Drip-Marketing Campaigns for FSBOs

Be There When They Seek a Professional's Help Do-it-yourselfers will always be a part of our society. But for many people, there comes a time when the frustration of doing it on their own far outweighs the cost of calling in a professional. When an individual who is trying to sell their own home arrives at this conclusion, you want to be the first person they call. This can be achieved by initiating a "drip campaign." To do this, you must have a series of letters, flyers, or handouts that you send consistently to your FSBO targets. Successful drip campaigns are clearly systemized, so the process is easy to follow. There's no guesswork involved, and this can be easily delegated to one of your team members once the system has been set up. Here are a few tips for a successful FSBO drip campaign: Tip 1: Send out tips that will help sellers learn more about how to successfully market their home. By providing this value up front, you show sincere interest in helping them sell their home. Tip 2: Make certain your mail stands out from the other mail they receive. Printed envelopes generally get less attention than envelopes addressed by hand. It's also smart to include brief handwritten notes with each piece you send. Make sure your message is not delivered on a day when the usual junk mail and coupon mailers are distributed. You don't want to be lost in the shuffle. Tip 3: Leverage technology such as databases and personalization software. Database management software simplifies the creation of personalized letters. It's not difficult to find a font that looks like actual handwriting, and conveys a personal touch. These are some of the things I do as part of my campaign to market my services to FSBOs. In many cases, people attempting to sell their own home become frustrated and end up turning to a professional Real Estate Agent. Call me if you are interested in learning more about the co-op marketing opportunities I have to offer! *RESPA laws require Real Estate professionals to pay a proportionate amount of the costs for co-op marketing and distribution. I have negotiated fair rates for printing and distribution with my vendors. (See http://www.hud.gov to access RESPA ruling 24CFR3500.14.)

10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

For business owners just getting started, a guide to build brand buzz and boost your bottom line.

BY SUSAN GUNELIUS |

Leveraging the power of content and social media marketing can help elevate your audience and customer base in a dramatic way. But getting started without any previous experience or insight could be challenging.

It's vital that you understand social media marketing fundamentals. From maximizing quality to increasing your online entry points, abiding by these 10 laws will help build a foundation that will serve your customers, your brand and -- perhaps most importantly -- your bottom line.

1. The Law of Listening
Success with social media and content marketing requires more listening and less talking. Read your target audience’s online content and join discussions to learn what’s important to them. Only then can you create content and spark conversations that add value rather than clutter to their lives.

2. The Law of Focus
It’s better to specialize than to be a jack-of-all-trades. A highly-focused social media and content marketing strategy intended to build a strong brand has a better chance for success than a broad strategy that attempts to be all things to all people.

3. The Law of Quality
Quality trumps quantity. It’s better to have 1,000 online connections who read, share and talk about your content with their own audiences than 10,000 connections who disappear after connecting with you the first time.

4. The Law of Patience
Social media and content marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. While it’s possible to catch lightning in a bottle, it’s far more likely that you’ll need to commit to the long haul to achieve results.

5. The Law of Compounding
If you publish amazing, quality content and work to build your online audience of quality followers, they’ll share it with their own audiences on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, their own blogs and more.

This sharing and discussing of your content opens new entry points for search engines like Google to find it in keyword searches. Those entry points could grow to hundreds or thousands of more potential ways for people to find you online.

6. The Law of Influence
Spend time finding the online influencers in your market who have quality audiences and are likely to be interested in your products, services and business. Connect with those people and work to build relationships with them.

If you get on their radar as an authoritative, interesting source of useful information, they might share your content with their own followers, which could put you and your business in front of a huge new audience.

7. The Law of Value
If you spend all your time on the social Web directly promoting your products and services, people will stop listening. You must add value to the conversation. Focus less on conversions and more on creating amazing content and developing relationships with online influencers. In time, those people will become a powerful catalyst for word-of-mouth marketing for your business.

8. The Law of Acknowledgment
You wouldn’t ignore someone who reaches out to you in person so don’t ignore them online. Building relationships is one of the most important parts of social media marketing success, so always acknowledge every person who reaches out to you.

9. The Law of Accessibility
Don’t publish your content and then disappear. Be available to your audience. That means you need to consistently publish content and participate in conversations. Followers online can be fickle and they won’t hesitate to replace you if you disappear for weeks or months.

