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Don't Miss The Destiny Divas Retreat ...

Posted by LaShanda Henry on July 23, 2010 at 9:00pm

A must read message from BBWO Member: Christine Pembleton

Hey Fellow BBWO Members!

I’m Christine Pembleton, a black business woman just like you, and I have an amazing business event to share with you. Are you ready for this?!?! This is SO not your normal business conference.

Even as I type you this quick message, I am smiling on the inside….I am so excited to share this exciting news with you! If you are anything like me, you’ve become uninspired about finding new ways to get business done surrounded by like minded people…

I believe that if you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done….which leads me to my surprise.

What if I told you there is a way for you to connect, brainstorm and strategize to grow your business with a group of like minded high achieving women? I know right, sounds awesome…let me share a little more….

Are you listening?!

I’ve partnered with 5 Incredible women who are all ready to change the face of the way women do business by combining their passion with their pursuit for collaboration….. You see, each of us has a desire to get business done with movers and shakers, women on a mission who play Big and get big results in their businesses. Women who’ve learned that when you come together and combine your ideas with theirs, everyone walks away with more…. so we thought, what if we could create an environment where women come to mastermind and strategize and collaborate to get business done and…

We got so inspired that we wanted to invite you to join us!

Destiny Divas Retreat is the nesting place of creativity, luxury, ambition, tranquility, collaboration and strategic planning! Where else can you relax, renew, rejuvenate and reengage to accomplish your goals?

If you are excited, go check it out now: http://www.destinydivasretreat.com

And get this….we’re preparing monthly mastermind calls to keep you motivated until we get together next year! And all you have to do to get in on the calls is register on the website home page….

But here’s the thing, space is limited for the retreat… and if you engage now, you will get to take advantage of an awesome payment plan….

You absolutely deserve to mastermind with powerful women who ARE making it happen, not just talking about it. Invest in yourself, invest in your business, when you invest in you, the ROI is always Incredible!

If you are ready to Play Big and Do business in a new way, there’s a space waiting for you at http://www.destinydivasretreat.com

It’s hot, right? That's why we've joined hands to offer you this incredible retreat. Step up and secure your space now before it's too late!

See you on the first call,

Christine Pembleton
Proud Black Business Women Online Member
Hostess of the Destiny Divas Mastermind Retreat

Starting a Blog .. Do you have questions or Answers?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on July 2, 2010 at 4:30pm

Cherice Strong-Madison posted the following question on BBWO:

I need help...I am trying to understand how to start a blog and get paid for it. Do I start this on my website or just in general...This is new to me, so I am trying to get a full understanding.

Do you also have questions about blogging? Do you have tips you can share with Cherise?

Click here to respond to her post.

Read Below for my explanation on what blogging is and how Bloggers make money:

To Cherise:

A blog is an only journal that you start to write about a topic of your choice. I have a ton of them like: www.sistasense.com or my Black Parenting Blog - http://blackparenting.blogspot.com. And you also have the ability to have your own Blog Right Here on BBWO.

Alright so now that you know what I blog is, how do bloggers make money? Well, let me back track a bit. A blog is created so you can share your information or entertaining interests with others SO the main reason people blog is so other people will subscribe to their blog and read it all the time. It's kind of like having your own newspaper or magazine except a digital version.

Where does the money come in?
Well if you look at popular blogs like ConcreteLoop.com or Afrobella.com for example, the money comes in different ways. The most common being:

1. When you put adsense on your site and people click the ads ... you make money.
2. If you change people to advertise on your website ... you make money.
3. If people ask to pay you to put their reviews on your website or talk about their products ... you make money.
4. If you sell your own stuff on your blog .... you make money.
5. If you join an affiliate program where you make commissions to share other people's stuff ... and people click on your affiliate links and actually buy stuff... then you make money.

That is the long and short of it.

I get this question alot so I put together a collection of videos and eBooks on how to start a blog, set it up, and make money blogging. It's an ecourse I have called Blogging for Beginners. I get the feeling you are interested in learning more about blogging, so I put together a promo code for these videos so you can watch them all today for $29. This code is: B4CHER

Website: http://ecourses.webtechgurl.com/blogging-for-beginners/

The whole eCourse is actually $149, but sometimes I like to do these promos so that everybody can get a chance to figure this stuff out. I made sure to open this discount up to you + 10 other people who might read this post and want to check out Blogging For Beginners too.

