June, 2011

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10 Time-Savers That Aren’t Saving You Anything

Men With Pens

Busy people are suckers for things that promise to save us time. We assume that our days are so jam-packed that any shortcut will immediately boost our careers to the next level. But you know what? We’re lying to ourselves. Our problem isn’t a lack of time. It’s that most of us use the time we do have badly. That’s why these “time savers&# won’t do much for us at all.

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ProBlogger’s Guide to Blogging for Your Business

ProBlogger

Today I’m really excited to announce a brand new ProBlogger eBook - ProBlogger’s Guide to Blogging for Your Business. The idea for this resource came from regular emails that I receive from business owners and employees within businesses who want to start blogs to assist them in achieving their business goals. Their problem though is that they don’t know where to begin.

Blog 49
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How to Write Without Colour

Men With Pens

As writers, we rely on our unique ability to convey the visual world in words. We conjure images in the minds of readers about lush green fields, grey, decaying buildings, or velvety red berries ripe for picking. But how do you describe green when you’ve never actually seen green? How do you create words that move people when you don’t see the world the same way they do?

Writing 89
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Do You Have a Business or a Hobby?

Men With Pens

Many people ask me if I think their business idea is a good idea to pursue. That idea is usually based on what they love to do in their free time. Their passion. Their hobby. And in most cases, the answer to, “Do you think I could make money from this?&# is… No. Sorry. See, here’s the thing: You may have the most creative, amazing, fulfilling idea in the world, but if you have to dig deep to think of ways to turn that idea into cold, hard cash, you don’t have a business brewing.

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How to Leverage Behavioral Science Insights for Direct Mail Success

Speaker: Neal Boornazian, President and Nancy Harhut, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer - HBT Marketing

Direct mail has consistently remained a powerful tool in the marketer's arsenal, but in an age of digital dominance, its effectiveness hinges on the strategic integration of behavioral science. 💡 When you incorporate powerful behavioral science principles into your direct mail marketing strategies, you can prompt the hardwired decision-making shortcuts your audience relies on — and that automatically unlocks new avenues for engagement, conversion, and brand loyalty.

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Why hiring a writing coach can help you build your business

Men With Pens

When I set up my copywriting business, one of the first things I did was hire a writing coach. Now, for someone who had been working as a journalist for the past 15 years, this might seem like a waste of money. Hello, haven’t I proven time and again that I can write well? Shouldn’t I use the money to pay for a social media marketing consultant and web designer instead?

Writing 62
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Are You Letting Money Rule Your Life?

Men With Pens

“Money rules my life, and I’m okay with it.&# – Kevin O’Leary, Dragon’s Den. I have a bit of a problem with certain advice flying around these days, specifically the type of stuff that gives you backpats about hating marketing and sales. I think we’re all too supportive of people who dislike pitching and promoting – we should get a little more cold-hearted about things.

Banking 60

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Sell $20,000 Worth of Your Next Ebook

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Sarah Mae of MarketandSellYourEbook.com. Marketing is the act of buying or selling in a market. Where is your market? Do you have one? Do you own one? Do you shop at one? In the new world of invisible wires where connections are made 24/7 all around the world, the starting place for successful marketing begins at your market … your space … your platform.

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How I Increased Traffic by 90,000 Hits per Month in 25 Days

ProBlogger

This guest posy is by M.Farouk Radwan of [link]. The title of this article isn’t marketing hype—it relates the true story of what happened to me this month. I am not claiming that I’m an expert in increasing traffic, but I’m sure you might find a point or two in this post that might be of benefit of you. The problem. My website was growing very fast until 2009.

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How to Keep Your Blog Active While Traveling

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Norbert Figueroa of GloboTreks. For many, keeping a blog is a full-time commitment, especially if you want to keep your readers active and engaged with what you have to say. This often means spending long hours day after day creating content, commenting, promoting, and networking with other bloggers. Copyright Ilja Mašík - Fotolia.com Then the time comes when you need a small break to step back and relax.

Blog 43
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5 Reasons to Be Authentic Instead of Generic

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Nihara of Doing Too Much. I’ll never forget what my sister said when I showed her the first iteration of my blog. “BOH-ring!,” she announced after scrolling through the first few posts. “It’s all so very dull and generic.” Fortunately, she did have some constructive advice: “You always have the most interesting stories. Why don’t you try telling some of those instead?”.

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SME Relationships: Proven Solutions for Seamless Collaboration and Success

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!

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Why Your Next Post Should Be a Short One

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Martyn of Two Hour Blogger. It does not take long to write. It does not take long to read. It forces you to write efficiently. It increases the number of comments. It makes you stand out. It gets spread a lot. It builds your audience. Get more from Martyn at Two Hour Blogger. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger. Why Your Next Post Should Be a Short One.

