Small Business Blog

We have a brand-new website, some great training opportunities, and a snazzy new look. Come check out our new space at www.betsytalbot.com.

The latest post on our blog is a book review of The Soccer Mom Myth, Today’s Female Consumer, Who She Really Is, Why She Really Buys. It is great stuff, and you won’t want to miss it!

To keep up with the new blog, you can subscribe by email below or click here for the RSS feed. If you prefer to visit the site to read the blog, the address is www.betsytalbot.com/blog.

I can’t wait for you to stop by my new place for a chat. I’ll keep the coffee hot.

The Internet has made the world a much smaller place, but it can still seem overwhelming to monitor what is being said about you and your business. No matter what industry you are in, you will eventually have a disgruntled customer. Many will also have to contend with competitors who try to boost their own reputations by attacking others.

To monitor your name, I recommend Googling yourself. This will remind you of what people see when they look for you. If you have pictures of a racy Cancun vacation on your MySpace page, this might be the time to set that to private if you are developing an online business reputation. Then when you make a great contact you can be confident they will find the professional image you are cultivating when they Google you to find out more information (because they will!).

If you have a somewhat common name, odds are that people will have to determine which information belongs to you. There are a couple of strategies around this:

• Use your picture in profiles, articles and websites to clarify your identity
• Buy your name domain (www.betsytalbot.com) even if you do not choose to do anything with it now. For a mere $10/year you can make sure that a porn star or sleazy politician with the same name as you doesn’t steal your online thunder, or even insure that a competitor can’t buy your name and redirect it to their site.

Setting Up Alerts

Often when something is said about you it may not end up on page 1, which means you won’t see it until it has gained enough traction to make it to page 1. If you have a lot of time and a great memory you could Google your name and keywords every single day and scroll through all the pages (I hope your name isn’t Jane Smith!), but I am sure this is not the best use of your time. Whether you are monitoring who is talking about you or want to know how many times your product or service is mentioned online, Google Alerts is the easiest, cheapest solution for you.

How do you set up a Google alert?

• Go to www.google.com and sign in (if you don’t have an account, set one up take advantage of all of Google’s services - it is free!)
• Click “More” at the top left side of the screen and then “even More” from the dropdown list.
• Click on “Alerts”
• Type in the word or phrase you want to search for
  Use quotes around phrases to be more specific (i.e., “betsy talbot” instead of betsy talbot - without quotes always returns results on any mention of “betsy” or “talbot” on the internet - too many alerts!)
• Select Comprehensive as the type and choose how often you want the report
• Confirm the email address.

It is really that simple! On the time schedule you choose, you will receive an alert every time your word or phrase is used. You can use this to monitor your name, company name, suite of products or services, or even to keep up with the news on industry terms important to you. You can even follow news on your favorite author or business guru.

Monitoring your online reputation is a wise business move, and one that takes little effort and zero dollars.

I’ll be speaking on the topic of blogging in April and need your help finding out the biggest hurdles/questions about blogging. I *think* I know, but I want to make sure I make the talk as effective as it can be for the audience.

Thanks for your help in pinpointing blogging issues. And please don’t forget to sign up for my free Special Report on Blogging from Start Finish at my main website as your gift for participating.

The blogging survey is here. Thank you!

Have you heard of Squidoo? It is an online community of single-page websites discussing everything from the best Thai food in town to the latest in technology. The founder of Squidoo is Seth Godin, who is one of my favorite marketing gurus.

The single-page websites are called “lenses” and are the viewpoint of the creator. You don’t need to know how to build a website in order to create one - in fact, you can have a lens ready to publish in under 10 minutes! You can even set up a feed to have your regular blog show up in your lens like I did.

Check out the lens I wrote today in response to Seth Godin’s blog post on digital coaches. It took me less than 10 minutes to put together. I will keep you posted on the amount of traffic it brings in over the course of the next couple of weeks.

Since it is free, can help your search engine optimization, and introduces you to a new audience of potential customers, there is really no reason why you shouldn’t Squidoo.

Have you developed a Squidoo lens? Share it in the comments below so we can all visit.

I’m excited to tell you about some changes to Small Business Blog in 2008.

• We will be opening up the blog to some expert guest bloggers. You will hear from web designers, marketing experts, business bloggers, and professional organizers in addition to my own posts. Looking for a particular type of expert? Let me know in the comments. Our first guest post is next week.
• You’ll be hearing more about our new business writing services through Romy Caldwell Freelance and Ghostwriting. We will reveal some inexpensive ways you can use a writer to bring in more customers or add another stream of revenue to your business. If you haven’t checked out Romy’s site, please do!
• Last but not least, many of you have asked me for help starting your own blog. By signing up for my e-zine, you can get a free special report on Blogging from Start to Finish. If you are already a subscriber, just email me and I’ll send you the report.

I hope you are using what is traditionally a slow time of business for most people to evaluate your successes in 2007 and plan for an even better 2008.

Zeitgeist: noun, \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst\: the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.

In the tradition of Google and Lifehacker, I humbly submit my own version of the year’s most-viewed articles. We started out as a real-estate focused blog before moving to the new format on Wordpress, so this will include articles from our previous life on Active Rain. Enjoy (again).

