This special online event, a week of unique blog posts, is brought to you by Biba Pedron from

You’ve done your research, blocked out your time so you wouldn’t get distracted or interrupted, wrote the article, posted onto your blog and hit publish. Now what? Is that all you have to do?

Unfortunately, just like writing and publishing a book, once the material is out there promoting becomes the most important part. If you don’t promote, you won’t sell copies. The same is true for online articles and blog posts. If no one is reading them, no one is buying. In other words if you don’t generate traffic to your blog, your hard work is for naught. I’m going to tell you how to get a good ranking and guide readers to your blog.

1. Use Keywords

– Make sure your article contains keywords related to the subject, including in your title.

Check on Google/Keyword Took External to find the best keywords . Make sure you know where to add the keywords and how to separate them according to the site.

2. Install the plugin All in One SEO Pack -

This plugin will generate META tags automatically, fine tune page navigational links, automatically optimizes your titles for search engines, avoids the typical duplicate content found on WordPress blogs. Installing this plugin will save you time and energy you can otherwise use to generate great content.

3. Post on article directories

– Adding your articles to article directories gets you more exposure because people have more ways to access the information you have to offer. Always make sure to put a call to action at the end of your articles to direct traffic to your blog. Use enticements such as more information or free gifts. The object is to motivate people to act and to tell them what it is they need to do. In this case it is to go the your blog to get more traffic.

4. Install plugin to share on social media

– In order to save time, install your plugins once and only click on the Facebook or Twitter button as soon as you publish a new blog post. This way, simultaneously all of your followers will see your new article or blog post. As an added call to action, ask you followers to share with their friends, for a viral effect.

5. Subscribe to RSS

– This application will allow you to plug in your blog with other social media sites with just one click, instead of having to deal with each one on its own.

6. Use bit.ly to track your readers

– Webistes like bit.ly allow you to shorten your URL, which is convenient to reduce the number of characters, allowing you to tweet the address of your new posts. You will also be able to get some valuable information such as the number of people who click on the link to read your post over all or per day and which countries those people reside in. This information comes in handy when keeping track of who your target market is.

7. Publish it on your Linkedin groups

– Review the LinkedIn groups and choose those that relate to the topic of your blogs. Once you join them you can mention on each one that you have just posted a new article and include the shortened link to track how many people from LinkedIn click your link. You can only join a maximum of 50 groups, so select them according to how many members and how close they are to your target market. There is no reason to waste your time with tiny groups or people who have no interest in the information you can provide.

8. Comment on other blogs related to your topic

– Each time you put a comment on other blogs, and eventually answer questions, your credibility as an expert rises. If people come to know you as the ‘go-to- person in your field they will come to read more about you on your blog. An added benefit is that by clicking on your link these readers will give you a backlink, which only helps your ranking.

9. Participate on forums related to your topic

– Just like the blogs, participation in discussions on forums raises your credibility. Always make sure your profile is completed so that those wishing to get more information are directed to your website and blog.

10. Mention your blog or article in your newsletter

– If you send a newsletter every week, mention that you’ve written something new on your blog or that you have a new article coming out. If you don’t tell people on your mailing that you have new information, they won’t know to read it.

11. Exchanges links with other bloggers

– Contact other bloggers who touch on the same topic as you but are not your competitors and ask to exchange links so you can cross promote each other. You benefit from his or her readers and vice-versa.

Now that you know how to promote your blog postings and articles to get more traffic and exposure be sure to block out adequate time to write your next article. If possible, post at least once a week on your blog. The more often you post the better as you get a higher ranking. And we all know a higher ranking means more exposure, more readers, more feedback and more money for you and your business.

Still need help to build your blog?

Visit www.TheConnectionQueen.com, and download 3 free gifts including a 60mn audio, 6 videos and an ebook on networking and marketing strategies.

Biba Pédron, also known as “The Connection Queen”, is a business coach and personal stylist who helps solo women entrepreneurs to attract more clients with proven marketing strategies, like networking and social media. She also helps them awaken their personal look, dress to impress, achieve greater self-confidence, and stand out from the crowd thus skyrocketing their income by creating their signature business style.

By Eric Gruber

Every time Google changes its algorithms – it causes a frenzy among those internet marketers relying heavily on the search engines. The latest change made many marketers stock up on Maalox and Pepto Bismol as it made them literally sick to their stomachs. Google’s latest change was an attack on article directories and content farms like Ezinearticles.com.

You see, many internet marketers were writing 150-200 word articles that gave no informational value whatsoever, just to get the link. They were after the SEO benefit and not taking full advantage of what article marketing has to offer. But now, because of the new Google algorithm change sites like EzineArticles.com lost a lot of its visibility on Google and it has many internet marketers up in arms.

Now, unlike many internet marketers, I think the change is a GOOD thing – and here’s why…

4 Reasons Why I Think the New Google Algorithm Change is a Good Thing

1. It forces article directory sites like EzineArticles.com to enforce stricter editorial guidelines. Google wants quality! Your readers want quality! I can almost guarantee this is why EzineArticles.com now requires you to write articles at least 450 words. And, it’s why they are going to review your articles even more thoroughly for spelling, grammar and formatting errors. They are increasing their quality control – and that’s usually a good thing.

