Email Marketing

3 Ways to Get Content Written Now on Your Blog

Do you have a blog or e-newsletter that’s sitting dormant for lack of content? You’re not alone. Many a blog/e-newsletters are finding themselves abandoned for weeks or months on end, because their owners either don’t have the time or the inclination to keep them updated. From my own personal experience, I can tell you that when my blogs go “dark” or content gets thin (or in some cases missing), it’s because I simply haven’t had the time to publish my content. It’s sad, but even with most of my topics already prepared or mostly prepared, I still find myself occasionally caught in the abyss of never-ending chores that busy entrepreneurs face, and sometimes my blogs suffer because of it.

I get the feeling that I’m not alone, so today I want to share 3 Tips to Getting Content Written Now on your Blog:

Option 1: Sit down and write: It seems a bit harsh, but sometimes the easy solution is the simplest one. If you’re finding that your blog is vacant for months on end, it’s probably time to evaluate if it’s something worth keeping in your marketing mix, and if it is, then you have to dedicate the time that it takes to build your audience and content. In order to do that, YOU MUST WRITE. Since most entrepreneurs never have enough time nor money, you have to take the initiative to place writing for your blog on your list of priorities of things that must get done to run your business. For me, I find that dedicating a pure 4 hour block of time per week works, when I’m really backed up. If I can’t pull that off, then I try to at least do 2 hours a day during the week until I’m able to catch up. I find that I have to make this time available in my schedule, because it is important to me and my business, and right now, there’s just no getting around it.
Option 2: Pay Someone to Write for You: I start all my meetings with new clients by letting them know that despite the general perception that “Social Media is Free”, IT DOES COST! It’s going to cost your TIME or it’s going to cost you MONEY, but it will cost you! If you simply cannot find the time to exercise Option 1, then your next best bet is to hire someone. Prices for getting content will surely range depending on where you look. It can be a little as $5 if you can find someone to do it on FiveRR.com or it can be upwards of $500/hour if you hire a true ghostwriter from someplace like elance.com or a specialty website for content writers. For people that purchase Branded Blogs through me, I offer a competitive writing rate, but I always like to encourage people to write their own content to insure that their own “authentic voice” shines through.
Option 3: Get Guest Writers: The jokester in me wanted to title this option “Sucker someone into writing for you for free”, but I opted not to. LOL. Instead, I’ve left the third option as “Get Guest Writers” because that’s probably the BEST way that you can get posts onto your site in a matter of a few days. Put out a call (typically privately, via email) to some of your trusted colleagues or up-and-coming people in your field and ask them to write guest posts for your blog. I find, it’s best to give them an array of topics to choose from, or guide them into a specific area, especially so that their content doesn’t become repetitive of your own. Ask for 2-3 post submissions at a time, that way, you have the opportunity to review them, and keep them for later, just in case you ever find yourself in another content shortage.

What other strategies can you think of for getting content written right away?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

3 Ways to Get Content Written Now on Your Blog

5 Simple Steps to Start Using Social Media Today

By sss4success 1 Comment

social-media-bandwagon — Creative Commons by Matt Hamm

Even with the proliferation of news media outlets reporting record uses of technology and social media and tons of success stories of how smaller organizations are able to use social media to increase their bottom line, there are still some people “on the fence” about whether or not social media will work for them and their company (Check out this cool infographic on How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media).

For those few, still sitting on the sidelines wondering if Social Media will work for them, I propose the following 5 Simple Steps to Get Started Using Social Media Today:

1. Stake Your Claim: Grab your name on all of the social media networks out there (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.). It’s always better to be safe rather than sorry and risk losing your name to someone else who picks it up once you’ve become popular. Also, if you grab a name, like a Twitter account, but don’t intend to use it that often, note that on the profile, and tell your visitors the best place to find you online.

2. Make It Look Professional: If your goal is to lead people to your company’s website or blog, make sure it looks professional and is user-friendly when visitors arrive. You only get one chance to make a first impression. If visitors check out your site once and don’t like it, they likely won’t return again.

3. Try It for Three Months: Start with 3 months of content to give yourself an opportunity to learn the tools and how best to use them, and to figure out some of the better strategies for engaging your audience in the social media space.

4. Review Your Analytics: After the first three months, have a look at your web and social media analytics and decide what they’re telling you. I suggest you only look at your analytics AFTER a few months have passed, because it will drive you crazy to look at them on daily or weekly basis, especially since you likely won’t see much change in the early days.

5. Repeat Step 3 for Another Three Months: Building relationships and capitalizing on the widespread popularity of social interaction for business use is something that takes time. Let your first three months be the “test case” for whether or not you can handle adding a social media marketing strategy to your marketing mix, and finding out of social media venues truly work for your brand and your customers. Also, be prepared to tweak things here and there as the need arises. Now’s the time to ask yourself a few questions: After three months, can you see the potential of where this can lead? Have you uncovered some new information about yourself, your customers, or your competition that can give you the edge for how you market to your customer base? Can your business afford not to be engaging customers in some capacity on social networks, given the millions of people that roam the web every day?

At the end of the day, you don’t want to miss the opportunity to be proactive in marketing your business online. At the very least, give it a six-month concerted effort and see if it’s for you. And don’t, I can help. Feel free to use me as a resource, either for Social Media Training (where I show you how to use these tools for yourself) or Social Media Consulting (where I use these tools on your behalf). Fill out the Contact Us form to get started.

What’s stopping you from using social media in your small business?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist