The Coaches’ Blog Book — use a blog to market your coaching practice
If you want to attract new clients, provide value to your current clients, and build new business relationships, blogging is a
great tool to use. Using a blog as part of your marketing strategy isn’t necessarily straight-forward, however, so it’s good to have a helping hand on your blogging journey. To make it easy for every coach to learn how to use a blog as a marketing and communications tool, I’ve written The Coaches’ Blog Book: The 8 Building Blocks for Blogging Success.
Written in non-technical language that’s easy to understand, you’ll discover how you can use a blog to:
- Reach more potential clients
- Share your knowledge and wisdom
- Create greater cash flow
- Promote your products and services
The Coaches’ Blog Book is a workbook that you use to find the right answers for your practice (it’s not a cookie cutter process). View a PDF preview of the book or visit my publisher to purchase your own copy today.
Related posts which may interest you
Blog statistics for business — What to monitor and why
If you’re blogging for business, monitoring and analyzing your blog stats must become part of your blogging routine. Personally I use three primary tools to measure the effectiveness of my blog. I monitor my blog traffic with Google Analytics, review the least utilized, most promising keywords with HitTail, and use FeedBurner Pro to analyze my blog’s feed.
Why blog statistics are important for business bloggers
There are numerous reasons that one of your regular blog-related activities should be reviewing your blog statistics. Here are four of the most important.
- Your blog statistics keep you focused. Unlike personal blogging, knowing your blogging goals and whether or not you’re reaching them is vital to your success. Looking at your statistics, you will know if you have achieved your goals, are making progress, or are off-track.
- Blog statistics help you plan effectively. By knowing how people are coming to your site, what they’re reading, and what actions they’re taking, you can make more thoughtful choices about such things as where to advertise, with whom you want to collaborate or exchange links, and which posts to highlight.
- Statistics can help you earn money (and save it too). By knowing your number of visitors and feed subscribers, you can ask to be compensated fairly for advertising you run on your site or feed. If you know you’re already drawing a lot of traffic from search engines for certain keywords then you can skip or eliminate the pay-per-click advertising.
- Blog stats can wake you up. Whether you’ve underestimated the value of your blog or have gotten complacent about adding value, knowing your statistics will give you a snapshot of reality.
Which blog statistics matter most?
As with almost any blog-related discussion, my answer to this question is “It depends.” Here are a few pieces of advice I can offer.
- Your blogging goals should determine which statistics you track/monitor. For example, if one of your goals is to turn one-time visitors into regular readers, you’ll want to look at your “% new visits” statistics in Google Analytics or your “subscribers” totals in FeedBurner.
- You might monitor the same stats all the time or you might analyze certain stats only for specific purposes. For instance, when I was preparing for a redesign of MyBlogCoach, I looked at what Google Analytics could tell me about what browser use and screen resolutions were most common among my visitors. I then optimized my site for those people, knowing that they made up the majority of my traffic.
- Make certain that you use whatever statistics you track. Though plugins and simple javascript can make tracking statistics a simple process, if you’re not going to use the stats don’t waste your time setting them up. Make the process as simple as possible even if that means you track only one thing. Just track and analyze it consistently.
“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts - for support rather than for illumination.”
~ Andrew Lang
Want to learn WordPress and create your own business blog the easy, cost-effective way? Check out the sizzling summer special of my Simple, Successful Blogging Audio Course. Just $47 for 12-hours of audio lessons and PDF workbook. Buy your copy today!
Related posts which may interest you
Blogs work for every business, including yours
A blog is a great choice for any business wanting to have a web presence. In fact, I recommend that businesses think blog before traditional website for one main reason: blogs outperform traditional sites because they deliver on things that matter to most business owners–being economical, effective at delivering results, flexible to the organization’s needs, and easy to work with and maintain. Plus, blogs offer all the benefits of a traditional website so there’s no “downside” to using a blog system. Here are four ways that blogs work better for business than traditional websites.
- Blogs are easy to use and maintain because they don’t require special technical skills and you can blog from any internet accessible computer or even via email.
- Blogs are a cost-effective way to put your business online since the “system” is already created and all you need to do is customize the design, layout, and additional features.
- Blogs give your business increased visibility over traditional websites because of the way the blogging system works with search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
- Blogs enable you to build relationships with potential customers/clients and help you maintain relationships with the customers/clients you already have.
“If your customers are looking for products that you make, or services that you provide, you want to be the first thing to show up in the search results. And if you want search engines to consider your site to be the most relevant result to your industry, blogging is the best way to accomplish it.”
