Category Archives: business

The Importance of Blogging: A Cynic’s Monologue

Posted on by Jacinda Little

I would be delighted to share with you the importance of blogging…

and there it is — I heard your eyes roll from here. Not this again.

I know.

Blogs are everywhere. It seems like everyone’s got one these days. Bloggers used to be eccentric individuals who thought they could change the world with a collection of profound statements…and they were quite pretentious, for sure.

“What do you do for a living?”

“Oh, I’m a blogger.”

Return your tray table and seat to the upright position and make your way to the nearest exit. There’s no hope for this conversation.

Before you run away, allow me to tease you with one last morsel: Blogging was once for the elite…those with elevated self images and an on-again, off-again relationship with income. Then it evolved into something done just to be part of the “in crowd.”

But now, it’s been pressure-treated, fossilized…into something a bit more practical.

You see, the blog is now an essential part of staying in business.

Yes, you read that correctly. The chances of survival –particularly for those businesses that rely on an online presence — are slim, at best, without a blog.

No blog? Well then, just buy a storefront and skip the sign out front.

No blog? Okay, then unlock your front door and hide in the back when customers arrive.

No blog? Open a business, but don’t publish its address or phone number. And just for fun, let’s see how many people show up.

Think I’m kidding? Think I’m being melodramatic without the mellow? Fine. Stop reading and go about your day in obscurity while your target market french kisses your competition.

Or, give me five minutes.

How Blogs Seduce Google

Google’s a persnickety thing with very specific tastes. It will pass by your blogless, stale, old website like a penny in a Westchester Avenue gutter. But, if you spice it up, just the way Google likes it, the search engine will stalk your website like a sleep-deprived Taylor Swift fan.

Google loves blogs, especially blogs that are updated regularly and that adhere to a few simple criteria:

  • It’s Fresh: Google likes its fixations to be up-to-date with their style, and so a blog that’s updated often, with highly relevant and timely information on a weekly basis, is a Google dream.
  • It has a Solid Reputation: Google chooses its favorites based on who’s got clout. In other words, it wants to showcase content that’s been recently added, but only if that content is part of a website that’s had a history of significant traffic and long stays. If you’re thinking you can’t have that because your website hasn’t been around long enough or because it simply hasn’t had much traffic in the past…well, there’s a good way to fix that. Start blogging! Like my good friend Burge Smith-Lyons of Essence of Being would say, “Until recently, I didn’t have a blog that was pulling in hundreds of leads a day.”
  • It’s Easy to Read: Google works to appeal to the average human, and so it chooses content that the largest number of people will agree to read. For this reason, it will apply readability scores and give precedence to content that’s simple, without long words, sentences or paragraphs.
  • It Says all the Right Things: Google wants to see that the keywords your page (webpage or blog post) is ranking for are not only included in the content, but that the content is relevant to those keywords. There was a trend not too long ago that revolved around creating blog post titles that would appeal to Google, but then talking about something completely unrelated in the text. Google is no longer falling for that pretty little lie.
  • It has Connections: If a website is going to catch the eye of Google, it must contain a network of links that prove its relevance and authority. If links are going out from a blog post that are relevant to the post’s topic, if links are coming in from reputable sources, and if those links are both internal and external…then Google will have a twinkle in its eye for sure.
  • It Appeals to the Visual: Some of your website’s visitors will want to read. Some will want to listen. Others will want to look. Google knows that its users have a variety of predilections, and so it will take a second look at any blog showcasing a number of different types of media. And when all of those pieces of media are optimized for the blog post’s keywords…look out! Google is gonna be all over it.

As you can see, a blog gives you the opportunity to check off many of the items on Google’s list. But Google is only part of the equation. Let’s talk about the importance of blogging in relation to your most precious resource: your target audience.

How Blogging Appeals to Your Ideal Client

You know your ideal client: he or she might live in a particular area, might be of a certain age, may have a specific occupation…and has a problem you’re ready to solve.

You know that person better than you know your second cousin Lloyd, but more importantly, you know them better than your competition does…or at least you should.

A blog is your chance to demonstrate that. I can count on one hand the number of entrepreneurs who have made it big by holding information hostage — and they’ve been in it for all the wrong reasons from the start.

The most successful business owners help people because it’s their passion to do so. I am not suggesting that you give away products or services for free. What I am suggesting is that you share some of the knowledge you’ve acquired in order to demonstrate just how interested you are, how knowledgeable you are, how much of an expert you are, and how committed you are to making a difference.

And I can’t think of a better way to do that than with a blog. Each article in your blog can pull out one aspect of the problem your ideal client is experiencing and show them how and why you know what they’re going through. It can offer solutions that will help them to improve their lives, immediately.

Include a comment option, and share that powerful, connective blog on social media, and you’ll have a full-fledged conversation with your dream client before you can refresh the page.

That’s the importance of blogging…and the power of blogging.

The Importance of Blogging, Today

Blogging is not only more important than it had been in the past, it’s a different kind of important. It’s no longer an add-on to feed an ego. It’s no longer a way to demonstrate just how trendy you are. It’s an indispensable facet of business, as critical as a storefront sign or a customer service department.

When you start a blog and maintain it like the crucial business element it is, you will notice a few things. Your website traffic will increase, along with engagement and leads. You will make more meaningful connections with those who will prove invaluable to your business: lifelong customers and brand ambassadors. You will appeal to Google and increase your chances of taking over its front page of results, pushing your competition into Page 2 Netherworld and beyond.

And, at the risk of sounding overly sentimental, the importance of blogging will become oh-so-real when you feel the connectivity between you and your brand…and watch as that grows into relationships between your brand and the people who will bring it to light. It’s like journaling, but for the whole world to see. It’s a conversation — one between you and your future.

