Melissa is one of the world's leading experts on the development of individual and community leadership networks as a means of growing and accelerating brand loyalty and performance improvement inside and outside organizations. For more than a decade Melissa's organization, Networlding, has provided exceptional relationship marketing and management programs for organizations like AT&T, CNA, Motorola and Disney.

Melissa is the author and/or co-author of nine top-selling books. Her seventh book, Networlding, co-authored with former CMO of Office Depot, Jocelyn Carter Miller, held the #10 spot on Amazon (in Chicago) for a year. Other books include:

Networlding: Building Relationships and Opportunities for Success (Jossey Bass)
The Chicago Entrepreneurs Sourcebook (rated one of the top 10 small business books in Chicago)
Make Your Connections Count (Dearborn)
75 Cage Rattling Questions that Change the Way You Work (McGraw Hill)
Angels in the Workplace (Jossey Bass)
The Power of Two: Rethinking and Reforming Strategic Alliances (Jossey Bass)
The Wisdom Network (Amacom) 

Four of Melissa's books have been on top business book lists including: The Power-of-Two and Networlding, recognized by Booz Allen as two of the top ten alliance management books.

Melissa has also been a guest on both radio and television including The Today Show, CNN, WGN, CNBC and FOX. One of her books was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is a frequent presenter at conferences looking for interactive sessions. Her unique program, The Extravaganza, has been highly evaluated by Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

With a BA in Sociology and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, Melissa went on to found Service Showcase, Inc., an innovative consulting firm started in 1986. For the past twelve years she has grown the company to include clients Price Waterhouse, AT&T, Dean Foods and Motorola as well as dozens of smaller companies and organizations. In 1998 she was chosen as one of six extraordinary women of the year by The University of Chicago Women's Graduate Business Alumni Board. Networlding was recently licensed by Yale University through their graduate school of business.

        

                 (Melissa Giovagnoli, Michael Snell and Derrick Sorles - Networlding Business Blogging)

                            

We are  pleased to address your blog consulting, online marketing and business development needs on a fee-for-service basis.

Today's networked world is here to stay!
What are you doing to profit from it?
We can help you leverage this unprecedented online opportunity, better, stronger faster!

The scope of talent and solutions we can bring to an organization (or individual) is vast.

Networlding's select team of Resident Experts are seasoned professionals with at least 15 years of experience in their fields and chosen because of their credentials and value-based leadership.

Blogging and Internet Web 2.0 Marketing

Customized monthly packages to take you and your business to the next level via the next frontier - the Blogosphere, Web 2.0 and Social Networking. We can help you with web marketing, web design, web PR, organic search engine placement, sales optimization through LinkedIn and other online networks. We can help you with publishing books, e-books and design.

The Web 2.0 is the next big frontier and you want to be out there in it before your competition-The time to have a blog and/or strong web presence for your business is right now!

More than 80% of small businesses now have their own website, but when it comes to using the Internet Web 2.0 and specifically blogs, to reach out to customers faster, the percentage is far smaller.

Do you fit this statistic?

Learn how you can take your business to the next level using the Blogosphere and other
cutting-edge Internet Web 2.0 marketing tools.

Strengthen your customer base and bring new  prospects to you!
Below is a sampling of the scope of services we may assist with:

IDEATION

• Clarify blog's strategy, mission and target audience (with SEO in mind).
• Name your blog using select/target key search words in domain name.
• Assist in selection and execution of blogging software and hosting service.
• Review your online market/services opportunities via Google searches.
• Identify and prioritize initial key content, potential categories and overall direction.

IMPLEMENTATION

• Provide coaching and education on the back end of your blog and how to navigate and execute desired tasks.
• Share best practices on how to maximize your time spent creating content/postings.
• Get registered with Amazon, Google AdSense and other affiliate programs.

