Making Yourself Heard

You've set up your business. You have your inventory. Now what? If you're like many businesses and individuals, you have a blog. This is your soapbox, your means of keeping in touch with your clients and potential clients. Your next hurdle--how to be heard?

First of all, a blog can be a very versatile selling tool. With an Amazon Affliate account (http://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/join), you can create links for products to put on your website. Amazon will pay you to sell. Anther affliate program is ShareASale (http://www.shareasale.com). Ads from a variety of businesses can beplaced on your site to earn you cash. Numerous other sites offer similar programs. Buy something online and there's sure to be a referral link. CafePress.com and Zazzle.com are two examples.

Ads may make your site visually appealing, but the problem still remains, how to get people to view those ads. There are many options here. Posting articles on a site such as EzineArticles is a good start. There's great selling power in being viewed as an expert. You may also consider submitting your active blog to BlogExplosion.com. By viewing other blogs, you earn credits that translate into banner ads for your blog. The site is very active, the array of blogs, mindboggling. Surfing other blogs is a good way to pick up tips and get ideas for your own blog. I make it a point to surf blogs on another tab in Firefox while I'm reading emails.

Another option for traffic to your blog and for earning online is Squidoo.com. Squidoo operates with what they call, lens. Lens consist of a variety modules you can add. Modules include those for selling items such as Amazon, feeds for your blogs, simple text boxes to write about whatever interests you. You can add lists of websites, your favorite books, your top 10 lists. Have a CafePress store? Get more exposure by posting items on your lens. Have a book for sale? Add it to your Amazon module. I have several lens on Squidoo, each highlighting a particular interest of mine, including watercolor, writing my first mystery, my cat, Sophie, and fitness. The more lens you have, the more diverse the audience you reach.

Finally, find forums of your interest. If allowed, make sure and include a signature with your blog URL and post often. Marketing online requires effort. In addition to your active part, make sure you have a presence in a variety of venues to make yourself heard.