3 Guest Blogging Mistakes to Avoid

3 Guest Blogging Mistakes to Avoid
The Sunrise Calendar App Integrates With Google, Facebook and LinkedIn
The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks
10 Tips For Successful Text Marketing

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 11:00 AM PST

guest blogging mistakes As an editor for several blogs that accept guest posts I see a lot of the same mistakes made over and over.

If you are hoping to become a guest blogger for a particular site, I recommend you review the following mistakes and avoid them.

Failure to Research What the Blog is About

Blogs that are devoted to a specific industry often want guest bloggers that have experience with that industry so they can offer educational information to the readers.

Currently I am an editor for a large blog that is focused on the search industry and it is obvious what the focus is to anyone that spends 2-3 minutes looking at the site. However, I get many emails from guest writers that say things like:

"Your blog would really benefit from my writings about choosing the right dog."

Well, no it would not. Emails like this are irritating because they are a waste of my time. If I receive 100 emails a day from potential guest bloggers to go through, I don't want to be wasting time on someone that has not even paid attention to what the blog is about.

Suggestion: Before you contact a blog about guest blogging please research what the blog is about and make sure that the topic you suggest is relevant.

Not Having the Experience to Write for a Blog

I know there are some guest bloggers out there that believe they can write about anything. Many people can write about "anything," but to write something that offers quality information that readers can learn from and/or put into action right away would require an author that has significant experience with the subject at hand.

Blogs that are devoted to a specific industry often want guest bloggers that have experience with that industry so they can offer the educational information I discussed above. They are not looking for someone that can look at an article and rehash it and call it their own. Here is another example of emails I receive:

"I have written about fashion, wine, fine dining and dogs. Now I want to move into writing about SEO."

Well, obviously this person doesn't really know SEO so why would I publish them? What quality can they offer? If they don't know SEO, aren't the ideas in their articles really going to belong to someone else? Typically, there are writer's guidelines on blogs and they are often specific about what type of writer they want.

Suggestion: Do not contact a blog about guest writing until you do the following:

Take time to read the writers guidelines of each blog you are interested in writing for.
Take some time to read the last 5-10 articles published and really be honest with yourself about whether or not you can offer the same kind of quality with the knowledge that you have.

Being Demanding When Not an Approved Writer Yet

Below is an exact sentence that I see probably 10 times a week. I believe this is because somewhere guest bloggers have suggested using a template when reaching out for guest blogging opportunities. FYI, the sentence below comes across rude and demanding to editors:

"I will send you an article that will need to be published within 48 hours and I will require 3 links with the anchor text of my choosing back to my websites."

So why is this offensive to editors?

There are a few reasons:

Editors often schedule weeks ahead of time and have promised spots to writers. They are not going to bump someone from their spot just so a new writer can be published within in 48 hours.
An active blog has many posts coming in and it can take weeks to read through them. What makes a writer so special that their article should be read, edited, uploaded and scheduled within 48 hours?
Editors don't work for the new guest writer; they work for the blog and the blog's owners. They have obligations and responsibilities; editors don't just "edit." Most of the time if an editor had to rush to get something published within 48 hours they would not be meeting the job's obligations and responsibilities.
And lastly, big blogs are essentially doing a favor for the writer by publishing their work so approaching an editor with "demands" is rude.

Know Your Limitations

Guest blogging can be a really good thing for a writer. It can help you build a reputation, help you with link building and it can help with branding. However, you cannot just assume that you can send a template letter to every type of blog and make all the editors excited about what you have to offer.

You must do your research about each blog you want to write for. You have to be honest with yourself about your limitations and you have to create something wonderful. Great blogs want unique, quality content that educates and offers usable information the reader can use.

If you cannot offer this to a blog due to lack of experience than you should not approach the blog at all.

Blog Error Photo via Shutterstock

The post 3 Guest Blogging Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Small Business Trends.

The Sunrise Calendar App Integrates With Google, Facebook and LinkedIn

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 09:00 AM PST

One new calendar app that was recently released in the App Store claims to actually help make life easier for users, with functions like recurring events, reminders, and all-day events. But the interesting part about Sunrise is its integrations with other services like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.

