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The Small Business Saturday Special: Shop Small

11/29/2013 by sss4success Leave a Comment

In between "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" is a popular holiday shopping phenomenon geared towards supporting local small businesses. "Small Business Saturday" encourages people to "Shop Small" and look for local and small businesses in their area to support, in an effort to improve their local community and the businesses within them, and not just the big-box retail stores.

Never to be outdone, SSS for Success has jumped into the #ShopSmall foray and is offering a "Small Business Saturday Special" to the first 30 people who take advantage of the deal! SSS for Success is offering a 5-Page Starter Website or Branded Blog (e.g. yourwebsite.com) to be set up in 30 days or less to get you started building your brand recognition on the web!

Click "Buy Now" or "Add to Cart" on the Specials Page to pay for your site via PayPal. Credit card payments can be accepted via phone (615-336-4325 or 512-545-0398), while supplies last.

3 Ways to Get Content Written Now on Your Blog

10/24/2011 by sss4success 1 Comment

Do you have a blog or e-newsletter that’s sitting dormant for lack of content? You’re not alone. Many a blog/e-newsletters are finding themselves abandoned for weeks or months on end, because their owners either don’t have the time or the inclination to keep them updated. From my own personal experience, I can tell you that when my blogs go “dark” or content gets thin (or in some cases missing), it’s because I simply haven’t had the time to publish my content. It’s sad, but even with most of my topics already prepared or mostly prepared, I still find myself occasionally caught in the abyss of never-ending chores that busy entrepreneurs face, and sometimes my blogs suffer because of it.

I get the feeling that I’m not alone, so today I want to share 3 Tips to Getting Content Written Now on your Blog:

Option 1: Sit down and write: It seems a bit harsh, but sometimes the easy solution is the simplest one. If you’re finding that your blog is vacant for months on end, it’s probably time to evaluate if it’s something worth keeping in your marketing mix, and if it is, then you have to dedicate the time that it takes to build your audience and content. In order to do that, YOU MUST WRITE. Since most entrepreneurs never have enough time nor money, you have to take the initiative to place writing for your blog on your list of priorities of things that must get done to run your business. For me, I find that dedicating a pure 4 hour block of time per week works, when I’m really backed up. If I can’t pull that off, then I try to at least do 2 hours a day during the week until I’m able to catch up. I find that I have to make this time available in my schedule, because it is important to me and my business, and right now, there’s just no getting around it.
Option 2: Pay Someone to Write for You: I start all my meetings with new clients by letting them know that despite the general perception that “Social Media is Free”, IT DOES COST! It’s going to cost your TIME or it’s going to cost you MONEY, but it will cost you! If you simply cannot find the time to exercise Option 1, then your next best bet is to hire someone. Prices for getting content will surely range depending on where you look. It can be a little as $5 if you can find someone to do it on FiveRR.com or it can be upwards of $500/hour if you hire a true ghostwriter from someplace like elance.com or a specialty website for content writers. For people that purchase Branded Blogs through me, I offer a competitive writing rate, but I always like to encourage people to write their own content to insure that their own “authentic voice” shines through.
Option 3: Get Guest Writers: The jokester in me wanted to title this option “Sucker someone into writing for you for free”, but I opted not to. LOL. Instead, I’ve left the third option as “Get Guest Writers” because that’s probably the BEST way that you can get posts onto your site in a matter of a few days. Put out a call (typically privately, via email) to some of your trusted colleagues or up-and-coming people in your field and ask them to write guest posts for your blog. I find, it’s best to give them an array of topics to choose from, or guide them into a specific area, especially so that their content doesn’t become repetitive of your own. Ask for 2-3 post submissions at a time, that way, you have the opportunity to review them, and keep them for later, just in case you ever find yourself in another content shortage.

What other strategies can you think of for getting content written right away?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

3 Ways to Get Content Written Now on Your Blog

An Overview of Social Media Tools and Outlets (Part 2)

03/24/2011 by sss4success 4 Comments

In Part 2 of An Overview of Social Media Tools and Outlets, I want to talk about other avenues that are used for sending out messages and connecting with others in the Social Media Space, specifically Blogging, Podcasting, and Email Marketing (See Part 1 here).

One of my personal favorites in social media is Blogging. Blogs provide a way to establish yourself as a thought-leader in your field, and regular blogging on a consistent schedule can help you grow your small business because it allows you to build web traffic by providing useful information to your blog’s visitors. At SSS for Success we specialize in providing Branded Blogs which are highly customized blogs built around your brand and designed to amplify your company's message in the blogosphere and throughout the World Wide Web. One good thing about blogs, versus say a regular website, is that blogs are better for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes because a blog is updated more than a traditional website, thus prompting search engine spiders (or robots) to crawl your blog pages more frequently and increasing your chances of being found through search engine results for specific keywords.

The next social media outlet is Podcasting (or digital audio broadcasting) which is like broadcasting your own radio show, where people can choose to download it and listen to it at their leisure. Podcasting can help you drive traffic to your small business's website by providing a platform for you to talk about your area of expertise via your very own broadcast known as “podcast”. It is a great way to amplify your company's message and reach a new audience in a different online medium. Some interesting stats on podcasting: Approximately 45 million people in the U.S. have gym memberships. Why is this relevant? Because most will need something to listen to during the 30-60 minutes that they work out. Another stat: 97 million people who drive to work along on a daily basis, with an average commute time of 25 minutes. Again, a podcast for this lonely driver definitely fills a void. One of the things that I like about podcasting is its relatively low cost of entry into the field. All you really need is a microphone, some recording software, and web hosting space to store your files. This is something you can get started with for $50 or less. As with anything, once you get more sophisticated in your podcasting, it can get more expensive, but I like how you can tinker around with it first, and see if it’s really for you before making a huge financial commitment. If you visit this blog often, you might also be interested in checking out our podcast in iTunes here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/sss-for-success/id420375160

Last but not least, I want to talk about Email Marketing because even in the age of mobile internet and text messaging, there’s still some people out there that are using email marketing and using it well. It will certainly depend on your industry and audience, but a well-run email marketing campaign can be the difference between an empty inbox and your phone consistently ringing off the hook! Email Marketing through e-newsletters can be used to build bring traffic either to your website or blog, and ultimately enhance your small business's overall brand by nurturing the relationships you have with your customers. For instance, email marketing builds your reputation as an information resource to your core audience, and it lets your audience know that you know what you’re talking about. It also keeps you connected with your audience, and it gives you the opportunity to stay relevant and provide useful information that they’ll appreciate. If you sell things, or at one point will want to promote something, it’s a great way to have a “pre-sold” audience who trusts you and your opinions, and it helps you build traffic and enhance your brand, while engaging in activities that help your business’s bottom line.

Another hot topic in the Social Media Space for business professionals is Mobile Marketing. It definitely has people buzzing, especially as more and more people are using their mobile devices to get more things done. I’ll be talking about Mobile Marketing soon on this blog, so please stay tuned for updates.

So, that’s a general overview of social media tools and outlets, and there is certainly more to share. The main point that I want you to walk away with here is that you want to be sure to choose the right mix of social media outlets that fit with your company’s message and branding. As always, you can feel free to give me a call at 615-336-4325, if you have any questions about how you can better utilize social media in your small business, and I’ll end part 2 of this series by asking: Have you tried any of these outlets, and what’s been your experience with them?

Kindra Cotton, Small Business Survival Specialist

An Overview of Social Media Tools and Outlets (Part 2)