Having a blog on your company’s website or linked to your website is a cost effective online marketing tool. It’s important to provide content that will attract visitors, keep them interested, and convert them into customers. Place social media icons on your blog to make sharing easier. Have a conversation on Facebook and Twitter to show followers and fans that your company is interested in what they have to say. Show your care and concern.

Below you’ll find 7 dust-busting techniques that will clean your blog and make it shine again.

How to Clean and Refresh Your Company’s Blog 

Redesign it.

The design implemented three years ago could be out-of-date today. It’s important to stay on top of the latest design trends. Pay attention to the color scheme. A bold color scheme could work for an entertainment business, but not for your medical practice.

Rewrite blog content.

Rewrite or hire a freelance writer/blogger to rewrite old content. This is a great content strategy to breathe new life into your blog. Perhaps, the content is outdated or didn’t make a good first impression when it was originally posted. Perhaps, blog posts weren’t optimized with keywords/phrases.

Rewrites could dramatically increase web traffic.

Tip: A headline on a blog post is just as important as a headline on a print article. You still have to ‘hook’ readers.

Ask questions.

Asking questions at the end of blog posts is a web traffic building strategy that most freelance writers and bloggers use. A question shows visitors that you want to know what they think — your company’s interested in having and maintaining a conversation with them.

Revise the writing style and tone.

What’s the tone of the current blog content? Style and tone can affect blog traffic. This is why it’s important to know ‘who’ the target audience is. For example, if your target audience is marketing directors, the content should be targeted to this audience by incorporating industry jargon and lingo. However, if your target audience is the ‘everyday’ consumer, avoid using industry terms. Your message will become muddled and lost. Customers will gravitate to your competitors’ content because it’s easy to understand.

Change the structure of blog posts.

There are many ways to structure blog posts. The most common way is:

• Headline
• Bullet headline
• Information

However, you don’t have to follow this pattern. Be bold and try something new such as:

• Headline
• Quote
• Information
• Headline
• Quote
• Information

Tips

• Keep sentences short and to the point.
• Use bold headlines and bullet points.
• When it comes to links, use a different color to stand out from the crowd.

Test different structures to see which ones receive the most ‘tweets’ and ‘likes.’ One thing that never changes is that web content must be compelling and interesting.

Post consistently.

How fresh is your company’s blog content? Is it posted consistently? You don’t have to publish a blog post every day; however, choose a schedule that works for your company. Perhaps, you’ll post twice a week or twice a month. Whatever you do, be consistent.

Try new angles.

Types of posts such as “How To” and “Lists” work because they’re fast and easy to read. But, you may want to ‘shake’ things up by publishing a controversial post here and there. If you disagree with your competitors, say so. If you disagree with industry trends, write about it (or have your freelance writer/blogger, write about it). There’s no harm in voicing your opinions. It’s a great way to jump start a conversation.

Use these blog ‘dust busting’ techniques to wipe the slate clean on your company’s blog. Experiment with different types of posts from “How To” to “Tips.” What works? What doesn’t work? Analyze the results to find out which posts had the most visitors and comments. Remember to keep your target market in mind when posting web content. Once your company discovers a strategy that works, stick with it. But don’t ignore new trends either. Stay on top of the ever changing world of blogging.

What are you doing to prevent your blog from collecting dust? Share.

Related articles

• Corporate Blogging on the Decline? Don’t Read Too Much Into It (mediaemerging.com)
• 5 Blog Post Tips to Increase Web Traffic (savvy-writer.com)
• Whiteboard Friday – Corporate Blogging Tips (seomoz.org)
• Building Better Business Blogs (5/7): To Be Continued?? (zemanta.com)

Related posts:

1. 5 Blog Post Tips to Increase Web Traffic Your company may have incorporated a blog on its website...
2. Is Your Company Afraid of Blog and Social Media Commitment? When I’m approached by business owners who want to start...
3. Ridiculously Easy SEO Habits to Start Consider this Amandah’s Freelance Writer’s SEO guide to optimizing your...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Don’t you hate it when you’ve scheduled a company meeting, only to cancel it due to horrible weather conditions? How many times are you going to reschedule because of a snow storm? Use Skype to solve this problem, and you won’t have to cancel next week’s meeting because of extreme weather.

Why Skype is an Effective Technology for Your Company

Image via Wikipedia

Choose a plan that works for your company. Select one of the business plans best suited for your type of business. Choose small business, medium business, and enterprise. There’s even a Home Office plan.