When a user schedules a meeting with a particular person, the app doesn't just remind you what time and who you're meeting with, but it also includes information about the person you are meeting, such as their LinkedIn profile or Facebook photo.

sunrise calendar app

This type of feature is meant to provide you with actual useful information within the app itself, so that you don't have to simply use your calendar app as a place to write notes for yourself to see at a later date, and then launch another application to find the information you might need.

When you first open the app, which was built by designers who previously worked on Foursquare, you can see a feed of events based on your Facebook events and Google Calendar, which are automatically imported once you've linked your accounts to the app.

The first photo above shows an example of how you can RSVP to events directly within the Sunrise app and create new events. You can view each of the events by time, including the place and people you will be meeting with, but you can also view each event individually as shown in the second photo.

Like many calendar apps, Sunrise isn't aimed specifically at business users, but could definitely be useful when scheduling meetings, conferences, presentations, and other events. The simple design and easy access of pertinent information directly within the app are also plusses for business users.

Before the launch of its mobile app, Sunrise functioned as an email newsletter that sent users daily reminders of events and other calendar information planned for the following day. The email service is still available, and both the app and newsletter are free.

The post The Sunrise Calendar App Integrates With Google, Facebook and LinkedIn appeared first on Small Business Trends.

The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 07:00 AM PST

cyber risk While many of us long for the days when people had real-life conversations rather than truncated text chats, the reality is that the Internet is here to stay. And in the Internet Age, data is king.

As a small business owner, you collect customer data every day. And if you're using the Internet, that data – along with all of your company's sensitive information – is vulnerable to attacks.

Without the proper safeguards in place, your business could suffer a data breach that exposes sensitive information, disrupts your operations and opens the door to an expensive lawsuit.

Why Cyber Security Matters to Small Business

The majority of data breaches happen to small and mid-sized business. Surprised? Consider these chilling stats:

About 40% of all cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses, but because smaller firms have fewer resources to devote to cyber security…
More than 72% of successful data breaches happen in smaller companies.
About 71% of small business owners admit to lacking confidence in their current cyber security measures.
As many as 65% of businesses go without cyber insurance – even though many of them cite data breaches as their number one concern.

Even more troubling? The average cost of a data breach for a small to mid-sized business is a staggering $5 million.

Why Cyber Security Matters to YOUR Small Business

When a small business suffers a data breach, the fallout can be tremendous. A single breach can trigger a variety of financial damages, including:

Lawsuits (and the attendant legal costs) from clients whose data and security were compromised. These alone can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars and beyond.
Site repair costs to address security issues that allowed the breach to happen.
Public relations and / or advertising costs to restore the company's image among current and potential clients.
Lost confidence and lost future business from current and potential clients whose confidence is shaken by the data breach.

Unfortunately, most small business owners believe that a data breach won't happen to them, either because they have adequate protection in place or because their information isn't worth stealing. In reality, hackers often see small businesses as prime targets because the data they store is typically less diligently protected than the data held by large corporations.

How Data Breaches Happen

In small businesses, data breaches can happen in a number of ways. Common scenarios include:

Your employee opens an email that contains a damaging virus, which spreads itself to everyone on the employee's contact list, including clients. The virus hurts your business's computer system, as well as your clients.
A virus compromises your company website, forcing you to redo the site and institute new security policies – which, of course, requires that you hire someone familiar with the relevant technology.
A hacker finds a way into your system and outright steals data from your files.
An employee who works from his tablet loses the device, which isn't password protected, putting sensitive data at large. You now have to handle the data crisis as well as the fact that your employee's productivity will likely plummet.
A former employee who left on bad terms accesses your system and wreaks havoc internally thanks to unchanged passwords.

Any of these scenarios could cause your clients financial loss, open your business to lawsuits, force you to shut down operations while you address the problem and damage your reputation with current and prospective clients. The associated costs could quickly spiral out of control.

Luckily, you're not completely powerless against the data breach risks your business faces.

