I had a great time speaking at and attending the Social Online Conference over the weekend. There were so many positive and inspiring women and so little time. If you were an attendee, don’t forget to put those great tips and tools into action for your blog or business. Information is useless if you don’t use it.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to network with several new bloggers. Many of these great people are literally just that – new bloggers. How to increase blog traffic was a big concern. I want to spend a few days this week passing along some blogging tips to both the new and veteran bloggers. Hey. Even we forget the basics from time to time.

Increasing Blog Traffic by Taking Control

Refreshing your stats all day is not going to bring new readers to your blog. You need to get out there and make those connections. You can take control of your traffic in a number of ways:

• Commenting on Similar Blogs
• Guest Posting on Blogs in Your Niche
• Get Active on Social Networks and Relevant Forums

Build Trust to Increase Blog Traffic

Building trust with first-time visitors can increase blog traffic in a few ways. It will make these new readers feel comfortable enough to return in the future. It will also make them feel confident in sharing your content with their community.

Your tagline may be the first opportunity you have to connect with a new visitor and start building trust. This one sentence will let them know they are in the right place, and it may give them a little insight into the type of environment you foster on your blog.

The About Me page is often overlooked – sometimes not so unintentionally – but this is going to be one of the biggest opportunities you have to connect with potential readers and build trust. Visitors want to know who you are and why they should listen to you. If you are reluctant to share that information, they may feel you are intentionally keeping things under wraps. The absence of an About Me page may have the opposite effect. Rather than leaving that potential reader feeling neutral, they may feel you have something to hide.

Keep Those Readers Coming Back

Now that you went out there, brought those readers over to your blog, have them trusting your advice, make sure they return. Your readers may prefer to follow you in a number of ways:

• Social Networks
• RSS
• Email Newsletter

Don’t bury these links. The first place your new reader is likely to look for ways they can follow you will be above-the-fold. They will scroll back up and look in your sidebar or header for these opportunities. This is prime real estate. Advertisers know this as well. However, make sure you are promoting your blog or business above all others.

Now that these readers are following your blog and following you socially, you need to update regularly. Develop a content and marketing schedule to ensure you are updating both your blog and your social profiles on a consistent basis.

What is your favorite way to bring in new traffic?

Related posts:

1. Increase Blog Traffic by Going It Alone
2. New Tools to Increase Blog Traffic
3. Starting a Niche Site: Getting Traffic to Blog Sites

When I first released The How to Make Money Blogging Guide, I didn’t give much thought to publishing on Kindle. Selling eBooks on Amazon had to be a pain. Right? This week I read an article that forced me to overcome that fear and get the job done.

Susanne Myers over at Affiliate Treasure Chest noticed that the author pages of her favorite publishers had two great free pub features; Twitter and RSS feeds. Even if someone decides not to invest in your eBook, you still have the opportunity to get them as a regular reader. Without any additional work!

So, how hard was it publishing on Kindle?

Obviously, I already had the content written. That part wasn’t an issue. I hired someone on Fiverr to do the editing and necessary formatting that selling eBooks on Amazon requires. It needs to be in the appropriate format. Cost: $10. Time: 15 minutes (Not including the time I spent hovering my mouse over the Order Now button, of course.) He also included the format necessary for Nook publishing if I decide to do that at a later date.

I then had to upload the eBook to Amazon. Dear Amazon, if you are reading this, let’s streamline! For Pete’s sake, how many accounts do you need to register for over there? I thought they would just pull the information over from my Amazon Associates account. Of course not. I created a new account, put in the required information, chose my royalties and Digital Rights Management preferences, and uploaded the cover and the eBook. Then you wait for approval.

I completed the upload process around 8pm last night. I woke up this morning to an email stating it was approved, I was ready to start selling, and I should go create my Author Page. Great! That’s what we came here for.

Another account. At least this process only needs done once. To create your account, you will need to choose your eBook from what is available on the site. This keeps non-publishers from creating accounts. This was a super simple process also, other than writing a bio. I hate writing these. The Twitter feed comes right over. It states the RSS feed may take up to 24 hours to populate. But, I’m done! Less than 12 hours ago I sent my file over Fiverr guy.

