Robbi Hess

Update, Upgrade Your LinkedIn Profle

Robbi Hess — 2013-02-20T08:00:00-05:00

According to news reports, LinkedIn has seen major revenue earnings increases and that leads me to believe there are more business professionals taking advantage of this professional business social media site.

LinkedIn profiles can help you stand out from the crowd when you’re looking for a job or if you’re an entrepreneur seeking new clients. If professionals are flocking to use this site, that means that you should make certain you not only have a professional presence, but you should have a complete profile as well. Here are my tips to making certain your LinkedIn profile is not only complete, but compelling:

Add keywords for past positions you have held. While you don’t want to be keyword-heavy, youdo want to be found by potential employers or business partners. Include words that have actual meaning. The term “project manager” is obtuse and may not garner you the attention you’re seeking while “special project manager for social media management and recruitment” narrows your focus.
Don’t forget an employer. It could be tedious to include every job you’ve ever held but LinkedIn could be the place to cite your experience where in a hard copy resume you would leave off “paper boy” and “lawn mower.” Be judicious in your past employment though as it’s likely that having been a “paper boy” hasn’t influenced your current position unless you are now the editor or publisher of a newspaper, then its relevance is clear.
List your specialties. LinkedIn offers this keyword-focused area for your use and you should harness its power as it helps employers find you in the crowd. Use keywords that have relevance and searchability in your particular industry/area of expertise.
What does your subheader say to the reader? LinkedIn will grab the title of your most current job and use that under your profile. If this title isn’t what you want to be known for/found as, change it. For example, “Jane Doe, CEO” doesn’t really say much but, “Jane Doe, Print Marketing Extraordinaire CEO” says a bit more about what you do and what you could bring to the table.
Make certain your LinkedIn profile URL is personalized. LinkedIn generates a URL for you but you can change it to your name and that will make you more searchable. You can also add a tagline to your profile URL if you’d like, for example: johndoesalesguru – you can add your name and your company name.

When is the last time you looked at your LinkedIn profile? Now might be the time to update it and make it as searchable as possible.

Writers Block? Writing Anxiety? Can You Move Past It? Yes!

Robbi Hess — 2013-02-11T08:00:00-05:00

Several years ago I taught adult writing classes at a local literary center. The classes I taught focused on magazine writing, fiction, confession magazine writing and blogging. Whenever someone came to class with the story that they didn't do their assignment it was because they had Writer's Block I countered by saying it wasn't WB, but Writing Anxiety or in some cases, Writing Laziness!

Writers should be avid readers and as an avid reader you should be exposed to myriad ideas all the time that should spark your creativity. If it doesn't and you find yourself with sweaty palms and beating heart when you sit down to write a blog post, it could be a case of Writer's Anxiety.

Here are some tips to overcome that, move forward, and get that blog post written:

Do you hate what you’re writing? If that’s the case, you should step back and evaluate why you’re writing on the topic you’ve chosen and see if you can revamp and write about something else. Has your blog taken a turn toward topics on which you’re simply not interested? Who’s to say you can’t turn it around? No one!
Are you writing outside of your comfort zone? Did you agree to blog about something about which you know nothing and have either no – or negative feelings? Is there a reason you can’t simply say, “thanks, but no thanks?”
Did you write a post recently that received negative (or no) feedback? While it’s easy for me to say, you need to move past negative comments and remember the person who commented is a stranger who doesn’t know anything about you and that one post on which they commented may be an aberration. They may have loved everything you’ve written before. Remember, people are more likely to complain than to praise.

When you’re hit with any of these feelings above it can make you want to throw in the towel and give up pet blogging forever, right? Don’t let it. There are ways to power through to the other side and come out happier!

This should be a no-brainer but sometimes we need a reminder. Write about what you love! If you don’t love what you’re blogging about, every post will be a chore.
Set attainable goals. If you’re trying to blog seven days a week, take care of the family – both two- and four-legged – hold down a full time job and take care of the house, it’s simply too much. Step back and blog less frequently. That may help bring the joy back to your blogging time.
Do you have a goal you’re trying to achieve with your blogging? For example, are you blogging to become known in the pet field for your expertise on a particular subject? Are you hoping your blogging leads to speaking engagements? Are you blogging your way to a book? Knowing your goal will help you focus your efforts.

Nurture your creativity and look at your blogging efforts as a positive experience. Truly, if writing a blog post is as painful as a dentist’s visit, who’d want to do it? Not I! Are you suffering writing anxiety? Have you in the past? How did you move past it?

Are Your Marketing Efforts Reaping Results?

