Keywords

Keywords allow you to optimize your posts so that when someone searches for that word, your site has a better chance of showing up high in the search results. Say your blog is about Cooking and you provide content on a variety of food related topics. Every post you write will contain a Keyword or keyword phrase that has something to do with cooking.

A post you’ve written about quick meals, for instance, would use the term “quick meals,” as a keyword phrase so that searchers looking for quick meals would be drawn to your site. For best results, Keywords should be used in the title, first sentence, the last sentence and at least one or two more times in your post.

Categories

If you think of your blog like a filing cabinet, categories are the hanging folders that divide your posts by topic. Every post needs a topic, or a Category. Once you’ve written your keyword optimized post, you need to assign it a category. For your cooking blog, you might choose such categories as Recipes, Measurements, Common Substitutions, Menu Planning, Grocery Shopping, etc. Every post you write will fit into one of the categories you choose. Just as every piece of paper in your office would fit into one of the hanging file folders in your file cabinet.

Tags

If categories are the hanging folders, tags are the manilla file folders in the filing cabinet that is your blog. For instance, within the category Recipes, you might have Italian Recipes, Mexican Recipes, Frugal Recipes, Appetizer Recipes, etc. Every post you write will contain one or more of those Tags. If your recipe is for a Frugal Mexican Appetizer, you would tag it  for all three—Mexican Recipes, Frugal Recipes, Appetizer Recipes. These are akin to the manilla file folders that you would label and place in your hanging folders.

Keywords, Categories and Tags all serve the purpose of optimizing your blog posts so that your site will rank higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). That’s what SEO is all about and these three tools are great tools to help you optimize both your website and individual posts.

Building a relationship with your clients or customers is the best way to build a business, especially online where the only “real estate” you have is your website and your words. If you take the time to form relationships through your blogging, sales will follow. The key is learning how to form relationships via your blog.

Here are three simple ideas to help you build relationships:

1  Read other blogs, both in your niche and in similar topic areas. For instance, if you write about beauty and skin care, fashion trends and clothing blogs offer a natural connection. Get to know other bloggers by leaving comments, reading their posts, adding them to your blog roll, linking to them, offering to swap posts, or inviting them to your Blog Carnival.

2  Visit online discussion forums where other bloggers, or customers hang out. You’ll find some of your most loyal online friends to be those who are also bloggers themselves. And that’s okay! Though you want to make friends with prospects as well. Online forums are a terrific way to get to know people online and let them get to know you. Don’t try to sell them anything. Just chat, offer helpful information, encourage and share. Remember, the goal is to build a relationship with as many folks as you can.

3  Use your Facebook page or Twitter to get to know people as well, then post links to your blog posts and encourage your friends to visit you there. You’ll be surprised at the number who do, especially if the content is something useful.

The joy of making friends online can be as fulfilling as in your own home town. Be yourself, talk to others via chat, email, IM, blog posting or comments. Ask questions, offer tips and advice and more, just as you would if you were sitting down talking over a cup of coffee in a local cafe.

What would you like to see covered here? Do you have questions or comments? A topic you’re interested in? Share your thoughts and let me know what kind of posts you’d like to read!

Instead, learn to focus on one job or one task at a time. You may think that multi-tasking helps you accomplish more, and it may, if all you’re looking to do is check off items on your to-do list. But focusing on one thing at a time will help you do a better job and create higher quality results nearly every time.

When you’ve finished that task, then move on to the next. And give the same amount of focus to that one. For instance, if you’re a writer, instead of starting one article, then going on to research another article, then moving back to the first, you’ll end up so confused you won’t know which topic you’re supposed to be writing on. If, on the other hand, you research and write the first article before moving to the second, you’ll end up with two completed articles that are much higher quality than either would have been had you worked on both at once.

Another aspect of focus is on what you do, not necessarily how many things you do at once. Your focus for your business success should be on what you do best that no one else can do as well. If you’re a writer, for instance, you write. That’s what will make the most money and help you succeed. Doing so may mean you have to contract with someone else to do your bookkeeping, or clean your house in order to free you to write.

Your business success and your ability to focus on what’s important that only you can do will make it worthwhile.

What not to outsource

There are some tasks you’ll never want to outsource, of course.  This includes the real meat of your business tasks, the things you do better than anyone else.  If you’re a writer, it would be writing. If you’re an artist, it would be drawing or painting.  If you’re a business consultant, it would be consulting.  Whatever it is that you, and only you, can do for your business, you do.  But a lot of these other tasks can be outsourced.

Some tasks you can outsource:

• Adding or updating plugins and widgets.
• Answering common questions.
• Arranging joint ventures.
• Finding guest bloggers.
• Finding photos for your blog posts.
• Handling product fulfillment.
• Handling some of your social networking tasks.
• Invoicing clients.
• Managing blog carnivals, contests and other online events.
• Promoting your blog or website.
• Submitting your articles to other publishers.
• Uploading podcasts, videos, articles, web pages and blog posts.
• Verifying facts or researching information.
• Verifying links.
• Much more!

There are any number of other tasks that can be outsourced to someone skilled enough to perform them.

How do you go about finding someone and getting the systems in place to work with them?

First off, to find someone you can trust your business to, ask your online friends and others who already outsource who they use.  They may be able to recommend someone who can handle much of what you need done.

You can try posting on the forums or freelance work sites, but be careful of who you choose there.  A lot of people may sound good at first, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, they’re not able to do the work they promised.

Always opt for a trial run before making a long-term commitment.  This gives you an opening to go back to the worker and say, “I’m sorry, this isn’t a good fit.”  And don’t be afraid to do that, if needed. You can do it kindly and courteously, of course.  But don’t stay in an outsourcing relationship with someone who doesn’t meet your expectations or who just doesn’t mesh with your personality or work habits.

Once you’ve located someone you feel you can work with, and you’ve agreed on a rate, begin feeding her tasks that you’d like to see done, but don’t have a deadline.  Until you’re sure you can trust a contractor, never assign a task that could cost you business if she doesn’t follow through or is late getting the work back to you.

After awhile, you’ll get a feel for what you can send her.  Just be careful to not overload one person.  Instead, if you need to, hire an additional worker.  That way you can split the amount of work between them and let each one do the tasks they excel at.

Outsourcing makes some people feel uncomfortable, but if you find yourself struggling to meet your goals and get everything done in a reasonable amount of time, outsourcing can be a lifesaver to your business and your mental health.