The following is a guest post by Amanda DiSilvestro, If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

First and foremost, you should be writing for your readers. Your content should be centered on your target audience, and your aim should be toward giving advice and adding value to your readers that find your site.

However, many companies write for reasons aside from reader experience; in particular, SEO. For those who are unfamiliar, SEO stands for “search engine optimization” and is a way for search engines to find content and determine where it falls on the search engine pages. The search engines use an algorithm that looks for several different components — duplicate content, keyword stuffing, doorway pages, etc. — and then it ranks the pages according to quality.

Now, every company knows that it is important to show up on search engine pages. Whether you’re starting a small business or are a veteran business owner, this is a great way to drive traffic to your site. For this reason, many companies write specifically for SEO purposes. They do keyword research, write content based on that keyword, and fit in unnatural keywords into an article just so the search engine bots will find the article and deem it “quality.” In some cases, there is nothing wrong with writing for SEO, but there is something wrong for writing only for SEO.

Here’s why:

• Search engines do not like websites that write strictly for SEO. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to catch this, and sites have been getting away with it for some time.
• Readers do not like sites that write strictly for SEO because the content is not catering to their needs.
• Your website will surely never win any awards or special mentions in the online world. Editors and other website owners don’t like when content is written specifically for SEO.
• You will have a bad reputation. Although you may show up on page one of a search engine page, no one will want to stay on your page for more than a few seconds because there is nothing of value.
• You run the risk of getting penalized if the search engines do find out you’ve been writing (or even creating pages) specifically for SEO and not readers.

What many businesses don’t realize is that it is possible to get to the top of search engines if you write for your readers. This will boost your traffic, people will want to link back to your site when writing their own content, and you will eventually find your way to the top of search engine pages. If you think you’re ready to change your ways and start writing for readers instead of bots, consider a few of these changes you’ll need to make:

5 Ways Writing for Readers is Different than Writing for Search Engines

1. You need to write content that will get shared

When you write content for readers, readers will want to share this content via their social networks. This means that when writing, you need to be conscious of what you promise and what assumptions you make. If you’re writing strictly for SEO, you are likely writing in generalities, but writing for your readers is more personal. You cannot say “all of the customers at my last job weren’t nearly as much fun as you” because this could get back to your old customers! You also can’t offer a great deal to some people one week and then a mediocre deal to some the next week. I think you will find that writing in this way really does take a conscious effort.

2. You must be completely open and honest when you have made a mistake

If you’re really going to focus on writing for your readers, you have to acknowledge when something bad has happened with your company. If someone has a complaint, you cannot simply keep quiet about it because that customer won’t keep quiet about it. They will surely put a negative comment on your website and share it on all of their social networks. For this reason, it is important that your content changes as things like this happen. If there is something that needs to be addressed, you will need to address it through the content on your website (mainly because it probably began through content on your website).

3. Variety is important when it comes to content

Generally when a website is only focusing on SEO, they are focused on one or two specific keywords. This can get boring for readers because the general topic of the content is so similar. When you’re writing for readers, you want to make sure you have a variety of different topics on your website. The topics can fall under a general umbrella such as “business,” but each article should be something different about business. Not only that, but it helps to have content written in different forms. For example, you do not want an entire website full of “Top 5 Things” type blogs or a website full of only opinions.

4. The content will not always be about you and your company

While SEO is focused on your company, writing for readers is about being honest. Giving credit where credit is due is a great way to show that you are active in the online community. This will increase your exposure because whomever you are discussing will likely want to pay it forward and do the same for you. Even if they don’t, you have their audience looking at your content because they recognize a name or a blog you are referencing. All in all, this is a great way to connect and seem “real” to your readers.

5. Have a conversational and informal tone

You don’t always have to sound informal when trying to write for your readers, but it can help. Even if your website is very serious and centered around facts, you can offer a conversational tone that will help make things easier to understand. After all, if you’re writing for readers, you want to sound like a reader. If you’re writing for the bots, well then you will sound like a robot.

About the Author:

Amanda DiSilvestro is a writer on topics ranging from social media to workers compensation insurance. She writes for an online resource that gives advice on topics including phone systems to small businesses and entrepreneurs for the leading business directory, Business.com.

