Blogging in the cloud: How to create an effective blog for your small business

A guide on why blogging can boost traffic, the range of platforms available and setting up your own text blog

by Kate Russell
Having found your space on the web and begun gathering a crowd, the next natural step is to start engaging them. You can do this by creating
interesting, unique content, stuff that they will want to link to and share with their friends, which will make sure that your name keeps bubbling up in the search rankings.

The stats

On average, companies that run a regular blog experience 55% more web traffic than companies that don’t, with more than half believing that they’ve taken on new customers directly because of the blog.
Surprisingly, then, given those numbers, only 60% of companies actually do run a blog and more than half of those admit to not having updated it for over a year. It’s not essential that you become a prolific blogger, but creating a new page every now and then that is optimised to help your performance in the search rankings can never be a bad thing. If business is a bit slow and you’re just sitting there waiting for the phone to ring anyway, what have you got to lose? You might even uncover a hidden talent and become an Internet sensation! Maybe.

Bloggers now have so many ways to express themselves that it is getting ridiculous, and there are more than 133 million blogs (though, to be fair, the active bloggers I know all have more than one blog running, covering various different projects).

A range of blogging platforms

Twitter is a form of blogging platform, known as micro-blogging, though in reality it has evolved more into a highly effective noticeboard directing people to deeper content on the web. You can choose to blog the traditional way, using pictures and text, or you can make an audio blog, known as a podcast.
You can screencast your desktop at the same time as recording your voice – a great way to create detailed ‘how to’ guides and step-by-step computer instructions if that is your line of work. Or you can go the whole hog and wow your audience with a video podcast, also known as a vlog (a contraction of video-blog). You can even blog with pure pictures if that’s your thing – there are plenty of very popular photo-blogs and cartoon series if you look around. Pretty much anything goes these days in the blogosphere.
It may seem far-fetched right now, but if you have the right idea, and do it in just the right way, at just the right time, you may be surprised at how quickly your link will spread. Remember, the more pages that link back to you, the higher your search engine ranking.

A good old-fashioned text blog

Whatever medium you ultimately choose, there’s a useful tool available, but we’ll start with the basics and look at the good old-fashioned text blog.
There are a lot of great free platforms if you’re not going to be overloading your pages with high-resolution images; if your business is photography I suggest that you consider one of the premium upgrades to cater for your needs. All the platforms offer a nice range of templates that can be set up in minutes, but you can also go pretty deep with the customisation if you want to. Most offer some kind of analysis of your traffic and they almost all have some kind of smartphone app these days, so you can share thoughts the moment they occur to you. There are obviously possible downsides to this if you are in the habit of having ‘brilliant thoughts’ when you are out drinking with your friends!

You can write as much or as little as you want – just try to make it interesting or useful. Always remember who you’re writing for. Post accompanying photos whenever you can – people do like a bit of eye candy – and put plenty of links to other sites throughout the text. Remember, the more pages linking to and from your blog post, the more credible it will look to those search engine bots, pushing your page rank upwards.
You can add web addresses without it being annoying for your readers by using the ‘insert hyperlink’ option you can find in all the popular blog-posting tools. The icon usually looks like a three-ringed chain and lets you put a web address behind some words you’ve highlighted on your page. Readers will expect these links to lead somewhere relevant, and it’s a great way to back up your words with source articles if you want to do some halfway decent journalism while you’re at it.

Popular websites for publishing your blog

www.blogger.com
Blogger is Google’s own platform, so it will integrate nicely with your other Google properties. It’s quick and uncomplicated – you can be up and blogging in just a few minutes after registration.

www.wordpress.com
WordPress is one of the long-standing web favourites for bloggers. Fast and unfussy, it has options for both beginner bloggers and those who want more control and customisation.

www.typepad.com
Typepad is another popular platform where it’s quick to set up and get posting, with deep design customisation and all manner of plug-ins and extras if you want to get more involved.

www.tumblr.com
With its trendy, clean design, Tumblr has become known as the place to blog about anything visual, like art, photography or design. It would be a good place to post something like a step-by-step pictorial guide or photographic journal.
This exclusive extract is taken from technology journalist Kate Russell’s new book Working the Cloud, published by Crimson Publishing. Available to order on Amazon now.
For more, go to: STARTUPS

Apps to boost your business

6 start-up founders share the apps they can’t live without

This article is from : START UPS. I hope you find it as interesting and useful as I did.

