Mike Paetzold – Micro Business Specialist

Can You Avoid the Social Media “Time Suck” & Still Prosper!

If you spend more than 20 minutes a day on Facebook, Twitter and or linked In check this out. (free) social media blueprint

It’s part of a new social media promotion that’s currently underway. I have been promoting this to my list. The key point I want to get across today is that social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, Linkedin, FAcebook, etc are all powerful tools. Each and all of them probably belong in your daily routine.

The problem comes from spending too much time on them. I refer to it as the TIME Suck, and for a while I pretty much just didn’t go there. But that was a mistake.

I need to be there, and in all likelihood you do as well. The key is to develop a discipline that gets you there and then gets you away.

The best tool I had going for me in the past was Mike Paetzolds Twitter Time Saver which is still a great strategy to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Well worth the small investment.

The social media blueprint teaches an approach designed for marketers who want to use the major social sites without wasting a ton of time. They say you can get it done in less that 17 minutes a day. I take longer, but then I have 9 twitter accounts which is why I like Mike’s product. But I now get it all done in about 1/2 hour a day.

Since the average person in the US spends 55 minutes a day, you can see that it is a real time saver. I recommend you check it out. And then adapt it to your own circumstances. For me, I still spend a little more time, but I’m pleased to say I am getting a lot more done in a lot less time these days.

[tags]social media, twitter time saver, Mike Paetzold, isocial, isocial media, linkedin, twitter, facebook, youtube, social media bluebprint[/tags]

Plug In Update Tweet My Blog Change Required

Just yesterday, I posted here an interview I did with Mike Paetzold. I mentioned that Mike was my “Go To” guy on everything wordpress.

Like everything these days, things change, and just today, Mike puts out an alert that one of the plug in’s I use is about to expire and not be updated to meet new Twitter standards.

So I am spending my day in part updating my blogs. If you use “Tweet My Blog” you really need to check out Mike’s post today. Go to Tweet My Blog Update

If you missed my interview with Mike you can access it here:

Mike Paetzold Interview

Mike outlines not only what the issue is but has a suggestion to replace the functionality and explains just how to install it.

That’s why, I recommend him to you.

[tags]Mike Paetzold, plug ins, blogging, Mr Word Press, Tweet my blog, [/tags]

Profitable Blogging Steps Author Interviewed

I recently had a chance to do an interview with Mike Paetzold, also known as the Word Press Guy and author of the great video series for new and intermediate bloggers called, Profitable Blogging Steps.

Mike Paetzold

He is my personal “Go to” guy on WordPress issues. I am a regular visitor to his blog http://wptutorial.com/blog to keep up on the constantly changing and improving wordpress world.

Tomorrow August 12th, Stephanie Mulac is launching her Ultimate Blogging Giveaway Event and I wanted to do something different for the event, so I arranged to do the interview with Mike. It is one of the gifts I am offering on the Giveaway, and I think a good one.

I tried to focus on issues that go beyond introductory discussion of what plug ins to use, and Mike was most gracious to work with me.

If you would like to download the session to listen to it at your convenience you can do so by going here: Interview Download

If you prefer to listen to it now, just click on the arrow below. The entire interview is just under an hour in length:

Blogging Interview with Mike Paetzold

[tags]Mike Paetzold, Word Press Guy, Ultimate Blogging Giveaway, Stephanie Mulac, profitable blogging steps, profitable blogging, interview, [/tags]

Steps to Establishing a Profitable Blog

Setting up a profitable blog isn’t nearly as simple as setting up a blog. While there are of course many similar steps, the trick to establishing profitable blogs requires a series of additional steps, not the least of which is identifying profitable blog topics.

My personal blogging mentor is Mike Paetzold. He has written extensively on blogging for a number of years and is a go to guy when it comes to setting up and then monetizing blogs. If you are interested in profitable blogging, I can think of no one more suited to be of assistance.

He has just released a new product called Profitable Blog Steps. In it he will walk you through all the steps you need to take to create a profitable blog. Now there are a number of steps, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But once you learn the steps and actually set up two or three of your own profitable blogs you will be well on your way.

In profitable blog steps, Mike takes you step by step as the title suggests, through ten modules with great videos to show you as well as tell you how.

http://profitableblogsteps.com/?rid=7

If you are interested in setting up a profitable blog look no further. Grab this now, as Mike is offering a special launch week discount to those willing to take fast action. This special deal expires on June 9th, so do yourself a favor and grab it now.

