How to Choose the Right Social Media Network without Pulling Your Hair Out

March 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Plus, LinkedIn… The list goes on and on.  If you’re a small business owner, social media can overwhelm you. Why? Because you have many choices available to you, but you may not know which networks are best for you and your business.

The good news is that you don’t have to use every social network that’s available to you.

You can choose one or two that fit your business and get to know them, inside and out. For example, if you’re a chef who want’s to open his/her own restaurant, Facebook could work for you. Why? Because it’s media driven and you can upload stunning photos of your delicious creations.

If you’re a CPA, you could use Twitter and tweet tips about taxes, bookkeeping and anything else related to accounting for business. Maybe you specialize in small businesses. You could tweet tips specifically for small business owners. Twitter could be the best social network for your business.

Choosing the right social network for your small business depends on your business and target audience. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clients, Overcoming Obstacles, Social Media, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , ,

How Small Business Owners Attract Publishers and Literary Agents

February 27, 2014 by 6 Comments
how to attract publishers, how to get media interviews, media interviews, public relations and media interviews, how to attract pubishers

Media Magnestism: How to the Publicity You Want and Deserve

Are you a small business owner who’s still trying to get the attention of a publisher or literary agent?

Haven’t they noticed you and your writing?

What’s the deal with that?

Perhaps, they’re too busy reading about James Erwin. If you don’t know the story of James Erwin and how his responses to a Reddit question landed him a deal with Hollywood, here’s the scoop from Wired magazine.

James Erwin writes software manuals for an Iowa financial services firm. The pay and short commute aren’t too shabby. One day at work (on his lunch break) he logged into Reddit and decided to answer the following question posted by Reddit user ‘The_Quiet_Earth,’ “Could I destroy the entire Roman Empire during the reign of Augustus if I traveled back in time with a modern U.S. Marine infantry battalion or MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit?”

James posted his answers in segments and basically started writing a story that would soon get so much attention that it got him a Hollywood deal.

James was contacted by Adam Kolbrenner who runs literary management and production company Madhouse Entertainment. He forwarded the Reddit link to an executive at Warner Bros., and a producer on the movie “300″ said he wanted to be involved in getting James’ story produced. Warner Bros. made him an offer. The rest is history.

Congratulations to James! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Authors, Publishing, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Are You Making These 10 Content Writing Mistakes in Your Small Business?

February 25, 2014 by 4 Comments
/doh content writing mistakes

/doh (Photo credit: striatic)

Content writing mistakes can cost your small business more time and money than you realize.

How?

By posting content that no one reads and shares. The time you spent writing the posts could have been spent on developing a current product so it reaches its full potential.

Let’s face it; writing content for your small business blog is a daunting task when you have other things to do such as marketing and accounting (unless you hire someone to handle these).

But don’t give up, yet.

Once you learn the mistakes to avoid, you can turn around your content strategy and connect with your target audience. You’ll also see your sales, credibility and profits go up. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clients, Content Writing, Overcoming Obstacles, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , ,

Time Management Saves Your Small Business Money

February 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment
time management, how to have better time management, time management tips for small business owners

Photo by Pedro Simao http:///www.editae.com.br

Are you a small business owner who suffers from poor time management skills?

The more time you spend doing busywork or running late to important meetings decreases your chances of being a successful business owner.

The fact is that you can’t afford to show up late to events that could increase your business. You also can’t afford to post your content sporadically.

Managing your time is crucial to the success of your business. Without it, you won’t accomplish anything, even though you seem busy.

You may think that you can keep track of time by watching the clock but it doesn’t work..

Before you know it, you’re half way through the day and may not have started projects. Check-in with yourself to see how well you’re doing. Make adjustments to your schedule when necessary. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clients, Overcoming Obstacles, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , ,

How to Give Your Blog Readers Goosebumps Like R.L. Stine

February 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Boxart of Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland

Oh, the horror of it all! Do you write for your blog readers or search engines?

Check this out.

According to R.L. Stine, author of the popular Goosebumps series, the worst writing advice given to writers is as follows <Tweet This>:

  • Write from your heart.
  • Write what you know.

When I read Zachary Petit’s interview with R.L. Stine in the November/December 2011 issue of Writer’s Digest, I was taken aback that Mr. Stine would say writing from your heart and writing what you know is the worst advice given to writers.

Mr. Stine said, “Well, I hate it when authors come into a school and they say to kids, “Write from your heart, write from your heart, only write what you know, and write from your heart. I hate it because it’s useless.” Ouch!

R.L. makes a good point by saying, “I’ve written over 300 books — not one was written from my heart. Not one. They were all written for an audience, they were all written to entertain a certain audience.”

Even though R.L. Stine writes books for kids, his advice can help you with your blog content writing.

Why?

Because you need to write for your audience. You need to give them what they want and need.

R.L. Stine pointed out that if authors only write from their heart or write what they know, they become blocked. This is true. Your imagination can fly out the window. 

Don’t let this happen to you. Below are tips on how you can give your readers Goosebumps when they read your posts. Do this and your readers will share your content, comment on it and like it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clients, Content Writing, Overcoming Obstacles, Tips and Tricks Tagged With: , , , , ,
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