I’ll tell you the last 30 days have been amazing. The Ultimate Blog Challenge has been wonderful. This is my last post in the challenge and I’ll tell you it’s been a challenge to say the least. I managed to make a post everyday, but there were days when I wasn’t sure it was going to happen.

Just like the last challenge I did back in June, I feel wonderful and I’m so glad I decided to participate in it. It has increased by traffic and it’s helped me grow as a woman business owner. I have learned a lot along the way and I’ll never regret the time I spent writing and publishing each post.

If you find you have trouble keeping up on the content for your blog, I recommend a blog challenge. You’ll reap the benefits everyday and you won’t regret the decision you made.

I’d like to come away from this challenge saying thank you to all of my friends and new followers I gained. I want to thank each and every person that retweeted my posts. I also want to thank each person that wrote a blog and posted it for me to read. I have become a better person because of them.

So I say thank you!

Twitter is one of the most popular social networking sites right now. Everyone from small businesses to large corporations are using Twitter to communicate with customers and even potential customers. They use it to answer questions or concerns that come up because they want to make their customers happy. They also use it to share specials and remind people about certain things they have going on.

Twitter is the best place to grow your business because of the thousands of people that are apart of it. There are tools you can use to share things with people and there are tools you can use to find people. When you use these tools, you’re sure to have success with your business.

There are tools that allow you to schedule posts, there are tools you can use to view more information at once, and there are tools you can use to find more followers that are within your target market. In this article we’re going to talk about automating your blog posts and a search tools you can use.

Automating your blog posts is one of the most convenient things you can do for your business. While it takes a minute or two to gather all of the information needed to make your posts, automation saves you that time. It takes a few minutes to set up and then each and every post you make will automatically post to your Twitter account.

There are a number of options you have to choose from, but one of the best is Twitme. Once you set this account up, it will instantly submit your new post to your Twitter account. You don’t have to wait for the post to hit and you don’t have to do it yourself. Setting up the account is easy to do and only takes a few minutes.

When you take the time to automate your blog, you want people to see it. That’s where keywords come in to play. You can use search.twitter.com to find people that are searching for things that you can help them with.

When you insert a keyword that is searched by your target market, you’ll be given a list of people that have included that word in a post they made. At that point, you’ll be able to view the tweet they made and follow them. At that point, you need to make valuable posts with quality content so the new people you are following will want to follow you.

Twitter tools are very important because they help you save time and increase your traffic. When you use the tools in this article, you’ll see growth in your business when you use them frequently and correctly. Growth in your business is important and you’ll see it when you use Twitter.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She enjoys helping business owners grow their business through social networking. If you’re ready to make the most of your social networking time online, check out her website at www.virtualfreedom4you.com.

Your blog is a great way to keep your business in front of your customers and potential customers. There are so many things you can publish on your blog that will help them to see what you do and how you can help them.

It might be easier to make posts on your blog then it would to create a newsletter or ezine. The reason for this is because your blog posts can be as long or as short as you choose. You can include videos, links to other posts or sites, and so much more.

The great thing about your blog is it’s easy to outsource if you choose. Hiring a Virtual Assistant to schedule posts for you makes it even easier to keep your business in front of others. She can also write the posts for you if you choose.

Blog management is a great way to use a tool that will indirectly make you money on a regular basis. Don’t feel that you can’t use a blog because you’re too busy or that it won’t make you money. Outsourcing your blog to a VA will make it happen.

As business owners, we all have tasks that we hate to do. Phone calls, article submissions, scheduling appointments or blogging are just a few of the tasks we may dread everyday.

Just because we dread those types of things doesn’t mean we should stop doing them. What if you stopped and your business started to go down hill or you stopped growing? It’s possible those tasks are making your business what it is today.

Stopping these types of tasks are isn’t an option. So your best bet is to outsource them to a Virtual Assistant. There is NO point in dreading each day or stressing over your business because you have certain things you hate to do.

Don’t let this happen to you. Outsource the tasks you hate to do so you can focus on those that you enjoy. You’ll find when you do this your business will grow by leaps and bounds. You’ll see the good side of your business and you’ll be happy each day.

How do you handle the tasks you hate? Leave a comment below and let me know.

I just watched an episode of Reba and learned something from it. What are the odds of that? I just love it when you learn from a TV show or movie. Makes it worth the time you spend watching it. LOL

In the episode I watched, Reba was trying to tell Cheyenne she couldn’t be a dentist because she was not responsible enough. She basically told she was flaky and she’d never finish it. A few minutes after Reba told her that Van comes running down the stairs freaking out because he couldn’t find the bottle and the toy for the baby and the baby needed drops for her ear but he didn’t know where they were. Cheyenne was there to save the day and at that point Reba knew she could do anything if she set her mind to do it.

What I learned from this show is I can do anything if I set my mind to it. If I want something bad enough, I can make it happen if I remember why I do what I do and what I want the outcome to be. I can grow my business in new ways if I keep my why in front of me at all times.

So all I have to say is thanks for the lesson Reba!

First impressions are very important when it comes to business. If you give a potential client the wrong impression of you, they’ll never use your services or purchase from you.

First impressions come in many different forms. Some you may not even think about. Here are a few that you need to think about.

1. Social media posts
2. Emails you send out
3. Newsletters or ezines
4. Blog posts

If you continually have misspelled words, you’re always criticizing others, you’re always posting negative things, or you’re always late when you have a schedule you post for the public to see your first impression will not be a good one.

We use the tasks above to grow our businesses. Some of them are used on a daily basis while others may be used a few times a week or month. Just remember you need to make sure you always stay positive and remember to watch what you say because you never know when a new person is going to see what you post. You may lose a customer because of one single post.

