Boost Your Search Engine Rankings With a Blog

With over 72 percent of people finding what they need online, you must get found. A blog offers the following benefits.

Share your expertise. A business blog gives you a platform to promote what you know and establish yourself as an expert in the marketplace.

Describe and build your brand. Your brand represents what people know about you or think of when they hear of you. Focusing your blog on your expertise will help promote your brand.

Boost search engine rankings. As you continue to offer tips, insight, and advice to people who need what you have, you’ll give the search engines what they crave – fresh, quality content.

Reach the masses with less effort and money. Search engines, links from other sites, integration with social media tools, and Google Alerts are just a few of the ways a blog can help you reach people you never would have otherwise. You could start to attract potential customers, clients, journalists, and industry giants seeking fresh ideas.

“I have a newsletter that I email regularly.
Why do I need a blog?”
It’s a good idea to collect email addresses and send your subscribers valuable information regularly. But if that’s all you’re doing, how will Google and other search engines know? The only people seeing your newsletter are your subscribers. When you add your expertise to a blog, it’ll get picked up by the search engines and exposed to the world! So do both.

“But I’ve heard blogs are free and
easy to set up. Why do I need training?”
Yes, it’s true. You can easily create a simple blog at sites such as Blogger from Google. But if you want to become a serious blogger and take advantage of customized designs and plug-ins that will boost your search engine rankings and virability, you’ll want our advice and training. You’ll want a self-hosted WordPress blog with powerful functionality that makes it easy to share and get others to promote.

With a self-hosted blog, you will:

• Have complete control over design, functionality, and virability.
• Be able to add any number of the thousands of free plugins that make your blog easy to share and promote, thus boosting your search engine rankings.
• Host your own content and easily move it from one host to another if you ever need to.
• Easily create full backups of all files.
• Be able to monetize it by selling your own products.
• Upload as much content as your hosting package will allow.
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If you need more convincing why blogging is so important, you have got to read this article from Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends blog, “42 Million U.S. Women Use Social Media: Blogs Most Influential.”

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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Recover Your Hardware and Software After Theft

A fellow business owner had the misfortune of a home break-in. The thieves made off with three of his laptops. Like so many others, he’s taking extra precautions after the fact.

I, on the other hand, am proactive.

I take special care with my laptop because I run my entire business on it. I’m fanatical about backing up all my important data online, my laptop is never out of my sight when I travel, it’s password-protected, and I have a subscription to Computrace® LoJack® for Laptops by Absolute® Software.

This software “tracks, locates, and recovers stolen computers while providing you with the ability to protect your personal information from identify theft,” as stated on their Website. If my laptop is ever stolen, I’ll let Absolute know, and the software goes to work tracking its location. I will also be able to remotely delete all of my personal and sensitive files from the hard drive.

To password-protect a PC or laptop, click Start, Control Panel, double-click User Accounts. You should see where to create a password (make it memorable but hard for others to guess).

I hope I never need this protection, but I sleep better at night knowing it’s in place.

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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Make a Dent in Email Overload

Practicing email etiquette will help you and your recipients reduce email overload. Before you know it, better email habits will reduce the flurry of messages going back and forth, your messages will be clearer and have more meaning, and your recipients will be able to answer more thoroughly.

