How To Create Business Blog And Maintain Time

How to Create A Business Blog And Time Management
Do you intend building a business blog but you do not have the time to devote to running it?
If you run an offline business and you are looking for a way to leverage the internet to promote your business, then building a blog may be the answer but it can prove to be time consuming.
Today, i want to share five tips to managing time with your business blog. Since blogs are interactive tools that keep you constantly in touch with your customers, then i bet you that running a blog might turn out to be time consuming. However, i am here with a time management solution.
The tips i will be sharing below are sure to make your blog marketing experience more efficient and exciting with a lot of free time on your part.

1. The first thing you need to do if you want to save yourself the time and stress of maintaining a blog is to set up a community within your business blog. A community blog is one that is run by many people who are like minded, instead of being run by an individual. This helps to eliminate the need for you to constantly update the blog. With several people comprising a team of bloggers, each person can post a couple of times a week and result will be a hyper active business community blog.
2. If you do not want to go the way i suggested above by creating a business blog with a community of bloggers working together. You can hire a team of bloggers. You can hire them on either part time or full time basis. This strategy is mainly used by newspaper publishers; where the use contributing writers help keep their content fresh and readers engaged.
In fact, many successful blogs you hear about today are successful because they employ a team of experienced writers to regularly keep their blog constantly updated with content. Applying this strategy helps to ensure active and timely updating of your business blog; thus making your blog more appealing to visitors. This also helps to increase your blog audience because each blogger will bring his or her own expertise, influence and unique writing style.
If this idea sounds great to your ears but you are afraid of the expenses involved, you can offset the cost by generating advertising revenues from your blog. In fact, generating advertising revenue from your blog can turn it into a profit making venture.
3. Next, you can recycle your blog content to save time. Search for relevant articles on your topic(s) and break them down into segments appropriate for a blog. You can also use interviews and other creative stuffs to keep your readers happy.
A more cost effective strategy is to write longer piece of articles, break them down into smaller pieces and spread them out. Your aim here is to make sure the articles are published over a period of at least one week. You can set this up and post each piece of the article daily as a series.


4. Another effective way to save time is to use audio on your blog. Some people simply find it easier to speak into a microphone than to write something. It is perfectly acceptable to mix things up and use a variety of both audio and writing content on your business blog. You can use an MP3 recorder or phone to record your messages.
This can prove convenient for those who stay on the go or those who are held up in traffic or an unexpected meeting. You can record thoughts as soon as they come to you instead of having to wait and try to remember it all later. After you have assembled your recorded messages in pieces, you can do a little editing and then go ahead to upload the audio content to your blog.
5. Finally, you can manage your time by automating your blog posts. Many blog hosting platforms such as Wordpress will allow you to create written posts and schedule them to be published at a future date and time. So, if you have some free time, you can write some content in advance for the future; maybe a month or a week ahead. Schedule them to auto post each day, and your blog remains updated with no extra effort on your part.
This method can prove to be a huge time saver for you because it saves you the stress of sitting in front of your computer, typing every single day. Being human, there are days when we are so stressed up that we can’t even think of something to write. There are other days when we might be in a bad mood and prefer not to talk or write at all. The best way to stay productive in such moments is to write posts ahead of time and have them auto posted every single day, even while you sleep or on vacation.
These are my five tips to managing time with your business blog. We will meet again for more exciting business interaction. Until then, remain strong.

Tools For Online Business -Part III

TOOLS FOR ONLINE BUSINESS PART III
Crowdsourcing, Networking & Community


Wild Apricot – Online tools for clubs, associations, and communities that include email newsletters, blogs, discussion forums, a member database and more.

OctopusCity – Build your online business network, keep in touch with people through mini-feeds, messaging and free teleconferencing, and save time by keeping one universal address book system.

LittleEngine – A community of small businesses and their patrons that are committed to buying locally and supporting local businesses.

Advisor Garage – it is a social network that connects entrepreneurs who need advice with advisors on just about any business-related topic.


