The EXACT Tools You Need to Run Your Social Media Like a Pro

May 22, 2017 by Ciera Holzenthal 3 Comments

I am always looking for better and more effective ways to run my business. I’m asked about what tools I use all the time and I realized it’s been two years since I last wrote a post about my preferred methods for social media scheduling. There are lots of new companies in the market and I actually use a whole new set of tools since I shared last, so I thought I’d save you some of the trial and error and give you the rundown on the best-of-the-best in my opinion.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All of these products are things I use and recommend!

Here are the tools I use to run my social media like a pro:

SmarterQueue

for Twitter and Facebook

This tool is a game changer for so many reasons. It can be very frustrating to spend time scheduling out tweets over and over again, especially with the risk of them never being seen. SmarterQueues recycling post feature totally sold me on this service. You never run out of posts – schedule them once and they loop forever! SmarterQueue also has categorized content calendars to keep you organized and analytics so you can learn what’s working and what’s not. I think I’m going to write a whole post dedicated to SmarterQueue because it just has SO much to offer!

Pricing starts at $16.99 a month (on the annual plan) – get an extended free trial by clicking here.

Learn more about SmarterQueue

Alternates: RecurPost | SocialJukebox

Tailwind

for Pinterest

Tailwind has many of the same features as SmarterQueue, but for Pinterest. It does not automatically loop your content for you, but their browser plugins make pinning incredibly easy.

The smart-scheduling option takes the guesswork out of choosing the best times to pin plus you get access to great analytical insights, can connect your Google analytics, batch pin and interval pin.

Pricing starts at $9.99 a month – get a free month of the Tailwind PLUS plan by clicking here.

Learn more about Tailwind

Later

for Instagram

I’ve been using Later (Formerly Latergramme) for two years and it just keeps getting better. A few of my favorites features are the drag and drop calendar interface, grid preview, saved captions (great for hashtags that you use over and over again), hashtag suggestions and the search and repost feature.

There is a free forever plan which is limited to 30 posts, get 10 extra posts by clicking here.

Learn more about Later

Alternates: Plann | Planoly | Preview

Do you have any favorite tools that we missed here?

Creating a Clear Brand Message for Your Business

May 2, 2017 by Ciera Holzenthal 1 Comment

Are you driven and completely passionate about your business but still struggling to achieve the success you think it deserves? This can be incredibly frustrating and perplexing when you’ve put in so much hard work. It may be a hard reality but, a business needs to be so much more than the “business” it conducts, it needs a clear brand message. It is the customers who count, at the end of the day, and in an ever-competitive marketplace, many companies can’t survive simply by offering a brilliant product or service.

The truth is that customers have an ever-increasing sea of options presented to them, and dozens of other businesses within your very industry are likely offering the same or similar services to you. That’s why you need to be standing out to your target market in new and exciting ways, and the brand you present through clever marketing and reputation-building is absolutely essential. If you’re wondering how to create a clear brand for your business, then here are some top tips.

Promote a clear brand message.

People like companies who stand for something more important than the profit they hope to make. Your business needs to not only have objectives within its organization to keep on track but also an objective, a mission or a message that it projects to the outside world. You need to be representing the important values at the heart of your organization to demonstrate what an important business you’ve created. Perhaps you’re striving to be the most economically friendly business in the industry, or perhaps you’re striving to help certain charities or solve certain problems affecting local communities.

Creating an online presence.

Any business without an online presence is going to struggle to make an impact on their target market. You need to be promoting your brand through social media, but also using Twitter and other profiles to build up a network and create a personal connection with customers; sharing humorous and lighthearted things will draw in potential customers by portraying a personal and non-corporate image.

Getting found.

SEO (search engine optimization) is also at the heart of your brand’s online identity. However, optimizing your website so that it ranks highly on Google and Bing result pages depends on more than using keywords that match the terms for which people search, as every other business is doing that. The ranking game is competitive. Showing up at the top of the list depends on a website with fast loading times, which could be achieved through good providers, such as iPage hosting, but it also depends on having a responsive layout to all devices, whether that means a mobile or a laptop user. Essentially, Google and other search engines rank websites depending on their ability to meet the customer’s needs. Your website needs to impress customers, as that’s what impresses Google enough to rank it more highly.

Ensure the brand is genuine.

Customers can see through a fake brand, so it’s important that your business holds true to its values. If you’re going to say the brand is eco-friendly then you need to be cutting down on waste across the entire organization. If you’re going to say that you believe in exceptional customer service then your employees need to be exceptional. When you deliver big promises, your company needs to follow through.

Why you need a backup system for your computer now!

July 13, 2016 by Ciera Holzenthal Leave a Comment

This is a friendly reminder to BACK. UP. EVERYTHING. Create a computer backup system now!

Set up a computer backup system now! Click through to see my favorite tool!

I bet you put off setting up systems and processes for your own business. I know I do. You say you’ll set up a process for backing up your files until you have some free time and it never gets done. Nobody thinks it will happen to them but, sooner or later, your computer WILL crash. So just do it now, stop what you are doing and initiate up a back up system.

A few months ago, I was working at my computer as I do on a daily basis and all of a sudden my screen went black. I brought it right into my local Apple store and told them what was going on. They did some tests and decided it could be repaired. They reassured me that the content would likely be untouched and that my computer would be returned with everything still set up and all files in their place.

When I received my computer back a week later, it was in perfect working order, but all of my files were gone! Client files, applications, business files, photographs, music, everything gone. I was pretty sure I had a backup, but I wasn’t sure how current it would be. The panic set in. I logged in to to my backup system prepared for the worse and as it turned out, thanks to a process I set up years ago, I didn’t loose a thing! Y’all, I was so proud of myself.

I am sooooo thankful for the systems I had in place, otherwise I’d be totally screwed. My lifesaver? It’s called Backblaze.

How To Prevent Major Losses and Create a Computer Backup System

In the past I used Time Machine, but it just didn’t feel like enough. An external hard drive needs to be connected for it to work, so if you forget, or are traveling, you are not going to have current files. Also, a drive that is in the same location as your computer is not protected against theft, fire or natural disasters.

As someone who creates something new every single day on my computer, that was not really an option. I’m not willing to lose personal photos and memories and I can NOT lose client files.

You have to set up a system and it has to be SIMPLE or it will never get done. So do this NOW. For me Backblaze is the answer. I set it up and don’t have to think about it again. It will automatically backup all your files including documents, photos, music and movies. Another perk is that it’s one affordable price for unlimited files! When needed, you can then download a few files at a time OR they can mail you a drive (which I opted for since I needed my entire computer restored).

What process do you use for backing up your files?

P.S. Use any link in this post to get a month of Backblaze for free. This post in not sponsored by Backblaze, I truly LOVE this company. If you sign up using my links, I will also receive a free month.

How To Stay Productive When Working From Home

April 8, 2016 by Ciera Holzenthal 8 Comments

This post about how to stay productive when working from home has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. The content and opinions expressed here are mine alone. #LALAOnTheGo #CollectiveBias

Working for yourself can be a difficult job – you must have a lot of self-control and focus. I’ve been working from home for six years now and these are a few tips that I find crucial. I hope these will help you to stay on track while being your own boss.

How To Stay Productive When Working From Home:

1. Find Your Ideal Work Time

There are tons of articles out there that say to be successful you have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I highly disagree with that. One of the perks of working from home is that you can set your own schedule. Mornings are NOT my most productive time so I accept that and ease into the day. I make coffee and breakfast, check some emails and then usually take our dog to the park – I need to wear her out so I can get right to work in the afternoon. It’s okay to allow yourself a flexible schedule.

Figure out what time of the day you are most productive and reserve those hours to get your work done. Maybe you’re trying to work around your kids’ schedules or you might like to take afternoons off. Decide what time you do your best thinking and work during those hours.

When you work from home, you need to find a happy medium – one of the best things about working for yourself is the freedom you have to come and go as you please, but you need to have the self-control to get your work done. And on the other end, making sure to take time for yourself and not working around the clock!

