“Ah Grasshopper, when you can snatch the pebble from my hand it will be time for you to leave.” Okay, I’m an old Kung Fu fan but the master’s comment still holds true. When you learn to master a few basic secrets, it will be time for your business to soar.

So, Grasshopper, are you ready to get started? Secret Number 1 – You must learn to blog. Now before you get that dear in the headlights look, hang on. Like any good master, I’m going to impart the knowledge you need to master this needed skill.

I can almost always predict the reaction when I tell clients they need to start a blog. Their shoulders sag, they expel a huge sigh and look like they just got punched in the stomach. The hardest thing for most business owners is writing about their business. We can talk about our businesses in person, but when it comes to putting it down on paper, that’s a different story. Maybe it’s insecurity in our writing style, maybe it’s the time it takes to peck it out on the keyboard. But fear not. Help is here.

Let’s address the easiest one first – slow typing skills. Even though I’m pretty proficient on the keyboard, my best writing is done as I speak. So I bought Dragon Speak software and with my headset microphone, I talk, it types. It takes a little training but the more you use it the better it gets. It was the best $40 I’ve spent.

With that excuse down, let’s tackle writing insecurity. The beauty of a blog is your high school English teacher isn’t going to be grading it. If you can “fool” most of the people most of the time verbally, you’re in luck. A blog should be in your voice. Let your personality show through. People do business with people they know, like and trust. If your blog reflects who you are, your readers will get to “know” you. Besides, if your blog is a boring lecture, your readers will only come back when they have incurable insomnia.

Now for the serious decisions. What direction do you take your blog? Do you go serious or humorous? Witty and sarcastic or reassuring and calming? Or maybe controversial? A couple of notes on controversial. If you choose to go down the controversy road, be prepared for responses. A controversial post will frequently generate lots of comments. While that is exactly what you want, engagement from your readers, you also need to be thick-skinned enough to handle it. You will also want to respond to every comment. Just don’t be argumentative. Acknowledge the commentor’s points and either defend your position, recant it or just thank them and let it go.

One last hidden secret Grasshopper. What do you talk about? Do you read newsletters, trade journals or other publications about what’s happening in your industry? (If you answer “No” we need to go back to Grasshopper kindergarten. You’re probably way behind the times and your competitors are more than likely taking your lunch money!!)

The information you read is loaded with trends, techniques or knowledge your customers would find valuable. All you need to do is take that information, put your spin on it and there’s your blog post. Sight the article source and wrap your take around it. “Just read this article about the new 2011 widgets. Their going to make your life so much easier because…” Or the article may trigger something you want to let your customers or clients know. Don’t hesitate to dip into this limitless well of information.

So now you’re ready to start practicing. Remember Cain was in the Shaolin Temple many years before he could grab the pebble. But feel free to test your skills when you feel ready.

Need help with how to write your content?    Creating a Buzz with Word Of Mouth Advertising is a 64 page ebook loaded with ideas, tips and techniques.

For the first time in the last 50 years, baby boomers are no longer driving the bus when it comes to marketing. We’ve been relegated to the back seat.

Since the 1950′s the baby boomer generation has dictated what happened in advertising, marketing and even products. In the 50′s, Gerber baby food exploded onto the market to feed us all. In the 60′s, there was toys and music; the 70′s brought a boom to the automobile business. In the 80′s it was the housing market. The 90′s saw the personal computer. And in the 21st century it’s been healthcare and health related products, because we all want to stave off getting older.

Over that period of time, Madison Avenue advertisers geared their message to us. But the new marketing strategies are now being driven by the Gen X and Gen. Y groups, especially the Gen Y. You can’t go into any restaurant, mall, movie theater or any other public place without seeing someone with their eyes glued to their phone, with thumbs flying across it, text messaging.

Mobile marketing or text message marketing, is fast becoming the new dot com of the 21st century. The most valuable 4 inches of real estate on the planet are in our hands everyday. No one leaves home without their cell phone and it’s never very far from our reach. Studies show 90% of text messages are read, with 85% of those within five minutes of the time they are received.

The power of text messaging, to be able to deliver a message to customers or clients that have opted in to receive them, has staggering potential. Imagine a restaurant sending a text with their daily lunch special at 1130 in the morning, just about time you’re trying to decide where to go for lunch. Do you think that would have an effect?