Reduce technology and travel expenses. Use Skype to reduce your company’s technology and travel expenses. If you have employees around the world, it can become expensive to fly everyone to your corporate location for meetings. Instead, download Skype to bring everyone together.

Tip #1: Use Skype and your company should notice cost reductions.

Tip #2: Employees would be grateful if they could work-at-home. Have them download Skype and voilà! They’ll be happy and help preserve the earth at the same time.

Improve employee communication. Your employees can work together and collaborate on projects when you download Skype. Have them use the chat room to keep in touch with colleagues. Productivity will increase since employees will be able to work together, no matter where they are in the world.

Tip #3: Have employees hold a group chat once a month to promote goodwill and harmony within the company.

Build customer and supplier relationships. Wouldn’t it be nice to communicate with customers and suppliers around the world? When you download Skype, you’ll be instantaneously connected with them. It’s also a good way to build and strengthen these important relationships.

FYI: Click here to view and use Skype cases studies. Learn how other companies are improving their communication, profitability, and productivity.

Conduct video job interviews. A video interview reduces the stress of job interviews for both parties. Candidates won’t have to sit in traffic and worry they’ll be late. Plus, they’ll reduce frequent flier miles. Interviewers won’t have to worry about straightening up their office.

Hint #1: Both parties will have to maintain eye contact — some people struggle with this.

Hint #2: If potential candidates understood how to download Skype, they’ll probably be familiar with how to use it. This saves time on training.

It’s good for the environment. Employees and suppliers won’t have to drive to the office for meetings. Job candidates can interview from the comfort of their homes. The reduction of emissions into the air will help preserve the environment.

Tip #4. You’ll be able to show stakeholders how ‘environmentally friendly’ your company is thanks to Skype. Everyone who reduces their drive time reduces pollution in the air.

Recap of Benefits of Skype

• Cost effective plans for your home, small, medium, or enterprise business.
• Group chat.
• Save money on technology and travel expenses.
• Good for the environment.
• Easily conduct job interviews and presentations.
• Build and strengthen customer, employee, and supplier relationships
• Easy to use.

Skype is convenient and easy to use. Your company can hold business meetings, conduct interviews and presentations, and chat with customers and suppliers. Most importantly, you’ll save money which can be used to grow your business — increase charitable donations too. Giving back to your community promotes goodwill.

Related articles

• Over 32 Million Signed Into Skype At The Same Time (geeky-gadgets.com)
• Run Your Business With Skype (smallbusinessmavericks.com)
• John Chambers on why Cisco never bought Skype (gigaom.com)

Related posts:

1. Is Your Administrative or Personal Assistant Costing You Money? How can your administrative or personal assistant cost you money? By...
2. Is Your Company Afraid of Blog and Social Media Commitment? When I’m approached by business owners who want to start...
3. 7 Benefits of Hiring a Ghost Writer Let’s face it; some people don’t enjoy the art of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image by nist6ss via Flickr

How organized is your office or home office? What about your files? What about your computer files? I love organization! Clutter does not work for me — it never has. My home office must be neat, clean and tidy. I can get overwhelmed by too much office furniture, books and other reference materials, papers and other office items. Organization is thy name; communications is my game!

Becoming an organized business owner will set you free. You won’t stress out when clients call because you can’t find their files. I know what you’re thinking, “Organization isn’t for me. I can find everything I need; I have a system.” However, your clients may not appreciate being kept on hold while you dig through mountains of files and papers. Give organization a chance — it could work for you.

How to Become an Organized Business Owner

Make the decision to become an organized business owner. If you’re sick and tired of having to look for pen and paper, the phone, files or anything else, it’s time to embrace organization. You can buy office organizers from any local retailer or office supplies store. In fact, you may want to purchase brand new office supplies to mark your first step into the world of organization.

Take it one file at a time. If your office or home office is covered with files, purchase file cabinets and organize your files. Go through each file, scan documents and create file folders on your computer (if you haven’t done this already). Shred papers you don’t need or save them to your computer.

Purchase organizers. You can buy office and or home organizers from local retailers. They don’t cost much and are easy to install. If you’re not handy, hire someone to install the cabinets and shelving. Once you’ve organized your office and or home office, you’ll feel better.

