Actionable tips to build your home-based business
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Want to go pro with your blog? You need a blog media kit! 
A blog media kit is an absolute must when working with brands. It includes the basic info and stats about your blog, as well as the types of partnerships you’re willing to do and your fees.
I initially created my lifestyle blog media kit in PicMonkey. I am so *not* a designer, but even I can master PicMonkey—so I KNOW that you can,
While I’ve been waiting (and waiting) for my book designers to send me the proofs for The Business of Writing & Editing, I’ve been writing a new book on social media tips for lifestyle bloggers (silver linings!).
In my research, I’ve reviewed many different social media accounts… and I’ve come across some major (and common) mistakes that many bloggers make with their Facebook pages. If you’ve got a Facebook page for your blog, don’t make these mistakes! You could definitely be losing out on followers because of them.
Click here to get your blog editorial calendar template now >>>
Last month, I got a nice long break from doing some client work. And that meant I could focus more of my attention on my projects and this blog! 
I had a lot of fun creating my 2016 business plan and goals, and also putting together my blog content calendar.
If you have a blog and are serious about taking it to the professional level, a blog content calendar is a must.
Last week I was at a potluck where some of the people I was enjoying dinner with, upon learning that one of the things I do as a freelance writer / editor is to manage social media for clients, began asking me how I go about marketing a business on Twitter.
People should know better than to ask me these kinds of questions and expect it to be left at that 😉 Naturally, I needed to write a blog post addressing this question! 
In the last couple weeks, I’ve had a couple people tell me that they don’t *get* Instagram, and they don’t understand how to use hashtags on it. Clearly it’s time for a Q & A blog post about it!
Q: How should I use Instagram as a brand?
A: If you’re using Instagram for your personal use, it’s just all about taking and posting photos of anything you want. If you’re using Instagram for brand purposes, however, you’ll want to strategize with your Instagram account.
My Instagram account is, at this point,
Are you a social media manager? Or are you just trying to navigate the world of social media to promote your own small business or blog?
While there’s a lot of great information on the Internet detailing basic tips for how to manage social media, these two tips are meant to assist you with fine-tuning your social media management. When you keep these two ideas in mind, you’ll find that it is much more manageable to manage social media! Social media can feel exhausting sometimes—but it doesn’t have to be.
I love blogging. I’ve loved blogging right from when I first started blogging, nearly eight years ago. But I didn’t think it was something I could do for a living until I started the Elite Blog Academy last December.
Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it takes to be a professional blogger—besides a love for it, of course.
If you want to become a professional blogger,
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In case you haven’t heard, Periscope is the hot new social media platform. It’s like a combination of Instagram, SnapChat, and YouTube, all rolled into one (from what I understand of it).
While I’ve been on Facebook and Twitter for years, and jumped on Instagram a couple years ago, I don’t think I’ll be joining Periscope—at least not any time soon.
Periscope has its uses, and many people are finding it an amazing way to connect with *big* names, and to get themselves seen and heard by their idols. It also lends itself to the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered instantly by experts,
Last week we discussed the #1 mistake people make on Twitter. Today we’re going to look at mistakes #2 and #3!
The second thing that people do wrong on Twitter is this:
Linking up your Facebook to post directly to Twitter.
Don’t do it! It’s going to take you a couple extra minutes each day to post the same things on Facebook to Twitter, so why not do it manually? When you have your Twitter linked to Facebook, all it tells the world is that you are never actually on Twitter,
I love Twitter. It’s the kind of platform that speaks to me. I like that I can share a quick thought or funny moment, direct people to an 
interesting article, and participate in conversations with all kinds of people from around the world—and, of course, I love making up silly / clever hashtags.
Growing Twitter is something that’s happened fairly organically to me because we just fit together so well. That’s why it’s always interesting to hear others give social media advice when it comes to being strategic on Twitter—because often,