GIVING THANKS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS AND VISITORS Through Your Blog... Welcome to this week's MIND Your Business podcast, presented by MIND Development and Design and our friends over at Fresh Roasted Hosting. We are here to empower you with knowledge to get the most out of your website and we love your questions...anything about your website form and function and ranking and social media stuff, ask us on our Facebook page...the ask a question button on our podcast page or email us info@minddnd.com. Thank you for listening to us on iTunes and Spreaker...please spread the word... We'll help you out Today is Thanksgiving and if you're listening to this on Thanksgiving day i feel doubly obligated to make it worth your while. I haven't shared any new blog topic ideas in a few weeks and since blog topics are my FAVORITE topic I thought I'd express my gratitude and give thanks to YOU for listening by sharing some ideas with you to use on your blog page...which SHOULD BE LOCATED ON YOUR WEBSITE! If you're asking "Why can't I have a blog page located off my website?" The answer is YOU CAN! The question is why would you want all of your work that goes into that blog page to not benefit your actual website? Alright, here's your first idea...RANT!!!! This is a risky proposition becuase not everyone has the good sense to know when an improper line is crossed, but I'm challenging you anyway! State your opinion on something. Be bold. Don't just state the "tried and true".... don't just stick with the status quo. Be aware of the news in your field of work and what the other experts are saying. Go out on a limb! Hell, back in August right here on this podcast I was the first to say "Hey...expect a Penguin update in October or November." I'm not bringing this up to say "Hey...look at me...I was RIGHT!" I'm bringing this up to point out that I could have just as easily been wrong...in which case I'd be eating a fat slice of humble pie right now. Don't be afraid to take a chance. You care enough about your business arena to make it your livelihood, so you must have some strong opinions. Make those opinions known...and then back up your opinion with some solid facts to let your audience in on your thought processes. This is a valuable trust builder! Most people think of the term "rant" as a negative thing because too many people with little or no command of the English language and poorly thought out ideas tend to be the ones who make the news with their incoherant rants that go nowhere but manage to offend enough people to get attention. A well thought-out rant is a valuable trust builder. Here's your next blog post idea...write about a relevant current event. Let your opinion be known, once again! Back when the real estate bubble was about to burst in 2007/2008 you had all these house-flipping shows on HGTV where you could invest 5 bucks and magically add 25K to the value of your house and all of a sudden homes went from being dwellings for our families to being houses...commodities...just another product that can be stuck on a shelf for sale. As a result, a lot of these houses have passed their shelf life. WHILE all this was going on, I was in contact with numerous real estate agents who had been in the business for more than a decade and they all said the same thing. They saw it coming and they didn't allow themselves to get swept away in the the excitement of an artificially inflated market. Many of these agents were writing about it on their blog pages and are still in real estate because they let their opinion be known to their visitors and clientele...in SPITE of the fact that the overhyped media was saying the opposite. During this time I wrote a commentary post about a Miami Herald study that showed that between the year 2000 and 2008 over 10,000 mortgage broker licenses had been given to people the state of Florida with criminal records ranging from fraud to armed robbery to money laundering. And that was just THE STATE OF FLORIDA! Anyone still wondering how the sub-prime fiasco happened? The point with this is there are tons of relevant current events that you have access to online every day. Use those topics and state your opinions...go out on a limb. Your audience will appreciate it! When we come back, I've got a couple more ideas for you to make your blog page a valuable resource for your visitors... ========================================================== And we are back with the MIND Your Business podcast...empowering you with the knowledge you need to get the most out of your website and develop a true bond with your audience of potential clients and customers. We encourage you to hit us up on Facebook with your web development, web design, social media, SEO and content marketing questions... Today, it's a bit of an abbreviated podcast with respect to your Thanksgiving plans. I'm sharing some ideas with you on how to make your blog page a true resource of valuable information for your visitors. This next one is probably the best of the bunch today. It's a bit of an obvious one, but it bears repeating because the search engines are factoring in your engagement more than ever.... ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM YOUR READERS AND VISITORS! Frequently asked questions, infrequently asked questions...whatever. If your audience asks, it's valid. These are valuable to YOU for two main reasons... 1) The best questions you can answer are the ones from your audience...and it takes a bit of bravery to do this. Think of all the lame FAQ pages you've seen on websites...you know, the ones that are made up of questions that obviously came from the business owners themselves because there are no truly challenging questions. They're all tailored to be easy to answer and non-threatening. "Do you accept credit cards as well as cash?" Uhhhh...no, we're a web-based business, so please send us your payment in an inconspicuous envelope...small, unmarked bills please. I'm being fecitious here, but I think you know what I'm talking about. Take on audience questions...you might just learn something about your business that you've been taking for granted. 2) A question from a reader-slash-visitor is a great way for other visitors and readers to see that you're listening and responding. This will increase the chances of you getting more and more engagement on your blog page and even your social media. This will increase visitor time on your website and will show Google, ultimately, that you are legitimately engaging your audience. Your audience wants to see evidence that you're listening and that you truly care about the people who are giving you money for your product or service. It's that simple. When they see that you're listening, they're more likely to overcome their shyness and ask you a question themselves. And this, of course, leads to that precious engagement that you're looking for and that Google and all the search engines are looking for. They can't merely trust words and links in and of themselves as in years past...the search engines need to see that you really are getting engagement and that's something that's nearly impossible to fake. And finally, in the spirit of Thanksgiving...give thanks by thinking of others. Think of what you can give back to your community through a charity or other kind of philanthropy. It could be a charitable organization...local food bank or women's shelter or even a school. There are opportunities to help people or organizations in need through the work you do. Find a cause that is close to your heart. For instance, I've helped raise money for Relay for Life for several years now because I know numerous survivors and am inspired by their strength and heart. Every one of you listening today has a cause that speaks to you...take part in that cause and share your experience on your blog by letting others know about it, as well as what THEY can do to help. At the core of all of this is the very essence of business that gets lost in the scramble for more money, money, money... Business is supposed to be people helping people. It's that simple. Show your heart for what you do and simply help people...the rest will take care of itself. Use your blog to show that you care about what you do enough to share information that can help people. Let your visitors see the heart behind your business...there's no better way to do that than to show that your heart extends BEYOND your business! Thank you for tuning in to this week's MIND Your Business podcast, presented by MIND Development and Design and our friends over at Fresh Roasted Hosting. Thank you for listening to us on iTunes, Spreaker and whereever else you find us...we might under your sofa with all those lost coins and dust bunnies. If you have a question about your website...it's look, it's function, it's ranking...let us know, so we can engage YOU! Hit us up on Facebook, the Ask A Question button on our Podcast page or email us...info@minddnd.com. We'll see you next time