COMMERCIALIZATION

• Install affiliate's banners on blog's sidebar and promote/coach on understanding of basic HTML source coding for uploading additional banners in the future.
• Register your blog on select blog registry sites, directories, groups, and forums
• Identify top blogs/bloggers to introduce your blog to.
• Implement free detailed tracking analytics into the blog.
• Optimize RSS feed and an  email subscription system.
• Develop outstanding blog content/posts with our professional writing/research team.

OPTIMIZATION

• Help you develop press releases on sites such as PR WEB.
• Evaluate ongoing blog performance reporting through analytics.
• Explore seeding your articles on content sources/resources.
• Assist in trading links and getting links.
• Evaluate if paid directory listings would be of value and seek out examples for your industry.
• Provide ongoing support and assistance.

We are  coaches and consultants who can help with all of your internet marketing and business development needs. At present, we're focused on  Web 2.0 strategies for clients utilizing new technologies (blogs, podcast, video podcast) and other social media networks to drive their web traffic, facilitate online communities and conversations and build a "business celebrity" web presence.

We coach clients on understanding the impact of these new technologies to their business and the importance of first mover advantage and SEO discovery over their competitors.

Contact us today for your consultation - info@networlding.com

Web 2.0, a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004, refers to a perceived second generation of web-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. O'Reilly Media, in collaboration with MediaLive International, used the phrase as a title for a series of conferences, and since 2004 the term has been widely adopted.

Think of it this way - when the Internet and web development first started, it was this huge space
to post things to be read. There was no interaction. Web 2.0 is all about interaction! and sharing! and linking! It's social  now and everyone can play in the game! Everyone from IBM to my grandmother who lives  on a farm in Flint, Michigan!

Tim O'Reilly provided a compact definition of Web 2.0 today:

"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them."

We are  presently focused  on business development and Web 2.0 strategies for clients utilizing all these new technologies (blogs, podcast, video podcast) and other social media networks to drive their web traffic, facilitate online communities and conversations and build a "business celebrity" web presence. We coach clients on understanding the impact of these new technologies to their business and the importance of first mover advantage and SEO discovery over their competitors. You really have to take advantage
of all the tools out there!

Derrick Sorles
Helping You Build Better Business Faster in a Web 2.0 World

Technorati is known widely for its quarterly State of the Blogosphere reports, analyzing the trends
around blogs and blogging.

They  released their recent report that follows:

70 Milion blogs out there now! Thats  about 120,000 per day or 1.4 blogs every second!

"Spam and splogs (spam blogs) continue to be a problem in the blogosphere, and there was a marked increase in splogs that coincided with the holiday season last year. Technorati has been tracking between 3,000 - 7,000 new splogs created each day, but there was a significant spike in splog creation during early December, when we tracked over 11,000 splogs created each day during December - a total of 341,000 splogs that we removed from our indexes during that period."

Other interesting notes - There are about 1.5 million posts per day, or... 17 posts per second.  Japanese the #1 blogging language at 37%, with English second at 33% , Chinese third at 8%  and Italian fourth at 3% .

This list of myths about small business blogs are common. So many professionals hesitate to get into blogging because of not really understanding the true impact of not doing a blog. Brian Brown from
Pajama Marketing posted this list recently of his top 10 myths.  Check out this link, it's a terrific article in it's entirety.  Below is a fast summary of our favorite 7 myths:

1. Blogs are for teenagers, not for professionals  - the average blog reader is 18-35.
2. My business doesn't need a blog - Yes - it does. NOW! Before it's too late!
3. Blogging takes too much time - Once you establish a system, it takes about 3-5 hours a week. 
4. Creating a blog is hard  - It's easy. And cheap!
5. Writing a blog is hard  - It's easy.
6. No one is going to read my blog - You'd be surprised! Most blogs get traffic within 30 days.
7. Blogs are a fad -  no they are not! They are here to stay.

If you remember, you may have had similar feelings about doing a web site for your business. Now, everyone is expected to have a web site. Yet the results from most business web sites are appalling.

