2013's Top Blogging Tools and Plugins

Don't Get Bogged Down By Your Blog

You’ve set up your business blog, and that’s all there is to it, right?  Well, of course the answer is no.  The world of social media is constantly changing, and the question then becomes, “What do you need to add to your blog to spruce it up and make yourself more marketable?” This is where it can be very easy to get overwhelmed. There are countless ways to enhance your website, but where do you begin?

Social Media Examiner is a great resource for bloggers like you and me, who are looking to keep up on the latest and greatest plug-ins and add-ons to add more bling to your website.  This invaluable article lists the top 29 business blogging tools which can provide information you need to help you determine the areas your blog needs improvement in. Here is a short list of just a few of the sites that proved attention worthy, but don't stop here: Check out the rest of the article - you won't want to miss all 29 recommendations.

LuckyOrange allows you to watch real time activity on your blog by your users and actually play it back.

Social Crawlytics will help you see detailed statistics on the most shared information by your competitors.

For people who are blogging and want to use video as a way to build their email list.

A free resource that provides hundreds of thousands of free images to use for your blog posts.

This site provides a place for bloggers to share visual attention grabbers to better captivate your reader's attention.



A simple and effective tool for creating and sharing a link from the message you want to write when Tweeting.  

A tool that will allow you to create lists that are beneficial to the specific audiences you're trying to reach.

This site provides everything you will need from creating, to distributing to tracking the statistics around podcasting.

This program verifies your online profile and authorship, which starts building your Author Rank, ultimately resulting higher rankings and credibility when picked up by Google.

We're wondering if you already use some of these tools/plug-ins.  Which ones have been most effective in enhancing your blog and in what ways?

Successful Entrepreneurs Actually Read

Have You Checked Out This Book List?

If you are an entrepreneur and you are hoping that success will just fall into your lap, you are greatly mistaken!  Building a successful business not only takes a creative mind and exciting vision, but it requires you to go back and find out what brilliant principles have been discovered and practiced over the years.  Yes, our society continues to evolve in areas of technology and entrepreneurial opportunities, but there are many fundamental truths that should not be passed over.

Reading renowned books on business success a major aspect in opening up the doors of opportunity that will challenge you not only to look at ways to improve your business; more importantly, you will be forced to look deep within yourself to determine what it is that is helping or hindering your success.

{Book 7} How To Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Most entrepreneurs are probably professional “worriers” (if that’s even a word).  

• What if sales continue to drop?  
• How will you pay for the machine that just broke?  
• Would you be able to afford expanding your business?
• Can you really afford to hire extra help, even though you desperately need it?

This is not said in order to minimize the serious challenges and crises that business people must face on a regular basis.  However, the point that Carnegie is trying to make is that worrying has no value:  it does nothing but bring you down, and in turn, you will bring others down.

“How To Stop Worrying and Start Living” is basically a continuation from his first book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” but the difference lies in his specific focus on the problem of worrying and how to make small steps to overcome this debilitating habit.  The book is broken into 8 different sections, with the last section being a wonderful collection of successful men and women, and how they have conquered the problem of worry.  While written in 1948, the truths of these principles remain applicable to generations to come.

1. Fundamental Facts You Should Know About Worry
2. Basic Techniques In Analyzing Worry
3. How To Break The Worry Habit Before It Breaks You
4. Seven Ways To Cultivate A Mental Attitude That Will Bring You Peace And Happiness
5. The Perfect Way To Conquer Worry
6. How To Keep From Worrying About Criticism
7. Six Ways To Prevent Fatigue And Worry And Keep Your Energy And Spirits High
8. “How I Conquered Worry”

The beauty of Carnegie’s books is that each concept is broken down into bite-sized portions to show that we can conquer worry in practical and manageable ways.  His writing is so simple and yet still eloquent:  

“Think of your life as an hourglass. You know there are thousands of grains of sand in the top of the hourglass; and they all pass slowly and evenly through the narrow neck in the middle. Nothing you or I could do would make more than one grain of sand pass through this narrow neck without impairing the hourglass. You and I and everyone else are like this hourglass...if we do not take [tasks] one at a time and let them pass...slowly and evenly, then we are bound to break our own...structure.”