Have you considered selling eBooks on Amazon?

Related posts:

1. Amazon Affiliate Program Review
2. Don’t Put All of Your Eggs in Amazon Affiliate Program Basket
3. How to Sell eBooks Online

Here are your weekly freelance leads:

Virtual Assistant Lead 1

I am in need of one virtual assistant to handle our online support help desk. Expected hours would be about 1-2 per day; we receive 30 tickets/day on average. 80% of these can be answered with a pre-made reply. The other 20% are contacting us about missing orders that need to be tracked, the status of a refund, and so on. Looking for work? Read More Here

Virtual Assistant Lead 2 

Need a HIGHLY organized and efficient virtual assistant for a monthly project. This project consists of data entry of client information as well as creating general business templates and monthly newsletters. Must have excellent data entry and proofreading skills. Must have experience using Microsoft Office (all products), Google Docs and iContact. This is a monthly project until December 2012 with no more than 3 hours per month (excluding the first month). Read More Here.

Virtual Assistant Lead 3

We are a marketing and administrative Virtual Assistant Company that is interested in outsourcing some of our client marketing work. We are currently adding 5 – 10 clients a month and need to find virtual assistants that are skilled in marketing. Read More Here.

Design Lead 

This will be a work-when-you-want type of setup. We have a website that displays free live support chat icons that visitors and clients can download. We would like to include few more icon sets. More Details on WAHM.

Freelance Writing Lead 1

Medical non-profit needs a contract grant writer to help prepare a USAID Grant. The grant is for a Request for Application issued by USAID. USAID grant writing experience preferred. Please email your cover letter and resume in the body of your email. Closing Date is February 4, 2012.  Read More.

Freelance Writing Lead 2

I need you to go through transcripts of my conversations with entrepreneurs and turn them into actionable summaries. (Think of them as Cliff’s Notes for entrepreneurs.)

Each of the conversations you’ll summarize is focused on helping startup entrepreneurs solve a specific challenge. Your job is to pull out the key tactics from each conversation and explain them. More Details Here.

Freelance Writing Lead 3

WorkCompCentral.com needs a freelance correspondent to write news articles about regulatory, political, business and legal developments within the workers’ comp industry in the Southeastern U.S. Although this is a telecommuting position, we need someone who is able to cover at least two events in Orlando, one in May and one in August, and possibly other events during the course of the year. We are searching for a reliable journalist who understands AP style and can quickly boil down very complicated concepts without insulting the intelligence of a professional readership who pay subscription fees to access our site. This is not a position for a writer whose work so far consists of high school sports and the local music scene. We need someone who thinks deeply, asks smart questions and can produce concise copy that contains the important details that busy professionals need in order to do their jobs. We pay $100 to $200 for news articles that generally vary in length from 400 to 1,200 words. Go Here to Apply. 

Wait! Don’t leave without subscribing. I post freelance leads here every Thursday. 

Related posts:

1. Freelance Online Jobs: January 26, 2012
2. Virtual Assistant Jobs: January 5, 2012
3. Virtual Assistant Jobs: January 12, 2012

Sylvia Rosen is an online writer who enjoys writing articles about how business professionals can improve their business and work life. Whether it’s purchasing tips on how to find the best alarm systems or coverage on latest technology trends, Sylvia enjoys writing about it.  

Working at home sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? But make no mistake that telecommuting from home or running your own home business requires even more discipline, determination, and perseverance than sitting in your cubicle day after day.

You have to be a self-starter, a person who is willing to motivate and inspire yourself to work harder than you would with a boss breathing down your neck. But before you begin your first day in your home office, you can set yourself up for success with these important tips to transform your home office space into a successful business environment.

Telecom Setup

The very first order of business to create a quality home office is to set up a reliable telecom system. The business phone system that you choose will determine how well you communicate with the outside world, especially with potential clients. At the very least, it is important to have a professional phone system with a recorded message.

If you have multiple clients that you are catering to, you may want to consider a phone system with more features, such as a phone tree dialing system that provides clients with specific information they may need over the phone. Other forms of telecommunication, like chat and Skype, can be integrated to your liking, depending upon how you communicate with clients and your employer.