Good luck! -lh

How to Remove Spyware + Spam + AV Security Suite from Your Computer

Posted by LaShanda Henry on July 1, 2010 at 9:00pm

Last week while surfing the internet for some information I got hit with some serious scareware. Let me explain, all of a sudden these crazy alerts began to pop up on my computer telling me all my files were infected and I needed to activate the anti-virus program NOW! As many times as I tried to close the little alert boxes they just kept popping up. They look suspicious to me, especially since I had NOT downloaded anything to my computer so instead of clicking any links I did a search for the virus program that kept popping up. It was called 'AV Security Suite'. One quick Google search and I found this website called BleepingComputer.com which explained the following:

AV Security Suite is a scareware and ransomware program from the same family as Antivirus Soft and AntiSpyware Soft. The developers of this program are distributing AV Security Suite through the use of hacked sites, spam, and Trojans that install it onto your computer without your permission. Once installed AV Security Suite will be configured to start automatically when your computer starts. Once started it will scan your computer and state that there are numerous infections, but will not let you remove any of them until you purchase the program. All of these scan results are fake and are only being shown to trick you into purchasing the program, which you should obviously not do.

Well, boy was I lucky I didn't click anything BUT I had to get this crap off my laptop. Luckily for me the website has a tutorial on 'How to remove AV Security Suite'. I have windows vista and I could not remove this bad program without restarting my computer and putting it into 'Safety Mode with Networking', so the computer runs on minimal software but still allows me to get online. When the computer was booting up I had to keep hitting the F8 key to turn on Safety Mode. While in SafeMode I went back online and downloaded 'Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware', which is a free spyware removal program. I installed it, ran a FULL Scan of all my hardrives and it found all the BAD FILES and got rid of them for me! At that point I wanted to make sure this didn't happen again so I went back online to AVG Anti-virus Software Program (one of the best around), downloaded the full version with Internet Protection so in addition to scanning my files, and blocking spam, AVG makes sure naughty websites can't just hack into my computer and install scareware again. This probably has not happened to you, but it is worth downloading Malwarebytes and AVG as a precaution so you can avoid all the virus, spyware, and spam that the web hackers try to throw at us everyday.

Confessions of an Internet Entrepreneur - Part 1

Posted by LaShanda Henry on July 1, 2010 at 12:00am

Watch my complete 3 Part Series: Confessions of an Internet Entrepreneur Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Be sure to leave a comment and tell me what you think! And if you would like to stay connected you can subscribe to my youtube videos and find me on Facebook or Twitter.

My blogs for those on their spiritual path

Posted by Ten Nebula on June 30, 2010 at 10:00pm

Peace and light,

Here are a few blogs I created that focus on growth, light, and well- being.
Feel free to visit the sites, join up, tell others, and share the info!!!!!!!

Money, Abundance & Spirit - MoneyAbundanceandSpirit.blogspot.com
The Ways of The Goddess - TheWaysofTheGoddess.Blogspot.com
Healthier Living, Healthier Being - Tennebula.blogspot.com
Reiki & Light - ReikiandLight.Blogspot.com
Lovin My Locs - LovinMyLocs.Blogspot.com

A Gathering of Artists - agatheringofartists.blogspot.com

Money, Abundance & Spirit - MoneyAbundanceandSpirit.blogspot.com
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we all need money
and we all want to be more abundant and happier
I have created a blog
that is dedicated to money & spirit
and it offers lots of spiritual tools to help you create what you desire

The Ways of The Goddess - TheWaysofTheGoddess.Blogspot.com
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If you love nature, the occults, healing work, the earth, paganism, or The Goddess
or just want to learn more about some of this interesting stuff ,
It is a website filled with lots of useful info on rituals, moon cycles, Goddess mythology, and it offer tons of great resources

Healthier Living, Healthier Being - Tennebula.blogspot.com
--------------------------------------------------------
Are you a light or love worker?
Are you interested in healing and clearing yourself?
Are you into spiritual practices that help you to higher your consciousness?
Are you interested in healing yourself, so you can more of an contribution to humanity?
Are you looking for free or inexpensive ways to learn more about your spiritual purpose?

It is a simple, practical, and free resource that is devoted to helping people with info that they can use to better take care of themselves and their lives on the daily basis

Reiki & Light - ReikiandLight.Blogspot.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reiki and Light blog is great for anyone who is a beginner to Reiki and want to learn more.
I am a Reiki Master and Reiki is one of my favorite healing modalities and wanted to share my love for it.
the blog also offers lots of free info and resources.

Lovin My Locs - Lovinmylocs.blogspot.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I love my locs (dreadlocks) and I love learning more about locking.
My hair blog has been created to help more people learn about locs, how to start theirs and maintain their current locs. The blog has lots of great info, pics, and resources.