The New Year isn’t just a time for personal resolutions – it’ a time to get your business in shape for the coming year. For many start-ups, mobile applications are a vital way to manage the day-to-day running of their business.

We asked a group of bright young entrepreneurs to share the apps they couldn’t live without in 2013.

James Boon, founder, ElephantBranded
BASECAMP: Project management application based in the cloud. It allows you to control a whole project from one page, creating to-do lists, storing files and holding discussions with colleagues.
Platform: iOS, Android and Windows
James’ Verdict: “Basecamp is our virtual office, it allows us to run ElephantBranded from our phones anywhere in the world. Without it, our way of doing business would not be possible!”

Nick Simm, founder, BoldGorilla
AWESOME NOTE HD: Allows you to integrate your notes, calendars and to-do lists into one easy to use app.
Platform: iOS and Android
Nick's Verdict: “The perfect app for keeping track of plans, thoughts and ideas. Whether that's during a conference, on the train or back in the office, this is the perfect organiser. It synchronises with EverNote and iCal to be the one stop shop for everything a business owner or entrepreneur could need to keep track and plan ahead.”

Rob Welch, founder, smallcarBIGCITY
GENIUS SCAN: Allows you to scan documents on the go, format and then e-mail them in Jpeg or PDF format. You can group and easily locate files and save documents in the cloud using Dropbox, EverNote and Google Drive.
Platform: All
Rob’s Verdict: “My printer/scanner does not fit in my wallet, but my genius scan does.”

Matt Lovett, founder, WOW Media
DESK.COM: A customer support service allowing you to simultaneously track your e-mails, social media and texts to ensure you can keep organised when managing customer queries.
Platform: iOS, Blackberry and Android
Matt's Verdict: “We use these to manage customer support for almost all our websites, the iPhone app lets us manage our support tickets on the move to try and keep response times lower.”

QUICKBOOKS ONLINE MOBILE: Allows you to access and update your QuickBooks Online account through your mobile. New updates now include stock control and mobile banking which ensure that your finances can be constantly kept up to date.
Platform: iOS
Matt's Verdict: “Being on top of my accounts is very important and having instant access to the them on the go takes the stress out of keeping them updated.”

REEDER: Allows you to sync with Fever, Google Reader and Readability to keep up-to-date with the latest and most relevant news to you. Also allows you to track and combine relevant news stories so you can easily see the popular topic on your streams and keep on top of the news.
Platform: iOS
Matt’s Verdict: “Not so much to do specifically with the work we do, but I use Google Reader to keep up to date with all the news relevant to what we do. The Reeder app lets me keep up with my Google Reader on my phone.”

Naomi Kibble, co-founder, Rocktails.com
LIVE MINUTES: Free web conferencing solution which allows you to simultaneously chat, edit, share and create documents, brainstorm ideas and make notes. It can also connect with DropBox to store documents created in the meeting.
Platform: iOS
Naomi's verdict: “Live Minutes is great for conference calling, collating notes in a meeting and recording comments. Everyone can collaborate and add their input. The best thing is that it instantly compiles into a report which everyone can then keep as a record.”

EVERNOTE: Ensures you remember everything by allowing you to capture and save everything, from ideas, notes, photos, and business cards, all in one place.
Platform: All
Naomi's Verdict: “EverNote is great for compiling notes, sharing with the team and collaborating notebooks.”

Ruth Amos, founder, Stair Steady
TWEETDECK: Allows you to keep up to date with all your social media accounts simultaneously. The deck allows you to update several social media websites and also view multiple accounts on each website at the same time.
Platform: All
Ruth’s Verdict: “I’m a massive fan of the Tweetdeck app - I have a few twitter accounts so being able to switch from one to the other, personal to business, is great.”