10. The Law of Reciprocity
You can’t expect others to share your content and talk about you if you don’t do the same for them. So, a portion of the time you spend on social media should be focused on sharing and talking about content published by others.  

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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius is CEO of KeySplash Creative Inc., an Orlando, Fla.- based marketing communications company. She has authored several books, including Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, published by Entrepreneur Media. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Leave a Voicemail Directly Without Talking...

Let's face it, we all wish we could just leave a voicemail at times.  Are you pressed for time?  Do you have a client, who will not let you just leave a simple piece of information without chatting for fifteen minutes?  Do you just want to say hello and don't have the time to spare catching up?  Would you like to stay in front of your referral partners and clients, but don't have the time to talk to so many people everyday?  Sly Dial is perfect for you if you answered yes to any of the previous questions.

How do you slydial?  It is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425) from any landline or mobile phone.
2. At the voice prompt, enter the U.S. mobile phone number of the person you want to slydial.
3. You will be directly connected to their voicemail. Leave them a voicemail, sit back and relax.

Check it out online:

http://www.slydial.com/index.php

Growing Your Business With Send Out Cards

One of the best things I have done in my business is to incorporate Send Out Cards into my marketing plan.  I love SOC for the following reasons:

1.        It allows you to send custom cards.  This is a great way to congratulate your clients on their new home. You can include a picture of the new house. You can upload any picture you like.

2.       You can send post cards or tri-folds.

3.       You are able to send gifts with your cards.  There are a variety of cool gifts you can include with your card.  This is great for a closing gift.  I send a gift to their work after closing with a picture of their new home on it.

4.       You can plug in the information and forget about it.  It is automated.  Use it to stay in touch with customers (closing anniversaries, birthdays etc).

5.       It is a fraction of the cost of retail cards.

I believe in it so much that I became a representative.  If you would like some more information do not hesitate to give me a call at 810-987-1200.

https://www.sendoutcards.com/bluewaterhomeloans/

The Benefits of Volunteering

Take a look around your neighborhood or your community. Chances are, you'll notice at least a few things that are either overlooked or are in need of a little help. Maybe there's a non-profit organization that needs its lawn mowed or help collecting food for the needy. Perhaps there's a youth camp that needs people to take kids on a hike or children at a child-care center that would love to have an adult read books to them once a week.

That's where volunteering comes in! It only takes one person and a small amount of time to improve not only those issues, but to also improve the lives of the people around you who also care about and need those services. As Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, once said:

"We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily difference we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee."

To help you get started or find other volunteer opportunities, you may want to check out the following resources:

• Serve.gov is an online resource for not only finding volunteer opportunities in your community, but also creating your own. Visit the site at http://www.serve.gov/.
  
  
• VolunteerMatch.org strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. They offer a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Visit them online at http://www.volunteermatch.org/.
  
  
• Loan forgiveness for public service may also be of interest to you or someone you know. If so, visit the following web pages: http://www.finaid.org/loans/publicservice.phtml and http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml.

And you don't have to volunteer by yourself. Bring a friend, or even your entire family along. It's the perfect way to teach your kids early on about the importance of helping others and making a difference.

Stay tuned for more Quick Tips coming your way!

The Secret to Dealing With Difficult People: It's About You

I just had to re-post this.  Hopefully, I am duly giving credit below.  Great read.

 

FC Expert Blog

The Secret To Dealing With Difficult People: It's About You

BY FC Expert Blogger Tony SchwartzToday

This blog is written by a member of our expert blogging community and expresses that expert's views alone.

Each of us has a lens through which we see the world, but we have the power to view the world through other lenses. There are three worth trying on when you default to negative emotions.

