Clear! How To Resuscitate Stale Blog Content
Promoting and marketing your blog is one of the hardest challenges that bloggers face. One way to stay relevant is to constantly churn out new content, but that can be exhausting. Another is to revive old content and make it fresh again. But how do you do that? Isn’t that…cheating? Well, no. It’s a way to gain new readers while drawing attention to your better pieces. This post by Rebekah Radice at Rebekah Radice.com will give you some valuable tips:
Follow-Up Post- Writing a follow-up post is a great way to breathe new life into your old post by linking back to it as a reference.
Roundup of Resources- Weekly or monthly roundup posts are a very popular way to highlight articles that deserve a second look
Design a Graphic for Pinterest- Pinterest offers a way to visually brand your business, putting your message in front of a whole new audience.
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Small, Simple Office Area
Is Homeschooling While Working At Home Impossible?
If you work full time from home, it’s really helpful to have your kids out of your hair for 7+ hours a day. But, what if you’re not impressed with the quality of education in your area but can’t afford a private school? Can you even imagine working from home while also having your children with you? Is homeschooling while working even possible? Well, it’ll be like working two full time jobs. But, many people work multiple jobs and still manage to get along- even though it’s a lot to juggle! It’s all about time management. This post by Jimmi Lanley at JimmiesCollage has some advice– check out the full article for a complete guide! She covers everything from making the economic decisions, meal planning, housework, juggling work and lessons, and dealing with outside opposition to your decisions. It’s really in depth and impressive. If you homeschool and are considering getting an at-home job, or if you work from home and are considering homeschooling, it’s a wonderful place to start.
At the core, the answer to being a WAHM who homeschools is to bedisciplined. For some people that may mean a military style adherence to checklists and schedules. For me it a flexible outer manifestation but a very firm mental resolve that keeps me focused on my goals.
LinkedIn Headline Help
LinkedIn is a powerful tool for marketing, networking, and self-promotion. People looking for your type of business will need to be able to find you, so it’s important that your profile page contains important keywords, looks professional, and is easily accessible. This post by Melonie Dorado at Top Dog Social Media has several tips on how to maked your Linked In profile work for you:
-Make sure your headline stands out in search results– make it click-worthy!
-Make sure it includes keywords that you want to be found for
-Include an attention grabbing statement of the benefits that you offer your client
-Use all available characters!
How To Make Social Media Work For You
Sometimes, simply having a Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter for your business isn’t enough. Without any effort put into them, social media accounts will just sit there gathering dust. But, with the proper TLC, social media can do wonders for your business. This post by Rebekah Radice at the BHGrealestate blog has some tips on how to make your social media accounts work for you:
Being present and active in your social media marketing efforts will require a commitment to sharing, engaging and connecting with consumers on a daily basis.
Setting attainable goals allows you to see the big picture.
Identifying which social channels your target audience is using and then knowing how to connect with them is crucial to social media success.
Wordless Wednesday: Lush Desk Space
Is Your Hobby Actually A Business?
…And how can you turn it into one?
Do you have a hobby that you like to do in your spare time? Most people do. Personally, I like to crochet, write stories, and tutor. I have friends that draw, paint, play music, make jewelry, bake, design clothes– the list goes on and on. If you have some sort of marketable skill like that, why not make yourself a profit? By selling your own products or skills, you can turn your hobby into a business. And business means profits – and tax breaks – for you! Check out this post by Kay Bell at the Bankrate blog for tips:
You can turn a hobby into a business if:
You carry on the activity in a businesslike manner. This includes, for example, keeping good books and records, promoting your business and holding down costs where possible. The IRS will look at:
- How much time and effort you devote to the enterprise.
- Whether you depend on income from the activity for your livelihood.
Whether the activity makes a profit in some years and, if so, how much.
If your hobby is sanctioned as a business from the IRS, you can get much, much more in tax breaks from it!
How to Run a Giveaway on Your Blog
Giveaways are a great way to attract more traffic to your site. If you run a blog with a theme, like parenting, crafts, or hobbies, thinking of a prize (kids products, tools, art supplies) is a breeze (and probably in high demand!). If you blog to promote your personal business, a giveaway is a surefire way to get people interested in your product or brand– and keep them coming back for more. It’s also a way to bolster relationships between you and your readers, or with other brands. This post by Anna at In The Next 30 Days is a great guide on how to host your first giveaway:
Think carefully about the prize. Make it something YOU like, and that your audience will find valuable.
Decide how you’ll get your prize. Ask a company to donate or buy it yourself!
Write an awesome giveaway post.
Make it simple to enter.
Promote, promote, promote
Pick your winner randomly, and announce it.
Follow up with your winner. Make sure they received their prize in a timely manner, especially if it was shipped by an outside company
Blog Archives How-To
Organizing your blog and making archives accessible is a great way to make sure readers keep coming back. After all, if you’re on a site that’s hard to navigate, and makes it impossible for you to find what you’re looking for, how likely are you to stay on it? Not very. Keeping it organized and up to date will benefit both you and your readers. This post by Gretchen Louise will help walk you through the process:
Identify & Optimize Top 20 Posts- these are what gets you hits, and what people want to see.
Highlight Popular Posts on a Favorites or “Start Here” Page- these are what get you new viewers.
Sift Archives for Irrelevant, Outdated Posts- delete things that are duplicates, or simply not your best work.