WooHoo – I wrote a blog! Now what?
Okay you finally wrote a blog, you finally appreciate that the world and his wife is writing blogs not just because they have a passion for writing as I do) but because it actually is a little god send of a free marketing tool for your business, but now what?
The fact is the world and his wife ARE writing blogs, so how is yours going to stand out?
How are you going to ensure yours does not languish in Never Read Land?
How are you going to ensure that people sign up to read it again and again?
Well let’s start with the reasons why you write a blog and they include;
To share advice, ideas and opportunities with people – it’s not about selling, it’s not about resplurging your website – it’s about giving away just the right level of advice and information (a word of caution to follow here*) that makes you useful. That gets you known as the thought leader which means you are the expert that they are going to trust, know and love – remember you can’t dictate when someone buys but you can have a say from who they choose to buy from.)
To showcase what you can do for people – again this is not a resplurge of your website – this is about sharing. Think about your favourite customer right now – the problems they talked about, the issues they faced, the solutions they needed. If they have that issues stands to reason other potential customer will have the same issue) so share posts that solve problems.
This very blog came about because a brilliantly talented makeup artist to Italian Vogue and London Fashion Week (you know who you are Michelle Court!) asked me how to get her blog seen – she actually called me Queen of Blogging – I like that!
And here’s that word of caution* don’t give everything away. Don’t write mighty long tomes of a blog that bore the pants of people. In this hyper fast world everyone wants answers fast and easy – so deliver easy to read content that answers the question succinctly – better to write 2 blog posts with a lot of material than one long one – finish the first blog with “and in our next blog we will be sharing with you…….”
People often make the mistake of not sharing really useful advice and ideas because they assume that the person reading it will go off and do it all for themselves and not need what they have to offer. Just because I know in theory how to play snooker it does not mean I can, just because I know how to paint a car it does not mean that I have any intention of actually doing it. If someone can learn from you something useful that makes their life easier they will come back for more. If you help them, they will want to work with you.
A great blog gets you known as the expert, it raises your profile and promotes your brand – and that leads to free PR, great marketing, more customers, new opportunities, speaking engagements, and so much more – I speak from experience here.
And lastly the written word is not the only kind of blog to produce. If your business is visual why are you writing 300 words? You know what they say about a picture painting a thousand words? What about a short video too? By the way anything longer than 3 minutes is not short.
Get visual, introduce sound, let people feel like they know you, so that your blog quietly answers their questions, get’s them out of tricky spots and shares some great ideas and stories and guess what? The next time they need what you do, for some inexplicable reason your name will be on the tip of their tongue. One of the most read recent blogs we produced was a 5 minute video showing you how to set up MailChimp!
In my next blog I will share with you how to ensure your blog doesn’t languish in Never Read Land. (see what I did there?)
How To Set Up An Email Campaign With Mail Chimp
Hi Guys,
So yesterday a client says to me thats its hard work sending out individual emails to everyone and what results do they get anyway? Thus I mentioned Mailchimp – its free, I can keep in touch with clients/potential clients/ and business women looking to grow their business effectively, knowing who reads it, how often and if they open the links I included and even automatically share on my social media too – great right?
Here’s a taster 5 minute video to help you get going;
The How to Set Up An Email Campaign With Mail Chimp
Get started, pause the video as you and do send us your finished results.
Meet Sue, A BWN Business Woman, A Specialist in her field…
Every month we will introduce you to business women you can expect to meet at the BWN. If you would like to be highlighted so that at the next networking event, people have a ton of questions, ideas, synergies and opportunities for you, get in touch.
“Hi My name is Sue Cook I work with spectrum disorders treating dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, dyscalculia, Aspergers and some autism and mutism.I am pretty much the only person in the uk using these brain rewiring techniques, though there are a handful of neurodevelopmentalists in the country.
Children who are struggling at school or have been diagnosed with one of mentioned conditions, often do very well on my programme which rebuilds nerve pathways in the brain and corrects the source of the problem rather than treating symptoms.
