Blogging
Blogging and Proofreading… stress-free
I have come to enjoy blogging lately… it’s a great outlet for many things spinning around in my head, but it was not always the case.
When I first started, as with most people, I struggled to find a topic to write, once I had the blog post written, then I would proofread it and then edit, edit and more editing. It became a task I did not relish, at all.
I queried several other Virtual Assistants (VAs) to find out how they were dealing with this issue – and many had the same frustration. Listening to their advice, and some of it came from top VAs and great bloggers, I made a decision about my blog. Once I accepted this decision my blogging took off.
I found it less stressful and more enjoyable. I got excited about sharing my thoughts, which is primarily what blogging is all about.
So… what ‘decision’ did I make? What could change to improve my outlook and ability to blog and blog even more than I did before? Read the rest of this entry »
The other social media channel – Your Blog
Social Media
Well, today was quite a day… as a social media virtual assistant, I had a very hairy day as Twitter and Facebook both succumbed to Denial of Service Attacks, which appeared to be coordinated attacks too. Their systems in effect were shut down and people could not sign in nor post any updates.
It meant that several items of work done for clients and also to do for clients could not happen. It also was a wakeup call to me, and hopefully many others, that you should not keep all your social networking eggs in one basket. Read the rest of this entry »
Learning to Market a Blog
A Mini-Course on Blogging! Great idea to learn more about marketing your blog and all in 2 weeks!
VAclassroom is a favourite learning place of mine, much of my social media training was done with them. This month they have rolled out another innovative way to learn virtually – the Mini Course! The first one is all about Blog Marketing! What a timely topic too considering that more than 10,000 blogs are started everyday according to WordPress
The 2-week mini-course titled, “Blog Marketing Tips, Tools & Tactics” and starts on August 10th, ending Aug 24th. The program includes self study as well as live components.
The registration doors are officially OPEN NOW and seats are going fast. They have 60 32 3 seats still available for this training program. You can use this discount code VABLOG to knock $10 off their special price of $67 when you register.
Whether you are looking to learn for yourself as a blogger or new to blogs, or are looking to add to your services offerings – it’s a fantastic way to learn more about blogging and in a condensed time period at a great price!
With a little help from my Friends
Paul McCartney is playing in Halifax this Saturday, his only show in Canada too! He’ll be playing on the Halifax Common – a green space meant to be open to share for use by all residents and I believe they are expecting 60,000 people.
Anyhow, in my attempt to win tickets for my brother-in-law, I have been listening to News95.7 and the Beatles & Paul McCartney have been playing over and over in my head. I won’t describe to you the horror I put so many people through today as I sang my song (made up by me) to the listeners of the show - you had to go on air and sing to be in the draw to win.
That’s my segue to, the title of my blog post today! I chose this song to showcase my social media experience this past week to my readers. Social media is more than a marketing channel/tool, it is also about networking and connecting with others.
Last Friday I had a client run into some issues with her Facebook fanpage. I was asked to figure out why it wasn’t working properly. After much searching, I found myself stumped. So… I started putting out my ‘feelers’ to see if anyone else could help figure it out. I used Twitter, facebook and some blogs all weekend and through until yesterday.
Finally this morning, 5 days later, I found the answer with a little help from a friend of sorts; but many ‘friends’ were trying to help me figure it out. These were not people I have ever met, yet they were attempting to help me just the same.
What was in it for them, you might ask? Nothing. So why would they bother? Simple, to help out a ‘friend’ who happens to be someone they have never met and probably never will. Being helpful is the only reason why any of these people made contact with me. Connecting and networking… that’s all it was about and I am so grateful they took the time to help me, and ultimately my client.
The next time you are talking about social media and Twitter and Facebook and don’t seem to get it all… try thinking of it as the water cooler or staffroom in your office. When you are sitting at your office stumped on a problem, where do you turn? To your co-workers in the office… well, social media works in the same way sometimes; the only difference being that the ‘office’ of each party involved most likely spans a great distance and they may never meet face to face.
The ‘bug’ was noticed by Salman Ansari, with Involver . Salman, I really appreciate your help. It was a simple solution, but one that took an extra set of eyes! Involver is a company that has some great Facebook Applications for Pages – definitely check them out! I use them with many of my clients. Salman, you also helped out someone else having the same problem, she contacted me after seeing the posts, and once I found the fix, I passed on the info to ehr as well!
Thanks to everyone else (I hope I do not forget anyone) who helped by retweeting my posts or commenting back on a blog or sending me a message on Facebook or Twitter. I am grateful for the time you gave to me and my problem.
Do you edit your comments?
I’ve been blogging for almost a year now and have had the pleasure of people making comments on my blog. I also read other blogs and comment on them.
Sometimes it is a simple comment and sometimes, based upon the topic, I may recommend a place where I got help or found more info etc. I never blatantly say – “check me out or I can do that – go here”, it’s not my style.
This month a comment I made on someone’s blog got edited. A first experience for me. My policy is don’t edit, but don’t hide from criticism either. If the comment is unprofessional, I don’t approve it and my spam catcher does good work too. If someone takes the time to make a valid comment – not a spam one – then I feel I approve it all or not. If it had one section that was not appropriate, I would contact them to ask permission to edit. For example, I had a client who had a blog comment make reference to another line of work she had been in, she wanted to edit that but instead we emailed the person, explained the reasons and asked if she could remove that one part. Reasonable action and the other person fully understood.
The editing of my comment bothered me because I took the time to participate with someone else on their blog, and the sites (two) I was recommending were not competition for the blogger just a recommendation to get more info from.
Now I wonder if others commonly edit comments or not? What is your policy?
Learn the basics of Twitter – understand what a DM, RT and Hashtag are and how to use them
Follow a typical schedule that will help you remain efficient and effective with your time spent on Twitter
Click here to buy your copy nowfor only $12.00.
Download your FREE eBook on Productivity for Entrepreneurs
Join the Social 4 Biz Club
Get your social media questions answered during a live call every month PLUS learn new tricks and tips to using Social Media for your business. Forum support as well for help throughout the month.
