Small Biz Blog Wiz - Easy, Affordable and Productive Blogging for Small Businesses

Daily Dose: Blogging Barista Brews Big Bucks

Coffee shops are not known the most inviting places in the world for outsiders. In some coffee houses elitism a whiff of elitism mixes with the wonderful coffee aroma in the air. That's not so wonderful. Many independent coffee shops teeter on the brink of survival every month. Surely, they'd like to be more inviting to prospective customers. Maybe they should brew up some fresh blog posts along with the flavor of the day to entice some new customers through the door and develop more meaningful relationships with current clientele.

A coffee shop not only serves the community - it is a microcosm of the community. It is a gathering place where people can chat with other community members, exchange ideas, relax and feel connected to others. Wait. Is this a coffee shop or a blog? Well, a blog is community-oriented, it connects people together AND it promotes the business. A blog fits a coffee shop very well since they have key similarities at the core of the value they provide. So for the first rule, all coffee shop owners must blog!

Great, then what?

Independent coffee shops are gourmet establishments. Convey this luxury gourmet paradigm through in-depth posts tracking the origin of certain beans, the story of the coffee, the essence of what you're serving up with every cup sold. The high-end lifestyle is on the rise and the blogging barista can easily adopt to this strong desire.

Luxurious and refined yet warm and inviting. Ah, the challenge of the coffee blogger. How about coffee trivia to make the aficionados feel smart and the newbies more knowledgeable? Seasonal variations and myriad of flavors are also great ways to introduce people to the wonderful world of true coffee house coffee. And be sure to remind people that the coffee house is a great meeting place for business, friends, clubs, etc. - bascially, all the peopple that make up the community.

For you non-coffee drinkers, does your business have a luxurious reputation? If so, show it off tactfully. Need to invite more people into your high-end lifestyle service or product? Make them feel welcome while also being careful not to alienate more experienced users.

The Daily Dose will be back on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Daily Dose: Blogging Public Relations Firm Raises Its Profile & Profits

Public relations firms are always looking for a special hook to drive more attention to their clients. But would could a public relations firm blog about in order to draw a little attention to themselves without distracting from their clients' messages?

PR firms have a strategic advantage because they have an endless supply of blogging material. A PR blogger needs to establish him or herself as an expert thinker, someone who concocts attention-grabbing tactics, offers expert analysis and does it all right now, on-the-spot.

Daily analysis and insight of the ups-and-downs of various public relations campaigns should be fairly easy for a PR pro as the campaigns play out in the public eye for all to see. Whether it's sports, politics, entertainment or business, the blogging public relations guru can ascend to the top of the pile by simply doing what they do best on a daily basis - offering their sage PR advice and analysis to the world.

Another idea for the PR crowd is to blog about case studies. What has worked for your clients? Has there been a particularly successful campaign that grabbed headlines, hearts and tons of attention? Blog about your big wins. Blog about other people's big wins. Tipping your hat to a competitor for a job well done is an act of pure class and will set you apart from 90% of other practitioners of the dark art of PR, while establising you as someone who knows a quality campaign when you see it.

But, what about all you folks engaged in businesses other than public relations? Could you offer a daily analysis that would demonstrate to prospects that you're a thought leader within your industry? Your insight could open doors with clients, colleagues and competitors. Thing back to your last major achievement or breakthrough client victory. Take what you've learned from your successes, blog about it and let the world benefit from your genius. There may be no easier way to grow your business.

Daily Dose: Diamond Bloggers Are a Girl's Best Friend

I admit it. On Christmas Eve, there I was...bending over to gaze into the warm glass cases at the jewelry store quickly (oops, I mean carefully) picking out a gift for my wife. After finding something nice and making my way through the check-out maze, I had the diamond earings beautifully gift-wrapped for free at the store while enjoying a complimentary cappuccino. As I stood there I thought, "Good thing this guy didn't blog about free gift-wrapping and coffee - this place would be packed!" Blogging promotions and seasonal sales are crucial blog topics for all small businesses but what else could a jewelery store owner blog about?

A diamond blogger (how's that for A-list?) could be explaining the in's-and-out's of precious stones one day then blogging about how to properly insure those treasures the next day. Of course, once they're paid for and insured, your jewelery needs to be cleaned and properly maintained to ensure a lifetime of exquisiteness. An ambitious jewelery store owner could enlighten others on how to correctly clean their jewels or invite blog readers down for a free cleaning, thereby getting people into the store, or even hold a cleaning and maintenance demo.

People truly treasure the jewelry in their lives, especially family heirlooms. I'm a sucker for a good story and family heirlooms tell GREAT stories. Tell their stories and show pictures of the stunning pieces that have made their way through the generations. Give people a chance to talk about themselves, their families and the things they treasure and you will have lifelong customers and profits. How could you, the non-jeweler, get customers talking about themselves and the things they love all within the context of your product or service? Click here to find out.

Daily Dose: Big Hair, Big Blog, Big Business

Gotten your hair done recently? I have and I was happy just to walk out of there just looking presentable for work the next day. Most of you have probably felt the same way at one time or another. Surely, a forward-thinking salon owner who decided to setup a blog could help ease customers' anxiety and educate them about what styles may look best.

Helping people discreetly understand what would make them look better, essentially taking away the fear of looking bad, could make for some high-traffic blogging. Maybe our blogging barber or barberette could consider offering prom-time and wedding-season hair advice. Know that it's going to be super humid tomorrow? Blog a few tips tonight on how folks can weather the stickiness and have a good hair day.