Hire an organizational consultant. Believe it or not, you can hire a professional organizer. They’ll help you organize your office and or home office. Some are skilled in the art of ‘Feng Shui‘ which means they’ll create the perfect ‘chi’ for you and your office. You should notice a difference in the flow of energy; business could increase.

Some experts believe they can tell how ‘functional’ you are by the way your office or home office is organized. For example, if your office looks as if a cyclone went through it, most experts would probably say your business, finances, relationships and other areas of your life are disorganized. Sometimes this is true, but not always. Test this theory by looking at your life. How is your financial situation? How is your business? Is it thriving or dying? How strong are your relationships? Do you have close connections with business associates, clients, co-workers, family, friends and others? If you’re out of balance in any of these and other areas of your life (especially your professional life), chances are you’re disorganized. Get to the ‘root’ cause of your disorganization in order to become the organized business person you can be.

Related articles

• How to Organize and Decorate Your Office (cleanhomehealthyhome.wordpress.com)
• An Organized Home Office (homedesign.marthastewart.com)
• Home Offices (inexteriors.wordpress.com)
• 3 Reasons to Organize Your Workstation (money.usnews.com)

Related posts:

1. Don’t Allow Hackers to Attack and Destroy Your Website Many small business owners and solo professionals are D.I.Y enthusiasts...
2. Cool and Useful WordPress Plugins If you use WordPress.org, you’re probably familiar with plugins. Make...
3. Tips to Writing an eBook That Leads to Sales … Hire a Freelance/Ghost Writer Every writer begins a book or eBook differently. Sometimes, I...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

As a writer, I pay attention to what people write and say. I do my best to be an astute listener and reader. Communications is my business. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my previous work experience and the communications I’ve had with people over the years. I think about the emails I wrote and received over the years and want to cringe. I often think, “Did I write or say that? Did that person write that? What were they thinking?” You really don’t realize the impact of your words; unless, you take a step back and think about it from a reader’s perspective. You can’t control how someone will react; however, you could read and re-read your correspondence and think about how it may be received. How you speak and what you write does matter.

How to communicate with external and internal customers

1. Listen to people. Don’t interrupt people when they speak. Hold space for them where they feel ‘safe’ to openly speak their mind. Try your best not to ‘judge’ them or their words, thoughts. This can be easier said than done. Do your best to really listen to people, it will make a difference in your business and life.

2. Read and reread emails. It’s too bad I didn’t keep the emails I wrote and received. Oh well! I could always ‘recreate’ them, not. Before you send an email, it would behoove you to read and read it. What is the tone? How will it be received by the recipient(s)? Keep in mind, you can’t control how people react; however, you could take a step back and review what your words. Are they encouraging? Are they hostile? How do your words motivate people? Will they want to work with or for you? Ask these and other questions before you send an email.

3. Understand your target audience. Your audience may not understand the ‘lingo or jargon’ used within your business. Always be aware of your audience. You don’t want them to say, “What the heck is he/she speaking about?” If you’re target understands the industry lingo then by all means speak their language.

4. You need people. Let’s face it; you won’t be in business long if your customers and employees leave. A few months ago, Piers Morgan interviewed Donnie and Marie Osmond; they were big (still going strong) in the 1970s. Donnie said, “I’m an entertainer. It’s my job to entertain people.” He’s right. If people don’t purchase tickets to see Donnie and Marie’s show in Vegas, Donnie and Marie will be sent packing. Unless, of course; their families buy ALL of the tickets and sell out the show every night. I don’t think that will happen.

5. Say “Thank You” once in a while. It won’t kill you to say “Thank You” for working for me or purchasing my products and services. Let people know they matter to you. Remember, you won’t get far without the help from others. It’s something to think about.

Rebecca

Related posts:

1. What Doesn’t Attract Clients and Customers This is a reprint from Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in...
2. 7 Points to Look for on Social Media Sites When Hiring a Freelance Writer Let’s face it; social media and the internet can be...
3. 7 Benefits of Hiring a Ghost Writer Let’s face it; some people don’t enjoy the art of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

What is marketing? Marketing is about sharing value with new and existing customers. It’s not about being pushy or manipulating potential customers into purchasing your products and or services. Its’ not about treating people as if they’re cats; waving sparkly, razzle dazzle marketing campaigns in front of them won’t work. They’ll see through the ‘smoke and mirrors’ and walk on. Follow the strategies below to generate fruitful leads and sales.

