When someone comes in with something that Rick (the owner) doesn’t know much about, or doesn’t know what it’s worth he’ll call in a “friend” who’s an expert.

The thing about his expert friends that struck me and made me think of bloggers is they are all very specialized in what they are experts on. For example if someone brings in some money ~ Rick doesn’t call in a money expert ~ he calls in Dana Linnet, the President of Early American History Auctions. This guy knows everything there is to know about early American History. Does he know about French history, or Russian History? Nope. BUT, he is THE expert in all things early American History.

If someone brings in an old sword, or knife Rick doesn’t call in a “weapon” guy, no he calls Sean Rich who is an expert in Antique Arms and Armour.

If someone brings in a Mickey Mantle baseball card he doesn’t bring in just a baseball person, no he brings in Drew Max a forensic document examiner and handwriting expert, specializing in celebrities, sports, and antiquities.

Why is it important for Rick to bring in all these experts? Because when someone is an expert in something people trust that. When the expert comes in and says oh that’s a fake it’s not worth a dime… people believe him.  On the other hand when he comes in and says, oh man… this thing is worth 10 grand, they believe that as well.

If Rick had a jack of all trades come in to evaluate these objects his opinion would not be nearly as trusted, and Rick wouldn’t be able to make the kind of deals he does to buy the items.

So, what does this have to do with blogging?

Everything. When you start your blog, it’s so easy to be a jack of all trades. Oh I like all this stuff, I’m just gonna write about it all.  The problem with that mentality is you’re not going to really speak to anyone. You’ve got to make some decisions about who you’re going to talk to, what you’re going to be the expert on.

You have to decide (as close to the beginning as possible, but any time will work) what it is people will know you for. When they have “this” problem they will be like Rick and say “Oh I’ve got a friend who knows all about that, let’s talk to them”.

Here’s some examples:

Let’s take this blog,

Years ago I bought the domain internetmarketingformommies.com, and all these years I’ve shied away from really making this site about moms who blog. However, as I take on the role as THE person to help moms who blog make their blogs rockin’ spaces on the internet… that makes it easier for me to know who I’m writing for and  for those people to find me, and refer me to their friends.

What about a homeschooling blog?

You could do general homeschooling, but what about homeschooling for preschool? or High School.  You create a much more specific group of people who you truly help, and they will refer you to their friends who need you as well.

What about a recipe site?

Well, heck, recipes cover the world. If I’m looking for a chicken recipe and I come to a site that has a million recipes and they’re all different it’s going to take time for me to find just what I’m looking for. There are tons of different kinds of recipes people are looking for, creating a small space for you to dig deep into is a great idea for recipe sites. I mean there’s chicken recipes, and gluten free recipes, and paleo recipes, and weight watchers recipes, and south beach recipes, and low carb recipes, and low fat recipes,and low calorie recipes, and lunch recipes… oh my, you could definitely find a small little corner of the recipe industry and carve yourself out a slice.

So what do you think?

Is there a way you could shift your blog to become the expert for a small portion of your topic? Could you become the “go to” person in that topic? I’d love to hear, and if you want to brainstorm about your blog specifically, let me know.

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1. When the Stars Align and You’re Willing to Listen Your World Shifts

I loved it. It was simple. Specific. Tangible.

1. Do your keyword research.

2. Identify keywords with high search volume and low competition.

3. Create content around those keywords.

4. Build links until you hit #1 on Google.

5. Get tons of sales and Passive income.

I mean, really, what could be better than that. As long as you knew the parameters you were working within for your keyword research, and you could stick it out long enough to build enough links… that was all there was.

I thought SEO was perfect for everything, the best way to drive traffic to any site. I mean, you can find keywords for EVERYTHING!

Someone would ask me how to get traffic to their site ~ the list above was my answer. How could it fail?!

That was back then… back when I thought being able to have someone tell me exactly what I needed to do was awesome. Back when I thought if I just followed someone else’s blueprint, and followed their steps I’d be sitting pretty with internet riches.

That was back then… when I thought I could squelch my inner artist, my inner talent and just be a worker bee ~ but instead of driving to my hive, I’d just do it from home.

