Thanks to the thousands of Examiners who contribute timely, informative and entertaining content about the city they live in, Examiner.com is one of the fastest growing Web sites in the nation. The site has assigned Judy Rosella Edwards as the Peoria small business reporter for Examiner.com.  Read more... ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Judy Rosella Edwards. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

A voice recorder is useful for small business owners for recording notes for later, instructions, or interviewing clients. The RCA VR5220 digital... Full Story ...read more

I watch how we all struggle to keep up with our social networking obligations. When it becomes overwhelming to blog on this site and tweet on that one and post a status update on that one, it is so tempting to give up. Here is a practical solution. I have developed My Personal Social Networking Organizer. It comes pre-linked to  Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Ning. All you do is go to today's date and click on the site you need to update. My Personal Social Networking Organizer takes you directly to the site. You can also filter the sites so if you don't use MySpace, for example, it will no longer in your Organizer. The organizer provides space for up to 3 additional social networking sites. Never fall behind again! Make 2010 the year you keep up with your blogging and tweet to the world about it! Tell your friends -- but please do not give away free copies! Requires Excel 7.0 or higher.  My Personal Social Networking Schedule     $9.95 ...read more

We all have this temptation to divert web surfers from Merchant Circle to our website. It's easy. It's done. It's quick. It's also frustrating. Will the public click and go to one more site? They just found you. Tell them who you are while you have their attention. Blog. Write newsletters. Create promotions and coupons. Don't divert traffic just when they found you. If you don't have time to blog, contact me. I'd love to tell people about that charming new gift you have in stock or that really unique service you offer. Let me blog for you. Contact me at judy@judyrosellaedwards.com. ...read more

A big idea in plays well in Peoria with A 25 Hour Day, in spite of the economy. According to CNN/Money, Peoria is in the fifth-best mid-sized city to launch a small business. That is not news to Joy Duling, Business Strategist... full story ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Judy Rosella Edwards. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

I am the new local reporter for Examiner.com. I am looking for newstories about small businesses in Peoria, Illinois. At the moment, the site has a decidedly national flavor. I'm looking for local content. If you are a small business, please add judy@judyrosellaedwards.com to your press release distribution list or drop me a note. So... what's new with your business? I look forward to hearing from you. ...read more

My latest work,  33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Hostelling, by Judy Rosella Edwards has been released.  Hostelling celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2009. American Youth Hostels celebrate 75 years of inexpensive accommodations. There are an estimated 4,000 hostels worldwide. It is surprising so few plots use hostels as a setting. ...read more

Social networking has become a buzzword. Everyone knows they need to do it and everyone is overwhelmed by it.   Time On Your Side   I give social networking novices the same advice I give writers. Know how fast you write.   That is not the same thing as knowing how fast you CAN write. The key is to be aware of how fast, or slow, you write under the most typical circumstances possible. We all know that no two days are alike, but it is imperative to know your writing pace.   Give yourself a writing assignment. For instance, commit to writing 500 words about what is great about MerchantCircle or Facebook – or some other topic you are familiar with. Pick the topic, but don't write anything.   Note the time. My favorite tool for this is a Taylor timer. They run about $10 at Target and you can either set them as a timer, or you can use them like a stopwatch. For this exercise, the moment you begin writing, turn the timer on and let it run until you finish writing 500 words.   Don't be in a panic to shut off the timer. The goal is to determine how much time it realistically takes you to write 500 words. Leave the timer on until you have checked your spelling and grammar.   Now you have an idea of how long it will take you to write 500 words. You also have a clear idea of how long a 500 word piece of text is.   One timing will probably not give you an accurate report. You will likely rush through the first timing, even you don't mean to. Time yourself half a dozen times to get a better sense of your pace.   Do a little math to determine how long it would take for you to Tweet on Twitter, or to update your status on LinkedIn. You do know that you can post status updates on your LinkedIn account, don't you?Now decide how often you want to post to each social networking site. Determine which sites can be linked, so that the same content appears on more than one site. That will save you from posting manually.   Count Your Sites   There are dozens of social networking sites in existence, all representing potential contacts. But if you have 3,000 contacts and no sales, you are not social marketing. You are just networking. I know a lot of people but few of them will ever buy or even need my services.   Regardless of what you offer or your geographic location, there are more specialized sites to consider.RedCarpetMondayis one of my newest favorites. Unfortunately for many like me, RedCarpetMonday is not an option. The site is geographically limited and doesn't serve the city where I live. If you need clients to physically walk through your door, RedCarpetMonday may not be for you. But, for those served by RedCarpetMonday, the invitation-only networking concept is an exciting option especially for upscale clients.   For every field, there are dedicated sites for that specific subject area. Discover what those sites are, and whether you can optimize your time via an automatic connection between them and Facebook or other social networks.One site does not a network make. Two sites make a criss-cross. I currently have a network of fourteen sites. Several repost one to another but it took time and some expertise to make that happen.   Plan   Get out a calendar and map your social networking efforts. Know how much content you hope to create each day and which networks are best for a blog versus an update or an article or a tweet.   Summary   Don't leap into social networking without a plan. Use your social networking time wisely and effectively. After all, you want more than 3,000 friends you have never met. You want results.   ...read more

Everyone has time for social networking. The key is to organize your blogging efforts and schedule them. ...read more

I have just published the latest Outdoor Genealogy post atBootsNAll, about Detweiller Park in Peoria, Illinois. ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Judy Rosella Edwards. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

We've just published a new edition of our newsletter! You can check it out on our website and get the latest information from Judy Rosella Edwards. Let us know what you think! Read It Now Here ...read more

Greetings, I am a Peoria, Illinois, writer specializing in genealogy and history. I can write a killer press release that will have a much higher chance of getting you in print because I have been a reporter for several newspapers. I know the secret to getting a press release onto an editor's desk and into the hands of a reporter who will give you ink! Looking for a writer? Talk to me! ...read more