MerchantCircle and The Writer
As writers, we don't think of ourselves as merchants. But, we are. We are in the business of selling writing.
I have become enamored with MerchantCircle. This is a social networking site that offers easy tool to merchants for creating blogs, newsletters, professional articles, and coupons.
At first glance, I wasn't sure that MerchantCircle had anything to offer writers. Then I realized it depends on writers!
Newsletters and Blogs
The site caters to small businesses. The average butcher shop owner is not adept at writing newsletters. They may not have any idea about blogging and, furthermore, they may not want to know.
Enter, the writer. MerchantCircle is a writer's mecca. MerchantCircle does offer writing services, for a fee. But, the challenge for small businesses is developing a strategy for social networking.
Even if members purchase content from MerchantCircle, they need a plan. They need to know what content to use and when to post it.
Small businesses often don't have time to fret over when to blog, or what to blog about. They're busy with customers. A writer with a plan can be a really valuable partner.
Getting Noticed
The key to MerchantCircle is conversation. This is the most conversational social network I have encountered. Members post questions and you get points for answering the questions. The points don't add up to much, but they are an incentive.
But what has real value is your answers to posted questions. It is absolutely acceptable and expected that you will soft-sell yourself when you answer questions.
I answered two questions and, within 30 hours of setting up my profile on MerchantCircle, I was in negotiations with my first client. I didn't "advertise" to him. He asked a question about social networking. I gave him a reasonable answer based on work I'm doing with a current client, along with a very low-key suggestion that I'd be willing to talk to him more.
He responded by asking for a proposal for handling all of his social networking for two businesses he operates. He needs someone who is adept at leaping from one social networking site to another, and carrying on intelligent conversations in his name.
Summary
You can try out MerchantCircle.com yourself. They do offer premium service but, so far, I have had success with the free services.
If you'd like to learn more about MerchantCircle, talk to me. I would love to teach people how to utilize this site.
I have become enamored with MerchantCircle. This is a social networking site that offers easy tool to merchants for creating blogs, newsletters, professional articles, and coupons.
At first glance, I wasn't sure that MerchantCircle had anything to offer writers. Then I realized it depends on writers!
Newsletters and Blogs
The site caters to small businesses. The average butcher shop owner is not adept at writing newsletters. They may not have any idea about blogging and, furthermore, they may not want to know.
Enter, the writer. MerchantCircle is a writer's mecca. MerchantCircle does offer writing services, for a fee. But, the challenge for small businesses is developing a strategy for social networking.
Even if members purchase content from MerchantCircle, they need a plan. They need to know what content to use and when to post it.
Small businesses often don't have time to fret over when to blog, or what to blog about. They're busy with customers. A writer with a plan can be a really valuable partner.
Getting Noticed
The key to MerchantCircle is conversation. This is the most conversational social network I have encountered. Members post questions and you get points for answering the questions. The points don't add up to much, but they are an incentive.
But what has real value is your answers to posted questions. It is absolutely acceptable and expected that you will soft-sell yourself when you answer questions.
I answered two questions and, within 30 hours of setting up my profile on MerchantCircle, I was in negotiations with my first client. I didn't "advertise" to him. He asked a question about social networking. I gave him a reasonable answer based on work I'm doing with a current client, along with a very low-key suggestion that I'd be willing to talk to him more.
He responded by asking for a proposal for handling all of his social networking for two businesses he operates. He needs someone who is adept at leaping from one social networking site to another, and carrying on intelligent conversations in his name.
Summary
You can try out MerchantCircle.com yourself. They do offer premium service but, so far, I have had success with the free services.
If you'd like to learn more about MerchantCircle, talk to me. I would love to teach people how to utilize this site.
Tags: MerchantCircle, blogging, content, web, writing
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