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The following is a guest post by Evan Fischer. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Not every business will have to face legal proceedings.  In fact, you may never see so much as a summons, much less become the target of a lawsuit (especially if you run a small, freelance, or home-based operation).  But that doesn’t mean you can afford to go unprepared for the possibility.  Running a business is a big responsibility and it comes with specific legal obligations that you must be aware of and meet.  And the truth is that it’s much better to avoid a lawsuit than to have to face one, even if you are prepared for it.

So, here are just a few ways that you can protect your business and hopefully steer clear of any potential legal troubles.

Hire Representation

First and foremost, you should consider putting a law firm on retainer.  Granted, this could be a big expense for a small business, but it could also save you a lot of money in the long run.  The idea here is to secure legal advice and services early on in order to avoid costly lawsuits down the road (that have the potential to put you out of business).  At the very least you need to separate your business assets from your personal ones (especially if you are self-employed or otherwise unincorporated, or you work out of your house).  And there’s a lot more an attorney can do for your business to prevent legal issues.  Of course, he can also represent you should you ever have to face legal proceedings.

Use Your Brain

Your best tool for preventing a lawsuit is your brain.  By thinking things through you can often engineer solutions that will keep you from being sued.  For example, you can probably come up with a laundry list of things that people might sue over, such as faulty products, failure to deliver, accident and injury (if you employ others or if your products may be unsafe for, say, small children), and so on.  If you know about these possible issues going in you should be able to find ways to avoid them.

Get It In Writing

Nothing protects you better than a contract that is legal and binding, especially should a courtroom situation arise.  This means that you need to get everything in writing.  Certainly we all want to believe that others will live up to their word, but a smile and a handshake will get you absolutely nowhere with a judge.  However, a comprehensive contract could specify arbitration or mediation (rather than filing suit) in the case of a dispute.  Or it could lay out terms so specifically that they simply aren’t open to interpretation.  A good contract could halt a lawsuit before it even starts.

Do Unto Others

Most people these days just want to be treated fairly.  While there are those who prey on businesses that they perceive to be weak as a way to earn a living, the majority of your customers, employees, and business associates are just average people trying to get by and it doesn’t take much to keep them happy, especially in this day and age of impersonal interactions.  So if you’re willing to bend a little, makes some concessions, and offer reparations for disputes (not to mention excellent customer service) you’re bound to come out ahead.

Get Insured

It never hurts to have a “just in case” scenario.  So, just in case you should face some kind of lawsuit, be prepared with business insurance.  It will protect you and your business should anyone come after you.

About the Author:

Evan Fischer is a writer for http://www.Maryland-Injury-Lawyer.com/ , a law firm that protects the livelihood of clients who have suffered from an injury due to another person’s negligence.

The following is a guest post by Sachin. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Many of us are turning to starting, running and owning our own small business. This is a general trend here in Australia as more and more long-term full employment opportunities decrease and with the easy nature of Australian small business taxation laws. Just about everyone that I know is earning their own money and long gone are the days where we were all full-time employed. Most are successful at the beginning, but as with any successful business, it will grow and so we need to look at the ways that we can deal with that. You may need to increase your own skills, or that of people that you will hire, in areas such as sales training, to ensure that your business skills grow with your business. Lets look at some of the reasons why…

1. Keeping in Touch

When you are running your own business, you may fall out of touch with what is the standard norms in your business. By being a part of formal or accepted education and training programs you stay in touch with the rest of your industry and requirements. Training is an excellent way to stay abreast of new laws and regulations.

2. Training the Trainer

As your small business grows you may need to contract out or employ others. That means that you will need to get them to do things the way you want them too. You many be very good at what you do, but you might not be that good at teaching others how to do it. Training for the trainer is crucial and understanding skills and techniques of imparting information is extremely important.

3. Expert Knowledge

As your business grows, expectations on your personal performance and that of your staff will become greater. The larger you become the more professional people will expect you to be. This can be a radical shift for many people, who have always seen themselves as a small family business, for example. You will not be viewed this way by others, and this can be very damaging to your business. Perhaps now that your coffee shop has grown it is time for you to get some formal and accepted customer service training, even though you already have many years of working in the business. Expert knowledge can greatly enhance your hands on experience, making you top of your class. There are many hats that you are going to have to wear, get expert information and training on each one of them.