Do you have someone at work who consistently triggers you? Doesn't listen? Takes credit for work you've done? Wastes your time with trivial issues? Acts like a know-it-all? Can only talk about himself? Constantly criticizes?
Our core emotional need is to feel valued and valuable. When we don't, it's deeply unsettling, a challenge to our sense of equilibrium, security, and well-being. At the most primal level, it can feel like a threat to our very survival.
This is especially true when the person you're struggling with is your boss. The problem is that being in charge of other people rarely brings out the best in us.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Lord Acton said way back in 1887. "There is no worse heresy than the office that sanctifies the holder of it."
The easy default when we feel devalued is to the role of victim, and it's a seductive pull. Blaming others for how we're feeling is a form of self-protection. Whatever is going wrong isn't our fault. By off loading responsibility, we feel better in the short-term.
The problem with being a victim is that you cede the power to influence your circumstances. The painful truth when it comes to the people who trigger you is this: You're not going to change them. The only person you have the possibility of changing is yourself.
Each of us has a default lens through which we see the world. We call it reality, but in fact it's a selective filter. We have the power, to view the world through other lenses. There are three worth trying on when you find yourself defaulting to negative emotions.
The Lens of Realistic Optimism. Using this lens requires asking yourself two simple questions when you feel you're being treated badly or unfairly. The first one is "What are the facts in this situation?" The second is, "What's the story I'm telling myself about those facts?"
Making this distinction allows you to stand outside your experience, rather than simply reacting to it. It also opens the possibility that whatever story you're currently telling yourself isn't necessarily the only way to look at your situation.
Realistic optimism, a term coined by the psychologist Sandra Schneider, means telling yourself the most hopeful and empowering story about a given circumstance without subverting the facts. It's about moving beyond your default reaction to feeling under attack, and exploring whether there is an alternative way of viewing the situation that would ultimately serve you better. Another way of discovering an alternative is to ask yourself "How would I act here at my best?"
The Reverse Lens. This lens requires viewing the world through the lens of the person who triggered you. It doesn't mean sacrificing your own point of view but rather widening your perspective.
It's nearly certain that the person you perceive as difficult views the situation differently than you do. With the reverse lens, you ask yourself, "What is this person feeling, and in what ways does that make sense?" Or put more starkly: "Where's my responsibility in all this?"
Counterintuitively, one of the most powerful ways to reclaim your value, when it feels threatened, is to find a way to appreciate the perspective of the person you feel devalued by. It's called empathy.
Just as you do, others tend to behave better when they feel seen and valued -- especially since insecurity is what usually prompts them to act badly in the first place.
The Long Lens. Sometimes your worst fears about another person turn out to be true. He is someone who bullies you unreasonably and seeing it from his perspective doesn't help. She does invariably take credit for your work.
When your current circumstances are incontrovertibly bad, The long lens provides a way of looking beyond the present to imagine a better future. Begin with this question: "Regardless of how I feel about what's happening right now, how can I grow and learn from this experience?"
How many times has something that felt terrible to you in the moment turned out to be trivial several months later, or actually led you to an important opportunity or a positive new direction?
My last boss fired me. It felt awful at the time, but it also pushed me way out of my comfort zone, which is where it turned out I needed to go.
Looking back, the story I tell myself is that for all his deficiencies, I learned a lot from that boss, and it all serves me well today. I can understand, from his point of view, why he found me difficult as an employee, without feeling devalued. Most important, getting fired prompted me to make a decision -- founding the company I now run -- that has brought me more happiness than any other work I've ever done.

Follow @FastCoLeaders for all of our leadership news, expert bloggers, and book excerpts.

Reprinted with permission from The Energy Project

Tony Schwartz is President and CEO of The Energy Project, a company that helps individuals and organizations fuel energy, engagement, focus, and productivity by harnessing the science of high performance. Tony's most recent book, Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys to Transforming the Way We Work and Live, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Follow him on Twitter @TonySchwartz.

The Perfect Purchase Transaction

It All Starts with a System

 

Have you ever wondered what the Perfect Purchase Transaction would look like? Close your eyes and dream about it for a minute: Few inbound phone calls. Your cell phone never rings. Clients leave so ecstatic with your service that they hand you three names of people they know who are ready to sell their homes or want to buy in your area. You enjoy shorter workdays during the process because everything clicks. Okay, WAKE UP! The dream has ended.

Yet, that dream is possible. Although you work in an innately reactive business, it is possible to be proactive and stave off the reactive nature of day-to-day dealings. But, you must create a system. Think through each step of the process and ask yourself, "How can I make this better?" or "How can I take this reactive activity and be proactive to curtail it?" Here's the key: Create the Perfect Purchase Transaction.

The drill: Sit down with all of your team members, those individuals on your immediate staff as well as your extended team - your lender, escrow officer, title representative, home inspector, handy man, home warranty representative, etc. Then on blank index cards note the steps that take place pertaining to any purchase. The first card would document the initial phone call or touch point The last card could describe the note you send on the one-year anniversary since the transaction closed, congratulating your buyers on that memorable date. Each of the middle cards should highlight and detail every contact required throughout the process to ensure the Perfect Purchase Transaction.

