Success in Business: Lessons I Learned from My Youngest Child

I didn’t know when I first began having children that I would learn more from them than they would from me.  I certainly didn’t expect to learn about success in business from watching my youngest child, but that’s what happened. 

               For awhile, I’ve been working at making freelance writing into a full-time career.  It’s a dream I’ve had since college.  I’ve always known how to write, but I needed to learn how to market myself to succeed.   There have been many days I’ve just wanted to give up and do something else.  Then, I thought the successes of my 11-year-old son.    

               This child is the youngest of four.   He is the classic youngest child.  He is funny, smart, loves attention, talks incessantly and everyone in the family adores him.  My husband and I also believe that he’ll probably become a millionaire at a young age but will continue to live at home for free, because, well, it’s free. 

               Since he was able to walk and talk, this child has been intrigued by money.  He would pick up coins he found and put them somewhere safe.  He’d watch transactions that involved money.  Quickly, he figured out that if he had something to sell, people would pay him money.  And off he went. 

               These are the lessons I’ve learned from him. 

               First Lesson:  Plan and Execute.   When he was 4, we were doing some large scale renovations to our house.  My son decided that old scrap pieces of sheetrock provided excellent material for large artwork.  He began gathering them up, painting pictures on them and created an art shop in the corner of the house.   To him, this was not a pretend shop.  Each piece of art had a price and family members were expected to purchase something for full price.    He succeeded and made the sale not just because he had a captive audience but because he had an idea, put together a plan and executed it.  At age 4. 

               Second Lesson: Have confidence:  A year or so later, my child was a little older and still finding ways to make money.   One day, he was bored and I gave him play-doh.   Instead of seeing it as a child’s toy, he saw an opportunity to make more money.   He began making play-doh sculptures.  Then, he got a box and a chair and went out to the cul-de-sac with his sculptures.   I almost wanted to cry for him.  He wanted to sell play-doh sculptures on a quiet cul-de-sac in the middle of a workday.   My son located the contractors who were doing work on a neighbor’s house and sold a couple of his sculptures to them.   My son never lacks confidence that he will succeed and make the sale.  As a result, he always does. 

               Third Lesson:  Just do it and don’t waiver.   The same weekend every year, our neighborhood has a garage sale.   It’s a great day to have a garage sale, especially if you’re like me and hate putting them together.  You don’t have to advertise, because the neighborhood has done it.   My son has frequently put out items he wanted to sell.  This year, at 11-years-old, he took it to a whole new level.  The night before, he found items he wanted to sell.   These were not just one dollar junk items.  Instead, he looked for higher dollar items and researched what they were selling for online and then developed his price points.   His garage sale was about quality not quantity.  The next morning, he was up early and working hard.   A few times, people would ask if he had specific items they were looking for.   If we had them, he’d sell them, with my permission, of course.  Before noon, he had sold almost every item he had put out.   He negotiated very little on prices.  It was his best money-making venture ever. 

               I’m sure I’ll continue to learn from my son.  My future success in business will largely be owed to him.    

  

What You Should Include in a Press Release

     Writing and distributing press releases to promote your business should be an important part of your marketing plan.  Here are some tips on what you should include in a press release in order to make it work for your business. 

     Start with the 5 W’s.  Every press release should include basic information such as the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when and why.  By including information related to each of these, you will ensure that your audience has the most important information about your business or business event. 

     Begin with the most important information.  To write a press release, put the most important information at the beginning, preferably in the first paragraph.  While you don’t have to include the answers to all 5 w’s in the first paragraph, doing so is a great strategy.  Ideally, you want the reader to get the most important information first so if he doesn’t read past the first paragraph, he still gets the most important facts.  This is especially true if you’re writing a press release about an event.  In the first paragraph, you want to include the dates and times (when), type of event (what), location (where), who (your business) and why. 

     Include quotes and details for interest.  Quotes and statistics help lend interest and credibility to your press release.  Of course, what you use depends on the topic of the press release.  For example, if you’re having a special event or promotion, you may want to quote someone within the organization on why you’re hosting this event or making this offer.   If you’re issuing a press release because your business or employees have earned an award, distinction or training, you may want a statistic about how many businesses have earned this.  You could also have a quote about why this is important and how it sets your business apart from your competitors. 