4. Future Growth

If you yourself become a part of training it will be easier and more effective in the future for you to recommend and set-up a training regime for the people that you employ. How will you know what is right for your people and how can you have them educated in areas that you are not formally sound in? Don’t just rely on your experience, package and wrap it ready for future growth and development. Your own training is training for the future.

It is all too easy to get out of touch and assume that we know what we are doing because we are experienced in our field. There are always ways to increase and ratify our experience and knowledge. Training and education will only enhance your skills and potential.

Think of your small business as if it were a local celebrity. The business has a place in the community, most people are aware of its presence and its activities and there is a certain image and reputation this business must uphold for the people of that community to continue to support that business. Public Relations (PR) is just as important to a small business as it is to a celebrity. How wonderful then, that the return on PR investments is among the best in the marketing business.

Many Kinds of Marketing

When owning or running a small business, there are many forms of marketing available. There is direct mail marketing, e-mail marketing, advertising campaigns; however, often times the least considered option is a simple Public Relations (PR) campaign. PR is too often considered a minor expense with little to no return on investment (ROI). This could not be farther from the truth.

When it comes time to decide how to reinvest in your business, consider PR first. Based on recent studies, it has been shown to be the most effective form of marketing per dollar spent. It is also among some of the least expensive marketing you can conduct, courtesy of many of today’s modern technologies. How then, as a small business, with limited resources, can a full-scale PR campaign be conducted? It’s easier than you might think.

PR On The Cheap

Advertising and marketing does not come cheap. Be it direct mail marketing, TV advertisements, even the hiring of a consultant; every expense related to marketing can be a crippling expenditure for a small business. PR, however, can be a welcome relief to many small businesses when the ROI is quite high and the cost to conduct a PR campaign can cost very little, or even just the cost of an Internet connection.

With the advent of seemingly ubiquitous Internet connectivity, a small business can literally always be connected to its community and its customers. Taking advantage of this is quite easy and can be done with any Smartphone or computer with an Internet connection. Creating a Facebook profile for a business is a fast, cheap and easy way to start to give your business an online image.

Be specific when describing your business on your Facebook page and be sure to include any links to the business’s website. With Facebook, you can also link together your profile with your business’s Twitter page. Twitter will allow you to constantly stay in contact with your customer and community base with short updates about sales, promotions, all the while conveying a tone that defines the kind of store you are. On the business website, consider a Blog where the business can comment on industry-related issues, news and even showcase sales there as well.

All of these tools – Facebook, Twitter, Blogs/Websites can be created for free or for very little investment, all the while not requiring additional workforce or consultancy be hired to complete. As far as Public Relations go, these are among the most effective ways of communicating with the public as many already use these tools on a daily basis.

In the end, PR is a perfect marketing solution for small business. It has a high return, is fast to complete and is very cheap. Small businesses are a part of the community and must present an image accordingly. Consider how wonderful it would be if a local business offered a promotion over its Twitter page based on the current score of a local high school football game. The possibilities are endless.

This article was written by William from Home Loan Finder. Visit the Home Loan Finder website for a range of articles to help you find the right home loan for your needs.

The following is a guest post by Bill Post. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Business cards have been around for as long as business itself. Some historians trace the origins of modern-day business cards to 15th century China. By the 17th century, “visiting cards” or “calling cards” became a staple among European aristocrats as a way of announcing the arrival of a distinguished guest or introducing visitors. In the 18th and 19th centuries, guests were expected to present small, attractive cards to their hosts as a means of identification and as a sign of respect. Although the popularity of these formal greeting cards began to wane with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the need to exchange personal information for business purposes increased exponentially by the turn of the 20th century. As a result, for several generations, the ritual of swapping business cards has emerged as the most common sign that a connection has been made between professionals.

As one of the mainstays of modern business, the practice of exchanging business cards is likely around to stay. After all, business cards provide useful information, including contact numbers, email addresses, physical addresses and web addresses, and they’re often a means of making a first impression with a business contact. However, advances in technology are increasingly providing us with numerous electronic ways to supplement the use of traditional paper business cards. But fear not. Although social conventions now dictate that we communicate electronically, many of these ways of supplementing the traditional business card cost little or nothing, they have little or no impact on the environment, and you won’t have to place a new order to restock on these.

