Do you own your Business Blog Traffic or does someone else
During a recent call with a new client, we were discussing her online foundations, web presence and the setup of all parts. When we got to the blog part – she said, “Yes I do have a Blog.”
Well… yes she did, but not one that was working for her. Her ‘Blog’ was in fact a blog hosted on blogspot not directly on her website and once there, it had no way of directing a visitor back to her own website.
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings about blogging. “Who owns your Blog?”
- When you have a blog hosted directly on your website visitors get to it by clicking a link similar to this: www.mysite. com/ blog or www.blog.mywebsite. com .
- When using one of the free blogging platforms, your blog link will be something similar to this: www.myblogname.blogspot. com or www.myblogname.wordpress. com
In example 1, your website has the blog as a part (and pages) of your domain name and the url link – your online real estate. You own it.
In example 2, guess who owns these web links? Exactly – Blogspot or WordPress because the link contains their domain name.
In many cases, the blog on the free hosting platform also is not set up in a way that people can even find or get back to your website, as my client’s case. A big mistake if you are looking to use your blog to bring in more traffic. You are investing time (ultimately money) into creating the blog, you want to make it have a positive effect on your online marketing and work for you not against. People should be able to click and see your about page, contact page, services, products – everything you have on your website.
This is not to say that using the free platforms cannot be helpful, for many businesses starting out this is how we started blogging (I did!). However, when you are ready to go bigger and also to move to the social media world and use those channels to bring traffic and visitors to your website – don’t have people clicking on links to a free site that essentially you do not own. That’s not your online real estate, it belongs to wordpress or blogspot. Get your blog installed right on your website and have these links bringing people to YOUR website with all the different pages about your business, including your blog.
Most hosting platforms allow for a simple install of wordpress onto your site – but it may mean changes in the backend that require help of someone who understand how to do this properly. Some hosting sites are not yet ready for these blogging platforms so you will need to do some homework or get some help before jumping into a change to your site. Time on Task does offer this service and if you would like to book a free consult, please get in touch with me.
The main takeaway here is to look at your blog setup and see if you have one that is working for you or against you! If it’s against, what kind of effort are you investing in something that is not helping you? If you aren’t sure, then post a note on my Facebook Page with a link to your blog and I will let you know.
How to Talk Online when Networking or Selling
Okay… I have to vent a little. Now, those who know me know this is not my style (hehehe … well, maybe a bit). I always indicate to people that I am very much a black and white type of person, there is little grey area when it comes to my opinions…
So today, I got fed up when I read a newsletter that was in my inbox (from several days ago so no one needs to panic if you sent yours today or yesterday). It just set something off in my head and now I have a little rant, vent…or maybe a better term is a Lesson for All of Us!
I was reminded yesterday by my business coach that my main philosophy with regards to networking online is very much: Be the same online as you are in person.
If you can master this and apply it to anything you do online, you can authentically get your presence out there and have people feeling you are the real deal. Distance, location, and even platform will not matter – if you can be you anywhere – even typing a 120 character update – then you have mastered online networking. You have figured it out. And people will get that. They will see this in what you do online, they will get to know you – even from small back and forths on Twitter or Facebook or Linked in. The “Get to Know” you, is that vital first step before getting to Trust and Like you – and that’s the kind of person we all want to do business with. Someone we Know, Like and Trust.
Now, putting my philosophy into place… Can anyone see why I need to rant about a little section in this person’s newsletter that said:
Need a Keynote? HIRE ME!
What is that!?!? If you apply this statement, with a link to a website that was not working by the way, to my adage of: Don’t say anything online you would not say to someone face to face – how would this come across?
For those of you who have done keynote speaking, when you are talking to people in person would you ever say that to someone? “Need a Keynote? HIRE ME!”
Yes, I often look people in the eye when having a conversation and say – “Hey, Do you need a Keynote speaker? Hire Me!” NEVER! Wow, talk about how to sound pushy or sales-sleazy… It just would not fit into a conversation – maybe as a joke but not as part of a conversation.
The placement in the newsletter did not help. It was in a section at the bottom all by itself – without any other contact info near it. Just like that – “Need a Keynote? HIRE ME!” (and for those who are not up to speed with online speaking– because of the all capital letters, it seems like the person is yelling the HIRE ME!)
It would make more sense within the contact info on the newsletter, maybe under Connect Online, or link to Services … add it here as a section that says: Keynotes or Speaking, something like that, but not with the HIRE ME beside it. Sorry, but I just don’t see that as being appropriate at all here. Not in the context as it was.
What do you think? Would you click on a section like this if you were thinking of hiring a keynote in this type of industry? Am I overreacting?
What is a Typical Independent Contractor
I discovered today I am the typical Independent Contractor.
There was a page of statistics in a recent issue of Success Magazine I was reading and it was all about Independent Contractors. As I was reading them, I realized I was very much the ‘typical’ independent contractor. The article never really mentioned where these contractors work from (ie a home office) which would have been nice to see, but I am assuming that the majority of them do in fact work from a home office.
The stats were based on people in the United States, but as with many things such as this, us Canadians tend to closely mirror the results (with the exception of surveys on the use of the word ‘eh?’ – in a study like that we would definitely come out on top!) So I placed myself right in these results and as I read them I found myself saying to myself: “Yes, that’s me, and me, me too. Yup, Yup” They had me pegged to a “T”.
