Marketing Yourself, and Tracking Success

     To ensure that your company has the most successful marketing strategy possible it is imperative that they utilize several analytic tools to keep your company on top of the standard practices of web optimization. Ensuring that keywords are utilized but not overly used is important. The keyword tool provided by Google Adwords should be used  to give ideas on keywords to use in their blog posts and anywhere where you use hash tags. Also, you should often check new leads on keywords so that they can update keywords if a keyword is not generating adequate traffic.
     Facebook pages also offers an internal analytics dashboard. The dashboard offers a place where the company can see the total reach of a post, whether a paid promotional post or just a regular post. It also is a place where you can create ads for your page, or organization. The insights graph on the Facebook pages dashboard looks like the graph below. You can see directly what posts generated the most reach and how many people are talking about the posts that where created. This is very helpful in creating posts that are engaging and getting a lot of customer interaction.

       You can also utilize Google Analytics when your business gets big enough. This program offers both a premium version and a free version. The premium version costs upwards of $150,000 per year flat rate so you're going to utilize the free services offered by Google. These reports include custom variables based on the social media site chosen, including Facebook, Twitter and your blog, Custom reporting on said social media networking sites, Advanced demographic segmentation information, analytic intelligence such as traffic and visitor statistics and real time data. This information will ensure that the target market you are directing your efforts towards is indeed who the information is reaching.

Hope this helps!
Bea

How to Make Money Blogging

So I have done a lot of research on blogging and although I am not at the point where I make any money I felt it would be nice to share how you can make money with blogging. I used this website as a basis for my post. 

Built into Blogger are a few tools the blogger can use to track his or her blog progress.
Within the Stats category you will find traffic sources, audience and page views.

Blogger's traffic source tool is a very useful analytic. With this tool the blogger is able to know where their viewers are coming from. This is a great indicator of what keywords are working. After posting a blog with information on a fat free, sugar free health food recipe, a blogger finds that they are getting a lot of views from a website on weight loss. This could be an indication that they would get more views if they posted more recipes that are geared towards this group of viewers. This would hold true for any type of blogger, or blog type.

Secondly, the audience tool is another very useful tool. This tool shows what part of the world viewers are coming from. This can be beneficial knowing that your target audience is actually being targeted.

Thirdly, the page views tool. This tool might be the most beneficial of the three tools. You can view individual post views, or total blog views. Also you can view daily, all time views, or weekly views. Ultimately, page views show whether your blog post is getting traffic, and if your keywords are working. You can juggle around different keywords and see if the post gets more views. More views can potentially mean more earnings, which will be discussed in the next segment.

How to Earn Money by Blogging :

Google Adsense is partnered with Blogger to earn the blogger extra money by blogging. The more posts on the blog, the more opportunities to earn money. AdSense is a service that places ads on the blog posts that are relevant to the blog. The ads are paid for by companies that want to advertise, and purchase PPC ads. Blogger has full control over the ads placed on the blogs. Each time an Ad is clicked, the blogger earns money. You can track the revenue earned under the Earnings tab on Blogger, under this tab the blogger can customize what ads have been shown, clicked on, and how much revenue has been made from the ads.

Guess that's all there is to it. Sounds simple right? It's not. haha! You have to really be on top of your blogging for Adsense to even consider letting them post ads on your page. They will not pay some small blog only posting once a month (like mine haha!) but with hard work I think most people can be successful at blogging. It would be a great source of extra income for stay at home moms, or just people who like to write or have something to say. The blog has to have a specific purpose and not here, there and everywhere. It's particular but if you're really interested in doing it, there is tons of research out there!

An Update on Life

Life has been a roller coaster of events this year. From losing an uncle, to the baby being diagnosed with Autism..it's just been crazy. So much has been going on and sometimes I feel like I am at my breaking point. But, I have a good support system at home and that always helps keep me above the waterline and safe from drowning. I have gotten some emails recently asking me to just post about life and how I manage it all and the truth is...I don't exactly know how I do it. My education is not hard for me, most of the courses I take come really easy for me, but that is not uncommon for me. I have a photographic memory so while reading or studying, things tend to come back pretty easy. Since having Z though, I feel my memory has gotten worse and sometimes I wonder if its because I went so long without getting vaccines and in the last two years I have gotten two. That's another story though.

 I have 20 drafts awaiting me to finish and post and I just keep thinking of all the things I want to post for you all, and myself. My life has always taken sudden changes in directions but recently I think I have found the path that I really want to take. I don't quite understand it yet, but I am learning. I started getting into essential oils when a friend recommended them. I was 100% skeptic and sometimes still am. I believe that skepticism is a normal human behavior but, my life was changed with the use of them. I've become almost obsessed with finding an answer using the oils rather than the traditional way to do things, I feel my family will benefit from this. Anyways that is not what this post is about, this post actually really has no purpose haha!

It's almost spring time here in New Hampshire, the birds sometimes come out now. I am so ready for the ice and snow to be gone and to plant flowers and have dinner outside. I cannot wait to put the pool up for the kids and watch them swim. Last year Z did not like the pool, hopefully this year is different. I am also only taking one class next term, I have gotten tired of classes and overwhelmed with work, home and just everything. So, it was a mutual decision for J and I for me to drop down to one class, to save my sanity! I need the break and I am welcoming it. This means I should have more time to blog this summer as well, hopefully. I have a bunch of gluten free on the grill recipes I have been wanting to try. And also spring time gluten free desserts, smoothies and dinner ideas. I really want to get back to cooking, it's something that I really enjoy. Plus, J got me this amazing spice rack for Christmas and I have yet to use it past the basic oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley and garlic spices. So I am excited to experiment with some new spices as well. Is there anything you would like to see me attempt?

Not sure if I had posted before about my presidency through Autism Speaks U, Kaplan University. We had a large event last Tuesday and I think it went well. We were able to raise quite a bit of money for Autism research and my heart swells with heartfelt thanks to those who opened their wallets for the cause. The month is not over yet, so hopefully more come! And fundraising isn't limited to April. I love advocating for Autism. When I teach each month in meetings and such I feel so passionate about what I am saying, the same goes for when I am just talking about it. It's such a humbling feeling knowing the words that I am speaking is going somewhere, being spread and making a change in the world.

Well, not much more to say I guess. Going to be writing some posts on detox baths, oil pulling or lack thereof, new recipes soon, a review on Jamberry Nails, and more info on Essential oils most likely. I would also love to introduce you to my new adventures in the books I am writing, I think a lot of people will find it a very interesting study.

But for now, live successfully, live happy and live with purpose!

Bea