[tags]a profitable blog, profitable blog, profitable blogs, profitable blogging, profitable blog topics, Mike Paetzold, profitable blog steps[/tags]

Using Google and all they offer

Mike Paetzold here for my last day as the guest poster as part of The Old Bald Guy’s Blog Tour. This week we have been discussing how to help offline businesses use the net effectively.

We have covered

Mistakes that offline businesses make
Protecting your online reputation
4 advantages of using a blog as your web site

Today we will discuss using what the 800 pound gorilla gives you. Yes, love them or hate them Google is the 800 pound gorilla online but there are some things they have that can help you immensely.

When we discussed protecting your reputation we mentioned one – Google Alerts. That is just one of many tools that Google provides that you can use.

Google Local Search

For offline businesses one of the often overlooked items is Google local search. Adding your profile there can be very helpful as the local search shows at the very top of the page.

It sits above the regular listings but if you do not sign up and submit your site you probably will not show. Even if you had the number one listing there were 7 other choices first if you do not go and submit your information.

You can add your own description, some pictures and even coupons that you can offer directly from local search. Your customers can leave a review and if you are smart you will ask your happy customers to do just that.

Google Analytics

Google will track your visitors and give you a ton of great information so you can find out exactly how people find you, how long they stay, how many pages they view and much more. You can not improve what you haven’t measured.

Google Webmaster Tools

When you sign up at Google Webmaster Tools it will allow you to see your site the way Google does. You can see if your site map is working, how many pages they have indexed and a lot more.

The more you know about what is happening the easier it is to improve what you are doing. Google has made it easy to find these things out if you take the time to look.

Hope you have enjoyed my visit and you have learned a thing or two. It has been fun to be here but next week I will be off to another blog.

Remember though that knowledge without action is worthless so follow what Nike recommends and “Just Do It!”

About the author

Mike Paetzold has been online since 2000 and runs numerous blogs and works with offline businesses through Coal Region Web Services. Currently you can find out what he is up to at Mike Paetzold Recommends.

You can also find out and keep current with WordPress at his blog WordPress Made Easy.

Follow Mike on Twitter

Offline Business Mistakes When Using The Net

Mike Paetzold back again for day 3 of my visit here as part of The Old Bald Guy’s Blog Tour. This week our topic is “Helping Offline Businesses Use The Net Effectively. Today we will discuss website mistakes.

Probably the very biggest mistake I see when talking to new clients is what I call the “ME” website. I am sure you have seen these sites. They will tell you all about the company, how long they have been in business, who owns them, yada yada yada.

Now in a nut shell my response and the response of most people finding that site is who cares. All of that can be important because I want to deal with reputable complanies and knowing they are not fly by night but if I am searching for something I have a problem.

I only want to know one thing – WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?

That is really all I need to know and once I know that then you can make me comfortable by having all of the stuff about you where I can locate it but if I am looking to get rid of bugs I want to know can you do it?

Target your site to the visitor and what is in it for them. Even though you as the business owner are paying to have the site it will make money for you when you can get a visitor to take an action.

If you are the exterminator that action is to call you or email you to get your service. Make sure that you are telling me how you can help me and not who you are because I don’t care about the latter.

Second big thing I see is most offline businesses when they come online do not take advantage of lead generation. Give your visitors a reason to let you stay in contact with them.

Here is an example- I receintly met with an auctioneer to redo his site, The first thing we talked about is creating 2 audios. One on how to get the best bargains at an auction and the second on 5 ways to use an auction to get more value when you are selling.

Both of these are easy topics for the auctioneer as he has a ton of experience. Offer the two audios in exchange for an email address to all of his visitors. They get to hear him and understand auctions from both sides. He has started to become someone they now know.

Follow that up with a regular newsletter and let people know about his latest auction for buyers and send out a latest pricing update to potential sellers.

Now he can continue to build the relationship and get more people to each of his auctions and make sure that potential sellers at least give him a chance when they are ready to sell items.

So there are two big mistales to avoid.

No “ME” website
Generate leads

There are many more mistakes but those are two of the biggest and Earl has covered a lot of the technical ones previously and tomorrow we will talk more about them.