The brain learns through physical movement, and so the techniques I use involve movements that are specifically targeted to create or mend specific nerve pathways with astonishing accuracy.
It’s like scalpel free brain surgery.
This is possible because the brain is plastic, that means, it can be changed/affected by stimuli.
Nerve growth factors are released when new movements are happening in the body. For example, when we are learning to drive, at first it is difficult as we learn, this is when new nerve pathways are being created. When the movements have become automatic that is when the nerve pathways have become hard wired.
This same principle is used to help a child learn to read; there are sensory/nerve problems which are preventing correct interpretation of visual and sensory stimuli. So we correct it. Simple.
When my son was diagnosed with dyslexia, I was told there was nothing we could do and we had to learn to live with it. I refused to believe this. And i was determined to help my son.
I found a woman in Oregon who is probably the world’s authority on neurodevelopment and she agreed to train me to help my son because I already had a health science degree and an interest in the brain.
I helped my son and news travelled fast, other parents who saw my son’s progress began telling their friends. My phone started to ring and i built an accidental practice. Now four years later I treat patients all over the world, I am a regular guest on the radio and I speak at conferences. Also I have added to the world of neurodevelopment by coming up with my own theories in neuroscience and neurodevelopment which the head of my old university was so impressed by, he wants me lecture at the university as well as research my ideas which would revolutionise the treatment of spectrum disorders.
If you know of anyone who has a child with learning difficulties please remember me as I would love to help that child work towards leading a life free from learning hinderances.
I have recently moved to kelvedon and I have a new mobile: 07730 188536
I am also a degreed classical homoeopath with 15 years in practice; my friends call me the number one people fixer.
Feel free to contact me about your health issues and I’ll do my absolute best as always to maintain your health.
Www.helpingadhd.com Www.fit4reading.co.uk Sue@helpingadhd.com Sue@fit4reading.co.uk
I am freezing my 2011 prices for the next six weeks for Business Women’s network referrals.
My new clinic in kelvedon is in the high street and I have plenty of parking in my drive. It is very convenient.
I look forward to helping you or your family with your health or brain issues,
Sue Cook BSc. Honours Lic LCCH”
Thanks for sharing Sue, we look forward seeing you at the BWN in January.
Case Studies of What The BWN Really Does For Women.
Here are some examples of what the BWN does everyday for business women like you;
Business woman A worked for a large organisation and was great at her job, but now she needed to be good at marketing and networking too. Despite attending many events she was not getting the results she wanted. Thanks to the BWN she accessed like minded business women and business and development skills that have led to her networking producing great results.
Business Woman B was so low with running her own business she was reduced to tears when a coordinator asked “How’s business?” She was on the verge of quitting when she started attending the BWN and the work she had to accept was near on sole destroying to survive. Thanks to coming to the BWN she is now taking on her 1st member of staff and loves running her own business.
Meet Business Woman C, whose fear of public speaking was so severe, her voice wobbled, she gained the shakes and ran out of things to say! Within a few months of attending the BWN she was able to stand up and talk about her business to a roomful of business women and soon after was able to speak to 100+ with a microphone!
Business Womans D found that she was arguing with her loved ones over if she should go and “get a real job.” When she started attending the BWN she soon learnt new skills and made some connections that have led to 4-5 figure contracts not just in the UK but overseas too.
Meet Business Woman E & F whose businesses are growing fast. They now employ a few staff and find more and more they need to be in 2 places at once. Juggling family, work, health and life was proving to be too much. Somewhere down the line they were getting lost in mountains of paperwork and a sense of “Why am I doing this?” Thanks to coming along to The BWN they now know what they want out of business, have accessed the skills set to grow their staff and their business and are even gaining new leads even when they can’t get to a BWN event.
Lastly because Business Woman G is so amazing, we had to share this with you. Business Woman G is like many business women. Working hard day in day out. Having great weeks and tough days. Learning new skills and rising above the challenges of running her own business every day. She tenacious, she’s determined and she knows that however tough it gets there is the support and ideas to help her succeed. Business Woman G is like so many business women up and down the UK who gets on with it. But unlike many business woman Business Woman G has gained a plethora of leads, ideas and amazing opportunities thanks to attending the BWN regularly. However low she feels, she knows that The BWN is there just for her. She knows she is guranteed a roomfull of like minded business women who will motivate, inspire and connect with her for success spurning her on for another day.