• Protect the privacy of the recipients with Bcc. If you’re sending a message to a group of people, send it to yourself and blind copy (Bcc) everyone else. You’ll protect the privacy of everyone’s email address and you’ll prevent a Reply to All fiasco (with Bcc, if a person clicks Reply to All, only the originator receives it).
• Make your subject line sizzle. Your subject line should read like the headline in a newspaper. The recipient should know precisely what your message is about just by reading the subject line. It should always match the message.
• Add a salutation. Always greet the person you’re writing with Hi Mary, Dear John, Hello John, etc. Otherwise, your email will come across as an order, especially if you’re making a request.
• Remind the recipients of who you are. If you’ve met someone once or it’s been awhile since you’ve reached out to them, remind them of previous encounters.
• Treat email as a business letter. Email should receive the same treatment as a letter on your company’s stationery. If you wouldn’t put smiley faces, ivy growing down the side, shorthand as in an instant message, etc., in a letter, then don’t do it in email. Proper grammar, capitalizations, and punctuation should be standard.
• Be brief but be clear. Spend time crafting a well thought-out email and get to the point quickly. Use bullets if you’re making several points so the message can be quickly scanned. Put any deadlines in a bold font near the top and bottom of your message.
• Thank people in advance. You can reduce email overload if you simply thank people in advance. Then you won’t feel compelled to send a useless one-word thank you email later.
• Avoid receiving numerous useless replies. When you send a message to a group, add at the top and bottom of the message whether you need a reply (e.g., NRN for no reply necessary).
• Keep the body of the previous email with your answer. Set your email software to include the previous message when you reply. Don’t make the originator have to go back to figure out what they asked you for.
• Answer within 48 hours. An email message is not a 9-1-1 call, but it should be answered within a reasonable time. Your company should set this standard.
• Think before you send. Read the message before you reply, giving the sender everything they’ve requested. If you’re in a meeting with your PDA under the table, you’re not going to send a good answer. Wait until you’re back at your desk and can think more clearly. And don’t answer any messages when you’re upset.

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Start practicing better habits and etiquette today and keep me posted on your progress.

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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Optimize Your Social Media Sites Using PowerPoint

I use PowerPoint for all of my graphics projects. A designer will laugh at this because they probably use software such as PhotoShop to handle complex projects. Well, I don’t know PhotoShop well enough to whip out something fast, but I know just about everything that PowerPoint can do. And for the types of projects I have, I’ve figured out how to get them done fast using this software I already have.

My latest project consisted of changing my Twitter background for my main Twitter account, and another one here @ digitalbreaks. Here’s how I did it.

Ready PowerPoint for Your Design

1. Decide on your color scheme, matching your Website, blog, etc. (or not), and sketch out a rough design. (Here are some charts that show you Web colors that match.)
2. In PowerPoint, resize a landscape slide to 20” Width and 12.5 inches Height (click the File menu, Page Setup). Depending on your monitor and resolution, you may have to reduce the Zoom level in order to see more of your slide (zoom in and out as you need to see more detail).
3. Either from Slide Master view or directly on the slide, change the color of your background. Make it more interesting by using two colors and experimenting with Shading styles (click the Format menu, Background, down arrow to Fill Effects, Two colors (then click the down arrow and choose colors). Try the different Shading styles. My @ peggyduncan Twitter background is a dark blue and white with the Shading style, From title.

Here’s a Video – Part 1

Place Your Graphics and Customize Your Design

1. Display the ruler (click the View menu, Ruler).
2. To place graphics on your slide, first set your Zoom level at 50%. The zero (0) marks the center of your slide. Using the ruler as your guide, to the left, place your graphics between 0-8.5. On the right, place them between 4.5 and 6.5.
3. Use guides and a grid to help you line everything up (View, Grids and Guides, Display drawing guides on screen, Display grid on screen.
4. Create more guides by hovering your mouse over one and dragging while holding down the  Ctrl key. When you’re finished and don’t need as many guides, click and drag some of them off the screen.
5. Add any other drawing elements and graphics you want (the higher the resolution the better). Add text using a text box so it will be easier to move around (located on the Drawing toolbar. Click the Tools menu, Toolbars, Drawing).
6. Save the slide as a PNG (click the File menu and change Save as type to PNG Portable Network Graphics Format, Current Slide Only). The final filesize can not be larger than 800k for Twitter. If you need to resize any photos (but maintain the quality), read my previous post, Resize a Bunch of Photos by the Batch.