In the lower, right-hand corner of each index card, jot down the initials of the individual tasked with executing the particular activity. It would be helpful to conduct this meeting in a conference room with a table long enough to spread out the index cards for easy viewing. Create a snake of index cards, beginning with the first point of contact. As you sift through this snake and examine each index card, determine where any snags or breakdowns occur. Contemplate any ways to improve each interaction.

From there, separate the index cards into stacks, sorted by initials. Are any of the stacks top heavy? Do any of the stacks contain more activities than it's humanly possible to service at the level of professionalism needed to "WOW" a customer? Do any cards in these stacks need to be redistributed? Can any cards be discarded?

This will help you visualize every point of contact and critical element of your Perfect Purchase Transaction process.

I'd love an opportunity to discuss the systems I use to consistently WOW my clients! 

Google voice-YOU NEED THIS!

About two months ago I discovered Google Voice.  I was introduced to it by a Realtor friend of mine.  I am hear to tell you that I do not know how I managed my business without it for so long.  This is a terrific tool that helps you save time and become more efficient.  Check out the link at the end of this blog for a tour of Google Voice.  However, I have highlighted some features that I love:

1.  Call Screening- Yes, just like an old answering machine you can intercept a call as someone is leaving a voice mail.
2.  Voice mail Transcription- Google voice will deliver to you a text or email transcript of your voice mail.  It also lists who the message is from.  This gives you the opportunity to see what the message is about and return a call with out listening to the message.  While the transcription is not perfect, I find that it is mostly adequate in relaying the gist of the message.
3. Message Toggling-Gone are the days of listening to eleven messages just to hear the one important message in your voice mail inbox.  Google voice allows you to see who left you messages and select the important messages and you can come back the the rest later.
4.  Access to Voice Mail Anywhere- Google voice allows you to access your voice mail any where any time from any computer.  You just need internet.
5.  Permanently Save Messages-This tool gives you the ability to permanently save voice mails and text messages and come back to them later.
6. Share Voice Messages- With Google voice you can forward your voice mail in an email, text or MP3 so others can listen to it.  They do not need a Google voice account to listen to it in the email.
7.  Forward all Voice Mails- This feature gives you the option to have your home, office and cell phone voice mails in one place.

These are a few that I find very helpful.  However there are many more features. Be sure to check out the link below.

http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html

Helpful Google Tool

Google has another fantastic tool you should check out...



Google Docs allows you to store your documents in the cloud.  This is a great way to...
1. back up important files-for free
2. access important documents anywhere--for free
3. share documents with anyone--for free
4. work on projects with others without having to email large attachments--for free.

All you need is a Google ID.

http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html

Social Media and You

Do you have a personal account on either Facebook or Twitter? Have you noticed that most of your clients do? Today social media is not only used to engage your clients, but also to market towards new ones.
Facebook and Twitter can be used as a more approachable way of communicating with your clients. Social media is becoming more and more necessary for modern businesses to thrive, and yours shouldn't be any different. With these new outlets, you can upload photos and videos of tips for potential clients, of available houses, or even of you and your team.

While all social media can have the same goal in mind, different outlets can accomplish different tasks.

Facebook:

• For a business, it would be best to use a "Fan Page." There is no friend cap and with this type of page, clients are free to join simply by "Liking" the page.
• Able to start discussion threads on a dedicated page, labeled "Discussions."
• Able to send out mass messages to all members.
• Instant messaging through "Facebook Chat."

Twitter:

• Real-time updates about your business.
• One-on-one messaging between clients.
• 140-character limit means smaller messages and faster responses.

But your social media efforts don't have to stop with Facebook and Twitter. Another social media site you can register your business on is foursquare, a smartphone application (sometimes shortened to "app") that's a free way for your clients to promote your business by telling their friends where they are. You can even reward your dedicated clients or attract new ones by offering "foursquare Specials" –certain prizes or offers–that you design.

Social media isn't for kids anymore. It's now a serious way to market yourself and connect with your clients in a friendly manner. Social media sites are easy to use, easy to manage, and best of all they're free.