2. Create an Inspiring Workspace

Having a creative space set aside for you to work is another important aspect in order to stay productive when working from home. Being able to go to your ‘office’ each morning and being inspired by your surroundings will help keep you focused on your work and away from distractions. Having your own workspace helps keep your work organized, and it will make it easier for you to distinguish work life from home life. You can see my workspace here. Even if you spend part of your day working from other areas of your house (like your bed!), it’s nice to have a space dedicated just to work.

My favorite way to update a space is by adding a few inspiring quotes to the walls. It’s so simple and it’s easy to update. To help you get your inspiring space started, I created this simple “Dream and Hustle” typographic poster for you to download and print!

Click here to download and print yourself!

Click here for me to print and mail it to you!

3. Have Healthy and Easy Snacks On-hand

This is a big one for me. Sometimes I find myself at home in the middle of a project with nothing in the fridge or just a bunch of unhealthy snacks that I’ll gorge on. So I’ve been making it a new priority to have healthy snacks around! Some of my favorites are avocado toast, fresh blended smoothies and rice cakes topped with peanut butter, chia seeds and banana! These are all great for around the house, but when I need to run to a meeting or take the dog to the park, I love having something ready to grab and that’s where LALA^® Yogurt Smoothies come in. They have the convenience of portability, are a great source of calcium and protein, they taste amaziiiing and are made from real fruit!

Since I pretty much despise grocery shopping I like to hit up WalMart and get a huge stock of snacks to keep in the fridge and pantry. You can find the LALA^® Yogurt Smoothies right in the yogurt aisle near the dairy and they actually have a coupon running right – save $1 on any 4-pack or 10-pack when you also purchase any fresh produce item. How cool right?

As hard as it can be at times, owning your own business is one of the most rewarding things you can do in your life, and all the struggle is worth it in the end! What tips do you have on how to stay productive when working from home? Share them in the comments!

Related Posts:

Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you.

The Ultimate Guide for Setting up WordPress Genesis Framework

March 23, 2016 by Ciera Holzenthal Leave a Comment

As you may already know, one of the most flexible, powerful, and smart ways to publish content online is by using WordPress software. And you may also already know that an even smarter way to use WordPress is with a framework… Frameworks are basically feature-packed parent themes. They are used as foundation blocks for custom made child themes that are powered by all the functionalities and features of the core theme/framework.

What good is a theme framework?

When you are on a time crunch but refuse to compromise with your theme’s code quality, that’s when you need a framework. So when you’re developing WordPress themes with a framework, almost half of your work is already done, and you have neatly arranged tools to help with the rest of front-end design.

Here’s what Studiopress has to say about frameworks: A theme framework (ours is called Genesis) is a robust WordPress theme that acts as a platform on which your WordPress website can be created. The Genesis Framework integrates all of the SEO, security, and performance features needed to help you have the best site possible. You can build your site on the Genesis Framework using the included sample child theme (it’s easy, flexible, and powerful enough for that), or you can purchase one of our many beautiful turnkey child theme designs to help you accomplish exactly what you want. It also “future-proofs” your site customizations, so there’s no hassle when it comes time to upgrade your software with one click. A child theme is the pure design element that rests on top of the framework — the cherry red paint job on that car. Or blue. Or black. Pink. Green. You get the idea. StudioPress has a great analogy based on automobiles to explain how frameworks work:

Why you’ll like the Genesis Framework:

Genesis by StudioPress is by far one of the most popular theme frameworks for WordPress. It’s perfect for WordPress developers of all levels of expertise. The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you’re a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

Lightweight

Genesis isn’t like other commercial themes; filled to the brim with features and options you aren’t likely to choose. It has clean code and necessary features which make it lightweight and quick-loading. This gives you an automatic advantage in SEO through better performance.

Affordable

There is a $59.95 one-time purchase fee that includes the framework, unlimited updates, support and access to detailed tutorials. They also have a Pro Plus All-Theme Package which includes instant and unlimited access to every theme currently available in the StudioPress theme shop (plus support and updates). Get every theme they make, now and in the future, for ONLY $499.95 That’s a savings of almost $1200!

HTML5 Ready

HTML5 is the latest markup standard across the web: Website’s built on HTML5 are responsive, cross-browser compatible, easily extendable (3rd party tools and services integrate better with a markup that’s universally accepted), and effectively future proof.

Infinite Customizations

You don’t have to buy themes from StudioPress when it’s super easy to create a WordPress child theme yourself. But you have the option available; there are hundreds of gorgeous ready-made child themes available for Genesis framework. You are limited only by your scope of knowledge in CSS, but the customization possibilities with child themes are still immense. And if you are a site-owner who cannot find the right child theme, you can hire developers from StudioPress to create one for your specifications.
The framework lets you widgetize almost every part of your theme. It also comes with some very interesting widgets built in like User Profiles, Featured Posts, Featured Page, social media icons, etc, all easily available within frameworks or through plugins.
Genesis lets you break the default layout confines and gives you half a dozen built in post/page layouts to implement on different pages as you see fit. This inventory of layouts can be extended through David Decker’ Genesis Layout Extras plugin.

Dedicated Plugins

The free plugins built especially with Genesis in mind really make it even easier to work with. They are all listed here. There is Genesis Simple Hooks for the meticulous developer, Genesis Sidebars, Sliders, Tabs, Menus and more for super-easy addition of interactive elements. Genesis Connect for WooCommerce makes all your Genesis themes WooCommerce compatible in few clicks. Few frameworks can boast of such a huge show of support in the form of dedicated plugins created by awesome developers.

Security

Genesis itself follows WordPress standards all the way through. This makes it impeccably secure. The framework is also audited by core WordPress developer Mark Jaquith, who calls it “top of the class” in following all security practices recommended for WordPress themes, right down to consistent updates (we’ll get to that in a moment).

Schema.org

The Big 3 Search Engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo) are in cohorts with Schema.org. And Genesis’ code works in tune with Schema.org markup. This helps search engines recognize and categorize your content easily: giving you relevance and visibility where it’s due (organic search results).

Community and Resources

There are over, 200,000 live websites powered by Genesis. Those are not the numbers you gain from being useless. Genesis has a huge community of developers, designers, and users who rely upon the framework to create and provide the best in class WordPress websites. They are also generally helpful and can be found helping out others in need on various social media platforms and community forums.

While StudioPress covers a great deal of the framework’s possibilities in their documentation and guides, other users haven’t been far off in creating some amazingly helpful tutorials too.

Configuring Genesis Framework Theme Settings:

These control the general configuration of your theme. Here’s how to set them up for maximum advantage:

Information

This is straightforward. Information screen gives you the details about your current Genesis version and lets you enable automatic updates. Since you’ll be working with Child Themes anyway (your appearance changes won’t be lost) , it’s good practice to check the auto-update box.

Custom Feeds

When you check the boxes and enter your custom feed URLs, your traffic will be directed to the URLs you specify here instead of WordPress-default feeds. These options are only available if you’re using a custom feed via Feedburner or Feedblitz.

Default Layouts

This is where you set the default layout for all pages on your site. This option is also available in WordPress Customizer. Keep in mind that child themes can contain as many of these options as you like, and more with custom coding. You can also add more layouts with Genesis Layout Extras plugin (as mentioned previously). Child themes with a widgetized home-page layout will work autonomously, regardless of this setting.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs let your users keep track of where they are in your site’s navigation and how they got there in the first place. Example: Home >> Products >> Women >> Jackets >> Navy Blue Military Jacket

You can tinker with this setting through Genesis Theme Options or WordPress Customizer. The answer to “Where to enable breadcrumbs” depends entirely on how many pages your site has, content organization and hierarchy, and navigation.

Comments and Trackbacks

This is where you define the global settings for comments and trackbacks. Note that if you disable comments/trackbacks here, you can’t enable them on specific posts/pages.

