Look beyond seasonal advertising

Every year, and earlier each year, we are inundated with holiday advertising. Bombarded, is probably a better description. Do you think this advertising works? Or, is there so much advertising, that we fog over and don’t hear any of it? Obviously, it works or no one would do it. But, it can be a little overwhelming at times. I saw my first Christmas ad of the year over the summer for K-Mart (I think) and how they brought back layaway this year.

As for marketing, it must continue year round for your business to succeed. If you only market in lean times, you will end up with peaks and valleys in your income. What happens is, people tend to stop marketing when they are busy, so no new business comes to them. Then, there is a period of time with less work. They begin marketing again and things pick up again.

If instead, you market your business steadily, work flow will remain constant. This might sounds silly, but don’t be afraid of having too much work! You can always farm out some of your tasks. Find a virtual assistant. Get someone to return calls for you. Hire a freelancer to do some parts of the job you do not like, or are not your strong suit. Then you can concentrate on what you do best and your business will grow.

Remember, having tons of work is your ultimate goal.

If you truly want to increase your business, get a plan together for what to do when work is plentiful. How will you handle an avalanche of new business? Maybe the part time worker or freelancer who currently puts in a few hours a week, will turn into your full time staff.

Keep on marketing, no matter what the season. You will discover a more consistent work flow and better financial results.

Eight ways to attract viewers to your blog

Here is a list of eight ways to raise your popularity. In the comments section, feel free to add any ideas of your own.

1. Post as often as possible. Make your blog entries become a permanent fixture in your readers’ lives. There is something be said for consistency.

2. Add links to some of the old blogs within a new blog. Invariably, you will write about a similar subject to one you wrote about in the past. Connect your older blog with your new one and you will certainly add page views.

3. Use images. Whenever you can, add images, videos, infographics – anything that will attract the eyes of people scanning through pages of information. The image will grab them, and great writing will keep them.

4. Answer all comments people post on your blog. Also, comment on other blogs. This increases your credibility.

5. Give timely and useful information. A blog that says nothing has no reason to be read. Relate big news items like the election, hurricanes, sports victories or other popular trending topics to your blog.

6. Write a great headline. Sometimes the headline is an afterthought. Make sure your headline is as engaging as the rest of the blog.

7. You have a sense of humor – use it! Even if you are writing about a serious topic, being clever and witty will keep people reading.

8. Don’t forget other social media! This probably should have been the first thing on the list. Spread your wealth of information all over the internet. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and all of the bookmarking sites to get as many viewers as possible.

Twitter to make changes

What makes Instagram better than Twitter? Nothing soon! Twitter is going to add Instragram-like photo editing features to the mobile page putting it in direct competition with the well-known photo app. So, how does this help Twitter? It gives people more incentive to stay on the site longer.

Any time you stay on a site or app, they benefit. Advertisers have a better chance to grab your business. And, at the same time, they are taking business away from other mobile apps.

All of these apps are trying to one-up each other. Guess who benefits? We do, as consumers. The apps are becoming more sophisticated and provide new options, as people get more attached to them. Many apps come in and out of popularity, but Twitter has had staying power.

Right now, many people including Twitter VIPs, actors and athletes, are taking a photo with their phone, manipulating it in Instagram and then posting it to social media. By giving users the option to edit the photo right in the Twitter app, it saves a step. In the settings section, users can set up their Twitter page to post everything on both Facebook and Twitter. That saves social media people like me, precious time and effort. Removing the need for Instagram would make things even easier.

I’ve been a huge fan of Twitter from the first time I used it because of the 140 character limit. While some people see that as a negative, I love it. I feel like you should be able to sum up anything with 140 characters. It eliminates the fluff and reduces your message to the real facts.