So, who are these Independent Contractors?
- Well, for starters there are 16 million in the US today and we (you know what I mean) account for $626 billion in personal income in 2010! Billion!
- We are also primarily female (53% to 47%) and we do this type of work because we prefer it as an alternative to being an ‘employee’. Only about 9% of us would rather be ‘employed’.
- Our average age is 30-49 years and we do this type of work more from a need of ‘wanting to do the work’ as opposed to ‘needing a paycheque’. I read this to mean we do it because it is our passion.
- 58% of us are highly satisfied with our situation because we are doing something we like and feel it is making a difference.
- It was also noted that being Independent Contractors is a stepping stone to entrepreneurship and creating small businesses.
I am very much towing the line with all of these statistics, and for those of you who know me, you will say the same. Yup, that is Kathy.
I know that many of you connected to me online or who read my blog are also “Independent Contractors”… so I am wondering? Are you part of this demographic that is expected to grow to 20 million people by the year 2013.
Are you also the typical ‘Independent Contractor’? How do these facts stack up for you? I‘d love to know if these stats ring true for others.
A Bookkeeping Schedule is Necessary for Small Business
Whether you do your own bookkeeping or someone else does it for you – you need to be on a schedule in order to keep on top of it all. You are either entering the entries yourself or getting the information to your bookkeeper to do the same. Keeping to a schedule will keep you up to date. As a small business owner, knowing where you stand financially is important for planning. Plus it lets you review what you have done to know if you need to change things to improve in the future.
I have recently gotten my books caught up and now have a set schedule for them. I plan to never get behind again! It is never fun being behind the 8 Ball when it comes to books. Especially here in Canada, where we have to submit our GST (A type of sales tax) reports to the government every quarter. That really keeps me on my toes and up to date!
What did I schedule or plan in order to stay on top of my books?
- File Items Immediately. Keeping a file folder right on my desk and immediately filing any entries that occur during the week. These could be bills paid, purchases made, online purchases or payments received. I print the email notification and file it immediately in this folder or place the physical receipt in here. I call this the “Books to Enter” file.
- Send / Enter Receipts. Once a week I have set aside one hour to enter in all the receipts that have been gathered. By ‘enter’ this may mean send to my bookkeeper, for some of you, it may mean enter them in the bookkeeping programs directly.
- Reminders. As these receipts are entered, we set reminders for anything that will need to be taken care of in the future (ie domain name renewals due, tax or bill payments due, recurring payments). This practice will keep you from missing things that are important to cash flow and planning.
- Filing. Slowly as I move to going paperless, I am scanning physical slips and printing to them to a pdf file as well as doing the same for email slips, then I save them in a folder on my PC. This file system / folder was setup to be my entire bookkeeping filing system and both my bookkeeper and I have access and as much as we can are trying to save items paperless. It really mirrors what I used to save in paper file folders.
- Review. I check my reports to know where I stand financially. This is an important step as you should always have a good idea of your revenue and expenses at least monthly.
If you have a bookkeeper you can follow this same procedure but work out a method to send him/her the gathered slips. The main point is to stay on top of it and not let it get backed up. As a business owner knowing your updated financial situation is vital to running your business effectively as well as making future plans.
Create your own schedule or steps to staying on top of your books – the biggest benefit after know where things stand, is that you will be less stressed!!
The Networking Benefits of Using a Nametag
I was reading an article in Success magazine about a fellow named Scott Ginsberg. He has some fabulous ideas for networking and how to make yourself more approachable to others.
Scott started his business by a decision he made 12 years ago to NOT take off the sticky nametag he had on at an event: “Hello, my name is Scott”. He left it on and he started meeting new people daily. The first day was 20 people. And primarily because they came over to ask why he was walking around with a nametag on!
This opened his eyes to how people react to certain situations and from this came the foundations of his business and career. He has written several books and his newest is called, “The Nametag Principle”. To this day, he continues to wear his nametag (In fact rumour has it he has one tattooed on!)
I totally understand the benefits of wearing a nametag. When I started my business four years ago I ordered myself a nametag. I hated wearing those sticky ones at networking events and had one created just for me (A holdback to my days at the bank when we all wore a nametag). It has my name, title (At the time it said Virtual Assistant) and then my business name.
I cannot tell you how many conversations this nametag has started. Whether it is my last name, or title (At the time Virtual Assistant was an unknown term and prompted many questions) and even the nametag itself got people talking to me.
Wearing it to an event, really gave others something to focus on and to start a conversation with me (We all know the awkwardness sometimes at networking events… wondering what new things we can come up with to start a conversation.) My nametag gave people an easy out to say hello and ask me a question. Not bad for my initial investment of $11.75.
Reading this article about Scott has also made me think about my own nametag experiences and I think it’s time to order some new ones. I say ‘ones’ because I often wear different hats at events and having ones that fit the situation will be helpful. Sometimes I am the Virtual Assistant, others I am the Online Marketing & Social Media Specialist and then sometimes I am simply @TimeonTaskVA, my Twitter persona.
How about you, have you ever considered getting your own nametag or had some great experiences because you were wearing one? If so, what results have you had – share your good ‘nametag’ stories!
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