Think of a blog as a web site on steroids. Your blog, when done professionally and optimized for business and search engine optimization (SEO), will do the job you dreamed your web site would do: pull in pre-qualified leads to you.

Because you are constantly loading fresh new content, the search engine spiders have all kinds of new ways to find you. Blogs can make your business grow! People will read it. It's not a fad but I think only the good ones will survive.

And you don't have to be a writer. You can just be a publisher. Be the resource your clients turn to. There are a gazillion articles out there you can use for your site. Pick the ones that make the most sense, have the most relevance, and post them. Bloggers love sharing articles. And it's all about linking to each other!

Here are 10 top reasons you would want to consider creating your own blog sooner, rather than later.

10. Blogs are one of the least expensive methods of getting the word out on your company and creating buzz. When compared to almost any other form of marketing, blogs are so reasonable to start and maintain that it is almost silly not to add the creation of one to your marketing mix. They don’t require you to learn HTML or to hire a designer or developer.

9. Search engines will find your blog, much faster than your website. Search engines index your ongoing knowledge sharing from your posts (entries). A blog should be full of activity, constantly updating with fresh information, key terms and search terms in your "permalinks" creating more ways for the search engine "spiders" to find your blog and lead customers and prospects to you.

8.  Blogs create an organic, powerfully evolving user experience.  The personal nature of a blog helps humanize you and your organization. People who like and connect with what you have to say, your thoughts, feelings and beliefs, will want you speaking to them about your offerings on a regular basis. You can post daily or even just twice a week and still create connection with prospects and customers.

7.  Blogs build a stronger and more vibrant knowledge base.  A blog can be an incredible tool for sharing information and expertise regularly. Kathleen Goodwin, CEO of iMakeNews, says business blogs "Can offer organizations a platform where information, data, and opinions can be shared and traded among employees, customers, partners, and prospects in a way previously impossible: a two-way, open exchange."

6.  Prospects are searching the web via search engines for everything, including deals and opportunities.  No one listens anymore to sanitized marketing messages (which most of us have on our websites). A blog allows you to grow trust and credibility with your prospects by providing timely, important information that shows them why you are the one to choose over your competitors.

5.  You can develop yourself as the thought leader in your industry. If you know the best strategies for blogging, you will be able to grow your thought leadership exponentially. Just as with any amount of practice, the more you blog and know about blogs, the better you will be at it and, in doing so, you will become one of the top people in your field. 



4. The winners will be those who host the very best conversations. You have to have great content and inspire conversation. A blog offers the best conversational vehicle for getting and staying connected- imperative to growing new business with your prospects and customers.

3.  Having a blog turns you into a producer and star of your own show.  I often say, "This is the day and age of the business celebrity," say's Melissa Giovagnoli, Founder and President of Networlding. "You want to be the expert, the one people turn to for information. With today's digital technology, you can create your own combination of magazine and talk show quality messages to highlight yourself on a blog."

2.  Blog posts are on the web forever.  Remember when the only choice you had for marketing was either to send out expensive direct mail pieces, advertise in the newspaper or perhaps, even more costly, magazines? What was the shelf life of those marketing pieces—a day or, at best, a month? Now the investment of good content on a blog is forever, or at least as long as you decide to host the site.

1. If you aren’t out there, your competitors will be. As you wait to decide what to do about blogging your competitors are out there connecting with your prospect base, building their online blog content and repository and growing loyalty positions for business today and tomorrow. They are also taking the time to find out what your other competitors are up to and matching or beating yours and their offerings. GET ON THE BLOG TRAIN NOW!

                                                      

No matter what stage of blogging you may be entering: ideation, implementation, commercialization or ongoing monthly development and optimization - Networlding's Blog Consultants can help take your blog to the next level. 

Contact us today info@networlding.com.

ANYONE CAN BLOG!  What is your message?

