Simple Edits That Will Improve Your Writing

We all struggle to make our content engaging and compelling. It doesn’t matter if you are writing for your blog, your website or just a landing page, you want your readers engaged and reading everything you write.

Here are 3 tips that will make your readers read on.

Open with a question that gets the reader to say ‘yes’

The idea is that the more you get your readers to say ‘yes’ to your questions, the more likely they will keep reading and say ‘yes’ to everything you say.

Why? Because your readers will feel like you understand them and know exactly what they are going through.

If they say ‘yes’ enough they will feel like your product or service can help them solve their problem. And they will hire you.

Use white space

White space can draw attention to something that you feel is important. Don’t crowd your webpage or blog with words. Use white space to your advantage.

Having space for the reader’s eye to rest makes your content less intimidating and more readable.

Use a Call-to-Action

Before you publish your article or web page, be sure to include a call-to-action. A call-to-action tells your reader what to do next.

Be clear and concise, urgent and compelling. Make sure it communicates the value they will receive by doing what you ask.

Happy Administrative Professionals Day!

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Rohn

Happy Passover!

Celebrate Earth Day today!

Apps that Make Working Remotely Work

More and more people are working remotely so businesses must make it easier for teams to communicate and work optimally.

There are many new tools to pick from to help your remote workers work well together and with you. Here are a few that we have found work well for us.

Stay Connected

Yammer is a great app that works well for messaging groups. If you’re looking to message an individual only, this app can be clunky but it’s great for team updates. It’s available in both iOS and Android.

Slack is a new tool that allows you to streamline your project management and communications. You can collaborate, brainstorm and share files with this app. It is available in both Android and iOS.

Work Together

Trello, available in both iOS and Android, is an app that will reduce your long email chains and the amount of paper you use. This tool is a great project management tool where you can customize your to-do-list and projects.

Manage Your Projects

Google Drive allows you to share and upload files and collaborate on documents. You can ‘star’ the folders that you deem important or need to find quickly. This app is available in both iOS and Android.

What tools do you use when working remotely?

The Best Times to Post on Social Media

You already know that social media is one of the best ways to spread the word about your business and get your content read, but it isn’t enough just to write content and post it to your social media platforms whenever you feel like it.

Some times may be better than others.

With people logging into their favorite social media sites from mobile devices and computers, at work and home, it can be difficult to know when to post.

So…..when is the best time for you to post your content?

Best Times to Post on Facebook

The best time to post on Facebook is 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Other peak times include 12:00-1:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and 1:00-4:00 on Thursdays and Fridays.

According to SurePayroll’s research, the worst times to post on Facebook are weekends before 8:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m.

The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn

Since LinkedIn is used by professionals, posts tend to be read during working hours, at the start of the work day and at the end of the workday.

Try posting mid-week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)from 7:30-8:30 a.m., 10:00-11:-00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Mondays are the worst days for engagement on LinkedIn, possibly because the business professionals are catching up with work after a weekend. Fridays also see a lower engagement because of people wrapping up things at work and leaving early for the weekend.

The worst time to post on LinkedIn is during the night….busy professionals are sleeping!

The Best Times to Post on Twitter

The best times to post on Twitter are weekdays from 12:00-3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.  For a small business, the best days are Wednesday and the weekends.

The Best Time to Post on Pinterest

Pinterest users are mostly female and are most active in the evening. The best time to post is in the evening any day of the week, especially Saturday nights from 8:00-11:00 p.m.

Experiment with times to see when you have your highest engagement. Happy posting!

Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together. - Brené Brown

4 Tips to Keep You From Hating Public Speaking

You either love or hate public speaking. There is no in-between.  Either way, being prepared and having confidence will allow you to be more relaxed when presenting.

Write it

If you read your speech word for word when delivering it, you will come across as wooden. The best way to sound like yourself and allow your personality to come through is to really know your speech.

Instead of writing a full speech, write an outline of what you want to say. If you’re using a PowerPoint during your speech, use your bullet points there to help keep you on track and to jog your memory.

You can put your speech on index cards to have handy when presenting. A short speech – three to five minutes long – should fit on one index card.

Practice, practice, practice

I can’t say it enough. Practice, practice, practice!

Practice in front of a mirror to see how you look when presenting. People listen to speeches with their eyes. You must look professional and sound confident.

Have someone film you when you are practicing. This video will show you if you say ‘um’ too many times, which can be annoying for your listeners. Once you know, you will find yourself making a conscious effort to not say ‘um’ anymore.

Relax

Public speaking can be one of the best methods of marketing your business. To create a good, lasting impression, you must be yourself when presenting. Add a little humor to your speech. Make sure the information you are sharing in interesting. Know your stuff…then if you lose your place, you can still continue on because you are the expert in what you’re talking about.

Ask for help

If you find you are afraid of public speaking, but need to get out there to promote your business, then ask for help. There are plenty of coaches that can help you gain confidence and present an amazing speech. One coach I highly recommend is Bob Manard of Speak4Results. Bob coaches business owners and executives through how to write a speech and how to comfortably present it.

How to Write Catchy Blog Titles Your Readers Can’t Resist

It’s one thing to have great content. Getting people to read it is whole other problem. And that’s where having a catchy title comes in. Your title sells the content.

Here are three tips to help you create catchy blog titles.

Start with a working title

Before you start writing your blog and have a working title for it. A working title gets very specific on what you are going to write about. For example, your topic could be social media. This topic is very general and can go in many directions. If your working title is “How to Get More Fans on Facebook,” then you have a specific segment on the topic of social media to write on.

Make it sexy

Some topics aren’t sexy but you can find a way to make it sexy.  Have some fun with alliterations. A title such as ‘Marketing Makeover’ will grab attention and has a subtle impact on your reader.

Don’t be afraid to use strong language. Strong phrases, and even negative ones, can be catchy. Use these in moderation because if everything is negative or bold, nothing stands out.

Keep it short

Focus on keeping your title under 70 characters so it doesn’t get cut off in search engine results. Outbrain’s survey showed that title with eight words had a 21% higher click through rate that the average title.

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. – Booker t. Washington

Is Your Website OK?

It’s so easy to be told what wrong with your website, but are you hearing what is right with it? Sometimes, just having an OK website is good enough to get clients. And your website may actually be better than you think it is.

Here are three things an OK website should have:

Is Mobile-Friendly

As of April 21, 2015 (last year!), Google expanded the usage of mobile-friendly factors into its search algorithm. In other words, if your website is not mobile-friendly, your site will not do well in searches on Google.

Think about it. Most people pick up their phones immediately to check out a website. And it just makes sense that your site look good to those checking you out, otherwise you might lose a prospective customer.

Check to see if your site passes the Google mobile-friendly test at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Tells What You Have to Offer

Your site needs to tell visitors within 30 seconds what you do and what your company offers. Your visitors may have an idea of what you do, but your site must clearly state how you can help the visitors. You must answer their needs.

Tells Visitors What to Do Next

A Call-to-Action tells your visitors what their next steps should be. The Call-to-Action should be above the fold on the home page.

Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? Or do you want them to purchase a specific product? The Call-to-Action should link your visitors to the page where they can act on the next step.

Does your website do all these things? If so, you’ve got an OK website so don’t worry about needing to make any changes right away. But, remember to keep your website on your radar when you update your marketing materials so everything is branded with the same look and feel.

Dream big and dare to fail. – Norman Vaughan