10 Lead and Sale Generation Strategies

1. Partnerships. Form partnerships with ‘like-minded’ business owners that have the same target market as you do. There’s strength in numbers! You could combine resources and opportunities. Hold events and maximize your expertise. You can grow your business by strategically working with others.

2. Speaking engagements. Most people would rather have root canal than speak in front of an audience. But it will pay for you to get over your fear of public speaking. Speaking allows an audience to experience your passion first-hand; they’ll be able to see and get a ‘feel’ for you. They’ll be able to assess your sincerity and knowledge. People like and feel comfortable working with people they know. More importantly, the best form of advertising is word-of-mouth. All it takes is one person to tell someone else about you and before you know it, the word will spread that you’re an expert in your field.

3.  Content writing. This includes article and blog writing; eBooks, newsletters, press releases and other writings. Provide unique and timely content to your target market. Build relationships with your target audience by providing relevant and useful tips, tricks, tutorials, newsletters, eBooks, etc. Customers and potential customers should be able to implement your information straightaway.

4. Networking. Attend various networking events and get to know people in your field or those who compliment your business. Build relationships and ask, “What can I do for you? How may I help?” You’ll be surprised by the reaction you receive.

5. Link exchanges. This is a great way to increase your visibility. Make sure you exchange links with those who complement or match your target audience.

6. Referrals. Ask current clients/customers for referrals. Most business owners don’t like to ask for referrals; however, it’s in your best interest to ask for them. Let’s face it; if your customers are happy with you and your products/services, why wouldn’t they want to refer you?

7. Social media. Focus on two to three social networks and stick with them. The top three are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. However, you may find that Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Bebo, Flickr, Digg or another network works better for you and your business. Keep your ‘target audience’ in mind when you utilize social network sites. For example, did you know that 72% of Facebook users are ages 25-54? If your target audience is teenagers, they may prefer Tumblr to Facebook because their parents want to ‘friend’ them on Facebook and they don’t like that.

8. Teleseminars and webinars. If you decide to conduct a teleseminar or webinar, please provide attendees with substantial information, not 60-90 minutes of a fluff and sales. I’m speaking from experience. I’ve attended many, many teleseminars and webinars and thought, “I wasted 60-90 minutes of my time for this; I didn’t learn anything. Why did I sign up? What was I thinking? I was hooked, line and sinker. I’m not the target market. This was nothing but a ‘sales’ fest.”  Potential customers will be turned off if your teleseminars and or webinars are nothing but a sales promotion.

9. Direct mail. If you’re new to an area, introduce yourself to local businesses. They won’t know about you unless you tell them you’re available to solve their problem. You may consider holding a promotion that’s specifically for the businesses in your area.

10. Podcast and or video series. Have you ever wanted a career in radio or television? Creating a podcast (you could use Blog Talk Radio) or video series could do wonders for you and your business. You can use programs such as Audacity to quickly and smoothly create valuable podcasts. You’re probably familiar with YouTube. Keep podcasts under 15 minutes; videos between 5-10 minutes. Some people want to get the most out of a podcast/video in the shortest amount of time. If you’re podcast or video is too long, you may lose customers.

Rebecca

Related articles

• The 3 Habits of Successful Social Sellers (hubspot.com)
• 10 Signs You’re Failing at Marketing Automation (hubspot.com)
• Leveraging Your Website to Generate More Referrals from Clients (hubspot.com)
• Content Marketing (thesmallbusiness.org)
• 52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work (problogger.net)

Related posts:

1. What Doesn’t Attract Clients and Customers This is a reprint from Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in...
2. Bloggers and Authors Who K.I.T. Have Loyal Followers Bloggers and Authors, According to Elizabeth Marshall, co-author of The...
3. Tone of Voice: Misinterpretation Happens I’m a writer and can’t help but read, proofread, and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you use WordPress.org, you’re probably familiar with plugins. Make sure you don’t go overboard with plugins because your hosting company may not have the ‘space’ for your website if it contains a lot of plugins. Of course, you could purchase a ‘higher’ hosting package that gives you more space on a server. It’s something to think about. Anyway, here are cool and useful WordPress plugins for you to check out and use on your website.

If you’re worried about spam, WordPress.org has an Askimet plugin that catches spammers. For example,I have the following message on my WP Dashboard, “Akismet has protected your site from 21,271 spam comments already. There’s nothing in your spam queue at the moment.” I’ve been using WordPress.org since 2009 and never had a problem with Askimet.