Blessed be,
Ten Nebula

Terry Crews Talks About New Sitcom ‘Are We There Yet?’ And his Real-Life Blended Family

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 30, 2010 at 8:49pm

This past Monday I had the pleasure of interviewing actor Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) and we talked all about his new sitcom ‘Are We There Yet?’ on TBS. The sitcom is based on Ice Cube’s movie of the same name. Crews plays Nick, the new husband and new step father whose blended family faces the challenges of everyday life with the kind of humor we all can relate to. What makes his role even more interesting is the fact that Terry Crews has a lot more in common with his character Nick than you might have known. Interviewer - LaShanda Henry: “Terry, over the past few years we’ve seen you play different types of hilarious characters and I think it’s interesting that on TV we now see you in different father figure roles. From your role as Julius on Every Body Hates Chris, to your reality show the Family Crews, and now Are We There Yet. How is new step father Nick, different from Julius and the real-life Terry Crews?” Terry Crews: “On Everybody Hates Chris, I was channeling my father for that role. Everybody thinks I’m cheap in real life, but I’m not. (lol) My father grew up in Georgia and life was a struggle, so it was his experiences that I channeled into for the character of Julius. For my reality show, it’s actually harder to play yourself than it is to act. Eventually though, you get used to the cameras being around. Like the character Nick, I like being a playful guy and having fun with my kids. I also have a blended family. When I met my wife, she was a single mom. When we got married, my step daughter was two and she hated me (lol). Our experiences back then remind me of the show and the challenges of being a step dad.” LaShanda Henry: “When you saw the script, what else attracted you to playing this character?” Terry Crews: “I love this character because he reminds me of myself before the family. Most guys do not mature when they are single. In arguments, men have a tendency to shrink back while women tend to want to dig deeper and address the issue. Being in a family man helps you mature. The character Nick is into football, so he always likes to ‘tackle’ their challenges and face them together, as a family.” LaShanda Henry: “In any conversation about black families on television, the Cosby Show often comes up as the ideal black family. Do you think in your new sitcom we are looking at the ideal blended family or something else?” Terry Crews: “I think we are looking at the image of a family that is more timely and honest. In the old days some couples weren’t that happy and they felt stuck in their marriages. Now there is more freedom to make choices that are best for you as a person. For example, my wife on the show Suzanne played by Essence Atkins, got out of a relationship that wasn’t working for her and chose my character Nick. In reality, I’ve been blessed to have a wife that I have been married to for 21 years and will stay married to forever. But I think being able to make choices that are best for you is a healthy way to be.” LaShanda Henry: “Just being a new husband is challenging enough, what is it like also jumping into the role of stepfather to teenagers.” Terry Crews: “God made teenagers so you can be happy when the leave home (lol). Seriously, on the show Nick walks into this dynamic family structure on top of being a newlywed. It takes a strong person to deal with this, but Nick always wants to tackle the challenge.” LaShanda Henry: “Teenagers can be rough and it is not unusual for them to disconnect from their parents once they hit this stage. To be a step parent on top of this reality has to be hard. Any words of wisdom for those in similar situations?” Terry Crews: “Over the years I came to realize your kids don’t love you. Your kids need you to take care of them and over time they learn to love you. By you always showing them love, that is how they learn. The Bibles says love is patient, my kids are not patient. The Bible says love is kind, my kids are not kind (lol). However, as they grow and mature they develop the kind of love for you that you now have for your parents. I see parents get their feelings hurt all the time. A mom will reach down to give her toddler a kiss and he wacks her with his toy (lol). As a parent, don’t get your feelings hurt when your kids do not react they way you would like them to. Just know they are just being who they are, keep loving them and showing them what real love is.” LaShanda Henry: “What can we expect to see in the future on Are We There yet?” Terry Crews: “Charlie Murphy plays the ex-husband and he is hilarious. Nick is dealing with that, plus his mom, played by the amazing Telma Hopkins, who by the way is not happy with the marriage or the idea of being grandma so there is a lot of drama to be seen. The nature of good TV is always great drama. In the first 10 episodes we are introducing the family to you, Essence Atkins who plays my wife is wonderful and the kids are great as well. We have some good people working on the show and so much more to do and share by the second season.” Terry Crews had me laughing and nodding my head throughout the entire interview. He’s a great guy in an amazing new show. You can watch episodes of ‘Are We There Yet’ on TBS or right now on TBS.com. Have you watched the show yet? Leave a comment below or click here to share your review on the Black Moms Club.

Money can’t buy love, but can love buy money?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 30, 2010 at 7:00pm

Around Valentines day, I was reading this great post over at copyblogger, "Is Your Business Getting Enough Love?" and half way through the article the writer asked such a great question ... "Money can’t buy love, but can love buy money?" As soon as I read that, my gutt response was "YES! That is exactly what I talk about in my Plan to Profit guide." The more "love" I give online, which generally translates into sharing information, sharing my experiences, sharing my point of view, the more "money" I make. Most people don't just see something I sell and buy it right away. Let me make that crystal clear, as I hate to see folks get jump head first into sharing their buy now links before they share themselves.

