Month / January 2016

by Copley Sutton

5 quick tips for blogging like a pro – Olivia Colville

blogging-image

Everybody’s doing it—blogging about their passion, their business, their travels. If you’ve created a blog you’ll appreciate how tough it is to stand out from the crowd. There’s a lot of competition out there. Creating trust with your audience starts with creating a blog that looks professional.

Here are some quick and easy ways you can make your blog look like the real deal:

 

  1. Give your readers a search bar that’s easy to find

Ever come out of the mall and forgotten where you parked your car? That’s how your readers feel when they’re looking for a post you wrote a while back.

Don’t let that happen. Put a search bar in your header or sidebar and make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for.

 

  1. Include links in your sidebar and blog posts

This is the perfect way to keep your readers engaged. Adding links in your sidebar to your most popular posts will keep readers on your blog devouring your content.

Another clever trick is to include links to other posts you’ve written in the body of your article. Let’s say a visitor is on your blog reading about the hottest hairstyles for 2016. At some point in your post you could include a link to another post you’ve written about hair colour trends. Ensure that your links are on topic and you’ll see how engagement improves.

 

  1. Add links to your social media accounts

Not all of your readers want to leave a comment on your blog. Some people prefer to interact via social media because it’s easy for them. So give them the option of getting in touch with you using social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

 

  1. Use a professional photo of yourself

Don’t rely on a blurry selfie for your bio or About page—get a professional photographer to take the shot instead. It will make a real difference to the way your readers perceive the quality of your blog and the content you offer.

 

  1. Add a quality image to each blog posts

A compelling image helps capture attention and draw your reader in. Place it near the top of your blog post for maximum effect. Alternatively, you could include a photo in the middle to break up your text.

Images are essential for social sharing. If someone likes your post enough to share it on Facebook, the link will include your image and make it stand out.

 

Even if you’re an amateur blogger, your blog doesn’t have to be. All of these tips take less than 10 minutes to set up. But they’ll leave your blog looking more polished and professional. Try them out and let us know how they work for you.

 

About the Author – Olivia Colville

Since she was a little girl, Olivia has always had her nose in a book. Her curiosity knows no bounds and she spends her time collecting stories. Her greatest wish is to become a sought-after copywriter. Fingers crossed!

by Copley Sutton

How to be better at ANYTHING

The story goes that the fussiest customer EVER was an elderly man who lived in a small town south of Dubai. He was cranky, unfriendly, hard to satisfy, and a bad tipper. Service workers in the area would bend over backwards to make him happy, but nothing worked. Soon, everyone stopped trying. After all, what was the point? Nothing was good enough for this guy. Their efforts were met with nothing but contempt, sneers and disapproving comments.

But a youngster at a fruit & vegetable shop simply wouldn’t give up. The fussy customer was a regular there. Every day he would pick up two apples and a bottle of grape juice. Determined to satisfy this man’s need for perfect customer service, the youngster ran to him every morning.

“Good morning, sir. “ How can I help you today?

The question made the man more disgruntled. “Pffft. If you don’t know that by now, you shouldn’t be working here!” he snapped.

And with that, he grabbed two apples and a bottle of grape juice—but not before shooting the look of death back at the youngster.

Unaffected by the customer’s brash attitude, the youngster made a mental note of the man’s grocery choice and readied himself for the next day.

The following morning saw the fussy customer making his way to the fruit stall. As usual, all the staff ignored the man, knowing that he was too much for them to handle. But to their surprise, the youngster ran towards the customer—two apples in one hand, and a bottle of grape juice in the other.

“Here you go sir.” He said, half out of breath. “Your usual.”

But his smile was received with a sneer and an irritable sigh. “You damn kid! LOOK! This apple is bruised and the grape juice isn’t cold anymore. Useless!”

The youngster hardly had a chance to apologise while the grumpy old man walked off to do it himself.

The days went by and each time the man found something wrong with the youngster’s efforts. Either the goods were faulty. Or the boy did something to annoy him. No matter how hard he tried, the customer never reached satisfaction.

Then one day (I think it was a Wednesday), the young man walked up to his grumpy customer. In one hand he confidently held two apples, and in the other a cold bottle of grape juice.

“Sir,” he said as the old man looked up. “Here’s your usual. Two apples that have been cleaned, shined and checked for bruises. And your bottle of grape juice was just brought in this morning and is still cold.”

The staff at the fruit and vegetable shop snickered at the young man’s attempt. ‘Was this guy a sucker for punishment or WHAT?’ They must have thought. They watched with interest at what the old man would retort next.

But instead of saying a word, the fussy customer looked at the young man with a slight grin. Taking the goods slowly, he walked over to the owner of the shop who was counting stock near the back. No one heard what was said between the two, the fussy customer pointed towards the frozen youngster at the front of the shop. The owner shook his head, the old man raised his voice, and the owner finally nodded in agreement.

The fussy customer left shortly afterwards—two apples and bottle of grape juice in his shopping bag. The owner walked over to the youngster and put his hands on his shoulder. “Young man, you are the only person in this store who was able to give that man EXACTLY what he wanted. Your days as a cleaner are over. How would you feel about managing my staff—starting today?”

And with those words the young man emptied out his dirty bucket of water, put away his mop, and accepted his promotion with a smile.

 

Be better than what you think you can be. It’s NOT about how many times you mess up. It’s about how many times you stand up and try again. Obstacles are nothing more than heavy weights you lift to get stronger. If you want it badly enough, it WILL be yours!

Copley Sutton