Not only do we have a responsibility to stop worrying for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of those who work for us, around us, and especially for the benefit and well-being for those who are closest to us and love us anyway.

Choose to read an entrepreneur classic this month - then share it with someone.  Write down the areas you most want to focus your attention on improving in your personal and business life.  

And please share here, too....What book has been most life changing for you?

Your Blog Posts Are Probably Not Being Read Much

2013: The Year of the Perfect Blog Post

So many bloggers are not getting the viewing return for the hours spent laboring over what they believe are interesting or helpful blog posts.  Social media marketing is a major player in the business growth we desire and need.  Many of us have taken a great deal of time from our regular business responsibilities in order to read up on what is necessary to ensure success in the internet marketing arena.  

One area that most of us are failing in is in the area of blogging.  You are probably presenting information that is valuable and helpful to a potential client or even fellow industry marketing business people.  But just like me, you are probably missing some very key elements, which is holding you back from getting the traffic you desire and deserve.

I’m passing this article along because it is written concisely, with good humor, and gives very practical (and pretty simple) changes to make in order to increase blog traffic.  Here are the main points - you will definitely want to take the time to explore them in depth.

1. Blog Posts Should Be 1100 to 1400 Words 2 - 3 Times Per Week
2. The Heading of the Page is as important as the Title
3. Think of Your Opening Paragraph Like a Teaser for the Article
4. Break Up the Content to Make the Page Inviting
5. Structure Your Page for the Desired Result
6. The Web Today Is All About Long Form Content and Visuals
7. Promote Your Post Everywhere on Social Media
8. Always End With Action Steps
9. Read Your Blog Post Out Loud

Why Aren’t My Blogs Getting Much Traffic?

There are several areas that I know could greatly be improved as a result of making some, if not all, of the changes mentioned above.  One main improvement I’d like to make is to increase the word count.  

Business life is busy.  Personal life is busy.  Sometimes it’s just easier to blog about the basics and hope that people discover my brief, yet ingenious, posts: whether they are related to promotional marketing products, business and personal growth books that have proven successful and beneficial to small business owners, or posts related to how we can make small changes to improve online visibility and exposure.  These are all very interesting topics to me, and they are beneficial to other salespeople in the industry.  

How in the World Does Anyone Have Time to Blog?

Many bloggers have shared their secret:  writing several blog posts during one block of time during the week, and then scheduling those posts to be scattered throughout the following 7-10 days.  Spending 5 minutes here or there will not bring about the results of meaty blog posts, that will drive a slew of people to your site.  But spending a block of time on a Saturday morning or a Sunday afternoon, when your stress level is much lower and your mind is clearer, is an effective approach in posting consistently, information rich posts to your blog.

They Said WHAT?!

Another aspect of personal blogging that needs to improve is in the headlines.  Sometimes, after spending just enough time to blog about a topic that is interesting and relevant, there is little effort put into the title.  Often, when browsing through the various group posts on LinkedIn, many people are posting their blog post titles twice or they are not taking the time to write a heading or introductory sentence that is different from the blog’s post content.  

This is redundant and a big deterrent from getting people to click on the link and read further.  One of the ways that bloggers can improve is to hang out around the news websites for a bit, to get a feel for the types of headlines that grab attention and get you to click on the article.   What is the goal of a news headline?  To present information in a way that is shocking and true at the same time, to get the reader to dive in and read the rest of the article.  But it has to be true - or your credibility is lost.

Say It Out LOUD!

One area that we can all use improvement is related to suggestion #9:  Read Your Blog Post Out Loud.  Have you actually tried this?  This simple exercise alone will reveal so much about redundancy, lack of enthusiasm, and wordiness that can kill a blog post.  Lock yourself up in a quiet place, where you can actually hear yourself think.  Don’t only read the information to get through it, but place yourself in the reader’s shoes.  Is there any section or statement that could be taken a different way than you intended?  Is there a point that you could have expanded more upon?  Did your post actually accomplish what you stated in your headline?  