These days, there are more ways to engage your clients than e-mail, so consider using sites like Facebook and Twitter, which many of your clients already enjoy using every day!

Testimonials: How to Market Success

Testimonials are not about bragging or tooting your own horn. Sharing your successes with your client base and associates is an essential part of growing your business and your reputation within the community. And a great way to do this is by utilizing testimonials in your marketing efforts. Not only do testimonials get attention, they can also create a sense of confidence in the idea of doing business with you. The following are a few simple steps for gathering positive feedback from your clients: When clients thank you for completing a phenomenal deal, ask them to write a testimonial for you about their experience. If they're too busy to write it themselves, write it for them. Then have them simply approve and sign it. Make sure you secure their permission to use the testimonial in your marketing efforts. Create a file with as wide a variety of testimonials to draw from as possible. Now it's time to leverage what you've gathered. Dr. Robert Cialdini, best-selling author and nationally-recognized researcher, has analyzed data on this topic and has discovered that the biggest and best testimonials are not always the most persuasive when it comes to increasing business. Instead, Cialdini suggests that finding the right testimonial, one that your clients can strongly relate to, is much more effective in creating confidence. Cialdini believes that by obtaining testimonials from an array of clients, you'll create a diverse collection of simple, yet effective marketing messages that will hit the specific bull's-eye for each and every potential client. For example, let's say you were to use a testimonial as part of a direct-mail flyer to first-time home buyers and, in your testimonial, your satisfied clients wrote about how you helped them build the retirement home of their dreams. Although your clients may have raved about your ability in that transaction, the message doesn't fit the specific needs and desires of a first-time borrower. Instead, select from your library of testimonials something that addresses the well-known fears of the home-buying process and how you were able to solve them. Something more like this: "I was nervous about buying my first home, unsure if I could make the leap from renting to owning. But, thanks to John Real Estate Agent, I'm finally living the American Dream."

Technology...

What emotion does that word evoke for you? Excitement, knowing all that technology can add to your life and business? Frustration, feeling that you will never understand all that you probably should? Fear, wondering if you are already falling far behind your tech-smart competition? Or maybe it's a combination of all three. Regardless of where you find yourself on the "techno-savvy scale," you know how important it is to display a professional image, especially where technology is concerned. And the simple fact is that in today's world, more and more consumers will make their choices of which professional to work with based on that professional image.

There is some good news, however: It doesn't take much to have a terrific professional image where technology is concerned. Here are two quick ways to shore up your own techno-image...fast.

First – if you do not currently have your own unique website address reserved, STOP. Do not pass go – do not even think about collecting $200. Even if you do not have a website created yet, go to register.com or any of the many other domain registration sites, and reserve your own unique website name. A "dot-com" address will always be preferable to a "dot-net" or "dot-org" address, or any other variation. Start by registering your own name as it will be the most memorable for your clients, but if your name is already taken – many are – come up with a variation that you like. IE: instead of rebeccabrown.com, try rebeccasells.com or realrebecca.com. It's best to have something with your name in it, but don't simply tack on some numbers to make the website work with your name – i.e., rebeccabrown1214.com – it looks cheap and unprofessional. Further, don't kill yourself trying to find a generic name that describes your profession, like greatrealtor.com or superplanner.com. Many of the great "dot-com" names are taken. But good news – most of the domain registration sites will tell you if the "taken" name you like is available for purchase from the current owner.

As a side note, consider buying the rights to your children's dot.com names. Even if they don't have a website now, they might be glad later that you reserved it for them! Give this tip to your clients as well...they'll thank you!

Second – your email signature. You don't have one? Good news, this one is easy too. Next time you log into your Outlook Express, hit TOOLS, then OPTIONS – you will see a tab for signatures there. If you use Outlook, hit TOOLS, OPTIONS, and then MAIL FORMAT to open the signature editing area. In this box, you can decide how you would like every email to close. Add your name, your "tagline" if any, your phone numbers, and your full website address – which will create a "hotlink" your clients can click on for immediate access to your website. Additionally, you can create a hotlink to send you an email by adding your email address with the words "mailto:" in front of them. Of course, they can always hit reply to your email, but why not make it one step easier for them to reach you? Adding this small touch to each and every email you send to prospects and clients puts all of your information easily at hand, and gives a nice touch of professionalism to your correspondence.