Talk to you then.

About the author

You can also find out and keep current with WordPress at his blog WordPress Made Easy.

Follow Mike on Twitter

Protecting Your Reputation Online

Mike Paetzold back again for day 2 of my stop here as part of The Old Bald Guy’s Blog Tour. This week we are discussing helping off line businesses use the net effectively.

As Google or one of the other search engines becomes the first place that people look for a business instead of older sources like the Yellow Pages it is important for businesses to at least be found there.

Even more important than that is to know what others are saying about them. The advent of the Web 2.0 world has created a lot of sites where customers can rate the service of a variety of businesses. Most are interactive and will allow you to respond if you know the content is there.

As the search engines make this content easy for people that are looking for you to find it is important to know exactly what is being said about you.

Fortunately Google has made it quite easy to find out exactly what is being said about you. This gives you a chance to address problems.

The way Google does that is through a service called Google Alerts. It is easy to set up an alert on your business name, your own name, your product names or on any topic and they will send you an email telling you exactly what they have found as they find it.

First go to http://google.com/alerts and you will see a screen like below.

2009-12-01 0957

Just add your topic, use comprehensive for your type, decide how often you want to hear, put in the email you want to receive the alerts at and click the create button.

Now each time Google finds that topic on any new web page of any type you will be notified. Now at the very least you will know if there is something being said that can hurt you or your business.

This will allow you to address any problems you may find quickly and not get surprised. If it is an interactive site like a forum or blog you will have the opportunity to address it in the same place that someone looking for you will find it.

It pays to be aware, have your own web presence and to be proactive in protecting your name online. Don’t be caught by surprise and go set up an alert today.

About the author

You can also find out and keep current with WordPress at his blog WordPress Made Easy.

Follow Mike on Twitter

A Visitor is Coming!

Mike Paetzold is conducting a Blog Tour where he will be sitting in as a contributor on a number of blogs including the MicroBusinessSpecialist.

Mike got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy.

After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably.

Over the past year, I have learned a lot from Mike. A good portion of which has been wordpress specific. His Word Press Made Easy blog is one of a handful that I monitor regularly.

But while Word Press and Blogging are his major focus, I am constantly amazed at how much work he produces on a regular basis. I have been pleased to offer a number of his eBooks and reports over the past year.

In addition to his word press blogs, he has one on PLR and many other niche topics. One is even based on his Turtle tank, where he spins little parables about internet marketing based on the antics of his family’s pet turtles.

He refers to himself as the Old Bald Guy, and it’s true that he appears to be folically challenged, but he is a no slouch. He believes in taking massive action and isn’t afraid to do some work to get things done.

We haven’t set the exact date and framework for his Blog visit, but I expect it to be in two or three weeks.

If you have any questions regarding Word Press, plug ins, themes, etc. in particular feel free to forward them to me, or save them up for when he visits.

He is also an expert in niche marketing and traffic exchanges.

The idea of a Blog Tour is pretty new (to me at least). I am hoping that you will join me in welcoming him when he comes by participating and commenting on his posts.

Twitter Tips and more

While I have been focused on search engine optimization in terms of my postings the last few weeks, I have continued to expand my use and understanding of Twitter, the current rage.

I have also published a new report on on how to build your business with social networking. Its free and you can get a copy at Start Social Networking My opt in page still needs some work, I messed up the graphics while tweaking it. I hope to get that fixed soon, but don’t let that get in your way. I think its a good overview of the field.

Some people refer to it as web 2.0 and other names, but what ever you call it, it is critical for small business people who are using the web to get as grounded as possible in the various venues.

That doesn’t mean you have to be active in each, but understand that their are distinct markets and populations that use each of the various services.

Perhaps the biggest at least intially was MySpace. And while some think of MySpace as a place for teeny boppers, there are millions of folk well past their teens active there. And while you can get banned from MySpace for inappropriate advertising, it is still very possible to advertise and build your business pressence with MySpace. To learn more go to My Space Profit Strategies.

It’s twitter that is today catching the bulk of the buzz. As I’ve written before, I initially thought Twitter was a joke. That changed after I started listening to some of Doug Champigny’s ideas on the topic.