~ Teresa Valdez Klein
The four points I listed above can apply to all companies. To take full advantage of the capabilities of a blog system, however, means that an organization will have to go beyond thinking of their web presence as a static online brochure that they only change on an annual basis. So, while any business can use a blog in place of a traditional website, it requires a certain type of person and company to reap the full that blogging offers.
What you and your business must have to enjoy the full benefits of blogging
- Message – You must have something to say that others (your customers) want to hear. Drawing people to your blog (or your feed) on a repeated basis means you need to provide them with something that they value.
- Writing – You must be able to communicate in an articulate and compelling way via writing (or have an editor to make your own writing clear and cogent). Additionally, I say you must enjoy writing (or providing whatever form of content you choose), because if you don’t, you will reach a point where you’ll stop doing it and then you’re back to a plain ol’ static site.
- Computer savvy – You must be comfortable with technology because blogging is a tech-baby through and through. Remember, you can have experts help you set up your blog and fix problems you encounter. Being willing to both experiment and learn, however, will help make you a more proficient, effective blogger and your confidence will help make the whole process a lot more fun.
- Time – You must be willing to devote time to blogging, otherwise you’ll have that boring static site. You don’t need to make it your full-time profession or even do it daily to be effective. Just know that to reap the benefits of blogging you’ll need to commit time to the process.
- Passion – You must find a way to enjoy blogging otherwise you’ll run three risks. You’ll be spending time doing something that you don’t enjoy. You’ll add stress to your life because you think that you “should” blog. You’ll produce boring content because your heart’s not in it.
Wondering if your business is blog-worthy? Tell me about your company (Via my contact page or in the comments area below) and I’ll tell you how blogging could work for you.
Related posts which may interest you
What are the best plugins for your blog?
Answer: It depends. Yes, that’s my initial response to many questions about blogging, but it’s not because I’m attempting to be coy or evasive. It’s my answer because it’s true. The best plugins (added features for your blog) will vary from blog to blog depending on the purpose of the blog, the goals of the blogger, and the other tools they have at their disposal.
Plugins I recommend for business bloggers
- FeedBurner FeedSmith (formerly Feed Replacement) — FeedBurner (FB) has many free features that you’ll want to take advantage of. Some of these tools are even used outside your blog. For instance, in my email signature I use FB to show rotating headlines from my latest blog posts. I also send blog posts via email thanks to FB.
- Subscribe to Comments — Allows site visitors to subscribe to comments to a post (Handy for when folks post a question and want to know when you’ve posted an answer.)
- Angusman’s Feed Copyrighter — Places a message at the end of your feed saying your content is copyrighted. Most of my readers are feed readers (versus those of you reading this on my blog itself), so it’s important to me to have certain plugins that work specifically with my feed.
- WordPress Database Backup — Keeps your data safe. Also allows for your backups to be done automatically at regular intervals so it becomes one less task on your “to do” list.
- Subscribe Remind — At the beginning or end of each post, this plugin adds text that reminds your readers that they can subscribe to your blog’s feed. Helps with retention of first time visitors/readers.
- Secure and Accessible PHP Contact Form — Allows people to contact you without leaving you vulnerable to spam floods. There are several colors/styles of forms to choose from so you’ll likely find something that complements your theme.
- Contextual Related Posts — Shows “related posts” to highlight relevant content for your readers. Helps them discover previous posts without searching through your archives.
- No Self Pings — When you reference your own posts, you don’t ping yourself (basically showing your excerpt as a trackback).
- LinkLove — “Thank” your regular commenters with this plugin that removes the “nofollow” attribute allowing search engine spiders to follow the link they leave when the comment. I like this plugin because you can specify how many comments earn someone the designation as a “regular commenter.”
- Viper’s Video Quicktags — If you use video on your site, this plugin makes it easy to add the links as you’re composing your post.
Other’s “plug” their top blog plugins
- David Airey shares his Top 5 essential WordPress Plugins, reminding us of why we use plugins in the first place, to “improve user-friendliness and functionality.”
- Lorelle VanFossen offers an extensive list of plugins for images, photographs, and graphics. Chances are if an image-related plugin exists, it’s on this page.
- Arpit Jacob offers up a list of plugins, most of which focus on back-end issues so they’re helpful to the blogger. I look forward to checking out WP Plugins Tracker and WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin.