Content Archives

Here’s a quick overview:

Display: This has two options, Entry Content and Excerpt. The next setting is only applicable if you choose Entry Content. The Excerpt will be shown at WordPress default 55-words length.
Limit Content to: Note that this specifies characters (including spaces) and not words. Again, this setting only applies if you choose to display entry content.
Featured Image: Allows you to display a set featured image or the first image of every post. You can set the dimensions and alignment. Tip: Featured Images shouldn’t be shown if you are displaying entire content.
Entry Pagination: This has two options, Numeric and Previous/Next. You can set archives and listing navigation to one of the two settings. Example, Google search results show up with Numeric pagination.

Blog Page Template

These are configuration settings for any page using “Blog” template. You can display a specific category or all of them. You can exclude categories (by ID only). And you can define the number of posts to show on each page.

Header and Footer Scripts

This is pretty straightforward. In this screen, you can add custom code (JavaScript and PHP) to be loaded with header and footer. A good example is adding Google Universal Analytics tracking code (which is in JavaScript) to the Footer Scripts.

Endnote

It’s just as easy to work with as it was to set up. More than a few of these settings are also added to WordPress Customizer, but Genesis has an ace up its sleeve: SEO settings, unique only to Genesis Framework and all subsequent child themes, but that’s a different topic altogether.

Remember to have fun with the framework, and if you get stuck, laugh it off. Everyone is ready to help you on Genesis and WordPress.

Author Bio: Tracey Jones is well known as a professional WordPress developer and writer by hobby who works for HireWPGeeks Ltd., a leading custom WordPress theme development company across the globe. When she is not busy with coding she loves to write useful blogs and articles about WordPress and new web design technologies.

*affiliate links used

How To Dramatically Increase Email Subscribers by Using Content Upgrades

February 24, 2016 by Ciera Holzenthal 1 Comment

I’m sure you’ve heard about how important having an email list is. Maybe you have one, maybe you’re waiting to come up with a plan before starting one, or maybe you have one set up, but are not sure how to get people to subscribe. There are tons of resources out there about growing your list, but today, in addition to giving you some tips, I also want to share my personal story. Specifically, how I increased my email subscribers by 600% in 1 month by changing just one thing. I implemented content upgrades.

So, you may be asking: what the heck is a content upgrade? It’s a pretty simple concept; content upgrades are free, bonus downloads relating specifically to your blog post. A content upgrade is different from a generic lead magnet, in that it’s directly related to a blog post (the content your readers are engaged in at that exact moment), which is why they are so effective. Here is an example:

Click here for a list of content upgrade ideas!

You can use content upgrades to grow your email list by requiring visitors to enter their email in order to access the bonus content. It feels a little silly that it took me so long to figure out, but good news for you, I’m sharing the step by step so you don’t have to go through all the trial and error. I’m going to break down my four year journey in adding content upgrades to my blog, then explain how to approach yours in some simple steps.

My Personal Story of Content Upgrade Discovery

Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

2012: I started an email list with no rhyme or reason other than the fact that I was supposed to have one. It sat there slowly gaining anywhere from 0-20 subscribers a month.
March 2014: I implemented a general lead magnet, but I’ll admit, I did not do it strategically. It was a collaborative ebook that I wrote an article in. I promoted the freebie to my blog and added a little blurb in my sidebar. I was happy to have a spike in subscribers that month and then I just forgot about it.
March 2015: It wasn’t until over a year later, that I realized this very passive way of gaining subscribers was not enough. I actually started offering content upgrades to blog posts in 2012, but did not require people to sign up for my email list prior to downloading them. What was I thinking?! Looking back at it now, these worksheets have over 12,000 downloads. It almost makes me want to cry thinking of all those subscribers that I missed out on. Not all 12,000 downloads would have converted to email subscribers, but a lot of them would have!
July 2015: I came up with a plan. I decided to create a private resource library to house all of these content upgrades. I went back and made all of these resources available only to those with access to the library (aka my email subscribers). I also continued to publish new posts with content upgrades.

Now that you know my story spanning over an extensive period of time, I’m going to show you how to implement this yourself. What took me years to slowly figure out, can be implemented in a few days by following the simple suggestions below.

How to Get More Subscribers By Using Content Upgrades

Create valuable content on your blog

This should be a blog post that is helpful to your audience. Figure out the types of problems that your readers are having in your field. What do you know that can benefit other people? Turn your readers problems into solutions. Amazing content is what will attract people to your site and keep them coming back.

Write evergreen content

Evergreen content is quality, useful content that will retain its value for a long period of time. Much like the timeless trees, your posts should be relevant for an extensive period of time. You are putting a lot of effort into this content, you don’t want it to become obsolete too quickly.

Create the upgrade

Create a resource that would make the content better. When you offer your visitors something that’s a perfect fit for what they came to your site for, they’re MUCH more likely to opt-in. Need some content upgrade ideas?

Click here for a free downloadable list of content upgrade ideas!

Add the resource to your site

Personally, I create a VIP library, where subscribers can access upgrades past and present, all in the same place. All they need is the password, which I send out in all of my emails. You can also deliver these upgrades individually through platforms like ConvertKit or Leadpages. I just switched to ConvertKit and am loving it!

Revisit your archives

Go back to high-traffic pages from your archives and add content upgrades to those evergreen posts that are still getting traffic.

Create shareable images

Pinterest is a top traffic source for many blogs so make sure to create a bold, vertical image that will stand out and give a clear picture of what the post is about. You can also highlight the content upgrade in the image to give people even more of a reason to click through!

Promote your posts

It’s not enough to just publish the post, you have to get some eyes on it. You really need to sell your content upgrade.

This strategy of content upgrades works much better than having a generic opt-in. You can see my stats below for proof of that. Aa generic lead management alone generated an increase, but my exponential growth cycle was prompted by the addition of strategic well-promoted posts that all had strategic content upgrades for readers to download.

An exponential increase in subscribers as noted above is something to consider when evaluating blogging strategies. To revisit our content upgrade strategy we: create valuable content, ensure we have evergreen content, create upgrades, add the resource to your site, revisit archives, create shareable images, and finally promote our new content enriched posts! I’m hoping that you too can find value in producing content upgrades for your blog. I know I have.

BONUS CONTENT!

And what would a post about content upgrades be, without a content upgrade? Stuck on what your content upgrade items should be? I created a helpful list of 10 content upgrade ideas to help add value to your blog posts!

Click here to download my list of 10 content upgrade ideas!

How to Determine Your Social Media Marketing Budget

September 29, 2015 by Ciera Holzenthal 3 Comments

Social media is an extremely powerful tool for business marketing and promotion. One reason for that is because it has the ability to provide a massive amount of organic traffic–something that we love as bloggers and website owners. Free traffic? Heck yes, we’ll take it!

However, including a social media marketing budget as a part of your strategy helps to make this tool even more powerful. There are many different avenues for what to spend your social media marketing budget on. Maybe your budget will go towards outsourcing. (Time = money, people. If your time is better spent on your business, outsource or hire someone to do your social media.) Or maybe your plan is to do your social media yourself, so your budget will go towards social media ads and things like that. (Don’t fret if this is your plan–it’s totally cool! I write an entire blog helping solopreneurs, small business owners and bloggers to DIY their own social media marketing.)

But whatever you choose to put your budget towards, it is important for you to first have a budget. Follow these steps to determine your particular social media marketing budget.

Who does your marketing?

I touched on this just a bit ago, but if you still weren’t sure who was going to be doing your marketing, now is the time to decide.

If you’re a solopreneur or small business owner, it’s probably wisest to do your own social media marketing–especially if you don’t have enough revenue coming in to hire someone. If you’re a small (or maybe larger) business owner, outsourcing to a social media manager/agency is always a great idea. Or, if you have the funds to allocate it, you could even hire your own dedicated marketing director.

Determine your online platforms

Your main social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn. (Don’t forget YouTube if video is a big part of your business!) If you don’t know which platforms will best benefit your business, check out this post here.

You also need to decide which other online marketing avenues you will allocate a budget to. This could be things like AdWords, email marketing, SEO, and content. (However, I believe that content and social media really can’t work without each other.)