Only problem with this scenario is I’m a shitty worker bee.

I have ideas, lots of them, some are pretty lofty. I love to make connections with people. I love to be creative, and think of new ways to do things. I love to be out there on the leading edge of stuff.

So sitting at home being a worker bee worked for a while, but not for long.

I started to see there were other ways to drive traffic. I started to see that SEO was good for some things… but not so great for other things. I started to see that there was more than one way to build a business, more than one way to get traffic and SEO wasn’t always the answer.

Once that realization hit, there was just no turning back. I had seen the light. Of course, SEO will always be great for keyword targeted niche sites ~ don’t get me wrong. However, if you’re trying to build a site that’s anything MORE than just keyword targeted you’re going to have to be open to the fact that SEO may NOT be the right path.

I see it still, people trying to build a blog where they provide fantastic information and could be the authority in their field. Here’s the rub though… they don’t believe in themselves enough to be the authority on the topic. They keep themselves small ~ for whatever reason runs through their head ~ and they keep targeting product keywords, or niche specific keywords ~ and they keep building links… but the problem is it’s not enough for them.

The second problem is… they don’t realize it’s not enough for them.

They think this is what they should be doing, the best they can be doing and are beating themselves up because they’re bored and frustrated and can’t seem to ever build enough links to get their site where they want it. Can’t seem to make sales from the search traffic that’s coming in.

HERE’S WHY:

It’s not a search market.

The people coming to these sites are looking for help, or guidance, or connection. They aren’t looking for a keyword targeted article to get them to buy something… they are looking to connect with someone else just like them.

Hey guess what… that’s YOU.

They want to know they’re not alone. They want to know someone else understands where they are and what they’re going through.

Hey guess what… that’s YOU.

They want to connect with someone, they want to get recommendations, advice, counsel on what’s going on in their lives.

Hey guess what… that could be YOU.

I’m sad to say, this is partly my fault. Back in my SEO addict days I probably told you to go and find targeted keywords and start building links until your site ranked where you wanted it. For that I’m sorry. I was an addict. I had tunnel vision. I just didn’t know.

However, with that being said, this is YOUR business. If something isn’t working, you need to evaluate what’s going on. What’s up with the situation. Why isn’t it working.

In cases like this, I can bet you 10 to 1 that it’s because your readers need more of YOU. They need to connect with you, even if they come from Google, when they get to your site, they need to be able to feel you there. They need to be able to get to know you.

But you know what’s even better than getting them from Google all cold, distant and leery of what they’ll find? Getting to know them before they even hit your site. Having them go to your site because they’ve gotten to know you, and they love you and they want more of what you’ve got.

What would it be like if a warm, friendly person who already knows and likes you landed on your site? Would they be worried that you’re just trying to sell them another bottle of snake oil like the last guy? Not so much. They already trust you. They’re more likely to read what you’ve got ~ and take action… especially if what you’ve got is good. (and this is key ~ you can’t throw crap up on your site and expect it to do well… quality counts here!) Now that action may be that they buy something, or it may not. They may share your message with someone else. They may bookmark your post to come back to later. They may reach out to you in an email… all of these things are actions though. They are actions that further your connection with your reader and possible customer. They are connections that create a bond between the two of you that makes it much easier to cross the chasm and hand over money.

In addition to making a connection though… these actions all create links for your site. Your new friends are doing all the boring stuff you hated to do, and guess what… Google loves it. Now not only do you have a warm, happy friend stopping by your site, you have Google noticing you have a bunch of friends, and noticing they are sharing your work with others. This means something to the big G and they start looking at your site a little differently. They start thinking, well hey, if all these people are saving, and sharing this stuff, maybe we ought to be sharing it as well. And your search ranking start to go up.

There are tons of ways to connect with your market online. There are tons of ways to create that connection. Which is part of the problem. There’s no quick, cut and dry here’s 5 steps ~ do them and you’ll succeed. This type of business is much more subtle. You have to keep your eyes open, keep your wits about you. You have to be able to evaluate regularly and adjust accordingly.