It’s important to note that when you save your slide as a graphic, it’ll only be 96dpi. This might be good enough for your design but if it’s not as sharp as you want, check out rNr Image Exporter from the PPTools Website. This is the software I use when I need to save my PowerPoint slides in higher resolution (about $30.00 and worth every dime), especially when I need to print them.

Here’s a Video – Part 2
Here’s a Video – Part 2.5

Add Design to Twitter as Background

Once you’re satisfied with your PowerPoint design, sign into your Twitter account.

1. Click Settings, Design tab.
2. Under the default theme, click Change background image, Browse to find your graphic, double-click it.
3. Untick the tile background box (so design won’t repeat itself when viewing using different monitor resolutions), Save changes.

Tweaking It Until It’s Right

You will probably have to tweak your PowerPoint design several times and resave until you get it just the way you want it. I use two monitors: one on my laptop and a second 22″, with both set at resolution 1280 by 720 pixels. The designs looked different on both so I tweaked it as much as I could so it would look great both ways. You have no control over other people’s monitor resolutions so just do this to your satisfaction. A huge advantage of doing this in PowerPoint is that tweaking is so easy.

Now change the default colors in Twitter such as the sidebar background color, text, and links.

1. Go back into Settings, Design tab, Change design colors.
2. You may want to change the text, links, sidebar, and sidebar border, keeping everything color-coordinated with your new design.
3. Click the sidebar block to select it. Now use your mouse to click desired color in the box and use the sliding bar next to it to hone in on the exact color you want. When you’re satisfied, click Done.
4. Repeat Step 3 for each color block until you’re satisfied and click Save Changes.

Here’s a Video – Part 3

After you’ve created your new background, leave a comment and link so we can check it out.

Note: In my next post, I’ll show you how to create a customized skin for your YouTube channel.

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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Create a self-hosted WordPress blog, implement search engine optimization techniques, and start getting free publicity that attracts the media and new business to you like a magnet!

Description
SCORE Atlanta presents a full-day workshop that’s hands-on with your laptop. Learn from experts how to build a professionally-designed, self-hosted WordPress blog from scratch and optimize it (and your Web site) for search engines. You’ll also learn how to use other no- to low-cost tips and strategies for getting found online, including social media.

Dates & Time

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Again On
Friday, July 17, 2009

More Dates Will Be Added

9:30 AM – 4:00 PM
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM Help Desk

Location
AGL Resources, Inc.
Ten Peachtree Place, 2nd Floor Training Room
Atlanta GA 30309 (Midtown Atlanta)

Prerequisites
Easy pre-work (e.g., register a domain) is required for this training and full details are on the official Website, www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com.

Who Should Attend?
The workshop is designed for small business owners, non-profits, virtual assistants, and anyone else who needs to build an online presence and get found. You must be computer savvy.

Your Trainers
Part I. Peggy Duncan will teach you how she started her blog from scratch, maintains it with fresh content, and what she does to keep her top position in Google’s organic search results. She is a personal productivity expert and author of six books on organization, time management, and technology tips, tricks, and strategies. Peggy travels internationally helping busy people spend less time working but get more done. She is an award-winning blogger, and her technology blog was recently selected the Top Business Blog by Fast Pitch!

Part II. JB Brathwaite will teach you how to build a professional WordPress blog from scratch and enhance it with some of the most popular plug-ins that will increase its functionality. He is an Internet strategist, WordPress blogging expert, and Peggy’s teacher. He’ll work with you to build your self-hosted blog from scratch or will take what you already have to another level with more functionality.

Get Details and Register Here TODAY!
www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com
Space is Limited

SPONSORED BY

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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I was recently interviewed by a national magazine and the reporter asked me about some of the must-have equipment I use to run my solo enterprise. Here is what I listed.

Feature-rich telephone. You might think that finding the perfect desk phone is easy, but it wasn’t for me. I finally found everything I needed in one unit that was also priced right. My AT&T 993 phone is a corded, 2-line phone.