2. It forces you the article marketer to go beyond the article directories - and target the best websites, ezines and blogs. Now, as the Google algorithm change focuses on article directories (and I’m sure this is only the beginning!) you cannot solely focus on SEO. You need to start putting your content on targeted websites, ezines, blogs and forums that your audience is going to every day. This way, you go directly to your audience instead of you hoping they find you on the search engines. Plus, these sites will give you the credibility and expert status you need to build your business. To find out the correct way to submit your articles so you can get published on more websites (and not just the article directories) go to: http://www.articlesubmissionsecretsrevealed.com/special

3. It forces you to use other mediums to get your content out in front of your prospects’ faces. If you didn’t have a reason to start engaging in social media before – now you do. Besides trying to get rid of the “junk”, Google is changing its algorithms based on the way people search.

Now, your prospects are gaining the information they need from social media sites like LinkedIn. If you want to be found and if you want to be heard, then you need to engage in social media.

4. It forces you to start creating articles that give prospects the perception that you are the thought leader. You think sites like Entrepreneur.com and WomenEntrepreneur.com (which my article submission clients have been published in!) want to publish regurgitated content that is already all over the Web? No way! So, if you are going to go beyond the article directories and get your articles published on top websites, then you need to up your game. You need to start offering information that is usually held back – and you need to “wow” publishers and readers with the information you are revealing.

How to Embrace the New and Upcoming Google Algorithm Changes..

Understand that article marketing is not what it used to be. No longer can you submit an article to thousands of article directories and expect the traffic to come pouring in! Whether you’re just starting out in article marketing, or you already run an article marketing campaign, you have to learn how it should be done in today’s world if you want it to succeed.

If you need help, remember that my online article submission secrets course, will take you by the hand and literally walk you through setting up and executing your new article submission campaign from the very start.

Here’s to submitting articles the right way – that won’t have you affected by the recent Google algorithm change and any upcoming changes.

Article marketing expert Eric Gruber creates online marketplace opportunities for authors, internet marketers and small business owners who want more website traffic, publicity and prospects. If you’re looking to build your business with article writing and article submission, check out Eric’s free ebook: How to Build Your Business Just with Articles at: http://www.FreeArticleMarketingBook.com

When most of us think of journal writing, we picture ourselves sitting in a big, comfy chair by a window in a coffee shop. We have a hardbound, maybe spiral journal in our hands and our favorite pen – and we’re scribbling away. This creates the space we need to let our thoughts pour out of our mind and onto the page.

But what about those who aren’t so keen on the traditional journaling method of writing by hand? These are individuals who would rather type out their thoughts on computers – perhaps even moving notes around so they can keep them grouped in a particular way.

These days, online journaling is picking up momentum. It’s a form of collecting and documenting one’s thoughts on the computer. And for many online journal writers, this makes it easy to “copy and paste” certain thoughts into a bigger document to be used later on for a creative writing project.

Many memoirs start from journal entries. The same is true for personal essays and poetry. Even fiction writers, who are inspired by their own stories and the stories of others, have found value in journal writing.

There are three ways to journal online:

(1) Using a word processing software: For many, opening a Word or WordPad document and writing as thoughts are flowing through the mind is an easy process. It also provides the space to hold random thoughts, moving them around later to weave into a bigger story.

(2) Using an online journal writing software program – There are several journaling software programs available, such as LifeJournal (which was one of the first) which provide you with all kinds of ways to categorize your thoughts. This is ideal if you like to track your journal entries, seeing your personal progress in a particular area of life.

(3) Blogging – If you’re not concerned about having the world see your journal entries, blogging is the way to go. It not only gives you the space to express your innermost thoughts, it allows others to follow your story and share in your thought process.

There are also some added benefits to journaling online:

(1) All of your writing is in one place. Handwritten entries are often scattered throughout a journal, making it difficult to remember what you wrote and when.

(2) You can make all your journal entries password-protected, whether it’s on your personal computer in a file folder or in a file within a journaling software program. You can also protect all your blog entries until you’re ready to publish them to the virtual world.

(3) If you’re contemplating the use of your journal entries for a bigger project, such as a memoir or a personal essay, you can easily move your writing from one document to another as you need it.

As our society becomes more and more technology-focused, we are finding newer ways of doing the things we’ve always loved to do. Journal writing has always been a part of our culture – and now there’s a more “tech-savvy” way to do it.

Tina Games is the author of Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother’s Path to Self-Discovery. She’s a certified life purpose and journal writing coach for mothers who desire a more authentic life. Tina facilitates her own online journaling forum, the Journaling Moms Cafe. She lives with her family in Alexandria, Virginia. www.JournalingMoms.com

This article first appeared in the Fall Issue of WE Magazine for Women. You can read the PDF version here: http://wemagazineforwomen.com/pdfs/WEMagFall2010.pdf or the FLIP version here: http://rsszine.com/samples/WEMagFall2010/

Did you know you can advertise in the Holiday Gift Guide for as little as $25 (quarter page ad)? Visit: http://bit.ly/WEHolidayGuide for more information

My first introduction to Leslie came via her blog. I was shocked, to say the least, when I read the post that popped up on her Painting is my Passion page. If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t even have batted an eye, I would have realized it was not that surprising, maybe even normal for a Leslie idea — but I am getting ahead of myself. Roll back a few years…like to the 50′s.