Yeah… SEO rocked my world when I wanted to be a worker bee. There’s nothing wrong with being a worker bee either… if you can handle it. Just realize that SEO is not going to be the best option for some sites. If you’re stepping out of worker bee zone, you’re creating a site that’s more than just targeted keywords, you need to make sure you’ve created a business plan that includes connection.  Plain and simple.

Google may be able to send you traffic, but connection and trust are what make sales, and Google can’t give you that. Only you can do that… by getting out there, and connecting with people.

Are you frustrated with your business right now? Are you ready to give up because you can’t build enough links to get to where you want to go? If that rings true, please take some time TODAY… and look at your site, your business model and see if there’s a way you can start connecting, start making friends, start building trust with people before they hit your site.

I have found it makes all the difference in the world. I’d be glad to help if you need it.

No related posts.

Well anyway… it finally got a little overwhelming and I convinced my husband to get around to taking them to the recycling place. He asked me to call up there and find out how much they were paying for aluminum so we could get an idea of how much money we’d make off all these cans.

I did and it was 25 cents a pound. So I thought, “cool, there’s 20 bucks”.

My husband came in and called a recycling center in Wichita (which is an hour away) and the price for aluminum was 50 cents a pound. Dang ~ he just doubled our money. He happened to be going to Wichita anyway so the drive was really no big deal.

So who really cares about my cans and how much money we got for them ($47.63)? Nobody, but the point was to illustrate that by looking around, doing a little research you can easily double your money for the same effort.

This is true in internet marketing as well.  Later that very same day a friend sent me a link to a video that shows one easy way to do just that. I thought I’d share it with you today.

It’s very easy to use Amazon as your affiliate program. It’s probably relatively familiar to you. It’s a trusted site. There are definitely reasons to use Amazon. But… if you’re looking at promoting specific products it’s worth it to look around and see if there are other affiliate programs that could possibly earn you more ~ even double what you’d make at Amazon.

Here’s the video:

I’d love to hear what you think about what Andrew has to say. Is it worth it to search around for other affiliate programs? Are you going to stick with Amazon? Let’s talk about it. Tell me in the comments.

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1. Passive Income Means Money While I Sleep, Right?

I don’t use a lot of images on this blog, but images can really add to a site. They look great and can serve to keep people on your site a little longer. They can also really bring home a point you’re making in your blog post.

Here’s the rub…

Where do you find great images you can legally use without paying for them? Sure you can scour through flickr and find images you can use, but I’ve got another idea.

Allposters.com

Yep, a poster store. They have thousands of posters on thousands of subjects and I’m sure you can find one that will fit the topic of your blog post.

The even better thing is that you can use your affiliate link to create the images and if someone clicks through and buys it you make a commission.

Now I’m not saying you’re going to make a million bucks from your images ~ but, an additional little income stream is never a bad thing and you get fantastic images and don’t have to worry about using them illegally. Win -win from where I’m sitting.

Their affiliate program appears to be in house ~ although I thought at one time it was through another network, but now it seems all you have to do is fill out the application.

You will need a website for your application. If you don’t currently have a blog or a website you can create one for free on blogger to get you started. You can use the images with your affiliate  links on any site after you’ve been accepted.

This is also a great way to create images on Squidoo lenses ~ and hubpages… I’m just sayin’.

I hope this gives you an idea on how to get free blog images  ~ and maybe helps you make a little cash on the side. I’d love to hear how you’re finding free blog images ~ or are you paying for them? Tell me in the comments!

Related posts:

1. Free Blog Review/Critique
2. Passive Income Means Money While I Sleep, Right?
3. How to Generate Leads from Your Blog

What happens when you realize the topic you’ve decided on for your site just doesn’t really respond to that type of monetization?

Maybe you chose a topic that is early in the buying cycle, and people aren’t looking to buy something, or they’re just looking for information.

What do you do?

Do you just quit the site and let it lay around doing nothing?

Well that’s one option for sure ~ but it’s not the most profitable option I’m certain.

Let’s look at an example from my website portfolio.

A couple years ago when I went through Amy’s Niche Blogger program I built a blog featuring Easy Chicken Recipes. It met all the guidelines she talked about. I built it as she suggested and it gets traffic. I haven’t really touched the site (until just recently) in a year or so ~ and it still gets a couple thousand page views a month. The keywords aren’t the problem ~ they are getting me traffic, problem is no one’s buying.