Robbi Hess — 2013-02-04T07:30:00-05:00

How often do you look at your marketing and promotion plan for your business? Just as you track the financial health of the organization, so too should you monitor the health and rate of return on your marketing efforts. Are the goals you set for your marketing being met? If not, it's time to revamp them. Even if you’re only setting a baseline of: increase my social media followers by 10 each week, it’s something you need to monitor and rework if it’s not helping you reach your goals.

Here are some items in your marketing arsenal that you should look into and revamp if necessary:

Do you understand your audience/your ideal client? If you don’t know who your client is, how can you effectively target him? In addition to knowing your demographic’s age and location, you should also understand whether they’re the “on-line” type or if they prefer their news/coupons offline in a newspaper or in a television or radio ad. If you’ve been targeting one section of media and not reaping results, refocus your efforts. Remember too that social media and print media work cooperatively.
How functional is your website? Do you have a website? If not, we have professionals on trade that will work with you to build a new site. If you don’t have a website, you need to get one as soon as possible because your competition is well ahead of you if you don’t. Consider that your website is your 24/7 business card. Understand the key words you want to target for your business and use them judiciously throughout the site.
Do you have a “sales funnel”? Do you know what a sales funnel is? One way to create a sales funnel is through a series of articles/blog posts on your website. Take a look at the goods and services that you provide and consider whether you have a case study you could use as an example for a sales funnel series. As an example, look at an individual that has decided she wants to become a business owner. Follow her trials and tribulations from the “a-ha” moment through to her throwing open her virtual doors. If you’re a website builder, that’s where you come in – the virtual doors. Talk about the steps in business ownership from accounting and bookkeeping needs to the need for marketing and promotion, hiring of employees, social media management and profile building, networking, etc. You’re not specifically telling the readers to “buy me” or pushing your product on them, you’re showing them a person with a dilemma and offering ideas for solutions. You will be known as the solution provider to a potential client.

As a business owner, it’s not enough to have a great website and stellar content on that site if no one is reading it. Harness the power of social media to spread the word about your site and the new blog posts you’re writing. Draw them to the site. Let them get to know, like and trust you and you will be looking at a potential client! Do you need help with your marketing efforts? A reworking of your social media efforts? Let me know!

Grow Your Business: Find An Accountability Partner

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-30T08:00:00-05:00

Working from home as a solopreneur is something that brings with it the luxury and freedom of setting the schedule (and wearing the wardrobe!) of my choosing. There is also the isolation and void of having no one to bounce ideas off of and no one to be accountable to. I don't have a boss hanging over my shoulder expecting resutls by 5 pm. Of course, I have clients that expect results, but as long as they're delivered in a timely fashion, it doesn't really matter if I perform at 6 am or 6 pm or midnight, right? Wrong... if I want to have any kind of a lifestyle.

Last week I made the leap and "got" an accountability partner. My partner,Anne McAuley, is involved in the same field of expertise that I am and that's a boon as we know the obstacles faced in that career path and we can help each other brainstorm and our connections feed off of each other. We sent messages to each other of the items to which we wanted to be held accountable and when we got on the phone we hashed them out, set goals and planned for another talk. I think it's going to work!

Here are the reasons I decided it was time to seek out an accountability partner:

If you want to propel your business forward in 2013, you might need a bit of a shove to make it happen. Are you stuck on not knowing where or how else to market yourself and your services? An accountability partner might have great ideas and insights you'd never considered.
A brainstorm partner. Having someone you can go to when you need to brainstorm -- whether it's a blog topic for a new client, the best way to set up your editorial calendar, or whether a project you're considering is even a good fit -- helps you connect and uncover new avenues.
As the name so clearly states... having someone to be accountable to is a big part of it. If I sit at home and say "I should write a newsletter" the only one listening in the Diva Poodle Henrietta. If I speak it out loud to Anne, she is going to ask me about it when we speak next. Knowing I have to perform and report to someone is a motivator.
Your own cheerleading section. If you are an entrepreneur and you reside with a non entrepreneur, he or she may not understand how BIG your successes are when you reach them. An accountability partner understands every hard won success and will raise a virtual glass of wine with you!
Increased productivity anyone? While the joys of working from home and being self employed are myriad, it is easy to slip into periods of time when you spend far too many hours on Pinterest looking at crafts that you will never complete, playing Words with Friends, or simply trolling Facebook to see who's having more fun than you are! Knowing that you could reach out to your accountability partner and say.... "Help!" is a stress reliever and can enhance productivity.

2013 is going to be a year of change and growth in my business and I have taken the first step in that process. What will you do to grow your business this year?