I have been an artist for about as long as I can remember. Born into a family of artists, I grew up in the Appalachians– a baby boomer who learned early on the merits of self-entertainment–2 channels on a b & w TV does not an exciting life make–so art, reading, singing and the like looked pretty darn good from where I stood. Married at 18, a mother at 25, divorced at 32, painting jolted along and hung in with me through lots of life’s ups,downs, sideways, capsizing, etc. etc. Throw in that mix a new guy (now my husband of 20 years), a couple of cats, several moves, loss of a business and suddenly I am 50! Holy Macanonie how did that happen?? A grinding stint at the new restaurant my husband and I had opened and the extended illness and subsequent passing of my father set the stage for what was to become my new life. And it all started benignly with a blog. An art blog. Looking desperately for a way to reconnect with my creative self after an extended absence of such things, I had come across a daily painters blog. I scarcely knew what a blog was, but this blog thingy was full of smallish paintings and the artist was painting and putting a new one up every day for the world to see. And somehow I could see myself doing that. It was small. It was achievable. Anyone who has ever painted can attest to the fact of how daunting a big white canvas can be. Somehow, even in my weakened condition, I felt confident I could tackle a 6 x 6inch canvas and wrestle it to the ground! And so I began. Dreama’s Day to Day Paintings was born, just that quick.

Whereas I grew up in one house buried in the hills, Leslie grew up an air force brat all around the world. Where I was sheltered and shy, Leslie quickly got used to being the “new kid”, quickly making friends and has had lessons in ‘most anything you can name (just check with her siblings on this if you need details). Wife, mother of 3 very athletic sons, I don’t think Leslie has ever spent even 5 minutes in the slow lane. With oodles of marketing experience, she has done as many things in her adult life as she took on as a teenager. Like a lot of us though, she too had her own aha moment. A brush with a life threatening illness caused her to take a step back and think about what she really wanted to be doing. Sitting one day at her desk, hooked up to the oxygen that she had to use during her recovery and listening to an irate client on the other end of the phone…(well, I guess that would cause one to pause and think what in the heck am I doing?) she had her moment. I think how it came down after that went something like this. She said she would like to paint and her adoring husband and sons immediately went out and procured all the things she needed to get started. And start she did. She grew in her skill with her palette knife and with her marketing background decided, amongst other things, that she needed a blog. And so she began. Painting is My Passion was born, just like that.

So, there we were, blogging along, minding our own business so to speak. Each building our following, painting and posting. While Leslie was working on marketing and doing a bang up job, like with her email newsletters and such, I had ventured into holding 3 day workshops and was actively looking for new ideas to inspire my students with. And that’s how I came to stumble across Leslie’s blog one day. Looking for paintings for my students to use in a musical easel exercise that I had designed, I happened upon not just any blog post–but the blog post Leslie had done to celebrate her 50th birthday. As a gift to 27 of her close friends, she had painted 27, count ‘em , 27 sailboat paintings in about 3 days. They were absolutely gorgeous and I was absolutely certain that whoever was behind this marathon painting streak was… crazy.

Which meant one thing and one thing only. I knew I was really going to like her! I emailed her that day to see if she would mind if I “borrowed” her images for my students to replicate in class. She agreed, although I am certain she wasn’t clear on exactly what she was agreeing too…. until a few days later she opened my blog to see 15 of her little paintings laid side by side all painted by the students in my workshop (that was only the beginning, every workshop I held produced another crop of “Leslie Sailboats”).

That was the start of what has become an incredible friendship and business partnership. Over the ensuing months, via email and phone calls, Leslie and I have become reliant on one another–sharing new found ways to grow our business like little kids sharing secrets. It has made work not feel like work. It has brought a sense of adventure to our journey together as artists. I like to think our sum of being together is greater than our individuality of parts. We challenge each other. We are competitive in every beautiful sense of that word, pushing each other to reach higher, farther, faster. In just the past 6 months we have each mounted solo shows, published books, sold more paintings than ever before, and now have our own blog radio show, Artists Helping Artists, that is listened by over 1000 artists every week.

It’s difficult to believe that we actually just met in person for the first time a couple of months ago. We first met, via our blogs, just one short year ago and we both feel like we have been friends forever. I would say I am not as easily shocked by Leslie now as I was that first day I stumbled across her 27 paintings in 3 days for 27 friends, but I would be lying. I would like to tell you I have adjusted, but again, I would be lying. There are days I am afraid to answer my phone or read my email or check my meebo…yes, I said meebo ( a form of instant messaging to further complicate your life with that Leslie got me into). She is always uncovering something new and dragging me along with her. And me with that stupid mantra of saying yes to life….I guess I am just in for many more normal times with Leslie and you know now what that means.

And all because of a blog.

