Blogging as Therapy?

For all of those out there who have their doubts as to whether or not blogging makes a difference, listen up because as it turns out, blogging is good for you! This shouldn’t really come as too much of a surprise since blogging is essentially a form of writing. And as many of us already know, researchers and therapists alike have known for quite some time how therapeutic writing can be for the individual.

Blogging is Good For You!

According to one article published in Scientific American,

Self-medication may be the reason the blogosphere has taken off. Scientists (and writers) have long known about the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. But besides serving as a stress-coping mechanism, expressive writing produces many physiological benefit. Research shows that it improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients, and even speeds healing after surgery. A study in the February issue of the Oncologist reports that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt markedly better, mentally and physically, as compared with patients who did not.

Reaping the Benefits

So, not only does blogging benefit you by helping you to feel better both physically and mentally, it is also a great way to drive traffic to your web site (provided you are writing content that is somewhat intelligible and content-rich). Many companies are now realizing the power and value of having a blog. It is a great way for them to connect to their target audience as well as provides a valuable source of information relevant to that particular industry. Additionally, blogs provide a sort of forum in which readers can respond and voice their opinions on various matters.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 30 2008 | Blogging and Communication | 4 Comments »

Thinking of Changing Careers? 5 Things to Be Aware Of

You hate your job. So, do millions of other people. Whether you are unhappy with your current career choice or simply have become bored, changing careers is something that should be thought through thoroughly with great attention to detail versus just jumping right into it. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some people out there who are more than willing to take that “jump” who are lucky. But these people represent a very small minority.

5 Things to Consider If You’re “Considering”

1. Fail to Plan; Plan to Fail! Sure, you may have those days where you feel like you are just going to walk into your boss’ office and tell him that you’re quitting. However, while this may work for many people, in these economic times, suddenly quitting your job is not advisable. Think about a plan of action as well as how you are going to execute it. If you’re at a job that is somewhat stable and secure, you should plan to transition into a similar job.
2. What do You Want to Do? Knowing that you are unhappy or simply ready for a career change is the easy part. However, figuring out how you’re going to do it is another story. Tests such as the Myers-Briggs may help you figure out what sort of working personality you have.
3. Network! If you’re thinking about changing careers, and you know the career that your aiming for, then feel free to speak to someone in that field. Networking is one of the many ways that people end up in different careers. It truly is about who you know.
4. Time to Re-learn! It may be time to head back to school and bury your nose in some books if you’re really looking to do a total career makeover. This is a great time to head back to school as the economy has taken a slight nosedive and many companies are laying people off.
5. Re-Work That Resume! It’s never too late to give your resume a little face lift. Any time you switch careers or receive any type of rewards, make sure you add it to your working resume, which you can re-work later.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 27 2008 | General Business Issues and Motivation | 1 Comment »

Cutting Costs on a $30K per month AdWords Budget

For those companies who are fortunate enough to have large Pay-Per-Click (PPC) budgets, effective use of every penny is extremely important. For this reason, there are a number of ways to go about making sure you receive the maximum return on Ad Spend. Here is a quick list of bullets to check off in optimizing and cutting costs:

• AD’s: Does each and every adgroup have at least 3 ad creatives running at once? If the adgroup has not had more than one or two ever, getting up to three or four would be a good idea. If so, checking on the past performance of the ads is a must. Look back for the past 90 days to see the click-through-ratio (CTR) performance on average. Also compare this to the past 30 days performance. Cut the lowest performing one or two. Again do not delete it, just pause it. And create another.
• Relevant Landing Pages: For companies this size multiple locations nation wide or world wide will most likely be hot spots. Finding those geographic hot spots and creating landing pages for those cities, states, etc. will dramatically increase conversions in most cases. People looking for services, products or information will greatly appreciate seeing their local area acknowledged on your site.
• Time Targeting: Effective time targeting for big budgets is Awesome. Most of us have heard of the 80/20 rule in business. For PPC, start off with 80/20 or try90/10. By checking your conversions each hour, you can take the lowest performing 10-20% of the day and bid down during that time frame (this way you can conserve your budget and reallocate during peak performing times). This will help you place higher and/or get more conversions during the peak hours where competition can be tough! You can find the conversions for per-hour breakdown in Google Analytics on the left hand navigation bar by clicking on Goals, then Total Conversions then Graph By Hour.

