14 Strategies for What To Post on Your Blog

One of the greatest tools on the internet is to have a blog focused on your business movement – the thing you are most passionate about in your business. It’s a great way to establish credibility, visibility and your expertise in a particular area.

My clients often get excited about a blog and get it up and going and then ask, “Now what do I post?”

If you’re still a little stuck, here’s an easy checklist to keep handy:

• Long, thoughtful, provoking and inspiring articles – every now and then. You don’t want to overwhelm your blog followers with three or four blog posts a week that span several screen lengths. But once in a blue moon – go for it!
• Short thoughtful, provoking, and inspiring articles – get the difference? You don’t have to write a novel. Just a paragraph or two.
• ”How-to’s” – 3 steps, 5 secrets, 3 tips types of articles. For example, three things you need to pack for a day-long hike. Or five must-haves in your make-up kit.
• Quotes – yours or others. You can just post the quotation, or you can explain why this particular quotation is particularly inspiring to you.
• Resources – this is where you share your favorite things: books, tools, other coaches/consultants/experts.
• Quick stories about something that happened to you that highlights a perspective you believe in
• Poems or songs about your movement that would be inspiring to your tribe
• Events you are offering/leading – yes, you can even post sales-type posts in your blog. (Which is really handy when you have your blog linked to social networks.)
• Stories about your clients – their shifts, aha’s, awarenesses, why they work with you, results, profiles. Stories show what you do, much better than you just telling what it is you do.
• Updates, feedback, buzz about events you are leading, such as “The top 3 questions I’m getting from women entrepreneurs who are thinking about coming to the Business Goddess Retreat”
• Stories, themes or trends you are seeing with your clients. This article is an example; all my SpiritRICH™ clients are asking what to post on a blog!
• Free checklists - you probably have all kinds of “get started quick” type of lists – use these as special blog postings to generate credibility and expertise
• Any events where you are appearing, being interviewed, telesummits, and the like. Let people see what you’re doing!
• Photos – photos – photos! They are inspiring! Of you, your surroundings, your clients, people you are with, you and your mentors.

For a robust blog which positions you as an expert in a certain area you’ll want to aim for 2 -3 postings a week and you’ll soon have a bevy of blog postings and your tribe and fans will notice!

Last tip for blog success: I ride the wave of energy and write several postings when I’m in a particularly reflective writing mood, which I can post-date and publish later. This allows you to write while you are in the writing mode and then spread your postings over several weeks.

Most of all, let out your authentic self – your readers want to know who you are and what you are about. Writing in your authentic voice allows you to really connect with your reader.

En-joy!

Laura

 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog please feel free to do as long as you include our credit information: Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com I would also appreciate it if you'd send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

Laura West is an award-winning online entrepreneur and president of The Center for Joyful Business. If you are ready to shift your marketing and mindset for more success with joy and ease, get your free report: Business Attraction Success

Shoutout: Coaching Heart Talk blog

Thanks to Marcia Dorfman for a shout out on her blog: Coaching Heart Talk

Marcia is a friend and colleague and great coach!  And a Joyful Business Guide owner!

She was on a teleclass this week where I was the guest speaker for The Coaches Training Institute niche community for Women as Leaders.  It was a great teleclass about Creative Tools for 2009! I loved speaking to the coaches from CTI -my alma mater training school!

Thanks Marcia!

Laura West named official Attraction Marketing expert!

I am excited to share another resource with you.  It's called IdeaMarketers.com. 

They are a content site - and they do have content - lots of it!  They are a great site to check out for articles, teleclasses, blog postings, audios and videos on business and marketing strategies.  You'll find lots of experts who have written 100's of articles in every area of business and marketing imaginable.  (actually they have all sorts of topics that cover the range in life, but since we are mostly focused on marketing here...)

 

I'm please to announce that I am the official Attraction Marketing Expert on the website.  Check out my page at:

http://www.ideamarketers.com/experts/attraction_marketing.cfm

Feel free to take a look around and enjoy!

 

Laura

Spreading the Love Around the Blog World!