Calculate your budget

If your business is just starting out, then your entire marketing budget should be 15-20% of your sales/revenue. More established companies can reduce the amount to 10-15% of sales/revenue.

Think about your marketing strategy. How much of that is going to be online? In 2013, companies allocated about 35% of their marketing budgets to digital marketing. However, over the past couple of years, 74% of businesses have been reducing traditional advertising budgets to make more room for the power of digital and social media marketing. So if you want to devote 50% of your marketing budget to digital marketing, that’s fantastic! Even 75-80%.

However, there are a few traditional marketing channels that you want to keep open, so leave at least a little bit of your budget for those. Here are a few examples:

Business cards
Networking events
Conferences
Brochures
Referral cards (i.e., small cards sent with physical items)
For those who sell items, decorative packaging materials

Determine which of these traditional marketing avenues you need to budget for and subtract those costs from your overall marketing budget.

Your digital marketing budget will be split between email marketing (Mailchimp subscription, etc.), SEO (virtual assistant/SEO specialist), AdWords (or other PPC marketing), and social media/content. If you will be using any other digital marketing avenues other than social media, determine the cost and subtract that from your budget. You have two avenues now:

1. Outsourcing your social media.

Now you know what you will be able to afford if you plan on outsourcing. You can find a virtual assistant, freelance social media manager, or social media agency to help run your social media.

2. DIYing your social media.

Depending on which social media platforms you use most for your business and which are most engaging/beneficial to you, that will tell you where you need to allocate your social media funds. A common breakdown of a social media budget can look like this:

Facebook: 40%
LinkedIn: 25%
Instagram: 25%
Twitter: 10%

You can determine if this breakdown will work for you or if you need to move platforms around. For example, if you sell a product, LinkedIn and Twitter might not be as important to you as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Know your most popular and beneficial platforms and allocate funds accordingly.

Download the Free Worksheet!

Use this download to help you calculate your own social media marketing budget.

About the author: Chloe West is a blogger and social media manager who creates content meant to help bloggers and small business owners learn how to DIY their own social media marketing.

My Favorite WordPress Tools and Plugins

July 22, 2015 by Ciera Holzenthal 1 Comment

Running a blog can be a lot of hard work, so today I’m sharing my favorite WordPress tools and plugins to help improve your site and simplify your life!

7 essential wordpress tools and plugins to help improve your site and simplify your life

1. Click To Tweet

This is the easiest way to get more shares for your content! This free plugin allows you to easily create tweetable snippets for your readers right from WordPress. Whoever clicks on the link will have the message automatically added to their Twitter status box. This makes it easy for people to share your content and grow your traffic.

2. Genesis Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. It’s well-coded and well-supported. The Genesis framework uses child themes so you can update without losing your customizations. It’s inexpensive with tons of possibilities and dedicated plugins. It comes with built-in features like multiple layouts, custom body post classes for each post, breadcrumbs and numeric navigation. Unlike other theme companies, StudioPress’s Pro-Plus Package is a one-time fee for life-time membership. You’ll get every theme they make, now and in the future.

3. CoSchedule

I know I’ve mentioned CoSchedule here before, but it is one of my favorites and worth mentioning again. CoSchedule is a drag-and-drop editorial calendar for WordPress. With it, you can schedule blog posts and automatically send messages to your social. You can use this plugin to view the posts you have published for the month, posts that are in the works, and the posts that you have planned. My favorite part is that you view your content and social media schedule all on the same calendar.

4. Tiny MCE Advanced

Ever wish the visual editor in WordPress offered more options? Well, this plugin is for you! It will let you add, remove and arrange the buttons that are shown on the visual editor toolbar. It includes 15 plugins for TinyMCE that are automatically enabled or disabled depending on what buttons are chosen. I’ve had this one installed for so long I can’t even remember what the original Tiny MCE looks like.

Ciera-Design-Studio-Computer

5. Broken Link Checker

If you’ve been blogging for a while, I bet you have tons of broken links in old posts. Dead hyperlinks are not just annoying to your website visitors – their existence can result in a negative impact on your website’s SEO rankings. This plugin will monitor your site (blog posts, pages, comments, etc.) looking for broken links and let you know if any are found.

6. Google Analytics Dashboard

Google Analytics Dashboard gives you the ability to view your Google Analytics data right in your WordPress dashboard. Sure, you can open up Google Analytics every time you want to look at your stats, but if you just want a quick glance, this plugin is certainly convenient. You can also allow other users to see the same dashboard information when they are logged in.

7. HostGator Optimized WordPress

Optimized WordPress is a new hosting platform from HostGator that is specifically built for an optimized WordPress environment. Packages will come pre-loaded with PHP 5.6 by default (the most recent PHP version offered). HostGator will handle all of the core, theme, and plugin updates without the need for any action on your part. In other words, you won’t have to worry about logging into your WP-Admin panel to handle common updates. Additionally, Optimized WordPress does not provide cPanel access, allowing you to install and access your WordPress sites without needing to access or navigate an extra control panel to do the things you want to do.

I hope these resources enable you to simplify your processes and improve your site!

Thank you HostGator for sponsoring this post and thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Steps to Refining and Setting Mid-Year Goals

June 22, 2015 by Ciera Holzenthal 2 Comments

Mid-Year Goals Free Worksheet

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe that it is June already! The year is certainly flying by, and it is easy to start to feel panic that the year is almost halfway done when thinking about the goals you have set for your business and all that you want to accomplish in 2015.

Rather than panic, use it as a chance to evaluate the goals you set in January and see if they are still relevant. Didn’t set any? Now is the perfect time to gain focus for the second half of your year. Here are some simple ways to set or refine your goals:

Which aspect of your business is most important to you this year?

You may have a monetary goal for the year, or perhaps you want to achieve a work/life balance that suits your lifestyle needs. Whatever your ultimate intention for your year is, keep that front of mind while evaluating and setting your goals!

Which goals have you already met?

Look back at the goals you set at the beginning of the year and see which ones you can cross off. Whether it was a single item, like finding a new office space, or simply something you are ahead of schedule on, such as booking 15 new clients, take a moment to celebrate, then see how you can either update that goal or expand it for the second half of the year.

Which goals are you not on track to meet?

If you have any quantitative goals, such as “photograph 10 weddings” or “book 20 branding clients,” you should be close to reaching half of that value at this point. If you’re not close, it might be time to step up your efforts to meet that goal! Or, you may wish to adjust that goal if it no longer feels right. If you have a certain time of year that is your busy season, be sure to take that into account when calculating anything quantitative.

[Tweet “Free download! Keep your business goals in focus with these 5 simple steps!”]

What has changed since the beginning of the year?

You may have had a change in your personal life that affects how much you can work. Perhaps you examined your business and started offering additional or new services. Major changes like these will alter the goals you have for the remainder of your year, so take the time to see how the changes in your life or business are affecting your goals.

How can you streamline your work?

A goal for anyone should be to operate in a way that doesn’t waste your time – or your client’s time. Take a look at your systems and see what items could be refined or made more efficient, such as finally writing those canned email replies, updating your website’s contact form to ask better questions or actually hiring that VA. Make it a goal to accomplish those smaller items that have big impact.

While different businesses require different types of planning and goal setting, it is always crucial to have an objective and develop a plan to get there.

About the author: Laura is a graphic designer who loves working with small, creative businesses to build thoughtful brands at her studio, Dotted Design.

The Best Social Media Marketing Tools That Every Blogger Needs

June 1, 2015 by Ciera Holzenthal 3 Comments

It seems like a blogger’s work is never done. You write your post, edit, create graphics, insert screenshots and examples, promote your posts, engage with followers, and then rinse and repeat. So to say that we need a few tools in order to make things even the slightest bit easier for us is quite the understatement. And since social media is such a prevalent marketing avenue for those of us in the online blogosphere, I’m sharing with you my top eight favorite social media marketing tools for bloggers.