     Contact information.  Many times, local news organizations will print your press release as is.  However, other times, the news organization may want to follow up with you.  Be sure to make this easy for them by providing contact information.  This should include the name of a person within your organization who is prepared to talk to the press and a phone number and e-mail address for that person.  You want to make it easy for a member of the press to get more information from you.  It could lead to a bigger story or live remote. 

     You can use press releases to accomplish a number of goals.  They can be sent to local news organizations to promote your business and your business’s special events.  They can also be posted online to help drive traffic to your website. 

     Don’t be discourage if you don’t get the media to cover your business in response to press releases.  Press releases also help introduce your business to the media.  This allows them to call on you as an expert when they’re looking for resources related to a story.  For example, a lawncare company that is known to the local media may be called upon for interviews about lawn care during a drought.  This is better than advertising.  This is free publicity. 

     Press releases are an effective marketing tool.  With these tips, now you know what you should include in a press release. 

     

6 Tips to Improve Your Writing

6 Tips to Improve Your Writing  

               In a world in which we communicate primarily by e-mail and text, correct spelling, grammar and mechanics are either fixed by electronic devices or are ignored completely in exchange for quick and easy communication.  However, there are still many situations in life when good writing habits are necessary.   Here are a 6 tips to help you improve your writing. 

               Use complete sentences.  A sentence doesn’t have to be long to be complete.  A complete sentence requires only 2 items: a noun and a verb.  The following is a complete sentence: The boy runs.  That’s it.  That’s all it takes.   When in doubt about whether you have a sentence or not, find the noun (person, place or thing) and the verb (the action word). 

               Use the inverted pyramid:  Journalists use an inverted pyramid style of writing.  That is, the most important information is at the top and details are included in descending order.  This means that you start with the most important, relevant details and move toward less important details as you go.  This allows for the less important details to easily be edited out by chopping off the bottom.  In terms of other documents, assume that the reader will only read the first couple of paragraphs.  Include the most important information there. 

               Keep it short.  Unless you’re writing a research document or dissertation, most everyday documents such as letters should be kept short and straight to the point.  One page is sufficient most of the time.  Any business letter such as a letter requesting information or a cover letter to be included with a resume should only be one page.  Any more than that and you’ll lose the reader’s attention. 

               Check your grammar and mechanics.  Look for words in which you’ve used an apostrophe.  Did you use it correctly?  Did you mean its (possessive) or it’s (it is)?   Have you used commas?  Did you use them correctly or did you just sprinkle them on the paper randomly?  A good rule of thumb with commas is “when in doubt, leave it out.”  That goes for semi-colons, too.  Unless you know you’re using them correctly, just don’t use them. 

               Spelling. Letters and formal documents should not include texting abbreviations such as “ty” –thank you.  Also, ensure your words are spelled correctly.  No matter what you’re writing, spelling matters.  While most word processing programs will fix numerous spelling problems for you, don’t count on these programs to do all the work.  They won’t fix the spelling of proper names, for example. 

               Know your audience.  Knowing your audience will give you some idea of how much background information you need to include, how much background information to provide and how much industry jargon to use or not use. 

               Once your piece is finished, revise it.  Then, proofread it.  Then, proofread it again.   The more times you look it over, the better it’s going to be.  These 6 tips will help improve your writing

                              

PLR Packages for Small Businesses: Freelance Writer Offers New Product

     Freelance writer Phyllis Edson today announced a new product available on her website: Private Label Rights (PLR)packages.  This first group of 10 articles includes articles related to social media.   Each month she will post new PLR packages on different topics. 

     “Private Label Rights packages are a great way to get a lot of content fast,” said Edson.  With this introductory PLR package, the buyer gets 10 articles for $10, she said.   He also obtains the rights to those articles.  The buyer can do almost whatever he wants with those articles.  He can either rewrite them or publish them as is on his website or blog.  He can use them to write a report or e-book.  He can even rewrite them and sell them as his own product.  The only thing he can’t do is resell them as PLR exactly as he bought them from me, she said. 

     Edson said that she will offer new PLR packages on her website each month.  For now, there will not be any monthly membership fees.  Buyers will be able to purchase only those packets that they are interested in. 

     “My PLR packages will appeal to small businesses, graphic designers, marketing companies and others who are doing marketing online,” said Edson.

     A freelance writer, Edson has 20 years of writing experience. Her services include ghostwriting, press releases, copy writing, e-mail marketing, blogging, posts for social media sites and more.  For each client, she says, she provides professionally written, well-researched products that satisfy the needs of the individual client and appeal to that client's audience. 

