Author: Erika Madden

19 June

The Epic 21 Day Brand Impressions Detox for Digital Business Owners

Erika Madden   |   Blogging Tips, Business Tips, Reputation, Resources   |   53 Comments

Making an A+ first impression online is so important as a small business owner, freelancer, or entrepreneur! This free email course is out of this world helpful in improving your website + social media accounts so that you look credible + professional to potential clients and customers.

Hello again, friends. :) Since absence makes the heart grow fonder, I just know that right about now you consider me your greatest online love.

This month marks the Olyvia.co 1 year birthday -- wild, right?! -- and to celebrate with you I wanted to create something cool + helpful you could use to refresh your blog + social media accounts + brand reputation (and look 10x more pro online).

So, for the last 2.5 weeks I've been buried in InDesign + Illustrator + Mailchimp working (fun, but I missed you!) -- and what I came up with is this:

A 21 day free detox for your brand's online spaces.

(Henceforth known as "The 21 Day Brand Impressions Detox" -- because I like to make things sound all official like that.)

It's for new and intermediate level bloggers, freelancers, creative business owners, coaches & consultants, solopreneurs, and anyone with a personal brand online who wants to:

1. Make certain that their online presence screams "modern" and "professional" -- not "dated" or "amateur"

2. Do a serious, effective cleaning of their digital spaces so things look bright + clean, not dull or junky

3. Get a (virtual) kick in the derrière to take their brand up a notch, and have some laughs along the way (totally at my expense, I assure you)

Here's how to get started:
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28 May

3 Ick-Free Ways to Promote Affiliate Links on Social Media

Erika Madden   |   Blog Income Report, Blogging Tips, Business Tips, Classy Marketing, Social Media Marketing   |   21 Comments

How to share + promote affiliate links on social media without sounding sleazy, icky, or greedy. | olyvia.co/promote-affiliate-links-on-social-media/

As part of my blog traffic + income report this month I'm sharing some tips on a topic I hear people voice frequent worries about:

"I want to try to make some extra money as an affiliate for companies and/or people I support, but I'm scared to actually share the links on social media. I don't want to sound like I'm greedy (or a sellout)!"

This is a valid concern in affiliate marketing.

(We've all seen the scammy-looking accounts on Twitter or Facebook where their feed is overrun with "SAVE $19.42 - LilyDoo Makeup Compact, Gold Stripes $36.27" advertisements, and it's not pretty.)

But happily, it doesn't have to be this way -- and you CAN promote affiliate links on social media without looking like a ShamWow salesman. 

Below are the 3 principles I live by when sharing my referral links so that I'm not obnoxious to others:
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22 May

5 Official Secrets To Getting More Blog Comments

Erika Madden   |   Blogging Tips, Business Tips   |   60 Comments

How do I get more blog comments? Here are 5 secrets behind a busy combox + why you want one on your blog.

In assurance to makers, doers, and dreamers everywhere, they say "if you build it they will come."

But I'm about 102% certain that whoever the heck "they" is never had a blog.

(Picture who you may at this point, but all I see in my head is a young, baseball-playing Kevin Costner.)

"If you build it, they will come!"

See, I don't know about you, but I've built a large number of websites in my day.

And only a handful came to most of them.

(Especially that fun -- but ohhhmyugly -- "I-am-so-darn-fed-up-with-Britney-Spears!" site I created as a 15 year old. Ha.)

Along the way I did learn what it takes to steadily attract website visitors and get noticed online, but getting blog traffic is -- to continue our corny baseball + Costner theme we have going on here -- like only getting to first base on the baseball diamond.

So what's second base?

Getting engagement (otherwise affectionately known -- probably only by me -- as blog comment luv).

The baseball diamond of blog success! Olyvia.co

Before I "pitch" you the steps to get more blog comments (oh I crack myself up), let's be clear: simply because you don't have much engagement on your blog DOES NOT mean you can't make money from it or that it's one colossal failure.

You can monetize and sell successfully through your website as soon as you've started bringing in some visitors, and the fact you have little to no comments coming in right now doesn't necessarily mean your blog is failing you.

HOWEVER, there are good, business-y reasons for wanting engagement on your blog, which I will explain to you later on in this post.

With that, let's get to the 5 secrets to getting more blog comments!
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13 May

How to Handle Negative Comments Online (Like A Pro)

Erika Madden   |   Business Tips, Customer Service, Online Etiquette, Reputation   |   33 Comments

How to handle negative comments online like a true pro. There are great customer service + reputation tips for creative business owners and entrepreneurs in here!

I know how it goes down.

You're busting your (sometimes) manicured nails on your blog, staying up until 1 a.m. hustling for business, and trying to convince yourself that:

1. you DO have something worth saying,

2. you ARE capable, and

3. gosh darn it, people like you.



And then, just when you think you've found your groove, what happens?

Someone comes along to tell you just how ridiculous, incompetent, fraudulent, and ignorant you really are.

(Or at least that's how negative online comments feel, yes?)

The experience can be horrifying.

And worse, it can make us want to be horrifying in return.

But I have a better way to deal.

(Because there's only ONE thing more destructive for your biz or blog reputation than critical, complaining, and rude comments, and that's a poor response to them.)

This is how to handle negative comments online, Chief Olyvia style. Ready to roll with me? Let's go!
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06 May

10 Ways to (Not) Suck at Email Marketing

Erika Madden   |   Business Tips, Classy Marketing, Email Marketing   |   26 Comments

how_to_suck_at_email_marketing

A guest post by Kirsten Thompson, blogger & e-newsletter extraordinaire

Hey fellow creatives! I'm honored to be here with you today, and so grateful to Erika for allowing me to share my love of all things "newsletter" with you!

First, let's be honest with one another.

If you're like a lot of bloggers and online business people, you fall into one of these two categories regarding newsletters:

1. You know you need a newsletter, you just don't know where to start.

2. You have a newsletter, but you know you need to kick it up a notch.

Today, I want to share with you 10 ways to absolutely suck at email marketing, and how to make sure you don't.
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