Post 43
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Why “International” Bloggers Have an Unfair Advantage

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Lucas Kleinschmitt of German Efficiency. If you’re in the blogging business, not being a native English speaker can be tough. The market in your home country will often be small, there may not be a culture of buying things online, and it can be difficult to find guest posting opportunities in your native language. Image copyright NASA Goddard Photo and Video, licensed under Creative Commons On the other hand, blogging in English seems like an equally bad idea at first glanc

Blogger 43
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Stop Looking for Your Blog’s Voice

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Matthew Setter of Malt Blue. Recently I read a post by Jeff Goins on ProBlogger, called Finding Your Blog’s Unique Voice , which talked about having a distinct voice for your blog. Something that is uniquely you , original , and distinct. That post resonated loudly with me, because for some time I’ve been working to achieve that on my blog.

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How to Win Readers and Make Them Stick

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Gabrielle Conde of Mission Engage. “Create a memorable experience.”. That’s great advice for businesses and large retail chains, but you’re wondering how it applies to your blog. You probably started blogging because you know something about an industry like technology or writing. You want to share your information with the world and they certainly need it.

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The Resurgence of Direct Mail as a Growth Marketing Strategy

Speaker: Jeff Tarran, COO, Gunderson Direct & Margaret Pepe, Executive Director of Product Management, U.S. Postal Service

Learn the secrets to direct mail success for growth marketers! Industry veterans Jeff Tarran and Margaret Pepe are here to delve into how direct mail has completely evolved in recent years, and has rightfully earned a seat at the table alongside the email and digital marketing plans of SMBs, enterprise companies, and agencies as they look into strategy for 2024 and beyond.

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Top 20 iPhone Apps for Bloggers

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Daniel Scocco of Next iPhone News. The Internet changes pretty fast, and if you want to have a popular blog, you must keep up with it. What if you get an awesome idea for a new post while at dinner? What if an important news breaks while you are at a birthday party? The bottom line is: you should be able to work on your blog all day long, even if you are not sitting in front of your computer.

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Is It Time to Hit the Reset Button on Your Blog?

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Joseph of Blog Tweaks. Don’t worry, nearly every blogger knows the story. You’ve been writing for six months or more, but haven’t seen a significant increase in traffic. Some of your posts have have been successful, but the majority have gone unnoticed. Quite frankly, you’re ready to quit. But should you?

IT 42
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How to Use SEO Wisely for Long-term Profits

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Moon Hussain of Experiments in Passive Income. By now, we have all read about the basics of search engine optimization. But despite knowing all the best practices, only a very few of us practice them. I know this because shamefully, it was only recently I realized that most of my content isn’t search engine optimized. This doesn’t make sense: you work hard using social media to get the word out about your glorious new post and are dying to see your Twitter stream blow up

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Finding the Rhythm of Blogging

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Stephanie Krishnan of guide2office.com. I play the African drum: an instrument called the djembe. I’ve been playing it since 2005. Until last year I used to play it as often as four times a week with a local group. My husband requested that I reduce the frequency of my playing (as it took a lot of time away from our time together: he travels a lot for his work).

Blog 42
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Lets Get Physical: How to Blend Direct Mail Marketing with Your Digital Strategy

Speaker: Akeel Jabber, B2B SaaS Investor and Growth Marketer at Horizen Capital

⭐ Are you ready to boost campaign success? Consider the untapped potential of integrating direct mail marketing seamlessly with digital marketing strategies. Combining the physical, tangible impact of direct mail with the dynamic reach of digital marketing can be a game-changer, significantly increasing your ROI when done right. Direct mail grabs attention, making it great for reaching your target audience 📩 Digital marketing keeps the momentum going, driving action 📲 So.

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The Secret Fairytale Magic to Irresistible Blog Posts

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Amy of Harrisonamy.com. From Jack and the Beanstalk , to Little Red Riding Hood , to Cinderella , fairytales have been enchanting audiences for thousands of years. They are constantly being retold, modified and even made into blockbuster movies. Despite their apparent simplicity, they enrapture and engage audiences time and time again.

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Blogging at Home? Fight Lethargy With a Solid Morning Routine

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Chris Martucci of WhatBlag.com. For those of you who work from home, lethargy can be your greatest adversary. It’s not always easy to get your head in the game when you’re sitting on your couch in your tighty-whities eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. But don’t be so quick to blame the Fruity Pebbles—Fruity Pebbles are delicious.

Blog 41
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5 Reasons to Blog Anonymously (and 5 Reasons Not To)

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Phil (not his real name) of somehighschoolblog. It used to be impossible to run a business anonymously. Sure, some authors could pull it off, but if you worked at an office, what were you supposed to do? Go to work with a bag over your head? But today anyone can accomplish this, because anyone can author a blog (and you thought I was going to tell you to work with a mask on, or something).