Home Security System

Just like in your regular office, it’s essential to make sure that all of your business documents are safely secured and protected from damage. One of the best ways to do so is to install a home office security system that will allow you to monitor your workspace while you are away.

And, as always, make sure that you install the proper protective software on your computer and backup your files regularly so that you never risk losing important, irreplaceable information.

Office Décor

This may seem like an afterthought, but it’s helpful to set up your home office very similarly to your traditional office if you want to stay organized and on task. You absolutely must have a filing cabinet, printer, fax machine, phone, and any other business items that you regularly use on a day-to-day basis. Take the time to invest in a high-quality computer, desk, and comfortable chair since this is where you will spend the majority of your time each week.

In addition, consider the location of your home office carefully. Since you’re going to spend up to eight hours a day there, you want a comfortable, bright, quiet place where you can concentrate while you work. Make sure that any family members at home understand that your office must be respected so that you can minimize distractions. In the event that clients will be stopping by your home, make sure that you have an impressive meeting area with a desk, coffee table, and chairs to discuss projects.

Creating a professional office environment for your home office is important to fueling your productivity. Having the right office equipment, security and décor is the first step to creating your successful home-based business.

Related posts:

1. Need a New Home Office? Win One with Pimp My Cube
2. Home Business Phone Etiquette
3. Office Exercises

At the end of last week, quite a few emails came through announcing updates to a few of my favorite home business tools. The two I will talk about in today’s post are both free small business tools I use and have reviewed here in the past with exciting new features.

Thumbtack Improvements

Thumbtack keeps getting better and better. The leads they have been sending over have picked up in frequency over the past month or two. In a notification last Friday, they mention they you can now accept credit card payments from your Thumbtack clients through their system.

Here is how this works: They send you a lead. You send your lead a quote. Your lead can accept your quote and authorize a credit card using Thumbtack’s new Book It Now feature. Or, you can choose to send your Thumbtack client an invoice though the Thumbtack system once your work is complete. The client can then pay your invoice online using the same system. The money collected is then sent to you via direct deposit, PayPal or check.

This may prove to be a valuable alternative to those that prefer not to use PayPal.

Mozy Now Offers Syncing

Mozy is a service that I have used for years. Having lost everything on my computer in the past and having gone through more than one computer since I started working virtually, this is one of the home-based business tools that I won’t ever go without. And for my needs, I have never paid a cent for it.

Mozy now has a feature called Stash. Stash is a syncing feature that allows users to sync files on up to five devices (computers, smart phones, and tablets). Users will also be able to access the sync folder via the web as well. No more emailing files to yourself. No more USB drives. No more having to utilize yet another online service for remote access. Syncing is done automatically as you work.

Any user who signs up for a MozyHome account before April 15th will have access to this feature free of charge.

MozyHome Pricing

• Up to 2GB of storage is always free. No payment information required for signup.
• Up to 50GB on one computer is $5.99/month.
• 125 GB on three computers is $9.99/month.

If you will require a paid plan, you can get 10% off MozyHome with promo code STASH..

What home business tools can you not live without? 

Related posts:

1. Thumbtack: All-in-One Local Listing and Small Business Outsourcing Website
2. Top 10 Freelance Time Tracking Tools
3. How to Prepare a Home Business Budget

Is your website traffic down recently? Did that happen around January 19? Your problem may be too many above-the-fold ads.

What Is Above-the-Fold?

This is what a visitor sees when they land on your site. No scrolling involved. They hit the page, and whatever they see at that very moment is above-the-fold. This likely includes your header, a navigation menu, but what about the actual content they came for? This is where Google has an issue. If your visitors have to scroll to get to your content, you may be penalized.

How Many Is Too Many?

You really didn’t think they would give you that much information, did you? As is always the case around here, we have to keep these algorithm changes cloaked in a bit of mystery. Matt Cutts has since said that the number of ads is not the issue. It does not matter if you have one massively enormous ad or 62. What matters is the amount of above-the-fold space that ad(s) is taking up. And who sees what is always a problem. Browser size varies from visitor to visitor.