I jumped in an slowly grew a list, and following Doug’s lead began to get quite a few followers. I was hooked. When I passed five hundred and then approached a thousand followers I became determined to build as big a list as possible. Then I got Doug’s most recent and authoritative report called Advanced Twitter Marketing. (ATM)

It blew me away. And made me go back to start. I was building a big list alright, but an undifferentiated list. Now I have 8 twitter accounts. I just started a new one today. Thanks to ATM, I now know not only how to grow a list, but how to target it properly.

While Doug was doing the research for ATM he did a case study, which he has released documenting his experiment in growing a targeted list from scratch. The Case Study is available free and I encourage you to grab a copy.

Now these ATM tips and the how to’s are critical to developing a strategic use of twitter, but they also require a bit more work as well. Anyone can toss out affiliate marketing links to a list of Twitter followers. Most people don’t really seem to mind, they just ignore them.

If you want to be successful with Twitter, you need to offer more. And that takes time. Thankfully, master Blogger Mike Paetzold stepped into the breach with his Twitter Time Saver report and accompanying videos.

Using the ideas in Twitter Time Saver, I learned how to use google news to link to Google Reader and in turn Friend Feeder to automatically pass selected relevant news articles to my various lists. I still need to review and select which articles to post, but the system saves a ton of time. I posted to 7 or my eight accounts this morning in less than half an hour. (1 didn’t have anything worth posting so I didn’t)

This has helped establish me as an authority with my followers in these niches. This will be critical to my long term success and yours as well.

By the way, as I mentioned Mike is a Blogging expert, and his most recent product is worth mentioning as well. Every business would be well advised to have a wordpress blog. That’s easy for me to say, but it took me a while to actually get my first blog up. Mostly, because there are so many options available. While most are free, the wide variety of themes, plug ins and settings are mind boggling.

Mikes new product called, Word Press Made Easy is actually a re-release of a prior product updated to include the most recent changes that were instituted by Word Press a couple of days ago. Mike is a beta tester for them, so he was able to produce a completely up to date product. Even if your technical skills are limited to the ability to do email, Mikes Word Press Made Easy will show you how to get your Blog up and running in about an hour. Not only will it be running, but you will have your plug ins selected and the settings set the same way a Master blogger does.

If you read this today Saturday, and hurry, you can still get the $20 off introductory pricing through midnight EDT tonight. If you read this later, you should still pick it up, if you need help getting your blog optimized.

I’ve been following Mike’s blogs for some time now, and incorporating his suggestions in all my blogs. He knows his stuff.

Well, I have rattled on long enough today. The grass needs cutting and we are having a sunny Saturday for a change, so its time to get up from the computer. Hope you have a great weekend.

Twitter Tactics For Marketers

The twitter craze has spawned dozens of ebooks, and countless tools and an awful lot of advice, much of which is itself awful.

If you are online to make money as I am, you need to come up with an effective strategy. Over the past 4 to 6 weeks, I have been exploring just about everything I could on the topic of Twitter and am satisfied that the best long term strategy is the one outlined by Doug Champigny in Advanced Twitter Marketing.

While the eBook itself costs $47, the tools he recommends and I now use are free. So you don’t need to worry about an up-sell, need to invest in a handful of expensive tools to make the strategy work. Additionally, Doug offers a 60 day guarantee so you can really dig in and prove the strategy to yourself. But frankly you won’t need 60 days. The value of the book became self evident to me right away as I realized I had been going about twitter all wrong. My guess is you are too.

I can’t let the secrets out, it wouldn’t be fair, but suffice it to say I now have multiple twitter accounts, and am not focusing all my attention on getting the biggest number of followers as possible.

Maintaining multiple account has its own issues. Providing value is another important aspect of twitter success. And that can take time. Now I learned a trick on how to provide that value a while back for my original twitter list, but when I went to duplicate it, it turned out I lost the secret link I needed to make it all work.

The idea is to use Google Reader to find relevant posts in Google, patch a Reader feed into Friend Feed and get Friend Feed to automatically post the items into Twitter. This tactic is very powerful but tricky to set up. Thankfully MikePaetzold came to the rescue with a new ebook and video product that describes what to do, and then mercifully shows it step by step on video.

Now I’m dense and it took me while to get it down, but I now have added this technique to the six twitter accounts I have running at the moment.