DROPBOX: Allows you to share large documents and photos with friends, colleagues and clients in the cloud. You can create online communities to share numerous relevant and clearly grouped documents. Through the app you can view documents traditionally too large to be viewed on phones and tablets.
Platform: All
Ruth’s verdict: “Drop Box is amazing and really great at sharing big documents and it works nicely on iPad and iPhone.”

Setting up a business in the UK

1: Overview of setting up a business in the UK

2: Setting up a business from the legal point of view

3: Setting up the tax structure for a limited company

*

Hope you find these very helpful

Start-up Loans scheme for young entrepreneurs explained

A guide to the government-backed scheme designed to provide loans and mentoring to young people starting a business

by Abigail Van-West
Aticle is from:  http://www.startups.co.uk/start-up-loans-scheme-explained.html?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Feature%202&utm_campaign=SU%20Newsletter%2010%2F01%2F2013%20%28SBL%29&utm_term=1053

 

Student and youth enterprise has come to the fore in recent years. Young entrepreneurs are spilling out of schools and universities in greater numbers than ever as an antidote to rising levels of unemployment, a lack of well-paid graduate jobs, and the prominence of entrepreneurship as a career option.

Desperate to encourage entrepreneurial activity and for the private sector to solve the ills of the UK economy, the government has backed a number of initiatives, including the Start-up Loans scheme, in the hope of seeing more people start a business.

What is the Start-up Loans scheme?

Administered by the Start-up Loans Company, which is chaired by former star of BBC Dragons’ Den James Caan, the Start-up Loans scheme is a government-backed initiative aimed at providing business loans and mentoring support to create and nurture more young entrepreneurs.

Announced in May 2012 and launched in pilot in September 2012, the scheme offers average loans of £2,500 to young people who wish to start a business, once their idea is approved by one of the scheme’s many delivery partners – these are companies that have partnered with the scheme; they are responsible for distributing the loan and providing mentoring support.

The amount pledged to the scheme over the course of three years was originally set at £82.5m, but this was given a £30m boost in January 2013 with prime minister David Cameron pledging his support and pointing to meetings with recipients, some of whom have become employers months after successfully securing loans.

The £112.5m total is set to be spread across three financial years thus:

• Year 1, 2012-13: £10m (pilot scheme)

• Year 2, 2013-14: £42.5m

• Year 3, 2014-15: £60m

These loans are available in England only. The funds will be distributed across the following regions:

• East Midlands 5%
• East of England 3%
• Greater London 34%
• North East England 3%
• North West 9%
• South East 19%
• South West 7%
• West Midlands 14%
• Yorkshire and Humber 6%

Who has the scheme helped so far?

By the turn of the year 2013, more than 3,000 people had registered interest for a Start-Up Loan and over 460 new businesses had been approved for loans totalling over £1.5m. Commentators argued the initial take-up had been disappointingly slow and the reason behind the expansion of the upper age limit to 30.

Case Studies

• Wireside Productions: Film production graduates Michael Evans and Jason Brown were granted a Start-up Loan to fund the launch of their film and photography company. They are using the money to develop a user-friendly stylish website and to fund marketing plans.

• Miporto: Founded by 18-year-old Josh Valman, Miporto enables individuals without formal design skills to develop products with the help of a product manager. With the money and mentoring support from the Start-up Loans scheme, Valman has developed his business website and is set for launch in January 2013.

• Monroes Hair: Lisa Brady received a Start-up Loan to fund the launch of her hair dressing business focused on customers with hair loss problems. With the money and mentoring support, Brady has been able to expand the reach of her company and is in talks with private hospital Little Princess Trust, a charity for children undergoing chemotherapy.

How much can be borrowed?

The actual amount loaned is determined by the applicant and the delivery partner, according to how much is deemed necessary. Each loan will amount to an average of £2,500, but there is no official limit.

What are the repayment terms?

