entrepreneurial population, at some time or other you may have been (or continue to be) the owner of a cluttered, messy, hidden or otherwise over-burdened desk. Your argument for such clutter may be your desk is that way because you don’t have time to clean it; you know where everything is or because you like to be surrounded by familiar things.
While these arguments may be true, there is something to be said about starting each day with a clean desk. And the National Clean Your Desk Day (January 11) has been established to remind us of the benefits of starting your day fresh.
Our Top 7 reasons to declutter your desk include:
1. Fresh start
Walking into your office each morning being “greeted” by a clean desk is much like “beginning a new,” you’re starting fresh. It’s like everything that transpired the day before—whether good or bad– is “long gone.” The freshness of the “new day” with a clean desk is “eye candy” for the eyes and for the mind! And the “new atmosphere” you’ve created can influence you to feel at ease so you can easily tackle whatever comes along with less stress and fewer distractions; you’ll be able to stay focused and better organized.
2. Mess contributes to stress
Imagine you’re sitting at your cluttered, messy desk talking on the telephone. As you look around, you can’t find an important document related to the conversation, without which you can’t close the deal. While sorting through the piles on your desk, you see more documents that should have had your immediate attention, but have now passed deadline. Thinking about the mess and missed deadlines, and realizing how they could have been avoided may stress you out. So, de-stress by starting your day with a clean desk, which can help you realize which tasks you should be first on your list.
3. A distraction
All the clutter, the nick nacks and pictures, Rolodex cards, stacks of paper, magazines, holiday cards, Post-Its, and so forth can be such a distraction from what you intend to do that day. Having to move stacks from one side of your desk to another in order to be able to work on any given project can certainly change your mood and throw off your focus. Thus, the emptiness of your desk that you face when you begin each day will help eliminate distractions and allow you to focus on individual assignments as they present themselves.
Part 2 of Top 7 Reasons to Beat the Cluttered Desk Syndrome will identify other benefits of decluttering your desk. Is your work desk cluttered? Tell us your plans for keeping your workspace clear.
Technorati Tags: clean desk, declutter, organize and clean desk
In Part 1 of Have You Created Your Marketing Calendar?, we covered what is a marketing calendar and why business owners should have one. Below are examples of activities to include in your marketing map, and administrative tasks related to accurate monitoring and determining your return on investment (ROI) of time, money and effort.
Examples of activities to map in your marketing calendar/plan:
article submissions
blogging dates/topics
social networking
pay-per-click activities
video marketing campaigns
podcast production and distribution
on and offline networking
media releases
product development/sales
virtual joint venture activities
setup an affiliate program
implement a referral program
major and minor trade and association events
on and offline presentations and teleseminars
holiday-related promotions
Track your results
Make sure your website copy and marketing materials are relevant and valuable, and stay current on industry trends and competition, etc. Always check and recheck to ensure everything is on track and/or if you need to make changes.
Don’t forget to handle the administrative tasks associated with managing a marketing calendar. Check and double check your numbers. For example, number of visits to your website, ezine sign-ups, teleseminar attendees, response to promotions, etc. These steps will also assist in determining return on investment (ROI).
There is no “right or wrong way” to create your marketing plan. It’s about what works best for you. Creating a marketing calendar is just one step in the process of mapping your steps and results, as well as is a record for later reflection and assessment.
By tracking your results, you can discover what is working, what you need to work harder on, and what you need to stop spending time and money on.
Remember
A marketing calendar is an essential tool for planning and implementing marketing strategies, scheduling marketing events and tracking costs and progress.
Have you created your marketing calendar? Share one of your strategies with us.
Technorati Tags: create a marketing calendar, marketing calendar, marketing map, marketing plan, schedule marketing activities
What is a marketing calendar?
A marketing calendar is typically a 12 month description of what you plan to do, from a marketing perspective. It is the creation of a system and process you can monitor your marketing activities by, on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
A marketing calendar assists in launching your marketing vehicles (tools) that can drive you to your goal in a structured and thought-out manner. It helps you effectively coordinate all your marketing efforts, assists in establishing a budget, crystallizes your focus, provides consistency, and allows you to see the value in your marketing program. It is a vital tool in your marketing arsenal.
Why create a marketing calendar?
One of the main reasons for creating a marketing calendar is to monitor results, preventing marketing lapses that cause the “feast and famine” effect many businesses experience. The calendar helps track regularly actionable occurring activities, such as writing and submitting articles to online directories, creating blog posts, participating in social networking activities, posting videos, etc.
It is an important tool that lets you know exactly when you need to:
begin doing a specific marketing tactic
see each step you need to take to implement a specific strategy
identify gaps in your marketing schedule throughout the year
Part 2 of Have You Created Your Marketing Calendar will identify types of activities to include in your marketing calendar, steps to follow and a call to action.
Technorati Tags: create a marketing calendar, Marketing, marketing calendar, marketing plan, marketing tool, schedule marketing activities
Next Page »
Select
Your Need
Message from Christian Mickelsen, CEO, Small Biz U
Message from Denise Trifiletti of Women's Community