Leslie Saeta is the owner Leslie Saeta Fine Art. She can be reached at: 626.799.8507 ~ http://www.saetastudio.com Visit her blog at: http://www.lesliesaeta.blogspot.com

You can find Dreama Tolle Perry’s blog DREAMA’S DAY TO DAY PAINTINGS ~ PAINTINGS OF FRANCE AND ITALY, FLOWERS AND CATS at http://dreamatolleperry.blogspot.com/

Warren Buffet’s advice to LeBron James, “always follow your gut” seems to be what propelled me from a restless attempt at sleep to a morning of purpose and resolve to get the job done in the Spring of 2008. As writers, we oftentimes filter images of accomplishing our dreams and goals from start to finish in our heads. We have already written the story before actually placing fingers to keyboard, or pen to paper. How great for creatives as we allow our imaginations to do the work for us!

Having a vision to doing great works is a positive step in the creative process, however, it takes action to move things forward and get the job done.

Oftentimes the effort to to educate, entertain, provoke action and bring about awareness can become a daunting task, at best. Oprah Winfrey is famous for encouraging those “aha” moments of clarity in life where seemingly a bulb goes off in our mind and we’re suddenly enlightened; aware of what we should and shouldn’t be doing in order to bring about our growth and personal development. It’s no different with writers. In 2004, I read a wonderful book by Kathleen A. Brehony called Awakening To Midlife. It was in that time of reading and reflecting that my own “Aha” moment began.

Ms. Brehony, a psychologist, tackled the transitions into midlife for both women and men. More of interest, she addressed women issues of change that ultimately occurs as we age. I felt while reading this book that I wanted to know more, learn more about this journey to reawakening because I knew I was in the very throes of self- discovery. I also knew that the uncertainty that was plaguing me, was affecting other women in transition as well. I was reacting from living life experiences and a need to find my “truth.” My purpose then was to educate myself. Allow myself to embrace the pain of yesteryears. Acknowledge the joys of life experiences. Make no apologies for the mistakes I’d made, but, ultimately learn from them and let it go.

I found, over the years that I was adapt at lending an ear to other women caught up in the unforseen truism of aging. I found that in seeking answers to their questions, I could use my own life experiences as a guide, which I found myself doing via online and in print. Thus began the process of becoming a voice for women in transition. By becoming the voice for the “underdog”, women without means to verbalize their fears, I used the power of the internet to see seeds for those who couldn’t. In 2008, Authentic Woman was born, although I’d later find that its title wasn’t so original.

Nevertheless, my baby was introduced to people in the blogosphere to a receptive community of men and women readers. A common bond ensued as women wanted to “know” themselves and the men who loved them needed to communicate their own understanding as well.

In 2010, I see an awesome growth spurt from my hard work. To say that I’ve found success with my authentic woman blog would be cause for a sort of tongue & cheek admission. My blog has grown in popularity, but, it’s not a cash cow. That’s never been my purpose. My goal is for women to become comfortable with who they are. Know that life doesn’t end after 50. We women have only to believe in ourselves to know the powerful truth that shines within us. I suppose when looking at Authentic Woman from this angle? It truly is a success! It doesn’t take rocket science to start a positive movement, or to encourage one along.

Some simple guidelines for my blog’s success included:

a. Identifying my passion and purpose

b. Holding myself accountable

c. Targeting my audience

d. Using a personable approach

e. Intuiting spirit and prayer

f. Defining my truth

g. Remaining focused on my goal…

Clara Freeman is a nurse, freelance writer, blogger and former advice columnist living in Illinois. Her most recent work was published in the book When One Door Closes- Reflections From Women On Life’s Turning Points. For more of her works visit http://wisewoman2.wordpress.com and http://clara54.wordpress.com.

Portions of this article was originally published at Susan Johnston’s, TheUrban Muse.

However, blog comments are also very useful and effective in building your online presence, so need to be carefully considered when designing your social media marketing strategy. Commenting on blogs demonstrates to readers that you’re active, passionate about a particular topic, and that you want to add value to the topic that’s being discussed.  Also, blog comments are an excellent way to connect and build relationships with key people in your field. Through their use, a business can create positive feedback and experience the benefits of social media marketing.

Before posting blog comments bear in mind three basic questions that will help you focus your message:

Who am I targeting through posting my comment here?
What action do I expect from their side?
How can I make them feel confident about taking this action?
We have compiled a list of Dos and Don’ts to have in mind as to structure your blog comments effectively:

Don’t:

Embed links in the body of your comment. WordPress, for example, automatically adds a “rel=nofollow” attribute to the link, so you won’t see any impact on your web analytics .
Add a comment if you have nothing of value to add to the conversation.
Leave a comment without knowing your grammar and checking your spelling! It hurts your credibility.
Leave disrespectful or inflammatory comments.
Leave comments on every single post, or on a consistent string of posts.
Leave comments just to build up your inbound links for SEO.  If you don’t add value, you will only be perceived as a spammer.

Do:

Read all the comments before leaving yours. Leave comments that are relevant and valuable to others beyond mere opinion.
Do answer questions left by other commenters.
Use your comments to hint at your expertise. Try to be subtle and skilful.
Do leave a link to your site.
Use target keywords in your “name” in your comments as well as your tagline/position.
Add insight, a new idea or a relevant link to the original blog post.
This is a list of do’s and don’ts to have in mind before posting a blog comment that will benefit your brand. Building your brand through blog comments has to be part of your business’ social media strategy. Please share with us your experience with blog comments and feel free to give us your opinion on this topic!