Let’s take a look at them.

Modern Business Card Alternatives

Email

One of the easiest ways to distribute your professional information is via email. No professional should ever send an email without ensuring that a signature appears at the end of the message. Those signatures should detail your business or company’s name, your address, contact numbers, and website (much like the standard information that appears on a traditional business card).

Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites provide an invaluable forum for providing detailed professional information that won’t easily fit onto a conventional business card. For example, although Facebook wasn’t originally conceived of as a place to advertise or make professional connections, savvy users create Facebook profiles and fan pages for their businesses at no cost. LinkedIn, a site catering to those specifically interested in exchanging professional information, also provides a virtual path to communicating with colleagues and connecting with people you’ve met in the past. In addition, although the information available to be shared on Google Profile is comparatively basic, that service represents one more opportunity to construct a professional online image for yourself or your business.

Cell Phones

These days, everyone you meet will have a cell phone handy, so it makes sense to take advantage of the amazing things our handhelds can do for us. Numerous different services, including Contxts, TextID DropCard and DUB, allow you to share an electronic version of a business card to anyone with SMS messaging. And several iPhone apps, including beamME, ShareCard and SnapDat, also allow users to electronically distribute professional contact information.

Organizing the Information

While traditional business cards aren’t a thing of the past, the old school rolodexes may have passed their prime. However, several varieties of card scanners enable users to convert paper business cards so they can be organized and stored digitally. In addition, CloudContacts can scan and organize information on paper into electronic form. And profile aggregators, such as MyNameIsE, REtaggr and Chi.mp, can collect your information from various social networking profiles into a single electronic card.

Striking a Balance

Although the trend may be shifting to making and nurturing business connections virtually, a complete shift to exchanging professional information digitally may be premature. Instead, with increased competition in our rich business culture, establishing a clear business identity and conveying it in an effective, interesting way through all forms of communication, including the traditional business card and these electronic forms discussed above, is imperative.

About the Author

Bill Post, Small Business Research Analyst, provides research on issues of concern to small businesses for 123Print.com Custom Business Cards. Prior to his involvement with 123Print, Bill was a small business owner himself, providing marketing and branding services to other small businesses in the Washington, DC metro area. Before working with 123Print on Business Cards, Bill also spent several years after receiving his degree in the fast-paced corporate world. It was there that Bill not only honed the skills he uses to help small businesses get ahead, but where he realized that he’d rather help the little guy prosper than make huge corporations money.

The following is a guest post by Jack Simms. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Working from home represents a major trend in the United States labor force. Many Americans long for workdays free from rush hour traffic delays and office politics. These same people may be lured to jobs that permit them to work from the comfort of their homes because of perks like increased flexibility with scheduling. However, among American workers already firmly adjusted to their home offices, the most common complaint is social isolation. Despite all the perceived advantages of rolling out of bed to begin the working day, some at home workers miss the social interaction that a traditional office typically provides. If the flexibility and freedom to make your own schedule generally associated with working from home appeal to you, but you feel like living and working the same place would make the walls start closing in on you, perhaps you ought to consider a business that treats your residence as home base, but also takes you outdoors where the real work is done.
Small businesses focused on outdoor activities, when operated out of one’s home, can provide the same flexibility and freedom that home office work affords, but they allow individuals to get outside and decreases the likelihood that one would feel isolated or alone.

With the weather warming in most parts of the country, the concept of working outside may be on the minds of many. If the flexibility of working from home and the lure of the outdoors appeal to you, perhaps you should consider the 7 following lines of work.

Lawn Service

In my experience, people who have passion for their lawns and gardens will go to great lengths to maintain them. Whether you like container gardening with seasonal blooms or whether you like creating plans and broad landscaping concepts for larger spaces, putting your green thumb to use can become a lucrative venture. Very few professional gardeners or landscapers maintain traditional office space, because most of the magic takes place outdoors. So, if you have a knack for everything green, consider turning your passion into a profession. And the technical side of the business (accounting, scheduling, etc.) can easily be operated from the comfort of one’s home.