When people begin to find value in what I say that is when they buy the things that I sell. In this post, the author, Sonia goes on to say that you shouldn't be afraid to share some of yourself personally to your audience. She said:

Now you don’t have to put your personal life into your blog or business. Some people just aren’t comfortable doing that. They may want to protect their privacy, or it just may feel too awkward and embarrassing. You get to decide. That’s why you started a business in the first place. But if you think you might be comfortable putting a little more you into your brand, it can, frankly, be the shortest path between you and success.

I put a whole lot of ME into my brand. Everybody knows I was a side-hustle sista and if nothing else I make it very clear that I LOVE LOVE LOVE working with my fellow women entrepreneurs of color. Now while that creates a strong connection between me and my sistas it does hurt my relationship with others. As a matter of fact, I just got some serious backlash on one of my youtube videos someone said:

Hi, I think that you are limiting yourself greatly. I'm not black but like listening to your advice. However, I won't subscribe because I feel that you would not want to help me. My main rule in business is that you can only succeed by helping others succeed. Colour has never and will never be a consideration for me to help someone.

I won't share my response here, you can click here to read it, but my main point is that you shouldn't be afraid to put your personality into your business and make your passion clear. I am aware that my personality creates strong connections with some, while others are offended and that may seem like it limits my profit potential BUT that is a choice that I make. You always have to be true to you. What is your business about and why do you do what you do? I know that before the funds, I do what I do because I and many other women of color in business don't hear "you can do this... you are doing a good job... I support you ... I will help you ... let me show you how this works." .... Sure we can pick up an entrepreneur magazine any day but when every face and feature is someone else another race .... that doesn't help us. It doesn't push us to fight the fears and keep going when know one looks like us and is in our corner. That is why I put a face, a black female face to EVERYTHING that I do.

Even in this post, my personality pushes out and I love that even if you might hate it. I can't stand to see black business owners ashamed and afraid to put themselves on the cover of their business. Many use a white figure head, many are afraid to use 'African Americans' in their marketing material for fear of isolating themselves as I have, but that just keeps us in this box. We need to teach and market and support each other until we become as mainstream as anybody else. I don't waist time complaining about this stuff, I don't fight to work around it, I strive to fix it as I see fit because that's my right as my own boss. This topic drums up so much "STUFF" inside of me, as you can tell and that "STUFF" supersedes making a dollar or paying bills (lol).

Now what was this post about again (lol). If you are still reading at this point, you either love me alittle bit more or hate me a little bit more BUT it just goes to show that you've got to feel something. If the people who come across you or your work feel NOTHING then you aren't putting enough or yourself into your business. Don't be afraid to do that.

Love who you are, live who you are and the money will follow.

Another Post: What's Working Now? + The Big Secret

On the topic of love ... quick Reminder: This week I posted the ‘How to Sell Online’ starter kit for beginners. It includes my 7 Day eCourse, ‘How to Find Customers Online’ + 5 Internet Marketing eBooks for Beginners. I put about $79 worth of my Newbie Marketing Guides together for this kit, which I’m actually offering for $29 - URL: http://www.sistasense.com/how-to-sell/

Popular Custom Banner Design: Tanya White

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 30, 2010 at 6:00pm

When I'm not writing, I'm working on web projects and designing banners. The banner below I did a few years back (can't remember so long ago) for blogtalkradio host Tanya White.

Her show is popular and so is this banner design. New clients often come to me and say, "can you make me a banner like Tanya White's banner?" (smile) Some of those new clients come from Tanya herself, she sends me referrals and I appreciate it. I am actually going to add my banner design services to my affiliate program in the next month or so (its on the to do list). I figure if you are so kind to share my work with friends, the least I can do is offer you a commission for referrals! This banner is $40 (html code included). If you want one, click here for details on how to submit a banner request. To review more of my banner designs and pricing details click here. I have different clients who come to me from all businesses and backgrounds, but I specialize in urban marketing; creating custom graphics: banner designs that really reflect the businesses of black entrepreneurs online. To review more of my custom website design and blog design work visit me at Pretty Professional Websites: http://www.prettyprofessionalwebsites.com

DeNise's Soul Purpose Product GIVEAWAY!!!

Posted by DeNise Williams on June 30, 2010 at 3:43pm

I am going to giveaway one of our luxurious Body Custard!! One lucky person will WIN a Soul Purpose Body Custard of your choice. Think of Creme Brulee or creamy butter and you will understand the texture and lusciousness our body custards. Enriched with shea butter and vitamin D, our custards will pamper, moisturize and lightly fragrance your skin.