Celebrity culture is at a dizzying high in mainstream America. Salon bloggers should be taking advantage of this. How about celebrity hair style reviews live from, say the Golden Globes. Our blogger could be simply watching the red carpet show on E! giving real-time rundowns of celebrity hair styles, and throw in some tips for non-celebs based on those trendy Hollywood looks!

The topics for salon bloggers just keep growing since people will always need to cut their hair and want to look good. For all you non-hair stylists, are your customers or prospects a little anxious about doing business with you? Do you have the power, yes power, to make somebody look really good or really bad. Harness that power by using a blog to calm your customers, helping them understand what they need and watching your profits soar.

Daily Dose: Bookstore Bloggers Sell More Books

The bookstore is the perfect place to find passionate, informed customers, ready to spend good money on the latest offerings. It stands to reason that with a customer-base like the one described, all bookstores should be blogging. Many are not (yet), but for those that choose to take the plunge, what should they blog about?

Book reviews are an industry unto themselves. In some cases, a quality review can equal or even outshine the book. Book readers (ahem, book buyers) crave book reviews - reviews help fuel the madness for their tomes! No independent bookstore worth its rent will pass up blogging book reviews. They should even go a step further invite a few rabidly loyal customers to guest blog a book review once-a-month. And what about offering online forums dedicated to a certain book, local authors, etc.?

Speaking of local authors, many bookstores have weekly reading and signings. Can you say "exclusive invitation to blog readers?" I think so, especially if that means more people showing up at readings and standing in the cash register line.

Bookstores have a universe of topics at their fingertips, literally? But, do you have knowledgeable, passionate customers who would like to be a little more involved? Could you make the top 20% of your clients feel a bit more exclusive and in-the-know?

Of course you could - with a blog.

Daily Dose: Auto Parts Store

Ahhh, the auto parts store. Exciting, scary and expensive all at once. Where to start for the fledgling auto parts blogger? Well, their business is a virtual treasure trove of blogging topics.

The big seller at the parts store is oil. They sell it by the case. How about an oil FAQ's post? Explain that whole 'thermal viscosity breakdown' thing to me in a way I'll understand and I'll be at your door to pick up my case of oil. Or, just tell me why I should purchase oil of a certain weight if I drive primarily in the desert heat. Be helpful, not intimidating.

Alot of folks make several return trips to the auto parts shop because they bought the wrong item, size, etc. The small business blogger should setup categories on his blog covering the most frequently purchased parts and other information specifically for the top 10-15 types of vehicles they sell parts for. Customers and prospects could subscribe to the feed for their particular car and be increasingly in-the-know about what's right (and what's wrong) for their car.

Would that same kind of tailored information (via RSS feed) for your customers and prospects encourage them to do (more) business with you? Could your blog posts offer customers a port in an otherwise whirling storm of retail confusion? Does a Dodge Neon leak oil?

You betcha.

Have a great weekend! The Daily Dose will return on Monday.

Daily Dose: Print Shop Techno-Babble Explained

Ever work with a print shop? If so, you've probably been exposed to a whole universe of technical terminology, much of it completely incomprehensible. Many dollars have been wasted and print shop relationships devastated because of a breakdown in communication mostly due to the "insider's language" used with customers in most print shops.

How about a blog post, or series of posts, from your local print shop defining and explaining the technical terms that customers will confront when preparing for a print job? It could be a weekly feature - every week a certain part of the printer's vocabulary will be demystified. Regular people will then begin to understand the different specs and requirements for a successful print job. Most likely, visitors and readers would, over time, get more comfortable with the company and use them for their next print job. And those jobs would be completed accurately and reliably because everyone understands the specs and terminology involved.

Are there any technical terms in your industry that maybe your customers aren't completely knowledgable about? Could you help them out and grow some profits by explaining terminology a bit more clearly for them, leading them to be more comfortable and confident using your wonderful product or service?

Does Your Business Need Something to Blog About?

I am starting a daily blog post called the Daily Dose. The purpose of the Daily Dose is to suggest a blogging topic everyday for small businesses. I talk to many business owners who are unsure what they should or could be blogging about. The Daily Dose will cure this problem for business owners. Everyday will bring a new topic for any business to seize upon, blog about and profit from. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions about the topics I'll be covering.

Enjoy!

Phoenix Freezes, Blogging Plumbers Rejoice

The deep freeze has been on in the Phoenix area for the past few days. Water pipes have been freezing all over town leaving many residents without flowing water. Luckily, we were left unscathed but I'm still left wondering, "Where are all the blogging plumbers when you need them?"

Proactive plumbing bloggers could have seen this "perfect storm" coming a mile away. Weather forecasts have been warning about a monster cold front the likes of which most Phoenicians have never seen, people here are famously under-prepared for natural events and nobody plans for freezing temps in Phoenix. Yet, yesterday morning was the coldest its been in Phoenix in 16 years.

Enter your friendly local plumber who just happened to recently setup a blog for his plumbing business. He is in a unique position to issue a warning to locals to prep their pipes for the approaching Arctic blast, thereby saving some people thousands of dollars and generating some loyal fans. Then, after lots of folks are either glad they listened to him or wish they had, our plumber is seen as a local expert.

25 Things Every Blog Must Do

Check out this robust list of 25 must-do's for your blog. Every one of these is vital to your visitors experience. So, please excuse me while I makes sure this blog is following all 25.

Link: 25 Tips To Optimize Your Blog For Readers & Search Engines

"...when you optimize your blog for the user experience, you make it easy for users to return and engage in your blog without dealing with any of the hassles that can cause them to abandon other sites or blog entries."