Why did you start a business?

February 5, 2013

Narrowboat Wife Blogging, Books to Read, Writing , , , , , 2 Comments

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I seem to read a lot about the importance of finding ‘me time’ as a mumpreneur. The advice is often to schedule in some time to do something you enjoy; read a book, have a bath, or see a friend. The reality is very different. Sadly my default ‘quality time’ is often flopping exhausted in front of the telly with a glass of wine.

Ask yourself what are the important things in your life. Why did you decide to start a business? What were your goals?

I’ve just started reading a great book called I don’t have time to write by Nadine Hill. Quite early on in the book an interesting exercise caught my attention. She suggests playing a little game with yourself called, ‘Why is that important?’ Examine your answers to see if what you think you want is really what you actually want. This helps you to focus on your dreams. Start with:

‘I want to start a business’ (or write a book, create a new product or whatever your goal is.)

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to be my own boss.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to work flexible hours.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to do all the school runs and be there for my children.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because I want to make the most of the time they are young.’

‘Why is that important?’

‘Because they will always remember their childhood and whether I was there for them or not.’

I started the game thinking about starting a business but it turned out my true desires revolved around being there for my children. This exercise helps you to discover your true aspirations so that you can prioritise how you invest your time. You can then look at your weekly schedule and your business plan while bearing in mind your true goal: the real reason you started your business.

Why did you start yours?

Move your business forward with business blogging and social media marketing.

How to Publish a Daily Twitter Newspaper

December 7, 2012

Narrowboat Wife Social Media , , , , Comments Off

I recently created a daily paper for the National Community Boating Association.  The Community Boating Times supports both waterways and community regeneration. We share waterways updates, charity news and current affairs. You will find videos, photos, education, politics, tips and advice.

If you’re on Twitter you may have seen other users tweeting their daily papers. You can quickly and easily create your own, to promote yourself, your  work, your blog, organisation or business. Paper.li collects tweets and other sources (that you specify) and turns them into a professional looking daily paper. You can choose to ‘feed’ the paper with your own tweets, tweets from your timeline, #hashtags, RSS feeds from relevant websites, YouTube channels and more. Paper.li only looks for tweets with links, so that each link is displayed as a snippet of a story. The content is displayed under different headings such as Arts & Entertainment, Health, Education, Business, and relevant #hashtags. It also displays your own live Twitter feed. The basic service is free but you can also choose a pro version with additional features such as a personalised header and no adverts.

To get started, you will need to sign into Paper.li with your Twitter account. If you’re creating the paper for an organisation or business make sure you sign in with that account and not your personal Twitter id. You choose what time the paper gets published each day and it will tweet a link to the paper @ mentioning a few of today’s contributers. You set  this up under the ‘promote your paper’ options. I publish mine around 1pm when Twitter is busiest.

The plus sides, for me, are that you provide plenty of interesting content for your followers, and whenever your paper features somebody on Twitter they are likely to 1) Look at your paper, 2) Re-tweet your paper. It’s nice to be noticed! However, Paper.li does choose content at random so be aware that not ever y story may be perfect for your audience.

If you work in the voluntary sector, are interested in canal boating or just want to help us raise awareness of our work why not subscribe to The Community Boating Times? You may also like my own paper, The Narrowboat Wife Weekly.

Community Boating Needs YOU!

May 21, 2012

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NCBA

Let’s pull together!

Imagine if there was one organisation supporting both community and waterways regeneration. Well there is! Canals are for boating and there are a lot of local projects out there using the waterways for socially inclusive activities and community cohesion.

“The National Community Boats Association (NCBA) is the umbrella organisation that supports and represents community boating organisations across the inland waterways network.

Community boating organisations (CBOs) provide access to and services on the UK‟s waterways for the benefit of their local community. They often work with youth and other community based groups as well as individuals and may provide specific services for disabled, disadvantaged or excluded people in our society such as those on low incomes or from minority groups.

The aim of these organisations is much more than just access to a leisure facility. It could be working in areas of social inclusion, education, rehabilitation (health or offending) and issues of wider community cohesion. They are usually charitable in nature and are often registered charities. They are predominantly voluntary organisations themselves relying on donations, fund-raising and sponsorship from within their operating area. The NCBA‟s vision is a network of well resourced, well managed community boating organisations that promote access to UK waterways as well as promoting the safe use of community boat services as a resource that promotes social cohesion, protects the environment and supports economic regeneration.”

