Why Blogging is Tough - And how to make it Easier

Back in 2010 when I was teaching small business owners about Facebook Pages and creating blog content, a lot of folks were still pretty cautious about spending any time building a presence online. Even after I turned my boss at the time into a mini-celebrity in a particular expertise he had - he still questioned if blogging worked. And that was just after about a year of consistent weekly blogging.

Blogging is pretty amazing! At the time we had several people on the phone every day all week, working to fill a weekend class on digital filmmaking. A year later, we didn't need to make any outbound calls, we had people just signing up online, for the most part, finding us through Google. I just checked today and that class continued on from 2010 til it's final run in 2018, after which the producer retired. It took a few years, and he still didn't fully understand why blogging worked, but he did acknowledg how crucial blogging had been to the success of the class, the last time I saw him in person.

"A year of blogging" sounds a lot easier than the reality of the situation. I wrote several articles a week (not just on the class) to build up our online presence and make sure our content was in high enough volume to garner attention from search engines. That is not easy to do, if you're writing from scratch. Of course, I was being paid to write the content, so that kept me going. But if writing all that content had just been a "labor of love" I doubt I would have spent so many hours a week creating all that content from nothing. Gotta pay the rent!

Good, quality writing is important when it comes to blogging. Have you ever ended up on a blog page that was poorly edited, contained misspellings and was obviously created just for the purposes of showing up online? Poor value is poor value. It's easy to recognize poor quality in writing. Well-written content providing real value (all you have to do is answer a question!)  is the kind of writing that's more likely to be shared and bookmarked. That's called social credit.

The Challenge

I'm willing to bet creating great content is the main reason novice bloggers (and even experienced bloggers) fall off the wagon and stop writing. I'm no different! Life happens, it's easy to forget to write. The ease with which bloggers fail to create content is also an advantage for those who start to take blogging seriously! Only 20% of your online competition is blogging with any consistency. I'd estimate that only about 20% of that 20% is actually doing a really, really great job at their blogging.

A few businesses are paying third parties to create a bunch of content and do a "good job" that way. Not everyone can afford to pay for quality writing though. Probably many business owners manage to get out a post a few times per month, and that's better than nothing.  This past year I discovered a way to create content without a lot of time spent, in addition to creating my own articles from scratch. Time to share!

TW3

TW3 is short for Terry Wilson 3, the owner of a marketing and advertising company that specializes in training and tested/proved strategies for business lead generation. It's a membership program and provides weekly training from the owner directly, along with a substantial support system of trainers, ticket support and a huge archive of past training videos. 

One of the main features that makes this membership so valuable is the fact that it comes with a mobile-optimized website and blog. But a real shining gem is here it that the blog comes with a content curation tool. 

What is Curation?

  Dictionary.com defines curation as follows: 

 to pull together, sift through, and select for presentation, as music or website content.

The curation tool allows you to set up sources, topics and keywords with which to locate, grab, post and automatically credit blog articles from other websites! We aren't talking about pretending you wrote the content, as the articles specifically are sourced back to the original creator.

So in addition to your own content (you should still write your own blogs!), you can easily fill your blog with relevant content your audience would enjoy. The curation tool saves a fantastic amount of time as many articles can be found and posted in a few minutes.

This comprehensive tool is fully documented and easy to use. If you're a novice to blogging, having a tool like this in your arsenal will make you look like a pro, once you've gotten your sea legs and have it up and running.

This is a huge boon for me personally, as I have two companies and two industries to write content about. On one side I have music education, and on the other I have marketing and advertising. Essentially, it's the same because the advertising and marketing company is the advertising arm of my music education business. But it's two distinct topics, so different articles are needed for both areas.

Believe me, a blog looks way better having lots of articles on it (recently) than a having a few posts a year! To find out more contact me at www.tw3marketmakers.com and I'll show you how to get your own blog content game into high gear!

Online Visibility: Why Content is King

Content = Online Visibility

After several years of online promotion training and hacking my way through the jungle of social networks, I have discovered the key to any online marketing campaign. If you have it, you can take the world. If you haven't cracked this one element, you're screwed.

Content.

Don't have a way to create content? Forget it. Able to create content? You're in.