Xing – A global networking and contact management site for business professionals.

Cambrian House – it is a free Crowdsourcing app.

Socialcast – Private online communities of all sizes to help organize enterprise communication that allows employees to decide how to find and use information while reducing email clutter and unproductive communications.

CEOWorld.biz – Global networking for managers, entrepreneurs, and senior execs.

cmypitch.com – Online networking for entrepreneurs, investors and service providers that helps connect people who can help each other succeed.

Customer Relationship Management, Customer Service & Contact Management


Mojo Helpdesk – Mojo Helpdesk allows you to track customer requests, keep your customers and your staff informed about what’s happening with their accounts, and deliver better service.

TagTicket – This hosted helpdesk software is great for managing customer problems as well as in-house issues. There’s nothing to install, and it allows you to manage, track and share your emails and files with other staff.

RightNow – RightNow is an on-demand customer relationship management program that integrates sales, service, marketing, feedback and voice functions.

Sfa finity – This CRM software offers all the regular features, plus account-centric, contact-centric and opportunity-centric perspectives, allowing you to view information the way you prefer.


LinkingUniverse CS – This progress-oriented CRM tool helps you work toward your customer goals. They also have a blog with tips for using the program.

Stazzle – Stazzle is a basic CRM that allows you to track information from birthdays and anniversaries to favorite ball teams and restaurants. It also allows you to track who referred which client and why.

HelpSpot – This help desk software allows support staff to easily manage requests from multiple sources in addition to providing powerful self-help functionality.

CRMdesk – This help desk software allows you to automate your online customer support.

insidesales.com – InsideSales.com provides a lead management CRM suite that incorporates an auto-dialer and allows coordination between multiple departments dealing with a single customer.


Free CRM – This is a Web-based customer relationship management software that allows for sales force automation. Track leads and manage your sales pipeline.

bConnections – This is a simple, easy to use CRM system that allows you to shorten your sales cycle, provide better customer service, make informed decisions, and increases your sales.

Salesboom – This is a CRM and back office solution that’s user friendly and provides seamless integration.

SalesJunction – SalesJunction is a highly customizable but easy to use contact management system that’s very affordable.


Leadvine – LeadVine can help you increase sales by allowing you to post sales leads and have the community find you new customers.

Bizroof CRM – A free, Web-based contact management program.

Bizzvo – Bizzvo offers contact management, email marketing and invoicing solutions.

BatchBook – BatchBook is a small business CRM that manages contacts, communications, and to-do lists, and offers list and report functionality (including creating things like mailing labels and email lists).


Solomon – Solomon is a simplified Web-based CRM and contact manager.

ClairMail – ClairMail provides account management, mobile payments, customer service, and more, all on your mobile phone.

Appature CRM – A marketing-focused customer relationship management program.

Helperoo – A simple email support system geared toward small teams.

Mzinga – A full set of comprehensive social media and enterprise learning solutions that address talent development, enable support staff to communicate and collaborate with customers and partners, and helps your marketing team increase brand visibility, demand for products and services, and more.

Oprius – Contact management software designed for independent sales people.

B2b CRM – it is a Web-based CRM that manages contacts, activities, and your sales pipeline, and integrates with Outlook and Word.

zendesk – A branded online customer support system.

helpdeskpilot – Help desk software that includes email integration, a knowledge base and more.

Tactile CRM – A cost-effective CRM that tracks sales, deals, emails and customer contacts.

Nuebbo – Online contact and virtual business card management.

Simple Sales Tracking – An online sales tracking app that offers free and paid plans.

Soocial – A simple contact management app and address book.

Database, File Storage & Information Management


Pixily – An online service that lets you aggregate, organizes, find and share your documents.

ThinkFree Docs – Online document sharing.

.docstoc – An online repository of free documents you can download, or upload your own documents to share.

Thinkfree – Online access to files, collaboration space for your team, and the ability to edit documents and post to blogs with a Web-based editor.


SpringCM – Online contract and document management.

