Networking - Ole Skool Style

If you are thinking of using your blog for professional networking, you should also know that you could use face-to-face marketing tactics to generate more traffic to your blog. One easy idea involves the tried-and-true approach of the business card. You can print the URL for your professional or personal blog on the bottom of your traditional business card.

When you hand the business card to people, discuss the types of content that you post on your blog and why customers and other professional contacts should check it out. If they will just take the time to go online and read your blog and you are sure that you have developed an engaging array of content, you can be sure that you will turn at least some contacts, even friends and family, into trusted blog readers.

You can also use the blog to make special offers to readers. For example, you can offer a discount to customers for each time that they refer a new customer to you. You need a code or another method of tracking referrals.

If you plan to use your blog to make money for your small business, such as by growing the client base, business cards are the way to go. Networking through word of mouth and through the referrals you receive when people share your blog, posts online can help you build a strong following of blog readers.

Remember that you can also update your blog with video, audio, and photographic contents to make the blog site more interesting for the reader. You want to effectively use the blog as a channel for sharing relevant information about yourself and your business.

Fawk You Friday

Well I just discovered this hop and it looked like so much fun that I couldn’t wait to join in the fun...So here I go...Fawk you to the bloggers who ask for “likes” to their fb fan pages, but, like your page back from their fan page. Don’t they know that only fan page “likes” from personal profiles count? Fawk you to all of my nay saying non-blogging friends and family who don’t support my habit because it is not a means to get rich quick...I am doing something that makes me happy and hurts no one…shouldn’t that be enough? Fawk you to the dental floss and Charmin personal wipes that I flushed down the toilet that eventually caused a huge flood in my house… It has taken an entire month to get a crew, file insurance claims, and remove huge parts of the floor and downstairs ceiling that came into contact with the dirty water…The repairs start Monday and I should be able to move back into my place in another week.  Don’t advertise products as flushable when they are really not...Fawk you, no, I mean I don’t give a Fawk is my new favorite thing to say…It makes me feel like I am being bad and I really don’t give a fawk what anyone thinks…Happy Friday...

Moms, Taking Blogging by Storm!

By far SAHM (Stay At Home Moms) have taken the blogging community by storm. According to Williamson (2010), the number of moms who blog is 32 million in the US alone. It is speculated that daily, more new blogs are created by aspiring moms than any other specialty group. It would appear that SAHM bloggers have plenty of support for their fledgling blogs via social networking sites such as Bloggy Moms, The Blog Frog, SocialMoms, The MomBlogs, and Moms Buzz. With so many moms blogging what is the best way to insure unique content?

Written by Mom

Pregnancy is a common starting point for enterprising mommy bloggers. Blogs written by first time child-bearers chronicling the woes of pregnancy that mature into blogs covering the joys of parenting abound. From there, where does the new mom go for fresh content? After all, there are only so many first time mom stories of interest to go around.

Moms, especially stay at home mommas, can turn to their hobbies for blog content. A clever crafting mom can potentially earn money by selling her wares VIA Etsy, a site devoted to buying and selling vintage and handmade items. Bloggers share crafting ideas and projects while connecting with other crafters and would-be crafting moms. The same can be said for culinary geniuses who rule kitchens. Moms who share recipe flops and successes add interesting content while mentoring the rest of us who may not be as familiar with various kitchen appliances and gadgets.

Many blogging moms are turning to give-a-ways to build a successful blog. A word of caution for the give-a-way moms, focusing totally on give-a-ways without any other content may deter faithful followers. It is difficult to write an interesting and informative post built solely around give-a-way items. Give-a-way bloggers can strengthen their content by writing product reviews for many of the items they are giving-a-way.

Momma’s Mad Money

When it comes to making money with a blog, ambitious blogging matriarchs will need to monetize and it is best done with a strategy. Whether using affiliate marketing or Google Ad Sense, mom bloggers seeking to earn money need to develop goals along with a strategy. For instance, if a mom blogger plans to earn say $2000 per month VIA her blog, she will need to hone her content by understanding her readers and then select the monetization vehicle that best matches her blog. Amazon affiliate marketing is a great tool and may actually be the best tool for moms who write product reviews and host give-a-ways on their blogs. Google Ad Sense works for any blog. Google ads are placed on blogs and bloggers generally earn money based on several different factors such as click rates and click through.

Networking Chica

Unfortunately, blogging does not operate on the “build it and they will come” principal. The successful mom blogger will spend a considerable amount of time networking to build a following. The best way to achieve new followers is to visit other mom blogs, read some posts and leave comments. This will almost guarantee a new follower. This method of networking also helps mom bloggers to support each other, share tips, and other information related to blog growing.

What Are You Waiting For?

Moms and dads reading this, try your hand at blogging today. Blogging is a fun, creative and potentially lucrative way to share your knowledge, life experiences and to network with others. Follow the lead of the many mommy bloggers already filling the internet with their talents, hopes, dreams, and the often-hilarious ups and downs of raising a family while making money. Start writing today!

Sources

• Williamson, D.A., Moms who blog a marketing powerhouse, (2010)

This article first publised @ http://www.suite101.com/content/moms-taking-blogging-by-storm-a377653