photo credit: dro!d

Are you utilizing social networks for your small business? Are you ready to bridge your small business with the millions who use Myspace, Facebook, or Linkedin? Let’s say you run a profitable photography business from home and are looking for new brand exposure and free marketing. You’ve already utilized local print media, craigslist and word of mouth for advertising, so what else can you do? Have you considered utilizing a social network and reaching out to new prospective customers? If you have a brand and existing business, this could be a fantastic boost for sales. I want to start a series here on The Passive Dad and focus each week on one social network to find out how it could boost your business and your brand. If you already utilize a social network with your small business, I want to hear from you. Has it brought more traffic to your website or more emails from prospective clients?

This week I want to ask the question: “Do you mix business with pleasure?” Do you bridge your personal life with your business life? One example using the professional photographer, should the photographer offer personal information through the social network? If your business is Scott’s Photography, then people will also know you as Scott the husband, cousin, grandson, neighbor and business owner. If you sell photo equipment online, do you want customers to know about your non-business friends? Is it professional to have family pictures for your branded business website? I really think this could give mixed messages for clients and you would want to really think about the impact it could give. But, if your brand is you or your name, then that would be different. For example, if you are selling and marketing a nutrition program, you might want to consider having friends and family give testimonies of your product. Have you lost over 100 pounds and want to show the world your progress? That could be a perfect opportunity for increased sales and marketing through the social network.

Next week we will look at Flickr and the ability it has to transform your website, blog, or personal business. Could social networks offer another passive income to your site?Do you already use social networks for your small business, I want to hear from you. How has it changed your business?

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I was getting frustrated trying to edit my 125×125 picture that I wanted to display for Entrecard and finally found a solution today called Picnik. Entrecard has a widget where you display your blog or website logo and advertise with it. I was using a generic card and felt that it was boring and wouldn’t stand out on a website. I’m still working on a final design, but found a really easy and fun application called Picnik. They have a free trial and you can import your picture and edit the font, style, and even add shapes. I was really getting frustrated and didn’t want to pay someone to create an Entrecard for my blog. Some users are charging between 300-500 EC’s or Entrecard credits, to create one. I also looked at Adobe Photoshop but the price tag on that software is north of $500. I wanted something user friendly and not spend a few days reading the user manual. I was able to get a card created in less than 10 minutes. When I get my new layout designed for the website, I will probably use Picnik to customize some pictures or buttons. You can utilize the site to customize your myspace, facebook, bebo, Yuwie, or any social network picture. When I was selling on ebay, I could have used this editor for my “about me” page or ebay listings. Anything to help make your site standout and be noticed. If you know of any other picture or banner software that you enjoy using for your blog or website, let me know.

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I thought I would write a post that keeps me motivated and tracks my progress towards increasing traffic to my blog. I have really enjoyed sharing links and meeting some wonderful bloggers who have similar interests in personal finance and passive income. We all share the same goal of increased traffic and I thought it would be a good assignment to track my blog traffic. I track my passive income, so I should track traffic as well. I will be updating this list as I find out what is and isn’t working to increase traffic to my blog. I believe this will be a good analysis as my time should be spent efficiently while blogging, just as I would any other task at hand. If you have any suggestions for generating traffic, I would love your feedback and I would be interested in testing your methods. If it’s successful or not, I will include it in my list.

6 ways I have increased my blog traffic:

1. Google search blogs in your field of interest. My blog is about passive income and personal finance. Several blogs I reviewed were interesting and I left several comments. Most, not all, visited my blog and left a comment back. I really believe that the smaller blogs are interested in feedback and comments and will reciprocate. Some of the larger blogs that receive dozens or hundreds of comments, probably don’t have the time or need to visit my blog. When leaving comments on blogs, be sure to leave a detailed comment and write a little more than “Nice blog”. A good comment will show your intentions and interest in their blog.

2. Post daily. Short and sweet, but true. I have to remind myself at about 11pm some nights, that I forgot to post. Some days I have so many ideas floating in my head, I’ll write several posts. I just make sure I set the post to another day and I can take a breather. I like to visit several personal finance blogs and notice right away when the blog looks like a ghost town. If the last post was in 2007, I leave immediately. Even if the blog looks professional, I feel the blogger has moved on and lost interest.