I’ll be evaluating and reevaluating my own blog posts in the days and weeks to come.  I’d be curious to know what noticeable results you are getting as a result of your intentional changes.

What three changes are you going to implement today into your blogging?  

An Imprintable Bike Safety Light to Help Keep Your Kids In Sight

LED Safety Lights: A Cool Way To Keep Kids Safe

It’s happened to the best of parents.  You’re at a crowded theme park or event, and you are constantly keeping your eyes on your kids.  And you’ve seen the parents of multiple children, half listening to you while nodding their head, but really you know they are looking around and counting heads to make sure all have been accounted for.  

 
The worst feeling in the world is when a parent, especially one who has diligently ensured the safety of their beloved son or daughter, turns around for one second only to find that they lost sight of their child.  There are so many different emotions running through their hearts and minds: fear, guilt, helplessness, to name just a few.  Panic immediately sets in, and you see these parents with wide eyes searching and calling for their child to come back, to know their parents are looking for them.  The “happiest place on earth” can quickly turn into “the worst experience of your life.”

These situations are not uncommon in the least.  It can happen at a crowded event or even at the grocery store.  Our little ones are driven by curiosity and excitement for that new adventure.  The question often becomes how to balance curiosity with necessary safety.  Every parent and grandparent knows that the last thing you ever want to do is kill the carefree spirit of a child.  

So where does the balance lie?

At BikeNSafetyPromos, we’d like to offer a unique way to promote safety for children and an option that will leave parents, grandparents, and other caretakers a way to relax a bit in those stressful situations.  

We offer imprintable LED Safety Lights in a variety of colors, which can easily be attached to a child’s backpack, baseball cap, belt loop, or even a ponytail.  We know that parents are constantly looking for ways to provide safety in a fun way.  Not only will the kids enjoy walking around with a blinking light attached to their clothing or backpack, but the parents and grandparents can sit back with ease, knowing exactly which child is theirs in the great big crowd around them.  

Another amazing safety item that parents will love is the Blinking Silicone LED Wristband - what kid wouldn’t want to wear this cool accessory?  This is another example of encouraging parents, grandparents, and caretakers to utilize safety items that are not only exciting and fun to look at, but also serve a dual purpose in helping them keep their kids in view no matter what the location is.  

Where can we find parents who will benefit from such wonderful products?  

Parents and children are absolutely everywhere - so which places do they frequent the most? Children’s museums, health food stores, children’s hospitals, healthcare organizations, major retail chains such as Target and Wal-Mart, amusement parks, zoos, aquariums, sports stadiums, Boy and Girl Scouts stores, police stations, bookstores, and the list can go on forever!

Let’s partner together to spread the word to parents around the globe, letting them know about this must-have safety accessory!

{Book 6} Required Entrepreneur Reading: How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

What has been your most meaningful lesson in learning how to work well with difficult people?  Or what changes have you made in yourself to become a person that is easy to work with?

Written in 1936, this book has sold over 15 million copies around the globe.  What has drawn millions to read a book by someone who is not only from a completely different era, but quite a few generations distant from us?  

Here’s a little snippet from the opening chapter, entitled “Nine Ways to Get The Most Out of This Book:"

“If you wish to get the most out of this book, there is one indispensable requirement, one essential infinitely more important than any other rule or technique.  Unless you have this one fundamental requisite, a thousand rules on how to study will avail little.  And if you do have this cardinal endowment, then you can achieve wonders without reading any suggestions for getting the most out of a book.  What is this magic requirement?  Just this:  a deep, driving desire to learn, a vigorous determination to increase your ability to deal with people.”(emphasis added)

What is the most foundational aspect of business?  Our ability to work with people in a mutually respectful manner, in a way that generates positive outcomes for all parties involved.  Dale Carnegie focuses on providing insightful strategies for you to connect and work with a variety of people and the challenges that often arise in such relationships.

