A few weeks ago, I participated in a blogging competition sponsored by Blog Energizer. Thank you very much for your votes – I’m excited to announce that I came in second, winning a lifetime membership to Contentrix Better Content, and especially pleased that it’s something that will help me make this blog an even better resource for you.

Let me tell you a bit about my prize! Contentrix is an interactive program that helps you create content for your blog or website, generate traffic to your site and, most importantly, convert that traffic to sales.

As a student, I receive weekly lessons, complete with homework assignments, focused on a specific aspect of content marketing, such as idea generation, copywriting fundamentals, creating winning headlines, branding your content, repurposing your material, developing information products, and lots more.

Each lesson includes both a PDF and an audio file, to accommodate both visual and auditory learners, and I can interact with the course developer any time I have questions or comments.

To see what type of information this course provides, you can download a free Content Marketing Copy Swipe File.

I would really love to have someone take the program with me! If you’re interested in joining me, you can get a trial membership for only $1.00.

Photo: vistamommy

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Internet Marketing is one of the most important tools in your business arsenal. Not only does it cost less than advertising in print and broadcast media, its interactive nature allows you to build relationships with clients and prospects without the need for time-consuming telephone or face-to-face meetings. Internet marketing is much more than just putting up a website! Your Internet marketing plan may include search engine optimization, email marketing, blogging, social networking, and other strategies.

There are lots of resources available to help you understand various aspects of online marketing, including this blog, but did you ever think it would be helpful to have that information neatly packaged into a 90-minute seminar? Do you prefer learning in a live group setting, rather than participating in a webinar or teleclass? Have I got news for you!

I am really excited to announce that I’ve been invited to be the guest speaker at the POC Toronto Chapter meeting this month, where I’ll be sharing some of my best Internet marketing tips to help you decide the best ways to market your organizing business.

The meeting is being held upstairs at Loblaws – Forest Hill Market, which offers free parking and is right across from the St. Clair West subway station. Come at 6:00 for networking and refreshments; the seminar itself will start around 7:00, and there will be plenty of time allowed to ask questions after my formal presentation.

There is no charge to members of Professional Organizers in Canada to attend, and guests pay only $15.00 at the door. I hope you will try to make it if you can, as it’s such a great value, and I’d love to meet as many of my blog readers as possible! I’m especially looking forward to reconnecting with POC members that I haven’t seen since I last went to Conference, in 2006.

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Writing articles has long been known as a powerful marketing tool. Organizers who succeed in getting an article published in a newspaper or magazine are able to reap the benefits of putting their name and their expertise in front of thousands of potential clients! Unfortunately, in most cases, the article is looked at only once before the publication is discarded, so unless you’re able to land a weekly column, your exposure is somewhat limited. Publishing your articles on the Internet, however, increases both the reach and the duration of your exposure.

If you already have articles on your website, good for you! Because your articles probably include many of the keywords your potential clients might use in an online search, this helps to ensure that your site will come up in the search results. But did you know that there are other ways your articles can bring traffic to your website?

You can maximize the impact of your articles by submitting them to various article directories and including an author resource box with a link to your website. People who read your articles on those other sites may then be compelled to visit your site for additional information. This is especially important if you sell information products such as books or teleclasses and you want to reach people outside your geographic area.

The most popular and probably the best article directory is EzineArticles. It’s used by millions of people and, because it’s very well organized, there’s a good chance of your articles being found by the people who need your help. With this type of article directory, when you submit an article, you grant permission for others to use it in websites, newsletters, or print publications, along with your author resource box and link to your website. This in turn increases the number of people who can learn about your site, but that’s only the beginning!

Each time your article and link appear on another website, it creates what’s called a backlink to your site. The number of backlinks is one of the factors considered by Google and other search engines when determining the importance of a website and how high it will appear in search results.

Now you can see why article marketing is so powerful!

If your time is limited, or writing is not your forte, there are many ways that Scott and I can help. We can research any facts and figures you may require to support your articles, and we can proofread and edit your articles for spelling, grammar, typos, and readability. If you’re too busy to write, you can take advantage of my experience in the organizing industry to ghost write articles on your behalf, or to prepare drafts to which you can apply your finishing touches. Once your articles are ready to be submitted, we can create your profile on article directory sites and submit your articles. We can even search for niche article directories, websites, and publications appropriate for your topic. Just drop me a line any time to request a free 30 minute consultation.

If you haven’t been using article marketing to promote your organizing business, maybe it’s time that you did!

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