In addition to the standard features that come with most phones such as speed dial, mute, auto redial, etc., I also wanted the following:

- Speakerphone to use when I’m on hold.
- Headset connector for hands-free operation.
- Volume control to use for callers who talk too loudly or too softly.
- Voicemail indicator to remind me of messages waiting.
- Call waiting/Caller ID capable so I can see who’s calling when I’m on the phone.

Dymo LabelWriter. I can print my own stamps in any denomination, and also use my LabelWriter to print shipping labels. It’s much simpler for me to do this than to go to the US Postal Service’s Web site, complete all the information, pay for the postage, print the label, then affix. Every time I use the LabelWriter, I feel cool, empowered, efficient, a woman about town.

Business card scanner. I can’t remember what I did back in the old days when I’d have a collection of business cards I wanted to add to my database. My CardScan is at my fingertips. I’ll slide a card in and it starts automatically. With one click, I can transfer the data to Outlook.

Dual monitor setup. In a previous post, I talked about how I love using a second monitor. It’s easy to set up and you’ll increase your productivity by expanding your desktop. Visit the link for more details.

All-in-One Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier. It amazes people when I tell them that I ran my business for a year without a printer. It was easy because I rarely print anything. I got a free printer when I bought a new computer, and I hardly use it. But it’s nice to know it’s here when I need it. So far, I’ve only printed boarding passes and CD labels.

BlackBerry. I travel a lot and I always have my laptop and BlackBerry with me. I use the BlackBerry for the phone and for monitoring email. Here is a post I wrote on my company’s blog, Changes I Made to My BlackBerry to Make it Easier to Use (I make a point of learning tips and tricks in software I use and gadgets and gizmos that I buy). And here is a post I wrote on how to tether your BlackBerry to a laptop and use it as a modem.

What about your must-haves? Let us know what and why.

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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At a recent American Express OPEN event, the number one topic on small business owners’ minds was how to get found online. SCORE Chicago is bringing together three experts for a half-day event titled, Drawing Web Traffic: Increase Your Audience, Grow Your Business.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
8:45AM-12:30PM CST
Citicorp Center
500 West Madison Street, Suite 1250
Downtown Chicago IL

Topics and Speakers

Peggy Duncan, Personal Productivity Expert – Learn how she is on the coveted first page of search engines for her expertise without implementing pay-per-click campaigns. She’ll share online and offline tactics that are free to very low-cost and will explain how they’ve helped her garner international publicity in national media outlets.

Iain Lopata, Dynamic Business/IT Executive – Gain a better understanding of how to decipher Web analytics and why you should study them. He’ll also show you how to not go broke trying pay-per-click.

Steve Robinson, Regional Development Director-Illinois for Constant Contact – Learn the ins and outs of email marketing as a way to stay connected with your customers.

Details and registration for this half-day event are online at https://www.123signup.com/event?id=ztybv

If you’re in the Chicago area or know people who are, please help us spread the word. This event will sell out so click the link above and register today!

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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If you read my post from last week, you know that I’m focusing on helping you spend less time working but get more done. Here are a few more tips to help you be the efficient and successful entrepreneur you were meant to be!

Streamline your processes. Get back weeks by not working the same way you always have. Spend time figuring out better ways to get everything done. What steps are unnecessary? Is someone else doing it a different way and finishing faster and with fewer errors? Examine everything you’re doing, write it down, move steps around, and eliminate all wastage.

Computerize everything. Get work done in the time it will take you to blink. Technology you already have can perform magic, but few people have stopped long enough to seek training. If you learn how to use the software you touch every day, you’ll finish everything at least six times quicker.

Delegate or outsource what you can. Once you’ve gotten organized and computerized, you’ll have a clearer picture of the work you do and how it should be done. Now you’ll be able to get someone else to do much of it and offer logical explanations of what you need (because now it makes more sense to you). Focus on your core work by delegating or outsourcing as much as you can.

You might have to give up a weekend or two to get this done, but you’ll get all that time back and feel better every day going forward. And unlike dieting or exercising, the results from all these things are immediate!