These are three top tips on cutting costs for large PPC budgets right off the bat. As always, make sure that this applies to your campaigns and then Test, Test, Test and Analyze, Analyze, Analyze. I would also suggest making small changes at a time and then comparing it with month-over-month data. Be careful when making big changes to big PPC budgets. You should err on the side of caution, opting for slow improvements versus throwing a wrench into your currently effective marketing.

For more Help in Optimizing your Large PPC budget: Look To The Right Internet Marketing

June 26 2008 | Pay Per Click Advertising | 1 Comment »

When Surfing Becomes More Than Just a Hobby…

There are more jobs which require humans to work with computers today than there has ever been. Additionally, there are more people with computers in their homes than ever before. So, what does this translate to? A lot more Internet surfing for starters! But are we “surfing the Internet” too much? When does it cross over from just being a hobby into being more of an obsession?

“Just one more page…I’ve got to find this site to show you something..” insists my boyfriend, who is more than eager to show me…well, something fascinating that he saw on the Internet. At one point, we had to have a discussion about how the Internet, not the computer, was beginning to interfere with our relationship. Now, we have a deal where neither one of us will use the Internet or even go near the computer while we are in each other’s company. Now, there are, of course, exceptions to this rule. For example, if we need to look up directions to something or if he has to do work for school, etc., then it’s ok.

We aren’t the only people suffering from Internet overload though. There are millions of people out there (I’m sure of it) who can’t seem to peel themselves away from their computers. And what are these people looking up? Is it information related to work? Is it for laughs? There’s no telling. With the invention of laptop computers, web surfing has only gotten worse, not better. I just recently started using a laptop, and it’s insane how difficult it is to not want to use it! There are only 24 hours in a day; yet, there seems to be an infinite number of web sites out there..waiting…waiting for a surfer like you or me to stumble upon it!

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 25 2008 | Blogging and Internet Related | 1 Comment »

Enhancing Self-Confidence – Keeping Your Edge

Are some people born confident? Sometimes it seems that way to those of us who have had to unearth the roots of confidence virtually on our own. One business woman I know had a great insight from her own struggle. She remembered how her mother would criticize any woman perceived as going overboard in the attractive/assertive department with a disdainful, “She likes herself.” As she grew older she realized her mother was using that expression as a synonym for “she’s conceited,” but it must have delivered an early internal twist that stayed with her through adulthood. Whenever she started to feel strong and confident, along came the pangs of guilt and worry that she might be crossing the undefined boundary into “liking herself too much.”

Another woman talked about her lack of a family model for shaping and molding self confidence when she was a teenager. Since her mother was shy and anti-social, she looked to her very outgoing and nurturing dancing teacher as a role model, and filled in the gaps with self-help books to more deeply understand the origins of self-esteem.

Self-confidence can definitely be developed and expanded, a fact supported by personal experience. Though I spent the first half of my life grabbing at self-esteem and compensating for the lack of it, today the techniques I successfully used to enhance my own core confidence are also working well for many others. I’d like to share some with you here:

1. Commitment to Evidence
A common mistake we make is spending a lot of time trying to find out-in-the-world evidence that our lives have value, without any real clarity about what that evidence would look like if we found it! It’s a pattern reminiscent of a hamster spinning the wheel in his cage. One way to disrupt the pattern is to simply give up the pursuit.

Just decide to be committed to the fact that “I make a difference.” Then begin collecting evidence, however small, to support that commitment. This may take the form of a journal, log or scrapbook where you write down the evidence: something nice someone says about you, an accomplishment, something good that happens in your presence or something you enjoy about life.

2. Competence vs. Confidence
When the feeling of confidence is not strong, it may be a sign that you need more competence. For example, you wouldn’t want your surgeon to have confidence without competence. On the other hand, noticing what standard you are unconsciously comparing yourself to may reveal that you have set an unrealistic benchmark for feeling confident at your level of competence. If you come from a commitment of competence vs. a feeling of confidence, then even though you may not feel completely confident you will know that is acceptable for your level of competence.