3. Tell friends and family about your blog. Seems easy, but it works. My family loves to read my blog and give suggestions. Some days I don’t feel like talking, but the blog is always available to read 24/7. Since I’m a guy, this works great for my wife. She’ll also be able to read my mind now. The blog is a great way to get free traffic from family and friends. Your mom tells her sister, who tells your cousin, and bam. Now 20 people are reading your blog. Just think if your mom goes to the hair salon and to the dentist. More traffic!

4. Utilize social networks. I know you might think that your friends or online friends may not be interested in your blog about cupcakes or professional hopscotch. But you might be surprised. I have utilized facebook and Yuwie and both provide good traffic. I have also started my own social network for another niche passion of mine. That’s for another day and another post. If you are worried that creating another blog on a social network will be time consuming. Don’t! I just copy and paste my entries or provide a link to my blog in my profile. On facebook I have friends who are attorneys or own businesses. They provide links to their websites. They do it, so should you.

5. Utilize free traffic sites like Link Referral. Since I started my membership, my traffic has increased about 25%. You can also receive some great feedback on your blog or website from their review process. I have also been able to find fellow bloggers with similar interests in passive income and shared links. If you would like to share a link with me, subscribe to my RSS feed and leave me a comment that you have linked to my blog. I will link to yours. More traffic!

6. Have a free contest. I have one Spring Cleaning Contest #1. It’s a fun way to clean my closet and build traffic. You could have a contest for anything. Try it around the holiday’s or your birthday when you get that present without a gift receipt. I hope my aunt doesn’t read this. One Christmas she gave me a $2 dollar bill made into an origami sport coat. Very unique, and someone would want it. That might be my next contest. If you need ideas, send me a comment and I’ll visit your blog or website and help you think of a contest.

Let me know if you have other ideas for building traffic and we can prosper together.

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Earnings for March on Yuwie were up 90% to $10.84 This may not seem like a large amount of money, well it’s not, but the momentum is gaining along with referrals. I’m adding about 200+ referrals a month to my total tree. In case you are not familiar with Yuwie, it’s a free social network similar to Myspace or Facebook and does not charge a membership fee. I have enjoyed meeting new friends from around the world and sharing stories about work, family, school, ebay, investments, and hobbies. My referral tree grew to the final 10th level and I have one person on level 10. To find out more, you can view some great video clips here at Yuwie. Yuwie shares a portion of the revenue from advertisers up to 10 levels. The RSR, or Revenue Sharing Rate for March was 40 cents. The RSR will increase as the number of Yuwie members increases. As more join, the advertisers will want to bid higher for ad placement on Yuwie. Currently, Myspace and Facebook does not share this revenue with it’s members….but Yuwie does. I don’t expect 90% returns every month, but do expect the number of referrals to grow. Yuwie is a great example of passive income. I earn income 24/7 and don’t have to be logged on to make money. The RSR can fluctuate and the earning potential can always decrease, but for now the earnings appear to be gaining momentum.

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My second month on Yuwie was spent joining clubs and accepting and making new friend requests. Yuwie has clubs for all interests and has over 2,000 new members joining each day. Yuwie is a free social network similar to Myspace or Facebook and does not charge a membership fee. This is a social networking site first and foremost and should always be understood that it is not a business marketing or spam free for all. I have enjoyed meeting new friends from around the world and sharing stories about work, family, school, ebay, investments, and hobbies. My referral tree also grew in February and I had about 300 total referrals through 8 levels. Yuwie shares a portion of the revenue from advertisers up to 10 levels. The RSR, or Revenue Sharing Rate for February was 38 cents. The RSR will increase as the number of Yuwie members increases. As more join, the advertisers will want to bid higher for ad placement on Yuwie. Currently, Myspace and Facebook does not share this revenue with it’s members….but Yuwie does. Pretty cool! My earnings for February were $5.68. Not a lot of $$$…. but could this just be the beginning of another passive income source?

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