To make your blog posts easy to retweet, use TweetMeme. It’s simple to download and upload to your plugins folder via your FTP system. Hint: Most hosting companies have their own FTP. But you can always use an external FTP.

How many times do you ‘thank’ people for leaving comments on your blog? If you don’t, consider using Thank Me Later which automatically sends a ‘thank you’ to visitors that leave comments on your blog posts. BTW: I wish I knew about this one because I was ‘manually’ sending emails to visitors. Better late than never!

Does it irk you when readers don’t leave thoughtful comments? Install Minimum Comment Length to improve the quality of comments left on your blog posts. Let’s face it; leaving a “Great post! Good post! Thank for the information!” doesn’t cut it. You want people to leave engaging, thought provoking comments.

Unfortunately, some visitors to your website may not have good intentions. Use WTC Comment Cleaner to strip out malicious and unwanted code such as css, javascript tags, etc. It’s good to have a ‘high level’ of security on your blog/website.

Some visitors may or may not appreciate the Comment E-Mail Verification plugin because they’ll have to login to their email and ‘verify’ their comment by clicking on the link that’s sent to them. Once they click on the link, their comment will be approved and automatically posted. This is a good way to engage visitors. No email is send if Askimet or some other plugin recognizes the comment as spam.

Do you have a newsletter? How would you like to build your list? Use the WordPress Newsletter plugin to ‘collect’ subscriber information such as name and email address. Please read the user guide to get the most out of this plugin.

Do you feel like a ‘head case’ when it comes to SEO? You could use the All in One SEO plugin or try HeadSpace 2 SEO. If you spend too much time worrying about SEO, HeadSpace2 SEO will make your troubles disappear. HeadSpace provides a video that explains ‘How To’ use the plugin.

How many times do you backup your WordPress website? Download and use WP-DB Manager to backup your files. You can backup, repair, restore, delete a backup, etc. with this plugin.

*Some of the plugins are compatible up to 3.2.1. If WordPress upgrades to WordPress 3.3, some plugins may not work unless they’re updated too.

Rebecca

Related articles

• Daily Tip: New Widget Showcases Your WordPress Plugins and Downloads (pressography.com)
• [InfoGraphic] 12 Must have WordPress plugins (shoutmeloud.com)
• 11 Free WordPress Plugins That Can Boost Your Email Marketing (aweber.com)

Related posts:

1. Pingbacks: You Don’t Have to Read It, Just Delete It Savvy-Writer.com is my creative, freelance, and ghost writing website. I...
2. Battle of the Web Browsers: Firefox vs. Google Chrome Question: Which web browser is better and faster, Firefox or...
3. Meet Black Hat SEO, White Hat SEO’s Evil Twin You may or may not be aware of Black Hat...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via Wikipedia

Let’s face it; some people don’t enjoy the art of writing as much as others do. Some find writing to be a tedious and time consuming process; they’d rather be golfing. Hiring a ghost writer could work for you because you hire a person who loves to write. Most writers (me) find writing to be second nature — it’s like breathing. If you have an idea for a book or eBook, consider hiring a ghost writer today. Tomorrow, you could be selling and earning income on Amazon.com

Benefits of hiring a ghost writer

1. The pressure if off of you to write and produce a book.

2. You’re able to spend time on other things such as setting up a website/blog, social media sites, email campaigns, etc. However, a ghost write that’s skilled in marketing and social media can assist you with these business endeavors.

3. You receive a well written book or eBook.

4. You take all the credit. However, some ghost writers are given credit because they’ve worked with a client numerous times. It’s important to work with a ghost write that’s checked their ‘ego’ at the door.

5. A ghost writer loves to write and will probably finish your book ahead of the scheduled deadline.

6. A ghost writer understands the importance of marketability and can give you objective feedback on your book’s subject matter.

7. Hiring a ghost writer means you don’t have to through the process alone. Perhaps you considered writing the book yourself but didn’t want to work alone; the writer’s life isn’t for you. However, working with a ghost writer may inspire you to co-author your next book. It could happen.

When you hire a ghost writer, it can feel as if a burden or weight has been lifted off of you. Your time can be spent on the business side, i.e., developing your web presence, scheduling interviews and speaking engagements, building a social media platform, connecting with the ‘right’ people, etc. You don’t have to worry about your book because it’s in good hands with your ghost writer. You can now breathe a ‘sigh’ of relief.