When I stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense. I go online all the time looking for recipes. I’m looking for recipes, not to buy something. Because I realized the error I made I just left this site laying around ~ I added a cool plugin that makes it look like the site is updating regularly ~ but it’s really just rotating older posts through to the front page ~ so I just left it.

I recently read a free report from a big guru launch about email marketing. As I read it some big time lights went off in my head. The first light was about my internet marketing blog ~ but then other lights began going off ~ I realized I could look at the recipes site in a totally different way and make it work.

Here’s the new plan.

1. Add clickable advertising (adsense/chitika) Which I hadn’t been using because the amount I make per click is so minimal it didn’t seem worth it ~ but it is getting good traffic and will be getting even more traffic now.

2. Create an out of this world freebie (It’s going to be a cookbook of my favorite chicken recipes ~ I’ll also be getting a quality ebook cover done for this)

3. Add  the PopUp Domination plugin to start collecting names.

4. Create an autoresponder series that once finished will create a hands off passive income stream.

How’s that going to work?

These people are looking for information ~ we know that. I’m going to offer them a free cookbook of recipes they were searching for to get them on my list.

Once on my list I’m going to keep sending them even more fantastic chicken recipes. (Is this going to be hard ~ NO because I love cooking, and I love to cook chicken, and I make chicken a LOT, and have a lot of chicken recipes)

Here’s where the money comes in:

While they are looking for recipes ~ people looking for easy chicken recipes are probably also in need of other things that make life a little easier. I bet they are probably moms ~ busy moms!

In each email I will let them know about something that can make life a little easier ~ whether it’s a way to organize their recipes, a great cookbook or whatever. This is known as soft sell ~ just adding a little note at the top and/or bottom of the email.

Then every 2 or 3 emails I’ll send them an entire email focused on something. Something they can buy. It may be a cookbook (via Amazon or Clickbank), it may be a way to get their printed recipes organized, or a great workout program (you think busy moms are looking for a quick way to work out?), or a service that will create an entire week’s menu for them and send them the grocery list along with the recipes.

The key to this working though, is I’m not going to just shoot them recipes every week. I’m going to let them get to know me. I’ll tell some stories ~ add our family’s thoughts on the recipes. I’ll let them know I am like them ~ a busy mom who wants life to be easier. By allowing them to get to know, like and trust me it will be much easier for them to accept my recommendation when it comes to something to buy.

This plan will work in just about any relatively specific niche (I’m not talking about micro niches here though). It will work especially well if you find you’ve gotten yourself in a niche where people are looking for information instead of to buy. By getting people on your list you’re giving yourself the opportunity to be in front of them more than once.  I’d say 99% of my traffic is new people on that site. Yeah, they come by looking for a recipe, and even if they might have needed something I was advertising on the site, they aren’t in the mindset to buy right now. I can keep talking over time until I hit the moment they ARE ready ~ then they buy.

What do you think? Are there niches you’ve chosen where this strategy might work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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2. Jane Deere: Community Blog Review

2. Can someone tell what that one thing is within 5 seconds of hitting your site?

3. If not, what can you do to make it so?

Love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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I realized my road bike will fit in the car (without the car seat there!) ~ Now if it gets under 100 degrees I’ll go for a ride *fingers crossed for the morning*

I then went out and cut veggies from the garden and realized it would be a perfect time to get some canning done. As much as I love to cook with Hanna ~ I’m still new to canning and think it will be much easier to do without a million questions and a little one under foot.

So I went looking for recipes. I’ve got plenty of cucumbers for regular pickles, but I’m getting inundated with Zucchini and was wondering if I could can it… so in search of recipes I went.

I found a couple relish recipes, and realized it was getting on dinner time and without my picky eater (the husband) in the house I could eat foods I don’t normally fix. YAY!!

That’s when I came across this fantastic recipe: OH YUM. And so many ingredients I love but the hubby won’t touch. Sounds perfect for dinner.

