Mobile Office

If you meet a potential customer or recruit away from home, are you prepared to service their needs? When you are out and about you want to be prepared for anything. Just because you are off running an errand doesn't mean you are off "the clock." You want to create a mobile office.

Your mobile office can be a simple file box with separate file sections for catalogs, hostess packets, recruiting packets, business cards, brochures (sales and recruiting), order forms, calculator for on the spot orders, and pens. I use a really nice accordion file at the moment. Everything is organized and neat. You can even use those nice colored milk crates with hanging file folders.

You may even want to consider a mini demonstration kit so you have a few of your most popular products available to show. Samples are other items you may want in your mobile office.

Keep your mobile office in your car (or any car you are driving at the time) so you are always prepared when you come across a potential customer or potential recruit.

A couple things to remember:

• Check and restock your mobile office weekly or as needed. This way you always know you are never out of anything and avoid that moment of saying "I am all out"
• Keep that car clean. You do not want to have your potential customer or potential recruit looking over your messy car. Even when you are making house calls, this is an extension of your home office. Keep it clean and professional.
• You may want to also consider a car freshener. Most don't think about this because we are used to how our car smells but it may have an odor. Having an air freshener helps with this. Don't go overboard. Just something simple and light such as vanilla and lavender work well. 
• Do not smoke in your car. Regardless if your mobile office is in the trunk or backseat, smoke does linger and will get into your mobile office. Many people are allergic to the smoke while others are simply turned off. You do not want your personal habit to get in the way of your business. 
• If you sometimes travel with your pets, it may be best to keep your mobile office in the trunk. This area is less likely to come in contact with pet hair and dander that some people are allergic to.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009-2011

Everyone Else Is Doing It

It is so easy to use what others are doing when it comes to your business especially when you see their success. In most cases there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Follow their lead and add your own spin to this making it your own.

If everyone does the same thing there is nothing that stands out about you. That is where the problem with this method comes in. You sell candles out of a box as your gimmick and you are good at it, several will come along and do that same thing. And the reason why people do that? "Everyone else is doing it."

There are a few times you do not what to use the "Everyone else is doing it" line. This includes illegal activity. Now you think deceit, theft, fraud, or as I call it - lying, taking, faking, or anything else. Did you know there is more out there that some justify and is accepted as being ok?

Now I love my Disney items and I love crafting Disney inspired items for personal use. Now lets say you take Mickey Mouse and put his face on a t-shirt and sold these. If you did not get licensing from Disney to sell these Disney items you are infringing on copyright and trademarks owned by Disney. Now Disney items are not the only items in which this is occurring and only using it as an example of things I do see out there. In fact I seen a so-called reputable boutique selling outifts handmade using copyright and trademark images for resale without permission. They even complained their account on a website dedicated to crafters was closed because the lawyers of this company went to the owners of the crafting site and demanded all copyright infringed items be removed immediately. The comment came up that "everyone else is doing it" and that company is just greedy by going after the small people. Well as an artist if you create an image and hold the copyrights to it, you have to go after anyone, big and small, who is using the image unlawfully to hold any ground in court. And you know what? They are still selling these outfits even knowing these lawyers and putting a stop it it.

Now just because "everyone else is doing it" doesn't mean it is not illegal and cannot get you in hot water. Would you want someone to take your copyrighted image or trademark design and pass it off as theirs? How about that hair bow design you worked so hard to come up with and someone steals your idea?

Now the time you want to say "everyone else is doing it" is being successful. Do what you love and work it as a business. Don't just put a link out there because "everyone else is doing it." Make your mark and stand out.

Olivia Vidal
© 2009-2011

Proof Read

More and more you are seeing simple spelling and grammar errors in advertising. We are all human but in business we are held to higher standards and you may turn a customer away because you forgot to proof read. It doesn't matter if you own a fortune 500 company or a WAHM with small crafting business out of your kitchen, business is business.

Now of course nobody is wanting you to become an English major but your ads are a representative of your business. This is regardless if you are a business owner, consultant, or affiliate. Lack of attention to detail can make a prospect think twice about doing business with you. Some may tell you its OK. It doesn't matter. Truth is it does. Are you willing to do so so in your business or are you wanting to do great!

Turning a customer off is something you do not want to make habit. Common grammar errors I am seeing are know and no, your and you're, there, their, they're. Spelling is even worse. Most programs out there have spell check. Even your email has spell check. Use it when corresponding with customers, sending ads to advertising groups. If you are using a program that does not offer spell check, open up Microsoft Word on your computer. Write what you need and spell check it. Word is great to check for common grammar. This does not pick up everything so don't rely on it.