3. Letting in Acknowledgment
Do you allow acknowledgement to come in, or do you discount it in your head–or even to the person bestowing it by saying something like, “It’s just my job.” You may be receiving acknowledgement of your value all around you while you are busy discounting it. Remember if you don’t let it in, it won’t be there to support when you are in need of a self-esteem boost.

4. A Statement of Identity
What is the identity of YOU? Is it a person of value who can co-create with others, or something else? This can be a little tricky to discover since it is somewhat like sneaking up on a shadow. With my own dyslexia, I overly identified with being “broken” most of my life. Until I defined my own mission and started identifying with it, anything I did seemed to center around fixing “broken,” the proverbial treadmill experience.

A mission in life used correctly can be both a lantern for guidance on your path and a shield to protect your self-esteem. I don’t know how I would have ever gained real core self confidence without an expressed mission in life to commit my life to. I like to think of it as being the steward of my own mission. Without this mission-steering mindset I seem to drift slowly towards a collection of complaints.

How are you nurturing your self-esteem? To repeat some useful advice: If you are not going to value yourself, why should anyone else?

Martin Brossman – Success Coach / Trainer / Author – www.CoachingSupport.com – martin@coachingsupport.com Podcast: www.Inquireonline.info

June 23 2008 | Motivation | 2 Comments »

5 Suggestions for Overcoming Writer’s Block

What was I just going to write? I have no- wait, now I remember. This one time, when I was blogging..eh- no, that won’t work. Ugh! Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever sat down to write something and then just ended up staring at your computer screen for about ten minutes before becoming increasingly frustrated? Even those of us who aren’t writers get a case of the good ol’ writer’s block syndrome (or as I refer to it, WBS). An example of this can be seen in something as simple as drawing a blank while you are trying to write a grocery list! So, here are a few suggestions for how you can get over the block and on with the writing.

5 Tips for Overcoming WBS

1. Cut out the distractions: Many people will claim that they can work in noisy environments, but working is different than thinking. Try to think clearly about something in the middle of a crowded, noisy room, or in a small office environment with phones ringing and people talking loudly and laughing. It’s extremely difficult for most people. There is plenty of evidence to show that most good ideas stem from a silent environment. So, if you have to, get to work a little early before the office gets noisy so that you can at least brainstorm. If you work from home, then get up a little earlier or simply plan to do some work during a time when you know your house or living space will be relatively calm.
2. Find inspiration: If you find yourself stuck, find inspiration by taking a look at other people’s work. You’re not stealing if you browse through the Internet. Quite the contrary! You can find a lot of inspiring ideas by looking at what others have written, photographed or acted out. Don’t limit yourself to the Internet though. Look around you at your everyday life, at how others around you act. Look at nature. You can find inspiration in just about everything!
3. Think of a title first: Sometimes thinking about what you are going to write can be overwhelming. Starting with a working title can often times give you the push you need to start writing. Besides this, titles can be really eye-catching, giving you the sort of creative flow that is often needed to jump start any writing piece.
4. Think out loud: Often times, if you write a sentence or two and read it back to yourself out loud, you can better hear how it sounds and pick out what needs to stay and what needs to go. Sometimes, you’ll even think of different ideas that stem off of your original idea. It’s a great way to approach writing. Just make sure you’re not disturbing your neighbors!
5. Brainstorm with friends: There’s no rule that says you can’t ask a friend or colleague what they think about what you’ve written so far. They may even have different ideas than what you originally had, giving you more to work with. If all else fails, they can function as trusty editors who can give your work a quick proofing for grammatical mistakes and the like.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 23 2008 | Blogging and Writing Advice | 3 Comments »

What is Search Engine Optimization, and Why is it Important?

The battle is on to get the coveted number 1 spot on search engines for whatever your individual business is. I’d say that this is a good indication that Internet business is alive and well. For growing numbers of businesses, especially those who rely solely on the Internet for the bulk of their profits, achieving a high rank among the search engines is crucial. I’m talking about search engine optimization stuff, people! To help better explain, I will now turn it over to Wikipedia, who so succinctly states,

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results for targeted keywords. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results or the higher it “ranks”, the more searchers will visit that site.

Why is SEO Important?