The book is divided into the following major sections:

1. Fundamental Techniques in Handling PeopleSix Ways to Make People Like You
2. How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
3. Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

The beauty of this book is that these principles are not only useful and applicable to our business relationships, but also can be utilized in personal relationships.

What has been your most meaningful experience or lesson learned in knowing how to approach challenging people in a positive way?

No Readers for Your Blog Posts? Here's A New Idea.

Reusing Old Blog Content - Great Article!

We can recycle anything, right?  Then, why can't we recycle and reuse old blog posts that we have allowed to sit and rot in the blogosphere garbage?  

We've all been there.  Spent dozens of hours, days, and weeks staring at the computer screen, typing away, assuring yourself that someone is going to read and love this blog post.  Then why do we feel lucky if one person actually stumbles onto our blog and improves our statistic significance?  

This article goes into detail explains that reusing long lost information is not limited to your blog content.  Listed below are the several places you may have not considered in your quest for creating fresh content.

• Articles you've written for article submission sites, other websites, or print magazines, newspapers etc. 
• Pages and pages of content that you or others wrote for your website
• Videos that you have produced that can be transcribed
• Material that was produced for PR releases
• Brochures about your company or product that you've created for mailers, trade shows, etc.
• Sales talks or presentations that you've recorded or that were already in print form

This same article explains in detail, several ways you can re-vamp information that was once passed over, and turn it into something with more vivacity to draw new readers to your website.  Randy Kirk writes, "Grab that great content and do whatever rewrite you need to do to turn it into great contect again.  Then you might want to use it once, or even multiple times in these nine ways."

• Blog it.
• Use it on your website.
• Online PR release
• Set up a new blog on a specialized aspect of your business.
• Do a YouTube video about the content.
• Send it out as part of an email blast (newsletter).
• Article submission is dead, but rewrite it and submit to Ezinearticles.com.
• Shop the article as a possible guest post on an industry blog.
• Be sure to tell the world about any of these efforts through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and any other social media or social bookmarking sites.

As marketing business people, we do our best to stay ahead of the ever-changing, worldwide marketing game. And while trying to keep up with the internet related aspects of business, on top of the other top priority issues we face on a daily basis, it's easy to believe we have missed the opportunity we didn't realize was even in front of us.  The good news is: this is one simple way to stay ahead of the game, as it only requires you to creatively re-create.

Hoping you find this article helpful to whatever business ventures you are currently endeavoring.

Best Biking City in US Lacking High Quality Safety Lights

Bike Safety Lights Recognized As Necessity For Cycling Safety

There are several factors that cyclists consider as either helpful or detrimental to their cycling experience within a community.  While it seems that many cities are making more efforts to improve safety and road conditions specifically with cyclists in mind, this cycling blog based in Texas provides a list of categories that every cyclist should look for in a bike-friendly city, including:

• Protected bike lanes on bridges
• Free tune-up stations
• Car-free hours in parks
• Elevated bike paths
• Striped bike lanes
• Bike boxes at intersections
• Bicycle commuter stations
• Bike-share programs
• Bike-themed festivals
• Elementary school bicycle-trains
• Cyclist-friendly cafés
• Bicycle parking
• Bike racks on buses
• Closed-street cycling events

In 2012, Portland was named the “most bike-friendly city” in America, and was given “platinum” status by the League of American Bicyclists.  This popular city is well-known not only for its outstanding support of cyclists, but also for consistently looking for ways to make improvements to enhance the cycling experience.  

Even though Portland may have proven itself to be bicycle-friendly, it failed to rank high enough in the safety realm with regard to the use of bicycle safety lights.  To test this point, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance put together a “Bicycle Lights Use Survey” with volunteers at 33 different spots around Portland, with the sole purpose of counting the number of cyclists who were utilizing safety lights. 

The results of the survey showed that while 9 in 10 cyclists had front lights, only 1 in 9 were sufficient for safety.   The BTA is working to bring a greater awareness of the need to use bike lights that are safe and efficient.  They are even asking cyclists to carry extra lights to pass along to friends and family who never use any kind of safety light.