Tips to Manage Your Cyber Security Risks

The good news is that there are several strategies you can implement to keep your risk of data breaches low. These include:

Using strong passwords. More than half of data breaches are caused by weak (aka "guessable") passwords. Make yours strong and change them regularly.
Implementing virus protection, firewalls and encryption techniques. These all make your network less vulnerable to attacks.
Limiting information disclosure. Only give access to sensitive data to team members who absolutely need it.
Investing in cyber liability insurance. Depending on your needs, you may be able to purchase this type of coverage as an add-on to your general liability policy. If your business has bigger data security needs, you can purchase a stand-alone cyber liability policy. Either way, the coverage will pay for the legal and recuperative costs associated with a data breach that affects your company.

The takeaway? The Internet, data and all its accompanying risks are not going away any time soon. Do your business, your clients and your bottom line a favor by preparing for the risks you face before they cause serious damage.

Virus Photo via Shutterstock

The post The Smallest Businesses Face the Biggest Cyber Risks appeared first on Small Business Trends.

10 Tips For Successful Text Marketing

Posted: 21 Feb 2013 05:00 AM PST

Are you using text marketing or text codes as part of your marketing strategy?

If you don’t know what text marketing or mobile marketing (I use these terms as one and the same) is, then this is something that you need to be looking into.

Text marketing is basically distributing your marketing through a wireless network. Usually how it works is, you text a certain keyword to a mobile short code and then you are either directed to a landing page or you receive a text message with a link that directs you to a specific landing page. On that landing page, you complete the desired action, like fill out a form, redeem a coupon or something along those lines.

A major reason you would want to look at using text marketing or mobile marketing is that most people carry a cell phone and text is used by most cellphone owners. In addition to this, in an interview I recently conducted with Jed Alpert, author of The Mobile Marketing Revolution. Alpert stated that the uptake by adding a text code to marketing is up to 10 times higher than if you don’t use a text code.

10 Tips For Successful Text Marketing

The Short Code

When you decide to use text marketing, look for a company that has an easy-to-remember short code. The short code is the number that you text your keyword too. If the numbers are not easy to remember, then your uptake will be lower.

For example, the company that I use in Canada has a short code of 313131, which is easy to remember.

The Keyword

As with the short code, keep the keyword short and easy-to-remember. Don’t force someone to type an alphanumeric code that isn’t easy to remember or a long keyword that people will get carpal tunnel syndrome from typing.

The combination of a short keyword to an easy-to-remember short code will allow you to have a higher uptake.

A Mobile Ready Landing Page

Since you are using a mobile device to view a landing page, make sure that the page that you are directing people to is mobile friendly. Otherwise, it might be too hard to read.

Capture an Email Address

By pairing mobile marketing with email marketing, you will have another way to market to people. The nice thing is, you will be able to send emails to people time and time again.

Use Mobile Marketing Only When Appropriate

If you choose to send out information to someones cell phone, make sure that you are not spamming them. It’s one thing to send emails to people, but it is entirely different when you start sending messages to someones cell phone.

Mobile messages can be read up to 100% of the time and unless you are providing something of significant value to the recipient, then think twice about how many times you send messages.

Have a Call To Action

This is basic common sense, but so many people fail to add a call to action to their marketing messages. If you are using a sign to get someone to text, then tell them what you want them to do. Such as, “Text X to Short Code to get a 10% off coupon today.”

Give Something Away of Value

Once you have gotten someone to follow your call to action, make sure that you give something away of value. It’s doesn’t have to be monetary value, but instead, it can informational in nature.

Measure Results

The nice thing about text marketing is that you can measure results. You can measure how many people used a text code and then if you use a link to a webpage, you can track that conversion. Finally, you can measure the uptake on your offer.

Few forms of marketing can give you that level of granularity.

Put Text Marketing on Any Visible Place

I place text codes in a lot of different places such as signs, business cards, products and company trucks among others. There are lots of places that you can place text codes.

Use Text Marketing To Act As Your Business Card

How many times have you been without a card and you really want to give someone your contact information?

Use your name and have it hooked up to a virtual card that someone can download. This way you will never be without a business card.

Mobile Marketing Photo via Shutterstock

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