Robbi Hess, Social Wordsmith, is a professional blogger, social media consultant and creative thinker. She works with entrepreneurs providing professional writing services including: web copy, newsletters, guest and ghost blogging and long letter copywriting. She is also a speaker on the subjects of time management, writing and productivity. “Helping entrepreneurs find the ‘write’ words!”

Get Your Blog Some Google Love: 7 tips

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-22T08:00:00-05:00

Google, it sometimes seems, is the be all and end all for business owners looking to be found on the Internet. While the rules change, sometimes before you’ve even implemented them, there are ways to remain relevant, be found and up your Google rankings when you write a blog post.

Here are my top tips for gaining Google love:

Always write original content. Don’t be redundant – even if you write and post on more than one website in the same niche market. While you don’t have to recreate the wheel with your posts, you do want to make certain the content has been rewritten even though the ideas may be the same.

Create value for your readers by offering practical advice and relevant information. Readers love how-tos, tips and topic articles. Incorporate original research into your posts by embedding your experience as an expert on that subject matter.

Are your posts spell and grammar checked? Are your facts correct? If your readers are faced with inaccuracies in your facts and spelling errors (which can be easily avoided) they may doubt your expertise in the information you’re presenting.

Write about interesting topics with SEO as a secondary idea. Writing a post with only SEO (search engine optimization) as your driving force will make your posts read like something from a content mill. Sprinkle your keywords into the posts but don’t make them so keyword heavy that your message is lost.

Are you positioning yourself as an expert? If so, what’s on your “resume” that will point to that expertise? If you’re positioning your site as a clearinghouse for other experts, make that clear up front. Make certain your site reflects who you are and what you do and what sets you apart from the competition.

What do you have to say that is different from the other bloggers that are saying the same thing? It’s true there are no new ideas so you need to take your blog posts and find a way to set them apart from the thousands of others that are out there. Make certain your unique voice and perspective come through in your writing.

Is your blog post all about calls to action? Is the post or site cluttered with ads and “buy me” promotions? Don’t let your blog posts and your ideas be lost in the noise of ads and promotions. While you certainly want to have clients buy from you or sign up to work with you, you need to do direct them to a different part of your website – don’t bury the message of your blog posts in ads.

High quality, relevant content is your best way to be found by Google and your best way to ommunicate with your clients and potential clients. Let content be your guiding force in your blog posts.

7 Steps To A Great How-To Post

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-15T08:00:00-05:00

Do you read blog posts because you want to learn something from the blogger? Chances are, that is why you read. In a world crammed full of work, life, spending time with family and pets, giving your time to a blogger and her blog post is a gift. If you like to walk away from a blog post having learned something or if you write blog posts and want your readers to walk away having learned something, writing a great how-to article is the way to go.

Here are seven steps to penning a great how-to article for your next pet blog post:

Choose a topic that you’re passionate about and one in which you have a deep understanding. If you’re uninterested with the topic, it will show through in your words and if you are unsure of the topic, your reader will walk away more confused than enlightened.
Choose a headline that lets your reader know exactly what he will learn, for example: How To Travel Cross Country With Your Cat, or Seven Steps To Make Your Blogs Sing.
Start your how to piece with an overview. Explain to the reader why you’re writing the how to and what your expertise. Explain who will benefit from the topic and how.
If your how to requires planning and preparation explain what supplies are needed, how much time will be necessary, and any tools necessary. If your how to article will require your reader to have prior knowledge, you can either direct them to an article you’ve written previously or explain where they can get the prerequisite knowledge.
Pen your how to with the assumption that while your reader is eager to learn what you’re writing, she has no prior knowledge. What is obvious to you may not be obvious to the reader. For example, if you’re a master chef and are writing a How To Make The Perfect Biscuit blog post, assume that your reader will need exact measurements rather than “a pinch of salt” or a “pre-warmed oven.”
Use photos or videos, if possible, to illustrate your points. Write the how to in simple language and break the entire how to into easy to read bullet points or numbered steps.
Wrap up your how to blog post with a summary paragraph. Invite comments and success stories from your readers. Keep the comments open to those readers who may not have been successful at implementing your how to knowledge.

What expertise do you posses that would lend itself to a how to blog post?

Energy? Energy, Where Are You?

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-11T08:00:00-05:00

There are days when I am faced with the blank page, the blank screen and words simply do not want to come out. It doesn't matter though, as a full time writer I have no choice but to write whether the muse graces me with her presence or not. She is a fickle bitch at times, but I have learned to work around her moods and lack of showing up when I need her.