Content: the number one priority for any online marketing campaign. Should you have Facebook and all the other social networks implemented into your "marketing mix?" Sure. But you don't own those. Plenty of business owners have had their Facebook business pages removed without recourse. And social networks are a little on the fad side, tending to disappear after they saturate the market. Or at least, they get overshadowed by the next "big thing." Remember MySpace? Yeah, I haven't logged in for about a year...

Content is king because you can create it once, and use it about 5 different ways. And once it's posted, it lives forever online (potentially). Keep posting content consistently and you'll eventually beat out most of your competition. Add a little SEO sense and you can take over the top ranking competitors and they'll probably have a hard time catching up if you can out-content them.

Competition analyses over the past few years have revealed to me that about 20% of companies in any category show up on the top of search results simply because they are consistently creating more content than the other 80%. So while it might take a long time to beat out your current number one online competitor, you can still make your way onto the first page of search results with relevant content your audience will read and interact with consistently.

It's not the amount of content only, it has to be high quality. If it doesn't resonate with your target audience, and if it's crudely copied from some other content (or worse, simply copied from another sitestraight-up plagarism), Google will penalize your site eventually. Google's rooting for the consumer to have great, useful content, and you should too. If that's not a priority for your, your website won't be a priority for Google Search Results.

A Quick Case Study: From Zero to Hero

One of my clients, The Association of Film and Video Producers, started a new boot camp for Canon video-capable cameras three years ago. While they had a website for video production and commercials, nothing existed on the Canon Boot Camp because it was new. I implemented a special blogging platform and got busy creating content. When we started teaching classes, it took all month and several people promoting to fill the class. Now we get the same number of people and 90% or more of the students find us online through search. Many of them remark to me how the Canon Boot Camp shows up on the first page for various search terms. Here's a graph of the number of visits and organic visits (red) daily since we started the new blog:

Even though it'd be nice to have a million hits a day, Canon DSLR training is a niche market. There probably aren't a million of these cameras in circulation. Still, thousands of dollars are generated every month because these Canon camera classes are so "findable" online. This past year they attracted favourable attention from the Canon EOS Cinema Division and were able to host a screening at the Canon EOS corporate office in Hollywood, CA. Even today I have to explain "how blogging works" to the CEO - and it does, even though many at the company may still not understand blogging technically.

A common "objection" business owners tell me is that they "don't have anything to write about" for their blog. Look in emails, past newsletters and even just everyday conversations to answer questions for content. Online content can be very conversational, not sales-oriented most of the time, and still be very effective.

In most cases, say online what you already say in person, and most of the time it'll work and you'll get more visible online. To understand more about how online promotion works, watch this video.

 

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My Most Embarrassing Moment

We all have one. 

What seemed like the end of the world eventually became a funny story, so in the end it's all good. Because I was 13, bereft of the battle-hardened edge required to shrug off the unimportant, it seemed catastrophic. Looking back, it really was a tiny little bump; I wish I could travel in time to laugh along with my schoolmates who witnessed my minor tragedy. 

Everything was New

Miami was home up to the age of 12. Key Biscayne, to be exact. My parents toiled hard and long hours to ensure home was a safe haven for their three boys. And after my older brother was mugged at the mainland high school, we all attended private schools. My older brother left home for a private boarding high school, and my twin brother and I attended a small private school in Miami. 

Time moved on, and once he had graduated from the boarding school, my older brother returned to Miami and my twin and I were sent to boarding school. I was used to isolation living on an island - there were certain things we just didn't have, such as a movie theater. Or McDonalds. But going to boarding school was a different kind of isolation. Situated across the country, in Oregon, it was far removed from city life, in a former monastery of all places. I was fascinated by the well preserved stained glass in the chapel and the lush greenery everywhere. Valleys covered in a sea of fog in the mornings, deer on the lawn. But I digress.

Life was different. Everything was new. The only person I actually knew was my own twin brother. He did most of the talking, and I was the quiet one. Year later, one of the faculty actually mentioned how quiet I had been at the time, my silence made such an impression on him. "Fred," I very seriously replied, "I would have said the same thing as my brother anyway!" It's true, too. 

