What’s The Purpose of BLOG COMMENTS?
I read – and comment on – a number of blogs every day and I have several goals I try and accomplish when commenting on other peoples blogs. I hope that these strategies help you as they have helped me to increase my blog and website traffic. They are: 1. Catch the attention of the readers 2. Catch the attention of the blogger 3. Develop my company brand 4. Create some good backlinks Catch the Attention of the Readers My primary purpose for blog commenting is to gain new readers to my own blog. To achieve this I use these three stratigies: 1. Provide QUALITY content– ‘I agree with you’ is not a quality comment 2. Better first not last – I comment when a blog is first posted so my comment is not buried at the end 3. Commenting on current posts – activity is usually highest on a fresh post To achieve these things, I try to be one of the first people to comment on a post. There is a tool you can use to make early commenting a little easier for those in your timezone and that is called Comment Sniper. This is a free tool that will poll your chosen blogs every few minutes to check for new posts. As soon as a new post appears the tool will let you know either via email or even SMS if you like. Using this you can know as soon as a blog you are targeting publishes a new post and be one of the first to comment. Download Comment Sniper free here. Catch The Attention of the Blogger The author of most blogs love discussing the subject of their blogs. If you leave a comment that provides Ask Questions – Including specific questions in posts definitely helps get higher numbers of comments. Trying To Be Enthusiastic – There are few things more enjoyable than talking enthusiastically about something you’re passionate about, and feeling others share your enthusiasm. Interact with comments left – Authors like when people interact and discuss the subject of the blog. This makes the blog more entertaining and informative to the next reader. Email the author – Every author likes to know that they are providing good content Develop my Company Brand My brand is my company name, and I suppose my logo. The best way to promote your brand is to be everywhere! Of course, being everywhere is very time consuming * build trust – One reason that so many blogs fail is that they aren’t (or don’t appear to be) trustworthy sources, nor are they trustworthy humans. So we move on. You do 95% of it right, then use reprint an old article or lie a bit or try too hard and boom, that’s it. * be personal – Readers love when you tell real life experiences. If you must tell someones else’s experiences, quote them. * use story – People love to be entertained while learning. Telling your experiences through [...]
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
What does your website do for you?
When a new visitor comes to your website for the first time an initial impression will be formed pretty quickly. A good first impression will increase the chances of that new visitor returning to your site again, and a bad first impression will be almost impossible to overcome. It is a good idea to find out what your customers ant and expect, before your competitors do. here are some of the basics that you need to be aware of when designing you website. 1. First impression Web users form first impressions of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second), according to Canadian researchers. In the blink of an eye, web surfers make nearly instantaneous judgments of a web site’s “visual appeal.” A good first impression will increase the chances of someone visiting your site again, but a bad first impression is very difficult to shake. 2. Red Carpet Treating your customers like they are important is another critical factor in providing better service to those who do business with you. One of the most critical factors for outstanding service is to treat customers with dignity and respect. Surprise your customers by giving them more than they expect. By exceeding customer expectations, you will win friends who hold important influence over your success. All ways listen carefully to what customers are saying. Try and treat others like you want to be treated. Better yet, treat every customer as if they were your mother and your only goal in life is to impress her. 2. Education One of the main reasons that people use the Internet is to educate themselves about products and services. Potential Customers often look to your website to provide them the information they want to know about your company or service. They want to know background information about your company and your products, testimonials from other customers, information about your staff and management, and some helpful and pleasing graphical information will all help to promote your business. Online customers are looking for enough information on which to make a decision. 3. Working for you 24/7 Your website never takes a break. Online customers shop day and night. With today’s analytic tools a business has the opportunity to study peoples activity patterns, which can help you learn more about your business. 4. Earn Additional Income Once you have put in your hard work and have built up a regular amount of monthly visitors. You can make additional income by offering advertising plans to anyone who may be interested. This could provide a very nice bonus at the end of each month. Be cautious though; make sure not to go overboard with ads. Too much can prove to be detrimental to your traffic rates and returning visitors. 5. Announce Other Products/Services/Websites Having a website allows you to announce new products/services/events you may start-up. This gives you a better platform to generate traffic quickly and effectively on your new project instead of having to go through [...]
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
What Does Your Website Say About You?