Article used with permission by SysComm International – http://www.syscomminternational.com an established search engine marketing agencies that, since its launch in 1999, has been promoting ethical use of free search engine marketing practices over a wide range of online media channels on both B2B and B2C platforms.

There are many ingredients that go into the perfect recipe for online copy and email marketing. Some of them, like all great recipes, can be adjusted by a good cook. A discerning chef (or writer) can adjust their dish to their own tastes. But remember that there are some ingredients that are simply too basic to be left out or used in wrong proportions. After all, the one thing a great chocolate cake has to have is…  okay, you get my point.

Rule #1. The Package. The most important rule is actually the last thing you should do:  proofread. The impact of a poorly copyedited page or newsletter is huge, especially if it’s a marketing campaign. Your words can be brilliant and your message perfect, and you will still lose potential clients if you trap them in typo terror and semi-colon hell. (And believe me, they’ll all write to point it out.)  

Even if you send your pieces to your dear Aunt Sally who used to work in the typing pool way back when, do it. Don’t let anything leave your desk without a clean eye to look it over. Remember, spell check can’t find a word that is ridiculous and misused, only one that is mis-spelled. Use a person for this important “package” to carry your message to the world.

Rule #2. Pump up the volume!  Spend an extra hour to be entertaining, informative and even fun. Nobody wants to read an email that puts them to sleep half way through it. Put some pizzazz in your paragraphs and sparkle in your sentences. Use creative alliteration and wow your audience from the first word to the “yours truly.” 

Rule #3. Speed it up. In today’s world of “click-on-peas-to-get-to-carrots,” nobody has time to read five pages of appetizers before you get to your point. You have to share the meat of your message the minute someone clicks on your page or opens your email. Then you can get a little bit creative and add more detail, some supporting commentary, and circle back to the main topic again to reinforce it. Remember, if it’s the most important thing to say, say it first!

Rule #4. SHORT copy your sales pages.  Yes, I know, I’m bucking all known media guru’s.  But aren’t you just a LITTLE tired of landing pages that roll out for days, like toilet paper????  (I won’t make the obvious connection here.)  Take a huge risk, fellow women, just tell them what it is and how much it costs.  We are WOMEN.  We know what sings to us – and 95% of the time, the disqualifier is financial.  So let’s not torture each other.  And if you want to get AROUND the money thing, offer payments of the opportunity for a half scholarship.  I had NINETEEN women take my last class on half scholarship.  I scaled down some of the mentoring, and I asked them all for a little JV swap, but that was it.  I was HAPPY to help them, and the good will returns are exponential. 

That’s it from me!  Write on fellow female entrepreneurs – write on!  And happy holidays.

Mary Agnes Antonopoulos ~ Freelance Writer and Social Media Trainer ~ www.RockawayWriter.com

Interested in submitting an article to WE Magazine, the PREMIER womens online magazine for women? Check out our Submission Guidelines today!

Social media is not longer a fad. It’s become a serious business necessity. Its where people, your customers, are looking for companies to do business with.  Your customers are spending time on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,  Ning, Flickr and YouTube and if you don’t have a presence, they are finding the competition.

You’ve probably already read that if Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world. And you may also have heard that YouTube® is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world surpassed only by Google (for now).

If you own a small business now more than ever you need some cost-effective marketing tools. And social media is cheap!  In fact, for the most part, it’s FREE. Except of course, for T-I-M-E.  And we all have the same 24 hours in a day of which roughly 8.5 of those is spent on our professions, businesses and careers.  And it seems like we have even less time during the holidays to spend socializing online.  With all the parties and events to attend, it can get downright mind-boggling. However, now is NOT the time to stop your social networking activities. Because, your prospects are still online doing their research, spending time connecting with family, friends and colleagues, and making holiday purchases. In fact, now is the perfect time to use social media to reach your prospects and customers with your special offers, incentives, coupons and such.  You must know they are looking at who’s doing what elsewhere. Who’s giving the best buying incentives and who’s giving back to the community. Because in addition to being a business owner, you are also a consumer. And likely doing the same thing.

Here are just a few tips to help you use Social Media this holiday season:

Here’s Looking at You ~ If you’ve been thinking of putting together an informational video to help consumers make wiser buying decisions or to create a holiday experience or just to entertain your customers, there is still time to do so. YouTube, Vimeo and a host of other video sharing sites are ready to host your videos. For a huge list of video hosting sites, check out Internet Video Magazine.

Sharing is Caring ~ What exciting holiday offers or discounts can you share with your followers?  Use the power of social media to spread the word about your latest special that is “exclusive” to those individuals who follow you. And by the way, encourage them to share the offer with their family, friends and business associates.

Use Your Blog to Spread Holiday Cheer ~ Now is the perfect time to shout out to your peeps that you are aligned with a cause or local charity. Encourage your customers to “give a little back” while getting their gift-giving needs met. Online fundraising is becoming mainstream on sites like Facebook’s Causes and MySpace’s Impact.  Now is the time to hop on the cause-marketing hayride.  Be sure your blog posts feed into your social sites so EVERYONE in your funnel knows what your company is doing.

