North San Diego Business@Large

Supporting North San Diego County Solopreneurs

Archive for the 'Blogs and Blogging' Category

Social Networking For Your Business

November 18th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

If you don’t have a Facebook profile for your business, it’s something to consider. Especially if you’re looking to market your business online. However, for as much buzz as Facebook is getting, the heart of social networking is your blog. It’s the RSS feed that pumps your message to the masses on the Internet.

I have had solopreneurs tell me they need a website, not a blog. For all intents and purpose, a blog is a website as far as the search engines are concerned. So why would you want to blog for your business?

Blogs, especially blogs set up for social networking, offer you a complete, easy self-publishing platform for your business. Often I hear solopreneurs complain that they can’t get their webmaster to make any changes for them in a timely manner. Now, that’s all taken care of with a blog. You don’t need programming skills to create your blog content.

Then, there’s the RSS feed. With that feed, which comes with a blog, you can start to spread your message, increase your online visibility, your perceived expertise and drive traffic to that static website, if you have one still!

So, a free blog, or self-hosted?

You’re reading a self-hosted blog. The benefits of self-hosting your blog are far too many to share in one post, so let me share the basics. If you self-host your blog, you’ve bought the URL (website address/domain name), you’ve purchased a hosting package and you’ve had the blog installed. Or, you’ve used a turn key blog site, like Blogi360. The important component in all this is that YOU own the blog, unlike the free sites. You own the traffic to the blog and can use the blog as you wish without worrying about violating one of the free blog site rules and finding your free blog gone.

If you already have a blog and want to know what to do next to get your blog seen and heard, tune in Friday, November 21st for Syndicating Your Content at 3pm PT and find out how your blog and a Facebook profile can work to leverage your business online.

Category: Blogs and Blogging | 1 Comment »

Cross The Digital Divide, Syndicating Your Content

October 3rd, 2008 by Debra Simpson

I just finished my online radio show on syndicating your content.  Here is a list of the websites I refered to on the show.

  • Blogging – posting regularly – use your articles, or use your posts for articles
    Free at – blogger.com and wordpress.com
    even though Google owns Blogger, I haven’t found it to index any faster – free sites traffic belongs to them, can pull down your blog at a moments notice
     
  • Guest Blogging
     
  • FeedBurner
    www.feedburner.com – has a feature, Buzz Boost, that allows you to import your content into a website
     
  • Social Networking – Facebook has notes that let you post to Facebook – other social sites have blogging features
     
  • MyBlogLog – allows you to import your blog feed
     
  • Blog Carnivals
    http://blogcarnival.com/bc/
     

 

Category: Audio, Blogs and Blogging, Info Technoloy, Podcasts, Syndicating Your Content | No Comments »

Introduction To Blogging Video

July 11th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

Last Friday I held the Free Friday webinar and introducted blogs to the participants. Blogs, and more particularly the RSS feeds are core to the social networking trend we are experiencing right now.

If you have a passionate message you feel compelled to share, blogging is the tool of choice. You’d be amazed at how you can syndicate your content across the web.

Let me know what you think of the video by commenting below.

 

Category: Archives, Blogs and Blogging, Conquer The Digital Divide, Info Technoloy, Webinars | No Comments »

The San Diego Special Edition Just Posted

March 17th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

The San Diego Special EditionThe San Diego Special Edition is a collection of posts from San Diego Bloggers. Visiting the site, you’ll find posts on business (my interview with Sheila McDonnell), the economy, lifestyle…some great St. Patrick’s Day posts, and of course, sports.

Carol Lane published the Special Edition the 15th of each month. If you are a San Diego Blogger, then you should check Carol’s site. This is what we call, spreading the link love.

Category: Blogs and Blogging, San Diego | No Comments »

Business Blogs, Do I Need One

March 12th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

Business Blogs, Do I Need OneThis is the audio from the webinar held Monday, March 10th in my virtual conference room. This was the first of a two part series on business blogs. In this audio I discussed what a blog is and how it’s different from a traditional html website. I also showed different ways of incorporating blogs into your business strategy. They can be the perfect compliment to your existing website.

As always, please feel free to leave your comments below.

 


MP3 File

 

Category: Blogs and Blogging, Webinars | No Comments »

Business Blogging, Is It Right For You?

March 9th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

Business Webinar on Business BloggingDo You Need A Business Blog?

Find out Monday, March 10th at 6pm PT / 9pm ET.

Are you asking yourself these questions about your online visibility, your web presence?

  • Do you want to improve your search engine rankings?
  • Would you like to be recognized as an expert in your industry?

Did you answer yes to any of those questions? Then blogging is for you. On February 27th North San Diego Business will hold a business webinar on blogs and blog marketing. Whether you go the full route of having a blog site as your main site, like North San Diego Business, or if you add a blog to your existing site, there’s no doubt that blogging will drive more traffic to your site.

I know, you’re asking, “how’s blogging going to help my business on the internet?” Those are the questions this webinar will answer for you.

  • What is blogging?
  • How will it help my business?
  • What do I have to do?
  • Do I need any special programming skills?

Don’t miss this webinar! Participate from the comfort of your office with only an internet connection and speakers. What are you waiting for? Sign up now, learn about blogging and bring more traffic to your site.