1. Buffer

Buffer is a social media scheduling app and I seriously cannot sing enough praises for it. I have said this time and time again. There are a number of reasons that I choose Buffer as my personal scheduling app:

Interface: I have used other scheduling apps before and the interface isn’t nearly as pretty or user-friendly as Buffer’s is.
Analytics: I love the analytics in Buffer–you’re able to see how many clicks, retweets, shares, etc., that each of your posts got. It shows you your top posts of the week and even emails you a weekly summary comparing this week’s posts to the previous week.
Bookmarklet: This is probably my favorite part. If I’m reading an article that I want to share (even on my phone or tablet), I can add it to my Buffer queue directly from the article. I have a browser bookmarklet on my computer and can add the app to my preferred sharing tools on my mobile devices.
Scheduling: One thing that is extremely time-consuming with Hootsuite is having to individually schedule each one of your outgoing posts. Buffer allows you to create a preset schedule so that each time you want to schedule an article, you only have to add them to your queue and they automatically go out at their specified time.
Pricing: They have both free and paid options

2. CoSchedule

This is probably one of the coolest scheduling apps because its interface is a freaking calendar. Um, genius? Yes, I think so. And it has multiple uses. You can use this plugin to view the posts you have published for the month, posts that are in the works, and the posts that you have planned. Not only that, but you can also share your blog posts to your social media right from the CoSchedule plugin! AND (this is my favorite part) it can be integrated with Buffer to up the social sharing ante even more.

3. Click to Tweet

One great way to encourage social shares in your blog posts is to include a one-click, pre-made tweet for your readers. CoSchedule has a really great FREE Click to Tweet WordPress Plugin that allows you to insert said pre-made tweets right into your blog post! Here is a sample, go ahead and try it out!

[Tweet “Want to know the 8 best social media tools that every blogger needs? Here you go:”]

4. TweetDeck

Are you a Twitter chatter? If not, then you need to be. Check out this fantastic calendar for Twitter chats for creatives. (or join my favorite chat, #createlounge, every Wednesday at 7PM CST!) If so, then you know how incredibly fast those things move. TweetDeck is my absolute favorite way to keep up with the craziness.

Simply login with your Twitter handle and then create a separate column for: your notifications (so that you can see when someone replies to your tweets or directs a question/comment to you), the Twitter chat’s hashtag (so that you can see all of the tweets for the chat), and the host(s) of the chat (so that you never miss a question). I participate in Twitter chats once or twice a week and have found that this is the best way for me to not miss any of the action!

5. OnePress Social Locker

I personally have never used this plugin, but I think it’s a fantastic idea and I keep it on standby. This free WordPress plugin allows you to lock certain content until a reader shares it on social media. This guarantees a social share for each person who wants to read your post.

6. HelloBar

This is an awesome app to include on your blog and it has several different uses. I started a new Facebook Page when I rebranded my blog (one, because I couldn’t change the name of my old Facebook page and two, because I plan to do a case study of how I gained likes and exposure to my page), so I use the HelloBar social converter to add a box in the lower righthand corner of my blog that allows readers to easily like my Facebook page. It’s done really well so far, so I highly recommend it.

However, you can also use HelloBar to drive traffic to another page of your site or to gather email addresses for your e-newsletter. They also have both free and paid options.

7. Google Docs

This is one of my favorite ways to create my social media editorial calendar. I create a document, add a table with seven columns (one for each day of the week), then I put all of my statuses, links, and images inside of the table before scheduling them all out. This makes it easy for me to visually see what content I have planned all at once. And you can use it fo’ free.

Haven’t started blogging yet or in a rut? Check out Blogging With Intention and How to Give Your Readers Exactly What They Need.

Do you have any favorite tools that we missed here?

About the author: Chloe West is a blogger and social media manager who creates content meant to help bloggers and small business owners learn how to DIY their own social media marketing.

6 Simple Ways to Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas + A Free Worksheet

May 18, 2015 by Ciera Holzenthal 5 Comments

Free Worksheet to Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas

Blogging can be a great tool for small business owners. It provides a way to connect with your audience, share your expertise, and even help convince people to work with you. It can also be a fun creative outlet or provide a needed break in your daily routine.

While the pros are easy to count, that doesn’t mean it is always easy to come up with new blog post ideas! Especially if you’ve been blogging for a while, you may feel like you’ve hit a wall with new post ideas. Luckily, there are several simple ways to generate some quality post ideas.

Why do you blog?

The first step for any blogger is to identify who you are trying to reach. Many bloggers get overwhelmed or feel unfocused when they aren’t sure who to write for. If you are a business owner, you might be writing to attract potential new clients. If you have a personal blog, you might be hoping to connect with fellow fashion lovers or food connoisseurs. When you identify this, it makes your focus that much clearer and the ideas easier to form.

What are some of your favorite blogs?

Think about the blogs you read, and make a list of ones you can’t wait to dive into when you see a new post. What about their posts attracts you? Perhaps they share knowledge, share personal stories, or use a unique voice to tell their story. When you identify what attracts you to your favorite posts, it will help you write your own!

What is a problem you recently had and then solved?

People love reading free tips and learning from their peers. A great way to connect with your readers and contribute to your community is to share something you learned. Not only might you help someone with the same problem, it helps you relate to others by showing you are human and don’t always have all the answers right away either.

What is a question you get asked all the time?

Do you find yourself receiving similar emails, tweets, or queries often wanting to know the same things? Make the answer a blog post! Not only will this help position you as an expert with the answers people are looking for, it will make your responses oh-so fast by simply directing people to your post for an answer.

[Tweet “Stuck on what to blog about? Download this free worksheet by @dotteddesign! #smallbiz #blogadvice”]

What is something you wish people knew about your business, industry or passions?

Is there a misconception about the industry you are in? Share your perspective and experiences! Do you find yourself running into the same problems with clients or customers? Write a post sharing your advice on dealing with the issue. Instead of feeling frustrated, use the energy to share a positive post and help others who might be fighting the same battles.

What resources or tools that you’ve found could help someone out?

Making a list of helpful resources is a great post generator. You could include tools you use to run your business, people in other fields that could be resources for your clients, or even podcasts within your niche that you love. As with many of these points, being generous with your knowledge not only builds trust with your readers, it will bring them back time and again.

To make this even easier, you can use this free brainstorming worksheet to get your creative vibes flowing. There is also space for those moments when you have a post idea and need to jot it down somewhere before you forget! Try setting aside a small amount of time each week to knock out your ideas, and writing will become even easier.

While blogging can seem overwhelming, it is a great tool for connecting with others in your industry, with clients, or with your community. When you look at it as a way to share and have fun, it won’t seem like a daunting chore anymore!

Download the Free Worksheet!

Need even more help getting started? Check out Ciera's e-book, Blogging With Intention.

About the author: Laura is a graphic designer who loves working with small, creative businesses to build thoughtful brands at her studio, Dotted Design.

A 9 Step Guide To SEO

December 17, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 1 Comment

At the end of every year, I really try to evaluate my business, this blog and my website to see what improvements I can make. This year, SEO is something I want to improve so today I have a special guest post and infographic from Jeanette at Create The Bridge. Remember that each person will have to find the right balance for them, your focus should always be your readers and then SEO. Take it away Jeanette!

Any website or blog owner must understand that if you are doing SEO (search engine optimization) the right way, it is not instant and there’s actually no guarantee. But if you do it wrong, you may get quicker results, but your blog will look spammy while attempting to maneuver the search engine traffic.

To make an optimized blog, focus on the main category or theme of your blog. The topic you promote will, to a massive scale, dictate your ranking. There are high competitions when it comes to SEO for say “real estate” or “weight loss”. Focusing on your geographical location in addition (for example, “real estate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida”) can really help. This is only one part of creating an optimized blog for search engines, check out the infographic to see how you can do more.

9-Step Guide to Creating an Optimized Blog for Search Engines

Let’s wrap this up with a little overview shall we…

Your blog post should be long, containing at least 2,000 words. According to Serpiq, the longer the content, the higher you rank. Your title tag makes all the difference. If the right keywords are missing from the title tag, how will your targeted audience find you? Second to the title, the content in your blog is KING. You should write quality content and post often using long-tail keywords. Research shows that 40% of people will respond better to visual information than plain text. Simply put: it’s all about the images. Having a powerful social media strategy and having a presence on all major social media sites will also affect, positively, your search engine rankings. Pay attention to design. A well-structured site is a crucial element when it comes to building a SEO friendly website. The design of a website is important because it affects how quickly visitors can find what they are looking for. Last, but definitely not least, your blog must not contain misspelled words or grammar errors!