Marketers have found that blogs are excellent tools for communicating with their audience.
Anyone who has something to sell, something to say  or an idea to promote can benefit from
using blogs.

Corporations like Nike and GM are using blogs to build branding.
Microsoft and Sun are using them to communicate with the developer community.

Blogs have a number of advantages that make them excellent tools for communication.  They are cheap to install and require little or no technical expertise, most are template driven-very similar to writing an email or working in Microsoft Word. So the entry point for blogging is very low when compared to the expense of hiring a website designer.

While building a website is often out of the reach of most solo entrepreneurs, anyone can start a blog. If you can’t write or hate to write, thats fine! Use things like GoArticles and Ezine for your content! you can even start an audio or video blog. GURU is another source for talent. The possibilities are endless.


                             

Blogs also help you create content that search engines love, and encourage linking from a number of other bloggers  who write on similar topics. This makes them excellent tools for getting high search engine rankings and boosting your visibility. This is so important to your product or business.

They also encourage immediate responses from your readers and customers, so you can get feedback, tweak your campaigns and respond better to the market’s demands.

Blogs, and the RSS feeds they come with, help you syndicate your content online, boost your reach and influence and allow readers to control their communications with your company.

Your blog can be your selling point and help your prospects opt for you and your services over those of others.

Whether you’re an individual, entrepreneur, small business, consultant, coach, book author, independent filmmaker, actor, model, travel guide, work-at-home mom - someone who wants to promote their individual skills and talents or interests – there is immense potential in using blogs to promote your business.

Contact us today and find out how our blog consultants at Networlding can help you!
info@networlding.com.

 

This past summer, Business Week claimed Blogs Will Change Your Business.

Two months ago, Forbes said Blogs Are A Way To Find New Customers.

In 1999, there were a handful (less than 50) blogs. As of January 2008 there were about 100 million and that number grows daily by about 75,000 per day! People blog on everything and anything. But more and more businesses are realizing blogs are a way to attract a new audience.

So why are blogs so different from websites? A website usually doesn't change that often. A blog changes all the time, always being updated with new information. And we live in a information society. People read blogs often, like a their favorite magazine. Why?

To learn more about a certain topic.

To gather information from a trusted source.  

To get varied opinions on news, issues, and other matters of interest.

To find people with similar interests and ideas.

To be entertained with stimulating and/or humorous content.

It is estimated that 25%-35% of Americans read blogs. And they are usually older, wealthier and click on ads!
But the blog does not present a hard-sell. The business blog should be more than just an advertising tool. It should offer genuine and original content that can be utilized by potential readers in order for it to be successful.
Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience. A powerful benefit for consultants and knowledge workers. Readers can become very loyal to blogs and later, possibly become your customer.

Some of Forbes favorite blogs -    

 

www.autoblog.com - Auto

www.galleryhopper.org - Art

www.wordpress.org - Blogging

www. monster.typepad.com/monsterblog - Career

www.gothamist.com - City

http://barbrastreisand.com/statements.html - Celebrity

www.bookslut.com/blog - Literary

www.econlog.econlib.org - Economics

www.diet-blog.com - Health

www.docnotes.net - Medical

www.ilounge.com - Music

www.tpmcafe.com - Political

www.mightygoods.com - Shopping

www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php - Small Business

www.sportsblog.org - Sports

www.slashdot.org - Technology

"THIS IS A COACH IN A BOX!" exclaims Melissa Giovagnoli, President of Networlding. "Over the last year and a half, we have helped numerous clients launch and maintain their blogs. We get calls and referrals from clients across the country and on average, our consultants were spending about 4-5 hours coaching clients on getting their blog started, at a cost of about $1000. With the blog tutor, we can reach more people worldwide and reduce the price down to under $30!"

