Hope Writes

Mining Your Site Stats

Posted by Hope

This evening I sat down and took some time to go through my site stats. After yesterday’s post about planning ahead, I decided I needed to truly dig down deep into my site stats to see what I’d find.

Let me begin this by saying that I’m obsessive about my site stats. I check all my site stats quite frequently throughout the day, nearly every day. One of the biggest ways I’ve been using my stats is to see what search phrases people are finding me with. (This is very interesting info, by the way, and if you’re not checking your stats, you’re missing out on it!)

So, like I said, this evening I had some extra free time and I decided to use it by digging into my site stats here at Hope Writes. I’m going to give you a peek into what I discovered so you can see for yourself and hopefully use it for yourself.

Here’s the video….

Popularity: 34% [?]

4 Big NO-NOs of Online Networking for Business

Posted by Hope

If you run a freelance business or work totally online, you probably use networking quite often. Networking is a good thing, when done proper. But one wrong turn and it can all head south really fast.

I am learning all the time about networking etiquette. Just when I think I’ve got it conquered, I learn something else. This is a good thing though!

Here are the four most important business networking lessons I’ve learned. I call them the big NO-NOs of online networking for business.

NO-NO #1 - Be disrepectful to your peers. This is probably the quickest way to ex-communicate yourself from anyone who might have considered teaming up with you or offering you work. It’s also the fastest way to make a bad name for yourself. If you constantly put others down or are almost always negative in your responses, you will become known for it.

Respect is a two-way street. In order to get it, you have to give it. Be respectful of others’ opinions and thoughts. Remember the old saying: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”

NO-NO #2 - Network only to find business. I have to be honest with you and tell you that in the beginning days of my getting started online, I did this way too much. I was so eager to get started earning money independently online that I neglected to nurture a lot of relationships. Instead, I spent a lot of time getting to know people then trying to find ways to get hired by them.

The problem with this is that you can become known as a leech. It is extremely important to remember that every contact you make could be a potential business prospect…but don’t treat them as such. Remember #1: Be respectful.

Over the last few years, I have met some amazing people who work from home and are experiencing great success in doing so. Some of them have turned into clients while others have become great friends. Best of all, I form mutual relationships from which there is a give-and-take action that happens on any given day.

One such colleague emailed me a couple of weeks ago, asking if I had a solid source of information for “x” topic that he was writing a short report about. I quickly returned his email, pointing him to a few good resources.

Networking online with other business owners is not just a form of advertising yourself or your services. It’s a way to interact with other business-minded individuals where you can learn from each other.

NO-NO #3 - Get on your soap box. I see this more often than I care to lately. Sometimes I get so irritated that I, quite frankly, have to step back for a week or so, just so I don’t get sucked into it myself.

The one thing that really crawls under my skin is watching a thread pop up on a networking forum from a fairly new, or maybe less experienced, member asking a question or for advice, only to get flamed by “advanced” members.This usually happens when someone with more experience attempts to offer well-meaning advice to the newbie, but somehow gets sidetracked. The advice usually turns into a rant about how newbies should know better than to ask dumb questions.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that I can get on my soap box sometimes, too. But when you are socializing in an online (read: open) forum with others, it is important to remember to keep your attitude in check. Ranting and spewing hateful or mean things at someone else, regardless of your social status, just looks plain bad. It’s usually how heated discussions get started. Don’t do it.

NO-NO #4 - Always take, but never give. (This is similar to #2, but a bit different so I’m adding it seperately.) One of the cornerstones of networking is giving back to your (online) community. It’s important to remember that your community will only be as good as you make it.

Some ways you can give back include, but aren’t limited to:

• Write a detailed article for free that offers solid, helpful information to others
• Offer your expert help to others who need it
• Make a donation to the website/forum owner as a show of support
• Reply to questions others have and give informative tips to help them out
• Share business resources that could be helpful to others

BONUS TIP: I just thought of this one, so I’ll throw it in for free. Don’t spread yourself too thin. I have found many networking communities online, and boy have I tried my best to be a part of all of them. It just doesn’t work that way, though. If you try to become involved in too many networks you’ll end up spending more time trying to fit in and be a part of them all, instead of building your business.

Networking is important, but so is your business. Find an equal balance that you can maintain safely without harming your work ethics.

Do you have another tip you’d like to add to this list?

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