I woke up at 4am this morning and just couldn't get back to sleep.  I decided it was best to just get up and join many of my "sisters" in this world who are also up at 4am or some other ungodly hour.  (I know they chalk it up to peri-menopause, too much caffeine(ok, caught me) or bad dinner choice - but really has anyone studied this phenomenon?)

I peeked at my favorite blogs to catch up on the latest updates and imagine my delight when I received this heartful post from my friend, Beverly Keaton-Smith at Embrace Your Gifts and Soar!

She's listed Café Entrepreneur as one of her 7 favorite blog fill-ups!  Thank you! It's so nice to know that you touch people's lives in some way.  Thank you for sharing your appreciation and joy, Beverly!

So, to pass on the love….

 

Here are my current favorite 7 blogs to check in on and see what's new and inspiring!

 

Christine Kane's Blog

Embrace Your Gifts and Soar (I just can't help it, Bev - YOU inspire me with your writing!)

Journal Revolution

Seth Godin

Money, Meaning and Beyond for Business Owners

Be Alive Believe Be You

Solo-e.com blog

 

Keep passing the love around the blog world.  I know we all write from our hearts in passionate support of changing the world in our own unique way.  Keep it going…

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog;

2. Link the person you received your award from;

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs;

4. Put links of those blogs on yours; and

5. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated.

 

En-JOY!

Laura

Vision Boards - Unique ideas for your board!

                                                    Vision Boards have become all the rage! 

Everyone is really catching on to how powerful this simple creative process can be.  I love that....deceptively simple and deeply powerful.  This vision board to the left is one that my husband and I did together before we were married representing what we wanted to create together in our marriage.

I have created collages for years. I remember that some of my first ones as a teenager were actually collages of my favorite movie stars and singers...Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman), Linda Carter (Wonder Woman)...is there a theme? Add to it...Olivia Newton John, Cher.  Evan back then I intuitively understood the power of pictures and the metaphors for what I wanted in my life.

Nowadays, my vision boards and vision books have morphed into images that are both powerful and calming....quiet power is a consistent theme.

Most of my clients work with vision boards or collages. They have a vision of a topic come alive through pictures, words, color, and express their creativity even in the materials they choose to use.

Several years ago I facilitated a workshop for my chiropractor's office. Everyone in the office created a vision collage for what they wanted in  their lives.  When I came back for a treatment last year, Dr. Shelley West said to me that she had recently found her vision board from 3 years ago and she said "You know what? Everything on that board has come true!"

As part of the Joyful Business Guide system, I recommend creating vision boards for your ideal clients, your ideal vendor partners and your life vision.  It's inspiring to take a photo of your vision board and then add a color copy of it to your guide - it's part of creating your own personal inspirational guide.

Spending the time claiming photos, discovering words that bring a visceral response, seeing an object that intuitively speaks to you....all this is a way of uncovering your deepest yearnings and giving them some air time...letting them be discovered and claimed.

Here are some sample visions from several Joyful Business owners. I hope you'll get lots of ideas and inspiration for possibilites for your own...

I love this idea of using something unexpected! A shell, a piece of bark, or a piece of driftwood even. This is from Beverly Keaton-Smith of Embrace Your Gifts and Soar. 

These are from Beverly too. She was in a visioning mode in September!  Must have to do with it being her birthday month that makes her (us) feel like taking stock of life and dreaming of possiblities....

I like this one...."Bev Goes Big!"  This one prompted Beverly and I to talk about what "big" looks like and we even had a phone call where we got on the phone as though it were 2012 (although we probably won't even have phones by then!)...we imagined ourselves 5 years into the future, calling each other up and sharing what was going on in our lives, celebrating our business successes, what our husband's are up to, where we have traveled, and what is bringing us joy in this year!  What fun...and you'd be surprised at the things that will spill out!

This one just uses words and color for impact. My client Jenny Chafe, a very cool voice and movement coach from NYC, did this one as an easy way to get her thoughts out about her ideal client. Simple, easy to do in a short amount of time and yet a powerful reminder of who she is attracting.