Why Small Businesses and Bloggers Need Private Cloud Storage

October 21, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 5 Comments

Today I want to tell you about why you should set up your own private cloud for your home office or creative business, but first a story.

My business has been going through quit a bit lately. Some good, some bad. Let’s get the bad out-of-the-way. I have been having some serious computer issues. I limped it along for months but finally had to send it off for repairs. As y’all know, my computer is a major part of how I make a living and it’s really not possible for me to get much done without it. Luckily I was able to borrow a computer but it still hasn’t been easy. I had to save all my files to a drive making sure I didn’t forget any fonts, graphics, working files, estimates, etc. Not fun.

Another challenge is that I’ve always worked from a laptop. I like the versatility but it’s not ideal as my only computer. I have been contemplating getting a desktop but I wasn’t sure how I’d work on both without constantly sending files back and forth.

Now the good! Something else going on behind the scenes right now is that I’m bringing on some part-time help in the design studio, exciting but scary! I’m so used to working alone. Everything is organized in my head but having employees means that everyone needs to be on the same page. So I’m working on some new processes and implementing some new technology. We all need access to the same files, otherwise things will get very confusing.

I wasn’t really sure how to achieve all of this seamlessness that I was after. Then with absolutely perfect timing WD, a Western Digital Company saved the day by providing me with a My Cloud EX2 to use and review… serious dream come true. This is what I was looking for and I didn’t even know it. Personal cloud storage! Basically, it is a physical hard drive connected to your Internet that you can access from anywhere. Totally ideal for small office and home office businesses.

Why I Love Private Cloud Storage

one-time cost – unlike many public cloud options, the drive just has a one-time cost, purchase the drive and you’re done. You can also add as many users as you need!
easy setup – plug it in and go through the simple setup and you’re up and running with an intuitive interface
security – allows you to set up permissions-based folders so you can give an employee or family member limited access to access or upload files
peace of mind – knowing your data is backed up and secure with cloud storage for small businesses makes it easier to focus on other things to make your business successful
wireless back ups – the drive gets plugged into a power source and your internet during setup but never directly to your computer so your backups happen without you even thinking about it
file sharing – easily generate email links for files or folders. When a client clicks on the link they are given a zip of the files you selected. This allows you to send files that are too large for emailing.
anytime, anywhere access – with mobile and desktop apps you are not limited to what you can fit on your phone – if you download the app you can view all files from your drive at home. You can connect multiple computers and devices for seamless integration.
automatic transfer via camera – you can connect your camera directly to the drive and it copies files automatically
storage space – photos from my blog take up a lot of space and I NEVER delete client projects. Luckily the My Cloud EX2 provides several capacity options, up to 8TB, to choose from.
speed – files load much faster to the EX2 than they do to a remote cloud.
working remotely – I want to be able to travel and I want employees to work from anywhere. A drive like this is such a huge benefit when working in multiple offices, computers or on the road.
streaming – stream videos and photos to connected TVs, media players, gaming consoles

[Tweet “Why your small businesses or blog needs private cloud storage, like yesterday.”]

If you have a small business, you really need to get one of these systems! I can’t believe I’m only now setting one up!

Many thanks to WD for letting me try the private cloud with the EX2. Thank you for supporting this blog by allowing me to post occasional sponsored content. All sponsored posts feature products or services that I truly feel would be of interest to you and all opinions are my own. The two photos of me are by Hannah Hudson Photography.

Free and Affordable Stock Photo Sites That Don’t Suck

September 29, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 8 Comments

Free and Affordable Stock Photo Sites Great For Bloggers

I think by now we all know the importance of using great imagery, whether it be for blog posts, design projects, social media or anything else where you are trying to look professional as well as capture your audience’s attention.

While I’m a huge fan of completely custom imagery, we don’t always have the skill set, time or budget to do that. But that shouldn’t stop us from having great photographs. For me, those classic cheesy stock photos are not an option, I like stock photos that don’t really feel like stock photos! While I’ve been searching for the perfect, affordable image time and time again, I’ve also been bookmarking those image source sites, and today I’m sharing my favorites!

Free Options

Affordable Options

Any other ones that I missed out there? I’d love to hear about them!

Please check the licenses before using photos from any of these sites.

Growing Your Blog By Positioning Yourself As An Expert

July 3, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 14 Comments

Blogging about what you know and love will make a difference! Learn how to increase traffic by positioning yourself as an expert in your field!

Just two weeks ago me and these lovely ladies got up in front of the Alt Summit crowd and chatted about growing a small blog.

If you were not there, or need a refresher, here is an overview on what I spoke about, growing a small blog by positioning yourself as an expert! You can download the worksheet we handed out, and then work while you read this post.

[Tweet “How to grow a small blog by positioning yourself as an expert. #growingasmallblog #altsummit”]

I’m sure y’all have all heard the advice to blog about what you know and love – it’s usually the first piece of advice you’ll get for blogging and I don’t think anyone will deny that as a great starting point. But I want to take it a little further by talking about positioning yourself as an expert. One of the main ways I’ve grown my blog is by sharing tips from my experiences in graphic design, social media and running my own small business.

I use the term “expert” loosely, because obviously I don’t know everything about these topics, but I am passionate about them and I do have a degree in graphic design and have been working in the industry for eight years. So I probably know more than the person opening Photoshop for the first time or who just signed up for Twitter last week.

So basically, you don’t have to wait for somebody to call you an expert in order to give expert advice.

[Tweet “You don’t have to wait for somebody to call you an expert in order to give expert advice. #growingasmallblog”]

I’m always getting questions through email, on social media, and even from friends and family, whenever there is something design related they know they can come to me. And I’m sure the same happens to y’all from time to time. Maybe people are always asking you about how you put your outfit together or asking for your recipe when you cook for them. That’s people showing that they value what you know and trust your opinions.

So if you find that people are consistently asking you a about the same topics, it’s likely they would become a reader of your blog if that’s what you focused on. As your name starts to get associated with a specific field, then your network will start to grow.

Ok, let’s move onto a strategy for coming up with content:
First you have to figure out the types of problems that your readers are having in your field. So, using the worksheet in the download, jot down a few things that you enjoy doing and that people always ask you about. What do you know that can benefit other people?

[Tweet “What do you know that can benefit other people? #growingasmallblog”]

So for example, I’d be writing down that people ask me about the fonts I use and other design related questions and how I made the switch from working at an agency to full-time freelance. Remember – no problem is too big or small to write down.

Then, once you know the challenges your readers are having, you can come up with a plan to turn those problems around into solutions.

Here is an example of how I determined my readers problems and then solved them by writing an additional post that I didn’t originally intend to:

When the Facebook layout was updated two years ago to the timeline it was a pretty major change. It was much more design oriented with the large cover photo and app tabs. If you remember, they even allowed users to preview their changes before they had to commit for good so that everyone could ease into the new design. I decided to jump right and update the few different pages that I manage. As I was designing the cover images and doing the updates, I anticipated that my readers may want to hear some ideas on how to keep their pages consistent with their blog or business branding, so I wrote a blog post Design Tips for your Facebook page.

I ended up getting tons of questions beyond the design aspect of people wanting to know how to actually install the apps I was using. So every time I got a question, I was stopping in my tracks and individually responding to them all with detailed instructions in an email.

As much as I’d love to be able to answer every question one-on-one like this I realized it just wasn’t realistic or a productive way to work. So I decided to write another post with step-by-step instructions for installing the apps which has ended up being one of my most popular posts. Turning reader questions into blog posts is now one of the ways I build my editorial calendar.