Rebecca

Related articles

• 7 Points to Look for on Social Media Sites When Hiring a Freelance Writer (savvy-writer.com)
• How to Write Your E_book (thewritershelp.wordpress.com)

Related posts:

1. 7 Points to Look for on Social Media Sites When Hiring a Freelance Writer Let’s face it; social media and the internet can be...
2. Why Rebecca aka Savvy-Writer Became a Freelance Writer Question: Rebecca, why did you become a freelance writer? What’s...
3. What Does it Mean to be a 21st Century Author? Elizabeth Marshall, Host and Founder of Author Teleseminars and Co-Author...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Savvy-Writer Newsletter Sign Up

When I receive a newsletter that’s filled with useful information I like to share it. However, this isn’t always possible because the owner of the newsletter didn’t include social media ‘sharing’ icons. Nine times out of a ten a newsletter does contain the pertinent ‘follow’ buttons such as Twitter and Facebook. However, some newsletters don’t contain ‘share’ buttons. Why? Why not? Perhaps it’s an oversight. You may want to reconsider sharing your newsletter. It could help you increase your customer base and gain referrals at the same time.

If you want more leads and referrals for your business, allow others to share your newsletter. More importantly, make it easy for clients and customers to share your newsletter by included social media ‘share’ buttons. It’s take more time to open Facebook and Twitter and post a link then it does to click on an icon which opens up Twitter or Facebook. If customers and potential customers have their social networks open, they can easily post a link to your newsletter. If they don’t, they’ll say, “Forget about it.”

Tip: Include Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and LinkedIn ‘share’ icons. You can add others but these are the most popular. In fact, StumbleUpon is out-performing Facebook.

Sharing your newsletter is an easy way to market your business, products, and services. Word-of-mouth advertising is still a viable way to market a business. Most people would rather do business with a company whom their family and friends deal with. Let’s face it; most families and friends connect via Facebook. With one click, your newsletter could reach hundreds, thousands of potential new customers. People would rather do business with a company that’s been referred by someone they know and trust. It’s as if they’re receiving a ’guarantee’ that your company will treat them well, and provide excellent customer service along with products and services. They don’t have to search the internet or Yellow Pages (some people still receive these) for whatever it is they need. They can find what they’re looking for through Facebook and Twitter. It’s that simple!

Rebecca

Related articles

• StumbleUpon Drives More Than 50% of Social Media Traffic [STATS] (mashable.com)

Related posts:

1. The Secret to Twitter Retweets … Choose Characters Wisely Question: I’d like to increase the amount of ‘retweets’ on...
2. Freelance Writing Clients Discover How to Use Twitter … Confusion Ends   Are you confused on how to effectively use Twitter...
3. 7 Points to Look for on Social Media Sites When Hiring a Freelance Writer Let’s face it; social media and the internet can be...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image via CrunchBase

Question: I’d like to increase the amount of ‘retweets’ on my Twitter stream. What can I do? I adhere to the 140 characters or less. This can be tricky because Facebook allows 420 characters. I receive some ‘retweets’ but not many. Help!

Answer: Forget about tweeting 140 characters … Tweet 100 characters!

Remember, Twitter is about content and Facebook is about developing relationships. If you provide great content along with cleverly written ‘tweets,’ you’ll see an increase in the amount of retweets you receive. However, it’s best to post a tweet that’s 100 characters or less. This leaves 40 characters and allows another person the opportunity to add verbiage to your tweet such as, “Read this now; Check this out; and Visit this link.” It allows followers to provide their input to the conversation. On the flip side, if you’re ‘tweet’ is too long, followers may have to edit it. They may not want to spend time editing your tweet. They’ll find something else to retweet.

How to write the perfect tweet that gets retweeted

1. Write eye-catching tweets that will be retweeted. Put your ‘reporter’ hat on and think about the story. Remember the importance of who, what, where, when, how, and why. Peruse newspaper headlines to get a ‘sense’ of how readers are ‘hooked’ into reading a story.

2. Share valuable content.

3. Stay under 140 characters.

4. Shorten the URL before you post it. FYI: Twitter is now shortening links.

Tip: It’s important to write attention-grabbing and concise tweets. Of course, you may not have enough time to spend on social media management. You can hire a freelance writer to manage your social media sites. Communication is their business.