Blog comments are important for you blog. They help you increase your traffic and they increase your rating do to outgoing links. Most times if someone is interested in a post you make and there are comments with it, they’ll read those as well.

Do you know how to increase the comments on your blog?

There are a couple of ways to make this happen. One way is to share your blog posts on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. When more people see your posts, they’ll read and make comments. You can’t rely solely on your subscribers. You must place your blog in front of your market.

Another way is to ask for them. If you write up a post and ask a question at the end, suggest they answer your question in the comments. You can also post the link to your blog in forums and on social media sites and ask people to comment on your post. Asking or suggesting is not a bad thing.

Once you have comments on your posts I recommend replying back to them. Even if they only say thanks for the post or for bringing this post up, you need to make the comment. When you do this you create credibility with your readers and it will keep the interaction high. If questions are asked and you answer them, you’ll do yourself a favor and may even gain a customer or two.

Comments are important for a blog and it’s something you should want with each post you make. Don’t be afraid to follow the steps above to make them happen. The more you have, the better you’ll be.

If you use social networking sites properly, you will see success and you will grow. As a Virtual Assistant I love to help my clients grow their business through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

If you use these sites properly, you will surely grow, but the key word there is properly. If you don’t use it the right way, people will ignore you. But, the question is, do you know what the right way is to use these sites so you grow?

Let me tell you, the worst thing you can do is SPAM people with your business information. You need to develop a business relationship with people before you start sharing information about your business. Even after that relationship is created you don’t want to share too much information or you might chase them off.

The best thing you can do when you’re trying to grow using social networking sites is to offer help with you can. Share tips that will help your target market and followers. When you offer this type of help, people will want to see what you offer. That is the best way you can grow your business.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share information about your business. You need to make posts regarding your business and share important things that are going on so others will see what you’re doing. What you don’t want to do is SPAM them with private messages and emails that contain information about your business.

When you decide to use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to grow your business, make sure you use these tips and do it the right way. When you do, you’ll see the growth and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the outcome when you put a little extra effort into your posts.

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds every day. It started out with the small business owners using it the most and now it’s grown to the point that now you’ll see corporations using Twitter to stay in communication with their customers. So you know if the big companies are using it, you should too.

Do you know how to use Twitter effectively and easily? Whether you think you know the answer or not, you need to read this article because we’re going to discuss the must have Twitter tools that you need to use. They will save you time and make the most of the time you have online.

Picture courtesy of technobuzz.net

1. Hootsuite

Hootsuite gives you the ability to post one message to a number of different social networking sites. You can include Twitter, Facebook, Facebook fan page, LinkedIn, Ping.fm, WordPress, MySpace, and Foursquare on your Hootsuite page and then choose which one you want to send your messages to each time you post.

This is a priceless tool when it comes to marketing your business. You can achieve the work you set out to do when you set up each account and then post your messages to all of them at one time. It’s easy to do and it time efficient and that’s what a business owner needs.

2. TweetDeck

TweetDeck gives you the ability to set up columns so you can view all of them at once. I have four columns on mine and they’ve been very helpful in finding new clients and communicating with my current ones as well. I have a column for all my friends, my mentions, my direct messages, and my list of clients. You can add more if you choose, but those are the most important to me.

TweetDeck also gives you the ability to make posts to your Facebook page with the click of a button. You can pick and choose which posts go to your Twitter page and which go to your Facebook page. It’s very convenient. Another option for you to consider with TweetDeck is the scheduling option. If you set up an account with TweetDeck you have the ability to write a post and schedule it to go out at a later time.

3. Social Oomph

Social Oomph is a wonderful tool and one I recommend everyone should use. This tool allows you to schedule your posts for a later time. It also gives you the ability to shorten URL’s and then track them so you know how many clicks you have. With Social Oomph you have the ability to choose the date and time that your post will go out.

You have the ability to set up auto direct messages that go out whenever you have new followers. You also have the ability to set up multiple Twitter accounts, Buzz, Facebook, your blog, StatusNet, Ping.fm, and your blog feed.

When you use these three tools you’ll make the most of your Twitter time. You’ll also make the most of your marketing when you schedule your posts to go out while you’re not online.

Social networking is important and needs to be done daily so you put your business in front of people all the time. When you do this, people will remember you and begin to trust you. That’s crucial when you want to grow your business.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She enjoys helping business owners grow their business through social networking. If you’re ready to make the most of your social networking time online, check out her website at www.virtualfreedom4you.com.

Right now it’s quiet in the room. Everyone is sleeping but me. This happens at times and I’ll tell you I take advance of them. Usually we’re running around for the boys or I’m working my business, so quiet time doesn’t come very often.

Today I did a bit of client work, but now I’m thinking about my business. I have a project going on right now and I’m thinking about the ways to make that project fly. I can’t share the details of this project just yet, but I’ll tell you it’s coming along quite nicely. I’m very excited about it and I can’t wait to share it with you, but for now it must remain a secret.

So, what do you do when you have quiet time? You may have the time to think about your business and what it will take to reach the next level. You may be thinking about your goals and how they don’t fit with the plan you are currently running with your business.

If you’re in either of these situations, you need to take the quiet time you have to brainstorm and decide what you can do to make things happen. You may need to change your goals and go a different direction. You may need to outsource certain projects to others so you have the time to focus on the task within your business that make you grow.

Whatever it is you need to do, write it down and then put it into action. Action is what you need to grow your business and reach success. Without it you will back pedal and not move forward.

You need to remember the reason why you started your business in the first place and start pedal forward so your business is a success and not a waste of time.