I Don’t Have Time To Market My Business AND Run It!
If I had a £1 for every time I had heard the above statement, I would be a very rich little bunny. However I don’t so I make sure my marketing brings in the customers.
You see an effective marketing strategy WILL deliver leads, and if you are getting quality leads then guess what that leads to?
You guessed it, more customers.
But I do appreciate it can be tricky to factor in time to market your wares as well as to make and deliver them. So what can you do to make life easier?
Before you even think of aiming to make marketing easier to manage. Do you know what works?
If you don’t know this STOP right now. You see, you need to know what is working to deliver great leads and enquiries so that you can replicate that. So first of all concentrate on researching and analysing what works.
WHEN you know this information you can then use tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to schedule your social media. Taking into account when your ideal clients have the time to read your offerings, comment, reply, etc.
Next look at the real world marketing that works for you. Picking up the phone, public speaking networking, meetings, etc. What have the biggest impact and concentrate on making them deliver MORE to you.
For instance networking can only be effective if you dedicate to it. Know what you want beforehand. Attend regularly to build relationships so that people want to do business with you and most importantly follow up after EVERY event.
This approach needs to be applied to all areas of marketing that you have and constantly consider this…
What are you doing so that people are automatically keeping up to date with you and your business?
How can other people support your marketing strategy?
Affiliations, discounts, special offers for loyalty etc.
A VA could be a great resource for you too. What areas of your marketing could you outsource to someone else to do?
At The BWN we have a number of great VA’s that attend our events that would happily produce your newsletter, look after your social media and pick up the phone for you. (You can check them out here – https://old.thebusinesswomansnetwork.co.uk/the-business-women-of-the-bwn/)
Unless you are a larger company with a lovely thing called a “marketing budget” this is going to come down to you and if you don’t find a way to create a marketing strategy that fits into your busy life you will always have dips and troughs of customers. Now wouldn’t it be nicer to just have that steady flow of new customers heading to your door?
(This blog came out of a number of conversations with business women this week and has sparked this blog so thank you for sharing. And it has also sparked the next BWN Business Clinic with me – to learn more.)
Why You Need Killer Headlines (As Well as Killer Heels.)
Okay so I’m no copywriter (although I did once gain a client out of a copywriter who noticed grammatical errors on my website and emailed me!) But I do know, writing great blogs and fabulous web content is pretty pointless unless you are directing people to it.
Recently I was running a BWN workshop on Blogging For Business and this topic came up. “I am writing a blog, but no one is reading it, what do I do?”
Well here’s the thing, unless you find an effective way to market your blog, you might as well go and talk to the tree at the end of your garden. The tree will apparently feel good (he enjoys your carbon dioxide) but doubtful it’s liable to buy anything from you – if it does now THAT one would be easy to market!
You see you need to interact to the right people.
In the right way.
At the right time of day.
Saying the right kind of things that hook people in to wanting to know more.
That is useful and relevant.
And most importantly make it easy for them to find it again, and again, and again.
It could sound daunting but if you get it right, you will have people interacting with you, visiting your website regularly, appreciating you as an expert in your field and starting to love you and all that you do.
And pretty soon amazing things can happen thanks to blogging.
I personally include, new customers, speakers engagements and press opportunities but my personal fave to date, is having @StephenFry say “Great Blog” and when I DM’d him and asked if I could quote him, he said “go ahead.”
Sigh world’s best Tweeter thinks I’m great – Love it!
What could it do for you?
I am now running Business Clinics once a month at HSBC Business Banking Centre in Colchester through The Business Womans Network, for your chance to be one of just 10 business women at that table – get in touch.
The next one in October is be social media and a second one on Marketing- Creating & Actioning Your Plan. (24th October).