I am delighted to welcome the NCBA as my newest client. I will be raising the profile of community boating using blogging, Facebook and Twitter.

What can you do? Start by following our shiny brand new Twitter account @CommunityBoats

What is your perception of community boating? Who do you think the projects are there for?

How to Get More Website Visitors

April 10, 2012

Narrowboat Wife Blogging, SEO, Social Media, Virtual Assistant , , , 1 Comment

Getting traffic

We are often told that a social media campaign can increase web traffic and search engine ranking, but how is it done? How can you increase your search engine ranking and start getting traffic? What is SEO? Welcome to the wonderful world of search engine optimisation.

The idea is to get your website, blog and social media profiles appearing on the first page of search engine results. Longer search queries are more likely to lead to conversions. Try creating a list of search terms using relevant keywords. Include words that you think your target audience will be searching for, your company name and your products and services, any industry specific terms and jargon, and your location if you sell locally.

There are also a number of keyword selection tools on line that are free to use. I use the Google keyword tool which generates associated keywords and statistics. As it’s difficult to compete with the high competition out there that are using your more obvious keywords, make sure that you include the ones that have low competition but a high number of monthly searches. Test your selected search terms to be sure that sites like yours end up in the search results.

Getting traffic
Search engines use metatags to help rank a website, blog or social media page. They appear in the pages source code, and you can choose View/Source in your browser to see them. You can insert metatags and tags for photos if you use a content management system or blog software. If not you may need technical help from your web site developer.

Tip: Most search engines don’t check entire websites or blogs so it’s best to put your search terms into the first paragraph of what you are writing.

Try this!

If you find it difficult to commit the time to building an on-going relationship with customers through blogging and social media then you could consider outsourcing this. I love writing and can write posts with your business needs and aims in mind.

Get in touch if you’d like me to draw in readers, build your brand and reputation and increase visitors to your website.

8 Great Ways to Use a Virtual Assistant in 2012

January 10, 2012

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1.      Business Blog Set up

Great information raises your profile as an expert and a good business to ‘follow’ online. A freelance professional blogger can research topics; subscribe to relevant online news sources and undertake keyword research for search engine optimisation.

  1. 2.      Ongoing Blogging

A pro blogger can research and write posts, source images, and publish with links and images. Keywords in your blog allow your site to rise up the search engine rankings; Google is looking for fresh content every 30-45 days. This is where all of the unique and interesting information for your Facebook updates and Tweets will come from. At least one post a week is recommended.

 

  1. 3.      Twitter

Create the right balance between messages that motivate people to visit your site and ones that provide interesting items to attract more followers. Employ a VA to reply to people who tweet to your business and thank those who retweet your messages. Schedule tweets, check Twitter regularly and interact with your audience. You could also add reduced products and new products to Facebook and Twitter. Join in with #FollowFriday to recommend other Twitter users, making sure your followers know that you’re there and that you care. Devise a Twitter campaign that shares news and offers.

  1. 4.      Facebook

Get your VA to set up a business page with your logo and details. Syndicate your blog to your Facebook page and Twitter account. Once you have a few fans for your page your updates will be seen by them and by their friends who visit their profiles. Your news then spreads to the contacts of your contacts. Add exclusive offers for Facebook followers to encourage people to sign up.

  1. 5.      Create a daily online newspaper for Facebook and/or Twitter

Share interesting content with people interested in your business and provide valuable and fun information to your online community. Create awareness around local events or news and promote your business. This is simpler and more affordable than it sounds!

  1. 6.      Administration

A virtual assistant can respond to enquiries, send customer welcome emails, create documents, do copytyping, audiotyping and help with other administration.

  1. 7.      Ebooks

A virtual assistant could ghost write, format and publish an ebook to distribute on Kindle and showcase your expertise. Alternatively give away a complimentary ebook to encourage people to sign up for your mailing list.

  1. 8.      Mailing List

Have your assistant set up a mailing list and write your monthly newsletter, encouraging people to revisit your website.

Choose one and take action today! With a virtual assistant you only pay for the few hours work that you need. Reach out and build relationships with new and potential customers.

Choose something small and make a change to your business this year.

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