Visit my blog for details on how you can WIN!!

http://denisesoulpurpose.blogspot.com

ABC: What do Avon, Body Magic, and Coaching have in common?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 30, 2010 at 3:00pm

Avon, Body Magic, and Coaching are literally the ABCs of Startup Business opportunities for women entrepreneurs online. As the founder of BBWO, a social network of almost 10,000 women entrepreneurs, I can tell you that over 50% of the women in my network are involved in network marketing or coaching. If one of these women happens to be you, then you already know how competitive these industries are, which means you have to be on point if you want to make a profit. With heavy competition comes frustration, especially if you don't know how to promote your business online. As both a web expert and coach I've been watching and working with business women for years, so I know all the mistakes you might be making and I know the simple marketing strategies that you can use to improve your business online. My latest eBooks are specifically for marketers and coaches in desperate need of a real person to break this stuff down and show you how successful entrepreneurs actually make money online. My latest eBooks are:

To get your copy of these eBooks along with my Plan to Profit Blueprint, click the link below. How to Make Money Online: Essential Ebooks for New Network Marketers and Coaches URL: http://socialmediasistas.com/ebooks-for-beginners.php

FREE BONUS: LaShanda Henry's Plan to Profit Blueprint to Online Business Success

5 Tips for Improving Your Online Writing Skills

Posted by Evelyn on June 30, 2010 at 12:46pm

Writing for the web is not the same as writing for print. If you are going to be writing content that will be consumed online there are a few concepts that you need to get clear on. By now most people understand
the fact that we don’t read text online in the same way that we read text in hard copy such as a book or a newspaper that we hold in our hands.

People tend to skim online copy very quickly with their eyes.
The Internet is by nature fast moving and bright and shiny. Our brains and eyes move hyper-fast when we are online and if what we are looking at does not appeal to us, we can quickly get rid of it within a nano-second by clicking the next link.

As writers, we need to get in touch with the way our readers engage with our work online so that we can create a product that will be both useful and enjoyable by those who consume it. You want to craft content that makes your readers stop long enough for you to convey the message that you are trying to send. Your words must draw them in so that they can consume your content and in exchange for their attention you must
fulfill the promise of supplying the information they were searching for.

Write for human readers but with SEO in mind.
Another unseen audience that is consuming our content online is the search engines. Since our human readers’ eyeballs are our most important audience we write for them, but it’s also important to keep the principles of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, in mind as we create web content.

Since many of us learned to write prior to the Internet age, there are a few specific strategies that we can employ in order to be effective at online writing.

Do Keyword research and write content that focuses on one or two keywords while delivering concise information that the end user is
searching for.
Link to other related pieces of content within the site that add to topic.
Link out to related authority sites that have high search engine rankings and provide additional information for your reader.
Use images that illustrate your point and break up the text on the page.
Write in shorter paragraphs allowing for sufficient white space on the page to give the reader’s eyes a place to rest.
Use bullets and call-out boxes for the skimmers to grab information quickly.
Use meaningful sub-headers to introduce ideas.

Tips for sharpening the saw:
This is a list of five tips that can help you to improve your online writing skills, but this does not pretend to be an exhaustive list. You’ll want to keep learning and constantly strive to improve your craft over time–’sharpening the saw’ as Steven Covey calls it.

1. Read excellent writing
While it might sound far too simple and obvious, but reading good writing is really the best way to improve your own writing skills. Read widely on diverse topics. Pick authors whose writing style you admire and read several of their books. Get suggestions for good reads from fellow book-lovers, or make friends with your local librarian.

Here are a few blogs that feature both excellent writing and compelling content for writers:

2. Join a writing group
This can be tricky because a really good, established writing group can be quite challenging to find. You may end up starting one of your own, but find a group of fellow writers of varying levels of skill and accomplishment where you can share your work and get honest feedback on how you can improve it.

There are tons of writing groups online, but I prefer live groups because it gives you the chance to interact with other writers and create real relationships with real people who share your interests. Check out meetup.com to find a local writer’s critique group, or search online writing forums to find local writing groups.

3. Take a class
Visit your local University or Community College’s website to see if they offer an online writing class. It may, oddly enough, only be offered online, but you can find some live online writing classes as well. Other resources for online writing classes include:

The Education Portal has an article with links to 10 Universities that offer free online writing classes
http://education-portal.com/articles/10_Universities_Offering_Free_Writing_Courses_Online.html
The Gotham Writing Workshop
http://www.writingclasses.com/
Wrter’s Digest University writing classes
http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/

4. Hire a writing coach
Working with a writing coach is an excellent investment. If you want to write a book, but you would like to polish up your writing style, a coach can help you to get motivated, get unstuck, create a writing routine that works for your lifestyle, and most of all hold you accountable to the goals that you have set for yourself.