     Edson’s PLR package is available for sale on her website at www.phyllisedson.com. 

Freelance Writing Services

As a freelance writer, I wear many hats.  Recently, I wrote an article for the magazine, "Lee's Summit Lifestyles."  The article discusses the accomplishments of the Lee's Summit Educational Foundation during its first 20 years and how its celebrating by bringing new technology into the classroom in the form of Google Chromebooks.  

Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation Celebrates 20 Years

Be sure to visit my website at www.phyllisedson.com to read more about my freelance writing services.   

5 Reasons to Adopt a Press Release Campaign

Investing in an online marketing strategy can seem like a scary proposition.  However, there are ways to get publicity to your website and to your business without breaking the bank.  One way is to conduct a pressrelease campaign.  A press release campaign involves sending out a series of press releases over a short period of time in order to make both the public and the media aware of your business, products and services. 

Today’s press release campaigns are different than those of the past.  Now, press releases can be uploaded to a variety of electronic press release distribution sites in addition to or instead of being mailed to your local media.   Posted electronically, press releases can include links to your business’ website. 

1. Here are 5 reasons press release campaigns are beneficial to your business. Press releases posted electronically include links back to your website.  This helps customers find you and helps the search engines index your website, contributing to better page rankings for your website. 
2. Press releases distributed online stay online. . . forever.  That means that they will forever be on the web driving traffic and customers to your website.  
3. Press releases provide publicity.  By sending out press releases to local media, you make them aware of your business.  Media come to think of you as the expert in your industry and business. Once media members think of you as the expert, they will reach out to you to interview you when they need information in your area of expertise.  This equals free publicity for your business.   
4. Press releases are flexible.  You can use press releases to promote a new or existing service or product.  You can use press release to announce awards, trainings, certifications earned by your business or employees.  Your business press releases can also include announcements and news related to your industry in general.  
5. Press release campaigns can fit in your budget.  There’s no “right” way to conduct a press release campaign.  It can involve one or more press releases written and distributed every week for a month or three months or even longer.   It can be whatever you want it to be and whatever your marketing budget will allow.  Whether you issue 4 press releases or 12, they are all on the web forever, sending traffic your way. 

 Press release campaigns are an excellent way to increase traffic to your website, increase customer traffic and increase sales.  Also, they are great way to start indexing your website and begin an online marketing campaign that leads to a long-term strategy. 

                

3 Marketing Strategies to Stretch Your Dollar

     As you start planning your business marketing strategy, there are many considerations to make.  How much money do you have to spend on marketing?  What’s your budget? What are you doing now?  What’s working? What’s not?  What can you do that’s new?

     Here are three suggestions which may help you get the most bang for your marketing buck. 

1) Build a website.  Almost 50 percent of small businesses in the U.S. do not have websites.  Yet, more than 90 percent of consumers search online for businesses, including local businesses, before making a purchase.  If nothing else, your website should provide the consumer with basic information about your business such as products, services, hours and location.  The more information you have about your business on the website, the more the customer can find out about your business and the more interested that customer will be.  Setting up a website does not have to be expensive but you will reap its rewards for many years to come. 

2) Establish a Google+ Local Business page.  While Google+ is fairly new, it’s a powerful online marketing tool.   Users can utilize it to make posts, to share photos, videos and articles and to communicate with followers.   It also has several advantages over Facebook, including the fact that it lets you separate your followers into “circles.”  These circles let you target messages for specific groups.  If you have a business with different products and services that appeal to different audiences, then you can divide your audience and target your messages rather than sending the same messages to everyone.   Another advantage Google+ has over Facebook is that Google+ is not a closed community.  You can share posts publicly on Google+ and those will be indexed by the search engines so more potential customers can find your business.  

3) Conduct a press release campaign.  A campaign is not just sending out one press release which announces a special offer.  A press release campaign includes sending out 1 or more press releases over a period of several weeks.  Each press release focuses on a different aspect of your business.  This could include special offers, new products or services, awards or certifications your business or employees have experienced.  Press releases can also focus on current events and how your business addresses those.  For instance, a lawn care business could issue a press release on how to deal with drought conditions. 

Press releases distributed online can help drive traffic to your business website.  Also, those distributed to local media gets you noticed as an expert in your field and industry.  This can lead to media interviews related to your industry and your business.  Media interviews are free publicity. 

These three suggestions will give your business a boost on its online marketing strategy, helping drive business and boost your sales.