Search Engine Optimization is important because it makes the process of finding relevant information easy for search engines to index, find and display. If you think about how many people out there actually use the Internet, it is mind boggling. Every day, every minute, someone is searching for information on a topic. People will go to a search engine like Google or Yahoo and type in a term which will yield endless pages of results (depending on the topic). However, most people will only look at the first few results on the first page only. So, if your business is located on the second or third page, etc., then there is a good chance that your site will not receive any traffic.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 20 2008 | Blogging and Business Networking and Communication | 1 Comment »

Quality, Not Quantity: How Your Work Habits Can Affect You

If you live in America, then there is a good chance that you are a workaholic. Despite the fact that the legal working hours are 40 hours a week for a full-time job, most people work well beyond that and with little to no pay increase. In one of my more recent blog posts, I talked about how some employers have begun to embrace the idea of a shorter work week- or at least one in which they could allow their employees complete flexibility. However, most of us don’t have that luxury, which is why it is important to understand how our working habits can affect our productivity at work as well as our personal lives.

I was always told that you should work to live and not live to work. After all, what’s the point of making money if you never have time to enjoy it? With that being said, here are some things you can do to improve your work habits until you get your 4-day work week.

Ways to Improve Your Work Habits

1. Time of Day: Figure out which time of day you function better as an employee. If you’re a morning person, aim to get the bulk of your more difficult work done then. If you’re a night person, then aim to get the easier tasks that require less thinking over with first.
2. Multi-tasking ‘No-No’: We would all like to think that we are experts at multi-tasking. And while multi-tasking is great for some things, it is not always beneficial for others. When it comes to focusing on something at work, prioritize what needs to be done first and then do it ONE AT A TIME. When you multi-task, you usually (not always) tend to do a less than stellar job on a bunch of things versus if you really focus on one particular thing where you’ll really shine.
3. Time Management: Once you prioritize what needs to get done, then you can take a look at your schedule for the day and/or week to see if you can actually get all of your work done without going much over your paid 4-hour work week. Remember, you’re not trying to cut corners; you’re simply trying to be efficient so that you don’t overwork yourself and also, so that you can actually enjoy your time outside of work with family and friends.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 18 2008 | Blogging and Business Building and Business Networking | 1 Comment »

Let’s Get This Traffic Moving!

I thought I was a good writer so I started my own blog and sorta’ expected to see a ton of traffic. However, I was disappointed to find that I hardly had any readership at all…Now, I’m starting to doubt my abilities…

Wondering why you’re not getting as much traffic to your blog as you think you should? Everyday, a new blog is created (I’m sure of it). However, how that blog actually performs is another thing. Too many people have the common misconception of what blogging is all about. They think it will be a really easy way to set something up so that it can create a lot of buzz and a lot of traffic. The truth is that while blogs are relatively easy to set up; it is not quite as easy to get traffic flowing to it. After all, if driving traffic to your site was that easy, then every blog that was set up would be generating tons of traffic! So, here are a few useful tips that I’ve managed to pick up:

5 Simple Things to Help Move Traffic

1. Network: The Internet is a gigantic web of ideas, stories, disagreements, pictures, videos and more all wrapped up into one. Look for social networks to help put your blog out there. There are hundreds of social networks out there such as del.icio.us, Digg, Facebook and StumbleUpon to help get you started. It’s also a great way to target the audience you are looking for to read your work!
2. Share the Love: Social networking really is the future of the Internet in terms of driving relevant traffic to various sites. As part of your social networking duties, you should always make an effort to connect with people by linking to them in your blog. Ask them if they would be willing to do a link exchange or even if they would be interested in writing a ‘guest post’ on your site. It’s a great way to make friends as well as improve the diversity of the content on your page- all of which will help you to reach a wider audience.
3. Write Regularly: If you’re truly serious about blogging, then you should be consistent. One of the biggest turn-offs in the blogging world is arriving at a person’s site only to realize that the last time they wrote anything relevant was weeks, perhaps months, ago. Keep up to date with your blog, so that readers will know you care. Include fun things like pictures or videos, etc. to keep things interesting.
4. Encourage Feedback: Somewhere in your posts should be some sort of interactive statement or question that will get your readers thinking and make them want to comment about it. Feedback is a great thing because it helps you figure out who your blogs are affecting, in what way they’re affecting people as well as useful advice on how you can improve your blog and/or its content. Also encourage your readers to subscribe to your RSS feed.
5. Check your Grammar: If your blog is primarily for English-speaking readers, make sure that you check behind yourself for grammar errors or slip ups. Nothing is more annoying than reading something that is poorly written. It affects your ability to convey your thoughts and ideas to your audience by creating ‘speed bumps’ in the reading. Additionally it negatively affects your credibility as a writer, and may cause some readers to believe that you don’t know what you’re talking about.