The problem lies with a lack of safety information being provided to thousands of cyclists.  There are countless organizations you can partner with in order to create a more bike-friendly environment through enhanced safety precautions.  Health care organizations, children’s museums, school clubs, police departments, universities, and bicycle coalition groups are just a few.

BikeNSafetyPromos provides only the highest quality of bike safety promotional items.  Let us know how we can partner with you in this venture!

{Book #5} Required Entrepreneur Reading: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Can Your Thoughts About Yourself Actually Influence Your Business Success?

As entrepreneurs, we are constantly on the lookout, not only to find ways to enhance our business purposes, products, and practices, but we are also willing to look deeper into ourselves to understand what drives us in all aspects of life.  What is it inside of each person that makes them believe they can achieve whatever they put their mind to?  On the other side of the coin, what is it that makes us believe we absolutely don't have what it takes to achieve x, y, or z?  

Ironically, we are so good at analyzing others' hang-ups and downfalls.  We nominate ourselves as "Chief Analyzer" and we say, "If Suzy would just realize her talent and focus less on her downfalls, she would be so successful at ________."  

However, many of us don't want to take the time or simply just lack the interest to explore the psychology of what makes a business person successful.  But what if exploring this avenue turns out to be the eye-opening-factor that changes a person's business approach, and ultimately their entire life course for the better?    

{Book #5}: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Author Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon, who performed corrective surgeries for people who were dissatisfied with what they deemed as "defects" in their appearance.  What surprised him the most were the different responses of these patients, after having the surgery.  For some, their lives changed dramatically for the positive, as their self-confidence blossomed and they were able to connect with others socially as a result of not feeling self-conscious about their perceived defect.  For other patients, while their outward appearance had become what they always wanted, they reported not feeling any differently about themselves and their life situation.  

Maltz wanted to help his patients to find the root of satisfaction in life.  He writes, "Our self-image and our habits go together [because we formed our habits to fit our image of ourselves].  Change one and you will automatically change the other."  He specifically addresses how our self-perceptions shape and form our actions, and even our ability to pursue the goals we truly desire to achieve.  

What have you learned and changed about yourself, that has enhanced your ability to think and act in more positive (and ultimately  more successful) ways? 

The Perfect LinkedIn Profile - What You Need To Know

You obviously heard all the buzz about why you must join LinkedIn, and how everyone who's everyone is on LinkedIn, and you would be left behind unless you jumped on the bandwagon yesterday!  So, you decided to create a LinkedIn account, and thought your business would grow by leaps and bounds.  You might have even decided to join a few groups, hoping to connect with your future-biggest-client, and yet, nothing has really happened.  Is it all hype or is LinkedIn really able to benefit your business?

Melonie Dodaro of Top Dog Social Media is a social media expert who produces excellent material with regard to how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, along with other invaluable tips for increasing your visibility on this social media venue.  Her ideas are practical, easy to implement, and greatly beneficial to you as a business person looking to utilize social media to expand your potential client base. 

You will want to read the full article she recently posted on her website, entitled "21 Steps to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile."  While the steps are briefly listed below, you will want to read the entire post for the detailed information that will dramatically enhance your LinkedIn experience.  My hope is that you will find it as helpful as I have.

1. Photo Should Always Be Professional.
2. Your Name Should ONLY Contain Your Name.
3. Your Headline Should Be Catchy & Have Keywords You Want To Be Found For
4. Connect With At Least 501 People
5. Provide All Necessary Contact Info
6. Customize Your Website Names
7. Customize Your Profile URL
8. Update Your Status Daily
9. Keyword Load Your Summary & Profile
10. Write In First Person
11. Speak Directly To Your Target Market
12. Add Video To Your LinkedIn Profile
13. Tell Them To Click Play!
14. Skills & Expertise Should Be Filled With Keywords
15. Use the "Projects" Section To Promote Products
16. Keyword Load Your Current & Past Work History
17. Use Keywords When Filling Out Your Experience Section
18. Have At Least 10 Recommendations
19. Add Volunteer Experience
20. Fill "Honors & Awards" With Significant Media Attention
21. Join 50 Groups

Ms. Dodaro provides a wealth of experience and knowledge in the area of social media.  Working in the promotional products marketing arena has enough challenges of its own; adding social media as an additional area of business to build and maintain can be overwhelming, but following her tips has been both eye opening and motivating.