Blog 41
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Optimize the Most Underutilized Page of Your Blog

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Sid of GeeksMakeMoney. Whilst it’s easy to get excited about crafting your latest blog post it’s far less likely you’ll be kept awake at night thinking about your blog’s Contact page. Indeed many bloggers don’t even bother to add a Contact page to their blog at all—but this can be a big mistake. As you’re about to discover, when contact pages are done right, they can become one of the most important parts of your entire blog… The im

Blog 41
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Is Training the Right Solution?

Speaker: Tim Buteyn

Let's set the scene: you’ve identified a critical performance gap in your organization and need to close that gap. A colleague suggests training, but you suspect there’s something going on that training can’t address. How can you determine if training is the right solution before you commit your budget and resources to a new training program? In this webinar, you will learn how to determine if training is the right solution using the Behavior Engineering Model.

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Writing is Easy; Editing is Hard

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Greg McFarlane of Control Your Cash. People regularly say to me, “I can’t write.” Sure you can. The process of writing – getting words down on the page – is mindlessly simple. Transcribe everything you say and/or think and eventually you’ll have something down on the screen in front of you. Which is precisely the problem.

Writing 41
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How to Use Private Label Rights to Get Content for Your Blog

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Pawel Reszka of Affhelper.com. For the time-strapped blogger who’s constantly struggling to write fresh, unique content, PLR can seem like a godsend. Pre-written copy that you can claim as your own? Sign me up—right?! Of course, as most of us know, it isn’t that simple. Although PLR can be a useful tool in developing content for your blog, it isn’t a “copy and paste” solution (at least, it isn’t if you don’t want the Big G to come down hard on you and your search ranking

Content 41
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7 Ways to Make Testimonials Work Harder for You

ProBlogger

This post was written by the Web Marketing Ninja—a professional online marketer for a major web brand, who’s sharing his tips undercover here at ProBlogger. Curious? So are we! While some of us are true trailblazers, the rest of us a’re happy to walk a path previously traveled. Yes, our individual journeys will be unique, but the tracks were already there—we just chose our own route.

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Ramit Sethi: I Will Teach You To Monetize (In 6 Steps)

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Michael Alexis, producer of WriterViews.com. They thought that I cared about making $300 or $500 a month. Honestly, I didn’t give a damn about that. – Ramit Sethi, iwillteachyoutoberich.com. How many of your readers tell you that you have to monetize your blog? Do they call you crazy when you don’t? After three years of giving away free content, these are the exact comments blogger Ramit Sethi was getting from his readers.

Finance 40
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Revitalizing Dry Content: A Lesson in Engagement

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

We’ve all been there. You’ve been given a pile of dry content and asked to create a compelling eLearning course. You’re determined to create something more engaging than the same old course that learners quickly click through, but how do you take this “boring” content and create something relevant and engaging? Many instructional designers will say, “Boring in means boring out.

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From $0 to $1000 on a Blogspot Blog

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Sid of GeeksMakeMoney. It has been a year now since an eventful day when I was browsing the Internet and clicked on an advertisement that seemed an obvious scam: Get 90% off a new iPad. “Yeah, right,&# I thought. But I wanted to check it out anyway since I seemed to recall seeing the same ad previously, and I wondered if it was a new type of scam I should be aware of.

Blog 40
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Are Your Personal Stories Turning Readers Off?

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Ali Luke of Aliventures. You’ve probably heard that you should put some of your personality into your blogging. And you know that stories are a great way to engage readers—to capture not just their attention, but their hearts as well. Perhaps some of your favorite bloggers are people like Naomi Dunford or Johnny B. Truant or Pace and Kyeli Smith —folks who write from the heart, who are open and honest, and who make you feel that you know them.

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4 Success Secrets of Infamous British Author, Jeffery Archer

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Aman Basanti of www.Ageofmarketing.com. Love him or hate him, there is no denying the phenomenon that is Jeffery Archer. With 27 book titles to his name and international sales passing $250 million, Archer is a phenomenon. So what can a man as successful as Archer teach you about blogging success? Lesson 1: Blog about what you know.

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How Having A Blogging Coach Changed My Life

ProBlogger

This guest post is by Peter Sinclair of [link]. I have been in business for well over 25 years. I in fact owned my first business at the age of 18. Though for many of those years I never, ever thought about the importance of having a mentor or a coach. My dad was not a businessman. My granddad was not a businessman. So I simply had to learn everything from scratch in the wonderful University of Success, otherwise known as the Academy of Failure.

Blog 40
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Brain Fog HQ: Memory Enhancement Techniques for Professional Development

Speaker: Chester Santos – Author, International Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, Memory Expert, U.S. Memory Champion

In October, scientists discovered that 75% of patients who experienced brain fog had a lower quality of life at work than those who did not. At best, brain fog makes you slower and less efficient. At worst, your performance and cognitive functions are impaired, resulting in memory, management, and task completion problems. In this entertaining and interactive presentation, Chester Santos, "The International Man of Memory," will assist you in developing life-changing skills that will greatly enha