Here are some resources that can help you to create the action steps that will work for you to help you to achieve your business objectives:

Six Daily Marketing Practices

By Robert Middleton

I’m subscribed to the feed for actionplan.com, which is Robert Middleton’s blog where he writes about, “marketing ideas for attracting more clients.”  Today’s post is, “Six Daily Marketing Practices,” and it caught my attention because it’s concise, to the point, and it totally lays out a system that you can use and get results from. This is the kind of content that establishes you as an expert because it shows that you are willing to freely share your expertise.

My favorite of Middleton’s six steps is: “#4. Track your progress every single day.” This is an area where I will admit I fall down. I often, ‘fly by the seat of my pants,’ because I have way too many things going on. I keep a white board in my work area, so I plan to write out the six steps and work them for 30 days (hmmm. I feel a 30 day challenge coming on. . .) and see what happens. Source: http://bit.ly/zxxDlc

 5 Essential Marketing Action Steps

By Marty Marsh

When I read this article I focused in on step #2, “Know your ideal/perfect client.” Marsh writes, “Because when you decide who your ideal client is — who will bring you the most joy to work with and who will happily pay you what you are worth — exactly those kinds of clients begin to show up. It’s the best example of the Law of Attraction at work that I know of.” Also be sure to pay attention to step five, which asks, “What is your client education process?” This is crucial because how you educate your prospects will have a direct impact on your conversion rate. Source: http://bit.ly/zQecd5

Create an Action Plan Now

By Ray Silverstein

This article on entrepreneur.com lays the ground work for helping you to develop your own action plan. Once you have come up with a plan, Silverstein advises readers, “Don’t tuck it in a drawer–keep it close by for constant reference. Make regular appointments with yourself to review your plan and ensure you stay on track. It is a work-in-progress, and you can expect to make changes as you proceed. That’s okay, just don’t stop working on it.” Source: http://bit.ly/xU4KOn

The goal with all of this is to create new daily habits that support you in attaining the goals you have set. It also helps to have an accountability partner such as a coach or trusted business adviser that you can report to, get support, advice and tough love from.

What are the action steps that you do at least weekly that you attribute to your successful habits? Please share your story in the comments.

Related articles

• How to Change Your Bad Marketing Habits for Good (smartsimplemarketing.com)
• How to Market Your Business Consistently to Grow Your Income (smartsimplemarketing.com)
• How to Be Present for Your Business (ducttapemarketing.com)

In last week’s meeting she challenged this amazing group of women to move beyond our comfort zones, spark some innovation and plot our own strategies for world domination. One the challenges that she threw down to the group was to create a video asking our audience what questions they would ask if given the opportunity. So, I recorded this video this morning.  Please take a moment to watch it and leave a question or a comment on the blog, or email me your questions.

In case you didn’t realize this, Facebook uses an algorithm to filter or sort what shows up in your news feed when you log in to your Facebook personal profile. The status updates, the photos, and videos are just a sampling of all of the content that your friends are sharing. Depending on how many friends you have, it would be overwhelming if you just saw everything unfiltered. That filtering is influenced by EdgeRank, which has a formula associated with it. Let’s delve into EdgeRank a bit and find out how you can use your new knowledge about it to boost your visibility on Facebook.

The news feed that you see on your Facebook profile uses various criteria to decide what will be displayed for you. Techcrunch calls EdgeRank the, “Secret Sauce,” of Facebook’s news feed, so let’s break EdgeRank down:

When you add your content to Facebook, whether it’s a status update, photos, videos, or notes, each of these bits of content are called, “objects.”

As your friends interact with the object you posted by either “Liking,” it, sharing it, or commenting on it, they are adding what’s called an “edge,” to the object. Each subsequent interaction adds additional edges to the object boosting its Edgerank and increasing the liklihood that it will show up in the news feed of the friends you converse with on Facebook.