Before you post a tweet read and reread it. Is it eye-catching? What makes the ‘tweet’ unique? How informative and pertinent is the content? More importantly, is it 140 characters or less? If you’re tweet is 140 characters, revise it. Edit it until it’s 100 characters or less. Once you develop this habit, you’ll never go back to using 140 characters. Before you know it, your tweets will be retweeted. Go forth and tweet!

Rebecca

Related articles

• Twitter psychology infographic: it’s about retweets (nevillehobson.com)
• Do’s As well as Don’ts Of Tweeting (preciseinternetmarketing.com)
• The Sweet Tweet Of Success – Getting Your Content Retweeted (thedigitalconsultant.wordpress.com)
• How Retweetable is your tweet? (marketingoutsider.wordpress.com)

Related posts:

1. Freelance Writing Clients Discover How to Use Twitter … Confusion Ends   Are you confused on how to effectively use Twitter...
2. How to Write Attention-Grabbing Subject Lines Freelance writing clients and all clients in general could be...
3. Tips to Make Your Blog an Internet Sensation Sometimes you need help finding topics to blog about. Thanks...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Image by Intersection Consulting via Flickr

Let’s face it; social media and the internet can be a blessing and a curse. Most people are courteous and professional on their social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, etc. However, a select few post lewd photos, unsavory links, don’t agree to disagree, and bash people. This information is available for everyone to see, including potential freelance writing clients. Like it or not, social media leaves a freelance writer and their professionalism open to interpretation. Here are several points to help you navigate the murky waters of social media when you check out a freelance writer.

7 Points to Look for on Social Media Sites When Hiring a Freelance Writer

1. Bashing previous clients. You’d think this would a ‘no-brainer’ but some freelance writers have been known to bad-mouth former clients and employers. They don’t understand that it’s not good business to ‘burn or blow up’ a bridge. It’s best to walk away in a professional, dignified manner.

2. Negative Nancy or Nick. Most freelance writers are aware of how to write comments on blog posts and forums. They’re professional and agree to disagree. However, some may tear people a part. This isn’t professional or helpful to the conversation. If you come across a freelance writer like this, they may not be the writer for you.

3. Sketchy contacts. There’s a saying about how you can tell a lot about a person by the company he/she keeps. This is why it’s important to choose  friends and contacts wisely. Peruse a freelance writer’s list of contacts. How solid are they? Are they legitimate contacts? Is a writer’s social media website filled with a lot of contacts to make them look good? Ask these and other questions to determine the legitimacy of contacts.

4. Endorsements. LinkedIn allows endorsements; it’s a hot topic. Review endorsements carefully. Does a freelance writer have solid, well written endorsements from actual clients? What about former employers? What did they have to say? Not all endorsements help a writer. Unfortunately, most of them are for show and don’t tell you much.

5. Unsavory media. This is a sticky area. What a freelance writer does on their personal time is their business. However, if you find pictures of them ‘jugging’ from a beer bong while wearing a lampshade on their head, you may receive the wrong impression. How would this affect your decision to hire them as your writer? Can you imagine having lunch with your potential freelance writer with that image of them in your head? Listen to your ‘gut instinct’ if you feel comfortable hiring the writer.

6. Grammar and other mistakes. This is why it’s important for everyone to set a Facebook Personal Page to the highest settings. There’s nothing wrong with Lol!, LMAO, and other abbreviations; however, a freelance writer’s business is writing and communications. Check out their Twitter page, Facebook fan page, and LinkedIn page to see what they’re posting.

7. Does the freelance writer interact on their blog and fan page? Social media can make your head spin! However, a freelance writer who understands the importance of ‘connecting’ and developing relationships will interact with fans and followers.

Rebecca

Related articles

• Freelance Writing Clients Discover How to Use Twitter … Confusion Ends (savvy-writer.com)
• 20 Questions Clients Could Ask A Freelance Writer (savvy-writer.com)

Related posts:

1. Why Rebecca aka Savvy-Writer Became a Freelance Writer Question: Rebecca, why did you become a freelance writer? What’s...
2. The Challenges and Joys of Freelance Writing … Freelance Writer’s Perspective Freelance writing can be a great career for anyone who...
3. 20 Questions Clients Could Ask A Freelance Writer Question: I want to hire a freelance. What questions do...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.