Delivery Person

In big cities these days, residents can get anything delivered to their doorsteps. And I mean anything. General delivery services are also emerging in smaller towns these days. If you have reliable transportation, enjoy service oriented work, and like traveling around your town and meeting new people, some sort of delivery business may be your calling. Restaurant delivery services have been popping up all over the country recently, and those who like the convenience of pizza delivery but have more sophisticated palates are responding. If no one has corned that market in your area, consider a startup delivery business, where a home office will likely suffice for the operational activities of the company.

Tour Guide

Residents in popular tourist destinations might consider beefing up on their local knowledge and starting some sort of tour business. A home office should be able to support a small startup company, and your real office can be your city. The tour industry has expanded dramatically in the last decade, to the point where creative niche tours have sprung up in most popular tourist locations. So, whether you want to offer a traditional historical walking tour, or whether you want to get crazy and offer an unconventional option to lure in adventurous types, operating this kind of business will ensure you never have a dull moment.

Sports Instructor

If you’re athletically inclined, consider working as a sports instructor or trainer. Regardless of whether you make it a fulltime gig or just a part-time thing you do on the side, depending on your perspective, the potential benefits of this kind of work are endless. For example, tennis and golf instructors get to enjoy the weather while working with their students/clients. In addition, depending on the sport and the nature of the instruction, folks in this line of work might get in a workout themselves while getting paid. And, unless your business takes off in a major way, operating the business side of things can likely be taken care of from home.

Construction

Whether you have real training in the construction field, or whether you’re just handy with things around the house, there will always be a market for your services. These kinds of jobs get you out of the house and they can expose you to lots of different people.

Childcare

Thousands of Americans operate home-based daycare businesses these days. While this kind of work is not strictly an “outdoor” job, presumably, when the weather is nice, taking the kiddos outside can help keep the peace.

Dog Walker

While you may not get rich in this line of work, working as a dog walker can bring in some extra cash and, if you love animals and the outdoors, allow you to enjoy two of your interests at the same time.

About the Author

Jack Simms is a researcher on home-purchasing plans for LeadStep.com’s Current Mortgage Rates website. In addition to his research for LeadSteps, Jack provides marketing and branding services to real estate professionals in northern California. Jack’s research seeks to assist home owners and buyers in all facets of home ownership through the LeadSteps Local Mortgage Rates website.

The following is a guest post by Lauren Bailey. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

One of the many concerns about working from home is the issue of privacy. Is your home computer more vulnerable to security breaches than a computer at a work station of a larger company? Not necessarily, but the home business owner is still vulnerable to many risks. Here are five ways that every home-based business should protect itself.

Avoid Wi-Fi Hot Spots

Working from home requires a strong, reliable internet connection, but in order to cut costs, it can be tempting to take advantage of Wi-Fi hot spots in public places or use a neighbor’s unsecured connection instead. This can be very dangerous. According to the Federal Trade Commission, your private information can be hacked by even the most novice hackers through non-secure internet connections. If you’re serious about running a business at home, protect yourself and invest in a secure internet connection to conduct business. Make sure your connection is secured with a password that you change regularly and that your information is encrypted. If you do use hot spots, be sure to never leave your computer unattended or stay logged into the non-secure internet connection for too long.

Secure Internet Browsing

Facebook recently introduced a security setting that allows you to more securely browse their website by replacing HTTP in the address bar with HTTPS. This should be applied to other web sites you frequent that are accessed by entering a password. Furthermore, be careful where you click. You may come across ads for videos or coupons or free services, and clicking on these links can affect your computer and essentially, your whole business. Good virus protection software such as McAfee, Avast or AVG can let you know which sites are safe and which contain malware before you even click on them. Additionally, when transmitting private information over the internet, make sure the website is encrypted by looking for the closed lock icon on your browser.

Look Out for Scams

According to the Better Business Bureau, small businesses like yours are regularly targeted by confidence artists and scammers. Examples of common scams include companies offering to list you in business directories for a hefty fee; office supply scams which involve charging you for office supplies you didn’t order; and vanity award scams that require you paying upfront in order to be eligible for a business recognition that doesn’t exist. Home businesses are vulnerable to such scams, so always be vigilant of suspicious e-mails and messages, and avoid paying for anything that sounds too good to be true.