Here's another creative idea - lay out your vision board and forget the glue!  My client Tara Seawright, a wonderful interior stylist from NYC, laid this ideal client collage out on her floor and then took a photo. She says it gives her such inspiration as she spends a few minutes of each day looking at it.

You can create your vision collage as an ongoing project. Here is an example from Joyful Business owner, Ginger Burr, of Total Image Consultants. She has created an Attraction Book. She uses it to collect images and words, quotes and ideas for what she wants more of in her life.  Ginger shares how it is a very relaxing ritual to do at night before bed. Pulling a few photos out, cutting and pasting.  Very nurturing and ...as we know, powerful too!

I hope you have enjoyed a few of these ideas of simple and yet creative ways you can create your own vision board - collage - shell - book! 

Let it be simple. Don't edit the photos, images, or words...just let them quietly (or sometimes loudly) inform you.

Please share your examples of how you use this process to create and attract in your life and business!  your ideas inspire us!

Laura

Savor this one: Personal Development List of bloggers

Cafe Entrepreneur is thrilled to be a part of Priscilla Palmer's list of Personal Development blogs.  Priscilla tagged me earlier in the week to let me know she added us to the list.  Thanks so much!

I want to share this list with you all too. It's a weath of resources for your personal development in every area of your life. Check it out at Personal Development List.

It's also a bit like a big box of chocolates!  When you first open it there's so many choices.  Just take your time and savor a couple of bites. Take your time and check out a couple of blogs at a time.  I find that when I have some time on a Saturday afternoon and I'm just playing around on the computer this is a great list to explore.  It's also good to keep in those times of "energetic emergencies"....when you are feeling down, overwhelmed or blue...I have no doubt you could click on on of these blogs and find the perfect perspective to shift your thoughts.

If you like what you see add it to your blog list. I use bloglines for my favorite blogs. I can go to my bloglines account and see what's new from my favorite bloggers.

En-joy!!!

Laura

Product Photography - more blog links and postings

As a Fairy Godmother over at the StartupPrincess blog, I posted a short article on "5 Strategies for Using Your Product Photos".  It's getting some great attention including a listing in the Coffee Break section over at <b> bold interactive. 

Thanks!

PS:  I love the idea of being a Fairy Godmother!  With two boys I don't get a chance to revel in pink too much!! It's great permission to play with other women entrepreneurs!

Laura

No More Hoarding! Living in Abundance!

Earlier in the year when I went to lead a workshop for women business owners in Mississippi. My friend, Beverly, was hosting me.  In my guest room, in her lovely home she had a gift for me...a Zena Moon candle!  They are my favorite candles...truly divine. They come in gorgeous colors, fragrance, a jewel or stone and an inspiring poem to reinforce the type of candle. "Self Nurture, Acceptance, Sacred Time with Self, are a few of my favorites"

Well, I took my lovely "Calling the Muses" candle home and then as I started to put it away with my other beautiful Zena candles I realized that I was "hoarding". I was "saving" these delicious candles for some other day (when - I don't know). They are so beautiful and so wonderful but I felt like I couldn't really burn them. Well, I realized that I was stopping up the flow with that point of view! I was vibrating with such thoughts and beliefs like..."I don't deserve such beauty in my every day" or that "I will burn them and I'll run out and I will have wasted them".

In my new office in our new house, I am committed to let the abundance flow. I have gathered my Zena candles and every day I light one depending on my mood. I know that I am sending a message to the universe about being in flow and being open to abuandance, beauty and joy because it feels so good. I really appreciate the ritual of selecting the right candle for the day, lighting it with a blessing or prayer and then enjoying it throughout the day. (Last week I had to bring out the "crabbiness b gone" candle once or twice"!)

Where are you holding back on abundance?

Where are you saying you want more flow and joy and yet withholding it from yourself?

When do you allow yourself to revel in beauty and delight?

PS: Be sure to check out Carla's blog from Zena Moon! Another delight!

Laura