The Fateful Friday Dress Up Day

Anyway, we had all new clothes, especially for Friday Dress Up Day. Fridays required the use of ties, slacks and nice dress shoes. My days of running around in nothing but shorts and maybe flip flops (hey, I was on an island...) were over. I had been at the boarding school for about 3 months when the fateful Most Embarrassing Moment took place. It was Friday, of course, so I was dressed well and I was LATE. Breakfast was wrapping up, and all I could think of was food, I was so hungry.

A well-loaded buffet line later, with 15 minutes to eat and ascend 5 flights of stairs to the classroom, I piled food high on my industrial strength, baby-crap brown tray. A plate of scrambled eggs, 2 fried eggs, fresh-bread toast, homemade granola, breakfast potatoes, orange juice and a glass of milk. I was really looking forward to eating, even if it meant wolfing it down with zero style.

Of all the rooms at the school, the dining hall was the largest. It could comfortably seat several hundred staff and students, who all ate together for the most part. Mornings usually saw a light crowd, so there were perhaps about 75 people wrapping up their meal. Including a gal I was enamored with, Sarah. Ah, Sarah. I hadn't even had the guts to say hi to her in the 3 months I had been at the school. One day perhaps. 

Lost in my reverie as I left the buffet line, I barely noticed the rather large wet patch on the floor, still lingering from the previous night's mopping. Too lazy to walk around it, and too hungry to think straight, I determined the first fatal move: 

"I'll just make sure to step firmly." 

John Travolta would have been proud. Maybe Jackie Chan too. 

In a single fluid motion, my first "firm" step resulted in a simultaneous vaulting of my food tray straight out in front of me, while my right leg shot forward trying to catch up with the tray. Managing to catch myself with my hands, I was suddenly looking up at the ceiling in utter confused silence. My dramatic dance move shocked the entire hall into silence. Well, except for Sarah. 

My secret love burst out into the loudest laugh (cackle might be a better word) I ever heard, then or since, silenced only by the glare of Really Scary Tall Faculty Guy (thank you, Scary Guy!). Not to be outdone, the only other noise that absolutely refused to be silenced was a single, ugly cafeteria tumbler. You know the kind. Tall, angry red and sort of oddly opaque, it's outstanding feature is an ability take a pounding. Frozen upside down wishing I was on another planet (preferably one without an atmosphere), that stupid cup loudly danced on the terrazzo floor, seemingly broadcasting my name as it erratically tap-danced it's way across the room. 

Miraculously, all inhabitants of the room were unscathed by my impromptu performance.  

Since I had yet to vanish into thin air (not for lack of hoping), I pulled myself up and confronted the situation. Sprawled in front of me lay 8 feet of liquid goo punctuated with bit of scrambled eggs and very confused granola. Somehow only 5 minutes had passed. There was a remote chance I could clean this all up and still eat something. Nothing like a stomach to set your mind to the task at hand and provide motivation.

Ted in the kitchen stared at me blankly, meeting my request for a broom with a silent finger pointing to a mop and a bucket of dirty water. I had never even seen one of these yellow contraptions before, and certainly never used one. I raggedly pushed it out in front of me using the mop handle as leverage. Just when I thought my disaster was nearly over, the mop bucket unceremoniously pivoted (it was missing a wheel) and dumped it's entire contents right at ground zero. 

With my Breaking Point fast approaching, and my stomach having renewed it's efforts to tie itself into a knot, I told Ted flat out I wasn't going to clean the mess because I had to get to class. Or maybe he took pity on me and offered to clean it up for me, I kind of blacked that part out. My twin had gotten me another plate of food, but for some perverse reason had placed it so that ground zero was between me and the bussing room. 

Down to 4 minutes to get up 5 flights of stairs. A single tear threatening to trail down my cheek, I gave up on my stomach. Gripping the new tray, my white knuckles and I skirted the disaster zone to make it to the bus room and out of the nightmare. Any remaining staff and students studied my every move, waiting for a repeat performance as I gingerly retraced my path out of the dining hall. Passing over the fringe of the Inescapable Wet Patch (was it getting even bigger?), my foot jerked ever so slightly but this time didn't fail me. Dumping my tray properly, I leapt up the stairs to class, breathlessly wondering if I would make it to the end of the day alive. 