• Client Appreciation Gifts - you must really love your customers!
• Making Your Mark in the Details - the witty gals at Holiday Golightly display some email marketing savvy.
• Get Organized with Debbie Rosemont - this was my first audio interview. Debbie was so popular we might have to bring her back as a regular!
• A Love Letter to Google Docs - Many of you share my love for this amazing tool, and since the post was written in March I have grown to love it even more. I no longer use it to compose blog entries now that I’m using Wordpress, but it is maintaining the blood, sweat and tears of my book-in-progress.
• Defining Your Target Market - Something many people overlook - we all want customers, but the wrong kind can make your business sink. Know what you are looking for. A good reminder that you can’t be all things to all people.
• “Hey, Baby! What’s Your Sign?” - This is the first of a series of articles on behavioral signs and communication - obviously written before I learned some key blogging rules like keyword-rich headings and splitting long articles into shorter posts. But still a fun topic. Check out the entire series to read about the 4 signs.

Thank you for making 2007 a wonderful first year of blogging. I wrote my first post on January 10, 2007, and it has been a great learning experience. I encourage you all to make blogging part of your business plan for 2007, and if you need a little help just sign up for our ezine at www.delegatenow.com for a free report on Blogging from Start to Finish.

Have a wonderful holiday, and I’ll be back on December 27!

I run across great sites and articles all the time but do not always have enough material to make a post about them. I’m going to start a series on “My Favorite Links” to showcase some of these great sites and articles for you to view at your leisure. Have a great weekend!

10+ Things to Do with Dry-Erase Markers via Lifehack: If you are an office-supply junkie like my aunt, you will love this article.

TED: Ideas Worth Spreading: Inspired talks by the world’s greatest thinkers and doers. You could lose track of time exploring this site. via Lifehack

The Blogger’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization: More information than you ever wanted to know about blogging. A valuable and unbelievably free resource. via Copyblogger

Discover the .EDU Underground: Information on thousands of academic sites with information on art, science, technology and business. Take a class from UC Berkeley via YouTube or attend a lecture from Stanford from your iPod. via Lifehacker

Caroline Middlebrook’s Twitter Guide: If you are thinking of using this tool for your business (it’s not just for the kids, you know!), Caroline has a great tutorial.

I’ll publish this list at least monthly, and if you have a favorite new site you want to share please let me know in the comments below.

In honor of Halloween, I’d like to introduce you to our new Ghostwriter in Residence, Romy Caldwell. As a ghostwriter, Romy is here to clear the cobwebs from your mind and put your expertise into words.

Romy can take written notes, scribbled notes, or recorded notes and turn your thoughts into a blog post, an article, an e-book, a e-course, or a book that will continue to pay you dividends long after it is written. Because she is a ghostwriter, your readers will never know you didn’t pen the article or book yourself.

How do you know Romy is the right person for your project? Romy has experience writing blogs, articles, books, how-to manuals, website copy, product descriptions, technical papers, speeches….well, you get the idea. Romy Caldwell is the pen name of a group of writers with extensive expertise, so no matter what type of product you need, there is a part of Romy that is right for you.

So don’t be scared to start that blog or e-book that will establish you as an expert in your field. With your brains and Romy’s talent, you can be showcasing your expertise in no time.

Want to know more? Go to Romy’s website. And yes, I am part of Romy, too.

Today is Blog Action Day, where bloggers unite to discuss one topic. This year it is the environment.

As a small business, we are tuned into saving money and helping the environment. The tips below help you accomplish both goals.

How can your small business become more green?

• Recycle your paper. Better yet, focus on using less paper altogether.
• Getting duplicate or unwanted catalogs? Go to Catalog Choice to unsubscribe by catalog. (thanks, Ken!)
• Recycle your printer cartridges (you can drop off at most office supply stores)
• Meet via phone or webinar when possible instead of driving or flying.
• Use ceramic mugs and glasses instead of Styrofoam cups in your break room.
• Recycle your boxes.
• Use the Styrofoam peanuts from your packages as lightweight filler for large potted plants, or take them to your local UPS store to be re-used.
• Recycle glass and aluminum cans.
• Switch from direct marketing to email marketing to save both paper and money.

What makes your office environmentally friendly?

Ning much? I didn’t either until a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve joined 3 Ning networks, one social and two business-related. Ning is a social networking site that allows you to set up groups based on your interests or business. You can make it invitation-only if you want to communicate with a select group (like customers), or you can open it up to anyone interested in your particular subject (potential customers).

As a small business owner, how can you use Ning?

• If your business inspires people, what better way to cultivate that than offering a place for your customers to talk to you and each other? I like to hear how other consumers are using a product/service I use.
• Do you have a subscription-based service? Communicate with all your members (and let them communicate with each other) through a Ning group.
• Do you lead an industry-specific group? This is a great place for members to share information.
• The customizable blocks allow you to advertise specials, update customers on events, and even sell products if you want.

Ning provides a group blog (perfect if you are a little too scared to start your own just yet), a forum discussion area, and several customizable blocks on the group home page as well as the individual’s home page. I only have one login for all 3 groups, which makes it easy for me to use, and because I signed up for email notification of updates I don’t even have to remember to look at them every day if I’m busy.

Evaluate the features yourself and see if this is a service you can use. If you come up with an innovative way of using the service please post back and let us know. Now go Ning!