If your website or blog traffic has dropped since January 19, you may already have a good indication that you have too many ads. Google does have a browser size tool that will let you see what the majority of your visitors see when they land on your site.

So You Have Too Many Ads, Now What?

The great thing about this little algorithm change is that it is a super quick fix for most webmasters (as long as prepaid, above-the-fold advertisers are not involved, of course). This is not a Panda-like change where years of behavior will need to be undone. Move your ads. As Google recrawls your site, your modifications will be taken into account. Google’s blog post states this may take several weeks depending on the size of your site and your current crawl rate.

Was your site penalized with this latest algorithm change? Have you proactively moved your top-of-the-page ads just in case?

Related posts:

1. Tracking a Website’s Traffic Statistics
2. Online Bloggings Tools for Tracking Your Website Traffic Statistics: Worth It or Not?
3. Improve Your Website Load Time

It’s been a big week over at Intuit. Wednesday, they announced their new GoPayment reader was ready to be shipped to GoPayment users. If you have a small business that makes face-to-face sales – crafters, direct sales reps, daycare providers, etc. – this reader will allow for smartphone credit card processing on the go.

This device plugs into the audio jack of your Apple, Android or other compatible smartphone. Information is encrypted to ensure safety. The app is free and the reader is free. You can choose from two plans depending on your sales volume:

• Pay-As-You-Go has no monthly fee, 2.7% swipe rate and 3.7% key rate.
• High-Volume is $12.95 per month, 1.7% swipe rate and 2.7% key rate.

No setup fee, no monthly minimums, and no tranactions fees for either plan.

Never Miss a Sale. Try Intuit GoPayment and take Credit Cards on any Mobile Phone

Next up – QuickBooks Online is my accounting software of choice. I have used it for several years. I have clients that use it. It’s a great online product for tracking your business income, expenses and invoices. For a Limited Time, Get 50% Off QuickBooks Online for One Year! Offer ends January 31st, so Act Fast!. You only have a few short days to take advantage of this sale. Don’t miss it!

Related posts:

1. Credit Card Processing for the Small Online Business
2. QuickBooks Point of Sale Review
3. StudioPress Discount Code and More

Here are leads for freelance online jobs that I have rounded up over the past week. These are unresearched, and I am not affiliated with those hiring.

Virtual Assistant Lead 1

In need of a VA; specifically, looking for assistance with the following: Appointments,Curriculum vitae/ Resume, Sales and marketing,Data base creation and management, Spread sheets and presentation,SEO and PPC and Personal Tasks. Read more.

Virtual Assistant Lead 2 

**Edited to Add: It is my understanding that this gig may pay for talk time only and may be lead generation with no leads provided. I cannot confirm this information.**

Virtual Office VA Staffing is looking to immediately hire administrative assistants in Arizona, Long Island, and Jacksonville, FL. They also need someone from Baton Rouge with a real estate license. They are hiring from outside of these areas as well, but these are specific immediate needs.

Here is the job description:

MUST have a computer w/high-speed internet & a phone line. MUST be disciplined to work from home, great customer service skills, and computer skills (Word, Excel & Internet).

This does require a lot of phone work, but not cold calling or sales. This can be PT or FT depending on the hours you are available to work. This can be 20-40hrs per week depending on you.

If you are looking for a job that you can do from home, meet the above criteria and are trainable, send your resume and contact information to VirtualOfficeVAstaffing@gmail.com and complete employment profile on their website.

Virtual Assistant Lead 3

Join one of the fastest growing companies in Texas. We are recruiting for “Virtual” Travel Agents for a firm in N Dallas.  This is a contract-to-hire opportunity that starts at $10.50/hr for the first 90-days. After conversion to full-time your compensation will be $24k-$33k based on your production. Excellent benefits are also provided after conversion. You must be flexible to work an eight-hour shift at home any five days of the week Monday-Sunday. Training and laptop will be provided but you must have previous travel booking/sales/reservations experience, a home land-line and internet access.

You will be processing inbound calls from consumers who are comparing prices for hotel rooms across the U.S.  Your success is limited only by your passion and desire to succeed. Read More and Apply Here. 