If you find people still have questions after you write about it, you can take it further and create a blog post series or even teach a course or write an e-book focused on digging deeper into certain topics. That’s actually something I recently did, I wrote a guide on planning a local event series because I needed to go more in-depth than a blog post would allow. And this helps even more to position yourself in your field.

Now I know some people are new to their field, so if you are just getting started, you can write about things that you are interested in learning more about, classes you are taking or things you are teaching yourself along the way. You can have this learning experience with your readers.

But you never want to risk losing credibility. So if you’re not quite certain of something, just let it be know that you are experimenting and figuring it out as you go, because you don’t ever want to put incorrect information out there – you don’t ever want to lose your readers trust.

[Tweet “Don’t ever lose your readers’ trust. #growingasmallblog #altsummit”]

Now I’m going to give you guys a few formats and examples that I find work well for showcasing your expertise:

– how-to posts or videos
• Merricks Art
• Pugly Pixel

– provide valuable resources
• I’ve shared resources like My Favorite WordPress Plugins
• I love to share my favorite fonts

– curated posts
• theme thursday from Oh, What Love
• round ups like products used to create on-the-go on The Fresh Exchange

– featuring others
this is a great way to show support and recognize others doing a good job in your field

– lists
these are really easy for your readers to share, especially on Twitter
• ByRegina
• Elembee

When you’re able to solve a problem for someone, they feel like you’ve given them insider tips & tricks and in turn form a stronger bond which makes them more likely to come back for more because people appreciate free advice.

[Tweet “People appreciate free advice. #growingasmallblog #altsummit”]

But don’t feel the need to do it all or try to imitate somebody else. Don’t post what you think people want to hear if it’s not something you truly enjoy writing about.

I don’t really know anything about fashion but do share style posts from time-to-time, because it’s fun for me, but that is not how I have grown trust from readers and my readership over the past four years. It’s been by positioning myself as an expert. It’s not easy and it won’t be an overnight success but as Stan Smith Says, people need experts.

People need experts. They have value because they have done the research, legwork, and training that we can’t do on our own. Not only that, we rely on experts to see further down the road than we can. We cherish their insight and lean on their wisdom. Having an expert means that you can shortcut the process and achieve your goals quicker.” – Stan Smith

So now, looking back at what you wrote earlier, write down a few topics that you could write about that will help to position yourself as an expert.

Because before you look to other blogs for things like guest posts, advertising or giveaways you need to get your own blog in a good place. Consider what you do really well and what you love and start sharing that compelling, informative and unique content.

[Tweet “Consider what you do really well and what you love and start sharing that compelling, informative and unique content. #growingasmallblog #altsummit”]

Download the full slide show and then head over to Mariah, PJ, Melissa and Tan’s blogs to read all about their parts of the panel!

PJ Feinstein – Growing a small Blog through Self Promotion and Networking

Mariah Danielsen – Growing a small Blog through Guest Posting on Other Blogs

Melissa Bahen – Growing a Small Blog through Collaboration

Tan Rutley – Growing a Small Blog through Social Media Collaborations and Giveaways

Do you have questions or tips of your own? I’ll answer them in the comments!

first photo was taken by Justin Hackworth for Alt Summit • slides by me

Tips for Your Email Newsletter

May 13, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal Leave a Comment

An email newsletter is a tricky thing when you own a small business. While having an email list and sending out emails on a regular basis keeps you top of mind to your subscribers, knowing what you should send out and how frequently is a question that many small business owners struggle with. In a previous post we discussed why the email list is so important and a few different ways you can get emails from your customers and readers. Today we’re going to discuss some email newsletter tips and guidelines for sending emails out to the list you’ve gathered.

Email Newsletter Tips for Success:

Getting Started and Setting Up

There are lots of great email newsletter platforms out there – some you can pay for and some are free. While you can pay for a service like ConvertKit or Aweber, I’m particularly fond of MailChimp’s free options. They make it easy to set up a newsletter and have great template options.

Once you sign up for a free account, you’ll need to import your email addresses or type them into your account. When you have them set up in a list, you’ll want to choose a template or design your own within the site. To make your newsletter cohesive and consistent, try to use the same template for each email and have it match your current website and branding design. Now that you’ve got your emails imported and your template designed, you just need to add in some content!

Deciding What Content to Email to Subscribers

No matter what line of business you’re in, you’ll want to send out content you think is most important or helpful to your list. If you have got a giveaway coming up or have a post that’s getting lots of comments, these would be wonderful things to include in your email newsletter to get more entries or visits to your website.

If you sell products, you could share some best sellers or featured items in your email, or if you’re a web designer think about sharing some of your recent work or progress on a current job. Updates give your readers a chance to see what you’ve been up to if they haven’t visited your blog or website in a while.

Some other things to include are:

Recent guest posts on other blogs
Links to a few of your favorite new posts on your blog
Your social media links
A question for your subscribers to answer or an invitation for them to comment on a Facebook or blog post.

Whatever content you choose to send out, use your own unique voice, and write it like you’re emailing an old friend. Your subscribers will feel like you’re emailing a little note written just for them!

The Dreaded Question: How Often Do I Email Out My Newsletter?

Frequency of emails can be tricky because you don’t want to send out so often that you’re getting a bunch of unsubscribes, but you want to email out enough to stay top of mind and in their inbox.

Personally, I cringe when my phone or inbox alerts me when I have an email waiting for me. Because of this, I try to send out newsletters sparingly – once every few weeks or once a month. But frequency will depend on the type of business you’re in as well. If you’re a social media marketer, it might be a nice service to your subscribers to send them a short, actionable social media tip each week. Or if you own a retail store you could blast out your weekly sales or a product of the week.

Send your newsletter out as often as you feel comfortable. Try out different schedules and then choose one you feel that isn’t too intrusive to your subscriber’s inbox but still keeps you in their mind. Go with what feels right to you!

Email newsletters are wonderful way to get your work in front of potential customers. Consistency and respect for their inbox is key, but once you get a schedule figured out, they’ll be excited to see your email in their inbox.

Related: How To Dramatically Increase Email Subscribers by Using Content Upgrades

About the author: Mariah is a Graphic Designer/Wedding Stylist who has a passion for helping creative entrepreneurs turn their passion into profit.

Twitter Tips For Bloggers

April 23, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 7 Comments

I joined Twitter in 2009 shortly after I started blogging and I’ve been tweeting away ever since! Back then features such as retweets and hashtags were created by the user base, not the developers and could be a bit confusing for a newbie to figure out. They have come a long way since then, lists and built-in retweets were introduced and they have made their features even easier to understand and use!

Twitter is a great way to promote your content whether it be the services you offer through your business or new blog content. It’s also a great way to share your expertise and connect with like-minded people. Here are a few easy Twitter tips from what I have learned over the years:

Fill Out Your Profile

First things first. Make sure you write a clear description in the section for your bio and don’t forget to include a link back to your blog! I can’t tell you how many super vague profiles I see on Twitter. This should be similar to your elevator pitch, let me know why I should stick around!

Be Yourself

Keep your tweets fun and interesting. People want to connect with a real person and your readers will love you for being yourself. When tweeting, use the same voice and tone that you use on your blog.

Tweet Regularly

Since content flows so quickly on Twitter, it’s okay to post multiple tweets about the same thing. Just make sure you are not posting the exact same tweet over and over. Switching up the intro to a link helps to keep your followers engaged and interested in your content.

Schedule

Tweeting regularly is time-consuming so using a service like HootSuite can help. I don’t recommend scheduling ALL of your tweets, but it can help push out some content while you are working on something else. There are also some WordPress plugins that will automatically tweet posts from your blog archives for you, I use Tweetily.

Explain Your Links

Be sure to give a short description that’s intriguing and will entice your readers to click on the link. Your followers should trust your twitter content, so give accurate information.

Interact

Interact with people instead of just following. I love being able to connect with all types of people all over the world! Trust me, most people out there would love to have a little twitter convo! Make sure you are asking your followers questions, and try to answer questions as well. This helps build your reputation and credibility, which can lead to more followers and retweets.

