Monthly Archives: April 2018

3 Tips For Hiring The Right Consultant

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3 Tips For Hiring The Right Consultant
This is a sponsored post.

If you run your own business or work in management, then it’s likely that at some point the topic of consulting will come up. However, “Consultant” is such a broad term that it could mean everything from a medical doctor to a self-professed expert on a niche topic. So what exactly is a consultant, what do they do, and how do you hire the right one?

#1: Research What it Really Means

Broadly speaking, a consultant is anyone who specializes in a particular area of expertise and is available to advise others. In large organizations, consultants can work full time on staff to direct different departments in best practices. In other scenarios, consultants will also run their own independent consulting company full time and be hired on a case-by-case basis by others who need coaching for a set period of time. These type of advisers can be found in a range of fields, offering a wide variety of services to help guide and develop specific needs. There are even consultants who train other people how to be a consultant themselves!

#2: Know Where to Look

How you find a consultant will vary greatly depending on your field and what you’re looking for. If you’re a business owner looking to develop and improve a particular aspect of what you do and need a dedicated consultant, you might research consulting firms, ask for referrals, recruit on a job board, or even scout LinkedIn for potential hires. In other instances, an expert may be hired to consult on a temporary basis in addition to their regular job – for example, a filmmaker writing a script about dinosaurs might hire a paleontologist on a one-time basis to consult on their set to ensure accuracy. Ask yourself what your needs and goals are, and use that as a jumping off point to start the search.

#3: Learn How to Spot The Right Candidate

Since consultants are meant to be experts in a specific industry, word-of-mouth recommendations from trusted colleagues in your circle carry weight and can help you narrow down potential candidates. Credentials will include their education, resume, and any accreditation with relevant organizations – for example, management consultants can join The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes – but since consulting covers such a broad swath of specialties, not all areas have an organization such as this. As with hiring any candidate, vetting their resume, background and references is of utmost importance; and when it comes to a niche like this that is rife with corporate buzzwords, you want to make sure you’re hiring an actual expert – not just someone who has talked themselves up with nothing behind it.

10 Helpful Tools For Setting up Your First Blog

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10 Helpful Tools For Setting up Your First Blog
This is a sponsored post.

Starting a new blog is a big project. If you’re dipping your toe in the water for the first time, it can be hard to know where to start, so today I’m sharing 10 helpful tools to assist you:

1. Hosting: There are lots of free platforms available for starting a blog if you just want to put together something quickly for fun, but if you’re planning on using your blog professionally, then you will want to purchase hosting and a domain name. This doesn’t have to be a big investment: Small hosting packages start around $10 per month, and you can register an inexpensive domain name on GoDaddy.com – check RetailMeNot for coupons and you can usually get a URL for around a dollar!

2. Blogging Platform: I use WordPress to create and run all of my websites and highly recommend it. There are many in-depth tutorials that are just a click away on Google, so you can learn your way around it and set it up yourself, or you can hire a web designer to do everything for you.

3. Stats: It’s crucial to set up a system for analyzing traffic and search data on your blog. I personally use a combination of AWStats and Google Analytics. If you want to go even deeper than that, Profisee MDM has a roundup of 30+ more data management tools that you can check out.

4. Graphics: You’re going to need an image program to create and edit photos for your blog posts. Adobe Photoshop is the gold standard for graphics, but if you’re just starting out, you’re probably going to want to keep it simple. I like GIMP, an open source image editing program, while many others find PicMonkey to be an easy-to-use tool.

5. SEO: “Search engine optimization” is exactly what it sounds like: The process of making your content easier to find on search engines. For example, you might write a great post about your Grandma’s one-dish creamed chicken recipe, but if most people are searching for “Creamed chicken casserole” instead, they’re more likely to miss your post because of the word choice. You shouldn’t sacrifice originality, but there are occasions where small tweaks that don’t impact a piece creatively can better target them to be found among the billions of posts on the Internet. Two good tools for learning your way around this is Google’s Keyword Planner tool and the Yoast plugin for WordPress.

6. Writing: Back in the old days, I used to keep a dictionary and thesaurus by my typewriter (!). Nowadays, everything is just a click away online! Spellcheck will automatically catch most spelling errors, but Merriam-Webster is still your friend for verifying word definitions. I use the Dict.org online thesaurus when I’m writing something redundant and need inspiration for alternative phrases.

7. Editorial Calendar: Whatever posting schedule you decide on, you’ll need a way to keep track of what you’re publishing, deadlines, and other to-dos. I personally use a pen and paper planner because that system works best for my brain, but the almighty Google Calendar is a good virtual option for those who prefer to keep track of their schedule in the cloud.

8. SPAM: Oh, you got your first blog comment! Oh – it’s SPAM. All blogs get inundated with SPAM, so you will need a filter to keep it manageable. Akismet is an anti-spam plugin for WordPress with plans starting at $5 a month, while Antispam Bee is a free alternative.

9. Social Sharing: If you don’t have an easy way for people to share your content, they won’t! Make sure you have a plugin that will add social sharing buttons to your posts so that people can easily share your post on Facebook, Twitter, and so on. I use the plugin Shareaholic for this purpose.

10. Caffeine: Setting up your first blog is a huge job, so stock up on the coffee – you’re going to need it!

What are your favorite blogging tools?