I’m reading the recipe, and then got to the comments and here’s what I saw:

(the hi-lite is mine). The author talked a lot about this completely fantastic Mandoline she just got, how much she loves it, the great features it has that make it a dream to use and then didn’t tell us what it was, or let us look at it or give us a link.

I have a mandoline and I haven’t quite figured out how to use it yet (maybe I will for this recipe ~ but I think I’ll probably use the potato peeler method lol)

She is talking to cooks ~ that’s her audience. Don’t you think if she LOVES this mandoline so much, then they will too? Isn’t there a chance that someone out there reading this fantastic recipe might also be in the need of  a fantabulous mandoline?

As a matter of fact ~ after a quick search at the Google tool I can see there are 1900 people every month looking for a mandoline review. hmmm…

So many times we get caught up in what we’re talking about (the recipe) that we forget there are other elements involved in the story that could easily help us monetize a post. (the mandoline)

I know in the beginning I would think about putting links to tools I was using or talking about in the post and I’d feel like “oh jeez, I don’t want them to think I’m trying to sell them something”.

I don’t think like that anymore. I think along the lines of wow ~ I don’t want my readers to have to say… I would have liked to have seen the (fill in the blank) you recommend. I’m in the market for one too!

I was talking to Mary K about this the other day. (She’s my accountability partner and the Queen of Play) She was saying how frustrating it is when she’s reading something and someone’s talking about a something ~ be it a tool, or a site or whatever ~ and they don’t link to it. It’s like they are “keeping” it from her, and she really wishes they would share.

As you’re writing, and telling stories make sure you keep in mind the tools you use. Those are the things you are likely to be very passionate about, and may be things you can easily monetize. If you leave out your links you’re doing not only yourself, (almost all the De Buyers mandolines at Amazon are over 100 dollars) but your readers a disservice.

What tools of your trade do you use regularly. Are you talking about them in your blog posts? Are you linking people to be able to buy them? If not… maybe you should be. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments section.

Now I’m off to make that fabulous looking recipe.

No related posts.

If you are still trying to talk to everyone, because you don’t want to lose business/traffic/readers  by leaving someone out, this is a post you really need to read. I think I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again.

When you try to talk to everyone, you speak to no one.

Here’s why.

When you try to talk to everyone, you have to speak in generalities so your message will make sense to “everyone”. When you choose your right people you get to speak in specifics. Specifics that they will understand. When you speak in specifics your right people read it and they say ~ Oh yeah. That’s me. I get that. This kind of reaction leads to a feeling of knowing you and comfort with you. Which leads to trust ~ they now feel part of a “tribe” part of a group that “gets” them and understands them and their problems and issues, and they feel safe. Your message is going to be much easier for them to hear.

Let’s look at some examples:

I run a health site, with tips to be healthy.

vs.

My site is for women 50 and over who are looking for ways to be/stay  healthy through menopause and beyond.

Here’s another:

I run a recipe site.

vs.

I run a site for busy moms who want to cook dinner in 15 minutes or less for under 5 dollars a meal.

BAM.

One more:

I teach people how to do internet marketing.

vs.

I teach busy moms who already have an online business  and are making some money how to ramp up their business and take it to the next level.

ok, one more and this one comes from a reader…

My site is about healthy eating and staying fit.

vs.

My site is for people who want to learn how to stay healthy and fit by  living the primal lifestyle. (Toad, if you have a more specific “right people” I’d love to hear it!

Can you see the difference? Yeah, of course the reader pool is going to be smaller, but just like targeted keywords, the “right people” who get to your site are going to be so much more targeted than just sending out a generalized message about a general topic.

You’re going to find it easier to connect with your “right people” because you’re actually talking to them. They are going to find it easier to purchase your products and services because you’re speaking to THEM. You are helping to solve their specific problems.

So How Do I know Who They Are?

It’s a great question. A long time ago, when I was still doing network marketing I bought a book called “Attracting Perfect Customers” It is about this exact thing, deciding on and then attracting your “right people”. One of my favorite exercises in the book was one to find your “right person”.

It is a meditation exercise, and I’ll give you the basics. (For the whole shebang, you’ll have to get the book ~ I can’t give away all their secrets.)