Facebook has publicly shared the basic EdgeRank formula, although they have not shared exactly how they use it: EdgeRank= u * w * d

Where u= the affinity score between viewing user and edge creator, w= weight for this edge type (create, comment, like, tag, etc.) and d= time decay factor based on how long ago the edge was created.

So, the basic components of EdgeRank are affinity, weight and time.

Affinity is Facebook’s one way measure of one user toward another–but not vice versa. Weight is applied to each object to determine its EdgeRank. The type of content you post matters when it comes to weight. Photos and videos have greater weight than links and status updates, but engagement–actually taking the time to comment adds tremendous value because it does not take much thought or effort to click the ‘Like’ button. Time is key because we all want to read what’s fresh and up-to-the-minute rather than looking at old news.

Now that you get what makes up EdgeRank, let’s look at how to determine what yours is currently.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so let’s first get a benchmark for what your EdgeRank score is right now. Visit, http://edgerankchecker.com. to find out what your score is now and get tips for improving it.

Here are some practical ways you can use it to boost the visibility if the objects that you share on Facebook:

1. Post more photos and videos

Photos and videos attract users and get more likes and comments

2. Find ways to encourage interaction with your friends

One way to elicit interaction is to ask open-ended, or provocative questions. Ask for a comment other than just clicking the “Like” button

3. Sprinkle your content throughout the day & include links in your posts

Posting a quick status update in the morning is not going to be sufficient if your goal is to increase exposure and results on Facebook.

4. Use Facebook’s survey feature to ask relevant, compelling questions

No on wants to respond to a lame survey. Ask interesting questions that your audience will care about and want to get answers to in your polls.

Use these tips to maximize the power of Facebook by boosting your visibility in the news feed. Boosting your EdgeRank will get you a better return for the time you invest on Facebook.

Got a Facebook marketing tip to share? Please feel free to leave it in the comments.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of LaSahanda Henry, mompreneur and developer of Black Business Women Online, and blogger at SistaSense.com.  I’ve been a member of BBWO for years and I have watched LaShanda grow into a force to be reckoned with online. But what I love about her is that she has a heart to help business women of color succeed and thrive by  creating wealth through online business.

I want to invite you to check out the, first annual ‘SistaSense Power Circle Summit,’ which is a virtual conference so no worries about airfare, hotels and who will keep your kids while you’re away. This 2 Day TeleSummit for Web Entrepreneurs will run from  July 29 – July 30 2011.

LaShanda said, “The success of your business depends on the company you keep! When I think about how much my business has grown over the last four years, I attribute a great deal of my success to the powerful, successful, business minded people around me.”

In an effort to give all of us access to some of these great business minds, LaShanda has put together this amazing SistaSense Power Circle Summit. This event is made up of a group of talented and successful entrepreneurs that have graciously agreed to share 2 days worth of powerful business changing, mind shifting information with you.

The Keynote speaker, Donna Maria Johnson is the founder of INDIE Business. She will share her secret to Leadership: INDIE Business Style. How to enjoy your life! Build your business! Have your way!

Wealth Coach and Finance Expert Deborah Owens is going to discuss A Purse of Your Own: The Seven Wealthy Habits of Successful Entrepreneurs.

Ministry Marketing / Social Media Expert Pam Perry will show you how to use your book to build a business, essential marketing strategies every solopreneur and author should know.

Lashanda Henry aka Sistasense will be leading two sessions. One on how you can get paid for what you know and the other on list building and client attraction essentials.

The Brand Coach, Jai Stone will speak on how you can increase your brand recognition through social media.

Successful Blogger and Social Media Expert Lamar Tyler is going to share his Blogging Expertise: Profit, Presence, and Good PR.

Mommy Blogger and Brand Relationships Expert Onica Cupido offers her insight on how you can develop strong relationships with brands.

Multi-million dollar mompreneur Richelle Shaw is going to give you an inside look into her million dollar equation!