Social Media Coordinator Lead

The social media coordinator will help manage specific projects as well as handle some of the day-to-day activities associated with the university’s social media program. Working with the communications manager as well as the social media community manager to develop, produce, and implement content for use on university websites and blogs, and in conjunction with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and other social media platforms.

We are seeking a highly organized self-starter who has experience implementing and utilizing social media as a professional communications tool. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills as well as experience in project management are vital. Excellent knowledge of social media platforms and content management tools, as well as an understanding of online communications and public relations strategies are important. Apply Here. 

Design Leads

SMITTEN BLOG DESIGNS, LLC is looking for 1-2 part-time WordPress.org designers who can work remotely from home on a project-by-project basis. We have a great team of blog designers and are excited to expand into the world of WordPress! This position is for independent contractor work. Read More

Writing Lead 1

Women’s online social network is seeking talented freelance bloggers to write about women leaving traditional careers to start their own businesses. Stories can be personal or about how women are creating non traditional work environments to meet their changing life needs. Payment will be between $25-$100 per blog and will be based on the number of words (250-500) and commensurate experience. Read More. 

Writing Lead 2 (Austin Only)

58Phases is looking for a content creation and data entry contractor to work 15-20 hours per week. The successful candidate will be trained in our downtown Austin office but will work remotely. Read More.

Writing Lead 3

Are you highly observant, interesting and able to write popular blog entries about things that other people totally don’t pick up on? This contract gig starts immediately and involves ghostwriting 2 blogs per day at a rate of $20 per entry ($200/week). You can do this from wherever you are. The writing style required is conversational and interesting. That means filled with your own original insight and opinions and very little plot summary. We expect these to be extensive and high-quality, like entertainmentdesigner.com. These are the blogging positions we have available: Divorce Law and Television Blog. Read More.  

Make sure to follow this blog before leaving. Leads are posted here weekly. 

Related posts:

1. Virtual Assistant Jobs: January 5, 2012
2. Virtual Assistant Jobs: January 12, 2012
3. Virtual Assistant Job Openings: January 19, 2012

A couple of great business deals were in my inbox this morning. We have a StudioPress discount code and more.

StudioPress

The price of the StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package will go up on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Until Monday, you can get all 44 StudioPress child themes, plus every child theme design they make in the future, for only $299.95.

Starting today, you can get 10% off your Pro Plus purchase by using the discount code TEN.

Mavenlink

Mavenlink brings complete end-to-end project management to the cloud, giving you a single source to manage your projects, collaborate with clients and colleagues, track time and expenses, share documents, and synchronize with Intuit QuickBooks. Sign up before February 6 and get Mavenlink Expert Plus 50% off forever.

Related posts:

1. Genesis Coupon Code
2. Mom Blog SEO Coupon Code
3. WPMU Dev Coupon Code

A RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a XML-based format for web content. Most blog platforms have this built-in and begin creating a RSS feed with each new post. Website visitors can then subscribe to this feed to keep up-to-date on your latest news.

RSS feeds can be used in others ways as well. A webmaster can use the RSS feeds of others to provide up-to-the-minute news feeds for their readers. Many webmasters also use them to cross-promote personal properties in related niches.

A WordPress RSS widget is pre-installed on every self-hosted site on this platform. There is not much flexibility however.

If you are looking for customization, there is a better WordPress RSS plugin available. The Better RSS Widget is a free WordPress RSS feed plugin available in the WP directory. It provides the following features:

• Add title or post tags to the feed URL in the shortcode.
• Excerpt length can be set in both the widget and the shortcode.
• Page conditionals select whether or not to show on Home, Front, Single Post, Archive, Search, Category, Tag, and Date pages.
• Shortcode to allow embedding RSS feeds into posts and pages.
• Choose whether to cache the RSS feed and set the cache duration per feed, defaults to 3600 seconds (1 hour).
• Option to display the post time.
• Allows multiple widgets each with different settings.
• Adds the link target to both the RSS Title and all articles.
• Default settings screen allows you to decide what defaults will appear when adding a new widget.
• NoDoFollow or DoFollow option

Related posts:

1. The Full RSS vs. Feed Summary Debate
2. WordPress Tips and Tricks: WordPress Widget Spacing
3. Organize Your RSS Feeds