In four quick sessions, Networlding's Launch Your Blog will take you step-by-step through all the best practices and shortcut-tips we've learned over 100's of hours of trial and error. Imagine the learning curve is practically gone with our help! Specifically, we'll show you how to:

• best name your blog and why that matters to search engines.
• choose the best "template" for your blogging needs and how to customize it.
• incorporate your logo(s) and email contact links.
• create vibrant, magazine-quality blog entries and categories.
• upload photos and insert "hyperlinks" to related media.
• maximize the features and opportunities of blogging tools.
• utilize Google and all it has to offer bloggers.

In a nutshell, you are going to walk away with a live, working blog in as quick as one day. How many people ever learn 100% of a new software? How many people use Microsoft Word or PowerPoint or Excel - and really know all the in's and out's? If you are like most people, you learn the basics and enough to get by. A very small percentage of people are a pro at it. We'll show you all the features you need to know in the tutor!

We will walk you through the whole process of setting up the blog, creating entries and self-publishing. At the end of lesson 4, you are live and up and running. And if you continue to Tutor # 2 , our Grow Your Blog tutor( Spring/Summer 2007 release), we coach you on what we have learned about the best of the best blogging practices, tips and techniques to take your blog to the next level. What some people would have spent hundreds of hours of trial and error and research, we give you in 4 lessons easy lessons. 

                                             

Once your blog is up and running, you'll be ready for the Grow Your Blog tutor.  Maybe you already have a blog but need help optimizing it. The Grow Your Blog tutor is about publicizing, commercializing and optimizing your blog-driving traffic and readership while creating passive revenue opportunities.

In 4 easy step-by-step lessons, we will walk you through the process of setting up affiliate accounts, publicizing and self-promotion of your blog, and great tips and resources for maintaining an amazing magazine/talk-show quality blog! 

In just a few hours of your time, we are going to REVEAL ALL OF THE TIPS AND SECRETS AND BEST PRACTICES that we have learned through hundreds of hours of trial and research, thereby totally shortening your learning curve. Why spend hundreds of hours on your own trying to figure out what we have already discovered and packaged for you?
 
CLICK HERE to purchase Networlding's Launch Your Blog tutorial for only $30! (a $1,000 value) and stayed tuned for the release of our Grow Your Blog tutorial later this month!

I have gotten several compliments about the quality of the content of my blog, as well as the layout. The LAUNCH YOUR BLOG TUTOR  did a great job getting me up to speed so I could focus on what I do best, writing the content. My background is finance and management; NOT BLOGGING! Ideas with laying out the blog and selecting images really dressed up the blog site. The blog has been great for showing what makes my company different from hundreds of other consultants -

Jon Paul
www.askjonpaul.com

As a busy physician, I had NO time to spend pecking and hunting how to set up a blog. I really felt I needed to communicate to an audience that I could not reach in my exam room but felt frustrated by the technology.  With the expert help of  the LAUNCH YOUR BLOG TUTOR,  I was not only able to get a blog started in a matter of hours, but, I also learned how to interface with the rest of the blogging world. It makes my exam room international and also puts the world at my fingertips.
There's nothing quite like getting your message out and getting started with the help of people that know what they are doing.

Dr. Rima Bishara
www.thedoctorblogger.com

The training provided by Networlding's Blog Coaches/Consultants was extremely helpful in understanding the differences between a traditional website and a blog. The LAUNCH YOUR BLOG TUTOR  helped set up my blog site and trained me how to maintain it.  It was a much more efficient approach than trying to teach myself through trial and error.  The money I invested  was well worth it!  And a blog is a very cost-efficient way of getting the word out.

Susan L. Kane,
Author, Flying Over the Finish Line

www.couragetotri.com

I just wanted to take this opportunity to send you  a heart-felt thank you for the great teaching experience of the LAUNCH YOUR BLOG TUTOR. I learned exactly what I was hoping to learn, thanks to you and your skills and knowledge. And I learned it in record time!

 I am very excited about my blog's potential.

Thank you again,

Kind regards,
Erica Zalokar
www.thelegalbalance.com