Loans must be repaid within five years at an interest rate set at the fixed rate of interest (known as the Retail Price Index and currently set at 6%) plus 3%.

The delivery partners then repay loans and interest back to a central fund, which can be used to fund further loans.

Who can apply for a Start-up Loan?

The loans were originally aimed at budding entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 24, however the upper age limit was increased to 30 in January 2013.

Consequently, to apply for a loan individuals must be at least 18 on the date of application and no older than 30.

In addition, applicants must also be living in England and are required to have an idea for a new business.

As a general rule, start-ups must be in their initial phase, without existing debt and developed infrastructure, but this is flexible and the Start-up Loans company takes a positive view to issuing loans to existing start-ups.

A business loan is not necessarily required to apply for the loan, as it is a personal loan. This means that if multiple founders apply for a loan, they could each receive a loan to invest in the same business. However, if the specific delivery partner deems it necessary for the applicant to have a business loan, they will support applicants to set one up.

How to apply for Start-up Loans

To begin, applicants simply fill in their contact details in the online application and identify the sector in which their business will be focused. This can be located on the Start-Up Loans site or through the Facebook page.

Who decides whether an applicant is suitable?

Once the application has been sent, the Start-up Loans Company then identifies a delivery partner for the applicant.

The chosen delivery partner then helps each applicant to identify what stage the business is at and then supports the applicant to develop a business plan, which will be pitched to a panel.

Those who pitch successfully will be provided with a loan, distributed by the delivery partner.

Delivery Partners:

The number of delivery partners continues to grow and the Start-up Loans Company is expecting to reach 40 by the end of its first financial year.

• The Prince’s Trust
• Business Finance Solutions, Manchester
• South West Investment Group (SWIG)
• Young Britain
• Let’s Do Business
• North London Community Finance (NLCF)
• PNE/Virgin
• Rockstar Youth
• Foundation East
• Enterprise Loans East Midlands
• Hull Business Development Fund
• GLE/One London/NACUE
• Sheffield City Council
• Norfolk and Waveney Enterprise Services
• Wessex Enterprise
• Community Finance Development Association
• School for Start Ups

What support is available?

As well as pitch training, delivery partners provide applicants with business support and mentoring to help them get their business started.

Applicants will also be eligible for benefits packages supplied by the Start-up Loans Company’s global partners, which include workspace provider Regus, accounting software provider Intuit and secure payments service Paypal.

Regus package:

• Six months of free access to Regus’ virtual office package and access to a range of Regus’ worldwide business lounges.
• Free copy of business guide, titled Start-Up Loans Kit.
• £500 worth of offers on products including business cards, netbooks and work suits.

Intuit package:

• Two years of free access to cloud-based accounting software, QuickBooks Online Simple Start.

PayPal package:

• Discounted rate with PayPal business account of 1.4%+20p per transaction (down from 3.4%) for six months.

What other loans are available for young entrepreneurs?

• The Prince’s Trust:The Enterprise Programme launched in 2009-10 offers entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 30 the opportunity to apply for three-year loans of up to £4,000, in addition to mentoring support.
• UnLtd: The social entrepreneur network offers grants of up to £5,000 to individuals aged 16 and over to fund their social enterprises.
• Business Accelerators: Accelerator programmes, including Springboard, Seedcamp and Oxygen provide start-ups with intensive training and support, followed by the opportunity to receive investment. Similarly a number of universities, including the University of Reading provide programmes that offer coaching and mentoring to budding young entrepreneurs.

Do you have the traits to go it ALONE as an Entrepreneur?

I was checking out Start-Up when I saw this article...wanted to share it any one who is thinking of starting their own business.

This article is from:
http://www.startups.co.uk/the-personality-you-need.html?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=feature%201&utm_campaign=SU%20Newsletter%2010%2F01%2F2013%20%28SBL%29&utm_term=1053

The entrepreneurial personality – do you have what it takes? We look at the traits needed to go it alone

The differing attitudes of entrepreneurs aren’t recorded – but perhaps they should be. Regardless of your age, background, gender or ethnicity, your success as an entrepreneur is most likely to be down to your attitude to business.