ProofHQ – Online management and review of designs, artwork and documents.

Xythos – Online document management and storage.

NomaDesk – it is an online virtual file server with offline continuity.

Middlepost Docs – An online document manager that also allows you to sign docs.

AirSet – Online document management and sharing.

Email


MailChimp – Email marketing app that includes subscriber management advanced coding capability, tracking and reports, and more.

Ping82 – Control, manage and track your email using tools made to improve communication between people working together on a project.

eMail Manager – A Web-based email management solution for high volume email environments.

IFM Campaign Manager – A Web-based email list management and marketing tool.

Xpenser – Record your expenses with email, SMS, Twitter, IM, and more.

Synergymail – Online email marketing app that includes campaign tracking.


Mad Mimi – Email marketing utility that allows you to create branded email newsletters and promotions.

EmailBrain – Email newsletter management app.

Employee Management, Payroll & Human Resources


Taleo – Taleo is e-recruitment and talent management software.

Zapoint – Zapoint is a Web 2.0 enterprise talent management platform with integrated performance management, skills mapping, organization mapping, recruiting and succession planning.

Halogen Software – Halogen offers talent management and employee performance solutions.

SuccessFactors – An on-demand talent and performance management platform that gets everyone in your company working together by aligning goals.

Cornerstone OnDemand – This is an on-demand talent management suite.


paylocity – Online payroll, human resources, time tracking and tax services.

Litmos – Create, deliver and manage online training.

Akken – Staffing and recruiting management software that includes email, CRM, accounting, human resources, and more.

TalentMaze – A marketplace for employers to find top recruiters to find the best employees for their businesses.

Rejose – Applicant tracking system that’s simple, efficient and cost effective.

Catch the Best – Online resume and applicant tracking solution.

Feedback


Kumquat – Quickly and easily solicit feedback from clients, superiors, peers, fans, family, or anyone else on projects, plans, on-going activities, blogs, or whatever else you want.

Feefo – Feefo is an independent customer feedback system that is transparent and comprehensive (and doesn’t allow business owners to edit customer feedback).

RivalMap – An online app that helps you monitor and share market news, maintain knowledge of your industry and competitors, and discuss information.


Feedback 2.0 – Collect opinions, expectations, and suggestions from a selected audience and discover the consensus.

ConceptShare – Share media with colleagues and have them leave feedback, reply to comments, approve artwork, and markup on visuals.

Backboard – An online feedback tool that allows users to markup documents (including images, text and websites).

Marketing & Publicity


StartPR – StartPR allows you to monitor your brand on social media sites including blogs, social networks, and more.

Prospect Insight – This is a Web marketing automation suite that provides information to your sales team on where to spend its time in order to maximize your return on investment.

HubSpot – HubSpot is an Internet marketing suite that integrates with your website to track your online marketing efforts.

iKarma – A reputation management service that allows you to compare customer comments, display testimonials, get customer referrals and manage your word-of-mouth.

Survelio.com – An online survey service.


Sonar – An online polling software.

formatpixel – Create your own online magazines, catalogs, brochures and more.

Traceworks – Online marketing software that helps you set goals, plan, execute and optimize your marketing activities.

ReputationHQ – Online reputation management app that searches for your desired information across millions of websites.

WordJot – Business blog hosting platform.


IncSpring – An online marketplace for businesses to purchase brands and logos directly from designers.

Anthillz – Professional relationship and reputation management.

BrandDoozie – A DIY online marketing material creation suite that helps you create professional-looking business cards, brochures, logos, and more.

Shoutlet – Distribute and track viral marketing campaigns across social media outlets.

Money Making & eCommerce Solutions


GoodBarry – An integrated system that runs your website, email marketing and online store that also automatically grows your customer database.

Scrobbld – PayPal and eBay order management app that keeps all your transactions in one place.

Office Applications


Celum Imagine – Software that lets you manage and distribute your photos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs and multimedia content.

gOffice – They offer Web Word Wizard, a true online word processor.