How to Gain Readers For Your New Blog

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How to Gain Readers For Your New Blog
This is a sponsored post.

Congratulations! You just launched your first blog. At first, you may feel like you’re talking into the ether when you’re posting for essentially no one. Building a reader base takes time, so for today’s Blogging 101 lesson, we’re going to talk about the basics for driving traffic to your brand new blog.

Gaining & Maintaining Readers: Content, Navigation & Value

If you’re in the process of hiring a web designer and launching a blog for the first time, you may hear buzzwords like “User engagement” or “Customer onboarding” thrown around. UserIQ has a lengthy article explaining what customer onboarding is, which basically boils down to the practice of streamlining your product – in this case, your blog – to make it more user friendly, direct readers to your best content more efficiently, give them an incentive to return, and analyze your traffic data to better refine what you do. For a blogger, your “Customer onboarding” experience is going to focus on three key areas:

  • Content

    • The Internet is an endless rabbithole of websites and entertainment, so if you want to gain readers, you have to offer content that is valuable. What is your blog about? Are you here to entertain, inform, help? Who are you appealing to and what do you want to achieve? Regardless of your niche, you have to offer something that people want in order for them to read. I’ve been blogging for 10 years now, and in recent times I’ve seen a great number of successful blogs fold and shut down. There are many reasons for this trend, one of which is that it’s tough to compete in a saturated market and many people get fed up with it. This is why I think that it’s more important than ever to follow your own voice and offer something unique, rather than trying to follow the same template that XYZ Blog does. What would you want to read? What do you need when you do a web search?

  • Navigation

    • Having a user-friendly blog is very important. If readers can’t find what they need easily, they will give up and move on to the next search result. Make sure your best content is easily accessible so that people don’t leave! And don’t forget your “Other” customer – the PR representatives and companies that you’d like to work with. Make sure your email address and relevant social media links are effortless to find; this may seem like a no-brainer, but I’ve worked on several PR outreach projects myself and you would be amazed at the number of professional bloggers who don’t have an email anywhere on their blog. I wasn’t able to contact those people, even though I wanted to work with them – so don’t let that happen to you!

  • Value

    • If you want readers to return to your blog, you have to offer an incentive. Having interesting or helpful content is the best way to inspire people to bookmark your blog, but it’s not always enough by itself. To maximize the number of readers that you can reach regularly, you can offer something valuable in exchange for them subscribing. Think about offering your email subscribers a special perk, like a free download, an exclusive ebook, or an entry into a giveaway.

What strategies have you found helpful in growing your audience?

4 Photography Tips For Bloggers

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4 Photography Tips For Bloggers

This is a sponsored post and contains my Amazon Associates link. As always, all opinions are my own!

So you’ve decided to start a blog! One of the things you’ll quickly learn is the importance of photography. Social media is image-heavy by its nature, and if you plan on turning your blog into a business, you’re going to need to learn how to produce images for your clients in addition to your written deliverables. I’m often approached by aspiring bloggers asking for advice, so I thought this would be a great topic to tackle since it plays a large role in blogging. Here are my top four photography tips for beginning bloggers:

1. Do Your Homework

If you’re a novice, you’ll want to start by learning everything you can about photography basics. You can pick up a huge amount online – Google will point you to hundreds of tutorials and videos explaining the basics of things like aperture, ISO, and so forth; for example, photographer Summit Shah has a blog where he shares photography tips and gear recommendations. Once you’ve gotten to grips with some of the basics, you may want to consider taking a photography class at your local community college to further expand your skill set.

2. Invest in Gear – Wisely

Having a decent camera is important, but for someone just starting out, I’d advise starting with just the basic building blocks. So many people spend thousands on fancy equipment that ends up just sitting in their closet because they didn’t end up getting far with their blog, or just ended up not needing as many accessories as they initially thought. Remember, you can always buy new lenses and upgrade your gear as you progress! For example, I’m partial to Canon’s EOS Rebel kits because they come with the camera base, lens, battery, strap and charger for a competitive price.

Also, don’t overlook the importance of a good lighting setup. Lighting can make or break a photo, so spring for good lighting before you buy dozens of lenses! I personally bought this studio lighting kit off Amazon for $119, and I love it because it includes everything: Four lights and their corresponding accessories for manipulating the light, a backdrop in three different colors, and a carrying case.

Finally – make sure you also have a smartphone with a quality camera built-in! In the blogging world, you’ll often find yourself at events that you need to document on social media, and a full DSLR is not always practical or desirable in these situations.

3. Get (Mad) Props

As a blogger, you’ll likely spend much of your time photographing still life scenes such as products or food. This is where props really shine! You can find hundreds of specialty photo props for sale on sites like Etsy, but I’d recommend starting with items in your home first to get a feel for what looks good. (Again, you don’t need a closet full of expensive, unused items!) Experiment with different colors and textures of tablecoths, placemats, baskets, dishes, and small decorative items. Move your props around and photograph your subject from every angle to see what works and what doesn’t.

4. Practice Makes Perfect

Learning any skill takes time and practice. Good photos don’t magically materialize; they take thought and work, regardless of your skill level or amount of equipment. Keep practicing and have fun!