Share the Love

Don’t only promote yourself. In addition to tweeting your own blog posts, post articles from other sources with similar content. If you mention someone on Twitter or in a blog post, make sure to tag them so they know.

Create and Follow Lists

A list is a curated group of Twitter users. You can create your own lists or subscribe to lists created by others. This is a great way to keep up with your favorite users, or people who have content you may want to share in the future.

Pictures

Twitter is becoming more and more visual so take advantage of this! They recently added inline images to tweets which is a great opportunity to tease a photo of your new content.

Find Relevant Hashtag Streams OR Tweetups

Hashtags categorize tweets and automatically group keywords or topics and help to get your tweets out to a larger audience than just your followers. Hashtags are an excellent way to track conversations about a specific topic and to take part in those conversations. Look for active hashtag streams relevant to what you blog about. For example, I love to participate in the #altchat every Tuesday and occasionally check out the #design and #fonts hashtags.

Have Fun

While I do use Twitter to promote my biz, I also use it for fun! Hashtags and Twitter in general can be quite entertaining! I love to follow along with TV shows that I’m addicted to and sporting events. I also use Twitter for advice, like if I’m looking for a place to eat or need a suggestion for a photographer etc.

Twitter has been very helpful to me in promoting my blog and I hope these tips help to make it work for you too! If you have any questions or tips feel free to comment here or tweet me!

[Tweet “11 Ways To Get More Out of Twitter”]

A Free Ebook Full of Insider Secrets for Coaches and Creatives

March 27, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 3 Comments

Insider Secrets for Creatives Book Cover

A 56-page ebook of insider secrets! Interested? Read on! Did you follow along with The Jump Blog Tour that I participated in? Remember how I shared 10 ways to expand your small business? If you don’t remember, it was hosted by Stephanie Hall and Ashley Wilhite. For the entire month, 23 brilliant bloggers shared their secrets on brand consistency, work/life balance, investing in yourself, creativity, standing by your rates, authenticity and SO much more! THEN Stephanie and Ashley compiled all of these posts into an awesome, interactive 56-page ebook full of these big-time secrets!

Want a copy of Inside Secrets For New Coaches + Creatives? It goes out to all newsletter subscribes, so if you are not already subscribed, just sign up now!

If you want to take your blog to the next level, build better habits, learn a few design tricks, or hear behind-the-scenes stories of how these ladies started their businesses, you’re going to want to check this out. Once you read through the ebook, comment here telling me what you discovered!

[Tweet “Can’t wait to read this FREE ebook full of insider secrets for new coaches and creatives!”]

Quality Over Quantity: Writing Intentional Blog Posts

February 19, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 4 Comments

With the new year comes a new set of goals you promise yourself you’re going to reach this year – you’re going to simplify, organize your life, grow your business and make time for what matters most.

But when you’re trying to expand your small business, you can get stuck in the everyday muck of catching up on emails, putting together proposals, planning your blogging calendar and putting the finishing touches on that blog post you wanted to have up yesterday. It’s hard to keep up with the everyday stuff and make time for the big things you want to accomplish too.

While blogging is an important aspect of growing your small business, blogging without passion just to have a post up on your site is the wrong way to go about growing. Lucky for us, there’s a trending idea in the blogging world: blogging with intention.

It’s writing posts that contain all original content, it’s researching the topic and coming to your own conclusion and it’s blogging only when you devote the time and passion it takes to write a great post, even if it’s only once a week or once a month.

Here are some ways to craft a quality, well thought out, intentional blog post:

1. Do Your Research

When planning out your posts, draw up an outline and schedule in time to do some research behind the topic you’re writing about. The more you can share with your readers, the more they’ll feel like they got something out of your post.

For example, if you’re featuring a certain artist on your blog, do some research on their story – share how they got started, the idea behind their brand and what their design process is. If they use a particular technique with their work, research the technique and share that with your readers as well. Reach out to them to get the answers to those questions, or do your own research to find those answers.

Anyone can share an image of the artist’s work, but if you can get the story behind that particular piece, you’ll add more value to your post. Make sure you cite where you found your information and give credit wherever you can.

When you add research to your process, the quality of your posts will increase and you’ll be providing your readers with real information they’ll want to bookmark and share.

2. Only Write About Topics That Inspire You

If you’re not inspired by the posts you’re writing, it’s time to take a look at the type of content you’re blogging about. One way to fix this is to go back to the beginning of your business and ask yourself some questions. Why did you want to get started? What inspired you back then? Has that inspiration grown or changed at all?

If you go back to the root of why you started and what inspired you most back then, you might be able to come up with some great blog post ideas that won’t leave you procrastinating to get the post written. Focus on just writing about topics you like to talk about or are interested in exploring more, and go from there.

3. Use Your Own Photos

One way to really slow down and take your time with blogging is to create an entirely original post – sharing both your own ideas and your own photographs. While throwing together recap posts or inspiration boards with other people’s images or post content (while properly crediting them, of course) is still very popular, when you create an original post you’re putting something out on the web that hasn’t been seen before.

I’ve noticed that the posts I’ve provided original content for have been pinned and re-pinned more times than any of my themed inspiration boards or style posts – pinned DIY projects and design projects I’m working on bring more people to my website than just about any other source.

Coming up with all original content for your posts definitely takes more time, but your readers will be able to tell that you spent more time on the post and it will hopefully bring some additional traffic back to your website after it gets shared around the web.

When you’re blogging with purpose about topics you really want to talk about, you’ll add value to your brand, contribute some amazing new things to the internet and save yourself the stress from trying to throw together 5 posts a week.

The first few months of the new year are a great time for starting new habits, slowing down and focusing on what you really want to accomplish this year. If you’re blogging with intention you’ll have better chance of accomplishing your goals, and you’ll enjoy blogging even more.

What are your blogging goals for this year? How will you slow down and blog with more passion and intention? Share your ideas in the comments!

FREE Worksheet!

Use the worksheet to help you craft quality, well thought out, intentional blog posts.

About the author: Mariah is a Graphic Designer/Wedding Stylist who has a passion for helping creative entrepreneurs turn their passion into profit.

For Bloggers: WordPress Plugins

February 12, 2014 by Ciera Holzenthal 5 Comments

My Favorite WordPress Plugins

I’ve been asked a few times what WordPress plugins I use to do certain things on this site, so rather than respond to individual emails, I thought I’d share with all of you guys!

First, a few notes on plugins in general: they are super easy to install and great for adding features to your blog even if you don’t know how to code BUT they can slow down your site. To prevent this, only add the ones that are necessary and delete plugins if you decide not to use them. Sometimes a plugin can cause conflicts within your site so always install one at a time and backup your site regularly.

Comments

I try to reply to every comment left on my blog to keep the conversation going so using Comment Reply Notification is a great way to make sure that the commenter sees my reply. It automatically sends an email to anyone who has received a reply to their comment.

Pin It Button

You’ve probably seen this in action a lot by now, a pin it button that hovers over images making it convenient for readers to pin images. I use jQuery Pin It Button For Images for my pin it hover image. The reason I chose this plugin is because of the customization options and that you can use a custom image to match your branding.

Post Footers

You may have noticed that at the bottom of each of my blog posts, I have the same call to action that points my readers to Facebook, Bloglovin etc. Instead of pasting this content separately into every post I write, I use WP Post Footer which allows you to create a library of code snippets and easily include them at the bottom of posts.

Editorial Calendar

I am a visual person so this plugin is one of my favorites to keep my posts organized. The WordPress Editorial Calendar makes it possible to see all your posts on a calendar and drag and drop them to manage your posting schedule.

Backup

This one is huge because you MUST backup your site! For backup, I use the WP Backup to Dropbox plugin, because it drops my files from scheduled backups right into a folder in Dropbox!

SEO

I’m pretty lazy when it comes to my SEO but the All in One SEO Pack makes it a little easier on me. It has fields at the end of each post for you to fill in to help optimize your WordPress site for Search Engine Optimization.

These are just suggestions and what works best for me. There are usually several plugins that do the same thing, so do your research and some testing to see which works bests for your needs!