Today most businesses try to capture the e-mail address so they can communicate with their customers or clients. But with the volume of spam we all received, e-mails get lost in the clutter. Plus an e-mail might not get read for hours or even days later. But the text message of the special that’s going on right this minute is delivered instantaneously to customers that want receive them. Having a slow day? Text an instant special and see what the results are!

So while baby boomers may not be driving the bus of text messaging, more and more are strapped in and riding along. After all it’s about the only way we can communicate with our kids and grandkids.

Gary Wagnon and his company, 800biz.com, specialize in online marketing solutions designed to help small and medium-size businesses compete in today’s economy. The newest service offered by 800 biz is a mobile text messaging platform centered around the short code 90210.

Using social media to market your business is not an option anymore. More than 40% of small businesses don’t have websites and another 25% opt not to sell their products or services on the Internet.  You still have time to join the minority.

Here are the top 10 reasons for you to post, friend and tweet right now:

10. Everyone is out there. Social media sites are the new communities. It’s where people interact, voice their opinions, get their news and shop.

9. The world is your marketplace.Unless you have to physically hold your client’s hand or can’t carry online inventory, with a PayPal account and an “Order Now” button you can do business everywhere.

8. Give them something to talk about. One of the fastest ways to spread your words is with outrageousness. This creates stories to tell. People will love to read them and share them. If their friends love them and share them, the next thing you know, you’re Susan Boyle.

7. Word of mouth is back. Social media is the perfect venue for spreading the much-coveted (and free) word of mouth advertising. The social sites give you access to an audience that has an audience that has an audience.

6. No one is an expert. A handful of people have reached big audiences with their advice or product. But, because of the web’s sheer complexity, no one has mastered any niche. If you really know your stuff, go for it.

5. It’s cheap. If you want to spend the time and learn to do it yourself, you can set up your social media accounts for nothing. Well, it will probably require a few pots of coffee to get you through the process.

4. It’s an addiction. People are spending hours a day posting and tweeting. In the last century, this obsession was known as television. This time around it’s interactive, so get out there and interact. It won’t cost you $1 million for a 30 second spot.

3. Make a difference. Social media communities are at their best when spreading the meaningful – promoting a charity, sending prayers and good wishes and even just putting out positive vibe. Get those stories started yourself.

2. You can be brief. Especially in the social media communities, the shorter your message the better. Isn’t it a lot easier to write a 140 character tweet than a 500 word sales letter?

and the #1 reason to participate in social media:

1. Promote your business. Yes, you can do that here too. The recommended ratio of business to advice and information posts is about 10 to 1. Don’t be obnoxious, promote a good thing and people will buy.

The major social media sites already report over 500 million members. Do the math. You could probably find a few thousand followers among that population, and probably make at least a few hundred sales.

Are you struggling with what to say?  “Open the Door to a World of Mouth, Get Your Message Heard & Create a Following That Does Your Advertising for You” e-book gives you a blueprint for writing compelling copy for the web and for your social media.  Get your copy now at www.writeon800biz.com

Create a Following that Does Your Advertising for You

Word of Mouth Advertising through Copywriting

Everyone in business knows the magic of word of mouth advertising. As a business owner marketing your company on the Internet, that’s the all-consuming attention you want to attract from a loyal group of followers. It’s also the kind of attention so many readers sparingly give.

Capturing this attention means creating copy that tells your readers what’s in it for them. Connect with them emotionally and they’ll be so interested in your words that they’ll want to take action – buy, know more, subscribe or contact you.

Use language to create curiosity and emotional appeal. People are usually inside their own heads. They’re thinking about the to-do list, the fight with their boss or what to have for dinner. Your goal is to get through the noise and get them to pay attention to you.

The first step to capturing their interest is showing that you care about them. Some of the best ways are to educate, entertain and create agreement with your readers. This builds rapport. Rapport will get your audience talking about you. That will ultimately bring you business.

You market yourself and your business by starting conversations. Sincerely provide your advice and create an audience of advocates. In the age of social media, this is what starts the nirvana of all advertising: word of mouth. Create this from a loyal following, and they’ll be better than any advertising money can buy. When they trust you and tell their friends, your reputation grows. Sales will follow.

The bottom line is this: just get writing If it’s overwhelming, pick one medium (website, articles, blog) and one social media site (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube). Do your research on what to write, read what others are saying, learn the environment and start to build your reputation with your words.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” Why not both?

Get your copy of World of Mouth at http://www.writeon800biz.com.