PDFHammer.com – An online, free PDF editor that allows you to merge/combine files, rearrange, reorder and delete pages, lock your PDFs and more.

Online BusinessTools Part II

TOOL FOR RUNNING BUSINESS ONLINE-PART II
Charts, Diagrams, and Whiteboards


Exploratree – it is an online mind mapping software that provides ready-made thinking guides.

Wisdomap – it is a simple mind mapping application.

Best4C – An online charting and diagramming tool.

Scriblink – A simple, free online whiteboard.

Gliffy – Online diagramming and charting software.


Mindomo – Free online mind mapping software.

Mapul – Online mind mapping that allows you to create organic looking mind maps.

WiseMapping – Free mind mapping software that allows you to publish and share your mind maps.

Collaboration & Workgroups


Homecourt – Homecourt is a Web-based collaboration tool.

Blogtronix – it is an enterprise social platform that includes blogs, wikis, documents and social media so that users in large and small organizations can collaborate and build communities inside and outside their company.

WorkflowPerfect – it is a Web-based business process tool that facilitates collaboration.

ClientSpot – A project collaboration and time tracking software specifically for virtual assistants and other freelancers.


Skrbl – Online collaboration and white board space.

Planzone – Secure and private collaborative project workspace to share files, manage tasks, and communicate with others.

Nuospace – On demand collaboration software that provides online document management, allows you to edit pages in your browser, and offers tools to engage your colleagues.

DeskAway – An online project collaboration app aimed at small businesses and teams that organizes, manages and tracks your online work.

Mentat – A free project-sharing service accessible from a browser of supported devices (including Blackberry).

Easy Projects .NET – it is a Project collaboration software that offers both a downloadable option and a hosted version.


Ecto Connect – An online collaboration, communication and content sharing app.

Clearspace – it is an online collaboration suite that includes documents, blogs, discussions, projects, and more.

Twiddla – it is an online conference tool that allows you to mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or brainstorm on a blank canvas.

Sosius – Online workspace that includes a contact & group manager, custom workspace, file management, calendar, blog, discussions, chat, and more.

CollectiveX – Create free group sites for collaboration and networking.


Yammer – A twitter-like app for getting updates from your co-workers.

BrightIdeasLab – it is an online home for all your brilliant ideas that also offers collaborative brainstorming space.

Ximdesk – Collaboration and social networking platform for enterprise.

Status – A Twitter-like app for keeping your work group connected.

GroupSwim – Social collaboration and community tools to bring your employees, customers, and partners together.

Kindling – Idea management and collaboration tool that lets you vote on ideas.

Conferences, Presentations & Meetings


Expectnation – it is a conference program organizing software.

KinetiCast – Create online presentations, deliver them, and then track who’s watching.

Gretastudio – Create on-demand presentations for your company’s products, record training and e-learning materials, or other types of presentations that require audio or video content.

280Slides – it is free online presentation software that allows you to import existing documents, download to PowerPoint, and publishes to the Web and more.


SlideRocket – Design professional quality presentations and then deliver them in person or over the Web.

Vcasmo – Presentation software for business presentations, academic teaching, seminars, conferences, sales pitching, live events and more.

Slideboom – Allows you to share PowerPoint presentations live online.

Empressr – A visual storytelling and presentation application.

Zoho Show – Create embeddable presentations online, present from a remote location, or share and collaborate on presentations.

Slidelive – Present Microsoft PowerPoint presentations live online with this browser-based meeting solution.


Text The Mob – Collect feedback during presentations and seminars by posting polls or message boards on a large screen and having your audience send their input via their cell phones.

ReadyTalk – Online Web meeting and audio conferencing solutions.

Persony – Inexpensive Web conferencing service.


Calliflower – Conference calling tools that include Skype integration, invitations and reminders, and more.

GoToMeeting – Online meeting and conferencing software.

buzz2biz – it is a free online meeting platform.

MyCommittee – Online tracking of meeting agendas and minutes.

GroupLoop – it is Web-based committee organizing software.