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 16 2008 | Business Building and Business Networking | 2 Comments »

10 Ways to Increase Work Productivity

Do you live a life where you wake up each morning anxious or simply thinking about the work day ahead of you and then return each evening to your home to do even more work while thinking about all of the work you didn’t get done while at work? What about those of you who work for a boss who is somewhat disorganized and who doesn’t necessarily know how to manage that well? If any of these situations sound familiar, it isn’t surprising. There are millions of Americans who go to work each day and are miserable because they are being overworked, underpaid and mismanaged. However, there are some things you can do to improve your work productivity and overall happiness.

10 Ways to Increase Productivity at Work

1. Take a Break:
   • We all need breaks, and research shows that working long hours without a break is not nearly as productive as working in short bursts.
2. Get Rid of Distractions:
   • If you’re a popular person who tends to receive a lot of phone calls, then make sure that your phone is either out of sight or turned off so that it won’t distract you or others around you who may be trying to work. If you work in a small office with several other employees who tend to talk a lot, try talking to them or letting your boss know that the added noise is a distraction that is taking away from your productivity.
3. Use Music to Soothe:
   • If you can’t escape the noises around you, then try to listen to a little bit of soothing music such as classical music or something that doesn’t require too much attention, this way you will be able to continue to work. Research also shows that listening to soothing music can help to relax you (which is always a good thing).
4. Save the Easiest for Last:
   • Whatever task is the most difficult, make sure that you start with that one first. It’ll save you the time of having to worry about it later, plus it will make you feel better to have easier things to look forward to as the day progresses.
5. Learn to Say “No”:
   • Many bosses take advantage of salaried employees by loading them down with work that will never get finished in a 40 hour workweek unless they put in extra, unpaid time outside of work. If you find that your boss is giving you work that falls outside of the general working parameters, let him/her know. You don’t always have to agree with what your boss or another employer tells you. Simply find a polite way to say that you are overloaded with work (i.e. “While I would love to complete this task, my plate is already full. Perhaps we can take something off of my plate so that I can help out; or perhaps we can re-assign it to someone else..”).
6. Figure Out Your “Time of Day”:
   • There are some people who are extremely lucid during the early morning hours and grow less productive as the day wears on. On the other hand, there are those of us who are extremely productive at night. Figure out what kind of person you are and tailor your work around it.
7. Plan out Meals Ahead:
   • You would think that eating would be the easiest and perhaps most basic function. However, many people neglect to prepare meals ahead of time that they can bring with them to work. Therefore, they are tasked with trying to figure out where and when they are going to fit lunch in around their busy afternoons. Save yourself the trouble of eating junk food as well as spending unnecessary money on gas and food by preparing meals ahead of time. It’ll save you an incredible amount of stress (and weight) in the end.
8. Avoid Too Much Multi-Tasking:
   • Many employees feel that the better they are able to multi-task, the more work they are getting done. This is true and false…mostly false. Research has shown that multi-tasking is not as productive as the vast majority of people think. Contrary to popular belief, if you focus on one thing at a time, you will do a much better job and be that much more effective as an employee.
9. Stay Organized:
   ???????? ????? ????????
   • When you are given what seems like an infinite amount of work, take a deep breath and make a list to help you organize it all. If you have to, invest in a desk planner or some sort of calendar program that you can use to help you keep track of what your daily tasks are. As you are assigned more tasks throughout the day, you should already have a list made for the next day that you can simply add the task to (listed from highest to lowest priority of course).

For more information about Internet Marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

June 13 2008 | General Business Issues and Internet Marketing and Internet Related | 1 Comment »