This is the question that every business owner needs to be asking them selves during the current economical times. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find, secure and retain good clients. That’s why business owners need to work on their marketing a bit more to secure better clients, and this is where your website comes into the mix. Many business owners today have the misconception that websites don’t do much, but in fact, it’s almost the complete opposite to that. Here is a list of things that your website can convey to your customers 24/7/365; 1. Creditability Customer testimonials are extremely important as it is one of the strongest ways to convey credibility through a website. Conveying credibility through a website is a challenge we all face. If you properly convey your credibility your visitors will be eager to contact you. The more others speak of your past services the more likely you are to get hired. This can seriously help gain credibility and trust, which can be difficult if the client doesn’t know you. 2. Build Authority An authority is someone who has developed specialist knowledge and because of sharing this knowledge, has developed a reputation as an expert in the field. Your website must portray an image of yourself as professional in your field. Looking professional can be done in several ways, the most important of which is customer testimonials. Building authority is all about establishing yourself as a market leader in what you do, a pioneer if you will. The end result is that if you’re an authority and leader in your field, then you have the opportunity to get more clients, and charge more for your work as well. 3. Share your Personality No matter what your business, if you expect to make an impact, you’ve got to create and maintain a business personality. Your website really can reveal a lot about your personality. It can really show off your sense of style, your creativity, and also your flair. A nice website can give your visitors a general picture of you as a person. Is your site unorganized? Is it cluttered or over packed with info? Does your website read like a face to face conversation or an encyclopedia? Is your color scheme loud or relaxing? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself. 4. Know Your Clients There are many things to be learned by getting to know your customer. We all would love to strap our customers to a chair and ask them a 100 questions about why they do business with us. But, this would not be good for repeat business. And we can’t necessarily find out what people want by asking them directly. We therefore as business owners we need to do a lot of observation. Through your website you can observe your customers through email, chat, blogs, surveys, polls, web traffic and page views. These are just some of the tools that are available to you. Once you have [...]
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business
Rene Daumal
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) -Rene Daumal It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content… it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion.
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
Sir Richard Branson's
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) Sir Richard Branson’s “There will be lots of downs. Do your best to fight tooth and nail to survive. And if you don’t survive, if you have worked damned hard, don’t get down about it. There’s a lot of successful entrepreneurs who have picked themselves up and started again.” -
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
8 Steps on How To Use Audio on Your Website
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) In the past, audio was typically used on websites as background music to increase the “WOW!” factor, but it didn’t really help in communicating with customers. These days it’s a different story. With broadband becoming ubiquitous and streaming audio technologies getting more advanced, you can now easily convey spoken word over the web. Well crafted audio messages can help you add a personal touch to your website which will make customers feel closer to you. The presence of your voice welcoming customers, answering questions, or describing the benefits associated with your product or service can boost customer confidence in ways that text and images alone can’t. Most people have computers capable of playing streaming audio and will find it a refreshing change from boring text. Increased use of the internet along with improved technology now make it easy for you to add streaming audio to your website and create that personal bond with your customers. Reasons Why You Should Have Audio on Your Site 1. Customers remember what they hear more than what they read. Did you know that people remember only 20% of what they read while they remember an astonishing 70% of what they hear? That’s three and a half times more! Your audio message will help you to stick into the minds of your customers longer. 2. Audio boosts your credibility. The sound of your voice adds personality to your website and helps customers identify with you. Customers buy from people who they feel they know and trust, and using audio can help you achieve this. 3. Audio keeps customers on your site longer. Audio can keep customers on your site longer and you give you more time to make the sale. It can be used as an additional resource or tool for customers to familiarize themselves with your product or service while browsing your site. 4. Audio increases your subscription rate. Using a personal audio message to get customers to sign up for your newsletter can raise subscription levels by up to 400% more than using traditional subscription marketing techniques. You can also use audio as a part of an online course that people can subscribe to. The lesson that includes an audio in our free online meditation course gets opened most, leads to the largest number of sales and receives the best feedback. 5. Audio enhances newsletters, ezines and blogs – which leads to profits. You can spice up your newsletter, ezine or blog by using audio to provide special tips or product updates that keep customers interested and motivated to buy. 6. Audio puts you light years ahead of your competitors. Using audio successfully on your site gives you a competitive advantage. Most internet businesses overlook using this effective marketing tool so be sure you’re not one of them! 7. Audio is easy to use. Being able to put audio on your website isn’t limited to just techies – anyone can do it! [...]
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
Hot Tip -Set Daily Goals
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) Set Daily Goals In order to visualize your accomplishments and stay encouraged, you need to set daily goals. These goals can be as simply as a follow up phone call or a written letter to an investor. Whatever the task is, get it done. In addition to keeping the process for your success on track, it will help you to feel like you are making accomplishments, pushing you closer and closer to the success.
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
Hot Tip- Believe
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) Believe Not only do you need to believe in the product or service you are building to success, you also need to believe in you. Your confidence is what will get you through the difficult challenges and build credibility with your customers.
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, small business web development
Bill Gates
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) -Bill Gates I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
Enthusiasm
(Here’s an article of great value to small business owners, www.GBN-Online.com) “Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Enthusiasm. One of my absolute favorite words. Did you know that it comes from the Greek entheos “possessed by a god” (theos (God) and en (within))? I love that. So, when you’re enthusiastic, GOD is within you. And, equally important, when you are NOT enthusiastic, God has left the building that is you. Never forget Emerson’s wisdom that “Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is due to the triumph of enthusiasm.” Let’s find the God within us. Let’s get enthusiastic!!!!!
Categories: Small business Tags: entrepreneur, Small business, small business web development