These speakers are experienced, successful entrepreneurs that you need to know and have in your circle. They have a wealth of information to share with you that will transform your business. When I listen to them speak I think of them as not just motivators, but divine educators genuinely invested in helping others live their best life.

Don’t wait. Early Bird registration for the SistaSense Power Circle Summit begins now. The first 30 to register will also receive an exclusive gift – 2 downloadable mp3 audios sessions on social media marketing and using technology to build your business online. Early bird registration is $30 and ends July 7th, 2011. You will kick yourself if you miss out on this event and then hear everyone talking about how powerful it was. Register now.

On this blog I write a lot about personal development as it relates to business development because as you grow and develop and hone your skills so will your business continue to grow and move forward. Today I want to take a look at some of the tangible ways that you can work towards developing yourself that will also have a positive impact on your business.

Regular readers know that I am a fan of Napoleon Hill, author of several personal development titles such as, Think and Grow Rich, and The Law of Success. Hill was a great proponent of the concept of the Mastermind, another topic that I am fascinated by and love to write about. In a nutshell, the Mastermind Group is a group of like-minded people who agree to come together
and meet on a regular basis to work together for either a common goal, or to support each member as they pursue their individual goals. The idea is that when the group comes together combining their energy and ideas, there comes into existence a force called the Mastermind that is greater than the sum of all of the members of the group. Thier combined energy, focus,
attention and intention somehow gets magnified and each one is able to accomplish more than they would have been able to on their own.

I have been a member of several Mastermind groups in the past. Some met on the phone, some included email or social network groups, and some were in person. One thing that all of these groups had in common is that they did not last very long. There is a certain process that groups need to move through before they become solidified. If the members of the group are not 100%
committed to the success of the group, they will fall away and the group will dissolve.

Almost a year ago I was invited to participate in a local Mastermind group among spiritually-minded, small business people. I was excited about the idea until I discovered that they were going to meet in Columbia, MD, which is about a 35-40 minute drive from where I live in D.C. I went to the first meeting to test the waters and see if these people seemed serious. I got a good feeling from the group right away and we’ve been meeting every other week since.

This Mastermind group has helped support me in more ways than I can describe. I have a spiritual focus to my life and my business, but I didn’t really have anyone else in my life that shared these beliefs. I didn’t have anyone to bounce my ideas off of, or get advice from when facing a sticky situation. My business has grown as have the businesses of the other members
of the group since we first began meeting. We hit snags along the way, but our core commitment to the success of the group has helped keep us together.

Another excellent way to really grow yourself is to work with a mentor or a coach. Working with someone who has achieved the goals that you have set for yourself is a great way to leap-from over some of the challenges in life and get to your goals more quickly.  I have several mentors, but one that I rely on when it comes to the online aspect of my business is LaShanda Henry. She is a successful mompreneur who is running her business at a level that I aspire to, so I work with her and listen to her advice and guidance. If you want to see some of the resources that she has to offer, I recommend that you visit her social network that has over 10,000 members, http://mybbwo.com, and then check out her fabulous membership program at http://www.sistasense.tv.

So between the horizontal relationships within a Mastermind group to the more vertical relationship between you and your coach or mentor you will have the opportunity to learn and grow and get feedback that will help you develop as a person, which will in turn foster the growth of your business.

Do y0u have any experiences working with a successful Mastermind group, or with a coach or mentor that you’d like to share? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Of course you’d first need to have your own blog set up and getting a decent amount of traffic so that you can demonstrate your results to prospective clients. If you’ve already got that step down, then the next thing you would do is to pick a niche or topic that you are comfortable writing about, have an interest or passion in and then do a search for local businesses within that topic area.  Just doing a quick Google search will tell you a lot about which businesses are web-savvy and which ones aren’t by how they are showing up (or not showing up) in the search results.

