Sometimes You’ve Just Got To Tool Up

Most new bloggers have an idea something like this: “I’ve got to do it all”. After all, it’s a natural response from a go-getter entrepreneur type. Those in this position still have lots to learn. The harsh reality is that you need to tool up and get help from others. In this post I will be covering these points:

• Why do we need help?
• How to begin outsourcing
• The power of tools in your business

Let’s begin

1. Why do we need help?

To put this simply: you’ll save time and energy. We learn best by example and so it’s story time. This website was not designed by John Rampton, rather designed by a terrific web designer. John is a terrific teacher and visionary. When we get help from others we remove ourselves from certain aspects of our business. This in turn allows us to focus our time and energy elsewhere. I will say this though, it doesn’t hurt to know your way around wordpress and know some code.

Too many bloggers are spending hours and hours trying to learn code so that they can build their sites. It’s a no-no in my book. Shave off months from your learning curve by paying someone else who specializes in website design. You can take this concept and apply it to any area of your business. Some other things you outsource include:

• Copywriting
• Content creation
• Social media management

2. How to begin outsourcing

There are a number of outsourcing websites that can greatly assist you in your business. Some of my favorites are: Fiverr & Elance. I always tell my clients that they should outsource the things that ‘get them stuck’ so to speak. That varies among bloggers and I recommend you take some time to identify those things that you would like to get done.

On fiverr, you can hire people to just about anything under the sun for a measly $5. The key here is to find ‘Top Rated Sellers’. Read the comments and reviews by the people you could potentially order from. I’ve used them for all sorts of stuff.

Elance works the same way, except you have more control over the work you need. The minimum price of a job here is $20. I’ve never had any problem with this site and I’ve happily spent thousands getting quality work done for my business.

3. The power of tools in your business

The internet is jam packed with tools out there that will assist you in your business. Some are free while others are not. When your blog gets no visitors, you’re on ‘informational island’. All of the successful bloggers have learned the marketing skills to get their blog and brand out there in front of eyeballs. You should know that there are a lot of ‘shiny’ objects/tools out there. It’s easy to want to buy everything, thinking it will help. Be careful not to buy anything that would jeopardize the health of your site. Some examples would include: SEO tools that spam comments, build backlinks, or anything of that nature. Before you purchase another tool, take the time to learn master and use that tool consistently. Below are some of my favorite tools:

• Twitterfeed.com allows you to have your new content syndicated to the major social networks: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. This is a big time-saver. Instead of having to manually share your new article to each site, it’s done automatically.
• AWeber.com is an email marketing service that allows you to keep in touch with your leads, followers, and customers. Every business needs to consider building a list and communicating with those that subscribe. You’ll find new leads and new customers as you do so.
• Other syndication tools: If your content is primarily articles, then you may want to learn article marketing. There are tools associated with getting your articles out there. It will be a great source of back-links and acquiring new followers. On the other hand, if your content is primarily done in video, then you may want to look into tools like TubeMogul & Traffic Geyser. Also another source of back-links.