• Set yourself up in a quiet room, with no distractions, get comfortable.
• Take some deep breaths, and relax.
• Picture a door in your head. Watch your perfect customer walk through the door. Notice everything about them. (if you don’t have a perfect customer yet, let yourself create one now)
• Ask them to sit down.
• Ask them questions ~ about who they are, what they need, what they like, what they want from you, what they need from you, what kind of customer service they want/need etc. All the imperative things you and they need to create a beautiful relationship.

This exercise can be very powerful. I learned a lot about who I was and who I wanted to work with when I first did it.

So now what?

Once you’ve got a clear picture of who your right people are you will probably find it gets easier to write your content. It’s easier to be yourself (because my guess is… your perfect customer is a lot like you!). You have a clearer picture of who they are so it’s easier to go hang out where they do. It is also easier to identify right people right from the beginning so you don’t waste a bunch of time trying to make wrong people right.

You do know you don’t have to work with everyone right? Yeah, that’s a tough one, but it’s true. Once you have figured out your right people  you’ll also notice how much easier it is to work with them. You come away from work with your right people energized and excited. Working with wrong people can easily lead to energy drain, and frustration.

Of course you will have people show up that aren’t exactly right.

And that’s ok. But you may find the clearer you get, and the more you cater to your right people, they probably won’t stay around long, and your audience will grow into more and more of your right people.  This is when things get really fun!

I’d love to hear about your right people! Please… tell me who they are! If you haven’t figured out who your right people are let us know that too, we can brainstorm in the comments section. You can always become a member of the KISS Club and we can work it out together.

No related posts.

Monday KISS Club Launch:

On Monday I launched the KISS Club as many of you know.  We tested the process, it all worked. The membership plugin I was using came up with a last minute upgrade due to the new wp version. We upgraded ~ and there were some big glitches, even before we opened the KISS Club doors.

If you happened to have seen this entire site covered in the words “Wishlist Member” you saw the first of many problems.  The membership plugin randomly created 1500 new pages called wishlist member when it was reactivated.

I sent an email to the plugin support people and received an answer 5 or so hours later. However, the solution they offered did not apply to me, and luckily my tech whiz had already deleted the pages from the database. We reinstalled and everything went fine.

Everything looked fine.

My Mistake

After such a crazy mishap I should have run through the entire process again, checked it all. But I didn’t, the buttons were already in place. The holiday weekend was upon us. My tech person was going out of town. I trusted that it would work as it had before.

Like I said, my mistake.

Launch Day

Monday I put up my posts, and people came. I was so excited to see people signing up. I got off my morning accountability call and went to log in to the forum to greet new members and suddenly my login is not working. My site no longer recognizes me. And further, each time a new person joins Kiss Club they are made the admin not only of the forum ~ but of my blog as well. I couldn’t log in. I couldn’t get in. Nothing. There was no way for me to even get in and take down the post so people would stop joining until we got the problem fixed.

I was freaking out.

My tech person was still out of town. I reached out to some people I know from Twitter to see if they could help, but unless you can get in the back office, there’s not a lot you can do!

I sent an urgent email to support team at the plugin. I received an email from them asking for my login information, and my ftp information and didn’t hear back from them again. Until yesterday afternoon.

My tech person came home and somehow wrangled herself into the database and wrestled admin access back from the plugin and I could get back in my site.:) But NOT into the membership area, nor could any of the members.

It was kind of exciting to see people signing up for the program ~ but it totally sucked to get that email a few minutes later:

“Jackie I just joined your site and I can’t log in. What do I do now?”

I immediately answered each one, letting them know there were some tech issues going on. I had people working on it and when I expected it to be fixed. I also let them know how much I appreciated their patience.

Yesterday I had to make some decisions. Should I count on the original membership people to get back to me and help me get this working ~ even though I hadn’t heard JACK from them since I sent my login information, or should I figure out something else?

I’m not much for waiting it out and trusting people who haven’t shown me much reason to be trusted so I brainstormed with my tech person another way to manage this situation.

It wasn’t an easy solution, but for this situation it was the best thing we could do. We decided to scrap the whole thing, get a different membership plugin and start over.

