Recently I’ve had the privilege of having a number of guest bloggers contributing to my blog. I’ve really enjoyed the wisdom they’ve had to share. Guest blogging is a great way for entrepreneurs to connect with those in your industry and share expertise.

Your readers benefit from the additional expert insight your guest provides, boosting the value of your blog. It also saves entrepreneurs time because you don’t have to write all the content. The trick, however, is to find guest bloggers that will enhance your blog and bring real value to your readers. (more…)

Entrepreneurs have different motives for blogging. Some do it for fun, some are simply working to connect with others or to build a brand. However, if your goal is to use your blog to make money, there are proven strategies to make it happen.

The most common method entrepreneurs’ use for making money with a blog is to promote affiliate products or services. Every time someone finds your site through your affiliate link and they decide to buy your product, you’ll get a commission. Entrepreneurs with information based blogs write educational and informative blog posts about a niche and then combine that information with affiliate marketing tactics like embedding affiliate links in the posts to generate click-thrus. (more…)

Blogging is really is a great way for entrepreneurs to get your wisdom out to your community.  I love how it’s so easy to create a connection with my community.  Being able to express my wisdom and then getting your feedback helps to build that essential “know, like and trust factor” that’s so important.  I think a blog is by far one of the most brilliant tools that any of us can use to share what it is that we know and to draw a following.

Have you wanted to set up a blog but are feeling overwhelmed, especially if you’re not a techie kind of person? Is that what’s holding you back from getting your blog started? Maybe you’re even having trouble deciding which blogging platform is right for you and your business. One that is easily customizable and user-friendly for entrepreneurs is WordPress. (more…)

I’m sure you’ve heard the marketing saying that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep the ones you have. The same may be true for bloggers. It pays to create a loyal following! And the way to do that is to build relationships with your readers moving them through the know, like, and trust factor.

Here are four tactics to help entrepreneur moms achieve that:

Be consistent. People generally like to know what to expect, particularly when it comes to frequency of blog posts. If you commit to posting every day, then find a way to make it happen even with the busy schedules that entrepreneur moms have to juggle. (more…)

Blogs are magnets, especially when they’re written with the consideration of keyword content. A blog is naturally attractive to search engines since they are content-rich web pages that have many links and are regularly updated.  Techniques for optimizing blogs are similar to optimizing content websites, but they can actually rank much higher than a static website.

Let me share a few simple rules: (more…)

People are naturally interested in what other people are up to, which is why TV soaps and reality TV shows are so popular.  When writing your blog posts, you want to write in such a way that reading just one of your blog posts should be enough to hook your readers and get them logging in regularly for updates.

Here are some proven tips that work for writing popular blog posts.

Be yourself and try to find your own style. Your posts will be much more appealing if they come from your heart rather than your head. Trying to express views or opinions that you don’t believe yourself will make your blog confusing and difficult for your readers to relate to.  Don’t be afraid to be different, some of the best blogs are individual, eccentric and very personal. (more…)

(By Guest Blogger, D’vorah Lansky)

Your blog is not just where people go for content; it’s where they go to connect with you. With your blog, you build community, you build credibility, and you create interaction. Your blog can house your audios, your videos, and your articles. Your blog can also serve as a membership site, your online store and your Web radio or TV show!

Blogging is a big, exciting, and mysterious subject, a mysterious subject that I hope to shine the light on for you. Today’s blog is also considered to be the new Web site, allowing you to easily have complete access to and control of your site along with a Web presence where people can learn about you, your interests, and your expertise. (more…)

It’s realistic that if you’re committing to writing in your blog at least 3 times per week that there will be days when you sit down to write and you find your mind is a total blank.

Nobody likes writer’s block, but it’s especially painful to bloggers!

It’s completely normal, BUT the key is to not let it put you off blogging altogether. There are lots of different types of blog posts you can write, and many ways to come up with ideas for new material.

Tip #1 Keep a folder for blog post ideas

Keep  a folder where you can store material to be used in blog posts. This might include simple ideas that you have during the week, a link to a good website you have found in the course of your work, or an interesting post on another blog or message forum. You can also include information on any product you have used during the week so you can write a simple review in your blog.

When you are stuck for ideas delving into this folder for inspiration can give you some much needed inspiration. Clear it out regularly and get rid of out of date information, otherwise searching through your ideas folder can be as difficult as coming up with a post topic from scratch.

Tip #2 Keep spare posts or stub posts

On some days you may find you have more time and inspiration than others. When this happens write an additional post or two to be used on days when you have writers block.

If you are writing a full post, make it generic and not time sensitive, otherwise it may be out dated by the time you want to use it. Alternatively write stub posts, or short summary posts, that can be expanded or fleshed out with topical information when you want to publish them. (more…)

Do you have a blog? Is it making you money?

Most entrepreneurs, with businesses both big and small, know that blogging is one of the BEST ways to promote your online business and increase your sales. But I find that a lot of entrepreneurs I speak with just aren’t getting the dollars and cents RESULTS they’d like from their blog.

So I decided this week I’m going to do something fun! I’m offering free blog critiques so I can help five lucky entrepreneurs bolster their RESULTS.

I’m going to take a long, hard look at your blog – the platform, the design and the content. However, my primary focus is going to be on your blogging RESULTS so I’m going to analyze the following questions.

• Is your blog ATTRACTING people searching the Internet looking for what YOU have to offer?
• Are you using your blog to BUILD a highly-targeted list of ideal clients who want MORE of what you have to offer?
• Are you then CONNECTING with your ideal clients on an ongoing basis so they go from curious visitors to loyal customers?

This special blog critique is available through Friday June 11^th, and because of the time involved, I can only offer it to the next five people who purchase Blogging ABCs. After my review, I’ll schedule a complimentary phone session with you so we can review my findings together and come up with a plan that will get you RESULTS.

So, what do you need to do to jump on this opportunity and get your free blog critique? After purchasing Blogging ABCs (which as a blogger interested in results, you’re going to love) send an email to metromom@metromom.com and I’ll confirm  that you’re one of the lucky 5!

By the way, I’m going to share the learning from these critiques in an upcoming post so everyone can benefit! If you’re one of the lucky 5 let me know if you want me to highlight your blog – it’ll be a great way for you to get some extra exposure.

One of the easiest and most effective ways you can get your great ideas and wisdom out to the world is by using a blog.  If you’re new to that term a blog is short for web log. 

Blogger (a blogging service owned by Google) defines it this way:

“A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.”

Simply, it’s a way for you to present yourself uniquely and attractively to the world letting them know what you have to offer.

Here are some things that most blogs have in common:

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