If you’re determined, prepared to make personal sacrifices, have the ability to plan ahead and take on board advice while remaining focused on your goal and also, of course, have a decent business idea, you will have every chance of success wherever you’re from and whatever age you are.

To help you determine whether you have what it takes, in the sections below we describe the core skills you need to possess, or develop, to make your business a success.

Confidence

It probably won’t come as any surprise to see this at the top of the list. To succeed as an entrepreneur you do need to be a confident person. In fact, even to think you have a chance of making a new business work in the first place, you need to be a confident person! And the harsh truth is that it is hard enough to start a business from scratch that it does take an unusually confident person to get there. David Lester, founder of a number of successful businesses, including Startups.co.uk, says “Entrepreneurs need to be both very self-confident and naive; self-confident enough to believe that their idea really is better than what is already on offer, and naive enough not to know about the problems they will encounter along the way.”

Commitment

Can you work incredibly hard, all day, every day? It isn’t about putting in a couple of late nights, or making an extra effort for a one-off project. In launching your first business, you could find yourself on the wrong end of a potentially gruelling timetable that could go on for weeks and weeks, if not months. Or, in the case of Dylan Wilk, a whole year. When Dylan was setting up Gameplay.com during the 1990s, he claims he was permanently “doing 24/7 . . . I was working every single second of every single minute. Sure I had to give up a few things, like sleeping and eating, but I was willing to do that.”

Are you prepared to make the same commitment?

Motivation

Linked to your level of commitment is your ability to be motivated and, crucially, self-motivated. Being self-motivated is not the same as being pushed by someone else to do something. This motivation has to come from within. It has to come from your energy, your discipline, your focus. This is difficult enough when things are going well, but what about when things are going badly?

“It’s really tough,” admits Dylan, who recalls just a few things that went wrong in the early days. “We were burgled around eight times; we had tens of thousands of pounds in stock stolen; we had someone register our name and then try to slap a writ on us – that was pretty hairy; we had moments where it looked like the business was going to go under. And, at times, I didn’t really know what to do.” So even the most determined of entrepreneurs have moments when they are not sure which direction to take. Even if they do know, some have simply had enough and can no longer be bothered to take it. Dylan adds: “You have to really believe in yourself and decide that, no matter what, you will not be beaten.”

Emotional resilience

Belief in yourself is not enough, however. You must also have a capacity to work for yourself, often by yourself. At first this might sound like bliss, with no more workplace politics and gossip. But what about the banter, the social life and, more seriously, the brainstorming of solutions and the bouncing around of ideas? If you are like most solo entrepreneurs, you will miss this. “The simple fact is that it can be very lonely,” says Andrew Ferguson, founder of the Breakthrough Network, which counsels people on new ways to work. “You can feel, professionally at least, very isolated at times.”

Gwen Rhys, founder and director of networking organisation Networking Culture, agrees. “But there is a solution,” she says. “You need to build up a virtual team. You need to develop a circle of colleagues that you communicate with in much the same way you did in the office, except now it may be over the phone, via email, or face-to-face, but once a month rather than every day. You also need to make sure that you do get out there and mix with people. It is worth joining a professional group you connect with, even if it is only to learn that there are others who have been through what you are going through and identify with how you are feeling. This in itself can be a great source of support.”

Optimism and opportunism

All this talk about what can go wrong may sound daunting, and the last thing you will probably expect to be feeling is optimistic. However, Dylan says that this is exactly what you have to be. “There is no point doing something if you think it will not work,” he says. “But sometimes you just have to think of ways of making it work better.”

Andrew is equally encouraging. “It’s an opportunity to do something you’ve always wanted to do but never quite found anyone to pay you to do it. It’s your big chance to do something that makes you happy.”

Of course, people with all these attributes still aren’t guaranteed success. But, if you think these traits are applicable to you and this article has made you even more determined to launch your own company, it sounds as though you have decided to join the ranks of entrepreneurialism, and there’s no better time to start planning your next move than the present.