I lived to Tell the Tale

And then that day was gone. I seem to be the only one who actually remembers it, burned as it is into the darker corners of my mind. Every now and then (usually after some wine) I let it out and reminisce about the good old days, and share a laugh with friends. It broke my parents hearts to send us away so young, but those were my favorite years as a child, in their own way. I went on to be a singer, violist and actor, unafraid of the stage. After all, I had surely survived the worst moment of my life already. 

Never did forget Sarah. I can still hear her laughter reminding me things are never as bad as they seem. 

What's your most embarrassing moment? 

 

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Back Up Your Life (Before it's Too Late!)

I guess people think what I think. "It'll never happen to me."

But then it did. My hard drive crashed. Hard. I still haven't gotten all my data off my old computer. I didn't have the time! All efforts went into locating and purchasing another computer. Thankfully I got a good deal, but I still lost a couple weeks of momentum in my business as I made do with other computers (that didn't have my files).

If only I had known about MyPCBackup then.

 

 

Having been through a mini-disaster (I admit, a lot of files I needed were on Google Docs already - but a lot of client files were not), I instantly understood how valuable a service it is to backup one's files into a secure cloud-based system. Being in the "Cloud" is just being able to access your data from anywhere. It isn't really in a "cloud." There's a computer somwhere hosting your data. And it's not just the "extra" laptop someone had hanging around

We're talking rows and rows of computers that can hold tons of data, and way more secure than your desktop or laptop. Of course, there's the matter of price. If you have tons of data, it can start getting expensive to back up everything.

So I was happy to find MyPCBackup, because they have a free option as well as inexpensive data backup. So I thought I'd share the love. They have a great affiliate program to (just to give full disclosure!) so you can get tons of free space for nothing if you like their service and refer it. So far I haven't found anything to dislike! Thus, this blog post. Check it out of you want to backup your "life." As they say, when you drop your phone, you panic. When your friend falls, you laugh. Well, pretty much the same for the data on your computer, right? Not so funny when you lose your own data...

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Feature Your Website Content on Facebook Timeline Pages

The 2 Categories of Online Business Owners

Since Facebook is larger than many countries (virtually speaking, of course), it's a great site for businesses to feature their content and get visiblity online. The high amount of content coursing through those blue veins ensures constant indexing by Google and other search engines. And since Facebook Pages (unlike personal pages) are completely searchable, they are naturally the perfect place to establish a presence.

Most business owners will fall into 2 categories online - They already have a website, or they don't. Either way, both types will benefit from using Timeline Pages.

• If you already have an established website, hurrah! You probably already have graphics and other visual elements that may be featured on the new Facebook Timeline.

• If you don't have a website, you can leverage Facebook Pages as a temporary "website" - and Facebook doesn't charge a penny! It will probably take longer to build than a if you already have a website as there will be more creative visual work to do. For example, if you don't have a logo or any photos, you will need to create them for the Page to be an effective branding tool.

For those who already have websites, good news! Not only does the new Timeline Pages format allow you to create your own visual masterpiece of a presence,  each part of your business can be featured separately as well using something called Tabs.

Tabs on Pages

What are tabs exactly? They are kind of like a file folder inside a file drawer. Think of a Facebook Timeline Pages like file drawers. And each folder has a little "tab" used for identification.

Through the wonder of technology, you can feature your website pages and other content on your Page's Tabs.The really wonderful aspect of this is the person perusing your Tabs doesn't ever leave Facebook. The person may navigate around your content just like your website, but all the navigation occurs in Facebook. As an example, here's Pepsi's Facebook Timeline Page:

And here is one single Tab from the same Page. The possibilities are endless! Sell paintings, feature your contact information, anything you can do on a website you can feature on your Facebook Page:

If you're interested in creating custom Tabs for your business based on an existing website, let me know. I can help you create it. We'll work together to get the look you want. It probably won't take long (unless you have a LOT of website pages). Average cost for one Tab is probably going to be less than $150. Got an online store or sell item on Amazon? Create the same store on a Facebook Timeline Page and get Facebook to help promote, creating income and sales.