- Vlad Akilov posted a thorough list of WordPress Plugins that run the gamut from fun to functional.
You’re welcome to vote for your favorite plugin or share one that’s not listed here. Of course you could also have a little fun and add a comment about the plugin you’ve been dreaming of (some developer may just come along and create it for you). 
Related posts which may interest you
Save time when you blog with these free resources
“By labor we can find food and water, but all of our labor will not find for us another hour.”~ Kenneth Patton
Whether you’re blogging for your business or for your hobby, it’s important essential to use your time efficiently. I learned some awesome time saving blogging techniques and tools at the BlogHer07 conference held in Chicago at the end of July. Barb Dybwad (who blogs at Weblogs, Inc. at AOL, Joystiq, geeked., and Engadget) and Gina Trapani (who blogs at Lifehacker) shared these efficiency ideas. Now it’s time to pass on some of their pearls of productivity wisdom and time-saving links.
Tools that save you time when blogging
- Type your blog posts faster with these tools — TextExpander and Texter (easy text expansion for common blogging markup, like href’s and blockquotes); AutoCopy for Firefox (never Ctrl+C again!); and CoLT Firefox extension (copy entire formatted links with text AND HTML). If you don’t use FireFox, get it now.
- Transfer files to/from your site without opening new software by using FireFTP in-Firefox.
- Add a multi- “bookmark this” icon to your site’s front page or to every post using AddThis.
- Easily submit and promote your posts to about 20 social bookmarking sites with Onlywire.
- Get every other time-saving tool, tip, and trick that Barb and Gina shared (and a few, fun time-wasting ones too
).
Other resources for using your blogging time effectively
- “Just remember: you don’t HAVE TO do anything,” says Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Workweek. Read Darren Rowse’s interview of Tim where time-saving tips are liberally offered.
- Anne-Marie Nichols, of The Write Spot live blogged Barb and Gina’s session at BlogHer. Get the links they shared as well as Anne-Marie’s notes.
- Learn 6 time saving tips for interacting with your readers from Patric-Herber.
What tools save you time when you blog? What tool would you like to find?
Related posts which may interest you
Plan to develop a successful blog
No one would plan to develop a failed blog. As the saying goes, however, many fail to plan. So, if you want to create a successful blog, plan you must.
“The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.”
~ Sarah Brown
Crucial steps in planning for your successful blog
- Define what you mean by “success.” Though some factors will be constant, a blogger who wants to earn money directly from blogging will employ a different strategy and style than a blogger whose primary aim is to develop enough material to write a book. Know your goal(s) before you begin the blogging journey or you’ll end up meandering and clueless.
- Learn what’s required of you. Many people, lured by the promised riches and rewards of blogging, jump in without any idea of what skills, habits, and traits will be needed to attain the benefits. Check out my five essential skills for blogging success and see what talents your already possess and which skills you might need to sharpen. If none of the skills needed for blogging interest you, better to change course now than after you’ve invested lots of time, energy, and money.
- Determine if you’ll “do what it takes.” In my introductory blogging teleclasses I have many people who want to know how to blog successfully without reading others’ blogs and without spending much time on their own blog. My answer: “You can’t.” You can build a readership, promote your business, and champion your cause without blogging becoming a full-time profession. Yet generally speaking, the more time–effectively spent, of course–and energy you put into blogging, the greater rewards you’ll receive back.
- Commit yourself. Once you’ve made it this far, it’s time to launch yourself fully into your blogging adventure. I don’t encourage you to give up relationships, hobbies, or other important parts of your life. However, you do need to make a clear commitment to blogging, by doing things such as allotting a specific amount of time to the practice, gathering the resources you’ll need, and beginning new habits to foster your success.
- Invest in your success. If you’re doing any kind of professional or business blog, invest your money as well as your time. You need not spend much, yet using Blogger or LiveJournal or picking a standard, non-branded template/theme are choices suited only to personal blogs and should therefore be avoided. Useful ways to invest include: buying your own domain name; having a blog theme customized to reflect your business brand; getting professional portraits made; securing reliable web hosting; consulting with a blog coach; purchasing (and reading) a few blogging books (three I recommend are: Visual Quickstart Guide: WordPress 2 by Maria Langer and Miraz Jordan; Blogging Tips by Lorelle VanFossen; and Publish and Prosper: Blogging for Your Business by DL Byron and Steve Broback.