You don't have to fear technology. Give us a call if you'd like to discuss this or other great ways to use technology to your advantage.

The FSBO Assistant Giving to Receive

One nice thing about For Sale By Owner (FSBO) homes is that the owners advertise to the general populace, which makes them easy to find! You have their address in any ad they put out, which means you can do some extremely targeted marketing. Another important thing to know about these "do-it-yourself" types is that most of them fail in trying to sell their own homes, and end up needing the services of a Real Estate Agent. You just need to make sure you're the first agent on their mind! To that end, I recommend giving the FSBOs in your area a small kit you can label the "FSBO Assistant." There is actually a two-fold reason to give out these kits. The first one is obvious: You have to give in order to receive. By presenting value up front, you are earning the trust of the homeowner, and making it much more likely that they will choose you should they decide to use an Agent. The second reason is a bit more subtle: By introducing them to the piles of paperwork and material that FSBOs need to understand, you show them what you get paid for, and why it's worth it to use you rather than try to do it themselves! Here is an abbreviated list of some of the documents I would include: A Generic Purchase Agreement Escrow, Settlement, or Closing Instructions Title Insurance Policy Settlement or Closing Statement General Warranty Deed Special Warranty Deed Bargain and Sale Deed Lead-based Paint Seller Disclosure A List of Other Documents They'll Need Your Personal Brochure Most importantly, include an offer to help them should they feel overwhelmed! This will give you more opportunities to sell them on your service later on. Be sincere in your desire to help them, and they'll be more receptive to you becoming their agent. Let me know how this helps you as you pursue FSBO clients! Call me when you have a client who needs special assistance in obtaining a home loan.

Build Your Business by Blogging

Did you know the word blog was recently the most looked-up word in Merriam Webster's online dictionary? Clearly, people are interested in blogs – but why?

The word blog is short for Weblog, and refers to a website that contains an online journal with views, reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer. A blogger is the one doing the writing, and blogging is the act of writing itself. Blogs are utilized for anything and everything: breaking news and commentary, business, personal journaling, educational resources, and political observations.

Quickly becoming a mainstream method of communicating, blogging is a dynamic, flexible tool that requires minimal technology know-how and little-to-no cost to maintain. In fact, many in the business world are now using blogs as an essential part of growing their network. Where a website is fairly fixed and can become somewhat boring, a blog allows you to become personal with those you want to do business with. In this way, bloggers are more visible and can gain credibility as experts in their field. Blogging is a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

According to Michael Sippey, former General Manager of TypePad, people read blogs to find out the point of view and connect with the writer. This is key to those in relationship businesses, as a blog can take an informal tone yet still pass along valuable information to the reader. Your passion and knowledge will translate into loyalty from those who read your blog. This, along with your passion, is what will sell your services. And as blogs are becoming more common in the business world, more customers are using them as a shopping tool. They want to feel connected to the professionals that will help them with real estate, financial, and legal needs.

So you want to build your business by blogging? It's easy and effective – here's how it's done.

There are two main components of a successful blog: interesting content and getting the right people to look at it. Most people in sales are good at talking. That's why they are good at sales. Don't get hung up about the writing being "perfect." Use your own voice in your blog, describe your specialty, products and services and how you can benefit your customers. Post tips that are valuable to those you are trying to attract to your blog. You can include success stories and testimonials from clients. Post links to articles you liked (or didn't like) with a few comments. Your blog can also contain pictures, audio, PowerPoint and Excel files, video, and links anywhere on the web you want people to go.

To get your blog read, invite everyone you speak with to visit and comment. Make sure every marketing piece you send out has at least one line inviting them to visit your blog. Add the blog web address to your business card, and to your e-mail signature. Put a link on your web-site. To help increase return traffic, readers can even subscribe, and then be notified when you have a new post.

Search engines like blogs, and you will notice your rankings improve as you increase traffic to your blog. You can also register your blog for free with many blog-specific search engines. Post comments on other blogs related to your field and your comment will link back to your site. The more you can utilize this cost-effective tool, the quicker you will see an increase in clients and sales.

www.WordPress.com and www.TypePad.com are two well-established blogging services that can quickly and easily walk you through the process of setting up your own blog, and both offer many tools to make your blog successful.

Please let me know if you need any quotes, comments, or information from me to post on your new blog. I'm invested in your success, and here to help you every step of the way!