I went and purchased the Digital Access Pass plugin (which I should have done originally but I was being cheap and got the cheaper solution  ~ even though I’d used it before without success and had requested a refund ~ I thought they had improved since that time ~not so much.)

We set up the new forum on a subdomain and started over. I can say as of this moment that all the people who have paid have been set up with new passwords on the new site and should have access (if you don’t, please let me know!)

So what does this long, drawn out, crazy story have to do with YOUR business?

A lot.

• I will never, ever use Wishlist Member again. (duh), I will not recommend it. I will discourage people from using it, even if it is 70 dollars cheaper than the other alternative.

I can tell you this probably wouldn’t have happened if they had just communicated with me. I’m not unreasonable. If they had sent out an email ~ dang, this is messed up, we’re working on a new version to fix it… I would have probably hung in there. I would have had information to give my members. But I got nothing.

This one simple act of customer service would have kept my business ~ and any and all business I would have sent their way down the road.

• I did not lose one member through this whole fiasco.

I replied to every email I got regarding the problem. I then sent out a whole email explaining the situation, what we had decided to do about it, what to expect and when we hoped to be running.

• Most of the members who joined already knew me.

My relationship with most of the members of KISS Club didn’t start when they joined. I’ve known them for a while. I’ve provided plenty of great content. I’ve answered questions. I’ve participated in conversations, answered emails. I’ve been there providing fantastic customer service all along.

This relationship allowed them to give me a little leeway. They knew I wasn’t out to screw them out of their money. They understood stuff happens, and because I was open and let them know what was going on, they appeared to be willing to hang in there with me until things get fixed. (which they are for the most part now! YAY!!)

What you can do to provide great customer service in your business
(no matter what stage of business you are in)

1. Answer emails from  your readers/customers

2. Reply to comments

3. Provide consistent content (it shows that you are reliable)

4. Give away plenty of great stuff (it shows you are generous)

5. Let people get to know you ~ through your writing,  your conversations, BE YOU. (people will trust that you are who you say you are, thus you will do what you say you will do)

6. Do what you say you’re going to do. It doesn’t matter what it is, but make your word mean something. If you say you’re going to do something ~ do it.

By creating this kind of foundation with your readers and customers you give yourself a little leeway when crazy stuff happens. People will hang in there with you because they know, like and trust you. (Have you heard that from me before?!?) Yeah, well, it has been 900 times more cemented in my brain this week just how important that is.

Start providing great customer service now ~ even if you have nothing to sell. Creating a foundation of great trust with your readers/customers will take you farther than anything else you can do.

Related posts:

1. How to Generate Leads from Your Blog

In any niche there is always going to be a difference of opinions on one topic or another ~ do nofollow links really count, do ride on toys really have benefits, should you use pop boxes in your garden, should a school lunch have 3 carbs in it? Anything you talk about you’re going to find differing opinions. Use that to your advantage. Write a post on the subject, give your opinion on the topic, and then find other posts that have different opinions than you. Link to those posts in your post to give your readers a wider view of the issue.

2. Back up your point:

Take a stand in a post. Once you’ve taken your stand find other people in the blogosphere that agree with your stance and link to them from within your post. You have some backup for your stance, and your readers get to read more reasons why you know what you’re talking about.

3. Link Roundup:

Link to your favorite posts of the week. Gives you a quick and easy post and introduces your readers to blogs/authors they may not already know. (link roundups are often done on Fridays)

4.  Other people’s comments:

You may notice a comment on someone else’s blog that gives you a good idea for a post. Use it. Tell everyone where your idea came from and link to the post so they can see the post that inspired you.

5. Other people’s posts:

You may read a blog post that you agree or disagree with, use that post as a jumping off point for your own post. Tell people in your post what you thought of the original post, and your unique thoughts about the topic. Make sure you share with your readers a link to the story that inspired your story.

There you have it, 5 ways to include links back to another post. Each of these links will provide you the opportunity to create a trackback on the post you’ve linked to.

What other creative ways can you think of to link to another blogger in your post? I’d love to hear how you’re using linking to other blogs in your posts.

Related posts:

1. 11 Ways to Maximize Online Communities to Build Your Blog
2. 5 Ways to Ruin a Guest Post Request