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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You’ll read a lot of blog posts here that require you to do some work. And you’ve probably wondered “How on earth will I find time to do all this?” Well, you don’t have a choice, so turn off the TV and start developing ways to work smarter and create more time.

Keep a time log. If you don’t believe you waste a lot of time, keep a log. How many times did you surf the Internet reading useless blogs (not mine), etc., that are not work-related? How many personal phone calls? How much time spent on personal errands, events, etc? How much time are you spending looking for a file on your computer? Keep track of every minute for a few days and be honest with yourself about how you’re spending work time.

Organize everything. Save hours a day by creating paper, computer, Inbox, etc., filing systems so you can find anything you need the instant you need it. Start with your clothes closet and purge the things you don’t need and put like items together by color. Use this same system for everything else that you organize, not necessarily by color, but by putting broad categories of items together. In a filing system, this could mean putting all of your marketing files together, accounting files together, etc. Get everyone to use the same logical systems so anyone can find anything anywhere in the office.

Set goals and prioritize. You have to determine what your goals are so you’ll know how you should spend your time. The things you value and need (not want) will take priority.

Check back next week for more helpful tips on getting and staying organized!

Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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End the Dilemma of the Dangling Proposal

Continued from last week’s post.

The real solution lies in what happens BEFORE you ever submit the proposal.

The real solution lies in you controlling if, when, and how you submit a proposal.

The real solution lies in you asking all the right questions BEFORE you agree to submit a proposal.

What are the right questions to ask?

Here are 10 essential (although not necessarily easy) questions to ask that will certainly illuminate the seriousness, the readiness, and intent behind your prospect’s interest in working with you. Will asking all of them eliminate the dangling proposal? Unlikely; but you will most certainly decrease your danglers by a hefty percentage.

You can control your business instead of allowing prospects to leave you feeling like you are a hamster on a wheel, running after that piece of fruit you can never quite reach.

10 Essential Questions To Ask Before You Start Writing That Proposal

1. What is prompting you to request a proposal at this time?
2. What elements do you expect and need to see in the proposal in order to make the right decision for your company?
3. What don’t you want to see in the proposal?
4. If all of the elements in our proposal meet your needs, will you be ready to sign off on it immediately? What is your urgency level?
5. Are there any obstacles to our working together that we should know about before we prepare our proposal?
6. If all obstacles are addressed, will you be ready to move forward with us at this time? What other decisions would you need to make first?
7. To whom should we submit the proposal? Who should be copied on the proposal? Who will need to sign off on the proposal? Is there anyone else who will need to approve this? (This is a key question. You need to drill as deeply as possible here because very often the requester of the proposal is not the decision maker, and doesn’t want to be transparent about this)
8. Are you requesting proposals from any other candidates at this time? (I know – you don’t want to ask this question, but it is a frequent source of the dangling proposal dilemma)
9. How will you make your final decision?
10. Are there any remaining concerns on your mind that we should know about? (If you were in the prospect’s shoes, wouldn’t you appreciate a professional asking you about addressing your concerns?)

Listen carefully to the answers to these questions and don’t attempt to convince or sell the prospect. Then, if they really appear to be ready, proceed with proposal development.

If you get a sense there is hesitation or uncertainty or lack of true commitment to working together, you may need another meeting to deepen the trust and the relationship.

You have the power to decide if and when you want to invest in developing a proposal and go to the next level with your prospect.

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This expertise is offered by Nancy Fox is President of Fox Coaching Associates, a coaching and training firm specializing in assisting lawyers, accountants, and business owners nationwide”make rain without the pain(tm).” She has worked with hundreds of legal and other professionals in leveraging contacts, building successful relationships in business, and making lots of rain. Nancy publishes a FREE acclaimed bi-monthly e-zine, The Rainmaker Review, filled with tips and rainmaking information and takes subscriptions at http://www.bizdevsuccess.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nancy_Fox

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Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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