LED Safety Lights Praised For Ease, Safety, and Cost Effectiveness

Bike Safety Lights - Not Just For Night Riding

It is often assumed that bike lights are only needed for evening rides.  The San Francisco Chronicle recently published an article entitled, “Lights and reflectors are key to safety.”  Writer Renee Rivera explains that Bay area cyclists frequently use lights not only for night riding, but also during low visibility weather conditions, such as rain or fog.  These conditions are not unique to San Francisco.  

Cyclists are only increasing their level of safety by always being prepared with lights at all times.  Rivera praises the ease and cost effectiveness of using bike safety lights.

Over the past few years, bike lights have become increasingly brighter, lighter and less expensive so even if you already have an older light an upgrade might be a good idea. Lights that are either rechargeable by USB or use AA or AAA batteries are a great idea for city riding because they are usually simple to remove and take with you when you lock up your bike, thus avoiding theft. With a USB light, you will never have to worry about buying batteries, and with a replaceable battery light, you can at least run to the store for extras if you run out of juice. It is also a good idea to carry an extra light set so you can still get home safely if one beacon goes out.

However, cycling is not the only activity affected by weather conditions. There are numerous professions which require employees to work outside in both rainy and foggy conditions, such as construction workers and mail carriers.  

And let's not forget all the faithful pet owners whose pets need that daily walk! Not only that, but there are many athletes who still get their daily run in regardless of the weather. What do these people from all walks of life have in common? The need to be seen. Their safety is dependent upon whether or not they are visible in such conditions that often cause poor visibility.

BikeNSafetyPromos provides a vast array of high quality LED bike tail lights, mini-lights, head lights, and so much more.

{Book #4} Required Entrepreneur Reading: Greatest Salesman in the World

What Do Habits and Thought Patterns Have To Do With Business Success Anyway?

Jim Rohn, motivational author and speaker, said it best.  "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."  What does this mean for the business person?  

Each person is pursuing something in life, but the differentiating factor is this:  Are you pursuing a particular goal, a certain dream and that is the basis of your daily decisions?  Or do you keep your goals and dreams in your back pocket, while you aimlessly pursue those things in life that are distracting you from what you really desire out of life?  If asked directly, most people don't have their life goals written out, in order to intertwine them with how they live out their life each day.  

Which leads to the next point of self-education.  Once you have made the decision to put your lifelong achievement goals onto paper, then you must commit yourself to taking all necessary steps to get there. With perfection in mind?  Hardly.  The reality is that you are more likely to achieve what you desire when it is at the forefront of your mind and decision making process.  

Thus, one of the best ways to fill our minds with thoughts that strengthen our resolve to continue in our endeavors and to think outside of the box is through books.  Which is why this blog series is so important: every person from every walk of life has been influenced in one way or another by a book.   

In our current exploration of the most influential books for everyday entrepreneurs, we are moving steadily down the list.

{Book #4}: Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino

If you're looking for a book that will tell you how to make a lot of money by following 10 simple steps,  then this is probably not the book for you.  Written over four decades ago, Og Mandino's book has sold more than 3 million copies.  What is it that has drawn millions to read it?  Put very simply, Mandino wrote this to inspire you to train yourself to motivate and guide your life down the path you desire.  It will challenge you to look at how you think, the habits you are employing, and simple ways to assess the path you are taking.  It is a small, easy book to read.  Be prepared that while you will be able to apply the principles to your business life, this is a book that will explore the more complex issues that make you a unique individual.  

There have been mixed reviews on this book - have you ever read it?  What are your thoughts?