So I guess my title was a little misleading. I’m not a blogging cynic. And maybe you aren’t anymore, either.

Do you already have a blog? But it’s just not working in the ways I’ve outlined here? Then contact me and ask for your FREE blog audit. I will take a look and tell you what needs to happen for your blog spot to become a hot spot.

Haven’t started a blog yet? Let’s talk. Blogs do different types of work for different brands, and together we can design a strategy that will make blogging the turning point for your business. Contact Jacinda Little today.

Every Woman has a Story

Posted on by Jacinda Little

I have yet to meet a woman who doesn’t have a story.

Don’t get me wrong—men have stories, too. However, if you’re a woman in business and you want to connect with other women, there’s no better way to start than with your own, unique branded story.

women.stories.image

This isn’t fiction:  it’s a retelling of how you became interested in what you’re currently doing, the transformation that followed, the struggles and your ultimate (or in-progress) victory.

Why am I thinking about this right now?

I was contacted by a lovely young lady this morning, asking for help with her Facebook page. People were starting to follow, but they just weren’t buying. I helped her out. Gave her loads of suggestions for increasing engagement on that Facebook page—for serving her dream customers so she could eventually sell to them.

In the course of our work, we got to talking about stories, and how they endear our brands to the people who need our products and services the most.

And that naturally led us to exchange our own stories. Hers involved her husband losing his job, her two small children, and her quest to find open windows after so many doors had closed.

She’s still close to the beginning of her journey, but she’s on the right track and I look for her to create something great. If you’d like to show your support, go here.

We didn’t have much time to go into my story (she had to go because she also works as a real estate agent and busy patient navigator for a cancer services program), but I promised her I’d write it and ultimately share it.

By the time my story was in motion, I still hadn’t the slightest idea what was intended for me. While the other kids were playing soccer or hanging with friends (you know, being cool), I was learning to type. I was writing letters to my future self (with subject lines like, To Those I Will Serve) and reading so ravenously that I was actually struck by a Buick while crossing Main Street…reading a book, of course.

By the time high school graduation came around, I had already dubbed my literature teacher an English Goddess, and felt like I was on the cusp of something great. I would become a writer. I would craft a novel that would break new ground and tell a story so gripping that it might just get me into heaven.

And then…I let someone convince me that I should stick with my dispatching job at a local construction company—that being a writer wasn’t a real job, and that college was a waste of time and money, especially for someone like me, who came from a working class family.

I spent the next 15 years feeling like a shell. Not quite human; not quite dead.

It wasn’t until I picked up a pen and one of my kids’ discarded notebooks at 2 am, just after my 30th birthday, that I discovered what had been missing. It was the written word, and with it came the feeling of full, unhindered expression. I discovered that night what I had been denying all along: writing wasn’t just a hobby, or something that could become a job. I needed it to cope, to move forward and to make connections—all the things that most people can accomplish without it.

And so, the next day, I gave my boss two weeks’ notice. I quit my job.

Just like that. I couldn’t believe it myself. I hadn’t made plans. I hadn’t given the daycare sufficient notice. My God, what was I thinking? Was this the most irresponsible thing a wife and mother had ever done?

Did my husband have the income to support us all? Nope.

Did I have any reason to believe I could make money? Nope.

Did I think I could live another day without doing this thing that was like speaking and breathing for most people? Nope.

Did I wonder if I had lost my mind? Absolutely.

And so, we struggled for years with paying the bills and keeping our kids’ dreams alive. I found a few clients on freelancer sites willing to pay me a couple bucks for all-night work by candlelight, begged for references and gave away samples for free in hopes that someone would have pity on me and write a contract.

Years passed. I worked. I prayed. I refused to let anyone (especially myself) believe that I’d ruined my life and those of the people who relied on me.

And then it happened. The phone rang and on the other end was what I thought was an apocalyptic joke. The voice (and name) was that of a well-known nightly news personality. She had been following my work and had gotten a recommendation from a friend (for whom I’d done some work). She wanted me to write her book and she was going to pay me more than I could have made in a year working full-time.

That one phone call blossomed into lots of wonderful things. I feel like I’ve learned more than I could have in those four years of college that I had once wanted so much. And I suspect that the struggle (the peanut butter sandwiches, the borax in the laundry and the holes in my socks) have made me a better writer. I have been blessed with a steady stream of work, and I promised myself years ago that I would never take that for granted.

Now, I’m in a place where the people who need me (and whom I need, too) seem to find me. I can’t give away the most recent plot twists of my story, as they will be released in an upcoming publication. However, I can say this:  even I can’t believe the cosmic amazement of it all.

I really do believe that the universe rewards us when we make decisions that align with its energy. I think that intellect is only a small part of how we should be making decisions, and that fear is stopping too many women (and men) from fulfilling their purpose.

I would love to hear your stories. About how it felt when you followed your intuition, even if it didn’t make sense on paper. I’d love to hear the story of how you got started on the journey you now know is meant for you (or isn’t meant for you). It’s not just about the decisions we make; it’s also about the people we meet along the way and how they affect our journeys . Let’s talk about it. Because after all, I believe everyone has a story to tell.

To the young lady I was so happy to connect with today: Thank You. Your words took me back to a place I once was and that fashioned my worldview into something I’m thankful for every day. I’m still not rich. But guess what? I don’t give a rat’s ass. I’m happy, and that’s priceless.

 

Are you struggling with the decision to throw caution to the wind and become a freelance writer? Or have you been struggling with following your dream, no matter what it may be? I want to hear from you. I am compiling a collection of stories about people who broke the mold and followed their dreams…while the rest of the world told them they would fail. Simply comment here, contact me through my Facebook business page, or email me.