Be Mindful of Your Internet Presence

If your business is expanding exponentially, some scammers may pretend to be you or a representative of your company in order to scam customers, which can damage the reputation of your company. It is important to Google yourself regularly to see if you have any such imposters. One way to avoid this is to protect your company’s brand. You can purchase the domain of your business’ name as well as the domains of common misspellings of your company’s name so that scammers can’t. If selling a product or service, you’ll want to make sure your customers are protected, too. The Better Business Bureau offers tips on how to handle your business transactions with the utmost security.

Back Everything Up

You’ve heard it a million times before, but it cannot be stressed enough. Even though CD’s are becoming obsolete, it would still be wise to back up your data on them as well as on flash drives, external hard drives, e-mail accounts, online file storage centers, etc. There is no such thing as being too safe, and if your home business is your livelihood then it’s more than worth the effort! That being said, you must protect your backed up information the same way you’d protect your internet connection and computer. A fireproof safe is a good investment for storing hard copies of data, while storing information online will require frequent password changes.

Whether you’ve been working from home for years or are just recently making the transition into telecommuting, it’s important to get in the habit of protecting yourself and your business online. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

The following is a guest post by Carol Abedania. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Online marketing is a good avenue for small businesses to do promotion.  It allows you to set aside a budget-friendly amount of money yet offers many options for you to market your products and services. By investing enough time and effort to make effective online marketing strategies, you’ll see how useful the internet is for your small business.

As a small business, creating your own TV or radio ad and using super-enlarged billboards on public places may not be realistic since these tend to be expensive. However, you can still reach a wider audience through the internet. This is the reason why online marketing is used by many businesses today. Online marketing can be done several ways. Here are tips on how you can do online promotions:

Smart Tips for Small Business Online Promotion

1. Optimize Your Site

An optimized page can rank well on search engines. To gain traffic and be found on search engines’ first pages for related search queries can require much optimization strategizing. One of the basic ways to optimize a site is by doing on-page optimization. Your pages’ link structures, keyword use, titles and content are important elements for on-page optimization. Study the basics about these SEO strategies and apply them to your entire site, and eventually you can go take on more sophisticated strategies like link building and site usability. This may all seem complicated at first, but even taking small steps in this direction could help a long way!

2. Use Social Media

One good thing about social media is that is it a very interactive medium where you can instantly reach and communicate with your target market. Many businesses use social media for promotion. It can keep your customers updated on any latest news from you. Customer engaging techniques like contests, product giveaways, and other promos can be done through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and other community sites. Promotion for your website to gain traffic can also be done using social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg and Mixx. Also, you can use social media to brand your business and increase the strength of its identity. There are also other available social media sites like YouTube where your video creation and promotion can possibly go viral.

3. Content Marketing

Content is king. Engaging content is the key to increase traffic to your website and gain more potential customers. Internet users today tend to look for sites that are useful and will give them the information they need. The quality of the information you produce can encourage visitors to stay longer in your site, trust your brand and recommend it to other people. An optimized page will be useless if people who visit them find the content unhelpful. It can even cause bounce rates to your site, or worse, give you a bad reputation. To make quality and appealing content, you need to inspire and make them want your product. The power of words is a strong marketing weapon that can influence a customer to move and make transactions.

4. Create Your Own Blog

Creating blogs can give you a lot of benefits. Aside from getting links from other people’s mentions of your posts and promoting your business website in general, it is also a medium for direct communication with your market. Blogs can be an avenue for you to brand your business, get connections, and participate in a community where you can gain more customers. By creating useful content, you can build a credible brand with authority. Using blogs also offers you the chance of building reputation through participating actively in the blogosphere, having product reviews and interacting in blogger community forums.

5. Mail Updates and Newsletters

Mailing lists are important so new blog posts and other updates from your website can be sent to your audience right away via email. There are many forms of mailing lists you can use for promotion and updates. For blogs, there are email subscriptions complementary to their usual RSS feeds where readers can also subscribe for post updates. Company websites typically use mailing lists to update their audiences about their latest promos. To convince them to participate, you can use audience-engaging techniques where your customers can be given exclusive benefits, giveaways and freebies like your branded calendars, postcards, or business cards. These are products that your subscribers can use frequently so they are often reminded about your brand at the same time.