This time saver is called Twitter Time Saver and it is a godsend. I don’t know about you, but I have found myself spending way too much of my time on Twitter. This simple idea combined with the main strategy outlined in Advanced Twitter Marketing has moved my Twitter game plan ahead significantly already.

More importantly it has set the stage for a bright future with Twitter as I develop a series of targeted twitter accounts. If you can see beyond the ego trip of building the largest list of followers possible and can see the advantage of highly targeted lists where you are perceived as an expert by your somewhat less large number of target followers then you are
an ideal candidate for both products.

Twitter may be a passing fad, but it is more likely to be a growing fad for the next year or two at least. There is a lot to be said for having a sound strategy to position yourself as a leader in you niche or niches of interest. Now is the time to do it.

Advanced Twitter Marketing http://cli.gs/zsYrrD

Twitter Time Saver http://cli.gs/ySsgSj

P.S. This morning, I posted over a dozen news articles to 5 of my 6 Twitter accounts in less than 30 minutes. These were interesting topical articles in newspapers from around the world. Stuff my list members wouldn’t otherwise see. That’s adding value to my twitter lists.

The internet has changed, Davids of the world its your turn!

While we were sleeping, the internet changed.

Well, actually we knew it would. We saw it do so. In fact we have all been fully involved in the new wave that has now for years been called web 2.0.

But have we stopped to pay attention to the power it has given us? Not me. At least not until I got my copy of Mike Paetzold’s new releaste, Authority 2.0.

You see, I have been content to be a little guy. And while I wouldn’t typically admit it, a bit intimidated by the Goliaths of the internet world. The huge mega sites, that draw in hundreds of thousands, even millions of visitors on a daily basis.

I’ve been shopping for the tiny niches, the crumbs no one else would bother to care about. How about you?

In my post yesterday, I talked about hitting singles. And frankly, I like hitting singles. But wouldn’t it be nice to get that occasional home run?

Well home run hitting requires a bit of training, and this new ebook by Mike Paetzold is just the ticket.

It spells out what it takes to plan and execute the creation of a genuine authority site. The top dog within your chosen niche. Where you are not just one of the players but the recognized industry leader.

And the surprising secret, is that the tools that have evolved over the past few years, the web 2.0 we have all been immersed in; have made the process simple enough that even us little Davids and Diannes can create a powerful authority site. One that once took a wallet and a sizable staff.

In this 159 page document, Mikes lays out a clear path to niche dominance using the social networking tools that surround us. The pathway he draws is clear and surprisingly doable.

A blueprint to success this well assembled should cost an arm and a leg, but that’s not Mike’s style. In fact, he even included master resale rights to this game changer of a document. But you must be one of the first 100 to grab the book, if you want them.

If you are able to dream big, if you like to aim for the wall, grab your bat, and grab a copy of Authority 2.0.

Now one last comment. Not everyone is a Babe Ruth or Harmon Killebrew. Some of us would give our eye teeth to be a Tony Oliva, (Age and georgraphy hint) The beauty of this ebook is that even if you decide not to go for the home run and set up an authority site, much of what you will learn here will apply to your other sites. They may give you just that extra kick to stretch some of your singles into doubles, and that’s not a bad outcome at all. Authority 2.0.

Blogging PlugIns- Which Ones to Use.

While I have been blogging for a while now, I am far from an expert. Luckily, I have run into Mike Paetzold who is as good a blogger as any I have encountered so far online. I have learned a lot from him and monitor a couple of his blogs on a regular basis.

In a new posting today, on his Word Press Made Easy Blog, he offers a list of the plug ins he uses. This is an important topic and I wanted to share it with you. Plug ins are powerful and can seem mysterious as well to those just getting started in blogging.

I will be going through his list of plug ins and comparing it to the ones I am currently using. You may want to do so as well.

However, you need not follow his list blindly. I will be not be changing one for sure. I prefer the audio manager plugin for pod casts to the one he uses. That’s not to take anything away from his list though. Different plugins work differently on different themes. That ads to the Joy/frustration of Plug ins, but it is the real world. So you will need to experiment.

You can find his list at: http://wptutorial.com/blog/information/plugins-i-am-using-right-now While you are there you may want to do yourself a favor and sign up to his list. He will reward you with a good ebook, called Blog Tracker thats worht $37. More importantly, you will find that Mike is a valuable resource if you are blogging on a regular basis. And you should be.