5. Practice, practice and more practice.
“A writer writes,” as they say. Write something everyday. Set a daily word count goal that you feel that you can stick to, but that will also force you to stretch yourself a bit. Commit to meeting this goal, but don’t beat yourself up when you don’t. Just pick up where you left off. Keeping a daily longhand journal can be therapeutic and help you clear out what’s on your mind so that you can focus on creating good writing.

Keep a blog where you write about whatever inspires you. Write a new post every day and before long you will begin to notice that you are developing a unique style that your readers will come to enjoy.

Additional Writing Resources:

Want more writing, blogging and online marketing tips and resources? Visit, http://www.productivepen.com, and sign up for our email newsletter.

DC's First-Ever Black Theatre Festival Hits Town..!!!

Posted by Denise Bethune on June 30, 2010 at 3:07am

Ning is Not Free Anymore - How Can Network Creators make money with their networks?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 30, 2010 at 12:00am

I've been meaning to write this post for awhile now. When Ning announced they would be phasing out their free services and concentrating on paid subscribers (details here), I noticed a lot of my fellow network creators going into panic mode. Without getting all the details, some of them prematurely shut down their spaces and attempted to recreate free versions on facebook. I even saw members flee my own social network, BBWO, afraid that I would require them to pay membership fees. With all these questions and concerns brewing, a few of you have been asking me for advice about your own network: should you keep it and how do you generate money from your network to help keep it open. The two things that I can say off the bat are definitely keep your network open and don't panic over the ning prices. If you can sell one $20 advertising package on your network per month, you can easily cover the cost of the new Ning Plus Plan. Truth be told, all my networks have been running on Nings premium plans for years, so I didn't panic because I've always been paying to host my own adverting on my spaces. Generating revenue from my social networks is a big part of my work at home income, so I've learned quite a bit about how this stuff all works. Even though it seems like it all happened yesterday, I’ve been building social networks, specifically on the ning.com platform for 3 years. Collectively my top three social networks (Black Business Women Online, The Black Moms Club, and Black Writers Connect) have over 10,000 members and generate between $2,500 and $4,500 for me every month in Adsense Revenue, Ad Sales, etc. Anticipating that I will continue to receive more emails from you guys about the new Network Plans, I created my latest eBook 'How to Make Money with Your Social Network' as the next chapter to my 'Create Your Own Ningalicous Network Series. In this eBook I share exactly how I make money via my social networks plus the different things that you can do to drive more traffic to your network. You can click here to download this eBook + 2 others. As always, I have to give a gift to my early birds. Here is a $10 Off promo code that will work for the first 10 people to use it. Promo code: SNM10

Tweak Vs Twitter

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 11:00pm

These days my blog has been collecting dust! Between banner and blog design requests, I haven’t had as much time to write as I normally do. But you know me, “busy means business”, so I never complain about being busy (lol). But seriously, have you noticed that you can’t open a website without being smacked in the face with 50 Social Media icons … “twitter me” … “facebook me” … watch me sleep (lol). I see some many sistas glued to their smart phones,twittering every minute and I wonder how much of THAT is adding value to their business. Now don’t get me wrong... I’m on twitter and I see the value of social media marketing (I get may fair share of twitter sales), but if I had to make a choice … hands down I choose my “Tweak Technique” over Twitter any day. As the name suggests, this technique is all about regularly tweaking my business to make it better. As a matter of fact, I’ve been quietly tweaking like crazy these past few months and the results have been amazing! If you want my humble opinion, before you get lost in the latest social media marketing techniques and trending topics, focus on highlighting those areas of your business that need work and make them better. For me, a few little tweaks have turned into more money and WHO DOES NOT WANT MORE MONEY flowing into their business? I normally only share my marketing techniques with my Smart Business Sista Circle (feel free to join us) BUT just for today I’m gonna let you in on my latest profitable AND productive tweaks.