Another problem occurring is posts and ads are being sent out as if the reader knows what you are thinking. I am speaking about company jargon, partial sentences, or something you feel everyone should already know about a product/service/company. When advertising, writing articles about your product/service/company you have to write as if they know nothing. At the same time you can't tell them everything in one shot. Its overwhelming to the reader and that alone can turn someone away.

Another problem I have seen recently is using words that mean something completely different than intended. It seems to come from one person using a word and others following.or copying an ad and a word being present that does not relate. If you are not sure of a word's meaning look it up. Dictionary.com is free on the Internet. If by chance the meaning is hard to understand which can happen also look up the word at thesaurus.com. This will give you other words that mean something similar so you have a better understanding what a word means.

Before you send out ads, posts or articles, press releases, have someone proof read it. Make sure it flows well, grammar and spelling is correct, and whether it is easy to understand. If it can't be read, difficult to understand, or just plain poor writing due to grammar or spelling, customers will steer clear of you. Don't let that happen. Take the time to do it right.


Olivia Vidal
© 2009
http://sochicbagboutique.com

Increase Blog Traffic

Whether you are blogging to make money, personal, or to bring about awareness, you need readers. To gain a large following takes time and work. Get the ball rolling and bring in readers.

Here are a few simple ways to increase blog traffic.

1. Invite others to view and comment. This seems like a given but many forget to do so. Posting a new blog will not automatically generate traffic. If nobody knows your blog exists, nobody will visit.

2. Visit other blogs and comment. Visit blogs that interest you. Comment on blog postings. Others who visit your favorite blogs generally click on profiles and follow those that interest them. Open yourself up by drawing interest to yourself and getting involved.

3. Follow other blogs. Following other blogs allows you to get updates. This way you are notified of the newest posts. Most whom you follow will return the favor and follow you. This allows anyone visiting various pages and profiles will see your link and again visit and follow. Add a follow option on your blog to make it easier. It's hard to follow then they can't remember what your blog is and not everyone bookmarks pages.

4. Update your social network status with new blog posts and link. Don't just post you have a new blog post. You must include a link. This is the easiest way to update others about your blog. Use social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and the growing Ning sites. Every new blog, post a direct link to the post with your blog title.

5. Place your blog URL in your email signature. Every person who receives an email from you will see your link. Approximately 50% of email receivers will click on links in your signature. If you are willing to change it with each new blog or weekly with the basic topics of the week.

6. Join blogging communities. Their are various blog groups all over the Internet. There are dedicated groups on Cafemom and Facebook. Also check out Yahoo! groups, message boards, and websites dedicated to bloggers. There is more out there than your probably thought. Share and connect with your fellow blogger. A couple to try are themomblogs.com and blogcatalog.

7. The most important of all these is keep your blog up to date. If you only update your blog monthly, chances are you efforts to draw traffic will be worthless. Nobody wants to keep checking a blog that is not updated. This is especially important when you plan to make money blogging.

8. Use a ping service such as pingomatic.com. With each new blog, ping the search engines with this site.

9. Have a quality banner made and list on top 100 lists. People look at this and not just add. You can and will get traffic.

These are just a few of the basics and not a complete list. This list gets your started in bringing people to your blog. There are many factors that keep them there and keep them coming back. For more detailed information about blogging, visit our previous blog Blogging For Success.

Happy blogging!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
http://sochicbagboutique.com

Blogging for success

Every day a new blog pops up. Some seem off the wall with a strange passion for all things - dread lock fans, newest trends of nail polish, 80's brat pack, or anything else you can talk about and never stop. What do these have in common? They have a niche. They are specific and true to their real passion and do not deviate from that.

We will talk about what you need to do to make your blog stand out.

As mentioned above your blog needs a niche; a topic. Here at Liv's WAHM Blog our niche is WAHMs and all that surrounds WAHMs. Maybe your chosen topic will be your business. That would make it a business blog. We will discuss a few things about business blogs a bit further down as this are different than traditional blogs.

When choosing a niche or topic, write about what you know. What you are passionate about and will not run out of things to say. If you decide to dedicate your blog to your favorite TV show, you will need subject matter to discuss 3-5 times a week minimum. Problem is what happens if that show is suddenly canceled after 1 season? Can you continue to talk about this show for 5 yrs to come? A short season probably means little interest in the show and will not be much of a following. If you are OK with this, by all means continue. Just be realistic here.

When you choose a topic, do not deviate. You don't want to start on nail polish then have random posts about oil changes for your car. How does it relate to your topic? Maybe you chose this route because it will rake in AdSense pay offs. That sounds great but if your dedicated following comes to your blog for one thing and you go off in another direction, you just defeated the purpose.

Don't strive for perfection in your writing. If you are not a skilled writer, don't pretend to be. Be yourself in your writing. This is what brings in followers. Those who following your blog are following you. Not your fancy talk and big words.