When you have found a few businesses that have old, outdated websites that are languishing on the third page of their search results, or if you know of a local business or two that isn’t online at all, you may want to contact them and offer your blogging for business services. You can pick up the phone and call them, or you might consider mailing a postcard with a short description of your services and what results you could generate for them with a blog.

After you have finished creating a blog for a local business, be sure to ask them if they would refer you to some of their local colleagues who might also want a blog. You can create special coupons to give to your clients that they can hand out to their friends extending a special, limited time offer for your services.

Professional blogging can be a fun business, or you can just take the occasional blog setup job in between other client projects, but it’s a great way to earn some extra money with your online writing skills.

I welcome you to subscribe to my RSS feed, or get blog updates by email. Keep on writing.

I’ve been a web content writer for several years now. I love the work, and I enjoy working with my clients and being able to call the shots in my own business. In many ways I’m living a dream that I held for years when I would go to work each day and plop down in my chair in my cubicle in jobs that I did not enjoy but I felt at the time that I had to do them to pay the rent and feed my children.

When I first started out doing web content development and ghostwriting for clients I began to feel like maybe I had traded my 9-5 for yet another dead-end situation because I was still trading time for dollars, but I was not getting paid sick days or vacation days. As time went by I kept my eyes and ears open to the opportunities that were available to me as I learned more about Internet marketing and making money online.
I learned that as a web content developer I could begin to start earning a passive income by writing articles much like the ones I was writing for my clients and publishing them online and getting paid a share of the advertising revenues that the content generated for the site. Now, in addition to the valuable service that I provide to my clients, I am also investing in my future income by maintaining a portfolio of blogs, and writing and publishing content that I get residual payments on month in and month out after having done the work once.
Here are a few ideas for generating passive income for freelance writers:
Blogging
Blogs can generate passive income in a couple of ways:
Ad revenues: Through programs like Google AdSense or other contextual ad programs you can receive a check each month from the ad revenues that your content generates.
Affiliate marketing: Promoting products that would appeal to your blog’s audience and getting paid a commission when your visitors click on your affiliate link and purchase a product.

Content Sharing Sites:
You write and publish original articles and publish them on these and several other content sharing websites and then get paid monthly for a portion of the ad revenues.

• Hub Pages
• Associated Content
• Helium

Product Creation:
You can create your own product and offer it for sale on your website. This could be an ebook about a topic that you have some knowledge or expertise in, an audio program or a how-to video series. You create the product once, and you continue to get paid for it each time you sell a product.

The trick is to schedule time each week to write and submit content either to your own blogs, or to the content sharing sites. It takes several articles before you start generating more than a few dollars a month, but the good news is that as long as the content is on the site you will keep getting paid.

I welcome you to subscribe to my RSS feed, or get blog updates by email. Keep on writing.

Digital curation, according to Wikipedia, is the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_curation

So, content curation, which is what you are already doing when you share a useful blog post that you found on Twitter, posting an update on your Facebook fan page about an emerging industry trend or record a podcast about your topic is all about aggregating and adding your particular spin, knowledge and expertise on the subject.

Curation is an important aspect of marketing when you are part of a community of subject matter experts or authorities on a particular topic. As a member of a tribe of like-minded people, you share your colleague’s content with your network, and they reciprocate and share your content with theirs.

Here are three sources of ‘roundup’ collections of the most popular, currently available tools for content curation.  My favorite one these days has been Amplify, but take a look at what’s available and see what you like the best:

http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-content-curation-tools-for-daily-use

Content Curation Tools to Aggregate, Filter, Edit, Curate and Distribute Any Type of Content – updated weekly – - MindMeister Mind Map http://bit.ly/eRe0g1

http://www.masternewmedia.org/real-time-news-curation-the-complete-guide-part-6-the-tools-universe/

Let’s use the topic of content marketing as an example.  Some of the leading voices in content marketing include people such as Joe Pulizzi, of Junta42 and the Content Marketing Institute.