My Recent Tweaks

#1: I spent the past weekend working on my Money and Marketing Newsletter for my BBWO members and sistasense.com readers. This newsletter now includes 60 of my best marketing articles, videos, freebies and exclusive offers and it’s all done and being auto-delivered to my subscribers (feel free to sign up to the newsletter). Now without having to rush to the computer every night, I can consistently share my BEST Marketing Advice to you and free-up more time to focus on other projects. This one tweak was sitting on my to do list for MONTHS, but finally getting it done has made a BIG Difference. What can you learn from my tweak? For starters if you want to build your presence and stay connected to customers online, you have to stay consistent. Consistency is what this tweak is all about. Beyond sales pitches and new products, I want the people in my circle to know that I'm committed to regularly and freely sharing valuable information. Believe me when I say that getting people to listen to you is the most valuable and hardest thing acquire online. While there are a few more things you can definitely learn from this technique, I’ll save those for later. #2: One of my first money-makers online was the Search Urban Directory, an online search engine featuring black websites. For years I allowed people to submit sites for free and then eventually, I started charging $10. Now that msoy is one of the oldest and most popular Black Search Engines online I’ve decide to finally raise the submission fee to $25. This price is still pretty cheap, considering it’s a one time fee and a great promotional opportunity for website owners trying to reach African Americans Online BUT that’s not the real idea behind this tweak. In the past getting 4 new site submissions to the directory translated into $40 in sales, now those same 4 submissions equal $100 in sales! Again, while its important to get into new marketing trends, never forget that little old marketing and sales techniques still work. Tweaking prices on products that regularly bring in revenue for me is often times the easiest way to make more money without selling or doing something new. I have more tweaks that I want to share, but this post is getting longer than I wanted, so I’ll save them for another day. If you do nothing else, I recommend taking the time to dissect your business. See if you can come up with a few ways you can make your business better. If you are stuck on how to start this process let me make a few suggestions. For the past few years I’ve worked on several projects that were specifically about showing other entrepreneurs the areas in their business that they can fix and make better. I often recommend that newbies take it slow and start with the basics. For newbies in internet marketing, I suggest downloading my ‘Selling Your Products and Services Online’ eBook Collection. Here is a discount code for the next 30 readers who download this eBundle. Code: FIX01 | If you download now you can save $30 and get this ebundle for $19. Selling Your Products and Services Online: Three eBooks for Internet Marketing and Sales Beginners The Ultimate Money and Marketing Guide: Two 7-Day eCourses on Finding Customers and Selling on Social Networks The Smart Business Sista Series: Monthly Marketing eBooks and how-to video tutorials The Women of Color Coaching Program: Monthly Marketing Webinars specifically created for Women Entrepreneurs My favorite of this is definitely the WOCC Program, last year my partner Richelle and I did 12 Months worth of training webinars for Business Women of Color on How to Market their businesses online and offline. The results were amazing because for those 12 months we gave them a constant flow of marketing ideas and different tweaks they could implement to make their businesses better. As a matter of fact, we did a What's Working Now Webinar so our members could show you their results. You can click here to watch the replay. If you liked this post also read: Why Social Media Marketing Can't Fix Your Business

Roadblocks in Your Way? Here's 3 Easy Steps to Get Your Business Moving Again.

Posted by Benita Tyler on June 29, 2010 at 10:15pm

One of the best ways that I have learned to overcome obstacles is to face each challenge head on. What I mean by that is not running away from or becoming overwhelmed by issues that seem bigger than life. I realize that many work at home mothers are handling a lot of the day-to-day details of holding up the household and juggling business tasks at the same time. It can be a bit much to handle but here are some of the ways that I have been able to manage it all.

It starts with remembering to take a few deep breaths. Really. Take some time to quiet yourself and breathe. I have what I call a quiet area which is really just a space that I have set aside for focus. This place could be anywhere you feel comfortable. I use a corner of my bedroom that has a nice comfy chair. I sit there and close my eyes a few moments each day to pause and see each challenge for what it really is – an opportunity to learn something new.
Next, I accept that every problem has a solution. That's when I can begin the next phase of working things out. There is a saying used in Step Programs that goes something like this, “You can only begin solving a problem when you admit that you have one.” When you ignore challenges in business they will continue getting bigger. Eliminate the snowball effect by playing an active part in the process. Face the issue by writing it down or speaking it aloud. Then get ready to get in action.
Finally, moving forward requires you to list out what you need and figuring out how best to get there. Some solutions require connecting with others. If you are working from home and unable to get out and about try reaching out to others in business by visiting their blog and participating in forums. I am a big fan of mastermind groups and you might find it useful to join one or start one of your own. This will help you get a fresh point of view from like-minded entrepreneurs who are serious about attaining next level success just like you.

With the abundance of information and resources available on the internet today moving past unstuck quickly is more doable than ever. And if cash flow is one of the challenges that you are facing in your business I invite you to sign up for my newsletter at www.tbsusa.com to get solutions for managing and growing your business.