Monitor you Brand’s Reputation ~ If you have not been listening to what people say about your brand, now is as good a time as any to start. In fact, it is probably the BEST time because more people purchase online during the holiday season than any other single time of the year.  How do you monitor your rep?  Here are a dozen FREE tools to help you monitor and manage what’s being said about your company:

1. Addict-o-matic: Allows you to create a custom-made page to display search results.
2. Bloglines: A Web-based personal news aggregator that can be used in place of a desktop client.
3. Blogpulse: A service of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, it analyzes and reports on daily trends in the blogosphere.
4. FriendFeed Search: Scans all FriendFeed activity.
5. Google Alerts: Target keywords that are important to your brand and receive streaming or batched reports­.
6. HowSociable?: A simple way to begin measuring your brand’s visibility on the social Web.
7. Icerocket: Searches a variety of online services, including Twitter, blogs, videos, and MySpace.
8. Monitter: Everyone is talking about Twitter, but what are people talking about on Twitter? Beyond the integrated search of Twitter apps like Seesmic and TweetDeck, Monitter provides real-time monitoring of the Twittersphere.
9. Seesmic: Monitors multiple Twitter accounts and enables keyword searches and tracking.
10. Technorati: Search engine and monitoring tool for user-generated media and blogs. Billing itself as “the leading blog search engine,” Technorati has been helping bloggers and those with their fingers on the blog pulse stay informed for years.
11. Tinker: Real-time conversations from social media sources like Twitter and Facebook.  
12. UberVU: Track and engage with user sentiment across FriendFeed, Digg, Picasa, Twitter, and Flickr.

(Source: Pamorama)

People spending time on Social Media are spending literally billions of dollars in new business! So how much of it will your company get?  Can you afford not to be Social? Is it time to say Ho Ho Ho to Social Media for your business?

Connect with Heidi Richards Mooney on Twitter at http://twitter.com/heidirichards and http://twitter.com/WE_magazine. On Facebook at http://www.linkedin.com/in/heidirichardsmooney and LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/heidirichardsmooney

And her blogs Tulips Talk at www.TulipsTalk.com and Redhead Marketing at www.RedheadMarketingBlog.com

When I self-published my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT in April of 2008 I had no idea that this would lead to my involvement in numerous online volunteer activities that support military personnel and their families.

All I knew was that I had self-published the novel in order to preserve a slice of women’s social history during the Vietnam War.  (The novel takes place in 1970 right after the Kent State shootings.)

And now a year and some months later, I’ve been the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com since November 2008, helped raise funds for Operation Soldier Care, and started two Web sites to help support military personnel currently serving.

I now have a new project to use the Internet to further my objective of expanding people’s knowledge about our military personnel today.  This new project is to work on getting MRS. LIEUTENANT into high schools as an adjunct to classes in language arts or U.S. history or social studies.  I envision the novel as a jumping-off point for discussing the Vietnam War as well as the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan today.

How does what I’ve done apply to what you can do on the Internet? 

Is there a volunteer activity in which you are involved for your community? Do you want to get out the word that more volunteers are needed? 

Why not search on the Internet for a social media site that might offer you the opportunity to get out the word?  There are social media sites that have geographical sub-groups or social media sites focused around a single topic that might fit in with your community activity.

Or do you run a soup kitchen that on some days unexpectedly finds itself short-handed?  Why not have your volunteers follow you on Twitter so that you can send out an emergency SOS tweet when you suddenly discover you need help right then?

What about using social media to praise volunteers who have gone above and beyond the “call of duty”?  Everyone likes to be praised.  Tweeting or doing a status update on Facebook or LinkedIn praising a volunteer will warm that volunteer’s heart and perhaps also encourage other volunteers to step up their involvement.

Perhaps you’ve written a nonfiction book about making the world a better place.  If you start a blog to attract readers to your book, you might write blog posts about volunteer efforts that have caught your attention.  Besides writing about information that is on the “spine” of your brand, you are providing information that may inspire others to start their own save-the-earth projects.

Of course, given the collaborative nature of the Web, you can also cross-promote to help others.  The Operation Soldier Care project I mentioned above was very much a joint project with three of us using Twitter, our blogs, etc. to reach out to others.

The beauty of using cyberspace to promote your volunteer passion is that these strategies I’ve described are free or low cost.  There’s no need to spend money on printing and postage or paid advertisements in order to promote your good deed efforts.

If you brainstorm with your volunteer colleagues, you’ll probably come up with tons of other ways to use the Internet to promote good.

Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s company has started a low-cost monthly program at www.WeTeachWebMarketing.com to help people promote their brand, book or business.  She’s also a National Internet Business Examiner at www.InternetBizBlogger.com, on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ZimblerMiller, and her novel www.MrsLieutenant.com was a 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist.

Please do leave your comments below and let us know your thoughts. And more importantly visit these exceptional women bloggers and LET THEM KNOW where you heard about them!

By the way,  if you would like to submit your blog for consideration for a future post on Women Bloggers to Watch, please leave your blog title, the url and a one sentence description in the comments section. I personally review EVERY Blog that is on this list before listing it, and would love to do the same for your woman edited, published, or owned blog.

And if you happen to be one of our bloggers to watch, CONGRATULATIONS! (You can download our new logo by right clicking and saving to your computer).