Although the work might be very tedious, it’s all worth the time once you see the results of your efforts on marketing your product and business using the web. Internet marketing is important to communicate and deliver value to your customers while also finding ways on how your business can achieve your marketing goals though customer interaction. These strategies can be a good foundation and an important investment for your business promotions online.

About the Author:

Carol Abedania is currently an online content marketing specialist working at UPrinting.com. She writes about marketing tips, printing and design ideas, and other business topics related to online and offline promotion. Her interests include photography, advertising and design.

Spring is in the air, and with it a lot of rain. Now that March has passed and April is upon us, it’s that time again to do a roundup of last month’s posts. The month was full of guest writers, a nice change (as is having the Spring season finally here) and something I hope you’ve been enjoying. If not, I want to know about it, and why.

I plan to have at least another month of guest posts, as they just keep rolling in. I’m excited at the number of requests I’ve been getting and that other bloggers and writers want to contribute quality and useful content to this blog. That means a lot to me.

With that said, let’s take a look at what these guest authors contributed last month…

March’s Blog Posts on ReplaceYourSalary.com

How Working from Home Can Improve Your Personal Development

Should You Pay for a WordPress Theme?

Starting Your Small Business with a Small Amount of Money

Blog Posts Around the Web

Each month I try to share a few blog posts from other blogs I follow. I think it helps to give you an idea of other types of blogs that are out there that you may not be aware of, as well as other bloggers I look up to. Let’s take a look at some posts that stood out to me, and maybe you’ll find them helpful just as I did.

Andrew discusses 16 must-have WordPress plugins for your blog. Plug-ins are the lifeblood of any blog, and there are certain plugins you don’t want to be without. This is a must read.

TechChunks details the announcement that Google is going social. We all knew this was coming, right? I mean, they couldn’t just sit by and let Facebook dominate the internet. They won’t go without a fight, anyway. Definitely a must read and how this could impact search results and marketing as we know it.

Samuel tells you to stop reading and start doing. I’m all for learning, but there comes a point where you’ve learned enough that you can start putting what you learned into action, even if it’s a small task.

That’s all for now.

Again, please share your thoughts on the idea of showcasing more guest authors for the month of April. Do you think it’s a good idea, or would you rather see more of my own posts mixed within? I want to know, from you, the reader. Thanks!

The following is a guest post by Darla Nicole. If you would like to write for this blog, please check out the guidelines here.

Do you want to take ownership in your financial destiny? Chances are you, like every other American, have thought about being their own boss at one time or another. But most folks abandon their dream of starting their own business because they don’t know where to begin, think they don’t have the money needed to fund their venture, and they don’t know where to go for help. And while you might think that now isn’t the best time to start a small business, with the economy being what it is, keep reading.

In spite of unemployment figures hovering just above 14%, our basic needs remain constant. Did you catch that? Needs; not wants. These two facts make starting a small business (and being successful doing so) attractive on two levels:

1. Starting your own business can replace the job/income you lost.
2. Starting your own business can often provide necessary goods and services for less money to those who have less to spend.

No matter what type of business you are thinking about starting, there are plenty of free government resources out there to help you get started. By visiting www.sba.gov or www.grants.gov, you can review and apply for free money or low interest rate loans to get you well on your way. This is especially beneficial to women and minorities – the government is more than happy to help women and minorities with business funding. In addition to the money available to you, there are resources to help you in areas of bookkeeping, taxes, marketing, and other important business needs – all for free.

Other sources of free money are available, as well. You just have to know where to look. Many are restricted to certain types of businesses, so keep that in mind before you ask.