In a March 2 post Pulizzi writes, “People don’t care about you, they care about themselves.  Create content that solves customers’ pain points. Stop talking about yourself, your products, your services.  If you do, make it about your customers.”

http://blog.junta42.com/2011/03/10-reasons-your-content-marketing-is-killing-you/

Brian Clark, CEO of Copyblogger Media, is another one of the prominent voices in the content marketing arena. Copyblogger has been named one of the most popular blogs in the world by Technorati, it’s on the Advertising Age’s ‘Power 150 List,’ and the Guardian named it one of the world’s 50 most powerful blogs.

One of my personal favorite resources at Copyblogger is their, “Magnetic Headlines,” series. When I am creating content and I need a bit of headline inspiration that series is my go-to resource.

http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/

Newt Barrett, a content marketing strategist, from Content Marketing Today is co-author with Joe Pulizzi on the book, ‘Get Content, Get Customers.’ Barrett says, “By delivering content that is vital and relevant to your target market you will begin to take on an important role in their lives.”

http://contentmarketingtoday.com/

So, digital content curation puts the curator in the driver’s seat, so to speak allowing them to play the role of human aggregator, but one who adds significant value over simply forwarding a list of links on a particular topic.  Curation of the popular topics in your niche can help your content marketing efforts by adding value to the lives of your readers and positioning you as the trusted authority.

Please feel free to share your favorite curation tools, or share a link to your favorite content marketing resources in the comments.

As a professional writer and blogger I have been engaged in the practice of content marketing since the launch of this blog in the fall of 2007. At that time, my freelance writing practice was just beginning and I wanted to start getting my work out there as I did not have a lot of clients or clips to refer prospective clients to. Over the years I have attracted some amazing clients and built an impressive body of work with this blog.

My first blog, which I started in the fall of 1997, was a personal blog, so I was not marketing anything with it I guess except my own ideas and my world view. I never looked at my traffic stats and I was not trying to grow an email list. I was simply blogging for the sheer enjoyment of it and because I was part of a vibrant community of personal bloggers.

Marketing is simply telling the world about the products, services or ideas that you have to offer. Content marketing is the practice of creating and syndicating (purposefully sharing) valuable content in an effort to attract your target audience to your blog or website.

Once you have gotten them to your website your goal is to engage them and use your content to begin to foster the ‘know, like and trust’ factor that will ultimately either lead to a conversion from visitor to subscriber to customer to fan, or they may just go elsewhere. Actually, most people will end up going elsewhere, but that is fine because you only want to work with people who resonate with your message, and the only way to know that is to continuously get your message out there into the marketplace.

When I first started this blog I simply gave everything away. I researched meticulously and wrote blog posts on topics that I thought would be useful to my prospective clients. But as time went on I learned that there is nothing wrong with marketing yourself and the products and services you provide even as you offer valuable content to your readers.

Now I understand how crucial it is to include a compelling call to action in each blog post.  People want to be led, and if you want them to take a particular action you must tell them exactly what action they should be taking. Whether you want your readers to sign up for your email list, enquire about the services you provide, or buy a product that you are offering, you’ve got to direct them to the next best action to take.

Recently, my client work has begun to take over my life, and I found myself staying up late at night to keep up and not miss deadlines. Juggling single parenthood and self-employment is no joke. I took a hiatus from posting to the blog while I got a handle on my client work load, but also because I needed to re-visit my content marketing strategy. My business has matured to the point where most of my new clients are referred to me from my fabulous, current clients. But just this week I received an inquiry from a prospective client who found my blog and wanted to hire me—despite the fact that my blog had not been updated in weeks.

But I will say that I have also learned that in addition to providing a platform where I can share my expertise to attract prospective clients, I have been greatly encouraged to hear the positive feedback that I receive through the comments on this blog, and via email about how what I share on the blog has helped you in some way. I feel blessed to be of service to you.

So, please take a moment and enter your name and email address into the subscription box for my email newsletter where I share valuable content that you