Lorraine Ball

In his presentation at the Smaller Indiana, BlogIn, Erik Deckers shared his thoughts on how to write for a blog. Beginning with a great title:How to write gooder blogs then anyone else .

Erik advises: Good writing is clear, concise, precise, understandable and interesting.

• Be clear: Your clarity can be measured – check out: www.neilstoolbox.com
• Use short words, use short paragraphs
• Don’t overwrite and omit needless words
• Revise and rewrite
• Get rid of adjectives and adverbs

While SEO is important, write for subscribers before you write for the spiders.

Ok, so here I am on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, indoors with a bunch of bloggers… so I hope I learn somehting!

Opening comments by Chris Baggott, Doug Karr, and Kevin Makics set the tone, with their own personal reasons for blogging.
Chris Baggott – Blogs primarily for business. My key take away from his comments: … People won’t subscribe to blog, or read it on a regular basis, but will find your blog through SEO when you write about topics which are relevant for them. Research shows you will win more searches then primary web site.

Kevin Makice’s blog began with the birth of their son. Today it covers a range of topics, with content provided by both he, his wife, and now his son. My key take away from his comments: Blogs are about finding different perspectives, from lots of different people, with lots of different perspectives. No one person will have the right answers but by reviewing all these different perspectives the truth will emerge

Doug Karr shared his thoughts on why people and companies should blog and how to do it right: My key take away from his comments:

Why Blog – Connect spheres of influence, education, influence, branding, networking, escape, fulfillment and money! And it allows him to remember stuff.

If you are going to do this do it right: Your blog needs to be driven by: Transparency, consistency passion, participate, momentum (steady, consistent effort) committee, coordination (with other marketing tools) and measurement

Rules for the Day
Whoever comes are the right people
Whatever happens is the only thing could have
Whenver it starts is the right time
When it’s over, it’s over

While the Magic Beans gave Jack his start, his own ingenuity lead to his ultimate success. The same is often true for small biz owners, there is rarely a “magic bean” Except in this video, Lorraine Shares one of her favorite “magic beans”

In a wonderfully well written post, Jennifer Laycock argues persuasively against attacking competitors as part of your marketing strategy.

Read the post

Mac built their company on great design, and even greater marketing.  While they seemed to lose their edge for a while ( in both) they are clearly back on top today!

For a look at some of their best commercials, check out their site!

Lorraine Ball believes it takes more than magic to create a happy ending, in a fairy tale, or a small business!

In this 2 minute video, Lorraine Ball, explains often the difference between success or failure in business often boils down to how well you use resources and with whom you surround yourself!

Good marketing is all about the numbers, or so Lorraine Ball learned, early in her marketing career!