HeatherStone commented on the following stories on BizSugar
10 Lessons I Learned About Blogging in the Past Year
"Hi Denise, Certainly a blog can be a business in and of itself. But it can also be a component of a business, say, a way to promote your brick and mortar or eCommerce business or even personal brand. What's been your experience with that side of blog use? Do you think blogging is underutilized in this respect?"Some People Make Downright Nasty Comments
"Hi Geri, Thanks for the post. Thanks to Donald for sharing it here on BizSugar. And thank you for being a contributor to our community. Negative comments are, alas par for the course (and not just in the online world.) Some have argued that the potential anonymity of the Internet leads to this. But, in fact, it is generally the risk we run by putting ourselves "out there." But whenever we think about packing it in, we should consider the costs of turning tail and running. Whenever we try to make improvements or reach outside our comfort zone, we risk failure...and rejection. This might seem scary until we realize that there really is no other way to grow. "Some People Make Downright Nasty Comments
"Hi Martin, I'm glad you never turned your back on blogging. Quitting never really accomplishes anything anyway...except, of course, to hinder your progress and growth. We should never let others define such things for us. So giving into this kind of pressure is always a mistake. Fortunately, as you point out, it can also be a learning experience. :) "100+ Bite-Sized Tips To Get You More Social Shares And More Traffic
"Hi Adam, The tips on getting more shares are great and the theories about why you should want shares are sound. This said, will social sharing always lead to higher traffic? Or is it possible to have little in the way of social sharing and still have a large, growing and engaged audience? And vice versa, can you have your posts shared a lot and yet fall short in the traffic department? "Why Your Startup Idea is Better Than Google
"Hi Jamie, To play devil's advocate here, while neither your mom nor your best friend may know anything about the business you're proposing or the market you're entering, there are some who do. I think there are probably advisers who are qualified to help you ask and perhaps answer (to the extent it is possible) the hard questions about financial viability or the needed resources before you get started. It doesn't hurt to have someone to bounce your ideas off of. And, while no one can really tell you whether a business model will work without at least some market testing, the right person will help you make sure you aren't fooling yourself about some of the known quantities. They might even be able to save you from some easily avoidable and costly mistakes early on. "Managing the anxieties that come with owning a small business
"Hi Stan, And thanks for these simple but important tips. Clearly the key to avoiding anxiety while managing your business is to stay organized and stay on top of things as much as possible. I wondered if you had one key point you could share with the community about what single thing tends to cause the most anxiety for business owners. "How Barcoding Has Changed the World
"Wow, Michael. Maybe the most interesting takeaway here is the way barcodes can actually make the fashion industry more sustainable. But going beyond fashion, it seems to me that the principle could be used to share more information with customers on a pretty wide variety of products and services. Is this also a whole new avenue of marketing?"5 Dos and Don’ts When Creating a Landing Page for PPC
"Hi Jomer, Interesting post and I think an important part of the equation here is tracking and testing. Would you agree? The key thing here is that, for so many online businesses (and for so many businesses in general, for that matter) your audience and customer base may really differ from your competitors. So while there are general principles you can and probably should adhere to, it will take some tweaking to figure out what really works best for your visitors."Subscribe
Why your small business has an advantage over large competitors
"Hi Cendrine, Even big brands have often gotten there slowly one customer (or at least one large clump of customers) at a time. Only when we see big brands implode does it become apparent how fragile their relationship with their customer base (or, more likely, many different customer bases) truly were. So, not only would you have no idea what to do with such a huge fan base, if you had it, you literally wouldn't know how to maintain it. You don't share that brand's institutional experience or history. And they don't share your personal experience with your smaller, but often just as loyal, following. Don't wish for something you haven't built. You might find the cost of maintenance far outweighs the rewards. "