1. Ask Charly Leetham ~  Charly blogs about business tips and more

2. Abundance Blog with Marelisa Creativity + Productivity + Simplicity = Abundance

3. Acts of Faith with Faith Dow Freelance writer, San Francisco-based, social justice, intra-black relations politics, feminist & lgbt issues & pop culture

4. Allison Reynolds’ 4 Hour Work Week Ditching Corporate Life For Passive Income

5. Astra Match with Pemo Theodore Solving the Partner Puzzle

6. American Princess with Emily (E. M.) Zanotti  a 25-year-old overeducated, overopinionated libertarian conservative, relapsed Catholic, technogeek

7. Average Jane is Celeste Lindell’s personal blog. Celeste  works as a social media strategist at an advertising agency, sings in a rock cover band and …

8. Beth’s Blog How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and exchange links and resources…

9. Better Sales Performance with LorenaHeletea ~ How to Turn Negative into Positive

10. The Blog that Ate Manhattan with Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Polaneczky, MD who practices medicine, cooks and waxes prolific in NYC

11. Booklet Tips with Paulette Ensign is all about creating Tips Booklets to promote your business, ideas and more.  

12. Career Fashion Blog with Johanna Magnusson Fashion advice and wardrobe ideas for the professional woman

13. Carrie Connects with Carrie Leber Blog about beauty, spa, fashion, food, hospitality, interior design, baby, and retail

14. Cherry Mag with Anne ~ magazine style blog with tips on life, love and beauty (and more)

15. C K’s Blog with Christina Kerley is filled with Clever Strategies, the NEW best practices and the smart (and not so smart) moves of today’s marketers

16. Clear Thoughts with Ann Latham Innovation, motivation, marketing and more

17. Communication Overtones with Kami Watson Huyse your guide to effective social media and public relations strategy

18. Connect Simply with Heidi Caswell Creating Personal Touch in a High Tech World

19. 3D Learner with Mira Halpert is Teaching the Way You Think

20. Create Your Own Reality Now With Nan Akasha Free your mind and the wealth will follow

21. The Curvy Fashionista with Marie Denee Created as a resource for the Curvy.Confident.Chic. Plus Size Fashionista

22. Customers Rock with Becky Carroll focuses on customers, their experiences and how businesses can make sure their customer experiences rock

23. The 14 Day Experiment with Sheri Collins premier social goal setting blog

24. The Domestic Diva

25. Donna Payne is The Web Coach ~ Insights on marketing and social media, classes and more

26. Crazy Suburban Mom with Tracy Reinhardt Don’t judge me till you’ve gone a mile in my minivan ~ Suburbia, it’s so weird 

27. Emily Chang with Emily Chang, an award-winning strategic designer and co-founder and principal of Ideacodes.com

28. Erin Huggin’s Blog features health and wellness with an edge

29. The Everyday Blogger with Stepahine Quailao is a blog about the behind the scenes of life as a lifestyle blogger

30. Every Day Trash with Leila Darabi, a Brooklyn-based journalist and nonprofiteer writes a blog that examines the art and politics of the world through the lens of garbage.

31. Every Dot Connects with Connie Reese is a social media consortium, who are passionate about using new technologies to build bridges between people, ideas and cause

32. Experience the Present with Sharon Blumenthal We all need to experience the “present”…. You, your recipient, your world!

33. Fall in Love with Your Body with KristinHeslop Learn how to love your body and create a positive self-image

34. Geeky Speak with Colleen Shares tips on SEO to pagerank and the lastest in tech gadgets,

35. Get More Time with Kids With Dorcy Russell helping divorced Families move toward a united existence.

36. Get Paid to Write Online with Sharon Hurley Hall Straight talk about your writing career

37. Girls Guide to the Galaxy ~ with Melody Meiners et al is a collection of articles, essays and opinions with edge, sass and style

38. The Glass Hammer  with Nicki Gilmour and Pamela Weinsaft about Smart Women in Numbers for women executives in financial services, law and business

39. The Global Small Business Blog with Laurel Delaney is the Definitive Blog for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Interested in Going Global

40. Gourmet Station with Donna Lynes-Miller sharing light-hearted fun ideas about food, gift giving, entertaining and culture

41. The Green Familia by Brenda Cuby is a natural living blog, which highlights lots of great products that are either organic, natural, fair trade, made in the UK etc.

42. Grupie Luv with Montana Michem Your Backstage Pass to the World of Entertainment

43. Hazel’s Blog All about Networking with Hazel Walker – Always seeking adventure, experiences and opportunity. Life is about the Experience

44. Hint of Eden with Nancy Overbury Natural soap makers using fragrance, colour and all things natural

45. Hooked on Houses with Julia A Fun Place to Get Your House Fix

46. Imperfect Action with Giovanna Garcia – Imperfect Action is better than No Action

47. IttyBiz ~ with Naomi Dunford about Starting a Home Business

48. Jolt Consulting Blog with Jackie Mikami getting your ideas to market through sourcing and importing 

49. Julie Anne Ericksons’s Blog is filled with Ideas and tools for transforming your career, improving your work life, and fulfilling your mission.