Category: Blogs and Blogging, Webinars | 1 Comment »

Women Bloggers to Watch in 2008

January 10th, 2008 by Debra Simpson

Debra Simpson Women Bloggers to Watch in 2008I had the distinct pleasure of being named one of the Women Bloggers to Watch in 2008. It’s always nice to be recognized by your peers. I’ve been touting blogging since February of 2005, when I started my first blog over at Blogger. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen eyes glaze over and roll to the back of heads. What is blogging?  Only kids blog, right? Finally, blogging arrives as a business tool.

You ask me why would anyone want to blog? Because, there’s Magic In Blogging. It’s an instant self publishing platform. More importantly, search engine spiders love it. In fact, that’s exactly how I discovered I was on this esteemed list, a Google New Alert (link to how-to video on Google News Alerts), which you should be using too. Anyway, I digress…

Let me share with you why blogging is so beneficial to a business.  Let’s say I visited your site a month ago, I saw what I saw and I read what I read. If I visit your site today, will I see what I saw and read what I read? Will anything be different?  If not, why should I come back to your site?

The two most popular free blogging platforms are Blogger and WordPress. You can start there.  Here’s a document that shares the differences between these two popular free platforms. If you already have one of those two free services, still check out Magic In Blogging where you’ll find how-tos. If you want a totally robust blog like North San Diego Business, check out Magic In Blogging, where you can have blog software installed and programmed for your site.

Blogging is here. It’s an essential asset to any business web presence. Think about embracing it!

Here is the actual post:

Women are blogging in record numbers these days - so may blogs, so much content and so little time to check them all out. Each month during 2008, I will be highlighting dozens of blogs written by women, on a variety of topics, genres and locations around the globe. These women share one thing in common. They have a goal, a theme and a purpose in their lives. Please do stop by their blogs, check them out, leave a comment and see how many great relationships you can develop online in the next 12 months.

1. eJohnson and Company with Elizabeth Johnson
2. Susan Mernit
3. Personal Development Demands Success with Priscilla Palmer
4. Mom Gadget with Gayla McCord
5. Laura’s Learning about Business
6. Organize Your Life with Sarah Kimmell
7. The Technology Vixen with Gennipher
8. Natural Living Blog with Pennie Mills
9. What Sells Online with Samantha Tang
10. Organicsyes with Susan Loughrin
11. California Musing with Susan
12. Phoenix Consulting with Theresa Rhoden
13. Angie Pedersen - Scrapbook Marketing
14. Debra Simpson - Magic in Blogging
15. Ash Joie-Lee - the Paisley Goddess
16. One Minute Book Reviews with Janice Harayda
17. And a Mom with Jules
18. How I changed the world today with Julia
19. Social Net Rocks True with Jacinta Gascoigne
20. Biz Chicks Rule with Kristen King
21. Home Biz Notes With Mary Emma Allen
22. Suburbia Queen with Jamie
23. Eavesdrop Writer with Vienne
24. NuNomad Blog with Carmen Bolanos
25. ZenGuide by Yang-May Ooi

Category: Blogs and Blogging, Regional News | 1 Comment »

Episode #25, Finding Blogging Content

August 20th, 2007 by Debra Simpson


MP3 File

Show Notes

GeekSpeak To English, 101 introduces tips for finding different types of content to use on your blog. Discussed were the sites listed below, as well as strategies for participating in your niche market’s blogosphere.

Part Three, Tagging and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) For Your Blog, will take place Wednesday, September 12th, 6pm PT/9pm ET.

Links to Sites Discussed
My Yahoo
Google Reader
You Tube
Bloglines
Google Blog Search
FireFox Browser
Stumble Upon
WordPress Free Site
Google News Alerts

Category: Blogs and Blogging, GeekSpeak, Webinars | No Comments »

Episode #24, Introduction to Blogs and Blogging

August 13th, 2007 by Debra Simpson


MP3 File

Show Notes

GeekSpeak To English, 101 introduces blogs and blogging to the North San Diego Business Community. This is part one of a four part blogging webinar series.

Part Two, Finding Content For Your Blog, will take place Wednesday, August 22nd, 6pm PT/9pm ET.

Some of the attendees tonight were:

Myrna, Myrna’s List
Andrea Glass, Writer’s Way and Writer’s Way Blog
Lee Sterling, Money Maker Video and Lee Sterling
Cris, Hospitality Ink
Li Hertzi, Art Doll Adventures and Wild Spirit Arts
Renae, Peer Inspiration
Pam, Natural & Healthy and The Healthy Clean
Becky Cortino, Becky Cortino

Category: Blogs and Blogging, GeekSpeak, Webinars | No Comments »

Spreading a little link love!

August 9th, 2007 by Debra Simpson

Last night at the GeekSpeak To English, 101 webinar on blogging, I challenged the attendees to start spreading a little “link love” around the blogosphere.

True to form Myrna, my cyberbuddy from New York started the ball rolling with her post at Myrna’s List about Diane Mandle, Sound and Energy Healing and her Tibetan Singing Bowls.

Search for blogs in complimentary businesses over at Google’s Blog Search and start visiting them. If you find their posts interesting, comment on them. Encourage the visitors to your blog to comment on your posts. Let’s start spreading the “link love” around.

And please….feel free to leave your comment below!

Debra

Category: Blogs and Blogging, Marketing, Webinars | 1 Comment »