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Security Settings on Facebook: Using a Mobile Phone to Prevent Hacking

Turning Your Favorite Accessory into Facebook Security from Hackers

Probably one of the worst things you want to hear from a friend is that your Facebook account has been hacked and "you" are sending out messages to all your friends. Then fielding all the emails, calls and text messages asking if you really are stuck in the UK after being mugged, or why "you" are sending out slutty messages to your best friend's wife (or husband - hackers don't seem to be particular).

So what are your options? A really complex password? Yes, that's a good idea. At least make sure to include a number and an uppercase letter to make it harder to crack.

Copyright: Funny Times

 

And then there is "Login Approvals."

Login Approvals is a security feature built into Facebook (not a third-part application) that sends a code by text to the registered cell phone for that user. The code must be entered prior to getting access to the account.

Since it's pretty unlikely a hacker will also happen to have your cell phone at the exact moment of logging in, it can be a good option for lots of folks. And it's not hard to use, really, as long as you don't mind waiting a couple extra seconds for the text message to go through. There's a couple of caveats, of course:

• The registered number is for a phone you don't always have with you. Forget your phone at home a lot? Might want to forget using this option.

• If you delete your cell phone number off of your Facebook account, you'll lock yourself out.

• Rarely, the text message is delayed considerably. If you're not a patient person...reconsider using this system. Every time you log in to Facebook you have to enter a code. Personally I'd rather wait a few extra seconds than get hacked. Just sayin'.

 

 

Login Approvals

What is Login Approvals? How do I turn this setting on?

Login approvals is an opt-in security feature similar to login notifications, but with an extra security step. With login approvals, you'll be asked to enter a special login code each time you try to access your Facebook account from a new computer or mobile phone. After you log in, you'll have the option to give that device a name and save it to your account. You won't have to enter a code when you log into any of these recognized devices.

To turn on Login Approvals:

1. Go to your Security Settings page (  Account Security > Security)

   
   
   

2. Click on the Login Approvals section

   

3. Check the box and save your changes [above]

Note:

• You have to have a mobile phone number listed on your account to turn on login approvals. Follow the steps provided when you check the box to turn on login approvals or learn more.

• If you haven't named this computer, you'll be asked to do so when you turn on login approvals. Do not click the Save this device option if you're using a computer that other people use (ex: a library computer).

• After you turn on login approvals, we need to be able to remember your computer and browser information so we can recognize it next time you log in. Some browser features block this. If you've turned on private browsing or set up your browser to clear your history every time it closes, you might have to enter a code every time you log in. Learn more

There you go! Now you can be safe, and perhaps slightly annoyed. Share this with your friends who get hacked and may be all be a little safer online. Or just save yourself a TON of time and get off of Facebook altogether! Yeah, right. :)

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Back Up Your Life (Before it's Too Late!)

I guess people think what I think. "It'll never happen to me."

But then it did. My hard drive crashed. Hard. I still haven't gotten all my data off my old computer. I didn't have the time! All efforts went into locating and purchasing another computer. Thankfully I got a good deal, but I still lost a couple weeks of momentum in my business as I made do with other computers (that didn't have my files).

If only I had known about MyPCBackup then.

 

 

Having been through a mini-disaster (I admit, a lot of files I needed were on Google Docs already - but a lot of client files were not), I instantly understood how valuable a service it is to backup one's files into a secure cloud-based system. Being in the "Cloud" is just being able to access your data from anywhere. It isn't really in a "cloud." There's a computer somwhere hosting your data. And it's not just the "extra" laptop someone had hanging around

We're talking rows and rows of computers that can hold tons of data, and way more secure than your desktop or laptop. Of course, there's the matter of price. If you have tons of data, it can start getting expensive to back up everything.

So I was happy to find MyPCBackup, because they have a free option as well as inexpensive data backup. So I thought I'd share the love. They have a great affiliate program to (just to give full disclosure!) so you can get tons of free space for nothing if you like their service and refer it. So far I haven't found anything to dislike! Thus, this blog post. Check it out of you want to backup your "life." As they say, when you drop your phone, you panic. When your friend falls, you laugh. Well, pretty much the same for the data on your computer, right? Not so funny when you lose your own data...

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