Use spell check. I cannot stress this enough. We all have an oops here and there but content that is filled with poor grammar and misspelled words will only give the appearance you have no idea what you are talking about. You want readers to believe you are knowledgeable about the subject matter.

Use pictures related to your subject matter not just random pictures. Maybe a field of flowers looks pretty but how does that relate to your post about dog treats? You should have posted a picture of your dog or the treats themselves. When using pictures be careful not to use copyrighted material. Just posting where the picture came from or giving the photographer credit will not make it OK. You are still required to adhere to copyright laws.

Do not plagiarize. Don't copy someone else's article and pass if off as your own. Not only will this get you knee deep in a lawsuit but you will shut down your blog and loss all credibility. Don't risk it. It is OK to take ideas and make them your own but never use work that is not your own without permission. Here is a great article called 7 Online Copyright Myths that is definitely worth reading http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Online-Copyright-Myths&id=6154.

If you are stuck for a new post, there are several sites offering free articles. You must keep the copyright in tact for these but they can be a great way to fill in when needed. I caution against using an article that is overused. It lessens your credibility when an article that has been seen a hundred times over appears on your blog. I also caution against articles you pay for. These are top notch but again you do not want to post an article that has been read over and over. The reason is when you purchase an article and the rights, the original author is not shown so it appears as your own work. Eventually someone will notice it is everywhere. Check to see how many places the article appears. An easy way is to take a line from an article and paste into the search engine. Visit the sites to see is it similar wording or the same article all together. Use good judgment here.

Whenever possible, hyperlink words in your blog posts. This can be to a specific website or to a specific product page. This helps web crawlers visit your page more often. The more often your page is crawled the better your chances are at showing up in search engines. In blog programs such as here in Blogger you have a hyperlink button. Just highlight the word you wish to link outside of your blog and enter the full URL.

Write ahead of time. This will help you from being stuck last minute for an article. Whenever possible, schedule 5-10 posts. Spread them out about every 2 days. Also have back up articles. This again helps when you get stuck. You can go into your stash of articles to post never leaving your blog stagnant for too long. The more regular you post, the more often your readers will visit and so will web crawlers.

Engage your readers. Encourage participation in discussions. This does not mean every post must be a discussion if you do not desire them to be. Allow your readers to share their thoughts with others.

Keep your layout simple. Do not use busy backgrounds, glitter images (unless related to your topic), or inappropriate graphics (unless related to your topic). What you may think is cute, fun, and colorful, others may find childish, immature, and unprofessional. Be careful and customize your look based upon your chosen subject matter.

Business blogs are an area to be careful with. Many want to make money with blogs using avenues such as AdSense of affiliate programs. The LAST thing you should ever do on a business blog is place ads on your blog that will take your customers away from you. A business blog is strictly for your business and the building of your business and customer relationships. It is not about sending them away to buy products elsewhere. Maybe you will get a click that earns you $0.05 each but why throw that away when a single sale can earn you $5. Only monetize non-business blogs.

If you have the option to allow people to follow your blog, add this option. Here on blogger.com there is a widget you can add for followers. Make it easy for readers to come back. The easiest way is to follow you.

Write blogs people want to read about. Maybe you find the tomato bug a fascinating creature and want to discuss the aesthetics of this bug but others may want to read about ridding themselves of a pest. If you don't give your readers what they want or need, why should they visit? So give them reason to visit and visit often.

Use keywords and lots of them. Use them in your blog title as well as blog body. Make sure to tag your blog post with keywords used in your blog. When readers search for posts to read, they use keywords. When thinking of keywords, use what you think they will type to find your post. If your blog post is about candles, use all words related to candles.

Use blog ping sites. With every blog you post you should ping your blog. There are several out there. One I use frequently is ping-o-matic found at http://pingomatic.com/. You can bookmark the results for an easy and fast ping with every new blog.

Spread the word about your blog. Join blogging groups and message boards you enjoy. Comment on other blogs and invite to read yours. With each new blog post a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Cafemom update. Go where your readers are. Don't visit these sites just to promote your own blog. Interact and share.

Know who your readers are. Obviously if your blog is about sewing your target is women. Even though men do sew, this is not a huge market. Before starting your blog, write down all things related to your blog and who would be interested.

I have given you a lot to think about but seriously take into consideration all that has been discussed. Your success directly relates to your ability to draw in readers. Your goal may be to make money off your blog but be realistic. You will not make big money right away. It takes time to build a reputation for the knowledge you make available.

When it comes to your blog, enjoy it. It is not to stress over or think of as a job. Take your time and do it right.

Happy blogging!

Olivia Vidal
© 2009
http://sochicbagboutique.com