Is Blogging for Profit Still an Option?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 8:00pm

At one point or another, every aspiring internet entrepreneur is going to hear something about ‘blogging for profit’. Basically all that means is that your make money from your blog. Generally speaking bloggers make money from ad programs like Google Adsense and/or by promoting affiliate products for a commission. Of course, the more seasoned bloggers maximize the profit of their blogs by also using them as spaces to sell their own products (like ebooks, membership subscription websites, coaching, etc.). Blogging for profit is a big thing online, so for as many experts as you’ll find to tell you that you should blog , you will also find bloggers who tell you that it’s no longer an option because there so much competition. Many of those bloggers either think there is no longer any money to be made as a blogger or they never knew how to make money blogging to begin with. I personally think that blogging for profit will always be a viable option for entrepreneurs trying to make money online. Yes there will always be competition out there (especially if you are trying to blog about a popular topic like ‘making money online’ or ‘celebrity gossip’ or something along those lines). But I believe one thing will never change, no matter what entrepreneurial venture you choose. Regardless of the competition, if you focus on consistently blogging your opinions and developing a loyal group of readers, you’ll always have an opportunity to profit because your loyal readers want to follow you, click your links, and buy the things that you promote. I believe that profit means different things to different people. Would you be happy generating a few hundred dollars from your blog? Or are you aiming to become a six figure blogger? I honestly think that you can make as much money as you want blogging if you understand that the success of your blog is solely dependent on you. If you can write well enough to attract a unique group of people who find the content in your blog consistently valuable they will follow you, invest in the products or services you recommend, and ultimately help to create your own personal ‘blogging for profit success story’. I use my blog mainly as a space to promote my products and build my authority as a web expert. I freely sharing what I know about making money online and that helps me make more money online. In the process I make extra money blogging via Adsense, affiliate links, and direct sales from my products. Blogging for profit will always be an option for me, but do you think it can work for you?

Are you Starting Up Your Business or Starting Over?

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 7:00pm

A few months ago, I received quite a few emails from women wanting to start their business up or over; interested in my advice. When I get these requests, I like to bring them to your attention (just in case you were also in the same boat). They generally have reviewed my videos and/or my extensive eBook library and are looking to learn how to better market their businesses online.

As a matter of fact, I just got this email a few days ago:

Hi LaShanda,
I was wondering , I have an on-line biz for a while now. I did well then i hit a dry spell. I was thinking of doing your start up sista 30 day $79 or do you think I should do the other bundle discount that you for 15+ Ebooks and 30 video tutorials for $97.00? I might be better to start all over again reinvent myself and my business and get my customers back. - R.R.

While I did decide last year, to take the bulk of my eBooks and combine them into the Black Business Starter Kit, I decided to take it up a notch for 2010. In addition to my 15+ Marketing eBooks, the Starter Kit now includes 3 eCourses: Startup Sista (starting your business online), Selling On Social Networks (social media marketing for beginners), and How to Find Customers Online (the name says it all). I also decided to add my latest three eBooks in the How to Make Money Online Series: How to Make Your First $1000, How to Make Money MLM and Network Marketing as well as How to Make Money Coaching. I really wanted to make sure that if you are in my circle and you wanted to start up or start over, I gave you a well rounded collection of eBooks and online video tutorials that explained exactly what I did to market, build, and profit from my business online.

The new Starter Kit is $197, but for the next few days I am offering it to my sistasense readers and BBWO members for $99. Click here for details. Offer expires after first 50 downloads or 7/5/10, whichever one comes first.

Technology, Tools and Talk - 90 FREE Internet Marketing Videos From Me to You!

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 6:00pm

Hey guys! I am on a mission to get back to my roots of giving and share some of my best small business, internet marketing, and social media marketing tips with you. For past 90 days I blogged everyday about how you can improve you online business, so subscribe to my SistaSense blog, so that you can watch all the videos.

Below is a video. If you can not view the video click here.

Video: Hooray! I finished my 90 videos in 2 days!

Video: In case you are wondering... why I decided to crank out 90 videos in 2 days!

Remember: To watch all videos be sure to subscribe to sistasense.com.

Plugging Your Business on Black Business Women Online - mybbwo.com

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 5:00pm

This is a video blog post. If you can not view the video click here. This video is apart of my Technology, Tools, and Talk video series; 90 videos on my blog in which I share some of my best small business, internet marketing, and social media marketing tips with you. To watch all the videos, just subscribe to sistasense.com. If you want to watch the previous videos click here.

How to Get Money to Start Your Business

Posted by LaShanda Henry on June 29, 2010 at 4:04pm

Joslyn Pickens recently posted the following discussion on BBWO:

I am in the process of getting my Graphic T-Shirt Design (True Color Teez) company started.

I have my plan all set out but I need the money to purchase expensive design programs and money to host my website. I do all the web design myself. Can anyone help me ? ....

To share your tips on getting money for your business OR to find out what other members are saying on this topic click here.

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My Recent Tweaks

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