Knowing that you have to write, as I do for a living, means that I have trained my brain to be "on" whether I am really feeling it or not. On those days when my energy is flagging I make certain my inner editor is turned on full force because I will formulate run on sentences and even use words that might not make sense.

Thankfully, taking a step back and looking at my posts even a few hours later brings the mistakes into focus and allow me to fix them and make the posts live. Using an editorial calendar also helps keep me focused and keeps the words flowing.

If you work an outside job and blog for fun, how do you get the energy when you're simply feeling drained? Do you force yourself to write whether you want to or not? Do you take advantage of those days when you are brimming with energy and ideas and write myriad posts all at one sitting? I'd love to know how you get over the hump when you simply don't want to write but know your readers are waiting.

Does Blogging Drain Your Mental Energy?

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-10T08:00:00-05:00

Today's blogging prompt is to research what blog tasks take the most energy and which ones drain you. This one took me a while to determine (lol maybe that's what my post should be about!)

When I stepped back and gave it some thought I believe what drains me when it comes to blogging is the "What Am I Going To Blog About Today" syndrome. Some days I am chock full of ideas; they overflow my thoughts and I can't usually write them quickly enough. Other days, finding an idea is a long, slow slog through quicksand.

I believe, though what drains me on those "what am I going to write about" days are outside forces. Outside stressors that pluck at me and tug me in directions from which I'd like to not travel. Taking advantage of my high energy days and formulating ways to get more of those high energy days has been a recent. on-going quest.

2013 is the Year of Me and of Conquering The Overwhelm. Onward and upward.

I'd love to hear... are there any blogging tasks that drain you? How can you make them less draining and more enjoyable?

Pinpointing Energy Drainers

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-09T07:30:00-05:00

NaBloPoMo prompt: Talk about a time when you used up an extraordinary amount of energy and were exhausted.

This question/prompt brought up a lot of "stuff." To say the past eight months have been trying and challenging and energy-draining would be an understatement. From my diagnosis on April 9 to rounds of surgeons, oncologists, treatment options, etc. etc. dealing with life following a cancer diagnosis and simply trying to get back to "normal" whatever that means right now drains me almost daily.

Being diagnosed and dealing with all I've dealt with means it's something that rarely leaves your mind and also niggles away at you in the middle of the night. Is that bump just a bump or is it something more? Is that a "normal" headache or something more? Most things build up, in my mind to a "something more." Sigh... it is exhausting and takes an extraordinary amount of energy.

Trying to push it out of my mind and get on with life also takes energy but that energy is more productive than the "what's going to happen next" thoughts that plagued me after every phone call following every test.

I have learned to live in the moment, stop and really be present when I am somewhere. I no longer sit in a meeting or attend an event wondering "what are we going to do next." I enjoy where I am and what I am doing. It hasn't been easy to give up the stranglehold control I had over my life but believe me, it's something I learned to do. My life was out of my control for eight months. I'm regaining control over it and over my schedule again but I know now that nothing is written in stone and it could change with the flipping of a calendar. I've been learning to conquer the overwhelm and I think it might be working!

Seven Steps To A Better Blog Post

Robbi Hess — 2013-01-08T09:00:00-05:00

Has anyone ever asked you: How do you blog? That question was asked of me recently during a blogging seminar I was leading, prompted me to go through my blogging process to try and break down the process. This is what I came up with:

Write the post aimed toward a “you.” What this means is when you write a blog post use the word you not “we,” “them” or “I”. Your blog posts should make the reader feel as though he is sitting in your kitchen, sipping coffee, and hearing the information you are imparting.

How-to posts are popular. How-to write a blog post (for example!); Readers enjoy posts that teach them something new or that enhance the knowledge they already have.

Make your posts as detailed as they need to be. Don’t hint at information expecting your readers to go out on the Internet and search out the rest on their own; they are coming to you for your expertise, don’t disappoint.

Hook your readers with your headline then follow through on the promise of that headline. Work keywords into your headline if possible (that makes you more searchable on Google). Headlines and first paragraphs matter.

Be a conversation starter. Ask your readers questions. Engage them in conversation. Ask their opinion. Ask how they address the issues you’ve raised in your blog post. Make certain that if they’re responding to you, you want to monitor and respond to comments as well.

Show your expertise. If you’re writing a post, make certain you are the authority. If you’re not the authority, back up your words with facts or interviews with individuals who are the authority on the subject. Remember, your readers have myriad other pet bloggers they could be reading, give them a reason to continue to choose your blog.

Care about your readers. Blog because you want to impart information to them and blog because you love your topic.

How do you blog? Do you start with a headline, a topic, or a current event? I’d love to hear.