• SARE (sustainable agriculture research & education) Grants are available to those whose business or project centers around agriculture. No, that doesn’t mean you have to milk cows, shear sheep, or combine wheat. SARE grant recipients have developed farmer’s market co-ops and/or markets, opened ‘schools’ to teach healthy food preservation (canning/freezing) and nutrition, and developed agri-tourism businesses.
• If you are interested in agriculture, your state’s department of agriculture will have details for state and federal programs for grants and low interest rate loans for female and first-time farmers.
• If you’re an out of work educator, your church many be more than willing to talk to you about spear heading a day-care and/or pre-school. Using their facilities, you will be able to fall under the guidelines and regulations for non-profit childcare providers. A church considers such a venture a great way to serve the community, and as an evangelistic tool. You will be paid to use your skills and basically be your own boss, without investing anything more than your time and talents.
• Colleges and universities often have research programs available to qualified individuals at no cost to those doing the research.

Many small business ventures require little or no investment, and believe it or not, online mba degree
programs aren’t required either. Anyone with any level of education can start their own small business. Let’s look at a few of those and how they can work for you. In the interest of not being repetitive, don’t forget that no matter what small business venture you choose, you have the ability to reach millions through Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace at no cost. Most communities offer free or low cost classifieds in the newspaper, radio, or internet. Take advantage of them. Another wonderful tool at your disposal is to develop your own website. Webstarts.com allows you to build your own website (they provide the tools) for absolutely no charge. They also offer upgrade packages for as little as $5 a month, but even if you don’t want to spend the money, the site is easy to use, and updating the text and pictures on your site is as easy as it gets.

• Whether it’s your full time job or just a side line to make up for the rise in gas, heating, and grocery prices, there are tens of thousands of people making a pretty decent income by selling their hobby. If you can sew, knit, crochet, bake, make unusual jewelry, sites like Etsy.com allow you to create your own virtual store that reaches across the world. Etsy charges 3.5% per sale plus a fee of $0.20 per item listed for sale. Other sites like E-bay and handmadecatalog.com are two other popular sites to help you market your goods.
• Are you known for throwing the best parties ever? Does every kid in town want to be on your child’s guest list? Sit down and map out a plan for pricing a variety of party plan packages to organize, set up, supervise, and clean up the party at either a public place or the client’s home. Then using Publisher or a similar program, put together some fliers and mail or hand deliver them throughout the neighborhood, child care facilities, schools, youth clubs and organizations, and your family and friends.
• Parents will do just about anything to keep their financial woes from affecting their children’s activities. If you are qualified to tutor or give music lessons, chances are you can do so for a lot less than actual learning centers such as Sylvan, which charges more than most parents can pay.
• Secretarial, IT, writing, graphic design, and marketing jobs are being outsourced more and more every day. Freelancers save companies money by eliminating the need to pay benefits, employee taxes and salaries, and provide office space for performing these duties. Elance.com is an excellent source to gain employment in your area of expertise for little or no cost. Job seekers set up a free profile, and bid on jobs using ‘connects.’ There are different levels of membership ranging from free to $40 per month. You can also network with other small businesses that want and need to budget their money wisely.
• Elder care or sitting is one of the fastest growing needs in our society. Check with your state’s social and senior services agency to see what regulations you need to follow to offer such services. Elder care will most likely require you to become a CNA (certified nurses assistant). Classes are usually offered at a low cost through your community’s adult education center. For elder sitting, nothing quite that detailed is required, but it would be advisable to be competent in the areas of CPR and general first aid. Once again, a simple flier telling potential clients who you are, what your qualifications are, and what you have to offer, is an inexpensive way to advertise in senior centers, retirement homes, medical offices, and hospitals.
• Do you understand the ins and outs of tax forms, the health care system, insurance, or the rights of battered women, children, or the elderly? Advocacy is an honorable service to offer and, for the most part, can be performed from the comfort of your home office.
• Any service or product that promotes ‘living green’ will be well received, as will those that offer fresh produce, home grown agricultural products, and organic products. Local markets, co-ops, and virtual stores like localharvest.org will allow you to advertise and sell your products for a small fee.

Starting a small business can be an exciting adventure that brings both profit and personal fulfillment without spending a lot of money. The key is to find what you can do best, and offer it in such a way that will make it beneficial and cost-effective to those you wish to do business with.

About the Author: This is a guest post from Darla Nicole, contributing writer at CreditDonkey.com. She searches the internet looking for the best credit cards to recommend her friends. Darla reminds you that “financial literacy begins at home.”