With these five steps meticulously followed can I guarantee blogging success? I could, but I won’t because there are many “x factors” that influence the outcome. However, I can assure you than if you take the time to develop a plan for blogging success, you will be more much more much, much more likely to achieve success than if you fail to plan. If you decide not to take my advice, however, listen to this.
“Success is blocked by concentrating on it and planning for it. . . . Success is shy - it won’t come out while you’re watching.”
~ Tennessee Williams
So what route will you travel to success? (A) Have a plan. Or (B) Plans, who needs ‘em.
If you’re already successful, what sage counsel do you have to offer?
Related posts which may interest you
Building trust with your business blog
“Big idea: People want to know that you are real. That you are decent, kind and trustworthy. They want to feel you and sense you and look into your eyes to see what you are made of. They want to know your passion for whatever it is you stand for. And when they sense that you are the real deal, they will open up to you. When they see that you have their best interests in mind, they will trust you–and keep your best interests in mind. Once they get that you are good, they’ll be good to you. And your career (along with your life) will get to a place called world class based on those trust connections.”~ Robin Sharma
One essential ingredient for everyone seeking to build their business via a blog is trust. It’s not just for some businesses or some bloggers, it’s for everyone.
Ways to use your blog to build trust with your customers/clients
- Tell the truth. Though it may not always be easy or pretty, it’s the backbone of trust. If you’re not being honest and up front, it will have a negative impact on your business (and your psyche, health, relationships, etc.). Many times we lie out of habit or because we think the truth is either (a) “not good enough” (i.e., the truth isn’t impressive or compelling enough) or (b) not something others want to hear. Start telling the truth (begin with telling yourself the truth) and notice how much easier things actually become (no more stories to remember or stress to feel worrying that you’ll be “found out”). Blog specifics–If you quote from someone else’s content, give attribution and a link. If another person’s idea inspired your post, your blog design, etc., give them credit. If your credentials are XYZ, say so.
- Be authentically you. Not everyone will like you or want to do business with you, yet when you show up–in your office, on your blog, at a networking event–as yourself, people will at least know who they’re considering doing business with. Plus, as one of my favorite quotes (from Fanny Brice) reminds us, “Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be—because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose and then where are you?” Blog specifics–If you’re quirky, let your blog reflect that part of you. If humor is important to you, make sure your funny bone shows up in your posts from time to time. If you care about a cause, feel free to advertise it in your sidebar, your “about” page, or somewhere else your blog readers can find it.
- Respond rather than react. The blogosphere (and any virtual environment) can be particularly prone to ranting about people, things, and issues. My personal opinion is that such vitriol or bitchiness turns most people off and is never good for business. Blog specifics–When you find that you’ve got your knickers in a knot about something, go ahead and write a blog post, venting your anger and shock, and tell the world what they should do to seek justice. Then, instead of hitting the “publish” button, calmly click “save” so you’ll be able to review what you’ve written at another time to see if it’s really something you want your name and business attached to for eternity.
- Ask questions. Just as airplanes can fly on autopilot, humans can operate on assumptions. Though autopilot may work well for aircraft and pilots, I’ve found that assumptions can be the cause of many relationship snafus. Get good at asking questions of those whom you serve. Go straight to the source and seek input from them instead of relying on a third party to do your research for you. Blog specifics–Respond to actual questions from your customers. Ask your blog readers what matters to them, what they want to learn, or what value they’d like to receive from you. Though you can, and likely will, use third party information on occasion, I encourage you to make a habit of getting as close as you can to the source of the information.
If you have advice on how to build trust on a blog, please drop a line in the comments section or send me a message via my contact form. Also feel free to send in your best case blog scenarios to showcase your success or ask a question if you’d like some specific advice.
Related posts which may interest you
How to make WordPress blogging a breeze
Geoff wrote about his “Top 5 Favourite WordPress Blogging Tools” as part of ProBlogger’s Group Writing Project. I agree with his picks of Akismet, FeedBurner, and Google Analytics. Great tools for spam protection, promoting your blog (and more) and tracking you blog traffic.
One more tool I highly recommend is the “WordPress Bookmarklet” (available near the bottom of the new post page). It is a great tool. Once you install it, here’s how it works. As you’re browsing the web and find a blog post or article you want to share with your readers, you simply click the Bookmarklet “favorite” button. WordPress then creates a draft post with a link to the article you were viewing. You can easily write the rest of your post and save or publish as you choose. The Bookmarklet is a great time-saving tool, so if you’d like more time for blogging and everything else you enjoy, get the WordPress Bookmarklet installed today!