50. Kathies Photos Amazing photography of Australia and many other parts of the world!

51. Key Business Partners with Teresa Morrow Putting the pieces of online promotion together

52. Kiss My Gumbo with Greta Perry The Princess of Positive Pontifications 

53. La Marguerite A girl’s view of sustainability and social media with Marguerite Manteau-Rao

54. Learn Small Business with DeAnna Troupe Helping Small business owners integrate video into their social media strategy.

55. The Literate Housewife with Jennifer Reading and reviewing books

56. Live Peace and Passion with Karlyn Everyday news and interests from people who live peaceful, yet passionate lives

57. Lori Davila’s Blog is a community for  anyone who desires to achieve big creative, career, and life goals that really matter.

58. Married With Luggage with Betsy Talbot because life is too short to stay in one place

59. The MatriX Files with Joanna Pineda ~ strategy, Execution, Results

60. The Menu Mom with Christine Steendahl Christine helps people plan and prepare quality meals for their families.

61. The Mogul Mom Free Coaching and Resources for Mom Entrepreneurs

62. Momdot by Trisha ”where the mommy bloggers go”

63. Ms. Single Mama  A 29 year old, divorced single mom who blogs on dating, single parenthood, and other fun topics. 

 64. Musings of a Housewife with Jo-Lynne a personal blog of one mom attempting to juggle three kids, four blogs, a blog design business, and the laundry

65. National Post with Diane Francis a daily blog about business, news and the people who make both 

66. No Fear, Just Diva with Mei-Li Thomas  D-I-V-A stands for Devastatingly Innovative Via Apparel.

67. One Big Gulp Blog with Gabriella Goddard helping you live your greatest life

68. Open to Your Creativity by Mary Creatively encouraging the use of creativity as a healing tool

69. Parents Rule with PAT MONTGOMERY Designed to help parents find the information they need and the encouragement they crave

70. Pet Sit USA with Topics of interest to anybody who considers themself a pet person

71. PerrieMenoPudge with Barbara Kimmel and Joanne Fsadni Grown up cartoons for women in menopause

72. The Pink Ink Blog with Jewel on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

73. Radical Parenting with Vanessa Van Petten with Vanessa Van Petten Blog about parenting with a new perspective

74. Redhead Coach with Renee Shupe for high achieving women who have spent their lives taking care of everyone else and now want to create a FAB life! 

75. Red on Marketing with Rebecca E. Donaldson share new B2B marketing research findings, and ideas you can use to grow your business

76. Review Crushers with Kathy Baka reviews new and up and coming products, compile lists of the best resources and articles and more

77. Save Gains Tax with Paula Straub educating you on minimizing capital gains tax when selling highly appreciated assets 

78. 55 Secret Street with Nichelle Gainer, a freelance beauty and entertainment writer who has written for magazines and websites including GQ, InStyle, Glamour and more

79. Scarlet’s Letter with Amber Fresh and classy womens blog about female sexuality and womens interests. 

80. The Self-help Blog with Elisabeth Kuhn ~ self-help resources for body, mind, spirit, and prosperity 

81. She Takes On the World with Natalie Macneil aims to support and inspire women entrepreneurs.

82. Sixteen Weeks To Your Dream Business with Nada Jones and Michelle Briody ~ Ongoing inspiration for female entrepreneurs.

83. Small Business Mavericks with Caroline Melberg Turning Small Business Owners into Marketing Mavericks

84. Smart Bitches.  Trashy Books.  A highly entertaining blog written by two friends who mercilessly review romance novels.

85. SocialSuasion with Valerie Stevens social, interactive marketing and more

86. Solo Practice University^TM With S Cartier Liebel is a web-based educational and professional networking community for lawyers and law students.

87. Stiletto Sports with Jennifer Taglione Sorts, pink, sparkly, high heeled business

88. Target Stars with LaTosha Johnson Information that will encourage and empower those who aspire to be successful entrepreneurs. 

89. Think Simple Now with Tina Su is a candidly written blog that addresses real-life personal issues on our path to happiness and fulfillment…

 90. Travels and Escapes with Wendy Van Hatten escaping ordinary life through pictures and commentary

91. Vanilla and Thyme with Karen Calabrese ~ a few recipes to create lasting memories, and make your family and friends smile

92. Ventureneer with Geri Stengel Buiding successful enterprises enterprises with heart, featuring ingishts, techniques and solutions to make your goals a reality. 

93. Virtual Photography Studio with Lori Osterberg Resources for a profitable photography studio

94. The Vision Quest Chronicles with R. Nicole Cutts, Ph.D. is a part of The VQC Project to culminate in Dr. Cutts’ book about women living their Visions …

95. The Voice of Courage with Cindy Ashton Cindy’s personal blog about changing your consciousness

96. Wahm Blog with Tara A work at home blog to get you going…

97. Women Grow Business Conversations with Jill Foster, Editor, and Small Business Experts and Women entrepreneurs and business owners.

98. Woman Tribune with Holly Ord A community for women and their guilty pleasures

99. The Wonderful World of Marketing with Lisa Scully-O’Grady Irish marketer and blogger Exploring New Ideas and Adapting Old Ones

100. Write on Creative with Lisa Manyon Copywriting Solutions & Marketing Success StrategiesTo Boost Your Business